Partakers Christian Podcasts

Materialism

20. Partake -  Materialism

The Apostle John writing in 1 John 2:15-17: "Don't love the world's ways. Don't love the world's goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world-wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important-has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out-but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity. " I wonder what you think is the greatest challenge to the Church and Christian Discipleship at the beginning of the 21^st century?  What is possibly one of the greatest challenges to Christian Disciples to stand alone and be faithful to God?  Some people I speak to think that the surge of rampant atheism fuelled by the thinking of Richard Dawkins and the writings of Philip Pulmann are the greatest current threat.  Others say it is the weak liberal theology in parts of the church.  Certainly those two examples are threats but they are not what I think is the greatest threat.  I want to propose to you that quite possibly that biggest threat to Christian Discipleship is the temptation of materialism.  This is where following Jesus' command to take up the cross becomes practical for us.  This is where loving God and loving others becomes difficult.  Materialism grips both the Church community and also Christian Disciples if it is allowed.  Eschewing and casting off materialism will see Christian Disciples who are radical by the very society, which we are trying to win for Jesus. What is materialism?  Every person has in differing quantities: possessions and money.  These things in and of themselves are not evil.  It is however our reaction and attitudes toward them that causes us to be seduced in this area.  Materialism is a reliance on possessions, money people or even the church, as our ultimate objects of trust instead of God.  The Apostle John writing in 1 John 2v16 gives a very accurate picture of materialism: "lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and the pride of life." That, brother and sister, is materialism! If there were to be a sin that marks our particular generation, particular in the West, then it would be the sin of materialism and the worship of objects and people. Every day hundreds of thousands of people die from lack of food, water, clothing and shelter.  For each of us, these things are taken for granted.  When we feel like a change of house or location, we just move.  The whole Christian community is one which reflects the Holy Trinity, and that the Church is to be a community where the strongest members support the weakest members.  This applies not only to the local church, but also to the universal Church and therefore has a national and international context as well.  Too often as Christians we are found turning a blind eye to the suffering of others where the bare necessities of life are in sparse existence.  Too often we gather possessions and people, instead of giving up our time and money generously to help the poor and needy of both our world and local communities. As Christian Disciples living in the world of the twenty first century, where wealth is seen as a sign of success, the cult of celebrity is rife and where family, morals and God have taken a back seat, how should a Christian Disciple respond to materialism?  A lot of Churches measure their success solely by the number of members in the congregations or by how much money goes into the offering pot each week.  However, not just good things grow.  Islam measures its success on the so-called growth in those who would consider themselves a Muslim.  It is the fastest growing religion in Australia, albeit due to immigration.  However, every gardener will tell you that even weeds grow! So counting numbers is not the best way to measure success. The measure of a successful Christian Disciple can be seen in those verses I read earlier and also in Matthew 22v37-40: Jesus said, "'Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.' This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: 'Love others as well as you love yourself.' These two commands are pegs; everything in God's Law and the Prophets hangs from them." By doing these two things, we show we trust in God and not in anything or anybody else.  By doing those two things, both as a Church and as individual Christian Disciples, society will see we are neither dangerous nor deluded.  To Richard Dawkins and his aficionados who think all religion is pure evil, based on delusion and that religion has never done a good thing in history to benefit humanity, it will help show the folly and irrationality of their thinking. If Church communities and Christian Disciples make radical steps such as eschewing materialism, both in being and making Disciples, I think the Church and Christian Disciples would no longer be seen as a deluded and irrelevant.  Rather they would be seen as thriving resulting in Jesus being glorified and holy transformation sought.  After all, Jesus is the master of the Christian Disciple and the Head of the Church. For more to think about, please do read for yourself Matthew 22:37-40.  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 - As a Christian Disciple, in what ways are you being seduced by materialism? Q2 - What things can I do, not do or give up to aid the weakest members of my community? Q3 - How can you use your "passion and prayer and intelligence" this week for the glory of God?

Standing Alone

19. Partake  – The Christian Disciple Stands Alone

Jesus speaking and from the Gospel of John 15:18-21 “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first.  The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.  Do you remember what I told you? ‘A slave is not greater than the master.’ Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you. And if they had listened to me, they would listen to you.  They will do all this to you because of me, for they have rejected the One who sent me.”

We have a new identity as Christian disciples.  What are we to do with it?  We are to stay faithful to Jesus and sometimes it is difficult! It means staying faithful to Jesus and His will, regardless of opposition and alternatives, By doing this we are standing alone and be faithful to Him. Satan brings pressure to bear on Christians to reduce their standards and commitment.  Christian disciples undergo challenges from the world that doesn’t like or understand us and constantly tempts us to do wrong things or we are tempted not to do right things.  So we are to be separate from sin but not separated from a sinful society. This is what Jesus meant when He said we are to be “In the world but not of the world” (Jn. 17:15-19).  The key to standing alone is constant identification with Jesus Christ in lifestyle and words.

Hindrances to standing alone

As we live the Christian life, as Christian disciples we will face hindrances to identifying with Jesus.  Here are four major areas that as Christian disciples, we all undergo.

Firstly there is an inborn fear of what others will think - fear of being different and being laughed at.

Then there is the fear of losing friends. To have the right friends however, a person must be willing to have enemies. Jesus made friends on the basis of who would accept Him and His message. We may be excluded from the company of those who reject Jesus (Luke 6:26).

Another one is the desire to be like those in the world. In Psalm 73 David envied the success of the godless, until he realized their destiny was disaster; and that he had God and needed nothing else. Always taking what is best is no sacrifice.

How to stand alone

So if they are some of the hindrances, what are some of the keys in battling these hindrances?  As Christian disciples we have to remember God's way of life is superior.  It is a life filled with abundance according to Jesus in John 10:10!  Then we realise that acting as light & salt in the world, you are co-operating with God and He is being glorified according to Peter in 1 Peter 4:12-14).  Remember; if you give people no reason to ask about the hope and faith you have in Jesus, they probably won’t ask! Jesus said in His final words before His ascension in Matthew 28:18-20, that we are to expect persecution for being his disciples.  If that’s how we identify with our lifestyle how do we identify verbally with Jesus?

How to verbally identify with Christ

Never apologize for what you know and believe to be a superior way of life.  However, that does not mean to be smug and arrogant about it because we are commanded to walk humbly and meekly.  Then just be natural about it.  As a college principle told me a long time ago and I still remember the words “Let your spiritual life be natural and your natural life be spiritual.”

One way to do this is to project the idea that you are not your own boss - Jesus is your Lord and let him take both the strain and glory.  Remember that those who reject you also reject Jesus.

Making right decisions in questionable areas

Imagine you are in a situation and you have to make a correct decision in a questionable area.  What do you do?  Why not you ask yourself questions and tell yourself statements such as:

• Does it bring glory to God? (1 Cor.10:31)
• Can I thank God for this activity - could Jesus accompany me?
• Does it build Christian character? (1 Cor.10:23)
• Will it cause another Christian to sin/stumble? (1 Cor.8:9-13)
• It should not control me habitually (1 Cor.6.12)
• If in doubt, throw it out. (Rom.14:22-23)
• Ask other people for advice. It is important what other people think.
• Abstain from all appearances of evil (1 Thess.5:22)
• Rely on the Holy Spirit to help you! Askfor His help and guidance!

For more to do and think about please do read for yourself, John17:15-19.  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 – Have I given every area of my life to Christ in order to be faithful to Him?

Q2 – Am I prepared to be holy and obedient to God in all circumstances?

Q3 – Am I willing to sacrifice my desires for God's Will, so that I can clearly be seen identifying myself with Jesus in lifestyle and in words?

Thank you.

Identity

18. Partake – The Christian Disciple has a New Identity

Colossians 3vv1-4: If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things that are above, where Jesus is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Jesus, in God. When Jesus, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

About four years ago, I slipped into a coma as a consequence of a brain bleed on a Saturday evening. After that I had terrible memory problems for a while. If left on my own, I would forget things like eating lunch. I would forget to brush my teeth unless reminded strongly! Normal everyday things, I would simply forget to do!! That is the same for all Christian disciples and their spiritual life. If we listen carefully, the Holy Spirit is constantly reminding us of our status before God. He reminds us of our new identity as God’s children! Those four verses from Colossians that I read at the start tell us that as Christian disciples, we have a new identity, and Paul here give us five facts about that new identity.

I must add here that these five things are not hypothesis, symbolism or theory. They are existent facts about all Christian disciples. We are not marked as Christian disciples because we go to Church regularly, though it’s a good idea if we do. We are not marked as Christian disciples because we were baptized, though I hope that we are. We are marked as Christian disciples, not because of any outwardly visible mark, but because of these 5 facts. So what are these 5 facts?

1. We died with Jesus (3a). Jesus not only died for us, but we died with Him. Jesus not only died for sin, but also died unto sin to break its power. As Christian disciples we died with Jesus. Ergo, we can conquer our old sinful nature if we choose to. Our new identity is Jesus and we have died with Him.

2. We are raised with Jesus (1a). Just as we died with Jesus, we are also raised with Him. We are raised with Him and we rule with him, seated at the right hand of the Father. Your new identity is Jesus and you have been raised with Him.

3. We live with Jesus (4a). As Christian disciples, Jesus is our life and our eternal life, is Jesus. We are dead to sin, yet alive to Jesus. Our new identity is Jesus and we live with Him.

4. We are hidden with Jesus (3b). For those of you who like a good mystery, here is one for you. We are hidden with Him!! We no longer belong to this world, but we belong to Jesus. We are hidden with Him in heaven. That is not to say we are to neglect our earthly duties and responsibilities, but rather that our motives and strengths are to come from Jesus. Our new identity is Jesus and we are hidden with Him.

5. We will be glorified with Jesus (4b). When Jesus comes again, we will see Him face to face, and He will take us home. So, we will not be hidden with Jesus perpetually because when Jesus is revealed in glory, we too shall be revealed in glory. We already have in part some of this glory, but one day the full extent of this glorification will be revealed.

These five events... These five facts cover all three tenses in time - past, present and future... In the past, we died and were raised with Jesus. In the present, we live with Jesus and we are hidden with Him. In the future, when He comes again, we will be glorified with Him. His death covered all sins – past, present and future sins.

Because we share in Jesus’ death, resurrection and future glorification, we are to stop sinning and to stop thinking about ways in which to sin. Our minds are to be with Jesus, focusing on ways in which to serve Him. Don’t sin is the message, and yet we continue to do so…

Every time we succumb to temptation and commit sin, we forget who we are in Christ. I forget my new identity as a child of the Living God. You forget that you have died and been raised with Jesus. You forget that you live in Him and that you are hidden in Him. I forget that one day He is coming again and that I, as his disciple will be glorified with Him. So when faced with temptation, tell your old nature that it is dead and that you have a new nature which you seek to serve and a new Master to obey! Talk to yourself – it’s a sign of maturity!!

Photo courtesy of June

For more to think about please do read for your self, Colossians 3vv1-16. 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 makes me forget who I am as a Christian disciple?

Q2 – What are the things Paul lists as things all Christian disciples should do in verses 12-16

Q3 – What practical steps can you take to put them into action?

As ever, if you have any comments to make on this, please do contact me at partake@hotmail.co.uk. I would love to hear from you and if these are making any difference at all to your continual Christian discipleship! Thank you.

5. Partake - Growing as a disciple

5 –Growing as a disciple!

Paul in Galatians Chapter 5 verse 22 to 25 writes: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”

The process of becoming more like Jesus is, in one of the big words of theology, sanctification. If a disciple of Jesus Christ is showing the fruit I read about earlier: love, joy, peace, patience kindness, goodness, faithfulness gentleness and self-control, then the disciple is becoming Christ-like and is being sanctified! Another way to look at sanctification is that it is like the changing of a caterpillar into a butterfly – it’s a process. Sometimes it’s a difficult path, but nobody said becoming holy is easy. Certainly Jesus never said that it was!

Now you may well ask, that if I am being sanctified, why do I still continue to sin? Firstly, you sin because you chose to sin. Nobody else can take the rap. You can lead a horse to water but you can never make it drink. Similarly the devil and the world may tempt you to sin, but it is only you that does the sinning. So not succumb to the wiles and ways of the devil and the world!

Secondly, when you became a Christian, you gained a new nature, albeit in embryonic form. As this new nature grows, your old nature shrivels and shrinks yet refuses to die quickly. So our new nature now that you are a disciple of Jesus, fights against our old nature.

So what can a disciple do?

As Christian disciples, we are not left alone to fend for ourselves. Jesus promised help in order to become more like Him. We overcome sin & temptation through the power of the Holy Spirit. He works in us, and assists our new nature in overcoming the old nature. We may struggle in our own strength, but with the power of the Holy Spirit, our old nature shrivels. Remind yourself that temptation itself is not sin! Otherwise Jesus Himself would have sinned, and we know that even though He faced constant temptation, we know for certain, that He did not sin.

It is rather, as John Stott helpfully puts it in his classic commentary on Romans, that as Christians, having died and raised with Jesus Christ, we now live in the freedom of the indwelling Spirit. Remember also what the beloved Apostle John wrote in 1 John 4: “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”

If however, a disciple does succumb to temptation and sins then when that disciple recognizes that they have sinned, they need to repent quickly! Unconfessed sin soon becomes a heavy burden. Confession & repentance is needed. Not a confession borne from constant grace-less guilt like that of the young Martin Luther. Rather a repentance borne from grace like that of the older and wiser Martin Luther! Psalm 51 is a confessional Psalm! That is why the confession of sin comes at the start of most worship services, because as John Stott again reminds us: we are to come in penitence before we praise!

Are you struggling with some form of habitual sin? Are you facing insurmountable pressure from within your family, friends or society to sin in some way? When faced with these pressures, ask the Holy Spirit to help you overcome the temptations you face. He who was promised to help you, will help you, sometimes in the most surprising of ways!! For more to read and think about please read Philippians 2v6-11. You can leave comments or messages at www.davegroberts.podbean.com. Thank you.

4. Partake–What is the goal of a disciple?

4 – Partake – What is the goal of a disciple?

The Apostle John wrote in 1 John 2:3-6 “We know that we have come to know Jesus if we obey his commands. The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.”

I wonder what you think the goal of being a disciple of Jesus Christ is? Praying a lot? Perhaps it is reading and memorizing the whole bible? Doing lots of evangelism or doing lots of work for the church? As admirable as those things are, they are not the goal for a disciple of Jesus Christ. The ultimate goal for any Christian disciple is to be as John wrote in the passage I read earlier: to walk and live as Jesus did. That doesn’t mean walking around in sandals, wearing white clothes and traversing the terrain where Jesus Himself walked. The Apostle John means for us to be radical and holy, living lives worthy of that of Jesus.. How can we be radical and holy? Jean Calvin said that denying oneself and relying on God for all things is the goal of the Christian life. This can only be attained by total submission to the Holy Spirit and a life of constantly “dealing with God” in all matters. That is how Christian disciples are to be radical and holy. That is how a Christian Disciple endeavours to reach the goal of being Jesus! Being radical and holy is achieved by a constant renewing of the mind (Ephesians 4v23) and a heart willing to be transformed. It is by loving others in such a way, that the end of a disciple’s generosity is only when the resources have expired.

A disciple must live and walk as Jesus did, in the Bible verse I read earlier (1 John 2v6). There is no better way for a disciple to fulfil this goal, than by imitating Jesus and obeying his command to “…take up their cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9v23). This is seen as a higher challenge for the mind! Dietrich Bonhoeffer extrapolates this further when he comments on discipleship as a leading to death for all who follow Christ; either as a physical death or in being ostracized from society in general. Is it not true that increasingly in Western society, Christians are being marginalized more and more?

For the first century Christians, just as in some parts of today’s world, persecution and martyrdom was a reality, as evident in the story of Stephen (Acts 7v59). Yet it also means enduring suffering, for this is how a Christian disciple maintains a “communion with Christ”. For it is through suffering, that we share with the crucified Jesus. The bitterness of our cross is made sweeter, the more we dwell on the sufferings of Jesus and our enabled fellowship with Him.

As Christian individuals, we are linked together in a Christian community through rebirth, and our relationship exists only through our relationship with Christ. There is no such thing as an individual member of the radical Christian community. Members are interdependent upon one another, bound by a corporate and inclusive personality. The church community is to be dynamic by nature, and individualism is oxymoronic and not coherent with New Testament teaching.

How are you fitting in with your local church community? Are you being a radical believer in a radical church community? Have you taken up your cross in order to follow the Master, Jesus? For more to read and think about please read Luke 9v22-27. Please also be free to make comments or contact me regarding anything to do with this Podcast or Christianity… Thank you.

3. Partake–What is a Disciple?

3. Partake – What is a Disciple?

Before He ascended, Jesus commanded ”God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you." (Matthew 28:18-20 The Message).

In these verses Jesus commanded his disciples to make other disciples. In order to fulfil this command, He assigned the three tasks of going, baptizing and teaching as an obligatory activity of daily life. Baptism was symbolic of becoming under the lordship of the Trinitarian Godhead. Baptism leads to teaching, which is a core part of disciple making. Teaching was not just to be an oral activity, but an active helping of everyone including the weakest. These instructions to Jesus’ disciples are just as applicatory to us today.

As ever, any feedback is appreciated. If you have any questions about anything at all, please do feel free to ask!.

Partake-Christian Living!

I am starting a new series, entitled "Partake!". These podcasts will deal with ways in which we can apply the Bible to our life as we seek spiritual maturity as Jesus' disciples in order to be changed into His likeness... This first one is an introductory podcast, and my apologies for a minor technical defect in the recording. Over the next few days & weeks we shall look together at issues such as: Our human makeup; Handling emotions; Healing emotions; Developing a clean conscience; Forgiveness; Overcoming Anger & Worry and several other topics. As ever, any feedback is appreciated. If you have any questions about anything at all, please do feel free to ask!

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