Sunday, Oct. 29, 2006

Pentecost 21

Hebrews 5:12-6:12 (NLT)

You have been Christians a long time now, and you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things a beginner must learn about the Scriptures. You are like babies who drink only milk and cannot eat solid food. ¹³And a person who is living on milk isn't very far along in the Christian life and doesn't know much about doing what is right. ¹⁴Solid food is for those who are mature, who have trained themselves to recognize the difference between right and wrong and then do what is right.

^6:1So let us stop going over the basics of Christianity again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don't need to start all over again with the importance of turning away from evil deeds and placing our faith in God. ²You don't need further instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. ³And so, God willing, we will move forward to further understanding.

⁴For it is impossible to restore to repentance those who were once enlightened—those who have experienced the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit, ⁵who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the power of the age to come— ⁶and who then turn away from God. It is impossible to bring such people to repentance again because they are nailing the Son of God to the cross again by rejecting him, holding him up to public shame.

⁷When the ground soaks up the rain that falls on it and bears a good crop for the farmer, it has the blessing of God. ⁸But if a field bears thistles and thorns, it is useless. The farmer will condemn that field and burn it.

⁹Dear friends, even though we are talking like this, we really don't believe that it applies to you. We are confident that you are meant for better things, things that come with salvation. ¹⁰For God is not unfair. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other Christians, as you still do. ¹¹Our great desire is that you will keep right on loving others as long as life lasts, in order to make certain that what you hope for will come true. ¹²Then you will not become spiritually dull and indifferent. Instead, you will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God's promises because of their faith and patience.

Ps. 13

Mark 10:46-52 (NLT)

And so they reached Jericho. Later, as Jesus and his disciples left town, a great crowd was following. A blind beggar named Bartimaeus (son of Timaeus) was sitting beside the road as Jesus was going by. ⁴⁷When Bartimaeus heard that Jesus from Nazareth was nearby, he began to shout out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"

⁴⁸"Be quiet!" some of the people yelled at him.

But he only shouted louder, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"

⁴⁹When Jesus heard him, he stopped and said, "Tell him to come here."

So they called the blind man. "Cheer up," they said. "Come on, he's calling you!" ⁵⁰Bartimaeus threw aside his coat, jumped up, and came to Jesus.

⁵¹"What do you want me to do for you?" Jesus asked.

"Teacher," the blind man said, "I want to see!"

⁵²And Jesus said to him, "Go your way. Your faith has healed you." And instantly the blind man could see! Then he followed Jesus down the road.

Sermon:  What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You

            Do you believe this miracle actually happened?  Do you really believe that a blind man instantly began to see just because Jesus said, “Your faith has made you well?”  If you do, you are in a minority in the church today.  Not many people have this kind of belief any more.

            There are things going on in the church that you need to be aware of .  I try not to overburden you with bad news, but there are some things that are too important not to talk about.  One of them happened just this month.

Via Media group asks bishops, standing committees to refuse consent to South Carolina bishop-elect
Episcopal News Service
Mary Frances Schjonberg

The Very Rev. Mark J. Lawrence, was elected September 16 on the first ballot out of a field of three nominees as the 14th bishop of South Carolina.  He is the rector of St. Paul's Episcopal Parish in Bakersfield, California, in the Diocese of San Joaquin.

On October 20, in letters sent to bishops with jurisdiction and all the Episcopal Church's diocesan standing committees, the liberal advocacy group, “Via Media” argues that the episcopacy of bishop-elect Lawrence "would represent a threat to the unity of our church and to the cohesion" of the diocese of South Carolina.

Prior to the South Carolina election Via Media told the diocesan electors that the group was "concerned that the new bishop be committed, without reservation, to the ordination oath signed by every new bishop to conform to the 'doctrine, discipline, and worship of The Episcopal Church."

"We understand that commitment to include respecting the democratic actions of the General Convention, and the elected leadership of The Episcopal Church as it is now constituted."

END

Apparently it matters not if you completely disregard the clear teaching of scripture on subjects like sexual immorality.  You can still become a bishop, as Gene Robinson did.  But if you hold, as Mark Lawrence does, that biblical authority is still valid in the church, you will be labeled “divisive” and your ministry will be caricatured as “destructive of the unity of the church.”  
UNBELIEVEABLE!!!

            I find it interesting that these are the same people who, 30 years ago, were urging homosexual activists to practice “civil disobedience” by ignoring the official policy of the church.  Now they want that policy enforced with an iron fist.

A Little review of History:

            In 1979 when General Convention passed a resolution upholding the historic doctrine of the church on human sexuality (marriage and celibacy), these are the same people who said that General Convention policy statements were not binding on anyone and bishops were still free to “act on their conscience.”  Now that they have a General Convention that agrees with them, they want to make its actions the absolute standard of obedience, not only equivalent to the Word of God, but in fact, superior to it!!

            These are the same people who applaud bishops who violate their ordination oath as it applies to upholding the teaching of scripture.  But now they want to make that oath sacred and inviolable as it applies to the authority of church councils- specifically, “the democratic actions of General Convention.” 

            Do you see what is afoot here? 

Question:  How many of you know who Jack Spong is?   John Shelby Spong? (former bishop of Newark)

What about Barbara Harris?   William Countryman? 

            The reason I mention these names is because they have been the leading advocates of the new “revisionist” theology that we are confronting now.  And exactly what is it they teach that is such a problem?  You say, “Oh, that’s all that big argument about sexuality.”  No, it’s much, MUCH bigger than that.  Sexuality is just the tip of the iceberg.  It is ultimately about Jesus Christ.  Who is He?  David Komline preached an excellent sermon on that very subject last Sunday, and addressed that question from the scriptures.  But the “revisionists” take their lead from another direction.  Human reason – intellect.

            When you read the books Jack Spong and the others have written, and you look at what they are teaching, it is really shocking.  The first thing that has to go is the virgin birth.  After all, for an “enlightened” 21^st century person to believe that God would miraculously impregnate a young woman to have a son with no human father involved, well that’s just silly.  Right?  That’s medieval mysticism, and today we know better than that.

            Now, you might say, “Well that’s pretty bad that they don’t accept the virgin birth, but that isn’t what my salvation is based on anyway, so maybe it’s not that big a deal.”  Well, think again, and follow the line of reasoning that these people are taking.

            If there is no virgin birth, then there is also no “incarnation.”  Jack Spong and many other “revisionist” bishops in the Episcopal church have stated publicly and clearly that they cannot be expected to literally believe that portion of the Nicene Creed that claims Jesus is “God from God…. True God from True God.” 

            And if there is no incarnation, there goes the divinity of Christ.  He is no longer the divine Son of the Father, just an “enlightened” man.  And so there is no Trinity.  If Jesus is not God, how can He be part of the Godhead?  Doesn’t work.

            And here’s where it gets personal.  If Jesus is not the divine Son, God incarnate, then there is also no atonement.  The whole idea of Jesus Christ being perfect, God in the flesh, without sin, taking on Himself the sins of the world, and paying the price of sin by shedding His blood, well, all of that is just so much disgusting barbaric nonsense. 

Do you remember what St. Paul and St. John said, that if any spirit says that Jesus Christ has not come in the flesh, that spirit is a liar, and if Jesus has not taken our sins on Himself, died on the cross, and been literally, physically raised from the dead, then guess what?  We are still in our sins!

            The next logical conclusion of all this is that there is no second coming.  If Jesus is just a man who had good social policies and taught tolerance, love and acceptance, then we need not believe that He was literally raised from the dead, and He certainly won’t be coming back. 

            And finally, if you’ve stayed with me this far, you would have to conclude that there are no miracles.  All of those healing stories probably have a logical medical explanation.  We are supposed to believe that Lazarus, Jairus’s daughter and the son of the widow of Nain were all just in a coma, not actually dead.  And as for multiplying loaves and fishes, walking on water, turning water into wine- no way.  These, according to the revisionists, are just “myths” that the church used to embellish the image of Jesus, the great Teacher. 

            All of these basic doctrines of the church, indeed, most of the content of the Nicene Creed, has been denounced and ridiculed by people like Jack Spong, who refers to these doctrines as merely outdated thinking from a “pre-Darwinian world.” 

            Christianity is reduced to little more than a combination of a political action committee and a social club.  That should be disturbing to any Christian, but what disturbs me most about all of this is how little most of you seem to know about what’s going on in your own church.  We’re going to be addressing that in the months ahead.  I hope you will pay attention. 

            Steve Bauman will be telling you about a program called “Episcopal Witness.”  It was designed by an Episcopal layman, a Sr. Warden of a church, who realized that he didn’t know what was going on in the church.  When he started doing his homework he got VERY concerned, and decided to develop a way of letting others know what’s going on. 

            Steve is arranging to have the author of Episcopal Witness come and do some training here.  He will be looking for volunteers who are willing to be trained, to get informed, and then to go out to other churches and spread the word.  Will you pray about that?

            Now, I don’t want to leave you with only bad news.  Because there is so much good news about what God is doing in the world today.

            You know I’ve been reading James Rutz’s book, Mega Shift, and you have heard many stories of miracles.  But the miracles themselves aren’t really the focus.  The main story of Mega Shift is the way God is reaching people in staggering numbers with the message of the Gospel. 

The focus of the old, denominational church structure was largely about maintaining the old, denominational structure.  The focus of the new church is all about extending the Kingdom of God.  Evangelism!  The miracles are actually secondary, just as Jesus promised, that signs and wonders would attend the preaching of the Gospel. 

            Let me read this to you from Mega Shift. 

            “Lest you get the impression that God works only in the outer boondocks, let me mention Goiana, Brazil, population 1,200,000, the busy capital of Goias state.

            “Back in 1989 a housewife and mother named Elizabeth Cornelio became concerned about Goiana because it was a major center of spiritism- among other problems.  So she began meeting for prayer with four women from other churches.

            “Then in 1993 she invited Christians from all over the city to unite and pray.  When 850 showed up, her pastor kicked her out of the church, saying “Members of other churches are not spiritual brothers and sisters.  They are at most spiritual cousins.”  (A good example of the thinking you won’t find in today’s open fellowships.)

            “Currently almost 200,000 women pray for the city every day, linked by her radio program.  When the program had to go off the air for three months in 1999, the crime rate quickly ballooned by 50%.  The city sent a delegation including the mayor and police chief beseeching her to get back on the air.  She did and the crime rate sank.

            “Every believer in town gets into the action in some way.  Christian midwives anoint babies with oil, dedicating them to Christ.  Christians walk the aisles of supermarkets praying for people.  A few preach in bars to great effect, and some even get up at 4:00 am to walk through the empty street cars praying that God will bless each rider that day.”

            The same thing is happening in the Anglican Communion all over the world (except in places like the United States, Canada, and England)  I recently saw this report from a priest who attended a provincial conference in the Anglican Church in the Province of the Southern Cone of South America, in Chile:

     “The worship at the provincial conference in the Southern Cone was surprisingly familiar in many ways. Globalization has struck full force.  The Internet and jet travel woven together with the Holy Spirit has produced an environment that is strangely familiar.  However, although much is the same, there is a huge difference in the atmosphere.  It is the assumption of fidelity.” (What does he mean?  Fidelity to scripture as the Word of God.  Fidelity to the belief that God has spoken, that He said what He meant, and meant what He said, and that He still backs up His word with “the signs and wonders” that are supposed to attend the preaching of the true Gospel.)

     “The unified vision here is that God is real, that He is intervening and transforming people’s lives.  There is a passion for people to come to Christ to be redeemed and transformed, and this is at the heart of normal church life here at ever level:  provincial, diocesan, and parish life.  What you can hardly find anywhere in the north is found in the south virtually everywhere.  

     “Last week, someone spoke on using the Lord's Prayer as a pattern to teach people how to pray.  Things like, how to pray through the Biblical names of God (hallowed by Thy name...) and then how to pray, "Thy Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven" expecting God to change the atmosphere in remarkable ways.  A lay church planter was electric with excitement.  He said, "The field hands in our region can do this.  They can learn to pray this way.  It will be a revolution for them!"

     “A lay missionary did a presentation on the Holy Scriptures and the Holy Spirit calling people to deeper devotion towards the Word and fresh openness to supernatural gifts and manifestations of the Spirit.  It was as genuinely scholarly and precise as anything that could come out of theological think-tanks of the north, only there is a difference.  It had a practical availability that indigenous pastors who come from unbelievably humble circumstances can take and use it.  Again, the fruit was transformed lives.

     “There were Power Point presentations on strategic planning and Purpose Driven principles, and a missionary bishop who spoke from a couple of note cards.  There were university educated professionals, pastors, bishops, and church leaders from seven nations.  They came for a conference called "Creciendo Juntas."  It means "Growing Together."  

     “There were a couple of US clergy at the conference.  They were not the only "Americans."  It is important to remember that South Americans are Americans, too!  It was fun to see the impact that the conference had.  One priest who recently came into the province as a refugee just shook his head and said, "Wow!"  

     “On the second day, another said, "I get it!”  At home, if we had a conference on "Growing Together," it would be about ways for us to become closer as a group.  Here, it meant collaborating together to grow the Kingdom of God!" 

(That seems to summarize the difference we are seeing between the church in the western industrialized world, and the church in so-called “third world” countries.  While we are focused almost entirely on ourselves to the exclusion of the Word of God, they are focused on the Kingdom of God, and how to apply the Word of God to their lives.)

     “While it has been appropriate to battle for the institution over these last forty years, it's time to wake up and smell the coffee.  If you’ve kept up with anything of what God is doing in these days, you must know by now that institutionalism is dead and gone.  There needs to be not only a reformation of the church, and a re-alignment, but there also needs to be a re-focusing on the mission to extend the Kingdom.  We have a lot to learn from these people who are making it work.”  

Again, from Mega Shift, here are some statistics that will give you a lift:

            - Kazakhstan went from 100 evangelical Christians in 1990 to 6,000 in 2000. 

            - Between 1990 and 2004, Christians in Cambodia grew from 200 to 400,000.

            - In 1981 Rio de Janeiro had 30 spiritist (occult) centers for every evangelical church.  By 1996 that had flip-flopped to 40 evangelical churches for every spiritist center.

            - In Kurdistan there were no believers in 1992.  Today there are churches in every major city.

            - More Muslims have turned to Christ in the last ten years than in the previous 1000 years.

            - 80% of the world’s people now have access to the Bible in their own language.

            - Zimbabwe added 6000 new churches from 1992 to 1998.  That comes to 2,240,000 new Christians.

            - China now has the largest church in the world, with between 115 and 120 million true Christians, mostly in house churches, with about one million active church planters.

Question:  This is a serious question.  It is not a trick. 

            How many of you want to see the dead raised? 

Then be here Wednesday night.  We will see a video produced by the ministry of Reinhart Bonnke, a German evangelist who has been preaching in Africa for 50 years, with record-breaking results.  At one of Bonnke’s evangelistic crusades, over one million new believers came to Christ in a single night.  He had a small part to play in the resurrection of a dead man.

The man was killed in a car accident.  He died on the way to the hospital.  He was certified dead by the ambulance workers, by the medical staff at the hospital and by his own physician.  There was no breathing, no pulse, no heartbeat.  His eyes were dilated and fixed, and his body was becoming cold and stiff.  He was sent to the mortuary where his body laid for three days, and was embalmed for burial. 

            His wife was convinced that God would raise her husband.  She knew that Reinhart Bonnke would be preaching at a nearby church where they were launching an evangelistic crusade.  She knew the anointing of God would be in that place, and she believed that if she took the body to the church that he would be raised.  So she got some men to take his body from the mortuary to the church.  They took the casket into the basement of the church where Bonnke was preaching upstairs, unaware of what was happening.

            They laid the body out on a table and he started breathing.  They began to rub his arms and legs and move his head to stimulate him as he gradually came back to life.  His eyes opened, then he sat up.  Finally, they took him upstairs into the church so the amazed crowd of several thousand worshipers could witness the miracle. 

            On the video you will see with your own eyes as he begins to breathe.  And you will see the fully alive, fully recovered man tell his own story of what he experienced during those three days he was dead.  I won’t tell you.  You have to come on Wednesday night and see it for yourself.

Invitation:  Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I will be fasting and praying for God to move in a mighty way on this church.  Anyone want to join me?