Merredin Uniting Church

Over the past month I have been addressing the issue of faith. This has been very relevant for Margie and I in this whole relocation from South Africa to WA. How much faith do we need? – just a mustard seed (and we’ve found that’s a whole lot); When do we act in faith? – only when we hear the voice of Jesus calling to us to come to where He already is.

But beyond that we need to be clear about where we are going. In the letter to the Church in Philippi, Paul writes these words, “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize.” He also used the example of running a race in order to win the prize. But what is the prize? And what is this race? The prize is the ultimate consummation of all things; it is the final victory won when we find ourselves in the fullness of glory and where every knee bows and every tongue confesses Jesus Christ as Lord. The race is the journey we take from our first encounter with Jesus until that prize is won. This is a journey of an ever expanding vision.

When we first come to Christ we are sometimes excited about everything, we see the wonder of God in every place. Sometimes we just wonder what everybody else is excited about. And as we journey on, this vision can change. Sometimes it expands and matures, and sometimes it just gets stuck in the mundane. In Proverbs 29:18 (KJV) we read that “where there is no vision, the people perish” and I believe that it is a primary leadership task to keep the vision alive. It is the preacher’s role to keep the congregation on the journey, not just to warn about prowling enemies but to keep the passion burning bright.

Over the next couple of weeks I am going to be focused on this idea. All three sermons derive from notes I made at the Global Leadership Summit last year with Bill Hybels and John Ortberg. I am passionate about leadership in the local church and believe sincerely that it is the leadership which makes or breaks the effective Christian witness of the local church.

So this week I will begin to examine essential source of our vision – it starts with “Holy Discontent”. When we are satisfied with what we have, we have no where to go. The Bible is full of instances where people found themselves at a place where they could feel that God would not be happy with a situation. We will examine some of these today in Merredin and at Bruce Rock next week and at Muka and Southern Cross the week after. (I am going to try to get the same message out to each congregation).

Next week, I will focus on building a vision for which we are prepared to die. We need to “own” the vision. In John 10, Jesus draws a parallel between the hired hands and the owner of the sheep. There is a big difference in their approach. The hired hand abandons the sheep and runs away when the wolf comes, the owner (Jesus) lays down his life for the sheep. And we are called to follow the example of Jesus (Phil 2:5, John 13:15).

And the following week we turn to the problem of “Shadow vision” – when we follow the shadow instead of the reality, when we are prepared to settle for anything less than the fullness of what God wants.

All of this is a preparation for a time of vision and strategy formulation which I want us to do later in the year. I am just so excited about what I see the Lord wanting to do in the Eastern Wheatbelt, that I am, in a sense, struggling to contain myself. I know that I am often impulsive and “get out of the boat” without thinking too much ahead, but I sense the Lord saying that we must take it slowly, establish the foundation, build on the Rock, or else He will not be in it.

Peace to you in Christ Jesus,

David

Sermon: Holy Discontent  by Rev David de Kock on Sunday 30/8/2009

Texts: 1 Samuel 17:32-37 and John 2:12-19

Over the next couple of weeks I want to speak about Biblical Vision – the establishment of clear direction from the Scriptures on which we base our future. I want to do this in anticipation of a time of vision and strategy formation which I would like to do later in the year. Already there is a Mission Statement – and I like it. I saw it on the door to the church – Our Aim is to Live the Gospel in order to radiate the Love of Jesus Christ. I have shortened it a bit for the “logo” on the cover of the Newsletter.

That’s a good aim, a good goal, a good vision – living the gospel to radiate the love of Jesus.

Knowing where we are going is important for us as Christians – Paul makes the point clear …He says, “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I want to press on toward the goal to win the prize.”

He knew his goal, he knew where he was going.

But where does a clear vision, or passion for the future, come from?
Invariably it begins when God stirs up something inside someone so that they cannot stand a situation anymore – they enter a situation of “holy discontent”.

There are numerous instances of this in the Bible and I have chosen to read just two of them – David’s challenge to Goliath and Jesus turning over the money changers tables in the Temple. But we could also have looked at Moses, still in Egypt, deeply concerned about his people in bondage, or at Nehemiah in Babylon, broken in spirit, at the lack of work in restoring the Temple in Jerusalem, or indeed, any of the prophets.

These were men unhappy at the situations they saw, and their discontent drove them to do something about it so that the holy name of the Almighty could be restored and honored once more.

David is a young shepherd boy who brings food from home for his brothers in Saul’s army. He is too young to be a soldier, he must stay home to look after the sheep. And he must run the errands for his father. On one of these errands he finds the armies of the living God trembling before a single enemy soldier.
He can’t stand it!
And a young boy takes a stand against the giant – he is fearless because he has a holy passion stirring in his heart and he knows that God shares that passion. He shirks Saul’s armour to go out, alone, armed only with a sling and five smooth stones.

Jesus enters the Temple. He sees the money changers and the sellers of the sacrificial animals.
Its not the first time He has seen them, He’s been there several time before – but now! – a passion stirs in His heart. Its time to get them out! The zeal for His Father’s heart is consuming Him.

Each gospel tells us this story – Matthew, Mark & Luke put the account at the end of their gospels, showing the event as one of the major reasons for the Pharisees opposition to Him, which led subsequently to His trial and crucifixion.

John, however, puts the account at the beginning of his gospel – and it becomes the focal point of Jesus’ announcement of the coming of the Kingdom, and thus of His whole ministry. Zeal for His Father’s House – not just the Temple, but because the Temple was intended to be a house of prayer for ALL nations and the money-changers have turned the Gentile Court into a market place. God had become the God of the Jews only, they had lost sight of God’s intention for all mankind. That the Jews were to be the nation of the message of hope. Instead they had turned inwards and were excluding the Gentiles from their God-provided Court in the Temple.

In the book of Proverbs we read that “where there is no vision, the people perish.” This is what had happened in the Jewish nation. Because they had lost the vision of God’s intention, the people were perishing! I often wonder if the reason why the church is in such decline today is because it lacks a clear vision. Churches meet Sunday after Sunday, Bible Study after Bible Study, and they keep just getting smaller. Why is that? Could it be that they have no vision, no outlook for the future?

When we have no “holy discontent” it means that we are satisfied with the status quo, with what we have. We don’t actually want anything to change – we are selfishly content. And when that happens, the proverbial rot sets in.

Think about the ancient cathedrals of Europe – what passion was it which drove people to erect such incredibly beautiful buildings to the glory of God. Most were built over several hundred years – the passion was ongoing across the generations. But today many of those buildings are ruins or have been turned into museums. The splendour has been transferred from the God who was honored in those buildings to the buildings themselves, and because of that they have crumbled. God will not stand to be second, He says of Himself, “I am a jealous God.”

I would dare to say that had the focus remained on God, if some young shepherd had turned up, those buildings may today still be standing in all their magnificent glory – and there probably would not have been the wars which played a significant part in their destruction.

The vision we have must focus us to God, and especially to God revealed in Jesus Christ who is our salvation. If we turn instead to tradition for tradition’s sake then all is lost – the vision dies. If we want to be modern for modern’s sake, then all is lost.

Tradition has value, old hymns are beautiful and are often more tuneful than the modern worship songs, and they leave most of the hymns written in the last 100 years in the dust, when it comes to good theology. But if the hymn book or the tune or the way of doing things takes precedence over God then we have lost the plot – and we need someone with some holy discontent to put us on track again.

The modern hymns might not always have good theology, but they do stir the heart – they get our emotions going in this stone cold world. They have their place but every tradition, every hymn and song must exist to bring us into the holy Presence of God.

And so we need to listen to all the voices that stir with holy discontent – they are prophetic voices. However, let me tell you straight out, they will make you uncomfortable. They will rattle your cage – and that’s a really good expression because when we are content with the status quo, its like being caged. There are no dreams anymore, we are trapped.

We need to listen to ALL the voices, because none of us is so perfect that we alone have the voice. Yes, there will be voices which challenge us to radical things, and yes, there will be the voices of reason; and yes, both can be the voice of God. Both can speak with a holy discontent and we dare not treat either one with disdain or ignorance until we have tested it with God.

The leadership task of the church is to hear the word of God within the tumult, the often clashing voices. It is my task, and the task of the elders to speak the voice of hope into every heart and to direct that holy discontent into the place where God’s vision and God’s voice becomes a reality.

That’s why God appoints leaders in His church – not to lord it over the rest, but to lead. To listen (first with God, then to His people), to pray to Him and with them and to guide in the paths of righteousness.

So what is it that YOU can’t stand!
What is YOUR holy discontent?
In your walk with God, what is it that leaves you dissatisfied?
Perhaps its something personal, your own thorn in your side.
Perhaps its something in your home, or family, that drives you insane but you just keep quiet.
Perhaps its something in the community, or the church.

Are you willing to risk enough for it?
Are you willing to stand before the giant?
Are you willing to turn over a few tables?

Now it might seem that I am inviting you to chaos – for discontented voices to begin to shout the odds.
Ah, yes, that’s a risk too. Isn’t it?

But if we test our contentment, or discontent, against the mission statement of this congregation – “To live the gospel in order to radiant the love of Jesus” then there cannot be chaos, can there?

Lets live the gospel …. Lets turn our lives so that we become bearers of good news.
Lets live our lives in the certainty of God’s love, sure of our salvation.
Lets be a people of the empty tomb – no longer dead I our transgressions but risen in hope.

And lets radiate the love of Jesus …
Let it shine from us – let us be the reflection of God’s grace.
Let there be so much of the love of Jesus within us that there is no darkness in any place that we go.

Lets live the Gospel to radiate the love of Jesus.

Hello all, here are the diary dates for September.

• Tuesday September 8th at 11.00am – Merredin UCA Ladies Guild Annual Community Day – Merredin UCA Building
• Saturday September 12th at 9.00am – Eastern Wheatbelt Parish Coucil Meeting – Merredin UCA Building
• Wednesday September 16th at 10.00am – Merredin Churches Fraternal AGM – Merredin UCA Building
• Saturday September 19th at 7.30am – Men’s Breakfast – Seniors’ Centre
• Tuesday September 22nd at 7.00pm – YouthCARE District Council meeting – Merredin Senior High School
• Wednesday September 23rd at 2.00pm – “Safe” Churches meeting – Synod of WA – Merredin UCA Buidling

Hello all,

We have set up a Facebook page for the Uniting Church – Eastern Wheatbelt Parish. The Eastern Wheatbelt Parish includes the Uniting churches  in Merredin, Mukinbudin, Bruce Rock and Southern Cross.

Our Facebook page has information, events, photos, sermons, links and more. If you would like to have a look, you can find it here. You don’t even have to be a member of Facebook to view it!

God’s Richest Blessings.

Sermon: Walking on the water by Rev David de Kock on Sunday 23/8/2009 (Merredin & Mukinbuddin)

Texts: Joshua 3:5-16 & Matthew 14:22-33

If you want to walk on the water, you’ve got to get out of the boat. It’s such a simple thing to say but it is full of pregnant possibilities. It’s about a step of faith towards Jesus, and trusting Him in impossible situations. That’s what I spoke about two weeks ago. Then I raised the point about how little faith we need in the face of the greatness of God. Some were skeptical, I think, so I want to address the situation again, to examine, in part, our hesitancy to trust God for the impossible, but especially to emphasize that without that trust, our life in Christ will always fall short of God’s intention. We will not see the amazing things God intends to do amongst us.

Was Peter being stupid when he got out of the boat thinking he could walk on water? It was dark, the boat was a considerable distance from the land. The wind was up, buffeting the waves against the boat.

It was a foolish thing to do but then choosing to follow Christ is “foolish” in the eyes of the world. John Wimber tells of an event which led to his own conversion. He saw a man with one of those sandwich board advertising signs. On the front it said, “I am a fool for Christ”, and on the back, it read, “whose fool are you?” He chose to become Christ’s fool…

But Peter was not so much being stupid or foolish, as he was responding to Jesus’ invitation to step out of his comfort zone, to trust Jesus in what the Lord Himself was doing.

Faith calls us to “take courage” and not to be afraid when we see what Jesus is doing. Sometimes that is really hard. Of the twelve disciples, eleven of them chose to stay in the safe place. Only Peter ventured forth – and in typical Peter fashion – he was often impetuous, rising to the immediate challenge, without considering what happens next.

We are often like that too – sometimes staying in the comfort zone, sometimes acting on the spur of the moment – without the follow through. But at least Peter did have that kernel of mustard seed faith to ask Jesus to invite him to come onto the water. He took a step to walking on the water – and if you want to walk on water with Jesus, you’ve got to get out of the boat.

What is your boat?
What is it that represents your safety and security?
What do you put your trust in? Is your trust in this physical world?In what is possible according to the human mind.
The path of faith is found by following Jesus into what He is doing – that makes all things possible, because it is the Lord of the Universe who calls us out.

And here is the caveat. If the Lord has not called, or spoken to you, then you ARE limited by the realm of physical possibilities. Don’t pray for someone and tell them that they are healed, unless the Lord has told you that. The problem with the “name it and claim it” brigade is that it takes more than just that. You need to hear the voice of Jesus in the situation. You can’t walk on water by just getting out of the boat, you also need to hear the Lord’s invitation – “Come!

Perhaps it’s unfair to judge the eleven disciples who didn’t get out of the boat. They didn’t get the invitation to walk on the water, but then they didn’t ask for it either. Faith is prayerful listening – it is asking and then, it is being obedient to God’s response. And if God makes no response, then that is the response. It doesn’t mean that we can’t ask again. If there is still no response then that again is the response. To get to grips with this notion of God’s lack of response being the response you have to understand two very important things – first, God’s grace. He does want to respond in a loving way to His children. And He does amazing, impossible things sometimes when He does respond. But also, God is sovereign. He has charge over all things – He is omniscient and omnipotent. All seeing and all powerful. He knows things that we do not know and He can do things that we cannot understand.

And so sometimes, for His sovereign purpose, He will bring about a miraculous and instantaneous healing, He will save people we have written off, He will call us to walk on water. But sometimes He will not. He did not answer my prayers for my younger brother, instead he died, not yet forty years old, of an alcohol related condition, just when it seemed that his life was coming together. Or perhaps God did answer my prayers. He had, at the last, found salvation in Christ. But his physical and social condition was such that he would almost certainly have been an invalid for the rest of his life, both physically and in the community who would only remember him as the town drunk.

Its always more comfortable in the boat, but Jesus is not always in the boat with us, able to still storms. Sometimes He is out on the water – on the surging waves, and He wants us out there with Him. That’s when faith becomes a risk. That’s when we need to be clearly aware of Him, who He is – the Son of God; and of His call for us to step out in faith with Him.

The generous grace of God ensures that we when do take that step of faith then even when we become frightened out there in the realm of physical impossibility, He will always be ready to reach out His hand into ours, to still the waves and to put us back into the safe place.

But I want to leave you with this strong challenge this morning.

When we are with God, when He calls us to follow by faith, He does lead us to good places. We do not need to fear and to be hesitant. Before us is His goal for us and He invites us in. The challenge is to take the step.

Listen to this… The Lord’s word to Joshua was “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.” I believe that it is His word to us also today.

In my spirit I sense that God is about to do amazing things among us. The priests were to take up the ark and to move ahead of the people. They were to set their feet into the Jordan in its flood stage. They were to do that with confidence trusting God’s word that as soon as their feet touched the water’s edge, the water from upstream would stop flowing. And then the people were to cross over – into the Promised Land – on dry ground.

We, the present believers, are the priests. Our task is to take up the Ark – with the stone tablets of God’s Covenant, God’s promise of His Presence in Aaron’s budding staff and God’s provision in the jar of manna. We are to symbolically take up the constancy of God and lead a wandering people through the raging flood into the place of God’s promise.

The challenge is simple – Will you trust God in this?

Will you say, “If this is you, Lord, call me to come to you.” And if He says “Come”, will you get out of the boat to walk on the water with Him.