Help for Today

This message blends a bit of exposition--examining the text verse by verse--and a topical study.  The psalm underscores God as our source of help and raises the question:  How does God's help come our way?

Psalm 121

Do you remember the Beatles song?

“When I was younger, So much younger than today,  I never needed Anybody's help in anyway.”

You've probably felt that way from time to time. After all, to admit the need for help is perceived as an admission of weakness.

Would High Noon have been as memorable if the townsfolk had rallied behind the marshal? But life isn’t like that. Most crises cannot be resolved with a karate chop or a blast from a "44" or even a laser rifle.

Still, even knowing this, we’re hesitant to ask for help.  It starts early.  When you're in school your teacher has to remind you repeatedly that no question is a dumb question, that it is okay to ask for help. In the workplace, you hesitate to ask for help lest the boss think personnel made a mistake in hiring you. Some couples wait so long to ask for help for their faltering relationships that, when they do ask, it is often too late to save the marriage.

Of course, many people eventually come to see that there is nothing weak or cowardly in asking for help. Even the hero of the Beatles' song acknowledged that the time came when he was "not so self-assured".

Many of the psalms were first sung by the heroes of Israel. They were penned by warriors, priests, and kings. We don't picture them as eager to acknowledge their need for help. We tend to see them as independent and self-reliant.  If we do see them that way, aren't we guilty of imposing our faulty thinking upon them?

The psalmist who testified "My help comes from the Lord" was unashamed the admit his need for help.

We should be too. 

After all, isn't it the mature person who is willing to admit a need for help?  We need help to grow spiritually. In the New Testament, spiritual growth is compared to the growth of plants, but what plants? Not weeds which grow without any help from us and, sometimes, despite our best efforts to eradicate them. Spiritual growth is likened to the growth of fruit trees or grape vines, plants which require nurture and care. In short, help.

There is the crisis of change. The change may be as predictable as one year yielding to the next; or the change may come upon us suddenly.

The change may involve the end of a cherished relationship. Some change brings a minimum of pain--some leaves us crying out for help.

What does the psalmist say about this help'?

àVerse 1 sets the tone for the entire psalm.

--It should be seen as a question.  The psalmist is reviewing sources of help.  “The hills” may represent earthly sources of help, materialistic resources.  The psalmist may have had in mind a rejection of the false gods of the non-Jewish nations. The Living Bible: "Shall I look to the mountain gods for my help? No! My help is from Jehovah who made the mountains...”

The psalmist, then, becomes a model for every believer who needs some kind of help to face life. By God's word preached in Israel and by an intuition born of experience, the psalmist knows that his help comes from God.

àThe psalmist grounds his hope for help in the very nature and character of God.

--No situation need ever overwhelm him for he has a resource in the God who created "the heavens and the earth". (v2) --This confidence is bolstered by the history God's faithfulness to his people. God is "the Guardian of Israel [who) never slumbers, never sleeps." (4)   Some of the pagan peoples actually believe their gods needed sleep.  In one story a tribal god decided to destroy the earth because the humans were so noisy at night, they kept him awake.

à We can marvel with the psalmist at the breadth of God's help. (5-6)

-- These words were written in a land where the relentless sun can cause the traveler to long for shade, for relief. God provides that shelter.  But there’s more.

-- In the desert country, the sun may be life-threatening during the day.  At night, when the moon is visible, the temperatures may drop to dangerous levels. The underlying idea is that of God's faithfulness to provide help is apparent day and night.  Whenever whatever dangers come our way, God can help.

à With the psalmist, we need to recall that the intent of God's help is the preservation of our souls.(7)

-- That which may imperil the soul is that which is most dangerous.

Why do we become alarmed at false teachings, at despair, or at pornography? They may destroy the soul. With God's help we can escape--the peril.

à In the promise of God's ongoing help, we found an assurance for facing the present and the future. (8)

--What kind of worrier are you? Are you one who worries about today? Are you one who worries about tomorrow?  Do you worry today because you aren’t more worried about tomorrow?

--God will be there to help for all your todays and all your tomorrows.

How does God provide his help?

God helps us...

Through Heavenly Agencies

I move with caution into this area because I don't want to fall into the trap of speculation. Still, the Bible does tell us that God sometimes intervenes in our lives in marvelous, almost miraculous, ways, ways which we couldn't predict.

1.      The Bible speaks of help coming from angels. (Ps. 91:11 ‘For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.”)

--As we enter Advent we will hear more about angels;  we need to remind ourselves of the Biblical perspective.

--Hollywood and even “Christian” novels have sometimes misled us about angels.  I once met a man who thought Roman Catholics believe in angels and Protestants don’t.  We have to avoid being overly fascinated with the subject and the tendency to believe anyone who mentions angels is delusional.

-- Our goal is to be biblical.  When dealing with angels, it's probably best to follow the advice of the old diagnostician who advised doctors, "When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras."  god helps through angels but we shouldn't expe ct them to be everywhere.

--Andrew Bandstra offers a biblical "job description" for angels:

1. Angels are God's messengers.

2. Angels praise God.

3. Angels exercise God's providential care.

--little scriptural warrant for notion of 'guardian angels' (the idea of an angel assigned to us at birth and who follows us through life).

--warrant for the affirmation that God's help is sometimes mediated through the angels.

4. Angels encourage Christian obedience.

5. Angels carry out God's justice.

6. Angels never accept worship or adoration.

--Remember how Elisha's servant could not see the angels waiting to help God's people. The prophet had to pray for God to open the young man's eyes so he could see the angelic army. Perhaps we are sometimes just as much in need for someone to pray, "Open their eyes."

2. The Bible speaks of help coming from the Holy Spirit.

--Believers have the privilege of the Holy Spirit in their lives.

--Romans 8:26: "the Spirit also helps ..." with prayer, witness, decision making, guidance, understanding the Scripture, living for Christ.

-- The NT doctrine of the Holy Spirit reminds us that we have not been left to fend for ourselves. Verse based on Jesus' words in John 14:

We 're not left as orphans,

Alone and afraid:

The Spirit is with us,

To give us His aid.

Sometimes God's help is mediated Through Human Agencies

1. Such agencies include our sympathetic companions.

--Soiomon declares, “two are better than one.... If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up/" (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10)

--Sometimes that close companion comes from our family. The story of the creation of the woman in Genesis 2:18 begins with the recognition that Adam needed a "suitable helper". Some people get nervous when we talk about "helpmeets" or "suitable helpers" but the words imply a mutual companionship of support and encouragement.

Is this kind of helping-relationship limited to husbands and wives?  No, it is a characteristic which marks the healthy family. Parents help children, children help parents, brothers and sisters help one another.

Should we be surprised if God chooses to mediate his help through one of our family members? Do we appreciate that help as much as we should?

--Sometimes that help comes through other near companions, our friends.  One of the concerns about my generation has been both the friendliness of American men and the growing friendlessness of American women.  Fortunately, the so-called generation X has recovered the appreciation for friendships;  members of that generation seem more inclined to try to develop healthy relationships.

“As iron sharpens iron," says the Proverbs, "so one friend sharpens another.

Aren't  you glad you've had friends who were there to help?

2. Such agencies include our spiritual community.

--Many of you know the help this church give in times of trouble because there have been times been you've been in trouble.

-- The church helps us with its teachings, its prayers, its moral guidance, its encouragement, its steadiness in a world of shakiness.

CONCLUSION

You may need help today. You may need help tomorrow.

Whenever you need help, ask the Helper.

May you have the faith and wisdom of the psalmist who said, “My help comes from the Lord .” 

Flood of Blessing--a message about what Jesus will do through us.

    Jesus said some remarkable things about himself.  But he also said some remarkable things about those who would follow him.  This message reminds us of that.

Flood of Blessing

John 7:37-39

           

The people to whom Jesus spoke were aware of the devastating power of a draught and the life-giving blessing of abundant rain—especially as the time of harvest approached.  This gives added meaning to Jesus’ promise.

Jesus gave this promise during a significant holiday for the people of Israel.

The Feast of Tabernacles took place during what would be our September.  It was a week-long feast to celebrate the end of the harvest and to recall God’s blessings during Israel’s wanderings in the wilderness.  Jews would gather around Jerusalem where they would build little shelters out of tree branches to recall the nomadic life they had in the wilderness.  Sometime during their history an eighth day was added to the festivities which allowed the people additional time to celebrate as they took apart the little shelters they had lived in for a week. 

Since the eighth day was not technically part of the feast, it isn’t clear if John’s reference to “the last great day of the feast” means the seventh or the eighth day.  It really doesn’t matter because Jesus’ words remain just as beautiful whichever day it was.

His words reflect a tradition which had become part of the festivities.  Each morning the priest would carry a golden pitcher to the pool of Siloam, fill it with water, and return to the temple where that priest joined another priest carrying a pitcher of wine.  Then they poured the water and the wine into funnels which would carry the liquids to the base of the altar.  As t hey did so, the people chanted, “With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.”

This water reminded the people of how God gave them water from the rock at Horeb.  Phillip Hughes describes the events of the seventh day:

“On the seventh day, the priest would circle the altar seven times in succession--as the people of Israel had encircled the walls of Jericho.  When he came around for the sixth time, he’d be joined by another priest carrying the wine.  They would ascend the ramp to the altar of holocaust where they were together to pour out the water and the wine on the altar.  When they were in place, there would come a pause as the priest raised up his pitcher.  Always the crowd shouted for him to hold it higher and he would do so.  It was considered to be the height of joy in a person’s life if he could see the water being poured out onto the altar.”

If the events John describes took place on the eighth day, the day when no water was poured out, Jesus’ words take on an additional significance.

Again and again throughout the week, the people were reminded of water.  Now, Jesus was claiming to be the source of water for the thirsty.  John, reminding us he was there, tells us that Jesus stood up.  In that day most teachers sat while they taught, the fact that Jesus stood lets us know how much he wanted the crowd to hear his words.  He shouted:

“If you are thirsty, come to me and drink! 

Have faith in me,

and you will have life-giving water

flowing from deep inside you….”

John gives his readers a hint to help them understand what Jesus was talking about.  He says, “By this He referred to the Spirit that those believing in Him were going to receive -- for the Spirit had not yet come, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.”  John was referring to the great event which would take place after Jesus’ death and resurrection, the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost.

When we understand that Jesus was talking about the Holy Spirit, we can better understand what Jesus was saying to those he was inviting them to place their faith in him. 

Through the activity of the Holy Spirit, the believer in Christ is blessed to become a blessing.

To understand this we need to ask some questions.

What is Jesus saying about himself?  He is saying he is…

The Rock Who Refreshes

Several years ago I had a friend named Geoffrey Coleman.  Geoffrey was from Australia and had worked on some of the “stations” or ranches in the outback.  He once told me of an experience he had while working on a road in that desert land.  They had not taken enough water with them and ran out well before it was time to return home.  As the crew continued working in the unrelenting sun, the men became thirstier and thirstier.  Finally, to a man, they were overcome with such a powerful desire for something to drink that they all jumped into the truck and drove at breakneck speed to a small stream which was a few miles away.  Without pausing to pull off so much as their boots, they plunged into the water.

On one occasion, the people of Israel felt they were going to die from thirst in the desert.  The story is found in Exodus 17.

At the Lord's command, the people of Israel left the Sin* Desert and moved from place to place. Eventually they came to Rephidim, but there was no water to be found there.

So once more the people grumbled and complained to Moses. "Give us water to drink!" they demanded.

"Quiet!" Moses replied. "Why are you arguing with me? And why are you testing the Lord?"

But tormented by thirst, they continued to complain, "Why did you ever take us out of Egypt? Why did you bring us here? We, our children, and our livestock will all die!"

Then Moses pleaded with the Lord, "What should I do with these people? They are about to stone me!"

 The Lord said to Moses, "Take your shepherd's staff, the one you used when you struck the water of the Nile. Then call some of the leaders of Israel and walk on ahead of the people.

  I will meet you by the rock at Mount Sinai.* Strike the rock, and water will come pouring out. Then the people will be able to drink." Moses did just as he was told; and as the leaders looked on, water gushed out.

In part, the Feast of Tabernacles recalled this event, God’s providing water for his people. 

Now he tells them he is like that Rock.  He provides spiritual water to satisfy those who are spiritually thirsty.  In I Corinthians Paul suggested that the water provided by that Rock could be compared to the salvation Christ provides.

Just as that Rock in the desert provided water to the thirsty people, Christ would provide refreshing water to those who believe in him.  The stress on belief in this statement is important.  This chapter allows us to eavesdrop on the debates raging about Jesus.  The crowds were divided.  Some people asserted he was the Messiah, others insisted he couldn’t be.

This was important but all the talking about Jesus meant nothing if these people weren’t willing to believe in him, make him the object of their trust.  As Jesus put it, those who really were spiritually thirsty needed to “drink”. 

This brings us to other questions:

What happens when a person “drink” from the water this Rock provides?  What happens when we place our faith in him?

There is a twofold result.

The Believer Is Blessed.

Again, John is looking ahead to that time after Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, when Christ would begin to pour out blessings on those who had trusted him.  Jesus would fully satisfy those who were spiritually thirsty, if only they would come to him.  Again, he is the one who will meet our needs--thirst, hunger, etc.

One of the repeated themes mentioned during the Feast of the Tabernacles was joy.  In fact, it was the most joyous of the Jewish feasts.  That joy was linked to the promise of the Spirit. 

The New Testament teaches that the Spirit brings joy into the life of the believer.  Paul writes that “the fruit of the Spirit is…joy.”  It is the joy of spiritual satisfaction, the joy of knowing our sins are forgiven and we have an abiding relationship with God. 

That joy was at the heart of the gospel, which one writer defined as, “good news which makes a person sing, leap, and dance for joy.”  This is the blessing Jesus promises to those who trust him.

Here’s another question:  Do we  understand that this promise has an even more remarkable implication?

It’s one thing for Jesus to say he is a source of blessing, it’s quite another for him to say that he will make us a source of blessing.  Though Spirit…

The Believer Becomes a Blessing

The word-picture is vivid.  Williams’ translation captures the nuances of the verbs Jesus used, “Whoever continues to believe in me will have… rivers of living water continuously flowing from within him."

Christ bestows the gift of the Holy Spirit, not simply so we may constantly receive his blessings, but so we may become a blessing. 

The people of Israel, who drank from the rock which Moses struck, had been blessed to become a blessing.  But many of them forgot that.  As a consequence much of their religion became spiritually stagnant.  Now, Jesus promised them they could become a source of “living water.”

He makes the same promise to us because the Christian life involves more than receiving, it involves giving.

Something marvelous happens when Christians allow themselves to be used in such a way.  Lenski speaks of the sheer abundance of water implied by Jesus’ words and observes that  “[the word] ‘rivers’  pictures the fact that the believer will resemble Jesus himself in that he will help to quench the thirst of many others.”

You see, living water was also “life-giving water.” (CEV)  The Feast of Tabernacles celebrated the harvest.  Every farmer knew how much that harvest depended upon the life-giving water.  If you’ve ever seen a drought-stricken land, you know how the lack of water leaves only death and despair.

But how do Christians serve as this “conduit of life?”  There are two ways.

First, believers can provide this life-giving water through the church.

The Book of Acts pictures the church bringing this blessing to a spiritually thirsty world ready to hear the story of God’s love and grace.

One older writer suggests this when he asks:  “What is the apostolic Word itself through which we believe;  what are the confessions of the church, in harmony with which we believe;  what are her hymns, her prayers, her sermons, all the testimonies of the faith and love in saving word and sacred conversation--what are they but rivers of living water flowing from the body of the church?”

I know too much about the history of the church to deny that there have been times when the church—forgetting her need to be vitally united to her Lord—has brought shame to the Name of Christ.  But, when the church has been spiritually healthy, the world has been blessed.  There have been social blessings in the form of hospitals, orphanages, and schools or laws to protect children, women, and society’s poorest.  But, above all, there have been spiritual blessings as the gospel of grace has touched the lives of men and women of every race.

At the same time, individual believers may be the channel of that live-giving water.

The “Streams of living water…” which flow from the Christian who has a vital faith in Christ will give refreshment to the hot, weary people we encounter. 

How many of us can make that claim?  Do we bring “refreshment” to our society and culture?  Too often, instead of being refreshing we are tepid.  I know too much about myself to make any claim to be a blessing wherever I show up. 

Only rarely do we encounter that Christian whose very presence leaves us refreshed.  Jesus tells us that we can be that kind of person if we trust him and allow the Spirit to work in and through us.

We need to keep this in mind when we consider the enormous task of reaching out to our culture on behalf of Christ.

The interesting thing about flood waters is that they’re hard to keep out.  They can go pretty much wherever they want to go.  In the same way, you can’t seal out the “living water” which comes from the life of a believer who is open to the Spirit.

If you’ve been around a church very long, you’ve heard someone talk about the fruit of the Spirit.  You might even be able to quote from Galatians where Paul says, “The fruit (or outcome of letting the Spirit shape your life) is love, joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”  But do you remember the wry remark Paul makes as he concludes the list?  He says, “against such things there is no law.” 

The law may say you can’t tell someone about the love of Christ, no law can keep you from showing the love of Christ.

In many places around the world, the only witness believers may make is the witness which comes from the overflow of God’s love in their hearts.

Yet, men and women have responded to that witness and have come to enquire about Jesus.

Conclusion

John Bennett describes how this promise applies to the life of the believer by pointing to an irrigation system like that found on some farms.

Water is stored in a reservoir, waiting to do its work.  A gate is opened and the water rushes into a canal.  That canal is first washed clean of any thing which doesn’t belong.  Then, when the canal is full, its water begins to flow into sluices which carry the life-giving water to the crops.

In the same way, when you and I are connected by faith to Jesus Christ, we can carry God’s blessings to those around us.

We need to ask ourselves if we are somehow damning up that stream…with our fears, our doubts, our prejudices, our self-centeredness.  We need to put aside our pride and admit Jesus alone can quench our thirst.  Let him fill us.  And let him bless the world through us.

---

* Preached on 14 November 2010

Just Thinking: A Story Behind a Song

Most of you have heard the haunting lyrics of Gordon Lightfoot’s ballad, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.  Last week saw the 35^th anniversary of the ship’s sinking on 10 November 1975.  Though many questions about the wreck have been answered, many others remain unanswered.  Right now, the favored explanation suggests a rogue wave some fifty-feet high swamped what was once the largest ship on the Great Lakes.  As the ballad reports, Captain Ernest McSorley and his crew of 28 were all lost.

Last week, as I was reading the many stories recalling the wreck, I came across a feature of the story I had somehow missed before.  The Fitz was travelling with another ship, the smaller, slower SS Arthur M Anderson, under Captain Jessie Cooper.  When the storm broke on November 10^th, Captain McSorley radioed Cooper that it was the biggest storm he had ever seen.  Later, McSorley told Cooper that “they had water coming in,” their radar was not working, and the pumps were working constantly, but he still held out that they could make it to safety.  It was not to be.  The last communication between the Anderson and the Fitzgerald took place just after 7:00 pm; then “came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” as the great ship disappeared from the Anderson’s radar.

Captain Cooper reported what had happened to the Coast Guard.  The Coast Guard asked Cooper if he would “put about” and search for the Fitzgerald.   In other words, they were asking the smaller ship if it would halt its own dash for safety and sail back into the raging storm to try to find whoever  may have survived the wreck.  Cooper hesitated only a moment before agreeing to head back.

Of course, there were no survivors.  But that part of the story reminds me that we should all thank God there are men and women who are willing to risk their lives for the sake of others.  We should be grateful there are those who will run into a burning building as everyone else is running out.  For that matter, we should be thankful that every day there are teachers who are willing to enter poorly-maintained schools to teach “at-risk” kids the rest of society has given up on.  We should be thankful for those nurses who will hold the hand of an infection-riddled patient whose own family is afraid to visit.

Many years ago my pastor told the story of a young boy who drowned in a pond.  When the police asked a bystander who could have saved him why he had done nothing he explained, “Well, I didn’t want to spoil my new suit.”

This Thanksgiving, remember to be thankful for those willing to plunge into dangerous situations for the sake of others.

Sermon on Philip the Evangelist

You've probably heard a sermon like this on the story of Philip.  Some passages suggest certain treatments and almost every preacher will follow those suggestions.  Still, I hope I have treated the stories in a way that points out at least something new.

Philip:  Model Evangelist

Acts 8:4-17, 26-40

Jesus seemed to like a good party.  Some of his critics complained that he was a party-animal.  Some of his most famous stories ended up with people at a party.  He even suggested that angels occasionally partied:  As he concluded the story of the woman who celebrated after she found her precious coin, he said, “Count on it—that’s the kind of party God’s angels throw every time one lost soul turns to God.”  (Luke 15:10 The Message)  Keep that in mind as we look at the story of Philip.

*********

The Greek word translated “evangelist” refers to a messenger who brings good news.  The evangelist brings welcome news, news of liberation and relief.  In secular Greek it referred to the messenger who brought the joyous news of victory back to a city threatened by hostile forces.  In the New Testament and the early church, an evangelist was one who brought the good news of the gospel.  In fact, the words are related:  the gospel (euangelion) is brought by the evangelist (euangelistes). 

The first person to be given the title “Evangelist” in the New Testament was Philip.  We hear about him many years after the events described in this text.  Luke tells of a visit Paul, Luke, and some other paid to him:  “On the next day we departed and came to Caesarea, and we entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him.” Acts 21:8 (ESV)

Philip earned that title “the evangelist” after years of ministry such as that described in this story.  With that in mind, let’s look closer at the story to discover why Philip was such a model evangelist.

We see…

PHILIP THE PUBLIC EVANGELIST

            The attacks on the church had intensified, especially against Christians who had Grecian roots.  Stephen had been killed and others imprisoned.  Many Grecian Christians wisely fled the city to other areas of temporary safety.   [For centuries, the church advised Christians to avoid martyrdom if they could without betraying the faith.  “Courting martyrdom” was considered foolish.]

That’s how Philip found himself in Samaria.  Keep in mind that Samaritans were regarded with great hostility by most Jews and most Samaritans had little regard for the Jews.  The animosity was several centuries old.  Most Jews considered Samaritans as half-breeds who were not worthy to be considered Jews.  This led the Samaritans to build their own temple, to deny all the Old Testament except the Pentateuch, and to embrace a modified notion of the coming Messiah.

When Philip went to Samaria to preach, he was blazing a new trail for the gospel, but not one which Jesus hadn’t predicted.  Just before his Ascension Jesus told the disciples they would be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria…”  Apparently it took a while for someone, Philip specifically, to take him seriously.

The proper reading of the text is not clear.  Some mss say “a city in Samaria”  and some say “the city of Samaria.”  It makes little difference, the important note is that Philip went to the outcasts who would not have been welcome in the temple.  The subject of his proclamation was Christ.

The crowds both heard remarkable words and saw remarkable acts.  No doubt there was much more said than Luke implies in the simple phrase “proclaimed the Christ.” We can be sure he used appropriate Old Testament scriptures and then told of the resurrection.

The Samaritan prejudices about the Scripture (rejecting all but the Pentateuch) and their history of bad relations with the Jews would have made it difficult for them to believe.  It seems reasonable to assume that Philip began with the Pentateuch’s testimony about the prophet “like Moses” who would come.  Commentators agree that the Samaritans had a notion of a coming deliverer, the taheb, so Philip may have used that as a starting point. 

In any case, Philip’s words were confirmed by “miraculous signs.”  The nature of these signs is implied in verse 7:  there were dramatic exorcisms and healings of those who were clearly ill.  Why are these mentioned?  The persecution of the church, which had seen the death of  Stephen and the imprisonment of other believers (and possibly their deaths) may have caused some to believe that Satan was gaining ground;  the exorcisms demonstrated otherwise.  Dr. Luke may have been particularly interested in the healings of the paralytics because he knew it was so difficult to treat these cases.  Their cures would be hard to deny.  The result of the preaching and the miracles was “great joy.”   Good news should bring joy.

People responded to Philip’s preaching with faith:

“But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of

the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both

men and women.”

When the gospel is preached with clarity and power there is occasion for great joy because people’s needs are being met.

In time the word of what was happening in Samaria reached Jerusalem. 

What brought Peter and John to Samaria?  Was it an effort to check up on Philip?  Perhaps, but that seems to imply an assumption that he might have been doing something wrong, this man who has already been singled out as one possessing the Spirit and wisdom.  More likely they came to see for themselves what exciting things were happening.  Only a few years before John and James had suggested calling fire down on a Samaritan village because they would not receive Jesus who was on his way to Jerusalem (Luke 9:50)  Jesus rebuked them.  Luke’s gospel demonstrates a particular interest in Samaria.  Later, in John’s own gospel he will report on Jesus willingness to step over social boundaries to reach the Samaritans (John 4).

Somehow the disciples realized that the Samaritan believers had not received the Spirit.  Just how they knew is not mentioned but they knew.  The usual pattern in the New Testament seems to have been that the believer received the Spirit at conversion.  Here there was somehow a delay which was evident to the observers.   The delay, no doubt, had a purpose.

There seems to be no reason to believe Philip’s preaching was inadequate, after all, he was said to be full of the Spirit.  More likely, the delay allowed continuity to be established with the Jerusalem church.  The coming of the Spirit upon the Samaritans signified their full incorporation into the Church.  The Spirit was manifested in a special way to mark the beginning of a new phase of the ministry.  The hated, half-breed Samaritans were as much part of the church as those born into Judaism.  It would happen again.  This was a step toward the gentiles.

At this point we see

Philip as a Personal Evangelist

Obedient to the Spirit, Philip goes out to the wilderness to wait for someone who was on his appointment calendar, someone he had never met, someone he had probably never heard of.  Imagine the protest he could have made, “Lord, I’m having such success here;  I can’t leave.”  But, he was obedient.

The Ethiopian Eunuch was a high ranking official of a kingdom which would have lain along the upper Nile.  He was either a Jewish convert or the offspring of Jewish converts.  He would have been a black African who had somehow come under the influence of the Torah.  Because he was a eunuch he might have been barred from full participation in worship.

The very fact that he had his own copy of Isaiah, a book which was hard to secure, points to his wealth:  it was expensive.  That he owned his own copy suggests how committed he was to learn.  Yet, he had questions.  By God’s providence, Philip was there to help.  

The question the eunuch had was often asked about this passage.  He never had heard the answer Philip gave.

Philip seems just as eager to engage in a one-on-one discussion of theology as he was to preache a sermon before a great crowd.  Witnessing wasn’t a ego-trip for him.

After a period of discussion the eunuch asks for baptism.  He wasn’t pushed into a premature act.  Philip was patient enough to let the Spirit do his work. 

We like to say that baptism is a public declaration of faith.  There doesn’t seem to have been much public present.  Just Philip and the eunuch’s driver.  Still, you can bet that once he got back home, the driver would tell the story of the weird episode in the wilderness.  And he would watch his master to see what difference this made in his life.  We’re already told the eunuch “went on his way rejoicing.”  Maybe that joy would make him curious enough to ask.

As for Philip, he goes on to further opportunities to share the gospel.

How was Philip A Model Evangelist?

1.       Philip was a model evangelist because he worked with an ear attuned to the voice of the Spirit.
—to be led to new ways of ministry.
—to go preach in a strange place, to witness to a strange person.

2.       Philip was a model evangelist because he did not allow social or ethnic prejudice to impede his efforts.
—He went to the social outcasts, the Samaritans.
—He did not hesitate to speak to the eunuch.  He didn’t say, “That man is rich and powerful, I have nothing to say to him.”
–We need to be ready to offer the gospel to any.

3.       Philip was a model evangelist because he began where people were.
–He allowed the Ethiopian to choose the text.  He was able to begin where he was.
–With the Samaritans he almost certainly had to draw from the Pentateuch.  He couldn’t have used the Isaiah text with them.   They wouldn’t have heard him.
—If we want to be effective, we’ll take the time to get to know those we want to reach.

4.       Philip was a model evangelist because he focused his witness on Jesus Christ.
–People need Christ.
—He called on those who heard to respond with faith and a demonstration of their commitment.

5.       Philip was a model evangelist because he passed his passion for ministry on to another generation.
—When we meet Philip again we’re told he “had four unmarried daughters who were prophetesses.”  I don’t know all that may mean but it seems clear they somehow were involved in using their gifts for the cause of Christ.
–We need to teach the next generation to take up the cause of Christ.

Conclusion

I was struck by something as I read this story again.  These were tough times, times when some might have advised Christians to just keep quiet and try to keep people from noticing them.  Philip kept on doing the work of evangelism.  He didn’t allow the circumstance to dampen his zeal.

           We can’t all be like Philip, but we can seek to reach those the Spirit places before us, reach them because we can be sure they need Christ.

In both episodes, Philip’s work was accompanied with joy.  Another Philip, Philip Yancey, reminds us that joy still accompanies the successful work of evangelism.  Maybe in ways we don’t immediately realize.  He asks us to picture a scene at a Billy Graham crusade, one we’re watching on television.  The invitation has been made and people are beginning to come down out of the seats.  Yancey goes on with the story.

The camera follows a young woman as she makes her way through the stands to an area set aside for repentance and conversion. But Jesus’ stories imply that far more may be going on out there: beyond that stadium scene, in a place concealed from all camera lenses, a great party has erupted, a gigantic celebration in the unseen world.

Bulletin Board Changes World

Background to the Sermon

I preached this sermon on 31 October 2010 to commemorate Reformation Sunday.  As I prepared the sermon, I tried to focus on the abuses that marked the church at the time of Luther’s revolt.  The Roman Catholic Church of the 21^st century is not the church of the 16^th century.  Indeed, some of the abuses that distressed Luther were addressed by Rome before the end of the 1500s.  Of course, there remain major differences between Roman Catholics and Protestants, the issue of authority being the most significant. But, today, in contrast to the age of Luther, we are better equipped to discuss our differences without resorting to force or acrimony.

If you want to read more about the Reformation and Protestantism, I’d recommend Alister McGrath’s Christianity’s Dangerous Idea.

Bulletin Board Changes World

Romans 1:16-17

According to the account learned by every Texan growing up, during the siege of the Alamo, Col. William Travis addressed his men, telling them that it was unlikely reinforcements would arrive in time to save them.  Travis then took his sword and drew a line in the sand, telling the men that anyone who wanted to leave should cross the line.  None did.

As widely told as the story is, many historians believe it never happened.  One historian doubted Travis drew the line because "Buck" Travis would have never imagined any of his men would ever want to leave his command--even in the face of death.  Others feel the evidence is just too scarce.  In the end, the typical Texas attitude toward the story was voiced by yet another historian who said, “I believe the line was drawn in the sand whether the line was drawn in the sand or not.”

On 31 October 1517, an Augustinian monk named Martin Luther nailed 95 theses to the church door in Wittenburg, Germany.  Some historians doubt it happened.  I’m among those who take the same attitude most Texans take toward Travis’ line in the sand.  We believe the theses were nailed whether the theses were nailed or not.  Of course, you may be asking, “So what?” 

Swiss-born Philip Schaff spent almost half a century, from 1844 to 1893, teaching church history in the United States.  Schaff begins his volume on the Reformation with these words:  “The Reformation of the sixteenth century is, next to the introduction of Christianity, the greatest event in history. It marks the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of modern times.”

While in the history of thought it is difficult to name the birth date of most truly important movements, 31 October 1517 is as good a date as any to say the Reformation began.  Remember that date.  Martin Luther is usually credited with beginning the Reformation when, on that date, he nailed 95 those theses or propositions to the church door.  Luther is probably the best known of those calling for reform but there were many others who were spiritually dissatisfied and ready for something new.  Something new turned out to be something old.

Since his story is both typical and unique, I’ll take a moment are review it. 

Martin Luther was born in Saxony in 1483 into the home of a prosperous miner.  In 1505, while still in his early twenties, he received the MA from the University of Erfurt.  He planned to study law, a profession his father had chosen for him.  Then, one night as he was riding through a storm, a nearby bolt of lightning caused his horse to throw him and the panic-stricken Luther to cry out, “Saint Anne, help me.  I will become a monk.”

True to his promise, in 1506, Luther became a monk in the Augustinian order.  In time, he was ordained a priest and began serious theological studies.  In 1512, he received the Doctor of Theology degree at the University of Wittenburg, where became a teacher.

Outwardly, Luther’s career in the church was stellar.  In only a few years, he had gone from novice to professor of Biblical studies at one of Germany’s newest universities.  Inwardly, however, Luther was spiritually dissatisfied.  Though he was a diligent priest and scholar, he had no peace of soul.  In his own words, he constantly wondered “when will I find a gracious God.”

Luther pursued the most rigorous of behavior to try to find peace with God but it eluded him.   He wore his confessor out with the minutia of his confessions.  Finally, his superior in the monastery advised him to give up  being so introspective and focus his attention on the Scripture and theology.  He did.  From, the Scripture Luther began to get a different understanding of God’s righteousness.

To put the matter simply, Luther discovered the church had lost sight of the message of the gospel.  Grace had become a commodity to be earned through the sacraments and righteousness a quality to be attained by good works.  Luther felt he had never quite done enough.

But through his biblical studies, Luther began to get a new understanding of God.   God yearned to give salvation to all who trusted him.  Our self-effort could do nothing toward attaining God’s favor.  Instead, we are justified by faith, faith alone.  The work of Christ is sufficient for our salvation;  we can add nothing to what he has already done.

All of this might have remained Luther’s private discoveries had it not been for a church renovation program back in Rome.  Pope Leo X was renovating St Peter’s cathedral and needed cash—a lot of it—to get the job done.  So he approved a campaign to sell indulgences.  An indulgence was a way to escape time in Purgatory, that place between death and heaven where even the best Christians went to be purged of sins that remained after baptism.  Indulgences had first been offered to crusaders and now they were made available to everyone.  You could buy one for yourself and one for an already dead relative. 

Johan Tetzel was the pope’s representative in Saxony.  To sell the indulgences he used some surprisingly modern methods, such as advertising jingles:  “As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs.”  Tetzel used guilt to sell his product.   It would be a hard-hearted man who could resist the appeal that for just a few coins he could end granny’s torment.

Luther was incensed at what he considered a travesty.  He believed indulgences were unbiblical.  He believed the way to heaven was through faith.  He doubted the pope could do anything about the condition of the departed and if he could why didn’t he simply empty Purgatory instead of trying to make money.

These arguments and others were in the 95 Theses that Luther nailed to the church door.  By the way, this was not an act of sacrilege.   The cathedral door was used as a kind of bulletin board to announce upcoming events.  Luther was proposing a public debate on the issue.  He probably didn’t expect it to go much further than the university lecture hall.  He was wrong.

The theses were copied, translated, printed, and spread throughout the territory.  In time, his opinion of indulgences caught the attention of the church authorities.   In 1520, the pope issued a statement denouncing Luther and his teaching.  Luther burned it in a public ceremony which was probably the most flagrant defiance of authority imaginable.  Life for western Christians would never be the same.  In 1521, Luther was ordered to explain himself by Emperor Charles V.   The meeting took  place at Worms.  It was here Luther concluded his defense with the words: 

“Unless I am convinced by the Scriptures or by clear arguments (since I believe neither the Pope nor the Councils alone; it being evident that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am captive to the Holy Scriptures, and my conscience is bound by the word of God: I cannot and will not recant anything, since it is unsafe and dangerous to do anything against the conscience.”

Some reports say Luther added the word, “Here I stand.  I can do no other.  God help me.  Amen”

The die was cast and the Protestant Reformation rolled on without stopping.  There would be other leaders:  Philip Melanchthon, John Calvin, Ulrich Zwingli, Menno Simons, and others.  Other groups beside the “Lutherans” (a term Luther is said to have disliked) would follow;  the Baptists appearing nearly a century after Luther posted his theses.  They would have different  distinctives but all of these groups would share common themes traceable to Luther’s revolution.

·         The Bible alone is the foundation for Christian belief and practice.  Historically, Protestants have termed this as sola scriptura.

·         Salvation is the free, unmerited gift of God, available to all.  Sola gratia Protestants say.  Salvation is by “grace alone.”

·         The avenue to this gracious salvation is through “faith alone,” sola fide.

·         Each believer may enter a relationship with God, enjoying communion and forgiveness, without any other human mediator, a principle the Protestants called “the priesthood of believers.”  Protestants would insist there is no distinction between priest and laity.

What do we owe Luther and the others?  What did the movement they began pass on to us?

We sing differently because of the Reformation.  Congregations were allowed to sing, not just trained choirs.

Our churches have a member most Christians before the Reformation had never imagined:  the pastor’s wife.

The sermon became a hallmark of the worship service.  Preaching replaced rote liturgy.

Let’s look at another change in more detail.

How many of you have a Bible with you?  If you didn’t bring it, you probably have at least one at home.

Some of you have spent a lifetime studying it.  Some of you have just begun to explore discover what it offers.  When you’ve lost a loved one, you’ve turned to the Bible for comfort.  When you’ve faced an ethical decision, you’ve found guidance from the Scripture.  When you’ve been puzzled about God, the Bible has given you insight into his way with the world.  

Now, imagine that Bible were only available to you in Latin.  It’s true John Wycliffe translated the Bible into English before Luther but the Church did its best to suppress his work.  But once the Reformation was in full swing, the Reformers made every effort to make the Bible available in the language of the people.  Luther, himself, translated the Bible into German.  

A hallmark of Protestantism was the trust that each believer could interpret the Bible for himself or herself. 

Nina Hacker says:

But without the Protestant Reformation, you probably wouldn't be sitting in this church today, and you most certainly would not have an English-language Bible in every pew. It is thanks to the blood of the martyrs that in our time you can own and read the Bible in peace and freedom. Many of us today don't even know that in 1486 the Archbishop of Mainz issued an edict threatening to excommunicate anyone who translated or circulated the Bible. Or that in 1536 William Tyndale was burned at the stake for translating the Scriptures into English.

You see, before the Protestant Reformation, the common people everywhere were absolutely forbidden to read or interpret the Scriptures. In Greek and Latin, these were not to be translated, and no one was permitted to explain the Word of God except a priest.

Of course, today, our Roman Catholic neighbors can buy Bibles in a variety of translations with study aids to help them study the Bible on their own.  I think that’s great.  I hope they remember to say thanks to their Protestant neighbors for thinking up the idea.

For a little while now I’ve been trying to define some universal truths about the church in society.  Before I close, I want to share some of them with you.  Each is illustrated in the story of the Reformation.

Here they are in an early form.   The Reformation illustrates the truth that…

--the church suffers recurring bouts of amnesia.

--no matter how appealing the idea may seem, when the church and the state are wed the marriage is disastrous.

--the church must always struggle to maintain a healthy balance between spirit and structure, form and freedom, tradition and innovation.

--in the church God has used individuals of both genders, regardless of their social, economic, educational, and national backgrounds to advance the Kingdom.

--on balance, society has been more blessed than cursed by the church’s presence.

--the church consists of saints whose saintliness sometimes lacks clear demonstration.

--no matter how compelling the evidence, it is always too soon to publish the church’s obituary.

Conclusion:  Some Baptists insist we aren’t Protestants.  Most who say that are either ignorant of history or are simply playing word-games. 

We ought to be grateful to those martyrs who sometimes gave their all to promote the gospel of grace and to liberate men and women to find peace with God, freed from the impossible demands of salvation by works.

We should be pleased to have our names linked to their names.

We should be grateful to God for inspiring "a poor, emaciated monk" to take a stand challenging a Goliath that would have made the Philistine warrior seem like a flea.

Above all we should be thankful that by faith we can all find that gracious God.