This message was preached by Tim Davies who leads a church that is a part of Regions Beyond. which is a part of Newfrontiers. Newfrontiers has now multiplied into many apostolic spheres across the world that are united on global mission by core values and genuine relationships. Regions Beyond is one of the Apostolic spheres which is led by Steve Oliver.
DEEPLY
RELATIONAL
When we
look at the Apostle John’s he writes- no one has ever seen God. And then he
says, but God has made himself known through His son Jesus. He repeats the same
phrase in his first epistle- that no one has ever seen God, but he doesn’t end
it with the spotlight on Jesus. He says, but if we love one another... Suddenly,
the spotlight is on us. It’s a shock when you don’t expect such an ending. This
value is so close and so essential to what we are.
John again
makes that statement- God is love. It’s a startling stand-alone statement. It’s
the very essence of God’s nature.
When John
writes, he expects some kind of mocking laughter, when somebody walks in and
says that he knows God but doesn’t love. If you know God and are born of God,
you love one another. Jesus says, “They’ll know that you are my disciples if
you love another.” It’s the sign of being in Jesus- the sign of the knowledge
of the father is that we love one another. We see it in the New Testament life-
the life of the Apostles, a community working it out because that’s what Jesus
called them to.
In 1
Corinthians 13 Paul says- if I speak in the language of angels…and have no
love…it’s nothing! Would we dare to say it so starkly if it is not in the
scriptures? If there’s no love, it’s nothing. What do we gain if everything in
heaven says, ‘it was nothing’? Love is absolutely central.
Q. Can we
have that and go for the nations?
This is not
a question in the heart of God. Jesus says, “In the same way the Father sent me, I am sending you” the
progression- father sending and we being sent- there is intimacy and mission.
The intimacy in the Godhead- and the mission of the Godhead.
Love is
just essential to Paul. It’s truly a better way. He believed that. It’s not
just team dynamics, its love. In the problem with Barnabas, we see that this is
actually important to Paul. We can’t do this without love.
The thing
that can spoil it is:
·
our
own insecurities,
·
our
own selfish ambition and
·
competition
When there
is fear- ‘What about me?’ ‘What does this mean for me?’ Let’s be honest about
our hearts. Competition kills the sense of deep relationship.
In Mark 10-
when James and John were asking for glory, Jesus said, the gentiles lorded over
one another. “Not so with you.” Just that phrase- “it’s not going to be like
that with us.” Only a couple of verses later John is saying, that we stopped
someone from casting out a demon because he was not with them. They did not get
it. The night before Jesus lays down his life, there was an awkwardness in the
room because they’ve been discussing about who is the greatest. Then Jesus
takes off his outer cloak and washes their feet. He says, there is blessing in
doing this for one another. Not so with you- there is a better way.
Friends,
wouldn’t you want to be a person who does not need honour – nor is afraid of
it? Someone who does not lust for recognition – nor, on the other hand, is
frightened to death of it? … Wouldn’t you like to be the kind of person who, in
their imaginary life, does not sit around fantasizing about hitting self-esteem
home-runs, daydreaming about successes that give them the edge over others? Or
perhaps you tend to beat yourself up and to be tormented by regrets. Wouldn’t
you like to be free of them? Wouldn’t you like to be the skater who wins the
silver, and yet is thrilled about those three triple jumps that the gold medal
winner did? To love it the way you love a sunrise? Just to love the fact that
it was done? For it not to matter whether it was their success or your success.
Not to care if they did it or you did it. You are as happy that they did it as
if you had done it yourself – because you are just so happy to see it.
(The Freedom of Self Forgetfulness - Tim
Keller)
He takes it from Paul in 2 Corinthians 3. He
is not talking about self-esteem. He is not even playing that game. Wouldn’t it
be lovely to be free like that?
It’s
saying, there is nothing in me that needs recognition, but I’m not going to
scared of it either being afraid of what people are thinking about me. We are
here for one another’s success! We are seeking first the kingdom.
Paul is
like that. When in the jail, in Philippians and hears news of people preaching
Jesus due to competition, he says, “I rejoice … Christ is proclaimed!” Even
when you suspect of the motives, Christ is proclaimed and you rejoice in that.
Q. how do
we get there?
Just
enjoying the grace of God- that he loves you, forgave you, adopted you as His
son, every spiritual blessing given, the hope for the future- never to forsake
you, never to leave you. It’s embarrassing to add anything else to that. Pride
isn’t about what you’ve got but about what you’ve got that others do not. No
one is proud about being rich. They are proud about being richer! The things
that are true of all of us, they are enough. If nothing else were to happen,
I’ll be happy. Let’s just enjoy Him and wherever he leads us- into obscurity or
moments of acclamation- let our treasure be him and him alone. This means, I
can become a servant of all. It looks like a dead- end, to become everyone’s
servant. But its great in the kingdom- to lay down your life for one another.
Trusting a father in heaven who will keep His promises. Like Abraham, we can
say, ‘I’ve got the promises.’ We don’t give up the promises as we lay down our
lives for one another. We are going to do that- it’s a faith decision.
One of the
prophetic words we got is a picture of a huge ball going down a hill and all of
us in the ball. Things change- you’re at the top one moment and the ball is
moving and you are under someone but we are all moving together. That’s a good
picture! Things change and no one can lord themselves over the others. We are
born of the spirit and the wind blows where it will. It’s like that for those
born of the spirit.
The other
option is- as Paul describes in a graphic way- that we devour one another. It’s
a great one another! They are the extremes. If it is like a crossroads, what is
it going to be? We devour one another or we lay our lives down for one another?
We need to say, you stay God and I’ll be quiet. You tell me what to do- give me
the opportunity. I will run like the wind but I don’t have to. If someone else
does it, it’ll be glorious as well.
God is at
work among us and this is what he is doing. In John’s letter where he says,
love another. He gives the picture of the cross. The story is that whenever
John was asked to preach his message was “dear children, lets love one
another.” Can you imagine the frustration when someone like John comes to talk
and all he says is, love one another?
John was there just meters away from the cross. So he says, I was there
when Jesus poured out his life, so little children, let’s love one another.
Also at the
cross, Jesus tells John, “this is your mother”. John went to the cross without
a mother and came back with a mother he never had before. It wasn’t just a
message, something happened with John there at the cross. So Paul says, be
eager to keep the unity of the spirit. The cross is not just an example.
Something happens at the cross. This is a present reality- we are a family
because of what happened at the cross. It’s not about trying to make something
happen. It’s something that God has done- a tangible reality on the cross- we
now belong to one another. Paul does not say, make every effort- he says, ‘be
eager’!
The thing
about our personal ambition- we need to say, “not so with us”. We are here for
one another’s success. I believe God has given us faith for this. There is
incredible fruit from that. No one’s ever seen God, but when we love one
another people see God.
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