C, Christmas 1 - Luke 2:52-52 Colossians 3:12-17 "Being Favoured"

From Luke 2:51 we hear… And he (Jesus) went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.  And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favour with God and man. (Luke 2:51-52 ESV)

These are the last words spoken of Jesus till John the Baptist baptises him in the Jordan, baptising him into his ministry of death and resurrection, his ministry of forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation.

Interesting words are left with us to describe Jesus’ years between the age of twelve, his puberty, and his baptism by the Holy Spirit and with fire, at the Jordan and on the cross outside Jerusalem.  We hear Jesus “increased” in wisdom, stature, and favour.  There is a sense with the word “increased” that one drives forward as if by beating one’s way through something.  “Increased” comes from the word to chop or cut down, to lament or beat the breast.

Jesus bore his position in humanity with submission.  He honoured his mother and father; he was obedient to his parents.  He struggled and learnt as a youth in the Scriptures and from everyday events in life.  Here the Son of God allowed himself to be taught what it was to be human.  In effect he was cut down to size from God to man, to a child, to a youth, to a young man who would bear the sin of the world on the cross.

But despite being the Son of God, he increased, he allowed himself to be pruned as a human, and struggled forward, advancing and growing, so in he whom wisdom and grace is personified was seen to come to grips with what everyone else experiences who is taught and tested in the tribulations of daily existence.  In doing so, Jesus increased in favour with his fellow country folk.  And with God, by his sacrifice and submission within the very creation he had created together with the Father and the Holy Spirit.

Jesus Christ is God’s favoured one, see to it he is your favoured one too.  Paul tells us, who believe, that Christ is all, and in all. (Colossians 3:11)  He calls you to see his sacrifice, knowing it was for you he made it.  He doesn’t do this to give you an ego boost, but rather he now commands us to put on the new self, to put on Christ.  To put on his holiness as the Son of God, but to also put on the same humility that Jesus put on to save us from sin.

He calls us to put on Christ because we are God’s chosen ones.  We are favoured by God, not because we are good, but because Jesus was — in his birth, increase, death, and resurrection.  We are favoured by our Heavenly Father, elected by God, and are being resurrected by the Holy Spirit.

Therefore Paul compels you to…

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,  bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.  And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.  And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.  And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:12–17 ESV)

In short he compels you to put on Jesus, doing everything in the name of our Lord Jesus, which means doing everything in the name of your favoured One, faithfully following the will of the father, not fighting or fleeing from confronting the truth, to honour yourself, but rather forgiving as God has forgiven you.

But how do we do this?  How do I put on Jesus? In fact in my day to day life I struggle to follow Jesus.  As I increase in years I notice more and more that I do not increase like Jesus did, in submission to his family, to the will of his Heavenly Father.  Rather I notice within me an increase that strives to chop God out of my life so I can take control.  And once I take control I see I’m completely out of control together with a world that is spiralling further and further from order and peacefulness.

Jesus came into this world giving up everything that he rightfully held to be the human I ought to be, yet I find within myself aggression that seeks to separate this gift from my life in order I might gather things around myself that seem good, but in reality are a replacement for the God who died on the cross to save me from myself.

So how do I put on Jesus? How do I forgive as God forgives me? How do I let the love of God rule in my heart? How do I focus on these things when I constantly reject the increase in faith, hope, and love, through the trials and temptations that come my way?  Instead of the increase by which Jesus grew, my increase so often gives way to the temptations and the trials that turn me back into myself so I seek to use Jesus only to justify myself.

Why is my life more about disintegration?  Why am I so uninterested in being integrated with this Jesus who was born in Bethlehem?  Who gave me his all so I might give all of myself to him?  And why should I be integrated with my brothers and sisters in Christ?  Putting on Christ seems too hard.

Is this your struggle too?  If you’re honest with yourself it is.  Jesus lingers in the temple long after his family has left, not to discuss the rain or chat as we do after church, but he stays in his Father’s presence to listen, learn and ask questions.  Heaven forbid if we have to stay in church for a minute longer than we have to!  

As Jesus leads us in our lives and as he gives us deeper insight into the reality of our natural selves, that our being is human.  He allows us to see more and more who we are and why he had to be born, troubled, tested, crucified and resurrected as a human being.  What we see in ourselves is helplessness similar to that of a weak defenceless baby lying in a manger, without stature, without dignity, without favour, without what would be expected of the Son of God.  It seems all wrong but it is just so right and God allows us to experience this helplessness so we might be joined into the help God has given us in Jesus Christ.

The incarnation of Jesus in Mary is a good word from God for us to ponder when we feel the dysfunction of our lives.  When Gabriel came to Mary and told her she had found favour with God.  Know that you too have been found in favour with God.  Just like Mary who askes “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” We can pray to God the Father, “How can this be, why am I favoured, since I am a sinner?”  And we might continue, “Lord I am so helpless in my sinful nature, please save me, help me to forgive.  You are my Saviour so please save me, Lord!”

These are just the words God loves to hear.  Our cry for him to be God in our lives and God of our lives.  Just as Gabriel answers to Mary, God says to you, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.” (Luke 1: 35)  But even greater than Mary carrying the newly Incarnate Son of God, know you have within you the Word made flesh, crucified and resurrected dwelling within you together with the Holy Spirit who is constantly pointing us back to Jesus, who has won the battle over your sin. 

The Risen Lord Jesus together with the Holy Spirit takes up the fight I am helpless to fight against my old sinful nature.  Jesus and the Holy Spirit place inside me the power of the Most High allowing me to forgive, to increase and lovingly integrate with others, despite the tribulations and temptations.  And he does this for you too.

When you struggle with this, as I do too, pray in your helplessness, beat on God’s door in prayer.  When you do you will see he has been knocking on your door the whole time, so that he might continue entering in and show you the favour he has placed upon you.  Amen. 

C, Pentecost 11 Proper 13 - Luke 12:13-15 "What's the deal with coveting?"

Download WORD doc here

 

Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”  But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?”  And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”  (Luke 12:13–15 ESV)

Jesus said to the fellow in the crowd, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” after this man had summoned Jesus to tell someone to divide an inheritance with him.  But we never hear the answer.  Interesting! 

Here Jesus dives under the surface to meet what’s really going on within this man, but also within you and me! Who is my judge and arbitrator?  Who is your judge and arbitrator?

The very fact this man asked the question of Jesus to do his bidding reveals two things.  The first is he was acting as his own judge and arbitrator who had decided in his own mind he deserved his share of the inheritance.  And secondly, he seeks to enlist Jesus’ power because, although he seeks to be his own judge, he hasn’t the power over the mind of someone else.

What’s going on in his mind is the very thing that goes on in the hearts and minds of us all.  When confronted by the mind of God what goes through your mind?  When Jesus asks you, “Who made me a judge and arbitrator over you?” what is your answer?  Your answer will quickly reveal how you understand yourself in relation to coveting and Jesus’ next comment where he says, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

I use to wonder why God gave us the commandments on coveting!  “You shall not covet your neighbour’s house; you shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbour’s.” (Exodus 20:17 ESV)  I know he gave them to us because we are covetous; that we struggle with greed and desire, known as avarice or cupidity, but I didn’t understand why God would have them after the other commandments.

You see, when I want someone else’s stuff the commandment on stealing would surely stop me from taking someone else’s possessions.  And, when the eye starts to look around in lust, I hear within “you shall not commit adultery” ring warning bells in my mind and heart turning me towards repentance and then peaceful living with God and my neighbours.

And so I pondered the Ten Commandments, knowing the first three are about my relationship with God and the second table, the other seven commandments, are about my relationship with people.  So why the commandments on coveting?

Surely bad actions against parents and authority are defended by the command to honour one’s father and mother!  Killing, boundary crossing sexual activity, stealing, and actions of the tongue cover the rest of the commandments so we are protected in community!  So why the commandments on coveting?

More than ever, the importance of the commandments on coveting needs to be understood by us today.  Firstly, so we might know what’s going on within us, and then, so we might be able to serve our neighbour as they struggle to work out what’s going on in them.

You see, the second table of the Ten Commandments deals with sins against people.  And while these commandments deal with this, the last of the commandments on coveting someone else’s stuff and living things, deals not with sin against other people, but rather sinning against the person of ourself.

Put most simply it’s the body waging war with itself.  Everyone who’s broken a diet, a personal new year’s resolution or sort to stop smoking knows what is going on here.  When your mind is tough it makes a decision, no more!  But then by evening it seems the cravings in every cell of the body demands you light up, or slip down to the shop for that block of chocolate!  Who here has sinned against themselves in this way?

But let’s not get into a game of dissection and blame, “My stomach, made me do it!  My hand made me do!  You and I are whole people, mind, body, and spirit!  Each of us needs to ponder our relationship with ourselves.  Taking time out to do this in God’s presence is vitally important for the mental and spiritual wellbeing of every person who walks the planet. 

However, as easy as it may be to take the speck out of someone’s eye, it sure is had to acknowledge the log in our own.  Nevertheless, as tough as it is to take a good hard look at ourself, if we don’t, then we’re no different to a fool coveting earthly riches in the face of death.

So what is your wealth?  What are the riches of this congregation?  How are you arbitrating and judging your earthly reality?  Now we get to the heart of the commandments on coveting.  Now we begin to see and expose why we and the rest of the western world are so plagued with spiritual oppression and depression in all its various forms. 

It seems covetous behaviour leaves us not even being able to live with ourselves let alone care for our neighbour in the face of our perfect inheritance, eternal life!  Our yearning for things in this world leaves us with aching desires!  Sexual desire burns us up with cupidity.  And even when the we get what we covet, the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow moves so we never really get what we chase after.

In his first letter to the Corinthians St Paul tells those who struggle with this in Corinth, as he does also with you, “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.  The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one.” (1 Corinthians 2:14–15 ESV)

Who is judge and arbitrator over you?  Are you about pleasing God or man; be it someone else or yourself?  What do you covet, what do you honestly want more of...?

The easy thing here is to do what many do today in a world that is so bound up with individualism.  And it’s also thinking we’ve adopted in the church where we seek to block being exposed, by demanding faith as an unaccountable personal thing of the heart.  But Jesus himself tells us, “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness.  All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” (Mark 7:20–23 ESV)

The thing here is blocking being exposed, also blocks being forgiven.  Faith is a personal thing of the heart.  It comes from the personal heart of Christ crucified on the cross, so we might live out our God given faith very publically, because we want to, we love to, and because a covetous world needs us Christians to personally bear Jesus’ death and resurrection before the world for its sake, Jesus’ sake, and for the glory of God our Father.

We have heard in Colossians “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” (Colossians 3:1–2 ESV)

You and I have a very clear and concise call to courageously and boldly proclaim, and yes even covet, our treasures in heaven.  Therefore, boldly pray for the Holy Spirit to give you the desire to be in God’s word, to be in his presence, to bring the kingdom of God near those who are your neighbours.  The more you seek the things of God the more you will desire the things of God.  The Spirit will see to it when you allow him to immerse you in the Word of God.

Do not let your coveting separate you from God’s forgiveness.  Jesus says to everyone in this congregation, “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.  Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Luke 12:32–34 ESV)  Amen.

C, Pentecost 7 Proper 9 - 2 Kings 5:1-14 "The Problem Being Parochial"

Download WORD doc here 

 So [Naaman] went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.  (2 Kings 5: 14 ESV)

There’s not a better feeling being clean after one has endured in the stench of a filthy body for some time.  Even better is the peace and tranquillity of health after the churning and trauma of illness.  Picture Naaman standing clean in health after he had suffered at the hand of skin disease.  No more sores, no more oozing, no more itching and stinging, the smell of failing flesh is gone, and so too is the social stigma of being a carrier of leprosy.

But there’s a stigma that’s even worse than the physical ailment seen by all; it’s one not seen by the naked eye of humanity.  Yet it’s more debilitating, and everyone of us are long sufferers and loathers of this stigma we bear in the being of our flesh every day.  This is the oozing, rancid, reality of sin.  Like Naaman all of us have a deep down desperate desire to be rid of the sickly stench of our sinfulness.

However, it’s surprising Naaman even had the opportunity to be cleansed, let alone the cleansing once he was given the advice which would free him from the foulness of his flesh.  We hear…

…Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stood at the door of Elisha’s house.  And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean.”  But Naaman was angry and went away, saying, “Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper.  Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage.  (2Kings 5:9-12)

Now it’s easy for us to understand Naaman’s anger.  Why?  Because each of us bear the same pride as that of Naaman.  This pride manifests itself in his parochial attitude; the same parochial short sightedness as all of us bear.

A little test will demonstrate our bias.  Are you a cat person or a dog person?  What about Ford or Holden?   After all we all know Fords are “Found On Rubbish Dumps”, and Holdens are Holes, Oil Leaks, Dents & Engine Noise.  Perhaps you’re a lover of the green John Deere over the mighty Red of the Case or blue of the New Holland.  How about your political alliance; that always causes the hackles to flair!  And when it comes to the footy, surely we all stand as one!  Dare I even mention the other ludicrous code and how they hold and kick a football!

The point of this little, perhaps humorous, exercise demonstrates how our pride leads us away from listening, into opinions which are more or less built on emotive judgments.  It’s more than coincidence when a “one eyed supporter” evokes a war of words, always with another who’s just as opinionated it seems!  Pride always rubs pride up the wrong way!

Naaman expected big things from Elisha.  And Elisha surely delivered, but not as the military man had expected.  No pomp and ceremony, not even a face to face meeting, and washing in the waters of the Jordan, that’s just laughable; ludicrous!  Like Naaman, being parochial causes us problems.

But how did Naaman come to the point where he was commanded to wash in the Jordan seven times?  These are a string of events that break the parochial single mindedness of the most powerful people and they all start with the capture of a little child.  In the scheme of earthly things, this young girl is a nobody; she amounts to nothing in the big picture of Syro-Israeli relations.  We can be quite confident there wasn’t talk of her capture in the halls of power at Damascus or Samaria.

Yet this is from whom the whole even unfolds!  A captured child of Israel, speaks to her mistress, the wife of Naaman, about what Elisha, the prophet in Israel would do.  This little child speaks and cuts through layers of protocol and parochial etiquette.  She could be mistaken as obnoxious for speaking out of turn; after all she is a slave.  But against pride and protocol the wife listens to her, then Naaman listens to his wife, and then the king in Damascus listens to his leprous military leader, and sends word to his enemy, the king of Israel.

And it gets a hostile parochial reception from the Israelite king.  As it would from any of us!  After all this is the enemy king, requesting for his unclean military commander, one who has been very successful in leading battle against Israel, to be healed of an incurable disease.  What would the Israelite king have thought, when confronted with a leprous, Gentile, warlord, breaking all the boundaries of parochial protocol?  Surely he’s picking a fight with this request!

“Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Only consider, and see how he is seeking a quarrel with me.” (2 Kings 5: 7)  Is the king’s conclusion!  The irony in his words names God yet exposes his lack of trust in God but rather trust in his own parochial godliness.

How often do we listen to the parochial god within rather than trust the eternal Father in heaven whose desire it is to free us from the longsuffering stigma of sin which kills and causes our narrow-mindedness?  How quick do we depart from the word of God and trusting in our own limited understanding lose sight of the cross?  And when the going gets tough, how habitually do we fall into the mindset that the tough must get going rather than allowing the Holy Spirit access into our being so we can pray and ponder God’s word, therefore glorifying all that has been done for us?

Like Naaman we get angry; like the king we tear at ourselves fearing the worst and unlike the little Israelite slave girl we hang onto our parochial ways to the detriment of grace, mercy and peace.

 After he is encouraged to listen to the command, I imagine Naaman went down into the Jordan, just to prove a point.  “I’ll show them all how ridiculous is bathing in the Jordan!”  Defiantly he doesn’t even wash, but just dips in the river seven times and is healed.  Now Naaman, the mighty military man from Syria is released from his scourge and like the little slave girl through whom God began the whole process now too carries the same innocent clean smoothness of her flesh and faith.

Surely the events recounting Naaman’s healing are a reminder to us Gentiles to return to Word of God.  To repent and daily trust in the actions of God in his Word, and what he has done for you having been baptised into Jesus’ death and resurrection.  Having had the old parochial sinful self buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. (Col 2:12)

Let the Holy Spirit continue leading you from the stigma of all your sin, into the promised peace and holiness of your heavenly home, together with God the Father and Jesus Christ his Son, your Lord and Saviour.  Amen.

C, Christmas 1 – Luke 2:51-52 Colossians 3:12-17 “Being Favoured”

Download WORD doc here

From Luke 2:51 we hear… And he (Jesus) went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favour with God and man. (Luke 2:51-52 ESV)

These are the last words spoken of Jesus till John the Baptist baptises him in the Jordan, baptising him into his ministry of death and resurrection, his ministry of forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation.

Interesting words are left with us to describe Jesus' years between the age of twelve, his puberty, and his baptism by the Holy Spirit and with fire, at the Jordan and on the cross outside Jerusalem. We hear Jesus "increased" in wisdom, stature, and favour. There is a sense with the word "increased" that one drives forward as if by beating one's way through something. "Increased" comes from the word to chop or cut down, to lament or beat the breast.

Jesus bore his position in humanity with submission. He honoured his mother and father; he was obedient to his parents. He struggled and learnt as a youth in the Scriptures and from everyday events in life. Here the Son of God allowed himself to be taught what it was to be human. In effect he was cut down to size from God to man, to a child, to a youth, to a young man who would bear the sin of the world on the cross.

But despite being the Son of God, he increased, he allowed himself to be pruned as a human, and struggled forward, advancing and growing, so in he whom wisdom and grace is personified was seen to come to grips with what everyone else experiences who is taught and tested in the tribulations of daily existence. In doing so, Jesus increased in favour with his fellow country folk. And with God, by his sacrifice and submission within the very creation he had created together with the Father and the Holy Spirit.

Jesus Christ is God's favoured one, see to it he is your favoured one too. Paul tells us, who believe, that Christ is all, and in all. (Colossians 3:11) He calls you to see his sacrifice, knowing it was for you he made it. He doesn't do this to give you an ego boost, but rather he now commands us to put on the new self, to put on Christ. To put on his holiness as the Son of God, but to also put on the same humility that Jesus put on to save us from sin.

He calls us to put on Christ because we are God's chosen ones. We are favoured by God, not because we are good, but because Jesus was — in his birth, increase, death, and resurrection. We are favoured by our Heavenly Father, elected by God, and are being resurrected by the Holy Spirit.

Therefore Paul compels you to…

Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:12–17 ESV)

In short he compels you to put on Jesus, doing everything in the name of our Lord Jesus, which means doing everything in the name of your favoured One, faithfully following the will of the father, not fighting or fleeing from confronting the truth, to honour yourself, but rather forgiving as God has forgiven you.

In the short time I have been here in this parish. I have witnessed your struggle to break free from sin, both as individuals and as a corporate body. I have faithfully called you to favour Christ over self, fame, fortune, and family.

As we struggle to do so, some have sadly witnessed the falling away of loved ones and as a consequence too succumb to the same, turning the back on God, and following the family out the door.

Then some have sought ways and means of growing the congregation, in a bid to bring those falling away back in, but this has not found favour in God's eyes either, nor has it in the eyes of those who have left. The cynicism felt towards today's economic and political environment is only exacerbated when we in the church seek to grow the church through the same powers as does business or government.

But the church will only ever be favoured, if at all in this world, when we allow ourselves to be "increased" or "painfully grown" in Christ, putting on his love, and abandoning all other ways favoured by humanity. We then will return to our first love and favour God once again before all other gods.

Yet in doing this, rougher weather will follow. Most of humanity will favour us less as we grow in Christ. Your own family who has turned its back on God will see your humility and weakness in Christ and their pride will cause them to dash you to pieces, you who are close to them but closer to God. Deep down they will know those who are faithful, by your unwillingness to yield even to the point of death.

And contempt towards you will be heightened by your ability to forgive, seemingly the unforgiveable. Others will not want you to forgive them, because owning the forgiveness will expose the reality of their natures. Nor will they want you to forgive others, lest these "undesirables" be seen equal with those of more favourable standing.

But that's okay. Others unbelief and scorn will be a testimony to you being the favoured ones of God. The sacrifice and martyrdom of those in the church will become familiar once again in the western church. And it will only spur the church to look all the more into the word of God, the songs of God in the Psalms, and into the rich tapestry of hymnody sewn in the sacrifice and deaths of God's saints from over the past two thousand years.

Favour God over all other gods. Our Heavenly Father favours you more than any of your other gods do! So put on Jesus, be chopped down to size, so he might resurrect you in his holiness and compassion, kindness and humility, meekness and patience, bearing with one another, bearing your cross for one another.

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:17 ESV)

You are God's favoured ones, remain in his favour! Amen.

A, Pentecost 8 Proper 14 – Romans 10:13-15,17 “Practising Faith”

Romans 10:13–15, 17 (ESV)

For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!" So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

Faith and worship are connected! One doesn't exist without the other!

Practising the faith is coming into God's presence to confess real sin, acknowledging the reality of the sinful self, thus the need for the real Saviour, and hearing and believing God's word of forgiveness in the absolution through the Saviour.

Practising the faith is hearing the word of God preached; hearing and believing your total need for a Saviour. This is the proclamation of Jesus' death and resurrection for you, the sinner, so your trust grows all the more as you allow your sin and your nature to be daily buried with him in baptism, and raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God. (Colossians 2:12 ESV)

Practising the faith therefore increases faith—as you are drawn further out of yourself; away from trusting your deeds, listening to your own understanding, and believing in your way of life. The faith given in worship comes from God and his word, transforming and conforming your understanding, your deeds, according to his way and will—his life.

Faith and worship are connected! One does not exist without the other! However this can be abused too, when one trusts in themselves, allowing faith to be individualistic, personal and exclusive of God and everyone else.

This abuse is often verbally expressed like this, "I don't go to church, but I believe in my heart." When this type of nonsense comes from within us, God challenges us, "What do you actually believe?" Because true saving faith comes from hearing the word of God, the good news of Jesus Christ. Whereas scripture clearly tells us…

…from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person." (Mark 7:21–23 ESV)

So practising faith is not practising what comes out of us. When you and I do this we practise a faith in ourselves, rather than the "one" true faith which can only come from God and lead us to him. Furthermore, we can stop and ask ourselves, "Where is the glory going here?" If one seeks God and uses "Jesus" sounding language as a means to bring glory to the self, one may as well go and heap burning coals on the head right now, because this faith is spiritually doing just this!

The world is full of this type of self-centred worship, outside and inside, the church. Why? Because all of us are human. All of us yearn to have power and control. We seek our comfort and security from what we own. And with the right to lay these things up for ourselves, we use them as status once we've got them. But the kingdom, the power, and glory are God's, alone! Amen.

Yes they are! Therefore, faith is moulded by what we hear and receive from God. This happens with persistent perseverance and endurance.

You see, all of us seek glory for the self. But the difference between those outside and those inside the church, is those outside are cutting themselves off from the sole source of faith that saves. This also stands as warning and encouragement to those inside the church too. To keep allowing ourselves be brought into the proclaimed presence of God, where we are grafted into his forgiveness. And in turn allow ourselves to be gatherers of God, bringing others back so he might graft them into his forgiveness too.

Paul speaks about the Jews and us, and faith, in Romans eleven.

…if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. Then you will say, "Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in." That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. (Romans 11:17–22 ESV)

Worship is the root of faith. To be in Christ is not the other way around. Faith only every preceded worship for one person. This person was faithful unto death, whereas the rest of us flee every time the going gets tough.

The faithfulness of Jesus Christ sees him alone on a mountain in prayer before the Father. Jesus faithfully prayed, giving up his own divinity, and in doing so acknowledged the kingdom, the power, and the glory as solely our Heavenly Father's.

The faithfulness of Jesus Christ sees him walking on the waters of chaos, saving his church, and those within it who are daily drowning, raising to life you who honestly acknowledge you're sinking in sin.

If you're asking the question: How do I believe? Is my faith of the one true faith? As your pastor I appeal to you on behalf of the Great Shepherd of our souls, to keep on keeping on in Christ! To endure in the only good news, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. To persevere in the hearing of God's word, the forgiveness of sins, your grafting into the nourishing sap of salvation and forgiveness of sins.

Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints; but let them not turn back to folly. Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land. Steadfast love and faithfulness meet; righteousness and peace kiss each other. Faithfulness springs up from the ground, and righteousness looks down from the sky. Yes, the Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase. Righteousness will go before him and make his footsteps a way. (Psalm 85:8–13 ESV)

Faith comes from listening to God, receiving his peace. Jesus meets you with his ever-present love and faithfulness in his word and sacraments. God's glory continues to shine on Jesus' righteousness which can give you peace.

In faithfulness to the Father, and to you, Jesus was crucified and buried. On the third day the Faithfulness of God was raised, spring up from the ground, and the Father looks upon those who trust Jesus as their righteousness.

Walk in the ways of the Lord, allow his righteousness to be your forgiveness. Allow endurance in the things which give life and salvation; the word which puts to death sin and daily raises you to life eternal. The Lord gives what is good, to those who willing receive the word of God. God will gather into his harvest. His holy land will yield its increase!

All glory to the Father, all glory to the Son, all glory to the holy Spirit, now and forever, Amen.

A, Easter Sunday – Colossians 3:1-4 “$0 to Pay!”

Zero Dollars to Pay
A sermon on Colossians 3:1-4
Easter Sunday (Year A) 24/04/11
Pastor Heath Pukallus Katanning-Narrogin Lutheran Parish

$0 to pay! …sounds too good to be true! But what an advertising slogan! I saw this in a big bold type plastered all over the front of a shop the other day. No doubt it was for an Easter sale.

We all seem to love sales of sorts! A garage sale, a seasonal sale, an end of year sale, a back to school sale, a run out model sale… Bring your wallet, bring your trailer, we won't be undersold! Bring your husband, bring your wife, bring the whole family! Grab a bargain before they're all gone! Guaranteed lowest price around! At this price it won't last long! Save, save, save… it's the once a year three day sale. Come in today, nothing to pay!

Looking away from the $0 to pay banner, I cast my eye over the stock inside the shop. Ooh! One of those would be nice, and that over there, now that looks good. I could get that, I don't have to pay. It's free! Well that's what my mind is telling me, anyway! So I glance back at the $0 to pay banner.

$0 to pay it says, then I realise what else it says. In smaller print I read …till 2013. 0$ to pay till 2013. But it's too late; the seed has already been sown. The thought of getting has imbedded itself in my mind. Ah well! I'll get it today and think about paying another day!

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. (Colossians 3:1–4 ESV)

Imagine if God advertised the death and resurrection of his Son, Jesus Christ. Perhaps this advert might appear as the ultimate three day sale. Because in fact it is!

0$ to pay! A call to cast your eye to eternity! This is the lifetime EternaVision sale. $0 to pay! Full Stop! That's it; no hidden cost.

Well that's not entirely true! There's no hidden cost for us! Nevertheless, there was a cost and it wasn't hidden. It cost God the Father separation from his Son! It cost the Son his life on the cross. It might have appeared that the fine print got him, the devil in the detail, was in fact the devil.

But not as a victory for the devil as he might have thought. He didn't win, and now he never will win over Christ. The devil got done in the detail. The fine print means he now has limited power for a limited time and eventually he will be bound forever and get what Christ experienced on the cross. He and all his cronies will experience compounding alienation from God's glory, from any glory, and experience an eternity of God's wrath.

In their suffering there will be no more to pay! They won't be able to work their way out of God's wrath. The greater the effort to seek separation from suffering, the greater the realisation they will not be able to pay their way out, for they will be living an eternal life of pain, paying forever.

However, in this age it seems that many would rather this than the $0 to pay of an eternal vision, where there is truly nothing to pay!

It seems people want the $0 today but want the devil in the detail, and fatality in the fine print. Nothing to pay today, until eternity! And then pay dearly – deadly!

Imagine if there was a sale in the shops that truly claimed $0 to pay. Yes! At the beginning it would be treated with suspicion, but then the floodgates would open, and like a Boxing Day sale, people would be falling over themselves to grab a bargain.

Many though seem to look this gift horse in the mouth, and put conditions on God. However, when most of us go into a shop and make a purchase we accept their conditions. It's later on when the fine print comes into play that we might get caught out and whinge about the retailer.

But with God's $0 to pay there is a 100% reduction in cost! Not a 20%, 50%, 80%, or 99.9% reduction, but a genuine 100% reduction. If only our world would recognise this then the pews would be full and people would be hanging from the rafters in places like this.

So the price is paid, and it pays for us, hidden in Christ, not to continue hiding stuff from him…

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. (Colossians 3:5–10 ESV)

The text reads on with what some might say is the cost in this earthly life…

Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. (Colossians 3:12–14 ESV)

It seems the cost of Christianity is one must do humility, patience, forgiveness, and love. But then the $0 to pay begins to look like there is still at least a small percentage to pay. And if this is the case then it's no wonder many look the gift horse in the mouth and believe it's too long in the tooth to be of benefit to them!

However, those who do this are misreading what is not only the sale of the century but salvation into all eternity! We read on in Colossians 3…

…let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:15–17 ESV)

We have so much to be thankful for! Not only does Jesus give us a new way, there is truly nothing to pay! We don't have to do love, do humility, do forgiveness, patience, compassion and all the things we're called to do. Rather they're done in us and through us by the Holy Spirit. Let me say that again! We don't do them; they're done in us and through us by the Holy Spirit!

All it costs us is for us to stop and allow God to pay our way, and work in our place today. Surly that is not too much to ask, since he is the one doing all the work?

So grab a bargain today! Save, save, save, by believing you are saved, saved, saved! This three day event, Good Friday to today, Easter Sunday, is on sale now. Bring your husband, bring your wife, bring your whole family, bring your life! Come in grab the bargain today, while you're alive it's never too late! Take home Jesus today, take home Jesus tomorrow! Let Jesus take you home to eternity! $0 to pay; it's the only way! Amen.

C, Last Sunday of the Church Year Proper 29 - Colossians 1:11-20, Psalm 46 "Stop in the Name of Love"

There’s no doubt we live in busy times. Many of us have our days filled even before they begin. Some are so busy that on going to bed they can’t sleep from thinking about what needs to be done tomorrow. Does tomorrow ever come?

At the beginning of the day some of us rise early to meet the storms which await us. These are people who busy themselves with the attitude when the going gets tough the tough get going. And they definitely get going without a moment’s delay! They grab the bull by the horns busily brawling with their beast.

If you’re a person like this every minute of your day is filled. “Where does the time go?” So focused on the tasks at hand there never seems to be a time to relax, sit down, and take the load off the feet.

Or alternatively, one might busy themselves in the tasks of relaxation. To an outsider watching this person’s tiring efforts relaxing might raise thought, “if this is how they relax I’d hate to see them work!” These people often seem superior or second to none in their work ethic. So dedicated, so focused, it might seem these people are supreme super humans!

Busy as a bee, people like this seem to get busy living, or are they in fact busy dying? Like a busy bee, life flies past in a flash, regardless their life’s length; toilsome duty seems to rush them through life to death. However, on their death beds, do they lament over not having busied themselves more? Did they ever stop to smell the roses?

Another type of person who always busies themselves is not as obvious as the person who can’t sit still. Rather this person seems to be relaxed; maybe just a little too relaxed at first sight. But on the inside boils a nervousness which makes the person so insecure they end up doing nothing. Well so it seems, to those around them! However, these people too are very busy; the storm clouds aren’t out there. No! They’re in here, in the heart.

Imminent and eminent, or looming and well-known, are these storms to those who see them towering on the horizon of their hearts. To those who observe this type of person they might think they’re not up to much. But really they are frozen with fear! They’re so consumed by worry and doubt their lives appear inactive yet they are anything but inactive on the inside as their troubles tower overhead.

And so we have two types of people. Those who can’t sit still because they are so busy, and then there are those who do sit still but are completely oblivious to what’s going on around them because their hearts are busy buried in worry and doubt.

In Psalm 46 God calls you to… “Be still and know that I am Lord”. It’s such a simple sentence, so why does it sentence us to so much strife? Is there any of us that can truly “stop” and let the Lord be the Lord?

Those who have hectic lives struggle to stop moving because they believe if they do, they might miss out, they might look slack, they might not be doing the right thing, or they might begin to see their need to be busy is actually their weakness. And in being still and seeing their limitations they might begin to know they need a Saviour.

On the other hand, those who seem still but are shaking with constant doubt and worry within — here the call to stop, to be still and know God — are forced into deeper and deeper worry and doubt. If they stop and rest from their worry and doubt, they might notice this Lord they are meant to be still before, and he will see their hearts and be the storm of all storms raging over their lives of fear and confusion.

So both the movers and the shakers of this world have great trouble in being truly still and knowing that God is Lord. Which are you? A mover or a shaker? Or perhaps a bit of both?

Whoever you are your Heavenly Father seeks peace for you; he wants to provide and sustain you. Jesus Christ, God the Son, has a gracious desire to rescue you and carry you home. And God the Holy Spirit want to be your mover and the shaker willing you to Christ and in him find rest.

And so God calls you to stop and be still in Jesus Christ. He sends the Holy Spirit to move those shaking in fear and to shake those moving towards death. God calls you to be still in he who is above all things and through all things. Hear about Jesus in whom you’re called to be still…

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. (Colossians 1:15–18 ESV)

To be preeminent means Jesus is supreme, the highest of the high, and second to none. Yet we might ask how is Jesus supreme, and we find his supremacy in his stillness on the cross, where he bowed his head, gave up his spirit, and where all was finished and stopped for us whose spirits busy themselves in the storms of life which come and go.

In Psalm 46 we hear… the nations rage, the kingdoms totter, and God can utter his voice and the earth melts (v. 6). But even so with the Lord, the God of Jacob with us, he is our strength and refuge; he is our help in trouble. With God we have nothing to fear. He has the power to stops all conflicts in us, upon us, and surrounding us.

Together the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit — our Triune God — is the mover and shaker of everything. In the Father we find refuge, Jesus is our only true strength, and our helper is the Holy Spirit. He teaches us to give up our spirit, letting Christ begin it and finish it for us at the cross. Then in Christ the Holy Spirit can begin to move us and conform us in accordance with the Spirit of God.

But what is the power of this Spirit? It is the power of love in whom God has his being. Jesus bore this Spirit and therefore the power of love, because he is God… For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. (Colossians 1:19–20 ESV)

Years ago there was a song sung by a group of three, who ironically have the name, The Supremes. They sang a song called, Stop in the name of Love. But we have a Supreme Three-in-One, Triune God who also calls you and me to “Stop in the name of Love”, or to be still and know that I am God. Through Jesus’ blood spilt on the cross you know that God is love, and his love is transferred to those who stop and allow that love to be powerfully transmitted into us and through us by the Holy Spirit.

The fact of the matter is God knows you and he knows best. He knows his children need him to take us into his rest, into Christ’s rest on our cross and in the tomb. Why? Because left to ourselves and our own righteousness we are busily, blindly, toughing it out towards eternal turmoil. Those who rely on self motivation and continue refusing God are toiling toward eternal separation from God; drowning in worry and doubt not knowing true love.

If you’re one who is bound by busyness, running here and there never getting done what you believe needs to be done. If you’re one whose mind is busy with worry and doubt; or if you’re somewhere in between — God calls you to stop and be still, in the name of Love. Stop and know God; stop and know his love. Be still and know that the Lord is your Righteousness; he has finished ALL righteousness out of love for you.

Let he who is Preeminent, he who is Supreme, execute justice and righteousness for you, in you, at your cross — in your baptism. Pray for the Holy Spirit to remain in you and continue to give you faith as you hear his Word. Amen.

May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Amen. (Colossians 1:11–14 ESV)

C, Pentecost 25 Proper 28 - Luke 21:5-19 "Eternal Endurance"

In the gospel reading before us today, Jesus speaks of the temple in Jerusalem and its desolation. But not only its demise through destruction but also the collapse of creation in future events of chaos!

When what we know and have depended upon for everyday life disintegrates, the restless hearts of humanity will boil over with fear and horrors that history hasn’t even experienced. The destruction of Jerusalem and its temple—a place where heaven met earth and God dwelt with man—all those years ago in 70 AD, stands as a reminder and warning to us that the collapse of creation is coming.

And rightly so, the hearts of those who have elevated their created surroundings into their hope will be overcome with unquenchable anguish. Those who have lifted up this life as their heavenly paradise are heading for devastation just like the temple.

In stark contrast to these terminal times is the enduring name of our Lord, Jesus Christ. He is the new temple. Through him, heaven meets earth. He is created like you and me, but he is also eternally begotten. Not only did he have a human beginning, conceived in the womb of a woman, God the Son has always been there eternally enduring with our Heavenly Father, even when the world was created and before.

Like the temple in Jerusalem, we find a place with God in Jesus’ person. No longer do we need to have our sin atoned for in the sacrifice at the temple with the spilling of animal’s blood, but we’ve had his blood spilt for us. The temple of his body was bludgeoned, beaten, and bled; left like temple rubble was Jesus dead on the cross.

We know the temple in Jerusalem has never been rebuilt, and will never be re-erected. Nevertheless, Jesus has been resurrected and lives and rules eternally at the right hand of the Father in heaven. Yet, we also know now that Jesus lives and rules eternally in the hearts of those who allow the Holy Spirit to create life-giving faith.

As the walls of Jerusalem’s temple crumbled and Jesus’ days on earth were chaotically brought to an end, we can expect the same thing to happen to us. As creation shows its signs of coming down, those living in Christ will increasingly be handed over to torturous times. Humanity’s darkness and chaos within will begin spilling out in spasms of spiritual and physical acts of hostility.

But this hostility will be a cover for the fear humanity has when it sees the things it adorns as beautiful, and the things to which humanity makes sacrificial offerings, beginning to perish.

In fact, in these times people will be looking more and more for answers, they will be more and more spiritual, and they will seek these things more and more in all the wrong places. The temples we have come to love and trust will come tumbling down.

This includes Christian people too. Many calling themselves Christian, who in fact have Christ temple-ing inside them, will rather trust the frame of his temple, their human frame, and be deceived; caught up chasing myths due to the spiritual and physical hostilities taking place in and around them. Some of the greatest attacks against the one true Christian church gathered around Jesus Christ, and individuals within it, will come from within the ranks of the church.

There will be those who will act towards faithful Christians as did Judas Iscariot towards Jesus Christ; seemingly with Christ one minute and against him and believers the next. There will be those who worship Jesus with us one day and then the next turn on us and hand us over to all types of torture, just as Jesus was worshiped on Palm Sunday and then handed over to death on Good Friday. Some will also be martyred for standing firm in Christ, just as has happened in the past, and is even happening in parts of the world today.

As the true church allows itself to be God’s mouthpiece, calling people out of darkness, being God’s agents of light in the world, the church is not going to win any favours from the those whose eyes have been blinded by darkness, and who refuse to have their darkness removed. Therefore, when the world is shaken, and you begin to witness horrors happening around you, know the end of suffering, or the realisation and revelation of eternal joy, is drawing near.

Jesus tells us not to be afraid, not to go after those who come seeking to stand in Christ’s place, or who seek to lead you by placing dread and fear on you that the end is coming. Jesus calls you and all who believe to stand firm in what our help really is. And our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth.

Confess your sins and call on the name of the Lord, and he will forgive the guilt of your sin. In fact, you will only endure in him, his Word, his flesh, enabled by the Holy Spirit, who will fire faith within. He will enable you to endure whatever is shaken around you and within you.

One might wonder how we might survive these horrific days, if they are to come in our time! But in reality these times have been coming ever since Christ was raised into heaven, ever since the Holy Spirit was sent ten days later at Pentecost, and ever since the temple was sacked in Jerusalem forty odd years later in 70 AD.

However, these times of chaos and destruction come to all of us individually in our death. One day they will come as a wholesale event on earth but all of us are faced with the destruction of our mortal frame, just as the temple was destroyed and so too was Christ, momentarily on the cross.

Those who live in the one true church adorn Jesus Christ with their faith, showing and reflecting him in all his nobility and beauty. Just like one who loves living in the light continues in the upkeep of the candle or the wick, those who decorate Jesus Christ as their Saviour, will endure in faith, hope, and love towards him.

True believers will want to be in Jesus’ presence face to face in the warmth of his love, so they allow the enduring fuel of faith to burn within. For them it’s no longer the temple of the human frame that’s most important, but he who lives within making it a holy temple of the Lord.

So it won’t be a surprise when others hate us for not upholding the righteousness they believe to be beneficial in this world. They won’t like hearing about the truth of our darkness as we confess it to the Lord, because in our confession and subsequently being found blameless in God’s presence, others will know they too are judged guilty but will churn because they won’t want to rid themselves of their righteousness and therefore be at blame before God.

Then in their blame they will turn on you. Those dwelling in Christ, and he in them, will be persecuted. In refusing to align with humanity’s righteousness won’t win true Christians any honour in this wretched life.

If you’re wondering if you’re one within the ranks of Christ, know you are when you allow the Holy Spirit to lead you to repentance, returning you to Jesus’ righteousness, being in the peaceful presence of the Father; not to escape death out of fearful expectation of the worst, but because in you are love and joy just being with him.

Despite the threat against us, in spite of our reputation as “good people” amongst the world’s righteous being lost, and notwithstanding the trouble we will face this side of death because of our politically incorrect trust that Jesus Christ is the only way, the only truth, and the only life, Jesus calls us to not only trust him but to stand in him and boldly speak his name.

He promises, “This will be your opportunity to bear witness. Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. You will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your lives.” (Luke 21:13–19 ESV)

Do you see what’s happening here? Some may be put to death, but not a hair of the head will perish! Our endurance will gain life. In our faithfulness to death we will gain life! Just as Jesus endured in his Father, enduring and knowing full well he would die, we too can endure in the Father, knowing full well we too will die. But death will have no hold over us, our death rather will be a restoration to whom we were always meant to be, not one hair of the head will perish.

In fact, even today as God allows the idols and temples of your heart to be destroyed he is calling you to endure in the joy and love of having your sinful self daily drowned in repentance, having all your righteousness die, so Christ might fulfil all righteousness within you.

As you notice the kingdoms and nations raging, the earth shaking, and the hatred of those against Christ in you, know that death has already been dealt its death in you, because having been buried with him in baptism …you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. (Colossians 2:12 ESV)

In other words, what can truly now harm you? Nothing, when you allow him to daily raise you through repentance in faith! And in this faith which God gives, he will faithfully fill you with peace, joy, and love. By allowing Jesus Christ to endure in you as your Saviour, you will endure in him and be his light of love in a world of darkness and sin.

But those who reject his Word, who refuse his gift of grace, who stop God from being God within by blocking the Holy Spirit and the faith he seeks to give, (which is the new enduring eternal nature he want humanity to have in Christ), they sin against him and will be doomed.

“But when all these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” (Luke 21:28 ESV) God is work in you enduring in you in order that you gain your eternal life in him. Amen.