The podcast starts with Malcolm reading Philippians 3 v 1-11.

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Reference: Philippians 3 v 1-11

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Notes on sermon preached  15 August 2010 on Luke 5 v.17-26

We continue our excursion through Luke’s gospel with this familiar story of the healing of the paralytic.  The title “Remarkable Things” is taken from the comments of the crowd at the end of the incident as they say “We have seen remarkable things today”. What remarkable things are they talking about? We will consider six “Remarkable things”

• 1. The Teaching of Jesus

Jesus is in the middle of a teaching tour of Galilee. The incident in question takes place whilst Jesus is teaching the word of God – this time in a home. As was often the case His teaching was accompanied by healing.  What an awesome privilege to sit under the teaching of Jesus! As we read at the end of the Sermon on the Mount “they were amazed at his teaching”.

• 2. The Faith of the Friends

The next remarkable thing we see is the faith of the friends who brought the paralytic to Jesus.

• Faith that was visible

For faith to be real,  it has to be visible, As James said “I will show you my faith by what I do”. Jesus responds to faith that can be seen that results in action. Does yours?

• Faith to be Friends

It is one thing to be friends with people that can give you something in return, the wealthy, the popular, the people to be seen with. This person had none of that, His friends were people who only wanted to give into the relationship.

• Faith to go to Jesus

Faith always takes our situations to God. Here we see a group of people taking their friends’ problem to Jesus. Where do you take your problems?

• Faith to do what was necessary

But it was not all plain sailing! When they got there, having carried a paralytic through narrow streets past a crowd, they couldn’t get near Jesus! So they did what was necessary. They carried a paralytic up a flight of external stairs and proceeded to tear apart the roof, before carefully lowering their friend to where Jesus was. What determination! What a liberty, what arrogance and what irresponsibility! What desperation! In short….what faith!

Is your faith like that? What steps are you prepared to take in order to see God do what you need him to do?

• Faith that changed his life

Jesus worked in this man’s life as a result of the faith of  his friends. (this does not mean that saving faith can come about as a result of someone else’s faith – the Bible clearly teaches that salvation must be accompanied by faith on the part of the individual concerned). The point that Jesus is making here is that our faith, as we bring others to God, can be a decisive factor in the workings of the Holy Spirit. Take heart – you can make a difference!

• 3. The Response of Jesus

The response of Jesus is not what one would expect. This man had been brought to him with the intention of asking God to heal him. Yet Jesus bypasses this and goes to the deepest need of all – forgiveness. The deepest need of the human condition is to be forgiven. And only the gospel of Jesus can do this. Let’s get our priorities right. Forgiveness of sins is our greatest need and the greatest need of those around us.

• 4. The Reaction of the Pharisees

Who were they?

The religious establishment had become dominated by a conservative, ultra-orthodox sect called the Pharisees. There were many good people amongst them, but they had become characterised by a desire for power, geed and legalism. Some of their number were teachers of the law – the “professors” of Judaism who were regarded as the authority on the word of God.

Why were they there?

They had heard of this new teacher, and whilst we are not told their motives, from what we see elsewhere, we may reasonably assume that they were disturbed at this headline-hitting young preacher from Nazareth, who threatened their supremacy amongst the religious order of the day.

What were they thinking?

Hearing Jesus pronounce the sins of the paralytic forgiven, the Pharisees, whatever their motives, are quite right. Who can forgive sins but God alone? Their knowledge of the law is such that they can see straightaway the issue. If Jesus is claiming to be able to forgive sins, he must be a blasphemer….unless….

How did Jesus react?

• prophetic insight

We need to note in passing that here Jesus moves in one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The has insight into the hearts and minds of the Pharisees to enable Him to minister to them. What an awesome gift!

• which is easier…?

Jesus can see straightaway the problem that the Pharisees have. They know that anyone claiming to forgive sins must be a blasphemer..unless there is some other explanation. So he presents a way forward for them. Saying to someone that their sins are forgiven is easy.  It would also be blasphemy unless the person saying it had the authority to say it. So what would demonstrate that Jesus had this authority? If this person could say something miraculous and see it happen it would certainly demonstrate that this person DID have the authority to forgive sins! Jesus always gives an opportunity to resolve the problems of our faith.

• helping them towards faith

So the initial statement of the forgiveness of sins followed by the miracle is the method that Jesus uses to help these Pharisees towards faith. It was an opportunity for them to be amongst the first to understand who Jesus really was. It seems unlikely that they took the opportunity.

• 5. The Healing Miracle

A Secondary Blessing

• When Jesus heals it is a wonderful testimony  and a demonstration of His compassion and power. But it really is a secondary miracle. Jesus came to forgive sins. The total redemption of our body awaits us in the future. We have glimpses of it now…but remember that this man eventually dies! As did everyone who Jesus healed. The real miracle here is the forgiveness of sins.

A Sign to make them wonder!

We can see here to power of the miraculous. This is one of the few occasions where Jesus seems to perform a sign effectively almost saying “watch this”. Here was the opportunity for the crowd to put two and two together and start to wonder…and then understand the person of Jesus.

A Sign producing Faith…and judgement

As we can see, signs produce faith in those who see, it. They are also tools of His judgement. Those who have seen the signs and yet resist Him are without excuse.

• 6. The Effect on the People.

What a day this was!

• Everyone was Amazed – the sequence of events caused amazement amongst the people
• …gave praise to God – it cause them to give praise to God. Do we praise god as we see Him at work
• …filled with awe – are we filled with awe at the presence of the God of the Bible?
• “…we have seen remarkable things!”. We see remarkable things in God’s word, and we see remarkable things in our own lives.

What is our response?

There was a great sense of thanksgiving and praise as these two young lives were joined together, in the presence of God and friends.

The PCF family turned up trumps as an army of volunteers cooked, served, washed up, set up and generally contributed to a memorable day. A real church family occasion and a  really special day. Some photos are below, with more to follow.

Note on sermon preached  8 August 2010 on Luke 5 v 12-16

One of the features of the gospel  of Luke is the dazzling array of ordinary people that encounter Jesus, and his interaction with them. Here we encounter a man who had lost all hope in life, until he met Jesus

1. A Dreadful Picture

One of the most horrific sights of the world in the day of Jesus was a leper who, as in this case, had full leprosy.

The commentator William Hendrickson writes:

“As the sickness progresses, the thickened spots become dirty sores and ulcers due to poor blood supply. The skin, especially round the eyes and ears begins to bunch with deep furrows between the swelling so that face of the afflicted individual begins to resemble that of a lion. Fingers drop off or are absorbed into tumours. Toes are affected similarly. Eyebrows and eyelashes drop out. By this time one can see that the person is a leper. By a touch of the finger one can feel that he is a leper. One can even smell that he is a leper for he emits a very unpleasant odour. Moreover in view of the fact that disease attacks the larynx his voice acquires a grating quality, His throat becomes hoarse and you can not only smell feel and see the leper, you can hear it in his voice. “

Excluded from all human contact, other than other lepers, excluded from worship, from family life, society and comfort, those who had this terrible disease were known as the living dead.

This particular disease is not common in our society now. But there are others which carry pain in exclusion almost to the same degree. Or it may be that someone’s health is perfect, but there are other areas of someone’s life that bring them to desperation – finance, relationship problems, concern over loved ones. Whatever the particular circumstances, this part of God’s word shows us that there is no one whose situation is so desperate that they are outside of the ability of God to rescue them.

But above all this desperate picture is a picture of the man or woman outside of Christ, who is carrying the horrific burden of rebellion against god around with them.

2. A Desperate Plea

What do you do when you are in desperate situation. This man provides the model response. Oblivous to ridicule, embarrassment and shame, he pours himself   out at the feet of Jesus. Note that he bows at his feet in surrender and submission. And his cry is in fact a statement of faith.”If you are willing, you can make me clean”

Have you ever reached that state of desperation before God where you know that unless God intervenes you are undone, and there is no hope for you? It is when we reach that stage that we are candidates for God’s mercy to reach us.

3. A Dynamic Provision

Whenever a person cries out to God in desperation and submission the answer is always the same: ”I am willing”. The fact is that there is no part of our life where we can become so far away that God can not reach us. This applies even to those areas where we are in a desperate state through our own fault.

The way in Jesus responds to our need will vary from case to case; in this case there is total, instantaneous and miraculous healing. In other cases God may delay a work of restoration, as in the case of Job, and in others he may provide supernatural grace to stand in the trial (as in the case of Paul’s thorn in the flesh). But we need to understand that when we come to Jesus as this leper did, there is no situation in which Jesus will not meet us in our need.

Similarly there is no sinner who is too unclean, too unworthy or too morally corrupt to be cleansed by Jesus. As the hymn says “his blood can make the foulest clean”. If there is anyone reading this who is not a Christian, the way forward is to cast yourself at the feet of jesus to plead for his mercy. And his response will be to make you clean from your sin.

4. A Definite Prohibition

On the surface of it, the command of Jesus not to tell anyone seems odd. But Jesus was keen to ensure that His Father received glory rather than Himself. The command to tell the religious leaders was compliance with the law. It was only the priest who had that ability to re-admit this man into society. Of course, the man would have to start a new life, find a job and pick up a new place in society.  Sometimes   having God work in our lives can bring its challenges!

5. A Daily Practice

The passage ends with Luke’s recurring observation of the secret of the daily power of Jesus. He spent time alone with His Heavenly Father. Whatever else went on, this was a non-negotiable. Is it so with you?

Finally….

This passage shows us a dynamic encounter of a desperate man with Jesus. It gives encouragement to all of us who may reach rock bottom, that there is  nothing at all that he can not help us with. However, the greatest need that any has or ever will have is the sin problem. The death of Jesus on the cross means that the price has been fully paid for anyone who would willingly come to Jesus and say “If you want to you can make me clean” . For anyone who would do that, the answer is: “I am willing. Be clean”

We were delighted to welcome Chris Horwood to speak at PCF on 1 August. Listen to his introduction (or download – right click here and ‘Save as’):

He gave a challenging motivational talk about our call to and responsibility for mission. Listen to this podcast (or download – right click here and ‘Save as’):

Chris writes:

Dear John

Note on sermon preached  18  July 2010 on Luke 5 v 1-11

Everyone who encounters Jesus is on a spiritual journey. The destination that Jesus wants us to reach is a place of complete commitment and surrender to Him. In this passage we see Jesus taking Simon on this journey.

Washing the Nets

At the start of this passage Simon is with the others washing his nets. The ministry of the word of God is going on around him and he probably has half an ear on it, but whilst he is happy to be in the entourage of Jesus and associated with him – he’s not really committed to it. His life is fishing – Jesus is a useful add-on. How many Christians are there like this? God is fine – in his place: but their priorities are elsewhere.

Making Yourself Useful

Jesus has a problem – there are too many people to hear him properly. So his solution is to use one of the boats close by. To Simon’s credit, he is willing to make his resources available for Jesus to use. What about us – are we available to be used, and for our resources to be used by God as he requires?

Whilst on this point it is worth pointing out that Jesus used whatever was available to Him to enable his word to be heard. That means He does not hesitate to use PA, radio mikes and whatever else is available to Him.

Hearing the Challenge

When the preaching was over Jesus turns to Simon. Jesus deals with the masses – but he also deals with us one at a time. And his instruction to Simon is remarkable: Jesus wants ot be involved not just in Simon’s spiritual life – but in his daily life as well.  Immediately the barriers between Simon’s “God Box” and the rest of his world come down. The fact is that Jesus wants to be Lord, not only  of our Sunday mornings, but of every part of our lives. There is no part of our lives that is not required to be handed over to Jesus. Are we willing for that?

Making the Choice

Simon is faced with a desperate dilemma. Every ounce of skill, expertise and experience tells him that Jesus instruction is ridiculous. The word of God seems a joke to those who come into contact with Him for the first time. The question is – are we prepared to do what God commands, even when it seems fruitless? You can hear Simon’s dilemma in his response. Bu to his great credit Simon ends with the words “because you say so…I will”. This is a turning point for Simon, and it will be for you as well. The question is: are we prepared to commit ourselves to following the word of Jesus in every area of our lives in every situation? Have you reached the stage where you can say with Simon. “Because you say so…I will”?

By the way putting out into deep water and letting down the nets was not am quick thing to do – it involved lengthy physical work – and the ridicule of the fishermen who were on the shore. Obeying the word of Jesus is not usually straightforward!

Reaping the Consequence

One of the laws of God’s creation is that it is not possible to obey him without blessing following. And what a spectacular blessing follows! You will never obey God without experiencing a genuine blessing.

A Natural response

Face to face with power and authority of God, Simon’s response is the most natural response in the world. “Leave me” is a typical response of anyone who knows they have come face to face with God. Simon knows that he can’t live with the holiness, the authority and the power of Jesus. He knows that he is totally unworthy to be Jesus companion and follower…yet he also knows that he can’t live without Jesus, and that only He has the answer to life’s problems. There has never been a servant of God who has not responded in a similar way.

A Great Commission

At once Jesus follows up with the  call to be involved in the greatest job in the world: the call to work with Him in the building of His church, to win men and women for the kingdom of God and to see them disciples for Jesus. Notice how Jesus uses imagery which Simon can understand. He is a fisherman and has just seen a remarkable catch of fish. The imagery is obvious. From now on his work will be with Jesus to catch men and women for the kingdom to God. That is what we are involved with as disciples of Jesus.

Church is about making disciples – not about keeping you happy, and meeting your needs. Have you responded to the call of Jesus to be involved in the most important job in the world?

A Step of Commitment

Finally Simon (and his companions) take the step that Jesus has been leading them to. The “God box” has gone – now the whole of their lives is surrendered to Jesus. For these fishermen it meant leaving their jobs. For most it won’t – but it will mean deliberately and knowingly putting all of our lives under the authority of Jesus –   with no return. Have you done that?

As the song says:

“And I will give my all to you

Surrender everything I have and follow you

I will follow you”

(Tim Hughes)

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Reference: Amos 8

Note on sermon preached 4  July 2010 on Luke 4 v.31-44

Having been rejected in his home town of Nazareth Jesus goes to the most important and strategic town in the region of Galilee – Capernaum. This appears to his base for a year or more as he ministers widely in Galilee. It was a year of amazing excitement, power and popularity.

Luke, the systematic historian, decides to give us a flavour of this period by taking us through a day in this period. It was a Sabboth, and we can assume that there would be many Sabboths like this in this dynamic period.

We see four things shown in this account:

1. The Great Preacher

The account starts and ends with Jesus preaching. He preaches in the synagogues and goes from town to town preaching the good news of the kingdom of God. We see:

-          The primacy of preaching. This was essentially a preaching tour by Jesus. Yes – much else besides – but Jesus conducted his ministry through preaching of the word. Our church needs to be one which puts the preaching of the word in a central place.

-          The power of preaching. People were amazed when they heard the preaching of Jesus. It had authority and it had power. Preaching that changes people’s lives will not be second  - hand re-hashes of someone else’s views – rather it will be an authoritative declaration of the kingdom of God. We must not settle for anything less.

-          The persistence of preaching. Jesus was prepared to leave a healing crusade in order to continue to preach the word of God. Nothing must stop us: the church needs to be a preaching centre

2. The Great Deliverer

When the kingdom of God is proclaimed on power under the authority of the Holy Spirit, the demonic is challenged. Here we see Jesus proclaiming the word of God with power and it immediately challenges and confronts the demonic. We see clearly the authority of Jesus as He commands the demons to leave, and they must do so without hurting the person.

3. The Great Healer

Having heard the word of God preached with power, Jesus is called upon to minister to a particular need that has arisen.  Simon’s mother-in-law is ill! Jesus again demonstrates his power and authority, and the presence of the kingdom of God by immediately healing her. Notice the response: she immediately begins to wait on Jesus and his disciples. What been our response to being healed by Jesus? We are healed to serve.

This is followed by the most amazing spectacle. At the end of the Sabbath   Jesus is inundated by those needing healing or deliverance. For those who needed a demonstration of the authority of Jesus, it was plain for all to see.

We take a brief diversion at this point. As we go through the gospel of Luke we see repeatedly examples of Jesus ministering in power. The question that we have to ask is: can we reasonably expect to see such things today. The answer is: yes. As always it is subject to the Sovereignty of God and to the faith and faithfulness for his people. But the biblical record is that  we may reasonably come to God and  ask Him   to do everything that we see in the gospels.

There is a view, known as “cessationism”, which argues that the miraculous was given  to authenticate the message, firstly, of Jesus and then of his apostles. For a full consideration of this see Wayne Grudem’s discussion in his “Sysetmatic Theology  and Jack Deere’s book “Surprised by the Power of God”. For now, let it be clear that our position is a non-cessationist position: namely  we take the view that all the ministries, gifts and signs reported in the New testament are available to believers today.

However this gives rise to one more question that we must not dodge. If the events of Luke 4 are available to us today, why do we not see them in  a greater measure? This is certainly a serious question which deserves to be answered.

Firstly, we have to say, that we could just as easily say, “why are there not more people saved” or “why is there not more powerful preaching?” as to say “why are there not more healings?”

We can comment:

a)      Although it is our contention that all ministries are available today, it is equally true that it is unlikely that there will be a ministry as intense and perfect as that of the Lord Jesus. So the likelihood of someone healing in such power is as likely as someone preaching a message with the power of the sermon on the mount,

b)      All moves of the Holy Spirit are – like salvation – dependent on the sovereignty of God. It does not depend on our will – but on God’s choice. God gives gifts “as he will”

However, this does not mean that we can do nothing to bring about an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the way that we see here. This brings us to our fourth point:

4. The Great Secret

At daybreak  Jesus withdrew to a lonely place. What was he doing? We know the answer – though Luke does not tell us here, The fact is that Jesus busy ministry was sustained by constant dependence on His Father in prayer. We really can not expect to see the power of God poured out unless we give ourselves to prayer. Do we?

What an amazing experience in must have been to be a part of theis day in the life of Jesus. And we can reasonably assume that there would have many more such days. Let’s enjoy the record that we have of the authority and power of the Son of God. And let’s ask, believe, trust and long for Him to do the same amongst us.

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever”