July 2024
Sunday 28th July 2024 - Martin Mowat
1 Peter 3
Readings Acts 2: 14a & 22 - 33, 1 Peter 2: 4- 12
Bear with me a moment while I say something that might sound like I’ve lost it completely, but on Sundays usually wear sober grey socks that go with my grey trousers. I have several pairs and privately I call them my Sunday socks. But can I show you the socks that I’m wearing today?
They don’t match. One is stripey and the other spotty. They each once belonged to a pair, but their matching partners have worn out and been thrown away.
So I wear them on days when I’m doing DIY at home, wearing long trousers, and they won’t be seen. One day, as I was putting them on, I asked myself whether they are “a pair of odd socks”, or rather, “an odd pair of socks”. What do you think ?
Our first reading, which came from the book of Acts, describes Peter addressing the crowd on that first Pentecost Sunday. Some people in that crowd, when they heard the disciples babbling in foreign languages, accused them of being drunk, which wasn’t such a strange idea because Jerusalem was actually packed solid with men celebrating. They were celebrating the ‘Feast of Weeks’, one of the three Jewish festivals that all males were required to travel to Jerusalem to attend.
These people are not drunk, as you suppose, Peter told the crowd. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.”
And then Peter went on to explain to them that none of what had happened in the last few days and weeks had been by chance, nor was what was happening at that very moment, nor what would happen in the days to come.
But for us, two things are worth noticing here:-
· Peter now understood perfectly who Jesus was and what his ministry had been all about
· Peter was taking the lead, as Jesus had said he would, and doing so in a way that was perfectly natural.
It was as leader of the church, therefore, that Peter was later writing his letter to the new Christians who were forming churches in modern-day Turkey. He wanted them to know and understand two things – who they were – and what they were being called to be.
To better understand that, we need to go right back in time, back to the days of Moses in the desert, back to Exodus chapter 20. One day God had spoken to all the Hebrews, all at once, and verbally pronounced to them the ten commandments, but they were so terrified by their experience that they said to Moses, ‘You speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not let God speak to us or we will die.’ So a priesthood was formed to act as sort intermediaries between God and his people.
Peter, now, was telling these new Christians, that all that had changed.
As you come to Jesus, Peter says, and remember that he’s talking to us too, As you come to him, the living Stone – rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him – you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
· living stones,
· a spiritual house,
· a holy priesthood,
· offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God
“Like living stones” he tells them, and I’m sure you’ve all heard messages on what that means, that the church of Christ is not so much a collection of physical buildings, as one spiritual one, made up of the living beings that comprise it, and that includes you and me.
But what he also says is WHY that is so. It’s because we are called, chosen in fact, TO BE A HOLY PRIESTHOOD. A couple of verses later he calls us a ROYAL PRIESTHOOD. In other words, we are all, believe it or not, and whether you feel like it or not, in God’s order of things, kings and priests.
Even today some people have been taught that a priest is a go-between between God and man, just like they were in those Old Testament times. But Peter is saying that the very opposite is true. We are all priests, we all have direct access to God, something that was so dramatically illustrated to them when the veil in the temple, a thick curtain that divided off an area called the Holy of Holies, that only the High Priest was allowed to enter, and even then, only at certain times, that that curtain was torn in half at the very moment that Jesus breathed his last breath, giving us that priestly access too.
As priests we do several things. We represent God to others and we lead by example. We are his “image-bearers”. It’s a fearsome responsibility and we’ve all heard sad stories of priests and church leaders in different denominations, and in different countries, who have failed in that respect, using their position, or rather abusing their position, to abuse others.
Let’s not dwell on that this morning, except just to say that when people know that we’re Christians, and when we behave inappropriately, and when we compromise on our principles, the whole church is put in a bad light.
Which brings me straight to the spiritual sacrifices that Peter says we priests are to offer to God. Here are four of the most important - obedience, financial giving, proclaiming the gospel, and praise.
1 - Obedience. Paul said in Romans 12:1 "Offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God -- this is your spiritual act of worship"
It has been said that the definition of a gentleman is a man who uses a butter knife, even when he’s eating on his own. In Matthew 6 Jesus said that true obedience is doing right, even when no one is looking. “Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, he said, will reward you.
2 - Financial Gifts. O dear, that is a prickly subject isn’t it? Many Christians see this as something entirely personal, which indeed it is, but also something to be avoided from the pulpit, which emphatically it is not.
"I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, said Paul to the Philippians. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God"
Said the writer of Hebrews, "And do not forget to … share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.".
I don’t want to get side-tracked, but this IS something we need to look at, at some point, and to understand better. Suffice it to say today that giving should be a spiritual sacrifice, with the emphasis on the word sacrifice. You’ve heard, I’m sure, the story of the widow’s mite.
3 - Proclaiming the Gospel. Again, let’s refer to what Paul said in Romans, a book that is just jam-packed with biblical teaching. He said that we are called "to be ministers of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles with the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit" (Romans 15:16).
We are not all gifted to be evangelists, I firmly believe that, but we are all called to proclaim the gospel in the way that we are, in the way that we interreact with others, and in the way that we minister to those in need.
And last, but my no means least, Praise. "Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise -- the fruit of lips that confess his name." That was Hebrews again, paraphrasing an Old Testament passage in the book of Hosea, "Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips" That’s the King James version. The NIV and NASV translate it "the fruit of our lips," but the NIV provides an alternate reading that brings out the true meaning: "so we will offer our lips as if they were sacrifices of bulls." The Old Testament priests offered literal offerings; we New Testament priests now offer praise instead.
Psalm 50 says Do I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats? Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the Most High. Those who bring thanksgiving as their sacrifice honour me; to those who go the right way I will show the salvation of God.".
Psalm 69 says I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving. This will please the Lord more than an ox, more than a bull with its horns and hoofs."
So, in conclusion, what have you decided about my socks? Are they “a pair of odd socks” or are they “an odd pair of socks”?
But before you answer too hastily think about this. The crowd that Peter addressed in our first reading came from all over the place, as did the people reading his letter, with very differing backgrounds. They were very similar in some ways, to us here in Mirepoix. So, does that make us “a church of odd people” or “an odd church”?
Of course it all depends on how you define the word “odd”. It can mean all sorts of things - strange, for example, peculiar, weird, funny, bizarre, excentric, unusual, whacky, not divisible by two and of course not matching. The list of synonyms is quite long.
As for us, we’re odd because we’re different, not so much from each other, but more pertinently, because we’re believers we’re different from non-Christians. We come from a different place, we’re going to a different place, we believe differently, we think differently and we behave differently. We’re exiles, we’re strangers in the world, I said all this last time.
So, forget my socks, the more important question by far is “are we a church of odd people’, or are we ‘an odd church’?”
Both, I hope.
Sunday 21st July 2024 - Sue Beddows
Sing – All to Jesus I surrender
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SW8EA7DEQ2M
Readings:
Micah 6:6-8
With what shall I come before the Lord
and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly[a] with your God.
Isaiah 40:28-31
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
29 He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
31 but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
As part of my preparation for this morning I watched a video about the life of Eric Liddell. His story was told by the boys he was at school with, Eric’s nieces, Sally Magnusson – author of the flying Scotsman, Eric’s daughters, Patricia and Heather, Erics colleague at the Mission station in China, where he had lived as a child, some of his room mates and those he converted to Christianity in the prison camp. There was so much about his life to be shared but I’ve tried to limit it to the key points!
Let us pray
Come Holy Spirit and open our eyes, open our ears and our hearts to hear the message that you have, for each one of us, through this story of the faith of Eric Liddell.
Amen.
If you weren’t able to join us at the cinema last night to watch the 1981 film Chariots of Fire - it tells the story of two champions who went down in sporting history at the Olympic Games in Paris in1924: Abrahams, an Englishman studying at Cambridge University, and Liddell, studying at Edinburgh University, a devout Christian from Scotland, who was born in China and who’s parents were Christian Missionaries working with the London Mission Society.
The winning of the medals at the Olympic games didn’t leave Eric Liddell craving the glory and the limelight. He resisted the fame and the guarantees of wealth that came afterwards – his future was always destined to be in China where he was born.
The call and mission of Eric Liddell was surrender. Surrender of talent, surrender of the future, surrender of influence, and surrender of life. My focus is just how much Eric Liddell did, in fact, surrender! He understood that God had made him fast and wanted to use that ability to its full potential. However, he had a long-standing conviction: Sunday is for the Lord, and in 1924, this conviction was tested. As we saw in the film Eric positively refused to run on Sundays. Because of his speed, the UK had counted on him running and winning that Gold medal. The pressure was immense among his friends, fellow athletes, and even political leaders. Liddell refused to yield. He chose instead to run the 400-meter race. On the Sundays he’d declined to race, Liddell was preaching in a local church. On the day of the 400-meter race, Liddell received a note from one of the coaches: ‘Him that honors me, I will honor’ [ 1 Samuel 2:30] Wishing you the best of success always.“
Indeed, God did honor his conviction! Not only did Eric win the 400-meter race, but he decimated the world record of that day! Liddell surrendered amazing opportunities to the wisdom of God, and God blessed him in greater ways.
By taking the decision not to run on a Sunday, he made a stand before the whole world but it’s his life race which began and ended in China that he is so admired for – it’s the story of a man who won far more than Olympic gold he won the love and admiration of people wherever he went.
He was born in China along with his older brother, Rob, and younger sister, Jenny, but at 5 years of age the family returned to Scotland – not far from Loch Lomond for a holiday and as the summer neared its end the Liddell family faced the painful fact of missionary life separation. Many foreign missionaries sent their children to boarding schools for safety and education.
So James and Mary Liddell enrolled their two boys in the ‘school for the sons of missionaries’ just outside of London. The boys were 9 and 7 when their parents and their sister returned to China – FIRST major SEPARATION. Mum promised to write to them every week and as promised, a letter came to each of them from their mother but it was almost 5 years before they saw each other again – that’s a long time to be apart in a youngsters life! They wrote to her that the school was a wonderful atmosphere in which to grow up “when we got there in the morning the first thing we had was morning prayers we had that every morning with the whole school assembled. I don't remember us ever singing hymns but we certainly had a bible reading and a prayer, it was a very religious atmosphere” and yet there was an enormous amount of fun we had an enormous amount of fun there.
In 1914 the family returned from China so that mum Mary could undergo surgery for gallstones - Rob and Eric enjoyed this reunion with their parents and their sister Jenny and they also met two-year-old Ernest, the new brother whom they had never seen.
In 1916 eric entered the university of Edinburgh to pursue a degree in pure science and during Eric's first year a friend persuaded him to enter a race at the university's annual sports day. So, against the University's best sprinter, Eric took first in the 100-yard dash. A few weeks later a Glasgow newspaper declared that Eric was certain to become a British champion and said he might even blossom into an Olympic hero. Eric went on to play for Scotland in seven international rugby matches but he faithfully continued to attend Morningside Congregational Church and helped to lead a young people's group there. He was a very quiet Christian - a young man of high principles who lived his faith but rarely spoke about it to others. Eric was a real celebrity in Scotland - his name and photograph appeared regularly in the newspapers. However, Eric faced a question that would change the course of his life, and it had nothing to do with the Olympics, it came in the form of a request from a dynamic young man named David Patrick Thompson – or DP as he was fondly known!
He was a minister of the Church of Scotland who followed a vocation in Christian evangelism – he was described as "One of the outstanding leaders of the Church in this generation".[2]
DP was conducting a mission just outside Edinburgh and attendances at his meetings particularly of the men and young men were rather disappointing. So he thought - what could he do to encourage more men to come? He knew Eric's older brother, Rob, and it occurred to DP that Eric Liddle might be the very man to draw young men to a meeting because of his tremendous reputation as an athlete. So he went to Edinburgh to where Eric was studying and asked him if he'd help him. DP said Eric looked down at the floor for a minute or two and then looked up at him and and said simply “yes I will”. The morning after saying ‘yes’ to the invitation, he received a letter from his sister Jenny who was living in a missionary compound in Tientsin, China. She had sent him a passage from Isaiah: 41.10. ‘Fear not, for I am with thee; do not dismay, for I will guide thee’.
Reading and re-reading the quotation convinced Eric that its arrival, over rough lands and rougher seas, was more than chance. It had come into his hands when he most needed reassurance. For Liddell, the timing was proof that divine inspiration was shaping his path. He believed God had spoken to him. So he went with DP and spoke at a fairly small meeting but the following morning the news was all over the press in Scotland that Eric Liddell the famous student athlete was one of the members of the team and would be speaking that night. From then on, of course as DP had anticipated and hoped, attendance multiplied because of Erics influence. Eric was not a gifted public speaker and he knew that better than anyone, he was by nature a very shy private person. So for him to come to a coal mining town and speak to a group of men who had little interest in the Christian faith took a great deal of courage - for Eric it was a life-changing experience.
So after he had run his Olympic races, all of Scotland welcomed Eric home as a hero. At his university graduation he received a standing ovation and then his classmates carried him through the streets of Edinburgh. Luncheons and dinners followed in his honor - Eric Liddell Olympic champion, national hero was 22 years old and for the next year Eric continued to run in amateur athletic contests but his life had a different focus - he was headed for China as a missionary teacher.
Eric left for China in July 1925 to teach in a school for boys. He had no idea that his most challenging race lay just ahead nor did he know, at the age of 23, that his life was more than half gone.
Eric lived in the top room in the little home in Chensin with his parents. For his mother, it was a dream come true after two decades of almost constant separation from her sons Eric was living at home and he set to work teaching Chemistry and developing the College sports program and above all sharing the gospel.
Eric was 27 when he met the girl he loved and eventually married! A month after he met Florence, she left China for Toronto to enter a three-year program of nurses training. Flo's father thought the world of Eric but he was a practical man and insisted that she complete her training before she married – so the SECOND major separation in Erics life – now from his future wife.
BUT! They married three years later and hundreds of friends shared in the celebration.
The London Missionary Society asked Eric to move into evangelism work in July 1937 and so he spent 18 months travelling all over the countryside as an evangelist to the villages where he helped the people of China so much and he influenced many people with his faith.
In 1940 the Japanese ordered the missionaries to leave - so once again Eric struggled with a critical decision. Face the dangers in China together or send Flo and the children to safety in Canada. It was getting so uncertain in China and she had two small children - expecting a third – his thinking was that he could do his work better if he knew that they were safe in Canada and they would only have to wait two years at the most. So Eric accompanied Florence, his daughters Patricia and Heather to see them safely aboard the ship for home - the last time he would ever see them. The THIRD major but final SEPARATION.
In September 1941, Eric received the long-awaited word that his third daughter Maureen had been born in Toronto. He cabled back - wonderful news love Eric.
The Japanese army began tightening the restrictions on the foreign residents in north China and Eric and his colleagues were kept from all contact with the Chinese people – so their missionary work of teaching and preaching stopped. Then it was announced that all enemy nationals in north China would be moved to civilian assembly centers - a polite name for prison camps. For Eric the final chapter of his life would be written with fifteen hundred other people in a place called Weishan.
In one of the two books he wrote titled “Christian discipleship for Chinese believers”, Eric wrote:
Victory over all the circumstances of life comes not by might nor by power but by a practical confidence in God and by allowing his Spirit to dwell in our hearts and control our actions and emotions – Zechariah 46.
Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit says the Lord and he included this prayer
Father, I pray that no circumstances, however bitter or however long drawn out, may cause me to break Thy law. The law of love to Thee and to my neighbour that I may not become resentful, have hurt feelings, hate or become embittered by life's experiences. But that in, and through all, I may see Thy guiding hand and have a heart full of gratitude for Thy daily mercy, daily love, daily power and daily presence. Help me in the day when I need it most, to remember that all things work together for good to them that love the Lord. I can do all things through Him that strengthens me. My grace is sufficient for Thee for my strength is made perfect in weakness.
When Eric and over fifteen hundred other people entered Weishan camp in March 1943, full of uncertainty and fear, no one knew how the Japanese would treat them, how long they would be imprisoned or who would win the war.
When Eric entered this camp he had been separated from Florence and the girls for almost two years – the amount of time they thought it would take before he came home to them. Communication was being limited to 25 word letters sent through the Red Cross. In April 1943 he wrote to Florence - simple hardy life under primitive conditions living with Josh and Bear in small room, good fellowship, good games, teaching in school, food sufficient, boundless love, Eric.
Patricia and Heather, his two eldest daughters, in the video shared how life with their mother was.
“Mother was just totally there for us - she was always there. Before we went to bed we always had a set of little songs and she would play on the piano and we would sing. We did a lot of singing, we sang when we did the dishes and we always sang grace in the evening. When we went to bed we'd read a story, we'd say our prayers, we would talk about what the day had been and anything that frightened us. We would talk about daddy and the war – we would say now it's six o'clock here at night - it'll be six o'clock in the morning there and the moon we see tonight, Daddy will see tomorrow night and he will he be saying his prayers for us now at night. We'd say our prayers for him and so he was never far from us. It never crossed her mind that he wouldn't come back because he was incredibly healthy when she saw him last - he was full of energy and she was sure that he would come back”.
March the 27th 1944 eric wrote to Florence- you seem very near today - it is the 10th anniversary of our wedding, happy loving remembrances, we must celebrate it together next year…………
Even in that prison camp Eric continued to organize sporting events for everyone, bible classes that were always very inspiring and encouraged so many people to turn to God.
But then his roommate Joe, noticed that Eric had begun to slow down in his movements, he complained of very severe headaches, it was the beginning of his major problem, a brain tumor. Eric was admitted to hospital and one Sunday afternoon the Salvation Army band were playing outside as they often did and his nurse sent out a message on a piece of paper - Eric Liddell is dying, he would like you to play Finlandia –
Be still my soul the lord is on thy side
bear patiently the cross of grief or pain
Leave to thy god to order and provide
in every change he faithful will remain
Be still my soul thy best thy heavenly friend
through thorny ways leads to a joyful end
Be still my soul the hour is hasting on
when we shall be forever with the lord
When disappointment grief and fear are gone,
sorrow forgot love's purest joys restored
Be still my soul when change and tears are passed
all safe and blessed we shall meet at last
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9olPxaub-I8
A few days later Eric died – just 6 months before everyone was released from the camp.
That verse from 1 Samuel 2 is seen as the motivation for Eric Liddell's life.
Those who honour me I will honour,"' (1 Samuel 2:30)
His goal in life was to honour God.
Eric Liddell’s grave is marked with a memorial headstone inscribed with the last verse of the Isaiah reading we heard earlier.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
Eric Liddell himself wrote:
“If I know something to be true, am I prepared to follow it, even though it is contrary to what I want? …Will I follow if it means being laughed at by friend or foe, or if it means personal financial loss or some kind of hardship?”
Indeed, Eric knew the gospel to be true, and he had surrendered his life to take it to the people of China. Even though he was imprisoned in an internment camp, he ministered daily to those around him and not a day passed that Eric did not spend time reading Scripture and praying.
As he lay dying with that brain tumor, he reminded those attending him to surrender everything to the will of God. While slipping into a coma, he was heard trying to say the word that typified his life – “surrender.”
To Eric, obedience to God was more important than a gold medal. Eric was a runner but he was also a Christian and a preacher and an evangelist.
Eric did his best to practice what he preached, 'You will know as much of God, and only as much of God, as you are willing to put into practice. He lived his Christianity!
Last week Martin shared one of his pet phrases - “the church exists not so much for those who are in it, but for those who are not in it – yet”. We’re not here for us, we’re here for them.
Obviously we’re not all called to be missionaries but we are all called to share our faith, our story of what Jesus is doing in our lives with those who don’t know Him
Two questions to ponder…..
Who was the last person you saw meet Jesus?
What part did you play in their story of Faith?
Lets pray - Prayer
Father God, thank you for the example of Eric Liddell who endured a lifetime of waiting for the things he loved – time with his family, his marriage to Florence, seeing his family again, especially his new youngest child Maureen. He surrendered so much because he believed in You Lord, he lived for You and shared the gospel with so many people in Scotland and China.
All to Jesus I surrender, all to him I freely give
I will ever love and trust him, in his presence daily live
All to Jesus I surrender, Lord I give myself to thee
Let me feel the Holy Spirit, fill me with thy love and power
Help us Lord to have the courage and boldness to share our faith with others, to show Your love to others so that we can know the answers to those two questions!
Lord in your mercy – hear our prayer. Amen.
Just a footnote……….
His legacy survives. At the Canusa (Canada v USA) Games in 2005, between Ontario and Michigan, the same girl won the under-13 - 400, 800 and 1500 metres. "All the grandchildren are good at sport, but Courtney won everything, " says Patricia his daughter.
Courtney is Eric Liddell's great-granddaughter!
Sunday 14th July 2024 - Martin Mowat
1 Peter - 2.
Readings Psalm 33:1-5, 12-15, 20-22 and 1 Peter 1:3-12
Last week we began to look at the apostle Peter’s letter to the new churches that were springing up in what is modern day Turkey. We only looked at the first two verses, so we certainly need to accelerate.
This is a letter that will teach us, not only a lot about what God is like, but what WE are like, and how we need to grow and change in positive ways. If you weren’t here last week, it might be helpful for you to read what I said. You’ll find it posted on the church website.
Although we do need to accelerate, let’s just have another brief look at verse 2, because we rather glossed over it last week. Peter said that he was writing to people “who had been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood.”
Listen! According to Jesus good friend Peter, the man to whom he gave the job of leading his church, YOU have been chosen, deliberately chosen, not accidentally but according to the foreknowledge of God, since before the world began. Not only that, but you are now being progressively sanctified, changed, set apart, declared holy, and consecrated by the Holy Spirit.
Why? Because Jesus Christ himself has commanded that it be so.
Let me say that again. YOU have been deliberately chosen, according to the foreknowledge of God, and now you are now being progressively sanctified, set apart, declared holy, and consecrated by the Holy Spirit.
Why? Because Jesus Christ himself has commanded that it be so.
Notice something else about that verse! What is happening to you involves three other people. God the Father, no less, God the Son, no less, and God the Holy Spirit. The whole of the Trinity, in other words.
That’s 1 Peter 1:2, if you want to look at it again when you get home.
How does that make you feel? A bit special? It should do. Does it also put you on the spot? It should do that too. This letter of Peter’s is totally relevant to us, and we need to take it on board.
So let’s see what else it says. "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! This is verses 3 to 5. In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade -- kept in heaven for you, who, through faith, are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time."
Peter lists for us, highlihts even, a number of things which should give us joy as Christians; great mercy, new birth, a living hope, resurrection from the dead, an imperishable inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade, protection by God's power and, last but by no means least, salvation that will be revealed when Christ returns.
I don’t want to be trivial, but what else could you want for Christmas? Seriously, what else could you possibly want?
Some suffering perhaps? No, none of us want suffering, but all of us in here this morning have personally experienced suffering in one way or another, and surely we will again. That’s life, and it’s not because God want’s it for us, it’s because we have chosen free will, we have chosen to control our own destinies, and it doesn’t work. But that’s another subject.
But the joy that I was talking about at the beginning can and will, through faith, enable us to endure the suffering that inevitably comes our way, and also to be strengthened by it.
Peter, this fisherman who had seen Jesus in the flesh, and the believers he preached to, who had not, found a joy beyond themselves, a joy that they experienced even when everything wasn't going well, even when they were being persecuted so badly that they chose to leave their country. "Though you have not seen him, Peter said to them, and says to us too, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls" (1:8-9).
According to the NIV Peter calls this joy "inexpressible", the King James says "unspeakable", and the New Revised Standard Version says "indescribable", in other words it’s a joy so profound, so great, so all-encompassing, as to be beyond the power of words to express.
Peter also refers to this joy as "glorious" or "full of glory", using a word that is used throughout the Bible to describe the weightiness of God, the bright shining radiance of God's very presence.
That is the joy that Peter says we Christians can have.
This isn't emotionalism, something artificially worked up by oneself or by a skillful preacher, but something prompted by a faith-vision of God himself, because, Peter says: "you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls"
As a very brief side-note, did you notice that Peter mentions salvation as something that has happened to us, that is currently happening to us, and that will happen to us in the future? Hmmmm! I leave that with you to think about later.
Therefore, he then goes on to say with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 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.’”
And that, as you know as well as I do, is easier said than done.
Often that’s because we try to do it in our own strength, but Peter gives us some practical advice.
“Live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear.” Do you remember that we touched on this idea of being exiles or strangers last week? “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.
…. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, he says, quoting from Isaiah 40, ‘All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord (his glory) endures for ever.’”
“And this, is the word that was preached to you. Therefore,” he concludes as we move into chapter 2, “rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.”
There’s a word that Peter’s using a lot, isn’t there? The word “salvation”. Perhaps that’s not surprising, seeing that he was writing to new churches and encouraging them to spread the word.
But isn’t salvation the heart of the Christian message? Not only should we be excited about our own salvation, but that of others too, by which I mean others who are saved, and others who aren’t yet saved, but will be.
In Psalm 51, which Lectio 365 quoted this morning, David asks God ‘Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.’ If that sounds familiar we use the same phrase in our prayer of confession every week. That’s our prayer too.
I’ll close by saying that excitement is contageous, and therefore, so is the lack of it. If we’re not excited, we can’t expect others to be excited.
One of my pet phrases is that “the church exists not so much for those who are in it, but for those who are not in it – yet”. We’re not here for us, we’re here for them. You may have heard me say that before, and you almost certainly will again.
So, if Peter was encouraging the new churches to spread the news about salvation, he’s encouraging US to do that too, and by pure coincidence, this week is an ideal week to share some of our excitement as we invite our friends and neighbours to Charriots of Fire on Saturday.
Sunday 7th July 2024 - Martin Mowat
1 Peter - 1.
Readings Matthew 16:13-20 and 1 Peter 1:1-9
Although it’s not universally agreed, it’s fairly safe for us to assume that the epistle that Tess started reading to us just then were indeed penned by the Apostle Peter.
So, this morning we’re going to look at who he was, what sort of person he was, and who his audience was, and then we’ll look at how he addressed them in those first few verses.
Peter’s real name was Simon. He and his brother Andrew were a fishermen by trade working on the sea of Galilee and I imagine that they earned quite a good living.
They were the first two to become disciples of Jesus. Attracted by his charisma, his love, and his message, they left their boats, their nets, and their business. And as we heard in our first lesson Peter was the first one to recognise and declare that Jesus was indeed the promised and eagerly awaited Messiah, God’s chosen King prophesised in their scriptures.
This was obviously quite a significant event for the disciples because it’s recorded in all 3 of the synoptic gospels. For Peter himself, it certainly was a significant event because it was at that moment that Jesus changed his name from Simon to Cephas, meaning rock, hence Peter in English, like ‘Pière’ in French.
What kind of person was he? Occasionally he was perhaps somewhat competitive. There was, for instance, the occasion at the last supper when the disciples were arguing about which of them would be most important when Jesus was no longer with them.
‘Simon, Simon, Jesus said to them, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.’ Jesus was of course subtly foretelling Peter’s denial, more about that in a second, but he was also answering the argument. “When you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” It was to be Peter who would become the leader.
In John 18:10 he is pictured as being fiery and impetuous because it was Peter who drew his sword when they came to arrest Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.
But generally we see him as gentle but firm and capable of great loyalty and love.
John described that conversation at the supper table this way, “When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?’ ‘Yes, Lord,’ he said, ‘you know that I love you.’ Jesus said, ‘Feed my lambs.’
Again Jesus said, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ He answered, ‘Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.’ Jesus said, ‘Take care of my sheep.’
The third time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ He said, ‘Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said, ‘Feed my sheep.” (John 21:15–17).
Three times Jesus asked him that question because only hours later Peter would deny, three times, that he was a disciple. If we’re honest we probably would have done that too. What a normal human being Peter was!
But amazingly, by saying what he said to Peter about feeding his sheep, Jesus was already forgiving him, even before the event. Peter was a man who experienced, first hand, the grace of God!
After Pentecost, he did indeed become the leader of the apostles, and an excellent one he was too. Among other things he travelled through Palestine and Asia Minor where he worked multiple miracles and converted many followers.
Tradition has it that he ended his days crucified in the year 64 AD when Nero instigated a gruesome persecution of Christians, trying, unjustly, to blame them for the Great Fire that destroyed the Circus Maximus. Peter, famously, asked to be crucified upside down because he felt he was unworthy to be crucified in a manner similar to Jesus. This alone tells us a lot about the sort of person that he was.
He also wrote at least two letters which we’re going to study together over the next few weeks, First Peter, focuses on the importance of believers bearing up under unjust suffering yet continuing to live in the way that Jesus laid out for all his followers.
It was written about the year 60 AD, so about 30 years after Jesus has been crucified and resurrected, when Peter was in Rome establishing the church there. That in itself would have been no mean feat.
So who was Peter writing to?
To God’s elect, exiles, scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, which were Roman provinces in what is now modern-day Turkey. This is an area that Paul had evangelized on several of his missionary journeys, so Peter was adressing churches founded by Paul, or that sprang up following those evangelistic visits.
But notice the three adjectives he uses to describe them, “elect”, “exiles”, and “scattered”.
After the resurrection, Jewish believers were much persecuted, so many of them moved away from Palestine into the cities of the Roman Empire. This was called the Diaspora which simply means “Dispersion” (a term later used to refer to the Jewish Diaspora). But Peter doesn't seem to be referring here just to Jewish Christians, but to all Christians, the elect, - as he says in the next verse "who have been chosen for obedience to Jesus Christ", and who had been scattered throughout the Roman empire. James used a similar greeting at the beginning of his epistle.
The adjective that is most interesting, though, is “exiles”, translated in some Bible versions as “strangers”. The Greek adjective means, "people staying for a while in a strange or foreign place, sojourning, residing temporarily”.
They were exiles and strangers, as indeed we are, in the sense that we are motivated and governed by different rules and principles. Jesus said “I am not of this world”, so in a sense neither are we, his chosen followers. We are residing temporarily. Paul described us as “called out ones”. He told the Philippians that “our citizenship is in heaven” and that’s what Peter is saying here.
He then goes on to say that they “have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood”. The word that we might use today, to say the same thing, is “saved”, but when we compare that one small word with what Peter just said, we can see that “saved” is a huge understatement. We’re going to be looking at that in more detail next week.
But the point that we need to take on board today is that WE TOO are exiles or strangers. Strangers in the way that we worship. Strangers in the way that we think. Strangers in the way that we behave. Strangers in the way that we relate to each other. Strangers in the way that we relate to others and share with them the good news. I could go on and on, but that’s why other people find us difficult to relate to.
And then, finally, Peter says “Grace and peace be yours in abundance.” What a beautiful way to start a letter.
So those are just the first two verses of a letter which will teach us, not only a lot about what God is like, but how to grow and change in positive ways. Here are some of the main themes:-
· Appreciating our salvation - rather than taking it for granted
· Learning obedience and submission - even though it's tough
· Practicing holiness - without developing a sanctimonious smirk
· Living in the world - without being tainted by it
· Emulating Christ's sacrificial lifestyle - so that it becomes our own
· Growing through our sufferings - rather than being defeated by them
· Being faithful in our relationships
· Grasping our true identity as God's people
· Preparing for judgment - without being driven by fear
· Developing the character of leaders of which God can be proud