On
Point
The Bible reveals the Devil as a person— not
a mere figure, not simply an influence. He is not only a personification, but
also a real person... There is much truth that needs to be learned about the
Devil... We need the light of that truth as a warning, as an incentive to
vigilance, and as an inspiration to effort. We need the knowledge about the
Enemy— his character, presence, and power— in order to rouse men to action.
This knowledge is vital to victory. E. M. Bounds
19th and 20th century American theologian and author
Guide
To Spiritual Warfare, pp. 12-13
There are myriads of professing Christians... [who] Sunday after
Sunday... allow the devil to catch away the good seed that is sown on the face
of their hearts. Week after week they live on without faith, fear, knowledge or
grace, feeling nothing, caring nothing, taking no more interest in religion
than if Christ had never died on the cross at all. And in this state they often
die and are buried and are lost for ever in hell. This is a mournful picture
but only too true.
J.
C. Ryle
19th century Anglican bishop and author
The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other
people's money.
Margaret
Thatcher
20th century British Prime
Minister
When all government, domestic and foreign, in little as in great
things, shall be drawn to Washington as the center of all power, it will render
powerless the checks provided of one government on another, and will become as
venal and oppressive as the government from which we separated.
Thomas
Jefferson
American patriot and president
Propers
The Propers for today are found
on Page 173-174, with the Collect first:
The
Third Sunday after Easter.
The
Collect.
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LMIGHTY God, who showest to them that are in error the light
of thy truth, to the intent that they may return into the way of righteousness;
Grant unto all those who are admitted into the fellowship of Christ’s Religion,
that they may avoid those things that are contrary to their profession, and
follow all such things as are agreeable to the same; through our Lord Jesus
Christ. Amen.
Dru Arnold read the
Epistle which came from the Second Chapter of the First Epistle of Saint Peter
beginning at the Eleventh Verse.
Peter tells us to live a good life, to follow the directions Jesus left
us, to make ourselves positive examples of citizen to others, to be leaders of
our community, drawing people towards God. To live out the life Jesus commanded, to do nothing to draw
ill repute on the Word of God. To
be truly free and follow freedom to where God wants us to be, not to Donkey Island,
where false freedom takes so many.
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EARLY beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from
fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; having your conversation honest
among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may
by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of
visitation. Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake:
whether it be to the king, as supreme; or unto governors, as unto them that are
sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do
well. For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the
ignorance of foolish men: as free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of
maliciousness, but as the servants of God. Honour all men. Love the
brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.
Hap Arnold read today’s
Gospel which came from the in the
Sixteenth Chapter of the Gospel according to Saint John beginning at the
Sixteenth Verse.
Jesus warns
his disciples of the events about to unfold. He is to be taken from them shortly by the painful death on
the Cross for our redemption. He
will not be with them here on earth.
Yet, after three days time He will Rise from death, having overcome
death for us. When He is gone from
us we are sorrowful, just like the disciples. He came back from death for us. And yet He was to leave again, yet not be gone from us as
the Father would send the Holy Ghost to make His abode in our hearts and bring
Jesus to us.
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ESUS said to his disciples, A little while, and ye shall not see
me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.
Then said some of his disciples among themselves, What is this that he saith
unto us, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while,
and ye shall see me: and, Because I go to the Father? They said therefore, What
is this that he saith, A little while? we cannot tell what he saith. Now Jesus
knew that they were desirous to ask him, and said unto them, Do ye enquire
among yourselves of that I said, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and
again, a little while, and ye shall see me? Verily, verily, I say unto you,
That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be
sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. A woman when she is in
travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered
of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born
into the world. And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and
your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.
Sermon – Reverend Deacon Jack Arnold - Time
and Action
Today’s sermon brought the Collect, Epistle and
Gospel together and is partly contained in the forewords above.
We are in the Easter Season which consists of Easter
and the following four Sundays, until we get to Rogation Sunday. This is a time we should work on
centering our lives on the central figure in our religion, Jesus Christ.
Consider these words from the
Collect:
… who
showest to them that are in error the light of thy truth, to the intent that
they may return into the way of righteousness; Grant unto all those who are
admitted into the fellowship of Christ’s Religion, that they may avoid those
things that are contrary to their profession, and follow all such things as are
agreeable to the same…
If we will listen to Him, God
will always provide the light to show us where “We have erred, and strayed from
His ways like lost sheep. Where we have followed too much the
devices and desires of our own hearts. Where
we have offended against His holy
laws. Where we have left undone those
things which we ought to have done; And we have done those things which we
ought not to have done[1]…” He does this so that we might return to
His Path. He does not show us
where we have erred for no reason, but rather that we might use His Light to
return to the path that brings us to His World. Then we can shine that Light
for others to see, that they might pick up their torches and bring His Light
into the darkness of the world, be it the Western Civilized Word or the Eastern
World. First we have to let His Light into our hearts before we can shine it to
others that they may see the works of His Light. Then we shall transform the
world from total darkness, to that of a total light. At least that is what we
are always striving to work towards, even when evil is often thwarting our
efforts to the maximum. If evil is thwarting our efforts than we all must put
in 110% to stop evil and combat it across the world wherever it is. We must
never, never, never, ever give up on this fight.
I met a Navy SEAL in Guam, who
gave the most excellent sermon that we must be on the offense in the battle
against Satan, never defense. The SEAL noted that Paul did not describe any
sort of back plating whatsoever, hinting that Christianity was an offense
based, not defense based religion.
We must never our back towards the enemy, but rather face forward and
attack. The best defense is a good offense as in every case. We must never
cease our fight against Satan, for he is powerful here on earth, tricking many.
We are often outnumbered in the fight.
Numbers matter not. We must
always fight with all we have every time.
We must carry on; we must storm the beaches of Hell itself, and keep on
persevering in good times and in bad times.
Paul tells us that if we follow
Christ’s example, we will live lives like His to the extent we can. We will do good, be law abiding, work
hard, be generous to our fellow human beings, help where we can, pray for help
when we can find no physical way to help.
It may be hard to do any physical help, but if you are generous and
prayerful, you can often do good even when physical help is next to impossible.
Be good citizens, be good neighbors, take particular care of our Christian
family. In short, do what Christ
would do as far as it is in us.
In order to make the world a better place, we first have to start with
our selves then work out word, applying the principles of Christ to our lives.
God does not ask us to be perfect; He does ask us to do our best to try to be
perfect, to follow Jesus’ lead to the extent we have it in us. Each of us is different, some are in
truth better than others. God
holds us each to the same standard, that is to do our best. Not to be better than any other
particular person, but to do our best to follow His Instructions. Being better than someone else is of no
account, what is of account is following His Instructions to the best of YOUR
ability.
Don’t think of trying to be
better than your neighbor, think of being better than you are. Be better than
you were yesterday, if you do this, then you will improve day by day, year by
year.
In the Gospel according to
Saint John, Jesus tells of His impending bodily death and resurrection. He reminds us that if we
have eternal life, sorrow, even the sorrow of death is transient, for He has
conquered death. His One
Sacrifice, made One Time, for All Mankind, for All Time is that joy that no man
can take from us. But, if we want
to share in that eternal life, we need to see the error of our ways in the
Light of His Light and take actions to follow Him.
Often it seems much easier to
take the path of least resistance, to quit our work at the first sign of
effort, to goof off when “no one” is looking. But in the end, the right thing to do is always the
easiest. The most profitable. The one that will result in
happiness. It might seem hard, but
it will not be as hard as doing the “easy” thing.
The time is now, not tomorrow. The time has come, indeed. How will you ACT?
It is by our actions we are known.
Be of God - Live of God - Act of God
God • Honor • Country • Family
for all
eternity
As we go off on our
business, please recall this quote from GK Chesterton:
“Christianity has not been
tried and found wanting;
it has been found difficult and
not tried.”
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 - Third Sunday
after Easter - 21 April
2013, Anno Domini
The
Third Sunday after Easter.
The
Collect.
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LMIGHTY God, who showest to them that are in error the light
of thy truth, to the intent that they may return into the way of righteousness;
Grant unto all those who are admitted into the fellowship of Christ’s Religion,
that they may avoid those things that are contrary to their profession, and
follow all such things as are agreeable to the same; through our Lord Jesus
Christ. Amen.
16 A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a
little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father. 17 Then
said some of his disciples among themselves, What is this that he saith unto
us, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and
again, a little while, and ye shall see me: and, Because I go to the Father?
18 They said therefore, What is this that he saith, A little while? we cannot tell what he
saith. 19 Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him, and said unto
them, Do ye enquire among yourselves of
that I said, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little
while, and ye shall see me? 20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall
rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. 21 A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her
hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no
more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world. 22 And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you
again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you. 23 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily,
I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it
you. (John 16:16-23)
The
Funeral Sermon of our Lord
Funeral sermons are often sad occasions. If the subject of the funeral is a
true Christian, then the sorrow is unwarranted; however, the survivors will
nonetheless mourn the loss of a friend or family member’s companionship for a
time. The occasion for this sermon is unique – it precedes the death of its
subject, and it is delivered by the One to be deceased. Rather than a
sermon to suggest sorrow and mourning, it is a sermon to encourage joy and
faith. It is given on the night of the Lord’s betrayal, and spoken by the Lord
Himself. Rather than enumerating all of His kind acts and miracles, the
Lord is already aware that His living testimony is sure and needs no
restatement; however, He is also aware of the coming intense pain that His
disciples will feel at His crucifixion. Their pain will be mingled with the
dread and fear. There is no way that He can make them fully aware of that which
is about to happen for such things had never happened before, nor will they
ever happen again. So it might be understood that Christ will give present
counsel upon which they may draw with future understanding.
That which is worthy of joy to the child of God will always be received with
lamentation by the world. Contrariwise, that which is a matter of joy to the
world will almost certainly be cause for dismay on the part of the committed
Christian. Jesus clearly points this out in His words of the text. Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall
rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.
The Psalm offers comfort to the believer: “….weeping may endure for a
night, but joy cometh in the morning. (Psalms 30:5) Jesus is explaining
that He will be parted from the disciples this very night. He will be crucified
and buried. In the interim of three days, they will not see Him, but then, they
shall see Him. He will have been with the repentant thief of the cross in
paradise as well as to conquer death and hell. He will see them again After His
resurrection and before His ascension to the Father in Heaven. It should be
noted that there is no record that Jesus ascended to Heaven before He had
completed His earthly mission of life, death and resurrection.
We find compelling points of concurrence between the lectionary texts
prescribed for today. The Psalter for the day points out many fascinating
facets of that which Christ has explained. The Psalm for today is 68”1-20 in
which these truths, consistent with New Testament Scripture, are revealed:
1. Let God arise, let his enemies be
scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him. (Psalms 68:1) did this not happen on
Resurrection Morning?
2. But let the righteous be glad; let them
rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice. (Psalms 68:3) Did Jesus not instruct that
they would rejoice at seeing Him on that Day of His Rising?
3. God, when thou wentest forth before thy
people, when thou didst march through the wilderness; Selah: The earth
shook, the heavens also dropped at the presence of God: even Sinai itself was
moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel. (Psalms 68:7-8) Did not Christ precede us
in death so that we who take up our cross daily and follow Him may also follow
in His resurrection? But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become
the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man
came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in
Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the
firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. (1 Cor
15:20-23) Did not the earth quake at the passing of Christ on the cross? Yes,
indeed, according to Matthew 27:51, the earth did quake (shake) and the power
of Heaven ripped the Temple Veil from Top to Bottom which no man could do. This
opened the Holies of Holies to all who will throw themselves on the court of
Mercy and Grace.
4.
The
hill of God is as the hill of Bashan; an high hill as the hill of Bashan. Why
leap ye, ye high hills? this is the hill which God desireth to dwell in; yea,
the Lord will dwell in it for ever. (Psalms 68:15-16) The Mountain of Bashan is another name for Mount
Hermon – the source of the tributary waters of the Jordan River (another type
of Christ). But Christ was crucified on another hill – Mt Calvary. Just as the
refreshing waters flow down the slopes of Mt Hermon and feet into the
life-giving Jordan Waters, so does the life-giving blood of Christ flow from
that abundant Fountain filled with Blood drawn from Emmanuel’s veins.
Though loved by all denominations, this hymn is a particular favorite
of our good Baptist brethren. It is composed by William Cowper:
There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel’s veins;
And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.
Lose all their guilty stains, lose all their guilty stains;
And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.
The dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day;
And there have I, though vile as he, washed all my sins away.
Washed all my sins away, washed all my sins away;
And there have I, though vile as he, washed all my sins away.
Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood shall never lose its power
Till all the ransomed church of God be saved, to sin no more.
Be saved, to sin no more, be saved, to sin no more;
Till all the ransomed church of God be saved, to sin no more.
E’er since, by faith, I saw the stream Thy flowing wounds supply,
Redeeming love has been my theme, and shall be till I die.
And shall be till I die, and shall be till I die;
Redeeming love has been my theme, and shall be till I die.
Then in a nobler, sweeter song, I’ll sing Thy power to save,
When this poor lisping, stammering tongue lies silent in the grave.
Lies silent in the grave, lies silent in the grave;
When this poor lisping, stammering tongue lies silent in the grave.
Lord, I believe Thou hast prepared, unworthy though I be,
For me a blood bought free reward, a golden harp for me!
’Tis strung and tuned for endless years, and formed by power divine,
To sound in God the Father’s ears no other name but Thine.
5. What work was it that our Lord was about for
those times that He was separated in death from the disciples? Thou hast
ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for
men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them.
(Psalms 68:18) Did Christ not fulfill this prophecy during His time of the
Tomb? Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity
captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but
that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that
descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he
might fill all things.) (Eph 4:8-10) No matter how much we may desire
to believe a sensational lie, we must believe the Lord first. “Let God be
true, but every man a liar!” (Romans 3:4) Contrary to sensational and
profit-making stories of people visiting Hell and Heaven and returning to tell
of it, we must accept the undeniable Word of God: And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but
he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
(John 3:13) It is a choice – to believe or not to believe. But to disbelieve
the Word of God places our souls in peril.
We have confirmations of beauty also in 2 Corinthians 5: 1 For
we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a
building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For
in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is
from heaven: 3 If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. 4 For
we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would
be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. 5 Now
he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto
us the earnest of the Spirit. 6 Therefore we are always confident, knowing
that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: 7 (For
we walk by faith, not by sight:) (2 Cor 5:1-7) Christ, having
gone on before and led the way for our resurrection into life eternal has
prepared not only a place for us, but a home for our nakedness that we shall be
covered. That same Jesus who died for our sins also rose for our sakes on the
third day: 14 For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we
thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: 15 And that he
died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves,
but unto him which died for them, and rose again. (2 Cor 5:14-15)
Jesus sealed His testimony and His Last Will
and Testament with His own Blood. Dare any man add to that divine testimony by
fictional books or claims? Hear the somber warning of Heaven against fictional
works of man that make claims contrary to Scripture: If any man shall add
unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this
book: 19 And
if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God
shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and
from the things which are written in this book. (Rev 22:18-19) I pray that no reader of
these Sermon Notes will place their souls in jeopardy by deliberate disregard
of truth.
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:
Perseverance and
Preservation
John 10:22-30
Third Sunday after Easter
April 21, 2013
By now you know about the connection our
annual cycle of worship and prayer gives to the Scripture readings and
sermons. We don't just wander
through the Bible in our daily readings, and we aren't dependent on what ever
strikes the minister's interest on Sundays. We follow a plan that takes us through the Bible in an
orderly and sensible way every year.
The result of this plan is that there is a connection between the daily
Bible readings and the Sunday Bible readings. And there is a connection between the sermons, Sunday to
Sunday, throughout the year. Last
Sunday's sermon was about conversion.
The main point of the sermon was to say that conversion means to be turned
from a lifestyle of going astray from God, to a lifestyle of following
God. As Jesus Himself said,
"My sheep hear my voice... and they follow me" (Jn. 10:27). So we have become followers of
Christ. I know we do not follow
perfectly, we do stray sometimes.
We still sin. But we repent
and return to Christ because we have a lifestyle of following our Shepherd.
Converted
people naturally have a question at this point; "How can I know I will
continue the lifestyle of following?" This is an important question, and the heart of it is this,
how do I know I will not become unconverted? How do I know I will actually make it to Heaven? Can a person who is saved ever become
unsaved?
This is
not a silly question.
We who
love Christ and trust Him as our Saviour are very much aware of the weakness of
our faith and the strength of the temptations and enticements of the world the
flesh and the devil. We know that
the will to sin still lives in us, and we wonder if it will ever cause us to
completely and finally stray away from Christ and back into eternal
damnation. Therefore, today,
looking at the words of Christ in John 10:27-30, I intend to talk about the
eternal security of those who are in Christ.
Jesus
said, "My sheep hear my voice... and they follow me." From this I want to say, you know you
are one of Christ's sheep if you hear His voice and follow Him. I am not talking about hearing an
audible voice. I am not even
talking about hearing a voice in your head. I am not talking about receiving signs or seeing visions or
having miracles. I know of a TV preacher who thinks that, while he is praying,
God tells him, someone is being healed of disease, someone in financial
distress is going to receive money, or someone's marriage is being healed, or
some other miracle is happening. I
doubt it. I don't think God is
telling him these things, I think he is imagining God telling him these
things. So, how do we hear
the voice of God? We hear the
voice of God when we read the Bible.
That's where you should go if you want to know what God is saying to
you. And Christ's sheep read the
Bible.
So what
does the Bible say to those who are truly followers of Christ? It says, "I
give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish." Eternal life means to live in
fellowship and peace with God now and forever. We have looked at this often in the past, so I will not take
the time to discuss it today.
Today I only want to look at the origin of eternal life. Where does it come from? How do we obtain it? It comes to us from God. It is given to us as His gift. Jesus said, "I give unto them eternal
life." Romans 6:23 confirms
this, as though to make sure there is no confusion about it; "the gift of
God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." So you didn't earn it. You didn't make yourself so good you
earned Heaven. God gives eternal life
to His sheep. And notice the tense
of that word "give." It
is present tense and it describes continuing action in the present. So Christ is saying, "I give, and
forever keep on giving, unto them eternal life." I stress the continuing action because if Christ keeps on
giving eternal life to us, we possess it, and we keep on possessing it. He doesn't give us eternal life for a
day or a millennium or a million trillion zillion millennia, He gives it forever
and we possess it forever. Thanks
be to God.
Therefore,
as Jesus says, "they shall never perish." To perish means to die unforgiven, and suffer for your sins
forever. "The wages of sin is
death" says Romans 6:23.
Revelation 21:8 describes that death as the lake of fire and brimstone,
"which is the second death."
But I want to emphasise what Jesus says of those who are His sheep,
those who are truly converted, "they shall never perish." They will never see the lake of fire,
never see the second death, never be separated from the love and salvation
given to them by God. He will
never take that gift back.
Next, Jesus says nothing is able to pluck us out of God's hand. He is intentionally using a word picture here. He gives the image of God holding us, firmly and gently in His almighty hand. The world, the flesh and the devil are trying to pluck us out, but God is too strong for them. They can't pluck us out of His hand. Even we sometimes kick and squirm and try to break out, but again, God's hand is too strong for us, and we remain in His grasp. He keeps on giving the gift of eternal life.
Two
words are often used in discussions about eternal security. The first is perseverance. Bishop J. C. Ryle gave a good
definition of the theological meaning of this word in his book, Old Paths. I heartily recommend this book as an
essential read for every Christian.
He wrote; “the Bible teaches that true believers, real genuine
Christians, shall persevere in their religion to the end of their lives. They shall never perish. They shall never be lost. They shall never be cast away. Once in Christ they shall always be in
Christ. Once made children of God
by adoption and grace, they shall never cease to be His children and become
children of the devil. Once endued
with the grace of the Spirit, that grace shall never be taken from them. Once pardoned and forgiven, they shall
never be deprived of their pardon.
Once joined to Christ by living faith, their union shall never be broken
off. Once called by God into the
narrow way that leads to life, they shall never be allowed to fall into
hell. In a word, every man, woman,
and child on earth that receives saving grace, shall sooner or later receive
eternal glory. Every soul that is once justified and washed in Christ's blood,
shall at length be found safe at Christ's right hand in the day of
judgement."
I do not
say you will not sin, or doubt, or fear, or experience times when it feels like
you are falling away from God. But
you will never fall away completely.
If you have truly been converted you will stay converted until you
finally reach your home in Heaven.
You will persevere in the faith.
The
second word, and I actually like it better than the word perseverance, is
"preservation." I like
it better because some people make perseverance seem like it all depends on us,
but preservation shows that it actually all depends on God. I return to John 10 to recall to your mind the continuing act of God in
giving eternal life. He gives it
now and continues to give it for all eternity. I recall again to your mind Christ's words in John 10 29,
"no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand." Christ is saying that our continuance
in the faith and safe arrival in Heaven does not depend on our ability, to hang
on to God; it depends on God's ability and willingness to hang on to us. In other words, we will continue in the
faith and make it to Heaven because God preserves us. He holds us in His hand, and nothing can pluck us out of it.
Some
people think God saves us something like this, He looks at the mass of lost
sinners, and reaches His hand down to us, and says, "Come to My hand grab
a finger and hold on, and you who can hold on until I bring My hand back to
Heaven, you will be saved. That is
not the Biblical teaching.
According to the Bible, God looks upon the mass of sinful people, and
reaches out His hand, and picks us up and holds us in His hand until He carries
us safely to Heaven. We can only
persevere because God preserves.
Merciful
Father, preserve us. In the name
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
--
+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.
Third Sunday after Easter
In the Gospel lesson for today (St. John 16:16-22), we read where the disciples
were perplexed as our Lord spoke to them of those things which would soon come
to pass. They did not grasp at that moment that he was preparing them for their
individual ministries which would follow his ascension. While in the near term
they would face great sadness at his death on the cross; they would,
afterwards, become witnesses of his resurrection. As a result of that event,
they would receive an empowering joy that they were to carry to others.
Shortly before his ascension, our Lord gave the disciples the Great
Commission: Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observer
all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you alway, even
unto the end of the world (St. Matthew 28:19-20). He expected the disciples to
share the gospel of truth with others, and he also expects all who are born
again of the Holy Ghost to do likewise until his return. Our Lord does not
intend for us to keep our candles of faith hidden from view, but to be set
forth in the open— upon a lampstand— for all to see. His command to let your
light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father
which is in heaven, was meant to communicate that resolve.
Jesus Christ came to give us life and that we would have it in
abundance. The great joy which the Christian faith brings is everlasting
salvation to all who believe on our Lord as the Messiah. He has gone away into
heaven to prepare a place for us and will one day come again to bring us home.
Once there, we will witness all that he has done for us prior to our arrival.
Gratitude will overflow toward the Godhead, and our joy will be so great as to
render us incapable of anything but humble tears and bowed heads before his
presence. Our very natures will be transformed from the earthly to the
ethereal. As St. Paul noted, For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then
face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known
(I Corinthians 13:12).
Following our Lord’s ascension, St. Luke recorded in his gospel account
that the disciples worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: and
were in the temple, praising and blessing God (24:52-53). Later, in the Book of
Acts, he wrote about the day of Pentecost where the flaming tongues descended
upon the disciples and they began preaching the gospel to all who were in
Jerusalem (2:1-11).
Hear now the words of St. Peter as he was moved to speak by the Holy
Ghost: For David speaketh concerning [Jesus Christ], I foresaw the Lord always
before my face...therefore did my heart rejoice and my tongue was glad;
moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: Because thou wilt not leave my soul
in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou hast
made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy
countenance (Acts 2:14-36).
The same is as true today as it was then: that whosoever believes on
the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved. If we possess his saving grace, we know
that we have been bought with a price. We have been redeemed from this body of
sin and death.
From the beginning, God has sought to give mankind his joy; but
humanity, operating under the influence of Satan, for the most part turned it
down. Even so, the Scriptures supply us with examples of those, who through
faithful obedience, found the joy of the LORD. Abraham, who was long past the
age of fatherhood, experienced the joy of receiving his son Isaac from the
LORD.
Joseph, the son of Jacob, was betrayed and sold into slavery by his own
brothers and was taken into Egypt. But through the will of Divine Providence,
he became second only to pharaoh, saving the Egyptian people as well as his own
folk. He was obedient unto God who richly blessed him with a wife and sons, as
well as reconciliation with his brothers and reunion with his father.
Wise old Job, remained faithful to the Lord even under the severest of
testing and for his faith was rewarded with joy beyond measure. And the
disciples wept over our Lord’s death, but afterwards rejoiced exceedingly upon
his resurrection.
To fully realize the joy of God, we must order our lives around his
teachings. As St. Paul instructed Timothy, If a man therefore purge himself
from [iniquity], he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the
master's use and prepared for every good work (II St. Timothy 2:21). God has
given us in his word all that we need to begin our relationship with him, but
it is just that, a beginning. There is more we must do.
We should understand that it is not enough to say we believe in God and
in Jesus Christ for as St. James noted, devils also believe and tremble (2:19).
Belief is only part of the equation. Belief accompanied by a lively faith
instills in us a desire to know God and to discern his will for us. Are you
willing to submit yourself to the Master's handiwork? Are you willing to allow
him to transform you and make you into his image?
Ultimately, every Christian will meet our Master and Supreme Judge. He
will have much to ask and we in turn will have much to answer for the things
done in the flesh. Fortunately, we Christians will not suffer condemnation. St.
Paul reminds us in Romans 8:1 that there is no condemnation for those who are
in Christ Jesus. It should be the desire of every Christian to realize that
purposeful will of God during our earthly pilgrimage so that at our journey's
end, we may hear those wonderful words: Well done thou good and faithful
servant. Thou hast done well among a few things, I shall give thee charge over
many. Enter into the joy of thy LORD (St. Matthew 25:21).
God has provided his own with a wonderful place of everlasting joy. But
such can be experienced only if we have an abiding faith in his only begotten
Son. If we have Jesus Christ, we will have that joy in hearts forever.
Therefore, go and tell others that too might come to experience his joy as
well.
Let us pray,
D
|
EAR Lord, assist us as we, by word and deed,
communicate to others the gospel
of the living Christ; that in their hearing, they will seek after him and
receive that joy which only you, O Triune God, can give; for this we ask in the
name of him who is our joy, even thine only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.,
keep us steadfast as we watch for the coming of thine only begotten Son, that
by the indwelling of thy most holy Spirit we might be kept safe from all wolves
in sheep’s clothing and all hirelings; for this we ask in the name of him who
is the Good Shepherd, even Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Have a blessed week, Bryan+
Let God Build You a House - by Dallas Witmer
This article was sent by Rev Roger Jessup, of Saint
Joeseph of Arimathea Anglican Orthodox Church in Chester, Virginia. It was written in 2009, but is even
more to the point at this time.
The year 2009 dawns upon unprecedented divorce, abortion,
domestic violence, perverse lifestyles, and other evidences of the breakdown of
the home. This year also dawns upon increased evidences of hope.
This paradoxical situation exists because of nonconformed
Christians leading lives a world apart from the sick, floundering society with
which they do business every day. To use the words of Christ they are in the
world, but not of it (John 17).
In their homes you find: happy, obedient children with
parents who love each other; peace and order; dating young people pure in body
and mind; youth who scorn the values, music, and idols of popular society.
Instead of a generation gap, you here find youth perpetuating their parents’
Biblical values.
Sound unreal? Sure you could never establish such a home?
Let God build you a house.
God once promised King David (in 2 Samuel 7:11) that for
his faithfulness, He would “build him a house.” In his case, God meant that He
would guarantee him a continuing dynasty to rule over Israel. And while the
kingdom lasted, David’s offspring did indeed sit on his throne. Jesus Christ,
in time, was born of the seed of David. Christ is King of kings forever.
The conditions for God’s promise to David were that his
children, like David their father, should carefully observe His laws. Upon the
same conditions, God will help build you a house, and perpetuate your memory
and values while time endures.
But it will require the courage to make a clean break with
contemporary society.
Maybe you thought it should only take being “born again”
and joining some group that protests against abortion and perverse lifestyles.
God doesn’t promise His blessings for creeds, but for obedience. It will indeed
take the new birth - a genuine conversion experience. And your determination to
obey God’s laws will settle your creed for you.
But if you really want God to build (or rebuild) your
home, the thing to get ready for now is to change from one world to the other.
Walk away from the values and lifestyles (not just the most sinful ones),
friends, family, media, and systems that keep you bound to the wrong world and
headed for its destiny. Walk into the disciplined brotherhood and fellowship of
others who have genuinely been born again. Learn the Bible principles upon
which successful homes are established. Develop the parenting skills that will
perpetuate the best values and true faith until the Lord Jesus returns to take
us into His eternal home.
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