Sermon Video

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Would You Rather Be Popular or Influential?

From Paul's challenge to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:11-16 we look at the difference between a pursuit of popularity and the investment in influence. One emphasises external conformity, the other internal character. One is all about us, the other is all about God and others. One is temporary, the other eternal. Regardless of how much we try, we won't all be popular, but we can all be influential. God has prepared in advance good works for us to do. He has promised to produce good fruit through those who remain connected to Him. What would you rather be: popular or influential.

Monday, February 20, 2012

Chosen


"Chosen"
1 Peter 1:2c

Peter the Apostle opens his first letter with a reminder that Christians are chosen by God, to obey God for His special purposes. God secured the covenant with Israel by the blood of bulls, but the new covanant was made with Jesus' blood. The graphic & costly nature of this sacrifice proves God's love for us, and the security we have to discover the specific calling He places on each of our lives. The more we remember the price God paid for our lives, the more grateful we are that He chose us. We are not chosen because we're special - we're special because we're chosen.

Monday, February 13, 2012

Sanctified through the Spirit



In part 4 of our series in 1 Peter we continue to explore the glorious salvation that we have been given as Peter describes it in the first 2 verses of his letter. In this message we study what it means to be sanctified through the Holy Spirit. We discover 3 aspects of sanctification: Positional, Progressive and Perfect. It may sound like theological jargon but understanding these concepts makes a massive difference to the way we live each day and the priorities that drive what we do together as a church.

Audio Player


Sanctified Through the Spirit
1 Peter 1:1b-9
12/02/2012

Start of the new school term means the start of many of our activities.  So what’s happening?
·    Previously Fri - Y started
·    Last Sunday - celebration of the Talibon trip & our ongoing partnership
·    Last Sunday - Sarah Palmer’s baptism in front of family and friends
·    Monday - Men’s Shed 1st week.  Building Relationships (Keith sharing life story)
·    Wednesday - Toddler Jam 1st week.
·    Thursday - 1st week back for the craft group.  This term they’re making welcome packs for new residents of Kingsley Lodge.
·    Saturday morning - 1st men’s ministry event for the year, a bbq at the Mullane’s house.

All of these events have something in common - they are things that we do in order to share the message of our salvation or to prepare for opportunities to share the message of our salvation.

Why?

·    Because salvation through Jesus Christ is something worth sharing.
·    Because Life in Jesus is life worth living.
·    Because Hope in Jesus is hope worth having.

I was at an event on Friday where it was observed that while people in Australia are materially rich we are for the most part emotionally, relationally and spiritually poor. 

Many people feel isolated.  Many people feel depressed.  Many people are stressed out.  Many people feel like there should be more to life, and they’re right!

The Church must shine like a beacon in the midst of the gloom as our lives show that there is more.  There is unshakeable and inexhaustible love, joy, peace, hope, security, acceptance, purpose all found in Jesus Christ our Lord. 

How well are we demonstrating the glory of our salvation?

How well are you demonstrating the glory of your salvation to those around you?

Don’t take that question as a guilt trip, take it as an invitation.

Consider afresh with me today how wonderful our salvation is so that this week it may overflow from you to others.

Prayer

Truths from Last Week:

·    Truth about Me: I do not belong here, I am a citizen of Heaven!  Nothing here has a hold on me (no problem, person, circumstance, desire…)
·    Truth about God: God works out everything for His good purposes.
·    Truth about me: Every part of my journey in this life has an eternal purpose.  I am part of God’s big story.

Just think about these glorious truths of our salvation shape our lives.  How are you going to react this week when your boss or a family member is being unreasonable?  Are you going to strike back, sulk about it, complain to an ally, lie in wait for revenge?  No!!  You’ll remember that even in that moment God has an eternal purpose and you play a part in it.  You’re going to show patience, love, forgiveness, submission, peace… all by the power of God for His glory, bearing witness to His grace that may even reach the heart of that person and be part of bringing them to faith or causing them to grow in faith.

The truths we explore today will help this type of scenario become your normal experience of life as we discover salvation principles that lead to transformed living.

Text: 1 Peter 1:1-2

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, 2 who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood:
Grace and peace be yours in abundance. [1]

Last week we talked about what it means to be chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father.  What does it mean that we are also chosen through the sanctifying work of the Spirit?

To be sanctified simply means to be set apart.  It means to be separated from some things and to be joined to others.  In our case, it means to be separated from sin and joined to God and His people.

In order to properly explain what this looks like I need to describe to you the three facets of sanctification.

  1. Positional Sanctification.
    This is simply where you stand.  You are a citizen of Heaven.  You were made part of God’s Kingdom when you believed in Christ, accepting His lordship over your life.  At that moment you received the Holy Spirit who marks you out as a citizen of Heaven.

    Eph 1:13-14
    And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,   who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

  2. Perfect Sanctification.
    Ephesians 1:14 made reference to the fact that the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives is a sure guarantee that we will inherit God’s Kingdom when He comes for those who belong to Him.

    This is perfect sanctification.  At that time God will transform us so that we will no longer struggle with sin and the effects of sin.  He will create a new heavens and earth (Rev 21) which will be completely good - no longer suffering under the curse God spoke in Genesis chapter 3.  All evil and suffering will be separated from it in what the Bible describes as the lake of fire - a place described using various images in the Bible which all convey it’s misery.  We usually simply call it “Hell”. 

    God will also separate those of His kingdom from those who have rejected Him.  Those who reject Christ will suffer eternal separation from God in Hell, while those who have received eternal life in Him will experience the full blessing of His goodness for all eternity.

    That’s perfect sanctification.  I hope it’s clear to you that you want to be on the right side of that separation.  You want to make sure that the people around you are on the right side of that separation.

    In his second letter contained in Scripture the Apostle Peter reminds us that God “is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
    (2 Peter 3:9)

    I hope you have brought God great pleasure in accepting His offer of salvation in Jesus and that you are now engaged in the work of holding out that offer to people around you, so that they may repent (turn around, change direction, change destiny) and may enjoy eternal life with you.

    It is very easy to fall into the habit of just wanting to be around people like us.  People who think the same and live the same.  Christians sometimes live as though God has already separated them from those who don’t follow Christ in the perfect sense that we’re talking about here.  He hasn’t.  In fact, the opposite is true. 

  3. Progressive Sanctification
    Listen to what Jesus prayed for His disciples in
    John 17:15-18
    My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.  They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.   Sanctify  them by the truth; your word is truth.   As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.

    These words of Jesus are a great summary of progressive sanctification.  It’s what God does to make us more like Jesus - to live more and more as citizens of Heaven - so that we can share His heart for the lost and so we can represent Him to the lost.

    Most of us here today are citizens of Australia, yet we don’t always obey Australia’s laws.  We mess up sometimes. 

    That’s what it’s like as citizens of Heaven too.  We don’t always live as citizens of Heaven ought to live.  But as the Holy Spirit works in us, teaching us through God’s Word and helping us to live it out in daily life, we show our citizenship by our conduct.

    Remember how Philippians 2 describes it?
    It talks about us as shining like stars in the universe as we hold out the word of life (Php 2:15-16).

    Last week Colin shared with us the wonderful words of the Apostle Paul who said to the Corinthian believers “For the love of Christ compels us…”.  His whole ministry - with all of the suffering that came with it - came out of that motivation. 

    The more you are changed to be like Jesus the more you will live like Jesus.  You will not give in to fear or selfishness that has you pulling back from those who most need to see and hear the truth.  You will not give in to the sinful desires in you  that would have you join with people in their sin.  On the contrary, you will invest yourself in relationship with others in ways that give them a taste of the goodness of God.  That’s progressive sanctification.

    Jesus said in Matthew 5:14-16
    “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.   In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

    We need to be in proximity to people; and our lives need to shine brightly with the truth of Jesus.

Application - what are church services for?
Why do we get together each Sunday and at various other times?

There are lots of reasons and lots of good reasons.  Two of the most common priorities people have in coming to church are to
1.      Worship God, and 
2.      enjoy fellowship with each other.  

Those are both great reasons to come to church.  But let’s apply what we’ve just studied.

When perfect sanctification occurs our worship of God and fellowship with each other is going to go to a whole new level and it will never end.  It’s going to be amazing!

However there is something that we are supposed to do together that will not be happening in Heaven.  We are supposed to be being changed to be like Jesus and sent out into the world to be His ambassadors.  We are supposed to be giving people who join us every opportunity to hear and respond to the message of salvation.  Perfect sanctification is for the future, positional and progressive sanctification are for now!

When perfect sanctification occurs our opportunity to save the lost will be gone. 

Friends do not neglect the sanctification through the Spirit that God has chosen to work in you.

Let God through His Spirit convict you of the truth of Jesus’ death on the cross for your sins and His resurrection for your eternal life.  By believing in Jesus you will become a citizen of Heaven.

If you are already a citizen of Heaven allow God’s Spirit to help you to live like one!  Don’t conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Rom 12:2).

Remember that God is holding off perfect sanctification so don’t you try to manufacture it.  Don’t withdraw into a Christian ghetto where you feel more at home.

Be changed to have God’s heart for the lost, and have a firm hold of God’s truth for their salvation.

Truth about me: God has placed His Spirit within me to help me live as a citizen of Heaven instead of a citizen of this world.  He helps me to bring the Kingdom of Heaven into contact with people who need to join it!


[1]All Scriptures from The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Monday, February 6, 2012

God's Sovereignty, Our Salvation


1 Peter 1:1b-9
05/02/2012

Introduction
·    Series - Living up to our calling in Christ rather than being controlled by fears, circumstances or sinfulness.
·    Last week - importance of right authority in our lives.  Principles we discover will help make the choices we face easier, but regardless of whether they are easy or hard, we must have a determination to choose to come under the authority of Christ rather than be controlled by fears, circumstances or sinful desires.
·    This week we will explore some truths that are going to be very helpful in making right decisions - truths that centre around the sovereignty of God in our salvation.

1 Peter 1:1-9
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, 2 who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood:
Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
Praise to God for a Living Hope
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. [1]

Handouts - as we go through you are going to be looking at some wonderful truths about God, particularly relating to His Sovereignty.  We are also going to learn some wonderful truths about ourselves and the salvation we enjoy from Him.
Write them down!  If you are not yet a follower of Jesus these truths will not yet be true of you - write them down anyway because I pray that as you discover God’s truth you will come to a place of receiving the wonderful salvation that we will be talking about today.

To God’s elect,
This isn’t in Peter’s letter, the translators of the NIV added it in so that the sentence would flow better in English. 

strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia

The word “strangers” here is sometimes translated “aliens”.  It was commonly used to describe people who came from other places and either settled down as temporary residents.

Philippians 3:17-4:1
17 Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. 18 For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.  Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends!

Truth about Me: I do not belong here, I am a citizen of Heaven!

I wonder if any of you can finish the line from the first verse of a well-known hymn…
Guide me, O thou great Jehovah, pilgrim through this barren land.”

That whole song is about the idea being expressed here - we are pilgrims from somewhere else on our way to somewhere else.  We are just passing through.

And we’re not strangers in Perth, or Western Australia or Australia - we’re strangers in the world. 

Here’s another song for you… “I still call Australia home”.  Great song, not true for you if you’re a Christian!

Nowhere in this world is home for us.  Home is where the heart is as the saying goes.

Colossians 3:1&2
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

If you want to be free from the control of fear, circumstance and sin you need to train your heart and mind to operate according to this truth - you do not belong here, you are a citizen of Heaven.

How does remembering that we are citizens of Heaven help us when we are struggling with fear and stress?  How does it help us when our problems seem overwhelming?  How does it help us when temptation seems to have an unshakeable grip on us so that we do things we know we ought not to do?

The answer is quite simple - it corrects our perspective.  It helps us to see with the eyes of faith instead of by natural sight.

To explain what I mean, we need to get into verse 2:

…who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood:

We are citizens of Heaven because of God’s choice and God’s action in saving us.

We are saved according to God’s grace, not according to anything we have done to deserve it.  The reassurance that Peter gives to us through this letter is that just as God saved us by bringing us into His kingdom by His choice and His action; so He continues to save us by His choice and His action.  Our security is completely wrapped up in who God is and what He does - it never depends on us.  Neither our security in the next life nor our security in this life is in our own hands, it’s in God’s.

If you are a stranger in the world, someone who has been chosen by God to belong to Him, you are completely secure in Him.

Some of you might be feeling a little bit uncomfortable by the whole “chosen by God” part.  Didn’t you choose Him?  Isn’t it up to you to decide to be saved, to “accept” salvation that He offers to everyone but which most refuse?

What does it mean that we have been “chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father”? 

Does it mean that God chose to save those who He knew in advance would believe in Jesus?

That’s what I used to think when I was younger, before I’d studied this concept in detail.

No, it means much more than that.  The best way to explain it is to look at the life of Jesus, and how this same word “foreknowledge” is applied to His life.

I want to read to you from Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost - the sermon in which Peter for the first time publicly used the “keys to the Kingdom of Heaven” that we talked about last week, by telling people how they could be saved and be part of God’s kingdom through faith in Jesus.

Acts 2:22-23
 “Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.”


Here’s the concept that most of us struggle to get our heads around: even as humanity was carrying out the ultimate act of rebellion - nailing God the Son to a cross - we were still acting in accordance with the set plan and purpose of God.  God was not powerless to intervene.  God was not surprised, or a victim of circumstance.

If you look at the circumstances surrounding Jesus’ execution, there are a huge number of factors that were each critical in leading up to His crucifixion in order for it to occur and also for it to fulfil prophecy.

Let me list just a few:
  1. One of His disciples needed to be a betrayer.
  2. The rest of His disciples needed to abandon Him.
  3. The Jewish leaders needed to be corrupt.
  4. The Roman governor needed to be weak.
  5. The Roman soldiers needed to be excessively cruel.
  6. The execution needed to be by crucifixion and not some other method.
  7. Jesus’ bones must not be broken.
  8. The soldiers must gamble for His clothes.
  9. Jesus needed to be buried in a rich person’s tomb.
etc. etc. !

God made His control over these events obvious by revealing in the Old Testament precise details of how He would bring these things about.  That’s what foreknowledge is talking about.  It’s God knowing in advance how He would bring about His plan.

Proverbs 6:4 says
The Lord works out everything for his own ends—
even the wicked for a day of disaster.



Ephesians 1:11
In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will”

What’s left out of everything?  Nothing!  There is nothing that lies outside of the sphere of God’s sovereignty.  He is moving everything toward His own ends.

That’s a staggering truth. 

Truth about God: God works out everything for His good purposes.

As we go through life there are times that it gets pretty tough to see that.

There are times that we feel that God is either not that good or not that powerful… why would we be suffering so much otherwise?  Surely a good and powerful God would do a better job of looking after us!

Surely He would hold back the tsunamis, prevent the abuse, cure the addictions, ailments and so on.

It’s much easier to like a god who wants to help but is held back for some reason - maybe it’s because he’s not powerful enough, or because he’s respecting our independence or whatever. 

But that’s not what the Bible teaches about God.

He is Good, He is completely in charge, yet bad things still happen.

How is that possible?

The truth is that only God knows.  We simply aren’t able to know how He is able to move a world which is under the curse of sin and spiritual darkness according to His purposes, while never Himself either doing evil or tempting anyone else to do evil (James 1:13).

What we do know is that someday it will all make sense to us.

When Jesus was about to go through the horrors of His arrest, torture and execution do you know what He did?

He got His disciples together and He told them the end of the story.  He explained that His sufferings were necessary in order to bring about the glorious purposes of God - our eternal enjoyment of Him and His eternal pleasure in us.  He told them of Heaven (John 14-16).

We need to know that whatever suffering we are going through, have been through or will go through, God is leading us to a wonderful destination, and every part of our pilgrimage here as strangers in the world has a purpose that is linked to eternity.

Truth about me: Every part of my journey in this life has an eternal purpose.  I am part of God’s big story.

Illustration - the story of Joseph in Genesis - remember what he went through?  Where was God in the midst of all those injustices?

Genesis 50:20
You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.

Principle - we need to enlarge our vision of God and of God’s story in which we are a part.

Illustrations
·    we’re one character in a very large book!
·    solar eclipse - God is much bigger than the things that sometimes block Him from our view.  (Sun is 400 times wider than the moon, but also 400 times further away).

Application
·    How can I rest in God's sovereignty so that I am free from the control of fear, guilt, doubt etc
·    How can I tune in to the bigger picture of what God is doing for His eternal purposes instead of being caught up in the near-view picture of my problems and my priorities?


[1]All Scriptures from The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Peter: The Man and His Ministry

In this message we look at the author of 1 Peter, the Apostle Peter. From Matthew 16 we discover the unique authority given to Peter and the Apostles to serve as the messengers of God's new covenant with humanity. They are given the "keys to the Kingdom", which is the message of salvation in Jesus; and they are given the authority of "binding and loosing", which is the authority to make moral judgements relating to how followers of Jesus should live. As Jesus explains in this passage and Scripture affirms elsewhere, their teaching would in fact not come from themselves but from God as He spoke through them. This is why Apostolic teaching preserved in Scripture remains the authoritative guide for Christian faith and practice today.


1 Peter 1:1a, Matthew 16:13-19
29/01/2012

Introduction - who are we listening to?
It’s an Olympic year - London is hosting.
Last Olympic Games were in China, where Lin Miaoke performed the rousing rendition of “Ode to the Motherland” as the Chinese flag was paraded into the stadium.  What most people didn’t realise at the time was that they while they were watching Lin Miaoke, they were listening to the voice of Yang Peiyi, who was deemed to be not pretty enough to perform on the big occasion by Communist Party officials.

When we read the words of this letter, whose words are we reading - whose voice are we listening to?

It makes a difference!

If one of my children says to another “Don’t do that”, or “You have to…”, it doesn’t necessarily make any difference to the behaviour of the other child they are talking to.

If, on the other hand, they say “Dad said you’re not allowed to…”, or “Mom wants you to…”, then it usually does make a difference - even if it’s just to cause that child to come and verify those claims for themselves!

Keep that in mind as we begin our study in the book of 1 Peter by reading these words…

1 Peter 1:1a
“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ…”

When we listen to the words of Peter, who is it that we are listening to?  I think you’ll discover today that it’s worth finding out a little bit more about this man and his ministry so that we are ready to hear his message in this letter.

Matthew 16:13-19

When we read the words of this letter, we don’t read Peter’s own thoughts or ideas that he gleaned from anyone else, we are reading the very words of God.  We are reading truths revealed to Peter by God Himself and transmitted faithfully to us.

Just as Peter’s words “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God” were attested by Jesus as coming from God, so the Bible itself attests to the words of Peter’s letter as coming from God.

2 Timothy 3:16-17
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. [1]

When we recognise that words come from God and not man, all of a sudden those words have tremendous authority.  (Much greater authority than words spoken by a child on a parent’s behalf)!

That’s what Jesus goes on to talk about from verse 18 onward of Matthew 16.

A True Picture of Authority
Remember last week?  Sometimes we get the meaning of Scripture wrong because we read our own assumptions and ideas into it instead of putting in the work to properly handle the word of truth, as Paul advised Timothy to do in 2 Timothy 2:15.

There’s a couple of key ideas here that are really important but sometimes people go off on the wrong tangent with them.

When Jesus talks about the gates of Hades (or Hell) here, He is using a common metaphor for death.  The idea is simply that the gate serves as a marker passing from one realm to the next.    He’s not talking about storming spiritual strongholds, He’s simply saying that death will not overcome – or prove to be stronger than – His Church.

Keep that idea in mind as it will soon become important!

Let’s move on though to the concept of binding and loosing.  Peter’s told that what he binds on earth will be bound in heaven, and what he looses on earth will be loosed in heaven. 

First, let’s clear up that misunderstanding – it’s not just Peter that Jesus is talking to here.  The authority for binding and loosing is in fact being given to the disciples together. 

Peter was the key leader among the disciples it is true.  He was the one who first declared the reality of Jesus being the Messiah and the Son of God.  This truth is the foundation on which the whole church is built.  It was as the Apostles declared the truth of Jesus and was through that truth that Jesus built His Church.  That message was then taught, passed on by others and recorded for us and it is still how Jesus is building His Church today.

What are the “keys to the kingdom of heaven”?  Sometimes we have this cartoonish image of St Peter at the pearly gates, deciding who gets to go in and who does not.  That’s not it!

Jesus may at this point be speaking to all the disciples, because we know that while Peter was certainly the most prominent disciple early on He was never recognised as having any authority that the others did not possess.

It may be that Jesus is speaking directly to Peter here, and will convey the same privilege to the rest of the disciples as they also come to the same point that Peter did of acknowledging the truth of who Jesus really is.

In any case the keys to the kingdom of heaven is not the power to decide who gets in and who does not – that job is given to none but God alone.

Rather, it is the power to unlock the gates of heaven for all who would enter.  It is to reveal the truth about the death and resurrection of Jesus by which we are delivered from sin and death and granted eternal life upon our repentance and faith.

Jesus is taking his disciples on a bit of a road-trip out of Jewish territory into Gentile territory.  The Jewish leaders and many of the people keep demanding more signs and wonders from Jesus but they are not receptive to the truth of who He really is.  So Jesus withdraws with the disciples to a region further north and spends some time preparing His disciples for a really important transition.  He wants them to know what His mission really is and He wants to prepare them for their role in it.

Up until now the disciples would have recognised the religious authority of the Pharisees and Sadducees – the religious leaders of Israel.

These leaders had authority in Israel to “bind” and “loose”.  This is an expression that means to forbid or to allow, to prohibit or permit.  They made judgements about right and wrong.
However not all the religious leaders agreed with each others interpretations of the law and of their traditions.  It was a common saying around this time that “the school of Shammai binds while the school of Hillel looses”.  Shammai and his followers had very strict rules which they imposed on people, which Hillel and his followers did not agree with!

So how could the common person know which was right?  That was one role of the Great Sanhedrin, where the 70 senior religious leaders came together to deliberate.  Any difficult cases of law were decided by the Great Sanhedrin.  This is the group that sent Jesus to Pilate to be condemned to death.

It was said that what the Great Sanhedrin decided on earth was a reflection of what had been decided in heaven.  Together they were God’s voice and had authority to exercise judgement according to His will.

But Jesus says to His disciples in Matthew 16:5-12 to be on their guard against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.  He is saying that these people do not speak for God at all!

Suddenly, in the very next conversation that Matthew records, we find Peter and the disciples being given the authority that used to belong to the Pharisees and Sadducees of the Great Sanhedrin! 

They are being appointed as God’s spokespeople on earth.  They are being told that the decisions that they make together will be a reflection of God’s will and that God will place His blessing on the decisions they make together.  (The sentence can be read either way).

They now know for sure that they are not just followers of a particular Rabbi, they are part of something brand new that will not fit into anything they have known up until now.

Watch what happens as Jesus explains this some more…

Matthew 16:20-28

Remember Jesus saying that “the gates of Hades will not overcome” the church that He is building?  He’s just told them why that is so – He is going to personally defeat death by rising from the grave on the third day.

Peter doesn’t like all this talk of suffering and death, so he says “No way, we’re not going to let that happen”!

Suddenly he goes from being an instrument of God to being an instrument of Satan.  He goes from uttering truths of God rather than human ideas to not having in mind the things of God, rather the things of man.

Jesus then goes on to talk about suffering in the light of eternity.  Pay attention to what Jesus says here, because you will discover these same truths expressed in 1 Peter.  It is clear that Peter took on board Jesus’ rebuke and his understanding of suffering and death were completely changed by the time the day of Pentecost rolled around.

Many of us are a bit like Peter in this story.  We have embraced the truth of Jesus as our Saviour and Lord – with a greater understanding of what that means than what Peter had in Matthew 16.  Yet like Peter we may need to be challenged about some of the ideas we hold to which are human ideas rather than godly ones. 

There’s an authority issue here.  Jesus had the authority to rebuke Peter.  Jesus gave Peter and the other disciples authority to speak on His behalf and to make judgements on His behalf when He returned to Heaven, and these are the things we have recorded for us in the New Testament.

Will you acknowledge the role of binding and loosing that was given to the Apostles?  Will you allow the words of Scripture to have authority in your life/  Will you do what Scripture allows and commands you to do and will you refrain from doing those things it forbids?

Some people treat Scripture a bit like a counsellor or therapist.  They go to it hoping to find something that will make them feel better or help them to live better.  Or perhaps they go to it simply looking for something to learn.

Friends as we study the book of 1 Peter together – or any part of Scripture – we need to recognise the authority it must have in our lives.  It is the outcome of what Jesus did in Matthew 16 (and 18) in giving authority to the Apostles to speak for Him. 

I mentioned last week that studying this book is going to be really helpful for us in overcoming our fears and being free from their control in our lives.

That’s true and it’s wonderful, but have you ever tried to get someone to do something that’s good for them if it’s a bit difficult, scary or unpleasant?

Think of it in these terms – how do you get a child to eat healthy food when they prefer sugar-saturated or fat-filled rubbish?

Do you explain the benefits of healthy eating?  Of course!
Do you warn of the dangers of unhealthy eating?  Definitely!
Do you then rely on your children to make enlightened choices?  No way!

When our kids state their desire to skip veggies and go straight to desert we often need to say simply – “I know you don’t want to eat up your vegies, but I want you to”.  That’s enough, because Carolyn and I have the authority to say that.

(OK, our kids aren’t perfect so there’s plenty of haggling attempted, but eventually we get there!)

That’s a bit like what God does for us with His word.  He describes for us the benefits of doing what He says.  He describes for us the dangers of not doing what He says.  But in the end we must obey simply because He says.

I hope that I never fall into the trap of trying to sell obedience to you.  I hope that it will be enough to simply say “This is what God’s Word says”, and then rejoice together as we learn by experience that God’s ways are always best.

You might think “well, I am already committed to the authority of God’s word and I do my best to obey it”.  I would think that most of us here today would be like that.

What I’m asking you to do though is to raise the bar.

But what about when a crisis hits?

My kids are happy to obey me when I ask them to do things they enjoy.  It’s when I ask them to do things they will not enjoy that we begin to have issues.

Those of you who are parents will have probably also seen that your child’s behaviour also can change if they are around other people that they are trying to impress or fit in with.  I’ve also seen my kids behaviour change dramatically when they are tired. 
We’re all like that!  I want to challenge you today to not lower the standards you have when it comes to the authority of God’s Word or your obedience to it.

Times of crisis when its hardest to obey are usually the times that it’s most important to obey.  It’s those times that our fears tend to bight, but it’s not just our fears, it’s our sinful desires that really leap up in crisis moments and try to wrest control over our lives.

It’s in those moments that our training in obedience kicks in.  If we have trained ourselves to believe that the Bible always has authority beyond our own ideas or the advice and example of others, then that will stay true for us in the crises.

We need to train ourselves to obey despite difficulty - that’s a big emphasis of what Peter writes about in his letter.

Blessings follow obedience.  But that’s not what will cause us to obey in the hard times.  Only a rock solid commitment to the Lordship of Christ and the authority of God’s Word will see us through the tough decisions and tough circumstances.

It’s the first step toward overcoming our fears and the control they have in our lives.

Let’s close by looking at the last stage of this handing of authority to Peter and the disciples.

Jesus says at the end of chapter 16…
27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. 28 I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

So Jesus has given authority to the Apostles, He’s talked about His own suffering for our sake and the fact that His followers will need to be prepared to also suffer for His sake.  Then finally He promises eternal reward that will follow.  But what’s this, some of the disciples will see Jesus coming in His kingdom?  Well the disciples are all dead and Jesus has not returned in power as He promised – is this a mistake?
No!  We simply need to read on.

Matthew 17:1-9

Peter, James and John got to see Jesus in the glory of His second coming – they got a sneak preview!  They were permitted to see the glory of God’s Son that no-one else during His earthly ministry was permitted to see – in fact no-one else was even allowed to hear about it until after Jesus’ resurrection.

As we read from 1 Peter keep in mind that we are hearing from a person who has witnessed the sufferings of Jesus, who has suffered himself for Jesus, and who has also seen first-hand the glorification of Jesus.  He knows that Jesus has won.  He knows that Jesus has overcome the grave.  He knows that Jesus will return as promised and He even has an image seared into his mind of the glory that will be revealed at that time (read 2 Peter 1:12-21).

So like Peter let’s live in joyful anticipation of Christ’s return.  Let’s fix in our minds Jesus glorified, the rightful ruler of our lives and the One who holds us safely in His hand.



[1]All Scriptures The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.