May 2009

Casting the Vision

This past Sunday, we had the oppertunity to share with our church how God has been calling us to step out in faith to serve Him with Youth Ministries Australia, the youth arm of Campus Crusade for Christ Australia. I shared a little of my journey of how God had called me to full time ministry and how he has been preparing us for the next stage of that journey. I also preached a message called The Journey of Faith (which you will be able to download here soon).

We were really blessed as we invited people to partner with us as we step out in service for God. Thankyou to all those who have taken a partnership pack and to those who have already signed on as prayer and financial partners. It is humbling to know that so many people are willing to do thier bit to help us serve in the Kingdom of God.

If you would like to know more about what we are doing, or if you would like to chat about how you might partner with us, then please give me a call or email me. We would love to catch up and share with you about YMA and what God id doing in the lives of young people all around this great nation of ours and beyond.

Matt and Rosemary

Peacemaker

Matthew 5:9 says...

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

God is a peace-loving God, and a peacemaking God. In fact, whole history of redemption, climaxing in the death and resurrection of Jesus, is God's plan to bring about a just and lasting peace between sinful man and Himself. The implication of this in regards to those who claim to follow Jesus is simple… as sons of God, we have the character of our heavenly Father. What he loves… we should love. What he pursues… we should pursue.

The simple truth of the matter… and the point that Jesus is making… is that you can know God’s children by whether they are willing to make sacrifices for peace, the way God did. If He is a peacemaker, then his children, who have his nature, will be peacemakers too.

That leaves me to ask this question... and I ask it of myself first... Am I willing to be a peacemaker in the way Jesus suggests I should? Consider what he says in Matthew 5:43-45...

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven."

Peacemakers go out of thier way to restore relationships... even when it is not thier fault that the relationship is broken. After all, isn't that what God has done for us?

Call It What It Is... Sin

As I was preparing to tell the story of the Prodigal Son to our high school studets tonight, I got to thinking about what this story has to teach us about sin and God's response to it. The story is found in the Gospel of Luke 15.

The words... “I have sinned…” are three words that do not come easily. In fact, as far as the biblical record is concerned, the confession “I have sinned” is uttered by only eight different people, although some of them said it on a number of different occasions. Today is no different. You see, we live in a culture that has de-theologized human behaviour. When I mention the word sin today, the majority of people in our society would have no idea what it really is. It is a word that is slowly disappearing from our vocabulary. To the average, off the street person, sin is an antiquated religious concept, a word used in sermons by religious people who are out of touch with the real world. But regardless of what the world thinks, the concept of sin is at the very heart of the biblical testimony of what is wrong with man. The story that Jesus tells in Luke, reveals to us two aspects of sin which are crucial for us to understand.

The first is the reality of sin. Throughout history, mankind has tried to come up with new labels for old evils. This is not a new problem. In Isaiah’s day the people were warned: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil…” (Isaiah 5:20). You only have to look around you to see that people everywhere, even in the church, are finding excuses to live and act in ways that are contrary to God’s standard. And it’s not that we don’t know that what we are doing is wrong, it’s just that we no longer call it sin. We like to define our behaviours with words like ignorance, sickness (some sickness), deviancy, poverty, dysfunction, inhumanity, crime, and perversion. But according to the Bible, these are all symptoms of a much deeper problem.

Whether we like the word or not, sin needs to be recognized for what it is. Whether we like to admit it or not, sin is what is fundamentally wrong with mankind. Human behaviour cannot be judged solely on the basis of the effect it has upon others. It must also be judged on the basis of the effect it has upon God. It is true that sin can and does hurt us. Often it hurts others. But all sin hurts God. Sin is a violation of His will. Sin is rebellion against His authority. Sin is outright lawlessness against a Holy God.

The prodigal son understood this when he said, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.” In Achan’s confession to Joshua, he said, “I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel.” And David, in his confession to Nathan declared, “I have sinned against the LORD.” The Bible makes it very clear that in fact all of us have sinned against God.

Romans 3:10 “There is no one righteous, not even one.”

Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

That my friends, is the reality of the human state. It honestly describes what is wrong with us.

The second aspect of sin that this passage in Luke reveals to us, is that there is a remedy for sin. Now there are two parts to this remedy. There is something we must do and there is something that God will do. Notice what the son does in verse 17… “When he came to his senses…”. Notice also the labels used to justify what he was doing. His desire to leave home and live the good life was no accident... it was planned. Here was a young man looking for independence. Once he was in the distant country, how he lived was disguised as pleasure. When he lost all his money, he called it bad luck. But when he reached rock bottom, working as a pig sty cleaner, he finally called what he was doing as it really was! He said “...I have sinned.”

It was in this moment of truth that this lost boy began the long trek which lead back to his Father’s house. The Bible calls this turn around repentance. Repentance is about being honest with yourself and honest before God. The son acknowledged that what he was doing was wrong and admitted that he needed the forgiveness that only his Father could give. That’s our part. Repentance is about us agreeing with God that He is right… that His ways are Holy… that he is in control. It is when we come to that point in our lives that God is only too willing to do His part.

You see, sin is not remedied by anything that we can do. We can express sorrow for sin. We can confess our sin. But we cannot forgive ourselves of our sin. That is something only God can do. It is God we have wronged. Like the son in the story, it is us who has left home to peruse the good life, looking for pleasure and independence. And so we come to the climax of the story and the central message of the gospel.

In spite of the fact that we have sinned against Him, God still loves us and wants us to come home. Verse 20 is a moving description of God’s response to us. It is no accident that the father was looking down the road that day. He missed his boy and he never stopped seeing him through the eyes of a loving Father.

God is eagerly awaiting your return to His house.

Shining Like Stars

Blessed are the persecuted... Matthew 5:10-12

Have you ever been camping? You know what I am talking about when I describe the light that is given off by a camp fire or a lantern on a really dark night. You basically have only two options… even though the fire is easily seen from a distance, you are either in the light or you are in the dark. The same is true spiritually. Jesus describes these two positions in John 3:20-21...

“ Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”

Put simply, the two responses people are going to make when they see the way we live are either going to be persecution or conversion. One way or the other, the people around you must respond to the reality of Christ in you. That’s why Jesus says what he says in verse 11… “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me…”

The big question for me is… Is my light shining? Am I living a life of righteousness and godliness in this world? It is no coincidence that immediately following this beatitude, Jesus expands on what He is saying. As you read, remember the context of what Jesus has just said. He is talking about righteous living…

”You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.” “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:13-16

I love the implication of this beatitude. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Imagine though… how many might share that blessedness in the kingdom of heaven because of your righteousness. May all our lives reflect Jesus as we live for Him.

Ancient Paths

I wonder, have you ever come to a place in your life where you found yourself at a crossroad? I mean physically… have you ever been driving and you come to a crossroad and you weren’t to sure which way to turn. A crossroad presents a dilemma because there are four ways you can go. You can go straight on ahead.You can go to the left or to the right. Or you can turn around and go the way you just came.

I wonder, have you ever found yourself at a spiritual crossroad? Maybe a situation or circumstance in life presents itself, and you find yourself with a decision to make. Do I keep going the way I have been going? Do I turn to the left or to the right? Or do I go back the way I have come? Of course, there are many things in life that might present themselves as a crossroad in our journey. Sometimes the answer to which direction we should take is plain to see. Sometimes it takes a little time and thought to work out. Sometimes we might need to ask someone we trust for guidance.

One interesting observation that I have made as I have travelled along the journey of life, a journey on which i have come across many crossroads, is that not once had God ever forced me to take a certain path. He has always allowed me to choose which path I would travel for my self. Interestingly, He did the same for Israel in Jeremiah’s day. In chapter 6 of Jeremiah, there is a verse that I have contemplating for some time now…

This is what the Lord says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. Jeremiah 6:16

The background is basically this; Israel has been disobedient to God and the people have gone their own way and now they find themselves at a crossroad. God invites the people to choose the ancient path that leads to rest. This reference to rest for your souls is directly related to the promised rest that the people would find if they followed God’s Law and didn’t break the covenant God had made with them. As I have been thinking about this verse, I got to thinking, how does this promise of rest apply to me? The answer to that question can be found in the words of Jesus in Matthew 11:28-30…

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Again, we find that Jesus does not force himself upon us. Instead, he invites us to come to him. So next time you find yourself at a crossroad in life… what ever the crossroad might be… can I encourage you to listen for God’s gentle voice which calls you to step onto the ancient path of trust and faith in Him. It might not always be the easy path… or the safest path… or even the most well-trodden path… But the way of God is the only path that leads to rest for our souls.