NOT WELCOME AT OUR CHURCH!

NOT WELCOME HERE

Who is welcome to church? We could glibly answer, “Everyone!” But we all know that’s not true. There is a group of people who will never be welcome to our church! This group consists of perfect people. Our church will never be for perfect people! We already have people who have done things they are ashamed of. We have former thieves in our church. We have former liars in our church. We have men who have betrayed their wives. We have wives who have betrayed their husbands. We have young people who have lost their innocence. We have business people who have cheated. We have formerly religious people who have perpetrated the most vile hypocrisies. Each of these people have found redemption after they were warmly welcomed to our church.  

The kind of church Jesus described to His original disciples was made up of people who were either reluctant to come to church, or worst still, unaware of its existence. Yet when these reluctant souls did come in, Jesus foretold, they would find love, acceptance, and forgiveness. 

But he said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’
Luke 14:16-17

JESUS NEVER DESCRIBED HIS CHURCH AS ‘NICE’

In this story, the Christ tells how those who might be described as ‘good’ or ‘nice’ were initially invited to the banquet. This is a picture of God the Father inviting people to His eternal heavenly banquet. But this lavishly generous invite met with an unappreciative response.

But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’
Luke 14:18-20

These were the invited guests who thought that the banquet was about food. The best banquets are never just about the food on offer. We see this same confusion today with those who think that the Father’s invite is an invitation to become religious. God does not invite people to become religious – He freely invites people to become to His heirs! C.S. Lewis once described this invite as being like someone who is offered a holiday at a beautiful beachside resort and upon arriving there they find the nearest mud puddle to plonk themselves down in and begin playing with the mud for the remainder of their holiday time, when just a few yards past the obscuring fence, is a beautiful beach to enjoy! The Father’s offer to enjoy eternal satisfaction is often rejected by those who think that nothing could be better than the mud-puddle they are sitting in presently!

The Host of the banquet then turns his attention to those who do not deserve his favour and instructs his servants to invite a different kind of people-

So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’”
Luke 14:21-24

JESUS DESCRIBED HIS CHURCH AS ONCE ‘BLIND & CRIPPLED’

The poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame accepted the banquet invitation with gratitude. None of these people had to be convinced of their woeful condition. It takes humility to acknowledge when we are poor, crippled, blind or lame. The guests to this sumptuous banquet discovered not only delectable food, but that their host had the power to cancel their debts, open their eyes, restore their withered limbs, and enable them to enjoy a dignity they had previously had no hope of. As outstanding as all this was, their Host was to do something else for them that far outweighed these acts of grace. Each one of these unloved orphans was made a member of His family and given the full rights and privileges of now being made a member of the royal family! 

Each Sunday as we gather, we are ‘shadow banqueting’. Our church service faintly reflects the Royal Heavenly Banquet which awaits us. We have each received with gladness the offer to come to that Banquet. Thus, each Sunday, we hobble, limp, and stumble along to the shadow-banquet. Our church is not comprised of perfect people. And neither was the early church. The apostle Paul described the church at Corinth, in Greece, as being comprised of formerly –  ‘sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, men who practice homosexuality, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, swindlers’ (1Cor. 6:9-10). He then reminds them of their adoption into God’s Royal family and their new identities-

And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
First Corinthians 6:11

Who is welcome to come to our church? Imperfect, flawed, broken, hurting, lost, lonely, confused, people – that’s who! Help me this Sunday to extend a welcome to people who don’t know any better than playing in life’s mud puddles. As this welcome sign in the entrance of Coventry Cathedral states, these people may look like they have it all together, or they may look like their life has fallen apart. It doesn’t matter. As the servant reported back to the banquet host, “There is still room for more!“

Pastor Andrew

CHRISTIANITY IS NOT WHAT YOU THINK!

CHRISTIANITY IS NOT WHAT YOU THINK

We are all religious. Some people are religious about their belief in, and worship of, God. Others are equally religious about their non-God beliefs such as the environment, politics, atheism, or their sporting team. This is why we all have religious opinions. But unlike other personal preferences, our religious ideas can not only be wrong, but also the difference between life and death – both now and beyond the grave – for eternity!

But Which Religion Is The Right One?

Despite the claims of some people that all religions are basically the same, a closer examination of each religion’s claims reveal just how different they are! The central teaching of each religion is the identity, nature, and character of God. Hinduism teaches that God is an impersonal force that can be worshiped as a multiplicity of idols. Islam teaches that God is a solitary being who is not bound to moral restrictions (“Allah is arbitrary”), which means that God can cheat, lie, and murder without moral impunity. Judaism teaches that God is the uncreated, eternal, and holy (the source of moral purity) Creator. Christianity teaches that God is the eternal Father, Son and Holy Spirit with the Son becoming a human being – God in the flesh. Islam teaches that this particular teaching of Christianity is the sin of shirk (Arabic: شرك‎‎ širk) – the unforgivable sin. As you can see from this brief survey of the world’s major religions, the most fundamental claim of any religion is the identity, nature, attributes and character of God – yet each of these religions contradict each other’s teachings about God! 

Like any truth claim, the claims of any religion can be tested. 

1. Does it comport with reality?
2. Is it consistent?
3. Is it ‘falsifiable’? (That is, if the claim is false, is it possible to show that it is false?)
4. Can its experiential claims be put to the test?

The case for the teachings of Christ (‘Christianity’) being the exclusively true religion can be shown to pass each of these truth-tests, and as I explain what is involved in becoming a Christian, it is the last of these four truth-tests that I will invite you to try. 

Becoming a Christian…

A Christian is someone who follows the teaching of Jesus of Nazareth as revealed in the Bible. Becoming a Christian involves a spiritual conversion – not just intellectual agreement. The Bible calls this “regeneration” (Titus 3:5) which Jesus described as being “born again” (John 3:3). This spiritual transformation is transacted by prayer to God asking Him to forgive us of our sin and save us from its eternal penalty because of the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ that first Easter.

Thus, when a person cries to God for help, there has come an awareness that there is something wrong – not just with the world, but with our own hearts. 

There comes a growing realisation that no matter how hard we try to ‘fix’ ourselves, we are unable to change our sinful, selfish, self-justifying behaviour. We eventually see that we need a Saviour. 

Christianity is the only religious view that has a “Saviour” – a Rescuer. We need to be rescued from the plight and peril of our sin. Sin is what separates mankind from God. It is an act of pride that says to God that we know best and He doesn’t. Sin is thus highly self-deceptive. It deceives into thinking we are better than we actually are. It maliciously tricks us into thinking that God is less than He actually is. It wounds our heart and calls it ‘pleasure’. It stains our souls and calls it ‘happiness’. It poisons our minds and calls it ‘progressive’. We need healing from sin. We need cleansing from sin. We need an antidote to sin – and only God can provide this healing, cleansing, antidote.

In His mercy, He plants a cry in our hearts to God for this healing-cleansing-antidote called: salvation. God then causes us to ‘see’ that if we cling to our sin and identify with it, that our sin deserves eternal justice for what it has done to humanity. But He also reveals that the God of Justice is also the God of Grace – who not only must punishsin but who has also sent His own Son as our substitute to take our penalty for identifying with sin. When a person realises this, God enables them to repent – to turn away from their identifying with sin, and turn to Him.  Repentance is a gift from God (2Tim. 2:25) which brings about a change in a person’s heart, mind and actions. The repentant person is now enabled to trust the One who acted as their substitute and bore the penalty for their sin: Jesus Christ.

The Bible promises that all those who simply call upon (the Name of) the Lord shall be saved from the penalty and doom of their sin (Romans 10:9-13).

because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”  For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”Romans 10:9-13

You don’t have to clean up your act first. You don’t have to become religious. You don’t have to improve yourself – before you call out to God for this salvation.

This is entirely a spiritual experience which has implications for our everyday lives. After becoming a Christian we think differently, act differently and feel differently towards others. This result is called “conversion”. Any unconverted person cannot reasonably be expected to claim that they are a Christian!

Perhaps you recognise your need for Christ? I invite you to put this experiential truth claim of Christianity to the test. Even though you may feel like you’re a million miles from God, you’re not – you’re just one step – and this first step is taken in prayer…

“Father God, I thank You that You have shown me my true condition before You and what sin has done to my heart, mind and soul. I thank You that have taken the penalty of my sin and graciously placed it on Jesus who was my willing Substitute. I thank You that Jesus has died in my place to heal and cleanse me from, and provide the antidote to, my sin. I ask you to forgive me, heal me, cleanse me, and set me free from my sins. Help me now to live for you and fill me with Your Spirit, Amen.”

Will you give your life to Christ and start your journey as a Christian? If Jesus Christ of Nazareth was correct, the grave is not the end, and from the moment we leave this life we either spend eternity enjoying eternal life with God in Heaven or separated from Him and His goodness enduring the penalty of our rebellion for eternity.

And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.Matthew 10:28

Andrew Corbett

It Starts With A Zip-Cord

It Starts

Years ago, an older farmer made a rare trip into his closest town to update how he cut down the trees on his property for firewood. The sales assistant showed him the latest range of chainsaws and then asked the bushy-bearded farmer, “How many trees do you cut down now?”

“Ohhh, I usually cut down about eight trees a day with ‘ol Faithful” he said.

“Well Sir, with this chainsaw you’ll be able to cut down at least twice that number!”

The old farmer handed over his hand-written cheque to the clerk and took home his new-fangled chainsaw. But less than a week later he stormed back into the small-engine shop and angrily slammed the chainsaw down on the counter and declared to the stunned sales assistant – “You told this thang would cut me sixteen trees a days!”

“Yes,” said the clerk, “it should have done that easily.”

“Well, the best I could do was just ten a day! I want my money back!”

The sales assistant picked up the chainsaw from the counter and looking at it, muttered, “That’s odd.” Walking around from behind the counter with the chainsaw, he then pulled the zip-cord to start the chainsaw to see if he could hear what the problem was. As the chainsaw’s engine started, the startled farmer exclaimed, “What on earth is that noise?” It appears that even though the farmer owned a chainsaw, he had no idea of how to use it or what its potential actually was!   

I think there are many Christians whose Christianity is just like the farmer and his new chainsaw. Even though they now possess something with enormous potential, they actually don’t know how to utilise any of it. Not enough believers know about their spiritual zip-cord which can fire-up their walk with Christ and their effectiveness for Christ.

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Galatians 2:20

The farmer who walked into the chainsaw shop had only ever used his old axe to make firewood. And just like many people who  have only taken the first step in following Christ and not learned to abandon their old way of living for the new life which Christ freely offers, the farmer actually possessed a new, far more effective and powerful tool which he neglected by using it just as he had with his old axe. Wielding a chainsaw like an axe might even lookeffective, but it is going to wear the wielder out in no time at all. It’s the same with trying to live the Christian life without the power of Christ. It can lookeffective, but after a while it wears the wielder out. This is why endurance is one of the hallmarks of a genuine believer.

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Matthew 11:28 (NET)

But let’s cut the old farmer some slack and give him some credit. After years of wielding an axe he was worn-out. In a similar way, all true believers should be thrilled when a weary pilgrim wanders into church on Sunday in search of the rumoured ‘life-power’ which they’ve heard God gives freely.  Their decision to go to church is a great first step in finding the peace, strength, and wisdom for living life. Many people are worn out simply trying to keep up with the pressures of life. We need to invite them, welcome them, receive them into our dining rooms, and show them what living with and for Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit really looks like.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Second Corinthians 5:17

 Yet, a person can arrive in church on a Sunday for the first time and see people extolling their spiritual ‘chainsaws’. They can hear the stories of just how difficult life was when all they had was an axe, and how wonderful life has become since they received the free gift of a spiritual ‘chainsaw’. These worn-out souls who hear such stories can leave church that day with a new hope – hope that there is a better way to do life. Yet, they themselves are yet to exchange their old blunt axe for a powerful eternally self-sharpening spiritual chainsaw. 

Sadly, some take the second step of inviting Christ to be their Saviour, Lord, Forgiver, and receive their spiritual chainsaw – yet are never shown how to use it. This is why Christian growth can never be measured in mere ‘years of service’, because there many many believers who still have not learned how to start their spiritual chainsaws. Perhaps they have never been shown. Perhaps they’ve brought their unhelpful and incompatible old ways and old thought-patterns into their walk with Christ. Either way, walking with Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit must be learned. 

What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me — practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

Philippians 4:9

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it

Second Timothy 3:14

Simply asking Christ to be your Saviour without learning how to live in the power of the Spirit maybe just like the farmer who updated his axe to chainsaw without ever learning how his new chainsaw worked! 

THE DECISION TO GET STARTED

Like all great adventures, the believer’s Spirit-empowered, Spirit-led, Spirit-filled journey with Christ begins with a decision – an act of the believer’s will. This decision is always informed by the Holy Spirit’s quickening of God’s Word. The believer reads Christ’s words in the Gospel of John and begins to hunger for the presence of the Promised Holy Spirit (“the Helper”) in their life.

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

John 14:26

Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.

John 16:7

 This hunger leads to prayer. Not tame prayers. Not shopping-list prayers. Not where did I leave my keys prayers. Heart-rending, soul-shaping, life-altering, prayers. These kinds of prayers begin to pull the spiritual zip-cord of the believer’s new life in the Spirit which leads to a new way of thinking, a new attitude, and a new set of relationships.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Romans 12:2

The believer’s new spiritual life, like any quality chainsaw, requires the right kind of fuel and material. Chainsaws don’t like dirt. The Spirit-led life doesn’t like the ‘dirt’ of secret sin. Dirt blunts chainsaws and renders them near-useless. Secret-sin blunts the spiritual-life of the believer and renders their witness and effectiveness ‘near-useless’.    

 Decision > Desire > Prayer > 

 THE SPIRIT EMPOWERED LIFE

Reading through Christ’s words in John chapters 14 and 16, we see that the Spirit-empowered life looks like

+ deepening intimacy with God

+ spiritual revelations 

+ reminders of God’s Word

+ extraordinary spiritual gifts

+ courage to endure opposition

+ leadership effectiveness that results in people being protected and cared for

+ and a passionate, persistent prayer life.

If you have surrendered your guilt-stained and sin-battered life to the Saviour, you have exchanged your old life for a new one. You have available to you the power of the Holy Spirit, “the same power which raised Christ from the dead”, to now help you to life effectively and bear much fruit for Christ. If you are tired and worn out on trying to be ‘religious’ in your own strength, and you want to know Christ more intimately, then it’s time to make a decision to pull your spiritual zip-cord and live the Spirit-empowered life! It starts with a decision that does not bend to feelings or whims. It awakens a desire for more of God in our life.  It leads to prayer which brings us to the cleansing of repentance through the washing of the water of God’s Word. It plants us in the community of the local church where become a pillar to strengthen the faith of our fellow struggling brothers and sisters. It sends us into a hurting, needy, broken and damaged world full of worn-out people who are dead-tired of doing life with an axe.

Amen.