nobrokenreed

The too hard Gospel

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At this point, many of his disciples turned away and deserted him – John 6:66

The writer GK Chesterton once wrote, “Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found too difficult and not tried”. When you read John chapter 6, you understand why.

Me and my wife recently met up with an urban missionary in Sydney city on a Saturday afternoon. Afterwards we went for a walk around Millers Point, which is right under the bridge next to The Rocks. We walked into a pub, as some music was playing and while I was at the bar, a man came and hit on my wife. It was quite amusing. He was disappointed when he realised he was 25 years too late to the scene, but he wouldn’t go a away and insisted on getting to know us better. Using Jesus Christ every second sentence, he tried to convince us he was happily married with 3 kids. What were we doing on a Saturday afternoon in Millers Point? In frustration, eventually my wife turned on him and said ‘we’re here to tell people about the person you’ve been swearing about for the last 10 minutes, Jesus Christ!”, which at last quietened him down.

Over the next half-hour we were able to go right through the Gospel with him and his mate, explaining that God has two sides to his character – holiness and love, and that both are of equal importance, both inseparable. Our audience was genuinely transfixed; they had never heard that Christianity was like this before. The Holiness of God is a rarely-preached thing these days, and it is confronting to all who hear it.

At the end, I told them that a decision now awaited them. God is waiting for a response from each of us, we have to decide what we will do with Jesus Christ in our lives. There was a flicker of seriousness, as for maybe the first time in their lives they faced the gravity of what it might be like having to deal with God. We were intrigued, watching as they carefully weighed up what it could cost to follow Jesus. In the end, they declined the invitation to respond, not because it didn’t make perfect sense, neither because it wasn’t crystal clear, no they declined because it would mean having to change a lifestyle. The woman-chasing (in spite of talk about being happily married) and pub crawls would have to end, perhaps even that night.

I’ve never watched someone so deliberately decide to reject the Gospel because of a lifestyle choice before.

There’s another side to Jesus’ comments here though, and that is what is the cost to believers, how hard is the Gospel for us? It says, many of his disciples left him. I have grave concerns for the current ‘church’ in the West as I believe many who think they are comfortably saved, may not be so. Too many think that salvation is determined by the utterance of a few lines in response to a prayer, and then regular church attendance with the odd meeting here and there. The rest of our lives we are free to do as we please. It seems for many, they are allowed to live an unnatural life, one day a week. How much can God really demand of us?

Well, Jesus tells us that he demands everything of us, if we are to truly follow him. It is at this point that I realise the Gospel is in fact very hard. The Cross of Calvary meant that for the first and only time, sinners had a genuine second chance at getting right with God, not because of what we could do, but because of what Christ could do for us. It was and remains the most extraordinary gift for mankind. But, somehow this became translated as the easy Gospel, the no-work Gospel and it is a deadly assumption. To presume the priceless grace of God is cheap and easy, and allows us to live how we see fit is the greatest heresy imaginable. It must be a stench to Him.

Just recently we heard about the Tabernacle of the Old Testament, and how essential it was for the priests ministering within it, to follow protocol. This was no ordinary king they were dealing with, this was the God of Gods. His Holiness demanded it be done right. It made me examine my own approach to God on a daily basis, how do I come into his presence even though I have been saved by his Grace in Christ Jesus. On a day to day basis, how much do I listen to what he says, and do his will, how much am I his? I feel that in some ways I walk a careful tightrope, and yet I think that is a good thing.

In 1 Corinthians, we are told ‘you are not your own, you were bought with a price.’ Can it be any clearer for me, for you?

I fear that one day, it is going to cost us everything to preach such a message in the West even in our so-called ‘churches’, but we need to nonetheless. There is a toughness about the Gospel message that our soft over-sensitive society cannot stomach.

We need to tell others of this side of the Gospel, even if it means that many would leave him because of it. We must follow Christ in all that we do, including what is hard and even unpopular.

As John Knox said when preaching relentlessly to Mary Queen of Scots, I fear him more than I fear you.

Just Give Me Jesus

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For God the Father has given me his seal of approval – John 6:27

This is the only work God wants from you; believe in the one he has sent – John 6: 29

Anne Graham Lotz has written a book with the title, Just Give me Jesus. In the Gospel of John, more so than anywhere else, Jesus tells us that he is the chosen Messiah, the living Son of God and the only way to God. There is no other.

I have come to realise that he is the very epicentre of all things. Wars are fought because of him, families are held together in his name, people curse others using his name, or bless them as a result of him. This entire universe revolves around him, whether we can see it or not. We talk with a great deal of people on the streets from other religions, and all of them have an opinion about Jesus, Isa as Muslims call him. He figures in virtually all of the world’s religions. In our view, most of them want Jesus in ‘their religion’, a figure who is both divine and human, a way back to God. What they don’t understand, is that he belongs to no religion but if they would only accept his claims, they could claim him for themselves. That is what he wants.

It is possible to tell a person’s true relationship with God by how much they bring Jesus into conversation. Those who truly know him, talk about him openly and often, pray to him, usually in total freedom with others on the spur of the moment and seem to walk with him throughout every day of the week. He is anything but a religious institution in their lives. Conversely we know many Christians who rarely talk about him, or mention him by name and their relationship to him is strictly for Sundays. As a consequence, they rarely share their precious jewel with anybody else.

So how about you, in the hierarchy of your life, where does he rank in importance?

While on the subject of the Graham family, father Billy recently wrote that the greatest mistake a believer can make is to assume they need to work to get in the Kingdom. All too often, every one of us assumes somehow we can make it to God on our own. Jesus warns us off that path very quickly though, and tells us that God has put his Son front and centre of everything as our only chance of entering the presence of God. Believe in him, God points.

There is a fine line of course, in a statement like this. Those who truly relate to Him, understand that the Kingdom is a work, sometimes even a grind, yet they do it with relish not because it saves us, but because we are now motivated by his love. In our relationship with him, he has given us tasks to accomplish and as our loving King, he expects us to do them. He though, not our works will only save us in the end.

The world of course, gives scant regard to him or God, dismissing both as nothing more than a figment of our crazed mind. Some even fight to disprove his very existence.

All too many of us make a mental ascent to Jesus and his claims (and so believe) without it ever affecting our lives. This often drifts off into tick box religious work of sitting in pews, Sunday attendance, weekly prayer meeting and occasional choir practice, sometimes not even that. In our experience, this is deadly. It allows us to walk the fine line of somehow believing we are acceptable to God by going through a few rituals, without ever bothering with the relationship. We allow our activity to define relationship, not his expectation. All too often, as we listen to people tell us ‘we go to church’ or ‘we are Anglicans [or whatever brand it is]’ the conversation, the opportunity for real relationship passes by. Who knows when they will think about such things again? Deadly.

If you think I exaggerate, then consider throughout the Gospels, who Jesus railed against; was it ever the poor who knew in their hearts they could never reach God (after all just look at the state he left them in, went the Pharisees)? No, it was the religious elite those who set the bar so high that nobody could ever achieve it, those who changed the rules to suit themselves, those who made sure that God remained a complex and distant deity that nobody would ever get close to.

So, God sent his Son. We write, talk and preach of him. His beauty, his majesty is simply astounding, but so is his simplicity. In these simple verses and in the life he lived, he made his Father, the great Yahweh, accessible to all who were never good enough and knew it. To ascend to the heavens, you need to humble yourself first. He showed us that, if we would only dispense with our immense human pride and arrogance, we could not only come to the throne we could even call him Father.

That all the works but one were unnecessary, and that one was to believe in his Son with everything we had. Along the way, we will find every desire, every want and need, all our peace and contentment is found in him. Then one day, when we finally pass, he will take our hand and walk us into the throne room to introduce us to his Father.

Every single day of my life, I continue to be astounded by him. Just give me Jesus.

The Greatness of the Son

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Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people come to look for him. Turning to Philip he asked, where can we buy bread to feed all these people? He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do – John 6: 5-6

The Book of John reveals a God who came near to us. In Jesus we see Emmanuel, ‘God with us’ and he walks, talks, eats and shares his life among us. We get to see Gods character up close, and it is a beautiful picture in all ways. Here, in this simple and often read passage we see another of his characteristics, his greatness. With that, we are able to compare his greatness with ours.

I read this week that the next ‘biggest’ complex in the world is due to be finished in Dubai at a height of 1 km. It is one of a number of monuments going up to man’s greatness around the world at the moment. Without doubt many of these will be spectacular. We might ask, which one exactly is the pinnacle of human achievement – which empire can we point to across the ages and say, ‘that is one that achieved so much?’ Babylon perhaps, or maybe Rome? The British empire as a more modern example. We can consider the glory of each, with monuments and beacons that in some cases have endured through to today, a legacy to a bygone era of greatness.

The contrast with God’s greatness though, is that his greatness is for all of us. The empires of the world, both past and modern are built for the benefit of just a few. Few get to really enjoy them, but we are left in no doubt as to who they are really built for. This is in total contrast to the great works of God in Scripture, which are for the benefit of mankind and always have a purpose to achieve good for all.

God’s greatness also seems so effortless compared to our own. While we need to muster all of our intelligence and power, with months even years of consumed planning and preparation, his greatness seems always to be to hand.

There is a winsome teasing with Philip the disciple here, that belies what Jesus really did. In the Old Testament, His Father sustained an entire nation in a Limestone desert for 40 years (the same desert that defeated the entire army with all of its modern machinery in just a few days) through the provision of a daily supply of food. Jesus readily and easily achieves the same feat, sustaining people in their time of need, again with food. Father and Son in harmony, at work. Greatness.

With effortless compassion, his divine power shows each of us that our ability to sustain ourselves is limited, that our achievements are contained within his much greater ones. Did Philip have the answer to the needs of those around him? Were any of those in the crowd able to offer suitable provision; when it really counted, did their, or do our achievements count for anything much?

But what of God, does he ask anything of us in return? What does he ask us to achieve in this life? I might be simplistic in my thinking, but I think that what God asks each of us to achieve in our lifetime is simple obedience to him. Little, if anything more.

For the believer, this is most important. We must come simply to God, take what he has given us and share it among those around us. We must minister to the sick, to the poor, the marginalised and those in need. In doing so, we copy his Son. We are not called to elevate ourselves in anyway, but to be the humble servant of Christ, sharing his greatness amongst all people. That is important as well. We have access to the greatness of God because of the Son, who sent his Spirit to us.

In my view, a changed life is truly evidence of the greatness of God, perhaps far more impressive than feeding multitudes or parting oceans. Lives that are stuck, lives that cannot move forward are able to be changed by him alone. That is our ministry to this world, the life of a believer. Taking his greatness to a cynical and hardened world, and watching hearts of stone being replaced with hearts of flesh.

We have read this passage many times, and perhaps the greatness of God has escaped us here. Maybe it is the humility of his greatness that passes us by, but it is there nonetheless. In fact, the greatness of God is on display all around us, mostly in the lives of those who have been changed by him. Do we miss it because we are consumed by our own achievements, our own successes and greatness?

One day, God is going to erase all the achievements of man in an instant.

How will we be when each of us, with nothing in our hands, stands before God? He may I fear, ask each of us just one question as we stand before him, and it will be this: ‘What did you do with my Son in your life?’

The answer to that question will provide a complete picture of our lives and all we achieved. Let us be prepared.

Christ at the centre

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But someone else is also testifying about me and I assure you that everything he says about me is true..of course, I have no need of human witnesses, but I say these things so you might be saved..the Father who sent me has testified about me himself..and you do not have his message in your hearts because you do not believe me – the one he sent to you – John 5:32-38

Peter Hitchens once said that this world is fast becoming an unfit place to live. If you read the news then you would certainly start to think that might be the case. Globally, there seems turmoil at a political, social and financial level unexperienced in the world before. Terror is the new word on the streets.

At the micro level though, the situation is just as bad. School children are confused about their identity and sexuality, relationships are torn apart and substance abuse is out of control. People seem to live in genuine fear and it is a frightening scenario. We are meeting with and counselling a number of couples who are in great pain over their relationships, and this week, a young mother we knew well, at barely 50 died of a stroke leaving behind a devastated family. Everything is awry and the question being asked is, who will save us from all this?

When we go out onto the streets of Sydney, we hear and see the same things; people are uncertain, worried even fearful about their everyday lives. Even amongst the very middle class, there is growing uncertainty about our world. It is becoming every man for themselves, or else who will protect us. Is that how you feel in your own life?

The one thing that interests us though, is people’s response to God. The most devout agnostic, seems to hold out hope that some deity might come and rescue the situation, somehow – and include them with it. It seems when hope in ourselves fails, we long to hope in something else to rescue us, and God still tops the list of most likely candidates.

In this short passage in John, Jesus gives us some great insights into what God is going to do, and how he is going to respond. Simply, he is going to do it all through his son, Jesus Christ. In fact, from this moment on, he will do nothing outside of his son. All Scripture, we are told here, points to this moment in time, when Jesus the divine comes to earth as man. He reflects back a perfect relationship with his Father, and goes so far as to say he can do nothing but that which he sees his Father doing. In doing so, he shows us, the created, how God would like us to live, and how in so living, we might create a better world on this earth, imperfect though it may be.

We need to pay attention to what Jesus is saying, as it affects us all deeply. He tells us to mimic him in every way; in how we treat others (especially others who are in distress) how we relate to him, his Father and all those God puts across our path. In fact, he tells us here, that we must respond affirmatively to himself, as the chosen one of God. Only then will things straighten out.

Every week we talk to dozens of people, most of whom profess to have a relationship of some description or other, with God. Which God many of them are not sure about it, but they do say they have a belief in him. Is that enough?

Well, Jesus tells us plainly that we are to put our faith in him. As we talk with others, it becomes evident who really has a relationship with God, because of how they frame Jesus in their lives, how they do or don’t speak about him. Everyone talks or expresses an opinion about God, yet few ever know or consider his Son. But Jesus tells us – and the entire canon of Scripture backs him up, that he is the very front and centre of God’s purpose.

As I ponder the world around me, including the wars, governments, factions or sides, people’s beliefs or disbeliefs, their purpose in life on both a large and small scale, it all seems to centre around the person of Jesus Christ. He remains to this day, the one still standing at the epicenter of all things and everything is about him.

If that is the case then, there is another part to this story, and it is our response to him. If he is the centre of all things, is he the centre of your life and mine? Jesus demands a response to the question, and is backed by his Father in heaven. In all our conversations with people, this is the one question that leaves people dead in their tracks. He is God’s final response to the problems of the world, and I believe that no matter how bad it becomes, God does little or nothing until we begin to respond to his Son – on both a global and personal level.

For those of you who believe, let me also say that it is our role to issue the challenge to others, what will you do with Jesus, what is your response going to be, in whom will you put your faith? Many, many people express an opinion or belief about God, but so few put their faith in his Son, Jesus Christ. That is usually because they have never been told and our job is to break into their world with the news, however uncomfortable that maybe.

Let us today not only believe in him, but act on our beliefs and encourage others to explore the depth that is found in him alone. As he says later on, there is no other name under heaven or on earth, by which we will be saved. It seems, he can’t come soon enough.

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