All posts in category Reformed Spirituality

Come Thirsty: Introduction

Reading: Psalm 131; 1 Kings 19:1-18; Mark 10:35-52

This is awesome, but I’m Thirsty…

I don’t have to tell you: we are incredibly blessed. We live in one of the most desirable countries of the world, in a great city, wonderful opportunities for education and employment, surrounded by stunning natural beauty.

We’re part of a church with a wonderful heritage: the doctrines of grace and a comprehensive Christ honouring worldview.

With all that, you’d expect to find us quite fulfilled as Christians. Satisfied and content. With a sense of inner peace evident across the board

How is that going for you?

My guess is, despite all this, we’re thirstier and less satisfied than ever. Not content with our spiritual health.

Here are the hints:

We are increasingly time poor: Even though we’re surrounded by labour saving devices: machines that wash and dry; robotic vacuum cleaners; microwaves; fast food; instant communication; cars – some are very smart – we’re busier than ever!
- In 1967, testimony to a US Senate Committee estimated that in 1985 we would be working only 22 hrs per week
- Recent studies indicate that by 2013 working time has increased by 50% in that time
We are more stressed
- Other studies show that people who drive to work are more stressed from that than fighter pilots or riot police
We are sleeping less
- More than 1/3 of adults get less than 6hrs sleep per night (2.5hrs less than in 1900)
There are fitness providers everywhere:
- Pilates, Boot Camps, Gyms – reminding us that we are less active and less fit than we’ve ever been
Our schedules are stretched to breaking point
- Any number of activities for our kids: sport, footy clubs, swimming squad, golf, dance academy, music lessons
Technology:
- According to McCrindle Research, the average Australian spends 10 hours and 19 minutes each day on screen time – and due to ‘multi-screening’ this is achieved in just under 8 hours of linear time
- Kids in prams have screens, toddlers are learning to swipe before they write, and sometimes before they can talk

Breaks in the day that used to be small windows of replenishment for body and soul—like driving in a car, going for a walk, having lunch with a friend—are now filled with noise, interruption and multitasking. What feels like being available and accessible is really a boundaryless existence that offers no protection for those things that are most precious to us. … What feels like convenience is actually robbing us of those things we value most. We are left with bits and pieces of everything rather than experiencing the full substance of anything.

Ruth Haley Barton, ‘Sacred Rhythms’

And here’s Pastor Dave about to challenge us about our faith, and what we might need to do. And you’re already saying “I can’t do any more than I already am.”

Our dilemma is that I spend most of my week wondering how to get people to engage more, and you’re going home thinking of ways to avoid what I’ve suggested. And right now you’re wondering how you’re ever going to maintain a commitment to faith life which seems unsustainable.

The more we try to do, there more a sense of fulfilment eludes us. Encouragement to read more, pray more, get excited, worship better are met with lowered eyes, pursed lips, and a thought that it can’t be done. And if we ever have the time to think about our soul, maybe the only feeling is that things seem to be slipping away.

Will anything ever satisfy our thirst?

We know it should be living with Jesus. But our behaviour does not match our theology.

Is this you?

Spiritual Fulfilment – Where Art Thou?

Is this why our spiritual passion is sometimes so low? When we’re maxed out on every front, what more can we do?

Here’s a thought: maybe ‘do’ is not the right word. Maybe the last thing we should be thinking about is how to get fired up.

It occurs to me that Elijah was about as frontline and full on in prophetic ministry as you can get. He challenged Ahab and Jezebel so constantly, zealously and powerfully that Ahab was always looking for ways to kill him.

in 1 Kings 17-18, Elijah

announced a drought which brought Israel’s economy to ruin
organised a spiritual showdown on Mt Carmel which led to holy fire consuming the offering to the Lord
put to death 450 false prophets of Baal

You could not get anyone more fired up than Elijah! But all his doing, all that – powerful, passionate ministry left him empty and spent.

Can you imagine that? Calling down holy fire, enacting an astoundingly fearful display of God’s power, but when it’s done, you’re crying like a baby, whinging to God that you’re the only faithful person left on the face of the earth, and wanting to die.

But then God says OK Elijah, let me really show you my power… Well, what could possibly be more powerful than the scene on Mount Carmel?

“The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. … And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”” (1 Kings 19:11–13, NIV)

Sometimes more vigour, more activity, more doing only makes us more deaf to the voice of God. All our frenetic busyness makes it impossible to hear the still, small voice of the living God. Something else is needed.

Listen carefully:

The soul is like a wild animal—tough, resilient, resourceful, savvy, self-sufficient. It knows how to survive in hard places. But it is also shy. Just like a wild animal, it seeks safety in the dense underbrush. If we want to see a wild animal, we know that the last thing we should do is go crashing through the bush yelling for it to come out. But if we will walk quietly into the bush, sit patiently by the base of the tree, and fade into our surroundings, the wild animal we seek might put in an appearance.

Parker Palmer, A Hidden Wholeness – quoted in Sacred Rhythms

How will you ever hear your Lord? How will you pick up his gentle whisper, if you keep living the way you do?

Here’s my question: Are you anywhere near the bush? …Ever?

When was the last time you sat quietly at the base of the tree?

When was the last time you were still enough, quiet enough, to hear your heart’s desire for God?

To sense his nearness?

How will you ever hear your Lord? How will you pick up his gentle whisper, if you keep living the way you do?

Like a Child Weaned

So. Psalm 131.

Psalm 131 (NIV)

A song of ascents. Of David.

1 My heart is not proud, Lord, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me.

2 But I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content.

3 Israel, put your hope in the Lord both now and forevermore.

Look at verse 2 …

It’s a glorious picture, isn’t it. And perhaps just a bit troubling…

Glorious, because this child is not content because he’s at his mother’s breast. He’s weaned. He’s there in his mother’s arms just loving her. It’s like the rest of the world has disappeared.

To use Palmer’s imagery, he’s at the base of the tree, and his soul is delighting simply in being with his mother. Not because of what she will give, but simply because of who she is.

But it’s also troubling because it is not often our experience. And we should ask why.

So much of our Christianity is grounded on what we think God will give us. He gives us forgiveness. He blesses us with health, he gives family, work and talents, opportunities and leisure. All good things and we love him for them.

But could it be we’re still at his breast, loving him mainly because of what he gives?

Sometimes I doubt whether we ever love him simply because of who he is: our loving God, our creator, our mighty King, the one who loves us better than our mothers ever can, have, or will.

Listen: if you don’t slow down and stop, not only will you become more and more stressed, but you’ll never get to v.2. You’ll never delight in the Lord simply for who he is. You’ll always be on the take.

And if you only worship God for what he gives, not only will you want more and more of what he gives, but you’ll be less and less satisfied and you’ll be thirsty forever.

One day Jesus met a man called Bartimaeus. Born blind. Jesus was leaving Jericho – a troubled city on Israel’s border. Bartimaeus called out “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me” – and then Jesus asked him the strangest question:

What do you want me to do for you?

Well, what goes through your mind? Pay off the mortgage. Fix my marriage. Conquer my dependencies. Bring my kids to God. …

When thinking about that question, we ought to know Jesus won’t give anything you want. He did not grant the request of James and John (Mark 10:35). No, he won’t give whatever we ask. But he will give what he knows you need.

Bartimaeus, being blind, needed to see. But he was asking for more than vision. He wanted to see Jesus. He wanted to lay eyes on his Saviour! Bartimaeus had been groaning out his prayer for decades because knew that he deepest need was to see God.

Have you ever sat quietly enough, still enough, silent enough, to feel the groaning for fundamental life transforming change welling up inside?

Let me ask:

When was the last time you felt your own longing for God?

For his love?

For life as God intended it to be lived?

Have you ever hear your soul cry out “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”?

Have you ever sat quietly enough, still enough, silent enough, to feel the groaning for fundamental life transforming change welling up inside?

That desire to be changed by God and used for his glory is the truest thing about you.

This is why the Psalmist calls Israel to put their hope in the Lord. His deepest prayer is that they rest with him like a weaned child. Trusting. Loving. Secure. Confident. Content.

And you?

And me?

We must learn to stop crashing through the bush, sit at the base of the tree, and listen to our soul’s cry for God. He will answer.

Here’s what you need to do:

Find one block of 30 minutes per week for the next two weeks
As you enter into that 30 min period, simply pray “Lord, reveal yourself to me anew, let me feel my own soul’s thirst for you. Open my heart, my eyes, my ears to you. Let me love you for who you are.”
Do nothing else during that time: no reading, no prayer, no phone (turn it off!!), no writing, no speaking. Just wait and listen to your soul.
After 30 mins, write down your thoughts in a journal or a notes app
Sometime during these next two weeks , share your experiences with a friend

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by davidgroenenboom on July 3, 2017 • Permalink

Posted in Christian Reformed Churches of Australia, Christianity, Reformed Sermons, Reformed Spirituality, Spiritual Disciplines

Posted by davidgroenenboom on July 3, 2017

https://sermonandstudy.com/2017/07/03/come-thirsty-introduction/

Craving Pure Spiritual Milk

Reading: 1 Peter 2:1-3, Psalm 34

This is my little grandson, Cedar Rae Groenenboom. Today he is six and a half months old.

He has grown quite a lot. When we was born he was a scrawny little runt. Now, he looks like someone has slipped him into a Sumo suit. Just this last week he sprouted two front teeth. When we skype, he smiles at us. He’s sitting, clutching, started on solids. He is smarter and more handsome than any other child on the face of the earth.

All that growth happens naturally. Just feed him, and he packs it on. As followers of Jesus, we also a called to growth. And it would be good if our growth were as easy and as automatic as Cedar’s. But that is not the case.

Pure Spiritual Milk

God’s word says

“Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,” (1 Peter 2:2, NIV)

What is this ‘spiritual milk’ and what is ‘growth’?

It’s at this point our ‘bible eyes’ kick in. These are the eyes that read something, assume you know what’s being referred to, and read on, without giving too much thought. So, we read verse 2, and think ‘right: that’s talking about reading the Bible, and hungering for God’s word…”

And we think it’s then calling us to a range of activities that centre on the Bible. Things like

Bible reading and personal devotions
Listening to podcasts: download great preachers onto your phone or tablet, and you’ve got iWorship and iGrowth anywhere as you drink your pure iMilk
Great reading: good Christian books. Seen Tim Keller’s latest? Looks like a cracker
Attend worship: sit under the word, get some great preaching under your belt

Now all these activities are good, obviously. And we should be doing a lot more of them. They are relevant to what this verse calls us to. But it’s only half right to suggest they are the totality of what is commanded here.

The problem – if you can call it that – is that they do not actually make us grow. They are a means to growth, for sure, but they do not bring us growth themselves. The distinction is important. Because there is only one thing that actually brings us growth. One thing that makes us alive. There is only one that saves, and it is Jesus.

That’s what Peter is saying here: crave Jesus. Crave him so much! Crave him because relationship with him is the only way you can grow, and live, and have the wherewithal to be people of hope in a hostile world. Crave Christ!

Christ alone both conceives and sustains the life of the new birth. They are to crave the Lord God for spiritual nourishment [Karen Jobes: 1 Peter]

As I said the distinction is important. Why?

Because we can read the word, love the word, but miss the ultimate Word, miss Jesus
We can enjoy podcasts, but we can love the speaker, even worship the speaker, more than the Jesus he speaks about
We can read good Christian literature, but miss the One which gives ultimate meaning to the story
We can love worship, love the singing, love prayer, love the act more than worship for the one true audience: the Triune God. [This is the one sole reason for any and every worship war: people lose sight of Christ, and make the form of worship their functional idol – but that’s another sermon]

Crave pure spiritual milk. Crave Jesus. Crave the life only he can give. Crave him above everything else. Only he can bring you life. Only he can bring you growth.

Crave it

Which brings us to the primary command of this passage:

Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk

The picture is of a newborn: she seeks the breast instinctively, eagerly, incessantly. She won’t rest until she’s sated, and then she’ll slip into blissful milk coma. Crave like that.

Consider the overwhelming urge for a favourite food, we call that a craving. Two of the most craved foods in the western world are, of course, chocolate and crispy bacon. Unhappily, bacon has recently fallen out of favour as it may ever so slightly increase the risk of cancer. Dark chocolate, however, is known to contain substances that attack free radicals, and so reduce one’s risk of cancer. So it turns out if you eat bacon, and then have chocolate for dessert, even everything will be ok. [Actually, I have basically made this up, and the paragraphs above is only anecdotal, and is not supported by any scientific evidence whatsoever]

But we know about craving: It’s urgent. Overpowering. And you’ll want that desire to be satisfied.

So, taking into account what I’ve said before, this command is calling us to crave Jesus. To crave his life. To crave his grace.

Does ‘craving’ along the lines of what we have discussed in any way describe your attitude to Jesus?

The question is: Does ‘craving’ along the lines of what we have discussed in any way describe your attitude to Jesus? Does that describe what was in your mind when you walked into this place of worship?

I just want to honour Jesus!
I just want to be drawn into his love and grace!
I want to be nourished by Christ!

That’s what God is saying to us today: crave Jesus! Only he can nourish you, and bring you growth! Your growth in Jesus, growing up in him, becomes the criteria by which all your attitudes, actions, and shared life are evaluated.

Does this help me see Jesus more clearly?

Does this help me love Jesus more dearly?

Does this help us follow him more nearly?

This is why Peter starts negatively. Because if you want to grow in Christ there are a number of things that will stunt your growth:

“Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.” (1 Peter 2:1, NIV)

Where maybe someone would say they love the church, but they gossip behind the scenes.
Or where they celebrate someone’s giftedness, but in their heart they are green with envy.
Or they make out they are people of integrity, but are actually engaged in shonky practices or secret immorality.

If you seriously crave Jesus, you won’t have any part in those things. Why? Because knowing Jesus and growing up in him becomes the criteria by which everything is evaluated.

So, think about how you are nourished, with others, in Christ.

This is why we have Home Groups. Think about why you go. The goal is not to know more per se. The goal is not to connect with others per se. The goal is to see Jesus, to know Jesus, to share Jesus, to encourage others in Jesus.
- Are your discussions drawing you deeper into Jesus?
Think about Bible Reading. Many struggle here. Want to know why? Sometimes it’s because we are not praying to see Jesus in his word – who does that? Who prays that simple prayer “Lord, as I read, help me to see who you really are, nourish me with the life only you can give.” There are some steps you can take with others to see Jesus more clearly in his Word
- Start a discussion group around that goal. Do it online. People spend hours on FB – why not online Bible discussions? A place where you can chat with others specifically about what you’re reading and how it reveals Jesus. A few suggestions
  - Faithlife.com – this is good online Bible software, developed by the Logos group. If you get the app, you can make comments right out of the Bible Reading app into your online community
  - Join Gateway Online Community and join the discussion
- Facebook: If you must use Facebook, why not follow Gateway’s Advent readings. These readings will lead you through Old Testament and New Testament passages that will focus your mind on the coming of Jesus into our world. Seriously, there is so much Christmas rubbish out there, and we are so busy, it would be a smart thing for us all to do this. It’s like taking a pure spiritual milk chill pill…
Sunday Worship. Craving Jesus should be the frame we have when we meet with our Christian brothers and sisters, although it rarely is.
- What were you actually thinking about when you were driving to worship today? Some where thinking about the stress at home to get ready, others thinking that they’d rather be somewhere else – is it any wonder worship does often do it for us? Most of the time we get the worship our hearts expect, and that ain’t often good for us or glorifying to God
- If ever there was a Sunday morning prayer, or something to pray while you’re driving to worship, it is “Lord, be my focus. Let me worship you. Honour you. Pray to you. Give to you.” That is a prayer for true Christ-centred worship, right? When that is our attitude, we don’t even have to pray for blessing, because when Christ is at the centre, you cannot help but be blessed in the worship you bring.
Crave times of thanksgiving together. We need to find times to tell the stories of how God has blessed us. Or share how the Scriptures have comforted you. Or celebrate how Jesus has forgiven you! Why is it that we do not often hear people speak of their challenges, their burdens, their joys and victories, and how Jesus impacts on those experiences?

As these things draw is into Christ, they are mother’s milk! Crave it! Desire it! Seek those opportunities. Let’s do what we can to turn this church into a powerhouse of nourishment.

Grow up in your salvation

That’s the thing: we want to grow!

“Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,” (1 Peter 2:2, NIV)

We’ve tasted the goodness of God’s glorious grace in Jesus, and we want to grow! In terms of New Testament language, growth in Jesus is always something we do with others, and it is always angled toward maturity.

That is,

the full expression of Christ’s character in my life, and
the full expression of God’s will for community in the church

For any Christian and for any church this is challenge and privilege. Challenge because we have to let go of stuff that is less important to do that which is supremely important. It might be letting go of some TV time to get to a Home Group. Or letting go of some luxury items to give intentionally to the church. Or letting go of my selfishness, so I can sensitively listen to others, encourage them and pray for them. Or managing my time differently so I can meet with others, and we can together draw one another into a deeper walk with Jesus. As a church community, it might be letting go of some traditions that keep us from growing up in our salvation.

But it’s also a privilege, because when you start to grow up in your salvation, when you’re working it out with fear and trembling, when you get this sense of growing together, of sharing together in new community, it’s brilliant! When we move toward greater spiritual health, when we’re praying for one another, working together toward better ministry and mission, when we’re driven to depend on Jesus more – together – there is no better place, so more stimulating community than the church!

Paul gave his life to the goal of a mature church:
“He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.” (Colossians 1:28–29, NIV)

You probably know Paul was a man of great learning and spiritual depth. But even he knew that on his own he could never reach the maturity God desired for him. His prayer is his admission:

“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:16–19, NIV)

The only way we will grow up in our salvation is with one another, seeking pure spiritual milk, Christ himself. And then to seek the very things that draw us deeper into him, together.

As we read in Psalm 34, we’ve tasted, and we know the Lord is good. Today, God is calling you to grow up into Christ. To be nourished by Him.
Don’t stop at the first taste… You need to let go of some things. And you need to embrace Jesus, and start doing things that draw you deeper into him.

You are not alone: He has given his Spirit who will empower you to change, to grow, to be nourished by Christ.

You can taste it, right? That desire to grow, that overwhelming urge to have a more Christ centred life, that hunger to be in a wonderfully restored community, bringing to expression the life Christ himself has put in you. May Christ himself satisfy us as we crave this life in Him together.

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by davidgroenenboom on December 1, 2015 • Permalink

Posted in Bible, Bible Study, Christian Reformed Churches of Australia, Christian Teaching, Christianity, Gateway Community Church, Home Group, Jesus, Preaching, Reformed Sermons, Reformed Spirituality, Sermon, Uncategorized, Worship

Tagged Christian Teaching, Gateway Community Church, Reformed Sermons

Posted by davidgroenenboom on December 1, 2015

https://sermonandstudy.com/2015/12/01/craving-pure-spiritual-milk/

Love One Another Deeply – Group Study Questions

1 Peter 1:22–25 (NIV)

22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. 23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 24 For,

“All people are like grass,

and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;

the grass withers and the flowers fall,

25 but the word of the Lord endures forever.”

And this is the word that was preached to you.

1 Corinthians 13:1–8a (NIV)

1 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8 Love never fails.

Discussion questions

1. “Christianity is cruciform. There’s the vertical dimension where we love God with all our heart, soul mind and strength. There’s also the horizontal dimension: love your neighbour as yourself. Love for God demands love for others. Being joined to God in faith means being joined to others in love. When God’s people love one another deeply, it’s like a new reality, new creation is born. It doesn’t get any better.”

Where have you see these vertical and horizontal aspects working in harmony together? What were some of the outcomes?

2. “Sincere love for each other is the sole distinguishing characteristic of Gospel community. Not truth. Not doctrine. Not systems of church government. Not your affiliation. Not the level of your commitment or the amount of your tithe. These are all important, but if you do not have sincere love, it’s irritating, useless and ultimately destructive.”

What do you think about this statement? What Bible passages might underpin this assertion? What might this mean for how your church or Christian community operates?

3. Do you agree with the statement that we tend to underestimate God’s power to bring new life to expression in our lives (See Romand 6:1-4)? What are the common ways we do this?

4. “Christian you are not the same as the unsaved, powerless, sinful person you were before Jesus entered your life! Just as Christ was raised from the dead to the glory of the father, we too may live a new life (Romans 6:4). God is saying: here’s my prescription, I have saved you for this very purpose, and you can do this, I will do this through you, you can obey my call in my power! Jesus frees us to be a community of sincere love, deep love, because the God of love has redeemed us with the precious blood of his son!”

Discuss this statement
Assuming you are in agreement, how would applying these truths impact on how your church or Christian community goes about its mission and ministry?

5. What specific actions will you take to love your brothers and sisters in Christ more sincerely?

6. What specific steps does your church need to take to be a more intentional community of sincere love?

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by davidgroenenboom on November 10, 2015 • Permalink

Posted in Bible Study, Bible Teaching, Christian Reformed Churches of Australia, Christian Teaching, Gateway Community Church, Home Group, Reformed Sermons, Reformed Spirituality, Small Group

Tagged Bible Study, Christians, Gateway Community Church, Gospel, Hope, Love, Small Group Study, Transformation

Posted by davidgroenenboom on November 10, 2015

https://sermonandstudy.com/2015/11/10/love-one-another-deeply-group-study-questions/

Love One Another Deeply

1 Peter 1:22-25

I bet there isn’t a single person here who has not received an email from someone in Africa, claiming to be the wife of a recently assassinated national figure. She has access to millions, and despite the existence of Swiss banks and Fort Knox, out of every person on the face of the earth, she thinks the best person to trust with all her millions is actually you. You will have looked at that email and said “Is this for real?”

Or you go down to the car yard, and the salesman offers you more for your trade in than you know you can get in a private sale. You’ll think about that and ask yourself, “Is this for real?”

Or you’re down at the Fremantle markets, and you’re looking at the watches. They have all the great brands Tag Heuer, Rolex, Casio. The prices are unbelievably cheap. You’ll be wondering, “Are they for real?”

Now, people look at the church, they hear words about life, a fresh start, and transformation, and you know what are they asking?

“Is this for real?”

The Prescription

If you’re wondering how to spot authentic Christianity, Peter’s words are just what you need to hear. They open our eyes to the very thing that shows whether Christians are genuine.

“Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.” (1 Peter 1:22–23, NIV)

Love is the mark of the Christian. Love identifies true community from false community. Love strengthens relationship and authenticates witness.

Of course, love can be a variety of things: Altruistic love. Brotherly love. Erotic love. The love commanded here, however, is a sacrificial, selfless love. This is the love of decision. A commitment. A covenant to love despite the cost, despite rebuke, despite rejection. It is unconditional, and in many ways, unconventional. It’s a love demonstrated in God’s saving acts in Jesus. A love that goes to rebels, to enemies. It restores relationship. It builds togetherness. It develops oneness where there is division. It makes friends out of sinners.

Peter is saying to his readers: now that you are purified and holy through Jesus, there is one core reality to operate in. One central behaviour to show Christ is living in you. One thing that matters above all: love one another.

As Jesus had said some years before

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34–35, NIV)

See, Christianity is cruciform. There’s the vertical dimension where we love God with all our heart, soul mind and strength. We believe him. He honour him. We trust him. We love him.

There’s also the horizontal dimension: love your neighbour as yourself. We’re compassionate, friendly, considerate, gracious.

Here’s the deal: love for God demands love for others. Being joined to God in faith means being joined to others in love. When God’s people love one another deeply, it’s like a new reality, new creation is born. It doesn’t get any better.

We also know the fall is still around us and in us. Christians fail each other. Communities of love can become contexts of pain and hurt. And then it’s easy to pull away, and just seek to do faith on our own. And that’s an easy option these days. If you listen to podcasts, you can have Tim Keller one day, John Piper the next, followed by John Ortberg, Matt Chandler, David Platt – your whole week can be immersed in the world’s best preachers. You can bail out of church and do it all at home. But the problem is that on your own, all you’ve got to love is yourself. And that is far from what the Lord calls you to in these verses. Loving God is never merely an individual thing. You can’t be a lone ranger in the kingdom of Jesus. Life with Jesus cannot be lived apart from Jesus’ community. Additionally, if we withdraw when we’re hurt, the hurt is never healed, it’s multiplied. Dragged deeper within, it becomes bitter and ugly.

Yet, when Jesus’ people love each other deeply, Christian community becomes the context of growth and healing where hurt and resentment can become a catalyst for growth and restoration. So: Love one another deeply, from the heart.

It’s your purpose

Second: we need to love deeply because it’s a core purpose of God in saving us. Loving others deeply is not an option. It’s not something that some people are good at or gifted in, while others aren’t. It is core behaviour for the followers of Jesus. Check out that first section of v.22:

“Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other…” (1 Peter 1:22, NIV)

Christ has purified us so that we can love sincerely. Christ is doing a work in you. He’s making his love overflow. A love that is active, persistent and practical. It’s expressed in relationships, in what we think about one another, how we help one another, how we bless one another, how we serve one another.

I started the sermon with the question of authenticity. How do we know if it’s the real deal? How do you spot the true church? Surprisingly, sincere love for each other is the sole distinguishing characteristic of Gospel community. Not truth. Not doctrine. Not systems of church government. Not your affiliation. Not the level of your commitment or the amount of your tithe. These are all important, but if you do not have sincere love, it’s irritating, useless and ultimately destructive.

God has chosen the church, us, to show the world what sincere love really is. At Gateway Church we have just renewed our commitment to grow healthy Gospel community.

We want to be a church where there’s sincere love, where the Gospel is seen. A place where we both live and proclaim Christ’s love for sinners. Where that love is expressed as his people love each other. Where it’s reflected in their love for their world.

Where this sincere love is seen the Gospel is more easily heard and believed and accepted. Where sincere love exists, every anti Christian argument, every attack on the church, is blunted. Where that sincere love persists in the face of attack, those attacks are neutralised. When sincere love thrives, anti Christ is overcome and the flaming arrows of the evil one are extinguished.

I saw last week that Richard Dawkins tweeted an article from the Economist suggesting a religious upbringing diminished generosity.

What ahistorical piffle. Dawkin’s thought bubble doesn’t even have a rim. It’s nothing. It’s air.

History shows us that sincere love drove the church to mission, to compassion, to cultural advancement. Churches started hospitals, churches developed public education. Christians like William Wilberforce worked to abolish the trans atlantic slave trade. Christians continue today, through the work of organisations like International Justice Mission, to repair broken systems of justice, to stop the violence that perpetuates the poverty of the developing world.

Why do they do this? Because when Jesus rules people, when they are purified through his precious blood, all they can do is love sincerely! That has to be the outcome. It has to work. It cannot not work.

It’s God empowered

Hang on, you say. It cannot not work? Is this for real?

I look at myself and I acknowledge my weakness. We are imperfect. And look around, we can see plenty of contexts where it does not work well. True: this sincere love is not going to be perfect this side of heaven, but we do need to think through what Peter is saying.

First, as we’ve already seen, this love is purposed by God. And what God purposes will come about. Second, this love is commanded by God to people he lives in by his Spirit.

God never commands his people to do an impossible task. When he commands us to “love one another deeply, from the heart” he’s only enjoining what he already empowers. Check it out:

“For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you.” (1 Peter 1:23–25, NIV)

Love one another deeply, from the heart (why?) … You have been born again or imperishable seed…

The Perth summer is fast approaching. Coming Saturday the temperature will be some 37C. For the last few months we have been working on our lawn. Enriching it with water retention material. Organic material. Other substances that retain goodness. Keeping the water up. Because if we don’t, we know the harsh summer is going to transform our green lawn into crunchy brown nothingness.

Peter wants us to know people a like grass. Soft and green one day. Brown and crunchy the next. People don’t last. Their efforts often come to nothing.

But when God acts savingly in people’s lives, he begins to transform human weakness – your weakness – by the power of his risen son.

Christians don’t just bear fruit. With Jesus living in them they bear fruit that will last. When God saves people, they move from the realm of the mortal, to the realm of the immortal.

““I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.” (John 5:24, NIV84)

There’s no denying: we’re not in heaven yet. We still fail, and fall, and our love is imperfect. (That’s obvious, otherwise it wouldn’t have to be commanded.) By the same token, I think we underestimate the power of our great God in us.

It’s why in our tradition we’re often short on prayer (which times do you gather specifically for prayer?). It’s why we get worried and anxious when things don’t work out – we think we’ve got to do it all. We react as if God is not in the picture. It’s why the most discussed half of the glass can often be the empty half…

But God is saying, loving this way is not about your limitations. It’s not about you being fallen. It’s not about you perishing. It’s about my living and enduring word doing the very thing that I purposed it to do. It’s about the love and grace and mercy of Jesus doing the very thing I intended it to do in you! It’s about the word that has not only been proclaimed to to, you’ve received it, believed it, it has taken root, and it is bearing fruit.

Christian you are not the same as the unsaved, powerless, sinful person you were before Jesus entered your life! Just as Christ was raised from the dead to the glory of the father, we too may live a new life (Romans 6:4)

God is saying: here’s my prescription, I have saved you for this very purpose, and you can do this, I will do this through you, you can obey my call in my power!

Jesus frees us to be a community of sincere love, deep love, because the God of love has redeemed us with the precious blood of his son!

“Love one another deeply, from the heart”

People talk about body language. You look at how a person is sitting and you can gauge their level of interest. If someone is in the meeting and they lean back with their hands on their head, we all know they think they’ve got the whole thing down and they may be feeling pretty superior. Body language. You can look at body language and get a reasonably accurate idea if what’s going on inside.

Guess what: Sincere love is the body language of the people of God, those who have been born with the imperishable word of God. You observe the sincere love of the people of God and you know what’s happening on the inside! God is at work, and they have been born again with imperishable seed! They are loving each other because they both love God and have been loved by him through Jesus.

Challenge:

So: is there enough sincere love here? Are we maxed out on love? Didn’t think so.

And the question, therefore, is what specific action will you take to start loving your brothers and sisters more?

I know: There’s always stuff that others can do more of, or less of. But this is about you. You and God. He has purposed this love to overflow from your life. So, what steps will you take to make that happen?

You in a home group? Discuss this question. Wrestle with it. Ask yourselves: do what you can to show more love in that context? Who’s on the sideline? Who’s fragile? Who’s in need? Speak into that. Love into that. Do something in love for them.

You’re not in a home group? Best reconsider. How can you love your brothers and sisters if you’re limiting the contexts where that love can be seen and felt and demonstrated? You’re too busy? Too tired? Best reconsider. We all get the same number of hours, and many are time poor. Instead of adjusting contexts of sincere love out of your schedule, adjust other components of your schedule to develop contexts of sincere love. Others will be the better for it, and so will be your heart.

Your church: what specific steps will you take to make your church more a place of love? Where people go out of their way to love? Where they forget about their own interests, and look to the interests of others? How will you start to do that, or extend that?

What will you change to better enfold people on the fringe? People in need? Sincere love says I can do something about that. Visit some people. Ask them around for a BBQ or a Coffee. Steak and caffeine – what a wonderful ministry of love! See, it doesn’t have to be hard.

Like the eternal seed that started it all in us, the love and mercy of Jesus, such acts last forever.

When it gets tough, when things fall apart, the fact that God’s imperishable seed is at work in us will be our only hope, our only comfort, and our one reason for bringing glory to Jesus.

When that sincere love is good, it will be very good fruit. Those actions and events will be tasty kingdom morsels. We’ll taste them and instead of saying ‘Is this for real?’ we’ll say to ourselves ‘This is great, let’s have some more.’

1 Comment

by davidgroenenboom on November 10, 2015 • Permalink

Posted in Bible Teaching, Christian Reformed Churches of Australia, Christian Teaching, Christianity, Reformed Sermons, Reformed Spirituality

Tagged Christian Teaching, Christians, Gateway Community Church, Holy Spirit, Hope Eternal, Love, Reformed Sermons, Transformation, witness

Posted by davidgroenenboom on November 10, 2015

https://sermonandstudy.com/2015/11/10/love-one-another-deeply/

From Hope to Holiness

1 Peter 1:13-16

Last night the New Zealand All Blacks defeated the South Africa Springboks 20-18. Tonight, The Wallabies will meet the South African Pumas, and the winner will play New Zealand in the final on October 31. Most Australians will be praying that the referees will be on our side in these coming games as much as they were when we played Scotland…

The stakes are always high in the world cup. And opposing teams are going to ridiculous lengths to gain an advantage.

There are accusations the English have been spying on the Australian teams with high tech photographic equipment. One report notes “a man with a very long lens was chased away from the Australian training venue”
There are reports of drones being used to film opposing team training sessions
The All Blacks have covered the fences of their Lensbury base in plastic – presumably all black plastic – and that they have stationed security guards around the perimeter

Why would a team go to such lengths? Because their eye is on the prize. And when your eye is on the prize, that one outcome will determine all your actions.

Set your hope fully

We see this in what Peter is saying:

“Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.” (1 Peter 1:13, NIV)

He is saying, “Keep your eye on the prize! Look at what will happen in the end times!” Which is both odd and liberating.

Odd, because most people tend not to think of end times discussion as something that will bring anyone comfort. Most discussions around eschatology revolve around things that seem to vary on a scale from weird to cryptic: the rapture, the beast, the tribulation, the antiChrist. While many of these these things are mentioned in the Bible, teaching about them is often far from clear. Are they present things? Are they symbolic? Have they already happened? Should we be worried? Why can’t we understand it all? Seriously, a trawl through the end times section at your Christian bookshop will turn you off your burritos for good. Wasn’t it last week, or the week before, that some other Christian group claimed the world was going to end a few Wednesdays ago or something? Guys, if Jesus didn’t know how it was all going to play out, you can be sure it’s something we don’t need to know. He didn’t know. The people who claim to know don’t know. And you won’t know the timing either. So, yes, it may strike us as odd that Peter raises this as a reason for comfort.

It’s also liberating, because the comforting reality Peter writes about here is the proper focus of end time discussions:

“Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.” (1 Peter 1:13, NIV)

Not: set your mind on all the stuff you can’t understand. Not: set your mind on working out when it’s all going to happen. But: set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. Keep your eyes on the prize. Outcome determines action.

Remember: Peter is writing to people who are being persecuted. They are undergoing ridicule and rejection for following Jesus. And he’s saying: this may be happening now, but don’t give up! Set your minds on what will happen then! Keep your eye on the prize! Now, for a little while, you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. Now, it’s tough. Now, you’re under pressure. But then, when Jesus returns, it’s all going to be grace and celebration! Your saviour will welcome you with open arms!

You don’t have to fear punishment – that’s gone in the cross! You don’t have to think about God’s anger for sin – that’s fully and freely forgiven in Jesus! You don’t have to be hassled by your guilt and failing – there’s no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. You don’t even have to worry about death, because all that’s waiting for you is life, more life and better life than you’ve ever dreamed. Keep your eye on the prize. That outcome will determine your action.

In fact – and this is the point of this passage – Peter is saying: because you know what’s coming to you, it’s going to change the way you live. That’s clear from the first part of v.13:

“Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.” (1 Peter 1:13, NIV84)

Interestingly, the old KJV used to read, “Wherefore, gird up the loins of your mind…” Think: parable of the lost son. The father sees the son coming in the distance, tucks his outer cloak into his belt, and runs to meet him.That’s the point: we need to be ready to move. Ready for action. Be alert. Be sober. And let’s get going.

So, the flow of thought is this: You Christians are under pressure and doing it tough. You don’t want to live in denial, but don’t let circumstances dominate you. Think about the goal. Keep your eyes on the prize. A beautiful day of grace is coming your way. Let this outcome determine all your actions. So sleeves up, head down, and let’s get busy…

Be Holy

Which brings us to our second point:

“…But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”” (1 Peter 1:14–16, NIV)

When you have your eye on the prize, the outcome determines your action.

In this respect, we need to know what it means to be holy. Many think being holy means doing holy things: read your bible, say your prayers, go to church, take up a collection. As the old hymn says,

Take time to holy, speak oft with thy Lord / Abide in him always, and feed on his word…

No doubt: the Christian disciplines of reading, prayer and public worship are part of ‘being holy’. The problem is there is confusion the rest of it. So, allow me to deliver some clarity: to be holy is to be like God. How are we to be like God? By reflecting his character.

“Be holy because I am holy – just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do”

Not just reading your Bible, or your prayer time, but in all you do. The scene was set in vv.3-5

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” (1 Peter 1:3–5, NIV)

to be holy is to be like God … reflecting his character

Long before Peter wrote, the Lord had revealed his character to his people, calling them to live such a distinct life as a nation as they entered the land of promise (see Leviticus 19:1-2). For Peter’s New Testament people, as for ancient Israel, the rationale for a holy life was the same: the Lord in his grace had provided a glorious deliverance. Petes point is that this new birth and living hope “necessarily implies a decisively altered way of life” [Karen Jobes, 1 Peter]

A holy life is not so much a religious life as a changed life, a different life, a distinctive life. A life set apart from others by how your character reflects God’s character, Jesus’ character. It certainly involves prayer, Bible reading, and worship meetings. It certainly involves moral behaviour: honesty, integrity, keeping marriage as the place for sexual fulfilment, keeping your language beautiful, instead of polluting it with profanity – all that is included.

A holy life is not so much a religious life as a changed life, a different life, a distinctive life…

But holiness goes deeper than external behaviour. It penetrates to the heart: to the deeper values of life, how we strive to live; the kind of world we are working for. Holiness is about love, mercy, humility and justice. Isn’t that what the Lord requires of us (see Micah 6:8, Matthew 5-7)?

When the Lord spoke to the people in Isaiah’s day, they made the mistake of thinking all he wanted was religious behaviour like fasting and worship. The Lord’s response was sobering, especially when you change the word ‘fast’ to ‘worship’…

“…You cannot [worship] as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. Is this the kind of [worship] I have chosen, only a day for people to humble themselves? Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying in sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call [worship], a day acceptable to the Lord? “Is not this the kind of [worshipping] I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.” (Isaiah 58:4–8, NIV)

It is interesting some months ago I preached a series called ‘A Time for Justice’. In that series we were reminded how God calls us to a holiness which is beyond mere morality and religious actions. A holiness of love, mercy and justice. A few people found that confronting. One or two said they couldn’t relate to it. Friends, being holy, living a distinctly different life, is to reflect the character of our holy God. And if we struggle to relate to love, mercy and justice we’re going to struggle to relate to God himself.

Here, Peter is saying: You do relate to God. More: your life is now defined by his Son’s life. And because your life is now defined by his Son’s life, you’re looking forward to the fullness of his grace transforming you and your world completely. So, because you are headed for an eternity of love, mercy and justice why not start living it now?! Stand up and stand out! Roll up your sleeves! Heads down! Let this holiness be seen in everything you do, everything you seek, everything you are and every will be.

It’s true: Holy lives, Christian lives, stand out.

That’s challenge for us, isn’t it? Christians are more and more in the spotlight, facing more and more opposition, having to manage rejection. And the temptation is for us to pull back or go soft, right? But Peter is saying “be holy, be distinctly Christian, live out God’s character, be noticed.”

Here’s the question: Is this true of you? Your workmates, your neighbours, your acquaintances – Do they see your different life and behaviour, and know that you’re a follower of Jesus? If those around you cannot see that, what needs to change?

Can people see the holiness of God’s character in our church

Can people see the holiness of God’s character in our church? Are we worshipping by loosening the chains of oppression? Do we even know where oppression exists in our community? Do we want to know? What needs to change so that we can know that?

See, it’s not just about people seeing your faith or convictions. As good as that is, it’s actually about people seeing your God. As Peter says in the next chapter, that even though God’s people are misunderstood and maligned. they should let their holiness stand up and stand out “…so people will see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us” (1 Peter 2:12 – NIV)

That’s why we should not conform to the evil desires we had when we lived in ignorance. That is, the ‘before Jesus’ life. Peter’s readers remembered that time. Back then they were affirmed by all around. They had less trouble in their life. They weren’t maligned for their views. Life was easier. But they were ignorant of God. They weren’t his people. They lived without hope. They lived without mercy. They were headed to a Christless eternity.

But now, God has called them out of darkness, into his marvellous light. They stood up and they stand out. They stand out like a city on a hill. But they feel the pressure. Life is hard. They have a daily diet of ridicule, rejection, and misunderstanding.

Why do this? Because their eyes on the prize. Their vision is directed toward the goal. And holiness overflows as Christ pours his grace into them. Christ points them to a new day when the fullness of grace will be theirs as they live in a forever of love, mercy and justice.

So, let me ask: What is God saying to you in all this? Your life: is it holy? Are we living this holiness together?

In the power of Christ and his inheritance, looking forward to the abundance of grace to be poured into us, are we revealing God’s character in our communal life? What needs to go? What needs to be seen more? Is there behaviour which is tangling us up? Listen: God is speaking: You have to get rid of that. It’s blocking my character.

You may wonder whether you can do it, or why. The answer is: in Christ you have a glorious inheritance! You already know how its all going to end: Christ will pour his grace into your life. You are going to live his love, mercy and justice for all eternity. Even today he’s given His spirit to bring this life out of you now, to comfort you now, to encourage you now. Christ is with you, always. He’s your strength, your endurance, your ability to go on. To stand up. To stand out.

So today our eyes are on the prize, and that glorious inheritance will determine our every action. And we shall be holy, and God is holy.

That great outcome determines our individual and communal action

And our greatest joy is to have God’s holiness, his character, overflowing from our own.

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by davidgroenenboom on October 27, 2015 • Permalink

Posted in Christian Reformed Churches of Australia, Reformed Sermons, Reformed Spirituality

Tagged Change, end times, eschatology, Gateway Community Church, holiness, Hope, Justice, Persecution, rapture, Transformation, witness

Posted by davidgroenenboom on October 27, 2015

https://sermonandstudy.com/2015/10/27/from-hope-to-holiness/

When God Keeps us Guessing – Group Study Questions

Introduction

Peter wrote his letter in a time of great challenge and uncertainty. People were suffering for following Jesus. It was hard. Some had been exiled to strange lands, leaving family members and livelihood behind. Others had lost their lives. Our finely honed sense of justice would have us demanding answers. Peter affirms the uncertainty, and pushes in a different direction: like the prophets of old, we need to be patient. Sometimes, maybe often, our questions remain unanswered…

Read: 1 Peter 1:10-12

Discuss

Share with the group about something you’ve always wanted to understand, but at this stage you’ve been prevented from doing so. How does that lack of understanding make you feel?
The Holy Spirit revealed to the prophets that some of the things they wrote about would only be understood in future generations (after the Messiah had come).
- How might knowing this have helped Peter’s readers?
- How does it help us?
How does this passage impact on our understanding of how the Scriptures were written – our view of inspiration?
- How does it confirm or challenge your views?
What implications to these words have for our unanswered questions?
- How might you use this passage and others to comfort someone struggling with unanswered questions or tough life realities?
Share with the group how you have seen a humble faith and a trust in God’s sovereign care expressed in the life of another
What would your church or small group need to do to be a better context for people to express the questions they may have?

Sermon audio can be downloaded from iTunes as Gateway Community Church podcast

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by davidgroenenboom on October 20, 2015 • Permalink

Posted in Bible Study, Christian Reformed Churches of Australia, Christian Teaching, Gateway Community Church, Home Group, Reformed Spirituality, Small Group

Tagged Discussion questions, Pain, Persecution, trouble, Why?

Posted by davidgroenenboom on October 20, 2015

https://sermonandstudy.com/2015/10/20/when-god-keeps-us-guessing-group-study-questions/

When God Keeps Us Guessing

The promise of harvest

Read: 1 Peter 1:10-12

There are plenty of things that get us feeling impatient. It only takes one (very stupid!) driver to cut you off in traffic, or someone who does not know how to merge, to remind us how quickly awe loose patience. We are so used to having things quickly. We don’t know about something, we Google it. It gets dark, we flick a switch, and there’s light. The evening gets cool, we turn on instant heat. We are becoming unaccustomed to wait for anything, and our capacity to become impatient seems to increase in a daily basis.

Of prophets and angels

Peter gives us an angle on impatience that might surprise us.

“Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow.” (1 Peter 1:10–11, NIV)

At a very basic level, this passage reminds us that many of the things we get impatient about fall into the well known category of “first world problems”. More importantly, this is telling us that prophets like Isaiah and Zechariah, when they spoke of the suffering of the Messiah, did not actually understand everything they were writing.

Think of what Isaiah wrote:

Is 53:1-6

Or Zechariah’s words

““And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.” (Zechariah 12:10, NIV)

Why were these words a mystery to them? Well, they thought the Messiah would be a mighty warrior who would come and restore the fortunes of Jerusalem. The idea of the Messiah suffering did not make sense. Sure, they knew they were writing about God’s redemptive plan. They knew it involved his grand design to restore his people, to bring grace and forgiveness for sin. But there were too many gaps, and not enough dots to make the connections.

…they never received an answer

This is where impatience is relevant: they asked what it all meant, they searched the Scriptures they had, they engaged in rigorous study. But they never received an answer.

Surprising, isn’t it? Even those who wrote the Scriptures under the inspiration of the Spirit did not fully understand the depth of their own words! They were told a day would come when it would all make sense, but their day was not that day. They just had to wait.

Even more surprising is what we read in verse 12:

“…Even angels long to look into these things.” (1 Peter 1:12, NIV)

Even angels!

You’ve probably had it in the heat of summer, you’ve been outside working in the sunshine, and you go inside – for while everything seems dark. This is the image Peter uses about the angels – it’s like they are in the full light of God’s presence, and they are peering into the dark room of human existence. They can see things moving around, but they can’t quite work out what’s happening. It may be because they are not part of earthly existence. It may be because they are not human. Either way, they longed to understand, but could not.

And then there’s us

Why do you think Peter wrote these verses? Why is he telling us this? Did he just want clear something up about OT prophecy? Fill us in on the doctrine of inspiration?

There’s more to it. Peter’s readers had their backs against a wall. Persecution was breaking out. Christians were losing their livelihoods, and their lives. Some of these people were refugees. Driven out of their homes, away from their families, left it all behind. Surely they must have asked what was going on. Why this suffering? Why this pain? Lots of questions, and to this point, God had kept them guessing.

Here’s the thing: Peter wants them to know that God has not forgotten them. Things are not out of control, even when they are hard to understand, even when there’s pain, confusion, and you want it all to stop. He wants them to see that even the people they look up to, the prophets – the very people who wrote their scriptures – even they had unanswered questions. More: the questions the OT prophets asked, how the Messiah could suffer, how he would be glorified, what it all meant – these very Christians, Peter’s people, they could understand it. They could see it. They did get it.

They could see Jesus was the greatest gift of grace, because they had received him. They could see how he suffered on the Cross as a sacrifice for sin, how he was bruised for their iniquities. Some of them may even have witnessed Jesus die in Jerusalem. They could see the glory of the risen Christ, the wonder of his return to the Father, the wonder of his rule over all things. They knew he was now seated in the most powerful place in the universe. So they actually understood things the prophets and angels could not understand. In that sense Peter’s readers were the fulfilment of things written and revealed centuries before.

“It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven…” (1 Peter 1:12, NIV)

Now, think about that from where you sit today. We are followers of Jesus, believers – have you ever considered that you understand a depth of the Gospel which even the first readers of this letter did not understand? The prophets wrote about the Messiah and how he suffered.They wrote how he would be vindicated and glorified. But they didn’t get it.

Peter’s first readers: they were suffering. They could look at the Messiah, and see how he suffered and was vindicated in the resurrection. They got it. And they must have also looked at their own suffering, and been encouraged because they would one day be vindicated. Through Jesus, they were a new people. Through Jesus, they would be raised. Through Jesus, they would become victorious in his good time through his grace and power. And these are the very connections Peter will make for them as the letter proceeds.

Mystery remains, but victory is guaranteed

Now, we can take this message to heart, can’t we? There is much that we don’t understand. A whole lot we have to be patient about. Promises of things to come which seem like a dream.

In the same way the prophets needed to be patient, in the same way Peter’s hearers needed to be patient, so also we are called to be patient. To endure what Eugene Peterson calls ‘the long obedience in the same direction.’

To have faith. To trust. And not give up.

The prophets did not understand, but they trusted God’s plan of redemption. Peter’s hearers understood more, but they still had to trust God’s plan of redemption while their friends were thrown to the lions and others were used as candle for Nero’s parties.

And you, do you need to trust? Don’t you ever find yourself asking, does God know what it’s like to suffer? Does God know the anguish of having to trust in a time of grief?

Yes he does. More than we know. Don’t you think the father grieved when he saw his Son suffer the pangs of hell instead of you? Wasn’t it tough for Jesus in the Garden? When he had to entrust himself to the Father? In grave fear for the suffering of the Cross, sweating blood. He still prayed, “help me look beyond my circumstances and trust you, Father. Not my will, but your will be done.”

Jesus knows. He suffered. He was glorified. And because he is a mighty and powerful saviour he can help you in your time of trial.

“For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” (Hebrews 2:17–18, NIV)

This is important. Sometimes things stay unclear. Despite all your prayer, all your pleas, the promises you make. You get impatient. You get angry. Think of these prophets. Things stayed unclear for them, but God was just as faithful. God’s faithfulness and his ability to save you, to give what you need, do not depend on you understanding everything or having everything explained to you.

Think of those prophets: You get the picture more than they ever did. Think of these readers: they got it, they suffered, and they still trusted God. Think of Jesus in the garden, he suffered, he trusted the father, and he crushed the head of Satan.

His Spirit – the same Spirit who moved the prophets to write, the same spirit who opened the heart of Peter’s readers to believe, the Spirit of Jesus himself – this Spirit lives in you. And he will assure you that in Christ, God will bring you to victory!

“What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?

As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:31–39, NIV)

Three summers ago we planted two grape vines on our garden. My son in law, Daniel, grew up in the Barossa, so he knows a bit about growing vines. He said, you won’t get any grapes the first summer. And he was right. He said, the second summer, you’ll get some grape trusses forming. Was pretty excited that we would get some grape clusters! Daniel said: “Cut them all off.” I listened in disbelief. Cut them off? Yep. Cut them all off. You want to concentrate on building a strong vine, build the root system. Let the goodness go back into the plant for that second summer.

To the casual observer, it would have looked weird, seeing me cutting off all the trusses of flowers. But now, the third summer is just around the corner. I get out and look at the vines – which are thriving – and we have oodles of clusters forming. The harvest is going to be wonderful.

You know this, right? Sometimes, it’s not just hard to see what’s going on, we actually can’t see, and we actually don’t understand. But what we do see in the Gospel we have received is more than Isaiah saw. Even more than angels can see or understand.

Do you realise how blessed you are to know Jesus and what he has done? Do you realise how much treasure the Lord has already shown you?

Just look at Jesus, the ugliness of the cross, and how it opened the floodgates of grace.

Just look at the resurrection, his rising, and see glorious new creation in all its wonder.

Look at his rule, at how he has poured his Spirit into your life, in the church, and trust that our great God has us in his glorious hand.

Yes, while we’re this side of heaven, mystery may remain. But in Christ, the victory is certain.

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by davidgroenenboom on October 20, 2015 • Permalink

Posted in Christian Reformed Churches of Australia, Gateway Community Church, Reformed Sermons, Reformed Spirituality

Tagged Hope, IMpatience, Patience, Questions, Why?

Posted by davidgroenenboom on October 20, 2015

https://sermonandstudy.com/2015/10/20/when-god-keeps-us-guessing/

Transforming Suffering [Hope Eternal #3]

Read: 1 Peter 1:6-9

There comes a time in the life of every child when they realise the power of questions.

Why is milk cold?

Why is grass green?

Why is their air?

Why can’t I see it?

Why can’t I touch the sky?

I found one article recently which claimed a typical 4yr old could ask 400 questions a day, while a typical mother can field over 200 questions from her children. I found that hard to believe, but it was in Brisbane’s Courier Mail, so maybe we can take it with a grain of salt.

Even so, we never lose the capacity to ask why. It’s just that the questions become more serious and probing.

Why are relationships so difficult?

Why am I suffering with this cancer?

Why can’t I be happy?

Why do my friends reject me for being a Christian?

We can be sure Peter’s readers wondered why they were suffering. But the thing that catches our attention is that as they asked that question, they were also rejoicing:

“In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.” (1 Peter 1:6, NIV)

How did they hold these two things together? How can you rejoice while you suffer?

Suffering Purifies Faith

Peter says there are three reasons. First: they can rejoice because suffering purifies their faith

“These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed. …” (1 Peter 1:7–8, NIV)

In biblical times, gold was purified in a furnace. Heated to great temperatures so impurities would be burned away. It was a harsh process, but it left a beautiful result. If they wanted pure gold, this is what had to be done.

If you want faith that is pure, suffering may well be part of it. It’s a harsh process, but God assures us it will leave a beautiful result. Peter wants these Christians to see their troubles in this light.

Do you seek a strong faith? A beautiful faith? A pure faith? In some ways it will come through the crucible of pain. It’s an extreme process, but it delivers a beautiful result.

Church history bears this out. Around the time this letter was written one particular Roman Emperor, Nero, hated Christians. He persecuted them. Punished them. Made a public spectacle of them. There are accounts of Nero illuminating the Vatican area with Christian human torches. He used Christians for blood sport with wild beasts. He was trying to kill the church. And you know what they say, right? If you don’t kill it, you make it stronger. Well, Nero did not kill the church. He just made it stronger. The faith of these Christians was purified in the furnace of trial and persecution.

Something else: look at the words

“…for a little while you may have had to suffer …” (1 Peter 1:6, NIV)

The original indicates their suffering was necessary because it happened under the sovereign hand of God. This tells us the universe is not operating at random. We do not believe in fate, or luck, or karma. We believe in a moral universe and a loving God who holds us and our world in his hands. We trust a God who restrains evil so it cannot swallow us and our world completely. And in his sovereign rule he also allows trouble and trial so we become a strong and healthy church with a vibrant and muscular faith.

This is what we understand by the providence of God. It’s not that things will always be good, that we’ll get what we want, or that the green grass will grow all around. Rather, for his own glory, God will give us what we need to accomplish his will in our here and now.

27 Q. A. What do you understand by the providence of God? 

The almighty and ever present power of God

by which God upholds, as with his hand, heaven

and earth

and all creatures, and so rules them that

leaf and blade, rain and drought, fruitful and lean years, food and drink, health and sickness, prosperity and poverty—

all things, in fact, come to us

not by chance but

by his fatherly hand.

Think of Job: his suffering came from the evil one, but only in accord with the limits God imposed.

Let me be the first to admit: there is deep mystery here. So rather than try and figure out this relationship between a sovereign God and a world of pain, we should recognise the limits of our understanding, note that our great God is sovereign, that Christ has all power, and that we are ultimately, eternally, and actually safe in his hands.

So, yes, we rejoice that through suffering and trial God strengthens our faith.

Transformation by Faith

Secondly, we can rejoice because faith transforms trials in two ways. One: our faith in Christ gets us seeing trials differently.

Suffering, of course, is painful. But we look beyond it to God’s great victory. We see this in Jesus, don’t we? In the garden he experienced such pain that his sweat was like drops of blood. He was deeply grieved that his disciples could not discern the burden he was carrying. But he still prayed ‘Not my will, but yours be done’.

The next day he was whipped to within an inch of his life. A crown of thorns was jammed on his head. His hands and feet were nailed through to the beams of a cross. He was hung there to die an agonising death.

Was he happy? The question itself is offensive. And yet we read

“let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2, NIV)

The joy set before him was his coming victory over death. So he scorned the humiliation of the cross. His faith in his Father gave him a different perspective on suffering.

Joy is not dependent on circumstances, is it? That’s why these Christians can respond to suffering in such a surprising manner. Their joy is not based in their circumstances. Their faith, or should I say, the object of their faith – Christ’s victory over all – allowed them to rejoice despite their suffering.

“Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy,” (1 Peter 1:8, NIV)

Secondly, faith transforms trials because through them Jesus changes us. Suffering teaches lessons about the nearness of the Saviour which cannot be learnt in any other context. Think of Psalm 23: How will we know his powerful right hand will lead us and hold us and guide us, if he never allows us to walk through the valley? How will we know that Jesus actually prays that our faith will not fail, unless we feel the sifting of the evil one?

These things are hard for us to hear, but they are true. And because they are true, while they are hard, they do us good. Faith changes how I see my trials. And faith allows me to learn more about Jesus’ loving care.

Saved through Faith

Finally, these Christians can rejoice in times of trial because they know how the story of Jesus ends. Through all our troubles, we know Jesus Christ will vindicate his people

“These [trials] have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed.” (1 Peter 1:7, NIV)

“Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (1 Peter 1:8–9, NIV)

We know this because our eternal inheritance is guarded by God. In suffering our mind goes to heaven. Some will scoff at this as ‘pie in the sky’. Karl Marx said getting the poor and broken to think about heaven turned faith into an opiate. Something that stopped people from addressing injustice on earth. Peter would never say that. In fact he says something quite different.

Faith in heaven should make us good and and godly citizens.

They are to have attitudes that display Christ’s rule in their lives (2:1)
They are to live good lives among the pagans (2:12)
They are even to submit to human authority – even to people like Nero. By doing good they would silence foolish and abusive talk (2:13)
Slaves has to serve their masters as though they were Jesus
Marriage and family would become a context of Gospel transformation, instead of a context of domination, inequity, and abuse.

Christians must not use thoughts of eternity to neglect their world. Rather, being saved for eternity they seek to live eternity’s values in their here and now. Their hope is fixed in one enduring reality:

“…you are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (1 Peter 1:8–9, NIV)

This hope is what gave the early church such strength! Writing after both Nero and Caligula, the apostle John writes of the great victory which will be won by the King of Kings (see Rev 7:9-17)

These people were victorious because they were washed in the blood of the lamb. This is critical: if you’re suffering, the only way you will endure is to claim the ultimate victory of Christ on the Cross. That’s when every force was defeated. That’s when the evil head of Satan was crushed. That’s where life was won!

And ultimately, the really big deal is not about us, it’s that the glorious Lord, Jesus our Saviour, is glorified for the rescue he has won! Honoured for the world he has redeemed. Lifted up for the injustice he has banished from the face of the earth. Worshipped because he has borne our iniquities, carried out sorrows, and drawn us through his spirit into everlasting life!

Friends, faith is purified in the context of trial. Faith in Jesus changes how we see trial, and becomes a context for us learn new things about his loving grace and care. And faith points us to the great day when Christ shall be all in all, and every tear will be wiped from our eyes, every pain will end, and every injustice made right.

“Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!”” (Revelation 7:12, NIV)

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by davidgroenenboom on October 20, 2015 • Permalink

Posted in Christian Reformed Churches of Australia, Christian Teaching, Gateway Community Church, Reformed Sermons, Reformed Spirituality

Tagged Hope, Pain, Reformed Sermons, Suffering, Victory

Posted by davidgroenenboom on October 20, 2015

https://sermonandstudy.com/2015/10/20/transforming-suffering-hope-eternal-3/

Our Glorious Inheritance [Series: Hope Eternal]

Our Glorious Inheritance

Read: 1 Peter 1:3-5

Do you ever wonder why your faith doesn’t quite connect with life? Many Christians do. They are doing the right things. Believing the right things. Praying and reading the word. But they feel their faith does not connect with their life. We could spend a lot of time analysing the possible reasons.Perhaps more importantly, the words Peter writes are the best solution. Positively, the best way for faith in Christ to connect with and impact life.

Remember, he’s writing to exiles: displaced people. People who don’t fit in. Life was hard. They had lost a great deal. The culture they lived in considered them fools. Sometimes they must have looked at their lives and circumstances and asked whether in following Jesus they had made the best choice…

New Birth

Peter directs their minds to three surprising realities: realities that made an incredible difference to how they would live. The first surprising reality is found in v.3:

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth …” (1 Peter 1:3, NIV)

New birth is well accepted language in Christian circles, but what does it mean? At the very least, it means our natural birth is not enough to bring us into real life. Life is wonderful. Sure. But if we’re honest it falls short of expectations. Life holds great capacity for disappointment and pain. Sickness. Relationship breakdown. We fail ourselves and others. Warfare. Injustice. Violence and abuse.

The Bible says this has its roots in our separation from God. In human sin. At best we are indifferent to God. At worst, we are his enemies. Either way, without Jesus, people are on the road to hell.

Because of His mercy and grace, God gives new life to people

Peter does not disagree with that. But he wants us to see that because of Jesus sin does not have the last word. He wants to open our eyes to something glorious: Because of His mercy and grace, God gives new life to people. New life! Life that is not at the mercy of fallenness, sin and rebellion.

This is what Jesus refers to when he’s speaking with Nicodemus (see John 3:1-5). Later Jesus says,

“Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” 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.” (John 3:14–17, NIV)

This ‘lifting up’ refers to Jesus’ death on the Cross. God is rich in mercy: he lifted up his Son on the Cross so new birth would come to everyone who believes! Nicodemus was a religious leader, a rich man. Peter’s people were refugees. But all of them were born rebels and sinners. Yet in his great mercy God had given new life.

This is one of the most wonderful truths about Christianity. In his great mercy God has given us new life. A free gift to fallen people, even though the cost to Jesus was unfathomable. In his great mercy, God gives new life. Irrespective of your past. Irrespective of your failings, your sins, your inner rebellion. Irrespective of how much you have wronged others, or how they have broken and wronged you. In Jesus God gives new life to all who look to him in faith.

You know why it’s so good? Why Peter overflows with praise? Because this new birth transcends our circumstances.

new birth transcends our circumstances

How broken do you feel today? Is there heaviness within? Life’s circumstances bearing down on you?

God wants you to receive his new birth. To look to him in faith. To trust the Jesus whose death opens up a new reality.

Living Hope

The second surprising reality is seen in the second half of verse 3:

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…” (1 Peter 1:3, NIV)

For us, using the word ‘hope’ introduces a measure of uncertainty.

Are you going to get that new job? Hope so…

Will you have enough money for the holiday? I hope to!

I hope this new Government can get the economy back on track…

No certainty with any of that!

Christian hope is very different. Christian hope is not about uncertainty. Christian hope is about waiting, waiting for something you know is coming.

In a two weeks’ time, we’ll see the AFL Grand Final,* perhaps between the West Coast Eagles and Fremantle Dockers. None of us will be there. Many of us will watch it on the television. One of those teams will win. There’ll be all sorts of celebration when the final siren goes. And while the final is held over in Melbourne, 3435km away, we know that trophy is coming to Perth. We know there’s be a champion’s parade in the city or in Fremantle. We know the flag belongs in WA. It’s just that we’ll have to wait to see that reality.

That’s Christian hope. You know it’s coming. It’s an absolute certainty. You just have to wait for it. And you know it’s coming because a great victory has been won. Christian hope is based on a greater victory! The victory Jesus has won over death on the Cross. This victory is grounded Jesus’ defeat of the evil one! This victory is grounded in Jesus’ rising from the dead!

Think of what Paul writes to the Christians in Rome:

“…just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” (Romans 6:4, NIV)

Or to the Colossian Christians:

“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things…” (Colossians 3:1–3, NIV)

Can you see what it’s saying? Through Jesus’ resurrection we live a new life, now! Through Jesus’ resurrection our minds are set on things above, now! Our thoughts are directed to God’s things, now. Set on the things of his Kingdom, now.

God the Father has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

Just let that sink in. Not only is Jesus’ resurrection a real resurrection. Jesus’ resurrection is already at work in you.

No guilt in life, no fear in death. This is the power of Christ in me!

A new life has been born in us! Why? Because new life was born to the world through the resurrection of Jesus!

Just how Jesus’s resurrection makes a difference we will start to see when we look at verse 6 and following (next week). All we need to understand now is that the resurrection of Jesus is way more than a matter of Christian teaching! It is that, but it is way more! It is why you are alive in Jesus! It is why you can live differently, why you can cope with being rejected by your culture and the people around you. This living hope is the most astounding power of good in the world!

You’re not just a man trying to make ends meet, or a woman trying to make something of your life … you are living in hope through Christ’s resurrection!

Imperishable inheritance

This brings us to the third surprising reality. We find it in verses 4-5

“[In his great mercy he has given us new birth] … into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” (1 Peter 1:4–5, NIV)

We think of inheritance as a financial gift which comes when someone dies. A good inheritance can set a person up, or relieve financial pressure. The inheritance Peter speaks of is so much better. It’s not money: it’s life itself. More life, and better life than we could ever imagine (see John 10:10, MSG). An inheritance that does not perish, spoil or fade.

This is the promise of God himself that we and our world will one day be fully liberated from sin, from the fall, from grief, from tears, from all the frustration of this fallen world. This inheritance is kept in heaven, and it’s fullness is out of sight. But one day, as N.T. Wright so aptly reminds us, heaven’s curtain would be drawn back, and the imperishable inheritance – which at present is kept safe in heaven – will be merged with our earthly reality. And all of life itself will be transformed fully. Christ’s new life will soak through our world and overflow with God’s presence, love and mercy!

Why does Peter mention this inheritance here? Because in a time when people rarely left their village, these people were now exiles in a foreign land. They had left behind livelihoods, homes, quite possibly members of their family. They had lost much. But in Jesus they had gained everything. The God who had given new birth, who had given his Son for them, would ensure than nothing would take their glorious inheritance.

The really interesting thing is that their eternal inheritance did not prevent them from engaging with their world. It didn’t get them just thinking about eternity, and forgetting about the world around them. On the contrary, it changed how they viewed the world. And this Kingdom life started to overflow and influence every aspect of their lives and existence. God’s eternal future started bubbling over into their everyday now.

There’s the connection between faith and life friends! There’s the power of the risen Christ in his people! They had been brought into the glorious reality of the Kingdom of God! This living hope empowered them to changed lives. Their inheritance was secure! This is the thing: as a believer your life, your existence is no longer shaped by this world’s society and culture.

Did you know that?

Do you understand?

You do not belong in the culture in which you reside. Remember: you’re exiles! Jesus is risen! And his resurrection life is now at work in you! You are raised with Christ! You live a new life! And so you do not belong to this world’s society and culture. You belong to the society and culture of the Kingdom. This new birth, this living hope, this inheritance is yours! It will never perish, spoil, or fade! By the power of Christ’s salvation the Father guards it in heaven for you! God calls you to live this life! To express it. Speak it.

Kingdom thoughts.

Kingdom values.

Kingdom behaviour.

Kingdom love.

Kingdom compassion.

This is where you belong! This is your country! Your true country. Your first and only allegiance. Isn’t that what Paul declares so powerfully?

“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” (Philippians 3:20–21, NIV)

An imperishable inheritance! Grounded in the transformational death, resurrection and rule of Jesus Christ, kept in heaven for you!

* This illustration shows my humanity. As it turned out, only one WA AFL side made it to the Grand Final, and then they lost – and woefully so. But you get the point: Christian hope is based on the rock solid certainty of Jesus’ victory. The battle is already won in principle, we’re just waiting for the consummation when Jesus returns for all to see as Victorious and Glorious Lord.

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by davidgroenenboom on October 19, 2015 • Permalink

Posted in Christian Reformed Churches of Australia, Gateway Community Church, Reformed Sermons, Reformed Spirituality

Tagged assurance, eternity, Hope, spiritual inheritance

Posted by davidgroenenboom on October 19, 2015

https://sermonandstudy.com/2015/10/19/our-glorious-inheritance-series-hope-eternal/

Our True Identity [Series: Hope Eternal]

Read: 1 Peter 1:1-2

If you’ve ever watched Disney movie, you’ll know the story revolves around three basic questions:

Who am I?
What am I?
Where do I belong?

Lion King. Toy Story. Frozen. Terminator. All the same. OK, I’ll admit these questions aren’t as easy to pick up in Frozen… Even so, the Disney scriptwriters know something very important about us: they know our biggest question is one of identity.

Exiles

As Peter writes to these churches he starts with their identity.

“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia,” (1 Peter 1:1, NIV)

They are exiles. Foreigners. Many scholars believe these Christians started in Jerusalem, but had been forced out in waves of persecution. They are, in fact, refugees. They have been driven from Jerusalem to Asia Minor, or what we know as modern day Turkey.

You probably know what exiles are. Some of you have done this yourselves: packed up belongings and headed to the other side of the known world in an effort to seek a better life. People from South Africa, India, Nertherlands, the Eastern States of Australia. Think about what it’s like for exiles:

When you’re an exile in a strange land you have no citizenship
You have reduced rights (no medical benefits, unable to vote, no social security)
You will have different values. A different language. Different dress style.

People like this stand out. You’ve seen the women in the burka at the shops? What do you think about that? Rightly or wrongly we make the assumption that they are foreigners. You’ve been on a plane with the Middle Eastern men, did that feel a little uncertain? I am confident that Middle Eastern people are as honourable and trustworthy as any Australian, but because of recent history we will have a few doubts. More a reflection on us than them, I think.

This is what Peter is saying about Christians. For the church, for Jesus’ people: We don’t fit in. This world is not your first home.

Now, we need to understand something before we go on: many will hear those words ‘this world is not my home’ and immediately think Peter’s contrast is between earth and heaven. Not correct. Sure, there is an eternal inheritance which Peter will talk about later in his letter, and we’ll get to that eventually. But the contrast here is not between heaven and earth, but between Christians ruled by Jesus, and the dominant culture around them. It is between the church as God’s new community, and the world as community ignorant of God and often opposed to him. That’s why Peter says ‘Don’t be surprised if people think you’re a bit weird. Don’t be surprised if people reject you.’ Christians, you are exiles. Church, you are foreigners. Displaced people.

We know this tension, don’t we?

For almost 2000 years the church was seen as part of the solution to our world’s woes. Now we are seen, by some at least, as part of the problem. We are exiles.

This is actually a challenge for us. Why? Because we listen to our culture and we are desperate to fit in. To be affirmed. To be noticed. We need to ask what this desire is doing to our faith and our following of Jesus. Are we seeking an identity that ultimately will dilute our relationship with Jesus? Is the identity we seek harmonious with the Kingdom of God, or it undermine who we are as the people of God? Will it strengthen God’s church, or will it weaken it?

Or think of what we have witnessed today as Clint and Tash have brought little Isla to receive the mark of the covenant in Christian baptism. Could there be a more important question for them today than to know their true identity in Christ?

Elect

Who am I? Who are we? Exiles, yes, but Peter notes a more profound reality that shapes our identity:

“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father…” (1 Peter 1:1–2, NIV)

Who are we? As people who love Jesus we are God’s elect. What does Peter mean? At one level, Peter uses that word to show the unity these NT Christians have with the OT people of God. He says ‘remember how God’s people were exiled to Babylon? You’re like them. Remember how God’s people were scattered under the Greek Empire after Malachi? You’re like them. The point he’s making is this: It’s not that there is an Old Testament people of God, and then the church as a different people of God. It’s the one covenant people of God all the way through, even through to today. So Peter is saying this to comfort them, and us.

You are the people of the King. Even though you are exiles and foreigners, you carry his rule into your world. You are exiles, not because earth is contrasted with heaven, but because Christ’s Kingdom is in contrast to your culture, your world. The rule of Lord Jesus is opposed to, and will overcome, the rule of Caesar. Jesus is Ruler of all rulers, King of kings, Lord of lords.

But there’s another level of meaning here. Peter calls them elect, and chosen by the foreknowledge of God (see vv.12).

What does this mean? Well, it does not mean that God kind of looked into the future and somehow saw who would honour him, and then chooses them. That can’t be true: that would make God dependent on human response, and what sort of God would that be? I suggest not a particularly powerful one.

So: What does it mean that we are elect and chosen by the foreknowledge of God? Listen carefully: Even before the creation of the world, God had chosen whom he was going to redeem. He knew their names and everything about them. And even before the creation of the world, God had chosen who was going to to redeem them. He knew His name. And everything about Him.

Even before the creation of the world, God had chosen whom he was going to redeem and who was going to to redeem them

Think about that. You are not here today as a person of faith merely by reason of your own decision. You are here as a believer because before the creation of the world this gracious God chose you, knew you, and by his sovereign initiative, chose you as his own. Think of little Isla. What does she know? What can she do? She knows very little, and while she can make noises, fill her nappy, and eat, she can do little else. But God says to her – little baby that she is – Isla, I love you. I am your God. I will be with you. I want you to love me, serve me, believe in me. God speaks his promise into her life before she either understand or respond. God’s election is like his promise: it is not dependent on anything in us or anything we do. Election is simply an astounding display of sovereign grace and love!

Paul writes the same thing to the Ephesian Church:

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.” (Ephesians 1:3–6, NIV)

Or think of what we read in Romans 8

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” (Romans 8:28–30, NIV)

In fact, God’s choice of his people is like his choice of His Son’s saving role:

“[The Lamb of God/Jesus] was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.” (1 Peter 1:20, NIV)

The thing to note about Peter’s words, and those of Paul, is that every time we read about election or foreknowledge, it is written to comfort God’s people. It is never mentioned as a matter of bare theology. It is always connected with the dependability, the faithfulness, the absolute trustworthiness of God’s plan of salvation.

We are in the hands of this loving God who has guaranteed, by the precious blood of his own son, that he will bring his saving purpose to completion in us! Even before the creation of the world, God had chosen whom he was going to redeem. He knew their names and everything about them. And he has chosen who was going to to redeem them. He knew His name. And everything about Him.

Let’s read on:

“who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood…” (1 Peter 1:2, NIV)

God has not only chosen you, he has drawn you to himself and made you holy through the work of His Spirit. His whole purpose is to change you, so you will obey, that your life will honour God and show the true nature of life in Jesus. We need to see this clearly: God’s purpose in choosing his people, and drawing them to himself through his Spirit, is so they will be holy and obedient. Frequently, people seem to miss this. They think they can just accept Jesus’ forgiveness and not worry about his call to change. They miss the point of God’s intention entirely.

Knowing Jesus is not just about information, Jesus lives in us for our transformation. You cannot honour Jesus and keep pursuing sinful behaviour. The Spirit will work in you so you will obey Christ, and live his new life.

This is why you are an exile. Why do you quite belong, why the church stands out as a different community. It’s different because God’s people are to live holy lives and behave differently. This is one of the core meanings of holiness. It’s not about being in a special building, or using religious sounding words, or wearing some distinctive clothing. To be holy is to be set apart, to be distinct, reserved for the purposes of God, set aside to live the new life he has given us in Jesus his son.

God has chosen you in his sovereign love, the Spirit is working His sanctifying, difference making, holyfying power in your life.

Let’s go back to the verse:

“who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood…” (1 Peter 1:2, NIV)

When Peter says we have been sprinkled with the blood of the Saviour, he associates the Cross of Christ with the Old Testament Temple sacrifices. The priest used to sprinkle the people with the blood of animal sacrifice. As he did, he was saying something about the terrible depth of their sin, and the cost of atoning for it. He was saying sin was so bad, so grievous, that blood had to be shed for it. Something had to die. Someone had to pay.

The Gospel says this is what Jesus has done! When he died on the Cross, he was the great sacrifice. His death cleansed you from sin, and took your guilt. His suffering absorbed the wrath you deserve. That’s what Paul says as he writes to his Pastor colleague, Titus

“…our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, … gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.” (Titus 2:13–14, NIV)

In the same way Peter comforted these people with his words about election, he is now comforting them with the power of Christ’s blood, poured out on the Cross. He knows he is writing to struggling, suffering Christians. The world may have rejected them, but the Sovereign Lord has elected them. The Father chose them before creation to be his own. The Spirit has opened their heart and drawn them to God. The Son has sprinkled them with his blood. Their situation may be precarious and uncertain, but their eternity is rock solid in the sovereign, all powerful, all gracious work of the Triune God!

This is who you are, Christian! This is what you are, Church! This is where you belong! Living for the glorious Kingdom of God!

Emboldened

Imagine how those words would have encouraged these Christians, Churches scattered throughout Asia Minor! They felt rejected by the world: no big deal! They feel out of place: OK. But God was with them, and he’s preparing a new heaven and a new earth more wonderful than they could ever imagine! Disenfranchised? Yep. But it’s not their vote or influence that mattered. God has chosen them. His Spirit is changing them. Jesus has cleansed them and set them free! Hallelujah!

You’ve seen the picture of the Coptic Christian martyrs. Twenty-one men beheaded on a beach in northern Africa. Sickening. Disturbing. Abhorrent violence. But sometimes I wonder whether, as they felt the hand of their captors on their shoulder, they also felt the loving and gracious and all powerful hand of the living God, comforting them? Whether they heard the voice of God, “They may reject you, but I have elected you! Do not fear! I am with you!”

And God is saying to us: remember who you are. Remember your true identity. Remember what Christ has done for you! This will bring you grace and peace in abundance (see the end of v.2)! He is saying: remember who I am! Remember what I have done for you! Remember Jesus is your good Shepherd, no one can snatch you out of the Father’s hand!

Church, the pressure may be on, but this is not a time to shrink back. This is not a time to be ducking for cover. This is a time to rise up! As salt and light, let the Kingdom shine like a city on a hill! Be strong and courageous! Because how you act and behave will reflect God’s great plan for his world.

Rise up church, as we have seen the church rise up this week, Christians all around the country – irrelevant, bigoted oddballs to some – but they open their home. Why? Because they know what it’s like to be rejected. They know what it’s like to have your heart in another place. They know what it’s like to be loved and saved by God, so when there are people who need loving and saving, you’ll find the church right there.

The times may be tough. Tougher, no doubt, for these Christians than for us today in Australia. But they knew their identity. They knew God had chosen them. They knew Jesus had saved them. They knew the Spirit was with them. And it emboldened them to stand as God’s new people, reflecting his new life to a broken and fallen world. May God in his grace enable us to see, and to be, his people in his world today.

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by davidgroenenboom on September 15, 2015 • Permalink

Posted in Christian Reformed Churches of Australia, Christian Teaching, Reformed Sermons, Reformed Spirituality, Sermon

Tagged Election, Foreknowledge, Gateway Community Church, Martyrs, Opposition, Persecution, Rejection

Posted by davidgroenenboom on September 15, 2015

https://sermonandstudy.com/2015/09/15/our-true-identity-series-hope-eternal/

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Reading: Psalm 131; 1 Kings 19:1-18; Mark 10:35-52

This is awesome, but I’m Thirsty…

Spiritual Fulfilment – Where Art Thou?

Like a Child Weaned

Pure Spiritual Milk

Crave it

Grow up in your salvation

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The Prescription

It’s your purpose

It’s God empowered

Challenge:

Set your hope fully

Be Holy

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Read: 1 Peter 1:10-12

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Of prophets and angels

And then there’s us

Mystery remains, but victory is guaranteed

Suffering Purifies Faith

Transformation by Faith

Saved through Faith

New Birth

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Read: 1 Peter 1:1-2

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