Now that faith has come

28 JUNE 2009
SPEAKER: DAVID TAN

Psychologist Dr Carol Dweck in the book MINDSET wrote that the view we adopt for ourself profoundly affects the way we lead our life. The writer suggests that in general our society is made up of two types of people – those with a fixed mindset, and those with a growth mindset.

Now in a slightly different context you could say that Paul’s letter to the Galatians was addressed to these 2 different groups of people: those with a fixed mindset were locked in the demands of the Old Testament laws (the letter kills), and those who were in a growth mindset – believers who have been set free by faith and growing in the grace of Jesus Christ (the Spirit gives life, 2 Cor 3:6)

Strangely we who are followers of Jesus Christ who believe we are saved by grace do not always evidence this changed mindset. Instead due to mistaken notions or teachings, our lives as Christians often lack passion and power, and there is little growth. We'll take a look at what Paul has to say to us:

1.Faith in Christ grows out of God’s promise (vs 15-18)

Believers and followers of Jesus Christ stand as direct descendants of Abraham, inheriting the blessing that came from God’s historic promise (3:6-9). Abraham’s faith was counted to him as righteousness – and this was hundreds of years before Moses was given the Law. Today it follows that our faith in Jesus' finished work is counted to us as salvation as well - in both cases, the promise of the blessing of salvation came by the grace of God.

Our salvation comes out of a promise that God made – God’s initiative. God’s salvation to us is a gift and it comes not because we have earned it, but because Jesus has paid for it The Christian life will be filled with many challenges and temptations. There will be many occasions when we fall. During those times, it is good to know that our security and confidence rest solely upon God's promise and gift of grace: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast." (Eph 2:8,9)

2. Faith in Christ sets us free (vs 19-24)

In v23, Paul said we were captives under the law. God’s law exposed sins. In v24, Paul also said the law was our guardian (NIV “put in charge” or, a disciplinarian).

The Law of God was essential in showing us what God’s standards were and how far we had fallen short of His holiness. Woe is me, as Paul says: “Who can save me from this body of sin?” How then did God’s laws which were meant to serve righteousness and holy living turn us into prisoners?

As an illustration consider what happens when traffic lights fail: the roads get terribly jammed and it’s every person for himself. He who dares wins! Once the traffic lights go out, everything we know about responsible driving, etc is forgotten. After years of submitting to traffic lights, we do not become better drivers. What this shows and what Paul agrees is that laws are ineffective in making people better – it maintains order but does not change us inside out. But without the law, without knowing how far we fall below God’s holy standards, we will not understand nor appreciate the need to be saved.

It was God’s plan to let the Law steer us towards holy living until Jesus came to fulfill it perfectly and save humanity from its curse. Therefore as we share the gospel, share the severity of sin. And now that faith has come - now that Jesus is come - see how Jesus is the perfect Saviour.

Gal 3:23-25 Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.

Therefore now that we have been set free, we are free to draw near to Jesus. We ought not fall into sin and false ideas like those taught by the Judaizers.

3. Faith in Christ makes us one (vs25-29)

This is one of the great passages of Scripture. What happens now that faith has come? What happens when people put our faith in Jesus as Saviour and Lord? V26, says they become sons and daughters of God!

1Jn 3:1 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!

Christianity celebrates the person, our identity for we are created after God’s image. Faith in Christ restores our personhood, our identity, our relationships. And this relationship goes on – we belong to God as sons and daughters in Christ. It fulfills the deepest human needs of belonging, of being loved.

And Paul says this is true for all people. Indeed when we become followers of Jesus, our race (Jew nor Greek), our gender (male or female), our status in society (slave or free) will no longer separate people or divide society. Christians need to demonstrate this mindset of the unity of God's people. It does not mean that we no longer have race or gender, etc, for in heaven these distinctions remain. But in Christ, we see everyone without prejudice and we no longer judge people on the basis of colour, their gender, or their class in society. This is why as a Church, God’s people are committed to reach out to all people, love all people, and serve all people. More than that it is also our calling to keep unity as a people united in one faith.

Eph 4:3-6 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit-- just as you were called to one hope when you were called-- one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Conclusion

Now that faith has come...we must see a dramatic change in our mindset. The confidence in the security of God’s salvation, the freedom we have in Christ, and the new identity as sons and daughters of God should put us in a place of growth and positive action. Above all it should move us to review how to remain in faith and find satisfaction in God alone. When we move from a fixed mindset of self-condemnation and sin, into the growth mindset of life in Christ, our lives will change. This church will change. Our neighbourhood will change.

As Paul also wrote to the Romans, this changing of our mindset and renewing of our faith is an ongoing process. And in the process of renewing and transforming, God will reveal his good and perfect will to us.

Rom 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.

May God help us to hold on fast to what we have gained in Christ.

Father's Day Message

MESSAGE: The Prodigal's Father
TEXT: Luke 15:11-31
SPEAKER: David Tan

There was a man who had two sons. (v11)

The Bible has much to say about fathers and children. On the occasion of Father’s Day, we’ll look at the familiar parable of the Prodigal Son and take the father’s perspective.

Lesson 1: God is honoured when fathers are honoured

The Bible places high regard on the role of fathers. In Exodus 20, the fifth of the 10 Commandments requires that we honour our father and mother – meaning, respect and prize them highly. Just as God our heavenly Father gave us life and sustenance, He has dignified fatherhood and placed earthly fathers to provide, nurture and bless families. Therefore respect for one’s parents is commanded, and is not dependent on whether they are superior or well regarded by their peers, or whether they have done well as exemplary parents.

Of course respect is mutual –parents also have to respect their children, and all of us are to respect one another. As persons made in God’s image. Fathers especially are warned not to “exasperate your children (but)…to bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4)

The younger one said to his father, `Father, give me my share of the estate.' (v12)

What made the son to behave like this? To have a son demand his inheritance is a rejection of one’s father, as if the son could not wait for the father to die. How would this father feel then?

Lesson 2: Fathers exercise spiritual leadership

In the Jewish home, educating one’s children in their spiritual, religious and social responsibilities was the job of the father. When a child was younger, it was the mother who was his primary educator. But as the child grew into puberty (13), fathers were always their primary tutor in very important spheres of life – from circumcision, redemption (in the case of the first child), marriage, to professional training as apprentice to the father.

Few fathers today consider the importance of being their child’s primary mentor and educator. Yet this practice is not merely true for the Jews, but something that expected of the head of the household, the father who is to provide spiritual leadership in the Christian home (Heb 12:7-11 talks about discipline). In Deut 6:2-8, the command to instruct children as God instructed their fathers, that they may “fear the Lord and keep His laws.”

Pro 4:1-5 Listen, my sons, to a father's instruction; pay attention and gain understanding. I give you sound learning, so do not forsake my teaching. When I was a boy in my father's house, still tender, and an only child of my mother, he taught me and said, "Lay hold of my words with all your heart; keep my commands and you will live. Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or swerve from them.

So when a child turns out the other way, there was great shame, and Jewish fathers consider their children’s failures as their personal punishment.

God faces rejection as well, yet He respects the decisions of His rebellious sons and daughters even if it leads to hurt and destruction. But it is a testimony of God’s grace that He welcomes the prodigal sinner - with open arms, with compassion. Which was what the prodigal’s father did in this parable.

Lesson 3: Fathers’ authority should be tempered with mercy

"But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. (v20)

The father saw him from a long way off and ran to welcome him. In those days it was undignified for an elderly Jewish man to gather his clothes and run in public. The father was filled with compassion. How does a disappointed father respond to a son who has turned his back on his family and has broken his heart? Perhaps the father may have felt he had failed his young son – much like Marcus Aurelius said of his son Commodus in the film Gladiator: “Your faults as a son is my failure as a father.”

Remorse may be the first emotional response of someone who comes to his senses, but it is repentance that must follow. As CS Lewis has said, “Sometimes in order to go forward, we have to step backwards,” which was what the prodigal did as he made his way home. The father ran and embraced the son first before he could express regret and ask for forgiveness. The father accepted the son first, before forgiveness was asked. The father did not wait for proof of repentance before embracing the remorseful son. This kind of compassion is grace. And more than mere acceptance, the father showed that reconciliation is the heart of forgiveness.

Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. (v22,23)

There was a celebration. The son who was once dead was now alive! The prodigal son is welcomed home in style; the best clothes is put on him, as if to cover his rags, his sins; he is given a ring and sandals for his feet. The ring on the finger was a symbol of sonship and position; while the sandals showed that he was accepted as one of the family, for slaves did not normally wear shoes.

Lesson 4: Our Heavenly Father is the model for all fathers

Henri Nouwen in contemplating Rembrandt’s painting (The Return of the Prodigal Son 1662) noticed something in the work of the Dutch painter. The father’s left hand had fingers spread open hard, strong, while the right hand was almost elegant, like a female hand, soft, caressing. Nouwen was struck as he believed God displays grace and love as both father and mother.

Deut 1:31 There you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place."

Isa 49:15 "Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!

Ultimately, at various times in our lives we are a mix of repentant prodigal and jealous brother. But the prodigal’s father stands in front and in the midst of all these conflicting emotions. In his gracious acceptance of 2 quite different sons, we are all invited to be like this father, whose grace mirrored our God. In so doing, we consciously model after our Heavenly Father who loved us and welcomed us.

Conclusion: The example of Dick and Rick Hoyt

The Powerless God

7 June 2009
Speaker: Ps Barnabas Boon
Texts: Mark 6:1-6, Matthew 17:14-21, Mark 11:22-25, Luke 18:1-8, 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

Often in our lives, we have unanswered prayers. At such times, we may ask, "Has God abandoned us, or is He powerless to act?" Scripture gives us a number of reasons why God seems to be powerless.

First, there are situations where God seems powerless to act. In Mark 6:1-6 we read of Jesus at his hometown and marveling that he could not do any miracles there because of their lack of faith or unbelief (vv5, 6). It is not that Jesus would not do works of wonders, it was that unbelief on the part of the people, tied his hands so that he could not do any miracles there. He was one of them and thus a local 'boy' and a prophet in his home town is without honour. The principle is clear with respect to powerlessness. We are powerless when unbelief, skepticism and faithlessness rule our hearts. We will have the powerful God on our side if we have faith and believe in His sovereign rule over our lives

Second, we experience being powerless because of our own prayerlessness. In Matthew 17:14-21 we read of the disciples being powerless to cast out a demon. In the privacy of their meeting with Jesus, the disciples inquired of this phenomenon and was rebuked by Jesus for their lack of prayer (21). The disciples could not heal because they had not been in touch with the One who could. They were relying on their own strength instead of seeking God's power through prayer and the spiritual discipline of fasting. Herein lies a very important principle. We should not be too quick to blame the unbelieving and skeptical sick and needy. There is great responsibility on the part of those who minister and who do ministry. Let us remember then that in order for us to minister in power we must also get in touch with the God of power through prayer and fasting.

Third, we are powerless because there are obstacles within our hearts which impede the power of God in our lives. One of the greatest obstacles to the flow of power from God through us is our own unforgiving spirit. In Mark 11:22-25 we read of the power available to the disciples and the issue of unforgiveness in the heart. These two ideas which occur side by side in Mark is not found in the other gospel accounts of Matthew and Luke. The occurrence of these two ideas side by side is no accident as some commentators have it. It points to a very important principle of ministry in the power of God. Should there be any unforgiveness in our hearts or any impediment which obstructs the flow of power from God to us, we would not be able to minister in power.

Fourth, we are powerless because we do not persevere in prayer. Persevering prayer indicates to God our seriousness and in persevering for what we ask, He will so grant that request. In Luke 18:4,5, we read of the persistent widow against an unjust judge. Jesus teaches us that God is more than and better than this unjust judge. In the face of our persistent cries for help God will act powerfully on our behalf. Persevering prayer is powerful. When we persevere in prayer God is pleased. Are we powerless? Is God powerless to act. No, we persevere in prayer to a powerful God who will act.

Finally, we experience powerlessness in the midst of God's purposes. There is such a thing as the thorn in the flesh. Paul experienced it and taught us valuable lessons. Life is not about being triumphant in everything. There is the dimension of humility and patience which is very much part of the life of power and worship. In 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, Paul speaks of the grace available when the thorn in his flesh was not resolved. God had allowed the thorn to torment him because it was in the purposes of God to keep him humble and powerful in Christ. Hence, instead of despairing, Paul rejoiced in his weakness and in his suffering of insults, persecutions and difficulties. And therein lies the wonderful paradox of power in God for Paul. When Paul experienced such weaknesses, he was also experiencing the surpassing greatness and power of God. We too must learn of God’s grace in this manner. God's grace also comes through from the side of humility, humiliation, failure and difficulties and not just through blessings and honour and wonderment. Oftentimes God allows a thorn to come into our lives and at such times we must learn to submit to God. And then we shall in a strange way experience his power.

Horatio Spafford, is an example of a malleable soul completely surrendered to God. After the loss of his children, he found great comfort in God and out of that sorrow and loss wrote the hymn “It is well with my soul”. The words of the hymn illustrate for us the wonderful experience of grace in the midst of sorrow, loss and pain. And out of this thorn in the flesh, Horatio Spafford and his wife would build a ministry to the Jews and Muslims in Jerusalem.