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Saturday 20 December 2014

Romans 16:25-27 The Mystery of the Revelation of God

How many of you like mystery stories? I certainly do. When I was younger, I loved watching mystery TV shows such as the “Perry Mason” movies, “Columbo” and “MacLeod”. Even now I like watching TV shows such “CSI: NY” and all three versions of “NCIS”. I also like reading mystery stories and novels, so it’s not surprising that I really liked the reading we heard from Romans 16:25-27 a few minutes ago.

This reading is a prayer of praise to God. It ascribes glory and worth to God’s name. Paul wanted the Christians in Rome to be established, firm and unmoved in their commitment to the truth of the Gospel. There is a mystery surrounding the revelation of God. The part of God that was not revealed in the Old Testament was revealed in the New Testament.

Paul’s Letter to the Romans explains the salvation that has come by God’s grace for God’s glory. Romans 16:25-27 is appropriate for the Fourth Sunday in Advent. Christ was born so that God’s glory and grace could be brought into our sin-filled world. God’s grace is the only way we can be restored to him. Since we are separated from him, we are in exile just like the Israelites were in exile in Egypt. God comforts his exiled people by promising the world-changing display of his glory.  That display was the birth of Jesus.

Paul reminds the Christians in Rome that God commanded that his Scriptures be preached throughout the world so that all people can obey God’s command to believe. We must remember that while we are celebrating the Advent of our Saviour, that Saviour is also the reason for the season. The reason we celebrate Advent is to remind us that the mystery Paul spoke of in this passage is no longer a mystery or a secret. 

Romans 16:25-27 is a doxology or song of praise that praises God for his work through Jesus. It summarizes the major themes of the Letter to the Romans. Paul has outlined the great themes of salvation in this letter. He urges the Romans and us to live as Christians and spread the Gospel to the whole world. In order to have the strength to do this work, we must always look to Jesus and the mystery of salvation that was revealed on that first Christmas 2,000 years ago.

The gospel was revealed by the Father through Jesus Christ.  God revealed what had been hidden for so long when Christ died and rose again. Christ conquered death for himself and for everyone who believes in him in faith. Our sinful nature estranged us from God, but Christ’s death and resurrection reconciled us to God. Adam’s sin led to our condemnation, and Christ’s righteousness made our justification possible. God is wise and deserves glory forever and ever. He sees all, and he can take our foolishness and give us wise hearts. He knows our beginning and our ending, and his wisdom holds us together, especially when times are tough.

We are to listen to God with a heart that is filled with faith. We are to honor God because he plans to bring all peoples and nations together in faith. Obedience to God and listening to God means that we have to listen to what he tells us and apply our hearts and minds to those words.

Jesus is the access route that we have to take for our salvation. That’s why he was born on that first Christmas. He places us securely and permanently in a position of faith, blessing and peace. God gets us to a spiritual place where our faith can’t be shaken and where life’s trials strengthen our faith. 

Why should God receive glory? He gives us strength through his message. He revealed his will in a way that was hidden in the past. Our relationship with him is based on faith. Romans 16:25-27 places Christ’s birth in the broad arena of God’s desire for humanity to live in peace. The reconciliation that is offered in the gospel is the reconciliation to what humanity was created to be. The goal of reconciliation has always been at the heart of the mystery of the revelation of God.

Luke’s Gospel relates the announcement of the angel Gabriel to Mary, and then together with Mary we sing the reversals of the gospel in the Magnificat. This announcement was the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret throughout history. This revelation brings together the hopes of the Old Testament prophets, the longing of the Old Testament law and the yearning of all humanity. The history of salvation begins to unfold before us in full splendor and will be fully and finally realized in a meal in which this mystery is given and distributed to the community.

Bibliography

1.      Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible, NKJV (Brentwood, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013)

2.      Briscoe, D.S. & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 29: Romans (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1982)

3.      MacArthur, J.F. Jr.: The MacArthur Study Bible, NASB (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson INc.; 2006)

4.      ESV Study Bible. Part of Wordsearch 10 Bible software package

5.     Anne Jervis, “Commentary on Romans 16:25-27.” Retrieved from www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?community_id=183

6.     Dirk G. Lange, “Commentary on Romans 16:25-27.” Retrieved from www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?community_id=1152

7.      Exegesis for Romans 16:25-27. Retrieved from www.lectionary.org

 

 

Saturday 6 December 2014

1 Thessalonians 5 verses 12-28 Prayer, Thanks and Obedience

Do you know what the key to a healthy life is? It is healthy emotions, and the healthiest emotion to have is gratitude. Gratitude actually helps our immune system. It makes us more resistant to stress and less susceptible to illness. People who are grateful are happy because they are satisfied with what they have. An attitude of gratitude reduces stress in our lives and leads to greater spiritual and physical health.

Having an attitude of gratitude is not easy. It involves lots of prayer. Paul revealed that he needed prayer just as much as other people. He wanted to be preserved blameless. Christians must remember to pray for their spiritual leaders, because their leaders, like all Christians, will face hardships. Every hardship is a gift from God that is to be used for our growth, sanctification and intimacy with God.

God wants us to be people of prayer. Regular prayer creates intimate fellowship with God. Through prayer we discover the goodness and faithfulness of God. While taking time to get alone with God is ideal, we don’t have to limit ourselves to such times. God hears our prayers no matter where we pray.

Will God’s plan fail if we don’t pray? God does not depend on our prayers. The time we invest in speaking with God affects the work that he is doing in our lives and in the world, but he will carry on without us. Does our prayer (or lack thereof) impact God’s work? The answer is both yes and no, depending on the situation.

Prayer will help us to abstain from anything that might lead us to sin or look like sin to others. Prayer will help us to have pure hearts and impeccable Christian witness. Prayer will help to warn us about the dangers of sin.  

We are called on to pray for our Christian leaders. We are called on to respect and obey our Christian leaders as long as what they tell us to do is in line with God’s will for our lives and as long as these leaders are true followers of Christ and not false teachers. Being a disciplinarian is not an easy task, as those of you who have children know all too well. The health of a congregation depends on commitment to standards of conduct and doctrine. Leadership is hard work with a measure of authority from God to do that work. That authority is not personal power but moral responsibility to lead and guide.

The Thessalonians were not giving their church leaders proper respect. That’s why the apostle Paul was careful to defend his apostolic authority and the apostolic authority of elders and deacons in the church. Paul accused the Thessalonians of being unruly and out of line. Fellow believers must warn those who refuse to walk in unity with the Christian family. Believers must encourage those who are unruly, weak or new in the faith.

Part of the role of leadership involves discipline. All Christians share that responsibility. We are to tame the unruly and comfort those who are weak in body, mind and spirit. That includes praying for them. Discipline must be tempered with patience. There is no room for retaliation. Patience and discipline must have the ultimate goal of restoration and reconciliation. Jesus outlines the steps to take when imposing discipline in Matthew 18:15-17:

“If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.” 

Discipline is in line with what the church is called to do in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18-rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in everything. We are called on to rejoice in our sufferings. When Paul tells us to give thanks in everything, he does not mean that we should thank God for the bad things that happen in our lives. It means realizing that God is working to produce something good even in bad circumstances.

On the surface this doesn’t make sense. Why should we rejoice when we are going through tough times? Why should we rejoice when the ravages of old age and age-related health problems have put us in nursing homes such as this one? Why should we rejoice when we are hurting? The answer is because we always have a basic joy called Jesus. In this season of Advent, we are celebrating both the joy of his birth over 2,000 years ago and his eventual return. The light of Christ that shone with his birth, ministry, death and resurrection shines through into the reality of our daily lives. This can only happen when we rejoice and pray constantly. When we do, God will work in and through us and in spite of our circumstances. Obedience to this requirement won’t be easy, but the rewards of obedience are rich and full.

The Holy Spirit will help us to be obedient. Our Christian life must be focused on the gifts of the Holy Spirit. We must not allow people to quench the fire of the Holy Spirit in us. We must not put out the fire of the Holy Spirit. We put out the fire when we deny or resist the working of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

One of these gifts is the gift of prophecy. Like all gifts, the gift of prophecy must be tested, especially since false teachers can disguise themselves as genuine prophets. We must pay attention to true prophecies that are tested against Scripture. Prophecies must be rejected if they contradict God’s Word. The standard for testing these gifts is the Bible. It provides the standards by which prophecies, doctrines, practices, and other gifts can be measured. These standards can be summarized as follows:

1.      Is the person giving the prophetic utterance living a balanced and righteous lifestyle?

2.      Is the person committed to building God’s kingdom or his own? Is Christ being lifted up or is the person giving the prophecy being lifted up?

3.      Does the prophetic utterance establish confidence in the Word and is it consistent with a balanced presentation of it?

4.      Does the use of the spiritual gift bring unity to the church and build up the body?

Anything that does not measure up to these standards must be made subject to discipline, as I mentioned earlier. True prophecies are not to be treated lightly. When God’s Word is preached or read, it is to be received with great seriousness. 

When we are evaluating something and we are using Scripture as our guide, there will always be some people (including Christians) who will disagree with us. How should we respond to this criticism? Here are some options to use, depending on the situation:

1.      Always leave room for opposing viewpoints.

2.      Don’t engage in “character assassination.”

3.      If you don’t get your way, get over it and get on with life.

4.      If all else fails, separation might be necessary. In other words, it might be necessary to leave the church or group that you are having disagreements with.

Paul concludes 1 Thessalonians with a reminder that our being set apart from the world is the achievement of God himself. It involves every part of our being, our lives. Our lives are to be characterized by prayer. We are to be quick to pray in all circumstances, and not just in emergencies. We are to give thanks in everything through prayer. If we pray constantly, our faith will flow from the current of communication with God, and our faith will be bulletproof.

 Bibliography
 

1.      Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible, NKJV (Brentwood, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013)

2.      Demarest, G.W. & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 32: 1&2 Thessalonians/1&2 Timothy/Titus (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1984)

3.      Stanley, C.F.: The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible, NKJV (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 2005)

4.      Macarthur, J.F. Jr.: The MacArthur Study Bible, NASB (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 2006)

5.      Pastor Rick Warren, “An Attitude of Gratitude.” Retrieved from connect@newsletter.purposedriven.com

6.      Charles R. Swindoll, “Modelling Grace through Disagreeable Times.” Retrieved from eministries@insightforliving.ca

7.      Michael Youssef, Ph.D., “Quenching the Spirit.” Retrieved from mydevotional@leadingtheway.org

8.      Dr. Charles Stanley, “The Impact of Prayer.” Retrieved from Crosswalk@crosswalkmail.com

9.      Dr. Neil Anderson, “Discerning the Truth.” Retrieved from Crosswalk@crosswalkmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mark 1:1-8, Isaiah 40:1-11 Prepare to Repent

It was the day after Christmas. A church minister was looking at the nativity scene outside of his church when he noticed that the baby Jesus was missing from the figures. He turned toward the church to call the police when he saw a little boy with a red wagon, and in the wagon was the figure of the baby Jesus. The minister walked up to the boy and said, “Where did you get the baby?” The boy replied, “I got him from the church.”

“And why did you take him?” the minster asked.

The little boy said with a sheepish smile, “Well, about a week before Christmas I prayed to little Lord Jesus. I told him if he would bring me a red wagon for Christmas, I would give him a ride around the block in it.” 

We are well into the season of Advent, a time to remember both Christ’s birth in the stable in Bethlehem on that first Christmas over 2,000 years ago and his Second Coming. This time of remembrance includes a time of preparation. We have to prepare our hearts and minds to receive him. This can be hard to do at this time of the year because we are busy decorating our homes, buying gifts, attending Christmas parties, concerts and pageants and the many other events that are held at this time of year.

We can prepare ourselves by studying God’s Word, especially the story of Christ’s birth. A good place to start is with Mark’s Gospel, especially Mark 1:1-8, which we heard earlier in this morning’s service. Mark gets right to the heart of the matter. His Gospel does not include Jesus’ family tree like the Gospels of Matthew and Luke do. Mark’s Gospel does not even include the stories of Jesus’ birth, the angel Gabriel’s visit to the Virgin Mary, the visit of the Three Wise Men or any of the other stories that are associated with Christmas. Mark begins his Gospel by calling Jesus the Son of God. In fact, this is a frequent theme in Mark’s Gospel. Mark declares both the deity of Jesus and God as his heavenly Father.

In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus’ ministry is firmly rooted in the Old Testament. Mark shows that Jesus’ appearance as the long-promised Messiah was long expected   in Israel’s history. The reading we heard earlier this morning from Isaiah 40:1-11 prophesied about a messenger who would prepare the way for the Messiah. That messenger was John the Baptist. 

John the Baptist had a lot in common with Mark. John also got right to the heart of the matter. There was no extra “fluff” or padding. He saw Jesus as superior to and more worthy than him. John’s followers saw him as great, but John saw himself as not being worthy enough to attend to Jesus’ feet-a task that was dirty according to the culture of that time. John even claimed that Christ’s baptism with the Holy Spirit was superior to John’s baptism with water. Many Old Testament passages refer to the Holy Spirit being poured out like water. Jesus’ baptism supplies us with the power of the Holy Spirit.

John the Baptist accepted his role as the forerunner to Jesus. He did not want the glamour or the self-interest that came with the role as Number One. If this story happened today, we would be shocked because it goes against society’s desire for people to be in the spotlight. John shunned the spotlight by his appearance and location. After all, who wears camel’s hair and a leather belt? Who eats locusts and wild honey? Who preaches in the desert?

John’s style was matched by the substance of his message. He preached social justice and repentance. For example, in Matthew 3:7 John called the Pharisees who came to criticize his preaching a “brood of vipers”. He urged tax collectors to be honest and soldiers to be merciful. 

Advent finds us in a different place this year, whether others can tell it or not.  Once again we hear the far off voice of John the Baptist reaching out to us, becoming present to us.  First, he calls us to repent: think things over; do an inventory of our lives; make the necessary changes that we have been putting off.   Like what?  Repent from our sins, of course!  But also repent from letting God slide to the periphery of our lives; for having made God a second-class citizen in our personal world.  Repent from having treated our faith like a routine, an old habit – same old, same old.  Repent from habits that hurt others and rob us of full life.  Repent from being preoccupied with ourselves and having only a marginal interest in the well-being of others.  Repent from a form of despair that says, “I’m too old to change.” “That’s just the way I am.” 

As John set his life on a path of making straight the way for others, we are called to do the same.  Jesus tells us time and time again, that the greatest of all commandments...of all laws, is the law of love - the law of concern for those around us.  We have an obligation to all those around us to take the skills and resources we have and make straight the path for others to reach the Kingdom, by pointing the way to Jesus.

John calls on us to repent today. He calls on us to submit to Christ’s authority just like he (that is, John) submitted to Christ’s authority, even though he baptized Christ. The main point of John’s ministry is the supremacy of Christ’s ministry. Only Christ’s ministry, including the grace of God, can give us spiritual life.  

John preached in the wilderness, and in some ways our modern society is a wilderness. The wilderness was where the Israelites were tested by God and where they rebelled against God. Our society and all of its temptations tests our faith at times. Our society and its wicked ways has rebelled against God. God saved the Israelites time and time again when they were in the wilderness, and he saves us today when we are in this modern-day wilderness. Our wilderness draws us together as people of faith just like the wilderness drew the Israelites together as a nation.

Our wilderness can be a place of hardship and pain, and nowhere has this been more evident than in the discussion regarding the future of this building. I’m not trying to reopen the debate or be on one side or the other because I’m like a window-shopper today-I’m on the outside looking in. I would like share this thought with you. I know that the final decision caused heartache and pain for many people in this community. Advent is a time to prepare for the coming of Christ, and that preparation involves preparing our hearts. Preparing our hearts means reaching out to those who have been hurt, including those who have been hurt accidentally or on purpose by our actions in life. By reaching out to those who are hurting, we prepare ourselves to receive Christ’s love, and that is one of the best Christmas gifts that we can receive.

Your Christian brothers and sisters in the Anglican Parish of South Queens feel your pain, because we went through a similar situation on two different occasions since the year 2000. For various reasons we had to make the difficulty decision to close the Anglican churches in Mill Village and Western Head. The decision was painful for some parishioners, but it was necessary.

Reaching out to those who are hurting sometimes means repentance and asking for forgiveness. All of us need repentance and forgiveness, even if we have already accepted Christ as our Saviour. John the Baptist preached and practiced a baptism of repentance. He baptized people to prepare them for the day when God will reign in judgment. John’s baptism was the first step toward a new life. Our own baptism in repentance also prepares us for the day when God will judge us, and the same baptism prepares us for a new life in Christ.

Repentance is more than feeling guilty about sin. It means changing direction, or abandoning our sinful ways and returning to God. It is a new way of thinking. When we learn a new way of thinking, we naturally change our behaviour. If our earlier actions have hurt other people, either accidentally or on purpose, we will feel truly sorry for the way we acted and the harm we have caused. Guilt is part of that repentance, but it is true repentance only when it causes us to change our minds and directions.

An old Hebrew legend tells of a disobedient angel atoning for his sin.  God told him to go to earth and to bring back the most precious thing he could find as a gift for God. The angel visited earth and returned with a drop of blood from a soldier who had died for his country.  God said, "That is precious, but it is not the most precious thing." The angel went again to earth and returned with a drop of perspiration from a nurse who was caring for a sick child.  God said, "That is precious, but it is not the most precious thing."

The angel went again, and saw a rancher stalking a man who had stolen his cattle.  The rancher followed the thief to his home, and peered through the scope of his rifle to see him move from room to room.  He was about to pull the trigger, when the thief picked up a small child.  The rancher watched as the thief kissed the child and put him to bed. 

Suddenly the rancher was seized with remorse.  He realized that he had nearly killed the child's father.  With a tear of repentance, he returned home.  The angel caught the tear of repentance and brought it to heaven.  God said, "You did well.  Nothing is more precious than a tear of repentance."

The good news of the Gospel brings hope to all of us, especially to those who find themselves on the fringes of our world. It also belongs there. The good news of God’s grace announces God’s presence on the fringe. God’s love goes beyond the boundaries of where we thought God was supposed to be. God promises that there is no place on earth where he will not go or be for us.

God will lead us through the deserts and wilderness of life. He will reveal his glory to us during the journey. His power will be felt where we are most vulnerable. The desert and the wilderness are suitable places to hear God speak to us, just like God spoke to Moses through the burning bush in the wilderness. What God says to us won’t always be what we want to hear, but what he says will be what we need to hear. In this season of Advent, we must continue on our journey through the wilderness to the stable in Bethlehem, and we must listen to what God says to us on the journey, because what he says to us will be good for us.

 Bibliography

1.      Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible, NKJV (Brentwood, TN: Worthy Publishing, 2013)

2.      McKenna, D.L. & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 25: Mark (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1982)

3.      Stanley, C.F.: The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible, NKJV (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc., 2005)

4.      Exegesis for Mark 1:1-8. Retrieved from www.lectionary.org

5.      Jude Siciliano, O.P., “First Impressions, Second Sunday of Advent (B)” Retrieved from www.preacherexchange.org

6.      The Rev. Dr. Russell Levenson Jr., “Making Straight the Way.” Retrieved from www.day1.org

 

Saturday 22 November 2014

Ephesians 1:15-23 Knowledge is Power and Leads to More Power

In Ephesians 1:15- the apostle Paul prays that the church in Ephesus will embrace their spiritual gifts into their hearts. He prays that the Ephesians will understand the revelation God has given them regarding their spiritual gifts. Paul was intent on bringing the true light of Christ with the Gospel message. He reminds us in Ephesians 2:1-2 that “we were once dead in transgressions and sins, in which we used to live when we followed the ways of this world and the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.” Paul’s prayer for the church in Ephesus shows us how to pray for others. He reminds us that Christ has set us free from the bondage of sin. Paul wants us to know the hope of God’s calling, the riches of our eternal inheritance, and the greatness of God’s power.

We need to know God and his character. We can only know God through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives us spiritual insight from the depth of our thought process. This allows us to see the grand hope to which God has called us through his grace.

Believers must know Christ and not just gain knowledge about him. Believers must also understand Christ with all of their hearts, intellects, emotions, and wills. Such understanding is not available to non-believers. When I talk about the heart, I’m not talking about the physical organ. The New Testament defines the heart as the higher intelligence in which will and emotions cooperate with the mind. 

Every believer can use God’s power. Such power is dynamic, energetic, mighty and strong. This mighty power is anchored in heaven. It raised Jesus from the dead and seated Jesus at God’s right hand. Prayer that flows from a deep sense of gratitude is forceful and rooted in thankfulness. Our source of its glory is God himself.

Christ has conquered the power of evil, and will continue to conquer it in the future. Knowing the victorious Christ allows believers to face life’s challenges. Thanks to Christ’s power, no sinner is beyond rescue and no saint is beyond recovery.

The Holy Spirit comes to us when we pray and accept Christ in faith. Once our human spirit is dedicated to God and inspired by God, the Holy Spirit can work in the world through us. That is the rationale behind the Parable of the Talents, which we heard from Matthew’s Gospel last week. The revelation of the Holy Spirit is an activity of God. Sometimes new Christians seem to be in closer contact with God than Christians who have been faithful for years. Have we allowed our spirits to be dulled by the materialistic nature of our world? Society pressures us to be rational, but we must remember that God is not rational as defined by the world. His ways are not the world’s ways.

As the Holy Spirit enlightens us, our knowledge of God expands. That enlightenment is tied in with the hope to which we are called by Christ. That hope transforms us. That hope includes the hope of life after death. That hope is at the heart of the resurrection of Christ and our resurrection to eternal life with him.  The enlightenment we get from our expanded knowledge of God also shines a light on the riches of the glory of our eternal inheritance. We will spend eternity with the angels and redeemed people.

The enlightenment also shines a light on the awesomeness of God’s power, especially when it is exercised by believers. This is the Resurrection power that raised Christ from the dead. It is the same power that took Jesus back to heaven. It is the same power that exists over heaven and earth. It is the same power that defeated evil. It is the same power that will exist for all eternity. It is the same power that will heal the sick, drive out demons, renew our spirits, reconcile our relationships and bring peace. God’s power changes lives. God’s power is real. It meets us at our point of need. It is dependable and consistent.  

Ephesians 1:15-28 is often read on the Sunday when we celebrate Christ’s ascension. Ephesians has been called “The Epistle of the Ascension” because it is in this letter where we meet the exalted Christ. The reading is also appropriate for Reign of Christ Sunday because on this particular Sunday we also meet the Christ who is exalted as our heavenly king and Saviour. Christ is the king or head, but we are his body. Whatever Christ would do, we must do. We are his hands and feet. We are to do God’s work by spreading the Good News of the kingdom, but we must not claim to be equal to him. Because of our sinful human nature, we are under judgment. Christ is the centre of the unity that God wants for all sinners. We are the instrument through which that unity will be created.

The Holy Spirit reveals God’s wisdom to us. It is a part of the power that we have as believers. The power we have allows us to live in freedom and victory over satanic forces. This power is greater than earthly powers. God’s wisdom is available to us, but we often refuse to obey it. We can’t pick and choose when to obey God. It is not something we can take from God and leave. We can only get it through a living relationship with God.

We need wisdom. It is the ability to make the right calls. We get wisdom in five ways:

1.      Entering into a personal relationship with God.

2.      Praying for wisdom.

3.      Meditating on God’s Word.

4.      Hearing and heeding the counsel of people we respect.

5.      Seeking wisdom with all of our heart.

God is a visionary leader. He sees opportunities in the spiritual world-opportunities for us to do his will. He is saving people through Jesus and through us when we do his work in our world. He allows us to see that this is his world and he is in it. His heavenly vision needs our earthly support.  All of us have a calling. It is our responsibility to exercise Christ-like control over our lives. 

We have the same authority in the spiritual realm as those Christ sent out personally. In fact, because of Christ’s death, resurrection and ascension, we can have greater spiritual power because we are in Christ instead of being with Christ. We must be conscious of this authority. We must be aware of that authority so that we will be aware of our rich, eternal inheritance.

The power of Jesus isn’t like any power that we know on this earth. God’s power is so great that it is beyond anything we can imagine. It has vital strength which can overcome any obstacles and gain complete control over our lives. His power redefines and changes our lives. It recreates us as his new people through the water of baptism. His power is stronger than death – it gives eternal life. His power forgives even our worst sins. His power gives us new directions – daily it kills everything that is evil and corrupting in our lives and renews us as his chosen people. His power gives us his body and blood in a piece of bread and a sip of wine. His power gives us faith through the Word of God. He is ready to use his power in our lives, our families, and our work places. He is ready to use his power when we are overcome with fear, worry, grief, and pain

The power in the cross is evident when out of love God gave up his son’s life for our sake. He loaded our sins on Jesus’ shoulders when Jesus was on the cross. The power of the cross raised Jesus from the dead. God’s power gave Jesus all power and authority when Jesus returned to heaven. God’s power is based on the love he has for us.

There is power in the cross, and there is hope in the cross. Hope keeps us fighting for Christ in our evil world. Hope keeps us going when times are tough. Hope keeps us going when we face persecution. Hope abides. God isn’t finished with us yet!

 Bibliography

1.      Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible, NKJV (Brentwood, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013)

2.      Dunnam, M.D. & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 31: Galatians/Ephesians/Philippians/Colossians/Philemon (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.: 1982)

3.      Michael Youssef, Ph.D., “Asking for Wisdom.” Retrieved from www.leadingtheway.org

4.      Gary Robinson, “So you’re Not a Visionary.” Retrieved from www.preaching.com

5.      Dr. Neil Anderson, “Our Access to Christ’s Authority.” Retrieved from Crosswalk@crosswalkmail.com

6.      Os Hillman, “The Question of Calling.” Retrieved from Christainity.com@crosswalkmail.com

7.      Dr. Neil Anderson, “Our Dynamic Power Source.” Retrieved from Crosswalk@crosswalkmail.com

8.      Michael Youssef, Ph.D., “False Light.” Retrieved from www.leadingtheway.org

9.      Rick Ezell, “Five Ways to Get Wisdom.” Retrieved from www.greerfbc.org

10.  Dr. Randy White, “Hope, Richness and Greatness.” Retrieved from Christianity.com@crosswalkmail.com

11.  Dr. Neil Anderson, “Our Access to Christ’s Authority.” Retrieved from Crosswalk@crosswalkmail.com

12.  C. Clifton Black, “Commentary on Ephesians 1:15-23.” Retrieved from www.workingpreacher.org

13.  Eduardo A. Colon-Emeric, “The Hope of Your Calling.” Retrieved from www.faithandleadership.com

14.  Pastor Vince Gerhardy, “Ascension Power.” Retrieved from www.lectionary.org

 

 

 

Matthew 25:31-46 How to Make God Smile

Good morning boys and girls!

I wasn’t here last week, but someone told me that Rev. Bonnie gave all of you some homework to do. Do you remember what it was? She gave each of you five dollars and told you to use that money to do something that would make God smile. Have any of you done that yet?  

Boys and girls, one way to make God smile is to do something for the poor, the sick, or the less fortunate people in our community. For example, I know that when I do my work for the local food bank, God smiles. On the other hand, one way to make God mad is to not do anything for the poor, the sick or the less fortunate. Jesus talks about all of this in Mathew 25:31-46, and I’m going to take a few minutes to read it to you right now. 

When we do something for the less fortunate, we are doing it for God. We have a lot to be thankful for, but are we willing to share what we are thankful for with the less fortunate? For those of you who have shared the gift Rev. Bonnie gave you last Sunday, she, God and I all say to you, “Well done, good and faithful servants.” For those of you who have not shared her gift yet, there’s still lots of time to do God’s work, so there’s still time to make her, me, God and all of your Christian brothers and sisters smile.

Let’s close our eyes and bow our heads for a moment of prayer. Dear God, thank you for your love. Thank you for everything you have given us. Help us to use your gifts to help others who need our help. In Jesus’ name we pray, AMEN.

 

Saturday 15 November 2014

Matthew 25:14-30 The Gifts of God: Use Them or Lose Them

Have you ever been afraid to use your gifts, talents or skills? Have you ever thought that your skills and talents were not appreciated by other people? If the answer to either one or both of these questions is “yes”, then you can probably sympathize with the third slave on the Parable of the Talents, which you will find in Matthew 25:14-30.
 
The word “talent” represents all of the opportunities God has given his people to serve him. Talents include wealth, abilities and learning. The parable teaches us to invest everything God gives us for his glory. If we want to be faithful servants of Christ, we must use what he gives us to spread the Good News. If we are faithful stewards in this life, we will be rewarded with even greater responsibility in the next life. The reward will be in proportion to the tasks we have accomplished.

Sometimes when we do God’s work, we will not feel appreciated. I’m speaking from experience. I’ve often felt that my ministry has not been appreciated in the community, but I was proven wrong at my recent anniversary service. When we feel that what we are doing for God is not appreciated here on earth, all we have to do is what I did-pray to God. When we please him, we are doing our daily job. The greatest reward God can give will go to godly people who have laboured faithfully without any earthly recognition.

We are encouraged to be better than average. We are encouraged to excel. So why don’t we excel? Why don’t we try?  The answer is fear. Fearful servants, are afraid of God. They see him as a harsh taskmaster. They do not see the meaning of the term, “fear God” as “total reverence.” They take the term “fear God” quite literally, and therefore they never multiply the gifts God gave them.

To know God, as the moral slave knew, is to be afraid. To really know God is to agree that he does indeed make his rain to fall upon the just and the unjust alike. To know God is to acknowledge, as the fearful slave acknowledged, that he's a tough man, playing by rules we can easily question and often find deplorable. Such knowledge would make almost any thinking person afraid, and thus it was that the unprofitable slave took up the shield of playing it safe in order to hold his fear at bay.  

God is both a generous rewarder and a strict judge. He evaluates our stewardship on the basis of how well we administer the responsibilities and talents he has given us. He evaluates our stewardship based on how well we have kept His priorities instead of our own.   If we use his gifts to spread the Good News, we will be rewarded. If we don’t, we will be punished by being separated from him for eternity.

We must master and receive the gifts God gives us, including the gift of time. No matter how old or how young we are, we can still use the gifts God gave us. Even when we are sick, God can still use us. If we master and use the gifts God gave us, we will have plenty of time to grow in faith and spread God’s Kingdom here on earth.

One of the most important gifts we have is our salvation. Sometimes we take it for granted, and sometimes we treat it like one of our most prized possessions. Sometimes we treat it with reverence and respect when we are first saved, but sometimes over time we take it for granted. That is the wrong attitude to have. The gift of salvation is a gift from God, and we are to use it just as we use all of the other gifts he has given us.

Another one of the gifts God has given us is the Gospel. He gave us that gift not so that our ability to spread it can be put to good use, but so that our inability is exposed and God is glorified. We can’t, but God can.

Christ demands faithfulness. If we are faithful we will produce results. If we do not use what God gave us, we will lose everything. We are to dedicate ourselves and all we have been given to Christ so that he can multiply those gifts.

Jesus seems to imply that there will be a long period of time between his first coming and his second coming, but the delay does not mean that he will not be coming. We are duty-bound to expand God’s kingdom in his absence regardless of how long we have to wait for him to return.

God sees everything from the beginning to the end, even if we can’t understand things. He sees our motives. He sees how we handle even the smallest of things, and our future depends on the little things. Contrary to what a popular saying says, we must “sweat the small stuff.” 

So how can we know what God wants us to do? It’s simple. We have to read the Bible. If we do, we will discover that God does not want us to play it safe. He wants us to take risks. No risk, no reward. We have to risk living the life Jesus taught us to lead instead of the life the world wants us to lead.

There are lots of lessons to be learned from the Parable of the Talents:

1.      Be good stewards of your abilities. Lose them or lose them.

2.      Don’t be afraid to try.

3.      Never say, “I have so little, my contribution won’t matter.” Every little bit helps.

4.      People may not be equal in talent but they can sure be equal in effort.

The faithful servants gambled with the master’s goods in pure blind faith that that was really what he meant for them to do. They yearned so completely, in other words, that they believed his intentions--his spirit, if you will--as they understood it, and they gambled themselves on fulfilling it. They loved the master with all their hearts and souls and minds, for this is the first and great commandment, and all the others are secondary unto it.  The only proper response to such stories as these is to pray that God may give each of us such grace and faithfulness in our times as he gave to those faithful servants in their storied ones.

We are getting closer to the end of the church year. In two week's time we will be starting the season of Advent. Advent is a time to remember Jesus’ birth in the stable in Bethlehem over 2,000 years ago. It is also a time to prepare for his Second Coming, and Matthew 25 talks about being prepared for the coming kingdom.  When God comes to judge us, will we be afraid that we will be cast into the fires of hell? Are we being too cautious when it comes to serving God?  Are we afraid of failure? Are we afraid of taking the chances that discipleship requires? The Parable of the Talents encourages us to take bold, risky action just like this church has taken action to help the older members by investing in this projector and screen.

The Parable of the Talents is about trust. God trusts us to use the gifts he has given us to spread his kingdom here on earth. He calls on us to return the favour by acting on the gifts he has given us out of trust. God has blessed us so much that we can’t lift our bushel baskets on our own. God only asks that we use, spend and grow our resources, including our talents. He only asks that we love him enough not to hoard or hide our resources. We can trust him. Can he trust us?

Winston Churchill once said that “We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.”  Albert Schweitzer said, “I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I do know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.” On Judgment Day, we will be called on to give a personal report to God. That report will be based on the choices we make here and now. We can make any changes we want to here and now. It will be too late to make them when we stand before God.

Bibliography

1.      Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible, NKJV (Brentwood, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013)

2.      ESV Study Bible. Part of Wordsearch 10 Bible software package.

3.      Augsberger, M.S. & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 29: Matthew (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1982)

4.      Sheri Rose Shepherd, “His Perfect Gifts.” Retrieved from www.e.biblegateway.com

5.      Joni Eareckson Tada, “Rewards.” Retrieved from www.joniandfriends.org

6.      Joni Eareckson Tada, “The Legacy of Mary Rose.” Retrieved from www.joniandfriends.org

7.      Michael Youssef, Ph.D., “The Little Things.” Retrieved from www.leadingtheway.org

8.      T.M. Moore, “A Parable for Our Time.” Retrieved from www.colsoncenter.org

9.      Dave Brannon, “Still Working.” Retrieved from www.rbc.org

10.  Joe Gibbs, “Who’s the Boss?” Retrieved from Crosswalk@crosswalkmail.com

11.  Dr. David Jeremiah, “Faithful over Few, Ruler over Many.” Retrieved from Christianity.com@crosswalkmail.com

12.  Richard Inness, “The Choices We Make Make Us.” Retrieved from www.actsweb.org

13.  James Howell, “Trojan Horse.” Retrieved from www.religion-online.org

14.  Phyllis Tickle, “The Story of Two Parables.” Retrieved from www.day1.org

15.  The Rev. Charles Hoffacker, “Trust, Not Fear.” Retrieved from www.lectionary.org

16.  The Rev. Dr. David E. Leninger, “The One in the Middle.” Retrieved from www.lectionary.org

17.  Dr. Philip W. McLarty, “What Are You Afraid Of?” Retrieved from www.lectionary.org

18.  Exegesis for Matthew 25:14-30. Retrieved from www.lectionary.org

19.  Fr. John Boll, O.P., “Volume 2: 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Nov. 16, 2014” Retrieved from volume2@lists.opsouth.org