The Final Act: Act 2 - The Gift of Reconciliation

Webster's Dictionary defines Reconciliation in this way - "the restoration of a friendship after estrangement."  Simple definitions like this I find so useful in helping me understand such profound truth.  I love what Athanasius says about reconciliation - "Incarnation is reconciliation."  Simply put, the Incarnation, the "God with us," is the story behind restoring a friendship after it has been estranged.  The friendship is "God to us."  We often see it as "us to God," which is completely incorrect.  

God is solely the initiator of reconciliation, we are only recipients of His gift of grace. Think of it as someone handing you a gift during this Christmas season that you could never repay. Human nature usually shakes her head no at such an exorbitant gift because we deem it to pricy to repay, and that is exactly the point. The offer of reconciliation in any relationship should be beyond the recipient's ability to repay and it should cost us. Cost us what? It should cost us our pride. Pride is what keeps us from shedding aside the issues that hinder us and allowing love to be the catalyst that pursues the mending of a relationship, either between you and your enemy, or between you and God.

So may I ask, what are you going to shed this Christmas season in order to accept the gift Christ offers you, the gift of reconciliation.

(Don't forget the offer is still on.  There is a special prize for the person that comments on either this weeks or last weeks blog.)

Randy

The Final Act - Act 1: Gift of Access

We begin a new series on gifts that come our way by way of salvation.  The passage we want to really focus on is Ephesians 2, which draws together the message of Advent with the message of Paul to the Ephesian church – the message and gift of salvation. Ephesians 2 is called, “The clearest, most expressive, and most loved descriptions of salvation in the New Testament."  Specifically Ephesians 2:8,9 - 8 God saved you by his special favor when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it -- Eph 2:8-9 (NLT)

There seems to be a recurring desire, pursuit (call it what you may) of finding the supernatural in this world.  I find it interesting how we desire to find the supernatural, whether in the form of a ghost, a spirit, or whatever, but when it comes to a supernatural element that might be a supernatural Creator that's not alien, we quickly respond negatively. 

Within all of us there is an inward tug to discover the supernatural. The problem remains finding the supernatural. I think the message of the Old and New Testament is God's plan of reintroducing us to an access with the Creator.

The story of the Old Testament centered around Israel and her relationship to God.  You could see this specifically in how their worship experience was set up within the tabernacle which lead towards the most sacred sabbath of the year the Day of Atonement.  On this Day, the glory of the Lord would descend and meet with the High Priest in the Holy of Holies.  It was here that the High Priest would sacrifice the Passover Lamb and sprinkle the blood of the lamb on the Bema Seat, the ark of the covenant, for the forgiveness of Israel's sins - the supernatural met with humanity.

Isn't this what we so often seek?  Clear evidence of the supernatural before us.  But what makes us think that the same thing doesn't continue to happen?  Paul tells us that salvation is a gift of God, a gift that reintroduces us to access to the supernatural, our Creator.  We forget that at salvation, as Paul reminds the Ephesian church, the supernatural resides in us.  We become the home, the Holy of Holies for the glory of God, resting within us.  The evidence of this may not come as a lightening strike, but it certainly takes place within us, and the evidence is the glory of God as it emanates from within us.  Here is the most expressive part, the glory of God shines from within us as we discover more of Him.  His glory doesn't just spring upon us and immediately transform us like we were an Autobot.  It is a transformation that is the result of training and preparing for a race, a race that takes time and pursuit. 

That's the beauty of the pursuit, along the route of the workout we study, examine and learn more about him, and as we do we come to know the supernatural Creator in a way that He could not impose on us.

For those of you that read this I want to take a moment and let you know that we are doing a test to see how many actually read this blog.  Here is what I am doing.   I have a prize for the first person that makes a comment to me about this blog.  You need to register your name and send me a comment.  If you do there will be a prize waiting for you.  I will notify you if you are the winner.

Can't wait to hear from you,

Randy

Cross Training - Agents of Faith - Boehm & Otterbein

Today we culminate several weeks of studying the Early Church Fathers of our faith with a study of two key figures within the ranks of the United Brethren Church. This denomination has an astonishing history, all beginning during the Great Meetings of the late 1700’s. Revival movements were springing up across this new frontier. One in particular, was at Isaac Long’s Barn in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 1767. These meetings, or revival movements, would go on for days where preachers would come in and preach, sometimes in nearby varying locations, all at the same time. 

One particular meeting held at Long’s barn was hosted by a Mennonite preacher by the name Martin Boehm. Following his message another pastor, William Ottebein, a German Reformed Pastor, who was deeply moved by Boehm’s message of his conversion, stood up and embraced Boehm and said, “We are Brethren," and here the stone was cast into the water and started the ripple effect which today is known as the United Brethren in Christ Church.

Martin Boehm became a pastor in 1756 at the Mennonite church in Byerland, Pennsylvania. It was an unusual path to ministry.  One writer put it this way - “In those days, when a church needed a new pastor, persons from the congregation were nominated for the position, and each nominee selected one of the Bibles standing before them. Only one Bible contained a slip of paper with Proverbs 16:33 written on it" -- The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord" - Proverbs 16:33 (NIV).  Boehm selected that bible and became a pastor. 

His history as a pastor had a difficult beginning. He struggled with preaching and often found himself stammering out a few words and then sitting down in embarrassment. He agonized over this, until one day he came to the realization that he wasn’t even a Christian.
“One day as he plowed his fields, he knelt at the end of each row to pray, and the word, ‘Lost, lost,” continually hovered over him. Finally, halfway through the row, he broke. Falling to his knees, he cried out, ‘Lord save, I am lost!"

Boehm writes, "In a moment, a stream of joy was poured over me. I praised the Lord and left the field.”  From that day forward he preached with great joy, and he zealously spread the message of salvation and the Great Awakening came to the Mennonites.

Philip Otterbein was of the German Reformed Church and came to America as a missionary to assist in the development of new churches. Otterbein was one of seven children, all of whom, entered the ministry, while his one and only sister married a minister. 
He attended the University of Herborn and was influenced by the sermon writings of the Netherland preachers who emphasized justification with regeneration, and got caught up in the pietistic movement that spread from Europe to the America’s. 

The message that was so harmonious between Otterbein and Boehm was their emphasis on faith with action.  Both men strongly believed that faith required action, and faith without action produced stagnation.  

One of the key problems faced by Otterbein, in Europe and America, and Boehm primarily in America, was the issue of INDIFFERENCE that plagued the church.  Both were radically trained and changed by the pietistic movement of the 1700’s.  Otterbein, early in his ministry, was known for putting a great emphasis on observing the law, loyalty to the church and being devout in spiritual matters.  These were reflected in his preaching which angered those labeled as “INDIFFERENT,” because they saw the requirement of scripture as it was preached by both men.  W.H. Zeigler put it this way -- “They felt that his [Otterbein] emphasis on righteousness, living in the light of regeneration, was altogether too severe and too troublesome to the conscience.”

What Otterbein and Boehm saw more than anything else, however, was the need for the church to live out regeneration by way of faith.  They called the church to live differently and to pursue righteousness as a response to true faith.  They not only preached it, but they also saw the power of the Spirit to transform.  It was because of this kind of preaching that Otterbein and Boehm could say on that day in 1767 - "We are Brethren."

 

Cross Training - Agents of Faith - Augustine

As we come to the close of this 3-phased Sermon Series I must say I am a bit saddened.  This has been such a great series for me, especially the time of study and what I have learned about the individuals that took on so much affliction on behalf of the development of the church. 

This last week we took a look at one of the early church fathers - Augustine.  There is not enough time share all of what Augustine brought to the development of the church, but we are going to try and share some.  

Augustine was a man of great intelligence with a troubled spirit. It is said, while occupied as a Professor of rhetoric, that one day as he sat under a fig tree, he cried out, “How long, Lord, how long? Will it be tomorrow and always tomorrow? Why does my uncleanliness not end this very moment?” It was about this time that he overheard a young child share "Tole lege, tole lege, tole lege."  (“Take up and read. Take up and read. Take up and read.”) It was music to the Professor’s ears. He immediately picked up a manuscript from Paul the Apostle - 13 Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see. Don’t participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living, or in quarreling and jealousy. 14 Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires.
Romans 13:13-14 (NLT) 

At some time following this awakening, Augustine gave his life to Christ and eventually wrote extensively and became known as the father of orthodox theology.  One particular area he wrote about targeted the doctrine of creation.  It was Augustine that wrote about creation, ex nihilo,creation out of nothing. Augustine established a Theology of Creation that contradicts much of what we are forced to learn today within our educational systems.

· First, he emphatically states that God is the source of all there is. All that is, comes from Gods’ will, nothing in existence was created evil.

· Second, we are created dependent upon God. We are created both free and intelligent, which may be used to affirm or deny our relationship to our Creator. God equips us to understand sin and grace and He equips us to rebel or accept Him through Jesus Christ.

· Third, God creates in freedom with purpose. The act of creation was an expression of the character of God - love.


All of these are topics that have produced great debate through the centuries, but because of Augustine, were made more concrete, while still requiring the aspect of God's activity and faith.  Historically we know that Augustine's writing on creation had a profound affect.  R.C. Sproul’s life was dramatically transformed because of Augustine’s teaching on creation. "Then one day the professor started to lecture on Augustine's view of creation. He got my attention. I sat there and had an experience that was almost as powerful as my conversion, where all of a sudden my understanding of the nature of God just exploded. I went downstairs and changed my major to philosophy just so that I could have a more in-depth understanding of God."

Even then it was understood how the doctrine of creation could make a profound impact on the development of our faith.  

Love to hear from you.