home > Pastor’s Desk > 2016 > March 18th> Be The Who

WHO COULD BE BOTHERED

Stephen BradburyWhile it may be true that most marathons are won by the fittest, strongest, healthiest runner, it is also no doubt true that they are nearly always actually won by the tiredest, weariest, most exhausted runner! In fact, most of life’s greatest achievements are achievements are accomplished by very tired, weary and exhausted people. As we consider the days leading up to the First Easter we see Jesus who was during this week often talking all day with His disciples then up all night talking with His Father. By the night of the Last Supper He would have been very very weary. His subsequent achievements that First Easter must be regarded as the greatest achievement ever wrought in the Universe – and was done by the tiredest, weariest, most exhausted Man of all time who could be bothered.

¶ The words of Agur son of Jakeh. The oracle.
The man declares, I am weary, O God;
I am weary, O God, and worn out.
Proverbs 30:1

REALITY TV & WHO COULD BE BOTHERED.

reality-based-tvAC/DC told the world that it was a long way to the top if you want to rock and roll. In times past it used to take ten to twenty years for an artist or a band to become an overnight success. Today with “reality” TV, YouTube and TV Talent shows, the illusion is created that it no longer takes work, effort, diligence, adversity, rejection, failure, or relentless practice, like our forebears believed, to achieve success. Added to this illusion are the TV detective shows where a crime is committed and solved in just under an hour, or the weight-loss TV series where contestants lose two-thirds of their body weight in just ten episodes. Little wonder too few people could be bothered when today it seems that success is available for free.

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.
First Corinthians 15:10

RELATIONSHIPS. WHO COULD BE BOTHERED.

There are so many aspects to life which can only work if its participants can bothered to put the necessary effort into it. For example, marriage requires bothering. When a husband or a wife can no longer be bothered to give their spouse time, consideration, or attention, it should not be a surprise when they begin to feel distance from each other.

In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
Ephesians 5:28

It’s easy for parents to stop bothering. Defiance, lack of appreciation, and downright rebellion all take their toll on parents – when they can no longer be bothered. It takes resolve, effort, determination – and a lot of bothering for parents to raise their children to be caring, considerate respectful and polite. Whenever you see children who possess these qualities you can be sure they had parents who were very bothered.

Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
Ephesians 6:4

FOLLOWING CHRIST. WHO COULD BE BOTHERED.

If good marriages, families, jobs, or businesses don’t just happen but instead require that someone be bothered to put in the time, hours, effort, and sweat, then chances are that other endeavours also require bothering. I have come to know this to be true of my walk with the Lord.

The preparations for this Easter have been pretty intense for me. Many times I’ve been up at 5AM getting my day off to an unavoidably early start to make it to a Committee breakfast meeting in town by 7:30AM. The early start allows me to read the Bible, be quiet (thankfully there are not too many interruptions at that hour), think, reflect, and pray. But this takes effort. There are some mornings when I’d rather stay in bed. These are not the only spiritual disciplines that require bothering – church attendance, home-group Bible studies, mentoring, attending other Christian functions all require sacrifice and exertion. But I’ve learned that bothering has its rewards.

¶ The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
Second Corinthians 9:6

LEADERS BOTHER.

Show me someone who bothers and I’ll show you a leader. Leaders bother. They keep going when those who couldn’t be bothered stop. Leaders turn up when others stay home. Leaders come in earlier than others and stay back later than others. If you’re a husband, you’re a leader. If you’re a parent, you’re a leader. And if you haven’t been, it’s time to start bothering.

And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”
Mark 9:35

BOTHERING BENEFITS.

Is it worth it? When children grow up to be contributing, caring, considerate adults, yes it is. When churches become well attended, evangelistic, passionate in its worship and discipleship, with well-trained leaders, yes, it’s worth it. Ultimately, these temporal rewards pale compared to the eternal rewards awaiting those who bother faithfully.

His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’
Matthew 25:21

Be bothered. You may not win the applause of others, or even immediately inspire them to be bothered, but it’ll be well worth hearing the words from the One we worship, “Well done.” Be the ‘who’ in the statement, who could be bothered.

Your Pastor,

Andrew

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HE WAS A KIND AND CHARITABLE MAN

home > Pastor's Desk > 2024 > March 22ndr > He was a kind and charitable man.WHO WAS KENNETH TYNAN? You’ve probably never heard of Kenneth Tynan. I hadn’t. I was introduced to him while conducting some research for my current PhD program on C.S. Lewis. In...

FROM LITTLE THINGS

The first time I heard the song “From Little Things, Big Things Grow” was in early 2008. I was trying to get my head around superannuation funds. I never knew of its writers – Paul Kelly and Carmody. Neither did I know it was originally a protest song. In my opinion, the original lyrics and melody bears no semblance to what we may consider protest today. Many will agree with me that it is now synonymous with Industry Super Funds. But its principles remain true in nearly every aspect of life.

ADVICE WORTH MORE THAN GOLD OR A MOUNTAIN OF CASH ABOUT HOW TO USE REJECTION TO BECOME AN EVEN BETTER, WISER, STRONGER YOU!

For several reasons I am qualified to help people deal with acute and chronic pain. Some acute and chronic pain can be resolved medically. Some pains can go a long way to being resolved with the help of a psychologist. Some pains can be resolved with a hug from mum. But there is a pain that a doctor cannot cure, a psychologist cannot counsel, a mother’s hug cannot alleviate. It is a pain that goes deep – beyond the defences of our integumentary system, our neurological system (including our para-sympathetic nervous system), our muscular system, our skeletal system, our lymphatic system, our renal system, gastro-intestinal system, our respiratory system, our cardio-vascular system, our hormonal system, and our half-share of a reproductive system. It is a pain that wounds: our memory, our sense of self, our estimation of our worth, our confidence, and our ability to connect meaningfully with others (our ability to love and be loved). It is the pain of rejection. It not only effects who we are (our identity) but it also leaches symptomatically into each of these ten-and-a-half biological systems which every human being possesses. I am going to offer all those who have experienced the pain of rejection how they can be healed from its wound, and actually become stronger, wiser, more confident, as a result.

THE MYTHICAL PATHWAY TO HAPPINESS

I’ve accidentally found myself enrolled in a Ph.D. program. I kind of blame Associate Professor Stuart Piggin for this. A few years ago I was having some serious discussions with him about doing a Ph.D. in Historical Theology at Macquarie University focusing on the contribution of Dr. F.W. Boreham. But I found myself unable at that time to proceed. In my discussions with him about my health prognosis and what I wanted to be able to do in the remaining time that I have left, he suggested focusing instead on Philosophical-Theology and enquiring with Monash University. I took his sage advice and did as he said. This week, I formally commenced with Monash as a part-time extension (distance) student. The result is that after my first zoom meeting with my supervisor I am now having to delve into an arena that requires me to be able to convince a critical secular audience that my proposal about the Bible’s truth claims are reasonable. Oddly, in order to do this, I have to explain in some depth what C.S. Lewis meant by the word, myth. And to do this I have to draw even deeper on the writings of a now dead French philosopher who is regarded as the greatest exponent of what a myth is! Therefore, I am going to tell you something quite shocking. It might be advisable for you to go and get a strong cup of tea, then return to this screen, and read on while sipping your tea, to absorb some of what I am going to tell you. 

Follow Me AS I FOLLOW JESUS

We all walk a path in life that is set before us. We start with very little experience and knowledge about the purpose of our life and the world beyond us. All of humanity experiences joy, wisdom, strength, weakness, suffering and hardship, especially those who are “contending for the faith”. Knowing Jesus is a very special part of this life journey.

A CERTAIN GOD

We can be reasonably certain about many things. In fact, without this certainty about life, none of us could function. We can be certain that tonight the sun will ‘set’. Tomorrow the sun will ‘rise’. After the February 28th it will be February 29th. This year there will be international unrest and much political instability in many parts of the world. In the coming months global warming will be identified by politicians as the source of floods and wildfires. Several high profile international celebrities will die this year. Archaeologists will make a discovery that will require some aspects of history to be rewritten. And you will certainly have one of the most memorable moments in your life in the coming days. You see, there are clearly some things we can be quite certain about. However, there are some aspects about our future that we cannot be certain about, yet in those moments we can be certain about what we should do.

LOW COST LIVING

Turn on any TV or radio news lately and there’s bound to be a story about the current “cost of living crisis”. We all feel it. Initially most people accepted the widespread price-rises were caused by 2020-21 pandemic lockdowns. But whatever the reasons for the rapid price hikes over the past two years, every time we go to the supermarket we feel it again. While governments are striving to curb the impact of this cost of living crisis, there remains a way to enjoy low cost living. The key to this is recognising that the most valuable things in life are literally priceless. The path to enjoying low-cost living is to be found in Christ, and what He taught — and it begins with treasure.

How To Know Jesus Better

It’s a scary thought to realise that the Jesus we have been told about and worship may not really be known to us at all. We can ‘know’ about someone or something, but not really know them. In Christian circles it’s often referred to as head knowledge not heart knowledge.

Knowing Christ Better

As a church, this year’s theme is coming closer to Christ by getting to know Him better. I feel that I am “the least qualified person” to tell anyone how this is done — but someone else has already claimed this distinction – the apostle Paul. After decades of hearing directly from Christ, seeing extraordinary miracles, being taken to heaven temporarily, planting churches across the Roman Empire, he could still say I would give anything to really know Christ – even if it meant suffering like He did! (Phil. 3:7-10). Therefore, I could say: If you do this or that, you will then know Christ better – but in my view, it’s not as easy as that! How we develop our relationship with Christ is shaped by several factors including our personality, our life experiences, our physical health and fitness, and our relationships with others (especially our parents and particularly our father). In fact, I believe that there is a relationship between how we have learned to build relationships with others (and notably how we have learned to relate to those who are closest to us) and how we then proceed to have a relationship with God. Even though I have expressed my lack of qualifications in telling anyone how to have a closer relationship with Christ, I still can, like one hungry beggar to another hungry beggar, offer you a few of the morsels of food that I’ve been able to find.

SOME PEOPLE HAVE AMAZING BUTS

I know of several people with amazing buts. There’s Jo’, Mo’, Sam, Esther, Jerry, and others. Each of these people were gifted by God with an amazing but that changed there life and the course of human history. Sometimes these gifts came with a …then, or …God, or …the LORD. When it comes to the size of things, a but is a relatively small thing (in Greek it can be just two letters: de) but it can have huge implications and enormously great blessings for multitudes. I hope to show you how this was the case with each of the people I have chosen as samples, and then show you how God is your God of buts.