Becoming Like Christ

Introduction

• Who do you think you are? Popular TV programme.
• Who do you take after?
• My children – take after me both in physical appearance & personality

Called by to like Christ

• As Christians we are called to be like Christ.
• Followers of Jesus first called Christians in Antioch in Acts 11:26.  Name was used disparagingly – meaning ‘Little Christs’.  We are called to be little Christ’s.
• Just as people are able to say “You are so or so’s son or daughter” because of our character or physical appearance, people should be able to tell that we are followers of Christ by the sort of people we are.
• When it comes to Jesus we’re not talking about a physical likeness, but a spiritual likeness. 

Fruit of the Holy Spirit

• Which Paul in Galatians 5:22-23 describes as the Fruit of the Holy Spirit. Love, Joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness & self-control.   
• These are the fruits that God wants us to experience, and the characteristics that the Spirit of God develops in our lives. 
• Fruit doesn’t grow overnight – it takes time.  This fruit of the Holy Spirit doesn’t appear at once, but there should be evidence of change taking place in our lives, as we become more Christ like.  More loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kinder, more caring, faithful, gentle and self-controlled. 

Goal of Christlikeness

• At the very heart of the Christian faith is transformation – transformation into being more like Christ.  This is the goal of every Christian.
• We are created to be like Jesus.  To be fully human, is to be like Christ.  Nothing is more important. 
• Paul tells us in Romans 8:28-29 that the whole purpose of God calling us was to conform us to the likeness of his son, to become like Jesus.  “God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his   Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” 
• When we come to faith and give our lives to Jesus that is not the end of the journey, only the beginning.  Salvation is not a destination, but a process, in which we become more like Jesus.

Work of the Holy Spirit

• It is the Holy Spirit, the spirit of Christ in us that produces Christ-like character.
• Paul writes “As the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more” (2 Corinthians 3:18 NLT)

• There is nothing more important than becoming like Christ, and seeing the fruit of the Holy Spirit develop in our lives. 

Fruit of the Holy Spirit

• If you want fruit to grow, you don’t polish the branches or paint the fruit, you pay attention to the roots of the tree, cultivating the soil.  Ensuring it is well watered and fertilised. 

• In the same way in the Christian life, if you want the Fruit of the Spirit to grow, then we need to cultivate the soil of our relationship with God. 
• To pay attention God’s word
• Prayer
• Commitment to worship
• Fellowship – Christian life not lived in isolation.
• Couples that have been together for a long time often develop similar personality traits, and even dress and look like one another.  The reason for this is because the more time you spend in the company of someone, the more this will shape and influence your personality and character. 
• The same is true with Jesus.  The more time we spend in the presence of Jesus, then the more we should become like him, as our inner selves become transformed into the moral likeness of Jesus Christ. 
• Christ-likeness is not produced by imitation, but by inhabitation. It is when we open ourselves up to Jesus and his Holy Spirit that the work of transformation begins.  It’s about Christ living in us.  (Colossians 1:27 NLT).
• Jesus himself said “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5
• What the world needs is not more church goers, or pew fillers, but Christians whose lives are daily being transformed more and more into the likeness of Christ.
• Gandhi – “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”
• The challenge for all of us is do others see Christ in us?
• If we claim to be a Christian, but not to be growing more like Jesus then something is not right. 
• Think for a moment about people you have met who were Christ like, what most did you notice about them?  

Love

• We are encouraged to eat 5 portions of fruit and veg a day.  When it comes to the Fruit of the Holy Spirit, Paul mentions 9 fruits. 
• The first three fruits, love, joy and peace concern primarily our attitude towards God. 
• Next, patience, kindness and goodness, focus on our relationship with others. 
• Finally faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, focus on ourselves. 
• But the first & most important fruit, the one that binds them all together is LOVE.
• 1 Corinthians 13 – greatest passage in the Bible on the subject of love.  Paul writes ‘where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away…. and now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.’ (1 Cor. 13:8, 13)
• Love should above all else be the hall mark of a Christian’s life. 
• Love is after all at the very heart of the Christian faith. The Bible is the story of God’s love for us. The cross is God’s love in action. Our relationship with God is based on this love, and Jesus’ command to his disciples was to love one another. 
• Love is at the core of what it means to be a Christian, to live as a Christian and to be like Jesus. 
• It is what we as the followers of Christ should be known for above all else.  Love is the best and most important evidence of the work of the Spirit of God in our lives.

Fruit of the Spirit

• If there was someone who was Christlike, it undoubtedly was John Stott.
• John Stott in his last public address given in July 2007 at Keswick Convention said that the thing God most wants for all his children is that we should be more Christlike.  This is only possible because of the Holy Spirit within us. 
• I want to finish by saying together the prayer that John Stott used every morning.

Heavenly Father, I pray that this day I may live in your presence, and please you more and more. 

Lord Jesus, I pray that this day I may take up my cross and follow you.

Holy Spirit, I pray that this day you will fill me with yourself, and cause your fruit to ripen in my life. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.  Amen.

E100 Bible Reading Challenge: Letters to the Early Church: The Fruit of the Spirit (82)

Galatians 5:16—6:10

Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another.

My friends, if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Take care that you yourselves are not tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ. For if those who are nothing think they are something, they deceive themselves. All must test their own work; then that work, rather than their neighbour’s work, will become a cause for pride. For all must carry their own loads.

Those who are taught the word must share in all good things with their teacher.

Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up. So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith. 

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Two Lists

KEY THOUGHT

With God’s help, we can develop a godly character.

OVERVIEW

In contrast to the sinful nature (5.19-21), Paul offers a list of the “fruit of the Spirit” (5.22, 23); traits we should cultivate in our lives. But removing the “weeds” and cultivating the “fruit” in our lives is tough work, so Paul suggests two sources of help. The first is fellow believers (6.1-5); Christian friends who can help restore the broken parts of our lives (6.1-5). The second is the Holy Spirit. Paul tells us to “live by the Spirit” (5.16), to be “led by the Spirit” (5.18) and to “keep in step with

the Spirit” (5.25).

CHALLENGE

YOU CAN CULTIVATE A GODLY CHARACTER BY GROWING THE FRUIT OF

THE SPIRIT.

The E100 Bible Reading Challenge: The Prophets: Daniel & The Lion's Den (48)

Daniel 6:1-28

It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom one hundred twenty satraps, stationed throughout the whole kingdom, and over them three presidents, including Daniel; to these the satraps gave account, so that the king might suffer no loss. Soon Daniel distinguished himself above all the other presidents and satraps because an excellent spirit was in him, and the king planned to appoint him over the whole kingdom. So the presidents and the satraps tried to find grounds for complaint against Daniel in connection with the kingdom. But they could find no grounds for complaint or any corruption, because he was faithful, and no negligence or corruption could be found in him. The men said, “We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God.”

So the presidents and satraps conspired and came to the king and said to him, “O King Darius, live forever! All the presidents of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the counselors and the governors are agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an interdict, that whoever prays to anyone, divine or human, for thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be thrown into a den of lions. Now, O king, establish the interdict and sign the document, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be revoked.” Therefore King Darius signed the document and interdict. Although Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he continued to go to his house, which had windows in its upper room open toward Jerusalem, and to get down on his knees three times a day to pray to his God and praise him, just as he had done previously.

The conspirators came and found Daniel praying and seeking mercy before his God. Then they approached the king and said concerning the interdict, “O king! Did you not sign an interdict, that anyone who prays to anyone, divine or human, within thirty days except to you, O king, shall be thrown into a den of lions?” The king answered, “The thing stands fast, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be revoked.” Then they responded to the king, “Daniel, one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or to the interdict you have signed, but he is saying his prayers three times a day.” When the king heard the charge, he was very much distressed. He was determined to save Daniel, and until the sun went down he made every effort to rescue him. Then the conspirators came to the king and said to him, “Know, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no interdict or ordinance that the king establishes can be changed.” Then the king gave the command, and Daniel was brought and thrown into the den of lions. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you faithfully serve, deliver you!” A stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords, so that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel.

Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; no food was brought to him, and sleep fled from him. Then, at break of day, the king got up and hurried to the den of lions. When he came near the den where Daniel was, he cried out anxiously to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God whom you faithfully serve been able to deliver you from the lions?” Daniel then said to the king, “O king, live forever! My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths so that they would not hurt me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no wrong.” Then the king was exceedingly glad and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God. The king gave a command, and those who had accused Daniel were brought and thrown into the den of lions—they, their children, and their wives. Before they reached the bottom of the den the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones in pieces.

Then King Darius wrote to all peoples and nations of every language throughout the whole world: “May you have abundant prosperity! I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people should tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: For he is the living God, enduring forever. His kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion has no end. He delivers and rescues, he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth; for he has saved Daniel from the power of the lions.” So this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

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Dare To Be Daniel

KEY THOUGHT

God uses those who serve him faithfully.

OVERVIEW

Standing up for God brings opposition, in Daniel’s case from jealous bureaucrats (6.4-9). When we face similar attacks in the workplace, they often have spiritual opposition behind them. Daniel seems to understand this since his first reaction was to pray (6.10). Daniel was willing to sacrifice his entire career because he trusted God no matter what (6.23).

CHALLENGE

BEING A CHRISTIAN IS A FULL TIME POSITION.

The E100 Bible Reading Challenge: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob: Isaac's Birth & 'Sacrifice' (8)

Genesis 21:1—22:19

21The Lord dealt with Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as he had promised. ²Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the time of which God had spoken to him.³Abraham gave the name Isaac to his son whom Sarah bore him. ⁴And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. ⁵Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. ⁶Now Sarah said, “God has brought laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me.” ⁷And she said, “Who would ever have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.” ⁸The child grew, and was weaned; and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.

⁹But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, playing with her son Isaac. ¹⁰So she said to Abraham, “Cast out this slave woman with her son; for the son of this slave woman shall not inherit along with my son Isaac.” ¹¹The matter was very distressing to Abraham on account of his son. ¹²But God said to Abraham, “Do not be distressed because of the boy and because of your slave woman; whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for it is through Isaac that offspring shall be named for you. ¹³As for the son of the slave woman, I will make a nation of him also, because he is your offspring.”

¹⁴So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed, and wandered about in the wilderness of Beer-sheba. ¹⁵When the water in the skin was gone, she cast the child under one of the bushes. ¹⁶Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot; for she said, “Do not let me look on the death of the child.” And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept. ¹⁷And God heard the voice of the boy; and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Do not be afraid; for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. ¹⁸Come, lift up the boy and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make a great nation of him.” ¹⁹Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. She went, and filled the skin with water, and gave the boy a drink. ²⁰God was with the boy, and he grew up; he lived in the wilderness, and became an expert with the bow. ²¹He lived in the wilderness of Paran; and his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

²²At that time Abimelech, with Phicol the commander of his army, said to Abraham, “God is with you in all that you do; ²³now therefore swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my offspring or with my posterity, but as I have dealt loyally with you, you will deal with me and with the land where you have resided as an alien.” ²⁴And Abraham said, “I swear it.” ²⁵When Abraham complained to Abimelech about a well of water that Abimelech’s servants had seized, ²⁶Abimelech said, “I do not know who has done this; you did not tell me, and I have not heard of it until today.” ²⁷So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two men made a covenant. ²⁸Abraham set apart seven ewe lambs of the flock. ²⁹And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs that you have set apart?” ³⁰He said, “These seven ewe lambs you shall accept from my hand, in order that you may be a witness for me that I dug this well.” ³¹Therefore that place was called Beer-sheba; because there both of them swore an oath. ³²When they had made a covenant at Beer-sheba, Abimelech, with Phicol the commander of his army, left and returned to the land of the Philistines.

³³Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beer-sheba, and called there on the name of the Lord, the Everlasting God. ³⁴And Abraham resided as an alien many days in the land of the Philistines.

22After these things God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” ²He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you.”

³So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac; he cut the wood for the burnt offering, and set out and went to the place in the distance that God had shown him. ⁴On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place far away. ⁵Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the boy and I will go over there; we will worship, and then we will come back to you.” ⁶Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. ⁷Isaac said to his father Abraham, “Father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” ⁸Abraham said, “God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together. ⁹When they came to the place that God had shown him, Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in order. He bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. ¹⁰Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to kill his son.

¹¹But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” ¹²He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” ¹³And Abraham looked up and saw a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. ¹⁴So Abraham called that place “The Lordwill provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”

¹⁵The angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven,¹⁶and said, “By myself I have sworn, says the Lord: Because you have done this, and have not withheld your son, your only son, ¹⁷I will indeed bless you, and I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of their enemies, ¹⁸and by your offspring shall all the nations of the earth gain blessing for themselves, because you have obeyed my voice.” ¹⁹So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham lived at Beer-sheba.

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Strange But True

KEY THOUGHT

Abraham’s “sacrifice” foreshadows God’s sacrifice of Jesus.

OVERVIEW

God tells Abraham to sacrifice his only son Isaac (Gen. 22.2) and Abraham wastes no time obeying. As the tension mounts in front of the altar, Abraham unwittingly prophesies God’s plan of salvation when he says “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering.” (Gen. 22.8). God did provide the lamb for Abraham. He also provided the

Lamb, his only son Jesus Christ as the once and for all sacrifice for our sins.

CHALLENGE

WILL YOU ACCEPT GOD’S INVITATION AND RECEIVE HIS SALVATION?

Called

I cannot claim any originality for this sermon - most of this talk is taken word for word from an article by Greg Downes in the June 2012 edition of Christianity Magazine, entitled 'The Guidance Maze'.  The two Bible verses referred to in this talk are Jeremiah 1:1-8 & Matthew 4:18-22

Are you called by God?

How would you answer that question?  Do you feel as though God has called you?

          

I suspect many people see being called by God as something that happens to a special select group of people.  For example, people like Jeremiah, who was called to be a prophet, or Simon Peter and his brother Andrew, and James and John, who Jesus called to leave their fishing nets and follow Jesus.  In other words people who were being called to a specific role, and to enter into what we would call full time Christian ministry, people such as church leaders, or missionaries. 

But the danger of this is that it damages the cause of Christ by making the ministry of the professional people more important than that of the average Christian – because we see and describe them as the ones who are called, and not ourselves. 

But if you read the scriptures you realize that we are ALL called.  If you remember only one thing from the talk today, remember this: If you are a follower of Christ, you have been CALLED by God to be a minister in Christ’s name. 

Through baptism we are called by God, called to follow him, and to serve him. That is why in the baptism service we say: “Faith is the gift of God to his people.  In baptism the Lord is adding to our number those whom he is calling.”
 Primarily that calling is a calling to faithfulness, and obedience to Christ.  One day a US Senator visited Mother Teresa in Calcultta, and went to the so called ‘House of Dying’, where sick children are cared for in their last days, and where poor people line up by the hundreds to receive medical attention.  Watching Mother Teresa minister to these people, feeding and nursing those left by others to die, the Senator was overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the suffering she and her co-workers face daily. "How can you bear the load without being crushed by it?" he asked. Mother Teresa replied, "My dear Senator, I am not called to be successful, I am called to be faithful."
 As a baptized Christian, you have been called by God to faithful Christian ministry in the name of Christ.

And as Phill pointed out in his sermon two weeks ago being a Christian is a seven day a week job “whether at a factory, an office, at school, at home, with our neighbours, on the bus, in the car, at the shops, indeed anywhere!”  It is to bear witness to Jesus through our words and actions to those around us.

In the New Testament where there was no distinction between clergy and laity, the Holy Spirit empowered all believers for the work of ministry. 

Through the waters of baptism we belong to Jesus Christ, and are called to follow in Jesus’ ministry. 

In the case of Jeremiah, and the disciples whom Jesus called, their calling seemed to be very clear and specific.  This leads on to an important question, does God have a perfect plan for our lives, and if so, how do you work out what it is? 

My own sense of calling to the ordained ministry came when I was about 14. It didn’t come as a great revelation as if a giant hand came out of the sky and pointed at me saying ‘It is you!’  For me it was a growing sense that this is what I felt God wanted me to do, and I tested this sense of calling, by talking to others, and trying different doors to see if they opened for me.  But because I’m a Vicar now, doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll continue to be one in the future.  I am open to the possibility that God may have other plans for my life, but what that may be, I do not know.

So how does God guide us? 

There are several different schools of thought.

A Circus Tightrope Walker

Kate, a young teacher who went on a week-long Christian ski trip in the Swiss Alps.  As well as being captivated by the stunning scenery, she was also captivated by a ski instructor named Dan.  Dan invited Kate to dinner most nights in his log cabin, and they talked long into the night.

At the end of the week much to Kate’s surprise, Dan asked her to marry him.  She declared that she needed time to think and pray about such a big decision.  The next day when Kate was flying home, she was praying for guidance as to what to do.  On the flight she went to the toilet.  At that moment there was some unexpected turbulence, and a sign flashed on the cubicle: RETURN TO THE CABIN IMMEDIATELY.  Much to Dan’s delight she did. 

One school of thought is that God has mapped out a plan for us, in which his purposes are singular and specific concerning every little detail – it is like walking a tightrope, we need to take care we don’t fall off.

As we see from Scripture, God sometimes does very explicitly call people in a very certain way, like Jeremiah, who was told “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations. ” (Jeremiah 1:5) 

But we have to be careful of believing God has already preordained every aspect of our lives, and the big question is what happens when we get it wrong.  For example, one man believed that God had told him who to marry, and told the girl in question.  The trouble was she was of the opinion that if this was indeed the case, God should let her know too. They ended up marrying different people.

The idea that God has everything intricately planned out for us does not do justice to the fact that God has given us free will, and wisdom to make judgement calls in many and varied situations.

A guest in a national trust property

As you walk around a national trust property, certain areas are cordoned off with red rope to protect the most valuable objects, if you stray over that line it sets off an alarm.

Some Christians argue that guidance operates a little bit like this.  We have a huge freedom to do what we want, a bit like rambling round a National Trust property; the only conditions are to avoid those areas that are off limits.  The way that this translates to guidance is that it is argued that Christians make their own decisions, assisted by God given wisdom, and avoid those things that are explicitly prohibited in the Bible. 

The difficulty with this view is that it is in danger of excluding God from daily discipleship.  In effect it says that there is only general and not specific guidance that God gives to deal with personal decisions.  It marks a departure from the classical understanding of what the Bible teaches, which is expressed in the words of John Stott who said, ‘the general will of God is revealed in the Bible but the particular will of God is revealed on a person’s knees.’

A taxi driver

Another view of the way God guides and leads us is of a taxi driver.  The driver has complete liberty to travel anywhere within the parameters of the city, and makes decisions at will based on prior learning, wisdom and experience, and yet is continually open to external guidance (in the case of a taxi driver, over the radio), that could come at any time from another that has possession of the big picture. 

This view seems to do most justice with what the Bible teaches.  For example we find examples that seem to resonate more with liberty, such as God’s directive to Abraham in Genesis (13:17) to “Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.”  But there are other examples where God seems to communicate very explicitly his sovereign will, such as the instruction to Paul in Acts (18:10) to remain in Corinth when he thought of fleeing due to persecution.

From my own experience I have found that God’s guidance has come through wisdom (mine or others), or circumstances, and times when I have prayed and it’s almost as if God has been saying, ‘You choose.’  There have been other occasions where God has sovereignly seemed to communicate his will, even when I wasn’t very receptive.

Oswald Chambers said, ‘we should be so one with God that we don’t need to ask continually for guidance,’ and in the Gospel of John (10:4) it says of Jesus, ‘his sheep follow him because they know his voice’. 

Responding to God’s call, and knowing what that call is, is all about relationship.  What is most important is recognising that God is more concerned with who we are than where we are.  Authentic guidance, knowing what God calling us to be and do, is a by product of intimacy with the true Shepherd, which will happen increasingly naturally as we seek the fullness of his presence in each and every area of our whole lives, and that is what authentic discipleship is all about. 

For the journey - Genesis 12:1-8 & Luke 14:27-33

There is a famous expression ‘Failing to plan is planning to fail’. It is certainly true of these individuals:

In August 1980 Tonino Lacordia tried to break out of prison.  He managed to clear the wall of Madonna Del Freddo jail, but badly sprained his ankle in the process.  He hobbled into the countryside, and after several miles knocked on the door of a remote cottage.  The door was opened by the very policeman who had arrested him some weeks earlier, and who had rented this cottage for a holiday to get away from it all. 

If you think he was unlucky, listen to the story of the two inmates who managed to escape from the Gulph Correctional Centre in February 1981.  They managed to climb the fence and sprinted down the road, where they saw a hall, which they thought would be a good place to hide out.  What they didn’t know was that in the hall were 100 prison officers from the correctional centre they had just broken out of, holding a seminar.  The two inmates didn’t recognise the staff training officer, and asked if he could call them a cab, and were surprised when they were simultaneously arrested by 37 familiar prison wardens.

The third story is of a man who escaped from Northeye Prison in 1981 by hiding in a van full of vegetables.  After an invigorating ride through the Sussex countryside the van turned a corner and came to a halt.  When the van had been unloaded and the warders had all gone, the prisoner crawled out to find he was now in Lewes prison.

Failing to plan, is planning to fail!

When going on a journey planning is clearly very important.  When I lived in Cumbria, I was often saw people climbing the fells in completely inappropriate footwear, and inadequately equipped for the changeable Cumbrian weather.  Making sure you have everything you need, to sustain you on that journey, and to keep you safe, is of vital importance. 

It is also important that we plan and prepare for the faith journey, and that is our theme today, as we continue to explore what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.

In our Gospel reading today Jesus emphasised the importance of carefully counting the cost of being his disciple, because there is no point starting a journey if we are not prepared to finish it. 

Our OT reading tells the story of the call of Abram, where God called Abram to leave everything that was familiar to his, his home, his country, his people, and journey to a distant land. As anyone who has ever moved home or moved country knows, this is no easy thing that Abram was being asked to do.  It would be a challenge at any age, but even more so for Abram who we’re told was 75 years old, and his wife Sarai, even older.

As we look at the story of Abram’s journey of faith, we can discover the things that he packed in his spiritual suitcase, and the things that can help us on the journey of faith.

They are obedience, trust and patience.

OBEDIENCE

One of the first things to go into our spiritual suitcase is obedience.  Learning to be obedient to God is one of the most important things we can do as Christians.  Oswald Chambers, a Christian minister and writer said “The golden rule for understanding in spiritual matters is not intellect, but obedience.” 

But learning to be truly obedient to God is not without its cost. For Abram, obedience to God’s call meant venturing from the security of the known into the unknown.  He was being called to leave his home in the city of Ur, a lively, vibrant, wealthy city, rich in culture and learning, and travel to an unknown land.  If we are serious about being obedient to God, we need to recognise there can be a cost involved.  As Jesus said ‘whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.’ (Luke 14:27) 

Being obedient means being ready to hear and respond to God’s call, and  follow wherever he leads.

TRUST

What enabled Abram to be obedient to God’s call was that he trusted God.   And trust is the next thing that we need to pack into our spiritual suitcase.

The reason Abram trusted God, was because he knew God to be faithful, and that God would not abandon or forsake him. The 20^th century theologian, Karl Barth said “To hold to God is to rely on the fact that God is there for me, and to live in this certainty.”

Christian discipleship is exactly that, learning that God is there for us, and learning to live in that certainty. 

Just before Abram began his journey to his new home, God gave him three promises. 

1          That he will make Abram into a great nation, to bless him with land and with descendants

2          That he will make Abram’s name great

3          That all the peoples on earth will be blessed through Abram

But when you think about it, the fulfilment of God’s promises must have seemed so unlikely.  Consider the age of Abram and his wife Sarai, who we are told was barren, so how could Abram become the father of a great nation?  Furthermore the land God promised Abram was home to a hostile culture and people, how could he ever expect to take possession of such a land?

But despite all of this, Abram trusted God.  He realised that what for us may seem impossible, for God is possible.  The great church theologian Augustine of Hippo, who died in the fifth century said “Trust the past to God’s mercy, the present to God’s love and the future to God’s providence.”  This was the important lesson Abram learnt, and the lesson we too need to learn. 

PATIENCE

The third item that we should pack for the journey of faith is patience. 

The journey from Ur to Canaan, would have been long and arduous, and it would be even longer before God’s promises to make Abram’s descendants into a great nation would finally be fulfilled, and so Abraham had to learn to be patient. 

Amongst my many failings, is my lack of patience, I’m not good at waiting.  In a world of instant communication and internet shopping, we are losing the skill of waiting.  I identify with this prayer, “Dear God give me patience, and give it to me right now!” 

But God’s ways of working are different to our own, and God’s timing is different to ours, and therefore learning to be patient is a very important spiritual discipline.  The poet Chrstina Rossetti said ‘Obedience is the fruit of faith; patience the bloom on the fruit.’

Waiting is God’s school, wherein we learn some of his most valuable lessons for us.  For example Paul originally wanted to be delivered from his suffering in prison. But after the long wait, he learned that God was glorified more, by him remaining imprisoned. 

As Paul discovered, patience is often learnt through trials.

A young man went to an older believer to ask for prayer. "Will you please pray that I may be more patient?" he asked. The aged saint agreed. They knelt together and the man began to pray, "Lord, send this young man trials in the morning; send this young man trials in the afternoon; send this young man...."

At that point the young Christian blurted out, "No, no, I didn't ask you to pray for trials. I wanted you to pray for patience."

"Ah," responded the wise Christian, "it's through trials that we learn patience."

Patience is one of those character traits that grows over time rather than being given to us overnight.  And as we develop patience in our Christian lives, we begin to see how to make it over the long haul, and we come to realise that God will work in his own time.

Obedience, trust and patience, are three of the most important things that we need to pack into our spiritual suitcase, to help us on the journey of faith.  But they are of course not the only things we need to pack. 

JOURNEYING TOGETHER

When Abram journeyed to his new home in Canaan, he didn’t travel alone.  The Bible mentions that Abram took with him his wife Sarai, his nephew lot, and “the people they had acquired in Harran” (Genesis 12:5)  We are not talking here about just a few people, but potentially hundreds of people, because in Genesis chapter 14 Abram was able to muster 318 men all born in his household, to come to the aid of Lot, who had been captured by their enemies.  Abram was not expected to make the journey alone.

And we are not expected to make the journey of faith on our own either.  That is why we are given the church family, to support and encourage one another along the way.  In addition we have the scriptures, prayer, worship, and the Holy Spirit, to nourish and feed us on the journey.   

The first Christians were called people of The Way.  It is a reminder that the Christian faith isn’t something static, but that we are on a journey, a journey of discipleship, a journey of faith and discovery.  And we have been given tools and resources by God, to assist us on that journey, so that through obedience, trust and patience, we too can discover God’s plans and purposes for our lives, just as Abram discovered for his life.