Sunday Sermon
sunday morning 12th Oct 2008
John 16.
This chapter is one that highlights for us Good News and bad news.
The key verse to the chapter is:
V33 "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."
The Good News is all God and about God, the Bad News is all that is outside of God.
In the original context there was much bad news!
The times were very hard for the disciples:
Jesus was about to be crucified, they were to be scattered and persecuted.
V2 - Much of that persecution would be done in the name of God!
V6 filled with grief,
V17-18 Confusion,
V 20 filled with grief, weeping and mourning,
V32 - they would desert Jesus
All of that was bad news but: There was more to it than the bad news.
There was good news too:
V7 the Spirit was coming
V13 the Spirit would give them understanding
V16 they would see Jesus again
V20 joy would return
V22 that new joy would never be removed
V23-24 prayer requests would be granted
V27 the Father loves them!
V31 they believed in Jesus’ mission coming from God and returning to Him.
V32 though the disciples desert Jesus - he is not alone.
So we have a mixture of good news and bad news!
Terrible dark words but also words full of hope and glory.
This mixture of good news and bad news is the reality of life on earth.
All we need to do today is take a brief look at the newspaper and we will see that the main theme is Bad News!
E.g. credit crisis, war, poverty, natural disaster, cancer, death, rising crime rates, corruption, - all that on a world scale.
What about every day life? - money worries, family stress, marriage break down, out of control teenagers, job worries, health worries etc
1) “in this world you will have trouble / tribulation”
This is a strange and terrible promise to make!
There is no escape for we are all flesh and blood, we are all in the world.
Trouble is part of life on earth for everyone.
Being a Christian does not earn us a “get out of Jail free” card!
Some believers have thought that being a Christian does give exactly that, but it is a false assumption which in every case is proven simply by the experience of real life!
Life at this level is miserable!
For the believer the message is: “expect trouble”!
Acts 14:22 "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God," they said.
2 Timothy 3:12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
The list could go on and on! But that is only half the picture.
In fact it is less than half the picture!
Because the troubles and hardship that are “in the world” are not lasting!
They are “light and momentary” in comparison to the Good News.
The Good News far outweighs the Bad!
2) What is that Good News?
“in me you may have peace….I have overcome the world”
The Good News is all about what God has done to overturn this miserable experience of fallen human life.
Jesus says “in me you may have peace”!
In him there is no trouble / tribulation, there is instead peace.
That’s the good news - “take heart” Jesus says, be encouraged “be of good cheer”
Context: In the face of all that bad news and all that was going to happen Jesus says basically “rejoice!”
Today the message is the same. Rejoice. Rejoice, rejoice, rejoice.
The secret is Jesus - he has “overcome”.
He has conquered all the trouble “in the world”.
He is the victor, he has overturned the Fall, paid for our sin, defeated the devil: conquered!
Jesus is the Good News - everything else may seem terrible and horrible but Jesus has overcome!
Because of Him we live in an altogether new era:
The Spirit age v7
The resurrection age v16
The joyful age v22
The age of prayer v23-24
The age of love v27
Jesus has wiped out all that bad news! All we have left in him is Good News.
3) in all of this we have a call to faith.
Jesus says “take heart”, or “be of good cheer”
This is a form of words given in the imperative - it is a command.
In effect Jesus says don’t worry one little bit about the troubles of this world, simply rejoice in Him - Why? Because he has overcome.
that’s the good news! Rejoice because of Jesus.
All the trials and tribulations are nothing - Jesus is everything, he has overcome.
In the face of all that we see as terrible, horrible, Jesus says be courageous!
Don’t give in, get overcome, depressed, or despairing. But look to Him.
We only have two options:
one is to let the troubles of this life destroy us;
the other is to look to Jesus and rejoice in Him.
sunday evening 12th oct 2008
Gen 19:
Salvation and destruction.
We will look at this chapter with 2 Pet 2v6-9, in mind.
There we are told that Sodom and Gomorrah stand as examples of judgement upon the ungodly, Luke 17v28-29 also uses Sodom and Gomorrah as examples of the sudden judgement of God. Lot stands for the mercy of God, the salvation of God.
The story of Lot is not really a great story!
What we are told of him does not really reflect all that well on him.
We know that his father died so Abraham took charge of him.
This was fine until chapter 13 where Lot and Abraham’s flocks become so large that they cannot remain together.
Ch 13v11 Lot decides on the best place for his animals - the plain of Jordan. This does not reflect well on him because he is simply choosing the best for himself! It seems like a selfish act.
Then in chp14 we have the story of Lot being taken captive by the 4 kings - again the picture is that he can’t look after himself!
Then we have this whole chapter 19, but after that nothing!
His descendants are mentioned at various points in the OT and in the NT he is referred to in reference to Gods judgement and mercy.
What can we make of all this story of Lot that culminates in chapter 19?
V29 is the key to the chapter - judgement and salvation.
"So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived."
1) the judgement
God destroyed the cities of the valley.
The cities were steeped in sin. The people has allowed themselves to move from the condition of being totally depraved - that is fallen in every aspect of their humanity
To being, it would seem, utterly depraved - that is they had seared their consciences so that nothing was considered evil.
Their morality was abominable.
Homosexuality it would seem was their main sin, but it was not just that.
We can see from the way that they treated the angelic visitors to Lot that there was much more going on than just homosexuality.
There was total pride and arrogance - no respect shown to the visitors
They were totally enslaved to their selfish deprived desires - v5
That is they had given in to the lust of their flesh, thus they were out of control.
Addiction is a terrible thing - it enslaves and destroys the individual.
All the nobility and giftedness of an individual can be totally lost in an addiction.
The image of God becomes marred beyond recognition
That is the condition of the whole population of Sodom and Gomorrah!
2Pet2 describes the situation well. They were “lawless men” v7. they followed “the corrupt desire of the sinful nature and despise authority” v10.
Thus God comes to them in catastrophic judgement.
Note:
the patience of God. The judgement came very slowly.
It seems he waited until the last possible moment before he executed His judgement. It was not until the whole place had utterly forsaken Him that His judgement fell.
Why? Because judgement is not His desired option. He would much rather show forgiveness and mercy.
But note also:
the suddenness and speed of the judgement when it came!
The warning all went unheeded and Gods judgement fell out of the sky to the total surprise and terror of all the recipients.
The judgement of God is terrible and awesome to behold even now from a long way off, but even in the judgement there is mercy, for the people have been saved from any further tyranny to their sinful natures. In other words Gods judgement on them was better for them than the consequences of their own sinful actions on themselves!
2) the salvation
God remembered Abraham and saved Lot.
Lot was “brought out” - “sent out” of the judgement.
In judgement we see the wonder of salvation! Lot seems most unwilling to be saved.
Eventually the angels basically have to man handle him out of the path of destruction.
V15-22, describes their unwilling escape.
Salvation is the natural / desired work of God. And it is all His work!
Lot does nothing to help!
Can’t we take great comfort from this Good News. Salvation is God’s work.
It is his natural work that he loves to do. Saving Lot was a joy for God.
That is the whole message of scripture God loves to save!
Thus there is great hope for us, for you!
How does he save?
By taking us out of the Judgment that is coming.
If someone was standing on the train line as the train approached the only way to save them would be to take them out of the way!
That is how God saves us. He takes us out of the way.
In fact he sends us away!
He says you have “no right” to be here at the judgement! Lot was sent away.
Like Lot we may feel hesitant, we think we deserve to be punished, for we have sinned!
But, that has been dealt with:
Isaiah 53:6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
That is salvation, that is the work of God.
3) the role of the Man of Faith
What of Abraham in all this?
We have already seen that Abraham prayed for Sodom and Gomorrah - ch18.
His concern was real, the next morning he gets up early to see what had happened v27
But more specifically we are told that God remembered Abraham and thus saved Lot!
The role of faith is to participate in the work of salvation!
It seems astonishing but the verse tells us that God saved Lot because of Abraham!
Yet, this points not to the goodness of Abraham but to the wonder of grace!
God’s unmerited favour to Abraham flowed over into unmerited favour to Lot!
However what a lesson to learn from the example of Abraham here.
If we are those who have faith we should be much in prayer for the salvation of those we know and love!
That prayer is based upon the covenant God made with Abraham - to bless the whole world through his seed.
It is based then upon God mercy and grace. God save, for your names sake. Amen.