Lessons from 930 BC

Last Sunday we began a new sermon series at church. The title of the series is 'From Empire to Exile' and looks at the period of Old Testament history that starts with the death of king Solomon in 930 BC and ends with the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC. Each week we are going to look at a different character, either a king or a prophet, and see what these ancient stories have to say to us as we seek to live a followers of Jesus in 2010.


We started with king Rehoboam and focused on 2 Chronicles 12 and drew out three short points for reflection.

First we saw the danger of blessings. After a time of struggle Rehoboam became established and strong. It was at this point that he and the people deserted God's way. Many of us turn to God in times of hardship, distress and turmoil, but when things settle down, when things are going well, the danger is that we drift away from God and start to rely on ourselves and on our own strengths, abilities and resources.

This morning I came across a quote from C.S. Lewis' The Problem of Pain

Everyone has noticed how hard it is to turn our thoughts to God when everything is going well with us

The second thing we saw was the God was in control. Humanly speaking - at this time in history Egypt was a world superpower, and could flex her muscles as she wished. But verse 2 makes it clear that it was because the people had abandoned God that the king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem. God was working out his purposes. God allowed this to happen. The people may have wondered 'where is God in all of this?' The answer is that he is closer than you think.

And our final point was that because Rehoboam did not seek God, because often he did his own thing, his life was not all it could have been. God promises us life to the full. Rehoboam settled for a life of bronze imitations rather than the genuine gold. How much do we miss out on because we do things our way rather than God's?

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For goodness sake - cheer up

Yesterday, we started a series on the Sermon on the Mount, looking at Matthew 5:1-12 - a passage known as the Beatitudes, although we really only had time to look at v3, 'blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs in the kingdom of God'. Instead of rushing through the other seven 'blessed are the...' yesterday we're going to look at each one over the rest of the week - starting today with 'blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted'.

The kingdom that Jesus is announcing certainly is an upside down kingdom. It is the sort of place where those who mourn are blessed - something that is the very opposite of what we might assume. How can this be?

I wonder if you've ever been in a church where the person leading the service has criticised the congregation for looking too miserable or not singing enthusiastically enough - being told to smile, look like you're blessed by God, clap ...

There are times when those who are mourning and therefore who don't want to sing, or clap, or put on a fake smile may actually be closer to God than all those singing at the tops of their voices with their hands in the air. It is often when we reach our low points that we are able to become aware of the presence of God and be comforted by Him.

There are different reasons why we might be mourning. Sometimes our mourning is as a consequence of being poor in spirit - aware of our sins and failings all we can do is humble ourselves before God and cry out to Him e.g. Psalm 51, James 4:7-10. Often our mourning is a result of some loss, even a death. But even here for the Christian there is hope. So whilst mourning is a right response it is mixed with hope e.g. 1 Thessalonians 4:13.

And God can use all that we go through to shape us into the people He wants us to be. Those who have never experienced any hardship, struggle or loss are not the best people to come alongside those who have - everything is theoretical rather than personal. But when we have been through these struggles and started to come out the other side God is able to use us to bring His comfort and love to others, e.g. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4.

Unexpected Blessings

Yesterday we began a series looking at Jesus' teaching on what it means to be his disciple in the Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew 5-7.

Jesus starts with a list of the kinds of people who will find favour with God. I guess if we were asked to write this kind of list we might agree with many of the Old Testament writers - God blesses those who don't mix with sinners, who trust God, who listen to God, who are obedient to God, who are blameless...who go to church, who pray, who ask, who do the right things and who don't do the wrong things...

But the surprise is that Jesus starts with 'blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven' (Matthew 5:3). People who are poor in spirit are at the end of their own strength, they have questions and doubts and very few if any answers, they've messed up, they feel far from God, they feel worthless, they are the losers of this world.



They are people like the tax collector in Luke 18:9-14 who does not even want to look to heaven, instead he beats his breast and says, 'God, have mercy on me a sinner.'

The problem is that all to often we feel that those who are blessed and those who will be blessed are those who are more like the Pharisee in Luke 18, who can say, 'I thank you that I am not like other people - robbers, evildoers, adulterers - or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get'.

At the beginning of this sermon Jesus reminds us that the invitation to be a part of the kingdom of heaven is for those who have come to the end of their own resources - and who put themselves totally into the hands of God. It is not for those who want to try and earn their way in. And so as Jesus goes on to describe what discipleship looks like we must make sure that we don't turn these commands into a moral badge of honour - as if when we do these things God will owe us anything. Instead, as we accept the love and forgiveness of God who welcomes us in our brokenness, we respond in love by doing the things that please God.

No wonder Jesus' message was good news to the prostitutes, tax collectors and 'sinners' of Jesus' day.

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One, Two, Three

Have you ever got on a bus and thought how miserable most people look? And then wondered whether you look just as miserable as everyone else? But it’s the beginning of the working week, the weather is wet and cold, there are worries about bills, health, house prices and the bad news that fills the papers - no wonder we look miserable!

The apostle Paul was in prison when he wrote the letter of Ephesians. He was an enemy of the state. He had refused to acknowledge that Caesar was Lord – and has gone around preaching that Jesus is Lord. If he didn’t know, he must have suspected, that the death penalty probably awaited at some point in the future. And there in prison, what is it that Paul writes? That as Christians we are blessed in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ (Ephesians 1:3).

The blessings that Paul is talking about have nothing to do with our material, physical, financial situations. Remember he was writing from prison. The blessings that Paul is talking about are blessings like what it means to know that we have been chosen by God, knowing forgiveness and a fresh start, the gift of the Holy Spirit. Read through the first 14 verses of Ephesians and count your blessings.