Last Sunday was a pretty exciting day for me. Not because of our little family trip to the Great Brick Safari at Wisley Gardens (although that was good fun), but because I preached a sermon for the first time. I say “for the first time” as I’m hoping that I might be asked back at some point. I mean, it was definitely one of the more nerve-wracking things I’ve done, but once I was standing up there, notes in hand and looking out at the supportive faces of lots of lovely people from my church, I actually had a lot of fun.
My church puts recordings of sermons online, so if you fancy listening to the full 15 minutes, you can do so here, but as I’m never one to pass up a blog post opportunity, I thought I’d write an abridged version to go on my blog.
The passage I was asked to speak on was from Amos 7, so not exactly easy going (look it up if you don’t know it!). In part the passage is about speaking up to people in power, and in particular speaking God’s truth (i.e. prophecy from Him) to those in power. My theme was therefore speaking truth to power and the marks of a prophet. Eek. With the help of a lot of prayer and some wonderfully supportive friends, I felt God nudge me in a slightly different direction to the one I was expecting. And so, as I asked our congregation on Sunday, can you think about this for me – how much power does your mind hold over you?
Can you remember when you last felt ashamed or guilty? When you last felt low, or ugly or stupid? When you last felt worthless? I’m willing to bet it wasn’t all that long ago. These unwanted emotions surface for most of us some of the time, and for some they surface most of the time. And as I considered what God would think about that, I came to the conclusion that it was a serious problem. I’m certain that God wants us to do ourselves justice. When we think of ourselves as unlovable or unworthy, we are standing pretty far from God’s truth and giving power to something that doesn’t come from God.
So, that inevitably leads us to the question of what is God’s truth? And when faced with that question, there is only one place to start: the Bible. Here are just a few of the passages I found that tell us what God thinks of us. Ephesians 1 tells us that God loved us before he made the world and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. Colossians 1 tells us that God has rescued us and forgiven our sins. Ephesians 2 says that we are god’s handiwork. And ultimately, what better proof of God’s pride in us and love for us is there than the fact that he gave Jesus, for us.
Another way in which we hear God’s truth is by listening when we pray to Him. I’ve written before about my experience of prayer ministry at New Wine and about the amazing sense of God’s pride in each person I prayed with. God’s love for them and His joy at their desire to go deeper with Him was so clear. That experience I had at New Wine isn’t unique to me. Each one of us is fully able and equipped to speak out God’s truth. Amos explains to us that he wasn’t specially skilled or trained in prophecy but that God simply spoke to Him and he shared that message. We can all do that too. It is important to consider the message we’re sharing, ensuring it is biblical and that we can trust it comes from God. That is a whole other topic that I’m not going to go into here, suffice to say if you’re not sure, ask someone else. God talks to all of us, not just an elite few.
Whether it’s hearing God through reading His word, or through your own prayer, or through the prayers of others, we all have the chance to hear His truth and speak it out to ourselves. When I spoke at church I asked everyone to close their eyes and repeat some words of truth after me. I can’t get you to do that as if you close your eyes you won’t be able to read the words on the screen, but try saying these out loud to yourself.
God loves me.
God is proud of me.
God is pleased with my work.
God thinks I’m beautiful.
God loves me. (I put that one in twice because it is so important and I wanted to make sure you really heard it!)
Sometimes speaking truth to ourselves can be a battle. We can be so much crueller to ourselves than to anyone else. We criticise and berate ourselves in a way we wouldn’t dream of doing to others. But it is a battle that God is fighting alongside us. He wants us to win, and He has given us that mightiest of all weapons: prayer. Colossians 1 is a beautiful passage, all about prayer for others. We had it read out on Sunday, and I’d recommend taking a look. It is a lovely example of how we can lift each other up in prayer and help each other to fight this battle. It has lines like “We have not stopped praying for you” and “We pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need”. Those of you who are part of a church community have a ready-made band of people who would love to pray with you. If you don’t belong to a church community, find one, or simply find a friend who would like to pray with you. I’ll certainly volunteer! And don’t forget that you can also pray on your own, just you and God.
So, I think I’ll end with the same favour I asked of our congregation. Can you choose a few people and say a prayer for them, one person each day for a week. Pray that they would know the truth that is God’s love for them. Pray that this truth empowers them in every way they need, both when speaking up to themselves and when speaking up to others. Then, at the end of the week, say that prayer for yourself. And don’t just pay lip service to it. Pray hard! Really invite God into that moment and give Him an opportunity to do something miraculous in your heart.
And if you do that, or even better if you do that and share what you hear from God, you will be a prophet, speaking truth to power.