The Queen of Sheba and the Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh

It's been an eventful week. The Royals announced an engagement for a wedding. Last weekend we were in Queenstown for our silver wedding anniversary. Time flies! On Wednesday I delivered 41 souvenir shirts to PACT for the 10th anniversary of the Soccer Academy. On Friday my friend sent me some pictures of her sisters baby girl born on Friday 1st December named Gabrielle .

Gifts, Wise Men (and Women), Royals, December, Babies and Gabrielle can only mean one thing. It’s Christmas!

Let me remind you first of all that Herod was not the true King. He was an impostor King appointed by the Romans to govern Judea. His boss was the Roman Caesar Augustus, he only pretended to serve God. You can fool the people but you cannot fool God! God knows all the hypocrites and counterfeits! Who wants a fake gift anyway?

The true gift from the Royal line of Kings is presented at the beginning of Matthew;
Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah

By the way, this is evidence of God and why the Bible is the Word of God. The book of Luke takes the genealogy back to Adam. How can anyone otherwise explain how all the different Old Testament authors would have known that what they were writing about was leading directly to King Jesus, the Saviour of the World not just Israel!

You need to look at the Bible from beginning to end to see the common thread running through it. Then you will get the message.

Notice 2 things;

1. David and Jesus are the only ones with titles - David is King and Jesus is Christ the Messiah (Anointed Chosen King!) 
2. Of the 5 women mentioned, only Bathsheba is not named being called “his mother” instead. It’s almost as if Matthew doesn’t want to put Bathsheba on the list. Well some of the biggest rogues belong to God’s family, sometimes we need reminding of God’s Grace. Is there someone we need to forgive today?

King David in his last Psalm (72) wrote;
Kings along the Mediterranean coast—the kings of Tarshish and the islands—and those from Sheba and from Seba—all will bring their gifts. Yes, kings from everywhere! All will bow before him! All will serve him! Psalm 72:10-11
And he shall live; and to him will be given the gold of Sheba, and there will be constant praise for him. His people will bless him all day long. Psalm 72:15

Was David blessing his son Solomon with his final words or was there something more going on?

David’s prophecy certainly did come true when the Queen of Sheba came to visit Solomon and brought him many gifts.

When the queen of Sheba heard how wonderfully the Lord had blessed Solomon with wisdom, she decided to test him with some hard questions. She arrived in Jerusalem with a long train of camels carrying spices, gold, and jewels; and she told him all her problems. Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too difficult for him, for the Lord gave him the right answers every time
1 Kings 10:1-3

Someone should have told Solomon that he wasn’t supposed to solve her problems, only to listen to them 😉

Anyhow, the point is something more was going on than just gift-giving. There is a parallel world where far greater things are happening for those who love the Lord! God is writing his story in our lives beyond what we can imagine. How could David or Solomon have known that the Holy Spirit was talking in Psalm 72 about Jesus as well!

Sometimes in our most difficult times it is hard to imagine that this is true, that God is working out his plans for our good. That dark day the Romans nailed Jesus, the King to the Cross it must have felt that all their dreams of a Messiah were just delusions.

But the great men of the world have not understood it; if they had, they never would have crucified the Lord of Glory. That is what is meant by the Scriptures which say that no mere man has ever seen, heard, or even imagined what wonderful things God has ready for those who love the Lord. 
1 Corinthians 2:8-9

Do you love the Lord today but are going through tough times? Keep your head up! There is a great gift coming your way 😊

Bob has just taken us through a six part series on the first six chapters of Daniel which covered Israel’s captivity of 70 years in Babylon. This was not a happy time in Israel’s history but God has stored up some real gems for us because of their suffering.

The enemy from Babylon had arrived many years before in the time of Isaiah disguising his true intentions.

(King) Hezekiah appreciated this and took the envoys from Babylon on a tour of the palace, showing them his treasure-house full of silver, gold, spices, and perfumes. He took them into his jewel rooms, too, and opened to them all his treasures—everything. Then Isaiah the prophet came to the king and said, “What did they say? Where are they from?” “From far away in Babylon,” Hezekiah replied. “How much have they seen?” asked Isaiah. And Hezekiah replied, “I showed them everything I own, all my priceless treasures.” Then Isaiah said to him, “Listen to this message from the Lord Almighty: “The time is coming when everything you have—all the treasures stored up by your fathers—will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left. And some of your own sons will become slaves, yes, eunuchs, in the palace of the king of Babylon.” “All right,” Hezekiah replied. “Whatever the Lord says is good. At least there will be peace during my lifetime!” 
Isaiah 39:2-8

Hezekiah had foolishly shown the enemy all the ancient Crown Jewels because of his pride. And he didn’t really care too much when Isaiah warned him what was going to happen down the line because at least he would be alright! What kind of a legacy are we leaving for the next generation?

How could Hezekiah have been so careless. He was the steward of the riches gained by all his forefathers. The same way Esau was careless with his birthright. Satan stalks around like a roaring lion waiting to devour his prey. Pride comes before a fall. So in Hezekiah’s grandsons rule, the Babylonian’s came and stole it all, destroyed the temple, killed all the men women and children except for a few captives from the royal household, including Daniel as we saw in week 1 of Bob’s series.

In chapter 2 early on in their captivity, Daniel interpreted Nebuchadnezzar’s dream about a giant statue by giving him a prophecy about 4 coming empires, the last of which would be destroyed in the End Times by the coming of the true King.

But in chapter 3 we saw how Nebuchadnezzar instead of being humble and worshipping the God who interpreted his dream, instead became proud and ;

King Nebuchadnezzar made a gold statue ninety feet high and nine feet wide and set it up on the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon; 
Daniel 3:1

Where did he get all that gold from? One strongly suspects it’s what he stole from Jerusalem’s Temple! Someone once said to me that rich people have got their money only one of 2 ways - either they inherited it or they’ve stolen it! I think he forgot about hard work but in any case ...

Daniels friends , Shadrach , Meshach and Abednego were the ones purified like gold in the fire - our trials will turn to gold in the hands of God.

In chapter 4 we saw that Pride comes before a fall. God humbled Nebuchadnezzar by turning him into a madman like an animal. Watch out if you’re feeling safe because of your Worldly Power or Possessions.

You would think his grandson Belshazzar would have learned the lesson but no!

We saw in chapter 5,
While Belshazzar was drinking, he was reminded of the gold and silver cups taken long before from the Temple in Jerusalem during Nebuchadnezzar’s reign and brought to Babylon. Belshazzar ordered that these sacred cups be brought in to the feast, and when they arrived, he and his princes, wives, and concubines drank toasts from them to their idols made of gold and silver, brass and iron, wood and stone. 
Daniel 5:2

Mene Mene Tekel Parsin, that was the end of Belshazzar! But not the end of the treasures. Someone must have been polishing the silver all those years.

Then the king made Daniel very great; he gave him many valuable gifts and appointed him to be ruler over the whole province of Babylon, as well as chief over all his wise men. 
Daniel 2:48

Gods purposes continue in spite of mans plans. When we look at our world, we might think that chaos reigns and blessed are the proud and arrogant but that is not the case. God is in on the throne and in control of history. In Daniel 9 there is a remarkable prophecy which gave the wise men a timeline for the coming of the Messiah. When the Jews were taken captive into Babylon, they took their scriptures with them and Daniel was sure to have made them known to all the wise man who were placed under his authority.

Now listen! It will be 49 years plus 434 years from the time the command is given to rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One comes! Jerusalem’s streets and walls will be rebuilt despite the perilous times. “After this period of 434 years, the Anointed One will be killed, his kingdom still unrealized. . . and a king will arise whose armies will destroy the city and the Temple. They will be overwhelmed as with a flood, and war and its miseries are decreed from that time to the very end. Daniel 9:25-26

This prophecy is very famous because it was fulfilled to the very day but I will leave it until Easter as it’s more relevant to then.

These wise men of Babylon would have had plenty of knowledge of the promised Messiah. For example The scepter shall not depart from Judah until Shiloh comes, whom all people shall obey. Genesis 49:10

So he spoke this prophecy to him: “Balaam the son of Beor is the man Whose eyes are open! He hears the words of God And has knowledge from the Most High; He sees what Almighty God has shown him; He fell, and his eyes were opened: I see in the future of Israel, Far down the distant trail, That there shall come a star from Jacob! This ruler of Israel Shall smite the people of Moab, And destroy the sons of Sheth. Israel shall possess all Edom and Seir. They shall overcome their enemies. Jacob shall arise in power And shall destroy many cities.” 
Numbers 24:15 - 19

These prophecies help explain why the Wise Men from the East turned up when they did. Through Daniel, chief of the wise men, Astrologers and Magicians in Babylon, the wise men (Magi is short for Magicians) knew that a Jewish Messiah was coming. They recognised from the old prophecies about the star and they knew the time was right for the King to be born.

It’s also a pretty good guess as to where they got the idea for the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh as these were the original gifts from the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon. Perhaps it’s also true the gifts were really just some of the stolen merchandise being returned to the rightful King!

What they didn’t know (or hadn’t checked) was that the King would be born in Bethlehem as they went to Jerusalem instead on the assumption that the young Prince would be the current King’s son. Bethlehem is very close to Jerusalem so perhaps that’s why they thought the star was shining over there. The Bible is a very detailed book, there isn’t one word that is meaningless. Micah had given a prophecy about Bethlehem more than 100 years before the captivity so they could have known.

Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem, in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. At about that time some astrologers from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the newborn King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in far-off eastern lands and have come to worship him.” King Herod was deeply disturbed by their question, and all Jerusalem was filled with rumors. He called a meeting of the Jewish religious leaders. “Did the prophets tell us where the Messiah would be born?” he asked. “Yes, in Bethlehem,” they said, “for this is what the prophet Micah wrote: ‘O little town of Bethlehem, you are not just an unimportant Judean village, for a Governor shall rise from you to rule my people Israel.’” 
Matthew 2:1-6
Note: Micah was born around 250 years after David

No wonder the imposter Herod was disturbed by the Wise Men seeking the King! He knew his time was nearly up! In fact it is reckoned that he died in Autumn of 4BC not too long after he ordered the slaughter of all the babies in Bethlehem. Vengeance is mine says the Lord!

Entering the house where the baby and Mary, his mother, were, they threw themselves down before him, worshiping. Then they opened their presents and gave him gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Matthew 2:11

You are really blessed like these Wise Men if you can see who Jesus really is! It seems impossible that anyone could miss the great gift that is right in front of their eyes especially in these days of so much available instant knowledge. But sadly that’s how it is.

The queen of Sheba shall rise against this nation in the judgment and condemn it; for she came from a distant land to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and now one greater than Solomon is here—and you refuse to believe him.
Matthew 12:42

Age of the Universe Hypothesis 2

Not too long ago I noted a hypothesis that the earth may not be as old as it appears.

To add to that, here’s another hypothesis on why carbon dating of elements found on the earth dates the elements at billions of years old.

Colossians 1:16 tells us;
For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.

Common sense tells us that everything could not have come from nothing. If Jesus created the world then by implication this was from another realm, from the materials that exist in that realm. And since the realm in which God lives is eternal, then the elements themselves are ancient, prehistoric and could in fact be even older than carbon dating tells us they are.

Therefore Earth can be very young as the Bible says but that does not mean that the elements that make up the Earth are the same age.

The Exchange Part 2

Today is part 2 of a message from my time in England this year. If you were here 3 weeks ago you will remember I was staying with my brother and it was good to be with him through this sad time as he goes through a divorce and finalised his life there.

One of the things we did enjoy was observing all the nature around him and especially the frog and fish in his pond, the squirrels and the foxes coming and going from his garden.

We talked about how foxes have come to represent cunning and trickery and even the Devil himself. And we talked about Esau who was born with red hair all over like fur who got tricked into selling his inheritance for a bowl of soup to his sly fox brother Jacob. For anyone who's lost everything through the Devils tricks we know that Jesus comes with the reverse exchange - eternal life in exchange for your bowl of soup of sins.

But today is Fathers Day and I want to talk about a different type of exchange that Jesus offers - the offer to be his disciple.

Growing up as a young Christian, there were a few scriptures that had an impact on me that were foundational to the journey I have been on in the last few years which started with me breaking my leg in October 2008 - now nearly 9 years ago;

1. Parable of the Sower : Mark 4:1-20 
2. Parable of the Talents : Luke 19:12-27
3. Giving up everything: Luke 18:29-30
4. Taking up your Cross: Luke 9:23-26

The passages are very dramatic and leave you feeling a little overwhelmed with the enormity of the call of Jesus on your life and doubts about yourself. They aren't even do OR die. They are do AND die! I say it's an exchange because these passages indicate there is a price to be paid to be a disciple.

This morning I'd like to look at the real life example of the calling of the disciples - Simon and Andrew, James and John. These guys really did fulfill the words that Jesus spoke in those 4 passages.

One of the Gospel versions of the calling of the disciples has more detail than the other.

The first one lacking in detail is in Mark. It's possible that Mark was Peter's son as Peter called him his son;
1 Peter 5:13 The church here in Rome—she is your sister in the Lord—sends you her greetings; so does my son Mark.

I'd like to more research on that but in any case Mark really plays down the event - it's like he's relaying the same old story from Dad that he's heard a 1000 times before because he leaves out a few crucial facts...

Mark 1:16-20 One day as Jesus was walking along the shores of the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew fishing with nets, for they were commercial fishermen. Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me! And I will make you fishermen for the souls of men!” At once they left their nets and went along with him. A little farther up the beach, he saw Zebedee’s sons, James and John, in a boat mending their nets. He called them too, and immediately they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and went with him.

I don't think many people would do what those guys did based on the information Mark gives us. That leaves us with too many questions! If some bloke who I didn't even know shouted that out to me while I was working with my colleagues - "heh, come follow me and I will make you fishers of men", do you think l'd be leaving my business, my home and family, would you?

But Luke fills us in with the detail we need;

Luke 5:1-11 One day as he was preaching on the shore of Lake Gennesaret, great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the Word of God. He noticed two empty boats standing at the water’s edge while the fishermen washed their nets. Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon, its owner, to push out a little into the water, so that he could sit in the boat and speak to the crowds from there. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper and let down your nets and you will catch a lot of fish!” “Sir,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, we’ll try again.” And this time their nets were so full that they began to tear! A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking. When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, sir, please leave us—I’m too much of a sinner for you to have around.” For he was awestruck by the size of their catch, as were the others with him, and his partners too—James and John, the sons of Zebedee. Jesus replied, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for the souls of men!” And as soon as they landed, they left everything and went with him.

It sounds like Peter wasn't having a lot of success with his fishing business. 2 empty boats on the shore and nothing caught last night. Probably the usual case. Any of you guys relate to Peter and his work?

This gives us some understanding of why they left everything to follow him. Jesus had just given them the catch of their lifetimes. There were so many fish that the boats were sinking and the nets were breaking! That catch was worth far more than a weeks wages!

Some would say that was just a good business decision. Of course they followed Jesus! The guy had just brought them money beyond their wildest dreams.

But this is not about money. This is about finding a different kind of treasure, the thing they had been looking for their whole lives.

This was a no-brainer. They didn't even think about the money they were walking away from nor their businesses, their homes, their families. They had found something of far greater value.

Unless we understand who Jesus really is like Peter, Andrew, James and John did, we won't leave our nets behind like them. Our nets - jobs, houses, pension plans, relationships make us feel safe but they also have a price. Nets have to be held and repaired. Why don't we let go of our nets to follow Jesus?

Is it because we are afraid of what others think? What did Peters wife make of it? "He did what? He's gone off with with the brother-in-law AND his business partners on some wild goose chase with a stranger and he's left the boats sinking in the water with 50 tonnes of fish? Is he coming home for dinner???"

Jesus' offer to the disciples seems like an offer that they could not refuse. But we all know how life works. Taking that first step of faith can be very hard.

After the initial excitement of deciding to follow Jesus, reality bites

1. Where's the money going to come from now that I've left my job to follow Jesus? The Devil comes in with his doubts. He does not want us to take one step forward with Jesus. And it can be really hard to push through those thoughts, they can be crippling.
2. I don't think I'm the right guy Lord. Peter was overwhelmed by the call of Jesus on his life - "When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, sir, please leave us—I’m too much of a sinner for you to have around.”

That's real what Peter experienced, I've felt like Peter did in that moment many times. I'm not good enough. It's not real. That's embarrassing, I'll never be able to do that! It's impossible. But Jesus called them because he knew them and he knew what they were capable of.

Fortunately Peter does the best thing in expressing his doubts to Jesus. Underneath he is looking for encouragement. What does Jesus say? Same thing he always says to you and me. "Don’t be afraid!" That's just the Devil you're hearing, don't be afraid of him.

In Luke 9:57-62, 3 would-be disciples also had big doubts come their way and the suspicion is they declined the invitation because of their doubts.
As they were walking along someone said to Jesus, “I will always follow you no matter where you go.” But Jesus replied, “Remember, I don’t even own a place to lay my head. Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but I, the Messiah, have no earthly home at all.” Another time, when he invited a man to come with him and to be his disciple, the man agreed—but wanted to wait until his father’s death. Jesus replied, “Let those without eternal life concern themselves with things like that. Your duty is to come and preach the coming of the Kingdom of God to all the world.” Another said, “Yes, Lord, I will come, but first let me ask permission of those at home.” But Jesus told him, “Anyone who lets himself be distracted from the work I plan for him is not fit for the Kingdom of God.”

Peter doubted but Jesus told Peter how it's going to be. "From now on you’ll be fishing for the souls of men!”. A word of encouragement does wonders. A hope for the future gets us started.

The truth of the situation was that Peter was about to embark on the adventure of his life. The discouragements come for a moment but if you push back, they slink away again.

But Jesus doesn't say it will be easy. 
Luke 9:23 Then he said to all, “Anyone who wants to follow me must put aside his own desires and conveniences and carry his cross with him every day and keep close to me!

"Take up your cross" Luckily, Jesus does not reveal our whole future at once, we only have to deal with today. If Peter had known all the future in that moment, the suffering he would go through and that he would die for his faith, he may not have been able to leave the security of his home and business to follow Jesus.

Following Jesus is step by step.

Following Jesus requires self-discipline
"Keep close to me" I'm guilty of running ahead. I always did it even when I was young. I got lost once in Queens street when I was 11 years old because I was so keen to get where we were going that I just kept walking paying no attention to where my family was. Very soon I was lost and scared.

Don't be like me! If things aren't moving at our pace or are going in a direction that doesn't make sense to us we have to listen what Jesus is saying. If I don't, that gets me us in a lot of trouble believe me.

As I said, taking the first step is often the hardest. Jesus tells his would be disciples to count the cost but if we focus on that it can put us off.

Yes it costs to be a disciple. But the treasure is priceless. The man who found the treasure in the field sold everything he had to buy the field so he could get the treasure too! (Matthew 13:44).

The exchange we make when we give up everything to become Jesus disciple is our resources in exchange for the Fathers resources. Liam Foster shared a passage from Matthew in his communion 3 weeks ago and I promised I'd tie it back to this message about the exchange we make with God our Father.

Matthew 6:31, 33-34 “So don’t worry at all about having enough food and clothing. Why be like the heathen? For they take pride in all these things and are deeply concerned about them. But your heavenly Father already knows perfectly well that you need them, and he will give them to you if you give him first place in your life and live as he wants you to. “So don’t be anxious about tomorrow. God will take care of your tomorrow too. Live one day at a time.

I'm part way down that track and I can't go back but I know I have a long way to go yet. Fortunately, Jesus doesn't call anyone to be a disciple unless he knows they can do it.

In fact all of the disciples fulfilled those passages I first described; - They were the good soil in the parable of the sower - They were the ones who used their talents to be fishers of men and bring 1000's into the Kingdom of God even up until today through their writings and examples - They all gave up theirs families, homes and businesses to follow Jesus - They all took up their crosses and were martyred for Jesus except for John who was exiled and of course Judas

It's about having the courage to take the next step...

The Exchange Part 1

Luke 9:57-58 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” 

I have spent the last couple of months staying with my brother in Bournemouth in England. This visit was a bit sad as he is going through a divorce so I was glad to be there and he will be back in NZ this week to start a new job up in Whangarei, starting again like being at Ground Zero after the twin towers fell down. 

"Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose" - Janis Joplin 

Bournemouth is a beautiful city between the Channel Sea and the New Forest with a fabulous sandy beach, a place thriving with nature. England is different to NZ with it's more varied wildlife. At various times of the day and night we would sit and watch the squirrels and the foxes coming and going, I can tell you it's far more interesting and funny than watching anything on TV.

Foxes are very cunning and our local ones were very active, we had at least 3 coming and going in the street and in the garden. They behave a little like errant teenagers and are brazen thieves. Colin told me that he would regularly find toys in the garden that the fox had stolen from kids in the neighbourhood. While he had been in NZ, his boys had told him that the fox had stolen all 600 golf balls from under the tree where he'd placed them. Yeah right we thought. We were very suspicious that the boys had sold the balls to make some money. However shortly after I arrived I caught the fox red handed (pawed) on video stealing a couple and jumping over the 6 foot high back fence to wherever he was taking them in the copse out the back.



Later on we put a chicken carcass in the garden to see how long it would take before the fox sniffed it out. Within no more than a few minutes of sunset I spied something moving out of the corner of my eye. He quickly moved out of sight behind the pond, then left within seconds and went directly to the chicken and it was gone in the blink of any eye. They are very fast moving and focussed, they don't waste a moment.

With a fox, there is always a feeling of danger, even if there is no real danger as fox attacks are pretty much unheard of. They don't let you get close enough to them! They will stare you down with their sharp eyes but usually after that they will just run off.

10 interesting facts about foxes from wikipedia

1. Very agile, more so than a dog - easily able to jump a 2m fence. Claws assist with climbing.
2. Binocular vision with eyes like a cat with the slits 
3. Acute auditory - can hear squeaking mice at 100 metres 
4. Nocturnal 
5. Omnivores eat insects as well. 
6. Quite opportunistic, don't lie in waiting for long but use a pouncing technique. They are very active, if they turn up they will take it or kill it and they will hide the excess for later eating about 1kg per day. 
7. Mark out their home range - stable. Live in family groups with up to 8 subordinate foxes, who lie down to the dominant one (male) 
8. Reproduce once a year in Spring, average litter is 4-6 kits - born deaf, blind and toothless. Vixens remain with their kits 2-3 weeks. Kits begin to leave their dens at 3-4 weeks. Feeding up to 7 weeks. By 3-4 months they are long legged, sinewy, in proportion to an adult and full grown by 6-7 months. In the wild they typically don't live past 5 years, (usually 1-3 years) 
9. They burrow and build a den, tunnels up to 17m, average 5-7m 
10. Produce 12 different sounds, 5 octaves. The "wow wow wow" call can be confused with an owl 

In fact Bournemouth has been revealed as the urban fox capital of Great Britain, with more of the creatures per square kilometre than any other urban area. The numbers - 23 per sq km - mean the resort has a higher concentration of foxes than the countryside.

People find them endearing and feed them which is why they are thriving in places like Bournemouth. The study by scientists at Brighton and Reading universities revealed the number of foxes in UK towns and cities is around 150,000, equivalent to one per 300 people. They were surprised to discover the steep increase in urban areas which has happened at the same time as a decline in the countryside. The surprising thing is that in England fox hunting was banned in 2005 so an increase in the countryside population would be expected. But I suppose foxes are very smart and word must have got around that there is easy food in the cities and they are now protected 😊

Having been hunted for it's fur since BC first by the Greeks (350 BC), the Romans (80 AD). One of the most important animals harvested for the fur trade with its silky smooth pelt. The winter fur is dense, soft, silky and relatively long (they moult in April)

So things are looking up, it's a good time to be a fox in England. But not everyone likes them. They are in the 100 worlds worst invasive species. 

And they generally are represented badly in literature.

In Celtic mythology the fox is a symbolic animal. ⁃ Wise, cunning, sly, trickery, quick thinking, attractive, seductive, shapeshifter

In European folklore they represent trickery and deceit (Reynard the Fox)

In the Cotswolds witches were thought to take the shape of foxes to steal butter.

You might be wondering where I am going with all of this. Well even in scripture, foxes are spoken of negatively. For example, Jesus called Herod a fox;
Luke 13:31-32 At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.” He replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’ 

It is true that they are cunning and they have to be because they live a life filled with danger. But their representation as evil like the Devil (who uses his cunning tricks to fool mankind) is perhaps a little unfair and besides, in physical confrontations, cats usually have the upper hand 😊

Probably my favourite movie is The Shawshank Redemption. In that story Andy Dufresne is condemned to life in prison on the false accusation of the murder of his wife. There's nothing like a good redemption story especially when the person isn't guilty.

There are some characters in the Bible that are really sad, where there is no redemption in the story. I've always felt a bit sad for them;

1. Cain 
2. King Saul 
3. Esau 
4. Judas 

Esau was born with red hair all over like a fox.

Genesis 25:25 The first was born so covered with reddish hair that one would think he was wearing a fur coat! So they called him “Esau.” 

But his younger brother Jacob was the sly one much more like a fox. If you know the story, Esau sold his inheritance to Jacob for a bowl of soup so he could satisfy his hunger at the time. Later on when he realised his mistake he wept bitter tears but he couldn't get back his inheritance, it was too late. 

Hebrews 12:16-17 See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done.

That's what many people are doing today in our liberal society. They don't realise their mistake until too late and they pay a heavy price having fallen for the Devil's tricks.

They have given up their birthright for a bowl of soup and they live a life of regret the rest of their lives and find it hard to forgive themselves even if they are a believer.

So what if you're the one who's made mistakes and paid a heavy price like Cain, King Saul, Esau and Judas. Is there a way back for you? Definitely, 1000 times YES!!!

If that wasn't the case we could not call the Gospel a redemption story. It would not be good news for everyone but it is. Jesus comes and he will do you the reverse exchange. He exchanges back the bowl of soup for the inheritance. Eternal life in exchange for our sins.

The Gospel is an invitation to a party and it's for everyone. Accept the invitation. Come to the Cross and receive back again what has been stolen from you. Especially you foxes 😉

Finally, a tribute to Glen Campbell who died this week...

Crossroads Part 2

My favourite scripture is
Matthew 13:44
“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field." 

I based the name of my company, Right There on this scripture and designed the logo accordingly. I could tell you my life story using that logo but perhaps we best leave that for another day 😊

Last week we looked at the history of the Middle East because we needed to prepare the groundwork for this weeks message which takes us back to Shechem, the place where the Lord first appeared to Abraham in Canaan and where Abraham built his first altar.

In fact this week I made 6 more exciting discoveries about Shechem which I simply must add before we move onto the main message.

1. The first is that Shechem is where Abraham's grandson Jacob bought a field

Genesis 33:18-20
After Jacob came from Paddan Aram, he arrived safely at the city of Shechem in Canaan and camped within sight of the city. For a hundred pieces of silver, he bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, the plot of ground where he pitched his tent. There he set up an altar and called it El Elohe Israel.   

2. The second is that Shechem is the place where Jacob sent Joseph to when his brothers threw him into the well (probably the same field that Jacob had purchased)

Genesis 37:12-13, 17-18, 23-24
Now his brothers had gone to graze their father’s flocks near Shechem, and Israel said to Joseph, “As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I am going to send you to them.” “Very well,” he replied.    

When he got to Shechem a man told him; “They have moved on from here,” the man answered. “I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan. But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.  

So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the ornate robe he was wearing— and they took him and threw him into the cistern. The cistern was empty; there was no water in it. 

Notice it was a dry well.  

3. The third is that Joseph is buried there based on a prophecy given to Abraham.

Genesis 15:13-16
Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.” 

Because of this, Joseph joined the list of men and women of faith in Hebrews 11

Hebrews 11:22
By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones.

Joseph was like a Prince in Egypt and could have had a royal burial but in an act of faith he wanted to be buried at the prophesied time of the 4th generation back in the Promised Land of Canaan. The Israelites faithfully kept Joseph's bones through 400 years of captivity, 40 years in the wilderness, and another 50 years to Joshua's death. And then they buried him at Shechem, the very place he himself had first gone into captivity, where Abraham had built the altar, where his father Jacob had bought the field in the portion of land which was finally allocated to Joseph's son Manasseh.

Joshua 24:32
And Joseph’s bones which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem in the tract of land that Jacob bought for a hundred pieces of silver from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem. This became the inheritance of Joseph’s descendants.     

    

4. The fourth is that Shechem is the place where not long after entering the Promised Land and gaining victories at Jericho and Ai, Joshua renewed Israel's covenant with the Lord and gave instruction about what the Israelites had to do to receive the blessings or cursing of God as per Moses' instructions. 

Deuteronomy 27:11-13
That same day Moses also gave this charge to the people: “When you cross the Jordan River, the tribes of Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin must stand on Mount Gerizim to proclaim a blessing over the people. And the tribes of Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali must stand on Mount Ebal to proclaim a curse. 

Joshua 8:30-35
Then Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the Israelites. He built it according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses—an altar of uncut stones, on which no iron tool had been used. On it they offered to the Lord burnt offerings and sacrificed fellowship offerings. There, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua wrote on stones a copy of the law of Moses. All the Israelites, with their elders, officials and judges, were standing on both sides of the ark of the covenant of the Lord, facing the Levitical priests who carried it. Both the foreigners living among them and the native-born were there. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the Lord had formerly commanded when he gave instructions to bless the people of Israel. Afterward, Joshua read all the words of the law—the blessings and the curses—just as it is written in the Book of the Law. There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read to the whole assembly of Israel, including the women and children, and the foreigners who lived among them.

Even though they had had success in conquering and moving into the Promised Land, it came with a warning, that they had to obey the Lord to receive the blessings. Joshua gave them the choice of blessings represented by Mt Gerizim or curses represented by Mt Ebal.

5. The fifth is that Shechem is geographically at a Crossroads. At the end of his life, Joshua gave one final challenge to the Israelites to decide who will they serve.

Joshua 24:1, 14-15, 25, 28
Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned the elders, leaders, judges and officials of Israel, and they presented themselves before God.  

“Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” 

On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people, and there at Shechem he reaffirmed for them decrees and laws. 

Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to their own inheritance. 

Shechem represents a Crossroads. There comes a point in life when we have to make a decision, will we follow the Lord or not? We cannot sit on the fence.   Following the Lord leads to a life of blessing. Following our own way brings the curse of sin.

God always brings us to a Crossroads before Judgment comes.  

6. The sixth is that Stephen referred to this history in his lengthy speech to the Council in Jerusalem in Acts 7 just before they stoned him to death.

 Acts 7:15-16
So Jacob went to Egypt. He died there, as did our ancestors. Their bodies were taken to Shechem and buried in the tomb Abraham had bought for a certain price from Hamor’s sons in Shechem.    

I'm not sure if Stephen mixed up Abraham buying the field with Jacob but nevertheless the point is that Joseph's burial at Shechem was the fulfilment of a centuries old prophecy given to Abraham.   

And now with all that background, let's read John 4.

John 4:1-26, 39-42
Jesus knew the Pharisees had heard that he was baptizing and making more disciples than John though Jesus himself didn’t baptize them—his disciples did. So he left Judea and returned to Galilee. He had to go through Samaria on the way. Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food. The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?” Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.” “But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? And besides, do you think you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?” Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” “Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.” “Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her. “I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied. Jesus said, “You’re right! You don’t have a husband— for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!” “Sir,” the woman said, “you must be a prophet. So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?” Jesus replied, “Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.” The woman said, “I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” Then Jesus told her, “I am the Messiah!” Many Samaritans from the village believed in Jesus because the woman had said, “He told me everything I ever did!”    

When they came out to see him, they begged him to stay in their village. So he stayed for two days, long enough for many more to hear his message and believe. Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not just because of what you told us, but because we have heard him ourselves. Now we know that he is indeed the Savior of the world.”    

Who were the Samaritans? In Jesus day, these were the people that the Jews despised. This is true to this day as Samaria has now become the West Bank.

Samaria comprised the territory given to Joseph's 2 sons - Manasseh and Ephraim.   The Samaritans live in the West Bank to this day and are the 4th religion after the Muslims (83%), Jewish (13%) and Christians (2%).   The West Bank Territory today includes Bethlehem and Eastern Jerusalem but is mostly ancient Samaria.

1. The Samaritans claim descent from the tribes of Joseph (Manasseh and Ephraim) and the Levites and are therefore Israelites 
2. Part of the group that split away from the House of David at the time of Jeroboam 
3. Governed by the Palestinian National Authority (PLO/Israel Government) Think Yasser Arafat 

Why did the Jews hate them?

The Samaritans were a mix from the tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim who had inter-married with the pagan nations. In 1 Kings 11, when Jeroboam rebelled against the House of David and set up the Northern Kingdom, he created a base at Shechem and designated nearby Mt Gerazim as the place to worship. 

But thanks to Jeroboam, the Northern Kingdom continued worshiping false gods alongside the true God and the 2 won't mix. 

Because of this in Jesus' time, the Samaritans believed the correct place of worship and indeed Isaac's sacrifice was at Shechem at Mt Gerazim. Mt Gerazim is in the Palestinian territory of the West Bank about 50km north of Jerusalem.

The Gospel of John describes Jesus' journey to the point where he met the woman at the well; He'd been down in Jerusalem, then baptising people alongside John (John 3:26) and was heading back to Galilee, passing through Samaria. 

Sychar and Jacobs Well : Note that Mt Gerizim and Mt Ebal are about 4 times the height of Mt Mauganui.  

John 4:5-6
Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime.   

This pinpoints an exact location the woman met Jesus.  

This woman was at a Crossroads in her life when she met Jesus there at the Crossroads at Shechem.   

Our response to Jesus is so crucial. Was she going to continue on her life of sin or would she follow Jesus?

The woman, in her 6th relationship at least, could have got angry with Jesus - "Who are you to judge?"

Or she got have embarrassed and lied. "We're going to get married soon". 

But she tried instead to change the subject. She didn't want to talk about it!

First she tried small talk asking him about his job - "You must be a prophet".

Then she moved on to a subject that everyone liked talking about in her day - religion. In our day we might move it quickly on to Donald Trump.

But Jesus was not going to let her off the hook. He used the topic she brought up to make a point about worship not being about the right place but about how we worship, whether we have the Holy Spirit it or not. She knew she didn't have the Holy Spirit, that was her need. She didn't know who the Messiah was, she was lost. But Jesus was there for her. He told he Woman "I am the Messiah, I'm the one you've been looking for". It was checkmate.

It's not about the right religion, it's not about the place being Jerusalem, Mecca, Mt Gerazim or anywhere else for that matter and it's not about the well. It's about Jesus.

But you've got to decide! Sychar is beneath the Mountain of Ebal but Jacobs Well is beneath Mt Gerizim. Are you going to go back to Sychar to live under a curse or are you going to come to Jacob's well to live under under God's blessing?

Satan picked you up and threw you down a dry well to die. But Jesus arrives at the well to rescue you and give you living water 😊

Come to the living water, come to the blessing, come to Jesus!

Do you remember exactly where you were when you first met Jesus? Maybe you haven't met him yet!

Right There at that well in Shechem was a reconciliation and peace. It's about Jesus. The Crossroads is where we meet him.

Crossroads Part 1

I am feeling a little like Indiana Jones today on the trail to a treasure!

During the 2017 election 2 weeks ago, France found itself at a Crossroads. The people had rejected the 2 main parties in favour of 2 candidates with polar opposite views. Marine Le Pen represented an extreme and racist view that wanted to close up France, and Emmanuel Macron (a Rothschild's banker for the conspiracy theorists) wanted an open France but with reform that will hit the French very hard. A significant portion of the population refused to vote - they said they wanted neither one, nor the other. It was what we call Hobson's choice - which devil would you prefer? Finally they chose M. Macron to be their President so that France may remain an open society, even if that means a hard road ahead.

Recently I have been studying the books of Kings and Chronicles to piece together the Old Testament history and I have to say that I have found it utterly fascinating. History was my favourite subject at school so apologies in advance to some of you for the history lesson I'm about to give you.

This message is in 2 parts.

1. In Part 1 we need to understand a bit of history first. 
2. In Part 2 next time we will travel to a Crossroads in someones life and discover how their impossible problem was resolved for them.

A lot of people would agree that the problem in the Middle East is the biggest problem in the World. As it has been for thousands of years. That little piece of land continues to be fought over to this day. We are lucky in NZ to be living in one of most peaceful countries on earth.

Our journey begins on Mt Ararat in Eastern Turkey. Noah, his wife, his sons Shem, Ham and Japheth and their wives had survived the great flood that had killed every living thing on the Earth except those on the Ark.

Genesis 9:19
From these three sons of Noah came all the people who now populate the earth.

Not so much is heard of Japheth's line in the Old Testament. Japheth's line moved North and West and became the seafaring nations of the World, most of which are identified as European Gentiles (Genesis 10:5).

Ham's line moved South and West towards Africa.

Meanwhile Shem's line moved South to Arabia and East towards Asia.

There are 2 deeply sad events that are the root of the Middle East problem. The first occurred because of alcohol. In Genesis 9:20-27, drunken Noah cursed his grandson Canaan for something Ham had done, telling him that Canaan would become the slaves of his Uncle's Shem and Japheth.

The Canaanites became the occupants of Canaan, the future Promised Land setting up a distant war between the descendants of Shem and Ham.

Abram was from the line of Shem. His father Terah was living in Ur when he moved the family away intending to go to Canaan but ended up in Haran in Turkey. Maybe his eyesight was bad, maybe he failed navigation class and followed the wrong star or more likely he wouldn't take directions from his wife. And there in Haran Terah died!

No wonder God spoke to Abram instead 😊

Genesis 12:1-7
The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.” So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all his wealth—his livestock and all the people he had taken into his household at Haran—and headed for the land of Canaan. When they arrived in Canaan, Abram traveled through the land as far as Shechem. There he set up camp beside the oak of Moreh. At that time, the area was inhabited by Canaanites. Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your descendants.” And Abram built an altar there and dedicated it to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

Note;

1. If you draw a straight line from Haran to Shechem, it passes from its origin in Turkey, through Syria and its capital Damascus like an arrow to its target. It struck me that Abram was following the stars to go to Canaan, and it must have been a particular star to hit Shechem.
2. Abraham was 86 years old when his first son Ishmael was born to his servant Hagar which was 11 yeas after he had left Haran. 
3. Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born and it had been 25 years since he left Haran.

The second deeply sad event at the root of the Middle East problem occurred not long after Isaac was born. When Isaac was about 2 or 3 years old, Ishmael was sent away out into the desert around Beersheba on Sarah's orders while he was still a teenager. Sarah did not want Ishmael to have any part of Isaac's inheritance.

Some time after that sad event and while they were living in Beersheba, Abraham was told in
Genesis 22:2
Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”

The location of Mount Moriah is a point of difference between the Jews/Christians and the Muslims.

We believe with very strong evidence and reasoning that Abraham and Isaac travelled to Mount Moriah (Temple Mount) in Jerusalem as the location where Abraham was to sacrifice Isaac. It is interesting that Jerusalem is on a direct line between Beersheba and Haran. It would appear that the same star that guided Abraham helped locate Mount Moriah in Jerusalem.

In Genesis 22:4 we are told that it took 3 days to travel by donkey and in verse 19 we are told that afterwards they travelled back to Beersheba where Abraham was living. Mount Moriah is about 90km North East of Beersheba and seems a reasonable timeframe to travel there by donkey.

Isaac could not have been older than 37 when he was to be sacrificed since Sarah died aged 127 and she was 90 when Isaac was born. We could speculate that Isaac was the same age as Jesus when he died on the Cross but no-one knows exactly. However, he was certainly old enough to carry the wood for the fire up the mountain, in a striking parallel of Jesus carrying the Cross up to Golgotha.

Genesis 22:6
So Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac’s shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them walked on together

Furthermore, David was later told by the Lord that the site for the temple was to be on Mt Moriah which you can find in 2 Chronicles 3.

2 Chronicles 3:1
So Solomon began to build the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to David, his father. The Temple was built on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, the site that David had selected.

The reason Jerusalem is so important for the Jews is because it is the location of the Temple, their focus of Worship and the place where Abraham was to sacrifice Isaac. For us Christians, we know that Jesus died on the Cross there for all the World so we have an extra reason to regard it as a holy site.

"There is no other explanation for Jerusalem's importance because it wasn't on any important trade routes nor is there any natural reason why this city should be one of the most important places in the world for more than four thousand years."

But the Muslims believe the location for Mount Moriah (Marwah) is in a different place near to Mecca where Mohammed was born in Saudi Arabia. All Muslims must go to Mecca, to the Kaaba once in their lifetime. To the Muslim, the Temple Mount in Jerusalem is their 3rd holiest site (after Mecca, Medina) where Mohammed ascended to heaven (he returned to earth afterwards) and is not the place where Ishmael/Isaac was sacrificed. In the Koran the name of the son is not stated but most Muslims believe that Ishmael not Isaac was the one to be sacrificed on the altar.

Note;

1. Mecca is 1400km south of Beersheba and could not have been reached within 3 days by donkey. 
2. Medina is where Mohammed is buried and like Mecca, that is located just on the Eastern side of the Red Sea about halfway down. 

To Muslims, their 3 holiest locations represent the birth, ascension and death of Mohammed. But Mohammed is in the tomb and Jesus is risen from the dead! That is why the Muslims reject that Jesus died and rose again because it would make Jesus greater than Mohammed.

Now since the Muslims believe that Jerusalem is a holy site and will not surrender it, and the Jews and Christians believe it is a holy site and will not surrender it, we have the impossible problem of the Middle East.

All the trouble on the Earth comes back to who and what we worship. Individually we all consciously or unconsciously worship someone or something. Everyone finds a god(s) to worship and then blames it for not doing what they want! The trouble in the Middle East is all about worshiping the correct God in the correct place and who owns the rights to that place. It is an impossible problem.

And people and nations go to war against each other when they cannot resolve an impossible problem.

And when you think about it, the war continues between Shem, Ham and Japheth in the religions that have been prominent for each of them.

The Jews (Shem), the Muslims (Ham) and the Christians (Japheth) fight wars against each other to this day. We have an impossible problem because all the religions are incompatible. But to God, they are all the same family. And he's already solved the problem.

If your journey finds you at such a Crossroads today, perhaps this one's for you. There is the Good News of Jesus Christ who comes with a better offer.

I still remember this old song we used to sing in Sunday School. I met Jesus at the Crossroads, where the 2 ways meet. Satan too was standing there and he said "Come this way, lots and lots of pleasure I will give to you today". But I said "No! There's Jesus here. See what he offers me. Down here my sins forgiven. Up there, a home in Heaven. Praise God, that's the Way for me!"

Is there something in your life which is an impossible problem, come to Jesus!

Do you want to change your fate today, come to Jesus!

Now that we understand the history and where everything is, we will finish the story in Part 2. In Part 2 we will discover how the Impossible Problem was resolved in one persons life and here is a clue;

Checkmate

"World on the brink of thermo-nuclear war" was the headline in the Daily Telegraph on Good Friday 2017.

I've been recently reading through the books of Kings and Chronicles. I was forced to learn the history for my last message in order to understand the situation in Amos's time. Everything looks black and white when you read it. Good king, bad king, black, white, like a chess board. Suddenly it's checkmate.

They should have known it was coming. God always sent his prophets to warn Israel before disaster struck.

But they were fooled by the good times. The people were living in good times when the warning messages came. We know from the history that sometimes this was during periods of sustained idol worship so the people would be thinking - "see the idols are bringing us good luck". But that was not the reality. Sin and corruption were prevalent. Judgement was coming.

Modern Life can be confusing for many of us, sometimes we need an outside voice to tell us what's going on and what we need to do.

Matthew 25:31-46 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

These dramatic words of Jesus concluded his reply to a question from the disciples as to when would be the end of the age, when would He return. The reply Jesus gave in Matthew 24-25 was essentially to look for the signs and to be ready.

The description of the final judgement of the sheep and the goats describes what will follow immediately upon Jesus' return. There will be no time to right wrongs when Jesus appears, it will be too late. History will conclude with a court case.

Jesus made the incredible statement that he would be the Judge for the Final Judgement. Only God is able to say such a thing, none of us is fit to judge anyone else. We are left to decide whether Jesus is God or not and it is very important what we decide.

If we truly believe and are saved then we will surely act now to be counted either as the least of Jesus' brethren or amongst the Sheep. For there are 3 categories of humanity mentioned;

1. The least of Jesus' brethren
2. The Sheep   
3. The Goats 

The least of Jesus Brethren

In the story, the least of Jesus' brethren have suffered in life - sick, in prison, naked, hungry. Previously I've always understood that to be any person who is an outsider to normal society who is suffering in some way. A lot of good has been done in Jesus name to help the suffering because of this typical understanding.

However, Jesus described John the Baptist as the least in the Kingdom of Heaven so it can also be interpreted that the least of Jesus Brethren are those who gave up everything to follow him. Who went to strange lands so they could tell others the Gospel and suffered hardship because of their devotion. In this case the Sheep are the Christian brothers and sisters who supported them AND those good people from the nation who helped them by giving them a glass of cool water, a meal, a bed for the night. In helping them they were unknowingly helping Christ, hence their surprise when they are thanked at the Final Judgement.

Personal Characteristics

Similarities

The remarkable thing is, that neither the Sheep nor the Goats seem to remember their deeds! Why would that be? Partly because it is the natural behaviour as Sheep and Goats. They just do it without thinking about it. Partly because the present has made them forget the past.

Differences

But there is a crucial difference between the Sheep and the Goats. The Sheep responded to the voice of the Shepherd but the Goats either didn't hear or ignored his voice.

Anyone can live for themselves. It's easy to be a Goat. But selfishness makes the World a worse place to live. What horror for those who will find themselves at his left hand. They were the ones who had the means but did nothing for others.

Following after Jesus is likened to being a Sheep, even a lamb to the slaughter, there is a price. But only those who are like Jesus can change the World for good. When others see these unselfish acts, for some it changes them and makes them want to follow too. By giving up all to follow Jesus or by feeding and clothing the hungry, helping the sick, visiting prisoners they alleviate some of the pain in this World and give hope to the hopeless. They lead by example.

True leadership is following in Jesus' way, taking action, giving your life for others. Does this change the way you want to act, the way you want your Nation to act?

The National Level

The Sheep and the Goats cuts through all the many political and economic issues we hear about and tells us how God wants a nation to behave.

If Jesus is the Judge of the Nations, it is critical what our leaders decide. Our future will depend on the way not just we, but also our Nation has treated the believer, the stranger, the homeless, the sick. Anyone else feeling nervous right now?

We are seeing the rise of nationalism in the big nations of the world. Because of the increase of terrorism, countries are starting to shut up shop. But every Christian has a dual passport. The nation that they were born in, and the Kingdom in which they have been born again.

What does it mean to be a patriot in the Kingdom of God? It still means to reach out to the stranger, to keep an open door, to make peace with the enemy and to make them your friend. We can't deny the problems that have come because of open doors. We opened the door to other religions that set up idols and temples that compete for peoples minds and hearts and prevent them from coming to know the Lord. Not only that, but the system can't cope with the people coming in. 900,000 refugees into Germany in 2015! That is the dilemma some nations are facing. NZ has a policy of allowing up to 1000 per year in comparison.

We have a responsibility to pray for our leaders. The Church has a responsibility to give a clear and strong message to our government but above all to do what Jesus warned us to do in this story. There are various leadership styles but at this time we can't just lead by example, we have to speak!

Final Justice

The story of the sheep and the goats promises justice in the end. Too often in this life we don't see it. Unsolved crimes, corrupt police and judges, miscarriages of justice, refugees from wars that our nation supported. Everyone longs for a day when that will be put right. Don't be confused, Justice is coming!

Often we don't see a reward for our service to Christ either. The missionaries were in China for many years with hardly a soul saved. David Livingstone went to Africa and had only one convert. Paul wrote his last letters from prison and was then executed. Don't be discouraged, the reward is coming! In the end it is promised both the righteous and the wicked will get their reward. It will be black or white on that day for each one of us. Then everyone will see the value of having lived a godly life.

The Sheep and the Goats promises that the righteous and the wicked will get their reward. Justice will be done.

The Verdict 

The Sheep are told to come, they are welcomed. They receive an inheritance from the Father as sons and daughters since they have been born again into his family. The sheep do not earn their salvation by doing good but rather they did good because they were sons and daughters of God.

But the goats are told to go - depart from me. They are unwelcome. There won't be any excuses then for the way they have treated others - they won't be able to blame their parents, their teachers, society.

The judgement is fair and final as everyone is fully accountable for their own actions.

North and South (Or The Unlikely Hero)

Our family is from West London. We used to live in a 3 bedroom terraced house in Ealing right up to the time I was nearly 9 years old when Mum and Dad took the very bold decision to move to New Zealand.

The house had a small narrow garden which the Boys Brigade destroyed with a game of football on the cold November night before we left for New Zealand. The new owner would have loved finding his lovely grass lawn a mud bath and no chance to do anything about it until the Spring.

I am the oldest, I have 2 brothers and 1 sister. There wasn't a lot of space in the house but there were walls to climb and a staircase to slide down so it was quite a lot of fun for 4 kids. One summer the conservatory got filled with a large wasp nest so that we couldn't get to the garden for several days and during that time we drove Mum up the wall.

Because we could hear her coming could usually quieten down quickly enough so that by the time she opened the door of the lounge everything was a picture of peace and harmony. Mum would threaten to whack us all in order to get the right one. Some people have this view of the Lord that he is like some parent shouting from the upstairs room "Don't make me come down there!"

Last weekend at Church Camp we listened to Angus Buchan give an important message for our time about "Being Still" from Psalm 46:10. The world has become such a chaotic place and moves at a frantic pace. Angus recalled the story of a rich businessman from New York going to a mental home for a retreat from the busyness of his life. The rich man was given 3 words by one of the mental patients - "Too Busy" and "Why?".

It's great to hear from God isn't it? Well yes, but we can't always expect a nice message 😬

Let's look at the book of Amos. Just to give a quick background history;

David's son Solomon married foreign wives and led the people into worshipping false gods which brought God's judgement - most of the kingdom would be torn away and given to someone else (1 Kings 11:9-13) . This came to pass when the northern tribes rebelled against the heavy taxes that were imposed to finance the building of the temple under Solomon and were to be increased under his son Rehoboam.



The northern tribes elected Jeroboam, son of Nebat as the first king of the northern kingdoms of Israel. Israel was split into a northern and southern kingdom. Jeroboam was an official in the Jerusalem court, not part of the royal line and God's promise to David. To prevent the Northern Tribes of repenting and returning to the Lord, Jeroboam set up 2 golden calves at Bethel and Dan and told the people that they were the gods that led Israel out of Egypt! What followed in the North was a long line of evil kings after Jeroboam including Ahab and his partner in crime, Jezebel (Jehu was anointed his replacement by Elijah and the only good king). Following Jehu was Jehoahaz (evil) then Joash (evil) then Jeroboam II

Evil because they encouraged idolatry and led the people of Israel into sin.

Jeroboam II was the son of King Joash, and the great grandson of King Jehu. He was the 13th (unlucky for some) king of the northern kingdom of Israel. It is to Jeroboam II that Amos is sent.

2 Kings 14:23-24 In the fifteenth year of Amaziah son of Joash king of Judah, Jeroboam son of Jehoash king of Israel became king in Samaria, and he reigned forty-one years. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord and did not turn away from any of the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit.

Meanwhile in the South, the royal line of David, the kings were maybe 80% of the time good including Jehoshaphat, Joachim, Amaziah and Uzziah. Uzziah was a good king;
2 Chronicles 26:3-5 Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-two years. His mother’s name was Jekoliah; she was from Jerusalem. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Amaziah had done. He sought God during the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God. As long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success.

But he went off the rails a little bit because of his pride. He didn't lead the people into sin by worshiping idols but he assumed the place of the priest in burning incense at the altar which was incorrect (2 Chronicles 26:16-23)

Isn't it interesting that the man elected by the people was evil but the man elected by God was good! So much for democracy 😬

Who was Amos?

Amos 1:1 The words of Amos, one of the shepherds of Tekoa—the vision he saw concerning Israel two years before the earthquake, when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam son of Jehoash was king of Israel.

Amos lived in between the time of David and the captivity in Babylon. Amos was living away from the busyness of life working as a shepherd up in the hills of Tekoa when he received his message from God. Tekoa is 12 miles south from Jerusalem and visible from Bethlehem. It lies on an elevated hill, which spreads itself out into an irregular plain of moderate extent. The wilderness next to Tekoa extends down to the Dead Sea, the lowest point on the earth.

Amos was in the perfect place away from the big city to listen to God while he worked. I can guarantee you he was a happy guy living and working in that environment. Until that fateful day when God actually spoke to him!

It was not a nice message! Read Amos 1:3-2:8 

Amos 1:3-5 This is what the Lord says: “For three sins of Damascus, even for four, I will not relent. Because she threshed Gilead with sledges having iron teeth, I will send fire on the house of Hazael that will consume the fortresses of Ben-Hadad. I will break down the gate of Damascus; I will destroy the king who is in the Valley of Aven and the one who holds the scepter in Beth Eden. The people of Aram will go into exile to Kir,” says the Lord.

What follows are very similar prophecies against Philistine, Tyre, Edom, Ammon, Moab, Judah and Israel. Amos had a very hard task;

1. Deliver bad news to the enemy kings - Syria, Philistine, Tyre, Edom, Ammon, Moab. I think I'd throw that scroll over the wall, shout out "Package from God!" and run wouldn't you? 
2. Deliver bad news to the Kings of Judah and Israel especially 

Amos's message was to the good king of Judah (Uzziah) and the evil king of Israel (Jeroboam II) and it was bad news for both of them! It's not easy to give a message to repent to a good person, some would say it's harder.

Has the Lord asked you to do anything hard lately? Please spare a thought for Amos...

One thing about being a shepherd, it was not a respected job. Dr. Joachim Jeremias says shepherds were “despised in everyday life.” In general, they were considered second-class and untrustworthy. 

Certainly Amos wasn't a certified Prophet from the College. He didn't have a doctorate in prophecy. The King's first question would have been, is this man qualified, he smells like sheep dung!

Amos had to walk the 12 miles to Jerusalem to give the message to King Uzziah, the king of Judah. Then he would have had to walk another 12 miles North to Bethel to deliver the message to King Jeroboam, king of the rebel alliance Israel, the 10 tribes who had rejected the House of David.

The main target for the remaining 7.5 chapters of Amos is Israel, which would have been assumed to be the rebel tribes.

Perhaps Uzziah was sitting there smugly knowing he'd behaved pretty well and listening to the longer list of charges against Jeroboam until in Amos 3, the message takes a nasty turn.

Amos 3:1 Hear this word, people of Israel, the word the Lord has spoken against you—against the whole family I brought up out of Egypt: 

Remember that moment when the satisfaction that your brother is getting in trouble turns to horror when you realise you are also going to get a whack?

Did either kingdom repent? Well in fact it overall got worse in both kingdoms if you read the character of each succeeding king. The line of evil kings in the North continued and within a few short decades after Jeroboam's death the Assyrians came and defeated the northern kingdom. There was a little bit more of a delay in the South because 2 of the kings - Hezekiah and Josiah were good and dealt with the shrines and incense burning on the hills. However, within 150 years, the southern kingdom was also defeated, Jerusalem destroyed and a remnant taken back to Babylon in captivity.

It is true that 10 tribes of Israel remain lost. Only Judah, Simeon and Levi can be identified in Israel today. The judgment on Israel is not forever. Amos finishes with a promise that Israel will be restored.
Amos 9:14-15 and I will bring my people Israel back from exile. “They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them,” says the Lord your God. 

The Lord will sort out the problem in the Middle East and I don't think any of the family will be spared!

What do we learn from Amos? Don't be surprised when you are still and listen to God if the message isn't always roses. When we bring a message for the Church, it is usually one of encouragement. That is good especially when the Church is suffering. But not always!

And what is needed for New Zealand? Here there is a separation of Church and State. We are like the Northern and Southern Kingdoms. What is God wanting to say to our Prime Minister, the one elected by the people and to the Church elected by God? This is a generation that looks a little like the one Jesus described as the Last one. Bill English is a Christian, we have a good king but he needs wisdom and strength. Will we be still and listen for the message for New Zealand? What will we do with a message like the one given to Amos? Will we be brave like him?

Notes:
1. The prophet Amos is not thought to be the father of the prophet Isaiah even though they both lived at the same time. The name of Amos is spelled differently to the name of Isaiah's father in Hebrew.

Lent 2017

What follows is a series of messages from Lent 2017.


Be Still

Psalm 46 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Come and see what the Lord has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire. He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

The nations are all in trouble, there is no peace in our time. I'm sorry to say that there is a time coming when it will be even worse, for the natural elements of the Earth and the Universe are going to shake and begin falling apart. Then Jesus will come and all the turmoil will cease.

All our plans for success will be shattered and all our defensive walls will fall at the presence of the Lord. We will be silent because there will be nothing to say, no prior experience to call on, everyone will be waiting to hear what the Lord will say and do.

We are not to be afraid because God is our refuge and strength where we go when we don't have peace. We have learned to be still in turbulent times and we know the Lord is a Rock and a fortress and we are safe within Heaven's Domain. We don't belong to the World. Rather we have joy for the Lord is King and He is Our King! We belong to His Holy Nation, that is our Home. When the Lord comes, and the Heavenly City comes down, then the Earth will truly be our home.

Because of this great hope nothing need ever rattle us. Every leader must be sure of their foundation and where to go to find peace. Be still in the presence of the Lord!

 
Wise and Foolish Builders

Matthew 7:24-27 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

Jesus concluded his very famous Sermon on the Mount by telling people they would be wise to build their lives on what he had just said because he is the Rock. He also said that anyone who ignored him was a fool. There was no-one at the time who was so bold to speak with such authority. Would you dare to say such a thing?

What is that Jesus said that we should do to build our lives on the solid Rock?

The Sermon starts with the Beatitudes. They are not about doing, they are about who we are. We are human beings not human doings. But what we do does shape our character! Being and Doing are intertwined. Faith without works is dead.

The foolish hear the words but don't put them into practice. It's no good just to enjoy listening or talking about it, you must do also! Some leaders are just talk, don't be like them!

Proverbs 25:14 Like clouds and wind without rain is one who boasts of gifts never given.

So what did Jesus say to do? I see 12 things in the Sermon 😊
1. Shine our light! The world is a dark and bland place without the people of faith.
2. Be reconciled to others - don't let anger fester because it leads to murder
3. Be careful what we look at - don't watch pornography for example which leads to adultery, cut it out!
4. Keep our word - let our yes be yes and our no be no
5. Go the extra mile - make friends with our enemies
6. Charity, prayer and fasting are to be done in secret - our Father will reward us!
7. Use our finances for God's Kingdom not ours
8. Trust God for accommodation, food and clothing
9. Judge ourselves first before judging others, in other words practice what you preach!
10. Persist in prayer and never give up full stop
11. Follow the narrow way
12. Keep an eye out for false teachers, their fruit is a dead giveaway.

Any leader who does those things builds something of quality that will last.


Priorities

Luke 14:12-24 Then He also said to him who invited Him, “When you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.” Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’ “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’ “Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’ “The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’ “‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’ “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’”

In the busyness of life it's so easy to forget what's important. Sometimes the people who you love the most can let you down the most. In the parable, the guests invited were family and friends, including his closest friends. But this A-List failed to accept the invitation when the time came. The man was stung by their indifference to him, he was badly hurt. In anger, he sent his servant out to bring in anyone he could find. The B-List and C-List comprised the sick, the outcasts and the poor, not the sort of people who you invite to a feast. Those sort of parties are a statement of success and popularity but no-one on the B and C Lists would have cared about that, they were just there for the food.

If we work hard, most likely we will become reasonably wealthy but those things in turn take a lot of maintenance time. It's not long before any spare hours in the week become precious me-time and everyone else better stay clear of that sacred circle! Our families and best friends suffer and God even more. Wise leaders prioritise the heavenly riches over the earthly riches.

Most likely your family and friends will respond positively to you prioritising them over things. Remember though that in the previous story of the Sheep and the Goats that Jesus taught to help the least in society, the ones who can't repay you. That beggar in the street is actually a far better investment than that house in Kohimarama. But don't be surprised if you have to wait for your reward because the poor probably won't repay you. Most likely there will be no winning lotto ticket. The best rewards are reserved for the age to come.

Note: The man in this parable finally does a great deed although his motives are more vengeance than kindness. I'm not sure if there's much of a reward for that. The Lord will repay you but far more if you do it with joy!

Revelation 3:20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. 

With humility the owner of the house stands outside, waiting to be invited in don't be too busy to open the door.


The Sheep and the Goats

Matthew 25:31-46 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

These disturbing words of Jesus concluded his answer to a question from the disciples as to when would be the end of the age, when would He return.

The description is of the final judgement which will follow immediately upon Jesus' return. There will be no time to right wrongs when Jesus appears, it will be too late.

Jesus made the incredible statement that he would be the Judge at the final judgement. Only God is able to say such a thing, none of us is fit to judge anyone else. We are left to decide whether Jesus is God or not and it is very important what we decide.

If Jesus is the Judge of the Nations, it is also critical what our leaders decide. Our future will depend on the way not just we, but also our Nation has treated the believer, the stranger, the homeless, the sick. Anyone else feeling nervous right now?

If we truly believe and are saved then we will surely act to be counted amongst the Sheep. The remarkable thing is, the Sheep don't seem to remember that they did the good deeds! Why would that be? Partly because it is the natural behaviour of the Sheep. They just do it without thinking about it. Partly because they had compassionate hearts. They realised they were just like the one in trouble so they wanted to rescue their brother or sister. Partly because the glorious present has made them forget the past. Partly because they followed the example of the Shepherd who laid down his life for the Sheep.

Following after Jesus is like being a Sheep, even a lamb to the slaughter, there is a price to be paid. But only those who are like Jesus can change the World for the good. When others see these unselfish acts, for some it changes them and makes them want to follow too. By feeding and clothing the hungry, helping the sick, visiting prisoners you alleviate some of the pain in this World and you give hope to the hopeless. You lead by example.

Anyone can live for themselves. But selfishness make the World a worse place to live. What horror for those who will find themselves at his left hand. They were the ones who had the means but did nothing for others. Think about that the next time you pass a beggar in the street.

True leadership is following in Jesus' way, taking action, giving your life for the Sheep God has put in your care. Does this change the way you want to act, the way you want your Nation to act?



Enemies

The increasing threat of criminal gangs and terrorists is causing many countries to reconsider how they will protect the place they live. Walls provide security from murderers and thieves. The bigger the threat, the higher and wider the walls. We would do the same if our house was threatened by dangerous criminals. The message for the criminals is "you are not welcome here".

Along about 18% of the Mexican border, the US built a fence. The rest of the border is very difficult to cross and it wasn't necessary previously to complete the entire length. However, the US has become afraid that her enemies want to attack her. The President has promised to build a wall the whole way.

The problem with this is it is a catch all which stops even good people from entering and it makes those living inside afraid of going out. In any situation where fear takes over, the devil can gain a foothold.

Is tightening the law the answer when grace isn't working? In the short term it makes sense to remove freedoms to regain control but it's not the way we want to live long term. That's why I'm not in favour of building walls.

Matthew 5:43-44 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,

Jesus taught love your enemies, do good to those who persecute you. The greatest way to defeat your enemy is to make friends with them. That's what Jesus did at the Cross. That is going to take a lot of courage when the threat is real, we need to be wise. Friendship doesn't mean we should allow people to walk all over us without defending ourselves but what a difference if countries would love their enemies instead of tossing grenades over the wall!

We can start by praying for our enemies, that shifts the way we feel about them. But finally we are going to have to do something tangible in the present. We are going to have to meet them and look them in the eye and find a way to make peace.

Great leaders don't need to build walls. They will find a way to love their enemies and gain respect so that boundaries aren't breached.



Introduction

As walls go up around our World and love turns cold and all we have worked for seems to be dying even liberty, we could start the lament but instead we will sing a song of hope of when the Lord will come and SOON...

Matthew 24:12-14 Sin will be rampant everywhere and will cool the love of many. But those enduring to the end shall be saved. And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it, and then, finally, the end will come.

Habakkuk 3:16-18 I heard and my heart pounded, my lips quivered at the sound; decay crept into my bones, and my legs trembled. Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nation invading us. Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Saviour.

It has taken a few days since Lent begun to find some inspiration. It's not just what's going on in the World, the rise of nationalism and doors closing in the face of terrorism, the natural disasters and wars. Its the cutthroat corporates sending faithful employees packing in favour of profits. It's people going their own way rejecting the Lord, those giving up on marriages or other commitments, it's the feeling that everything is either dead or dying.

So, in face of all of this sadness, we need to find hope. My friend once told me that hope is the first sign of defeat! By that she meant that hope is just wishful thinking, you need something more solid than that, a plan at least... and a well thought through one at that. It's no good saying "I hope it's going to work" 😬

The direction can be altered by great leadership. There seems so few good ones these days. Without the vision, communication and the commitment of leaders the people are lost. Where do we see those who have the strength, the wisdom, the patience, the selflessness and courage to speak and even die for the truth? Where can we find this in ourselves?

We can look to Jesus of course! He is the greatest example of leadership the World has ever known and it took him to the Cross. Are we prepared to follow him there? Because that's what it's going to take to change this World we are living in.

And that's what I want to explore this Lent.

Psalm 137:1-4 By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. There on the poplars we hung our harps, for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land?