Yoel Ben David: Y’shua and the Harvest from Stephen Sizer on Vimeo.
Yoel Ben David is UK Director of Jews for Jesus. He preached at Christ Church, Virginia Water on Y’Shua and the Harvest drawing parallels between the Hebrew and Christian understanding of Harvest and how they point to Jesus.
Wednesday was our monthly day of prayer and fasting. In the evening we prayed for Kylie serving in India, for Francis and Georgina moving to Holland and for Ian and Suzanne going soon to Uganda.
But what if you knew I fast and pray every Wednesday. Impressed? And not just during the day but through the night as well? Twenty four hours of prayer and fasting. More impressed? But what if you knew I do it standing on top of a tall tree stump at the bottom of our garden, in all weather, on one leg. Incredulous? Well don’t be, because I don’t, at least not on one leg… or on a tree stump… but you get the point.
You know what? Every religion in the world has one basic thing in common. They tell you what you must do to get right with God. Fulfilling the appropriate rituals, saying the correct prayers, wearing the approved clothing, giving the required tithes. And the more you do, and the more you give and pray and sacrifice, the more holy you must be. Right?
Wrong. You see religion is mankind’s best attempt to reach God. Christianity is God reaching down to us. It is not about what I must do, but about what God has done. You see, Christianity is not a religion, it’s a relationship. For many this is a crushing blow to their pride or their security. They prefer religion to a relationship. Let’s meet someone who felt just like that.
His name was Nicodemus. Please turn with me to John 3.
Jesus is the Son of God from Stephen Sizer on Vimeo.
An hour outside the Saudi capital of Riyadh, in the rocky terrain of the desert, a Saudi family concludes a daylong outing. A full moon illuminates the black line of silhouettes in prayer. Karen House, writes of what happened next in Newsweek, “While I sit by myself on a blanket nearby, Ahmad and his father, brother, and young sister prostrate themselves in the direction of Mecca. Observing my failure to pray, Ahmad, who is 6, approaches, clearly concerned. “I need to teach you something,” he says. “What?” I ask. “Do you know what to say when the angel of death comes?” he says. Assuming I do not, the little boy then provides the answers that the dying should give if they want to transit successfully to the hereafter: “The angel asks you, ‘Who is your God?’ and you say, ‘Allah,’?” says Ahmad. “?‘Who is your prophet?’ You say, ‘Muhammad.’ ‘What is your faith?’ You say, ‘Islam.’”
It is hard to imagine a child of that age in the UK, as concerned about the hereafter for themselves—let alone for a stranger. But this 6-year-old believer, seeking to save the soul of an infidel, suggests how pervasive religion is in Saudi Arabia. And you don’t have to go as far as Saudi Arabia to witness that kind of fervour.
On Friday I visited the journalist’s watering hole, the Frontline Club near Paddington. Lapido Media, an international religious literacy charity, launched a book about Tablighi Jamaat. You may never have heard of them, but TJ, as they are nicknamed, is the world’s biggest Islamic revival movement, founded in India in 1926. What’s special about them? Every member commits to undertake a 40-day preaching tour, every year, to proselytise backslidden Muslims. 40 days each, every year…
And they are currently seeking planning permission to build the largest mosque in Europe near the Olympic Arena in Newham. Their initial proposal was to build a mosque capable of holding 12,000 people at a cost of £100 million. Because of local objections, they have toned down their proposals but you get some idea of their vision.
How does that compare with yours and with mine? Our 2020 Vision is rooted in the Word of God and the conviction that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Saviour of the world, that lost people matter to God and that the local Church is the only hope for the world. That is why we are undertaking this sermon series, Christ in all the Scriptures, to show that God has only ever had one plan to save the world, and that is through Jesus. You see, Jesus is central to every book of the Bible. After his resurrection Jesus said to his disciples,
“How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself… Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.” (Luke 24:25-27; 44-45)
In the Gospels, Jesus confounds his critics not just by quoting Scripture but by identifying himself as the one the Scriptures are speaking about.
“You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me.” (John 5:39).
Jeremiah and the New Covenant of Jesus from Stephen Sizer on Vimeo.
“The Temple Mount is like a smouldering volcano that is bubbling and threatening to erupt – a threat that is liable to endanger Israel’s existence.’ That was the summary of a report delivered to the Israeli prime minister by the former head of the Israeli secret service and by the former police commissioner. And the tragedy is this – some misguided Christians it seems are ready to light the fuse. Many Christians raised on the Scofield Reference Bible and books by authors like Hal Lindsey are convinced the Jewish Temple must be rebuilt so that it can be desecrated by the Anti-Christ, before Jesus can return. Hal Lindsey writes,
“Obstacle or no obstacle, it is certain that the Temple will be rebuilt. Prophecy demands it… [is] the most important sign of Jesus Christ’s soon coming is before us… It is like the key piece of a jigsaw puzzle being found… For all those who trust in Jesus Christ, it is a time of electrifying excitement.[1]
With Christians in the Middle East targeted because of the provocative film “Innocence of Muslims, with the church in Iraq decimated because of Western intervention, with civil war raging in Syria, and speculation mounting about a pre-emptive strike against Iran by Israel, I have to say the Christians I know in the Middle East don’t exactly see this as a time of ‘electrifying excitement’.
Orthodox Jews 3 times a day that the Temple will be rebuilt in their life time. And Zionist fundamentalists are dedicated to destroying the Dome of the Rock to achieve it.
But what on earth would cause Bible-believing Christians to agree with them on such a provocative act? If you want to explore what the Bible says about relationship between Israel and the Church and the place of the Temple today, check out my book, Zion’s Christian Soldiers, available from the church bookstore.
This morning I want us to explore what Jesus thinks about the idea. What does Jesus have to say about the Jewish Temple? Please turn with me to John 2:12.
“After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days. When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem.” (John 2:12-13)
Jesus the True Temple from Stephen Sizer on Vimeo.
The Book of Isaiah, written around 700 years before the coming of Jesus Christ, is quoted more times in the New Testament than any other book of the Hebrew Scriptures. Why is that? 754 of Isaiah’s 1292 verses are predicting the future. That means 59% of Isaiah is prophecy. Isaiah contains 11 direct prophecies concerning Jesus and it is cited or alluded to in at least 50 NT passages. Why? Why? Lets find out.
With the eyes of faith we see Isaiah 53 so explicitly refers to the Lord Jesus it doesn’t need much by way of explanation. Indeed it became so obvious that Isaiah was referring to Jesus after he was crucified and rose again from the dead, that, as the Church separated from the Synagogue, Isaiah 53 was no longer read as part of the Jewish lectionary. There are five paragraphs, each of three verses, and it begins in chapter 52:13.
1. The Predicted Saviour: The Servant’s Role (52:13-15)
2. The Rejected Saviour: The Servant’s Life (53:1-3)
3. The Representative Saviour: The Servant’s Suffering (53:4-6)
4. The Crucified Saviour: The Servant’s Death (53:7-9)
5. The Glorious Saviour: The Servant’s Resurrection (53:10-12)
Jesus : the Suffering Servant (Isaiah 53) from Stephen Sizer on Vimeo.
Signs can be very useful. Some signs tell you the obvious. Some signs leave it to your imagination. Sometimes signs tell you what lies ahead. Some signs tell others what you don’t really want them to know. Some signs tell you more than they probably should. Sometimes they tell you what to look out for. Sometimes they tell more about the writer than the sign itself. Sometimes signs should not be taken too literally. Sometimes signs are just plain confusing. But the best ones show us the way to heaven. In our Bible reading today we learn about the greatest sign in the world.
“What Jesus did here in Cana was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples put their faith in him.” (John 2:11)
Sometimes reading the end of a story helps you understand the beginning – and the middle bit too. That is true in this case. What happened at that wedding in Cana was therefore a sign. A sign that revealed who Jesus is, and why he came from heaven to earth. It was the first miraculous sign Jesus gave, so it was very important. It was very special.
And at the very end of the Gospel of John, to make sure we are in no doubt, John explains why he has highlighted particular signs. He says,
“Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (John 20:30-31)
Jesus The Sovereign King (John 2) from Stephen Sizer on Vimeo.
I am sure you have been appalled at the violence we have witnessed in the Middle East this week. One of the first and most perceptive challenges to the makers of the provocative film “Innocence of Muslims”, comes from a fellow evangelical pastor and film maker, Steve Martin. On his blog The New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good, he writes,
“I have no sympathy for anyone who would assassinate a US ambassador. But I have even less sympathy for filmmakers who spread hatred and for pastors who knowingly incite violence.”
He then asks,
“Which is the true story of America? Is it that of hatred that stokes violence, or of friends who join hands across religious lines to work for the good of all? Those who attacked Amb. Stevens, thanks to sociopaths like Terry Jones and filmmaker Sam Bacile, believe we are a violent people bent on domination. Sadly, there is some truth to that perception. But I believe that goodness and love is the true story of America, and certainly of the Evangelical community. Goodness and love, however, rarely make good news. It’s time that they do.”
Jesus is the King of the Jews from Stephen Sizer on Vimeo.
While the film “The Innocence of Muslims” which denigrates Mohammed, continues to inflame tensions across the Middle East, another incident this week typifies how some Jewish fundamentalists portray Jesus. Vandals from an illegal Jewish settlement near Jerusalem set fire to the entrance door of the Latrun Monastery early Tuesday and spray-painted slogans like “Jesus is a monkey”.
Upsetting? How should we react? The best way to introduce Muslims to Jesus is not to denigrate Islam or cast aspersions on Mohammed. The best way to introduce Jews to Jesus is not to denigrate Judaism or demonise Israel. The best way is the simplest way, to demonstrate the love of Jesus and invite them to meet him too.
These Sunday mornings through the Autumn, we are exploring John’s Gospel discovering that Jesus is indeed God’s love in person. So far we have discovered from John 1, that Jesus is nothing less than God on earth and that Jesus is the Lamb of God, the one who takes away our sin. Today I want us to realise that Jesus is also the Jewish Messiah.
As we sit at the feet of the Master, notice three parts:
Andrew tells Peter and they follow Jesus (John 1:35-42)
Philip tells Nathaniel and they follow Jesus (John 1:43-49)
Jesus confirms their faith and promises more (John 1:50-51)
Jonathan and Rachel share many common interests. One of them is golf. They are not alone in longing to consistently drive the middle of the fairway, hit the green in regulation, get out of sand traps in decent shape, and sink those birdie putts. And we are willing to spend serious money on the latest clubs, clothing, lessons, books and videos to achieve that.
Whether you play golf or not, here are 12 simple lessons I am learning about golf which equally apply to marriage. They may not improve your game of golf but they will certainly improve your game in life.
1. Golf teaches that we all have handicaps … and that hardly anybody knows what they really are. In marriage you get the chance to discover what those handicaps are in yourself and in your partner and in love help improve one another’s game.
2. Golf teaches that the best courses are the ones that hardly change what God put there in the first place. As they say, play the ball where it lies and play the course as you find it. Fulfillment comes in accepting each other the way God has made us, handicaps and all, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part.
Its been a pretty good time for pharmaceutical company shares – at least those selling stress reducing medications… First, there was the government sponsored report that revealed the next generation of home buyers will struggle to even get a toe hold on the property ladder. Whereas in 2000, house prices averaged four times annual earnings, by 2026, house prices will cost 10 times average earnings – so mortgages will get costlier and take longer to pay off. The solution? Simple. Live with your parents until you can move in with your children…
Then came a report by an eminent chronobiologist, Professor Russell Foster of Oxford University, who predicts we are becoming a “Zombie Nation”. We are literally sleep walk our way into economic disaster. Extended work hours and a growing 24/7 entertainment, shopping and TV culture is leading to serious sleep deprivation. The consequences are weight gain, a rise in irritability, hallucinations and motor car accidents. The answer? For years the army have used the drug modafinal to help. Want to get more out of life, can’t afford to sleep but don’t want to be a zombie? Try modafinal. Problem solved.
Do you ever read the names at the end of a movie? I usually only do so when the film has left me in a state of shock and I’m regaining my composure, like Woman in Black which I thought was safe because its rated a 12… I might watch the scrolling credits if there’s some neat music I want to listen to, or they have interspersed the credits with humorous out-takes that never made it into the film. Whoever reads the credits for the fun of it or to learn something significant? Doesn’t it ever amaze you that so many people’s names are listed? Are they real? And what’s a ‘Dolly Grip’ and ‘Best Boy’ anyway? Scrolling too fast to read any way there are hundreds of names of people who never made it in front of the cameras but who played an essential role and made the film possible. When you get to the end of one of Paul’s Epistles, it’s a bit like watching the credits at the end of a movie. Paul added them for a purpose. They are literally the credits for the movie of the Early Church. In Colossians 4:7-18 we meet an unusually long list of Christians who lived in Colossae. They may never have got to be in front of the cameras, an Apostle or perform miraculous signs, or write scripture or preach before kings and governors. So why do they get a mention? Because they played an essential role in the growth of the Church and Paul appreciated them. Paul holds them up as an inspiration to others. Listed here are ordinary Christians like you and me. They nevertheless played a vital role in the spread of the gospel.