Partakers Christian Podcasts

Bible Thought - The Christian and Community

Community

Philippians 2:3-4 "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others."

1 Peter 5:5-6 "All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time."

Individualism

Contrast those values to those of the twenty first century society, where morality can be summed up in this kind of attitude: "The more you care for others, the more they will care for you." So look after the interests of others and you will also be looked after. In other words everyone is on level parity and there is total equality within society. In some of the more narcissistic and cynical parts of society, there is no other, the order is "me, me and more me and I am far more important and higher than anyone else". Individualism is where the individual's importance is placed higher than all others and is imbued with self-reliance and personal independence. Even when help and compassion are offered, so often there are strings attached and hoops to be jumped through.

If you do this, we will do this for you. And sadly, it is not just within society that this exists, but also within the church and amongst Christians.It is as if we are denying the basic rule of compassion and mercy, which dictates that we are to be serving others, because they are also humans created in the image of God, loved by God and so should be loved unconditionally by those who proclaim to be God's people - the Church. Denying that basic need to others is pure unadulterated selfishness and places others below our own selves. Individualism within the church, lends itself to hypocritical behaviour and attitudes, which are inconsistent with Scripture and behaviour. Individualism, where you as an individual are placed at the front of the queue, is not loving others and not considering others higher than yourself. It certainly could not be construed as serving other people to always place your own desires above all others. There is an old acronym JOY - Jesus first, Others second, Yourself last.

Relationship

The basic aspect of love is that it involves relationship, so therefore there must be more than one person involved. God is love, and is a trinity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. If God were not Trinity then God could not also be love. The church community is meant to be a radical community of service and love, which is a reflection of the Trinitarian God. Being part of a radical community of service and love would mean the Church going back to basics. The Church needs individuals to be living radical lifestyles of devotion to Jesus Christ, engaging with the culture, counting the cost of discipleship and reflecting true humanity. But being an individual in community involves much more than merely being an individual in isolation. Christians are to be involved within communities, and not as isolationists. So what does a radical Christian community of individuals look like?

Creative Community

Firstly, the church needs to be a community that is seen to be radical by the surrounding society. At Pentecost, the church began when the Holy Spirit filled the Disciples (Acts 2v4). This momentous occasion started the Discipleship process of how Christians were to live as God's people. The hallmarks of this community were commitment and transformation. This community was radical. It was where people's lives were being changed as the Holy Spirit filled them. Instead of being a withdrawn people filled with fear of retribution from the Roman government and Jewish leaders, they became a people filled with boldness and joy. The New Testament church grew by being a radical community imbued with radical individuals engaging with others. The very existence of the church today is proof that Jesus Christ really did rise from the dead, for if He did not, those who were His disciples would have disbanded and gone back to their old lifestyle and the Holy Spirit would not have come.

Creatively Radical

If we want the church of today to grow then we need to be building a strong community of faith. A community, which involves joining together isolated and solitary individuals and where people are imbued with love, valued and are showing care to each other, in particular the frail, elderly and young, with what the theologian Jürgen Moltmann calls a "creative passion for the impossible." An inherent human need is the need to belong, and by fulfilling relational needs, the radical Church community will become relevant to the people within it. It will then also become relevant to those who are on the outside and looking in. For example, by using virtual reality, digital space and social networks, the housebound and geographically isolated peoples can also be included and cared for.This involves improving present societal conditions, rather than remaining a conservative community, which merely repairs the status quo.
In doing this, today's church will be emulating characteristics of the early church (Acts 2v44-45). As individuals Christians were added to the church, discipline helped ensure that the community was being seen as a holy community. We see in the early church as recorded in the Book of Acts, that to be excommunicated from the community for gross sin, was a severe punishment. However church discipline is not primarily about punishment, but rather a formative and corrective service as part of Discipleship. Church community discipline is foundational to the making of Christian Disciples, because it concerns the community's spiritual health, and strengthens the bonds with the local community.

Committed Community

The church must be a community of committed individual Christians, willing to radically follow God in lifestyle and behaviour. Being holy for the Christian means radically exhibiting love for God and others. It is by being seen as different from the surrounding society, that the church community will grow. Often when prayers are said, it is within the perception of the individual pray-er of what the answer to that prayer will be! It is as if the answer is there, we are just waiting for God to confirm our presupposition.
When, in fact, prayer is to be where God is answering the prayers in His own way and timing - often unexpectantly! By the church community and Christian individuals thinking and acting creatively, many more people would be seeing God in action. Instead of independence, one of the prime hallmarks of being a follower of Jesus Christ is the need to be dependent on others as well as being dependable. This is imbued within the story of Jesus Christ washing His disciples feet.

Transformed Community

The Church community is to be actively engaged in radically helping people to be transformed and not merely happy. Transformation is a powerful witness to the power of God and shows the relevancy of God and His people. The best way to show this transformation is for the Church leadership to set the example, and show a way forward. Good leadership has good accountability to each other and to the whole Church community.

If the church leaders are displaying a transparent life of creatively loving God and others, then the individual Christians within those churches will also seek to be transparently loving God and other people. The media love to report when a Church and/or Church leader has done something inherently wrongFinally, Jesus recommends that those who follow Him be wise like serpents and innocent as doves (Matthew 10v16b). This means that we are to be skilful and shrewd in making decisions that are characterised by intelligence, patience and shrewdness. Additionally, we are to be gentle and harmless, like doves. This would make our church leaders and us accountable to live a life of integrity worthy of the gospel (Philippians 1v27). This is a life, which is seen to be as holy and blameless.

In order to do this, we need to depend on the Holy Spirit for strength and caring for others is a vital necessity for you and I. By relying on the Holy Spirit who indwells us, we are therefore perpetually connected to Jesus Christ, who is after all, the Head of the church community who are His bride.The antidote to individualism is the continual creation of radical communities of transformed individual Christians, willing to be totally devoted to God, and each other and being sustained by the Holy Spirit who indwells, empowers, comforts, transforms, sustains and guides! By being radical communities thinking and acting creatively, we will be reflecting a creative Trinitarian God, and the Church will fulfil her bridal mandate of faithfully serving Jesus Christ, in submission to God the Father in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus in Matthew 5:43-45 gloriously explains how to do this: "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, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven." And then to verse 48 "In a word, what I'm saying is, Grow up. You're kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you."

Now that is the key to radically transformed communities and the antidote to individualism!For more to think about please do ask yourself the following questions, writing them down if you can, and see how you respond or react to them. Then why not share your answers with your spouse or a close friend, so that you can pray over any issues together.

Q1. What in my life could I change, so that the focus is away from myself and onto helping others?

Q2. How can my church and I reflect the Trinitarian God by being creatively loving, transforming and serving?Q3. How can I help my church be more relevant in the community where it is located?

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Prayers Ukraine Russia War Молитви за Україну - Molytvy za Ukrayinu

 

G'day! Today we are praying a series of prayers concerning the Ukraine Russian conflict and war. Молитви за Україну / Molytvy za Ukrayinu

Come! Let's pray together and say your "Amen!" or "May it be so, Lord!"

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Saturday Story - Richard

Saturday Story

People meeting Jesus 

A story of Richard

We continue apace into the twentieth century and hear the story of salvation and healing coming to the life of Richard.

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Bible Thought - Church: Past, present and future - Matthew 16

 

Sermon: Church: Past, Present and Future (Matthew 16:13-20)

Today we investigate the Church and the role we have to play in Jesus Christ building His Church, referencing Matthew 16. Jesus is building it, not us, but He does use us to do so! Come on in!

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13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’
14 They replied, ‘Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’
15 ‘But what about you?’ he asked. ‘Who do you say I am?’
16 Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’
17 Jesus replied, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’ 20 Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah. (Matthew 16:13-20)

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Bible Reading - 3 John

Bible Reading - 3 John

 

Today on Partakers we are listening to a reading of 3 John! Come and listen!

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Bible Reading - 2 John

Bible Reading - 2 John

 

Today on Partakers we are listening to a reading of 2 John! Come and listen!

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Bible Reading - 1 John

Bible Reading - 1 John

 

Today on Partakers we are listening to a reading of 1 John! Come and listen!

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Bible Thought - Kings of the Old Testament

Rotten Royals

In the podcast today, we take a whistle stop tour through the Old Testament Kings: Saul, David, Solomon, Jehoshaphat, Jotham, Hezekiah, Josiah, Jeroboam, Ahab, Hoshea.

Our Bible readings are: Deuteronomy 17:14-20; Leviticus 18:1-5; 1 Samuel 8:1-9; John 1:1-5

We investigate together the following questions:

• Why was there a king of Israel?
• Why was asking for a king wrong?
• What was the job of the King?
• What are some of the common themes for failure amongst the Kings?
• What can we learn from the kings?

Through all of this, God’s faithfulness is in clear evidence, despite human failure. Despite the majority of Kings causing chaos, God still preserved the line of David, as promised, leading to that time when He would come as Messiah as promised. Even when kings and people fail, God remains faithful to His promises. What can we take away from all of this?

We see that God, who is the ultimate reality in all this earth, has called each of us, if we call ourselves a Christian, by name to follow him, and to reciprocate the love which he has lavished upon us. Can that describe our love of God? As Christians, we are awaiting the coming again of Jesus Christ. Not as a baby this time, but as the risen and glorified Lord of life!

We know through reading the Bible, Old Testament and New Testament, that God has made promises and he always fulfils His promises. As Christians we can take comfort in that knowledge. That is why we read and study what God has to say to us in the Bible – as individuals and as a Church. The ancient Israelites wanted a King they could see, to walk by sight and not walk by faith.

Are we today, truly walking by faith and not by sight? Do we have sins within our life with which we are not dealing? As individuals and as Church together, are there aspects of our life, individually and corporately, where we are copying the ways and thoughts of the world, being conformed to the world, rather than being conformed to the ways and word of God? Are we too reliant on our own strength, when we could and should be depending upon the reliability of God Himself? Are we searching the Scriptures, studying them, as we await the coming again of Jesus Christ?

Until that time when Jesus Christ comes again, are we using that time wisely, redeeming the time as we keep in step with the Holy Spirit who lives within us. The Holy Spirit, the Holy Comforter, who seals us as God’s precious adopted child, listening to Him and being constantly filled with Him?

We as Christians, Christ followers, are to be obedient to our God – evangelism and truly loving one another are just two areas, where I think the Church, generally speaking, is lacking. Finally, the line of David, the rotten royals, points to the true King, Jesus, the Messiah. Jesus who is the King of all Kings.

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Bible Thought - Why I Am A Christian

Why I am a Christian?

1 John 5:9-12 - "We accept man's testimony, but God's testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life."

Why Is It So?

A testimony is an assertion offering firsthand authentication of a fact. For the Christian Disciple, classically it is generally expressed as how they became a Christian Disciple. But I think it is more than just how, and should expressly include why you are a Christian Disciple. I wonder what is your testimony about how you became a Christian Disciple? When was the last time you thanked our God for your testimony? Have you even thought about your testimony of how you became a Christian Disciple? I am sure you have all heard kids in the supermarket yelling out "Why?" to their parents. We all have, I am sure, questions we want to know the answer to. Why? The question I am often asked is "You are a Christian. Why is it so?" My father, was and remained throughout his life a convinced agnostic and in the few conversations we had about religion and Christianity, he could never understand why it was, that I could not just admit that I would never know if God existed or not, far less a God who was personally interested in me. My reply as ever, was that the very question "Why is it so?" needed to be answered, in order for me to be satisfied.

Why I am a Christian?

Now I could say that at the age of 12, we moved to a town on the coast of Australia, and was invited along to a local youth group and several weeks later, gave my life to Christ and became a Christian. Of course that is partly true. I can't even claim to be a Christian because I was raised in a Christian country. Australia was and is probably the second most secular country on this planet. Sure Australia has its moral base grounded in historic Christianity, but for the latter part of its history, Australia has been thoroughly secular and non-religious. Even if I had been raised in a country such as England, with Christian parents, that would also, only be partly true and I could have rejected Christianity as many people do. The reason that I am a Christian is not because I chased God, but rather He chased me. Unknown to me at the time, God was chasing me and following my every path with the urgency of a lover after the beloved, just as described in the Song of Songs 2:2-14.

God had been pursuing me

This piece of poetic Scripture speaks about the love that God has for his people, and the energy He puts in to calling his people to Himself. He is always reaching out, for all to return to His arms. As for me, it wasn't until I was a 12 year old that I heard that I needed to accept Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. Before that I didn't know I had to do anything with this Jesus. Jesus was only a curse word for me at the time. That or was just someone or something that the RE teachers bored me with at school.

We are primarily Christians, not because we come to church services or just happened to have been born in a supposedly Christian country. We are primarily Christians, because God first chased and harried us into His arms. We are Christians, if you are one, because God first loved you. And as a tremendous lover, He beckons and calls people all the time to respond to His call, and back to Him.

How does He chase us with His love? He chases each person differently, just as each Christian testimony is different. Take for instance the Apostle Paul in Acts 8 & 9. God chased him through Paul's mind and his religious upbringing and education. Paul had known about God from his childhood. Paul was a righteous Pharisee who saw persecuting these ‘Christians' as his religious duty, so that he may somehow find favour with God. As Paul was gloating over the death of the martyr Stephen, God was pursuing Him, probably raising doubts in Paul's mind as to why Stephen would say at the point of death "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit and forgive them for what they do" (Acts 7:54-60). Surely doubts must have been raised in Paul's mind as he approved of this death (Acts 8v1). Paul was also wrestling with his conscience. Externally he was a righteous man, a Pharisee of Pharisees. Yet when he internally examined himself and his heart, he found himself failing regarding covetousness, which is the last of the Ten Commandments. Then finally, Jesus himself makes a sudden and dramatic appearance before Paul and confronts him directly, "Why are you kicking against me? Why are you rejecting my advances?" (Acts 9) Paul's conversion to Christianity is often described as being sudden. But the only thing sudden about his conversion was this climatic appearance of Jesus.

Just as that was true of Paul, it is true of me, just as it is true of all those who profess to call themselves a Christian Disciple. I am a Christian Disciple not because of anything I have done, but rather because He first chased me, and because He first loved me. Jesus himself said "I came to seek and to save the lost" (Luke 19:10).

If you are a Christian today, it is not because of anything you have done. It is because of the events at Christmas and Easter that you are a Christian, when God entered this world as a human baby and took all the necessary steps so that all people could have the choice to be His people or not. In my more smug moments I used to congratulate myself for being a Christian. How proud I was that I, was a Christian and that God was a jolly lucky God that I had decided to follow Him. It was during one of my less self-deluded moments, that I examined myself and I found God pricking my conscience and correcting me, and I read the New Testament "For the Son of Man came, not to be served but to give His life as a ransom for many" (Mark10:45).

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Bible Thought - The False Witness in the book of Proverbs

The False Witness

The book of Proverbs is a collection of writings, mainly by King Solomon, who was endowed by God with the extraordinary gift of wisdom. These writings are wisdom which reveals how a person can live a godly and God pleasing life. It provides God’s people with a way to deal successfully with the practical affairs of everyday life, living God’s way, as they listen to Him.

We will look at the topic from Proverbs about being a witness. This theme runs throughout the Bible, Old Testament and New Testament. We can be a true witness or a false witness. Let’s start by looking at being a false witness.
The false witness is part of the very first sins committed by humanity. “Don’t be a false witness” is indeed one of the very 10 commandments that were given by God to Moses (Exodus 20).

In regard to being a false witness, in a simple desert community as ancient Israel were, nearly all such crimes were seen as capital offences. If for somebody was to be a successful “false witness”, that person would be seen as something of a murderer.
Here is what the great reformer Martin Luther said concerning it:
“the commandment against false witness is to prohibit the public judgment and reproof of the neighbour. One can indeed see and hear the neighbour sin, but one has no command to report it to others. If one judges and passes sentence, one falls into a sin which is greater than his (except for judges, parents, and preachers).”

Some tough words there as we start out, aren’t they? The other great reformer, John Calvin, taught that this commandment of not being a false witness, emphasizes that the Christian is to:
“assert only the truth with pure motives for the maintenance of our neighbour's good name and estate.”

Let us continue by looking within the book of Proverbs at “false witness”. First of all, what is a false witness?
16 There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him:
17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,
18 a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil,
19 a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community. (Proverbs 6:16-19)

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