ECCLESIOLOGY, Part 4 - THE NEED FOR ASSEMBLING

When most people think of ‘church’, I suspect they either think of a building with a steeple, or, the people in a Sunday meeting of a congregation. In this post, I’m addressing the latter understanding of church. Christ has ordained that His church meets together regularly. The original history of the Church (the Book of Acts) reveals that the first Church met in the Jerusalem where thousands gathered in the Temple’s outdoor precinct; and, in one another’s homes around Jerusalem. As the Church grew around the Mediterranean world, local churches initially met in the large homes of wealthy householders. These Greco-Roman households provided a ready-made structure to these new churches. It wasn’t too long before problems arose in many of the local churches. This is something that we should all be very thankful for, because the result of these church problems were the New Testament epistles. Within these epistles we find the biblically ordained liturgy (how a church service is conducted) for when a church assembles. Let’s consider what this is...

1. THE CHURCH IS ORDAINED TO ASSEMBLE TOGETHER

When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus

FIRST CORINTHIANS 5:4

I grew up going to a Primary School where the Principal held an outdoor “assembly” every week. I think Mr. Blackie was ex-military, at least that’s what one of the other students said when we had to standard to attention, salute the flag, then stand at ease. It was during this weekly assembly that important announcements were made, special achievements were mentioned, and the school’s rules were reinforced. At the conclusion of the assembly we were all given a small glass bottle of milk and an al’foil lid to drink (which was no fun on a hot summer’s day after these bottles of milk had gone-off in the outdoors full-sun!) This weekly assembly gave me a fuller understanding of what the apostle Paul was referring to when he wrote to the Corinthians. When the church gathered on the Lord’s Day each week, they were to assemble. They were, in a way, to ‘stand’ to attention, give God honour, pay attention to what said, then have a time of fellowship. This was not a mere optional obligation for believers. The writer to the Hebrews exhorts all believers to not to neglect the gathering (assembling) together - as is the habit os some! (Heb. 10:25). 

A Christian is one who (i) believes (in the saving work of Jesus Christ); (ii) belongs in a local church family; and, (iii) behaves in accord with the teaching of Christ. Each church family is called to assemble each week - that is, every believer is called to join with his or her church family and praise God together, participate in the ordinance of Holy Communion together, give heed to preaching and exposition of God’s Word, worship the Lord with their giving, and minister the grace of fellowship to one another. To consider more about the theology of the assembling of the church, I suggest The Community of the King by Howard A. Snyder. 

2. THE CHURCH IS ORDAINED TO PRAISE TOGETHER

Christianity is one of the few religions in which singing is a vital component of its worship of God. When a church praises God together with singing, it helps to refocus the worshipers onto the greatness of God. Congregational praise can be a positive distraction from the cares and worries of life. Singing our praise to God can be prayerful, meditative, and uplifting.  Praising God together can also be an effective witness to outsiders:

And in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy. As it is written,

“Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles,

and sing to your name.”

ROMANS 15:9

Praising God should be thoughtful so that it engages the mind and the heart of a believer. The Church has a long tradition of producing thoughtful hymns that enable this. There some denominations of churches which will only use the Psalms as the songs of their congregational praise - but, Colossians 3:16 encourages the use of much more than Psalms as the basis for church praises:

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

COLOSSIANS 3:16

This act of worship—singing—by a congregation is not dependent on whether someone is a good singer, because singing praise is a matter of heart, not talent! This is why every believer who attends their church family’s worship service is obliged to join in singing. 

3. THE CHURCH IS ORDAINED TO CONDUCT THE ORDINANCE OF HOLY COMMUNION TOGETHER

Jesus established certain ordinances (also identified as sacraments by some Church traditions) for His Church. These are universally acknowledged as holy communion (eucharist), water baptism (some denominations also refer to this as christening), and marriage. Each of these involve the interaction of the Holy Spirit.

Holy Communion - Christ, on the night He was betrayed, instigated the Lord’s Supper where He took unleavened bread, gave it to His disciples, and said “This is My body, take and eat.” Then He took the cup of unfermented fruit of the vine, and gave it to His disciples, and said, “This is My blood, drink this in remembrance of Me.”

¶ Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” And He took a cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”

MATTHEW 26:26-29

Holy Communion is a sacred ordinance of the Church. The earliest Christians came to recognise this ordinance as a significant aspect of their Sunday worship service. They understood Christ’s emphatic statement that the bread and wine - the elements (also referred to as 'accidents' by some church traditions) - were “My body” and “My blood” meant that when believers celebrated Holy Communion in faith that Christ Himself was present by His Spirit. That is, when the early believers ate and drank the communion elements in faith, they were actually nourishing their souls on Christ. Perhaps churches today might need to recapture some of this reverence for this sacred ordinance. At the very least, celebrating Holy Communion as a church congregation is one of the sacred things which constitutes an assembling of believers as a church.

4. WHEN THE CHURCH ASSEMBLES IT IS TO GIVE HEED TO THE PREACHING AND TEACHING OF GOD’S WORD

The apostle Paul told Timothy, his lieutenant, that his role at Ephesus was to preach the Word (2Tim. 4:2). The preaching and teaching of God’s Word was instigated by the apostles from the Church’s outset (note Acts 15:35; 1Peter 1:25). This demands two important things. Firstly, preachers and teachers of God’s Word are responsible for developing their skill and expertise to fulfil their ministry. I would strongly encourage preachers to learn how to preach the Word of God expositionally, rather than reading or reciting a sermon from a script. Do not read your sermon - preach it! For any preacher who would like to begin to hone their craft, I suggest, The Preacher’s Portrait, some New Testament Word Studies, by John R. W. Stott. Preachers should remember that the aim of a sermon was for a congregation not merely to hear a sermon, but to apply its lessons by heeding it.

Secondly, believers must learn how to listen and heed the preaching and teaching of God’s Word. Believers should bring their bibles to church and come prepared to take notes of what is preached and taught. This is an important component of what Christ has ordained for His church when they assemble.

5. WHEN THE CHURCH ASSEMBLES IT IS TO WORSHIP GOD THROUGH ITS GIVING

The Mosaic Law prescribed in the Old Testament including the bringing animals to be sacrificed, offerings of gold and silver (money), and the concept of regular giving in support of the Levites and priests referred to as tithes. Jesus told His hearers that they should tithe (Matt. 23:23). This was said in the context of the Mosaic Law still being current - despite the general corruption of the Levites and priests. It might then be tempting to dismiss to dismiss such a comment from Christ with a wave of the hand and a “But we’re now in the New Covenant” exclamation. However, before you do so, consider that much of what Christ taught about New Covenant ethics went higher - not lower - than Old Covenant ethics. Consider what Christ said about such things like murder, or adultery. In the case of murder, Jesus raised the standard to hating being equivalent to the sin of murder (Matt. 5:21-22), and for adultery He raised it to lusting after a woman being equivalent to adultery (Matt. 5:27-28)! 

In the early chapters of the Book of Acts we see how the early Church understood what Christ was teaching about giving - and it was certainly not a lower standard than the Old Covenant.

And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

ACTS 4:33-37

The apostle Paul instructed the Corinthians that as they met each Sunday (“the first day of the week”) to also receive a special offering to support the impoverished Jerusalem believers (1Cor. 16:2). In writing to the Ephesians via Timothy, Paul stated that the church was to support those who dedicated themselves to the preaching and teaching of God’s Word (1Tim 5:17). Today, giving continues to be an act of worship by New Covenant believers who give as God has blessed them.

As the Church expanded around the Empire and beyond, and churches grew where it was impracticable to continue meeting in homes of even wealthy householders, funds were raised to build houses of worship and teaching. Yet, the primary need for believers to give financially to their local church was to support the ministry of those who shepherded the local church congregation. Today, this same purpose remains and is supplemented when wealthier churches give to missions projects beyond their immediate locality as well.

6. WHEN THE CHURCH ASSEMBLES IT IS TO MINISTER THE GRACE OF GOD ONE TO ANOTHER THROUGH FELLOWSHIP

When the church assembles it is also called to fellowship. This is a spiritual discipline which seeks to be commune through Christ with a brother or sister in Christ. It involves listening, caring, responding, and sharing. It is an important part of what happens when a church assembles. Done well, it is a blessing. Done effectively, it results in prayer. Done habitually it leads to closeness with another brother or sister in Christ. While it has a place in the time that a church family has met for weekly worship, it also takes place outside of this time.

But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

FIRST JOHN 1:7

We have seen that the New Testament describes and prescribes the components of a liturgy for when a local church assembles. This includes: prayers together, the singing of praise together, partaking of Holy Communion together, hearing and heeding the teaching and preaching of God's Word, bringing our financial gifts, and prayerful/caring/thoughtful fellowship one with another. Sadly, it seems that today, many believers have come to see weekly church assembling as an optional thing. I would encourage all believers to make assembling each week with their church family one of their highest priorities. I would also strongly urge all believers to contribute their willing participation in each of the aspects of their church's liturgy outlined above. In doing so, we may once again begin to see what the apostle wrote about about in Ephesians 3:8-10. If you are interested in exploring the theology of Christian fellowship, I suggest Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

Amen.

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“LET’S MAKE THE MOST OF IT!”

“LET’S MAKE THE MOST OF IT!”

Earlier this week, the Australian Federal Government announced that they had downgraded their projected 2019 budget surplus by two billion dollars. And with the Tasmanian government’s announcement that they are considering spending $40,000,000 on upgrading the Derwent Entertainment Centre to be able to host a Tasmanian based NBL team, there were some locals who claimed that this was a waste of tax-payers’ dollars. These two news items got me thinking. What would our economy look like if our governments ran their operations like not-for-profit organisations have to run theirs? If you’re not familiar with how we not-for-profits have to run our organisations, let me enlighten you.

Not-for-profits strive to do the following –

+ Make every dollar stretch

+ Keep wastage to a bare minimum

+ Depend on the help of unpaid volunteers

+ Pay staff minimum wages

+ Give generously to those in need of their time and resources  

I’m sure that there are probably many small business owners who can also identify with these. (I wonder how different Government services would look if they were run the way that not-for-profits were run?) Having been involved in the not-for-profit sector for the past four decades in various capacities – churches, a community radio station, a Theological College, and a media production ministry — there are 5 key things that I have learned that make running a not-for-profit enterprise different to either a for-profit business, or a government enterprise, and I think these principles might help you personally as well. 

WHAT YOU REALLY NEED, IS PROBABLY ALREADY IN YOUR HAND!

The LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.”
Exodus 4:2

When God was about to tell Moses to return to Egypt and deliver Israel from the bondage of Pharaoh, He seems to have anticipated Moses’ unspoken question, “What with?” God’s question to Moses is the question I have to continually consider. What do you have? Like Moses, often my answer to this question seems grossly inadequate to the task at hand. But jumping ahead in the story, Moses did deliver Israel from Egypt (and his staff was with him through the whole process!). Often times we limit ourselves by waiting until we are fully ready or have all of the resources we need to complete the task. God told Moses to start with what he already had. After Israel’s exodus from Egypt, the rest of their journey follows this same principle. For example, when they constructed the Tabernacle, the Israelites contributed what they had. Interestingly, God had ensured that during the night of the Exodus the Hebrews were paid their unpaid wages (plus backpay) which included much bronze, silver, gold, and fine linens. When we read through the latter chapters of Exodus, we are struck by just how much bronze, silver, and gold the Hebrews contributed to the Tabernacle’s construction.

Speak now in the hearing of the people, that they ask, every man of his   and every woman of her neighbor, for silver and gold jewelry.” The people of Israel had also done as Moses told them, for they had asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing.
Exodus 11:2; 12:35

Later in Israel’s history, the Bible describes Israel’s occupiers, the Philistines, having vastly superior weaponry, and far greater numbers of soldiers. Their oppression of the Hebrews was cruel. Their situation seemed hopeless. But Jonathan used this principle of provision that we have seen with Moses and the Hebrews of the Exodus — he used what he had rather than sulk about what he didn’t! He and armour-bearer realised that they couldn’t single-handedly defeat all of the Philistines, but they could defeat some! 

And the men of the garrison hailed Jonathan and his armor-bearer and said, “Come up to us, and we will show you a thing.” And Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, “Come up after me, for the LORD has given them into the hand of Israel.” Then Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, and his armor-bearer after him. And they fell before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer killed them after him.
First Samuel 14:12-13

WHAT GOD CAN DO WITH A LITTLE

This principle should not be thought of as merely an Old Testament phenomena. Spare a thought for the young boy who brought a few small fish and few small loaves of bread along to the local gathering of townsfolk where Jesus was speaking. When the time came for supper, Jesus told His disciples to feed the 15,000 or so people who had come out and spent the day listening to Him. Again, the task seemed overwhelming — and the resources seemed grossly inadequate.

But He said to them, “You give them something to eat.” [“There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” (Jn. 6:9)] They said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish—unless we are to go and buy food for all these people.” For there were about five thousand men. And He said to His disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” And they did so, and had them all sit down. And taking the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven and said a blessing over them. Then He broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd.
Luke 9:13-16

It’s not actually the point I’m trying to make, but it’s interesting what Jesus did to the meagre resources He was given to feed some 15,000 people. (i) He organised the people in readiness for provision; (ii) He thanked the Father for what He had already provided; (iii) He prayed a blessing over the loaves and fish; (iv) He broke the loaves and fish; (v) He organised the disciples to distribute the provision.

Jesus did this same miracle a second time, but this time He started with more loaves and fishes (Matt. 15:34) and ended up with far less leftovers (compare Matthew 14:20 with Matthew 15:37). He then quizzed His disciples about whether they understood the point of the two miracles. The point that Christ was making was that God is often able to do far more with less to start with!

When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” They said to him, “Twelve.” “And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” And they said to him, “Seven.” And he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?”
Mark 8:19-21

WE CAN’T HELP EVERYONE, BUT EVERYONE CAN HELP SOMEONE!

Over the years I’ve tried to pastor people through tight financial seasons. This involves setting financial priorities. But occasionally someone will tell me that they can not live within these priority principles because ‘they cannot afford to’. Invariably, their situations rarely improve. On the other hand, I have had the opportunity to pastor some believers who have committed to live within the Biblical principles of finance. The foundation of their approach to handling their finances is the same principle that I’ve been highlighting: start with what you’ve got and be a faithful steward of it. ‘Stewardship’ means management, or more precisely, management of another’s property. One of the last parables that Jesus told before He was crucified, was the parable of the stewards (Matthew 25:14-28). Each of the businessman’s managers are given an extraordinary amount of money (a ‘talent’ is a measure of weight which equates to 25kg). At the end of the parable we hear Christ reiterate the principle that we’ve been pondering. If we were to paraphrase it, it might sound like, “Start with what you have and use it for God’s glory!”

¶ “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest.
Matthew 14:14-27

Some of the Care Christmas Hampers that our Care Team have put together for distributing around our community

Start with what you have, and be faithful with it! As a church, we have learned to stretch finances. One of the comments we hear a lot is – “You guys punch above your weight!” People may think we are flush with money because they misinterpret what we have and what we do with it, but the reality is quite different. While we have some staff, we are dependant on volunteers. And while we don’t make a song and dance about it, our church generously gives to needy causes that help people in need within our community.  Added to this, there is much after-hours care that assists people where we can. But we can’t help everyone; but everyone can help someone. And that’s what we try to do. While there’s a lot more we wish we could do, and at time we don’t think we have that much to offer, let’s make the most of it!

¶ Two things I ask of you;
  deny them not to me before I die:
Remove far from me falsehood and lying;
  give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with the food that is needful for me,
  lest I be full and deny you
and say, “Who is the LORD?”
  or lest I be poor and steal
and profane the name of my God.
Proverbs 30:7-9

Pastor Andrew.

QUICKER THAN KARMA

SOWING AND REAPING
– QUICKER THAN KARMA!

Eastern mysticism, or Eastern spirituality (which includes varieties of Hinduism and Buddhism among others) is very appealing because it claims to offer its practitioners power and control. (And who doesn’t want power and control?) This stands in stark contrast to Christianity which summons its devotees to surrender and submission to the One True God who is All-Powerful and Sovereign (in total control). Even though the difference between Christianity and Eastern mysticism could not be greater, there is, much to my complete bewilderment, Christians who consider Eastern mysticism, along with Christianity, to be one of the several paths up the mountain to God. And when Eastern mystics claim that even the Bible teaches their scurrilous  doctrines such things as reincarnation or karma, and Christians ignorantly accept it, you know we have a problem!

Over the past few years I have met good intentioned Christians who have been misled into believing that Christianity is compatible with the teachings of Eastern mysticism, and in particular reincarnation. The writer to the Hebrews lists 6 Christian doctrines which he regarded as ‘basic’ and ‘elementary’ which form the foundation of Christian faith and practice. The last two of these six are particularly needful for believers to be grounded in.

¶ Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.
Hebrew 6:1-2

The writer to the Hebrews links these last two foundational Christian doctrines into one clear statement about the destiny of every human being which clearly states how many lives each person will have and what happens after that life ends.

And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment
Hebrews 9:27

Two of the essential, foundational, defining, distinctive, doctrines of Christianity – that (i) each person lives and dies only once and (ii) their eternal destiny is determined by the judgment of Christ – makes the Eastern concept of cyclic rebirth (reincarnation) completely incompatible with Christianity. It also makes Christianity, in the words of Blaise Pascal, the safest bet when it comes to each person’s eternal destiny. If a person ignores the claims of Christ, which includes God’s offer to eternally forgive them, because they believe they will be reincarnated, rather than judged, and their faith in reincarnation is proven to be false, they have lost everything for eternity! But if a person, as Blaise Pascal nearly wagered, put their trust in Christ and His Gospel which, upon their death was proven to be false and reincarnation was right after all, they have lost nothing!

WHEN CHRISTIANS BLEND EASTERN MYSTICISM WITH FAITH IN CHRIST

Eastern mysticism seeks to control. It promises a pathway to material blessing and prosperity. Have you wondered why your local Chinese restaurant has a gold cat, with its paw raised, sitting on their counter? This cat, the Maneki Neko, is believed to bring blessing and prosperity. It is depicted as being made of gold which represents wealth. How can Christianity possibly compete with the Eastern mysticism’s offer of prosperity? The answer: By distorting the Scriptures to develop an entirely new theology called the Prosperity Gospel. This novel theology required an entirely new way of interpretting the Bible. Its proponents include, T.D. Jakes, Joyce Meyer, Kenneth Copeland, Joel Osteen, Creflo Dollar, and Jesse Duplantis. Take great care when exposed to their teaching.

If you would like to more about the dangers of the Prosperity Gospel, click here. 

We should not ‘give to get’ when we take up our offering each Sunday. Rather, our giving should be a reflection of our heart toward God as worshipers. 

DON’T CONFUSE VALID BIBLICAL PRINCIPLES WITH ABERRANT EASTERN MYSTICISM

One of the simple and safe principles for interpreting Scripture is never interpret a Scripture to contradict the overall message of Scripture. This is why we can condemn the Prosperity Gospel, but see validity in such Biblical principles as sowing and reaping. Our goal in reading the Scriptures is to exegete it. This means, that we only take out of it what God put into it. For example,

As I preach each Sunday my aim involves helping you to think clearly about God’s Word. This is why exegesis and discernment is so important for us to develop within our church. 

Let me give a practical example to conclude with. One of the Scriptures that I often refer to to remind us of God’s faithfulness is Luke 6:38. 

Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”
Luke 6:38

One of the first principles of Bible interpretation is context. If we read the verse before this text, Luke 6:37, it commands that we are to, “Judge not, and you will not be judged.” This has led some bloggers who rightly have a problem with Prosperity Gospel preachers’ usage of Luke 6:38 to think that Jesus wasn’t speaking of being generous, but of ‘giving judgment’. One of arguments used to support this interpretation is that in a couple of English Bibles (including the ESV which I endorse) verse 37 finishes with a comma not a full-stop. But this is actually not the context of Luke 6:38. This context begins in Luke 6:27.

¶ “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.
Luke 6:27-28

The context of the passage is about being gracious which involves being generous. The startling thing about what Christ taught is the scope of this graciousness. This passage commands that Christ’s followers show grace and generosity to our enemies (Lk. 6:27), those who hate us, those who curse us, and those who abuse us (Lk. 6:28)! This whole passage is a contrast that goes back and forth between a Christ-less person and the attitude and resultant actions of a Christ follower. When we come to Luke 6:38, the language is commercial, not legal. The depiction of receiving “a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, put into your lap” was precisely the practice of honourable grain sellers in the market-place.

To interpret this verse as Christ saying that if you judge someone with strict judgment, you yourself would be judged with even stricter judgment, violates the sound principle of Biblical interpretation stated earlier – Never interpret a verse of Scripture so that it disagrees with the overall message of Scripture. There is not a verse in the Bible that is rightly interpreted as meaning that if we judge someone we will be judged more harshly. If so, Judge Rosemarie Aquilina of Lansing Michigan who just sentenced Larry Nassar to 175 years in prison might be in trouble. But I think Judge Aquilina should be commended not condemned for her clear administration of justice!  

The other translation I recommend, the New English Translation, punctuates the end of Luke 6:37 with a full-stop because verse 37 actually completes its sentence. Luke 6:38, taken in contrast, continues extoll graciousness and generosity for Christ-followers with it scope encompassing those who don’t deserve it. 

All this reminds us that we must be vigilant against the error both from without and within.

Pastor Andrew.

Do You Speak Gift?

Gifts are, according to Dr. Gary Chapman (the author of The Five Love Languages) a "love language". I suspect though that the best-selling author may have misrepresented the linguistic power of gifts as only capable of expressing degrees of the warmest aspects of a person's affection for another. Take it from me, gifts not only speak the dialect of affection, they also speak volumes about what a person feels generally - and who this giver really is.

And David said longingly, “Oh, that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!” Then the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate and carried and brought it to David. But he would not drink of it. He poured it out to the LORD.Second Samuel 23:15-16

Every gift narrates a story. When David's mighty men brought their Commander a cup of cold water from the well of Bethlehem, they weren't just giving him water. This gift in a cup told a story that introduced three loyal and devoted generals who were prepared to risk their lives to bring delight to their king. This well-water spoke the language of war and told of night skirmishes, breaching through enemy ranks in the dead of the night - just to get a cup of Bethlehem well water. This cup of water spoke volumes about their unquestioned willingness to obey David. Little wonder then that David, who was fluent in the language of Gift, recognised that such use of this language by these mighty generals was not merely the vocabulary of devotion but was in fact: worship (the highest form of love), which is why he poured it out on the ground to the Lord as a gift to God.

One of the most embarrassing experiences Kim and I have ever had with gift giving happened at a time when we were particularly struggling financially. We had been given a very beautiful under-glass torsion-pendulum clock. It was still in its original box. We thought it would make a great Christmas gift for my brother and his wife. When my brother rang to thank me for this most generous gift, his first statement was: "That church you served at in Melbourne must have really loved you guys!"

 "They sure did!" I replied.

 "Yeah, I could tell by what they engraved on the brass base of the clock you just gave me!"

No matter how much I pleaded with my brother to let me redeem my embarrassment, he was adamant there was no way he was going to give this back - or let me ever live it down! We had made a terrible mistake with the language of gifts. We had given a gift that had cost us nothing.

Then Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up what seems good to him. Here are the oxen for the burnt offering and the threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for the wood.  All this, O king, Araunah gives to the king.” And Araunah said to the king, “May the LORD your God accept you.”  But the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will buy it from you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.Second Samuel 24:22-24

King David didn't make my embarrassing gift-giving mistake. As the above Scripture passage tells, he refused to give God any gift that cost him nothing. He could not give a gift that didn't speak the language of the best gifts fluently. Neither would he give God second best gifts. He taught his son Solomon the language of gift-giving-

¶     Honor the LORD with your wealth  

       and with the firstfruits of all your produce; 

    then your barns will be filled with plenty,

         and your vats will be bursting with wine.  
      Proverbs 3:9-10

To be a Christian requires speaking the language the gifts. It starts with the gift of our lives to God in response to His gift of His life to us.  This is why the Apostle Paul in his epistle explaining what it means to be a Christian (the Epistle to the Romans) says that living as a Christian starts by-
 

          ¶ I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God,

to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, 
which is your spiritual worship.
  Romans 12:1

And as the Apostle concludes his Epistle to the Romans, the language of Gifts becomes even clearer
as describes the gifts God has given each one of us to give to others (Romans 12:4-6) and then how we are to live as a local church by giving not just our gifts but ourselves to our church family (Romans 12:9-21).

It is my hope that we can each learn the language of Gifts by discovering God's great gift of His Son to us, the various gifts He has given to us to share with His other great gift to us - our spiritual family, our local church. As we learn the language of Gifts we learn that why we give is a direct reflection of what we give. This is why Jesus commended the poor woman who gave two small copper coins as being more generous than the wealthy who gave much much more but only gave to be seen and impress others (Mark 12:42).

Christ deserves our best - not our leftovers

For all that Christ has given us, let us give Him our best - our best effort, our best talents, our best attention, our best gifts, so that more people will come to receive His best gift for them.

See you in "the Gift Centre" (church) this weekend.

Ps. Andrew