Sermons - disclaimer
I have not tried to edit these sermon's, I've simply presented them as I have preached them on Sunday mornings, warts and all. Jesus Christ is the One Living Word of God: all our 'human words' simply bear witness to this One Word "Jesus", the Son of Man and the Son of God, the mediator, the great high priest, "the author and perfecter of our faith" (Heb. 12: 2). It is to him that we must 'fix our eyes' and to whom all our 'words' must point. May his name alone be honoured and glorified through all that we say and do.
"Lord, we would be your instruments. We have nothing to offer except the desire to be workers in your harvest. But since you have chosen the weak things of this world and the things which are not, will you not also choose us to be your servants? We cannot of ourselves speak your message to man. But we pray that you will grant us not to speak our own words but your Word, through which men come to know and love you.
Give us courage to confess the name of Jesus Christ before men. Help us to care for them, to act as neighbours unto them and to share with them what you have given to us. We do not ask to see the results of our work. We would only know that you are using us in your work of salvation and that your kingdom is coming amongst us. Send us, Lord, as witnesses of the good news of your love made know in Jesus Christ. Amen"
[Prayer by W. A. Visser 'Hofft 277].
[Prayer used by the Rev. Dr. Max Champion during our July 2011 National Council teleconferencing meeting].
Sermons January 2012
Sermons December 2011
Sermons November 2011
27 November 2011
(Rev. Lindsay Cameron - National Superintendent Wesleyan Methodist Church of Australia)
Sermons October 2011
9 October 2011 Mr. Paul Lamont (Chairman of Emmanuel Church Council)
Sermons September 2011
Sermons August 2011
7th August 2011 Sermon Mr. Kali Seleiwau (no written sermoon).
Sermons July 2011
Sunday 26 June 2011
“The Mission of the Church”.[1]
Matthew 10:40 Jesus said: "Whoever welcomes you welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. 41 Whoever welcomes God's messenger because he is God's messenger, will share in his reward. And whoever welcomes a good man because he is good, will share in his reward. 42 You can be sure that whoever gives even a drink of cold water to one of the least of these my followers because he is my follower, will certainly receive a reward."
I would like to begin by saying (on behalf of my wife, Amelia and my son, Kotoni Atunaisa) thank-you to you, my brothers and sisters in Christ; my family; Emmanuel, God-with-us; thank you for welcoming us back home. We have truly missed each one of you. Thank you for continually upholding us in your prayers, as well as our congregation and the wider church as a whole, including our Synod and our Presbytery leaders:
You have truly helped to sustain our faith in God our Father, through Jesus Christ our Lord. You are truly a welcoming Church; a welcoming family, and I pray that we will continue to welcome all people into God’s family.
I would like also to thank my other Family, Pastor Bill and Ruth Hollingsworth and all at Eternal Life Fellowship at Gordonvale [to my surprise they all came to this service]; thank you for welcoming us and for caring for us in the last three months. We found such peace and comfort and Joy at Eternal Life Fellowship during our short time there
May I also take this opportunity to thank the Rev. Graham Whybird and his wife Annette for giving up their family time to come and look after this congregation while I was away. Thank you.
Jesus said: "Whoever welcomes you welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes God's messenger because he is God's messenger, will share in his reward. And whoever welcomes a good man because he is good, will share in his reward. You can be sure that whoever gives even a drink of cold water to one of the least of these my followers because he is my follower, will certainly receive a reward." (Matthew 10:40)
As you know I haven’t preached for three months, so this sermon will make up for lost time, so I invite you to make yourself very comfortable and no snoring during the sermon please.
Our gospel reading for this week is only very short, but I will begin from Matthew 9: 35-38 which says:
“Jesus went around visiting all the towns and villages. He taught in the synagogues, preached the Good News about the Kingdom, and healed people with every kind of disease and sickness. As he saw the crowds, his heart was filled with pity for them, because they were worried and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. So he said to his disciples, "The harvest is large, but there are few workers to gather it in. Pray to the owner of the harvest that he will send out workers to gather in his harvest."
Jesus reveals here the mission of the Church, to preach the Good News about the Kingdom of God that has come in and through Jesus Christ.
Jesus did not only preach and teach with words, but he put his words into action because he is the Living Word of God; He healed people with every kind of sickness, says Matthew’s gospel.
Why? What is the motive for his words and his actions?
Mat. 9: 36 says, he did this because he was filled with ‘pity’. He was filled with ‘compassion’ and love for the people. And so his heart not only went out to them, but through his reaching out to them, he draws them unto himself.
Jesus explains to the disciples the situation that is before them regarding their mission.
He says, plainly, the harvest is large. Those who are helpless like sheep without a shepherd are plentiful. But, the problem at hand, says Jesus, is that the workers are few.
But, before he allows the problem to consume the disciples, he immediately calls them to ‘pray.’ “Pray”, says Jesus… pray to the ‘owner’ of the harvest; since it is his harvest, pray to him; pray that he will send out workers to gather IN his harvest.
Noting of course, that prayer is not a tool for getting our way; prayer is not a tool for twisting God’s arm to do what we want. Nor should prayer be used as a last resort or when something bad happens to us.
Prayer is a way of life; prayer is being in constant dialogue and in constant communion (relationship) with God in Christ through the power of His Spirit, regardless of the circumstance or the situation.
In a Christian video I saw last Sunday afternoon, I came across a wonderful little quote; it said something to effect:
“Religion is when the Holy Spirit has left the building.”
In the same way, when we are not living a life that is not in constant communion with God in prayer, in Christ, through faith, by the Spirit, then, we fall into the real danger of simply living a ‘religious life’. God does not need more ‘religion’, he needs more sons and daughters in the image and in the lineage of his dear Son, Jesus Christ.
Rom 8:29 St. Paul says: “Those whom God had already chosen he also set apart to become like his Son, so that the Son would be the first among many believers”.
God wants more sons and daughters who have a heart of compassion; a heart of love and a willingness to reach out to others; so that by reaching to others with God’s love and compassion, Christ may draw others to himself.
And so Jesus exhorts his disciples to pray; to pray in particular for more labourers.
But the answer to the prayer comes not in the form of bringing extra labourers from the ‘outside’ as such (which is sometimes the way we pray as a church), but the answer comes in the ‘calling’ of the 12 disciples themselves.
Matthew’s gospel chapter 10 begins with the calling of the 12 disciples.
Jesus calls them and then his gives them ‘authority’; authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease.
Noting that authority here is a ‘given’ authority; it is something given to the disciples by Jesus Christ himself; it is not something that they established or built up by themselves to be used for their own purposes; no, authority here is given to them by Christ Himself to be received in faith and to be used for the mission of the church, that is, to drive out demons, and evil spirits and to heal the sick, and to preach and proclaim the good news, through words and deeds… that the Kingdom of God has come to the world in Jesus Christ…
Noting carefully that in Matthew 10 verse 1 Jesus calls 12 “disciples”, but in verse 2 Jesus names the 12 as “‘apostles”.
That is, they are called and trained as ‘disciples’, but they are ‘sent’ out with authority as ‘apostles’ or as missionaries.
And, they needed to be trained as disciples, that is, they needed to be trained in the school of prayer because of the hostile world that Jesus clearly highlights will be awaiting them.
Jesus doesn’t try to hide the dangers before them in fear that the disciples might run away; no, Jesus tells them exactly what the missionary field will look like.
Jesus warns his disciples that they will be persecuted for their faith. He paints a dark picture of their suffering and trials in years to come (10:17–42).
Jesus tells them plainly that they will be persecuted at every level of government, from synagogues and local councils to Roman courts and royal palaces. They will be flogged and imprisoned.
Jesus tells them plainly that people will disagree about the gospel. It will split even the closest relationships. The apostles will be hated because of the message they bring.
Matthew 10: 16 Jesus says, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves.
I can just see people running to the church office after the service asking for an application form to sign up for our next discipleship course.
Jesus continues: Mat 10:38 Those who do not take up their cross and follow in my steps are not fit to be my disciples. Those who try to gain their own life will lose it; but those who lose their life for my sake will gain it.
Our natural instinct as humans is to try to protect and look after ourselves first before we help others. But, here Jesus turns upside the rules for ministry and mission in his Kingdom.
If you want to be an apostle or a missionary in my kingdom says Jesus, you must first lose your life, before you are fit and ready to serve me. Because if the order is reversed in God’s kingdom, then, we will fall into the real danger of serving ourselves, rather than serving Christ and serving one another first.
Matthew 6: 33; “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you…..
The mission of the Church is not always easy, as we have all felt and experienced: there is no doubt about that. And I’m sure there will be many more trials that will come before us in the future.
But today, I believe, is a new day for us a congregation.
The Good News is, as we so often forget, is that God will never abandon us, regardless of how bad a situation might seem. His Spirit will always be with us and he will always provide for us and protect us.
The name of our congregation should always be a reminder to us of that fact, that “Emmanuel” God-is-with-us.
We have been given a particular calling, to be a confessing Congregation, to Confess that Jesus Christ is Lord; Lord of our individual lives, Lord of our families, Lord of the Church and Lord of the world and the universe as a whole.
Our confession must be more than words, it must involve action, that is, we must continue to reach out to others, as apostles, or as missionaries, with the love and the compassion of Christ, so that by reaching out to others, God will use us to draw others closer to Himself…. in Christ.
Matthew 10: 42 Jesus says: You can be sure that whoever gives even a drink of cold water to one of the least of these my followers because he is my follower, will certainly receive a reward."
May God be with us today. May He give us a sense of peace, the peace that passes all human understanding so that we might be able to fulfil the mission of His Church. Amen.
by Rev. Dr. Hedley Fihaki (Minister of the Word - Cairns Emmanuel UCA).
[1] First Sunday back after three months suspension. The Synod Disciplinary Committee has decided to terminate my placement effective Thursday 23rd June 2011. However, Emmanuel Church Council, including myself as an individual, rejects the decision. Today we will make our stand and call the Church to give an account for its unjust actions. I make my stance, confessing the Faith using the words of Martin Luther: “Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason (for I do not trust either in the pope [moderator] or in councils alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. May God help me. Amen”. I write these notes for my Son, Kotoni Atunaisa Fihaki and particularly thinking of my late father, Rev. Kotoni Fihaki and my Mother, Kilisitina Fihaki and my sisters and extended family, and of course, last but definitely not least, my Dear Wife, Amelia Fihaki, with whom we have shared this difficult journey. Praise be to you Lord Jesus Christ.
Download PDF Version (Thanks to Paul Langkamp for editing the sermon in terms of length).
Visitors
6468