Northside Church - Sydney
Makin' A List & Checkin' It Twice – Week 3: Expect to be Invited
You're listening to another great message from Northside Community Church. Guys, would you agree with me that like, receiving invitations is one of the most, it's one of the nicest and most surprising things that happens to us in life. Would you agree with me? It's really nice to get an invitation to a special function, an event, a party, particularly if it's unexpected, didn't expect that, that's nice. I mean, invitations convey a lot of messages. They convey that we are appreciated, we've been noticed, we are valued, we are loved, we are part of the in crowd for this particular event. Of course, invitations that come a couple of days before the event, they can sometimes convey another message. You weren't part of the original list, but because of the lack of response, if you're available then you can come. Anybody been on a receiving end of an invitation like that, please don't feel embarrassed if you've sent me one like that. I don't remember those kind of things in detail, but I know I think I've received a few of those at different points in my life. Look, we're in a season now where like, it's difficult to respond to all the invitations you're receiving, am I right? I'll bet there are some of you with more invitations than you can handle. Guys, look, there's one source of invitation like no other. There is one person who extends invitations like no other. He has no exclusive lists, he has no favorites, there is no A list. This person approaches invitations on the basis of everybody being a VIP. Of course, I'm talking about our great and gracious God. From Genesis to Revelation, this book is all about invitations. One invitation after another, directly from God, they're all there. Let me highlight a couple of the better known ones this morning. Like Isaiah 55, the first few verses where God is speaking to the embattled children of Israel, been through the exile and needing refreshment and needing to be re-energized. I don't know what God says. Come everyone who's thirsty. Do as water, come you that have no money, buy grain and eat, come, buy wine and milk, it will cost you nothing. Why spend money on what does not satisfy? Why spend your wages and still be hungry? Listen to me and do what I say and you will enjoy the best food of all. Listen now my people and come to me, come to me and you will have life. Wow. Listen from God himself, what about Jeremiah chapter 3, verse 22? God says, "Return all of you who've turned away from me. I will heal you. I will make you faithful again." And then over in a lesser-known book, the book of Joel and Joel chapter 2 verse 13, a culture of pendants to the way with children of Israel. Come back to the Lord, your God. I'm kind and full of mercy. I am patient and I keep my promises, I will always be ready to forgive and not punish. And of course during the ministry of Jesus Christ himself, there was one invitation after another, often specifically tailored to certain people like in Matthew chapter 11 and verses 28 and 29. This is Jesus speaking, come to me all you who labor. The good you says, all of you who are tired from carrying heavy loads. I will give you rest. Take my yoke and put it on you and learn from me because I'm gentle and humble in spirit and you'll find rest for the yoke I give is easy. And the load I put on you is light. What about the invitation to those young parents? We picked up on this recently at the dedication of Ava cries of Matthew chapter 19, verse 14. And Jesus said, let the children come to me and don't stop them because the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these one invitation after another directly from our Lord. I love the one in John chapter 7 and verse 37, where Jesus speaking to people who are spiritually patched, spiritually dry, just longing for some refreshment and revitalization and what does Jesus say, whoever is thirsty, come to me, whoever believes in me should drink. As the scripture says, streams of living, life giving water will pour out from my side. Friends, you get the message like the invitations from God are calls to experience renewal and transformation. There are opportunities to change, to turn around. And as we respond to these invitations so lovingly extended by our God, by our gracious God, inevitably we move, if we respond, we move increasingly toward becoming the kind of people He intends us to be, the kind of people He believes. We are capable of becoming people of faith, people of courage, people of trust, people of strength, people of love and compassion. Now, there were various invitations extended at that first Christmas. I don't know if you've thought of it in quite this way. These were the very first Christmas invitations. No, they weren't invitations to drinks after work. They weren't Christmas invitations to join the family on Christmas day. They weren't invitations to join a Christmas party. They were invitations to various people to grow spiritually. They were invitations to trust in God, invitations to be transformed, and they were extended to those original players in that first Christmas drama. I want to highlight a few of these this morning. For example, the wise men, they were invited to lift their sights at Christmas. Invited by God to lift their gaze and set their sights on possibilities, not problems. We know very little about these guys, a lot of speculation, a lot of legend. We know very little about these guys, but we do know they were involved in an ancient form of astronomy. They were star gazers, star watchers. They would have been used to gazing at the night sky, and they would have taken notes about every little movement they saw in the sky. They would have written down everything they saw. That's what ancient astronomers did. But now, at this critical point in history, this defining moment in history, they were being challenged by God to stop journaling and start journeying, to look beyond their familiar environment and take a risk, to get an appreciation of the new thing God was about to do. We have no way of knowing why or how they saw such significance in that star. Again, a lot of legend, but no definitive information. But it was to lead them in a long and perilous journey. And here's my guess. I'll bet they were never quite the same again. You couldn't be after something like that. They would have been changed forever. Look, guys, I don't know how it is for you, but look, this is part of my little Christmas like routine, you know. I see Christmas. It's always for me. It's a time when I make myself available to God to lift my sights, to lift me above anything that may have disappointed me in the past 12 months, to prepare me for the journey in the coming 12 months, to lift me above the known and prepare me to launch into the new year. You've often heard me say from the platform, next year is going to be our best year ever. And I really believe that. And you know, over all my years of ministry, I can only think of maybe one or two years when that wasn't the case. Christmas is a time for setting a new course as the Holy Spirit gives us guidance and his leading. At Christmas, God invites us all over again as Susan mentioned in one of her prayers to reignite our passion for life, to resolve, to follow the star, the dream, the quest that God has placed on your heart. What is that? Have you lost sight of that? Has that just kind of faded somewhere? What's your dream? What's your star? What's your quest in life? And if you're drifting, if you're just going through life without that sort of a goal, without that sort of a dream, then Christmas is a great opportunity because of all the different parts of this story. It's a great opportunity to allow the Holy Spirit to stir our hearts and gently kind of rock our souls and shake our souls in pursuit of some kingdom goal, whether it's great or small. And so God invites us today to embark on a journey with him. Expect that invitation from God coming to you. It's a great opportunity to reignite your passion, rediscover or discover your star, your dream, your goal. Well, change of pace. There was an invitation to a second group. And we need to see how that might impact us during this season. You see it's to do with the shepherds. And they were invited to consider the simplicity of Christmas. One of the most earthy verses in the Bible, earthy, really earthy verses in the Bible is Luke chapter 2 verse 12, was read to us by Loretta this morning. Luke chapter 2 verse 12, it simply says, "You will find a baby." That's it. You will find a baby. Here's the announcement of the most important event in human history. This is the one that will provide the absolute turning point for all of humanity. Almighty God is about to intervene in the affairs of humankind as never before. And what's the word? You'll find a baby. You won't find a list of theological and doctrinal propositions. You won't find a board of religious and academic heavyweights. You certainly won't find a list of politically correct guidelines to make sure nobody gets upset at the school Christmas celebration. No, no, you'll find a baby. That's where it started. That's how simple it is. How in the world did we make Christmas so complex? How in the world did we make Christianity so complex? It's staggering. Guys, we need to keep Christmas as simple as we can. It really is. We need to ensure as the people of God that its meaning is not lost with excessive partying, with extravagant gift-giving. I read yesterday, Australian spent an average of $1,000 each on Christmas. Wow. Is there something wrong with us? I mean, we're dropping way short of that, way short. I'm sorry, that disappoints anybody who might have been expecting a huge gift from us, including Bev, way down. You see in the shelf, you buy mama a flat screen television for Christmas. Hello? Gosh, what happened to powder and a hanky, you know? Joking. We've got to be careful, guys, like seriously, that we just keep it simple. Excessive partying, extreme gift-giving, excessive commercialisation. God's invitation at this Christmas is simply to remember, remember the gifts that was given in the person of Jesus Christ, his son, our Lord, and Savior. Keep it simple, but there was another invitation extended by God at that first Christmas, and it was to Joseph. You see, Joseph was invited to face his fears, and trust God, he was invited to do that. Matthew chapter 1, verse 20, records the angel saying to Joseph, "Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary to be your wife. Do not be afraid." Didn't say, "Don't be concerned. Don't be embarrassed." He said, "Don't be afraid." It would seem that was the dominant emotion that Joseph was experiencing as he contemplated the thought of suddenly having a fiancé who had mysteriously and unexpectedly fallen pregnant. Fear was what he felt. He was a good man. Bible says he was a righteous man. He was afraid of the consequences. He was afraid of what people might think. He was afraid of his reputation. What people might do to his reputation, and friends, these are the sort of fears that can affect you and I when God calls us in the deeper commitment with him. He calls us to take a stronger stand for him among family and friends, and in the workplace. It's sort of fear. It's a familiar emotion for all of us. It's there when he calls us to take a risk and become more involved in kingdom work to make ourselves more available to serve, to make ourselves and our gifts more available for his cause. Fear is the one that's very, very natural. And some of the natural fears that we experience, of course the antidote for fear is trust. You can begin to overcome a fear of flying when you get to the point of trusting that that pilot wants to get back on the ground as much as you do. That was my turning point when I realized those guys weren't like cowboys up there. They were really, really fair to eat them. And you can overcome a fear of dentists once you find one who you trust won't put you through too much pain, same with doctors. Most fears in your life and mind can be traced back to a lack of trust, a lack of confidence, a lack of certainty. So the essential message to Joseph was don't be afraid of what is unfolding. Trust God to see it through in you, through you, despite you, just trust, it'll be okay. That was the main message to Joseph. You know, I'm struggling. I'm really struggling to think of any event of significance in the Bible that did not see the key people involved in that event experiencing apprehension, nervousness, in most cases, downright fear. I can't think of one significant event in the Scriptures that didn't evoke some kind of fear in the people who were involved in it. It's a natural response. And friends, it ties in with this, with the invitation that was extended to Mary at that first Christmas. You see, Mary was invited to redefine the word impossible. She was invited to redefine the word impossible and take a leap of faith. Remember the word of the angel to her? The specific word of the angel is in Luke, chapter 1, verse 37. It's in response to her question when she's told she's going to be the mother of the son of God. Her question is, well, how can this be? What do you mean, me, how can this be? And so the angel says, the angel starts to give an explanation, talks about the role of the Holy Spirit, and then says, now what about your cousin Elizabeth? Now it's said that she can't have children, we don't know age or whatever, we don't know. She can't have children, but she's already under way. And then the angel says this in verse 37, for there is nothing God cannot do. Now friends, can you imagine the level of Mary's faith after that event in the rest of her life? Can you, we don't read anything about it, but can you just imagine the level of her faith after that encounter with the angel? Not that it in any way absolved her from problems and challenges, no way. Right from day one, as the mother of Jesus, she found herself with challenges along an arduous journey to Bethlehem, accommodation problems, literal threats, physical threats against the life of her newborn baby, all of which goes to show that when God talks about achieving the impossible, He's not necessarily talking about the removal of the problem, but He is talking about the effective management of the problem, and there's a big difference. Now that's been my personal testimony over all my years of ministry, not always the removal of the problem, but certainly the ability to manage the problem, that's where God does the impossible. And some of you are living proof of that with what you've had to bear and had to cope with in life and you're shining lights for the gospel, and that's God doing the impossible, that I'm concerned. That's certainly been the testimony of this church over 28 years of history, but I'm leaving the best tool last. He is the most exciting aspect, for me, the most exciting aspect of all these promises that God gave, those first Christmas invitations, those first Christmas invitations, is the most exciting thing is this, the invitations extended to those key players at that first Christmas are those given by God to us every day of our lives. So we're not just a little wine in the clock back and, oh yes, that's nice, shepherds, merry, wise men, beautiful Christmas promises, how sweet, this is you and me, this is us, every day. You see, he lovingly invites us to lift our sights, to rise above the everyday and look at the possibilities. He invites us to keep it simple, especially when it comes to our faith in Christ and sharing the good news, especially when it comes to talking to people about what Christmas means to us, keep it simple, keep it real, keep it authentic, invites us to face our fears, to place our trust in Him and believe that He will somehow bring us through some of you on that journey right now in a very pronounced way with some of the things that are happening in your life. And finally, He invites us to have faith, like Mary, to believe, to really believe that with God anything is possible. Now there's God's invitation, there is God's invitation to us individually and as a church as we move into 2012, that's what I'm talking about when I say our Christmas, you know, if we take the time to reflect and sort of, you know, push back on all the things that might have disappointed us this year, all the things that might have held us back, all the things that might have disappointed us, and as we point to the new year, because that's this crucial time, I mean, you notice that there's been Christmas in July and Christmas now, I mean Christmas in July, it's a bit of a giggle, but it doesn't have anywhere near the same effect, does it? Because you're at the end of the year, and we're on the threshold of a brand new year, and the thinking, the psyche is all different, lift your sights, keep it simple, face your fears, have faith, friends, that's part of my mandate for going into 2012, and it's certainly, it certainly provides a foundation for the way in which we as your ministry team are going to lead this church into 2012. It's a starting point for our mandate for ministry. It's going to be an exciting journey. It's all at the invitation of God who says, "Come, come walk with me, journey with me." It's going to be exciting and it's going to be, it's going to be potentially life transforming, let's bow in prayer.