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"Show me your ways.. "
First in a series of sermons on the Parish text for the year
by the Rector, Revd John Greed
John began by quoting the Parish Text:
"Show me your ways O Lord,
teach me your paths,
guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Saviour.
The first line is a cry from David's heart. David was totally devoted to God
and he wanted to know what mattered to God, and how he could live his
life going God's way. Are we like David, brave enough to want to hear
what God's ways are? Because this journey will take courage and faith.
Sometimes we can be 'almost Christians', we 'talk the talk' but aren't
brave enough to 'walk the walk'. John quoted from Tim Hansel who
pondered what it would have been like if Jesus had done the same;
"What if God had almost revealed Himself in Jesus Christ? What if
Christ were almost born, almost lived and almost died? ... and what if Jesus
had told his disciples, 'For whosoever would save his life will lose it, and
whosoever loses his life for my sake will almost find it'? "
What does it mean to go God's way?
Firstly by submitting our own will to God, we need to learn and understand
what God's ways are. They will be different to the ways of the world. God
needs us to have Obedience, Humility, Holiness and Love. We need to
develop these connected attributes as individuals and as a Christian
community. John then proceeded to discuss obedience, humility and
holiness (NB Love is examined in a later Sermon).
God has always required obedience from His people, they are to follow His
ways and His commands. Because of His love for us He gave us rules to
ensure our safety and bring richness to our life. Deep down we know these
rules are there for our good but temptation comes along and what do we
do ... ? Yet if we want to truly live His ways we have to obey His commands
and teaching.
God also requires us to have humility, but this does not mean you become
a doormat! One must be willing to serve not for reward but simply because
something needs to be done. Jesus is our prime example and we must
learn from Him. At the Last Supper the disciples feet needed washing, a
task normally performed by a servant, but the Teacher willingly took on
the role of the servant.
"The truth is that it takes a strong obedient person to be humble
and it is most definitely part of going God's way"
Often we believe holiness is the remit of 'Super-Christians' and not for us,
but the truth is all God's children are to be holy and set apart from the
world and its ways - yes all of us!
"But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do;
for it is written 'Be holy, because I am holy' " 1 Peter 1:15-16
But where do we start? It is a certainty that if we live humbly serving Him
we will become a holy people.
If we agree to follow God's way then we can not disregard His word. We
must be willing to get involved, get rid of pride which stops true humility
and refuse to live up to the world's standards which will always
compromise God's standards. This will involve a careful examination of
our life; especially what we say. A good benchmark to use would be to
ask ourselves "What would Jesus say?". Our main challenge is to see if
we are able to live up to our words.
John ended by asking us if we can face the questions: Do I want to hear
what God's way is? and Am I serious in going that way?
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'Teach me your paths..."
Second in a series of sermons on the Parish text for the year
by the Rector, Revd John Greed
John began this sermon by discussing David, who wrote the psalm that the
Parish Text is taken from.
David the King and Psalmist, was originally a shepherd, and God used this
experience and knowledge to speak to him. It is as a shepherd he cried out
"Teach me your paths". Sheep have to rely on the shepherd for their
safety and complete well being, and the shepherd knows that sheep are
stubborn creatures who need the shepherd for direction and protection.
"We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned his
own way." Isaiah 53:6
David experienced tension between what he longs for and the need to deal
with the desire to go his own way. This tension happens within all of us.
In the beginning of our life we are God's and He graciously shares us with
our parents. But as we grow older, at some point we exert our own will to
follow our own path. We see nothing wrong with our own path, it seems
good for us and we have plenty of companions to reiterate this view. At this
point we really don't want to hear any different (see Matthew 7:13 !), but
eventually following our own path will bring us pain. David had keenly felt
the reality of this, as his disregard for God's way led to his sin against
Uriah resulting in the loss of his and Bathsheba's baby. David knew he had
to find and follow the Good Shepherd's path. We all need the Good
Shepherd to lead the way and we need to follow Him.
But what is God's path like?
According to Psalm 23 it is the path of righteousness. This means it is the
correct path for humanity to meet with and follow the Good Shepherd. On
it we will be given direction, safety, rest and contentment. To give us a
visual representation of God's path John chose the picture on the Parish
text card with a great deal of thought. God's path has direction and purpose
although we may not know the direction He is taking us. There will be
distractions on the way trying to lead us off into another direction so we
must not travel alone. Therefore John chose a picture of a path that is wide
enough for people to travel together yet narrow enough to give us direction.
We need the help of trusted others to discern God's direction for our life.
We have to learn to share our thoughts, hopes and even dreams, clear away
old baggage and hold on tightly to the truth that God offers and shares with
us.
God's path is also a place of safety and security. To highlight the human
need for these feelings, John recounts an amusing story told by Dr. Jerome
Frank, a professor of Psychiatry. Dr. Frank was talking to a fellow
passenger on a flight who confided in the professor that he had been fearful
of flying in the past because of the risk that another passenger would be
carrying a bomb. He had found out that the chances of this happening were
1 in 10 thousand, but he had worked out that the chances of two people
carrying a bomb on the same flight were 1 in 100 million. The passenger
had decided these were good odds so therefore he always carried a bomb
on board with him!
Following God's path increases the odds for Our safety and protection.
Charles H. Spurgeon tells a story of the devil trying to tempt an old
ploughman. The ploughman attempts to rebuke and answer the devil, but
finds him too wily. So he stops arguing with him and asks the devil what
he wants from him and finds out the devil wants his soul.
" "Oh" Said I "that is no business of mine; I have given my soul
over into the hands of Christ; I have transferred everything to Him; if you
want an answer to your doubts and queries, you must apply to my
Advocate." "
John reminded us that when we choose to go on God's path He will
always answer for us.
Whilst travelling on God's path we will have places to rest. Modem
society is fast moving and God wants us to slow down, to lie down in
green pastures beside still waters and enjoy. Life is also so full of noise
one wonders if we are fearful of silence, that we might hear our
conscience or God's still small voice. On His path there are places to
stop, enjoy the beauty and be in silence and listen to the Good Shepherd.
David understood this and we need to learn it. Here we will find a place
of contentment. We will learn to thank God for both the roses and the
thorns. We will thank God for all the blessing He has given us - a
beautiful world, love, fellowship, but also sorrow and heartache which
accentuate the good times. We will praise Him for this life and also for
the richer and more glorious life to come.
"... because thine only son once sacrificed life's loveliness for me
I thank thee God, that I have lived."
Next month we will have the next two sermons in John's series;
• "Guide me in your Truth"
• "For you are God my Saviour"
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“Guide me in your Truth”
John began the third sermon about the Parish Text by talking about a world that no longer teaches or upholds God’s truth. When we watch personal or world tragedies unfold in the media, Christians may feel a number of reactions: We may weep for those involved, and also for God and Jesus who are ignored and sidelined.
“Streams of tears flow for my eyes, for your law is not obeyed.” (Psalm 119:136)
We may also feel indigence that if only people had lived as God teaches a
lot of pain would have been avoided.
The main problem is that we don’t listen especially if the message makes
uncomfortable listening. However in our Parish Text David freely asks God to guide him and teach him. Therefore we have to recognise that we must yield our lives to God’s truth and ask Him to teach and guide us.
We need God’s guidance throughout life’s journey. Not set answers to
given questions but an immersion in God’s truth and His word to show us
the way to live. At this point John asked us two questions:
How well are we versed in God’s word?
Are we prepared to be taught by God’s word?
We need to make and set aside a special time to give God the chance to teach and guide us and it also gives us the chance to listen.
Jesus was asked for His wisdom regarding which commandment was the greatest, and His answer told us to love God with your whole heart and then love your neighbour as yourself. This shows that love must underpin every element of the law. We need a wholehearted love for God, for without it
how can we understand His commandments.
The ultimate truth is God is love. Christians, His people, are to reveal this truth by living out His love in the church and world community. If we
decide to own the words of our Parish Text, we declare we want to live life in line with God’s word and we ask God to teach us to love. Without love life is empty and meaningless. We need to be taught about AGAPE love. This type of love is Jesus-love, sacrificial love, it will drive out evil,
challenge sin, forgive sin and heal broken lives. Love is the key.
“Joy is love singing. Peace is love resting. Long-suffering is love enduring. Kindness is love’s touch. Goodness is love’s character. Faithfulness is love’s habit. Gentleness is love’s self-forgetfulness. Self-control is love holding the reins.”
Christians are to love and be instruments of God’s love. This won’t always be easy and may hurt sometimes. We need to be brave enough to allow God to teach us His way of loving; to see into the heart and ignore the external, as God does with us. John read a poem that encapsulates this idea. It is about an old woman who knows her nurse just sees her as an old body to feed and clean. The nurse doesn’t see her - a child from a loving family, a young bride whose heart still leaps as she remembers her vows, a mother, a grandmother and a widow who remembers all the joy and pain of her life.
John ended by reminding us that if we freely allow God access to our life we will receive a richness to our life that we can never know following the world’s way. But we must allow God to guide our life by the truth of His word, to teach us to love His way and use us to reveal His love to the world.
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“For you are God my Saviour.”
John began the last sermon by reiterating that our Parish Text, taken from Psalm 25, is a cry from David to know God’s way for life, to be taught how to live life to the full, directed by God’s word, truth and love. This sermon guides us towards God.
“ For you are my God, my Saviour and my hope is in you all day long.”
David’s life story can be read in 1 and 2 Samuel, and it shows that for 90% of the time his life is God-centred even through difficult times. At other times David is less God-centred and his life becomes a mess with a lot of pain. So David understands from personal experience that God is God.
John then asked us a series of questions -“Who is your God?” “What do you know about Him?” “Where did you get that knowledge?” or do you take God for granted and never give Him a second thought? The bible reveals God as the Eternal Spirit, Infinite Creator, Judge of all the universe, Redeemer of all who put their trust in Him. We learn this truth from the bible and from our own personal experiences. We are no different from David, who had the oral bible of his time and used personal experiences.
As we seek God we discover the God who is God. This is very important as we can’t live in this world without knowing about God who created and runs it. John quoted James Packer:
“The world becomes a strange, mad, painful place, and life with it a disappointing and unpleasant business, for those who do not know God. Disregard the study of God and you sentence yourself to stumble and blunder through life blindfolded, as it were, with no sense of direction and no understanding of what surrounds you. This way you can waste your life and lose your soul.”
God is our Saviour He takes care of those who know Him. It is possible to know a great deal about God and not actually know Him. God can be seen as quite daunting an all powerful and holy judge. But the true nature of God can be seen in Christ - love, compassion, forgiveness, and sacrifice. God wants us to know Him not just know about Him and to do so He was willing to pay an enormous price. To highlight this point John used a story. At a social gathering a famous actor was asked to recite various works including Psalm 23, he agrees to recite this as long as an old preacher who is present does the same. The actor receives lengthy applause for his dramatic rendition. The preacher then recites it and the whole audience is visibly moved.;
“When someone asked the actor what made the difference, he replied
'I know the psalm, but he knows the shepherd.' ”
Our God is out in front safely leading us, He is in all our tomorrows. In verse 5 David says “My hope is in you all day long.” The biblical ‘hope’ refers to something that will take place, so if we keep following God to where He leads us we will have a safe and secure future. John spoke of Eric Barker, a British missionary who during World War II was preaching in Portugal. When the situation became dangerous he was advised to send his family back home to England;
“On the Lord’s Day following their departure, Pastor Barker stood
before his congregation and said “I’ve just received word that all my family
have arrived safely home!” He then proceeded with the service as usual. Later, the full meaning of his words became known to his people. He had been handed a wire just before the meeting informing him that a submarine had torpedoed the ship, and everyone on board had been drowned. He knew that because all his family were believers they had reached a more ‘desired haven’. Although overwhelmed with grief, he managed by the grace of God to live above the circumstances and to stay on the firing line for
Jesus.”
It is this hope that supplies us with strength and courage to live our life to
the fullness of our calling.
John ended this series of sermons with the following questions for us to think about;
Do you know God personally?
Is Jesus your Saviour?
Is your hope in heaven?
These sermons about the Parish Text are well worth reading in their entirety. Please
contact John if you would like a copy or if you wish to talk about any of the issues he has raised.
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Thursday 20th of November 2008
