I John 1:1 - 2:2 and James 5:16
This sermon leads into a healing service where people are encouraged to follow the simple directions of James 5:13-16. The sermon, however, focuses not so much on the anointing service and the promise of God to heal, as it does on the power of making confession to God and to each other.
A few weeks ago as the staff at church were working through the chapter on confession in Richard Foster's book, Celebration of Disciple, I was caught by his comment that sometimes we do not find freedom from habitual sin because we fail to confess our sins to each other. He was referring to James 5:16. Not long after that, our Leadership Team was away for a weekend retreat. We had asked Dave Witmer, a local church leader, to come and listen to us and share his evaluation. In the course of our time together, and sort of in passing, Dave mentioned that we "confess to God to be forgiven and to each other to be healed." He was referring to 1 John 1:9 and James 5:16.
I must confess, that even after my nearly 40 years in ministry and having done countless anointing services, this struck me as a new thought--or at least a new insight into an old thought. There is no doubt that as part of the Protestant Church, we have been a bit afraid of the "Confessional." In the Catholic Church, as you may know, times of confession are offered wherein you come to a priest and in the privacy of the confessional booth, share your confession and receive forgiveness. Protestants have reacted to this on a number of levels. One, we do not believe confession must be made to Priest, not that a Priest has any power to grant forgiveness. Secondly, we believe that to "require" confession leads to insincere and spurious confession, which lacks any spiritual benefit.
Unfortunately, by reacting to the formalized confession of the Catholic Church, we lost the power of confession our sins to each other. We emphasize confessing sin to God, but not confessing to each other. We Brethren have held on to this concept through the anointing service. When ever we practice this rite, we are taught to encourage the one receiving it to examine his or her life and make appropriate confession. But I must admit, in my own experience, I have seen so many shallow confessions that I sometimes gloss over this part of the service. I know, shame on me!
What would a Protestant confession look like, especially one in the Anabaptist vein of the church. Let me venture a guess. The power of confession to each other would be taught. People would freely seek out each other, trusted friends, and confess their sin to each other. The friend would pass along from God his promise forgiveness and then walk in relationship with the person as he or she continues to strive to live free from the sin. There would be relationship, friendship, discipleship and accountability in love. It is a beautiful thing.
I know this kind of confession happens more often in the Body of Christ than we realize. It happens in the midst of our groups of people who come together to pray and study; it happens between friends who are pursuing intentional spiritual friendships; and it happens in the home as couples pray for and love each other and as parents train up their children in the Lord.
But it could happen more, and the impact on the Body of Christ would be beautiful. Link here to a short section from the Inter-Varsity New Testament Commentary on James, written by George M. Stulac as he comments on the impact on the church, when people come together in confession and prayer. It is a good read and encouragement
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QfWHRzM0aOzBT2NFvVB2GMXMc1xOBVVrieOabqJwZBI/edit
Thanks for digging deeper.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Sunday, February 12, 2012
When Hell Invades Earth
Genesis 6:1-8 and 1 Peter 5:5-8
This is sort of a follow up sermon to last week's sermon, "When Heaven Invades Earth." In this sermon I talk about Satan, who he is, and his methodology in promoting evil throughout the world.
In the sermon, I do not discuss the difficult question of where Satan came from. I'll take a shot at that here.
When the Bible opens in Genesis, Satan is present and active, as seen in the temptation of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3. So we logically conclude he was here then and thus his origin lies before that event..
The origin of Satan and thus evil are somewhat cloaked in the mysteries of ancient times into which God's revelation of truth has not given clear insight. You can ask "why not?" but only God can answer that one.
Now that said, there may be some glimpses in Scripture. Two Old Testament texts have been seen by some scholars as perhaps giving some insight into the question of where Satan came from. Let me quote here from the Nelson's Bible Dictionary:
"Two Old Testament passages-Isa 14:12-15 and Ezek 28:11-19-furnish a picture of Satan's original condition and the reasons for his loss of that position. These passages were addressed originally to the kings of Babylon and Tyre. But in their long-range implications, many scholars believe, they refer to Satan himself. They tell of an exalted angelic being, one of God's creatures, who became proud and ambitious. He determined to take over the throne of God for himself. But God removed him from his position of great dignity and honor.
"Building upon this foundation, Rev 12 sketches the further stages in Satan's work of evil. In his fall from God's favor, Satan persuaded one third of the angels to join him in his rebellion (Rev 12:3-4)."
(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright © 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)
Take the time to read the Isaiah and Ezekiel passages, and their larger contexts. It does seem to me that the language of these verses "goes beyond" application to the earthly kings to which they are directly addressed. This is a normal way in which Old Testament prophecy works. Most of the passages that we understand as being messianic prophecies in the OT, have first of all an immediate reference and fulfillment, and then also a future and more far reaching one (e.g. the virgin of Isaiah 7:14).
This rebellion of angels in heaven may, in part, lie behind the comment in Jude 6. And in four OT accounts, Satan appears as an angel. Consider Numbers 22, Job 1-1, Zechariah 3 and 1 Chronicles 21 (as it interprets the events of 2 Samuel 24). (The revised International Standard Bible Encyclopedia has an excellent article on Satan which elaborates on these four texts).
What we do know is that Satan is a being of super human powers, but not divine powers. In other words, he is stronger than us but not a strong as God. He is a spirit being who has corralled a host of other spirit being helpers who are subordinate to him. We call them demons. Just as good angels seem to have some kind of leadership structure (angels and archangels and seraphim and cherubim) so too demons have some kind of functional structure (thus Jesus refers to Beelzebub, the prince of demons.) They are given rather free reign to rule the world, as their domain, raking havoc as they will. But even so, they have their powers ultimately limited by God. This is especially true in reference to their affliction of God's people. (My sermon works at these concepts a bit.)
One might ask, "Why would God allow Satan to lead people astray and to afflict the world with so much suffering?" That is not a bad question, for which, unfortunately, we do not have a complete answer. But think about it, what joy would there be in your life if your spouse, or special friend, or kids, only loved you because there were no other options. Not much joy in that. However, when I realize that out of all the possible men my wife could have chosen (and believe me, she had options!), she chose me. Wow! And so it is; God wants us to choose him; not because there were no other options, but rather, to choose him in the midst of man of what appear to be very enticing options.
And that is really the purpose of these two sermons--to help us think about how our choices always reflect which kingdom we are living in--the kingdom of this world, or the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ.
Choose wisely.
Thanks for digging deeper
This is sort of a follow up sermon to last week's sermon, "When Heaven Invades Earth." In this sermon I talk about Satan, who he is, and his methodology in promoting evil throughout the world.
In the sermon, I do not discuss the difficult question of where Satan came from. I'll take a shot at that here.
When the Bible opens in Genesis, Satan is present and active, as seen in the temptation of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3. So we logically conclude he was here then and thus his origin lies before that event..
The origin of Satan and thus evil are somewhat cloaked in the mysteries of ancient times into which God's revelation of truth has not given clear insight. You can ask "why not?" but only God can answer that one.
Now that said, there may be some glimpses in Scripture. Two Old Testament texts have been seen by some scholars as perhaps giving some insight into the question of where Satan came from. Let me quote here from the Nelson's Bible Dictionary:
"Two Old Testament passages-Isa 14:12-15 and Ezek 28:11-19-furnish a picture of Satan's original condition and the reasons for his loss of that position. These passages were addressed originally to the kings of Babylon and Tyre. But in their long-range implications, many scholars believe, they refer to Satan himself. They tell of an exalted angelic being, one of God's creatures, who became proud and ambitious. He determined to take over the throne of God for himself. But God removed him from his position of great dignity and honor.
"Building upon this foundation, Rev 12 sketches the further stages in Satan's work of evil. In his fall from God's favor, Satan persuaded one third of the angels to join him in his rebellion (Rev 12:3-4)."
(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright © 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)
Take the time to read the Isaiah and Ezekiel passages, and their larger contexts. It does seem to me that the language of these verses "goes beyond" application to the earthly kings to which they are directly addressed. This is a normal way in which Old Testament prophecy works. Most of the passages that we understand as being messianic prophecies in the OT, have first of all an immediate reference and fulfillment, and then also a future and more far reaching one (e.g. the virgin of Isaiah 7:14).
This rebellion of angels in heaven may, in part, lie behind the comment in Jude 6. And in four OT accounts, Satan appears as an angel. Consider Numbers 22, Job 1-1, Zechariah 3 and 1 Chronicles 21 (as it interprets the events of 2 Samuel 24). (The revised International Standard Bible Encyclopedia has an excellent article on Satan which elaborates on these four texts).
What we do know is that Satan is a being of super human powers, but not divine powers. In other words, he is stronger than us but not a strong as God. He is a spirit being who has corralled a host of other spirit being helpers who are subordinate to him. We call them demons. Just as good angels seem to have some kind of leadership structure (angels and archangels and seraphim and cherubim) so too demons have some kind of functional structure (thus Jesus refers to Beelzebub, the prince of demons.) They are given rather free reign to rule the world, as their domain, raking havoc as they will. But even so, they have their powers ultimately limited by God. This is especially true in reference to their affliction of God's people. (My sermon works at these concepts a bit.)
One might ask, "Why would God allow Satan to lead people astray and to afflict the world with so much suffering?" That is not a bad question, for which, unfortunately, we do not have a complete answer. But think about it, what joy would there be in your life if your spouse, or special friend, or kids, only loved you because there were no other options. Not much joy in that. However, when I realize that out of all the possible men my wife could have chosen (and believe me, she had options!), she chose me. Wow! And so it is; God wants us to choose him; not because there were no other options, but rather, to choose him in the midst of man of what appear to be very enticing options.
And that is really the purpose of these two sermons--to help us think about how our choices always reflect which kingdom we are living in--the kingdom of this world, or the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ.
Choose wisely.
Thanks for digging deeper
Monday, February 6, 2012
When Heaven Invades Earth
Matthew 6:10 and 33, Mark 1:14-15
I am struck by the fact that when Jesus began his ministry, as recorded in each Gospel, his message was "The Kingdom of God has come. Repent and believe the good news." He spent a great deal of time in the Gospels (especially Matthew) explaining what the kingdom of heaven was like (check out all those parables in Matthew 13). And yet, the modern church today says so little about the Kingdom.
First off, we should not get too hung up over the difference between the Kingdom of Heaven (used most often in Matthew) and the Kingdom of God (used mostly in the other Gospels). We are rather sure that Matthew was simply keeping to good Jewish form in not wanting to use the name of God and thus substituted Heaven. The concepts are the same for both phrases in all the Gospels. This can be seen in that the phrases--Kingdom of Heaven and Kingdom of God are used interchangeably. Matthew does use Kingdom of God (4 times: 12:28, 19:24, 21:31, 21:43) and when Matthew uses Kingdom of Heaven, the other Gospels use Kingdom of God. For example, in Matthew Jesus begins preaching by announcing that the Kingdom of Heaven has come (Matt 3:2) but Mark records him as saying that the Kingdom of God has come (Mark 1:15; and also Luke 8:1). So the terms seem to be interchangeable.
(I know it seems like I am making much of this, but a whole system of biblical interpretation has been built around the idea that the two are different.)
Secondly, it can be a bit hard wrapping our heads around this idea because it is rather meta-physical. Jesus was clear that we cannot see the kingdom (Luke 17:21) and John says to perceive of it, one needs to be "born again" (John 3:3). The Kingdom of God does not have geographical boundaries. There is no capitol, at least not here on earth. The Kingdom of God is a reality and exists whenever and wherever anyone crowns God in Christ as Lord and Sovereign of their lives. It is a spiritual reign, not a physical realm.
That said, one might be tempted to say that the Church is the Kingdom of God. The Church both is and is not the Kingdom. Let me try to explain. Scholars often talk about the true, invisible, Church and the physical church. The invisible Church is the collection of all genuine believers in Jesus and the physical church, or the visible one, includes a mixture of genuine believers and those who are attracted to the beauty and activity of the church, but fall short of true belief. Jesus spoke about this in the parable of the Drag Net in Matthew 13:47-52.
The Kingdom of God is the sovereign rule of God when and where ever it exists. The true, invisible, Church is the group of individuals who respond to that rule. So the Kingdom includes the true Church, but is not limited to it. God's coverings rule extends beyond the church.
The real purpose of this sermon is to help us think about choosing to live in the Kingdom by choosing to live by kingdom values. We actually live on the front lines of a battle field in which two sides are warring against each other. This is happening 24/7. Next week I will speak about the converse idea to Heaven Invading Earth--When Hell Invades Earth--and will look a bit at this war. However, being on the front lines, as it were, it is far to easy for us to vacillate from one side to the other.
Lord, help me choose Your Kingdom, Your will, everyday in every way!
Thanks for digging deeper.
I am struck by the fact that when Jesus began his ministry, as recorded in each Gospel, his message was "The Kingdom of God has come. Repent and believe the good news." He spent a great deal of time in the Gospels (especially Matthew) explaining what the kingdom of heaven was like (check out all those parables in Matthew 13). And yet, the modern church today says so little about the Kingdom.
First off, we should not get too hung up over the difference between the Kingdom of Heaven (used most often in Matthew) and the Kingdom of God (used mostly in the other Gospels). We are rather sure that Matthew was simply keeping to good Jewish form in not wanting to use the name of God and thus substituted Heaven. The concepts are the same for both phrases in all the Gospels. This can be seen in that the phrases--Kingdom of Heaven and Kingdom of God are used interchangeably. Matthew does use Kingdom of God (4 times: 12:28, 19:24, 21:31, 21:43) and when Matthew uses Kingdom of Heaven, the other Gospels use Kingdom of God. For example, in Matthew Jesus begins preaching by announcing that the Kingdom of Heaven has come (Matt 3:2) but Mark records him as saying that the Kingdom of God has come (Mark 1:15; and also Luke 8:1). So the terms seem to be interchangeable.
(I know it seems like I am making much of this, but a whole system of biblical interpretation has been built around the idea that the two are different.)
Secondly, it can be a bit hard wrapping our heads around this idea because it is rather meta-physical. Jesus was clear that we cannot see the kingdom (Luke 17:21) and John says to perceive of it, one needs to be "born again" (John 3:3). The Kingdom of God does not have geographical boundaries. There is no capitol, at least not here on earth. The Kingdom of God is a reality and exists whenever and wherever anyone crowns God in Christ as Lord and Sovereign of their lives. It is a spiritual reign, not a physical realm.
That said, one might be tempted to say that the Church is the Kingdom of God. The Church both is and is not the Kingdom. Let me try to explain. Scholars often talk about the true, invisible, Church and the physical church. The invisible Church is the collection of all genuine believers in Jesus and the physical church, or the visible one, includes a mixture of genuine believers and those who are attracted to the beauty and activity of the church, but fall short of true belief. Jesus spoke about this in the parable of the Drag Net in Matthew 13:47-52.
The Kingdom of God is the sovereign rule of God when and where ever it exists. The true, invisible, Church is the group of individuals who respond to that rule. So the Kingdom includes the true Church, but is not limited to it. God's coverings rule extends beyond the church.
The real purpose of this sermon is to help us think about choosing to live in the Kingdom by choosing to live by kingdom values. We actually live on the front lines of a battle field in which two sides are warring against each other. This is happening 24/7. Next week I will speak about the converse idea to Heaven Invading Earth--When Hell Invades Earth--and will look a bit at this war. However, being on the front lines, as it were, it is far to easy for us to vacillate from one side to the other.
Lord, help me choose Your Kingdom, Your will, everyday in every way!
Thanks for digging deeper.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)