13th Sunday after Pentecost -- Aug 30, 2009 Text Ephesians 6:10-20
Grace mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Let us pray:
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight,
O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm 19:14)
Generally when I am asked to deliver the sermon I have a lot of advanced notice. This is both good and bad. It does allow me plenty of time to prepare but my perfectionist side tends to sometimes over refine the work and I get lost in the process. For today I have actually prepared two sermons and will resist the temptation to deliver both.
I have a process I use when preparing to preach. I first pray for wisdom and insight. I then read the appropriate lessons for the day and pick one that I want to work with. This may take several days to make a selection. I then look for parallel passages that might shed light on the verses. I read commentaries and footnotes, I read other’s sermons on the subject and I check back to see if I have written on the verses. To use the word’s of another “I milk a lot of cows in the process but I churn my own butter.”
In my archives I found that I preached on today’s text in another congregation back in the year 2000. I read it and, although it would still be appropriate for today with a minor adjustment to an illustration, it didn’t quite sound right and it did not feel quite right. It reminded me of an old pair of shoes that one might have, at one time, worn daily -- and be quite comfortable in -- yet had not been worn recently. We are comfortable with the shoes we are now wearing and the old ones while, still adequate, do not feel quite right -- not uncomfortable just not as comforting. What changed ? the verses? The Bible? Or me.
I remember a similar situation in my profession. I left the now defunct St. Francis Hospital in 1976 as director of pharmacy to eventually become self employed. When I returned twenty years later as a part time staff pharmacist I was asked to read the departmental policy manual. I started reading what was vaguely familiar and found that I didn’t recognize some of my own work done twenty years back. Once again in the twenty year gap my perspective had changed.
A lot has happened in the ensuing nine years since I wrote on these verses. I have attended numerous Sunday School classes, attended Crossways Training, taught a few classes, heard a lot of sermons here and on the radio, read hundreds of sermons on the internet and read and re-read God’s word - the Bible - many times. I have also been trained as a Stephen Minister. Additionally I more clearly recognize myself as a sinner in a spiritual struggle with my sins. I more clearly recognize and acknowledge an ongoing life long need for continued sanctification, continued exposure to God’s word and -- a need for continuous growth in my relationship with my savior.
While in Florida this last winter I heard a sermon that speculated on the nature of “Paul’s thorn.” Paul said that he suffered from this thorn -- three times he asked God for it to be removed. I have returned to this sermon several times since hearing it on Ash Wednesday. I have since re-read more of Paul’s writings in an attempt to comprehend his struggle.
My motives for reading the word and my perspective have changed over the years. I am a little embarrassed to say that my first serious reading of Paul’s letters was from a copy of the Bible that was written in both German and English and I was reading it to enhance my ability with German. My use of The German language did improve but the Holy Spirit had a far better plan.
Lately I am reading the Bible with an increasing awareness of my own struggle with sin and I am also reading with the perspective and spiritual view of a Stephen Minister who is also ,wounded by sin ---a wounded healer.
I suspect Paul was thinking of His own thorn when he wrote today’s verses in Ephesians. I see no need to damage his reputation by speculating on the nature of his thorn. By doing so we may find ourselves on the wrong side of the Eighth commandment.(false testimony Deut. 5:20) If he thought we needed details, he would have provided them.
He gave us what we need to known in Romans 7:15-25. The important part is that he had his struggle as is evidenced by this writing:
I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
What I am hearing here is struggle. I am hearing that he has sins like we all do that just happen. I am also hearing that he is struggling with a sin or sins that he could be “caught up in” using his own words from Galatians 6:1. Today’s Gospel reading mentions some of sins that we can be caught up in: sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy , slander, arrogance and folly. I might from personal experience add gluttony and idolatry to this list. I am sure that we can think of others.
Sin is sin -- it all offends God but it affects us differently.
We all sin --remember, thought, word, deed --it happens we are human -- Jesus died for these sins. We confess, we try, we stumble -- we take it back to the cross knowing that Jesus paid the price for all sin and He forgives us.
I believe Paul, in Galatians 6:1 and Romans 7: 15-25 is talking about the struggle when sin --Satan -- wants to live in us -- to control us. It is a struggle. We can be caught up in these things and they do become a controlling part of our lives. This sin is not an occasional stumble -- a sinful thought, word, idea or action but a fight -- a fight that we often loose -- a fight that we keep on fighting -- a deeply spiritual battle. We are the playing field -- good and evil are the players. The struggle is brutal but the very fact that we are in the struggle shows that we belong to Jesus. We slip, we confess, we are forgiven. We do not cave in and submit to the sin but we submit to Christ.
We are fighting not against flesh and blood but against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. We need all of the armor and weapons that God provides. Our day of evil will come. Paul lists the following weapons: we know the truth. We have the righteousness of Christ. We have the gospel of peace, We have the shield of faith which can extinguish all the flaming arrows -- temptations. We are protected by the helmet of salvation and we are equipped with a mighty offensive weapon -- the word of God.
Paul reminds us to pray-- pray in the spirit-- that is to seek God’s will with all kinds of prayers and requests. He cautions us to be alert and to pray for each other. Pray that we may all fearlessly make known the mystery of the Gospel. We have the weapons, Christ has the power. In this battle with evil -- the evil one -- we need to use all of the weapons God has provided. We need to shoot the “big guns” before the war is over.
Scripture mentions an even more serious type of sin. Numbers 15:30-31 talks about “defiant sin” this is done with a high hand -- a defiant arrogant attitude -- A me first mentality --- It takes different forms such as:
1. I know your law, I know your will and I have no intention of even attempting to follow your will. I do not care what you want.
2. I do not think that part of the Bible is pertinent to today’s society. It is not loving towards us. You do not understand -- you do not love. Isn’t God love?
3. One of my favorites “Jesus never actually said that” -- or another “ you are reading the old testament and Paul’s letters which I do not accept with authority.” Those are not the words of Jesus? Or “who decided anyway what goes into the Bible.
There are no slips here. There is no battle -- There is no struggle -- the weapons and armor of God are in the storage shed ---- the war is over --- no need to shoot the big guns --- nothing to shoot at -- Satan won. There is no confession because sin has been redefined and/or denied. There is only hardening of the heart to God’s will and a despising of God‘s word. Even this sin can be forgiven --Jeremiah 15:19 states “if you repent -- that is change your thinking -- I will restore you that you may serve me.” Failure to repent and continue to defiantly sin can separate us from God now and eternally.
There is a movement in parts of the world including the United States to declare that teaching what the Bible says about homosexual behavior is hate speech and hence it is a hate crime to preach and teach what the Bible says about this behavior. I wish to state what the Bible says in a truthful yet loving way. (Eph 4:15)
God’s law says that homosexual behavior -- not orientation -- is sinful. (Lev. 18:22)(Rom.1:27) We are all by our nature oriented to various sins. Orientation is not sin. Temptation is not sin. Some struggle with this sin, some slip. Forgiveness is given when requested. Jesus died for all sins. Many have struggled with this and have been forgiven. Many still struggle and will be forgiven. The weapons listed in Ephesians 6:10-20 are for situations -- struggles of this nature.
Some however refuse to accept their behavior as sinful and defiantly continue. We hear excuses -- God made me this way --this must be acceptable to Him. There is no struggle -- in their minds there is no sin.
Some churches have acquiesced and do not call this sin. Some churches have elected leaders that flaunt their disobedience in God’s face effectively blaspheming His name. Some are looking for ways to publicly affirm this sin. And most seriously, some of the leaders defy Jesus by leading others to sin by their example. Read it for yourselves -- Matthew 18:6 “ But if anyone causes one of these little ones to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” When the leaders are defiantly sinning, the weak sheep follow --other defiant sinners seek the fellowship of the defiant leaders. The sheep faithful to God’s word need to find new shepherds who honor God‘s word and make no excuses or non-Biblical compromises and concessions to popular, pseudo enlightened worldly influences. This is God’s word -- spoken in love. I will not recant. I will, however, invite these defiant shepherds and their followers to the cross where they will be forgiven if they confess and repent. For the unrepentant defiant sinner there is no struggle. Satan has won their hearts -- they have no conflicts, no slips, nothing in their minds to confess.
For the rest of us the weapons are ready -- defensive weapons -- offensive weapons. Unlike other weapons that become obsolete with new technology ours are timeless. God’s salvation is forever unless we reject it. God’s word is sharper than any double-edged sword and will never pass away (Matthew 24:35)
