Words for Worship
Ministry Today
Faith Builder Sermon 4
Working at faith
Texts:
1 Cor 9.24-27
Eph 6.10-18
Some years ago Premier Khrushchev was speaking before the Supreme Soviet and was severely critical of the late Premier Stalin. While he was speaking someone from the audience sent up a note: "What were you doing when Stalin committed all these atrocities?" Khrushchev shouted, "Who sent up that note?" Not a person stirred.
"I'll give him one minute to stand up!" The seconds ticked off. Still no one moved.
"All right, I'll tell you what I was doing. I was doing exactly what the writer of this note was doing--exactly nothing! I was afraid to be counted!"
Someone in that hall had no faith in communism
Well, any reading of the letters of Paul reminds us that if we respond to God’s call – if we do really want faith in Jesus Christ and all that he offers – then doing nothing is not an option. Because, we really must be counted. And that means, at least, always searching for greater faith in God, never failing to apply our growing faith to our lives and then harvesting that ripening faith by fighting to change ourselves and a world thirsty for the fruits of Christian work.
Put another way why should McDonald's or Coca Cola or Microsoft be the only success stories of our today? Why are we not working as assiduously at our spiritual careers as any ambitious executive? Why indeed are we not as committed to spreading the good news of the kingdom of God as persistently as a multi-national corporation is to winning new customers?
For surely the Christ we have encountered and whose call we have responded to can expect anything less. Since he is looking for his people not only to be nice people but to be people who single-mindedly build their faith and his enterprise. He demands that we honing their own resilience of belief – that we sell his lifelong benefits to others and that we meet his targets in making a difference in somewhat tatty globe. In other words, we all require the same professional dedication that we see in the athletes who are already tuning up for next years Olympics. Because these are the high level performers that Paul envisaged when he wrote what……….. is about to read to us.
1 Cor 9.24-27
Anthem
I don’t know if you have been following the saga over TV stations and their allegedly less than straightforward broadcasting. Indeed, the scandal has even shown that last flagship of British civilisation, Blue Peter, has feet of clay. And to end these sharp practices the beeb is requiring every employee for the governor general downward to have a day’s training on honestly. However, I would never malign training. For after all who could not ask - knowing they are in a race - how do I meet God’s call to me; how do I return my side of the bargain with Christ for my salvation; how do I work at having faith – the faith that will move mountains. And the secrets of faith horticulture are hidden in another of Paul’s letter. This time we hear it in Eph 6.10-18 and it will be read by………
HYMN………..
Tom Short tells a telling story. For he says - when I was in university I was one of several young men who decided to go to work on the section gang of the railway during the summer holidays. At that time, there was very little machinery around, and most of the work was done by manual labour. Many people warned us about the job. It was heavy work ... very, very work. It was difficult. It was also a dirty job, and to some extent, it was dangerous. But the pay was most attractive. None of us could make as much money doing anything else in the summer. So we went to work on the railway, and only one of the five of us lasted the first week. It was too tough or we were too weak. We thought we were ready for this tough job, but we were not. We had not accurately counted the cost.
Well, the honest truth is if we want to grow our faith and keep it in good working order, we need to be ready for heavy work. We do indeed need to count the cost. Yet just as Short’s railway work was lucrative so is ours. Because, if we been selected to have faith in our encounter interview with God and find hope in the thought of our ultimate salvation, then we surely expect to do some useful work in return. We surely expect to look after the seeds of our life-saving faith.
And what is this work that we need to undertake to win the race for life? What are the tasks involved in cultivating faith?
Well, it comes in Paul’s advice to the Ephesians. And it is nothing less unearthing the word of God and then using it for all it is worth.
Now we start by finding the word of God in the most obvious place and that is scripture. However, some people approach their bible reading rather as others do classical music. Even the briefest exposure for them needs to be accompanied by the must studious efforts to understand what is going on. But finding Jesus’ voice through the pages of scripture, need not necessarily be that way. For the volume we know today as the bible is a book of stories – stories of people like us. People who encountered God, heard his call and in responding made things better that it might have been. In the process, they found the faith that they themselves could change, their fellow human beings could change and their fears and situations could be changed.
And we can accomplish that same trick today by just reading their stories and thinking what is the underlying parallel with our problems. Also we need to mull over what we have in common with their faith-building experience. Even more important, we must be open to what is Jesus teaching us through the print of the page before us. What simple guidance and encouragement is being spoken into our hearts now. Indeed, what is the fuel we are being powered with to trust for one day more, struggle for one race-track lap more and engage in one battle more. For there is a famous bible study book series called daily bread. And this title remind us - few of would not take in material sustenance to feed their bodies. Consequently, who should not take spiritual sustenance in daily to feed to the faith of the soul. That bit of us that will go on and on.
Look up faith then in God’s phone book!
The trouble with clichés is that they often deserve repeating. And that is certainly true of the Christian cliché of the believer in the flood who fails to see God’s help in the rescue boat and helicopter sent to save him. And it is worth repeating, for the faith building word of Christ does come to us also through other people.
But another story worth repeating is one from Leo McGarry the Whitehouse Chief of Staff to President Bartlett in the political series West Wing. Now this hugely powerful and effective man is depicted as additionally being recovered alcoholic. In one episode, he must advise one of his staff upon a trauma in his life. And he does it with anecdote. A man falls down a hole in the pavement. Firstly, a doctor comes by and drops down some pills to help him forget his predicament, next a social worker comes by and ask how he feels about being down a hole. Then a minister comes by and drops down a pastoral letter. Finally, a friend arrives and jumps down beside the man. The trapped man says - why did you do that - now your down here with me. And his friend replies – yes that’s true - but I have been down here before and I know the way out. Put another way, many many times God’s faith restoring word comes to us in the shape of a friend. And if you don’t believe me think back to the bad times of your life and you will know it’s true. For Christ walks the earth on human feet. All we need to do is the hard work of turning away from inner torment and looking for escape out with ourselves. And if we do struggle to see him in the faith of another – he will show us salvation – he will give us back our own faith and he will multiply it tenfold. Because - after all - he has been down there, is down there and he knows the way out.
May your word of God always wear a friendly-face.
Barry Foster is a priest in Dublin and one day parked his car on a rather steep slope close to his church. His little cairn terrier was lying on the rear seat and could not be seen by anyone outside the vehicle. Father Foster got out of the car and turned to lock the door with his usual parting command to the dog. "Stay!" he ordered loudly, to an apparently empty car. "Stay!" An elderly man was watching the performance with amused interest. Grinning, he suggested, "Why don't you just try putting on the hand brake?"
Well some thing of the apparent futility of our third way of working to get God’s word is suggested by ordering an inanimate object to stay still. For in the famous book of the 60’s Honest to God, Bishop Robinson himself saw problems with the traditional view of prayer. Yet prayer doesn’t need high foolutin words of lists of needy people, it only asks to be still, to be empty for God’s word and to accept Christ’s inoculation of faith.
But where is the hard work in that? – you say. Well when was it any of us recently switched off the telly, the family and the endless succession of happenings. When did we last think of nothing! Now there is hard labour for you! Yet there is no surer way of hearing Christ and finding the means to reply. And what is call and response? Gone on shout back at me – Faith!
Let us then be still and know who is Lord!
If you have been reading our website, you will see we are hunting for a short piece of scripture that sums all we are and do in St Luke’s. Well whilst they are not Bible texts, let us for a week, at least, remember our three mottos for faith building. For, we are reminded to listen for faith filling words in our bibles by – look up God in his phone book. We bring to mind the demand to find Christ in those around us with – God’s word wear a friendly face. Yet supremely we do the hard work of faith maintenance in being quietly open to Jesus. Because it was his father who commanded – be still and know I am Lord.
For each of these mottos is a milestone on the race to life
Each is a way of being counted in an improving world
Each is the strapping on the armour of God
Because each is our vocation as faith warriors in Christ.
Amen
Offering
HYMN…..
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