Mark’s sermon this morning touched on the idea that we do not have to be adequate or worthy to be chosen and used by God. 1 Cor 1:26-31 reminds us that God chooses the most unlikely people ‘so that no one may boast before him’ and so that we understand our adequacy and worth are bound up in God Himself. Christ has, he reminds the Corinthians, ‘become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.‘ All we need is in Christ.

This goes against the grain of everything we are taught and everything we strive for, humanly speaking. We feel we have to be worthy in our own righteousness, to ‘deserve’ God’s favour. When we realise how flawed and broken we are, we tend to hide from God, recognising our unworthiness, rather like Peter when confronted with Jesus’s miraculous powers: ‘Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!‘ (Luke 5:8) Yet our brokenness is no barrier to acceptance by God. The truth is that we are all broken, all stained by sin, all unworthy of His favour… and yet He loves us unconditionally and chooses us, not because we are worthy in ourselves, but because of His great mercy. As we sang this morning, ‘Though I’m broken, I am running into Your arms of love.’ (‘Joy’, Rend Collective)

Far from being a barrier, brokenness is required for us to come to the end of ourselves and reach the mercy of God. ‘A broken and contrite heart You, O God, will not despise.’ (Ps 51:17) God heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. (Ps 147:3) Jesus talked about being the rejected cornerstone and said ‘Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces.‘ (Luke 20:18) At the Last Supper, He broke the bread in symbolism of what would be done to His body and told us that this was done for our sakes; each week when we take Communion, we remember that Christ’s brokenness opened the door to our salvation, so it should really come as no surprise that our brokenness is the pathway to God.

Humanly speaking, we shy away from being broken. We admire wholeness. Yet all who serve a wounded Saviour must learn that brokenness is not to be feared or despised and that just as He was broken for us, so we too must be broken to be fit for His service. God’s will must be done in His way (‘Broken Bread’, Rend Collective) if we are to see His kingdom come in our area and our times. We serve a Saviour who is known by the scars, but we can be confident that as we offer Him our brokenness, He will make us whole.

Judy Garland sang ‘Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue, and the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true.’ Mark took this theme as he continued his study on Joseph this morning, speaking from Genesis 42:1-24.

Genesis 42 begins with the time of famine, which was so widespread it had even spread way beyond Egypt. Jacob sent his ten sons in search of grain and by another of those God-instances which show us His sovereignty, these brothers came before Joseph himself. The dream which had sustained Joseph for so long was about to come true.

God uses dreamers. But if we ask why God chosen Joseph all those years earlier, we may feel puzzled. Out of all the people available, why did God choose Joseph? Gen 37:1-2 shows us Joseph feeding the flock, ‘grassing on’ his brothers for their misdemeanours, a raw 17-year-old boy with nothing to show what he would become. God sees the potential in people way before it is visible to anyone else. 1 Cor 1:26-29 reminds us that God does not choose the wise and learned but chooses the weak and foolish so that He gets the glory. When we are weak, foolish and fearful, we know that we have to rely on God, for we have nothing in ourselves to rely on.

God gives us dreams, a glimpse of what He wants to do. Often, even that glimpse astounds us and shocks us, and like Moses, we go through the ‘pantomime process’:‘Oh, no, I can’t!’/ ‘Oh, yes, you can!’ Joseph the 17-year-old boy could not have comprehended all that God would equip him to do, but as he stands before his brothers, he sees the dreams about to be fulfilled. We understand, however dimly, that God’s grace is sufficient for us and His power is made perfect in our weakness. (2 Cor 12:9). When we feel insufficient and weak and in need of Christ’s power, then we can know His sufficiency and grace to meet every need and fulfil every dream.

Corrosion is the gradual destruction of materials (usually metals) by chemical reaction with the environment and the most common example of this is rusting. Rusting (more formally the oxidation of metals such as iron) takes place when the metal reacts with the oxygen in air to form an oxide. Most metals are elements which tend to lose electrons when they are involved in chemical reactions and form ions (charged elements). Metallic ions, because they are formed from atoms that have lost electrons, are positively charged.

A common oxidation reaction in corrosion is the oxidation of neutral iron atoms to positively charged iron ions:

Fe » Fe⁺² + 2e^–

The electrons lost from a metal must go somewhere, and they usually end up on a nonmetallic atom forming a negatively charged nonmetallic ion. Thus, the full chemical equation for the formation of rust is:

Iron + water + oxygen rust

4 Fe(s) + 6 H₂O(l) + 3 O₂(g) 4 Fe(OH)₃(s)

Iron(III) hydroxide, Fe(OH)₃ then dehydrates to produce Fe₂O₃.nH₂O(s) or rust.

At this point, all but the scientists amongst us are probably bored or wondering what this chemistry lesson has to do with a church blog. I suppose these meditations arose from considering how easy it is for us to react with our environments, how we are called to be distinctive salt and light in our communities, but how we often take on the qualities of the culture around us rather than allowing God’s light to shine through us. We are urged to shine like stars in the sky, holding firmly to the word of life (Phil 2:15-16), yet so often we allow the attitudes and values of the world to corrode us.

An iron chain is bought and looks shiny and bright:

If it is left to the elements, however, rusting will occur at some point, radically changing the appearance of the chain:

That same kind of deterioration can occur in us if we allow ourselves to be exposed to the world’s attitudes without being renewed by God’s Spirit. The word ‘corrosion’ itself comes from the Latin word meaning ‘to gnaw’ (think of how a corrosive acid burns skin, for example).

Often, we allow attitudes and beliefs to gnaw away at us, robbing us of the peace, joy and hope which God has promised. Hebrews 12:15 warns against a bitter root growing up within us which, if allowed to grow unchecked, will defile many. When we allow resentment, bitterness, unforgiveness or any other wrong attitude to find a lodging place in our hearts, we allow a corrosive effect into our souls which can lead to our ruin. In the world, there are many methods employed to prevent corrosion: plating, painting or the application of enamel, for example, which work by providing a barrier of corrosion-resistant material between the damaging environment and the structural material. We too need to find methods which prevent the corrosion of our souls: washing with water through the word (Eph 5:26), being cleansed through repentance and forgiveness (1 John 1:8-9), refusing to let the sun go down on our anger (Eph 4:26-27) and thereby not giving the devil any foothold in our lives, forgiving freely (Matt 6:14-15), living in trust rather than anxiety. (Matt 6:25-34) Such antioxidants work to keep us spiritually healthy and strong. Antioxidants are widely used in dietary supplements these days and have been investigated for the prevention of diseases such as cancer, coronary heart disease and even altitude sickness. Let’s be as concerned about our spiritual health as we are about our physical health and work on developing the grace-attitudes Jesus demonstrates as being the prevention to corrosion of the soul.

Stephen spoke last night on ‘living in the promises of God’, challenging us all to take hold of the many promises God has for us rather than living complacently in the status quo. Josh 1:8 gives us the secret to success (keeping God’s Word in our hearts and on our lips and living a life of obedience) and we were reminded that there is more to our lives than simply receiving eternal salvation. Our purpose should be Christ succeeding in our lives, having pride of place. God is a God of blessing whose promises in Scripture are there for us to claim. Some of these promises include access to God’s all-surpassing power, to peace, joy, love, understanding and healing. Far from simply reading these promises (or even highlighting them in our Bibles), we need to live in the reality of these promises.

The Israelites spent years in the wilderness before reaching the Promised Land (a land flowing with milk and honey), but actually were closer to that land than they often realised. Each of us can claim new promises in God, even if we feel we are currently in the wilderness. Hebrews 4:1-2 reminds us that the promise of entering God’s rest still exists, but faith is required for that promise to become ours. Deut 28:1-8 reminds us of the many blessings God has promised His people and Eph 1:3-10 reminds us that God has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. Redemption, forgiveness, love, grace and wisdom are some of the promises available to us.

Deut 8:7-9 talks about the good land God has for His people, a land with brooks, streams and deep springs; a land of wheat, barley, vines, fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey. We may have tasted one of these things:

… but there is so much more still to embrace!

Don’t think that God only has one promise for you, for He is a God of abundance! All that is required is for us to reach out in faith to live in the promises God has generously and lavishly given us.

John spoke this morning from Nehemiah 4 on rebuilding for God. Nehemiah had undertaken the tremendous endeavour of rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls because of God’s calling to do this, a task which took him out of his comfort zone. When God is in control of our lives, we are not… which can be very uncomfortable for us, but is the best way to live.

Nehemiah’s motives in rebuilding the walls are called into question by Sanballat and Tobiah who ask five questions. We will have to face these questions too when we endeavour to build for God.

1. Purpose

The question was asked ‘What are these feeble Jews trying to achieve?’ We will always need to look at our purpose and whether we are living for God’s purpose or seeking to fit His purpose into our lives, rather than working primarily to His agenda. Nehemiah called on God to work according to His promises, for he knew that he had been called to this task (and being released from his important role as cup-bearer to the king was confirmation of this calling.) Ps 127:1 reminds us that unless the Lord builds the house, we labour in vain. We need to be sure we know why we are doing the things we are doing.

2. Protection

We can rest secure in the fact that God protects His people (see Ps 91:1-2, 7). Our safety comes from dwelling in God’s presence and we can rest secure in the fact that God fights for us and is on our side. When we walk in God’s will, we are offered His continuous protection and can be sure that He will cause all things to work together for good. (Rom 8:28)

3. Power

All work for God will inevitably involve sacrifice; it is only when we place our sacrifice on the altar that God’s fire falls. When we have abdicated our will to God’s will and surrendered our lives to Him (see Rom 12:1-2), we can experience God’s power in our lives, but this involves the painful death of the self, a daily denial of self that leads to Christ living in us.

4. Perception

How accurately have we perceived what God wants us to do? Many of us hope that God’s work will involve minimal effort and will be a short-term task, but He calls us to a marathon, not a sprint. God urges us to count the cost before we start the journey.
‘I’m saying yes to You
And no to my desires
I’ll leave myself behind
And follow You

I’ll walk the narrow road
’cause it leads me to You
I’ll fall but grace
Will pick me up again

I’ve counted up the cost
Oh I’ve counted up the cost
Yes I’ve counted up the cost
And You are worth it.’ (‘The Cost,’ Rend Collective Experiment)

5. Persistence

Nehemiah and the builders had to sift the rubble to find the stones they needed to rebuild the walls. The timber for the gates had already been provided, but now, labour was required to patiently sift through the mixture of rubble and stones. It is very easy to start projects and even to half-finish them, but God wants us to stick at it, re-assessing our work at times and keeping on working. 1 Pet 2:9 reminds us that we are living stones which have been rescued by God. Much of our labour for God appears to be unknown, unnoticed and unappreciated, but we have to continue working selflessly, secure in the fact that God knows, notices and appreciates all we do. We are all labourers together for Christ, building His church with Him and glorifying His name. We need to stir up the gift within us and continue working, even when we are mocked, threatened and challenged as Nehemiah was.

Bleary-eyed and with blurry vision from a day spent inputting data into various tables and charts, I am acutely aware of how our lives are made up of numbers. Pupils in a school are identified by a candidate number, a UCI (unique candidate indicator, which is not so unique considering all the other numbers I am dealing with!), and a ULN (unique learner number… refer to previous comment!) before their names feature in importance. GCSE results are measured in numbers (raw marks, scaled marks, UMS) before they are translated into grades (which for the moment remain as letters, but with the new system about to be unleashed on schools will mean more numbers…) Those results are linked to individual papers and controlled assessments, themselves identified by all manner of numbers. Then we have percentages for the league tables: ‘added value’ and ‘progress eight’ are all measurements designed to indicate a pupil’s progress and the progress of the school they have attended. I am drowning in numbers…

These numbers do reveal stories, but you have to dig deep for them. Has the pupil just scraped into the grade boundary or are they lurking at the top of it, almost into a higher grade? Can those numbers ever truly capture the hard work that has gone on beforehand? What about the pupils who feel relegated and useless because their numbers don’t match someone else’s? What does it mean to be ‘above average’ or ‘below average’? Can the mere fact of statistical means and standard deviations ever hope to reflect individual work or worth?

The Bible assures us that God knows us by name (Is 43:1), even numbers the hairs on our head (Matt 10:30) and is the One who knows every thought, word and action (Ps 139:1-5). Far from merely being a statistic to Him, we are loved personally and individually (see Rev 2:17). No tear we shed is wasted and one day He will wipe every tear away. (Rev 7:17) Our value and worth to Him are not dependent on our achievements, nor can they be measured in the way that academic achievement is measured. We matter so much to God that He sent His only Son to die for us. (John 3:16) Such facts quieten our restless, fearful hearts and enable us to see with true perspective.

Spare a thought for all the pupils who will gain exam results tomorrow and for the staff who have laboured hard to teach them, often in difficult circumstances, and for parents who often feel inadequate and fearful as they seek to help their children in a competitive world which can seem terribly hostile. Pray for humility in rejoicing and perspective in sorrow. Most of all, let’s pray that all will understand something of individual worth and value, which will not be recorded anywhere on those results’ slips handed out tomorrow, but which remains engraved on the hands of a Saviour who bled and died for us.