Dr. Glen A. Thorp August 21, 2011
Philemon 1-25, Psalm 139:1-18 (All Rights Reserved)
“REVOLUTIONIZED RELATIONSHIPS”
INTRODUCTION: The giant wrecking ball hit the wall with dynamite force snapping bricks and concrete like twigs. Repeatedly, the powerful pendulum reduced the wall of what had been St. John’s Hospital, Santa Monica, Ca., where my, wife, Jeannie had two separate surgeries to remove cancer from her body. What had once been her hospital room lay in rubble. The steel reinforcing bars set aside, the rubble was ground up into sand and carried away so that new construction could begin. Today earth movers prepare the earth for the foundation of a brand new hospital facility.
Life has many walls and fences dividing, separating, and compartmentalizing. Not walls made of concrete, stone or wood, but personal obstructions blocking people from each other and from God.
Jesus Christ came as the great wall remover, tearing down the partition of sin separating us from God and blasting the barriers keeping us from each other. Christ’s death and resurrection opened the way to God, bringing all who believed in him into God’s family.
Roman, Greek and Jewish cultures were littered with barriers, as society assigned people to classes and expected them to remain in their place - men, women, free, slave, rich, poor, Jews, Gentiles and Greeks.
In contrast, God’s Word recorded in Galatians 3:28
In Christ’s family there can be no division into
Jew and Non-Jew, slave and free, male and female.
Among us you are all equal. That is,
we are all in a common relationship with Jesus Christ.
TRANSITION: This life-changing truth forms the backdrop for Paul’s personal letter to Philemon, and plea for Onesimus. (Philemon is the shortest book in the Bible with only 25 verses, yet is one the most revolutionary in the New Testament.)
Onesimus was a slave who “belonged” to Philemon.
Apparently he had stolen from his master and run away.
He found Paul, under house arrest, in Rome which lead to Revolutionized Relationships. Onesimus came to faith in Christ who radically forgave him and brought him into his family. Paul writes: revolutionized relationship meant he was sending Onesimus back not only as a slave but as a brother in Christ.
The barriers of slavery, Onesimus’ theft and desertion were no longer a divide – they were removed by Christ.
This letter is a masterpiece of grace, tact, a profound demonstration Christ’s power and Christian fellowship of Revolutionized Relationships in action.
Let us look, in more depth, at the dramatic story of the conversion of a runaway slave and implications for us.
Philemon and his wife Apphia hosted the Christian community of Colosse, Asia Minor (today’s Turkey) in their home. Onesimus as slave served the guests. Slavery was a major factor in building and maintaining the Roman Empire. 60 million slaves formed a constant danger. If they ever revolted there would serious trouble. Rebellious slaves were promptly eliminated. If a slave ran away, at best s/he would be branded on the forehead with a the letter F = fugitivus, Latin for fugitive, runaway. At worst a slave would be tortured and or crucified. Paul learned firsthand, what it was like being a slave, from Onesimus = useful. Paul puns on Onesimus’ name: Once useless, was he beaten or told he was useless? Was that why he ran away?
Did he steal to have money on which to live?
When Christ revolutionized his life, Onesimus lived into his name and character. Useful to me and you.
SPECULATION: How did Onesimus find Paul?
Was that his intention or by accident? There are no accidents with God. God transformed Onesimus from being a slave of sin to being a free man in Christ.
Paul writes: Onesimus, who became my son while I was in chains.
My very heart ... Useful - Profitable. Indispensable ... (vs. 16)
Why did Paul send Onesimus back to Philemon? Identified? Trying to remain incognito?
Epaphras recognized Onesimus as Philemon’s slave in the home where Christians met. Is that why Onesimus came clean?
Paul knew well the risk of sending Onesimus back ...
A slave was a living tool not a person. Master had absolute power over a slave. A Roman named Pliny: writes: “A slave was carrying a tray of crystal goblets. He dropped and broke one. The master ordered that the slave be thrown into the fishpond in the courtyard, were the lampreys (fish with rasping teeth that sucked out blood) tore him into pieces.”
The slave was deliberately held down.” (William Barclay, Philemon,)
Some believe it is strange that Paul does not attack the institution of slavery. Revolutionized Relationships come from God’s revelation in Christ. All are One. The Master regards the slave as “brother” while the dishonest slave found new life in Christ who “knew no sin” and came not to be served but to serve “purchased with blood.” Paul wrote this letter from Rome @ 60 AD to convince Philemon to forgive, not punish his runaway slave and accept, Onesimus, as a brother in faith.
Christian Revolutionized Relationships are full of forgiveness and acceptance. Is there someone who has wronged you and whom you are having difficulty forgiving? Pray that God will guide and work through you in removing the barriers between him or her.
Treat him or her as you would want to be treated.
Paul as friend of both Philemon and Onesimus, could have used his authority, as an apostle, to tell Philemon what to do. Yet he chose to appeal, in Christian love, rather than ordering him.
Tactful persuasion accomplishes more than commands.
Courtesy and respect in relationships exhibit Christ’s love.
v. 4-16 Paul reflected on Philemon’s faith and love.
How he opened his home to the Christians.
Paul described himself as an old man and prisoner of Christ who is in chains. I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favor you do will be spontaneous and not forced. Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back for good – no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother...in the Lord.
Christians did not have the political power to change the slavery system. God through Paul radically revolutionized relationships. The Good News begins changing social structures by changing people within those structures. In Christ Onesimus and Philemon equals. Paul personally guaranteed payment for any stolen property or wrong for which Onesimus might be responsible. His investment in the young Christian no doubt encouraged and strengthened Onesimus’ faith.
Reciprocal Relationships - demonstrate confidence.
We can invest in others through Bible study, prayer, encouragement, support and friendship.
Philemon owed his life to Paul who lead him to Christ.
Paul as Philemon’s spiritual father hoped Philemon would feel a dept of gratitude that would be repaid by accepting Onesimus with a spirit of forgiveness.
v.20 Says in charming wit: Let me make some Christian profit out of you! I am writing with confidence for I know you will do more than I ask. (21)
v.23 Epaphras founded the church in Colossea and fought to hold it together in spite of growing persecution and struggles with the false teachers in prison for preaching
v.24 Compare names with those in Colossians 4:10-14.
Mark is the same as the author of 2nd Gospel of the NT.
CONCLUSION: Paul urged Philemon to be reconcile with
his slave, receiving him as a brother and fellow member of God’s family. Reconciling means reestablishing relationships. Christ reconciled us to God and others. Many barriers come between people. But Christ can break down those barriers of race, social status, sex, personality differences. Jesus Christ Revolutionized Onesimus’ Relationships with Philemon from slave to brother.
Christ can revolutionize our most hopeless relationships into deep and loving friendships.
Bishop of Ephesus? 50 years later, Ignatius, one of the Christian Fathers, who was executed (martyred) writes to the churches of Asia Minor including the Church at Ephesus. He has much to say about their wonderful Bishop. Name? Onesimus. Ignatius uses the same pun as Paul: Onesimus by name, Onesimus by nature the profitable (useful) one to Christ. Was he the run away slave? If so, that is truly Revolutionary!
Onesimus was Freed, became a Student, Ordained as a Pastor, a life of a different type of Service and Given Authority as a Bishop.
Radical Forgiveness - Revolutionized Relationships.
True story: Maria Fearing was born in slavery 1838.
She said: “I will go to Africa some day if I can.”
Freed from slavery in 1865 at the age of 27 she found her way to Talledega College where she completed 9th grade and taught in a nearby school. Years later she returned to supervise boarding school students. There she met a William Shepphard, co-founder of the Presbyterian Mission to Congo. He was recruiting other African Americans to join him in that mission. Maria, at 56 yrs. old, volunteered herself to the Mission Committee who rebuffed her application. She sold her little house, collected money from friends and returned to the committee, offering to pay her own fare and support herself on the field, if she were allowed to travel with the Sheppard party.
Reluctantly, the committee agreed.
In the Congo, Maria’s house became a haven for young girls in need: orphaned, sickly, abused, enslaved. Girls called her: mama wa mptu - “mother from far away.” For 20 years, Maria continued her work as mother and evangelist. 3 of the first 7 converts, who experienced the Revolutionized Relationship through the Mission later carried on the work started by Maria. Other girls in Congo and yes around the world experience those Revolutionized Relationships that come through faith in Jesus Christ.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Saturday, August 13, 2011
"EMBRACING LIFE"
Dr. Glen A. Thorp August 14, 2011
II Peter 3:1-18, Psalm 57 (All Rights Reserved)
“EMBRACING LIFE”
(Teaching to Live Well!)
INTRODUCTION: “This must have been one the worst weeks of the year.” As a result of the Standard & Poor’s downgrade of the United State’s credit rating from AAA to AA+, the Stock Market plunge 634.76 points, on Monday. The worst drop since 2008. Tuesday, after the Federal Reserve indicated it would keep interest rates where they were for two years, the Stock Market jumped 420 points. Wednesday, the Market was back down 500 points. Ended week: up 126.
“Rioters Spread a Trail of Theft and Destruction Across London, Birmingham, Nottingham and Manchester, England. This worst outbreak of civil unrest in a decade, was sparked by the shooting of a local man by the police, aggravated by economic uncertainty and lawlessness youth broke windows of shops then stole items like cell-phones and plasma TVs. Fires were set causing destruction to building, buses and cars. The masked hooligans took advantage of the situation to have fun destroying and stealing.
Tuesday, through Twitter and Premier Christian Radio thousands of volunteers showed up with brooms to clean up the affected neighborhoods. One man said: “I am more encouraged by thousands who came to help than I am discouraged by those who caused such destruction.” England follows the pattern began last summer in France and evidenced this year in Greece.
It reminds me of the riots that occurred in SE LA after the police were acquitted of excessive force of the beating of Rodney King in Sylmar,1992.
During times of economic downturn, almost any incident can spark a riot, looting and destruction to property.
This week the bodies of 30 Special Forces including 25 Navy Seals, were flown home. Last week, a Chinook helicopter transporting 38 members of the Special Forces, including 8 Afghans, crashed killing all aboard. It was the worst loss of life in one incident in the Afghan war.
We live in uncertain times: Economic, Drought, Fires etc. The 9.0 earthquake in Japan followed by a huge tsunami causing mas destruction, including four nuclear plants lead to evacuation of large areas in Northern Japan, shut-down of automobile assembly plants and rationed amount of electricity resulting in office workers arriving in casual clothes because the A.C was turned off. During a normal calendar year Southern California has around 367 earthquakes of 3.0. That is more than one every day. We take them for granted. After the 1994 Northridge Earthquake of 6.7 one our church members gave me Psalm 57:1-2
O God in you ... my soul takes refuge.
I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings
until the disaster has passed.
Psalm 18:31-33 (Read) Who is God beside the Lord?
Who is the Rock except our God?
It is said that the safest place during the “BIG ONE” is the Golden Gate Bridge. It is said to be able withstand a 9.0 earthquake. Sway and Cantilever Construction: every bit of concrete, pavement and steel interrelated with two giant cables attached to two pillars deeply embedded into Bed Rock. God is our Bed Rock!
Each of the Scriptures has a similar theme:
Embracing Life rather than being paralyzed by it.
Psalm 90:12 Teach us to number our days, that we may gain wisdom. The Message: Teach us to live well! Teach us to live wisely & well!
II Peter Was written to warn, teach about False Teachers
and handling heresy within their community.
I Peter addressed handling persecution (trials from outside.)
3:1 Dear friends, this is my second letter to you.
I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate
you to wholesome thinking. Emb!racing Life
Three Great Truths on which to do this.
1. Time to God is not the same as to us.
God may have seemed slow to act as Christians faced persecution every day and were seeing their friends die. False teachers: Scoffed:
“See Jesus did not keep his word. He has not returned." (3:8)
Psalm 90:4: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years,
and a thousand years are like a day.
Time as viewed from human and divine perspectives:
Century - human calendar like a couple of hours with God.
Reversal of relationship between days and years. That is true.
2. Time is regarded as an opportunity.
"The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise ...
He is patient with you." (Time for Repentance)
Jesus is waiting so more people will come to believe.
Jn.10:10 I have come that you may have life, have it to the full
In the mean time we are embracing life to the fullest.
Living each day as it may be our last and planning as if Jesus will not return for a long time. Each day is a gift to use, to develop ourselves,
to grow closer to God and to render service to another.
Embrace God’s gift of time.
3. God does not wish that any should perish.
Not wanting anyone to perish,
But everyone come to repentance.
Genesis 15:16 For the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure God told Abraham 400 years before fulfilled, longer than the USA has existed.
v. 10 The day of the Lord will come like a thief.
The heavens will disappear with a roar,
the elements will be destroyed by fire and
the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.
"Everything that is done will disclosed." (NRSV)
Maintains the nuances of the Greek preserving the basic verb: erga from the word “to work, to do.”
Day of Lord: (Read) Isaiah 34:4. Joel 3:15,16 –2:12,13
Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21, Revelation 6:12-17
Acts 3:19-21, Romans 2:4
Epicureans, False Teachers: “Since God had yet to intervene to reverse human injustice, it was proof that there would be no ultimate judgment of humans before God ... Truth: Divine judgement was seen in connection with redemption.” “New Heaven/Earth”
“In his kindness, God holds back his judgement giving people time to repent. It is easy to mistake God’s patience for approval of the wrong way we are living.”
“Everything God does is true to God’s character.
God is merciful, knows all, and acts justly –
and his timing is perfect.” (Application Bible, Gn. 15)
v. 5 God created the world by His Word.
God’s Word will play a similar part in the final catastrophe. God does not need to submit to the so called laws of the universe. (Richard Dawkins)
v. 9 God’s mercy is an alternative explanation for
the alleged delay of the parousia the coming of a head-state.
C.S. Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms, p. 137
“God was everlasting. His life was infinite in time.
Nothing outlasts God, nothing slips away from Him.
Timeless as an eternal present.”
The Eternal may meet us in what is by our present measurements, a day or a minute, or a second but we have touched what is not in any way commensurable with lengths of time, whether long or short.”
Psalm 18:31-33 “God promises to give us strength to meet challenges, but he doesn’t promise to eliminate them ... God stands beside us, teaches us, and strengthens us to face them.” (Application Bible)
II Peter 3:18 Grow in grace and knowledge
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Elmer Leslie, The Psalms.
“The greatest contrast between God and man is that between eternity and finitude. We fragile children think of a millennium as a vast epoch. But eternal God as though it were but yesterday. God has appointed man a time of living comparable to a swiftly passing watch in the night. (3 hours)
Like grass luxurious in the morning only to wither by evening tide under the harsh oriental sun.
Pray that God, the great teacher, will teach people to pay earnest heed to the brevity of life and therefore embrace each passing day with a wise heart. Truly apply that wisdom when omprehending the shortness of human life.”
Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
Psalm 57:2 In the shadow of your wing I will take refuge..
Indescribable majesty and power. Keep trusting God.
In God’s timing will come and save ...
CONCLUSION: Pray Like There’s No Tomorrow!
Story: Roger lead Mr. Hanover to Christ on May 7. Five years later he met Hanover’s wife, learning that same day May 7, Mr. Hanover was killed in an car accident. Mrs. Hanover: I prayed that my husband would accept Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. I thought God had not kept his promise.
I stopped living for God because I thought God had not kept His Word!”
Peggy Noonan, Opinion writer the Wall Street Journal:
After the London Riots (August 13, 2011, A13)
“The riots in Britain left some Americans shaken...
We have been to England, visited a lot of those neighborhoods.
They were peaceful; now they’re in flames...We saw something over there that in smaller ways we’re starting to see over here...
The violence has root causes that government can’t reach...” Noonan quotes a couple of British Newspapers: “Young people have been looting shops they like: JD Sports and Mobile Phone shops,,,yet Waterstone’s Bookstore was left alone...Criminality in a raw form, not politics...”
“Philadelphia right now is under curfew because of flash mobs. Young people send out the word on social media, and suddenly dozens or hundreds of them hit a targeted store, steal everything on the shelves, and run, know one will stop or catch them...
Some of these young people come from brokenness, shallowness and terror...2009, census data, there are 74 million children under 18... 20 million live in single parent families...Over 700,000 children have been the subject of reports of abuse.
The problem, at the bottom, is love, something we never talk about in public policy discussions because it is too soft and cannot be quantified or legislated. But little children ( I would add, adults) without love and guidance are afraid. They are terrified–they have nothing solid in the world, which is a pretty scary place. So they never feel safe. As they grow, their fear becomes rage...violence.
What’s needed cannot be provided by government.”
Embracing Life starts with Embracing God's Love Appreciating every moment of life and Seeking to Demonstrate the Transforming Power of God's Love to all, espcially those who have not known love and live in fear. Perfect love casts out fear.
II Peter 3:1-18, Psalm 57 (All Rights Reserved)
“EMBRACING LIFE”
(Teaching to Live Well!)
INTRODUCTION: “This must have been one the worst weeks of the year.” As a result of the Standard & Poor’s downgrade of the United State’s credit rating from AAA to AA+, the Stock Market plunge 634.76 points, on Monday. The worst drop since 2008. Tuesday, after the Federal Reserve indicated it would keep interest rates where they were for two years, the Stock Market jumped 420 points. Wednesday, the Market was back down 500 points. Ended week: up 126.
“Rioters Spread a Trail of Theft and Destruction Across London, Birmingham, Nottingham and Manchester, England. This worst outbreak of civil unrest in a decade, was sparked by the shooting of a local man by the police, aggravated by economic uncertainty and lawlessness youth broke windows of shops then stole items like cell-phones and plasma TVs. Fires were set causing destruction to building, buses and cars. The masked hooligans took advantage of the situation to have fun destroying and stealing.
Tuesday, through Twitter and Premier Christian Radio thousands of volunteers showed up with brooms to clean up the affected neighborhoods. One man said: “I am more encouraged by thousands who came to help than I am discouraged by those who caused such destruction.” England follows the pattern began last summer in France and evidenced this year in Greece.
It reminds me of the riots that occurred in SE LA after the police were acquitted of excessive force of the beating of Rodney King in Sylmar,1992.
During times of economic downturn, almost any incident can spark a riot, looting and destruction to property.
This week the bodies of 30 Special Forces including 25 Navy Seals, were flown home. Last week, a Chinook helicopter transporting 38 members of the Special Forces, including 8 Afghans, crashed killing all aboard. It was the worst loss of life in one incident in the Afghan war.
We live in uncertain times: Economic, Drought, Fires etc. The 9.0 earthquake in Japan followed by a huge tsunami causing mas destruction, including four nuclear plants lead to evacuation of large areas in Northern Japan, shut-down of automobile assembly plants and rationed amount of electricity resulting in office workers arriving in casual clothes because the A.C was turned off. During a normal calendar year Southern California has around 367 earthquakes of 3.0. That is more than one every day. We take them for granted. After the 1994 Northridge Earthquake of 6.7 one our church members gave me Psalm 57:1-2
O God in you ... my soul takes refuge.
I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings
until the disaster has passed.
Psalm 18:31-33 (Read) Who is God beside the Lord?
Who is the Rock except our God?
It is said that the safest place during the “BIG ONE” is the Golden Gate Bridge. It is said to be able withstand a 9.0 earthquake. Sway and Cantilever Construction: every bit of concrete, pavement and steel interrelated with two giant cables attached to two pillars deeply embedded into Bed Rock. God is our Bed Rock!
Each of the Scriptures has a similar theme:
Embracing Life rather than being paralyzed by it.
Psalm 90:12 Teach us to number our days, that we may gain wisdom. The Message: Teach us to live well! Teach us to live wisely & well!
II Peter Was written to warn, teach about False Teachers
and handling heresy within their community.
I Peter addressed handling persecution (trials from outside.)
3:1 Dear friends, this is my second letter to you.
I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate
you to wholesome thinking. Emb!racing Life
Three Great Truths on which to do this.
1. Time to God is not the same as to us.
God may have seemed slow to act as Christians faced persecution every day and were seeing their friends die. False teachers: Scoffed:
“See Jesus did not keep his word. He has not returned." (3:8)
Psalm 90:4: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years,
and a thousand years are like a day.
Time as viewed from human and divine perspectives:
Century - human calendar like a couple of hours with God.
Reversal of relationship between days and years. That is true.
2. Time is regarded as an opportunity.
"The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise ...
He is patient with you." (Time for Repentance)
Jesus is waiting so more people will come to believe.
Jn.10:10 I have come that you may have life, have it to the full
In the mean time we are embracing life to the fullest.
Living each day as it may be our last and planning as if Jesus will not return for a long time. Each day is a gift to use, to develop ourselves,
to grow closer to God and to render service to another.
Embrace God’s gift of time.
3. God does not wish that any should perish.
Not wanting anyone to perish,
But everyone come to repentance.
Genesis 15:16 For the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure God told Abraham 400 years before fulfilled, longer than the USA has existed.
v. 10 The day of the Lord will come like a thief.
The heavens will disappear with a roar,
the elements will be destroyed by fire and
the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.
"Everything that is done will disclosed." (NRSV)
Maintains the nuances of the Greek preserving the basic verb: erga from the word “to work, to do.”
Day of Lord: (Read) Isaiah 34:4. Joel 3:15,16 –2:12,13
Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21, Revelation 6:12-17
Acts 3:19-21, Romans 2:4
Epicureans, False Teachers: “Since God had yet to intervene to reverse human injustice, it was proof that there would be no ultimate judgment of humans before God ... Truth: Divine judgement was seen in connection with redemption.” “New Heaven/Earth”
“In his kindness, God holds back his judgement giving people time to repent. It is easy to mistake God’s patience for approval of the wrong way we are living.”
“Everything God does is true to God’s character.
God is merciful, knows all, and acts justly –
and his timing is perfect.” (Application Bible, Gn. 15)
v. 5 God created the world by His Word.
God’s Word will play a similar part in the final catastrophe. God does not need to submit to the so called laws of the universe. (Richard Dawkins)
v. 9 God’s mercy is an alternative explanation for
the alleged delay of the parousia the coming of a head-state.
C.S. Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms, p. 137
“God was everlasting. His life was infinite in time.
Nothing outlasts God, nothing slips away from Him.
Timeless as an eternal present.”
The Eternal may meet us in what is by our present measurements, a day or a minute, or a second but we have touched what is not in any way commensurable with lengths of time, whether long or short.”
Psalm 18:31-33 “God promises to give us strength to meet challenges, but he doesn’t promise to eliminate them ... God stands beside us, teaches us, and strengthens us to face them.” (Application Bible)
II Peter 3:18 Grow in grace and knowledge
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Elmer Leslie, The Psalms.
“The greatest contrast between God and man is that between eternity and finitude. We fragile children think of a millennium as a vast epoch. But eternal God as though it were but yesterday. God has appointed man a time of living comparable to a swiftly passing watch in the night. (3 hours)
Like grass luxurious in the morning only to wither by evening tide under the harsh oriental sun.
Pray that God, the great teacher, will teach people to pay earnest heed to the brevity of life and therefore embrace each passing day with a wise heart. Truly apply that wisdom when omprehending the shortness of human life.”
Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
Psalm 57:2 In the shadow of your wing I will take refuge..
Indescribable majesty and power. Keep trusting God.
In God’s timing will come and save ...
CONCLUSION: Pray Like There’s No Tomorrow!
Story: Roger lead Mr. Hanover to Christ on May 7. Five years later he met Hanover’s wife, learning that same day May 7, Mr. Hanover was killed in an car accident. Mrs. Hanover: I prayed that my husband would accept Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. I thought God had not kept his promise.
I stopped living for God because I thought God had not kept His Word!”
Peggy Noonan, Opinion writer the Wall Street Journal:
After the London Riots (August 13, 2011, A13)
“The riots in Britain left some Americans shaken...
We have been to England, visited a lot of those neighborhoods.
They were peaceful; now they’re in flames...We saw something over there that in smaller ways we’re starting to see over here...
The violence has root causes that government can’t reach...” Noonan quotes a couple of British Newspapers: “Young people have been looting shops they like: JD Sports and Mobile Phone shops,,,yet Waterstone’s Bookstore was left alone...Criminality in a raw form, not politics...”
“Philadelphia right now is under curfew because of flash mobs. Young people send out the word on social media, and suddenly dozens or hundreds of them hit a targeted store, steal everything on the shelves, and run, know one will stop or catch them...
Some of these young people come from brokenness, shallowness and terror...2009, census data, there are 74 million children under 18... 20 million live in single parent families...Over 700,000 children have been the subject of reports of abuse.
The problem, at the bottom, is love, something we never talk about in public policy discussions because it is too soft and cannot be quantified or legislated. But little children ( I would add, adults) without love and guidance are afraid. They are terrified–they have nothing solid in the world, which is a pretty scary place. So they never feel safe. As they grow, their fear becomes rage...violence.
What’s needed cannot be provided by government.”
Embracing Life starts with Embracing God's Love Appreciating every moment of life and Seeking to Demonstrate the Transforming Power of God's Love to all, espcially those who have not known love and live in fear. Perfect love casts out fear.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
"ACKNOWLEDGING THE LORD IS GOD"
July 19, 2025
Dr. Glen A. Thorp Psalm 100,
(All Rights Reserved Exodus 33:12-23
“ACKNOWLEDGING THE LORD IS GOD”
(God Made us, We did not Make God)
INTRODUCTION: Through Facebook I have connected with a cousin in Sweden. A few years ago, she asked: “Are Darwin’s evolution and believing
in God an absolutely impossible mix?” I responded:
“No. If Darwin believed in a God,
Evolution is compatible with a Creative God.
If Darwinian believed creation/evolution was just by chance,
it would be difficult.”
My cousin's question prompted me in recalling an article I read in the Wall Street Journal entitled: Man vs. God, WSJ, 9/13/09+
The two people named below were commissioned to respond independently to the question: “Where does evolution leave God?”
Richard Dawkins: an Atheist and author of many books including:
The God Delusion and published in 2009, The Greatest Show On Earth, responded: Evolution leaves God with nothing to do.
Karen Armstrong: Author of many books, The Case for God also published in 2009 responded:
We need God to grasp the wonder of our existence.
Richard Dawkins continued:
“Evolution is probably the Greatest Show on Earth.
Alien life, if it does exist, will be Darwinian life.
It is possible we really are alone in the universe, in which case Earth, with its greatest show, is the most remarkable planet in the universe.
What is so special about life? It never violates the laws of physics...If it did, scientists would just have to formulate new laws...there never was a rock that bounded like a kangaroo, never a pebble that crawled like a beetle seeking a mate, never a grain of sand that swam like a water flea...
Never once are the laws of physics violated, yet life emerges into unchartered territory...What if there are life forms on other planets that have evolved so far beyond our level of intelligence and creativity that we should regard them as gods...they would not be gods...they did not create the universe, it created them, just as it created us...Where does this leave God. The kindest thing to say is it leaves him with nothing to do, and no achievements that might attract our praise, our worship or our fear...God is not dead. He was never alive in the first place.”
There is one major problem with Dawkin’s argument, physics can not indicate what life is or where it came from. There are multiple hypothesis, but none that have been proven. Dawkin is correct: "beings did not create the universe," but he is wrong in saying that the universe created beings.
Physics cannot explain why life exists or where it is going.
(Read story at the end of this blog) about Albert Einstein riding a train from Princeton, N.J.*
I won’t take time to discuss Karen Armstrong’s rebuttal.
I will go our Authority, God’s Word, The Bible..
Know this: God is God and
God made us, we didn’t make God.
God is our Creator, we did not create ourselves.
Many people live as though they are the creator and center of their own little world. This mind-set leads to a greedy possessiveness and if everything should be taken away, a loss of hope. When we realize God created us and gives all we have, we will want to give to others as God gave to us. (II Corinthians 9:8)
If all is lost, we still have God and all he gives us.
Let us look at Psalm 100 to see what we learn about God and how we respond to the God who created ...
It was written for use by the Jews in their worship.
It is one the “Psalms of Ascent” used by pilgrims.
PSALM 100 is a invitation to worship and joyfully enter the Temple and into God’s presence.
As Pilgrims approached, a Choir summoned them.
The Pilgrims respond - Antiphonally between the choir and the pilgrims.
Written in Hebrew Poetic Parallel Structure this Psalm was likely sung.
Acknowledging the Lord is God.
Surrounded by countries who worshiped their own gods, especially when in Babylonian captivity, the Hebrews were reminded of who their God was, God’s Character and why they journeyed to the Temple to worship God.
God alone is worthy of being worshiped.
Do we need church? Why do we attend worship?
What is your attitude toward worship?
Do you willingly and joyfully come into God’s presence or are you just going through the motions; reluctantly attending worship?
This Psalm is for us as well. It reminds us of God’s goodness and dependability. Our response is to worship God with thanksgiving and praise.
vs. 1 Shout to the Lord, all the land, (Earth)
Serve the Lord with gladness; (Worship)
v. 2 Come before him with singing (Joyful Songs)
v. 3 The theme of their glad song is threefold:
Know that the Lord alone is God.
He has made us and we belong to Him.
We are His people & sheep of his pasture.
LORD, English for the Hebrew YHWH, is God.
This is foundational to the believe in Monotheism.
KNOW means to ACKNOWLEDGE.
Know a simple truth like 2+2=4
Know YHWH is God is a fact.
Be sure that YHWH is God ... Trust ...
Acknowledge by acting on that belief and living by drawing on that assurance, comfort and strength. Our Response is Grateful Worship.
v. 4 Choir: Invites Pilgrims to enter the gates leading to the courts of the Temple with Three acts of worship:
Enter into His gates
with a thank offering,
Into His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him,
Bless His Name. (with bended knee)
v. 5 Reason: Profound acknowledgment
of the three fold Character of God:
For good is the Lord;
His loving-kindness endures forever,
And His faithfulness lasts from
generation to generation.
Dependency of God’s Character allows us to trust!
John Green-leaf Whittier captures that theme in his The Eternal Goodness:
Yet, in the maddening maze of things,
And tossed by storm and flood,
To one fixed trust my spirit clings;
I know that God is good.
Read I Kings 18:16-39 about a test between,
Elijah, a prophet of YHWH and prophets of Baal.
At the end of the test, the people fell acknowledged
(vs.39) The Lord, He is God!
The Lord, He is God!
(Implied: “Not Baal. Baal is not god.”)
Psalm 100 has enjoyed a long history of paraphrase in Christian hymnody. One:
All People that on Earth Do Dwell
v. 1 All people that on earth do dwell=All the earth
(4 Imperatives vs. 3 in psalm) Praise forth tell
v. 2 Know that the Lord is God indeed; (Psalm 100:3)
“without our aid He did make us.”
We belong to Him.
v. 3 O enter then His gates with praise ...(Psalm 100:4)
For it is seemly to do so (Reason - v. 5)
v. 4 For why? the Lord our God is good,
His mercy is forever sure. Connects v. 3 to 4.
4 Clauses in vs. 3 come from the psalm.
His truth at all times firmly stood
And from age to age endure.
CONCLUSION: Acknowledge the Lord is God?
For what are you most Thankful?
To whom or what do you give thanks?
The Universe? as Dawkins writes. If so how?
Psalmist calls us to give thanks to God - YHWH
Six Reasons:
Know ye that the Lord alone is God.
He has made us and we belong to Him;
We are His people & sheep of his pasture.
For good is the Lord;
His loving-kindness endures forever,
And His faithfulness lasts from generation to generation.
Applies to all the earth ...
Nothing is outside God’s concern.
Reasons we gather with praise and thanksgiving.
Which of the six reasons most motivates you?
Read Exodus 33:12-23 recording a dialogue between Moses and the Glory of YHWH. Moses: Teach me your ways so I may know you ...
Fulfilled in Transfiguration of Jesus Lk 9:30
Notice how God’s Glory was revealed through Jesus with Moses and Jeremiah standing on either side of Jesus. Moses was the Law giver and Elijah, the same Prophet who took on the prophets of Baal.
Jesus was that one called Lord God, the one who gave the Law and who came to fulfill it.)
I ended my conversation with referring my cousin to the Wall Street Journal article and said:
The point of the article is that Dawkins writes: "Evolution leaves God with nothing to do." Therefore, we don't need God. Armstrong replies: "Looking at the Universe, we need God to appreciate the wonder of our existence." How is it that we are unique in the Universe, at least as we have explored it so far? God Created ...
Acknowledge the Lord is God
Respond with JOY!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Albert Einstein was once traveling from Princeton on a train when the conductor came down the aisle, punching the tickets of every passenger. When he came to Einstein, Einstein reached in his vest pocket. He couldn't find his ticket, so he reached in his trouser pockets. It wasn't there, so he looked in his briefcase but couldn't find it. Then he looked in the seat beside him. He still couldn't find it.
The conductor said, "Dr. Einstein, I know who you are. We all know who you are. I'm sure you bought a ticket. Don't worry about it."
Einstein nodded appreciatively. The conductor continued down the aisle punching tickets. As he was ready to move to the next car, he turned
around and saw the great physicist down on his hands and knees looking under his seat for his ticket.
The conductor rushed back and said, "Dr. Einstein, Dr. Einstein, don't worry, I know who you are. No problem. You don't need a ticket.
I'm sure you bought one."
Einstein looked at him and said, "Young man, I too, know who I am.
What I don't know is where I'm going."
+”Man vs. God, The Wall Street Journal, 9/13/09
Here is the link. Copy to open: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203440104574405030643556324.htm
Dr. Glen A. Thorp Psalm 100,
(All Rights Reserved Exodus 33:12-23
“ACKNOWLEDGING THE LORD IS GOD”
(God Made us, We did not Make God)
INTRODUCTION: Through Facebook I have connected with a cousin in Sweden. A few years ago, she asked: “Are Darwin’s evolution and believing
in God an absolutely impossible mix?” I responded:
“No. If Darwin believed in a God,
Evolution is compatible with a Creative God.
If Darwinian believed creation/evolution was just by chance,
it would be difficult.”
My cousin's question prompted me in recalling an article I read in the Wall Street Journal entitled: Man vs. God, WSJ, 9/13/09+
The two people named below were commissioned to respond independently to the question: “Where does evolution leave God?”
Richard Dawkins: an Atheist and author of many books including:
The God Delusion and published in 2009, The Greatest Show On Earth, responded: Evolution leaves God with nothing to do.
Karen Armstrong: Author of many books, The Case for God also published in 2009 responded:
We need God to grasp the wonder of our existence.
Richard Dawkins continued:
“Evolution is probably the Greatest Show on Earth.
Alien life, if it does exist, will be Darwinian life.
It is possible we really are alone in the universe, in which case Earth, with its greatest show, is the most remarkable planet in the universe.
What is so special about life? It never violates the laws of physics...If it did, scientists would just have to formulate new laws...there never was a rock that bounded like a kangaroo, never a pebble that crawled like a beetle seeking a mate, never a grain of sand that swam like a water flea...
Never once are the laws of physics violated, yet life emerges into unchartered territory...What if there are life forms on other planets that have evolved so far beyond our level of intelligence and creativity that we should regard them as gods...they would not be gods...they did not create the universe, it created them, just as it created us...Where does this leave God. The kindest thing to say is it leaves him with nothing to do, and no achievements that might attract our praise, our worship or our fear...God is not dead. He was never alive in the first place.”
There is one major problem with Dawkin’s argument, physics can not indicate what life is or where it came from. There are multiple hypothesis, but none that have been proven. Dawkin is correct: "beings did not create the universe," but he is wrong in saying that the universe created beings.
Physics cannot explain why life exists or where it is going.
(Read story at the end of this blog) about Albert Einstein riding a train from Princeton, N.J.*
I won’t take time to discuss Karen Armstrong’s rebuttal.
I will go our Authority, God’s Word, The Bible..
Know this: God is God and
God made us, we didn’t make God.
God is our Creator, we did not create ourselves.
Many people live as though they are the creator and center of their own little world. This mind-set leads to a greedy possessiveness and if everything should be taken away, a loss of hope. When we realize God created us and gives all we have, we will want to give to others as God gave to us. (II Corinthians 9:8)
If all is lost, we still have God and all he gives us.
Let us look at Psalm 100 to see what we learn about God and how we respond to the God who created ...
It was written for use by the Jews in their worship.
It is one the “Psalms of Ascent” used by pilgrims.
PSALM 100 is a invitation to worship and joyfully enter the Temple and into God’s presence.
As Pilgrims approached, a Choir summoned them.
The Pilgrims respond - Antiphonally between the choir and the pilgrims.
Written in Hebrew Poetic Parallel Structure this Psalm was likely sung.
Acknowledging the Lord is God.
Surrounded by countries who worshiped their own gods, especially when in Babylonian captivity, the Hebrews were reminded of who their God was, God’s Character and why they journeyed to the Temple to worship God.
God alone is worthy of being worshiped.
Do we need church? Why do we attend worship?
What is your attitude toward worship?
Do you willingly and joyfully come into God’s presence or are you just going through the motions; reluctantly attending worship?
This Psalm is for us as well. It reminds us of God’s goodness and dependability. Our response is to worship God with thanksgiving and praise.
vs. 1 Shout to the Lord, all the land, (Earth)
Serve the Lord with gladness; (Worship)
v. 2 Come before him with singing (Joyful Songs)
v. 3 The theme of their glad song is threefold:
Know that the Lord alone is God.
He has made us and we belong to Him.
We are His people & sheep of his pasture.
LORD, English for the Hebrew YHWH, is God.
This is foundational to the believe in Monotheism.
KNOW means to ACKNOWLEDGE.
Know a simple truth like 2+2=4
Know YHWH is God is a fact.
Be sure that YHWH is God ... Trust ...
Acknowledge by acting on that belief and living by drawing on that assurance, comfort and strength. Our Response is Grateful Worship.
v. 4 Choir: Invites Pilgrims to enter the gates leading to the courts of the Temple with Three acts of worship:
Enter into His gates
with a thank offering,
Into His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him,
Bless His Name. (with bended knee)
v. 5 Reason: Profound acknowledgment
of the three fold Character of God:
For good is the Lord;
His loving-kindness endures forever,
And His faithfulness lasts from
generation to generation.
Dependency of God’s Character allows us to trust!
John Green-leaf Whittier captures that theme in his The Eternal Goodness:
Yet, in the maddening maze of things,
And tossed by storm and flood,
To one fixed trust my spirit clings;
I know that God is good.
Read I Kings 18:16-39 about a test between,
Elijah, a prophet of YHWH and prophets of Baal.
At the end of the test, the people fell acknowledged
(vs.39) The Lord, He is God!
The Lord, He is God!
(Implied: “Not Baal. Baal is not god.”)
Psalm 100 has enjoyed a long history of paraphrase in Christian hymnody. One:
All People that on Earth Do Dwell
v. 1 All people that on earth do dwell=All the earth
(4 Imperatives vs. 3 in psalm) Praise forth tell
v. 2 Know that the Lord is God indeed; (Psalm 100:3)
“without our aid He did make us.”
We belong to Him.
v. 3 O enter then His gates with praise ...(Psalm 100:4)
For it is seemly to do so (Reason - v. 5)
v. 4 For why? the Lord our God is good,
His mercy is forever sure. Connects v. 3 to 4.
4 Clauses in vs. 3 come from the psalm.
His truth at all times firmly stood
And from age to age endure.
CONCLUSION: Acknowledge the Lord is God?
For what are you most Thankful?
To whom or what do you give thanks?
The Universe? as Dawkins writes. If so how?
Psalmist calls us to give thanks to God - YHWH
Six Reasons:
Know ye that the Lord alone is God.
He has made us and we belong to Him;
We are His people & sheep of his pasture.
For good is the Lord;
His loving-kindness endures forever,
And His faithfulness lasts from generation to generation.
Applies to all the earth ...
Nothing is outside God’s concern.
Reasons we gather with praise and thanksgiving.
Which of the six reasons most motivates you?
Read Exodus 33:12-23 recording a dialogue between Moses and the Glory of YHWH. Moses: Teach me your ways so I may know you ...
Fulfilled in Transfiguration of Jesus Lk 9:30
Notice how God’s Glory was revealed through Jesus with Moses and Jeremiah standing on either side of Jesus. Moses was the Law giver and Elijah, the same Prophet who took on the prophets of Baal.
Jesus was that one called Lord God, the one who gave the Law and who came to fulfill it.)
I ended my conversation with referring my cousin to the Wall Street Journal article and said:
The point of the article is that Dawkins writes: "Evolution leaves God with nothing to do." Therefore, we don't need God. Armstrong replies: "Looking at the Universe, we need God to appreciate the wonder of our existence." How is it that we are unique in the Universe, at least as we have explored it so far? God Created ...
Acknowledge the Lord is God
Respond with JOY!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Albert Einstein was once traveling from Princeton on a train when the conductor came down the aisle, punching the tickets of every passenger. When he came to Einstein, Einstein reached in his vest pocket. He couldn't find his ticket, so he reached in his trouser pockets. It wasn't there, so he looked in his briefcase but couldn't find it. Then he looked in the seat beside him. He still couldn't find it.
The conductor said, "Dr. Einstein, I know who you are. We all know who you are. I'm sure you bought a ticket. Don't worry about it."
Einstein nodded appreciatively. The conductor continued down the aisle punching tickets. As he was ready to move to the next car, he turned
around and saw the great physicist down on his hands and knees looking under his seat for his ticket.
The conductor rushed back and said, "Dr. Einstein, Dr. Einstein, don't worry, I know who you are. No problem. You don't need a ticket.
I'm sure you bought one."
Einstein looked at him and said, "Young man, I too, know who I am.
What I don't know is where I'm going."
+”Man vs. God, The Wall Street Journal, 9/13/09
Here is the link. Copy to open: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203440104574405030643556324.htm
Saturday, July 2, 2011
"HOLDING THESE TRUTHS ..."
Dr. Glen A. Thorp July 3, 2011
Acts 22:22-29, Psalms 33:1-22 (Independence Sunday)
(All Rights Reserved)
“HOLDING THESE TRUTHS ...”
(Celebrating America’s 235rd Birthday)
INTRODUCTION: 235 years ago a group representing each of the 13 British Colonies in the New World met in Philadelphia to decide what course of action should be taken against the King of Great Britain. For months these representatives had been arguing amongst themselves as to what they should do.
Issues:
• King was not Assenting to the Laws, the most wholesome and necessary good for the public.
• Forbidding Governors from passing Laws of immediate and pressing importance until the Assent of the King.
• Relinquishing rights of Representation in the Legislature, rights inestimable to them.
• Calling meetings of Legislature in unusual places and times for purpose of fatiguing them.
• Dissolving Representative Houses for opposing the invasion of the rights of people.
• Refusing to allow others to be elected.
• Obstructing Laws of Naturalization of Foreigners.
• Obstructing the administration of justice, by refusing to Assent to Laws for establishing Justices.
• Making Judges dependent on the Kings will.
• Erecting new offices to harass people and to eat out of their substance.
• Keeping among us, in time of peace, standing armies, without the consent of our legislators.
• Rendering the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power. (Total: 27 charges against the King)*
After great debate, realizing the consequences of their action, The Continental Congress voted to Declare their Independence from the British Crown. After additional hours of exacting work & debate, July 4, 1776, Declaration of Independence was adopted. First published on July 6, 1776 in the Pennsylvania Evening Post. It wasn’t until August 2, 1776 that a copy of the Declaration was signed by members of Congress.
“When in the Course of human events ...
We hold these TRUTHS to be self-evident ...
We therefore, the Representatives ...
235 years later we, as a nation, are struggling with an identity crisis. With the National Unemployment at 9.1%, Home values way down & a request to raise the $14.29 trillion debt ceiling. Although a majority of U.S. military troops were withdrawn from Iraq & soon from Afghanistan we still face Uncertainty in that entire region and Middle East.
There seems No basis, No truth: “Whatever seems best for society.”
“Social Laws are relative.”
Knowing the reason for our founding is important today.
John Calvin regarding Justice: The source of Laws is God’s Word.
(See Footnote** for an illustration of what John Calvin meant.)
It is because of God’s Law that People can act ...
Revolution often follows Christianity.
Bible inspired Rutherford who inspired John Witherspoon, signer of Declation and found of what is today called Princeton University.
Reformation inspired Locke who inspired Thomas Jefferson.
Martin Luther wrote of “Priesthood of Believers.”
Fundamentally equating among people control of authority by individual conscience.
John Calvin wrote of God's Elect and inspired Puritans -
Absolute Freedom, Absolute Authority for War.
Social Contract based on God’s Covenant.
God the Absolute, granted Freedoms.
God's Contract was the cornerstone of English & American Law
Localism - Town Hall Meetings.
David Minwar writes of the:
Four Basic Tenants of American Development:
1. Doctrine of Equality - Each created in God’s Image. Priesthood of Believers - (Value of Individuals).
2. Government founded on the consent of the governed.
3. Work lead to release from uncertainties of Society.
4. Public Education & Scholarship.+
John Locke: “Man’s interests: Life, Liberty & Estate.”
Man gives up some freedoms for Protection.
Purpose of Government is to Protect basic rights
- There are Limits of Power.
- Limit of the Consent.
(To speed process of implementing the Declaraiton it was decided to
skip ratification of states.)
Foundation of the Declaration of Independence:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident ...
All men are created equal. That they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are
Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.”
- “According to this view, man is an integral creature with innate moral qualities created in personal relationship with God.
- While man is created by God for relationship with God, man has broken that relationship by setting up his own base - selfish passion.
- Lust is at war with Love.”++
It is this fact that explains the development of civil government.
“That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted by the Consent of the Governed.”
Principal Problem for framers was Control of Authority
Liberty and Authority - Form and Freedom.
“The declaration assumes an absolute metaphysics from which are derived the ideas of self-evident rights and equality of men. The propositions that men are equal and have unalienable rights are moral axioms understood through reason, but not subject to proof, in the empirical sense. (Scripture) They are expressive of the fundamental moral revelations of natural law that governs the universe whether they are understood or honored does not affect their verity.”+++
Compare the Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness with the
Liberte, Egalete, Fraternite (Life, Equality, Fraternity) of the French Revolution. For us the value of our God given life leads to liberty so that we may pursue happiness. The French Revolution was founded on liberty & equality. That revolution resulted in cruel deaths & chaos.
The monarchy was replaced by an emperor, Napoleon.
George Washington: “The hand of Providence has been so conspicuous in all this that he must be worse than an infidel that lacks faith, and more than wicked, that has not gratitude enough to acknowledge his obligations.”
John Adams: “The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were...the great principles of Christianity.”
He recommended that America’s birthday “be commemorated as a
day of solemn deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty.”
John Quincy Adams, sixth president of the United States on July 4, 1837 said:
“In the chain of human events, the birthday of the nation is indissolubly linked to the birthday of the Savior. The Declaration of Independence laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first principles of Christianity.” I would and God’s Word.
If you haven’t read the Declaration of Independence lately
I strongly urge you to do so over this 4th of July weekend.
The Signers of the Declaration of Independence knew they would be condemned to death & were placing their lives & property of the line for holding to the truths by which they stood & declaring independence from the King
(Nine of the thirty-six Signers died in the Revolutionary War.)
Here are a sample of the Scriptures that influenced them and
can give us truths we can hold guiding our decisions.
Psalm 33:4 God’s words are right, true and can be trusted.
God’s Word is reliable because, unlike people
God does not lie, forget, change his words or
leave his promises unfulfilled. We can trust God’s Word because it contains the words of a trustworthy, and unchangeable God.
Psalm 33:6-9 is a Poetic summary of Creation.
God is coordinator of natural forces,
Lord of creation and The Almighty God.
Because God is all-powerful we revere him in all we do.
Psalm 33:11 "The plans of the Lord stand forever.
Are you frustrated by the inconsistencies seen in others, or yourself?
God is completely trustworthy, his intentions never change.
James 1:17 says:
Every good and perfect gift is from above,
coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights,
who does not change like shifting shadows.
When wondering whom you can trust, God is consistent.
Let God counsel you, and trust God’s plans for your life.
Read Psalm 33:16-17 Horse is equated with military strength.
Because God rules and overrules every nation leaders should never put their complete trust in physical power. Military might is not the ground of hope Hope is in God.
The Bottom Line is found in Psalm 33:12
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people he chose for his inheritance.
In uncertain times where will place your trust?
What will you hold on to? What truths will guide you?
May our nation return to foundation & truths held
by our founding fathers. Holding these Truths ...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
* Thomas J. Norton, The Constitution... p. 267
+ David Minwar, Ideas and Politics: p. 31
++ Ibid. p. 77
+++ Ibid.
** In old court house, Geneva, Switzerland where John Calvin served as Pastor and dramatically change the city there is a painting on the wall behind where the Judge sits. The painting is of a courtroom. In the corner is Justice portrayed as a woman holding a scale in one hand and sword in the other. She in not blindfolded as she is in our country.
In front of the Judge are two tables with lawyers & clients sitting behind them facing the Judge. The Judge is looking at Justice who’s sword is pointing to the Bible. Thus John Calvin’s statement that Justice and
it’s laws are founded on God’s Word, Bible.
Acts 22:22-29, Psalms 33:1-22 (Independence Sunday)
(All Rights Reserved)
“HOLDING THESE TRUTHS ...”
(Celebrating America’s 235rd Birthday)
INTRODUCTION: 235 years ago a group representing each of the 13 British Colonies in the New World met in Philadelphia to decide what course of action should be taken against the King of Great Britain. For months these representatives had been arguing amongst themselves as to what they should do.
Issues:
• King was not Assenting to the Laws, the most wholesome and necessary good for the public.
• Forbidding Governors from passing Laws of immediate and pressing importance until the Assent of the King.
• Relinquishing rights of Representation in the Legislature, rights inestimable to them.
• Calling meetings of Legislature in unusual places and times for purpose of fatiguing them.
• Dissolving Representative Houses for opposing the invasion of the rights of people.
• Refusing to allow others to be elected.
• Obstructing Laws of Naturalization of Foreigners.
• Obstructing the administration of justice, by refusing to Assent to Laws for establishing Justices.
• Making Judges dependent on the Kings will.
• Erecting new offices to harass people and to eat out of their substance.
• Keeping among us, in time of peace, standing armies, without the consent of our legislators.
• Rendering the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power. (Total: 27 charges against the King)*
After great debate, realizing the consequences of their action, The Continental Congress voted to Declare their Independence from the British Crown. After additional hours of exacting work & debate, July 4, 1776, Declaration of Independence was adopted. First published on July 6, 1776 in the Pennsylvania Evening Post. It wasn’t until August 2, 1776 that a copy of the Declaration was signed by members of Congress.
“When in the Course of human events ...
We hold these TRUTHS to be self-evident ...
We therefore, the Representatives ...
235 years later we, as a nation, are struggling with an identity crisis. With the National Unemployment at 9.1%, Home values way down & a request to raise the $14.29 trillion debt ceiling. Although a majority of U.S. military troops were withdrawn from Iraq & soon from Afghanistan we still face Uncertainty in that entire region and Middle East.
There seems No basis, No truth: “Whatever seems best for society.”
“Social Laws are relative.”
Knowing the reason for our founding is important today.
John Calvin regarding Justice: The source of Laws is God’s Word.
(See Footnote** for an illustration of what John Calvin meant.)
It is because of God’s Law that People can act ...
Revolution often follows Christianity.
Bible inspired Rutherford who inspired John Witherspoon, signer of Declation and found of what is today called Princeton University.
Reformation inspired Locke who inspired Thomas Jefferson.
Martin Luther wrote of “Priesthood of Believers.”
Fundamentally equating among people control of authority by individual conscience.
John Calvin wrote of God's Elect and inspired Puritans -
Absolute Freedom, Absolute Authority for War.
Social Contract based on God’s Covenant.
God the Absolute, granted Freedoms.
God's Contract was the cornerstone of English & American Law
Localism - Town Hall Meetings.
David Minwar writes of the:
Four Basic Tenants of American Development:
1. Doctrine of Equality - Each created in God’s Image. Priesthood of Believers - (Value of Individuals).
2. Government founded on the consent of the governed.
3. Work lead to release from uncertainties of Society.
4. Public Education & Scholarship.+
John Locke: “Man’s interests: Life, Liberty & Estate.”
Man gives up some freedoms for Protection.
Purpose of Government is to Protect basic rights
- There are Limits of Power.
- Limit of the Consent.
(To speed process of implementing the Declaraiton it was decided to
skip ratification of states.)
Foundation of the Declaration of Independence:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident ...
All men are created equal. That they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are
Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.”
- “According to this view, man is an integral creature with innate moral qualities created in personal relationship with God.
- While man is created by God for relationship with God, man has broken that relationship by setting up his own base - selfish passion.
- Lust is at war with Love.”++
It is this fact that explains the development of civil government.
“That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted by the Consent of the Governed.”
Principal Problem for framers was Control of Authority
Liberty and Authority - Form and Freedom.
“The declaration assumes an absolute metaphysics from which are derived the ideas of self-evident rights and equality of men. The propositions that men are equal and have unalienable rights are moral axioms understood through reason, but not subject to proof, in the empirical sense. (Scripture) They are expressive of the fundamental moral revelations of natural law that governs the universe whether they are understood or honored does not affect their verity.”+++
Compare the Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness with the
Liberte, Egalete, Fraternite (Life, Equality, Fraternity) of the French Revolution. For us the value of our God given life leads to liberty so that we may pursue happiness. The French Revolution was founded on liberty & equality. That revolution resulted in cruel deaths & chaos.
The monarchy was replaced by an emperor, Napoleon.
George Washington: “The hand of Providence has been so conspicuous in all this that he must be worse than an infidel that lacks faith, and more than wicked, that has not gratitude enough to acknowledge his obligations.”
John Adams: “The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were...the great principles of Christianity.”
He recommended that America’s birthday “be commemorated as a
day of solemn deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty.”
John Quincy Adams, sixth president of the United States on July 4, 1837 said:
“In the chain of human events, the birthday of the nation is indissolubly linked to the birthday of the Savior. The Declaration of Independence laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first principles of Christianity.” I would and God’s Word.
If you haven’t read the Declaration of Independence lately
I strongly urge you to do so over this 4th of July weekend.
The Signers of the Declaration of Independence knew they would be condemned to death & were placing their lives & property of the line for holding to the truths by which they stood & declaring independence from the King
(Nine of the thirty-six Signers died in the Revolutionary War.)
Here are a sample of the Scriptures that influenced them and
can give us truths we can hold guiding our decisions.
Psalm 33:4 God’s words are right, true and can be trusted.
God’s Word is reliable because, unlike people
God does not lie, forget, change his words or
leave his promises unfulfilled. We can trust God’s Word because it contains the words of a trustworthy, and unchangeable God.
Psalm 33:6-9 is a Poetic summary of Creation.
God is coordinator of natural forces,
Lord of creation and The Almighty God.
Because God is all-powerful we revere him in all we do.
Psalm 33:11 "The plans of the Lord stand forever.
Are you frustrated by the inconsistencies seen in others, or yourself?
God is completely trustworthy, his intentions never change.
James 1:17 says:
Every good and perfect gift is from above,
coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights,
who does not change like shifting shadows.
When wondering whom you can trust, God is consistent.
Let God counsel you, and trust God’s plans for your life.
Read Psalm 33:16-17 Horse is equated with military strength.
Because God rules and overrules every nation leaders should never put their complete trust in physical power. Military might is not the ground of hope Hope is in God.
The Bottom Line is found in Psalm 33:12
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people he chose for his inheritance.
In uncertain times where will place your trust?
What will you hold on to? What truths will guide you?
May our nation return to foundation & truths held
by our founding fathers. Holding these Truths ...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
* Thomas J. Norton, The Constitution... p. 267
+ David Minwar, Ideas and Politics: p. 31
++ Ibid. p. 77
+++ Ibid.
** In old court house, Geneva, Switzerland where John Calvin served as Pastor and dramatically change the city there is a painting on the wall behind where the Judge sits. The painting is of a courtroom. In the corner is Justice portrayed as a woman holding a scale in one hand and sword in the other. She in not blindfolded as she is in our country.
In front of the Judge are two tables with lawyers & clients sitting behind them facing the Judge. The Judge is looking at Justice who’s sword is pointing to the Bible. Thus John Calvin’s statement that Justice and
it’s laws are founded on God’s Word, Bible.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
"COMMENCEMENT"
Dr. Glen A. Thorp June 26,2011
I Peter 3:13-17, Act. 2:42-47 (All Rights Reserved)
“COMMENCEMENT”
INTRODUCTION: What is the earliest Graduation you remember?
Mine was 8th Grade. I loved graduation of my pervious Church’s Day Care. Children, some who had been with us since their infancy, graduated from Pre-Kindergarten to Kindergarten in the public schools. They wore robes, mortar boards with tassels and received diplomas that was almost as large as they were, definitely larger than anyone I received. Diplomas seem to get smaller at each level of education. My graduation, from 8th grade was low key. There were no robes or diplomas. It was a boarding school, in Guatemala, C.A., with 8grades and only 3 students in my class. My Dad said: “This is more than graduation, it is a commencement a beginning.” For me it truly was. The week after my graduation my parents put me on plane to Houston, Texas were I was met by a host family, I had never met. The next 24hrs were a real cultural shock for me. Leaving everything I knew and adjusting to the new culture was truly a commencement
In California, this is time for completing education and commencing another. Even those who have completed their formal education are commencing into the work force, if they are lucky to find a job. Many of us are beyond the years of “formal education.” Yet the lessons of commencement still apply to us.
In addition to my academic studies, I learned about the Bible, had music lessons and was a Boy Scout leader. Each was invaluable in my 8th grade commencement and 9th grade in Minneapolis.
The Apostle Peter wrote:
Be ready at anytime to give a quiet and reverent answer to anyone who wants to know a reason for the hope that you have within you. (I Peter 3:15)
In Peter’s day, Christians suffered persecution because of their decision to follow Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Some were “banned from their families,” others were whipped, thrown into prison or placed in arenas with tigers and lions. Today Christians, every day in some part of the world, experience similar treatment for making the decision to follow Jesus, making him Lord of their lives.
Christians suffered not because they placed their trust in Jesus, but because their faith permeated every area of their lives and Christ was in control. Roman Emperors were threatened because a Christian’s first allegiance was to God/Jesus Christ and then Caesar who saw himself as “ultimate” and accountable to noone, let alone a god.
“If you as Christians suffer,” Peter writes, “you should know why you chose to follow Jesus. You ought to take every opportunity of explaining why you are not afraid of human power or death and the hope within you.”
The Apostle Paul used every occasion to tell his story. Christians knew there was nothing too loose. The worse was death and that meant joining their Lord in Heaven.
Few us suffer because of our faith. Some of our friends and colleagues may not know we are Christians. Some, who know we attend church, may tease or harass us. At some point they will ask “why are you different?”
Will we be ready to answer? If we apply what the early followers of Jesus did in Acts 2:42-47, we will be ready. They “Learned, Fellowshiped and Prayed.”
Peter gives Two Characteristics of good and effective responses to the hope within us.
The First Characteristic is Reasonableness. “Reverence.”
Use language and illustrations understood by the person asking us. Theological and Philosophical terminology may impress but not clarify. Unless you know the names of the different knots, used by scouts; a bowline, half-hitch or square knot, mean nothing to you. Most know what a square knot is even if they do not know how to tie one. If you can name the knots and tie them, but never use them for their determined purpose, of what use it. Scouts learn to tie the knots while camping in the wilderness. More importantly they learn to follow instructions, set goals, work in teams, lead as well as many other interpersonal skills to assist them in being ready/prepared for various situations. It sure helped me.
Using words like “Born Again.” “Saved,” “Grace”
even “Sin” in today’s world, have very little meaning.
If you have experienced the meaning of those words, you can Reasonably, Intelligently and Temperately tell your story and give explanation of the hope in which you live.
You can only do that if you know and live what you believe. That comes from Learning - what Jesus taught. It is one thing knowing Bible stories, reciting creeds and even answering the questions of Shorter Catechism, which at one time was required for church membership. It is another, understanding what you are saying and have reflected on its implications. You say “Jesus is Lord.” Is Jesus truly Lord of your daily life?
Are you following implementing his teachings?
Unfortunately, some are not ready when challenged in College or at Work. They find themselves tongue-tied or exasperated. In Scouting, one learns not only what to do but why. So too with our Christian faith, if one never wrestles with the why, one will not comprehend the what.
Experience is the best teacher. Scouts learn about camping from a handbook and set up tents in a church. But if the scout never goes camping, all the knowledge will be of little use. Scouts need the experience of setting up camp in the dark, rain and wind to truly appreciate and put to test the skills they have learned.
So too with our Christian Faith. “We need a first hand discovery not a second hand story.” (William Barclay) The tragedy is that many of us don’t know what we believe let alone why we believe it so that we may ...
Can others see our hope in Christ? Are we prepared to tell others what Christ has done in our lives?
Give a reasonable/logical explanation of the hope in us.
The Second Characteristic is Gentleness.
Teachers instruct in a clear and sensitive manner.
Arrogance, belligerence or trying to cram something down their student’s throat will back fire.
Amazingly, some Christians try “sharing their faith” in an obnoxious manner. They think, “anyone not believing as I do is a fool or knave.” Throughout history people have been forced to accept their conqueror’s beliefs.
Jesus taught: “You are light and salt.” Light brings clarity to what is hidden in darkness. Salt heals, purifies, enhances, preserves and causes thirst. A friend of ours who had a battery of tests, including colonoscopy and endoscopy for cause of nausea, dizziness, dehydration learned that her sodium was low. I wonder if part of the what is affecting our nation is a lack of “Salt”.
Treating those with whom we are sharing our faith with love, gentleness, and in appropriate manner, may open opportunities of giving account of our hope. Bludgeoning closes opportunities of explaining our faith.
A Christian Barber, convinced he needed to share his faith in Christ with others, decided that next Saturday he would tell one of his clients about his faith in Christ. Throughout the day opportunities arose but he froze and was unable to say anything. As the day drew to a close the tension was building. He said: “hook or by crook I am going share my faith with the next person who comes in.” In walked a man asking for shave. The barber thought: “this is the one!” Preparing himself mentally and winding up the courage, he lathered up the man’s face, picked up the razor and sharpened it on a leather strap. Walking to the front of the chair, his voice quivering and his hand shaking he blurted out:
“Brother are you prepared to die?” The man jumped up and ran right through the plate glass window, tearing down the street screaming.” (D. Roper)
Fortunately, that is not the way of sharing our faith. Sometimes we may come across too forcefully or argumentatively and scare people away.
We may not be able to keep people from slandering us for sharing our faith. We can stop supplying them with ammunition. As long as we are
“light” and “salt” living as Jesus taught their accusations will be empty and embarrass them. Let us keep our conduct above criticism remembering:
Gentleness opens doors for us to give a logical reason for the hope within us that enables us to live without fear.
CONCLUSION: Even as scouts learn, practice and experience first hand what being ready means, applying it when necessary, so we as Christians can do the same so we are ready when called upon to explain our faith.
When you are confident of what and why you believe you may be an instrument of God’s love. The Holy Spirit will enable you to respond in a reasonable and gentle manner. If you are not ready you will likely stutter and become argumentative.
"A Godly conduct will silence slander disarming criticism."
The only un-answerable argument for a Christian is a life that is light and salt consistent with Jesus’ teachings, causing an eagerness to believe in God.
That life is one securely anchored on knowledge and experience of the saving activity of Jesus Christ.
How we live, How we handle difficulty and
How we treat others will say more than all our words.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Against such things there is no law...Since we live by the Spirit,
let us keep in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:22,23,25)
Two Illustrations:
To a Weaver who did more talking than work:
“He needs to let his Christianity come out
through his fingers rather than his mouth.”
A Woman got into a shouting match with her husband. Enraged, stormed through the kitchen swearing under her breath – opening all the cupboard doors then slamming them shut. Walking by an open kitchen door – she was startled to see a neighbor on the other side of the screen door. Terror raced through the woman when she recognized the neighbor as one for whom, for two years, she had been praying and was seeking a way of telling her of her faith in Christ. She thought: “I have really blown it this time.” She invited the neighbor to come in, apologized for her behavior, admitted her own weakness and of the Lord who forgives and gives fresh starts.
Her neighbor was so impressed with the woman’s honesty. courage and certainty of God’s forgiveness that she invited Christ into her life that day. It was a commencement, start of a new life and new chapter.
Learning, Fellowship and Praying.
It is not failure that discourages us – it is not being ready to give a reason for the hope within us. May that be so!
May our commencement be one where we:
Continue Learning, Worshiping faithfully, Praying and keeping in step with the Spirit who reminds us of all we have learned about Jesus and assist us in telling others of the hope within us, that enables us to live with joy and without fear in a time when it is risky talking about our faith in Jesus Christ who is the Lord of our lives.
I Peter 3:13-17, Act. 2:42-47 (All Rights Reserved)
“COMMENCEMENT”
INTRODUCTION: What is the earliest Graduation you remember?
Mine was 8th Grade. I loved graduation of my pervious Church’s Day Care. Children, some who had been with us since their infancy, graduated from Pre-Kindergarten to Kindergarten in the public schools. They wore robes, mortar boards with tassels and received diplomas that was almost as large as they were, definitely larger than anyone I received. Diplomas seem to get smaller at each level of education. My graduation, from 8th grade was low key. There were no robes or diplomas. It was a boarding school, in Guatemala, C.A., with 8grades and only 3 students in my class. My Dad said: “This is more than graduation, it is a commencement a beginning.” For me it truly was. The week after my graduation my parents put me on plane to Houston, Texas were I was met by a host family, I had never met. The next 24hrs were a real cultural shock for me. Leaving everything I knew and adjusting to the new culture was truly a commencement
In California, this is time for completing education and commencing another. Even those who have completed their formal education are commencing into the work force, if they are lucky to find a job. Many of us are beyond the years of “formal education.” Yet the lessons of commencement still apply to us.
In addition to my academic studies, I learned about the Bible, had music lessons and was a Boy Scout leader. Each was invaluable in my 8th grade commencement and 9th grade in Minneapolis.
The Apostle Peter wrote:
Be ready at anytime to give a quiet and reverent answer to anyone who wants to know a reason for the hope that you have within you. (I Peter 3:15)
In Peter’s day, Christians suffered persecution because of their decision to follow Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Some were “banned from their families,” others were whipped, thrown into prison or placed in arenas with tigers and lions. Today Christians, every day in some part of the world, experience similar treatment for making the decision to follow Jesus, making him Lord of their lives.
Christians suffered not because they placed their trust in Jesus, but because their faith permeated every area of their lives and Christ was in control. Roman Emperors were threatened because a Christian’s first allegiance was to God/Jesus Christ and then Caesar who saw himself as “ultimate” and accountable to noone, let alone a god.
“If you as Christians suffer,” Peter writes, “you should know why you chose to follow Jesus. You ought to take every opportunity of explaining why you are not afraid of human power or death and the hope within you.”
The Apostle Paul used every occasion to tell his story. Christians knew there was nothing too loose. The worse was death and that meant joining their Lord in Heaven.
Few us suffer because of our faith. Some of our friends and colleagues may not know we are Christians. Some, who know we attend church, may tease or harass us. At some point they will ask “why are you different?”
Will we be ready to answer? If we apply what the early followers of Jesus did in Acts 2:42-47, we will be ready. They “Learned, Fellowshiped and Prayed.”
Peter gives Two Characteristics of good and effective responses to the hope within us.
The First Characteristic is Reasonableness. “Reverence.”
Use language and illustrations understood by the person asking us. Theological and Philosophical terminology may impress but not clarify. Unless you know the names of the different knots, used by scouts; a bowline, half-hitch or square knot, mean nothing to you. Most know what a square knot is even if they do not know how to tie one. If you can name the knots and tie them, but never use them for their determined purpose, of what use it. Scouts learn to tie the knots while camping in the wilderness. More importantly they learn to follow instructions, set goals, work in teams, lead as well as many other interpersonal skills to assist them in being ready/prepared for various situations. It sure helped me.
Using words like “Born Again.” “Saved,” “Grace”
even “Sin” in today’s world, have very little meaning.
If you have experienced the meaning of those words, you can Reasonably, Intelligently and Temperately tell your story and give explanation of the hope in which you live.
You can only do that if you know and live what you believe. That comes from Learning - what Jesus taught. It is one thing knowing Bible stories, reciting creeds and even answering the questions of Shorter Catechism, which at one time was required for church membership. It is another, understanding what you are saying and have reflected on its implications. You say “Jesus is Lord.” Is Jesus truly Lord of your daily life?
Are you following implementing his teachings?
Unfortunately, some are not ready when challenged in College or at Work. They find themselves tongue-tied or exasperated. In Scouting, one learns not only what to do but why. So too with our Christian faith, if one never wrestles with the why, one will not comprehend the what.
Experience is the best teacher. Scouts learn about camping from a handbook and set up tents in a church. But if the scout never goes camping, all the knowledge will be of little use. Scouts need the experience of setting up camp in the dark, rain and wind to truly appreciate and put to test the skills they have learned.
So too with our Christian Faith. “We need a first hand discovery not a second hand story.” (William Barclay) The tragedy is that many of us don’t know what we believe let alone why we believe it so that we may ...
Can others see our hope in Christ? Are we prepared to tell others what Christ has done in our lives?
Give a reasonable/logical explanation of the hope in us.
The Second Characteristic is Gentleness.
Teachers instruct in a clear and sensitive manner.
Arrogance, belligerence or trying to cram something down their student’s throat will back fire.
Amazingly, some Christians try “sharing their faith” in an obnoxious manner. They think, “anyone not believing as I do is a fool or knave.” Throughout history people have been forced to accept their conqueror’s beliefs.
Jesus taught: “You are light and salt.” Light brings clarity to what is hidden in darkness. Salt heals, purifies, enhances, preserves and causes thirst. A friend of ours who had a battery of tests, including colonoscopy and endoscopy for cause of nausea, dizziness, dehydration learned that her sodium was low. I wonder if part of the what is affecting our nation is a lack of “Salt”.
Treating those with whom we are sharing our faith with love, gentleness, and in appropriate manner, may open opportunities of giving account of our hope. Bludgeoning closes opportunities of explaining our faith.
A Christian Barber, convinced he needed to share his faith in Christ with others, decided that next Saturday he would tell one of his clients about his faith in Christ. Throughout the day opportunities arose but he froze and was unable to say anything. As the day drew to a close the tension was building. He said: “hook or by crook I am going share my faith with the next person who comes in.” In walked a man asking for shave. The barber thought: “this is the one!” Preparing himself mentally and winding up the courage, he lathered up the man’s face, picked up the razor and sharpened it on a leather strap. Walking to the front of the chair, his voice quivering and his hand shaking he blurted out:
“Brother are you prepared to die?” The man jumped up and ran right through the plate glass window, tearing down the street screaming.” (D. Roper)
Fortunately, that is not the way of sharing our faith. Sometimes we may come across too forcefully or argumentatively and scare people away.
We may not be able to keep people from slandering us for sharing our faith. We can stop supplying them with ammunition. As long as we are
“light” and “salt” living as Jesus taught their accusations will be empty and embarrass them. Let us keep our conduct above criticism remembering:
Gentleness opens doors for us to give a logical reason for the hope within us that enables us to live without fear.
CONCLUSION: Even as scouts learn, practice and experience first hand what being ready means, applying it when necessary, so we as Christians can do the same so we are ready when called upon to explain our faith.
When you are confident of what and why you believe you may be an instrument of God’s love. The Holy Spirit will enable you to respond in a reasonable and gentle manner. If you are not ready you will likely stutter and become argumentative.
"A Godly conduct will silence slander disarming criticism."
The only un-answerable argument for a Christian is a life that is light and salt consistent with Jesus’ teachings, causing an eagerness to believe in God.
That life is one securely anchored on knowledge and experience of the saving activity of Jesus Christ.
How we live, How we handle difficulty and
How we treat others will say more than all our words.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Against such things there is no law...Since we live by the Spirit,
let us keep in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:22,23,25)
Two Illustrations:
To a Weaver who did more talking than work:
“He needs to let his Christianity come out
through his fingers rather than his mouth.”
A Woman got into a shouting match with her husband. Enraged, stormed through the kitchen swearing under her breath – opening all the cupboard doors then slamming them shut. Walking by an open kitchen door – she was startled to see a neighbor on the other side of the screen door. Terror raced through the woman when she recognized the neighbor as one for whom, for two years, she had been praying and was seeking a way of telling her of her faith in Christ. She thought: “I have really blown it this time.” She invited the neighbor to come in, apologized for her behavior, admitted her own weakness and of the Lord who forgives and gives fresh starts.
Her neighbor was so impressed with the woman’s honesty. courage and certainty of God’s forgiveness that she invited Christ into her life that day. It was a commencement, start of a new life and new chapter.
Learning, Fellowship and Praying.
It is not failure that discourages us – it is not being ready to give a reason for the hope within us. May that be so!
May our commencement be one where we:
Continue Learning, Worshiping faithfully, Praying and keeping in step with the Spirit who reminds us of all we have learned about Jesus and assist us in telling others of the hope within us, that enables us to live with joy and without fear in a time when it is risky talking about our faith in Jesus Christ who is the Lord of our lives.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
"TRINITARIANS"
Dr. Glen A. Thorp June 19, 2011
Romans 8:15-17, Isaiah 6:1-8 (Trinity Sunday)
(All Rights Reserved)
TRINITARIANS:
(“Worshiping One God, not Three”)
INTRODUCTION: Christians are often accused of being tri-theists
by Muslims and Jews. We are not. We are Trinitarians.
Today, Trinity Sunday in the Christian calendar, I am going to try explaining the concept and implications of believing in a Triune God.
“The doctrine of the Trinity is one of the deepest and most sacred in the Christian system.”* Yet it is one of the most confusing of Christian doctrines.
The term “Trinity” came from man (Tertullian, 220 AD) and
not expressed in a creed until the Council of Nicea (325 AD)
from which came the first Christian Creed: “Nicean Creed.”
The Triune Nature of God is NOT a human invention.
Nor is the term “Trinity” simply a metaphysical attempt of describing God.
Both the unity and tri-unity of God are revealed in Scripture.
“Reason shows unity of God; only Revelation shows Trinity of God.”+
Although the term “Trinity” is not found in Scripture,
the concept definitely is Biblical.
The term “trinity” designates Facts that help us better understand the Implications of what God has revealed about God’s self to us.
The First Fact is: There is but One God.
We do not believe in three Gods. Along with Muslims and Jews we affirm the powerful phrase in Deuteronomy 6:4
"The Lord our God is One Lord."
“In the midst of the most seductive forms of polytheism, it was necessary that the Israelites be thoroughly instructed in divine unity.”*
St. Patrick of Ireland used a Shamrock, 3 leaf clover in explaining the Trinity. Three leaves yet one clover. By the way that is why all those celebrating St. Patrick’s Day wearing green and Shamrocks.
I wonder how many realize they are affirming their belief in the Trinity.
The first and foundational on the Ten Commandments was
You shall have no other gods before me. (Exodus 20:3)
I could list many other Scripture stating there is but One God.
The Second Fact is: God is Revealed in Three Ways.
From the first verse of the Bible:
"In the beginning God ... Elohim-the Hebrew word for God is plural
created the heavens and the earth." Genesis 1:26 states:
"God ... Elohim, said:
'Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness." In Genesis 3:22:
The Lord said, this man has become like one of us. Isaiah 6:8:
"The Lord said: Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?"
Even the sacred phrase for Jews, Muslims and Christians:
"The Lord, Elohim (Our Gods) is One Lord."
When Jews and Muslims are asked to explain these verses, their response is: “this is a council in Heaven of which God is the Moderator.”
Jews acknowledge God’s Spirit came upon prophets and priests, but will not say the Spirit is God. Numbers 11:24-24 tells of God’s Spirit being given to seventy elders who had be chosen to assist Moses.
"The Lord took of the Spirit that was on him (Moses)
and put the Spirit on the seventy elders." (11:25)
Though there is but One God, God is revealed in the Three Ways.
The Greek word hypostasis means “substance” and became the technical term explaining that God is One revealed in Three Ways.
A. The Father is recognized as God.
For the Jews and Muslims this is no problem.
Many Scriptures affirm the Father as God. Two:
John 6:27 "Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.
On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval."
I Peter 1:2 "Peter as apostle of Jesus Christ ... chosen and destined by God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit for the obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood."
The Lord’s Prayer begins: "Our Father in Heaven ..."
For us to address God as Father is a privilege given by Jesus.
B. The Son, Jesus Christ, is recognized as God.
This is what separates Christians from Jews, Muslims and every other religion. Each acknowledges Jesus was a great prophet who lived a exemplary life. But saying that Jesus born in Bethlehem, raised in Nazareth and crucified in Jerusalem was God is blasphemy. This is the accusation that ultimately lead to Jesus’ death. Again there are many
Scriptures declaring Jesus was God. Two:
John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, (Greek is Logos) and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
John 1:14 "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory of the One and Only,
who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."
This chapter and the Gospel affirm that the Word was Jesus.
John 20:28 One of Jesus’ resurrection appearances was to the
Apostle Thomas, who did not believe Jesus was alive. Jesus said:
"Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Stop doubting and believe." Notice Thomas’s response:
"My Lord and My God!"
While Jesus was on earth he prayed to the Father:
"I do what the Father tells me to do."
How can God be in two places at once?
We say God is omnipresent,God can be in all places at once.
(Try Comprehending one God being both on earth in a physical human form and yet be transcendent, not bound by earth’s restrictions.)
There are many who say Jesus was a Son of God, just like you and I are Children of God. That is Not What Scripture says. It was against that heresy the Council of Nicea met and drafted what we call the Necean Creed.
(Read the Creed at the end of this meditation**) Notice that Jesus is
described as Substance that is the Greek word: hypostasis.
In Jesus, God revealed God’s self to us.
In Jesus, we who were separated from God by sin were
brought to God through our faith in Jesus, his dying on
a cross and resurrection from the dead. From John and
other Scriptures we read Jesus was present at creation.
We believe that God revealed as the Son is Elohim.
C. The Holy Spirit is recognized as God,
Jesus says to his disciples: (John 14:16)
"I will never leave you or forsake you.
I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor."
Last Sunday we studied Pentecost, time when the promised Counselor,
the Holy Spirit, came and permanently dwelt among Jesus’ followers.
It was the Holy Spirit’s presence who enabled the disciples to boldly speak about Jesus. Two Scriptures: First Peter’s response to Ananias & Saphiria.
Read Acts 5:1-12 to understand who they were and why Peter said the following:
"How is that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself of the money you received for the land. Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing?
You have not lied to men but to God." (Acts 5:3-4)
Notice how the Holy Spirit is God.
I Corinthians 3:16:
"Don’t you know that you yourselves
are God’s temple, and that God’s Spirit lives in you?"
Throughout the New and Old Testaments the Spirit of God,
the Holy Spirit, the Counselor, the Guide and other
names given to that manifestation of God, is God.
That is why we Christians believe that though God is One,
God is also Triune. Bringing together these two diametrically opposed opinions was the struggle of the early Christian Community, which developed the term Trinity.
Reading the Scriptures: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are interchangeable. Each has a particular function. Each in interconnected with the other. Father is primarily revealed as Creator,
Son is primarily revealed as Redeemer and
Holy Spirit is primarily revealed as Enabler.
An illustration: The Formula H2O = Water. Combining 2 molecules (hypostasis) of Hydrogen and 1 molecule of Oxygen results in water.
It is liquid and can be swallowed. Same liquid cooled to at least 32*F results in a solid object. Still H2O - different form.
Heat that solid and it becomes liquid and then steam vapor.
That same H2O can be taken to different locations and used in the three forms all at once.
Any analogy trying to illustrate the Trinity is difficult and falls short of explaining the different ways God has revealed God’s self to humanity.
Some of you are asking: “What difference does it make whether we believe in a triune God?” or “I don’t understand the Trinity but I am willing to accept that God is revealed in Three Ways in Scripture.”
There are Three Implications for us.
1. Understanding that we may be accused of worshiping more than one God.
We do Not Worship Three Gods, Only One.
Some say God is ultimate. Jesus is subservient and
the Holy Spirit is at the bottom of the authority grid.
That is Not what Scripture says.
The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all equal. They are God.
2. God did not create us because it was necessary for God to have relationships. God already had relationships, Elohim.
Elohim wants a relationship with humanity,
but not because God was lonely. God created humanity out of love.
3. God is not restricted to a transcendent state, that is God is not just in Heaven, God the Holy Spirit dwells with us in this 21st century.
God’s presence is God’s Spirit.
We serve God enabled and empowered by The Holy Spirit.
The Spirit of God joins with our spirit testifying that we are God’s children; and if God’s children, then heirs.
"The Spirit testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.
We are God’s heirs and Christ’s fellow-heirs." (Rom. 8:16-17)
CONCLUSION: Trinity is Not a human invention.
It is an aspect of God revealed in Scripture.
As Trinitarians we “believe in a God who is revealed in three different ways.” Each of the Elohim has a particular relationship to us, as God’s children. Each brings a depth of relationship that would not be present if we had only one aspect of God revealed to us.
God may be called Father, Son or Holy Spirit.
Each posses all the substance and all the attributes of the deity.
God is not: Three and One, but Three in One.
The Trinity is not a partnership in which each member can sign for the name of the firm; this is unity of council and operation only (Synchronicity) not essence. God’s nature is not an abstract but an organic unity.
Footnotes: * H. Orton Wiley, Christian Theology, Vol. 1
(Beacon Hill Press: Kansas City, 1969. 393, 395)
+ Augustus H. Strong, Systematic Theology.
(The Judson Press: Valley Forge, 1907, 1967. 304)
The Nicene Creed:
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light,
very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made. Who, for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.
And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life;
who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets.
And I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
Romans 8:15-17, Isaiah 6:1-8 (Trinity Sunday)
(All Rights Reserved)
TRINITARIANS:
(“Worshiping One God, not Three”)
INTRODUCTION: Christians are often accused of being tri-theists
by Muslims and Jews. We are not. We are Trinitarians.
Today, Trinity Sunday in the Christian calendar, I am going to try explaining the concept and implications of believing in a Triune God.
“The doctrine of the Trinity is one of the deepest and most sacred in the Christian system.”* Yet it is one of the most confusing of Christian doctrines.
The term “Trinity” came from man (Tertullian, 220 AD) and
not expressed in a creed until the Council of Nicea (325 AD)
from which came the first Christian Creed: “Nicean Creed.”
The Triune Nature of God is NOT a human invention.
Nor is the term “Trinity” simply a metaphysical attempt of describing God.
Both the unity and tri-unity of God are revealed in Scripture.
“Reason shows unity of God; only Revelation shows Trinity of God.”+
Although the term “Trinity” is not found in Scripture,
the concept definitely is Biblical.
The term “trinity” designates Facts that help us better understand the Implications of what God has revealed about God’s self to us.
The First Fact is: There is but One God.
We do not believe in three Gods. Along with Muslims and Jews we affirm the powerful phrase in Deuteronomy 6:4
"The Lord our God is One Lord."
“In the midst of the most seductive forms of polytheism, it was necessary that the Israelites be thoroughly instructed in divine unity.”*
St. Patrick of Ireland used a Shamrock, 3 leaf clover in explaining the Trinity. Three leaves yet one clover. By the way that is why all those celebrating St. Patrick’s Day wearing green and Shamrocks.
I wonder how many realize they are affirming their belief in the Trinity.
The first and foundational on the Ten Commandments was
You shall have no other gods before me. (Exodus 20:3)
I could list many other Scripture stating there is but One God.
The Second Fact is: God is Revealed in Three Ways.
From the first verse of the Bible:
"In the beginning God ... Elohim-the Hebrew word for God is plural
created the heavens and the earth." Genesis 1:26 states:
"God ... Elohim, said:
'Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness." In Genesis 3:22:
The Lord said, this man has become like one of us. Isaiah 6:8:
"The Lord said: Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?"
Even the sacred phrase for Jews, Muslims and Christians:
"The Lord, Elohim (Our Gods) is One Lord."
When Jews and Muslims are asked to explain these verses, their response is: “this is a council in Heaven of which God is the Moderator.”
Jews acknowledge God’s Spirit came upon prophets and priests, but will not say the Spirit is God. Numbers 11:24-24 tells of God’s Spirit being given to seventy elders who had be chosen to assist Moses.
"The Lord took of the Spirit that was on him (Moses)
and put the Spirit on the seventy elders." (11:25)
Though there is but One God, God is revealed in the Three Ways.
The Greek word hypostasis means “substance” and became the technical term explaining that God is One revealed in Three Ways.
A. The Father is recognized as God.
For the Jews and Muslims this is no problem.
Many Scriptures affirm the Father as God. Two:
John 6:27 "Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.
On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval."
I Peter 1:2 "Peter as apostle of Jesus Christ ... chosen and destined by God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit for the obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood."
The Lord’s Prayer begins: "Our Father in Heaven ..."
For us to address God as Father is a privilege given by Jesus.
B. The Son, Jesus Christ, is recognized as God.
This is what separates Christians from Jews, Muslims and every other religion. Each acknowledges Jesus was a great prophet who lived a exemplary life. But saying that Jesus born in Bethlehem, raised in Nazareth and crucified in Jerusalem was God is blasphemy. This is the accusation that ultimately lead to Jesus’ death. Again there are many
Scriptures declaring Jesus was God. Two:
John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, (Greek is Logos) and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
John 1:14 "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory of the One and Only,
who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."
This chapter and the Gospel affirm that the Word was Jesus.
John 20:28 One of Jesus’ resurrection appearances was to the
Apostle Thomas, who did not believe Jesus was alive. Jesus said:
"Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Stop doubting and believe." Notice Thomas’s response:
"My Lord and My God!"
While Jesus was on earth he prayed to the Father:
"I do what the Father tells me to do."
How can God be in two places at once?
We say God is omnipresent,God can be in all places at once.
(Try Comprehending one God being both on earth in a physical human form and yet be transcendent, not bound by earth’s restrictions.)
There are many who say Jesus was a Son of God, just like you and I are Children of God. That is Not What Scripture says. It was against that heresy the Council of Nicea met and drafted what we call the Necean Creed.
(Read the Creed at the end of this meditation**) Notice that Jesus is
described as Substance that is the Greek word: hypostasis.
In Jesus, God revealed God’s self to us.
In Jesus, we who were separated from God by sin were
brought to God through our faith in Jesus, his dying on
a cross and resurrection from the dead. From John and
other Scriptures we read Jesus was present at creation.
We believe that God revealed as the Son is Elohim.
C. The Holy Spirit is recognized as God,
Jesus says to his disciples: (John 14:16)
"I will never leave you or forsake you.
I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor."
Last Sunday we studied Pentecost, time when the promised Counselor,
the Holy Spirit, came and permanently dwelt among Jesus’ followers.
It was the Holy Spirit’s presence who enabled the disciples to boldly speak about Jesus. Two Scriptures: First Peter’s response to Ananias & Saphiria.
Read Acts 5:1-12 to understand who they were and why Peter said the following:
"How is that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself of the money you received for the land. Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing?
You have not lied to men but to God." (Acts 5:3-4)
Notice how the Holy Spirit is God.
I Corinthians 3:16:
"Don’t you know that you yourselves
are God’s temple, and that God’s Spirit lives in you?"
Throughout the New and Old Testaments the Spirit of God,
the Holy Spirit, the Counselor, the Guide and other
names given to that manifestation of God, is God.
That is why we Christians believe that though God is One,
God is also Triune. Bringing together these two diametrically opposed opinions was the struggle of the early Christian Community, which developed the term Trinity.
Reading the Scriptures: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are interchangeable. Each has a particular function. Each in interconnected with the other. Father is primarily revealed as Creator,
Son is primarily revealed as Redeemer and
Holy Spirit is primarily revealed as Enabler.
An illustration: The Formula H2O = Water. Combining 2 molecules (hypostasis) of Hydrogen and 1 molecule of Oxygen results in water.
It is liquid and can be swallowed. Same liquid cooled to at least 32*F results in a solid object. Still H2O - different form.
Heat that solid and it becomes liquid and then steam vapor.
That same H2O can be taken to different locations and used in the three forms all at once.
Any analogy trying to illustrate the Trinity is difficult and falls short of explaining the different ways God has revealed God’s self to humanity.
Some of you are asking: “What difference does it make whether we believe in a triune God?” or “I don’t understand the Trinity but I am willing to accept that God is revealed in Three Ways in Scripture.”
There are Three Implications for us.
1. Understanding that we may be accused of worshiping more than one God.
We do Not Worship Three Gods, Only One.
Some say God is ultimate. Jesus is subservient and
the Holy Spirit is at the bottom of the authority grid.
That is Not what Scripture says.
The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all equal. They are God.
2. God did not create us because it was necessary for God to have relationships. God already had relationships, Elohim.
Elohim wants a relationship with humanity,
but not because God was lonely. God created humanity out of love.
3. God is not restricted to a transcendent state, that is God is not just in Heaven, God the Holy Spirit dwells with us in this 21st century.
God’s presence is God’s Spirit.
We serve God enabled and empowered by The Holy Spirit.
The Spirit of God joins with our spirit testifying that we are God’s children; and if God’s children, then heirs.
"The Spirit testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.
We are God’s heirs and Christ’s fellow-heirs." (Rom. 8:16-17)
CONCLUSION: Trinity is Not a human invention.
It is an aspect of God revealed in Scripture.
As Trinitarians we “believe in a God who is revealed in three different ways.” Each of the Elohim has a particular relationship to us, as God’s children. Each brings a depth of relationship that would not be present if we had only one aspect of God revealed to us.
God may be called Father, Son or Holy Spirit.
Each posses all the substance and all the attributes of the deity.
God is not: Three and One, but Three in One.
The Trinity is not a partnership in which each member can sign for the name of the firm; this is unity of council and operation only (Synchronicity) not essence. God’s nature is not an abstract but an organic unity.
Footnotes: * H. Orton Wiley, Christian Theology, Vol. 1
(Beacon Hill Press: Kansas City, 1969. 393, 395)
+ Augustus H. Strong, Systematic Theology.
(The Judson Press: Valley Forge, 1907, 1967. 304)
The Nicene Creed:
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light,
very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made. Who, for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.
And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life;
who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets.
And I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
"TRANSFORMER"
Dr. Glen A. Thorp June 12, 2001
(All Rights Reserved) ActS 2:1-11, Rm 8:10-14
“TRANSFORMER”
(Pentecost Sunday)
INTRODUCTION: What comes to your mind when I say, transformer? Electric trains? AC adapters - power cord for computers? Boxes on electric poles? Toys turned transformed into robots and adapted into a movie franchise? The latest: “Dark Side of the Moon” will be released 7.1.11.
“A transformer is a device that transfers electrical energy from one circuit to another through inductively coupled conductors — the transformer's coils or ‘windings’. A varying current in the first or ‘primary’ winding creates a varying magnetic field in the core or cores) of the transformer. This varying magnetic field induces a varying electromotive force (EMF) or ‘voltage‘ in the ‘secondary’ winding. This effect is called mutual induction.”- (Wikipedia)
Webster's Dictionary says: “A device containing no moving parts and consisting of essentially of two or more coils of insulated wire that transfers alternating current energy by electromagnetic induction from one winding to another at the same frequency but usually with changed voltage and current values.
A person or thing that changes a condition or nature
Changes a personality or character.” Conversion.
Ultimate transformer is the Holy Spirit.
Acts 2:1-11 tells of coming of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus’ followers and the birth of the Church on Pentecost, a Jewish festival 50 days after Passover called Shavuot. I will describe this later.
Pentecost comes from the Greek word 50 and is one of the major
“Holy Days” in the Christian Year.
Scripture describes a Three Step Process by which followers of Jesus, who 50 days earlier were hiding behind locked doors were transformed.
Filled: All were filled with the Holy Spirit. v.4
Fulfilling what the Prophet Exekiel 39:29
I will pour out my Spirit upon them ...
The Prophet Joel said: 2:28-29
I will pour out my Spirit on all people ...
Up to that time the Holy Spirit was available to kings, prophets and judges. Each was anointed with oil, as a symbol of God’s Holy Spirit,
coming upon them when crowned, commissioned or installed:
Like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard ...
down upon the collar of his robes. (Psalm 133:2)
The Prophets envisioned a time when the Spirit would be available to every follower of God. John the Baptist(Luke 3:6) speaking of the Messiah: All mankind will see God’s salvation. and in 3:16
I baptize with water He will baptize with the Holy Spirit and Fire...
Before Jesus’ ascension 10 days before Pentecost, (which we discussed last week) he told his disciples: You will receive power when -
the Holy Spirit comes upon you.
The Tongues of Fire: were God’s purifying presence
: Speech, Communicating the Gospel
Ignited their hearts with the desire of reaching others and Available to All
Read: Romans 8:10-14. The Entire Chapter is on the Holy Spirit.
High Power of the Holy Spirit transformed ...
Romans 8:10 If Christ is in you, the Spirit lives in you.
Romans 8:14 Those led by the Spirit are children of God
Romans 8:26 The Spirit helps us in our weakness ...
We don’t know what we are to pray for. The Spirit intercedes for us with groans words cannot express.
Enabled: Began speaking in other languages
as the Spirit enabled them. v.4
The disciples exploded on to the streets, enabled by the Spirit, telling everyone of Jesus. All of a sudden, everything they had heard and experienced over the last three years made sense. The miracle that ocurred was that pilgrims from all around the Mediterranean area, heard the message in her or his own language. The commotion drew a crowd.
Amazed and Bewildered: they asked one another,
What does this mean? Some said: They have hadtoo much to drink when they Saw the Effects of the Presence & Power of Holy Spirit.
“Thin Places” is a Celtic metaphor describing places were God is present, ie retreat centers & sanctuaries, Garden of Eden, Mt. Sinai, Pillars of Smoke & Fire,Tabernacle and Temple in Jerusalem. Shavuot was a
Feast of Weeks (Lev. 23:15-16, Deut. 16:16) called Pentecost that commemorated the giving of the Law to Moses on Mt. Sinai and the Jews giving of “First Fruits,” of their Spring harvest in gratitude to God.
Jesus is the ultimate place where God’s presence is revealed most directly. Those following Jesus, enabled by the Holy Spirit, carry on God’s “thin place” wherever they go home or in another country.
Peter enabled by the Holy Spirit spoke to an international audience. What the Holy Spirit started through Peter, continues as worldwide harvest today.
Used: Peter stood up with the Eleven...spoke-v.14
Witnessing to what they had seen and heard while with Jesus. Affirmed that what looked like a defeat of Jesus and his teachings was a victory. For God raised Jesus from the dead.
We are all witnesses of the fact. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. (Acts 2:32-33)
The Holy Spirit enables us to adapt the true story into our story. Holy Spirit uses us in transmitting the story to others. Pentecost reminds us that we are not alone. The Holy Spirit is present and will enable us, if we allow Him. God is a living, dynamic, active, passionate, reality in our lives.
After Jesus’ ascension and descent of the Holy Spirit, God chose to make himself know to the world through you and me (the Church, eklesia)
God is not limited. God can reveal himself in many ways and places. But, from God’s Word we learn the Church is primary way he has chosen to tell the story of the Tranforming love of God, (Good News).
Jesus did not tell his disciples to argue with people. He said:
You will demonstrate the Good News through your life-Love, Joy and Peace your Relationships with each other and me.
Pentecost demonstrates that no barriers; language, culture, geography or laws can stop the Holy Spirit.
(Next week I will discuss more fully the role of the Holy Spirit as part of the Godhead, as we look at the way God is revealed in Scripture.
What we cal the Triune Nature of God, The Trinity.)
CONCLUSION: Transformed from death to life.
Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world
Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
The Holy Spirit renews, re-educates and redirects,
our minds are we truly transformed/transformers.
Romans 8:5 Those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.
:6 The mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace
Romans 8:26 The Spirit helps us in our weakness.
We don’t know what we are to pray for,
but the Spirit intercedes for us
with groans that words cannot express.
Pentecost commemorates the coming of the Holy Spirit upon ordinary people fulfulling the prophecies of Joel and Ezekiel. It celebrates the birth of the church (those called into community with Jesus Christ and
the Transformer of God’s energy the Holy Spirit who:
Fills
Enables
Uses
Spirit of Truth who comes from the Father
will testify about me.You will testify about me
you have been with me from the beginning.
When the Spirit comes ... guide into all truth.
The Spirit will take what is mine and make it known to you.
(John 14:17ff)
That the world may see and respond to God’s Transforming Love.
The Book: Acts of Apostle’s is really Acts of Holy Spirit through
the Apostles and Us?
(All Rights Reserved) ActS 2:1-11, Rm 8:10-14
“TRANSFORMER”
(Pentecost Sunday)
INTRODUCTION: What comes to your mind when I say, transformer? Electric trains? AC adapters - power cord for computers? Boxes on electric poles? Toys turned transformed into robots and adapted into a movie franchise? The latest: “Dark Side of the Moon” will be released 7.1.11.
“A transformer is a device that transfers electrical energy from one circuit to another through inductively coupled conductors — the transformer's coils or ‘windings’. A varying current in the first or ‘primary’ winding creates a varying magnetic field in the core or cores) of the transformer. This varying magnetic field induces a varying electromotive force (EMF) or ‘voltage‘ in the ‘secondary’ winding. This effect is called mutual induction.”- (Wikipedia)
Webster's Dictionary says: “A device containing no moving parts and consisting of essentially of two or more coils of insulated wire that transfers alternating current energy by electromagnetic induction from one winding to another at the same frequency but usually with changed voltage and current values.
A person or thing that changes a condition or nature
Changes a personality or character.” Conversion.
Ultimate transformer is the Holy Spirit.
Acts 2:1-11 tells of coming of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus’ followers and the birth of the Church on Pentecost, a Jewish festival 50 days after Passover called Shavuot. I will describe this later.
Pentecost comes from the Greek word 50 and is one of the major
“Holy Days” in the Christian Year.
Scripture describes a Three Step Process by which followers of Jesus, who 50 days earlier were hiding behind locked doors were transformed.
Filled: All were filled with the Holy Spirit. v.4
Fulfilling what the Prophet Exekiel 39:29
I will pour out my Spirit upon them ...
The Prophet Joel said: 2:28-29
I will pour out my Spirit on all people ...
Up to that time the Holy Spirit was available to kings, prophets and judges. Each was anointed with oil, as a symbol of God’s Holy Spirit,
coming upon them when crowned, commissioned or installed:
Like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard ...
down upon the collar of his robes. (Psalm 133:2)
The Prophets envisioned a time when the Spirit would be available to every follower of God. John the Baptist(Luke 3:6) speaking of the Messiah: All mankind will see God’s salvation. and in 3:16
I baptize with water He will baptize with the Holy Spirit and Fire...
Before Jesus’ ascension 10 days before Pentecost, (which we discussed last week) he told his disciples: You will receive power when -
the Holy Spirit comes upon you.
The Tongues of Fire: were God’s purifying presence
: Speech, Communicating the Gospel
Ignited their hearts with the desire of reaching others and Available to All
Read: Romans 8:10-14. The Entire Chapter is on the Holy Spirit.
High Power of the Holy Spirit transformed ...
Romans 8:10 If Christ is in you, the Spirit lives in you.
Romans 8:14 Those led by the Spirit are children of God
Romans 8:26 The Spirit helps us in our weakness ...
We don’t know what we are to pray for. The Spirit intercedes for us with groans words cannot express.
Enabled: Began speaking in other languages
as the Spirit enabled them. v.4
The disciples exploded on to the streets, enabled by the Spirit, telling everyone of Jesus. All of a sudden, everything they had heard and experienced over the last three years made sense. The miracle that ocurred was that pilgrims from all around the Mediterranean area, heard the message in her or his own language. The commotion drew a crowd.
Amazed and Bewildered: they asked one another,
What does this mean? Some said: They have hadtoo much to drink when they Saw the Effects of the Presence & Power of Holy Spirit.
“Thin Places” is a Celtic metaphor describing places were God is present, ie retreat centers & sanctuaries, Garden of Eden, Mt. Sinai, Pillars of Smoke & Fire,Tabernacle and Temple in Jerusalem. Shavuot was a
Feast of Weeks (Lev. 23:15-16, Deut. 16:16) called Pentecost that commemorated the giving of the Law to Moses on Mt. Sinai and the Jews giving of “First Fruits,” of their Spring harvest in gratitude to God.
Jesus is the ultimate place where God’s presence is revealed most directly. Those following Jesus, enabled by the Holy Spirit, carry on God’s “thin place” wherever they go home or in another country.
Peter enabled by the Holy Spirit spoke to an international audience. What the Holy Spirit started through Peter, continues as worldwide harvest today.
Used: Peter stood up with the Eleven...spoke-v.14
Witnessing to what they had seen and heard while with Jesus. Affirmed that what looked like a defeat of Jesus and his teachings was a victory. For God raised Jesus from the dead.
We are all witnesses of the fact. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. (Acts 2:32-33)
The Holy Spirit enables us to adapt the true story into our story. Holy Spirit uses us in transmitting the story to others. Pentecost reminds us that we are not alone. The Holy Spirit is present and will enable us, if we allow Him. God is a living, dynamic, active, passionate, reality in our lives.
After Jesus’ ascension and descent of the Holy Spirit, God chose to make himself know to the world through you and me (the Church, eklesia)
God is not limited. God can reveal himself in many ways and places. But, from God’s Word we learn the Church is primary way he has chosen to tell the story of the Tranforming love of God, (Good News).
Jesus did not tell his disciples to argue with people. He said:
You will demonstrate the Good News through your life-Love, Joy and Peace your Relationships with each other and me.
Pentecost demonstrates that no barriers; language, culture, geography or laws can stop the Holy Spirit.
(Next week I will discuss more fully the role of the Holy Spirit as part of the Godhead, as we look at the way God is revealed in Scripture.
What we cal the Triune Nature of God, The Trinity.)
CONCLUSION: Transformed from death to life.
Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world
Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
The Holy Spirit renews, re-educates and redirects,
our minds are we truly transformed/transformers.
Romans 8:5 Those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.
:6 The mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace
Romans 8:26 The Spirit helps us in our weakness.
We don’t know what we are to pray for,
but the Spirit intercedes for us
with groans that words cannot express.
Pentecost commemorates the coming of the Holy Spirit upon ordinary people fulfulling the prophecies of Joel and Ezekiel. It celebrates the birth of the church (those called into community with Jesus Christ and
the Transformer of God’s energy the Holy Spirit who:
Fills
Enables
Uses
Spirit of Truth who comes from the Father
will testify about me.You will testify about me
you have been with me from the beginning.
When the Spirit comes ... guide into all truth.
The Spirit will take what is mine and make it known to you.
(John 14:17ff)
That the world may see and respond to God’s Transforming Love.
The Book: Acts of Apostle’s is really Acts of Holy Spirit through
the Apostles and Us?
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