Category Archives: Bible

Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed. Hallelujah!

I wonder how many little boys born this year will be called Francis. They say you never get a second chance to make a first impression. And if first impressions matter, Pope Francis created quite a stir on Maundy Thursday.  He washed the feet of laity not just priests. He washed the feet of sinners and not just the righteous. He washed the feet of women and not just men. He washed the feet of a Muslim and not just Christians. Traditionalists angry? Good. They better get used to it. More importantly what impact will it have on church membership? We wait to see.

When you think of ‘membership’ what comes to mind? It probably depends on how exclusive or expensive the membership is, or how badly we want it. There are arts societies, sport associations, health clubs, university alumni and professional bodies. The list of ‘memberships’ is endless, and your wallet is probably full of plastic to prove it.

Some memberships are open to anyone who can pay the fee while others are exclusive and by ‘invitation only’. Locally, there is the Virginia Water Community Association, the Royal British Legion, Savill Gardens and of course Wentworth for those with a passion for golf, tennis or physical fitness. For many people, their membership provides a rich social life in which friendships and common interests can be pursued and shared. What may surprise you, however, is to discover that ‘membership’ is a Christian word. It appears in the Bible to describe how we become members of God’s family.

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The Ultimate Example of Loving Service

John Chapters 13-17 are known as the Upper Room Discourse. What is surprising is that in the first twelve chapters of John’s Gospel, Agape, God’s love is mentioned 8x. But in chapters 13-17, it is mentioned 31x. I want us to see the connection between love and service.

1. What Jesus Knew: The Extent of Loving Service

“It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love. The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God & was returning to God.” (John 13:1-3)

Three things we are told Jesus ‘knew’. First, “Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father.” (John 13:1)  He knew he was rapidly approaching the most important moments of his life. His destiny from eternity past. He knew that the pain, the shame and the agony of the cross was before him.  Here is the question: If you knew that you would die tomorrow, what would you do today? I would spend the time with my family,

I’d write some short letters to family members too far to visit and I’d make sure my will is in order. Not Jesus.  John wants us to see something significant about Jesus. Fully God and fully man, Jesus is facing something we cannot imagine. He doesn’t say to the disciples, “Don’t you care about what I’m facing?”  His focus is not on himself. He is concerned that they be prepared for what’s about to happen. Jesus is focused on them.

Jesus knew the time. Do you? Second, “Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God;” (John 13:2).

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How Can I Overcome Loneliness?

In my Sixth Form at school, there was one girl that stood out. Joy Lovely. While my friends were into scooters and beer, Joy was into Jesus – in a big way. She tried to convert me and my friends on numerous occasions. After I became a Christian at university I wrote and thanked Joy for her prayers.

Joy also played a role in the life of Terry Waite the hostage negotiator. As the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Special Envoy, Waite successfully negotiated the release of several hostages in Iran including John Coleman and Jean Waddell (the secretary to the Iranian Anglican Bishop) in 1980. Four years later he negotiated with Colonel Gaddafi for the release of British hostages held in Libya and again was successful. From 1985 Waite became involved in hostage negotiation in Lebanon, and secured the release of Lawrence Jenco and David Jacobsen. However, he was observed using an American military helicopter to travel between Cyprus and Lebanon. His appearance with Oliver North also meant that he became compromised when the Irangate scandal broke. Against advice, Waite felt a need to demonstrate his continuing trust in the other side.

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How can I live above average?

What are your early memories of school? Most of mine are of annual reports saying I needed to try harder or was pretty average at most things. But at age eleven, all that changed, forever. In the last week of term, for the first time ever, I came first at something. I won the first race of my life – the 800 yard, walking race. Do you know the difference between walking and running? Walking becomes running when both feet are off the ground at the same. In a walking race, one foot has to be on the ground at any time. And although it may be hard to imagine it now, at age 11, I had the natural skinny hip movement necessary to walk with speed.

For the next few days before term ended I bathed in the glory of being a winner. At last I was the best in my year at something and it had been recognised. And I kept the certificate to prove it. I still remember the surge of adrenaline that lasted days. The desire for recognition and affirmation are deep, deep needs. The need is universal. Everyone longs to be recognized for something. Recognition is good for our emotional health.

As young children we say instinctively, “Watch me, Daddy, watch me!” We need to be recognized. We need to be affirmed from an early age. That doesn’t change when we grow up. We just get more subtle in fishing for recognition. We do it with our cars, with our clothing and our homes. All the time we’re saying, “Watch me, accept me, affirm me, appreciate me.” That’s because we have a deep need to be valued and recognised. A healthy self esteem develops, however, when we find an equilibrium between our own emotional needs and those of others. We will however, ultimately only find peace with ourselves when we find our security in a right relationship with God. Because ultimately what he thinks about us is more important than what other people think. If we rely solely on others for our emotional stability, we will never be secure or truly fulfilled. Instead we will remain immature and self centred. When we are secure in our relationship with our God, we can grow up healthily into the unique people He intends us to become. We can then excel. We can thrive. Our short Old Testament reading have probably sold more books per verse than any other in history.

How can I live above average? from Stephen Sizer on Vimeo.

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Jesus and Other Faiths

Introduction:

We live in a world in which uncertainty and agnosticism are more valuable than conviction and commitment. People can make their own way to God if they are sincere and determined.  And that everyone should find their own way to God. So my way is just as good as yours.

Sincerity and Truth
Many people think all religions lead to God because they assume that all religions are essentially the same when you reduce them to their core beliefs. They liken the religions to different paths up a mountain, believing that as we approach the summit we realise how much we have in common. But this just isn’t true and only shows they have not looked deeply enough at what the various religions teach. If you let each religion speak for itself, you find they differ greatly on the basic concepts-God, truth, reality, the basic human dilemma and the solution to that dilemma. They differ so much that many of their statements contradict one another. For example, God cannot be both personal, as Christians, Jews and Muslims believe, and impersonal, as Buddhists and Hindus believe. Jesus cannot be a false Messiah as Judaism teaches, a prophet as Islam teaches and the Son of God as Christians believe. Those are contradictory statements. According to the rules of logic, contradictory statements cannot all be true. Therefore, all religions cannot possibly be true. It is a logical impossibility. And if they are not all true, and if they lead us in different directions, then not all of them can lead to God. The Sincerity of adherents of other religions is not in question. You can be sincere but sincerely wrong.

Persuasion and Respect
Some people make this assertion for another reason. They think that it is intolerant to believe only one religion has things right. But this response shows a misunderstanding of what intolerance really is. Intolerance comes from the word “tolerate.” To tolerate means to allow something, such as a belief, to exist even though we don’t like it or agree with it. Tolerance does not mean never disagreeing with anybody. The word implies disagreement. True tolerance means allowing differing views to coexist without necessarily agreeing with them or claiming that all views are true. Therefore, we can hold that one view is true or better than other views without being intolerant or disrespectful. If we were truly intolerant, we would silence other points of view. But merely engaging in persuasive conversation with someone you disagree with is not intolerance. We show more respect for each other when we take our religious claims seriously than when we clothe them in a patronizing cloak of relativism. Continue reading →

How Can I Handle Discouragement?

Are you into ‘motivational posters’? I am in a big way. Here are some of my favourites.

  • Ambition: The journey of a thousand miles sometimes ends very, very badly.
  • Pain: Pain is just weakness leaving the body. Sometimes your spirit tags along with it.
  • Distinction: Looking sharp is easy when you haven’t done any work.
  • Mistakes: It could be that the purpose of your life is only to serve as a warning to others.
  • Achievement: You can do anything you set your mind to when you have vision, determination, and an endless supply of expendable labour.
  • Idiocy: Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.
  • Teamwork: A few harmless flakes working together can unleash an avalanche of destruction.
  • Acquisition: The discovery that you’re no longer a big fish in a small pond, or even a small fish in a big pond, but a small fish in a big fish.
  • Madness: Madness does not always howl. Sometimes, it is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, “Hey, is there room in your head for one more?”

You know what the world’s most deadly but preventable disease is? No, its not cancer. Its not malaria or even AIDS. There is something much more debilitating. It is discouragement. And if you want a quick fix visit www.despair.com

There are three things which make discouragement a deadly disease:

It’s universal. One in four of us will suffer from depression this year. But everyone of us gets discouraged sooner or later. I know I do. I am sure you do. We all do. Its universal.

It’s recurring. You get multiple opportunities to become  discouraged every day. It’s universal. It’s recurring. Thirdly,

It’s contagious. In fact it is highly contagious. My discouragement will infect you and vice versa. It rubs off.

But there is good news. Discouragement is curable. The story of Nehemiah illustrates the causes and cures for discouragement. We are going to see that together, when we join hands, when we work together, when we watch one another’s back, when we encourage one another, we can banish discouragement. We can make a difference.

I invite you to turn to Nehemiah 4 with me. Nehemiah was a leader of the Jewish people. They had returned to Israel from exile in Babylon. They needed to rebuild the walls around Jerusalem to be secure from their enemies. When they first started on the wall, they had fervour, excitement, and zeal.  But after working for a while they got discouraged. Notice the change of heart from verse 6 to 12.

“So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart…. Then the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times over, “Wherever you turn, they will attack us.” (Nehemiah 4:6,12)

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How to win over depression

Ten questions to get you started this morning[1]. Give yourself a:

1 for none of the time;
2 for a little of the time,
3 for some of the time;
4 for most of the time;
5 for all of the time.

In the last 4 weeks,

  1. How often did you feel tired out for no good reason?
  2. How often did you feel nervous?
  3. How often did you feel so nervous that nothing could calm you down?
  4. How often did you feel hopeless?
  5. How often did you feel restless or fidgety?
  6. How often did you feel so restless you could not sit still?
  7. How often did you feel depressed?
  8. How often did you feel that everything was an effort?
  9. How often did you feel so sad that nothing could cheer you up?
  10. How often did you feel worthless?

Score 2 or above for each question and you have a medium risk of depression. Score 3 or above and you have a high risk. Depression has been called the common cold of emotional illnesses. Everyone gets depressed at times, but some people are depressed nearly all the time. For most it is mild, for some it becomes clinical. This morning I want us to consider some of the spiritual causes for depression and discover from the Scriptures how to overcome it. This is not, however, a substitute for seeking medical. If you scored high on those questions, make an appointment to see your GP this week.  Even godly people get depressed sometimes.

How to Win over Depression from Stephen Sizer on Vimeo.

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How Can I Overcome Failure?

I wonder what you consider to have been the biggest business failure of all time? Blockbuster? HMV? Jessops? Those are just from this month. Last year there was SeaFrance, JJB Sport and Comet. In 2011 there was Borders Books, Habitat and Oddbins. In 2010 there was Pontins. In 2009 there was Allied Carpets and Readers Digest. In 2008 there was Circuit City, MFI, Woolworths and Silverjet. In 2005 there was MG Rover. In 2002 there was Swissair. In 2001 there was Enron, Homebase and Poloroid. In 1995 there was Barings Bank and Bugatti. In 1991 there was the Bank of Credit and Commerce International, Pan Am and Polly Peck. But the biggest failure? Or perhaps rather the company with the greatest number of failures?

How about Dyson? If Hoover became synonymous with the vacuum cleaner, Dyson has become synonymous with… the dual cyclone bagless vacuum cleaner, the bladeless fans, the uniball wheelbarrow, the quickest, most efficient hand driers in the world and… probably the greatest number of failures in the world as well. Check their website out and they admit they are failures – indeed they are proud of it:

“Most people think testing is all about durability and reliability. Of course that’s a big part of it. But before that happens – before you even have something to beat the hell out of – you need an idea that works. Dyson engineers get those ideas often by trying the ridiculous. Most of the time it ends in failure. That’s good. Failure sparks thinking and the extraordinary.”

How Can I Overcome Failure? from Stephen Sizer on Vimeo.

There’s a misconception that invention is about having a great idea, tinkering with it in the garden shed for a few days, then appearing with the finished design. Know how many times James Dyson ‘failed’ before he cracked the Dual Cyclone bagless vacuum cleaner.  Dyson — supported by his wife’s job as an art teacher — took five years and 5127 failed prototype to develop one that worked.  If failure sucks but instructs, that is a lot of learning.  Certainly, say 4000 prototypes and 4 years into the adventure, any reasonable person would have assumed that this was a failure, an extreme case of escalating commitment to a failed course of action. But not Dyson. I am a raving fan of Dyson products. They work and when one goes wrong they like to know about it so they can improve them.

You could say the same about Apple and a small number of other leading edge companies that consistently hit the market with tried and tested products that gain an instant cult following and build a lasting market share. But they all begin with failures and like Dyson, often thousands of failures. So what is the difference? When failure stares them in the face for the 5126th time, they never give up. So do we overcome failure?  Why do marriages fail? Why do families fall apart? Why do businesses fail? Why do teams disintegrate? Because people give up.

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