Why I worship a Jewish Carpenter- Reframing.
Reframing,- frame or express (words or a concept or plan) differently.
The aim is to show people your idea in different ways so that understanding can take place. As humans are
made up in myriad ways, so those who seek to communicate, will say the same thing in different manners.
Person A likes to see things in a visual way, person B relates via verbal communication, so we express the
same message in a variety of ways.
With every message, miscommunication can take place, misperceptions can come into play, wrong
expectations can start to entrench themselves in the way people think. Being stuck in a rut, you often don’t
realise it. Your mind starts to throw up barriers, and even certain words can become problematic.
Illustration-I used to work for a company where I was the purchasing manager. As part of my role, I had to
develop streamlined and innovative ways to reduce costs of purchase. I presented numerous ways to improve
the purchasing system to the I.T. department. Each and every time they turned me down. It took me a few
months to figure out what was going on, then finally I realised. Every time I went to the I.T. department and said
I could improve the purchasing system, in their minds, they were hearing “you’re purchasing system isn’t very
good you have done a bad job.” Their reaction was defensive, and they refused to cooperate, because if they
changed anything, it was at least in their mind admitting I was correct. The purchasing system had been in
place for many years before I arrived. I finally came to them with a plan, asking if they could help me implement
a "materials management" system. The simple change of name changed their attitude. They couldn't be more
helpful. Within a few weeks, I had a new purchasing system, with a different name. I had reframed the concept
in a manner which they understood.
So today I have a few things to share and ask you. I want us to “reframe" what it means to be “The
Pastor,” invariably I will do things differently from anybody who’s gone before me, this is not a better or worse,
just different. We will learn together how God will desire to see His continuing ministry in Altona expressed in
ways which are meaningful to the local populace. We have an eternal and timeless message, which we need to
be express in local and relevant language. I want to invite you in joining in this process to allow what it means to
“minister”, this will be easier if we are willing to "move off centre"
Reframing your minister- the bell-shaped curve.
SLIDE 1
SLIDE 2
A Bell Shaped Curve
Point- We will naturally gravitate towards different personalities. Be patient to get to know who I am, as I will
with this church. Help me by working in team with me.
Forewarned is Forearmed.
1-Come talk to me (God’s people should discuss, and communicate with one another)
2-Make your standard position be “Yes” (Be willing get involved, It’s an invitation to minister and empower)
So let me look at the scriptures and see where this challenge begins.
We live in exciting times, for many hundreds of years, church gatherings have often been made up of people
who have attended out of duty, fear, or social necessity. This situation is no longer the case. Today in Altona, no
one is forced to be here, we are part of an exciting cultural revolution, you come along to the Ecclesia, the
Church, to a gathered body of believers, to a community of faith out of free choice.
I hope you find that exciting, I do. We live in a time when we are free to ask questions; we live a country where
we are free to find resources which help us understand the word of God. We live in a country when we are free
to gather to study the Word of God.
Most important of all is that we live in an age blessed with the Holy Spirit. We as believers have the indwelling of
the living God within us.
The Holy Spirit is an interesting person; he has many tasks and roles, yet one of these is helping the believer
understand the Scriptures and the will of God. Interestingly, the more we read the Scriptures, with the right
attitude of heart, the greater the Holy Spirit will be in revealing to us its meaning. In effect, the more we know
the Scriptures, the greater the vocabulary the Holy Spirit has to speak to us.
So now I have a question, Why have you come today? What are you expecting? Do you desire to be blessed?
Do you desire to serve? Do you desire to be forgiven!
My question is this, "why do you worship a "Jewish carpenter.?”"
You see Jesus reframes what it means to be the Messiah.
The Jewish people of the day had set in their minds what the Messiah should be, what he should achieve and
how he should achieve it. None of it involved being born in a stable, or spending the formative years of your life
doing carpentry.
I worship a Jewish Carpenter. I love that phrase because at least for now it makes people stop and think, who
is Jesus?
Reframing, What it means, an example in our lives.
Illustration-Moving Seats
Sometimes by moving your position, you get to see the correct view of the situation.
Illustration-driving the mini.
(On the move from New South Wales, often driving the mini I was stuck behind larger vehicles, the only way to
drive efficiently was to throw myself off centre occasionally, to see beyond)
"Move off Centre"
I’ve always wanted to have a square at the entrance of my house, representing Jesus. Then to reveal, that the
square is, in fact, a cube, hidden in the wall. It always was a cube; it never stopped being a cube it was just
from our limited viewpoint we could only see it as a square.
Jesus is a cube- He always is the living God, it’s just as we change our viewpoint, we get to see it.
Implications.
We need to be willing to reframe how we understand who Jesus is, one of the most important things we can do
is be prepared to try new things, to put yourself out of kilter, off-balance, a place we might not find comfortable.
In that space the Holy Spirit works, where we can see Christ for who He always is.
The question is always, who he is, or more importantly, who Jesus knows he is.
Jesus self-awareness.
Jesus was born as a baby, over time the Holy Spirit spoke to him, through the Scriptures and revealed who he
was and what his task was. There was never a time when Jesus was not the Messiah, but there was time for
this self-awareness to come about in the life of the Christ.
How he acted based on this self-awareness.
In the next few months, we will look at the Gospel of John and the actions Jesus took based on his
understanding of who he was as the son of God and the messiah of all humanity. John’s Gospels differ from the
other 3 in that the Synoptic Gospels often tell "what Jesus did," but John reveals more "who Jesus is."
The next question to ask ourselves is "given that Jesus understands who he is, what did he do to make us
aware?"
Who can remember the parable of the good Samaritan?
What is the context of this parable?
Luke 10:25-37 The parable of the Good Samaritan. (Read "Jesus the Fool" by Michael Frost, pg. 86-91.)
Luke 10:25-29
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit
eternal life?”
“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and
with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Luke 10:36-37
“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
Point- In this text the Author (Michael Frost) shows how Jesus reframes the situation. He takes a question from
the teacher of the law, who asks how he can have "eternal life," and reframes it in a manner which shows the
Enquirer that according to a legalist, "to find favour with a perfect God, one must behave perfectly,” which is
impossible! Therefore, one needs a saviour who can do this, and have the mercy and grace to offer it to those
who can’t, whoever they are!
You don’t get crucified for being nice- Jesus was a political agitator, we forget that this carpenter from around
Galilee upset people with his teachings, his actions, and his assertions of who he was. He still does.
Liar , Lunatic or Lord.
From C.S. Lewis
"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral
teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things
Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else
he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse.
You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not
come with any patronising nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to. ... Now it
seems to me obvious that He was neither a lunatic nor a fiend: and consequently, however strange or terrifying or unlikely it may seem, I have to
accept the view that He was and is God.[13]”
Why I worship a Jewish carpenter.
Jesus claims were extraordinary, and the reactions they elicit should be to.
Recognising Jesus should have a polarising effect.
He should make you react towards or away from his message because it is so radical.
It should make you stop, think and choose.
I have come to the place in my life where I realise that a better tomorrow is available only through the life of Jesus.
I cannot make it to heaven on my merits.
I cannot please a perfect God by perfect actions, I need someone better to do that for me.
I need a saviour.
Yet I need a saviour who understands who I am, not just watches from afar.
Who can walk the trials and tribulations I do without faltering.
Who can offer me hope from the need to perform.
Who tells me that I am loved based on my intrinsic value.
Based on the image of God.
Based on the fact I was created to be loved by God.
Who tells me that, even though corrupted and sinful,
I am worthy to die for, and that action once taken is now freely available.
I worship a Jewish carpenter, and his life means I must face
my prejudice, my intolerance, and my desire for vengeance.
To allow these to be over come by his love, his grace, his mercy.
I follow a Jewish carpenter who leads me to grow as a Human, as I was originally created to be.
In this challenge, I have come to realise that I cannot mature by myself,
I must be part of a community of faith.
In this walk this new life must be willing to share in love with others who have yet to hear.
To walk with others who need comfort and care.
What are the implications for my life?
To follow the "Jewish Carpenter" should be challenging. Our lives should continually be stretched and grow yet
because of this we will become enriched, be a blessing to others and thus an avenue of God’s grace into this
world.
So now we have a choice. We can assume the position “How we do things are always how they should be." We
can make life comfortable for us. Or we can decide to be willing to move off kilter, to be ready to see things
from a differing point of view, to allow the Holy Spirit to reveal new things, and then be willing to share those
ideas with others in a manner they can understand.
To reframe the Messiah in a way this world can see Him for who he is, so they to can worship a Jewish
carpenter.