The Third Sunday in Lent.
The
Collect.
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E beseech
thee, Almighty God, look upon the hearty desires of thy humble servants, and
stretch forth the right hand of thy Majesty, to be our defence against all our
enemies; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
And due to the rubric, the Collect for the Day is
followed by the Collect for Ash Wednesday, which is found on Page 124:
The first day of Lent, commonly called
Ash Wednesday.
Ash Wednesday.
The
Collect.
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LMIGHTY and
everlasting God, who hatest nothing that thou hast made, and dost forgive the
sins of all those who are penitent; Create and make in us new and contrite
hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our
wretchedness, may obtain of thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and
forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
¶ This Collect is to be said every day in Lent, after the
Collect appointed for the day, until Palm Sunday.
Gospel of St Luke 11:14-27
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ESUS was casting out a devil, and
it was dumb. And it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake;
and the people wondered. But some of them said, He casteth out devils through
Beelzebub the chief of the devils. And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign
from heaven. But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to
desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth. If Satan also be
divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I
cast out devils through Beelzebub. And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by
whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges. But if I
with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come
upon you. When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace:
but when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh
from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils. He that is
not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth. When
the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking
rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came
out. And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. Then goeth he, and
taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in,
and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.
And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company
lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and
the paps which thou hast sucked. But he said, Yea
rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.
Christ
presents to our hearts, minds, and eyes a very stark lesson on the power of
sin, darkness and death.
14 And
he was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it came to pass, when the
devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the people wondered.
A person is
possessed of a devil, or evil spirit. This person has all his faculties of
speech and communication, but the presence of an invited and evil guest into
his heart has deprived him of the ability to use his God-given powers to speak
and to communicate. It happened 2,000 years ago, and it has been happening in
all intervening times to include the modern day.
Note the
wonder of the people at the restoration to health of the formerly possessed
person. The world is always surprised and misinterprets the works of God.
When we hide
the Word of God in our hearts, we are strengthened against the ArchEnemy of our
Souls – the Devil!
Ps 119:11 Thy word have I hid in mine
heart, that I might not sin against thee.
However, when
we have a divided heart to admit even a small and cherished sin to remain in
our hearts, it will grow and take possession of the whole organ.
Allowed sin
always masters a man in time. The man may loathe his master, yet he obeys him;
he may fear his master, yet still he does his hateful bidding.
Light always
overcomes darkness because light is a positive value. Darkness has no real
force. It is the absence of virtue – of righteousness. Even a tiny candle will
dispel a roomful of darkness. But we must light the candle!
God has given
us His Word to light our way and illumine our dark hearts.
Ps 119:105
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
15 But
some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the
devils. 16 And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven.
The modern
church seeks signs and wonders! They must have always some present wonder and
presumed miraculous sign to legitimize their faith, but what saith Christ?
1 The
Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would
shew them a sign from heaven. 2 He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for
the sky is red. 3 And in the morning,
It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye
hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the
signs of the times? 4 A wicked and
adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given
unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and
departed.
We have been
provided enough evidence for our faith and more in the birth, life, death, and
resurrection of Jesus Christ – a well-documented historical event of history.
The doubters
accused Christ of using the power of Beelzebub to cast out devils.
What does
this term, BEELZEBUB, mean? Lord of the flies – another word for DEVIL.
When a dead
body, or even excrement, is exposed to the light of day, flies cover it and lay
their eggs thereon. Later, maggots appear on the dead.
These
unbelieving and wicked observers accuse Christ of bringing a lower form of life
from filth. But Christ never resurrected maggots, but totally restored and
healthy human beings. His power was the Creative Power that created man in the
first occasion in Eden.
BEELZEBUB:
“The Lord
of the Flies” is a book by British novelist William Golding and, for some
reason, is required reading in most American schools.
William
Golding’s Lord of the Flies is a sordid tale about a group of kids who are
stranded on a deserted island after their plane crashes.
The story is
set during the Atomic War and plenty of references are made to the fact.
However, the real key to the story lies in the role of Beelzebub, Lord of the
Flies. Beelzebub has a central role in the story as he represents the
Beast, or evil, that dwells within all humans.
The Beast
cannot be hunted and since it dwells within all humans, humans are all guilty
because mankind is sick.
The
destruction of mankind is a point that Golding makes apparent often in this
novel. He establishes early on that Beelzebub is a force within all humans that
drives them to destroy and maim. (a perfect description of Satan as well as the
sinful nature in all men and women born upon this earth)
Simon, a loner
who knows that the evil in every man’s heart can only be fought by reason and
virtue is murdered sadistically by all the others.
This book is
an unhealthy book for one primary reason:
It ignores
the God Equation and offers a human, rather than a spiritual, remedy.
. 17 But
he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every
kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided
against a house falleth. 18 If Satan
also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say
that I cast out devils through Beelzebub.
Christ knows
our hearts. He sees our nakedness always. Nothing is hidden from Him –even our
thoughts and motives are revealed as a book written.
Christ says:
“…..a house divided against a house falleth”
If you ask
the average historian who said this, they would tell you, Abraham Lincoln; but,
today few realize that Lincoln was simply paraphrasing the Bible.
It is
ridiculous to allege that good can result from the spirit of evil.
19 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom
do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges.
I was once
involved with a local Korean minister who desperately wanted to acquire a new
building for the church, but he did not want to inform the people of the plan.
He knew, since they were paying for the building, that they might object to the
cost. I advised him to inform the people and conduct prayer services to
determine the Will of the Lord in the matter and to enlist the support of the
people.
He became
upset with me and later told a mutual friend: “That brother Jerry is good man,
but He too much Bible!”
No one has
ever, before, or after, paid me such an unintended compliment.
When you
launch out courageously into the deep waters of God’s Word, there will always
be the nay-sayers who gather to condemn you and impute false motive to your
seeking. But, just as Father Noah did, keep building the Ark of Hope and Faith.
20 But if I with the finger of God
cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you. 21 When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his
goods are in peace: 22 But when a
stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all
his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils. 23 He that is not with me is against me: and he that
gathereth not with me scattereth.
Compare
with Luke 9:49-50
49.
And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name;
and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us. 50 And Jesus said
unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not
against us is for us. (Luke 9:49-50)
If a Roman
Catholic minister stands and condemns homosexual marriage and abortion of
innocents, will we today stone him for being a Roman Catholic?
This might be
Christ’s response to the book, Lord of the Flies -
24 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he
walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will
return unto my house whence I came out. 25 And
when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. 26 Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other
spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the
last state of that man is worse than the first.
We are unable
to clean and garnish our own hearts. This is the work of God, through His Word,
and the working of the Holy Spirit.
If we
renounce our sin of lust and greed, and remove them from our repertoire of
sins, soon a greater an more wicked bag of sins will inhabit the place left
vacant.
God’s Word,
being Light, is necessary to dispel the darkness from our hearts. We are unable
of our own strength and merit.
The book which
I mentioned, obviates this principle and would leave men more destitute of
virtue than before the attempted amendment.
If we have
not yet surrendered our souls, unconditionally, to Christ, we are set for a
fall to a lower point than before our feeble resolution to better ourselves.
Human reason
is not the answer. We need God in our lives. We need His Word in our hearts. We
need the old heart regime to be filled with goodness – not simply devoid of
evil.
A vacuum
always draws on the environment. It always seeks to be filled. If we presumably
empty our hearts of evil, we cannot keep them empty. Something will force its
way in and occupy by force our Soul’s bastion. But if Christ resides there,
there will be no room for the devil.
27 And it came to pass, as he
spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and
said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast
sucked. 28 But
he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the
word of God, and keep it.
Christ is not
interested in elevating our human image – He seeks to alter it completely – to
restore it to His own intents and purposes evidenced in the Garden at Eden.
Hearing and
knowing God’s Word is not enough for as James has said:
19 Thou
believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and
tremble. 20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is
dead? (James 2:19-20)
Saving Faith
will always be reflected in our daily lives – the things we say and do, the
manner in which we love and respond to those in great distress.
Remember that
the Love of Christ was not simply a fondness, but a sacrificial, compassionate
love that always expressed itself in action. When He saw, He had compassion.
Let us do
likewise.
