Thank you. Thank you very much.
Well, hello everyone. Good morning.
It's it's lovely to be here. I'm Rosie and I'm here with my
husband Nigel and we've come over from Keynsham and we're
part of City Church, Bristol. And I just want to thank you for
making this so welcome this morning.
Just tell you a little bit about ourselves.
So we've been married for 30-4 years and we've got a son and
two daughters and we've got a A2 lodgers also that live with us.
And actually it's been lovely to see some familiar faces,
William. So William and Nigel and I were
actually all students together in Manchester a very long time
ago. And actually also it's just
lovely to see Sam as well actually in your family.
So as well as some other kind of familiar faces.
So thank you for giving me this time this morning.
I, as you've heard, I'm, I'm part of the leadership team of
the Reconcile Church group. And I also, and I'm going to
tell you a little bit about that later.
I've recently just finished some study.
I did an MA in theology and my dissertation actually was on the
gifts of the Spirit to the church in the UK.
And my work with Jubilee Plus, which is another organisation
that I've, I'm actually will be finishing with quite soon.
They actually work with churches to equip them particularly for
their work among communities on low income and people who are
living in in poverty. And so some work that I've been
doing with them is training a new generation of mission and
church leaders who come from a background of low income and
poverty. That's actually part of my own
background, and it kind of feels a bit like I'm passing the baton
on to others in terms of actually what I do with the
reconciled church. We work with churches across the
UK as we learn together about what it means to be disciples
across all cultures and racial backgrounds.
And today what I'm going to do is explore what it means to be
knitted together in love and unity, and particularly how we
can't do this without boldness and courage that the Holy Spirit
gives. And in fact, mission and love
are impossible without the Holy Spirit.
That's certainly what I found when leading a beloved.
As the Holy Spirit enabled us to reach out to women working in
the parlours and brothels across the city, I'm going to talk a
little bit about how God is calling peoples together across
all kinds of different and unique backgrounds, whether it's
class or economic backgrounds, education backgrounds or ethnic
backgrounds. And my question for you at the
start of this is I want you to think about how you are working
out Jesus's prayer for unity. And I think that's for us as
individuals, but then together as community.
How are we out working His prayer for unity for you here
within Hope Chapel. But actually I would also say
across the churches and across the community of Bristol.
So Jesus, this is what he prayed in John 17.
And first of all, he's praying for his disciples that are there
with them. And he says this, they are not
of the world, even as I am not of it.
Sanctify them by the truth. Your Word is truth.
As You sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.
For them I sanctify myself that they too may be truly
sanctified. My prayer is not for them alone.
I pray also for those who will believe in me through their
message back first, that they, that all of them, may be one.
Father, just as you are in me and I am in You, may they also
be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be
one as we are one, I in them and You in Me, so that they may be
brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that
you sent me and have loved them even as You have loved me.
Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I
am and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because
you loved me before the creation of the world.
I think that's an amazing prayer for from Jesus and and we
receive it today. Here Lord, come and do what you
will among us. Amen.
Jesus's words are of huge importance to his followers.
And he prayed this shortly before he was arrested and tried
and crucified by the Roman authorities.
And he paid the ultimate price so that people could be
reconciled and united with God. And in the preceding chapters of
John, he had promised them a coming Helper, the Holy Spirit,
who guides us into the truth. And what happens when the Holy
Spirit falls and fills us? And with the first disciples of
Jesus, we saw many things happen at Pentecost after Jesus has
ascended to God the Father in heaven, the disciples though
waiting in Jerusalem for the helper who was promised and the
Holy Spirit, he, he falls on 120 believers who've been praying
together in the upper room. And then this is what happens.
They were given courage to proclaim the absences of God as
they announced his good news of the gospel in multiple
languages. They loved each other in a way
that was distinctive and puzzling.
They were united in love across economic background and status
and across culture, whether they were free or slave, whether they
were Gentile or Jew or Roman citizen or foreigners.
And light the way that they loved and the courage that
demonstrated that they had been brought.
They'd been brought out of darkness into Jesus's marvellous
light. And light spilled out of them
shining. As Jesus said, he is the light
of the world. And he'd said to his disciples,
you are the light of the world. And I believe that there is a
call on the church today and an encouragement for you here today
at Hope Chapel to be bold and courageous in how we love across
cultures and divides and be knitted or united together in
love and then shine the light of Jesus through our love.
Now God's bringing peoples together leads to a diverse
church and one that is called to mission.
And writing to the church in Colosi, Paul writes this.
My goal is that they may be encouraged in hearts and in
united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete
understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of
God, namely Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of
wisdom and knowledge. And it continues here from
Colossians 2 verse a onwards. It says this.
See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and
deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and
the elemental spiritual forces of this world, rather than on
Christ. For in Christ all the fullness
of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have
been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power
and authority. Having cancelled the charge of
our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned
us, He has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.
And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a
public spectacle of them, triumphant over them by the
cross. And I rejoice that there are
many vanquished debts and sins and failings and cowardice that
have tried to disqualify the people of God from fully
following his charge to share the gospel and continue our
lives in Christ. And now the enemy we know is
doing all he can to destroy unity, to kill love and steal
peace. And he might use fine sounding
arguments or hollow deceptive philosophy that depend on human
traditions. But we see Jesus who prayed for
his followers, including us here today.
He prayed for us to be brought to complete unity and he nailed
every indebtedness to the cross. Now Paul took up Jesus message
of being united in love. And in the ESV version of
Colossians 2 verse 3, it expresses Paul's message to his
hearers that their hearts be may be encouraged being knit
together in love to reach all the riches of full assurance of
understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is
Christ, in whom I had done all the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge. And I believe like the Colossian
disciples, we don't need to be swayed by these false arguments
and hollow philosophies. We have the treasures of wisdom
and knowledge in Christ. And there is an assurance as we
look on him, he who destroyed these dividing walls between
peoples when they are called out of darkness and into his
glorious light. We have the assurance from Jesus
prayer that we will all be one in him and in the Father, and
the Father and the Son will be in US.
And it's a mystery of language, but what comes through is
communion and togetherness and closeness.
And now I can imagine maybe some of the first hearers of Paul's
letter to the Colossians. Maybe they had been grappling
with some all sorts, maybe of worthless treasures and
philosophies. But his call was to let them go,
to drop them and come into God's glorious light.
And maybe some came blinking, maybe even feeling blinded by
the light. But God is the one who gives
sight back to the blind, and he has no desire that his followers
are blinded or tripped by false promises of power or idolised
identity or strength of an empire.
Now the Gospel is not just an individual response.
It impacts people as groups. So when we see division between
groups and hostility between peoples, it matters.
And it was urgent in the Colossian Church and the Church
in Rome. And this is where what happens
in churches with regard to being united in love, where it really
matters to God and to all of us through the ages.
And I was thinking about, well, what about us today?
Unity in love is part of our gospel witness.
And in the UK and in Bristol, I don't think there's been a more
important time and a more urgent time for this sincere and deep
and courageous love to be proven and on display.
Romans 322 to 24, it says there is no difference between Jew and
Gentile, for all has sinned and for short of the glory of God,
and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption
that came by Christ Jesus. Now I think when Paul was
writing to the church in Rome about this wonderful redemption
because of Jesus, he was pressing the point that God gave
them a new identity and a Kingdom to be part of because
they were now citizens of heaven and one year humanity.
And similarly with the Colossian church, the disciples there were
urged to have these hearts knitted together in love.
Now Jews and Gentiles at the time, there were these two
desperate or these disparate groups with hundreds of years of
enmity now being made into one new community.
And remember, God's purpose was to create in himself one new
humanity out of the two, neither Jew nor Greek.
And that message for the believers in Roman Colosi is
just the same for us today in Bristol and across the region
and the church in the UK. And I imagine if Paul were
writing a letter to the church in Bristol today, that's the
message that he would be urging us to understand, be knitted
together in love. Now, I don't know that it was
Paul's intention to his hearers of the letter to Rome, you know,
it might have sounded to them like a real challenge.
And why? Well, that's because they were
in, effectively, they were in the belly of the beast, the
capital Rome, the capital of the Roman Empire, which stretched
from Britain in the north down to northern parts of Africa into
Arabia and Mesopotamia. And it was a vast empire.
And it's interesting that the church, when it began to spread,
reached into all of these areas as well.
Now the Roman Empire, it, it conferred on people the status
of Roman citizenship across these vast tracts of the globe
that Roman conquered. Now you could be a Roman citizen
like Paul, or you could purchase your citizenship like the Roman
commander that he spoke with in Jerusalem.
And that's in Acts 22, verse 28. And for Roman citizens there
already was a form of unity enforced through Patrimana,
Roman peace, a governed peace, a subjugated, militarily enforced
peace through the unity of Rome. But the peace and unity of the
Church in Rome came from beyond empire and from a different
throne room. And all because God's love for
the world that he gave His only Son so that all might be saved
from sin and death and given hope and life for now and into
eternity. Jesus, the Son of God came not
as a conqueror, but as a suffering servant.
God with us. I know we're going to be singing
lots of songs over the coming weeks as we approach Christmas.
Emmanuel came as a little baby. He didn't come in force, but
through a willingness to lay down his life for the lost.
But he made himself nothing, taking the nature of a servant
and not considering his equality with God.
That was something to be used for his own advantage.
Philippians 27HE used it for our advantage.
So Jesus the Messiah, he came to the world showing the way of
love and obedience and humility. And Paul, writing to the
Ephesians, tells us that we had been now brought near because of
Christ's blood that's been shed. You know, we've just shared
communion, and we've remembered that because He is our peace, He
has made US1 and he has broken down the dividing wall of
hostility. It's not Pax Romana, but it's
Shalom, deep peace through the Prince of Peace.
And so for us as followers of Jesus, we've been taken out of
the dominion of darkness where sin and death rule.
We've been saved from that for something glorious and eternal
and filled with peace and hope. That's our hope for today.
And we also have our eternal destination, and that's because
of Jesus. So the divides have fallen away.
They're gone, and they are dismissed and demolished by
Jesus's final work on the cross. He is cancelled every day and
every charge against his followers, every sin and failure
has been nailed to the cross. And sometimes we need reminding
of that. All of mine, all of yours, those
of our neighbours and even those that we consider our enemies
gone. Jesus has disarmed the powers
and the authorities. I love that language that he
made a public spectacle of them, that he triumphed over them by
the cross. And so when it comes to being a
community of church or even various church expressions, I
think across Bristol we get to join in with displaying the
results of Jesus's triumph. Division has been disarmed by
Jesus. Our obedience and allegiance to
him displays the power of the cross.
And as Paul was writing to the church in Colesi and he spoke of
them being knitted together, this love for Jesus and each
other, it displays the outworking of the gospel.
So every time as community, you are choosing intentionally to
love one another and to love your neighbours.
You are at working the gospel, you are displaying the gospel,
and you are displaying the light of Christ.
Now, I don't know if you've ever walked into a room, a new room
or an event and looked around and you've marvelled at who was
there together, not just getting along, but actually enjoying
fellowship with one another. And they're displaying love and
gratitude. I have time and again been in
places a fellowship. And each time it's been at a
gathering of the church. The fact that I can walk into a
community that is new to me and be greeted with warmth, a smile,
a hug or a handshake never gets old.
And I think, you know, maybe for people who pass by, people who
aren't followers of Jesus, who come through your doors, they
don't know Jesus yet, that welcome and that warmth, it
displays something of the gospel.
Now, the first time I came into a community like that, that I
really recall that was impressed on me.
It was before I became a follower of Jesus and I found
such a grace filled warmth and open hearted welcome.
I found it very disarming and to my suspicious mind, a bit weird.
And actually it was, it was actually at the church that
Nigel. And William and I were part of
or that I eventually became part of.
Now, back then, I was 19 and Nigel had invited me to church.
And I, I actually stomped out after 10 minutes.
I thought, oh, load of weirdos, I'm not going back.
I'm never going back. That's what I said.
Don't have to be again. And there were famous last
words, as you can tell, because I did go back and I started to
read books, and then eventually I started to read the Gospels.
And a few months later I'd surrendered, albeit somewhat
reluctantly, my life to God, CS Lewis said in the Trinity term
of 1929. I gave in and admitted that God
was God and knelt and prayed. Perhaps that night the most
ejected and reluctant convert in All England and I had to come to
a point of admitting that God was God.
But I knew my life as it was back then was coming off the
rails and the only one who could lead me back to life was God.
And he did. And he filled my heart and my
soul with joy and he utterly transformed me.
And I couldn't stop singing. I was actually maybe a bit of an
annoying, happy new convert, but He filled my heart with life and
light and He gave me a future. And I found out the truth of
this beautiful exchange as described in Isaiah 61, and I'm
so glad to hear it referred to earlier, Isaiah 61, verse three.
God gave me the oil of joy instead of mourning and a
garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.
You know, when I think of how many young people are in despair
right now because I don't know Him and they don't know His
light and his love. So take this gospel message out
to the young people around you. Encourage your own young people
that they carry a light, but they probably have no idea.
But other people see it. I came to find out in a very
real and personal way that what happened with Jesus on the cross
is central to the gospel. And I was now part of a global
family of disciples because of what he did.
One family united. And Auntie Wright puts it this
way. If you deny that and you deny
the central Gospel message today, we are going to have to
stand and resist and fight for the truth that we are a global
and united family of God. We are to use our delegated
authority from Jesus to challenge sin, particularly in
our own lives and in our own walk, and to speak against
division or classism or elitism or sectarianism or pride or
supremacy or racism and the way that people have been ignored or
rejected and belittled. God has given us the Holy Spirit
and he gives us the courage we need at this time.
God's building his Kingdom that crosses all distinctiveness and
boundaries that can sometimes get in the way.
Now, Marvin Marvin Reese said that Bristol needs to work
across class and culture and race and in our current climate
in the nation and in our city, there is hope in the church.
We have incredible opportunities to display how God is doing this
in our day and I know he is doing it.
When I think of the Pentecost gathering earlier this year of
various inter church prayer gatherings, I think of the 25th
anniversary gathering that I came to here and just witnessed
the the legacy of prayer that's come out of Hope Chapel.
And it's really exciting to see as churches from unique
backgrounds and ethnic heritage partner and pray together, and
as our unity is knitted together in love, it spills out of the
church. It impacts the city and our
wider communities. But I believe that there is more
to come. This is just the start.
I imagine actually if middle class and working class churches
partnered together in ever increasing ways for the sake of
the gospel, for mission, to tell our neighbours about the Kingdom
of God and his invitation to come and follow Jesus.
And met a new friend through Jubilee Plus who came to tell us
about his experiences of living on a low income and being part
of a church. And this is what Mark told me.
He said there's a lot more like me coming and that's God's
heart. He wants his church full.
And he was bringing a challenge in his own way that the church
is going to start to look different as more and more
people from the background of low income are saved and become
disciples of Jesus and reconciled to God.
And it's a wonderful statement. And, and my prayer is that
actually we see Mark's words come to pass.
The church that God is building is bringing forth leaders and
workers and evangelists and teachers and helpers and more
from all walks of life. And when I think say of working
class believers, these are the ones that are actually already
living in the community. They are the ones that will
reach their neighbours in ways that will outstrip the way that
middle class believers can reach them because they bring a story
and a testimony. And they will leapfrog, I
believe, because they know there will be something about the way
that they have lived their lives and then the way that God has
transformed them and put new life into them.
When I was around 1516, there was this massive revival that
ripped around the area that I used to live in in when I was
living in Leeds. And one of the most amazing
things was, was actually where we saw one person who was a
friend of my brother's. And back then, you know, he had
a real reputation of being a womaniser.
OK, well I'll tell you what, God got hold of him and changed this
man's heart. I'd never seen anything like it.
Now, of course, people need discipling and, you know, kind
of need other believers around them and teaching them about
God's mercy and grace. But we saw that something had
really happened in this young man's life and you know, he
became zealous for the Lord. People like him and new
believers will need discipling by other leaders and workers to
explain the gospel of grace as well.
And The thing is, this is not just a an economic issue or rich
versus poor or black or white issue, white British or black
British or brown British or people from many heritages.
Because unity in the church involves people of all ethnic
backgrounds and class and economic backgrounds.
And that's the English and the Welsh and the Scottish and the
Irish too. OK, every barrier, every
distinctiveness, we can and must face this, this, this division
together, courageously. Name it, walk through it and
agree with Christ. We agree that He is building 1
new humanity. And where we need to lament, we
lament and we pray and we forgive and we repent and we let
go of sin and failures. And with courage, we repair and
we acknowledge and we restore and we rebuild together.
We have gratitude for one another and gratitude to the
Lord's redeeming and reconciling love.
I have gratitude that I can walk in here and see friends from 40
years ago or 30 years ago or 20 years ago, because wherever God
has us, we're still family and we are still on mission
together. And it sounds so hopeful,
doesn't it? And I believe that prayer is our
weapon in this fight. This is spiritual warfare.
We go into this with our eyes open and our spiritual armour
on. Has anyone noticed the discourse
or language around people who are coming to the UK as
immigrants? It's changed in recent years.
And actually even the language around rich and poor, how that
has changed in recent years as well.
We've got to be shrewd to what is happening that the enemy
comes to steal and to kill and destroy because he wants to
destroy communities and kill friendships and steal peace.
So I'll just ask him kind of kind of come towards an end now.
But I I want to ask you, what does your prayer look like
around this issue? I know you might decide to do 5
days of prayer or 40 days of prayer.
Or you might invite others to join you to ask God to shift
something in our thinking and in our circumstances maybe, and in
our actions. But we also remember what Jesus
did on the cross, what he defeated and what he disarmed,
and his prayer from John 17. We don't pray alone.
If you want some help with issues around racial
reconciliation and the theology of reconciliation, then please
do kind of come and ask. We've got loads of resources
from the Reconciled Church as well as this two day retreat.
We're holding another one next year, next June.
And at the Reconciled Church, we've actually been partnering
with churches over five years and have seen God move in
phenomenal ways, knitting people together and equipping the
Saints. And actually one of the most
remarkable times I remember is because we we do days of
ministry and theology in different parts of the UK.
And I remember we were in one city and actually one of the
most powerful things that we saw was with a guy who was Irish.
And he came and we talked and we prayed as God lifted shame of
him. Like I said, this is not just a
white and a black issue. This is about our identity in
Christ and whose we are and the fact that Christ claims us as
his daughters and as his sons. Finally, I want to leave 3
practical things we can do together as we build.
We can be brave and courageous in how we love across cultures
and divides. Ask God to show you who you
could meet from another background.
Who are you going to meet for tea or a coffee?
Being knitted together and united in love.
Who after this service can you ask?
How can you pray for them? Shine the light of Jesus, tell
the testimonies of God's bringing people together, of his
faithfulness. And now the Holy Spirit is
building a new community in Bristol because this builds
faith in the hearers and it glorifies God.
So take one practical step today into being knitted to another
person. I'd love us to kind of like make
some time together now to pray. Chris, I just a final
encouragement. Let's not miss out on what God
is building in our midst. We are here to bring ourselves
into agreement with him and all that Christ has done on the
cross. Let our love of Christ compel us
to love one another, to be knitted together, be filled with
courage. You know, when I was leading
beloved, I had to pray. Lord, make me brave, make me
brave. And he did.
And let's pray together for the Lord to do more of that and to
pour out his Spirit afresh on us now.
Thank you. Let's let's pray together and
see what God will do Thank you.