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, many from Rev
Bryan Dabney, a few from other places, some from Rev Geordie Menzies-Grierson,
but overall mostly from Bryan. He
always has some great ones to share.
On to the On Point quotes –
Niceness
‘Niceness’—wholesome, integrated personality—is an excellent thing. We
must try by every medical, educational, economic, and political means in our
power to produce a world where as many people as possible grow up ‘nice’; just
as we must try to produce a world where all have plenty to eat. But we must not
suppose that even if we succeeded in making everyone nice we should have saved
their souls. A world of nice people, content in their own niceness, looking no
further, turned away from God, would be just as desperately in need of
salvation as a miserable world—and might even be more difficult to save.
For mere improvement is not redemption, though redemption always
improves people even here and now and will, in the end, improve them to a
degree we cannot yet imagine. God became man to turn creatures into sons: not
simply to produce better men of the old kind but to pro- duce a new kind of
man. It is not like teaching a horse to jump better and better but like turning
a horse into a winged creature. Of course, once it has got its wings, it will
soar over fences which could never have been jumped and thus beat the natural
horse at its own game. But there may be a period, while the wings are just
beginning to grow, when it cannot do so: and at that stage the lumps on the
shoulders—no one could tell by looking at them that they are going to be
wings—may even give it an awkward appearance.
Jack Lewis
Mere Christianity
13 Let
no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted
with evil, neither tempteth he any man: 14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn
away of his own lust, and enticed. 15 Then
when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished,
bringeth forth death.
James
1:13-15
There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are
the ways of death.
Proverbs 14:12
A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his
own house.
St. Matthew 13:57
Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God
as a little child, he shall not enter therein.
St. Mark 10:15
And ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s
I Corinthians 3:23
Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be
sober.
I Thessalonians 5:6
As sinners never think they have sin enough till it brings them to
hell, so saints never think they have grace enough till it brings them to
heaven.
Matthew Henry
17th and 18th century English pastor and author
All things are safe in Jehovah’s hands; what we entrust to the Lord
will be secure, both now and in that day of days towards which we are
hastening.
Charles H. Spurgeon
19th century English pastor and author
Morning and Evening, p. 481
Sometimes violence, even murder, isn’t the worst thing you can do to a
fellow human being. Stealing his soul, taking over the management of his
conscience and his mind— those are worse... Once the State consolidates its
power to order what you think, it will know no restraint. If someone else can
decide what you believe, you aren’t human anymore; you aren’t even you. You are
at best a child, with no power, no dignity, no autonomy. It isn’t even being
done with legislation anymore. Who needs law, when anything a bureaucrat says,
or a pressure group, has all the force of law?... Let Congress debate
endlessly, to no purpose, while executive orders, bureaucratic fiats, and
threats by special interest groups fundamentally transform America... The
State’s satanic lust for power will never be slaked until the human race isn’t
human anymore— just a herd of two- legged cattle to be driven wherever the
rulers and the experts please.
Lee Duigon– 20th and 21st century American novelist. Page 3 of 11

Propers
Each Sunday there are Propers:
special prayers and readings from the Bible. There is a Collect for the Day; that is a single thought
prayer, most written either before the re-founding of the Church of England in
the 1540s or written by Bishop Thomas Cranmer, the first Archbishop of
Canterbury after the re-founding.
The Collect for the Day is to be
read on Sunday and during Morning and Evening Prayer until the next Sunday. The
Epistle is normally a reading from one of the various Epistles, or letters, in
the New Testament. The Gospel is a
reading from one of the Holy Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The Collect is said by the minister as
a prayer, the Epistle can be read by either a designated reader (as we do in
our church) or by one of the ministers and the Holy Gospel, which during the
service in our church is read by an ordained minister.
The propers are the same each
year, except if a Red Letter Feast, that is one with propers in the prayerbook,
falls on a Sunday, then those propers are to be read instead, except in a White
Season, where it is put off. Red
Letter Feasts, so called because in the Altar Prayerbooks the titles are in
red, are special days. Most of the
Red Letter Feasts are dedicated to early saints instrumental in the development
of the church, others to special events.
Some days are particularly special and the Collect for that day is to be
used for an octave (eight days) or an entire season, like Advent or Lent.
The Propers for today are found
on Page 214-215, with the Collect first:
The Eighteenth Sunday
after Trinity.
The Collect.
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ORD, we beseech
thee, grant thy people grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the
flesh, and the devil; and with pure hearts and minds to follow thee, the only
God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Epistle for
today came from Saint Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians beginning at the
Fourth Verse of the First Chapter. Paul tells the people of Corinth he thanks God they
have been the beneficiaries of His Grace, that through Jesus they might have
salvation, that through Jesus their sins would in the end be forgiven. He also pointed out that if they would
follow Christ in both their words and deeds, as the testimony of Christ was
confirmed in them, through their actions, they would be “In every thing ye are
enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge…” For by acting on Christ’s words, we not
only gain entry in to heaven, but are far more likely to prosper here on
earth. This prosperity is not the
mega wealth sometimes associated with “prospering”, but rather the surplus of
resources over our worldly desires and the true happiness that comes from
loving and helping others.
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thank my
God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus
Christ; that in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in
all knowledge; even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: so that ye
come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: who
shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
Today’s Holy Gospel came from the Twenty-Second
Chapter of the Gospel according to St. Matthew beginning at the Thirty-Fourth
Verse. Pharisees who had heard how
Jesus confounded the Sadducees, feeling they were superior to the Sadducees,
came together to confound Him. An
expert in the law, of which Pharisees were very fond, asked Him a question,
trying to trick Him, “Master, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus answered, “Thou shalt love the
Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou
shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law
and the prophets.” Thus, He provided the Summary of the Law we hear every
Sunday. The Pharisees made their
earthly living by providing guidance on how to get around the 613 Mosaic Laws
with as little inconvenience as possible.
They were astounded when Jesus boiled the intent of those laws down to
two sentences. They were much more
comfortable getting around laws than complying with ones that might
inconvenience them.
Apparently tiring of the game with the Pharisees and
wishing to confound them instead, Jesus asked them, saying, “What think ye of
Christ? Whose son is He?” They say unto him, “The son of David.” For the scripture is clear that He
should be of the House of David.
As God, Jesus has been from the beginning, so he queried them, “How then
doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit
thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? If David then
call him Lord, how is he his son?”
Not grasping the concept that God was, is and always will be, they could
not answer and “from that day forth” no one would “ask him any more questions.”
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hen the Pharisees had heard that Jesus had put the
Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question,
tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God
with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the
first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love
thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the
prophets. While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them,
saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he?
They say unto him, The son of David. He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, The LORD
said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy
footstool? If David then call him Lord, how is he his son? And no man
was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask
him any more questions.
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
Eighteenth
Sunday after Trinity
Saint Andrew’s
Anglican Orthodox Church
19 October
2014, Anno Domini
The Eighteenth Sunday
after Trinity.
The Collect.
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ORD, we beseech
thee, grant thy people grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the
flesh, and the devil; and with pure hearts and minds to follow thee, the only
God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Matthew 22
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hen the Pharisees had heard that Jesus had put the
Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question,
tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God
with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the
first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love
thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the
prophets. While the
Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say
unto him, The son of David. He saith unto them, How
then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, The LORD said unto my Lord,
Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? If David
then call him Lord, how is he his son? And no man was able to answer him
a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.
Many Bible
scholars of our day promote these two Commandments as new commandments
instituted by Christ, but they are not. Christ is simply quoting the Old
Testament Commandments of Moses day:
Deut 6:5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with
all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
Deut 10:12 And
now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD
thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy
God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,
Deut 13 If
there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign
or a wonder, 2 And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee,
saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve
them; 3
Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of
dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD
your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and
fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve
him, and cleave unto him. 5 And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams,
shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD
your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of
the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God
commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of
thee.
Lev 19 Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine
heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon
him. 18
Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people,
but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.
Silences
the Pharisees about the Messiah
Christ was
always the master of every crisis and every challenge:
Matt 22:15 Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel
how they might entangle him in his talk. 16 And they sent out unto him their disciples
with the Herodians, saying, Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest
the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest
not the person of men. 17 Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto
Caesar, or not? 18 But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? 19 Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny. 20 And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? 21 They say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he
unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things
which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's. 22 When they had heard these words, they
marvelled, and left him, and went their way.
This is one
reason they (the Jewish rulers) literally hated Christ. He interfered with
their money greed …… selling in the Temple…house of prayer, but a place of
thieves.
Who is
my Neighbor ….good Samaritan….etc
Now Jesus
will also present them with a dilemma they should already have known being
Masters of the Pentateuch:
41 While the Pharisees were gathered together,
Jesus asked them, 42 Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son
is he? They say unto him, The Son of David. 43 He saith unto them, How
then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, 44 The LORD said unto my Lord,
Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? 45 If David then call him Lord,
how is he his son?
Psalm 110:1 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make
thine enemies thy footstool
Psalm 2:12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye
perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all
they that put their trust in him.
Now these
snails crawled away to plan how further they might have Him put to death.
Psalm 58 Let
them melt away as waters which run continually: when he bendeth his bow to
shoot his arrows, let them be as cut in pieces. 8 As a snail which melteth, let every one of
them pass away: like the untimely birth of a woman, that they may not see the
sun. 9
Before your pots can feel the thorns, he shall take them away as with a
whirlwind, both living, and in his wrath. 10 The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth
the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. 11 So that a man shall say, Verily there is a
reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth.
Snails love darkness. They hate Light. They
also hate salt.
Matthew 5 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost
his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing,
but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. 14 Ye are the light of the world.
A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
46 And no man was able to answer him a word,
neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.
A common
enemy always unites various sects and interests together against it.
Jesus was a
common enemy to the superstitions and power struggles of the Times, just as He
is a common enemy of the political and economic structures of our time.
Though
politics and financial interests are not found in the same common bed in normal
circumstances, they both ally themselves against the True Gospel of Christ.
Text books
promote evolution. News outlets say we must respect the religious faith of
Moslems, Buddhist, and Hindus, yet, with one voice, they press for condemnation
of Christian Faith in our society.
Those who
accept the biblical authority that condemns adultery, homosexuality, drunkenness,
are considered smug and made to look ridiculous in movies and news specials.
Nothing has
changed in the world’s contempt for Christ since He first ministered as a boy
in the Temple at Jerusalem.
HERODIANS,
Sadducees, Pharisees, who were constantly at war with each other, made
temporary peace alliances with each other in order to destroy the Man, Jesus.
He was both Man and God. Instinctively, these culprits recognized this from
their study of ancient biblical texts, and the testimony of His works. Yet,
they found Him contemptible to their world of power and money. They all hated
Him alike.
They
cunningly contrived questions to entangle Him in His speech and in His
knowledge, however, they always lost.
The last of
the three questions put to Jesus, and the one question with which He turned the
tables and silenced His questioners, are our subject. In the former, Jesus
declares the essence of the law or of religion; in the latter, He brings to
light the essential loftiness of the Messiah.
As a man
thinketh in his heart, so is he. Our Love for God crowns our love nature. The underside of that love
is love for our fellow man. The Pharisees remained ‘gathered together,’ and may
have been preparing another question, but Jesus had been long enough interrogated.
It was not fitting that He should be catechized only. His questions teach. He
does not seek to ‘entangle’ the Pharisees ‘in their speech,’ nor to make them
contradict themselves, but brings them full up against a difficulty, that they
may open their eyes to the great truth which is its only solution. His first
question, ‘What think ye of the Christ?’
is simply preparatory to the second. The answer which He anticipated was given,
— as, of course, it would be, for the Davidic descent of the Messiah was a
commonplace knowledge and universally accepted.
One can fancy
the Pharisees smiled complacently at the attempt to puzzle them with such an
elementary question, but the smile vanished when the next one came.
What think ye of Christ? whose
son is he?
They say unto him, The Son of David. 43 He saith unto them, How
then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, 44 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I
make thine enemies thy footstool? 45 If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?
Why do
teachers often ask questions?
If they ask a
question, and you know not the answer, why does a teacher often ask you another
question?
The reason is
to provide a guided discussion to help you discover the answer which is already
a part of your knowledge.
How are
Snails like sinners? Both hate Salt and Light. They both love darkness, and eat
from the labours of others.
Here is the
new commandment Christ gave:
John 13 A new
commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you,
that ye also love one another. 35 By this shall all men know
that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
These are
important words and an identifying command to us.
He gave it
the night He was taken in the Garden to be crucified. It is the only new
commandment.
But it is not
written on tables of stone, but on the soft sinews of our hearts.
Love will
release us from condemnation:
Proverbs 10 Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love
covereth all sins.
Do not try to
argue away your sins and wickedness as the Pharisees. It is easy to love when
we have compassion. And when we feed love in our hearts, hate will die of
starvation, and our sins will cease.
Jeremiah 31 33 But this shall be the covenant that I will
make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my
law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God,
and they shall be my people. 34 And they shall teach no more every man his
neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all
know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for
I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
Do you love
God and His Word? Do you agree to follow Christ in all things.
Be richly
blessed now and forever!
Sermon - Rev Jack Arnold
Church of the Faithful Centurion -
Descanso, California
Today’s
sermon tied the Collect, Epistle and Gospel together and talked, as is oft the
case, of the need for action, not simply diction.
Consider the words of the Collect, “…grant thy people
grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil; and
with pure hearts and minds to follow thee, the only God …”
When you hear the word GRACE, what do you think of?
Help;
Heavenly dispensation;
A gift freely granted;
The free and unmerited favor of God, as manifested in the
salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings.
The word can be any of these, it comes from Middle English:
via Old French from Latin gratia, from gratus ‘pleasing, thankful’ and is
related to grateful.
In this case we are asking God’s help, for which He
charges nothing, except our faith and loyalty to Him, to withstand the
temptations of this world. We ask
for help to withstand what?
Actually, what we are looking for is help to not follow our own devices
and desires. This seems like an
odd request, until considers the fact that our own devices and desires are the
root of all of our troubles. We are naturally incline to the sinful things that
separate us from Our Lord. We are simply requesting help in combating the evil
desires of our heart that would separate us for all eternity if they were left
unchecked. The We are asking for help to make His Will our will. To help us to do what will make us
happy. For we know that we ourselves will not do what His Will is on our own
volition, but rather we must ask that God plant the seed of His Will on our
hearts so that we will do it.
Paradoxically, we are asking for help to do not what we
want, but what is best for us. There is a difference between what we want, and
what is best for us, as there is a difference between the words want and need.
What we want and what is best for us are not necessarily interchangeable. We are asking God’s Help to make us
want to do what He wants us to do, so that not only will we have “fun”, but be
happy! For, being happy is far
more important and helps our spiritual lives more than the temporary state of
fun. Fun will only last a few moments, happiness will last forever. On the
surface, it does not really seem all that reasonable, but here we are imperfect
creatures with free will! The free will sometimes or rather most of the time
seems more like a curse than a blessing, at least to me. For I feel that with
it, I am more tempted to go the wrong way than the right way, but when I go the
right way, it then comes to me that it is a blessing.
So, when Paul writes the people of Corinth, it is not
just them, but us for whom he thanks God we have been the beneficiaries of His
Grace, that through Jesus we might have salvation, that through Jesus our sins
would in the end be forgiven. We
are not made perfect by Jesus.
That is a common misconception by non-Christians. It would be convenient if we were made
perfect. And there would be no
point behind Christianity if that we had been made perfect. Would we have to
have a “New Testament” if we were molded into cookie cutter perfection? If this
was so, then there would be no need for the letters of Saint Paul, James, Peter
and John to the early church, for they as us, would have no need of them. If we
were made perfect, then there would be no strife in the word today I believe,
and thus no reason to even have any of the parables that Jesus gave. This is simply not so! While we are
accounted as perfect before God in the final judgment, we are not perfect at
all. If anything, we are more
conscious of our imperfection. As
a side point, none of us is perfect, none of us is better than others; however,
some of us are clearly worse than others.
Which takes us to Paul’s next point; if we follow Christ
in both out words and deeds, as the testimony of Christ is confirmed in them,
through our actions, we will be “In every thing ye are enriched by him, in all
utterance, and in all knowledge…”
For by acting on Christ’s words, we not only gain eternal salvation, but
are far more likely to prosper here on earth. This prosperity is not the mega wealth sometimes associated
with “prospering”, but rather the surplus of resources over our worldly desires
and the true happiness that comes from loving and helping others. It will make us far more happy than say
for instance people like Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer, etc, that have far more
money than even they know what to do with, and money cannot provide true happiness.
Only God and Jesus can step in and fill that role, if we let him into our
hearts.
But, not everyone is content to take Jesus at His
Word. After the Sadducees lost
their round with Jesus, the Pharisees, feeling they were superior to the
Sadducees, came together to trip Him up. However, as we know ourselves, one
cannot trick God, and if you try, you will come out looking like a fool. An
expert in the law, of which Pharisees were very fond, asked Him a question,
trying to trick Him, “Master, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus answered, “Thou shalt love the
Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou
shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law
and the prophets.” Thus, He provided the Summary of the Law we hear every Holy
Communion.
The Pharisees made their earthly living by providing
guidance on how to get around the 613 Mosaic Laws with as little inconvenience
as possible. They were astounded
when Jesus boiled the intent of those laws down to two sentences. They were much more comfortable getting
around laws than complying with ones that might inconvenience them. They could
be closely compared to Lawyers today as a matter of fact, in the striking
amount of dishonesty that is in their profession (no offense to the good
lawyers!).
Apparently tiring of the game with the Pharisees and
wishing to confound them instead, Jesus asked them, saying, “What think ye of
Christ? Whose son is He?” They say unto him, “The son of David.” For the scripture is clear that He
should be of the House of David.
As God, Jesus has been from the beginning, so he queried them, “How then
doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit
thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? If David then
call him Lord, how is he his son?”
Not grasping the concept that God was, is and always will be, they could
not answer and “from that day forth” no one would “ask him any more questions.”
Like I mentioned earlier, the result of their attempt to trick the Son of God
made them look like absolute fools.
There have always been and always will be people who want
to pick nits with the intent of avoiding doing what should be done, thus making
it seems acceptable to do what they want to do. You can see people every day who fill the shoes of the
Pharisees, insisting on complying with arcane and useless rules and regulations
while studiously avoiding doing what God so clearly asks, that is to be a
Christian and do as Christ asks us to do.
You can see this as the government attempts to supplement the rule of
God with the rule of man. When a group of men believe that they have the right
to control other humans with the rule of man and disregard the rule of God, you
know that a society is in trouble. Ask Sodom, Gomorrah, Rome, Nazi Germany, and
Imperial Japan how that worked out for them in the end. No country has ever
fared well when it replaces God with the rule of Man. We are to be Christians,
not “good”, to do what God asks, not Go with the Flow! When you think about being a Christian,
think a bit about these quotes from GK Chesterton:
“Christianity
has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not
tried.”
“The word
"good" has many meanings. For example, if a man were to shoot his
grandmother at a range of five hundred yards, I should call him a good shot,
but not necessarily a good man.”
“The Bible
tells us to love our neighbors, and also to love our enemies; probably because
generally they are the same people.”
“Tolerance
is the virtue of the man without convictions.”
“A dead
thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it.”
G. K.
Chesterton (1874-1936)
We are called to a new and different life, we ask the
Lord, in His Grace, to lead us and follow us, to keep us always. Our goal is to do the Lord’s will, not
to avoid 613 laws or to replace him altogether. To do what is right, no matter how hard that may be and be
humble.
Action, not diction, is what counts. It is by your actions you are known.
Be of God - Live of God - Act
of God.
Roy Morales-Kuhn,
Bishop and Pastor - St. Paul's Anglican Church - Anglican Orthodox Church
Bishop Roy is pastor of the biggest AOC
parish West of the Mississippi and is in charge of the Diocese of the
Epiphany.
Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity
12 October 2014
Epistle. 1 Cor 1:4-8 • Gospel. Matthew 22:34-46
The Eighteenth Sunday
after Trinity.
The Collect.
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ORD, we beseech
thee, grant thy people grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the
flesh, and the devil; and with pure hearts and minds to follow thee, the only
God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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thank my
God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus
Christ; that in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in
all knowledge; even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: so that ye
come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: who
shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
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hen the Pharisees had heard that Jesus had put the
Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question,
tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and
with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great
commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as
thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. While the
Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, What think ye of
Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The son of David. He saith unto
them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, The LORD said unto
my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? If
David then call him Lord, how is he his son? And no man was able to answer him
a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.
✟
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.
Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity
Take a look at what St. Paul wrote to the Galatians (Chapter One,
verses 1-12)
1 Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by
man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)
2 And all the brethren which are with me, unto
the churches of Galatia:
3 Grace be to you and peace from God the
Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ,
4 Who gave himself for our sins, that he might
deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our
Father:
5 To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him
that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
7 Which is not another; but there be some that
trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
8 But though we, or an angel from heaven,
preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let
him be accursed.
9 As we said before, so say I now again, if any
man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be
accursed.
10 For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I
seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of
Christ.
11 But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel
which was preached of me is not after man.
12 For I neither received it of man, neither was
I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Note the following: I marvel that
ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto
another gospel. What did the apostle mean by the phrase another gospel?
Matthew Henry observed that the apostle “calls it another gospel because it
opened a different way of justification and salvation from that which was
revealed in the gospel, namely, by works and not by faith in Christ. Yet he
adds that you will find it to be no gospel at all.”
When we look about us through eyes which have been illuminated by the
Holy Ghost, we find that the specter of another gospel has displaced the true
gospel of our Lord in many denominations. No longer do ministers and pastors
teach that God’s word written is the true and inspired word which he gave to
the prophets and apostles of old. Now we have a new understanding. Now we have
a new Jesus. Now we have a new way of living. The one true gospel of our Lord,
which called for all to Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (St. Matthew 4:17b), has now been replaced with, to use a
current political chant, “Yes-you- can.” Yes you can be a better person. Yes
you can serve in any capacity within the church without regard to the very
words of Scripture. Yes you can choose to do what you want to do, live like
there’s no tomorrow, and support any cause regardless of its ends and goals.
Yes, you can do it all because God will save everyone without regard to their
faith, their religion, or their way of life.
The Bible tells us that it was the atoning work of Jesus Christ who
opened the way of salvation for all who would believe on him. The Bible also
makes it abundantly clear that there is nothing we can do to wipe away our sins
apart from accepting Christ’s finished work on the cross at Calvary. Without
his blood upon us, God will see only our wicked natures, and will regard all
our works as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). God has
set forth in his word the debilitating effects of original sin, as well as the
dire need of mankind for a Redeemer kinsman. God has supplied us with but one
road to redemption, and it begins with the solemn recognition that we are in a
fallen state of sin and destined for perdition unless we accept Jesus Christ as
our Lord and Saviour. But there is more. We cannot truly be assured of our
salvation unless we are obedient to God’s word and commandment as found within
the Holy Bible.
Now, that will not be an easy task as the devil is ever industrious to
keep as many as he can from embracing God’s word as truth (St. John 17:17). He tempted our first parents to sin against
God in the Garden when he assumed the form of a serpent. And since that time,
he has utilized his human agents to inhibit God’s plan for redemption both
before and after the first advent of our Lord. Yet in spite of the efforts of
the evil one, God sent forth his messengers who prophesied of his plan for the
redemption and restoration of mankind through his chosen one— his Messiah.
When at last the time of the Messiah’s coming was revealed, Satan was
there to tempt and test our Lord. Rev. EM Bounds once wrote concerning this
event, “...in the wilderness, Satan did not come as he came to Job, in
frustrating storms of distress, but in the form of apparent sympathy and
friendliness. It may have been in the disguise of a saintly hermit...If thou be
the Son of God...command these stone be made bread (St. Matthew 4:3).” The devil tempted our Lord to demonstrate
his power (vv.5-6). He went even further to seek worship from
him in exchange for the kingdoms of the earth (vv.8-9).
Unable to defeat our Lord in the wilderness, Satan then tried to
discourage him with the meanness and pessimism of the religious elites. Under
Satan’s influence, these human puppets mocked our Lord’s good deeds and miracles;
accused him of fomenting rebellion against Rome; and charged him with blasphemy
against God. They also convinced a sizeable number in Jerusalem to call for his
crucifixion while at the same time calling for the Roman governor to release
the murderer Barabbas. But whatever the Devil’s plans were at Christ’s death
and burial, they surely “went the way of the Dodo” with our Lord’s
resurrection. Whether Satan realized it or not, his kingdom had been beaten (Colossians 2:9-15).
In spite of our Lord’s victory, Satan has continued his campaign of
luring souls away from Christ. He has done this via his corruption of the
various denominations of Christendom much as he did to the Aaronic priesthood (see II Chronicles 36:14;
Ezekiel 8); the kingly offices Israel
and Judah; as well as the hearts and minds of the people (see II Chronicles 34:24-28;
36:15-16), not in some direct
frontal assault, but by deceit.
Now God did not leave us uninformed concerning Satan’s schemes for in
the Book of Acts (20:26-31), we are supplied St. Paul’s warning to the Ephesian
elders. First the apostle set the record straight when he said, For I have not
shunned to declare unto you all that counsel of God (v. 27), and afterwards he
warned them to Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock , over
which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which
he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departing
shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your
own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples
after them. Therefore, watch, and remember that by the space of three years I
ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears (vs.28-31). The Lord had
informed the apostle that demonic influence would find its way into an unwary,
and sleepy- eyed church and that is why he admonished them to watch out for it.
Sadly, we know from history that the later bishops failed to heed the apostle’s
instruction. Consider our Lord’s parable of the foolish virgins who did not
take sufficient oil with them (St. Matthew 25:1-13). They represent that
portion of the church which will be unprepared to meet the Lord upon his
return. For instead of doing what their counterparts had done, they made no
provision by taking extra oil and took their rest. Who else but the devil would
insinuate such an alternative program to that of being prepared for the
Master’s return?
Currently, Satan has gained control over a sizable segment of what
passes for the Christian Church because its sleepy-eyed overseers have simply
rolled over and gone back to sleep rather than run this intruder and his
minions out of their denominations. Over the past century or so, Satan has used
his various puppet leaders to gain control over a fair number of seminaries.
For within these institutions a host of ministers— both past and present— were
tutored in the false tenets of the Devil’s version of Christianity. And what do
his disciples peddle, but that very thing which St. Paul spoke against in our
epistle lesson: another gospel? Without a doubt, those so trained up in Satan’s
schools of theology pose a very serious danger to the lay people— both in the
pews, as well as in the Sunday school rooms— of those churches where they have
been posted. For it is through these so-called ministers and pastors, bishops
and elders, that Satan’s false gospel has been brought inside the door of the
church house for the sole purpose of gutting the truth of God’s word written as
well as poisoning the minds and hearts of those who have unwittingly accepted
it.
And these faux shepherds are also peddling every other sort of
infidelity. Many have spoken in favor of same-sex relationships, and have even
given their assent for such persons to become ministers and bishops within
their denominations in spite of God’s plainly stated condemnation of such
behavior (Leviticus
18:22). Some have also advocated
infanticide which clearly violates the Sixth Commandment (Exodus 20:13). Some have even embraced a false
universalism which does not conform to the exclusive nature of the gospel. And
last but not least, many churches no longer use the old King James Bible in
favor of the more user-friendly new versions which remove such things as St.
Mark 16:9-20 leaving their readers with a verse which reads, and they went out
quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed:
neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid (v.8) rather than,
So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven,
and sat on the right hand of God. And they went forth, and preached every
where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs
following. Amen (vv. 19-20). What a feeling of hopeless to end a gospel message
with the former rather than the latter. But that is what the devil wants all
Christians to do any way— to flee in fear and trembling. And to that end, he
will continue his campaign to prevent those sheep who are under the direction
of his false ministers from hearing the word of God unless its his version
which has been edited so that the true message will be reduced to a mere
figment of what God intended.
And should a congregant question one of his clergy minions concerning
Satan’s false teachings, the Devil is ready to dialogue through his puppets.
“By all means, go and tell everybody but don’t be dogmatic. Teach them to love
the world, and the things that are in the world.” To which the observant
Christian might respond, “But didn’t God say in the Bible that we are not to
love the world and the things in the world, for all that is in the world, the
lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of the
Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof:
but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever (I St. John 2:15-17)?” The word world used in this passage is
kosmos and it refers to this world system dominated by Satan. Undeterred by the
presentation of God’s word the Devil’s puppet minister might respond,
“Shouldn’t you rather love those you do not understand, or who are different
from you? Shouldn’t you relax your fundamentalism which has no standing any
longer in this church or, for that matter, in the one over there on the corner,
or those down the street and across town? Check it out. The church has moved on
since you were a child. We’re much more open now. You need a good dose of
tolerance and a willingness to be more inclusive. Does not the word say Judge
not (St.
Matthew 7:1)?”
That last comment usually silences the inquirer because very many
Christians are not fully schooled in what our Lord meant by that statement. We
have been called to make righteous judgments and not hypocritical ones (St. John 7:24). We have been called to discern what the
truth of God’s word means and that requires us to study and properly handle it (II St. Timothy 2:15). The Devil will take full advantage of our
ignorance so as to mask his real intentions. The English politician Edmund
Burke once said, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good
men do nothing.” And St. Jude reminded us, ...that ye should earnestly contend
for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain
men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation,
ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the
only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ (vv.3-4). So it should be incumbent on
all true and faithful Christians to know where their church leaders and
denominations stand in relation to the truth of God’s word written.
Unfortunately, their silence is deafening.
It is still not surprising to find within the various apostate-leaning
denominations those who still love the Lord, but who have had their voices
silenced in order to remain within their respective churches. The Devil has
made it hard for them to leave those church bodies into which they were born
and were baptized; where they spent their childhood, were confirmed, were
married, and where many lovely and godly relationships were formed. Satan
enjoys tugging at their heart-strings and trotting them down memory lane all in
the hope that they will remain where they are and not seek out a church where
the truth of God is preached, taught and lived.
But sentimentality is a poor trade for the truth of the gospel of our
Lord and it certainly cannot save. God’s word is clear. In II Corinthians
6:14-18 the apostle Paul wrote, Be ye not unequally yoked together with
unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and
what communion hath light with darkness? and what concord hath Christ with
Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? and what agreement
hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as
God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye
separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive
you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters,
saith the Lord Almighty. The above is self- explanatory. It says in rather
straight-forward and unambiguous language that if a Christian finds himself or
herself in league with unbelievers (which includes apostates and those who
endorse another gospel), he or she is commanded to come out from among them. In
no way, shape or form, are we as believers to have unity with those who are in
opposition to the truth of God’s word written. If a church body, or
denomination cannot be turned, then the true Christian must obey the voice of
the Lord and forthwith leave that fellowship. It may mean that families will be
divided (St.
Matthew 10:34-37), but better
that than to deny the truth of God’s word written and suffer the consequences
for doing such.
Does the word say God will pardon the willfulness of the impenitent?
Will he give those a pass who stayed in those places where his word written was
denigrated and twisted by Satan’s messengers? Will he accept the excuses such
as, “My friends and family have attended this church for a long time”, or, “I
cannot be buried next to so-and-so if I were to leave”, or, “I have gone to
this church all my life and I am comfortable here”, or, “I have my social
network here”? Do you really think that is going to matter to God? I can tell
you in absolutely clear language, NO, IT WILL NOT!
God expects obedience to his word written. It does not matter what
people will say now. Their
excuses, their friendships, their associations, their social networks, their
burial plots will not save them from being cast into perdition. All that truly
matters is our faithfulness to our Lord Jesus Christ. Many will hear on that
grim day of judgment his words , I never knew you: depart from me, ye workers
of iniquity (St.
Matthew 7:23b). And to that end, the Devil is counting
on his minions and fellow-travelers to hold the ambivalent Christian in his or
her pew, for in so doing he has chalked up a victory over them. And sad to say,
he has won so many victories within today’s denominations that frankly he must
feel like he’s “in the winner’s circle”.
We all love correction, don’t we? We are so accepting of those who have
told us that the things we were doing were outside the bounds of the Christian
faith? No, we really did not like being reminded that what we were doing was in
error. Cain did not like it when God tried to set him straight. Neither did the
children of Israel, who killed the prophets because they told them the truth of
what was coming if they did not turn. The same is true for people today. But
the principal difference between the regenerated Christian and those of the unregenerate
is that while all may not like being told they are out of step with God, the
regenerated will use that occasion as a time for correcting their behavior and
for repentance, while the unregenerated will go their merry way in sin until
the last. The born-again Christian will submit to God in the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ, and will trust that God will forgive and remember no more his or
her sins. The Devil would have us to believe another gospel which embraces an
assortment of self-help schemes, do-it-yourself projects and just plain ole
feel-goodism. Beware Christian, as these are works of deception from the father
of lies. Reject them and live that true life in Christ Jesus. Obey his
commandments. Come forth and be received of him as he gave St. Paul to write,
Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and
touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto
you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
Let us pray,
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ather, we appeal to you for thy divine assistance,
that you would keep us from all that the world, the flesh and the devil would
have us to suffer; and make of us a people truly fit for thy kingdom and
zealous for thy word; for these and other needful things we ask in the name of
him who came to seek and save the lost, even Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Have a blessed week, Bryan+
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