Week Commencing 20th June 2021

Devotional Materials. Week Commencing Sunday 20^th June 2021

Call to worship

God so loved the world that He gave us his only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.’ John 3:16

Opening Hymn. (Piano)

Behold the man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders;
Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers.
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished;
His dying breath has brought me life –
I know that it is finished.

I will not boast in anything,
No gifts, no power, no wisdom;
But I will boast in Jesus Christ,
His death and resurrection.
Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer;
But this I know with all my heart –
His wounds have paid my ransom.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzQj7XvKFmA

Opening Prayer

Father we echo the Psalmist’s words ‘It is good to praise you and make music to your name. To proclaim your constant love in the morning and tell your faithfulness in the evening.’

Father we thank you for showing how deep your love is for us that you should give your own Son for our sakes ‘How vast beyond all measure, that He should give His only Son to make a wretch His treasure.’

We do confess that too often we have taken the way of the world rather than your way, and so have grieved your heart of love.

We have been slow to admit that we are not our own, but belong to you.

We have been unwilling to see that we are bought with the price of Christ’s blood. We have been unprepared to live out our lives as your servants, in your mercy forgive us and help us.

We thank you for the promise of Scripture that if we confess our sins you are faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We pray that you would lead us into a deepening appreciation of your grace this morning. Amen.

Reading. Luke 5:27-32

²⁷ After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, ²⁸ and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.

²⁹ Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. ³⁰ But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

³¹ Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. ³² I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

Prayers

Lord Jesus Christ, you burn with Divine Love; all your thought, energy and purpose are directed towards doing the Father’s will. Cultivate in our hearts a spark of that fire that burns in you. Excite in us a burning and flaming spirit. Impress on us afresh this morning something of the power of your love; your compassion, forgiveness and that you are the giver of hope, and that we might show something of this same love to others.

We lift up our missionaries overseas. Particularly for Tim and Linda, Martin and Mary, Judy, Alison and Paul. Lord, you have called them away from their homeland to follow You for your purpose in their lives and to the lives of those they come into contact with--just as Hebrews 11:8 reminds us of Abraham going by obedience, not knowing what he would find in the journey ahead. Overseas missionaries, much like Abraham, have awoken to the call in their own hearts to venture beyond what they have known to follow in obedience to share with others about you, Lord. Father, we pray protection over them. We pray for safety and favour as they take every step-in obedience into these lands. We pray that the hearts they come into contact with would be open and willing to hear and receive the beautiful and life-altering truth of Your Son, Jesus Christ. We pray for open doors and victory in Your Name so that more will come to a knowledge of you. May doors that have been long since closed to visitors swing wide open by Divine influence in order that your call to all of your followers may be carried out by Your Holy plan.

Father God, we lift up missionaries who are discouraged. John 15:18 is where you remind us that the world can be cruel and full of hatred, but it hated you first. Help us all cling to the truth that you have overcome the world, and we are chosen by you to not be of this world. Help that resounding fact to deeply indwell in the spirits of discouraged missionaries. Help them feel your comfort and peace, reassure them that their work is not in vain. Pour out peace and security over them like a gentle rain, reminding them that you are proud of your good and faithful servants. We pray overwhelming spiritual protection around them, so that no attack or plot of the enemy may be successful. We pray angels would surround them so that every strike of anything not of you would not be allowed to pass. In Jesus' name, amen.

Hymn (Guitar & violin)

You became nothing, poured out to death

Many times I've wondered at your gift of life

And I'm in that place once again

I'm in that place once again

And once again I look upon the cross where you died

I'm humbled by your mercy and I'm broken inside

Once again I thank you

Once again I pour out my life

Now you are exalted to the highest place

King of the heavens, where one day I'll bow

But for now I marvel at your saving grace

And I'm full of praise once again

I'm full of praise once again

And once again…

Thank you for the cross

Thank you for the cross

Thank you for the cross, my friend (repeat)

And once again…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkK4YHy-wNg

Sermon. ‘Jesus welcomes Sinners.’ Part One.

Jesus welcomes sinners, despite being criticised for it by Scribes and Pharisees. Here we see He is like a doctor who tends the sick. Jesus treats those who know they are needy. He calls sinners to repentance.

We can imagine Jesus making His way to the Customs house. The place is crowded. There are invoices and bills on tables. Poor men plead poverty. They ask for mercy but do not even receive justice. Jesus comes to Levi’s tax booth.

Levi is a tax collector, sitting at his office (27). The Romans had given Jewish agents the right to collect certain taxes. This was bitterly resented by the Jews. Tax collectors, not only worked for the hated Romans but often collected money for themselves.

Tax collectors were disqualified from holding public or religious office. They were not allowed to give evidence in Jewish courts. Tax collectors were despised, they were seen as the lowest of the low.

But Jesus welcomes Levi.

Jesus calls Levi. ‘Follow me’ Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed Him. Levi was a tough, shrewd, cynical tax collector. He was unpopular in his pursuit of wealth. Yet here he is, giving it all up to follow Jesus.

Jesus call is personal. Levi probably had a low view of himself, certainly others had a low view of him. But Jesus singles him out. Levi is significant. He counts. The Lord has purposes for him. Levi will be called ‘Matthew’ and Matthew means ‘gift of the Lord’

And the Lord can turn your life into a ‘gift’ too. You can be used by Him, regardless of your past, regardless of any feeling of failure. You can minister for Him, however unqualified you feel:

Moses stuttered, David’s armour didn’t fit, John Mark was undependable, Jacob was a liar, Solomon had too much money, Abraham was old, Lazarus was dead! Jonah was disobedient, Miriam was a gossip. Paul was a murderer. So was Moses, not to mention David. John the Baptist dressed strangely! Martha was a worry wart, Sampson needed a haircut! Noah had a drinking problem! Peter was a coward. But the Lord had purposes for each of these people. He has a purpose, a calling, for you too.

Jesus call was personal. And Jesus call showed he accepted Levi as he was. Levi wasn’t used to that. He was accustomed to being disliked. He had learnt to shrug it off and pretend it didn’t matter. But this popular teacher was willing to accept him as a friend.

Behind Jesus call is love. ‘Follow me’- Come as you are. In Deuteronomy 7:17 Moses reminded God’s people of the way. God had freed them from slavery in Egypt. He told them that it wasn’t because they were more in number that the Lord chose them, but because The Lord loved them.

Jesus was addressing Levi in the same way.

It’s not because we are more knowledgeable, industrious or more virtuous that the Lord chooses us, but because He loves us. We cannot earn or work for His love. Tillich wrote “We need the courage to accept that we are accepted in spite of being unacceptable.”

The Lord welcomes and calls you, not because of anything you have done or are, but because He loves you.

Levi’s response

We see a total commitment on Levi’s part in response to Jesus call ‘Levi got up, left everything and followed him’ (28). This phrase, used by Luke, stresses Levi’s decisive break with his old life, followed by a continuing life of discipleship. Levi’s love of Money is replaced by the values of the Kingdom. He becomes a Disciple, Apostle, Missionary and Gospel Writer.

In her book, ‘It’s My Turn’, Ruth Bell Graham recalls growing up as a missionary kid in China. Among her stories is this one. An oil company, about to open a new operation in China, wanted to find a man to manage the new division. They wanted someone young, a university graduate, a proven leader, and someone fluent in the Chinese language. They located a man who perfectly met this qualification. He was a twenty-eight year old missionary already living in the city where the company was planning to establish its office. When someone asked how much salary this young man was getting, the committee learned it was very modest. They set out to employ him.

The oil company offered the young missionary over ten times his current salary. He declined. They raised the offer. He declined again. They offered him even more, but yet again he turned them down.

Finally the agent asked, “What will you take?”

“It’s not a question of salary,” replied the missionary. “The salary is tremendous. The trouble is with the job. The job is too little. I feel that God has called me to preach the gospel of Christ. I would be a fool to stop preaching in order to sell oil.”

“Such were the giants,” recalled Ruth Graham, “among whom we grew up.”

And then, in keeping with this U turn in Levi’s life, and in a way that reminds us of the story of Zacchaeus, Levi hosts a great feast for Jesus at his home.

It is interesting that this was a party for tax collectors and ‘others’. Mark’s Gospel describes it as a large crowd of ‘tax collectors’ and ‘sinners’. But here is Jesus welcoming sinners. Eating and drinking with them.

The Pharisaic Spirit

The Pharisees cannot understand how Jesus can do this. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees complain to Jesus disciples: ‘Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?’ (30)

They were indignant. They kept their distance. They excluded people like Levi from the synagogue. Underneath they knew Jesus had integrity and was good, but here He is with people who compromised with evil. They believed God was only interested in people who kept every aspect of the Law.

They were so busy trying to keep the Law that they had missed its spirit- the love of God that lay behind the law. Jesus, on another occasion said ‘woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices- mint, dill, cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law- justice, mercy and faithfulness… (Matthew 23:23a). The law was not meant to be followed as an end in itself, ever bolstered with human rules. It was given by God to benefit man, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” says Jesus. The Sabbath was given for man, to rest and worship God- not given as a weapon of judgment against others, or to shut down any good that could be done.

How do you know if you have the pharisaic spirit?

We must not become confused in our thinking here. Our culture is very libertine and permissive and reacts abrasively against any personal restriction/limits. The world currently says you are being legalistic and lacking compassion for others when you challenge any behaviour. But that is not what the Bible teaches. On the contrary we are called to value God’s holiness and purity, to do so is not pharisaic. On the contrary to uphold God’s commands and seek to live a righteous life is pleasing to God. During His Sermon on the Mount Jesus teaches our righteousness must surpass that of the Pharisees

¹⁷ “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them. ¹⁸ For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. ¹⁹ Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰ For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:17-20.

Jesus then goes on to teach what that righteousness looks like in very concrete situations- you think murder will leave you subject to judgment? ‘anyone angry with his brother will be subject to judgment…You shall not commit adultery But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.’ And so it goes on…

We are called to obey His commandments enabled by the Holy Spirit. (See Updates 30/5/21, 6/6/21) That is not pharisaic. Similarly you are not pharisaic because you think Church discipline should be brought to bear on those in the church who refuse to repent of sin (Matthew 18:15-17, 1 Corinthians 5). We should remind ourselves that our passage describes a true repentance on Levi’s part. It stresses Levi’s decisive break with his old life, followed by a continuing life of discipleship. The Christian life is a calling to a life of holiness ‘But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy’ (1 Peter 1: 15, 16).

So now these misconceptions are out of the way…

How does the pharisaic spirit show itself?

Well, you have no heart for or interest in people who are not Christians. In fact you rather resent it if such people came into the church. You would rather keep it a private, religious club. Your self-righteousness is shown in a smug self-confidence. No one will hear you apologise for anything. But you are known for your harsh criticisms of others- even of other believers. You are also more interested in what cannot be done rather than what can. Because the pharisaic spirit is legalistic, it is not interested in what can be done to benefit and rescue other people.

On a dangerous seacoast where shipwrecks often occur, there was once a crude little lifesaving station. The building was just a hut, and there was only one boat. But the few, devoted members kept a constant watch over the sea, and with no thought for their own safety, went out day and night tirelessly searching for the lost.

Some of the people who were saved, and various others in the surrounding community, wanted to become associated with the lifesaving station and to give of their time and money for the support of its work. New boats were bought and new crews were trained. The lifesaving station grew.

Some of the members of the life- saving station were unhappy that the building was so small and so poorly equipped. They felt that a more comfortable place should be provided for those who were being saved from the sea. They replaced the emergency cots with beds and put better furniture in the enlarged building. Now the lifesaving station became a popular gathering place for its members, and they decorated it beautifully and furnished it exquisitely. It became sort of a club.

Fewer members were now interested in going to sea on lifesaving missions do they hired professional lifeboat crews who were specially trained to save lives. The lifesaving motif still prevailed, and a ceremonial lifeboat was placed in the room in honour of all those people who had been saved in the past.

About that time, a large ship was wrecked off the coast, and the hired crews brought in boatloads of cold, wet and half drowned people. They were dirty and sick and some of them were from a foreign country and couldn’t speak their language. The beautiful new club was in chaos. So the property committee of the lifesaving station called an emergency meeting and decided to build a shower house outside the club where victims of shipwrecks could be cleaned up and properly instructed regarding the rules of the lifesaving station.

At the next meeting there was a split in the club’s membership. Most of the members wanted to stop the club’s lifesaving activities because they were unpleasant and a hindrance to the normal social life of the club. Other members, however, insisted that lifesaving was the primary purpose of the club. They pointed out that they were called a ‘lifesaving station.’ But they were finally voted down and told that if they wanted to save lives, then they could start their own lifesaving station down the coast. They did.

As the years went by, the new lifesaving station experienced the same changes that had occurred with the old. It turned into a club, and yet another lifesaving station was founded. History continued to repeat itself, and if you visit the sea coast today, you will find a number of exclusive clubs along that shore.

Shipwrecks are frequent in those waters, but most of the people drown.

Now I know this little story assumes that the primary purpose of the church is evangelistic, it equates churches with lifesaving stations. And that is in itself a debateable point. A wider study of Scripture sees that the church is called to several equally important purposes:

The Worship of God- in word and deed is vital. Jesus teaches the ‘first and greatest command’ is to ‘love God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind’ This comes before ‘Love your neighbour’ (Matthew 22:37-39). Growing in a life of Discipleship is therefore another important purpose of the Church. To ‘love your neighbour’ ushers in three other vital purposes of the Church, there is the using of one’s gifts to benefit others in Ministry, the growth in love between members of the church- what we call Fellowship, and a love for those who are not Christians shown primarily in Evangelism. Which is the purpose we are thinking about today

One day I will preach a series about the nature and purposes of the church as seen in the Scriptures as a whole. There are difficulties that can arise in church life because these purposes are not always held in balance and one of them is made all important. I will touch on that further as part of next week’s sermon. Also the story breaks down a little when you consider that there are many who make ‘shipwreck’ of their lives spiritually speaking- and on hearing the call to faith and repentance, do not wish to be saved!

But when all that is said, Evangelism certainly is an important purpose of the Church. The Church is Christ’s Body (1 Corinthians 12:27). Christ by His Holy Spirit ministers through His Body the Church as He did when He walked the earth. And today we clearly see that Christ ministers as an evangelist, and so He wishes to minister through His Body the church, evangelistically. His final instructions to the church are found in Matthew 28:19, 20 : “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you…”

The Lord Jesus Christ went out of His way to welcome sinners. That includes all of us (as we will see next week). Indeed, He rescues us- the lost- through His atoning sacrifice on the cross for He is ‘not wanting any to perish, but everyone to come to repentance’ (2 Peter 3:9)

He calls us His Church- His Body- to communicate the good news of the gospel through word and deed. He calls us to go out of our way to rescue the perishing.

Hymn (Guitar & violin)

Thank You O my Father,
For giving us Your Son,
And leaving Your Spirit,
till the work on Earth is done.

Jesus my Redeemer,
Name above all names,
Precious Lamb of God, Messiah,
Oh, for sinners slain.

Thank You O my Father…

When I stand in Glory,
I will see His face,
And there I'll serve my King forever,
In that Holy Place.

Thank you O my Father,
Keith & Melody Green 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldRcFz7rK7w

Communion (and welcome Ron and Polly into membership)

Hymn (Piano)

’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
  And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
  The hour I first believed!

The Lord hath promised good to me,
  His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be
  As long as life endures.

When we’ve been there ten thousand years,
  Bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
  Than when we first begun.