Following a lesson on preaching one of our group asked the lecturer how many points a sermon should have. Not rising to the bait the lecturer replied, half out of the door, “Try to have at least one!” This is what this sermon today has – one point. If you make this one point your own I guarantee that you will be blessed and I’ll start off with the point at the very beginning – no hidden or clever bits, just a very simple truth which if you can make your own will change your life: doing the word of God is the root of all blessing.
If there was one thing that could help make everything else in your life work you’d be a complete idiot to refrain from doing it, wouldn’t you? Well, this is it, and having identified it, you’d be a fool to ignore it. Sadly though, people do ignore it for a number of reasons, they don't do what God wants us to do but get tangled up with other stuff - distractions and dissipations.
They’re too busy, they’re too distracted by family or work or because of [insert your particular busyness]. There’s so much out there that stops us from concentrating on what is important and when we let these things pile up we lose sight of the main task before us. I have forgotten how many times have I been to MacDonald’s and driven away with the wrong stuff. It has happened lots and I bet I’m not alone. Let's ask Cassie, after all - she works there!
They’re so manic in there, especially as they serve two people at the same time, that the order gets lost in the frenzy. This is exactly what happens to this ONE main task. We let other things help us to take our eyes off of it and Christianity is no different.
I have spent much of my Christian life telling people that all God wants is for His people to sit on their backsides and just love Him. Nothing else, not taking on loads of jobs, not fulfilling the needs of the fellowship, not being a good this, that or the other. Look at Mary and Martha, Lazarus’ sisters in Luke 10: 38 – 42:
“As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"
If there was one thing that could help make everything else in your life work you’d be a complete idiot to refrain from doing it, wouldn’t you? Well, this is it, and having identified it, you’d be a fool to ignore it. Sadly though, people do ignore it for a number of reasons, they don't do what God wants us to do but get tangled up with other stuff - distractions and dissipations.
They’re too busy, they’re too distracted by family or work or because of [insert your particular busyness]. There’s so much out there that stops us from concentrating on what is important and when we let these things pile up we lose sight of the main task before us. I have forgotten how many times have I been to MacDonald’s and driven away with the wrong stuff. It has happened lots and I bet I’m not alone. Let's ask Cassie, after all - she works there!
They’re so manic in there, especially as they serve two people at the same time, that the order gets lost in the frenzy. This is exactly what happens to this ONE main task. We let other things help us to take our eyes off of it and Christianity is no different.
I have spent much of my Christian life telling people that all God wants is for His people to sit on their backsides and just love Him. Nothing else, not taking on loads of jobs, not fulfilling the needs of the fellowship, not being a good this, that or the other. Look at Mary and Martha, Lazarus’ sisters in Luke 10: 38 – 42:
“As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"
"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."
It’s just so easy to get in there and do the things that ‘need’ to be done and yet, as Martha found, the best thing was to be with the Boss, like Mary had chosen, not in the kitchen as she had done! But this does not mean that we can just ignore the tasks that need doing, we don’t have that luxury but if there was just the one thing. The same question that we find in Matthew 19: 16 – 21 when a rich young man comes to Jesus and asks, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?" Notice the emphasis here. What one thing, not things, must I do to get eternal life?
Jesus responds, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.” The young man asks, “Which ones,” to which Jesus basically says, “All of them’. Can you imagine this young man? Being in St Francis of Assisi I often think of our patron saint and his epiphany. He looks at Jesus and say, “Done that – kept them all!” and Jesus tells the young man to go and sell all he has and to put aside all the distractions of possession and being possessed by them and to ‘follow Him!’ One simple instruction, no list of commandments, just one simple act, ‘Follow me’. It’s not about selling stuff – it’s about following Jesus. Living the word of God is the root of all blessing.
Again, if we turn to the book of Revelation (2: 3–5) we find Jesus speaking to the seven churches and to one in particular, the church in Ephesus, He says:
“You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.”
The first love has been forgotten, lost in the distractions of overcoming trials and being tested. So often we’re so keen to be triumphant that we forget whose victory it is. We become so caught up that we work with God and forget to live with, and love, Him. Is this your situation today? Have we lost the one way to the Father that is the Son because we’re distracted? For as Jesus told Thomas (John 14: 6), “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Have you lost the way because of the distractions? There is no other name under heaven by which me must be saved. Salvation comes from and through no other! (Acts 4:12).
It’s just so easy to get in there and do the things that ‘need’ to be done and yet, as Martha found, the best thing was to be with the Boss, like Mary had chosen, not in the kitchen as she had done! But this does not mean that we can just ignore the tasks that need doing, we don’t have that luxury but if there was just the one thing. The same question that we find in Matthew 19: 16 – 21 when a rich young man comes to Jesus and asks, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?" Notice the emphasis here. What one thing, not things, must I do to get eternal life?
Jesus responds, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.” The young man asks, “Which ones,” to which Jesus basically says, “All of them’. Can you imagine this young man? Being in St Francis of Assisi I often think of our patron saint and his epiphany. He looks at Jesus and say, “Done that – kept them all!” and Jesus tells the young man to go and sell all he has and to put aside all the distractions of possession and being possessed by them and to ‘follow Him!’ One simple instruction, no list of commandments, just one simple act, ‘Follow me’. It’s not about selling stuff – it’s about following Jesus. Living the word of God is the root of all blessing.
Again, if we turn to the book of Revelation (2: 3–5) we find Jesus speaking to the seven churches and to one in particular, the church in Ephesus, He says:
“You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.”
The first love has been forgotten, lost in the distractions of overcoming trials and being tested. So often we’re so keen to be triumphant that we forget whose victory it is. We become so caught up that we work with God and forget to live with, and love, Him. Is this your situation today? Have we lost the one way to the Father that is the Son because we’re distracted? For as Jesus told Thomas (John 14: 6), “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Have you lost the way because of the distractions? There is no other name under heaven by which me must be saved. Salvation comes from and through no other! (Acts 4:12).
It is so simple – there is but one name, one person, one act – to spend time with Him, being taken up in Him, doing what He says, Being as much like Him as we can – just one simple thing. He answers all the questions of life regarding why we’re here, where we’re going, what are we meant to do and more besides. So many questions, yet one answer, Jesus! Where did we come from – read Genesis. Where are we going – Read Revelation. Everything else tells us where we are, what we’re doing and what we should be doing. Simple! But Doing the word of God is the root of all blessing seems to have many facets – so let’s try and put them on the one gem by looking at Matthew 28: 5 – 7:
“The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”
What’s being said here? Jesus has done what he said He would and is going on from here (Jerusalem) to Galilee (about sixty eight miles). So anyway, they do it. (Mathew 28: 16 – 20) They go to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go and when they saw Him, they worshipped him (but some doubted). And Jesus comes to them and says, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
We’ve probably heard the ‘Great Commission’ many, many, many times. But faith comes by hearing but faith without action is empty – it’s the doing that makes it real. To be blessed by God’s Word find the ‘doing’ word – that little verb. Not the don’ts but the do! In the Great Commission there is one verb – one doing word – ‘Make Disciples’. It’s not ‘GO’ but it’s ‘BE’ and as you ‘BE’, you make disciples and teach them but first of all you need to be a disciple yourself! Jesus took people into relationship with Him and made them His disciples. They were in Jesus’ company – following, being with Him, sharing triumphs and failures with Him – He was their constant companion (or pretty much – otherwise how could he come out across the water and stuff). This is the one thing – the one simple rule.
A Christian disciple is someone who follows and learns from the teacher. Learning and putting it into action, examining what has happened and then doing it again – it’s the apprentice model. Read about a topic all you like, but it’s not until you begin to experience and live it that the topic becomes real and you become someone who is it. I met a man who read about guns. He knew the models and all about making the ammunition. He could explain how they went together and what did what and yet he’d never fired a shot in his life. And when he did – he was rubbish at it! But as he tried, failed, discussed the failures and got better – he got better until he was a shooter, not just someone who read about shooting.
This is what a Christian disciple is – someone who not only reads about the ‘stuff’ but does it. Badly at first, but as they progress they get better until people see that they are a disciple. It’s so easy to be an expert who talks about things and a bit more difficult to be an expert who does them.
Every disciple is a believer but not all believers are disciples. I have met people who have raised a hand at an evangelistic meeting and meant it. They wanted to receive Jesus, they wanted to be a Christian and yet that’s where is stopped for them. They believe that Jesus is the Son of God and they have a simple faith but that’s where is stops. They don’t get to a place where they spend time with Jesus – and it’s the being with Him and seeing who He is and what He does that leads us into being disciples. We can show we know Him because we’re just like Him. Being able to answer questions about him is like being my shooting friend – knew everything but never lived it out. But then again, we will because we know that: Doing the word of God is the root of all blessing.
In Matthew chapter 22 Jesus was asked by a lawyer about that elusive ‘One Thing’:
“Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
We’ve probably heard the ‘Great Commission’ many, many, many times. But faith comes by hearing but faith without action is empty – it’s the doing that makes it real. To be blessed by God’s Word find the ‘doing’ word – that little verb. Not the don’ts but the do! In the Great Commission there is one verb – one doing word – ‘Make Disciples’. It’s not ‘GO’ but it’s ‘BE’ and as you ‘BE’, you make disciples and teach them but first of all you need to be a disciple yourself! Jesus took people into relationship with Him and made them His disciples. They were in Jesus’ company – following, being with Him, sharing triumphs and failures with Him – He was their constant companion (or pretty much – otherwise how could he come out across the water and stuff). This is the one thing – the one simple rule.
A Christian disciple is someone who follows and learns from the teacher. Learning and putting it into action, examining what has happened and then doing it again – it’s the apprentice model. Read about a topic all you like, but it’s not until you begin to experience and live it that the topic becomes real and you become someone who is it. I met a man who read about guns. He knew the models and all about making the ammunition. He could explain how they went together and what did what and yet he’d never fired a shot in his life. And when he did – he was rubbish at it! But as he tried, failed, discussed the failures and got better – he got better until he was a shooter, not just someone who read about shooting.
This is what a Christian disciple is – someone who not only reads about the ‘stuff’ but does it. Badly at first, but as they progress they get better until people see that they are a disciple. It’s so easy to be an expert who talks about things and a bit more difficult to be an expert who does them.
Every disciple is a believer but not all believers are disciples. I have met people who have raised a hand at an evangelistic meeting and meant it. They wanted to receive Jesus, they wanted to be a Christian and yet that’s where is stopped for them. They believe that Jesus is the Son of God and they have a simple faith but that’s where is stops. They don’t get to a place where they spend time with Jesus – and it’s the being with Him and seeing who He is and what He does that leads us into being disciples. We can show we know Him because we’re just like Him. Being able to answer questions about him is like being my shooting friend – knew everything but never lived it out. But then again, we will because we know that: Doing the word of God is the root of all blessing.
In Matthew chapter 22 Jesus was asked by a lawyer about that elusive ‘One Thing’:
“Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.
All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
If you get a chance – have a look at the parallel of this in Luke chapter 10: 25 – 37, which goes on to the ‘Good Samaritan’ story:
“On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” He answered: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’”
If you get a chance – have a look at the parallel of this in Luke chapter 10: 25 – 37, which goes on to the ‘Good Samaritan’ story:
“On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” He answered: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’”
“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbour?”
In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he travelled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
“Which of these three do you think was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
We are called to follow Jesus, to love Him, to spend time with Him and to be His disciples. We love the Lord with all our heart, all our souls, all our strength and with all our mind and from out of this we love our neighbours. We are called to share what we have learned, but this means learning it first of course! We have to make disciples of ourselves first before we can make disciples of others. Just one point with many facets to it but the reality is that: Doing and living the word of God is the root of all blessing.
Want something to do? Read Deuteronomy 6:5 (in fact all of the ‘Hear O Israel’ the Shema is worth reading) and then move onto Leviticus 19:18 (read the whole chapter – it’s worth it). Finish up with reading Matthew 28 – not just the Commission, but read it all and start doing that 'one simple thing'.
We are called to follow Jesus, to love Him, to spend time with Him and to be His disciples. We love the Lord with all our heart, all our souls, all our strength and with all our mind and from out of this we love our neighbours. We are called to share what we have learned, but this means learning it first of course! We have to make disciples of ourselves first before we can make disciples of others. Just one point with many facets to it but the reality is that: Doing and living the word of God is the root of all blessing.
Want something to do? Read Deuteronomy 6:5 (in fact all of the ‘Hear O Israel’ the Shema is worth reading) and then move onto Leviticus 19:18 (read the whole chapter – it’s worth it). Finish up with reading Matthew 28 – not just the Commission, but read it all and start doing that 'one simple thing'.
4 comments:
Clearly there is life after baptism. As we grow in the Spirit, we hopefully follow that one simple rule and it shows forth in our lives.
Today's readings show us that after baptism, there might be something more...
Acts 8:14-17
14 Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. 15 The two went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit 16(for as yet the Spirit had not come upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus). 17 Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
Indeedy - there's life and there's love and the more we stay close to Jesus the less examples of being unloving we see in our own lives (hopefully) - think this is where so many of my 'orthodox' and 'liberal' friends get their knickers twisted and their lives skewed!
Two pertinent (I think) quotes from Jonathan Edwards’ The Religious Affections...
"The more a true saint loves God with a gracious love, the more he desires to love him, and the more uneasy is he at his want of love to him; the more he hates sin, the more he desires to hate it, and laments that he has so much remaining love to it; the more he mourns for sin, the more he longs to mourn for sin; the more his heart is broke, the more he desires it should be broke the more he thirsts and longs after God and holiness, the more he longs to long, and breathe out his very soul in longings after God: the kindling and raising of gracious affections is like kindling a flame; the higher it is raised, the more ardent it is; and the more it burns, the more vehemently does it tend and seek to burn."
"Spiritual good is of a satisfying nature; and for that very reason, the soul that tastes, and knows its nature, will thirst after it, and a fullness of it, that it may be satisfied. And the more he experiences, and the more he knows this excellent, unparalleled, exquisite, and satisfying sweetness, the more earnestly will he hunger and thirst for more, until he comes to perfection. And therefore this is the nature of spiritual affections, that the greater they be, the greater the appetite and longing is, after grace and holiness."
Indeed they are pertinent - thank you for your contribution,
V
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