Knitted Together

Thank you. Thank you very much.

Well, hello everyone. Good morning.

It's it's lovely to be here. I'm Rosie and I'm here with my

husband Nigel and we've come over from Keynsham and we're

part of City Church, Bristol. And I just want to thank you for

making this so welcome this morning.

Just tell you a little bit about ourselves.

So we've been married for 30-4 years and we've got a son and

two daughters and we've got a A2 lodgers also that live with us.

And actually it's been lovely to see some familiar faces,

William. So William and Nigel and I were

actually all students together in Manchester a very long time

ago. And actually also it's just

lovely to see Sam as well actually in your family.

So as well as some other kind of familiar faces.

So thank you for giving me this time this morning.

I, as you've heard, I'm, I'm part of the leadership team of

the Reconcile Church group. And I also, and I'm going to

tell you a little bit about that later.

I've recently just finished some study.

I did an MA in theology and my dissertation actually was on the

gifts of the Spirit to the church in the UK.

And my work with Jubilee Plus, which is another organisation

that I've, I'm actually will be finishing with quite soon.

They actually work with churches to equip them particularly for

their work among communities on low income and people who are

living in in poverty. And so some work that I've been

doing with them is training a new generation of mission and

church leaders who come from a background of low income and

poverty. That's actually part of my own

background, and it kind of feels a bit like I'm passing the baton

on to others in terms of actually what I do with the

reconciled church. We work with churches across the

UK as we learn together about what it means to be disciples

across all cultures and racial backgrounds.

And today what I'm going to do is explore what it means to be

knitted together in love and unity, and particularly how we

can't do this without boldness and courage that the Holy Spirit

gives. And in fact, mission and love

are impossible without the Holy Spirit.

That's certainly what I found when leading a beloved.

As the Holy Spirit enabled us to reach out to women working in

the parlours and brothels across the city, I'm going to talk a

little bit about how God is calling peoples together across

all kinds of different and unique backgrounds, whether it's

class or economic backgrounds, education backgrounds or ethnic

backgrounds. And my question for you at the

start of this is I want you to think about how you are working

out Jesus's prayer for unity. And I think that's for us as

individuals, but then together as community.

How are we out working His prayer for unity for you here

within Hope Chapel. But actually I would also say

across the churches and across the community of Bristol.

So Jesus, this is what he prayed in John 17.

And first of all, he's praying for his disciples that are there

with them. And he says this, they are not

of the world, even as I am not of it.

Sanctify them by the truth. Your Word is truth.

As You sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.

For them I sanctify myself that they too may be truly

sanctified. My prayer is not for them alone.

I pray also for those who will believe in me through their

message back first, that they, that all of them, may be one.

Father, just as you are in me and I am in You, may they also

be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be

one as we are one, I in them and You in Me, so that they may be

brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that

you sent me and have loved them even as You have loved me.

Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I

am and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because

you loved me before the creation of the world.

I think that's an amazing prayer for from Jesus and and we

receive it today. Here Lord, come and do what you

will among us. Amen.

Jesus's words are of huge importance to his followers.

And he prayed this shortly before he was arrested and tried

and crucified by the Roman authorities.

And he paid the ultimate price so that people could be

reconciled and united with God. And in the preceding chapters of

John, he had promised them a coming Helper, the Holy Spirit,

who guides us into the truth. And what happens when the Holy

Spirit falls and fills us? And with the first disciples of

Jesus, we saw many things happen at Pentecost after Jesus has

ascended to God the Father in heaven, the disciples though

waiting in Jerusalem for the helper who was promised and the

Holy Spirit, he, he falls on 120 believers who've been praying

together in the upper room. And then this is what happens.

They were given courage to proclaim the absences of God as

they announced his good news of the gospel in multiple

languages. They loved each other in a way

that was distinctive and puzzling.

They were united in love across economic background and status

and across culture, whether they were free or slave, whether they

were Gentile or Jew or Roman citizen or foreigners.

And light the way that they loved and the courage that

demonstrated that they had been brought.

They'd been brought out of darkness into Jesus's marvellous

light. And light spilled out of them

shining. As Jesus said, he is the light

of the world. And he'd said to his disciples,

you are the light of the world. And I believe that there is a

call on the church today and an encouragement for you here today

at Hope Chapel to be bold and courageous in how we love across

cultures and divides and be knitted or united together in

love and then shine the light of Jesus through our love.

Now God's bringing peoples together leads to a diverse

church and one that is called to mission.

And writing to the church in Colosi, Paul writes this.

My goal is that they may be encouraged in hearts and in

united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete

understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of

God, namely Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of

wisdom and knowledge. And it continues here from

Colossians 2 verse a onwards. It says this.

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and

deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and

the elemental spiritual forces of this world, rather than on

Christ. For in Christ all the fullness

of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have

been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power

and authority. Having cancelled the charge of

our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned

us, He has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.

And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a

public spectacle of them, triumphant over them by the

cross. And I rejoice that there are

many vanquished debts and sins and failings and cowardice that

have tried to disqualify the people of God from fully

following his charge to share the gospel and continue our

lives in Christ. And now the enemy we know is

doing all he can to destroy unity, to kill love and steal

peace. And he might use fine sounding

arguments or hollow deceptive philosophy that depend on human

traditions. But we see Jesus who prayed for

his followers, including us here today.

He prayed for us to be brought to complete unity and he nailed

every indebtedness to the cross. Now Paul took up Jesus message

of being united in love. And in the ESV version of

Colossians 2 verse 3, it expresses Paul's message to his

Colossians 2:3

hearers that their hearts be may be encouraged being knit

together in love to reach all the riches of full assurance of

understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is

Christ, in whom I had done all the treasures of wisdom and

knowledge. And I believe like the Colossian

disciples, we don't need to be swayed by these false arguments

and hollow philosophies. We have the treasures of wisdom

and knowledge in Christ. And there is an assurance as we

look on him, he who destroyed these dividing walls between

peoples when they are called out of darkness and into his

glorious light. We have the assurance from Jesus

prayer that we will all be one in him and in the Father, and

the Father and the Son will be in US.

And it's a mystery of language, but what comes through is

communion and togetherness and closeness.

And now I can imagine maybe some of the first hearers of Paul's

letter to the Colossians. Maybe they had been grappling

with some all sorts, maybe of worthless treasures and

philosophies. But his call was to let them go,

to drop them and come into God's glorious light.

And maybe some came blinking, maybe even feeling blinded by

the light. But God is the one who gives

sight back to the blind, and he has no desire that his followers

are blinded or tripped by false promises of power or idolised

identity or strength of an empire.

Now the Gospel is not just an individual response.

It impacts people as groups. So when we see division between

groups and hostility between peoples, it matters.

And it was urgent in the Colossian Church and the Church

in Rome. And this is where what happens

in churches with regard to being united in love, where it really

matters to God and to all of us through the ages.

And I was thinking about, well, what about us today?

Unity in love is part of our gospel witness.

And in the UK and in Bristol, I don't think there's been a more

important time and a more urgent time for this sincere and deep

and courageous love to be proven and on display.

Romans 322 to 24, it says there is no difference between Jew and

Gentile, for all has sinned and for short of the glory of God,

and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption

that came by Christ Jesus. Now I think when Paul was

writing to the church in Rome about this wonderful redemption

because of Jesus, he was pressing the point that God gave

them a new identity and a Kingdom to be part of because

they were now citizens of heaven and one year humanity.

And similarly with the Colossian church, the disciples there were

urged to have these hearts knitted together in love.

Now Jews and Gentiles at the time, there were these two

desperate or these disparate groups with hundreds of years of

enmity now being made into one new community.

And remember, God's purpose was to create in himself one new

humanity out of the two, neither Jew nor Greek.

And that message for the believers in Roman Colosi is

just the same for us today in Bristol and across the region

and the church in the UK. And I imagine if Paul were

writing a letter to the church in Bristol today, that's the

message that he would be urging us to understand, be knitted

together in love. Now, I don't know that it was

Paul's intention to his hearers of the letter to Rome, you know,

it might have sounded to them like a real challenge.

And why? Well, that's because they were

in, effectively, they were in the belly of the beast, the

capital Rome, the capital of the Roman Empire, which stretched

from Britain in the north down to northern parts of Africa into

Arabia and Mesopotamia. And it was a vast empire.

And it's interesting that the church, when it began to spread,

reached into all of these areas as well.

Now the Roman Empire, it, it conferred on people the status

of Roman citizenship across these vast tracts of the globe

that Roman conquered. Now you could be a Roman citizen

like Paul, or you could purchase your citizenship like the Roman

commander that he spoke with in Jerusalem.

And that's in Acts 22, verse 28. And for Roman citizens there

Acts 22:28

already was a form of unity enforced through Patrimana,

Roman peace, a governed peace, a subjugated, militarily enforced

peace through the unity of Rome. But the peace and unity of the

Church in Rome came from beyond empire and from a different

throne room. And all because God's love for

the world that he gave His only Son so that all might be saved

from sin and death and given hope and life for now and into

eternity. Jesus, the Son of God came not

as a conqueror, but as a suffering servant.

God with us. I know we're going to be singing

lots of songs over the coming weeks as we approach Christmas.

Emmanuel came as a little baby. He didn't come in force, but

through a willingness to lay down his life for the lost.

But he made himself nothing, taking the nature of a servant

and not considering his equality with God.

That was something to be used for his own advantage.

Philippians 27HE used it for our advantage.

So Jesus the Messiah, he came to the world showing the way of

love and obedience and humility. And Paul, writing to the

Ephesians, tells us that we had been now brought near because of

Christ's blood that's been shed. You know, we've just shared

communion, and we've remembered that because He is our peace, He

has made US1 and he has broken down the dividing wall of

hostility. It's not Pax Romana, but it's

Shalom, deep peace through the Prince of Peace.

And so for us as followers of Jesus, we've been taken out of

the dominion of darkness where sin and death rule.

We've been saved from that for something glorious and eternal

and filled with peace and hope. That's our hope for today.

And we also have our eternal destination, and that's because

of Jesus. So the divides have fallen away.

They're gone, and they are dismissed and demolished by

Jesus's final work on the cross. He is cancelled every day and

every charge against his followers, every sin and failure

has been nailed to the cross. And sometimes we need reminding

of that. All of mine, all of yours, those

of our neighbours and even those that we consider our enemies

gone. Jesus has disarmed the powers

and the authorities. I love that language that he

made a public spectacle of them, that he triumphed over them by

the cross. And so when it comes to being a

community of church or even various church expressions, I

think across Bristol we get to join in with displaying the

results of Jesus's triumph. Division has been disarmed by

Jesus. Our obedience and allegiance to

him displays the power of the cross.

And as Paul was writing to the church in Colesi and he spoke of

them being knitted together, this love for Jesus and each

other, it displays the outworking of the gospel.

So every time as community, you are choosing intentionally to

love one another and to love your neighbours.

You are at working the gospel, you are displaying the gospel,

and you are displaying the light of Christ.

Now, I don't know if you've ever walked into a room, a new room

or an event and looked around and you've marvelled at who was

there together, not just getting along, but actually enjoying

fellowship with one another. And they're displaying love and

gratitude. I have time and again been in

places a fellowship. And each time it's been at a

gathering of the church. The fact that I can walk into a

community that is new to me and be greeted with warmth, a smile,

a hug or a handshake never gets old.

And I think, you know, maybe for people who pass by, people who

aren't followers of Jesus, who come through your doors, they

don't know Jesus yet, that welcome and that warmth, it

displays something of the gospel.

Now, the first time I came into a community like that, that I

really recall that was impressed on me.

It was before I became a follower of Jesus and I found

such a grace filled warmth and open hearted welcome.

I found it very disarming and to my suspicious mind, a bit weird.

And actually it was, it was actually at the church that

Nigel. And William and I were part of

or that I eventually became part of.

Now, back then, I was 19 and Nigel had invited me to church.

And I, I actually stomped out after 10 minutes.

I thought, oh, load of weirdos, I'm not going back.

I'm never going back. That's what I said.

Don't have to be again. And there were famous last

words, as you can tell, because I did go back and I started to

read books, and then eventually I started to read the Gospels.

And a few months later I'd surrendered, albeit somewhat

reluctantly, my life to God, CS Lewis said in the Trinity term

of 1929. I gave in and admitted that God

was God and knelt and prayed. Perhaps that night the most

ejected and reluctant convert in All England and I had to come to

a point of admitting that God was God.

But I knew my life as it was back then was coming off the

rails and the only one who could lead me back to life was God.

And he did. And he filled my heart and my

soul with joy and he utterly transformed me.

And I couldn't stop singing. I was actually maybe a bit of an

annoying, happy new convert, but He filled my heart with life and

light and He gave me a future. And I found out the truth of

this beautiful exchange as described in Isaiah 61, and I'm

so glad to hear it referred to earlier, Isaiah 61, verse three.

God gave me the oil of joy instead of mourning and a

garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.

You know, when I think of how many young people are in despair

right now because I don't know Him and they don't know His

light and his love. So take this gospel message out

to the young people around you. Encourage your own young people

that they carry a light, but they probably have no idea.

But other people see it. I came to find out in a very

real and personal way that what happened with Jesus on the cross

is central to the gospel. And I was now part of a global

family of disciples because of what he did.

One family united. And Auntie Wright puts it this

way. If you deny that and you deny

the central Gospel message today, we are going to have to

stand and resist and fight for the truth that we are a global

and united family of God. We are to use our delegated

authority from Jesus to challenge sin, particularly in

our own lives and in our own walk, and to speak against

division or classism or elitism or sectarianism or pride or

supremacy or racism and the way that people have been ignored or

rejected and belittled. God has given us the Holy Spirit

and he gives us the courage we need at this time.

God's building his Kingdom that crosses all distinctiveness and

boundaries that can sometimes get in the way.

Now, Marvin Marvin Reese said that Bristol needs to work

across class and culture and race and in our current climate

in the nation and in our city, there is hope in the church.

We have incredible opportunities to display how God is doing this

in our day and I know he is doing it.

When I think of the Pentecost gathering earlier this year of

various inter church prayer gatherings, I think of the 25th

anniversary gathering that I came to here and just witnessed

the the legacy of prayer that's come out of Hope Chapel.

And it's really exciting to see as churches from unique

backgrounds and ethnic heritage partner and pray together, and

as our unity is knitted together in love, it spills out of the

church. It impacts the city and our

wider communities. But I believe that there is more

to come. This is just the start.

I imagine actually if middle class and working class churches

partnered together in ever increasing ways for the sake of

the gospel, for mission, to tell our neighbours about the Kingdom

of God and his invitation to come and follow Jesus.

And met a new friend through Jubilee Plus who came to tell us

about his experiences of living on a low income and being part

of a church. And this is what Mark told me.

He said there's a lot more like me coming and that's God's

heart. He wants his church full.

And he was bringing a challenge in his own way that the church

is going to start to look different as more and more

people from the background of low income are saved and become

disciples of Jesus and reconciled to God.

And it's a wonderful statement. And, and my prayer is that

actually we see Mark's words come to pass.

The church that God is building is bringing forth leaders and

workers and evangelists and teachers and helpers and more

from all walks of life. And when I think say of working

class believers, these are the ones that are actually already

living in the community. They are the ones that will

reach their neighbours in ways that will outstrip the way that

middle class believers can reach them because they bring a story

and a testimony. And they will leapfrog, I

believe, because they know there will be something about the way

that they have lived their lives and then the way that God has

transformed them and put new life into them.

When I was around 1516, there was this massive revival that

ripped around the area that I used to live in in when I was

living in Leeds. And one of the most amazing

things was, was actually where we saw one person who was a

friend of my brother's. And back then, you know, he had

a real reputation of being a womaniser.

OK, well I'll tell you what, God got hold of him and changed this

man's heart. I'd never seen anything like it.

Now, of course, people need discipling and, you know, kind

of need other believers around them and teaching them about

God's mercy and grace. But we saw that something had

really happened in this young man's life and you know, he

became zealous for the Lord. People like him and new

believers will need discipling by other leaders and workers to

explain the gospel of grace as well.

And The thing is, this is not just a an economic issue or rich

versus poor or black or white issue, white British or black

British or brown British or people from many heritages.

Because unity in the church involves people of all ethnic

backgrounds and class and economic backgrounds.

And that's the English and the Welsh and the Scottish and the

Irish too. OK, every barrier, every

distinctiveness, we can and must face this, this, this division

together, courageously. Name it, walk through it and

agree with Christ. We agree that He is building 1

new humanity. And where we need to lament, we

lament and we pray and we forgive and we repent and we let

go of sin and failures. And with courage, we repair and

we acknowledge and we restore and we rebuild together.

We have gratitude for one another and gratitude to the

Lord's redeeming and reconciling love.

I have gratitude that I can walk in here and see friends from 40

years ago or 30 years ago or 20 years ago, because wherever God

has us, we're still family and we are still on mission

together. And it sounds so hopeful,

doesn't it? And I believe that prayer is our

weapon in this fight. This is spiritual warfare.

We go into this with our eyes open and our spiritual armour

on. Has anyone noticed the discourse

or language around people who are coming to the UK as

immigrants? It's changed in recent years.

And actually even the language around rich and poor, how that

has changed in recent years as well.

We've got to be shrewd to what is happening that the enemy

comes to steal and to kill and destroy because he wants to

destroy communities and kill friendships and steal peace.

So I'll just ask him kind of kind of come towards an end now.

But I I want to ask you, what does your prayer look like

around this issue? I know you might decide to do 5

days of prayer or 40 days of prayer.

Or you might invite others to join you to ask God to shift

something in our thinking and in our circumstances maybe, and in

our actions. But we also remember what Jesus

did on the cross, what he defeated and what he disarmed,

and his prayer from John 17. We don't pray alone.

If you want some help with issues around racial

reconciliation and the theology of reconciliation, then please

do kind of come and ask. We've got loads of resources

from the Reconciled Church as well as this two day retreat.

We're holding another one next year, next June.

And at the Reconciled Church, we've actually been partnering

with churches over five years and have seen God move in

phenomenal ways, knitting people together and equipping the

Saints. And actually one of the most

remarkable times I remember is because we we do days of

ministry and theology in different parts of the UK.

And I remember we were in one city and actually one of the

most powerful things that we saw was with a guy who was Irish.

And he came and we talked and we prayed as God lifted shame of

him. Like I said, this is not just a

white and a black issue. This is about our identity in

Christ and whose we are and the fact that Christ claims us as

his daughters and as his sons. Finally, I want to leave 3

practical things we can do together as we build.

We can be brave and courageous in how we love across cultures

and divides. Ask God to show you who you

could meet from another background.

Who are you going to meet for tea or a coffee?

Being knitted together and united in love.

Who after this service can you ask?

How can you pray for them? Shine the light of Jesus, tell

the testimonies of God's bringing people together, of his

faithfulness. And now the Holy Spirit is

building a new community in Bristol because this builds

faith in the hearers and it glorifies God.

So take one practical step today into being knitted to another

person. I'd love us to kind of like make

some time together now to pray. Chris, I just a final

encouragement. Let's not miss out on what God

is building in our midst. We are here to bring ourselves

into agreement with him and all that Christ has done on the

cross. Let our love of Christ compel us

to love one another, to be knitted together, be filled with

courage. You know, when I was leading

beloved, I had to pray. Lord, make me brave, make me

brave. And he did.

And let's pray together for the Lord to do more of that and to

pour out his Spirit afresh on us now.

Thank you. Let's let's pray together and

see what God will do Thank you.