Northside Church - Sydney
Cure for the Common Life Week 1: Discover Your Uniqueness
You're listening to another great message from Northside Community Church. Can you remember when you were first taken outside on a clear, crisp, calm night to look at the stars? You're probably very small, just a little child probably, might've been mum, might've been dad, might've been a grandparent, might've been some other friend or relative and it was possibly out in the country. If you were raised in the city, we city folk don't get to see the sky as the country people do something. It might've been out there in the country and you probably just were awestruck by the magnificence and the beauty of the night sky. Let's face it. We are a child to be amazed and moved by that sight. We don't look at it nearly often enough in the city, of course we, in a city like Sydney where we don't trust any air we can't see, it's very hard to see the night sky. We don't know how old he was but it seems like David was a bit of a stargazer and there was one point when he was maybe stretched back on a hillside there in ancient Palestine and he was so stoked by what he was seeing that he was moved to write what we have today as Psalm 8, here it is verse 3. When I look at the sky which you have made at the moon and stars which you've set in their places, what are human beings that you think of them, mere mortals that you care for them? Of course the message can always be relied on to expand on Scripture and bring it alive in a fresh way. Look at what the message says. I look up at your macro skies, dark and enormous, your handmade sky jewelry, as Ephra, a descriptive phrase, moon and stars mounted in their settings and then I look at my micro self and wonder why do you bother with us? Why take a second look our way? Why do you bother with us? That's a pretty confronting question, of course older versions say what is man that you are mindful of him and of course the personalised form of this question is who am I? Why am I here? What is my purpose in the vastness of space and the magnificence of creation, who am I? Why am I here? well there are a number of defining moments in life, many in fact, which can provoke a question, this particular question in our minds, who am I, there are a number of defining moments, like for instance look at the stars, that can certainly provoke that question, seeing the birth of a little baby which has been the privilege of many of us in this congregation, being there when somebody passes over from life to death, that's a very sacred moment, that's a moment that generally evokes these deep philosophical questions. These sort of emotional experiences can find us asking who are we as humans, who am I? And friends that's an extremely important question, so important, in fact how we respond to the question who am I is a huge factor, it's such a big factor in how effectively we manage life, I mean the person who sees themselves as a failure, the person who sees themselves as a victim, the person who sees themselves as one who's been really hard done by, they're going to develop a certain level of cynicism and jadedness which will be reflected in how they relate to others, it'll be reflected in how they tackle challenges, it'll be reflected in how they cope with disappointments and setbacks. On the other hand someone who sees themselves as valued, capable, worthy, they're likely to be far more optimistic and positive, and this will be reflected in how they relate to others, in how they tackle challenges, in how they react to setbacks and disappointments, that there's a story from antiquity which some of you have heard me mention before but it's one of my favourites, and it tells of ESOP, you know many of us grew up with ESOP's fables, wise Greek philosopher, and apparently on one occasion ESOP was sunning himself on a rock outside of his home city of Athens and a traveller came by and the traveller was loaded up to the gunnels with his camel, all his worldly goods, obviously making a major move and he had a question for ESOP, he said excuse me sir, what are the people of Athens really like, and by this stage the rooftops of Athens were glistening in the sun and ESOP being a wise philosopher decided to answer a question with a question, it's not a bad technique, and he said well tell me sir where are you from and what are the people like, and the traveller said well I'm from the city of Sardis, and I'm glad to be leaving, those people are negative, they're bitter, they'll spread rumours about you, I've had nothing but travel since I moved there many many years ago, I've been left down so many times frankly I'm just glad to be getting out of there, it's quite worked up, and ESOP sighed, he said I'm sorry, I've got bad news for you, you'll find the people of Athens to be basically the same, pretty soon another traveller came by, he was loaded up with the gunnels with his camel and obviously in transit, major move, and wouldn't you know twice in the one day, same question, excuse me sir, what are the people of Athens really like, same response to ESOP, well tell me sir where are you from, second time in the one day I'm from the city of Sardis, and I'm really sorry to be leaving, those people are so warm, they're so generous, they're not perfect but they have embraced me over the years, they've been with me in times of difficulty, I've made so many deep and close friendships there, I'm really sorry to be leaving, ESOP developed a big smile on his face, he said I've got good news for you, you will find the people of Athens to be basically the same, how we see ourselves, dramatically affects how we see other people and how we travel through life, friends as Christians there is much we can draw from Psalm 8 in response to the question who am I, and I want to simply highlight the three, and there are only three, the three assertions made by David in this Psalm, they are primary assertions, they are assertions we can all make by faith, and when we make them, if we can make these assertions and believe them in the very fibre of our being, they will take us way above the mundane and the superficial and the frivolity of life, and they will give us a deep sense of connectedness to God like we've never known, here's the first one, I am created by God, here it is verse 5, you have made us, now Christians love to debate Genesis, whether it was seven literal days or whether it's the use of allegory, but one thing that we Christians do agree on is this, in the beginning God, and that's more, that's way more than a theological statement, it's a profound expression of our identity as human beings, when the Bible talks about us being made in the image of God, it has nothing to do with us being God like, I know some of you who work out probably sort of think that, you're going to God like physique, it has nothing to do with that, it has everything to do with our capacity, like God, to feel, to think, to love, to experience emotion, we're the top of the creation order, that's what it means, and it means that we were originally created with a positive self-image, I've looked at this so many times, I'm so convinced to this, I mean first man, first woman, they were put in charge of the garden of Eden, now can you imagine what impact that would have had on them, I mean they had daily intimate contact with the Almighty, they were given huge responsibilities in the garden, what would that do to your sense of self-worth and self-esteem, what would that role do for you in terms of feeling valued and affirmed if you were put in charge of the garden of Eden, daily contact with the Almighty, how would you feel, I think you feel pretty good, I can feel pretty alive, pretty worthy, it would naturally lead to a sense of genuine pride in who you were and what you'd been called to do. Now isn't it somewhat ironic if we can begin to grasp that theological truth, isn't it somewhat ironic then that over the years the Christian church has unwittingly contributed to people developing a low self-esteem because of our misguided emphasis on legalism and man-made rules and regulations and when people drop short of a mark and inevitably they do, made to feel a failure, made to feel inadequate, made to feel inferior, this isn't the church, Adam and Eve did not leave the garden feeling proud and smug, no way, they left feeling ashamed and unworthy, stripped of self-esteem and stripped of dignity, they'd lost that positive self-image that they'd known whilst enjoying a close and intimate relationship with the Father which leads me to conclude if pride and self-confidence are the ultimate sin and if humility and self-denigration are the ultimate virtues and in some Christian circles that's how they see it, then how come it seems to be the opposite in the story of creation? Because in the garden they had dignity and self-worth that's when they were in touch with God, when they sinned they had feelings of lostness and hopelessness and stripped of their self-worth, it just, it leads me to further conclude that one way of looking at conversion, and some of you have heard me say this before, one way of looking at conversion is that that's what happens when there's a restoration of personal pride, self-confidence, self-esteem, in other words, we return to the garden, we return to where God created us to be, that's one way of looking at conversion and what Jesus has done and continues to do through the Holy Spirit, this is what makes it all possible, what Jesus has done on the cross, what he does for us constantly through the Holy Spirit, that's what makes this possible, this return to the garden and therein lies the protection against arrogant self-sufficiency, therein lies the protection. See Paul didn't say, I can do all things, look at me, I'm fantastic, didn't say that, he said I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, there's the protection against arrogant self-sufficiency, something else in Psalm 8, got to keep moving here, I'm cared for by God, verse 4, what are human beings that you think of them, mere mortals that you care for them, if there's one theme that keeps recurring with regularity throughout the Scriptures, it's God's care for his people, wow, that's just from page to page, from cover to cover, in another one of David Psalms, Psalm 95 verses 6 and 7, listen to this, come let us bow down and worship him, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker, he is our God, we are the people he cares for, the flock for which he provides and over in the New Testament in 1 Peter 5 verse 6, humble yourselves then, under God's mighty hand so that he will lift you up in his own good time, leave all your worries with him because he cares for you and then of course Jesus in John 10 in that discourse about himself as the good shepherd, his contrasting himself with the hired worker and he says in verse 13, the hired man runs away because he's only a hired man, he does not care for the sheep and then in the next breath Jesus says, I is the good shepherd, I'm prepared to lay down my life for the sheep, friends how we're cared for has a profound effect on how we answer who am I, what is my worth, what is my value, over the years of pastoral ministry I've spoken to dozens of people who in their formative years, in their early years, felt unloved, neglected pushed to one side in some cases abandoned and that generally can lead to tragic and very sad results without some major decisions to change without the major intrusion of the Spirit of God whereas I see virtually every day in ministry virtually every day the amazing difference in the lives of men and women and young people who live in the knowledge that they are loved and cared for by Almighty God, it makes such a difference, generally that love and care is expressed through close relationships and friendships within the body of Christ but it comes in other ways as well, mysterious ways through the work of the Holy Spirit, there's nothing like feeling you cared for by God and when someone genuinely feels cared for dramatically affects their sense of worth and value, sadly some people go through life thinking God is always judging them, thinking God is always disappointed with them, oh gosh, again, this is what these people have, thinking that he's about to give up on them, okay one more time that's it, whereas people who come into an experience of grace are absolutely convinced he cares for them deeply and relentlessly no matter what, friends do you know that level of care today, oh it's so important in answering the question who are you, do you feel estranged from God, do you think he's sort of abandoned you, may feel like that sometimes, you know, prayers aren't getting through, they don't ever think he would ever abandon you, he never will, it's not within his nature to be able to do that, there's one more assertion here in Psalm 8 intended to help us answer the question, who am I, and it's simply this one, I am crowned, verse five, you've made us inferior only to yourself, you've crowned us with glory and honor, inferior only to God himself, anybody here prepared to claim that one, I didn't give you the most confidence in us, we'd sort of like oh no boy that's too high, well David in a moment of just radical and random inspiration becomes acutely aware of the unique and special honor that God has bestowed upon us, again in the context of this arm, we're charged with the responsibility of looking after the earth, it's very clear, you know, you greenies, you get that from this, we are charged with the responsibility of caring for the earth, and from a Christian perspective in the absence of a physical Jesus, the church is charged with the responsibility of being the living, breathing, witnessing, serving, body of Christ, wow, talk about crown with honor, has that for a responsibility, that's what we're called to as disciples of Jesus Christ, friends I don't know how you're feeling today, we might have got you in a pretty bad day and you're feeling pretty shocking, I'm really hoping you're getting lifted, I don't know how you're feeling today, I don't know how you would answer the question, who am I, maybe today you might not give yourself a higher rating, but I do know that based on Psalm 8 God thinks you're fabulous, thinks you're fantastic, he really does, he created you in his image, he cares for you as his treasured child, he's crowned you with glory and honor, he's given your responsibility, I want you to get involved, I want you to start living, like someone who's got a difference, he's going to make a difference, somebody who within a certain sphere of influence can really do something, want you to start thinking like that, that's what he does, he wants you to start thinking like that, if you're not already thinking like that, you have made us inferior only to yourself, you have crowned us with glory and honor, now is this a chance to become a little cocky, a little smug, a little self-sufficient, after all, I mean we're just a little lower than God, been crowned with glory and honor, no, like so many passages of scripture, if you don't keep reading, you get a distorted message, and so in this instance we've got to read the next part of the verse, which is this, oh Lord, our Lord, your greatness is seen in all the world, our relationship with him is not like mate to mate, you know, gee God, aren't you so lucky to have me, whoa, no no, like he's the Lord, you know, it's subservience, but in that subservience it's freedom, oh Lord, our Lord, my Lord, that's the only way it works, your greatness, not ours, your greatness is seen in all the world, hopefully through us, reflected through people who stand tall, who recognize the worth and dignity they have in Jesus Christ, step one in finding a cure for the common life is to have an understanding of our magnificence and our identity and our standing in God's sight, commitment to Christ is not the suppression of the ego as many would have us think, it is rather the redemption of the ego bought by God himself through the death of Jesus on the cross, and that's the key to feeling an enormous sense of self-worth and self-esteem. Friends, that's at the heart of knowing who we are, get to know who you are in God, in Christ, it's the beginning of the cure for that common life, that's bad and prayer. Father God, we know from the Scriptures you want us to live at a level of effectiveness and a level of honour and dignity that sometimes we drop way short of, and Lord, we recognize the problem is not yours, it's ours, we fail to see exactly what it is you've given to us in Jesus, we fail to see how you view us, you view us as people of worth and dignity, that's why you said Jesus, that's why you created us, that's why you care for us, that's why you've crowned us, so Lord, may we live, falteringly as we do sometimes, but through the power of your spirit, may we live this year as your servants in ways that will bring glory to you, dignity to ourselves, hope and healing to others through Jesus Christ our Lord, we pray. Amen.