Sermon: Luke 19: 28-44 The Coming King

Knock knock. - who’s there? Cows go - cows go who?
No, cows go ‘moo’.

Knock knock - who’s there? Little old lady - little old lady who? I didn’t know you could yodel!

Knock knock - who’s there? Etch - etch who? Bless you!

Knock knock - who’s there? Boo - boo who? There’s no need to cry, it’s just a joke!

I love a good knock knock joke - maybe if you have a good one (better than mine) you can tell me after the service. But the idea behind a knock knock joke is really simple. Someone is arriving at the door. The person inside asks ‘Who’s there?’ Then the person tells them who it is.

Someone arrives, people ask who’s there: who is it, the person tells them.

Our Bible reading today is a bit like a knock knock joke. Someone is arriving, people are wondering who it is, and then he tells them. Only, there isn’t a door the person is arriving at - it’s a city, the city of Jerusalem. So who are they? ‘Who’s there?’

The person is Jesus, but in the story we’re told three things about Jesus - who Jesus is, who’s there, at the entrance to the city.

Now, today is Palm Sunday, the day that Jesus arrived in Jerusalem before his death on the cross on Good Friday, this coming Friday. And if you know how Family Fortunes works, what would be the top answers for things linked to Palm Sunday?

You might expect palm leaves to be high on the list. (Luke doesn’t mention them - like something that happens, different people remember different things, and Luke’s witnesses don’t mention the palms that John mentions). Definitely high on the list would be the animal - the donkey, or in the word used in the reading, the colt.

We’re told that when Jesus comes near two villages just before Jerusalem, he sends two disciples to go and bring a donkey to him. We’ll see why in a wee moment, but for now, look at what they’re told to say when they are untying the donkey - ‘The Lord needs it.’ Jesus is first of all, the Lord. He’s the one in charge, the ruler of the universe, Lord of all. Yet he needs a donkey.

When the donkey is brought to him, Jesus gets on it. Some have put their cloaks (coats) on the donkey for him to sit on, others put their cloaks on the road, like a red carpet when the Queen arrives.

So they move along the road, until they come to the Mount of Olives. The road goes down the valley, and rising in front is the city of Jerusalem. The disciples ‘began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen.’ They had seen the blind man given his sight; lepers cleansed; lame men walking; deaf men hearing; even the dead raised to life. They sing and shout. And look at what they say:

‘Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!’ They’re answering the knock knock by saying that Jesus is the king, who comes in the name of the Lord, on God’s behalf. That’s why Jesus was riding on the donkey. He was acting out the promise of Zechariah 9:9; he was saying that he was the true king of Israel, coming in peace.

Now some in the crowd didn’t like what the disciples were singing. They thought that the disciples were wrong to call Jesus king. They didn’t see Jesus as Lord or king, they just saw him as a Teacher. They say: ‘Teacher, rebuke your disciples!’ Tell your class to be quiet! Tell them to stop saying these silly things!

But do you see what Jesus says? ‘I tell you, if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.’ Jesus says the very stones would shout out if the disciples were silent. Have you ever heard a stone shouting? Me neither. But Jesus says that if everyone was silent, if everyone stopped singing God’s praise, then the stones would cry out.

Now why is that? Why would the stones shout out? Remember what we’ve seen so far? Jesus is the Lord; Jesus is the king. But Jesus is more than both of those.

As Jesus rides along, you’d think he would be happy. He has a big crowd of people cheering him along, singing praise to God. He is coming as the true king, and Lord. Surely this is a happy moment. But look at verse 41. Jesus is crying, weeping. He’s sad. He sees the city, and he bursts into tears.

Why is this? Well, Jesus knows what is about to happen. He knows that even though everyone is cheering for him today, welcoming him as king, in just a few days everyone will turn against him. They’ll not cry out ‘hosanna’ any more. Instead, they’ll cry ‘crucify.’ They’ll want to get rid of Jesus.

Jesus is coming to bring peace, and if they accepted him, they would have peace. But instead they reject him. They don’t want to know him. And in the end, that will lead to trouble. The city will fall, enemies coming against it, the whole thing destroyed.

Why will this happen? Look at v44. ‘They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognise the time of God’s coming to you.’

Do you see what Jesus is saying here? He has said he is the Lord, he is the king, but now he is saying that he is... God. Jesus isn’t just a Teacher, as the Pharisees thought. Jesus isn’t just a good man, as some people think.

Knock knock - who’s there? Jesus, the Lord. Jesus, the King. Jesus, who is God. Jesus knocked on the door of Jerusalem, but they didn’t want him. They put him to death. They got rid of him.

Jesus comes to us as well, to this church, to our homes, to us as individuals. He knocks on the door of our hearts. Will we reject him, like Jerusalem, and want nothing to do with him?

Or will we welcome him in? Will we sing his praise? Do what he asks us? And receive the peace that only he can give, because he came, to live for us, and die for us.

Knock knock. Who’s there? Lord, King, God. Will you open the door and let him in?

This sermon was preached at the Church Family Service in Aghavea Parish Church on Palm Sunday 20th March 2016.

Sermon: Job 38-41 Out of the Storm - Job's Confrontation

Have you ever wished that God would speak to you? In our church prayer diary, it’s something that we regularly pray for - that God would speak to us, as we gather around his word. Hopefully it’s what you pray as you sit down to read your Bible at home as well, recognising that this isn’t like any other book you might sit and read; that this is God’s word; that God will speak to you as you read it.

But I wonder if you’ve ever wished that God would speak to you, audibly, clearly, and directly. Wouldn’t it make things so much easier, you’re trying to make a difficult decision, and a voice from heaven tells you who to marry, or what job to take, or which car to buy. Or perhaps you want God to speak to you, to explain himself for what he’s doing in the world, or in your life. To hear why you’ve gone through such a difficult time recently; why this happened or that didn’t happen. A word directly from God, that’s what you’d want, and everything would be better, or at least more bearable?

That’s what Job thought, and what Job wanted. Throughout his conversation with his comforters, Job has maintained his innocence, and repeatedly expressed his desire to confront God. He wishes there was some way of having his day in court; of charging God with unfairness; of appealing his innocence, and receiving vindication. And when you remember Job’s story, you might think he’s justified.

Job was a wealthy man, the greatest man in the East. Camels, livestock, you name it, he had it. But suddenly, like a number of dominos falling, disaster struck. His livestock were killed or captured. His ten children all perished. And as if all that wasn’t enough, he then suffered ill health. Sore sores all over his body. Job maintained his innocence, but his three so-called friends knew there must be some secret sin from which he needed to repent. So the conversation goes back and forward between Job and his three friends. Eventually in chapter 31, Job finishes his plea, and then a younger man, called Elihu speaks up (ch 32-37). But we didn’t look at him, because he doesn’t really add anything new, and he’s ignored in the rest of the book.

In chapter 38, Job gets his wish. ‘Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said: Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me.’ God is speaking to him, directly, but it’s not quite what he expected. You see, Job thought that he would get answers to his questions; but instead, God has some questions for Job. It’s as if Job wanted to get God onto the TV programme Question Time, to get answers from him; and Job finds himself on Mastermind - with a ‘pass’ for every question he’s asked.

Now, sometimes when I’m asked why it’s raining or cold, I joke that I’m in sales, not management; I’m representing the Lord in the world, not running the whole world. But that’s what’s going on here. Job thinks that he would do a better job of running the world; he thinks he would be fairer, would be better at being God than God, so God asks a few simple questions about how the world works.

‘Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.’ (38:4). ‘Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place?’ (38:12). ‘Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or have you seen the storehouses of the hail?’ (38:22). God even gets a little bit sarcastic in verse 22: ‘You know, for you were born then, and the number of your days is great!’

God then goes into specifics of the management of his creation. He talks about the stars and constellations (Pleiades and Orion - 38:31-33); clouds, rain and lightning (38:34-38), lions, ravens, mountain goats, wild donkeys, wild ox, the ostrich, the horse, the hawk and eagle (38:39-39:30). It’s like an entire series of David Attenborough programmes, and even then, you wouldn’t have the insight God wonders if Job has.

Question after question. Pass after pass. The Christian author JB Phillips once wrote a book ‘Your God is Too Small.’ Even five minutes with these questions helps us see the almightiness of God, how big, powerful, and wise God is. God increases in size, and we are aware of how small, powerless and insignificant we are in God’s great universe. That’s the conclusion Job comes to at the start of chapter 40. ‘Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? He who argues with God, let him answer it.’ ‘Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth. I have spoken once, and I will not answer; twice, but I will proceed no further.’

You’d think Job has learnt his lesson, but God knows he hasn’t. And so, ding ding, round two. Here, the issue at stake isn’t who rules; but who saves. Is Job able to save himself? (40:14) God gives two case studies; two examples of mighty, fearsome beasts, and the simple question is this: could you save yourself from them? Could you control them?

The two beasts are the Behemoth and the Leviathan. Behemoth on the land, and Leviathan in the sea. Now, the commentators are divided about what exactly is being talked about here. Behemoth sounds a bit like a rhino, or a mammoth; some think it might be a dinosaur. Whatever it is, though, the description is fearsome - but look what God says about it: ‘Behold Behomoth, which I made as I made you.’ God made it; God has control of it. ‘Can one take him by the eyes, or pierce his nose with a snare?’ (40:24). Not likely!

And then we come to Leviathan. Again, we’re not sure - it sounds like a crocodile, with its rows of shields on its back; its power, its terror. And look at the questions about it (41:1-8). Will you put him on a leash for your girls to walk? Will you make him your servant? Now, if that’s a crocodile, then the answers are no, no no! But there’s a fair chance that the Leviathan is even more terrifying than a crocodile - that this may well be the devil being described (because of other references to Leviathan in and outside Job). Either way, God is saying that he is powerful; that he has the devil on a leash; that God is in control. The devil may be hostile; may be fearsome, but God has him on a leash. Your God is too small? Hopefully not after all those questions.

So Job did have God speaking to him directly. But it wasn’t at all what he expected. Rather than receiving any explanations or any answers, God only had questions for him. Questions which showed Job just how small he is; how much he doesn’t know; and therefore how little he really would understand the workings of the universe. God didn’t even say, here’s what’s been happening, just a wee chat between the devil and me.

Perhaps you’re still wanting to have God speak to you; to explain to you what’s going on. What God seems to be saying here is that we may not get the answers we want; we certainly don’t know how the universe works; but that we know the God who does. Can you trust God Almighty, confident that he is indeed Almighty God, and he is in control?

This sermon was preached in the Out of the Storm Lent Midweek series in Aghavea Parish Church on Wednesday 9th March 2016.

Sermon: Job 19: 1-29 Holding on to Hope: Job's Confidence

In so many ways, our funeral service is built on the words that we find in the book of Job. You might have recognised the words from chapter 14 that we heard in our reading. ‘Man who is born of a woman is few of days and full of trouble. He comes out like a flower and withers; he flees like a shadow and continues not.’ (14:1-2). And, when you think of it, those words are entirely appropriate for a funeral service.

They were uttered by a mourner at a wake. Job is sitting on the ash heap, mourning the loss of his ten children (as well as his wealth and his health). They sum up so perfectly what life and death is like in this world. Especially when we gather at a funeral, the words resonate, no matter how long the deceased had survived. Life is short, and hard. Words of pain, words of mourning, words from the mouth of Job.

But they’re not the only words from the mouth of Job which we hear at a funeral. And if those words from chapter 14 are words of realism and mourning, the other words are entirely different in form. They are words of hope, words of confidence, words of faith. It’s not that one set of words trump the other; it’s not that we have to choose one set or the other; but it’s important that we don’t just have words of realism, especially at a funeral. We also need those words of hope.

Even in chapter 13, we heard those remarkable words from the lips of Job: ‘Though he slay me, I will hope in him; yet I will argue my ways to his face.’ So how could Job, enduring such unbelievable suffering, keep holding on to hope? Why was he still hoping in God, even if God slayed him? That’s what we’ll discover as we focus in tonight on chapter 19.

Now, as we’ve already seen in the series, after Job’s lament of chapter 3, Job’s three friends have been taking it in turns to answer him and argue with him. Last week we listened in to their words, their useless, uncomforting, accusing words. Their basic premise was that you get what you deserve, so if Job was suffering so badly, he must have sinned really badly. To have heard that once must have been hard enough, but by chapter 19 he’s heard five of these speeches. And they’re really getting to him. No wonder he bursts out in chapter 19 with: ‘How long will you torment me and break me in pieces with words?’ Who ever said sticks and stones can break my bones but names can never harm me?

What follows in chapter 19 is the full weight of what everyone has been doing to Job. His friends, his God, his family. Let’s look at each briefly in turn. His friends, well they have cast reproach upon him (3). They’ve magnified themselves against him, made themselves look good, bigged themselves up against this terrible man Job and his terrible sins (as they imagine).

The main thrust, is what God has done. That comes from verse 6. God has put me in the wrong, caught me in his net. Job calls for help and against ‘violence’, but there’s no answer, no justice (7). Look how verses 8-13 begin, each with a ‘he’ or ‘his’. All of them God’s acts.

8. Walled up my way - like the Roadrunner cartoons where Wile E Coyote bricks up the tunnel. Darkness on my paths. Job doesn’t know where to turn; he can’t advance. He’s stuck.

9 Stripped from me my glory. Taken the crown from my head. Job’s power and prestige has gone. It’s not so much rags to riches, as riches to rags.
10 Breaks me down on every side. Hope pulled up like a tree. We nearly saw some trees uprooted today in the storm. How serious to have hope, deep rooted hope, pulled up.

11-12 Kindled his wrath against me, counts me as his adversary. Besieged me with his troops. Job is surrounded by this hostile army, no one can get in or out, no one can come near to help.

This leads us from what God has done to what his family has done - He is completely isolated, cut off, estranged. No one wants to know. No one answers his phone. No one texts him. No one writes on his Facebook. Brothers, relatives, close friends, guests, maidservants, wife, siblings, it doesn’t matter. Everyone has abandoned him. no one cares. No one helps.

Verses 20-22 sum up his suffering at this low point. ‘My bones stick to my skin and to my flesh, and I have escaped by the skin of my teeth. [That’s where that saying comes from!]. Have mercy on me, have mercy on me, O you my friends, for the hand of God has touched me! Why do you, like God, pursue me? Why are you not satisfied with my flesh?’

What a haunting cry. Abandoned by everyone. Left all alone. And his three last friends are no help. But remember that we know more than Job does. We had the glimpse behind the curtain in chapters 1&2. We had access to the heavenly throne room. We heard the conversation that Job and his friends never heard. Job thinks that it is God’s hand has touched him to bring this suffering.

And while that was what Satan wanted: ‘Stretch out your hand and touch all that he has... ‘ (1:11) ‘Stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh...’ (2:4). But both times, God says ‘Behold, all that he has is in your hand...’ (1:12). ‘Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.’ (2:6). Job thinks it is God doing the smiting, but it is Satan’s hand which has afflicted him (under God’s power).

But to get to a place so low, so isolated, so lonely, Job’s next words are so amazing. Even in the lowest of places, Job is holding on to hope. So let’s look at them, to find the reason for the hope.

Isn’t verse 23 quite ironic? ‘Oh that my words were written! Oh that they were inscribe in a book!’ Oh, that’s what they were - for us to be able to read them tonight, so many thousands of years later. But then Job thinks that a book wouldn’t be permanent enough. ‘Oh that with an iron pen and lead they were engraved in the rock forever!’

These are important words, words that Job wants preserved. You see, for all Job knows, these words could be among his last. He doesn’t want these friends to be the ones to define his legacy. He doesn’t want the people already listed in the chapter to spread their rumours of him. He wants his own words to be read, preserved, and held onto. So what does he want recorded? What is so precious?

‘For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me!’ (Job 19:25-27)

Notice that this is something Job knows. This isn’t an uncertain guess. This isn’t wishful thinking. This isn’t a last gasp gamble. I know. What does he know? My Redeemer lives. The Redeemer is the family kinsman, the one who buys back people from slavery, the one who rescues from poverty. If you’ve read Ruth you’ll know that Boaz was her redeemer kinsman. Job is certain that he has a Redeemer, but more than that, that he lives. That he is alive. That he is active. That he will act.

At the last, the Redeemer will stand on the earth. The Redeemer will endure. But look at what Job says about himself. ‘And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God.’ My Redeemer will stand, and so will I. I will see him, face to face, in my own flesh.

So far back in the Old Testament, Job catches a hold of the hope of the resurrection. He doesn’t know every detail; he hasn’t got the fuller picture we enjoy this side of the first Easter, but he knows enough. He knows that a living Redeemer will cause him to stand face to face with God, through the resurrection.

How much fuller we can claim Job’s words! Jesus is our Redeemer, the one who died, but was raised to life. My redeemer lives. And because he lives (not breaking into the Gaither song...) we too will live. As Paul puts it in 1 Thes 4:14 - ‘For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.’

In the worst of days, Job was able to hold on to hope because he held onto the truth about his Redeemer, the one who could buy him back, rescue him from slavery and bring restoration. How amazing that he grasped this before the cross. Let his words be your words. Let his hope be your hope, except if his was in black and white, ours is in full technicolour, made certain through Jesus’ death and resurrection.

I know that my Redeemer lives. These are the words of Job, words of hope, spoken at every funeral. Words of comfort and reassurance; words pointing us to the future with confidence as we trust in the Lord Jesus, our Redeemer. I know that my Redeemer lives. And because he lives, we too will live. Let’s pray.

This sermon was preached at the Lent Midweek series Out of the Storm on Wednesday 2nd March in Aghavea Parish Church.

Sermon: Job 4-27 With Friends Like These... - Job's Comforters

What do you say to someone who is suffering? That’s the question which the book of Job asks us tonight. When you meet with someone who is going through a hard time, what do you say?

Tonight we’re thinking about the contribution of Job’s three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar. They say that a friend in need is a friend indeed, but I wonder is that what Job thought of these three. At the start, they were friends in need and indeed. They came together, they sat with Job, and they kept quiet. True friends. It’s only when they open their mouths that they start causing problems.

In our readings, we heard a little bit from each one of them, but it might be useful to remember how the book of Job is structured. Chapters 1&2 give us the split screen of heaven and earth - in heaven, God and Satan’s conversation about Job, and Satan’s permission to test Job’s faith, by unleashing disaster after disaster - taking away his wealth; his children; and his health. On earth, we see how Job responds, with faith and confidence in God. Chapter 3, which we looked at last week brought Job’s lament, the cry of suffering, and it’s that which prompts the three friends to intervene, to begin speaking. And the pattern continues - Job speaks, then one of the friends, then Job, then the next friend, round and round until chapter 31, Job’s final defence.

So what we’re looking at tonight is just a bit of what they say. But even that little bit is quite shocking. They get worse, the more they go on. Can you imagine sitting down with someone at a wake and telling them to their face that they’re only getting what they deserve? That they have no right to complain, and should just suck it up?

Yet that’s what they do. In terms of pastoral sensitivity; in terms of decency, it’s ridiculous. You want to squirm in your seat. You can’t believe that they’re coming out with it. That’s shocking of itself. But as I read what they said, there was a bigger shock. I found myself agreeing with quite a lot of what they said. They talk about universal sin, about the need for repentance, and God’s great mercy for the one who turns to him. Those are all things that we sign up to and agree with and preach.

So what’s going on? How can we grasp what’s happening? And how can we discover the truth from what’s being said?

I think it’s helpful to remember a couple of things before we dive in to look at chapters 4-5. The first is that God’s word is true, but not everything in the Bible expresses truth. What we have here in these speeches are the opinions of the three men. They’re recorded in the Bible, but they may not be true, in the way the words of Jesus are absolutely and perfectly true. God’s verdict of these speeches is found in chapter 42: ‘My anger burns against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of my what is right, as my servant Job has.’

The second thing to remember is that Job is blameless. God has affirmed it several times. Now that doesn’t mean that Job has never sinned, but it does mean that this suffering is not linked to his sin. He maintains it throughout, but his friends don’t believe him. They reckon there must be some serious secret sin for him to suffer in such a way.

With that introduction, let’s look at Eliphaz’ first speech. With truth and untruth mixed together, let’s see how not to speak to the sufferer. First of all, he accuses Job of hypocrisy and inconsistency (1-6). Job had been a counsellor and advisor to other people (3) but now that bad times have come to his own door, he has changed his tune. Now he’s impatient and dismayed. Yet he should have confidence and hope, because of his integrity and his fear of the Lord.

Eliphaz’ worldview is summed up in verse 8. You reap what you sow. (7-11). So, Job, if you’re suffering, it must be your own fault. If you’re reaping trouble, then you must have sowed it. After all, ‘who that was innocent ever perished? Or where were the upright cut off?’

He then turns super-spiritual with his night vision asking that question: ‘Can mortal man be in the right before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker?’ In other words, we’re all sinners, so we deserve to suffer. That observation carries him through to 5:7 - ‘man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward.’

So what does Job need to do? ‘As for me, I would seek God, and to God would I commit my cause.’ See this as a warning, as discipline, as an opportunity to repent, so turn now while you still can. Then you’ll know God’s blessings. The end of chapter 5 sums it up: ‘Behold, this we have searched out; it is true. Hear, and know it for your good.’

Do you see what I was saying? It sounds right. There’s much that we would agree with. In other contexts it would be right, except, here it’s not. He’s too quick to take a general principle, the observation you reap what you sow, and turn it into a universal principle. Eliphaz wants to see life as black and white, as clear cut, when it’s a lot more grey, a lot more messy. Job is not suffering for his sin.

When it’s Bildad’s turn to speak, he majors on history and ancient wisdom. He affirms God’s justice, but then applies it insensitively by saying that maybe his grown up children got what they deserved. He then looks to the learning of the past, the lessons of long experience, which show that reeds wither without water, and that’s what happens to people who forget God. That must be what has happened to Job, he’s like a suddenly snapped spider’s web. He just needs to return to trust in the just God - ‘Behold, God will not reject a blameless man, nor take the hand of evildoers.’ (8:20).

Zophar goes even further. He says that Job deserved even worse! (11:6) Job needs to realise that he can’t know himself deeply, that God really knows what he is really like, and that therefore he needs to repent. And so the cycles go on. Job maintaining his innocence, his friends calling him a liar, calling him to repent, and so on.

Well, with friends like these, who needs enemies? It’s no wonder that Job calls them miserable comforters (16:2). So what can we learn from them? How can we speak to those who are suffering?

We need to learn to speak the truth (the whole truth, and nothing but the truth), but to do it, as Paul says in Ephesians, in love. Speak the truth in love. Ask, is this helpful and upbuilding and for their benefit? Ot am I using truth like a hammer or machine gun?

We need to acknowledge that we can’t know everything perfectly. The friends have their particular worldview, and everything must fit into how they see things. But as we hear (rightly) of God’s majesty and power, we need to be aware that we aren’t God; that we can’t know everything perfectly. As someone said, the best thing the friends did was to keep quiet!

We need to also see God at work in our world - not as the God of karma who waits for you to do something good or bad and then to pay it back to you; but the God of mercy and grace, who intervenes in our world, who takes the initiative to rescue sinners. Job’s comforters couldn’t have got their heads around the cross - an innocent man suffering in the place of sinners. The answer to Eliphaz’ question: ‘who that was innocent ever perished?’ Jesus.

As RC Sproul said, ‘why do bad things happen to good people? That only happened once, and he volunteered for it.’

We who are aware of our own sin, who recognise that we do indeed deserve the wages of sin - death - in the face of Jesus Christ and his death for us; how can we pontificate about what other people deserve? In the face of grace, we bow down and worship. Let’s be slow to speak; slow to judge; and swift to offer the grace we have received to others as well. Let’s pray.

This sermon was preached in the Out of the Storm series at the Lent Midweek service in Aghavea Parish Church on Wednesday 24th February 2016.

Sermon: Job 3: 1-26 The Cry of Suffering: Job's Complaint

What do you do when someone is suffering? Maybe they’ve received bad news, and they’re in distress - how do you deal with the situation? Many of us, I suspect want to help, want to provide some comfort, but we just don’t know what to do. We’re afraid of getting involved, because we don’t know what to say, or how to say it, so we back off. Or maybe we get offside fairly quickly, not wanting to have to deal with someone else’s grief.

What if the person begins to speak, and a flood of words comes out - some shocking things, things we’re not prepared for, things we don’t expect to hear. As we come to Job 3, this might be where we find ourselves tonight. Listening in, not knowing quite what to do with Job’s thoughts and feelings and words, caught adrift.

Or what if the struggling person is you? Is it ok to feel like this? Is there a place for doubt, darkness and dismay in the Christian life?

What I propose we do is something we’re commanded to do in Romans 12:15. ‘Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.’ We probably enjoy a party better, yet we’re called to weep alongside those who weep.

Just in case you missed last week - Job was a prosperous man, but in a series of disasters, his livestock were all killed or captured; his children killed; and he’s been covered from head to toe in loathsome sores. Unknown to Job, God had held him up as a model believer, and with God’s permission, Satan has stripped away all he has to prove his faith.

Some commentators have referred to chapter 3 as Job’s Gethsemane. It’s the place where Job is tested, and on the surface, it appears that he is found wanting - complaint and despair rather than humble submission. There are three main features of Job’s lament - his birth day, his desire for death, and his complaint against God.

As we look at these briefly, remember that these are the outpourings of a week of anguish. He has sat silently on the ash heap scraping his sores with thoughts rushing through his mind, the anguish and helplessness building all the time. It’s similar to how we find the prophet Elijah after his great victory over the prophets of Baal, and in response to Jezebel’s death threat, he runs away and prays ‘It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers,’ (1 Kings 19:4).

First, Job laments his birthday. Not in the way some of us lament yet another birthday coming around with increasing age, but the fact that he had a birthday at all. Notice the great raft of curses he lines up against the day of his birth - verses 2 to 9 - let the day perish, let it be darkness, let gloom claim it, darkness seize it, let it be barren, darkness. Why does he wish these terrible things against the day of his birth? Because he wishes he had never been born in the first place. Despite a long and prosperous life with happy times and a happy home, when compared with the previous week of misery, he wishes he had never lived it all.

Despite the longest day of sunlight, the darkness of the night brings despair and dread. Everything fades into black, and all Job can see now is the trouble he faces and feels in his loss and suffering. The gloom of death would be preferable to the pain he now experiences, or so he imagines.

Second, we find Job’s desire for death. From the ash heap, Job thinks that the grave would be a preferable position - longing for death more than for hidden treasures (21). Why is it that death seems such an attractive relocation, so that he would rejoice exceedingly and be glad when he finds the grave (22)? For Job, it appears to be a place of rest (13) and sleep, free from the pains and burdens he currently bears.

Death is also the great leveller. Look at verse 19: ‘The small and the great are there, and the slave is free from his master.’ It’s what one writer refers to as the ‘democracy of death’ - kings, princes, prisoners, slaves, all are there together in freedom and peace. Perhaps this was attractive to one who had been the greatest man in the east (1:3) but had lost everything in a series of cruel blows.

That longing for death is something we see in the movement for euthanasia or assisted suicide. Still the debate rages among our politicians. You sometimes hear of people heading to Switzerland to end their life with medical assistance. Notice, though, that Job never contemplates taking his own life. Suicide is not an option for him. Yet even as Job laments and lays his complaint out, there is a recognition that God is present in his circumstances.

Verse 20: ‘Why is light given to him who is in misery.’ Or again in verse 23: ‘Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, whom God has hedged in?’ Even as Job complains, he’s aware that God is present, that he has been given light and life in the midst of suffering. That remark about being hedged in by God seems to accuse God of being restrictive, almost besieging Job. Yet look back to 1:10 - there Satan accuses God of hedging Job in, being a protection and guard for him. One commentator wrote that the hedge of protection has become for Job a prison wall. Is Job listening to the voice of demons, tormented by the half-truths being twisted to maximum effect?

Job continues in his complaint against God, with sighing and groanings instead of bread and water, signs of his anguish. Indeed, it appears that this is what he had feared all along - verse 25 - that even in the good days, there was a dread of it all being taken away.

Verse 26 is the final summation of his current complaint - where his life is declared to be the exact opposite of how he imagines the grave: ‘I am not at ease (cf v18), nor am I quiet (cf v13); I have no rest (cf v17), but trouble comes (cf v10).’

So what do you say to Job? How do we deal with his words here in chapter three, as the flood of despair is unleashed after the week of silence? Do you want to run up to him and say ‘don’t worry Job, all’s well - we know how it turns out?’ Our advice to keep praying and keep trusting seems almost trite in the face of what he has said. From our privileged position in watching Job we have two advantages - we know how it will end up, and we also know about the discussion in heaven, but Job knows neither part. He is in the middle of it all, saying what he sees.

Two things to immediately remember. First, Job speaks of ‘a man whose way is hidden’ (v23). This could either mean hidden from God, or hidden from himself. Hidden from God, because God doesn’t seem to care any more, God seems to be absent, distant, unconcerned. Yet if it is hidden from himself - if his way is hidden and unknown, then here is the very essence of the believer’s walk: We walk by faith, and not by sight - we don’t know what is around the corner - otherwise it would be sight, and not faith. It is only through the hiddenness, through the afflictions, that our faith is tested and proved. The very fact that we have light and life is the proof that God has not finished with us, that we continue by faith.

But the second, even tonight, is to remember God’s verdict of Job. God speaks of ‘my servant Job’ in the first chapter (1:8, 2:3), and again in chapter 42 when he tells the friends ‘For you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.’ (42:8). Job’s outpouring is not counted as sin, and Job’s salvation is not in doubt - even the secure saints may have the dark night of the soul, while being firmly held in the hand of the Lord.

So how do we respond to Job? Next week we will explore the words and help of his so-called friends, Job’s comforters, but what about you? What would you say to Job after his outburst? Perhaps our wisest response in the immediate aftermath is, as Romans says, ‘weep with those who weep.’ Even God’s answer is 35 chapters away yet. And pray for those we know who may be going through such an anguish.

Job asks why - why is light given, why is death not given, why. As we look back from this side of Calvary, we see in Job’s question the words of another, who cried ‘My God, my God, why...?’ The cry of suffering, of God-forsakenness, is shouted in the darkness of the cross. The Lord Jesus has plumbed the depths of our sorrows. He has endured the full weight of trouble, the restlessness of sin, to rescue us and save us.

Because of the abandoned one, we are never alone, as he stands with us as we suffer. As one modern song puts it: ‘I’m forgiven because you were forsaken, I’m accepted, you were condemned... Amazing love, how can it be, that you my king should die for me!’

This sermon was preached in the Out of the Storm series of Lent Midweek services in Aghavea Parish Church on Wednesday 17th February 2016.

Ash Wednesday Sermon: Job 1-2 On the Ash-Heap

Why do bad things happen to good people? When you open your newspaper or turn on the TV, you’re quickly confronted with bad news. And it makes you wonder. Why do bad things happen to good people?

Sometimes we can be very clinical, very philosophical, very detached from the question. It becomes a theoretical plaything, to return to and argue about back and forward. For some it can be a compelling reason to remain an unbeliever - as they point to suffering and say, surely God is either not powerful or not good.

But as we sit with Job, we’ll come to see that there are no easy and quick answers. You see, Job isn’t a casual observer, able to recline on his armchair and consider the plight of others. No, Job is no armchair theologian, rather he is, if you like, he is a wheelchair theologian. Job wrestles with these questions (and his so-called friends) from on top of an ash pit, having been personally afflicted.

The first verses of the book of Job provide us with a fine introduction to the man. What was it struck you about him as the verses were read earlier? Was it his big family (seven sons and three daughters)? Was it his thousands of livestock (sheep camels, oxen, donkeys)? His servants? Maybe it was the declaration in verse 3 that he was ‘the greatest of all the people of the east’. Yet I want to suggest that the most important thing we’re told about Job is found in verse one: ‘that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.’

It’s not saying that Job never sinned. He’s not blameless by being perfect. Rather, he is blameless and upright because he ‘feared God and turned away from evil.’ He is one who fears and therefore trusts God, and turns from evil. Those two words, blameless and upright describe his standing before God - blameless; and his dealings with other people - upright. Job is someone you would want on the church eldership, or to serve on the Select Vestry. A model Christian, a pillar of the community.

Yet in just one day, his world is turned upside down. It’s like a personal 9/11, a day he will never forget, as the devastating blows continue to rain down on him, with the out-of-breath arrivals of four of his servants. One of the events would be tragic, but together, Job has his disaster day. First the oxen and donkeys are taken by the Sabeans. Then the fire of God (thunder?) consumes the sheep. Then the Chaldeans capture the camels. Then the word arrives of the simultaneous death of all ten of his children. What a haunting refrain echoes in his ear: ‘And I alone have escaped to tell you.’ Left with just these four servants, and his wife. Total devastation.

How would you react? Would you do what Job does next? Verse 20: ‘Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshipped.’ His first response is not to curse God, but to worship God. His security was not in his possessions, but rather in his God.

This is brought out in his words, in verse 21: ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.’ Notice that this isn’t a Stoic kind of que sera sera, whatever will be will be kind of attitude. He’s not saying, well, whatever happens we can deal with it, that’s luck or fate or chance.

No, what Job expresses is a firm, unwavering faith in the face of terrible events. He recognises the Lord’s sovereignty, both in giving, and in taking, and will bless the Lord either way. Remember what Paul says in Philippians 4 - I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. Plenty or hungry; abundance or need - ‘I can do all things through him who strengthens me.’

Now as if all that wasn’t bad enough, another day comes soon after, in chapter 2, and Job’s body is covered by loathsome sores. Can you imagine the pain, the misery? It’s so bad that his only comfort is to scrape himself with a piece of broken pottery, while sitting in the ashes.

It’s too much for his wife to bear. Her solution is simple: ‘Curse God and die.’ But look at how Job responds: ‘You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?’

You might be wondering how Job could be going through such a painful period. Why did all this bad stuff happen to him? In popular thinking, there’s the idea of some kind of cosmic karma. What you give is what you get. So do good things and good things will happen to you. Or do bad things and watch out.

But even inside the church we can see this kind of thing - if you pay in, or attend every meeting, or be nice to people, then good things will happen to you. And if something bad happens, then God mustn’t like you - or you must have done something really bad. In later weeks we’ll see this come up in the book as Job’s comforters (poorly named, I know) try to use this kind of prosperity theology against Job. There truly is nothing new under the sun.

So did Job do something bad? Was he a secret sinner which led to his sudden suffering? Is there a simple correlation between goodness and prosperity, between badness and bad health?

It would be so easy if there was. But it’s not like that. We see Christians who go through immense suffering, or who are cut down at a young age, while the wicked go from strength to strength. We see believers struggle to eke out a living on sparse crops while sinners waste more food than they eat.

Behind the scenes, unknown by Job, there is another series of events occurring. We see this in both chapters. It’s as if the TV programme cuts from the earthly scene to the heavenly throne room, then back to earth. One commentator suggests its like stage left and stage right in a theatre play. We see the whole thing, but Job is unaware of what has occurred. Our behind-the-scenes all-access pass helps us to understand more than Job can know, and helps us to see at least a little better how this could happen, and why we sometimes are faced with suffering.

Verse 6 presents us with the heavenly throne room. The sons of God (angels) are present, and Satan is there too. Satan literally means the accuser, and seems to be the DPP of heaven - the Director of Public Prosecutions. His job is to investigate if God’s people are as they should be, accusing them of wrongdoing.

God brings the conversation round to Job, and Satan reacts in fine form. Of course Job worships God - after all, look how he is profiting from his faith. If God is protecting him and giving him so much, then Job would be a fool not to side with God. But Satan’s opinion is that if his wealth was gone, then Job will curse God. It’s a challenging question, isn’t it? Why do we worship God? Are we only in it for what we get out of it? How would your motives stack up? This is the question that runs through the entire book: what sort of believer is Job? Is he genuine, or phoney?

God lays the challenge, and allows Satan to take away all that Job has, but without afflicting Job himself. And so Satan goes off and arranges the day of devastation. Job doesn’t know why it has happened, and yet he passes the challenge - Satan said in verse 12 ‘Touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face’ but verse 22 affirms that ‘In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.’ That would be 1-0 to God, then.

Then the second challenge follows swiftly. ‘Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his own life. But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.’ Even with his wife’s provocation, ‘In all this Job did not sin with his lips.’ 2-0 to God.

So even though Job doesn’t know what’s happening in the heavenlies, what can we learn from it? There are three important things to notice here, and to carry through the entire book.

1. Satan has real influence. Satan is indeed the accuser of the brethren, and is heard by the LORD. But let’s be clear:

2. God is absolutely sovereign. Satan and God are not two equally powerful agents who are in constant battle, getting the better of each other as things move back and forward between them. No, God is sovereign - the LORD reigns, and Satan answers to him. It is the LORD who first mentions Job and brings him into view. It is the LORD who invites Satan to consider him. And it is the LORD who sets the limits of Satan’s activity - verse 12 ‘Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.’ Luther called Satan, ‘God’s Satan’ - like a dog on a leash. Yet God in his sovereignty gives a terrible permission. This might just be the most scandalous aspect of Job. God sometimes gives terrible permissions.

3. Job really is blameless. We’ve already noticed this earlier, but it’s essential to mention it again. The LORD affirms the verdict of verse 1 as he talks to Satan: ‘Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?’ Job is blameless, has no unforgiven sin to be punished for, yet these things happen to him. Sometimes in the Bible we do see people suffering for their sin, perhaps even instantaneously - the Israelites grumbling in the desert being bitten by snakes; or Ananias and Sapphira dropping dead after lying to the apostles about the proceeds of the sale of property. But not all suffering is as the result of sin.

Satan has influence, Job really is blameless, and God is truly sovereign. Job doesn’t know why this has happened, yet he remains faithful to the LORD, continues to trust in him. As we begin in Job, let me challenge you to take some time over the next few weeks and read through the book. You’ll find the text challenging, perhaps surprising. But for us to journey with Job, we have to sit with him, listening to his pain, and sharing in his faith.

Perhaps you’re suffering right now. Job is a companion, a fellow sufferer, who points us to faith in the LORD. Job is described as ‘my servant Job’, yet that is no guarantee of immunity from suffering. Isn’t that what we see in the cross? The servant of the Lord, his own dear Son, losing everything, suffering and dying - yet through his suffering we receive healing; through his dying we receive life; through his forsakenness we receive hope and welcome.

This sermon was preached as part of the 'Out of the Storm' series in the book of Job on Ash Wednesday 10th February 2016 at the Lent Midweek service in Aghavea Parish Church.

Sermon: Luke 13: 22-35 The Fox and the Hen

Well, today is Mothering Sunday, the day when we thank God for our mums, and also say thank you to our mums for all they do for us. When I was growing up, my mum would read loads of nursery rhymes. Jack and the Beanstalk, Goldilocks and the three bears, and so on. There was always some moral, some point to the story. We cheered when the baddies got found out. It was great to hear at the very end, 'And they all lived happily ever after.' The danger was passed, the hero had won, and all was well.

This morning, our Bible reading sounds a bit like one of those nursery rhymes my mum used to read to me. It's the story of the fox and the hen. Now there is a nursery rhyme called the Fox and the Hen, where the Fox tries to take the hen home for his dinner but it doesn't work out. But this isn't a made up story. What we're looking at this morning really happened. If you jumped in your time machine, you could go back and see this happening right in front of you.

Ever since January, we've been following Jesus as he journeys towards Jerusalem. Have you ever been on a long journey in the car and you ask 'are we nearly there yet?' Every so often you'll see another signpost pointing to your destination. Last night, we were coming home, and every few miles on the motorway there was another sign saying that we were on the right road for Enniskillen. The signs say, 'you're going the right way, you're getting closer, here's where you're heading.' In Luke's gospel, several times along the way, we've been reminded that he's on his way, and we get another reminder in verse 22. 'Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem.'

Have you ever been diverted? You're trying to get somewhere but the road is closed. You can't get through. You have to turn around, and go a different way. That's what the Pharisees try to do to Jesus in verse 31. Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem, and they try to turn him around. 'At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, "Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you."'

They might think they're helping Jesus, trying to save him from danger. Or perhaps they don't want Jesus to get to Jerusalem at all. They use Herod to scare Jesus away. Either way, they're trying to stop Jesus from doing what he's meant to be doing. Jesus won't be turned. Nothing will keep him from Jerusalem. Nothing will keep him from the cross. How did Jesus describe Herod? Look at verse 32: 'He replied, "Go tell that fox, 'I will drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.'"'

Herod is called a fox - he's a danger, he's cunning, he's tricky, but no matter what he is, he isn't going to stop Jesus from going to Jerusalem. Jesus has work to do, casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow. And do you see what Jesus says? 'The third day I must finish my course.' Jesus will finish all on the third day.

Nothing will keep Jesus from Jerusalem. Yet the mention of Jerusalem brings a sorrow to Jesus. This was God's city, the place where the temple stood, the place which should welcome Jesus. Yet look what they did: 'O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you...'

The people of God have turned away from God. They reject the messengers sent to them. So Jesus describes himself in a remarkable way. Shout out some of the ways Jesus talks about himself in the Bible... Jesus, who talks about himself like a shepherd, like the bread of life, here talks about himself as a hen. 'how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!'

Have you ever seen a mother hen gathering her chicks underneath her? She protects them, gathering them close to her. And that's what Jesus wanted to do with the people of Jerusalem. He wanted to bring them close, to gather them together and give them protection. But they refuse. They turn away. They refuse a mother's care.

Imagine the children turning away from their mother. Yet that's what the people of Jerusalem did. They turned their back on Jesus. They don't want to come in under his wings.

But in the first part of the passage, Jesus says that although they have left, there is an opportunity for us to come in. The narrow door is open, the way of salvation is there. The door will eventually be closed, and then it will be too late.

Imagine a party, the best party ever, the party everyone wants to be at. Abraham and the prophets are at it. It's the kingdom of God, the ongoing, never ending party. And Jesus says that people will come from east and west and north and south, from all over the world, coming to God, joining in his party.

Jesus puts it in verse 30: 'Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.'

Imagine a big queue at heaven's door. The people who were first in line, the people who thought that they were definitely getting in are last, put to the back of the queue and turned away. The people who were at the back, the no-hopers, the people no one expected to get in were actually welcomed in.

Jesus turned things upside down as he journeys to Jerusalem. He was warned to get away to somewhere safe, but he chose to continue to Jerusalem, to die on the cross for us. He wanted to gather in his people, but they chose to turn away from him. He brings us in from the outside to eat with him in the kingdom of God, even though we were at the back of the queue. The Fox and the Hen - nothing will stop Jesus from saving us and gathering us under his wings.

As Jesus brings in the kingdom, we find the only real, true, 'all lived happily ever after'. Will you be gathered to the mother hen, our Lord Jesus and find safety under his wings?

This sermon was preached at the Family Service in Aghavea Parish Church on Sunday 15th March 2015.

Sermon: Proverbs 18:21 The Tongue: A Matter of Life and Death

Over in the United States, there’s a debate raging on the right to carry a concealed weapon. Some claim that it’s their constitutional right, the Second Amendment allowing the right to bear arms. But others are worried about the possible danger. Weapons hidden, but always accessible, at the shops, in the street, even at church. You can’t see them, but they could be in the person you meet. Estimates suggest there are about 8 million active permits, out of a population of 320 million, 2.5% of people carrying these concealed weapons.

Yet Solomon, in Proverbs, warns us that everyone carries with them a deadly weapon. The wounds may not be physical, and yet the danger is just as real. As we heard at the start of the service: ‘Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.’ (Prov 18:21). The little muscle in your mouth can be an agent of death, or a giver of life.

Have you ever considered the potential of the tongue? The tongue used to sing lullabys can also be used to criticise and demoralise the same child. The tongue which whispers sweet nothings to a lover can then hurl abuse. The tongue which shares pleasantries and shows politeness can be used to slander and gossip. The tongue which reports the truth can be turned to tell lies (even wee white ones). The tongue which sings God’s praise can also utter curses of God and people made in his image - maybe even before we’ve left the church building.

Perhaps we only realise the potential for harm when we’ve been on the receiving end of someone’s harsh words. We feel the sting; the words etched in our mind long after a physical wound would heal. Words have a way of getting under our skin and lodging in our mind.

Having been on the receiving end, we need to be careful how we speak to others. How many times have you had one of those toothpaste moments, when the words come out and you can’t put them back in. The words are out there, the arrow has been released, the poison unleashed.

It’s hardly surprising, then, that Proverbs contains so much about the tongue, lips, mouth and our words. Even in the little portion we read tonight from chapter 10, 11 of the 27 verses mention something to do with these. Proverbs is all about how we live wisely in God’s world; how we get on with those around us. The constant contrast is between those who are wise and those who are foolish. The wise are those who fear the Lord (as we saw in the first sermon, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom). The contrast is carried through between the righteous and the wicked, and tonight we see the contrast in the way we use our tongue.

Look at verse 11. ‘The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.’ The words of the righteous are like a flowing fountain, bringing life. The mouth of the wicked, though, conceals violence. It’s there, below the surface, just waiting to come out, but it’s hidden, for now. This ties in with what Jesus said about impurity.

Do you remember when Jesus is tackled by the Pharisees for eating without washing his hands? He gets to the root of the problem. It’s not what goes into a person that makes him unclean. ‘what comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.’

Your words may be a problem, but they’re the symptom, rather than the root cause. If you turn on the tap and dirty water comes out, it’s probably not a faulty tap. You have to go further back, to find where the problem lies. In the same way, our wrong words are the overflow of our wrong hearts - the problem lies deeper. To stop saying wrong things and bad things may help, but it won’t cure the deeper problem. It’s as our hearts are changed that our lives will be changed, and our words will be changed.

Proverbs gives us some suggestions on how the change needs to be brought about. Let me read from chapter 26. ‘Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death is the man who deceives his neighbour and says, “I am only joking.” For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarrelling ceases. As charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife. The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels; they go down into the inner parts of the body.’ (Prov 26:18-22).

To deceive someone and then say after it all, I was only joking, well, that’s like someone throwing arrows and firebrands around in the street. The Bible isn’t saying that it’s wrong to have a joke. But the way we go about it can be dangerous.

Or what about the whisperer. Everyone loves a little bit of gossip, something to share about someone else. You might even dress it up as a request for prayer - Oh, did you hear about Sammy? You might like to pray for him after what happened... But Proverbs says that such whispering, such gossiping is like throwing more wood on the fire, it only continues quarrels.

The other day I saw a great definition of gossip and flattery. Gossiping is saying something behind one’s back you would never say to their face. Flattery is saying something to their face you would never say behind their back.

So how do we use our tongues? What do they say about us, as we talk about others? As they overflow from our hearts, what do they show about us? Even for Christians, the tongue is a problem. James addresses it in his letter, which is almost like a New Testament version of Proverbs. You could nearly even say that he goes further in condemning our tongues.

For such a small bit of us, it has a bigger influence - like a bit in the mouth of a horse to direct it where to go, or like a ship’s rudder. Yet the tongue is ‘a world of unrighteousness... set on fire by hell.’

We’re still prone to those double standards, the blessing God and cursing people. It’s like a stream that has both fresh water and salt water. Impossible! ‘My brothers, these things ought not to be so.’

So guard your tongue. Watch what you say. Check how you speak. You have the power of life or death in your mouth.

This sermon was preached in the Wisdom for Life series in Aghavea Parish Church on Wednesday 11th March 2015.

Sermon: Luke 13: 10-21 A Loosed Woman

One of the life skills you have to learn as you grow up is how to tie your shoelaces. When I was growing up, I was all fingers and thumbs, and couldn’t work it out for a while. Every Saturday, dad took me to watch football, and I wore wellies because it was so mucky at Dromore Amateurs old ground. The laces on them didn’t matter, but I just couldn’t get them tied. So for a while, mum or dad would tie my laces really tight so they wouldn’t come loose during the day. It was great to get home from school, and get them untied, loosened. The burden of school was finished for the day. Taking the school shoes off was the sign of that!

For men, there’s another thing you’ve to learn how to tie - your tie. I don’t wear a tie very often (because I could never get it tied right!), so when I do, it feels rather tight. It’s great to be finished, to be able to get it loosed. Getting it untied meant freedom!

In our reading today, we’re introduced to a woman who is bound. For eighteen years, she has been crippled by a spirit. She’s permanently bent over. For all those long years, she hasn’t been able to stand up straight. Can you imagine what her life was like? It affected everything. For every second of those years, she has been bent over. Held, bound, imprisoned.

The setting is important. Luke tells us that Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the sabbath. The Jews gathered (a bit like we do), to hear God’s word read and taught and to praise and pray. It’s the sabbath, the day of rest. Jesus is already teaching whenever the woman arrives.

So he calls her to the front. He declares the freedom and then demonstrates the freedom. ‘Woman, you are set free from your ailment.’ When he touches her, lays hands on her, immediately she stands up straight, and begins praising God. She had been bound for eighteen years. She couldn’t stand up straight. Yet one word and one touch from Jesus and she is free. Released. She is a loosed woman.

You expect that everyone would join her as she praises God. They know her. They live beside her. They’ve watched her struggle all this time. You’d think they would be happyfor her, and join the chorus of praise. But over her shout of praise comes another voice. A negative voice. Not just once, he ‘kept saying to the crowd.’ (14) ‘There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day.’ (14)

The leader of the synagogue, the religious man in the local community is indignant. He’s not joyful, he’s angry. He’s annoyed because Jesus did some work on the sabbath. He saw this cure as a work, he reckons Jesus broke the sabbath. After all, the woman had endured this condition for 18 years. It wasn’t life threatening, she could have waited one more day until the sabbath was over.

It also sounds as if there were miracles happening all the time at his synagogue. ‘Come on those days and be cured...’ But this isn’t something he could do. This was something only Jesus could do. Only the Saviour could bring about freedom in this way.

Jesus confronts the hypocrisy. That’s what it is. Look at verse 15. ‘Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water?’ Looking after animals doesn’t stop on the sabbath. You can’t just leave them until the next working day. There’s a duty to care for them. There’s a need for mercy, to give them what they need. And how they did that was by untying the animals to give them water. They released the animals so they could drink.

Isn’t that what Jesus was doing? ‘And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?’ If you untie your animal on the sabbath and don’t give it a second thought, why would you want this daughter of Abraham, this woman in God’s family to be left bound up?

Jesus has the power to break our bondage. Jesus is able to bring freedom. Just as he said those words on that day, so he still says: ‘Woman, you are set free.’ You can be a loosed woman, a loosed man. Perhaps there’s something you’re struggling with. Some addiction that you seem bound by. The same old sin you fall into time after time. That one temptation you just can’t resist. The same patterns of behaviour, anger. You fight and fight but just can’t get free. You think you’ve got away from it, only for it to come back stronger again.

You may not be powerful enough to defeat it, but Jesus is. He can bring freedom. He is able to release you. Why not come to him today? Ask him to bring freedom. Listen as the cords are loosened, the chains broken, and he says ‘You are set free.’

God’s kingdom changes lives. The woman’s life would never be the same again. No longer would she walk around bent over. She could walk upright, looking people in the eye. But that was just the start. As Jesus brings freedom and release in individual lives, the consequences are bigger than you could imagine. The freedom that Jesus brings enables people to flourish, in new life in his kingdom.

You’ve probably heard the saying ‘great oaks from little acorns grow.’ Jesus uses the same idea, only with something even smaller, to show how God’s kingdom changes lives, as it grows from small beginnings. In two pictures, Jesus explains the kingdom that is breaking in.

‘It is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in the garden; it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.’ Something so small you would hardly see it, yet it grows big enough for birds to nest in its branches.

Or move from the garden into the kitchen. ‘It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.’ A wee bit of yeast in a big bowl of flour works through the whole batch until it’s all leavened. The whole loaf rises because of a wee tiny bit of yeast. From such small beginnings, God’s kingdom grows. The freedom that Jesus brings erupts into fullness of life. That means the small things we do for the kingdom can have a big impact, bigger than you’d ever imagine.

A word at just the right time; an act that shows God’s love; a sharing of what Jesus has done for you; a prayer for someone or some situation; the Bible reading that gives you the word from God you needed to hear that day; the word of freedom over your life or someone else’s that (humanly speaking) changes the course of their life and their eternity.

God’s kingdom is growing, and continuing to grow from small, seemingly insignificant beginnings. The Lord Jesus is the King, who wants to loose you from your chains and set you free to serve him. Don’t leave without knowing that freedom he brings. Don’t stay bound, when he offers freedom. Man, Woman, you are set free - in Jesus’ name. Amen!

This sermon was preached in Aghavea Parish Church on Sunday 8th March 2015.

Sermon: Proverbs 6: 6-15 Laziness - learning from the ant

As you read through the book of Proverbs, there are some verses that capture the imagination. The proverbs might be short and snappy, but the pictures they paint really stand out. So 21:6 ‘It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrlesome wife.’ But as you read through, the one that stands out the most is probably the sluggard.

In three passages, as well as some more isolated verses, we’re introduced to the sluggard. As his name sounds, he isn’t terribly quick to do anything - if he does anything at all.

Now perhaps that sounds great, being able to do very little. Taking your time to enjoy a duvet day, not really bothering with very much. Definitely not worrying about working. To our overworked, constantly busy culture, the sluggard’s existence might seem very attractive. Like the worker waiting for the weekend, or those counting down the days and years until retirement, the desire to do nothing is strong.

But the sluggard isn’t here as a role model. He isn’t portrayed here in a good light. This isn’t something to aspire to. Rather, he’s here as a warning, something to avoid, something to learn from.

I think I’ve shared before that I was in our school play when I was in P6. The production was Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, and owing to my natural ability, I was cast as Sleepy. For an hour and a half, I sat on a chair and slept, apart from my two lines: ‘I’m tired.’ and later, ‘Is it bedtime now?’ It’s as if I was channeling the sluggard. Look at Proverbs 26.

‘The sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road! There is a lion in the streets!” As a door turns on its hinges, so does a sluggard on his bed. The sluggard buries his hand in the dish; it wears him out to bring it back to his mouth. The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can answer sensibly.’ (Prov 26: 13-16).

He won’t leave the house. It’s just too dangerous. You never know what’s outside. There could be a lion on the loose! It’s much safer inside. Better to stay in, you could be hit by a bus. So he stays in. Safe - and warm too, in his bed. He turns over and over, like a door turns on its hinges. Making himself comfortable, getting the best position - it might be the only exercise he gets. Especially since, when he does eventually get up, it’s too much work to even bring his hand up to his mouth. It’s such a strain, it’s too much to do. So he sits, lazily, slumped over. Just don’t try to convince him otherwise. He reckons he’s wiser than seven sensible men.

What a picture! What a man! (Or woman). While we might not find such an extreme example, could there be samples of sluggardliness in most of us? Perhaps the parents of teenagers find a bit of truth in those verses. But maybe it’s not just the young who can be a bit sluggardly.

Watching some friends on Facebook talk about Sunday night blues or Mondayitis because another weekend is over and it’s back to work could be a mild form of this sluggardliness. Or perhaps there are some things we have to do that we don’t really want to do, so we delay, we leave them until we really, really have to.

Some of us might even be procrastinators - putting things off until the last minute. My homeworks and essays at college were like that - my (very sensible) reasoning (in my own eyes) was that if I spent ages writing an essay on Tuesday that wasn’t due until Friday, and Jesus came back on Wednesday, then that was a waste! A new form of procrastination has been conceived - procaffeination, the delaying of work until you’ve had a good cup of coffee.

So the sluggard sounds attractive. We might even have recognised that we have a wee bit of sluggardliness in us. It sounds great, doesn’t it, after a hard day’s work: ‘A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest.’ Thankfully no one is demonstrating that right now, but it sounds delightful. And yet, twice, we’re told that it is the slippery slope to poverty and want.

I grew up on the main street in the middle of Dromore. It might be a small place in the country, but I am a townie. But as I drive around, I’m getting to know the fields, to see what’s growing, and what’s happening in them. You would be better at that than me. But all of us would be able to see what is there in the field of the sluggard in Proverbs 24. It’s overgrown with thorns, covered with nettles, the stone wall broken down (so animals can roam freely). The sluggard doesn’t bother to work, to keep everything right, so he has no way of growing crops, so no way of eating. There’s no welfare state here, no payments to keep people going. Sleep, slumber, and poverty comes.

Now I’m sure you can think of an exception to that. Sometimes the laziest of people come into a great fortune - they maybe receive an inheritance; they might win the lottery. while some hard-working people work away and just can’t keep their head above water. But, like the rest of Proverbs, what we have here are probabilities, not promises. Proverbs is the observation of life in God’s world, and this is the way things generally happen. There may be exceptions, but not always. If you tend to sleep and slumber, then poverty will tend to come.

Just as the Lord Jesus points to nature to keep us from worrying - the birds and the flowers - so Solomon in the early chapters points to nature to keep us from being sluggardly. ‘Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways and be wise. There’s no boss, no ruler, no manager, yet all the ants get on with their work. They store up food ready for the winter. And Solomon says, if even the wee ant works, then why not you?

Watch the ant, says Solomon, and stop being sluggardly. That’s a wise thing to do for anyone and everyone. But for the Christian, it’s also a command. In both of Paul’s letters to the church in Thessalonica, he refers to work. He says that it’s a good thing, if you’re able to - ‘For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.’

Sometimes we reckon that work must have been part of the fall, part of the curse. But Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden of Eden to tend and care for it. They had work to do in paradise. The fall only corrupted it, brought strain and sweat and toil. That’s why things aren’t always straightforward, why the confusions and frustrations happen.

The Lord Jesus came to complete his work, to do all that the Father wanted of him. And when he had finished it all, he sat down. He entered his rest. He wasn’t sluggardly. He was perfectly in keeping with God’s will and God’s work. So we can take refuge in the finished work of Christ for us, and bring him our frustrations. Let’s learn from the ant, and shake ourselves from sluggardliness.

This sermon was preached in Aghavea Parish Church at the Lent Midweek series on Wednesday 4th March 2015.

Sermon: Proverbs 5: 1-23 Wisdom for Life - Relationships

Have you ever been sitting in the house, and out of the corner of your eye, you spot something moving along the skirting board? Or maybe you’re lying in bed and you hear some scraping and scratching, the patter of teeny tiny feet in the attic. When you have a mouse on the loose around the house, then you need to set a trap or two.

Lots of people have different ideas about what the best thing to put in the trap is - peanut butter, Mars bar, chocolate or whatever, you can tell me later what you use - but the idea is the same. There’s something sweet, something nice that attracts the mouse over, but as it enjoys the sweetie, it meets its maker.

Put yourself in the mouse’s shoes for a moment. It smells the tasty treat, it wants to enjoy it, but it actually brings about the death of it. Something nice leads to death. That’s the picture Proverbs paints of adultery. Look at 5:3. ‘For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil, but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.’ Do you hear the contrast? Honey lips, sweet with smooth oily words; in the end bitter and sharp. Now it says there the forbidden woman; ladies, this could just as easily be the forbidden man.

We’re still in the early chapters of Proverbs, where Solomon is speaking to his son, passing on wisdom for life. He’s teaching and training his son how to live, what to do and what to not do. Over the course of three chapters Solomon addresses the issue of relationships and adultery, urging his son to stay away from the forbidden woman.

There is wisdom here for us, as we seek to live out God’s way, whether we are married or single. In a day when the crowds flock to read and now watch Fifty Shades of Grey; as TV adverts and programmes push the boundaries; we need to know what God’s wisdom says about relationships.

Here in Proverbs 5-7, it’s clear that God wants faithfulness in marriage and celibacy in singleness. The warnings come from the outset. We’ve already seen the sweet, smooth trap of the forbidden woman’s lips. But to follow her, to pursue her is to follow the path to Sheol, the place of the dead; rather than the path of life (5:5-6). It’s as if there’s a fork in the road, to life or death, like a T junction - you can only go one way. Because of that, Solomon warns his son to stay away from her. Don’t go near her!

Over in chapter 7, we have a worked out example of the dangers of heading over to her. From his window, Solomon watches and sees ‘a young man lacking sense.’ He goes along her road, he’s just passing by when she pounces. It’s as if he is overwhelmed that she wants him, kisses him, speaks to him. She is ready, her bed is ready, her husband is away on a long journey, there’s no danger, you won’t be caught, it’ll be fun, come on ahead... The seductive speech and smooth talk persuades and compels him. The Mars bar is enticing in the trap, but it’s a trap all the same.

Do you see the three pictures used - the ox to the slaughter as he follows her; the stag caught fast until the arrow pierces its liver; the bird in the snare. He doesn’t see what lies ahead. He’s caught up in the moment. And he’s well and truly caught. Chapter 6 (which we didn’t read) portays adultery as carrying fire next to your chest, or walking on hot coals. The danger is there.

Back in chapter 5, Solomon asks ‘Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with a forbidden woman and embrace the bosom of an adulteress?’ It’s a question that Solomon would have needed to ask himself. You see, for all his wisdom, for all his understanding, he himself was caught in the same trap. Dale Ralph Davis is an Old Testament lecturer. He called his commentary on 1 Kings ‘The Wisdom and The Folly’. In 1 Kings, we have the record of Solomon’s reign. God asks him what he would like, so Solomon asks for wisdom. He builds the temple, his palace, and everything is great. The Queen of Sheba comes to visit to hear his wisdom. Chapter 10 is the pinnacle, a record of his great wisdom, and prosperity. But the folly begins in 11:1 ‘Now King Solomon loved many foreign women, along with the daughter of Pharaoh... He had 700 wives, princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart.’

Even wise Solomon fell into this trap. And Jesus heightens the command - to even look with lust is to commit adultery in the heart. The traps are set all around us. Virtually everywhere we look is a minefield. The papers, the TV, internet, as we walk around. Always before us are the paths to Sheol or to life. As 5:21 tells us, ‘For a man’s ways are before the eyes of the Lord, and he ponders all his paths.’ Every choice we make, the Lord sees, the Lord knows. Every step we take, towards the trap or away from it, the Lord is aware.

There’s a verse in 2 Timothy 2:22 where Paul warns about dangers, but doesn’t leave it there. He also promotes the better. ‘So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with all those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.’ Run away from the wrong (which Solomon has been telling us), but he also tells us what to pursue.

First, he puts it in picture form: ‘Drink water from your own cistern, flowing water from your own well...’ and then he gets to the idea itself: ‘Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth.’ Don’t be intoxicated by forbidden ones, be intoxicated by your wife or husband. The Song of Solomon is all about that deep love between husband and wife. There the images of love and the description of beauty is enlarged even more than the ‘lovely deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight; be intoxicated always in her love’ we find here. As a preacher at a minister’s conference put it one time, why would I want a cheap and nasty Big Mac anywhere else when I can have steak and chips at home?

Now. some of you might be saying, well, that’s ok for those who are married. All of us, at some stage of our lives is single. Some of us end up being single again after marriage. What about us? The warnings remain. The senseless youth is single. But there is still a husband to delight in. The Bible makes it clear that every marriage, even the best, is really only temporary. The vow is ‘till death us do part.’ As Paul teaches in Ephesians, marriage is a picture of the relationship between Christ and his bride. That is the only marriage in heaven, when we will be joined with him for ever.

In that sense, each of us is called to delight in our husband, to take joy in our relationship with Jesus, and be faithful to him. He came to save us, by living the perfect life, including in his sexual purity, to take away our sins, to divert us from the path to Sheol and set us on the path of life. If the iniquities of the wicked have ensnared us, and the cords of our sin hold us fast; Jesus came to loose our chains, to free us - not for sin, but to live for him.

As Paul writes to the Corinthians - ‘You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.’ Each of us, single or married, belong to God, bought by him. By his grace, let’s be aware of the sweetness of the trap, and steer clear, as we live out his wisdom and walk in his ways.

This sermon was preached at the Wisdom for Life Lent Midweek Series in Aghavea Parish Church on Wednesday 25th February 2015.

Ash Wednesday Sermon: Proverbs 1: 1-7 The Beginning of Wisdom

If you've ever watched The Sound of Music, you'll remember the moment when Maria is teaching the children how to sing. The song goes on about do a deer, a female deer (and so on). But before they get to that, they first hear these lines: 'Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start, when you read you begin with ABC, when you sing you begin with Do-Re-Mi.' Before they start into intricate harmonies, they need to get the basics. By starting at the very beginning, they can then move on to everything else.

This Lent, we're going to learn from God's wisdom in the book of Proverbs. Over the course of the next few weeks, we'll see what God says about relationships, and work, and our use of the tongue, among other things. But before we get to those things, we need to start at the very beginning. Where does wisdom begin? What are the baby steps of being wise?

Most of the book of Proverbs are stand alone two-liners. They're collected together, and it's hard to see any rhyme or reason to their order. Some are by Solomon, some are by Lemuel, Agur, and others. It's a bit like a box of sweeties - you don't know what you'll get, the topics and themes vary, and you'll find something to catch your eye and chew over.

But the start of Proverbs is a sustained discussion. Chapters 1-9 are the words of instruction and teaching passed on from a father to his son. So, for example, in our second reading, we had the opening words 'My son, do not forget my teaching...' Solomon is teaching his son, training him for life, praising wisdom and warning against folly. But even before that, we get the purpose of the book of Proverbs. Here's what it's all about. It's all about wisdom, instruction, understanding, prudence, and guidance.

Everyone is in view. The simple in verse 4, and the youth. The wise are there as well in verse 5, so whatever you think of yourself; whatever others think of you; you are begin addressed. Here is wisdom to make you wiser, to grow in knowledge and insight. The school is open, if you will but listen. The Further Education Colleges are promoting life long learning, with courses to suit all tastes and personalities. Well here, Solomon is interested in lifelong learning. Whoever wants can come and listen and learn. But how are we going to do this? How can we start out in wisdom?

The whole introduction drives to its main point in verse 7: 'The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.' Knowledge begins with the fear of the Lord - and, as we heard at the start of the service 9:10 also says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge and wisdom. Now when we hear those words, we maybe think of a shrinking back, fearful terror, the way some people are afraid of spiders or the dark or clowns (true story!). But when the Bible talks about 'the fear of the Lord' it's more an honouring, respecting, giving God his due place and glory.

Recently Stephen Fry has been making headlines for an interview he gave to Gay Byrne for an RTE programme broadcast a couple of weeks ago. In it he describes God as being 'an evil, capricious, monstrous maniac.' Fry is a celebrity intellectual, famous for his TV programme QI, in which he display his superior intelligence. Yet Solomon says that Stephen Fry hasn't even started in true wisdom, he hasn't got going with true knowledge. For all his brains, he actually despises wisdom and instruction from God.

As we launch into this time of Lent; as we listen in to God's wisdom, we're challenged straight away by the attitude of our heart. Will we bow before him in fear and awe? Or will we carry on, thinking we can become wise by ourselves, isolated from God?

The fear of the Lord is pictured in what may be the most famous verses from Proverbs. They were quoted to us at our wedding, and maybe even as yours as well. 'Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.' (Prov 3:5-6). Do you see how that fits with true wisdom? Bowing before the Lord, not leaning on your own understanding, acknowledging and depending on him displays this fear and respect.

Otherwise we're like the little child who wants to do everything for theirselves, only to realise after the mess has been made that they can't actually do it right. So often we can set out, we think we have all the answers, but then discover that things aren't as straightforward as they first appeared. When we get to that point, will we keep going, getting more and more tangled up, or will we confess our weakness, our folly, and turn to God for his wisdom?

Perhaps you're facing a situation at the moment. You're not sure where to turn or what to do. Solomon urges us to seek wisdom - not just any worldly wisdom, but God's wisdom. Turn to the creator, to the one who made us and knows us better than we know ourselves. Fear him, by bowing before him, and discover true wisdom - God's wisdom. That's the encouragement James, the brother of Jesus gives us in that last reading. If you lack wisdom, ask God, and he will generously give it.

Over the next few weeks, let's dive in to God's wisdom. There are 40 days in Lent, and 31 chapters of Proverbs, so even one chapter per day (with some days to catch up!) will get us through it this Lent. Let's bring ourselves to God, ask him to teach us, and discover his wisdom for life. Let's pray.

This sermon was preached at the Ash Wednesday Service in Aghavea Parish Church on 18th February 2015.

Sermon Audio: A Portrait of Love

Our Lent Midweek series this year looked at a portrait of love from 1 Corinthians 13. Here's the complete set of sermons for you to download and listen:

1: What's love got to do with it?

2: The power of love

3: You've lost that loving feeling

4: Pure love

5: How deep is your love?

6: Endless love