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St.
Augustine by Reverend Murray Spackman, Vicar. Sunday 16th May, 2004 Lk10:1-9 1Thess. 2:1-8 There is something very moving and profound about standing amidst the stone ruins of buildings which were part of the very early history of Christianity in England! My recollections of my brief visit to Canterbury in 1996 are still very vivid in my mind!
Just over 1400 years ago, (1406 to be precise!)
in 596, Augustine, the
Abbot of a monastery in Rome,- a rather quiet and
timid man, was sent with 40 other monks, by Pope Gregory, to
establish Christianity in virtually pagan England.
Life in those days was rough and violent, and in the uncivilized
parts of the world, was an extremely dangerous place to be.
When the group reached Gaul, just before they were to cross the
English Channel, it seems the enormity of the task before them suddenly
dawned on them! They became
terrified by the prospect of their commission and by the dangers which, they were in no doubt,
lay before them. So
Augustine , feeling that he was totally unsuited and ill-equipped for the
task, called a halt to the expedition, left the monks, returned to Pope
Gregory and tried to
persuade him to abandon the mission.
But the Pope sent him back, and kindly but firmly ordered him, and
the team, to continue on. The
group landed on the East coast of England at Kent in 597.
With the consent of the King of Kent, - who was undoubtedly, and
favourably, influenced by his Christian wife, Augustine was given
permission for the group to establish themselves in his capital,
Canterbury, and the King turned over to their use an already existing
church building.
Here is a parallel to Jesus’ sending out of
the Seventy-Two, which we
read of in Luke 10:1-9. Augustine
and his 40, like the seventy-two - went
only with their faith in the
Lord who would accompany them, and their trust that He would provide all
things necessary for their
work.
Within the following seven years, - surely an amazing work of the
Spirit -- the Christian
faith had spread throughout England, and the church became well
established with a further twelve bishops being appointed. Thus began the
church in England. In the same way in which the Christian faith was spread and the church planted in England, so too the church was planted and established in Thessalonica by Paul and Silas in New Testament times. Both faced hardship and opposition, but in both cases, their witness also brought outstanding results. The effectiveness of the Mission , I believe, was because not only were the disciples dependent on the power of the Holy Spirit – but also because the integrity of their own lives was without question. And this morning I want to focus our thoughts on FOUR qualities which Paul points out 1.Thess.2:1-8 which I believe were key factors in their sharing Christ with others and in that witness bearing fruit – and these are the same four qualities which Augustine and his monks had, which Paul and Silas had, and which the seventy two whom Jesus sent out – all had in common. And we need to establish those same qualities in our own lives if we are to be more effective in introducing others to Jesus Christ.
FIRSTLY there is a need for a clear understanding
of the truth. vs.3
St.Paul wrote -- “Our
appeal to you” –he says, -
“is not based on error”
. Sadly, there are
many cults and sects, in society today which are based on error.
There
is a contemporary fashion which says my idea is just as good as your idea.
If I think God is a flower in the garden, then who are you to tell
me I’m wrong! The trend to
today is to make our god in our own image. But if we
examine these ideas carefully we will soon discover the lack of
substance to such ideas. And
the reason being is that they are simply not true!
So we today, like those early disciples, need to know the truth and
the truths of our faith.
We
need to know how to answer the questions which people have about our faith
and how to point them to Jesus – The Truth.
So Commencing next Sunday at Holy Trinity, in both the 8am
and 9;30am Services, Andrew will be helping us with how to understand and
to answer the difficult questions which people ask about Life and Faith.
There are some invitation cards with the basic details on them, - take
some and give them to your friends, invite them along..
We need to know and understand what the gospel is about -
intelligently, and honestly. We are to have a clear perception and
understanding of the truth. We are to lead people to Jesus - who is
TRUTH. That’s the
FIRST quality.
The SECOND essential quality for living and sharing
the Faith is that we
are to have purity of motive in our living the
gospel. Paul said to the
church in Thessalonica that his appeal to them was not based on error , or
impure motives. He says, “God has judged us worthy to be entrusted
with the Good News .” Paul
didnt embark on his missionary journeys for the travel, or the money, or
for the free and easy
life-style – far from it! Paul’s
ministry was from pure motives. And his motive was always to do
what God wanted Him to do.
I think we can imagine Paul, everyday, in his prayers, saying
- “Lord – show me the way this day. Help me to do YOUR will in
YOUR way! We can imagine Paul listening quietly for that inner voice of
the spirit. And he did this
because, above all, he was concerned
for God’s approval ! So
Paul said “We do not try to please people , but to
please God, who tests our motives.”
Augustine’s motives were pure – to proclaim Christ to the
English people. Our motives
for proclaiming Christ, and for building up the church must likewise be in
order to please God and to extend His Kingdom.- to Know Christ and to Make
Christ Known. So Truth
and Purity of Motive are the first two qualities.
The THIRD quality necessary for effectively sharing Christ
is that of honesty:
Paul wrote that he, and his companions, did not try to trick
anyone!
Their’s was an honest, open approach. They didn’t proclaim
Christ with ulterior motives! Our
living and sharing the gospel is to be transparent.
I want to share Christ with others because of what He means to me,
and what He can mean to them - not for some other mercenary reason.
Dianne
and I were at a Vestry meeting in another parish the other night, and when
talking about the Mission of the church, one rather outspoken and very
down-to-earth member of the vestry exclaimed quite simply “We’re here
to put bums on seats!” Well, I don’t believe that’s our motive or
reason for proclaiming Christ!
Paul and Silas didn’t go to Thessalonica to put bums on seats! They went to proclaim a new life, eternal life, available in
Jesus Christ. Our Mission, as was that of Augustine – is first and
foremost to make Christ
known! When they come to know
Him, then they will want to gather together with others for worship and
fellowship and teaching and praise. But
that comes later! Paul says he didn’t use trickery -
dishonesty - when he preached the gospel in Thessalonica - neither, it
seems did Augustine, or any other of the great apostles of faith - and
I’m sure we wouldn’t want to , either. Lets be honest and real about
our motives. Truth,
Purity of motive, Honesty – all key qualities as we live our faith.
The FOURTH quality is that of
Self -giving love.
Paul says :- “Because
of our love for you we were ready to share with you, not only the
Good News from God, but even our own lives. You were so dear to
us!” St. Paul’s,
and St.Augustine’s motives, were faultless - they were serving Christ
by serving others. Jesus
makes it quite clear that when we are serving OTHER we are serving HIM.
This is also the most effective way of sharing our faith
with others as well! Its
not rocket science! When
someone is sick and we take around a casserole – we are serving their
needs, and we are showing them in a tangible form the love of Jesus
Christ. When we sit with
sick, or the troubled, or worried or bereaved – we don’t have to say
much – in fact usually the less the better – all we need to do is
listen! - but in that listening ministry we are showing the loving care of
Jesus, and inviting others to draw near to Him also. So
Four qualities which are essential as we seek to share Jesus Christ in our
daily lives - 1. Truth .2.
Purity of motive.
3.Honesty ,&
4 .Self-giving love.
Let us pray that God’s Spirit will cause us to grow in these
qualities as we see surrender our lives more fully to Him.
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