Sermon Notes:

ASCENSION SUNDAY – MAY 20, 2012

• HMP Wandsworth – Notional Theists but Practical Atheists!

• Apparently, 78% of all Americans believed in the resurrection of Jesus Christ rose from the dead but over half said made no difference to how they lived. How much more the Ascension!!!

FIVE REASONS WHY THE ASCENSION IS SUCH GOOD NEWS AND WHY IT MUST CHANGE OUR LIVES FOREVER

1) Jesus is Alive! -Luke 24:44-47 (885); Matt 28:20 ‘I am with you always…’

There are three sites in Jerusalem purporting to be the burial tomb of Jesus: orthodox, Armenian and garden tomb – one thing in common: All Empty!!!

The same person who said: "Come to me all you who are burdened and heavy laden and I will give you rest."

The same person who said: "Ask and it will be given, seek and you shall find, knock and the door shall be opened”

The same person who is with us today and is with you when you wake up tomorrow morning.

2) Jesus Rules Forever! – Ephesians 1:19-22 (p. 976)

The Message: 1:20-23 “All this energy issues from Christ: God raised him from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but forever. He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ's body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.”

'Over ever name' that means over the king, the queen, the president, your father, your CEO, your boss, your teacher, you life-coach, your spiritual guide, Jesus Rules!

Colossians 3:2 "…seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated… Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” (p. 984)

What’s your morning routine? Radio? TV? Blackberry? A young man came to see me once and he was suffering from depression. I asked him what his normal day looked like. Well he got up, went to the kitchen made breakfast and watched the news on TV for half and hour then he went and showered listening to the radio. He got dressed got in this car and listened No wonder you are depressed! Jesus is not going to jump out of the closet and say ‘Here I am!’ You have to seek him, love him, call upon him, worship him.

3) Jesus way of Living is Eternally Vindicated

Philippians 2:1-11 (p. 980) - the way of humility, sacrificial service, obedience and kindly loving is the only life that has a future.

4) Jesus Ascent means the Holy Spirit's Descent!

Acts 1:4, (p. 907) - wait until you receive what the father has promised. Christ goes up so the Spirit may come down! Like a lift at Terminal 5 – I shoot up and a lift load of Japanese tourists shoots down!

Acts 1:8 They wanted information but what they get is power!

Visiting Ephesus, in Turkey, port now 14 miles from the sea, isolated. Visiting a church in Romania – isolated, lost touch with the community around it.

5) Jesus is still Present – Ephesians 1:22-23

John, taxi driver, negative experience of the church but the church is still God’s Plan A. There is no Plan B. I’ve looked in the Bible. There is nothing else!

The Message: 1:20-23 “All this energy issues from Christ: God raised him from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but forever. He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ's body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.”

In a thousand years time, if Jesus has not returned to make all things new, there will be no USA, no Eurozone, no Social media, no King or Queen of England, no Microsoft, no Facebook, no Apple, .... but there will be the Church!

Bill Hybels: There is nothing like the local then when the local church is working right!

Every Christian has received a gift from Jesus to serve his Body (Ephesians 4:7)

Conclusion!

1) Don’t be a Practical Atheist! Connected with the Risen Lord Jesus Everyday!

2) Ask God for More! Pray for a great infilling of the Holy Spirit Everyday!

3) Are you Connected to the Local Church?

• Are you giving – worship & money?

• Are you serving – using your gifts to bless others

• Are you loving - are you being discipled by others and are you actively discipling others?

Nicky Gumbel's Bible in One Year

	The Bible in One Year with Nicky Gumbel
	Daily notes on the One Year Bible from Nicky and Pippa Gumbel.

Daily Reading: Psalm 119:25-48, The Message Version

I love The Message version of the Bible. I'm trying to read one or two of the Psalms every morning before I start the day in The Message. The guy who is writting this psalm/song is so honest ! He is honest with God about how miserable everything is but he is also, at the same time, totally convinced of God’s love and God’s power to rescue him and make a difference. I love that blend of gritty realism and resilient faith. He knows his life is desperate but instead of switching off from God he turns to him and keeps asking God to BE and DO all the things that God has promised to BE and DO. Come on God – do it!!!

The Lies We Believe

Brief talk at Wednesday Eucharist today...

Jesus, and the rest of the New Testament tells us we have a spiritual enemy, the Devil. Jesus calls him a Thief, who wants to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). Jesus also calls him a Liar (John 8:44). The Devil is a Thief and Liar and he knows where you live!

Three Lies I Believe:

Lie One: The Church is rubbish

Lie Two: Prayer does not work

Lie Three: This negative person, relationship, situation will never change

1. Stick to God's Word and God’s Friends

"Now I'm turning you over to God, our marvelous God whose gracious Word can make you into what he wants you to be and give you everything you could possibly need in this community of holy friends." (Acts 20:32 MSG)

“No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.” (John 15:15 ESV)

2. Prayer Really Matters, it Really Works!

Jesus was matter-of-fact: "Embrace this God-life. Really embrace it, and nothing will be too much for you... That's why I urge you to pray for absolutely everything, ranging from small to large. Include everything as you embrace this God-life, and you'll get God's everything." (Mark 11:22-24)

3. God is Really, Really Rich, He Really Has a Lot to Give

"And now, God, do it again - bring rains to our drought-stricken lives So those who planted their crops in despair will shout hurrahs at the harvest, So those who went off with heavy hearts will come home laughing, with armloads of blessing." (Psalm 126:4-6 MSG)

Seven Signs of a Spiritually Healthy Church

Here is the link to the audio -http://www.trurochurch.org/uploads/S0710_A@5_TMayfield.mp3

Hand-Out for Sermon preached last Sunday at Truro's Evening Service in the Undercroft (7/17/11)

1. We love Jesus and we want to get as close to him as we possibly can! - Philippians 3:12

2. We want to become a community of friends - John 15:11-15

3. We keep focused on the vision… the kingdom ministry of Jesus, seeking and saving the lost (Luke 4:16-18)

4. We love and welcome new people - we really do! Psalm 84:3

5. We totally love to worship - we really do too! Psalm 150 (read it in The Message version)

6. Everybody gets to play … everybody gets to serve! (Matthew 9:35-38; Mark 10:45)

7. We love the person and work of the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:17-28) - the Spirit REALLY loves unity. He REALLY, REALLY does!

COMMUNICATION JITTERS

OK. Some guidelines for communicating and then some...
1. You never know the complete picture
I think it was Steve Covey who told the story of traveling on the NY subway and a man got on with two small boys. He sits down but the two boys immediately start running up and down the carriage playing chase, screaming and shouting and banging into passengers. After several minutes of this Covey has enough and asks the man to control his children. The man looks up and says, 'I just don't know what to do with them. We have come from the hospital where their mother has just died.' A perfect illustration that we can get annoyed and defensive with someone and we don't have the full picture.

So then, how does that apply within a church or work setting?
Rule 1: NEVER reply to an email angry. You don't have the full picture. In fact I would encourage everyone to never communicate if you're upset. Wait until you have calmed down or, if you must speak to them, do it on the phone or face to face.
Rule 2: Ask you team for info, someone will most probably know more than you do.
Rule 3: Before you switch your computer on at the beginning of the day (to check emails) decide first what are the key goals you want to achieve that day. As soon as you start reading emails you enter reactive mode, you are responding to other people's requests and agendas. Start the day proactively, 'What do I want to initiate today?'
Rule 4: Pray before you make a phone call and pray before you answer the phone.  God cares about the details of your life and PRAYER MAKES A DIFFERENCE.  Difficult meeting coming up at work or with a family member? PRAY!
Rule 5: Good Email Protocol: If an email has been sent directly to you, consider that a conversation has started between you and the sender. Reply as soon as you can. Even if you don't know the answer or if you haven't time to respond fully, send a reply thanking the person for their email and letting them know you will get back to them shortly. It really makes a difference!

New Team

We have some great folk joining our ministry team and here's the pep-talk I gave them on Tuesday:
1) Obligation to Dissent (thanks HTB!) - if we disagree with a decision or an idea we must say so! Everybody on the team has the right to say they disagree. But you must give reasons why. This will help for a fruitful discussion and prevent your own dislike of a decision being based purely on personal taste or dislike. Leaders, before moving on to next decision must say: "Does anyone have any objection they haven't disclosed yet? If not then it's a go and we are all behind it."
2) Are you engaged in meetings. In the past I have caught myself being totally silent and unengaged in a meeting. I realized this was a form of silent and secret protest. I would decide within myself: "Everybody else's ideas are rubbish but no one will listen to mine, so I will sit here and not share what I think are my own brilliant ideas!" For Christian Ministry, fellowship and love this is a profoundly dysfunctional attitude, it's also a sin (pride) against God and my sisters and brothers in ministry. But amazingly it's one I can fall into again and again. So, watch it. Ask yourself: Why am I not engaged? Why am I angry with the team? The leader? What steps do I take to rebuild engagement with the team?
3) Work at Unity - Unity is Hard Work! But the Holy Spirit loves it. The Holy Spirit is all over unity. Conversely, the Spirit hates sulks, peevishness, unforgiveness, gossip, dishonoring of leaders etc whereas the devil just loves it. If we want to see more of the Holy Spirit poured out in our ministry and in our community we have got to work hard at unity.