St Tim’s sermon 21/09/14 Hebrews 12:1-8 and Lk 9:56-62
Introduction
John Marsh – Handsome new curate, cakes, Helena standoff
Seriously – local lad, married, two kids, teacher, SSM, 27 St Toms NOW AT St Tims.
Hebrews 12:1-8 and Lk 9:56-62 - Call, response and purpose
God’s being – community in mission
Before we get there take you back a bit in the story – In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
No one goes on a journey without a purpose
Christian journey is the response to God’s calling
God’s calling = grace he doesn’t need to call us.
God is self sufficient, yet He created us.
It isn’t really about us it’s about God, to begin with.
God is three in one, a community but a sending community, The Father sends the Son, and the Father and the Son send the
Spirit and the Spirit sends the church. This last bit is God’s grace, God doesn’t need to include us.
Biblical pattern - calling - response - purpose.
God’s not random, he’s not a tame lion either but there are patterns to be seen
God calls in some way, we choose to respond and if we choose positively, God’s purposes are worked out. Jesus is therefore the
Author of our faith.
Eph 2:8-10 shows this order is the order for our faith. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved,(calling) through faith—and this is
not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast (our response). 10 For we are God’s
handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Purpose).
Gen 1-2 Show’s this order in creation. God creates the world and calls the people into being and then he calls them into a role,
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The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. They implicitly agree and God’s
purpose begins to be fulfilled.
Exodus 19:4-6 shows that this is how God deals with his chosen people Israel 4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to
Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. (election/calling out) 5 Now if you obey me fully and
keep my covenant, (response) then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is
mine, 6 you[a] will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ (purpose)
Back to the NT. In our Hebrews passage, and in the Luke passage, we are hearing the second bit, the response. Its important to
respond to God’s call since that is the link between his call on us and his desired purpose.
Our response is also a point of Grace, since God makes his purpose dependent on our response to his call which He doesn’t need
to do.
He could express his call and then work out his purpose without us but He doesn’t he involves us without our meriting
involvement and that’s his grace.
As well as God’s call its also important to understand Gods purpose ortherwise we might get fed up and stop or run off in the
wrong direction. I think we are often more prone to the latter.
What is the call and the purpose?
In 2 Cor 5:18-20a the call and the purpose are stated with the response implied, 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to
himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not
counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s
ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.
The call is we are reconciled, the purpose is that we become Ambassadors of reconciliation to others, Paul implies that we want
to respond!!
Our response, implied by Paul is the journey or race he mentions in Phiippians 3:13-1413 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider
myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press
on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
This is the same journey or race mentioned here in Hebrews and in Luke.
If we look at them without understanding call or purpose we might get the wrong idea. That its about being good in order to be
on the journey (Hebrews) or that commitment is the first step (Luke) HOWEVER both are a response to a prior call, both have a
purpose.
Looking at Luke
In the light of call and purpose lets examine our response firstly in Luke.
Lk 9:57-62
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As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
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Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
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He said to another man, “Follow me.”
But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
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Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
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Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”
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Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
Context – Jesus setting face to Jerusalem and death; Collection of sayings reflecting the urgency of the situation…
Burying father and hand to plough recall 1 kings 19:19-21 call of Elisha, obsession C of E has
Not specific sacrifices but principle of following Jesus in his purpose of putting the Kingdom first. Following Jesus is following his
purpose which becomes our purpose, proclaiming the Kingdom, not e.g. burying people the kingdom takes precedence.
The dead are available for merely religious duties, those who don’t share Jesus resurrection life or who don’t see with spiritual
insight.
If you look back down the furrow to see how you did the furrow becomes crooked at that point.
Looking at Hebrews
Hebrews 12:1-3 (not time to deal with all the reading)
Context – to strengthen and encourage a small house church to persist in their faith in everyday life beset with difficulties but
probably not direct persecution
Hebrews 1-10 who Jesus is and what he has done
Hebrews 11 all the people who have gone before who witness to that
Hebrews 12 our response
12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin
that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,
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fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame,
and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
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Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Not spectators watching successors but those who have borne witnesses to the possibilities of a life of faith
Sin entangles us in general, fallen world
Perseverance required we live in the now and not yet of God’s kingdom
Perseverance is called for in the light of the new covenant of Jesus death and resurrection (no covenant, no point)
Jesus is at the finish line and Jesus is therefore where we need to fix our eyes
Application
So what can we say for us in Crookes in 2014 at St Tim’s?
We can more easily identify with the hearers of Hebrews than the hearers in Luke, in Luke, Jesus is there standing in front of
them talking to them whereas in Hebrews the hearers are second generation Christians who have not seen or heard physical
Jesus.
Luke’s urgency
What we can say from Luke is that the issue is the proclamation of the Kingdom coming now.
The sense of urgency, the reordering of priorities the questioning of seemingly sacred duties.
Sacred duties are what God requires hence sacred, once God relegates their importance they no longer are sacred.
Luke requires us to review in the immediate time what priorities we have and whether they are purposeful for the Kingdom.
Hebrews perseverance
Hebrews says we are in this for the long haul. We are in a race of stamina and we need to remember to keep our eyes on the
one who called us to it and the one who made it possible to run, Jesus.
Hebrews reminds us that we must not get entangled in sin, that’s what confession and absolution are for.
Hebrews reminds us of those who have gone before and of Jesus himself to show that it is possible to run without losing heart.
The big picture
Finally we must not lose sight of the big picture, Calling, Response and Purpose.
We are only here because God called us by grace in the first place.
We are running the race with perseverance as a response to God but for a purpose....
The urgent proclamation of the Kingdom of God.
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Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
Questions to consider…
1. Do you recognise where God has or is calling you?
2. What are some of the difficulties in responding to God?
3. Where have you seen God's purpose working out in your life?
4. Do you identify with the urgency found in Luke?
5. Do you identify with the call to persevere in Hebrews?
6. What might God be saying to you and what can you do about it?