Stephen spoke from 1 Peter 1:3-9 on Sunday morning:
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade — kept in heaven for you,who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith — of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire — may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

The translation into English of some words in the Bible can result in the full meaning being lost: how can we fully understand what God means by the word ‘love’ or ‘great’?

Our text speaks of a gift. We have all received gifts for Christmas and said thank you to the giver and appreciated the gift. But our text talks of a different kind of gift – a gift from God.

In verse 3 the KJV uses the word ‘abundant’ rather that the word ‘great’ that the NIV uses. Other translations use ‘much’. We put limits on things (eglimits of time, money etc.), but this word ‘much’ implies something that is limitless. God’s mercy is limitless and immeasurable.

Gifts deteriorate with time; they break down, fade, rust or just cease to be useful.
But God’s gifts are imperishable; they cannot spoil or fade.

The text starts with praise and continues with joy for this wonderful gift.
For natural gifts we say ‘thank you’, but for this gift thanks is not enough – our thanks are to be never ending praise and honour to our God and the Lord Jesus.

Trials and hard times will come, as will trouble, chaos and mayhem. But we still thank God for His gift anyway.

We sometimes ask whether we deserve the gift: do we really deserve the gift of God?
But of course we can never deserve it. It is given in God’s ‘muchness’ – His mercy.

The text mentions gold. Gold is becoming increasingly valuable. Even though gold can increase in value, it will eventually reach the limit of its value – when it cannot increase in value anymore. But God’s gift cannot ever reach the limit of its value – its value is without measure.

This morning we sang
‘Thank you for saving me,
Great is the Lord.
Mercy and grace are mine.’ (Martin Smith)

That is the gift of God.
Take it and use it.

When I was a child, Macgyver was one of my favourite TV programmes. An action-adventure series, it revolved around Angus MacGyver whose main asset was his practical application of scientific knowledge and inventive use of common items, along with his ever-present Swiss Army knife. He often had to improvise complex devices in a matter of minutes in order to save lives. The series never seemed to me particularly plausible or realistic (doubtless why I enjoyed it so much!), although apparently it was praised for generating interest in the applied sciences!

One episode I remember vividly was when MacGyver had to defuse a bomb (or several bombs). Apparently this episode was called ‘The Prometheus Syndrome’. It was highly dramatic and probably pretty implausible to have to defuse so many bombs in the space of an hour, but the tension and the excitement generated in this episode have stayed with me over the years. And today, when I was reading Proverbs 15, I was reminded of this episode, for Proverbs 15:1 says “A gentle response defuses anger, but a sharp tongue kindles a temper fire.”

It takes two to argue. I know that from experience, for my husband is one of the most mild-mannered men you could ever hope to know. Sometimes I feel really frustrated with him, because he just doesn’t argue. He is the embodiment of this verse. So often his gentle responses ‘turn away’ my wrath and defuse my anger. He talks about being a sponge, soaking in the hurt and anger of other people, and responding with the graciousness of Christ. You can’t argue with that. Instead of inflaming the situation with sharp words, cutting sarcasm, quick retorts and the fast ‘comeback’, the situation is soothed, calmed, healed.

This chapter has a lot to say about our words.
“Kind words heal and help; cutting words wound and maim.” (Prov 15:4).
“The lips of the wise spread knowledge; not so the hearts of fools.” (Prov 15:7) “Congenial conversation – what a pleasure! The right word at the right time – beautiful!” (Prov 15:23)

It also has a lot to say about wisdom involving listening and being willing to take advice and heed correction (Prov 15:12, 22, 32). All of this is rooted in a fear of the Lord: “Fear-of-God is a school in skilled living – first you learn humility, then you experience glory.” (Prov 15:33)

Proverbs 14 contrasts attitudes and actions all the time, showing us vividly that there are two different ways of living which lead to two totally different outcomes. Put simply, there are the wise, who think about how they live and will be rewarded for their faith (see vs 2, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14-19, 24, 26, 32 and 34) and the foolish, who live thoughtlessly with little regard for God and who end up in death (“there is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” (Prov 14:12) )

Wisdom comes when we seek God and fear Him. “The gullible believe everything they’re told; the prudent sift and weigh every word.” (Prov 14:15.) “The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death.” (Prov 14:27) God’s ways help us in life (“a heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones” (Prov 14.30) could come straight out of a modern counselling guide!) and can benefit whole communities ( “righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people” (Prov 14:34)) as well as individuals (“when calamity comes, the wicked are brought down, but even in death the righteous have a refuge.” (Prov 14:32))

During the Second World War, we were told ‘careless talk costs lives’ and that theme seems to have come from Proverbs 13: “Careful words make for a careful life; careless talk may ruin everything.” (Prov 13:2)

This chapter has plenty more to say about how we talk: “A good person hates false talk; a bad person wallows in gibberish.” (Prov 13:5), and “The good acquire a taste for helpful conversation; bullies push and shove their way through life” (Prov 13:2), for example. It also talks a lot about how to live: with common sense (vs 16), with a listening ear (vs 1), with diligence (vs 4, 11) and with loyalty to God (vs 13, 21).

There are some very famous verses in here, notably Proverbs 13:12 (‘hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life’) and Proverbs 13:24 (‘Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them.’) These verses can obviously be taken out of context, but I’m sure we’ve all experienced that sense of unrelenting disappointment which saps energy and enthusiasm from life and we all know that a lack of discipline ultimately leads to disaster. The Bible reminds us constantly that we reap what we sow and we need to careful to do what is right in God’s eyes, not being squeezed into the world’s mould or thinking that it has all the answers to life when it so clearly doesn’t.

Proverbs 12 introduces a theme that is set to recur throughout the book, namely the importance of our words. This picture made a big impression on me when I first saw it, for it reminded me that our words can either build people up, making them feel affirmed, secure and encouraged or they can hurt people, wounding them and leaving them feeling unwanted and insecure.

This is a theme that is dealt with in this chapter:
“The words of the wicked kill; the speech of the upright saves.” (Proverbs 12:6)

“Well-spoken words bring satisfaction; well-done work has its own reward.” (Proverbs 12:14)

“Rash language cuts and maims, but there is healing in the words of the wise.” (Proverbs 12:18)

“Worry weighs us down; a cheerful word picks us up.” (Proverbs 12:25)

The Bible constantly affirms the importance of our words. James tells us “Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.” (James 3:5-6). He reminds us “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.” (James 3:9-10) Proverbs reminds us that we have a choice in how we use words and we should be careful what we say.

“Torah (law) is God’s words that hit the target of the human condition. The noun torah comes from a verb, yarah, that means to throw something, a javelin, say, so that it hits its mark. The word that hits its mark is torah. In living speech, words are javelins hurled from one mind into another. The javelin word goes out of one person and pierces another. Not all words are javelins; some are tin cans, carrying information from one place to another. But God’s word has this aimed, intentional, personal nature. When we are spoken to in this way, piercingly and penetratingly, we are not the same. These words get inside us and work their meaning in us.”
(Eugene Peterson, ‘Answering God’ P 25)

Living words – javelins soaked in truth,
Hurled forth from eternity by a loving God,
Stopping us dead in our tracks.
Piercing us with the tip of truth,
Reaching our inmost parts,
Dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow.
These words cut like the surgeon’s scalpel,
Incisively, penetratingly,
Exposing the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
Like a sword, they cut deep, bringing forth the
Jolt of pain and shock as blood spurts out.
Our instinctive reaction is to gasp, winded.
We try to staunch the flow of blood with sticking-plasters:
Well-meaning phrases of comfort designed to mask our true selves,
Aimed at placation, not restoration,
Failing to understand that the clotting agent of comfort is provided
Only by the Holy Spirit,
Not by our refusal to treat the problem wisely.
Winded, gasping, rigid with the pain of truth searing into our bloodstreams,
Our veneer of respectability stripped by the word of truth,
We stand naked, defenceless, cowering, quivering,
Anticipating the final blows of the triumphant warrior.
Instead, we find the gentle healing of the surgeon,
removing the cancer,
cleansing with hyssop,
sewing us together with practised skill.
How we need Your word!

“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” (Heb 4:12-13)