Thriving | Acts 10:34-43

The Christian Rock Band Casting Crowns have written, “It's time for us to more than just survive; We were made to thrive”.

From my experience as a pastor and my understanding of the Bible, many Christians are living like they are just surviving, when in fact, the bible teaches that we are to thrive. A study of Ephesians chapter 1 ought to reveal this to us. Paul says that God has “blessed us with every spiritual blessing” (Ephesians 1:3 NLT). And then he lists all those amazing blessings! ⦁ We are chosen by God v4 ⦁ We are predestined by God v5 ⦁ We are adopted into God’s family v5 ⦁ We have received His grave v6 ⦁ We have been redeemed v7 ⦁ We have been forgiven by Christ’s blood v7 ⦁ We are sealed by the Holy Spirit v13 ⦁ We are guaranteed an inheritance v14

We are blessed with every spiritual blessing, so that ought to be mean that spiritually, we ought to be thriving.

Many of us Christians are just surviving spiritually because of issues such as hardships, lack of health, conflicts, and the lists continues. It’s the same with church. It ought to be thriving resulting in people coming to faith, baptisms, testimonies of God working in people’s lives, numerical growth, new church plants, the poor and vulnerable being cared for and helped, past wrongs with various cultures being reconciled, and the list continues. Jesus said to the church in Laodicea that they were only just surviving. They were lukewarm. He wanted them to be on fire!!

I find the verse in proverbs that is being quoted in some of our publicity for this series quite intriguing. Proverbs 11:10 says, “When the righteous thrive, a city rejoices…” (Proverbs 11:10 HCSB). And when we do some research, we find that this is so true. Some of us have watched in utter amazement back in the 1990s and early 2000s the Transformation Videos. They were powerful stories of towns and cities around the world who saw that when God began to transform the church and people repenting of their sins and following Jesus as Lord, gradually significant change in their towns and cities began to happen. Crime rates, murders, and rape were all down. Food crops were bountiful. Marriages restored. I mean, when the righteous thrive, a city rejoices (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MG-XBkCTDY). Some of us have read stories of revivals last century in Wales, Papua New Guinea, America and we hear of stories of mass conversions and incredible affect that this has in villages, towns and cities - “when the righteous thrive, a city rejoices”. When Billy Graham conducted the Southern Cross Crusades in Australia and New Zealand in 1959, where he preached to pack stadiums at the MCG, the SCG with people next door at the Show Grounds, and in towns across the country via the old land line, thousands came forward, repenting of their sinful living, asking Jesus to be their Lord and Saviour. And our history books actually record that for 2-years after these crowds, not only were church attendances everywhere up, but crime rates were down, attendances at the pubs were down, and other social affects - “when the righteous thrive, a city rejoices”.

Our mandate, our cause as a church, the great commission is to make disciples. And when churches do the work of evangelism unashamedly, people lives are totally transformed in Christ - “when the righteous thrive, a city rejoices”. Our city of the Gold Coast needs Christians and churches to be thriving. They may not know this, but God’s plan is to see people, churches and cities thriving.

This series, I want to look at four areas that are essential for Christians and Churches to get out from the rut of surviving to thriving.

The first one is all about having the right foundation.

In Psalm 92, the writer says, “The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green” (Psalms 92:12-14 NIV).

What do you think God means when He promises that people who serve Him will flourish like a palm tree?

We Queenslanders know that palm trees grow in hostile climates. They tolerate high temperatures, little rainfall, and high winds. Palms can flourish where other trees would wither and die. Palm trees have a different root system than most other trees. Instead of the roots tapering and becoming smaller as they grow farther away from the trunk, palm tree roots stay about the same size. These roots can make their way below the dry, shifting sand to find stability where other trees would not. Also, unlike most trees that have a woody, dead outer layer, the entire trunk of a palm is alive, allowing it to be very flexible, bending in hurricane-force winds that would break other trees.

Like Palm Trees, we too need to root down to something solid. A bit like the Parable of the Wise Builder found in Matthew 7 and Luke 6. Here the man built His house on the solid foundation of rock and so when storms come it would not wash away because of its foundation.

For we Christians and for our church, we will thrive when we place our roots on the solid foundation of Jesus – not on materialism, not on nice philosophy, not on some good church growth principles they may have worked, not on some good preacher’s words. None of these. We will thrive when we place our roots on the solid foundation of nothing else nor anyone else by Jesus Christ.

Even then, this needs to be explained. You see, Jesus needs to be more than just a friend and not just a servant who comes to our beck and call when we come to him in desperation. We got to see him more than this.

The New Testament teaches us that Jesus is Lord and we as followers need to follow Him as our Lord. This is so important for us to know and accept and follow if we are to thrive.

Science writer Hope Jahren shares an interesting fact about plants, especially how a tiny seed starts to put down roots—the most essential thing for a plant's survival. She writes, “No risk is more terrifying than that taken by the first root. A lucky root will eventually find water, but its first job is to anchor… Once the first root is extended, the results are powerful. The tree's roots can swell move gallons of water daily for years, much more efficiently than any pump yet invented by man. If the root takes root, then the plant becomes all but indestructible.

When we come to Christ, our roots start to grow and we begin to understand concepts of Jesus that He is loving, forgiving, and even dying for us. These are important understandings but it’s not until our roots are actually anchored onto the foundation of the Lordship of Jesus Christ will we start to thrive. As Jesus said in John 7:38, “Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them” (John 7:38 NIV).

Jesus is Lord. The Bible consistently affirms the lordship of Christ in every way. He is Lord in judgment. He is Lord over the Sabbath. He is Lord over all (Acts 10:36). He is called Lord (kurios) no less than 747 times in the New Testament. The book of Acts alone refers to Jesus 92 times as Lord. Clearly in the early church's preaching, the lordship of Christ was the heart of the Christian message and thousands respond to this truth about Jesus. Our reading highlights this. Peter was sent by God to a Roman Centurion in Caesarea. Here Peter was in this house with a roman family and others from the street who had gathered. And so, Peter tells them the gospel of Jesus. In this discussion Peter tells them in verse 36, “You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all” (Acts 10:36 NIV). And Peter told them how Jesus is Lord over judgment and forgiveness (vs.42-43). And as Peter was discussing the Lordship of Jesus, the Holy Spirit convicted those who were there. And so Peter asked, “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have." So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 10:47-48 NIV)

The lordship of Jesus Christ means at least two things.

First, to say that Jesus is Lord is first of all to acknowledge that He is almighty God, the Creator and sustainer of all things (Colossians 1:16-17). This is a profound declaration of truth. There is little question that the Bible teaches that Jesus is God. Scripture declares Him to be God (John 1:1, cf. v. 14). God the Father addresses Him as God (Hebrews 1:8). He displays the attributes of deity—He is omnipresent (Matthew 18:20), omnipotent (Philippians 3:21), unchanging (Hebrews 13:8), He forgives sins (Matthew 9:2-7), receives worship (Matthew 28:17), and He has absolute authority over all things (v. 18). Christ encompasses the fullness of God in human flesh (Colossians 2:9). He is one with the Father. In John 10:30, He simply said, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30 NIV).

We see God in action when we read of the works of Christ. When we hear His words as recorded in the New Testament, we hear the words of God. When we hear Christ express emotion, we listen to the heart of God. And when He gives a directive, it is the commandment of God. There is nothing He does not know, nothing He cannot do, and no way He can fail. Jesus is God in the fullest possible sense.

Second, as Lord God, Jesus Christ is sovereign. He claimed, for example, to be Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:8), meaning that His authority as Lawgiver superseded even the authority of the law. In John 5:17, Jesus defended His right to break the Pharisees' man-made Sabbath laws claiming equal authority with God, and the Jewish leaders were so incensed at Him for it that they tried to kill Him (John 5:18).

The fact that the Jews could not kill Him before His time was further proof of His sovereignty: “The Father loves Me because I sacrifice My life so I may take it back again. No one can take My life from Me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what My Father has commanded” (John 10:17-18 NLT).

In the final judgment, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess Christ as Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:11-12). That does not mean, of course, that all will be saved, but that even those who die in unbelief will be forced to confess the lordship of Jesus. His sovereignty is limitless.

Jesus’ lordship mean that He is God and is Sovereign.

The lordship of Jesus Christ ought to have profound impact on our lives and that of our church.

S.M. Zwemer makes a challenging statement about the lordship of Jesus Christ. He said, “Unless Jesus is Lord of all, He is not Lord at all.” This is a challenge to all Christians to bring every area of our lives under the sovereign rule of Jesus Christ. In our lives, there should be no rivalry for His throne. You cannot on one hand give over to Jesus some aspects of your life while holding other aspects in your other hand behind your back.

F. B. Meyer was a well-known Baptist preacher and pastor of Christ Church in the heart of London in the nineteenth century. In the midst of a successful ministry, F. B. Meyer confessed that something was lacking in his life and ministry. His earlier Christian life was marred and his ministry paralyzed just because he had kept back one thing from the bunch of keys he had given to the Lord. Every key but one! The key of one room was kept for personal use, and the Lord was shut out. The effect of the incomplete surrender was found in lack of power, lack of assurance, lack of joy and peace. The joy of the Lord begins when we hand over the last key. We sit with Christ on His throne as soon as we have surrendered our crowns, and invite Him sole and only ruler of our life.

F. B. Meyer experienced the lordship of Jesus Christ when he handed over the last key. He had kept back the key to one room in his life and it brought great defeat. Remember, if He is not Lord of all (of every room), then He is not Lord at all. Have you given over the keys to every room in your life? Does Jesus have the key to every room in your private life? Is there a room marked “private – keep out?” If so, you haven’t really anchored into solid foundation and when those storms come, you will be blown over. You must be willing to surrender that key to the Lord.

This means our money, our priorities, our hearts, our dreams, our struggles – every area must come under the lordship of Jesus Christ.

When we as Christians and together as a church surrender every area to the lordship of Jesus, acknowledging that Jesus is God and Sovereign then we will thrive.

When we accept Jesus Christ as our Saviour, it involves a recognition of His lordship, for the Saviour who saved us when we received Him by faith is the Lord Jesus Christ. We cannot and do not receive Him as Saviour only. We receive Him as Lord and Saviour. However, for some surrendering to Jesus as Lord happens at some time after their conversion. It may be a few months later, or for some, many years later. This may be your experience right now. For Dr. Roger Willmore, a pastor at a Baptist Church, this was his experience. He did not wilfully reject the lordship of Christ; he simply did not know about His lordship. Jesus was presented to him as Saviour at the time of his conversion. It was only until several years later that he was introduced to Jesus as Lord. And this may be your story to. We must understand that this is not intended to be the biblical pattern.

This morning, please take the opportunity to surrender all your life to Jesus as Lord. If there is a key you are holding back, then now is the time to give it to Christ. What is in your hand that you are holding behind your back? Bring your hand around before Jesus and open your fist and hand whatever over to Him.

We weren’t created just to survive. We are called to thrive. Thrive is a life word. Thriving is what life was intended to do, like a flower stubbornly pushing through a crack in the sidewalk. Thriving is what God saw when he made life and saw that it was good. "Thrive" was the first command: be fruitful, and multiply.

For some hear, God may be saying to you that this is the year that you are going to thrive. He is saying to you: “You're a tree replanted in Eden, bearing fresh fruit every month, never dropping a leaf, always in blossom” (Psalms 1:3 MSG). “It's time for you to more than just survive; You were made to thrive”.

Experiencing Transformative Community

Let Us Come To God’s Throne | Hebrews 4:14-16

Over January, we have had a month’s window before we launch into an exciting year with vision, new sermon series, ministry groups returning. I’m really looking forward to 2018.

And so, in January, we are looking at Hebrews chapter 4 and at the three times the writer uses the phrase “Let us”. Three times in chapter 4 the writer says, “Let us”. I like that instead of saying, “You need to do this”, he says, "Let us." He's encouraging all of us together to do these things and so, what I want to do is cover one "let us" per week over the next 3 weeks.

The writer has written, “Let us enter a spiritual rest”, he said, "Let us hold firmly to what we believe”, and he said, “Let us enter before God's throne to find help”.

Three weeks, we looked at the first one, from verse 9 “So let us do our best to enter that rest” (Hebrews 4:9-11 NLT). We looked at doing our best to enter the eternal rest in heaven – that room in the mansion that Jesus is preparing so that those who died in the Lord will rest from sorrow, rest from sickness, rest from loss (Isaiah 57:2 NLT). We also looked at earthly rest and how God created us to rest, in fact this really pleases God when we rest in Him when we actually take time out, just like God who created the world in six days and then rested on the seventh. It’s a spiritual act to rest, so much so that God made it as part of the ten commandments. So, how are you going through this month? Did you create those margins that we spoke about? Are you finding those times to just rest – not a nanna nap. I mean are you actually saying that you are going to rest on a certain day?

Two weeks ago, we looked at second “let us”. It is from verse 14, “So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe” (Hebrews 4:14 NLT). There’s the second let us – “let us hold firmly to what we believe”.

Hebrews was written to a group of Jews who were new Christians and some of these new Christians were wavering in their faith because they either feared being persecuted or they were being led back to their Jewish faith. Whatever the reason they were waving. And so, the Hebrew writer tells them to hold firmly to what they believe. I said a couple of weeks ago that according to statistics, that the most vulnerable age group for the church are those aged 18 to 40. Study after study reveals that we are losing our own in this age group and so according to statistics, some of you will waver in your faith. God says to you, “hold firmly two what you believe”. I shared that through the generations of wars and technological and scientific advances, and the changes in our society today, the one constant we have is the never changing Word of God, The Bible. It is the one constant we have that keeps us anchored from the tide of extremes – the far-right fundamentalism and the far-left liberalism. As God told Joshua twice, “So be very careful to follow everything Moses wrote in the Book of Instruction. Do not deviate from it, turning either to the right or to the left” (Joshua 23:6; 1:7 NLT). We are to hold firmly to what we believe the Bible teaches.

Last week we heard a great sermon by Jeff Davis and so we had a break from the “Let Us” series. Today, we are looking at the third let us and its found in the final verse of chapter 4, “So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most” (Hebrews 4:16 NLT). What a beautiful passage.

To have a deeper understanding of this passage, we need to understand the context. Look at two verses earlier, verse 14, “So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God…” (Hebrews 4:14 NLT). Note that the writer inserted the word “great” before the position “high priest”. Of the 80 or so High Priests that spanned 1500 years from the very first high priest till that last high priest in 70AD, none were ever given the description “great”. Under the inspiration of the Spirit of God, the writer strategically called Jesus the great High Priest. More about the reasons why in a moment.

For these Jewish Christians, they knew what the high priests were all about. They knew that the high priest was the highest religious authority in the land. He alone entered the Most Holy Place in the Temple once a year to make atonement for the sins of the whole nation (Leviticus 16). Once a year, on the Day of Atonement the high priest, representing all the people, went through three areas. First, he took the sacrificial blood through the door into the outer court. Second, he entered another door into the Holy Place. And third, he entered through the veil of the Holy of Holies where God dwelled and the High Priest sprinkled the blood on the mercy-seat to symbolically atone for all the sins of the people.

The writer then compared Jesus with these priests and therefore inserted the word great because Jesus work as a High Priest was greater. And we looked at some of the reasons why two weeks. Intertestingly, the writer of Hebrews really wanted to drive his point that Jesus is greater because in chapter 5 he goes writes about the qualifications for high priests and how Jesus far exceeded them. Let’s look at them.

The first qualification mentioned of a high priest is they were to be a representative of the people. Verse one says, “Every high priest is a man chosen to represent other people in their dealings with God. He presents their gifts to God and offers sacrifices for their sins” (Hebrews 5:1 NLT). Having oneness with people was fundamental to the priestly ministry. No angel, no celestial being, no deceased “so called” saint could function as high priest. He had to be a living human being like everyone else. The reason, of course, is that his primary function was representative.

The second qualification for priesthood is compassion and sympathy. The Hebrew writer wrote in chapter 4:15 we are reminded that “This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for He faced all of the same testings we do, yet He did not sin” (Hebrews 4:15 NLT). The ideal high priest needed to have some compassion for those who have gone off the rails for two reasons. First, he was representing them to God, particularly on the Day of Atonement. The other reason why he needed to have compassion was that he himself, as verse 2 puts it “tempted in every way”. Again, the writer suggests that Jesus being our Great High Priest “understands our weaknesses” (4:15). We know that in His earthly life Jesus showed practical compassion to those with disabilities, those who have gone off the tracks, and to those who were searching.

The third qualification for priesthood is how one is selected. A high priest must be a divine appointment. Verse 4 says, “And no one can become a high priest simply because he wants such an honor. He must be called by God for this work, just as Aaron was” (Hebrews 5:4 NLT). All Israel’s priests were to come only through divine appointment according to the Books of Exodus and Leviticus. Attempts to self-promote to this role often led to harsh judgement. A proper priest was filled with deep humility and his work was not as a career but as a divine appointment.

Therefore, the Hebrew writer says in verse 5: “That is why Christ did not honor Himself by assuming He could become High Priest. No, He was chosen by God, who said to Him, "You are My Son. Today I have become Your Father” (Hebrews 5:5 NLT). And then he writes: “Even though Jesus was God's Son, He learned obedience from the things He suffered. In this way, God qualified Him as a perfect High Priest, and He became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey Him. And God designated Him to be a High Priest in the order of Melchizedek” (Hebrews 5:8-10 NLT).

Jesus is far greater. He is far greater than all the priests. His priestly ministry is far superior. His compassion is far better and His calling is far higher. And this is why the writer says about Jesus: “…God appointed His Son with an oath, and His Son has been made the perfect High Priest forever” (Hebrews 7:28 NLT).

This has profound impact on all today. It means this. Chapter 7 verse 24 says, “But because Jesus lives forever, His priesthood lasts forever. Therefore He is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through Him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf” (Hebrews 7:24-25 NLT).

Unlike the high priest, who could go before God only once a year, Jesus is always at God's right hand, interceding for us. He is always available to hear us when we pray. We don’t have to wait once a year. We don’t have to wait until we get to church. Christ is always at God's right hand. He is always available to hear us.

Therefore, the Hebrew writer says to us: “So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” (Hebrews 4:16 NIV).

Albert Barnes wrote in the mid-1870s about this verse, “What a beautiful expression. A throne is the seat of a sovereign; a throne of grace is designed to represent a sovereign seated to dispense mercy and pardon. The illustration or comparison here may have been derived from the temple service. In that service God is represented as seated in the most holy place on the mercy seat. The high priest approaches that seat or throne of the divine majesty with the blood of the atonement to make intercession for the people, and to plead for pardon. That scene was symbolic of heaven. God is seated on a throne of mercy. The great High Priest Jesus Christ, having shed his own blood, is represented as approaching God and pleading for the pardon of people. To a God willing to show mercy he comes with the merits of a sacrifice sufficient for all, and pleads for their salvation. We may, therefore, come with boldness and look for pardon. We come not depending on our own merits, but we come where a sufficient sacrifice has been offered for human guilt; and where we are assured that God is merciful. We may, therefore, come without hesitancy, or trembling, and ask for all the mercy that we need. (Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible).

We are invited “come boldly to the throne of our gracious God”.

This isn’t a call to a timid prayer. This is a call to come confidently before our God. Confident that our Lord and Saviour – the Great and Perfect Priest will intercede to God on our behalf.

You have some pretty big request? Guess what? God is far bigger. Come boldly in prayer before God.

You feel unworthy to come before God? Well here’s some good news. It’s when we come before the throne of God that we will receive mercy.

Why would God bother with little us? Why would Jesus represent me before the throne of God?

Because in His eyes, we are special. We are created in the image of God. No matter who you are, what you have done or even what you look like, “you are special”.

The day before Australia Day, around a dozen amazing people gathered at the Great Hall in Canberra’s Parliament house, with hundreds of others to see who will become the Young Aussie of the Year, the Senior of the Year, and the Australian of the Year. One of those gathered was the West Australian Australian of the Year Peter Lyndon-James. Peter is a former ice addict, bikie, criminal but is now a pastor and leader of a rapidly growing series of drug and alcohol rehab centres south of Perth. He believes in the power of prayer and coming on his knees to the throne of God.

The Rehab Centres are called “Shalom House”. Peter founded them in the Swan Valley in 2012. These Christian Centres have a reputation for strictness. Addicts have to give up drugs “cold turkey”, even cigarettes, and attend church three times a week. But through a holistic residential rehabilitation programme, addicts have the opportunity to bring restoration to all aspects of their lives, including finances, relationships, emotional issues, employment, education and training.

And Shalom House cannot keep up with demand. Right now, Shalom House has 11 properties with 140 men and 70-plus staff and is about to double in size. Everything is growing. Shalom House itself is totally full. We can’t fit any more people in the church. Their hostels are all full. The works programme is full. Everything at Shalom is just literally at capacity and they’re right on the verge of rolling self-funded rehabs centres right across Australia.

Peter’s story was featured on ABC Television’s Australian Story last year under the title Breaking Good and a team is returning in two weeks to do a follow-up programme. Next month, members of Shalom House will perform a play called ANYMAN at the Perth Fringe Festival, which traces the story of addiction from men in rehabilitation.

It’s lucky that he thrives on pressure because he has also entered politics, winning a seat on the local council.

Until now, Shalom’s programme has been focused on men and married couples, but now Peter is responding to demand for a women’s programme and is training up staff to start it.

Peter says, “We don’t give people coping mechanisms, we actually use a lot of prayer ministry, taking the axe to the root, and getting out the unforgiveness, the bitterness and resentment and the inter-generational stuff”. And the result? Peter says, “At the end of the day, I sit back and I’m just dumbfounded how God does what he does, and how he gives me the strength to do what it is that I do… All we do with religion is we lead them to Christ and when we lead them to Christ we disciple them to hear his voice and be led by his Spirit and teach them to have a relationship with who he is … he’s the one that brings conviction to their heart.”

And Peter then concludes with this: “This morning I got on my knees, like I do every day, and I just shut my eyes and I just said ‘Dad, Dad, thank you for the privilege that I can pray to you this morning, Dad,’ and I just felt this little bank of his presence. I sat with my Dad and I just said, ‘it’s too hard for me; I don’t know what I’m doing, but just go ahead of me today, Dad, and help me to come behind you’ … and at the end of the day, I sit back and I’m just dumbfounded how he does what he does, and how he gives me the strength to do what it is that I do. He’s a logistical mastermind. He’s amazing, he’s gorgeous.”

Peter reminds me of the kinda of person that the great prayer warrior E.M. Bounds once spoke about. He said, “What the Church needs today is not more or better machinery, not new organisations or more and novel methods, but people whom the Holy Spirit can use - people of prayer, people mighty in prayer. The Holy Spirit does not flow through methods, but through people. He does not come on machinery, but on people. He does not anoint plans, but people of prayer".

We are told that Jesus is far greater. His priestly ministry is far superior; His compassion is far better; and His calling is far higher. And now He sits at God’s right hand interceding us, in His throne room. That is why we are invited to “come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most” (Hebrews 4:16 NLT).