Far from being a sad indictment on sporting ability, ‘You Will Never Run’ is one of the new songs on Rend Collective’s album ‘As Family We Go’, released today. Rend Collective are one of the zaniest Christian music groups around, as the video of this song amply demonstrates (it features dancing pandas and a whole host of exuberant fun!) It focuses on God’s faithfulness: ‘You will never run away; You’re forever mine.’  Check out the album: lots of great worship songs that are brimful with joy which will put bounce in your step, a smile on your face and remind you of the many, many reasons we have to celebrate.

Work has carried on this week, finishing many jobs and beginning the great clear-up!

The new buffer machine arrived this week to help us clean the floors:

Diane using the machine:

Today, more ‘touching up’ of paintwork will be done and cleaning continued, but I am reliably informed that ‘the end is in sight’!

Week 5 of the school holidays and the work continues at church. The gates and railings were finished on Monday in fine weather which so far has not lasted, as the photographs taken today reveal:

Inside the building, a number of jobs were finished (putting up the last display board, sanding down rough areas, touching up of painting and so on) and the display boards have been backed:

Then it was time to fill them with information!

… and posters:

Stephen spoke this evening about how we can get to know God in all His fullness. It’s easy for us each to hold a ‘piece’ of the picture of God, but we need to understand that there is so much more of God to know and experience. Eph 1:22-23 reminds us that Christ is the head of the church, the fullness of God who fills everything in every way; Eph 4:13 reminds us that God’s goal is for us to become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Clearly, if God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Christ (Col 1:19), we need to know more of God.

Col 2:6-10 reminds us that in Christ, all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in bodily form. God wants us to know Him fully, but so often, we are content to simply experience part of the Godhead and never press on or we allow ourselves to become distracted from the pursuit of God. Our discipleship must involve the daily challenge of taking up the cross, being perpetually re-filled by God and letting go of earthly desires. Surrender and submission are essential for us to grasp hold of the fullness of God; we have to be like the woman plagued by bleeding who pressed in to touch the hem of Jesus’ garment, knowing that if she did so, healing and wholeness would be hers. We have to be willing to be more than spectators; we have to participate.

1 Kings 18:39 reminds us that a proper response to a vision of God’s fullness is to fall down, prostrate, in awe and wonder. Only as we surrender wholeheartedly to God can we grow in our understanding of Him so that we experience more of His fullness in our lives.

God calls us to live by faith and not by sight (2 Cor 5:7), something which inevitably involves risk (someone once said ‘Faith is spelled R-I-S-K’) and leaves us with stomachs churning and hearts beating faster than normal. Following God is exhilarating, exciting and challenging, but it is also, at times, like stepping out on water (knowing rationally that water will not support walking). It’s not for the faint-hearted, as these songs amply demonstrate: ‘Crazy Faith‘ (John Waller) and ‘Only The Brave’ (Tim Hughes.) Nonetheless, it’s the only way which pleases God: ‘without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.’ (Heb 11:6)

The farmer who sows seed believing that a harvest will come does so by faith. There is nothing in the kernel of grain to encourage us that enough wheat will come to feed families, yet as we wait patiently for the harvest, God works in ways that confound us. God’s ways will always leave us at least mildly perplexed, for His foolishness is wiser than our wisdom and His ways of working cannot be fathomed by reason and logic alone. Our part is to trust God, take Him at His word and step out in faith. The rest is up to God.

This morning we looked at Ps 126, a psalm which reminds us of God’s deliverance and the joy which He brings us. The psalm was probably written after the Jews returned to Israel after their exile to Babylon, a deliverance so mighty that it caused great rejoicing and almost dazed dreaming. Joy is the consequence of what God does: ‘The Lord has done great things for us and we are filled with joy’ (Ps 126:3); it is not dependent on circumstances in the way that happiness is, but is rooted in God’s generous nature and in His acts on our behalf. Moreover, His deliverance is so great that even other people will acknowledge it: ‘Then it was said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.”’ (Ps 126:2) 

Joy can exist even in difficult circumstances (as Paul demonstrates, writing the exuberantly joyful letter to the Philippians whilst in jail and reminding the Corinthians that even though he faced such adverse circumstances that at times he and the other apostles despaired even of life itself, ‘He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers.’ (2 Cor 1:10-11)) The fact of God’s deliverance in the past (as demonstrated on virtually every page of the Bible, such as in the exodus from Egypt, the fall of Jericho, Gideon’s victory against the Midianites, the defeat of Goliath, the victory won by Jehoshaphat, to name just a few examples) encourages us to hope as we wait for Him in present difficulties: ‘just as joy builds on the past, it borrows from the future.’ ( Eugene Peterson, ‘The Journey’, P 85) The psalmist knows that sowing seed may be done in tears: it is back-breaking, difficult work which looks as though it is impossible to result in harvest. Nonetheless, despite the sorrow and pain which certain seasons of life bring, we can have hope that ‘joy will paint the morning sky.’ (Matt Redman, ‘It Is Well’) As we learn to face suffering and grief and disappointment, we find that God’s sufficiency is enough for us, even in the difficult times: ‘my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ (2 Cor 12:9)

Joy in the Christian life is all about perspective, not about circumstances. We can experience joy in suffering, for Christ shows us how: ‘For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.’ (Heb 12:2) We can experience joy in service (Phil 2:17-18) and in giving, for God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor 9:7). We can experience joy in believing, for we do not have to count on our own righteousness through obeying the law but receive Christ’s righteousness through faith. (Phil 3:9) The joy which Jesus promised His followers is permanent and does not pretend; it is His gift to us (John 17:13), a fruit of the Holy Spirit which helps to keep us going in all circumstances and at all times.