"The Power of One that is Many" (John 17:20-23)

Introduction

(a)  The value of teamwork. A lot to be done, which is best shared, with opportunity and growth to be the outcomes.

(b) What lies beneath teamwork and unity?! Connectedness!

Context

This is part of a much longer prayer that Jesus prayed just prior to his crucifixion. In this prayer we see Jesus’ dedication to God’s purposes, and his great love for his disciples. We also see expressed here a great concern for how the mission of Jesus will be continued in the post-Jesus period.

Text

Let us listen to the words of Jesus:

"I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

A Question

What does it mean to be “one” (or “completely one”)???

This seems to involve how we consider ourselves to be, how we view our connection with one another, and then … how we act as a result of that connection. This doesn’t begin with frantic activity trying to prove how effectively we can work together, but rather begins with a state of being – who we are together. We could use the word ‘unity’ or ‘united’, but that sometimes can become a little artificial, like putting up a ‘united front’ (that actually covers up for the real situation). We can try to force a sort of unity, attempting to force square blocks into round holes in doing so. With a sort of forced unity approach, we can become scared of having different views or diverse personalities because this might upset the apple cart.

“Oneness” takes us deeper than this. “Oneness” is an understanding, and an acceptance, that when we come to know Jesus as our Saviour, we are also, with NO choice in the matter, becoming related to all those who have made the same decision. “Oneness”, therefore, is a deeply spiritual reality. As we fight it, as we may do, we will undermine God’s (mighty) work of redemption (because this is contrary to the most powerful brand of witness we can have – mutual love). And thus, reacting against “oneness”, would be something we would be ultimately responsible for and held accountable to.

We shouldn’t have to force unity, we should just be “one”. We are part of one another. We are spiritually tied to each other as we are tied to God. This is more than about friendships (that might naturally emerge around common interests), but rather about a broad compatibility that is found through our mutual relationship with Jesus. This compatibility works with differing personalities toward common agreed goals. Our doing (or our activity) would then be not so much an effort, but rather more an expression of our being.

Now, this scripture in John shows that, our only real hope for this “oneness” lies first within the “Oneness” of the Trinity … the Community of God … Father, Son and Spirit, and that we would actually be residing within that Divine “Oneness” ourselves. God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are perfectly “one”. These members of the Divine Trinity have different roles or functions, but are “one” or ‘completely unified’ in purpose – having a single harmonious will. They function in different ways, but always toward the same end (in perfectly complimentary ways). They are completely open to one another, knowing their mutual dependence; and because they are God, there is a thorough likemindedness.

This is what we are being drawn into. Our “oneness” is at home in God’s “Oneness”. In this way we can collectively partner with God in addressing people’s need and the problems of the world. Together we can discern God’s will for our church and some of the solutions that our community requires. Because Jesus died to take away our sin and free us from our burdens and brokenness, we can share in his “glory” together – a shared experience of resurrected eternal life.

For us though, the practice of “oneness” still isn’t always easy – it can come across some opposition. Jesus, when on earth in a fully human form, had this “oneness” and likemindedness tested: first, in his wilderness experience of temptation – tempted to step outside of God’s will, where due to his relationship with God and knowledge of God’s Word – Jesus didn’t budge; second, in the garden just prior to his crucifixion, under the burden of great suffering, where he ultimately concluded, “Not my will, but Thy Will”. The “oneness” that Jesus prayed for, he actually modelled, even under duress; yet in Jesus praying for this on behalf of his disciples, we recognise potential challenges that we have to face up to.

“Oneness” is practiced and recognised through functioning relationships. We acknowledge our “oneness” with other believers as a spiritual reality, but it only becomes seen … as it is practiced through community. What Jesus prayed, was that the disciples would be seen to be “one” in all the practicalities of sharing the Gospel. Also, as other people responded, on the Day of Pentecost, and on subsequent great days of preaching and healing, that these people too would become part of this very clear expression of “oneness”.

In effect, this would mean that as believers gathered together constantly in their local house churches, and committed themselves to the furtherance of the Gospel together, that they would practice being “one”. As we read in Acts 2 and Acts 4 we see great evidence that this was happening in a variety of ways, and the world was noticing! You may recall that, in Acts chapter 12, when Peter had been arrested and thrown into prison, the believers were all together as “one” praying for Peter, with extraordinary results.

A Second Question

So what is the purpose of being “one”??

It is stated twice in a couple of verses. That the world may know … and believe in Jesus … that God sent Jesus … and that the reason behind this was God’s love for all humanity. It is so the Gospel message (which is all about God’s love for humanity) stands out as plausible, real and transformational. It is so that the message we bring makes sense, has integrity, and is worth attention and reflection (and adherence). There is a real expectation in these words of Jesus (v.20) that people will respond to the “oneness” and the witness (to Jesus) of the disciples. And of course this is what has happened over 20-odd centuries, and continues to happen across the world.

We have to be sure to note again though, the converse or opposite of “oneness” has sad implications, because this undermines (or even potentially destroys) our witness to the “sent one” (Jesus)! A lack of love makes it hard to reveal God’s love. Let us not forget the privilege we have, in being drawn into a Divine circle of love in which the Father, Son and Holy Spirit exist, and where we can reside as well!!

Paul’s Body Analogy

The apostle Paul reflects on this “oneness” by using the example of the human body (1 Corinthians 12). All the different looking body parts with all their different functions … all necessarily brought together towards a common purpose of active life; where any particular disfunction upsets the whole. One part shouldn’t try to be a different part because a foot cannot properly perform the role of a hand – only a hand is properly fitted to do the work of a hand. No part lacks value; all parts are indispensable (to each other). An arm can’t be jealous about a leg, because the arm has got its own job to do – and the whole cannot do without the arm being an arm.

And all this proper functioning, and the correct use of all gifts (which is what the body metaphor is about), is in aid of … ??? … serving "the common good"!! Here described is the most wonderful collaboration of gifts, abilities and resources that you could imagine … toward the attainment of a collective goal. And like “oneness” being drawn into the Trinity, the spiritual body metaphor has Jesus as its head – where the ultimate thinking and decision-making is done.

A spirit of “oneness” acknowledges a great diversity of backgrounds, personalities, temperaments, needs, beliefs, opinions, desires, interests and gifts; and the bigger you grow the greater the diversity becomes. But the spirit of “oneness” only admits one purpose – the sharing of the good news of Jesus in love!! This is so rich; because we can bring together so many experiences of life (and of God) into a magnificent tapestry of witness. This is the power of “one” – the “one” that is many!! We learnt again last week, that there are NO limits to God’s desire to love even the most hardened or broken people.

“Oneness” in Action

I don’t plan to address the big historical picture of the divisions that have occurred between Christians, largely driven by pride, intolerance, error and personal power agendas. That is far too big a subject, and a far too enormous task to fix. We first need to understand, apply and practice our own “oneness” … as an example (before we point fingers in other directions). “Oneness” begins with me, acknowledging my spiritual connection to you. "Oneness" begins with us, acknowledging our spiritual connection with each other.

Most of us also know Christians in the other local churches, and we should be sure to extend and embrace our “oneness” across any artificial boundary towards them. We can express “oneness” while respecting different traditions that see us worshipping in different forms. [One example may be holding hands with our Anglican friends as they host the Bright Community Garden.]

“Oneness” cannot be legislated or enforced, it can only be lived and learnt. We must work on our relationships in the Body of Christ. If the good news of Jesus is truly good news, then we should be able to give it credibility through harmonious relationships. And it is love that drives “oneness”! There are some Biblical markers that we might assess ourselves against, as challenging as they are:

·        Paul speaking of the ‘body’ – “If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together with it” (1 Corinthians 12:26)

·        Paul again – “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15)

·        James 5:16 – “… Confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed”.

Here are some other markers we could consider:

·        Encouragement in the face of the world’s critical ways

·        Self-control in the face of the world’s hostility

·        Sharing in the face of the world’s selfishness

·        Generosity in the face of the world’s self-centredness

·        Cooperation in the face of the world’s individualism

·        Faithfulness in the face of the world’s betrayal

·        Honesty in the face of the world’s deceptions

·        Gentleness in the face of the world’s quest for power

·        Forgiveness in the face of the world’s desire for revenge

·        Peace-making in the face of the world’s tendency for violence

·        Joy in the face of the world’s despair.

As mentioned in the earlier verses in John 17 (v.11-19), there can be opposition to those who take a path that might bring some challenge to the status-quo or light into the darkness. Jesus has different priorities and attitudes to the world. So, no wonder Jesus prayed for a “oneness” that would hold a consistent witness together under duress. We can be sorely tested! We can be discouraged, disrupted and diverted! But any such opposition can be responded to with a “oneness” wholly focussed on the will of God.

Prayer Support

If we bring this text into the present, and why shouldn’t we – we see that Jesus is praying for us. What more do we need!?! Jesus is praying for his disciples and his church to be successful in their mission of representing him in the world of each generation. As we consider the challenge of being “one” with a group of very different people, and also the challenge of sharing the good news of Jesus with a very complex community of need – we should be amply reassured that as Jesus is praying for us, we might be and do exactly that! Amen!!

Pentecost Message - "The Power of the Spirit" (Acts 3:1-16)

Introduction

Does anything strike you about this incident???

The Holy Spirit was at work! Peter and John were able to bring a ministry of healing to a lame man with instant results. These results were not just strengthened feet and ankles, and the walking and the leaping. But there was also the praising God, the entering of the temple, and the reaction of the gathered crowd. This incident led to worship, developing spiritual community, and witness to Jesus.

The Holy Spirit was working in the lives of these disciples (Peter & John), so that the lives of others could be transformed toward an active relationship with God. We know that the Holy Spirit was at work, because the achievements of these disciples were well beyond mere human capacity.

Can you describe the Holy Spirit???

·        Third member of the Trinity (Community of God)

·        Comfort, peace, guidance, presence of God/Jesus (“I am with you always”)

·        Gifts, fruit, transformation

·        Communication, witness, mission, healing

Background

This is the first recorded time where the disciples stepped out in ministry following the ‘Day of Pentecost’. So let’s approximate … that this was maybe around 55 days after Jesus’ crucifixion. Was does this mean in terms of Peter?? It was only around 55 days ago that Peter denied even knowing Jesus (three times). Now he is involved in healing the lame (in Jesus’ name)! Something outstanding has happened to Peter over this short period – well actually a few things have happened.

First there was Jesus’ resurrection; although Peter was slow to accept this, it became fully real to him when Jesus took him through a very personal process of forgiveness and recovery concerning his earlier denials. Then Peter was entrusted to re-enter a ministry to the community, when Jesus said to him three times, “Feed my sheep”. Peter may have still wondered though, with all his weakness and past failings, and with all his impetuosity and lack of clarity, how he would be able (in any way) to pull off such a ministry.

At the time of Jesus’ ascension, the disciples were told to hang around in Jerusalem together, and be ready to receive the gift that God had promised. Jesus said to them, “… you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). And in this they were not disappointed! There was a dramatic scene of wind and “tongues of fire”, and suddenly the disciples could communicate in ways that they had never been able to before. This was symptomatic of being empowered and enabled by a force beyond them – that we know to be the very Holy Spirit of God.

This was never to be just for personal gratification … the Holy Spirit was also not given just for the fun of it – what had Jesus said to them?? “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth”. Whatever gifts came through the Holy Spirit were to point to Jesus and be utilised for the “common good”.

Peter preached his heart out that day (Acts 2:14-36), and about three thousand people responded and were baptised (2:37-41). All the believers became wholly involved in house churches, gathering around the apostles’ teaching, sharing in prayer and communion. They ate together, gave to those in need, worshipped God, and grew in number – experiencing many “wonders and signs” in their midst (2:42-47). These people had been enabled to live lives that unmistakably pointed to Jesus.

John was part of all this too. John didn’t have the same roller-coaster ride that Peter had had with Jesus. John may have been Jesus’ best and most reliable friend. This is why Jesus entrusted his mother to John at his crucifixion. Unlike other disciples, John was stationed at the foot of the cross when Jesus uttered all those words of love and forgiveness. For John, this act of sacrifice by Jesus would have been given ultimate meaning in the resurrection and Pentecost experience – new life for all, and God’s Spirit through which to make it all happen.

The Healing

Now, Peter and John were out there, actively looking for opportunities to share the good news about Jesus. Because of this, they were absolutely ready to respond when an opportunity of ministry opened up. In this, they did not have to rely on their own devices, but rather in the power of the Holy Spirit. An opportunity presented itself here, and Peter and John were sure to be at the right place at the right time. [There is a necessary sensitivity to God involved here.] When they heard another human being call out in need, and despite the fact that he was looking for money, they didn’t turn away or look for an out … they engaged, and gave this man their complete attention.

Sometimes an opportunity to serve the needs of another just naturally comes across our path. Sometimes we will feel compelled to pray for someone or phone them up to encourage them. Sometimes we sense that we should meet up with some person (to have a needed conversation), but don’t quite know how that will happen – we may have to make a move believing that the Holy Spirit will guide us. We might just need to put ourselves out there a little more, to connect with others in Jesus’ name. God is waiting to use us mightily.

We note that Peter and John didn’t give this lame man what he wanted and asked for. Peter and John were travelling light and didn’t have any money to give. However they didn’t just shake their heads – quite the opposite … they engaged warmly with this man (v.4), showing that they were truly interested in his welfare. We read: “Peter looked intently at him, as did John …” – was this possibly experienced by the lame man as the (loving) gaze of God? Certainly this caring attention made an impact (on the lame man)! In response, “he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something” (v.5). Had the lame man already moved beyond money? This man was quick to praise God when his healing was complete (v.8)! We also note the personal ministry touch involved (in verse 7).

Sometimes it might be appropriate to give money, other times not … wisdom required again. Sometimes it might be other material goods or practical help that is needed; sometimes just friendship and a sense of belonging is being sought – there is often a process involved before we actually get to share the name of Jesus in words. We should take the time to listen to the Spirit and act accordingly – facilitating what God wants to bring about. The point of this … is seeing what God wanted to give this man this day! What did God want this man to have?!

‘Discernment’ is the word – knowing what to do in a particular situation when there are multiple options – having necessary insight, keen perception; to distinguish between lesser and best options. Some people are especially gifted with this, the rest of us have to work hard at it, or more to the point – be open enough to gain it.

Sometimes there will be a direct connection between what we have to offer and what another person needs – not only the right place at the right time, but the right person as well. What God has given us, is exactly what someone else needs us to share. We do whatever we can with what we have. Peter, in verse 6, says, “… what I have I give you”. This would be on many occasions something of our own personality, our experience of life, and our testimony of what God has been doing for us – where the Spirit in one speaks with the Spirit in another. Don’t let any of us think about what we can receive, but rather what we can give, and leave the receiving bit to God’s economy.

In this particular case, in Acts 3, on this day – what God had for this lame man was healing … such that he could walk (and for the first time). The disciples, Peter and John, did for this man what Jesus would have done if he had been there. In fact, Jesus was there, as Peter and John said, “in the name of Jesus … stand up and walk” (v.6). Like was the case for Peter and John, the greatest gift we have to give to another is our experience of the living God coming into our lives (through Jesus)! We would have a natural concern and compassion for those missing this gift. Later in verse 11, we read that this formerly lame man “clung to Peter and John”, which is code for becoming a believer and joining them with their ministry.

There is also here a little encouragement as to what our response might be when we get some healing (refer verse 8)! ?!?The formerly lame man walked quietly away in a self-satisfied fashion?!? NO!! He entered the temple with the other worshippers (so excited because he hadn’t been able to before), “walking and leaping and praising God”. He had gained more than he could ever have imagined! Likely he would never have to beg again. And, he would never have to wonder again what it is like to worship with everyone else. Praise God!

The Impact

There were those who had sought to help the lame man by taking him to the ‘temple gate’ where he might get some charity – perhaps good-heartedly even wanting to do more, but not being able to find a way. And, as it was emphasised in the narrative (verse 2), this man had been lame “from birth”, so it was certainly a difficult situation. Then when Peter and John came along, the gathered crowd would not necessarily be expecting anything exceptional, because they would have seen or known Peter and John as just normal human beings. No wonder the people there that day were all amazed at this turn of events (v.10).

Following the healing, there was a big reaction to this extraordinary display of mobility and joy: “wonder and amazement” (v.10), and, the people ran to Peter and John (v.11) “utterly astonished”. There was probably some good feelings around … about the improved situation for the former lame man, but also confusion about the source of this turnaround. The way had been opened for further explanation. Any act of kindness, or remarkable change of fortune, offers the opening for interpretation.

Peter explained (from verse 12 onwards), that, as one might understand, this great outcome could not have happened purely through human endeavour or goodness – this was Jesus!! You might think that his crucifixion was the end, but actually it was just the beginning! Faith in Jesus, receiving the Holy Spirit, responding to need, changed outcomes!

Whose faith?? We should remark that, it was the faith of Peter and John (in Jesus), that took someone right out of left-field into a totally new experience of life! “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk” (verse 6b)! We can’t expect people to necessarily find faith … without us injecting faith into their situation.

Conclusion

The Holy Spirit so transforms lives and brings healing, that there is the capacity for us to have this level (or depth) of ministry into our community. This we would best offer together in a unified way, bringing together all the gifts of the Spirit that God has made available to us. No egos, no competiveness, no personal agendas – just service! [These other dynamics (should) have been left at the foot of the cross.]

We will not always be together when we serve, as we are dispersed as the church into a variety of different forums of activity during most of the week. However we can remain united in vision and purpose while we serve other people wherever we are. And we would quickly discover that we all have roles and involvements in community groups (or that connect us to community) through which a ministry can (and should) take place. We can picture where we are (in community) and what we do, and then also picture who we are in Christ, and how we are accompanied by the Holy Spirit.

We each receive the Holy Spirit when we bow down in repentance to Jesus, and give our life over to him. The Spirit of God is given so that we might experience complete healing from the burdens of our previous life. The Holy Spirit is given also … to bring evidence that Jesus saves – that Jesus is the way, truth and life. The Holy Spirit energises our faith with giftedness to show the works of God. So many people have not yet encountered Jesus, or have previously dabbled with Jesus but not gone on with him. The Holy Spirit enables us to re-present Jesus as a real and viable option … through our daily lives.

"Being Grateful" (Psalm 107:1-22)

Introduction

We need to be grateful, practicing the habit of being grateful. Lack of gratitude is one of the areas that inhibits becoming fully alive in Christ. Sometimes the trials and pressures of life silence us (in terms of expressing thanks). But, this is a worry, for a lack of gratitude leads to getting totally down on life, and everyone else – where everything seems to be wrong!

We know very well how tough some other people have it, but this, at times, doesn’t even stop us from being ungrateful – when certain things we expect … don’t happen, or when certain things we don’t want … do happen! On the other hand, being grateful tends to give us good perspective, where our situation is properly viewed within the big picture of everyone else’s lives.

Lacking gratitude isolates, while being thankful fosters community. This is why Paul made the bold and brassy statement, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thess. 5:18). I reckon Paul could make this statement, as he experienced some circumstances that were far from ideal himself!

Thankfulness to God

The writer of Psalm 107 speaks about gratefulness to God. The reason behind such thankfulness is simply stated … “for he is good” (verse 1). We could conger up in our minds why this statement is true – what we have personally experienced that would allow us to agree with the conclusion … “God is good”. One of these is God’s love that we have been talking about over the past few weeks. This “steadfast” love of God has been shown to be active, welcoming, unconditional, sacrificial, constant, unfailing and transformative.

In terms of God being defined as “good”, we have the same words repeated in verses 8, 15, 21 [and also in verse 31 beyond what we have read]:

“Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wonderful works to humankind”. So God’s goodness has been expressed through his engagement with humanity – each of us.

The psalmist addresses us in verse 2.

“Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, those he redeemed from trouble” (verse 2).

Who should give thanks to the Lord?? Who should speak of God’s love??

The “redeemed”!

Who are the “redeemed”??

Those who have been bought back from that which had previously enslaved them … sin, self-serving behaviour, running from God, pursuing destructive goals, being ‘owned’ by other interests.

Why should the “redeemed” be thankful??

TWO THINGS ARE MENTIONED (vs.2-3).

(i)                Because they have been “redeemed” from trouble!

Our biggest “trouble” would have been a compromised future, where many things would have happened that would be far from the best. This would be brought about by all sorts of bad decisions … about what to do and where to be. This is avoided because we have been set on a new path. Not all troubles will immediately disappear, but we will certainly having new coping mechanisms. Indeed, we could be most thankful that we were so important to God, that Jesus came and died a torturous death so that we might have salvation – forgiveness that erases our feelings of guilt and shame, and allows us to live effective and joyful lives.

(ii)              And because they have been “gathered in”!!

We have been gathered into relationship with God, where we have been forgiven and deemed ‘holy’ … meaning set apart for God’s purposes. We have also been gathered into the community of God, the people of God, the children of God, and the ‘Body of Christ’ represented in the church. Faith, redemption and salvation are never simply individual matters – God acts with a community mindset … what happens in an individual is designed to lead to a participation in community.

Redeemed and rehoused

Various sources of potential “trouble” are mentioned as this psalm unfolds – a sense of homelessness (or lacking a home-base), a feeling of imprisonment, and also sickness [and later danger].

It is this lack of a feeling of being home, with all the hunger and thirst for connection that goes with this, that is addressed in verses 4 to 9. In verse 7, we see that God leads the person who feels lost via a straight route, until they reached an inhabited town” i.e. where there is community, social connection, relationship, a home. God actively seeks to lead a person out of isolation and loneliness into environments of social support. And many come to find a home within a caring, supportive and spiritually enriching church community. This, the psalmist believes, is reason for thanksgiving – verse 8 … “Let them thank the Lord …”!

Some of us may have had that experience of life where we felt we were sitting in darkness and gloom … “prisoners of misery” (verse 10). The psalmist put this down to rebellion from the words of God (verse 11), or to the pressures of hard labour … with no help (verse 12); though feelings of “misery” can come from many sources – internally and externally to us. No matter whether one’s distress is a result of sin (a problem of one’s own making), or as a result of other people’s evil activity around us, God stands ready to hear and to deliver. God works wonders amongst humankind, and part of this is bringing people out of bondage and into freedom. Here is another occasion for gratefulness. Even in a longer process toward becoming free, one can express thankfulness, based on faith, that God is doing exactly what he said he would.

When it comes to the “sickness” mentioned in verse 17, the writer directly relates this to sin, as it always was in pre-scientific old testament times. We know that sickness comes to us for a variety of reasons, including the fact that we live in a world full of illness that can be contracted in various ways. Yet when we come to God in search of healing, there are often other things happening in our lives that we need to step aside from – these could be impacting our capacity to recover.

God’s desire to act in our best interests is expressed this way: “[God] sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from destruction” (verse 20). We have to be ready to hear God’s word, whatever that is for us. I see many people, for which God’s word has been well presented in terms of their particular need, but it remains unheard! And it is humble confession, along with thankfulness, that allows God’s great gifts of grace to come forward.

One of the great blessings is that despite what sort of problems there have been in our past … problems with parents or spouses or children or other relationships (e.g. where friends have let us down or betrayed us) [Jesus knows about this one!] … God can enter this space and re-parent us, love us, befriend us with intimate companionship, and give us new insights, understandings and confidence to deal with tricky family matters, and all other pending decisions we need to make. Thanks be to God!

{We can thank God today for our mothers, and where the mothering we have received has been less than it should have been, we can appreciate the parenting of God and be thankful for the way this has nurtured us afresh.}

A Word to Us

The Bible becomes a great resource here – not so much finding a particular verse that specifically answers a problem (although that may happen); more an overall study … where we allow God to speak to us about a number of things and bring us a whole lot of new perspectives … that build on each other – bringing us to a place of greater understanding, where we are much better placed to speak, and to act, in a reconciling and helpful way. Verse 20 says, “… He sent out His word and healed them, and delivered them from destruction”. This was said in the context of deliverance from sickness and sin, yet would cross easily as a response to all areas of need.

I’m reminded of that incident recorded in the Gospel of Luke (17:11-19), when ten lepers came to Jesus asking for healing. Jesus was moved with compassion concerning their suffering and the complexity of their situation, and healed them all. You would think that all ten, once they realised they were healed of a condition which had completely ostracised them socially, would come back and thank Jesus. But only one of them did! Jesus was a bit taken aback about this lack of response himself! For then, what Jesus was able to offer, to this one thankful former leper, was complete salvation. This former leper’s thankfulness showed that he was ready for a full experience of God in his life.

Conclusion

Being grateful is a good way to develop our relationship with God (and others), much better than a relationship just based on complaining and asking for stuff. Thankfulness gets our mind focussed on the positive. Thus it could be a spirit of gratitude that helps to avoid us hitting bottom. Thankfulness solidifies the idea that God loves us, has created us with purpose, redeems us through Jesus, gathers us in, provides community, frees us from misery, supplies our needs, heals us, offers us direction, has given us gifts, abides with us daily, etc, etc, etc.

"Loving as God Loves" (1 John 4:7-21)

Introductory Question

What words would you use about God’s love?

Introductory Comments

(a)  God can do no other than love, because God IS Love (verse 16b). God loves the world because God IS Love. The very nature or character of God is disclosed in love.

(b) As God IS Love, God defines what love is. God is the model for love (verse 19). Thus our love for God would not only be a response to God’s love, but also a reflection of this very same love. We return to God his own love – we love God with the gift of love he first gave us – we share back God’s own gift of love.

(c)  In this way we can also share God’s love with others … in a real sense, it’s not just our love toward others, but God’s love for others being transmitted through us.

(d) God is also the power that enables love to occur. God is not only named as “Love” but also does (lives out) “love”. God is the initiator of love (verses 10 & 19). God’s love then evokes our love. We can only love God because God has first loved us, and opened up the path of relationship.

(e)  How we interpret what God is doing … must factor in the concept that God is Love – that love sits behind everything that God does. Loving is not just one thing God does among many things, but rather all of God’s activity is loving activity! So if we can’t quite understand some particular response that we are attributing to God, we must at least consider God’s loving intentions behind this.

(f)   Love (”agape”) is clearly the central feeling, emotion, activity or character trait in life. Paul would agree with John – faith, hope, love … “the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13).

(g)  If anyone is walking a little heavy this morning, I would hope that just talking a bit about God’s love would allow to you walk a little lighter, perhaps even stepping a little higher off the ground.

What God’s Love is about

1.     God’s love is active – thoroughly engaging – broadly welcoming. Heaven was torn open so that God’s love might reach humanity. There seemed to be a major division between heaven and earth, one with perfect light (heaven) … and the other (earth) with predominate darkness. But God’s love makes connections between these. Thus God’s love can break through all sorts of boundaries, e.g. the spiritual boundary of sin, the emotional boundary of broken relationships, the physical boundary of sickness, the social boundary of cultural differences.

2.     God’s love is sacrificial – we have seen the greatest act of love in human history from God, in sending his Son, part of Himself, part of the Divine Community, to earth … meaning that Jesus would ultimately die (carrying the sin burden of all humanity … just imagine that weight). This, on a torturous cross, feeling alone and rejected. This – so that we could find relationship with God, with no guilt or shame to get in the way. Jesus surrendered divine prerogatives and gave himself for us (R B Hays).

Here is the ultimate way in which the Bible talks about love … verse 9 – “God sent his ONLY Son into the world so that we might LIVE through him”; verse 10 – “… [God] sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins; verse 14 – “… the Father has sent his Son as the Saviour of the world”. John Painter writes that, “Love is safeguarded from misunderstanding by the definitive demonstration in Jesus’ act of self-giving”!!! “God is love” may have remained somewhat abstract without this particular demonstration!

3.     God’s love is a constant – we can dwell in this mutual love relationship (verse 16b … “God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them”). That’s a bit awesome! Let’s hear how another translation words that: God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house… (The Message). As we dwell in this mutual love relationship, this love then spills over into the world … naturally it would.

4.     God’s love is transformational – it changes us as we respond to it … it changes everything – we become a ‘new creation’. God’s love changes us from … self-oriented people, on our own way, despite others, to … community oriented people, on God’s ways, with others. God’s love perfects us or completes us, but this perfection or completion is more a corporate experience (verses 12b & 17b i.e. “among us”). It is a radical God-inspired love for one another that completes us as a whole. It is in the community of faith that love has its ultimate fulfilment (G W Barker). And now, God’s love is set fully free to reach the wider community!

Our Response to God’s Love

Our text (from the 1^st Letter of John) e.g. verse 7, makes it clear that those who have attached themselves to the God who IS Love, must themselves love others. Verse 11 says that the motivation behind our love of others comes from the quantity of God’s love given to us (“God loved us so much”). An inverted possibility is challenged in verse 8. If we do not love others, then this says something about our relationship with God. What?!? That is doesn’t really exist … that we are kidding ourselves!?!

Then the rubber really hits the road when we get to verse 20. This tends to personalise things a bit; this suggests that there could actually be a refusal to practically love a brother or sister when the opportunity sits right before us. Or what about this one from the previous chapter: “How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses [to] help?” (1 John 3:17).

Such a person, if they refuse to help, cannot really love God, and if they say they do (love God), then this scripture would call them a … “liar”! Such a person is ducking the truth that God’s love in the process of being returned (vertically) must he shared horizontally. Such behaviour betrays the character and essence of God. Love must have authenticity, the proof must be there for all to see.

If one loves God, that person cannot refuse to love the image of God on display in someone else (G W Barker)! Perhaps this could be understood … as needing to see the possibilities of what God could do in a person (in love) … if they were just in receipt of some measure of the love in us (to open that door). This could mean looking past many frustrations and disappointments, and exercising a fair degree of patience.

If we look at verse 12, we can see that if we do love others, we will know and experience that God lives in us, and that this will be noticed. Whereas no one has actually seen God, God can be seen through the way in which we love – the way in which we express God ourselves. In this way the reality of God’s love is given proof (for all to see)! And it’s not just love that will be seen, but God also.

The idea of love “perfecting” or “completing” us, mentioned earlier, also has some connection to how we might feel about judgment or experience fear. Verse 17 points out, that as we allow God’s love to abide in us and work its way through us, the spiritual journey we are on is being completed, such that we would have no concern about any judgment to follow. If we truly represent God’s love in the daily grind of this world, then we should have no fear concerning the next world. God’s love motivates our obedience (in love), which in turn completes us!

If we have any issues with fear in relation to God, then we haven’t truly experienced the depth of God’s love (refer verse 18). This may relate to one or more of the barriers that we talked about last week. God is NOT interested in punishing us; God is only interested in giving us the best experience of life imaginable. After all, didn’t Jesus die on a cross for this!! God’s love is so life-changing, that it casts out any need to fear how life or eternity may turn out.

Love who?

We might suggest that those foremost in mind here are those who are also in the Christian community or part of the same first century house church. And this makes sense with the broad diversity in the early church … Jew and Gentile, rich and poor, slave and free. Those who came to follow Jesus would have to embrace the notion of loving people across the boundaries that can often separate in the general community … race, financial position/class, occupation. This was a non-negotiable implication of receiving God’s love (i.e. passing it on).

But our general reading of scripture, and our knowledge that loving our neighbour has NO limits, means that loving others means all people (in our true and full representation of the God who IS Love). So let’s cast our minds as far as possible … those who give us a hard time … Jesus said love your enemies … those who we don’t know personally, but know very well that they have significant need … those we might ignore without too many conscience problems.

So If We Love as God loves, what will this mean?

In the same way as God’s nature or character is revealed in love, so must the reality of our relationship with this God be revealed in love. We can only know and represent God accurately through an attitude and application of his love. True to say that other people will only accurately receive our witness to who God is through genuine love.

1.     God’s love is active – thoroughly engaging – broadly welcoming.

Our love will be practical and inclusive.

We will find ways of meeting people at their point of need (whether it be emotional, physical, social or spiritual), and welcoming people across boundaries of difference. In the ancient world it was generally thought appropriate to only love those regarded as worthy of being loved (Stott). Maybe this would still be the case!? But God turns this over!! God spontaneously loves all in the hope of positive change. We will love our enemies, in the hope that they may become our friends (Matthew 6:43-48, Luke 6:27-28). We will be kind to those who have hurt us, in the hope that they will discover God’s grace.

2.     God’s love is sacrificial.

Our love will be sacrificial.

Something is sacrificial if it doesn’t take notice of what it will cost personally, or if notice is taken, it makes no difference. We will engage in humble service of others – not from any sense of superiority, but as people touched by grace. This will be generous, and often take us out of our comfort zones. This is because we ourselves were taken from our lowest point at incredible cost. No one who has been to the foot of the cross and found forgiveness there can remain selfish.

3.     God’s love is a constant.

Our love will be consistent.

Not just when it suits us or we feel like it. This is an act of our will … a decisive choice to be made – sometimes we will just have to act out of love whether we feel we want to or not, and let our feelings and attitudes come into line later. Who do you find it easier to love?? Is it your neighbour, or is it a stranger?? Different answer for different people I expect! Maybe it’s easier to love someone you see often; but then there may be many more occasions when you could fail to love! Maybe it’s easier to love and support a stranger in some financial or other capacity, because they have never said a bad word to us; but then as we never meet them or see them … could they easily be removed from our minds!?

4.     God’s love is transformational.

Our love would be forgiving, prayerful and hopeful.

Our love should provide every opportunity for people to connect with the God of transformation. Our love will bring forgiveness. Our love will take us into prayer (especially where this is our only avenue of love for certain people groups). Our love will cause us to be hopeful concerning the positive difference that God will make in people’s lives. Our love will be expressed by not just telling the story of Jesus’ sacrifice, but more so living the story of Jesus’ sacrifice. We might prefer to argue people toward faith, but the preferred method is to let love be the evidence for faith.

And this is most clearly evident, and more powerful, when God’s people pull it off together! Harrington & Absalom write: Remember that Jesus gave the world the right to judge us on one thing: the quality of the love we have for one another (John 13:35). We are to model a type of community that can’t help but fold the lost into the love of Christ.

"Being Fully Alive" (Romans 6:1-11;17)

Introduction

Okay, so we appreciate God’s love, that comes rattling our way! Heaven has been torn open for us. We accept Jesus’ ministry and his great act of sacrificial love on our behalf. We make a decision to follow Jesus … now we are his disciple! We have made some public witness to this fact in baptism or testimony – we are now members of God’s Kingdom – citizens of heaven.

We also sense that we are called to be part of a community that worships together, shares together, and uses their gifts together! We sense our job description, i.e. to share God’s love (in some way or other) with everyone we meet. We have heard about the ‘great commission’ … about “going and making disciples”. We know that Jesus has promised us the Holy Spirit … to be with us always, and to make the seemingly impossible become possible!

So, what gets in the way?!?

What gets in the way of us being all of what we are called to be?

What stops us being fully alive?

·        Sin … a selfishness or self-centredness that inclines us toward certain desires; a failure to do what we know we should do (and what we have the capacity to do)

·        The old nature – especially the comfortable bits; where we can take various weaknesses a little too lightly (rather than allowing for remedial action)

·        Wallowing in guilt, instead of embracing forgiveness … because for some reason it’s preferable to change (maybe we like the sympathy)

·        Competing priorities, where seemingly powerful agendas (often career related, or finance related; sometimes family related) overwhelm us

·        Lack of focus (or understanding of what being a disciple means) – perhaps we have not had enough teaching, or not reflected enough on the teaching we have had

·        Life issues … e.g. illness, various troubles, financial woes

·        Bitterness (lack of forgiveness)

·        Shame i.e. not forgiving ourselves, or not valuing ourselves as much as God does

·        Lack of gratitude – finding ways to be grateful releases us; the opposite restricts us

·        A misunderstanding of freedom … freedom that has no reference point – that we can do whatever we like – laxity or apathy (especially addressed by Romans 6:1-2).

Responding to Grace

Sometimes, as Paul points out (Romans 6:1-2), we can take “grace” for granted. God has done so much for us, and we just keep lapping it up … but we don’t turn it into anything … we don’t actually bear that grace fully in our lives – we don’t allow change to take place. We have met Jesus, but we still get stuck where we always have been. And then we just get down on ourselves, which eventually leads (if not resolved) to getting down on everyone else.

It seems, from the way Paul expressed himself, that people of his time thought that if they sinned all the more, then there would be all the more grace to enjoy. Or to put it another way, as there was so much grace, they could still live as they liked. Or at least there was the potential for thinking this way! In other words, it didn’t matter if they sinned or not, because there would always be grace to rely on. ‘If God will forgive me later, why be good now?!’

But there are so many problems with this thinking! What are they???

·        This way of thinking is STATIC – there’s NO growth here:

We are not meant to stay static, relying on being forgiven time and time again, but we are meant to be a party to being changed into the image of Christ Jesus. To continually allow sin to happen while relying on God’s good graces for forgiveness is actually living under ‘law’ all over again and remaining enslaved (or ‘captive’) to sin. If we accept that Jesus died on our behalf, then we are committing to the death of sin in ourselves from this point on. [And that is what ‘water baptism’ demonstrates – a death to sin and old ways and a rising to something better.]

·        It’s SHORT-SIGHTED:

Salvation is a process that we embark on at one point in time, but then allow to grow and flourish (refer Romans 6:4 … so we too might walk in newness of life). Whereas, once upon a time, repentance was a decision to be debated and made, now repentance is a way of life … it is natural, it happens naturally each time we fall short of the mark, we much more spontaneously seek forgiveness; and not so that we can sin again, but rather that we can become more fully alive. We are less and less in open rebellion.

·        It’s SELFISH:

The grace we receive is not to be contained selfishly, but rather lived so that it might be shared (and it can’t be shared where it is not proven to be real nor effective). We are not just grace-recipients, but also should be grace-bearers. We should seek to live a life that is obviously invigorated with hope and purpose and peace … which has been sourced from outside of us – through a relationship with our Creator.

Paul says (v.2), in response to this notion of keeping on sinning (because grace abounds), “by no means …” (or, “no way known …”, or, “total nonsense”, “certainly not”, “it’s not on”)! It is possible to cheapen or waste God’s grace, by ignoring the call to embrace new life. The evidence of grace is not so much the forgiven sinner, but more so the transformed life.

Disruption to Worship

It is tragic to see wasted lives where there has been the opportunity for life to abound. Often, there is the need to just get past one problem area, or move on from one past hurt, and then there can be freedom. There is such joy to be found, and there is such good to be achieved, when people come to serve God and others with all their hearts and hands.

One area of life, amongst others, that might be negatively affected by an unwillingness or incapacity to become fully alive, would be … our worship. It’s difficult, maybe introspectively seen as hypocritical, to let loose in worshipping God, if we are hanging on to things that don’t belong in this worship space. So we can’t worship and we don’t worship (not really)! We stay away, or we stay reserved, or we go through the motions – because we just have not felt that release to worship; we feel the barriers, and we can’t break through!

Breaking Through

So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus (Romans 6:11). This is our action plan!

To “consider” something a certain way … is to come to a conclusion or make a determination on how we view something. In this case, we need to make the decision to actively have the mindset … that we have died to sin and become alive in Jesus. THIS IS WHO WE ARE NOW!! Not just sinners saved by grace, but new people living new lives! No pretending … “believers should consider themselves to be what God in fact has made them” (F F Bruce).

Dead to Sin?

What is different when we have “died to sin”? Our earthly context means there are still significant temptations that we come across; however sin is now just a temptation, rather than a controlling power. We still have the capacity to sin. But we also have more capacity (in Jesus) to say “no” to sin. Although it remains possible for us to sin, there has been a radical change in our attitude to sin.

There is also this tension in which the ‘old person’ that has been crucified must still be resisted. But, we mostly sense sin’s destructiveness to ourselves and others, and are therefore more likely to resist. We become more gradually invested in and committed to our new nature, and more easily sense when we may be acting out of the old nature (and be less tolerant about this). Once we fully grasp that our old life has ended (and the whole debt has been paid), we shall want to have nothing more to do with it (John Stott).

We have also gained vast spiritual resources from Jesus to call upon. Jesus’ presence in our lives gives us strength to defeat temptation. We take our example from Jesus, in the way he dispensed decisively with temptation and any pressure to take the wrong path (e.g. in the wilderness, with Peter, and in the garden). Sin, and the old nature, can be dispensed with through “disciplined dependence on God” (G R Osborne).

As Martin Luther apparently said, “We can’t keep the birds from flying around our head, but we needn’t let them build a nest in our hair”.

Being Fully Alive

Being a slave to sin is a downhill road – our perception is distorted, our will is overpowered, obedience to God is impossible (R B Hays). Being fully alive, on the other hand, is having a mastery over those areas of life that may otherwise have a tendency to disrupt us (and sometimes entirely so). And that mastery, or that ‘master’, is Jesus (our ‘Lord’). We become alive to God “in Christ Jesus” (v.11). Being “in Christ Jesus” suggests that we have constant and growing communion with Jesus. It is NOT more effort that will help us, but more Jesus.

To have more Jesus means allowing the Holy Spirit more room in which to work, but also means knowing Jesus better from the reports we have available on his life. Later in Romans 6 (in verse 17), we read, Paul speaking to believers in Rome, But thanks be to God, that you, having once been slaves to sin, have become obedient from the heart – to the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. There are vital things we need to know and deeply internalise. We have had ‘open heart surgery’, so to speak, when we accept Jesus, so that we might become completely different – wholeheartedly living in the way of Jesus.

There are the demands of discipleship, the ethical requirements of faith, and the principles that must guide us in our interactions with each other and the world (E F Harrison). We have to know these and put them into practice. This stuff shapes our lives! The ‘believer’ has entered a new realm of existence and has begun the process of changing old habits and patterns toward now fitting the Jesus way of life they have chosen (G R Osborne). And we have to stay in this process – towards its completion!

If God loves me so much that he tore heaven open so that I could have a relationship with him and join his community, then I will respond precisely as he desires. Thus grace is NOT licence (to do whatever we please), but rather, grace is fuel (to do God’s work) – Bryan Chapell. If the first way to be “alive in Christ Jesus” is to allow space for the Holy Spirit to work, the second way to become “alive in Christ Jesus” is to be active in Jesus’ current body i.e. the church. Jesus left his community to come to earth so that we might be fitted to join his community – both functionally and eternally … thus creating a bridge – heaven to earth and earth to heaven.

Conclusion

The level of God’s love that has embraced us actually demands that we respond wholeheartedly … properly responding to free (yet costly) grace … letting go of certain sinful pursuits … actively dealing with the stuff that gets in the way … proactively embracing Jesus as our ‘master and commander’ – in so doing, finding the true freedom in which to thrive.

We will not be like the released prisoner, who, unable to find a new path, reoffends themselves back to a prison cell. It is rather to say, “I [have] made my choice, [I’m] not going back to history” (L Wesley)! I will not seek to undo what God in his great grace has done for me!! Let us always remember who we are in Christ Jesus. You must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus (Romans 6:11).

It is in being fully alive that we find our true and complete identity … the person we were originally created to be. True freedom then, rather than doing anything we feel like, rather than being any sort of ‘free agents’, is doing those things that count, under the Lordship of Jesus, uninterrupted and uncompromised by the old ways.

"God's Love: Heaven Torn Open" (Mark 1:1-11 & Mark 15:33-39)

Introduction

What is the motivation for obedience?

Why should we do God’s will, or be fruitful, or use our gifts?

What should be the real motivation behind our obedience to God?

NOT fear of repercussions, NOT religious obligation, NOT duty, CERTAINLY NOT guilt!

Proposition – God’s Love

God created everything with such love and care. Despite knowing that giving human beings freewill would cause him so much pain, God did so hoping that many would choose a relationship with him … rather than the emptiness of denying God a place in their lives. God desired relationships with his creations, and he has never deviated from this desire.

Over recorded history, God has often been frustrated by a lack of response to His Ways. We see this time and time again in the Old Testament. There have been a few shining lights, like Abraham, Moses and David, but so many instances of apathy and rebellion. So many calls to reform their ways and tackle injustice had fallen on deaf ears. The people of Israel found themselves defeated by foreign nations and taken into exile because they had lost their way. Sacrifices were made seeking forgiveness, but lives remained unchanged. So God gave up!?! No!!

The people were in need; and God’s love had been seen in His care for the universe. What would God do? The prophets longed for an answer. Isaiah cried out these words, “O that you [God] would tear open the heavens and come down” (64:1). Sometimes we’ll get a job done on our property while we’re not there, and when we get home we find that it just isn’t done right. We’ll get on the phone and try to describe the problem, but in the end, the boss will need to come out and see to the issue in person. “O that you God would tear open heaven and come down”, and deal with this!

This is exactly what God eventually did – the heavens were “torn open”. God would respond to this prophetic cry by bringing grace right into the hustle and bustle of the human environment. In Matthew and Luke we have the birth narratives (that we read at Christmas) where we discover that Jesus was the Son of God sent to earth. The Gospel of John opens with those great words about the “Word becoming flesh”. In Mark, at the time of Jesus’ baptism, we hear that the heavens have been “torn apart” (Mark 1:10).

The root of the Greek word used here is “schizo” – the word from which we get the medical term ‘schizophrenic’ – meaning a divided or torn mind. In the context of “heaven”, there has been a separation – a tearing away. Never let us think that this was a simple or uncomplicated thing for God to do – this was the greatest act of love since creation itself. The community of God – the Trinity – Father, Son and Spirit, had always been together (to this point), and together created the world and everything in it. This was a tight community!

God’s extreme response to the need of humanity was to ‘tear apart’ this community, and send the Son to earth. And the Son would be sent as a human being – a human being vulnerable to hurt, rejection, betrayal and violence. Jesus would experience life, in a particular time and place, like we experience life; yet in a way that we couldn’t help but notice – in a sinless and messianic way. And Jesus would experience death in a way that would bring us new life – because his death was actually our death.

God would suffer a loss of community … for the sake of offering us community. Through this act of love, we could be drawn ourselves into relationship with God’s community, as well as into a new community of people of faith. Jesus would leave many aspects of his divinity behind in heaven so that he could personally experience what it is to be human. Not that God didn’t know already something about human suffering – it’s just that we would get to know how Jesus experienced the breadth of being human, and see how he handled this.

Jesus brought together the fullness of the love of heaven with the vast need of humanity. Jesus too would have a sense of loss, intensified on the cross (Mark 15:34) – “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani”? This is unprecedented love, radical love, extraordinary love! We should say again, that God was here reengaging with his original desire to forge eternal intimate relationships with his created beings, and paying a great cost to do so!

That Jesus was fully human is seen through the fact that he needed the Holy Spirit, just like we do, if he was to fulfil God’s will. It will be this Spirit that Jesus relies upon to guide him through his ministry. The Holy Spirit would be needed to effectively deal with all the needs, expectations, problems, diseases and opposition that lay ahead. In the very next verse, the Holy Spirit ‘drives’ Jesus out into the wilderness, so that he might endure and rise above all temptation, before embarking on all the challenging ministry that lay ahead. As all members of the Trinity participated in the first creation, all members participate in the new work of re-creation (RA Cole) … God in the sending, Jesus in the redeeming, and the Spirit in the guiding!

But the main point I am making, is the magnificent extent of God’s love … that he would let his Son go … that the perfection of the community of heaven could be torn apart for our sake. But God judged this to be worth it – for the human Jesus, with the Holy Spirit on side, would indeed change everything. That this would not be without cost, is indeed amplified in those heart-rendering words (of Jesus from the cross), “My God, my God why have you forsaken me” (Mark 15:34). This was an expression of isolation, of broken community, and the weight of the burden that had been placed upon Jesus.

A Second Tearing

So the heavens were torn open to allow Jesus to take up residence on earth, but then the heavens were torn open again. There was a part of the temple (called the ‘Holy of Holies’) reserved for the high priest – this was behind a curtain. There were all sorts of perceived barriers that separated people from God symbolised by this curtain. The law had to be addressed in all sorts of rigorous ways, sacrifices had to be made in a certain way. It was really only the high priest who could fully commune with God.

But had this made any real difference?!? When Jesus died his perfect death, for the remission of our sins, what happened to this curtain??? It was “torn in two from top to bottom” (Mark 15:38). This symbolically demonstrated that heaven had again been thrown wide open, with Jesus ushering the way for us to engage fully with God. There was now unrestricted access to God. Now there could be real relationships forged based on mutual love; that could in turn lead to much more natural, spontaneous and heart-felt responses.

In previous days there had been knowledge about God, certain experiences of God’s power, calls for obedience to God’s commandments; but all from something of a distance. Now heaven had been torn open. Hebrews 6:19 says, “We have this hope, a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters the inner shrine behind the curtain …”. There was now an opening for a direct and personal connection with God. There was now to be complete and unhindered access to God, for anyone who sought this.

There should be a sense of excitement here! The full capacities of heaven are now available on earth! We can have an open relationship with God now! A heavenly relationship is there for us to be lived here and now on earth. In this we are completely engulfed and fuelled by God’s love – a very personal love – a very gracious love – a very active love – an unrestrained and passionate love – a very costly love – and that is why we would want to be obedient, fruitful, and using all the gifts available to us for God’s glory!

Heaven is NOT just a place to be enjoyed later, but a place to be experienced here and now. Heaven, that has been “torn open” in the greatest demonstration of love, defines how we live now. This is why we were taught to pray these words … “Your Kingdom come; Your Will be done, on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10). When the heavens split open (at Jesus’ baptism), it is the Holy Spirit that comes forth. As this Spirit guided Jesus, this same Holy Spirit will be our companion on the journey of accomplishing God’s will.

Heaven Torn Open

So, the heavens were “torn open”, and Jesus came as a human to identify with us. Jesus was baptised to identify with a death to life experience, and received the Holy Spirit through which to undertake a thorough ministry of redemption. In this, Jesus removed all the barriers that stood between us and God … such barriers as sin, guilt, shame, pride and selfishness. As Isaiah put it seven centuries earlier (53:12), “… he was numbered with the transgressors, yet he bore the sin of many”. This would allow us all to enter new life; and whilst remaining on earth, express the priorities of heaven.

Such was the depth and significance of the scene of the cross that a Roman Centurion, perhaps one who earlier might have been involved in gambling over Jesus’ clothes, came to this conclusion … “Truly this man was God’s Son” (Mark 15:39)! Here, the Roman Centurion knows what God knows, and agrees with what God has said earlier – “You are my Son the beloved” (Mark 1:11). This was the most unlikely of persons to make such a statement. If this ‘hard-nosed’ Roman soldier could say this, then anyone could say it! This statement begs the question as to whether we can say these words – “Truly this man was God’s Son”! Here, in Jesus, was God’s agent of salvation – heaven is torn open – this changes everything – eternal life starts now!

This Roman Centurion, in making the statement he did, has switched his allegiance from Caesar to Jesus (and chosen a new king); in so doing switched his life orientation from one of violence to self-sacrifice. This was an absolute change of direction that would affect everything (if it was real)! So this is where we find our motivation for obedience, fruitfulness and the use of our gifts!

Not in guilt, fear or obligation!! We aren’t obedient to gain God’s love – it doesn’t work that way! God first loves us, and out of this … our hearts, minds, hands and feet are engaged in God’s purposes. It is God’s extraordinary ground-breaking life-changing love that makes us want to love him in return, and respond to him in ways that make a difference for good. This mutual love relationship we develop enlivens us … and impels us.