Saturday, December 30, 2006

The Word with Us

A sermon delivered to All Saints Anglican Church on December 31, 2006, based on John 1:1-18

This past week, we celebrated the birth of a baby boy to a young mother and her protective husband. Matthew, Mark and Luke, the so-called ‘Synoptic” or ‘same view” Gospel writers, were all keen to present the human side of the Nativity with specific details and genealogies that we can relate to humanly, at a certain point in time. Now comes John and tells us in philosophical and poetic terms who exactly this Jesus was: the Word of God, the only-begotten son of the Father, full of Grace and truth.

Just to set the context, John was Jesus’ best friend, the ‘beloved disciple’, the who leaned upon his breast at the Lord’s supper, who received Mary as his own mother at the crucifixion when the other disciples were cowering in fear. This is John, who received the Revelation from Jesus on the Isle of Patmos, who was the youngest of the disciples, and who lived the longest and was the last surviving eye-witness to the ministry of Jesus. This man had a very important message to his world about the God-Nature of the man we call Jesus, the Christ.

During John’s lifetime, Gnosticism had come to be a huge focus of attention in the church. It was the notion that God was God and Man is Man and never the two shall meet. Gnostics viewed the Incarnation as a scandal, and even at the extreme edge, saw Judas as the hero of the Gospel narrative – someone who had the courage to recognize that God and Man do not belong together in the same human being, and therefore the Divine had to be liberated from the flesh – violently if necessary.

Gnostics used the concept of the Logos to indicate a creative principle, by which the world was created. But this Logos was not understood to be a Person, but an impersonal force or organizing idea; certainly not a Person. John’s Prologue to his Gospel comes as a broadside against this Greek philosophy and totally redefines the terms of discussion about the Divine. John tells us that “in the beginning was the Word – the Logos – and the Word was with God and the Word was God.

In just a few sentences, John captures Truth about God that has never been surpassed for its literary beauty and theological concision. The opening words echo Genesis, “In the beginning” – but the first book of the Bible focuses on the actions of God creating through his pronouncements. God Speaks and the world comes in being. In John’s Gospel, we see that the spoken Word of God is actually a Person, Jesus. This Logos, the Second Person of the Trinity became flesh and dwelt among us. God took on Flesh and became Emmanuel, God with us. In a word, he was Incarnated, clothed with flesh. This is the Event we celebrate in Advent, the coming of the Word into the world.

But John also wants us to understand that in and through Jesus everything came into being that has come into being, and apart from Him, nothing has come into being. He is reinforcing the Genesis message of God’s creative mastery over our lives. God speaks and the world comes into existence. The universe is not the result of random chance operating in a vacuum. Our lives are not random events in a senseless material world, but rather highly specific actions of an Absolute and Sovereign God, one to whom we owe allegiance and fealty as our Maker, and to whom we will give an account of all our actions.

Contrast this with what we call Postmodernism. Postmoderns don’t believe in any Logos, or in Truth as an objective category. Truth is constructed in your head, according to your experience, your likes and dislikes. There is little or no sense of recognizing an authority outside of oneself as having any claim or demand upon me. Freedom is the highest value. Nothing should ever get in the way of what I want to do. Everyone’s opinion is equally valid; it’s as if folks are saying to God, “I’ve got a right to my opinion – even if you do claim to be God.”

Postmoderns believe that every path is valid as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone. Toleration is the highest interpersonal value. To assert that there is such a thing as Truth is to gain for yourself the label of Intolerant or Bigot – the unforgivable secular sin. I actually heard one of my colleagues at work say to another colleague, very seriously, “I have no tolerance for Intolerance!” I wanted to go up to her and say, “Here’s yer sign!”


Now back to John for a little black and white theology. Jesus, he says, is our Life and this life is the light of men. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not and never will be able to overtake it. Jesus came to a people who sat in darkness awaiting the fulfillment of the prophetic Word. They were yearning to be free of the oppression of the Romans. But Jesus came to His own people and they did not recognize Him. Instead, just as they did to all the other prophets, they killed Jesus. But the great loss of the Jewish people was our gain. For while the Jews rejected Christ, ‘as many as did receive Him, he gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in his name’(v.14). This is a clear cut case of something either being True or Not. Jesus is either the Messiah or Not. The postmodern wishes to assert, “That’s not true for me”, as if one’s acknowledgment of facts is sort of like picking out an outfit: “Does this alb make me look fat?”…

Postmoderns can’t stand the idea that something is True and something else is not true. Yet at the same time, they can’t quite get away with just making things up as they go. They want to have something behind their preferences to back them up. So they bring in Science, or more to the point pseudo-science and try to say things like “Being Gay is Genetic”, not realizing that the Word of God never bases values or ethics on genetics. When the Bible says “Don’t lust, fornicate or commit adultery” there is no sympathy whatsoever for any special pleading that I may be heterosexual and so have to Lust, fornicate and commit adultery. “I can’t help it, it’s my genes…” doesn’t cut it with God.


Truth is all about Judgment. Alexander Solzehitzen says “One word of Truth outweighs the Universe. When Truth comes to us, it judges everything that isn’t True by virtue of its simple existence. Truth separates Good from Bad, Reality from Unreality and the perfect from the imperfect. Truth can be our ‘enemy’ as it exposes the lies and deceptions in our lives. That’s why people reject God’s free offer of salvation; it exposes their own lies and self-deceptions.

But in Jesus, Truth and Grace come together. Jesus is described as being full of Grace and Truth. Because He lived a sinless life, Truth has been satisfied in Him. Because he offered himself freely on our behalf, we receive Grace instead of judgment. Grace is undeserved favor. It’s what you get when you don’t get what you deserve. It comes as a gift, not because of anything we have done.

One of the great things that happen when we receive Christ as Savior is that we receive the gift of adoption as Children of God. Not only are we forgiven of our sins, but we become part of the family. We receive Grace upon Grace. While the Jewish people claimed to be the sons of God through being descended of Abraham, we Christians are born not of Blood, nor by any action of our own wills, says John, but by the gracious will of God. We are born of the Spirit. That is, God makes alive those who receive Jesus as Christ and Savior. Believing in Christ is not a work of the will of man, but an acceptance, a recognition, or appropriation of something God has graciously provided – Salvation. Those who receive Christ as Lord are born of the Spirit and legally adopted into the family of God, becoming joint-heirs along with Jesus, of the Grace of Life.


Folks, this is what the world needs desperately. Some of us met at 1410 Charleston Avenue on Friday to walk through the house and to pray over the property. While we in the midst of praying, a man named Tom walked up to us and said, “I saw you all praying over here and I thought I’d come and get some of that for me. I’m an alcoholic and I need to be free from alcohol”. So we laid hands on Tom and prayed for him. And while we know that addictions are insidious and usually require years of work to maintain sobriety, we also know that virtually everyone who kicks an addiction starts with a sense of spiritual poverty and ends up having a spiritual renewal. People like Tom and Walter from last week need God with them to help them overcome the terrible pull of drugs and alcohol. They’re not looking for a Postmodern philosophy that affirms them in their dysfunction, they need the New Birth that comes through believing in Christ as Savior.

In Acts 13:33, Paul preaches in Antioch and refers back to Ps. 2:7. “Thou art my Son, Today I have begotten Thee”. Here, Paul uses the word begotten to refer to God having raised Jesus from the Dead. Hebrews 1:5 quotes the same verse, again invoking the sense of God begetting His son in the act of raising Him from the Dead and seating him at the right hand of the Father. In a similar way, we are begotten as God’s sons when we are saved from the death-grip of Sin over us. And this is why Jesus Christ came into the world – to save sinners by raising them from death.

We, who have been saved by His redeeming grace need to reach out and take that same redeeming Grace into our world and help people like Tom and Walter find the fullness of Grace upon Grace which comes to us through Jesus, God’s only son, the One who is close to the Father’s heart and has made him know to us. Amen.

Saturday, December 23, 2006

Madonna, the Blessed

A sermon delivered on December 24, 2006 at All Saints Anglican Church, based on Luke 1:39-56.


Ralph was sending his 23 year old secretary to the post office to buy stamps, and Ralph’s wife asked her to get a sheet of Christmas stamps while she was there. The secretary was happy to do that. When she returned from the post office, she showed Ralph’s wife the nice Christmas stamps with snowflakes on them. She said, “I chose these because the other Christmas stamps had a picture of Madonna and that child she adopted.”

Such is the level of general knowledge about Mary. Even in church circles we often don’t quite know what to make of this icon of a woman. We know she’s important, but our impressions of her are largely formed in reaction over against the Roman Catholic view. We know she has a special place in our faith as the Mother of Jesus, but mostly our approach to her is to send her a Hallmark Card on Mother’s Day with a generic message, “Thanks for everything, Mom.” But since the Scriptures record her words, “All generations will call me blessed”…, we really owe it to ourselves as Christians to think about this woman more seriously and to understand what place she can play in our faith. Thus, the title of this message is “Madonna, the Blessed”.

I’ve often wondered about the Magnificat, the song Mary sang upon meeting Elizabeth. How could a 15- year-old unschooled girl come up with such amazing poetry so full of exalted praise of God and prophetic unction?! Where did she get that kind of language? I think the answer is that she knew the Scriptures and was blessed by that knowledge. Listen to this and see if it sounds familiar:

1 "My heart rejoices in the LORD; in the LORD my horn [a] is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance.
2 "There is no one holy [b] like the LORD; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.
3 "Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance, for the LORD is a God who knows, and by him deeds are weighed.
4 "The bows of the warriors are broken, but those who stumbled are armed with strength.
5 Those who were full hire themselves out for food, but those who were hungry hunger no more. She who was barren has borne seven children, but she who has had many sons pines away.
6 "The LORD brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave [c] and raises up.
7 The LORD sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts.
8 He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor. "For the foundations of the earth are the Lord’s; upon them he has set the world.
9 He will guard the feet of his saints, but the wicked will be silenced in darkness. "It is not by strength that one prevails;
10 those who oppose the LORD will be shattered. He will thunder against them from heaven; the LORD will judge the ends of the earth."He will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed."

This is from I Samuel Chapter 2, the Prayer of Hannah, mother of Samuel, which she sang when she was told she would conceive a child. It’s fairly easy to see the similarities between the two songs. In addition there are numerous references to the Psalms. All in all, the Magnificat contains some 15 references to other Scripture passages. All of which means that Mary was very familiar with the Bible, most likely singing the Psalms and other canticles daily with her family during their devotions. Thus her spontaneous song to the Lord was informed by her deep familiarity with Scriptural songs. Mary waxed poetic because she knew the Bible – and as a consequence also knew God. Like Mary and her family, we would do well to make the reading and memorization of Scripture a daily part of our lives. If we do, we will receive a great blessing, and be ready to react to life’s circumstances with Scriptural responses.

Mary was also Blessed in her Belief. Her attitude of Belief is especially evident as she interacts with Gabriel. You’ll remember that Mary responds to the news from the angel with the question, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” Compare this with her Uncle Zechariah’s response to Gabriel: “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years?”

On the surface, these questions are very similar. But Zechariah is struck dumb and told that he would not speak until John was born because he did not believe Gabriel’s words. In contrast, Mary’s question is answered with an explanation of how the Holy Spirit will overshadow her and cause her to conceive a holy child. Her response is, “Fiat”, or “Let it be to me according to your word”. Mary is blessed because she believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord (Lk.2:45). This attitude of Belief and Acceptance is what attracted the special favor of God Almighty and caused Gabriel to address her as ‘Favored One”, Full of Grace.

Mary’s “Yes” to God is the model for our own belief. If we can put aside our “Yeah, right!” attitude of unbelief and entrust ourselves over into God’s care, we too will be blessed by knowing God and enjoying His salvation, just as the Scriptures say that if we believe with our hearts and confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord, we will be saved (Romans 10:9). The way to be saved is always the same:

*Believe that Jesus Christ is the Savior; come into the world to save Sinners,
* repent of your sins and
* confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord to the Glory of the Father. If you’ve never done this, I urge you to do it today! Be blessed like Mary and Believe!

Finally Mary is Blessed in her Position. By virtue of her “YES” to God, Mary became the mother of Jesus - God in the flesh. Because she bore our Lord in her body, she is known as the Theotokos – the God Bearer. This title was officially recognized at the Council of Ephesus in 431 AD. Mary is not a mere womb for hire, but an active participant in God’s plan of Salvation. She of all people is chosen as the one who will impart to Jesus his human nature, allowing him to become the God-Man. As a result, her soul is filled with joy, she magnifies the Lord and her spirit rejoices in God. She is blessed in her position as the Theotokos.

In birthing Jesus, Mary also secures for herself the position of the Second Eve: the “Mother of all the Living”, that is, all who exercise faith in Christ and gain eternal life. What the first Eve lost for us through her disobedience, the second Eve bought back for us through her willing cooperation with God. Thus, she becomes our true Mother in the faith, and even the personification of the Church itself. Mary is blessed to be known as the first and best Christian.

Because of her special closeness to Jesus, she is also seen to have a position as Representative of the poor and oppressed. This can be seen at the wedding of Cana in John chapter 2. Mary comes to Jesus and says, “They have no wine” (Jn. 2:3). Mary brings this need to Jesus’ attention with the implicit belief that he can and will do something about it. Her simple observation is understood as a statement that the people have no Salvation, no “wine which makes the heart of man glad”. There is an implicit request in her statement: “Save them!” “Make some wine!” Thus, Mary is seen to have a special place as an Intercessor with God on our behalf.

Now this has caused no little controversy between Anglicans and Roman Catholic Christians - especially when she is spoken of as a “Co-mediatrix”, even though this is not the official doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church.

As Anglicans, we can affirm that Mary can indeed intercede for us. She is part of the Communion of Saints just like every other believer who has passed on to be with God. But she is just like us: She was not sinless. She needed Salvation herself and recognized it in the Magnifcat, addressing God as “my Savior”.

Jesus Christ is the One true mediator between God and Man. We needn’t go through Mary to get to God as an additional mediator, yet her position as Mother of Jesus allows her to say, “They have no wine”; to be the unique spokeswoman for all of humanity, pleading with her Son for Justice, with the implicit assumption that Jesus will answer us out of his goodness and mercy.

She also speaks to us as her children, “Do whatever he tells you” (Jn 2:5). You could base your entire Christian life on this one statement and do very well indeed.

In summary, Mary is blessed above all women, indeed of all Christians. She embodies the fullest expression of the life of Grace. She was blessed in her Knowledge of the Scriptures and her personal holiness, she was blessed in her Belief, which allowed her to say Yes to God, and she is now ever-blessed in her position as the Theotokos, the God-Bearer, our Mother in the faith, and the spokeswoman of the poor and the oppressed. In a word, she combines in her person both Joy and Justice.

Adapting a sentence from the Seattle Statement of the Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission: “…when joy is joined with justice and peace … we rightly share in the economy of hope and grace which Mary proclaims and embodies.” Amen.

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Dealing with Anxiety God's Way

Philippians 4:4-9
December 17, 2006
All Saints Anglican Church

When I was growing up, our family used to visit Grandpa and Grandma Walker at their farm in Spencer West Virginia. The farm was 8 miles from the nearest black top road and sometimes when it came time to go home, and it had been raining, the road was so slick and muddy we couldn’t make it up the first hill to go back home. Try as we might, the tires just couldn’t get enough traction and we spun and spun to no avail. Grandpa used to walk down to the barn and get the tractor, hook up a chain to the front of our car and pull us up that slick hill. After that we seemed to be able to get along home. But without the power assist from the tractor, we would have still been there!

Many of us find ourselves in similar circumstances mentally: consumed with anxiety about the future. We worry about our children, worry about our finances, worry about our marriages – we’re stuck in the slick mud and we don’t seem to be able to extricate ourselves. Yet Jesus said that if we would trust Him, and seek first the Kingdom of God we would have peace and all the things we worry about would be added to us ( Mt. 6:33). Why do we fail to enter into the peace that comes with trusting God?

First let’s ask another question: What positive value does my worry, anxiety and fear serve? … Positive value? This seems a nonsensical question. Surely we would immediately respond by saying that there is no positive value in my worry and fear. But wait. Let’s also start with the premise that we wouldn’t do this unless it gave us some perceived sense of value. “Perceived” is the important word here. I would submit to you that anxious worry gives us a (false) perception that we are doing something about a problem.

To illustrate this, I’m thinking of another drive our family took out to Mulberry Ridge in January of 1968. We got stuck up to the axles in mud. The more Dad tromped on the gas, the more the wheels spun and dug us deeper into the mud. We finally had to get out and walk the rest of the way. Later, we came back and put rock under the wheels to increase traction, and finally got out of the mire.

If we could compare this situation to our body and brain in anxiety - the wheels (your body) quickly report that they’re stuck and can’t get out. The engine (your brain) responds by speeding up and putting out more power to the wheels. The wheels spin and spin, but are still stuck. Now the brain thinks it is doing its job quite well, but the body is screaming out, “No, No! We’re burning up back here! Stop!” This is a picture of someone stuck in chronic anxiety, constantly stimulated by adrenaline, holding on to the illusion that speeding up will solve the problem, but threatening to burn out through the effects of stress on the body.

Our worry gives us a perception that we’re doing something about being stuck, but this is a cruel illusion and intuitively we know it. We alternately condemn ourselves for pursuing this illusion, but feel compelled to hang on to it out of concern for what will happen if we let go.

Here is a key to understanding this dilemma: We are absolutely convinced that something terrible, something life-threatening is about to happen and it is up to us to fend it off. Our bodies serve our brains faithfully and so carry out physical action in accordance with an impending disaster. The digestion shuts down, blood is pumped to the extremities. The heart beats faster and the respiration speeds up. We are fully engaged in the classic fight or flight response, ready to take up the challenge. The only problem is that the disaster has not actually taken place and our bodily preparations are an exercise in futility. Just as Mark Twain said, “the Worst Things in my life never happen…”

We need to deal with Anxiety God’s Way to keep this type of stressing from slowly killing us.

Here then is the first important point in dealing with Anxiety God’s way: Rejoice in the Lord. (Teach the chorus.)

Now remember who is saying this. It’s Paul; the same Paul who was beaten and thrown into jail along with Silas in Philippi (not WV) for preaching the Gospel and upsetting the people. The same Paul who was singing God’s praise at midnight when an earthquake suddenly destroyed the jail they were in. This is a guy who knew how to praise God in the tough places (cf. Acts 16:25). Paul and Silas were rejoicing in the Lord, not in their circumstances. They were rejoicing in God’s character, power and presence, not in their circumstances. They were rejoicing that they had been found worthy to suffer for the sake of the Gospel, not fretting over their circumstances. And as a result, they saw the deliverance of God in a dramatic way. Although they were stuck in a big way, they didn’t let there circumstances determine their response, or alter their faith in God. They rejoiced in the Lord.

The second point in dealing with Anxiety is to Pray. Often, we hear people say, “the only thing we can do now is pray” – as if this is a desperate last-ditch effort. To the contrary, prayer is the first and best thing we can do.

Prayer is talking to Someone who has the power to do something about our problem! God is able to do “exceedingly abundantly above all that we think or imagine” (Eph 3:20). Therefore, giving the problem over to Him is like kicking the problem upstairs; He’ll definitely do Something about it! But this means that we will have to make an adjustment in our thinking; we will have to give up being Junior God of the Universe!

You see, we often behave as if God had died recently, leaving us in charge! And because we know that our resources are pathetically limited, we also know we are in deep trouble. Therefore, Anxiety is a “reasonable” response to our dilemma! If I worry enough, I can somehow fend off the train wreck waiting to happen. But if you will check the obituaries in your local newspaper, you’ll quickly see that God’s name is not there - nor is it ever likely to appear. And since God is alive and much bigger and more powerful than I, He knows what to do and how to accomplish it. He doesn’t need my help!

Worry and anxiety masquerade as Christian Responsibility. But this “responsibility” is based on the false assumption that I am in charge of the Universe and that I must do something about the impending disaster. Because God is alive and in charge of all things, I am now free to stop my own ineffective worry. I must take the time to listen and heed what He plans for me, but I am now free of the overwhelming responsibility of the world’s problems. So think of prayer as the freedom to be “irresponsible” by entrusting yourself and your circumstances over to God.

Pondering, or changing your thoughts, is the next important point. We are to think on things that are good, true pure lovely worthy of praise and excellent, not lament how terrible our situation is. In the lingo of counseling and psychotherapy, we call this cognitive restructuring: Restructuring your thoughts to line up with the way things really are, not according to the false, distorted lies the Devil whispers to us. Instead of “Awfulizing” – “This is bad, this is terrible, this is awful, I’m going to die” – we need to practice telling ourselves the things that are true about God and ourselves, such as God is trustworthy and powerful. He is able to do help in time of need, if we only trust Him. The children of Israel did this when they recounted all the many mighty deeds God had done for them in bringing them out of Egypt, across the Red Sea and into the Promised Land. They were restructuring naturally negative thoughts into a rehearsal of God’s goodness and power, dwelling on the good, the true, beautiful, the excellent and the praiseworthy. Thus their confidence in God was built up.


Then finally, we are to Practice what we have learned. Paul exhorts his readers to follow him. Remember he could assert this because he had demonstrated the ability to do it in prison while bleeding and full of pain. He tells the Philippians to model themselves on him and practice what they have seen him do. And what he did was to practice his faith by Rejoicing, Pray and Pondering. He also practiced his faith by being active and doing things. In a word, he took Action.

Action is the antidote to Anxiety. But it must be effective action, not the illusory action of simply speeding up our thoughts with no effect. To go back to our car in the mud for a moment, if we want to get unstuck, we have do something that will actually accomplish a result. We have to go get the tractor and get pulled out, or we have to put something under the wheels to increase traction so that we can get out of the mud. Simply speeding up the wheels will not work, however well-intentioned. To translate this to our physical existence, somehow we must find an activity that both brain and body will accept as Action in order to reduce our anxiety. Happily, efficacious Action is both simple and easily accomplished.

Of course Prayer is Action because you are giving the problems to Someone who can do something about the problem. But another very simple Action is to write things down on a piece of paper. Especially late at night, or when we are tossing and turning in our beds, worrying about something, it is very helpful to actually get up out of bed and write down the things that worry us. Then we sketch out possible courses of action we think might fix the problems. When everything is laid out on paper, our brains will accept the notion that we have done something and we can go on to the business of falling asleep. We have made a tentative plan and written it down. This writing is the difference between planning and anxious worry. A plan can be written down, anxious worry cannot.

Beyond writing things down, it is necessary to actually do something; make arrangements to pay an outstanding bill, talk to someone you’ve been at odds with, complete a project you’ve been putting off. Do something that will relieve you of the need to worry.

Time doesn’t permit an exhaustive treatment of this topic, but I’ll just add one thought to tie our discussion in to Advent. Paul says not to worry; the Lord is at hand. During Advent, we think about both the first and second comings of our Lord. If we think on the latter too much, we can easily become distressed about the state of the world and what terrible thing will happen next.

Brothers and Sisters be anxious for nothing, but pray with thanksgiving in your hearts. Let your requests be made known to God – and His peace, the Peace that surpasses all understanding will guard your heart and your mind in our Lord Christ Jesus. Amen.

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

“Fruity Christians” Comparative Study

Compare the Similar Phrases in the following passages:

I Thessalonians 3: 11 Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you, 12 and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, 13 so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.


Philippians 1 Paul and Timothy, servants [1] of Christ Jesus,To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers [2] and deacons: [3] 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. 7 It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8 For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.


Luke 3:8 Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. … Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” 10 And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?” 11 And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics [2] is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.” 12 Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” 13 And he said to them, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do.” 14 Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages.”

Fruity Christians

A Sermon Delivered to All Saints Anglican Church, based on Phil 1: 1-11

As I was doing my research for this sermon, I began to be struck by several phrases: I Phil 1:9, Paul prays that "your love may abound more and more” This reminded me immediately of last week’s reading from
I Thes. 3:12, where the apostle prays that “you may increase and abound in love.”

In verse 10 of Phil. I, we have the admonition to be “pure and blameless”. In I Thes. 3:13, we read the phrase “blameless in holiness”. Then there is the phrase “day of Christ Jesus in Phil 1:6, and the parallel “coming of our Lord Jesus” in I Thes. 3:13.

Additionally, we have “all the saints” in Phil 1:1 and “all His saints” in
I Thes. 3:13.

The last phrase that struck me was “Fruit of Righteousness”: Phil 1:11. This is what ties everything together and links it to the Gospel reading Lk 3:8,9, in which John tells the crowds of people to “bring forth fruits in keeping with repentance”. The Baptist compares people with trees, who must bear good fruit or are cut down.

So, here again are the phrases:
Abound in Love
Pure and blameless
Coming of our Lord
All the saints
Fruit of Righteousness.

As we study the Bible, one way that the Lord speaks to us is by leading us down a trail, sort of like being on a scavenger hunt. We read the Word and listen attentively. We keep our eyes peeled for signs along the way, and as we do, He gives us insight into the Bible and His will for us. Now, I know that these clues have not all come together into a coherent meaning yet, but I hope to begin to show that to you now.

John the Bapist is also very specific to say that doing Justice to your fellow man is a fruit of repentance. Giving to those who don’t have and not cheating people are fruits of righteousness. They come about through Repentance - and John proclaimed a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

But John quickly goes on to tell the people that One greater is coming, one whose sandals he is not worthy to untie. When he comes “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire” Luke 3: 16. And indeed later in the same chapter we read how Jesus was baptized and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son, with you I am well pleased.” 3:22.

Of course Jesus was completely righteous already, but submitted to John’s baptism in order to ‘fulfill all righteousness’ – and he was Baptized with the Holy Spirit.

Now, here is where we begin to pull it all together:

(Here, I passed out "Fruit of the Loom" thermal shirt packs bearing Post-It labels of each of the 9 fruits of the Spirit. After passing them out, I asked the people who have them what the label said. Some said“Fruit of the Loom”. But then others listed Love, Joy, Peace… etc.)

So what you have in your hands is the Fruit of the Loom… but also the Fruit of the Spirit. Gal 5: 22 tells us that the fruit of the Spirit is: Love Joy Peace Patience Kindness, Goodness Faithfulness Gentleness and Self Control. John told the people that the fruit of righteousness was to do justly to your neighbor. But here we have a list of qualities which describe the character of one who bears the Fruit of the Spirit.

Significantly, the fruit of the Spirit is not something we can manufacture on our own steam. Going back to Galatians 5 vv 19-21, we see that the ‘works of the flesh’ are: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. These are the qualities of the self-centered, flesh indulgent person, namely, all of us. Unless you get some kind of power assist and help from above this list is what you and I act out. This is our Sin nature, our (worse than) beastly self.

Ephesians 5:18 tells us not to be drunk with wine, but be filled with the Spirit – that is to be directed or controlled by the Holy Spirit. It’s not a suggestion; it’s a command in the Imperative voice. Don’t do this, do that. So how do we do that?

Here’s the progression:

1) Repent of your sins. In our liturgy we will soon hear the admonishment, ‘ye who do earnestly repent ye of your sins…”
Turn around and go the other way. That’s what repentance means literally.
2) Be baptized for the remission of our sins. Go down in the water to show that you are dying to sin and are being raised to walk in newness of life, now cleansed of your offenses against God.
3) Bring forth fruit in keeping with Repentance by being Filled with the Holy Spirit, just as Jesus was. Do works of social justice, but also Abound in Love and be Holy, Pure and Blameless – walking in love with God and your neighbor. Bear the Fruit of the Spirit: ( Have the congregation members shout them out.)

If you do this you will show yourself to be one of his Saints, or ‘called out ones’.

Then, when the Day of the Lord comes, you will have a place in His kingdom along with all the other saints who have gone on before us. (Here it is well to know that the Day of the Lord is an “unveiling” (Apokolypsis, Grk.).

And the key to it all is Repenting and being Filled with the Spirit.
When we repent of our sins, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside of us. This is really the Baptism of the Spirit. Every believer has it, despite how Pentecostals use the term. As a Christian, the Holy Spirit is the Life of Christ within you. But you can choose how much you want to be directed and controlled by the Spirit – a little bit, or perhaps not at all… - or you can be like a sailboat, being pushed along by the power of the wind, pneuma, Spirit. Believe me, it’s a lot more fun than trying to do it on your own. And it’s the only real way you can bear forth fruit in keeping with repentance.

So let’s give this a try. In a few moments we’ll confess our sins according to the form in our liturgy. Then after that, we’ll take a few moments to ask the Holy Spirit to fill us and direct us.

So what are the Fruits of the Spirit again?.... Alright. Now go out there and be Fruity Christians! Amen.

{The shirts were collected and combined with other items to be taken to the Barboursville Veterans Home.}

Sunday, December 03, 2006

The Two Sides of Prophecy

This Sermon was delivered on December 3 to All Saints Anglican Church, Barboursville, WV. It is based on Zechariah 14:4-9; Luke 21:25-31


If you’ve ever been a parent of teenagers, or worked closely with young people, who know what it’s like to spot trouble up ahead and to want to prophecy: …”If you don’t shape up, you’re going to…come to no good, waste your life, or perhaps even die.

When God sends prophets to his people, He’s doing a similar thing. The first phase of Prophecy is a Warning. ‘If you don’t change your ways Israel, calamity will come upon you. The worst calamity was the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile of her people into 70 years of Babylonian captivity – all because of the disobedience of His people.

But because God is gracious and desires relationship with his people, He also gives us words to encourage Hope, just like a coach or a Scout leader who looks at a young person’s potential and sees that something good will come of their lives. Through predictive words of Prophecy, God gives people glimpses of what’s up ahead so that they may preserver in the present and keep on pressing toward the eventual goal – victory over adversity.

Through the Prophet Zechariah God told Israel what was coming. He gave them specific things to watch for to keep them looking up and ahead. Many of them pertain to the success of a rebuilt Jerusalem. For under King Darius of Persia, Israel had been allowed to return home to Jerusalem and begin rebuilding. Under Nehemiah and Ezra, the work prospered but wasn’t completed. King Zerubbabel completed the basic restoration of the city and started in on building the Temple, but the people were struggling to keep up the work after just a month of labor and so the prophets Haggai and Zechariah encouraged them with visions that God had shown them. The immediate purpose of the visions was to let the people know they would succeed in their task of rebuilding - and so the stories of Jerusalem being filled with the returning exiles from Babylon and that God Himself protecting Jerusalem were very comforting and inspiring.

But into the mix, the Lord also adds details that can only point toward Jesus. In the Chapter 3 of Zechariah, we have the vision of Joshua – Yeshua – Jesus the High priest clothed in filthy garments, but then having those garments removed – symbolizing the forgiveness of our sins in one day (v.9). The Coming of the Branch of David is foretold, who will be the Messiah, the promised one. He will be pierced and a fountain (filled with blood) will be opened. (12:10; 13:1-9).

Chapter four contains visions of a candlestick (the house of God being built by Zerubbabel, and later , the Church bearing light to the world) and two Olive trees – Joshua and Zerbubbabel initially, and later echoed as the two witnesses in Revelation 11. The descendant of Zerubbabel, the Branch, Jesus, will build a more glorious House in the future.

Rev. Halley, in his Bible Handbook also points out that are specific glimpses of Jesus Christ in Zechariah:
His Atoning Death for the Removal of Sin. (3:8-9;13:1)
As Builder of the House of God (6:12)
His universal Reign as King and Priest (6:13;9:10)
Triumphal Entry (9:9 cf.Mt. 21:5; Jn. 12:15)
Betrayal for 30 pieces of silver (11:12, cf. Mt. 27:9,10)
His Deity(12:8).
His Hands Pierced (12:10;13:6 cf. Jn. 19:37)
A Smitten Shepherd (13:7, cf. Mt 26:31, Mk 14:27)

These, says Halley, are all instances that refer specifically to the Personal, Visible, Bodily, Literal return of the Lord Jesus Christ,

the coming Day of The Lord, which is a reckoning and a full revelation of his Sovereign Kingship.

Last night we went to see the movie, the Nativity. Coming out of this movie left Cindy and I both very pensive – even more so than going to see The Passion. There was a feeling of “I just want this thing to be over”. This is the sort of longing that we feel as we look for His coming. It must also have been what the people of Israel felt as they waited for the first Advent, or appearing of Jesus: How long O lord? It is expressed well in the Hymn O Come O Come Emmanuel – the sense of longing for his Coming.

Prophecy sets up a hope that the suffering of the present time will eventually come to a close. It helps us to believe that the yoke of the oppressor will be broken.

Ps 2 comes to mind: “Come let us break their bonds, Let us cast off their yokes… You shall break them with a rod of Iron…

The prophecy is that the Shoot of Jesse, the Branch of David will rise up and help his people cast off the yoke of oppression. But the yoke of oppression is not just the political ruler, it is Sin itself, which enslaves us to the power of the evil one.

The people of Israel yearned for a deliverer who would set them free from their political enemies.: In Zerubbabel’s time and following, it would have been the Medes and the Persians, the Babylonins, the Greeks and the Romans, and those such as Herod who collaborated with the Romans. But into this system arrives Jesus and becomes the Hope of the Nations in that he has come to his people and set them free – from Sin and all its enslaving effects. As a result, we may now worship God in Freedom and peace, despite whatever political turmoil exists around us.


Even as the Jewish people looked ahead to the promised Messiah, so too must we look ahead to a promised time of ultimate deliverance. Our impulse is to cry out How long O Lord – will you forget us? How long will you hide your face? How long must I bear grief in my soul, This sorrow in my heart day and night? How long shall my enemy prevail? (Ps 12).

But the same Psalmist goes on: “As for me I trust in your merciful love. Let my heart rejoice in your saving help. Let me sing to the Lord for his goodness to me, singing Psalms to the Name of the Lord the most High.

We are to have hope in the saving help of our God, who sustains us with his goodness and who help us to sit in the darkness waiting for his second advent. Those who waited patiently and expectantly for his saving help were Awake to the irruption of God into their lives. They won the victory because of this perseverance. They placed their faith in their God and because of it, will one day come back with Jesus in a great triumphal procession.

Just like Coach Pruett and the Marshall football team, when they won their first Championship. The whole town turned out to watch them in a great victory parade. All of Huntington had become one in yearning that some day, our disappointment and grief would culminate in eventual success. It was as if the Marshall community was saying “O Come O Come O Thundering Herd”… We are like that in our waiting upon the return of Christ. We are to be Awake and Watching, Alert to the signs of His coming and hopeful that it will one day come about.

Zerubbabel, Jeremiah, Joel , Micah and Jesus himself have given us signposts of Christ’s Coming. WE are to heed these signs as the Day approaches. We say that the return of Christ is Imminent: It could happen any time, suddenly. But there is evidence to think that there will even be time to prepare for His return after some key events begin to take place. For it seems that there will be a gathering of the nations against Israel and a victory over the City, but just when the enemies of Jerusalem are getting ready to divide up the spoils, then the Lord will come in the Clouds with all His saints in Victory, leading captivity captive and ushering in the great and Terrible Day of the Lord in which Jesus shall be the Light and Judge of the World and every knee will bow before him in worship.

Brothers and sisters, the time approaches. Make room in your heart for Jesus. Watch hopefully and expectantly for His return. Be ready for Him to Come Again. Amen.