Sermon December 29th
Scriptures
Jeremiah 17:5-8 and Ephesians 3:14-21
Well Christmas has come and gone
leaving its mark on each of us this year. The Sunday after Christmas always
feels like an anti-climax to me, but we shall dive into today’s message with
the hope that God’s love will be poured into our hearts afresh in this
post-Christmas season. May we be renewed in our hearts like the tree in the
reading from Jeremiah this morning. May we be like trees planted by streams of
living water waiting for our fruit to come to ripeness. That we may share the
joy we have experienced during this advent with our thirsty and hungering
world.
I attended a
wedding a few years back in the desert southeast of Tucson Arizona. The bed and
breakfast where the wedding was held next to a river surrounded by green trees
that didn’t have to contend with the dry desert just a few yards away. Turning
away from the river there was not much green to be found besides a few cacti
scattered across the landscape. A few tumble weeds sat waiting for the next
breeze. The setup was that of our Old Testament scripture this morning in the
physical realm. We need to ask ourselves this season: how does that match up
with our life in the spiritual realm? Are we brown spiritual tumbleweeds
waiting on the next breeze to blow and move us hopefully to a spot where we can
put down roots and flourish, or are we a green tree flourishing by the ever-flowing
river of life?
Jeremiah sets up an either/or contrast
for our spiritual life. Either a man trusts in his flesh, the self-centered flesh
substance common to humans or beasts, or he stands within the spirit-filled dynamism
of his relationship with God. Either he stands trustfully in this relationship,
or his heart turns away from the Lord. Either he does not cease to bear fruit
by virtue of this relationship, or he feels the dryness as of the parched and
salt land. Either he lives in the quiet desperation of a mounting anxiety in
which he is unable to see the coming of good or he achieves victory over fear
and anxiety and lives a life of serenity trusting in God to bring about a
season of true peace and tranquility. Either he is like the scrub juniper, eking
out life in the parched rocky places his dried-out life of the soul, or he
knows the fullness of the tree planted by waters that sends out its roots by
the stream. The wicked who are trusting in people end up like the stunted shrub
in the desert. While the righteous send out their roots by the waters of a
stream and grow green and tall. Commentators say that the figure of growth
suggests a certain inevitability in the working out of life for good or for
evil. It is suggested by this passage that the dependence upon manmade ways brings
weariness and unrest. Jeremiah possibly drawing on imagery from Psalm 1 says: “The
person who trusts in God is full of happiness and joy that can be found when
the Holy Spirit dwells within you.” A person who depends on God for his life
sends roots down deep to receive the life-giving Spirit. That person become
rooted and grounded in faith producing the fruit of the Spirit always. While
the desert bush produces no fruit at all. Always being fearful of what the next
day brings. Unlike the one who trusts in the Lord who always knows where their
help will come from regardless of drought or abundance of rain. Let us now turn
to our passage from Ephesians. So, we can see how to grow into tall green trees
that always has plenty of spiritual water to draw on.
In Ephesians our scripture contains a
prayer Paul is praying for the church at Ephesus. He begins in verse 14 with
the words “For this reason.”, Seeing that the Gentiles have now equal privileges with the Jews;
seeing that by faith in Christ Gentile Christians have been brought as near to
God, and are as able to draw from the life giving river of the Holy Spirit as
the Jew and have as much a right to the good things of the covenant; as the
Jews—we now take the steps specified for enabling them actually to possess
these good things.[1] For this reason,
he says, I bow my knees unto the Father. An emphatic way of denoting prayer;
but not incidental, occasional prayer, inspired by some passing feeling; the
attitude “bow my knees” denotes deliberate prayer (comp. Dan. 6:10) (Daniel got
down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God,
as he had done previously. Knowing full well that he would be put into the lion’s
den as a result of these prayers.) Paul is approaching God with reverence and
holy fear, with all the solemnities suitable to the occasion of making a
specific and important request. Prayer is the root of our spiritual tree in
order to grow and be strengthened for the spiritual life we must be a people of
prayer.
In Verse 15 Paul goes on to say, “The Father from
whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name”. The apostle
recognizes all saints, whether in heaven or on earth, as forming one family,
and as the whole family derives its name from God, so God may be expected and
appealed to make full and corresponding provision for the needs of its God’s
children. That they may grow into a green and flourishing tree by the water of
life.
Paul prays that
the Ephesian believers might be strengthened in their inner being. With Christ
dwelling in their hearts. The first two verses of this section set up the
prayer report that follows in verses (3:16–19). This report contains three
major requests that Paul makes of God on behalf of the readers of Ephesians: 1)
that God would give them power both through his Spirit and also through the
indwelling of Christ; 2) that God would strengthen them to grasp the magnitude
of Christ’s love; and 3) that they would be filled to the measure of God’s own
fullness. In short Paul reports on what could be called “expansive
intercession” because his requests are comprehensive and because they expand
our vision of what life in Christ is all about. They help us to grow into the
green and vibrant tree Jeremiah told us about earlier.
Verse 16 finds
Paul expanding on what it means to live by the Spirits power. God’s standard of
giving is liberal, bountiful, overflowing. An image of the riches of his glory
is seen in the starry heavens, which proclaim at once the vast riches and
surpassing glory of God. Or in the beautiful appearance of an autumn sunset,
where the whole sky is flecked with clouds brightened into a sea of glory. In
prayer, it is both useful for us and glorifying to God to recognize his
bountifulness—to remember that he gives us a King in heaven. To be strengthened
with might by his Spirit in the inner man. The inner man is the seat of
influence, but with us it is often the seat of spiritual feebleness. Most men
may contrive to order their outward conduct suitably; but who has control of
the inner man? Faith, trust, humility, love, patience, and the like graces
which belong to the inner man, are what we are sometimes weakest in, and what
we have least power to make strong without prayer in our lives. It is for this
very reason that Paul sought for the Ephesians and us at 1st
Presbyterian that might be strengthened with might by the Spirit. The gift of
the Spirit is available for this very purpose for all that ask him in our times
of prayer. That we might grow like the tree by the river of life in the inward
man.
In verse 17 Paul tells us that we see
the experiencing of God’s love is central to our lives. Again, we meet the
metaphor for God of being rooted and grounded in God’s love like a mighty oak
tree flourishing. Those who would live in Christ are to send their roots down
deep in him that they would receive the nourishment they need to survive in
this world. This rootedness comes from having Christ deep down in our hearts by
a strong faith. The wording of the prayer indicates Paul’s desire that the
Ephesians be known for their love, and it makes love a central theme of his
letters. as warm sunshine is needed to start and advance the life of a plant,
so love is needed to start and carry on the life of the soul. Experience of
Divine love is a great quickening and propelling power. [2]
In the 19th verse Paul, continues
the thought “and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that
you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” Knowledge of Christ’s love, in the sense of an
inward personal experience of it—its freeness, its tenderness, its depth, its
patience—is the great dynamic of the gospel. This love is transformed into a spiritual
force. As the breeze fills the sails and bears forward the ship, so the love of
Christ fills the soul and moves it in the direction of God’s will. In its
fulness it passeth knowledge; it is infinite, not to be grasped by mortal man,
and therefore always presenting new fields to be explored, new depths to be
fathomed.
The great doxology follows in verses
20 and 21. The study and exposition of the amazing riches of
the grace of God gives birth to an outburst of praise toward the Divine Source
of all this mercy, past, present, and future. “Now unto him that is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we
can ask or think.”[3] To
God, the whole credit of the scheme of grace is carried out by his people is
due (“Not of works, lest any man should boast”); therefore let the Church
acknowledge this, and cordially and openly ascribe to God his due. As the
pulpit commentary states let this feeling be universally encouraged and
cherished here at 1st Presbyterian, and let it find in our worship
times great and glorious occasions of breaking forth in song and prayer.[4]
So,
let us think of Paul’s glorious picture of the church in contrast to the world.
This world is not what it was meant to be. It is a world torn asunder by
opposing forces, and by bitterness, and hatred, and strife. Nation against
nation, people against people, class against class. Within one’s own self the
fight rages between the evil and the good. The world is like a desert
tumbleweed being blown by every wind in the desert. The world is living in a
time of great spiritual darkness. The theme of
spiritual darkness has long been a topic of conversation among Christian
Commentators for example Peter Hoons writes in 1957 “In terms of history and
culture these verses pronounce judgement on our unchristian society. Western
civilization is nominally Christian—we say we know him; but in every area of
life we disobey his commandments. In war we kill. We dishonor marriage and
parenthood. In our greed we covet and steal. In our manners and morals, we
falsely swear and blaspheme. We worship our scientific and materialistic gods
made by our own hands. We secularize the sabbath. We pay lip service to the
love of God but renounce it in our common life. We resent commandments and we
reject the moral order. May it not be that pagan and atheistic movements in our
world are actually the judgement that God is pronouncing through history upon a
culture that pretends to know him but is in reality a liar in whom the truth is
not.” I think we know the answer to Dr. Hoons last statement. God may be
judging us still in this day and age. We still say as a western church that we
know Jesus, but we deny him just like Peter did. Statistics on divorce are the
same for the churched and the unchurched. (I say that with shame over my own
divorce.) We have idols that we worship. We give unconditional attention to our
phones and electronic devices instead of showing unconditional love toward
those around us who so desperately need it. We can do better; we need to do
better.
In North
America our churches stand on a weakened root system. We have compromised with
the culture. We have abandoned elements of the faith that existed for centuries
before. In some ways we have not always been faithful to the gospel as a church.
We wonder where our lack of influence in the culture comes from. It comes from
our lack of a solid root system. The North American church is very weak when it
comes to a prayer life thus weakening our root system. We are like a tree blown
to and fro by the winds of our times.
But where there
is Christ there is hope. The Gospel that Jesus declares is that God so loved
the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him shall
not perish (Like a plant in the desert) but have eternal life. (Like a tree
planted by streams of living water.) We as a church can pray, serve, worship
and love our way back to strength to take on the world’s toughest challenges. As
God’s children we can be strong again. We need to re-evangelize America for
Jesus. It is already happening. Korea, Kenya and several other countries are
sending missionaries to North America to bring the gospel to places where the
American churches have been unable or unwilling to reach. The gospel is
exploding in the southern hemisphere and they are sharing with those of us in
the North who are quietly shrinking. For example in the United Methodist
denomination there are more African Methodists than there are American
Methodists. God is literally turning the world as we know it upside down. We
better get on God’s train or risk getting run over by it.
It is God’s design for his church, that all people and all nations should
become one in Christ. And in Christ the church needs to go out and tell all
people of His love and His mercy. the church is a complement to Christ, we as
the church are the body of Christ, His hands, feet and voice to bring the
awesome love of God to a hurting and broken world. And we cannot do that until we
as its members are joined together in one fellowship, where we know and
experience the limitless love of Christ, and the fullness of the Holy Spirit.
No person can teach another that which they do not know or give to another that
which they do not possess. And before we can bring Christ’s love to others, we
must nourish it within ourselves so that we can again be the strong and
beautiful tree in the Lord’s garden that God intended us to be.
In view of the year 2019 with all that has
happened in our church body, Our recent time of mourning corporately and
individually, and the joy we have experienced during the recent advent season
and Christmas, may we break forth in worship and praise for we have been
blessed by the Spirit that has given us hope in the birth of the Christ child.
May we now go out from this place to be a blessing in our community, and in our
world. Imagine what our world would look like if each of us took the love and
power of God we felt in this place on Christmas eve and day by day used that
power of love to influence our families, our places of employment, and indeed
everyone who we came in contact with. It would be an explosion of love and the
community and the world would take notice. From the president of our companies
to the checkout clerk at Walmart. Rochelle would burst at the seams with the
love of God and we might truly comprehend what Paul meant when he wrote “18 I pray that you may have the power to comprehend,
with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and
to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled
with all the fullness of God. [5]
Let us be like the tree
in Jeremiah drawing strength from prayer being rooted and grounded in love for
one another until we grow into large and healthy trees that are able to present
ourselves on that day to God. May our roots go down deep into the soil of the word
drawing nourishment till each of us is able be a tree that is fresh with the
love of God for one another.
Let us pray; Lord we pray that we may grow as a tree by your river of
life. Use these words to enliven us. May your Holy Spirit guide and guard us as
we seek to live for you. Help us grow strong in your word being rooted and
grounded your love. Amen
[1] H.
D. M. Spence-Jones, ed., Ephesians,
The Pulpit Commentary (London; New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1909),
107.
[2]
Roberts,
Mark D. Ephesians (The Story of God Bible Commentary) (p. 105). Zondervan
Academic. Kindle Edition.
[2] H. D. M.
Spence-Jones, ed., Ephesians,
The Pulpit Commentary (London; New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1909),
108.
4 H. D. M. Spence-Jones, ed., Ephesians,
The Pulpit Commentary (London; New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1909),
109.
5H. D. M.
Spence-Jones, ed., Ephesians, The Pulpit Commentary (London; New York: Funk
& Wagnalls Company, 1909), 109.[3]
[4] H.
D. M. Spence-Jones, ed., Ephesians,
The Pulpit Commentary (London; New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1909),
109.
[5] The Holy Bible: New
Revised Standard Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers,
1989), Eph 3:18–19.
Comments
Post a Comment