It will be at 10:30 and it will be at our new place in Lawrence Street above the A1 motorbike shop.

Merry Christmas!

If there had been a national newspaper in Israel around 2000 years ago, every other week the headline would read “Messianic Prophecy Fulfilled!” and instead of sounding old or evoking a sense of panic this news would have stirred an incredible sense of hope in many a heart. Unlike the economic crisis which will pass and become history, the good news of forgiveness of sins and eternal salvation in Jesus Christ will never get old. For many lives every day this is the best news they’ve ever heard or will ever hear. It is the best news ever and it is for everyone. It’s God’s Christmas gift and it’s got your name on it, “Merry Christmas _your name_ from God.”

Some have calculated that the odds of Jesus fulfilling just 39 of the 324 messianic prophecies in his life time are 1 in 549,755,813,900. Remarkable at the very least. Below are just a few prophecies that were fulfilled in the life of Jesus.

The table and the artwork were created by Jews for Jesus (www.jewsforjesus.org.uk) who kindly gave us their permission to post it here.

We celebrated Jesus’ birth on Sunday morning. Everyone arrived in their Christmas attire, there was even someone dressed as a Christmas present! The morning started with a few Christmas carols followed by the debut performance of the recently established York Elim Choir (pictured). They were very well received. Our youth treated us to two dramas, both of which reminded us of the real meaning of Christmas. One of the performances was entitled “The X-mas Factor”. Then we had some more carols followed by a performance from the smaller children. The children opened presents which had significant christian symbols inside, they were then asked to describe what these were and why they were important. As might be expected with children, there was much hilarity at some of their responses and behaviour.

It was great to be joined by Gordon Neil, the regional superintendent for Elim. After Gordon’s reading and Graham’s preach all the men were invited on stage to sing “We Three Kings”. It is surprising that the stage didn’t collapse as almost every man in the congregation piled on. The morning was concluded with Graham throwing Quality Streets into the congregation. We celebrated Jesus’ birth this morning! It was a fun morning, it was a blessed morning.

]]> http://www.york-epc.org.uk/2008/12/08/sermon-7th-december-08-tongues-and-the-holy-spirit-part-2/feed/ http://www.york-epc.org.uk/2008/11/30/map-to-winterscale-street-new-office/ http://www.york-epc.org.uk/2008/11/30/map-to-winterscale-street-new-office/#comments Sun, 30 Nov 2008 16:00:08 +0000 john http://www.york-epc.org.uk/?p=295

I gave some background about which particular King Herod it was, shared some scriptures then we discussed the questions. Better heard then read I think.

Sermon Acts 12:5

So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.

Prayer was a presumed practice for a follower of Jesus.

The phrase often repeated by Jesus was, “when you pray.” See Matthew 6:6

But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Jesus taught prayer

Matthew 6:9

This, then, is how you should pray:’Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,

Jesus modelled prayer

Matthew 14:23

After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone

Public prayer by religious leaders was not an unusual sight.

Luke 20:47

They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely.

Devout people prayed

Acts 10:1-3

At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, Cornelius!

The Church Prayed Together

We do not know why or when they first started to pray corporately. This is the first record of the new church of Jesus together at prayer.

Acts 1:12-15 (after the ascension)

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James.

They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty)

See also

Acts 4:24

When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. Sovereign Lord, they said, you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.

And Acts 4:31

After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

About Herod’s life

King Herod Agrippa I, grandson of Herod the Great and son of Aristobulus. He was nephew of Herod Antipas, the one who beheaded John the Baptist (Matt 14:3-12), and tried Jesus just before his crucifixion (Luke 23:8-12).

Herod Agrippa: Jewish king, ruled 37-44. Because of his good connections in Rome, he was the last to unite the Jewish territories.

The Jewish king Herod the Great had many sons and one of them was Aristobulus. However, Aristobulus the prince and the king were not on speaking terms; after two trials before the Roman emperor Augustus, Herod had his son executed in 7 BC. Aristobulus’ son Agrippa, named after Augustus’ friend Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, was spared. He was then only three years old and was sent to Rome, where he received a Roman education with the princes of the ruling dynasty, the Julio-Claudians. Among his companions were the later emperors Caligula and Claudius.

While Agrippa was growing up King Herod died and was succeeded by three of his sons: Herod Antipas ruled Galilee and the east bank of the Jordan as a tetrarch (A Roman governor of the fourth part of a province). Philip was to be tetrarch of the Golan heights in the north-east, and Archelaus became the ethnarch (’national leader’) of Samaria and Judaea.

For most of his life, Agrippa lived in Rome. He spent all his money, went bankrupt and had to flee from his creditors at the beginning of the thirties.

In 33AD, we find Agrippa in Idumea, the southern part of Judea. Later, he was official in Tiberias, the capital of Galilee founded by his uncle Herod Antipas. However, Agrippa fell out of favour, went to Antioch, where he quarreled with the Roman governor, spent some time in Alexandria, where he encountered troubles too. A a rich man named Tiberius Julius Alexander (the brother of the philosopher Philo) gave money to Agrippa’s wife. In his despair, he decided to return to Rome, where he hoped his friend Caligula would solve his financial problems. He had to borrow money and was unable to pay for the passage of his family.

Things did not turn out as he had hoped and he even spent some time in prison. The emperor Tiberius died on March 16, 37AD. Caligula became emperor and almost immediately restored the principality of Syriah. AS king of Syriah he appointed his loyal supporter Herod Agrippa. He was the first to be called ‘king’ since his grandfather, Herod the Great, who had died almost forty years earlier.

In January 41AD, Caligula and Herod Agrippa were in Rome. Caligula was by now showing signs of complete insanity. On the twenty-fourth, the emperor was murdered, and the Jewish king played a very important role during the accession of Claudius. Claudius was so grateful to Agrippa that Judaea and Samaria were added to Herod Agrippa’s realm. He was now king of all the territories that had once been ruled by Herod the Great. Jerusalem was again the capital of Palestine as a whole and received new city walls. Agrippa’s entry in the city of David and Herod was a triumph.

Like his uncles and grandfather, Agrippa was both a Hellenistic and a Jewish ruler. His building program was essentially Greek; for example, he constructed a theatre, an amphitheatre, baths and porticoes in Beyrouth, a ‘pagan’ city. On the other hand, he did a lot for the temple in Jerusalem, repaired several buildings, and finished an aqueduct that had been ordered by Herod the Great and continued by Pontius Pilate.

After these successful attempts to please people, a strange incident took place in 44AD.

It is recorded in Acts 12.19-23

After Herod had a thorough search made for him and did not find him, he cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be executed.

Then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there a while.

He had been quarrelling with the people of Tyre and Sidon; they now joined together and sought an audience with him. Having secured the support of Blastus, a trusted personal servant of the king, they asked for peace, because they depended on the king’s country for their food supply.

On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. They shouted, This is the voice of a god, not of a man. Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.

But the word of God continued to increase and spread.

That was the story according to Luke, the author of the Acts of the apostles. The same story is told by Flavius Josephus:

Now when Agrippa had reigned three years over all Judea, he came to the city Caesarea [...] There he exhibited shows in honour of the emperor [...] On the second day of the festival, Herod put on a garment made wholly of silver, and of a truly wonderful texture, and came into the theatre early in the morning; at which time the silver of his garment was illuminated by the fresh reflection of the sun’s rays upon it. It shone out after a surprising manner, and was so resplendent as to spread a horror over those that looked intently upon him. At that moment, his flatterers cried out [...] that he was a god; and they added, ‘Be thou merciful to us; for although we have hitherto reverenced thee only as a man, yet shall we henceforth own thee as superior to mortal nature.’

Upon this the king did neither rebuke them, nor reject their impious flattery. But as he presently afterwards looked up, he saw an owl sitting on a certain rope over his head, and immediately understood that this bird was the messenger of ill tidings, as it had once been the messenger of good tidings to him; and he fell into the deepest sorrow. A severe pain also arose in his belly, and began in a most violent manner. He therefore looked upon his friends, and said, ‘I, whom you call a god, am commanded presently to depart this life; while Providence thus reproves the lying words you just now said to me; and I, who was by you called immortal, am immediately to be hurried away by death. But I am bound to accept of what Providence allots, as it pleases God; for we have by no means lived ill, but in a splendid and happy manner.’

After he said this, his pain was become violent. Accordingly he was carried into the palace, and the rumour went abroad that he would certainly die in a little time. But the multitude presently sat in sackcloth, with their wives and children, after the law of their country, and besought God for the king’s recovery. All places were also full of mourning and lamentation. Now the king rested in a high chamber, and as he saw them below lying prostrate on the ground, he could not himself forbear weeping. And when he had been quite worn out by the pain in his belly for five days, he departed this life, being in the fifty-fourth year of his age, and in the seventh year of his reign.

[Flavius Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 19.343-350]

Acts 12:5 Some questions:

• Why did they start praying?

• What belief system did they have that might have motivated them to pray,?

• What experiences had shaped them, that might have influenced them to pray?

• Why did they not see that the problem insurmountable?

Mac and his family are on holiday in the American wilderness when their young daughter is kidnapped. They eventually find evidence that she has been brutally murdered in a run down shack in the woods. Many years pass but Mac and his wife are still very much under the cloud of the “great sadness”. Then Mac receives a letter apparently from God. In the letter, God invites him back to the shack. Mac returns to the The Shack and spends two days with God.

William Paul Young, author of The Shack, and I got off on the wrong foot. In an interview Young said this: “The Institutional church doesn’t work for those of us who are hurt and those of us who are damaged. . . . If God is a loving God and there’s grace in this world and it doesn’t work for those of us who didn’t get dealt a very good hand in the deck, then why are we doing this? . . . Legalism within Christian or religious circles doesn’t work very well for people who are good at it. And I wasn’t very good at it.” Young and his two publishing partners (ex pastors) no longer attend church.

I’m sure if I owned the publishing company that printed The Shack I would probably be taking a little holiday as well. Pina colada anyone? But to promote the idea that it is okay to “forsake the meeting of ourselves” (Hebrews 10.25), for Young to proclaim that he has cut himself off from the church completely concerns me more than slightly. It has become a little cliche now but obviously Young needs reminding: The Church is not bricks and mortar! It’s us! It’s you and me and your friends, your pastor and possibly your Mother and Father. I cannot help but take it a little personally when Young says that we do not work for him, or for anyone who is hurt or damaged. I understand that Young had an unpleasant childhood and perhaps he has been hurt by some people in the church but there is no need blame everyone for that. Regardless, “I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16.18).

The second alarm bell rang when I bought my copy of The Shack. The quote that they had on the front page was from Eugene Peterson “This book has the potential to do for our generation what John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress did for his. It’s that good!“. No it’s not. This is hype at it’s most indulgent. I didn’t really take exception to this statement until I read the book. Then I realised how ludicrous it was. But obviously some people agree according to some Amazon reviews: “The BEST work of Fiction I have read in Years. . . . THE SHACK has changed my life. I don’t want to say it has a power second only to the Bible, but others have said it and I feel that is true. . . . We now buy ‘em by the case, and pass them out, much more fun than tithing . . . Right behind the Bible, this is at the top of my reading list. As soon as I finished, I wanted to read it again. . . .“. I wonder to myself, have these people actually read The Shack? Or have they confused it with some marvelous work of fiction that I haven’t read?

“Fiction” is the key word here. The Shack is a work of fiction. Quite a manipulative one at that. The reader is emotionally softened by the apparent violent murder of little Missy before God is ever encountered. When God is eventually encountered, what a God he is! Or should I say she is. Whoops, I’ve gone and let it slip. The Shack presents the trinity as two parts female. I’m not entirely sure what Young hoped to achieve by presenting the Father God as a rotund, black lady from the deep south. Perhaps he thought that this would be a sort of warm and cosy image of God. I found it contrived and uncomfortable, I never got used to it for the duration of the book especially since Mac insists on calling her/him “Papa”. Not because I have a problem with the term “Papa” per se (Paul uses it in Romans 8.15) I have a problem with the fact that it was used to refer to a woman. It just felt awkward.

The book itself is actually really dull. Imagine the sort of questions you might ask God if you met him: “What really happened to the dinosaurs?“, “How old is the earth?“, “Is Elvis in heaven?” these are just some of the questions Mac does not ask God while spending two days with him I mean her…..I mean….ah. The fact is, the events in this book never happened, they only happened in William P Young’s head. Missy wasn’t brutally murdered, Mac didn’t receive a letter from God, God is not a rotund black woman from the deep south. It takes a bold man to put as many words in God’s mouth as Young has done in the The Shack. But I’ll repeat this, it’s dull reading. Young’s descriptive abilities are lacking somewhat. I struggled to finish the book because it was so boring. I could go on and criticise more but why give it more attention than it deserves?

Every cloud has a silver lining though. I walked past Waterstones the other day and saw two or three copies of The Shack in the window display. For any “christian” book to be promoted that much in a secular book shop is something and if The Shack can move someone a notch or two up the Engel’s Scale then it might not be a complete waste of time.

See Pastor Graham’s review of the book here.

For this week’s sermon notes click here.

Click here for the letter.

My final part of the series I have been doing on 2 Corinthians, hope you have found it helpful.

Notes are below. Our copyright is only so you do not sell it or make money from it. As usual the material is made available so that any may use it, adapt it and preach it. 

Sermon 2 Corinthians 13

Intro

Paul is on the final stretch in this letter and he has appealed to his readers (and his hearers, as this would have been read out) to accept his teachings by reminding them of his apostolic authority.

Paul supported this reminder by sharing some of his experiences as we saw in chapter 12.

He is to visit them and warns them he is willing to take on the unpleasant task of bringing order to the church.

1) “examine yourselves” & “test yourselves” v5

Yourselves! There is a time for the Holy Spirit to bring to our notice areas of our lives that need attention, but there are times when we must do this for ourselves.

Paul was asking that before they ask for proof of the authenticity of his faith they should prove the authenticity of their own faith.

See Matthew 7:1-5

Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way as you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Do you think Paul is being negative or inviting feelings of condemnation? The answer is in v5b where he reminds them that Jesus the Christ lives in them.

Don’t forget this is the same person that wrote Romans 8:1-2

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

And Romans 8:5-14

Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.

The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.

You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.

But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation- but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

And Romans 8:28-39

And we know that in all things 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 likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all- how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.

Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died- more than that, who was raised to life- is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?

As it is written: For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

2) He invited them to “examine” and “test”.

(a) “examine yourselves” v5

Scrutiny, as in communion. 1 Corinthians 11:28 A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup.

The Puritans were fond of examining or scrutinising themselves. Wesley encouraged his followers to do the same. They would regularly test themselves against a list of questions. See page 235 of “Blessings out of buffetings” by Alan Redpath.

When examining ourselves we must avoid self-condemnation or legalism. See current talks re agreement between Islam and Christianity.

( b) “test yourselves” v5

By action.

See Philippians 2:12-13

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed- not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence- continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

John 14:15

If you love me, you will obey what I command.

3) God be with you

This is the blessing that is pronounced over his readers/hearers in various forms in this one Trinitarian blessing.

God be with you:

• in his peace v11
• in his grace, love and fellowship v14

- fellowship with others by the Holy Spirit

- fellowship with the Holy Spirit

See also

Ephesians 6:23-24

Peace to the brothers, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.

And many more like it.

Sermon 2 Corinthians 12

Thorns, Weakness and Visions

1) The Weak Man

The “thorn in the flesh” - a frequent topic for debate.

There is no clear agreement between students of scripture what this means, yet the words “thorn in the flesh” divert our attention from the real point. The real point is the grace of God displayed in human weakness.

“Thorn?” A sickness? A physical weakness? We do not know, but it was certainly a weakness of some sort.

The writers of the footnotes in the NIV Study Bible link this with passages that speak of being buffeted by Satan for an end that God knows will be for a good outcome.

1 Timothy 1:18-20 Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith. Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.

1 Corinthians 5:5 ..hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.

Again, the real point is the grace of God displayed in human weakness - not his problem but God’s assurance of grace.

See:

1 Chronicles 16:29 Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.

And Isaiah 42:8 I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.

It is often our weakness that allows the glory of God to show through.

2 Corinthians 11:30 If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.

How can you and I allow God’s grace to be shown through our weakness? Think of a time when all seemed to go wrong, you demonstrated grace by your meek submission to God. I heard about some research re working in the NHS, it said, “A rude and discourteous place to work.” What is the best way for a believer to behave in such a place?

How does the scripture in Jeremiah apply to the workplace? Jeremiah 29:7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.

2) The important Man

Paul does not want his weakness and dependency upon God to give ammunition to the false teachers in Corinth who are trying to prevent the Corinthian from receiving his wisdom and authentic Godly teaching.

It is for this reason that Paul does something he evidently finds uncomfortable - he “boasts”

2 Corinthians 11:30 If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.

2 Corinthians 12:1 I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord.

The reason for this boasting is to assure the Corinthians of his trustworthiness and of him as a teacher, and a teacher of the Truth.

• This chapter speaks of his experiences, showing that God marked him as special
• This chapter speaks of his character, showing he thought them so special they were worthy of his service as he devoted his life to them.

Many have mimicked this strategy of Paul’s and have claimed to have had visions and revelations in order to make claims to authority and status.

The difference with Paul is that his claims about his experiences were in addition to his character, his track record of ministry and service to the believers was well known.

We also have Paul’s own warning in Galatians 1:6-10

I have known individuals joining a church and seeking position quickly, they have spoken of their experiences. Character will speak for itself - though it may take some time. Those that seek status through their experiences, and wish to bypass the need to demonstrate good character will need to make their so-called experiences sound extra special. No surprise then that some people like that speak of the bizarre.

3) The Revealed Man

We see what Paul is like here, he is open with his readers.

Why was Paul writing like this, working like this, fighting for the truth like this? Why didn’t he just go home and make tents?

Because:

(a) He had the big story in mind.

Philippians 3:12-14 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus.

(b) He didn’t want to stop pleasing God.

Luke 3:22 When all the people were being baptised, Jesus was baptised too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.

“Love” and “Please” are not the same

Conclusion

Do you:

• have the big story in mind? What difference does it make to the way you live?
• want to keep pleasing God? How are you doing that these days?
• understand the difference between God loving you and being pleased with you? Do you know how to rest in that?

Notes are below. As usual the material is made available so that any may use it, adapt it and preach it. Our copyright is only so you do not sell it or make money from it.

Of Credit Crunch And Kings

Intro

We are living through momentous times. One banker I heard on Radio 4 described events as apocalyptic. For some people this is a time to fear.

I suspect that if I searched the internet I would find some predictions that we are now witnessing the end of the world and that this will usher in the long awaited return of Christ. I will not make any wild predictions but I do think this, that at momentous times believers should keep their brains plugged in, with an eye on the news and on scriptures.

I will start by speaking to you, not of cabbages, but of kings - the Book of Kings.

I am not really covering 2 Corinthians 10. I simply start there to see if we can learn anything from Paul about his character. And then, from that, if I can learn anything about my character.

1) National character matters

Proverbs 14:34 Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.

If there’s one thing we learn from history it’s that we learn nothing from history.

I don’t know how long it would take to read, in one sitting, the history known in the Bible as the Second Book of Kings. It would certainly not take a whole lifetime to read. Yet for anyone who does read it they can see an account of God’s dealing with generations of people. There can be found the experience and wisdom of many lifetimes for all who care to learn from it.

In 2 Kings (as it is known) we can read that when those ancient people turned to God they experienced great blessing. When they turned away from God, lawlessness and social injustice increased, national prosperity eroded and eventually the nation cried out to God for forgiveness and mercy - and received it.

Our culture has worshipped money and possessions for a long time. The point in the cycle we are at now can be seen in the first Book of Kings. Read it for yourself and see where you think we fit.

If the Book of Kings offers us hope it is that we can see the mercy of God if we turn to him again. I wonder how bad it would get before our society would do so. In that ancient account it got very bad indeed in some of the turns of the cycle, with extremes of desperation and cruelty.

Why should God care about what people believe or do? Because he cares about the eternal. He cares about the eternity of the people who belong to him. God cares for people more than “stuff”. Character lasts for all eternity and money does not. Moral failure damages the individual, damage that lasts - only complete forgiveness can release us from the damage it causes.

2) The God who shakes

They called it a “credit crunch” and now they tell us we are in a recession. Some say we are on the verge of a depression.

Some commentators say we are seeing the end of Capitalism, as momentous a time as when we once watched the fall of communism. The “West” will never be the same again.

God once said he would shake the heavens and the earth and the nations.

Haggai 2:5-7 Do not fear.’ This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the LORD Almighty.

This prediction came true when, after the Assyrian empire, Alexander the Great conquered the known world. He scraped the earth from the ground and cast it into the sea fulfilling the ancient prophecy of Ezekiel.

Ezekiel 26:3-5 “..therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against you, O Tyre, and I will bring many nations against you, like the sea casting up its waves. They will destroy the walls of Tyre and pull down her towers; I will scrape away her rubble and make her a bare rock.

Out in the sea she will become a place to spread fishing nets, for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign LORD. She will become plunder for the nations..”

The first fulfilment was the invasion by Nebuchadnezzar, but he did not finish the job. The prophecy referred to “many nations”, and one of those nations that came later was Greece. Alexander scraped away the rubble and cast it into the sea.

When God decides to shake the nations nothing can stand in his way. He shakes the nations, and the lives, so that what can not be shaken (that which is eternally valuable) might remain.

3) Personal character matters

Do you/I have faith to welcome each and every time that God chooses to come into my affairs to shake out the worthless stuff?

But what of those who, in these special times, go to bed in fear and find no refuge in sleep before rising to more fear? I could say Jesus is the answer, but suspect that some would think that I mean that to turn to him means he will see all our bills are paid and all our wants satisfied. I do not suggest that, nor do I think did he. But I do believe he is the answer and to turn to him is the best course of action.

When Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it more abundantly.” He was promising quality of life to all who would hand over their lives to him. Quality of life that would not depend upon whether I am rich or poor, sick or well. And once a person belongs to him they have the privilege of prayer too.

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

The writer of Hebrews quoted the prediction of Haggai.

Hebrews 12:18-29 You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, because they could not bear what was commanded: If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned. The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, I am trembling with fear.

But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the first-born, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens. The words once more indicate the removing of what can be shaken- that is, created things- so that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.

This time the prophecy is linked to to the return of Jesus Christ.

At this time perhaps there are many who wished they had taken the advice of Jesus (in the Gospel of Matthew) and had used their lives for better purposes and pursued better goals. Jesus said,

Matthew 6:19-21 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 16:26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

So whatever lies ahead for you and I, let us keep close to Jesus and:

• trust him for our tomorrows
• make your requests known to him
• let us all walk in faith together

We’re very pleased at how well Tuesday’s Alpha at the Biltmore went. The Biltmore is a beautiful restaurant, suave and sophisticated but enough about me, the Biltmore is a pretty special place. Altogether there were 15 of us, we were served our complimentary food and drink and enjoyed a little dinner party for about 40 minutes. Then Graham, the senior pastor gave his powerful testimony of how Jesus transformed his life. It was a great night. The coming weeks should be splendid.

Sources: The Century of the Holy Spirit, Vinsan Synan.
Chasing the Dragon, Jackie Pullinger.

Recommended: Speaking in Tongues: Multi-disciplinary Perspectives (Studies in Pentecostal and Charismatic Issues), Mark Cartledge.

The Holy Spirit and Tongues

I did a small survey about Tongues in the church a few months ago. Thirty five people responded.

Out of 35:
11 had never spoken in tongues.
9 spoke in tongues occasionally.
15 spoke in tongues frequently, once per week or more.

What are Tongues?

Starting at the beginning: Luke 24:45-49 (Jesus promises the Holy Spirit)
Fulfilment at Pentecost: Acts 2:1-9 (The Holy Spirit comes, one of the results is tongues)

Two Examples of baptism in the HS in Acts:
Believers at Samaria: Acts 8:14-19 (Already Christian but had no baptism in the Spirit, no tongues).
Cornelius and his Household: Acts 10:39-46 (Holy Spirit at same time as believing and tongues).

The Holy Spirit Cannot be Formulised.

I want to resist applying a formula to the Holy Spirit that isn’t there. Sometimes the Holy Spirit comes when a person believes, sometimes he does not. Sometimes the result is speaking in tongues, sometimes it is not.

There are two different types of tongues:
Xenolalia: An actual earthly language (Brazilian, Italian etc) Acts 2.
Glossolalia: (more common) a non earthly language, some call it the language of angels. I don’t actually think there is a literal national dialect of the angels, I think we could more generally regard it as the language of the Spirit.

1 Corinthians 14:2 Paul says: “For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no-one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit“.

It has no rhythm or rhyme that can be subjected to the tests of modern lingusitic methodologies, in this sense it’s something completely different from an earthly language. Possibly because tongues isn’t really about the sound, it’s about the movement, the movement of the Spirit. In our earthly vessels this movement produces sound and God understands us. But the sound is secondary to the movement which creates it. Just as a groan of pain is secondary to the pain itself.

Now I Want to Talk About Crying.

I’m Not Crying Video (Flight of the Conchords)

“I’m not crying, It’s just been raining…..on my face.”

“I’m not weeping because you won’t be here to hold my hand. For your information there’s an inflammation in my tear gland.”

“I’m not upset because you left me this way. My eyes are just a little sweaty today.”

Why Crying?

Why do we cry? Not, what makes us cry? But what purpose does the body achieve by shedding tears or contorting the face?

The particular type of crying that the guys in the video were experiencing, it has a technical name “psychic crying”. It releases higher levels of hormones into the blood that relieve pain and stress. But why this outward expression? Why the tears? And the contorted face? In the academic world, this question is still open and when I studied psychology at college the function of crying was one of the things we studied. One of the explanations I like is that we cry when we cannot find the words to express our hurt or our happiness, so crying is the physical expression of our feelings.

Why Tongues?

Why do we speak in tongues?

We can answer this question for the first type of tongue, xenolalia, it’s a miracle. God is demonstrating His power by giving someone a language that has not been learned for the benefit of anyone listening who does know that language.

But why glossolalia? Why utter mysteries with our spirits that no one else understands? Why can’t we just say what we want to say to God in our own language? Nobody knows. We know what the benefits are but we don’t know why they happen. I like to think that just as crying gives us an expression when we are overwhelmed with emotion, tongues give us expression when we are overwhelmed with the Holy Spirit.

Tongues Disappeared.

Something happened to tongues in the early church, after 2nd Century AD it seems to have died out along with the other Charismata (meaning spiritual gifts).

There are lots of different explanations for this but I like John Wesley’s. Wesley claimed that tongues died out because “dry orthodox” men would “ridicule” those who spoke in tongues accusing them of “madness or imposture“.

The early church grew very rapidly and became very structured and what we would call very orthodox today (ritualistic a bit solemn - no fun). Particularly after it was tolerated by the Roman Empire (the Edict of Milan 313). Constantine the Great, the first Christian emperor, decided to hold a council to debate, among other things, a heresy that existed in the church at the time. This was less than three hundred years after Jesus’ death and resurrection. I had it in my mind that the Council of Nicea was just a small group of guys around a table. But Constantine invited 1600 Christian bishops of the east and west! Each bishop would have had oversight over hundreds and thousands of christians. The council of Nicea was a big event but the church had become very formal. It wanted to be taken seriously. So tongues and the charismata disappeared.

Cessationism in the Face of Continuationism

Centuries passed and although we have evidence of small outbursts of tongues and charismata in every century for the vast majority of christians there was nothing. And so theologians asked why? Where had the gifts gone? Martin Luther decided they had been withdrawn by God because they had been replaced by the primacy of scripture. John Calvin believed they had become disused as a result of lack of faith. But then toward the end of the 19th Century beginning of the 20th Century Christians started to believe in and expect the power of the Holy Spirit again. Pentecostalism was born and then Charismaticism and it is growing still today. Martin Luther’s view is what’s known as a cessationist view. Cessationists today tend to believe that the charismata were only given for the establishment of the early church. But the problem is these views came about as a way of trying to explain why the gifts were not practised, when they were not practised. Now that they are, I think they have a hard job pretending that they’re not. If Calvin or Luther were alive today, they would retract their views.

Tongues is Silly

The problem with formality and structure and becoming too civilised is that we are unwilling to look or sound silly. Tongues is silly! It sounds silly! We don’t want to look silly, we are afraid to. We sing “And I’ll become even more undignified than this” but we don’t mean it. But “Seriousness is no more a guarantee of truth, insight, authenticity or probity than humour is a guarantee of superficiality and stupidity.” (From Stephen Fry’s speech about the BBC). When we want to be taken too seriously, we are unwilling to be fools for God.

Example

I speak in tongues but don’t think I didn’t struggle with it. I was as cynical as the best of them and actually quite distressed about it all. But I’m going to cheat a little bit, I’m not going to tell you about my experience. I’m going to tell you about Jackie Pullinger’s experience. Chasing the Dragon page 50-51 and page 54. Are we willing to be fools for God’s sake? Jackie was and she had a really powerful ministry. She began speaking in tongues for 15 minutes per day and people started to believe what she told them about Jesus and her Chinese improved!

To Be Continued in Part 2……

On Sunday the 19th October, York Elim Church will have its 10.30am service in the Barbican Centre! Click here for the press release and here for directions from the primary school (On the Googlemap A equals the primary school and B equals the Barbican).

Notes are below. As usual the material is made available so that any may use it, adapt it and preach it. Our copyright is only so you do not sell it or make money from it.

Sermon 2 Corinthians 10

Last week:

Intro

A change of topic now. We have seen many topics in this letter. I summed up this letter recently by saying the great theme of the letter is The Life of Faith. This letter deals with gritty stuff, what The Life of Faith is all about.

I said, and I think you agree with me, that I want this church to biblically literate, an intelligent church, a people of the Truth, people of the word, of revelation. We want to be a church that wins the lost, that displays Christ in the way we serve our community, and a church that has discovered what it is to “be” in a way that pleases God. I want us to be people that live the life of faith.

This letter is a rich manual for those wanting to live this way. After covering various topics in this letter Paul reaches his final crescendo in his summary of the life of faith in his teaching on the topic of mastering money before money masters us, as covered last week.

Now Paul is on the final stretch in this letter and he appeals to his readers (and hearers as this would have been read out) to accept his teachings by reminding them of his apostolic authority.

He begins this next section at the beginning of chapter 10 by declaring the essential spiritual nature of our conflict.

1) The War

Verse 3 “Wage war” and verse 4 “we fight”.

Living the Christian life, the spiritual life, is to be in conflict. We go against the flow in this world.

See:

Matthew 5:10-12 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Matthew 10:16 I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.

Matthew 10: 22 All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.

John 15:19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.

John 16:33 I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

Let us not expect the worst though, see

Acts 7:9-11 And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him, And delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favour and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house.

Acts 2:47 praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Acts 13:48-52 When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honoured the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed. The word of the Lord spread through the whole region. But the Jews incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. So they shook the dust from their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

2) The Weapons

It is a strange war that ends in a victory that to most people looks like a defeat, Jesus Christ crucified.

The believers that Paul writes to in Corinth, understood that on the cross Jesus had triumphed. Therefore perhaps they were not being told, or being informed, about this point by Paul, but were being reminded by him of what they already knew and understood.

Hear what Alan Redpath says in his book, “Blessings out of Buffetings”, p174.

They were to win the battle by apparent defeat. By crucifixion they were going to be crowned. By refusing to counter attack they were to find the way to victory. By apparent failure they were going to conquer; by allowing themselves to be identified with His cross they were going to find they way to triumph, The paradoxes of the Christian life! Thus the Christian faith had in its birth, a new principle at the heart of it - the principle of sacrifice, the principle of of love, the principle of non-retaliation, the principle that was to lead to absolute victory.

Paul walked in the weakness of the flesh as we all do, but he didn’t wage war according to is.

I think this section has two possible meanings, perhaps one is right, perhaps they are both right.

(a) First meaning:

Paul and the righteous (the “we” in this section) can come against the false teachers at the work in that church and the false philosophies and religions (see Romans 1:18-23

• with divine power
• utterly demolishing the lie
• captivating the thoughts of those deceived
• and setting them free in The Truth of Jesus Christ.

This understanding of the passage fits with the final statement in verse 6. Once the majority are obedient again to the Truth, the rebellious can e dealt with. The ultimate and awful sanction was to put a person our of the church - to no longer associate with him/her (1 Cor 5)

(b) Second meaning:

Before anyone, even an apostle dares to wage war in the above manner on another person’s “rival gospel”, they must demolish “every pretension” in their own lives, they must take captive every thought of their own.

The greatest battles you and I face? Are those battles that are within ourselves.

A prayer:

Lord Jesus though I live in this world help me, for I do not want to wage war as the world does.

You tell me the weapons I fight with are not the weapons of the world, that they have divine power to demolish strongholds. Then help me I pray, to demolish the arguments and pretensions within me that set themselves up against the knowledge of God. Help me Lord to take my every thought captive to make them obedient to Christ.

I ask for this power Lord, the authority to build up rather than pull down. Thank you that you send me into the world to build for you.

Amen

Based on 2 Corinthians 10 verses 1-5

St Laurence’s Church, York

Since we moved our Sunday meetings out of our old building in the centre of York and into the school, we have experienced rapid growth. We are now frequently full with standing room only at the back. We urgently need a new larger place.

St Laurence’s Church of England is near our present location and we had thought it could be our future home. We had talks with the Anglican Church and had agreed to enter into a building share arrangement. However, before the share agreement was signed St Laurence’s church changed their mind about sharing their building with us. They wanted to try and grow without us taking their prime morning service time. We can hardly blame them.

We have now come to terms with this and are now looking elsewhere to accommodate our growing church. For those interested in the site, the story of St Lawrence’s is as follows:

The Old Church

There’s been a church here since the 1100’s. The tower of this original church is still standing in the churchyard and almost hidden by tall trees in summer. It is the surviving remnant of the medieval church dating from 1316, which served the parish just outside Walmgate. Only this tower remains, standing there on its own, after the rest of the building was demolished in the 1880s. The tower is enhanced by the fine Norman doorway from the old church of St Laurence which was re-erected into the east side of the tower when that church was demolished. The top storey of the tower was added in the 15th century.

This old church was badly damaged in 1644. York was a Royalist stronghold in the Civil War, and the Parliamentary army besieging the city had big guns stationed on Lamel Hill, where the water tower is now. They were shelling Walmgate Bar, but they weren’t very accurate, and hit the church as well as all the houses near the Bar. The church remained semi-ruined till 1669, when restoration was started.

By 1719, the church was in a fit state to hold one of York’s most exalted society weddings. On January 14th that year, Henrietta Maria Yarburgh, daughter of the Yarburgh family of Heslington Hall, married Sir John Vanburgh, the architect who designed Castle Howard and Blenheim Palace.

See post for some photographs of the old church before it was demolished.

The New Church

The population of the parish went up enormously in the next 150 years after that grand wedding. It went from 59 families in 1743 to an estimated 7,000 people in the 1870’s.

The old church held only 230 so an appeal was launched by the Vicar for a church to hold 800 people at a cost of £6,000 (or £7,500 with a tower).

The new church was consecrated in 1883 and was embellished and improved over the decades. The stained glass is probably the best collection of late 19th-early 20th century glass in York. Much of the woodwork is by Robert Thompson of Kilburn, bearing his famous trademark mouse. Most recently, a ring of eight bells was installed for the Millennium. The bells are rung for services and by visiting bands. It is known nationally as a fine place to ring a peal.

Thanks to Paul Shaw for providing the following information: