Jesus welcomes (Back to church Sunday)

Let me add my welcome to you.

My name is Sam.

I'm one of the pastoral team here at St. Paul's,

and it is really good to see a bunch of faces

that I don't know very well.

Hopefully I'll get the chance to meet some of you

over dinner at the after party after the service,

but if I don't get the chance to chat to you,

consider this a welcome,

and hopefully I will get to at some point

in the not-too-distant future.

I'm going to pray,

and then we're actually going to have a look

at that passage that Helen just read out for us.

In particular, we're going to focus on just four verses

right at the beginning of it.

And try and see if we can understand

what it is that God is saying to us.

That's what we believe the Bible is.

It's God's way of talking to us and teaching us things.

And so we're going to try and understand

just those four verses tonight

and try and think what does that mean for us individually.

So how about I pray,

and then we'll get stuck into it.

Father God, we thank you for bringing us here tonight.

We thank you for a beautiful day.

We thank you for warm weather.

We thank you for the Bible, which is your word.

And we ask that you would help us to understand it tonight

so that we might see you more clearly

and know what it means to follow you.

Amen.

I wonder if you've ever felt like you weren't welcome,

felt like you didn't belong somewhere.

A couple of weeks ago,

it's probably a little over a month ago now,

the staff team that I'm a part of here at St. Paul's

allocated a half a day to spend together

to do something fun.

Now, at my very enthusiastic recommendation,

we landed on spending the day doing lawn bowls.

Now, before you knock it,

it's actually a really fun afternoon.

But it's fair to say that for a 29-year-old

and for pretty much all of the staff,

it's a cross-cultural experience.

And when we arrived at the bowling club that we had chosen,

we eventually figured out which door

we were supposed to walk into.

We walked in, we were met by some carpet

that wasn't that dissimilar to the lovely carpet

that we're standing on now.

We were met by an almost empty room.

There was one table of slightly older men

who were sitting there drinking,

and they were, at best, disinterested,

at worst, angry that we were in the room.

And we kind of looked around,

trying to find a staff member who could help us,

but there was no one.

There was just a kind of crumpled up,

stained sign-in book that was on a table in front of us

that we were kind of supposed to use our powers of deduction

to figure out how things worked.

Eventually, we'd been in there for about 10 minutes,

and a staff member appears.

That staff member then proceeded to try and convince us

that we didn't have a booking for that day.

After producing the voucher and a receipt,

she conceded.

At which point, the kitchen staff came out

to let us know that we didn't have a booking for that day

and they weren't going to be ready to cook lunch for us.

A bit more back and forth,

and eventually they went away

and tried to figure out what they were going to give us for food.

They stood around with us for a little while,

and eventually they figured out that what needed to happen

was to give us some lawn bowls

and send us out onto the bowling green.

But even once we got out there

and we were left to our own devices,

there was still this sense that the table of men inside,

they put us on the green right in front of the window.

I'm not sure if it was a ploy or not,

but there was this sense that those men were inside

watching and laughing.

They may not have been,

but that was how it felt.

Because we're sitting there fumbling about at a sport

that most of us haven't done before,

and we're just feeling completely out of place.

We didn't have the right clothes.

We didn't know what the etiquette was.

We weren't using the correct words for the correct things.

And we just felt like outsiders,

like we didn't belong.

It's not a very fun feeling,

but the reality is that for some of us,

that might be how church feels.

It might be that this is the first time in a long time

that you've been in a church.

Maybe you've never been before

because you just weren't sure

that you would actually fit in with churchy people.

You dress different, you swear, you smoke,

you've got a tattoo,

and you've never really been keen on singing in public.

And so the idea of coming to a church,

you just kind of went,

they're just going to stare at me.

Or maybe you've even been to a church

and experienced that sense of,

everybody's looking at me like I'm strange.

There's just this feeling that I don't belong

and maybe I'm not good enough

to be in this group of people.

Now, if you've ever felt like that,

sadly, you're not alone.

I think that as long as there has been churches,

there's been people in those churches

acting as if they had the right to decide

who should be in and who should be out.

And so throughout all of history,

there's been people wandering into churches

and wandering out just as quickly

because they didn't feel like they belonged.

Now, I'm not just pointing the finger

at those other churches that do that,

because the reality is,

if I'm really honest,

there are people that I meet in my life,

there are people that I see

when I'm out at the shops

or out with my friends,

and deep down,

I don't really want them

to be sitting next to me

the next Sunday in church.

For whatever reason,

there's something about them

that I don't really like,

and I just don't think

that they should be a part

of the church community.

And so if you're here this evening

and you're feeling unwelcome,

you're feeling like out of place,

I want to start by saying sorry,

because that's not how it's supposed to work.

That's not what the church is supposed to be.

I mean, in some senses,

that's how the world works.

You hang out with the people that you are like.

You hang out with the people you get on with.

So if you don't like lawn bowls,

you don't hang out at the bowling club.

If you like boats,

you hang out with people who like boats.

If you skate,

you hang out with people who skate.

If you're into philosophy,

you hang out with people

who like to talk about philosophy.

But the church is supposed to be different.

See, the church is supposed to be

a group of people

that have been gathered together by God,

and the only thing

that they've got in common

is that Jesus has saved them.

I mean, people should look at the church

and go,

it just doesn't make sense.

They should go,

how is it possible that that guy

and that girl,

who are completely different,

can have such a deep friendship.

But the sad reality is,

in churches all over the world right now,

there are still people acting like

they get to decide

who's in and who's out.

Even across Australia today,

there are people who want to know Jesus,

who want to find out more,

but feel unwelcome

to walk into a building like this,

because they're worried

that they're going to get judged

or looked down on.

And that is terrible.

But in there,

in that what is a disgusting situation,

there is a huge encouragement.

In that reality,

is the best news

that you have ever heard.

Hiding in that unwelcome environment

is the gospel.

And I want to show you why,

from the passage that Helen read out for us.

If you've got it in front of you,

that'll be helpful.

If not, you can listen

and I'll read out the key bits.

But in Mark chapter 10,

Mark 10 · chapter mention

in verse 13,

this is what's going on.

It says,

people were bringing little children to Jesus

to have him touch them,

but the disciples rebuked them.

So you get it,

it's a pretty simple scene.

Jesus is the miracle worker.

Jesus is the impressive teacher.

And so everybody wants to,

you know,

send their kids in

so that they can maybe

catch some of the magic.

You know,

if maybe Jesus puts their hands on them,

then they'll get into

the right private school.

Or they want some of the good blessing,

the good stuff that Jesus is offering.

But the disciples

get in the way pretty quickly.

They're like,

look,

Jesus is busy.

He's got things to do.

And now,

before we nail the disciples

for being jerks,

we've got to realize

that we actually treat kids

the same way now.

Like,

we actually do the same

sort of thing.

At best,

kids are something to be survived

or tolerated.

At worst,

they're something to be avoided

or pushed to the side.

I mean,

think about it.

We have restaurants

and cinemas

and churches

where kids aren't supposed to be.

There are special places

you can pay extra

for the privilege

of being free

of the burden of children.

children.

We look down on them

and it's almost logical.

Because when you think about it,

kids don't actually

contribute anything,

do they?

They're kind of freeloaders.

I mean,

seriously,

if you're a parent,

and I am now,

I'm six months into parenthood,

and kids

don't actually offer anything.

They just take time

and energy

and resources

from hardworking adults

like you and me.

And so in one sense,

it's completely valid

that the disciples go,

these kids don't deserve

any special treatment.

They don't deserve

front row seats for Jesus.

There's more important

people around.

Now,

as I said,

I've been a father

for almost six months

and my little boy

has a pretty basic routine.

He sleeps

not as much

as we want him to.

He wakes up screaming

because he's hungry.

He eats a little bit.

He throws up a little bit.

He poos a little bit.

And then he whinges

and wriggles around

on the floor.

There's not a lot

of contribution

from him so far

in our family unit.

He doesn't help

with chores.

He doesn't pay rent.

He just takes time

and energy

from me and Sal.

Now,

we love him,

just so we're clear.

But he's not

a major contributor

in our family.

Now,

imagine with me

for a second

that my wife

wins a prize for two.

It's an all-expenses-paid,

first-class,

holiday for two

around the world,

finest hotels,

limousines,

everything.

Now,

which two members

of my family

deserve,

let me underline that,

deserve

to go on that holiday?

Now,

you might be less selfish

than me,

but if we're really honest,

it's fair to say

that me and my wife

deserve the holiday.

We're the ones

who do the cleaning,

we're the ones

who change nappies,

we're the ones

who make our own way

to the bathroom

when that needs to happen.

And so,

it's fair enough

that out of the three of us,

we are the most deserving

of that extra privilege.

Now,

it's not that we don't love

our boy,

but we're the ones

doing the work.

And we're older,

and we'll enjoy it more,

and we'll appreciate it.

It's not that

our son's not important,

it's just that

he's less important

than us.

Now,

just so we're clear again,

my boy comes first

in our family

because he needs to.

But you can understand

at least a little bit

of what's going through

the head of the disciples.

Now,

they're not saying

children are

just unimportant

and insignificant

and don't matter.

They're just saying

children are less important.

I mean,

let's just remember

who we're talking about here.

This is Jesus.

This is the miracle worker.

This is the healer.

This is the teacher.

This is the son of God.

And so they're thinking

maybe there's more

important people here

who need to get

to Jesus first.

I mean,

he's not going to be

around forever.

We're going to make

the most of his time.

There could have been

doctors or lawyers

or politicians,

you know,

really important people.

And the disciples

are doing exactly

what we would probably do.

We start sorting out

who is the most

important people,

who are the most

worthy people

and we'll give them

a shot at looking

at Jesus first.

So the children

in this passage

and children in general

don't deserve

any special treatment

from God.

They don't deserve

this free

jump to the front

of the queue pass.

And interestingly,

Jesus doesn't actually

argue the point

when he responds

to his disciples.

I don't know if you

noticed that.

Jesus doesn't turn around

and go,

disciples,

you idiots.

Children do deserve

my blessing.

They are more important

than everyone else.

Let them to the front.

Listen to what he does say

back in the passage

at verse 14.

When Jesus saw this,

he was indignant

and he said to them,

Let the little children

come to me

and do not hinder them

for the kingdom of God

belongs to such as these.

I tell you the truth,

anyone who will not

receive the kingdom of God

like a little child

will never enter it.

And he took the children

in his arms,

put his hands on them

and blessed them.

What's Jesus' response?

He says,

let them come.

He doesn't say

let them come

because they're

the most important.

He says,

let them come.

Even though they're unworthy,

even though they're unimportant,

even though they're unimpressive,

he says,

my blessing,

my kingdom,

all the stuff

that I want to give

belongs to such as these.

His kingdom belongs

to the childlike.

Now,

the amazing irony

in this passage

is that the same way

that the disciples

are looking down

on these children

and the same way

that sometimes

people in churches

look down on other people

as being unworthy

or undeserving,

that is exactly

how God sees

each and every one of us.

That is exactly

how God sees

even the disciples

in this passage.

Now,

let me say that again

because that's really important.

The way we sometimes

try and discern

between who is

more deserving

of God's love

and less deserving,

we look at other people

as less deserving.

But when God sees us,

he sees us

as undeserving.

He sees us

as unworthy.

He sees us

as having no right

whatsoever.

When God looks at you

and me

and every single one

of us,

he sees what the disciples

see in these kids,

people who don't deserve

his blessing.

So on one level,

if you're sitting

in church tonight

and you're feeling

unwelcome,

you're feeling like

maybe you don't fit here,

you're actually heading

in the right direction.

God is giving you

some insight

into how he sees you.

He's giving you

a chance to look

from his perspective

and understand

that no one

deserves to be able

to call God Father.

No one deserves

to be able to call

Jesus their Savior.

No one deserves

to be able to call

Jesus their friend.

And in this passage,

the reason the children

are unworthy

is because they're children.

All they need

is a few years

and they can deal

with that issue

but our issue

is more significant.

Our problem's

not so easily fixed.

See, we're unworthy

of God

because we spend

our lives

treating him

like he doesn't matter.

We're unworthy

because we act

like the one

who made us

and keeps us alive

is just a resource

that we can use

instead of a God

who deserves

to be obeyed.

We don't do

what he tells us to.

We do what he tells

us not to do

and the sad thing is

even if we were

to try and change now

and become better people,

even if we were

to start obeying

from this point forward,

that doesn't change

that we are

disobedient people.

That doesn't change

that up to this point

in our lives

and in reality

from here forward,

we're going to keep

ignoring him

and making choices

that we know

he doesn't want us to.

We have a habit

when we talk

about God

of thinking about

good people

and bad people.

We think of bad people

as the people

who murder

or steal

or abuse

and good people

are the ones

who manage to avoid

those serious bad things

and those are the only

two categories we've got.

We've got good

and bad

but God has a higher

standard than good.

God is perfect

in every way.

There is nothing

bad in him

and he demands

that if we would

follow him,

if we would call him

father,

if we would be a part

of his family,

then we need to be

perfect as well.

Now you might be good

but you are not perfect.

You might be better

than everyone else

in this room,

you might be the best

person you know

but you are still

not perfect.

Which means

in God's eyes

you're not good enough.

You don't deserve

his blessing.

You don't deserve

all the good things

that he has.

Jesus is saying

something really profound

in these four verses.

The kingdom of God

he says,

the blessing of God

he says,

belongs

to such

as these.

The church

will be full

of such

as these.

Heaven

will be full

of such

as these.

But what does that mean?

What does it mean

to receive the kingdom

like a little child?

Well it's all

the things

that you spend

your life

trying to get out of.

All the habits

that you're trying

to avoid.

The dependence

of children.

The helplessness

of children.

See we live

in a society

where we value

independence.

We want our lives

to be about

what we can do.

We want to be judged

on our merits.

We want to stand

on our own two feet

and we want

what is fair

and just

for what we have done.

But Jesus is saying

if God gives you

what is fair

and just

for what you have done

then you have no chance

of getting

all the good things

that he wants

to give you.

Being a Christian

is about

recognizing

embracing

and rejoicing

in the fact

that you

need

Jesus'

help.

I'll say that again.

Being a Christian

is about

recognizing

that you need

Jesus' help

embracing

the fact

that you need

help

from something

outside yourself

and rejoicing

in the fact

that God

has provided

that help

that you need.

These children

come to Jesus

because they are

confident

that he

will love them.

Not confident

that they deserve

his love.

Not confident

that they have

some right

to his blessing.

But depending

on the fact

that he

will love

them

in spite

of how

unimpressive

they are.

They bring

nothing to

the table.

They just

come eager

and keen

empty handed

and Jesus

welcomes

them.

That is

what it means

to receive

the kingdom

like a child.

It's about

recognizing

you don't

deserve it

and asking

God to

welcome you

anyway.

the gospel

message

is a message

of unworthy

people

offered

forgiveness

and love

through the

death

and resurrection

of Jesus.

But don't

mishear me

when I say

that.

The fact

that God

has welcomed

an imperfect

person like

me and the

fact that

tonight he

might be

ready to

welcome an

imperfect

person like

you

doesn't mean

that he's

lowering his

standards.

It doesn't

mean that he

looked and

realized there

was no

perfect people

and thought

well if I

just lower

a bit and

just get

kind of the

top tier of

good people

heaven will

still be

alright.

God has

not lowered

his standards.

What it

means is he

loves you

enough to

pay the

price that

you're supposed

to pay and

instead give

you his love

and blessing.

The famous

author C.S.

Lewis calls

it the great

exchange.

Jesus comes

to earth and

in his whole

life he

is perfectly

obedient to

God in

heaven.

He does

everything that

God requires

of him and

instead of the

love and

privilege position

that he deserves

in heaven he

takes on the

punishment that

every one of

us deserves for

telling God that

he doesn't

matter.

He takes on the

judgment and

punishment that

is ours and

then instead of

receiving the

punishment that

is ours we

are given the

life and

blessing that

is his.

grace.

It is the

great exchange.

If you're

here and

you're invited

by someone

maybe you're

here because

you're curious

about God

maybe you're

here because

you were just

sick of saying

no to that

really persistent

friend.

Whatever brought

you to this

room God was

behind it.

if you're

feeling like

you don't

really belong

right now

good.

Because the

reality is

you don't

deserve to

be in God's

family.

You are

unworthy of

his love and

forgiveness

forgiveness.

But so is

everyone else

around you.

God sees

your life.

He knows

who you

are.

He knows

the deep

dark secrets

that you hope

no one ever

finds out and

he says I

love you

anyway.

He says if

you would just

stop trying to

be good enough

stop thinking

at least I'm

not as bad as

other people

and would just

like a child

depend on him

he would

welcome you

with open

arms.

It doesn't

matter what

other people

say to you

no one else

gets to decide

whether or not

you're good

enough for

heaven.

Jesus is

saying now

you're not

but I want to

welcome you

anyway.

If you call

yourself a

Christian if

you're sitting

in this room

and you've

been following

Jesus for a

while I just

want to be

clear that here

is what you're

saying according

to Jesus.

You're saying

that God

loves me even

though there is

nothing in me

that makes me

worthy of it.

That's what a

Christian is.

Someone who

recognizes they

don't deserve

God's love but

gets it anyway.

And so if

that's you maybe

you need to be

reminded that you

are never in a

position to look

at someone else

as being less

deserving of God's

love than you

are.

If you look at

someone and see

them as unworthy

that's right,

that's what the

Bible says but

you've got to see

yourself right

alongside them

because that's

what the gospel

says.

You don't deserve

God's love but

you get it because

God loves you.

You get it because

he chooses to

love you.

God loves you.

And maybe he is

challenging some of

us tonight to

maybe be a little

bit more humble in

the way that we

follow him.

To maybe be a

little bit more

welcoming.

To make this a

place that anyone

would feel comfortable

to walk into

regardless of what

they're wearing or

how they talk or

how strange this

all seems.

we started off

tonight lamenting

the fact that

churches are often

unwelcoming places,

that they're often

exclusive and I

said that hiding in

that reality was

good news.

The fact that the

church is full of

people like that,

people who make

others feel

unwelcome, it's not

a good thing but

at very least it's

proof that

everyone sitting

in church is just

as unworthy as

you.

If you have ever

been made to feel

unwelcome in a

church, if you have

ever been told by

Christians that you

don't deserve God's

love, that you

don't deserve to be a

part of their

community, I think

that's actually

evidence that they

don't deserve it

either.

And that's the

proof that it's

all about God

and it's all about

what God has

done.

Plus, you feeling

that unworthiness is

actually a necessary

starting point.

If you're going to

be able to receive

it like a child,

you've got to

recognise that you've

got nothing to

offer, that it

doesn't matter how

good you're going

to be from now on,

it doesn't matter

how good you've

been until now,

you've got to

recognise it is all

about God's love

for you.

It is all about

the fact that he

sent Jesus to die

for you and it is

all about the fact

that Jesus rose

again for you.

It is not and it

will not ever be

about what you

have or haven't

done.

Lastly, you being

in this room now

is good news

because if God

can welcome me,

even though I'm

imperfect, and if

God can welcome

you, even though

you're imperfect,

and even though

we are completely

different people

with different

lives and different

experiences, maybe

somebody else will

walk into this

room one time and

see if God can

forgive that guy

and that girl,

then maybe he can

forgive me as well.

Jesus rebukes his

disciples in this

passage because they

block the way for

children that he had

already chosen to

love, that he had

already chosen to

welcome.

There is nothing

and no one that

God will let get in

the way of you

coming to him.

Nothing you have

done and no other

person's opinion of

you can block how

much God loves you.

The challenge for you

tonight is, are you

ready like a child?

Are you ready to

admit that you have

nothing to offer to

him?

To recognize that

more than that, you

are undeserving of

his love, but you

are actually deserving

of his punishment, and

yet still he wants to

welcome you.

He wants to offer you

something better.

The question for you

tonight is, will you

accept his love with

open hands like a

child?

will you receive the

blessing that he wants

to give you?

Let's pray.

Father God, we want

to acknowledge that

there is so much in

our lives that is not

worthy of you.

That every single one

of us in this room

spends time acting like

we're in charge, acting

like we get to make

our own decisions and

you don't matter.

And God, we want to

thank you that even

though we are so

disobedient, you still

love us.

We want to thank you

for being willing to

send Jesus to take our

punishment.

We want to thank you

that it's not about

what other people think

of us, it's about your

love which you have

shown us in Jesus.

God, I want to pray

that if there are

people sitting in this

room right now who

don't yet know what

it is to be welcomed

by you, to be forgiven

by you, to be loved

by you, who don't yet

know what it is to

call you Father, who

don't know what it is

to be sure that you

have reserved a place

for them in heaven,

Lord, I pray that

tonight you would

remove the barriers

and you would welcome

them.

God, we thank you so

much for your love

and for sending

Jesus.

Amen.