Category: Pentecost

This section is used if there is no megaphone)

(I was given this funnel the other day, it wasn’t long before I found out that it doesn’t make a very good water filter. However, since then I have learnt what this funnel is really designed used for…to pour water or oil into a car engine. As Australians, being very industrious and inventive, we know there are always 101 more uses for things on top of what they were originally designed for. The saying goes ‘necessity is the mother of invention’, our necessity is that some people find it a little hard to hear, particularly when the speakers are not turned on. Well, this funnel makes an ideal tool to amplify sounds.)

(Use the funnel back to front)

There you go! Now you can hear me much more clearly…can’t you? Why not?

(if there is a megaphone, talk about how you know how people can’t always hear, so you have expertise in amplification and so brought along a megaphone)

(use it back to front)

There you go! Now you can hear me much more clearly…can’t you? Why not?

Now there’s a lesson for young players…just because you have been given all the right tools, doesn’t mean you are using them in the right way!

Peter, one of the disciples, was a young player in the ministry of Jesus and he had a lesson to learn. He thought he knew it all and was on a high after confessing who Jesus was ‘the Christ, the Son of the living God’. Just because he knew who Jesus was, just because he had the information and could see the need for a messiah, didn’t mean he was able to correctly apply his knowledge. It didn’t mean he really knew what Jesus must do to be ‘the Christ, the Son of the living God’.

Jesus did and he could no longer hold it to himself. It was time for the disciples to know the full extent of his mission; to know clearly what it means for them to be his disciples. Just when Peter and the others where on a high, thought they knew their direction, their vision and mission, thought it was all glory and power from here, Jesus pulls the rug from under them ‘explaining that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.’ The complete opposite to Peter’s vision.

If we could only get into the mind of Peter, to know how he would have felt at this very moment. We can’t, but we can imagine his devastation, his distress at this news. His vision of Jesus and how he is to be the messiah will be completely and utterly destroyed if he dies. So Peter took things into his own hands, obviously Jesus doesn’t understand. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” The mission of God can’t die with you. No, you must do it my way Jesus.’ Peter though he had the tools for God’s mission and knew exactly what to do, yet Jesus has some very harsh words to him ‘”Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”

Jesus is saying to Peter, yes you have the tools of a disciple, yes you know who I am, yes you know the need for mission, but you have got it all wrong. Peter had yet to realise the seriousness of our human condition, our total sinfulness and unbelief. He didn’t understand what it would take for Jesus to save people; save us from sin, death and the devil. He didn’t understand that Jesus would have to suffer and die for us…that’s what is needed, not some cover up; some sort of soft option, only the death of Jesus would suffice if we are to be saved from the devil’s grip.

Peter had the tools, he had heard the word, but he is intending to use them in the wrong way, like when I was using the megaphone the wrong way around, it was never going to achieve anything. As long as Peter though he knew best, though he knew how to control Jesus and his destiny, nothing could be achieved. Peter wanted God his way, wanted mission without suffering, glory without the pain. He wanted salvation without the cross. Jesus rebukes Peter for this, for only death will pay the price of sin; only his death on the cross, in our place, would bring about the true mission of God.

How often, as Jesus disciple’s, have we failed to comprehend what is going on? How often have we thought that we have everything in control, we have all the tools of mission, know everything about ourselves, about sin and grace, about Jesus, and about salvation? How often have we wanted to be followers of Jesus, but like Peter, only by our way, not by the way of the cross? Perhaps for many years now we have been holding the megaphone of God’s grace the wrong way around; trying to be disciples on our own terms, without any suffering, without the cross; without dying to self and living for Christ. Perhaps this is why our churches are emptying?

Perhaps Jesus is also rebuking us…‘”Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.’ A cutting word from Jesus, but perhaps it’s a word that we need to hear and hear again and again as disciples of Jesus. We need to allow ourselves to be told that at times we are receiving and using God’s grace to us, the forgiveness of sins and mercy for the sake of Christ, the wrong way round. We are using it for our benefit, for our glory and for our purposes and not God’s. We want salvation, but at no cost to us, or to God.

At times, like Peter, we think we have it all together and have no need for Jesus; we know what is needed to save us. The megaphone of God’s grace, his mission to us, cannot achieve its purpose for us and for others, if we continue think we don’t need the cross, death of our sin and death to ourselves.

When using the megaphone backwards, nothing is heard. God’s mercy is not being received; not being heard when the cross is not proclaimed. And because of this, perhaps you and I and the world are not hearing that Jesus works salvation through suffering; he brings life out of the lashes and grace from the grave. Isaiah foresaw Jesus’ mission when he said ‘he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.’

This is the good news we need to hear. This is the good news we need to apply to ourselves; the turning around of the megaphone of grace. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. As a disciple of Jesus, we trust and believe that are put to death before we are brought to life. That is, our sinful nature and everything that entails; our personal ambitions, our good works to get to heaven, our secret desires, our efforts to be god…yes everything, is put to death in our baptism and repentance, so that our new self, which rests in Jesus, is brought to life. We are a completely new person in Christ. St Paul had God’s megaphone of grace pointing the right direction when he said ‘we are buried with Jesus in baptism and raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised Jesus from the dead.’

This is what Jesus means when he says ‘For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.’ We lose our life of selfish ambition in baptism, yet we also then gain true life in Christ when we trust in him; we are raised to find life in death. And by faith we know that Jesus frees us from trying to play god and to do it all and be it all. He frees us from sin and death, and he frees us from the demands of the law of this world which always accuse us to take control.

Let’s turn around the megaphone of God’s grace and once again clearly hear God’s word to us. This is Jesus clearly speaking to you ‘Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. “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.’ Amen

What happens if a foreign object or a dangerous virus or infection gets into our blood stream, what then? Yes, our body begins to attack the virus or foreign body; it goes into fighting and survival mode. There is an increase of blood flow, high temperatures and immune cells fight the deadly object to help the body cope with and destroy the foreign object.

What happens if the body is unable to defeat the foreign virus? We die! Something so small, so insignificant actually kills a living person millions of times larger than itself. Viruses are deadly because they find their life, and in fact, find their whole being, in sucking the life out of their host, and in doing so, ultimately kill themselves, by killing off the body who is keeping them alive.

The story of the exodus; of Israel breaking from their oppressors, is a true story about a life and death struggle of a body fighting a deadly virus. The body is us, the whole human race, who survives lives and finds its well being in God the creator of heaven and earth. From him we have been created and have life. The virus infecting the body is a deadly infection…a foreign god. A god, the Pharaoh of Egypt, who claims to give life and provide all things, but sadly this god is a virus, an infection that finds its life and being in the living body of the human race. If not treated and dealt with, will kill the body, the Israelites and him along with it.

The significance and utter importance of the exodus story must be understood and known by us who believe in God. Why? Because it is the battle for heaven played out on the battle stage on earth. Sounds dramatic? Sounds a little over stated? Not when we being to realise what is happening and what is at stake. If the battle had been lost and the Israelites remained in Egypt to be ethnically cleansed, killed off, where would we be as people, as Christians; as the redeemed people of God?

This sermon is a little different to what we have been used to, we are going to take a look at the story and discuss some key points to try and bring out the real spiritual meaning to what seems to be just an historical and factual event.

To set the scene for the exodus story, we need to wind back time. (power point slide)

Like all battles, this war began many years earlier when a foreign god, the serpent convinced Adam and Eve to trust in him rather than God the creator for our wellbeing. In doing so, in serving a foreign god, humanity became infected with a deadly virus, the devil, who, like a virus, draws all life out of us until we die. In the exodus story the devil isn’t in the serpent, its the Pharaoh of Egypt. (picture of Pharaoh) The Pharaohs, if you don’t know your ancient history, believed they were gods. They were not born on earth but came down from the gods of the sun. The role of the Pharaoh on earth was to have divine rule over all the people. Everyone was to serve him, and in turn, he would provide everything necessary for life.

Sounds familiar? (next slide) What was the devil trying to do in the garden? What was he trying to do with Jesus when he said ‘”All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” The devil is trying to be God, latch onto another life to kill it.

(next slide)

The story begins with ‘Then a new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to power in Egypt’ What is meant by ‘did not know’?

To know means more than to just being acquainted. Knowing in the bible means ‘to have a personal, committed and in depth relationship with someone.’ For the Pharaoh to not know Jacob meant he had rejected any relationship with Jacob; he did not recognise what Jacob represented. That he is the one through whom God would create a new nation of people, holy and pleasing to him. As you are well aware, it is through this family line, the Israelites, that God would bring his Son into the world, to redeem the world. ‘Isaiah says, “The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; the Gentiles will hope in him.”

(next slide)

What do you think is important in this verse ‘Come, let us deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country.’?

The words ‘come let us’, were the words God used when he chose to create human life and bring Adam and Eve into the world. They are words of life. “Come let us make man in our image’. The Pharaoh uses these words to bring death, just like a virus. To act shrewdly was to stop life. We know from later in the story that he forced the Israelites to work extremely hard, and when this failed to kill them off, he murdered every male Israelite child by drowning them in the Nile. The Devil wants to kill off God’s chosen people

We as Christian are also God’s chosen people and the devil continues to try and destroy us. We can recognise his presence in our own lives. He doesn’t create but rather, he pulls down and destroys…or deals shrewdly with us. He kills us through fighting and disunity in our families and relationships. He kills us when hatred and anger affect our moods and controls us. He kills us when he gets us to trust in him and his ways to solve our problems. He kills us when we serve him.

(next slide)

There is a very important word, deliberately used by the writer, in the next verse, see if you can pick it. ‘So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labour, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh.’ Any guesses? Probably not. The word ‘forced labour’ come from the word to serve or ‘worship’.

The Pharaoh is commanding that the people of Israel worship and serve him rather than their God. And he is going to force the issue. The Israelites have a choice to make, what is it? Yes, they have a choice of who they are going to worship, a false god, or the true God. Take the easy road, serve the Pharaoh, or worship their God and suffer the consequences.

Perhaps you have had to deal with this same decision. Perhaps you have had to choose the hard road and no longer serve a foreign god; no longer serve your sinful nature which has held you captive to an addiction or secret desire. And, like the people of Israel, who chose to continue their worship of God, and so suffered the consequences of hard work and even death. Perhaps you too have had to suffer losses or danger or difficult times because you choose to serve and worship the God of our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ.

Today’s text concludes with a ray of hope; with God breaking into the darkness and death of slavery and oppression under the power of the devil. A baby boy is born into a world of death. Moses is the man who will eventually lead God’s people out of Israel, but first he too must be saved from death.

(next slide)

‘When Moses’ mother could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him…placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the river bank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her slave girl to get it. She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him.’

What is ironic about this rescue?

The same water which killed so many other children is the water which saved Moses. It is through water that Moses is brought from death to life. God uses something that kills to bring life.

(next slide)

You and I have been brought from death to life through the waters, not of the Nile, but of baptism. It is through the water and promise of God that we have life and salvation; freedom from the bondage of sin; our exodus from slavery to a new life in Christ.

Can I encourage you to read the story of the exodus, the whole book, and start to see the spiritual connections between Israel’s exodus and reaching the Promised Land, and what God has done for us in Christ.

Amen

( a demonstration using a water purifier) I have a bit of trouble on my hands. I keep getting dirty water out of my water purifier. It doesn’t seem to matter what I do, dirty water constantly comes out. I know! I’ll put cleaner water into it. Perhaps the water I am putting through the filter is dirty and needs to be cleaned first. Here, nice clean tap water is going in…oooh but look, the water coming out is still dirty. I know, perhaps if I polish the glass bowl then water will come out clean (clean it)….no, that doesn’t seem to work. Well, perhaps if I polish the whole outer casing and keep polishing it while the water goes through, then I might get clean water out of the filter…no. O boy, what now?

What would need to happen for clean, filtered water to come out? Yes, I need to address the problem occurring inside the purifier. (put in a new filter, turn on tap and watch the clean water come out). The reason why I was getting dirty water coming out of the purifier was because the inside the purifier was dirty, making the water come out dirty. Changing the water made no difference, because the water going in was not the problem. Cleaning the outside of the purifier makes no difference either. I could polish all I like, it could be the shiniest purifier you have ever seen, but if the inside is dirty, then the water will be dirty; its not what goes into a purifier that makes things dirty, its what’s inside that make the water come out dirty.

Jesus spoke very similar words to the Pharisees and his disciples, who were caught up in external religious traditions. “It’s not external cleaning and religious acts that make a person clean before God’, he argued. The Pharisees in particular, but the disciples were not exempt, were very devoted to polishing up their morals by religious works; cleaning all the ‘outside’ parts of the body in order to remain clean before God. Believe it or not, there were over 600 ‘little laws’ to ensure people remained clean before God; all very religious looking, all external ceremonial acts that presumed to give people clean hearts. Like me washing and polishing the purifier, it all looks good, yet had no effect on the water purity!

When they complained that Jesus’ disciples never ceremonially wash their hands before eating, Jesus said ‘”Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean.’ For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man ‘unclean’; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him ‘unclean.'”

You can wash, polish, shine ceremonially and religiously clean all you like, but its what’s in your heart that makes you unclean. Like the purifier, the dirt inside causes the water to come out dirty; the heart of the purifier, the filter, needs to be clean. Jesus is pointing to the sinful heart of people; it’s the heart that makes you unclean. Its the heart that is sinful, or dirty by nature and out of the heart comes all the sinful acts, making us unclean before God; it is the heart that needs to be cleaned.

As part of the confirmation course, the confirmees have been looking at this exact issue; what it means to be a Christian. We discussed what faith is, why be a Christian? Is it about being religious? Is it just about morals and doing good things to be clean before God? On camp in Orange, we discussed what is right and wrong, and what causes us to sin? Is it external temptations? Temptations like the ease of illegally burning CD’s. Is it the ‘software manufactures’ fault we illegally copy CD’s or is it that we are sinful by nature and misuse legal equipment for illegal purposes. Are we being externally influenced or is it the sin already in us that cause us to do wrong things?

Think about these confirmation questions in light of Jesus’ words. ‘For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man ‘unclean’. Jesus clearly answers our question, its not external influences which cause us to sin, no, we sin from the inside out. Our hearts are like the dirty water filter, what comes out of our heart causes us to sin. So no matter how hard we try to live a ‘clean life’, we can never have a clean heart before God.

For this very reason, that we cannot clean our hearts, Jesus came into this world. It is precisely because external acts can’t clean, that Christ Jesus came to make us clean. St Paul knew this well and says, and I’ll paraphrase ‘Therefore no one will be declared clean in the sight of God by observing law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sinful heart. But now a cleanliness from God, apart from trying to clean ourselves, has been made known, to which the bible and the Prophets testify. This cleanliness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.’

This cleanliness from God has been given to us as a gift in our baptism. It is through the waters of baptism that our hearts have been washed clean; cleansed from sin and born again pure and clean before God; in a similar way to the new filter in the purifier. Though we cannot see the filter, we trust that a clean filter has been fitted and is working. In the same way, we cannot see our clean heart, we can’t comprehend how God can do this, but we trust that Jesus has cleansed us and made us clean before God through baptism.

Dilly, Joshua, Aaron, Ashley and William, this is the good news you have heard, and this is the good news that you will soon confess before us to say you believe. It is the good news that Jesus has come to cleans your heart. It’s the good news that your external good works cannot make you clean, but it is by faith in Jesus, and the power of baptism that makes you clean before God. It is the good news that is central to the faith of the Lutheran church; it is the Lutheran trilogy of the clean heart ‘ by grace alone, by faith alone, in Christ alone’. This is the constant cry of the Lutheran church among believers and non-believers alike, and it is a call that you have heeded and the call you believe.

Our prayer for you today is not that, now you are confirmed, you fulfil all your external Christian duties by regularly attending church, going to bible studies and be a squeaky clean Christian, though all important. No, our prayer for you today is that you will not depend on being ‘externally clean’ for salvation, but that you depend on no other than Christ Jesus for your salvation and a clean heart, and that all good deeds flow out of this. Our pray for you today is that the Holy Spirit will strengthen your faith, fill your life with joy and assurance and give you the courage to live as a child of God, safe in the promise of your baptism.

Amen

We have spoken a lot about faith this morning. About the faith five, and how we nurture faith by spending time together in the word of God in family huddles. The seminar me, Cathy, Karen, Ros and Neil went to at Warrambui was all about faith in God; how we can teach and nurture faith in our young people. We need to be realistic, and it’s a sad fact, if currant trends continue, 75% of the children in our churches now, will not be worshipping with us in their adulthood. Take a look at the children here today, (Gil..take a look around, how many of our children should be here, but they are not) which of these children do we want to let go of? Which ones are we willing to say ‘nice knowing you, now go on your own way, without Christ’?

Not one of us could say this. Yet, its so sad that it is happening. For too long the egg of faith has been laid by the power of the Holy Spirit in baptism, but we have failed to nurture it. We have not nurtured the young in faith, from embryo to adulthood, like the penguin parents do with their young, who shield their young from storms and bring them into the heat on sunny days; All so that they grow into strong penguins in their own right. Our children have not been nurtured to be Christians in their own right.

Faith Inkubators is a program that is all about nurturing the faith of our young people, and their motto is teaching the faith ‘every night in every home’, and as you saw from the children’s address, it involves every one of us. (talk about and show some of the material)

But hold on, before we go any further, before we start all this. Do we really know what faith is? Take a look at the next slide…what can you see (list findings)

The story of Peter walking on water is a story of faith, in fact its more than a story, its actual faith in action; faith visualised…faith as experienced by you and me. The scene of faith is set with the disciples of Jesus in a deadly situation. The winds are against them, the waves are pounding the boat and darkness surrounds them; the disciples are terrified; lost to the depths of the ocean; they have no life line to cling to. Then, out of the darkness, in the midst of the storm; in the darkness of death, Jesus speaks a word of promise ‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.’

The word of promise, Jesus’ words, speaks life into the disciple’s situation. Jesus’ words are not empty, they are words of action. When Jesus says ‘don’t be afraid’, his words actually change the situation of the disciples; they are actually out of danger. It is as if they were safe on dry land. Jesus demonstrates this change of situation when he calls Peter out onto the water. Peter can walk on water by the power of Jesus’ promise. When Jesus, the word of God in the flesh, says ‘don’t be afraid’, it is not just information, something to be heard and decided upon. No, Jesus’ words of promise are living active; they effect what they say. God’s word says what it does and does what it says!

Faith then, is simply taking God at his word! Faith is simply grabbing hold of the promise of Jesus and trusting our situation has changed, even before we see any results or experience God’s presence in our lives. Peter stepped out of the boat and onto the water, before he saw any change in his situation, before he experienced the close presence Jesus. The boat was still being buffeted, the waves were still crashing all around, and Jesus was still far off, yet because Jesus said ‘don’t be afraid’, Peter knew his situation had changed, he was safe, and in faith he walked onto the water…and he walked on the water! Even when he was sinking, Jesus’ promise still remained, only Jesus himself carried Peter on the water.

The promise of God changed the situation of Peter, and it changes ours. There is a promise for you and I; a word of God that changes our situation. Jesus says to us ‘whoever believes and is baptised will be saved’, and again ‘For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit… baptism now saves you also…It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.’ and again ‘We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.’

Faith is simply taking hold of these promises of Jesus. Faith simply knows that the word of God actually changes our situation. We are dead in our sins, but for the sake of Jesus and his death and resurrection, God declares us to be in a new and good relationship with him. God says ‘our dept has been paid, you are forgiven, come all of you and be baptised for the forgiveness of sins and the gift of eternal life.’

Right now, we are going to do just that! Take God at his word and baptise little Emelia. We do this in faith knowing that it is not our doing that changes Emelia’s situation, but God’s own promise. Because remember, God’s word says what it does, and does what it says.

There used to be an add on TV promoting a certain car servicing company. A mechanic was listening to a customer trying to explain what we wrong with his car. The person couldn’t explain it with words because he didn’t know what the problem was. He couldn’t diagnose the fault himself and say ‘the shims between the hydraulic lifters and the cam lobes are worn causing the variable cam timing to be out which in turn has decreased the power out put of the engine by 7 and ¾ percent…can you fix it!

No, he couldn’t say what was wrong, because he didn’t know. He stood there unable to speak. Then from within him, sounds began to come out, he began mimicking to the mechanic the noises the engine was making. ‘It goes like this he said ‘weer, weer, weer’. The mechanic replies ‘you mean ‘whoom, whom, whoom’. No, says the man, more like ‘weeer, weeer, weeer’. O, you mean Wheerr, wheerr, wheerr’. Yea! That’s it responded the owner excitedly. That’s it! Immediately, the owner and the mechanic were speaking the same language, they could understand each other. Through the man making the noises the mechanic was able to correctly diagnose and fix the problem with the car.

How many times are our prayers just like that? We know we want to pray, we feel the need to pray, in fact we know Jesus has commanded us to pray, as Matthew records ‘Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak’. Yet when we do, we don’t know what to pray for. We don’t know how to pray and don’t know why we should be praying…as Jesus says ‘the spirit is willing but the body is weak’. We are like the man in front of a mechanic…we stumble over what we ort to pray about; what words we need to use to describe what we need; we wonder what God’s will might be for us.

If this is you, you are not alone. Praying for what we need from God and knowing his will for us in our life is not a natural thing. St Paul acknowledges this when he says ‘We do not know what we ought to pray for.’ Easy conversation with God ended with the fall of Adam and Eve into sin. That was the day we lost our right to speak with God and our ability to know his will for us. Sin blinds us to the truth about ourselves, our needs and condition, and blinds us to the will of God. Sin even blinds us to the fact that without Christ we are dying in our sins and, without him as our mediator between God and us, will be condemned to hell.

Just knowing this fact ought to prompt us to pray, to pray that God would protect us from death without him; to pray for faith and mercy, for forgiveness of sins, yet because we are blinded to our condition and what the future has install for us, and because we don’t know the hour of our death, prayer is the last thing we think of at the beginning of each day.

Take a look at the next few video clips. What do you think these people would have done first thing in the morning if they knew what was going to happen. (play clips). Yes, they would definitely be praying for God’s protection! But what about us? What about you? Your life? Do you know what to pray for? Do you know God’s will for you and for those you pray for? No, of course not. We cannot perfectly know God’s will for us. Our sinful nature now excludes us from true knowledge of God and true knowledge of ourselves and even true knowledge of what we need. Therefore prayer can be daunting, seemingly pointless, and a struggle, like talking to a mechanic when we don’t know how to say what is wrong with our car. Prayer becomes mysterious.

Paul, in this text, helps us to unlock the mystery of prayer; helps us to understand how prayer works. Listen to what he has to say ‘the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.’ Pray is so unnatural, so difficult to do because of our sinful condition that God’s own spirit speaks on our behalf. God’s Spirit works together with us in our prayer, to speak the words we cannot express; to speak the same language as God and to speak according to how God sees our life.

The way Paul sees prayer, us speaking with God, is like the man speaking with the mechanic…no words could express his need, but his groans and noises spoke to the ear of the mechanic; noises that conveyed the right message; conveyed the need and enabled the mechanic to diagnose and fix the car’s problem. In the same way, God’s own Spirit speaks another language to God through our words, as we pray. The Spirit helps us in our weakness; the Spirit intercedes for us with ‘unspoken words’, words that words cannot express. The Spirit has the language of prayer that works in our hearts.

God has given each of us his Spirit in baptism. The Spirit reconnects us with God, enables us to once again converse with God. This is the miracle of baptism; we are born again into God’s family as Paul reminds us ‘He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Saviour’.

Because we are children of God, because we are born anew, and we have his Spirit, prayer for us, is conversation with God on two levels. We speak and call on him for our every need on one level, and on the other, when we groan because we don’t know what to pray for, God’s Spirit groans in us and speaks to God who searches our hearts and knows what we need for our good and well being.

This is the mystery of prayer and this is the joy of prayer. It is not our hard work that causes God to hear; it is not our fervent pray that he listens to, or our discernment of his will …it is his Spirit. The Spirit intercedes on our behalf. All we need to do is pray, as Jesus calls us to do; pray for what we feel we need or for what others need. Pray for the sick, pray for the poor, pray the Lord’s own prayer, but pray knowing the Spirit of God is speaking at the same time.

This is why we pray that God’s will may be done in each and every prayer, for this then leaves room for the Spirit to speak. If we pray that our will be done, or what we think God’s will is, we shut of the conversation between the Spirit and God; this is why Jesus always prayed ‘your will be done’, and teaches us to do the same in the Lord’s Prayer. Let us be encouraged in the knowledge that the Spirit prays with us, and on our behalf. Let prayer be a joyful part of your day, an easy part, a time you look forward to, like talking to a friend knowing that they understand you’re every need. For you know not what the future is, or what the true will of God is in your life, but you do know that the spirit in your heart has the language of prayer; the language God responds to.

‘A young couple invited their elderly pastor for Sunday dinner. While they were in the kitchen preparing the meal, the minister asked their son what they were having. “Goat,” the little boy replied. “Goat?” replied the startled man of the cloth, “Are you sure about that?” “Yep,” said the youngster. “I heard Dad say to Mum, ‘Today is just as good as any to have the old goat for dinner.’

To put the best spin on the young couple’s actions, perhaps they are taking Jesus’ words from our today’s gospel reading very seriously. In verse 41 of Matthew 10 Jesus says ‘Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward.’ They may well have been looking for a reward from the Pastor; some tips on reading the bible, or holy living, or how to stay awake during a sermon.

Or perhaps something far greater. Jesus promise of a reward is intriguing. What sort of reward? When is it given? Is Jesus talking about the reward of heaven and eternal life when we die, or is the reward now?

For the sake of a reward, most of us tolerate many things, or receive into our house, people we don’t normally like to invite; like a tottery great Aunt for the sake of remaining in her will! We are brought up from a young age to be polite and courteous to those who can give us something, even if we can’t stand them; Just sit there…and smile and wave, all in the hope of some reward. Jesus is emphasising that we are rewarded, somehow, when we welcome or are welcomed into each others homes and lives; when Christians continue to meet together.

However, to welcome a fellow believer, to continue to meet together, does not entitle us to a reward. The reward Jesus is speaking of is not something we earn, a repayment after we have worked, like a pay back. His “Reward,” is not something deserved either, like an “award. And Jesus’ “Reward” is not a bribe, a carrot to entice us into having pastor around for lunch! Though, I won’t mind if you think that! No, Jesus means the reward is in the act of welcoming and being welcomed by fellow believers; the reward flows out of believers meeting together.

The reward is Christ himself, present with you. Jesus says ‘He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me.’ And in another place he says ‘where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them’. Hidden within Christian gatherings is Christ himself, present for us in the words and actions of fellow believers. Jesus promises to be with us…wow what a reward. Remember years ago when our parents used to set the dinner table and make a setting for Jesus? This is a good practice to remind us that Jesus is truly present as our reward when we meet together.

No wonder the writer of Hebrews says ‘Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another– and all the more as you see the Day approaching.’ We meet together now, because Christ is truly present now, through his living and Spirit filled word, to bless us, guide us and protect us from falling into sin and trouble. This is a very practical and tangible reward, Christ being with us to give us his gifts of forgiveness and to lead us in our daily life.

Yet, has the Christian church lost sight of this wonderful reward? Michael Foss, Luther pastor and writer of such books as ‘Power Surge’ and ‘Real faith for real life’ made this comment ‘Christianity was the religion of the 20th century, Buddhism is the religion of the 21st . Why? Because Buddhism is about the now, its about practical religion; about getting results and pay offs; its about a real experience of god.’ Why has Christianity lost its appeal?

Perhaps for too long Christianity has proclaimed itself out of relevance as being so heavenly focused, it has no earthly good! Perhaps for too long we have been preaching a ‘future’ rewards theology; focused on heaven, on eternal life and how we are to long to be with Jesus in heaven, at the expense of what Christianity means in our life now

It is true of course that the goal of Christ’s death and resurrection was –‘to bring many sons to glory’; to win the victory over sin and death and give us eternal life. But have we lifted our eyes so high, that we fail to see Jesus in the person next to us; do we yearn for Jesus in heaven so dearly, that we miss his yearning for us in the friendship of a fellow believer? I remember a number of years ago I was walking past a beachside carnival, when a little girl come racing past me, her eyes focused only on the jumping castle. She had broken from her mother’s grip and was running to reach her goal, the jumping castle. But with her eyes focused only on the goal, and not on where she was going, she soon tripped and fell; she had lost sight of where she was because she was focused on where she wanted to be.

For the sake of our heavenly reward, have we as Christians, as Lutherans in Gilgandra, let go of the Father’s grip and lost sight of where we are, because we are so focused on where we want to be? Are we so heavenly focused, that we have tripped over our reward to make Christ real in our lives and real in the lives of those around us now? If we have, we have lost sight of the gospel…Christ with us, for us and in us. Christ, after making atonement for our sins, ascended into heave so that he may be with us in our daily lives, as he promised, ‘And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’

This is our reward now; Christ with us as we meet together and welcome each other as brothers and sisters in Christ. Let us keep our eyes focused on the gospel, the good news, that Jesus came to save sinners and dwell among them; that’s us, and that now. Praise the Lord.

Brooke and Joshua, you have been baptised, you have the Spirit, and Christ lives in you. God has been with you and cared for you and nurtured you from your birth till now, and will continue to do so. But today is special, today you stand before God, and among Christian friends and confess to us and the world; that you believe. That you believe God the Father created you, that his Son Jesus redeemed you, and has given you his spirit, the Spirit that made you his child.

In confessing this, and in promising your allegiance to him and in promising to follow Jesus, remember to regularly meet together with other believers, to receive your reward; Christ and his benefits. Brooke, your Confirmation text is Proverbs 3:5-6. This passage will remind you to trust in the Lord with all your heart and, as you continue to meet together and welcome believers, your reward is God will make your paths straight; your reward is Christ guiding your life and judgements as your read and study his words to you. Joshua, your confirmation text is Colossians 2:6-7.

This passage will remind you that you have received Christ, and to continue to welcome and be welcomed by believers, since you live in him. Your reward is that you will be strengthened in faith and be overflowing in thankfulness.

Brooke and Joshua, take a look at the baptismal font in which you became a child of God. Take a look and say, ‘yes, Christ died for me, I am his child, I am today committing to being welcomed into the church fellowship of Gilgandra as a follower of Jesus.’

Members, family and friends of Brooke and Joshua, as we have heard, when we welcome a believer because they are one of Christ’s followers, you are receiving Christ himself, let us encourage each other to welcome Brooke and Joshua into our worship, into our friendship so that each and every one of us will continue to receive our reward, Christ with us and for us’. Amen

 I’m after a cheap fix! My clutch has gone in the car, does any own know a cheap way to keep it
going? How often has we heard that? We are always after a cheap fix. We want things fixed quickly, easily and with as little cost to us as possible. Why do something properly when you can do it cheap…that’s the catch cry of the CD and DVD pirates. They are in business because people want the real thing, but don’t want to pay the price.

A cheap fix is also what we are after in our own lives; we want the real thing, but for the sake of a cheap fix, we settle for an imitation. Rather than do the hard yards, we settle for the easy option. You and I are currently in the grip of a cultural movement called ‘hedonism’…aaah! Now before you turn off, let me explain this term, because I think it you will be amazed how influential this thinking is in our lives. Hedonism is all about the cheap fix; its about finding and achieving pleasure and happiness in our lives above anything else, including reality and truth.

In other words, our experiences of happiness and the satisfaction of pleasure this brings, is the rule and guide we use to justify our actions to quickly solve our deepest and most personal problems. If I’m happy, everything must be ok!

Think about this in your own life. Do you keep doing things, even if it doesn’t solve the actual problem, just because it makes you happy? …A cheap fix, because we’ve taken the easy road, with little cost and haven’t actually changed our situation; like dodging up the car repair, it works, but for how long?

For many years now, hedonism has been infiltrating our faith. Many of us now ask, ‘will being a Christian make me happy? Will I get pleasure out of following Jesus? And ‘will there be a cost?’ In other words, we want a cheap fix for our souls. This is a stark difference to Luther’s quest to fix his hurting soul when he ask ‘where can I find a gracious God?’

The centre or core of the questions about our faith has been reversed. Luther’s question is about God and how he justifies us, ours question is about ourselves and how we can justify our sin. We want the real thing; we want to be a Christian, we want to be right with God, but at the least cost to us. So long as we can be still feel happy and still keep our secret pleasures, yet trust we’re still forgiven, then we will follow Jesus …a cheap fix.

Its actually not a cheap fix, its cheap grace, its cheap grace because, if we keep living and doing things based on feeding our pleasures and seeking happiness apart from following God, we fail to recognise the cost to God for our justification. The cost of our forgiveness was the holy and perfect life of Jesus which was sacrificed for your sin and mine. Paul reminds us: You were bought for a price. You are not your own.

Jesus paid the price to forgive you and reconcile you to God. When you are in Christ, you have died to sin, so you cannot delight in it any more. When you confess: “Jesus Christ is my Lord,” you are asserting that He calls the shots for your life.

Unfortunately, scripture’s revelation on grace by faith alone, through Christs suffering and death for us, has been twisted into “cheap grace” by our hedonistic thinking; a cheap fix instead of costly discipleship. St Paul is obviously facing the same issue when he says ‘What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?’…Shall we go on enjoying lustful thoughts and actions, after all, Jesus died on the cross for us, so God forgives us anyway.” “Shall we go on and gain pleasure in being blind drunk over the weekend, because we know that through Jesus our sins are forgiven.” Shall we go on… we all can fill in the blanks.

What has happened here? Justification of the sinner for the sake of Christ has been distorted into justification of the sin. This is the essence of hedonism…self justification of the things that make us happy and pleasure us, but make God unhappy; and yet we do them because we think God will forgive us anyway.

One of the most astute Lutheran theologians of the last century, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, was so alarmed by this cheap grace in the German Lutheran Church, he wrote a book addressing this issue called The Cost of Discipleship. His concerns are surprisingly modern:

Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate. p.36 Bonhoeffer’s words clearly reflect what Jesus commanded of us in this mornings gospel ‘anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.’

God justifies sinners for Christ’s sake; but God never justifies sin. Sin is rebellion against the good and perfect ways of God. It’s a condition of wanting things my own way -not God’s way. Sin is what Christ died for. ‘for while we were still sinners, Christ died for us’, Paul writes, but then he goes on ‘The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.’

There we have it, Grace is free, yet grace is costly; it cost God, and, it costs us. It cost God because Jesus suffered and died on the cross. It costs us because it may mean we need to face the reality of sin in our lives, and die to it; it costs us because we begin to realize when we are at our best, we are at our worst before God; it costs us because it may mean we let go of our secret pleasures or the things that currently make us happy…It costs because Jesus calls us to take up our cross and follow Jesus’.

Bonhoeffer, also wrote ‘Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will gladly go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to buy (for) which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the kingly rule of Christ, … it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him. P.36 Costly grace confronts us as a gracious call to follow Jesus, it comes as a word of forgiveness to the broken spirit and the contrite heart. Grace is costly because it compels [us] to submit to the yoke of Christ and follow him; it is grace because Jesus says:’ My yoke is easy and my burden is light.’ P37.

Jesus’ burden is light because he has already carried the cross to Calvary for us; that heavy cross, laden with our sin. And he died on that cross, for your sins, once and for all. The hard work is done, that’s grace. To take up our cross and follow Jesus means to live by grace, St Paul encourages us with these words ‘We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.’

You and I are here today because grace has brought us here. We are here today because on the day of our baptism, ‘we died with Christ’, that is, we died to cheap fixes in our life. We are here today because Jesus is giving us a new start, a new life in him, when we are joined with him in his body and blood. And we follow Jesus, because this new life we now live is free from slavery to sin. Amen

We begin today with a story about Jesus being a local. Hanging around locals and speaking with the locals. Matthew records ‘Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.’ What was Jesus doing? Why is he preaching to those who already know him? You would think Jesus, wanting to save the world, would head out to foreign countries, to foreign people; to those who don’t know him, to those he doesn’t know.

Yet Jesus remains a local boy, working his saving ministry in his own backyard.

I have a favourite fishing hole. It’s a place I know well and I go to every year. My fishing hole is, as you know, over on the West Coast of South Australia on Yalata beach. I have been there so many times, you could say I’m a local; I talk with the locals and share fishing stories with them. Its my favourite fishing hole because I know how to catch fish there. And I know how to catch fish there because I’ve studied the water. I know for instance, that there is a deep gutter close to shore 2km from the first sand dune. I know that I need to look for dark patches in the water because they are actually schools of salmon, and I know Mulloway chaise the salmon into the deep gutter where they become trapped. (show some details on a power point picture)

Local knowledge is important if you want to catch fish. This became clear to me when I first tried fishing in the Macquarie River, didn’t catch a thing, yet the bloke next to me caught two beautiful yellow belly; he knew where to fish, what bait to use and how to catch them…I didn’t.

Could it be that Jesus is doing the same thing? Using his local knowledge of the people, his people, to seek and to find the lost, in the same way as a fisherman uses his local knowledge to catch fish. Jesus, because he was local, could walk through the streets and talk with the people, listen to them, he knew where they congregated and he could also teach in the local synagogue.

And being local and having local knowledge, found something out that a foreigner wouldn’t realize…his people were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. He could not have known this if he wasn’t a local; if he wasn’t one of them? Jesus, working in his own backyard, with a local knowledge was able to pinpoint the unseen problem. He was able to find the key which would open the door to people’s hearts, open the way for the good news of the kingdom.

With the skill of a local fisherman, Jesus studies the sea, the sea of people, ascertains where the needs are, focuses on one issue and BANG…he has a strike, an opening the gospel. They are sheep without a shepherd; He is the good shepherd. He is the one who lays down his life for the sheep and knows them by name. Jesus is the good news they so desperately need. With local knowledge, Jesus knows where the harvest is; where he is needed most; he knows where the mission field is.

Perhaps then, it is not just a little ironic who Jesus chooses to be his first disciples. What sort of people are they? Matthew records in chapter 4, ‘As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men “At once they left their nets and followed him. Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.’

These first disciples are fisherman. They know how to catch fish; they know you have to study the sea. They know you have to work the local waters. They know, if you are going to catch fish, you need local knowledge. Jesus uses this inbuilt trait of fishermen to reach the lost for the kingdom. They are going to be fishers of men. They are going to use their fishing skills, their local knowledge to study people, look for where they congregate, target their needs and find openings for the gospel; to catch men and women for the kingdom. They are locals and a local knows their community best.

Jesus doesn’t sent them to the other side of the world, he sends them directly into the harvest; to the lost sheep of Israel; he sends them to the locals. He sends them to the people the disciples grew up with, to the places they themselves hangout. To people who have the same issues and concerns as they do. Why? Because Jesus knows the best way to catch fish, is to be local; the best way to reach the lost, is to use a local. The disciples will know how best to reach the lost, to touch their hearts with the good news of Jesus and to bring them into faith; they already have a relationship with the people, they are already known…half the battle is won.

Think back over your faith, why do you still have a relationship with Jesus? Why is it you are not like a sheep without a shepherd, but someone who has Jesus and is in the church? Did some foreign missionary from a far away country pray over you and convert you to faith in Jesus? Not likely. You have a relationship with Jesus because someone you knew taught you the faith, a local, like a family member, a neighbour or a friend; someone who knew what you needed, knew your hurts and concerns; someone who heeded the call of Jesus and went into their local community, into your life and brought you the good news of Jesus.

Pastor Rob Edwards of Jindera Lutheran church challenges us as, saying ‘The big question is; ‘where is our fishing pond?’ Where are the people we are called to reach? Only we can answer this, only we who are locals know the answer to that question. Rick Warren in ‘Purpose Driven Church’ says ‘Too many congregations are naive in their thinking about evangelism. If you ask the members, “Who is your church trying to reach for Christ?” the response will likely be, “Everybody! We’re trying to reach the entire world for Jesus Christ.” Of course this is the goal of the Great Commission, and it should be the prayer of every church, but in practice there is not a local church anywhere that can reach everybody.

For your church to be most effective in evangelism you must decide on a target. Discover what types of people live in your area, decide which of those groups your church is best equipped to reach, and then discover which styles of evangelism best match your [local community]. While your church may never be able to reach everyone, it is especially suited to reaching certain types of people. Knowing who you’re trying to reach makes evangelism much easier.’

Let’s be encouraged by these words. Let’s be encouraged by the way Jesus worked his ministry to reach the lost; by the way he come to us through our family or a friend, found us, just as we were, lost and condemned sinners and carried us into his kingdom. We are not people lost and harassed without a shepherd! Let’s us then, recognise Jesus call to us, to be local fishers of men and work with the people God has already brought before us –maybe that person is your spouse, a family member, someone just down the street, our neighbour. Jesus calls locals us to fish the local waters.

We know the people around us better than anyone else, and broadly speaking, the people around us have a great need. They are lost and harassed like sheep without a shepherd; they need Jesus. Amen

We are very good at separating, classifying, and highlighting dangerous and toxic things.  We live in a hyper clean world where everything is super clean and hygienic.  Anything that is not, is clearly labelled ‘unsafe for human contact – its toxic.  I have a bio-hazards container here. Everything that is deemed toxic and dangerous to us is placed in this container and disposed of.  Why?  If we touch it, we would become what we touch; toxic and dangerous.  Then we too, would need to be clearly labelled and segregated until we either die from the contamination, or, some sort of treatment cleanses us of our toxicity.

Dangerous and toxic goods must be identified, segregated, clearly labelled and deemed definitely ‘off limits’ to all.   There are other dangers too, which we are obsessed at trying to label as ‘off limits’.  We are all familiar with this sort of stuff; ‘bunting’, safety vests and warning lights.  All equipment designed with bright colours and fluorescent stickers to warn us of danger and to clearly label and segregate us from dangerous things; like holes in the ground, or a church hall that is falling down.

Toxic and dangerous things, we fear them and stay well clear.  We simply don’t want to become what they are –dangerous and toxic, or worse still, we don’t want to die from contacting toxins or falling into a hole or by being hit on the head by a brick.  Its all about self preservation.

However, have we taken these precautions one step further…in our quest for self preservation…in our infatuation with cleanliness and safety, have we labelled as ‘toxic’ and ‘dangerous’ even people?  People who are different to us, people who, because they act differently and don’t have ‘Christian morals’, have we segregated them from us and label them as dangerous?  Have we, because we know what is right and good, know what God expects of us, and know we can’t allow ourselves to be ‘toxified’ by these people, place them in a ‘toxic’ waste container to be disposed of; incinerated in hell? Out of sight and out of mind, in places like West Dubbo, or even here in North, or Wilcannia, Burke and other ‘out of the way places’?

Its very easy for us, who, because of the Holy Spirit, because we love Jesus, because we know what sin is, to become labellers and segregators; defining people…the toxic from the harmless; bunting off the good from the bad.  It is very easy for us to always claim the high moral ground, and exclude from Christian fellowship, those who don’t make the grade.  Very easy indeed!

Knowing this helps us to understand why Jesus offended so many people when he mixed with sinners; the unclean.  Helps us understand why he angered the Pharisees and caused them to say ‘”Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?”  The Pharisees and ‘good, well meaning’ people, people like you and I, are prone to uphold God’s laws and Christian morals at the expense of mercy and forgiveness.  Its as if we need to protect ourselves from their toxins.  We  bunting off the bad from the good;  We  classify the ‘sinners and tax collectors’ as toxic people and place ‘no go’ zones around them…they are dangerous.  Like the Pharisees thought, to come into contact with these ‘sorts’ would mean becoming what they were; unclean; you would become, God forbid, a sinner like them!

However, nothing is ever black and white, or as we label and it mark it off.  It would be different, Alex Solzenitsyn notes, if there were ‘evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them.  But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being’…or as an article in Time magazine states ‘Evil is a word we use when we come to the limit of human comprehension.  But we sometimes suspect that it is the core of our true selves’.

The reality is, the same toxic waste, the same dangerous goods, the same germ of sin we find in others we have separated from ourselves, even in the most diabolical homicidal manic, is present in our own self; in you and me.  As the scriptures say ‘all people have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.  There is none righteous, no not one.’

If anyone is to make a dividing line between good and evil, if it is anyone has the right to classify and segregate the toxic from the clean, it should be Jesus.  It is Jesus, the Son of God, who knew sin better than any of us.  It is Jesus who actually lived a holy life, who was without fault; it is Jesus who said ‘”If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at the adulterous woman.”.   Yet does Jesus, holy and perfect in every respect and has the right to do so, put up the bunting and place ‘no go’ zones around sinners; around us?

Certainly not, he did the opposite.  He not only ignored barriers, he tore them down.  Jesus entered into our sinful world to destroy the barriers which separated sinners from God.  Jesus crossed the bunting, pulled down the hazard lights and entered into the houses and the lives of toxic people; the lives of sinners…our lives, to forgive and to heal.  He entered the house of Matthew the tax collector and ate with him.

And while he was eating many where attracted to the spectacle…some to join in with Jesus and enjoy his fellowship, receiving forgiveness and healing, they are the sinners.  The others came to scoff and complain.  “How can a godly man mix with such toxic people?”  They are the righteous –the ones holding the high moral ground.

Jesus replies ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.  For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”’  In eating with the labelled, the sinners, in saying this, Jesus is demonstrating the gospel- the good news…Jesus mixes with sinners and heals them.  (go through bunting to toxic box)

Jesus goes beyond the barriers goes where no man has gone before and opens the toxic waste box of people’s hearts, of our hearts; to reveal the brokenness, the regrets, the hostility and anger, the resentment, the shame and then he neutralizes it; sterilizes it by saying ‘its ok, I know what you have done, what you are, I forgive you, I give you a new start; and chance to right what you have wronged’.

The toxins of sin no longer have power when revealed and forgiven; toxin is not toxic, not deadly when neutralized.  This is why St Paul boasts ‘Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. The power of sin no longer controls us when Jesus comes to have a meal.  And he comes today, calling you to share a meal with him. Where he opens the lid on the toxins in your heart and neutralizes them by forgiving them with his blood.

The Lord’s Supper is our time to be detoxified; to be free to make another new start.  To be made aware that before God, there is no bunting separating the good from the bad, no hazard lights indicating who might be dangerous…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

So as we leave Jesus’, let’s leave behind all the ‘safety gear we use to protect ourselves, to divide, to segregate, to ostracize others from ourselves.  Let us leave behind the bunting and the moral high ground and remember Jesus words ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”  That means Jesus has come to call you and me and it that means he has come to call everyone.
Amen

We are very good at separating, classifying, and highlighting dangerous and toxic things. We live in a hyper clean world where everything is super clean and hygienic. Anything that is not, is clearly labelled ‘unsafe for human contact – its toxic. I have a bio-hazards container here. Everything that is deemed toxic and dangerous to us is placed in this container and disposed of. Why? If we touch it, we would become what we touch; toxic and dangerous. Then we too, would need to be clearly labelled and segregated until we either die from the contamination, or, some sort of treatment cleanses us of our toxicity.

Dangerous and toxic goods must be identified, segregated, clearly labelled and deemed definitely ‘off limits’ to all. There are other dangers too, which we are obsessed at trying to label as ‘off limits’. We are all familiar with this sort of stuff; ‘bunting’, safety vests and warning lights. All equipment designed with bright colours and fluorescent stickers to warn us of danger and to clearly label and segregate us from dangerous things; like holes in the ground, or a church hall that is falling down.

Toxic and dangerous things, we fear them and stay well clear. We simply don’t want to become what they are –dangerous and toxic, or worse still, we don’t want to die from contacting toxins or falling into a hole or by being hit on the head by a brick. Its all about self preservation.

However, have we taken these precautions one step further…in our quest for self preservation…in our infatuation with cleanliness and safety, have we labelled as ‘toxic’ and ‘dangerous’ even people? People who are different to us, people who, because they act differently and don’t have ‘Christian morals’, have we segregated them from us and label them as dangerous? Have we, because we know what is right and good, know what God expects of us, and know we can’t allow ourselves to be ‘toxified’ by these people, place them in a ‘toxic’ waste container to be disposed of; incinerated in hell? Out of sight and out of mind, in places like West Dubbo, or even here in North, or Wilcannia, Burke and other ‘out of the way places’?

Its very easy for us, who, because of the Holy Spirit, because we love Jesus, because we know what sin is, to become labellers and segregators; defining people…the toxic from the harmless; bunting off the good from the bad. It is very easy for us to always claim the high moral ground, and exclude from Christian fellowship, those who don’t make the grade. Very easy indeed!

Knowing this helps us to understand why Jesus offended so many people when he mixed with sinners; the unclean. Helps us understand why he angered the Pharisees and caused them to say ‘”Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?” The Pharisees and ‘good, well meaning’ people, people like you and I, are prone to uphold God’s laws and Christian morals at the expense of mercy and forgiveness. Its as if we need to protect ourselves from their toxins. We bunting off the bad from the good; We classify the ‘sinners and tax collectors’ as toxic people and place ‘no go’ zones around them…they are dangerous. Like the Pharisees thought, to come into contact with these ‘sorts’ would mean becoming what they were; unclean; you would become, God forbid, a sinner like them!

However, nothing is ever black and white, or as we label and it mark it off. It would be different, Alex Solzenitsyn notes, if there were ‘evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being’…or as an article in Time magazine states ‘Evil is a word we use when we come to the limit of human comprehension. But we sometimes suspect that it is the core of our true selves’.

The reality is, the same toxic waste, the same dangerous goods, the same germ of sin we find in others we have separated from ourselves, even in the most diabolical homicidal manic, is present in our own self; in you and me. As the scriptures say ‘all people have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. There is none righteous, no not one.’

If anyone is to make a dividing line between good and evil, if it is anyone has the right to classify and segregate the toxic from the clean, it should be Jesus. It is Jesus, the Son of God, who knew sin better than any of us. It is Jesus who actually lived a holy life, who was without fault; it is Jesus who said ‘”If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at the adulterous woman.“. Yet does Jesus, holy and perfect in every respect and has the right to do so, put up the bunting and place ‘no go’ zones around sinners; around us?

Certainly not, he did the opposite. He not only ignored barriers, he tore them down. Jesus entered into our sinful world to destroy the barriers which separated sinners from God. Jesus crossed the bunting, pulled down the hazard lights and entered into the houses and the lives of toxic people; the lives of sinners…our lives, to forgive and to heal. He entered the house of Matthew the tax collector and ate with him.

And while he was eating many where attracted to the spectacle…some to join in with Jesus and enjoy his fellowship, receiving forgiveness and healing, they are the sinners. The others came to scoff and complain. “How can a godly man mix with such toxic people?” They are the righteous –the ones holding the high moral ground.

Jesus replies ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”’ In eating with the labelled, the sinners, in saying this, Jesus is demonstrating the gospel- the good news…Jesus mixes with sinners and heals them. (go through bunting to toxic box)

Jesus goes beyond the barriers goes where no man has gone before and opens the toxic waste box of people’s hearts, of our hearts; to reveal the brokenness, the regrets, the hostility and anger, the resentment, the shame and then he neutralizes it; sterilizes it by saying ‘its ok, I know what you have done, what you are, I forgive you, I give you a new start; and chance to right what you have wronged’.

The toxins of sin no longer have power when revealed and forgiven; toxin is not toxic, not deadly when neutralized. This is why St Paul boasts ‘Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. The power of sin no longer controls us when Jesus comes to have a meal. And he comes today, calling you to share a meal with him. Where he opens the lid on the toxins in your heart and neutralizes them by forgiving them with his blood.

The Lord’s Supper is our time to be detoxified; to be free to make another new start. To be made aware that before God, there is no bunting separating the good from the bad, no hazard lights indicating who might be dangerous…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

So as we leave Jesus’, let’s leave behind all the ‘safety gear we use to protect ourselves, to divide, to segregate, to ostracize others from ourselves. Let us leave behind the bunting and the moral high ground and remember Jesus words ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” That means Jesus has come to call you and me and it that means he has come to call everyone.

Amen