Category Archives: Sermons

Philippians 3:10-14: The Purpose Driven Life

I recently bought myself the latest must-have luxury in-car accessory – a travel mug. Vacuum sealed, I could enjoy my favourite hot drink for an entire journey. Knowing I would be driving quite a bit that week I decided to give it a whirl on my way to a day conference at Oak Hill College. I decided to baptize it with some really strong Arabic coffee with cardamom seeds purchased in Jerusalem. High in caffeine there is nothing that will kick-start you faster in the mornings.

The aroma itself is quite intoxicating – in an entirely legal sort of way. In the stop-go traffic of the M25 I began to enjoy the fragrant aroma of my Arabic coffee with cardamon seeds. With around a hundred or so other clergy attending from right across England I had decided that on such an important day I should wear one of my nicest jackets, a white shirt and brown trousers.  I did indeed make quite an impression. Unfortunately I discovered belatedly that the momentum of driving in one direction can cause liquid refreshments to drive in another direction. While I did indeed enjoy the taste of some of the coffee, some of it also left me with really quite impressive coffee stain down my white shirt as well. It could easily have been mistaken for dried blood from a wood chopping incident had it not been for the fragrant aroma of Arabic coffee with cardamom seeds. My lesson for the day? Everyone could tell I had been driving, and not very well.

Everyone of us is driven by something. Is it as obvious to everyone else as a coffee stain? What is driving your life? Is it fear? Is it anger? Is it remorse? Is it ambition? The desire to please? The accumulation of possessions?  A few years ago we examined what the scriptures teach about the Purpose Driven Life. We saw why Rick Warren’s book has become so popular.  Rick identifies five main purposes that God intends to be a driving force in our life.

1.We were planned for God’s pleasure – to know him and love him;

2.We were formed for God’s family – to find a home and family;

3.We were created to become like Christ – with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control;

4.We were shaped for serving God – with a unique mix of talents, skills and passion; and

5.We were made for a mission – to introduce other people to God’s five purposes for their lives too.

Without a God-given purpose to shape our life, we become driven by destructive influences for we are all motivated by something. Here are three of the most common forces that drive people. People are:

1.Driven by Guilt and Fear

Many people are unable or unwilling to forget what lies behind. They are unable to hide from their past. The Apostle Paul had every reason not to forget his past either. As we saw last week, he writes, “As for zeal, persecuting the church” (Philippians 3:6). He had hunted down Christians, he had supervised their arrest. He had prosecuted them and even approved their execution. “Guilt-driven people are manipulated by their memories” so that “their past controls their future”. But even though “we are products of our past” … “we don’t have to be prisoners of it.”  God’s purpose is not limited by our past. His purposes are not neutralized by the mess we make of life.

God promised through Jeremiah to his wayward people, “For I know the plans I have for you … plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11). God is concerned with your future not your past. Without a God-given purpose for the future many people are driven by guilt & fear from the past. That is why Paul insists, ”Forgetting what is behind … I press on toward the goal.” (Philippians 3:13). We must forget the past and look to the future.  Secondly, many people are:

2. Driven by Anger and Resentment

Holding on to hurts is incredibly destructive. If we don’t forgive and forget, we will remember and resent. “Resentment driven people either ‘clam up’ and internalize their anger or ‘blow up’ and shower others with the fall-out.” Anger always hurts.  Paul writes with sadness about some who were once friends:

“For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction…” (Philippians 3:18-19).

If we do not forgive, Jesus warns, God will not forgive us. Forgiveness is at the heart of the gospel – it is the purpose of the cross. To not forgive is to turn our backs on Jesus and what he has done for us. In Philip Yancey’s book What’s so Amazing about Grace? he writes “Not to forgive imprisons me in the past and it locks out all of the potential for change.” Resentment always hurts you more than the one resented. “While the one in the wrong has probably forgotten what it was that offended you, you will continue to stew in it, chained to the past.” Rick Warren says, “Listen: Those who have hurt you in the past cannot continue to hurt you now unless you hold on to the pain through resentment. Your past is past! Nothing will change it. You are only hurting yourself with your bitterness.”

God promised through Jeremiah “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:12-13). Instead of crying out against others in rage, give them over to him. He will listen. He can take it. Seek him and you will find him. Forgive and you will be forgiven. For to forgive is also to forget. To “forget” in the Bible means “no longer to be influenced by”. In Hebrews 10:17 the Lord promises

“Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” That doesn’t mean God has a bad memory! It means He forgives our past as if its forgotten.

That is why we should not keep looking back.  When Paul urges us to forget the past, he means that we are to break the power of the past by living for the future. We cannot change the past, but Jesus has changed the consequences of our past. Driven by guilt and fear, driven by anger and resentment. Thirdly many people are

3. Driven by Wealth and Materialism

The desire to acquire can so easily become a consuming passion. The drive to want more comes from the mistaken belief that ‘more’ will make me more happy, more important, more secure. The truth is the very opposite. Possessions only provide temporary happiness. I know. I’ve only ever owned one new car in my life. Actually I only owned  50% of the car – the other half belonged to a charity. But at least I told myself that my half was the visible half. It was a metallic blue Nissan Prairie, with sliding doors. And it drove like a van. But I confess that it did make me feel good driving the kids to school on that first day in a shiny new car, with my arm out of the window and with a smile on my face as if to say ‘look at me…’ The fun lasted precisely 11 months and 29 days until… the new registration plate came out and my new car became just a used car. If you want to own the latest registration plate you have to change your car every six months now… The fact is, “Self worth and net worth are not the same. Your value is not determined by your valuables … God says the most valuable things in life are not things …

Real security can only be found in that which can never be taken from you – your relationship with God.” John Stott writes: ‘Certainly no one can know himself until he has honestly asked himself about his motives. What is the driving force of his life? What ambition dominates and directs him? Ultimately there are only two controlling ambitions, to which all others may be reduced. One is our own glory, and the other, God’s.’

As we saw last week, that is why Paul says, “But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ.” (Philippians 3:7-8)

Paul counted the best the world could offer as rubbish compared to knowing Jesus. His life had become purpose driven.  Three destructive things that drive many people : People driven by guilt and fear, driven by anger and resentment; driven by wealth and materialism. In Philippians 3, Paul offers a much more worthwhile motivation : the God-given purpose driven life. This is how he describes it:

“I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,  and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:10-14)

There are at least five benefits from living a purpose-driven life contained in this passage.

1. Knowing your purpose gives meaning to your life

Paul writes: “I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” (Philippians 3:12).

“Without God, life has no purpose, and without purpose, life has no meaning. Without meaning, life has no significance…” The greatest tragedy is not death. The greatest tragedy is to live without a purpose.

That is a life sentence. We were made to have meaning. “I know the plans I have for you” God promised through Jeremiah. The initiative is all from God. Paul’s life had been transformed because the grace of Jesus had taken hold of him. This is why Paul can be so emphatic “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of sharing in his suffering.” (Philippians 3:10). Jesus had shown Paul love and forgiveness in friendship. Jesus had given Paul meaning and hope, a new purpose for living. “Hope is as essential to your life as air and water. You need hope to cope.

Dr. Bernie Siegel found he could predict which of his cancer patients would go into remission by simply asking, “Do you want to live to be one hundred?” Yes or no? Those with a deep sense of life purpose answered ‘yes’ and were the ones most likely to survive. Hope comes from having a purpose.”  Knowing your purpose gives meaning to your life

2. Knowing your purpose simplifies your life

Paul writes, “But one thing I do.” (Philippians 3:13). One thing.  One. “One thing you lack” Jesus says to the rich young man in Mark 10. “Only one thing is needed” Jesus has to say to over worked and hyper-critical Martha in Luke 10. “One thing I know” cries the man who had received his sight by the power of Christ, in John 9. Often we are involved in too “many things”. Only one thing matters. God’s purpose for you today – this moment. No athlete succeeds by doing everything.

They succeed by specializing. On Monday I met Josh Salzmann in the changing room at Wentworth. Josh is the director of fitness at Wentworth. He has a physique many men would die for. The secret is exercise. To concentrate on “one thing,” – to be purposeful, intentional, focused. Paul is single-minded about his ambition. “One thing I do”. This does not mean he neglected every other area of his life. Rather it means that all else was subordinated to his goal. Without a clear purpose we lack the foundation on which to base our decisions, allocate our time, or use our resource.

Life becomes cluttered with choices made based on circumstances, pressures, and emotions. Not knowing our purpose leads to overwork, to stress, fatigue and tension. On the other hand, knowing your purpose simplifies your life because, “It defines what you do and what you don’t do. Your purpose becomes the standard you use to evaluate which activities are essential and which aren’t.” I regularly remind myself that it is impossible to do everything people want me to do. I have just enough time to do God’s will. If I can’t get it all done, it means I am trying to do more than God intended for me to do or just fiddling with my computer.  Rick Warren says wisely, “Purpose-driven living leads to a simpler lifestyle and a saner schedule.” Knowing your purpose gives meaning to your life. Knowing your purpose simplifies your life

3. Knowing your purpose focuses your life

“I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.” (Philippians 3:13)

Paul is describing the athlete stretching out, straining every muscle as he goes flat out for the finish. He brings to mind the striking image of Eric Liddell, the Olympic runner whose story was retold in the film Chariots of Fire, chest out, head held high, legs and arms pumping furiously as he tore down the back straight to the finish to win the Olympic gold medal.

When he was criticized for spending so much time training as a runner instead of becoming a missionary, he said “I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure.” Do you? Do you feel his pleasure knowing you are fulfilling your purpose? Paul isn’t saying “I’ve arrived” but he does say “I don’t look back.” That’s because one of the rules of running is that you don’t look back.

When you’re in the middle of a race you don’t look over your shoulder, because when you do, it can throw off your confidence if you see somebody gaining on you. It can throw off your step so that you slow down. You will lose your balance. You could fall. There’s no reason to look back. As a runner, you’re focused only on the finishing line. You cannot focus on what is ahead and turn your head at the same time.  Take your eyes off Jesus and you will focus on other people and what they have or have not done. Focus on Jesus and his love and everything is put in its right perspective.

Here’s a test: Lee Strobel once said, “If you can’t sing ‘Amazing Grace’ with tears in your eyes–or at least in your heart–then you really don’t understand what it means.” Does the grace of God drive your life? Does it grip you? Does it motivate you?

Knowing your purpose gives meaning to your life.
Knowing your purpose simplifies your life
Knowing your purpose focuses your life

4. Knowing your purpose motivates your life

“I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:14)

This is purpose produces passion. Nothing energises more than having a clear purpose. “On the other hand, passion dissipates when you lack a purpose.” Rick says, “Just getting out of bed can become a major chose. It is usually meaningless work not overwork that wears us down, saps our strength, and robs our joy.” We won’t become a winning athlete by listening to lectures, watching movies, reading books, and cheering at the games. An athlete is not distracted by cream buns or heckling bystanders.

They win by getting on to the track, practising hard and determining to win. Hebrews tells us “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.”  (Hebrews 12:1-2)

Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith. He started the race for us and he will finish it with us. We are not alone. He is with us by his Holy Spirit. There is no greater motivation than discovering the purpose for which you were created. Knowing your purpose gives meaning to your life, it simplifies your life, it focuses your life and it motivates your life. Finally,

5. Knowing your purpose prepares you for eternity

“I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:14) “Many people invest their entire lives building up a legacy on earth.” Its all for the children they rationalize. “They want to be remembered when they’re gone.” They want to be immortalized so we name roads after them. Think of the names of some of the roads in Virginia Water. Simon’s Walk, Cabrera Avenue, Wellington Avenue, Stuart Way. “what ultimately matters most will not be what others say about your life but what God says… because all achievements are eventually surpassed, all records are one day broken, all reputations eventually fade, all tributes are soon forgotten, and even road names can get changed.

I’m sure you have heard of Dr James Dobson. He recently retired as Founder and President of Focus on the Family. “In College, [the young] James Dobson’s goal was to become the school tennis champion. He felt proud when his trophy was prominently placed in the school’s trophy cabinet. Years later, someone mailed him that trophy. They had found it in the rubbish bin when the school was remodeled. Jim says “Given enough time, all your trophies will be trashed by someone else.”

Living to create an earthly legacy is a short-sighted goal. How much wiser to build an eternal legacy. You were not put on earth to be remembered. You were put here to prepare for eternity. “I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:14).

C.S. Lewis put it like this: “Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.” “One day you will stand before God, and he will do an audit on your life, a final exam, before you enter eternity.” As the Apostle Paul says, “For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat … So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.” (Romans 14:10,12). The good news is that God wants you to pass the test. He has given us the questions in advance. What will those questions be?

1. What did you do with my Son, Jesus Christ?

God is not interested in our religious background or our religious views. The only thing that will matter is this – Did you receive Jesus as your Lord and Saviour? Did you learn to love him? Did you learn to trust him? Did you choose to follow Him? Jesus says “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me.” (John 14:6). What did you do with my Son? Second question:

2. What did you do with what I gave you?

How did you invest the time, the skills and the money I entrusted to you? What did you make of the opportunities, the energy, the relationships I created for you. Did you spend them on yourself? Or did you invest them for me and my purposes? Preparing you for these two questions is the purpose of this Church and everything we stand for – “to know Christ and make him known”. Rick Warren says “The first question will determine where you spend eternity. The second question will determine what you do in eternity. So what is the driving force of my life? What would other people say it is? What do I want it to be?” For one day soon, the driving force of your life will become as visible and as obvious as the coffee stains were on my white shirt. Want to know what drives me?

“I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings… I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:10, 14)

Lets pray.

 

Dear Lord, help me discover your purposes for my life so that I might know you, love you and faithfully serve you all the days of my life, so that one day I may hear you say, “We’ll done, my good and faithful servant.” In Jesus’ name. Amen.

 

 

 

This sermon draws heavily on material from Rick Warren’s book “The Purpose Driven Life” (Zondervan) and is intended to motivate people to read the book and undertake the Purpose Driven Life – 40 Days of Purpose.

For more information see the Purpose Driven Life and details of Rick Warren’s best-selling book. For further sermons in this series see below:

40 Days of Purpose
What drives your life? : Ephesians 1:1-14
What on earth am I here for?
You were planned for God’s pleasure
You were formed for God’s family
You were created to become like Christ
You were made for a mission
Living with Purpose : Ephesians 6:10-18

Created to become like Christ : Ephesians 4
How to Grow : Philippians 2
Transformed by Truth : James 1:17-27
Growing through Temptation : Matthew 4:1-11
It Takes Time : Philippians 1:1-11

Formed for God’s Family : Ephesians 5:1-11
A Place to Belong : Romans 12:3-16
Cultivating Community : 1 Corinthians 5:1-13
Restoring Broken Fellowship : Matthew 5:17-24
Protecting our Church : Matthew 18:15-22

Chosen for a Purpose : Ephesians 1
What drives your life? : Philippians 3
Seeing Life from God’s View : 1 Corinthians 4
What Makes God Smile? Genesis 6
The Heart of Worship : Romans 12:1-2
Becoming Best Friends with God : John 15:9-17
Worship that Pleases God : John 4:19-26
When God seems distant : Job 23

Counting your Profits and Losses: Philippians 3:1-11

Can you imagine earning £3 million a day? Can you imagine spending £3 million a day? For every day of every week of every year of your entire life? Then you are beginning to comprehend how much money Bernard Madoff confessed to defrauding his clients of Friday. He faces a possible 150 year jail sentence for defrauding people of a cool $65 billion dollars. But that amount pales by comparison with what the British government is planning to do legally over the next three months.

The Bank of England has just announced unprecedented steps to prevent the deepest slump since the 1930s. Described as “Quantitative Easing” policy makers cut the key interest rate to 0.5 percent last week, the lowest since the bank was founded in 1694. The Economist described this policy of “Quantitative Easing” with something of an understatement as advancing “to the frontier of orthodox monetary policy.” But more dramatically, this week, the Bank of England published plans to print £75 billion pounds. Something the Economist described as “having already crossed a frontier…”

Newsweek Magazine, noting that some banks made a profit the last two months and that their shares are rising, has confounded the pessimists by predicting we are actually entering a bull market.  Their headline shouts “Buy”. So should we sell or buy? Should we sit tight or take risks? What lessons do we learn from the week? Jesus once asked a question which may shed light on all this.

“What good is it for you to gain the whole world, yet forfeit your soul?” (Mark 8:36).

What good is it for you to defraud $65 billion dollars and forfeit your freedom? What good is it for a nation to print £75 billion pounds and continue in the life style that led to the crisis? Despite the front cover of Newsweek suggesting we are entering a bull market instead of  a bear market, I’d like to suggest a third option – a Biblical market – for God has spoken more about wealth than just about any other subject in the Bible. My advice is sell, sell, sell and invest in the Church. We give a far better rate of return and for a far longer period. Jesus says:

“I tell you the truth, no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel  will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields–and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life.” (Mark 10:29-30)

That’s what I call a pretty good rate of return. In our passage from Philippians this morning Paul encourages us to think about our profit and loss account.

“But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.  What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ.” (Philippians 3:7-8)

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Deal or No Deal? The Plagues of Exodus 7-11

One of the most popular game shows on TV at the moment is Noel Edward’s “Deal or No Deal” on Channel 4. If you have not watched it before, it is the game show in which any one of 22 players try and win up to £250,000. There are 22 sealed boxes with prizes from 50p to a quarter of a million pounds. A chosen candidate has to eliminate as many boxes as possible before guessing which one has the highest remaining prize. And during the programme the banker calculates the chances of having to pay out and offers the contestant a deal that will spread his own risk and hopefully tempt the contestant to make a deal. There are 22 boxes but only one question: “deal – or no deal”? The programme even has its very own website and you can go on a pilgrimage tour of the studios. Its not just a game of chance. It also involves the laws of probability and the psychology of risk.

In today’s study in Exodus God offers Pharoah a deal. “Let my people go so that they may worship me.” (Exodus 7:16)? The deal? Then “you will know that I am the Lord.” (Exodus 7:17).  God’s purpose? We see this in the promise he made earlier to the Israelites: “I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.” (Exodus 6:7).

Was that promise just for the Israelites? No, of course not. Otherwise, we would not be here today. “This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.  For there is one God and one mediator between God and human beings, Christ Jesus, himself human, who gave himself as a ransom for all people.” (1 Timothy 2:3-6)

And the Apostle Peter writes, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)

And this is not simply a New Testament idea. The Lord God says through the prophet Ezekiel insists, “For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live!” (Ezekiel 18:32)

In Exodus 7-11, God is saying to Pharaoh, “I want to give you and your people an opportunity to get to know me. I want to give you a lesson on divine authority. What I want in return is for all my people, all their children, all their animals, all their property, because I want to take them into their own land.” We know that many Egyptians also came to know and fear the Lord. During those terrifying plagues, in compassion, God told Pharaoh how to avoid any loss of life

“Give an order now to bring your livestock and everything you have in the field to a place of shelter, because the hail will fall on every person and animal that has not been brought in and is still out in the field, and they will die.’ ” Those officials of Pharaoh who feared the word of the LORD hurried to bring their slaves and their livestock inside. But those who ignored the word of the LORD left their slaves and livestock in the field.” (Exodus 9:19-21)

Many Egyptians survived because they obeyed God. And when the Israelites finally escaped, we are told in Exodus 12, “The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Sukkoth. There were about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children. Many other people went up with them, and also large droves of livestock, both flocks and herds.” (Exodus 12:37-38)

Who were the ‘many other people’? Egyptians of course! God’s people have always been an inclusive people, have always incorporated those of other nations – on the basis of faith in the one true God. Membership of God’s people has never on the basis of race or racial purity (see Deuteronomy 23:7-8; Psalm 87:4), always on the basis of faith.

What we have therefore in Exodus 7-11 is an object lesson – an evangelistic call if you will – a lesson in Divine Authority – The ultimate “deal or no deal?” God said to the Israelites “Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.” (Exodus 6:7). And, chapter 7:5, he wanted the Egyptians to know Him too. “the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord…” (Exodus 7:5). And you know what, that’s the reason the story is in the Bible. He wants us to know that He is the Lord too.

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Going from Bad to Worse: Lessons in Survival Exodus 5-6

Have you had a stressful week? If not, Mary Carmichael, writing in this week’s Newsweek will give you a few reasons: “If you aren’t already paralyzed with stress from reading the financial news, here’s a sure way to achieve that grim state: read a medical-journal article that examines what stress can do to your brain. Stress, you’ll learn, is crippling your neurons so that, a few years or decades from now, Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease will have an easy time destroying what’s left. That’s assuming you haven’t already died by then of some other stress-related ailment such as heart disease.

As we enter what is sure to be a long period of uncertainty-a gantlet of lost jobs, dwindling assets, home foreclosures and two continuing wars-the downside of stress is certainly worth exploring. But what about the upside? …  We’ve blamed stress for a wide variety of problems, from slight memory lapses to full-on dementia-and that’s just in the brain… Sure, stress can be bad for you, especially if you react to it with anger or depression or by downing five glasses of Scotch.But … in some circumstances, it can be good for you, too…. As Spencer Rathus puts it in Psychology: Concepts and Connections, “some stress is healthy and necessary to keep us alert and occupied.” … [infact] Janet DiPietro, at Johns Hopkins University. [says] “… most people do their best under mild to moderate stress.” Carmichael goes on to explain, “The stress response-the body’s hormonal reaction to danger, uncertainty or change- …help us survive, and if we learn how to keep it from overrunning our lives, it still can. In the short term, it can energize us, “revving up our systems to handle what we have to handle,” says Judith Orloff, a psychiatrist at UCLA.”

Well, my stress levels went up this week, first on Monday, I was chopping wood and missed and cut the top of my thumb off and spent 3 hours in casualty. Then on Wednesday someone sent me an email asking me to check my Body Mass Index (BMI) on the National Health website. I did, and for the first time ever, I now have a clinical assessment of my body mass index. All I will reveal is that I’ll be spending longer in the gym in future. In each case the stress was good for me. On Monday it got me to hospital singlehandedly… and on Wednesday it got me on the ski machine for an hour and a half.  I know my goal if I want to survive, mentally and physically. But what about spiritually? How do we survive spiritually? How do we test our fitness here as well? In just the same way – under stress. The Apostle Paul wrote about it to the Romans, “we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” (Romans 5:3-4)

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The Exalted Christ: Philippians 2:8-13

A teenager had just got his driving licence. He asked his father, if they could discuss the use of the car. His father took him to his study and said to him, “I’ll make a deal with you. You bring your grades up, study your Scriptures a little and get your hair cut and we’ll talk about it.” After about a month the boy came back and again asked his father if they could discuss use of the car. They again went to the father’s study where his father said, “Son, I’ve been real proud of you. You have brought your grades up, you’ve studied your Scriptures diligently, but you didn’t get your hair cut!” The young man waited and minute and replied, “You know Dad, I’ve been thinking about that. Samson had long hair; Moses had long hair, why even Jesus had long hair….” To which his father replied….”Yes, and they walked every where they went!”

I think we would agree that God wants us all to grow. It’s a no-brainer. But have you noticed how different the word “grow” sounds when someone adds that little word “up”? “Grow up” It has negative connotations. It implies a degree of immaturity. It suggests we are not there yet. And that is the point. We are not there yet. We have not arrived. There is work to do, growing up. The Apostle Paul writes in Philippians 2:1 and 5, “Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ…In your relationships with one another, have the same attitude of mind Christ Jesus had.” (Philippians 2:1, 5)

Because we have some way to go, in our reading today, Paul introduces another “Therefore”. Verse 12, “Therefore… continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” (Philippians 2:12-13)

Our heavenly Father’s goal is that we mature and become like Jesus Christ. But spiritual growth is not automatic. It takes time and energy. We must want to grow up and we must persevere in growing. Discipleship is another word to describe growing up or working out our salvation. Salvation is actually three dimensional. It involves my past, my present and my future. Let me illustrate this…

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Imitating Christ: Philippians 2:5-8

It has topped The New York Times’s bestseller list. Sold over a million copies in a year. It has been called The Pilgrim’s Progress of our generation. It’s received rave reviews from Christian leaders. So what is it about William P Young’s The Shack that has captivated so many people? Without giving the plot away, the heart of the book is a series of extended conversations between a man called Mack and the three Persons of the Trinity, about why God allows suffering in his creation.

These conversations take place in a shack associated with a deeply traumatic family tragedy, the worst nightmare of any parent. Through these conversations, God reveals deep secrets about himself, about the nature of the universe, that slowly begin to heal Mack’s anger and pain. (See Paul Grimmond’s excellent article in the Briefing for a critique of the Shack)

Allowing for the fact that the book is fiction, you need to know that Young depicts God the Father “(addressed throughout the book as “Papa”) as a middle-aged, slightly overweight and extremely cheeky African American woman who loves to bake, Jesus as a  man of Middle Eastern appearance in blue jeans, and the Holy Spirit as a slight woman of Asian appearance who is seen more clearly when you aren’t looking directly at her.” So what makes an imaginative but extended dialogue with the three persons of the Trinity so popular with non-Christians?  At several key points in The Shack, God declares that love must involve no compulsion and therefore no expectations…

The message is reinforced when the Father declares, “I don’t need to punish people for sin. Sin is its own punishment, devouring you from the inside. It’s not my purpose to punish it; it’s my joy to cure it.” (p. 120). God says the Mack, “we are submitted to you… we want you to join us in our circle of relationship. I don’t want slaves to my will; I want brothers and sisters who will share life with me.”  (p. 145-146). Put simply, the God of The Shack, while sometimes angry at people’s folly, is never angry with people. Sad yes, angry no. Or perhaps it is more accurate to say that his anger will never lead to judgement. So we are relieved to hear the God of the Shack assuringly insist, “Evil and darkness… do not have any actual existence.” (p. 136).

In a beguiling way, The Shack speaks words about God and sin and judgement that will scratch itching ears, but this is still not enough to account for the book’s popularity. If there is one thing that Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code exposed was the deep seated suspicion that the Church down the ages has distorted and corrupted the real Jesus. And the failure of the Church is woven into the fabric of this story too. So Jesus insists, “who said anything about being a Christian?” (p. 182) “My life was not meant to be an example to copy. Being my follower is not trying to ‘be like Jesus’…” (p. 149).

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Grace and Peace: An Introduction to Philippians

“Why is it that we rejoice at a birth and grieve at a funeral? It is because we are not the person involved.” That was Mark Twain. Here is another of his ditties on grief and joy.

“Grief can take care of itself, but to get full value of a joy you must have somebody to divide it with.” Mark Twain was a professional humorist. His lectures and writings have made people laugh all over the world. He had that rare gift of enabling people to forget their troubles, at least for a time. Yet Mark Twain was himself, in private a man whose life was broken by sorrow.  When his daughter Jean died suddenly of an epileptic seizure, Twain, too distressed even to go to the funeral.

He said to a friend, “I have never greatly envied anyone but the dead. I always envy the dead.”  Many of the people who have brought the most happiness to the world have been people who have suffered deeply.  Isaiah the prophet described Jesus Christ as “A Man of sorrows acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3). Yet we know from the Gospels that Jesus possessed a deep and lasting joy. As He faced the cruel death of Calvary, Jesus said to His followers, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” (John 15:11).  Hebrews tells us “For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame.” (Hebrews 12:2). Indeed, Jesus explained that while his friends would grieve when he died, his resurrection would bring them lasting joy,

“Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy…I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy… Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.” (John 16:20-22, 24).

So, one of the consequences of coming to know God as our loving Heavenly Father through the Lord Jesus Christ, of having the assurance of sins forgiven, of eternal life, of the indwelling, empowering, equipping, baptising, filling of the Holy Spirit – is the joy, the joy of Jesus. After love, the second fruit of the Spirit. Joy. Yet it seems we don’t always take advantage of this privilege. We live under a cloud of discouragement, of disappointment, even of despair, dependant on our circumstances, on the newspaper headlines, on the weather, on other people, when we could and we should be experiencing deep seated joy of Jesus.  What robs us of this joy?

The answer to this important question is found in Paul’s intensely personal letter to the Philippians. In just 104 verses Paul uses the personal pronoun no less than 100 times. Not because he is being boastful or having to defend his apostleship. No, he is writing to friends who have been loyal and generous and he cares passionately about their welfare in a hostile and increasingly menacing world.

With the prospect of a very challenging year ahead, when pundits are comparing this recession to the Great Depression of the 20s and 30s, there is good reason for studying Philippians together on Sunday mornings in the Spring.

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Building Community to Defeat Extremism

Remember that phrase in the film Miss Congeniality when all the beauty contestants are asked what is the one most important thing our society needs? They all reply “world peace” and the crowd cheers ecstatically. What is your wish for Virginia Water in 2009? Sounds a little more specific than your hopes for the entire world doesn’t it?

Focussing on Virginia Water moves us from generalities to responsibilities, from what we hope others will do to what we can do. And sometimes it only takes one person’s initiative. I hope you too were inspired by PC Elaine Bryant’s initiative to get the first ever Virginia Water community Christmas trees up. I kept thinking two things – first, why hadn’t we done it before and second, see what a person with vision and determination can achieve in a few weeks to bring us together.

OK, we are only talking about two Christmas trees with lights for heaven’s sake but that is not the point. Judging by the hundreds of people who turned out on a cold wet evening, including families with small children and senior citizens, to sing carols, drink mulled wine and eat mince pies and ginger bread men, perhaps PC Bryant’s initiative struck a chord in a lot of us. We certainly had more police officers in Virginia Water than I have ever seen before.

So what is my hope for Virginia Water in 2009? To see you and everyone else in the community come to know Jesus as your friend and leader. That is my first hope and prayer. If you want to know more, come along any Sunday at 9:30, 11:00 or 6:30.

My second hope is to see us as a community grow closer together in the year ahead. With the recession beginning to bite harder and forecast to last at least a year, with the steady rise in radical political and religious extremism, anti-social behaviour and the threat of terrorism ever before us, the temptation in 2009 will be to retreat into our shells or begin to blame others for our woes.

Remember Oswald Mosley and his Black Shirts that fed off the back of the Great Depression? How do we avoid it ever happening again? If we are tempted to think it could never happen here, we need to think again. I was pleased to see that the Holocaust Research Centre of Royal Holloway University are collaborating with German educational institutions in a conference this month in Berlin on holocaust perpetrators. The conference will address how and why ‘normal’ people become genocide perpetrators.

With the leaking in November of the names, addresses and occupations of the 12,000 members of the British National Party (BNP), media attention, has focussed on the handful of police officers, teachers and soldiers so identified. While membership of the political party is entirely legal, certain occupations are banned from being members of the BNP.

I was encouraged by two aspects of the incident. First, membership of such parties is still perceived to be an embarrassment to the majority of people in Britain. Second, given legitimate concerns over evidence of institutional racism and anti-semitism I was relieved that so few Christian leaders were listed.

Ben Wilson, a spokesman for the Church of England, said in November. “The church’s General Synod passed a motion in 2004 stating that any political movement that seeks to divide our communities on the basis of ethnicity is an affront to the nature of God revealed in creation and scripture and is a grave danger to harmonious community relationships; consequently voting for and/or supporting a political party that offers racist policies is incompatible with Christian discipleship.”

So how do we combat religious and political extremism and build community here in Virginia Water? Here are three ideas:

1. Support the Virginia Water Community Association; the Royal British Legion; our three local schools PTA’s and governing bodies at Trumps Green, Christ Church and St Ann’s Heath; the Scouts, Cubs, Guides and Brownies; the Library; the Help the Aged charity shop; and further afield, White Lodge and St Peters Hospital. There’s also the lobby against the incinerator at Trumps Farm. I am sure you can think of others.

2. Volunteer to serve in the community. At Christ Church, we encourage every member to volunteer at least an hour a week in the church and community – with things like a monthly senior citizen’s lunch club and Scallywags and Cherubs toddler groups. If everyone in Virginia Water volunteered an hour a week to the community, it would be the equivalent of employing 18 people. Two hours each and it would be the equivalent of employing 36 people. A sign of a healthy community is how well it cares for the most vulnerable – whether in terms of gender, health, age or race. How do you think we are doing?

3. Support community based events in 2009. There will hopefully be the VWCA Carnival Capers, the open air Summer art exhibition, the school productions and Fayres, the Polo Championship, the Wentworth bonfire, the Remembrance Sunday wreath laying, and now the Christmas tree lighting. At Christ Church we have added annual events like Mothering Sunday, the Bank Holiday Rogation Walk around Virginia Water, a Summer Picnic in the Park and of course the Church festivals of Easter, Harvest and Christmas to help build community.

So, how about it? What is your hope for Virginia Water in 2009? What are you prepared to do to turn it into a reality? If you have other ideas on how to strengthen our community write a letter to the editor. May the Lord bless you and those you love throughout the year ahead.

Article published in the January edition of Connection, the community magazine of Virginia Water, and delivered at the 2008 Wentworth Christmas Carol Concert

Christmas: God’s Indescribable Gift

Hands up if you have already opened all your Christmas presents. Hands up if you haven’t opened your Christmas presents yet. Hands up if you have only opened some of your Christmas presents. Hands up if you don’t know if you have opened all your Christmas presents yet. In our family we have a tradition that although Father Christmas may leave some small edible gifts in the night by our beds while we are sleeping, we try really hard to restrain ourselves and open our larger gifts after lunch. But why do we give presents at Christmas? Is it because Nicholas gave gifts to a poor family? Is it because the wise men brought gifts to Jesus family? What were the gifts they brought? I like building traditions and so I’d like to suggest that as you share gifts today, or play with the ones you have already opened, you remember the most important gifts of all.

1. God’s Gift of Life

The Apostle Peter speaks of “The gracious gift of life” (1 Peter 3:7). We are alive today because God created us. If you have held a new born baby in your arms then you know what I mean.

2. God’s Gift of Food and Drink

“That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil-this is the gift of God.” (Ecclesiastes 3:13)

There are two very ancient prayers prayed by people of faith for centuries: “Blessed are you, O Lord God, King of the Universe, who brings bread up from the earth. Blessed are you, O Lord God, King of the Universe, who creates the fruit of the vine.” These two prayers, prayed during the festival of Passover are at the heart of our desire to thank God before we eat. None more so than today when we will probably eat one of the loveliest meals of the year.

If you don’t normally say grace before your meals, why don’t you start today? Thank God for the gift of food and drink.

3. God’s Ultimate Gift of His Son Jesus

Jesus describes himself in this way.

“If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” (John 4:10)

Jesus’ name means Saviour. And that is what he is and that is what he has done. One sentence in the Bible sums up God’s ultimate gift.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16).

Jesus came at Christmas to that we might be forgiven. He came to make us good. He came that we might go to heaven, saved by his precious blood. So when you open your Christmas gifts today, remember the most important gift God has given you. Jesus.

Have you received God’s gift of Jesus? With Jesus, God has given you many other gifts also.

The Gift of a Relationship
“Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12)

The Gift of his Grace
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works, so that no one can boast… the gift of God’s grace.” (Ephesians 2:8-9, 3:7)

The Gift of Eternal Life
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)

The Gift of Righteousness

“how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:17)

The Gift of the Holy Spirit
“Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38)

God has given us everything we need to serve him and become like him.

“Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.” (1 Corinthians 1:7)

All of these gifts – a right relationship with God, sins forgiven, eternal life, righteousness, His Holy Spirit – all of these are ours in Christ Jesus.

This is why the Apostle Paul could say, “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!” (2 Cor. 9:15). Indescribable!  This is what makes Christmas so special.  This should make us want to give gifts and use our gifts to serve others, not just today but every day. As Peter insists:

“Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.” (1 Peter 4:10)

This is what will show we are thankful for God’s gifts this Christmas. When we thank God for the gift of life. When we thank God for the gift of food and rink. And above all when we thank God for the gift of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

If you are not sure about all this take a copy of the booklet, “The Real Christmas”. If you would like to find out more, you are invited to a special supper on Thursday 5th February when we start our Christianity Explored course.  But if you are sure and you want to receive God’s gift of Jesus today, there is no better day in the year. The day that we celebrate when Jesus was born the Son of God can be the day you celebrate when you were born again as a child of God. Pray this prayer with me now silently.

“Lord Jesus, I recognise you as God’s greatest gift. Thank you for coming to earth to enable me to know God as my heavenly Father. Thank you for dying on the cross in my place so that I could be forgiven. I repent of my sin and all that has displeased you. Thank you for rising again so that I can have eternal life. Come into my life to be my Saviour and Lord, so that I can be born again. Thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit to help me serve you and please you for the rest of my life. I ask these things in Jesus name. Amen.”

If you prayed the prayer for the first time, then tell someone today. May we all treasure the gifts God has given us in Christ Jesus.  May God bless you and those you love this Christmas and for ever more.

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Recommended Bible Software



The Most important book in the world is the Bible. The most widely read book in the world is the Bible. The most highly prized book in the world is the Bible. The most suppressed book in the world is the Bible. And the most frequently downloaded book in countries that suppress religious freedom… is the Bible.

I probably use electronic versions of the Bible as much as my print version. As I travel a lot to teach and preach, having access to my Bibles, commentaries, encyclopedias and Bible dictionaries on my PDA and laptop is indispensable.

As a trustee of the International Bible Society-Send the Light (IBS-STL) Ministries Trust, its perhaps not surprising that I favour the New International Version (NIV) and Today’s New International Version (TNIV), but then again the NIV is the most widely read translation in English.

So what software would I recommend? The short answer is all of them for different reasons. Here is a list of the software I use regularly – in alphabetical order. True, there is some overlap between them and you will probably only want one or two (and the NET Bible and FreeBibleSoftware from the E4 Group is… free!). And I’m sure there are other excellent packages I do not personally own.

Laridian
Laridian provides a wide range of Bible translations, commentaries, encyclopaedias and dictionaries for the iPhone, Blackberry, iPod, Pocket PC, Palm devices and also Windows based personal computers. I use Laridian on a daily basis.

Libronix
Libronix used to be called Logos. I have had this software package for about as long as my PC Study Bible. I like its seamless library of resources.

The NET Bible
The NET Bible is an imaginative ‘open source’ project that provides high quality Bible study tools and resources within reach of the whole world without charge. You can access the NET Bible here.

PC Study Bible
The PC Study Bible was the first package I bought and I have found it enormously helpful over the years.

Pradis
Pradis is a simple to use but comprehensive Bible software package. I use it most frequently to cut and paste scripture into sermons.

QuickVerse
QuickVerse produce a wide range of software packages including for Palm Pilots and mobile phones. They even link to Google maps.

WordSearch
I have always liked Wordsearch because they include the Navigator’s Bible study questions – called Lessonmaker. This is a great tool if you are preparing Bible studies. You can buy it separately or as part of WordSearch.

Besides www.Bible.org and the E4 Group, I would also recommend www.Sermoncentral.com for free resources.

I commend these scripture resources that enable you to access the Word of God digitally for free or low cost. And if you want a print version in another language see here.

And since we are having this conversation, may I challenge you to contribute financially to the work of IBS-STL to enable people in other parts of the world receive a copy of the Scriptures in their own language for free?

See here for more information.