Brenton Brown
"Sometimes it seems as though all we can see is the ending. Tragedy hits and we wonder if there ever will be a way out of our low...
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Our God Is Near
The kingdom of our God is near, lift your eyes, lift your eyes The hope of heaven's drawing near, lift your eyes, lift your eyes…. You're blessed if you've been torn apart You're blessed if you've a broken heart For hope is waiting at the door Salvation's near.. ('cause) Our God is mercy, our God is mercy If Your heart is heavy, if Your soul is thirsty There is a refuge, a home for the lonely Our God is near, Our God is near Most of us, when we hear the phrase 'the kingdom of God is near', hear a statement about timing, as in, 'God's judgement is only minutes away' or 'the end is nigh'(!). And in a sense this is true. God's judgement is definitely coming. And scripture tells us, it's coming soon. The street preachers are right. There will be a day when Christ returns to earth to judge the wicked and the righteousness, and He will set every wrong right. And for most of us this a statement that inspires fear and trembling. And it is right that it does so. For the day of the Lord is coming… But the phrase can also be understood in another way. 'The Kingdom of God is near' can also be understood as a statement about proximity. It's a sentence that suggests that the kingdom of God is nearby, that God's Kingdom is within reach. And during Jesus' ministry on earth, this is the way in which He used these words most often. Understood in this way, 'the kingdom of GOD is near' becomes a statement of hope, an exclamation of good news. So when Jesus sent his followers out on their first 'ministry trip', this is what He said to them "When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, 'The kingdom of God is near you.' But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, Even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God is near.' - Luke 10:8-10 (New International Version) Then he turned to his disciples and said privately, "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it." Every time we begin a worship set we are doing precisely what Jesus' disciples did 2000 years ago. We are proclaiming that the Kingdom of God is within reach. The very action of addressing our God in the first person - what scripture refers to as 'calling on the Name of the Lord' - implicitly expresses the truth that GOD can hear us, that He is actually close enough to hear us! And not just that He's close enough to hear us, but that He, our King and His kingdom, is near to us. Remember when Jesus announced the start of His ministry on earth? He began with a passage from Isaiah. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."[a] - Luke 4:17-19 (New International Version) This 'anointing' Isaiah is speaking of in this passage is the same 'anointing' that happened to David, when he was selected as the future king of Israel by Samuel the prophet. It's a word that denotes Kingship - authority. When Jesus reads this passage He is saying that the Spirit of the Lord has anointed Him, has selected Him as King! And then He goes on to describe what His reign, His coming Kingdom, will look like. He is a King who speaks good news to the poor, who speaks freedom to those in chains, who speaks recovery of sight to the blind. This kingdom is good news for everyone who is in trouble! That's why both Matthew and Luke record Jesus as saying You are blessed if you're in dire straights. God's King and Kingdom is at hand. And this King is your deliverer, your hope, your song. 'Cause our God is mercy, our God is rest for the weary, our God is sight for the blind, our God is freedom for prisoners, our God is food and drink for the hungry and thirsty, our God is comfort for those who mourn. Our God is good news!! "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." - Matthew 11 (NIV) In many ways, the act of leading worship is radical evangelism. It is a proclamation of the Good news, it is a revelation of the living God and His kingdom. And something happens as people awake to the nearness of GOD. There is a spiritual transaction that takes place as we proclaim this news. As Jesus and His disciples proclaimed the Kingdom of God was at hand, repentance and signs of God's coming kingdom followed. The sick were healed, the tormented were delivered, the lonely were set in families. As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near.' Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy,[a]drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. - Matthew 10. Many of us as worship leaders have the responsibility of being the first person in our communities to proclaim this news as we gather. If you are that person, take courage. Know that as we gather in His name, He is among us. He is near. In fact He promises to draw even nearer to us as we draw near to Him. And He brings with Him all power and peace of His kingdom. What an amazing task we have. How beautiful are the feet are those who bring this amazingly good news: You're blessed if you're poor and broken down. God is near. You're blessed if you've been stuck in chains and locked up as prisoner 'cause God is near. You're blessed if you've been struggling to see your way through. God is near. You're blessed if you're thirsty and starving for God's righteousness, for He is near. You're blessed if you've been persecuted for righteous acts, if you've brought peace to troubled situations, if you've shown mercy. The Lord is near and His reward is with Him. And for these - and so many more - reasons, the message we bring is a message of hope. Just as every time we drink the wine and eat the bread of communion, we proclaim the Lord's death until He comes, so too as we call upon His name, we proclaim the nearness and coming of our GOD until He returns….
He Stands Above The Rulers Of The Earth (Glorious)
Look inside the mystery, see the empty cross, see the risen savior, victorious and strong. No one else above him. None as strong to save. He alone has conquered the power of the grave. Glorious, my eyes have seen the glory of the Lord. Glorious, He stands above the rulers of the Earth. This past century has had it's share of incredible leaders. As a South African I don't have far to look to see a few of them. Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Mahatma Ghandi. All amazing people. All incredible leaders of people - each one leaving their stamp on history. Nelson Mandela obviously stands out (and not just because I'm South African!). Imprisoned for 27 years for his role in Black South Africa's struggle for social and political equality, he returns from imprisonment to lead both his people and his oppressors into a time of peace and equality - all without bitterness and with a superhuman display of forgiveness. Morally courageous leaders like Mandela, though rare, have occurred throughout history. In recent recent years we've seen the moral leadership of Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King in their fight for racial equality, we've seen Mother Theresa's tireless work with the poor in Calcutta, we've seen Aung San Suu Kyi's courageous protest against political oppression in Burma. And back further still, we've seen William Wilberforce indefatigable fight against slavery. And then there are the intellectual leaders in history - philosophers such as Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, John Locke and John Stuart Mill. Scientists such as Newton, Copernicus, Madame Curie, Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking. The list goes on and on… Leaders, one after another who have shaped and altered the course of history through their extraordinary actions and thoughts. People worth emulating and learning from. But here's the rub. Here's the part that changes everything. Every one of those leaders is either dead or is going to die. It's a fact so widely assumed, so much a part of human existence, that it seems almost foolish to point it out. Of course they all die. They're human right? That's what happens when you're human. You either grow old and die, or you die before then. But you will die. Even those who have been raised from the dead, from Lazarus through to the little girl in the Philippines who was 'prayed back to life' after drowning recently, will one day face the power of death. That day is coming for me. And that day is coming for you. It's just the facts. Unless Christ returns before that you will die… Jesus on the other hand, is not dead. He is alive right now, even though He was killed more than 2000 years ago. What separates Jesus from every other human being who has lived on this earth is that death went to work on Him - as it does on every human being - but this time, this one time, it did not win!! Now that is not to say that Jesus wasn't wholly remarkable and distinct in other ways. As we looked at last week, He is the only person to have lived without once straying from the ways of the Father - a completely guiltless life. Although never writing a word in a book, His words and wisdom have had more literary impact than any other person in history. His moral courage and wisdom has inspired generations of leaders in all walks of life. On top of that His ability to heal the sick and raise the dead, cast out demons and then work through his followers to do the same, is also a unique and wholly distinctive quality of his leadership. All of these characteristics are obviously exceptional, amazing, and inspirational. But Jesus' victory over death has changed the state of play for life on earth forever. His life, death and resurrection introduced a way of being human that all of creation groans and longs for, an existence impervious to decay, entropy, sin and death. The Bible calls this kind of life 'everlasting life'. And God's promise to us is that those who know Jesus and who live and die in Him, will rise again to live this kind of life…Before Jesus there was no hope that this kind of existence was possible. Death was unbeatable. Every famous conqueror, from Ozymandias to Ghengis Khan, from Julias Ceasar to Napolean Bonaparte, despite conquering entire nations, in the end were themselves conquered by death. It has always been the last and unbeatable foe. The enemy that steals family members and friends and life itself. And yet Jesus defeated it. As John Mark Macmillan says so eloquently 'the man Jesus Christ, laid death in his grave'. With death's defeat the door to eternal life has been opened. opened. And as exceptional, inspiring and remarkable as all the great leaders of history have been - not one of them has conquered death. He stands above the rulers of the earth. He is the way beyond the power of sin and it's causally related cousin, death. Jesus' has broken the power of sin and broken the power of death. And right now He invites us into a relationship with Him that breaks it's power over us too. I rejoice at the wonderful things Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela have done. I marvel at their moral courage. But in the end my worship belongs to only one man, the man Jesus Christ. Who's life and death and resurrection have opened the gates to a new heaven and a new earth, where death and sorrow and tears will be no more. Jesus is the glory of the Father revealed to us... Look beyond the tombstone, see the living God See the resurrected ruler of my heart No one else above Him, none to match His worth The hope of His returning, fills the universe...
Obedient to Death
Almighty God, our heavenly Father, we have sinned in thought and word and deed, through negligence, through weakness, through our own deliberate fault. When I fell ill with a condition called Chronic Fatigue Syndrome nine years ago, one of the first things I began to notice was just how absent God's goodness was in a lot of my attitudes, thoughts and comments. It wasn't that I was necessarily a 'saint' prior to falling ill. It was just that with struggling with overwhelming tiredness, pain, nausea and a lot of disappointment, I became increasingly aware of just how bad - and how often - my attitude could be. There were many, many days when not one of God the Spirit's fruits were evident in me. When love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control were just distant memories. Mine was a desperate and often ugly faith, a white knuckle grasping of God's promises while at the same time failing repeatedly to live up to the holy calling that those who profess Christ are charged with. And it began to dawn on me, in a way that it hadn't ever before, just how extraordinary Jesus' victory over sin was. Forget about surviving an hour or maybe even a day without sinning in thought or word or deed. Consider that all through his pre teen years, all through adolescence, through every painful accident, through every hurtful accusation and misunderstanding, through the shame of questionable parentage, and the injustice of foreign occupation, through all of the trials of growing up on earth, Jesus' desire was to please His father and serve others. He never failed. Not once. Despite having created the very minds that questioned him, and forming the very earth that those around him stood upon, he was never sinfully impatient. Despite leaving the unimaginable sufficiency of heaven in order to lead history’s greatest rescue story; despite being born into a poor family in a backwoods and occupied town in the outlying reaches of a violent and Godless empire; despite doing all of this for a people who ultimately rejected him and called for his violent and public death, Jesus' never once strayed from the path of righteousness. He never once sinned in thought or word or deed. He never once gave into temptation. He never once refused the prompting of His Father. Though He was tempted in every way as we are, He was without sin. He did what no one else has done. He overcame temptation. His life, lived in glorious light, was without a single bad attitude, nasty retort, violent response, thoughtless comment or departure from what He knew His mission to be - even at the cost of His own life. He was sinless. And this is why His is the name above all other names. This is why I feel joy and confidence in calling others to worship Him. The One who's name we point to, who's life we sing about, who's ways we acknowledge, is truly above all others, worthy of our praise. In fact, what Jesus accomplished is so extraordinary, so far above any other human accomplishment that the praise His life commands is a praise above any other praise we might offer up to anyone or anything else in history. The greatest humanitarians, sports personalities, political leaders, or Nobel prize winners. What Jesus did has never been repeated. His life is the singular example of a life lived without sin. And his resurrection testifies to the type of life He lived. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross! - Phil 2v8 This is why we sing it out, sing it louder than anything else we sing about in our lives. Greater than the mountains and the oceans He made, greater than any other extraordinary life lived, Jesus stands above all others. And when we turn to look above the heads and shoulders of those in history and our society who vie for our attention and praise, we see a guiltless man bowed in agony, crucified with arms spread wide on a cross of shame, giving his life so that we can live forever. A man who even now prays for us at the right hand of God the Father. Amazing God! Praising others is an activity that outside of sports stadiums is regarded with suspicion in our culture. So calling others to praise and worship is the activity of warfare. It stands against prevailing our culture. Doubts assail us as we call others to lift up the name and life of Jesus. But the truth is, Jesus stands unequivocally above every other name, every other human life. He is the one who is worthy of our highest praise! Rest in this truth as you call and bring others to worship! We lift you up Jesus you are strong to save, There's no battle you can't win, Stronger even than the grave, We turn to you again, For only you have overcome, every trial this world can bring, Humbly you defeated sin, Then died that we might live, We lift you up, lift you higher, You deserve our highest praise, We'll sing it out, we'll sing it louder, Jesus name above all names, You conquered temptation, Obedient to death, You won our salvation, You are our righteousness.
Jesus As Product
Donald Miller makes a strong argument for church architecture historically tracking dominant power structures of the day. In Augustine’s time churches were built like palaces. In feudal times they were built on rises like castles or forts. In our day the dominant structures are malls - economic outlets. And often our churches are built like them - as are our service structures. Whether this is a bad thing or not is another conversation. But I think that these trends are simply a reflection of God’s people being in the world… The temptation in our current social environment, where selling product and exchanging information is our defining social exchange, is to mistake Jesus for the ultimate product that needs to be hyped and then sold. Jesus needs no marketing campaign. He doesn’t need to be sold. He simply needs to be attested to - witnessed. The problem with confusing Jesus with a product that solves every problem is that when followers go through difficult times we cam make one of two incorrect assumptions. Either Jesus, as the ultimate product, is failing. Or that somehow we are misreading the manual and failing to use the product right. But neither of these assumptions are accurate. Jesus promised that in this world we will have trouble. But to take heart, He has overcome this world and He is worth us. All this is not to say that we are not to persuade others of the good news (2 Cor 5.11). Nor, that Jesus is not the treasure above all others - the treasure that is worth seeking above all others. Just that, the primary purpose of our meeting together is not to sell a product. It is to magnify and make known the greatness of our God. The distinction is subtle. But I think it is important.
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