Barriers and Bridges

A few months ago I went to one of the best gigs of my life in Wembley Stadium. No, it's not Miley Cyrus, nor was it Steps, it was arguably one of the greatest rock operas of all time. Pink Floyd's "The Wall". The album talks about the isolation of the protagonist, Pink which comes from all the traumas he has in his life. These become metaphorical bricks in the wall, in the barrier isolating him from society.
It was an incredible experience, musically, technically and emotionally. And it reminded me how so often I take things and build up barriers between myself and society; and more often than not, between myself and God.

This barrier between myself and God suffocates me. It's full of all these expectations, requirements and hurdles that I need to get past to be with God. Prayer, reading my bible, going to church, bible studies, living a "good life", these things and so many more are all bricks. Bricks in the ever growing barrier separating me and God.

And I'm sure we all have similar lists. There's so much that we need to do to be a Christian that we end up building a barrier between the us and the God we are trying to follow.

Towards the start of Jesus' ministry we hear Jesus talking to some Pharisees, who've built their own barriers between themselves and God. We'll pick it up in Mark 2

'One Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. And the Pharisees were saying to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God, in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?” And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”' (Mark 2:23-28 ESV)

"The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath"

One of the barriers the Pharisee's had made between themselves and God, in fact between most of the Jewish people and God, was this thing called Sabbath. They were so busy trying to enforce this law that they'd totally missed the point of the Sabbath, it was a gift from God. God didn't create the Sabbath to impose on people, but in order that we rest and connect with him through it.

Jesus is saying the Sabbath is less of a barrier, and more of a bridge. It's not something that constricts us, or separates us from God, but it's something that we can use to get to him. So the Pharisee's making it this legalistic thing, that meant the disciples weren't allowed to eat, was totally missing the point.

I think so often we make the gifts that God has given us as a bridge to connect us to him into a barrier separating us, and others from him. So often we make the Christian life about ticking off our list of chores, like reading our bibles and praying. But it's actually about connecting to a God who wants to be in relationship with us. So often we take the bridges between us and God and make them barriers. Because we forget that the Sabbath was made for man not man for the Sabbath.

But what if we didn't? What if we chose to build bridges between us and God rather than barriers? How much more exciting, and less tiring is that? Let's be a generation that doesn't let the gifts that God has given us form barriers between us and him. Let's build them into bridges, that we can walk over to meet Jesus and see our friends doing the same.

Over to You

After I left college I went to study audio engineering at the School of Sound Recording. I was able to use a world class studio, equipment that had been used by amazing musicians in the past, and learn from top engineers and producers. I'll always remember the first time I got to sit in on a session in the Neve studio, which was the top level studio that only the very highest calibre students were allowed in. The equipment in there was the kind that was used on albums like Nirvana's 'Smells Like Teen Spirit', Metallica's 'Black album', Muse, Led Zeppelin, all the greats. This was top class equipment.

I was assisting the college manager on some sessions for project he was working on, getting to record amazing musicians and songs, watching everything he did like a hawk. I felt like the luckiest person on my course, being able to see this. But I never for a moment thought I'd be able to use this kind of equipment.

Then one day we had an intensive recording day where 4 students, 2 intermediate (me and my friend) and 2 expert level were each given a band, an hour in one of the studios to record and then an hour to mix. That's quite a push and would have been extremely challenging. So me and my friend turned up and we started working out what equipment we would reserve for the intermediate studio, the expert students hadn't turned up yet but we cracked on. About half an hour later there was still no sign of these expert students and the bands were getting slightly worried, so I offered to set up in the other studio for them, I'd seen it enough times I knew roughly what to do.

Half an hour turned into an hour turned into 2 hours and still no sign of them and my friend had already started recording in the other studio. It looked like I was going to have to step in and run this session. One of the lecturers helped me set up and showed me quickly how things ran, and then said to me "over to you", and I was in control. After a rocky start I managed to complete both sessions in time, and produce some really nice sounding songs. I made a few mistakes, but I think if I hadn't been given that permission by my teacher I never would have had the confidence to do any of it myself.

Like me, the disciples watched and studied everything their teacher, Jesus, did. They had seen him preach, teach, do signs and wonders, but never for a moment did they think they'd ever be able to do it. However, that's exactly what Jesus wanted them to do...

In the book of Acts, we read about Jesus ascending to heaven after the resurrection, and this was his way of saying to them, "over to you", his work on earth was done. Here's what it says:

'In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”' (Acts 1:1-11 ESV)

Jesus said to his disciples, "over to you" he told them to continue the work he had started, and he tells us to do the same thing.

Have you ever wondered what happened to Jesus after he ascended into heaven? Well in the Gospel according to Google we find this

"He is met by the angel Gabriel who asks him, "Now that your work is finished, what plans have you made to ensure that the truth that you brought to earth will spread throughout the world?" Jesus answered, "I have called some fishermen and tax-collectors to walk along with me as I did my Father’s will."  "Yes, I know about them," said Gabriel, "but what other plans have you made?" Jesus replied, "I taught Peter, James and John about the kingdom of God; I taught Thomas about faith; and all of them were with me as I healed and preached to the multitudes." Gabriel replied. "But you know how unreliable that lot was. Surely you must have other plans to make sure your work was not in vain." Jesus quietly replied to Gabriel "I have no other plans. I am depending on them!!" 

So when Jesus said "over to you", he left us with a task; to continue his work on earth. But he also left us with 3 promises to encourage and spur us on.

Firstly he gives us the promise of a Resource.

Jesus promises us a resource for the work that he has given us, he says he will provide the tools and power we need in the form of the Holy Spirit. Verse 8 says we will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes. Jesus has given us all we need to continue his work in the world. Right at the start of Jesus' ministry he received the Holy Spirit to resource his ministry, and at Pentecost that gift became available to all of us, we have all the resources we need in the gift of the Holy Spirit.

The second promise Jesus gives us is the promise of his Return.

In verse 11, the angels say to the disciples, "This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” Jesus is coming back! What an encouragement to carry on Jesus' work, he's not gone forever. He's entrusted us with the task of bringing his Kingdom to Earth, and telling people about him, and we have the promise that he will return to seal the deal.

So we have the promise of Resource, the promise of Return and finally we have the promise of Restoration.

In verses 6-7, the disciples ask Jesus if he is going to restore the Kingdom to Israel, and Jesus says not yet, but again and again we see him talking about the Kingdom of God as an astonishing reality. Throughout the New Testament, we are called to bring the Kingdom of God to earth, and in the ascension we get the promise that when he returns Jesus will seal the deal and restore creation.

In Jesus' lifetime he probably travelled and ministered in about a 200 mile radius, and spoke pretty much entirely to Jews and a few Romans. He did nothing for the rest of the Roman Empire, nothing for America, not even anything for England. Instead he said "over to you" to the disciples, to me, to you. The message of Jesus' ascension was "over to you" because Jesus knew that while he was still physically on earth we'd never step up to the job.

So what does acting out the promises of resource, return and restoration look like today?

For the last few years at Soul Survivor I've been on the Fringe team, which is essentially going around and talking to and loving the people there who don't yet know Jesus. This year we worked with the prophecy team, and would pray for young people and see God reveal and heal things in amazing ways. We prayed for one girl and a couple of people had some words for her, and after a couple of days she decided she wanted to give her life to Jesus. She prayed and accepted Jesus into her life, and immediately she started to join in as we prayed for her friend. A couple of us had words for the friend and then this girl, just given her life to Jesus, starts to prophecy to her friend. Somehow, having only just become a Christian, she understood the message of the ascension, that it is "over to you".

Blind Eyes and Muddy Waters

Jesus is pretty amazing. I mean, he does a lot of really cool things. Every year when I go to Soul Survivor, Focus, Momentum, or other such places, I come back with all these amazing and crazy stories of the things that he did. Miracles, healings, salvation, transformation, the list goes on. I’m always astounded by what he does and what he lets me experience and see. And it makes me want to bring all my friends there, and let them experience it too. I want everyone to experience God and meet with him like I have, and so if they come to those places too they’ll see it.

So far in my look at the "7 Signs of the Messiah" in John, we’ve seen Jesus do some pretty amazing things; healings, salvation, miracles and transformation, and number 6 is no different;

"As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” Having said these things, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing. The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” Some said, “It is he.” Others said, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” So they said to him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed and received my sight.” They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.”” (John 9:1-12, ESV)

So Jesus has just met this blind man and healed him in an unorthodox way. Not only is it on the Sabbath, which was very controversial, but he puts mud in the man’s eyes, and tells him to wash it off in a pool (pretty unorthodox I think). Once the man washes his eyes, he is totally healed, and he can see for the first time in his life! And what is the first thing people ask when they see this transformation? “Where is he?”, "Where is this man who has healed you and transformed your life?". This question is both extremely stupid, (he has only just got the ability to see things. He has no idea what anything looks like, let alone Jesus to point him out to them!) and it is extremely challenging to us.

People were asking the man who was blind, "who did this to you and where can I meet him?". There was evidence in his life of a transformation and people wanted a part of that. And what is challenging for us is how often does the change in our lives make others want to know Jesus? How often do our friends and family see the effect Jesus is having on our lives and see it as something they want or need?

I think most of the time they don’t. I think most of the time they see us arguing about equality, sexuality or theology, which are of course important conversations to have. But when we’re talking about Jesus, and arguing about these things and not living lives that display the transforming power of Jesus. We are completely missing the point.

When I come back from a festival, I’m really excited about what God has done and what I’ve seen, and I want everyone to experience that. Often the way I think they need to experience that is by making them come to Focus or Momentum or Soul Survivor, which is amazing and they get to see God move in powerful ways. But if I’m taking people to an event to meet God then that isn’t going to transform their life unless God is in day to day life as well.

The exciting thing for us is that God is with us wherever we go. Psalm 139:7 says “Where can I go from your spirit” there’s nowhere we can go where God’s spirit is not with us, guiding us, speaking to us, transforming us. We just need to let him in and let him be a part of our day to day lives. Then not only will people see our lives being transformed by Jesus, but we can introduce them to him as well!

Let’s stop living lives where we limit God to Soul Survivor, Focus, or occasionally even church, and live lives where God is in everything we do.

When the worst place to be is the best place to be.

It's nearly the end of January now, and the joys and thrills of Christmas are but a distant memory. The tinsel is away in the cupboard, the Christmas chocolates are long since gone and the glees of December have been overshadowed by the glooms of January.

We are back to real life, and real life can be hard.

I think as a Christian, I get a similar feeling to this whenever I come back from an amazing time with God. Whether it's Momentum, an Alpha weekend or an amazing encounter at church, I come back on fire! But then sooner or later real life kicks in and I seem to lose the joy, lose the passion, lose the fire.  I come down from the mountain and into the valley of real life and it is HARD.

In John 6 the disciples saw Jesus do an amazing miracle, turning a boy's packed lunch into enough food for 5,000 men plus women and children. (You can read about it in the previous post in my John's 7 signs series thing here.) After this happens, Jesus withdraws to pray, and the disciples head across the river in a boat...

"When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened. But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going." (John 6:16-21)

It's amazing to see how quickly the disciples go from being excited and amazed at the power of Jesus, to being scared of Jesus. It's crazy to think that that very afternoon they'd seen Jesus do miracles, and then by evening they've already let "real life" take over.

But the amazing thing is, Jesus meets them in that place.

Jesus meets us in the good times and the hard times, he walks out across the storm and comes towards us, and when we get scared he says to us “It’s me. It’s all right. Don’t be afraid.” (The Message). He is with us!

So often in situations I feel like God is far away, or now I've left the mountain top somehow I've lost God. But what is amazing and what I need to remember more and more is that God has not left me! He's not forgotten me. He's walking out into the stormy mess of my life and is saying to me "It's all right, it's me, don't be scared, I'm WITH you."

The other amazing thing in this passage is that as soon as Jesus gets into the boat with them, they arrive at their destination. Now I'm not saying here that as soon as we let Jesus into our tough situations the tough situations will stop, our lives will suddenly be back on the mountain and everything will be fandabydozy.

When we let Jesus into our lives he doesn't take away our storms, but as we let him in suddenly we aren't focussing on the storm anymore. We realise that he is with us and that means we are in the safest place we could possibly be.

Whether we're in an amazing place with God, or struggling to find him in the storm, let's know that the same Jesus is with us and alongside us no matter what! And because of that what seems like the worst place to be is the best place we could possibly be!

When not enough is more than enough.

I've got a friend who's mum is amazing at parties. Every time I go to their house for a party, there is always a never ending spread of mouthwatering delicious food on offer. And there is always enough, she will make sure of it. What's even more amazing is that often we've all been told to bring a dish with us, so everyone will turn up with their sausage rolls, breaded chicken, cous cous and breadsticks and somehow she's divinely arranged it that there's still a balanced spread of food and just an entire table of chocolate gateaux, (although I personally wouldn't complain). I've never been to a party there and gone hungry, or thought there was something missing from the meal, every time she manages to crack it and orchestrate the best spread possible! It's amazing!

As you know I've been going through the book of John here, and I'm specifically looking at 7 events in the book which are signs of why Jesus came to earth and what his ministry was about. The first was Jesus turning water into wine, the second Jesus healing the official's son, then came him healing the invalid and now we are onto the forth. And here we see Jesus do something very similar to my friend's mum, except on a much bigger scale with much less food to begin with...

"After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.” One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!” Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself." (John 6:1-15 ESV)

Here we see that when we bring stuff to Jesus, not enough is more than enough.

Imagine being there, on the mountain with Jesus, feeling absolutely starving, and seeing a young boy bringing Jesus his packed lunch. I can imagine being impressed by the sacrifice the boy made, giving up his packed lunch for Jesus, and it would probably also reinforce my hunger a lot more as well no doubt. But then we'd see Jesus taking these 5 loaves and 2 fish and breaking them up amongst his disciples, giving them some food as well, that's good leadership, making sure your team are fed, great job Jesus!

Then something amazing happens, we see Jesus' disciples start handing the food out, and we get our portion and there's enough to fill us up and it manages to feed 5,000 men and their families with 12 baskets left over! How has this Jesus done it? Made not enough, more than enough?

This miracle is exciting! It's exciting because when we come to Jesus so often we feel like we don't have much to offer, like we can't do anything because our contribution is so tiny, so insignificant, so unimpressive that we think how is that going to make any kind of difference in this situation. But this sign shows us that when we let Jesus take it, not enough is more than enough. Because when we give it to Jesus he transforms it.

I often hear about the injustices in the world, the fact that today 22,000 children will die due to poverty, the fact that there are still 27 million slaves in the world, the fact that nearly half the worlds population live on less than £1.50 per day. I hear about these TERRIBLE injustices and I'm compelled to do something, but I'm also discouraged because I think about how small I am and how insignificant my contribution would be. I know I'm not on my own in thinking that my contribution is pretty useless. But this miracle gives us hope.

It gives us hope because it shows us that when we bring our contribution to Jesus, he makes not enough more than enough! When come to Jesus with the little we have to offer, the little we can do in these situations, he can take something small and make a huge difference.

Time and time again through history we see people have an enormous impact on a situation simply because they offer the little they have to Jesus and he makes it more.

What little can we offer to Jesus today, that he can take, and make into something more? What is on your heart to make a difference in but you feel like your contribution won't make a difference? What's in your packed lunch that Jesus can use to feed the multitudes?

Let's go for it, because we know that if we give our little to Jesus, he can do an extraordinary miracle. With him, not enough is ALWAYS more than enough!

He found love in a hopeless place.

I think we all know what it feels like to feel rejected.

Most of my life at primary and secondary school I can remember being bullied. I can't remember when it started, I can't really remember why it started, but people always found a way to put me down and make me feel de-valued and alone. Why wouldn't they? I was small, I didn't fight back, I was an easy target.

I know I'm sadly not the only one who has very few good memories of school, and often the things that are said over us, and the labels people put on us, that have a nasty habit of sticking with us for years to come. They become ingrained in our identity, part of who we are and what makes us, us, good and bad.

In John 5 we find another of the signs that Jesus does to show us why he came to earth, and we hear a little bit about the kind of person Jesus came for.

'After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades.  In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.  When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.  Now that day was the Sabbath.  So the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.”  But he answered them, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’” They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well!  Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.” The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him.  And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. But Jesus answered them,  “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”' (John 5:1-18 ESV) 

Here we see the story of a man who's been an outcast his whole life. This man, 38 years old, had spent most of his life at this pool in Bethseda, with no one to help him, no one to talk to him, and a label of being unclean, unvalued and unimportant.

But then he meets Jesus.

Then he encounters this unconditional, unending, unquenchable love that transforms his life. Jesus doesn't see him as the rest of the society saw him. Jesus doesn't judge him. He doesn't label him. He doesn't put him in a box and treat him differently to everyone else. He just loves him. And this man gets healed.

Total identity change. The man who was unclean is now clean. The man who was unvalued know feels valued again. The man who was unimportant now knows he is SO important to God. His life is transformed! But not only that but he then meets Jesus again in the temple and Jesus affirms to him "you're well, you don't need to live that sinful lifestyle anymore, you've been forgiven". He's not only changed on the outside but he's washed clean on the inside. How amazing is that?

But this didn't go down to well with the religious people at the time. Jesus had broken the rules, he'd worked on the Sabbath, he'd not done things the way they wanted to. You see they'd got so comfortable with their way of doing things, labelling people, preaching at people, telling people the law.. They'd forgotten the whole reason the law exists. They'd forgotten to love.

When Jesus was asked by a Pharisee to what the most important command was, he said it was to Love God with everything you have, and out of that love everyone else including yourself. And he said that all the law makes sense through this, that this is the point of the law, to help us do this.

And you know so often I think the church forgets this. So often we forget that we are first and foremost called to love people. We are called to love people with the same love that drove Jesus to the man in Bethseda. With no motives, no prerequisites, no catches. Just love them. That's it. We feel the need to place people in boxes, give people labels, if we love people it's to make them like us.

Why is it when you look at the news, the way the church, God's people comes across is for what we are against? The labels we put on people and the boxes we put them in, and the fact that we don't accept people because they are 'sinners'. Why is it that we have gone from setting people free to making them feel outcast and unaccepted?

This New Years I was at Shift, and we were challenged to stand up and say something we want to see shift in 2014, I said I wanted to see the church known for what are are for and not what we are against. I want to see us known for loving people unconditionally and not expecting anything back. For giving people value and acceptance and welcoming people no matter who they are.

Let's stop being a church that pushes people out and rejects them. Let's stop being a church that's only known for what we're against. And lets be a church that introduces people to Jesus, and loves people no matter what.

Because that's what Jesus would do.