Learn to Listen!

 

‘Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching’. Proverbs 1:8

 

 

Some research at the University of Kansas shows that there is a direct correlation between the academic success of a child and the number of words spoken to a child a day – the magic number is 30,000 words a day! The book of Proverbs is written as words spoken by a parent to a child and the implication is that the parent is God. Proverbs is God’s words spoken to us and is for our development (spiritual, emotional and physical!). This is true not just of the book of Proverbs but all scripture. But as every parent knows speaking words to children is no good unless the child is interacting with you and listening. And so the proverb for us today is the second principle of reading the book of Proverbs – listen to them!

What does it mean to listen to proverbs? Firstly it is to hear them by reading them or hearing them read. But listening is more than hearing as anyone knows who talks to someone who is not really interested in the conversation. So to listen is to value the person speaking and to value what they have to say. The book of proverbs emphasises this in the second part of chapter 1 by personifying wisdom. Wisdom  calls out to us and we ignore, disregard and undervalue her. God speaks wisdom to us through this book of Proverbs and all of scripture but we do not treasure or value it and so do not really listen to what it says. Instead we listen to the voices of sinners (1:10-19) which as wisdom is personified so perhaps the words of sinners is personified as the adulteress in 2:16-22 which lead us away from God with seductive and earthly wisdom.

So we need to hear God’s words and also value them and treasure them. Thirdly we need to be careful not to speak our words over God’s word or as Proverbs 3:7 ‘Do not be wise in your own eyes.’ We can easily approach God’s word arrogantly thinking we know what the answer is and so not truly listening. We need to allow God’s words speak to us. We must be careful then how we read Proverbs and all scripture, not to rush through it but quietly allow it to speak to us as we read it through slowly, meditate on it, reread and look for God to lead you into new insight and revelation.

Finally there is no point listening without putting into practice what we have heard. Sometimes God’s words can rebuke us  (see 1:25) and we do not listen because we are angry by what is said. How often do I not listen to valid criticism about being a husband, father or minister because I am angered by what is being said. The same is true with God’s words we fail to listen because we become angry about what they say or the implications. We need to avoid getting angered by God’s words but to listen and put them into practice.

If we truly mange this we will find God’s words to be treasure and you will find every good path for your life (2:9). James in the New Testament repeats these principles in reading God’s word when he says ‘Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.’ (James 1:19) Determine to put this Proverb into practice by reading God’s word, giving valuable time to it and allowing it to speak into your life and situation and you will truly be blessed.

A Proverb a day keeps sin at bay

”The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge’ Proverbs 1

The book of Proverbs is a book written to enable us to live right (Proverbs 1:3). They are reflections, wisdom and knowledge from God to enable us to live right. They are not promises that we can appeal to or blame God for when life is not going right. The other wisdom literature in the old testament (in particular Job) prevents us from using proverbs in this way. However they cannot be dismissed as simply ideals, they are proverbs that as we prayerfully reflect upon will enable us to live right by giving us knowledge, wisdom, prudence, discretion and ultimately guidance in the paths we should take. Therefore I may not believe that an apple a day keeps the doctor away but I do believe that ‘A Proverb a day keeps sin away.’

The Proverb I lay before you today is the pivotal Proverb on which all the others follow. For all knowledge, wisdom, understanding and guidance on how to live right we must begin with the fear of the Lord. It is not just a belief in God but a belief in a personal God who is our creator and for whom we were created. Our lives only make sense in relationship to God and so how we live our lives must be affected and determined by that relationship. Our lives are a precious gift and cannot just be thrown away without any relation or connection with God.

As Christians today we often want to distance ourselves from portraying a God who is to be feared. However if we believe in a personal God who is directly involved with humans and his creation it will produce in us affections of fear when we understand this personal being is a creator God, a God of immense power, of utter holiness and a God who is spirit. When we believe this it will also effect our behaviour as we live in relation to this God and we will want knowledge and wisdom of how to live right.

But as the proverb says the fear of the Lord is just the beginning of wisdom. Because as we begin to see that we do not live independent lives from God and as we get to know this God we see in Jesus that this God is a God of love, a God who is for us and who loves us and we are moved on from the affection of fear to the affection of love. As the apostle John tells us about the love of Jesus – ‘;There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.’ 1 John 4:18.

However this stronger affection of love, that ultimately transforms us when fear fails has the same consequence in that drives us with a far stronger determination to live right, as Jesus says ‘anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.’ John 14:23

So whether from fear as a beginning or from love as the end let us seek to live right in relation to God, let us keep away from not living right (sin) and therefore let us take it upon us to learn a proverb a day that we may keep sin at bay! Unfortunately I will only help you weekly if you follow my blog but the rest is up to you.

Did James believe Christians should not need medical help?

James 5 verses 14&15 has caused much diversity of interpretation and practice. It seems to suggest that when you are ill all you need to do is to have the church elders anoint you with oil and you will be healed. The Roman Catholic Church have responded to this verse with one of the seven sacraments – extreme unction. This is to be only used in cases when a person is about to die (which may be a fair understanding that this is for extreme cases in that you have to call rfather than go to the elders) but their results  do not seem to correlate to the promise of this verse.

I am not claiming to be the authority on the exegesis of this passage or that I can clear up all understanding as there is a mystery to healing as it is in God’s hands not ours, but I lay out below some helpful insights that have allowed me to develop a pastoral practice.

• In using the example of Job in verse 11 of this chapter, James cannot be suggesting that Christians should not suffer physical and emotional ailments. In fact his argument in the first part of this chapter is that of persevering in suffering.
• Surely the ‘trouble’ (literally the evil blows) we are to pray about in verse 13 would include physical suffering.
• The happiness of verse 13 is not the happiness of blessing but the courage that the Lord will finally show his mercy and compassion. The same Greek word is translated courage in Acts 27 v 22 and v 25. When Paul is in a storm with everyone fearing for their lives and he has ha a visit from an angel. The happiness that comes from the Lord speaking to us.
• In the context of these two descriptions, he talks about being sick or without strength. This is not a minor ailment but may also suggest a loss of faith and hope in the situation, a loss of spiritual strength. There is no courage as the Lord seems distant. This then may explain why ‘sins will be forgiven’ follows, not that the sickness is a result of sin but that the spiritual loss of hope and courage is a turning from God in the suffering. It is interesting to note that the medical profession suggest a very high percentage of illness are a result of emotional distress such as resentment, bitterness, unforgiveness, stress – many of which are sins.
• This may also explain why the chapter ends with a call to be a righteous pray-er (someone in a right relationship with God) and the call for us all to draw people back to the truth.

With these insights I believe there is a sickness and suffering in which we find courage from the Lord and have heard from him that he will heal us or that ‘his grace will be sufficient’ (2 Cor 12:7-10) but other times the sufferings and sickness cause us to lose courage and faith. And the anointing with oil is the outward sign of the inner grace of the strength and courage of the Spirit.

Therefore our Christian practice is to pray for the sick at all times and usually with the laying on of hands, and healing comes as a sign of the Kingdom. There are times when suffering or sickness can cause a spiritual sickness/weakness/questions/doubts and then anointing with oil in faith brings the power of the Holy Spirit with either immediate physical healing and strength but certainly a spiritual wholeness and courage. The Elders with the wisdom and gifts to discern what the Lord is saying in the situation.

These are difficult verses but as churches we must respond in faith and pray for the sick and weak and see the power of Jesus. If others have other insights that help us make sense of this passage I would be glad to hear from you.

Signs and Sermons

For those listening to my sermon ’Does God heal today?’ from the Wallingford Baptist Church website, here are the images I used that hopefully will make the introduction now make sense.

For those not listening to the sermon they are simply a reminder that signs can be confusing or misleading but are meant to be there for us as warning or as a help. As we come up to Christmas we remember the shepherds that first Christmas were given a sign that God had finally come into the world and was acting to save it – the sign was a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger, Jesus Christ (Luke 2:12). For many this sign has been misunderstood but for us Christians it is a sign that needs to be acted upon. For the shepherds they acted on it and went on a search. This Christmas follow their example and search out the Christ child and discover how he is good news.

John in his gospel in the bible tells us that the miracles of Jesus were also signs (John 2:11) of the glory of Jesus and that God has come to the earth and signs that the Kingdom (reign) of God had come and at the end of Mark’s gospel (16:17) we read that signs would also follow those who believe. Which takes us full circle back to the question of the sermon ‘Does God heal today?’. I believe the answer is yes, that God heals people through the church as we pray for the sick. We do not see everyone who is prayed for made well but those that are healed are signs that the Kingdom of God is near and among us. One day it will fully come when all sickness will be gone and death itself will be destroyed but until then as a church we should pray for the sick and look for healing as signs of the good news of the glorious coming Kingdom. Let us not limit the signs to healing but understand our calling to be far more reaching as we receive our commission in Luke 4:18-19.

How to get rich quick!

I was listening to Michael Moore on Newsnight as he was explaining the reasons he and others were demonstrating in Wall Street in New York and at St Paul’s in London. As I tried to interpret what he was saying I was reminded of how Jesus talked about ‘mammon’ which although often simply interpreted as money or wealth coveys a much deeper idea of a personality. As Richard Foster says of this term ‘Jesus is making it unmistakably clear that money is not some impersonal medium of exchange…..Mammon is a power that seeks to dominate us.’ Jesus is saying we make money an idol and as such as Christian’s we must topple the idol. Could this be one way of describing what is happening in these protests, people are seeing the power and personality of money, seeing it as an idol and are drawing our attention to it. Would Jesus be protesting? Should I be?

Then I realise that the problem is not out there but in me, that I have made money a god, that I worship and serve money. I see my happiness and security can be found in money, so I serve money by seeking it at all cost to provide me with security and happiness and as Jesus said we cannot serve two masters, so I end up serving money and not God. This is surely why Martin Luther said ‘There are three conversions necessary: the conversion of the heart, mind and the purse.’ We see this in the ministry of Jesus as he spoke more about money than about heaven and hell combined and he challenged the rich to topple this idol in their lives, often with extreme measures such as ’sell all you have and give to the poor and them come and follow me’.

How can I be converted from money. How can I make money serve me and how can I serve God with money. Jesus tells us the answer in Luke 12:13-34, it is to be ‘rich toward God’, to make yourselves rich with God.  Jesus said God knows we need ‘stuff’ but  even ‘stuff’ should point us to worship and seeking after God. John Piper, using Ephesians 4:28,  says there are three ways of living with ‘wealth’:

1. you can steal to get – is this the problem of our unethical banking system in that it steals from others to get rich?

2. you can work to get – the level most Christians fine themselves and feel morally and ethcially good about.

3. you can work to get in order to give – and this is the New Testament teaching of how we demonstrate we are ’rich with God’ . How we show that God is our reward and not materialism. This is not about amount or choices or comparisons but about a conversion of the heart. 

Let me leave you with Richard Foster’s six Christian principles of economics (found in his book  Money,sex and power) that he has gleaned from scriptures and which would be a good place to assess our economics both globally (banks), locally (business) and personally.

• As Christians we affirm the goodness and necessity of work.
• As Christians we affirm work that enhances human life and shun work that destroys human life. (can I add ‘family life’)
• As Christians we affirm human value above economic value.
• As Christians we affirm the need to enter into each other’s space in the employer-employee relationship.
• As Christians we refuse to buy or sell things frivolous.
• As Christians we refuse to take advantage of our neighbour.

So let us topple the idol of  wealth or ‘mammon’ by repenting with our actions by using our wealth through thanksgiving, generosity and giving to the poor to show we are rich toward God, that we are seeking treasure in heaven and not on earth. Let money serve you as you serve God!

How to support marriages

Having just preached a sermon on what is to be created male and female, I have been convinced that one of the churches main functions has to be to support marriage. Why?

Can I suggest that marriage is a visual and imcarnational demonstration of the gospel. It is one of the few evangelistic strategies espoused by scripture. As churches we spend much time, energy and money on a great variety of evangelistic tools but spend little time, energy and money supporting marriages. Is this because we haven’t understood marriage. From Genesis 1 we can see that marriage is more than a human idea, intention or institution. In marriage we reflect the image of God as the theologian Karl Barth drew to our attention. Genesis 2 goes further and shows us that in marriage we demonstrate the nature and character of  God to help (the same word used in Psalm 121 of God) and to redeem  (to leave and cleave). The New Testament completes the picture when the apostle Paul in Ephesians 5 shows that the marriage relationship is a visual enactment of the gospel. Marriage is when each member makes a commitment to love one another unconditionally and that means being prepared to die for that person, to show the love Christ has for each of us. At the heart of marriage is sacrifice.As a visual demonstration surely that is why there are such strict rules about the leaders of the church and their marriage relationships.

So how should we support marriages?

• Support weddings – take marriage preparation seriously, take responsibility over the ceremony to ensure it a demonstration of the gospel and make it a community celebration (family, church and local)
• Support leaders – recognise they have a greater responsibility in making their marriages show the gospel. Give them time for their marriage. Allow paid leaders two days off a week. Send them on conferences together. Pray for their marriages.
• Support the married – teach on marriage including romance and sex, put in the church calendar marriage refresher or MOT sessions, babysit, don’t fill up evenings and weekends with church stuff, allow the married to serve and worship together. Help them live out their marriage in community being a blessing to the church.
• Support the single – teach that singleness isn’t second best. Singleness is also a demonstration of the gospel (1 Cor 7:32-35) as it can show Jesus is more important than any human relationship. Teach that physical sexual expressions and acts are confined to a marriage relationship but this does not mean denying we are sexual beings. (for more on this read Rob Bell’s ’Sex God’. Do all you can to help singles feel part of the church family and help them express their sexuality in this environment and in serving humanity.
• Support the divorced – divorce is NOT the unforgivable sin. How we support the divorced can also demonstrate the mercy, forgiveness and healing power of the gospel in community. Lead them to repentance and forgiveness and out of guilt and shame. And remember Jesus demonstrating that in relationships we all fail, fall short or slip up (John 8:7)

If we do this then we are supporting visual demonstrations of the gospel that reaches every area of our community and perhaps that is why I like this animation about evangelism so much. Enjoy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rk8ERxqCZqQ

Hamburgers, treasure and cells

 

 

In the small chance anyone has been waiting my follow on blog from last time, I have tried to get this post out quickly, so there may be many errors and I will edit and update it next week to ensure it does make sense!

‘Going to McDonald’s doesn’t make you a hamburger!’ is an often used remark to point out that just going to church cannot make you a Christian. However if you are wanting a hamburger, McDonald’s would be a good place to go and so if you are looking for Christians (or finding out about the Christian faith) a church should be the best place to go. In my last blog we began to open up the issue that for many people ‘fitting’ in church weekly is very difficult in our culture and so in this blog I want to explore further the question of  ‘How important is it for Christians to be at church weekly?’

Firstly our tradition has clearly built on the Old Testament/ Jewish observance of weekly worship. Although we argued that we must not be legalistic about a day or time I think we would be foolish to ignore the biblical wisdom of a weekly worship tradition, a tradition from the beginning of creation. We could argue that this tradition is also part of the teaching of scripture. In Acts 2 we see that the believers met daily! and when we do read of times and days when they met it was indicated by a weekly tradition (e.g. Acts 20:7).  Certainly what scripture does teach is to make a regular habit of meeting together to be able to encourage one another (Heb 10:25) whether that is daily or weekly or some other regular habit. We also need to recognise that the biblical understanding of church is a team (the apostle Paul uses the analogy of a body) and if we are missing week by week the team will not fulfil its potential and may cause others to be discouraged and give up (a big issue I perceive in the church in the UK). However the main reason and motivation to come to church is to treasure Christ and as we treasure Christ we will want to worship him, learn about him and meet him in the means he has prescribed (sacraments) as often as we can. If Christ is the treasure that is worth giving up everything for then ‘gathering in his name’ is something that we should look forward to. If we do not look forward to church either we have forgotten how valuable Christ is or our church may not be a church worth joining. (I preached a series on this check it out at www.wallingford.org.uk)

Even if you have kept up with me and agree with my argument we still have not really dealt with Sunday church and our culture. As I said in my last blog actually it is the decision of the community as to when and how often it meets, which traditionally is still  a Sunday service, and  being part of this community means making sacrifices with our time.  The larger the community the harder this becomes to sustain and then the communities decision can appear to be unreasonable or legalistic.  The way I would weave my way through this is to have a wider understanding of what church looks like. In Acts 2 this seemed to include the traditional elements we associate with church but also the more mundane activities such as eating together. In this way I think the initiative known as ‘cell church’ could provide a way forward as it widens our understanding of what church looks like.  There are aspects of a ‘church worth joining’ (for an understanding of what these are check out my sermon series) that can be expressed in a small weekly group (or cell) and this can vary in day and time to meet the needs of specific groups of people, other aspects can be dealt with via other creative methods such as using the internet (like blogging or podcasting sermons) but there are some aspects that can only be met when meeting altogether, ultimately expressed in sharing communion. Some churches that have explored this path have gone for weekly small group meetings and a monthly celebration. As I compare this with the scriptural witness I do not think it provides sufficient means of encouragement. A compromise for me is to ensure that ‘joining a church’ is to join a weekly small group and to join a weekly celebration. For some people one or other of these will prove difficult or hinders other biblical commands (like respecting a spouse) or reduces opportunities to connect with people for Christ. It is at this point that being in community means exploring these things with the community and finding ways to treasure Christ in slightly divergent but accountable ways. For those who find small groups threatening a prayer triplet may be found. For those who find Sunday morning attendance difficult, a commitment to a weekly small group, listening regularly to sermons or reading books could be suggested as well as a genuine effort to share communion with the whole church community monthly.

These are difficult issues we face in our time and culture but ones we must explore as church communities. They are issues people face and more so as those who are exploring and coming to faith come out of our postmodern society. More about that in my next blog.

Was Eric Liddell right? Is Sunday special?

In my present context one of the biggest issues facing Christians is Sunday worship. With our culture shifting, Sunday is now a day full of opportunities for sport, hobbies and pleasure and if we want to be involved or connect with those who are, then there is a dilemma about church on a Sunday morning. This can put huge pressure on family life particularly when not all in the family would call themselves Christian. I want to think through this issue in my next two blogs. In this blog I want to reflect on whether Sunday should be a special day for worship and in my next blog I want to reflect on the importance or not of a Christian attending weekly worship.

Traditionally Sunday has been seen as a day set apart for Christian worship and therefore a holy day. We meet on Sunday as this is the day Jesus rose again and the day the Spirit came at the first Pentecost. However we have brought in the principle of sabbath, the Old Testament and Jewish holy day, into our understanding of Sunday and have thought of it as being a holy day. In the Old Testament the sabbath was a Covenant drawn up with Israel of what it meant for them to be the people of God. However there is also a suggestion that the sabbath is a Creators design for human beings that he created, the need to rest 1 day in 7.

In the New testament we see in Christ’s demonstration an almost disregard for the Jewish sabbath’s laws and a proclamation that He was Lord of the sabbath. We see that Jesus came to fulfil the sabbath and this is clearly seen in the Churches decision in Acts 15 not to require the keeping of the sabbath by gentile believers. The writer to the Hebrews is not alone, but perhaps most fully gives the reason for this decision. He states that Christ fulfilled the sabbath and that everyone can enter into the rest that the sabbath was pointing to. As Christians we should be living a sabbath every day in the rest we have in Christ. We do not work at our religion, at being right with God, it is something we receive as a gift, a rest received by faith and not by keeping a holy day. As the apostle Paul writes in Colossians “do not let anyone judge you….with regard to a religous festival…a sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.’ (2:17)

Therefore as Christians the way we are to live and worship is to demonstrate that we have found our ‘rest’ in Christ and not in observing laws or traditions or even in a philosophy or pleasure or materialism. When we meet it should be a day of rejoicing in the rest we have found in Christ. I believe it is right that Christians meet weekly for worship (see my next blog) but that it is the Christian communities decision on when that is. In Revelation 1 we read that ‘On the Lord’s day I was in the Spirit’, this may well have been a Sunday, the day we remember that Jesus rose again but another interpretation may be that it was Caesar’s day, a day set aside for the worship of Caesar and John decided to set aside that day for the worship of Jesus. If that is the case in choosing a Sunday we are proclaiming  that rest is not found in recreation, materialism, family but in Jesus. Like wise it is exciting some of the newer churches are worshipping on Saturday night, a night traditionally set aside for getting a high on music and drink.

So in this way Eric Liddell (immortalised in the film Chariots of fire) was right when he refused to run in the 100m olympic final,  he demonstrated that Christ was the most important treasure in his life, and not a gold medal. Could he have run the race showing this as well, probably and therefore these difficult decisions must be made prayerfully and as part of a community of faith and if done in this way we must avoid judging one another. It is interesting more recently Jonathan Edwards the triple jumper did not and then did compete on a Sunday, and from my point of view did both for the glory of Christ.

When we choose to worship is the community of faith’s decision  and I believe most will retain Sunday worship as we proclaim on this day that the resurrection of Jesus is the most important day in history. However as we reach out into a postmodern context we must give the community the right to decide. In practice this can easily lead to a fractured community and perhaps divided community as those of different generations and personalities may feel drawn in different ways on this issue. In my next blog I hope to explore how we can allow this freedom while keeping weekly worship as a priority and a united community of all ages, backgrounds and preferences together as one.

Let us live our lives in a such way that we demonstrate Christ is the one who gives us rest, as we honour him with our time and put him first and as we remember the Creators design that rest for our bodies is important and that neither work or pleasure are our gods.

A Christian response to death

One of our closest friends, whose children are friends with our children, has been told she has 6 months to live. From a human perspective a most tragic and upsetting situation and one we are struggling to come to terms with. But what should our response as Christians be to this news?

We went last week to pray with her and before we went the Lord led me to Psalm 139. We read that together and then anointed her with oil and prayed for healing. So my Christian response to death comes from this situation and a reading of Psalm 139.

1. Express everything you think and feel to God - this is part of your worship (vs 1-4). God knows us completely so there is no point in hiding anything from him, even your darkest time and thoughts. In bringing them to God you are acknowledging God exists and  knows, cares and is powerful (in the words of Hebs11:6 God ‘will reward those who seek him.’)

2. Speak truth from scripture about God to yourself (vs 5-12) – however bad things may feel as a Christian the truth is God’s hand is upon you (and your family) and you  are protected, guided and held. And even the darkest of places and times are a place where God’s light and love shines brightest - in us and from us.

3. It is God who determines our days (vs 13-16) – we are all terminal! As the famous quote goes “The only two certainties in life are death and taxes.” –Mark Twain.   As Christians we can be 100% certain that it is the Lord who determines our days on earth and none of us know how may days we may have or when the Lord may return. The challenge is to live each day as gift for worship and service of Him. To show that the Lord is the one who determines our days and it is for Him we live each day.

4. We do not fear death or fear for those who we may one day leave behind (vs 17-18) – what is our greatest joy and treasure here? – the presence of our Lord. What is the greatest thing we are looking for? – being in the presence of the Lord. What is the greatest need of our families and friends? – the presence of the Lord. As the apostle Paul writes ‘to live is Christ, to die is gain’. If we fear death it is because we have not experienced the perfect love of Jesus (1 John 4:18). Our response should be to ensure all our loved ones know the love of God which is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.

5. Sickness and death are enemies to fight (vs19-23) – Jesus came to overcome the effect of sin, which included sickness and death. These are therefore our enemies to fight. How do Christians fight our enemies? – through prayer and faith in the work of Jesus. It is our duty as Christians to be prayed for when we are sick and to pray for the sick and terminally ill. Our philosophy is not “Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)” we are called to know and fight our enemies. I am committed to believing and praying for my friends healing in anticipation of seeing it.

6. Fear and anxiety need healing (vs 23-24) – the main enemy of faith which stops us praying and fighting is fear often expressed in excessive anxious thoughts. This is a natural human response to our situations and circumstances but this is not the way the Lord has for us, he has another way – the way everlasting. To know this way we need to find time prayerfully and with scripture to allow the Lord to search us and lead us in the way everlasting. If you are feeling anxious as you read this – stop, find a quiet space and prayerfully meditate on this wonderful Psalm 139.

Why do Christians give up?

‘Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold’ Matt 24:12

Is this an indictment on the state of the church in the UK? Many Christians love has grown cold. Statistics tell us that church attendance is falling and one commentator suggests that although new people are coming in through our front doors we are leaving our back doors wide open.  As a pastor I would say I do not see many people leave the church due to a crisis of faith or even because of a time of personal crisis – most simply lose their passion for Jesus and their faith. This verse suggests that this could be due to the increase of wickedness.

In the passage in Matthew 24 the immediate context is that of persecution, and that of AD70 and the destruction of Jerusalem. The implication is that the wickedness expressed against Christians will mean many will lose their love and drift away and in the face of persecution will fall away. But perhaps in the second part of the Matthew 24, Matthew is suggesting another way that Christians lose heart which is due to the length of wait before seeing the kingdom of God. This means that life itself and the need to eat and drink and marry etc causes our passion to drift but perhaps more than that, it is the greed, immorality and violence that we live around that causes our passion to wane –  Matt 24:37 says it will be as in the days of Noah, which was a time of greed, violence and excessive pleasure (Gen 6:5,11).

In these recent days of violence (I write this as we see a week of violence in many of our major cities in the UK) we have heard the analysis of greed, family breakdown, envy and selfishness which leads to violence – the danger for us as Christians is that this causes our love to grow cold, either because we stand out (and we don’t like standing out!) as westand up or that we are drawn into self preservation, and into the greed and immorality of those around us.

As a Christian how can I ensure I am not one of the statistics of those drifting from faith and the church?

Perhaps Matthew gives us the answer in the parables of Jesus he records in Matt 25, and forgive me for using some allegory in my interpretation (which is often frowned upon in modern day exegesis) as we need specific answers to find ways to ensure we do not  let our love grow cold

1. Have enough oil in your lamp (Matt 25:1-13) – we need to ensure our experience of Christ by the Spirit is sufficient to last us and if we feel it may not, remember what Jesus said  –’ if anyone is thirsty, let them come to me to drink.’ John 7:37
2. Put your faith to work (Matt 25:14-30)  – we must not hide our faith away but put it to work in worship(week by week), service (in the church and in the world) and witness (sharing our faith, giving a reason for the hope that we have).
3. Associate with passionate believers (Matt 25:31-46) – for me those in prison, naked and sick are those believers who are that way because of their faith (the phrase least of these brothers also used in Matt 10:42, 18:,6,10, 14 to refer to disciples). So it is a call to associate with passionate disciples – choose your church, christian friends and missionaries you support wisely.

Perhaps in these ways we can ensure on that great Day we will hear Jesus say ‘Come, you are blessed by my Father, take your inheritance, the Kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.’

Maranatha