What Jesus Says to a Complacent Church

Relationships are a big deal. Relationships are how we live. Relationships that work with our spouse, in our family, with somebody we’re dating, with friends and acquaintances … relationships, are just an important part of life.

Sometimes though relationships get broken. Sometimes we find ourselves in “toxic” relationships and “abusive” relationships. That abuse can be physical, verbal, sexual, emotional or some combination of those dysfunctions. And we can carry the pain of abuse through our entire life. Job said - “The churning inside me never stops; each day confronts me with more suffering.” Job 30:27

Scripture isn’t silent on the matter of abusive behaviour in relationships and has some principals to -guide and help us. We needn’t suffer in silence. Jesus said - “The truth will set you free.”

"The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; He delivers them from their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from the all." Psalm 34: 17-19 NIV

We are living in the midst of unprecedented economic challenges and shattered dreams.  Lost homes, broken marriages, hunger, unemployment, and so much more is raging all over the world. But even in the midst of these shattered dreams, there is hope!

Relationships are a big deal. Relationships are how we live. Relationships that work with our spouse, in our family, with somebody we’re dating, with friends and acquaintances … relationships, are just an important part of life.

We can sometimes find ourselves in relationships where we’re asked to take too much care and too much responsibility. Solomon cautions - “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” (Proverbs 4:23). If somebody is asking/telling us to take care of their life and it’s making us stressed, worried and anxious, it’s probably because we’re not guarding our heart, the right way.

God’s relationship with us is built on grace and truth. In our human relationships, grace provides the safety we need (“I’m for you no matter what”) and truth provides the structure we need (“I need to give you some feedback”). God says when grace and truth are together, things go better.

In his letter to the Ephesians (6:10-18), Paul tells us to put on the whole armour of God. This armour that Christians are called to put on comprises of the Belt of Truth, the Breastplate of Righteousness, the Gospel of Peace, the Shield of Faith, the Helmet of Salvation, and the Sword of the Spirit.

This powerful metaphor not only is a reminder for Christians about the reality of spiritual warfare, but it also describes the protection God has made available to us through Jesus.
 
We are called to put on the armour of God and fight against the powers of darkness in the spirit realm. Angels and demons are real, and the devil is full of deceptions and lies (John 10:10). God has given us everything we need to be victorious. Join us this Sunday as we learn about spiritual warfare. 

Because the world is broken there’s conflict.  Conflict between countries, political conflicts that leave nations in a mess, economic conflicts, relational conflicts, sexual conflicts.  There’s conflict in every area and every segment of society.  So, one of the most important skills we have to learn is how to resolve conflict.  Writing to the Christians in Rome, Paul says -“Never pay back evil for evil to anyone.  As much as possible, as far as it depends on you, live in peace with everyone.”  Romans 12:17-18
 
Scripture tells us that when it comes to conflict, we can –
take the initiative to be a peacemaker,
confess our part in conflicts,
listen to another’s hurt,
consider another’s perspective,
tell the truth tactfully,
fix the problem rather than attribute blame, and
focus on reconciliation.

Paul, writing to the Ephesians says - “When you get angry do not sin … ” (Ephesians 4:26)  which suggests that not all anger is sin and there’s a way to get angry and not sin.   There are some things that are just wrong and we should be angry about them.  Anger can be an evidence of love and we can get appropriately angry because we reflect God’s image.

But there’s an anger which is not appropriate: an anger which is selfish, self-centred and uncontrolled, an anger which arises in our hurts, frustration and fears. Matthew, in his gospel encourages us to - “Grow up.  You’re kingdom subjects.  Now live like it.  Live out your God-created identity.  Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.” (Matthew 5:48)

In James 3, we read – “Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here’s what you do; live well, live wisely, live humbly … Real wisdom, God’s wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterised by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings … You can develop a healthy robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honour (Message Translation).

We can easily fall into the trap of thinking that “wisdom” is all about “intelligence” and “education”. But here, James reminds us that “wisdom” is a way of relating. It has as much to do with what we do, as it does with what we think.

Scripture reminds us, that if we want to be wise in our relationships, we won’t – compromise our integrity, antogonise, criticise, emphasise mistakes, disguise our intentions and we will be considerate.

Paul reminds us that - “Jesus is the key that opens all the hidden treasures of God's wisdom and knowledge.” Colossians 2:3 (Today’s English Version)

Continuing the theme “From Maintenance to Mission” the message this week is based on Luke 4:14-28.

Each one of us has a call to mission just as Jesus here in this Scripture had a call to mission.

It is not always easy. There will always be opposition, just as it was here for Jesus in his home town. But we too, despite that opposition & rejection, must learn to “walk through the crowd & be on our way” preaching the good news, seeing prisoners set free, giving sight to the blind, releasing the oppressed & proclaiming this year & every year the year of God’s favour. 

Are you spending more and more time just preparing, planning and working? Are you always worried and anxious about tomorrow? Do you seem to be in a rush all the time? Do you ever take time to just slow down?

It can sometimes be the same in your walk with God. You can get so caught up in serving God that our works become more important than our relationship and love for Jesus.  We can learn a lot from Luke chapter 10 when Jesus visits the home of Mary and Martha. Jesus reminded Martha – who was so caught up in her worries about serving Jesus – what to be “concerned” with, where to focus, and what should take a front row seat in our brains: a relationship with Him.

We often feel like our destiny, our ‘eternal’ destiny … that’s a long way off. In fact most of us hope it’s a long way off and we don’t want it to be - tomorrow.  And, everything that has to be done ‘today’, gets a lot more attention in our lives.  We figure ‘eternity’, will take care of itself.
 
But, the way we think about our destiny - it dramatically affects what happens in our lives today. More than we realise, the decisions that we make and the directions that we take, every day of our lives, are based on where we think we might be headed.  
 
So, if we think our destiny is ‘death and emptiness’ and there’s nothing for us, beyond the here and now - that’s going to affect the way we make decisions, every day of our lives.  And, if instead, our destiny is joy, our destiny is God’s love, our destiny is God’s goodness - that dramatically affects every day of our lives.
 
Jesus assured us that God created us to live eternally, that heaven is real, that God wants us to share in heaven and that heaven will be a renewing and rewarding place.