1 John 2:1-6; 2 Timothy 3:14-17;
2 Timothy 4:1-5; Jude 3,4
May 3, 2009
“Truth Telling”
Rev. Meagan M. Boozer
1 John 2:1-6
1My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; 2and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. 3Now by this we may be sure that we know him, if we obey his commandments. 4Whoever says, “I have come to know him,” but does not obey his commandments, is a liar, and in such a person the truth does not exist; 5but whoever obeys his word, truly in this person the love of God has reached perfection. By this we may be sure that we are in him: 6whoever says, “I abide in him,” ought to walk just as he walked.
2 Timothy 3:14-17
14But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it, 15and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 4:1-5
1In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I solemnly urge you: 2proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching. 3For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, 4and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths. 5As for you, always be sober, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, carry out your ministry fully.
Jude 3,4
3Beloved, while eagerly preparing to write to you about the salvation we share, I find it necessary to write and appeal to you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. 4For certain intruders have stolen in among you, people who long ago were designated for this condemnation as ungodly, who pervert the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
About a week and a half ago, John and I went for dinner at my brother Graham’s house with one of our dearest, most treasured family friends – Kitty Ingram. Kitty is the widow of Roy Ingram, the fiddle player from my dad’s country music band. Kitty and my mom were the best of friends from the moment mom moved to Chambersburg. On the same day we went to dinner at Graham’s, a guy named Charlie found John downtown and gave him a picture to give to me: it was a picture of my mom, Minnie Pearl, and Warren Hull, who was the host of a popular New York based TV show in the late 1950’s called “Strike It Rich.” It is a fantastic photograph. I took the picture to my brother’s house to show to him and to Kitty that night. Well, as soon as Kitty saw the black and white picture, she said, “Oh, I loved that suit. It was brown. And do you see those buttons?” She proceeded to tell us more than we ever anticipated knowing.
Kitty is one of the last people living who knows a bunch of stories about my parents – both their personal and professional stories. Graham and I were like little kids sitting around the campfire, listening to a spellbinding storyteller! You know how it is when someone gives you a piece of your history you didn’t know before? As the commercial says, “It’s priceless.”
The writers of the Bible were part of God’s story in ways they never would have imagined. They were called by God to follow and obey him and write his story – history. The disciples never anticipated being called from their ordinary lives to follow the Messiah. I’m pretty sure that none of the gospel writers, Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John had journalistic ambitions. Yet, they wrote his story, for what they knew about Jesus was priceless. They knew it was priceless – like precious jewels. They knew they had to get it down as accurately as they could, while trying to somehow convey how magnificently wonderful it was to be with Jesus on this journey – trying to explain how high the highs were, and how low the lows of Calvary and the days following.
After the Holy Spirit was sent on the Day of Pentecost, the apostles were filled with the Spirit of God and thereby equipped to tell others about Jesus. The whole ministry of the deacon was born because of the importance of the word of God. Here’s the story from Acts 6, “1Now during those days, when the disciples were increasing in number, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food. 2And the twelve called together the whole community of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3Therefore, friends, select from among yourselves seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this task, 4while we, for our part, will devote ourselves to prayer and to serving the word.” 5What they said pleased the whole community, (they chose 7 men, and they had these men stand before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.) 7The word of God continued to spread; the number of the disciples increased greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.”
The spreading of the word – God’s whole story, meant to bring peace, freedom, and joy to every human being - deserved top priority, and it got top priority! That’s how come you and I are here today, knowing what we know about God, reading these words – because the story had to be told. It had to be passed on. And so it was told, person-to-person, from one page to the next page it was written. And there comes a moment folks, in each of our lives, that we have to choose whether we believe what is written in the Bible is true or not. It can’t be partly true. It is either true or not true. And if we decide that it is true, there is another choice to make: We have to choose what authority the Words of God actually will have in our lives.
Dr. Williams Evans, who was the pastor of College Church in England from 1906 to 1909, was an unusually accomplished man. He had the entire King James Version of the Bible memorized as well as the New Testament of the American Standard Version. Dr. Evans also authored over 50 books. One unforgettable Sunday, Dr. Evans spoke on the virgin birth (the fact that Jesus really was born from a virgin – which many people say simple didn’t happen). All were amazed when Dr. Evans raised his Bible and tore out the pages that narrate the birth of the Lord. As the scraps floated down toward the congregation, he shouted, “If we can’t believe in the virgin birth of Christ, let’s just tear it out of the Bible!” And then as he drove home his point, he tore out the chapters on the resurrection (which many people say didn’t really happen either), then all the pages that tell of miracles he ripped out (which many people say didn’t really happen – Jesus didn’t really feed over 10,000 with 5 loaves and 2 fish from a small boy’s lunch bag). Then he tore out anything that spoke of any supernatural events (like the raising of Jairus’ daughter, or the calming of the storm on the sea, and certainly Jesus’ walking on the water would be far too ridiculous to include). The floor was littered with mutilated pages from his Bible. (This is my kind of preacher!)
Finally, with intense drama, Dr. Evans held up the only remaining portion of the Bible and said, “And this is all we have left – the Sermon on the Mount. And that has no authority for me if a divine Christ (born of a virgin) didn’t preach it.” After a few more words, he asked his congregation to bow for the benediction. But before he could pray, a man in that vast and usually sedate congregation stood and cried out, “No! No! No! We want more!” Several others joined in. And so Dr. Evans preached for another 50 (not 15) minutes!
The Bible remains the biggest selling book every single year – year in, year out. Statistics reveal that 27% of Americans own at least 5 Bibles (and I guess that once you have a Bible, if you get a new one, you usually don’t throw out the old one – because there seems to be something wrong with throwing out a Bible, even if it is so old there are pages missing from it). And yet, with all the Bibles in homes, in places of business, in motels, in Christian colleges and universities, and in churches, George Barna, a social researcher, reports that less than 35% of Americans actually read the book. My guess is that that is a high estimate. It is interesting that the Bible is respected and important enough to buy for ourself or for other people. The problem seems to be that that respect is more for the Book as a book, rather than for the Book as God’s Word to us – words that God breathed out to give us abundant life – a life blessed with freedom, peace, and joy that would last for all eternity.
Now, even though probably many in Dr. Evans’ congregation didn’t read the Bible any more than many of us do, they had enough respect for the Book that they couldn’t bear the Scripture being torn to pieces in their sight and then just being sent home without some words of instruction or comfort. Maybe if I did the same thing, you would require the same.
Let me repeat: There comes a moment in each of our lives that we have to choose whether we believe what is written in the Bible is absolutely true or not. We have to choose what authority God’s Word has in our lives. It may be okay with us to pick and choose what we like and follow that part, and ignore the parts we don’t like. That may be okay with us; but it is not okay with God.
There are two words that are thrown around about the Bible from church to church. Those words are inerrancy and infallibility. To say that the Bible is inerrant means that it has no errors in it just as it is written – no “typos” as we might say today. Remember that the Bible was hand-written, and hand- copied for many years. In seminary, I studied Hebrew and Greek for two years, and I learned how an accent misplaced (as it is with many other languages) can change the meaning of the word. Well what if a scribe was feeling sick while copying the text one night? What if he was under pressure to get a copy done by a certain time? What if his girlfriend had just dumped him? Is it possible that there are grammatical errors in the Bible? I think it is entirely possible. And so I, personally, do not claim that the Bible is inerrant. A more fundamentalist pastor would say I just spoke heresy.
I do believe however, that the Bible is infallible. The dictionary states that infallible means: 1. incapable of making a mistake.
2. certain not to fail. 3. incapable of being mistaken in matters of doctrine and dogma. In other words, even if there was a mistake on the part of some poor scribe, I believe with all my being that the overall message of the Bible cannot be mistaken. It is infallible. It does not contradict itself, contrary to what some claim. What God knows that we need to know about who he is and what he has done, and about who we are and what we must do to express our love for him and for others, is infallibly clear in God’s Word, certain not to fail for the one who seeks the truth. “All Scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, and for training in righteousness.”
What authority does the Bible have in my life? What authority does it have in yours? If you have to clock in to work each day, what authority does that clock have in your life? How many times do you check your watch on your way to work to make sure you get to that machine in time to clock in? Do you check in with God’s Word that “religiously?” Or do you just take a general instruction from the Bible like, “Do unto others as you would want them to do unto you.” Is that the extent of how we apply all Scripture?
In World magazine’s May 9th issue, an editorial was written by Marvin Olasky. In this editorial he wrote about the Rev. Katherine Ragsdale who has just been appointed to become president of Episcopal Divinity School, a seminary near Harvard. Rev. Ragsdale says that abortion is a “blessing.” Listen to her words, not mine, “When a woman becomes pregnant within a loving, supportive, respectful relationship; has every option open to her; decides she does not wish to bear a child; and has access to a safe, affordable abortion – there is not a tragedy in sight – only blessing. The ability to enjoy God’s good gift of sexuality without compromising one’s education, life’s work, or ability to put to use God’s gifts and call is simply blessing. I want to thank all of you who protect this blessing – who do this work every day: the health care providers, doctors, nurses, technicians, receptionists, who put your lives on the line to care for others (you are heroes – in my eyes, you are saints); the escorts and the activists; the lobbyists and the clinic defenders; all of you. You’re engaged in holy work.”
Listen to God’s Word from Psalm 139, “For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works, that I know very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes beheld my unformed substance. In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed.” In Jeremiah 1 we read, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you.”
I ask yet again, what authority does the Bible have in your life and mine? Which work is truly holy work?
There are many leaders of all kinds inside and outside the church throughout all of the centuries, who have tried to twist, to diminish, to erase, or to augment what has been given us in the pages of the Bible. Throughout the centuries of the existence of the Church, there have been itching ears – ears that only want to hear what doesn’t challenge us to change. You can read about it in all of Paul’s letters to the churches – Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Thessalonians, Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, Peter, 1, 2, & 3rd John, Jude – and sliding right into Revelation. Compromising what we know in our hearts is right to do, for the sake of “fitting in” or even for the sake of “sheer rebellion,” is not going to take us to that place of freedom, peace, and joy. It may satisfy us temporarily, but ‘temporary’ eventually comes to a screetching halt, and we wind up wondering why we feel so alone and empty.
Have you made the choice to give God’s Word complete authority in your life? Have I? We are so easily swayed by the movement of the culture around us, by what is shown to us on TV or in movies, and we are easily deceived by our feelings. When God says in Isaiah 43:1, “But now thus says the Lord, he who created you – do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine,” do we skim it – or do we take it in and believe it. God has redeemed us in Jesus Christ! He has given his very self for our physical, emotional, and spiritual freedom! He has called you by name! When we have opened the door of our heart to confess the name of Jesus, the name above all names, and have given him the right to speak his instructions into our hearts and call us to accountability, we belong to him as his children. What authority do his words have in your life?
Three weeks from today, we will be moving Sunday school starting time to 9 a.m. Worship will begin at 10 a.m. instead of 11. On that day, I will begin a new sermon series on the last book of the Bible – the book of Revelation. It is a book that is greatly misunderstood and avoided by many Bible readers. But listen with me to the opening words: The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place; he made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. 3Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and who keep what is written in it; for the time is near. I’m excited. I hope you’ll get excited, too. I want to be blessed, don’t you, so that we can be a blessing to others?
I don’t know why God calls me to preach such challenging texts each summer. If you remember, we spent last summer learning about the weapons of warfare from Ephesians 6. (I wondered how you would respond to that.) Many Christians don’t like to hear about the work of the devil who prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But you responded. We had incredible worship attendance throughout the whole summer last year. You were hungry for God’s word. Like kids around the campfire, you listened to God’s priceless words of instruction. I pray the same will be true this summer as we study The Revelation to John.
But may I also encourage your attendance in Sunday school. The class in the library with Wilma Umbrell is learning about God’s word in the book of Daniel – an incredible introduction to the Book of Revelation. Joni is teaching through the book of Acts and into Paul’s letters to the churches. It is fantastic way to spend the hour before worship, especially for those who are new to Bible reading, looking deeply and conversationally into God’s word. And the third adult class is reading, watching a short video, and discussing the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan – which brings forth the question from Revelation 3, “Are we lukewarm in our faith?” Come. Join in a Sunday school class. Connect with the people in this church family in a more personal way. Invest time in studying God’s word.
Let’s all turn to Psalm 119 and read together verses 73-77: Your hands have made and fashioned me; give me understanding that I may learn your commandments. Those who fear you shall see me and rejoice, because I have hoped in your word. I know, O LORD, that your judgments are right, and that in faithfulness you have humbled me. Let your steadfast love become my comfort according to your promise to your servant. Let your mercy come to me, that I may live; for your law is my delight. May it be so. Amen.
2 Timothy 4:1-5; Jude 3,4
May 3, 2009
“Truth Telling”
Rev. Meagan M. Boozer
1 John 2:1-6
1My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; 2and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. 3Now by this we may be sure that we know him, if we obey his commandments. 4Whoever says, “I have come to know him,” but does not obey his commandments, is a liar, and in such a person the truth does not exist; 5but whoever obeys his word, truly in this person the love of God has reached perfection. By this we may be sure that we are in him: 6whoever says, “I abide in him,” ought to walk just as he walked.
2 Timothy 3:14-17
14But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it, 15and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 4:1-5
1In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I solemnly urge you: 2proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching. 3For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, 4and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths. 5As for you, always be sober, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, carry out your ministry fully.
Jude 3,4
3Beloved, while eagerly preparing to write to you about the salvation we share, I find it necessary to write and appeal to you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. 4For certain intruders have stolen in among you, people who long ago were designated for this condemnation as ungodly, who pervert the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
About a week and a half ago, John and I went for dinner at my brother Graham’s house with one of our dearest, most treasured family friends – Kitty Ingram. Kitty is the widow of Roy Ingram, the fiddle player from my dad’s country music band. Kitty and my mom were the best of friends from the moment mom moved to Chambersburg. On the same day we went to dinner at Graham’s, a guy named Charlie found John downtown and gave him a picture to give to me: it was a picture of my mom, Minnie Pearl, and Warren Hull, who was the host of a popular New York based TV show in the late 1950’s called “Strike It Rich.” It is a fantastic photograph. I took the picture to my brother’s house to show to him and to Kitty that night. Well, as soon as Kitty saw the black and white picture, she said, “Oh, I loved that suit. It was brown. And do you see those buttons?” She proceeded to tell us more than we ever anticipated knowing.
Kitty is one of the last people living who knows a bunch of stories about my parents – both their personal and professional stories. Graham and I were like little kids sitting around the campfire, listening to a spellbinding storyteller! You know how it is when someone gives you a piece of your history you didn’t know before? As the commercial says, “It’s priceless.”
The writers of the Bible were part of God’s story in ways they never would have imagined. They were called by God to follow and obey him and write his story – history. The disciples never anticipated being called from their ordinary lives to follow the Messiah. I’m pretty sure that none of the gospel writers, Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John had journalistic ambitions. Yet, they wrote his story, for what they knew about Jesus was priceless. They knew it was priceless – like precious jewels. They knew they had to get it down as accurately as they could, while trying to somehow convey how magnificently wonderful it was to be with Jesus on this journey – trying to explain how high the highs were, and how low the lows of Calvary and the days following.
After the Holy Spirit was sent on the Day of Pentecost, the apostles were filled with the Spirit of God and thereby equipped to tell others about Jesus. The whole ministry of the deacon was born because of the importance of the word of God. Here’s the story from Acts 6, “1Now during those days, when the disciples were increasing in number, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food. 2And the twelve called together the whole community of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3Therefore, friends, select from among yourselves seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this task, 4while we, for our part, will devote ourselves to prayer and to serving the word.” 5What they said pleased the whole community, (they chose 7 men, and they had these men stand before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.) 7The word of God continued to spread; the number of the disciples increased greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.”
The spreading of the word – God’s whole story, meant to bring peace, freedom, and joy to every human being - deserved top priority, and it got top priority! That’s how come you and I are here today, knowing what we know about God, reading these words – because the story had to be told. It had to be passed on. And so it was told, person-to-person, from one page to the next page it was written. And there comes a moment folks, in each of our lives, that we have to choose whether we believe what is written in the Bible is true or not. It can’t be partly true. It is either true or not true. And if we decide that it is true, there is another choice to make: We have to choose what authority the Words of God actually will have in our lives.
Dr. Williams Evans, who was the pastor of College Church in England from 1906 to 1909, was an unusually accomplished man. He had the entire King James Version of the Bible memorized as well as the New Testament of the American Standard Version. Dr. Evans also authored over 50 books. One unforgettable Sunday, Dr. Evans spoke on the virgin birth (the fact that Jesus really was born from a virgin – which many people say simple didn’t happen). All were amazed when Dr. Evans raised his Bible and tore out the pages that narrate the birth of the Lord. As the scraps floated down toward the congregation, he shouted, “If we can’t believe in the virgin birth of Christ, let’s just tear it out of the Bible!” And then as he drove home his point, he tore out the chapters on the resurrection (which many people say didn’t really happen either), then all the pages that tell of miracles he ripped out (which many people say didn’t really happen – Jesus didn’t really feed over 10,000 with 5 loaves and 2 fish from a small boy’s lunch bag). Then he tore out anything that spoke of any supernatural events (like the raising of Jairus’ daughter, or the calming of the storm on the sea, and certainly Jesus’ walking on the water would be far too ridiculous to include). The floor was littered with mutilated pages from his Bible. (This is my kind of preacher!)
Finally, with intense drama, Dr. Evans held up the only remaining portion of the Bible and said, “And this is all we have left – the Sermon on the Mount. And that has no authority for me if a divine Christ (born of a virgin) didn’t preach it.” After a few more words, he asked his congregation to bow for the benediction. But before he could pray, a man in that vast and usually sedate congregation stood and cried out, “No! No! No! We want more!” Several others joined in. And so Dr. Evans preached for another 50 (not 15) minutes!
The Bible remains the biggest selling book every single year – year in, year out. Statistics reveal that 27% of Americans own at least 5 Bibles (and I guess that once you have a Bible, if you get a new one, you usually don’t throw out the old one – because there seems to be something wrong with throwing out a Bible, even if it is so old there are pages missing from it). And yet, with all the Bibles in homes, in places of business, in motels, in Christian colleges and universities, and in churches, George Barna, a social researcher, reports that less than 35% of Americans actually read the book. My guess is that that is a high estimate. It is interesting that the Bible is respected and important enough to buy for ourself or for other people. The problem seems to be that that respect is more for the Book as a book, rather than for the Book as God’s Word to us – words that God breathed out to give us abundant life – a life blessed with freedom, peace, and joy that would last for all eternity.
Now, even though probably many in Dr. Evans’ congregation didn’t read the Bible any more than many of us do, they had enough respect for the Book that they couldn’t bear the Scripture being torn to pieces in their sight and then just being sent home without some words of instruction or comfort. Maybe if I did the same thing, you would require the same.
Let me repeat: There comes a moment in each of our lives that we have to choose whether we believe what is written in the Bible is absolutely true or not. We have to choose what authority God’s Word has in our lives. It may be okay with us to pick and choose what we like and follow that part, and ignore the parts we don’t like. That may be okay with us; but it is not okay with God.
There are two words that are thrown around about the Bible from church to church. Those words are inerrancy and infallibility. To say that the Bible is inerrant means that it has no errors in it just as it is written – no “typos” as we might say today. Remember that the Bible was hand-written, and hand- copied for many years. In seminary, I studied Hebrew and Greek for two years, and I learned how an accent misplaced (as it is with many other languages) can change the meaning of the word. Well what if a scribe was feeling sick while copying the text one night? What if he was under pressure to get a copy done by a certain time? What if his girlfriend had just dumped him? Is it possible that there are grammatical errors in the Bible? I think it is entirely possible. And so I, personally, do not claim that the Bible is inerrant. A more fundamentalist pastor would say I just spoke heresy.
I do believe however, that the Bible is infallible. The dictionary states that infallible means: 1. incapable of making a mistake.
2. certain not to fail. 3. incapable of being mistaken in matters of doctrine and dogma. In other words, even if there was a mistake on the part of some poor scribe, I believe with all my being that the overall message of the Bible cannot be mistaken. It is infallible. It does not contradict itself, contrary to what some claim. What God knows that we need to know about who he is and what he has done, and about who we are and what we must do to express our love for him and for others, is infallibly clear in God’s Word, certain not to fail for the one who seeks the truth. “All Scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, and for training in righteousness.”
What authority does the Bible have in my life? What authority does it have in yours? If you have to clock in to work each day, what authority does that clock have in your life? How many times do you check your watch on your way to work to make sure you get to that machine in time to clock in? Do you check in with God’s Word that “religiously?” Or do you just take a general instruction from the Bible like, “Do unto others as you would want them to do unto you.” Is that the extent of how we apply all Scripture?
In World magazine’s May 9th issue, an editorial was written by Marvin Olasky. In this editorial he wrote about the Rev. Katherine Ragsdale who has just been appointed to become president of Episcopal Divinity School, a seminary near Harvard. Rev. Ragsdale says that abortion is a “blessing.” Listen to her words, not mine, “When a woman becomes pregnant within a loving, supportive, respectful relationship; has every option open to her; decides she does not wish to bear a child; and has access to a safe, affordable abortion – there is not a tragedy in sight – only blessing. The ability to enjoy God’s good gift of sexuality without compromising one’s education, life’s work, or ability to put to use God’s gifts and call is simply blessing. I want to thank all of you who protect this blessing – who do this work every day: the health care providers, doctors, nurses, technicians, receptionists, who put your lives on the line to care for others (you are heroes – in my eyes, you are saints); the escorts and the activists; the lobbyists and the clinic defenders; all of you. You’re engaged in holy work.”
Listen to God’s Word from Psalm 139, “For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works, that I know very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes beheld my unformed substance. In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed.” In Jeremiah 1 we read, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you.”
I ask yet again, what authority does the Bible have in your life and mine? Which work is truly holy work?
There are many leaders of all kinds inside and outside the church throughout all of the centuries, who have tried to twist, to diminish, to erase, or to augment what has been given us in the pages of the Bible. Throughout the centuries of the existence of the Church, there have been itching ears – ears that only want to hear what doesn’t challenge us to change. You can read about it in all of Paul’s letters to the churches – Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Thessalonians, Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, Peter, 1, 2, & 3rd John, Jude – and sliding right into Revelation. Compromising what we know in our hearts is right to do, for the sake of “fitting in” or even for the sake of “sheer rebellion,” is not going to take us to that place of freedom, peace, and joy. It may satisfy us temporarily, but ‘temporary’ eventually comes to a screetching halt, and we wind up wondering why we feel so alone and empty.
Have you made the choice to give God’s Word complete authority in your life? Have I? We are so easily swayed by the movement of the culture around us, by what is shown to us on TV or in movies, and we are easily deceived by our feelings. When God says in Isaiah 43:1, “But now thus says the Lord, he who created you – do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine,” do we skim it – or do we take it in and believe it. God has redeemed us in Jesus Christ! He has given his very self for our physical, emotional, and spiritual freedom! He has called you by name! When we have opened the door of our heart to confess the name of Jesus, the name above all names, and have given him the right to speak his instructions into our hearts and call us to accountability, we belong to him as his children. What authority do his words have in your life?
Three weeks from today, we will be moving Sunday school starting time to 9 a.m. Worship will begin at 10 a.m. instead of 11. On that day, I will begin a new sermon series on the last book of the Bible – the book of Revelation. It is a book that is greatly misunderstood and avoided by many Bible readers. But listen with me to the opening words: The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place; he made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. 3Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and who keep what is written in it; for the time is near. I’m excited. I hope you’ll get excited, too. I want to be blessed, don’t you, so that we can be a blessing to others?
I don’t know why God calls me to preach such challenging texts each summer. If you remember, we spent last summer learning about the weapons of warfare from Ephesians 6. (I wondered how you would respond to that.) Many Christians don’t like to hear about the work of the devil who prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But you responded. We had incredible worship attendance throughout the whole summer last year. You were hungry for God’s word. Like kids around the campfire, you listened to God’s priceless words of instruction. I pray the same will be true this summer as we study The Revelation to John.
But may I also encourage your attendance in Sunday school. The class in the library with Wilma Umbrell is learning about God’s word in the book of Daniel – an incredible introduction to the Book of Revelation. Joni is teaching through the book of Acts and into Paul’s letters to the churches. It is fantastic way to spend the hour before worship, especially for those who are new to Bible reading, looking deeply and conversationally into God’s word. And the third adult class is reading, watching a short video, and discussing the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan – which brings forth the question from Revelation 3, “Are we lukewarm in our faith?” Come. Join in a Sunday school class. Connect with the people in this church family in a more personal way. Invest time in studying God’s word.
Let’s all turn to Psalm 119 and read together verses 73-77: Your hands have made and fashioned me; give me understanding that I may learn your commandments. Those who fear you shall see me and rejoice, because I have hoped in your word. I know, O LORD, that your judgments are right, and that in faithfulness you have humbled me. Let your steadfast love become my comfort according to your promise to your servant. Let your mercy come to me, that I may live; for your law is my delight. May it be so. Amen.
