Merredin Uniting Church

Text: Philippians 2:19-30 John 15:9-17 (Audio Version: http://sermon.net/daviddekock)

Julian Krieg from Wheatbelt Mens’ Health recently told us to “talk to a mate” and challenged us, for our own physical, emotional and spiritual health, to have three kinds of relationships:

1. A partner, who is your intimate friend,
2. A mentor, who can give advice for the journey on which he has already travelled, and,
3. A mate, who is someone who thinks like you, has the same fears as you do and dreams the same dreams as you do.

A major problem in the world today is that friendship does not have the same high value which it once had. CS Lewis wrote that “To the Ancients, Friendship seemed the happiest and most fully human of all loves. The modern world though, ignores it … it has become something quite marginal, a diversion, something that only fills up chinks of one’s time.”

Yet, friendship is an essential human need. It is the core of Biblical Christianity and it should be at the heart of church life. We were made to live in relationship with God and with each other. In Genesis 3 we see God’s desire to walk with Adam and Eve on the cool of the day. And just one chapter before that God says that “it is not good for man to be alone” – we need to have relationships!

And isn’t it interesting that it was the sin of Adam and Eve which not only caused the breakdown of their relationship with God, but also with each other. From that moment on men and women have lived in the tension between both desiring and needing human friendships (because that is how we were created); and yet finding those friendships hard (because of the inherent sin in us and in the world around us.)

The good news though, is that on the cross Jesus not only destroyed the barrier between us and God but also the barrier between people by “destroying the wall of hostility” as Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:14. One of the essential aspects of Jesus’ redemptive work was the restoration of friendships.

He also set us an example of friendship. He was not only fully God, but He was fully human, and, like us, He needed friends. He constantly describes His disciples as “friends” and within that larger group of men and women was a small group of just three special friends (Peter, James and John), one of whom was His closest friend.

And then, in our text from Philippians today, we get a fascinating insight into two of Paul’s special friendships and we see four marks of what it means to be a Christian friend.

The first is Genuine Love.

Timothy was from Derbe or Lystra. His mother was Jewish, while his father was Greek. While he was brought up as a Greek it was through his mother Eunice, his grandmother Lois, and Paul that Timothy became a Christian. Paul, being older describes their friendship as being like that of father and son and he describes him as “my son whom I love”.

They became very close friends and went through a great deal together because Timothy often accompanied Paul on his travels. They had been imprisoned for their faith and Timothy was often associated with Paul in his letters. Paul also used him as a messenger to carry information, advice or encouragement to various churches.

Here, in this text, Paul pays special tribute to his friend, saying, “I have no one else like him, who takes a genuine interest in your welfare.” And he makes the comment. “For everyone (else) looks out for his own interests.” Paul loved Timothy because he took a genuine interest in others.

He also loved Epaphroditus and says of this friend that his death would have caused him great sorrow. He is ungrudging in his praise for him and shows a genuine concern for his safety.

Epaphroditus himself was a loyal friend to both Paul and the Philippians. When he was seriously ill, almost to the point of death, he is troubled, not about dying but that the church in Philippi might have been upset about his illness.

We see the first mark of Christian friendship in these two men – a genuine love and concern for other people.

Those who care only for themselves seldom make many friends and those who want friends for selfish reasons never really make them. Friendship comes through a genuine interest in other people.

Dale Carnegie said that you can make more friends in two months by being interested in them than you can in two years by trying to get people interested in you.

And genuine love should never be confined only to fellow Christians. It is only by true friendships which show genuine love to others that we are able to successfully pass on the good news of Jesus Christ to them.

The second mark of a true Christian friend is the common interest which they share. Yes of course, friendships are almost always made by people with interests in common, but, as CS Lewis points out, “we picture friends as side by side, looking ahead, at the same thing but not at each other, whereas lovers are invariably face to face.” And, as Christians, we are called to love one another.

Christian friendship is of a totally different nature to ordinary friendships; it goes beyond interests in outside things to interest in each other. And from that common interest comes trust, security and openness which flows from a common focus in Jesus Christ.

Paul, in his various letters, refers to both Timothy and Epaphroditus as “brothers” for there was something in their relationship which brings them into fellowship with each other in a unique way – they are together of the family of God.

And just like Jesus accepted everyone but chose just a small group of friends, so did Paul, and so must we. We need to have those with whom our trust runs deep, who encourage us and who pray regularly for us.

The third mark of Christian friendship is the common vision in which we serve together in the work of the gospel. In our passage, Paul refers to Timothy as a “co-slave” (for that is what the words “he has served with me” mean) and he refers to Epaphroditus as a fellow worker. There was no sense of one being superior to the other, they had a common vision and they worked together to achieve it.

When we have no vision beyond ourselves we tend to be inward looking and friendships in such groups will often shrivel up and die. Conversely, when we work together – as we are beginning to see in the Men’s Group, then friendships blossom and flourish.

Finally, we see that Paul refers to Epaphroditus in three ways – “my brother, fellow-worker and fellow-soldier.” There is a sense of an ascending scale – common sympathy, common work and common danger. As friends we face the risks and dangers of the common life together.

The Christian life is not easy. We are as much fellow-soldiers as those who fought at Gallipoli and on other battle fronts. Our battles may not be physical but they are just as severe. The opposition we face may not be that faced by the early church of prison, torture and death, but the challenge from the world, the flesh and the devil is just as hard – we need Christian friendships to support one another in the battles of life.

We don’t have the full story of Epaphroditus’ situation but it seems from our text that when the Philippian Church could not help in Paul’s situation, this man stepped in “risking his life” for the work of Christ. It may well be that the “illness” to which Paul refers may have arisen from beating and torture which Epaphroditus endured in order to step in to help Paul. Whatever the full story was, it is clear that Epaphroditus showed reckless courage to help –that is the mark of true friendship.

In talking about this kind of friendship with His disciples, Jesus said, “Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” He was, of course, speaking of Himself but it is a divine description of true friendship which we have even applied to those who have given their lives in just wars.

All friendship involves taking risks, even with one another. Jesus made Himself vulnerable to His friends – He said to them once, “I call you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you” and yet, in the end, He was betrayed by one of them and deserted by the others. Real friendship will always involve the risk of rejection, hurt and being let down but that in no way means that we should not seek genuine friendships.

It is in giving that we receive. It is in risking our lives for others that we find life and friendship.

True joy – the ongoing feature of this life in Christ is to be found, not in seeking our own interests, but in seeking the good of our Lord and of others.

You might remember that definition of joy, which most of us learned in Sunday School – Jesus, Others, Yourself – in that order.

Epaphroditus had that order right, so Paul says, “Welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor men like him, ^?because he almost died for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up for the help you could not give me.”

First the work of Christ, then helping others, before having concern for his own life.

True friendships are vital to making our life worth living, and such friendships are found in genuine love for one another, a common interest in Jesus Christ, a common vision for Gospel outreach and risking all for the sake of Christ and one’s friends.

Tags: friendship, life worth living, philippians

Today is ANZAC Day, a day which remembers the landing of the Australian and New Zealand forces at Gallipoli in 1915 and which commemorates not only the 8000 brave soldiers who died in the next 8 months in the battle against the Ottoman Turks but also every sacrifice of those who have died in every war. War is never worth glorifying but in the midst of the conflict in pursuit of freedom, we must remember those who have laid down their lives. In our text from John’s Gospel today we read “Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends”. It is often used at war remembrance services, and it turns our attention to the One who spoke them of Himself. They are the words of Jesus, spoken to His disciples, on the night before He was crucified. He laid down His life for our freedom, just as the brave soldiers who we remember today laid down their lives. There is something in this sacrifice that gives a greater value to the life which we now have – not just in the freedom which we now have, but in the value which is given to it by the death of our Lord and fallen soldiers.

Jesus speaks of two things in this sacrifice – love, and friendship. Love, which lays down its life, and friendship which is the driving force behind that love. These are not things of which we speak lightly or very often (and that’s a sadness) but they are vital aspects to understanding the very meaning of our life. Without love and the friendships which rise out of that love, our lives have very little going for them; we are just ticking over from birth to death.

This fits in so well with our sermon this morning as we continue in the series on Philippians. In the text, right between the focus on new responsibilities for ourselves, our society and our church (which we examined last week), and the new confidence we can have in knowing Jesus Christ (which we will look at next time), we have Paul’s excursion to tell us about his friends Timothy and Epaphroditus. He illustrates through them the four marks of Christian friendship: genuine love, common interests, common vision and mutual support in the battles of life.

The Junior Youth Group (Mucka Round – “Mucka” stands for Merredin Uniting Church Kids Australia) kicked off for the new term on Friday and there are some really exciting things planned. For this coming Friday, the children are asked to bring one of Dad’s old shirts to be used as a “coverall”. They will be stored at the church for future events. We also need the congregation to bring empty jam jars asap for a project that they will be involved in. And then we need more helpers in the youth department!!!! We are trying to integrate the Sunday School and Mucka Round to run with a common focus so we need helpers in both areas. You don’t need to help in both! If you would like to help, please speak to Sal or Lisa.

Text: Deuteronomy 30:12-20 Philippians 2:12-18  (Audio Version: http://sermon.net/daviddekock)

We have seen in this series the challenge to live Christlike lives – “have the same attitude in you that was in Christ Jesus”.

Now in our text Paul sets the challenge for us to take up responsibility for our lives … “therefore” he says.

And someone once said that every time you see the word “therefore” in the Bible, you should ask what its there for.

“Therefore” because Jesus was obedient to His responsibility..

“Therefore” because Christ has been exalted, you must work out your salvation with fear and trembling.

In our society today, there are few people who want to take responsibility for their actions. Most want to shift the blame – it’s the government’s fault, or the economy, or the environment, or the employers, doctors, parents, husbands or wives.

This refusal to take responsibility goes right back to the time when Adam sinned – he refused to take responsibility for his actions. He blamed Eve. She blamed the snake.

And as the wit said, the snake didn’t have a leg to stand on!

Ultimately however, whatever the mitigating circumstances, we are all accountable for our actions and for our lives.

Verses 12 and 13 of our text deals with our responsibility for our own lives. “¹² Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,  ¹³ for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.”

Paul is saying that firstly, because Jesus was obedient to His responsibility and secondly, because He is exalted as Lord –we have an obligation to work out our salvation. Indeed it is the only appropriate response on our behalf.

Salvation is undoubtedly the most important word in the New Testament, but it is often misunderstood. Perhaps we would understand the word better if we say “freedom”. To be saved by Jesus is to be set free.

Set free from the burden of our sin, our guilt, our addictions and our fear of death.

He sets us free to know God, to love others and to be our true selves, as God made us and meant us to be.

Freedom and responsibility go hand in hand. Thus Paul tells us to work out our freedom. This is not the same as working for our freedom –it is not an objective to be reached but rather a benefit to be explored and to be enjoyed more fully.

In a way, its like marriage –once possessed it must be worked out in order to enjoy in full the merits of a lifetime together.

Working out our salvation is just like that. Its dealing with the questions, “Why are we saved? For what purpose?”

In particular we need to work out the path along which we are to walk in response to God’s call. Each person has a different calling. For some it may be ministry to the poor, or evangelism, or healing, or a prophetic ministry. Whatever it is, its our responsibility to discover our gifts and to use them.

Such is the importance of this that Paul says that we are to “work out our freedom with fear and trembling”. We cannot take it lightly, or risk offending God, nor can we waste our lives.

Strangely enough, it is possible to have a saved soul and yet have a wasted life.

A man once heard this statement in a sermon –he had given his life to God, but he still had other gods. He went to church, but his faith was just one compartment of his life. He tried to brush off this idea that while he was saved his life was wasted but the words kept coming back to him like a stuck record –“saved soul, wasted life”. Every song on the radio seemed to have the same beat, when he traveled to work on the train he heard it from the wheels –“saved soul, wasted life, saved soul, wasted life, saved soul, wasted life”. Eventually he gave into the Lord and said, in effect, “You can have the whole of my life”. He went into the ministry and through him many people came into a relationship with Jesus. He needed, and God needed, for him to do something with his salvation.

We are called to work out our freedom wherever we might find ourselves –not only in the church, but also in our home, at work and at play. It is a gift that we dare not leave wrapped up.

Paul uses very careful wording in the sentence –we are to work out our freedom because it is “God who works in us”. Even in working it out we need God’s help. No sin can be conquered, nor can we accomplish anything of any lasting value without His help. We have to co-operate with the Spirit of God with our whole heart.

God’s work in us also includes our wills –He works in us “to will and to act according to His good purpose”. We thus don’t have to fear about trusting God. He has a good purpose for us. And if our will is surrendered to His will, God will give us the desire to do whatever He is calling us to do. What God wants for our lives is good –it may not always be easy but it is always the best.

Working out our salvation then means fulfilling our potential as the whole person we were meant to be since we have been set free to do so through the death of Christ on the cross.

From verse 14, Paul begins to speak of our responsibility to society. “Do everything without complaining or arguing,  ¹⁵ so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe  ¹⁶ as you hold out the word of life.”

We live in a crooked and depraved generation –“crooked” means warped in its activities and “depraved” means that it is distorted in its values. And that’s a good description of our society isn’t it –warped activities and distorted values.

But that doesn’t just apply to society today -Just listen to this quote: “I see no hope for the future of our people if they are dependent on the frivolous youth of today, for certainly they are reckless beyond words…When I was young we were taught to be discreet and respectful of our elders, but the present youth are exceedingly impatient of restraint.”

And this one: “Children are tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when their elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company and gobble up dainties at the table.”

You would expect that these were written for the young people of today –in fact the first is from the 8^th century BC (2700 years ago) and the second from Socrates in 450BC (2500 years ago).

Not much has changed.

In a society which is warped and distorted due to its rebellion against God, Christians are called to live lives that are noticeably different from those around them. We are to do everything “without complaining or arguing”.

And interestingly, the word for “argue” originally meant an “intellectual rebellion against God” while the word for “complaining” originally referred to a “moral rebellion against God”.

Complaining and arguing are attitudes which are the exact opposite of “praise” which is the “fruit of the lips” that confess the name of Jesus as the Bible tells us in Hebrews 13:15. Praise of God, and living in obedience to His Word, rather than complaining and arguing should characterize the lives of Christians so that we “may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault.”

If we live like this we will be in sharp contrast with the world around us. We will “shine like stars in the universe”. A friend of mine, Erica Britz, who was severely injured in a terrorist bomb blast in 1994, and who spent nearly a year in hospital, said to me while she was there –“I have come to realize that I have to be the Bible to people who don’t know Jesus”.

Shining like stars we become a testimony and example to a dark world. We are surrounded by people who are dissatisfied because they have never found the relationship with God for which they were made. The good news of Jesus Christ not only tells of life, it also imparts life to those who hear and who respond in faith.

We have both a responsibility and a privilege to hold out this message to the society in which we live.

The third point which Paul addresses is our responsibility to the Church. “in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.  ¹⁷ But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you.  ¹⁸ So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.”

Paul takes his own responsibility seriously. His care and concern for the Christians at Philippi are an example to us of how we are to view our responsibilities towards the church and our Christian friends.

He uses two illustrations –the first from the world of athletics and the second is of sacrifice.

He says that he wants to be able to boast “on the Day of Christ” that he “did not run or labour for nothing.” The word “labour” is probably a continuation of the metaphor of running and thus refers to the training required by an athlete. The Greek Games required rigorous training and Paul saw the need to be in peak condition spiritually. He needed “to run” and “to labour” on their behalf as he did not want his efforts to be wasted.

He gave greatly to the church –as much as possible, in order that they would have every opportunity to stand with him before God at the last –as co-victors before the throne.

The second image is even stronger: it is one of sacrifice. He speaks of being “poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith”. The background refers to the sacrifice in which a cup was poured out as an accompaniment to a larger sacrifice. He saw that which he did as a small sacrifice bringing their larger sacrifice to completion.

He obviously regarded the faith and priestly service of the Philippians as a sacrifice offered to God. In the New Testament every believer is a priest –it is no longer confined to a select group. All the Christians at Philippi (and at Upper Umgeni) are priests. Their faith, and the good deeds which spring out of such faith, are the sacrifice they make.

Such is his love and sense of responsibility for them that he is willing to pour out his life before God for their sake, even if it means his own death.

The ministry which we offer to one another is pouring out ourselves for others. Often it is draining, spiritually, emotionally and physically.

Paul is in prison as he writes this letter –he has only himself to give, and we see that his attitude is the opposite of grasping or grabbing for himself. He is following the example of Jesus Christ.

 We too have the responsibility to work out what that means for us –how following the example of Jesus Christ creates a responsibility for our lives, for our society and for other Christians.

First I must apologise for the confusion that seems to have arisen regarding the Congregation Meeting last Sunday. It was completely my fault and if I had been able to attend I would have apologised at the time. All the “procedures” were followed regarding the nomination of elders and the appropriate notice of the meeting, including its content. These were announced from the pulpit, in the newsletter and on the overhead. However, I had failed to specifically mention that it was a special meeting and for that I apologise. It was always the intention of the elders that it should be a special meeting only to elect a new secretary, elders and Youthcare representatives. (We had also intended for the election of Churches Fraternal representatives but Val Tengvall reminded me that she and George would serve until the Fraternal AGM in November). The next general meeting will take place on May 30^th (the 5^th Sunday).

Tonight we return to our SNAC service on Sunday evenings. We begin with a shared Tea at 6pm and then have a time of worship and teaching afterwards. We begin this evening with the first part of a course called “Just Walk Across the Room”. It is a four session video series on simple steps to point people to faith. At our Strategy Planning session we decided to reach out to people in the community in various ways and this is part of that strategy. We are nervous about being evangelists but we are all called to be witnesses. This video course is an excellent  approach to understanding how to share our faith. I hope that you will come along…

The Men’s Group on a Wednesday are going to be using Angus Buchan’s “Farmer’s Journal” (now republished as “A Farmer’s Year”) as resource material from this Wednesday. The idea is that we will commit to do each day’s daily devotion and then focus on the Wednesday study at the group meeting with time for sharing and testimony. I hope to have some copies available at the service today. We had a most meaningful discussion this week on what it means to be a follower of Jesus, and on how we are influenced (often negatively) by our culture and circumstances. It really is a struggle to clear away the many things which cloud our view about faith and life. (BTW I am addressing some of these things in my blog at www.faith2face.wordpress.com).

After the intervention of the Easter celebrations, I am returning to the series on Philippians this morning. If you have missed the introductory sermons, you can catch up on the church website. I hope to also have the earlier audio versions up soon. But to summarise for this morning, the series is called “A Life worth living” and it is based on Nicky Gumbel’s book of the same name (a follow up to the Alpha course). We started by seeing that the new life we have in Jesus is intended to be a life filled with joy. We saw why this often fails and how we could succeed. Next, we saw that to live this new life, we need three things – a new heart, a new purpose and a new attitude. Today we are going to see that this new life calls us to new responsibilities – for our own lives, within our society and to the church. I hope that you find yourself as challenged in this as I have been.

Good Day!

We welcome Matthew Smith to the pulpit at Merredin this morning. Matthew, may the Lord speak through you. I am off to Mukinbudin this morning and then I’m at Southern Cross tonight. On the second Sunday of the month, when I go to Muka, I want to have one of our elders taking the service in Merredin – partly to avoid the haste with which I must end the service in order to travel, but also to encourage the elders as  preachers of the Word.

After the service in Merredin today we will have our Congregation meeting.  Unfortunately Margie and I must tender our apologies but our prayers are with you as you elect new elders and deal with other business in the congregation. Steve, Kevin and Sal have reached the end of their term of office as elders but are available for re-election. Tobias Vudzijena has been nominated as an additional elder and the  congregation will therefore be asked to increase the maximum number of elders to six in terms of Regulation 3.1.14 (c.). The terms of office for the elders has also been varied so that we don’t again end up with most of the elders reaching the expiry of their term at the same time. We will also be electing a new Congregation Secretary to replace Dave Quinn who has stepped down for personal reasons. The elders asked me to approach Anne Stones to consider nomination and she has accepted. Also, after many years of sterling service, George and Val have stepped down from the Youthcare Committee and they need to be replaced. We had an emotional farewell at the recent Youthcare AGM.

Have you had a look at the Merredin Church website lately? www.merredinunitingchurch.org It is absolutely crammed with very useful information. The sermons are now available in both written and audio format – you can listen while you read, or do other things. This is especially useful for folk in our other congregations who have a service only every second week, and also for people who miss a Sunday. I like to preach sermons in series so this way you can always keep up with the theme. The daily Bible readings are also shown at the top of the page and you can simply click on the verses and the text will come up. Prayer Needs and the Duty Roster are also updated regularly – useful if you lose your roster in the clutter on the fridge door. You will also find some interesting links down the right side of the page, including my blog (Faith2Face) and Dave Quinn’s blog (The PASSION Blog). Dave keeps his blog commentary quite up to date in his commentary on faith and life. I try to keep mine up to date when I can. I have a new category entitled “The WAY” in which I am examining what it really means to be a Christ Follower and I also try to comment on the daily Bible readings that show on the church website in a category called “David’s Daily Devotions”.

Finally, grateful thanks to Steve who virtually singlehandedly put together the Men’s Secret Business meeting last Wednesday. It was a resounding success. More than 70 men turned up for a good night of reflection on men’s issues in life, health and faith. Well done Steve! And thanks to the sponsors who ensured that we were well fed and watered. Remember that we have a Men’s Meeting at the Merredin Church every Wednesday evening at 7pm.

God love you all!