Sermon - PALM SUNDAY - 20th March 2016

One of our Lay Readers, Simon Brindley, preaches today. The Gospel reading is from Luke 19: verses 28-40.

We know how Jesus arrived in Jerusalem – that is the main focus of our thoughts this morning – he arrived on a colt, probably a young donkey, with people throwing down their cloaks for him to cross and waving palm branches in the air (actually Luke does not record the palm branches but each of Matthew, Mark and John does, which is why we give out these palm crosses still today) - but where was he coming from that day? All journeys must begin somewhere.

This arrival was the end of a journey that probably took a day - or possibly two on foot - from the city of Jericho. Jesus had been there in the course of his teaching and healing ministry but now Passover was coming and he needed to turn and bite the bullet and head for the capital, the centre of power, the centre of religious, state and occupier authority and the centre of opposition.

Jericho is a really interesting place! It’s about 15 miles east from Jerusalem, as the crow flies, maybe 18 or 20 by the road through the desert. It sits, just west of the River Jordan, north of the Dead Sea. It’s probably the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world (over 10,000 years). It's the city taken by the Israelites under Joshua after the death of Moses when, after their years of wandering, they finally crossed the River Jordan into the Promised Land. And, did you know this? It is the lowest place on the face of the earth that is not covered by water, sitting about 800 feet below sea level!  (That’s about 1000 feet below where we are just now).  And Jerusalem, where Jesus was going, is about 2500 feet above sea level!

So the road from Jericho to Jerusalem looks like this on a map:

Show map….

But it is actually like this if you have to climb it!

Show profile….

It’s steep and it’s very hot and it’s dusty and it goes through the desert, but when you get close, right up here, about two miles from Jerusalem and near the villages of Bethany and Bethphage, you come to the Mount of Olives. It’s green, especially in the Mediterranean spring at Passover when Jesus travelled, and ahead lies the glorious city of Jersualem.

Jesus was coming in by the pilgrim route, at Passover, the great feast commemorating the deliverance of the Jews from slavery in Egypt. He was coming out of the desert. He was coming in symbolically from a place that went way back in Israel’s history. There was nothing spontaneous or sudden about this journey. He knew exactly what he was doing and why he was doing it.

Interesting too, isn’t it, that he was coming in from the lowest bit of dry land on the planet.  “Watch what is happening,” he seems to me to be saying, “watch from the depths of the earth to the most glorious places man has created”.  Watch from far back in your history. Something very fundamental is going on. No wonder when the Pharisees told him to command his disciples to be quiet Jesus replied that, if he did, the stones themselves would start to shout. This is the one we believe is the Son of God himself, the one through whom all things in the whole of Creation, from all those people, to us, to the rocks themselves, were made. Watch and see what he does and ask yourself why he does it.

“Look at this, all you men and women of power,“  “What do you think of this?”

“Look at this all you people,” “Is this what authority and power truly look like?”

“Look at this, the whole of Creation.”

And not only was Jesus coming in geographically from a place going way back in Israel’s history and from the deepest dry land on the surface of the earth, it was the precise way in which he arrived that would have rung bells with every single person watching.

In those days, far more than the place our society has reached this century, the people would have known their scriptures and been likely to use the imagery of their scriptures in their everyday lives. This may, I am pretty sure, have been more the case in European society earlier in our own history, to use Bible imagery in everyday life, but it is more rarely the case now. But I am sure that for the great majority of those watching that day, both the religious authorities and the mass of the people, these following words would have been very familiar to them. They are words from the Old Testament Book of Zechariah and they speak about the king who is to come, the future king of Israel, the Messiah:

“Rejoice, rejoice, people of Zion!

Shout for joy, you people of Jerusalem!

Look, your King is coming to you!

He comes triumphant and victorious…..

But humble and riding on a donkey

On a colt, the foal of a donkey”.

There was absolutely nothing spontaneous or sudden about this journey. Jesus knew exactly what he was doing and why he was doing it.

He must have arranged some time ago for the colt to be ready when he needed it. Well, that is speculation perhaps but even if he hadn’t pre-arranged it, even if the owners were happy to let the colt go when the disciples came to the village and started, as Jesus had told them, to untie it, Jesus knew exactly what the watching crowds and the religious leaders would think. He had spent 3 years out there teaching and preaching about the Kingdom of God, 3 years  constantly demonstrating the power of the Kingdom through his healing and through the authority with which he spoke. So now he chose the unridden young donkey to ride in to the capital those last two miles, precisely because he wanted those watching to see the fulfilment of those Old Testament words…. “triumphant and victorious,” riding humbly on a young donkey. “Look, here is your King!” “Look, here is the one you have been waiting for!”

Now it may not be precisely, in political terms at least, like cycling into the capital of North Korea holding a long flag on which you have written, “Democratic elections will set the people free!” Not least because I doubt that in North Korea many people would risk standing at the roadside and cheering, but in terms of an in-your-face challenge to the established powers of the day, there may well be some similarities!

And the outcome was, eventually, what you might expect in North Korea today. We’ve thought about where Jesus was coming from and we’ll ask where he was going to in a few minutes.

But first I just want to ask briefly what this picture itself might have to say to us. This picture of a King, riding on a little donkey with the crowds waving nothing more than their coats and branches from the trees in the fields. Because, for me, it speaks something of real authority and of speaking truth to power. He didn’t slip in by the back gate at night time, when no one was watching. He didn’t get the crowds waving their sticks and knives. He did not arrive as a figure of apparently great human power and might. He came in humbly and peacefully and with complete integrity. He came in as a teacher and a healer, bringing a message of the urgent need to turn back to God.  No wonder the crowds in Jerusalem flocked to hear him. No wonder Luke records a few verses later that “all the people kept listening to him, not wanting to miss a single word.”

You see just occasional glimpses of this sort of approach in our modern world.  Martin Luther King perhaps on the road from Selma to Montgomery, turning the marchers around when the way was blocked by the state troopers and walking peacefully back the way they had come. Nelson Mandela perhaps, newly released from prison, telling the huge crowds at Durban to take their guns and their knives and their pangas (their machetes) and throw them into the sea. Just glimpses of real authority and speaking truth to power.

It’s something about the courage to do what is right when everyone else might think you need to follow the way of the world because doing what is right is surely impossible. Compare the moral courage of Mandela with the current  South African President Zuma allowing the government to channel £15M to upgrade his country home but being forced to repay part of it when it seems some of that public money must have been going to him personally or to his mates. Compare Martin Luther King with Donald Trump. Who to you seems to be speaking truth and acting with integrity and who following the way of the world that is highly unlikely to lead to peace?

Power and authority are dangerous, as we all know, but they can be exercised with complete integrity. Pray God for political leaders with the character to do this.

And Jesus quite deliberately rode into Jerusalem on a little donkey.

As he got close, Luke reports, and saw the city ahead, he wept over it, saying “If only you knew today what is needed for peace! But you cannot see it! The time will come when your enemies will surround you with barricades, blockade you and close you in from every side. They will completely destroy you and the people within your walls; not a single stone will they leave in its place, because you did not recognize the time when God came to save you.”

And he immediately went into the Temple, which would have been the first part of Jerusalem you came to if you rode in that way, and overturned the tables of the moneychangers saying God’s house should be a house of prayer but you have made it into a den of thieves.  

Absolutely everyone would have been watching. Not just the people, not just the regular Temple goers. This was the capital of an occupied land. The religious leaders and teachers would have been watching. The Romans would have been watching. One hint of really serious rebellion and out come the crucifixes.

Speaking truth to power without fear and with complete integrity. Goodness me, it is impressive.  Wave your palm cross in the air today but don't wave it lightly…….

Gentle Jesus meek and mild? Don't give me that nonsense….the religious leaders at least wanted to kill him from the moment he got off the donkey and opened his mouth.

Pause..

And that is precisely what he did. Without any apparent fear Jesus did not hesitate to speak every day about the need to turn back to God, about God’s Kingdom, about resurrection from the dead, about the persecution coming to Jerusalem.

And as it’s Luke gospel and as I may not get the chance to speak on this bit of the Bible again for some time I could not resist the opportunity to bring in two historical reminders of precisely that time, two items mentioned only by the gospel writers Mark and Luke as items Jesus used to teach the people in those short days and weeks after his entry into Jerusalem. One is a silver Roman coin, a denarius or Tribute penny. You may remember Jesus showed them the Emperor’s head and told them to give Caesar what was Caesar’s but to give God what was God’s. This one dates from the reign of Emperor Tiberius 14-33 AD. It will not be the same one, surely, but it comes from the same time. And the other is a an ancient copper Lepton, a coin known as a widow’s mite as Jesus praised the widow who dropped into the Temple collection two precisely like this, that were all she had. This one dates to the reign of Pontius Pilate around 31 AD. It will not be one of the ones the widow dropped in, surely, but it comes from exactly the same time. (Don’t worry I got them from a very reputable coin dealer so they are almost certainly genuine!) Please catch me afterwards if you want a closer look.

But the reason I brought them in today was mainly because they reminded me – and so I hope they can remind us - that on Palm Sunday we remember historical events. These are made from palm leaf because the crowds did cut down palm branches.

So we remember the entry into Jerusalem of Jesus himself. He knew exactly what he was doing, he knew exactly why he was doing it and he knew exactly where it would lead. There was only so long the enthusiasm of the people could protect him from the inevitability of his arrest and death. But he knew he had to do this.

Because for Jesus doing what had to be done was not merely a peaceful political challenge, not merely a show of moral and religious integrity and authority.

Ultimately, Jesus was engaged on a much bigger canvass, doing the will of God to break, in history and in real time, once and for all the power of sin and death, so that our relationship with God can be completely restored, not by anything we can do but only by what He has done. You might think of it as the ultimate act of complete integrity and authority as good triumphs for all time over the worst that evil can do and hope is restored for eternity. He had spoken about this already. Go back just one chapter in Luke’s gospel and you will see it: Luke Chapter 18, verses 31 to 33:

“Jesus took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, “Listen! We are going to Jerusalem where everything the prophets wrote about the Son of Man will come true. He will be handed over to the Gentiles, who will mock him, insult him and spit on him. They will whip him and kill him, but three days later he will rise to life.”

At that point the disciples had no idea what he was talking about, but later of course they must have remembered.

In the meantime there was an awful lot to go through and we shall remember it all this coming week as the greatest drama is played out and the crowd who welcomed him fade away or turn against him. Even his closest right hand disciple denied he ever knew him as the full force of human power was brought to bear.

I have no idea what I would have done, do you?

One thing however you might like to do this morning as you wave your palm cross or leave it this week in your window, on your mantelpiece, tuck it behind a picture on your wall at home or display it somewhere in your car is to think of those who today, almost certainly as we sit here this morning, will be being asked whether they follow Jesus or are willing to deny him, knowing that the outcome of their words may be punitive taxes, slavery or even death. Pray for them as the full force of human power is still brought to bear.

And prepare this week for Easter. Watch and wait and let God speak to you about your life, in the light of everything he said and did through his Son. Amen

Sermon 13th March 2016

In the season of Lent, we will be urged to listen to the messages that Jesus sent to selected churches in First Century Asia. 

Today, our Vicar, Cameron Barker, preaches. The reading is from Revelation 3: verses 14-22.

“You make me sick!” That is essentially what Jesus has to say to the church at Laodicea: “You make me sick!”

It may not be a genteel way of putting it; but it’s accurate. It’s deeply shocking; but it needs saying, because this church is in acute danger. As today’s reading sets out, Jesus says that he is going to spit them out of his mouth unless they accept his discipline and change their ways. And the worst part of it is that they clearly haven’t got a clue of trouble that they are in.

So what had this church done to put themselves in such danger? Surely it must have been something dreadful, to make Jesus this angry with them. Well, the answer is in today’s reading; but you may have missed it: because this church had done nothing. And that was problem: they had done nothing.

The one-word summary of the church in Laodicea is ‘complacent’. “I know what you’ve done”, Jesus told them. But in contrast to his other letters to the churches in Revelation, this was all he could say to the Laodiceans: “I know you are neither cold nor hot. How I wish you were either one or the other! But because you are lukewarm - neither hot nor cold - I’m about to spit you out of my mouth”; laying out both the problem and its consequences in three devastating sentences.

Sadly this has been all too common a problem in churches throughout the ages, that they have done nothing for Jesus. But how could that be? How can a church, which in theory exists above all to love, serve, and worship him, do nothing for Jesus? There are several classic traps that can lure a church into complacency; and the church at Laodicea had fallen into all of them. So today we need not just to examine what those traps are, but also to ask whether we have fallen into them ourselves.

Don’t expect this to be a comfortable exercise, then; it shouldn’t be so! One key purpose of this Lent series has been to encourage precisely this sort of honest self-examination, as we prepare for Easter. We all need to do it; and probably rather more often than we do. Today we have been starkly reminded of the consequences if we don’t get things right: expulsion from Jesus’ presence. We have also heard the wonderful rewards that he promises to those who do change their ways, though: to sit with him on his throne! In terms of choices, it’s a right no-brainer, you’d have thought; but …

And so to the traps that the church at Laodicea had fallen into. The first can be seen in the way that Jesus told John to address the letter to the angel of this church. “This is the message from the Amen, the faithful and true witness, who is the origin (or ruler) of all God has created”. You see, it is – as we’ve often been hearing here in recent times – all about Jesus. Or it’s meant to be, at least. He is the one through whom everything was created at the beginning of time; he is the one who holds it all together now: the universe that he made; his church; us. He is the way, the truth, and the life. He is the guarantor of all God’s promises. Jesus was faithful, even to the point of death on the cross for us. He is the Lord, that’s to say, the ruler, of the church, and the sole reason that it exists. 

Yes, it really is all about him, then; and he won’t ever let us forget that. So, whether we’ll listen or not, Jesus will still speak to his church. And he’ll speak in ways that are as relevant as he can make them. So if you’ve been wondering why Jesus called this church ‘lukewarm’ it’s because that image spoke very loudly to them. Laodicea’s biggest issue was its water-supply. It came from hot springs 5 miles away; by the time it reached the city, the water was only lukewarm. In those days hot water was for washing, cold water was for drinking. Lukewarm is good for neither; and Jesus said that the same was true of this church: if he wasn’t at the centre of who they were and what they did then they were good for nothing; and that fact made him sick.

The problem was that this church couldn’t see the problem. Jesus reminded them how they saw themselves. “You say, ‘I’m rich and well off; I have all I need’”. And here’s the second danger that can quickly lull a church into complacency: having too much money. Laodicea was a rich city, renowned for its very successful banking, clothing, and medical industries. When it was mostly destroyed by an earthquake, the city turned down the financial help that was offered by Rome. They were so rich, proud, and self-sufficient that they wanted to rebuild the city out of their own resources. As is often the case, the church in the city reflected their society; they were rich, and thought of themselves as self-sufficient. Like so many people (including us, perhaps?) who don’t have to pray for daily bread, they had stopped depending on God for their needs. 

They thought they already had everything that they needed. But here’s how Jesus saw them: “You don’t know how miserable and pitiful you are. You are poor, naked and blind”. This church which saw itself as rich was actually dirt-poor. In the home of designer labels, they were, in reality, naked – which was the ultimate humiliation in that society. In the city that produced a healing eye ointment, this church was blind to their spiritual state, which is the only one that truly matters. And they were so blind that they couldn’t see any of this reality!

But Jesus has good news for the church at Laodicea too. The problems are not beyond fixing. He only says that he is about to spit them out of his mouth. They have got time to sort it out; it’s not too late for them – just as it’s never too late for us if we fall into these traps. Because he loves his church Jesus warns of the problems. Indeed that’s a sign of his love for us. Jesus says, “I rebuke and discipline [not ‘punish’ as GNB has it but rather ‘discipline’] all whom I love”’. It’s because he loves, and wants the best for, us that Jesus won’t leave us to stumble into the disaster that our actions will inevitably result in.

Of course we need to be listening to Jesus to receive his discipline. But that’s why each of these 7 letters ends by urging whoever has ears to listen to what the Spirit is saying. And, if we do listen, we’ll hear not just the warning but also the solution. Jesus does have the solution for this church as well: “I advise you, then, to buy gold from me, refined in fire, in order to be rich. Buy also white clothing to dress yourself. Buy also some ointment to put on your eyes so you may see”.

This is Jesus advice to the church at Laodicea. Taking that in reverse order: if they do want to get right with him, they first must see the problems for what they are. Jesus can help them do that. He has ointment that can make us see the spiritual truth – just as the ointment of Laodicea healed people’s eyesight. He says that we must buy it from him, but the only payment that is needed is of hearts open to him.

And once our eyes are open to see our shameful nakedness before God, we can then buy the clothes that we need from him. Jesus told the church at Laodicea to shun the values of their society. They didn’t need the ancient equivalent of Gucci or Giorgio Armani in the black wool clothes that were unique to their city. No, they, we, need the white robes of righteousness that Jesus alone gives to those who are faithful to him.

So how will he sell them this clothing? If they look to him for their true riches, Jesus writes. Jesus alone can give them what’s of lasting value – this gold that he mentions. But it’s not just any gold; it’s been refined in fire. And to be clear, he means the fire of suffering. Jesus reminds the church in Laodicea that this is the example that he himself has set them. If we want to be rich in God’s sight we have to prove that we can stand for him when times get tough. As one commentator has put it, the church that’s under fire must go through fire to be on fire for Jesus.

Jesus make that even more clear in the reward he offers them. To this church with the biggest problems, Jesus offers his greatest reward. “To those who win the victory – or overcome – I will give the right to sit beside me on the throne, just as I have been victorious and now sit with the Father on his throne”. How did Jesus get to sit on that throne? By going to the cross for us. And how will we get to sit with him on his throne? By enduring the suffering that will come our way if we take a stand for Jesus. And make no mistake: those who do take a stand for Jesus have always, and will always, suffer. But remember what glorious reward awaits those who stand for Jesus, and go on standing through suffering: a place on his throne.

So far we’ve not touched on one of the best-known verses in the Bible that’s in this passage. It’s often used in isolation, as an invitation to faith; but it matters that it follows Jesus saying: “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent”. It’s those who repent, who turn to Jesus, who can then hear him say this: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come in and eat with them, and they will eat with me’. It’s a magnificent invitation, full of love and generosity. There’s a sure promise of intimacy with Jesus for all those who respond. What’s staggering, though, is that this is what Jesus offers to the church. Jesus says that he stands outside this church and knocks to be let in! How dreadful that Jesus should be being kept out of his church; and yet how easy it is to do! 

Hearing about this complacent, self-sufficient church at Laodicea challenges us to ask about the ways in which we keep God out. What about our wealth; what about our materialism; what about the security that we place in our property, or careers; what about our designer lives? Are they all ways to say to God that we don’t need, or want, his help? If they are, maybe we need to hear him say that we are the ones who are poor and naked; and blind to those realities. Maybe we are people who need to hear him outside; knocking to be let into our lives today, then.

As we come to the end of this Lent series, we do need to ask ourselves such hard questions. It’s urgent that we ask if we have shut Jesus out of his church here. It’s crucial we consider whether we are so self-sufficient that we can’t hear Jesus’ voice. We must look at ourselves honestly, and ask if we are naked before God. Jesus can fix all of that, if he needs to; as he promised to do for the church at Laodicea: if they would open the door to his knocking. But first we have to know what the problems are. And for that we have to ask Jesus to open our eyes to see him, and our ears to hear voice of his Spirit that is speaking to his church today.

Dare we do that? In this series we have heard some of the issues that Jesus confronted his First-Century church with. Whether the issues that he would confront us with are the same or different, how do we need to repent: as a church; and as individuals? Above all, are we willing to say to Jesus: “You are Lord: so say what you want; do what you want: to this church; and to me”? Can we truly say to him, “We depend on you; without you we are nothing”? As the letters to these churches in the book of Revelation have each reminded us, without Jesus as the Lord of the church, there is no church at all. So let’s pray that we will be his people, then; listening to him; and living for him alone: this Easter; and beyond …

Sermon 6th March 2016

In the season of Lent, we will be urged to listen to the messages that Jesus sent to selected churches in First Century Asia. 

Today, our Honorary Assistant Minister, Ben Hughes, preaches. The reading is from Revelation 3: verses 7-13.

Everyone thinks the criticism of the church in Philadelphia was that they were …. Spread a bit too thinly – that they had all the taste but none of the fat -  it was said that they were a bit light-weight and far too processed and not the real deal –

We all know the Philadelphia cheese adverts from the 1980’s and 90’s – sensuous and promising, often aimed at young people conscious of their image

The word Philadelphia actually means city of ’brotherly love’ – and still exists in Turkey today as Alasehir.

The city of Philadelphia at the time of Revelation was a place prone to earthquakes and sudden volcanic activity. It was a very much a city living on the edge of sudden catastrophe and annihilation. 

And of all the churches that we have read and learnt about in Revelation so far -the church in the city of Philadelphia -  the sixth Church of the seven in our series –is the one that comes out the best!

Pause.

So what do the following have in Common?

A gearbox

An Orchestra

A Map

Answer -

They all have keys

So this letter opens with righteous praise – Well done !  you - the church in Philadelphia – you have found David’s Key!

So what is David’s Key?   Hold up Giant Key

David’s key is now understood to mean the Gospel of Jesus Christ’s and all the attributes of Jesus as told and shared in those stories.

So we have love (Attach with string – you might need an assistant to tie as I speak)

Add Truth …

And faith…

And belief  ( Hold up big key with four key tags) you could go on – there arfe so many

In Isaiah –  David’s key opened the great door of the temple in Jeruslalem – as Jesus is the temple fulfilled – the key is the way to him!

So Next Question - What does this special key unlock?

 Hold up giant heart – and put key in key shaped hole –

This key can unlock hearts – whose hearts?  Yours and mine -

‘Keys to your heart’ was a song written by Joe Strummer from the Clash when he was in his first band the 101’nrs -  a bit of nonsense but it carries the idea of  ‘springing  your heart’s lock’

The Gospel of Christ can spring your heart’s lock too  – and does so by setting you free from the chains of sin that bound you! The Gospel of Jesus can unlock the hardest of hearts and set the most bound sinner free

And When we are given this key – the unlocking of the Gospel of Jesus in our hearts  - we are not only set free from these chains and bars that imprison us   – but by being set free – we are  given the key that unlocks the truth and mysteries of God’s unfolding Universe.

And just like the Philadelphians experienced – the enemies of God are going to make trouble simply because you have the key and they do not (even though they can if they ask for it)!

Next - This key can unlock opportunities

In life we get lots of choices - hold up big door

This key can unlock doors – put key into hole of door –

The Church of Philadelphia was told that when God opens the door nobody can close it

‘Godotunities’ are these ones that nobody can change.

But opportunities can also mean disappointments – that is life but when they are God’s opportunities - they will never fail us in the long run.  So do not give up!

As promised to the Philadelphians - when God creates the opportunity no-one  can stop it –or block it –enemies might try and even prevail for a bit - but God’s way is holy and righteous and nothing can stop the Mighty God at work!

What else does this key open?

Hold up picture of the cross

The key opens up the cross

When you accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ in your heart then your sins can be forgiven through faith.

We all sin and get things wrong – before the cross came along – sin was quite final

So you need the Key to unlock the cross - Without the key the cross condemns – with the key the cross sets you free – and then the cross becomes life

Put the key in the cross

Finally what else does the key unlock?

This key unlocks prizes!!  Hold up cake!

We all like prizes and we all like cakes

Cakes are also used to celebrate joy and cakes are used as gifts!

The message to the Church in Philadelphia was a happy one – it says well done - well done for keeping the faith! And here is a cake to celebrate

Put the key in the cake!

What the Holy Spirit says to Philadelphian church is that you people have the so key use it – use it to build one another and the church - having the key means mission – use it to help unlock others!

And the key of David unlocks the Holy Spirit and the amazing gifts that the Spirit of God has ready for us us!

You  see the Philadelphians were getting things right – they were walking the walk and talking the walk and living their faith  –  and so what happens ? – They get the prize – the prize of being right with God – the only prize worth living for!

And sadly another reason why the enemies of God had it in for them – Jealousy?

Now what if you feel that you do not have the key or that lost the key - or that your heart is broken and you feel locked out?

Well do not fear – because Jesus is the master locksmith?

Jesus is the only locksmith that really knows about locks – everyone else is just a thief in the night  breaking in through the wrong doors smashing all the locks – they might get in but they should not be there-  That is why Jesus is the only way!

And as Jesus is the master locksmith -   he can shape   and index a set of levers to match any lost key –how can he do that? Because he is one with the with the Father who knows us intrinsically and loves us for who we are.

And that lost room in your heart – the old chest with the rusty padlock in your dusty loft of memories – the key code long forgotten in the bustle of life – Jesus can undo and unlock the lot – if you ask and have the faith - that he can and wants to do it for you!  

In fact Jesus was so good with locks - the gates of hell were unable to hold him – and Jesus picked the lock of death- something that we will be celebrating in a moment when we share communion – Jesus broke all the spiritual locks and  he can do the same for you - nothing that you present to him will be a problem – Jesus is the ultimate safe breaker!

As in my opening quiz question – Keys can not only unlock doors – they can also serve to guide - like on a map –keys highlight the landmarks on life’s journeys. Keys also keep us stay  locked onto a fast spinning shaft such as  in a gearbox – and a church for example - should be like a gearbox- well meshed, useful and smooth running – with no component more important t than the other – like people, gears  run at different speeds – which is what a gearbox is designed to do! and finally the key in an orchestra is the unifying means that keeps the music in harmony.

When seen like this - The key of David – the gospel of Christ - becomes the most powerful resource known to human kind and the more amazing truth is this!   - That the Gospels of Jesus Christ – the key of David is freely given and entrusted to anyone who asks for it.

So I have used many metaphors today and I hope that they have been helpful– but I want to leave you with the most important metaphor and the one central to the message   

That the Key of David is the Gospel message of faith – and if you ask for it and use it like the Philadelphians – you will have it and you will find life!

It will not protect you from spiritual attack or from persecution from God’s enemies – but when God is for us – who can be against us

Ask for the Key of David and cling onto to the Gospel of Jesus – make that central to your lives and like the Philadelphians – you will get it right –

If anyone wants to borrow this key today – please feel free! (hold up key)

Amen