Prayer
of Sir Francis Drake – Shared by Bishop Jerry Ogles
On the afternoon of the day the
English fleet sailed forth to meet the invincible Spanish Armada, Admiral of
the Fleet Sir Francis Drake offered this prayer up to God for his men and
himself. Note the tenor and charity of it:
|
M
|
ost merciful and
loving Father, we beseech thee most humbly, even with all our hearts, to pour
out upon our enemies with a bountiful hand whatsoever things thou knowest may
do them good; and chiefly a sound and uncorrupt mind, wherethrough they may
know thee and seek thee in true charity, with their whole hearts, and love us
thy children, for thy sake. Let
not their hating of us turn to their harm, neither let us in any wise hurt them.
Seeing that we cannot do them good
for want of ability, Lord, we desire their amendment, and not their
punishment. Separate them not from us by punishing
them, but join and knit them to us by thy favourable dealing with them. And seeing we be all ordained to be
citizens of the one everlasting city, let us begin to enter in that way here
already by mutual love, which may bring us right forth hither; through Jesus
Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Miraculously, the out-gunned and
inferior British fleet was victorious over a naval force of unquestioned
superiority. The forces of nature (and of nature's God) combined to deal a
decisive defeat to the would-be invaders of England. Perhaps the only
difference in the outcome was due to the prayer of Sir Francis Drake. What
think ye?
Propers
The Propers for today are found
on Page 127-128, with the Collect first:
The Second Sunday in Lent.
The
Collect.
|
A
|
LMIGHTY God,
who seest that we have no power of ourselves to help ourselves; Keep us both
outwardly in our bodies, and inwardly in our souls; that we may be defended
from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts
which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
And due to the rubric, the Collect for the Day is
followed by the Collect for Ash Wednesday, which is found on Page 124:
The first day of Lent, commonly called
Ash Wednesday.
Ash Wednesday.
The
Collect.
|
A
|
LMIGHTY and
everlasting God, who hatest nothing that thou hast made, and dost forgive the
sins of all those who are penitent; Create and make in us new and contrite
hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our
wretchedness, may obtain of thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and
forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
¶ This Collect is to be said every day in Lent, after the
Collect appointed for the day, until Palm Sunday.
Dru Arnold
read the Epistle for today, which came from the Fourth Chapter of Paul’s First
letter to the Thessalonians beginning at the First Verse.
Apparently the Corinthians were not the only church founded in a Red
Light District. In this letter
Paul is telling the people to refrain from random sex and get married. Paul is starting into the beginning of
his New Man concept. We are called
to be as God wants us to be, not as we would be without His guidance and
help. God does this, not that we
would miss fun, but rather that we would enjoy happiness.
|
W
|
E beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus,
that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye
would abound more and more. For ye know what commandments we gave you by the
Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye
should abstain from fornication: that every one of you should know how to
possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; not in the lust of concupiscence,
even as the Gentiles which know not God: that no man go beyond and defraud his
brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we
also have forewarned you and testified. For God hath not called us unto
uncleanness, but unto holiness. He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man,
but God, who hath also given unto us his Holy Spirit.
Hap Arnold read this morning’s Gospel which comes
from the Gospel of Saint Matthew, the Fifteenth Chapter, beginning at the Twenty-First
Verse.
|
J
|
ESUS went thence, and departed
into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of
the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son
of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not
a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she
crieth after us. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost
sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord,
help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread,
and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the
crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. Then Jesus answered and said unto
her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her
daughter was made whole from that very hour.
This story surfaces again in the Book of Common
Prayer in the Prayer of Humble Access, in the Book of Common Prayer, Page 82:
|
W
|
E do not
presume to come to this thy Table, O merciful Lord, trusting in our own
righteousness, but in thy manifold and great mercies. We are not worthy so
much as to gather up the crumbs under thy Table. But thou art the same
Lord, whose property is always to have mercy: Grant us therefore, gracious
Lord, so to eat the flesh of thy dear Son Jesus Christ, and to drink his blood,
that our sinful bodies may be made clean by his body, and our souls washed
through his most precious blood, and that we may evermore dwell in him, and he
in us. Amen.
Today’s sermon brought the
Collect, Epistle and Gospel together and is partly contained in the forewords
above.
Consider these words from the Collect:
… we have no power of ourselves
to help ourselves; Keep us both outwardly in our bodies, and inwardly in our
souls; that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the
body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul …
In the Collect, we acknowledge to God that we cannot
direct our own lives, if we listen to our “inner self” we are without
guidance. Consider the airplane
flying, it orders its movements according to Polaris, the Pole Star of True
North. If a pilot flies guided by
his “inner self” he soon knows only where he is: at the controls, and little
else. Like the pilot who needs to
know where the True North is so he can orient himself, we need God’s guidance
to move towards our goal of eternal life with Him. It should also be noted that our life here will be a lot
more pleasant if we stay on course.
Recently, I read something of Rev Rick Reid’s which said at the end of
our lives, the words will be “Thy will be done.” The question is will it be us saying it or God? We need to listen to God and do His
Will. His guidance will bring us
on a path to success in our lives, if we listen to His guidance. We have to
initiate the contact/relationship with Him. He does not do it on His own. He
waits for an opening into our hearts. We have to let him into our hearts in
order to let him guide us. If we do not do this, then how can we expect to have
Him guide us, if we are not open and ready to receive Him and His Guidance? We
have to be willing and ready in order to receive His Guidance, than we have to
act upon the information His Guidance gives us.
Thus, when Paul tell us to keep our bodies under
control of our minds and our minds to be guided by God only, he helps move us
on course. We are to be true and
honest in all our dealings, both physical and fiscal and to live our
faith. For only by living
our faith can we demonstrate that we in fact have faith. For professed faith with no actions
when you are able to act is not real.
You must actualize what you claim to believe. One must convert their stated
beliefs into their actions, in order for their belief/faith to have any
reasonable meaning. Without actions, the faith that one believes is not truly
real, if it is not acted upon. If you claim to believe one way and act another,
you are by definition a hypocrite. We are called to be as God wants us to be,
not as we would be without His guidance and help. God does this, not that we would miss fun, but rather that
we would enjoy happiness.
Matthew gives us a fine example of faith that
demonstrates how we must be guided by our faith in our Lord. The woman who cries unto Jesus is a
Gentile, just like us. Just like
us she longs for His Mercy. In her
case, she asks only for the mercy rejected by others, the crumbs of the
Master’s Table[1]. This is the essence of our faith, we
are not worth to dine at His Table, no more than dogs are meet to dine at our
table. Yet, what is left over is
more than enough for us. And we
are content with that, knowing what miserable creatures we are. And, even more important, even knowing
whawt miserable creatures we are, Jesus offers to share His Table with us. He is not content for us to grovel for
His crumbs. If he offers his love for us, surely we should love Him back, by acting
upon our faith? If we do not act for Him, then we do not truly believe in Him.
In order to truly believe, you must act upon the faith that you have.
It is also important to understand that if one loves
God, He still has the exact same amount of love available for any other person
or group. His love is infinite,
even if it wasn’t love multiplies in use!
Recognize how poorly you do with your guidance,
accept His Guidance, stay on course and accept the fruits of that action.
Be of God - Live of God - Act of God
Bishop Ogles’
Sermon
We are oft fortunate to get
copies of Bishop Jerry’s sermon notes.
Today is one of those Sundays.
Today’s sermon starts off with the collect, and like always, it will
give you a lot to consider in your heart.
Sermon Notes
The Second Sunday
in Lent
24 February
2013, Anno Domini
The Second Sunday in Lent.
The
Collect.
|
A
|
LMIGHTY God,
who seest that we have no power of ourselves to help ourselves; Keep us both
outwardly in our bodies, and inwardly in our souls; that we may be defended
from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts
which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
And due to the rubric, the Collect for the Day is
followed by the Collect for Ash Wednesday, which is found on Page 124:
The first day of Lent, commonly called
Ash Wednesday.
Ash Wednesday.
The
Collect.
|
A
|
LMIGHTY and
everlasting God, who hatest nothing that thou hast made, and dost forgive the
sins of all those who are penitent; Create and make in us new and contrite
hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our
wretchedness, may obtain of thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and
forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
¶ This Collect is to be said every day in Lent, after the
Collect appointed for the day, until Palm Sunday.
One great acknowledgment that stands out in
today's Collect for the 2nd Sunday in Lent is this: Since our father
Adam partook of the ill-natured tree in the midst of the Garden, Man must still
find himself constantly relying upon that OTHER Tree in the midst of the Garden
at Eden which he rejected – the Tree of Life. Because of that rejection, we are
full of sin and incapable of helping ourselves. We even return to, stop and
listen to, and partake of the ill-fated fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of
Good and Evil. It is only the Mercy and Grace offered by the Tree of Life that
keeps us from constantly appealing to the serpent of the other tree. This
Collect originates in the Gregorian Sacramentary. For a fuller study and brief
meditation on the Collects, I recommend The Collects of Thomas Cranmer, by C.
Frederick Barbee and Paul F.M. Zahl. (Erdmans, 1999)
21 Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre
and Sidon. 22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts,
and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my
daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. 23 But he answered her not a
word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she
crieth after us. 24 But he answered and said, I
am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. 26 But he
answered and said, It is not meet to take the
children's bread, and to cast it to dogs. 27 And she said,
Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters'
table. 28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou
wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour. (Matt 15:21-28)
Jesus has just been confronted by the scribes and Pharisees (blind leaders of
the blind) who have come to Him with a petty complaint involving hand-washing.
These men ruled their charges by red-tape and the jot and tittle of the law,
and not out of love. There is one cardinal principle is preaching that may be
the most neglected, not only by the former Pharisees, but the contemporary ones
as well. That principle is clearly elucidated in 1 Peter 5:2. Feed
the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by
constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;
3. Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the
flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown
of glory that fadeth not away. (1 Peter 5:2-4) So Jesus, wearied of the
harassment from the mean fellows, resorts to the far reaching coastline of Tyre
and Sidon (Phoenicia on the Mediterranean) for a time of peace and quiet. There
is also a certain woman in His thoughts that needs to see Him and is awaiting
His arrival there. This dear soul has no idea that the Son of David will travel
to her distant home, but the Son of David knows, and He comes.
The
beauty and comfort of God's providential care for us, even while we were yet
strangers, knows no limits on time and distance. Perhaps, ere you came to
Christ, you, too, were a great distance away among a people of Godless
character; yet, Christ was aware of your plight and His Holy Spirit, swift as a
Dove, came to you and answered your great need. He knew you LONG before you
knew Him – even while you were yet in your mother's womb where He MADE you!
Such a wonderful visit of Christ the great Healer and Physician was beyond the
realm of possibility in the imagination of the Syro-Phoenician woman. Yet,
there was something in her heart that made her believe that God would provide.
Already, she had more faith as a Gentile than the Jewish rulers had as the lost
sheep of Israel. The reassuring thing about faith in God is this: We need not
understand the ways and means of God's answering our prayers, but only to know
that He certainly WILL! The ear of faith, to, is very keen to hear every
whispered detail of the Way of the Lord's Coming whether it be on the road from
Galilee, or from Jerusalem. The direction is not so important, but the fact
that He will come after all. There is a parallel account of this event in the
Gospel of St Mark 7:24-30.
We
look in upon Jesus immediately after His confrontation over hand-washing with
the Pharisees: 21 Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the
coasts of Tyre and Sidon. Please do not argue that Christ knew not
whom He would meet at His destination for I will not believe it. Christ always
knew whom He would meet and whom He would heal in every case. He knew a woman
of Samaria would come to Jacob's Well at the noonday hour long before the woman
experienced her thirst. So He waited there while the disciples went for bread.
You may be the most incorrigible and egregious of sinners, judged so by infidel
and Christian alike, but Christ may have already established a point in time
when He will seek you out in a land far removed from the familiar people of
God. This woman may not be an egregious sinner. In fact, I believe that she is
a good and faithful mother to the treasure of her bosom, but she has not yet
met Christ – and that meeting will make all the difference in her life. Now He
is coming. The news is whispered about the villages and among travelers along
the dusty roads. His fame has even reached the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, and
the woman has heard with bated breath. HOPE is the dominant quality that
informs her germinating faith in a Figure see has yet to meet. The Gospel of St
Mark tells us that Jesus went into a house to rest near the coasts of Tyre and
Sidon, but "could not be hid." (7:24) No truer
statement can be uttered about Jesus – He cannot be hidden from the searching
eye, for all that seek Him shall fid Him. (Luke 11:9 et al) There is a
Syro-Phoenican woman that is seeking, and she shall find Him at all costs. This
is always the cause that brings us to Christ – NEED! Many need, but fail to
satisfy that need in coming to Him.
22 And,
behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him,
saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David. There are
three important points to be made in this one statement: 1) The woman did not
casually call out for help as if her need, or her expectation, was minor. She
CRIED out because her NEED, motivated by a mother's love for a dear little
girl, was GREAT! "my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil"
. 2) She named no great need in her cry – only a request for mercy. If she
has mercy from Christ, she has all else of her need. 3) She recognized Jesus as
the Messiah. That is the meaning of her expression "O Lord, thou Son of
David." She did not call Him `a' son of David, but the prophesied Son of
David. When we go to Christ in prayer, do we fully realize He is? This woman
KNEW before ever she met Christ. She knew out of NEED and FAITH. Perhaps
feeling herself so much so unworthy as the publican who came with the Pharisee
to the Temple that day and would not approach so near, she called from a
distance unto Christ. Actually, our first call to Christ is always from a
distance, for we call out of our bondage and need. It is just as the hymnist,
William Sleeper, has written in the hymn we sang today:
Out of my bondage, sorrow, and night,
Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
Into Thy freedom, gladness, and light,
Jesus, I come to Thee;
Out of my sickness, into Thy health,
Out of my want and into Thy wealth,
Out of my sin and into Thyself,
Jesus, I come to Thee.
23 But
he answered her not a word. Was Jesus being unkind to this
precious mother? Of course he was not! Jesus showed nothing but the deepest
compassion for others in need. Jesus does not answer for two reasons: 1) He
desires to allow the woman's faith to increase, by and by, through her
persistence. If we pray ceaselessly and, yet, have not gotten an answer, do we
cease to call upon the Lord? God would have us pray with persistence. As we
pray continually, our eyes are opened more and more to the Mind of God – our
prayers thereby become more and more in accord with His own Will to grant. Do
you recall in our previous studies how those who are closest to Christ often
prevent those who need Him most from coming? And his disciples came
and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.
Do we value our comfort and leisure so highly that we forbid others who have a
great need from coming to the source of that comfort we have? Are we too cozy
in our little buildings of stone walls and high spires? The salt that is not
often shaken will harden so that it cannot be dispensed from the shaker.
24 But
he answered and said, I am not sent but unto
the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Every Word of
Christ is with power yet this is one of those `BUTS' which deserve heeding.
This woman is from the Canaanite race of Gentiles that the Jews despise. Christ
is drawing out of a deep well, the refreshing waters of faith this woman
has. He does it not only for her own benefit, but for the benefit of his
Jewish disciples to learn of compassion. He is saying to the poor mother,
"Look, I know you have a need, but I am not sent to any other than the
lost sheep of Israel. If you become a child of the Promised Seed, you, too,
shall be in the fold of Israel." The statement of Jesus is looked upon
with particular interest by His disciples. Jesus is slowly drawing the woman
closer to Himself, and to His Love-Brimmed Heart. 25 Then came
she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. Yes, we see that the
Love of Jesus does draw her nearer, don't we? She finally is not afraid to
worship the Savior of her soul. She asked for the deepest desire of her heart,
and that desire derives from a love that is inexpressible for her daughter.
Please note thoughtfully the kind and loving response of Jesus to the woman: 26 But
he answered and said, It is not meet to take
the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs. At first glimpse,
this may sound a bit harsh to such a loving mother, but it is laden with love.
The word Jesus uses here to describe her relationship to the children of God
(Israel) is not the term for the cursed and hated dog of the ghettos, but the
Greek word, kunarion, pronounced `koo-nar'-ee-on',
meaning `puppy' or `pet-dog.' The puppy dog is a pet and is fed by the children
by secretly dropping crumbs of food down to them. Perhaps we, as children of
God, fail too often to drop these crumbs of the Bread of Life down to those who
are starving for love and nourishment. Jesus, from eternity past, has loved
this woman and her little daughter; but He needs to show her the manner in
which she must come to Him. 27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the
dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table. These
words were evoked by Christ for the benefit of those standing nearby. He
already knew these words were written in the red blood of love on the woman's
heart for her daughter. Had she not needed a healing for her daughter, she may
never have sought Christ out.
28 Then
Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman,
great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt.
What has Jesus told the woman? He has told her (in other words): "Woman,
you have known who I am. You have come seeking me out of a faith born of love.
You have persisted in your prayers, so much so, that YOUR will is precisely the
Will of God. It is by THAT latter Will that your faith has healed your
daughter. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.
God is Light, and His Finger travels with Light Speed. There was no
lingering spirit-possession of the daughter – not at all. She was healed that
very hour (moment).
So
what valuable lessons have we learned from this most blessed mother of ancient
Phoenicia?
1.
Love
will call us into a higher place – even to a seeking after God.
2.
We must
seek the Lord diligently even in places that are perceived unlikely such as the
coasts of Tyre and Sidon.
3.
We must
call out in earnest to Christ not holding back.
4.
We must
clearly state our need in prayer.
5.
We must
be persistent in prayer even if we only hear silence at first from the Throne
of God.
6.
We must
not only petition, but listen for the Will of God to be
7.
We must
worship God even while we are pleading our cause as did the distraught mother.
8.
We must
give evidence of our Faith to both God and man.
Have
we exercised this example in prayer? Put it to the test. God is faithful always
to answer if our wills are consistent with His
Own.
Bishop
Dennis Campbell’s Sermon
Bishop Dennis is a brilliant
speaker. He is able to take
biblical precepts and make them perfectly understandable, even to me. Oft he provides the text of his sermons
and I take the utmost pleasure in passing them on:
Keep
Psalm 86, 142, 1 Kings 8:35-43, Colossians 3:8-17
Second Sunday in Lent
February 24, 2013
There is a beautiful old word that was a favourite of Christians in
past generations. It is not used very often today, I hope that is not because
people no longer believe in it. The word is "Providence." Providence
is the activity of the Provider. It refers to God providing for our needs. From
Him we receive our creation, preservation, all the blessings of this life, and
all the means of grace. All things needful for happiness in this life, and the
next come to us freely as gifts from God. Providence also refers to God's
direction and protection of us. It refers to His guiding our lives toward His
intended goal. Under His Providential guidance, as St. Paul wrote in Romans
8:28; "all things work together for good to those who love God."
Providence is one of the many doctrines addressed in today's
Scriptures and Collects. Instead of "Providence," the Collect uses
the word, "keep," and, it seems to me that it uses it in the sense of
the Old Testament Hebrew word that is often translated as both guard and keep.
It refers to God to guarding and protecting us, both physically and
spiritually. I think there is another meaning to the word, "keep,"
and that is to fence. So to ask God to keep us is to ask Him to build a fence
around us that will keep us in the place where we ought to stay, and out of the
places we should not go.
As we looked at the reading in 1 Kings 8, I saw Solomon asking God
to keep Israel out of places she should not go. That prayer is coupled with
another petition, repeated several times in the chapter, a prayer for
forgiveness, a prayer that when Israel does sin, does stray into those places
she should not go, God will have mercy upon her, cause her to turn to Him and
seek Him in His holy Temple, and bring her back to faith and to God. "Hear
Thou in Heaven," Solomon prayed, "and forgive the sin of Thy people."
Looking at the reading in Colossians 3, I see a prayer about keeping
us in the place where we should always be. The passage expounds and explains
the meaning of two earlier verses, not officially included in the Lectionary,
but which I read today because they are integral to understanding and
practicing the message of Colossians 3. They are verses 9 and 10 which tell us
we have put off the old and put on the new. The old refers to the unGodly
thoughts and actions identified in verses 5 and 8, things like fornication,
uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, covetousness, anger,
wrath malice, blasphemy, and filthy communication. These are not the only
unGodly things we are to put off, if we are Christians, but they are certainly
some of them, and we are to take them off and throw them away like ragged,
maggot infested garments. We are to throw them in the trash, and not allow them
to characterise our lives anymore. In fact, these things are so wicked that we
are not even to give the appearance of endorsing them. In their places we are
to put on the pure, new, and holy garments of the righteousness of Christ. So,
instead of fornication, we are to put on chastity. Instead of inordinate
affection, which is a burning desire to have something, it could be a boat, a
horse, or a lifestyle of self indulgence and luxury, we are to put on self
control, moderation, self discipline, and even a certain amount of self denial,
in the realisation that even good things are not always expedient.
Please don't misunderstand me here. I am not saying we should not
enjoy the fruits of our labours. We should enjoy them. God wants us to enjoy
them. I am saying that having wealth and possessions and pleasures is like
living with lions, there is an element of danger in them. There is always the
chance that they will consume you.
Paul goes on to exhort us to put on, that is to dress in and have as
our defining characteristics, things like mercy. You know what mercy is. Mercy
is what you want from God on the day you stand before Him and He reviews all
your sins. Let mercy characterise us here and now. You know what kindness is,
it is what you want God to have when you see that you cannot atone for your own
sins, or make yourself acceptable to Him. You know what forbearance is, it's
what you want us to have when you say or do something foolish or inappropriate,
or even mean. Be kind to one another. Let forbearance characterize you.
Look at the way Paul contrasts the old things with the new. The old is
characterised by fornication; the new by charity, love. The old is given to
covetousness, the new is given to longsuffering. The old is given to wrath and
malice, the new is given to kindness, forbearance, and forgiveness. The old is
given to filthy communication, the new speaks in Psalms, hymns, and spiritual
songs, singing with grace in the heart. The old is controlled by inordinate
affections and covetousness, the new, and for this we will go back to the very
first verse of the chapter, for it is the main point of this whole passage; the
new seeks those things which are above. It has set its affections on the things
of God, not of earth (Col. 3:1-2). It lives in a state of continually
mortifying, or crucifying sinful desires, and living for Christ in this life.
I'm trying to say today, that these things of Godliness, things like
forbearance, kindness, forgiveness, and love need to become habits in our
lives. They need to become the habitual ways we respond to situations and
people in life. That won't happen unless we intentionally cultivate them. We
must train these things into ourselves until they become habit. And then we
must continually reinforce that training day in and day out for the rest of our
lives. Otherwise we will slip back into the old, unGodly habits of anger,
inordinate affections, and filthy communications. These old habits are natural
to us. they are like weeds in a garden, they grow naturally, and we have to fight
them to control them. It is Godliness that is foreign to us. Like flowers and
vegetables, Godliness must be planted and nurtured, or it won't grow. We all
know it just takes a couple of weeks of neglect to turn a beautiful garden into
a weed bed. Let us not neglect to cultivate Godliness in us.
Today, pondering the doctrine of the Providence of God, we are asking
Him to use His power for our benefit. We're asking Him to keep us from all
things that hurt body and soul, which also means to keep us in those things
that aid and heal us. The words of Psalm 86:11 express this prayer well. Let us
close with theme.
|
T
|
each me thy way, O Lord, and I will walk in thy truth. O knit my heart
unto thee, that I may fear thy name.
--
+Dennis
Campbell
Bishop,
Anglican Orthodox Church Diocese of Virginia
Rector, Holy
Trinity Anglican Orthodox Church
Powhatan,
Virginia
Rev Bryan Dabney
of Saint John’s Sunday Sermon
We are fortunate to
have Bryan’s Sunday Sermon. If you
want people to come to The Truth, you have to speak the truth, expouse the
truth and live the truth. This is really a good piece and I
commend it to your careful reading.
Sermon for Second Sunday in Lent
In I Corinthians 6:9-20, the apostle Paul reminded the Christians at
Corinth of their sordid past when he penned the following: Know ye not that the
unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? He then went on to set forth
those sins which they once took pleasure in doing one of which was the sin of
idolatry. In another epistle, the apostle commended the Thessalonian brethren
for their exemplary conduct in that they had turned to God from idols (I
Thessalonians 1:1-10). The tenets of our faith dictate that having more than
one God is sinful, and that worshiping graven images is forbidden. Just as
Israel’s covenant with the LORD specifically barred them from fashioning images
for the purpose of worship, so we Christians must also abide by this
restriction as well. Consider the following verses from Exodus, I am the LORD
thy God... thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto
thee any graven image... thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve
them... (20:2a, 3-4a, 5a).
Consider also the words of the prophet Isaiah (44:9-10, 14-17) on this
subject: They that make a graven image are all of them vanity... Who hath
formed a god, or molten a graven image that is profitable for nothing?... He
heweth him down cedars, and taketh the cypress and the oak... Then shall it be
for a man to burn: for he will take thereof, and warm himself; yea, he kindleth
it, and baked bread; yea, he maketh a god and worshippeth it; he maketh a
graven image, and falleth down thereto. He burneth part thereof in the fire;
with part thereof he eateth flesh; he roasteth roast, and is satisfied: yea, he
warmeth himself, and saith Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire: and the
residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven image: he falleth down unto
it, and worshippeth it, and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me; for thou
are my god.
In his first epistle to the Corinthians (10:19-21), St. Paul equated
idolatry with worthlessness, and paganism with demonism when he wrote, What say
I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to
idols is any thing? But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice,
they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have
fellowship with devils. Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of
devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and the table of devils....
It should be noted that in the apostle’s day, the prohibition against idolatry
included the worship of the emperor as a living god. Thus the behavior for which
the apostle applauded the Thessalonians— on account of their patent rejection
of all idolatry in favor of the worship of the one, true and living God— can be
juxtaposed to those of the Corinthian church who needed a reminder that they
too must turn from worshipping idols.
Alas, though initially rejected by early Christians in the first and
second centuries A.D., by the fifth century idolatry was once again popular but
this time within the precincts of the body of Christ. Dr. Jesse Hurlbut once
noted that, “while the triumph of Christianity resulted in much that was good,
inevitably the alliance of the [Roman] state and the church also brought in its
train many evils... As a result... we do not see Christianity transforming the
world to its own ideal, but the world dominating the church (Story of the
Christian Church pp. 62-63) .”
And so the paganism of the Ancient World, which was thought displaced
by the Christian church, soon reappeared as a corporate member of it. The Rev.
E.M. Bounds once observed concerning this sort of behavior, “When the church
itself, the bride of Christ, is seduced from her purity [by Satan], she
degenerates into worldly ritualism... The Devil is a hydra-headed monster who
is multifaceted in his plans and wisdom as well as in atrocities. His supreme
effort is to gain control of the church, not to destroy its organization, but
to pervert its divine purpose (Guide to Spiritual Warfare p.41-42).”
Now consider our adversary’s handiwork within the fold Christ. In 431
A.D., the Council of Ephesus officially gave the title of “Mother of God” to
the Virgin Mary. This very title had once belonged to the goddess Cybele whom
the Greeks called “Meter Theon” or “mother of the gods”. It should be noted
that Ephesus was once the seat of worship for Diana, or Artemis, who was also a
mother goddess. The Temple of Diana of Ephesus was one of the seven wonders of
the Ancient World. Now while it is true that the council did not mean to convey
a pagan understanding of Mary— only that she was the bearer of God in the
flesh— still the irony of that event is inescapable. For in the very city where
the apostle Paul (Acts 19:26), hath persuaded and turned away much people,
saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands, a church council had
unwittingly supplied future church leaders with the proverbial “green light” to
advocate that very aspect of paganism which the apostle had so forthrightly
condemned some four centuries before.
But there is more, for one of the seven churches mentioned in the Book
of Revelation (2:18-29) was the church at Thyatira which, as the Rev. Matthew
Henry explained, “...allowed [a spirit of wicked teaching named Jezebel] to
seduce the people of that city. [This spirit and its charges] attempted to draw
the servants of God into fornication and to offer sacrifices to idols.” The
warning by our Lord of this coming acceptance of idolatry should have been “a
fire bell in the night” as it ought to have stirred the faithful leadership of
the church into action against this sort of behavior. Sadly, by the fifth
century, there was not much interest in keeping pagan practices out of the
church as very many within the body of Christ were merely unconverted pagans
masking themselves as Christians.
In our contemporary world, idolatry has become more sophisticated. The
widespread cults of personality in religion have taken center-stage in the
hearts of the naive. These “so-to-speak” preachers have put aside the notion of
God’s coming judgment for sin and the need for repentance in favor of a false
universalism. They teach only about God’s love and omit his desire for justice.
They lure their prey into their dairy stalls— which they call churches— to be
milked of their hard earned wages, while at the same time feeding them a gospel
devoid of the whole truth of God and rendering them fit for the slaughterhouse
of Hell when they die. An attendant teaching of these wolves in sheep’s
clothing includes the false gospel of prosperity: where God will make every
“so-to-speak” true believer materially rich, and physically well. And such
carries with it the equally false notion that if you do not receive such
blessings, then you do not possess the proper level of faith to empower God to work
in your life. What a kick in the teeth to an otherwise faithful believer who is
struggling with financial or health problems. Imagine telling a person in those
circumstances that they are not measuring up to God because they are ill, or in
debt, or facing any number of difficulties. They might as well take the advice
of Job’s wife to, curse God and die (Job 2:9).
Then there are those outside of the church who hold up a variety of
secular figures as their gods and goddesses. They hang on every word they say,
and they buy their sponsored products as if they were talismans. The pagans of
the Ancient World idolized the strong, the powerful, the outwardly beautiful
and the rich, and nothing in man’s character over the millennia has changed one
iota. Modern idolaters also have their own temples much as the ancients had
theirs. Consider any of the various domed stadiums and open-air coliseums where
they cheer their demigods utilizing both the liturgical as well as the
extemporaneous forms of praise. They have set up within their hearts votive
altars for the objects of their worship. They even mark their bodies up with
their signs and symbols which indicates not their mere support of those things,
but of their ownership by them. In the future the Antichrist will require all
who might buy or sell to possess his mark in their foreheads or in their right
hand (Revelation 13:16-17). It seems the unregenerated are being prepped today
for that future event. Indeed, all these things are ample evidence for their
condemnation before a holy and righteous God should the unregenerate not repent
and be forgiven of this terrible sin. For if one does take the mark of the
Beast, there will be no repentance (Revelation 14:9-11).
But it would be erroneous to believe that the venues for idolatry are
limited only to the secular realm, or to those of the various religious cults.
Sadly, there are otherwise faithful Christians who have succumbed to a rather
insidious form of idolatry which is in their midst, and yet is seemingly invisible
to them. Their idols are found in the ever-increasing number of “sanctinasiums”
where the profane rhythms of the world are presented in a manner hardly
distinguishable from a secular concert. Their idols are self-worship,
self-glorification, and self- aggrandizement. They are all about feeling their
faith; so if they do not feel something— if their senses are not motivated—
then they believe they have not worshipped.
But Christian worship is supposed to be about focusing on God and not
on ourselves. We are supposed to come before God with reverence and holiness.
We are supposed to come before him confessing our sins and seeking his pardon.
We are supposed to come into his presence with thanksgiving and praise; not in
clamor or in irreverence, but in all holiness. As the apostle Paul observed,
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness,
goodness, faith, meekness, temperance [self-control] against such there is no
law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections
and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not
be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another
(Galatians 5:22-26).
Our job as Christians has always been to witness to such persons as our
Lord gives us leave to do. We ought to warn them of the consequences of their
idolatry. God has given us his word written for our edification that we might
be recipients of his grace rather than subjects of his wrath, and we in turn
are obliged to share that knowledge with others. The Bible tells us that we are
to give worship to no person, thing or ideal other than the Godhead. We have
been warned throughout the pages of Scripture that those who do will have their
hearts darkened and their reservation confirmed in that eternal lake of fire
where all who are estranged from God will have their final and everlasting
abode. Christians be warned! Flee from all idolatry. Flee from those churches
who preach an acceptance of those things which will bring you into
condemnation. Avoid the traditions of men both old and new that are in
opposition to the expressed will of God. Stick to the word of God and keep away
from any thing or any person that would be exalted above the Godhead, or would
displace him in your heart and life. Be warned my brethren, stay away from
idols!
Let us pray,
|
F
|
ather God, instill in each of us the desire to
read thy most holy word and inwardly digest the same; that in so doing, we will
adhere to its teachings and witness such to others regarding its truths; for
this we ask in the name of thy Son our Saviour, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Have a blessed week, Bryan+ Have a blessed week,
Bryan+
Lent
Lent is a time for Christians to study,
contemplate their sinfulness, repent, ask God's forgiveness, and realize the
infinite sacrifice God made on their behalf. It is to be a time of quiet
contemplation, but not a time of despair, since it culminates in the
commemoration of the resurrection.
What about fasting, self-denial
and all that stuff?
Jesus told us that if we fast we
are not to make a show of it, like hypocrites do. A fast is different from a
hunger strike: a fast should be a personal act of devotion to God, while a
hunger strike is a public act most often used to shine a spotlight on
injustice. A fast is also different from anorexia nervosa: it should be disciplined diet, not total abstention
from food. During a religious fast, you still eat, you just abstain from
certain foodstuffs. Traditionally, people have fasted by eliminating luxury
items from their diets, such as meats. A fast can consist of eating whatever
you want, but drinking only water.
The whole idea is to help you concentrate on God. That works for some people. For lots of others, it is a distraction
from what should be done Lent – PREPARATION.
More positively, you can “fast”
or re-direct in other areas beyond food, you can commit to a something that can
benefit the church, such cutting back in an entertainment area, using that time
for Bible study and donating the savings to the church. That brings us to – Mite Boxes!
Mite
Boxes
If you read this report at all,
you know the Anglican Orthodox Church (AOC), and this parish in particular, is
not about money. Not that money is
not useful, but the parish has plenty.
Any extra we get, we send it to the AOC to use for their mission work. The AOC works on a very slim budget,
they aren’t about money either.
The AOC is about the Great Commission; to go forth and spread The Word
of the Lord:
18And Jesus came and
spake unto them, saying, ‘…19Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo,
I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (Mt. 28:19-20)
You may not realize it, but the
AOC has national church affiliates in 22 countries around the world, that does
take a little money. Not great
quantities of money, but some and as a church, we would be dirt poor, if we had
dirt.
So, that is where the Mite Boxes
come in. Ash Wednesday is 13
February 2012; Easter Sunday is 31 March 2013. That period is Lent.
Often thought of as a time for fasting, it is more importantly a time to
channel your attention towards God.
A time to let your heart open to the Holy Ghost that you might come
closer to God and perhaps do His Work more effectively.
So, to exercise this concept, we
are asking you to cut back. We
know the economy is not really great and you are probably cutting back
already. So, cut back a bit more. Take part of your savings every
day and put it in the Mite Box. If
you did not cut back on a given day, dig into your wallet or purse and cut out
a bit of cash for the Mite Box anyway.
Every day, except Sundays.
Sundays are the Lord’s Day and a day of celebration. They are not part of Lent. By Easter Sunday, you will have a full
Mite Box. Bring it to church, this
church, another church, that is best.
If you cannot find a church to actually go to on Easter, you probably
aren’t looking hard enough, but pull the money out and send us a check, payable
to the Anglican Orthodox Church and we will send it on.
One box for each member of the
family. A little bit, just a mite,
every day. Every day, miss
none. Every day, every body in the
family can do just a little bit.
When you drop your daily contribution in, think, “Did I do what I could
today for the Lord? Did I fall
short or meet the standard? Can I
do better tomorrow? Will I?” It should be a time of reflection. It will be if you do it.
By the way, what is a Mite
Box? Named after the smallest of
Roman coins, a normal wage of the time being 10 mites per hour, of which two
were donated by the widow, in Mark 12:41-44 and Luke 21:1-4, it is normally a
small cardboard box, say 3 inches each dimension, a cube piggy bank so to
speak. If you don’t have one,
call, email or write. We have a
pile of them.
Don’t miss this opportunity to
contribute to the Lord’s Work and make your life better at the same time.
No comments:
Post a Comment