I preached on Isaiah 43 at our New Year Communion Service five years ago. But this is such a wonderful passage that I have no reservations about visiting it again tonight! At the start of this new year I want us to think about this one word. “New”

“New” is an important word for us as Christians. We have new life through a new covenant. God gives us a new heart and puts a new spirit inside us. We have a new relationship with God our new Father. So we are called to live in newness of life and obey a new commandment, all in anticipation of the new creation God will make on Christ’s return of which we already have a foretaste.

When God makes something new, that isn’t just new in the sense of less old, a new car. It isn’t even just “new improved”, bigger and better. When God makes something new he transforms it. He doesn’t throw away the old but he does change it! So when He rescued His chosen people from slavery in Egypt He made that jumble of people into a NEW nation, with a covenant, new laws and a new land to call their own. And through Jesus, God replaced that Old Covenant with Israel with a New Covenant with all who put their faith in Jesus, a new heart and a new relationship. The Apostle Paul wrote, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17, NIV) The Living Bible translates this verse this way. When someone becomes a Christian he becomes a brand new person inside. He is not the same any more. A new life has begun! (Living Bible)

God gives us a new life and transforms us into new people. We may come to God through a new and living way!
Hebrews 10:19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

We have already received a new life. But as Christians we also look forward to the great transformation of the universe which will take place when Christ returns.
Revelation 21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!”

We serve a God who makes all things new. Continuity yet also transformation. This was the encouraging message to the Israelites in exile in Babylon in the time of Isaiah. The God who makes all things new and who keeps on doing new things.
Isaiah 43 16 This is what the LORD says— he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters,
17who drew out the chariots and horses, the army and reinforcements together, and they lay there, never to rise again, extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:
18“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.
19See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.
20The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the desert and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, 21the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.

God reminds Israel of the dramatic new thing He had done more than a thousand years before to create his chosen nation: parting the Red Sea so His people could escape. When God does a new thing it is always exciting but also challenging and even scary! Bringing Abraham’s descendants out of slavery but into the desert. And through Isaiah God promises to do a new thing in the lives of the Exiles – to take them back from Babylon to rebuild Jerusalem. That will be scary!

When God does a new thing, he transforms the old to create the new. And those changes can be painful and even frightening. The message of John the Baptist was too radical for the Pharisees and the Saducees. Jesus’s life and ministry was too much of a threat to the Jewish and the Roman establishments – so they crucified Him. When God does a new thing people may have to lose many of the things they treasure, things which give them security and make them feel safe. When God does “a new thing” sometimes the old things have to go – and that can be terrifying.

When God is doing “a new thing” our only security lies in God Himself and in His unchangeable character. But here in Isaiah 43 God gives the Exiles who were facing hard times all the encouragement they need to put their trust in Him. The chapter reminds us of so many aspects of God’s character.
God’s power as Creator
1 But now, this is what the LORD says— he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel:
6 Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth— 7everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”
In the beginning God created everything! He can be trusted here and now in the process of re-creation.

God’s power as Saviour and Redeemer
1 “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.
3For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead.
Whatever happens to us – God is with us in Saving Power. God has saved his people before – He can save them again now! Because God’s saving power is unstoppable!
11 I, even I, am the LORD, and apart from me there is no savior.
12 I have revealed and saved and proclaimed— I, and not some foreign god among you. You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “that I am God.
13Yes, and from ancient days I am he. No one can deliver out of my hand. When I act, who can reverse it?”

Indeed the God who parted the Red Sea and obliterated all the armies of the Egyptians can save His people even today. God can accomplish whatever he chooses!

God’s unfailing love
4 Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you,

God has set his love on His chosen people and his love will never let them go!
43 But now, this is what the LORD says— he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

6 I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth— 7 everyone who is called by my name,

10 “You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me.
20 The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the desert and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, 21 the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.
God loves us with a love which will never let us go. God’s unfailing love for His chosen people will reassure them when He does his next new thing, and so also will

God’s unfailing presence
1 “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. 2When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

5 Do not be afraid, for I am with you;

Here is God’s message to his chosen people in every place in every age – do not be afraid, because I am with you! We thought about this in Jesus’s words, “I am with you always.” The creative power of God and the saving power of God, the unfailing love of God and the unfailing presence of God! When God is doing something new, we do not need to be afraid.

Isaiah 43 definitely qualifies as my favourite Bible passage. Back in 1976 I was studying science and I was leading the College Christian Union, which was a small part of the University Christian Union. The first half of the chapter spoke to me very personally when I was discouraged and even overwhelmed by the challenges ahead.
1 “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
4 Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you,

Then as now I was encouraged by the promise of a New Thing.
18“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.
19See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

God is already doing new things here at North Springfield Baptist Church. Think of how many new folk have joined the church in the last five years. But I believe God wants to do new things which will not just be bigger and better, but things which are qualitatively new and different. I still don’t know what shape those new things will take – but it will be exciting to find out! Perhaps it will be in our worship. Perhaps it will be in the depth of our fellowship. Perhaps it will be with some folk exercising new gifts or engaging in new ministries or taking up new responsibilities. Perhaps it will be in the impact of our witness. How wonderful it would be if some of those who already worship regularly with us on Sunday mornings chose to be baptised or to join with us in church membership in 2018.

10“You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me. 11 I, even I, am the LORD, and apart from me there is no savior.
12 I have revealed and saved and proclaimed— I, and not some foreign god among you. You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “that I am God. 13Yes, and from ancient days I am he. No one can deliver out of my hand. When I act, who can reverse it?”

God has called us to be His witnesses. If we are faithful in our witness, God will take care of the outcome! I am sure you noticed the wonderful number of guests who came to our Christingle service and to Carols and Cake. And the new families who have begun to worship regularly with us over the last couple of months. We haven’t chased after them. God has just brought them to us! Perhaps they are the beginning of the new thing God is going to do among us. But are we prepared for God to do whatever He wants among us? To do His new thing? Are we prepared for the hard work and the prayer and the change and the disruption? Are we prepared to pay the price in time and money and commitment? Do we really WANT God to do a new thing in North Springfield Baptist Church?

18 “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.
19 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

Here’s an old hymn which is a lovely prayer as we start this new year.

Another year is dawning, Dear Father let it be,
In working or in waiting, Another year with thee.
Another year of progress, Another year of praise,
Another year of proving Thy presence all the days.
Another year of mercies, Of faithfulness and grace,
Another year of gladness, The glory of thy face.
Another year of leaning Upon thy loving breast,
Another year of trusting, Of quiet, happy rest.
Another year of service, Of witness for thy love,
Another year of training For holier work above.
Another year is dawning, Dear Father, let it be,
On earth, or else in heaven, Another year for thee.
Frances R. Havergal

“Don’t let the world around squeeze you into its own mould, but let God remould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity.” (Romans 12:2 in J.B.Phillips)

We thought last week about how dramatically the world has changed over the last century. We now live in a Post-modern world where the only thing we can be certain of is that we aren’t allowed to be certain about anything any more. The influence of Christianity as a dominant factor in culture has been eroded and so sociologists describe society as Post-Christendom. We referred to the effects of secularisation, pluralisation and privatisation. All this is explained on the notes from last week. This evening I want to turn the light of Scripture on just one more enormously powerful influence on our lives at the start of the 21st century – the false god of Shopping.

Consumerism and consumption are central motifs in this post-modern world. There isn’t time to talk about the appalling global effects that consumerism has upon the environment, economy, society and world poverty. I want to focus on the effects which the false god of Shopping has on US – the shoppers.
Shopping and Lifestyle

A few years ago Freeport Designer Village in Braintree was advertised in a poster which said simply this.
“Ours is a shallow meaningless consumer society where we are defined by our possessions. Enjoy!”

People nowadays seem to be “born to shop”. Shopping is now officially Britain’s number one most popular recreational activity. More people spend their leisure time in shopping Malls or garden centres or DIY superstores than doing anything else.

Article from Scottish newspaper The Herald.
“Shop Till You Drop” is the maxim millions adhere to every Saturday afternoon as they seek to dispose of cash at a frightening rate. We are a nation of shopaholics, say the experts…We shop to live, we live to shop. In fact we are in danger of replicating the American trend where self-help groups exist for shopaholics and 6% of the population are estimated to suffer from this addictive buy, buy, buy disorder”

The last quarter century has seen the rise of a new phenomenon. I don’t know whether the label was coined by an advertising genius or a comedian but the phrase is “Retail therapy” The idea that we NEED to shop, that shopping is GOOD and HEALTHY for us, the idea that when we are sad or depressed, the best thing we can do is go out and spend, spend, spend!

A recent survey reported that 81% of people want more than they earn. 89% of people expect to “have it all”. Yet at the same time 94% of people believe we are all too materialistic! Apparently consumerism does not make us happy. We are ten times more depressed than we were in the 1950’s, and forty times more violent. People are rather naïve if they really think that possessing more things, and having more and more choices, will actually make them either better people or happier people. As Jesus taught, “What is a man advantaged if he gains the whole wide world, yet loses his soul!” We are called to “Seek first the Kingdom of God and IT’S righteousness. We should set our hearts on treasures in heaven, not treasures on earth.

Luke 12:15 “Watch out and guard yourselves from every kind of greed; because a person’s true life is not made up of the things he owns, no matter how rich he may be.”

‘Beware! Don’t be greedy for what you don’t have. Real life is not measured by how much we own… A person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.’
The Times columnist, Bernard Levin (who is not a Christian) once wrote: “Countries like ours are full of people who have all the material comforts they desire, and yet lead lives of desperation, understanding nothing but the fact that there is a hole inside them and that however much food and drink they put into it, however many motor cars and television sets they stuff it with…it aches.” In other words, happiness will not arrive in a M&S carrier bag, in a BMW or in a pair of Reebok trainers. We cannot fill the hole in our souls by putting a hole in our purses and wallets.

Luke 12: 16 Then Jesus told them this parable: “There was once a rich man who had land which bore good crops. 17 He began to think to himself, `I haven’t anywhere to keep all my crops. What can I do? 18 This is what I will do,’ he told himself; `I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, where I will store my corn and all my other goods. 19 Then I will say to myself, Lucky man! You have all the good things you need for many years. Take life easy, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself!’ 20 But God said to him, `You fool! This very night you will have to give up your life; then who will get all these things you have kept for yourself?’ ” 21 And Jesus concluded, “This is how it is with those who pile up riches for themselves but are not rich in God’s sight.”

Human beings have a higher and much more noble destiny that to be “born to shop”. As Christians we should be standing out against the futility of consumerism which is so often just a respectable expression of greed – for which “enough is never enough”.

I will never forget the time a pastor from Romania visited Tunbridge Wells. We asked him if there was a gift we could give him to help in his ministry back home. Hesitantly Emil described how every weekend he travelled from town to town on the train to preach and how convenient it would be if he had a briefcase to carry his Bible and his sermon notes and his razor and toothbrush in. So we bought him a rather nice briefcase.

You can imagine how embarrassed I was when the first time Emil opened the briefcase the catch broke. It wouldn’t close. So I offered to take the briefcase back to the shop to exchange it for a new one. But I almost had to prise the briefcase out of Emil’s hands. He really couldn’t believe that it was possible to exchange faulty goods for a working replacement. In Romania he would just have to live with something he had bought, even if it turned out to be broken. But in England we just take for granted that consumers have rights. Satisfaction guaranteed – or your money back.

That is the first thing underlying our consumer society which everybody takes for granted nowadays: satisfaction guaranteed or your money back. And the second thing people expect and demand out of life is freedom of choice. The way some people talk you would think that these things were basic human rights – the “right to guaranteed satisfaction” AND the “right to freedom of choice”. And the influence of these expectations spreads much wider than merely our shopping habits. They affect our attitudes to relationships and our attitudes to religion as well!
Shopping and Relationships

For thousands of years human relationships have been based on one simple factor – geography. Family life and community life have been forged around location. But the increased mobility which the last century brought, and not least the inventions of cars and telephones, has seen new kinds of relationships become commonplace – relationships based not on location but on shared interest. People commute to work. People take their leisure away from their neighbourhood. You don’t have to work hard at building and maintaining relationships with the people down your street any more – or even with your own family. You can always build new relationships with people like you, who think the same way you do, even if they live hundreds of miles or even a continent away. The difference is between being in a community of people you cannot choose to be with, which can be hard work, and being in a community of people you select for yourself, which is much easier!

So in relationships, as well as in shopping, people have come to expect freedom of choice and they also expect to be satisfied all the time. These are the reasons why traditional communities and family life are breaking down and crime is increasing. This is why people are finding it harder to trust each other. Just as we are consumers of goods, so people have become consumers in relationships. Consumers have no obligations to their suppliers – and so people have no sense of responsibility towards each other. We demand choice and satisfaction – or we will take our friendship elsewhere. This is one reason why Christians who are locked into a consumer lifestyle are not as good as we should be at showing Christ’s love for each other and for our neighbours. Showing true unconditional love for each other cuts across our freedom of choice, and offers no guarantees of satisfaction.

But as Christians we should stand out against the tide in these things! We must show the world that we are prepared to sacrifice our satisfaction and give up our freedom of choice to show Christ’s love! The church must show the world what true community is all about, before everybody forgets completely!

Then there is Shopping and Religion

In today’s shopping mall culture our neighbours are much more likely to be worshipping in the Temples of Lakeside and Bluewater than in Christian Churches. But the assumptions of “a right to freedom of choice” and “a right to be satisfied” have spread into areas of morality and religion as well.

In MORALITY people have become Moral consumers. In Christendom a century ago our society used to have shared moral values and a moral framework that was based on the Judaeo-Christian tradition (including the Ten Commandments)
Today this is no longer the case. Instead people (and particularly the media) say that there are no absolutes and the most important value is tolerance. People have become ‘moral consumers’, choosing their own moral positions, rejecting any attempts to impose a morality on them, rejecting any idea that there is absolute right or wrong. One major result of this is a loss of respect for institutions (police, government, education, church). But as Christians we have to say people CANNOT just pick and choose their own morality. Right is right and wrong is wrong! And God is Judge of all people – whether they acknowledged his laws or not!

BETWEEN RELIGIONS – we now live in a multicultural multi-faith “pluralistic society”. The last decades have seen the rise of ‘alternative spiritualities’ to produce what we could call a ‘spiritual supermarket approach to religion’. Whereas a few generations ago, the only choice was what kind of Christian church you attended, today there is a huge and confusing range of choices on offer. Christianity is only one stall in this spiritual market place. And the problem is that so many people opt out of religion.
As I was once quoted in the Brentwood Gazette as saying, “Faced with the difficult challenge of making an informed decision about which religion to believe in, many people take the easy option of not believing in anything at all.” Ask a friend what they believe about spiritual things. They may say. “I don’t buy into any of that!” Religion has become something people can choose to buy into – or choose to ignore! But as Christians we have to say that people CANNOT just choose there own way to God! Jesus is the only way, and the only truth and the only life. No-one comes to the Father except through Jesus. (JOHN 14:6)

And let’s be aware that there is even consumerism WITHIN CHRISTIANITY and in the church
Sociologist David Lyon (POSTMODERNITY 1994:OUP) comments “Christianity has largely succumbed to consumerism as a leisure pursuit.”
He isn’t just thinking of the huge growth in Christian worship music, so that the songs which are supposed to bring us closer to God and express our worship to Him are reduced to the level of entertainment we listen to in the car or doing the washing up. Consumerism affects our whole attitude to worship and to the church.
“How can worship hope to impart meaning when the very thing which is supposed to give ‘weight’ and ‘depth’ has become the central rallying point of Christian consumerism.”
People used to choose their church on the basis of the doctrines the church believed, whether it was preaching the true gospel and interpreting the Bible correctly. Nowadays very many people choose their church on the basis of the style of worship almost to the exclusion of anything else.

Someone has written “Worship in our time has been captured by the tourist mindset. Worship is understood as a visit to an attractive site to be made when we have adequate leisure. For some it is a weekly jaunt to church. For others, occasional visits to special services. Some, with a bent for Christian entertainment and sacred diversion, plan their lives around special events like retreats, rallies and conferences. We go to see a new personality, to hear a new truth, to get a new experience and so, somehow, expand our otherwise humdrum lives. We’ll try anything — until something else comes along.”

In church, Christian consumers demand THEIR choice and they demand satisfaction guaranteed. If they don’t get to sing their kind of songs, if the minister doesn’t meet THEIR expectations, consumer Christians complain until they get their money back – or they take their custom elsewhere! That is not discipleship! That is consumerism. That is Christians bowing down to the false god of Shopping.

Lifestyle – Relationships – Religion – we are NOT born to shop. In the face of the consumer society around us our hearts and minds must be made completely new!

Straight after his baptism and period of testing in the wilderness we read
14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15 He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.

Jesus FIRST became known for his teaching!!! And to begin with his message was popular. But then the tide turned!
28 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. 29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff.
Right at the start of His ministry, three full years before the crowds in Jerusalem shouted “Crucify Him, Crucify Him”we find the people of Nazareth ready to murder Jesus. It was his home town. Everybody there knew Jesus. They loved Him.

So what on earth had Jesus said to make them that angry? There were three separate sayings – all making the same unpopular and unexpected point. All starting with Jesus’s first recorded sermon – his Nazareth Manifesto!

16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. 17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

And Jesus reads from Isaiah 61. We all remember what Jesus said. And here is the original, in Isaiah 61
Isaiah 61 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the blind, 2 to proclaim the year of the LORD ’s favour

We all know this is Jesus’s message. Good news for the poor. Binding up the broken hearted, freedom for the captives (especially those trapped by the devil and all his demons) release from darkness for those blinded by sin, the year of the Lord’s favour, the age of blessing which the Israelites had been waiting for and longing for for a thousand years!

20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, 21 and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
What an amazing event. To be there when Jesus said – what you have been waiting for has arrived. The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon ME!
22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips.

But then the doubts set in. Then the questions started.
“Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked. How can the Spirit of the Lord be on Jesus? Our neighbour? Our lad from our village? Where did their doubts come from?

We know the message Jesus brought. The problem was, so did the people of Nazareth! And they knew that Jesus had not finished the quotation from Isaiah. Because the verse actually goes like this.

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the blind, 2 to proclaim the year of the LORD ’s favour and the day of vengeance of our God,

Surely Jesus had got the quotation wrong! It was the year of the Lord’s favour for God’s chosen people Israel. But where was the day of vengeance of our God on Israel’s enemies. The Messiah was going to bring blessings for Israel. But where was God’s judgment on the Gentiles. That was part of the reason the Messiah was coming – to punish the wicked. Surely you can’t have one without the other. Jesus had got the message wrong!

So everybody there was happy at the idea that God’s blessing was coming – God’s reward for the nation of Israel’s faithfulness. But they were angry at Jesus suggesting that God’s judgment was not coming – or at least not yet.

Those who heard that first sermon were happy at the idea of good news for the poor – as long as it was for them, Israel’s poor, of course. They didn’t like the sound of good news for any old poor – Gentile poor, Samaritan poor!

Binding up the broken hearted – comfort for those who mourn, great for Israel’s broken-hearted. But surely not for those who did not follow God – their destiny should surely be judgment and punishment. They deserved all the sadness they got!

Freedom for the prisoners – if they were Israelites surely yes! But if they were God’s enemies, justly imprisoned for their crimes, why should they get a second chance?

Sight for the blind – wonderful for Israelites. But if Gentiles were blind surely that was God’s punishment on them for not believing in the one true God! Surely God would leave them in their darkness.

The year of the Lord’s favour was great news. But the people of Nazareth just couldn’t believe that Jesus would miss out the second part of the quotation. They couldn’t believe that the day of the Lord’s favour would come without the day of vengeance of our God.

Perhaps secretly we feel the same. There is something deep within us which wants us to see evil punished. See the wicked get their just desserts. Although we all need mercy, although we are all grateful that God shows his mercy to us, something in us wants other people (or some others at least) to face the wrath of God – because they deserve it!

I preached a couple of months ago on that wonderful episode in the life of Elisha when God acted in swift judgment on those who dared to insult his spokesman the prophet.
2 Kings 2:23 From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some youths came out of the town and jeered at him. “Go on up, you baldhead!” they said. “Go on up, you baldhead!” 24 He turned round, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the LORD. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths. 25 And he went on to Mount Carmel and from there returned to Samaria.
We were musing on the fact that God does not seem to bring down that kind of instant justice any more. Here were a mob of ancient near eastern hoodies hassling an Old Age Pensioner. Hey presto – in comes a bear to teach them all a lesson! We might secretly applaud that kind of justice. I find myself cheering on the bear! You wouldn’t need CCTV cameras or ASBOs if every time teenagers stepped out of line there was a convenient neighbourhood bear to maul them and put them straight! But God does not seem to do things that way so much any more.

And this is what shocked the people of Nazareth about Jesus’s sermon. The very idea that God might bring mercy and freedom and sight and the year of the Lord’s favour to EVERYBODY – and miss out on the day of vengeance of our God!

Don’t misunderstand me. I am not saying that judgment will never come. Just that judgment has been postponed. There will still be a day of reckoning and of righting of wrongs and of punishment of the wicked. But in God’s mercy that day has been delayed.

2 Peter 3:8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance

Judgment day is coming! Nor am I saying that nobody will be punished. But what Jesus made very clear at Nazareth is that our preconceptions about who will be saved or who will be punished may be very wrong. The gospel was not exclusively for the Israelites. The gospel is not exclusively for “our kind of people.” The gospel is not for people who are deserving – by definition it is for people who are undeserving. And if we think we know which people will be blessed in the year of the Lord’s favour and which people will suffer in the day of vengeance of our God, we may well be very much mistaken.

Because that’s the point Jesus goes on to make. He tells the Old Testament stories from the times of Elijah and Elisha of two people blessed by God who you wouldn’t have expected God to bless. Neither were Jews. One was a woman. The other was a leper. God’s blessing did not come to the Israelites of those days. But to the Gentiles. The enemies. Those who were in need.

25 I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon.

We find that story in 1 Kings 17.
1 Kings 17:7 Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. 8 Then the word of the LORD came to him: 9 “Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food.” 10 So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” 11 As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.”
12 “As surely as the LORD your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”
13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD gives rain on the land.’ ”
15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. 16 For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah.

Here was a woman God richly blessed. Not because she was an Israelite – but because she was poor and hungry and God cares for all who are poor and hungry. Truly the gospel is good news for the poor – for ALL who are poor. Christian poor and Muslim poor and Hindu poor and atheist poor. God blessed the woman because she obeyed the prophet Elijah’s instructions and in doing so put her trust in God and His promises. And her faith was rewarded again when her son died and through Elijah’s prayers God brought that son back to life again!

God cares about all poor and hungry and grieving people – not just Israelites. When we think about the poor we must bear in mind that God’s mercy is wider than we can imagine! Like the Israelites we can have some irrational unbiblical prejudices about who God does and does not love. Some Christians think that the poor in Africa in some way deserve God’s mercy because they were born into their poverty whereas people trapped in debt or on benefits on our doorstep somehow deserve their poverty because they have perhaps mismanaged their money. The gospel is good news for the poor – for ALL who are poor! And we who are so rich must never forget that!

In the same way Jesus reminded the people of Nazareth of another Old Testament character who was unexpectedly blessed by God.
27 And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”
We read in 2 Kings 5 that Naaman was a Syrian at a time when they were Israel’s enemies. He was the commander of the army of the king of Aram, but he had leprosy. He came to Elisha and asked for healing. I preached a couple of months ago about Naaman and his example of faith and obedience.
10 Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.”
….. 13 Naaman’s servants went to him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’?” 14 So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.
15 Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God. He stood before him and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel.
God cares about ALL sick people – not just Israelites. Not just Christians. God healed Naaman because he was obedient. And God will answer prayers for healing from anybody who asks. Not just the faithful churchgoer. But ANYBODY on whom God chooses to pour his blessings.

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. Are there any “poor people” for whom Jesus is NOT Good News? Of course not – the gospel is good news for EVERYBODY.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners. Can you think of any prisoners God will set free, if they only turn to him? Murderers? Rapists? Paedophiles? The gospel is good news for everybody, whatever our crimes.
Recovery of sight for the blind, None are so blind that God cannot make them see?
To release the oppressed, ALL who are oppressed, in any nation, of any religion or none. The glorious liberty of the children of God is God’s gift to ALL who believe.
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” God’s offer of forgiveness and new life is for EVERYONE. The day of vengeance of our God is coming. But until then He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
Is there anyone beyond the pale? Anyone so lost that God cannot find them? Anyone so wicked that God has given up on them? NO! NO! The gospel is for EVERYONE!

So we need to seek God’s guidance for him to lead us to the poor and the blind and the captives in North Springfield who He is waiting to save. We need to step out boldly to take this good news to everybody we can! Jesus said it.

“Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing!” – THANKS BE TO GOD!

Deuteronomy 15:1-11

Some passages of Deuteronomy are hard to apply today because they seem to belong to a bygone age, the Old Covenant of the Law of Moses.

Other passages are hard to apply today because in them God demands from his chosen people more than we are ready to give Him! What on earth are we supposed to do with passages like Deuteronomy 15: At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts.???

Literally cancelling debts

15 At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts. 2 This is how it is to be done: Every creditor shall cancel the loan he has made to his fellow Israelite. He shall not require payment from his fellow Israelite or brother, because the LORD’s time for cancelling debts has been proclaimed. 3 You may require payment from a foreigner, but you must cancel any debt your brother owes you. 4 However, there should be no poor among you, for in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you, 5 if only you fully obey the LORD your God and are careful to follow all these commands I am giving you today. 6 For the LORD your God will bless you as he has promised, and you will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. You will rule over many nations but none will rule over you.

Here is a fascinating text in these days of a Credit Crunch caused by sub-prime lending and toxic debt. A novel solution which in certain respects many governments are adopting. Cancel the debt! Write it off! Clear the decks and give everyone a clean start!

At the personal level the same principle is available to individuals who find their finances in a real mess. When somebody owes more than they can possibly ever pay back there are the options of complete Bankruptcy, or else of an Individual Voluntary Agreements. Most or all the debts are written off and the person can start again afresh.

And these arrangements are so important in order to give people HOPE. Rather than being trapped in debt forever, there is always the possibility of starting over again. The God of hope had this idea first. The year of cancelling debts. The generosity of the Lender who is expected to give up money he has loaned to others is meant as a reflection of the immense generosity of God Himself.
there should be no poor among you, for in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you,
God has blessed his chosen people so much – we are commanded to be extravagantly generous in return.

But surely this is a recipe for economic ruin! If a man writes off all the loans he has made every seven years! Economic ruin – except for the gift of God. In fact it is a recipe for faith. It is a plan to make sure the Lender continues to trust in God’s grace and God’s provision. If your savings are diminished because you have lent them to others and then written those loans off, you can’t rest on your laurels and trust in your savings. You have to trust God for the next seven years once again. The people who follow God’s command by cancelling debts are the people who God will then bless richly once again! Because they trusted God and obeyed God and put their lives and their fortune once again into God’s hands!

Giving generously to the poor and needy

7 If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted towards your poor brother. 8 Rather be open-handed and freely lend him whatever he needs…. 10 Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. 11 There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be open-handed towards your brothers and towards the poor and needy in your land.
God calls his chosen people to be generous to the poor and needy. Notice – this is not the kind of giving in proportion to what you have received which we talked about last week. Here the Bible makes clear that our generosity must not be defined by how much we have, but by how much is needed!

do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted towards your poor brother. 8 Rather be open-handed and freely lend him whatever he needs. WHATEVER HE NEEDS
I command you to be open-handed towards your brothers and towards the poor and needy in your land.

Whatever He needsWe are to be open-handed not closed-fisted. And our attitude has to be right! 10 Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart;

Again, surely this is a recipe for financial ruin! If you give to everybody WHATEVER HE NEEDS you will end up with nothing! Surely there must be limits on how much we have to give? We might hope that the New Testament will show some common sense in this – some get-out clause, some small print somewhere which would excuse us from giving all our money away! Luke’s gospel records more than the others of Jesus’s teaching on money wealth and possessions – but listen to these words of Jesus in Luke 6.

Luke 6: 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you. 32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even `sinners’ love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even `sinners’ do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even `sinners’ lend to `sinners’, expecting to be repaid in full.
35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.
35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back.

Just the same recipe for economic catastrophe! Give to EVERYONE who asks you?? What kind of a life would Christians live if we actually obeyed that command! When people learned they could ask us for anything and we would have to give it to them!

If anyone takes anything, do not demand it back – isn’t this just a thieves’ charter!
Lend to your ENEMIES without expecting anything back. Crazy!!

If we did live by these rules we would end up with nothing! We would be less than poor – we would be destitute! But perhaps for some people that would be better than the state they are in where treasures on earth count for more than treasures in heaven. Perhaps the vows of poverty taken by monks and nuns through the ages do have something to say to us today.

When Henry Richards did brought the gospel to the people of Banza Mateke in the Congo, each day he would translate and explain 10 verses from the book of Luke. When he came to the 6th chapter, he hesitated because most of his followers were very poor, and might misunderstand the 30th verse. He said that Jesus’ words illustrate a principle and had to be interpreted in the light of other Scriptures. But they took them literally and quickly asked for almost everything Richards owned. Without hesitation he gave them what they requested. Soon, his most cherished possessions were in their hands. After talking among themselves, the people concluded that Mr. Richards was truly a man of God, for they had never seen anyone so self-sacrificing. One by one they came and returned what he had given them. Because of his willingness to give up everything, the missionary’s work bore much fruit.
Jesus’s teaching is clear: when anyone has a genuine need, we who are His followers must be generous and never allow greed or a love for things to keep us from giving assistance.

This teaching in the Old Testament is not just for the Old Testament. Jesus Himself puts it even more strongly. Listen again to these words which we conveniently forget about:

15 At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts
do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted towards your poor brother. 8 Rather be open-handed and freely lend him whatever he needs.
Give to everyone who asks you,
and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.
35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back.
Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.
I believe God is calling each one of us to think very hard about how we put these commands into practice in our own finances. And we must consider how we as a church respond to these words. Do we really trust God enough to cancel debts, to give to everyone who asks us and lend without expecting to get anything back?

But this teaching in Deuteronomy 15 has a spiritual as well as a material dimension.
Showing God’s kind of forgiveness

The old Testament speaks about cancelling debts. In at least two places Jesus uses financial debt as a picture for spiritual debts. The most familiar of those places may surprise you – it is in the Lord’s prayer.

MATTHEW 6:11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
14 For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

There in the Lord’s prayer the word recorded is not trespasses or sins, but “debts”. The underlying Aramaic word Jesus used undoubtedly meant debt, “that which is owed”.
Our sins put us in debt to God, just as those who sin against us owe us a debt. God cancels all our debts – but commands us to cancel the debts of other people too.

Matthew 18:21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?”
22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. 23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents (millions of pounds) was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
26 “The servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, cancelled the debt and let him go.
28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow-servants who owed him a hundred denarii. (a few hundred pounds) He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.
29 “His fellow-servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’
30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.
32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I cancelled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow-servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”

This parable talks about literal debts. But that is a picture for us of the kind of forgiveness God has shown to us, the pretty amazing grace He has lavished on us. Our debts worth millions of pounds have been cancelled. The debt of our sins so great none of us could ever repay it has been cancelled. Since God has forgiven us so very much, we also should forgive others from our hearts when they sin against us.

Here is the thing I find interesting to think about. Which is easier? To forgive sins? Or to cancel monetary debts? Both cost us. If it is a debt of money, we have to let go of that money. We may have worked hard for it – saved it over a long time. But now that money is in somebody else’s hands and if we cancel the debt the money will never be ours again. On the other hand, if we forgive somebody for some sin they have committed against us, we are letting go of our right to justice. They may have caused us sadness or pain – we have to let that go. So which would be easier? To forgive somebody for something. Or to cancel their financial debt?

Which of these we would find easier tells us something important about ourselves. And about where we are storing up our treasures. Treasures on earth or treasures on heaven. Because I have a sneaky suspicion that many people would actually find it easier to forgive somebody else’s sins than they would to cancel their debt. Letting them keep the money would actually be harded. And I also suspect that is not the way round things are meant to be.

Many years ago two young men were working their way through Stanford University. At one point their money was almost gone, so they decided to engage the great pianist Paderewski for a concert and use the profits for board and tuition. Paderweski’s manager asked for a guarantee of $2000. The students worked hard to promote the concert, but they came up $400 short. After the performance, they went to the musician, gave him all the money they had raised, and promised to pay the $400 as soon as they could. It appeared that their college days were over. “No, boys, that won’t do,” said the pianist. “Take out of this $1600 all your expenses, and keep for each of you 10 percent of the balance for your work. Let me have the rest.”
Years passed. Paderewski became premier of Poland following World War I. Thousands of his countrymen were starving. Only one man could help – the head of the U.S. Food and Relief Bureau. Paderewski’s appeal to him brought thousands of tons of food. Later he met the American statesman to thank him. “That’s all right,” replied Herbert Hoover. “Besides, you don’t remember, but you helped me once when I was a student in college.”

Literally cancelling debts
Giving generously to the poor and needy
Showing God’s kind of forgiveness

What does God expect YOU to do about these things?

Considering the morality of the conflict between Israel and Gaza – preached on the morning when a ceasefire was agreed after three weeks of intense fighting in Gaza.

The Gaza Strip is a piece of land on the Mediterranean Coast about 25 miles long and between 4 and 8 miles wide which is the home of around 1.4 million Palestinian Arabs. It borders on Israel to the South and East and Egypt to the North. For many years there has been conflict between Israelis and Palestinians over Gaza. Israel took control there after the six days war of 1967 but handed control over to the Palestinian Authority in 1994. In elections in January 2006 HAMAS (the Islamic Resistance Movement) won political control from FATAH (Palestine Liberation Movement). Since then HAMAS has intensified its attacks on Israel by suicide bombings and by rocket and mortar attacks across the border. Christian Friends of Israel reported recently that over the last 3 years HAMAS have fired around 5,800 rockets into Israel. On December 19th HAMAS refused to renew a six month ceasefire. On Christmas Eve they fired more than 50 rockets and on Christmas Day more than 80 rockets into Israel.

On December 27th Israel responded with air strikes into Gaza, followed by a land offensive with tanks and troops. In the last three weeks around 1,200 Palestinians have been killed and more than five thousand have been injured. In that time 10 Israeli soldiers have died in combat and 3 Israeli civilians have died from Palestinian rockets. This morning under enormous international pressure Israel have declared a unilateral ceasefire, but they have stated they will not withdrawn their land forces from Gaza yet. HAMAS is refusing to accept the ceasefire as long as Israeli troops are still in Gaza.

The situation in Gaza is tragic. It is also immoral. There are precious few rights and many atrocious wrongs on both sides. I want us to consider those rights and wrongs this morning.

Many Christians including our Baptist forefathers the Anabaptists have adopted a position of pacifism. Jesus taught “Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called the sons of God. … Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”. For a pacifist using force is the direct opposite to loving your neighbor as you love yourself. Love and war are never compatible.

On the other hand, while through history some Christians have been pacifists, the majority have not. In this sin-spoiled world, the majority of Christians have believed that there could be some situations when violence, though undesirable, becomes necessary. In self defence, a “Kill or be killed” situation, violence might be justifiable. And where evil men are harming innocent and powerless people? What might our loving God require us to do in situations like that? Our Christian obligation to love our neighbour may not allow us just to stand back and watch innocent suffering. Instead perhaps we should get involved to prevent that suffering. In extreme circumstances it might even be justifiable to break the Sixth Commandment, “Do not kill,” if taking the life of an evil man is the absolutely the only way of saving innocent lives. Just occasionally the command to love our neighbours must take priority over loving our enemy when we must intervene to stop that enemy from murdering those neighbours.

In particular, the Bible gives to the government and to the state and to the legal system the task of protecting ordinary people from evil. Even if individuals are obliged to follow a code of pacifism, nations may be permitted to use violence to defend their people. For the purpose of protecting the individuals, the state has the right to use reasonable force to resist evil. Police should have the right to force to restrain the evil of murder and violent robbery. Armies should be authorised to use force to resist invasion from outside the state or community. The Bible teaches that human sin is so serious that sometimes a violent response, even a lethal response is necessary and appropriate. If there were no enforcers of justice, chaos would prevail. Restraining evil is the duty of political authorities. So war is always a tragedy. But in this fallen world, where all it needs for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing, we need to recognise that ON RARE OCCASIONS, THE ALTERNATIVES TO WAR CAN BE WORSE THAN WAR.

So over the centuries Christians and other philosophers have been led to the concept of a “Just War.” These are a set of criteria, which help to decide whether war is justifiable or not. Whether it is right to go to war and which methods are legitimate to use in warfare and which are not. The “just war” tradition seeks to provide moral guidance to political leaders as they consider the resort to force, and to provide guidance to military planners as they plan the conduct of the war and prosecute it. These ideas started many centuries ago with Augustine and Aquinas and are now recognised by most Christians. They draw on Christian principles of loving your neighbour, protecting the innocent and defenceless, and the duty of the state to defend its people from evil. But they also appeal to a generally held human sense of honour. Some acts in war have always been deemed dishonourable, whilst others have been deemed honourable. These “just war” traditions are now expressed in International Law in the Geneva and Hague conventions.

This morning I want us to consider the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and see what the principles of Just War theory have to say about the morality of the actions of Israel and of the Palestinians.

So what are the criteria for a “just war”? There are six things to think about when a nation is contemplating war.

Justice in going to war

1. War must be waged by a legitimate authority

that is, by the rightful ruler or government against an external enemy. So a sovereign state has a right to wage ware to protect its people.
Terrorism is never “just war.” The heart of the evil of terrorism is that only legitimate sovereign authorities have the right to wage war. Any use of force by local rulers, mercenaries or criminals is illegitimate. The use of force to restrain evil is the monopoly of the state. That is a necessary condition for a peaceful and civilized society. Freelance terrorism is a return to the barbarism of private wars. It is a direct attack on the justice, order and peace which political authority seeks to provide.
The nation state of Israel probably has the right to wage war to defend its people. Whether Palestinian terrorists have the equivalent right is more debatable.

2. War must be in a just cause

A just cause means defending the legitimate rights of the state. A just cause means an injustice already committed. That could mean some physical injury (like an invasion or an attack on the population), a trade embargo (an aggression against economic activity), or even an attack on a neighbour. Some people think it is legitimate to wage war as a defence against a possible future attack, some don’t.

Some would say that the Palestinians and the Israelis have just cause to attack each other. Many would say they do not – that they should just learn to live in peace as neighbours.

3. War must be undertaken with the right intention, which ultimately is a just and lasting peace..

A critical principle of just war is “right intentions.” Wars that are fought to take what doesn’t belong to us or expand our borders or for revenge are unjust wars. But war can be fought with good intentions.
“We make war that we may live in peace.” Aristotle (384–322 B.C.)
A just war is fought for the cause of justice and not for self-interest. War is intended to bring peace and the common good. But this can be complicated if the only way of securing peace with a neighbour who is attacking you is to invade and occupy his land and replace his government.

Justice and not self-interest. Many people find it hard to believe that either Israel or palestine are fighting for to bring about peace and the common good. If all the fighting is about is self-interest, that motivation does not justify war.

4. The principal of proportionality must apply –

The damage the war causes must bear relation to the seriousness of the issues over which war is declared. A minor injustice would not be sufficient to legitimise the major suffering a war produces.

Does the seriousness of the issues in Gaza justify the levels of destruction over the last three weeks? From the point of view of Just War theory, I think not.

5. The war should be a last resort,

All peaceful remedies must have been exhausted. If the goal of Palestinian mortar fire is to bring Israel to meaningful negotiations for a lasting peace, that might be permissible. If the goal of the Israeli air strikes and their land offensive is to bring Palestine to the negotiating table, that might be permissible. Sadly I am not convinced that either side believe that violence should only be the LAST resort.

6. There should be a reasonable expectation of a successful outcome, not as military triumph, of course, but in achieving the limitation of evil and a lasting peace.

In the conflict between Israel and Palestine, nobody seriously believes that ongoing military action can achieve the successful outcome of lasting peace.

Justice in going to war. Six things to consider when a nation is contemplating war. Of these most people agree that from a moral point of view the third is the most important. Right intention – motivation “ the eradication of some injustice which has befallen fellow human beings and which can be eliminated in no other way.” (Christian ethicist David Brown) I am not persuaded that the intentions or motives of either Israel or Palestine are noble and pure.

But what about when the war has started? Some people (but none of them Christians) argue that once war has started then all methods should be employed to ensure that victory is achieved at a minimum of expense and time. Others think that possessing a just cause is a sufficient condition for pursuing whatever means are necessary to gain a victory or to punish an enemy. Others suggest that morals are only for peacetime when conflicts can be resolved by peaceful means. They say that when it comes to war, “all things are fair”. such ideas are simply wrong.

Just war tradition is not only concerned with whether it is legitimate to go to war. It has a seventh criterion which is entirely concerned with HOW war is fought. A nation fighting for a just cause must not fight unjustly. And even if the war begins without just cause, nations are obliged to use just methods.

Justice in waging war

7. The MODE of conducting the war should be morally legitimate:

(a) The innocent must not be killed by indiscriminate slaughter.

In one word – discrimination. In war soldiers and other combatants become legitimate targets by being trained and armed, and that itself constitutes a sufficient threat to combatants on the other side. Those who join an army renounce their rights not to be targeted in war; but non-combatants (civilians, or ‘innocents’) remain immune from attack. This distinction between combatants and civilians must always be maintained. Innocent civilians must not be not killed or injured. They must be shielded from harm. They can never, for any reason whatsoever, be the targets of an attack. The history of modern warfare is characterized by “total warfare,” the expansion of targets beyond strictly military ones. But that is absolutely illegitimate in just war theory.
There are certain tactics in war which have always been viewed as dishonourable. Attacking from beneath a flag or truce or surrender. Soldiers masquerading as civilians. The kind of suicide bombing that has taken place in Israel and other places. Deliberately endangering civilians on either side by using them as a “human shield”. These methods of fighting are universally judged to be unacceptable!

This is why most of the world, not least the United Nations, the United States and the British Government have rightly been so critical of the actions of Israel in recent days. The greatest evil in Israel’s bombing campaign and in their ground offensive is that they have not discriminated adequately between combatants and civilians. Although they claim to be aiming at military targets in Gaza, at least two thirds of those who have been killed or injured have been civilians, including women and children, some of them even on the neutral ground of the United Nations compound in Gaza.

Israel is probably justified in attacking Hamas military targets in order to defend its own people from rocket attacks. Unfortunately HAMAS often locate their military operations in the middle of civilian populations, and that is immoral. But Israel’s indiscriminate attacks in the middle of civilian populations are completely indefensible in Just War theory.

You may hear military strategists try to justify attacks on such targets using a philosophical manoeuvre called “the doctrine of double effect.” That says that as long as there is a legitimate military target, the deaths of nearby civilians are not intended but accidental. Civilian casualties are a foreseeable but accidental side-effect of a legitimate attack. Many philosophers argue that the doctrine of double effect is acceptable as long as the direct effect is good and the only intended aim, the indirect affect is foreseen but unwanted, and the good effect must be sufficiently desirable to compensate for the allowing of the bad effect.

But even the doctrine of double effect offers no justification for all the rockets which HAMAS has been firing into Israeli civilian population centres over the last three years. Nor is there any possible justification for the Palestinian terrorists who set off suicide bombs in the middle of crowds of Israeli civilians. Rockets and suicide bombs are by their very nature indiscriminate in who they kill. That said, Israel’s response since Christmas has been even more indiscriminate. The Israeli military have the capability to be much more selective than they have been in the targets they choose to attack.

There is even more disturbing evidence that Israel may not even be trying to show discrimination. They may not even be trying to minimise attacks on civilians.

Two quotes passed on to me by a Baptist Minister in Essex whose reliability I trust are very worrying.
A religious edict released in 2006 by the influencial Yesha Rabbinical Council of Israel, states
“…according to Jewish law, during a time of battle and war, there is no such term as ‘innocents’ of the enemy. All of the discussions on Christian morality are weakening the spirit of the army and the nation ” …
Even more worrying, the Jerusalem Post of May 30th 2007 reports,
“former Sephardi chief rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu has written in a letter to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Eliyahu ruled that there was absolutely no moral prohibition against the indiscriminate killing of civilians during a potential massive military offensive on Gaza… he advocated carpet bombing the general area… regardless of the price in Palestinian life…. If they still don’t stop we must kill 100,000, even a million. ”

Both Palestinians and Israelis have shown complete contempt for the most important rule in Just War theory about how war should be conducted – both have shown no respect for the rights of innocent civilians. Dead women and children are not just “collateral damage.” Killing innocent civilians is murder!

(b) The war must not result in disproportionate evils

to the enemy population, to the home populations or to the international community.
In one word – proportionality. Just war theory requires that the extent and violence of warfare are limited to minimise destruction and casualties. “Take no prisoners” violates that principle. A battle must end before it becomes a massacre. The principles of proportionality and discrimination place limits on the violence of war.

Most people agree that Israel is justified in taking some kind and level of military action to prevent or reduce HAMAS attacks into Israel. But the whole world is agreed that Israel’s current response is disproportionate and indiscriminate.

Justice in going to war. Justice in waging war. The events of the past weeks in the Gaza Strip are deeply tragic. The political and military issues involved are much more complex than the media can present. Some of the moral questions are also very difficult, especially for us as Christians. This morning I have been trying to help each one of us to understand the issues a little better. As you watch the news reports, keep these principles of “just war” in mind and form your own judgments.

After Jesus was born Herod arranged for the slaughter of all the innocent infants who could be his rivals as King. And the indiscriminate murder of innocent civilians continues in Gaza and Israel even today, Our God is a God of justice. He hears the cries of the innocent and trampled, the poor and the outcasts. And God cares for them all.

PSALM 10:14-18
But you, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand.
The victim commits himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless.
Break the arm of the wicked and evil man;
call him to account for his wickedness that would not be found out.
The LORD is King for ever and ever; the nations will perish from his land.
You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted;
you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,
defending the fatherless and the oppressed,
in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more.

POSTSCRIPT:

This sermon generated probably more discussion than any other I have preached. In particular, some have suggested that since HAMAS terrorists disregard the “rules of war” by targeting innocent civilians, Israel is entitled to use the same tactics in return. Comparisons have been made with the carpet bombing of Dresden, or the nuclear attack on Hiroshima and Nagasaki which some seek to justify as “last resort” tactics without which the Second World War would have ended very differently.

Just War theory rebukes the notion that “all is fair in love and war.” Killing innocent civilians is not “collateral damage” even if the enemy have killed your innocent civilians – it is still murder. If reports are correct that around two thirds of the Palestinians killed are non-combatants, women and children, then Israel has not shown the discrimination of which its technology would be capable.

You may have read of the tragic deaths of three daughters and one niece of Palestinian obstetrician Dr Izeldeen Abuelaish under Israeli shell fire. Dr Abuelaish was known and loved by Israelis.
The BBC website quotes the doctor’s reaction.
“I had just left the room, carrying my youngest son on my shoulders. Then a shell came through the wall.
“I rushed back to find their dead bodies – or rather parts of their bodies – strewn all over the room. One was still sitting in a chair but she had no legs.”
“Tell me why did they have to die? Who gave the order to fire on my house?”
In a voice cracked with emotion, he added: “You know me, Lucy. You have been to my house, my hospital; you have seen my Israeli patients.
“I have tried so hard to bring people on both sides together and just look what I get in return.”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7838465.stm

First preached in March 2003 at the beginning of the war with Iraq

Before we can make comments on the conflict between Israel and Palestinians in Gaza, or on the Iraq war, we must answer an even more basic question. Is war EVER right? Some Christians say no. The last Pope maintained that violence will never be the answer to the world’s problems. Can war EVER be right?

What does God think? Is God is for war or against war? If you think God is for war then think about Jesus’ words: “Blessed are the peacemakers for theirs is the kingdom of God.” If, on the other hand, you think that God is against war, then what about all those parts of the Old Testament where God commanded war and went before his people in war.

In general God is against war. But God is also against sin. The problem is we cannot get rid of either of them. We must live in a fallen world where both are inevitable.

But what about the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5. Listen to these words of the Lord Jesus Christ. “Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called the sons of God.”
“You have heard that it was said, `Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.
“You have heard that it was said, `Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

And how about ROMANS 12: 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath.
Read what happened in Matthew 26:49-52, when the apostle Peter attacked those who came to arrest Jesus and Jesus commanded him to put his sword away. “Those who live by the sword will die by the sword.” In the Second Century Tertullian wrote, “In disarming Peter, Jesus disarmed all soldiers. … We cannot kill anybody for whom Christ died.” Our Baptist ancestors the Anabaptists, together with the Brethren and more recently the Mennonites and the Quakers, have strongly defended the cause of pacifism and non-violence. Pacifists would say, “We believe all retaliation does is escalate the violence. Someone has to have the courage to say that the violence stops here.” This is the basic pacifist argument against the use of force. In their understanding the use of force is the direct opposite to loving your neighbor as you love yourself. Love and war are never compatible.

But whilst some Christians of all traditions have been pacifists, the majority of Christians have not. The picture may be just a bit more complicated than at first sight.
In this sin-spoiled world, it is just possible that there could be some situations when violence, though undesirable, becomes necessary.

What about SELF DEFENCE – a “Kill or be killed” situation?

Jesus allowed his disciples to carry swords. At one point Jesus even said, “If you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one.” (Lk 2:36). And those swords were for self-defence. Consider a situation where you are standing beside a steep drop and somebody is rushing towards you wanting to push you off. If you step to one side they will fall, if you don’t step aside and they push you will certainly fall. Are you morally obliged to let them push you to your death? Or are you allowed, with great regrets, to step to one side so they fall to their death. Self-defence is a legitimate defence in law courts throughout the world.

But Christians are obliged to “love their enemies” and commanded “Do not resist an evil person” and “turn the other cheek.” So some Christian pacifists believe that even in that extreme circumstance where an attacker could take your life, self-defence is not an option. They believe that Christian pacifism requires us to follow in Christ’s steps and endure suffering rather than ever cause suffering to others.

But what if the attack is not directed against me, but against somebody else, perhaps somebody I love but equally somebody I don’t even know. It is one thing to choose not to defend myself. It is another thing to refuse to help somebody else whose suffering I could prevent if I were to act.

What about defending the innocent and the powerless?

As an example of loving your neighbour, Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan. But what if the Good Samaritan had come along while the robbers were beating up the man? Would he have been expected to stand back until the robbery had finished so he could then step in to pick up the pieces. Or would the Good Samaritan have waded in to stop the beating, even if that had involved violence? Which response would have been “loving your neighbour”? To stand by and watch innocent suffering, or get involved to prevent that suffering?

A Christian witnesses an innocent child being abused. Should the Christian who is committed to non-violence and to peacemaking stand by and watch the suffering? Or should the Christian take action, even if that has to be violent action, to rescue the child? Would I as a loving parent resort to violence if that was absolutely the only way to stop my children from coming to serious harm. Of course I would. With great sadness, but I would.

We live a world heading for judgement because of sin. In this fallen world, ethics can sometimes be very messy. It may not always be possible to avoid doing wrong. Sometimes it may come down to having to choose between two different kinds of evil. A man driving his seriously ill wife to hospital may choose to break the speed limits in order to get her to medical help as quickly as possible. The command to “love our neighbour” may often lead us to difficult choices about which neighbour to love and which to leave unloved in a world where resources to help are often dwarfed by the scale of human suffering. And just occasionally the command to love our neighbours must take priority over loving our enemy when that enemy is intent on murdering those neighbours.
Should this “loving my neighbour” have limits? In the Sixth of the Ten Commandments the Bible says, “Do not kill. Do not commit murder.” Could it ever be right to break that commandment? There many examples in the Old Testament where God actually did command his chosen people to kill others (think of David and Goliath, or of the many offences where God commanded the death penalty).

It is not difficult to conceive of situations where, undesirable as it would be, it could be judged to be morally the “right” action to kill another person. A maniac has his finger on the trigger of a weapon of mass destruction which would kill thousands. A suicide bomber is counting down to blowing himself and his hostages to pieces. If the only way to stop the inevitable death of innocent people is for a police marksman to execute the intending murderer, that could be the right action to take. In extreme circumstances like these, to “love the enemy” and “not resist an evil person” by refusing to act against that one evil enemy would be failing to show love for the many innocent people who would die.

Then there is also another reason why we need to think more deeply about Jesus’s teaching in the Sermon on the Mount. Because the Sermon on the Mount was directed at individual disciples, but when it comes to world events, there is an important distinction between the rights and responsibilities of individuals and the rights and responsibilities of nations, communities, and states.

Even if individuals are obliged to follow a code of pacifism, this doesn’t necessarily mean that nations are not permitted to use violence to defend their people. In fact the reverse holds. Individuals should be free to take a stance of non-violence precisely because it is the right and duty of the community and the government and the state to protect them from evil. So many Christians argue that for the purpose of protecting the individuals, the state has the right to use reasonable force to resist evil. Police should have the right to force to restrain the evil of murder and violent robbery. Armies should be authorised to use force to resist invasion from outside the state or community.

So what about civil authorities using force to uphold justice and restrain evil?

This right and responsibility is very clear in ROMANS 13:1-6. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. 4 For he is God’s servant to do you good.
But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.
The Bible clearly implies here that human sin is so serious that sometimes a violent response, even a lethal response is absolutely necessary and appropriate. “Rulers are not a terror to good works but to evil, and the magistrate does not bare the sword in vain.”
There may be times when use of the sword becomes necessary. Firstly, in defending others. There comes a time when concern for the innocent and protection of those that cannot protect themselves demand the option of a violent response. Secondly, for deterrence. If an enemy knows that he is going to pay a very high price if he does something wrong, he will be more hesitant to do it. When good people do not have arms, you know that evil people will be armed every single time!

There’s a tension here between the ethics the Sermon on the Mount commands for individuals and the rights and responsibilities God gives to rulers and magistrates and the state protecting its people and punishing evil in Romans 13. New Testament ethics for individuals are different to the responsibilities of national leaders. Like I said, we live in a fallen world. Ethics can be a messy business.

We do find the same powers to use violence when necessary given to human authorities in 1 PETER 2:13
Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right.

The Bible recognizes that if there were no enforcers of justice, chaos would prevail. But note that it is the community or the state which should be the vehicle of retributive justice, and never the individual. With all those offences in the Old Testament which are to carry the death penalty, it was the whole community who were commanded to carry out the punishment by stoning. All Israel stoned the guilty, all Israel bore part of the responsibility, so it was no individual’s responsibility as such.

Romans 12:18 commands, “as much as is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.” We are instructed to seek peace in every situation, and we are to be sure that if peace is taken away, it is not because of an action for which we are responsible. But Paul recognizes that circumstances in life can arise when we cannot live in peace, for whatever reason. Romans 13 tells us that, at that point, a response of force by the ruling authorities may be allowed, and even required.

The classic Christian pacifists did not deny this was the duty of political authorities. For classic pacifists political authorities are not only permitted by God to wield the sword for the sake of justice, order and peace, but are required to do so by God Himself, whether or not they personally acknowledge God as the ultimate source of their authority to do so.
Our Baptist forefathers in the 16th century the Anabaptists believed it would be wrong for Christians to become governors or rulers or magistrates. This was precisely because Christian rulers or magistrates would sometimes be obliged to use or order violence in the course of their duties. The Anabaptists recognised very clearly that public authorities had a mandate from God to do what they felt they as Christians were prohibited from doing:
One of their confessions of faith declares this. “The sword punishes and kills people and protects and defends the good. In the law the sword is established to punish and to kill the wicked, and secular authorities are established to use it.”

Through history classic Christian pacifists never questioned whether or not public authorities were authorized to punish evildoers by death and by waging war if necessary. The issue for them was whether Christians may legitimately hold a political office. They fully accepted that political authority could legitimately employ even lethal force when necessary.

So whilst many Christians have been pacifists, the majority have not. They have recognised the right to self-defence, and the obligation to love our neighbour by protecting the innocent and the defenceless. They have recognised the duty of the state authorities to restrain evil and punish evildoers, both within the state and threatening the state from outside.

And how does all this apply to war? Is war always wrong? The majority of Christians have always believed, and I believe the Bible teaches, that WAR IS ALWAYS A TRAGEDY. But in this fallen world, where all it needs for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing, we need to recognise that ON RARE OCCASIONS, THE ALTERNATIVES TO WAR CAN BE WORSE THAN WAR.

Somebody has said, “The failure to fight a just war may be a failure to love. “We … fight just wars because they’re acts of charity. Fighting just wars … is something Christians ought to do out of love for God and neighbor …” A just war is an act of love because it brings justice, it restrains evildoers, and promotes the peace and well-being of the community. Ridding the world of evil — by legitimate means — is a good and loving act.”

Thomas Aquinas regarded war as an expression of charity, the love of God and neighbor. He applauded those who wielded the sword in protection of the community. John Calvin called the soldier an “agent of God’s love,” and he called soldiering justly a “God-like act.” Because “restraining evil out of love for neighbor” is an imitation of God’s restraining evil out of love for His creatures.

A world where Christians refused to fight wars wouldn’t be more peaceful, and it wouldn’t be a more just world. It would be a world where evil would be unchecked by justice and where the strong would be free to prey on the weak. Fighting just wars when necessary takes sin seriously and so provides — strange as it may sound — a loving response.

C.S.Lewis encouraged soldiers to take pride in fighting the forces of evil. But he warned against a love of killing. “We may kill if necessary, but we must not hate and enjoy hating. We may punish if necessary, but we must not enjoy it,” “Even while we kill and punish we must try to feel about the enemy as we feel about ourselves — to wish that he were not bad, to hope that he may, in this world or another, be cured: in fact, to wish his good.” Loving our enemies means “Wishing his good.” It does not mean “feeling fond of him or saying he is nice when he is not.”

So going to war MAY in some circumstances be justifiable. But what are those circumstances, and do they apply at this time? I have used the phrase, “a just war.” Many politicians have used that phrase recently – and many have abused it. To find out what Christians mean by a “just war”, a war fought for justifiable reasons and using fair and just methods, you’ll have to listen to the next sermon!

NEW YEAR MESSAGE FOR 2009

In the last six months the value of houses has dropped by on sixth. The value of shares has dropped by almost one third. High Street stores like Woolworths, MFI and Zavvi have gone out of business. Banks have been taken over or nationalised. Tens of thousands of people have lost their jobs and it is said hundreds of thousands more will do so. We now know the meaning of words like Credit Crunch, downturn and recession. It was not difficult to identify a motto text for 2008.

MATTHEW 6:19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount teaches us about the importance of getting our priorities right. The first and most important thing is that

We must live out in our own lives the teaching of Jesus.
Martin Luther astutely observed, “There are three conversions necessary: the conversion of the heart, mind and the purse.” Of these three, it is often the case that our generation finds the conversion of the purse the most difficult.

MATTHEW 6:19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

There’s a true story that comes from the sinking of the Titanic. A frightened woman found her place in a lifeboat that was about to be lowered into the raging North Atlantic. She suddenly thought of something she needed, so she asked permission to return to her stateroom before they cast off. She was granted three minutes or they would have to leave without her.
She ran across the deck that was already slanted at a dangerous angle. She raced through the gambling room with all the money that had rolled to one side, ankle deep. She came to her stateroom and quickly pushed aside her diamond rings and expensive bracelets and necklaces as she reached to the shelf above her bed and grabbed three small oranges. She quickly found her way back to the lifeboat and got in.
Now that seems incredible because thirty minutes earlier she would not have chosen a crate of oranges over even the smallest diamond. But death had boarded the Titanic. One blast of its awful breath had transformed all values. Instantaneously, priceless things had become worthless. Worthless things had become priceless. And in that moment she preferred three small oranges to a crate of diamonds.

What are OUR priorities? What is really important to us?

20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

Our world desperately needs to hear this truth that spiritual things are more important than material things!
The story is told about some Christians who were traveling in the Middle East. They heard about a wise, devout, beloved, old believer, so they went out of their way to visit him. When they finally found him, they discovered that he was living in a simple hut. All he had inside was a rough cot, a chair, a table, and a battered stove for heating and cooking. The visitors were shocked to see how few possessions the man had, and one of them blurted out, “Well, where is your furniture?” The aged saint replied by gently asking, :Where is yours?” The visitor, sputtering a little, responded, “Why, at home, of course. I don’t carry it with me, I’m traveling.” “So am I,” the godly Christian replied. “So am I.”

21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Billionaire Paul Getty died – “how much did he leave?” “Everything!”
Where are your treasures? When you die will you be going TO your treasures? Or leaving them behind?

Archbishop of Canterbury’s New Year Message. “Our hearts will be in a very bad way if they are focused only on the state of our finances. They’ll be healthy if they’re capable of turning outwards – looking at the real treasure that is our fellow human beings,”.

22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
To have “good” eyes is to be single minded – focussed on God and to be generous. To have bad eyes is to be ungenerous or selfish or greedy.

24 “No-one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

Money is a good servant but a poor master. Someday we will realise that the bars that shut many people out of the kingdom of heaven are made of silver and gold.

You cannot serve God and Mammon. Mammon = false God of Money but also broader – all earthly possessions.

We must be prepared to demonstrate that our faith is in God, not in the false gods of this age, the false gods of Money, Entertainment and Shopping.
The story is told of an occasion where St. Thomas Aquinas was walking with a prelate through one of the grand cathedrals of his day. Referring to a coffer filled with precious coins, the prelate remarked, “Behold, Master Thomas, the church can no longer say, as St. Peter, ‘Silver and gold have I none!’” St. Thomas was apparently quick with his retort, “Alas, neither can we say what follows, ‘In the name of Jesus Christ, rise up and walk.’”

We must take care of the poor and needy

It doesn’t matter the reasons why people are poor. It doesn’t matter if it is their fault or somebody else’s fault or nobody’s fault at all. God causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous equally. God cares for everybody and we must care for everybody.

There will be people in need because of the economic crisis – even in Brentwood! We must be prepared to help them.
Those who have lost their jobs – and there are those in the church today who are in that situation.
Those who have lost their savings.
Those who find that their pensions are not worth what they were or should be.

WE must take care of those in need.
James 2:15 Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?

We have the communion fund – we must use it to help those in need. Our friends Richard and Heather Cameron were missionaries in Nepal. Richard was headteacher of the school at Pokara where our BMS missionary Sarah Prior now works. I once asked Richard what proportion of the budget of the church in Pokara was set aside for what we would call the Communion Fund. He replied, “Something over 100%”. The church there used its regular offerings to pay its bills. But then when people were in need they would have special offerings specifically to help those poor people. And over a year the special offerings to help the poor always added up to more than the regular offerings to cover all the running expenses of the church.

We must Make sure our treasures are in heaven We must help the poor and needy.

And we must take this opportunity to

witness to the world about the importance of treasures in heaven.

It was the 1987 film “Wall Street” in which Michael Douglas’s character Gordon Gekko gave the slogan which so much of the world economy has been built on:

Greed is good. Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms — greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge — has marked the upward surge of mankind. Greed is good.
That’s the attitude which says “Enough is never enough” which has landed the world in the economic mess it is in now!

FreePort Designer Village in Braintree once used this advertising slogan. “Ours is a shallow meaningless consumer society where we are defined by our possessions. Enjoy!”

People nowadays seem to be “born to shop”. Shopping is now officially Britain’s number one most popular recreational activity. More people spend their leisure time in shopping Malls or garden centres or DIY superstores than doing anything else.
In today’s shopping mall culture our neighbours are much more likely to be worshipping in the Temples of Lakeside and Bluewater than in Christian Churches.

New phrase (whether coined by advertising genius or a comedian I don’t know)- “Retail therapy”
The idea that we NEED to shop, that shopping is GOOD and HEALTHY for us, the idea that when we are sad or depressed, the best thing we can do is go out and spend, spend, spend! It really worries me that our Prime Minister has suggested that what people should be doing is spending our way out of this recession!!

The Times columnist, Bernard Levin (who is not a Christian) once wrote: “Countries like ours are full of people who have all the material comforts they desire, and yet lead lives of desperation, understanding nothing but the fact that there is a hole inside them and that however much food and drink they put into it, however many motor cars and television sets they stuff it with…it aches.” In other words, happiness will not arrive in a M&S carrier bag, in a BMW or in a pair of Reebok trainers. We cannot fill the hole in our souls by putting a hole in our purses and wallets.

This is the message the church should be proclaiming in these troubled times. The Credit Crunch and the recession will be causing people more than ever to reconsider their priorities. People are realising that greed is NOT good – that the most important things in life are things money can’t buy! There is so much more to life than Money and Entertainment and Shopping. Now is the time for the church to be more bold than ever to proclaim the message!
20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.