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.

Third Sunday of Lent - Growing through Fellowship

Third Sunday of Lent “So… Why?” Series, Part III Growing Through Fellowship 1 Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? 2 Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. 3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. 5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Paul, the apostle, here asks several pointed questions of his favorite church. Questions that ring down through the centuries to us and echo through our own lives and relationships in the Body of Christ. That IS what you are, you know. The Body of Christ. By virtue of your baptism, you have been knit into a MYSTERY. It’s called the MYSTICAL Body of Christ in our prayerbook. We say it in the prayer after communion. “You have graciously accepted us as living members of Your Son our Savior, Jesus Christ “ OR “And for assuring us in these holy mysteries that we are living members of the Body of your Son.” Or my favorite and the favorite of many I think: Almighty and everliving God, we most heartily thank thee for that thou dost feed us, in these holy mysteries, with the spiritual food of the most precious Body and Blood of thy Son our Savior Jesus Christ; and dost assure us thereby of thy favor and goodness towards us; and that we are very members incorporate in the mystical body of thy Son, the blessed company of all faithful people; We are partakers of a mystery – members of one another, Paul says - “members incorporate” – “living members” we say. But what does all that mean? KOINONIA Many of you here know of my long time fascination with the Greek word KOINONIA, mostly translated “fellowship” in scripture. And so it is our subject this morning as we explore how we grow through fellowship with one another. One of the wonderful things about the Greek language of the Bible is that many of the words have several, varied shades of meaning. Some find that disconcerting at first, especially when they get the feeling that some preachers give that there is a kind of “secret” knowledge that can be gained from the study of the Bible in its original language. Let me assure you that what is in the Bible in English is enough to challenge you to the core for the rest of your life!! BUT, let me also challenge you, and I hope this morning to illustrate the fact, that there are depths in this WORD OFGOD that we don’t plumb, because we don’t have the tools to do it. One of those tools is how to look up words and their meanings and to see how they are used across an array of verses. And a perfect example is this word, “KOINONIA.” KOINONIA is translated with a variety of English words: “Fellowship”; “Sharing”; “Participation”; “Community”; “Communion”; “Intimacy”; even to the “hand shake” as a sign of welcome or pledge of friendship/fellowship; and finally, the collection of money or goods that is jointly contributed, that exhibits an embodiment and proof of fellowship. Our offering each week is a KOINONIA; our communion service is a KOINONIA. In fact this is where we will pick up with Paul in his 1st letter to Corinth, in the 10th chapter where he is discussing the eating of meat sacrificed to idols in comparison with our Eucharist: 14 So, my dear friends, flee from the worship of idols. 15 You are reasonable people. Decide for yourselves if what I am saying is true. 16 When we bless the cup at the Lord’s Table, aren’t we sharing in the blood of Christ? And when we break the bread, aren’t we sharing in the body of Christ? 17 And though we are many, we all eat from one loaf of bread, showing that we are one body. 18 Think about the people of Israel. Weren’t they united by eating the sacrifices at the altar? The word “sharing” that Paul uses is a verb form of the word koinonia. This sharing is our active participation and the actual eating of the sacramental elements – the bread and the wine, that is offered on this Table. One of my favorite posters is a picture of a TV with a Eucharist set up on top of it. It simply asks “When was the last time you received communion from your Sony?” We live in an age that trivializes and marginalizes our participation in the worship of the Church – it has become a kind of take it or leave it proposition for many. “If I come at Christmas and Easter, I’m good for the year.” Right? But the sense of the word that we translate “fellowship” is so much more comprehensive, that even attendance weekly, barely gets at the depth of the meaning of true fellowship. Our tendency is toward the instant, but koinonia tends toward the long term; our tendency is toward the shallow, but koinonia tends toward the deep; our tendency is toward the easy, but koinonia tends toward the hard. This kind of “fellowship” is what is in view in Acts 2:42 where we have read that the early church “devoted themselves to fellowship” among other things. And the verses just after 42 are a logistical summary of how that looks in a living community of believers: 43 A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. 44 And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. 45 They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. 46 They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity[j]—47 all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. Listen to the key words: Deep Sense of Awe; Together in One place; Shared everything; Sold property & possessions; Shared with those in need; worshiped together each day; met in homes for Eucharist; shared meals; praising God; enjoying favor in the community; each day the Lord added to the fellowship. Who doesn’t want to be a part of something like this? I’m there!! I’m sooooo there!!! This is how you spell REAL CHURCH!! Our twentieth century manifestation is pretty anemic by comparison: Its often not awe-filled, its sometimes aweful! Its together in one place, once in a while, at controversial town meetings or at Christmas eve or Easter morning services. Its… well, all that selling property and possessions stuff … you know they didn’t have a lot anyway. Its nice to share, but lets not go overboard. I’m too busy to do any more than Sunday morning. And… every Sunday? Really? Communion in my home? Am I sick or dying? I just can’t bring myself to do that monthly supper deal? Some of those people get on my nerves! And these are just things I’ve heard around here!! And we wonder why “the Lord” doesn’t “add each day” to our numbers!! Hmmmm? LIFE TOGETHER In a book by the name LIFE TOGETHER, the German theologian and martyr, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, explored the meaning of the fellowship of the Church. It is a short book that you can find in libraries and book stores to this day. He compares and contrasts our tendency to substitute what I call “an inch deep and a mile wide” fellowship for the real thing. He warns that this substitution will eventually result in the dissolution of the whole enterprise, as it looses its meaning and power in our lives, through sheer lack of commitment and vitality. Paul addresses this tendency in his letters quite often. He calls his hearers to the deeper aspects of a life together – what we saw in the Acts passage. He reminded them, and continually reminds us of our place “in Christ” and of our “fellowship” in the Spirit. It is the Spirit who ushers us into the Body of Christ, through repentance and baptism, through a constant “in-filling” of His presence and power. It is the Spirit who gives gifts to each of us, for the fulfilling of our part in the Body of Christ – gifts that are given for the “common” good, the root word for koinonia. It is the Spirit who guides us into all TRUTH and Truth that binds us together in a common vision. The clearest challenge that Paul puts before us is found in our opening verses from Philippians 2. Let’s review: Paul begins with some pointed questions: Any encouragement among you? Any tenderheartedness or compassion? Consolation of love? Fellowship of the Spirit? Any genuine affection? I love the Message here: If you've gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care— then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don't push your way to the front; don't sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don't be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand. Paul paints a picture in his words that is similar to what we read in Acts 2. Though I think Paul’s is more inwardly and emotionally focused, he give us clear marks for the “feelings” of community that are to be among us. And the marks are the same as what he lays out in the Galatian letter, that we know and recognize as “The Fruit of the Spirit.” Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-control. Listen again to the way that Peterson puts it in the message: But what happens when we live God's way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely. Friends, this is the type of KOINONIA that God is prepared to deliver to us, by His Spirit! This KOINONIA is a gift of the Spirit to the Whole Body of Christ, but the gift requires us to SHARE in it – to PARTICIPATE in it. The Body of Christ is a dynamic mix of His Spirit – His Presence and OUR PRESENCE – OUR PARTICIPATION in Him with others who are similarly called. Look around you… smile … say, “That means YOU.” Paul’s charge to the Philippians was to “Have this Mind in You which was also in Christ Jesus.” Jesus prayer to His Father the night before His death was that we might be ONE – as He and the Father are ONE. This is the direction that the Spirit is constantly moving us, if we are willing, available and obedient. ONE doesn’t mean similarly inclined, nor does it mean we even think alike or look alike. God forbid. The sense that ONE has in the NT, especially in the case of the Body of Christ is the same sense you get when an orchestra comes together, under ONE director, with ONE piece of music, but MANY individual instruments all in TUNE with one another. Ever been to a great symphony? The greek there is SUM PHONEO – to Sound Together as Many with ONE SOUND. SYMPHONY! This is the sense of the word in Acts 2:46 that is translated “with one accord” or “with one mind.” This is what the commentators in the Blue Letter Bible say about the word HOMOTHUMADON: A unique Greek word, used 10 of its 12 New Testament occurrences in the Book of Acts, helps us understand the uniqueness of the Christian community. Homothumadon is a compound of two words meaning to "rush along" and "in unison". The image is almost musical; a number of notes are sounded which, while different, harmonize in pitch and tone. As the instruments of a great concert under the direction of a concert master, so the Holy Spirit blends together the lives of members of Christ's church. (Blue Letter Bible. "Dictionary and Word Search for homothymadon (Strong's 3661)". Blue Letter Bible. 1996-2011. 27 Mar 2011. < http:// www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm? Strongs=G3661&t=NASB >) Friends, this is my prayer for us, that we may become ONE as Jesus prayed, through the Gift of KOINONIA, given by the Spirit of Jesus among us, and that we may share in His Kingdom and Power, under the Spirit’s Direction, as we bring our gifts to bear alongside one another, for the sake of His Kingdom and for the fame of His Name. Amen

Lent II - Growth Through Prayer

Second Sunday of Lent
Part 2 of “So…Why” Series

Part II: Growth through Prayer


Today is the second in our Lenten Series entitled, “So… Why?”

Luke 6:46 records Jesus’ question of his disciples and other followers at the time:
“So why do you call me ‘Lord,’ when you won’t obey me?”

Some time ago, I heard a three-step formula for success in the Christian life:
Pray – Listen – Obey

Pretty simple. Not easy, but pretty simple.

Prayer is the environment; it is the medium of relationship with God. Just like conversation is the medium of relationship with each other. Last night we had our REZZERS’ Dinners – the point of the evenings together is to foster conversation. Because why? It is through conversation that we enter more deeply into relationship with each other. And it is through prayer that we enter more deeply into relationship with God… and incidentally, at least in my experience, most deeply into meaningful relationship with each other in the Body of Christ.

Prayer is the act of talking with God.

Jesus warned that it not be used as a platform, or done for a show. His instruction specifically was that it be done in a closet! That it be unseen; that it be “in secret.”

Isn’t it interesting that so much of what we deal with in our world has to do with people’s “secret” lives – our “deep, dark” secrets eventually have a way of oozing out into our public lives. The stories of fallen leaders are myriad. What might happen if the “secret” of our lives was a place of “saturation” in the Presence of God?!!

The one time that Jesus got “hot” publically was in the temple, in the midst of a people who had turned the activity of prayer into an opportunity to turn a buck. If fact, it was in that instance that Jesus reminded them of the calling and purpose of the Temple in God’s mind: “My House will be called a ‘House of Prayer’ for all nations.”

The “secret” of the Christian’s Life; the calling and vocation of the Christian Church is prayer. “So…Why,” Jesus asks, “do you call me Lord and you won’t even come talk to me?” For many of us, our lives are so busy, that prayer gets ‘bumped’ off the table. We live in a culture that is militant against “margin.”

Our lives and activity schedules crowd out prayer, in most, but its most cursory forms. We say ‘grace’ at meals (most of the time) and occasionally we will have time to read a devotional and/or a bible passage, and then ask God about some of the needs of the day, but rarely do we endeavor to “set aside” a specific and significant block of time for this most important of activities.

What could be more important and empowering than entering into ACTUAL relationship with the God of the Universe?!! Have you ever been “IN LOVE.”

What does that phrase conjure up for you? Do you have some memories of lingering dinners – of long phone conversations – of spending inordinate amounts of time with the LOVED ONE? And that’s not to mention the time spent THINKING about the Loved One!!

This is EXACTLY the model – or better, the reflection of the model – that we are going after here. Actually our relationship with God is to be that model! The spending – the investing of time with God each day, each week, and in sufficient quantity that it counts as a ‘relationship’ in some meaningful way. Have you ever noticed when someone is “with you” but they’re really NOT WITH you? How do we say it? We say, “Their mind is … “a thousand miles away.” How does God feel when we approach Him similarly? Probably the same way.

Jesus spoke often in terms of human relationship in this regard: His model of persistent prayer was the neighbor who came at midnight asking for bread who would not give up, till finally his neighbor got up and gave it. His model of prayer was the persistent widow asking justice from the unjust judge, who granted it because of her persistence. His teaching about God the Holy Spirit was illustrated with the story of sons asking for things of fathers. HOW MUCH MORE is God willing to give the Holy Spirit to those who ask?

He taught his disciple to pray, based on his own prayer “life”. Do you have a “Prayer Life” or do you just pray? And do you pray in a place each day or just “on the way?” In the gospels we continually see Jesus drawing aside specifically for prayer – sometimes all night, when faced with great trial or when facing great decisions. Isn’t it funny how our circumstances assist our prayer life? Do you wonder why life is so HARD sometimes? Have you considered the volume of prayer that come out from “Under The Circumstance!!?”

So how do we do it? How do we balance our prayer life and “real” life. There is the real issue isn’t it? We need an attitude adjustment – a mind set shift. We still live in a world that has been bifurcated into the “sacred” and the “secular” – where priests pray and lay people … um… lay. We are trained to believe that because we are not professional, that we are not qualified or competent. It’s a lie!!!

There is no competency needed here, friends. Jesus made the model of prayer for his disciples the action of children who loved to come and climb up into his lap!! Jesus went further and said that no one can come into the Kingdom, unless they come just like a little child. My favorite times as a DAD were when my girls would run to greet me at the end of the day, from the time they could walk to the time I could no longer catch them in mid air, I loved to get ‘bowled over’ by two little girls jumping into my arms. That what God wants!!

Its not complicated or theological. Its KID STUFF.
God is our FATHER. Remember the first two words of Jesus “MODEL” prayer:

OUR FATHER
Jesus came specifically to return us to this kind of relationship with GOD OUR FATHER! That is precisely the theological definition of “salvation.” -- being reconciled to God.

Of course Jesus had more to say, in response to the disciples’ request, “teach us to pray!” Let me break it down briefly, understanding that this is another YEAR LONG or LIFELONG study!!!!

OUR FATHER – We are being given back a relationship! Just like the one Adam and Eve had in the garden, walking with God, in the cool of the day. God is our father (and God forgive fathers who have marred this image for their children!): a presence of unfailing love and faithfulness, steadfast patience and caring provision, with discipline as we need correction along the way.
WHICH ART IN HEAVEN - This relationship is with the WHOLLY OTHER – the God of the Universe, who spoke it all into existence from nothing, and who knows our needs before we ask, but who still wants us to ASK!
HALLOWED BE THY NAME – Here we come to our knees or onto our faces, knowing what Moses knew: No one can come to a Holy God and live. We bow before the Presence and Revere the Name of God – this is the first commandment.
THY KINGDOM COME, THY WILL BE DONE, ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN – The work of prayer is first of all cooperation with God in His agenda! And here it is! Job #1. “Seek ye first the Kingdom and His righteousness,” Jesus said. Once you pray it, you become it!
GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD – Jesus also said as he continued, “… and all these things will be added to you.” God knows of our needs and will be faithful to supply them if we will trust him first and do His will obediently.
FORGIVE US OUR SINS, AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO SIN AGAINST US – Our greatest need after daily sustenance is God’s forgiveness! And He willingly forgives us, in the same way and measure that we forgive others! OUCH. In fact, Jesus specifically points to this need for his hearers telling them that if they don’t forgive, God CAN’T forgive! Daily, just as surely as bread, we need the washing of God’s forgiveness in our lives, and it comes as we forgive those who have sinned against us.
LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION, BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL (THE EVIL ONE) – The other great need of our life is protection from falling back into what we have been forgiven for: the influences of the world, the flesh and the devil.
Only God can protect us from these temptations, and the most effective protection afforded us is in the simple act of asking for it.


A.C.T.S.
Four Steps in Prayer

I want to close with something I feel sure you have heard, but I need to remind you and myself of this simple model. Four simple steps that can be done, the Navigators tell us, in “Seven Minutes with God.”

ADORATION
Prayer begins with an adoring heart. That is the feeling that I received when my girls would run and jump into my arms – or nestle into my lap and fall asleep. Pure unadulterated “adoration.” This is where we begin with Our Father, which art in heaven: Hallowed be Thy Name! God invites us into prayer through the gateway of praise, because He is worthy, and because the act of adoring, draws us close and makes us like the adored!! What could be better?

CONFESSION
We need to tell God, out loud, of our mistakes. We need His forgiveness daily, almost hourly. Confession means we don’t have secrets from God (which is an oxymoron anyway.) But it is here that we come to the Cross and receive the great exchange that Jesus promises us: His righteousness for our sin!

THANKSGIVING
Having received his forgiveness, I am filled with thankfulness – especially if I’ve unloaded the weight of my sins. The whole world is new! The colors are brighter, the birds are cheerier; there is much to be thankful for, as all of life is seen and received as His gift. Not to mention the million specific things He does each and every day to sustain us and to bless our lives – but we need to mention them, back to Him, in thanksgiving!!

And finally,
SUPPLICATION
HUH? Asking! Asking God for daily bread… for Aunt Martha’s surgery… for the things regarding our day to day life and existence and the lives of others who are close and far off. Asking for salvation for friends and family or co-workers by name. Asking … Seeking … Knocking. And keeping on asking, seeking and knocking. If Jesus hammers home one tenet of prayer in His teaching it is this one of persistence and reward.


And for us in the Anglican tradition we have help!! So we are entirely without excuse!! The Book of Common Prayer is the world’s finest source of prayers. I believe that we need to go beyond the BCP, but making the prayers of the Prayer book “ours” in a real way, can be like adding a jet engine to our sputtering and faltering prayer lives!

When we feel at a loss for words, the prayer book can help, or there is always just being with the Lord! Sometimes, being together in silence, is the deepest form of prayer. So I invite you to begin – to go deeper – to go longer – to reach for more in your prayer “life”. When you do you will come to know Him better, day by day, and come to be a participant in His agenda, as you grow in your obedience after you spend time praying and listening to Him speak to you in your “secret” place of prayer.

AMEN and AMEN.

Lent 1 - Growing In the Word of God

First Sunday of Lent, 2011
Part 1 of “So…Why?” Sermon Series

PART 1: GROWING IN THE WORD OF GOD

Series Introduction

I’ve been asking the Lord, “What shall I speak on during Lent” now for a week or two – some very hectic weeks and so I haven’t had a lot of time to just be quiet to listen, but as we prayed and did our quiet day on Saturday in this first week of Lent I felt I heard the Lord say to me, and I believe to us – perhaps even to others, beyond our walls, these words:

Luke 6:46 (New Living Translation)
"So why do you call me 'Lord,' when you won't obey me?

Jesus had a way of seeing into the very heart of the matter. Here, at the end of what we call “the Sermon on the Mount”, both Luke and Matthew record this very pointed question he has asked of his hearers. Luke just asks the question, but Matthew puts this in the context of a very clear warning about naming Jesus as Lord, yet not being obedient to His commands… to His Word.

I’ve always said, when people come to me, asking me how to understand God’s Word (complaining that it is difficult to understand and read it), “Are you doing the part that you do understand?” In actuality, the Word of God is pretty simple, when simply being obedient to God is in view – it gets complicated when we are trying to “dance around it.” Have you ever danced around a clear command of God? The steps can sometimes be quite confusing!!

So I want to begin a 5 part Lenten Series with this question in mind. We will be looking at the clear commands of Jesus, that lead us to spiritual growth and maturity – what Scripture calls, “growing up into Him” or “growing into the full stature of the Body of Christ.”

PART ONE: GROWING IN THE WORD OF GOD

The context of the very question that Jesus asks has to do with our response to the Word of God! We are to both hear AND obey His Word to us. HEAR AND OBEY! In Luke’s account, Jesus simply asks the question: “So … Why do you call me “LORD”, when you won’t obey me?” Matthew has a much more stern and foreboding warning connected with this question:

"Not all people who sound religious are really godly. They may refer to me as 'Lord,' but they still won't enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The decisive issue is whether they obey my Father in heaven. On judgment day many will tell me, 'Lord, Lord, we prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.' But I will reply, 'I never knew you. Go away; the things you did were unauthorized. '

So… Why?

How can we assure ourselves of our “rock solid” place “IN CHRIST”, so there is no room for the aforementioned scenario in our future? Simple!!! Be Obedient - that is, Listen to God’s Word and then DO IT. Jesus said that those who hear AND DO His words, are like those who build on solid foundations of rock – BEDROCK – down deep … because life’s storms are coming.

The first place we must go for this FOUNDATION is to this book, God’s Word – the Bible. In your bulletin there is a hand out that outlines the five areas we will be looking at over the next few weeks of Lent. The first is this area. In fact, James, who was Jesus brother and the leader of the Jerusalem church after his death, repeats a very similar warning:

So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the message God has planted in your hearts, for it is strong enough to save your souls. And remember, it is a message to obey, not just to listen to. If you don't obey, you are only fooling yourself.
“Be doers of the word,” James tells us, “not hearers only!” His warning is one of self-deception: a very particular kind of danger that we are in here in America, as we are fed well on spiritual fare, available to us like a well stocked banqueting table at a buffet restaurant. We have become spiritually “fat” from all the teaching we have received, because we do not exercise our faith through the discipline of obedience! We don’t do what we know!

And when we don’t do what we know, a kind of blind confusion sets in, and pretty soon we don’t “know what to do!” And so here we are as American Christians, asking for clarifications on minor points of theology, while we are ignoring the major tenets of the faith.

The point is to obey the Word.

How are you doing? How am I doing?

Let’s just talk about The Word itself for a minute.

Jesus, as he answered Satan’s first temptation in this morning’s reading from Mt 4, replied simply, “One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

How important is food to you? It ranks right up there with air for me!!

To our young moms, how important is milk to your new baby? Addison and Caley Mei are only a few weeks or months old and need the nourishment that comes from the rich breast milk, supplied naturally by their moms. Sophia, however, is a little older. When was she no longer on a diet of only milk? Very soon!! In fact, if she were still only drinking milk, we would likely be concerned for her growth and development! Right? Of Course, right!!

We move naturally from what the bible calls , “pure spiritual milk” in 1 Peter to what Paul calls, “solid food.” Paul addressed the Christians in Corinth on this very point: “Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn't talk to you as I would to mature Christians. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in the Christian life. I had to feed you with milk and not with solid food, because you couldn't handle anything stronger. And you still aren't ready, for you are still controlled by your own sinful desires. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn't that prove you are controlled by your own desires? You are acting like people who don't belong to the Lord.”

Time after time, Paul and others make this reference to “milk” as for those who are just beginners in the faith. And time after time, it is pejorative – it is a negative reference – urging the readers to press on in their maturity, beyond the simple things of God’s Word, beyond the milk to the “solid food.” Just as we look sadly at children who have failed to develop – who are still on milk alone at age two or three - so the Bible looks dimly on those who, after years in “the faith” are still toddlers, still infants, who need the coddling presence of a bottle of milk or the breast of their mother –

I heard humorist, Charlie Jarvis, once refer to such as the “thumb-suckers of life.” People who unplugged their umbilical cord from their mom and have been walking around ever since looking for another place to plug it in!! So it is with Christians, in our consumerist culture, who refuse to grow up beyond the “feed me” – “change me” – “take care of my needs” stage of Christian life and get into a place of ministry in Christ, sharing what they have learned in Jesus Christ with others who are coming after them.

We are to become “Workmen” who God approves of ! Paul writes young Timothy that he is to become a “workman approved by God, who is not ashamed and who knows how to handle correctly the Word of God.”

Let me just ask a basic question: How many of you here eat something each day?
Let’s start there. Daily intake. How is your daily intake of the Word of God?

The word that is used by Jesus, in our Gospel reading this morning is not the same one that John uses in his prologue. “In the beginning was the Word…” The word that Jesus uses here is a “conversational word!” It is the word RHEMA. Used about 70 times in the New Testament in denotes a “spoken” word. “that which is or has been uttered by the living voice.” Do you have that kind of relationship with God that your bread is the daily conversation that you have with His Word?

Next week we are going to talk about Prayer, in Part II, but here is a part of the important daily relationship – the daily interchange that we have with the Living God, through prayer and through listening to His Word to us, each day, for that day.

God’s Word is important for many, many reasons and in many, many ways, but one is for the daily guidance and direction that God provides us through it, for our life and ministry in the world. Remember, we either see our selves as and behave as infants, always receiving and never giving away – or we are maturing, taking more solid food (beyond teachings about repentance, about faith, about baptism, laying on of hands in prayer, about the resurrection or about judgment in eternity. Cf: Heb 6:1ff) and becoming mature and responsible for our own feeding!! And eventually, as we grow and have children of our own, feeding others in turn!!

The writer of the letter to the Hebrews challenges them with a challenge that still stands for us:
And so, God willing, we will move forward to further understanding. … those who have experienced the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the power of the age to come.
… For God is not unfair. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other Christians, as you still do. Then you will not become spiritually dull and indifferent. Instead, you will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God's promises because of their faith and patience.

In our Sunday School lessons this Lent we will also be hearing of the challenge to grow into the full maturity of Christ, that we see in the Letters to the Seven Churches of Revelation. I invite you to dive in, friends. Dive into a conversation with the Living God – We express ourselves to Him in prayer and He expresses Himself on us through His Word. That conversation is where the Word that has been spoken (the Logos) becomes the Word that IS BEING SPOKEN, (the Rhema) into our hearts, day by day. The “Word that is our daily bread.”

It needs to be as regular as taking our food – perhaps that is why the Bible talks of itself in this way.

Let us pray:

Dear Jesus,
We thank you for giving us your Word, living and active; sharper than a two-edged sword, piercing our hearts to discern our thoughts and intentions, to show us our motivations and to cause us to be transformed thereby. Work in us, the renewal of mind that comes from daily conversation with You, by Word and Prayer in the power of Your Spirit. Help us to hide your Word in our hearts, that we might not sin against You, Lord. Let us know your Truth and thereby be set free. For the sake of your Kingdom and the fame of your Name, we pray, Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen

REZ Annual Meeting - State of the Flock

Annual State of the Flock Address
February 20, 2011



Good Morning and Welcome

As I thought and prayed about this most formal speech of the year… As I read past addresses… I realized that this address, at least this year isn’t about what we have done. It’s about what God has done. And looking forward, about what God seems to be doing, not so much what we wish He would do. Or what we think we can do! If one thing has come home to me and I believe to us as a church this year, it’s the truth of the scripture where Jesus said, “Apart from me, you can do nothing.”

In 2009 and 2010, in the midst of the deepest recession our country has seen in nearly a century, God has kept us in the palm of His hand, certainly with a tight budgetary leash, but after some cuts in 2010, once again we have come through, in the black. I described our place like being in an ‘eddy’ – a quiet place at the side of the river, while the torrent rushes on. 2010 was a time for us to gather our strength and get our raft back in the flow of the river.

But what we’ve discovered in this quiet place is that God is here! That God continues to work among us and through us for the transformation of the lives we live and those of our family, friends, neighbors and the world around us. And that transformation is not a result of our programs or expertise, of our business acumen or strategic plans, but because of His Grace, … and most of the time in spite of us! Transformation of lives is linked to prayer and to His Presence in the midst of His people. US!

As I look around this morning, and in my mind go over the past year, I see faces. Faces of men and women who’s lives have been radically changed by their relationship with Jesus, in the midst of this people of God! Would what has happened in and through them have happened in another place? Maybe. But it didn’t. These transformations are happening here – at little REZ – a place of connection to Jesus Christ, really. . . a place of hearing and doing His Word, really . . . a place of committed and loving life together, really . . . and a place of mobilization through willingness, availability & obedience… REALLY.

As I see these faces, I am reminded of Paul’s relationship with his favorite church, the church in Philippi, as he wrote them and said to them, “… you are my joy and the crown I receive for my work.” Paul was seeing faces as he wrote those words, just as I see faces this morning. What God did then He is doing now! This is the business God is in: the transformation of individual lives through His touch in the midst of a loving community of Christ-followers, who are walking this walk together, seeking to grow more and more into the image of Jesus, by hearing and doing His Word, by Prayer in unity and by celebrating Jesus alive in their midst, in the Eucharistic celebration week to week, and in the hospitality of God’s Table, in their homes day-to-day. This was the mission of the early church, and it is our mission today. This is the power-filled Church of Acts that took that power to witness and moved by it out to their Jerusalem, to Judea, to all of Samaria and to the ends of the earth. This is our charge and our on-going mission today.

An ACTS TWO moment

Repeatedly we have heard the echo of the description of the early community in Acts 2 during this past year. “And they devoted themselves to the Apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers.” I believe that we find ourselves, once again today, in such a moment in our own culture. We wring our hands at the struggle of the church with its own relevance to our modern world – we look to political power for solutions and cry out when that power fails us and the political world turns against the Name of Jesus, even in America. We have seen these things developing and I believe, will continue to see this battle raging around us. It is not unlike the world that the early church found itself in.

We are coming to the end of “easy believe-ism.” It’s time for Christians, who are willing to stand, to stand! We are no longer the “state” religion. In many ways we are no longer protected. What is true of 90% of the world is becoming true for us too, that there is a cost for naming the Name of Jesus in public. The fact is that “unchristian America” is looking for a Church that will witness to our Lord’s power, apart from its sanctuary and its status in society. The world is still looking for a savior… and for a living witness to the loving power of a living God.

The Acts 2 model has long been a template for the life of the covenant people of God. We have it in our baptismal creed and the promises that we have made and reiterate each time there is a baptism in our midst. So this is the charge and the model for our life together:

They Devoted Themselves

Our age is an age of infatuation. So many things come down the pike, day-after-day, week-after-week, month in and month out, year in and year out, that we have cultural A-D-D! And the church is no different. I’m no different! But God has called us to be different! To be settled and focused on what matters, not what is peripheral – not given to fads, but to be devoted to a deeper expression of Christian living than perhaps we see around us. The early Church was characterized by DEVOTION TO JESUS, the only begotten Son of the Father and the Only Way to come to Him in relationship. And their devotion to Jesus took specific forms:

To The Apostles’ Teaching . . .

We want to create a love-affair with God’s Word here at REZ. We talk a lot about the Bible; we refer to it in our sermons and lessons in Sunday School; we give it away on occasion; we say that we need to live by its tenets and precepts. But I know, even in my own life, I don’t spend nearly the time I should in this Word – sure I read it, often, but I question how much more there is – what could be possible, if we were “devoted to the Apostles’ teaching?” What could happen, if, as we pray, we would “read, mark, learn and inwardly digest” this Word of God on a daily, even an hourly basis? Would we hear God speaking to us in ever clearer tones throughout our day? Would we have the words of God hidden in our hearts, so that we might not sin against Him? Would we be able to speak His words, instantly, in-season and out-of-season, giving the reason for the hope that is in us? Yes. Yes to all!

To The Fellowship . . .

I joke a good bit about the community life that we share. Look at one another - Smile –
Say, “It doesn’t get any better than this!”

Or you’ve heard my favorite poem:

To live above with saints we love
Ah, that will be the glory!
To live below with saints we know…
Now that’s another story!

But the word for fellowship used here and throughout the New Testament, KOINONIA, is one that has occupied my vision for over 35 years now. It is the word that describes a life together – a life lived by those who are committed to Jesus and to one another, at a depth and with a continuity that is hard for us in mobile America to get our minds around.

KOINONIA is the antithesis – perhaps even the antidote – to American Consumer Church-ianity. I was deeply touched by the words this past year of Eugene Peterson in his book, Practice Resurrection, as he described the Body of Christ.

God chooses to do all this through ‘embarrassingly ordinary people’ – you and me. (Look around you and smile knowingly!) God does not work apart from sinful and flawed – forgiven men and women – who are mostly without credentials! Us!!

I was reminded at the beginning of this past year of my call to the Bride of Christ, warts and all. And our life together – our KOINONIA – is a deeply honest and loving fellowship of travelers on this road of becoming like Jesus. He has called us and given us the power to become, but we do it in the midst of a company of ordinary men and women, set on a path where extraordinary things can happen, all of which are by His Grace and for His Glory. As Paul said to the Corinthian church, “We have this treasure in vessels of clay, so that we and the world know that the power is from Him, not us.”

To The Breaking of Bread . . .

Every home, every temple has a focus and a center – ours as followers of Jesus is the feast of His Body and His Blood. How important is this weekly celebration? How important is your daily bread? Not many of us will forego eating for long periods of time, nor can we! Just as physical survival is dependent on our consistent intake of food, so our spiritual well being is predicated on our consistent intake of what our prayer book calls “The Means of Grace.”

We are a “sacramental” people. As such we have an understanding of the weight of this meal and its power in our lives – a place for us to meet, by faith, the grace of a living savior, who supplies us with all things necessary for our life and godliness. The Table of the Lord is such a place for us, week-by-week, and we should not take it lightly or come to it occasionally. Just as we eat natural food regularly to maintain our strength we are required to come and take spiritual food regularly to maintain our spiritual strength and be fed by Him in this sacramental meal. We stand in the presence of mystery, not magic.

And God extends this mystery into our homes as we “break bread” in the temple and from house to house, just as the first Church did. This year I have used the phrase “Eucharistic Hospitality” to describe this welcome to God’s table, that we are then asked to and enabled to extend beyond these walls. The Table of the Lord goes with us, friends; it extends into our homes as we welcome one another and other guests and strangers at our own tables, as they are His Tables. Our meals together, from Sunday’s after church to our family times to our REZZERs’ dinners, are extensions of this Table and of the welcome that Jesus gives us week-by-week as we come to Him.

And To The Prayers.

Finally, we are continually called to be a people of Prayer. Friends, I want us to be known as a people who will pray “at the drop of a hat.” I want you to pray together here, in the coffee hour, in the hallway, in the parking lot, in the restaurant, for the waiter or waitress, in the grocery store, at your office, at the dry cleaner or hair dresser. Paul tells us to pray continually. That is holding an on-going conversation with the Living God about the details of yours and all the lives of those around you as you go. The simple question, “Is there anything I can pray for you about?” is an invitation for people to connect with a God who answers prayer. If we have learned anything this year at REZ I hope we have learned that! GOD ANSWERS PRAYER! Not always as we imagine or wish for, but God hears us and is engaged with us in the work of His Kingdom.

The simplicity of childlike prayer is a wonder to behold. We don’t have to figure out God’s will – just ask! We don’t have to know all His ways – just seek! We don’t have to be on the inside all the time – just knock! GOD ANSWERS PRAYER! We have seen it over and over and over in our life at REZ this past year. We’ve seen amazing healings, clear direction, specific words from God for situations in individual lives, dreams, visions, and all this is for God’s glory as it has nothing to do with us or our worthiness, nor our ability. God is at work in our midst, and we get to come along, to watch and to work with Him in all that He is doing.

Three Steps Ahead

Over and over this past year you have heard me say the three little words that we live by here at REZ. Not “I Love You” though that is true too, but the three words that form our inner attitude of heart and mind - to take up our own part in the call to work with Jesus in the transformative work of the Kingdom of God:

Willingness . . .

What are you willing to do for God … with God? Have you set limits? Does your lifestyle or circumstances limit what you can do for Him? Are you willing to go beyond what you can see and seek what He sees for you? Are you willing to press into all the ways He might speak to you: His Word, The Sacraments, His People, and your Prayers?

I pray that you will come to know His love and the limitless power He has for you, as you take Him at His Word, step out in faith, and stretch out in action for Jesus and His Kingdom.

Availability . . .

Are you available to Jesus today? Tomorrow? This week? This year?
Once willingness is established, we must become available to Him – “Lord, Here Am I. Send Me!” We are discovering that we are all called and we are all candidates to be sent: to Jerusalem (our family), to Judea (our neighbors and co-workers), to Samaria (to those who differ from us, in color or culture or lifestyle or faith) and to the end of the world (to missions around the world.) Jesus calls us to be ready to GO, at any moment, wherever He purposes to send us. Are you available?

And Obedience

Now for the hard part… doing the work and doing it His Way! It’s really not about what we think is the right way, the right method, the right vision. It’s all about Jesus. And following Him means staying attentive to Him and becoming obedient in the details of what and how we do the work we are called to do. This is where the rubber meets the road. This is why all the other pieces are so important: The Word, by which we know His will; The Fellowship, people among whom we do His will and who keep us accountable to it; The Table of the Lord, where we find the power to obey and the grace to do His Will, day-by-day; and the Prayers, by which we keep a hand-in-hand, step-by-step relationship alive and well.

So let us set our eyes on Jesus, the Author and the Finisher of our faith. Let us devote ourselves to His Word, His People, His Table and pray moment by moment to be in the flow of His power and purposes in our every day, as we work in partnership with him for the glory of His Kingdom and the fame of His Name.

Amen and Amen.

Epiphany, 2011

Servants of the Kingdom

Epiphany VI
Feb 13, 2011

Servants Of The Kingdom


At this point I have to say that I hope not to see the inside of another plane or airport for several months!!

It is massively good to be home – it was good to go – to be in the flow of what God is doing around the globe, to meet new friends and old ones, to share God’s love and His Word in places and ways that we’ve never before dreamed of… But it is massively good to come home to a steadier pace and familiar surroundings, to rest and to reflect on all God has done and is doing in His World.

I know over the next few weeks we will be sharing the "glory" details of all that we’ve all experienced on Mission with Jesus around the world. We have one yet to return home to roost – Judy who is on mission now in Mexico and we continue to lift her up in prayer.

On a related note to that, I urge you to continue steadfast in prayer for those of us just returning, as we know that Satan is not happy with our efforts. Spiritual Warfare is not only a reality in Africa and South America and Mexico – it is very much a reality for us as we have returned and we need your continued prayer covering as we rest for a couple of weeks and regroup for the next phase of God’s work here among us and through us at REZ.

I bring greetings from our new Archbishop, Onesphore RWAJE and his wife, Josephine and from our sister parish in Ngarama, along with Pastor Servillian Nsingimana. Also I bring greetings and regrets from our new bishop of Byumba Diocese, Emmanuel Ngendahayo and his wife, Vicky, who greeted us and you warmly, but who failed to get their visa for this month’s trip to the US. We will likely receive them later this year, when that happens on their side and they can carve out some time for travel. Pray for them as they step into big shoes… both ++Onesphore and +Emmanuel have big transitions that they face, taking over from much beloved leaders.

I also bring you greetings from the Anglican Mission and the Winter Conference this past week in NC. 1200+ gathered from the 50 states and from our overseas partners. God continues to bless the work of the AM, as its now called, as we are seeing an explosion of emerging works across the US and Canada. Alongside the work of the Anglican Church in North America we are seeing a new Anglican witness being built in North America, that is vital and alive, reaching the lost, and birthing new work – still at a pace of one every two weeks or so, and now, speeding up!! In fact we want to pray this morning for a new work that is launching in our own city: Wellspring Church is launching a new church, Church of the Advent, in the Baker Neighborhood at about 10th and Broadway, near downtown. Let’s pause to pray for Rob Paris and Clint Wilson and the launch team as they meet this morning for worship…

Father, we thank you for the opportunity to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. Lift up our eyes to see You and Your hand at work in the whole world around us as we travel on mission with You, here in Denver and across this world.

We pray for Rob and Clint and their team at Advent Church this morning, and ask you to be especially present with them as they set out into the deep, and begin to cast their nets, at your direction. Give them a great load of souls, Lord, so much so that they have to call for help. Bless their faith and obedience this day, Jesus, as they follow you in your call to become fishers of men and women. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Servants of the Kingdom

As I reflected on our readings this morning, a phrase caught my eye from our reading in 1 Cor.
What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to the labor of each. For we are God's servants, working together; you are God's field, God's building.

If any could claim to be “something” Paul could have, and we see our human tendency here in this reading to claim for ourselves some of the perceived fame of others that we know. Divisions happened in the church because of this human tendency. So Paul, here in his first letter to Corinth, corrects the perspective of name dropping party affiliates in the church by placing himself and Apollos, another leader, in the role of servants. What then are we? He asks. We are simply servants – planters and waterers of the seeds of the Gospel planted in your hearts – but it is God who gives the growth.

I’m reminded of the parable that Jesus shared in Mark 4, beginning at V. 26

26 Jesus also said, “The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, while he’s asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not understand how it happens. 28 The earth produces the crops on its own. First a leaf blade pushes through, then the heads of wheat are formed, and finally the grain ripens. 29 And as soon as the grain is ready, the farmer comes and harvests it with a sickle, for the harvest time has come.”

Here as in Paul’s letter to Corinth, the actor principally is GOD, not us. We get to play a part – a small part all be it – but a part in the process of planting and watering, but every farmer will accede the fact that he has nothing to do with the natural forces of growth for the crop. As Jesus said, “The earth produces the crop on its own.”

Paul says it most clearly: we are servants. And we are servants in three roles:
Planting or scattering seed – watering that seed – and finally, harvesting that seed, as it comes to its full fruitfulness. These are all very important in the grand scheme of things.
I love the story of the farmer and the city slicker who are standing in a field of unharvested wheat. The city slicker is marveling at God’s handiwork and the beauty of that field of wheat, and the farmer agreed, but added, as he turned to go: You should have seen this when God had it by Himself!

We play an important role in God’s plan for the field. Each one of us. We are the servants of the Harvest. God is the Lord of the Harvest, we read in Luke 10 and in other places, but we are called to co-labor with Him in what He is doing in the world. God is the only one who can give growth – the growth of the Kingdom of God, like the mustard seed of the next parable in Mark, is entirely in the power of God. We are servants of His Kingdom and as such are stewards of all that God has given us to do – in partnership with Him. We have important roles: Soil preparation, planting, watering, and finally, harvesting the souls that God has made ready for His Kingdom.

We don’t have to go to Uganda or Rwanda, to Brazil or Honduras or Mexico to do this work. It happens in our own back yard! If fact, if it isn’t happening here, it is out of order for us to do it there! The order that Jesus gave us is: Jerusalem, Judea, all of Samaria and to the utter most parts of the earth.

We are all Servants of this Kingdom, my friends. As we go… wherever we go. Every day … all day. The mobilization of the army of God into the world is the most desperate need that the world has, and we see it most acutely in our own culture and city, in our own neighborhoods and on our own blocks.

God has invited us to be a Missionary Church and so we are, here in America. We have been commissioned by Him first of all and we have been sent by Him and by the Church in Rwanda, to be Servants of the Harvest of Souls. We must never forget our purpose and mission as we live our day-to-day lives, for its here in our day-to-day that God intends for us to serve Him. Gossiping the Gospel of Jesus as we go into the world – touching the lives of fellow travelers on this path and bringing along those who do not know Him yet.

Friends, the seeds we plant are from the witness of our lives: in both word and deed, as we prayed at the opening of the service this morning: "...because in our weakness we can do nothing good without you, give us the help of your grace, that in keeping your commandments we may please you both in will and deed. "

Paul reminds us that it is God who is behind this all! We pray, “Give us the help of your grace!” Indeed! None of this can happen as an act of our will – we can’t just decide one day that we are going to NOW obey the GREAT COMMISSION and then see it happen! It is an act of GOD’S GRACE to us. Our obedience is simply the trigger that sets in motion the powerful force of His Grace – the empowerment of the Holy Spirit for witness (Acts 1:8) and the action of the Spirit of Jesus along side of us as we go into our Jerusalem, our Judea, our Samaria and to the ends of the earth. And God’s Grace will never fail you. Believe us when we tell you, we have seen God work in all kinds of ways, in all kinds of places, that before would not have been on our radar!

It will take us weeks if not months to tell the stories of this single trip, not to mention the multiple trips that have happened from REZ in this past month. I pray that your hearts will be open to hear, not just the tales of your brothers and sisters, but to hear the call of God to you, as he says, “Come Follow Me. I will make you fishers of men.” And “Go,… Make Disciples… Plant, Water, Harvest – teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And I will be with you, all the way.”

This is Jesus work, from start to finish, and we get to come along in the process, as servants of His Kingdom and stewards of what He has given us. Lord, give us the help of your grace, indeed, that in keeping your commandments we may please you both in will and in deed.

Amen and Amen.

The Three Conversions

Epiphany II
16 January 2011

The Three Conversions


What a perfect set of readings for this morning, as we prepare to bless and send the LIGHT out into the world in very tangible hands and feet ways this morning. Today we are going to bless four separate mission teams with seven different participants from this congregation who are all going to be going on their missions in the next three weeks. This Epiphany has become a World Missions two months.

This year we have a long Epiphany season and a late Easter. And I think that’s by design for us here at REZ as we hear, more and more what it means to be a people sent by God and a sending people of God.

It cannot be mistaken, if you’ve listened to more than two sermons at this church, that we are ALL missionaries, -- every day, everywhere we go, to everyone we meet.

Our prayers and our giving minister in many corners of the globe. Today we have another of our famous Men’s Bake Sales to help fund the translation of the Bible into the Dungan tongue, a language of the Muslim Dungan People in Kirghiztan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, descendants of Chinese Muslims. This bake sale has been happening now for over a decade to fund a translator, and the whole New Testament and large parts of the Old Testament are completed. When we began this project at St. George’s Church there were 6 identified Christians in this people group!! Now there is a Bible and a growing church, 10 years on.

Today we will bless teams and individuals who are joining teams that will touch Brazil, Mexico, Honduras, Rwanda and Uganda with the Light of Jesus Christ.

And I want to talk for a few moments before we do that, about three conversions that we must go through, as believers to be turned into missionaries. We can see these in our collect – our opening prayer for the day, appointed for this day by the calendar of the church year!! Let’s read it together again:

Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the light of the world: Grant that your people, illumined by your Word and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ's glory, that he may be known, worshipped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

I just want to point to three bases that have to be touched on the way around to home plate!!

FIRST BASE: CONVERSION TO CHRIST JESUS
Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the light of the world

We must, if we are going to be a missionary church, be rooted in and convinced of the faith once received by the saints. We must be converted – saved – born from above, of water and the Spirit of God, to quote Jesus himself. We must be convinced, with Peter, that “you are the Messiah, the Son of God”, when Jesus asks US “who do YOU say I am?”

This faith is the foundation of all else that we are called to do. Understanding who Jesus is, what He said and did, how he did these things and why, even to the why of his death and unshakeable belief in his resurrection, is the bedrock on which this whole enterprise rests. “APART FROM ME, YOU CAN DO NOTHING!” is the gospel truth in this regard!

There is NO FAITH apart from Jesus Christ of Nazareth. He is the unique Son of God, as John testifies in our gospel this morning: “I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God." The Apostle Paul is clear as well in his introduction to the Corinthian letter:

“… the grace of God… has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind-- just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you-- so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

We know from the preaching of Acts and Romans that the Apostle to the Gentiles saw Jesus as vital and central to all that he was doing. Paul said that “There is no other Name given among men by which we must be saved!” And later in his letter to the Roman church he set this out as the bedrock of the gospel:

"But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. … For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

This is First Base, but there is more.

SECOND BASE: THE CONVERSION TO THE CHURCH
“Grant that your people, illumined by your Word and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ's glory,…”

This conversion is perhaps the most difficult in our day and age, when the church is being bypassed in the equation. But we cannot overlook what God has put an emphasis on – His People! We must be converted to The Church – to believe in the beauty and usefulness of the Sanctorum Communio – the Fellowship of All Believers. There is no plan B for God – we are the plan.

Just as Jesus is the Light of the World, so He has given into our hands the stewardship of that Light – we too, are the light of the world. He said it himself, "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."

It is the church on the earth that God has appointed as the heralds of His Good News of Jesus, the Christ; and has anointed to be the very hands and feet of Jesus, active in good works, just as He was while He was on earth, where “he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.”

This is the churches destiny and purpose in the earth – just as it was Jesus’ destiny and purpose. As He was in the world, so are we now as His Body! But conversion to the Church, isn’t seeking some perfection in the here and now… it is seeking to be perfected in the communion of the Saints. As Paul tells the Corinthians in our reading: “He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” Our blamelessness, our “life” is hidden in Christ and will be revealed, when He is revealed, ON THAT DAY. So we are called, the writer of Hebrews tells us to “not give up meeting together, as the custom of some is, but all the more, to encourage one another, as we see the day approaching.” (Heb 10:24)

THIRD BASE: THE CONVERSION TO THE WORLD
“…that he may be known, worshipped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth”

Once we have been converted to Christ, our savior – the Author and the Finisher of our faith – and to the Church, His chosen instrument for the spread of the Gospel to the ends of the earth, we must be converted to the World! We must gain the heart of God (or a small part of it) for the world that He created and that He loved so much that He came, in Jesus, "extending His hands on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might experience his saving embrace." (BCP, 101)

The Spirit was sent in power to EM-POWER the witness of the People of God. The whole force of the book of ACTS is outwardly focused – taking the Gospel to the ends of the known world – “to Jerusalem and Judea, to Samaria and to the Ends of the Earth” (Acts 1:8). Today this is our work and our call, just as it was those who received the Spirit on that first Pentecost, the birthday of the Church. The Church has no purpose beyond this single greatest task ever given into the hands of men and women!

Paul puts it most beautifully as he writes in his Second letter to the Corinthian church on this subject:

"Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. … what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us."

And further on in the same letter he concludes with this:

"All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

So what is HOME PLATE?

HOMEPLATE is going out. SCORING is winning someone to Christ! Bringing someone who does NOT know Him to the knowledge and love of Him, for the honor of His Name! Not just around the world, but next door. It has to start here today.

The saddest game to go home from is the one where the winning runs were left on base at the bottom of the last inning. Let’s go the distance for the Kingdom.

Amen!