I wonder whether you have good or bad memories of Primary School playground sport. I remember vividly the ;line up’ while teams were picked. The fear of being left out, not wanted. The joy of being chosen! And then the friendships built up as we amateurishly kicked the ball around the playground thinking we were the best footballers in the world! There are connections which are built through sport that last a long time and sit long in the memory.

When Paul came to Athens in Acts 17:17 we see his usual pattern. He would use ‘natural bridges’ to come alongside others: he went to the Synagogue to speak to those who would listen to God’s word and in Athens particularly, he went to the Marketplace – a large area where people gathered and didn’t merely trade but chatted, listened to ideas and were willing to talk. As a Tent-Maker Paul was used to speaking with trading people and so used this opportunity.

In Britain in the not-so-distant past there was the equivalent of going to the ‘Synagogue’ with the gospel – people would come into church, or were willing to be invited along to a Billy Graham ‘crusade’. There is less willingness to do so now – that ‘bridge’ is largely gone, though not entirely. Some people when invited in will come, and the ‘high days’ (Christmas, Easter) are still opportunities that can be used as we saw this Christmas when many who were invited came into our services. But there is a greater need to identify our ‘marketplace’ where there is opportunity to live out and speak out the gospel among those who may never think of entering a church.

And this is where my Primary School sports memories come in! If you remember the camaraderie of sport, if you remember how it provided a sense of belonging, if you remember the relationships that were built, and the chatter and conversation around sport, so do others. And it is as true for you playing sport now as it was then – there are friendships that develop and conversations that occur around sport that we rarely find opportunity for elsewhere.

But, here’s the challenge: How intentional are we? Do we see it as our ‘marketplace’?

But, here’s the challenge: How intentional are we? Do we see it as our ‘marketplace’?

Paul went to the Marketplace with an intent ! seeking gospel opportunities. I guess there were some days when these were few. Other days there were more, and one day the ‘big break’ came when some Philosophers overheard him and asked him to speak some more.

There were two women I know who used to go to the gym together weekly; one was a young mum, the other was older. But what they did each time they went was pray for God to enable them to be ready to use whatever opportunity He gave. Opportunities didn’t often come, but they continued to pray. Then one day, a young man spied the young mum. He had been recently divorced, and an entirely different agenda was on his mind! But the older woman saw what was going on and made sure she was the primary one in the conversation (I’m sure to his annoyance). As they chatted (while running on treadmills) he shared his situation, and then he shared his emptiness, his sense of worthlessness, his search for meaning. They asked if he would come to chat to me, which he did, and (long story short) he came to know the Lord and his life was transformed. It’s only one example. I could tell of another aerobics class where, in the changing room, some of the women were talking about failed ambitions, and as a result an ‘after exercise’ Coffee and Bible Study group formed. Or I could talk about the regular golfer who realised he and his fellow golfers used their 3-4 hours of time to just talk about what they did in life and, since Jesus was all to him, he shared Jesus. And there are so many more true and wonderful stories like this I could tell.

Sport is a huge opportunity for the gospel – it creates a ‘market place’ – a place where people meet and talk. And God has placed you there for His Kingdom purposes.

None of this required church ministry teams to be set up, rotas to be formed or rooms to be booked – they were the outflow of intentionally living for Jesus whilst doing the sport they enjoyed. Sport is a huge opportunity for the gospel – it creates a ‘market place’ – a place where people meet and talk. And God has placed you there for His Kingdom purposes.

I once saw a Garfield (i.e. the overweight cat) cartoon. He was passing a Pet Shop and saw all the animals in cages. Rushing inside Garfield opened all the cages and yelled “You’re free”. But the animals were so used to their cages and afraid of the world ‘out there’ that they cowered in their cages. The cartoon ended with Garfield locking them all in again crying out “You’re captive”. It’s an insightful cartoon.

Jesus came to bring Freedom. That’s not freedom from difficulty or trouble … Jesus reminds us “In this world you will have trouble“ (Jn 16:33). But He goes on to say “But I have overcome the world“. No, His freedom is rest in him in the midst of trouble, joy in Him in the midst of sorrow, peace in Him in the midst of storms. And this freedom comes from seeing Him for all that He is, has done and has promised, so that we trust in Him and so find rest in Him.

The problem is that we can become so used to our fear, so accustomed to our worries, so comfortable in our hurts or concerns that moving into the rest that is ours in Jesus is something we shy away from, or maybe even avoid.

The problem is that we can become so used to our fear, so accustomed to our worries, so comfortable in our hurts or concerns that moving into the rest that is ours in Jesus is something we shy away from, or maybe even avoid. Or we’re so accustomed to the way we’ve always responded in difficulty that we can’t even begin to conceive of any other response, nor how to get there.

It’s comforting to realise that Jesus spent His time with the Disciples leading them to that rest, that trust in Him. This was, to put it simply, Discipleship: learning more about Jesus so that they came to trust more and more in Him. Finding freedom in Jesus isn’t the matter of a simple decision, but the outcome of being Disciples who are hungry to know more of and follow Him in His power.

Finding freedom in Jesus isn’t the matter of a simple decision, but the outcome of being Disciples who are hungry to know more of and follow Him in His power.

But, maybe you’ve been following Jesus for years and still don’t know the peace of resting in Him. Maybe fears, anxiety and worry dominate your life still. How do you start?

Will you turn with me to Matthew 14:22-33? It’s a well known passage: Jesus calming the storm. In Matthew 14 we learn that it came as Jesus was grieving the death of John the Baptist, and from John’s account (John 6) we see the context is Jesus teaching his disciples (Jn 6:6) … they were learning about what it means to find the same peace in difficulty that they saw in Jesus in his loss. And there are key things Jesus was teaching them we need to see:

1. Recognise that I cannot do it myself (v24-25)

The short trip across the lake by experienced sailors took 9 hours already, yet they were still struggling themselves. Bet they were still depending on themselves! Earlier Jesus had calmed the storm (Matt 8:26), and they knew He could, but their knowledge hadn’t impacted their actions. We need to recognise that the sin we’ve battled with, the emotions we struggle over, the hurts that continue to damage us are things we can’t deal with ourselves – but He is able!

We need to recognise that the sin we’ve battled with, the emotions we struggle over, the hurts that continue to damage us are things we can’t deal with ourselves – but He is able!

2. See all that Jesus is (v26-27)

Knowing God, His power, faithfulness, constant love, kindness, goodness, immutability, and all that together makes up the character of our God is vital. It’s about coming to realise that He is not merely an add-on, but He is all I need. Jesus walked over all that threatened them, utterly, totally ruling over all that had defeated them.

3. Turn from what holds me captive to Jesus (v28-31)

It’s gratifying that Peter still had to learn this. And Jesus doesn’t condemn him, but invites Peter to experience the freedom that comes from trust in Him, as well as the devastation of turning back to trust in himself. Knowing Freedom from captivity is about the “Renewal of the mind” (Rom 12:2), as we step out in trust in Him. His Spirit works to conform our hearts, and trusting Him is learnt experientially. We have to step out on this path in order to step into His freedom. Our discipleship is about ongoing repentance in the power of His Spirit – turning from self to God.

Our discipleship is about ongoing repentance in the power of His Spirit – turning from self to God.

4. Let Jesus rule (v32)

The disciples weren’t written out of the story – Jesus didn’t chuck them out of the boat! But Jesus came into the boat and they let Him bring them safe to shore. He is the one who promises to walk with us in green pasture times and the dark valley times. It’s letting Him be the Shepherd, letting Him lead, and resting in His lead no matter what things look like which is lived out Discipleship.

5. Repeat! (That’s the story of the rest of Matthew’s gospel)

They hadn’t fully learnt to trust in Jesus. They tried to control things, tried to do things their way, forgot His power time and time again. But they were discovering what it meant to trust in Him and find freedom. They were being prepared for a lifetime of fearless, occasionally failing, walk with Jesus whatever the circumstances.

Jesus once asked a paralysed man “Do you want to be made well” (John 5:1-9). It was a discerning question. The man had a terrible life of dependency and inability – literally crippling. But he needed to step away from what had defined him for decades. He needed to trust Jesus, to step out by doing in Jesus’ power what seemed impossible – to get up and pick up his mat. In doing so he moved from captivity (and the mat that represented his captivity) and stepped into freedom, finding that, in Jesus, he was able to rule over what had ruled him his entire life.

Losing a loved one is an intensely personal event. Your relationship with the one you have lost is just that – your relationship. Your sadness and hurt are a sign of the love that you gave and bonds that you formed. And no-one else is quite like you – your upbringing, life experiences, past loss and present circumstances are all unique to you. And so no-one can tell you how you will respond. Nor can anyone truly say ˜I know what you’re going through”, though they may well be able to empathise with your experience.

But it is possible to identify some things that occur as we face loss, not in everyone or to the same degree in all people, but common ‘categories’ of feeling some may go through. Kubler-Ross (1969) wrote a key paper which identified these common features and, whilst debated, her explanation has become a commonly adopted framework to help us discuss and understand grief.

These five ‘stages’ (but don’t think of them as ordered – rather think of them as categories that can summarise how you feel from time to time) are: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance – see https://tinyurl.com/five-grief for more details.

We were not created for parting, but for eternity, to dwell together and with God for eternity (Gen 1-2). Sin changed all of that.

What is important to realise, no matter what the details, is that loss is a huge shock and change, one that we struggle to get our minds to face. We were not created for parting, but for eternity, to dwell together and with God for eternity (Gen 1-2). Sin changed all of that, and death and separation came (Gen 3). By Genesis 5 we hear the ‘death bell toll’ in the repeated words “and he died“. But, in God’s grace, he enables us to face loss and bring that loss into a new future. To help us to work through all that our minds cannot fully absorb, the reality of loss is revealed a bit at a time. These are seen in the ‘stages’ of grief, as we ‘grow with our loss’.

That’s encouraging! As we travel through our hurt and pain, as we try to understand things and face a new future, God is enabling us in it. There is a “rainbow through the rain” – God has, in our deepest fallen humanity, placed His care for us in our weakness and inability.

Of course, our true hope, the real answers, are found in Jesus. But that isn’t separate from the feelings we go through. Who is the truth in the confusion of ‘denial’? – Jesus who is “the way, the truth and the life” and He calls us to trust Him even in our lack of understanding (see John 20:10-16); Who patiently hears us in our anger and pain? – Jesus our redeemer and friend who listens and loves (see Job 10:1-13, John 11:32-33); Who guides us through our questions and hurt? – Jesus our saviour who speaks hope in Him into our confusion (John 11:21-27); Who leads us through the deepest sadness? – Jesus our creator who is always with us and will not leave us (Isaiah 43:1-3); Who guides our path as we learn to live again? – Jesus our patient friend who calls us to find our future in Him (John 20:24-29, Job 40:1-42:6).

Our pathway through loss is dark, difficult, confusing and painful. No-one else quite understands. But we have our Shepherd King – He leads us through the dark valley, He is with us in the midst of the battle (Ps 23), and He will lead us safe through.

Our pathway through loss is dark, difficult, confusing and painful. No-one else quite understands. But we have our Shepherd King – He leads us through the dark valley, He is with us in the midst of the battle (Ps 23), and He will lead us safe through. Praise God that when we feel the most alone, He is with you and will never leave nor forsake you.

When facing big challenges, having folk you can call on to help is amazing! We’ve moved house a number of times, and have been so blessed to have church friends who have come alongside to help on moving day. We’ve faced bereavement and have had the privilege of having those who have walked with us through it. And there are many other situations where having the advice or help of amazing Christian friends has literally be a ‘god-send’. But standing out above them all has been the blessing of church families surrounding us as we have sought to bring up our children.

Being parents is one of the most awesome and daunting tasks we can face! We are privileged with the physical, emotional, intellectual and, above all, spiritual dependency and well-being of children! What as challenge! And yet, how often do we do this on our own? But that’s not how God intended it to be.

We know that children are a gift from God (Gen 33:5, Ps 127:3) – yes, even at 2am in the morning!

Now, we do need to understand some Biblical basics first. We know that children are a gift from God (Gen 33:5, Ps 127:3) – yes, even at 2am in the morning! And it is to parents, primarily, that God gives the wonderful responsibility of nurture (Prov 1:8-9), and in particular spiritual nurture (Deut 6:6-9,20-25, 11:18-21, Prov 22:6, Eph 6:4). It is the pattern of the parent’s life as well as their words that teach our children (2 Tim 1:5, 3:15), and the reality of living our our love for Jesus in front of them daily is a privilege and a challenge. Praise God, salvation is of the Lord, not us (Jon 2:9) – as parents we are the sowers of seed, but God brings the increase.

Yet, we are also clearly taught in scripture that as Christians we don’t grow in isolation. The local church is part of His plan not only so that we might learn, but so that together we might share one another’s gifts so that we continue towards spiritual maturity (Eph 4:11-16). In Titus 2:3-5 we are given the wonderful picture of older women teaching the younger. We see Paul take younger men under his wing to teach them and encourage growth, even Timothy who was particularly young compared to others. And the marvellous picture in Col 3:12-17 of God’s people bearing with one another, forgiving one another, teaching and admonishing one another doesn’t exclude parenting help and advice!

We were so blessed as young parents, feeling very out of our depth, by the wise advice of a Godly church leader. He said “Don’t go it alone. Look for an older family where you see Godly parents and children you’d love your children to turn out like. Ask them if you can seek their advice and prayer, and learn from them.” We were privileged to see both the good and the not so good in the lives of three couples, who patiently helped us immensely and who, in God’s time, we were able to encourage too. It was Col 3:12-17 in action in our lives, and our families remain close to this day.

We were privileged to see both the good and the not so good in the lives of three couples, who patiently helped us immensely and who, in God’s time, we were able to encourage too. It was Col 3:12-17 in action in our lives

So, whether you are a parent, or someone who has never had children or whose children have grown up, here are some practical parenting pointers for us all:

• When you come to church, come ready for God to move you, to speak to you, to change you. We need children to see God’s people in vital, passionate, living relationships with our living God;
• If you are a parent, seek out the prayer and practical support of Godly people. Find older couples to draw close to. Don’t be embarrassed for them to see your failings, but be willing to learn.
• If you are not parents, or are older parents, look out for those who you can be used to provide Godly support to. Notice that even young, inexperienced Timothy was encouraged to look out for and help others (1 Tim 4:12). Even if it’s “only” prayer support- that’s so vital!
• In the busyness of parenting, don’t neglect meeting with God’s people on Sunday, and don’t miss the support of Small Groups or Prayer Triplets which you need to teach & encourage you and pray for you.
• Don’t try to do alone what God has put you in community for.

Looking back, I knew the need and the value of people coming alongside when doing big tasks, like moving house. How much more, then, do we need to see the immense task of parenting in the same way. And how much more can we expect to see the blessing when others draw alongside us as we parent the children God has given us.

Preparing for marriage is a potentially stressful time! So much to think about – date, location, dress, suits, flowers, service order, seating plans, reception venue, food, music and so much more. But, of course, I’ve got that wrong – that’s just preparing for a wedding! That’s just a single day. But being prepared for Marriage is about so much more. But I wonder, which do you think gets the most thought before we are married … the Wedding Day or the marriage itself?

Interestingly, the Bible is rather silent on the nature or contents of the Wedding Day, but has a lot to say about Marriage. And interestingly in the opportunities I have had to run a ‘Marriage Preparation Course for the Already Married’ I have often found surprise at how much teaching God has towards marriage … surprise expressed even by some who have been married for many years! So, maybe for you this is a great prompter to find out more about what the Bible says!

But let me ask you one question right now: Why are you married?

Now let me say straight away that there are many good (and correct) answers to this question! Hopefully you’ll immediately say “Because I love him/her” (Eph 5:25, Col 3:19). Also, hopefully, that physical desire you had for one another is as passionate now as it was when you first met (Prov 5:18). If you have had a family, your stable marriage, living out Jesus in the home, is central as you bring up your children well in the Lord (Deut 6:1-9). Also it’s vital that you constantly live out the reality that you need one another (Gen 2:18), are being bound ever closer together (2 Cor 6:14) and are deeply knit together in every way (Gen 2:24, Mk 10:8). Each one of these must be a living reality at the heart of our marriages.

But there is a vital answer we shouldn’t miss. It’s embedded in the teaching of Eph 5:22-33. Paul uses marriage as an illustration of Jesus’ love for the church, and the church’s response to His love. And he’s only reflecting here the teaching of the whole of scripture (e.g. Is 54:5). The point is that your marriage is not primarily for yourself, or for your children. Ultimately your marriage is there to bring glory and honour to the Lord, to illustrate His love, to picture Jesus to the world.

The husband constantly shows sacrificial love to their wife to “make her holy, cleansing her … to present her holy“ is because that is Jesus’ purpose for His church (v25-28). The wife’s sacrificial submission to her husband’s sacrificial love is because that is how the church responds to Christ’s love (v22-24). You draw close together as one because that deep “one flesh” unity is also Jesus’ work in His church (v31).

In Col 3:17 we read “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him“. It’s a repetition of the teaching of 1 Cor 10:31 “…whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God“. All we do is to be for His glory. But our marriages? Yes, our marriages too! … Col 3:18 goes on immediately to speak of our marriages!

What is your marriage for? Ultimately, foundationally, you are ‘married for God’! I wonder how understanding this might transform our marriages now, and our married life to come? Maybe there are attitudes to confess or change, maybe there are divisions to heal, maybe there is time, or love, to be more freely given. Whatever it is, if God has given you the blessings of marriage, may God receive the glory He is due in every part of your marriage.

For one youth event in Bath, we took the 11-14 group down to the Bath Boathouse to hire out punts. Needless to say, lots of the young people got very wet, and there was a lot of laughter. But there is one thing I remember well. You’ll probably be aware that you have to be careful getting into and out of a boat. The problem is, as you step in (or out) one leg is pushing the boat from the dock. The consequences are disastrous (or hilarious, if you’re watching) … the gap between the boat and the dock grows, your balance goes, and into the water you fall.

The thing is, the ‘drift’ doesn’t suddenly happen. The movement begins gradually and often isn’t noticed until it’s too late. The only remedy is to ensure that the boat is well secured.

I’ve been reading through Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers recently. The people of God have seen God work to rescue them from slavery, have seen God provide Manna for them every day, seen His presence on Mt Sinai, heard His voice, and have the reality of God’s presence with them constantly visible in the pillar of cloud and fire. Yet, in the difficulty of the wilderness, they drift. It’s imperceptible at first, but then comes a dramatic fall … whether the idolatry of the calf idol (Exodus 32), the contention against God’s leaders (e.g. Numbers 12, 14), the weariness with the provision (e.g. Numbers 11, 21), or the worry over the battles to come (e.g. Numbers 13).

The question arises – how could they forget all they’d seen and experienced of God so soon? How could they fail so dramatically? And the answer is simply this: it wasn’t dramatic; it was a drift that ended with a dramatic fall. They grew accustomed to God’s grace and mercy, failed to see the One who it all came from, and just drifted from that intimate love and passion for God. They hardly noticed it, but it resulted in big failure.

And it’s not limited to these early books of the Bible – we see it in Gideon (Judges 8), in David (2 Samuel 11), in Godly Kings who fail (e.g. 2 Chronicles 16, 20:35, 24:17-18, …), and in the days of the early church (2 Timothy 4:10). We are told of the church in Laodecia who grew lukewarm (Revelation 3:16-17), only one of many churches warned about falling away. We are given so many Biblical examples and each is there to warn us of a real danger.

We have been through a difficult time. We have been separated from the regular meeting with God’s people, and regular ministry. For some it has been a time of greater intimacy and opportunity to spend time with God, a time of growth in adversity. For others it may have been a time of spiritual drifting. The key thing is to be aware of the danger. We are warned “so, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall.” (1 Cor 10:12).

We are warned “so, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall.” (1 Cor 10:12).

How should we respond? Well, we are clearly taught that the gathering of God’s people in church (whether physically or otherwise) is vital to our growth into maturity in Christ (Ephesians 4). So, we need to acknowledge our need of one another, cultivating our relationship as part of His Body in the local church by many means (phone calls, WhatsApp groups, Small Groups and much more). And in these opportunities to chat we need to be honest about where we are in our walk with Christ.

But, before all this, our security is ultimately based upon Jesus. He is our solid rock, our firm foundation, our fortress, our stronghold. It’s in “throwing off sin” and “fixing our eyes upon Jesus” (Hebrews 12:1-2) where we find our security and where our love for the Lord is re-kindled. It’s responding to the potential for drift by using every opportunity to know Him better and grow in love with Him more.

The funny thing about the youth event was that it wasn’t just one of the young people whose boat drifted … some did the same thing just after laughing at others who fell in! Not very wise. And we too need to see the potential for drift, and respond with wisdom rather than ignore the warnings God so lovingly has given.

These verses are so relevant to our times.

“Moses said to the LORD, ‘Then the Egyptians will hear about it! By your power you brought these people up from among them. And they will tell the inhabitants of this land about it. They have already heard that you, LORD, are with these people and that you, LORD, have been seen face to face, that your cloud stays over them, and that you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.’ “

Numbers 14:13-14 NIVUK

Bear with me and let me explain their context first.

These verses come just after the spies have been in the promised land, and 10 spies returned scared by the power of the nations in the land God had promised to give them, and only Caleb and Joshua had seen that God was able. Moses is pleading with God, and reminds himself, and all God’s people, in his prayer of all God has already done in prepare for them taking the land.

The nations had heard that God was with them. They had heard that they spoke with God “face to face“. They had heard of His power among them. They had heard that He leads them. God had already prepared their hearts to fear Him and fall before Him as His people went to occupy the land.

But God’s people didn’t see it themselves! All they saw was the size of the opposition, not the power of their God.

As we are about to come out of Lockdown, as God’s people are about to return to their workplaces, as we are about to meet many more people each day, I wonder if we are aware that we are in the same position. People have heard that We have met with the living God and seen Him “face to face“. People have heard of His power that has forgiven, redeemed and set free, people have heard of His mighty work transforming sin-scared lives. Yes, the opposition looks powerful, unconquerable, and today’s humanist-secularist world is fiercely opposed to God’s people. But He has gone before us. It’s His Kingdom that will be victorious. It’s His message of good news that will reach others and transform lives. It’s the gates of Hell that constantly fall.

So, let’s see as Moses saw – all that God had already done to prepare the way of victory. Unashamed, undefeated, unshackled, emboldened by the presence and power of the Spirit, as churches and individuals this is a time of opportunity with a promise of ultimate victory. How we need to hear God’s call to enter into His gospel work seeing all He is and confident in all His power, so that His Kingdom purposes may be accomplished through us in our days.

We are meeting online during November 2020, but hope to be meeting again physically soon.

You can book in now for future physical gatherings or see our YouTube page for past online and live-streamed services, or use this window for the most recent service:

During this time, our Small Groups are still the mainstay of our pastoral and practical care, spiritual growth and outreach, do contact our small groups co-ordinator if you’d like to be part of a group.

In addition, we have a huge library of past sermons.  Series include: ‘Suffering Well’, ‘Faith in Dark Times’ and ‘Finding God’s Wisdom for Life’.  Click on our sermon section.

During the week

Lots of other meetings are also taking place online, including Prayer Meetings, Small Groups, Youth meetings and much more.  For more information see our Coronavirus Changes page on our ‘ChurchBuilder’ internal website.

Care

We also have a wide range of Pastoral and Practical Care available. This is being delivered primarily through our Small Group network.  If you are not in a Small Group, please join one, but if you do not wish to join one you can be put into one of our ‘Care Groups’ so that you are associated in a looser way to a Small Group should you need to request care.  Contact one of the Pastors for more information.

Staying in Contact

As we structure church differently and learn to trust God during this testing time, make sure you’re signed up to Cambray’s ChurchBuilder system to get all the latest news, emails and prayer points.  This helps us to be community together.

In addition, we have a Facebook group called ‘Cambray Community‘.  If you are a regular in Cambray Baptist Church, just ask to join when you go to that Facebook Group.

“Let us not give up the habit of meeting together, as some are doing. Instead, let us encourage one another all the more, since you see that the Day of the Lord is coming nearer.” (Hebrews 10:25)

Love

When Paul, who loved and was praising God for the Philippian Christians, was praying with thanksgiving for those believers he said this: “This is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight…” (Phil 1:9). In salvation believers are brought into a new intimate loving relationship with God. Its a love relationship so deep that it’s pictured in two ways: adoption into family and as a bride to her bridegroom. And as a relationship, it is only vital and living if it brings about daily greater depths of understanding and knowledge of one another. God’s love towards us is complete (Eph 3:18) and inescapable (Rom 8:38-39). But our love towards Him is intended to grow as we get to know Him more and more each day. A vital church has a vital [living, energetic, growing] love for the Lord. And so Paul’s desire for the Philippian believers he loved so much, and our desire for Cambray is that we would grow daily in love of God, so that we might love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength.

Grow

Paul goes on in Phil 1:10 to explain what the result of growing in love of God will do. He says it is “so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ“. Knowing Him better, which produces a deeper love for Him, causes us to desire Him, start to think as He does and impacts our behaviour and choices and, therefore, how we behave and the direction of our life. The gospel of grace isn’t that we are saved to do good, but that we are saved to be in love with Him, get to know Him more and more, and so long to do all He wants and become like Him. The wonderful result? Fruit! The fruit of this work of His Spirit, the character and likeness of Jesus, seen in us!

Go

The context of the whole prayer of Paul is the partnership that these Philippian Christians shared with Paul in the gospel (Phil 1:5). Just as a bride or groom proudly introduce others to their spouse, so we want to tell others of Jesus! For the Philippians, standing boldly for Jesus was starting to come at great cost. It wasn’t easy. But, Paul later says that, for him, “the important thing is that Christ is preached” (Phil 1:18). Knowing the thrill of a vital relationship with Jesus, it’s not a surprise that we should want to share that with others. In fact, we should want to shout it out from the rooftops!

Our vision for the life of the church around these three words isn’t something that’s peripheral to church life, nor aspirational. These are signs of real love for Jesus. They are attributes of a vital relationship, a living church. No wonder Paul says to the Philippians “This is my prayer” for you.

Me? Gifted?

We’re a long way from Christmas (only 116 days to go!). But, do you know what you want for Christmas? It’s not the most important question in the world, but if you don’t know what you want then the gifts you’ll get may join the others you’ve never used in the back of a cupboard.

When we think of God’s gifts to His people and the church it’s never like that. He knows the gifts that are needed to do His Kingdom work. And He equips His church generously for that work. So, the question we need to ask is simply this: do we know what God wants for His Kingdom? If our hearts are with His for His Kingdom purposes we’ll see where our gifts can be used.

So, lets think about Spiritual Gifts … Here are 5 key Bible principles to help us understand His gifts and how they are to be used.

1. Gifts are given to every believer

Eph 4:7-8 tells us that God “gave gifts to His people”, emphasising that “to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.” – i.e. that God’s giving of gifts is part of His undeserved loving kindness to us. Just as children are taught by parents to not ignore or refuse gifts given in love, so our growth in spiritual maturity entails recognising His kindness and so seeing and using the gifts He lovingly gives us.

2. The many different gifts are part of God’s kindness

The diversity of gifts God provides are not a sign of His greater favour to some compared to others. Rather, God has a wholistic viewpoint – the gifts given are together a sign of His loving-kindness toward the body of His people: “We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.” Rom 12:6.

3. Each gift in each person is essential to church life

In 1 Cor 12:7 we are told that the “manifestation of the Spirit“ (the provision of God’s gifts to an individual) “is given for the common good“. Later in v21 we are told that no gift can say to another “you are not needed“. In other words, God’s gifts are vital to the church, and any one that is unused negatively impacts the health and life of the church.

4. No gift is unimportant

1 Cor 12:15-18 imagines a situation where, in a body, the foot should say I’m not a hand, so I’m not needed. The result would be a body which is considerably limited in what it can do. So it is with the gifts. In fact we are told “God placed them, every one of them, just as He wanted them to be.“

5. It is our individual responsibility to identify and use the gifts we have been given

We are clearly told that “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.“ (1 Pet. 4:10). It’s not about waiting until someone else identifies the gifts in us or sends us into service … it is our responsibility to see God’s kindness in giving us His gifts and respond by joyfully using them (see also Matt 25:14-30).

Conclusion

Sadly God’s gifts are sometimes seen as a burden … almost like God has afflicted us with His gifts. The reality is that they are gives of grace: undeserved kindness! They are given for our good, our growth and His Kingdom work. Like a Christmas present that has been well thought through and so is gratefully received, His gifts to us should be a source of pleasure, joy and rejoicing.

So, look out for opportunity in the September Small Groups to identify the gifts God has given you to use.