St Tim’s sermon 21/09/14 Hebrews 12:1-8 and Lk 9:56-62
Introduction
John Marsh – Handsome new curate, cakes, Helena standoff
Seriously – local lad, married, two kids, teacher, SSM, 27 St Toms NOW AT St Tims.
Hebrews 12:1-8 and Lk 9:56-62 - Call, response and purpose
God’s being – community in mission
Before we get there take you back a bit in the story – In the beginningGod createdthe heavensand the earth.
No one goes on a journey without a purpose
Christian journey is the response to God’s calling
God’s calling = grace he doesn’t need to call us.
God is self sufficient, yet He created us.
It isn’t really about us it’s about God, to begin with.
God is three in one, a community but a sending community, The Father sends the Son, and the Father and the Son send the Spirit and the Spirit sends the church. This last bit is God’s grace, God doesn’t need to include us.
Biblical pattern - calling - response - purpose.
God’s not random, he’s not a tame lion either but there are patterns to be seen
God calls in some way, we choose to respond and if we choose positively, God’s purposes are worked out. Jesus is therefore the Author of our faith.
Eph 2:8-10 shows this order is the order for our faith. 8For it is by graceyou have been saved,(calling)through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—9not by works,so that no one can boast (our response).10For we are God’s handiwork,createdin Christ Jesus to do good works,which God prepared in advance for us to do (Purpose).
Gen 1-2 Show’s this order in creation. God creates the world and calls the people into being and then he calls them into a role, 15TheLordGod took the man and put him in the Garden of Edento work it and take care of it.They implicitly agree and God’s purpose begins to be fulfilled.
Exodus 19:4-6 shows that this is how God deals with his chosen people Israel 4‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt,and how I carried you on eagles’ wingsand brought you to myself. (election/calling out)5Now if you obey me fullyand keep my covenant,(response)then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession.Although the whole earthis mine,6you[a]will be for me a kingdom of priestsand a holy nation.’ (purpose)
Back to the NT. In our Hebrews passage, and in the Luke passage, we are hearing the second bit, the response. Its important to respond to God’s call since that is the link between his call on us and his desired purpose.
Our response is also a point of Grace, since God makes his purpose dependent on our response to his call which He doesn’t need to do.
He could express his call and then work out his purpose without us but He doesn’t he involves us without our meriting involvement and that’s his grace.
As well as God’s call its also important to understand Gods purpose ortherwise we might get fed up and stop or run off in the wrong direction. I think we are often more prone to the latter.
What is the call and the purpose?
In 2 Cor 5:18-20a the call and the purpose are stated with the response implied, 18All this is from God,who reconciled us to himself through Christand gave us the ministry of reconciliation:19that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them.And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.20We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors,as though God were making his appeal through us.
The call is we are reconciled, the purpose is that we become Ambassadors of reconciliation to others, Paul implies that we want to respond!!
Our response, implied by Paul is the journey or race he mentions in Phiippians 3:13-1413Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behindand straining toward what is ahead,14I press ontoward the goal to win the prize for which God has calledme heavenward in Christ Jesus.
This is the same journey or race mentioned here in Hebrews and in Luke.
If we look at them without understanding call or purpose we might get the wrong idea. That its about being good in order to be on the journey (Hebrews) or that commitment is the first step (Luke) HOWEVER both are a response to a prior call, both have a purpose.
Looking at Luke
In the light of call and purpose lets examine our response firstly in Luke.
Lk 9:57-62
57As they were walking along the road,a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
58Jesus replied,“Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Manhas no place to lay his head.”
59He said to another man,“Follow me.”
But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
60Jesus said to him,“Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
61Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”
62Jesus replied,“No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
Context – Jesus setting face to Jerusalem and death; Collection of sayings reflecting the urgency of the situation…
Burying father and hand to plough recall 1 kings 19:19-21 call of Elisha, obsession C of E has
Not specific sacrifices but principle of following Jesus in his purpose of putting the Kingdom first. Following Jesus is following his purpose which becomes our purpose, proclaiming the Kingdom, not e.g. burying people the kingdom takes precedence.
The dead are available for merely religious duties, those who don’t share Jesus resurrection life or who don’t see with spiritual insight.
If you look back down the furrow to see how you did the furrow becomes crooked at that point.
Looking at Hebrews
Hebrews 12:1-3 (not time to deal with all the reading)
Context – to strengthen and encourage a small house church to persist in their faith in everyday life beset with difficulties but probably not direct persecution
Hebrews 1-10 who Jesus is and what he has done
Hebrews 11 all the people who have gone before who witness to that
Hebrews 12 our response
12Therefore, 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 runwith perseverancethe race marked out for us,
2fixing our eyes on Jesus,the pioneerand perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross,scorning its shame,and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow wearyand lose heart.
Not spectators watching successors but those who have borne witnesses to the possibilities of a life of faith
Sin entangles us in general, fallen world
Perseverance required we live in the now and not yet of God’s kingdom
Perseverance is called for in the light of the new covenant of Jesus death and resurrection (no covenant, no point)
Jesus is at the finish line and Jesus is therefore where we need to fix our eyes
Application
So what can we say for us in Crookes in 2014 at St Tim’s?
We can more easily identify with the hearers of Hebrews than the hearers in Luke, in Luke, Jesus is there standing in front of them talking to them whereas in Hebrews the hearers are second generation Christians who have not seen or heard physical Jesus.
Luke’s urgency
What we can say from Luke is that the issue is the proclamation of the Kingdom coming now.
The sense of urgency, the reordering of priorities the questioning of seemingly sacred duties.
Sacred duties are what God requires hence sacred, once God relegates their importance they no longer are sacred.
Luke requires us to review in the immediate time what priorities we have and whether they are purposeful for the Kingdom.
Hebrews perseverance
Hebrews says we are in this for the long haul. We are in a race of stamina and we need to remember to keep our eyes on the one who called us to it and the one who made it possible to run, Jesus.
Hebrews reminds us that we must not get entangled in sin, that’s what confession and absolution are for.
Hebrews reminds us of those who have gone before and of Jesus himself to show that it is possible to run without losing heart.
The big picture
Finally we must not lose sight of the big picture, Calling, Response and Purpose.
We are only here because God called us by grace in the first place.
We are running the race with perseverance as a response to God but for a purpose....
The urgent proclamation of the Kingdom of God.
60Jesus said to him,“Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
Questions to consider…
- Do you recognise where God has or is calling you?
- What are some of the difficulties in responding to God?
- Where have you seen God's purpose working out in your life?
- Do you identify with the urgency found in Luke?
- Do you identify with the call to persevere in Hebrews?
- What might God be saying to you and what can you do about it?