This week I am preaching a sermon in three parts, and I give you full permission not to listen to it, or at least to be selective. Ear plugs may be of some use.
The passage in Romans 7 last week expressed graphically the fact that we know the theory that we are forgiven and accepted in Christ, and yet we find ourselves seemingly helpless to stop ourselves doing sinful things. The good news, Paul tells us, is that we do not have to stop ourselves sinning – we rely upon the Holy Spirit to live with and in us. He sets us free. Do you know the difference between Batman and Spiderman? Batman wears a suit and straps on gadgets to help him be a superhero. Spiderman was bitten by a radioactive spider – it’s in his blood. We have Christ within us, living the Christian life, not merely bolted on.
Next week we move to the second part of Romans 8. If Christ is in us, we are led by the Spirit as children of the living God. We are family. We share in the running of the family. We saw when we looked at the early church in the book of Acts that a key aspect of being Christ’s is our koinonia, a Greek word that can be translated as fellowship, sharing, participation.
So this is the earplugs moment. I am going to talk about money. If you are a visitor, or still considering whether you would like to be a member of this part of Christ’s family, the church, please feel free to stare into space, update your Facebook status, tweet, or otherwise pass the time. I will alert you when I am finished.
I last did a talk like this at All Saints Tide, when we were facing a £20,000 deficit on the year. I commented on the generosity of folk, but how that the number of people in planned giving had decreased. As a result, several large donations came in and the eventual shortfall was much smaller. The evidence of the first six months is that people are being very generous, but costs are going up, and we again face a substantial deficit on the year. Please therefore take a moment; if you are not a member of Planned Giving, you could make a real difference by joining. Many of us facing straightened circumstances, but you might be in the blessed position that you have the ability to give more than you are giving at the moment.
Earplugs can come out now.
A farmer went out to sow his seed. This raises questions for me.
Did he set out to carelessly waste 75% of his seed? Or did he realise that 30% of 25 is 750, 60% is 1,500, and 100% is 2,500?
More importantly, how can we prove to be good soil? How can we be the ones who hear the word and understand?
Answer: we cannot. But we can open ourselves to the Holy Spirit. We can allow him to motivate and guide us.
When events seem to conspire to prevent us taking notice of God and his word, like birds pecking away the good seed off the path, the Holy Spirit comes to help us stop, listen, and receive the word.
When things seem to get worse precisely because we are following Christ, when we face trouble and persecution, the Spirit helps us to trust God more rather than to walk away.
When we get caught up in the worries of life and the deceitfulness of wealth, when we are either struggling for more money, or so comfortably well off that our latest hobby, sport or pastime is filling all of our time and attention and taking all of our energy, the Holy Spirit helps us to maintain a proper perspective and to seek after the simple life.
Jesus says: Those with ears, let them hear.
Discussion Starters
1. “Christ is in you”. What does this mean to you?
2. What do you think it means “to be in the realm of the flesh”? (Romans 8:8)
3. What does it mean to you to be “good soil”?
4. Pray for each other, to be effective partners and sharers in the Spirit.
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