"Open to the Spirit" (Zechariah 4:1-7, Acts 6:1-15)

Introduction

What makes the difference? A foundation in Jesus that brings intimacy with God. Yes! Now where do we go from there? How does this work in real life when obstacles present themselves? How does a church work its way through the mountains of complexity, to make a real impact in its local context?? When Jesus left us with such a great commission, what provision did he make for this mission’s success??? As we shall see, the way of true progress, is the way of the “Spirit”. Whereas, God doesn’t recognise what we do in our own strength, what we do through God’s Spirit moves mountains.

Zechariah 4:1-7

First to the Hebrew Scriptures. God’s people had returned to their homeland from exile after Cyrus King of Persia had overthrown the Babylonians. Their major task was to rebuild the Jerusalem temple. This was a huge task, for a people, who had for so long been removed from their land and spiritual heritage. They were discouraged, believing that they lacked the necessary resources. The prophet Zechariah was here bringing God’s message to the people’s leader Zerubbabel – that this task was indeed possible … under certain circumstances. What could be seen as a big mountain to climb in the sense of the task at hand, could actually become much more achievable.

Zechariah was telling Zerubbabel, that the resources that they thought they lacked, were NOT the resources that they actually needed! Under certain conditions, that metaphorical “great mountain” (of verse 7) could become like a flat wide “plain”. What were the conditions that would help them? These would NOT come by human “might”, strength, or energy – nor through human “power”, position or influence; but rather … only … by God’s Spirit. Verse 6 says, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts”.

And the fact that, through God’s Spirit, the seemingly impossible, or at least hugely difficult, would be achieved, would result in a witness to the character of God – there would be … quote … “shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it’”. There would be an obvious and undeniable witness to God’s activity amongst them. Perhaps we also see here a pointer to the ultimate person of “grace”. The completion of this temple project would be roundly celebrated when the “top stone” (verse 7) or “capstone” or “final stone” was installed in its rightful position.

So, having heard this, wouldn’t Zerubbabel, put aside any reliance on his own might, and his own political power, and just be open to God’s Spirit?! You would think he would! But he may not! Why not? The job will not get done unless he does! But still … he may prefer his own resources (even though they will be found deficient), he may prefer his own way of going about it over God’s design (even though that won’t work either), he may not be able to trust God enough (even though he has had enough good experiences of God to counter any fear), he just may not be able to feel it (he may not know God intimately enough … even though he has worshipped God in the past). His life might be racked with sin or resentment that he just can’t confess or get past.

The good news is, even to such a one as this, that the invitation persists to simply open oneself to God’s Spirit. Don’t try to fix yourself, don’t try to survive on your own, don’t try to achieve the unachievable without God, don’t think that you know better (in limited finite understanding), don’t ignore those previous faith-filled moments, don’t ignore the testimony of the worshipping people around you. Don’t hang on to your sin and your bitterness as if they are your friends, when they are really your enemies. Don’t! Just don’t! Be open to God’s Spirit!! AND THE RESULT WILL BE REAL AND TANGIBLE EVIDENCE OF GRACE! “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the LORD”.

What are our “mountains”? What are our ‘obstacles’? Individually? As a church? Mountains seemingly too high to climb. Mountains seemingly too wide to walk around. Mountains seemingly to vast to see beyond. Mountains of our own making. Mountains of others’ making. What sits across our path? Whatever it is … “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the LORD”. And they will become as “plains”. These could be areas difficult to deal with. These could be mountains that we hide behind. These could be circumstances completely out of our control. “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the LORD”.

Acts 6:1-15

Now to the New Testament. In the early church community, things were moving quickly, and there was rapid growth. And there are often teething problems with anything new and organic like the early church. There is often a variety of expectations and demand, as against the capacity to supply. Here, some people thought they were getting a worse deal than others, when it came to the distribution of food, with the concern that this derived from preferential treatment based on cultural bias. How to tackle this … so the work of the Kingdom could go on?

Wisdom was needed in handling this. The apostles would clearly need to continue with their assigned role of prayer and preaching, while other leaders would need to be raised up for new roles within the team ministry. As the circle grew bigger, so would the need for more people to collaborate according to God-given giftedness. Where participation simply means involvement on a team, ‘collaboration’ means producing something as a team.

The apostles seeking the Spirit’s guidance, asked the whole gathered community of disciples (refer v 2), as the congregation was called, to be part of discerning and selecting certain disciples for the practical ministry task at hand – seeking those who were filled with the Spirit and wisdom in their lives (v 3). The presence of such “Spirit and wisdom” could only be identified through the character and ‘fruit’ of their lives (and the truth and integrity of their words). And for this process of discernment, the Holy Spirit would be required as well – for the right personnel assessments to be made. As a result of this Spirit-led discernment, seven ‘deacons’ were appointed into this particular ministry of service. {We should note, that the cultural context evident here, where only men were being mentioned, was later counteracted by Paul, as, following Jesus, he rightly gave equal status to women.}

We should note also, that as these ‘deacons’ gathered together and stood before the apostles, who prayed for them and blessed them with a laying on of hands, they were NOT to be individuals off on their own independent mission, but rather part of a joint effort to the serve the whole … accountable to one another. They were part of a team. That’s what the Holy Spirit is about – bringing together great diversity into unity of faith and action. We all have equal access to the empowering of the Holy Spirit – just different callings and roles to perform.

The Holy Spirit is a pre-requisite for all effective ministry. And what results we see from this process!! For example look at verse 7 – even “priests”, who were likely seen as stuck and immovable in old religious tradition, were sensing the possibility of freedom and coming to faith in Jesus. Here we see a mountain being brought low! [BTW … That this was an inclusive process, is seen in the naming of Nicolaus who had been a God-fearing Gentile adherent to Jewish religion before becoming a Jesus-follower.]

When people are ministering in the right areas, according to their gifts, as part of the ‘body’, this is the path to health and growth. Yet things don’t remain static in the work of the Kingdom of God for very long. We should note a couple more of these names (in verse 5). Stephen was first on the list, identified as “a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit” (in v 5). Yet, as that criteria was applied to all the new appointees, it is probably the name of Stephen itself which is being highlighted here. In verse 5 … Stephen is being appointed as a ‘deacon’ – a title often used to describe a ministry of service. Then, as soon as verse 8, we read, “Stephen, full of grace and power [and we now know where that is deriving from – not from himself but from … God’s Spirit], did great wonders and signs among the people”.

As we read on, we see that Stephen has subsequently become a preacher and evangelist (before being martyred in the cause of Jesus). Point being, becoming open to the Spirit, enables God’s Spirit to do not just one thing in a person’s life (and discipleship and ministry), but a number of things … one after another … continuing to transform and enable a person … probably on the basis of active obedience and growing maturity. Serving tables obediently and gracefully one day – capturing thousands for Jesus the next. “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord”. There were those of different views who opposed Stephen, but we read in verse 10, that, “they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke”. It is the Spirit of God who grows us into the person we were created to be, in God’s time, through the appointed seasons and experiences of life.

There is a Philip here too. There was an original disciple named Philip, especially mentioned in John’s Gospel, who likely now has been identified with the “apostles”. So this is likely another Philip, who has been inducted as a ‘deacon’. It is more than likely, that it is this Philip, who also quickly became a successful evangelist to the Ethiopian eunuch we read about in Acts chapter 8. So, it is the Holy Spirit that guides and empowers us into being the people that God created us to be, into the giftedness and calling that God had eternally in mind for us, and into the opportunities and successful avenues of ministry that God continually provides through the church. And this of course, as we have been saying over and over, is in the context of being the diverse yet unified ‘Body of Christ’ together.

But to experience the Holy Spirit like this … requires what? Being open!! All the same issues that may have surfaced for Zerubbabel so long ago, may surface for us: preferring to rely on ourselves (and whatever influence and resources we have at hand), trying to fix ourselves or go it alone, preferring our own way of doing things (even when they don’t prove effective or produce fruit), not finding a way … through which to trust God enough (even though we have a number of good experiences to draw on), not developing an intimacy with God … through the life foundation of following Jesus (even though we have sensed God’s presence in worship), or by just getting stuck in sin or resentment. No! Let’s not get stuck there or anywhere. Let’s be open to the Spirit!

Conclusion

If we look with our own eyes, we see mountains … we see obstacles. If we look with the eyes of God’s Spirit we see opportunities. How hard is it for a smallish church to build a new worship centre? Our eyes or God’s eyes? Is it a mountain or an opportunity? We have decided that, indeed, it is an opportunity. How hard will it be to fill the new worship centre? Mountain or plain? Our eyes or the eyes of God’s Spirit? If we are all open to the Holy Spirit together, God’s grace will abound!!

As we receive the grace of Jesus and follow Jesus through everyday life, the Holy Spirit is available to us. The Holy Spirit is a gift of God. The Holy Spirit is powerful and makes a load of difference. We know this from Luke … the way he told the Pentecost story. The believers were together, as they were instructed by Jesus to be, and bang! Effective communication and thousands into the Kingdom.

But the promise of the Holy Spirit is very intimate as well. John’s Gospel brings this out, as Jesus reassures his disciples that they would not be left alone (to their own devices): Jesus says, “Peace be with you” (20:19-21) and adds “Receive the Holy Spirit” (20:22). This is a peace that only comes from the Holy Spirit, and means that we can cope with any challenge and any adventure in the name of Jesus.

To be described as “full of the Spirit”, like Stephen, Philip, and the other five were, means that the fruit and the gifts of the Holy Spirit are evident in our lives in community – within the team of the ‘Body of Christ’ – the church, and in the life we live in the world. If we are open to this fullness, and have the humility to put self aside, we will receive it. And this experience can transform the perspective through which we see everything.

Postscript

I’ve been thinking about the phrase “labouring in obscurity”. In season one, episode eight, of the Netflix series ‘The Crown’, a drama following the life of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen travels to Ceylon on a diplomatic tour. She appoints her sister, Princess Margaret, to be her representative for minor royal engagements. This drama portrays Princess Margaret, being unhappy with her sister’s lack of flair, taking the opportunity to bring some colour to the monarchy. She speaks her own mind, jokes with the press, and belittles other dignitaries. Princess Margaret is then rebuked by Winston Churchill, because she had NOT been appointed to represent herself. Churchill says: Your Royal Highness, when you appear in public, performing official duties, you are not you. Princess Margaret replies: Of course I’m me. Churchill responds: The Crown. That’s what they’ve come to see, not you.

This is NOT about … not being noticed; rather, it is about who is being noticed! This is NOT about denying or suppressing our unique personality, but rather seeking the Spirit … so that all of who we uniquely are … points towards Jesus. This cannot happen through human might, nor human power, but only through God’s Spirit. And when people recognise Jesus present in their community, there will be massive responses to this gift of God’s grace. Amen.

"Better Building Practices" (Matthew 7:21-29)

Introduction

This message started out when I was wondering why the church, generally speaking, with all the resources God has given it, has not, and does not, make a bigger difference in the world. When we bemoan the track that we see the world going down – especially tracks of selfish greed and violence, and a lack of care for the poor and vulnerable, this should cause us to think what we all might be getting wrong. As we read the Old Testament prophets, we see there a call to faithfulness and integrity – we can’t blandly call upon the name of the Lord while ignoring God’s precepts and ideals.

This is what Jesus is highlighting as well, at the conclusion of his ‘sermon on the mount’ (as recorded by Matthew). Look at verses 21-23. It is possible that we can claim to speak for God, or even that we claim to be acting in God’s name – but because of a lack of love, or lack of consistency, or because it is all more about ourselves than it is about Jesus … that it just doesn’t count for anything; it actually counts for nought! Maybe we don’t experience a better world, because so much is wasted, because we miss what is most important in God’s eyes.

Michael Green writes, “I fear that so much which passes for Christianity will be shrivelled up in the day of judgment, and be found to be bogus and worthless”. It could be that we, at times, are better at pointing fingers than confessing our own sin! Maybe, then, as I suspect, it is about the quality of our foundations – putting the right foundation in place (through which to be able to make the sort of difference we are called by God to make)! It is interesting that this dichotomy (or big difference) between how we see ourselves, and how God sees us, is resolved in our text by looking at “foundations”.

The verses that follow (24-27) would suggest that we can fail – because we don’t actually have the right foundation! Rather than building on mere sand, we need a strong, “rock”-like foundation – which can only be supplied by one person – and that is Jesus. And this is not just for individual benefit, but for the collective as well. We, together, need a living knowledge of, and deep connection with, Jesus. This, inescapably, includes obeying his teaching. Each house (referred to in this parable) may have looked okay in good weather, but when the storm came, only the houses with good foundations survived.

Good foundations

Like just about everything we build, our life needs to be built on a firm foundation. Otherwise we will just flop around in the wind or sink in the wet. We need to clearly know who we are, what we stand for, and what our purpose is in life. We need to be clearly established! Otherwise we will likely just float along, and before we know it, many opportunities have passed us by. “The man who follows the crowd will usually get no further than the crowd”. Some may just want a little manageable amount of Jesus – but surely this would be akin to only building on sand.

When Peter, later, correctly identified Jesus as, “the Christ – the Anointed One – the Son of the Living God”, Jesus said that the “church” will be built on this truth (Matt 16:18). This “rock” of truth would be the foundation on which the “church” will be built. If Jesus is truly the “Son of the Living God” (16:16), then of course everything starts, proceeds and finishes through Jesus. This is ‘best building practice’! For this had been a revelation for Peter straight from God, the most gripping revelation he could ever have had (16:17). “The rock is Christ’s own person and teaching, the only foundation for stable spiritual and social building” (J R Dummelow).

If we are to embrace that ‘circle’ of mutual humble servanthood towards one another, based on ‘agape’ love (that John talked about last week), then we will need to consider how firm a foundation we have in Jesus!? Do we just try to speak the right words, and act in the right way, without going deep enough into the far reaches of Jesus? In Jesus, deeply in Jesus, we can be transformed from the inside out, and become whole and real – and fully known to God! Who we are is being clearly defined!

There is surely a strong connection … between having a foundation firmly in Jesus and experiencing an intimacy with God. “Being Christian involves joining one’s own life, IN ALL OF ITS ASPECTS, to the person of Jesus, and, through him, to the Father” (Pope Francis). Or, as Paul famously puts it, “I have been crucified with Christ [meaning … I accept Christ’s transforming work on the cross for me]; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:19-20). We are not perfect, and we will disappoint, but this should not deter us from seeking to point others in the direction of Jesus.

The crowd that day, that heard Jesus speak live [imagine that!] reckoned … that, unlike much of the religious talk of the day, and the hypocrisy often witnessed in that society – what Jesus was saying made absolute sense (v 29)! And what Jesus taught through that great ‘sermon on the mount’ (Matthew chapters 5 – 7), he lived; and for the concepts and ideals that he spoke about, he also died, such was their importance.

Ideals like: peacemaking, forgiveness, being salt and light, purity, honesty, love for enemies, sincere prayerfulness, generosity, faith, self-awareness, being non-judgmental, openness, fruitfulness. This is how to build a life! However, if we ever live in God-contrary ways i.e. harbour grudges, refuse forgiveness or fail to love, then Jesus may say, “I don’t know you”.

A Matter of Emphasis

Where else might we be going wrong? Where might we be building on sand instead of rock? It may be where we put the emphasis …  rather than being totally wrong!? For example, why does God give each of us ‘gifts’ through the Holy Spirit?? To make us feel good … to make us superior?? No!! Paul teaches, in line with Jesus, that ‘gifts’ – each and every ‘gift’ – are given for “the common good” (1 Corinthians 12:7). We are given ‘gifts’ so we can work together with effectiveness and bless the whole. There is NO ‘I’ in team, the great coaches rightly say.

The ‘fruit of the Spirit’ that Paul talks about in Galatians – these aren’t individual medals … these are relational character traits – every one of them. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Gal 5:22-3). These stand against all the negative and abusive character traits that are previously listed in Galatians chapter 5 (e.g. 5:19-21). All of life is relational – God designed it that way on the basis of the interactive experience of the Holy Trinity – Father, Son and Spirit. So surely, and this is my point, salvation is also NOT primarily individual nor personal, but rather collective.

When we receive Jesus into our life, we are immediately drawn into a Kingdom of believers and the Body of Christ. To over-emphasise personal salvation to the exclusion of community responsibility … misses God’s intention to build the new creation – to rebuild creation anew. We would tend to think too much of heaven, and not enough of earth (and the functioning of the church on earth). And to over-emphasise personal salvation, which the bible actually never does, does not critique the individualism and self-centredness so rampant in our society.

As an extension of this thought, Greg Laurie talks about how easily we fall into wanting a god in our own image. We want a god who will conform to our wishes and desires, who will fulfil our agendas; a user-friendly god whom we can easily adapt to our pre-determined choices. This is just like the people of Jesus’ day, who wanted a ‘Messiah’ who would act according to their plans and conform to their designs. And when Jesus challenged this notion – well we know how that turned out! Those who were stuck in this grace-denying mindset, participated in the crucifixion of Jesus.

The bible’s emphasis is ‘collective redemption’ – God’s Kingdom becoming evident on earth. This may start one life at a time, but can’t stay there long. While we still think as individuals, we see personal preferences rather than community needs. Thus, we tend to find fault, rather than giving preference to encouragement. Our opinions are the only opinions. But, we are being called out of individual ‘deadness’ into community life. And as we live out true community life in the circle of ‘agape love’, we actually have something worthwhile to contribute. Different perspectives shared in the right spirit … enrich us all.

We actually gain little by simply appealing to the self-interest in others. Unless people are drawn from individual thinking toward community thinking, they will not stay on the journey of faith. Those that want to move simply from one individual reality to another sort of individual reality … just for their own needs … will not likely look deeply enough to find a sufficiently sound foundation. Sadly, they will not easily sit in the church. And the world will remain the same. So, our emphasis needs to be biblical – making disciples who are prepared to be disciples and make more disciples.

One more example about emphasis. Please bear with me, and think this through a bit. Does sometimes saying that God is in control, mean, that we, even unconsciously, abrogate responsibility?! From the moment of our creation, God called us to be stewards of everything else God created. We have responsibility on the earth. We might prefer, when faced with evil, injustice and pain, to just wish that Jesus would come again and put everything right. That is our ultimate hope; but our calling is to be part of what God wants to do now, what Jesus has already made doable.

We haven’t yet fully realised the impact and possibilities of Jesus’ first coming! Why should God bail us out with Jesus’ second coming, when we haven’t yet utilised all the possibilities and power of his first coming, and his giving of the Holy Spirit to the church?! Perhaps if we more fully focussed on Jesus as the foundation of everything we do, the church would be less focussed on its institutional privileges … and more focussed on reaching the broken and lost. Jesus has called us and equipped us to make a difference right across the problems and challenges of society – education, health care, welfare, work and family.

Conclusion

Mark DeYmaz (founding pastor of Mosaic Church in Little Rock Arkansas) speaks of being willing to “labour in obscurity”, allowing God to exalt our efforts towards the redemption and transformation of a community – because it’s not about us but all about Jesus. Those who are being built on a firm foundation in Jesus … are released from their own battles with self, to humbly and quietly, but surely, plant the seeds of Gospel hope through encouragement … and therefore truly make a big difference.

Who do we serve? Ourselves? An institution? A political agenda? Or, others (in the name of Jesus)? When Rick and Kay Warren were participating in a discussion among global leaders about how to help the AIDS crisis in Africa, Rick pointed out that while there were only three hospitals in Rwanda, there were 700 churches. If those churches could be mobilized for basic medical care, it would make a huge difference in a suffering population. He further pointed out that there are villages with no doctors, grocery stores or electricity, but those villages have churches in them.

If we establish our foundation well in Jesus, then all the diverse aspects and demands of life can be integrated with good rhythm. Instead of life becoming chaotic, having a foundation in Jesus helps us put every component of our lives into good perspective. Jesus is not someone or something we have to balance with other priorities, but rather Jesus becomes the central focus point through which everything else gets analysed. And this, I believe, is the way to do life! 

Ephesians 3:20-21 says: Now to him, who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.