7 Ancient Wonders

Last Friday night we had the Christmas Office party at Alexandra Park. It was a good night, plenty of food and entertainment paid for by the company. I had to leave a little early to pick up Joshua from Maraetai as some of his school friends were having a party - it’s that time of year. Travelling over, I was treated to the spectacular lighting storm - every few seconds the night sky and dark country road would be lit up like it was the 2nd Coming. It wasn’t hard to imagine the angels and the shepherds driving through the Whitford hills with the sky lighting up. And the music was going in the car so the picture was complete. I was filled with wonder as I remembered what it’s like to be a kid when you’re seeing everything for the first time and Christmas is the most exciting day of the year.

The dictionary says that wonder the noun is;

1. “a feeling of amazement and admiration, caused by something beautiful, remarkable, or unfamiliar.” 
2. “a person or thing regarded as very good, remarkable, or effective.” 

 That doesn’t really define it for me ! A wonder is more than a feeling more than good, remarkable or effective. In the Christmas story the wonders are reason to worship God.

The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World were:

1. the Great Pyramid at Giza, Egypt. 
2. the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. 
3. the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, Greece. 
4. the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus. 
5. the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. 
6. the Colossus of Rhodes. 
7. the Lighthouse of Alexandria, Egypt. 

Only one is still standing - the one built by slaves out of straw - now that IS a wonder 😉

As a child there are many things we don’t know and we spend our days in wonder. But as we grow older, we get world weary and we think we’ve seen it all before and lose our childlike wonder.

Christmas is a tough time for a lot of people. Buying things that we can scarcely afford, queues, dealing with difficult relationships, tensions over child custody, loneliness, emptiness. The Christmas present doesn’t measure up to the Christmas past.

We have the story of Jesus to come back to. The tinsel and Christmas lights are a shallow distraction from the completely amazing story of the birth of Christ which split time in two - BC and AD. We can be filled with wonder again, just like when we were kids.

There are 7 wonders in this story that even now cannot be explained. That is why they are wonders. If we knew how they happened, if science could explain them, then we wouldn’t be wondering anymore. This story still takes us back to our childhood.

1. The New Testament opens with a revelation - that all those stories of heroes (and villains) in the Old Testament weren’t random - they were all part of the incredible story that led from Abraham 14 generations to David, 14 generations to the exile and 14 generations to Jesus. How did God make that happen ? Someone calculated the odds of Jesus of Nazareth fulfilling just 8 out of the 60 major prophecies fulfilled by the life of Christ as 1 in 10^17. It has been claimed that that many silver dollars would be enough to cover the face of the entire state of Texas two feet deep. Texas is a very big state. Who in his right mind would suppose that a blindfolded man, heading out of Dallas by foot in any direction, would be able, on his very first attempt, to pick up one specifically marked silver dollar out of 100,000,000,000,000,000? It is a wonder...

2. The Virgin Birth
It is part of the Apostles' Creed
“I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary...”
Scientists say it cannot happen in humans - other species can, just not humans. But Science has in the past also said that heavier than air flight, black holes, invisibility and instant communication around the world is impossible. You cannot rely on what Scientists say today. Science tries to explain everything and rules out the possibility of miracles despite people’s testimonies. But some things I think God wants us to smile and shake our heads and say “God you are amazing !“. It was a miracle, a wonder. Knowing it’s impossible we still acknowledge it is true and a reason to worship him.

3. The Shepherds and the Angels
Something Billy Graham said in the video shown 2 weeks ago struck a chord. The Gospel is a Proclamation. The Good News was first announced to the Shepherds. God didn’t send the angels to Jerusalem or to the King Herod. From the time of the Kings, God has previously made his announcements to the King via the prophets. Not this time ! This time he made the announcement to the Shepherds, the low working class of the time. That’s good news for you and me !
And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 
Luke 2:8-15

The angels appearing truly was a wonder. That was more awesome than the wildly spectacular lightning storm last Friday night !

4. Immanuel
From Isaiah 7:14
“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). 
Matthew 1:23

Yes God became a man for all eternity By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 1 John 4:2

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20

Immanuel means “God with us” and Jesus is with us always as we go into the World. God is with us, he’s not distant, or coming once a year at Christmas like Santa Claus, he’s here in the midst of us, every moment, every difficulty we are facing, when there seems no way out. That is a Wonder to remember every day. Sometimes we wish for Jesus to return, like the Jews were waiting for the Messiah but Jesus said he is with us always.

5. The Wise Men and the Star
It doesn’t say how many wise men nor explain how the star led them to the exact place where Jesus was. Some say it was Halley’s Comet, some say an alignment of Jupiter and Saturn or Venus but there appears something more miraculous than that. The story tells us the Stars spin around their Creator !

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 
Matthew 2:1-2

But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. 
Micah 5:2

After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was.
Matthew 2:9

The star was a fulfilment of prophecy that led them precisely to Jesus in Bethlehem. Beat that Google! They came from the East, my guess is from Babylon where Daniel that very wise man had been. That’s possibly how they heard about the coming King but the star is a wonder, we can only be in awe of how it rose at exactly the right time and how it pointed the way precisely to where Jesus had been born.

6. The gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh
And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. 
Matthew 2:11

Last year I shared how there is some reason to believe that the Wise Men were merely returning some of the treasure of gold, spices and perfumes as mentioned in Isaiah 39, stolen from the temple by the Babylonians at the time of the exile and Daniel.

Gold for the King, Frankincense for the worship of a deity, Myrrh a key ingredient for burial.

After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body. Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. 
John 19:38-40

The wonder is how did the Wise Men know to pick the right gifts for Jesus - King of Kings, Son of God the One who would die for us ?

7. The Dreams
God speaks to us through dreams, that is a wonder. But it is up to us to respond. In this story at least 3 dreams are noted;
 ⁃ A dream telling Joseph to take Mary as his wife and call the child Jesus. It was great faith on Joseph’s part to believe the angel in the dream in spite of his troubled thoughts on how Mary had gotten pregnant.
 ⁃ The wise men were warned in a dream not to return to Herod after visiting Jesus in spite of all Herod’s charm for which they would otherwise been fooled
 ⁃ The dream telling Joseph to take his family to Egypt to spare Jesus from what Herod was about to do.

Joseph knew that Herod was a bad guy, everyone in Israel knew that. Every good story has a villain. Israel was under occupation from Rome just like the Nazis occupied Europe in World War II. King Herod the Great was the Roman client King of Israel. He was not the true King from the House of David. He was an imposter from the Edomites, a descendent of Esau and so not part of the 12 tribes of Israel. He was called Great because he rebuilt the temple and many other great building projects. Hence the reason for all the tax that the people hated. But he was a brutal murderer who would kill anyone in his way or who threatened his rule including 3 of his own sons. Without the miracle of a dream Joseph would not have known that Herod was about to send his troops to murder all the children under 2 years old.

What would have happened if Joseph or the Wise Men hadn’t responded to their dreams ?

The Christmas story tells you to park your doubts and fears and simply believe and come and worship him. Are you ready to do just that ?

The White Horse

“And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. 
Joel 2:28-31

My most frequent memorable dream is of our house. Well it is our house but it has a secret passage upstairs which leads to a whole hidden floor. Sometimes when I go there, there are people living there, whole families and I realise it is a massive opportunity that so far we have missed. A variation of this dream is that there is another section or even house which we have long forgotten actually belongs to us. The point of the dream, it seems to me, is to tell me there is a much greater wealth which I’ve somehow not realised despite it belonging to me.

I once had another dream just after Joshua was born. I was in a house and as I moved through the house, there was a side of the house that was dark and the other side was light. I was a bit worried about the dark side. When I woke I realised the dream was about Sean and Joshua, that they would be different personalities, when one would like something the other would take to something else. But that they were part of the same house and I never worried about them after that.

The first dream I had was more of a revelation of the way things are. The second dream was prophetic. Both were and are useful.

Today I want to talk about prophecy so that we can learn how to know when God is speaking to us. We live in a world of many voices and of fake news and we need to be able to discern the true from the false. Especially if we are living in the last days before the Day of the Lord that the prophet Joel described.

At our last Elders Meeting, Dean brought a devotion about prophecy and some of the dangers in relying on prophetic words spoken to us. It is not uncommon as we move in Church circles to hear a person say that God has said this or that and it is always interesting to hear predictions about the future. But don’t forget that people of the world are also interested in the future, that is why they read horoscopes and go to fortune tellers and we know those are no good !

Dean’s main point is we need to be discerning, we need to recognise when a word is from God by testing and proving it is true. All prophecy is to be tested. An instant reaction to it, whether positive or a negative may not be the right response.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is —his good, pleasing and perfect will. 
Romans 12:2

1. First it shows us that the will of God must be “proved,” that is, it must be examined and verified and embraced. “that you may prove what the will of God is. . . .” 
2. The second thing it shows us is that this examining and verifying and accepting is done by the Christian mind: “Be transformed in the renewal of your mind, that you may prove. . . .” It is the mind of the Christian that does the proving of the will of God. 
3. Third, it shows us that for this to happen the mind must be renewed. “Be transformed in the renewal of your mind, that you may prove. . . .” Ordinary human thinking will not be able to examine and verify and embrace the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Think of the cultural meaning of prophecy. To see into the future.

There are 2 connected words - hind and fore. Be-fore Be-hind

To have “foresight” - to see something “before” it happens.
The opposite is “hindsight” - to look “behind” and to understand.

But the 2 are connected. In a simple illustration, think of a horse with its hind legs and it’s fore legs.

Prophecy is not random or disconnected from us. If a prophecy is given it will make sense, it will be connected. A few weeks ago I spoke about our DNA - the code God has written into our very cells. Some of that code is future code for who we can become but it is connected to the same code, it is not random to who we once were.

What does a prophet look like and do?
 ⁃ Speaks or writes the word of God which is truth. By that definition, all the Gospel writers were prophets of God and you are too when you witness
⁃ Speaks on behalf of God and in the Old Testament spoke to the King counselling how to lead the people
⁃ Speaks in advance of an event as a warning or exhortation ⁃ Produces good fruit

Who is a prophet ?
⁃ A heavyweight in God’s Kingdom. Not a lightweight giving off nice words here and there like a lolly scramble but giving a strong, dependable message with a consistent theme
⁃ Very humble, a servant of all. Not wearing fancy clothes or living in a palatial home

John the Baptist
When John’s disciples had gone, Jesus began talking about him to the crowds. “When you went out into the barren wilderness to see John, what did you expect him to be like? Grass blowing in the wind? Or were you expecting to see a man dressed as a prince in a palace? Or a prophet of God? Yes, and he is more than just a prophet. For John is the man mentioned in the Scriptures—a messenger to precede me, to announce my coming, and prepare people to receive me. “Truly, of all men ever born, none shines more brightly than John the Baptist. And yet, even the lesser lights in the Kingdom of Heaven will be greater than he is! And from the time John the Baptist began preaching and baptizing until now, ardent multitudes have been crowding toward the Kingdom of Heaven, for all the laws and prophets looked forward to the Messiah. Then John appeared, and if you are willing to understand what I mean, he is Elijah, the one the prophets said would come at the time the Kingdom begins. If ever you were willing to listen, listen now! 
Matthew 11:7-15


The message a prophet brings is called a prophecy. His message is the good seed as in the Parable of the Sower.
“Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed...” 
Mark 4:3

God has promised that his Word will produce fruit ! And it is always good fruit 😊

As the rain and snow come down from heaven and stay upon the ground to water the earth, and cause the grain to grow and to produce seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry, so also is my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It shall accomplish all I want it to and prosper everywhere I send it. 
Isaiah 55:10-11

Sometimes I worry that the Gospel seed that I have planted has come to nothing. This week I was on a Budgeting course and the trainer said something very profound. She said that often people come looking for help with their finances because they've gotten in trouble with debt and can't make ends meet. So you do the work with them and they are soon back on track and because everything is going well they abandon the budget you have helped them set up. She said, "Don't worry, the rain will come and then the seed you've planted will grow." That is God's promise. His seed always bears fruit but sometimes it has to wait a long time for the rain to come in the person's life.

Remember God is our Father. Sometimes God’s word to us will be convicting, sometimes approving, sometimes encouraging, sometimes stern, sometimes instructive but always given in love. Finally we know our parents love us and have our best interests at heart even if we don’t always agree with them!

But we know there are false prophets who bring false prophecies; ⁃ Do you know anyone who said they’ve spoken a message from God that never came true ? A false prophet is very dangerous because they mislead people against God. They sow weeds into our lives !

Here is another illustration Jesus used: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer sowing good seed in his field; but one night as he slept, his enemy came and sowed thistles among the wheat. When the crop began to grow, the thistles grew too. “The farmer’s men came and told him, ‘Sir, the field where you planted that choice seed is full of thistles!’ “‘An enemy has done it,’ he exclaimed. “‘Shall we pull out the thistles?’ they asked. “‘No,’ he replied. ‘You’ll hurt the wheat if you do. Let both grow together until the harvest, and I will tell the reapers to sort out the thistles and burn them, and put the wheat in the barn.’” 
Matthew 13:24-30

The wheat is on the left in the picture, the tares are on the right. They look the same but one is worthless and produces nothing.

Here are a few examples of weed seed;

“Do What You Want (as long as you don’t hurt anyone)”

“All roads lead to Rome”

“All religions are the same”

“Live and let live”

“All you need is love”

“Beware of false teachers who come disguised as harmless sheep, but are wolves and will tear you apart. You can detect them by the way they act, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit. You need never confuse grapevines with thorn bushes or figs with thistles. Different kinds of fruit trees can quickly be identified by examining their fruit. A variety that produces delicious fruit never produces an inedible kind. And a tree producing an inedible kind can’t produce what is good. So the trees having the inedible fruit are chopped down and thrown on the fire. Yes, the way to identify a tree or a person is by the kind of fruit produced. 
Matthew 7:15-20

What is wrong with this picture ?

We can detect a false prophet by the way they live and the fruit they produce.

Without condemning any particular musician, we can ask if the musician is living a godly life and producing good fruit. They are very wealthy because their message is so popular. We like the sound of their songs and we sing along to their messages daily but the message needs to be checked because it is seed and will have an impact as we subscribe to it and inevitably act on it.

Same with the movies and TV. The most popular TV series involve murder, people sleeping around, living together without being married. People have subscribed to that thinking, now we have a society where more than 50% of people live together before getting married. We are not far off the last days prophecy when people will say it is wrong to get married. Programmes like “Love at First Sight” are only encouraging short term marriages.

But we are children of God; that is why only those who have walked and talked with God will listen to us. Others won’t. That is another way to know whether a message is really from God; for if it is, the world won’t listen to it. 
1 John 4:6

A popular message will attract a lot of money because people like to hear it. A true prophet of God is unlikely to have a lot of money, it is an unpopular message that the World won’t listen to. I am not saying that all wealthy musicians, actors and even preachers are false prophets. But I am saying their messages need to be checked carefully because wealth = popularity = of the world and not of God

We are told to test the prophets.

Dearly loved friends, don’t always believe everything you hear just because someone says it is a message from God: test it first to see if it really is. For there are many false teachers around, and the way to find out if their message is from the Holy Spirit is to ask: Does it really agree that Jesus Christ, God’s Son, actually became man with a human body? If so, then the message is from God. If not, the message is not from God but from one who is against Christ, like the “Antichrist” you have heard about who is going to come, and his attitude of enmity against Christ is already abroad in the world. 
1 John 4:1-3

The Old Testament law said a false prophet must be put to death. We don’t do that literally but we can do that by stopping listening to false prophets. It is to be taken very seriously.
If there is a prophet among you, or one who claims to foretell the future by dreams, and if his predictions come true but he says, ‘Come, let us worship the gods of the other nations,’ don’t listen to him. For the Lord is testing you to find out whether or not you really love him with all your heart and soul. You must never worship any God but Jehovah; obey only his commands and cling to him. “The prophet who tries to lead you astray must be executed, for he has attempted to foment rebellion against the Lord your God who brought you out of slavery in the land of Egypt. By executing him you will clear out the evil from among you. 
Deuteronomy 13:1-5

Finally, “the proof is in the pudding” - By the way the prophet lives and the fruit produced, the truth of the person, and their agreement that Jesus is God in the flesh we can confirm the person is a true prophet.


But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control; and here there is no conflict with Jewish laws.
Galatians 5:22-23

Logic!" said the Professor half to himself. "Why don't they teach logic at these schools? There are only three possibilities. Either your sister is telling lies, or she is mad, or she is telling the truth. You know she doesn't tell lies and it is obvious that she is not mad. For the moment then and unless any further evidence turns up, we must assume that she is telling the truth. 
The Professor to Peter and Susan in the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe

Horse and Rider - Revelation
Jesus - Rider Horse - head, front and rear. The horse goes where the rider wants, but the rear legs follow the front and gives power. The power comes from the back. Same with a boat or a car. The exception is a car with front wheel drive.

Then I saw heaven opened and a white horse standing there; and the one sitting on the horse was named Faithful and True—the one who justly punishes and makes war. His eyes were like flames, and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on his forehead, and only he knew its meaning. He was clothed with garments dipped in blood, and his title was “The Word of God.” The armies of heaven, dressed in finest linen, white and clean, followed him on white horses. In his mouth he held a sharp sword to strike down the nations; he ruled them with an iron grip; and he trod the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God. On his robe and thigh was written this title: “King of Kings and Lord of Lords.” 
Revelation 19:11-16

Above all else we have Jesus and what he said.

Long ago God spoke in many different ways to our fathers through the prophets, in visions, dreams, and even face to face, telling them little by little about his plans. But now in these days he has spoken to us through his Son to whom he has given everything and through whom he made the world and everything there is. 
Hebrews 1:1-2

DNA

David Attenborough ironically describes our DNA as the Book of Life, just like in the Psalm;
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.
Psalm 139:14-16

Your genetic makeup is a combination of your parents DNA. You have 46 chromosomes in each cell, 23 pairs made up of 1 from Mum and 1 from Dad.

DNA is supercoiled using enzymes so that it takes up less space. Try holding a piece of string at one end, and twisting the other. As you add twist, the string creates coils of coils; and eventually, coils of coils of coils. Your DNA is arranged as a coil of coils of coils of coils of coils! This allows the 3 billion base pairs in each cell to fit into a space just 6 microns across. If you stretched the DNA in one cell all the way out, it would be about 2m long and all the DNA in all your cells put together would be about twice the diameter of the Solar System.

And in that DNA, are all the instructions that told your body how to form, whether you are a boy or girl, even down to making the very tools at the right time in your mother’s womb to make each part of your body. I remember seeing a video which described incisors cutting open the eyelids. There is no one like you!

Once upon a time, your parents gave you your name. Your name was given in love. Do you know the meaning of your name? Look it up on the internet. Do you agree with it?

• Heather - variety of small shrubs with pink or white flowers which commonly grow in rocky areas Wendy - white, fair, blessed 
• Diane - heavenly, divine 
• John/Ian/Sean - YAHWEH is gracious (beloved of God) 
• Liam - helmet, protection (Wil is short for will, desire) 
• Bob/Robert - fame, bright

Sometimes in the Bible God renamed someone;
Abram became Abraham
“What’s more,” God told him, “I am changing your name. It is no longer ‘Abram’ (‘Exalted Father’), but ‘Abraham’ (‘Father of Nations’)—for that is what you will be. I have declared it. 
Genesis 17:5

Simon became Peter
Andrew then went to find his brother Peter and told him, “We have found the Messiah!” And he brought Peter to meet Jesus. Jesus looked intently at Peter for a moment and then said, “You are Simon, John’s son—but you shall be called Peter, the rock!” 
John 1:41-42

In Hebrew, Simon means “Listen”. In Greek it meant “snub-nosed’. If someone says that person is a rock, they mean a solid character.

In both cases, God gives an extension to the meaning, he doesn’t change the context of the original name but identifies the person with greater meaning.

Abram was exalted father - applicable to his own family. But Abraham is “Father of Nations” !!! This became true physically through Isaac and Ishmael, also true religiously of Jews, Muslims and Christians and ultimately spiritually true since he is the father of all people born again by faith.

However Satan doesn’t call us by name - he is known as the accuser.
Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens, “It has happened at last! God’s salvation and the power and the rule, and the authority of his Christ are finally here; for the Accuser of our brothers has been thrown down from heaven onto earth—he accused them day and night before our God. Revelation 12:10

Satan instead labels us - ugly, fat, stupid, dumb etc and loves it when he has something to accuse us of - liar, thief, murderer, adulterer, gay...

Where did the term “nickname” come from? The meaning is “also-name”. But be careful with nicknames as they are often negative in meaning e.g. Shorty. Another name for Satan is “Old Nick”.

But God calls us by our name, the one our parents gave us. Each one of us here today has been called by God by our name. That is why we are here today.

And God has something for each one of us to do which is beyond what we see in ourselves. Our DNA stretched out would reach the sun and back many times over. Just think what your true potential is that God has written into your DNA!

While reading Genesis 2, I saw something I hadn’t seen before.
Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
Genesis 2:24

What the Bible is saying is true not just for the couple but also for their children. It is not possible for any other type of couple to become one flesh. The biology does not allow it. Everyone has one Mum and one Dad, our genetic makeup coming from our 2 parents.

Think of the life of Moses.

Moses’s life is divided into 3 parts of 40 years, like his life is following a DNA script;

There were at this time a Hebrew fellow and girl of the tribe of Levi who married and had a family, and a baby son was born to them. When the baby’s mother saw that he was an unusually beautiful baby, she hid him at home for three months. Then, when she could no longer hide him, she made a little boat from papyrus reeds, waterproofed it with tar, put the baby in it, and laid it among the reeds along the river’s edge. The baby’s sister watched from a distance to see what would happen to him. Exodus 2:1-4

Moses was born to slaves living in the ghetto, he didn’t get the greatest start in life, with the Pharaoh’s men hunting all new born Israelite babies to kill them.

Have you a copy of your birth certificate? On mine there is written the occupation of the Father but not Mother - Cost Office Supervisor, Mum was an office assistant. They met at work, it was an office romance....

Moses was rescued from the bullrushes by the princess and adopted into the Pharoah’s family and was even named Moses by the Pharoah’s daughter. Moses means drawn out of the water. The Pharoah is evil, he murders babies, yet here is Moses a baby in the Lion’s Den and he is completely safe even being raised by the Antichrist himself. I am constantly having to reset to God’s Agenda. This looked like a disaster. See God’s Agenda was that Moses would be drawn out of the water, he was chosen by God to set the people free.

Moses was a pastors kid. His father and mother were both Levites - the tribe of priests.

“One day as he was nearing his fortieth birthday, it came into his mind to visit his brothers, the people of Israel. During this visit he saw an Egyptian mistreating a man of Israel. So Moses killed the Egyptian.
Acts 7:23-24

So Moses did a terrible thing. He murdered a man and he ran into the Wilderness and he lived there for 40 years with Jethro, married Zipporah, had a couple of kids. Probably thought I’ll never amount to much now, wondering what life was about. Imagine 40 years as a Prince in Egypt only to become a Shepherd out in the sticks with only a few family, sheep and cattle for company. But that experience had helped make Moses the humblest man on the planet, ready for God to use. The humble are ready to be exalted remember!

Now Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh. Exodus 7:7

Don’t tell the Lord you’re too old!

One day as Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, out at the edge of the desert near Horeb, the mountain of God, suddenly the Angel of Jehovah appeared to him as a flame of fire in a bush. When Moses saw that the bush was on fire and that it didn’t burn up, he went over to investigate. Then God called out to him, “Moses! Moses!” “Who is it?” Moses asked. “Don’t come any closer,” God told him. “Take off your shoes, for you are standing on holy ground. I am the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” (Moses covered his face with his hands, for he was afraid to look at God.) 
Exodus 3:1-6

See how God loves the whole of Moses’s family going back many generations! He is our Father, he knows us and he calls us by name.

When God calls Moses, Moses gives many reasons why he shouldn’t be the one to do the job. He was the humblest man on the Earth after all.

1. I’m just a pleb! But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” Exodus 3:11 
2. I am not trained for this! I didn’t go to Baptist College. Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” Exodus 3:13 
3. They won’t believe me! Then Moses answered, “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.’” Exodus 4:1 
4. I’m not talented! But Moses said to the Lord, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.” Exodus 4:10 
5. I’m scared! But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.” Exodus 4:13

The Lord is very patient but he does get angry.
Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses and he said, “Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. 
Exodus 4:14

All the knocks Moses had taken had made him the humblest man on the Earth but now was the time for a change in his thinking. God’s preparation had taken 80 years and now he had Moses exactly how He wanted him.

God had chosen Moses from the beginning to be the one to lead the people out of Egypt. It was all in his design. There was no-one else. If Moses has walked away from the burning bush, it is guaranteed that within 24 hours Satan would have convinced him it was all in his head and the people would have remained in slavery for at least one generation probably hundreds of years more.

We can make excuses if we want. We can stay in Egypt. But there is a Promised Land to get to and we have to be brave and believe God wiil get us there. We are the ones who have to step out.

Always there is faith required. Only the one who will take the risk to step outside the boat can walk on water.

I asked my friends Dad how he can run 160km without stopping and he tapped his head and said “it’s all in the mind”. What he was telling me is that just about any able bodied person can do it, the human body is much more capable than we think. But he was speaking humanly. God know what’s on the design of our DNA and what we are capable of in him is much more.

Ok that’s fine for Moses - he had the burning bush. Jonah survived 3 days in the belly of the whale. Peter, James and John saw Moses and Elijah on the mountain with Jesus.

How do we know if it’s him who’s calling you? I can’t give you a formula because there is always faith required. But you will know based on your life experience, the wisdom of godly friends, how God speaks to you from the Bible, an unusual number of signs or God-incidences.

If the Lord has called you to do something, you need to stop looking at your weaknesses and start focusing on Him.

For I can do everything God asks me to with the help of Christ who gives me the strength and power. Philippians 4:13

Notice how just like Abram and Simon, Moses name meant much more than what his parents had in mind. This is true for you too. Moses’s name was true physically at birth but beyond that it was also true when he led the people of Israel out of Egypt through the waters of the Red Seat. And in a greater way the Exodus story is true for all generations. If we are in bondage, God sends his servant to tell the Pharoah to let his people go! You can be free today in Christ. You can cross the Red Sea and never go back. That is a picture of Baptism. You may face trials in the desert of the World but if you persevere, in the end you will reach the Promised Land.

God gives us a new identity The nations shall see your righteousness, and all the kings your glory, and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will give. 
Isaiah 62:2

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’ 
Revelation 2:17

If someone says they were born that way, we are all born that way. We are all born sinners. We must all be born again to enter the Kingdom of God.

Moses was 120 years old when he died. His eye was undimmed, and his vigor unabated. Deuteronomy 34:7

But you won’t find a tombstone for Moses with his birth and death dates.
So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord, and he buried him in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-peor; but no one knows the place of his burial to this day. 
Deuteronomy 34:5-6

And you won’t find a body in Jesus’ tomb. God is the God of the Living not the dead.

Our names are recorded in the Book of Life. We have a new eternal DNA from God our Father.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 
2 Corinthians 5:17

So pay attention to your thoughts and the way others speak to you. Your name is precious, listen carefully for it.

You can receive your new DNA today and a new story will be written. They won’t find your story on your tombstone. But they’ll be talking about you many years from now. It will be the same you but greater!

Identity

Once upon a time, your parents gave you your name. Your name was given in love. Do you know the meaning of your name? Look it up on the internet. Do you agree with it?

Sometimes in the Bible God renamed someone;
Abram became Abraham
“What’s more,” God told him, “I am changing your name. It is no longer ‘Abram’ (‘Exalted Father’), but ‘Abraham’ (‘Father of Nations’)—for that is what you will be. I have declared it. 
Genesis 17:5

Simon became Peter
Andrew then went to find his brother Peter and told him, “We have found the Messiah!” And he brought Peter to meet Jesus. Jesus looked intently at Peter for a moment and then said, “You are Simon, John’s son—but you shall be called Peter, the rock!” 
John 1:41-42

In Hebrew, Simon means “Listen”. In Greek it meant “snub-nosed’. If someone says that person is a rock, they mean solid, usually a good listener.

In both cases, God gives an extension to the meaning, he doesn’t change the context of the original name but identifies the person with greater meaning.

Abram was exalted father - applicable to his own family. But Abraham is “Father of Nations” !!! This became true physically through Isaac and Ishmael, also true religiously of Jews, Muslims and Christians and ultimately spiritually true since he is the father of all people born again by faith.

However Satan doesn’t call us by name - he is known as the accuser.
Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens, “It has happened at last! God’s salvation and the power and the rule, and the authority of his Christ are finally here; for the Accuser of our brothers has been thrown down from heaven onto earth—he accused them day and night before our God. 
Revelation 12:10

Satan instead labels us - ugly, fat, stupid, dumb etc and loves it when he has something to accuse us of - liar, thief, murderer, adulterer, gay ...

Where did the term “nickname” come from? The meaning is “also-name”. But be careful with nicknames as they are often negative in meaning e.g. Shorty. Another name for Satan is “Old Nick”.

But God calls us by our name, the one our parents gave us.
One day as Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, out at the edge of the desert near Horeb, the mountain of God, suddenly the Angel of Jehovah appeared to him as a flame of fire in a bush. When Moses saw that the bush was on fire and that it didn’t burn up, he went over to investigate. Then God called out to him, “Moses! Moses!” “Who is it?” Moses asked. “Don’t come any closer,” God told him. “Take off your shoes, for you are standing on holy ground. I am the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” (Moses covered his face with his hands, for he was afraid to look at God.) 
Exodus 3:1-6

See how God loves the whole of Moses’s family going back many generations! He is our Father, he knows us and he calls us by name.

So pay attention to your thoughts and the way others speak to you. Your name is precious, listen carefully for it.

Jonah Revisited Part 2

The luxury steamship RMS Titanic sank in the early hours of April 15, 1912, off the coast of Newfoundland in the North Atlantic after sideswiping an iceberg during its maiden voyage. On board were some of the wealthiest people in the world and many emigrants on their way to start a new life in America. Of the 2,240 passengers and crew on board only 710 survived due to the inadequate number and quality of the lifeboats.

The Titanic was huge, 269m long, 10 decks high with massive engines and an electrical plant capable of producing more power than an average city power station. It was a monument to human invention but it smacked of pride. Inviting disaster, it is claimed someone heard the ship Captain Edward John Smith say "Even God himself couldn't sink this ship."

The facts are that the Titanic received 6 warnings of ice in the area over a period of 13.5 hours but continued full steam ahead for to reach it’s New York destination on time in what can only be described as delusional foolhardiness.

Titanic’s story continues to horrify us as a cautionary tale about the perils of human pride.

Recap from last week

• Pride is something the Lord hates 
• Pride is being self-reliant putting our security in worldly things 
• Pride is self-absorbed unable to think of others 
• Pride is delusional 
• Pride and fear go together 
• Pride comes before a fall 
• The modern definition of pride is positive rather than negative 
• Pride will be rampant in the last days

Tina shared last week, when someone has an illness and goes to the doctor, they are given a prescribed remedy. God’s remedy for pride is humility. Jesus said;
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
Matthew 23:12

The big fish had swallowed Jonah. Would Jonah swallow his pride and take his medicine?

Pray
Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from inside the fish: “In my great trouble I cried to the Lord and he answered me; from the depths of death I called, and Lord, you heard me! You threw me into the ocean depths; I sank down into the floods of waters and was covered by your wild and stormy waves. Then I said, ‘O Lord, you have rejected me and cast me away. How shall I ever again see your holy Temple?’ “I sank beneath the waves, and death was very near. The waters closed above me; the seaweed wrapped itself around my head. I went down to the bottoms of the mountains that rise from the ocean floor. I was locked out of life and imprisoned in the land of death. But, O Lord my God, you have snatched me from the yawning jaws of death! “When I had lost all hope, I turned my thoughts once more to the Lord. And my earnest prayer went to you in your holy Temple. (Those who worship false gods have turned their backs on all the mercies waiting for them from the Lord!) “I will never worship anyone but you! For how can I thank you enough for all you have done? I will surely fulfill my promises. For my deliverance comes from the Lord alone.” 
Jonah 2

The first part of the prescription is a healthy dose of prayer.

If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
2 Chronicles 7:14

It's like God is giving us the keys to heaven with this verse. I can’t think of another people that are called by God’s name than Christians, this verse is for us!

• Praying means admitting our need of God 
• The proud don’t bother to pray but the humble do 
• Remember the humble have God’s attention 
• Fasting was often part of humbling yourself

Finally when he hit rock bottom, Jonah prayed earnestly. That always gets God’s attention. For all the decisions he made up to this point in the story, Jonah hadn’t prayed. Sadly for many of us our pride keeps us from praying to God for help.

The good news is that the Holy Spirit will help us. It’s like the Nurse who is on hand ready to administer the medicine!
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 
Romans 8:26

In fact the people of Ninevah humbled themselves and fasted
For when the king of Nineveh heard what Jonah was saying, he stepped down from his throne, laid aside his royal robes, put on sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And the king and his nobles sent this message throughout the city: “Let no one, not even the animals, eat anything at all, nor even drink any water. Everyone must wear sackcloth and cry mightily to God, and let everyone turn from his evil ways, from his violence and robbing. Who can tell? Perhaps even yet God will decide to let us live and will hold back his fierce anger from destroying us.” 
Jonah 3:6-9

See how the wicked people of Nineveh upstaged the people called by God’s name - they prayed, they fasted, they sought God’s face and they turned from their wicked ways. What a great miracle Jonah was witnessing!

Repentance is the start of obedience. The Grace of God isn’t so we can continue on with our sin, it is so we can be free to obey and do good.

Obey
Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.” Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it. 
Jonah 3:1-3

The Lord speaks to Jonah a second time but it’s the same word as before! His repentance didn’t let Jonah off the hook 😊 True repentance always involves obedience. In a crisis, a lot of people make promises to God but then after God has answered their prayer and things return to normal they go back to the way they were. They didn't truly repent.

I re-read the story of the fall of King Saul in 1 Samuel 15:10-23 and saw that at the heart of it was his pride. When Samuel found him, he discovered that Saul had disobeyed the Lord and done his own thing. Saul had built a monument to himself (v12) and didn't repent when challenged by Samuel about his disobedience.

Samuel replied, “Has the Lord as much pleasure in your burnt offerings and sacrifices as in your obedience? Obedience is far better than sacrifice. He is much more interested in your listening to him than in your offering the fat of rams to him. For rebellion is as bad as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as bad as worshiping idols. And now because you have rejected the word of Jehovah, he has rejected you from being king.” 
1 Samuel 15:22-23

Saul’s pride lead to his disobedience - he thought he knew better 
Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.
Isaiah 5:21

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.
James 3:13

Jonah's Message
God didn’t ask Jonah to tell the people to repent. He told him to tell them that destruction is coming!
Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” 
Jonah 3:4

Jonah didn’t have to tell them to repent - that was their response because they believed.

This generation is open to an explanation of why destruction is coming. The young believe the science behind global warming and they are prepared to take action.

Will we explain scientifically, with facts with history the reason why destruction is coming because of all the sin in the world - the pornography, the prostitution, not getting married, the breakdown of family, the corporate and personal greed, the gambling; drinking and drugs are leading the World to ruin.

Clothe yourself with humility
In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favour to the humble.” 
1 Peter 5:5

There is this choice we make to take on humility in our character, of putting on a coat and stooping down low. We shouldn't be delivering a message like Jonah's from up on our high horse. We need to get down real low.

While I was in England from 2000-2002, I learnt what this meant through my Home Group Leader Mark Baster, a very humble guy. It was Christmas and snowing and we went out to sing carols and so I was wearing my coat. And I had this thought of wearing my coat and stooping down really low that’s how I can best describe it. And so when we went out singing, I didn’t feel we were preaching but just bringing something good to people which they were free to accept or reject.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” 
Matthew 11:28-30

Yes, choose the low road
“Ye take the high the high road and I’ll take the low road and I’ll be in Scotland afore ye.” Remember Jesus said
 “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” 
Matthew 20:16

The first 3 béatitudes at least are for the humble;
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 
5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 
Matthew 5:3-5

There are plenty of great promises for the humble!

Gratitude Jonah did not have an attitude of gratitude.
But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord , when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.” But the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?” Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. 
Jonah 4:1-5

Find yourself disagreeing with the Lord over what he has done? Jonah was upset when the thing he had warned didn’t happen - that was his pride.

Our pride makes it difficult to see things clearly. Jonah should have been grateful instead. Ninevah, that great enemy of Israel had repented, there was an opportunity for peace!

Have we failed to see the good in something that didn’t go the way we hoped and given thanks for it? Have we failed to see the opportunity? If Jonah had carried the Good News back to Israel, perhaps there could have been peace made instead of years later when the Assyrians invaded Israel at the time of Nahum.

So Jonah went out and sat sulking on the east side of the city, and he made a leafy shelter to shade him as he waited there to see if anything would happen to the city. And when the leaves of the shelter withered in the heat, the Lord arranged for a vine to grow up quickly and spread its broad leaves over Jonah’s head to shade him. This made him comfortable and very grateful. But God also prepared a worm! The next morning the worm ate through the stem of the plant, so that it withered away and died. Then when the sun was hot, God ordered a scorching east wind to blow on Jonah, and the sun beat down upon his head until he grew faint and wished to die. For he said, “Death is better than this!” And God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry because the plant died?” “Yes,” Jonah said, “it is; it is right for me to be angry enough to die!” Then the Lord said, “You feel sorry for yourself when your shelter is destroyed, though you did no work to put it there, and it is, at best, short-lived. And why shouldn’t I feel sorry for a great city like Nineveh with its 120,000 people in utter spiritual darkness and all its cattle?” 
Jonah 4:5-11

Jonah needed to see the situation from Heaven’s perspective and be thankful instead.

Trust in the Lord - Faith trumps fear
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. 
Proverbs 3:5-6

This is the doctors prescriptions for pride to be mixed together in the right doses; -

1. Pray
2. Obey 
3. Clothe yourself with humility
4. Gratitude
5. Trust in the Lord

Some people believe in fate. But the ship doesn’t have to sink! If we change direction we can avoid the iceberg.

If we turn around then just like with Ninevah, God will also turn around!

Jonah Revisited Part 1

He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” 
Luke 18:9-14

My brother Colin is over in England at the moment seeing his 2 boys and meeting up with friends and family. He is also watching the World Cup and we are in contact daily. We were talking this week and I mentioned how I was speaking for the next 2 weeks and didn’t yet have an integrated message. He suggested to speak on Jonah. I thought to myself, I have already spoken on Jonah and since it was a while ago and I was running out of time, I could refresh the old message. Thankfully I decided to go back and re-read Jonah to see if there is something new to bring that I would have time to prepare. I got to verse 3 and instantly knew the message for the next 2 weeks.

The Lord sent this message to Jonah, the son of Amittai: “Go to the great city of Nineveh, and give them this announcement from the Lord: ‘I am going to destroy you, for your wickedness rises before me; it smells to highest heaven.’” But Jonah was afraid to go and ran away from the Lord. He went down to the seacoast, to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket, went on board, and climbed down into the dark hold of the ship to hide there from the Lord. Jonah 1:1-3

I gave away the clue in the 1st reading, so to check if everyone is tuned in, would any one like to guess the topics for the next 2 weeks?

It is Pride and Humility. Jesus said;
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
Matthew 23:12

Let’s give some background to the story of Jonah.

Verse 1 says Ninevah’s sin rose up to heaven and got Gods attention. How bad was Nineveh? It was Sin City.

Founded by Nimrod, the man described as a hunter before God, who founded many of the pagan religions.

One of the descendants of Cush was Nimrod, who became the first of the kings. He was a mighty hunter, blessed of God, and his name became proverbial. People would speak of someone as being “like Nimrod—a mighty hunter, blessed of God.” The heart of his empire included Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh in the land of Shinar. From there he extended his reign to Assyria. He built Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah, and Resen (which is located between Nineveh and Calah), the main city of the empire.
Genesis 10:8-11

Nimrod was Noah’s great-grandson, his father was Cush and his grandfather was Ham, the son whom Noah cursed. If ever there is a lesson in the power of our words we should learn it from Noah. For by cursing Ham, no doubt, he was making Ham an outsider and a couple of generations later, Nimrod rejected the Lord to build a man-centred government and start the worship of other gods instead.

This excerpt is from a study on Nimrod
Nimrod became the most feared man in the land. His power and wealth grew as Babylon grew. He made the laws, and those laws decreed that Babylonians should not look to the God of Noah as their ruler, but should be ruled by human governments. Nimrod’s gods included the sun and snakes and other kinds of things (Rom. 1:21-23).

The name of the God of Babylon was Bel which is a form of Ba’al meaning lord or master. Another name was Merodach, who was a Babylonian "God of War." (Jer. 50:2). In the Hebrew language the name was Baal. He was the sun-god consort Ashtoreth or Ishtar or Easter for which the festival Easter is named. Bel was considered the chief god among the many idols. Nimrod strengthened his power over his subjects by making himself the high priest of Bel, or Baal, and of Merodach. There in ancient Babylon were born the false beliefs that have wormed their way into almost every religion. Even today millions and millions of people who may want to live according to the right ways are not aware that their manner of worship follows very closely that of ancient idol worship and pagan rites begun at Babel. People today, calling themselves Christians, keep the Babylonian festivals of the Solstice at Christmas and of Easter, which is the festival of Ishtar whose consort died on a Friday and was resurrected on a Sunday. This consort often carried many names in the mystery cults, such as Attis in the west and Adonis of the Greeks, or Orpheus and Dionysus among the Greeks or Bacchus among the Romans.

One of Nimrod's schemes to hold people together under his rule was to build a tower so gigantic that it would excite everyone's awe and wonder. It was to be the highest temple ever built, and a monument to the sun god in the centre of a world-ruling government (Gen. 11:5).

Then God stepped in. He saw that Babel was only the beginning of the things men would try to do. If they went unchecked they would develop knowledge at such a rate the world would be destroyed. We all know that man always finds a way to use an invention for evil. Imagine what it would have been like if men such as Nimrod had been able to develop weapons such as we have today!

So the false system of worship at Babel was interrupted and the people dispersed unfortunately along with their other Babylonian gods.

So if you wonder where those ancient gods of Rome and Greece came from, and where the gods of Hinduism originated, you can trace them back to Nimrod and his cities of Babylon and Nineveh.

Woe to Nineveh, City of Blood, full of lies, crammed with plunder.

All this because Nineveh sold herself to the enemies of God. The beautiful and faithless city, mistress of deadly charms, enticed the nations with her beauty, then taught them all to worship her false gods, bewitching people everywhere.

Merchants, numerous as stars, filled your city with vast wealth, but your enemies swarm like locusts and carry it away.

There is no healing for your wound—it is far too deep to cure. All who hear your fate will clap their hands for joy, for where can one be found who has not suffered from your cruelty? 
Nahum 3:1,4,16,19

The people of Ninevah were known for their wealth and prosperity. But it had been gained by deception and theft. Sound a little like Wall Street to you? Still happy that your pension plan is growing at a record rate?

The people of Nineveh were also known for their cruelty. If you think ISIS is bad, these guys were their forefathers. Assyriologist Archibald Henry Sayce describes the barbarities that followed the capture of a town:
“Boys and girls were burned alive or reserved for a worse fate; men were impaled, flayed alive, blinded, or deprived of their hands and feet, of their ears and noses.”

And we know that as part of Baal worship, children were sacrificed on the altar. As an aside, is NZ honestly much different to Nineveh with its high abortion rate and the rise of the other gods of Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam?

So Jonah was afraid to go. Ever had God ask you to go witness to the most unlikely hostile person? What stops us from reaching out to our neighbour - it is pride. We don’t want to be embarrassed, we don’t want to be rejected.

But as the saying goes, “Pride comes before a fall.” Jonah fell as far as you can go. It is a common theme in the Bible. Pride leading to a fall and then redemption. The Prodigal Son, Joseph, Moses, David, Nebuchadnezzar, Peter.

I was reminded that the moment Jonah said no to God in his heart he started his journey down away from the presence of the Lord. I noticed how many times the word “down“ is used.

• Down to Joppa
• Down from the wharf into the boat
• Down into the inner part of the ship
• Down overboard into the stormy seas
• Down into the belly of the whale
• Down to the bottom of the sea
• Down into the belly of Shoel, the land of the dead

Jonah was falling. Just like the prodigal son, he would reach the point where he couldn’t go any lower. Why do many of us have to hit rock bottom before we will turn around. Surely it can only be our pride.

Pride and fear are together. Jonah was afraid to do what God asked.

Likewise their opposites, humility and faith go together but we’ll talk more about that next week.

Pride is something the Lord hates. Pride stops us from admitting we’re wrong and saying sorry. Pride stops us from seeing things the way they are. You have heard the saying “he has delusions of grandeur”. The person is full of pride and deluded about the truth of themselves.

Satan is also deluded about his position.
“How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit. 
Isaiah 14:12-15

But it is our problem too in these last days;
But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. 
2 Timothy 3:1-5

We are the generation who invented the selfie to post it on Facebook or Twitter. We are the ones who say Heh, look at me, it’s all about me etc...

Does this sound familiar?
Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. They were haughty and did an abomination before me. So I removed them, when I saw it. 
Ezekiel 16:49-50

The modern definition of pride is very positive;
“a feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one's own achievements, the achievements of one's close associates, or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired.”
What’s wrong with that you might ask?

But to God, pride is our no.1 problem.

There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: 

• haughty eyes, (pride)
• a lying tongue,
• and hands that shed innocent blood,
• a heart that devises wicked plans,
• feet that make haste to run to evil,
• a false witness who breathes out lies,
• and one who sows discord among brothers. 

Proverbs 6:16-19

So pride is the no.1 thing God hates I think because it leads us to independence from God and a relationship with him, and places our security in things. The very problem we have in the Western World and isn’t it interesting to see that with the rejection of the true God, there has been a rise of alternative religions like Buddhism among Westerners, and these gods don’t challenge our sin.

Recently our young adults discussed money - how much is too much, what should a Christian tithe? The point was made that you can’t serve God and money which is what Jesus said.

The problem with money is when it gives us assurance of security which we need to have in God instead. It makes us proud.

And the Bible also says
For the love of money is the first step toward all kinds of sin. Some people have even turned away from God because of their love for it, and as a result have pierced themselves with many sorrows. 
1 Timothy 6:10

And what about the pride of the man in the parable of the rich farmer?

Then he gave an illustration: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. In fact, his barns were full to overflowing—he couldn’t get everything in. He thought about his problem, and finally exclaimed, ‘I know—I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones! Then I’ll have room enough. And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “Friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Wine, women, and song for you!”’ “But God said to him, ‘Fool! Tonight you die. Then who will get it all?’ “Yes, every man is a fool who gets rich on earth but not in heaven.” 
Luke 12:16-21

The trap that the man had fallen into was that he was secure in his money and his intention was it would be used for himself, he gave no thought to others. We can also be proud and think that we are secure when we have houses, investments and pensions but fail to see that God wants us to use it for his purposes and Kingdom.

So the warning is ultimately against pride. Our security is in God and nothing else.

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world— the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life —is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. 
1 John 2:15-17

What is God asking you to do? What is stopping you? What are you afraid of? Is it what you will lose? Is pride a factor?

That’s why when the preacher makes the altar call, he says to come forward, it is really hard to do because it’s our pride that’s at stake. We hate to admit the truth that we need help, that we haven’t got it together, that we have sinned. That is why when we do humble ourselves, God is there to meet us as he said he would.

When Jonah was humbled and prayed, the word of the Lord comes to him a second time. It was the same word - Go to Nineveh and tell them that destruction is coming.

So if we think of Pride as a kind of illness we need the remedy and God’s healing which is humility, that’s what we’ll talk about next week in Jonah Part 2.

There I Buried Leah

There is a tradition that Genesis was written by Moses but I came across this verse this week.

There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried, and there I buried Leah.
Genesis 49:31

The likelihood that a witness to Jacob’s death wrote this portion of Genesis leads to the conclusion that Moses was not the original author of Genesis although he could have collated the stories at a later date. It leads me to wonder if it could have been written by Esau (what a great redemption story) however it is thought that it was Joseph. That is worth investigating further another day!

Leah was the first wife of Jacob, the daughter of his Uncle Laban, married to Jacob by a deception. She was unloved by Jacob because Jacob loved her sister Rachel. Leah was the reject.

The Living Bible says;
Leah had lovely eyes, but Rachel was shapely, and in every way a beauty.
Genesis 29:17

Yes a man can easily fall for the way a woman looks. Some versions say Leah had weak eyes possibly meaning cross eyes or maybe short-sighted, other versions say tender or gentle eyes, so the Living Bible leaves me with more questions than answers!

Our eyes are called the windows of the soul. Jesus said;
“If your eye is pure, there will be sunshine in your soul. But if your eye is clouded with evil thoughts and desires, you are in deep spiritual darkness. And oh, how deep that darkness can be!"
Matthew 6:22-23

Judging by her eyes, Leah wasn’t beautiful like Rachel whom Jacob loved but she was lovely on the inside. But Leah was the reject. She lived with a lot of pain.

There is something about Communion that we sometimes overlook. Jesus was a reject. He was rejected by his brothers, by his people and even abandoned by almost all those he loved at his arrest, trial and execution. When we share in Communion, we remember him by the bread which is broken signifying his broken body and by the wine which signifies his blood, his life poured out for us. He can identify with any rejection we face more than we can identify with his suffering.

People are selfish. They may reject you when they don’t get what they want or when it gives them an easy out. Jesus said don’t be surprised when the world rejects you. They rejected him also.

Getting back to that 1st verse. Leah the unloved was buried with Abraham. Rachel died in childbirth and was buried near to Bethlehem.

Leah was the mother of Rueben, Simeon, Levi and Judah. And David and Jesus were from the tribe of Judah. So Leah has her place in the royal line, of equal honour with Rachel who was buried at Bethlehem.

God delights to take the one that was rejected and give them a place of honour. Which is what he did for Jesus, making him the cornerstone of the Church and what he will do for you!

Incidentally, we need to be careful what we let in to our soul through our eyes. What appears as light from our TV, phones and laptops is often darkness - the devil is an angel of light don’t forget.

Cornerstone

This week Joshua went on a workplace assignment at a builders out at Maraetai. The builders house has fabulous 180° views of the sea and Rangitoto, Motutapu and Waiheke Islands. I remembered one of my friends from school who invited me to his birthday party on Motatau Road here in Papatoetoe shortly after we first arrived in New Zealand in 1974, though he didn’t really know me, which made me feel welcome. Later on he moved to Maraetai to the same road where Joshua’s builder lives now. It was a new build back then, really modern and big for the time and you can walk from the house down to Omana beach where we used to go and play cricket on the reserve. But shortly after his family moved there, his Dad died at 50 years old during my friends 1st year at University so it always has bittersweet memories. His Dad never got to enjoy for long the place that he had envisioned and built for his family.

I’m sure you will know this building. Yes it is the very famous Notre Dame Cathedral, the most visited place in France ahead of the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre. And of course it is the location of Victor Hugo’s famous story, the Hunchback of Notre Dame. The story, not the movie, has a very sad ending but from an eternal perspective, perhaps not. Victor Hugo was a Catholic and believed in God. What may look sad down here looks different from up there.

These old cathedrals were not built in a few months or even a few years. Notre Dame took nearly 200 years to build.

General knowledge : how long did Solomon’s temple take to build? Answer: 20 years
At the end of twenty years, during which Solomon built these two buildings—the temple of the Lord and the royal palace— 
1 Kings 9:10

But the Notre Dame has been standing through 10 centuries so those old builders knew a thing or two.
 • 1160 Maurice de Sully (named Bishop of Paris) orders the original cathedral demolished.
 • 1163 Cornerstone laid for Notre-Dame de Paris; construction begins.
 • 1182 Apse and choir completed.
 • 1196 Bishop Maurice de Sully dies.
 • c.1200 Work begins on western facade.
 • 1208 Bishop Eudes de Sully dies. Nave vaults nearing completion.
 • 1225 Western facade completed.
 • 1250 Western towers and north rose window completed.
 • c.1245–1260s Transepts remodelled in the Rayonnant style by Jean de Chelles then Pierre de Montreuil
 • 1250–1345 Remaining elements completed.

Construction began in 1163 during the reign of Louis VII, and opinion differs as to whether The Bishop or Pope Alexander III laid the foundation stone of the cathedral. However, both were at the ceremony. Bishop Maurice de Sully went on to devote most of his life and wealth to the cathedral's construction.

The cathedral was essentially complete by 1345. The cathedral has a narrow climb of 387 steps at the top of several spiral staircases; along the climb it is possible to view its most famous bell and its gargoyles in close quarters, as well as having a spectacular view across Paris when reaching the top.

In architecture, a gargoyle is designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing rainwater from running down masonry walls and eroding the mortar between.

During the French Revolution, the Notre Dame was taken over by the Rationalists and Atheists and at this time the government and country became secular. They thought they were part of the dawning of the Age of Enlightenment getting rid of religion and replacing it with science and reason. They did not foresee 2 World Wars nor all the trouble in our world and in France today. How Satan would have been laughing then and now.

The biggest attenders at the Notre Dame these days are tourists. A lot of people think the Church is a museum, a relic of the past. A recent article in Time Magazine magazine revealed that the Notre Dame is crumbling after all the centuries since it was built and no one is prepared to finance the reconstruction work that Is required. Soon the building may be off limits to visitors.

We should not worry when the media say that the buildings are decaying, the pews are empty and Christianity is in decline. Jesus will build his Church! If he cannot find willing workers in this generation, he will find them in the next. If the ones he’s calling today reject his call, he will go out to the highways and byways and find the least likely, the least talented, the poorest, the weakest the least likely candidates and he will use them. Jesus will build his Church and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it.

When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 
Matthew 16:13-19

Jesus has an announcement for La République and Mr Macron 😊 Your time is nearly up !

Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” But He was speaking of the temple of His body. Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said. 
John 2:19-22

He is not building a church of stone. The Notre Dame is only a building albeit a good one that has stood for 673 years since completion. On my walk this week I saw a grand old building sitting at the top of the Ellerslie hill that has been pulled down. When you see an old building lying broken and in rubble you realise how weak they really are. We can easily spend a $1m to buy a house in Auckland these days and we think it is a solid investment but when you see an old building that has been torn down, it doesn’t look so solid after all. It is made of materials that break and fall down in time!

Some of his disciples began talking about the beautiful stonework of the Temple and the memorial decorations on the walls. But Jesus said, “The time is coming when all these things you are admiring will be knocked down, and not one stone will be left on top of another; all will become one vast heap of rubble.” 
Luke 21:5-6

Jesus was declaring that the Temple, as magnificent as it looked was only a building that could easily be torn down. The Romans did tear it down in 70 AD and it has never been rebuilt. Jesus is the true temple, living not made of wood and stone. He cannot be torn down, he stands forever. When we go to Church we are really going to Jesus, he is the temple we worship in.

Of course we should look after the PACT building because we come here every week, it is our current home. But we don’t have to worry that if we lose this building that the Church will end. Jesus will build his Church with or without an official building. Work by human hands will decay. Satan can destroy a building but he cannot touch even 2 gathered in Jesus name!

But the Master Builder still needs labourers for his Church that he is building!

“Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.  “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” 
Matthew 18:18-20

And when we pray together, an earthquake rumbles down in Hell! The excavators start moving, the ground is loosened and moved. The cornerstone can be laid and then construction can begin.

The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. 
Psalm 118:22-23

The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation, important since all other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure.

Cornerstones have a very interesting history. Today we might see the mayor’s name on a plaque but in ancient days there was a ceremony of a different kind!

Often, the ceremony involved the placing of offerings of grain, wine and oil on or under the stone. These were symbolic of the produce and the people of the land and the means of their subsistence. This in turn derived from the practice in still more ancient times of making an animal or human sacrifice that was laid in the foundations.

In modern Greece, when the foundation of a new building is being laid, it is the custom to kill a cock, a ram, or a lamb, and to let its blood flow on the foundation-stone, under which the animal is afterwards buried. The object of the sacrifice is to give strength and stability to the building.

Sometimes, instead of killing an animal, the builder entices a man to the foundation-stone, secretly measures his body, or a part of it, or his shadow, and buries the measure under the foundation-stone; or he lays the foundation-stone upon the man's shadow. It is believed that the man will die within the year. The Romanians of Transylvania think that he whose shadow is thus immured will die within forty days; so persons passing by a building which is in course of erection may hear a warning cry, Beware lest they take thy shadow!

So the Cornerstone is very much like an altar. When on arriving in the promised land, Abraham built an altar to the Lord at Shechem, it was like making a declaration that this was where God is going to build his house. Christ really is the cornerstone of the Church. The Cross at Calvary, driven in the Golgotha rock was the laying of the foundation.

For any Church, we have to lay Christ as the cornerstone and build from there. It is utterly foundational that we accept the work done by Christ in laying his sacrifice on the cornerstone made of Golgotha rock.

But there is one more final thing. We can do everything right up to this point but if we get some cowboy to do the construction, we will be disappointed with the final result. We need a Master Builder.

Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain. 
Psalm 127:1

Our agendas for building the church are often short-term focussed, limited to our thinking and our lifetimes. We need to let the Lord build the house. We are just labourers under his instructions. So we need to spend some time to listen for his instructions! The Notre Dame took nearly 200 years and that’s well beyond a lifetime. I’ll be lucky if I can give even a tithe of 20 years to such a project! But I want to live to see that cornerstone laid in Brittany so I’m praying hard for this to happen! It will be an honour to be part of it 😊