Praying for the Kingdom - Luke 18:1-8

Introduction

What is this passage really about? It seems straight forward enough until you get to that last verse. Until then its simply an illustration of Praying – and never giving up until you get what you're asking for. That's easy – right?

But then we get the last part of verse 8 where Jesus says “However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

What does Jesus mean, and how does it relate to the parable?

Looking back to the Chapter before our reading today, Jesus is responding to a question about the Kingdom of God. He uses that question to talk about his return. From chapter 17 verse 30.

“It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On that day no one who is on the roof of his house, with his goods inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything. Remember Lot’s wife! Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left.”

The widow in the parable wants justice. We must ask ourselves why there would be a call for justice at the second coming. Christians across the world are hated by those they live among. As a result they are treated badly – persecuted. Sometimes that is simply a form of discrimination but at other times and in other places it is much worse. We are fortunate because we can worship without threat at the moment. There are many places in the world where just going to a Christian meeting would endanger your life. So we can see that there is a great need for justice.

Revelation 6:10 tells us why. 'They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?”' That is the same prayer as the prayer of the widow.

In the parable Jesus is saying that we should be praying for the Kingdom of God – for its establishment, its growth, and finally for justice for its members. He teaches the same thing in Matthew 6, where there is an outline for prayer. Its one of the scriptures that make up the “Lord's Prayer”.

Mt 6:9 “This, then, is how you should pray: “ 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,

Mt 6:10 your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Mt 6:11 Give us today our daily bread.

Notice that praying for the Kingdom is something that is to be done before even asking God to provide for our most basic needs – our daily bread.'

Praying for the Kingdom includes anything that helps to build Gods Kingdom on Earth:

• For people to come to Christ
• For people to grow closer to Christ
• For strengthening and healing those who are already engaged in spreading the gospel.

Ernest Persistent Prayer

For these things we should pray and never give up. I was trying to think of an example of a time when Christ Church has prayed together for the same thing. A time when we had prayed with a similar sense of persistence as shown by the widow in the parable. That was when Warner was off work in 2008. We met together in the church room each week to pray. Not that many of us, it is true, but enough of us to make a difference. Perhaps, if I had held those times in the church, more people would have come. We prayed like this for about three months, if I remember correctly. Then one night we met for a half night of prayer, and stayed in church praying until midnight.

And it worked!

Looking back now, though, we weren't that committed to what we were doing.

Kefa Sempangi lead a church in Uganda during the Amin dictatorship. His church would call the leadership together to pray whenever there was a serious need in the church. They would pray right through the whole night, expecting an answer in the morning.

When was the last time that the leaders of our church were called together to pray?

A look at Prayer

Request

Lets take a look at what these prayers might be like.

First we must remember that we do not make demands of God.

Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

C. S. Lewis wrote: “Prayer is request. The essence of a request, as distinct from a demand, is that it may or may not be granted. And if an infinitely wise Being listens to the requests of finite and foolish creatures, of course He will sometimes grant them and sometimes refuse them.”

Sometimes we are not praying for the right thing, as Ruth Bell Graham, the wife of Billy Graham once said, “If God answered every prayer of mine, I would have married the wrong man seven times!”

Our prayers may not always be the best things for us, or for those we are praying for. We must be sure that we are close to God, so that we do not waste our efforts praying for things that are never going to happen.

John 15:7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.

We may have to wait what seems a very long time to us. Patience and faith are important.

Patience

2Pe 3:8-9 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

In a German prison camp in WWII, unknown to the guards, the American prisoners managed to build a makeshift radio. One day news came that the German high command had surrendered, ending the war—a fact that, because of a communications breakdown, the German guards did not yet know. As word spread, a loud celebration broke out. For three days, the prisoners were hardly recognizable. They sang, waved at guards, laughed at the German shepherd dogs, and shared jokes over meals. On the fourth day, they awoke to find that all the Germans had fled, leaving the gates unlocked.

God, of course doesn't suffer communications breakdowns, but has His reasons for not answering our prayers immediately. Our patience is required.

Faith

Faith is required too.

English preacher George Mueller wrote these words about praying: “The great point is never to give up until the answer comes. I have been praying for 63 years and 8 months for one man’s conversion. He is not saved yet, but he will be. How can it be otherwise? I am praying.” George Mueller died in 1897 and the man was still not saved. But as they lowered Muller’s casket into the ground, the man repented of his sins and trusted Jesus as his Saviour.

George was famous for his prayer life, and is reputed to have read through the Bible 4 times every year.

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Sometimes though our certainty in the things we do not see fails us and doubts begin. This is especially the case when we have been praying the same prayer for a long time, and the person that we are praying for seems completely unaffected by our prayers.

Doubt

When you walk into a room and switch on the light an nothing happens you don't say “Oh, that Thomas Edison had no idea what he was talking about. This electricity thing just doesn't work.”. No, you check that there isn't a power cut, then replace the bulb or the switch.

When doubts occur, don't assume that God isn't listening or isn't going to answer your prayer. There are many reasons why God hasn't answered the prayer right NOW.

Closeness to God

If we can stay close to God it will help us to trust Him, then we will be less likely to doubt. Regularly reading the Bible, (4 times through every year is great, but I don't think I will ever manage that!) and spending time just talking to God about your day will help. John 15:5 says “If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” We have to stay connected to God if our prayers are to be any use in building the Kingdom.

Faith on Earth

The parable was told to encourage the followers of Jesus to pray and to keep on praying for the Kingdom of God, and in this case for justice for each of its members. This call for justice is echoed John's vision in Revelation 6:10 where the martyrs question God about how long they have to wait for justice. They have been working for the Kingdom of God against the powers of the world and have made the ultimate sacrifice.

At the end of the parable Jesus wonders whether He will find any faithful followers on earth when he returns. Will He find anyone who can stand up the threats of the world and continue to pray for the Kingdom until it comes, or until their time on earth is complete.

Will that be us, or will we succumb to the world and its enchantments?

Thankfulness

Boy & Orange Story

A small boy was given an orange, which he took willingly. His mother said “What do you say?”. The boy looked at the orange and though for a moment, then said “Peel it.”

That wasn't what his mother wanted or expected. When Jesus healed the lepers he didn't get what he wanted or expected either. Maybe you can easily forgive a child, but with adults you expect a better understanding.

I will be Concentrating on Gratitude this morning. I hope we can get a better understanding of what it means to be thankful.

Background to passage

First though we must take a look at the scene we are presented with and understand what is happening here.

Verse 11 says that Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem. We are approaching passover, but there is a long journey yet, and lots of teaching to get through before we arrive. He would be travelling roughly southbound, from Galilee to Jerusalem, but Sameria is between the two. Jesus was going around the region of Sameria, instead of through it. Jews and Samaritans have a common ancestry, but separated after the Babylonian exile. Both sides believed they held the truth about God. Under normal circumstances they do not mix, but leprosy is a special case.

As he was entering a village some lepers called out to him. They had to call, they were not allowed to get too close. They had been excluded from their villages and were not allowed to make contact or come within a certain distance of the healthy population. That meant they were not allowed in the Temple or any other place of worship. It meant they were not allowed at a place or work. All they could do was beg. It was a sensible public health measure. Leprosy was (and still is) a horrible disease, and only since the 1930's we have had a cure. The description of Leprosy in the Bible covers many different types of skin disease – but you couldn't be too careful.

The rules for determining what is and is not a skin disease that makes someone 'unclean' are set out in Leviticus 13.

They asked Jesus to take pity on them. Leprosy was seen in Jesus' time as a punishment from God. They believed that God's mercy would make them clean again.

Jesus told them to go and show themselves to the priests. Jews and Samaritans had similar rules and systems for determining if someone had recovered. It was the priests job to examine the person and determine if he was well. As they obeyed Jesus they all realised that they were cured. Their skin became normal.

One of them, just one, turned back to thank Jesus for the miracle. It turns out that he was a Samaritan.

What of the other nine? Why didn't they come back? Here's one preachers ideas:

• One waited to see if the cure was real.
• One waited to see if it would last.
• One said he would see Jesus later.
• One decided that he had never had leprosy.
• One said he would have gotten well anyway.
• One gave the glory to the priests.
• One said, "O, well, Jesus didn’t really do anything."
• One said, "Any rabbi could have done it."
• One said, "I was already much improved."

May be. May be they did think like that. It's almost impossible for us to know how we would have reacted. All I can say is that, for me, I think I would have been so excited about being able to go back to my family, back to my community, to live my normal life that I may well not have thought about my duty of thanks. Of course I would be thankful, but would not have expressed it to the very person that I should have expressed it.

Parallels to our situation

The social effects of Leprosy has parallels with the effects of sin. As Leprosy separates people from their community so sin separates us from God. It puts us outside the community that we would prefer to be inside. It breaks our contact, and leaves us in a position where we can only beg for mercy.

Gratitude

So we have a lot to be thankful for. Jesus has already answered our call for mercy. Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Before any of us had any concept of our need Christ had already died for us, so that we may not be separated from God.

What do we have to be thankful for?

There's much more than that to be thankful for though.

Rudyard Kipling

“Rudyard Kipling lived from 1865 to 1936. He was English, yet born in Bombay, India. He wrote poetry and is the author of books like Captain Courageous, How the Leopard Got His Spots, and The Jungle Books.

Kipling’s writings not only made him famous but also brought him a fortune. A newspaper reporter came up to him once and said, "Mr. Kipling, I just read that somebody calculated that the money you make from your writings amounts to over one hundred dollars a word.”

The reporter reached into his pocket and pulled out a one hundred-dollar bill and gave it to Kipling and said, “Here’s a one hundred dollar bill, Mr. Kipling. Now you give me one of your hundred dollar words.”

Rudyard Kipling looked at the money, put it in his pocket and said, "Thanks!"

Some things to be thankful for.

I'd certainly say “Thanks” for £50, and I bet most of you would too.

Here are some other things that you might be thankful for:

-If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75% of this world.

-If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish somewhere, you are among the top 8% of the world’s wealthy.

-If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week

-If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation, you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.

-If you can attend church meetings without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death, you are more blessed than three billion in the world.

-If your parents are still alive and still married, you are fairly rare.

[What else might we be thankful for?]

A different perspective

Perhaps we just need to change our perspective to see what we can be really thankful for.

Jewish Story – (of the goat)

There is an old Jewish story that illustrates this point. There is a man who goes to the rabbi and complains, "Life is unbearable. There are nine of us living in one room. What can I do?" The rabbi answers, "Take your goat into the room with you." The man in incredulous, but the rabbi insists. "Do as I say and come back in a week." A week later the man comes back looking more distraught than before. "We cannot stand it," he tells the rabbi. "The goat is filthy." The rabbi then tells him, "Go home and let the goat out. And come back in a week." A radiant man returns to the rabbi a week later, exclaiming, "Life is beautiful. We enjoy every minute of it now that there’s no goat -- only the nine of us."

The situation was the same as at first, but now his perception had changed. He realized that he was blessed to begin with.

Why be grateful?

Does that help to make you think of the things you can be thankful for?

Sometime though, it takes a doctor or an expert to tell us what to do, before we will change our habits.

because it's good for you!

Here's and extract from a book called “Thanks!: How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier”

 By Robert A. Emmons

"We discovered scientific proof that when people regularly engage in the systematic cultivation of gratitude, they experience a variety of measurable benefits: psychological, physical, and interpersonal. The evidence on gratitude contradicts the widely held view that people have a "set-point" of happiness that cannot be reset by any known means: in some cases, people have reported that gratitude led to transformative life changes. And, even more important, the family, friends, partners, and others that surround them consistently report that people who practice gratitude seem measurably happier and are more pleasant to be around."

Now Robert is saying that you actually have to do 'being thankful', not just think about what you might be thankful for. He's saying that the act of thanking changes your life.

That is surprisingly exactly what the Bible says.

Philippians. 4:6 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."

Colossians 2:6-7 "As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving."

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Part of living with Christ, of being a Christian is that we practice thankfulness.

Farmer and Pig Story

An old farmer once had an ungodly relative visit him. After the farmer had bowed his head and thanked God for the food they were about to eat, the relative rudely said, "What did you do that for? There's no God. We live in an age of enlightenment." The old farmer smiled and said, "There is one on the farm who doesn't thank God before he eats." The relative sat up and said, "Who is this enlightened one?" To which the farmer quietly replied, “My pig.”

Let's end with a prayer

"Thank you, dear God
For all You have given me,
For all You have taken away from me,
For all You have left me."
(unknown)

Time for a Celebration - Luke 15:1-32 @St John the Divine

Lost

[Act Lost Credit Cards]

Oh, the last time I did that was on the morning we were to go on holiday. What a panic! I looked everywhere for hours and hours. Eventually I gave up and phoned all the companies to cancel the cards. When you have joint credit cards they cancel both of them, so even Jo's were no good. It's horrible being on holiday and having nothing spend. When we got home from holiday the cards were waiting for me on the dining table. I had dropped them in my son's car while moving it off the drive the night before!

When you loose something, especially something important a horrible panic sets in and you search wildly trying to find it. When its a person – a friend or relative the sense of anxiety is much stronger and in some cases searching will do you no good at all.
While we're talking about loosing people, do you remember being lost as a child. Try to remember the panic and fear of it for a moment. We will come back to that later.

Nature of God

We are created in the image of God, so its no surprise that God also keenly feels the sense of having lost someone. You wouldn't expect God to panic, but you would expect him to search. We can see from the stories that Jesus told in our reading today that God does search.

God searches urgently: The shepherd leaves his sheep to search for the one that is lost.

Would you? Would you leave 99 healthy sheep out in the wilderness, where wolves and bears could easily find them? Would you leave 99 sheep out in the wilderness where any number of them could wander off? Just to find only one that was missing?

We may answer 'Yes' quickly to this question, that's because you know the passage, but it's likely that Jesus hearers would not have been quite so positive. Jesus is showing us that God exceeds human expectations.

God searches diligently: A peasants house would have had a low door and no windows, so the woman who lost her coin would have needed a lamp to have any chance of seeing a coin on the floor. Her best chance, even with the lamp lit was to sweep the earth floor carefully until she spotted something move that was not dust. The coin may have been part of her dowry and would have been very valuable.

God waits patiently: Just like the father waiting for his son to return home God waits for his lost people to return to him. When someone has left of their own accord there is not much point in searching, they probably don't want to be found and would just go further away if you did find them. It is better to wait patiently, always on the lookout for the person to return. Just like the father is our passage today.

The Ungrateful Scorpion (found on http://desperatepreacher.com/bodyii.htm)

This is the story of an old man who used to meditate each day by the River. One morning he saw a scorpion floating on the water. When the scorpion drifted near the old man, he reached to rescue it but was stung by the scorpion. A bit later he tried again and was stung again. The stings made his hand swell up and gave him much pain. Another man passing by saw what was happening and said to the Old Man, "What's wrong with you? Only a fool would risk his life for the sake of an ugly, evil creature. Don't you know you could be killed trying to save that ungrateful scorpion?"
From desparatepreacher.com

The old man calmly replied, "My friend, just because it is in the scorpion's nature to sting, does not change my nature to save."

It is God's nature to save. We are his treasures – He does not want to loose us. Despite all our best efforts to get ourselves lost God is always there ready to save us.

Urgently looking for an opportunity to rescue us. Diligently searching for a way to make us turn to him.

Patiently waiting for us to respond.

Celebration

When we do there is a celebration. Did you notice that each of the three stories ends with a celebration – a party to mark the occasion.

I heard on the TV the other day that the average wedding costs £17,000. It scared me a little as Karen is talking about getting married. It's an important day in anyone's life. What you do on that day changes you life, so it's worth making an occasion of it.

I've heard that some Jewish families preparing for a Bar Mitzvah have the whole house redecorated and then have a huge party. It must cost a fortune, but marking you son's move from childhood to adulthood is important. His life will change from that point onwards.

There's even a huge party after a christening – when we thank God for the arrival of a new life and commit to bringing the child up in the Christian faith.

What do we do when someone who we've been praying for for absolutely ages becomes a Christian? How do we mark the day when their life changes, indeed when their life really begins?

Our Response

That's all very well, you say, but I've been a Christian for ages, and I didn't get a party! Well if you are thinking like that, let me remind you of the lost son's brother. He is usually condemned for his churlish attitude.

The real question you should be asking is what these stories mean for us as Christians. How should we respond to Gods searching for the lost people in our world?

We are supposed to be God's agents on the earth, so we should join in with his efforts. I'm really assuming that you know that and already have relationships with non-Christians and are praying for them.

Take a moment to remind yourself who they are.

[pause]

The first thing to do is to make sure that no-one else gets lost. I was in a meeting with Warner the other day when someone said they hadn't seen one of our parishioners for a couple of months. Other said the same. He wrote the name in his diary and said he would give them a call to see how they were.

Is there someone who you haven't seen in a while? - Give them a call when you get home and tell them they're missed.

So the first response we can have is to keep in touch.

Remember that feeling of being lost as a child. People are lost in the big wide world. They may never have known anything else. So often people are looking for something more in their lives and don't even realise that it is available. Until they meet someone who has that something. Perhaps someone like my daughter Liz, who some of you may know. When she was at University the people she was living with refused to play games of chance with her. She kept winning and they believed that God was on her side, so they didn't stand a chance. They could only make this assumption because Liz was very open about her faith and didn't compartmentalize it. She talked quite naturally about her relationship with Jesus.

So the second thing we can do is be natural. Peter calls it being prepared to give an answer for the hope that is in you (1 Peter 3:15).

Think carefully about those you are in touch with. What would make them more interested in God. What can you DO to show them who God is and how much He loves them. Be sure it's something that will help them, and not just you.

So the third thing we can do is work diligently at showing people who God is.

A guy’s car was stalled at a green-light. Cars behind him would honk and honk. Out of frustration, the guy got out of his car, tapped on the window of the person behind him and said,"My car will not start, would not mind trying to start it, while I will sit back here and honk your horn for you"

(http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/finding-lost-passion-for-lost-people-ryan-johnson-sermon-on-evangelism-how-to-43916.asp)

I've been told that the average time taken from first interest to full conversion is three years. That is certainly true for me. I also know that a number of people were praying for me long before I showed any interest.

So the fourth thing we can do is be patient. Don't try to hurry people, trust that God is more concerned about their salvation than you are.

Finally, when they have accepted Christ, make a thing of it, hold some sort of celebration. Make the occasion important for them and for you. Something to remember to mark the start of a new life. You'll just be mirroring what's happening in the heavenly realms.

The Shack by William P. Young

So many people (well, OK, one or two, but that's unusual) have asked me about it I thought I should get a copy and read it.  As usual I read it mainly on the bus to and from work.  The loss of a child is a difficult subject to think about and read about.  The emotional reaction that results is not really suitable for the bus.  There are plenty of those too if you follow the story through. 
The book attempts to provide personal answers to the problem of human suffering caused by other humans.  To meet its purpose the author provides various characterisations of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit and uses the parent-child relationship to explain what is going on.  Humans have standard reactions to situations, so for example, when they are wronged they want revenge.  God, it seems does not have the same reactions, but loves us all - all the time. (This is of course an unreasonably short summary - but it is precisely what I was struggling with as I arrived at work one morning, 5 minutes after getting off the bus.)
Some of the images of God are helpful, some are not.  There are a few other books where you can check the theology that The Shack proposes and provide some biblical comparison.  Two longer reviews with more on this are:
http://www.challies.com/articles/the-shack-by-william-p-young
http://www.boundless.org/2005/articles/a0001788.cfm

I nearly stopped at the start.  The forward and early chapters are technically too difficult for a story.  Things improve once we get to the centre of what's happening - the encounter with God.  The ending is also difficult and the plot device used to 'cover up' God's intervention into his world is not dealt with particularity well.  There is a lack of detail and a paling of characterization in the last chapter as we try to understand the visible effects that the encounter has had on the main character and his relationships.  For me this should have been the bulk of the story.

After reading it and reacting to it, remember that it is FICTION, and doesn't make a claim to be anything else. The god described in the pages bears a resemblance to the God that I know, but sometimes not a very close one.  For me, at the end, it could never be transformational, but it is (mostly) a good, well written story and very thought provoking.

Matthew 5:17-20 "The Laws of Life", an introduction for Just 10

Reading – Matthew 5:17-20

I'm going to tell you two short stories from my past by way of introduction. Then, I'll tell you why I told them.

Many years ago I was sent on a training course. I was staying is a nice hotel, backing on to a river – probably the Thames – but I don't remember. I met someone there who I hadn't seen since school. He was on the fringe of the group of people I'd done my best to avoid at school, but he greeted me as an old friend. We had a couple of drinks together and at the end he threw his beer glass as far down the river as he could, making some comment like 'beat that'. I said that I couldn't be asked, it was all too much effort, and dumped the glass over the edge of the pontoon we were sitting on. He went one way and I went the other. I'd hardly left the pub when a little old lady approached me – caught up with me might be more accurate. She gave me a good telling off for my behaviour, and let me know that she knew I knew it was wrong.

That's the first, now for the second.

I was going to pick up Jo from her job at Marks and Spencer. It was the end of a typically busy Saturday, but by the time I arrived, most of the shoppers were long gone. There was a bus stop on the other side of the road where I needed to be, so I nipped across and parked there. I started to look around for Jo. There was a tap on the window from the other side. Turing round, I saw a policeman. I wound down the window and received a stern talking to about my driving and parking.

Both those stories are from about 30 years ago, but even then I was used to the pattern. When I decide to do something that I know is wrong, however trivial it may seem to you, there is ALWAYS someone there to tell me that I shouldn't have done it.
I used to think it was a curse before I was a Christian, but now I believe it's a blessing. Either way, I've learnt that It's how my life works. As I grew up, I learnt a series of rules that define how my life works. There are probably still many to learn.
The good news is that the rules of life are written down. The Jews call it “The Law”. I'll call it the “Law of Life” just to be clear what we are talking about.
A couple of weeks ago, we went to the British Touring Car Championship races at Silverstone. There we found small groups of men doing their very best to understand the laws of Physics. They understand lots about friction – they call it grip when it applies to tyres on the tarmac. They know about aerodynamics, they call it down force, it helps with the grip, but if they have too much down force the car will go slower. If they don't have enough, the car won't go round corners. They are working within the Laws of Physics – well, most of them. Only one member of each team tries to break the laws of Physics. They have a name for him. They call him the driver.
The Laws of Physics are constant, they do not change with time. The Laws of Life are the same – they do not change over time, that is why Jesus says “not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law”. The I's have been dotted and the T's crossed, there are no more changes needed – the document is perfect.
The Laws of Physics can't be broken. When you try that in a racing car, it's the car that gets broken. We saw some spectacular skids, a few collisions and one quite serious crash. The Laws of Life work similarly. They cannot be broken. If you try to break the Laws of Life, it's you that gets broken. Just like the driver in the racing car tries to go too fast, or turn too quickly, we try to do things with our lives that they were never meant to do. That's what Jesus means about fulfilling the Law – he came to show us how to live without trying to break the Law of Life and getting hurt as a result.
In 1687 Isaac Newton published “Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica” which set down some of the very basic Laws of Physics. We've been discovering more laws and more about how they work ever since. The Laws of Life have been around the same amount of time as the Laws of Physics, but we've had much longer to understand them.
I think we've done a worse job understanding the Laws of Life. So starting on September 15 for 10 weeks we've got an opportunity to look at them in a lot more detail.
If you haven't signed up already, it's still not too late. Speak to Warner, or the Office and book your place.
It's an opportunity to learn how to live in harmony with the Laws of Life, or the Laws of Love as J.John calls them, instead of trying to break them all the time.

Eight Bells and Top Masts: Diaries from a Tramp Steamer

by Christopher Lee

published: April 2nd 2002 by Headline Review (first published 2001)

isbn 0747264201

 

Initially I had a problem with this book. The style is off-putting. The diary entries are interspersed with commentary. The commentary refers to the person writing the diary as 'the lad'. I know when I look back at myself 35 years ago I'm not the same person, but actually I am. The Lad, the author growing up, on his first job chose to work on a tramp steamer as the era of the tramp steamer was ending. It is (eventually) an engaging tale of growing up, and the diary entries show the developm ...more Initially I had a problem with this book. The style is off-putting. The diary entries are interspersed with commentary. The commentary refers to the person writing the diary as 'the lad'. I know when I look back at myself 35 years ago I'm not the same person, but actually I am. The Lad, the author growing up, on his first job chose to work on a tramp steamer as the era of the tramp steamer was ending, to be replaced by containers and bulk carriers. It is (eventually) an engaging tale of growing up, and the diary entries show the development and growth of character as the story progresses. 

There's the drama of life aboard, brief visits ashore and the problems of living in very close quarters with strangers.  

This type of life can no longer be experienced so it is a view into another world. The author should have been out of place in this world with his bright observations, but he wasn't and we benefit from that.
The book ends with a few pages on the history of British Shipping - very interesting, but I would have preferred a postscript on what the lad did next.

Leave here vindicated (Luke 18:9-14)

Introduction

What do you think this passage is about?

Prayer? Well, yes Jesus uses the way people pray in his parable, so there are some important lessons about prayer.

Arrogance? Pride? Humility? There is certainly a lot in the parable about arrogance or pride and humility.

Final judgement? The previous parable is certainly about justice, and notice how this one ends – The tax collector 'went home justified before God'. His sins had been forgiven.

Pharisees

The Pharisees had grown up as a response to Helenism – the spread of the Greek empire. They were Jews who were keen to make the point that they were different and hold to the ancient traditions. They were responsible for the traditions that were later written down as the Mishnah, which is a commentary on the Talmud.. They separated themselves from the rest of Judaism and dedicated themselves to living life as they believed the Torah said it should be lived. There is nothing wrong with their aims. In Jesus' time they were generally looked up to by the rest of the Jewish people. “I'd love to have a faith like theirs”. The description of the Pharisee in the parable is fairly typical of Pharisees. They gave a tenth of everything they received, not just everything they earned. It was said of them that “they even tithe their herbs”. The Torah calls for fasting only on special festivals, but the Pharisees fasted twice a week – on Monday's and Thursday's. They have been described as the keen church goers of their day, the equivalent of attending every Sunday, Monday Prayers, a home group every week, never missing any of the courses, always helping with Alpha and giving 12% from gross (before deductions) income.

Tax Collectors

At the other end of the religious scale were tax collectors. They made their money by collecting as much as they could in taxes from the people. Each had an area and a target amount to be returned to the Roman Revenue service. They also had to live, and any extra they collected they kept as their pay. No-one likes paying tax, but paying it to a foreign government that is occupying your country is even worse. They were the Muslim Jehadists of their day. Don't associate with them, or even go near them, unless you absolutely have to. They have no respect for you. You are just one of their targets.

What went wrong with Pharisees

These are the stereo-typical views that would have been in people's minds as the parable was told. We know that stereo-typical views are not always realistic views. People do not conform. They don't behave the way you expect and believe that they will. Many Pharisees had become proud that they lived their lives to the difficult rules that their religion demanded of them. As a result they considered themselves better than other people who they thought didn't even try to follow God or keep to His law.

What goes wrong with Church people

It can happen to us too. We go to church regularly. We follow the law of the land. We pay our taxes. We follow the rules of the Church. It's easy to see that we're better than all those skiving benefit fraudsters who we're subsidising, isn't it!

White Cottage

(http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/the-peril-of-proud-praying-david-dykes-sermon-on-parable-pharisee-56700.asp)

A man bought a cottage in Scotland on the side of a glen, in the middle of nowhere. The cottage was painted white. Where ever he was in the glen the owner could always see the white walls of the cottage gleaming in the sunlight. Even on dull days the cottage stood out against the dark greens of the hillside. He was very proud of his cottage. Then winter came and the snow fell transforming the glen into pure white undulating slopes. When the man looked back at his cottage he realised how dingy it was against the brightness of the snow.

White Cottage Interpretation

The snow was whiter than white. The colour of the snow represents Gods standard. By that standard none of us are white enough. None of us are able to blend in with God.

All of us have our own colourful personalities. These colours make us anything but pure white, anything but holy. Rather we like to do our own thing, and run our own universe.

Planet Pete – The lie

On Planet Pete things would be very different, I can tell you. There are so many things I wouldn't put up with. My justice would be so much swifter, and the punishments would fit the crime. So we wouldn't have to put up with all these drug addicts and thieves. I would be in charge and I would be GOOD!

That's essentially the same lie that Eve swallowed and Adam accepted willingly. I can be like God – I can do a better job.

That's where the Pharisee was. He was so taken up with his own goodness that he had forgotten what goodness really is. Instead of loving God and his people he was boasting to God of all the good things he does for his religion, and then just to be sure God got the point, comparing himself to the tax collector. In the process of the comparison the tax collector was rubbished.

It's so easy for us to become like the Pharisee.

Pharisaical Traits Check list

(http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/dealing-with-pride-lynn-floyd-sermon-on-sin-general-49397.asp?page=3)

Here's a brief check list to see if you're on the slippery slope.

Prayer Life – How will you know Jesus if you don't speak to him regularly. If your prayer life is intermittent you could be in danger of becoming like the Pharisee.

Tiredness – If you're too busy and always tired, ask who you are doing it all for. It probably isn't God.

Anger – If you loose you temper with people you could be trying to take over how they run their lives, something that even God wouldn't do.

Criticism – Are you critical of others? Does that make you look better?

Defensiveness – How do you react to criticism, are you defensive or dismissive. If you can't laugh at you mistakes and failings with someone else. You could be in danger of becoming like the Pharisee.

Success – Is the success you have all yours, or is it attributed to the God who gave you your abilities and supports your life?

Impatience – at having to listen to, or wait for others because your time is too important to waste.

Exclusivity – Unwillingness to associate with people you consider lower than you.

Any of these thing could indicate that you are on your way to becoming like the Pharisee.

[pause]

What went right with the tax collector

The tax collector on the other hand would not even look at God. He hung his head in shame at the way his life was lived. He beat his chest, as if to punish himself, and begged for mercy.

The tax collector knew that he was not whiter than white, that he was not even white at all. He knew that the only approach to God was to admit his failings and ask for mercy.

It is a very biblical approach:

Pr 20:9 Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin”?

Ps 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Jer 9:24 but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the LORD.

These the tax collector would have known, these have been written for our benefit since:

1 Jn 1:8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

1Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

1Jn 1:10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.

Jas 4:6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

The tax collector knew God and had the right sense of perspective, as it says in

Isa 57:15 For this is what the high and lofty One says — he who lives forever, whose name is holy: “I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.

The result

Now we come back to the theme of justice. The right attitude to have before God is to recognise that you are guilty and your only hope is that the judge will be merciful.

If you plead for mercy and nothing happens then you've wasted your time, but it was still worth the effort. It isn't like that with God. Those who are repentant – truly sorry for their failings and determined to do better will be the beneficiaries of God's mercy. Those who plead with God will be forgiven.

Like the tax collector they will leave the court vindicated and fitted for eternal life.

Turn with me to Psalm 51, and lets say the first six verses together.

Page ____ in the Red Bibles

Page ____ in the Black Bibles

Before we say these verses think back to any of the check list that caught you ear and determine with God to put them right. [pause] Then you too can go home justified before God. Vindicated in your plea for righteousness.

Lets say together:

Ps 51:1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.

Ps 51:2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

Ps 51:3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.

Ps 51:4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.

Ps 51:5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

Ps 51:6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.