Blueprint for Pentecost

Pentecost 2012

May 27, 2012

Fr. Philip Eberhart

Acts 2:  Blueprint for Pentecost

So often in our lives we know that we have a need – a deep seated, even sometimes desperate need – but we don’t know how to fulfill that need, or even how to get it fulfilled!  Our need of the Holy Spirit in our lives is like that.  In fact at the most basic level of life in Christ, it IS that need!

It’s very common these days to hear people asking the question, “Isn’t there more to life than this?”  People of all walks and stations of life:   rich as well as poor, accomplished people and homeless people, professionals, day laborers, shop clerks and managers – all are in the same boat, searching for that “something more” that makes life worth living.

Well friends, today is the day we celebrate the secret!  We celebrate the birth of the Church of Jesus Christ and the coming of the Holy Spirit into the world, poured out on all flesh, by the Father and the Son.  The Secret! 

The Holy Spirit himself is the Secret!  The secret to the abundant life that Jesus promised to his followers in John 10.  The Holy Spirit is the Secret to the motive power for living a victorious life as a follower of Jesus!  The Holy Spirit is not the fancy, optional equipment that makes your car special, no!  The Holy Spirit is the engine, that moves the car down the road.  

I love that Subaru commercial where the dad is leaning into the window and giving instructions about the mirror and the seat belt and the camera pans to a 5 year old in the driver’s seat – and we all panic – then he continues about the cell phone and hands his little girl the keys, only to pan back to the 16 year old, going out for her first time in the car!  That’s how I feel about my role as a pastor.

At some point in your life, you have to take the keys and put them into the ignition and fire this baby, called the Christian Life up!!  But getting “fired up” is the purview – it’s the will and the work of the Holy Spirit himself.  But you need to know that you have a part in this process, just like all of the processes of salvation, God has made you to have a volitional part in the process.  

Last week, Valerie delivered a word that the Lord had laid on her heart for our church body, but that word applies equally to this sermon this morning!  “You have not because you ask not!”  Friends, our Christian experience is anemic.  Anemia is a constant state of weakness, caused by lack of red blood cells which carry needed oxygen to the cells of the body – the carry the fuel for the fire that keeps our body going.

How willing do you think God is that we should be fully alive in Him and fully active in His Kingdom and its work?  Well, God is so willing that He sent his Only Son to die in order to wipe away all the barriers that stood in front of you – that stood between you and Him – that stood between you and asking God for ALL that He has for you!

When Jesus said, “It is finished!” this is what He was talking about.  All the obstacles have been removed – all our sin, all our bondages, all our addictions – the power of them have been wiped out and swept away in the moment of Jesus death.  “It is finished” wiped the slate clean and God reached down in that moment and tore the curtain of separation between His people and His Presence in two!

How anxious is God for you to come and ask Him for ALL that he has for you?  Hmmmm?

It’s interesting though, we are preoccupied with the old toys.  We would rather stay in the sand box and play with the dump trucks there than go and drive the real thing!  We would rather play with the cars on our indoor race track than ask Father for the keys.

Anyone here ever known a 15 year old boy?  How interested are they in cars?  Man, I was obsessed.  I had a subscription to Hot Rod Magazine!  I bought my first car the day I turned 16 – a 1966 Pontiac Tempest – appropriately named!  It had bucket seats and a big motor and could get on down the highway.  I lived, ate, slept and breathed cars.  I had all the accessories, the wheels, the big tires, the stereo tape deck – yeah, I’m that old! – but the most important part of that car was the engine.  The rest was just window dressing!

Friends, how is your engine?

The presence and the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives as Christians isn’t optional equipment!  God has given us the most powerful force in the universe – His Spirit – to move us along in the life He has designed for us to live!!

I want to look at the outline of the 2^nd Chapter of Acts this morning as an outline that we can overlay onto our Christian Life.  This overlay will keep us focused on the main things as pertaining to the Holy Spirit and the force and direction of His life in our life and in the midst of His People.

Acts 2:1   Willingness, Availability & Obedience

All that has gone before in Acts, chapter 1, has been the orchestration of these three be-attitudes in the community of the believers and followers of Jesus.  Jesus said, several times, “stay here until…”  -  don’t get out ahead of me, don’t try to help me out by doing things out there in your own power!!  WAIT HERE –

For ten days – from Ascension to Pentecost morning, the whole company of the disciples waited and prayed.  Friends, if we did that for ten days, we would have this kind of Pentecost too!  I’m convinced that the root of our emptiness and powerlessness when it comes to the Holy Spirit is our busy-ness.  Our lack is in our preparation – in our willingness – in our availability to Him – and in our obedience when He calls, when He gives us instructions!

Acts 2:2  The Suddenly

In God’s timetable there is no suddenly!!  It is only from our earthly perception that what God does happens suddenly, but when God comes on the scene, things change!  Rushing, violent wind – tongues of fire – the gift of the Holy Spirit given to each one there – the speaking forth as God gave utterance.  

You know we can make a lot of all the phenomenology around the coming of the Holy Spirit.  Much has been made of the giving of these gifts, especially the gift of tongues.  Most all of the Pentecost experiences recounted in Acts include this phenomenon or the presence of other gifts, such as prophesy and healing, as signs of the coming of the Spirit.

The point is, friends, you will know when this happens.

The word in verse two for violent, only occurs once in the whole of scripture.  Here in Acts 2:2 – and its root only occurs another 4 times.  Its not a common occurrence that you could mistake for something else!!!  It’s like being handed the keys to the car!  Your heart is racing, the blood is pumping, the senses are keen; you put the key in the ignition and turn it and wow!!!  The suddenly happens!!

And then you turn it off.  And you turn it on again.  And you turn it off. And you turn it on again.  WOW?   NO!!!

The engine and the key aren’t just for your fascination in hearing the sound of the engine or turning it on and off to make sure it will start!  The engine is here for a reason.  Look at verse 5:  Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem.

Here is our first hint as to purpose!  The reason the Holy Spirit was sent, wasn’t for the amusement of the Church!  It wasn’t for the edification, the up-building, of the Church!  It was because “there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem!”

You don’t have an engine in your car so you can go out and start it and listen to it run!  Or sit and start it and rev it up, over and over and over.  Wouldn’t that seem a little ridiculous to you if you saw someone doing it?  Just revving up their car but never going anywhere?

The Holy Spirit, the engine in the Christian life, is MOTIVE power!  This MOTOR is given to you because around you live “Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs” – actually lets bring it home. . . around you live residents of Arapahoe, Douglas, Jefferson, and Denver counties, residents of Aurora, Centennial, Lakewood, Littleton, Evergreen, Castle Rock, Parker, Denver, Commerce City, and you can name the neighborhoods and businesses that you work at and live in.

I had opportunity to listen to a young lady in our midst who is being given an vision for an orphanage in India – why? Because she works with a group of Indian people who have a heart for their nation and its plight, who belong to Jesus!  She is able to minister to the people from India, from the comfort of her own home!  

The Holy Spirit is sent, my friends, from God, by Jesus, to you, FOR THEM!!!

Jesus said it in Acts 1, during his preparatory teaching in his last speech ever to the disciples:  His very last words were:  “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”  If we combine this with the other picture we have of Jesus last moments with the disciples, from Matthew, we see a clearer picture of our charge, our commission, as well as the power to accomplish it:

Jesus said, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.”  “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age!”

The rest of Acts 2 is Peter telling this story to those people.  If you want to know what to say when God sends you to the people of the world, study what Peter said here in ACTS 2.  It is the gospel in a nutshell.

And then the chapter ends with verses that are very familiar to us here at REZ!

The outcome of the day of Pentecost was a community!  A living, dynamic, growing and alive community of faith.  The rest of Acts is the REST OF THE STORY!  But it begin here in Acts 2.

“And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.  Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.  And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.  Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people.

And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.”

Friends, we have not, because we ask not.  Let’s ask dad for the keys!  Amen.

Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing

Epiphany III
January 22, 2012
Fr. Phil Eberhart


Give us grace, O Lord, to answer readily the call of our Savior Jesus Christ and proclaim to all people the Good News of his salvation, that we and the whole world may perceive the glory of his marvelous works; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.


Keep the Main Thing, The Main Thing!

Well, I’m back! I’m exhausted and frustrated and still needing a few days sleep, I think. I’ve posted my thoughts on your emails this morning and the article on my perspective on both conferences is on David Virtue’s website.

People are asking me now, what is our response? I will say it again, as I said it in my first response on my blog,
                 "Please also know that your "place" in the Anglican Communion is secure. We will pray for our leaders and wait on clarity in this situation, without proffering opinions or judgments about the actions heretofore. We pray that time will be the friend of truth and that things which are done in secret will come to the light, on both sides of the equation. I know that there are always two sides to any conflict and my experience has led me to also know that we are all broken and in need of grace. So let us give grace and prayer and time."

It is certain at this point that clarity has not been achieved yet. After attending both the Winter Conference and the Sacred Assembly in NC this past 10 days, I’ve come away with less certainty in most areas and way less clarity than I thought I had. Our leaders need our prayers and support now more than ever.

Just briefly here’s what I know I know:
1. I am a priest of Rwanda. That has not changed.
2. This church is an AMiA parish, waiting on clear direction.
3. Our bishop has stepped back for the moment, as a new direction is being discerned and as reconciliation is being sought with Rwanda. The Anglican Mission is being advised by its founding ArchBishops, Kolini, Tay and Yong Ping Chung, all very godly men who have established their track record in distinguished servant leadership among us over the past decade. No one is saying that this is the permanent solution.
4. We are going to wait on the reconciliation process being pursued by Archbishop Eliud Wabukala of Kenya and the GAFCON Council. This will address both the reconciliation and the structural questions that are questions of Anglican polity, I trust and hope.
5. Once clear choices are on the table, we will pray together for a season and make a choice if needed, but there is no time-line for that process, nor is there a need for quick action here.
6. I will pray and work for peace amongst our leaders at every turn, and ask the Lord of His Church to restore a biblical unity and direction to the AMiA and to the relationship with Rwanda.

Until then, I want to point to our collect this morning and to several portions from the reading, and say that we are to keep the main thing, the main thing! In my talking to people about Jesus, not one of them has asked me about who my spiritual authority is. Our business is to connect people to Jesus Christ and to His Kingdom!

Since when is strife in the church a NEW thing? This too will pass. Be at peace.  Stay in repentant and obedient prayer for our leaders “up top.” God will work out the details according to His plan. And of that I AM CERTAIN!

Read the collect with me again:
Give us grace, O Lord, to answer readily the call of our Savior Jesus Christ and proclaim to all people the Good News of his salvation, that we and the whole world may perceive the glory of his marvelous works; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Friends, this is the main thing! This is our vocation in the Anglican Mission! This is our calling as Christian believers!! Be on high alert as you walk around and talk to people for the CALL of our Savior Jesus Christ to proclaim the Good News of Salvation.

Epiphany is the season of revelation. It is the revealing of the mystery of God’s plan of redemption for the whole world in Jesus Christ. And the revealing happens through you! People are starving to know that God exists and moreover that He loves them and has them in mind – He has a plan, in the midst of all the “stuff” that life throws our way.

The revelation of God’s love and His plan for others, comes as they see you going through your life’s ups and downs, blessings and challenges, in relationship to God and in reliance on God.

The disciples in our Gospel lesson where engaged in their every day activities, fishing on the Sea of Galilee. Mark’s gospel takes a picture that is much larger and crops it into a small shot at the moment in time when Jesus invited the fishermen to come with him, to follow him as disciples, as learners from a teacher – and the subject matter, “Fishing 101” – but for people.

Intrigued? They were. And so they left their commercial nets and boats and began to walk alongside Jesus as he encountered life, as He taught in their homes and in the markets and synagogues. As he touched and healed blind and lame, lepers and all manner of unclean people, they watched and learned. The heard his message, “Repent and believe the good news.” The Kingdom of God has come near – its AT HAND. In fact, its right in front of you!

We bring that same message! The disciples followed Jesus for many months as He “went about all the towns and villages of Galilee, preaching the Good News of the Kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.” Matt 4:23; 9:35. But then we transition to a new phase of his public ministry. In Matt 10 and Luke 10, Jesus sends out the 12 and the 72 to go on ahead of himm with the words, “Freely you have received, freely give!” He gave them authority to heal and to drive out demons, and to say, as He did, The Kingdom of God is near you. “Repent, and believe the good news.”

This is our message and our method. This is our vocation as Christians. This is The Main Thing that we need to keep The Main Thing. Everything else is a distraction. All the stuff we run into in life in the world, even the stuff we run into sometimes in the church, must not detract our vision from the main thing!

Who are you praying for? Do you have a list of people who you’ve talked with over the past months who are on their journey? Are you encouraging them? Praying for them? Going for coffee with them? Do you send notes or emails? Do they know that you love them?

Evangelism isn’t a question and a prayer with someone – a stranger to you, although sometimes that happens. Evangelism is living your life on Mission – living your life On Purpose – God’s Purpose! Evangelism is living as a blessing to others, both in word and deed. “Church for the sake of others,” as Bishop Todd Hunter puts it. This is the main thing!

The main thing is the steps of Luke 10:

a. Live your life as a blessing and speak peace into people’s lives. It will get their attention

b. Hang out with them, eat with them, share your life and let them share theirs.

c. In the course of life, you will see ways that you can serve them, and meet some of their needs, in the name of Jesus. Do it. Do it immediately and cheerfully, and when they look at you and ask, “Why?”

d. Say, “the Kingdom of Heaven has come near you.”

Tell them the great news of God’s unfailing love for them – so much so that He sent His Son to give them eternal life, and you to meet their need.

I want to close this morning with a familiar prayer, from the words of St. Francis.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.

A Harvest of Souls

July 10, 2011
Proper 10
Fr. PHILIP EBERHART


The Harvest of Souls

Have any of you driven lately out toward the east on I-70? If so you have probably seen the wheat fields that are standing ready. This is a very stressful time for the farmers these days, especially with all the rain we’re getting, as the harvest stands ready in the fields, but we can’t get at it because of all the rain. And with each rain storm, the possibility looms overhead that the harvest itself will be damaged by wind, hail or even flooding.

Do you know that the Father of souls takes a similar view, in the light of the winds and the storms of change in our culture, and the potential damage to the crop – whole generations lost because of the perilous times – and moreover, some of the crop is being lost because of inattention to the harvest by those who are the appointed harvesters!

Jesus, in our gospel this morning, tells a story to His disciples as they are walking through the countryside, observing the planting of seed and he likens it to the sowing of the Word of God into the lives of non-believers. I call this the parable of the soils. Jesus describes, as they walk, the types of soil that seeds fall on top of, 4 types to be exact:

The Road itself – Hard packed and impossible to penetrate, the seed falls vulnerable and open to the elements and the critters, who come for a meal themselves and take away the seed that is thusly sown.

The Road Side – where all the rocks have been kicked off the path, gotten covered a bit by some dust or soil. The seed falls there, but the soil has no depth for the seed to take root, and so it withers and dies.

The Bar Ditch – where the soil is deep enough for roots, but everything is growing there, including the thorns and weeds in abundance. The seed itself takes root but cannot grow because of the competition for nutrients and water, and so the seed dies.

The Field – where the soil is tended, broken, and open to receive the seed – then the seed itself is tended, watered and weeded, as the farmer sees to it that the seed will flourish and produce its intended result – a crop for harvest, reproducing itself a hundredfold, or sixty fold or even just thirty fold.

Having grown up on the farm, I can’t find adequate words to begin to convey to those who have lived in the city all their lives, the importance of this image and the weight of this metaphor in the life of the church. The point is what happens to the Seed, the Eternal Word of God, in the process of its getting planted in the life. And for the farmer who hears this, the point is the responsibility of the farmer, the sower, for the life of the seed after it is sown!!

Anyone who has been a farmer or even a gardener, knows the process of preparation of the soil to receive seed, the process of planting, specific depths and distances for each plant, the process of watering, not too much or too little, the process of weeding and tending that goes into a garden. The same is true on the grand scale for the farmer.

What we are seeing around us at this time of year in Colorado is the culmination of the other 50 weeks of work on that crop. And those 50 weeks have a definite plan and progression on the way to the harvest. But when harvest comes, everything else stops.

The challenges of this parable in the mouth of Jesus are twofold:

1. What kind of soil are you? What kind of reception does the Eternal Seed of the Word of God have in your heart and life? Is your heart hard packed, strewn with rocks or weeds? Or is your heart broken and soft, to receive the planting of the Word that springs up to eternal life?

But the next question isn’t about you as soil, it’s about you as a seed!

2. What kind of seed are you? What is the level of fruitfulness in the life you are living? A hundredfold, sixty, … thirty? How many can say that thirty others have come to know Jesus, because you have led them there?

The question is a challenge isn’t it? … And an invitation.

When Jesus sent his disciples out ahead of him, in Luke 10 with these words: “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Pray to the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers into his harvest!” And do you know what the next word is?

GO!

STEP ONE: PRAY!
STEP TWO: GO!!!!!

The harvest is on the heart of God, and all the more as we near the day of His coming.

This morning I want to reiterate what you have heard already from me on numerous occasions: You are God’s Plan A . . . and there is no plan B!

So like we prayed last week for the turning of our nation, we are going to pray this morning for the salvation of our nation, and of our state and city, and then specifically for those whom God is placing on your heart. I want you to take the Operation Andrew brochures here and write the names down – first names only, and we are going to offer those names on the altar this morning and every morning we meet together for worship.

The harvest is on God’s heart!! The function of prayer for the harvest is to get it on our hearts! Prayer focuses our attention in the direction that God’s heart is focused and in the direction that the Spirit moves, whenever He moves. Outwardly! Once God has our attention He urges us to GO. GO. GO!!

“When the Holy Spirit come upon you, you will receive power, and you will be my witnesses – outwardly moving from Jerusalem, to Judea, and then to Samaria and then to all the ends of the earth.”

Every move of the Spirit of God has this outward component to it – the Holy Spirit isn’t a toy God gives us to amuse ourselves – He is the inner motivation and locomotion to take on the mission of Jesus, who told us that he came to “seek and to save that which was lost!”

So there you have it.

I want to pray this morning, as we move through our prayers, for the needs of our world, but most specifically I want you to begin naming names. The harvest begins as we name names. If you don’t know any names of lost people, then that’s a problem! We have a tendency in the church to insulate ourselves from the world – from the lost! But that is not God’s design! His plan isn’t for us to become a fortress, but for us to be a field!

Let us pray.

Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within the reach of your saving embrace. So clothe us with Your Spirit, that we, reaching forth our hands in love, may bring those who do not know You, to the knowledge and love of You, for the honor of Your Name. Amen.

(Please add your own petitions for a time as we pray for the Harvest in our City, especially in regard to the upcoming Rock the Range outreach and our part in the process of invitation, preparation and planting of the seed.)

Fourth Sunday of Lent - Growing through Witness

Fourth Sunday of Lent “So…Why?” Series – Part IV Growing Through Witness “Once I was blind, but now I see!” The essence of our witness is just that simple. “Once I was _____________, but now I __________” Witness is telling the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as it has impacted and changed your own life. Witness is not optional equipment in the life of faith. If our life in Christ is like a new car, we tend to have a consumerist approach. We think that there are choices to be made on our part – a deluxe interior, color or paint packages. What we are talking about this Lent isn’t those kinds of choices! The choice of whether or not we are witnesses isn’t an “accessory” decision – its choosing whether the car has a transmission – a drive train, wheels and tires, because witness, my friends, is where the rubber meets the road. As American Anglicans we have both a spotted past behind us and a daunting task ahead of us. We are part of what has been the most significant decline of Christianity since its beginning, especially over the past 30 years in the West. While the East and the Global South are seeing an unprecedented revival of Christianity, with literal thousands upon thousands coming to Christ each day, we in America – formerly known as a Christian nation and the primary sender of worldwide missions in the past century – have come to be the mission FIELD. If unchurched Americans were a separate country, we would rank in size at about number 5 in the world. As the Anglican MISSION in the Americas our stated purpose is to be a part of God’s MISSION to win this nation back to Christ. But this task is not something we undertake alone – it is a part of the MISSIO DEI, the very MISSION OF GOD. RENEWING OUR FOUNDATIONS There are two equally critical parts to the foundation for witness in the Christian life. These two parts are found in The Great Commandment: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind and with all thy strength… and the second is like unto it, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” The first part is Love the Lord; the second part is Love Others. These are the twin aspects of all that undergirds our Christian witness. St. Peter, in his first pastoral letter to the churches of the First century, wrote these words: But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who ask you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence (NASB) 1 Pet 3:15 Peter starts with the honoring and setting apart of Jesus Christ as Lord in our lives. Our lack of witness is a LORDSHIP question, first of all. Before we can talk about the mechanics of the power train in the car we have to settle the question, “Who’s driving?” Who has the steering wheel in hand? We must settle this question in our hearts: IS JESUS REALLY LORD? It’s hard! We don’t have any kings or lords in our American culture – quite the contrary, we have been raised, since the revolution, to reject such as intrusive and an infringement of our personal freedom. Our freedom and our control are the supreme good in our modern culture, and so the question of LORDSHIP is one that we continually struggle with as we encounter Christ in scripture and as we come to Him in submission and obedience. Who IS in the driver’s seat? I once saw a bumper sticker that read, “If God is your co-pilot, you’re in the wrong seat!” Lordship means that we’ve given up the pilot’s chair; to honor Christ as Lord means allowing Him to drive the car. I know it’s scary. But it’s the difference of night and day! Literally. The second part is love for others. The apostle Paul, in his second letter to Corinth, explains his motivation for ministry to the Gentiles: For the love of Christ controls and urges and impels us, because we are of the opinion and conviction that [if] One died for all, then all died; 15And He died for all, so that all those who live might live no longer to and for themselves, but to and for Him Who died and was raised again for their sake. (Amplified) We need the heart of God, for His world – for His creation and for His creatures. We are so familiar with John 3:16 that we often blow right past its implication, in v. 17. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him, should not perish but should have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. The work of Christ in the world … and by extension as His Body, our work in the world… is salvation. We must understand as well that that word is very comprehensive as it describes the whole renewal of the person, spirit, soul and body, as we come to God through Jesus Christ, His Son. It bears repeating again what follows from that compelling Love of Christ for Others: A New Life 14-15Our firm decision is to work from this focused center: One man died for everyone. That puts everyone in the same boat. He included everyone in his death so that everyone could also be included in his life, a resurrection life, a far better life than people ever lived on their own. 16-20Because of this decision we don't evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don't look at him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We're Christ's representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God's work of making things right between them. We're speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he's already a friend with you. 21How? you ask. In Christ. God put the wrong on him who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God. (2 Cor 5:14-21 The Message) 21st Century Witness So the road lies before us – the power of the Spirit’s engine is within us – we are allowing Jesus to drive: So now what? What is our part? Let’s go back to St. Peter’s instruction: “Always be ready to make a defense – to give an answer – for the hope that is within you” Of course, this begs the question of whether or not your hope is in tack and visible!! It means living a life that is visibly Christian – being willing to be know to be a Christian – not putting your faith on the shelf when you leave the house each day. And why is it that HOPE is what will spark their interest? Have you ever been without HOPE? It is a pretty desolate and desperate place – a place where many in our world find themselves. And if you are there, the hope in another person is like a long drink of cool water in a very dry desert place. You want to know where it came from. So the witness of our lives is the Hope we have in Christ Jesus, of life eternal, that begins today. Hope means that we live life differently – that there is light in our eyes, a smile on our lips, spring in our steps, and purpose in our hearts. Not manufactured light or a fake smile. Not a worked up “spring” or a “have to” purpose. But a life that is filled and overflowing with genuine joy, peace, patience, goodness … all the Galations 5 fruit of the Spirit’s life in us. This stuff doesn’t depend on your faking it: God forbid. It depends on your living it … your life IN CHRIST. What people of all kinds are looking for today is what is REAL. We have a hard time describing it, and sometimes a hard time believing it, but REAL will come through to those around you, if you let it. Jesus said it this way, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” How do people see the light in you? By the things you do? This is the make it or break it of our witness for Christ. In the Truth Project, Del Tackett asks, “Do you really believe that what you believe is really real?” That is what people want to know. And they will see it, in your ways more than in your words. And that is not to say that words are not important. Paul urges his friends in Rome on with these words, and here I will close: The word that saves is right here, as near as the tongue in your mouth, as close as the heart in your chest. It's the word of faith that welcomes God to go to work and set things right for us. This is the core of our preaching. Say the welcoming word to God—"Jesus is my Master"—embracing, body and soul, God's work of doing in us what he did in raising Jesus from the dead. That's it. You're not "doing" anything; you're simply calling out to God, trusting him to do it for you. That's salvation. With your whole being you embrace God setting things right, and then you say it, right out loud: "God has set everything right between him and me!" 11-13Scripture reassures us, "No one who trusts God like this—heart and soul—will ever regret it." It's exactly the same no matter what a person's religious background may be: the same God for all of us, acting the same incredibly generous way to everyone who calls out for help. "Everyone who calls, 'Help, God!' gets help." 14-17But how can people call for help if they don't know who to trust? And how can they know who to trust if they haven't heard of the One who can be trusted? And how can they hear if nobody tells them? (Rom 10 The Message) In a few weeks, after Easter, in the first three weeks of May, we will be taking part in the Christian Life and Witness Course, offered by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Assn. to prepare the church in Denver for a coming harvest. I want you to consider being a part of this three night commitment, to find the words of your witness. Please pray about taking an active part in the coming of God’s Kingdom here in Denver.