Field of Blue '11

Easter Sunday is an excellent time to go out and enjoy God's creation.  Jo and I took Brody for a walk in Norsey Woods.  It was a beautiful day - warm and dry, we have had quite a few of those lately, so the bluebells were near the end of their best.  Nevertheless, they are stunning.  Each year, there is a different place to look to get the best views of the carpet of blue.  Norsey woods is managed and coppiced, so different areas are opened up each year to allow new growth.  This year, one of the best views was from the barrow.  There we met a man sitting enjoying the view.  Brody said hello and on his request I took a photo of him with Brody in the background.  We discussed the state of the bluebells and agreed that this year was not as good as last year.  I also noticed that my two previous reports on bluebells were both later in the year.

Beside bluebells, other things are also doing well in the wood, take a look at the album to see what.

https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipPUEzNRqNrfngxwT5KNHSb8mpr_2P9YYdB-lK1v

We spent about an or so hour enjoying the woods, letting small children stroke Brody - who was much more interested in his stick or the tennis ball that someone had found and given him.  We met a few people from church as we were leaving who had come to enjoy the woods.

Pilates most stressful day

Introduction
As I first started preparing for this talk the “Christianity at Work” course was presenting the evening on stress at work. It occurred to me that Pilate had one of the most stressful days of his career. So I've called this talk “Pilate most stressful day”.
I'm going to read through the passage covering all of the interaction with Pilate. Every so often I will stop to make comment on the text and occasionally I will pause and leave you with a question to ponder for a minute or so.
First though lets refresh our memories about the two men.
Jesus
The story so far …
The word made flesh, born as a man, grown up and baptised in the spirit. He is on a mission. His mission is to rescue humanity, so that they can have a relationship with God and be saved from death. To do this he must take the blame for everything sinful we have ever done, and be put to death as a punishment.
His ministry has been running about 3 years, he has been teaching about the kingdom of heaven and teaching his followers so that they can carry on spreading the message about the Kingdom after he is gone.
In the last few days he has suffered betrayal by one of his closest friends. As a result he has been arrested by the Chief Priests. The rest of his friends have abandoned him. One of his three closet friends has publicly rejected him.
Now he is to be handed over to the Roman authorities.
Pilate
The story so far …
Pontius Pilate is the fifth prefect of the Roman province of Judaea. He has a reputation for being in-sensitive to the Jews and frequently having to suppress crowd trouble as a result. In one instance Pilate allowed his soldiers to bring effigies into the city. When asked to remove them he spent 5 days deciding what to do and then ordered his troops to surround the protesters and threaten to kill them. When the protesting Jews accepted their fate willingly he backed down and removed the effigies. In another similar incident he was censured by the Emperor Tiberius and forced to back down.
He is described as vindictive with a furious temper.
He's is about to have a very stressful day at work.
So lets have a look as Pilate's stressful day. We need to start in the last chapter (18) at verse 40 and move forward to the end of today’s reading. I'd suggest that you keep your bibles open and follow the text.

John 18:28-19:16

Jn 18:28 Then the Jews led Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness the Jews did not enter the palace; they wanted to be able to eat the Passover.
Jn 18:29 So Pilate came out to them and asked, “What charges are you bringing against this man?”
Jn 18:30 “If he were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would not have handed him over to you.”

Pilate seems to have overcome his insensitive ways. He knows that it is special festival for the Jews, he understands that they are not allowed to enter the house of a gentile (Roman), so he has come out of his palace to meet them and hear what they have to say.
The Jews though are evasive. Clearly they want something, but it seems that Pilate is expected to guess what at this stage.

Jn 18:31 Pilate said, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.”

Pilate does not want to be disturbed – nor does he want the responsibility for settling an argument for the Jews. It doesn't look like a promising start for the Jews, but don't underestimate a well managed, manipulated crowd.

“But we have no right to execute anyone,” the Jews objected.

So we now know the sentence they want, but still we don't have the charges!

When do I make people play “Guess what I want?”, expecting them to do something without being straight forward about what it is I would like them to do?

[Pause]

Jn 18:32 This happened so that the words Jesus had spoken indicating the kind of death he was going to die would be fulfilled.
Jn 18:33 Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
Jn 18:34 “Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”

It's a strange question! Where did Pilate get that from. He has obviously heard of Jesus, whether through reports of his actions with some Romans, or perhaps he has spies amongst the Chief Priests.
Jesus, of course gets straight to the point, and wants to know where the idea came from.

Jn 18:35 “Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “It was your people and your chief priests who handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”

Pilate is again dismissive of the Jews. He now gets straight to his point. It's a very direct question – he wouldn’t get employed as a detective. Perhaps he has already decided that Jesus will tell the truth.

Jn 18:36 Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.”
Jn 18:37 “You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
Jn 18:38 “What is truth?” Pilate asked. With this he went out again to the Jews and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him.

Pilate is dismissive of Jesus claim to be speaking truth. He is the ultimate politician here, considering only what is useful to achieve his immediate aims. There is no thought of Justice for the accused, no concern for getting to the truth – Jesus is just the pawn he is fighting over. The conversation with Jesus has had no effect on Pilate at all, except to confirm what Pilate already knows: Jesus is innocent of any crime under Roman law.

Jn 18:39 But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?”
Jn 18:40 They shouted back, “No, not him! Give us Barabbas!” Now Barabbas had taken part in a rebellion.

Pilate is still trying to release Jesus. Not because he cares for justice, but because he wants the confrontation with the Jews to come to an end. He's had bad experiences with Jewish crowds before, and knows that it will not be good for his career to have another one. He decides to give the Jews a direct choice – when he would normally have asked them who they want. Do you want Jesus or Barabbas? We can assume that he chose Barabbas as his alternative because he knew that Barabbas was not popular amongst the Jews.
The crowds response must have come as a shock to him.

Jn 19:1 Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged.

Perhaps if some punishment is administered that will placate the calls for a crucifixion. A Roman flogging was a serious punishment and usually left the victim disabled for life – if not dead from the flogging. The aim though was not to kill, it is to inflict long term suffering. A flogging would tear the flesh from a man's back. His muscles would be exposed and damaged, sometime his bones would be exposed. He could also be turned around and have the same treatment applied to his chest and stomach.
Compromise – giving a little to restore the peace
- it's not submission
- it must be copied by the other side
- sometimes it's just gestures (as the flogging was) and doesn't achieve anything
- sometimes that's the first step to reconciliation
- sometimes it's a step to far

What are my limits – what won't I compromise on?

When I do compromise do I understand the value of the offer I'm making?

[Pause]

Jn 19:2 The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe
Jn 19:3 and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they struck him in the face.
Jn 19:4 Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews, “Look, I am bringing him out h to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.”
Jn 19:5 When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”

Jesus must have looked awful – barely alive. The soldiers have been mocking him and applying further punishment. Was Pilate now hoping that the Jews would lessen their demands. Had the flogging been enough? When he says “Here is the man!” Pilate has turned from being reasonable to being sarcastic. Here is the man you want crucified – look at him – he can barely stand. Look your king is wearing a crown of thorns.
Jn 19:6 As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!” But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.”

“I find no basis for a charge against him”. Pilate has said this three times by now. Three times he has declare Jesus is innocent. Three times Jesus was rejected by the Jews (Peter), three times he is declare innocent by the gentiles.
As soon as they saw him they shouted “Crucify! Crucify!”. Nothing Pilate could do would satisfy them, but he STILL doesn't know the charges.
Jn 19:7 The Jews insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.”
Jn 19:8 When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid,

Pilate believed in the Roman gods, today we might call that superstition, but then it was a recognised religion. He has already recognised something unusual about this man – perhaps he is a god and now the gods are against him as well.

Jn 19:9 and he went back inside the palace. o “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer.
Jn 19:10 “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”

Jn 19:11 Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you r is guilty of a greater sin.”

On the face of it Jesus has no power at all but who is really in control here? Perhaps only Jesus amongst all those involved realises the truth, God is in control, and God is in the room! Jesus also clearly puts the blame for his situation on the Chief priests. They are the ones who have lost sight of the truth they should be teaching, and have led their people into sin.

Jn 19:12 From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king s opposes Caesar.”

Now the Jews play their trump card in getting Jesus sentenced to death. “If you don't do as we say we will report you to Caesar. This is simple political blackmail. They have in their previous dealings identified Pilate's main weakness – his love of power, and have found a way to use it against him.

Jn 19:13 When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha).
Jn 19:14 It was the day of Preparation of Passover Week, about the sixth hour. “Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews.
Jn 19:15 But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!” “Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered.
Jn 19:16 Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.

Finally the Chief Priest deny everything they stand for. “We have no king but Caesar” whatever happened to the Lord God, the person they are supposed to worship, whose passover they will eat in a day or two's time.
Pilate's conscience has been bothering him. He knows Jesus is innocent and doesn't deserve the sentence he has just received. In Matthew's account Pilate washes his hand to try to say that he has nothing to do with it. It's a custom he borrowed from the Jews for this one occasion.

When have I denied the justice that I know I should support?

What do I do to try to quieten the voice of my conscience?

[Pause]

Jesus went through all that and much more so that you and I can have a fresh start with God. His unjustified punishment and death mean that our deserved punishment will no longer be applied.

Through Faith Missions training weekend

On Friday I took a half day's holiday.  I packed a rucksack with way more than I needed and headed to the train station to meet Warner.  We were on our way to Woking to attend the Through faith missions training weekend for Walk West Dorset.  My agenda was slightly different.  I just wanted to understand what it's all about.  There were two practical sessions in the training.  One was Pub Evangelism, the other was door knocking.  The polite way to put my feelings about taking part would be to say that I was well outside my comfort zone.  Very apprehensive. 
After a false start, I forgot my sleeping bag!, we made it to Woking in plenty of time.  A meal at the Wetherspoons was very welcome, and then it was off to Christ Church in the town centre for the training event.  The church has rooms everywhere and is an ideal place for this type of event.  There were 25+ of us in the room overlooking the worship space.  It was very comfortable - I wasn't.  Plenty of tea and coffee and a very interactive training session.  The clock ticks round, and it was soon time to visit the pub - a process I usually look forward to.  We are kitted out with 'Walk of 1000 Men' t-shirts and sweatshirts.  As a novice - a first timer I was hoping to be paired with someone who had at least tried before. It was not to be.  We were completely incapable of approaching people and talking to them.  Eventually, I buttonholed one of the more experienced guys and asked him to show me.  Not really much success there either.  The one of the leaders had a try.  He managed a two or three line conversation with someone - and then I did learn something - but only with time for reflection later.
Bed involved sleeping on the floor.  I had borrowed my daughters inflatable bed, so I wasn't too uncomfortable.  Sleep though eluded me for a long time.  Too much to think and pray about.  When I did start to doze there was free unscripted entertainment outside.  Three times that happened.  Then it was morning as daylight began streaming through the roof even with the blinds down further sleep was impossible.
Breakfast was brought in by the local breakfast expert. Every church should have at least one!  I enjoyed it as you can tell.  Then more training, but this morning it was hard to concentrate after a poor night. 
Lunch was served in the church, by the café staff.  It was the first time for years I had eaten mince.  In the rush to book the weekend dietary requirements had been omitted.  I'm sure it was good, but I don't enjoy the taste as I used to.
Then to the door-to-door exercise.  We take a survey.  It is the warmest April day since ... records began.  Most people are out.  From about 20 houses we get 8 (I think) answers. A few are prepared to do the survey - two are from another local church.  Only one person got beyond the end. 
I'm not sure who was more nervous - us or the people we visited.
Reflecting on the experience now I have to ask if the results are a net positive. Does this approach put the people we visit under too much pressure? Are most the people we spoke to closer to making a commitment to Christ or further away?  Is this an effective way to turn people around? I feel for two of the people I spoke to in particular.  Jesus only put the leaders of the faith under pressure.  With everyone else He was very gentle.
I don't have answers.  If I ever get any I will, of course, blog about it. 
Some of the other training elements were very positive for me.  A chance to reflect on my testimony and see that it stops rather a long time ago was very useful.  A testimony that says nothing about the now needs updating.  There was also some practical training on schools work and the legal requirements that go with it which was very helpful.  Then there's the manual to read ...
Finally, there was the interview.  A check to see that the applicants are OK for the task they are being asked to do.  There is a rule of life to sign up to, which I had to stop and read (ALWAYS read the small print - especially when God's involved.).  I didn't have a problem signing that, it's pretty much how I try to live anyway.
So to the journey home.  By now it's latish on Saturday.  By the time we get to Waterloo the Drain (Waterloo  & City line) has closed for the weekend.  Northern line trains aren't stopping at Tottenham Court Road (the next most obvious route), so it's the Jubilee line to Stratford.   The journey home much less comfortable than the outward one.
My interviewer had warned me that if I decided to do a walk I would come under spiritual attack.  As I left the hall I had a pain in my right heel.  I didn't think much of it until I was walking home from Billericay Station.  Looking so see what was wrong I noticed blood on my sandals.  When I got home I found a spike about the thickness of a staple, but sharpened to a needle like point had gone through the sole of my sandals and had repeatedly scratched and penetrated my heel.  Very painful.  Reminded me of Genesis 3:15.

Getting Heaven into us

Introduction
Richard Foster said "The real issue is not so much us getting into heaven as it is getting heaven into us." So I have decided that the title for this sermon is: “Getting heaven into us”.
Getting us into heaven has already been done. Remember the Ribbons clip from last week. How Christ breaks all the ties we have to the things that are not good for us and frees us to be with Him.

1Pe 2:24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.
He has taken away our sins, so that we can live for righteousness.
Its still a choice that we must take up. There can be no excuses now, sin is overcome. Jesus did that for us. Now we can choose to look at God and imitate his approach to life, as it says in

Eph 4:32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
If you thought last weeks message was hard with its call to purity, then I sorry to tell you that this weeks is harder. At least though the reading is not so full of prohibitions.
I've split these few verses into 3 headings, and I will try to concentrate on the positives.

• Be Careful how you live – making the most of every opportunity
• Understand the Lords will
• Be filled with the Spirit

Each of these commands has its opposite, something we are commanded not to do. Christianity is sometimes accused of being a religion of prohibitions, in reality though for each prohibition God provides us with alternative behaviours.
Luke 11:24-26
24 When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.'
25 When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order.
26 Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first.
For each evil we let go of, for each evil that we take out of our lives there must be something put in to replace it Without these we would simply find ourselves back in the sin we were trying to escape from. I'll talk a bit more about this later.


Be Careful how you live – making the most of every opportunity
In the days before modern harbours, a ship had to wait for the flood tide before it could make it to port. The term for this situation in Latin was ob portu, that is, a ship standing over off a port, waiting for the moment when it could ride the turn of the tide to harbour. The English word 'opportunity' is derived from this original meaning.
To take the opportunity to get into port the officers of the ship must make sure that it is ready at just the right time. They must understand the tides and the signs that tell them the water is deep enough. If its too soon they might wreck the ship, if the tide is too strong they might wreck the ship.
If we are to make the most of opportunities we must make sure that it is a priority for us to seek them out and follow them up. Each of us should have our own understanding of our personal priorities. Here's a simple list that I made, and have seen other use, many years ago:

1. Public Worship & Private time with God
2. Family – Spouse & children (Other family)
3. Work - Paid Employment
4. Recreation / Voluntary Work (including @ Church)
It's useful when we have conflicts to resolve. Like everything else it shouldn't be used slavishly, or to beat yourself up with when you fail.
Mary and Martha had different priorities, Martha was concerned about being a good host and making sure that everything was ready for her guests, Mary had different ideas. Here's what Jesus said:

Lk 10:40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” 41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Having established our priorities we must be careful not to over plan our lives. Someone has said “Life is what happens to you while you're making plans to do something else.”

The phrase “Carpe Diem” was made famous (as far as I'm concerned anyway) by the film Dead Poets society. It is often translated Seize the Day. Life is about Today, not tomorrow, and not yesterday. The full quote is Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero – "Seize the Day, putting as little trust as possible in the future", It comes from Ode, by Horace.
In the film Robin Williams says "Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary." Take the opportunities that you can see and live them to the full. - Ring any bells?
The Rabbis have another way of saying it:
"And if not now, when?"

Ro 13:11 And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armour of light.
Here's a story that illustrates the kind of opportunities that may come our way:
Author Terry Muck tells of a letter he received from a man who used to have absolutely no interest in spiritual things. He lived next door to a Christian, and they had a casual relation-ship like neighbours often do. Then the non-Christian’s wife was stricken with cancer, and died three months later. Here’s the letter:
“I was in total despair. I went through the funeral preparations and the service like I was in a trance. And after the service I went to the path along the river and walked all night. But I did not walk alone. My neighbour - afraid for me, I guess - stayed with me all night.
He did not speak; he did not even walk beside me. He just followed me. When the sun finally came up over the river he came over to me and said, "Let’s go get some breakfast."
I go to church now. My neighbour’s church. A religion that can produce the kind of caring and love my neighbour showed me is something I want to find out more about. I want to be like that. I want to love and be loved like that for the rest of my life.”
What made the difference in this man’s life? It was that one Christian dared to make the most of the opportunity he had to reveal Christ to his friend.
http://www.sermoncentral.com/print_friendly.asp?ContributorID=&SermonID=31330


Understand the Lords will
God is in the business of rescue and nurture. His aim is to offer rescue to as many as are ready to receive it. The form of the rescue itself is as varied as the person being rescued. Sometimes all it will take is following someone all night. Other times it will be much more difficult, and perhaps a lot more dangerous. Once rescued we are to start the process of rescuing others.
Does anyone know what this is:
#threewordstoliveby
It's a twitter hash tag. Here's what twitter looks like.
The currently popular hash tags are listed on the screen when you log in. Have you worked out what is says yet.
 Three words to live by
When I saw that I had an instant reaction. Three words were there in the front of my consciousness immediately. What would your response be? What are your “three words to live by”?
Mine was (and is) “Jesus is Lord”

To serve God we must put ourselves under his Lordship. Here are some of the things that the apostle Paul had to say about living under the Lordship of Christ.

Ro 8:18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
2Co 12:10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Phil 1:12 Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.
It's not all bad as the disciples found out on the day of pentecost as as Paul alludes to in the verses I've just read, it is mostly very good.


Be filled with the Spirit
The command “be filled” in verse 18 is in the passive voice. That means that in order to be filled with the Spirit we must always be going through the process that leads to it.
[Torch illustration]
[torch = us; batteries = power of spirit, if you can't get the batteries in because of the rubbish already there you can't get any power. The torch (we) is useless]
use Gal 5:19. on a scroll in the torch.
Gal 5:19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.
http://www.sermoncentral.com/print_friendly.asp?ContributorID=&SermonID=46599
When we are filled with the spirit there is EVIDENCE in the way we speak and behave.
Evidence - Speaking
Verse 19 “speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit”
This is evidence that we have the holy spirit.
What do you see?
This is what I see:
We have done well in the last decade removing the negative – back biting etc,
now its time to put in some positive...
Evidence - Thankfulness
The next piece of evidence is in verse 20 “always giving thanks to God for EVERYTHING, in the name of Christ.”
You'll notice that that too is something that we keep doing, just we keep being filled with the Holy Spirit. It's a bit of a theme with Paul, he says a similar thing in his letter to the Thessalonians:
1 Thes 5:16-18
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
It can be difficult. I never managed to say “Thank you Lord, that I've been made redundant, that I no longer have a job or an income...”, but that is not what it's about. It's about “Counting your blessings”, remembering and being thankful for all the good things you do have, not remembering (and moaning) about your current hardships.
Thanksgiving - Psychology
Psychologists today tell us that sincere gratitude, thanksgiving, is the healthiest of all human emotions. Hans Selye, who is considered the father of stress studies, has said that gratitude produces more positive emotional energy than any other attitude in life.
And a thankful heart will endear others to us and us to others.
Everyone likes to be thanked. What better way then to give Glory to God than to thank him for all that he has done for you?
For you see thanksgiving is not only good for the giver but also good for the receiver, and Paul notes that there is a downside to not being thankful.
Ro 1:21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools
Conclusion
Be Careful how you live – making the most of every opportunity
Have your priorities sorted out and be ready to take any opportunity that presents itself.
Understand the Lords will
God is in the business of rescue and nurture. Once rescued we join Gods rescue efforts. This can be a dangerous business.
Be filled with the Spirit
Look for the evidence of the Holy Spirit within you:
speaking
Not just what we say, but the means we use to say it. Focus on God, speak to each other in Hymns, and spiritual songs and phrases.
Thankfulness
Count Your Blessing, be thankful to those around you and especially to God and the Lord Jesus.

Do you want to get well?

Introduction

Missing verse 4

Has anyone noticed anything unusual about this bible reading? When I first read it I thought there was something missing. Looking closer – its verse 4. Its there in the authorized version, and in some modern translations, for example in the New American Standard Bible it says “for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was made well from whatever disease with which he was afflicted”. It seems that this verse was added in the second century to explain what was going on around the pool. It's helpful, but its not in the earliest texts that are used as the basis for more modern translations – so its not in the NIV. They have left out the verse number to stay in line with those bibles that keep the verse – primarily the Authorised version (The King James Bible). There one thing that Melvin Bragg missed in his program on the influence of the KJV.

Pool at Bethesda

Before the 19^th century scholars suggested that the pool at Bethsaida described here could not exist. The gospel they said must have been written by someone who had never visited Jerusalem. In 1888 an archaeologist names Schick discovered a pool near St Anne's church just in the place described in John's gospel. In 1964 further digs confirmed that this was the pool John mentioned. This is a cautionary tale about our use of scripture. Just because it's not obvious to us now, in the modern era, doesn't mean that it wasn't obvious to the author, nor does it mean that parts of the Bible are the results of someone's over active imagination.

To Know

The next issue I need to bring to your attention will change the way we think about the passage a little. In verse 6 the NIV has “When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been ...” Most translations have 'knew' in place of 'learned' The root greek word (already a second language for the author remember) means to know, to come to know, or to understand and is the same word used in the phrase 'Then Adam knew Eve, and later Cain was born'. The text does not require that Jesus and the man had a conversation before the question “Do you want to get well?” was asked, neither does it prevent that as a possibility.

The interaction with Jesus

Jesus walks into the area around the pool. He sees many disabled and sick people there. They are begging and waiting. If they were successfully begging then we must assume that there are plenty of fit and well people there also – it's a busy place. Jesus looks around and then approaches one man. I wonder what he saw in this man? Perhaps he was the one in the most need. Perhaps he was the one who was most ready to be healed, why pick only him? Perhaps this is only one of many healings that happened that Sabbath day, and this one is reported because of the trouble that resulted later when the authorities found out. You can read about that in the next 10 verses.

Life of a beggar

Most of the disabled people there would have been begging. You could make quite a reasonable life as a beggar. You wouldn't get rich as some allege that beggars do today, but you could survive. There was no responsibility – you didn't have to do anything, just sit and wait. Then there's the sympathy from your friends and family – some people thrive on that sort of attention. So its possible that they weren't all there trying to get into the pool and be healed, some may have just found a good 'pitch'.

It reminds me of the beggar in the 'Life of Brian'. Michael Palin looking unusually fit and healthy as the beggar. He not sitting and waiting, he's bouncing around saying “Spare a talent for an old ex-leper, sir.”

B: Did you say – ex-leper?

X: That's right, sir. (he salutes) ... sixteen years behind the bell, and proud of it, thank you sir.

B: What happened?

X: I was cured, sir.

B: Cured?

X: Yes sir, a miracle, sir. Bless you.

B: Who cured you?

X: Jesus did. I was hopping along, when suddenly he comes and cures me. One minute I'm a leper with a trade, next moment me livelihood's gone. Not so much as a by your leave.  You're cured mate, sod you. 

Look, I'm not saying that being a leper was a bowl of cherries. But it was a living. I mean, you try waving muscular suntanned limbs in people's faces demanding compassion. It's a disaster.

Of course we know that Jesus would NEVER just cure someone without being sure they wanted to be cured.

That's one of the reasons Jesus asks the question “Do you want to get well?”

Checking the want

It may have seemed a silly question. Who wouldn't want to? but I hope by now your starting to see that it was really important and incisive question. Jesus is really saying “Are you prepared for this?” The man's life will change. When he is well he will have to get up and find a proper job. There can be no more excuses for his condition or his failure to alleviate it. No more blaming his friends and family “I don't have anyone to ...”. Once he is well there can be no ducking of responsibility for his own life and future well being.

Pr 10:4 Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth.

That's what he'll have to live by.

Jesus wants to know of the man “Will you embrace this change in your life, leave your old begging, excuse based existence behind?” Do you want to take on these responsibilities?

“Are you up for it?”

In this case the man did not know who Jesus was (v13), which makes it all the more remarkable that he took any notice of him at all. When Jesus said “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk” he must have felt something happen in his body or he would have laughed at Jesus – because on the face of it “Get up!” is a ridiculous thing to say to someone who hasn't stood for 38 years. He will barely have enough muscles left to keep his bones together.

The first step.

If the man had said to himself “What a stupid thing to say” he would not have been healed. If he had thought “Great, I'm well”, but stayed on his mat, he would not have been healed. He had to take the first step. No, that's not right, before that he had to make the first move. He had to get up and stand. Jesus had done the work, the healing was complete, but to benefit from it the man had to be involved, had to be 'up for it', or had to 'get up from it'.

Our Healing

Its not always physical healing that we need, sometimes the physical condition is caused by sin, sometimes it is just sinfulness itself that needs healing. Later on from our reading today Jesus goes to find the man he healed and tells him to stop sinning or worse may happen to him. (v14)

Healing is not only physical

Tony Campolo tells a story about being in a church in Oregon where he was asked to pray for a man who had cancer. Campolo prayed boldly for the man’s healing. That next week he got a telephone call from the man’s wife. She said, "You prayed for my husband. He had cancer." Campolo thought when he heard her use the past tense verb that his cancer had been eradicated! But before he could think much about it she said, "He died." Campolo felt terrible.

But she continued, "Don’t feel bad. When he came into that church that Sunday he was filled with anger. He knew he was going to be dead in a short period of time, and he hated God. He was 58 years old, and he wanted to see his children and grandchildren grow up. He was angry that this all-powerful God didn’t take away his sickness and heal him. He would lie in bed and curse God. The more his anger grew towards God, the more miserable he was to everybody around him. It was an awful thing to be in his presence.

But the lady told Campolo, "After you prayed for him, a peace had come over him and a joy had come into him. Tony, the last three days have been the best days of our lives. We’ve sung. We’ve laughed. We’ve read Scripture. We prayed. Oh, they’ve been wonderful days. And I called to thank you for laying your hands on him and praying for healing."

The healing we need is not always physical, indeed the physical problem is sometimes irrelevant.

(http://www.sermoncentral.com/print_friendly.asp?ContributorID=&SermonID=51889)

Are you ready to accept healing?

The conditions are the same for us as for the man in the scripture today. If we are to be healed we have to want it. We have to be prepared to take the first step / to make the first move, to make the healing real.

Suppose you have an addiction – any sort of addiction. To a substance, to anger, to gambling, to shopping, to whatever it is that causes you to sin. You pray for healing. Healing is given. If you don't then stop taking the substance, if you don't remember your healing and continue to get angry and abusive, if go straight out and buy a lottery ticket or head for Blue Water and a shopping spree, the healing is worthless. You are back with your problem, back in your sin before you ever managed to leave it..

Are you prepared for the changes that your healing might bring?

Are you ready to give up your past life of blaming others for your condition, or your continued condition?

Are you ready to stand up in your new life and take responsibility for your future?

Are you ready to stand out from the crowd – the rest of our congregation. If you are healed you may become a minor celebrity – which brings its own challenges.

Recognising the source

A woodpecker was hammering away at a tree when suddenly a lightning bolt split the tree in two from top to bottom. Initially the woodpecker was thrown from the tree but once he had recovered he looked back and saw what had happened. Immediately he flew away and found the other woodpeckers he knew and brought them back to the tree. “look what I've done” he said.

Your healing, your salvation, are nothing that you have done. 

(http://www.sermoncentral.com/print_friendly.asp?ContributorID=&SermonID=32654)

 

When the man was questioned by the Jewish authorities about carrying his mat on the Sabbath he said “The man who made me well told me to”.(v11) That is at least some sort of witness that Jesus had healed him.

It sounds a bit begrudging. We should not be like that. Paul says in Galatians 6:14 “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ”. When we are healed we must be prepared to give all the credit to God.

If the man Jesus healed at the pool became a good runner he cannot say “I've trained hard and I can now beat most of you in the 100 yards dash”. Without Jesus and the healing he would still be on his mat. He can only say “Jesus healed me and I can now beat most of you in the 100 yards dash”.

Do you want to get well?

Ps 103:2 Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits - 3 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, 5 who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Let's Pray

http://1stholistic.com/Spl_prayers/prayer_prayer_of_healing.htm

Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for you are my praise.

I praise you, mighty Father.

You forgive all my iniquities, and you heal all my diseases.

Thank you, Lord. When I am sick, you send your Word, and it heals me and delivers me from all destructions.

Your Word is life to me, and it brings healing to my flesh.

Thank you for the healing power of your Word, Father.

I will never let it depart from my eyes.

I will keep your Word deeply implanted within my heart.

Praise your name, holy Father.

I love you, and I thank you for healing me.

Facing the Cannon: Jackie Pullinger

J.John is doing a series for UCB (channel 586 on Sky) called Facing the Cannon.  Warner found this event and got the tickets so on St. Valentines day we travelled to St Andrews Chorleywood.  J.John is a very entertaining and Godly speaker.  We have recently run his 'Just 10' series at Christ Church and it was very well supported.  This series interviews a number of well known Christians.  Today it was Jackie Pullinger.   Wikipedia has an outline article.  To get a better idea of why she's famous read her book Chasing the Dragon.  It was one of the first books I read as a young Christian.  Jo and I have seen Jackie once before, and looked forward to hearing from her again.

She told some her story, mainly the beginning.   At the age of five she had already decided to be a missionary, not that she had any idea what a missionary did.  She was advised by a vicar to get on a boat and see where God told her to get off.  That was Hong Kong, which she'd seen in a dream.  She started work among the poor and eventually among the drug addicts in the Walled City.  She has seen many addicts freed of their addiction.  They pray and are prayed for and do not suffer withdrawal.  She tells of her early attempts at speaking in tongues saying she just felt silly and didn't feel any different afterwards.  It helps you to get more in tune with God and you don't really notice that happening. She speaks constantly about God's kindness.  After loosing her husband of seven years she speaks of Gods kindness to them both, and to her for allowing her to have seven years with him.  By God's kindness she has been shown that this is not a lost generation of Christians. There are young people out there quietly doing mission away from the spotlight and the Christian press.  That is the tone of her conversation.

I'm naturally a sceptic, I struggle to believe in the hype, the latest greatest invention or discovery, miracles that people say have happened.  I'm always looking for the alternative explanation.  It's hard to remain sceptical when there's a lady sitting talking about it in a matter-of-fact way.  There's no hype with Jackie, seemingly no agenda, although she does love telling people about Jesus by her own admission.  She just sits there and talks about her experiences like I talk about my bus journeys.  Except with Jackie God's kindness shows.   In Sunday's sermon I asked "if God is bigger than us and inside us does he show through?"  (see the previous blog entry).  I had no idea that I would be given such a clear demonstration of just how God shows through.

If, like me, you've ever thought there must be more to the Christian life than you're experiencing right now, here is a superb example of what that more may look like.  There is more - lots more, always lots more.  I know that because it's in scripture - the reading I've just preached on (Ephesians 3:14-21).  I have seen it too because I have seen Jackie and listened to her story.  Of course, I'm not five and I've never felt called to be a missionary.  In my life it will look different - but not that different.

After the show was recorded there was a word in tongues, and an interpretation.  Somewhere in that I heard the words "Its not too late".  It's never too late - that's the exiting news for me as I prepare to pass five for the eleventh time.

Ephesians 3:14-21

Introduction

The passage this week starts with 'For this reason …'. Just like last weeks reading, but this time Paul has nothing else to distract him. So we have to look back to two weeks ago when Warner spoke to us on chapter 2:11-22. In that section of the letter Paul is describing his amazement that He can see God bringing together the former enemies – Jews and Gentiles. The fact that it happening in Ephesus, the centre of the cult of Diana is even more amazing.

Paul knows that this is all part of Gods plan. The fact that he can see it happening he finds humbling, so rather than pray as he normally would, standing and looking up to God, he is on his knees.

We've heard a lot recently about the pressure on and persecution of the Coptic church. I wonder if we are seeing God's plan for strengthening them as we witness the amazing scenes in Egypt this week.

Living for Christ

Paul did not found the Ephesian church but he has spent a couple of years building it up, so he knows it well. He knows that it is not all goodness and light and is encouraging the Christians there to think about what it means to follow Christ. He wants them to think about what Christ has done for them, who Christ is and how they should live in response to that.

In our reading today he prays specifically for two things for them.

I'm going to look at the two parts of Paul's prayer separately, although there are significant overlaps.

1^st Prayer

.^{Eph 3:16} I pray that out of his glorious riches ^e he may strengthen you with power ^f through his Spirit in your inner being, ^g

^{Eph 3:17} so that Christ may dwell in your hearts ^h through faith.

Paul has already spoken of the riches of Christ in verses 8, 9. In Romans he explains a little more of what he means:

^{Ro 2:4} Do you show contempt for the riches ⁿ of his kindness, ^o tolerance ^p and patience, ^q not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance? ^r

So Paul is talking about God's grace and asking that the Ephesians may receive power through the holy spirit that is in them.

What is the power for? - “So that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith”.

After Jesus had cursed the fig tree and the disciples had seen it die, Jesus said in Mark 11:22-24

“Have faith in God,” Jesus answered.

“I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

If Christ is to dwell in our hearts then, it is something that we must be continually praying for – then we will get the power of God.

Connected to the Power?

Sometimes I get up in the morning and wander bleary eyed down stairs to get a cup of tea. The kettle is filled with water, the cups are taken from the cupboard and have tea bags put in them. I let the dog out and watch him stretch and smell the fresh morning air. I go back into the kitchen and all is quiet, the kettle is still cold. Then I realise – it's not plugged in. It's not connected to the power, so it will never heat up.

Continue to Pray

If we do not continue to pray we will not stay connected to God and the power to have Jesus dwell in our hearts will not be there. We must stay connected – not by a cord but by prayer.

My Heart Christ’s Home

What does Paul mean by Dwell?

In his book “My Heart Christ’s Home”, Robert Munger pictures the Christian life as a house.

(http://www.gtpres.org/My%20Heart%20Christ%27s%20home.pdf) Jesus comes into the house and goes from room to room. He goes into the library of the mind and begins to clean up the trash found there. He replaces it with His Word. He enters the dining room of the appetite and finds many sinful desires listed on a worldly menu. He replaces things like materialism, pride, envy and lust with humility, love and purity. When he finally comes to the closet, the owner of the house hesitates to open the door to all his dark and secret sins. He can’t bear to have Jesus look inside. But Jesus does come inside, but only after He’s invited, and cleans it up. Jesus then settles down and feels at home.

Do you have some rooms in your life that you haven’t allowed Jesus into? Let Him come into every area of your life and do some cleaning with his penetrating holiness and matchless grace.

Jesus dwells in our hearts through faith. Our faith in Him means that we invite Him to do some housecleaning. We put our faith in Him so that He can do the needed renovations in our life.

So Christ is in us, but Paul normally talks about us being 'in Christ'. There are about 90 references to 'in Christ' in Paul's letters.

Does God show through - Story

A little girl turned to her mother after church and said, “Mummy, the sermon was confusing today.”

The mother asked, “Why is that?”

The little girl answered, “Well, he said that God is bigger than we are. Is that true?”

“Yes, that’s true,” the mother replied.

“He also said that God lives within us. Is that true, too?”

Again the mother replied, “Yes, that’s true.”

“Well,” said the little girl, “If God is bigger than us and He lives in us, wouldn’t He show through?”

Does God show through your life?

It's a good question, one that I will leave you with as I move to looking at the second part of Paul's prayer for the Ephesians.

2^nd Prayer

Carrying on in verse 17: And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,

Eph 3:18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,

Eph 3:19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge —that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Now the Ephesians are firmly rooted in the love of Christ, Paul goes on to pray that they may know just how big the love of Christ is. We sang 'God is so Big' at the start of the service this morning. God is big, strong and mighty, and so much so that we need his power within us just to be able to get a sense of how big, strong and mighty God is. I'm not talking about the size of the universe -awesome though it may be, it can be seen 'easily' with a few telescopes and a bit of technology. I'm talking about the love of Christ – you can't see it, you can only see its effects.

I loved those boys

In his book Chicken Soup for the Soul, Eric Butterworth tells of a college sociology class that was sent into the Baltimore slums to take case histories of 200 young boys. The students were required to write an evaluation of each boy's projected future, and in virtually every case, they wrote, "He hasn't got a chance."

Some twenty-five years later, another professor came across the earlier study and decided to do a follow-up study. With the exception of twenty boys who had died or moved, the study revealed that 176 of the remaining 180 boys had gone on to surprising success, with many becoming lawyers, doctors, and leading businessmen.

When the men were asked for the reasons that contributed to their successes, they all pointed to one particular teacher who had influenced them. The teacher was still alive, so the professor went to visit her to ask how she had influenced boys seemingly destined for poverty and crime to become such success stories.

"It's really very simple," she responded. "I loved those boys."

That's the effect of the love of a teacher.

Love is ...

Paul says

Love is patient, ^v love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ^w

^{1Co 13:5} It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, ^x it is not easily angered, ^y it keeps no record of wrongs. ^z

^{1Co 13:6} Love does not delight in evil ^a but rejoices with the truth. ^b

^{1Co 13:7} It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. ^c

^{1Co 13:8} Love never fails.

This is the love that has a long term effect on people. You can know about this love, you can listen to my words and hear the stories. But you will never really know it until you experience it. That's what Paul means when he say that the love of Christ surpasses knowledge. Christ's love can be understood, but only by receiving it, by being rooted and established in it, not by reading case studies.

Full measure of God

Only then can we be filled to the full measure of God.

[Fullness demonstration fill a jarv with stones, get people to agree its full (it isn't).  Top up with water, and add a little too much]

In Psalm 23 we read: You prepare a table ^g before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; ^h my cup ⁱ overflows.

Jesus says in John 10:10 that we should have 'life to the full'. Life, of course that can only be had by following him.

Does the fullness of God in your life overflow?

Benediction

The prayer ends with a benediction

Eph 3:20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, Eph 3:21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

What would you ask of God? What situation would you ask him to resolve?

In Acts 3 a lame man asked Peter & John for money as they went to pray in the temple. They didn't have money, so they said, “In the name of Christ – WALK” and he did.

What he got was beyond his dreams or his imagination.

The words translated in the NIV as Immeasurably more are more literally translated Super abundance. God's riches, His grace, His power, His willingness to love us are all given to us in super abundance, more than we could ever dream of or imagine.

Conclusion

I started this morning by saying Paul wanted the Ephesians to think about what Christ has done for them, who Christ is and how they should live in response to that. That is also something we should think about. So as I finish this morning I will remind you of the questions I have asked.

If God is bigger than ua and inside of us does he show through?

Does the fullness of God in your life overflow into the people around you?

With all of Christ's riches available to us, what are we going to imagine that He could do, so that He can surpass our dreams?

[repeat questions]

Let's finish by saying the words of verses 20 and 21 together.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.