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Jesús, el Pan de Vida, que no os escandaliza? Juan 6: 51-69 First St Johns 16 de agosto 2015

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Para la versión en audio de este sermón, haga clic en el enlace de arriba

Hacemos nuestro comienzo en el Nombre de Dios el Padre y en el nombre de Dios el Hijo y en el nombre de Dios el Espíritu Santo, y todos aquellos que se regocijan en comer el verdadero Cuerpo y la Sangre de nuestro Señor Jesucristo dijo … AMEN!

Es interesante notar, que este es un problema, el Cuerpo y la Sangre de Jesús, que estaba allí desde el principio. Puede que le resulte interesante que la mayoría de los cristianos en todo el mundo, creo que el sacramento de la Cena del Señor, en realidad es sobre el verdadero Cuerpo y la Sangre de Jesús. Es cristianismo americano que realmente ha socavado los que creen, aunque instigado por gente como Zwinglio que era suizo y James Arminius que era holandés. Ninguna de las iglesias que vienen de ellos han tomado realmente raíces en Europa, pero tienen en los Estados Unidos y otras partes del mundo. Hay variaciones, la Iglesia Católica Romana, iglesias / episcopales y luteranos anglicanos hacen escuchar palabras reales de Jesús en la Escritura. “… De cierto, de cierto os digo: Si no coméis la carne del Hijo del hombre y no bebéis su sangre, no tenéis vida en vosotros.” San Pablo es muy claro, no sólo es verdadera vida sólo en el cuerpo de Jesús y La sangre, pero para aquellos que no aceptan las palabras de Jesús, escribe: “ESV 1 Corintios 11:27 El que, por lo tanto, coma el pan o beba la copa del Señor indignamente, será reo del Cuerpo y la Sangre del Señor “. Ahora bien, si usted toma que a la extensión lógica, si estamos tomando su cuerpo en nuestro cuerpo, entonces nosotros sostenemos, en nosotros, el Cuerpo de Cristo que somos una parte, en su iglesia. Si nosotros, siendo Su iglesia, Su Cuerpo, la Iglesia es el Cuerpo de Cristo, y nos tomamos Su Cuerpo con el fin de ser perdonados, para tener vida verdadera en Su Cuerpo, ¿no significa que sólo aquellos que entienden ser parte del verdadero Cuerpo de Cristo tomaría su Cuerpo en su beneficio? Si alguien no es una parte del Cuerpo de Cristo, llevando su cuerpo no va a hacer ningún bien y San Pablo es muy claro: “ESV 1 Corintios 11:29 Porque el que come y bebe sin discernir el Cuerpo, come y bebe juicio sobre sí mismo. ESV 1 Corintios 11:30 Por eso muchos de ustedes están débiles y enfermos, y algunos han muerto. “No sólo está esto no hace ningún bien, pero de acuerdo a San Pablo en realidad hacer daño. ¿Por qué, como un pastor cristiano, iba a permitir que alguien daña a sí mismos en algo que para los que están en Jesús no dar el perdón y no salvar a la vida eterna, pero para aquellos que no creen esto, pueden ser perjudicados? Esta cita de la Biblia de Estudio Luterano: “… el sacramento une a los participantes tanto a eucarística Cuerpo y la Sangre de Cristo, así como a sus compañeros participantes. La unión con Cristo resulta en unión de unos con otros … Esta unidad se enfatiza en particular debido a las acciones de algunos en Corinto que estaban destruyendo la fe de aquellos ‘por quien Cristo murió. “Queremos que la gente sea una parte del Cuerpo de Cristo , Su iglesia. Sin duda quiero que la gente a aceptar y creer la verdad del Evangelio, que Jesús sacrificó Su cuerpo para que podamos ser salvos. Cuando comemos su Cuerpo tenemos el perdón y el fortalecimiento espiritual en Él, de su carne y de su sacrificio como pago por nuestros pecados y darnos la certeza de la vida eterna en Él, en Su Cuerpo. Eso es lo que Su Cuerpo y la Sangre se trata. Pero para aquellos que piensan que es sólo un recuerdo, una ceremonia que pasar, que no van a recibir su Cuerpo en su beneficio. San Pablo es muy claro y no tengo ninguna razón para pensar de otra manera!

Entendemos lo que el problema es en la actualidad. Seamos realistas, en el punto que Jesús está diciendo esto a sus discípulos y esto no se limita sólo a los doce, nadie realmente entiende a excepción de los que el Espíritu Santo ha dado fe en las palabras de Jesús. Mirar hacia atrás en el versículo 22, se refiere a la multitud. Esta es la mayoría, si no todas las personas, 5.000 hombres y al menos que muchos o más de las mujeres y los niños que Jesús simplemente alimenta con pan y pescado. Donde dice: “Cuando muchos de sus discípulos oyeron esto, dijeron:” Este es un disco que dice; ¿quién puede escucharla ‘y cuando Jesús se enfrenta a ellos acerca de su “quejas” y los desafía, diciendo: “¿Esto os escandaliza a esto?” La respuesta es: “¡Ah, ya, pero aún se ofenden”, y como el versículo 66 dice: “Después de esto muchos de sus discípulos volvieron atrás, y ya no andaban con él.” Ellos sabían perfectamente lo que dijo, y eran francamente, se asustó al respecto. Sinceramente, no puedo decir que los culpo por su reacción. Jesús es, sin duda esta surgiendo en ellos. Realmente es sólo impulsivamente este derecho de la nada. Sin embargo, cuando Jesús dice “De cierto, de cierto os digo, que si no coméis la carne y beber la sangre del Hijo del Hombre”, Él no estaba amañando Sus palabras, Él no estaba murmurando. Cuando Jesús dice “verdad”, esa es la manera que es. Cuando dice “realmente, realmente” no sólo es que la forma en que es, pero ya, puede ser un poco difícil de tomar, pero esa es la manera que es y tiene que aceptar que la única manera de tratar con él es saber que el Espíritu Santo le dará la fe para tratar con él.

Cuando estos discípulos recogieron y se fueron, Jesús no perseguir después de ellos. “¡Ay, espera un minuto allí, bueno esto es sólo una lección, un símil, un símbolo, en realidad no estás bebiendo mi sangre y comer mi carne, no estoy tratando de recaudar que aquí, sólo hacer un punto. “Jesús quiso decir lo que dijo, este es mi cuerpo real y esta es mi sangre real y la enorme multitud que seguía a su alrededor entiende exactamente lo que estaba diciendo y que simplemente no podía aceptar lo que dijo y darse cuenta de que Dios el Hijo, Jesús , les estaba diciendo que ya, hay un nuevo paradigma vigente y si usted tiene fe en mí, si usted está dispuesto a aceptar lo que digo, y se juega el resto de la partida, se entiende por qué esto tiene que ser la forma en que te he dicho. Jesús se enfrentó a los doce y los desafió a quemarropa: “¿Quieres que se fuera así” Pedro es el hombre de pie este tiempo y deja muy claro que acepta lo que Jesús está diciendo y mientras que Peter podría ser un poco asustado fuera de eso también, el Espíritu Santo actuó en Pedro en ese momento y le dio la fe que él necesitaba para aceptar esta declaración aparentemente extraña y pasar el rato con Jesús en él: “Señor, ¿a quién iremos? Tú tienes palabras de vida eterna, y nosotros creemos y han llegado a conocer, que tú eres el Santo de Dios. “La lectura continúa, entonces Jesús exclama,” uno de ustedes es el diablo “, lo que parece O sea, que ya, ustedes lo entiendo, pero no hay nadie aquí que acaba de pasar con los movimientos. Hay muchas personas hoy en día que sólo se va a través de los movimientos y lo hacen, pero no se lo creen. Tengo que creer que Jesús dio la gran edad, pescador, Pedro, una gran sonrisa y un brazo por el hombro para escuchar la respuesta de Pedro. Así se hace Pedro, alguien hace conseguirlo.

Termino con esta cita de Cirilo de Alejandría: “¿Cómo se les dará a comer su carne aún no lo dice, porque él sabía que estaban en la oscuridad y nunca en ese estado será capaz de entender lo que es inefable … Pero el el poder de aprender adecuadamente sigue en los que creen … Por lo tanto, estaba en lo cierto que la fe primero debe estar arraigada en ellos antes de entender … Y es por esta razón (supongo) que el Señor se abstuvo de decirles lo que les daría su carne comer, llamándolos a creer antes de buscar. Para los que creen, sin embargo, él partió el pan y se lo dio a ellos, diciendo: “Tomad, comed; esto es mi cuerpo. “… ¿Ves cómo no explica el misterio de los que habían rechazado sin sentido la fe sin una investigación? Pero, para los que creen, él declara que con mayor claridad. ”

La paz de Dios que sobrepasa todo entendimiento, guardará vuestros corazones y vuestros pensamientos en Cristo Jesús. Amin y Shalom.

Jesus the Bread of Life, does that offend you John 6: 51-69 First St Johns August 16, 2015

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[For audio version of this sermon, click on above link]

We make our beginning in the Name of God the Father and in the Name of God the Son and in the Name of God the Holy Spirit and all those who rejoice in eating the true Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ said …  AMEN!

It’s interesting to note, that this is an issue, the Body and Blood of Jesus, that was there right from the beginning. You might find it interesting that the majority of Christians world-wide, believe that the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, really is about the true Body and Blood of Jesus. It’s American Christianity that has really undermined that believe, albeit abetted by people like Zwingli who was Swiss and James Arminius who was Dutch. None of the churches that come from them have really taken root in Europe, but they have in the United States and other parts of the world. There are variations, the Roman Catholic Church, Anglican/ Episcopalian and Lutheran churches do hear Jesus’ real words in the Scripture. “…Truly, truly I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.” Saint Paul is very clear, not only is true life only in Jesus’ Body and Blood, but for those who don’t accept Jesus’ words he writes: “ESV 1 Corinthians 11:27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord.” Now if you take that to the logical extension, if we are taking His Body into our Body, then we sustain, in us, the Body of Christ that we are a part of, in His church. If we, being His church, His Body, the church is the Body of Christ, and we take His Body in order to be forgiven, to have true life in His Body, doesn’t that mean that only those who understand being a part of the true Body of Christ would take His Body to their benefit? If someone is not a part of the Body of Christ, taking His Body is not going to do them any good and St Paul is quite clear: “ESV 1 Corinthians 11:29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. ESV 1 Corinthians 11:30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.” Not only is this not doing them any good, but according to St Paul will actually do harm. Why, as a Christian pastor, would I allow someone to harm themselves in something that for those who are in Jesus does give forgiveness and does save to eternal life, but for those who don’t believe this, they may be harmed? This quote from the Lutheran Study Bible: “…the Sacrament unites the participants both to Christ’s Eucharistic Body and Blood as well as to their fellow participants. Union with Christ results in union with one another… This unity is emphasized in particular because of the actions of some in Corinth who were destroying the faith of those ‘for whom Christ died.”[1] We want people to be a part of the Body of Christ, His church. I certainly want people to accept and believe the true Gospel, that Jesus sacrificed His Body in order for us to be saved. When we eat His Body we have forgiveness and spiritual strengthening in Him, His flesh and His sacrifice as payment for our sins and to give us the assurance of eternal life in Him, in His Body. That is what His Body and Blood are all about. But for those who think that it is only a remembrance, a ceremony to go through, they are not going to receive His Body to their benefit. St Paul is very clear and I have no reason to think otherwise!

We understand what the issue is today. Let’s face it, at the point that Jesus is telling this to His disciples and this is not just limited to the twelve, no one really understands except for those who the Holy Spirit has given faith in Jesus’ words. Look back at verse 22, it refers to the crowd. This is most, if not all of the people, 5,000 men and at least that many or more of women and children that Jesus just fed with bread and fish. Where it says: “When many of his disciples heard it, they said, ‘This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?’ and when Jesus confronts them about their “grumbling” and challenges them, saying: “Do you take offense at this?” The answer is, “Ah, ya, we do take offense” and as verse 66 says: “After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.” They knew perfectly well what He said, and they were frankly, freaked out about it. I honestly cannot say I blame them for their reaction. Jesus is definitely springing this on them. He really is just blurting this right out of nowhere. However, when Jesus says “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man”, He wasn’t fudging His words, He wasn’t mumbling. When Jesus says “truly”, that’s the way it is. When He says “truly, truly” not only is that the way it is, but ya, it may be a little tough to take, but that is the way it is and you need to accept that the only way you can deal with it is to know that the Holy Spirit will give you the faith to deal with it.

When these disciples picked up and walked away, Jesus didn’t chase after them. “Woe, wait a minute there, hey this is just a lesson, a simile, a symbol, you’re not really drinking my blood and eating my flesh, I’m not trying to gross you out here, just making a point.” Jesus meant what He said, this is my actual Body and this is my actual Blood and the huge crowd that was following Him around exactly understood what He was saying and they just could not accept what He said and realize that God the Son, Jesus, was telling them that ya, there is a whole new paradigm in effect and if you have faith in me, if you are willing to accept what I say, and you play out the rest of the game, you will understand why this has to be the way I’ve told you. Jesus confronted the twelve and point blank challenged them: “Do you want to go away as well?” Peter is the stand-up guy this time and makes it abundantly clear that he accepts what Jesus is saying and while Peter might be a little freaked out about it also, the Holy Spirit acted on Peter at that very moment and gave him the faith that he needed in order to accept this seemingly bizarre statement and hang in with Jesus on it: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” The reading goes on, Jesus then blurts out, “one of you is the devil”, which seems to mean, that ya, you guys get it, but there’s one here that’s just going through the motions. There are many people today who are just going through the motions and do it, but don’t believe it. I have to believe that Jesus gave the big old, fisherman, Peter, a big smile and an arm around the shoulder to hear Peter’s answer. Way to go Peter, someone does get it.

I close with this quote from Cyril of Alexandria: “How he will give them his flesh to eat he does not yet tell them, for he knew they were in darkness and would never in that state be able to understand what is ineffable … But the power of learning suitably follows on those who believe … It was therefore right that faith should first be rooted in them before understanding … And it is for this reason (I suppose) that the Lord refrained from telling them how he would give them his flesh to eat, calling them to believe before they seek. For those who believed, however, he broke bread and gave it to them, saying: ‘Take, eat; this is my body.” … Do you see how he does not explain the mystery to those who had senselessly rejected the faith without investigation? But, to those who believe, he declares it most clearly.”[2]

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amin and Shalom.

[1] Lutheran Study Bible  p 1960

[2] Cyril of Alexandria quoted in “Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture” Joel Elowsky editor pp 239-240Communion prepartion Jose Montalvo, Pastor Jim Driskell, Bob Seen

El Señor siempre nos está animando a 1 Reyes 19: 1-8 First St Johns 09 de agosto 2015

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Hacemos nuestro comienzo en el Nombre de Dios el Padre y en el nombre de Dios el Hijo y en el nombre de Dios el Espíritu Santo y todos los que hacen un testigo fiel a Jesús dijo … AMEN!

Mi último sermón me habló de Noé, como Dios destruyó todos los seres vivientes. El hombre se había convertido en su totalidad e irremediablemente mala y que Dios había tenido suficiente. Estas personas habían pasado por encima y Dios, a diferencia del mundo que es sólo en el amor con la “tolerancia”, que se aplica de manera muy informal, la tolerancia de Dios se agotó. En la lectura de hoy del Antiguo Testamento vemos lo mismo en menor escala. Breve historia de fondo, Jezabel se había convertido en la reina de Israel. Ella era bastante desagradable y sobre la parte superior y su esposo Acab, era más o menos de un brindis leche, “sí querida, no querida”. En desafío directo de Dios, Acab permitió Jezabel para mantener una plantilla de 450 sacerdotes de Baal y 400 profetas de Asera. La Enciclopedia Judía describe algunas de esta “religión”: “no se colocó al lado del otro con el Baal un símbolo correspondiente femenino, la Astarté (Babyl.” Ashtar “) y la relación entre las dos deidades fue establecido como el ejemplo y el motivo de la desenfrenada sensualidad. El mal se convirtió en todo lo peor, cuando en la opinión popular a sí mismo Yahvé era considerado como uno de los Baales. “Por supuesto que esto viola los dos primeros de los diez mandamientos, adorar a Dios y no debe adorar a los ídolos. Baal y Asera son ídolos, no son “dioses”, alguna evidencia sería que nadie adora a cualquiera de ellos nunca más. Si fueran verdaderamente “dios” que sin duda ser lo suficientemente potente como para afirmar su adoración. El culto a Baal se describe como: “Este culto a la naturaleza pagana fue descrito a propósito con este tipo de lenguaje sexual gráfico precisamente porque la prostitución de culto y el misticismo sexual fue una gran parte del proceso de adoración de la naturaleza. Cultos de la fertilidad sexuales y el deseo de una fertilidad agrícola correspondiente se tejen juntos en un esquema de carácter culto pornográfico que corrompe a toda la nación y su gente. “¿Suena familiar? ¿Suena como el mundo de hoy? Era, hacia arriba, el culto que no sólo permite, pero animó a cualquier tipo de práctica sexual. “Además de abandono sexual, el culto de Baal también incorporó prácticas ascéticas severas en su culto a la naturaleza también. Eufórico placer y dolor sangrienta se utilizaron para propiciar a los dioses de la naturaleza por el bien de buen tiempo (1 Reyes 18: 25-29). Por lo tanto, la naturaleza culto a Baal era completamente indulgente con respecto al misticismo sexual, por un lado, pero excesivamente estricta, severa y grave, por otro lado, con respecto a las prácticas ascéticas, con ataques ocasionales de sacrificios humanos en el camino (2 Reyes 17: 28-41). “Obviamente, esto es una violación del séptimo mandamiento, ¿No cometerás adulterio. El mandamiento es acerca de la fidelidad conyugal y también acerca de la fornicación, el sexo entre dos personas no casadas. Obviamente, en nuestra época, no hay una “iglesia de Baal”, pero las prácticas de nuestra época son ciertamente todo acerca de lo que se practica en los tiempos del Antiguo Testamento por los adoradores de Baal.

Dios nos dio los diez mandamientos. Él no estaba murmurando cuando Él los puso en tablas de piedra y se las dio a Moisés. Dios, Yahvé, Dios Padre de Jesucristo es inequívocamente perfecto, perfectamente santo y no tolerará el pecado. Todos somos pecadores, todos tenemos nuestros violaciónes personales de los diez mandamientos, pero que están en Cristo estamos perdonados, Jesús murió por nuestros pecados y cuando confesamos y arrepentirse de los pecados, estamos absuelto de esos pecados, tenemos el perdón porque Jesús murió para pagar el precio de esos pecados. Pero mientras que hay personas en el mundo que sienten que cualquier y todo debe ser tolerada, debe permitir, nosotros que somos cristianos sabemos que si bien no es pecado, y hay perdón, para que nosotros también ofendemos y fallamos a Dios Padre cuando cometemos estos pecados. Dios no tolerará cualquier persona que simplemente se burla de sus mandamientos y opta por hacer lo que él o ella quiera hacer. El mundo que nos rodea, nos dice que es una tontería, pero el mundo no tiene ninguna esperanza, ninguna promesa, hay otra manera de tratar con él es el pecado y los que están en el mundo mueren a esos pecados y están condenados eternamente.

Así que podemos menear el dedo y cacarear nuestra lengua y pretender castigar a Dios cuando Él destruye el mundo, ya que ha llegado a ser tan consumido por sus pecados, o nosotros le podemos dar a su palabra. Él nos da la esperanza y la promesa de la vida eterna, el mundo simplemente nos dice que hagamos lo que nos hace feliz y eso es simplemente correcto. Cuando mueres, estás muerto pase lo que pase después, la suerte bien difícil! Un poco de historia de fondo, es posible que recuerde, ¿cómo Elías estableció un reto con los profetas de Baal? Cada uno de nosotros sacrificamos un buey, estoy seguro que has visto lo grande que es un buey, ponemos sobre el altar, y lo que Dios consume por completo el buey con fuego, pues, que Dios debe ser verdaderamente Dios. Bueno sacerdotes de Baal bailan durante horas, finalmente caer de agotamiento, y nada, gran panecillo de edad, cero, nada. Elías tenía una maravilla simplemente relajarse y decir a los sacerdotes de Baal lo desordenado que es esto. ¡Oye! Baal tan grande, ¿cuál es el problema? ¿Cómo es que no sólo puede quemar hasta un buey? Finalmente Elías toma su turno, dice una breve oración de unas cincuenta palabras, entonces Woosh “… Entonces el fuego del Señor cayó y quemó el holocausto, la leña, las piedras y el suelo, y hasta lamió el agua de la zanja. “(1 Reyes 18:38) Tipo de forma de poner un signo de exclamación en todo el evento de Dios. Entonces Elías, siguiendo las instrucciones de Dios, estoy seguro de que con sus propios hombres, conduce a unos 990 sacerdotes y profetas de Baal y Asera abajo de la montaña estaban en un arroyo y se los mata. Un poco duro? En realidad no. Estos sacerdotes, junto con la reina Jezabel están decididos a imponer estas prácticas pecaminosas enormemente en el pueblo de Yahweh, el pueblo de Israel, esencialmente les condena a la muerte eterna y Yahvé le no tolerarlo! No más de lo que tolera el mismo comportamiento en la actualidad. Pero, gracias a Dios, tenemos la salvación en Jesús, Él es nuestra fuerza, nuestro poder, nuestra Elías que mantiene a su pueblo fuera de estas prácticas groseramente inmorales. Él es nuestra redención, el que pagó el precio por nuestro pecado. Para la tarea de esta semana, lea 1 Reyes 18: 16-40.

Pero no mostrar lo que una ignorancia bíblica bruto y el analfabetismo no es hoy en día, cuando se tiene la gente, que probablemente no son cristianos, que constituyen los estereotipos sobre los pastores cristianos y cristianos en general. Por otra parte se ve la forma en que son tratados por el mundo en la lectura de hoy. No estamos a tolerar la inmoralidad que vemos a nuestro alrededor, tenemos que hablar. Cuando los no cristianos tratan de estereotipar a usted y básicamente decirle que se callara, lo guardes para ti, dicen los cristianos se supone que es manso y humilde. Bueno, primero que no saben lo que están hablando. Jesús no tuvo problemas responsabilizar a las personas por los pecados sexuales y otros. Juan el Bautista llamó a Herodes por casarse con la mujer de su hermano. Diablos para los estándares de hoy en día, eso es un pecado muy venal. Juan el Bautista tenía ningún problema llamando a uno de los hombres más poderosos del país y perdió la cabeza por ella. Pablo ciertamente no anduvo con rodeos con las iglesias como los corintios.

Elías fue fiel a Dios y su dirección, no la opinión del mundo. Elías fue expulsado por el mundo, acosado por el mundo, y los cristianos son y serán hoy. No porque el mundo tiene razón, sino porque el mundo es odiosa e ignorante y hará lo que sea necesario para cerrar una persona fiel a. Pero Dios fortalece y nos anima. ¿Te imaginas cómo Elías sintió? Había sido acosados, expulsados, amenazados de muerte. Se siente abandonado, solo, se siente como si él es el único de la gente de Yahweh izquierda. Un ángel lo despierta, uno de los poderosos ángeles guerreros de Yahweh, le ofrece la comida y el agua y el descanso, y también para recordarle que Dios está mirando por encima de él, así como él nos cuida cuando tomamos una postura impopular por su Hijo Jesús y la iglesia de Jesús. El mundo ama el teatro, que ama a pesar de Dios, que le encanta tener su propio camino y que odia a todo el que es fiel al Señor Jesús. Tenemos que aceptar que, lidiar con eso y confiar en que Dios proveerá y nos proteja como lo hizo con Elías y continuar siendo un testigo fiel a Él en un mundo que es cada vez más hostil a Jesús.

La paz de Dios que sobrepasa todo entendimiento, guardará vuestros corazones y vuestros pensamientos en Cristo Jesús. Amin y Shalom.

The Lord is always encouraging us 1 Kings 19: 1-8 First St Johns August 9, 2015

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[For the audio of this sermon please click on the above link)

We make our beginning in the Name of God the Father and in the Name of God the Son and in the Name of God the Holy Spirit and all those who make a faithful witness to Jesus said … AMEN!

My last sermon I talked about Noah, how God destroyed all the living creatures. Man had become entirely and irredeemably wicked and God had had enough. These people had gone over the top and God, unlike the world that is just in love with “tolerance” which it very loosely applies, God’s tolerance was exhausted. In today’s Old Testament reading we see the same thing on a lesser scale. Quick back story, Jezebel had become Queen of Israel. She was pretty obnoxious and over the top and her husband Ahab, was pretty much of a milk toast, “yes dear, no dear”. In direct defiance of God, Ahab allowed Jezebel to maintain a staff of 450 priests of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah. The Jewish Encyclopedia describes some of this “religion”: “there was placed side by side with the Ba’al a corresponding female symbol, the Ashtoreth (Babyl. “Ashtar”) and the relation between the two deities was set forth as the example and the motive of unbridled sensuality. The evil became all the worse when in the popular view Yhwh himself was regarded as one of the Ba’als.”[1] Of course this violates the first two of the ten commandments, you shall worship God and you shall not worship idols. Baal and Asherah are idols, they aren’t “gods”, some evidence would be that no one worships either of them anymore. If they were truly “god” they would certainly be powerful enough to assert their worship. Baal worship is described as: “This pagan nature worship was purposefully described with such graphic sexual language precisely because cult prostitution and sexual mysticism was a big part of the nature worship process. Sexual fertility cults and the desire for a corresponding agricultural fertility were weaved together into a pornographic nature worship scheme that corrupted the entire nation and its people.”[2] Sound familiar? Sound like the world today? It was, straight up, worship that not only allowed, but encouraged any sort of sexual practice. “in addition to sexual abandon, the worship of Baal also incorporated harsh ascetic practices into their nature worship as well. Ecstatic pleasure and bloody pain were used to propitiate the nature gods for the sake of fair weather (1 Kings 18:25-29). Thus, Baal nature worship was completely indulgent with regard to sexual mysticism on the one hand, but overly strict, harsh, and severe on the other hand with regard to ascetic practices, with occasional bouts of human sacrifice along the way (2 Kings 17:28-41).”[3] Obviously this is a violation of the seventh commandment, thou shalt not commit adultery. The commandment is about marital faithfulness and also about fornication, sex between two unmarried people. Obviously in our day and age, there isn’t a “church of Baal”, but the practices of our age are certainly all about what was practiced in Old Testament times by Baal worshippers.

God gave us the ten commandments. He wasn’t mumbling when He put them on stone tablets and gave them to Moses. God, Yahweh, God the Father of Jesus Christ is unequivocally perfect, perfectly holy and will not tolerate sin. We are all sinners, we all have our personal violations of the ten commandments, but we who are in Christ are forgiven, Jesus died for our sins and when we confess and repent of those sins, we are absolved of those sins, we have forgiveness because Jesus died to pay the price for those sins. But while there are those in the world who feel that any and everything should be tolerated, should be allowed, we who are Christians know that while there is sin, and there is forgiveness, that we also offend and fail God the Father when we commit these sins. God will not tolerate anyone who simply flouts His commandments and chooses to do whatever he or she pleases to do. The world around us, tells us that’s silly, but the world has no hope, no promise, no other way to deal with it’s sin and those in the world die to those sins and are eternally condemned.

So we can wag our finger and cluck our tongue and presume to chastise God when He destroys the world because it has become so consumed with its sins, or we can take Him at His word. He gives us the hope and promise of eternal life, the world simply tells us to do what makes us happy and that’s just ok. When you die, you’re dead whatever happens then, well tough luck! A little back story, you might remember, how Elijah set up a challenge with Baal’s prophets? We each sacrifice an ox, I’m sure you’ve seen how huge an ox is, we lay it on the altar and whichever God completely consumes the ox with fire, then that God must truly be God. Well Baal’s priests dance around for hours, finally drop from exhaustion, and nothing, big old bagel, zero, nada. Elijah had a great time just kicking back and telling the priests of Baal how messed up this is. Hey! Baal’s so great, what’s the problem? How come he can’t just burn up an ox? Finally Elijah takes his turn, says a short prayer of about fifty words, then woosh “…Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil and also licked up the water in the trench.” (1 Kings 18:38) Kind of God’s way of putting an exclamation point on the whole event. Then Elijah, following God’s directions, I’m sure with his own men, drives about 990 priests and prophets of Baal and Asherah down the mountain they were on to a creek and kills them all. A little harsh? Not really. These priests along with the queen Jezebel are determined to impose these enormously sinful practices on Yahweh’s people, the people of Israel, essentially condemning them to eternal death and Yahweh will not tolerate it! No more than He tolerates the same behavior today. But, praise God, we have salvation in Jesus, He is our strength, our power, our Elijah who keeps His people away from these grossly immoral practices. He is our redemption, the One who paid the price for our sin. For homework this week, read 1 Kings 18:16-40.

But it does show what a gross biblical ignorance and illiteracy there is today, when you have people, who probably aren’t Christians, making up stereotypes about Christian pastors and Christians in general. Furthermore you see how they are treated by the world in today’s reading. We aren’t to tolerate the gross immorality that we see around us today, we are to speak out. When non-Christians try to stereotype you and basically tell you to shut up, keep it to yourself, they say Christians are supposed to be meek and humble. Well first off they don’t know what they’re talking about. Jesus had no problems holding people accountable for sexual and other sins. John the Baptist called Herod out for marrying his brother’s wife. Heck by today’s standards, that’s a pretty venal sin.  John the Baptist had no problem calling out one of the most powerful men in the country and he lost his head for it. Paul certainly didn’t pull any punches with churches like the Corinthians.

Elijah was faithful to God and His direction, not to the world’s opinion. Elijah was driven out by the world, harassed by the world, and Christians are and will be today. Not because the world is right, but because the world is hateful and ignorant and will do whatever it takes to shut a faithful person up. But God strengthens and encourages us. Can you imagine how Elijah felt? He had been hounded, driven away, threatened with death. He feels abandoned, alone, feels as if he is the only one of Yahweh’s people left. An angel wakes him up, one of Yahweh’s powerful warrior angels, provides him with food and water and rest, and also to remind him that God is watching over him, just as He watches over us when we take an unpopular stand for His Son Jesus and Jesus’ church. The world loves drama, it loves to spite God, it loves to have its own way and it hates anyone who is faithful to the Lord Jesus. We have to accept that, deal with that and trust that God will provide and protect us as He did with Elijah and continue to be a faithful witness to Him in a world that is increasingly hostile to Jesus.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amin and Shalom.

[1] http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/2236-ba-al-and-ba-al-worship

[2] http://www.theignorantfishermen.com/2010/12/baalisms-suicidal-nature-worship-and.html

[3] Ibid

“El océano es profundo, pero no se acerca a la profundidad del amor de Jesús” First St Johns Génesis 9: 8-17 26 de julio 2015

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Hacemos nuestro comienzo en el Nombre de Dios el Padre y en el nombre de Dios el Hijo y en el nombre de Dios el Espíritu Santo y todos los que conocen las promesas de Dios dijo … AMEN

Este es uno de esos pasajes que el mundo le gusta decir es una especie de fábula, la mitología. La iglesia no ha hecho un muy buen trabajo con estos pasajes de Génesis tampoco, dejarlos ser algún tipo de símiles o parábolas. Demasiado a muchos les gusta dar marcha atrás y dicen que en realidad no sucede, pero lo convierte en un buen material de escuela dominical. Los adultos realmente no creen estas cosas. La iglesia ha, esencialmente rechazado, lo que Dios le ha dado para enseñar como verdad. Hubo un Noé, que había un diluvio mundial, que había gente en la tierra que necesitaban ser destruida porque se habían vuelto tan profundamente mal y irredimible y que Dios luego hizo una promesa posterior / pacto con Noé. Cuando Él prometió que Él nunca destruiría el mundo de nuevo, a través de una inundación. Él destruirá al mundo otra vez, como lo vemos en el libro de Apocalipsis, lo que probablemente fue el último libro de la revelación bíblica, pero cuando Él destruye el mundo de nuevo, será por el tiempo final. En su lugar tendremos la resurrección, donde nosotros y el mundo se convertirá en un lugar que Dios quiso que fuera y para que seamos lo que estábamos destinados a ser. No habrá pecado, ni muerte, ni la lucha, no habrá personas que crean, debates falsos artificiales, todos seremos un solo Cuerpo, los agentes de Dios en la creación de un mundo perfecto, en el que habrá pocas limitaciones, donde como yo ” he dicho muchas veces, vamos a tener vida y vida abundante, las palabras de Jesús.

Pero hoy en día, el mundo, Satanás, el amor para secuestrar lo que Dios nos da y aplicarlo a las cosas del mundo. Dios es, obviamente, el más creativo, el elemento más edificante y positivo en la creación. Él creó todo, todos somos más o menos de acuerdo en que, incluso en el mal, caído, mundo, todavía hay increíble belleza, la evidencia asombrosa de genio de Dios, su increíble creatividad. A medida que avanzamos hacia el espacio, vamos a ver más evidencia entonces que ya sabemos. Incluso ahora estamos recibiendo imágenes de la “enana-planeta” Plutón, que ahora es más grande de lo que se pensaba, que está mostrando algunos aspectos sorprendentes de ese planeta. Pero nos encanta vivir en negación acerca de la historia de Noé, porque después de todo, estamos a cargo, que llamamos los disparos. Esta idea extraña que todo es objeto de votación democrática y el mundo no va a terminar porque decimos así, tenemos la tecnología, que fue más allá de la voluntad de Dios, si su voluntad era siempre un factor, para empezar.

El arca de Noé y el diluvio mundial es un evento que muchos sienten que se limita a esta fábula de un pueblo en el Oriente Medio y realmente ha tenido ningún efecto más allá de ese pequeño grupo de personas. Eso también es una falacia que el mundo le gusta vivir en la ignorancia de. Prácticamente todos los pueblos del mundo tienen una historia acerca de una devastadora, todo inundación destructiva y un hombre o de la familia que fueron guiados por Dios para salvar a un remanente de personas y animales. La evidencia geológica que se ha descubierto en época muy reciente, apunta a tal inundación. La evidencia histórica y geológica, de nuevo, destruye la mentira mundana / satánica que esto es sólo una fábula, lo que realmente sucedió.

La ventaja de la inundación son las palabras de Jehová a Noé: “Yo establezco mi pacto con vosotros, que nunca más será cortada toda carne con aguas de diluvio, …” esta es la primera alianza de Dios, Su primer contrato, promesa con Su la creación. Sus promesas subsiguientes serán Abraham, David, y finalmente Jesús, el Hijo de Dios, que en su palabra dice lo que voy a repetir en pocos minutos: “De la misma manera tomó también la copa, después de haber cenado, diciendo: “Esta copa es el nuevo pacto en mi sangre. Haced esto todas las veces que la bebiereis, en memoria de mí.” (1 Corintios 11:25) Este es el pacto que Jesús hace con nosotros, su pueblo, a los que se les ha dado una nueva vida, se han salvado de la muerte del pecado en el mundo. Su promesa “Porque todas las veces que comáis este pan y bebéis esta copa, anunciáis la muerte del Señor hasta que venga.” (1 Corintios 11:26) que regresará, que él salvará a los que están en él, su cuerpo , su iglesia, y ellos serán restaurados a la verdadera vida en la resurrección. Después de Noé, Él le dice a Abram, que va a ser padre de muchas naciones, un anciano que no tenía hijos en absoluto. Él le dice a rey David que el Mesías, el Salvador del hombre-tipo no sólo se nace y librar a su pueblo, pero que el Mesías, que el ungido de Dios será descendiente directo de David.

Pero el mundo, a su manera cursi para minar continuamente a Dios, tiene un símbolo que Dios dijo es un “pacto eterno”, de la vida, de un mundo de esperanza y promesa y el mundo se ha convertido en un símbolo de sus propias concupiscencias, y su odio a Dios y su voluntad, que es el símbolo del arco iris.

Como he dicho antes, no debería sorprendernos que el mundo hace cosas como esta, es el mundo, es que no son salvos y condenado. El mundo no tiene la promesa, sin esperanza. Como el príncipe del mundo, Satanás sabe su destino, él sabe que está condenado a la destrucción eterna junto con los que también se niegan, desafiar y odian a Dios. Satanás no tiene escrúpulos para tomar aquellos que también están condenados y utilizarlos como peones para continuar su lucha contra Dios en el mundo, para guiarlos a utilizar símbolos de Dios en el mal camino, para negar las enseñanzas de Dios, como Noé, y convertirlas en símbolos que nos llevan a creer que es todo acerca de nosotros, que somos Dios, que podemos hacer lo que nos plazca, sin importar las consecuencias para nosotros y los que nos rodean.

El no creyente menea el dedo a Dios y dice “¿cómo pudo Dios destruir la tierra, Él debe ser el mal!” Van a disponer de una historia de destrucción, si eso les da una razón para vomitar su odio contra Dios. Pero no van a aceptar que Dios es grave, Él tiene un pueblo a quien Él quiere ahorrar y establecer un mundo que será perfecto. Él está mostrando todos nosotros, Él no va a tolerar un mundo de pecado y de la base lleno de gente mala. Si las personas siguen siendo tan deliberadamente mal, como lo vemos nosotros todo alrededor en este momento en la historia, Él destruirá de nuevo y dejar a los que están condenados a enfrentarse a la pena de sus pecados, que es la condenación eterna.

Dios Padre es una, misericordioso, compasivo Dios amoroso. Ha compartido sus promesas con nosotros, Su Palabra, la Biblia está llena de esperanza, la promesa. Su Hijo Jesucristo vino para que tuviéramos vida y vida más abundante, no sólo en este mundo, pero donde realmente importa, para toda la eternidad. Nosotros, los que están en Cristo sabemos que tenemos la promesa de que por medio de él tenemos el perdón, necesitamos el perdón, porque Dios es verdaderamente santo, recto y justo. Él no tolera el pecado y en Su creación en la Nueva Jerusalén, Él no va a tolerar el pecado. Su nueva creación sólo estará poblado por aquellos que son salvos en Jesús. Nosotros, que somos justos, sólo en Jesús, por el precio que pagó, su vida perfecta, en rescate por muchos, eso nos da la promesa de la vida eterna.

¿Qué otras cosas hace el mundo que nos prometen, ¿qué otros símbolos, ¿qué otros fracasos del mundo qué toleramos porque, bueno acabamos todos queremos llevarnos bien? No estamos aquí para comprometerse con el mundo, porque el mundo es malo, pecaminoso, en serio mal estado. No compre en la historia del mundo, porque tenemos la verdadera historia. El mundo le gusta que nos diga que la historia de Noé y Jesús son fábulas, que las historias de Darwin, Marx y el Kardashians son reales y eso es lo que debemos confiar en. Tome un paso de las tonterías del mundo, puede que todos Llevarse bien? En realidad, no realmente. Llegamos al mundo con el amor y la misericordia de Jesús, el mundo ama a pensar que es tan tolerante, pero cuando Jesús, la cruz y su iglesia viene encima de usted puede ver el odio y veneno en los ojos del mundo. A pesar de que nosotros tenemos que seguir amando, servir en la compasión, la misericordia, sino que también tiene la justicia, asegurar que nuestro testimonio es siempre para Jesús y no en las cosas del mundo. Esto no va a hacernos popular, pero Juan nos dice: “No se sorprenda, hermanos, que el mundo os aborrece.” (1 Juan 3:13) El mundo odiaba y todavía odia a nuestro Señor Jesús, que va a odiar los que son fieles en Él. Pero no importa lo que piensa el mundo, no importa lo que piense Jesús. El mundo puede tomar los símbolos del cristianismo y tratar de corromperlos y tratar de hacerlo en nombre de la tolerancia, pero eso es una mentira recta desde el infierno y otro intento de Satanás para corromper a la iglesia y la gente de Jesús. Así que escribes en tu diario acerca de lo que realmente significa el arco iris, así como otros pactos de Dios, y cómo se puede utilizar para mostrar a los demás el amor de Cristo que hay en ti.

La paz de Dios que sobrepasa todo entendimiento, guardará vuestros corazones y vuestros pensamientos en Cristo Jesús. Amin y Shalom.

The Ocean is deep but doesn’t come close to the depth of the love of Jesus Genesis 9: 8-17 First St Johns July 26, 2015

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[For the audio of this sermon please click on SoundCloud icon]

We make our beginning in the Name of God the Father and in the Name of God the Son and in the Name of God the Holy Spirit and all those who know the promises of God said … AMEN

This is one of those passages that the world likes to say is some kind of fable, mythology. The church hasn’t done a very good job with these Genesis passages either, letting them be some sort of similes or parables. Too many like to back off and say it didn’t really happen, but makes for good Sunday school material. The adults really don’t believe this stuff. The church has, essentially rejected, what God has given it to teach as truth. There was a Noah, that there was a world-wide flood, that there were people on the earth who needed to be destroyed because they had become so profoundly evil and irredeemable and that God then made a subsequent promise/covenant with Noah. Where He promised that He would never destroy the world again, through a flood. He will destroy the world again, as we see in the Book of Revelation, what was probably the last book of biblical revelation, but when He destroys the world again, it will be for the final time. In it’s place we will have the resurrection, where we and the world will be made into a place that God intended it to be and for us to be what we were intended to be. There will be no sin, no death, no fighting, there won’t be people creating artificial, phoney debates, we will all be one Body, God’s agents in creating a perfect world, where there will be few limitations, where as I’ve said many times, we will have life and life more abundant, Jesus’ words.

But today, the world, Satan, love to hijack what God gives us and apply it to the things of the world. God is, obviously, the most creative, the most uplifting, positive element in creation. He created everything, we are all pretty much in agreement that even in the evil, fallen, world, there is still amazing beauty, staggering evidence of God’s genius, His incredible creativity. As we go into space, we will see more evidence then we already know. Even now we are receiving pictures from the “dwarf-planet” Pluto, which is now bigger than was thought, that is showing some amazing aspects of that planet. But we love to live in denial about Noah’s story, because after all, we’re in charge, we call the shots. This bizarre idea that it’s all subject to democratic vote and the world’s not going to end because we say so, we have the technology, we moved beyond God’s will, if His will was ever a factor to begin with.

Noah’s ark and a world wide flood is an event that many feel is limited to this one fable from a people in the middle east and really has had no effect beyond that tiny group of people. That is also a fallacy that the world likes to live in ignorance of. Virtually every people in the world have a story about a devastating, all destructive flood and a man or family that were guided by God to save a remnant of people and animals. The geological evidence that has been discovered in very recent time, points to such a flood. The historical and geological evidence, again, destroys the worldly/Satanic lie that this is only a fable, it really did happen.

The upside to the flood is Yahweh’s words to Noah: “I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood,…” this is God’s first covenant, His first contract, promise with His creation. His subsequent promises will be to Abraham, to David, then finally Jesus, God the Son, who in His word says what I will be repeating in a few minutes: “In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” (1 Cor 11:25) This is the covenant Jesus makes with us, His people, those who have been given new life, have been saved from the death of sin in the world. His promise “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” (1 Cor 11:26) that He will return, that He will save those who are in Him, His Body, His church, and they will be restored to true life in the resurrection. After Noah, He tells Abram, that he will be the father of many nations, an old man who had no children at all. He tells King David that the Messiah, the Savior of man-kind will not only be born and deliver His people, but that Messiah, that anointed one of God will be David’s direct descendant.

But the world, in its cutesy way to continually undermine God, takes a symbol that God said is an “everlasting covenant”, of life, of a world of hope and promise and the world has turned it into a symbol of its own lusts and its hatred of God and His will, that is the symbol of the rainbow.

As I’ve said before, we shouldn’t be surprised when the world does things like this, it is the world, it is unsaved and doomed. The world has no promise, no hope. As the Prince of the world, Satan knows his destiny, he knows he is doomed to eternal destruction along with those who also refuse, defy and hate God. Satan has no compunction to take those who are also doomed and use them as pawns to further his fight against God in the world, to guide them to use God’s symbols in an evil way, to deny God’s teachings, such as Noah, and to turn them into symbols that lead us to believe it is all about us, that we are God, that we can do whatever we please, regardless of the consequences to us and those around us.

The non-believer wags his finger at God and says “how could God destroy the earth, He must be evil!” They will stipulate to a destruction story if that gives them a reason to spew their hatred against God. But they will not accept that God is serious, He has a people whom He does want to save and establish a world that will be perfect. He is showing all of us, He is not going to tolerate a sinful and base world filled with evil people. If people continue to be so willfully evil, as we see all-around us at this time in history, He will destroy it again and leave those who are condemned to face the penalty of their sins which is eternal condemnation.

God the Father is a loving, merciful, compassionate God. He has shared His promises with us, His Word, the Bible is filled with hope, promise. His Son Jesus Christ came that we would have life and life more abundant, not only in this world, but where it truly matters, to all eternity. We who are in Christ know that we have the promise that through Him we have forgiveness, we need forgiveness, because God is truly Holy, righteous and just. He does not tolerate sin and in His creation in the New Jerusalem, He will not tolerate sin. His new creation will only be populated by those who are saved in Jesus. We who are righteous, only in Jesus, because of the price that He paid, His perfect life, a ransom for many, that gives us the promise of eternal life.

What other things does the world promise us, what other symbols, what other failures of the world do we tolerate because, well we just all want to get along? We are not here to compromise with the world, because the world is wrong, sinful, seriously messed up. We do not buy into the world’s story, because we have the true story. The world likes to tell us that the story of Noah and Jesus are fables, that the stories of Darwin, Marx and the Kardashians are real and that’s what we should trust in. Take a step away from the nonsense of the world, can we all get along? In reality, not really. We reach out into the world with the love and mercy of Jesus, the world loves to think that it’s so tolerant, but when Jesus, the cross and His church comes up you can see the hate and poison in the eyes of the world. Despite that we do have to continue to love, serve in compassion, have mercy, but also have righteousness, assure that our witness is always for Jesus and not the things of the world. This is not going to make us popular, but John tells us, “Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you.” (1 John 3:13) The world hated and still hates our Lord Jesus, it’s going to hate those who are faithful in Him. But it doesn’t matter what the world thinks, it does matter what Jesus thinks. The world can take the symbols of Christianity and try to corrupt them and try to make it in the name of tolerance, but that is a lie straight from Hell and another attempt by Satan to corrupt the church and Jesus’ people. So write in your journal about what the rainbow really means, as well as God’s other covenants, and how you can use them to show others the love of Christ that is in you.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amin and Shalom.

Predestinado a una gran herencia en Cristo First St Johns 12 de julio 2015 Efesios 1: 3-14

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[for audio version of this sermon click on above link]

Hacemos nuestro comienzo en el Nombre de Dios el Padre y en el nombre de Dios el Hijo y en el nombre de Dios el Espíritu Santo y todos los que han sido pre-destinado en Cristo desde el principio del mundo dijo … AMEN! Los cristianos están empezando a ser un poco demasiado de una “mentalidad de búnker”, me voy a quedar en mi propio grupo, yo no voy a compartir a Cristo con otras personas, yo sólo voy a tratarla como mi punto de vista y no tratar de conseguir cualquier persona involucrada. “Eso somos esencialmente en estado de sitio, muchos podrían reclamar que los cristianos en el mundo son oprimidos y sí hay muchos que son perseguidos abiertamente. Así que tomamos en esta actitud de ser golpeado, obligado a callar, como una especie de perro apaleado y sólo mantener un perfil bajo. Un predicador de radio realmente llevó a casa el punto, sin embargo, que seguro, tal vez nos estamos un poco golpeado a la clandestinidad. Pero, ¿podemos realmente justificamos que cuando hablamos en términos de lo que somos en Jesús? ¿Realmente podemos justificar un complejo de persecución, la “cosecha de todo el mundo en mi pobre, pobre mentalidad me lamentable”, porque estoy en Jesús y que todos sepan sobre él? El Concordia Auto-Estudio de la Biblia señala: “la elección Divina es una constante en las cartas de Pablo [la nota describe 33 versículos en los escritos de Pablo, a partir de un número de citas en Romanos, Colosenses, primera y segunda Tesalonicenses y Tito], en el periscopio de hoy “… se hace hincapié en las siguientes maneras: nos escogió, nos predestinó, estábamos también elegimos, habiendo sido predestinados” Con base en el hecho de que somos elegidos, Dios tiene “predestinado” nosotros para la salvación, que nos estamos en Su Señorío de nuestra vida, ¿estamos realmente justificados al pensar que somos una especie de víctima? Es algo así como la lucha libre profesional. ¿Cómo funciona en wrassling profesional? El héroe sale y toma una paliza, que es llevado hacia abajo, todo parece desesperada y entonces …? Correcto? Se pone en el suelo, y, finalmente, los mítines para dar un vuelco a la Undertaker o el jeque del hierro, o quien sea el malo de la película del día es. No todo el tiempo, pero creo que en las circunstancias de hoy, eso es algo de lo que sentimos. Podríamos dar un golpe abajo por Cristo y como he dicho antes, para nosotros aquí, en realidad no es tan malo. Pero ciertamente sabemos hermanos y hermanas que están pagando un alto precio por ser discípulos cristianos cristianos. Pero porque somos salvos en Jesús, porque somos bautizados hijos del Padre, ¿cómo podemos realmente pensar que no importa lo mucho que sufrimos persecución, que estamos oprimidos? El hecho del asunto es que somos salvos. Sabemos que somos salvos por las señales tangibles que nos han dado. Somos bautizados en la nueva vida, nosotros tomamos el Cuerpo y la Sangre de Jesús, nosotros escuchamos su Palabra predicada y leemos Su palabra escrita. Sabemos, al igual que el wrassler, he sido un gran fan de Killer Kowalski, sí sabemos cómo termina, sí sabemos donde comienza nuestra vida eterna. Sin duda, la vida aquí importa. No estoy tratando de restar importancia a nuestra vida terrenal. Pero somos mucho más que eso, y ciertamente no podemos justificar el pensamiento de nosotros mismos como víctimas. No eran! Claro que podemos conseguir una nariz sangrienta metafórica de vez en cuando, conseguir el extremo corto de la vara. Pero como lo que importa hemos sido elegidos, hemos sido predestinados a la vida eterna en Cristo. Para mí eso es enormemente tranquilizador. Yo no soy salvo en todo lo que hago, para el caso, no puedo accidentalmente estropearlo. Soy salvo, soy perdonado, estoy predestinado por el Creador del Universo, Dios; Padre, Hijo y Espíritu Santo, a la vida eterna. Para la vida “… Yo he venido para que tengan vida y la tengan en abundancia.” (Juan 10:10) Somos los vencedores en Jesús! Estamos Hulk Hogan en términos de Cristo, somos de Él. Él nos da la verdadera vida, no sólo en la resurrección, que teniendo en cuenta que es la vida eterna en Él en lo ilimitado apasionante vida perfecta, en nuestros cuerpos perfeccionados, la forma en que estaban destinados a vivir la vida como cristiano. Pero también que tenemos abundantes, vidas fructíferas porque Jesús es el Señor de nuestra vida en el aquí y ahora. Claro que podríamos tener algunos éxitos para él, pero cuando lo miras objetivamente a lo que el resto del mundo piensa como “vivo”, somos muy afortunados de tener una vida en Jesús que se trata de las cosas verdaderamente importantes en la vida. Tenemos la oportunidad de vivir una vida que sea significativa y no todo es sobre el pecado que vemos que es todo lo que nos rodea. Somos libres en Cristo, no como la persona que está esclavizada a la lujuria o la codicia, la ira, la amargura, las drogas, el consumismo, la violencia, la lista sigue y sigue. Incluso alguien que está tan atrapado en el mundo, al igual que Bob Dylan es citado diciendo “Toda la verdad en el mundo se suma a una gran mentira.” Para aquellos en el mundo, que están esclavizados a esos pecados, eso es lo que ” vida “es para ellos. Para que se sientan como si estuvieran “viviendo” necesitan tener constantemente una mayor cantidad de las más nuevas cosas, la vida más popular, más ponography, más abuso de sustancias, son esclavos de sus cosas. Debemos tener piedad y compasión de los que están en el mundo, porque están atrapados en esa desesperanza, las cosas que los hacen muerto. No cristianos luchan con esas cosas? Ellos si. Pero a diferencia de los que están esclavizados al mundo, sabemos que hemos sido salvados de esas cosas esclavizantes, sabemos que nosotros tenemos la verdadera libertad y la verdadera liberación. No estamos atados a las cosas, sabemos que el Espíritu Santo sigue para salvarnos de las cosas que dominan la vida del otro. No es a través de nuestros esfuerzos que estamos salvados, incluso en medio de la lucha que tenemos el Espíritu Santo para recurrir y guiarnos de distancia, hacen que una forma posible de superar. Por desgracia para los que están en el mundo que de alguna manera creen que tienen la sartén por el mango, no tienen esa opción, se victimizado y gruñó en su pecado. Otros en el mundo tratan de ayudarles a superar, pero es notable cómo ineficaces e incluso más amortiguamiento cuando otros utilizan los métodos del mundo. A menudo se deja a la gente aún más víctimas. Pero una y otra vez vemos cómo los métodos basados ​​en la fe de salvar a la gente del trabajo pecado en formas sorprendentes.Entonces, ¿cómo podemos decir que son víctimas cuando tenemos la seguridad de ser salvo, no importa lo mal que podría complicar las cosas, sabemos que el Espíritu Santo está a la espera de que nos volvamos a Él? Sabemos que lo que Jesús hizo y hace por nosotros nos trae la vida más abundante en el mundo, y en la eternidad. Como ya he dicho, ¿cómo podemos quejarse de alguna imposición temporal, cuando muchos a nuestro alrededor, se enredó en su pecado, completamente adicta a su pecado y perdido a la separación eterna y el castigo porque rechazaron la salvación de Dios en Jesús? Ellos son las víctimas, debemos tener lástima y compasión por ellos. Y nosotros, los que hemos estado pre-destinado desde el principio, que saben lo que nuestra vida está aquí y eternamente, ¿cómo podemos realmente sentimos como si fuéramos las víctimas?

Padre, nos ayude a todos a conocer en nuestros corazones, en las profundidades de nuestras almas, las riquezas que tiene en Jesús, que nos han dado y que somos pre-destinado a recibir a Jesús. Nos consuela constantemente en la oración, en el juicio, en la tranquilidad constante que tenemos, que somos verdaderamente santo, santificado, separado en Jesús. Él tomó todos nuestros pecados sobre sí mismo, y en la cruz pagó el precio por todos esos pecados. Debido a que Él nos dio la promesa de que a través de Él somos suficientes para estar en la presencia de nuestro santo, perfecto Dios, justo, amable para la vida y la vida más abundante aquí y en el mundo eterno de la resurrección. Saque esa revista y escribir sobre las formas en que se han entregado, por la confianza que tenemos en Cristo de ser salvado del mal en el mundo y que estamos pre-destinado a la vida eterna y más abundante en Jesús.

La paz de Dios que sobrepasa todo entendimiento, guardará vuestros corazones y vuestros pensamientos en Cristo Jesús. Amin y Shalom.

“Predestined to a great inheritance in Christ” First St Johns July 12, 2015 Ephesians 1: 3-14

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[click on above link for audio version of this sermon]

We make our beginning in the Name of God the Father and in the Name of God the Son and in the Name of God the Holy Spirit and all those who have been pre-destined in Christ from the beginning of the world said … AMEN!

Christians are starting to get a little too much of a “bunker mentality”, I’m going to stay in my own group, I’m not going to share Christ with other people, I’m just going to treat it as my viewpoint and not try to get anyone involved.” That we are essentially under siege, many would claim that Christians in the world are oppressed and yes there are many who are openly persecuted. So we take on this attitude of being beaten down, forced to shut up, sort of like a beaten dog and just keep a low profile. A radio preacher really drove home the point, though, that sure, maybe we are getting a little beaten into hiding. But can we really justify that when we talk in terms of who we are in Jesus? Can we really justify a persecution complex, the “everyone’s picking on me poor, poor pitiful me mentality”, because I’m in Jesus and let everyone know about it? The Concordia Self-Study Bible points out: “Divine election is a constant them in Paul’s letters [the note describes 33 verses in Paul’s writings, from a number of citations in Romans, Colossians, first and second Thessalonians and Titus], in today’s periscope, “…it is emphasized in the following ways: he chose us, he predestined us, we were also chose, having been predestined”[1] Based on the fact that we are chosen, God has “pre-destined” us to salvation, that we are in His Lordship of our life, are we really justified in thinking that we are some kind of a victim?

It’s sort of like professional wrestling. How does it work in professional wrassling? The hero goes out and takes a beating, he gets taken down, it all looks hopeless and then …? Right? He gets off the floor, and eventually rallies to give a beat down to the Undertaker or the Iron Sheik, or whoever the bad guy of the day is. Not all the time, but I think under the circumstances of today, that’s kind of how we feel. We might take a beat down for Christ and as I’ve said before, for us here, it’s really not so bad. But we certainly know Christian brothers and sisters who are paying a heavy price for being Christian disciples. But because we are saved in Jesus, because we are baptized children of the Father, how can we really think that no matter how much persecution we endure, that we’re oppressed?

The fact of the matter is that we are saved. We know we are saved because of the tangible signs that we’ve been given. We are baptized into new life, we do take the Body and Blood of Jesus, we do hear His preached Word and read His written word. We know, just like the wrassler, I have been a big fan of Killer Kowalski, we do know how this ends, we do know where our eternal life begins. To be sure, life here matters. I’m not trying to downplay our earthly life. But we are so much more than that, and we certainly can’t justify thinking of ourselves as victims. We’re not! Sure we may get a metaphorical bloody nose once in awhile, get the short end of the stick. But for what it matters we have been chosen, we have been predestined to eternal life in Christ. For me that is enormously reassuring. I’m not saved in anything I do, for that matter, I can’t accidentally mess it up. I am saved, I am forgiven, I am predestined by the Creator of the Universe, God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit, to life eternal. To life “…I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10) We are the victors in Jesus! We are Hulk Hogan in terms of Christ, we are His. He gives us true life, not just in the resurrection, which considering that is eternal life in Him in the perfect, unlimited, exciting life in our perfected bodies, the way we were meant to live life as a Christian. But also that we have abundant, fruitful lives because Jesus is the Lord of our life in the here and now. Sure we might take some hits for it, but when you really look objectively at what the rest of the world thinks of as “living”, we are so blessed to have a life in Jesus that is about the truly important things in life. We get to live a life that is meaningful and is not all about the sin that we see that is all around us. We are free in Christ, not like the person who is enslaved to lust, or greed, anger, bitterness, drugs, consumerism, violence, the list goes on and on. Even someone who is so caught up in the world, like Bob Dylan is quoted as saying “All the truth in the world adds up to one big lie.” For those in the world, they are enslaved to those sins, that is what “life” is to them. For them to feel as if they are “living” they need to constantly have an increased amount of the newest things, the most popular life, more ponography, more substance abuse, they are slaves to their things. We should have pity and compassion on those who are in the world, because they are caught up in such hopelessness, things that make them dead now. Do Christians struggle with those things? Yes, they do. But unlike those who are enslaved to the world, we know that we have been saved from those enslaving things, we know that we do have true freedom and true deliverance. We are not tied to those things, we know that the Holy Spirit continues to save us from the things that dominate other’s lives. It is not through our efforts that we are saved, even in the midst of struggle we have the Holy Spirit to turn to and guide us away, make a way possible to overcome. Sadly for those in the world who somehow think they have the upper hand, they don’t have that choice, they are victimized and snarled in their sin.  Others in the world try to help them overcome, but it is remarkable how ineffective and even more deadening when others use the methods of the world. Often it leaves people even more victimized. But over and over we see how faith based methods of saving people from sin work in astonishing ways.

So how can we say we are victims when we have the assurance of being saved, no matter how bad we might mess things up, we know that the Holy Spirit is waiting for us to turn to Him? We know that what Jesus did and does for us brings us life more abundant in the world, and in eternity. As I said, how can we whine about some temporary imposition, when so many around us, are tangled in their sin, completely addicted to their sin and lost to eternal separation and punishment because they rejected God’s salvation in Jesus? They are victims, we should have great pity and compassion for them. And we who have been pre-destined from the beginning, who know what our life is here and eternally, how can we really feel as if we are the victims?

Father, help us all to know in our hearts, to the depths of our souls, the riches in Jesus that we have been given and that we are pre-destined to receive in Jesus. We are comforted constantly in prayer, in trial, in the constant reassurance that we have, that we are truly holy, sanctified, set apart in Jesus. He took all of our sins on Himself, and on the Cross He paid the price for all those sins. Because of that He gave us the promise that through Him we are sufficient to be in the presence of our holy, perfect, just, gracious God to life and life more abundant here and in the eternal world of the resurrection. Take out that journal and write about the ways you have been delivered, about the assurance we have in Christ of being saved from the evil in the world and that we are pre-destined to life eternal and more abundant in Jesus.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amin and Shalom.

[1] Concordia Self Study Bible p 1804

Dress for Action Like a Man Job 38, Mark 4: 35 First St Johns Fathers Day Jun 21, 2015

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[For the audio version click on the above link]

We make our beginning in the Name of God the Father and in the Name of God the Son and in the Name of God the Holy Spirit and all those who are a noble, self-sacrificing man of God said … AMEN. I was just expecting the guys to amen that

It is not easy to be an adult man in the world today. Even in the church that is becoming more the case. Part of the problem is that while men are called to be the leaders, they are called to be the priests of their family. But, as Rich Murphy writes: “We don’t have a submission problem in our church, we have a leadership problem. In many families, the woman is de facto head of the house, because the man isn’t. Why? Because men haven’t been taught how to be men. Our society has drawn a picture of men as bumbling, incompetent idiots who need a woman to show them how to pour water out of a boot. Don’t believe me, just look at any sitcom on television today.”[1]

Ken Broussard notes: “He takes responsibility for his children’s faith, “training them up in the way they should go” (Proverbs 22:6). In Ephesians 6:4, God puts the responsibility on the man, the father, to make sure his children are raised on the teachings of God and in a Godly environment.”[2] Men, are called to be the leaders, called to set the tone, to take the responsibility. It may seem easy, but Jesus hardly ever just told people, “do this, do that”, but went to such trouble, pain and effort to live the life that we should be living, Jesus shows us that being the father is not “select and direct”, it is to deal with the hard situations, to do our best, not for ourselves, but for our family, to take a tough situation and overcome it. Chuck Swindoll tells the following story: ““The colorful, nineteenth-century showman and gifted violinist Niccolo Paganini was standing before a packed house, playing through a difficult piece of music. A full orchestra surrounded him with magnificent support. Suddenly one string on his violin snapped and hung gloriously down from his instrument. Beads of perspiration popped out on his forehead. He frowned but continued to play improvising beautifully.

To the conductor’s surprise, a second string broke. And shortly thereafter, a third. Now there were three limp strings dangling from Paganini’s violin as the master performer completed the difficult composition on the one remaining string. The audience jumped to its feet and in good Italian fashion filled the hall with shouts and screams.  As the applause died down, the violinist asked the people to sit back down. Even though they knew there was no way they could expect an encore, they quietly sank back into their seats. He held the violin high for everyone to see. He nodded at the conductor to begin the encore and then he turned back to the crowd. With a twinkle in his eye, he smiled and shouted, ‘Paganini … and one string!’ After that he placed the single-stringed Stradivarius beneath his chin and played the final piece on one string as the audience (and the conductor) shook their heads in silent amazement. “Paganini … and one string!” And, I might add, an attitude of fortitude.” Paganini could have just given up, caved in, admitted defeat everyone kind of expected him to. Instead he took the setbacks, and created from that, overcame and triumphed in a way people still marvel at. Guys, that’s what we’re called to do for our families and Christ.

God tells Job in our reading today: “Dress for action like a man.” Job could have whined, blamed and accused, just bail out as his wife suggested. But he didn’t he hung in, he stood tough. In our Gospel reading we see the story of Jesus and the disciples caught in a storm. If you look at your order of worship under “sermon”, you will see a picture I took in a museum in Capernaum. It is of a fishing boat that has been determined to date back to the time of the disciples and thought to be much like the boat the disciples and Jesus were in. I see that picture and I’m still amazed that they didn’t just get pitched out of that boat, or it didn’t break up and everyone drowned. The fact that they didn’t is a miracle by itself, the second more dramatic miracle is of course Jesus calming the storm. You have to be in a real rock and roll storm on the water to appreciate this story. We were on a small work boat, about 25 feet. We had been at Boston Light and were taking five electronic technicians back to Boston after spending the day working on the lighthouse. The radio all of a sudden starts squawking, everyone on the water had something to say a massive thunderstorm had descended on Boston Harbor and looking to the east we could see this kind of blue/green evil looking colored group of clouds coming out of where we had to go into. My very long time brother and I were used to bad weather, but the rain got so dense you couldn’t see five feet ahead of the boat and the lightning strikes were so close you could hear the crash on the water and smell the ozone. Our passengers were completely freaked. None of them had any real experience in small boats and certainly not with the crashing and booming that was going on around us. This was a small boat, only meant to carry people and equipment to a workplace. Didn’t have radar, although it wouldn’t have helped, it wasn’t  grounded for lightning, no GPS or LORAN, none of the equipment he and I were used to on a standard Search and Rescue/Law Enforcement boat. The other guys were huddled together, but we didn’t have that choice, we had to find a way through the storm and get the people we had to safety, despite the difficulty, to push through the danger.

That is what we expect of men in today’s world and particularly Christian men. Sure most of us are never going to be on a creaky wooden boat in the middle of a large lake or an aluminum one in Boston Harbor. But I’m sure most of the guys here know what I’m talking about, doesn’t take much for a storm to swoop in and you have a bunch of people freaking out around you and you know that you have to stay calm and strong and find a way through the storm. David was a man, a man after God’s own heart and a man who royally messed some things up, but also a man who has been truly admired throughout history as a great general, great statesman, poet we still read 3,000 years later. Not so great father and husband. He could have given up, cut everyone loose, hey he’s the king. But he stood against the storm around him, he writes: “…if it had not been the Lord who was on our side when people rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us alive… then the flood would have swept us away, the torrent would have gone over us; then over us would have gone the raging waters. Blessed by the Lord, who has not given us as prey to their teeth.” (Psalm 124).

I know what David is talking about, I’ll bet most if not all the guys here know what he’s talking about. David had to deal with a lot, he had to overcome a lot, some of it self-inflicted, but he did not give up, God did not give up on him and David trusted that God would forgive, overcome and get David to where he had to be. I bet God told David to “dress for action like a man” and I’ll bet he’s told many guys who are here that same thing.

Guys, dads, we’re not called to be popular. We’re not called to be everyone’s favorite person, often we have to do things that don’t endear us to our wife or children. Often we have to do what is necessary to protect and do it in a way that’s often not gentle, even upsetting. We are called to and have to stand for those things that are important, but maybe not popular. Frankly the way many women and children treat men today is not just disrespectful, but downright rude. A Christian man should never, ever respond in kind, our response is to provide, comfort and sometimes even defend, and that’s what we are expected to do, even when we’re treated rudely. Remind you of anyone? The way Jesus was treated. That’s why men are expected to be the priests in their home, to be the ones who stand up and take the hits and accept the fact that might be treated disrespectfully for the things they had to do because they upset someone else’s gentle sensibilities. You can’t get upset over it or choose to run away, accept it and move on as Jesus did.

So guys, since you are all big, tough, self-sacrificing Christian men, who I sincerely hope God blesses for your strength and courage, I have a challenge for you. I hope all the guys will take up the challenge, will come and meet at the next Men’s Network breakfast to discuss and will sign this pledge. All the guys should have a photo-copy of this, and it doesn’t matter if you’re fifteen or eighty, you’re still a Christian guy, if you accept this resolution, sign and return the photocopy to me, I will make sure you get a handsome original, suitable for framing and you will be the faithful, self-sacrificing priest of your home and a hero to your wife, children, grand-children etc and despite the popular characterization, will stand against the world that works constantly at trying to tear down Christian men.  As godly men, trusting in our Lord Jesus Christ, remembering how He lived His life as an example and as a sacrifice to save us all, we too are called to live our life in Christ, trusting in Him and not in the world’s opinions.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amin and Shalom.

[1]http://maranathalife.com/marriage/mar-rel4.htm

[2] http://kingmovement.com/true-manhood-pt-6-a-real-man-is-priest-of-his-home-reprise/

We are of good courage as His children 2 Corinthians 5: 1-17 First Saint Johns June 14, 2015

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[For the audio version, click on the above link]

We make our beginning in the Name of God the Father and in the Name of God the Son and in the Name of God the Holy Spirit and all those who are courageous in the Lord said … AMEN

“At our daughter’s high school graduation, I couldn’t help noticing a young man sporting a long bleached blond ponytail sprouting from the top of his otherwise shaved head. A heavy link chain hung around his neck, and one ear displayed several earrings.

I had to smile when I heard him say to his friend, “Man, I feel so out of place. I’m the only guy here not wearing a tie.”

There is such a thing as clueless courage, hey God bless him, frankly, it seems to me that there’s a lot of clueless courage in the world. It’s somehow “courageous” to be in favor of things that the Bible clearly calls sin, but because it’s what everyone else does, it’s somehow courageous.

When I was a boy, we moved a lot, seemed I was always the new kid on the block. Well you know how the “new kid on the block”, gets treated. I always found it amazing how these guys would pick a fight and think they were being courageous picking on me with six of their friends standing around. There’s just a whole lot of that today, everyone likes to think they’re a tough guy until they look and realize their posse isn’t around them.

Paul put up with a lot of bullies, people who would abuse their authority by abusing Paul, or people who would just try to bully him into shutting up. There’s a lot of that today. Those in the world love to think that they are so marvelously open minded, it’s rather shocking how rigid and close minded people are today. They will criticize anything a Christian says as “judgmental” and then turn around and judge them by telling them how judgmental they are. There is one big difference between a Christian and those in the world. When I say something and tell someone what they’re doing, or teaching or selling is wrong, I’m not making it up, or at least, as a Christian, I better not be. Anything I say to anyone better be something I can back up in the Bible. Part of the problem in that is that even those who are regularly part of the church, really don’t know the Bible. For most, they may have a knowledge of the Bible, but not sufficient to feel confident about sharing it with someone else.

Much as I’d like to think that I’m an absolute expert, I’m not, and there are times when I am witnessing to God’s will and I feel like I’m on shakey ground. I have to trust that the Holy Spirit put me in front of someone in order to witness to them. Matthew 10:19: “When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour.” Jesus is, of course, saying, that the Holy Spirit will guide you in what He wants you to say. It does take courage, we often summarize courage in that Christian word we call “faith”. Permit me to give a little longer quote from Dr Luther, because what we as Lutherans think of as faith is very different from what those in the world think of and actually, even most Christians: “Faith is not what some people think it is. Their human dream is a delusion. Because they observe that faith is not followed by good works or a better life, they fall into error, even though they speak and hear much about faith. “Faith is not enough,” they say, “You must do good works, you must be pious to be saved.”[1]

It’s interesting how we think in terms of being “pious” to have “faith”, whereas both Luther and Paul say, it’s not so much being somehow so humble, bashful, even restrained, sure we aren’t called to be obnoxious, but when we are witnessing to God, we are called to be assertive, positive, uplifting, but in no way bashful or pulling our punches. Many might see being reserved as being somehow so much more “Christian”, but I have yet to have anyone show me in the Bible where Jesus, Paul, Peter, John the Baptist, the Old Testament prophets were somehow piously quiet or bashful. Plenty of people thought they were more than sufficiently obnoxious. But they weren’t, they were being courageous.

I even hear Christians say this: “Well you don’t want to impose your beliefs on others.”????? Let’s understand this right off the bat, I’m not imposing my beliefs on anyone! If I can’t back up something I say in a very straightforward and unambiguous way from the Bible, then I should not be saying it. If I am faithfully and yes, courageously, speaking and witnessing for God, if I’m being led by the Holy Spirit to share Christ with someone else, how is that imposing “my beliefs” on someone else? They are “my” beliefs to the extent that as a temple of the Holy Spirit, I am faithful to Jesus Christ my Lord and I certainly have been imbued with those beliefs, but where did those beliefs come from? Me? No! They are what Jesus taught, God the Son, they are what He expects us to live by and to actively share and live by with others. Just like my faith, how I know to live and serve as a Christian is because the Holy Spirit has guided me and you, to live and serve and speak that way to the world. We need to faithfully follow what Jesus tells us and to stop living by the world’s uninformed opinion. More often than not when I am sharing Christ with someone, they don’t even know why they believe what they believe or even what they believe. They’ve heard someone else say it that criticizes Christians and they simply accept what they’ve heard.

We are called to “always be of good courage”. Paul goes on to say, “we walk by faith, not by sight”. That does make us very different from those in the world. They have no faith, they have no discernment, they accept what the world imposes on them and they expect others to just shut up and listen. If what you say is opposed to them, you’re wrong and will be slapped with however many nasty, intolerant labels those in the world will impose on you. While the Holy Spirit guides you to speak, Matthew 10:19 ; “When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour.”  While we have the word of God in the Bible to tell us God’s will, while we have the preached word, teachers who are there to help you understand God’s will and word, the world has only what’s been made up. The world will ignore God’s word, tell you what the real “truth” is, and has no basis for telling you anything.

Faith is the courage the Holy Spirit gives us in order to stand against a dark, sinful, ignorant world, the courage to tell the world what God’s will is. The world likes to think it’s will is important, in the end those opinions change, are proven wrong and are just ignorant of the facts. God’s will has been what matters and has been consistent for eternity. The world’s opinion lasts for a season and then is completely different a short time later. The world’s “truth” can’t be counted on for more than a few months, God’s truth has been and will be forever. Luther says: “Faith is a living, bold trust in God’s grace, so certain of God’s favor that it would risk death a thousand times trusting in it. Such confidence and knowledge of God’s grace makes you happy, joyful and bold in your relationship to God and all creatures. The Holy Spirit makes this happen through faith. Because of it, you

freely, willingly and joyfully do good to everyone, serve everyone, suffer all kinds of things, love and praise the God who has shown you such grace.”[2] These aren’t your words or actions, they’re God’s, you’re not “imposing” anything. God is giving you the faith and courage to tell those around you the truth. If they want to treat you rudely, bully you, impose their groundless beliefs on you, that becomes their problem. You have courageously, faithfully and strongly pointed to the truth that God Father, Son and Holy Spirit guide us in. You’ve done your part courageously, not imposing, now we leave it to the Holy Spirit to do His part. If that other person can’t, won’t accept it and continues to act like you’re wrong, they’re the ones that will pay the price. You have been faithful and courageous in sharing Christ and He will tell you “’Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ (Matthew 25:21) Take out your journal, how can you be more faithful in the courage God gives you to share the truth of God’s will and with whom will you share it?

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amin and Shalom.

[1] Rev. Robert E. Smith Walther Library Concordia Theological Seminary

http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/luther/luther-faith.txt

[2] Ibid