Forest Gump’s mother was a wise woman! When she said that, “life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get!”
When I came to Christchurch I read an article about earthquake fault lines on the Southern Alps, when I discussed this with someone they told me “we’ll be right as Christchurch never had earthquakes of any consequence.”
The truth is that while we plan, while we pray that things will go our way, we don’t always know what we will get. Now some may see this as a negative thing but actually it has its advantages.
As you know if you’ve been here in recent weeks, we’ve been doing a sermon series on mentoring.
When I preached a couple of weeks ago I asked a question that went like this: “If I was to ask you to put your hand up if you were a minister of the gospel here, How many of you would raise your hand?” Well the answer to this surprised and shocked me because thought I knew what the answer was going to be but I didn’t know what I was going to get. So I’m now taking a pause in this series to preach on the priesthood of all believers. But firstly if I had asked the question slightly differently I think I would have got a different answer, if I had asked the question this way what would the answer be, “Who here has encountered life change in their relationship with God and now has something that they could say to someone else about that life change?”
The truth is that if you have encountered God’s grace you are qualified to tell others about it, you have your own testimony that is irrefutable, be strong in that! Speak it out for others need to hear it.
Now for some this next wee thing I’m going to say could be a bit scary there may times when you are prompted by God to speak to another about your faith, because you don’t know when God will prompt you to speak. This is not always the easiest thing to do.
This in some respects is about mentoring in its own way; this is about sharing your journey with believers and non believers alike. For believers this will be an encouragement, for non believers this will be a challenge as well as an encouragement as they come to understand your journey and particularly the possibility of life change as they too build a relationship with God, through Jesus and they encounter the spiritual change as the Holy Spirit works in their lives.
Let’s have a look at a passage of scripture that talks about this: 2 Timothy 4:1-4.
This again as in the previous week is a passage from Paul to Timothy, this is part of his mentoring of Timothy, the way he was directing Timothy’s ministry.
Now Timothy was a bit of a special case as this letter points out; he was to follow Paul into full time ministry, but as for those who follow Jesus who are not in full time ministry, they are also able to make a difference in regards to others by telling the truth and making a difference to another’s eternity’s.
This is about what is described as the priesthood of all believers. We are told in scripture that “we are a royal priesthood a holy nation belonging to God.” (paraphrase of 1 Peter 2:9)
Now, just too clear things up a bit, not all priests are preachers but they all ministered in some way. At the time of Paul, the example he had of priests’ was of the Temple Priests and Levities.
Now these blokes came from the family of Levi, one of the twelve tribes of Israel, they were not allowed to own land as the Lord Himself was their inheritance, but they were paid a tithe or ten percent of the other Jewish peoples income.
Among them were some who carried sacred objects of the sanctuary, some who looked after the curtains and coverings of the tabernacle and courts, others who looked after the building, transport and temple security, these security priests were also janitors. There were Twenty- four groups of priests who were in charge of temple sacrifices each serving in this role for two weeks a year. There were some who were musicians. Others taught, preached, judged and studied the scriptures. These priests were all male descendants of Aaron the brother of Moses, all men with out physical defect because if you had a physical defect you were not able to be a priest. Then there were some called Nazirites who took special vows of obedience which marked their consecration to God.
These roles point to a modern equivalent. If we look at the denomination of the Body of Christ, The Church that we belong to The Salvation Army we see that we have people doing different things all of which are ministry male and female alike.
As you came in today the first priest that you probably meet was on the door they would have handed you a War Cry and notice, you may have been made a coffee by another priest or made one from the things that that priest put out on the table in the foyer, you were waited on for your offering by a couple of priests as our team of musical priests played. It is very likely that you are sitting between a couple of priest or at least beside one.
I have the role of bringing the word of God for teaching this week and while I am an ordained member of the clergy that does not mean that I am the only one here ministering the gospel. Jesus came out with a few cracking one liners, one of His best in my view was this. “By this all men will know you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:35) All of the priests here are doing their good works as love for God and one another, aren’t they?
Now love is an interesting thing last week at the youth service Brian and Daniel preached a really good sermon on love. They spoke about Agapç love which is sacrificial love but is also used in the early church to describe the love of a fellowship meal. The love shown in the fellowship meal was as a response to Jesus command to love one another.
Phileô which is another word for love is a Greek word meaning the love of affection and hospitality. The city Philadelphia, translates to “the city of brotherly love”, there is also a word agapaô meaning “to love” and this word was used to describe many forms of human love including the love between a married couple and most importantly God’s love for the unlovely. The words of love were different but often the line between them was a bit blurry, where does one type of love or affection start and another finish?
Now you might just be thinking that’s great all this talk of love for one another and that is what I’m doing through my service here as a priest I’m doing this or that or the other thing, I’m a priest in the priesthood of all believers.`
Here’s a question if you carry out acts of service here, “Why do you do what you do?” (pause) What will you tell the person who is new here when they ask you why you do what you do? (pause), that person who is seeking after an understanding of God?
Here’s another question, if they start to seek after God by doing what you do, will that bring them salvation? After all they are doing the work of a priest also, aren’t they? (pause)
The scriptures tell us this: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith _ and this is not from yourselves it is the gift of God. – not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9)
So you might think that by doing your priestly duty by loving one another as a priesthood of believers all your duties are complete. Are they?
What was it Paul said to Timothy? “Proclaim the message, (stink, I have to say something) be persistent, (stink, I have to stick at it) whether the time is favorable or unfavorable (stink, this could be awkward and uncomfortable) convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience and teaching. (Stink this might require me to come a little outside my comfort zone and even put in a bit of effort to be understood).
The thing is that while we show an example of love for one another which is proof of our discipleship of Jesus, while we serve one another as priests and a priesthood, we cannot profess the grace that we have encountered as we came to a right relationship with God unless we put it into words, whether English, Sign or Swahili. The aim is to speak about God.
We are called by God all of us to be prepared in season or out to give ‘the good news of Jesus’ whether it’s at a good time or an awkward time. To those who would listen earlier I said this; For believers this will be an encouragement, for non believers this will be a challenge as well as an encouragement as they come to understand your journey and particularly the possibility of life change as they too build a relationship with God, through Jesus and they encounter the spiritual change of the Holy Spirit at work in their lives. The message is passed on using words.
I suggest that you could take the opportunity to share in a safe place, to practice your sharing with one another, then tell others who are not believers – scarey prospect?
Now the Salvation Army unlike some groups isn’t known for its cold calling in resent days. You may ask what is cold calling? You know what that is when you go to the door and someone asks if you’d like to buy a vacuum cleaner or if you’ve found Jesus that’s cold calling.
Here’s some interesting figures on cold calling:
Fuller Brush Company salesmen get into 1 in every three homes knocked, and sale is made in one of every six homes entered. By comparison, young .......... missionaries enter 1 in every 7 homes knocked. And an estimated 500 hours of work is needed before one person is converted. But they start one new church a day.
Now that is persistence, 1 in 7 homes and there is 500 hours effort required to bring someone to become a .........., which is seen as a cult.
I must say that those statistics leave me challenged, if the cults are converting people they are not being won for the kingdom of God.
What is it that we do? Paul told Timothy to be persistent (500hrs would be persistant), to convince, rebuke and encourage, see how those words go together with the utmost patience in teaching. Some people just rebuke and wonder why people aren’t interested in hearing about Jesus and the Grace of God because it’s hard to listen when the same person who has just slapped you around the ears if they insist they are telling you they have message of love.
While pointing out sin brings death also point out that the grace of God redeems and in Christ we are made alive.
You are priesthood, part of the priesthood of all believers, can I encourage you to continue to serve one another, but also to speak up to tell one another your story, that story of your journey with God, your coming to faith in Jesus. Speak out the promises that he is bringing to full growth in your lives, the scriptures that you find dear. For when you do you are a powerful witness, you are proclaiming the message of what God has done in your life.
Now you may have come here today, to check out the Salvation Army, to have a look at this part of the Church, because you had heard that there’s something going on here, maybe because you were hoping to encounter God here. As the music team come and play as we stand and give praise to God I would encourage you to come to the front here to a place we call the mercy seat a place of prayer where you can talk with God and where someone can come and support you in prayer.
To those of you who go day to day as part of the body of Christ, living silently in the knowledge of His grace at work in your life – speak it out and see others come to that same place of freedom.
