Tenth Sunday after Trinity

Rev Jack's sermon is at the bottom of this entry and can be viewed on video RIGHT HERE!

The Propers for today are found on Page 203-204, with the Collect first:

 

The Tenth Sunday after Trinity.

 

The Collect.

 

L

ET thy merciful ears, O Lord, be open to the prayers of thy humble servants; and, that they may obtain their petitions, make them to ask such things as shall please thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

The Epistle came from Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, the Twelfth Chapter beginning at the First Verse. Paul starts off by telling us that no man who “speaketh by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.”  He goes on to say, “Now there are diversities of gifts, but by the same Spirit.” “…it is the same God which worketh all in all.”  Every one is gifted in one manner or another by God, the question really is not do you have a gift from God, but will you use it?  Our gifts are so different in their character that we sometimes fail to recognize them for what they are, gifts from God, meant to be used, not ignored.

 

C

ONCERNING spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led.  Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; to another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: but all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.

 

Today’s Holy Gospel started in the Nineteenth Chapter of the Gospel according to St. Luke, beginning at the Forty-First Verse. 

 

The Gospel tell of Jesus’ time in the temple wherein he sees the people selling their wares having made the temple a den of thieves rather than a house of prayer and cast them out.  He also predicts the fall of the temple saying it shall be laid “even with the ground, … they shall not leave one stone upon another,” because the people of the temple had rejected Jesus.  The message to those who accept Jesus and his teaching is clear, their temple shall not fall.  The message to those who will not hear his message will never be heard, let alone clear, their first indication of a problem will be when their temple falls.

 

Often people take this Gospel to preclude jumble sales at church.  It does not preclude that.  It does literally preclude cheating people at those jumble sales!  You must understand that the “perfect” sacrificial offerings to God the temple hawkers were selling were perfectly defective “sacrificial lambs” which would be recycled over and over.  Those buying were likely for the most part honest in their attempt to offer unto God that due Him, yet their effort was being diverted and redirected by those “in charge”, the priests and hawkers.  In their very successful effort to make money they were defrauding the people and insulting God in His own House.  It should also be pointed out that a church should be a place of worship.  It may be a Prophet Center, but not a Profit Center^[1].  If the building needs constant commercial enterprise, then perhaps the emphasis is on the wrong center.  A church should be funded for its needs by its members and its wants should come much later, if not in fact unheeded.  A church is about Him, not about IT.

 

A

ND when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, and shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation. And he went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought; saying unto them, It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves. And he taught daily in the temple.

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^[1] A fine set of very apropos terms I first heard from Bishop Dennis Campbell in 2011.

Sermon – Reverend Jack Arnold - Time and Action

Church of the Faithful Centurion - Descanso, California

Rev Jack's sermon can be viewed on video RIGHT HERE!

Today’s sermon tied the Collect, Epistle and Gospel together.

 

Consider the words from the Collect, wherein we ask God to make us … be open to the prayers of thy humble servants; and, that they may obtain their petitions, make them to ask such things as shall please thee …

 

Once again, this Collect is kind of a restatement of many of the Collects.  First, we ask God to hear our prayers, funny in that He always listens intently to us when we pray and we very seldom listen to Him when He answers.  It is an odd paradox, He listens; we never seem to listen.  This is why the theme is constant through ought all of the Collects. It seems as if at times we should pray that we should listen; not Him, as He always listens! Nonetheless, we ask His help to ask for those things we need, not those things we want and are bad for us.  We need to be humble when we ask. 

 

What does that word mean?  

 

According to the dictionary, to be HUMBLE means to be:

 

·      Modest

·      Respectful

·      Lowly

Modest - unassuming in attitude and behavior

Respectful - feeling or showing respect and deference toward other people

Lowly - relatively low in rank and without pretensions

 

These are three characteristics we cannot possess in our imperfect state. We otherwise might be like the Pharisees who would make a show of praying in public to appear pious when they were anything but.  To avoid being like the Pharisees, we must recognize that when we ask for His Help that we must recognize the difference between our desires (our wants) and our needs and realize that they are not the same thing. What we need is what God wants for us, the things that will help us and not hurt us. We have to realize what God wants for us is far more important than the things that we selfishly want. And that in the long run what God wants for us will be healthier for our physical, mental and spiritual selves than what we want. Wanting is fine, as long as you are willing to work hard and do it and it is something that is not against God’s will for us. 

 

Paul reminds us though each believer is different, be in in personality, size, shape or color, in Christ’s church those distinctions are nearly meaningless. In the Church we each have our own differing talents that we can use to further his mission on this Earth. We also have each our own unique role to play in the Church. Each role is necessary for the successful operation of the Church here on Earth. There is not one role that is not important. They are all critical in their own way to the Church’s ministry. If we do not care who gets the credit, then all will be well. If we focus on doing our part rather than worrying about how much credit we will receive, we will find that we can accomplish a lot more than we think we can. For there is nothing the Church cannot accomplish if we unite through the Holy Ghost and work on furthering God’s cause here on Earth. Our Heavenly Father has given each of us unique talents to be used to further His Mission. Together, our talents can help us as the Body of Christ serve and glorify Him on Earth. 

 

If you will but read the Bible, what God wants you to do will be clear.  It may be hard sometimes, but you will know it is the course of action that you must take. If you do your best to do His Will all will be well with you.  Death is a pretty hollow threat if you do your duty. If you have done your best, that is at the end of the day, you have done your best to follow Him, then truly you have nothing to fear. Contrast this with the people of Jerusalem. They could or would not see what God wanted for them or now for us.  In 70AD, what had been so hard earlier seemed pretty easy compared to the fix they were in, but by then it was too late.  By then they were left with only “There are none so poor as cannot purchase a noble death.”  But, for most of them by that time they had no will.  It left when they failed to follow God’s Will. 

 

The example of them is a good object lesson for us, to do what we can in the here and now and not worry about tomorrow.  We shouldn’t complain if it is too hard for us, because being on God’s side, nothing is too hard for us. There will be a lot of times where we just feel like giving up and that it is too hard. But keeping going is easier than if we just give up. We can’t change the past that is fixed and done, but we can change the future through our actions in the present. So let our actions be good ones, that help the Church on Earth and change the future in a positive manner.

 

When Luke wrote of the sales in the temple, he had a point.  The point was not to preclude jumble sales at church.  He is not against the sales. However, what He is against is the cheating in the name of God.  That is pretty clear. You must understand the temple hawkers were selling perfect defective “sacrificial lambs” which would be recycled over and over^[1].  In their very successful effort to make money they were defrauding the people and insulting God in His own House. I think in a way this can be pointed at those who are cheating people in the name of God in our own time, such as Joel Osteen and the like. 

 

To paraphrase Christ, where their treasure is, there will their heart be also.  It should also be pointed out a church should be a place of worship.  It may be a Prophet Center, but not a Profit Center^[2].  Similar sounding words, but a totally different meaning for the church.  If the building needs constant commercial enterprise, then perhaps the emphasis is on the wrong center. All of these churches that emphasize quantity over quality should be suspect. It does not matter the quantity, as long as you have a base of quality believers who serve the One Triune God. We need to be concerned more about the spreading of His Word, the constant truth, then focusing on how many people we can attract, and how the message can be changed to suit them. These are both problems with the modern churches today. A church should be funded for its needs by its members and its wants should come much later, if not in fact unheeded.  A church is about Him, not about IT.

 

Do what you are supposed to do when you are supposed to do it.  That is duty.  It does not matter how you “feel” about black or white.  Black is black; White is white.  Do your duty. Work as hard as you can, do the best you can, trust in the Lord.  By the way, cheat no one.  If you follow that, you won’t need to be told, “Particularly in God’s House.”

 

Action counts.  For by their actions ye shall know them.  

 

Heaven is at the end of an uphill trail.  The easy downhill trail does not lead to the summit.

 

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

 

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^[1] The concept of being truthful in the efforts we make to spread The Word is not a separate subject by any means, but would take more time to talk about than we have time for here.  Suffice it to say that we must take every care to spread The Truth and not what our audience, whoever that may be, would like to hear.  When we bring our “sacrifice” to the “temple” we need make certain it is in fact as perfect as we can make it.  This is so hard that one of the recurring themes of the Collects is asking for guidance to ask for the right things.

^[2] A term I first heard from Bishop Dennis Campbell in 2011.  It was a great thought then and a great thought now!

Ninth Sunday after Trinity - Propers with explanation – Rev Jack’s Sermon– With Video

 

Rev Jack brings the Propers together again. Today's Collect talks about our need for God's guidance to know what to do. Without His Help there is nothing we can do that ends up being right.  In the Epistle Paul reminds us of our common heritage going back all the way to Moses, and in effect all the way to Adam.  The Gospel is Jesus' rendition of the story of the Prodigal Son. There is much to learn from this and a lot of it has nothing to do with the Prodigal Son.

Rev Jack’s sermon can be viewed RIGHT HERE. https://youtu.be/OM61i8_e92g

The Propers for today are found on Page 200-203, with the Collect first:

 

The Ninth Sunday after Trinity.

 

The Collect.

 

G

RANT to us, Lord, we beseech thee, the spirit to think and do always such things as are right; that we, who cannot do any thing that is good without thee, may by thee be enabled to live according to thy will; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

The Epistle came from Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, the Tenth Chapter beginning at the First Verse.  Paul reminds us we have a common past, regardless of our actual lineage.  Spiritually, we are descended from the Jews of the Exodus.  Their God is our God, their actions were directed by our God, the same God.  He was a Trinity then as He is today.  Their reality it our reality, whether we choose to understand or accept it. Our forefathers drank of “the same spiritual drink; for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.”  Those who have gone before provide examples, both good and bad.  In this letter Paul addresses the bad and suggest we should see what their ill behavior gained them before we set our course and not after.  And, let we think ourselves ever so special, he reminds us that we are subjected to no special temptations, only those “as is common to man.”  This is another example of the adage, Those who are ignorant of history are doomed to repeat it.

 

B

RETHERN, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and did all eat the same spiritual meat; and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

 

Today’s Holy Gospel started in the Fifteenth Chapter of the Gospel according to St. Luke, beginning at the Eleventh Verse and recounts the story of the prodigal son.  A man has two sons, the older is a wonderful young man who strives to please his father in everything he does.  The younger son asks for his inheritance, now rather than later, and sets off to spend it wastefully in a far off land.  In dire straits, he decides to go home to his father and beg to be allowed to live as one of his servants.  He decides to tell his father, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son…”  Before he can get the words out of his mouth, his father welcomes him, gives him new clothing and calls the servants to prepare a fatted calf for a big party.  The elder son is very angry and hurt.  He asks his father what he did wrong; he followed his instructions every day to the best of his ability, worked hard, and yet his father had never even given a small party for him.  The father answered, saying, “Son, thou are ever with me, and all that I have is thine.”   “It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost and is found.”  This story, like that of the workers in the vineyard has a number of meanings.  Like the father in the story, God wants us to be His faithful child, but rejoices when we return to Him.  Like the prodigal son, we should be grateful to live long enough to return to Him.  If we are like the oldest son, let us learn from his mistake and be joyful when our brothers and sisters come home to our family.  Let us join in the celebration and not begrudge the fatted calf.

 

J

ESUS said, A certain man had two sons: and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: and bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing. And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him. And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: but as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.

Sermon – Reverend Jack Arnold - Time and Action

Church of the Faithful Centurion - Descanso, California

Rev Jack’s sermon can be viewed RIGHT HERE. https://youtu.be/OM61i8_e92g

Today’s sermon tied the Epistle and Gospel together talked, as is oft the case, of the need for action, not simply diction, the general content is in forewords above.

 

Consider the words from the Collect, wherein we ask God to give us … the spirit to think and do always such things as are right; that we, who cannot do any thing that is good without thee, may by thee be enabled to live according to thy will …

 

This is kind of a follow-on to last week’s Collect.  We are asking God to give us direction that we might know right from wrong and follow the right way.  If we listen to our hearts and minds, like the aviator, mariner or adventurer without a compass, we will soon be hopelessly lost.  With the compass God gives us, we can find the One True Way, much like the compass always points North.

 

The Collect acknowledges without God’s intervention through the Holy Spirit in our lives we cannot do anything good or right. This has been true since the Garden of Eden; there the Fall shows our own very natures prevent us from doing what is right.  Our nature is inclined towards being away from God. This is a very common theme in a lot of the collects because it is the truth! However, we can reset our nature to be towards God.  We just need to rely on the Holy Ghost to set us straight and put us back on the course towards righteousness. We just need to ask for the Holy Ghost to enter into our hearts and then listen to what the Holy Ghost says and act upon those words! 

 

This is not a recent phenomenon.   As Paul reminds us we have a common spiritual past, regardless of our actual lineage.  Spiritually, we are descended from the Jews of the Exodus.  Their God is our God; God directed their actions.  He was a Trinity then as He is today. We struggle with the exact same sins and temptations as they did. If we do not study their history, we are doomed to repeat it. If we do study their history we might have a better chance of not repeating their same mistakes. They have provided us many lessons from which we can learn to become better followers of God. It is up to us to review those lessons wisely and then learn from them.

 

In light of this thought, those who have gone before provide numerous examples, both good and bad. We should aspire to follow the good examples of those who have gone before and not follow the bad examples that they have left behind. People too often point out the bad examples of our ancestors and not the good examples. We need to learn from both to help us become better human beings.  We will never grow spiritually if we only learn from one set of examples and not the other. We need to learn from both in order to become better human beings and followers of Christ. 

 

In this letter Paul addresses the bad and suggests we should see what their ill behavior gained them before we set our course and not after. He points out their examples both good and bad are for our learning and we can benefit from them if we take the time to study them.  We will always be learning for the rest of our lives, no matter what profession we belong to, there will always be some form of continuing education. 

 

Paul is telling us we are in a way to embrace the Japanese concept of kai-zen or continuous development. Just as pilots need to keep learning to become better and more proficient pilots, good Christians need to always be learning to become better and kinder human beings. 

 

We should not strive to emulate the murmurings of the people, though we may feel that way sometimes, as we can learn from their bad examples.  We must see their bad examples and do not emulate those; on the other side, we must see the good examples, and strive to emulate them.

 

Speaking of lessons, when Saint Luke recounts the story of the prodigal son we oft think ourselves as that prodigal one returning to God so late in life.  Yet there is far more to be learned than the titular son.

 

The older son has resentment to the younger son for coming back after having wasted his money and is not willing to forgive him. However the Father is more than willing to forgive. This parable illustrates that we should not hold grudges against those in the world that repent and join Christ’s flock, but rather that we should welcome them into the church with open arms, as God does when we return to him. It is tempting to hold a grudge against those in the world that repent and join Christ’s flock, but it serves no good purpose other than to harm our spiritual health and hurt those who are returning to Christ’s flock.

 

This story, like that of the workers in the vineyard has a number of meanings.  Like the father in the story, God wants us to be His faithful child, but rejoices when we return to Him.  He is a loving and patient Father, but will not accept our sinful behavior. Yet, if we repent of that behavior, He will always welcome us back with open arms. We should always do our best to recognize when we have erred and strayed from our ways like lost sheep. Like the prodigal son, we should be grateful to live long enough to return to Him. 

 

The moral of the younger son’s story is that God is always waiting for us, and if we are not too late, we can always return to Him.  Today preferably rather than tomorrow! He will always accept us with opening arms, but we must make sure it is not too late. Don’t wait until you die! If you feel you have erred and strayed, repent now! Do not put off until tomorrow your repentance. If you are led by the Holy Spirit to repent, please do it today, you may not live to see tomorrow. 

 

Do not let the sun go down on your sins and wrath, you may not live to see another day! There is another lesson to be learned, this time from the the oldest son. Let us not repeat his mistake and be joyful when our brothers and sisters come home to our family. Let us put aside the anger and jealousy and replace those hurtful emotions with the emotions of pure love and joy! Let us join in the celebration and not begrudge the fatted calf.  We should not be jealous or angry when our long lost brethren return to the flock of Christ! We should be merry and joyful they have returned to us! Do not let your pride become anger and cloud your emotions like it does so many of us. But, rather see a sinner coming back into His flock and rejoice in he is no longer headed towards The Pit! 

 

Action counts.  For by their actions ye shall know them.  

 

Heaven is at the end of an uphill trail.  The easy downhill trail does not lead to the summit.

 

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

Eighth Sunday after Trinity - Propers with explanation – Rev Jack’s Sermon– With Video

 

The Propers for today are found on Page 199-200, with the Collect first:

 

The Eighth Sunday after Trinity.

 

The Collect.

 

O

 GOD, whose never-failing providence ordereth all things both in heaven and earth; We humbly beseech thee to put away from us all hurtful things, and to give us those things which are profitable for us; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

 

The Epistle came from Paul’s letter to the Romans, the Eighth Chapter, beginning at the Twelfth Verse. Paul tells us to live out our lives as Jesus instructed us to.  If we live as we want, we die and are gone.  If we live as Jesus commanded, we will live through to eternity.  Life is not about here, it is about doing well enough here so we can get there.  If we want the fruits of the heirship we have been given, we must live the part: 

 

B

RETHREN, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

 

Today’s Holy Gospel started in the Seventh Chapter of the Gospel according to St. Matthew, beginning at the Fifteenth Verse.  Matthew records the warning that so few heed. Many leaders talk a good line, but how do they actually act, particularly in private?  For it is private when none are looking that we are revealed.  If you want to get to heaven, you have to act the part, not just talk about it.

 

B

EWARE of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

Sermon – Reverend Jack Arnold - Time and Action

Church of the Faithful Centurion - Descanso, California

Rev Jack's sermon can be viewed on video RIGHT HERE!

Today’s sermon brought the Collect, Epistle and Gospel together and is partly  contained in the forewords above. 

Consider the words from the Collect, wherein we ask God who … ordereth all things both in heaven and earth; … to put away from us all hurtful things, and to give us those things which are profitable for us …

 

We must understand in our hearts that God does indeed “ordereth all things” here as well as in heaven. Even though it might not seem like it at times, we have to understand ultimately He is in control of all of the Universe. This may seem hard to understand when there is a lot of evil that happens in this world, but once you understand that God ultimately is in control and has a plan, I find that it is not so hard to understand.  Once we understand that, then we can ask Him to keep us away from those things hurtful to us and incline our hearts towards those things that are good for us.  This is an issue that will always be a challenge to us due to our sinful nature. We alone cannot do this, thus  we need the inspiration of the Holy Ghost in our hearts.  Without His Help, we cannot recognize our need for help.  We tend to think of ourselves as perfectible by our own work, without the need to depend on others (Him).  The problem is, it does not work.  The collect recognizes that on our own we could not find what is profitable for us and that we tend to stray towards those things that are hurtful for us. Therefore we need God as our infallible guide to steer us towards those things which will help us and not harm us.

 

Today’s Collect, Epistle and Gospel all come together with one theme. That theme is that if we listen to Him in word and in deed, God will protect us from hurtful things and will lead us to profitable things. Note in deed and not just words! We need to act for Him and not just say we are for Him. If we do these things, we will become profitable. Profitable not in the sense of being Bill Gates rich, but profitable in the sense that whatever God and the Holy Spirit will lead us to will be beneficial for our spiritual well being as well as our physical and mental well being. Paul mentions before receiving the Holy Spirit or the spirit of adoption, we were under Satan’s bondage. He points out that if we live as our old sinful selves, after the flesh, we will die. He says however, if we mortify our deeds, that is to cease our sinning and turn over a new leave, with the help of the Holy Ghost we shall live. He points out if we suffer for Him, along with Him, we will also receive glory for that righteous suffering together with Him.

 

 We have been released from slavery to Satan and are now free peoples under Christ’s banner. We are not called to freedom from sin just to re-enter our previous state, but to be the new men of Christ.   This means setting aside the previous things which hurt us spiritually, physically and mentally and focusing on pursuing a way of living that would honor God. That means examining the spiritual, physical and mental aspects of our lives, seeing what we need to do to improve it to follow His Word. It is a continuous process that will span the rest of our lives, until we leave this life and head to meet with God. Every day we must ask ourselves what did we do right and what did we do not so right? Keep doing the things we did right and we must strive to fix the things we did not do so right. It’s gradual but over time if we follow this formula, we will become better people for it.

 

His Word brings us to another point. Which is does the Bible you use match the real Word of God?  It is not the grammar or style that counts, but the facts, the points, the real message of Scripture.  The Authorized Version comes from the Received Text and is reliable.  Make certain the version you use loses nothing in the translation. Many modern versions use corrupted manuscripts omitting a large number of verses which corrupts the New Testament message, and in the case of John 3:16 for example, dilute Jesus Christ’s status as the only begotten son of God. The newer Bibles also are copyrighted so “Man” owns it, and not the author of Scripture, God our Father. In this case, these newer Bibles are not Bibles at all, but doctrine books of men set on not following Scripture. They have lost the holiness that God’s Word is and have become mere textbooks of men. They promote false doctrine and have helped to spread heresy in the church. We must be on the look out for these and remember to only use the versions based on the Received Text, so nothing is lost in the translation.

 

So, once you let the Holy Ghost into your heart, then take the direction He Offers, read and understand Scripture, you will know what you are supposed to do.  Then, you need to actually act on that knowledge. Action, not just diction is what counts in the end.  Nice words are nice, but they do not mean as much if they are not backed by action. Action will show people who our hearts truly are for, God or Mammon. Let us choose to act for God and have our actions show likewise.

 

In the Gospel, Jesus covers similar ground.  He points out that if we are of the good tree, our actions will produce good fruit. Before, we were of the bad tree and that is why we produced nothing good. He also points out that not everyone that claims to be a Christian will get into heaven. He says only those who DO the will of God and actually ACT upon His Words will get into heaven and not just those who say they are doing the will of God. He talked about the wolves in sheep’s clothing. He talks about many that have hijacked the church of God and have turned it into a temple of thieves and followers of the Devil rather than soldiers and followers of Christ. There are way too many of these folks in the church today. The Holy Spirit will help us identify these wolves in sheep’s clothing, if we will but open our hearts to Him. This Gospel lets us know that unlike us, Jesus is not fooled by those who have deception in their hearts. Those false prophets might fool many but they will never fool God. Another reason for us to ask the Holy Ghost into our hearts that He might give us the wisdom to root out such false teachers in the Church. The whole point of all of today’s readings is we need to act in a manner in accordance with Christ’s teachings. 

 

Action counts.  For by their actions ye shall know them.  

 

Heaven is at the end of an uphill trail.  The easy downhill trail does not lead to the summit.

 

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