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The center of the Traditional Anglican Communion; adhering to the Holy Bible (KJV) in all matters of Faith and Doctrine, a strict reliance on the Thirty Nine Articles of Religion, The two Sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion, the Two Creeds, and the Homilies and formularies of the Reformation Church of England.

Verse of the Day

Sunday, September 13, 2015

Sermon Notes - Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity • Saint Andrew’s Anglican Orthodox Church • 13 September 2015, Anno Domini

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The Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity.

The Collect.

K
EEP, we beseech thee, O Lord, thy Church with thy perpetual mercy; and, because the frailty of man without thee cannot but fall, keep us ever by thy help from all things hurtful, and lead us to all things profitable to our salvation; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Gospel
Matthew 6:24-34

N
O man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, Be not anxious for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than the food, and the body than the raiment? Behold the birds of the heaven, that they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; and your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not ye of much more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit unto the measure of his life? And why are ye anxious concerning raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God doth so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Be not therefore anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the Gentiles seek; for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Be not therefore anxious for the morrow: for the morrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

The fowls of the air like the people of god!
The most beautiful birds are not always the most fearsome. " Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?" Hopefully, the Christian Church can aspire to be like the great Eagle - both strong and beautiful. It soars to heights above the storm, and glides without struggle on the winds of God. It has great vision to see miles from that high altitude. It mates for life, and it will suffer death for its young. The eagle is the only bird that can fly directly toward the sun to evade the archer's arrows. He has a thin membrane that comes down over his eyes which serves much like our sunglasses so that he can look directly at the sun. Only the Christian can behold God in the Person of Jesus Christ!

The eagle never consumes food that has not been killed by its own hand. In this way, it differs greatly from the oyster which is a bottom feeder that simply opens its mouth and consume whatever carrion comes into its shell. The eagle will never make a good socialist or communist - it is purely a free enterprise bird! God often uses the eagle as an example of Himself, or His people. We read in Deuteronomy 32:11 & 12 - "As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings: 12 So the LORD alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him." There are remarkable parallels in these two verses which reveal the nature of the eagle. When she builds her nest (upon a high crag or highest terrain available) she brings large branches with sharp protrusions. She ten fills the nest with leaves mixed with stones of briars. Then she overlays all with fur of rabbit or some other creature. It is very cozy and warm.

When the baby eagles have grown to the point of moving about, she "stirreth up her nest" so that the stones and briars now come to the surface. The nest is no longer very comfortable at all. The young are forced to get out more often and exercise. They may not like it, but it is for their own benefit. After a time, as the baby eagles are near maturity, the mother eagle will swoop down and knock them off the nest, sometimes allowing them to fall hundreds of feet down the mountain cliff. The young eagle is both terrified and dismayed that the mother, who has always been sacrificial and loving, would do such a thing. But the eye of the mother is never off the young eagle as it flails and flaps its wings to no avail. At the moment death seems imminent, the mother swoops under the young eagle and catches him on her back. " . . . beareth them on her wings." The eagle carries her young on her back since her talons are too strong for gentle grasp.

Please consider how the eagle is very much like God. He cares and comforts us as baby Christians; he makes our environment sweet and placid; but then, as we grow, He will make our condition very uncomfortable so that we must get out of the nest and learn to ACT! He causes us to be cast off from high places that we might learn to use the wings He has given us to soar. He is ever watchful over His own. When it seems that we are about to perish, God swoops down and carries us on HIS wings. Of course, His hands are too strong to carry us, so He carries us on His wings. There is another reason: If the archer shoots at us, like Christ, the mother eagle will take the arrow to save us. There are many other biblical texts that compare the eagle to God's nature, and also to that of the Christian, but I must move on to the other points of today's text.

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Every master is different, therefore we cannot serve two masters each of whom have different motives and objectives. A master requires perfect obedience, and we are compelled either by love or sin to obey one or the other. God being our master, our obedience derives from an echoed love that called us when we were yet sinners unto Himself. When we are drawn by the Holy Ghost to Christ (as a fish is drawn by a net) we must depart from that old master whom we obeyed so completely by following the wicked desires of our hearts. Only in Christ do we have a will that is truly free and at liberty. The old 'free will' of which men, and some theologians, boast is not free at all but in bondage to sin and its desires; and whose master is Satan. Mammon is the attractions and magnetism of the world - usually wealth and prestige that is built upon false pride. The rich young ruler who came to Christ asked what good thing he could do to inherit eternal life. He called Jesus 'good teacher.' First, he did not recognize Christ as his LORD. Secondly, there are not 'good things' that we can do to inherit eternal life. IT is the goodness and righteousness of Christ upon which we must rely for salvation.

Jesus asked, "Why callest thou me good; there is only one good and that is God?" Jesus was fathoming the depths of this man's soul. Did he recognize that Jesus was God indeed? No, he did not. Jesus did not await a response but went on to say: "Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother." Mark 10:19 (KJV) This is very true. If we could be perfectly righteous, we would not have needed a Savior; but we are NOT. In fact, we are born with sinful blood in our veins. The point Jesus will expose in the man is this. Though he claims to have kept ALL of the Commandments, he has not even kept the first. His money (mammon) eclipses his love for God. (Read the full account in Mark 10:17-27)

Why worry so much about our fashion designers clothing when clothing is of least importance (though one might think that no clothing at all is the proper apparel in modern America)? "Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?" The answer, of course, to Jesus' question is a resounding YES! Please explain how the one who made and gave you a body, along with the breath of life, is unable to provide you with food and clothing appropriate for that body?

"27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." The beautiful wild lilies of the Middle East are remarkable for their beauty and fragrance. Does their clothing reflect their own labors, or those of the creative LORD? When we live for Christ, our tastes and desire change too. No longer to we wear the immodest apparel of our old master, but rather the resplendently white apparel of the Lord.

We tinker in this work with the trifles and cast the essentials to the winds of careless oblivion. The 'essentials' are faith in God, serving Him only, and acquitting ourselves as men and women of a Holy calling. "30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? 31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Have you sought the Kingdom of God as your first priority in life? In fact, it is the ONLY Priority for us. If we only will be diligent seekers of God and His righteousness, all things needful for our being shall be added unto us. We do not set out to seek first the Kingdom of God and something else - only the Kingdom of God and His righteousness - THAT is enough!


"34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." There is enough wicked and evil things happening in our world this very minute that should occupy our concern rather than needlessly worrying about tomorrow. Many are avid fans of prophetic writings on the return of Christ. Christ will return when He is good and ready; however, He may return for any one of us TODAY!. Concern yourselves with the condition of your soul TODAY, and let the LORD worry about tomorrow. AMEN