1.17.2010 Sermon Notes

Living the Promise -

Can You Spare Some Change?

Living the Promise: 1. accepting the gift of faith in Jesus (entering into a personal relationship with God through faith in Jesus) 2. living our daily lives like we say we believe. It is growing to be more like Jesus in thought, word and action.

The words above imply something. In a sense it’s kind of like saying, “I’m going to accept that free lifetime pass at the gym and get this body back into shape!”

What’s implied? Change. But also something more. What else is implied? There is something that needs changing.

Why don’t we like change? I just gave part of the answer… the idea that someone thinks I need to change something about myself… but there’s more to it than that. We get comfortable with they way we are, what we do, the way we live… whether it’s the way our house looks or our body looks; what we eat or what we say; where we go and what we do when we get there… even if we know that sometimes what we do, eat, or watch along with what we don’t do, eat, or watch isn’t good for us.

It’s true for our physical life and it’s also true for our spiritual lives [“The brussel sprout story” One of my seminary professors talking about the pervasiveness of sin in our lives gave an analogy about brussel sprouts and hot fudge Sundays. Even though we know that brussel sprouts are good for us we often refuse to eat them. Hot fudge Sundays on the other hand are not good for us and we’ll eat them readily without prompting—in his words we’ll eat them all the way to hell] 

That’s one of the reasons that I can identify so strongly with the apostle Paul’s cry … who can save me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord… there is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus… for if anyone is in Christ they are a new creation… (Romans and 2 Cor)

Paul was talking about how difficult it is for us to change… the reality that some attitudes and actions become so deeply ingrained in us that it becomes impossible for us to do it on our own. That even though we know what is right and good and healthy… what God desires for us because God knows that it’s healthier for us and can bring us closer to God… and deep down inside us we may long for it too… when push comes to shove we have a hard time following through and so… we go back to what’s familiar… what’s comfortable even though we may realize what’s going on.

Then to make ourselves feel better we start telling ourselves things to make us feel better for doing what we know isn’t healthy for us, which only tends to reinforce the need for the change.

We need a savior… someone who can do for us what we can’t do by ourselves

That’s what we have to have in mind when we read this account of Jesus changing the water into wine. We can’t understand it right away because of our American culture and the day and age in which we live; we see what’s happening and think of it in terms of what these details mean for us instead of what they meant for first century Jews… what it pointed to. Because it pointed to God keeping God’s Promise.

Symbolism of the wine-abundance of wine a sign of the inbreaking of God’s Kingdom and God’s salvation

Breaking down the miracle. Things to note:

The number of jars and their capacity (120 to 180 gallons of wine). Linking it to the the overabundance of wine at the inauguration of the Kingdom of God.

The purpose of the jars. For the rights of Jewish ritual purification. Symbolic for the practice of practice of faith of the Jewish people.

The jars were empty. Symbolic for the generalized view that many (including the religious leadership) had allowed the content of the faith to become more focused on the practices of faith (observance of the law) than who the practice brings us close to-God.

In filling the jars and transforming the water into wine Jesus created something new in the midst of Judaism—but it is not a rejection nor a replacement of the old. “I tell you the truth, I did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it.”

So can this all mean for us?

For us to be able to live the promise of God not only do we need to accept his gift of faith… we need to submit to the transformation to the change Jesus can bring in our lives…

We are not water… water has no mind; water has no will… human beings do.

The miracle of changing water into wine shows us the possibility of what God can do in our lives through our sharing in the life of Christ and what it can mean. Changing and transforming us into the character and nature of God… so that we can be more like Jesus in thought, word, and action.

Can you spare some change?

Sunday 1/10/2010 Sermon Notes

Living the Promise – God’s Seal of Approval

Acts 8:14-17

14 Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. ¹⁵The two went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit ¹⁶(for as yet the Spirit had not come^* upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus). ¹⁷Then Peter and John^* laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

15 As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah,^{* 16}John answered all of them by saying, ‘I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with^* the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹⁷His winnowing-fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’ The Baptism of Jesus

21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, ²²and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved;^* with you I am well pleased.’^*

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Living the Promise: 1. accepting the gift of faith in Jesus (entering into a personal relationship with God through faith in Jesus) 2. living our daily lives like we say we believe. It is growing to be more like Jesus in thought, word and action.

Both of these texts speak about baptism and the role of the Holy Spirit in baptism… and the role of the Person of the Holy Spirit is emphasized more

Before the accounting of Jesus’ baptism; people were filled with expectation; questioning in their hearts if John was the Messiah; John testified that he was not

What happened in Jesus’ baptism?  He submitted to baptism; He was praying;  Heaven opened and the Person of the Holy Spirit descended upon him;  At the same moment God spoke, “You are my Son, the beloved, with you I am well pleased.”

What does Jesus’ baptism mean? I think it clearly gives testimony to John’s statement that he is not the Messiah and that Jesus is; I also think it clearly is God’s seal of approval on a) who Jesus is and b) Jesus’ attitudes and actions leading up to this point

~ As such we can understand Jesus’ baptism as an anointing as Messiah or Christ (that is after all the meaning of those words… anointed one) in the same manner that David was anointed by Samuel… he was the chosen shepherd of God’s people… a man after God’s own heart… but he had not yet ascended to his throne.

But in the words of the old song by Peggy Lee… “is that all there is?” I don’t think so.

~ When I think of what this might mean for us as human beings, it leads me to the questions, “What is the role of the Messiah? What is it about him that matters to me and my life today? Why is it important that he received God’s Seal of Approval? What is it about Jesus’ baptism (his anointing as Messiah) that is important for us” and finally, “How can it help me Live the Promise?”

The answer, for us, I believe lies in how God has revealed Himself in the Person of Jesus as God the Son… in other words “who” Jesus is and the role of the Holy Spirit in connecting us to God through faith in Jesus. The Connecting piece for us, in my mind, is Jesus’ baptism, how it relates to ours and how we should understand them.

Interesting reading regarding Peter and John’s baptizing in the Spirit. One commentary I read, while not able to explain why the people of Samaria were not baptized in the name of the Holy Spirit, connects Peter and John’s going to Samaria and baptizing in the name of the Holy Spirit to the first part of the book of Acts. There they initiated the practice of sharing all things equally and participating fully in the community of faith. This passage seems to indicate that this includes the missionary vocation.

There are a couple of things to note here: 1) There is a continuity between the Baptist’s words that Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit (and with fire), Jesus’ promise to baptize with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5 “…John baptized with water but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit…”), and the fact that John and Peter went to baptize in the name of the Holy Spirit. That continuity… that connection is the Person of the Holy Spirit.

Let’s talk about baptism for a moment. What does our baptism do effectively for us?  Baptism is a symbol or sign of our faith or the faith we profess for our children. Baptism is a symbol of our remorse and regret for our sins and have turned away from sin and toward God. Baptism symbolizes our participation in God’s saving act, by faith, through the incarnation, life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus. Baptism symbolizes God’s acceptance of us as a part of God’s family the church.

The act of baptism in no way washes away our sins… Jesus’ sacrificial death did that. The act of baptism does not get us into heaven.

Baptism is a sacrament; a sign or symbol of what God has done; is doing; or will do in our lives to bring us to a life saving relationship with Jesus.

If baptism is a sign God’s power and grace at work in our lives (and it is); then for us baptism is a sign of our obedience and trust in God—our submission to God. And the means by which this is accomplished is the Person of the Holy Spirit.

Now I want to go back to the importance of Jesus’ baptism for us in this being able to take place.

We can’t look at and understand Jesus’ baptism in quite the same way we do our own. First of all Jesus was without sin. So his baptism should not be associated with any admission of sin and the repentance that John was calling for. So why submit to baptism? It is because of his unique nature as the incarnate Person of God the Son.

The witness of the early church, related to us in a hymn quoted by the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Philippians (2:5-8, explains it):

5 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, 7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, 8 he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross.

Because in Jesus God became human… he identified himself completely with us… Jesus came to do completely and perfectly what we could not… turn away from sin and back toward God… not as God… but as a human being… In the act of submitting to baptism he did for us what we cannot do completely and perfectly… he humbled himself and submitted his will as God the Son… his being… to God the Father…

God responded to this act with his seal of approval… the anointing of the Holy Spirit and the proclamation that this is my Son, the beloved, with whom I am well pleased.

And it is the Person of the Holy Spirit the indwelt him in his human life that empowered him and enabled him to remain obedient because he was continually submitting to the will of God the Father. Jesus’ life was lived in and through the Person of the Holy Spirit. His preaching, his teaching, his acts of mercy, his miracles, his final act of obedience on the cross was enabled because of his intimate relationship with his heavenly Father mediated by the Person of the Holy Spirit. We have a fancy theological name for that—perichoresis (pear-i-core-ee-sis)—literally it means mutual interpenetration. It describes how the 3 persons of the Holy Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) are able to maintain their individuality while sharing completely and perfectly in the lives of the other two.

All of this is a detailed way to say that even when Jesus set aside his Godhood in the incarnation he still shared in the life of God by the power of the Holy Spirit.

So Jesus’ baptism is important for us because it, as a part of the Christ event—the incarnation, birth, life, sacrificial death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus—it makes it possible for us to submit ourselves to God and share in the life of God, however imperfectly, through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit by the gift of faith.

So, that’s how God helps us to Live the Promise… through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit in us.

Need to notice a something… the purpose or goal of the Holy Spirit isn’t just to bring us closer to God… but so that we can participate as fully as possible in the life of God.

So what is the life of God focused on… in part, to reconcile the world to himself…

By our sharing in the baptism of Jesus through faith we also share in his life… his ministry… his mission.

He was able to do it as he submitted to the leading of God the Father through the guidance of the Holy Spirit… just the same way that the early church did after Pentecost… which is why Peter and John went to baptize with the Holy Spirit…

That means that we are called to do the same… and our effectiveness is determined by how well we seek out and submit to the leading of the Spirit…

How do we do that? Again we find our answer in Scripture…

Luke 3:21-22 …when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, ²²and the Holy Spirit descended upon him…

He prayed. And it wasn’t the act of praying that was the most important, but the attitude in prayer… humble submission and willingness to obey…

So being able to Live the Promise is made possible by

Humbling ourselves before God and submitting/trusting ourselves to his leading

Stay in touch with God through prayer (listening as well as speaking)

When we’re able to do that we will someday hear God say This is my child, the beloved, with whom I am well pleased… and receive God’s seal of approval.

Thinking Along the Same Lines

I heard a radio broadcast this past week from Dr. David Jeremiah that caught my attention. I think it's another good way for us to think about what "Living the Promise" might mean; or at least enable us to come at it from another angle. He's doing a series called "Preparing for a High Definition Life." The gist of the message I heard assures us that as people who live in a relationship with Jesus experience life with more clarity and color. In my words it's more real and has greater impact than what the world without that relationship with God experiences. I'll be chewing on his analogy for a while and hope you will too.

Sermon Notes 1.03.2010 – Epiphany Sunday

Living The Promise

Living the Promise: 1. accepting the gift of faith in Jesus (entering into a personal relationship with God through faith in Jesus) 2. living our daily lives like we say we believe. It is growing to be more like Jesus in thought, word and action.

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From Isaiah: These verses are part of God’s promise fulfilled in and through Jesus who is the light of the world (John 1)

The word is given to God’s people as an insight into the reestablishing of Jerusalem and the Kingdom of David and as such is a Messianic prophecy… not only is it a word of hope but it is a reminder that God’s light shines through God’s people…

Arise. Shine. For your light has come. We reflect and shine the glory and the love of God.

Because the world is still in darkness… lack of understanding about who God is and God’s desire for us as human beings to live in relationship with God and what that relationship should look like

Darkness shall cover the earth and thick darkness the peoples (nations)

The passage identifies first the Hebrew nation; we understand it to be speaking about Jesus who is the perfection and completion of the Israel; we should also apply it to ourselves as Christians or the Body of Christ…

Today v3. is the result of our response to the coming of God’s glory in Jesus… it is a continuation of what we read in Matthew with the Magi… their recognizing and responding to the revelation of God in and through Jesus… for we are the Body of Christ as we receive the promise… the promise continues to be given through us and fulfilled in and through us as we live the promise.

From Matthew: some months after the birth of Jesus.

In Luke the emphasis on the revelation of the incarnation and birth is to the people of Israel—the children of the promise—emphasis is on role of savior (as well as King since born in Bethlehem—the house of David)

In Matthew emphasis is placed on 1. role of Jesus as King (where is the child who has been born King of the Jews?) and equally important 2. Revelation came to non-Jews so the light that Isaiah proclaims is linked to a) the same star foreseen by Balaam b) the light and glory that is Jesus.

Responses: even though they found Jesus in a barn/stable instead of the palace they accepted the truth of what was revealed to them rather than the logic of the world (in darkness… impaired understanding)… Response was focused on what they could offer—not what could be gained.

Compare to that of Herod… responded with fear… trying to hold onto what he had… thinking of what he might lose… missing the significance that what was revealed to him was worth more than anything else this world could ever hope to offer.