Isaiah 45:1-7; 1 Thessalonians 1; Matthew 22:15-22
We begin with a prophecy about Cyrus. Cyrus was a Persian King who lived in the 500’s BC, yet so much of the prophecy rings true for us as Christians today – God is a god of plenty, but He can be economical too – a word given to one man, or to one group, can be applied to others through the generations.
We read in verses 4 and 5 of Isaiah 45 that Cyrus had not acknowledged God as God, he did not know God, yet God had a plan to free His people, the Jews, from the Babylonians and, being God, He could and would use whoever He chooses to achieve His plan. God uses those who don’t yet know Him as well as those who do. God takes Cyrus by the right hand – the dominant hand, the hand that Cyrus would usually use to command his troops, in God taking his hand Cyrus becomes weaker, and more vulnerable in a human sense but more powerful as God is leading him.
This is a beautiful passage – The Lord says “I will go before you and level the mountains. I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron.” All those things that are difficult – that get in our way – that hinder us, that try to come against us – God can break down and level, He can provide us a way through. In the same way that in 539 BC Yahweh (God) levelled mountains, smoothed rough places and broke down gates for Cyrus; He can do it for us in 2023. Whatever our situation, however rough the road is God can – and will – make a way through. He did it for Cyrus who didn’t know Him and He’ll do it for us – all we need to do is trust Him – to yield ourselves to Him, to place our right hand into His hand, to listen and to obey.
“I will give you the treasures of darkness, hidden riches stored in secret places.” I remember a friend shared this verse with me, a number of years ago, shortly before I travelled on a mission to South Sudan. When we trust God, when we rely on Him, when we obey Him, He will give us treasures and riches that are hidden from the world. He will open His word to us and give us understanding, He will share His thoughts with us, so that we can share Him with others and see His kingdom increase.
He goes on to say, “that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.” In the same way the Lord called Cyrus by name, He calls us. We read in Luke 10 (v20) and Philippians 4 (v 3) that our names are written in the book of life – God calls us, He knows our names, He knew us before we were formed (Psalm 139).
God knows us from the beginning, before we were born, yet we don’t know Him until He makes Himself known or someone tells us about Him. God can, and does, use people who don’t know Him, as well as those who do, to bring about His purposes – as He does that more people come to know Him. That is His aim – God doesn’t want people to die without having had the opportunity to meet with Him; He wants to reveal Himself to everyone, so that everyone comes to know Him and have a personal relationship with Him – as Cyrus, the King, leads his people in battle the people see God at work – only with God can the battle be won.
I haven’t been able to find a definitive answer to whether Cyrus acknowledged God after God had used him, I’d hope that he did. There may be people you know who have been used by God to further His kingdom and plans but who haven’t recognised Him as God – it’s our role as Christians to make Him known so that others put their trust in Him and can be saved.
And so we move from a prophecy about a situation in the 500s BC to a conversation with Jesus – all about tax! Leading a charity I get to see the “good side” of the tax man – when Gift Aid comes in; but most of the time, as individuals or businesses, we see the less favourable side – the taxes we are charged on earnings, on interest, Council tax, VAT on the things we buy – the list is endless. Looking more closely at this passage we discover some translations simply ask the question about “taxes” and others talk of “imperial taxes” – imperial taxes were paid by the subject people but not by the Roman citizens – so perhaps the Pharisees here were asking a question, not so much about tax, but about fairness and equality. Jesus’ answer comes, as so often, with a question – asking whose image is on the coin to make payment. He then continues to tell them “give to Caesar what is Caesar’s” – but he doesn’t stop there. He continues, more importantly, telling them, “give to God what is God’s”. The earth and everything in it belong to God – so when we say this is mine, this is ours, we deceive ourselves – because everything we have is God’s, He has chosen to bless us with it and allow us to take care of it – something we do to varying degrees of success, but that’s for another day.
So, we’ve moved from Cyrus, a king who doesn’t know God but is empowered and equipped to lead his people through the battle so that they see who God is, to Jesus reminding the pharisees that yes, we should abide by the rule of the government of the time but of more importance is giving God what is His; and now we come to Thessalonica – a letter written to the church probably less than 20 years after Jesus died.
I like Paul – he had his conversion moment on the road where God met him, turned him around, filled him with the Holy Spirit, and sent him on his way. He had a good grasp of life – and of the challenges that those who follow Jesus face; he was even put in prison because of his faith.
I wonder, can you remember the time when you invited Jesus to be Lord of your life? Not everyone can, for some it’s a gradual thing, but for some there’s a particular time when everything clicked and you prayed a prayer of surrender, maybe some here are still thinking about praying such a prayer. It’s often the case when there’s been a “lightbulb” moment, when everything clicks into place that you want to run around and share the good news with everyone you meet – it doesn’t matter how they react, you’re so excited you can’t hold back! Paul wanted to share Jesus with everyone he met – and with many that he didn’t meet. He wrote a lot of letters to keep in touch with the churches (the people) that he was praying for. He wrote with wisdom to encourage and to guide.
As we read the opening of the letter to the church in Thessalonica, written by Paul, Silas and Timothy, we hear the greeting. When someone brings greetings to the church in South Sudan the first words are “I greet you all in Jesus name” – not something we hear often in our churches here. But this letter starts in that way – addressing the church in the name of God; blessing them with grace and peace – and it’s important to remember that the church is the people – both corporately and individually – not the building.
The letter continues – “we always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers” – they talk of the characteristics of the Christians – work produced by faith, labour prompted by love, endurance inspired by hope in Jesus.
The Christian life is not easy – Jesus didn’t say “come to me and I’ll give you an easy life”, He said “come to me and I’ll give you eternal life”. So, in the same way that the Christians in Thessalonica worked, laboured and endured so we too need to work, labour and endure – using the gifts that God gives us – the faith that He bestows on us, the love that He fills us with and the hope that we have in the resurrection thanks to Jesus.
In the same way that Cyrus was chosen by God – Isaiah 45:1 – the people Paul, Silas and Timothy are writing to here in Thessalonica were also chosen – “for we know brothers, (the Greek word here covers the men and the women) loved by God, that he has chosen you”. Unlike Cyrus in Old Testament times, the church of Thessalonica – and indeed the churches of St Paul’s, Tupsley, and St Andrew’s, Hampton Bishop – have the benefit of knowing the good news of Jesus and having the Holy Spirit to empower, convict and guide.
The Thessalonians are praised for imitating – not just those writing who had spent time with them and taught them, but imitating the Lord. As Christians we are called to be imitators of Christ Jesus. Jesus is the perfect example of how we should live our lives; we all have role models – people we look up to – and it’s often much easier to consider someone living as a role model than someone who lived 2000 years ago. But, as Christians before us have done, we should be living our life based on how Jesus lived his; we can look to other Christians for advice, for inspiration even, to see how best we can navigate that path in our current times, but it’s Jesus we should imitate so that others see Him in us.
AND let us not forget that we have the Holy Spirit too, who will guide us, prompt us and convict us when we go wrong. It was the joy of the Holy Spirit that enabled the Thessalonian Christians to welcome the message – to keep following the message – even though they were in the midst of great suffering.
The suffering of us here and now may be different to the suffering that the Thessalonians experienced and other Christians around the world experience, but that doesn’t make it any less of a suffering – you may be suffering due to the cost of living, health concerns, family situations, whatever difficulties, or challenges, we encounter we can get through them with the joy of the Holy Spirit, and not just the joy – remember that the fruit of the Spirit, as listed in Galatians 5:22-23, is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. As Christians, filled with the Holy Spirit, we have the fruit of the Spirit – we just need to learn to use it!
As people who have accepted Jesus into our lives, people who acknowledge God the Father as God, we have the Holy Spirit and we need to ask Him to fill us, and refill us, and let Him work in and through us so that we can become imitators of Jesus. As we do that those around us will see Jesus, they’ll start to ask questions, they’ll want to find out more and make their own commitment to follow Him – not just when we’re fired up and wanting to shout good news from the rooftops, but every day. And news will spread far and wide, as it did when Cyrus led the people to victory.
At City Praise, which some of us attend, Dean Sarah has talked about wanting to see revival in Hereford – revival in Hereford can start with us here in Tupsley and Hampton Bishop – it can start with you and with me. But it can only start with us when we are filled with the Holy Spirit and when we pray – for ourselves, for each other and for our city.
Is there anyone that you could write to saying, “I thank God every time I remember you in prayer because of your work, your faith, your love, your hope in Jesus”? Perhaps more importantly could someone write that about us, about me, about you?
Dear St Paul’s, Tupsley & St Andrew’s Hampton Bishop members, We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labour prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
It’s good to take time regularly to consider how we are doing. Have we acknowledged God as Lord of all? Are we imitating Jesus in the things we do, or have we drifted? Are we trying to get from A to B in our own strength, or have we put your right hand in God’s allowing Him to lead us? In the same way that God led Cyrus and the church in Thessalonica, He’s ready, willing and able to lead us – we only have to ask.
May we be a people that imitate Jesus, people filled with the Holy Spirit, people who pray for each other with thanksgiving, people inspired by hope in Jesus. Amen.