Did you know that the Bible teaches us to kill people? Yep it says we should kill in 2 Chronicles 15:13, where it says “All who would not seek the LORD, the God of Israel, were to be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman.” Or how about keeping slaves, yep the Bible teaches that we should have slaves in Leviticus 25:44. It says “Your male and female slaves are to come from the nations around you; from them you may buy slaves.” Finally it even says that our parents should beat us. In Proverbs 19:18 it says “Discipline your son, for in that there is hope; do not be a willing party to his death,” OK before you switch off because you think that we at Aftershock have finally lost the plot, this is the type of teaching that Paul is warning against. Paul says “Keep a sharp eye out for those who take bits and pieces of the teaching that you learn and then use them to make trouble.” This piece of advice is as true today as it was two thousand years ago, if not more true. The Bible is the best instruction book you could have for living on this earth because it was inspired by the God who created this Earth. But people will take passages and quote them to you out of context. They will take passages and assign to them a meaning that is simply incorrect. They will even make up their own Bible sounding passages and tell you that they are in the Bible. How about “God helps those who help themselves” or “Cleanliness is next to Godliness”? Nope neither of these are in the Bible. When you hear someone say something is from God, it is down to you to check it out and learn to understand it. They may sound like they know what they are saying, but is it really Gods word and is it Gods word for you? That’s between you and God. Don’t take my word for it. Check it out yourselves

Are you the quiet type who likes being on their own. Maybe you’re the independent type who relies on no one other than themselves. That was me, I was a lone ranger. I needed and trusted no one. If it needed doing then I was quite capable of doing it thank you very much. It all began at school for me. School was rubbish, always trying to fit in, but never really making it and worse still, being bullied instead. So that’s when I started to trust no one and rely only on myself. Soon enough college came and I wasn’t going to let a repeat of school happen. So once again, I depended only on me. And if you didn’t like that then that’s was tough. So eventually Jesus got through my thick skull and I realised I was loved by him and gave my life to Jesus. That was just the start. Suddenly I realised just like Paul in this passage, there were loads of people who wanted to help me. There were loads of new friends who just wanted me to open up to them and trust them to help me. It took me a long time to let the walls I had built up be broken down, but once I did what a relief and what a blessing all my mates are to me. Now I have many mates who I can trust and who trust me. I have friends galore who help me, and who are happy to call me for help when they need it. I often wish that I had let these people into my life sooner. Oh well, at least you aren’t that thick headed. Are you?

So you’re meeting in group and the leaders says “does anyone have anything they would like prayer for?” What’s your response? “Not me.” You’re in Church and the pastor says “OK if you need prayer please come up the front.” What’s your response? “Not me, that’s for the adults.” What are you, some sought of Superman. Do you think you are Wonder Woman? Here is Paul, the chap who wrote half the New Testament, asking for prayer and yet you won’t ask your leader to pray for you. Jesus prayed to his Father God, that God would ease the burden on him and yet you won’t go forward when the pastor offers prayer. OK, so I am making a massive assumption, that you don’t ask for prayer, but all too often isn’t that what we are like? We think, I’m OK, or my problems don’t matter compared to other peoples problems. But the truth is God is interested in all our problems small and big. If you think you can do it without God and you don’t need prayer then you are missing the point. Next time the opportunity for prayer comes up, is the next time you should ask God for help.

“All they ever do is nag me. Nag nag nag.” The number of times I said that about my parents when I was growing up is unbelievable. It seemed to me that my parents just kept pointing out the things that were wrong. I left my clothes on the floor, I didn’t wash my plate up. They seemed to completely miss that I had spent the entire day at school and then come home and spent two hours doing homework. That’s how we are sometimes with people, particularly with people we love. And actually, I guess, I could only see the things I believed my parents were doing wrong. I too missed the fact that they had been out at work all day long, and then come home and washed and cooked for me. When it comes down to it both my parents and I were pretty rubbish at encouraging each other. Paul has spent most of this letter telling the guys in Rome what to change and finally, he is getting towards the end and he says “oh by the way, actually you are doing pretty good.” A friend of mine gave me a better way of delivering criticism. When you look at someone, think of them with one of those life bars above their head. You know the type of thing you see in a computer game. You have to make sure that their life bar is full before you give them constructive criticism. You have to give them ten energy packs of encouragement so their life bar is full. Then and only then can you give them one bomb of constructive criticism. Only when you encourage them ten times beforehand, will the bomb not destroy them. So remember ten to one and they will live.

Ever watch a game of football where it was obvious the team were not united? A guy puts the ball up the field, but there is no one there to receive it, because the team just haven’t practised enough, they are not united. The same happens when a band are singing together for the first time. It all seems a bit stilted and some of the singers keep missing their notes, it’s just a mess. On the other hand have you ever watched a doubles tennis game, where the two people playing know each other really well. They anticipate each others moves, where one person steps back the other steps forward and takes the shot. They can do this because they have spent hours encouraging each other, learning each others good and bad points and learning where to step in to help and where to accept help. That’s exactly what God wants from his team. He doesn’t want us to have a go at another Christian friend; he wants us to encourage other Christians. Where they stuff up, he wants us to step in to help them. When we stuff up he wants us to seek and accept help from other Christians. Christian life is not a solo life, it is a team game.

I used to really wind my brother up. I knew what ticked him off and I knew which buttons to push. It was great fun, I used to wind him up and then think to myself “watch out he’s gonna blow.” It’s was daft really, some of the things that wound him up, would never wind me up. How about you? Do you know what things wind up certain people? Do you sit there thinking wow, it doesn’t wind me up, why should it wind them up, but secretly you know it does wind them up. That’s what Paul is on about in this passage, he simply says, don’t do it. If you know that doing something will put someone into a position that they are going to sin, don’t do it. If you know that a mate has a problem avoiding drugs, don’t take them to places where there might be drugs. If you know that a mate has trouble with anger, help them by keeping them away from situations where they may get angry. Sounds simple really doesn’t it? But then, often what God teaches us in the Bible is simply common sense.

So what if you mate thinks one football player plays better then another. Does that mean that he isn’t a fan of the same football team as you? So you think that one song that your favourite band sings is their best and your friend thinks that another one is better. Does that mean that she can’t like that band too? Who are you to say what band she can like? That’s what this passage boils down to. Two thousand years after Jesus dies for you and me there are lots of Churches that have different views on how to worship him. Maybe your Church says that you can’t take communion yet, maybe your Church says you can. Maybe your Church says that people shouldn’t drink alcohol, maybe they say people should drink in moderation. Who knows what makes your Church different. There are some basics that your Church and you must understand, but outside of that who is to say what is right? Does your Church say that Jesus is the one true way to God. Does your Church understand that Jesus died for us on the cross? Does your Church understand that God is God the Holy Spirit, God The Son and God the Father? Hey does all the other stuff really matter? Whether you have to cover your ankles, whether you should go to church on Sunday or Saturday can all wait until we get to Heaven. Of course by then we might even be a bit too busy to worry about our favourite band and football player, not to mention all the other stuff.

The Bibles full of rules. You know that and I know that, we know that because everyone tells us it is full of rules and God is a spoil sport just out to ruin your fun. Right, now that we are happy to agree on that we can move on. We can go to college or school everday and look fed up as we say in a down beat voice “Jesus loves me and I am a Christian.” Well if you believed the media, that might be how you thought our God is, but that’s not the God I know. My God is exciting, my God has plans for me, plans to make we do well, not plans to harm me. My God says there is only one rule, treat your mates and your enemies as you would like to be treated. My God says that if I do that and follow him then I had better be prepared for a life that will blow my mind. What God would you rather follow, the one in the Bible that is prepared to die for you, who says treat other people how your want to be treated and who has an adventure beyond belief; or the one your hear about in the media who is only out to ruin things for you. I recommend following the one true God, so lets start by doing the one thing he asks us to do.

Rules, rules, rules. Do this do that, blah blah blah. It’s doesn’t matter if it’s home, college, school or even youth group every one seems to have rules. And God says obey them. Hold on a minute what’s that all about. I mean it’s OK if I agree with a rule, and I can see that some rules are needed, but what if we disagree with rules? Well our God says obey the rules. It says pretty clearly in this passage All Governments are under God. That means we have to obey the rules of our country. It does also mean that the leaders in our country will stand before God and explain how they ruled us. So back to the big question. What if you don’t believe that a rule at school, college, or even a law in your country is what God would want to do? Good news. You get to do something about it. Don’t believe in a rule at school? Get elected to the school council. Don’t believe in a rule at college? Get on the board. You can make a difference. Don’t believe in a law in your country? Write to your leaders, protest to them, hey get elected when you are old enough make a difference. You come under authority of your leaders, but also under God, and God says you can make a difference. So don’t break the rules that you don’t believe in, get them changed.

There is an old English saying that people use when they want to show the difference between two things. People would say that they are as different as Chalk and Cheese. We might update that saying a little and say that they are as different as Skaters and Punks or as different as My Space and My Little Pony. It really doesn’t matter what we say the point is the two things are massively different. Wouldn’t it be cool if the saying became as different as Christ Followers and Non Christians? The difference between the way we behave at college and school, and the way others behave becomes so obvious that people use that as a saying. Of course for that to happen you and I would have to treat the homeless different to the way others do. We would have to treat the nerds different to the way others at school do. We would have to live our whole life different to the way others do. We would need to look at each and every situation in our lives and ask ourselves, if Jesus was here with me now how would he have me react in this situation. Of course we wouldn’t need Jesus to be there with us, because you and I both know that when we comes across those situations we know fine well how Jesus would react. Sounds all too hard to me. Shall we go back to dissing the nerds? Shall we go back to laughing at the homeless? Shall we go back to living our lives just like everyone else? Or are you up for a real adventure; are you as different as a Christ Follower and a Non Christian?

Where do you see God in your life? Do you see him when you are at college? Do you see him when you play football? Do you see him when you are out with your friends whoa are not yet Christians? Hey here’s some breaking news for you, it is actually possible to find God outside of a Church! That is what Paul is on about in Romans 12, he says don’t save God only for Sunday,it’s the rest of your life he is interested in. God wants you to lead the whole of you life in a way that would honour him. He wants you to go out with you mates who aren’t Christians and show them what it means to be a follower of Christ. He wants you to play football and show your team mates the difference in the way you react, because you are a Christian. God wants you to do very single thing you do as though you were doing it to worship him. So lets go lets do everything we can to mix with our mates who are not Christians, and show them them difference between how a Christian would do something and how a person who is not a Christian would act. Stop…… That’s exactly what God wants us to do, but Paul also reminds us that whilst we are doing that we must remember that we are hoping that people who are not yet Christian will see Christ in us. We should be very careful that as we show others Christ that we don’t become more like those who don’t know Christ. So with that thought in our mind, lets go show them the difference between Christians and those who do not know Christ.

When you speak to teachers or parents for advice do you ask questions wanting a particular answer? Do you ask Mum questions like “is it a good idea for me to drop science at college?” And when the answer isn’t what you want to hear you might move on and ask Dad the same question. What is our hope when we do this? Do we hope for the right answer, or do we just want the answer that we want to hear? All too often when we pray to our God for guidance we do the same thing, we pray telling him what to do. We don’t pray asking him to guide us, we pray asking him to OK what we want to do. We should remember that there is no one wiser then our God, our God knows everything. I want to keep this short today, because I think it would be a good idea for both you and me to take a little longer to pray to our God and let him do the talking.

All wars are started by religion, is one of the cries you will hear many people who aren’t Christian state as being a reason why God doesn’t exist. That is what the writer of this passage is warning us against getting up ourseleves. He is saying hey just because you know God don’t be so cocky. I don’t know about you, but when ever I feel I know a subject well, I soon get cocky about it. I’m strutting my stuff. “OK I know all there is to know about football, go on ask me any question you want.” Pretty soon I’m making anyone who doesn’t know anything about football feel pretty stupid. If they know everything about athletics, that’s not good enough, after all in my humble opinion football is the best game in the world. If we are not careful we can be the same about God. Strutting around saying things like: “OK I know all there is to know about God, go on ask me any question you want.” They may think they know a little about Jesus, but that’s not good enough for me. That is hardly going to show anyone the love that Jesus wants us to show. No the Bibles pretty clear, don’t get cocky, Jesus is as much for those people you look down upon as he is for you. Every time you look at someone and think you are better then them, you are looking at someone who Jesus thought was good enough to die for.

We get up in the morning and listen to the radio and hear the news about yet another war in some country across the world. Killing and maiming hardly the way God would want us to behave. We go to college or school, and everyone seems to be out for what they can get. They spend their time ridiculing the less fortunate guys in the classes, that you attend. Picking on others is hardly the way God would want us to behave. Heading home after a long day we watch the telly and spend the evening being told by the adverts that we must own this new gadget or we a not worth knowing, whilst the next news program tells us about the latest famine in Africa. Chasing possession and ignoring hunger is hardly the way God would want us to behave. Do you not wonder sometimes why God doesn’t look down at this Earth, and say “well they have had their chance, I’m going to trash the lot and start again.” Well God doesn’t do that because he promised he would never do it again. After the flood where Noah built his ark God said he wouldn’t do it again. That sentiment from God is coming out in this passage where he is saying look I know that Israel has lost the plot, but there are some people in Israel who are still going for it. When you have days where you seem to be the only Christian who is trying to do right and not being recognised for it, know that there is one person who sees what you do. On days like that God looks down and says “Man there is so much wrong in the world, but look at that guy there, living the life of a true Christian.”

Do you often wish that more of you mates knew about Jesus? Do you think if only so and so knew Jesus then he or she would be able to tell so many people. Then you would have loads more cool friends who knew the fantastic news of Jesus. The question Paul asks us is how can they call to Jesus, if they haven’t heard of him? We might say but everyone has heard of Jesus. But have they really heard? Or is Jesus just another fable to them, like Santa Claus, or the tooth fairy. Have they really heard about Jesus from someone who knows the truth? Paul goes on with question two, how can they be expected to have heard about Jesus if no one has told them? What do we say? But someone would have told them wouldn’t they. But of course if we all think that someone else has told them, then there is a very real possibility that no one has. Sometimes we also need to hear from many people before we make a decision. In my case I can think of five people who tried to tell me before I actually listened. Pauls final question is where the rubber meets the road. How can they be expected to be told the good stuff about Jesus if no one is sent to tell them? Well there is only one response to Pauls final question. Picture that mate of your’s who doesn’t know Jesus. Right do you have the picture of their face in your mind? Good you are being sent to tell them the truth about Jesus.

Effort and reward that’s the way your school or college works, that’s the way most jobs work, that may even be the way parts of your home life work. It’s simple you go to classes and learn, that’s effort. You write essays and take exams, that’s effort. Then you get given a grade, that’s reward. You may have a job where you go to work that’s effort. You may have to do chores at home, that’s effort. Then you get paid cash, or get given an allowance, that’s reward. See the whole world works on effort and reward. You put effort in and work on one thing to get rewarded or earn another. Life is simple and we all understand how it works. But then as normal God works by his own rules, I guess that’s Ok as it’s his world. With God it works like this. You do nothing and you get rewarded for free. Hmmm sounds cheap doesn’t it, maybe the rewards not worth having. I said you get it for free, I didn’t say it cost nothing. No your reward of eternal life in Heaven cost a whole lot; it cost the life of the Son of God brutally nailed to a cross. So now we remember how much our reward cost, maybe we can start remembering that we can’t earn our way into Heaven because the cost has been paid by Jesus. So we can stop feeling guilty and doing things to earn our way into Heaven, and start doing things because we are grateful that God has paid the cost. Next time you stack a chair at church, befriend a loner at school, do something for the elderly to help, remember why you are doing it. It’s not effort and then reward with God, it’s reward and then thanks.

So it’s your birthday and the big party is planned. You are running around inviting all the cool crowd, setting up the music and food you can’t wait. Then the day finally arrives and it’s party time. The time for the start begins and a couple of mates turn up. You are not too worried no one ever turns up for the very beginning of the party. Half an hour later a few more drift in but still not the crowd you had hoped for. Finally an hour later they start pouring in and you begin to relax and enjoy the party. Why? Because we humans are fickle people, we want good numbers to create a great atmosphere and to show just how popular we are. Sad really isn’t it? But that’s how some of us are built. Sometimes we not interested in the individuals, we just want the crowd to come. Not our God, he’s not like that, he doesn’t treat us as a number. No Gods organised the biggest party you could every imagine in Heaven, and he has organised it for you. God is not interested in numbers, he wants you. When you turn up to the party God wants to stand there and say to you, “well done my good and faithful servant, you are here, lets party.” If you have ever felt unimportant at school or college, if you have ever felt insignificant at one of you mates parties, then you need to know that God has selected you. You are important and significant, to God after all he made you and is waiting to party with you.

So there we have it. God has made all the decisions, God has ultimate power. God has made me. Therefore if I do something wrong it’s not my fault. Wouldn’t that be sweet? We could steal from the shops, and just say sorry but God made me greedy. We could shout and scream at people and just say, “Sorry God gave me a temper.” It doesn’t matter what we do because that’s just the way God made us. But we know that isn’t the truth don’t we? God has given us certain personality traits. God has given us certain desires. But the other problem we have is, God has given us free will. You see that’s the problem at the end of the day we know what is right and we know what is wrong and we have the ability to choose. We can choose whether to steal that CD or we can choose not to. We can choose whether to shout at our parents and we can choose not to. Sometimes I think it would have been easier if God had made us robots, but who are we to second guess what God sees as being the right way to make us? So I guess we had better just go on making the choices we make, and understanding that when we stand in front of God, it is down to us what we have done with what he has given us.

So you hear the best Album by your favourite band ever, what do you do? You go to the best website on the net, what do you do? We know what you do. You text, email, phone your mates. The next day at college the talk is about nothing else, but this great new discovery. When we find something cool we can’t wait for those we know to hear about it. But what happens when you mates say, “nah that band is rubbish.” Or maybe they go to the website and say “this other site is much better.” We probably get a bit peeved, and maybe upset that they don’t can’t see how great this new discovery is. So what about those who, don’t see how cool Jesus is? So what if you mates or even your family don’t understand your commitment to God? That’s the same situation that the guy who wrote this passage is in. He even says, “Look if it means I have to be hurt for my family to hear about Jesus then so be it.” There is good news and there is bad news. The good news is that it’s not your responsibility if they don’t accept Jesus. The bad news is that it’s not your responsibility if they don’t accept Jesus. Whether they accept the greatest gift in the world is up to them. Your part in the whole Jesus thing is three fold. 1. Pray for them to come to know Jesus as their saviour. 2. Be the very best Christian you can be, be the best example you can be. And 3. Invite them along to events that your Church puts on, now and then, to discover for themselves. Outside of that it’s up to them. It doesn’t mean you won’t feel sad for them, but every time they come into your mind is another chance to do step one, and pray that your family and friends discover what you already know.

So it comes out and you queue up and manage to buy an iPhone. It’s the latest, the best the coolest gadget you could every want, but it came at a cost. You had to work for months to save the cash you needed, you had to sell loads of your other stuff, but now you own the coolest gadget on the planet. What do you do? Do you strut your stuff in front of your mates or do you throw the iPhone in the corner not caring what happens to it? Of course you don’t that phone came at a cost you take the best care of it you can. You put it in a protective case, and no one gets near it without you by their side. They can look, but they can’t touch. That’s how God is with you. Your freedom to party with God forever may be free to you, but it came at a cost. God isn’t about to create the best thing he can in you, and then pay for you freedom with the death of his Son Jesus, only to throw you away. No he is not. Whatever situation you are in now, God can work it out so that it will be good in the end. That’s because God paid a major price for you’re freedom, and he won’t see you trashed. Not only can God work out everything so that is will be good, but he has the power to do it, as well If the creator of the universe is on your side, ultimately you are on the right team. Because if the God who made the universe is for you, then it doesn’t matter who is against you, the battle has already been won. The price has been paid and you are on the winning team.

First there was the Play Station it was fantastic, gaming was never going to be the same. Then there was the incredible Play Station 2, not only an amazing games machine but a DVD player too. And then the ultimate games machine the Play Station 3, with all the widgets you could ever want. And by the time you hear this dev there may even be the Play Station 4,5 or 6. That’s what happens when we find something good we want more and there is always more to be had. It might not be good for us but there is always someone willing to give us the bigger, the faster, the better experience. Well Heavens not like that; there is only one release of eternal life with the God who created you. There isn’t such a thing as Heaven 360, the second better version of Heaven, Gods giving the full experience with the first release. That’s how incredible Heaven will be; in fact the owner’s manual has this amazing claim on the front. It says, Consider the hard times you have now, insignificant compared to the reward you will receive in Heaven. That is a pretty big claim, because I know some of you are suffering pretty badly right now. You might have a disability, you might have lost your parents, and you might be getting bullied. Whatever you’r suffering is, it is real and it is now, but God says he loves you so much he will make that memory vanish when it is time for you to meet him in heaven.

How do you wake up in the mornings? If it is anything like the way I use to wake up it is with a grumble and a moan. Mum or Dad open the door and let you know that it is time to get up. You might lie there thinking, but I don’t want to get out of bed, it’s cold outside and I have to get myself to college or school. But how do you get up the day of a holiday, birthday, or Christmas. There is no messing on those days is there? You’re out of bed like a shot. Singing “zip da de du da” no one is stopping you now. That is what we have been given by Jesus. Our old stinking attitudes have been replaced by Gods spirit. Sure we mess up still and sometimes we forget that God is in us, but we now have the right to expect a full and exciting life, the adventure begins here. God says he wants us like little kids to run to him and say hey Pappa, hey Daddy what are doing today. He’s not some sought of Earthy Father who may have to say sorry I have to work today. No he says fantastic lets do it together, lets run out into this world and find out what adventure we can have. The adventure begins here.

He keeps on banging on about this doesn’t he? Do you think maybe it’s important? Do you think maybe God wants us to understand that Jesus has done the job and any negative feelings we have about what we have done in the past is wrong. In another translation of this passage it says “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ.” That’s pretty clear as well. So let’s be clear about this. God thinks that your mates are great; God thinks that your family is great and God thinks that you are great. Any nagging voice in your head that makes you feel anything less then a privileged child of God is a lie. It’s a simple formula Jesus plus you saying sorry equal’s forgiveness. So Jesus dies for you and me and the selfish we did and do. When we gave our lives to Jesus that became part of our very being. As things come to mind that we have done that we are not proud off, we simply say sorry and ask for forgiveness. That’s it, it is done. God has now separated us from that sin by a million miles. If we get nagging voices saying things like “you can’t go to Heaven because you did this or your did that” it’s rubbish, it’s a lie. Right I’m glad we got that clear, can we move on now?

Wow these people are in a bad way. They decide to do the right thing, but when it comes down to it they stuff up and do the wrong thing. It’s a good job that we would never do that. I mean we would never decide to help our family out and not get mad with them, and then the next minute shout at our brother or sister, would we? I don’t know about you but I would never decide to read my Bible every day and then wake up in the morning too tired to get out of bed. Ok, ok I hear what you are saying. Yes I know I frequently decide to do the right thing, but when it comes down to it I am too scared, tired, frustrated or plain lazy to do it. That’s because I like you have a natural tendency to take the easy path, and doing the right thing isn’t the easy path. Chatting to someone at college who everyone else ignores isn’t the easy thing to do. Praying for someone when they tell you about their problems isn’t the easy thing to do. But these things are the right things to do, and often we need more then our own strength to do them. Just as we are told here, it doesn’t matter that we find it hard to do the right thing, that’s why Jesus came. When you are offered drink or drugs that you know you shouldn’t have and you feel that you are going to do the easy thing, cry out at that moment and ask for his help. Whenever you face a decision that is hard to resist, the good news is that you have help from the creator of the universe. Now that makes making the right decision the easy thing to do.

We have an incredible ability to take what God intends for our good and twist it so that it becomes bad. God gives us marriage as a gift and says that we should save the extra gift of sex for marriage. What do we do? We twist what sex is and say that God is being a spoil-sport, telling us to wait until we are married. We take Gods gift of the Bible and the exciting message that it is and make it as boring and mundane as possible. We take the guidance that God gives us in the Bible and use it to beat people over the head with saying that they are sinners, conveniently forgetting that God did not make us the judge. That’s what Paul is on about here, these guys have taken Gods instruction book, otherwise know as the Bible, and created so many rules around it that no one could possibly live up to them. So what happens? People feel guilty when they fail and eventually stop trying. That’s not what God wants; God wants us to understand that he loves us so much he sent Jesus to die for us. When we look at people at school or college who are doing things that we know isn’t what God wants for them, what do we do? Do we say things like you should do that; you will go to hell if you do that? Or do we pray for that they might just receive a little of Gods love today? Judging isn’t down to us, that is done by someone else later. Our job is to stretch out a helping hand and help people do the right thing next time. So when you next see that boy or girl that you judged in the past, maybe you can be the answer to you own prayer and stretch out the hand of friendship, not the wagging finger of Judgment.

What is your vision of God? Is it a like a head teacher that when you pass them in the hall, you can’t help but think they know everything you did wrong? Do you believe that God is sitting up there in Heaven with a big score sheet just waiting for you to muck up? Picture it now, God is sitting there watching you and just as you shout at you Mother he takes another 10 points away from your Good Guy score. All too often this is the picture that many of us have of God. I have spent years looking at God in that way, and this morning God reminded me that this idea of him is a load of rubbish. As I was taking a shower, from nowhere God said “I want you to win, I have never been looking for you to fail.” Funny how God chooses the strangest places to talk to us. But he did, and now we see from this passage more confirmation that God wants us to win. Our God is more like a Kindly Father who when he sees us make a mistake and fall down, he shouts “Come on get up, try again, you can do it.” God wants us to win, our past life is done and dusted and we don’t have to listen to the old stuff we did anymore. God wants us to win, that is why he wants us to understand we now have a free life because of Jesus. God wants us win, that is why he is shouting at you “come on get up, try again, you can do it.”

Well that’s clear enough. Just because we have this amazing God who is willing to forgive us, it doesn’t give us the freedom to do what we want and then say oops. Paul tells us clearly, look when you gave your life to Jesus that’s when things changed for you. You have a new life, and that new life is the evidence that Jesus is your King. If you go to school or college tomorrow and swear and bully then what do people see of Jesus in your life? As far as they are concerned, Jesus is nothing special because look how little difference he makes in your life. No Jesus has to impact your daily life. We have this massive banner in our church. It has the hand prints of all the members of our church on it in different colours. The hand prints range from the youngest toddler, to the oldest grandparent, and right across the banner in massive letters are the words “Jesus Impacts.” Yes when you go to school or college tomorrow, you can know that you have left your old selfish ways behind you, they are not an issue anymore. You can know that as you make decisions throughout the day, that you can make the right decision because of Jesus. Yes, Jesus impacts you at school, Jesus impacts you at college, Jesus impacts you at home, and Jesus impacts those around you through the way you live your life.

The devil may seek you out and condemn you. You might hear whispers in your head that say things like “you can’t do that”. As you are about to invite someone to youth group you might hear the voice say “you’r rubbish, they will laugh at you”. That’s all the enemy can do, is to tell you how bad you are and how what Jesus did wasn’t for you. Jesus says that’s rubbish, and he thinks you are brilliant, so brilliant he was willing to give up his life for you. That is the grace that is talked about in this passage. Jesus’ answer is come follow him and live life to the full. He doesn’t say come and follow this great big list of rules I have created, no that’s not the Jesus way. The grace that Jesus brought says, you want to be on the winning team, you want excitement, you want life to the full then lets do it together. So I don’t know about you but we at Aftershock are about living this life that Jesus gave us to the full, are you coming.

So Jesus died for you. Jesus died for your teacher, Jesus died for the smelly kid at youth group, Jesus even died for the murderer you heard about on the news. Hold on a minute I can understand that Jesus would die for the small bits of selfish stuff I do so I can spend forever partying in Heaven, but what about the murderer. Why would Jesus die for a murderer? What the murderer has done is much worse then what you or I have done. Or is it? Our God is so pure and spotless that any sign of selfishness would immediately exclude us from the right to be in the same world as him, let alone the same room. There are somethings that we perhaps don’t understand about our God, and for us this might be one of them. But our understanding is limited to what we know in this world. Who are we to say that what we do compared to what a murderer does grieves our Father God less or more? Who are we to say that the excruciating pain that Jesus went through was not enough to pray for the murderer’s sins as well as ours?.

Trusting God is easy. After all trusting the God who made the universe to grow food that you can eat isn’t a problem when you live in a rich society. Trusting the God who created you from nothing to heal your cold isn’t a problem when you have a snotty nose. Trusting God to provide food when you live in a third world country that has experienced drought for years, takes a little more faith. Trusting God to heal you of cancer, through the doctors he has provided isn’t as straight forward. But people do trust God in these big situations as well as in the small situations, and they are fantastic examples to all of us. So how do we learn to trust God, like these people? How do we learn to trust God as we leave school and are worried about our future? How do we learn to trust God with our relationships at school? We learn to trust God in the same way that you learn to trust anyone. You don’t trust the new guys you meet at school or college straight away, but after some time of getting to know them you build up a level of trust. And then after a while there are some who you really begin to trust. Well you can learn to trust God in the same way. Speak to God as you go about your day at school or college. Chat with him as you walk home, about the concerns you have. The more time you spend talking to God, and the more you ask him to help you, the more you will trust him. As you spend time chatting to God you will begin to recognise him speaking back to you, and trusting what he says.

Excellent we are all off to Heaven. Fantastic we say thank you to Jesus and off we go and do want we want. It’s true isn’t it? We don’t get into Heaven because of what we do; we get into heaven because of what Jesus did. Therefore we can now go and do what we want and we will still get into heaven. We can go and hang around the park and drink cheep beer, even though we are too young and still get into Heaven. We can push our family around, be horrible to the guy at school, but because we asked Jesus to be our saviour we still go to Heaven. Well I guess that’s true, but asking Jesus to be you saviour can’t end with the prayer. There has to be some evidenced in your life that you have chosen to become a Christian. Jesus said to us that we are to go and introduce our friends to him. Jesus said that we should be salt on this earth by which he meant that our mates should see good stuff coming out of us. He might have said “make you actions taste as good as a coke to your mates, as you show them me in what you do for them.” We don’t do what we do for Jesus to get into Heaven; we do what we do for Jesus because we are thankful that we have got into Heaven.

Are you feeling particularly Holy today? Maybe you went to Church on Sunday. Hey you are even listening to an aftershock dev. Yep we are the chosen people aren’t we? But that’s not the point is it. Do we get to heaven by going to Church? Do we get to heaven by reading the Bible? No we do not. It’s not all about what we do is it? It is all about what Jesus did on the cross. If it was all about how good we were then we might be in trouble. One day you might make friends with some lonely guy at school, and you would feel pretty good about yourself knowing you were heading for Heaven. But what happens the next day when you lose your rag with your mates because they upset you? Where does that leave you and Heaven now? No if spending forever partying with God was based around what we did then I am guessing that God would end up being pretty lonely in Heaven. I am just forever grateful that we become good enough to make the grade in Heaven because of what Jesus did for us dyeing on the cross, not what we do.

So you spend all year skipping class just hanging around with your mates. You can’t be bothered with home work. You even call your teacher names behind his back. You are having a great laugh, it looks like the fun will never end. Then it slowly but surely begins to dawn on you, the exam is coming up, it’s only a week away. You can’t revise; you have no notes to revise from. What are you going to do? So you turn up at the exam, knowing that you are completely without a clue and go to sit down. But in you seat is some other guy and he is just finishing the exam paper. You stand there puzzled, wondering what Is going on. Your teacher walks up to you and says don’t worry Graham the Geek has done the exam for you and you passed with an A+. That’s what Jesus did for you. Gods is the perfect teacher. The mucking about and calling him names? Well that’s all the stuff we do that separates us from him. How can we imperfect people that we are, be in the same place as a perfect God? Well Jesus the Geek has taken our exam. He has made us perfect, by taking the punishment for our years of skipping class and missing home work which is the selfish things we do. That’s what Paul is saying in this passage. You have passed the exam, not because you are perfect, but because Jesus took it for you.

Ever had someone say, “you think you’re special just because you’re a Christian huh!” Or maybe someone has said “I’m surprised you did that I thought you were a Christian.” If you have heard people say this then they are missing the point. Being A Christian doesn’t make you the perfect student. Being a Christian doesn’t make you the perfect friend. Being a Christian just makes you aware there are things you need to get better at, and thankful that God sent Jesus. We know we stuff up at school, we know we stuff up at home, we know we stuff up at college. God has made us aware of these things through his Holy Spirit. Not to make us feel guilty, but to help us become more Jesus like. Actually I am glad that God only seems to let me know a little bit at a time, I think if he let me know all the stuff I could improve on all at once, I would panic. So basically we aren’t special because we’ve got Jesus, we’ve got Jesus just because we stuff up like everyone else.

So some people are going around saying that Paul’s gang are doing wrong stuff so that good stuff might happen. What’s Paul’s answer to this? He’s straight on their case, “lies it’s all lies.” Why? Well Paul simply does not believe that the Bible teaches that we can do wrong as long as our motives are pure. You hear that sometimes don’t you? You hear people say “I did the lesser of two evils”, or “I know it was wrong to do, but I did it with the best motives.” But Paul’s is clear that is wrong. If your mates are getting smashed every Friday night and you think you can help them get to know Jesus by getting smashed with them, Paul would shout NO. If you think that I can cheat at my exams, because eventually I will become a doctor and help people, Paul would shout NO. Wrong is wrong, that is it and all about it. Being a Christian can be a bit uncomfortable sometimes. When someone does something wrong to you, you probably feel that you have the right to go and do something horrible to them to. The problem is that Paul doesn’t mess around, two wrongs don’t make a right.

I spent the weekend with a group of young people and we were having a great time. One of the young people was full of great advice. She was telling the group about the bad effects of smoking and how addictive it is. She was saying that drinking heavily is really bad and can lead you to do things that you wouldn’t normally do. It was great advice; the problem was she then went outside for a cigarette and talked about missing not getting smashed that night because she was away with us. How much impact do you think her advice had, on the others? Next to zero. That doesn’t mean it was wrong advice but no one listened because she wasn’t taking her own advice. It’s a lesson we can learn and it’s also coming out of this passage. If we claim to be Christian, but gossip about our mates, how can we show people more of Jesus love? If we tell people that Jesus is all we need to know that we are loved but are constantly hunting for a boyfriend or girlfriend, will they believe what we say? Or we could say things like God has only good for me and I know that a relationship is important to get right. We could simple and quietly walk away from gossip and put into practice what Jesus said when he said that we are to love one another. Hey we all make mistakes, but lets not make our tag line “do what I say”, let’s make it “do what I do.”

Break the rules in school and you can expect to get disciplined, cant you? Why? Well because you know the rules. Does your school have uniform? Well you know that you have to wear a certain type of uniform, turn up not wearing it and you can expect to be sent home. When you get given a deadline at college for an report you know if it’s turned in late you will be for the high jump. These are ways of behaving they are written down and you know about them. But you school or college doesn’t have a rule for every event do they. They don’t have rules that say don’t kill anyone, don’t burn the buildings down, don’t ride you motorbike up the hallway. No these are just things you know aren’t they, because there are something’s that we just know without being told. Gods no different there are some things he expects of us and he has written them down in his Bible for us to know. But as we get to know God more we shouldn’t use the excuse, “I hadn’t read that bit, I didn’t know.” We should say that because we know the basic anyway. We know in our hearts what is right and what is wrong. God’s really nice and he might cut us some slack but he also knows that we know better.

There’s an old saying that says when you point your finger at someone else then there are three pointing back you. Seems to me God’s pretty fair with his Judgement. We can’t say I’m Ok because I am a better person than that guy at school who bullies everyone. We can’t say I’m Ok compared to that girl at college who gossips about everyone. It’s not about what we do compared to what others do, it’s about what we do compared to what we are able to do. Another thing that crosses my mind as I think about this passage, is it’s not even about how good a Christian we are compared to how we used to be. When we were a kids, we understood what God wanted us to do in a simple way; and Gods pleasure in us was watching us achieve what he wanted in a simple way. Now we are older we understand our relationship in a different way with God. Now God has different expectations of us. I am just grateful that God reveals what he expects of us a little at a time. The good news is, that we do these things because of what Jesus did for us, and it’s actually what Jesus did, not we do thata earn’t us eternal life with God. Phew, thank you God.

Me, me, me, it’s all about what I want. I want to be fed, I want to be entertained. Actually I don’t want to have it all, I deserve to have it all, and if that affects you well frankly I don’t care. Do you know guys at school, or college who seem to act that way? People that don’t care if throwing rubbish on the floor means someone else has to pick it up. The next guy up the block takes it one step further and doesn’t care if dumping his rubbish from his house in the road hurts anyone. But not to be outdone the guy with the chemical factory up the road starts dumping his waste into the river. OK it’s a bit extreme, but it’s an example of the mess we can get ourselves into if we only care about what feels good for us, and ignore everyone else. And that’s what happens when we humans are left to look after ourselves. But thankfully we were not left to look after ourselves. Thankfully God sent his Son to die for us. Thankfully God left his Bible so we have a guide on how to live. If we look at eh Bible and try to do what Jesus teaches we see that it’s not all about me, me ,me. Actually it’s all about others, others, others.

Ever had that question thrown at you by your mates. “Ok if people need to ask Jesus to be their mate to go to Heaven, what about those who have never heard of Jesus?” Your mates at college might make it sound a very sensible question, but is it? Paul is talking straight in this passage, he says “But the basic reality of God is plain enough”. What he is saying is you have to be pretty short sighted to miss the fact that God exists if you live in this world. How can you look at a baby and not at least wonder if God exists? How can you look at the colours in the plant life on this world and not know that something created them? How can you look at the complexities of science and not understand that something caused them to happen? To be honest, and let’s face it Paul is being pretty honest in this passage, you are basically ignoring God if you see all these things and don’t go looking for him. So it’s true one way or the other you have to make a decision about where you stand on God. If you have made a decision I thank God you have made a decision. If you haven’t made a decision best get on with it, hey!