Witness of the Six Doors – 31 August 2023, Anno Domini

 

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ND the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? 7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.  (Genesis 4:6-7)

 

            The door of a structure could be considered its most important feature since it either denies, or allows, access to, or departure from, the building. The first mention of the word ‘door’ appears in the quoted text above. God declares a offer of reward or of condemnation to Cain. The door was that of the soul to Cain. He had admitted hatred and covetousness for his brother Abel that resulted in bloody murder. Once jealousy rules the soul, it becomes a monster of unlimited evil. That was not the Door of Salvation but of ruin.

 

            The first Door we shall discuss is that of Noah’s Ark. It symbolized the Door of Salvation that only God could close on mankind. 15 And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life. 16 And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in. (Genesis 7:15-16) The Ark of Salvation today is our Lord Jesus Christ. No one is worthy to shut the door of that salvation but the Lord – just as with the Ark of Noah’s day.

 

            The second Door is the blood-sprinkled Door of Goshen. On the tenth plague in Egypt, God declared the first-born of every man and beast would die in that terrible night of the first Passover. God commanded Pharoah and the Children of Israel: Thus saith the LORD, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt: 5 And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts. 6 And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more. (Exodus 11: 4-6)  God instructed Israel to take a lamb without blemish and sacrifice the same on the eve of the first Passover. They were to smear the blood over the lintels of the Door and on the s thereof. When the Angel of Death passed over the land that night, He would Passover the homes so covered by the blood. Next mourning there arose a sorrowful and increasing mournful cry in Egypt as those who were not covered by the blood lost the firstborn of each family and of each beast of burden. It is important for us today to be covered by that life-giving blood. 

 

            The third Door is the Door of the City. It is this door of the nations that also must be covered with the blood of the Lamb for Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord – Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance. (Psalm 33:12) Rahab hid the two Israelite spies at the time of the closing of the Door, or gate, of Jericho. She was told to leave the red cord of salvation hanging out her window as a sign of her own, and her family’s, salvation from the coming destruction when the doors of protection would fall down. That Crimson thread of sacrifice runs throughout the Bible from Genesis 3:15 to Revelations 22:21.

 

The fourth Door of grave importance is the Open Door that the Lord has set before us. Our Lord told the Church at Philadelphia, I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. (Revelation 3:8)  This is also the Door to the churches. Christ’s concluding council to the churches, who have shut Him out with false doctrine says, Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. Christ stands without, not within these entertainment -oriented churches of a false Gospel.

 

The fifth Door is sadly labelled the Closed Door. Though we may outwardly profess Christ, we have not the Holy Spirit dwelling in our hearts. The outward vessel is cleaned and garnished, but inward we are as lost as a worthless penny. Those who rejected the preaching of Noah found that Door closed just as many today who will only bow the knee to Christ in terror at the last Day. When the Father throws His banquet Marriage Supper, many will find the Door closed as with the five virgins – righteous without, but lacking the Spirit within.

 

The final and most important sixth Door is the Door that is our Lord Jesus Christ. I am the DOOR: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. (John 10:9)  Christ is not only the Good Shepherd, but it is by Him that all must gain entrance to the sheepfold. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He is the ONLY Way, the Only Truth, and the only LIFE. This is the most important Door your will ever stand before in your earthly life. Take it today.

Hymns 537 – Christ for the World we Sing – 30 August 2023, Anno Domini

  

 

 

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ND he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. 8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judæa, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. (Acts 1:7-8)

 

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O ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.   (Matthew 28:19-20)

 

This beautiful hymn was the first of more than two hundred hymns composed by Samuel Wolcott. This hymn was complete in 1869 when Wolcott was fifty-six years of age. It marked the beginning of his renewed ministry to the forsaken of the big cities of America. He had ministered in Syria, but support failed and he found it necessary to return to America. His spirit was invigorated at a YMCA meeting at which the banner read, Christ for the World, and the World for Christ.  He realized that it was not only the distant Syrians who needed to hear the Word of God, but the poor, the widows, the orphans, the elderly, and the down-and-out. The tune, Trinity, or Moscow, (same as ‘Come Thou Almighty King’) was composed by Felice de Giardini in 1769. Though Italian by birth, Giardini was in Moscow at the time of his writing the tune and near the time of his death there.

 

Christ for the World we Sing

 

Christ for the world we sing;

the world to Christ we bring

with loving zeal:

the poor and them that mourn,

the faint and overborne,

sin-sick and sorrow-worn,

for Christ doth heal.

 

Christ for the world we sing;

the world to Christ we bring

with fervent pray'r:

the wayward and the lost,

by restless passions tossed,

redeemed at countless cost

from dark despair.

 

Christ for the world we sing;

the world to Christ we bring

with one accord:

with us the work to share,

with us reproach to dare,

with us the cross to bear,

for Christ our Lord.

 

Christ for the world we sing;

the world to Christ we bring

with joyful song:

the newborn souls whose days,

reclaimed from error's ways,

inspired with hope and praise,

to Christ belong.

 

1 Christ for the world we sing; the world to Christ we bring with loving zeal: the poor and them that mourn, the faint and overborne, sin-sick and sorrow-worn, for Christ doth heal. The power of music is strong for righteousness and when combined with powerful lyrics, it is likely that it could be used to pen the eyes of the lost person to the beauty and truth of the Gospel. Music has even been instrumental in Israel’s military conquests under Deborah: 3 Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes; I, even I, will sing unto the LORD; I will sing praise to the LORD God of Israel. 4 LORD, when thou wentest out of Seir, when thou marchedst out of the field of Edom, the earth trembled, and the heavens dropped, the clouds also dropped water. 5 The mountains melted from before the LORD, even that Sinai from before the LORD God of Israel. Christ did not come for those who considered themselves spiritually righteous, but for the lame and halt, the deaf and dumb, the sick, the poor, and the disconsolate. The self-righteous (such as the scribes and Pharisees) could not bend their hearts to hear Him.

 

            2 Christ for the world we sing; the world to Christ we bring with fervent pray'r: the wayward and the lost, by restless passions tossed, redeemed at countless cost from dark despair. There are many resources available to the wise to glorify the majesty of God – graphic art, poetry, the fountains of love, and music, too. We sing and the world listens, but to what kind of music do we sing. If we are to elevate souls, our music must be of the quality to accomplish that end. I am not certain, but I believe it was Lord Acton who said, Show me the songs of a nation and I will define that nations character. Much of our music in America today does not elevate souls but, au contraire – it depraves and demeans the goodness of God’s Creation. There are songs, however, that do elevate such as the Battle Hymn of the Republic, Stars & Stripes Forever, Onward Christian Soldiers, Panis Angelicus, etc. This music lifts the unbecoming yoke of the despondent and points to the glorious sunrise.

 

            3 Christ for the world we sing; the world to Christ we bring with one accord: with us the work to share, with us reproach to dare, with us the cross to bear, for Christ our Lord. Our testimony of Christ is not merely with the spoken word, but with the spoken life. How do we testify of Christ by our love, our charity, or honesty, and our integrity of faith? Truth is immutable! Are we of the Church untied in the singular One by whose stripes we are healed? At Morning Prayer we recite the Apostles Creed which unites us as One in faith and Doctrine. Are we united as well in bearing the cross of our Lord’s calling? If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. (Luke 9:23) When I was marching on the Plain at West Point in the broiling summer heat, I found my steps much lighter as the band played a rousing march. The same is true of the Christian walk – it is far easier to bear our crosses daily if we have a song in our hearts given by our Lord. He gives the song along with that cross He gives to bear.

 

            4 Christ for the world we sing; the world to Christ we bring with joyful song: the newborn souls whose days, reclaimed from error's ways, inspired with hope and praise, to Christ belong. It is often our songs that arouse interest and appreciation in others for our faith thereby drawing them near to hear the Word preached from His Holy Bible. It is not enough to bring a soul to the Throne of Mercy and Grace. That one must be nurtured in the walk as his burdens have been lifted by Christ. He must not forget the songs that keep him marching in step with other believers. Hope in Christ inspired by the Word, and praise in both song and worship, will keep us all marching to the same drum-beat of Heaven.

AOC Sunday Report – Twelfth Sunday after Trinity

Happy Twelfth Sunday after Trinity!

The AOC Sunday Report can be downloaded RIGHT HERE!

This morning we have excellent sermons from Bishops Jerry and Roy, as well as Revs Jack and Bryan. We are very pleased to have Bryan back online. Please continue your prayers for his full recovery.  Rev Jack brings the Propers together today.    His sermon can be viewed on videoHERE -> https://youtu.be/M7CeMnOezg8

In the Collect, for the first time in a long time, we acknowledge we are continually pray to God, asking Him for what WE want. Yet, how oft do we listen to Him when He responds with what we need?   Very much like in our society today, too many Jews only cared about not violating the Law, not about the spirit of the Law which was intended. People today have a tendency to want to be a law abiding citizen and not break any laws. They forget about the spirit of the laws. In the Gospel, Jesus helped a deaf man with an impediment of speech. It is a parable in of itself. The deaf man is a stand in for us. We who cannot seemingly hear God’s commands, or won’t.

There are always a lot of people who need your prayers, today is no exception.  Please start with Billie, Tricia, Shamu, Laurie and move on from there.

Prayer List Notice – If you have someone on the prayer list and their needs have changed, please let us know.  We’d like to update our prayers to reflect the need and most important to give thanks!

There is a lot going on in the world right now, it is tempting to just curl up in a ball and hope it goes away,.  It won't and God put us here on earth to make a difference.  If you do not know what to do, ask Him.  He will send you instructions via the Holy Ghost.  You can make a difference with your actions. For it is by their actions they are known.

Have an EPIC Week!

Godspeed,

Hap
Church of the Faithful Centurion
Descanso, California
United States of America

Sermon Notes - Twelfth Sunday after Trinity - Tell no Man - Anglican Orthodox Communion Worldwide - 27 August 2023, Anno Domini

The Twelfth Sunday after Trinity.

 

The Collect.

 

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LMIGHTY and everlasting God, who art always more ready to hear than we to pray, and art wont to give more than either we desire or deserve; Pour down upon us the abundance of thy mercy; forgiving us those things whereof our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things which we are not worthy to ask, but through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ, thy Son, our Lord. Amen.

 

The Collect

            Healing, of which our COLLECT speaks, begins with repentance for the sinner. But the 

man of our text today could not come to Christ without someone BRINGING HIM. He could not even pray for healing as he knew not how to formulate words. We must be ready and willing to bring those who are dumb to their condition to confront the Word of God head-on to understand the perilous ground upon which they stand. The man of our story, as well, was unworthy of asking and was not worthy of the granting, but Christ healed him out of His great love and compassion. I believe the man thereby by wholly healed, not only of hearing and speech, but in having his sins remitted as well. Jesus never does any work half-handedly.

 

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ND again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis. ³² And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him. ³³ And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue; ³⁴ And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. ³⁵ And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain. ³⁶ And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it; ³⁷ And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak. (Mark 7:31-37)

                  

The Sermon

            In today’s Gospel text, Jesus heals a deaf and dumb man in an unusual manner. The man is socially completely isolated from any daily intercourse. He can neither hear, nor speak. He has always suffered in a prison of silence and inability to express his opinions or needs with others. So, Jesus takes him to a place separate from the crowd with which the man is accustomed. Since the man cannot hear what Christ will do, our Lord points out that He is about to heal his hearing by placing his fingers in his ear and, secondly, Jesus moistened His finger and touches the man’s tongue to give him sensation of His intention to heal his inability to speak. He does so and the man is utterly healed of both afflictions.

 

            In the Gospel verses just preceding these, the Lord has just cast out a devil from the daughter of a Syrophoenician mother with no more than a verbal pronouncement. But now He takes a different approach that seems strange. But the greater point is this: there are many ways to accomplish the will of the Lord in our calling. Some are called to reach those nearby them daily by thought, word, and deed. Others are sent to distant mission fields where they face daily endangerment of life and limb. Some preach, others write and publish, and some live lives of deprivation rather than succumb to the temptations of the world. But all serve in their respective capacities.

 

            The Lord is not bound to any particular approach. Men try to develop formulas and schemes to follow in every case, but the Lord does not always act in the same manner. 

 

            You will note how the men who brought the man who was deaf and with a speech impediment to Christ out of both faith and love; yet, these men attempted to instruct Jesus on how He should heal the man. and they beseech him to put his hand upon him. They had already dismissed every other means but the laying on of hands; but this was not the formula the Lord followed – because there is no formula to which the Lord is bound.

 

            The man had a speech impediment because he was deaf. Many suffer from the same loss of diction since they are unable to hear words in order to formulate the vowel sounds. But the healing of the sinner begins with hearing, then wholeness of soul follows. So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:17) The same may be true with the impediment of speech. Once the ears can hear, the mouth can produce the sounds.

 

            Our text opens today following the visit of Christ to the coast of Tyre and Sidon where, we are told in Verse 24, He could not be hid. Because He was SOUGHT out by a Syro-Phenecian woman who had HEARD of Him, came and fell at His feet pleading that He cast out an unclean spirit from her precious little daughter, her prayer was answered. This Christ did. The lesson, of course, is this: Christ can in no wise be hidden from those who seek Him. How may the Light of the World be concealed in the desert night? Moreover, He delights at being found by those who seek Him. As our Prayer of Collect says: He is always more ready to hear than we to ask. So Christ deliberately desires to give us that for which we ask – as long as we ask for those things that it is His will to grant. One of the characteristics of the spirit of a Christian is that of a SEEKER. Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. (Matt 7:7-8)

 

            No man comes to Christ if he has not sought Him out. So first and foremost, we must have a Seeker spirit. There must have been a great guilt that has impinged upon our consciences at some point, evoked by the Holy Spirit, to cause us to feel and know our absolute depravity and sin.  Even a dying child, or a dreadful disease, may awaken us to our great need – ‘the soul’s sincere desire.’ Some, like the lost sheep, know not where to seek; so they bleat and scurry to and fro in the wilderness rocks until their cries are heard by the Good Shepherd who comes to them in their loneliness and fright. Shouldn’t we, if able, be like those Greeks who came to Philip at Bethsaida, and desired of him,inquiring: Sir, we would see Jesus! (John 12:21)But, like the lost sheep of the parable, are not able to go to Him, so they cry out where they are. Some are blind, cannot see, and are BROUGHT to Christ so that the scales may be removed from their eyes and they may see. How does such faith come? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.(Romans 10:17) Have you both heard and believed from the Word of God? Someone must have TOLD you. Have you told others?

 

            Now, in order to share good news, one must be the recipient of Good News – the Good News that is the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ! Knowing a truth of imponderable benefit to others must compel us to speak out. Have we remembered the Lord’s very last prayer before His ascension? Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.  (Matt 28:19-20) Have you gone to those who have not heard, who cannot see to come to Christ?

 

            Now Jesus returns the shore of the Galilean Sea – to Decapolis. We are told that, without the news of His coming being published in the newspapers or broadcast on radio, men brought a fellow to Christ who could neither see nor speak. How did they know that Christ was coming? Perhaps bad news does travel rapidly, but Good News travels with the speed of light – the Light of the World. Every place that Christ went, healing and doing good, the witnesses heralded his name and movements everywhere. The news was simply too good to keep silence. It is impossible to know Christ and keep silent. There are no secret Christians! 

 

            Once we have seen, heard, and known Christ, there is a second spirit that must evince itself – the MISSIONARY SPIRIT! So how is Christ greeted on His arrival at Decapolis on the coasts of Galilee? Men bring to Him a friend who was both deaf and had a speech impediment. Such impediments of speech are common to those who have not, and cannot, hear. All who have not heard the Gospel are also handicapped from speaking it to others. These men who brought this deaf man to Christ had already heard of Him and knew that He was able to heal. So they put feet to their faith and brought a man who could not have heard of Christ. Faith is like a newborn babe – it cannot lie still. It must exercise itself and cry out and, thereby, GROW! Our own faith is increased when we share that faith with others and observe the resulting miracle!

 

            32 And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him. Men, who were able to know of Christ by HEARING of Him, now bring one to Christ who had no such benefit. I love the spirit of love and compassion that is generated in a heart full of faith. Please note that these men ask nothing that would be shocking of Christ. They do not make demands in their prayer such as the modern church advocates. They besought (pleaded) only that Christ put His hand upon the deaf and dumb man. Why were they not more specific? Do our prayers have to be specific in detail? Not at all! In the Lord’s Prayer, we simply ask that His will be done. If the will of Christ is done in our lives, it will be enough! These men could not demand that Christ restore the man’s tongue and loose his ears. So, they knew that the mercy of Christ would do all things needful. We never inquire or suggest the means by which Christ should answer our prayers, we should settle always for the happy result and not the means. We might properly remember that His ways are not OUR ways, and our ways are not His ways.

 

            There is no secret formula or incantation whereby the miraculous works of God are produced. The simple and mysterious manner in which Christ healed this man could be replicated precisely a thousand times by mere men with no such result. The power was not in the MEANS, but in the LORD! 33 And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue.  The example here is one of intimacy. We would sooner drink from the same glass as our child than that of another’s. When we are healed, it is a matter between the one being healed and the healer. So Christ took the man away from the multitude. Our greatest healing from sin is ALWAYS a matter of our coming face to face with Christ and apart from the multitudes. Christ touched the man by placing His fingers in his ears, and spit and touched His tongue.. The man was not repelled by this intimate touch. His great need was to speak and hear – not to worry about the means. Many of my own prayers have been answered in amazing and surprising ways – almost never the way I expected. Jesus is a Lord of surprises. He will answer our prayers in ways that will result in our greatest benefit and in ways that we could never have imagined. When we pray, we must expect to be touched by Him, and we must expect to receive Him into our innermost being.

 

            Christ did all things in perfect fellowship with the Father. When we undertake to serve God with a great work, even though our intentions may be commendable, we must first look to God. 34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. Even our Lord Jesus Christ, the only Begotten of the Father, looked to His Father in all of His works and miracles. He did so because, first, He wished to have His Father’s concurrence in all things; and, secondly, He desired to glorify the Father in all that He did. So must we! Do we boast of our success at organizing a worship service that attracts man, or our success at Bible studies that attract many? The glory is not ours, but belongs to God. In healing, Jesus ALWAYS took compassion on the person who sought it. The Good Samaritan was the only one who took compassion on the poor fellow who lay dying on the Road to Jericho. He felt the pain of the Jew. Jesus feels our pain as if it were His own. He makes Himself One with whomever He touches to heal and forgive.

 

            What was the results of the Lord’s command of Ephphatha!?   35 And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain. When Christ speaks a single word to our hearts, the response is immediate – just as immediate as Paul’s being struck down on the road to Damascus. The mystery of god is at work in opening eyes that they may see, or even in blinding the eyes that we may KNOW Him as Paul was blinded on that Road. Once our eyes have been opened to the beauty of the Lord, our tongues shall also speak plainly of Him -  ….the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain.

 

            The counsel of our Lord in the next verse may seem a bit strange, but it has a great lesson secreted in its heart. 36 And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it. Please tell me: was this not a bit improbable that a man could be healed of speech and hearing and should remain silent about it? Do you really believe that Jesus intended that they MUST not tell anyone? Remember the young man, blind from birth, whose sight Jesus restored and commanded to tell no one? Or do you remember the leper that Christ healed whom He commanded, Tell no man! What profound truth was Christ conveying with such counsel? I believe the answer to that question is apparent based on what I know of the loving Lord.. How can a man who has been unable to speak keep silence after having his speech restored? It is natural and irresistible that the first thing such a man will do is practice his speech, and tell every soul how he recovered it. The same with the blind man who was healed. How can he go home to his parents and not tell them the obvious – that once he was blind, but now he sees? Or the leper, who was forced to separate himself from friends and family, not tell all that he no longer has leprosy and why?

 

            Jesus is making this point: Once the power of God has worked a marvelous work and a wonder in your soul, how can you keep silence even if commanded by God Himself! Jesus is saying to us, Though I command your silence from telling others all that I have done in healing your guilty soul and your body, you cannot bear to keep silence. Once you have known Christ and His Gospel, it will be IMPOSSIBLE for you to keep that secret! You must proclaim the good news from the roof tops!

 

            When Christ has forgiven your sins, and received you by adoption into the family of God, all people will see the change and wonder of that marvelous work come over you.  37 And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak. When Christ works a miracle in your life, it is seldom solitary – it is a healing of all ills the first of which is your deadly disease of sin. He practices ‘triage’ in addressing our most serious affliction first – and that most serious affliction is always sin, for its end is eternal death and darkness.

Twelfth Sunday after Trinity - Propers with explanation – Rev Jack’s Sermon – With Video

  

Rev Jack brings the Propers together today.    His sermon is below the propers and can be viewed on video HERE -> https://youtu.be/M7CeMnOezg8

 

In the Collect, for the first time in a long time, we acknowledge we are continually pray to God, asking Him for what WE want. Yet, how oft do we listen to Him when He responds with what we need?   Very much like in our society today, too many Jews only cared about not violating the Law, not about the spirit of the Law which was intended. People today have a tendency to want to be a law abiding citizen and not break any laws. They forget about the spirit of the laws. In the Gospel, Jesus helped a deaf man with an impediment of speech. It is a parable in of itself. The deaf man is a stand in for us. We who cannot seemingly hear God’s commands, or won’t.

The Propers for today are found on Page 206-207, with the Collect first:

 

The Twelfth Sunday after Trinity.

 

The Collect.

 

A

LMIGHTY and everlasting God, who art always more ready to hear than we to pray, and art wont to give more than either we desire or deserve; Pour down upon us the abundance of thy mercy; forgiving us those things whereof our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things which we are not worthy to ask, but through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ, thy Son, our Lord. Amen

 

The Epistle for today came from Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians, the Third Chapter beginning at the Fourth Verse.  Paul reminds  us through the Grace of God we can be able ministers of the new testament, on our own we can be in the end no good.  If we are able to completely follow the Law, with good intent, we can through that please God, but inasmuch as that is impossible we fall short.  The letter of the Law, which cannot be complied with is death.  But following the spirit of the Law gives life.  That is Jesus’ message, for in the Law is death and in the spirit life.  For if there is glory in administering the Law, how much more glory is there in the spirit of the Law, which is Jesus’ message?

 

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UCH trust have we through Christ to God-ward: not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: how shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.

 

Today’s Holy Gospel began in the Seventh Chapter of the Gospel according to St. Mark, beginning at the Thirty-First Verse. Jesus came in to the coast of Decapolis[1].   The people brought unto him a deaf mute. Jesus examined the man, put his fingers in his ears, touched his tongue and said “Ephphatha”[2], that is, “Be opened.”  What Jesus did here for the deaf mute physically is what he does for each of us spiritually.  Through Jesus, we hear the Word of God and are given the ability to speak it.  Conversely, there are none so deaf as those who will not hear and none so blind as those who will not see.  It is up to each of us to choose if we will remain blind, deaf and dumb or open our eyes to see, hear and speak the Word of God.  When we receive the gift of sight, hearing and speech we embark on a new life of freedom.

 

J

ESUS, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis. And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him. And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue; and looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain. And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it; and were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.

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[1] Decapolis - ten cities=deka, ten, and polis, a city, a district on the east and south-east of the Sea of Galilee containing "ten cities, " which were chiefly inhabited by Greeks. It included a portion of Bashan and Gilead, and is mentioned three times in the New Testament (Matt. 4: 25; Mark 5: 20; 7: 31). These cities were Scythopolis, i. e., "city of the Scythians", (ancient Bethshean, the only one of the ten cities on the west of Jordan), Hippos, Gadara, Pella (to which the Christians fled just before the destruction of Jerusalem), Philadelphia (ancient Rabbath-ammon), Gerasa, Dion, Canatha, Raphana, and Damascus. When the Romans conquered Syria (B. C. 65) they rebuilt, and endowed with certain privileges, these "ten cities, " and the province connected with them they called "Decapolis. "

[2] Ephphatha the Greek form of a Syro-Chaldaic or Aramaic word, meaning "Be opened", uttered by Christ when healing the man who was deaf and dumb (Mark 7: 34). It is one of the characteristics of Mark that he uses the very Aramaic words which fell from our Lord's lips. (See 3: 17; 5: 41; 7: 11; 14: 36; 15: 34)

Sermon – Reverend Jack Arnold - Time and Action

Church of the Faithful Centurion

Descanso, California

Rev Jack brings the Propers together today.    His sermon can be viewed on video HERE ->https://youtu.be/M7CeMnOezg8

 

Today’s sermon tied the Collect, Epistle and Gospel together.  

 

Consider the words of the Collect, wherein we ask God who is … more ready to hear than we to pray, and art wont to give more than either we desire or deserve; Pour down upon us the abundance of thy mercy; forgiving us those things whereof our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things which we are not worthy to ask …

 

For the first time in a long time, this collect acknowledges we are continually pray to God, asking Him for what WE want.  Yet, how oft do we listen to Him when He responds with what we need?[1]  If we will listen to Him and DO what He asks, He will give us more than we have need of, more than we ask for and more than we can even desire. The point of the collect is that He has unlimited resources for this and also able to forgive us for things of which are bearing on our conscience. Yet, it requires us to listen to Him, then ACT[2]on what we are told.  When we ask His forgiveness, when He gives it, we need to accept it and live it; if we live in the past, we never will benefit. The only place we can accept it is in the present, in the here and now.   

 

The Collect also acknowledges that God is more ready and more inclined to listen to us that we are to pray to Him. That is a sad but simple truth and it reflects His perfect nature versus our imperfect free will nature. We are called to pray to God more often and asking Him for what we need and not just what we want. Want and need are two different words, often used interchangeably which is incorrect. When we do pray to God, He will give us far better answers than we could have ever dreamed up ourselves and if we act upon His Words and take them to heart, the results will be more amazing and epic than we ever could have possibly imagined.

 

As we all know the past has already happened; it is unchangeable. It is set in stone.  The future has not yet happened, but can only be influenced through our actions in the present. This is why worrying about the future and past is pointless. We have to recognize these two facts and carry on with our lives with the lessons we learned from the past. We can’t change the past but we can learn from it. We also cannot change things that are undetermined to happen, We can only influence things in the present.  To use computer speak, the past and undetermined to happen events are read only and not read and write. The present is where we can read and write and make changes to our lives. Dwelling on the past does not help solve the problems of the present or future. We must take the lessons of the past, but then once learned, look no more back but forward to what we can do in the present, the only realm of time in which we can actually influence anything. 

 

How do we learn? Luckily for us God gives us guidance to learn through the Holy Ghost, if we will but accept it.  He gives us the power to act in the spirit of The Law.  The Law or actually 613 little laws turned out to be in of itself a death sentence.  The Jews could not, or would not, comply with the 613 Mosaic Laws, which brought them death.  The Law brought Death, but the New Testament of Jesus Christ brought to us Life, true everlasting life. 

 

Very much like in our society today, too many Jews only cared about not violating the Law, not about the spirit of the Law which was intended. People today have  a tendency  to want to be a law abiding citizen and not break any laws. They forget about the spirit of the laws. Following the letter of the Law does not save an individual, following the spirit of the Law is what counts. If you follow the spirit of the Law, you are following what the Law was meant for.  Jesus is the ultimate embodiment of the Law. As the embodiment of the Law, He gave us the important bits of the law, when He gave us the Summary of The Law, which through Him would bring life, everlasting life and happiness here on earth:

 

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HOU shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets. 

 

Only two laws to comply with, which though simpler, are harder:

 

1.     Love God

2.     Love your neighbor like yourself

 

There is no getting around these two moral laws; no loopholes in these two laws, they are very plain and very clear.  If you follow those two laws, there is not much other guidance. The Ten Commandments themselves spring from these two laws as a moral base. Loving God and loving your neighbor like yourself will greatly improve your life and others around if you consistently follow it. This is not something anybody can get around, you have to follow them exactly as written.  The Summary of the Law is the spirit of the New Testament, which is we are to love God and love our neighbors. These are both things seemingly contrary to our sinful nature, but with the help of the Holy Ghost, they can be overcome. And they are also both things that will greatly improve our lives here on Earth. If not in a monetary sense, most certainly our lives will be improved spiritually if we follow the Summary of the Law. If you understand the Big Picture, you know what to do on your part of the Little Picture to make your world line up with His World. Our problem is that like the Jews  we cannot perfectly line up our world with His. Because we come from the same common ancestor, Adam, we have the curse of free will. Luckily for us, we have the Holy Ghost. He can be so useful for us, inputting change of course corrections to us. We just need to listen to His input and then act upon it accordingly. 

 

In the Gospel, Jesus helped a deaf man with an impediment of speech. It is a parable in of itself. The deaf man is a stand in for us. We who cannot seemingly hear God’s commands, or won’t. Our speech impediment is that we have sin and that sin causes us to utter offensive or wrong things in our day to day lives. We are asking for Him to heal us of both spiritual impediments. Without His help, we cannot be cleared of our spiritual deafness and uncleanliness.  If we will allow Him into our hearts, Jesus Christ will remove that spiritual block that causes the spiritual deafness and uncleanliness.  We will transform from spiritually deaf creatures to spiritually aware.

 

 

The Holy Ghost is a large part of our spiritual lives. Without Him, we could not be considered one of Christ’s sheep. He is the one who communicates from God to us and how we are to act on this Earth. He helps guide our spiritual paths and advises us on the correct actions to be taken. We have to let Him into our hearts and lead the transforming and renewal of our minds. Without His help, we cannot adequately follow Him. In other words, we are doomed without the help of the Holy Ghost, which will give us His guidance and advice in conducting our church, professional and personal lives. 

 

When Jesus opened the ears and mouth of the deaf mute, He did for him what the Holy Ghost will do for us, if we will but let Him open first our ears to hear, then our mouths to testify, communicate and direct.  We must lead people to God, not try to push them.  Thus, we need to strive, each of us, to follow God more closely so we can pull on the lead rope.  Leading requires being in front of the people you are attempting to lead, having them follow your example towards an objective.  Study Jesus’ life, He is a perfect example of a leader.  We cannot ever be perfect, but we can strive for that perfection in our actions.

 

Action counts.  For by their actions ye shall know them. 

                                              

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

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[1] Herein lies another problem.  If we pray, it seems we continually pray for what we want and we oft want things that are contrary to our actual needs.  Imperfect creatures with free will, a bad combination in itself, we continually use and understand in our hearts two words: need and want, to mean the same thing; when in fact they often mean two diametrically opposed things.  Thus, amongst other things and perhaps before, we need to pray for the Holy Ghost to help us to understand the difference and ask for what we need.

[2] Here we are again, back to the old Action, not Diction, is what counts!

The Tree of Marah – 24 August 2023, Anno Domini

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ND when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah. 24 And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? 25 And he cried unto the Lord; and the Lord shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them, (Exodus 15:23-25)

 

We often read over passages of the Bible without noticing the greater and extraordinary meaning that it lays before us. I have read the above passage many times over without seeing a beautiful principle hidden between its lines. 

 

            After leading the Children of Israel out of Egypt with many miracles and wonders – including the Pillar of Cloud by Day and Fire by Night; and the parting of the Red Sea waters – the first place at which they arrived was the Wilderness of Marah. They were perishing of thirst, but found the waters there bitter. In fact, that is what the name Marah means – bitter - the same that Naomi assumed on return from Moab. It was the beginning of many tests for Israel in the wilderness journey most of which they failed in miserable abandon. So here they find themselves in desperate need of drinking water, but this water was undrinkable! As usual, their first response was not to call upon the Lord for provision, but to complain to the man God had anointed to bring them forth out of cruel bondage in Egypt. They murmured against Moses. The life of a dedicated minister of God can be a most unpleasant calling when the people he is sent to deliver are obnoxiously without faith or grace. Now, Moses did what his following should have done in the first place, He cried unto the Lord!

 

            I believe we all have been guilty of this same breach of faith – I know I have. I have faced frustration, rebellious members, and a multitude of other problems that seemed totally impossible to overcome, but, finally, when I have called upon the Lord, He has made my path straight and my steps sure. Why, though, is He our last resort to solutions? (When all else fails, read the instructions, right?)

 

            The Lord showed Moses a Tree. The Tree had been there all along, but it meant nothing until the Lord gave it meaning. When Moses threw the tree into the bitter waters, they became sweet to the taste and healthful to the body. God is good at such feats, but He also desires that we keep our hearts (wisdom) and minds (knowledge) open to His solutions rather than banging our heads constantly against a wall.

 

            God uses trees often to emphasize some spiritual truth. The Cedars of Lebanon exemplify dignity and strength. The Palm Tree illustrates the kind of deep roots that a Christian should have in fathoming the deep meanings of Holy Scripture even in a desert place.  Famous American poet, Joyce Kilmer, wrote the poem ‘Trees’ in 1913 and was later killed by a sniper’s bullet at the Battle of the Marne (1918) in World War I: 

 

I think that I shall never see

A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest

Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in summer wear 

A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree.

 

            The Psalmist, David, compared the righteous man or woman to a tree whose nature is to feed upon the deep waters of love and truth: “And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water.” (Psalm 1:3) Of course, there is another all-important tree that we first find in the Garden eastward in Eden – the Tree of Life. This represents our Lord Jesus Christ that our early parents rejected. It is now to be found in the Heavenly City – New Jerusalem! “And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the Tree of Life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” (Revelations 22:1-2) But because of our sins, that beautiful Tree had to be an altar of curse and sacrifice of our Lord. “And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree: His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.” (Deuteronomy 21:22-23)

 

It is true Christ was hung (crucified) on a tree, but not for His own sins, but for ours that they might be remitted and we receive that grace and mercy reserved for His Elect.

The Choice of Moses – 25 August 2023, Anno Domini

 

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Y faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; 25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; 26 Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward. 27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible. 28 Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them. 29 By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned.   (Hebrews 11:24-29)

 

                Our lives on earth are punctuated by the choices we make. The earlier the right choice is made, the better the outcome. As children, we enjoyed a conscience free of the many temptations that life brings, so, those of us who gain wisdom early will forego many disappointing outcomes later. 

 

            God often places barriers and roadblocks before us to lead us to a better choice if we have been blessed to hear His still, small voice. The rich young ruler (Matt 19:16-22 & Mark 10:17-27) made a choice common to those of youthful immaturity and covetous disposition – he could not forsake his riches for the greater wealth of the Kingdom of God. Our Lord pointed out to him that he was not even keeping the First Commandment, much less the other Nine. God does not struggle with the obstinately self-righteous.

 

            Sometimes, the Lord confronts us with an offer we simply cannot refuse as in the case of Saul of Tarsus. (see Acts 9:1-19) Saul (later named Paul) was an unlikely candidate for the Lord’s calling – aren’t we all? He had overseen the stoning of Stephen and now threatened the same fate for the Christians at Damascus. And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. (Acts 9:1-2) But in the prescience of God, Saul never arrived at Damascus to consummate his evil plan. The Lord struck Saul down on that road and blinded him to his former plans and set him on a new path. This was an offer Saul could scarce refuse.

 

            The choices God offers are as old as Creation Week itself. He gave Adam and Eve a choice – either the things of the world, or those fruits of the Tree of Life (which symbolized our Lord Jesus Christ). The bad choices we make not only impact our own lives but those of others. Adam’s choice has adversely affected all of Creation since. The bad choices we make in our youth, though repented of, can have unfavorable consequences on our lives in future years. The distance between the upward Narrow and downward Broad Way increases over time with our sins, and sin leaves scars. But here is mercy and grace in God.

 

            The apostles were simply invited by Christ to come and follow me, and they did so without question. The call of God is irresistible, and He is able to enforce the call according to His will and purpose for us.

 

            Moses might have been considered to live on ‘cloud nine’ in Egypt. He was part of the royal household. The delicacies of the world were available to him, yet, God drove home to him that he had a people in Goshen – his own flesh and blood – and nothing is stronger than blood ties, especially the blood of Christ that unites the Christian Church together in Oneness with God the Father, God the son, and God the Holy Ghost. God had other plans for Moses of which he did not know. At forty years of age, Moses defended an Israelite against a cruel Egyptian overseer resulting in the death of the overseer. Though we may look with dismay on that act, it all was used by the Lord to separate Moses from his adoptive family and reunite him with his true family in God. Moses fled Egypt and lived for another forty years in the wilderness until God revealed His plan to him. 

 

            We often get impatient waiting upon the Lord to reveal His plan for our lives, but Moses had the patience to wait until the Lord revealed to him His plans in the Burning Bush that burned but was not consumed. Moses had forsaken the luxury of the world’s spices for the bitter herbs of forty more years of wandering in the wilderness with an obnoxious and incorrigible people for whom Moses forsook all. Though his choice to do so may have been made out of duress of the Hand of God, he made the good choice nonetheless and suffered rejection, back-stabbing, and rebellion from the people over whom the Lord had given him responsibility to lead to the Promised Land. Moses was taken in sleep by the Lord on Mt. Nebo ere he crossed over Jordan to the Land of Promise. But it was the Lord’s decision to take Moses from the squalor of the world and lift him to His glorious reward with Him in Paradies, for next mention of Moses was to see him with Christ communing on the Mount of Transfiguration. What a blessing awaits all who follow the Lord’s leading!