Pastoral Letter 80

Dear Members of St. Andrew’s Uniting Church, Friends and Adherents,

Grace and peace to you all.

I write these 80^th Pastoral Letter with some relief and hope, as I begin to see some rays of sunshine on the horizon, and we hear some promises of easing the lockdown restrictions in mid-September, for those who have been fully vaccinated. I am almost sure that the majority of our congregation, if not all, have taken the two doses of vaccine. This means that we are good citizens and doing what we have been requested to do for the sake of others. Regardless of hitting the four digits of infection cases this week, I believe we are on the right track with the number of vaccinated passing six million in NSW. I am hoping that soon we will start emerging out of the current circumstances and the stressful COVID times and eventually come together to worship God and share some good fellowship that we miss a lot now. Though it will take some time, I have the feeling that we will be able to worship together in the church, with restrictions of singing and wearing masks, and hopefully COVID safe Morning Tea before Christmas.

Let us continue to pray and be sure that God will intervene and change the course of life we are in according to His will. Our hope is in the power of God, being certain that He is in control and taking care of us as we go through this difficult time.

Unfortunately, we will not be able to celebrate Father’s Day next Sunday and share some time together. But I assure you that all the fathers in our congregation will receive the goodies that we usually have on every Father’s Day. The goodies will be ready on Wednesday or Thursday and will be delivered to all the fathers in Lane Cove, Northwood, Wollstonecraft and Manly on Saturday 4 September between 10:00 am and 12 noon. I am guessing that the addresses found in our Directory booklet are correct. Also, the draw for the Lucky Father to receive a special gift will be done on Saturday morning. This is the best we can do in the current circumstances.

As the lockdown goes on, please pray and join the rest of the members on Sunday morning for worship from home following the attached Order of Service, light a candle, sing along to the hymns chosen, read the Bible Readings and the Message. For the reading from James, watch the attached short video.

Continue to pray. Here are some prayer points for this week:

1. Pray for our Service tomorrow and hope that before or by Christmas we return to our face-to-face services and weekly activities.

2. Pray for those who are under stress because of the COVID-19 restrictions and are struggling financially.

3. Pray for Afghanistan, as they go through difficult, tough and dangerous times and for the desperate people trying to flee the country seeking refuge abroad.

4. Pray for the victims of the suicide bomb attack in the Kabul airport.

5. Pray for the sick, the poor, the suffering and the desperate.

Please let me know if you or anyone else has prayer points.

Krikor

MESSAGE

Listen and Do What it Says

James 1:19-27

One of my favourite passages in Old Testament history is the response of the people of Israel when Moses first gave them the law of God. We read in Exodus 24, that when Moses went and told the people all the Lord’s words and laws, they responded with one voice: “Everything the Lord has said we will do.” (24:3) Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded: “We will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey.” (24: 7)

We will listen, and we will obey. This a profound statement, which assures that they committed to do the will of God and obey His commandments. This is definitely a positive declaration made by the people of God, the people of Israel, who have been delivered from their slavery in Egypt and have witnessed their miraculous deliverance from hardships. They witnessed ten plagues, with the plague of the firstborns being the tenth, which brought forth the Passover Feast. Then they crossed the sea on dry ground, they had fresh water to drink in Marah and Elim and Manna and Quail for the next forty years.

But sadly, during that time they continuously grumbled and complained about not being satisfied. When Moses came down from Mount Sinai and brought the Commandments from God and instructions on how to live and keep the covenant that God made with them, they affirmed that they would do everything the Lord had said and obey Him. The Scripture tells us that God did all He promised to do, but they disobeyed God and worshiped other gods. They declared to listen and do, and yet history tells that they didn’t.

In our text today, James talks about humbly receiving God’s Word. According to James, our spiritual life and health and growth and even our ultimate salvation, all depend on a lifestyle of receiving the Word – welcoming it into our hearts. In verse 22, James reminds us that there are two crucial parts to receiving the Word: listening and doing. We have not received the Word until we have done both of those. One of the biggest mistakes Christians make in their effort to receive the Word, is that they get so wrapped up in learning the Bible that they do not put enough energy into putting what they learn into practice. So, James tells us to devote ourselves to receive the Word.

Hearing is the only way any of us is able to follow the way that God has opened up for us. We have to be good listeners. In today’s passage James is challenging us to take our faith in Christ seriously to change our behaviour. In simple words he is saying that we have to be willing to listen to what God says to us and then change our behaviour to conform our will to God’s Will. In order to do that, we have to do three things:

1. We have to hear the Word

It should not be surprising to us that God has given us two ears and only one mouth. He expects us to spend more time listening than He does speaking. But this is hard for us. We, as human beings, think that what we have is so important that we are convinced that it should be said. It is just our nature. James wrote: “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry”. He wasn’t just talking about our willingness to speak and not listen to others. He was talking about our willingness to speak and not listen to God. He says: “Word planted in you, which can save you” is the Word of God. We should not miss this point. We need to be more interested in hearing what God has to say to us than telling Him what we think! We need to hear the Word of God. Usually, we are more interested in talking to God than listening to Him. Many believers pray more frequently than reading the Word. This implies that we are quick to speak, but slow to listen to what God has to say.

We need to be listening because our life depends on it.

James goes on to say that it’s not enough just to hear the Word. We have to move beyond hearing the Word.

2. We have to accept the Word

A Bible inscription says: “This book will keep you from sin; Sin will keep you from this book.” This is true. The more Christians allow sin to control their lives, the less they are willing to expose themselves to God’s Word because they don’t want to suffer. They don’t want to be convicted. It’s not pleasant to be confronted with the fact that they are not living up to our potential, so they avoid the subject all together and find ways to bypass worship Bible reading and studying the Bible. It is by an act of the will that they choose not to accept the Word of God into their lives.

James says we must get rid of some things before God’s Word will grow and flourish in our hearts. We have to rid ourselves of “moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent.” James is saying here that our heart is like a garden, and the things that we plant within it are the kind of fruit that we will bear. We don’t plant potatoes and reap corn. One of the absolute sayings of life is that we reap what we sow, and if we want to reap godliness, we will never do it if you are sowing ungodliness. James says: “Make a choice to rid your life of that filthy weed and allow God’s Word to grow and prosper in your life.”

That is so easy to say, but so hard to do. Then James challenges us to go beyond simply accepting God’s Word. He is saying: “Just do it!!”

3. We have to do the Word

James, the brother of Jesus, is an elder or a leader in the church in Jerusalem. He has seen people coming to worship who hear the word, and even accept the word, but who continue to live the way they want. In verse 22 he says: “Don’t deceive yourselves. Do what it says”. There is no value in just listening to the Word. Don’t think there is some value in simply accepting the Word as true. You must act upon it.

We can hear something, even accept it as true, and never let it change our behaviour. People hear and accept the Word of God and yet live lives of disobedience. A lot of Christians mark their Bibles, but there are all too few who let their Bible mark them. It is so easy to hear a Word from God and say “Yes, I hear that, and I accept that as true,” and that is the end of it. But to let God’s Word dwell in us, and grow within us, is a challenge.

We have to look into the mirror to see who we are, what we have become, how we have used our years on this earth. When we look at God’s Word, we see our state.

We read the Word and move from the listening to the talking phase of our conversation with God and pray. When we do that, we are glancing in the mirror. But it should be more than that. When we read God’s Word, it is the time for God and us to consider who He is and who we are. We can do this by pondering. We need to listen to God’s Word, because our life depends on it. The Word will bring purity in our lives.

The more we listen to Him as if our life depends on it, the more we will be captivated by God and motivated by the needs of others to help. That is when we are most like God, when we love others so much that we can’t help but help them when they can’t help themselves.

We need God’s help. Our life does depend on His mercy and grace. When we were separated from Him by our sin, helpless in our state of death, God reached out and spoke. “The Word became Flesh” the apostle John wrote: “and dwelt among us.” It will be unwise to not listen to the One who came to direct us from this life into the next one. He called us to follow, and then He gave His life away on our behalf. Now that’s what He calls us to do on His behalf.

The challenge is very clear and simple.

Yes, hear the Word!

Yes, accept the Word!

But also, do it!

If we do what God says we will not have an easy life, a life full of joy and happiness without any difficulties. But we will have the strength and the power:

First, resist evil and

Second, go through the difficult path of life.

That’s what it means to do the Word.

We are in challenging times, not only because of the COVID pandemic, but we are living in a world where we find evil acts, hate, abuse, selfishness, grudge, ambition, killing, war, animosity, separation, poverty, sickness, death, and the list goes on and on.

His Word instructs us, teaches us, helps us, guides us and shows us what is right and what is wrong, encourages us to distinguish the good from the bad and choose the right.

And if we do, we will certainly have the reward that God has prepared for each and every one of us through His love and the grace of His Son, who is the Good Shepherd taking care of His sheep, laying us in green pastures, leading us to still waters and He restores our soul. He guides us into the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Even if we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, He helps us not to fear, for He is with us. His rod and staff comfort us. He prepares a meal before us, anoints our head and overflows our cup. His goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives and we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

All we have to do is to listen to His voice and do what He says.

If we want spiritual life and health, we have to receive God’s Word. But receiving is more than just hearing. It is more than hearing and understanding. It is more than hearing and understanding and agreeing. Receiving God’s Word means hearing, understanding, agreeing, and doing. And if it stops short of doing, it is worthless.

Amen!