Gideon kept his head down as he threshed his grain in the wine press. As he hid from from the Midianites, he secretly wondered why Israel was being crushed by her enemies.  He couldn't believe it when God appeared and told him that he was chosen to deliver Israel. Nor could he believe it when God called him a mighty man of valor.  Gideon was Mr. average. He had no political pull or stately position.

But through out Israel’s history, God seemed to choose people from less than notable families. Because of their weakness and ordinariness, we stand back and are amazed at how God changed history through them. God’s army has always been an army of “hollow” men and hollow women; empty people, whose very hollowness, invited the residence of Almighty God. It is easy to think that Gods great last day army, should be unaffected by the ailments of mortal men but God does not to require a people of titanium strength and chromium brilliance but people trusting God in spite of weakness. Sometimes all we can see is the human weakness in our own life and we think is, “What could God do with me?” The answer is everything He wants if we will be courageous and obedient.

Friend, it will always be a challenge to step up and do what God asks us individually or in a team. Maybe it's God's plan that we never feel self confident, so that we rely upon Him. We might think that in two years’ time we'll feel adequate, but it may never change.  We are never going to get the point where we don't need Gods help or His grace. It is not God’s plan to deliver us from human weakness, only from human sin. If you feel weak it is a God sign that you can be powerfully used today! My friend Stephen McCracken wrote today “God’s desire for people to be truly and eternally free in Christ has not changed! He has not changed His nature, His commission, His anointing, His provision, His power, His might, nor His partnership with His people! So, we say Yes Lord, to all that He has planned!” Come on Gideon.

In ancient times the king had absolute command over everything and everyone, in his kingdom. But he was also responsible for his subjects and was the “minister” of defence, health, education, social welfare and justice. When the King of Israel led them out of Egypt, He fed them, watered them, protected them and healed them. He was a good and responsible King, but the subjects complained and asked for a human king.

When King Jesus came, He too looked for subjects throughout Palestine but found few. Again, Israel loved the King’s provision, but they did not like His provisos. They wanted Jesus to be sovereign over their needs but not their will - to be King over their problems but not king over their hearts. It takes two to make kingdom. The king, and subjects who are in harmony with the will of the King. Jesus proclaimed “Good news - you can be part of my kingdom. Your part is to get your heart in line with the will of heaven”. God’s kingdom comes wherever His will is done.

This is why we pray “Let your kingdom come, your will be done”, and for the same reason Jesus said, “If anyone would be my disciple, let him take up his cross and follow me” As David McCracken says, “the cross is the instrument upon which our will dies. The cross is even the shape of an “I” crossed out”. A disciple is someone who has denied self-will and embraced the will of the king.

As divine King Jesus promised “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all the necessary earthly things shall be added to you” (Matt 6:33). And from Pentecost onwards His disciple subjects found that His kingly power and rule, brought them peace, blessing, victory and dominion over all the enemies of demons, depression and fear.

Friend, there are no cross-less followers of Jesus. But he is no fool who gives up his own short-sighted self-will, to accept the will of Someone who loves us more, whose plans are perfect for us and who has the ability to bring them to pass. Sure, as we follow Him, His path may pass through a garden or even a “cavalry”, but it will always lead us to His presence with exceeding great joy, for there is always joy for Him and for us, beyond the cross.

The evening turned out to be quite unusual. First Jesus washed their feet and as the disciples hung out after supper, Jesus said something they thought they would never hear but something they would always remember. “I no longer call you servants… but I have called you my friends.. all that I have heard of my Father I have made known to you.” John 15.15.

That was a lot to grasp for young Jewish men, who knew the only other friends of God were the great Abraham and the powerful Moses. God had revealed himself to them. The friends of God were people that He shared his secrets with. They even understood how God felt in some small way.

Where can God find a friend? God finds friends among men and women. Angels feel no pain and seraphim live in contented, unchanging bliss.  Only people, whose hearts feel love for their children and whose hearts can be broken, can understand the heart of the Father. Abraham, understood Gods pain as He walked up the long path to Mount Moriah to offer His Son.  Another servant of God who became Gods friend was Job who experienced great pain and loss.  Job lost property, his children and his dreams, just like God who lost His planet, His creation and His children, all in one day.  Who can understand the pain and hurt that God felt when His innocent Son, was riddled with putrid disease as He bore our sins?  Maybe people like Job as he suffered without a cause.

Friend, every painful, lonely, disappointing moment in our lives, reminds us of the privilege of friendship with God. He certainly understands us, and knows how we feel and because we understand His pain a little better (the fellowship of His sufferings), He reveals Himself to us further and invites us to become an even closer friend.

Has anyone noticed how many rainbows there are around these days? We have rainbow footpaths, office windows, pedestrian crossings, buses and toys. So many that I thought people must be either reading their Bible or totally forgetting the meaning of the rainbow. I decided to print my own tee-shirt to explain.

This morning I climbed the steps to enter our city council gym and was greeted by an archway of balloons arranged in rainbow-order. I thought “I wonder who is telling them to promote pride week and whose rates are paying for it? That got me thinking. Why pride?

Pride is something we feel when a child or adult has achieved something notable or has demonstrated character in the face of difficulty.

The other use of the word pride is in the context of lack of humility and rebellion and the first instance of this type of pride was a long time ago. Lucifer was the most decorated created being in heaven. He wore beautiful garments, which glistened with jewels of every colour of the rainbow.

“You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The sardius, topaz, and diamond, Beryl, onyx, and jasper, Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold... "You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you” (Eze 28:13-1)

Sadly, as Lucifer led the parade in worship to God, he began to think that the worship should belong to him. Iniquity and pride entered his heart, and he was cast from heaven to become Satan, the hater of mankind and God.

Pride in this context of arrogance and rebellion has never benefitted anyone. As Kevin Conner said "If pride can turn and archangel into a devil, what can it do to us"?

Has pride ever helped a couple resolve their issues? Has pride ever helped a broken relationship be restored? Has pride ever helped reconcile a son to his parents or enabled them to confess their faults? Never. God took pairs of males and females into the ark for the good of the planet. Homosexual pairs animal or human would be non-regenerating and an evolutionist might say, a threat to the survival of the species. Not much to celebrate there either.

Why would we be proud of pride? We don't celebrate “lust week” for adulterers, or “greed week” for thieves and gangsters, so why would we celebrate pride week for those caught in homosexuality? It makes no sense.

Why would the U.N. and government promote and celebrate a lifestyle that on their own admission and figures, has a far worse suicide and mental health outcomes than the general population? Canadian figures put suicide risk at fourteens time higher for LGBTQ people. That is not fair on our young people.

Of course, homosexual people look for acceptance and they should find acceptance from us all, for every human being is infected with the same disqualifying sin. Gay or straight, black and white. Whether we live in Remuera or Manurewa, are atheist or religious, sin affects us all differently but affect us all, it does.

Some of my friends have gay children. We love and accept them because they too are us. All of us must find our way back to God through the same narrow gate, Jesus Christ.

Israel Folau was given a hard time for saying that homosexuals will go to hell. But maybe he and everyone else missed the point. It is not just homosexuals that will be excluded from heaven (Hell) but every person that hasn't asked found forgiveness from God, though a personal faith in Jesus Christ. This includes rugby boards, politicians, presidents and preachers. In short, no one will live with God unless they are humble enough to acknowledge their imperfection and need for God's forgiveness. And humble enough to accept the only salvation that God has provided (at great cost to himself), the cleansing blood of his Son.

So, while doing my leg press, I thought “Why should we be celebrating pride week in a government run gym? Soon our primary schools will be full of rainbows. What to do? I know, I'll wear my rainbow bow tee-shirt to the gym next week.” Then I thought “This only happens because everyone is too afraid to speak up. I should say something today,” So I went to the gym instructor and asked “What is the meaning of these rainbow-coloured balloons? Who told you to display them?”

He said “I went overseas to bury my mother and got stuck over there with a lockdown. My staff put them up to celebrate my return to work”. :)

Oh well there is still way too many rainbows with the wrong meaning out there!

When you discover what God is asking you to accomplish in your voyage of life, don’t be surprised if it takes a little while.  Like a lifetime! If your dream is big and if it is from God it will not happen overnight. Some people leave a church because they think they should have “arrived” after 4 years. God chose Moses and prepared him for his task. It took God 80 years just to get Moses ready to start.  Some Christian soldiers lay down their arms after 15 years in the battle.

When Jesus was walking toward Jerusalem people left Him to Himself. “they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem” Luke 9:53 ). They would have entertained Jesus but they could see that Jesus had resolutely set His course. Stopping along the way, was not His priority. If you set your face toward something, wrong things and even good things won't distract you.

The reason Jesus, the Apostle Paul and even Columbus, achieved their life purpose was because they heard from God, counted the cost, charted their course and followed it.  They went the path less travelled. Columbus had done the easy things for 10 years. He had been east to the Mediterranean, south to Africa and around to India but now his compass was set west, out into the darkness of the Atlantic. To discover the hidden treasure of God we must first allow all the known country to slip away behind us.  Don’t live your whole life and never become who you are meant to become.  We cannot become an admiral from the arm chair. Hard winds will seek to drive you off course.   Fog may come in and night will fall but you must stay at the helm.  Don’t let people hijack the dream. Instead we have to learn to repel the negative “borders” that assail us and adjust the sails to stay on course. Don't run aground on the rocks of past and present failures. Don’t sink under the waves of ruined dreams and aborted goals. You must not let the past determine your future.   Walt Disney went bankrupt five times before he succeeded.  Though you fail you are  not a failure.  Failure is an event not a person.  Invariably we all fail- its part of being human but whenever we do it’s our only our beliefs that are failed us.  We thought wrongly that we could do life without God or we believed that somehow we would be able to pay for things later that we cant afford now . Mostly when we fail it is just time to change our beliefs and align the to God’s Word.  God’s dream for your life will take time and constant focus. And our Father knows exactly what spiritual successes and natural troubles are needed for us to develop the maturity we will need to arrive at our destiny.

Joseph sat on an imposing throne surrounded by the trappings of ancient royalty. The end of Joseph’s life looks easy. We would all like to be him; riding on golden chariots and banqueting for breakfast. He was on top of the world and people bowed low before him as he rode past. But the process God used to get him there, was not as easy. He was attacked, abused, and accused and his integrity was tested.

There are sure ways to enter the blessing of God and our destiny but there is no easy way. As it says on the wall of my gym “There is no elevator to success, you will have to take the stairs “

Sometimes we would like to be removed from the process which God is using to bring us into His promises. As someone once said, “There is no glory without a story”. There is also no degree without study. People learn nothing on graduation day apart from the fact that perseverance pays off. It is the journey that benefits us most, not arriving at the destination. It was not standing at the border of the Promised Land that prepared Israel for conquest, but their long journey there. Few people become “great” without going through great difficulties.

Every believer has troubles; they might be different from yours or they may even not appear to have them, but they do. We all live in a broken world. Living with Jesus in heaven will be easy, living for Jesus on earth is our challenge. David McCracken used to say, “God is more interested in our character than He is in our comfort”. So, He is the God of all comfort, but occasionally, He allows dis-comfort, to produce in us, something more valuable.

Friend, your journey may be difficult, it may even be a “mess” but as you travel onwards trusting, it is accomplishing more in you, than arriving at your desired destination, ever could.

My daughter and son in law recently tramped over the Tongariro crossing. It took them 6 and half hours to cross between the mountains. They said it was difficult to do but rewarding to have achieved it. The first hour was easy, and they enjoyed the ever-changing vistas along the way. It soon got harder, and exertion and effort replaced the easy stroll.

It was great that they could have a break from the children and do something together. It is also a great metaphor for the marriage journey.

Have you ever noticed that falling in love is easy but walking in love is more challenging? Well the science is in. Apparently falling in love or feeling in love, is because a chemical called dopamine is released in our brain when we first attracted to someone. But after 24 months this chemical is produced way less and when the feeling of love subsides somewhat, we have to choose to love or begin to actually love. This is the reason for the old saying “Love is blind, but marriage is an eye opener.” This refers to the fact that in the falling in love stage, the character flaws or imperfections of the other party are not able to be seen for the brightness of the sun shining out of them. The rest of the saying “Marriage is an eye opener” is not true for it is time that is the eye opener. After every couple has lived together for 2 or 3 years, and the dopamine has dwindled, peoples eyes are opened to see all the things they never saw when they were “in love”.

This explains why so many couples who were head over heels in love 2 years ago, when breaking up today say, "It’s amazing, they just changed" or "They didn't turn out to be as captivating or charming as I thought” or " I found out things about him which annoy me and I don't like" Well, welcome to reality. Your chemical drug has worn off and now you're seeing them without your rose-tinted glasses. They’re not unusually bad, they are just ordinary people.

We can't say we truly love someone; until the dopamine has waned and we are choosing to walk in love for 15 years maybe 50; until we have fallen out of love and choose to keep on loving.

The true lover is not someone who can feel in love with 15 different people for 2 years but someone who can love just one person for 30 years.

Of course, chemicals don't completely leave our brain after a few years, and other chemicals like oxytocin flood our bodies for a few days after physical intimacy. This is a blessing which remains throughout the rest of our lives together. It helps us to feel bonded and helps us get past the idiosyncrasies, habits, personality quirks and annoyances we and they, have to live with every day.

Falling in love is like falling from a high mountain. Because of gravity it's inevitable, effortless, exhilarating, heart pounding stuff but learning to love and choosing to love is like climbing up a mountain. It's hard work that also gets the heart rate up but when a couple climb the mountain of love everyday over decades, they prove their love for their mate and create a refuge of the stability for their family. They actually produce in their lives, the very character qualities they should have been looking for at the start, if they weren’t so "blinded by love". Qualities like commitment, patience, putting the other first, being considerate, etc, and these qualities can produce a feeling similar to being "in love" but for the total length of relationship. Their love begins to reflect the love of Jesus who continues to love us even when we are unloving or unlovable.

As it turns out, He is the divine provider of short-term chemicals and the producer of lifelong character.

Friends, we don't need to fall off the mountain with someone new we need to climb the mountain of love today, with the one we can truly love.

The Easter event had many players in various scenes as they unfolded over three days, and all of the roles but One, can be played by us.

 First scene was Judas who loved a deal. He had already followed his heart, a kiss of betrayal a small price to pay for a bigger bank account.

Caiaphas appeared but had religious considerations and didn’t want to lose the respect of his community.

 Next was Pilate who knew that Jesus was innocent but was too afraid to stand with Him. How many years did we do that? He asked the question that all the other actors were to answer. “Pilate said to them, “What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” Mat 27:22 

Peter is there too. Peter who had spent so much time with Jesus the perfect man, but who denied he even knew Him, as he stood by the evening fire. Fortunately, Jesus new Peter and us better than we know ourselves. The rooster crowed over Peter’s feelings of failure but all of us need to feel like that, before we feel the need for a Saviour.

The crowd gathering in Pilate’s courtyard, started shouting their decision. “Crucify Him”!

 Next came Barabbas. He was offstage in a jail waiting for his execution. His name means “Son of an earthly father” and he was a murderer.  In the jail he heard cheering out on the streets and heard footsteps coming his way. The door was opened, and the jailer said “The crowd has decided to kill Jesus Christ instead of you!  You are free to go. He also represents us - sons and daughter of earthy fathers, set free by the only Son of the Heavenly Father.

 Next the soldiers at the cross. They took Jesus robes off Him, now covered with blood and hung him naked on the cross. As Jesus hung in shame, they divided His righteous robes among themselves. The crucifiers like ourselves, can walk away wearing the holy garments of Jesus.

 Of course, Jesus was on the cross. He began His lonely journey in the garden where He went with His twelve disciples. There in Gethsemane, He went a little further with just three men. But only two disciples followed him to Gabbatha and only John is standing at Golgotha near the cross. Finally, Jesus is on the cross alone for no one else could share His pain.  He was very alone, then absolutely alone, as He realised that even God had forsaken him. “And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME? “Mark 15:34 

He was alienated and abandoned by His Father as He became sin.  The One who is holy and “of purer eyes than to behold evil,” turned away from Sin of the world, including yours and mine.

 In the penultimate scene there is the penitent thief about to receive the punishment he is due for sin in this life.  Through simple faith in Jesus’ kingship, he is offered eternal life in the next.  Before he had a chance to attend church, give an offering, learn some verses, or do one kind thing, he was offered glory and splendour that Caiaphas and Pilate for all their trying, would never know. Jesus’ offers forgiveness and eternal life is not based on performance or knowledge but faith in Him.  The thief’s story is one that ends well, and we can choose whether we will be him in the play.

 At the end of three days “the play” moves to the final scene. The tomb is opened, Jesus is alive and none of the old actors are there.  Instead, three women come to find the tomb filled with angels instead of the body of their Friend. This is our great hope and what sets Jesus apart from every special person in world history. Mohammed, Buddha, Swamis and Lamas have come and gone but Jesus is still alive.

Do you believe on Jesus this morning? Believing is not hard, for God planned something that would make it easy to believe - the resurrection. The resurrection is the greatest proof that Jesus is the sinless Son of God. Death could not hold Him, and He rose a victor, over death, hell and the grave.  This hope for all men, is what transformed the first disciples into a band of champions. They risked it all to tell the world the message of His love. Strangely they faced rejection and even the stake but continued to love their persecutors. As the centuries past, they exchanged horses for cars and worship styles changed and got louder. Today believers will tell the Easter story a thousand different ways, but it will always have the same message of hope, which is, Jesus Christ died for sinners and that every person gets to choose which person in “the play” they want to be.  Jesus has chosen the part of Saviour, but thief is still available. Be humble and choose that part.