Integrating Faith into Everyday Life and Service

let's be aware of thinking in compartmentalized terms let's be aware of thinking that we're at spring harvest that's a kind of spiritual venture but we're going back to the bank which is of course a completely secular venture that we're here on sunday and we brought out the file brought it out put it in the put it in the the laptop and brought it up on the screen religious file religious activities religious thoughts religious aspirations take that file out insert another file now let's go back into the into the world uh where we live the rest of our lives not at all [00:50:39]

there is an inherent danger in coming to an event like this and listening to the things that are said by people like myself who essentially have our callers turned around the wrong way if we're not very very careful we can fall foul of suggesting to the gathered community that there is a way to really serve god which is to do it the way we are doing it and then of course if you want a kind of secondary way to serve god then you can just get on with your business and be a good faithful mom and a loyal school teacher and so on however if your prayer to get really serious then you know you can come and join the ranks of the the funny people [00:80:88]

be faithful now be faithful where you are my mother i never heard her pray out loud even when we had prayer times in our home she never prayed you're very quiet lady but she was a great baker she was a wonderful listener she had a fantastic sense of humor she prayed for her children and god took her home at the age of 47. i have fought the fight i have kept the faith i've run the race now there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness that's what he says don't be afraid be faithful and realize that there is a crown that awaits you [00:123:28]

jesus tells the church that if it will boldly march through the door that he's opening for them then there will actually be converts from among this opposition party these people who are slandering you these people who are opposing you he says if you will seize the opportunity that i am about to present to you if you will be bold in your proclamation if you will not crumble in fear if you will be faithful to the calling then i want you to know that by the power of my spirit and the might of my word those who are your opponents will become your friends and your family [00:228:72]

the key in verse seven which is a symbol of christ's authority these are the words of him who is holy and true who holds the key of david you need to check for homework in isaiah 22 22 to get a context for this this key which jesus alone is able to have if you like like the steward in isaiah 22 fastened to his shoulder jesus is the one who is able to wield this key which opens the way to salvation we're about to sing there was no other good enough to pay the price of sin he only could unlock the door of heaven and let us in why because he is the one who holds the key of david it opens the way to salvation [00:340:479]

and it is the same key that opens the door to service which is of course what he is saying to these dear people what he is saying to us this morning this key opens the door in to salvation and opens the door out to service so the key symbol one of the authority of the lord jesus christ goes in the lock which is in the door symbol number two the door a symbol of the opportunity for the follower of christ the key which jesus holds to salvation into service opens the door of opportunity to each of us [00:387:28]

i beseech you brother and says paul in romans 12 remember i beseech you brothers and sisters by the mercies of god to present your bodies as a living sacrifice wholly acceptable to god which is your reasonable service of spiritual worship i remember eric alexander preaching on that uh so powerfully when i was just a young man and he was uncharacteristically using alliteration and i never forgot it i wrote it down and it was anchored from that point but he said that the that the sacrifice that we offered then in response to the sacrifice of christ upon the cross was a living lasting logical sacrifice the word in greek is logging costs which is where we get in the king james version your reasonable service your logical service there is a logic that attaches to this ct stud understood it when he wrote in his diary if jesus christ be god and died for me then no sacrifice that i could ever make for him could ever be too great [00:442:88]

the door of opportunity swings before us the philadelphian church had the chance it would seem to spread the gospel far and wide into the interior of the roman uh jurisdictions the good news of god's grace of god's kingdom the door is open they may go through it they must go through it there is actually far more freedom of opportunity i think in the united kingdom than there is in the united states for the gospel you can still in schools conduct services can't you the local minister can go in and actually say something so pray for him that he will say something rather than just dribble down his chin because the games teacher is standing in the back he's a young man he takes them out on the field he has questions about life he's working out his existence and he stands at the back and he listens and he wonders if the establishment of religion if this christian thing is anything to say [00:507:199]

we're not talking about being bombastic we're talking about being imaginative we're talking about being creative we're talking about having our one foot in the bible and our other food in the culture and being able to blend our understanding of what's going on around us with our understanding of the biblical text and if we do it imaginatively humbly sensitively creatively not only will children listen but the school teachers will take as a side afterwards and they'll say excuse me i'd like an opportunity if i may just to talk to you because my mother-in-law is in the hospital and she has cancer and frankly i have no explanation for what's going on and i have no hope in the world perhaps you could tell me it seems to me that you have direct contact with jesus who is apparently the resurrection and the life the first and the last and you say well yes i actually do and i'll be glad to have coffee with you [00:620:399]

the key represents the authority of christ the door represents the opportunity of the follower of christ and the pillar is a symbol of the believer's security in christ god is putting together a temple it's not a man-made structure it's not going to appear in this world the jews were constantly focused on jerusalem and their temple oh goodness our temple fell down we have to build it again but no jesus is building with different materials he's building a new temple the component parts are christian believers they are the living stones built together as peter says into a spiritual temple being put together in such a fashion that we will be the habitation of the spirit of god ephesians 2 2. if you like i may say so reverently god is working with a gigantic spiritual lego set and he is putting together this amazing building in this amazing creation and in this phenomenal mixture of metaphors we discover that as we look forward we're going to be a pillar in the park [00:675:2]

what he's saying is when i build this temple i'm going to build it with people and if you will be an overcomer if you will take the key saved serving if you will walk through the door of opportunity then you can look forward to being a part of this it's a wonderful picture in the course of pastoral duties in scotland in the years when i was assistant to derek prime two of the most formative years of my life and for which i will eternally be grateful i visited all sorts of people people who had strokes and one lady in particular stood out because of the loveliness of her face and the kindness of her eyes and the fact that she'd been so dreadfully impaired by the stroke that she was now unable to verbalize anything at all but she still could get some kind of melodic line out and her sister who knew her very well and her brother-in-law were usually present when i would visit and on one occasion that i was there she managed to get out the the little melody line that went [00:761:6]