Great Expectations

Why don't we pray. Gracious Lord, thank you very much indeed for your word and thank you that the Lord Jesus taught that your word is truth and that your truth can set people like us free and so we ask now Father that you would fill our hearts afresh with your Holy Spirit.

That we might discern your truth and your truth would free us to be the people you call us to be in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

So I have two major challenges before me this morning and only you will know whether I succeed in it.

One is to try and show you that there is a very significant link between what was going on on Palm Sunday on the one hand and secondly, my second challenge is I have to come back on Tuesday evening and give a lecture on exactly the same passage and I want to try and avoid repetition.

So that those of you who come on Tuesday evenings and more are welcome but those of you who do come and have made it a kind of Lenten discipline, the bottom line is you'll get something different.

See that's really enthused you.

So what I want to talk about at first is that amazing story of the triumphal entry and the incredible way in which the crowd on that first Palm Sunday welcomed Jesus with respect and honour, throwing down palm leaves and their coats to give him honour and glory.

And then just five days later and then just five days later, shouting crucify.

Got to be something going on there.

I mean, if for no other reason I say this, it reminds me of my fickleness as a Christian.

How easy it is that I can be tripped up on things that I should have put to death years ago in my life.

And what I want to say is the common thread between the first Palm Sunday and Ephesians 6 verses 10 to the end is a very important principle.

Ephesians 6:10

It's a theological principle but interestingly it's also a philosophical principle.

And it's this, that if we start with wrong assumptions, the outcomes will be both unpredictable and potentially tragic.

On the 28th of January 1986, something horrific happened.

Can anybody remember what that was?

No?

No?

That if we έ

That if έ

That if έ

!

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shuttle. And an engineering company

immediately before the launch

gave a report which said that in low temperatures

this particular component may not work.

The day of launch it was minus one

at the launch site. The O-rings failed.

The second

was this kind of philosophical thing and that is

what they call deniable

resistance. So the principle is

that if you've had a

component throw a mistake in the past but it didn't cause any

serious ramifications, that is kind of plausible deniability.

And you can go ahead despite this fault being manifest.

And the third thing was, and this is truly shocking to me, the pressure to get that launch done on that date, on that time was immense.

It came from the media, it came from the general public and even more shockingly it came from the American government.

I don't know if this is true but it is written up there.

The president sent a message on the day of the launch

and just says, get this thing done, right?

And look what happened.

You start to make wrong assumptions and you will end up with unpredictable and sometimes tragic, tragic outcomes.

What was wrong on that Palm Sunday?

Were there any assumptions that weren't right?

Well, I think you can quite clearly see that there were.

The first thing is, Jesus chose to make his entry to Jerusalem on the back of a donkey.

I mean, that would be a bit like

Lewis Hamilton showing up at a Formula One Grand Prix

in a larder.

With apologies to any larder owners in the congregation.

Inoppropriate.

What would have been more fitting for a king would have been a horse.

An animal of nobility as opposed to a beast of burden.

This story is kind of pregnant with little clues

that the congregation who were shouting Hosanna

didn't really understand what was going on,

their assumptions were all wrong.

They were shouting Hosanna.

Save now.

That's what it literally means.

In that culture at that time,

that was a political slogan

held by Jewish activists

who wanted to create an insurrection

and get rid of the Romans.

Jesus didn't come to be a political Messiah.

He didn't come to defeat the enemy out there.

He came to defeat the enemy that's in us all.

Romans 3 verse 23

Romans 3:23

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

What Jesus came to do

was to save us from the consequences of our sin.

And that ended up on Good Friday

on that cross of Calvary.

Sometimes shut my eyes

and think of Jesus on that cross

who died for my sin

and for your sin

and for the sins of all

who turned to him in faith.

The assumption that was wrong

was that Jesus was going to be a political Messiah

and when they saw him imprisoned

and being spat upon and tortured,

they thought they'd dream.

They thought they'd woken up

and it was a nightmare.

And the one who they thought

would bring victory over the Roman army

ended up being beaten in worldly terms.

The unpredictable outcome was

that the crowd that shouted Hosanna

ended up screaming hysterically,

crucify.

I don't know that anybody

on the eve of that first Palm Sunday

would have guessed that.

But it made me wonder

as I read Ephesians chapter 6,

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention

is it true that it's common

that Christians often make wrong assumptions

about God?

I know Ephesians chapter 6

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention

kind of gets your weird meter

flickering a bit.

When Paul writes stuff like this,

our struggle is not against flesh and blood

but against the rulers,

against the authorities,

against the powers of this dark world

and against the spiritual forces

of evil in the heavenly realm.

See, there's an assumption here

that I think we make

that this is kind of the product

of some weird and ancient cosmology

that educated and sophisticated

people like us

can't believe that kind of demonology stuff.

But can we afford to avoid it?

Is it a wrong assumption

to think that this is the writing

of another time?

And then there are some Christians.

It's an amazing dichotomy, I think.

And the dichotomy is this,

that I think the majority of certainly

good old Anglican churchgoers

don't take this seriously at all.

They think this is just weird stuff

and, you know,

maybe Paul had a bad day or something.

But it's a reality.

It's in Scripture.

It can't be so easily dismissed.

And the dichotomy on the other end is

there are people

who are obsessed by this idea

and find the devil

under every unturned stone

in every soul's life.

Surely,

there is both truth

and there is balance

to be heard

in Ephesians chapter 6.

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention

And the tragic outcome,

I think of us ignoring

this writing of St. Paul,

occurred,

we can read about

in Romans chapter 1.

Romans 1 · chapter mention

This is a very severe

indictment

written by St. Paul

about a godless society.

He says this,

for although they knew God,

they neither glorified him as God

nor gave thanks to him,

but their thinking became futile

and their foolish hearts

were darkened.

Although they claimed to be wise,

they became fools

and exchanged the glory

of the immortal God

for images

made to look like

the mortal man

and the birds and animals

as reptiles.

And then this terrifying verse,

terrifying pronouncement

over a godless society.

God gave them over

in the sinful desires

of their hearts.

See,

somehow,

somehow,

you have to explain

the way the world is.

The tragic outcome

of us ignoring this stuff

that St. Paul is writing here

is the world that you and I live in.

I think St. Paul

might have summarized

his teaching

saying,

just start

how you mean

to go on.

Get your assumptions

right

because if we don't,

we will end up

where we are

and we will know

why we are there.

Paul talks about,

in the first phrase,

the rulers

and authorities.

Normally,

in the New Testament,

when those are referred to,

they're referring to

human beings

who've become unrighteous

and got it wrong.

I suppose,

in the last century,

there are some

terrifying examples

of that.

Nazism.

What a shocking idea.

Racism.

What a shocking idea.

Stalin's

attempts to

force people

into communism.

One of the things

that we forget,

for instance,

about the Ukraine

is that Stalin

starved to death

up to six million

Ukrainians.

See,

this stuff

is not just

the product

of somebody

who's a bit iffy

morally.

This is

concerted,

systemic,

horrific

behavior.

And for those

of you

who buy

the argument

that Nazism

only spread

because people

were scared

of the ramifications

of not supporting it,

I'm sure there was

an element of that,

but there is plenty

of evidence,

a whole book

written about it,

which is the

letters of

German soldiers

writing home

to their parents,

boasting

that they

stabbed a

Jewish baby

that same

day.

You want to

sit light

to this

teaching?

You need to

be very,

very careful.

And Paul

goes on from

there,

and I think

this is where

our weird

meters really

start to flick

in Ephesians

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention

chapter 6.

And he

then talks

about not

just the

rulers and

authorities,

he goes on,

our struggle's

not against

flesh and

blood,

against the

rulers,

against the

authorities,

against the

powers of

this dark

world,

and against

the spiritual

forces of

evil in

the heavenly

realms.

Wow.

That does

sound weird,

doesn't it?

The problem

is these

malign forces

that exist

outside our

kind of human

existence

very often

work through

influencing

human beings.

People like

you,

and people

like me.

You get

these amazing,

amazing and

horrible facts

that in the

1940s,

towards the

end of the

40s,

all this

optimistic

stuff was

being written

about,

we won't

ever allow

this to

happen in

the world

again,

and we'll

build a

new society

and a

new community.

All

sounded

great,

but then

we discovered

that Nazism

is growing

in the

Nordic

countries.

Reckoned

generally to

be the

most civilized

societies in

Europe,

they have

a burgeoning,

angry,

vicious,

right wing

waiting to

influence the

way society

should be

as far as

they are

concerned.

That's why

we are

where we

are.

And I

call this

talk and

my stuff on

Tuesday,

the forever

war.

What is

Paul's main

point here?

Very

simple in

a way.

His main

point is

a spiritual

enemy needs

to be

approached and

engaged with

spiritual

weapons,

not the

weapons of

this world.

world.

I want to

talk some

more about

that on

Tuesday

evening.

But it's a

very simple

idea,

isn't it?

I mean,

you wouldn't

feel it would

be appropriate

with you to

go and play a

game of

hockey using

an axe

instead of a

hockey stick.

might have

crossed your

mind,

but you

haven't done

it.

You wouldn't

think that it

would be

appropriate for

our marines to

go into war

with water

pistols.

No.

You have to

define the

enemy and

then work out

what will be

the tools that

will defeat

that enemy.

I want to

remind you of

something really

important.

And again,

I think,

because the

way the world

is, we're

inclined to

kind of forget

this.

That we are

fighting not

for victory,

but we're

fighting from

victory.

New Testament

gives us

plenty of

examples of

this kind of

teaching.

The idea

that on

the cross

of Calvary,

Jesus

defeated

Satan

once and

for all.

And you

say,

hang on,

how can

that be?

How can

the world

be the way

it is if

Jesus has

already defeated

the devil and

those authorities

in the heavenly

realms?

well, I

agree, that's

a difficult

problem to

explain.

I kind of

think of it

like this, and

I hope this is

helpful.

I am told, I'm

not a farmer and

never have been,

but I am told

that if you take a

chicken in the

yard and you

chop its head

off, it will

race around the

farmyard in a

rather frenzied

way and then

drop dead.

I think we

live in a

season where

in a sense

the devil's

head has been

chopped, but

he's still

creating carnage

in this

farmyard called

the world.

And finally,

that victory

over the

devil will be

complete on

the day of

the Lord,

when the Lord

returns and

pulls down the

curtain on

human history.

victory.

We're

fighting from

victory, not

for victory.

You are, to

quote the

parlance of the

modern business

science world,

you are winners

if you are

disciples of

Jesus Christ.

And Paul's

advice to us

is to be

strong.

Be strong.

In other

words, don't

be afraid.

There's no

need to fear.

You're fighting

from victory, not

for it.

Be strong in

the Lord and

in the power of

his might.

I wonder

today if I

said to you,

give yourselves a

mark out of

ten in terms of

how strong do

you feel in

the Lord.

Ten out of

ten being,

you're somebody

I can't

imagine.

One out of

ten being,

you haven't

even thought

about this.

I suspect

that most of

us would not

rank ourselves,

maybe for

reasons of

humility, maybe

not, but I

don't think we

would rank

ourselves

particularly

highly in

terms of

where we

are.

So I

want to

end today

by

suggesting

six things

that you

might like

to think

about.

All I

think,

based on

the assumption

that this

spiritual war

that's going

on is

real,

and whether

we accept

it or not,

we're caught

up in it.

what can

I do?

Well,

first thing

is,

I always

think this

is a

commendable

spiritual

lesson,

and I

learnt it

from the

special boat

services and

the Navy

seals,

you know,

absolutely

top military

personnel,

trained,

trained,

trained,

and ready

for action.

But I

think we

shouldn't be

passive about

this spiritual

war,

but we

should head

to the

cause of

the trouble.

Cause of

the trouble,

according to

Paul,

are these

rulers and

authorities,

these forces

in the

cosmic places.

The second

thing is,

and if you

want to know

about this,

come along

on Tuesday

evening,

understand the

weaponry that

God has

supplied you

with.

The third

thing is,

audit your

assumptions.

I think we

Christians

carry around

all kinds

of weird

assumptions

which get

us in

big trouble.

Shall I

tell you

one?

How often

have you

heard it

said,

there's no

such thing

as an

unanswered

prayer?

As an

unanswered

prayer?

No,

James tells

us in

his epistle,

you don't

ask,

and when

you do

ask,

you ask

from selfish

motives.

Of course

God's not

going to

recognise

that.

Mature

prayer is

praying for

what God

wants in

any and

every situation,

not just

praying for

what I

want.

I remember

a pastor's

wife saying

in a home

group one

day,

not my

wife incidentally,

she was

talking about,

well she was

really talking

about the

idea of

what we call

the prosperity

gospel.

That is,

if you come

to Jesus

you'll be

wealthy.

Some of you

are still

waiting,

right?

And she

said,

quite openly,

she said,

I believe,

somebody

challenged her

and said,

well your

husband drives

around in

a brand

new,

you know,

top of

the range

Volvo,

this is

the pastor.

And she

said,

well I

believe,

if we

prayed for

a bike,

what God

would have

given us

a bike,

but if we

prayed for

a Volvo,

top of the

range,

God would

give us

a top of

the range

Volvo.

Is it

really?

Wrong

assumption.

If you

ask from

selfish

motives,

I should

tell you

that the

pastor paid

for this

by taking

the lion's

share out

of a local

trust,

which was

meant for

the maintenance

of the

building,

but somehow

in his own

mind he

settled on

the idea

of buying

a top

range

Volvo.

No such

thing as

an unanswered

prayer.

Everybody

in this

church

knows what

it is to

say a

prayer which

is unanswered.

Sometimes

God knows

best,

right?

There are

all kinds

of other

examples of

Christians who

make poor

assumptions.

I mean,

you know,

obviously today

one of them

would be that

if you

ignore the

spiritual

battle,

you make

yourself

vulnerable.

Audit

your

assumptions.

Ask

yourself,

do some

of the

things I

say and

believe in

relation to

my faith

are actually

right?

Because if

they're not,

they're going

to lead

you into

trouble.

Fourthly,

put on the

full armor

of God.

You read

about it

there.

It's not

entirely clear

what that is

from reading

it, but as

I say, if

you want to

know more

about that,

come along

on Tuesday.

Promise no

more cheap

plugs.

Fifthly,

engage with

Scripture.

I can't

tell you

this enough,

but part

of the

reason why

so many

Christians have

suspect

assumptions is

they don't

know their

Bibles.

else.

I don't

know, again,

if I ask

you the

question,

give yourself

a mark,

one out

of ten,

sorry, one

to ten,

on whether

you know

your Scripture,

what would

you say?

There was

a principle

in English

law, which

was, I

can't

remember it,

justice

non

excusat,

what's the

last verb?

Anyway, it

means ignorance

of the law

is no

excuse.

Justice

ignorant

is non

excusat.

And you

have to ask

yourself the

question,

well, being

ignorant of

God's Word,

is that

really going to

sound like a

good excuse

on the day

of judgment?

How many

of us

really

understand what

Jesus did

for us on

the cross?

How many

of us really

understand what

the humanity

of Jesus

cost him?

the crown

of thorns

here, and

believe me,

I really

hurt myself

just putting

it on

there.

Jesus

had it

rammed

on his

head.

Engage

with

Scripture

that you

might

understand

not just

the what

of Scripture,

but the

why of

Scripture.

Scripture.

And finally,

enlist today.

Stop walking

in the

darkness,

believing that

all our

problems are

just human

problems,

and that

stuff like

the spiritual

realities that

are malign and

influence us

are just not

true.

If you do

do that,

you're going

to find a

great excuse

as to why

the world

is the

way it

is.

The

motto

of those

American

Navy

Seals

is this,

the only

easy day

was

yesterday.

What they

mean by that

is in

their

language,

that's a

constant

need for

physical and

mental

exertion and

preparation.

But I

wonder if we

truly believe

that we

should give

the same

level of

exertion to

our spiritual

lives,

to become

spiritually

vigilant.

You are

fighting from

victory.

Paul wrote

this in

1 Corinthians

15.

But thanks

be to

God who

gives us

the

victory

through

our

Lord

Jesus

Christ.

Not who

will give,

not a

future

but a

present.

And in

all things,

he wrote in

Romans 8,

we are more

than conquerors

through him

who loved

us.

do you

even feel

like a

conqueror?

Do you

even

suspect that

there might

be some

victory in

the Christian

life that

you have

not

experienced

and you're

just

constantly

tripped

up?

Enlist

today.

take up

the weapons

that God

has given

you and

let's fight

this spiritual

battle that

exists in

our worlds,

sometimes in

our lives.

And let's

wake up and

become the

church God

wants us to

be.

Let's pray.

Our

Father, we

want to

pray against

our apathy,

our lack

of understanding

that leads

to wrong

assumptions.

Father, we

need the

solid food

of your

word.

And we

need to

remember that

according to

Paul in

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3,

the hallmark,

the primary

characteristic of

spiritual

immaturity

is this,

worldliness.

the good

news Bible

puts it,

living as

the people

of this

world live.

Father, would

you please

help us to

be done

with that

and to

enlist as

serious

disciples who

take seriously

your word

and seek to

amend our

lives

accordingly.

God

God

will

be.

Father, send

!

send the

Holy Spirit

on your

people gathered

now.

And Lord, let

the work of

that spirit do

what your

word tells us

that your

spirit can do

for us and

that is

convict us.

Make it

clear to us

where we need

to make

improvements.

Father, I

pray that for

myself as

much as

for any

soul in

this church

today.

Come down,

O love

divine, fill

thou the

soul of

mine.

Lord, may

your church

awake and

may we be

ready to

face the

challenges of

the world,

the flesh,

and the

devil and

to be

conquerors.

In

Christ's name

we pray.

Amen.