Today was the Fourth Sunday in
Advent, the period including the four Sundays before Christmas; the first
Sunday of which is always the nearest Sunday to the feast of St. Andrew (30
November). Advent is a season of preparation and penitence. We prepare
ourselves to celebrate the coming of Jesus at Christmas, but we also look
forward to his second coming. The
liturgical color for this season is purple reminding us of the Kingship of
Jesus and that Advent is also a season of penitential preparation.
Christmas is the coming Thursday,
thus it is fitting that we run the annual Christmas letter from our worldwide
Presiding Bishop Jerry L. Ogles:
O Come let us adore Him,
Christ the King
And she brought forth her firstborn son,
and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there
was no room for them in the inn. (Luke 2:7)
Here Comes Santa Claus!
Long
ago and far away, a colorful character was introduced to children as the main
attraction for the Christmas season. Like God, this jolly old man in the red
suit was omniscient. He knows when you are sleeping; he knows when you’re
awake; he knows if you’ve been good or bad so be good for goodness sake. Like
God, this character could be at all places at all times, and could fly through
the air like an angel on a sled. He became the great benefactor of Christmas
and gradually took the place of the forgotten Baby in a Manger – the Son of
God. Every child would respond “Santa Claus” if you asked them what they looked
forward to a Christmas. They were not told by their parents Santa Claus was
merely another fairy tale, but the REAL thing. If they were good, Santa Claus
would know, and reward them at Christmas. (and the devil smiled)
Believe
it or not, Santa Claus is based upon a real live person – St. Nicolas, Bishop
of Myra. I have attended the church named after him in Slankamen. He was very kind and compassionate, and
gave gifts freely to the poor – but he was not Christ! He was merely a good man
and servant of the Lord. Though Santa Claus had become the main attraction at
Christmas, his advent came at a time in history in which no one dared call the
day anything else but CHRISTMAS!
Time
passed, and many of our youth who believed in the literal Santa Claus became
adults. Except for gift-giving, there was no longer anything very special about
the name of the Holy-Day (the term from which holiday derived), so they
believed it would be perfectly OK to omit that longer title of the holiday and
rid themselves of the troubling name of Christ – so they came up with the idea
of omitting Christ’s name altogether. They would call the day, X-Mas! Even
Christians fell for the trick and, if asked, would give some semi-implausible
explanation about the special meaning of ‘X’ in the Greek alphabet. For
whatever reason, there can be no name like unto that of Christ. He cannot be
replaced by either English or Greek letter. But those who insisted on brevity,
for the sake of brevity, brought the term, X-Mas, into wide use. It began to
show up on all public advertisements and in the print media. (and the
devil smiled)
When
the professing Christian frogs had adapted themselves to the rising temperature
of the water, a new term for the holiday was conceived by men who were not so
much concerned with brevity, but deplored any spiritual application whatsoever
to the Season of Christmas. Why not teach our children to call the day by an
altogether different term? Shall we call it ‘Winter Break,” or “Winter
Holiday?” Yes, that will do fine even if more letters are required to write Winter
Holiday than Christmas! So all of the schools, and most of the print and
televised media, fell into line to call the former day commemorating the birth
of Christ by the term The Winter Holiday. (and the devil smiled broadly
for he had achieved his prime purpose)
The
point of this Christmas letter is to remind us of the Reason for the Season –
the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. There is no great harm in teaching our
children the legend of Santa Claus as a fairy tale, but I know many children
who truly believed the lie until they were mature enough to question the
credibility of such an outlandish tale. They may have asked as well, “Were my
par- ents lying as well about Jesus Christ?”
MERRY,
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
(Do
not allow store clerks to get away with any other greeting!)
For
The Anglican Orthodox Communion Worldwide,
Jerry
L. Ogles
Presiding
Bishop
PS:
This letter will probably evoke greater umbrage among adults than if I wrote
claiming Christmas was not about Jesus. Why do you suppose that may be the
case?
On
Point
Someone asked, where do the quotes come
from? The answer is from the
people who uttered them. But, how
did you find them? Oh, that. Some from Bishop Jerry, many from Rev
Bryan Dabney, a few from other places, some from Rev Geordie Menzies-Grierson,
but overall mostly from Bryan. He
always has some great ones to share.
On to the On Point quotes –
It is foolish and wrong to mourn
the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.
General George S. Patton
I ... place economy among the
first and most important of republican virtues, and public debt as the greatest
of the dangers to be feared.
Thomas Jefferson
Letter to William
Plumer, 1816
On worry
A great many people (not you) do
now seem to think that the mere state of being worried is in itself
meritorious. I don’t think it is. We must, if it so happens, give our lives for
others: but even while we’re doing it, I think we’re meant to enjoy Our Lord
and, in Him, our friends, our food, our sleep, our jokes, and the birds’ song
and the frosty sunrise.
Jack Lewis
The Collected
Letters of CS Lewis, Volume II
O LORD, open thou my lips; and my
mouth shall shew forth thy praise.
Psalm 51:15
Behold, the days come, saith the
LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign
and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days
Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name
whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Jeremiah 23:5-6
I saw in the night visions, and,
behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the
Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him
dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages,
should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass
away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.
Daniel 7:13-14
But unto you that fear my name
shall the Sun of righteous arise with healing in his wings...
Malachi 4:2
Ye are the light of the world. A
city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
St. Matthew 5:14
They that are whole have no need
of a physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but
sinners to repentance.
St. Mark 2:17
For as by one man’s disobedience
many were many sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made
righteous.
Romans 5:19
For we have not followed
cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of
our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
II St. Peter 1:16
In [the Christian] faith there is
enough light for those who want to believe and enough shadows to blind those
who don't.
Blaise Pascal
17th century
French mathematician, philosopher and author
The Bible is God's road map for
mankind. Everyone who reads his Word and heeds it, will be a traveler who will
reach God's destination and who will experience the love, joy and peace which
he has prepared for them who love him and keep his commandments.
Bryan Dabney
AOC Minister
In the cold, dark winter of our
souls, God sent Light and warmth to us in the Person of His Beloved Son, Jesus,
knowing full well that His Son would be murdered by the keepers of the
vineyard. How could God send His Beloved as a ransom for the miserable and
stubborn creatures that rebelled time and again against his Sovereignty? There
is only one explanation— unmerited Love and Grace!
Jerry L. Ogles
20th and 21st
century Anglican Orthodox Presiding Bishop
We have heard the children say—
gentle children whom we love— Long ago, on Christmas Day, came a message from
above. Still, as Christmas-tide comes round, they remember it again— Echo still
the joyful sound ‘Peace on earth, good-will to men!’ Yet the hearts must
childlike be where such heavenly guests abide; unto children, in their glee,
all the year is Christmas-tide.
Lewis Carroll
19th century
English author
Alice’s Adventures
in Wonderland
We have been made for eternity!
Yet though such a belief exists in every ancient religion from the Egyptians to
the Persian to the Assyrian and Babylonian, the Chinese and the Hindu,
everywhere it has waited for Jesus Christ to give to it a certitude nothing
else could grant.
D. James Kennedy
20th and 21st
|century American theologian, teacher and author
Why I Believe,
p.65
We are more than the sum of our
institutions, we are our parents and our grandparents, we are the things we
read and the things we believe, we are the sense of mission that brought our
ancestors through thousands of years of trouble and we are their strengths and
their weaknesses. It’s not our institutions that make our successes possible.
It is our beliefs that make all the difference.
Daniel Greenfield
21st century
American commentator
Propers
Each Sunday there are Propers:
special prayers and readings from the Bible. There is a Collect for the Day; that is a single thought
prayer, most written either before the re-founding of the Church of England in
the 1540s or written by Bishop Thomas Cranmer, the first Archbishop of
Canterbury after the re-founding.
The Collect for the Day is to be
read on Sunday and during Morning and Evening Prayer until the next Sunday. The
Epistle is normally a reading from one of the various Epistles, or letters, in
the New Testament. The Gospel is a
reading from one of the Holy Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The Collect is said by the minister as
a prayer, the Epistle can be read by either a designated reader (as we do in
our church) or by one of the ministers and the Holy Gospel, which during the
service in our church is read by an ordained minister.
The propers are the same each
year, except if a Red Letter Feast, that is one with propers in the prayerbook,
falls on a Sunday, then those propers are to be read instead, except in a White
Season, where it is put off. Red
Letter Feasts, so called because in the Altar Prayerbooks the titles are in red,
are special days. Most of the Red
Letter Feasts are dedicated to early saints instrumental in the development of
the church, others to special events.
Some days are particularly special and the Collect for that day is to be
used for an octave (eight days) or an entire season, like Advent or Lent.
The Propers are found on Page
95-96, with the Collect first:
The Fourth Sunday in Advent
The Collect.
|
O
|
LORD, raise up, we pray thee, thy
power, and come among us, and with great might succour us; that whereas,
through our sins and wickedness, we are sore let and hindered in running the
race that is set before us, thy bountiful grace and mercy may speedily help and
deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with thee and the Holy
Ghost, be honour and glory, world without end. Amen.
The Collect for the First Sunday
in Advent is on Page 90:
The First Sunday in Advent
The
Collect.
|
A
|
LMIGHTY
God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us
the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which thy Son
Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he
shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the quick and the dead,
we may rise to the life immortal, through him who liveth and reigneth with thee
and the Holy Ghost, now and ever. Amen.
¶
This Collect is to be repeated every day, after the other Collects in Advent,
until Christmas Day.
The Epistle for today came from Paul’s first letter
to the Philippians, starting at the Fourth Verse of the Fourth Chapter.
Paul calls on us to “Rejoice in the Lord alway: and
again I say, Rejoice.” We are to
lead the world to Christ by example, to “Let (y)our moderation be known unto
all men.” In this Advent season,
as always, “The Lord is at hand.”
We are to worry about nothing, “but in every thing by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” Be joyful in all things, not for all
things. And in the words we find
at the end of the Holy Communion Service, may “the peace of God, which passeth
all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Or to quote another, “Trust in God and
Dread Naught.”
|
R
|
ejoice in the Lord alway: and again
I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God,
which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through
Christ Jesus.
Today’s Holy Gospel came from the Gospel according to
Saint John, the First Chapter, beginning at the Nineteenth Verse. When they heard rumor of John the
Baptist, Jews wondering if this might be the Messiah, sent priests and Levites
from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who art thou?” John told them, “I am not the Christ.” Then, they cast about for who he might
be, ”Art thou Elias?”
Confounded, they asked, “Who art thou? that we may
give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?” He said, “I am the voice of one crying
in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet
Esaias.” The Pharisees people were
somewhat confused and asked, “Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that
Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?” John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there
standeth one among you, whom ye know not; he it is, who coming after me is
preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose.”
Interestingly, the same theme is found over and over,
as is oft the case with truth.
There are those among us who just plain will not see. For, there are none so deaf as those
who will not hear and none so blind as those who will not see.
|
T
|
his is the record of
John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art
thou? And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ. And
they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou
that prophet? And he answered, No. Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that
we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? He
said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of
the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias. And they which were sent were of the
Pharisees. And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if
thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet? John answered them,
saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know
not; he it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet
I am not worthy to unloose. These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan,
where John was baptizing.
Bishop Ogles’ Sermon
We are oft fortunate to get
copies of Bishop Jerry’s sermon notes.
Today is one of those Sundays. Today’s sermon starts off with the
collect, and like always, it will give you a lot to consider in your heart.
Sermon Notes
Fourth Sunday in Advent
21 December 2014, Anno Domini
The Fourth Sunday in Advent
The Collect.
|
O
|
LORD, raise up, we pray thee, thy
power, and come among us, and with great might succour us; that whereas,
through our sins and wickedness, we are sore let and hindered in running the
race that is set before us, thy bountiful grace and mercy may speedily help and
deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with thee and the Holy
Ghost, be honour and glory, world without end. Amen.
The Collect for the First Sunday
in Advent is on Page 90:
The First Sunday in Advent
The
Collect.
|
A
|
LMIGHTY
God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us
the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which thy Son
Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he
shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the quick and the dead,
we may rise to the life immortal, through him who liveth and reigneth with thee
and the Holy Ghost, now and ever. Amen.
¶
This Collect is to be repeated every day, after the other Collects in Advent,
until Christmas Day.
|
N
|
ow in the fifteenth year of the
reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod
being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of
the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene, Annas and
Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of
Zacharias in the wilderness. And he came into all the country about Jordan,
preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins; As it is written
in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying
in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low;
and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made
smooth; And all flesh shall see the salvation of God. Then said he to the
multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who
hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits
worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham
to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up
children unto Abraham. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees:
every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast
into the fire. And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then? He
answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him
that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise. Then came also
publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do? And he
said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you. And the
soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said
unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content
with your wages. And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in
their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not; John answered, saying
unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh,
the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you
with the Holy Ghost and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will
throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the
chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable. (St.
Luke 3:1-17)
Evil men of that day ruled in the Holy Place of Jerusalem just as the abomination
that maketh desolate is now standing in the Holy Place of America’s
churches. That abomination has been severely censored by God in both the Old
and New Testament. We have ordained and consecrated men (and women) who are
openly homosexual to the ministry in the churches in America. These wicked
people now stand in pulpits and even in episcopal authority over those pulpits.
How long do we feel God will withhold His wrath for this willful disregard for
His Word? “…..and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall
take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that
maketh desolate. Neither shall he regard the God of his
fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify
himself above all.” (Daniel
11:31, 37) and “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of
desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso
readeth, let him understand:)” (Matt 24:15) This has direct reference to the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus of
Romans in 70 A.D., but it also has a parallel meaning for us today who
disregard the Word of God and allow unholy men to serve in ministry. Christ
fulfilled the law of sacrifice so, regardless of what is done on an altar has
no relevance, but what happens in the pulpits of the Church have a gravity that
we had best begin to deal with or suffer the wrath to come.
God establishes a definite chronology for the Coming of His only
Begotten Son so that the Scriptures will all agree as to the words spoken of
the prophets centuries past. He sets the stage for our understanding. The
Scripture cannot be broken regardless the futile attempts of higher critics and
textual ‘engineers’ to the contrary. “Now in the fifteenth year of the
reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod
being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of
the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene.”
The stage is set for the arraignment of all of those despots who would,
not only preside over the land throughout the ministry of Christ, but also at
its closing through their direct complicity in His trial and crucifixion. It
was to Tiberius Caesar that the land must pay obeisance, and to a local
Pro-Consul named Pontius Pilate that would preside over the enforcement of that
obeisance. Annas and Caiaphas sat in the seat of High Priest. Little did they
realize that their own wickedness would be consummated in the de-thronement of
their role as High Priests and the One whom they wish to destroy would take
that title in Eternity future. “Annas and Caiaphas being the high
priests..”
“…..the word of
God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.” It is
amazing how clearly and often the Word of God comes to His people in the
Wilderness. Perhaps, in the providence of God, only one man has been determined
to receive that particular Word, therefore, the Wilderness is the appropriate
place for its being revealed to him. Our prayers are better heard when we pray,
not for the recognition of men, but in our closets alone with God. The Word of
God is such an all-potent and valuable sound! FRIENDS, if there is one great
thing in this world, it is the Word of God; ‘great in origin, great in thought,
great in promise, great in beauty, great in purpose, great in power, great in
its results ! It hangs as by a golden cord from the throne of the Highest, and
all heaven's light, life, love, and sweetness come down into it for us. It
hangs there like a celestial harp ; the daughters of sorrow tune it, and awake
a strain of consolation. The hand of joy strikes it, and feels a diviner note
of gladness. The sinner comes to it, and it discourses to him of repentance and
salvation. The saint bends an ear to it, and then it talks to him of an
intercessor and immortal kingdom. The dying man lays his trembling hand on it,
and there steals thence into his soul the promise, "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world."
“When thou passest through the waters, they shall not overflow thee, and
through the fires, thou shalt not be burned." "Be of good
cheer; I have overcome the world!" "The last enemy that shall
"be destroyed is death." "This mortal shall put on immortality,
and this corruptible shall put on incorruption, and death shall be swallowed up
in victory." Where is promise, where is song like this ? Magnify
the Word of God! E.E. Adams (The Reformed manner of preaching is
the expositional approach.) If we wish to preach with authority, we must preach
the Word of God and not the word of the man delivering the sermon.
“And he came into
all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the
remission of sins.” Has this approach in preaching been
disannulled? Should we, too, not be as fervent as George Whitfield, John
Wesley, and Charles Spurgeon in preaching the baptism of repentance for the
remission of sins? But, alas, I must be dreaming – SIN is no longer fashionable
to be condemned – not in our very modern and broad-minded world! He came into
the country about Jordan, the same waters in which our Lord was baptized by
John, and whose sweet waters never fail the wilderness traveler. Luke does not
even mention the apparel of John, but goes directly to the heart of his mission
as a bolt of lightning to the lightning rod – “….preaching the baptism
of repentance for the remission of sins.”
“As it is written
in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying
in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low;
and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made
smooth; And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” Here
again God inexorably joins His prophetic utterances of the prophet to the
events unfolding before us. (Isaiah 40:3-5) If you are preaching sound
doctrine, sound truth, sin, repentance, and grace, you will also be today as a
“Voice crying in the wilderness.” You shall not find yourself flocked about
with souls of men and women starving and thirsting for the pure Water of Life
and Bread of Heaven. They have their own synthetic bread and impure, polluted
waters to drink, and they desire none other. But, to their detriment, like
Herod, Annas, Caiaphas, and Pilot, men do not seek refuge in the City of God
because they feel a false security already in their world-favoring sin. In the
Old Testament Law, the children of Israel were commanded to establish cities of
refuge throughout the land to which men guilty of serious crimes could flee for
refuge. Now comes to Jordan Waters the perfect likeness of that City of Refuge
in Jesus Christ. We are guilty beyond doubt. We are murderers and sinners yet,
God has provided a Refuge and an Ark for our salvation! Flee to Christ, and He
will receive you. In those ancient cities of refuge, the gates were never shut
– night or day, but always welcoming to the refugee from justice who we all
are. If we are granted justice, we shall be condemned; but, if granted grace,
we shall be accounted righteous and forgiven.
“Then said he to
the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers,
who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? “Generation
of Vipers!” Careful John, you are going to hurt someone’s feelings
by being so ‘judgmental.’ Or perhaps you recognize them for what God’s Word has
called them? Political correctness is the furthest thought from John. Here John
refers not only to the men who unworthily occupy the seat of Moses and of
David, but to the people at large. Israel has rejected God as a nation. Christ
tells the Jewish leaders that the Kingdom shall be taken from them and given to
a people bearing the fruits thereof.” (Matthew 21:43) So do we long to
see the stone temple rebuilt and the daily sacrifices begun anew in rejection
of that once-and-for-all sacrifice made by our Lord? Has America become a
generation of vipers? Though there remain many devoted Christians among us,
have we given our powers over to evil forces in propagating every immoral
concept through our vast control of media? Have we used our national resources
to impose values on Third World countries that they would otherwise righteously
abhor? Yes, we have done, and we continue to escalate that policy through the
IMF and World Bank. Our national voice has often spewed poison from our mouths
(media).
“Bring forth
therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves,
We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these
stones to raise up children unto Abraham.” Fruits worthy of
repentance have their birth in a “broken and contrite heart.” (Psalms
51:17). Before repentance can come nationally, it must come personally, for
every nation is comprised of ever so many hearts. The sum total of hearts
measure the righteousness of the nation. We cannot forever count upon the
favor of God based on the Godliness of the Founding Fathers, and neither can Israel
count on their bloodline in Abraham to merit salvation. Only those who possess
the likeness of Abraham shall be the children of Abraham – in thought, word,
deed, and faith. The Seed of Promise was only foreshadowed in his son, Isaac,
born out of time of child-bearing. Christ is the ultimate Seed of Promise and
we cannot count Abraham to be our father if we have not accepted the promise of
forgiveness and salvation in Christ. If the natural seed fail, God is able even
to raise up children from the stones. The promise is made available to all for
the acceptance or rejection of it.
“And now also the
axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not
forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.” Here
is the dire warning which we would prefer to avoid! We are all as trees of
either righteousness or unrighteousness. The axe has already been brought to
our place of standing. The Woodsmen sizes us up to determine if our fruits are
worthy of justifying our remaining in the forest, or has our hearts rotted away
and rendered us a waste of forest space. The axe is already about to swing at
our root – our character and testimony in Christ. If we have not been fruitful
trees, we shall be cut down and burned – and so has the moment of decision come
for this old Israel. Instead of works mete for repentance and mercy, their
fruit is bitter and condemning. Perhaps that axe hangs over the prairies and
alabaster mountains of American today as well.
Is there no remedy for our national and personal sins? There IS an
answer! “And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then?”
What shall you do to regain the favor of God? What can the nation do to
re-establish that favor? “He answereth and saith unto them, He that
hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat,
let him do likewise.” A greedy man cannot abide this
counsel, neither a man of fashion and sophistication. We covet our fine suits
and robes. We are fond of our full and elaborate pantries stocked with every
dainty food and cuisine. But even a greedy man (as Scrooge in Charles Dickens’
story) can be rendered not greedy by one single quality – LOVE! This was
lacking in Israel, and it may be becoming scarce in our nation which mislabels Love
as SEX and value of persons by fame and money. I recently read of an occasion
of more than seventy years ago when an elderly missionary couple were returning
from the harsh mission fields of Africa. They had deprived themselves of a
luxurious home, fine food, and the benefits of society for the straw-covered
hut, the rough diet, and the inconvenience of living in a wild land for all of
their adult lives. They had given all they had of resources, health, and vigor
to the service of God’s less fortunate people. Now, broken and tired, their
continuance on the mission field had been deemed ‘unproductive’ by their church
and they were called home to be “put out to pasture” as an old work horse in
its waning years. As they began to disembark from the ship at the port of New
York, they struggled to drag their few belongings with them, but the crowds
were overwhelming and cheering. The old couple was prevented from leaving the
ship until a famous Hollywood celebrity, returning from a European cruise, had
received the adoration of the gathered crowd and had been met by his
chauffeur-driven limousine. When the crowd thinned, the old couple continued
down from the ship and awaited the next taxi. They waited alone because no one
took notice of their years of sacrifice. Is that LOVE? These two had given, not
of their extra coat, but their ONLY coat. They had given their meats and
received gruel for the sake of their service to God and man. Of what value was
the fruit of the Hollywood celebrity’s vanity?
Every man and woman has a calling in Christ. It may not be as an active
missionary on the foreign field, but it shall always be a missionary in the
place where you are placed whether as a doctor, a lawyer, a butcher, a teacher,
or a carpenter. Whatever our calling, we must reflect the nature of a virtuous
and loving heart. “Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said
unto him, Master, what shall we do? And he said unto them, Exact no more than
that which is appointed you. And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying,
And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither
accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages.” We do not
often think of ‘publicans’ (tax collectors) and soldiers as serving God
directly, but we have the words of John to suggest otherwise! If we deal in
money, do so with honesty. If we are serving our country as soldiers, we are to
do no violence to any man (unwarranted force or mean-spirited action). We must
not take from the enemy land that which does not belong to us, but we must be
satisfied, as good soldiers, with our pay allowance.
The people began to wonder about John because of the beauty of his
words. Remember, his words have been entreating them to repent; and he has been
warning them of the destruction to come if they fail to repent. Today, most
people would walk away, but these people had enough presence of mind to know
that he spoke truth in beauty. Many today lack that discretion. “And
as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John,
whether he were the Christ, or not.” When a minister or a layperson
speaks the truth of God, his words will have the force and power of God behind
them.
“John answered,
saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I
cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose.”
John did not suffer that same vanity of many ministers. He discerned the
thoughts of the multitude and answered humbly. Here we see the greatest of all
prophets confessing his own inadequacy before the One who’s Way he was
preparing. He’s not even worthy, as a household servant’s role, to unloose the
shoe latchets of Christ. Do we stop to reflect that we have no merit whatsoever
apart from that imparted to us by Christ Himself?
“He shall baptize
you with the Holy Ghost and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will
throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the
chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.” He is the REFINER of
Gold and Silver. His instrument of purification is fire. The Fire of the Holy
Ghost will purity those who are called and chosen of God. They are made more
and more pure through the refining process (sanctification). Fire and
Wind will be the choice tools of Christ at purging the wheat from the chaff. He
will fan the wheat as it falls to earth (from the Tribulatum) and the chaff
will be blown aside while the pure wheat falls to earth. The chaff will then be
burned as death and Hell are cast into the Lake of Fire. (Rev 20:14)
We will celebrate Christmas at Christmas Eve
Worship. Of course, Advent is our early celebration of Christmas as well. Let
us remember that our beautifully lighted and ornamented trees represent that
beautiful Tree of Life that came down to us a Christmas. The Star top the Tree
can symbolize that Bright and Morning Star that all Wise Men still follow. Even
the candles will remind us of that Light which led the Wise Men and, later,
burst out in the brilliance of the Day Star and the Sun of Righteousness. Let
us not forget to wish all we meet a very Merry Christmas (not holiday)! There is no reason that we must abandon
the joys and love of Christmas on December 26th. We should clasp those to our bosoms every waking moment of the coming
year.
Sermon - Rev Jack Arnold
Church of the Faithful Centurion -
Descanso, California
Today’s sermon brought the Collect, Epistle and
Gospel together and is partly contained in the forewords above.
The Fourth Sunday in Advent
The Collect.
|
O
|
LORD, raise up, we pray thee, thy
power, and come among us, and with great might succour us; that whereas,
through our sins and wickedness, we are sore let and hindered in running the
race that is set before us, thy bountiful grace and mercy may speedily help and
deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with thee and the Holy
Ghost, be honour and glory, world without end. Amen.
The Collect for the First Sunday
in Advent is on Page 90:
The First Sunday in Advent
The
Collect.
|
A
|
LMIGHTY
God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us
the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which thy Son
Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he
shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the quick and the dead,
we may rise to the life immortal, through him who liveth and reigneth with thee
and the Holy Ghost, now and ever. Amen.
¶
This Collect is to be repeated every day, after the other Collects in Advent,
until Christmas Day.
As is oft the case, today’s
propers all tie together to reinforce a point and build our understanding of
what God wants and expects from each of us. The Collect asks for God’s help for us to accept His Help and
do it His Way. That is a thought
that permeates or at least should permeate our entire lives. It is oft supposed Christians are dour
souls, with no sense of happiness or humor. Perhaps this thought comes from those who have heard what
the Bible says, filtered through some odd prism, but have never actually read
it. That may have been the way the Puritians thought, but then again, the
Puritians were not holding to the consistent truth of the Bible. After all God
commands us to make a “joyful” noise unto the Lord! Not, a dour, grumbling and
solemn noise, but an exceedingly JOYFUL noise unto the Lord! There is nothing
in the Bible that says you cannot have fun whilst worshipping our Lord, in fact
that is the preferred way to worship Him! In fact, if we enjoy worshipping the
Lord, then we are most apt to do more of our best to follow Him, if we are
enjoying ourselves whilst doing so!
After all, the one said to be the
most dour of all, Paul, tells us to be happy. Not just happy, but to REJOICE. REJOICE in the Lord ALWAYS and AGAIN I say REJOICE! How much more fun can you have? We are also to be moderate in
everything we do, no excesses, an even keel. Work hard, but maintain a time and space for our family,
honor our country, and above all honor God. He goes on to tell us if we think we need something, simply
ask God for it! Speaking of God,
John recounts John the Baptist’s role in preparing the way for Jesus. The Pharisees just had trouble with the
simplicity of his message. They
were looking for something more complex, less straightforward, something more
like themselves.
They were not willing to accept
the change in the status quo that the New Testament would break their role in
finding ways around the commandments Jesus gave, as there is no way around the
two commandments, namely of loving God with all our heart, soul and mind, and
loving our neighbors as ourselves! Without those, we are just pitiful, weak,
sinful beings! But, if we embrace those commandments, we start to shed our old
man image, and put on a newer, shinier and better image. We then become, Man
2.0, quite the upgrade from the first version!
The Pharisees were a case of no
play, all work and led a rather unbalanced life. We are told to balance
ourselves with play besides work, to make us into a happier people who will
rejoice in God’s commandments and will do His Work without complaint. We will be happier in the end if we do
it His Way instead of our way as we are so want to do, which is in our nature.
The whole of Scriptures is about us fighting against our nature so we will be
closer to what God intended us to be; a happy and holy people, living together
in harmony. If the world would do what God asked, our lives would be so much
better, we would all be living together in happiness. Peace on earth will not
be possible until the world accepts Him into their hearts. This is the perfect
season for those who haven’t yet, to accept Him, to acknowledge Him at His
first true appearance amongst us, at His Birth. There is always time to accept
Him, but do not wait until it is too late to do so!
Jesus also tells us to put our
trust in the Lord, then not to worry.
He knows how counterproductive, indeed how destructive worry can be in
our lives. We know it not only
cannot, but will not do good, we know it will only hurt our cause; yet we do
it. Is this not a proof positive of
how much we need His Help? How
hard is it to Trust in God and Dread Naught? Very! Yet to
make progress this we must do. Even though it is very hard to trust somebody
you can’t see physically, you must trust your spiritual sense and follow Him
anyway! Knowing you will see Him
physically one day, is one of our great rewards.
The world is extremely complex;
it is full of problems, temptations and difficulties. It is full of obstacles for us, yet all Christianity offers
is a few simple solutions. We often
hear there are no simple answers to complex questions. Actually, that is not true. There are simple answers to complex
problems, they are the only ones which can and will work. The problem is they are not the answers
people want. Most people do not
want to know what they are supposed to do, lest they have to do it. They want to be told what they want to
do is at least okay, even though it is clearly not okay. But we need to know
what we are doing is the actual “Okay.” thing, and not what Joe on the corner
claims is Okay. To do that, we have to read the Scriptures and listen to what
God says is Okay, because He really does know the best in this matter for us.
Once again, when you think about
being a Christian, think a bit about these quotes from GK Chesterton:
·
Christianity has not been tried and found
wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried.
·
The word good has many meanings. For example, if
a man were to shoot his grandmother at a range of five hundred yards, I should
call him a good shot, but not necessarily a good man.
·
The Bible tells us to love our neighbors, and also
to love our enemies; probably because generally they are the same people.
·
Tolerance is the virtue of the man without
convictions.
·
A dead thing can go with the stream, but only a
living thing can go against it.
G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936)
We are called to a new and different life, we ask the
Lord to both lead us and follow us, to keep us always. Our goal is to do the Lord’s will, not
to avoid 613 laws. To do what is
right and be humble.
Heaven is at the end of an
uphill trail. The easy downhill trail
does not lead to the summit.
The time is now, not tomorrow. The time has come, indeed. How will you ACT?
It is by our actions we are known.
Be of God - Live of God - Act of God
Bishop
Dennis Campbell’s Sermon
Bishop Dennis is a brilliant speaker. He is able to take biblical precepts
and make them perfectly understandable, even to me. Oft he provides the text of his sermons and I take the
utmost pleasure in passing them on:
The Lord Is at Hand
Philippians 4:4-7
Fourth Sunday in Advent
December 21, 2014
By the grace of God, we are gathered in this
house of prayer on the Fourth Sunday of Advent, the Year of Our Lord, 2014. Since we are in Advent we are thinking
about the Coming of Christ. We are
thinking about His coming physically into history by being conceived of the
Holy Ghost and born of the virgin Mary in Bethlehem more than two thousand
years ago. We are thinking about
His coming to us spiritually in
the Holy Spirit and the means of grace.
We are thinking about His coming judicially when He comes again at the end of the world to judge the
quick and the dead. The coming of
Christ is taught in today’s reading in Philippians, in the very shocking words,
“Christ is at hand.”
“Christ is at hand.” Many people think this refers to the Second Coming. They believe “at hand” means
“soon.” We are in the last days,
they say, and Christ will return at any moment. But we need to remember that the Biblical term “last days” means last in order, not last in number. In other words we are not necessarily
in the final few days, numerically speaking, but we are in the days of the last
era before the return of Christ.
When we look at Paul’s words in Philippians 4
we see they are very similar to Christ’s words in the Gospels when, after His
baptism, He first began to preach: “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at
hand.” Like us today, the Jews
looked for the miraculous arrival of the Kingdom of God. And the point of Jesus’ words is that
the Kingdom has arrived. He is not
saying the Kingdom is coming soon.
He is saying it is here now.
He, Jesus of Nazareth, is the Kingdom, and wherever He is, the Kingdom
is.
Joseph, in Matthew 1:23, has decided not to
marry Mary. Why? Joseph was a just man. He was a righteous man. This means he kept his own desires in
check. In Philippians 4, Paul
wrote about moderation, and one of the meanings of that word is self
control. It means to keep your
emotions and your fleshly appetites under control so that you rule them instead
of being ruled by them. You do
this because it is good and right and because you love God. You do this because your faith is not
just an idea, it is a relationship with God Almighty, and it is the central,
driving force of your life.
Joseph was a righteous man. Joseph’s moderation was known to
all. But Mary was pregnant. Joseph could only conclude that her
moderation had slipped a little. So
Joseph was going to end the engagement, until the angel came to him saying,
“Fear not to take unto thee Mary for thy wife: for that which is conceived in
her is of the Holy Ghost.” The
angel then went on to say Mary’s pregnancy is the fulfillment of the words of
Isaiah, “Behold a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and
they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with
us.” Jesus is God with us. Where Jesus is, God is. Where God is, the Kingdom of God is. The Lord is at hand.
I have been making the point that the Lord is
present with us outwardly. He was
present physically in His Incarnation, but He is also outwardly present in the
Church, the Bible, prayer and worship, and all the means of grace. That is one of the meanings of Paul’s
words, “The Lord is at hand. But
there is another meaning here, the Lord is present with us inwardly.
In Luke 17:21, Jesus is speaking to the
Pharisees abut the Kingdom of God.
Our Lord says something to them that shocks them to the core of their
being: “the kingdom of God is within you.” Christ is affirming here what I have just said, that God is with us outwardly when
Christ was here on earth in the flesh.
He is also saying He is with us inwardly. The presence of Christ is also an inward thing. It does not consist of signs and
wonders and emotions, but of faith
and obedience to God. It is a
reign of grace, and all who trust that grace are in the Kingdom. “The Lord is nigh unto all them that
call upon Him” says Psalm 145:18.
These words remind me of the words of James 4:8, “Draw nigh unto God,
and He will draw nigh unto you” says James 4:8.
How do we draw nigh unto God? By faith. By faith we trust the promises of God. Like Abraham, we believe God. We hear His word, we see His
grace. We hear the preaching of
the cross. The Bible tells us the
cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. But to we who hear it in faith it is the power of God unto
our salvation.
The Lord is still at hand. He has not deserted us. He has not left us orphans. The fact that He is not with us in His
bodily presence does not mean He is not here with us in reality. He is with us outwardly in all the
means of grace. He is with us inwardly
in the Spirit, and in the means of grace
He is with us inwardly when we partake of the means of grace in
faith. He comes to us as we
worship, in the reading and preaching and hearing of the Scriptures, at the
communion table, and in the prayers.
In these things, “The Lord is at hand.”
+Dennis
Campbell
Bishop,
Anglican Orthodox Church Diocese of Virginia
Rector,
Holy Trinity Anglican Orthodox Church
Powhatan,
Virginia
Roy Morales-Kuhn,
Bishop and Pastor - St. Paul's Anglican Church - Anglican Orthodox Church
Bishop Roy is pastor of the biggest AOC
parish West of the Mississippi and is in charge of the Diocese of the
Epiphany.
Fourth Sunday in Advent
21 December 2014
Psalm 80 •
Isaiah 40:1-11 • Luke 3:1-17
The Fourth Sunday in Advent
The Collect.
|
O
|
LORD, raise up, we pray thee, thy
power, and come among us, and with great might succour us; that whereas,
through our sins and wickedness, we are sore let and hindered in running the
race that is set before us, thy bountiful grace and mercy may speedily help and
deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with thee and the Holy
Ghost, be honour and glory, world without end. Amen.
The First Sunday in Advent
The
Collect.
|
A
|
LMIGHTY
God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us
the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which thy Son
Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he
shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the quick and the dead,
we may rise to the life immortal, through him who liveth and reigneth with thee
and the Holy Ghost, now and ever. Amen.
For almost 200 years
skeptics have tried to separate the Old Testament from the New Testament. If you can show that there is little to
any relationship between the two testaments then you can call into question the
whole concept of foreshadowing, prophecy, and fulfillment of said prophecy. The skeptics have to have a
strong faith to NOT believe that the two testaments are connected. They really must ignore so many related
verses pertaining to the first Advent of the Messiah and the second Advent. For
again and again we see written prophecy fulfilled time and again during the season
of reflection, anticipation, revelation and the Word made flesh to dwell
amongst us; Immanuel.
At the Advent season we
can see so many connections as in our scripture passages for the Fourth Sunday
in Advent. The connection between
the verses in Isaiah and Luke; where he makes reference to Isaiah (Esaias), we
see the ministry of John the baptizer who proceeds the coming Messiah, with
both a message of repentance and of salvation.
John makes it very the behavior that is expected of those who
have repented and turned from their evil ways. In the list of things they are to do, John points out the
need to do righteous things.
Notice the parallels concepts that will also be taught by Jesus. “...don’t take advantage of your
position or authority..., only do what you are supposed to do, be kind, share,
help the helpless...” All of
these ideas are bound up in the Golden Rule.
Now we see John explaining
who he is. He baptizes with water, he who comes after him, he will baptize with
the Holy Ghost and fire. John very
humbly points to the ONE who will take away the sins of the world. The ONE who will bring comfort to his
own, he will feed his sheep, he will gently lead those who are helpless. When Christ left the earth after his
resurrection he indeed provided a comforter {the Holy Spirit}, he left
shepherds {the disciples}, and he left his sheep {believers in him}. Look at what Isaiah writes in verse 9
& 10....
|
O
|
Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into
the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice
with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold
your God!
10
Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule
for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.
We see that work before him as the beginning of the church, the Word
made flesh, shared with the rest of the world . Notice the contrast the prophet makes between man and God.
“...All
flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field:
7
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the Lord
bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.
8
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall
stand for ever...”
The Word of God shall
stand for ever. That promise is
fulfilled in the coming Savior.
Let us spend the next
couple of days reflecting upon the events that happened so many years ago in
that dusty little town called Bethlehem.
That little town, where the Word was made flesh, where God met man face
to face, without man being in danger of instant death because God cannot look
upon evil. Here God, by allowing
his Son to become a little baby, entered into a three decade mission to reach
mankind on his dimension, where God would provide the only means of salvation
to his creations. God with
us; Immanuel.
And the glory of the Lord
shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the
Lord hath spoken it.
Folks, we have no excuse.
God has made his salvation visible to us, the first century people saw Jesus
face to face. We see Jesus in the
word of God that has been preserved for us, the Holy Bible is the message,
Christ Jesus is the messenger, he is the reason for this season and why we
should celebrate his coming; and most especially why we should share this
message with our families, friends and strangers around us.
Let us celebrate His
coming. Jesus Christ the Son of God came once as a helpless child, will come
again in a triumphal procession.
His glory shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together: for the
mouth of the Lord has spoken it.
|
G
|
od bless you all this holy
season. May the Peace that
passerth all understanding be with you now and forever. Amen.
Let us pray:
|
O
|
MOST mighty God, and merciful
Father, who hast compassion upon all men, and who wouldest not the death of a
sinner, but rather that he should turn from his sin, and be saved; Mercifully
forgive us our trespasses; receive and comfort us, who are grieved and wearied
with the burden of our sins. Thy property is always to have mercy; to thee only
it appertaineth to forgive sins. Spare us therefore, good Lord, spare thy
people, whom thou hast redeemed; enter not into judgment with thy servants, who
are vile earth, and miserable sinners; but so turn thine anger from us who
meekly acknowledge our vileness, and truly repent us of our faults, and so make
haste to help us in this world, that we may ever live with thee in the world to
come; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
|
O
|
LORD Jesus Christ, who didst endure
unto the end, and whose courage never failed in the midst of great dangers:
Grant that inspired by Thy example I may trust completely in Thy promise to be
with me even unto the world's end, and that so, amidst all dangers I may have a
heart inflamed by Thy courage, and a spirit inspired by Thy faith; through Thy
mercy, O our God, who art blessed, and dost reign, and govern all things, world
without end. Amen.
|
O
|
LORD Jesus Christ, who has said,
"My Father worketh hitherto, and I work"; Grant us, we beseech Thee,
such zeal in Thy service, that we may never be weary in well doing, but may
labor steadfastly unto the end; through Thy mercy, O our God, who art blessed,
and livest and reignest for ever and ever. Amen.
No matter where you read this, please go to your own
parish or a local church to worship the Lord on the upcoming celebration of His
birth! Christmas Eve we have our
service, others will celebrate Christmas Day. Go somewhere.
If you have no where, find somewhere. If there is no where, at least read the propers on your own
and give thanks that God sent His only Son that we might have everlasting
life. Life that begins the instant
you accept it.
|
M
|
ay God bless and keep you, may His
light shine upon you and give you peace.
In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy
Spirit. Amen
✟
Rev Bryan Dabney
of Saint John’s Sunday Sermon
We are fortunate to
have Bryan’s Sunday Sermon. If you
want people to come to The Truth, you have to speak the truth, expouse the
truth and live the truth. This is really a good piece and I
commend it to your careful reading.
Fourth Sunday in Advent
In the epistle (Philippians 4:4-7) Paul
encourages the church at Philippi to rejoice in the Lord always and in all
things with thanksgiving. Unfortunately in today’s world, many do not rejoice
in the Lord on a daily basis. They focus on their ills and difficulties instead
of giving God the glory for what they have already received from his hands.
There is an old expression that was made into a hymn entitled Count your many
blessings, see what God has done.
The Scriptures are our guide to a life of fellowship with the LORD. In
Leviticus 23:40 we read, ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God... In
Deuteronomy 26:11 we learn that we should, ...rejoice in every good thing which
the LORD thy God hath given unto thee... In Psalm 5:11 we learn of God’s expectation
for us: But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever
shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be
joyful in thee.
In St. Luke 6:23, our Lord spoke these words of comfort to all who
would suffer oppression: Rejoice ye in that day and leap for joy: for, behold
your reward is great in heaven... He also spoke of rejoicing because our names
are written in heaven (Luke 10:20). And we are
to rejoice because as Christians, we have an invitation to the greatest feast
ever as noted in Revelation 19:7, Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour
to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come...
The true worshipers of God will willingly rejoice in the free gift of
salvation which comes by means of the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Those who are
his will not question his grace. They will not stand skeptically, at a
distance, examining with clinical coldness the gift which has been given. Only
those who have not received the gift in their hearts will question its validity
because as St. Paul noted in I Corinthians 2:14, But the natural man receiveth
not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither
can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
And while it is natural for us to rejoice when our enemies run into
trouble. We are warned not to do so. Examine Proverbs 24:17: Rejoice not when
thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth. God
knows who are his now as well as those who will come to him in the future. But
we have not been given to know such things. In that light, we should not cheer
at the downfall of an enemy today because tomorrow, if God wills, he or she
might become a brother or a sister in Christ. It is better to let God judge.
For if, in his judgment, they fall and we are preserved it should be enough for
us. His will and pleasure has no rival as he is sovereign. For if those who
meant us harm are eventually regenerated, then it would be sinful on our part
to either wish them ill or rejoice over their errors and misfortunes.
Truly God desires that we rejoice when one has turned from evil and
become a brother or a sister in Christ. God is merciful and not willing that
any should perish but that all should come to repentance (II St. Peter 3:9). As our Lord said, I say unto you that
likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than the
ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance (St. Luke 15:7).
St. Luke recorded in his gospel account that following our Lord’s
ascension into heaven the disciples worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem
with great joy: and were in the temple, praising and blessing God (24:52-53). Later, in the Book of Acts, he wrote about
the day of Pentecost where the flaming tongues descended upon the disciples and
they began preaching the gospel to all who were in Jerusalem (2:1-11).
Hear now the words of St. Peter as he was moved to speak by the Holy
Ghost: For David speaketh concerning [Jesus Christ], I foresaw the Lord always
before my face...therefore did my heart rejoice and my tongue was glad;
moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: Because thou wilt not leave my soul
in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou hast
made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy
countenance (Acts
2:14-36).
To fully realize the joy of God, we must order our lives around his
teachings. As St. Paul instructed Timothy, If a man therefore purge himself
from [iniquity], he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the
master's use and prepared for every good work (II St. Timothy 2:21).
So count your blessings this Advent season and be thankful, giving God
the glory, rejoicing always in his gift of grace to us through Jesus Christ.
Rejoice alway. Again I say Rejoice!
Let us pray,
|
O
|
Merciful and loving God, we rejoice with thanksgiving
for thy most wonderful gift of thine all-sufficient grace; we also pray that
through the work of the Holy Ghost we would be empowered in our witness to
others that they too might come to know Christ as their personal Saviour. For
this we ask in his most holy name. Amen.
Have a blessed week, Bryan+
