Pastoral Letter 135
Dear Members of St. Andrew’s Uniting Church, Friends and Adherents,
Grace and peace to you all.
Last Sunday we had our Combined Service with Lane Cove Uniting, here at St. Andrew’s Longueville from 9:30 am, followed by Morning Tea, during which we celebrated Father’s Day. We had good numbers and a very inspiring Service, as we watched together the video “The Mantle of Safety” prepared by the Frontier Services and the message was delivered by Pastor Rick Johnson of Lane Cove Uniting. During morning Tea, every male present received a bottle of wine and a bar of chocolate as a small gift for Father’s Day. The lucky father was Frank Knowles, and the eldest father present, was Ned Cholakyan; both received small gifts. Then we had the Great Outback Fundraiser BBQ. Before we shared the prepared BBQ, Peter Andrew’s, from Lane Cove Uniting, led a time of entertainment with games and raffle. As we had so many gifts, everyone received a gift. The BBQ was prepared and served by Lane Cove Uniting members. The raised funds plus the plates of the day, $1350, was donated to the Frontier Services.
On Monday, Ned Cholakyan had the medical procedures for his back pain and our prayers have been answered. The procedure was successful, and he is much better and recovering, thanks to God.
During my annual leave 4-25 October, Dee and I will fly to New Jersey/New Yok, USA, to attend the Armenian Missionary Association of America’s Annual Meeting and participate in the related programs, as well as visit friends and relatives in Montreal, Canada. During the Annual Meeting, the AMAA will honour the work done by the Armenian Missionary Association of Australia. As such, we are invited to be their guests. In my absence, our friend, Bob Minton will take the services for three Sundays. Thanks Bob for taking the services.
Be safe and well, continue to pray, remembering those who need care, support and love and let me know if any member of the congregation that you know of needs our help and prayers.
If you will not be able to join us at our face-to-face service, you can worship with us at home. Please light a candle and follow the attached Order of Service.
Here are some prayer points for this week:
- Pray for Dee and me, as we prepare to take the trip to USA and Canada, during our annual leave.
- Pray for the poor, the sick, the vulnerable, the struggling and the stressed.
- Pray for those who are unwell and struggling with different kinds of medical issues.
- Pray for Ned Cholakyan, as he recovers from his medical procedure.
- Pray for Armenia as the sovereign country is facing military aggression by Azerbaijan and there are hundreds of civil casualties.
- Pray for world peace and ask for God’s blessings.
- Pray for and with the Sydney Central Coast Presbytery as it charters through challenging times.
Please let me know if you or anyone else has prayer points.
Best Regards,
Krikor
MESSAGE
Radical and Risky Faith
Jeremiah 32
Land purchases for development or building residences are risky ventures. We hear stories of people buying land that is nothing more than a landfill or not suitable for development or house building, because of restrictions and regulations; or even the builders and the developers fail to raise the needed funds and be successful in borrowing money from financial institutions. People and developers have often spent thousands of dollars on site surveys simply to find out that the site is inhabitable and not possible to build and expect good investment. Also, buying land or property is risky business during financial crisis or war.
Although the risks are different today than in Jeremiah’s time, land purchases then were still radical financial investments. To many, Jeremiah’s land purchase looked like buying and finding out that you will not be able to be successful in the project.
But to Jeremiah, this radical financial investment, meant everything. God was calling him to get a little radical. To buy this land meant that he was exercising his faith more than exercising his need to be conservative, more than exercising his need to be reasonable, to be safe, and more than exercising his need to be fully in control. And this call from God to Jeremiah came when he was in prison. From that jail cell, Jeremiah heeded God’s instruction and bought what was to be the Promised Land. He showed that faith comes when we are willing to be radical in exercising our faith.
This action of Jeremiah maybe is a wakeup call, that God is calling to get a little radical with our faith as well. But we often are the hesitant. Acting in faith is often a risk and threatening.
There’s a story of man who fell off a cliff, but as he tumbled off, he managed to grab a tree branch on the way down. As he hung there, he shouted to the heavens:
“Lord, are you up there?”
“I am the Lord. I am here to help.”
“Save me, then!” replied the man.
“Do you really think that I can save you?”
“Of course, you are God, you can do anything.”
“Then let go of the branch!”
“WHAT?”
“I said, if you have the faith that I can do anything, let go…I will save you.”
The man thought and pondered his dilemma, and said: “Is there anyone else up there?”
We know that we’re supposed to show our faith and to trust in God; but we also know that it requires risk to do so. And to risk is dangerous. But to take a step of faith is to risk, and to risk for the sake of Christ, is being Christian. John Wesley once said: “Christian faith is then not only an assent to the whole Gospel of Christ, but also a full reliance on the blood of Christ, a trust in the merits of his life, death, and resurrection; a [resting] on Him as our atonement and our life, as given for us, and living in us.”
We exercise our faith when we acknowledge that we are not taking any risk at all, but rather our step of faith is demonstrating that the Christ in us, the hope of glory, is moving the Kingdom forward. Because of our full reliance and trust in Christ, we can rest even in the most faith exercising times knowing that God is with us and in control and that through Christ, God loves and cares for us.
This is the story of Jeremiah in our passage. As the Babylonian army came knocking at the door of Jerusalem, Jeremiah made the decision to exercise his faith by making this radical financial investment without worrying and totally trusting God.
In Jeremiah’s story, we learn some things about exercising our faith as well.
1. Exercising our faith looks beyond our immediate circumstances (vs. 1-3)
Verses 1-3 show Jeremiah’s immediate circumstances. Not only were the Babylonians sieging Jerusalem (around 586 BC) but Jeremiah found himself in jail because King Zedekiah of Judah didn’t like Jeremiah’s prediction that the King would lose his land to the Babylonians once all was said and done.
Jeremiah’s immediate circumstances were grim. God had told him that his fellow citizens were going to be shattered like a potter shatters a pot to make something better (Jeremiah 18:1-11). Jeremiah knew that he needed to show his faith in preaching what he had been given to preach. God wasn’t done with Jeremiah yet and his immediate circumstance was only the beginning.
God is not finished with us either. If we are being tested in family relationships or friendships, we need to recognise that God wants us to be faithful to ourselves and to our beliefs in the midst of these trials; if we are facing health issues, we may need to stay the course without becoming disheartened; if we struggle with our finances, instead of complaining that there isn’t enough, we may need to rely on the God of abundance who said that all things are possible; and if we feel like our faith has run dry, we need to remember that even a mustard seed-size faith can move mountains.
Exercising our faith means that we are looking beyond our immediate circumstances.
2. Exercising our faith often requires decision making
In the verses 3-5, we see King Zedekiah trying to figure Jeremiah out, but not getting many answers. The king questions Jeremiah: “How dare you preach saying, ‘God says I am warning you…” But Jeremiah could only reply: “The word of the Lord came to me…prepare yourself!” In a way, Jeremiah was forced to put his money where his preaching was (vs. 6-8). Instead of focusing on doubt, Jeremiah knew this was a moment for faith. Instead of focusing on fear and on excuses, Jeremiah knew this was a moment for faith.
Even though Jeremiah wasn’t too sure of the purchase at first, that is until his cousin came on the scene, he still knew this was a moment for faith.
Like Jeremiah, there are times in our lives when we must recognize that instead of focusing on doubts, fears, or excuses, we too are called to live in the moment for faith.
Jeremiah was exercising his faith even though it may have looked radical to others.
3. Exercising our faith does not always bring immediate results
Although Jeremiah’s prophecies were originally of judgment, he now found himself in an opportunity to bring hope. The purchase of the land did not get him out of jail (v. 11-13). Even all the paperwork that went into the sale had to be done within the “court of the guard” (vs. 8).
The purchase of the land really didn’t mean much in the moment, since the army was closing in, and the land would go to the Babylonians anyway. It didn’t change the outcome. But the purchase of the land did accomplish something… Jeremiah knew that this act was something for future generations… (vs. 11-14). It showed the faith that the land would be there’s once again.
Jeremiah’s purchase did facilitate the fulfillment of prophecy. The Message in verse 15 reads: “The God of Israel says: Houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land.”
While patience may be a virtue, faith is so much more than just patience. Jeremiah’s faith did not mean immediate results, but his faith did bring about God’s will for his people, and our faith can bring about God’s will for others and ourselves as well.
4. Exercising our faith gives us even more faith
When we struggled with struggles and challenges we face day by day, we should do a lot of praying before we even consider anything or taking any action. Like Jeremiah we can know that by faith, God takes care of us. We will know by faith, if we be willing to step out of our comfort zone and we would be given the faith we need to make it through. And even though it may look radical to some, but we should be ready to take the risk. Many years ago, UCA NSW Synod, adopted the theme “Risking the Way of Jesus”. Indeed, it is a risk to follow Jesus and needs guts, courage and faith to take that step and follow Him.
Jeremiah didn’t give up after the storm either but continued to follow “the word of the Lord” in his life, even beyond this land purchase. In fact, Jeremiah, in verse 27, is reminded that the Lord is God and that there is not anything too hard for those who follow the Lord in their lives as well.
5. In other words it is a Call to Discipleship
What does this mean for us?
May be each of us is in a different place in our faith journey and may hear this story differently, but yet there is something in this story for each of us. We each need to consider:
How are we exercising our faith beyond our immediate circumstances?
What is God calling us to do that requires us to take a step of faith?
What is God calling us to do that may not make sense to others and maybe not even ourselves?
Looking back, we also need to consider the times in our lives when we can see that the risk in faith, we took was a benefit to our future.
Risks must be taken, because the person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing and is nothing. Only a person who risks is truly free.
Why could Jeremiah do this? Jeremiah could exercise this faith because he understood the relationship that he had with God. He understood that God loved him, and that God wanted only the best for him. Jeremiah understood that God was in control, and instead of fear, He provided him comfort.
We too can make that claim today. Each of us needs to examine our relationship with God and claim His love for us. In our times of radical, faith exercising decision making, with all the doubt, fear, and excuses, it is so easy to bail out. But if we pause and reflect on the cross, we realize that Jesus could have bailed on us at any time; instead, he chose to die so that we can live.
Just like Jeremiah, we too can claim the relationship that Jesus offers. We too can claim the love of God, and we too will find ourselves stepping out in faith because we know God is with us and cares for us, as that radical faith continues to grow in us because of our radical faith in Him.
Amen!