The octave (8 days)
following Whitsunday. In the Book of Common Prayer, the Monday and Tuesday
after Whitsunday are Red Letter days, so called because days provided with a
proper Collect (prayer), Epistle, and Gospel were marked in the calendar in red
ink. "Whitsuntide" (formerly also spelled "Whitsontide") or
"Whitsun Week" is derived from Middle English whitsonday, from Old English hwita
sunnandæg, "White Sunday", in reference to the white
ceremonial robes formally worn on this day.
Whitsunday marks the Feast of the Descent of the Holy
Spirit upon the Apostles on the 50th day after Easter. It ranks,
after Easter, as the second festival of the Church. In the West, the Vigil of
Pentecost soon became a secondary date for baptisms, with a ceremony resembling
the Paschal Vigil Service. (Pentecost is the Greek name for the Jewish Feast of
Weeks, which falls on the 50th day after Passover.) As the Holy Spirit
descended on the Apostles on this day (Acts 2: 1),
the name was applied to the Christian feast celebrating this event, popularly
called "Whitsunday".
On
Point
Someone asked, where do the quotes come
from? The answer is from the
people who uttered them. But, how
did you find them? Oh, that. Some from Bishop Jerry, others from Rev
Bryan Dabney, a few from other places, but mostly from Bryan. He always has a few great ones to
share. So, on to the On Point
quotes –
So ought men to love their wives as their own
bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.
Ephesians 5:28
Death is... a return from exile, a going home
to the many mansions where the loved ones already dwell. The distance between
glorified spirits in heaven and militant saints on earth seems great; but it is
not so. We are not far from home— a moment will bring us there... When the eyes
close on earth they open in heaven.
Rev.
Charles H. Spurgeon
19th century English theologian
and author
(Morning and Evening, p. 222).
The world comes in through many doors, and it
comes in many forms. Yet at whatever door and in whatever form it comes, the
world is always the Devil’s servant.
Rev.
E. M. Bounds
19th and 20th century
American theologian and author
(Guide to Spiritual Warfare, p. 74)
We are at present working discreetly with all
our might to wrest this mysterious force called sovereignty out of the clutches
of the local nation states of the world.
Dr.
Arnold Toynbee
20th century English historian and
globalist.
The most terrifying words in the English
language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help.
Ronald
Wilson Reagan
20th century American president.
The principle of spending money to be paid by
posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a grand
scale.
Thomas
Jefferson
18thcentury American patriot and
president.
Propers
The Propers for today are found
on Page 180-182, with the Collect first:
Pentecost,
commonly called Whitsunday.
The
Collect.
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O
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GOD, who as at this time didst teach the hearts of thy faithful
people, by sending to them the light of thy Holy Spirit; Grant us by the same
Spirit to have a right judgment in all things, and evermore to rejoice in his
holy comfort; through the merits of Christ Jesus our Saviour, who liveth and
reigneth with thee, in the unity of the same Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.
¶ This Collect is to be said
daily throughout Whitsun Week.
Dru Arnold read this morning’s Epistle, which written
in the Second Chapter of the Acts of the Apostles beginning at the First Verse, which consisted primarily of a
listing of all the countries and regions surrounding Jerusalem, or at least the
hardest to pronounce ones, and a description of the actions of the Apostles
when the Holy Ghost came upon them.
But, you will also notice that the coming of the Holy Ghost demonstrated
the universality of The Word, for when they spoke in tongues, The Word spoke to
each in their own language. The
Word was not some stranger’s language, but their very own!
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W
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HEN the day of Pentecost was
fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came
a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house
where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of
fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy
Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them
utterance. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every
nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came
together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his
own language. And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold,
are not all these which speak Galilæans? And how hear we every man in our own
tongue, wherein we were born? Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the
dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judæa, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,
Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and
strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them
speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.
Hap Arnold
read today’s Gospel which was written in the Fourteenth Chapter of the
Gospel according to Saint John beginning at the Fifteenth Verse:
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J
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ESUS said unto his disciples, If ye love me, keep my
commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another
Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth; whom
the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye
know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you
comfortless: I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no
more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall
know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. He that hath my
commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me
shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to
him. Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt
manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto
him, If a man love me, he will keep my words; and my Father will love him, and
we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not
keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the
Father’s which sent me. These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present
with you. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send
in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your
remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Peace I leave with you, my peace
I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart
be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go
away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I
said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I. And now I have
told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might
believe. Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world
cometh, and hath nothing in me. But that the world may know that I love the
Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do.
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.
Consider these words from the
Collect:
… sending to
them the light of thy Holy Spirit; Grant us by the same Spirit to have a right
judgment in all things, and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort …
When Jesus left on Ascension Day, we lost a teacher
here on earth. We still have Him
as Redeemer and Savior; but what to do for understanding? In response to His departure, God sent
us the Holy Ghost.
Who is this Holy Ghost?
We worship the One True God, a triune God, that is
Three in One; Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
Most people have no trouble understanding the concept of God the Father,
Christians seem to get God the Son, but many seem to have a bit of difficulty
with the Holy Ghost.
The Holy Ghost has been there since the
beginning. He breathed life into
the world, yet His actions seemed to be sporadic until Pentecost.
Well, today is Pentecost, the time one normally
thinks of the Holy Ghost, the Holy Spirit, the Breath of God, the
Comforter. When people do think of
Him, they oft think of the actions described in the words of Saint Luke in the
Acts of the Apostles. The dancing
and speaking in tongues. All that
happened so we might understand that with the help of the Holy Ghost we might
bring the Word to all mankind. The
Word of God is a universal language.
When the disciples spoke in tongues, the people around them heard the
Word in their own language, not an odd combination of sounds that no one
understood. The disciples spoke
and were heard by those around them in their own language, not Klingon. It is not for us to speak in tongues
without study; that was a one shot deal.
It was designed to show us that we could, with hard work and persistence
bring the Gospel to the world in the language of the people. Which is what the
purpose of God sending the Holy Ghost was for, was for us to bring the light of
Christ into the world for all to see and believe upon. The Holy Ghost allows us
to spread His Word amongst all the people in the world and to convince them and
let them believe. It opens our eyes to what is good for us and what is not good
for us, so that we know what to believe and what not to believe.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us that He would be
leaving, but the Father would send a facilitator; one who whose presence, if we
let Him into our hearts, would let us understand His Word with those self same
hearts. The Comforter would bring
the Love of God into our hearts to let us feel His Love. He will help us understand that we are
striving to be one with God, with Jesus and with the Holy Ghost. Our love can be demonstrated by our
actions. Which are only possible
if we allow the Holy Ghost into our hearts and believe and Act upon our faith!
For if we love Jesus, we will do as He asked.
If you think about it, you will recall that the
second half of the Book of Luke is titled The Acts of the Apostles. It is not the thoughts, the beliefs,
the feelings, the meditations, the inner feelings or any other touchy feely, it
is the ACTS. If you believe, act
on those beliefs.
We need the help of the Holy Ghost to learn what we
are to do, how we are to do it and most of all to do it. Action, not just diction.
Pray for His continual presence
in your heart.
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
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
Pentecost –
commonly called Whitsunday
in Old
English - White Sunnendaeg
Seventh
Sunday after Easter
19 May 2013, Anno
Domini
Pentecost,
commonly called Whitsunday.
The
Collect.
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O
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GOD, who as at this time didst teach the hearts of thy faithful
people, by sending to them the light of thy Holy Spirit; Grant us by the same
Spirit to have a right judgment in all things, and evermore to rejoice in his
holy comfort; through the merits of Christ Jesus our Saviour, who liveth and
reigneth with thee, in the unity of the same Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.
1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully
come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there
came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the
house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared unto them cloven
tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all
filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the
Spirit gave them utterance. 5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews,
devout men, out of every nation under heaven. 6 Now when this was noised
abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every
man heard them speak in his own language. 7 And they were all amazed and
marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak
Galilaeans? 8 And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were
born? 9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in
Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, 10
Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and
strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretes and Arabians, we do hear
them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. (Acts 2:1-11)
Our Collect today makes reference to the Holy Spirit as a Light and a Teacher.
It is the same Light and Teacher which Christ was to us in His earthly
ministry. It is the same because it is not in God’s nature to to present us
with contradictory teachings. All that the Holy spirit reveals to us is simply
that which Jesus Christ has also revealed so clearly in His Word. The ministry
of Christ was limited to the physical grounds of Judea, Samaria, Galilee and
the adjacent environs. However, Christ promised to send to us an encourager and
a Comforter to be with us always and to open our eyes to the deep mysteries of
God as revealed BY and IN His Word.
The Holy Ghost will not speak a new or different Gospel, but opens our hearts
and minds to the Gospel already preached – and lived – by our Lord Jesus
Christ. You will remember that Christ did not preach a Gospel message that varied
from that of His Father. When Philip inquired of Jesus to be shown the Father,
Jesus responded: 9 Have I been so long time
with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath
seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? 10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the
Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the
Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. (John 14:9-10)
Jesus did not bring an INDIVIDUAL message, but that message dictated by the
One, Triune God which includes the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
Now our Lord has sent to His people the Holy Spirit as a Comforter to open our
eyes in the teaching of all that those teachings of the Father which Christ
taught, and now which the Holy Ghost teaches. The Holy Ghost is the Compass and
Light of God for our hearts. The Holy Ghost does not speak of Himself, but of
all that Christ taught us. We have been promised a Presence of God to be always
with us.
One of the names of our Lord is Immanuel which means “God with us.” (Immanuel
in Isaiah 7:14) But in fulfillment of the promises and mighty works of
God, our Lord must have returned to the Father when His works of salvation were
completed. So He promised to send us another Comforter whose spiritual &
physical jurisdiction would know no geographical limits. That Comforter is the
Holy Ghost.
As we read the Word of God, our loving Teacher stands over our
shoulder to open the meaning and truth to us as a bright Light shedding its
beams upon our page. 25 These things
have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. 26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the
Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all
things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
(John 14:25-26) The Holy Ghost is One with Christ just as Christ is One with
the Father – and, in fact, all are One in Purpose, in Truth, in will, and in
works.
As I interviewed our pretty little Confirmand yesterday, Maria Bella
Rodriguez, I felt the Holy Spirit was with us and was reflected in the
sincerity and sweetness of her responses. Bella, in Spanish, means
beautiful. Well, Bella is beautiful not only in her features, but in her heart.
Whitsunday (Wit Sunday) is the seventh Sunday after Easter and
coincides with the Jewish Day of Pentecost. Pentecost followed fifty days after
Passover. As Christ is OUR Passover, we observe Wit-Sunday as our day of
Pentecost. Pentecost was the day of the giving of another Teach – the Law – to
Moses on Mt Sinai. So Wit-Sunday is for us the Day of the giving of another
Teacher to us which is the spirit of Love and Truth. 24 Wherefore
the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be
justified by faith. 25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer
under a schoolmaster. 26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in
Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have
put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond
nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according
to the promise. (Gal 3:24-29)
So, are we no longer bound by the Commandments and Law of God? Certainly, we
are, but in a different sense. We are now bound by love to keep the
Commandments of God as written on our hearts and not on Tables of Stone.
It is the day of fulfillment of the promise of Christ to send us the
Comforter – the day of the Coming of the Holy Ghost in His eternal Presence
with to the people of God. As Christ suffered death by defeating the same, so
does the Holy Ghost bring the so that the Resurrection presence of Christ is
with us always in the presence of His Holy Spirit.
After the Crucifixion, Burial, Resurrection, and Ascension of Christ,
there returned a feeling of forlorn loneliness in the hearts of the disciples.
They were deeply gratified by the merits of eternal life which Christ had made
available through His earthly works, but what now? He was no longer a constant
companion to them. God seemed, once again, far away.
As we read in the second chapter of the Book of Acts today, the
disciples were gathered expectantly in the Upper Room of the Lord’s Supper
awaiting the fulfillment of a Mystery and a Promise made known to them by
Jesus.
Whatever they expected could not be explained, but they knew now that
whatsoever Christ ever said, there was deep and abiding truth in it for them.
If someone had asked, “For what purpose do you wait here this day?”
they would not have reason to give except that the Lord has told us to await
this day. When they had gathered for the Last Supper with Jesus, there was a
calm serenity that pervaded the room, but today, there was even a touch of
disorderly confusion. There were men there from all over the known world. They
had come to know of Christ and were, too, His disciples. But they all spoke in
different languages that caused the gathering to appear almost chaotic as each chatted
to his fellow countryman in a language which most others could not understand.
So there was a continual buzz of confusion. Yet, they waited. And when
the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
-
It should be noted that, in
spite of the language barrier, all were gathered in One Accord. Their minds
were at One with Christ, and therefore with each other. Though they were
confused by a lack of understanding of each other’s language, yet they agreed in
truth. The Holy Spirit of God will not abide division. When the Church does not
await and listen for the Voice of the Holy Spirit, He will not come. He waits
without.
Suddenly, as they waited, there came a strange and peculiar sound from
Heaven. It sounded very much like a mighty Wind – and it was! It was the Wind
of God in the form of the Holy Ghost. The coming of the Holy ghost was not in
any sense partial or piecemeal – it filled the entire Upper Room. And
suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it
filled all the house where they were sitting. It should also be
noted that when God is working, men are at rest. These men were seated awaiting
the Bread and Manna of Heaven just as the 5,000 seated on the mountain slope
overlooking the Galilean Sea when Christ miraculous fed them an abundance from
a pittance of provision.
There may have even been some dismay and fearful expectation as the
Holy Ghost descended. When Christ walks by our side on our Road to Emmaus, we
often do not recognize Him. We may even be fearful of His presence as was the
disciples that stormy night on the Sea when they saw Christ walking on the
waters.
And there appeared unto them cloven tongues
like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. These cloven tongues were not actual fire,
but appeared like fire over their heads. It was an intense and beautiful
moment. Their hearts could no longer sit in silence, and they overflowed with
the love of God and His truth. The experience was profound and defied description.
What was the result of this sudden outburst of the Holy Ghost?
Herein lies the miracle of tongues as expressed on the Day of
Pentecost: And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to
speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Not
only did all speak in other tongues, but, miraculously, they could ALL
understand each other. At first, these men were confused at a lack of
understanding. Now, they are confused at the miraculous GIFT of understanding.
It was the reverse of confusion and misunderstanding that occurred at
the Tower of Babel. These men were not ‘babbling’ (derivative term from the
name Babel) but were speaking in a language that ALL understood in his own
tongue. This was an Apostolic gift that was given for the benefit of the early
church and the broad propagation of the Gospel over the known world. Would we
not immediately recognize such an experience to be a miracle in our own times?
Any lost sinner can stand up and utter ridiculous babblings among the congregation,
but how can you say ‘AMEN’ to that which has no meaning? God is not the Author
of confusion: For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in
all churches of the saints. (1 Cor 14:33)
5 And
there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under
heaven. 6 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came
together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his
own language. Now
this is evidence of the miraculous power of God, is it not? If someone stands
speaking in a babbling tongue that no one understands, where is the proof of
the miraculous power of God?
Paul tells us: O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy
trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely
so called: Which some professing have erred concerning the faith. Grace be
with thee. Amen. (1 Tim 6:20-21) and later, he says: Study to
shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and vain babblings:
for they will increase unto more ungodliness (2 Tim 2:15-16) Friends,
despite the yeoman efforts some false professor make to deceive us on tongues,
nothing could be clearer in God’s Word than this admonition against confusion.
Please
observe how wonderfully was this legitimate employment of the miracle of
tongues received by the believers: Study to shew thyself approved unto
God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of
truth. But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto
more ungodliness (2 Tim 2:15-16)
I once read from the memoirs of the martyred John Stam who was beheaded by the
Chinese Communist for his faith and preaching of Christ: A minister of some
renown was invited to speak at the Chinese church. He was on his first visit to
China and knew not a single word of Chinese language. When he arose, he began
speaking in so-called tongues. It did not seem like any language at all to the
listener, but only confused their understanding. Suddenly, an old Chinese elder
of the church arose and stormed out of the church. One of Stam’s co-workers
chased out after the faithful old elder to determine his angst. The old
chinaman responded, “That man was cursing God in the Chinese language.”
Let me encourage every one of us here today to adhere to the known and revealed
truth of God as attested by the Holy Ghost. He will not add to God’s Word, or
detract therefrom, but will open up to our hearts and souls the mysteries
revealed in the Word of all that Jesus taught us.
Roy Morales-Kuhn, Pastor - Covenant of Grace Anglican Chapel -
Anglican Orthodox Church, USA Sermon for Pentecost (Whitsunday)
Psalms
18:1-20
O.T.
Joel 2:28 -32
N.T.
Rom. 8:1-11
“...And I will show wonders...”
28 And it shall come to pass afterward,
that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters
shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see
visions:
29 And also upon the servants and upon
the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.
30 And I will shew wonders in the
heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
31 The sun shall be turned into
darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the
Lord come.
32 And it shall come to pass, that
whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount
Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the
remnant whom the Lord shall call.
This
Sunday is the day we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit of God. In the
earliest days of the church as believers began to come to the Lord and follow
his Word, the traditions came along that would give title to the other name for
this Sunday. Whitsunday or White-Sunday was so named for the white cloaks new
believers wore after Easter. The tradition was new believers spent an entire
year learning about their faith, then on Easter Sunday they were baptized into
the faith and in celebration they continued wearing their baptism clothing
until the Fifth Sunday after Easter or Pentecost Sunday. So the name Whitsunday
was in recognition of the newest believers joining Christ church militant. This
Sunday was also the day that tradition has set aside as the closest to the
event known as the Pentecost or the fiftieth day after the resurrection of
Christ. This outpouring of
the Holy Spirit had been foretold several times in the Old Testament. The passage we read from Joel is one of
the more vivid expressions of this event.
All during Christ’s ministry he told his disciples that God the Father
would provide a comforter, one who would come after Jesus left, one who would
guide and keep the believers until Christ came again in his glory.
On
this Sunday let us meditate on the meaning of the coming of the Holy
Spirit.
1.
God will never leave us. He
promised to be with us to our end or the end of the ages, which ever came
first. He will be here to guide us
and to comfort us in all our ways.
We must always cling to that belief. He will never leave us or forsake us. This give us the understanding that we
can’t leave him. If we are truly
his, then we can’t lose our salvation by walking away, because his promise to
never leave us.
28 And it shall come to pass afterward,
that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters
shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see
visions:
29 And also upon the servants and upon
the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit..
2.
As this passage from Joel points out, he would and did pour out his Spirit on
those waiting in Jerusalem. The
Holy Spirit now comes upon a person and calls them to repentance, calls them to
a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. All who are able to be blessed. By including the servants, both male and female, God is
telling us that no one is to be left out.
We get the clarification of who is included in the last verse, v.32
Another interesting note in the last couple of words...and in the remnant whom
the Lord shall call.... What does that mean ? There will always be a small
number of believers in the sense of the whole of civilization. Today the
estimate of those calling themselves Christian in the world or at least identifying
themselves as Christian is about 1 billion. Of that number you could take say
25% of those who truly follow Christ. Now before you despair, there has always
been a “remnant”. Look at how many really followed Moses. How many really
followed the words of the various prophets? How many really followed Jesus when
he walked this earth? We must ever understand that when one calls on the name
of the Lord they shall be delivered. They shall be saved, those who call upon
the name of the Lord. Even small in numbers can do mighty works for the Lord.
We have God the Father, we have God the Son, we have God the Holy Spirit.
Nothing can prevail against the Almighty, nothing. Be of good cheer, if God is
for us, who can be against us?
32 And it shall come to pass, that
whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount
Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the
remnant whom the Lord shall call.
30 And I will shew wonders in the
heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
31 The sun shall be turned into
darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the
Lord come
Verses
30 and 31 reference the final day, when Jesus comes back in his Glory. With many references to this great
event, there is one main detail missing.
“No man knows the hour or the day of my coming” Jesus was answering his
disciples, who were asking him when the day was that Jesus would come to his
kingdom. Jesus gave the
indications, he gave some of the signs, but he did not give a specific day or
date. We do know, as we were told
in the first chapter of Acts, that Jesus who ascended into heaven would in like
wise so return to earth. But we
are not to sit around pining for his return, we are to be busy about the Lord’s
work because we do not know our time or season. So we should be diligent about reaching others for Christ,
because our time is short on this earth.
We are only here for a season.
Let
us pray,
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ord Heavenly Father, lead us into your light, illumine
our spirit with your Holy Spirit, that in your divine example, through the
precious work of Jesus Christ, we also may follow in the same. Guide us, direct
us, give us strength every day as we seek to do thy work here in our place. Lord give us peace, the peace that
passes understanding, be with us this week as we go out to the field which are
white to harvest. These things we
ask for the honor and Glory of your Son Jesus Christ, who with you and the Holy
Spirt ever, one God, world without end. Amen
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ay the Peace of God, that passes all understanding, be
given unto you. Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands,
which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the
presence of God for us. The Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that
heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let
him take the water of life freely.
Amen
For the Armed Services,
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LORD God
of Hosts, stretch forth, we pray thee, thine almighty arm to strengthen and
protect the soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, coastguardsmen and contractors
of our country; Support them in the day of battle, and in the time of peace
keep them safe from all evil; endue them with courage and loyalty; and grant
that in all things they may serve without reproach. Preserve all who serve therein from the dangers of the sea,
and from the violence of the enemy; that they may be a safeguard unto the
United States of America, and a security for such as pass on the seas upon
their lawful occasions; that the inhabitants of our land may in peace and
quietness serve thee our God, to the glory of thy Name; through Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen.
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:
Whitsuntide
Psalm 145 Joel 2:28, Romans 8:1-11
May 19, 2013
In the name
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Amen.
Fifty days after the
resurrection of Christ, something amazing happened. Not that the
resurrection wasn't amazing enough. Jesus of Nazareth died on a Roman
cross. He literally died there. And when you consider that He was
God in the flesh, that's somewhat amazing in itself. Yet, three days
later, He was alive again. He rose from the dead. Amazing. The
ascension of Christ was equally amazing. This "Man" who had
died and risen from the grave, physically and bodily began to float, steadily
rising higher and higher into the sky until He disappeared into the
clouds. I can't imagine the fear and shock felt by those eleven men who
witnessed the ascension. Remember that at this point they still did not
understand who Jesus is. Just moments before His ascension they had asked
Him if He was ready to restore the kingdom to Israel., meaning was He
going to drive out the Romans and give the land back to the Jews? It was
as though they were saying, since Jesus had gotten this crucifixion and
resurrection out of His system, would He now do something important, and give
the land of Israel back to the Jews? But instead of leading an attack on
Rome, Jesus simply left the earth. He simply floated away. Amazing.
But even after the ascension, something amazing happened. The Holy Spirit
came to the Apostles and enabled them to miraculously speak in ways that were
understood by people of many different languages. And what they spoke was
not what today passes for speaking in tongues, nor was it a private
"prayer language," they proclaimed the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
It is easy to miss the
real significance of this event, because so many people nowadays proclaim
an erroneous view of it. In fact, whole denominations have formed around
the mistaken idea that the main event here is speaking in tongues. But
the main event is not speaking in tongues. The main even is the
inauguration of the New Age, the age of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
In the Bible, the New Age
is often called the "last days" or the"end
times" But it important that we realise that the phrase
"last days" does not refer to the final few days before the
end. It is not a numerical term, it is a positional term. It describes
the place or position of our time in the plan of God. "Last
days" means we are in the last era, the last age. And this era could
end today, or it could last several more thousand, or even million,
years. Understand this and you will save yourself much wasted
time trying to decide if this is the day Jesus is coming back, and if this
event or that event it the "sign" that His return, or the
"rapture" is near.
Since the Reformation,
certain groups have taken Peter's quote of Joel 2 as a numerical term, meaning
they thought it referred to the very last few days before the end of the world,
return of Christ, or "rapture." But again I stress that "last
days" refers to an era, not a number. It refers to the last era of
the plan of God, prior to the time when God will fully and finally
"gather together in one all things in Christ" (Eph.
1:10). Since the Reformation the number of groups and people interpreting
the last days as a numerical phrase has multiplied, and it is because of the
multitude of these groups and people, and the way their views have been
popularised in movies and books and sermons, that the real meaning of the
day of Pentecost has been obscured. Their views have so influenced the
popular understanding of Pentecost that most people do not even know about the
real meaning of Pentecost and the last days. So, I repeat my earlier statement,
that the real significance of the day of Pentecost is that it is the beginning
of the New Era of the Gospel of Christ, and the "last days" are that
era.
The new era is the age in
which the promises of the Old Testament are beginning to be fulfilled.
The Old Testament gave us sacrifices and dietary laws and a physical, political
entity named Israel, and these things symbolically represented the coming of
Christ. His sacrifice on the cross would accomplish what no animal
sacrifice could accomplish. He would be the Priest of His people in a way
no human priest could ever be. He would be the King of His people in a
way no human king could ever be. And the revelation of His Kingdom would
be accomplished through direct proclamation rather than through signs and
symbols. And His Kingdom would include people from all races and
nationalities and languages, not just people from Israel. The day of
Pentecost is the sign that that day has arrived. The Saviour has come and
has given His life as the ransom for sin. Now forgiveness of sin and life
in His Kingdom are offered to all who believe and receive it. The power
of sin is breaking, and those who are in Christ are called and enabled to live
free of the things that kill the soul and ruin lives, free to live in unity and
harmony with God and one another.
In other words, the last
days are the era of the Gospel. The meaning of Pentecost is not that you
can or should speak in tongues. Tongues were just a sign that the new era
has begun. They were/are not the point, nor were/are they to be
sought. To make tongues the point is to make personal experience the
meaning of Christianity. It is to force Christianity into the realm of
subjective feelings and emotions and mystical experiences. None of these
things have any relationship or resemblance to Biblical Christian faith.
This is why I oppose what I call "contemporaryism" in church.
Contemporaryism isn't just an attempt to dispense with the ancient liturgies
and hymns in order to connect with people through music and worship styles they
like. Contemporayism is an attempt to subectivise worship and the
faith. Contemporaryism reduces worship to happy-clappy experiences, and reduces
faith to feeling good about God. But the Good news of Jesus Christ is not
that you can get a good feeling at church. It is that God is with
us. He has paid the price of our sins and offers us a chance to live the
way He created us to live, a constructive and meaningful life lived in harmony
with Him and one another, now and forever.
And now, the Gospel that
was once almost hidden by the animal sacrifices and symbolism of the Old
Testament, is openly and clearly proclaimed. That is what the Holy Spirit
was doing on the day of Pentecost. The Apostles, so confused about the
nature and work of Christ, through the work of the Holy Spirit, were suddenly
able to understand who Jesus is. His teaching suddenly made sense to
them. His crucifixion made sense to them, as did His resurrection and
ascension. Suddenly they knew He was everything the Old Testament
promised. That is what the Holy Spirit does today, He enables us to
believe the Gospel of Christ.
But the Apostles also
proclaimed the Gospel, and that is also the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
He proclaims this Gospel of reconciliation to God through Jesus Christ.
The Old Testament signs and symbols have passed away now. The clear and
clarion call goes out to all, "Believe [have faith] on the Lord Jesus
Christ and thou shalt be saved."
---
+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.
Whitsunday
Today we celebrate the coming of the Holy
Ghost upon the disciples of our Lord. Our church calendar commemorates this
solemn and extraordinary event which is also referred to as Whitsunday, or
Whitsuntide for the first three days of the week on which Pentecost falls
during the year. The name Whitsunday comes to us from the Old English word for
the color white. This was on account of the white robes which were worn by
recently baptized persons. Pentecost was and remains a Jewish festival which
falls fifty days after Passover and memorializes our LORD’s giving of the Law
to Moses. For Christians, it is the birthday of the church when God gave the
gift of his Spirit to the apostles. Ever after, the Holy Spirit of God would
come to all who have truly accepted Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord.
Now let us consider the details of that
latter event. Our Lord instructed the disciples, prior to his ascension, not to
depart from Jerusalem until they had received the Holy Ghost (Acts 1:4-8). St.
Luke, the author of both the gospel which bears his name and the Book of Acts,
was very meticulous in his recording of the events which occurred in the life
of Christ and those of the early apostles. While no gospel writer recorded
every single event, or every aspect of the events about which they wrote; they,
nevertheless, gave us what the Holy Spirit of God urged them to write on his
behalf. Notice that the eleven disciples observed the ascension of Christ Jesus
and heard the witness of the angels present (Acts 1:11) who informed them that
as Jesus had so ascended, in like manner he would return. And such affirmed in
their minds that Jesus is of God and that all which he had told them would come
to pass. Their eyewitness testimony and their willingness to die rather than to
deny that witness is an integral part of the Christian ethos as noted in the
Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds. No one who bears the name of Christ can be his and
deny his ascension into heaven as the apostles witnessed and the Scriptures
have recorded.
After the ascension, the apostles returned to
Jerusalem with great joy and were found continually in the temple praising and
blessing God (St. Luke 24:52- 53). They gathered themselves together with other
believers and were in prayer and supplication. They also at the urging of the
Holy Spirit, selected another disciple from among the brethren who was named
Matthias.
Ten days later, on the Feast of Pentecost,
God sent to them the Holy Ghost as Christ had promised. The Spirit of God came
to them with a rushing wind as in Genesis 1:2 and was then followed by the
cloven tongues as of fire that sat upon each of them. As the Rev. Matthew Henry
once observed, “These tongues were cloven (divided) to signify that God would
divide unto all nations the knowledge of his grace. The tongues were divided,
yet they (the disciples) still continued all of one accord, for there may be a
sincere unity of affections where yet there is a diversity of expression.” They
were, after all, preaching the same message just in different languages.
Across the globe, there are myriads of
Christians who make up the body of Christ. They may speak different languages
and have differing orders of worship, but if they are in Christ, they will
possess the Holy Spirit of God. They will thus honor and adore the Godhead
through their reverent worship, teaching, preaching and living of his word and
commandment. And such will be plainly visible to any fellow Christian. While
Anglican Orthodox Christians will differ in our worship from those of the other
denominations of the Christian faith; still, if we are all holding to the
essentials of the faith, we are brothers and sisters in Christ, eternally
linked to him and to one another by the indwelling of the Holy Ghost.
Back in Genesis 11:1-9, the LORD had broken
the ethnic and linguistic unity of mankind in order to restrain the operations
of evil in the world. While in Acts 2:1-11, he began the process of reunifying
mankind under the auspices of the Holy Ghost. Through the third person of the
Trinity, he would build a spiritual unity amongst the various peoples, kindreds
and tongues who not being able to identify with others different from
themselves apart from the Holy Spirit, might have that unity by means of God’s
Spirit in Jesus Christ. For after the Holy Ghost had come upon the disciples,
they spoke in the languages of the multitude of visitors who had come to Jerusalem
for the Feast of Pentecost. As St. Luke noted in Acts 2:5, there were in
Jerusalem devout Jews from every corner of the known world and they each heard
the gospel in their own language. This powerful message in Scripture was a
display of God’s power to make his proclamations known unto all the world
beginning first in Jerusalem (St. Luke 24: 47). God ‘s word cannot be
restrained nor can it be rendered unfruitful. God’s plan and purpose has been
to redeem that which was lost and the gift of the Holy Ghost at Pentecost was
an important milestone in that regard.
Now consider what we as Christians receive in
God’s gift of the Holy Ghost to us. First of all, we are regenerated. God makes
us alive in Christ Jesus. St. Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:1-10 that he has
quickened us, that is, to make us alive spiritually through the indwelling of
the Holy Ghost. Secondly, he anoints us through the Spirit (I St. John
2:20-27). For it is by this anointing that we have grace sufficient to do those
things which God would have us do in his service. Thirdly, if we are of Christ
then we have received the baptism of the Holy Ghost. This is not a work of
ourselves, nor of man, but of God. In Acts 2:17, St. Peter recounted what the
LORD had said through the prophet Joel (2:28-29), I will pour out of my Spirit
upon all flesh. While we Christians are commanded to observe the sacrament of
Holy Baptism, it is after all God who furnishes his Spirit, not at our behest,
but upon his own accord, will and purpose. That is why we believe, agreeable to
the Nicene Creed, in one baptism for the remission of sins which is of the Holy
Ghost. And lastly, the Holy Ghost guides us into all truth (St. John 16:13),
empowers our witness (Micah 3:8), and sanctifies us in our walk and work (II Thessalonians
2:13-14).
So at Pentecost, the church received the gift
of the Holy Ghost. It is a gift of inestimable value and one which is confined
to God’s chosen and elect saints who have been known of him before the
foundations of the world were laid. It should be a source of great comfort and
blessing to have the Holy Ghost indwell each of us. And we should be in prayer
to God that he would illuminate more and more of mankind that they too might
receive this most wonderful gift to their eternal good.
Let us pray,
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ather,
extend thy most holy Spirit to those around us who are mired in the darkness of
a life without Christ; that they too might come to know him and be numbered
with thy saints in glory; and this we ask in the name of him who promised to
not leave us comfortless in this world, even Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Have a blessed week, Bryan+
Solomon
Islands Update
Did you wonder if the Mite
Box and other offerings collected went anywhere in particular? They did, indeed!
The first relief check from
offerings sent to the national office was wired to Bishop Zephaniah who in turn
gave it to Deacon Wilson Menoia of Santa Cruz Island on 23 February 2013.
There is even more great
news, on 19 May 2013, Deacon Wilson Menoia will be ordained a priest at his
home in Bambir Village, Santa Cruz, Solomon Islands by Bishop Zephaniah. At that time another offering check
from the relief donations will be given to the newly ordained Reverend Wilson.
This will be an ongoing
effort and the National Office[1]
will continue to update us with pictures and news about the relief effort for
the Santa Cruz Island congregation upon the return of Bishop Zephaniah to
Honiara, Solomon Islands which is the home of the national Anglican Orthodox
office of the Solomon Islands.
[1]
The National Office is
really the World Headquarters, we just don’t want their heads to explode!
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