Jamie Strickler
NT4275 Revelation
Koester
Spring 2010
Final Paper
May 14, 2010
To the Church in Pergamum: Revelation 2:12-17
12 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword.13 “‘I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. 14 But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. 15 So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth. 17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’
Translation explanation:
It was my original intention to create my own translation of Revelation 2:12-17 however while in the process of comparing and contrasting the ESV, NRSV, NIV, NET, and NASB I found that there really isn’t any major discrepancies between these translations. The Greek is pretty straight forward. The only discrepancy that I did find between these versions was in the translation of the Greek word “.” The ESV translated the term “to follow” verses the NET translated the term as “hold to.” Neither translation changes the meaning of the passage. With this in mind I clung to the ESV translation.
Textual Variants: Taken from “A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament” by Bruce Metzger.
2:13
The omission of x P 046 most minuscules) appears to be a modification introduced by copyists who did not perceive its ascensive force here (“even”). The word is adequately supported by A C 1854 2053 2344 it61 vg syrph copsa,bo.
2:13
Although it is possible that, because of homoeoteleuton, was accidentally omitted in transcription (yet even when is included, the following -clause involves anacoluthon), the reading which explains best the origin of the others appears to be attested be A C 2053 2065 2344 it61 vg syrph copsa, bo al. Not observing that the following must be taken as an indeclinable proper name, standing in a genitival relationship with copyists sought to adjust the strained syntax by introducing either (046 1006c syr h eth al) pr (X a (X* P 1611 1854 it gig arm al).
2:13
Since the context seems to demand the genitive several modern exegetes (including Swete, Charles, Zahn) adopt Lachmann’s conjecture that, after accidental dittography of the definite article (C) the first omicron was taken as a sigma. The Committee, however, regarded the conjecture as more than compelling.
2:16
Then Textus Receptus, following X P 1 2053 vg syrh al, omits A majority of the Committee preferred the reading with which is supported by A C 046 1006 1611 1854 syrph copsa,bo , and explained its absence in other witnesses as due either to transcriptional oversight (after -or to taking with the preceding
Theories for the authorship of Revelation:
Traditionally the authorship of “Revelation” (sometimes called “The Revelation of John”) has been attributed to the beloved disciple John. External evidence for this theory came early in the Christian Tradition. Justin Martyr was the first to speak about the apostle of Christ who prophesied of the apocalypse commenting particularly on Rev. 20:4 ESV, “4 Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.” Revelation seems to be a partner to the Gospel of John because the Christian tradition is so adamant about linking the two works. Also the traditional idea that John son of Zebedee died in Ephesus links this author to Asia Minor which is the setting for Revelation. However Montanist and Dionysius of Alexandria denied that John was the author.
On the other hand the Gospel of John is the least apocalyptic book in the New Testament. Throughout history it has been used as an example of the brand of Christianity that rejects the idea of apocalyptic theology. In support of this idea John Aston calls the Gospel of John “an apocalypse in reverse” In other words the heavenly mysteries are to be sought in Jesus who “makes the Father known” not in heaven.
We will never know for sure who wrote Revelation; except for the fact that the author identifies himself simply as John. I personally would like to cling to the romantic idea that the beloved disciple did in fact write this book and the differences in the structure and symbolism between the Gospel of John and Revelation can be attributed to divine revelation that didn’t care for consistency of style and content rather sought to deliver its message to the people as it needed to be heard. Believe me I understand that this idealistic theory is not good scholarship nonetheless I, being somewhat of a traditionalist and fundamentalist, sometimes still cling to my delusions. Either way the authorship of this work is not a deal breaker. It doesn’t add or take away anything from a person’s personal faith.
Time of Authorship:
Traditionally the time of authorship of Revelation has been set in the mid 90’s A.D. during the reign of the Roman Emperor Domitian. As external evidence for this theory scholars site that Domitian punished some of the members of his household for their “atheism” which is quite possibly a reference to Christianity. Some of the Romans misunderstood Christianity to be a godless religion because they did not worship the Roman emperor nor did they fit in with the Jews. But evidence for the authorship of Revelation to be around 68 A.D., the time of Nero’s death is just as potentially valid.
Main Characters of Revelation:
John, the author, is the main character in this book. He is receiving a vision from God. This vision is a message of warning and of promise to the seven churches in Asia Minor. (Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea) This prophecy contains both the threat of the wrath of God and His promise of victory to those who he has called.
Other characters include the false teachers Nicolaitans and Jezebel as well as Satan who is sometimes pictured as a beast or a dragon.
Nicolaitans taught that it was right to indulge in the meat offered to idols and pagan gods as well as encouraged Christians to participate in sexual immorality. Nicolaitans is particular to the church of Ephesus.
Jezebel called herself a prophetess and seduced the members of the Church in Thyatira into sexually immoral acts as well as heresy. It is not certain if the prophetess was actually named Jezebel or if this was an allusion to the Jezebel who led Israel into the worship of false deities.
Purpose of Revelation:
The purpose the author had for writing the letter of Revelation was to bring a message of comfort to Christians who were suffering and to encourage them in their faithful witness. John uses prophetic portraits of the victory that already belongs to those chosen by God to be in the Book of Life. This victory comes in the message of the risen and living Lamb of God Jesus Christ. Also this letter served as a warning to the seven churches of the wrath of God that would fall upon them if they did not repent of their current sinful practices. Revelation defines these sinful dealings in different ways particular to each congregation’s own practice in the dealings of unfaithfulness.
Law Themes:
God communicates with His chosen for people written in the Book of Life through His Word in terms of law and gospel therefore it is pertinent to discuss these particular themes found in Revelation. One of the main themes of Revelation is t apply the law and show where it is at work in the lives of the chosen. The law themes found in Revelation include: the deception of false prophets, call to repentance, beasts, dragon, God’s wrath, plagues, torment, woe, bottomless pit, tribulation, Babylon the great, second death, judgment, call to patient endurance. Each of these themes are tactical ways in which God, the world, and the Devil are accusing believers in Asia Minor in the time of Revelation as well as today.
Gospel Themes:
Another main purpose of Revelation is to deliver the gospel promise of Christ to God’s chosen whose names are written in the Book of Life. God’s people are a people who are engaged in sin and are feeling the crushing weight of the law but through the weight of the law they become aware of their sin and realize that they are a people in need of a Savior. (Romans 3:20 EVS, “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.”) This Savior has already arrived and completed everything that is necessary for their salvation. This message is communicated in terms of the gospel promise. The gospel themes include in Revelations are as follows: the Word of God, made a kingdom, priests, Jesus’ love, Lamb of God, truth, Christ who conquers, Lord of God Almighty, tree of life, Bride of the Lamb (church), God is faithful and true, water of life.
The Culture and Environment of the Church in Pergamum:
At the time in which Revelation was written Pergamum was the center of the cult of the emperor hence the reference to “Satan’s throne” in Rev. 2:13. In contrast to the stones mentioned in Rev. 2:17 which were white and pure the stone of Pergamum was dark. Pergamum was a cultural and administrative center of Asia Minor. The good Rev. Dr. Koester describes the city this way in his book entitled “Revelation and the End of All Things,” “The city was built around a citadel hill that rose a thousand feet above the plains, dominating the surrounding region. Many of the city’s public buildings were situated on terraces that were built into the side of the hill, and at its summit was an acropolis with a massive altar to Zeus. The city was the home of a renowned library, a temple to the emperor Augustus, and a shrine of Asclepius, the god of healing. Those seeking judgment in legal cases came before the Roman proconsul at Pergamum for hearings. It is possible that the epithet “Satan’s throne” refers to one of the pagan temples or to the Roman presence in the city, although it can best be understood in more general terms as the power that threatens the church.”
The Lord’s complaint against Pergamum:
It is obvious from our passage of study above (Rev. 2:12-17) that the complaints that the Lord has against His Church in Pergamum are that they were eating meat sacrificed to idols, and that they indulged in the practices of fornication or sexual immorality. The Lord was angry because the people were following the false teachings of Nicolaitans and Balaam; both of which encouraged the practice of sexual immorality and the eating of meat sacrificed to idols.
Imagery in Rev. 2:12-17:
Images or “picture language” are a common tool utilized by John in his letter to the seven churches. Revelation utilizes picture language to help illustrate or bring to life the reality of the struggle with the unseen forces which are running ramped and are engaged in battle in Asia Minor. The images that are used in our passage of study (Rev. 2:12-17) are: the double-edged sword, the throne of Satan, the promise of hidden manna, and the white stone with a name only know to those who receive it. I have already discussed the throne of Satan in the above section.
The double-edge sword that is coming out of the mouth of Christ is the image of the Word of God. This illustrates that Christ fights not with sword of shield rather he fights by preaching the Word of God. For God to speak is to do. For instance Genesis 1:3 ESV, “And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.” God created all things by speaking them into existence. His power comes from His proclaimed Word.
The double-sword image shows that God’s Word is functioning two ways in this passage: to kill and to make alive. God’s judgment is his proclamation that you are a sinner and therefore you are put to death by the wrath of God for your sinfulness. In Rev. 2:16 Jesus says, ESV “16 Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth.” This is a warning that if the people of the Church in Pergamum do not turn form their sinful ways then God will come and pronounce them sinners ending their lives.
But there is also a word of promise in Christ’s proclamation in this passage. Rev 2:17 ESV, “17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.” In other words God is saying to those who believe the One who sent Jesus and are terrified by this warning (Psalm 111:10 ESV, “10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!) and do in fact turn form their sinful ways have ears to hear. These are spiritual ears given to a chosen child of God for the purpose of recognizing their Father’s voice and obeying. Those who hear and turn form their wicked ways will receive their daily bread from their Father and will be pure in His sight.
The hidden manna promised to the faithful that turn form their sinful ways goes hand in hand with the image of a white stone with a name on it. For the hidden manna is in fact the white stone. Hidden manna is a reference to Jesus Christ the bread of life and the white stone (white being the color of Christ’s robe and hair therefore a positive color in Revelation) posses the name of the rider of the white horse. This name, of course, is the name of Christ and everyone who turns from sin will poses the name of Christ in contrast to the worshipers of the beast who are identified by a mark and not a name. This imagery comes from Isaiah 62:2; 65:15 ESV, “2 The nations shall see your righteousness, and all the kings your glory, and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will give.” “5 You shall leave your name to my chosen for a curse, and the Lord God will put you to death, but his servants he will call by another name.” Referring to the message of the Old Testament prophets in image and not in exact indication is a common practice of John in Revelation.
Conclusion:
While John’s letter to the seven churches was written to a particular group at a particular time I believe that its message is still relevant to Christians today. Revelation is not a prediction of events to come that students of the Bible need to decode through world events and put on a time line. Rather it is a message of the coming wrath of God for those who do not repent of their wicked ways as well as a word of promise to those whose names are written in the Book of Life and are suffering under the persecution of the law, world, and the devil. Who among us modern Christians has not partaken, or at least thought of partaking, in fornication or sexual morality? We may not have a whole lot of pagan God sacrifices today however we do have idols. And we sacrifice our time, our money, and our children to these idols in the name of connivance, entertainment, and sometimes just in the name of fitting in. Turn from you wicked ways Pergamum (America) or the wrath of God is coming.
Bibliography:
1. Bauckham, Richard. New Testament Theology Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, Sao Paulo, Delhi
2. Friesen, Steven, Satan's throne, imperial cults and the social settings of Revelation, in Journal for the Study of the New Testament 27 (2005) 351-373
3. Koester, Craig R. Revelation and the End of All Things. William B. Erdman’s Publishing Company. Grand Rapids, Michigan / Cambridge, U.K.
4. Metzger, Bruce M. A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament. United Bible Societies
5. The New Interpreter’s Bible Vol.XII Abingdon Press Nashville
6. The Lutheran Study Bible Concordia Publishing House Saint Louis
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Jamie Strickler
Sermon 5 Jacob Wrestles God
Jacob Wrestles with God
22 The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had. 24 And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. 25 When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. 26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28 Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” 29 Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. 30 So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.” 31 The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket, because he touched the socket of Jacob's hip on the sinew of the thigh.
Was Jacob really wrestling a physical person or is today’s story symbolic of the struggle that was going on inside of him? Well it’s not like we can ask him now is it? So I guess that we will just have to take the Bible at its Word and assume that there was someone else there physically wrestling with Jacob.
Hosea tells us that Jacob wrestled and angel on behalf of God. Far be it from me to argue with the Word of God but Jacob named the place “Peniel” which means “the face of God.” So I am thinking whether it was an angel or God in the form of flesh; something profound happened to our friend Jacob that night.
Last week I talked about Romans 8 which is God’s promise to you the elect; the promise of future glory as co-heirs with Christ. Romans 9 tells us that God chose Jacob over Esau before they were born. The promise that St. Paul speaks of for you as co-heirs in Christ was promised to you before you were even born. You like Jacob are God’s chosen.
The question might be running through your minds, “How do you know that we are the elect; the chosen?” Well it has to do with how God elects. Romans 10:14-17, “14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” God calls His elect to Himself by sending to you a called and sent preacher to deliver the promise of Jesus Christ; better known as the gospel. You see I am a called and sent preacher standing before you today. This call is not in my own mind rather it was and internal call validated and confirmed by Christ’s church. The very fact that there is a called and sent preacher before you today is the very proof that God is calling you to himself and validates that you are His elect.
So what does all of this have to do with Jacob? Well like Jacob you were elected before your birth. Now up until the today’s reading Jacob certainly isn’t acting like God’s elect; wrestling his brother in the womb, taking his brother’s birth rite in a very unethical way, steeling his brothers blessing by posing as Esau, and tricking his father-in-law in a revenge scheme for having been tricked. Granted his father-in-law had it coming to him but so did Jacob.
But now at the ford of the Jabbok, Jacob has burned his bridge, so to speak, with his brother and his father-in-law and has no other place to go. Just like an alcoholic or an addict Jacob has no other choice but to surrender to a power greater than himself to return to sanity. Jacob must change his ways and he cannot do it under his own power.
The 12 steps of AA and other programs go like this:
1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become
unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to
sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we
understood Him.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature
of our wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make
amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do
so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly
admitted it.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with
God, as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us
and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps, we tried to
carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our
affairs.
Copyright _ A.A. World Services, Inc
Jacob is fulfilling these steps all at once. He is wrestling with God, because he cannot face who he has been alone. He cannot stay sane and complete step 4, searching and fearless inventory. Jacob is wrestling with his old Adam, the old self. He is God’s chosen and at this point God has decided to have him start acting like it. But this requires Jacob to wrestle have his old self put to death so that the new might come.
Jacob fights valiantly with God and holds His own. But as the day breaks God gets tired of this and commands Jacob to let Him go. Is this a test? Is God seeing how strong the desire to change is inside Jacob? I believe that God gave Jacob both the resistance and the ability to cling to His Lord and say, “I will not let you go until you bless me.” IN my own struggles with my past I hear that as, “Daddy HELP ME I CAN’T GO ON UNLESS YOU ARE WITH ME. THE PAIN IS TOO GREAT TO HANDLE ON MY OWN.” And here it is, broken, wounded, and exhausted Jacob still clings to his Lord for comfort and hope. Then the redemptive moment is at hand. God give Jacob the chance to receive a blessing but this time in a honest and straight forth way. “WHAT IS YOUR NAME?!!!” Jacob must own up, he must admit who he is and what he has done, “I am Jacob.” Jacob means “HE CHEATS.” Yes Jacob has to admit that he is a cheater. He is God’s chosen but is nothing more than a con-man and a crook. By admitting that he is Jacob he has made a searching and fearless inventory and has admitted to God, himself and one other person the nature of his wrongs; he has become entirely ready for God to remove his defects of character. By asking for a blessing; BROKEN, WOUNDED, and EXHAUSTED, the cheater is ready to have God destroy his old self and become a new creation. God gives Jacob a new identity. He becomes Israel, one who wrestles with God. Israel thinks that this is too good to be true. “Is that it? God is your grace so great that a undeserving cheat like me can simply become a new by your proclamation? PLEASE TELL ME YOU’RE NAME! I NEED TO KNOW! ARE YOU REALLY GOD? DO YOU REALLY LOVE ME?” But God has already given Israel all that he needs to know, “Why do you ask my name?” “I AM WHO I AM.” I AM AND YOU KNOW IT. BUT IF I MUST PROVE IT TO YOU THEN HERE, HERE IS YOU BLESSING.” And Israel knows for sure, “I have seen the face of God and lived.” Israel now goes to make amends to those whom he has harmed and carries the message to other.
What lasted one night for Israel, Martin Luther tells us, takes us a life time. Being prepared to have the old self put to death, Luther says, is a daily dying and rising. Today some of you are in the midst of a terrible struggle with yourselves. The law, the devil and the world, are accusing you of your sin. It is convicting you and you feel as though your hip has been wounded. You are limping through the battle. I declare to you that your Lord is with you in this time of struggle! Cling to Him as tightly as you can! Read His word, pray, and talk with other Christians. Not because you can gain the power to bring God to yourself. You cannot. Do these things because today THIS DAY God has said to you, “I HAVE ALREADY GIVEN YOU ALL THAT YOU NEED.” I HAVE GIVEN YOU JESUS CHRIST BROKEN, CRUCIFIED, AND RAISED FROM THE DEAD! FOR YOU!” Amen.
Sermon 5 Jacob Wrestles God
Jacob Wrestles with God
22 The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had. 24 And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. 25 When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. 26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28 Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” 29 Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. 30 So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.” 31 The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket, because he touched the socket of Jacob's hip on the sinew of the thigh.
Was Jacob really wrestling a physical person or is today’s story symbolic of the struggle that was going on inside of him? Well it’s not like we can ask him now is it? So I guess that we will just have to take the Bible at its Word and assume that there was someone else there physically wrestling with Jacob.
Hosea tells us that Jacob wrestled and angel on behalf of God. Far be it from me to argue with the Word of God but Jacob named the place “Peniel” which means “the face of God.” So I am thinking whether it was an angel or God in the form of flesh; something profound happened to our friend Jacob that night.
Last week I talked about Romans 8 which is God’s promise to you the elect; the promise of future glory as co-heirs with Christ. Romans 9 tells us that God chose Jacob over Esau before they were born. The promise that St. Paul speaks of for you as co-heirs in Christ was promised to you before you were even born. You like Jacob are God’s chosen.
The question might be running through your minds, “How do you know that we are the elect; the chosen?” Well it has to do with how God elects. Romans 10:14-17, “14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” God calls His elect to Himself by sending to you a called and sent preacher to deliver the promise of Jesus Christ; better known as the gospel. You see I am a called and sent preacher standing before you today. This call is not in my own mind rather it was and internal call validated and confirmed by Christ’s church. The very fact that there is a called and sent preacher before you today is the very proof that God is calling you to himself and validates that you are His elect.
So what does all of this have to do with Jacob? Well like Jacob you were elected before your birth. Now up until the today’s reading Jacob certainly isn’t acting like God’s elect; wrestling his brother in the womb, taking his brother’s birth rite in a very unethical way, steeling his brothers blessing by posing as Esau, and tricking his father-in-law in a revenge scheme for having been tricked. Granted his father-in-law had it coming to him but so did Jacob.
But now at the ford of the Jabbok, Jacob has burned his bridge, so to speak, with his brother and his father-in-law and has no other place to go. Just like an alcoholic or an addict Jacob has no other choice but to surrender to a power greater than himself to return to sanity. Jacob must change his ways and he cannot do it under his own power.
The 12 steps of AA and other programs go like this:
1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become
unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to
sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we
understood Him.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature
of our wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make
amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do
so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly
admitted it.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with
God, as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us
and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps, we tried to
carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our
affairs.
Copyright _ A.A. World Services, Inc
Jacob is fulfilling these steps all at once. He is wrestling with God, because he cannot face who he has been alone. He cannot stay sane and complete step 4, searching and fearless inventory. Jacob is wrestling with his old Adam, the old self. He is God’s chosen and at this point God has decided to have him start acting like it. But this requires Jacob to wrestle have his old self put to death so that the new might come.
Jacob fights valiantly with God and holds His own. But as the day breaks God gets tired of this and commands Jacob to let Him go. Is this a test? Is God seeing how strong the desire to change is inside Jacob? I believe that God gave Jacob both the resistance and the ability to cling to His Lord and say, “I will not let you go until you bless me.” IN my own struggles with my past I hear that as, “Daddy HELP ME I CAN’T GO ON UNLESS YOU ARE WITH ME. THE PAIN IS TOO GREAT TO HANDLE ON MY OWN.” And here it is, broken, wounded, and exhausted Jacob still clings to his Lord for comfort and hope. Then the redemptive moment is at hand. God give Jacob the chance to receive a blessing but this time in a honest and straight forth way. “WHAT IS YOUR NAME?!!!” Jacob must own up, he must admit who he is and what he has done, “I am Jacob.” Jacob means “HE CHEATS.” Yes Jacob has to admit that he is a cheater. He is God’s chosen but is nothing more than a con-man and a crook. By admitting that he is Jacob he has made a searching and fearless inventory and has admitted to God, himself and one other person the nature of his wrongs; he has become entirely ready for God to remove his defects of character. By asking for a blessing; BROKEN, WOUNDED, and EXHAUSTED, the cheater is ready to have God destroy his old self and become a new creation. God gives Jacob a new identity. He becomes Israel, one who wrestles with God. Israel thinks that this is too good to be true. “Is that it? God is your grace so great that a undeserving cheat like me can simply become a new by your proclamation? PLEASE TELL ME YOU’RE NAME! I NEED TO KNOW! ARE YOU REALLY GOD? DO YOU REALLY LOVE ME?” But God has already given Israel all that he needs to know, “Why do you ask my name?” “I AM WHO I AM.” I AM AND YOU KNOW IT. BUT IF I MUST PROVE IT TO YOU THEN HERE, HERE IS YOU BLESSING.” And Israel knows for sure, “I have seen the face of God and lived.” Israel now goes to make amends to those whom he has harmed and carries the message to other.
What lasted one night for Israel, Martin Luther tells us, takes us a life time. Being prepared to have the old self put to death, Luther says, is a daily dying and rising. Today some of you are in the midst of a terrible struggle with yourselves. The law, the devil and the world, are accusing you of your sin. It is convicting you and you feel as though your hip has been wounded. You are limping through the battle. I declare to you that your Lord is with you in this time of struggle! Cling to Him as tightly as you can! Read His word, pray, and talk with other Christians. Not because you can gain the power to bring God to yourself. You cannot. Do these things because today THIS DAY God has said to you, “I HAVE ALREADY GIVEN YOU ALL THAT YOU NEED.” I HAVE GIVEN YOU JESUS CHRIST BROKEN, CRUCIFIED, AND RAISED FROM THE DEAD! FOR YOU!” Amen.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Matthew 13:31-33
The Mustard Seed and the Leaven
31 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”
33 He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.”
Matthew 13:44-52
The Parable of the Hidden Treasure
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
The Parable of the Pearl of Great Value
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
The Parable of the Net
47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. 48 When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. 49 So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
New and Old Treasures
51 “Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” 52 And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”
I once knew a man named Randy who was a partner in a management training company. He lived a upper middle class lifestyle with his wife and their two sons.
Randy had had some exposure to the Bible and Christianity in his teens while he was in a rock band. He once shared with me that he took a girl back stage to their bus one night, as he did most nights, and experienced something quite to the contrary of what he expected. Randy envisioned an evening of once again indulging his flesh but soon discovered that this girl was a Christian and wasn’t buying into any of his false promises and empty rhetoric. To appease her and to try to win her confidence he agreed to read the Bible with her. Randy couldn’t remember exactly what he read that night but when he heard the description of a sinner and the promise of a life free from sin he started to cry. He cried for the next six hours straight. That night he quit his rock band and returned to college.
When I met Randy that first encounter with the Word of God seemed to be lost in him. Sure he attended church with his wife and kids but there was no fire or passion in his profession of faith. Honestly I took him as one who had never actually died to himself since he seemed very proud of his income and his personal success and was unafraid to share how proud he was with anyone that would listen.
At the nagging of his wife Randy took a Christ based course, through their church, exploring false childhood paradigms. This course ripped open every wound that he had sought to cover up with his facade of personal success. Randy was again reminded of his sinfulness and failure to be what God had called him to be.
One night tearfully and painfully confessing to his wife all of his questionable business dealings and his flirtations with other women, his wife asked him, “What is it then that you think that God wants you to be?” He looked her in the eye and said, “I want to be a pastor.” Randy said that he felt like he had undone one button and a whole suite of heavy armor had fallen from him. He was completely unburdened and completely vulnerable.
Randy acted upon that experience solely relying upon faith. The partners at his firm though he was insane but they agreed to buy out his portion of the business over a two year period. This gave Randy and his family a monthly income for the next two years as he pursued his MA in Christian studies.
Every time it seemed like he or his family were in need of something it appeared to them through the caring and sacrifice of God’s saints. For instance they were running low on groceries and a friend of his showed up to his house with half of a deer to give them. He needed car repairs and someone from their congregation would slip him an envelope with just enough money to cover his expenses.
Today Randy has a very successful house church with several dedicated attendees. Both he and his congregants work to serve people in their neighborhood and city. They do simple things like mow their elderly neighbor’s lawn and more advanced things like supply free marriage counseling. They even find time to minister to the homeless.
Today we heard Jesus describe the Kingdom of Heaven as being like a mustard seed. The smallest of seeds planted and then grows into the largest plant in the garden. Once the tree is mature all different kinds of birds make their nests in it. I believe that just such a seed of faith was planted in Randy in his teenage years and when it reached fruition it drew to itself people of all walks of life. For instance one day Randy and I were walking through the flooded riverside homeless camps helping homeless folks rescue whatever they could of their possessions before it washed away. The very next day Randy and I had lunch in a private restaurant on the top of a building with corporate executives discussing how they could use Biblical principles in their management training classes. Randy truly attracted all kinds of birds indeed. As we heard in our reading today the leaven of faith slowly worked through the whole batch of dough.
We also heard Jesus talk about the Kingdom of Heaven as being a pearl or land with treasure buried on it. Randy is like both the pearl merchant and the land owner. He gave up all his worldly success and business possessions for the privilege of serving his Lord Jesus Christ through service to his neighbors. He surrendered all the things that gave him identity in this world so that he could be free to follow his God ordained calling.
Randy is also like the fisherman in our reading today who threw the net into the sea catching fish of every kind. We already discussed that through his constant witness my friend attracts all different kinds of people. But unlike the coming judgment Randy is not sorting fish rather he is being a witness to the fish that he catches. He is seeking to share the Word of God with the fish he catches so that the fish that are the right kind of fish will come to know their identity in Christ and go out into the sea and serve their fellow fish.
And finally, Randy is a scribe for Christ who like a house master that brings out all his treasures both what is old and new. In other words through his service and preaching Randy plants new seeds in the people that he comes into contact with as well as harvesting aged seeds that are now ripe and ready to be of service and fulfill their calling.
So today you heard of the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven and the coming of judgment. My friends if the seed of faith is planted in you and is growing than you should have no fear of the coming judgment because if that seed is in you then you are the right kind of fish. The fact that you are here now listening to my voice preach the Word of God is proof that that seed is within you therefore you are all the right kind of fish. I encourage you to go now and care for that seed of faith that has been planted in you and is growing into maturity. Come to church on Sundays, attend Bible studies, establish a daily time for prayer, and look for ways to serve your neighbor. Through these activities you will nourish your seed of a faith and come to know the freedom that my friend Bob found. The freedom of a Christian is to be what God created you to be and not what others expect you to be. Go and serve God in ways that make you happy and in ways you feel called by God to serve. I give you the permission to be free Christians, free to love, serve and forgive others. Not to earn the privilege of being the right kind of fish but because you are already the right kind of fish.
The Mustard Seed and the Leaven
31 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”
33 He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.”
Matthew 13:44-52
The Parable of the Hidden Treasure
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
The Parable of the Pearl of Great Value
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
The Parable of the Net
47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. 48 When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. 49 So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
New and Old Treasures
51 “Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” 52 And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”
I once knew a man named Randy who was a partner in a management training company. He lived a upper middle class lifestyle with his wife and their two sons.
Randy had had some exposure to the Bible and Christianity in his teens while he was in a rock band. He once shared with me that he took a girl back stage to their bus one night, as he did most nights, and experienced something quite to the contrary of what he expected. Randy envisioned an evening of once again indulging his flesh but soon discovered that this girl was a Christian and wasn’t buying into any of his false promises and empty rhetoric. To appease her and to try to win her confidence he agreed to read the Bible with her. Randy couldn’t remember exactly what he read that night but when he heard the description of a sinner and the promise of a life free from sin he started to cry. He cried for the next six hours straight. That night he quit his rock band and returned to college.
When I met Randy that first encounter with the Word of God seemed to be lost in him. Sure he attended church with his wife and kids but there was no fire or passion in his profession of faith. Honestly I took him as one who had never actually died to himself since he seemed very proud of his income and his personal success and was unafraid to share how proud he was with anyone that would listen.
At the nagging of his wife Randy took a Christ based course, through their church, exploring false childhood paradigms. This course ripped open every wound that he had sought to cover up with his facade of personal success. Randy was again reminded of his sinfulness and failure to be what God had called him to be.
One night tearfully and painfully confessing to his wife all of his questionable business dealings and his flirtations with other women, his wife asked him, “What is it then that you think that God wants you to be?” He looked her in the eye and said, “I want to be a pastor.” Randy said that he felt like he had undone one button and a whole suite of heavy armor had fallen from him. He was completely unburdened and completely vulnerable.
Randy acted upon that experience solely relying upon faith. The partners at his firm though he was insane but they agreed to buy out his portion of the business over a two year period. This gave Randy and his family a monthly income for the next two years as he pursued his MA in Christian studies.
Every time it seemed like he or his family were in need of something it appeared to them through the caring and sacrifice of God’s saints. For instance they were running low on groceries and a friend of his showed up to his house with half of a deer to give them. He needed car repairs and someone from their congregation would slip him an envelope with just enough money to cover his expenses.
Today Randy has a very successful house church with several dedicated attendees. Both he and his congregants work to serve people in their neighborhood and city. They do simple things like mow their elderly neighbor’s lawn and more advanced things like supply free marriage counseling. They even find time to minister to the homeless.
Today we heard Jesus describe the Kingdom of Heaven as being like a mustard seed. The smallest of seeds planted and then grows into the largest plant in the garden. Once the tree is mature all different kinds of birds make their nests in it. I believe that just such a seed of faith was planted in Randy in his teenage years and when it reached fruition it drew to itself people of all walks of life. For instance one day Randy and I were walking through the flooded riverside homeless camps helping homeless folks rescue whatever they could of their possessions before it washed away. The very next day Randy and I had lunch in a private restaurant on the top of a building with corporate executives discussing how they could use Biblical principles in their management training classes. Randy truly attracted all kinds of birds indeed. As we heard in our reading today the leaven of faith slowly worked through the whole batch of dough.
We also heard Jesus talk about the Kingdom of Heaven as being a pearl or land with treasure buried on it. Randy is like both the pearl merchant and the land owner. He gave up all his worldly success and business possessions for the privilege of serving his Lord Jesus Christ through service to his neighbors. He surrendered all the things that gave him identity in this world so that he could be free to follow his God ordained calling.
Randy is also like the fisherman in our reading today who threw the net into the sea catching fish of every kind. We already discussed that through his constant witness my friend attracts all different kinds of people. But unlike the coming judgment Randy is not sorting fish rather he is being a witness to the fish that he catches. He is seeking to share the Word of God with the fish he catches so that the fish that are the right kind of fish will come to know their identity in Christ and go out into the sea and serve their fellow fish.
And finally, Randy is a scribe for Christ who like a house master that brings out all his treasures both what is old and new. In other words through his service and preaching Randy plants new seeds in the people that he comes into contact with as well as harvesting aged seeds that are now ripe and ready to be of service and fulfill their calling.
So today you heard of the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven and the coming of judgment. My friends if the seed of faith is planted in you and is growing than you should have no fear of the coming judgment because if that seed is in you then you are the right kind of fish. The fact that you are here now listening to my voice preach the Word of God is proof that that seed is within you therefore you are all the right kind of fish. I encourage you to go now and care for that seed of faith that has been planted in you and is growing into maturity. Come to church on Sundays, attend Bible studies, establish a daily time for prayer, and look for ways to serve your neighbor. Through these activities you will nourish your seed of a faith and come to know the freedom that my friend Bob found. The freedom of a Christian is to be what God created you to be and not what others expect you to be. Go and serve God in ways that make you happy and in ways you feel called by God to serve. I give you the permission to be free Christians, free to love, serve and forgive others. Not to earn the privilege of being the right kind of fish but because you are already the right kind of fish.
Romans 8:12-17
12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
In our reading today St. Paul seems to have both good news and bad. The good news is that you are claimed as heirs with Christ because you are lead by the Spirit. You no longer belong to the flesh because the deeds of the flesh have been put to death. The context in the Greek tells us that the putting to death of the flesh is a continuing action. The death of the flesh is not just a onetime affair rather it is a daily dying. That is, of course, the bad news; the thought of daily dying to the desires of the flesh, the very desires that seem the most natural to you, and putting your faith in the leading of the Holy Spirit sounds like a tough act to perform. And it is. But St. Paul assures you that you are not to fear because the leading of the Spirit bears witness to the truth about your identity and the truth is that you are “children of God.”
You are children of God through faith; the gift of faith was bestowed upon you at your baptism. The very act of baptism is the claiming of a child for Christ. The imagery in baptism is much like the imagery Paul uses in Romans; the putting to death of the flesh and the rising to life as a new creation, claimed as a child of God thus the leading of the Spirit.
But there is even worse news then the death of your flesh in Paul’s message today; that news is the message that as Christ suffered you will be joined in His suffering so that you may be glorified with Him.
Are you suffering today? I know many who are. How do you make sense of Paul’s message that God knows that we must suffer as a child of God? I have decided that there is a divine conspiracy in the Christian message in our world today. The conspiracy states that, “If you are chosen to follow Jesus than all you’re suffering will cease and you will have every material possession that you desire. After all God wants you to be happy why wouldn’t he give you all the desires of your flesh?” What a load of garbage! That promise is empty and if you hang your faith on the conspiracy then you will be sorely disappointed.
Siddhārtha Gautama was the founder of Buddhism. Gautama was a prince and was kept within the gates of his palace all his life. One day he decided to take a walk outside his palace and say the suffering of the people. He saw the wretched conditions that the people of his time endured. He immediately renounced his throne, left his wife and children, and formed the Buddhist philosophy. This philosophy states that suffering is caused by desire and we you have no desire that you will not suffer. Well he was right. However I submit to you that it is exactly the sufferings that you endure that makes you who you are. Only a coward would avoid things like falling in love, having children, or preaching the gospel because there is a chance that in these events their heart might get broken.
The Christian identity is not an easy one. I fall short daily. Sometimes I scream at God, “I have had enough! I am done, I quit, if you want these freaking people then claim them yourself! This is not the life that I desire. This life is more pain that I can handle! I don’t want to even get up in the morning! Jesus, you have sold me a false bill of goods. I don’t care about eternal life when I must watch my family and friends suffer right here and now in the only reality that I know. Didn’t you go to the cross so that my sins would be forgiven? What is with this mess that I find myself in? I am so tired of being a maggot on a pile of poop, eating said poop to survive. I used to make an obscene amount of money and want for nothing financially. Why did you take that away? Why must I suffer the life of a maggot? Whyyyyyyyyyy?”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ry6udsW9leA
Then I hear Jesus softly responding to my lament, “I am not afraid of your pile of poop circumstances. I came into your world and suffered your fate so that you may have eternal life. I am omnipresent, present everywhere. Just as present in church on Sunday as in your pile of poop covered with maggots; I love you; you are a co-heir with me to the Father’s riches. This is your identity, a child of God forever and ever. Your circumstances do not define your identity; being claimed by me is what makes you who you are. You no longer live according to the flesh because you were baptized and I claimed you, I choose you to follow me not the other way around. And what seems like suffering is tearing you away from gratifying the desires of the flesh. That is all that you have known in this world. But these things that you feel make you hole yet are against my ways are in fact not good for you. You’re a father, you know that sometimes you must say no because you love your child not because you are punishing them.
I suffer with you, you are not alone! You are not a slave to this world, you are mine. You are free if only you would realize that the state of sin is the pile of crap and I came into that pile and ransomed you out for eternal life. For now though it is my will that you stay in that pile because I love you just as I love your neighbor and I have chosen you to call your neighbor to myself. Your bonds have been releases you are no longer a slave to sins of the flesh you are free because I have claimed you as a child of God. I claimed you at your baptism! YOU ARE MIN E Therefore regardless of your circumstances Your identity is in me.”
Understand that suffering the death of flesh functions as law in our lives. The law exists to make you aware that you are sinners and unable to obtain salvation on your own. The law can only accuse and put to death the sinner, until Jesus invades. Then the gospel promise comes in to your lives apart from the law but attested to by the law and the prophets. The gospel is delivered to you by a true, called and sent preacher that points to the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world and proclaims to you, “I have claimed you by the authority of Jesus Christ through faith.” Jesus accomplished for you what the law was powerless to do.
Earlier I played a video of lament, a video of a crushed sinner crying out to God for mercy; challenging Him, if you will, to come into that sinner’s life. I end today with another visual aid. The message of the gospel from a called and sent preacher, the message is fittingly entitled “Inheritance;” the very promise that delivered to you today in our reading.
PLAY VIDEO! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEisSxR2cps
Amen.
12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
In our reading today St. Paul seems to have both good news and bad. The good news is that you are claimed as heirs with Christ because you are lead by the Spirit. You no longer belong to the flesh because the deeds of the flesh have been put to death. The context in the Greek tells us that the putting to death of the flesh is a continuing action. The death of the flesh is not just a onetime affair rather it is a daily dying. That is, of course, the bad news; the thought of daily dying to the desires of the flesh, the very desires that seem the most natural to you, and putting your faith in the leading of the Holy Spirit sounds like a tough act to perform. And it is. But St. Paul assures you that you are not to fear because the leading of the Spirit bears witness to the truth about your identity and the truth is that you are “children of God.”
You are children of God through faith; the gift of faith was bestowed upon you at your baptism. The very act of baptism is the claiming of a child for Christ. The imagery in baptism is much like the imagery Paul uses in Romans; the putting to death of the flesh and the rising to life as a new creation, claimed as a child of God thus the leading of the Spirit.
But there is even worse news then the death of your flesh in Paul’s message today; that news is the message that as Christ suffered you will be joined in His suffering so that you may be glorified with Him.
Are you suffering today? I know many who are. How do you make sense of Paul’s message that God knows that we must suffer as a child of God? I have decided that there is a divine conspiracy in the Christian message in our world today. The conspiracy states that, “If you are chosen to follow Jesus than all you’re suffering will cease and you will have every material possession that you desire. After all God wants you to be happy why wouldn’t he give you all the desires of your flesh?” What a load of garbage! That promise is empty and if you hang your faith on the conspiracy then you will be sorely disappointed.
Siddhārtha Gautama was the founder of Buddhism. Gautama was a prince and was kept within the gates of his palace all his life. One day he decided to take a walk outside his palace and say the suffering of the people. He saw the wretched conditions that the people of his time endured. He immediately renounced his throne, left his wife and children, and formed the Buddhist philosophy. This philosophy states that suffering is caused by desire and we you have no desire that you will not suffer. Well he was right. However I submit to you that it is exactly the sufferings that you endure that makes you who you are. Only a coward would avoid things like falling in love, having children, or preaching the gospel because there is a chance that in these events their heart might get broken.
The Christian identity is not an easy one. I fall short daily. Sometimes I scream at God, “I have had enough! I am done, I quit, if you want these freaking people then claim them yourself! This is not the life that I desire. This life is more pain that I can handle! I don’t want to even get up in the morning! Jesus, you have sold me a false bill of goods. I don’t care about eternal life when I must watch my family and friends suffer right here and now in the only reality that I know. Didn’t you go to the cross so that my sins would be forgiven? What is with this mess that I find myself in? I am so tired of being a maggot on a pile of poop, eating said poop to survive. I used to make an obscene amount of money and want for nothing financially. Why did you take that away? Why must I suffer the life of a maggot? Whyyyyyyyyyy?”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ry6udsW9leA
Then I hear Jesus softly responding to my lament, “I am not afraid of your pile of poop circumstances. I came into your world and suffered your fate so that you may have eternal life. I am omnipresent, present everywhere. Just as present in church on Sunday as in your pile of poop covered with maggots; I love you; you are a co-heir with me to the Father’s riches. This is your identity, a child of God forever and ever. Your circumstances do not define your identity; being claimed by me is what makes you who you are. You no longer live according to the flesh because you were baptized and I claimed you, I choose you to follow me not the other way around. And what seems like suffering is tearing you away from gratifying the desires of the flesh. That is all that you have known in this world. But these things that you feel make you hole yet are against my ways are in fact not good for you. You’re a father, you know that sometimes you must say no because you love your child not because you are punishing them.
I suffer with you, you are not alone! You are not a slave to this world, you are mine. You are free if only you would realize that the state of sin is the pile of crap and I came into that pile and ransomed you out for eternal life. For now though it is my will that you stay in that pile because I love you just as I love your neighbor and I have chosen you to call your neighbor to myself. Your bonds have been releases you are no longer a slave to sins of the flesh you are free because I have claimed you as a child of God. I claimed you at your baptism! YOU ARE MIN E Therefore regardless of your circumstances Your identity is in me.”
Understand that suffering the death of flesh functions as law in our lives. The law exists to make you aware that you are sinners and unable to obtain salvation on your own. The law can only accuse and put to death the sinner, until Jesus invades. Then the gospel promise comes in to your lives apart from the law but attested to by the law and the prophets. The gospel is delivered to you by a true, called and sent preacher that points to the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world and proclaims to you, “I have claimed you by the authority of Jesus Christ through faith.” Jesus accomplished for you what the law was powerless to do.
Earlier I played a video of lament, a video of a crushed sinner crying out to God for mercy; challenging Him, if you will, to come into that sinner’s life. I end today with another visual aid. The message of the gospel from a called and sent preacher, the message is fittingly entitled “Inheritance;” the very promise that delivered to you today in our reading.
PLAY VIDEO! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEisSxR2cps
Amen.
Woman at the Well
5 So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob's well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.
7 A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” 8 (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” 11 The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” 13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” 17 The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” 19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”
27 Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?” 28 So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” 30 They went out of the town and were coming to him.
31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” 32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” 33 So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” 34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. 35 Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. 36 Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. 37 For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”
39 Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed because of his word. 42 They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”
Deb’s story is a sad one. I first met her when she came to our church service. She was very scary looking with dark black hair and black painted fingernails. She tried to conceal her many tattoos but they rose up above the collar of her shirt and covered her hands. I wondered how to approach such a person. I wanted to be welcoming but I was skeptical of her motivations for attending our church. After the service I introduced myself to her and she began to cry and asked if I had time to visit with her.
I could hardly believe my ears when she told me that she was a high priestess of a satanic cult and she had come to our service because she was taught that evil spirits flee from people when they attended church services and she wanted to be available for those evil spirits to come and make a home in her. However that day she had heard the gospel of Jesus Christ preached that day in a way she had never heard it preached before and something as she put it, “had changed within her.”
Upon further visits with Deb we found out that she was the product of an affair that her father had had with the single woman who lived down the street from her family. Her step mother took her into their family but never gave her the attention and love that she needed. For instance one time the family went on a trip to Disney Land and she was left at home with a sitter.
On e time when she was 12 and was staying at a friend’s house it was discovered, while playing with a weggie board, that she had a deep connection with dark forces and an aptitude for black magic. The parents of her friend took her into their satanic cult and at the age of 13 she became a high priestess. She was so open and receptive to their group because it was the first and only time in her life that she felt accepted. They believed that they drew power from drinking the blood of children so she was the center piece of most of their rituals and was pierced several times. Deb was molested and abused but this she understood to be love and acceptance. She left home immediately to live with her friend’s family. Her parents didn’t even put up a fight. Her parents were glad that she was gone.
The cult consisted of some prominent people in her community who supplied her with a car, money, alcohol, drugs, and a place to live when she was old enough to live on her own. I think that they took better care of their priestesses than we do our pastors. That is kind of sad.
At any rate, she had found her way to our church and had felt the piercing of her heart by the Holy Spirit through the Words that were preached to her that day. She never went back to the cult again. Although they didn’t make it easy for her to leave; she has been shot at by cult members, beaten up by cult members, one Halloween we arranged for her to spend the night at a police station for her safety. Today she leads a children’s program at that church and has a love for Jesus Christ like I have never seen before.
In our reading today Jesus meets a Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well around noon. It is important that it was noon because most people came for their water in the morning or evening. But this particular woman came at noon showing that she was outcast in the community and was making sure that she would not run into anyone else.
Like my friend Deb this woman was a product of her circumstances and not of her choices. Deb didn’t choose to be born in to an adulterous relationship; nor did she choose to be raised by a mother who resented her very presence. She didn’t choose the group that would show her affection and acceptance. These things were all results of her circumstances. Later in today’s story we find out that the Samaritan woman has had 5 husbands and they one that she is living with now is not her husband. At first we would think that this woman was promiscuous however in that time and culture women were powerless to divorce anyone for any reason. This means that she either buried 5 husbands or 5 husbands had divorced her or any combination of the two. She didn’t choose to lose her husband’s they rejected her. And because of the many times that she was rejected by husbands the society had rejected her as well. The Samaritan woman in today’s reading was truly a product of her circumstances and not her choices.
Like my friend Deb this Samaritan woman encountered Jesus and He spoke to her. Her, a Samaritan woman who had been rejected by her village; Deb a blood drinking Satanist rejected by her family; Jesus met them each in their everyday lives and spoke to them.
Can you imagine going to the well, an everyday activity, to get water in the hottest part of the day so that you don’t bump into anyone and then meeting this strange Jewish man who asks you for a drink? In shock you smart off to him saying, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” Then he says the strangest thing about having water that you drink of and will never thirst again; Jesus finding you in the everyday activities of live and giving you living water, faith that leads to eternal life. This is what the Samaritan woman and my friend Deb found. Jesus came to them in everyday life and delivered to them living water.
The image of flowing water is interesting in this passage. Jewish people recognize that flowing water cleanses a person. Jacob had given them a well to water their animals and themselves. This water sustained their life on earth but could only sustain them while here on earth; much like the law. God’s law functions on this earth to make us aware that we are sinners and cannot live up to Gods’ expectations. However we try to follow the law because it is a good way to live and it sustains us while we are here on earth. But it is only the living water; water that is flowing that cleanses a person and returns them acceptable to God; the flowing water of faith that comes from the hearing of the gospel preacher by a true preacher.
Both Deb and the Samaritan woman received this cleansing water and ran to tell everyone about their experience. Once a person has heard the gospel, really heard it, and the fountain of bubbling water of faith springs up inside them; their circumstances no longer dictate who they are. They are made new and have been given a new identity in Christ. Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit is now where they draw their identity from; regardless of their circumstances.
This is the living water that was poured over you at your baptism. This water cleansed you and now is bubbling up inside you. As you grow closer to Jesus the fountain overflows more and more. This water was given to you so that you would go and share it with all you come into contact with even in the most mundane of activities you are called to be preachers delivering the power of the Holy Spirit through the preaching of Jesus Christ. Our Savior, our redeemer, our Lord. And just like the Samaritan woman, you can leave your earthly vessel behind. She left her water jar at the well and ran off to tell everyone in the village the good news. Deb left her old life behind to follow Jesus. You can leave the current circumstances that you believe define you behind and return again to what really gives you identity, your baptismal promise that you have been claimed by Jesus Christ and you are a child of God no matter what your circumstances. This is your identity go and live freely in it.
7 A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” 8 (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” 11 The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” 13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” 17 The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” 19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”
27 Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?” 28 So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” 30 They went out of the town and were coming to him.
31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” 32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” 33 So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” 34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. 35 Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. 36 Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. 37 For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”
39 Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed because of his word. 42 They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”
Deb’s story is a sad one. I first met her when she came to our church service. She was very scary looking with dark black hair and black painted fingernails. She tried to conceal her many tattoos but they rose up above the collar of her shirt and covered her hands. I wondered how to approach such a person. I wanted to be welcoming but I was skeptical of her motivations for attending our church. After the service I introduced myself to her and she began to cry and asked if I had time to visit with her.
I could hardly believe my ears when she told me that she was a high priestess of a satanic cult and she had come to our service because she was taught that evil spirits flee from people when they attended church services and she wanted to be available for those evil spirits to come and make a home in her. However that day she had heard the gospel of Jesus Christ preached that day in a way she had never heard it preached before and something as she put it, “had changed within her.”
Upon further visits with Deb we found out that she was the product of an affair that her father had had with the single woman who lived down the street from her family. Her step mother took her into their family but never gave her the attention and love that she needed. For instance one time the family went on a trip to Disney Land and she was left at home with a sitter.
On e time when she was 12 and was staying at a friend’s house it was discovered, while playing with a weggie board, that she had a deep connection with dark forces and an aptitude for black magic. The parents of her friend took her into their satanic cult and at the age of 13 she became a high priestess. She was so open and receptive to their group because it was the first and only time in her life that she felt accepted. They believed that they drew power from drinking the blood of children so she was the center piece of most of their rituals and was pierced several times. Deb was molested and abused but this she understood to be love and acceptance. She left home immediately to live with her friend’s family. Her parents didn’t even put up a fight. Her parents were glad that she was gone.
The cult consisted of some prominent people in her community who supplied her with a car, money, alcohol, drugs, and a place to live when she was old enough to live on her own. I think that they took better care of their priestesses than we do our pastors. That is kind of sad.
At any rate, she had found her way to our church and had felt the piercing of her heart by the Holy Spirit through the Words that were preached to her that day. She never went back to the cult again. Although they didn’t make it easy for her to leave; she has been shot at by cult members, beaten up by cult members, one Halloween we arranged for her to spend the night at a police station for her safety. Today she leads a children’s program at that church and has a love for Jesus Christ like I have never seen before.
In our reading today Jesus meets a Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well around noon. It is important that it was noon because most people came for their water in the morning or evening. But this particular woman came at noon showing that she was outcast in the community and was making sure that she would not run into anyone else.
Like my friend Deb this woman was a product of her circumstances and not of her choices. Deb didn’t choose to be born in to an adulterous relationship; nor did she choose to be raised by a mother who resented her very presence. She didn’t choose the group that would show her affection and acceptance. These things were all results of her circumstances. Later in today’s story we find out that the Samaritan woman has had 5 husbands and they one that she is living with now is not her husband. At first we would think that this woman was promiscuous however in that time and culture women were powerless to divorce anyone for any reason. This means that she either buried 5 husbands or 5 husbands had divorced her or any combination of the two. She didn’t choose to lose her husband’s they rejected her. And because of the many times that she was rejected by husbands the society had rejected her as well. The Samaritan woman in today’s reading was truly a product of her circumstances and not her choices.
Like my friend Deb this Samaritan woman encountered Jesus and He spoke to her. Her, a Samaritan woman who had been rejected by her village; Deb a blood drinking Satanist rejected by her family; Jesus met them each in their everyday lives and spoke to them.
Can you imagine going to the well, an everyday activity, to get water in the hottest part of the day so that you don’t bump into anyone and then meeting this strange Jewish man who asks you for a drink? In shock you smart off to him saying, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” Then he says the strangest thing about having water that you drink of and will never thirst again; Jesus finding you in the everyday activities of live and giving you living water, faith that leads to eternal life. This is what the Samaritan woman and my friend Deb found. Jesus came to them in everyday life and delivered to them living water.
The image of flowing water is interesting in this passage. Jewish people recognize that flowing water cleanses a person. Jacob had given them a well to water their animals and themselves. This water sustained their life on earth but could only sustain them while here on earth; much like the law. God’s law functions on this earth to make us aware that we are sinners and cannot live up to Gods’ expectations. However we try to follow the law because it is a good way to live and it sustains us while we are here on earth. But it is only the living water; water that is flowing that cleanses a person and returns them acceptable to God; the flowing water of faith that comes from the hearing of the gospel preacher by a true preacher.
Both Deb and the Samaritan woman received this cleansing water and ran to tell everyone about their experience. Once a person has heard the gospel, really heard it, and the fountain of bubbling water of faith springs up inside them; their circumstances no longer dictate who they are. They are made new and have been given a new identity in Christ. Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit is now where they draw their identity from; regardless of their circumstances.
This is the living water that was poured over you at your baptism. This water cleansed you and now is bubbling up inside you. As you grow closer to Jesus the fountain overflows more and more. This water was given to you so that you would go and share it with all you come into contact with even in the most mundane of activities you are called to be preachers delivering the power of the Holy Spirit through the preaching of Jesus Christ. Our Savior, our redeemer, our Lord. And just like the Samaritan woman, you can leave your earthly vessel behind. She left her water jar at the well and ran off to tell everyone in the village the good news. Deb left her old life behind to follow Jesus. You can leave the current circumstances that you believe define you behind and return again to what really gives you identity, your baptismal promise that you have been claimed by Jesus Christ and you are a child of God no matter what your circumstances. This is your identity go and live freely in it.
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