Anglican Orthodox Churchsm
Worldwide Communion
Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity
Sunday Report
 |
|
The Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity – September 1, 2024
Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity Propers:
The propers are special prayers and readings from the Bible. There is a Collect for the Day; that is a single thought prayer, most written either before the re-founding of the Church of England in the 1540’s or written by Bishop Thomas Cranmer, the first Archbishop of Canterbury after the re-founding.
The Collect for the Day is to be read on Sunday and during Morning and Evening Prayer until the next Sunday. The Epistle is normally a reading from one of the various Epistles, or letters, in the New Testament. The Gospel is a reading from one of the Holy Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The Collect is said by the minister as a prayer, the Epistle can be read by either a designated reader (as we do in our church) or by one of the ministers and the Holy Gospel, which during the service in our church is read by an ordained minister.
The propers are the same each year, except if a Red-Letter Feast, that is one with propers in the prayerbook, falls on a Sunday, then those propers are to be read instead, except in a White Season, where it is put off. Red Letter Feasts, so called because in the Altar Prayerbooks the titles are in red, are special days. Most of the Red-Letter Feasts are dedicated to early saint’s instrumental in the development of the church, others to special events. Some days are particularly special and the Collect for that day is to be used for an octave (eight days) or an entire season, like Advent or Lent. The Propers for today are found on Page 210-211, with the Collect first:
The Collect for the Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity
KEEP we beseech thee, O Lord, thy Church with thy perpetual mercy; and, because the frailty of man without thee cannot but fall, keep us ever by thy help from all things hurtful, and lead us to all things profitable to our salvation; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Epistle for the Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity. The Epistle. Galatians vi. 11.
YE see how large a letter I have written unto you with mine own hand. As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh. But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is cruci-fied unto me, and I unto the world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God. From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus. Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.
The Gospel for the Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity. The Gospel. St. Matthew vi. 24.
NO man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, Be not anxious for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than the food, and the body than the raiment? Behold the birds of the heaven, that they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; and your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not ye of much more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit unto the measure of his life? And why are ye anxious concerning raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God doth so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Be not therefore anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the Gentiles seek; for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Be not therefore anxious for the morrow: for the morrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
On Point
Someone asked, where do the quotes come from? The answer is from the people who uttered them. But, how did you find them? Oh, that. Some from Bishop Jerry, others from Rev. Geordie and many from Rev Bryan Dabney and a few from other places. Rev. Geordie – England (right)
Points to Ponder:
These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates: and let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the LORD.
Zechariah 8:16-17
But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
St. John 4:23
For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Galatians 5:14
“Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.”
“To educate a man in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society.”
“A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education.”
“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.”
“Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.”
– Theodore Roosevelt
“Urge all of your men to pray, not alone in church, but everywhere. Pray when driving. Pray when fighting. Pray alone. Pray with others. Pray by night and pray by day. Pray for the cessation of immoderate rains, for good weather for Battle. Pray for the defeat of our wicked enemy whose banner is injustice and whose good is oppression. Pray for victory. Pray for our Army, and Pray for Peace. We must march together, all out for God.”
– George Patton
It costs something to be a real Christian, according to the standard of the Bible. There are enemies to be overcome, battles to be fought, sacrifices to be made, an Egypt to be forsaken, a wilderness to be passed through, a cross to be carried, a race to be run. Conversion is not putting a person in an arm-chair and taking them easily to heaven. It is the beginning of a mighty conflict, in which it costs much to win the victory.
— J. C. Ryle
When a Christian shuns fellowship with other Christians, the devil smiles. When he stops studying the Bible, the devil laughs. When he stops praying, the devil shouts for joy.
–Corrie Ten Boom
Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers, pray for powers equal to your task.
–Phillips Brooks
Is the Son of God praying in me, or am I dictating to Him?….Prayer is not simply getting things from God, that is a most initial form of prayer; prayer is getting into perfect communion with God. If the Son of God is formed in us by regeneration, He will press forward in front of our common sense and change our attitude to the things about which we pray.
–Oswald Chambers
Prayer is nothing but the promise reversed, or God’s Word formed into an argument, and retorted by faith upon God again…Furnish thyself with arguments from the promises to enforce thy prayers. WILLIAM GURNALL (1617-1679)
I must secure more time for private devotions. I have been living far too public for me. he shortening of devotions starves the soul, it grows lean and faint. I have been keeping too late hours.
–William Wilberforce
It is true that the only true peace we can enjoy comes from God. He is with us always, in the Presence of the Holy Ghost, to guide, defend, teach, and pardon. True peace comes from a contented heart, and that contentment comes from knowing of whom we have believed and to whom we shall go at last. Contentment does not depend on external factors, but rather upon an inward and spiritual grace. May I suggest an example of true contentment that I read as a child: A wealthy art collector many years ago published a contest to local artists to paint a work that would illustrate perfect peace and contentment. On the day of submission, many brought paintings of great beauty – some of sheep peacefully gracing on the hillside pasture, others of children playing under a summer shade, and many others of like nature and beauty. But one young lady brought a painting of a tumultuous waterfall. The Art Collector wondered what could possible prevail upon the artist to paint such a picture; but upon closer examination, he observed a mother wren nesting with her chicks on a tree branch that grew of the mountain just behind the rushing waters. She was oblivious to the tumult of the waterfall for she was safe from predators and near a bountiful supply of the Water of Life. That painting was chosen as the winner after all. I suggest that the Christian has the same contentment surrounded by the tumultuous troubles of our world. The outward troubles cannot harm us, and we are content to rest secure near the source of that Water of Life.
The Most Rev. Jerry L. Ogles – 20th and 21st century Anglican Orthodox
Presiding Bishop (Lead us Heavenly Father Lead Us ,8-20-24).
Jerry Ogles
Presiding Bishop
Anglican Orthodox Communion Worldwide
We are fortunate to get copies of Bishop Jerry’s you tube links, devotions on the Prayer of the Collect and sermon notes.
Bishop Jerry creates videos on various subjects, they last just under ten minutes and this week’s videos are listed below:
The Names of Jesus: The Pre-imminent Name
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_9VVkL4zpA
Bishop Ogles 1st Video on the Names of God:
The Word
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esakzs3V0RI
Bishop Ogles Devotion on Psalm 23:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9VSU6LPXls
Sermon Notes for Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity
“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:” Philippians 2:5
Today’s lectionary texts are about Singleness of mind and heart in the believer that ultimately means oneness with God. When we have put on the mind that was in Christ Jesus, we are able to enjoy that Perfect Law of Freedom referenced by James in his epistle. This represents the communal worship of the Church in which we glorify, praise, and worship God with One Voice: “That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 15:6)
The Collect
KEEP, we beseech thee, O Lord, thy Church with thy perpetual mercy; and, because the frailty of man without thee cannot but fall, keep us ever by thy help from all things hurtful, and lead us to all things profitable to our salvation; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Our opening prayer of collect seeks, first, the Mercy of God – for if we are granted His mercy, we are forgiven and restored to Him as children. We need that Mercy in order to be healed of every sinful affliction. Secondly, we ask for His Grace to sustain us in our continual lapses of faith and judgment. We are sustained, not by our good works, but by the Grace of God. It is by the means of Grace itself whereby we obtain His Mercy.
The Epistle
Galatians vi. 11.
YE see how large a letter I have written unto you with mine own hand. As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh. But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God. From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus. Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.
When we have, by Grace, received the Mercy of God, we no longer are dependent upon the works of the Law in sustaining us in our walk with Christ. Our minds have been transformed from that of sinful and untoward desires to that Mind that was in Christ. As Pasul says in Philippians 2:5 – “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:” We can only know His Mind through the study and knowledge of Holy Scripture informed by the agency of the Holy Ghost. The works of a man’s hand do not justify – only the yearnings and constant beckoning of the Holy spirit to call us from the filthy rags of our past sinful natures when we trusted in our own righteousness for salvation.
The Gospel
St. Matthew vi. 24.
NO man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, Be not anxious for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than the food, and the body than the raiment? Behold the birds of the heaven, that they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; and your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not ye of much more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit unto the measure of his life? And why are ye anxious concerning raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God doth so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Be not therefore anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the Gentiles seek; for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Be not therefore anxious for the morrow: for the morrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
Though we may be ever so diligent to serve God and yet hold to the desires of the flesh and mammon, we shall fail utterly. The spirit and the flesh are divided against each other in such and endeavor. Like the rich young ruler, we will forever put love of money between us and the Sun of Righteousness eclipsing that Light.
A constant worry and concern for the future provision will bear no fruit. It is only a burdensome restlessness that blinds us to the more important concerns of the soul. Have you yet gone to the point of starvation or utter deprivation of clothing and shelter? Has God not always provided for the lesser needs of the flesh? Yes, He has done so despite your feckless worries. But there is a far greater. Concern than the needs of the flesh with which we must concern ourselves – the eternal disposition of the soul! If God clothes the lilies of the field in such resplendent beauty, and feeds the fowl of the air despite their failure to store up provisions for the future, what greater care do you believe the Lord your God has for you as His beloved elect in Christ?
Our worry and fear arises from a lack of faith in the One who loved us so dearly as to suffer and die a cruel and humiliating death on the cross. He has proved His love for us by His oath and action. Christ put aside every consideration of the flesh, including His own body, to demonstrate His love in purchasing our redemption at Calvary. Do you believe that He will now leave us in deprivation of our daily bread? All that we have is the paper-thin present in which to serve Him and to make our election sure. Instead of allowing the concerns and desires of the flesh to dominate our every thought, why not leave those to others of less standing, and take joy in the thought that we are sons and daughters of the King of Kings. The great Sovereign of all Creation will not allow His people to sink to the level of begging bread. The Bread we should seek and cherish is the Bread of Heaven which Christ is to us. We feed on Him daily as we study, digest and internalize His Word.
Do you believe the ungodly whose hearts are fixed on worldly wealth and pleasure are truly happy? Do you believe that they have the Sabbath Rest of our Lord to give them peace and joy? I think not. The one who places the possession of silver above the gold of love of God is never satisfied therewith, but continually longs for more and more gain of silver. In one respect, this is also the nature of the believer. The believer is never satisfied with his knowledge of Scripture and constantly mines the Word of God for more beauty and understanding constantly; however, the difference is the satisfaction and joy of the latter, and the misery brought upon the soul by the former seeking of silver for the sake of a brief respite from misery. As our Lord says in Matthew 6:21 – “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
What treasure have you stored up for your soul? Have we loved the poor, the beggar, the orphan, the widow enough to allow compassion to rule our hearts, or have we cherished the widow’s two mites so much as to blind us to that love commanded of us by our Lord. Christ only gave us ONE new Commandment which really was not actually new, but included in the summary of the law in the great Commandment: “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” John 13:34-35
We see that our Lord has given us only two sentences that define our security in Christ – that we “love one another as I have loved you.” How much did Jesus love us? Enough to die a terrible death on the cross to redeem us from our sin and bondage. And what will be the result of that kind of love? “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” That measure of love is the badge of our salvation by which all men shall know us.
Do you have that kind of love in exclusion to every worldly concern? If so, we shall be of one mind with that One Mind that was in Christ. Our worship will be centered on Christ alone, not the worldly music and entertainment of the worldly church.
Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity
Sermon – Bishop Jack Arnold – Time and Action
Church of the Faithful Centurion
Descanso, California
Today’s sermon tied the Collect, Epistle and Gospel together and talked, as is oft the case, of the need for action, not simply diction.
Consider the words of the Collect, “… Keep … thy Church with thy perpetual mercy; and … keep us ever by thy help from all things hurtful, and lead us to all things profitable to our salvation …”
When the Collect talks about the church, it is not talking about buildings; it is talking about us. The church is not a building, it is more than just a building, it is the army of believers following God. That is the church. Each of us; all of us. We need God’s Mercy and Grace to keep us from desiring those things that are bad for us and help us to see we really want those things that are good for us.
The collect points out that without His Help, we will fail because of our frail nature. That is our imperfect nature with rampant free will causing us to fail. However, with the help of the Holy Ghost, we will succeed. It is clear that we need to focus on allowing the Holy Ghost into our hearts and listen and act upon His Guidance if we are to have a chance of succeeding in our lives, spiritually, physically and mentally here on Earth. Too many people today don’t think they need God in their lives and they are so wrong. All of the problems here on Earth if you think about it stem from people abandoning God and following themselves for moral guidance, or the Devil when it comes down to it. People seek the answers that God provides, but refuse to accept that following Him is the only path to true peace and salvation.
Our salvation comes one way, through our Lord Jesus and by the Grace of God. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Nobody comes to the Father but by Him. He is our salvation. He is the living embodiment of the Word of God. His faith has saved us and made us whole, not our faith. But we need to act for Him to show that we have faith in Him The whole Gospel is based upon this. This is the solid foundation, as Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of our faith. We do not identify ourselves by men whose theology we like but by the only man who was perfect, Jesus Christ. And if we follow Him, we have the gift of life as St. Paul explains For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23 KJV)
The problem with folks who identify themselves as something other than Christian, is they lose sight of the simple principles of Scripture and become more like the Pharisees in finding loopholes to get around and they find themselves going down the wide smooth down hill path instead of the narrow sloping uphill path towards heaven. It is so easy to get lost in the ideas of the various theologians, that you forget that they were doing their best to be known as followers of Christ. Paul reminds us that we are to be followers of Christ and not followers of man. These people that identify as followers of various theologians often times forget they are supposed to be following Christ and not man. They have gotten themselves so wrapped up in the little things that they miss the sight of the big picture. They miss the simplicity of Jesus and His Message! They insist on making following God way more complicated than it needs to be. God’s way is not complicated, it may be hard to do at times, but it is not complicated at all. Love God and Love your neighbor as thyself. That’s really pretty much it. There is no secret handshake, no arcane or mystifying rituals involved in following God.
Paul points out that there are many who desire to make a show of following the law, not to follow the law but to somehow appear more righteous than you and that they do not truly want to suffer persecution for Christ.. There are way too many of these folks today both in and outside of the church. He calls us as followers of Christ not to do that, but to follow Christ and His Gospel, the new way of thinking compared to the old ways of the Jews of old and the Mosaic Laws and also not to be afraid to suffer persecution in Jesus’s name.
As Paul said in a later epistle, there is not much glory if we are doing something wrong and get shamed for it. However, if we are following His Word and get shamed and slandered for it, there is a lot of glory there. God will make it so in the end, if we but stay true to the course, all of the persecution and bullying we face on Earth for following Him will be worth it. We will just have to remember this anytime we are encountering an unbeliever and being persecuted or slandered.
The last part of this reading is the one we often have the most trouble with. We are far too ready to borrow trouble from tomorrow. I admit I struggle with this myself and it is an issue that I am always working on; one which I pray for continual help. It is getting better; I am confident on one thoughtful level no good comes of worry, yet I have such a hard time acting on that thought. It is a very difficult thing not to worry, but it is something that needs to be done nonetheless. I find as I trust God more and act upon His will more, I worry less. There is a correlation there I believe. It is a very hard thing to do, but it must be done, to ensure our success in spreading the Gospel and being an effective minister of God. Plus, worrying less will provide other benefits as well, and help us to lead happier lives. We have to remember that worrying never helps, but it hurts us a lot physically, spiritually and mentally. If we can stop worrying, we can find that our lives will get better in the physical, spiritual and mental realms. When we do what God asks, doing our best and not just saying it, there is not a lot to worry about. Even if there is, we can relax, knowing God has everything under control and He will always give us guidance on how to proceed.
God wants you to be happy; He knows what will make you happy. God does not mind if you have fun along the way, but never pursue fun confusing it with happiness. In the end, you won’t find either.
Heaven is at the end of an uphill trail. The easy downhill trail does not lead to the summit.
The time is now, not tomorrow. The time has come, indeed. How will you ACT?
It is by our actions we are known.
Be of God – Live of God – Act of God
Yves M. Méra
Presiding Bishop
AOC France Anglican Orthodox Church Worldwide
We are fortunate to have a sermon from the Presiding Bishop of the Anglican Orthodox Church of France and the Administrative Coordinator of Europe and Africa. As you will read, he is an excellent writer. The sermon is easy to read and provides much insight.
SERMON for the Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity
JESUS’ CHOICE
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
There are people who do everything by halves, and who give up, despairing they could reach the goal. There are people who hesitate for a long time, sometimes for a lifetime, before making a definitive commitment. There are people who are afraid of everything, of the future and even of the present. We all know some of them. I am not talking here about the necessary trial periods, which are essential to judge a candidate’s abilities “against the wall”. I am speaking of those whom our Lord Jesus Christ invites to stop parochialism on both sides: They want to enter His Church to become saints, without leaving their old habits and worldly principles. They hope to be able to serve God and money indefinitely. But this is a fatal mistake!
What do we say when we recite the Lord’s Prayer? (Matthew 6:10): “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” If we pray to “Our Father which art in heaven … Thy will be done” (Matthew 6:9-10), we must renounce our own will, at least when it comes to spiritual things and their implications for our daily lives. It’s just a matter of consistency. The Lord is not going to tell us how to cook our skewers, or when to wash our dishes. But He wants to change our habits and our way of thinking.
Jesus does not like money; He does not touch it with his own hands; He entrusts his purse to Judas. And Paul confirms this (1 Timothy 6:10-11): “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.” The love of money leads to envy, false witness, theft, violence and murder, and ultimately to hatred of God who condemns these behaviors in His Ten Commandments. It is quite the opposite of Christian virtues. This is why our Lord says (Matthew 6:24c): “… You cannot serve God and mammon.” If you tell me that in our society we can no longer live in autarky and that “money is needed to live”, if only to pay our taxes; I will answer you that money must remain a currency of exchange, and not an idol that one could keep at home, under the mattress or in the bank, accumulating it as if money were an end in itself, useful, praiseworthy, when it is just a mark of plain greed.
The world judges people by their possessions, their income, their purchasing power. We think we can rise in society by increasing our income and possessions, but this is to rise in the hierarchy of hell. For by ascending into the kingdom of Satan, one distances oneself from the kingdom of God (Matthew 23:12): “And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.” This is why Jesus says that “You cannot serve God and mammon.” In any case, we will not take anything with us into the Kingdom of God; nothing that we have bought, accumulated, saved. It is well known, and we see it every day: the rich have an easy life, but they are not happy because they are consumed by worries, the constant anxiety of losing everything or even a part of their possessions. Christ speaks of the spirit of poverty in His Beatitudes in Matthew 5:3: “Blessed the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” This is even the first bliss on the list! We should never get attached to money, because it is by this means that Satan lures us to hell (Luke 12:34): “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
Let us be like Job when he said (Job 1:21): “… Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” Even Abraham, the father of believers, was concerned about his great possessions with the Lord (Genesis 15:3): “And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.” Abraham was tempted, which is to say that we are all tempted by Money, in other words: we are all more or less attracted to Satan.
Christ has given us medicines: first of all, His example. He despised money and refused to touch it, preferring to die on a cross than give in to Judas’ passion for money. Then we must pray every day, all mornings and evenings, in order to resist temptation (Matthew 26:41): “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Finally, we must nourish our minds with the Word of God, read, taught and preached. The Bible frees us from temptation, focusing our spirits on higher targets. The Bible is the written Word of God, and Jesus Christ is the Word of God, incarnate. Both free us from Satan, from his works of pride, to orient us and direct us towards the Kingdom of Heaven, in truth. As believers, we have this hope, founded on the Rock of Christ’s promises; Christ is that Rock from which flow rivers of living water (1 Corinthians 10:4): “And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.” And we will be like Him, springs of living water that preach the gift of eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour (John 7:38): “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”
Jesus tells us not to worry. However, it takes a good deal of faith to let completely go and rely on our Father in Heaven for all our real needs, not just spiritual ones. But let this not become an excuse for laziness! God does not forbid us to work, as Paul and his companions give us an example by confessing: “And labour, working with our own hands…” (1 Corinthians 4:12a). Manual work occupies the hands and keeps them away from evil deeds… Blessed are the do-it-yourselfers, gardeners, cooks, musicians and all those who occupy their hands with healthy activities! Among the rabbis, manual work is obligatory, because it is repetitive and allows to think about God by freeing the mind.
(Matthew 6:31-32…34): “Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things … Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” Our Father in Heaven knows. He knows everything. And He blesses those who are faithful to Him. What more do we need to be freed from all care, from all anxiety? Let us trust Him, and all will be well (Matthew 6:33): “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” With such a promise, we are the richest on earth! We are sure to have something to eat, drink and dress. This is the essential thing to keep us alive and in society. It is when these things are lacking that believers benefit from small miracles that defy reason, and find themselves provided by divine providence. God’s grace provides for everything, and God abandons us only if we abandon Him in the first place.
After trust, comes confidence. Our Father in heaven has given us faith and strength to bear witness with our lives, and to resist those who would convert us to other religions of the Book, or force us to practices contrary to our Christian faith. This is how Paul judges and condemns without hesitation those who want to circumcise Christians on the grounds of religion. Jews and Muslims altogether share this will. This is why Paul comforts us: circumcision is nothing in itself. It saves no one in itself; it condemns no one in itself. It is just a rite that has become obsolete with baptism, which is a universal spiritual circumcision, concerning both girls and boys (John 6:63): “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing…”
And this is so true that those circumcised for reasons of religion do not obey God, do not recognize His only begotten Son Jesus Christ, and persecute His faithful for whomever they can, thinking that they are doing the right thing (John 16:2-3): “They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me.” There is therefore no reason to boast about circumcision, nor to envy the circumcised. With baptism, we have a better sign of the covenant that God made with Abraham, provided that the teaching of God’s Word follows it.
And Paul is the first to find nothing glorious in his own circumcision (Galatians 6:14): “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” Here, Paul is referring to the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ. His death is the amputation of the wholesome body, and not only of the foreskin. The death of the foreskin symbolizes the death of the body. This is how we are baptized into death, but into the death of Christ (Romans 6:3-5): “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection.” And Paul adds: (Galatians 6:15): “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.”
Sorrowful spirits will see in the following verse a whim of Paul, seeking to impose his personal dictatorship on Christians (Galatians 6:16b): “And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.” The question is whether “this rule” is of divine or human origin. It is a serious question, because it has caused a lot of ink and blood to be spilled. Let’s remember the rule (Galatians 6:15): “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.” Does it come from Paul or from Christ? The answer is quite clear, and you know it because we have already mentioned it (John 6:63a): “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing…” Paul is therefore inspired by the Spirit of Christ when he writes to the churches. The rule is that what is spiritual is more important than what is carnal, for God is Spirit and ” the Spirit gives life” (2 Corinthians 3:6c).
Incidentally, Paul then speaks of the stigmata of the cross that he would have had. This would not be an isolated occurrence, for others had the same. He makes this request: (Galatians 6:17): “From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.” One might think of circumcision, because Paul and Jesus were both circumcised like any Jewish boy. Now Paul is not speaking of one mark but of several marks of Jesus. He does not specify the number or the place on his body. We are reduced to suppositions; The fact remains that he claims to have these marks on his body, which no one disputes.
Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians ends with a blessing (Galatians 6:18): “Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen…” And this blessing is spiritual. He does not say, “May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you, nor with your body,” but that grace be with your spirit. Finally, here we have confirmation that our spirit is the most important thing that the Creator God has given us. This is our main asset. It is our spirit that we must cultivate, nourish with the Word of God and water in the same way, and God will make it bear fruit.
The mind is superior to the body. The spirit is stronger than the flesh. Our mind has no muscle, but it does benefit from the grace of an eternal and all-powerful God. This is the choice of our Creator and Jesus Christ, His Son, our Lord and Savior.
My friends, let us rid ourselves of all our cares; let us cast them at the foot of the Cross of Christ, and He will destroy them with Him, dragging them into His painful death. It will be a great grace given to you. Christ will do this for us because He loves us. And nothing and no one will be able to stop Him, for Christ loves all those whom the Father has given Him (John 10:27-30): “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one.” Let us be faithful and thankful to Him, and let us praise His holy name, for to Him, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, belong the kingdom, the power, and the glory. Amen.
Rt. Rev. Yves Méra, AOC Bishop of France.
Rev Bryan Dabney
of Saint John’s AOC
Vicksburg, Mississippi
Sunday Sermon
We are fortunate to have Bryan’s Sunday Sermon. If you want people to come to The Truth, you have to speak the truth, espouse the truth and live the truth. This is really a good piece and I commend it to your careful reading.
Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity
Our epistle lesson for today, the apostle Paul warned, But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows (I St. Timothy 6:9-10). Let me say at the outset that this is not a condemnation of the rich per se. Neither is it a chastisement of those who work hard and are wise in their allocations of said wealth. It is however a message against those who would pursue riches for the sole purpose of gratifying their lusts and who would put their money and their time in accumulating it ahead of their duty to the Godhead. Scripture contains a fair number of examples for our edification. Look at the life of King David. Here was a man after God’s own heart whose wealth and power corrupted him. For was it not in his idle moments that he spied his subordinate’s wife bathing and took her for himself even going so far as to have that man killed in battle (See II Samuel 11:1-27; 12:1-23)? And what about his son, King Solomon? God gave him more than he could have ever desired but this led him into vanity and pridefulness (I Kings 10:24-29; 11:1-13).
Even in the best of folks, great wealth can produce a state of mind which elevates the possessor’s opinion of himself to the point that he then becomes the author of those good things rather than a recipient of them. Instead of giving credit to God, such a person will take the credit for himself. He might mark it off to good fortune or maybe even to his own acumen. Nevertheless, he will not mention him who made it all possible: our good and gracious heavenly Father.
Consider the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, who said, 19Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt and, and where thieves break in and steal: 20but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven … 21for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also (St. Matthew 6:19-21). And in another place our Lord spoke about the garnering of wealth without giving God any consideration when he said, Take heed and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth (St. Luke 12:15). The Rev. Matthew Henry once noted concerning this passage that, “Covetousness is a sin which we have constant need to watch against, and therefore frequently to be warned against. Our happiness and comfort do not depend upon our having a great deal of wealth of this world.”
The parable of the rich fool is another example of how greed for gain will result in a soul’s separation from God. Our Lord told this parable because a certain fellow had come to him desiring his help in acquiring wealth from a family member (St. Luke 12:13-21). Via this simple story, our Lord informed his listeners that those whose sole purpose in life is to selfishly gather to themselves have
become fools in God’s eyes. How much sorrow there will be in the day of judgment for those who had made their life’s work about nothing more than acquiring and holding great wealth and power to satisfy their lusts. Where will their riches be then? Will they be able to pay God the cost of their lives (see Psalm
49:1-20)? As our Lord once said, I trow not (St. Luke 17:9).
The Rev. Dr. D. James Kennedy once wrote that, “If the Bible teaches anything at all, it is that there is an everlasting too late — that there will come a moment when it will be eternally too late, when the door of grace will have slammed shut forever. Then the sinner would give the universe itself for just one minute to repent and turn to Jesus Christ.” The selfish and the arrogant, as well as the idolater and the sensual will all have their place in the lake of fire because they refused to recognize the true nature of God and receive his gift of grace in Christ.
Nebuchadnezzar once praised himself for all that he had built and labored to perform as if he had done everything on his own and without any assistance and blessing from God (see Daniel 4:30-32). And on that account, God took it all away for a time. Later, after his senses were returned, the king praised God saying, 34And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation. 35And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou (Daniel 4:34-35)? And Nebuchadnezzar added this final word wherein he said, Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase (v.37).
It is clear from Daniel 4 that Nebuchadnezzar realized that his life, as well as that of all mortals, was in the hands of the LORD and that everything he had received came from God alone. He under-stood that all self-aggrandizement was worthless and led to misery and heartache. He was blessed in that God only disciplined him and did not totally cast him away. He was abased before God and in his recognition of his sin, he was lifted up. In the parable of the Pharisee and the publican, our Lord affirmed the same when he said, … for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted (St. Luke 18:14).
Power and wealth tend to corrupt even the best of mortals as we have seen. If one has great wealth and power it is because God permitted that person to possess such. The selfish tendencies of unregenerate mankind prevent them from giving God glory and praise for his gifts. That is why the apostle Paul was given to pen the words of our lesson today: 9But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows (I St. Timothy 6:9-10).
So should we pray for resources to help us in our daily lives? Is it wrong to desire a decent income and enjoy the pleasures that can be derived from such? Again, consider the words of the apostle Paul who explained, 6But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. 9But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition (I St. Timothy 6:6-9). While he called upon every Christian to, Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God (Philippians 4:6); we must not permit our requests to be for the wrong things. We must not ask amiss (see St. James 4:3).
At the close of the Daily Offices for morning and evening worship, we offer up to God “A Prayer of St. Chrysostom” wherein we ask him to, “Fulfil now, O Lord, the desires and petitions of thy servants, as may be most expedient for them; granting us in this world knowledge of thy truth, and in the world to come life everlasting. Amen.” When we ask God to grant to us what is “expedient” we are leaving it to him to decide what is good for us. So, any thing we ask of God ought to be framed in that manner. And whatever we receive, we ought to give God the glory and praise in thanksgiving for what he has done. We all liked to be thanked when we do things for others and the same is true for our Lord. Giving thanks and praise to God for his gifts should be on our minds at all times. We should have constant thoughts of God’s hand in our lives along with constant thoughts of thanks for his presence with us and in us via the Holy Ghost. Let us not place our faith in the uncertainty of riches but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy . . . (I St. Timothy 6:17).
Let us pray,
Grant to us, O heavenly Father, the courage and humility to ask of thee for those things which are expedient and of good report; and whether thine answer be yea or nay, let our voices and hearts not waver in our faith neither let us be lax in our witness; for these things we ask in the name of him who gave us the gift of eternal life via his sacrifice for us, even Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Have a blessed week,
Bryan+
Roy Morales-Kuhn,
Bishop and Pastor
Saint Paul’s Anglican Church
Diocese of the Midwest Anglican Orthodox Church
Suffragan Bishop of the AOC
Sermon on the Gospel Lesson for the Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity
Psalms 49 First lesson. Deuteronomy 7:6-13 Second lesson. Galatians 2:15-20
KEEP, we beseech thee, O Lord, thy Church with thy perpetual mercy; and, because the frailty of man without thee cannot but fall, keep us ever by thy help from all things hurtful, and lead us to all things profitable to our salvation; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Hymns # 149, 449, 563
The Promise
Promises. How often do we make a promise and then not honor it ? As humans we have a tendency to dole out promises to placate others, fully intending to keep them, but failing in the long run to hold to those promises. Human frailty ? A human inability to do good ?
The great thing about the promises that God gives us is that He keeps them.
When we look at the promises written in this passage from Deuteronomy we see a very strong parallel to today. Let me explain: When one is chosen or set apart from a group, in this case from the human race, it was done as a message to the rest of mankind. The concept of being set aside or chosen is known as being ‘sanctified’. Let us look at a few ideas that are forming in this passage from Deuteronomy: 6For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. 7The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: (Deuteronmy 7:6-7)
1.) ‘…the Lord thy God has chosen thee to be a special people unto himself…’ This same statement can also be made of believers. We are a special people unto the God through the Lord Jesus Christ.
In verse seven we read that we were chosen because we are few, not the greatest in number. Think of Gideon, think of David as he approaches Goliath, think of Jesus and the twelve in each case ‘small in number’ and yet great things would come from what each did over time.
8 But because the Lord loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations; (Deuternomy 7:8-9)
2.) What is the parallel here in verse eight ? We are in bondage to sin, God brings us out of bondage, out of Egypt, redeems us by his Son Jesus Christ. God is keeping his promise made to Adam and Eve after the Fall. Genesis chapter 3:14-15. In spite of the Fall, God will eventually, in his time, provide a way of salvation. That way will be foreshadowed all through out the Old Testament by signs and symbols. The blood sacrifices, the Passover Feast, the stories of Ruth, Esther; the prophecies of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the minor prophets; all point to the coming Redeemer, Jesus Christ. In verse nine we see that those who love God and keep his commandments, he (God) will be faithful to a thousand generations. {think innumerable}.
10And repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face. 11Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which I command thee this day, to do them. 12Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, that the Lord thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he sware unto thy fathers: 13And he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee: he will also bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep, in the land which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee.
3.) What is implied by these last couple of verses? IF YOU DO NOT KEEP the statutes, commandments and judgments….God will not bless them. Strong stuff ? Yes. Are we as a nation at this point in our history. Quite possibly so. As a nation we have abandoned the precepts and godly laws that produced a civic society. As a nation we have turned to the SELF as the final arbiter of all that is good or evil. “…good becomes evil and evil becomes good…”
In our current society things that were once considered shameful are now considered normal. What at one time would have been considered a sin is now considered a choice.
Will we as a nation pay for turning our backs on God ? Yes we will. Read about the judgments that befell Israel and later Jerusalem when they turned their backs to God.
The Jewish people as a whole, turned their backs upon the Messiah, Jesus Christ. The holy city of Jerusalem would be destroyed before the generation that rejected Christ the Messiah and Redeemer. In the year A.D. 70 the Roman general Titus lay siege to Jerusalem. His army destroyed the city, all Jews were banned from living in the city while Rome was in control. All things sacred to the Jewish people was destroyed in that horrible time. Many died in the rebellion and war that followed. Rome would be triumphant. Is the United States fated for the same ? Have we successfully scrubbed our heritage of any vestiges of Judeo-Christian roots? Folks, we still have time.
As a group of believers we do have an opportunity to blunt the coming wrath of God. How? We first off need to pray for the right direction of our leaders and nation. We next need to reach as many people as possible with the gospel of Jesus. The promise that God has given us by sending his Son to die in our stead, to die for us and to show us by rising again that we too will live. We know that man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ. We are dead to the law in order for us to live unto God.
“I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
See how the promise of God comes full circle.
God promises to keep us.
He promises to bless us.
He promises to save us from our sin.
As a people of faith we need to seek a revival of those things which are good, faithful, just and in keeping with the Word of God. We need to seek a cleansing of the spirit of this nation.
Will all be saved? No. At any given time in the annals of the Old and New Testament, there was never a large number of truly saved, there was a faithful remnant. A people who prayed, who lived their lives according to their faith, a faith, “…once delivered from the Lord…”
Let us read again that portion of Paul’s letter to the Galatians: 15We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, 16Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. 17But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid. 18For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. 19For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. 20I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
May God give us the strength to keep the faith, the knowledge to share the faith, the promise to live by the faith of the Son of God.
Prayer is nothing but the promise reversed, or God’s Word formed into an argument, and retorted by faith upon God again…Furnish thyself with arguments from the promises to enforce thy prayers. WILLIAM GURNALL (1617-1679)
Let us pray:
WE humbly beseech thee, O Father, mercifully to look upon our infirmities; and, for the glory of thy Name, turn from us all those evils that we most justly have deserved; and grant, that in all our troubles we may put our whole trust and confidence in thy mercy, and evermore serve thee in holiness and pureness of living, to thy honour and glory; through our only Mediator and Advocate, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
O GOD, whose nature and property is ever to have mercy and to forgive; Receive our humble petitions; and though we be tied and bound with the chain of our sins, yet let the pitifulness of thy great mercy loose us; for the honour of Jesus Christ, our Mediator and Advocate. Amen.
THE Lord bless us, and keep us. The Lord make his face to shine upon us, and be gracious unto us. The Lord lift up his countenance upon us, and give us peace, both now and evermore. Amen.
Bishop Roy Morales-Kuhn
The Rev. Don Fultz
Rector of St. Peter’s AOC
located in the AOC National Office
We are grateful to have this for the Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity
today from Rev. Don Fultz from St. Peter’s AOC, Statesville, NC.
Today’s Gospel reading is another passage from Jesus’s great Sermon on the Mount. In this passage, He warns about having a divided heart and getting too caught up with worldliness and the cares of this world. In this morning’s sermon, I want to just speak about Jesus’ message about trying to serve two masters.
In verse 24, He tells us: “No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”
In this verse, Jesus says it is impossible to serve two masters as different masters will make different demands and we have to make a choice between them. Their demands at one time or another will cross or contradict each other. Then the servant must make a decision to the one which he belongs, he cannot love and cleave to both.
God expects our undivided loyalty. He rejects those that only halfheartedly are committed to Him. Things of the world will enslave us if we devote all of our time to them instead of God. St. Paul warns about this in Romans 6:16 which says “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” What St. Paul is saying here is that the children of men are either the servants of God or the servants of sin. We must make a decision on which of these masters we yield obedience. Just as Jesus is telling us we cannot serve God and Mammon. According to Matthew Henry, the definition of Mammon is a Syriac word that signifies ‘gain”. Some would consider this just financial or money gains. But, Matthew Henry broadens the definition to any gain that is in the world…the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life are all mammon.
For some. Its, their ease, their sleep, their sports and pleasurable pastimes, are their mammon. To others worldly riches are their Mammon as James 4:13 says: “Go to now, ye that say , today or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:” To others honors and self-glory, the glory and praise of men was the Pharisees’ Mammon.
Jesus did not say we must not, nor does He say we should not, but He tells us we cannot serve God and Mammon. We cannot love both. Where our heart is, there is our treasure. When building for gain becomes our treasure, you are no longer serving the Lord. It is impossible to serve God, if your heart is set on something else. The bible tells us in 1 John 2:15-17 “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.”
Serving two masters is also contrary to the single eye message that Jesus taught in Matthew 6, verse 22: “The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, they whole body shall be full of light.” According to Matthew Henry, what Jesus is saying here is that if we aim purely and only at the glory of God, then the eye is single. As believers we should always keep our eye on Christ. Everything we do should be for the praise and glory of Him. Our eye should be always looking to what is pleasing to the Lord, our Master, as the objective of our life.
Conversely, if our eye focuses on material things of the world and not those of God, it becomes an evil eye as Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:23 : “But if thine eye be evil, they whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore, the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!”
The singleness of our eye and heart should be to serve God for His glory, not that we might gain anything. Our objective always should be to serve God and do His will for His glory. One of the biggest failures of many Christians and even churches today is that they are trying to please God and Man, to serve Christ and serve the world at the same time. This is exactly what Jesus is warning us about in trying to serve two masters.
If our heart is right with God, we will build treasures on heavenly things and not on earthly ones. This is what Jesus tells us in Matthew 6, 19-21: “19Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20But lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where neither moth or rust corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” If we think we may have something to gain for ourselves, we won’t sacrifice everything of our self for God. Our hearts cannot be set upon treasures on earth and in heaven.
The bible does not forbid us lawfully to labor for the things of this world. Neither does it say we can’t build up some nest eggs for our retirement years. However, it can’t be the primary focus of our life and we can’t put our trust in it as it is only temporary. Just as Jesus points out to his disciples in St. Mark, 10:24 “Children how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!” This verse was in response to the young rich ruler who had asked Jesus what he could do to inherit eternal life (Mark 10:17).
Jesus said unto him “to sell whatsoever thou hast and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.” (Mark: 10:21). However, the young rich ruler “was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.” (Mark 10:22).
Jesus is not telling us we cannot have or enjoy riches. But we should always ask ourselves where our heart is? Do we trust those riches like the young rich ruler? The Lord only wants us to put our heart and trust in Him and not things of this world. The sin of the young ruler was not that he had great possessions but that he trusted in them in building up a big empire. He did not want to distribute any of his holdings to the poor. He was serving mammon. The Lord makes us stewards of the wealth and riches which He puts in our hands. The proper uses of riches are acts of righteousness and kindness, such as giving to the poor. As Jesus pointed out to the young rich ruler, giving to the poor is one of the ways in which we can lay up treasures in heaven.
Jesus also tells us about the Pharisees who wanted to serve God with a legal religion while their heart was seeking the glory and praise of men by their public acts. That is also serving Mammon. Jesus warned us about this in Matthew 6, verse 1: “Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: Otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.” Matthew Henry tells us in his commentary on this verse that when the Pharisees gave alms, they made a spectacle of it by sounding a trumpet under the pretense of calling the poor together to be served but their real purpose was to proclaim their charity. They were serving their own self-righteous ego by trying to gain the public glory and praise of man not trying to please God.
Jesus also warns us about this in Matthew 6, verse 2: “Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward.” But rather as Jesus tells us in verse 4: “That thine alms may be in secret and the Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.”
And finally as Christians we all need to be careful about the cares of this world so that it does create Mammon in our hearts. The story of Jesus visiting his friends Martha and Mary are a good example. The story is told in Luke chapter 10, verses 38-42. When Jesus arrived at their home, Martha was all caught up about serving food to Jesus and his followers but Mary was attending to Jesus. Martha was encumbered about much serving and said to Jesus “Lord does thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? Bid here therefore that she help me.”
41And Jesus answered and said into her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things; 42But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” What had Mary chosen? She was sitting at the feet of her savior, washing his feet with her tears, and wiping them with her hair; she was listening to the word of Jesus and mourning over her sins. She wasn’t so busy with serving the temporal things of life.
In Closing, I just want to share a story with you. Some years ago, I read about a Young Professional football player and his brothers that were doing charity work in Haiti. He had gone to Haiti and witnessed firsthand the circumstances of poverty and oppression especially among the homeless and orphaned children.
One day, he saw a young orphaned boy that was caught between some rebars. He went over to him and freed him and asked the young boy if he could give him something to eat or drink. The young boy said no. Then what can I do for you? The little boy replied “give me hope”. The football player along with his brothers now have founded a nonprofit organization called” I’m Me”, a home of hope for the hopeless of Haiti.
When we accept Jesus as our only Master, Lord and Savior and follow in his ways, we have more than just hope…..we have the promises made by God to us. Especially of eternal life just as John 3:15 tells us “That whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
Without Christ, we are hopelessly lost and mired in the sins of this world.
In the name of the Father, Son,. And Holy Ghost. Amen
The Rev. Don Fultz
Rev Stephen Cooper
Church of the Redeemer
Fairbanks, Alaska
From time to time we are fortunate to receive a sermon from Rev Cooper in Fairbanks Alaska. The head of our northernmost church, Stephen is a brilliant and inspiring speaker. I wish we had video of him rather than just audio; but I am confident you will enjoy this. This sermon is for last week. Please take the time to listen to it.
Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity: (below)
Click below for Rev. Stephen Cooper Sermon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vYKG2pLZiE
AOC Worldwide Prayer List –
I have received updates from a few and those will be the first added to the list. Please send all prayer requests and updates to aocworldwide@gmail.com for future reports. If you would like to be removed from list just respond with remove in the subject line.
Keep Praying for the following:
Shamu, Tom, Craig, Jack & Dru Arnold, Roberto & Bianca, Jim, Dotty, Awiti Family, Jan Jessup, Steve, Josh Morley, Jennifer,
AOC USA, AOC Missions, Zach, Jess, Luke, Jacquie, Harper, Genie, Bishop Zephaniah, Jim Kniffen,
Prayer Needed:
Dan – ICU – Blood Sepsis
James Cavanah – healing from Stroke
Katie Pope – Just beginning treatment for Stage 4 Puminary Carcinoma “Is anything to hard for the Lord?” (Genesis 18:14)
Ann Lee – Lung Cancer
Mauri Turner – Stomach Cancer
Bobby and Vikki Breland – the loss of their daughter
Bishop Zephaniah – Medical Issues with his kidneys, procedure coming up Extended Issues need continued prayer;
Laurie with long Covid Symptoms – Extreme exhaustion, heart palpitations, breathing problems and unstable blood pressures are constant worries causing depression to settle in.
Linda – 20 Years with Multiple Myeloma, back in remission but continues to be sick post covid
Malcom Allred – Cancer Treatment
Jan Jessup – Neuro-dementia and her husband, Roger
