Seeking in the Sermon: Live It - Teach It

As you can appreciate in preparation for the new study series that begins next week I’ve begun reading the Sermon on the Mount. I am big on not missing out on the big picture and the connected nature of all the pieces in the puzzle when we start segmenting scripture for teaching purposes.

It is crucial to see Jesus after His Beatitudes making it clear that He’s not here to abolish the law but fulfil it and then proceeding to state the primacy of the law and the importance of living righteously beyond a religious definition of it. To say that if your righteousness doesn’t exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees doesn’t mean that the Kingdom values are easy. On the contrary His outline will allow us to see how much we depend on God to be able to live up to them hence the Beatitudes themselves which depict a people desperately dependent on God to be able to enjoy life in His Kingdom according to His rule.

To prove just how exacting the standard the is for the rest of Matt 5 and into half of Matt 6 Jesus shows how the gist of the law wasn’t to monitor behaviour but to reveal the state of the heart that is towards God. The arresting point for me in my recent reading was the bit where Jesus says if your right hand causes you to sin cut it off and if your right eye causes you to sin gouge it out as it would be better to be a one-eyed, one-armed Kingdom-dweller than a full-bodied hell-dweller. The deal here though is not the physical act that’s being suggested – although in mentioning it Jesus shows how seriously we are to take sin.

What we would have missed out on though is the source of the sin – the heart. In essence Jesus is saying take radical action from the heart to deal with issues that can cause you to sin and that means heart surgery – indeed a heart transplant. My contention is, and reality reflects I believe, that just because you get rid of an external stimulus doesn’t mean the heart has been dealt with at all. The issue needs to be exposed to the light of the love of God even as we mourn over our inability to please God and its resultant sinful condition of the planet. That mournful approach has a desire to see God impact the world with His original plan. That takes place personally with a heart towards God that is about radical approach to that which the world rejoices in. So it’s not just about stopping pornography and blatant adultery but to develop a devout hatred for anything that would promote lust and develop that faithful, monogamous capacity within us that means because we can love God with all, so we can love with purity those who come in our lives.

This fits in with the gist of what Jesus is saying in this portion of his teaching – it’s an issue of the heart when it comes to the law, when it comes to the spiritual disciplines, when it comes to the fundamental basic issues of life – it is about the state of our heart and who we commit that heart to.

Speaking of teaching, one thing I find fascinating is our tendency to call this section the Sermon on the Mount when the beginning and end of the talk seems to indicate that this is Jesus teaching. Not only that but in the larger context of what Jesus would commission His disciples to do at the end of this gospel account it is pretty important that any true follower of Christ digests this teaching.

Even near the top of his teaching he states clearly that people who relax the observance of the law AND teaches others that is considered the least and it is those who practice it AND teach it who will be considered the greatest in the Kingdom. That is to say not only in the great commission but in the great teaching there is an expectation on ALL FOLLOWERS to live it AND teach it. This fits well with the concept of the book of Matthew being about Jesus the great Rabbi.

This should immediately challenge some of the current expressions of church that in no way prepares disciples to teach disciples, but promotes a thinking to say there’s a class of people who can teach – the gifted as it were – and the rest are to learn from these. It should be a shot in the arm for all teachers that in the spiritual sense of things you are only as successful a teacher as you are in encouraging and enabling others to live and teach that which you live and teach.

That should stretch our understanding and definition of teaching to incorporate ways in which people teach that is not straight talking business but far wider, but no less intentional – we are not doing this by accident or by osmosis, this is something deliberate and understood by all parties even as those who followed Jesus knew what they were getting themselves in for in terms of being followers.

Lots of food for thought in considering this issue, food which I hope to share further as I delve further in this wonderful work.

For His Name's Sake

Shalom

dmcd

Perceptions and Reality

Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart. (1 Samuel 16:7)

It’s always good to have certain conversations that highlight how people perceive you for various reasons. One it at least lets you know where they stand. Two, it also reveals the opinions of others regarding your position. Thirdly it highlights what stereotypes and perceptions people have of a person in a particular position. There are others but those will do for now.

One thing it reminds me of, which is a lesson I’ve been taught on a number of occasions, is that it’s all about perceptions. You could very well be doing a lot of essential groundwork, research and toil on a given subject, but if that’s not the perception and if the one received is rather different then it’s all for nought.

When I worked for the then Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions in the summer of 1997 I was first expressly taught the lesson. At the time it was a work placement over the summer holiday as part of the Windsor Fellowship scheme of which I am an honoured graduate. The time was spent working in a particular department given various rather mundane chores to complete. My supervisor at the time, the underrated and respected Janet Albon (yeah Mr. Spell-check & Ms Red-Line-Under-Word, not Albion, but Albon) knew she was giving me projects and tasks that were a bit beneath me. This was evident in the speed and diligence with which I completed the tasks – it’s not being big-headed, it’s just stating facts.

Being new to the world of office gossip and politics I was very naïve to the importance of appearances. So at the time I was given a desk and a computer and to while the time away I would engage in everyone’s favourite office pastime of beating my score on Minesweeper and eventually moving up the levels and attaining quick scores on them. My problem was that I was very indiscreet, so it was the prerogative of those who couldn’t be bothered to talk to me about it to my face to gossip behind my back about this dude who just spent his time playing Minesweeper while others were doing such earnest and honest hard work as paid by Her Majesty’s Appointed and Elected government. Thankfully word got round to Janet about it and she had a discreet word in my shell-like to alert me of those haters that would seek to bring me down with faint praise and the kisses of the enemy. So from there I was taught my first lesson in perception. It doesn’t really matter what you actually achieve and what you contribute, it’s how things appear.

Subsequent lessons would bring my attention that earnest long hours of slaving away at things is not as prudent as selectively choosing the times to maximise the effort whilst conserving energy at other times and not killing yourself. So more than working hard it’s about working smart. Now for the Jacobs and Labans among us – we know who we are – before it comes across as though I’m promoting being dodgy and tricky in how you approach things, that’s not quite what I talking about. Hard work is still a part of the deal, intense effort will be called upon and to an extent there’s a feeling of justifiably giving your all when you feel as though it’s cost you something. Where the brain bit comes in though is to be aware of what perceptions are required to give people the necessary impression to keep things ticking along. It’s not about compromise and especially in a Christian context it’s not about fitting into the status quo to be men-pleasers. It is about thinking things through and being aware of the impact it will have on the audience – being wise as serpents and harmless as doves to give it a scriptural peg to hang it on.

As well as this, sometimes if it appears as though you’re doing the work and you’re actually doing the work then people have one less thing to criticise you for, something that Peter was at pains to encourage fellow-believers in his first letter. It’s a good lesson to learn and one that’s come up again and again in subsequent years – as politicians realise sometimes to their own downfall appearances can be costly even if the smoke is not an indication of a fire. The reality of the opening scripture is that people run off perceived appearances without always looking to get to the heart of the issue. Indeed, only God can get the insight on the heart, being the Creator and everything. That’s why it’s crucial to bear this in mind when people come to the wrong conclusions about appearance and reality, and to be sensitive to this in whatever we display. I thank God for the reminder of this lesson and hope to apply it to this degree to His honour and glory.

Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. (Matthew 10:16)

For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
dmcd

Catching Up With All Those Thoughts

So you would have thought with having a two week break that I could make some time to catch up on some more regular blogging and letting you people genuinely know what is up with the gentleman whose initials are third and fourth in the alphabet. Oh but no, there’s always something that crops up as a reason why I can’t blog. So the reason why I haven’t been regularly blogging is because for about a month or so up to last Friday I really had no net connection as the router went all funny. So that was a pain in the neck. Now your argument is I could have blogged from work – done it before, probably do it again no problems right? Wrong. It’s not that straightforward – of late the domicile bliss of being in the room that I share with the wife sans wife and being able to just chill with the laptop on my … lap (that really is ingenious) multi-tasking as ever and just reeling the thoughts that come to me or having the chance to share that which has come to me. On the multi-tasking front for example I am listening and watching a random mix of tunes from my Xsecular file and at this minute it’s Seven Days by Sting. As well as that there are 10 net windows open with various links that I’ll get round to noting and the ever helpful Google Reader from which I’ll glean what nuggets to make a note of. There’s some catching up to do – to the region of 491 entries to wade through – but that’s the beauty of having this time doing something I enjoy. As well as those there is also the Word document on which I put down whatever notes I’ve made during the day. Of late these have been rather filled as I’ve had the chance to put down the copious web links and some notes that have been cropping up as well. The beautiful thing about the notes is that I’ll start on a stream of thought or a correspondence I want to do and I’ll stop it halfway through a sentence and leave it there for days at a time as I pursue something else and complete that as well. It’s good fun, really.

Anyway, so the wife finally sorted out the net business and got me back online from home on Friday and after giving God thanks and praise and extending a rather perky peck on the cheek for the wife finally completing her deed I’ve sought to make up for lost time. So here are some of the notes I’ve been making with links and the such like that has been rolling in the mind of the da man cd in the interim period from the last entry til now.

From 15-07-08

· The bigger picture goes to the question do Christians need to monitor their intake on television, radio, internet, etc.? I’m reminded of the proverb to guard the heart with all diligence as out of it flow the issues of life. Earlier on today, I was only too aware of how vulnerable I am to attack in going back to some stuff that I haven’t touched in months. I was only too conscious of the fact that I could take little bits and bobs to satisfy the flesh whilst building a desire for it again. In the intervening months I’ve had such a good time loving Christ and desiring to be sold out for Him, that I’m too aware of how precious that is to me and how dependent I am on Christ to maintain that, even in the light of the challenging marital circumstances. I want to be so awash with godly stuff that when the buzzers go off in me head then I’m able to take the hints and follow the Saviour into the proper thing.

· I am convinced by David Tennant’s portrayal of the Doctor – he does a good job and I’ve never seen him do a cropper. While thanks may go to writers and directors, et. al. the brother still has to come through with the performances and this he does to a really good degree.

From 17-07-08

· John Piper has not joined a gang – brilliant stuff!

· I look at the word source. I refer to it in my understanding of the role of a man. Back to the whole bit about us being here to look after the garden ensuring that the fruit it is to be producing comes through and enjoying what is produced. I then link it with the concept of fatherhood and look at the word and its meaning. When I look at how the dad is the source of the family from which everyone gets their name and identity I then connect to how we know we’re God’s children because our behaviour suggests we’re linked to the source. It makes me chuckle thinking that the Dryden Family is a production of Chris Dryden. If Authrine is unfruitful, if Abigail is rebellious, if Deborah is unruly then we can turn and look at the production values and who the producer was. Likewise the Executive Producer expects the production team to run on values in line with that which was set out at the beginning.

From 18-07-08

· God is Roman Abrahamovic and we are managers of Chelsea – he is the owner, we are the managers. He has brought us to look after his club and ensure that it fulfils its promise of winning trophies and producing good football. It’s his club but we manage it and have the resources at our disposal to put together the team that produces the necessary output to meet the overall targets.

From 19-07-08

· Recalling something I heard from the Josh Harris sermon as part of NA2008, I am intrigued at the whole concept of reformation to see that there’s something about taking God’s Word seriously and also there’s something in the inevitability of God fulfilling what His Word says. In the same way as a believer we live in the light of knowing God and seeking by His Spirit to have a spiritual reformation that will get rid of everything unpleasant to God.

From 24-07-08

· This is why I love spending time searching the web and getting involved in such stuff as to get my mind engaged in spiritual stuff that has implications on my social and cultural engagement. For example after touching on the subject of race and manhood over the weekend, here’s a fascinating blog entry on racism, the gospel and politics. This in itself refers to another fascinating blog entry on voting for Obama. In the light of the article you’d get the impression there’s implicit value in taking part in the political process of voting, but I’ve not had the argument made clear to me beyond reasonable doubt and yet the more we consider things, the more implicit is that the issue is worth defending on gospel grounds.

· Right or wrong I’ve tended to associate Pyromaniacs with articles against something usually someone on the emerging side or maybe a prosperity gospel proponent. So it was refreshing and illuminating to have that stereotype shattered by this article on my kinda subject – discipleship.

· Combining two themes – politics and Pyromaniacs, here’s something they have to say about what the church can say to government. That has implications for the church’s missional portfolio and what we say in our communities.

· I wonder why the cinema industry persists in spacing opening dates for their films when the technology is there to allow us to know what is in a film even before it’s released in its first country. Why not just release it everywhere at the same time?

From 26-07-08

· So getting back to basics with the family is a challenge anyway. To make it even more challenging here’s some advice on saving the family from being distracted to death.

From 27-07-08

· Moving metaphors – good stuff to remind me of who God is.

From 28-07-08

· Good critique on the Jesus invitation and deeper reflection on where He is

· As I explore the gospel further articles like this by Tim Keller are highly instructive

· As an example of how useful Google Reader has been, I never gave much notice to the Gospel Driven Church, but this article on what their church is all about and how it does what it does was a fascinating insight into how church is done. As well as that the motivating driver for the pastor of the church and writer of the blog resonates deeply with my own desire in my context. Here’s where his church is at as well.

From 29-07-08

· I wonder how many churches would take this position and pay the cost of faithfulness to God?

· This is a good entry that has good practical implications on how I can do life better if I learn to anticipate things, ask the right questions and work towards the right answers to those questions.

· I love posts like this that remind us of the real reason for meeting and what should result from it.

· This is a powerful article on the differences and similarities in what is faced in the United States of America and the Union of South Africa. It makes me consider what would be the key issues to address for the church and community context in which I live.

· I was reading a comment about why churches won’t become multi-cultural and the point was that it’s not about classism or racism but it’s because there is a mutual understanding that different cultures worship in different ways. That is a very dangerous comment to make. The deal of multi-cultural church is not to withstand the forces of prejudice and discrimination, it is to show the world how the gospel does cultural blending and brings a body of people committed to the sovereignty of God as expressed in a Kingdom culture that supersedes all other culture and sub-culture. This does not negate the value of the cultures in which we live, but it does say wherever cultural norms and values clash with kingdom values – and every non-kingdom culture by definition has elements that clash with kingdom culture – then these most bow down, submit and be removed in favour of kingdom culture. One blatantly apparent way in which various cultural norms contradict kingdom culture is in this separatist perspective on communal worship that says because I’m not comfortable worshipping in your cultural way I’ll leave you to it and I’ll do my thing over here and perhaps we can meet up every now and then. That doesn’t promote body-building at all. How can true gospel community arise in these circumstances? How can I ever benefit from the gifts you have to offer if the structure never affords me to spend quality time with you in that context? There again is the tricky issue of working out gospel community and kingdom culture in the light of the various pressures to conform and withdraw from each other for ‘perfectly reasonable’ premises which threaten the very real unity of the body.

From today

So if you thought this was a long post you need to understand that these are just selections from the stuff I’ve been noting over the two weeks. Just goes to prove how good it would be to get into a funk and rhythm of blogging so it doesn’t all pile up and then I have one of these heavy download sessions. Let’s hope and I’ll act on the hope that the change will come for everyone’s good!

Something I’m hoping to blog on soon and preferably before the end of the week is my take on The Dark Knight. Now if you’ve seen me Facebook profile then you’ll already know what some of my initial feedback was on it, but its worth a blog in itself so look out for that. As well as that whilst in holiday mode and hoping to escape tomorrow and Friday to catch up on some other stuff there should be more blog activity on this blog and the others that are up and running including the debut entry for the Daily Thoughts blog.

That should do for you for now. In the meantime have yourself a good ol’ time wherever you are and know that no matter how bad things may appear the bigger reality is not that things could be worse but that things are going to get better for it’s not a issue of cup half full or half empty, but followers of The Man will know it’s about having cups overflowing and with goodness and mercy pursuing us.

For His Name's Sake
Shalom
da man cd