It's been a While

 I've been focused recently posting on my email newsletter at brianboley.substack.com 

But now, I'm going to post again on this blog. Check back weekly for new posts.

 

Living Fire

This Easter Season, we have talked much about the Holy Spirit of God, the Third Person of the Trinity. Today, we remember the day when the Holy Spirit came upon the assembled followers of Jesus, fifty days after Passover, the day known as Pentecost – which is derived from the Greek word for “fiftieth”. It was celebrated the day after seven complete weeks of seven days had passed.

The day was already holy when Jesus walked the earth. In the Jewish calendar, it was the 6th day of the month of Sivan, the festival of Shavuot, the festival of Weeks, which celebrated the spring wheat harvest and a day to carry the first fruits of the spring vegetable and fruit harvest to the Temple. It was the day when God made a covenant after the flood with Noah. It was said to be the day when Moses received the Law from God at Mount Sinai in 1314 BC. It was also said to be the day of the birth of King David, and the day of his death. And so, it became a day for New Beginnings in Jewish culture.

The world at that time was difficult. Nine out of ten people struggled on the farm to raise enough food to eat. They worked with wooden sticks instead of metal plows. They had no artificial fertilizers, no hybrid seeds, no antibiotics and vitamins for their livestock. Half of children died before they turned ten years old from starvation or disease. A man or woman with three sets of clothing was rich, as was a family with a horse. Bandits regularly showed up and took what they wanted, while farmers defended themselves with sticks against spears and swords. There were no hospitals, no real doctors, welfare meant someone might drop a couple pennies into your begging bowl. Only the richest 1% could even read. Writing was a skilled profession. Life was short with a life expectancy in your 30’s. Most women eventually died in childbirth – the C-section was invented 100 years earlier to save the life of the child, not the mother. And there were no painkillers except heavy drink.

And in the midst of this miserable world, the disciples had seen Jesus, the man who had come back from Death. They saw Him return to Heaven. They had followed Jesus’ commands, returning to Jerusalem, and waited for the power to arrive as He had promised. For ten days they waited. At Peter’s suggestion, they had nominated a couple of men to replace the traitor Judas – and let the Lord pick Mathias by drawing lots, a custom that the Amish and the Eastern Orthodox still follow when picking leaders. And then they continued to pray, to study scripture, and to wait for God. For ten long days they waited.

Finally, early on the morning of the day of the Festival, you can imagine them gathered around in the upper room, a room about this size but with no furniture. The smell of breakfast is beginning to rise up from the cooking fires below – some of the men are quietly praying and discussing scripture – and then it happened!

“2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”

Why tongues of fire?

Let’s go back. In fact, let’s go back to the Beginning to understand this. From Genesis 1:

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.”

This is our first appearance of the Trinity. God the Creator – God the Father – “elohim” is there. The Spirit – “ruach” was hovering over the waters. And then God speaks – and the Word of God, whom the Apostle John identifies as the Christ, appears and says “let there be light.”

What do we associate with flames? Light and heat. So the first appearance of God is associated with light.

Later on, in Genesis 15 God appears to Abram, the man who will become Abraham. He makes a promise, a covenant with Abram. Abram kills a heifer, a goat, and a ram, along with a dove and a young pigeon. In verse 17, “17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces.” Once again, a flame showed the presence of God.

Moses meets God in Exodus Three: “There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3 So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”

4 When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!””

Once again, a flame showed the presence of God. Later, on the way out of Egypt in Exodus 13, Moses and the Israelites were guided by God out of Egypt as it says in Verse 21, 21 “By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. 22 Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.”

The flame of God helped them know they were on the right path. In Chapter 19, God told Moses that He would speak with Moses in front of the people so they would put their trust in Moses. In Verse 18, “18 Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire.” 

In the tabernacle and then in the Temple, there were constantly kept burning oil lamps. These flames were always kept burning.

In fact, when the Syrian general Antiochus Epiphanes conquered Jerusalem and desecrated the Temple in 168 BC by sacrificing a pig on the altar of the Temple, the Maccabee family led a revolt and rededicated the Temple. Unfortunately, they could only find a small jug of oil that had not been desecrated because it was sealed. It had only enough oil to keep the flame of the Menorah burning for a single day, but God made the flames miraculously last for 8 days, by which time more oil was found and consecrated. Once again, flames had shown God’s presence.

And so, when the tongues of fire came to rest on the disciples in the Upper Room that morning, and they began to praise God in many different languages, the disciples quickly understood that this was God’s presence amongst them.

Furthermore, that day, that day of first fruits, the day celebrating the harvest took the disciples back to Jesus’ teaching that the fields are ripe for the harvest but the workers are few. A great harvest of souls, the first fruits of the kingdom were ready to be found!

One final theme was drawn back together by the languages. Almost two thousand years earlier, the Tower of Babel story in Genesis 11 had separated people as God made the workers of Babel unable to understand each other because of their different languages. The people of the time were working together – but they were working together in an attempt to become equal to God.

Now, on the morning of Pentecost, people from many different countries suddenly found they could understand each other. But what were they saying? Were they working against God? Were they speaking gibberish that no one could understand? No – they were declaring the wonders of God to each other in different languages that they and their listeners could understand because they were filled with the power that the Holy Spirit gave them. God was working with them, God was working through them, and they were praising God!

Imagine that we had visitors today from Mexico, from France, from India, from Brazil, Nigeria, from Japan, China, and Ukraine. And furthermore, imagine that the ladies and men in the back suddenly began giving their testimony, not in the English language, but in the languages of the visitors. Larry spoke in French, Karen spoke in Hindu, Brenda spoke in Japanese, Jim spoke in Chinese, Kenny in Portuguese, Patty gave her testimony in Spanish, and Pauline stood up and declared the wonders of God in Swahili! That is what was happening that morning.

Now naturally, to the people outside, this sounded like a drunken argument. Someone yelled at them – They’ve been drinking too much wine!

And then, Peter had had enough. Remember that Peter had been a boat captain out on the lake. He’d been in many storms – and he’d just spent the last few weeks reading scripture inside and out. And so, he knew that it was time to take charge. He got the other Eleven disciples together, he pulled them out of the 120 followers who were present that morning, the Twelve all walked to the edge of the roof, and then, in his full, LOUD boat captain’s voice, Peter shouted down and out at the crowd:

“Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! 

16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

17 “‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
    Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions,
    your old men will dream dreams.
18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those          days, and they will prophesy.
…
21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

You see, the Jews of Jesus’ day knew about the Holy Spirit. But they had not experienced the Spirit themselves. In the Old Testament, the Spirit had come upon different men and women from time to time. The man who became King Saul had received the Spirit and prophesied. Samson had been possessed by the Spirit and become a great warrior when the Spirit was upon him. David had listened to the Spirit and written many wonderful poems.

A prophet here, a couple prophets there had been filled by the Spirit and spoken God’s words, men like Elijah and Daniel and Isaiah and Ezekiel – they had spoken what God asked them to speak, for remember that prophecy does not just mean predictions about the future, but it is inherently the ability to speak on behalf of God, both about the future, but also about the present and the past. All the authors of the Old Testament books had been guided by the Holy Spirit, writing what God wanted written.

And Jesus had been filled with the Spirit repeatedly – in fact, the Spirit had filled Him at His baptism and was with Him throughout His ministry.

But this was new. For now, the Spirit was being poured out, not on a single anointed leader, not on a small group of prophets, but on a group of 120 assembled followers of Jesus – men, women, teenagers, perhaps even some children. This had been predicted by the prophet Jo-el to happen in the last days.

“Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women,” God said, “I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.”

The prophecy was happening right before their eyes. Men and women were speaking on behalf of God, testifying about God’s greatness, letting people know that God was great, God was powerful, and God was present in their lives today!

There are people today who argue that the wonders and the power and the speech of the Holy Spirit stopped when the last Apostles died. But since the beginning of the Methodist movement, since John Wesley experienced the power of listening to the Holy Spirit, Methodists as a group have rejected this idea even though some preachers have rejected the Spirit. We believe that the Spirit still speaks through people, both men and women, and we still believe that there is power just waiting to be tapped in that same Spirit – as long as we are doing what God wants.

There are also people today who argue that speaking in unintelligible languages is the definitive mark of a saved Christian. This idea is also rejected by Methodists as a whole, although there are always some preachers who believe this.

For we believe that while it is possible for the Spirit to use striking wonders to get our attention, the Spirit comes to each person differently. One person may indeed perform healing miracles, but another may simply be able to discern good from evil clearly. A third may speak of the future while a fourth may be able to understand someone who cannot speak English. Another person may be given exceptional wisdom, while another may be able to see the danger in a course of action or in a crack in the wall of a building. Still another may be filled with compassion for hurting children while another has a gift of being able to help disabled older adults.

No single manifestation of the Spirit is definitive except what Paul wrote to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 12:3 – “Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.”

The Spirit is wise enough to work with everyone in different ways that the Body of Christ may be strong and adaptable. Do not feel slighted because of the gifts that you have…instead, ask the Spirit how you should use your gifts. For example, my wife has the gift of being able to speak on the phone, making phone calls to many people for hours on end, helping people with personal problems repeatedly. – I, on the other hand, can read complex writings and pull together ideas from the Bible with philosophy, psychology, even quantum mechanics and engineering, in several different languages and come up with sermons and ideas and put them down on paper. And I can sing and play the piano. The Spirit has given me these gifts – just as the Spirit has determined that Annette can play the piano and Darla, Brenda, Shelly, Donna, Mieka, and Jerry can sing. Susan Lemon has a gift with beautifying our world with plants. Pauline decorates our church. Donna and Darlene make children feel welcome and appreciated here. Kenny has a gift with earth-moving equipment – Roger has a gift of generosity. Traci and David and Mark have been gifted with the modern gifts of understanding technology. Tanya is bold and able to speak about God in her workplace. You may be still discovering your spiritual gifts for the Spirit gives us new gifts over the years.

But understand this.

In the kitchen, there are some people who are highly gifted, able to make souffles, fancy dishes, wonderful desserts, and five-course meals. I’m not one of those people. But, like most adults, I can make toast, heat up Campbell’s soup, prepare a ham-and-cheese sandwich, and microwave a hot dog. I can do this because I am an adult human without disability, simply with a bare minimum knowledge of a kitchen. And I’ve practiced to the point where I’m pretty good at microwaving hot dogs and Campbell’s soup.

In the same way, certain gifts are given to each and every Christian who listens to the Spirit and chooses to practice. It is the bare minimum that we are to do simply because we are Christians. Among these general Spiritual gifts are ability to say “Jesus is Lord”, meaning it. Also the ability to praise God to family, friends, and neighbors – that merely takes some practice. There is the ability to love other people – again, this is a general Spiritual gift that just takes practice by looking for the opportunities to love others through service, through words, through generosity. We who have the Spirit have the ability to practice and be nice to other people, to speak kindly, to help others who are in need. Some people may have a special Spiritual gift of generosity and be able to give thousands of dollars – but almost all Christians can practice and keep a dollar or two back in our wallet or purse to give to another in need.

Practice your specific gifts – but also practice the general gifts of the Spirit which are available to any baptized Christian who has received the Spirit.

That day in Jerusalem, everyone praised God to others. And hundreds of people came running to hear the Good News. After Peter preached his sermon, over three thousand people were baptized that day and became Christians. The church grew that day by almost 30 times – from 120 followers to over 3000 followers of Jesus.

And it can happen here. Think about this. What God has done once, God can do again.

So what does this mean for us almost 2000 years later?

We are not helpless. We do not struggle in this world with just our own talents and abilities. The Holy Spirit of God is with us, giving us guidance, giving us power, giving us the spiritual gifts that allow us to accomplish God’s mission. The same Spirit that led people to help you understand the love of Christ now is ready to work through each of us to change the world.

For nearly 2000 years, the Holy Spirit of God has given guidance toward a better world, a more compassionate world, a nicer world to Christians who have listened, developed medicine, charity, labor-saving inventions, better ways to make food more available, life-saving drugs, and peaceful communities. When we grow depressed about our world today, think back to when Mary and Joseph traveled a hundred long miles beside a donkey, with an infant on the way, an infant that would be born in a dirty, dark stable – and those surroundings, unfortunately, weren’t really all that unusual among the vast majority of people. Life was much more difficult back then.

But Christians, listening to the Holy Spirit, with the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit, have changed the world drastically over 2000 years. When you think about how far we’ve come, it is time to recognize that you, you personally with the Holy Spirit and Christian friends, can change the world around you for the better. For if you are listening to God, doing what God wants, with the power of God the Holy Spirit behind you – what can stop you?

So start thinking about how you can use your gifts to help promote and accomplish our Vacation Bible School on July 18-20th. Start thinking about how you can use your gifts to help promote and accomplish Revival early in September. Think about how you can get involved with the Octoberfest Street Fair. Think about whether or not you can help in our rapidly growing children’s ministry.

And so, we’ll begin to change this town for the better.

If you’re listening on the radio or on Facebook, come and join us in this mission. We’ll find a place for you to put your talents and gifts to work improving this world around us.

But don’t just sit there or just listen, expecting nothing much to happen. The Holy Spirit, God the Father, and the Word of God who is Jesus Christ once said, “Let there be light” and there was light. This same God created the sun and the moon. We are not playing with mere words or toys when we ask the Holy Spirit to get involved. When we ask for the Holy Spirit to come and fill us, we are asking for the one Power that can truly change the world, indeed, the entire Universe, to come to us. Pray that we would be doing what the Spirit asks of us.

For the living Fire from God that came down at Pentecost is still here, waiting to burn brightly and set the world on fire again. Will you help fan the fire? As you come forward to receive the Communion elements, the bread which Jesus said was His body, and the juice which He said was His blood, take them and then go to the Altar to hear from God’s Spirit about your part in changing our world for the better.

Finding the End of the Road

Back in the day when we had 3 or 4 children at home at a time, we often took road trips. Once, I recall, we were living on the East side of Atlanta, and decided to go through Birmingham, AL toward a civil war battlefield in Tennessee, but I miscalculated the distance and so we stopped in Birmingham for a hamburger. We were all tired by the end of the meal, so we turned around and drove home. It began known as “the time we drove to Birmingham for a hamburger”.

Other times, we’d just go exploring, trying to find a new place like a state park or just a place where we’d heard there might be a pretty place. I remember us driving around, trying to figure out on the map where to go. Yes, this was before GPS systems.

We looked at the map, turned off the four-lane, drove down a two-lane, made a couple of turnoffs, then went down a small two-lane road, it became a one-lane road, more and more it became a gravel road, and then we saw a sign pointing to the little town we wanted to get to. We were excited, because we knew we were getting close. We kept driving until we came to a bridge. Well, not quite. There was no bridge – only a “Bridge-out” sign and a sudden drop off. We could see the road we wanted to travel on the other side of the river, but that didn’t do us any good. All of our fiddling with the map had been worthless. Sometimes, you can’t get to where you want to go to. We needed a guide - the map was useless. Sometimes the road ends before you thought the road would end.

Early in the last week of His life on the earth before He was executed on the cross, Jesus and His disciples got into a series of debates with Pharisees and Sadducees, the two principle groups of Jewish leaders. They debated paying taxes, marriage during the resurrection, what the greatest commandment was, and how the Messiah, the Savior, could possibly be the Son of David if David called him “Lord”. Jesus then warned about the teachers of the law and how they put on a great show for prestige and money – and then complemented the faith of a widow who put two pennies into the Temple treasury, all she had. They then left the Temple complex, a huge area.

One of the disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!”

Jesus replied, “Do you see all these great buildings? Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”

A few minutes later, as Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives where they could clearly look down upon the Temple, which undoubtedly glittered and sparkled in the setting sun because of all the gold and gems and limestone blocks. Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him quietly, “When will all these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?”

Jesus told them tat it would be a while. “Watch out that no one deceives you. Many will claim to be Me and will deceive many. Don’t be alarmed when you hear of wars and rumors of wars. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places and famines. These are beginning of birth pains.”

Jesus spoke for several more minutes, reminding them that they would be persecuted, but they must be His witnesses, speaking to governors and kings. The gospel must be preached to all nations – but don’t worry when you are arrested, just let the Holy Spirit speak.

But when they saw a sight from Daniel’s prophecies – “The abomination that causes desolation” standing where it does not belong, then all those in Judea should flee to the mountains. Quickly. Immediately. A bad time follows. But then, after many false sightings, Jesus would be seen coming in the clouds with great power and glory. But only the Father knows when – not even the angels in heaven – nor even Jesus, but only the Father. So, Jesus said, “Stay alert.”

Verse 30 is intriguing: “Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.”

So looking back from the 21^st century, we know certain things.

First, we know that Jesus was speaking in the year 33 or 34 AD.

Second, we know that about 30 years later, within the lifetime of many of the disciples, in 64 AD, a large Jewish revolt against Roman rule began. The war continued until August of the year 70, when the Romans broke down the gates of Jerusalem, entered the city, and then spent several months destroying the city – and most particularly, the Temple of God.

Third, we know that in the year 134, after several smaller revolts, the Romans had enough, and kicked the Jews out of Jerusalem, later allowing them to return for a single day each year to mourn at what remained, which was the Western retaining wall that supported the compound, that wall we still see today as the Western Wall. It is all that remains of the Temple complex. One group of Jews moved to Eastern Europe and Russia by way of Babylon, Persia, and Kazakstan, the Askanazi, while another group moved to Egypt and eventually to Spain, France, and England. These were the Sephardim.

Fourth, Jews slowly returned to Jerusalem over the centuries, but not in great numbers until the late 1890’s, and then in increasing numbers after World War I and again after World War II and another surge came after the fall of the Soviet Union. Of course, the modern state of Israel retook Jerusalem and declared it to be the capital during the 1967 Six-day war.

At the time of Jesus, there were about 6 million Jews, almost all of whom lived in the Roman Empire, with about half living in the Holy Land, and the other half living dispersed throughout the Empire. The Empire’s total population at that time was about 100 million, so about 1/16^th of the population was Jewish.

Today, there are about 18 million Jews worldwide, with about 6 million living in the Holy Land, about 6 million living in the United States, and the rest scattered throughout the world. About 6 million died during World War II in work camps, prisons, and extermination camps in German-occupied territory. The Jews have suffered tremendously over the centuries since the Romans destroyed their Temple. But prophecies have kept them optimistic about the future.

 In times of stress and fear, many Christians look to the prophecies with an attempt to determine whether the end is near. In fact, about twenty years ago, an entire series of fictional books, the “Left Behind” series was written which attempted to make sense of the various prophecies in the Bible, which are mainly located in the Book of Daniel, the Book of Revelation, as well as II Thessalonians and this section of Mark – and the equivalent sections of Matthew and Luke. A particular view of the end times has come to dominant popular Christianity because of these books, the Scofield Bible, and the pronouncements of Herbert W Armstrong, a Sunday morning televangelist from the 1960’s and 70’s. I call it the "standard model".

In this view, the return of Christ will be signified by a series of events which leads up to the Rapture, when all the dead and living Christians will meet Jesus in the air. Then, a series of terrible events we call the Tribulation will happen over the next seven years, in two periods of three and a half years, during which the world is basically destroyed and non-believers may or may not have a chance to repent and be saved. All of these points are argued over. 

An Anti-Christ appears, an evil man opposed to Christ. After this, the old heaven and earth pass away and a new Heaven and a New Earth appear, with New Jerusalem, descending in Revelation 21, a massive city 1500 miles wide by 1500 miles long by 1500 miles high.

In New Jerusalem there is no Temple. None is needed, for God the Father and Jesus the Son walk with us. The Tree of Life is there, bearing fruit twelve times a year – and the living water flows from the throne of God. Life is good, life is eternal, and we are ruled by the wisest king of the Universe, which is what makes New Jerusalem such a special place.

Unfortunately, while New Jerusalem is promised, this standard model of how we get there may or may not be true. The end has been predicted many times, especially in America, by this preacher and that preacher, beginning in the 1800’s. In fact, since 1901, there have been at least 81 predictions of the end of the world. For example, in 1918, the Jehovah’s Witnesses began to say that “Millions now living will never die” as they expected the Return to occur in the mid 1920’s. Other preachers have given countdowns to the end. As my son Andy is fond of saying, despite his young age of 24, the world has supposedly ended five times in his life alone. But we clearly don’t know how to interpret all of these ideas about end times. And, by the way, there are currently six more predictions of the end of the world between now and 2088.

Interpretations have varied over time. For example, it appears likely that the destruction Jesus talked about in Mark’s Gospel was the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 AD. There are many historical figures who have been identified as the Anti-Christ, such as the Roman Emperor Nero who ruled at the time the Jewish Revolt began in 64 AD; Attila the Hun who sacked Rome a few centuries later; Martin Luther, who began the Protestant Reformation; Napoleon Bonaparte, who temporarily conquered much of Europe around 1800; Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany who led Germany during World War I; Adolph Hitler, who led Germany during World War II; Stalin, the leader of Russia during and after World War II; and even Ronald Wilson Reagan, our President, who happened to have 6 letters in each of his names, and thus was tied to "666", the "Number of the Beast" by some people.

My point is simple – Only God the Father knows the time schedule for the end – not even Jesus nor any of His disciples. This is something that Jesus Himself has told us. And so I think that anyone who claims to know the schedule for the end of the world is simply trying to sell books and videos.

So what should a person do?

It is good to break away from the useless study of things we have been told we cannot understand, and study those things of God that we can understand. In the Book of Hebrews, chapter ten, the writer tells us:

¹¹ Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 

The writer is referring to the Temple priests of his time, where the priest perform sacrifices to pay the penalties for sins, which still did not take away those sins, merely paying the fines, merely apologizing for the sins.

¹² But when this priest [meaning Jesus] had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, ¹³ and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. ¹⁴ For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

Those of us who are followers of Jesus Christ, who have repented of our sins and been made clean by baptism are made perfect by the sacrifice of Jesus. As far as God is concerned, our sins are taken away forever. The writer continues:

¹⁵ The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says:

¹⁶ “This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord.
I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.”

¹⁷ Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” ¹⁸ And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.

There is no longer any need to sacrifice animals and grain at the Temple, for God the Father has forgiven us and no longer remembers our sins and lawless acts. Through the Holy Spirit, God has put the laws in our hearts and written them on our minds. We are no longer bound to laws engraved on tablets and written on scrolls, but through the Holy Spirit, we can understand what God’s law is for this specific occasion, rather than worry about interpreting between conflicting laws that were engraved permanently and could not take into account changing situations.

¹⁹ Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰ by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 

In the great Temple of God, there was a Most Holy Place where only the high priest could visit – and he could only visit once a year. A rope was tied to his leg in case he messed up and God killed him - it happened several times over the centuries. 

This Most Holy Place was separated from the world by a special curtain. Yet, because of the self-sacrifice of Jesus, the blood of Jesus has opened a way for us to approach God in this Most Holy Place. The Gospels tell us that upon the death of Jesus, there was a great earthquake and the curtain was ripped in the Temple from the top to the bottom by God.

²¹ and since we have a great priest over the house of God, ²² let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 

Through baptism, we are now clean enough to approach God, following Jesus Christ who presides of the house of God today. Have you considered how much misery we have brought into our lives because of our guilty conscience about all we’ve done wrong? Trust in God and Jesus – they have said that they forgive our sins and lawless acts no longer. Even forgive yourself, because when we don’t forgive ourselves, we are pretending that our opinion of what we have done wrong is more important than God’s opinion of what we have done wrong – and God is the one who established what is right and what is wrong in the first place. The writer continues:

²³ Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. ²⁴ And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, ²⁵ not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Because we can approach God in the hope and faith of eternal life, we can stop being selfish and instead do acts of love and good deeds toward one another, continuing to meet together and encourage one another. And the closer we get to the end, the more we should do this.

But do you remember I told you about us driving down a road, only to find a Bridge Out sign – and no bridge? The road continued on the other side of the river.

For most people, this is the way that the road to the end of the world has been. For centuries, people have been trying to get to New Jerusalem where they will meet Jesus, drawing out all sorts of maps to get there. We come up with all sorts of ways to get there, arguing with each other whether there will be a rapture – or not, whether the rapture will happen before the seven years of tribulation, in the middle of the tribulation, or after the tribulation, some people say that the tribulation has already happened because it was what the Jews went through during World War II or maybe under the Emperor Nero, and so we try to draw out the map and figure out the way to New Jerusalem with Jesus.

And then, a bus hits us as we cross the road, COVID comes and we end up on a ventilator, we have a heart attack, we are diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer, and we see the sign ahead: “BRIDGE OUT”. And after our drive down the road of life stops, we realize that we were always headed to New Jerusalem with Jesus, following Jesus – or we were going to fall over that sudden drop off, because we weren’t following Jesus.

How the end times happen isn’t important.

What is important is whether or not you’ve decided to follow Jesus, our great high priest. For Jesus knows the way to New Jerusalem. Only Jesus. As the writer of Hebrews says:

“since we have a great priest over the house of God, ²² let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. ²³ Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. ²⁴ And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, ²⁵ not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Take the trip. Find New Jerusalem. Follow Jesus, for He is the only way to get there.

Show and Sacrifice

Throughout history, there have always been people who saw in the worship of the gods an opportunity to make money. In ancient Egypt, in Greece, in Rome, there were men and women who saw in the hopes and dreams of people a chance to make a fortune by declaring that such and such a god or goddess required a great temple to be built, with a large statue of the god or goddess to be built in the temple. In Athens, there was the temple of Athena with a huge statue of the goddess. In Ephesus was the beautiful temple of Artemis, and an entire industry of silversmiths who made small replicas for tourists – when the population of Ephesus began to convert to Christianity through Paul’s preaching, the silversmiths went to the town leaders and had Paul thrown in prison. And in the great Temple of God in Jerusalem, there were so many men who ran businesses selling sacrificial lambs, changing money, and other such things that Jesus turned over their tables and chased them out with a whip.

Other people have seen in the worship of gods – even in the worship of Jesus Christ – an opportunity for money and power, a chance for prestige and celebrity, a chance to be greeted with “respect in the marketplaces”. There have always been people who announce boldly their worship of a locally popular god, such as Apollo or Baal or Jesus and then strive for political power – and then there are those who work quietly to advance the cause of God or Christ. Our two readings today show the difference between those who would become known in this world for their mention of God – and those who would be great in the kingdom of God for their humility and quiet devotion to God, to Christ, and to the Holy Spirit.

Our first reading speaks of the prophet Elijah. Elijah comes upon the scene in the Book of I Kings, in chapter 17. He walks into the throne room of King Ahab of Israel, who’s wife had brought into the country several hundred priests of the Lebanese god Baal. Elijah then announces, ““As YAHWEH, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.” Then, Elijah leaves town, goes into a ravine east of the Jordan, and stays there, with the ravens bringing him food, and he drank from the brook in the ravine. No great following, no great prestige – Elijah was a quiet hermit. He stayed there until the brook dried up because of the lack of rain.

Then, the word of the Lord came to Elijah, telling him to go to the village of Zarephath near Sidon in Lebanon where a widow would supply him with food. He met the poor widow gathering sticks to cook the last meal for herself and her son, for they were about to run out of flour and oil. Elijah told her not to be afraid, for God will provide. And miraculously, there was always flour and oil during the time Elijah stayed there. God had honored God’s word.

Notice that although Elijah was very opposed to King Ahab because Ahab’s wife Jezebel had supported the worship of Baal, a Lebanese god, instead of worshiping Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Elijah did not seek the public spotlight. One visit, a short announcement which directly confronted Ahab’s god Baal – since Baal was the Lebanese god who controlled the weather and storms – and then Elijah disappears for several years – over three years, in fact. This is in marked contrast to those preachers today who strive to stay in the spotlight when they oppose a particular politician, like yapping small dogs who irritate the mailman as he walks by a house. No, Elijah delivered God’s words and then let God handle the day-by-day effects. Elijah understood that it is God who must be glorified, not the prophet.

Well, eventually, God told Elijah to directly challenge priests of Baal to a battle of the gods on the top of Mount Carmel in front of tens of thousands of spectators.  Each side built an altar and prayed to their god to light the fire on the altar sacrifice. Hundreds of priests of Baal prayed and danced and chanted all day long to no effect. Elijah then built his altar, poured water on it, and prayed to God. God lit the sacrifice with fire from heaven. Elijah took advantage of the situation to have the large crowd kill the priests of Baal. Then, because Ahab’s wife Jezebel vowed revenge upon Elijah, Elijah ran into the desert, to the mountain of God where Moses had brought down the tablets of the Law, once again disappearing from the spotlight and listening to the quiet whisper of God speak to him.

Upon his return, after finding and training Elisha, Elijah’s replacement, Elijah was taken into heaven by a fiery chariot, out in the middle of nowhere. For, you see, God is due the glory, not those who speak for God.

When God came to earth personally as Jesus Christ, God the Son who walked upon the earth,he specifically spoke about a group of Jewish teachers of the law. Jesus said, “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”

Let’s look carefully at what Jesus is critical of. He is not critical of those who teach – but of those who teach for prestige, to develop respect and honor. He is not upset because these men wear nice clothes – but because they wear these clothes for prestige and so they will be greeted with respect. Jesus is not upset that they make long prayers, but because they make lengthy prayers “for a show.” He is upset that they take money from poor widows, that “they devour widows houses”. You see it is the motive – they act good, doing things which are good and holy – teaching, praying, etc. – but they do these things not because they are good and holy, but because they want respect and places of honor and money, they want the SHOW of being good and holy. Thus, according to Jesus, these men will be punished most severely. Jesus says that God does not like people who do things for show.

It was in the Middle Ages that this problem reached its peak. In Germany, in the 1400’s and 1500’s, entire county-sized areas were controlled, not by counts, but by bishops. The land was actually owned by the bishops – and families competed to buy these lands when a bishop died. This was one of the issues which upset Martin Luther, the man who 504 years ago launched the Protestant Reformation of the church.

Don’t do things for show. And this applies to our purchases today – how much of what we buy is for show, to impress neighbors, to impress family, to gain respect of people rather than God.

To draw a contrast, after pointing out the duplicity of the teachers of the law, Jesus takes his disciples to sit near the money box where people put money into the temple treasury. There was no collection – simply a large box with a slot where people could drop coins in.

Jesus and the disciples watched and saw some rich people putting in large amounts. Then, a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, essentially a pair of pennies.

Jesus pointed this out to his disciples. “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything – all she had to live on.”

It is from this teaching of Jesus that we get the idea that giving of treasure is to be in proportion to our income. Let me put it into today’s situation:

Imagine watching. Bill Gates and Warren Buffet and Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk and Jeff Zuckerberg come to the church, each of them billionaires worth between fifty and 200 billion dollars. They each put a billion dollars in the box.

Then, here comes great aunt Sally, who lives on minimal social security, and puts her last $20 bill into the box, all she had left for the month. Jesus would commend great aunt Sally, for she had put in everything she had to live on, saying she had given far more than the billionaires, because she chose to depend upon God rather than her money.

So how much should we give?

In the ancient law of Moses, each person is to give one-tenth of the harvest – the first tenth of the harvest – to the temple. This was to support the entire tribe of Levi, who were the temple priests and local priests. But in fairness, that tenth was also to support the judges, as well as the army and police and the king. Ten percent – one tenth – and notice it was to be the first tenth, before you actually had a good feel for what the season’s harvest would be.

From this, many churches have adopted the idea that the ideal is for everyone to give a tenth of our income to the church. But should that be 10% before or after taxes. If you have to ask that question, you’ve missed the point.

For the point is that we are to assume that God will take care of us, just as God takes care of sparrows and mice and wolves and porpoises. But shouldn’t we save money for a rainy day? Only within reason, for the more money we save for a rainy day, the more likely it is that we will depend upon our savings rather than upon God.

I’ve told the story of my devout Christian friend who lived very frugally. They tithed to their church. He and his wife paid off their home very early, in about ten years. They paid off their vehicles. They set aside money for college for their children and money for retirement. Eventually, my friend’s retirement account was topping a million dollars – and he was just reaching 50 years of age. His company down-sized – and he was laid off. A quick look at the math showed that he could have lived comfortably for the rest of his life off his retirement savings. No mortgage, no car payments – and over $40,000 a year, just from the interest from his retirement savings.

But he panicked. His savings account was no longer growing! So he took an out of town temporary job, and then another, because his security revolved around the growth of that retirement account. Eventually, his wife left him and his children rejected him. He had transferred his need for security to the account, rather than to God.

Another view of giving is that rather than give 10% of our income, we should all be like the widow, giving away whatever we have left over. Probably not, although the Franciscan order of monks operate on that as a daily principle – one of their guiding principles is that they will never take a payment for work that would result in money kept until the next day. They are to hold onto nothing except a change of clothing, a place to sleep tonight, and food for the next few hours, depending upon God for all daily support. Of course, this sets us up for trouble when we break a leg, an arm, or get sick.  

John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, famously said, “earn all you can, save all you can, and give all you can.”

But here’s a practical guide for today. Attempt to give about 10% of your monthly income to the church. This is a long goal. But if you are new to this idea, don’t panic. Instead, gradually start with a small amount – say, $5 a week – and then, as you are able to give up the useless, frilly, luxuries of life, increase what you are giving over a period of months and years. For example, if you are spending $4 on coffee a day, consider making your own for a dollar a day, and you’ll find that in a five-day week, you’ve saved $15.

Pay off your debts and then divert that money toward being generous to your church. Don’t buy on credit for Christmas this year and in January you’ll be pleasantly surprised as what you have available. Trust God, not your credit card. Each year, see if you can increase your giving until you reach the 10% target. And then – you might give even more for special projects.

A large part of Christian growth is turning from a selfish look at ourselves to gradually opening up to others. When we give, we are actively saying to ourselves, “Self, let’s be less selfish!”

Another large part of Christian growth is a growth in our faith, in our trust that God will take care of us. Many times in my life, I’ve seen where we’ve given $20, $50, $100, even $300 to someone generously – and God has repaid us over the next few days or weeks. As we give more to God and others, we are actively saying to ourselves, “Self, let’s trust God more!”

As we move into the holiday season, every day you’ll be given choices to make. You’ll be choosing whether to give a child a toy – or a Christian video such as a VeggieTales video. You’ll be choosing whether to give a sweater or a Bible or a devotional book or a Billy Bass singing fish. You’ll be deciding whether to give your family a set of matching pajamas or the Angel tree a gift. You’ll be deciding whether to go in debt or pay off debt. Will you eat at a restaurant or at home? Each time you make this decision, you’ll be making a decision between what the world would have you do – and what Christ would have you do.

You may be nearly broke. And if you cannot give to the church – pray. Pray together as man and wife. God will grant your prayer that you can give to the church and to other people. For you are turning to God, learning to trust God, wanting to trust God. And so God will help you to overcome that barrier. But never let your finances stop you from coming to this church. We’d rather see you every week for a year without you giving a single penny – or two pennies – than not see you at all.

After all, as a church, we’ve been through COVID and God has been good. Today, we have several more people with us than before the first lockdown. God honors those who do God’s will – and we expect that to continue. Remember to pray and ask God for God’s will before you make your decisions about what to buy and what to give, when to go in debt and when to pay off debt, whether to go for the show and whether to go for sacrifice.

And if you are one who has been listening to us on Facebook or on the radio or receiving our sermons, consider a small donation to support these ways we have been reaching out to you. On our website, cedargroveunitedmethodist.org, you’ll see the word “give” in the top middle of the screen. Click on that and you’ll find a page where you can give a one-time or recurring donation of an amount of your choice.