Wisdom for our Times

 Epiphany 4

Jan 31, 2021

Fr. Phil Eberhart

This morning we mourn the loss of a good friend and servant of God, Rev. Dr. Stanley Katungwensi.  Fr. Stan as we all knew him, served this congregation with me at St. George's Episcopal Church and again, he and his family came later to REZ and resumed staff work, especially with the Ugandan community through REZ with Albert Senkeeto and others.  Fr. Edward was a part of that community and many here remember those times with great fondness and joy.

We grieve today for this loss and for his wife, Anne and their children, Tim, Sam, Charity and Gloria, who are still dear to us.  I do not have a lot of information, other than this was Covid related.  We are going to be collecting a gift to send to the family to help with expenses, so if you are so moved please make it to the Discretionary fund with Fr. Stan Memorial in the memo.

This morning's scriptures paint a picture for us of God's continual involvement, care and direction in the affairs of our world, even in the face of what seems to be unmitigated chaos.  My prayer this morning is that God gives us eyes to see His Hand at work in the midst of the circumstances and systems of this world, and ears to hear His Voice speaking to us, by Word and Spirit, as He directs those of us who are in His Kingdom; The Unshakeable Kingdom that we are even now receiving.

Friends, look with me at some key verses in our readings today:

   "How can we recognize a word that the Lord has not spoken?"

How familiar are you with the Words that you already know GOD HAS SPOKEN?  With the WORD(s) of the Scripture(s)?  The way that we come to know the fake is by handling the real!  Tellers at banks can tell the counterfeit dollars because they feel wrong to the touch.  Their touch is trained by use!!  Likewise our hearing of God's Word must be trained by all the things we talk about when we hold up our Scripture hand:

    A.  Hear

    B.  Read

    C.  Mark

    D.  Learn

    E.   Inwardly Digest

To have a firm grasp on the written Word of God is to be prepared properly with the discernment necessary for when the voices of many are speaking with a "Thus Saith the Lord".

Our scripture is severe this morning for those who would deign to speak for God, especially with specific dates and times.  Fulfillment is the test of accuracy!  And thus, legitimacy.

I must say that I personally begin with a dose of scepticism, and come from there to faith, based on how the "word" lines up with the grid of the WORD in Holy Scripture.

I want to reiterate what I already know about our times:

God is the One who has initiated a RESET.  The world and the flesh and the devil are attempting a coup with a "counterfeit reset" - a wholesale transformation of our culture to the ways and the means of the enemy of our souls!  BUT GOD...

What is the way through?  What are we to do in the face of this chaos?

We must stay in - ABIDE in - HIS WORD.  Jn 15 is clear. It is here that we are to ABIDE - IN HIM AND IN HIS WORD.

That will keep us in a place of REPENTANT OBEDIENCE.  It is only through the portal of REPENTANT OBEDIENCE that we can move into the REALIGNMENT, THE REFRESHING AND THE RENEWAL that God intends to bring to us and through us to the world.

It seems that we always think that God is going to move faster than He does.  The timeline of God's Hand is HIS, not ours!!  It is for us to watch with open eyes and to listen with open ears;  to discern His ways and means in the times we live in, and to be actively moving in REPENTANT OBEDIENCE as He directs us, each and every day.

In that way we will see and we can be a part of God's KINGDOM WAYS AND MEANS to bring stability in the times of shaking.  

God is fulfilling His Word in Our Day.

I preached this on Mother's Day of 2020.  (http://rezpadre.blogspot.com/2020/05/)

5 movements we are going to see:

RESET - REALIGNMENT - REFRESHING - RELEASE - REJOICING

We are still in the place between the first two!  That is the place of Repentant Obedience.  It is fortuitous that we are coming again to Lent.

I urge you to look at one of our PUSH programs from last April:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gl1witnyoDw

Jon Peterson and I reflect there on what God is doing in this shaking.  Take the time to watch it.  We must learn the lessons that God is trying to teach us in His Kingdom -

If MY PEOPLE, the ones who are CALLED BY MY NAME, will HUMBLE THEMSELVES, PRAY, SEEK MY FACE, TURN FROM THEIR WICKED WAYS

THEN...  THEN...  THEN...

I WILL HEAR FROM HEAVEN, 

        FORGIVE THEIR SIN AND 

               I WILL HEAL THEIR LAND.

GOD has not forgotten us, nor is His Hand too short to save.  Look at the Psalm again with me.  In fact let's do it again slowly by half verse...

1 Praise the Lord. I will give thanks unto the Lord with my whole heart, * in the company of the upright, and among the congregation.

2 The works of the Lord are great, * sought out by all who have pleasure in them.

3 His work is worthy to be praised and held in honor, * and his righteousness endures for ever.

4 He has made his marvelous works to be had in remembrance; * The Lord is gracious and merciful.

5 He has given food to those who fear him; * he shall ever be mindful of his covenant.

6 He has shown his people the power of his works, * that he may give them the heritage of the nations.

7 The works of his hands are faithfulness and justice; * all his commandments are true.

8 They stand fast for ever and ever, * and are done in truth and equity.

9 He sent redemption to his people; he has commanded his covenant for ever; * holy and awesome is his Name.

10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; * a good understanding have all those who live accordingly; his praise endures for ever.

This is what God has done, and it is what God IS DOING.  Listen to some of the words you just said:

His righteousness endures forever...

The Lord is gracious and merciful...

He shall ever be mindful of his covenant...  

all his commandments are true...

and are done in truth and equity...

holy and awesome is his Name...  

a good understanding have all those who live accordingly; his praise endures for ever!!

IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, THE SON AND THE HOLY SPIRIT.

AMEN.  

Shine as the Light of Christ in the World

 Epiphany II

Jan 17, 2021

Fr. Phil Eberhart

1 Sam 3:1-20 

Ps 63:1-12

1 Cor 6:9-20 

John 1:43-51

Shine, Jesus, Shine!!

Welcome to those who are with us this morning in person, on Zoom and on FB live.  My prayer this morning is for you as the People of God, as we stand together in fasting and prayer for our nation, for our churches and for ourselves.  Everyone is tired of the word, UNPRECEDENTED, these days.  We've never experienced most of what 2020 and now 2021 seem to be bringing our way.  I heard one preacher last weekend say, "2021 looked at 2020 and said, 'Here... hold my beer!"  The other word that seems to be floating about these days alot is UNCERTAIN.  None of us knows for sure what lies ahead.  We're uncertain of our leadership, uncertain of our economy, uncertain of our health ... much of what we actually have taken for granted over the past 100 years in America is being 'shaken' up.  Do you have that sense?

This morning our scriptures and our prayers are focused, by God's providence once again, on the answers that we need to hear, so I pray... God give us ears to hear today, as you speak to us, corporately and individually.  Give us attentive, hearing hearts - hearts of wisdom that hear, listen and obey.  IN Jesus NAME,  AMEN.

I'll begin and end today with our prayer from the collect of the Day:

Grant that your people, illumined by your Word and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ’s glory, that he may be known, worshiped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth 

I will break that prayer into 4 parts and give you a framework for our actions in the midst of our times, and I pray that God will make us like the "men of Isacaar" who understood the times that they lived in and acted accordingly.

First, Part 1:  We have seen the enemy and he is US!

Whenever God speaks of the need for judgement, He is speaking to the "household of God."  Our prayer begins "GRANT THAT YOUR PEOPLE..."

The familiar verse from 1 Chron 7 that if so oft quoted (for the last 40 years) is addressed to MY PEOPLE:

IF MY PEOPLE WHO ARE CALLED BY MY NAME WILL HUMBLE THEMSELVES AND PRAY, WILL SEEK MY FACE AND TURN FROM THEIR WICKED WAYS, THEN I WILL HEAR FROM HEAVEN AND I WILL HEAL THEIR LAND.

My People, called by My Name

Their wicked ways!

At the famous PROMISEKEEPERS gathering at Mile Hi back a couple decades ago, Henry Blackaby was heard to say that the problem isn't with the darkness in our land, the problem is with the LIGHT!  The darkness is just doing what it does, being dark!  The problem is that the light is out or so dim as to be of no effect.

Del Tackett, of The TRUTH PROJECT, once commented about the LIGHT, that IT ALWAYS OVERCOMES DARKNESS. Every time I open a closet, the light rushes in, the darkness never falls out of the closet!!  Never!!

Our problem is us.  God's People, The Household of Faith, The Big C Church.

Part 2:  illumined by your Word and Sacraments

What are our sources of LIGHT?  We are not capable of generating "the Light" from within ourselves.  We are the reflective material, the moon to the Sun or The Son!  

Jesus and Paul are pretty clear:  Jesus said, I AM the Light of the World.  He's our source of light, not we ourselves. It's only as we "fix our eyes on Jesus", as we turn to him FACE TO FACE, that we are able to be and do the things that God purposes for us to be and do!  Paul said it this way: 

17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.

We are illumined by the "glory of the Lord", not by the activities we engage in, or the politics we espouse, not by our level of education nor our list of things we hate.  What does "the glory of the LORD" even mean? 

Well, HIS GLORY is first of all, HIS PRESENCE.  The people of Israel as they wandered in the desert, were accompanied by HIS PRESENCE, in fire by night and cloud by day - they were always aware of that presence and their place in relationship to it.  When it moved, they moved; when IT camped, they camped.  

Second, His Glory is HIS VOICE.  Jesus was always saying, Let him who has ears, hear!  The Psalmist tells us, "Thy Word is a LAMP unto my feet and a light unto my path" (Ps. 119:105)  We must pray to have "hearing ears ; hearing hearts" like Solomon did at the beginning of his reign.  When he prayed for Wisdom, he actually said give me a hearing heart!

Jesus commanded us to "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven."

Light always overcomes darkness.  In Jesus command, LIGHT = GOOD WORKS.  

PART 3: may shine with the radiance of Christ’s glory

I want to challenge us today to shine!  But we become reflective of God's Glory in the Face of Jesus Christ as we begin to look more and more like HIM.  That is why Paul talks so much about our "transformation" our "metamorphosis" - our being changed into HIS LIKENESS.  2 Cor 3, we heard a moment ago.  Romans 12:1-2 are familiar to us as is Romans 8:28-29.  Transformed by the renewing of our mind...  conformed to the likeness of His Son.  This is our destiny, friends.  This is God's purpose for our lives here on this planet.

It makes no difference what the politics of the season are.  It makes no difference what the climate is, rain or shine.

It even makes no difference whether we are liked or whether we are hated.  Our response is to be like Jesus.  And if you don't know what that looks like, then I suggest you avail yourself to the "MEANS OF GRACE" :  HIS WORD AND THE SACRAMENTS.  

We are transformed by connecting our heart with our mind!  And those two must be connected to the source of Light, "setting apart Christ as LORD" and placing ourselves at every opportunity in the proximity of HIS GRACE, HIS PRESENCE, HIS WORD, PRAYER, HIS HEART AND HIS CHARACTER.  Jesus Christ must fill our field of vision completely.  Only then will we truly become like Him.

"Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face...

and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace!"

Finally, Part 4:  that he may be known, worshiped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth 

The big WHY?  What difference will it make?  What difference can I make?

YOUR TARGET IS THIS:  that HE may be KNOWN, WORSHIPED & OBEYED

Paul the Apostle said it this way:  

Now, it’s because of God’s mercy that we have been entrusted with the privilege of this new covenant ministry. And we will not quit or faint with weariness. 
2 We reject every shameful cover-up and refuse to resort to cunning trickery or distorting the Word of God. Instead, we open up our souls to you by presenting the truth to everyone’s conscience in the sight and presence of God. 
5 We don’t preach ourselves, but rather the lordship of Jesus Christ, for we are your servants for Jesus’ sake. 
6 For God, who said, “Let brilliant light shine out of darkness,”[f] is the one who has cascaded his light into us—the brilliant dawning light of the glorious knowledge of God as we gaze into the face of Jesus Christ.

7 We are like common clay jars that carry this glorious treasure within, so that the extraordinary overflow of power will be seen as God’s, not ours. 

So friends, we have a job to do and our work is cut out for us.  We were made for "such a time as this."  Our success does not depend on the political administration, or the economic environment, not even on the sinfulness of men around us.  When the darkness if being dark, as it is today, we are called to BE LIGHT.  To be LIKE JESUS.

LOOKING TO HIM, THE AUTHOR AND THE PERFECTER OF OUR FAITH.  

If we see HIM fully, a full-face view, close up, we will become like Him - transformed into His image, into His character, and THAT - AND THAT ALONE, holds out the promise that we need for the days ahead.

LET US PRAY:

ALL: 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, worshiped, 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.