Gosnells Christian Reformed Church Podcast

You’ve probably seen it on the side of the big cardboard box that your latest toy or treasure came in – ‘Handle with Care’? Whatever’s in the box is breakable, fragile, valuable – you need to treat it with respect. How do you feel when someone doesn’t Handle it with Care? We don’t take that very well, do we? This Psalm says that the whole world is God’s; and everything in it. With that being the case, shouldn’t we Handle it with care? Shouldn’t we treat it the way God wants us to?

This is the last sermon in the ‘Order of Salvation’ series that we started a couple of months ago in Ro 8:28-30. Tonight we look at sanctification. It’s another step we play a part in, between God justifying us, and glorifying us. Paul says here that it’s like taking off a filthy set of workclothes after a hard day in the dirt and the dust and the grime; jumping in the shower and having our minds washed; and then putting on a new set of clothes, suited for the kingdom of heaven.

Love is big business, isn’t it? Every second song on the radio is about love or lust. Nearly every movie has a love interest, even if it has nothing to do with the plot. How many ads don’t use love or lust to try to sell you something? And maybe we shouldn’t be too surprised. Love is at the heart of our culture, because love is at the heart of everything. God has wired us for love. God so loved the world that he sent his one and only son. The greatest command is that we love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength; and the 2nd greatest command is that we love our neighbor as ourselves. And Jesus reinforces that by calling us to love each other as he has loved us.

This sermon is part of a series of sermons in which we look at various elements of the worship service. In this service we look at the joy of confessing our sins. This part of our worship service can easily become just a tradition. It should not be. The joy we experience in Christ is directly related to the depth of our humility before God. The more we understand the depth of our sin, the greater our joy in Christ will be.

The book of Acts is the story of the ascended Jesus taking the gospel from Jerusalem, into the surrounding country, and to the ends of the earth, by his Holy Spirit, through his church. This passage is especially significant for many of us. This was when Jesus took the gospel, for the very first time, into Europe. Lydia is the first European recorded to have ever accepted the gospel. And for 2000 years now, the gospel has ebbed and flowed in Europe to one degree or another; and gone out from there especially to Nth America and Australia. Now in our day, Jesus is especially taking it into the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Sth America.

Prayer’s an amazing thing, isn’t it? We simply close our eyes and address God in Jesus’ name, and we stand before God’s throne, praising him, asking him for the things we need and the needs of the world. Here, Jesus turns to our material needs. Jesus represents them here as daily bread. Things we’re all very familiar with, that we need every day – food, drink, money, transport, education, work, family, friends. Jesus, in his ministry years, was concerned about our daily material needs. And our Heavenly Father is just as concerned about all these things as well.

What do you think is the ultimate problem facing the human race today? Deuteronomy paints a picture of a perfect world where people love God and live in community with one another. Through Moses God restates the terms of the covenant with Israel in an effort realize that kind of perfect world. But with the reality of sin and covenant curses to contend with, the picture might look hopeless were it not for God’s amazing provision. We are not left to our own devices to keep the covenant. God says he “will circumcise our hearts.” (v.6) This is the solution to the problem we all face. With circumcised hearts we can love, obey and live for God! And that makes all the difference. Do we slip up, sin and break the covenant? Yes, but our hearts remain resilient and cling to God more and more as He reveals himself as the gracious covenant Partner.

What is your prayer life like? Why do you pray? Do you ever find yourself praying in a group hoping to impress the others? Or sometimes find yourself mistaking quantity for quality? I’ve notice with our kids, when they get to around 5 years old, they move from praying little set prayers we give them, to praying their own words. They get engrossed in praying for every possible thing they can think of, but then settle into a rut of saying the same words every prayer. At each stage we need to help them think about why they’re praying, and what they’re praying, and help them grow and develop in their prayer life. And sometimes it’s good for us to ask ourselves these questions too, so that we don’t stagnate in our prayer life; so we grow, so we develop.

What does it mean to covet? It mightn’t be a word that you actually use all that often. Maybe it helps to know that the word is generally translated ‘desire’ or ‘delight in’. To covet something is to desire it; to delight in it. And there’s nothing wrong with desiring, or delighting in the right things. So the Bible often uses it in a positive sense. The problems start when we desire someone else’s things – someone else’s wife, house, things. Then we’re in trouble. That’s coveting.

What does it mean to covet? It mightn’t be a word that you actually use all that often. Maybe it helps to know that the word is generally translated ‘desire’ or ‘delight in’. To covet something is to desire it; to delight in it. And there’s nothing wrong with desiring, or delighting in the right things. So the Bible often uses it in a positive sense. The problems start when we desire someone else’s things – someone else’s wife, house, things. Then we’re in trouble. That’s coveting.

This is one of those pivotal moments in the advance of the gospel from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. Jesus transforms Saul from being disciple-persecutor to gospel-proclaimer. Humanly speaking, if it wasn’t for this event, Europe might not have become steeped in Christian teaching and tradition as we know it; Australia might never have received the gospel influence it has today. We can be very thankful to God for what he did here.

The gospel takes on a deeper understanding in this final farewell speech of Moses. We learn more about the liberating grace of God that calls us to covenant faithfulness. As Israel is about to enter the Promised Land, Moses restates the terms of the covenant which God has made with their forefathers. These are terms which have been spelt out with greater clarity throughout the book of Deuteronomy. All along Moses has been saying there are blessings that come with obedience and curses that result from disobedience. A careful reading of chapter 28 reveals the extent of that. But this covenant is no ordinary partnership. We discover the origin of the covenant that God made with Abraham is very gracious (Genesis 15). Amazingly at the core of understanding the whole Bible and the gospel in particular, is God Himself who fulfils the terms of the covenant perfectly. He has come in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ to give the blessings and receive in Himself the curses. It is the Covenant of Grace. Now we are invited to live in covenant with the LORD our God.

Capital punishment is getting harder and harder to find around the world. There was a time when most countries practiced it, but today only 58 still do, with 97 having abolished it. One of the reasons is that too many people on death row have been later found to be innocent, and released. And some have actually died for crimes that they were later shown to be innocent of. It helps you realize just how important this 9th commandment is.

The early church described in Acts 2 and 4 was one that practiced spiritual and practical care for each other. And faithful churches have tried to do the same ever since. So how can we practice that in detail today? One guide is the ‘one another’ passages in the NT. And this passage has 3 of them. God calls us here to love; to cling to what is good; and to do that in relation to God and each other.

Sometimes we can think too highly of what we have achieved, or what we are going to do. Churches can also place too much emphasis on money, buildings, strategy, or people power. The passage this morning reminds us that our strength is in the LORD. So much so that He works through weakness so that we might boast in Him.

I expect that none of us have literally murdered. And I hope that none of us have literally committed adultery, though unfortunately, the reality is that Christians generally just don’t see it as serious as murder. Coming to this commandment tonight; who of us has not literally stolen? I expect that all of us have stolen something at one time or another. But God takes theft seriously enough to include it in his 10 most fundamental commandments, along with murder and adultery.

On this father’s day the sermon title is designed to be provocative. What possible biblical warrant could there be to hate your father and mother? Understood in context, Jesus tells his disciples to have this attitude towards family so He remains their first love, goal and priority for their lives. But there is only one way to follow Jesus and that is to carry your own cross. Today, carrying a cross involves sacrifice, even if that includes family and your own life and anyone who carries a cross knows he is dying in order to do so. What wonderful grace is given to follow, love and serve Jesus.

How seriously do you take sin - really? I’m sure you take murder seriously. But adultery gets more complicated doesn’t it. Unfortunately, people just don’t see it as serious as murder. Statistics indicate that 74% of men say they would have an affair if they knew they would never get caught. And the church isn’t exempt. So how seriously do you take adultery?

The word ‘globalization’ has a negative ring to it, doesn’t it? You think of fast food chains, crawling across America, jumping the ocean to country after country, until you can buy the same burger, fries and Coke all over the world at the same time. Thankfully, God was thinking globally long before us – and for the good. Here in this passage, you need to imagine a time when the Good News of Jesus was known in Jerusalem; and only just beginning to spread from there into the surrounding countryside. But God had his sights set on the world.

Have you ever wondered why? Children are good at asking the “why” question. When it comes to loving God we have to know why. Like a parent speaking to his children Moses addresses the nation of Israel with the law of God. As beautiful as the law is, he can anticipate a time when the nation will ask why? Why all these decrees and statutes? And Moses replies with the command to love. Jesus affirms it in the first and greatest commandment. But like little children we go further and continue to ask why? Again Moses says why but instead of a command he tells a story. In doing so he tells Israel about the most advanced version of the gospel at the time. Only the gospel gives the right motivation to love and keep His commands.

You might have heard that on June 24, Nik Wallenda became the first person to cross the Grand Canyon on a tightrope – without a safety harness. Imagine the faith it takes to even give that a go. Imagine the courage it takes to tell people you’re going to do it – so that they’re watching, televising – maybe televising your death. But that’s the kind of attitude God wants in us too, in regard to him. Do we believe that Jesus is Lord of the heavens and the earth; that God raised him from the dead? Is that reflected in how we tell others about him?

We might struggle to immediately see the relevance of the first 2 commandments today, until we look at them a bit more closely. But isn’t this a commandment that has clear relevance today? Don’t you hear people misusing God’s name everywhere? It’s the one form of swearing that gets past a PG rating. It’s the one form of swearing that’s even accepted in public gatherings, while people hold back on their other choice words. It’s even becoming increasingly accepted in Christian circles. In spite of all that though, God tells us not to misuse his name; and that he won’t ignore those who do.

The letter of James is very practical and down to earth. In facing trials of many kinds James wants us to be people who absolutely depend on God in prayer. When we are sick he expects Christians to call on the elders to pray and rely on God for healing. Part of the healing process involves the use of medicine and the confession of sins to one another. Throughout the process God is sovereign over all circumstances including sickness and health. We ask the question: what kind of qualification does the righteous man of v. 16 need in order to be praying the prayer of faith in v. 15 so that the sick person will be healed? We take a timely look at the relationship between the faith of the pray-er and healing and find the courage and humility to pray.

Last Sunday night we looked at the first of the 10 commandments, which tells us who to worship. God says, ‘You shall have no other gods before me.’ Tonight the 2nd commandment tells us how to worship, ‘You shall not make for yourself an idol … and bow down and worship it.’ I haven’t been to the Hindu temple on Warton Rd. But I imagine that inside there’s an idol that people make offerings to, and possibly bow down and worship. Popular Buddhism does the same. You can go to Maddington Centro, buy a little Buddha statue, and set it up in your own shrine at home if your that way inclined; and worship. But this is the kind of thing God tells us not to do as we worship him.

If you’ve ever spent time on a farm, maybe you got to watch the farmer, as he took the carcass of a dead animal he found in the paddock, and threw it on a fire to get rid of it. You watched over the next hour or so, as the carcass was slowly transformed into bones and ashes. You don’t realize it as first, but that’s the kind of image Paul picks up on here in these verses. He’s drawing on the Old Testament sacrifices, and the pagan sacrifices that the Romans would have been more familiar with. They had stood by, as the sacrifice they had brought was burnt before their eyes, slowly transformed into dust and ashes. Here, though, it’s us that are urged to offer ourselves as sacrifices; with the way to do that, and the outcome, rather different to the OT and pagan sacrifices.

I wonder how you felt the first time you were dragged before authorities of one sort or another: maybe pulled over by the police for the first time; maybe finding yourself in court? Were you confident; ready to use it as an opportunity to proclaim the good news about Jesus? If you’re anything like me, I suspect not. But Peter here, filled with the Holy Spirit, just sees this as another gospel opportunity. He has an audience. Why not tell them the good news? It’s hard to believe it’s the same Peter that denied Jesus 3 times, isn’t it?

We’re all familiar with keys, aren’t we? They come in all shapes and sizes - the old metal kind, or the newer electronic kind, like a PIN. And we all know what they do. They lock and unlock things – cars, houses, bank accounts, phones, or a thousand other things. But what are these keys of the kingdom Jesus talks about here? And what is this binding and loosing. At first read, some of this doesn’t make too much sense.

Did you know that in a week and a half it’s April 25th? Just a date on a calendar really – until you realize that it’s Anzac Day. Then suddenly it symbolises a whole lot more for most Australians – Aussie soldiers willing to suffer, even sacrifice their lives, to meet the needs of others. And don’t the sacraments do that for us in regard to Jesus, and his sacrifice on the cross?