I was told to prepare 2 messages for today in case New Zealand lost their Quarter Final against France. It was either going to be like a marriage or a funeral, which HAKA was it going to be?
Ka mate Ka mate
It is death It is death
Ka ora Ka ora
It is life It is life
Ka mate Ka mate
It is death It is death
Ka ora Ka ora
It is life It is life
Tenei Te Tangata Puhuruhuru
This is the hairy man
Nana i tiki mai whakawhiti te ra
Who caused the sun to shine again for me
Upane Upane
Up the ladder Up the ladder
Upane Kaupane
Up to the top
Whiti te ra
The sun shines!
Like 2007 or 2011...
Graham Henry, the coach of the All Blacks recently described the 2007 Quarter Final defeat against France in Cardiff as "Hell".
4 years later on Sunday 23rd October 2011, it was the morning of the Rugby World Cup Final against France and I was preaching on the topic of the "End of the World" which it would have felt like if we had lost! Later in the day we joined the vast crowds in town to watch a tense final against France. The last 20 minutes in Aotea Square there was an eerie silence as it looked less and less likely that the All Blacks were going to win. When the final whistle went with the score 8v7, there was a great sense of relief and the celebrations started. It was "Heaven" but it would have been "Hell" if the result would have been reversed. I think there would have been a riot.
Hell is not a place that people think is real anymore although they are happy to hope for Heaven. But you can't accept 50% of what the Bible says. It's 100% or nothing. What we believe is very important because it determines how we will live our life. If the afterlife isn't real, if there is no Heaven or Hell for each one of us, then by all means go out and do whatever's legal and then some because it doesn't matter at all.
I remember walking home from school one day in England in 1972 and looking at some graffiti on the wall which had someones life dates. You know - their birth to their death - and thinking that one day in about 70 years time I'm going to die. At 6 years old I thought that. Even as children we know this truth. I also remember wondering what it would be like when the end came, when the lights went off. I couldn't see beyond the blackness, there was nothing I could imagine beyond that moment. I believe a lot of people do not know what lies beyond deaths door and it must be scary to think about so they don't! We don't talk about death, it's a conversation killer.
Billy Joel summed up what the World thinks when he sang
"They say there's a heaven for those who will wait
Some say it's better but I say it ain't
I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints
The sinners are much more fun
You know that only the good die young"
But Jesus said;
"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."
Matthew 7:13-14
I hope you will listen to Jesus and not Billy Joel!
But what did Jesus mean when he said "enter through the narrow gate"?
I know my friend Glenn Tabor's favourite verse is John 14:6
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
"I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture."
John 10:9
In making these statements, Jesus ruled out every religion as being a way to Heaven. Religion is people trying to find their way to Heaven by following a set of rules or being good. Which we know we can never do by the way! The only way in is a person and that person is Jesus. What is your immediate heart felt reaction to these words? This message is offensive and people refuse to believe it. "But I'm a good person..."
I want to read one of the most famous passages in the Bible from John 3 where Jesus said to see the Kingdom of God, "you must be born again".
1 Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”
5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.
10 “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? 11 Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.
There are a few people you meet who are truly good people. Nicodemus was one of those types. He was very religious (but he could have been atheist as well), a fine upstanding man in the local community, a good example to all. But he came secretly to see Jesus at night when the crowds had all gone home. He started with the formalities "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
It is the type of statement of respect we give when we meet an important person. It's a way of getting to the more important things we want to know about someone. But Nicodemus no doubt had plenty of questions in his heart. Ones about whether Jesus really was the Messiah fulfilling the prophecies that he had learned from when he was a young religious Jew. Nicodemus was waiting for, searching for the Messiah all his life. All his learning had not satisfied his desire to know how to get to Heaven, which was the ultimate question in his heart. Religion will leave you thirsty. Even though Nicodemus was very good, very religious, he didn't have any experience with the Spirit of God. It was like being in the dark.
But Jesus could see in his heart - he can see in yours as well - and Jesus replied as if answering the question in Nicodemus' heart which was "How can I be sure to go to Heaven, how do I get there?"
Jesus doesn't need us to verbalise what's in our hearts, he can already see inside so he speaks to Nicodemus' real heart question "How do I get to Heaven?"
Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again."
Nicodemus needed to be "born again", born of the Spirit, so he could understand the things of God because even though he learned them all his life and was now old, it was all just in his head, a blackness like some mystery.
So Jesus answers Nicodemus' real question by saying you must be born again, by the Spirit, because only the Holy Spirit can give life from Heaven, we cannot attain it ourselves. A dead man cannot bring himself back to life!
Nicodemus didn't understand. “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked. Do you want to know God but you can't understand anything the Bible says? You are like Nicodemus.
Jesus then tells Nicodemus what's wrong - that he needs to believe in Jesus. That was the problem the Pharisees had. They knew Jesus had been sent by God but they didn't believe him when he said he was the Son of God. And so because they didn't believe, they could not be born again.
If I don't believe what someone says, I won't do what he says! But if I love and trust someone as my friend, I will do what they say showing I believe him! Jesus tells Nicodemus the most famous words in the Bible, and he says them to all of us.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16
Why does our eternity depend on believing in Jesus? Because that is God's only condition and we should be very grateful it is so easy! By believing him, we are born again and that is the only way to enter the Kingdom of God - through the narrow gate.
The only real reason people don't is because they want to live the way they want. They don't want to follow a narrow path, they want to be able to live how they please, go where they want, experience everything they can while they still have breath. Though that way is wide and commonly followed, it is a dead end. Ultimately they have chosen the shadows over the light because they think they will have time to change.
They are following the advice of Led Zeppelin in Stairway to Heaven
"Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run
There's still time to change the road you're on."
But Jesus said in John 3:8
"The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”.
The Spirit comes and goes like the wind, you have got to accept the offer when it's on the table. You may not get another chance!
For he says,“In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God’s favour, now is the day of salvation." 2 Corinthians 6:2
I hope you will listen to Jesus and not Led Zeppelin!
Let me tell you it is not as easy a decision as you might think. The Devil doesn't give up without a fight! The Bible says today if you hear Gods voice come. Today is the day of salvation. Don't say you'll do it later. Because the Holy Spirit is like the wind and you cannot expect he will be available on your beck and call. People who think they will repent on their deathbeds cannot be sure to find faith in those moments. It is a terrible risk.
I remembered the lead up to when I was born again. I was young but you don't have to be. It's when you hear God's voice, that's when you have to respond. In December 1976 my cousins arrived for a holiday, 2 years after we had emigrated to New Zealand. It was really great to see them.
In early 1977, I started at Papatoetoe Intermediate. The year brought a lot of changes. In May, Star Wars was released, we couldn't wait to see it!
A couple of weeks later, June 12th 1977 (I still have a momento), the Boys Brigade that I was a part of had a parade from Old Papatoetoe to the Baptist Church. It's not too far to walk. My best friends father preached that day. It was the first time I really heard the Gospel preached and really understood it. The message was a a bit scary as it talked about Hell. Hymn 417 (I think) was sung. The preacher called forward anyone who wanted to give their life to Christ. Luckily we were sitting near the front. It was just a couple of steps away. My friend Gary Poulgrain also went forward. You may not think so but it is not easy to leave your chair to go to the front when the preacher calls. There is a huge battle going on and it's a good thing if someone's been praying for you!
The experience of being "born again" is different for everyone but for me it was emotional with tears. I felt different, I felt relief. But that afternoon many doubts and fears came rushing in. I felt as if I was caught up in a frightening battle. I now understand that the devil doesn't give up anyone without a fight. You may think you are your own boss. But if you don't believe in Jesus you are in chains and you don't even know it!
A few weeks later we started discipleship classes. I always felt that I hadn't had all the experiences that had been described and that my own experience was lacking. The Bible says that all who believe the Gospel are born again. There are no additional qualifications to just believing. If you believe the Gospel, you are born again. If you don't believe it, you are not and the Bible says you won't enter the Kingdom of Heaven. People scoff at this but you must be born again, you must believe. All your good works count for nothing at the pearly gates. Only that your name is written in the Book of Life. The day you believe it is written there! Do you need to make sure of that today?
Here I am nearly 40 years later and I still believe and even more so!
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| In memory of Glyn Jones |
