Talk for Apprentice conference Christmas 06/7 1 Thess 1:3-12

Intro

Many people think praying to God is a bit like writing to Santa Claus for your Christmas presents. This is now the fifth year that I have performed Santa’s duties for the children of some family friends and so I feel rather like I have my finger on the buzzer as these things go.

Thus, not long before Christmas I received the following from Alexandra

Dear Santercluse (this is not in fact a reference to my private detective but to me directly)

The last line is indeed a little concerning as if I am the best santa in the world that suggests that Alexandra understands there are ‘other Santas’, this, along with the fact that she asked me whether it was cold at the North Pole – suggests my cover is about to be blown.

Anyway that is not the point. The point is that when we talk to God, if we’re not thinking too much about it, we tend to speak to him rather like a letter to Santa.

Dear God I want to pass my exams, I want the rugby lads who sit on the back row in Maths to think I’m cool and I want my loaded friend Jeffrey to take me on another awesome summer holiday to Barbados and if that’s not possible I wouldn’t mind a family holiday to the Costa del Sol. Oh and keep mum, dad, sis and the tortoise safe.

But what does God think of that? How would he have us pray? We’re going to take our lead from the apostle Paul and look at how he spoke to God. His prayers in 2 Thessalonians are rather different. Not that it is always wrong to talk to God about the things I just mentioned, concerning ourselves, or the safety of our families, but there are other more important things that Paul talks to God about.

But before we dive in and have a look at what he asks for, we should take a little while to take in the apostle’s Paul’s general outlook, or perspective on life.

Perspective: What’s the real need? What’s the real solution?

Right perspective -> right prayer

What Paul says to God all comes from his perspective - the way he sees our future. He knows where we’re going and so he knows what to ask for. If we know where we going, we’ll know what we need too. A right perspective will lead to right prayers.

Illustration – my rowing crew last year

It’s a bit like sport. Take my rowing team, for example. I am the coach and have to convince my boys to train hard all the way through the next term in order that they are fit enough for the races in the summer. So when one of my boys is flagging and thinking why do I need to lift this weight for the hundred and third time this session, I’ll say to him – “I know you feel like your lungs are about to burst and like you need to chill out with a long cool refreshing beverage but you have to race in the summer – just imagine you’re half way through a big race and you’re neck and neck with your strongest opponents – this training is what will keep you going – without it you’ll lose -you need it!”

Knowing the goal – the race, means these rowers will know what they need. In the same way if we Christians know where we’re heading, we’ll know what we need.

What’s our perspective?

Paul’s perspective is the knowledge that he, and every single person alive, including us is heading towards God’s judgment and after that, eternity either with him or without him. There it is in verses 6 to 10. READ. It is clear that there will come a time when God will judge. Look at verse 8. Those who don’t know God will be punished, and verse 9 they will be shut out from the presence of the Lord. The Christian perspective focuses on man’s eternal destiny whether with or without God.

So what do we need?

If that’s where we’re going, then faith in Jesus is our greatest need. According to Paul those who haven’t put their trust in the Lord Jesus will be punished for eternity. PAUSE But wonderfully no one needs to suffer that fate. Those who do put their trust in him can look forward to heaven. Look at verses 9 and 10. READ If this is what happens to those who don’t believe we can also say confidently that those who do believe can look forward to being in God’s presence, where they will worship him forever. The one who made us and loves us so much that he gave his son Jesus for us will be our eternal companion. Anyone who has faith in him, will be with Jesus forever.

That’s the right perspective: we need faith in Jesus.

Praise: Thank God for other Christians

That perspective seriously affects how Paul talks to God, and how we should as well. We’ll look at two aspects, Praise and prayer

First of all Praise. look at the way Paul praises God. See how he kicks off in verse 3. We ought always to thank God for you brothers Paul praises and thanks God for these wonderful Christian friends he has in Thessalonica. What does he thank God for in particular? You might think he’d praise God that they were still alive, what with them being persecuted, but no. Remember Paul’s perspective, he’s got eternal life and death in mind. So he thanks God for what really matters, for the amazing faith of his brothers in Christ. Look what he thanks God for in particular:

growing faith

going somewhere, what does it mean for faith to grow? -> greater trust, greater enthusiasm

First of all, their growing faith: verse 3 We ought to thank God for you brothers because your faith is growing more and more. “O Lord,” says Paul, “thank you so much for giving my friends’ faith in you, particularly how it keeps getting stronger – they trust you more, they’re more excited about being your people. You’ve given them the thing they most need – and loads of it!”. I feel the same way when I see you lot, and I’m sure you do too. Isn’t it an encouragement to see a friend’s faith grow. Perhaps after a conference or a summer camp, or just over the course of time, He trusts God more, he’s loves God more, he’s more excited about the good news of Jesus, he’s bolder when his friends challenge him and is encouraging others to do the same. That really is the very best thing he can have. I ought to thank God for him. Which of your friends have you seen grow in faith recently? All that is God’s work, why not start off your prayers by thanking him.

increasing love

care for others – Harry – how was this possible

Secondly, he thanks God for their increasing love. When I was 14 I was a pretty uncool schoolboy with a side parting that started right over here, who spent most of his afternoons playing snooker on his own, and so I remember I just couldn’t believe it when this guy called Harry in the top year actually spoke to me at the Christian meeting, he took time to see to my needs, and even invited me to come to the prayer meetings. Where I was at school, you would never do that for someone younger than you. Who is the person here at Radley or wherever who first showed you Christian love. Have you thanked God for him or her?

Prayer: Pray for other Christians:

Only after he has thanked God and acknowledged what he has already done, does Paul go on to ask him for things. Only after the praise, does Paul move on to the prayer.

So, prayer: Lets jump to verse 11. With this in mind we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling and that by his power he may fulfil every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith.

Paul prays two things for his friends; that they would behave worthily and that God would prosper their godly plans..

behave worthily

Illustration of Prefect / misdemeanour of some kind – to explain worthy behaviour

Firstly he prays God would count them worthy of his calling. It’s like this; imagine one of you gets made a school prefect, a great honour and a great responsibility, and you’re happily going about doing all the right things, smile at all the teachers, being nice to the younger kids, generally being upstanding citizens: you are behaving worthily. Your behaviour is worthy of a being school prefect. That’s how school prefects should behave. Then suppose that you woke up one day and in a fit of complete madness you decided pour some cement onto the steps in front of mansion, stand ankle deep in it until it set and then wait to see what happened. Then the warden would come up to you and in the morning and say Look here Symington-bloggesville major, you’re meant to be a school prefect; that kind of behaviour is unworthy of who you are. Act like a prefect.

Now Paul prays that his friends in Thessalonica would behave in a way that’s worthy of their calling as Christians. God has saved them freely and now he asked that they would act like it - be the honest, loving, pure, god-fearing, humble, holy, bold, joyful, compassionate kind of people that God has called them to be. We could do the same.

“Dear Father please make James humble and loving”

“Dear God, give Andy the boldness to stand up for what he believes to be true when his friends ask him about why he trusts in you.”

“Dear Lord, help my brother to be holy and pure, even when his friends put him under pressure not to be”

But hang on, you might say, is that really what our friends need? I mean, is that what Paul’s friends needed? Paul, have a heart these friends of yours, the Thessalonians, are having a rotten time of life, being done in for being Christians etc. why aren’t you asking for peace, and a stop to the persecution. But - remember Paul’s perspective – when he’s praying he’s got his sights fixed on eternity with God, what these Christians really need is stuff that will last forever, and what could be more permanent than pleasing the God with whom you spend eternity?

God would prosper their godly plans

Secondly, and lastly let’s pray like Paul that God would prosper their godly plans. verses 11-12 we constantly pray for you that out God…by his power may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. We don’t know exactly what they were up to, but clearly the Thessalonians’ growing faith had lead them to make all sorts of great plans to serve God. Paul prays that God would let those great plans work out. We could do the same

Now pick a close Christian friend. What good purposes, what godly plans have they decided upon recently. You could start by asking them that very question. Have they resolved to go to church more regularly, or to start reading the bible, have they decided to go and visit some poorly or elderly people regularly? Have they decided they really want to speak to their friend about Jesus? Why not ask God to fulfil those purposes?

“Lord Jesus, give Hugo the self discipline and the desire and joy to read your word regularly”

“Heavenly Father, please would Simon be able to tell his friend the good news about Jesus”

and so on.

Top Tips

Finally, 2 top tips. I don’t find prayer easy, particularly when I want to pray for others. If I just sit down randomly and start praying, I tend to say something like this to God, I don’t know whether you can relate to it:

“Dear God, I really pray for George, erm… be with him and help him…in his work, which, come to think of it, I have quite a lot of at the moment…but I’ll do that this afternoon after lunch, when I have a bit of time…erm…hang on, have I had any breakfast…what? Where was I… oh yes Dear God, I really pray for George…and I really should check my email as well etc.”

So I always find 2 things useful: Read and write:

1^stly read: I always find my prayers are more focused, if I start off by reading a verse from the bible. That way I’m more likely to have the right perspective.

2ndly write

I find I need to write down the people I want to pray for on a list. A list focuses my attention on what I am praying about, reminds me who to pray about, and I can write down what to pray for them as well.

summary.

So, in summary, When it comes to speaking to God about our friends – let’s get the right perspective, let’s praise God for all he has done in them, and pray that he would continue.

Sermon to Benenden 26.02.07 Mark 10

As Jesus started on his way, a girl ran up to him and fell on her knees before him. “Good teacher,” She asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life? My name’s Samantha, I’m from Benenden which is rather a nice school in the South of England.”

“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No-one is good– except God alone, not you, not mother Teresa nor anyone for that matter. You know the commandments: ‘Do you prep thoroughly, don’t lie about your coursework being dropped in a puddle, don’t sleep with your boyfriend, don’t be adolescent with your parents don’t gossip about the other girls behind their back, don’t steal peoples’ jewelry or clothes and be nice to first years”.

“Teacher,” Samantha declared triumphantly, “all these I have kept since I started at Benenden, look here are my reports. English is particularly good.

Jesus looked at her and loved her. “One thing you lack”, he said, “Go, sell your pearls, your precious stoned jewelry, your prada shoes, your dinky black tie handbag, your ipod, your Chanel watch, your Johnfrieda shampoo and conditioner, your UGG boots, your favorite ball gown, your ghd hair straighteners, and give the money to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

At this Samantha’s face fell. She went away sad, because she had several ipods in different colours and they even had her name engraved on the back, and she’d never be able to go out again without her ghds.

Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for girls from Benenden to enter the kingdom of God!”

The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children how hard it is for who trust in riches to enter the Kingdom of God. In fact it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of needle than for someone rich to enter the kingdom of God!”

The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “If it’s that hard for a girl from Benenden who then can be saved?

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God”.

Depending on your outlook on life you will have found that story either incredibly depressing or wonderfully uplifting. In fact there might also be a few people in this chapel who really didn’t like that story. They might say it sounded very negative. They might be thinking ‘who are you to come into this chapel and judge? Are you trying to say you can’t be a Christian unless you’re poor.’

If you’re thinking that may I suggest you didn’t quite get the right end of the stick, the point of the story, indeed the point of Jesus’ story. Let me clarify, I have not come to judge - I could just as easily have put myself in Samantha’s place, and the story would have been 100% accurate, you can hear I’m posh anyway can’t you. Secondly if you found that a rather depressing story, that means you only heard the bit about you in it and you missed the really good bit about God.

This is what it means: The Rich young man in Jesus story, or Samantha in mine, or you or I, whoever want eternal life. Who doesn’t? And in the story they reckon they’re going to get it by doing a load of stuff that makes them good.

Samantha imagines life is one enormous moral ladder. she starts at the bottom. She imagines that eternal life is at the top. She reckons that by doing stuff, by being good she can get up that ladder.

The same is true for the rich man. So : The ten commandments: I haven’t killed anyone –up one, I haven’t committed adultery - up one, I haven’t lied – I can’t believe he hadn’t lied but anyway – up one. Or let’s bring it closer to home. Samantha thinks I was nice to my parents over half term – up one. I am kind to the first years, up another. I don’t gossip about other girls – up one. I don’t do drugs – up one and so on. People like the Rich young man or Samantha think that if they do enough good things they’ll get to the top, and they’ll be able to say to God at the end “all these commands I have kept”. He’ll say, “well done, you’ve earned your place” and they’ll get eternal life.

Has anyone ever thought that was the way to get into heaven? As long as I do enough good things? That what the Rich young man thought. That’s what Samantha thought. “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life.” I know I have. Many people perhaps even some of you think that’s how Christianity works.

Well actually it’s not. Jesus taught the Rich Young Man very wisely that this was the wrong way to get eternal life. You see the problem comes right at the beginning. The Rich young Man asks “what must I do to inherit eternal life”. “What must I do”. That’s where he’s gone wrong. He thinks eternal life is achieved by me.By me doing things and becoming good enough.

Jesus takes him on at his own game. Instead of telling the young man straight out that he’s go the wrong idea about getting eternal life, he lets him have a go. He’s going to have to learn by himself. So He asks whether he has kept the commandments, and he gives him a list of the easy ones first. don’t steal, don’t murder, don’t commit adultery. Things are going well for the Rich young men and the Samanthas of this world. Yup, I’ve done all those, I’m on track for the pearly gates, oh yes.

Then Jesus throws in one of the commands he saved up and it all changes. You shall have no other Gods before me, say the commandments. So you won’t worship money, you won’t mind losing money to follow me. Sell up and follow me then. The man went away sad. Samantha went away sad because they had great wealth, and they didn’t love Jesus enough to give it up.

So perhaps life is a moral ladder, but it is so long, it stretches up so high, the gaps between the rungs are so huge that we could never get to the top. Jesus said that it is harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. That’s pretty impossible. He means we could never obtain eternal life by doing good things. Lets be honest with ourselves. Could we ever truly live a life of complete obedience to God. I couldn’t do that for 5 minutes. Now up to this point I’d agree with the people who found my story unnecessarily depressing and negative.

But It’s not a depressing story because it doesn’t stop there. In fact it is a wonderful story underpinned by a marvelous reality, a truth that in fact makes all the difference to my life, as perhaps it has done to some of you.

The disiples ask, “who then can be saved?”. Jesus answers, “With man this is impossible, but not with God. All things are possible with God.”

It’s easy to get the wrong idea about Jesus’ attitude to the Rich young men or the Samanthas of this world. Do you remember? Mark says he looked at him and loved him. These people are excluded from eternal life for only one reason. They insist on trying to get there by themselves. That’s where riches come in. Being rich makes us feel like we own the world, like we can have anything we want, we can depend on ourselves for all we need. But the truth is, they will never get there on their own. Well what can be done then, the disciples wonder? Wonderfully though, what man cannot do, God can do. Indeed Jesus loves you and me so much, that he is prepared to do the impossible for us. That is the message of the cross. When Jesus Christ came to earth, it was as if God came down the ladder from eternity onto earth. There he lived a perfect life, a life worthy of Heaven and then he went to the cross and died to cancel the punishment for our sin. Now that Jesus has suffered in our place we can claim the reward that only he deserves. Eternity with God.

I have one question to you. How do you hope to inherit eternal life? Do you, like Samantha and the Rich Young man think you’ll get there because you’re a good person, or will you have to rely on Jesus to make the impossible happen.

May I say, perhaps my sermon has bothered you and you would like to challenge me. Do feel free to come and ask me after the service or perhaps take the time during the week to go and speak to Mrs. Ashton. But please, if Jesus’ words have moved you, don’t just try to forget them so that you can sleep easy. Read Matthew Do something about it.