The Price of Love

Posted on 18/04/2011 by davidfowlerpreacher

This is the sermon I preached yesterday (17th April 2011) at Becontree Avenue Baptist Church in Dagenham.

Luke 19 v 28 – 44

After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, `Why are you untying it?’ tell him, `The Lord needs it.’ ”
Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?” They replied, “The Lord needs it.”They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road. When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!””I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”

Do you ever get a song or a piece of music going round and round in your head for hours or days at a time?

Well for the past few weeks every time I have been thinking about today’s sermon I have heard in my head the song originally by the Everly Brothers called “the Price of love” which of course deals with romance and the relationships between men and women but seems to be a reminder of the events of Holy Week and especially Good Friday:

“That’s the price of love, the price of love
The debt you pay with tears and pain   
The price of love, the price of love
Costs you more when your to blame”

Not entirely accurate as we know how much it cost God and he was not to blame.

The Bible is full of people who knew the price of love. Much earlier in Luke’s gospel (Luke 7:33-43) we come across the “woman who had lived a sinful life” who washed Jesus’ feet with her tears and dried them with her hair before pouring very expensive perfume over them. A woman letting her hair down in public was not done and just think of what those feet had trodden on and in on the dusty roads of Judea! That’s the price of love for this woman.

Mind you we have also in Luke’s gospel ( Luke 18:18 – 30) come across the story of the rich young ruler, who just couldn’t contemplate paying the price of love. He loved his possessions more than he loved God.

Today, we start on the great roller coaster of Holy Week, with its amazing highs and its despairing lows in the depths of human sin and iniquity. On Good Friday we realise the price of love. Just how much God was willing to pay for us because he loves us so much.

We start on a high as Jesus enters Jerusalem proclaimed as a saviour by the crowds. We will go through the depths of betrayal on Maundy Thursday, the sheer horror and agony of Good Friday the anxious wait of Holy Saturday and the wonderful unbelievable dawn of Easter day and the resurrection of Jesus.

We are today nearly at the end of the series of processions we see Jesus lead through the New Testament.

Firstly we have the quiet sedate journey of Christmas as Mary and Joseph travel to Bethlehem. This is followed by the flight to Egypt, the pilgrimage to the temple when Jesus was a young boy. Then comes the three years travelling around the Holy Land followed by crowds wherever he went. The arrival at Nain causes almost a collision with a funeral procession out of the town. The result is death is defeated and the young man restored to life. Coming into Jericho, Jesus called a man down from a tree and brought him to salvation – Zacchaeus.

Jesus’ final earthly procession will be on Good Friday when he leads the way to Calvary and his crucifixion.

The final procession mentioned in the Bible that Jesus leads is in Revelation 19 but this time Jesus is on a white horse and we read “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war…. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”

That is for the future. Lets see what was happening on that first Palm Sunday.

Lets start with a brief history lesson. Israel was then part of the Roman Empire, it had been for quite a few years. Even though Herod Antipas was king over part of the area, he was only there with the permission of the Roman Emperor. He was a descendent of Herod the Great, the man who had tried unsuccessfully to kill Jesus by massacring the boy children in Bethlehem. By the way, Herod the Great was not a Jew even though the Romans gave him the title “King of the Jews” and he had started the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem. I guess the same is true today that just because people do things for the church it doesn’t mean they are believers.

Like many kings and rulers, Herod was desperate to hold onto power and would imprison and murder anyone who might pose a threat to his rule. He had imprisoned and subsequently beheaded John the Baptist who had dared to criticise his lack of morals. John the Baptist knew the price of love. The price he had to pay being faithful to God.

So Herod was likely to see Jesus as a threat not only because he was popular with the people but, as we shall see Jesus was showing himself to be the rightful king descended from the Jewish royal family.

Most of the Jews hated the Romans. However a few, like the tax gatherers such as Zacchaeus and Matthew, had done very nicely thank you.

People were waiting for a liberator, someone to drive the Romans out of the land and restore Israel to its former glory. The Zealots couldn’t wait and carried on a guerrilla campaign against the Roman Army of occupation. Indeed one of the Zealots, Simon, was a disciple of Jesus.

I have to say that many people outside of the church are waiting or looking for a liberator. Someone who will set them free from the tyranny of sin, the disasters of broken relationships, the awfulness of addiction and everything else that ruins life here on earth.

Perhaps people in Jesus’ day felt that God had forgotten them. The last prophet Malachi had died more than 300 years ago and people seem not to have heard from God. There were many who claimed to be the Messiah or the one sent by God to bring liberation and restore the kingdom. Yet they had all proved to be fakes.

But suddenly onto the scene comes this preacher from Nazareth. He talks like no one else. He heals the sick, drives out demons and performs miracles. He is popular with the ordinary people and he deals with the pharisees and religious leaders who have made life so miserable with their dead religion and their endless rules and regulations.

Could he be the Messiah? The Liberator? Is he the one to lead the revolution and get rid of those hated Romans?

Those are questions which the events of Holy Week would answer very clearly. We however have another question to answer:

What’s all this with the donkey?

The military and the rich used horses and chariots. Everyday folk had the humble donkey. But the answer is deeper than that.

Way back in the history of the Jews was a man called Jacob. He was the grandson of Abraham and the father of the founders of the 12 tribes of Israel. When he was an old man, dying in Egypt he called his sons into his tent and gave each one a blessing. This is what he said about his son Judah and his descendants. It is recorded in Genesis 49 v 10 & 11:

“The sceptre will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his. He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch”

The Jewish people knew their scriptures and understood this to be a prediction about the coming Messiah, the Messiah who would be rule as the rightful king over the nation of Israel. And by taking a colt that’s tethered, Jesus is symbolically applying this ancient prediction to himself.

Now look at the circumstances at how he gets this colt in vv. 30 – 34. It’s possible that Jesus had made preparations ahead of time in this village to have a colt waiting. But it’s also possible that what we have here is an example of what’s called “the royal right to transport” in the ancient world. A king or other high ranking ruler had an inherent right to seize a horse or other animal for official transportation if he needed it. This right is similar to what we see in the movies when a police officer flashes his badge to commandeer someone’s car to chase a bad guy. In the ancient world, as long as the animal was eventually returned to the rightful owner, a member of royalty had the legal right to seize an animal for transportation. That’s likely what’s happening here, which is why Jesus tells his followers to say, “The Lord needs it.” Obviously the Lord here is Jesus. As the royal Lord, the rightful king of Israel, Jesus exercises his royal right to transport by borrowing this colt. Its not certain whether this is a miracle or if Jesus has  made prior arrangements. But the point seems to be Jesus as the rightful king exercising his  royal right of transport.

So Jesus mounted a donkey and rode into the city, amidst loud acclamations by the crowd. Some of the city’s residents, usually numbering 30,000, but probably swelling to over 200,000 because of Passover pilgrims, strew blankets and cloaks, others palm branches, before the animal Jesus rode on.

You may not realise how much it cost those people to praise Jesus that day. The scriptures talk about the sacrifice of praise. Praise costs!

I don’t know how many coats you have, but most people in Jesus’ time had one coat which had to last for years. The coat was very important as it not only kept you warm and dry during the day, but served as a blanket at night and could also be used as security for a loan. These people wanted to praise Jesus and were willing to pay the cost. After all, could they guarantee finding their coats after the procession had passed and goodness knows what condition they would be in having at the very least been trampled on by many feet…

How many of us would rush off home now and put our bedding and the contents of our wardrobes out on the road for Jesus to ride over?

How much do we sacrifice to praise Jesus? The answer will tell you how much you think Jesus is really worth.

Now Jesus riding into the city of Jerusalem on a colt also had incredible symbolic significance to the people of Israel. One of the ancient prophecies about the coming of the Messiah looked forward to just this. About 500 years before the birth of Jesus, the Hebrew prophet Zechariah had predicted this very thing.

“Rejoice, rejoice, people of Zion! Shout for joy, you people of Jerusalem! Look, your King is coming to you! He comes triumphant and victorious but humble and riding on a donkey – on a colt the foal of a donkey. The Lord says, I will remove the war-chariots from Israel and take horses from Jerusalem; the bows used in battle will be destroyed. Your king will make peace among the nations.. (Zechariah 9:9-10).

Jesus is purposefully acting out this prediction, and by doing so he’s claiming that he’s the true king, he’s the one who’s righteous and who brings deliverance to Israel. He’s the one who will bring God’s peace to all nations and rule as king not just in Israel, but over the nations. Jesus is symbolically acting out this prediction.

But what a lot of people don’t realize is that this prediction of Zechariah also looks back to an earlier event from 200 years prior to the prophet Zechariah. You see Zechariah is actually predicting that what happened at King Solomon’s coronation as king back in 790 BC would one day happen again when the Messiah comes to rule as king. The book of 1 Kings describes Solomon’s coronation this way:

Zadok the priest, [and] Nathan the prophet…put Solomon on King David’s mule and escorted him to Gihon. Zadok the priest took the horn of oil…and anointed Solomon. Then they sounded the trumpet and    all the people shouted, “Long live King Solomon.” And all the people went up after him, playing flutes and rejoicing greatly (1 Kings 1:38-40 NIV).

Can you see the similarities between Solomon’s coronation in 790 BC, Zechariah’s prophecy two hundred years later in 520 BC, and Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem in about 33 AD? You might remember who Solomon was: He was the Hebrew King David’s rightful heir to the throne. So Zechariah was looking forward to another rightful heir from David’s dynasty to one day rule in Israel, and Jesus is symbolically applying that claim to himself.

The crowd cries out “Hosanna!” meaning “Lord, save us!” and with the words of Psalm 118:26 “Blessed is who comes in the name of the LORD!” Secondly, our Lord’s entry was a political statement. In the ancient world, when a conquering king entered a city after a battle, he rode on a stallion or something even more impressive. Judas Maccabeus, after having driven the Syrians from Jerusalem in 163 BC entered the city on a majestic stallion. The residents of the city came out and waved palm branches as he entered, and shouted,  “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

Julius Caesar had returned to Rome in a golden chariot harnessed to 40 elephants in 45 BC.

But whenever a king entered a city in peace, he rode on a donkey.

Perhaps the modern day example would be the pictures we see of TV of military rulers riding triumphantly into captured cities on a tank, or the American president in his armoured limo. Yet Jesus has the equivalent of the delivery moped from Pizza Hut, hardly a threatening way of riding into town.

Jesus entered Jerusalem amidst adulation, clapping, shouting, smiles, and dancing. You may recall in 2003 seeing on the TV news the reception the US Marines got from Iraqis as they entered Baghdad at the fall of Saddam Hussain’s regime.

For Jesus it was a day of cheers, but the cheering wouldn’t last. This same crowd would less than a week later shout, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” before Pilate’s judgment seat.

The crowd was fickle, because our human hearts are fickle and untrustworthy. Napoleon and his army were once marching through Switzerland and were receiving thunderous applause wherever they went. The crowds shouted: “Long live the king! Viva la France! Hail to the emperor Napoleon!” But the general was unimpressed. An aide asked, “Isn’t it wonderful to hear the roar of the crowds and the love of the people?” Napoleon replied, “The same people that are cheering me today would cheer just as loudly at my execution.”

The human heart is sinful and fickle and until we are born again we cannot truly respond to Jesus.

How do we respond when Jesus asks us for something as he asked to use the donkey? Are we prepared to give up our possessions, our time or even our positions and titles for Jesus? Or do we hold on tight to them as they are ours!

Are we willing to make a sacrifice to praise Jesus? It cost those people in Jerusalem a great deal that first Palm Sunday. Are we prepared to pay the cost? After all Jesus sacrificed himself for each one of us.

As we contemplate the events of Palm Sunday and look forward to Good Friday and Easter Day lets reflect on the words Paul wrote in his letter to The Philippians. In chapter 2 we read:

The attitude you should have is the one that Christ Jesus had:
He always had the nature of God, but he did not think that by force he should try to become equal with God. Instead of this, of his own free will he gave up all he had, and took the nature of a servant, He became like a man and appeared in human likeness. He was humble and walked the path of obedience all the way to death – his death on the cross. For this reason God raised him to the highest place above and gave him the name that is greater than any other name. And so in honour of the name of Jesus all beings in heaven, on earth, and in the world below will fall on their knees, and all will openly proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

So today are you prepared to fall on your knees before Jesus and proclaim him Lord of your life?

Are you, like Jesus, prepared to give up all you have and be obedient to God no matter where that path may take you?

Jesus paid the price of love for each and everyone of us. Indeed for everyone in the world. Shortly we will be gathering around the Lord’s table and we shall again be reminded of the price of love, Jesus’ body broken for us and his blood shed for us.

Lord Jesus, Through the power of your Holy Spirit set our hearts on fire with love for you that we may truly praise and worship you, our King. May we be ready to give you what you ask of us when we hear that the Lord has need of it. Amen.

Posted in Talks | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Palm Sunday 17th April 2011

Posted on 18/04/2011 by davidfowlerpreacher

We watched this video yesterday at Becontree Avenue Baptist Church as part of our Palm Sunday worship.

I hope that it helps you understand something of the events of Holy Week and eth significance of Jesus’ death on the cross on the first Good Friday.

Palm Sunday: Why is it Significant?
Posted in Videos | Leave a comment

Praying in the Family

Posted on 03/04/2011 by davidfowlerpreacher

For several years I was a member of the preaching team at Rainham and Wennington parish churches on the eastern outskirts of Greater London. We were led by the then vicar, Rev Tony Ward who would choses a theme that we would develop over a few weeks.

The following sermon “Praying in the Family” is one of a series on the subject of prayer. I preached this at Wennington Parish Church on Sunday 8th March 1998.

2 Timothy 3 v 12-17

12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 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.

Well it looks from this box load of stuff that I’m about to hold a jumble sale here. That’s not true, they are just a few things to help us remember the points I want to make today.

To start with, I thought it would be an idea to tell you about Timothy. He was a church leader in Ephesus in the early years of the church. He was a friend of Paul and it would appear often lacked confidence and needed Paul’s encouragement. Hence why there are two letters in the Bible written by Paul to Timothy, full of wise advice on the leadership of the church.

I wonder how many children grow up with the sort of background that Timothy had. We have heard in this morning’s reading that he knew the scriptures from infancy, indeed at the start of Paul’s second letter to Timothy, we learn about his mother (Eunice) and grandmother (Lois) who also were Christians and would have been responsible for him learning about Jesus. Isn’t marvellous to grow up in a family who know Jesus and can teach the children about him and our heavenly father. However, just because you come from a Christian family that does not make you a Christian. Its a decision that you have to make for yourself, to follow Jesus or not.

You may not know it but from the days of Moses, the Jews had taught their children the scriptures. If you look in Deuteronomy 6 v 6 onwards you can read: “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates.”

I wonder how many of us parents keep to these instructions.

One advantage of getting to know the bible is it gives you a better idea about God and how much he really loves people. You can also read how people in the past prayed to him and how wonderfully God answered their prayers. Indeed the Bible can be valuable in helping you through life. You could regard it as a compass in that it shows you the way to go.

We are going to have a quick look at a couple of versed from Psalm 119.

Does anyone know what is unusual about Psalm 119? Well firstly its the longest Psalm, 176 verses. Secondly its divided into 22 sections each starting with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

Many people wonder how to keep on the straight and narrow nowadays as there are so many temptations for children and young people to face. I think that part of the answer is in Psalm 119 v 9 “How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word.”

Then again you hear people say that the world is dark and its not easy to find the right way. Psalm 119 v 105 has the answer “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path”. The lamp referred to would have been somewhat similar to this hurricane lamp, providing you with enough light to see a little way ahead only. Its not a flood lamp to show you the whole path ahead of you.

For some people especially children, the bible can be a bit difficult to read or understand. So for many people it is a definite advantage to get a version of the bible that is in modern English, such as “The Good News” or “The New International  Version”. For children, a good book of Bible stories is very useful. My sons have enjoyed reading “The Children’s Bible Story Book” by Jennifer Rees Larcombe and I would recommend it to you.

So what about praying at home in the family?

I’ve brought a few objects that might help you think about what to pray about.

Firstly we have soap and a flannel. If we are praying we need to be honest with God and come clean about what we have been up to. We all do wrong things and need to say sorry to God for them and seek his forgiveness. Also we can ask God for help to say sorry to the people we have hurt by the things we have done.

Next we have a lunch box. How many of us remember that God provides for us, and we should say thank you to him for our food. Perhaps we can just stop for a minute or so as we sit down to lunch today and thank God for the good food we have to eat today, particularly as so many millions of people worldwide go hungry. At the moment my youngest son Josh tends to like to say grace at the start of a meal. However he tends to get carried away and so there is no danger of the food being too hot to eat!

Could someone open this for me to see what we have in it? Provided you all promise to eat your lunch today, we could hand these out.

Now we have a family photo. For those of you who can see it, you will realise that it is a few years old as there is one son missing and also I have more hair and a lot less grey in it! Do we thank God for our family? I know that sometimes family life can be difficult, and God knows it as well! Why do you think that there are stories in the bible about families, such as Isaac and Rebecca and their twin sons Jacob and Esau. Just look at the infighting and intrigues that are detailed in that story. How many families have brothers and sisters who fight and argue? Or relatives who have fallen out? It can be very hurtful and painful. We should pray for our families and ask for God’s help when there are difficulties and disagreements.

Right what’s next out of the box? A box of Plasters. What do we do when people we love are ill or injured? Do we pray for them? Why not simply ask God to heal who ever it is who is ill and make them better? As some of you may know, I am leader of the Prayer Ministry Team at Rainham Church and we regularly pray for people who are ill. So of course I do that for members of my family as well. I would just like to tell you about the time some years ago when my Alex was suffering from a stomach bug. Tom and I knelt by him and Tom gently laid his hand on Alex’s stomach and he simply asked God to make Alex well and take away the tummy ache. Virtually straight away Alex was better. It seems to me that sometimes you children get answers to prayer that we adults don’t get, probably because we try to make everything so complicated.

Now an AA members card. To quote the advert “To our members we’re the fourth emergency service.” If you are a member you can phone for help in an emergency, and hopefully they will come quickly to the rescue. As a Christian you have a hotline to God so you can ask him for help. He will help you, and not just with the big enormous problems of life. If it is a problem to you and concerning you then God will help if you ask him. We have prayed for all sorts of problems in the family including a recent history test at school. To misquote an old saying “When the going gets tough the Christian gets praying”.

When I was working, one of my jobs was interviewing people in financial difficulties, who probably would face having their houses repossessed or having to go to court if they couldn’t or wouldn’t repay their debts. I always found somewhere to go and pray before these interviews. I know I could not have done the job without God’s help.

We now have a lion. Agreed a not particularly fierce lion called Clarence. Would someone like to look after him for a while. He won’t bite!

What do we do when we are frightened or our children are frightened? Has anyone ever had to deal with a little one who has woken up in the night with a nightmare? Or indeed anyone of the younger ones here woken up with a nightmare? Its not nice, indeed its frightening. In situations like that we have just asked Jesus to help the memory of that bad dream to fade away, and we have asked that he fills the child’s mind with good thoughts and then ask for his protection for the rest of the night.

Many of us face things in life we would rather not face, but do we think to pray about it first? All sorts of things can be frightening or daunting to us, from starting at a new school, to giving a talk like this in church! Or as I faced over 18 months ago taking redundancy after working for the same employer for nearly 23 years. 

School as many of you will know can be a bit scary, I don’t particularly mean the teachers, but what goes on there can be. Some of you may have been bullied and assaulted by other children. That makes it very frightening to going to school. Or some of the things that go on can be a cause for concern i.e children using Ouija boards etc. This is why we need to pray for our children on such occasions. Indeed, you younger ones are sometimes the only people who can bring God into these situations to sort them out.

So those are a few things to pray about, but the next question is when to pray. I think the answer to that is when it seems appropriate. Gaynor and I tend to pray with our sons at bed time and whenever else it seems to be the right thing to do.

Whilst it can be useful to have a set time of prayer every day, don’t restrict your talks with God to just that “God slot” in the day. You can talk with him any time you need to and be certain that you have his undivided attention, even though the answers you get are not always what you want to hear, they will be what you actually need!

Lets just finish with a prayer:

Father God it is so wonderful to be able to talk with you in prayer, knowing that you listen to us and answer us. Please help us to spend more time with you and to talk with you about everything that is important to us and our families, as we belong also to your great family. We ask this in Jesus name. Amen.

Posted in Talks | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Thank God for Mothers

Posted on 29/03/2011 by davidfowlerpreacher

Mothers’ Day is this coming Sunday, 3rd April 2011, and so I thought I would give you a talk I gave at the Mothers’ Day service at Wood Lane Baptist Church on 2nd March 2008.

2 Timothy 1:5

I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.

It was Sunday morning and her son still had not appeared at the breakfast table. She had tried yelling up the stairs: “Wake up and get down here!”

But there had been no response. Finally, she went up the stairs and opened the door to her son’s room and said, “You need to get up and get dressed. It’s time to go to church!”

“I don’t want to go to church,” her son groaned from under the covers.

“You can’t give me a good reason not to go to church, so get up!” his mum replied.

“Actually, I’ll give you three reasons. Number one: it’s boring. Number two: the people there are gossipy and critical. And number three: no one likes me. So why should I bother?”

“I’ll give you three reasons,” retorted his mum. “Number one: the Bible says you should go. Number two: you’re 45 years old. And number three: you’re the pastor! Now get out of bed and get dressed for church!”

Where would we be without our mums? Caring for us, supporting us, encouraging us, correcting us and loving us when it seems no one else will. Oh even nagging us or should I say persistently pointing things out for our benefit?

Many of us have been blessed with a good mum and equally importantly good grandmothers. Hallelujah!

However I am also aware that some of us have not had good experiences with our mums. In the work I do I get to hear all sorts of stories about family life. I met with Michael and Alan the other week to arrange their father’s funeral. Their mum had left home when they were five and three and it is over 30 years since they had seen her.

Our friend Joan was abused by her adopted father. Her adopted mother knew about but did nothing to protect Joan as she didn’t want to cause upset. Subsequently Joan and Bob adopted two little girls who came from an abusive family. Their mother would lay there and watch their stepfather abuse them.

I am sorry if these stories upset you but for many this is the reality of family life. And if I have touched any raw nerves come and see me so that these issues can be prayed through and we can seek God’s healing for you. God’s word tells us in Psalm 34:18 “ The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

So all over the country today mums of all ages are receiving cards and gifts. Some maybe get breakfast in bed or have lunch cooked for them. Any mum here had breakfast in bed this morning?

Its only right that we show our gratitude to these ladies who show such unconditional, self-sacrificing perseverance and commitment in being our mums. I know how much I owe to my mum Lily, how she cared for me and my four older brothers and how she fought our corners. With the benefit of hindsight I realise what she went through with myself and one of my older brothers, Ken, having long spells in hospital. Interestingly out of the five of us, it is Ken and I who God has called into ministry. It makes one wonder about the mysteries of suffering. I also know how much my oldest three sons appreciated her although sadly Josh was born some five months after she was called home.

Lets look at our bible reading. Here is Paul writing to his young protégé Timothy who is now a church leader. Not an easy task, especially for someone like Timothy who seems to not be very confident.

Paul could claim that he had a great deal of influence on Timothy’s spiritual journey. Paul called him his spiritual son 1 Corinthians 4:17; “For this reason I am sending to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.”   Philippians 2:22 “But you know that Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel.”  and had not only included Timothy on his missionary journeys but had entrusted many assignments to him, including shepherding the growing church in Ephesus. It’s clear that Paul had invested much of his time in mentoring and helping make Timothy into a capable and useful leader.

Paul could have said “look what a good job I did training you” but instead Paul acknowledges the impact that Timothy’s grandmother Lois and mother Eunice had on the young man. The seeds of his faith were clearly planted by these two godly ladies.

Very little is known about these ladies but in our imaginations we can perhaps picture them praying with the young Timothy, teaching his the scriptures and telling him stories of Jesus.

Being a mother is a challenging task but the rewards to a faithful one are great. I wonder if we can think of how Eunice and Lois must have felt as they saw him grow in faith and become a leader of the church.

The Bible has other stories of godly mothers: we can read about Moses’ mother in Exodus 2, Hannah the mother of Samuel in 1 Samuel 1,and the Canaanite woman who pleads with Jesus to heal her daughter in Matthew 15:21 – 28. And of course there is Jesus’ mother Mary.

I read the other day about another amazing godly woman who had such an impact for God. She was Susannah Wesley, the mother of John and Charles Wesley. She gave birth to 19 children, several of whom died in infancy. She spent one hour each day praying for them. In addition, she took each child aside for a full hour every week to discuss spiritual matters with him or her. No wonder John and Charles were used of God to bring blessing around the world.

It makes you wonder if like many people today she had confined her dealings with God to popping into church on a Sunday as she was far too busy with the home and family to get involved with all that God stuff.

However Susannah Wesley was a godly woman and during a time when her clergyman husband was in London, defending a friend against charges of heresy, he had appointed a locum to bring the message. The man’s sermons revolved solely around repaying debts. The lack of diverse spiritual teaching caused Susanna to assemble her children Sunday afternoon for family services. They would sing a psalm then Susanna would read a sermon from either her husband’s or father’s sermon file followed by another psalm. The local people began to ask if they could attend. At one point there were over two hundred people who would attend Susanna’s Sunday afternoon service while the Sunday morning service dwindled to nearly nothing.

I wonder how many of us had mums who prayed for us? Mums who looked after our spiritual needs as well as our physical needs. I hear many stories of mums who heroically and sacrificially brought up their children and yet what did they do for their off springs spiritual growth?

“No man is poor who has a godly mother.” —Abraham Lincoln.

Perhaps I am fortunate that my mum used to pray at bedtime with me and my brothers when we were little. She took us to church, unfortunately not one where the gospel was openly preached, but it was more or less the only show in town. It was a start for us on our individual journeys of faith. It saddened me that my godmother who sadly I think was a churchgoer rather than a believer for many years, got led astray. She opened the door one day to the JW’s and believed them, asking them back to hold “bible studies” in her home. I think her family’s problems had their starting point on that fateful day. By the grace of God, my godmother came to faith but the damage had been done.

So, how many of us had faithful praying mums or grandmas?

The Bible tells us parents that we should be teaching and encouraging our children in the ways of God. In Deuteronomy 11:18 – 21  we read: “Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land that the LORD swore to give your forefathers, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth.”

For us as parents in the 21st century we have so many resources for our children. If you have young children why not get them a good bible story book to read with them? Or what about praise tapes or CD’s  to play in the car as well as at home? And of course you should be praying with them and for them.

As we thank God for the work our mums do lets not forget that us Dads have a role to play in the spiritual growth of our whole family. We can’t leave it to the ladies as they’re “good at that sort of thing”. Thinking back to my godmother, if my uncle had been a godly man he would been able to help my aunt see the JW’s for what they are.

So lets thank God for our mums and indeed all who have mothered us, all those ladies who have shown us God’s love either within the family or the church.

I am going to end with some words from Proverbs 31:26 – 31 ”She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: “Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.” Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.”

Posted in Talks | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

In my Father’s house

Posted on 20/03/2011 by davidfowlerpreacher

People often wonder about the after life. Questions such as “what’s heaven is like?” and equally important, “how do you get there?”

I hope that this talk I gave at Wood Lane Baptist Church Dagenham on 24th June 2007 will help with these questions:

John 14 v 1 – 14

“1 Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
4 You know the way to the place where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” 8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” 9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves.
12 I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”

The last two weeks we have looked at family life and at fathers. Firstly we looked the commandment to “honour your father and your mother” and last week we heard about Joseph as a role model for fathers. And in the mysterious way things work out I am talking about “In my father’s house”.

We have just heard from our young people what they think heaven is going to be like and equally important “how do you get there?”

There are many descriptions of heaven in the Bible and quite often we find that words fail us, as God and heaven are beyond our language to describe properly.

There are many myths and old wives tales about heaven. Often people belittle the idea and think of humans with wings on, wearing roman style togas sitting on fluffy clouds playing harps. Doesn’t sound very wonderful to me. I’ve even heard a church going man at a previous church categorically assure people that on death they go to heaven as angels. I am not sure where he got that from as I haven’t found it in my Bible.

Or perhaps you remember Rohan Atkinson’s character “Blackadder” when as Archbishop of Canterbury he assured a dying man that heaven was only for those who liked talking to God and watering pot plants!

Here in our Bible passage, Jesus calls heaven his father’s house. It’s a family home.
I don’t know how many of you grew up in a happy family home?

Somewhere warm, welcoming and secure?

I have the privilege of visiting many families over the course of a year and it is very interesting being welcomed into people’s homes. A great variety of styles of decorating and furnishing from the stark minimalist where you are lucky to find a chair, to the cluttered where piles of books are moved for you sit down. People often apologise for the state of the house but I always tell them that I have come to meet them rather than look at the decor. It’s the people who turn a house into a home.

Many people have happy memories of home, the meals, the fun, the love given and received. I’ve heard stories of lone parents either widowed or divorced struggling to bring up the family and provide for them and how despite the hardship and the shortages there was never a want of love or security. My mum always talked fondly of her childhood home even though my nan brought up six children on an army widow’s pension in the depression. Yes it was a struggle, yet there was always a welcome for whoever walked through the door and always something to eat. My father’s family home by contrast may have been more affluent but was a cold place for children to grew up.

Maybe you have a sense of excitement and anticipation about going to your family home, the welcome you’ll get and that sense of being at home.

For some their parents’ home was not a place of safety. One man I visited recently told me that he and his sister called their home “The Somme” as it was like trench warfare some days. They never knew what they would face when they came home from school – crockery, cutlery and other objects flying through the air as the parents argued and fought. The curious thing was that the parents were part of the leadership in a small Brethren chapel!

For those of us fortunate to be blessed with a good loving family such things seem hardly credible.

Jesus assures his disciples that heaven is his father’s house and there’s plenty of rooms there. Heaven is not limited to just a few good people as the Jehovah Witnesses would have you believe. Just listen to what John saw in his vision of heaven from the Revelation 7 v9 “After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”

So how then do we get into heaven?

If we look back at our passage Jesus tells his disciples that they know where he is going. But in one of what could be called the blondest moments in the bible Thomas says: “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” and this is from a man who has been with Jesus for three years, had heard him preach, seen him heal the sick, raise the dead and perform all sorts of miracles. But he just hasn’t a clue.

Fortunately Jesus doesn’t belittle Thomas or berate him for his lack of understanding. Instead he simply gives him the answer that he and indeed we need to hear: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Some people think that you get to heaven by being good person or they reduce Christianity to a philosophy or a mere life style. Or just going to church will do the trick. You know bravely sit through 100 boring sermons and your in. But as Dr Billy Graham once observed “you can sit for as long as you like in a garage but you’ll never turn into an automobile”. I once heard  pastor Matthew Ashemololo from KICC put it this way “You can’t rely on God’s promises simply by resting in his premises”.

Others think that  Jesus  is just one of many ways to heaven. Indeed there are those in church circles today who ignore the truth of the Bible and say that all religions are equally valid. You may have heard the argument “They are such sincere people, so I’m sure God will let them into heaven”.

But here we have it. Jesus is the only way to heaven. In Jesus’ day visitors to Jerusalem and other cities would be met by guides at the city gates offering to guide the visitor to their destinations. The guide would tell the visitors “I am the way”.

Better than a map book or even Sat Nav,  Jesus is not only the way to follow but he is also our guide and will accompany us on the journey. We don’t have to go alone.

But a home is only your home if you have a right to be there. There are no squatters and no gate crashers in heaven. And it clearly lists in 1 Corinthians 9 – 10 those who aren’t going to get in:

 “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God..”

And I suspect that at one time or another we would have found ourselves in that list. It would be pretty hopeless if that is how it will always be. But that is not the end of the story as we find our reading the next verse:
“And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”

There are several word pictures in the bible like this, emphasising the fresh start, the new life we can have. One is to say that we have to be, as the Bible puts it, born again – a spiritual rebirth to become part of God’s family. Jesus made this clear when speaking to  Nicodemus in John 3. That by the way is another of those amazing moments when the poor man’s understanding fails him: “In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” “How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!” Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, `You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

Once we accept that we can’t get right with God on our own and we come to Jesus asking him to forgive us for the wrong way we have lived and then invite him to take charge of our lives we can become a child of God and part of his family. As a child of God we have a right to go to our father’s house when our days on earth are over. But in the meantime we can through prayer talk to Him and be in his presence and like any good Father he delights in spending time with us.

Whilst I am sure that we all think of the good things that await us in heaven and the reunions we shall have with believers we have known and loved on earth, the greatest joy will be to be with God our Heavenly Father and with Jesus. Here in our Father’s house we will find healing and wholeness for all the hurts and injuries we have had here on earth, as we assured in Revelations 21 v4 “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” .

Given how wonderful heaven is going to be, isn’t it something we should tell others about? Don’t we want others to become part of God’s family so that they too can call heaven their father’s home?

Loving Lord Jesus you are the way to the Father: help us to follow you. You are the truth: bring us to know you. You are the life: give us that life, to live with you now and for ever, and also Lord give us the courage and the opportunities to share this good news with others that they too can become part of your family. Amen.

Posted in Talks | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The writing on the wall

Posted on 20/03/2011 by davidfowlerpreacher

This is a talk I gave at Wood Lane Baptist Church in Dagenham on 28th September 2008 at the start of the financial crisis that brought about the crash of many financial institutions and led to the recent recession.

Daniel 5: 22 – 30

22“But you his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this. 23 Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven. You had the goblets from his temple brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you did not honor the God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways. 24Therefore he sent the hand that wrote the inscription. 25“This is the inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN 26“This is what these words mean: Mene: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end. 27Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting. 28Peres:Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.” 29Then at Belshazzar’s command, Daniel was clothed in purple, a gold chain was placed around his neck, and he was proclaimed the third highest ruler in the kingdom. 30That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, was slain, 31and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two.”

2773953253_6bc877f456_b

What do we think of when we hear the phrase “the writing on the wall”?

Do we think of Graffiti?

You know “Kilroy was here”which spread everywhere in World War 2 or the even more widespread “Banksi” which is all over London?

Often writing on walls is a social comment or just the expression of someone’s viewpoint. You can find ancient Greek and Roman Graffiti preserved in some surprising places including the ruins of Pompeii In the Paris riots of 1968 many political slogans were written or sprayed on walls including such as “Boredom is counter-revolutionary”.

Alternatively we say the “writing is on the wall” when we perceive the end is in sight for someone or something. And indeed there have been lots of examples of the writing on the wall in recent times even though many people refused to see it.

Just consider what has happened in the finance markets. What pundits are now calling “junk bonds” inflated the banks and finance houses of the world. It was thought that everyone was a winner, so everyone jumped on the band wagon. No one remembered that if something is too good to be true, it is too good to be true.

We know the result as many major banks and financial institutions collapsed and have gone bankrupt. Lehman Brothers and Bear Stern in the USA with even HBOS and Bradford & Bingley in this country looking very shaky. Even AIG Insurance which was said to have $1trillion in assets is in trouble. That’s a one followed by 12 zero’s. Or about £55,000 Million. A vast amount to lose! Lets try and give you an idea what that is. According to the Office of National Statistics the average wage in the UK last year was about £23,764. So you would have to work for 2,314,425 years to earn what AIG may stand to lose!

Surely financial institutions like this are too big to fail? Yet leaders of other empire have always thought the same. Empires and countries come and go and the Bible tells us who really is in charge. Just listen to what God says through the prophet Isaiah about it: Isaiah 40:15 “Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales; he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.”

So what about the original writing on the wall as found in our reading from Daniel 5? Does it have message for us in 2008?

I think we need to start with a brief history lesson.

God had allowed the Jewish people to be over run by the Babylonians. Well, God had constantly warned them through the prophets that if they didn’t repent they would be in trouble. Its not as if they hadn’t been warned. The people of Judah had seen what happened to the ten Jewish tribes of Israel, conquered by the Assyrians and taken away into exile never to be seen again. So most of the Jews were exiled to Babylon. If you wonder what it was like for them look at Psalm 137 which starts: “By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion.”

The Babylonian empire had arisen out of nowhere and had over run most of the Middle East including the hated Assyrians. Its Emperor Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in 587 BC and brought the temple treasure back to Babylon. He was the man who constructed the famed hanging gardens of Babylon, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

Yet strangely in the very centre of Babylonian government were some godly men, including Daniel as well as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. The book of Daniel gives an interesting account of what God was doing whilst his people were in exile.

In the first chapters of Daniel we read how God spoke to Nebuchadnezzar not only through the dreams he had but also through the practical demonstration of his power when Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were thrown into the furnace for not worshipping the statue of Nebuchadnezzar. At the end of chapters 2, 3 and 4 Nebuchadnezzar acknowledges who God is and how great he is.

But Nebuchadnezzar is dead and Belshazzar is now on the throne. According to Jewish historians he was the grandson, not the son of Nebuchadnezzar. Belshazzar’s father had had the wonderful name of Evil-merodach. The Jewish historians state that the feast in Daniel 5 took place at the end of 70 years from the fall of Jerusalem. Clearly they argue Belshazzar knew about Jeremiah’s prophecy that the exile would end after 70 years. This is what they say: “Jeremiah must be wrong,” argued Belshazzar, “for the limit has been reached, and since the Jews have not yet returned to their land, they probably will not return any more.” So he held the feast and used the sacred treasures from the temple, as if to say; this is what I think about God, he can’t do anything to save his people. Equally extraordinary is that historical records tells us that the Persian army is at the walls of Babylon and yet here is Belshazzar and his royal court having a beano.

Daniel 5:1 – 6. King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his nobles and drank wine with them. While Belshazzar was drinking his wine, he gave orders to bring in the gold and silver goblets that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might drink from them. So they brought in the gold goblets that had been taken from the temple of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines drank from them. As they drank the wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone. Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote. His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his knees knocked together and his legs gave way.

All Belshazzar’s advisers, wise men and so on can’t decipher the writing on the wall. Eventually someone remembers Daniel and he is summonsed to help.

After recounting the history of Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel delivers the verdict:

Daniel 5:24 – 31 But you did not honour the God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways. Therefore he sent the hand that wrote the inscription. “This is the inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN “This is what these words mean: Mene: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end. Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting. Peres: Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.” Then at Belshazzar’s command, Daniel was clothed in purple, a gold chain was placed around his neck, and he was proclaimed the third highest ruler in the kingdom. That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, was slain, and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two.

I find it fascinating that having received such dreadful news, Belshazzar doesn’t take any action to deal with what is clearly coming his way. The Bible tells us that he gives Daniel his promised reward and that is it.

No attempt to sort things out with God. Just carry on – business as usual. Eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we die! History tells us that the Persian army diverted the Euphrates river which followed through the city, allowing troops to charge along the river bank into the city whilst the king and virtually everyone else was enjoying the feast and too drunk to defend themselves. And so Belshazzar died and events were set in progress to bring the Jews home from exile.

You may say that this is a wonderful story but does it have any relevance for us?

I would say so. It does us good to remember one of the fundamental laws of the universe as stated by Isaac Newton: “Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.”

Put it another way every thing we do has a result. Every wrong action or sin has to be accounted for.

God knows our every action, whether we want to acknowledge it or not. The Bible tells us that he records our actions in his book and that is what we are judged on unless of course we have come to faith in Jesus and our sins have been paid for by the blood of Jesus. In which case our names are in the Book of life. This is what we read in Revelation 20: 11 & 12 “ Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.”

I am often amazed by people who think that what they have done in the past is of no consequence. After all its history, its in the past. But I have to tell you sin doesn’t dissolve away like a recyclable supermarket carrier bag with the mere passage of time. If we haven’t dealt with it, its there for all eternity. We either deal with it now or we answer for it in the court of eternity when the books are opened.

Many folk  sweep their past misdeeds under the carpet. Its all in the past – let it stay there! Oh if only life is like that.

People who sweep things under the carpet eventually trip over the buried mound and come to earth with a bump.

What’s on your wall?

Has God issued you a written warning? If so what are you going to do about it?

If you have something in your past that hasn’t been properly dealt with: some of the sin issues were highlighted in our psalm at the start of our service, get on your knees as soon as possible and seek God’s forgiveness and then, if you have to make peace with someone do so.

None of us, apart from God, know how long we have on this earth, as the psalmist reminds us in Psalm 139 “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”

So lets pray that we will be wiser than Belshazzar and that if God has weighed us in the balance and found us wanting, we will come before the throne of Grace and get matters right without delay. Amen.

Posted in Talks | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

In the midst of the storm

Posted on 16/03/2011 by davidfowlerpreacher

I gave this talk at one of my favourite churches to preach in – TubeStation which is also known as the Polzeath Community Church in Polzeath, Cornwall.

God is doing amazing things there and I would urge you to visit TubeStation if you are ever in North Cornwall. If you can’t get there in person have a look at their website: www.tubestation.org.

This talk is dated Sunday 16th August 2009.

Mark 4:35 – 41

35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” 39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. 40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” 41They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

It’s great to be here at Polzeath this morning and I bring you greetings from the Wood Lane Baptist Church in Dagenham. Did you know that many years ago Dagenham was a holiday destination? The famed reformer Elizabeth Fry spent several summers in a riverside cottage in Dagenham. Similarly my home town of Rainham was a resort for day trippers from London. So next time you are in Essex come and spend a day at Rainham beach.

Have you ever noticed that for some people life if plain sailing as if they were on a lily pond. Some folk never seem to have any crises in their lives and they glide serenely through life like a swan on a still river. And yet for most of us we have the storms of life to face and sometimes life is more like white water rafting. Sounds familiar?

You have probably been through some storms yourselves. You know the sort of things that happen in life: illness, disability, death, unemployment, relationship breakdowns etc.

The question is “W hat do you do in the midst of the storms of life?”

Lets see what we can learn from today’s passage from Mark 4.

First a bit of a geography lesson. The Sea of Galilee is fed by the Jordan River, rainfall and springs on the northern side.  More properly designated a lake, is 13 miles long and 7 miles wide.  At its deepest point the lake is only 150 feet deep.  The rabbis said of it, “Although God has created seven seas, yet He has chosen this one as His special delight.” At 209 metres below sea level it’s the lowest freshwater lake in the world.

The lake was very busy with fishing villages around its shores. According to Josephus a 1st century historian there were in Jesus’ time some 230 fishing boats on the lake. In those days people used nets; either small ones thrown into the shallow water or bigger ones let down into the water from a boat.

Jesus had been teaching all day and was relaxing in the boat as they set sail across the lake. Apparently all was calm as they got under way.

However the peaceful calm of the Sea of Galilee can quickly become transformed by a violent storm.  Winds funnel through the east-west aligned Galilee hill country and stir up the waters quickly.  More violent are the winds that come off the hills of the Golan Heights to the east.  Trapped in the basin, the winds can be deadly to fishermen.  A storm in March 1992 sent waves 10 feet high crashing into downtown Tiberius and causing significant damage.

But aren’t our lives often the same? All is calm and we make progress across the sea of life when suddenly out of nowhere the storm comes.

People feel unwell go to the doctor for tests and CRASH there comes the diagnosis. Lee was 28. We had meet when I conducted her grandmother’s funeral. She was full of life and devoted herself to working with handicapped children. She felt unwell and within two weeks the leukaemia had overwhelmed her and killed her.

Or as usual you go into work but by lunchtime your career is at an end and you have joined the ranks of the unemployed.

In 1996 I suddenly found I was on a list for redundancy, and from a visit to my doctor I had major problem. So in a matter of days I was redundant with a wife and four sons to support. But God was with us through that storm and indeed has done amazing things for us and through us.

Or your spouse has walked out leaving you with the children, the mortgage and all the debts.

We don’t see it coming and suddenly we’re swamped.

What are we going to do? The little storms we may be able to cope with, but what about the stuff that threatens to overwhelm us?

Let me tell you about Ron. That’s not his real name. Ron apparently has it all. The mortgage is paid off. He is in a safe job, as his is wife’s. His stepsons are in work. He is forever going on about his savings and his pension – he knows exactly what its worth and how many days till he can claim it. Everything was going great until one day the storm came. His father had a major heart attack and nearly died. It shook Ron to the core. At that moment his house, his savings, his future pension counted for nothing – they couldn’t save his father. But by the grace of God his father recovered.  Ron is still relying on his trying to stay afloat, clutching at straws. Many people have tried to talk with him about Jesus and the need to be born again but so far he hasn’t listened..

Some people panic and clutch at any passing straws. Many bereaved folk have asked me about going to mediums or spiritists to make sure that their loved ones are okay. Desperate measures for desperate situations. Its like calling out to the Somali pirates to rescue you rather than the Navy or the lifeboat!

Most of the disciples were skilled fishermen who knew the lake like the back of their hands. They had,, no doubt, dealt with storms all their working lives but now there was something far worse. The only thing left is to wake Jesus and get him on the case. You feel the tension and the fear ‘The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

It seems in their terror they have forgotten who Jesus is. Jesus the son of God cares for all creation. We are reminded in Psalm 121 that God is on the case 24/7 as the Psalmist wrote “he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.”

Jesus is described in Colossians 1:16 & 17 as follows: “For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

Jesus, who was the creator of the universe deals with the situation as we read “He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm”

Bringing Jesus into a situation radically alters it and if we allow him to act he can calm the storm that is raging around us.

And yet how many people don’t call out to God in their distress but blame him instead? Why didn’t you rescue me? Why did you let my loved one die?

A few months ago we were stranded at a service station on the M6 toll road. Our car’s starter motor had failed. I could have just sat in the car and complained that the AA didn’t come to my rescue. Well, they only knew I needed help when I phoned them and asked for assistance. Once I made that call we just had to wait for the patrol to arrive to fix the car.

Because God has given us free will we have a choice to call out to Jesus to save us or to remain silent and muddle through on our own. Jesus will not come to our rescue till we ask him. Having prayed the prayer we just have to wait on Jesus, just as I had to wait for the AA patrol to arrive having made the call.

I assume that most of you have been on the beach here and have swam or surfed in the sea. You will have seen the warning flag put up by the life guards, to keep people safe in the water. Or you will have heard the lifeguards’ warnings to either move across the beach or more urgently to get out of the water. The lifeguards are there for your safety, not to spoil your fun as some many think. Similarly God’s rules and commands are there to keep you safe and free from danger. And yet how many folk ignore God’s warning flags and promptly put themselves into dangerous stormy waters.

However when you find yourselves in one of life’s storms, you are not on your own if you have come to faith in Jesus because he has promised to be with his followers to the end of time. Even if you do not always  feel his presence he is with in everything we face in life.
Jesus does care even if it appears that he hasn’t instantly calmed the storm, he will be with you in the boat and you will not go under.

God’s word to his people who face life’s trial and tribulations  is Isaiah 43:1 – 3 “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour; “

Posted in Talks | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Living in Interesting Times

Posted on 14/03/2011 by davidfowlerpreacher

This is a talk I gave at Cranham Baptist Church on 19th October 2008 and I hope will give you encouragement if you are living in interesting times.

Psalm 46

1.God is our refuge and strength, an ever‑present help in trouble. 2.Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 3.though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. 4.There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. 5.God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. 6.Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. 7.The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. “Selah” 8.Come and see the works of the Lord, the desolations he has brought on the earth. 9.He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire. 10.”Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” 11.The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

There is an ancient Chinese curse that says “May you live in interesting times”.

It may be a bit of an understatement that we are living in interesting times.

Although we don’t have earthquakes very often in Essex and its along time since we have suffered major flooding, there are certainly major earth-shaking events happening.

The price of oil is up and down like a roller coaster.

Share prices are plunging through the floor boards and people’s savings as well as those of local authorities are being frozen in Iceland.

Pundits say we have the worse financial crisis since the great depression of the 1920’s.

Banks thought to be as safe as houses have collapsed like so many packs of cards.

I find it interesting how many people trust in things that won’t last and invest their lives in what will not stand the test of time. Jesus told us in Matthew 6:19 – 21 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Clearly much of what our banks and finance houses built on hasn’t lasted. Indeed we are all paying the price for the greed of those who ran those organisations.

I have to say that banking has changed dramatically since I was made redundant and left the industry in 1996. In many instances, caution and prudence have been thrown away in the pursuit of profit. It’s almost as if profit and gain have become idols and people, principles and sound judgement have been sacrificed on their altars.

I was visiting a family the other evening and we were talking about amongst other things the current economic crisis. I shared with them how relevant the Bible is on the human condition even though most of the Bible was written more than 2000 years ago. I quoted this passage from 1 Timothy about money: 1 Timothy 6: 7 – 10 “For we brought nothing into the world and we can take nothing out of it. But if we can have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the Faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

Perhaps it would be good to have Paul’s words on display in every board room of every bank and finance house as a warning.

What are we to do?

People look to the government to sort it. And yes the government, the International Monetary Fund and other organisations are desperately trying to stabilise the situation and put matters straight. Whether we like our government or not, we should certainly pray for our leaders and all those in authority as they have a heavy responsibility.

That’s on a national or global scale but what about the personal calamities that shake our own foundations?

Maybe redundancy strikes. In May 1996 I was given a letter telling me that after some 23 years my banking career was coming to an end. I was redundant, no longer wanted/needed by my employer. Here I was aged 42, married with four young sons and a mortgage and a health problem but no job!

Ill health and incapacity come to stay.

Relationships breakdown. Our husband or wife leave us or Mum or dad walk away from a family. Or children leave never to return. My neighbours’ daughter was looking forward to the arrival of her second child when, three week before the due date her husband declared he had realised that didn’t love her, and he just left!

Our loved ones died either suddenly or after a long fight with illness or disability. Lee, whom I buried last week, was only 37. He died of a heroin overdose in his girlfriend’s house. He had a string of broken relationships and left three children. He had been a heroin user since his mum died 17 years before. He had always found life a struggle but when Mum lost her fight with cancer he was overwhelmed by the storms of life and turned to drugs to help numb the awful pain of loss.

What are we to do when troubles come? When our own little worlds come crashing down around us?

Many folk turn to whatever and whoever they think will help. Often the bereaved turn to mediums and spiritists as they are anxious to know that Mum/Dad/Grandma are okay in the after life. You may be surprised how many times I am asked “Do you think I should see a medium to see if my mum’s okay?”

Other folk turn to drink or drugs or fall into the arms of false religions which give them false hope and comfort but ultimately leave them feeling even worse, if not permanently damaged.

What we really need to do is see what the Bible has to tell us. In other words what does God have to say?

We should ask Jesus to help us. Let’s have a look at Mark 4:35 – 40 “That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!“”

Here we find that the disciples, some of whom would have known Galilee and its weather like the back of their hands are completely out of their depth. These are experienced fishermen who knew all about the sea and its unpredictable nature, who had no doubt seen storms and squalls. Yet they are frightened. So they come to Jesus deals quickly with the storm and then asks the disciples “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

All through the Bible, God tells people “Do not be afraid” In fact a search on an internet Bible listed over 200 examples in the Old Testament alone!. He knows how it times of trouble we are easily frightened. We forget that God is in control and that nothing is beyond his control.

Remember he is the one who turns situations around and can bring good out of bad situations.

It was through me being redundant that my wife Gaynor was able to train as a nurse. I was there to care for our sons, the youngest of whom was only two at the time. It was financially a struggle, six of us surviving at times on just a student nurse=s bursary. However we survived and subsequently the Lord called me into a ministry coming alongside bereaved people.

I am sure that most of you can testify to how God has come alongside you in times of crisis and he has seen you through some awful circumstances.

Michael is 17. He is a good friend of my son Sam and indeed was one of those people who brought Sam to faith. Michael became unwell in the middle of last month and ended up in Intensive care at the Queens Hospital almost completely paralysed. He lost his eyesight and could hardly speak. And yet, he is at peace and has been praising God. He is on the mend and has some movement in his arms and hands and has some sight back. Sam tells me Michael is chatty and in good humour. He is trusting in God and relying on him for his healing.

When we have faith in Jesus we can be assured that there is nothing that can ever take us away from him. As Paul wrote in Romans 8:37 – 39 “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Indeed when we have faith in God we can echo the thoughts or the writer of Hebrews who in Hebrews 13:5 & 6 writes: “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”

So when we know that God is in control and that nothing can take us away from him, we can agree with the psalmist and say: “God is our refuge and strength, an ever‑present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.”

Posted in Talks | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

“Getting what you asked for”

Posted on 14/03/2011 by davidfowlerpreacher

I have given this talk on “The Prayer of Jabez” with variations several times over recent years. This particular version was given at Chase Cross Baptist Church in Romford on Sunday 7th May 2006.

1 Chronicles 4 v 9 & 10

9 Jabez was more honourable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, “I gave birth to him in pain.” 10 Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request.

How do you feel about being blessed by God?

For many it’s the nondescript “God bless you” we wish people in a vague way or tack onto the message inside greetings cards.

Many of us were bought up not to ask for things. You may have been taught the old saying: “Those who ask don’t get and those who don’t ask don’t want”

However at times like Christmas and birthdays some people write out lists of what they would like to receive. Often this starts once the Christmas cards start appearing in the shops – usually just after Fathers’ Day in June!

There are people who think God is rather like a cash dispenser. You know how they work, you put the cashpoint card in the slot and type in the PIN and bingo out comes the cash. I am sure none of you treat the Lord like that.

You know: say the prayer, shout amen and grab the blessings!

This is the sort of prosperity religion we see mainly in the States. Some people call it “Name it and Claim it”.

Yes God can give us more than we can ever ask for but we have to ask in accordance with his will.

Of course some people in their asking God for blessings misunderstand how he works.

Many years ago when cash dispensers were first installed, I am told that a bank customer arrived at night at an obviously empty dark bank branch. He wrote out his cheque to cash and put it with his cheque book, and cheque guarantee card through the letter box and rushed round to the cash machine and waited and waited for his money. He was convinced that one of the bank’s cashiers was on duty in the darkened building to cash his cheque and push the money out of the slot in the machine!

People are just as wrong and muddled in their approach to God, relying on myths and old wives’ tales and a lot of misinformation. It is thought by some that God’s blessing just drops into their laps without the need for faith or any effort on our part. Others don’t feel they could ask God for anything. They are right that we don’t deserve God’s blessings but then he is a loving generous God who delights in giving good things to his children.

Some people think they can earn God’s blessings, rather as people used to collect Green Shield stamps years ago and trade the full books in for various items from the catalogue. “If I do this for God then he will do something for me…” You can’t earn your way into heaven or bargain with God to get his blessings no matter how many times you go to church on Sunday or how many cakes you bake, meetings you attend or whatever. God doesn’t work that way.

God’s children are those who are “born again”, who have come to faith in Jesus Christ, not just people who come to church regularly – they are church goers. You may have heard the saying “You can’t rely on God’s promises by merely visiting his premises”. Being men, women and children of faith is far more than parking your backside on a church pew for an hour a week or watching “Songs of Praise” on the TV every Sunday evening.

What does God say on the matter of blessings?

Just see the effect that God’s blessing had on people who were faithful and obedient:

Abraham who obediently left his comfortable lifestyle in Ur to find the promised land of Canaan became a successful and prosperous businessman. And had an even greater blessing in that his physical and spiritual descendants are without number as God promised him.

Joseph remained faithful to God despite all that happened to him and became Prime minister of Egypt and saved not only Egypt but also the Jewish people from starvation.

Job had everything taken from him, yet stuck with God and was blessed by having even more given to him because of his faithfulness.

David despite his sinfulness was described as a man after God’s own heart and he was blessed with the Kingdom of Israel and the promise that the Messiah would be one of his descendants. Now isn’t that a real blessing?

Jabez clearly hadn’t had a good start in life because his mother had called him “pain” as she had a very difficult and painful childbirth. Anybody here a pain to their mums? Yet Jabez has overcome his difficult start in life and has become the most respected member of his family. Clearly this wasn’t enough and he recognised that he couldn’t do it on his own. Jabez must have realised that human effort can only achieve so much. He was wise enough and humble enough to know that all things come from God. So to really make his mark he needs God’s help.

Jabez wanted it “God’s Way”. So he calls out to the Lord: “Oh, that you would bless me ”

Jabez doesn’t limit his request with something trivial like the Old Testament equivalent of the Rolls Royce or a win on the Lottery. No he leaves it to God to provide the blessing.

God like any loving parent wants what’s best for his children and delights in providing for them. Because he is the creator he can bend the rules and make miracles happen. But miracles just don’t happen. We have to ask. Just look at the gospels to see how Jesus answered those who asked in faith.

Yet some may say “Oh I haven’t that much faith”. But Jesus talks about us just needing faith the size of a mustard seed to see amazing miracles happen. As you may know a mustard seed is just a tiny black dot and you may wonder how anything of any size can possible grow from it. Matthew 17 v 20 “I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

Jabez has the faith to ask for an increase in his territory – some translations say “land”. But a person’s territory is where he or she can have influence. Jabez was already well respected and wanted to have greater influence. But for whose benefit? This is something we should ask ourselves when we seek to increase our influence – is it for us? For our personal benefit or for God? Are we trying to satisfy our own desires or are we seeking to serve God?

Some may say but I have enough. I do enough already. I don’t want to get labelled as “religious”. All this stepping out in faith stuff is alright for church leaders or for people who have the time to study the bible and things but not for me! Yes, stepping out in faith and asking God to bless you and use you is scary but the results are truly awesome and often beyond your greatest expectations.

Jabez, I am sure, realised that just asking to be blessed was not enough. He goes on to ask “Let your hand be with me and keep me from harm”

If someone’s hand is with you or on you then you are close to them. The only way to keep that hand there is to stay close. Its rather like walking hand in hand with a child, to not only give them the comfort of feeling you there, but to keep them from running off or from falling over and hurting themselves.

Jabez realises even when God gives him the blessing, he needs God’s oversight to keep him safe. He needs to stay close to God.

Did you realise that a quarter of the Lord’s prayer is asking for protection?

All too often when things are going well we forget God. Some people treat him like the red box on the wall – In case of emergency break your silence and pray. When there isn’t a problem we ignore the fire alarm don’t we?

So we too need to keep close to God and if his hand is restraining us we need to learn not to struggle and try to break free because he knows much better than we do the harm that will befall us if we go our own way.

We need also to learn to go at God’s pace not ours. Like the little child who has to learn that the hand he is holding is slowing him down for a reason we also have to realise that God doesn’t want us to run out of steam or indeed over balance and fall because of our haste to get things done.

Indeed Jabez was cute enough to realise the pain that can be caused by going his way rather than God’s way. Without God’s protection we are on our own in the dark. After all Psalm 119 v 105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” My bible commentary says this about this verse “Apart from this (God’s word) I could only grope about in the darkness” We all know how much harm we can get into walking along an unlit path or negotiating the landing and stairs in the dark when the lights fuse or there is a power cut.

So what happened when Jabez prayed this prayer “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.”?

We read “And God granted his request” We don’t hear again from Jabez in the bible but we can assume he made his mark for God because his story is recorded for us to study and think about. Clearly the man’s life was changed and indeed his territory or influence is with us today. His story still bears witness to our wonderful loving generous God. Isn’t that something?

Just imagine if you prayed a prayer like Jabez and in three thousand years time, if the Lord Jesus hasn’t returned in the meantime, people are still talking about you as an example of a faithful believer wouldn’t that say something about your influence being increased and used by God?

If you desire to use what you have for God, to be an influence for him wherever you are, why not pray this prayer?

If you believe that God can and does bless people, and you are prepared to let him decide what the blessing will be and when it will be, why not pray this prayer? After all James says in James 4 v2 “You do not have because you do not ask” So if you do not ask, you do not get the blessings that God has ready for you and you miss out on the experiencing the God who describes himself as “abundant in goodness”.

Asking God to bless you, as he wills, means that your life will never be the same and he will be able to use you to be a blessing to others and a witness to the good news of Jesus Christ.

So lets step out in faith and ask God to bless us:

“Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” Amen.

Posted in Talks | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Get off the roof!

Posted on 14/03/2011 by davidfowlerpreacher

A talk on temptation that I gave at Becontree Avenue Baptist Church in Dagenham on 9th  August 2009.

2 Samuel 11:1 – 5

1 In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem. 2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, 3 and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “Isn’t this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” 4 Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (She had purified herself from her uncleanness.) Then she went back home. 5 The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.”

Have you ever been somewhere you should not have been? And done something you shouldn’t have done?

A case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

You may regret it and say “if only I hadn’t been there, it wouldn’t have happened”.

If only one beautiful June morning in 1981 my nearly new car hadn’t suffered a cracked piston and nearly wrecked the engine, I would not have been driving my mum’s badly in need of a service Hillman Avenger on the A6 that afternoon. And I would not have over taken the annoying weaving car in front of me just as I clipped a double white line and the keen member of the Leicestershire constabulary would not have pursued me and flagged me down in Market Harborough and have me charged for driving without due care and attention. I would not have ended up with a fine and a record! If only I hadn’t been there!

I am sure that we’ve all done things we shouldn’t have done and paid the consequences for our actions.

Lets look this morning at a man who like us gave in to temptation. For him and the others involved it had disastrous consequences.

David was king of Israel. Described in the Bible as a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel13:14). If you remember the story, this is the man who danced before the Lord when the ark was brought into Jerusalem. The writer of many of the Psalms. In Psalm 119:9 – 11 he wrote “How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” as well as v105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.”

A man mightily blessed by God and used by him. You could assume that such a man would know and obey God’s commands. And yet…

What went wrong?

Firstly he was in the wrong place. He should have been with his army. 2 Samuel 11:1 says “In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army.” It was his job to be there even though Joab was a very capable commander, it was David as commander in chief who should have been there.

The army were doing what they were meant to do in the campaign, they were dealing with the Ammonites who had been trouble for many years. And what was their King doing? He was at home, in his palace in Jerusalem. We are not told why he was there, but we know that it didn’t seem to be anything strenuous or important that was keeping him there.

David has clearly had a siesta and is now taking the night air, even perhaps wondering how his army is doing without him. “One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace.”

And now things take a turn for the worse. It’s bad enough that he has thrown a “sicky” or gone absent but worse is to come.

Some of you may have been taught the Sunday School song “Be careful little eyes what you see, be careful little feet where you tread, be careful little ears what you hear.” Its such a shame that King David didn’t know it because it could have saved a whole heap of trouble.

We read in v2 “From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful,“ I am sure that in our lives we see people or things that are very attractive or pleasing to the eye. I believe the modern term is “eye candy”. Its okay to admire someone or something and leave it at that. Its when we take a second or third look and the old brain starts thinking and the imagination takes over that we can find ourselves on a very slippery slope.

It doesn’t have to just be people we look at and lust after. One of our neighbours was a “shopaholic” and just couldn’t resist buying clothes, shoes etc. By the time the law caught up with her for obtaining money by deception and various other misdemeanours she was bankrupt owing some £38000. Her desires had got out of control and she paid the price for her lusting after material possessions.

So King David sends a messenger to find out about her and even the fact that she was married didn’t stop him. David himself had several wives and had inherited Saul’s concubines and yet he wanted more. He lusted after Bathsheba, someone else’s wife. At this point any thought about God’s commandments goes out the window. After all David would have been familiar with the 10 commandments which include: Deuteronomy 5: 18 “You shall not commit adultery.” and v21“You shall not covet your neighbour’s wife.“

The next step is when David turns thoughts into action 2 Samuel 11:4 “Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her.” Before anyone thinks “Well Bathsheba should have said no to the King” its not that easy. Women in that culture were very much second class citizens and the king had great power and authority which the average person would not dispute.

So David possibly thinks he has got away with it. But our sins, our misdeeds, have a way of catching up with us or being revealed. 2 Samuel 11:5 “The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.“”

Years ago I worked with Derek, a young Geordie lad, and like many Geordies he liked a drink. When in his teens he was “home alone”, he decided to work his way through his parents’ drinks cupboard. He found he really liked his mum’s Pernod, an aniseed flavoured drink. He panicked when he realised that he had drunk most of the bottle. What to do? His parents were due home shortly. He topped up the bottle with water. What he didn’t know was that Pernod a clear liquid turns cloudy when you add water. The game was up!

And indeed the game was up for David. If we read on in 2 Samuel 11 we find he tries desperate measures to hide what he had done and in the end he has Bathsheba’s husband killed to hush things up.

But brothers and sisters we can never get away from our sins. We can hide things from each other and try to lie and cheat our way out of trouble. We may succeed for a while but Hebrews 4:13 reminds us “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”

The bottom line is whilst we think we have got away with our sins on this earth, on the day of judgement we will have to account for each and every one of them. There will be no excuses. We will know that in each and every situation we had the choice to do something or not.

All through the story of David and Bathsheba, David had choices to make. He could have said no. He could have got off the roof before anything happened. But no he went with his thoughts and his feelings rather than follow God’s teachings and do what he knew was right.

Eventually God sent the prophet Nathan to deal with David and you can read about that encounter in 2 Samuel 12. It can be difficult if God calls you to be his prophet, his spokesman and take his judgement to people. I don’t think that any of the Old testament prophets had an easy job and today if God speaks to you to talk to someone about their life style, their sins, it is not easy.

David did repent and as he sorted his life out he wrote Psalm 51.

And for us when we sin the bible assures us in 1 John 1 :8 & 9 “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

Jesus understands about temptation but he is the only man in history not to have given in to it. Hebrews 4:14 – 16 tells us “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are–yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

So we can be forgiven when we sin but it is better that when we find ourselves in a place of temptation we do what David should have done we get off the roof.

Today lets ask God for the wisdom and the courage to not only listen to him and the Spirit’s prompting but also to obey him even when our desires and longings would have us stray into trouble. Amen.

Posted in Talks | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment