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Stay Awake: Embracing Advent’s Call to Vigilance and Hope

info@hypernikomen.net (Vanerable) — Sat, 26 Oct 2024 14:29:00 -0700

For the audio version of this lesson, click on the link below:

Well, one thing that you will discover, if you spend very much time in a liturgical church, or a church following the liturgical traditions, is that we observe a different calendar than the rest of the year. For Christians, for the Church, today is New Year's Day. It's the first day of a new year. We have rewound the clock, if you will. Last Sunday, we completed the Sundays in ordinary time with the great crescendo of Christ the King, celebrating Jesus' rule over heaven and earth, over all the principalities and powers. And that was the culmination of all the lessons on discipleship during what we call “ordinary time,” which has gone through all of the summer until last Sunday.

This Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent. And Advent just simply means Christ's coming, that He is coming. And so, there is this time of expectation, and there is a time of penitence, which is just one of those churchy words for repentance, for self-examination. And that's why the colors and the liturgy might remind you of Lent, because we have these two penitential seasons in the year, the first one being Advent, as we're waiting for Christ's incarnation, and the second one being Lent, as we await Christ's resurrection.

So, there are two appearances, if you will, of Jesus that are celebrated and magnified in the Church year. The incarnation at Christmas and the resurrection at Easter.

These are two fundamental points in the life of a disciple and in the celebration of who Jesus is. Because of the importance of these two events, the Church calls herself to self-examination and repentance.

And so, in this season of Advent, we are preparing ourselves for the incarnation, for Jesus, God becoming man, God incarnate in his son, Jesus Christ, at Christmas.

And so, as we prepare for this great revelation, this incarnation, this appearance of Jesus as the one and only begotten Son of God the Father. The Church says, "Wow, we should prepare ourselves for that moment. We should prepare ourselves for that meeting, for that encounter of Jesus at Christmas. That's what this season is about.

That's why it's penitential. It's self-reflective. A time to take stock of how we're doing in our relationship with Christ; how we're doing in our relationship with God. And we’ll see that theme reminded to us, presented again at Lent, as we then prepare for his resurrection.

So, in these lessons that we heard this morning, there is this current, this theme of judgment following Jesus' return.

It's an ominous set of lessons, isn't it? The kind of lessons that, maybe if you were sitting at home and pulling out your Bible off of your coffee table thinking about what you might read, this might not be the one that you would choose to read. This is kind of frightening, isn't it? And a lot of attention has been given, particularly among Christian pastors, to try and figure out in detail the symbolism of these lessons, particularly of Mark's gospel and the similar gospel in Matthew and Paul's reflection on it in 1 Thessalonians, as we heard a few weeks ago.

This desire to figure out, you know, who is 666? Who is the Antichrist? When will these things happen?

And in his understanding and knowledge of us, because he created us, Jesus right from the front says [paraphrasing], "Stop it. Don't try and figure it out. No one knows. I don't know. The angels don't know. Only the father knows. So don't focus on those details."

And you might think, "Well, they're kind of scary details. I'd like to focus on them." And I think that's why so many people perseverate over it and launch into these predictions that lead to embarrassment because they're always wrong.

So, let's bypass that mistake.

Let's not make that same mistake and look at what Jesus calls His disciples to focus on. Because He makes it really clear: Yeah, there will be signs like the fig tree. You'll understand that the end is coming, that things are getting bad.

And you know that the Church, Christians, have looked at those events for centuries and thought, "Ah, this is the time. This is it.” And time just keeps cranking along.

So, there must be something else in this that we are to understand, that we are to grasp. And Jesus presents it. And if we don't get stuck on trying to figure out dates and times and the specifics of the name of the Antichrist and watching the news thinking, "Oh, that might be him."

I remember once, when Ronald Reagan was president, somebody went, "Ronald Wilson Reagan, yeah, six letters in each of his names. Maybe that's the guy, you know."

I mean, people have done that. I'm not picking on Reagan, but people have done that for years, trying to figure out who he [Antichrist] is. And He [Jesus] says, you won't know. You won't know the time. In fact, there are many antichrists, but that's another lesson.

So, when we look at Mark 13, beginning with verse 32, he says, "No one knows, not even the angels in heaven nor the Son, but only the Father."

So, Jesus dismisses that pursuit in the mind of the disciples, as we said, and then He goes on to tell him what they ought to do. He says (I'm reading from the ESV)… he says, "Be on guard, keep awake, for you do not know when the time will come."

Okay, we don't know for sure when the time will come. So, what are we to do?

He says, “be on guard, stay awake.”

Mark uses three different [Greek] words for “stay awake” in this gospel lesson. There's a tremendous emphasis on the Christian, on the disciple, being alert and awake, and on guard during this period.

Now since we don't know the time or the hour, when should we stay awake?

When should we take heed?

When should we be on guard?

Always!

The idea, this is an attitude that the disciple is supposed to have all the time.

In Mark's Gospel, chapter 13 marks the end of Jesus' ministry of teaching and healing. And after this lesson, He then, in Mark's Gospel, moves towards the Passion Week. He moves into the Passion Week, and a full one-third of Mark's Gospel is spent on the Passion.

So, this is a transition point in Mark's Gospel where Mark is remembering this teaching of Jesus. It's the longest teaching in Mark's Gospel – the longest single theme teaching in Mark's Gospel, this is it.

So, it's very important, as it marks this transition, as it ends the teaching in Mark, ends Jesus's teaching in Mark. So, Jesus begins his teaching in Mark with what? (I know we didn't read it.) Do you have an idea?

“Follow me.”

He chooses the disciples, and he begins his teaching in Mark with “follow.”

Now they have followed, and they're preparing to go to the… to go through Passion Week. And so, then Jesus says, “Watch. Be on guard. Take heed. Follow and watch.”

You know we have this great example in Ezekiel where God describes Ezekiel as a watchman. In Ezekiel 2, I'm sorry, Ezekiel chapter 3, verse 17, God speaking to the prophet Ezekiel says, "Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me."

This is the same theme that Jesus picks up as He's telling His disciples to be on guard, to be alert, to be vigilant, to watch.

You see, it's not passive. It's not passive watching, because what does he tell, what does God tell Ezekiel? He says, "Son of man.” (He's talking about Ezekiel. It's another way of saying, human being.) “I have made you a watchman for the House of Israel.”

Well, in Ezekiel's time, the House of Israel was God's house, God's people.

In our time, God's house is the Church, it’s still God's people, and He's made us watchmen, and what does that mean?

He says, "Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me." I believe that's the same thing that Jesus has instructed the disciples as He says, "Be on guard. Watch.”

Not passively. Not sitting in fear in their closets, waiting for the end to come.

And it's obvious, because they don't do that.

We go through and read the Acts of the Apostles. We see that they are active in preaching the gospel. They are hearing the Word of God and they're presenting it to a lost and frightened people.

My friends, when we hear disturbing things on the news, when we see people broken and hurting and in need, being watchful implies listening for a word from the Lord and sharing it to a lost and broken people.

When Jesus tells the disciples to take heed of the signs, it's not to be in fear. It's not to run and hide. It's not to try and predict things out of the calendar, but it's to receive a word from the Lord and share that with those who have no hope. Because we have hope. If you have been baptized and received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you have hope and you need not fear the signs of disaster and the end of time. But instead, to share the good news of Christ's salvation, so that anyone listening to you who receives that word need not fear either.

Let us conclude by looking at that passage that we heard in First Corinthians. First Corinthians, beginning with verse four. First Corinthians, verse four, Paul is writing to the Corinthian church, who live and worship and in an environment much like our own. And Paul writes to them, he says, "I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus.” Their faith in Christ has imparted grace to them. “That in every way you were enriched in Him and all speech and all knowledge, even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you, so that…” listen this “…so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift.”

Your presence, your identity, your adoption in Jesus Christ, means he has imparted grace to you for a season and a time such as this, that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift.

What is this purpose of the spiritual gift? It is to serve Christ and to share the good news about His salvation. As you wait for the revealing, or the advent, the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.

So, as we're waiting, as we're in this Advent season, preparing for the coming of Christ, we have every spiritual gift given to us for whatever he calls us to do. “Who will,” verse 8, "…sustain you to the end"?

You don't even have to worry about sustaining yourself. You don't even have to worry about coming up with the stuff to endure to the end. Whatever that end it may be. He will sustain you, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. That is the exclamation point on this whole lesson. He will sustain you guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

When we see the Day of the Lord presented in the Old Testament, it's a frightening day of judgment. It looks like destruction. It looks like condemnation. And Paul is telling the church in Corinth, he says, "Jesus Christ will sustain you guiltless on that day, because He has imparted His grace to you through His Holy Spirit.”

Friends, that means we have nothing to fear. No matter how bad the days get, no matter how horrible the news is, no matter how bad the days become, Christ has promised us, through the washing of his blood and our redemption, [correction] washing in his blood and our redemption, that he will not charge us as guilty on the Day of the Lord. On that last day, when he comes in judgment, He will see us guiltless. And that's not a message just to hold tightly onto. That is a message to share. When our family and friends, strangers, start talking about the news and how bad it is, how frightening it is… Yes, but if Jesus is your Lord and Savior, He will sustain you and you will be guiltless on that final day. That is good news. And that is what Advent is preparing us for.

Let us pray…

[This is a transcript of a recorded sermon, preached by Fr. Van McCalister on Advent, November 30, 2014]

Pentecost from the Upper Room

info@hypernikomen.net (Vanerable) — Sun, 18 Aug 2024 13:14:00 -0700

For the audio version of this, click on the link below:

The Upper Room Podcast

The primary texts for this lesson are Luke chapters 23 and 24; John chapters 15, 16, and 20; Acts chapters 1 and 2.

On the third day after Jesus was executed by the Romans on a hill outside of Jerusalem, he appeared to his frightened followers in an upper room in the city where they were hiding. They were afraid that if their Teacher was arrested for what he taught, his disciples might be next. Amazingly, Jesus appeared before them in that upper room, demonstrating that he had risen from the dead and encouraging them not be afraid [Luke 24:36-49; John 20]. Jesus continued to visit them during the 40 days after that to prepare them for the Counselor to come to them after he ascended back to his Father [John chapters 20 and 21]. Jesus used two of Israel's religious celebrations to fulfil these events: Passover for his self-offering as the Paschal Lamb and Pentecost for the out-pouring of the Holy Spirit. These were recorded by Luke in the last two chapters of his Gospel (chapters 23 and 24) and the first two chapters of the Acts of the Apostles. During those fifty days, with the presence of Christ and the anointing of the Holy Spirit, Peter transitions from hiding in the upper room to declaring the truth about Jesus from the upper room to the crowds below.

Luke records what happened [Acts 2:1-42, ESV]:

1 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 11 both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” 12 And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”

14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:

17 “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; 18 even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.

19 And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; 20 the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.

21 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’

22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— 23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. 25 For David says concerning him,

“‘I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; 26 therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope.

27 For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption.

28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’

29 “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. 34 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,

“‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, 35 until I make your enemies your footstool.”’

36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. 42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

With that as our background, let's continue the lesson and consider some implications:

There were, of the many festivals that the people of Israel celebrated, there were three that were mandatory attendance for the men. And so, Passover being one of those three, the second being Pentecost, and the third being the Festival of Booths (or Tabernacles). So Passover, we remembered in the form of Easter 50 days ago, and Pentecost is what we are bringing to mind today. But the reason why I bring up the fact that the men of Israel had a mandatory pilgrimage to Jerusalem on the Festival of Pentecost is because this undergirds the story that you heard this morning from the Book of Acts.

Because we have the disciples gathered, probably in the upper room… (Note the chapter divisions that we have that are in our Bible are not put there by the initial writers, but we're something that came along in the Middle Ages. So, when we move from Acts chapter 1 to Acts chapter 2, there is that appointment, if you recall, of Matthias, to fulfill the 12th spot vacated by Judas. [Acts 1:23-26])

So, when it talks about “they,” we are thinking of both the 12 apostles and then the greater 120 disciples, most likely [Acts 1:15].

Now, you can go to the upper room in Jerusalem to this day, certainly the columns and the walls and all of that are not original (the architecture alone tells you that), but the floor itself may be actually that old. It's a good space, easily as large as the nave is here, and could well hold 120 people. This is the setting that we have. And the setting, I think (maybe if you're not visually minded; it's not that big of a deal, but I like to visualize what I read in scripture) - It has the disciples, certainly the twelve, if not the 120, gathered in the upper room.

They, of course, did not have glass windows. So, whatever was going on in the upper room, which would have been the second story above the street, would have been audible to those that were, you know, milling around in the streets below. Now, there are a lot of people milling around in the streets below, because of the mandatory pilgrimage to come from the known world to Jerusalem to celebrate Pentecost. Now, those people, the Medes and the Persians, and all of those that that Luke listed [Acts 2:7-11] were not coming with the expectation of Joel's prophecy being fulfilled. They were not coming with the expectation of the Holy Spirit bursting forth onto the scene and the dawn of the Church age coming into being. That is not what they were expecting. They were coming there strictly to fulfill their vows to celebrate Pentecost, or the, what's also known as the Feast of Weeks, or the Feast of First Harvest. They celebrated the beginning of the harvest and they celebrated the end of the harvest. This is the beginning of the harvest. So they came merely to do that.

But to their surprise, they hear strange sounds and familiar sounds. The strange sound would have been this mighty rush of wind. Maybe it was a still day. We don't know. Maybe there was not a breeze in the air. And suddenly they hear this unreal rush of wind, not like a natural wind, I guess. And then they hear something that they do recognize, come from… coming from those, they do not recognize.

Luke makes it a point that the people hearing their languages being spoken by these Galilean fishermen think it so odd that they accuse them of being drunk. Because, we know Galilean fishermen were not particularly well educated, so how would they know all of these foreign languages? Something is not right, of course. (In my experience alcohol does not help me with Greek or Hebrew in the least little bit. So how they came to that conclusion I do not know.) But anyway, so they accuse them of being drunk. But then, apparently, their ears are captivated by what they hear. They've gone from the oddity of this strange wind to the hearing of languages that they recognize from people who do not speak those languages. It's a powerful recognition of what is happening and why it's happening, even though they don't completely understand it.

Let's see what Luke has to say in [Acts] chapter two verse 11. He says, "We hear them declaring the wonders of God."

You see, so it's not just that they hear these languages being spoken by men, who ought not to be able to speak them, but then, their minds focus on what is being said. And these men filled with the Holy Spirit are "declaring the wonders of God."

Then Peter stands up. And possibly he comes out onto the porch there of the upper room looking out onto the road. And it [verse 14] says he addresses the crowd. But this address is a formal declaration. The word in the Greek there is what would be a formal address. Something kind of like what I'm doing here now, or what a president of a university would do to a crowd to introduce graduates. It's a formal address.

And yet, Peter has not rehearsed this. It's a formal address because he's been empowered by the Holy Spirit to communicate a message directly from God through the Holy Spirit. He proclaims this message to the crowd, and that message is a confirmation of what was spoken through the prophet Joel. Essentially, he says, "What the prophet Joel prophesied has come to pass" [Acts 2:16-21]. The two things that Peter tells us in this proclamation: that prophecy has been fulfilled and the Savior has come. It's the expectation that the believers in Israel and all the proselytes gathered there have been waiting for, for centuries, the fulfillment of prophecy and the coming of the Savior. And so, Peter's proclamation to them is, it has happened! Both of those things have happened: Prophecy has been fulfilled and Jesus is the Savior.

And then he goes on to convict them of their guilt: "This is the one whom you crucified" [Acts 2:23]. But he doesn’t leave them there. He shares with them that whoever calls upon the name of the Lord, verse 21, will be saved. So, there's proclamation, conviction, and an introduction to Jesus as the Savior. Pentecost is completely and perfectly, in-keeping with what Jesus said would happen when he promised that the Counselor would come [Luke 24:49 and John 15:26-27].

Let's take just a couple minutes and look at the end of John 15 and the beginning of John 16, the gospel lesson that you heard a moment ago. "When the counselor comes," Jesus says, "Whom I will send to you from the Father” (a perfect example of the Trinity right there) "whom I will send to you from the Father” [John 15:26]. Jesus describes him as “the Spirit of Truth.”

"The Spirit of Truth.” The Counselor is also the Spirit of Truth.

In other words, he is the one who proclaims Truth, who instructs his followers to be able to know truth and to proclaim it. And this is truth with a capital T. The truth about Jesus, what the revelation of God has been pointing toward for all of history. He says, "He will testify about me.” He will testify about Jesus. Here's the Spirit of Truth's mission statement: He will testify about Jesus. "And you also must testify, for you have been my eyewitnesses" [John 15:27]. So, to the disciples in the upper room before Pentecost, he's telling them what to expect, what we just heard in Acts chapter 2. The Spirit of Truth will come, he will testify about Jesus, and those who follow after the disciples must also testify to these things.

Now, he says there's going to be a result. Something is going to happen when the Spirit of Truth comes and this testimony is given. We got to hear Peter start the testimony, but we didn't get to hear what's happening yet in the crowds of people listening. Jesus says this is what's going to happen. [John 16,] verse 8, says “when he comes," the Spirit of Truth, "He will convict the world of guilt," in regard to three things: "Sin, righteousness, and judgment.” When the Spirit of Truth comes, he will convict the world. He will expose their guilt. And what underlies there is the hope of leading to repentance. He will expose their guilt and regard to sin, righteousness, and judgment. Well, what was the sin? Peter describes it later in Acts 2. They just rejected him.

Jesus says the same thing [John 16:9]. He says, "because men did not believe in me," they did not believe in Jesus. And the second thing, he will convict them regarding righteousness or justice. [John 16:10-11]

Was Jesus treated in a just way? Not only did they not believe in Him, but they treated Him with injustice. They arrested Him and crucified Him for no good reason, other than their own agendas. And He says, "And judgment, for this world, the evil one has been judged.” [John 16:11]

Do you see the trajectory there? There is the conviction of sin about believing in Jesus. There is the judgment, or the justice, regarding not representing Jesus correctly as to being the Son of God and being the Savior. He says the evidence of the fact that he is the Son of God and the Savior, is that He's ascended to heaven, sitting at the right hand of the God of His Father. It's the proof, the evidence of who He is. And He says, "It’s judgment of the evil one."

The sin of not recognizing Jesus leads to the sin of misrepresenting Him, which leads to, or embroils us in, a reign other than that of God. It's the reign of the evil one.

So, he says he's going to convict the world of those three things.

Well, the converse is there. The Spirit of Truth is to lead the believers his disciples to testify that Jesus is the Son of God, that he was convicted and hung on the cross unjustly for our sins to redeem us, to give us forgiveness of our sins through repentance and baptism, and then to enter into a life where Jesus is reigning, rather than Satan. He calls us to testify through the power of the Holy Spirit to those three things. We are also involved in the convicting, if you will, the leading of the world into understanding and recognizing their guilt, not just for the sake of making them feel guilty, but so though that they would turn and come to know Jesus and have life. For the church, the gifts given at Pentecost for the sake of our being enabled and empowered to share the Good News. That's the purpose of it.

The Church's mission is to point people to Jesus to continue that same testimony, that Jesus gave to the disciples. And remember when He says, He says, "It's…” (I’m paraphrasing.) He says, "It's good that you believe, but He says, "All the better, those who come after you and testify based on your testimony” [John 20:29]. Well, that's us! The testimony that we have received from the apostles, who received the testimony from Jesus, is still given to us and released in us through that same spirit, the Spirit of Truth, who enables us to recognize what is true and lively and good through that same Holy Spirit.

And so, as we celebrate the gift of Pentecost, the birth of the Church, this morning, we celebrate our participation in that, our empowerment, our enablement through the Holy Spirit, to continue that apostolic testimony: that Jesus died for our sins. He rose from the dead. He ascended into Heaven and He is still interceding on our behalf at the right hand of His Father.

Let us pray,

Father in heaven, we thank you and praise you for the gift of your Holy Spirit. Lord, we pray that you would inspire us, encourage, empower, and embolden us to continue the work that you gave to those first disciples that we too would speak in the power and the knowledge and the truth of the Holy Spirit, that others may be freed from the kingdom of darkness and brought into the kingdom of your dear Son. And we ask all this through Jesus' blessed and holy name. Amen.

This is a transcription of a sermon preached on Pentecost by Fr. Van McCalister.

Grace Wins!

info@hypernikomen.net (Vanerable) — Mon, 2 Aug 2021 17:26:00 -0700

Grace is more powerful than cancel culture.

“This is my command: Love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends."

- Jesus (John 15:12 & 13, HCB)

For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

(James 2:13, ESV)

Study to show yourself approved - 2 Timothy 2.15

info@hypernikomen.net (Vanerable) — Sun, 10 Feb 2019 08:51:00 -0800

I woke up in the early morning thinking of this verse and wondering what the significance of "approved" meant?

Since I memorized the King James version of this verse when I was a kid, this is what came to mind...

2 Timothy 2:15 King James Version (KJV)

15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Later, after I woke up again, I did some research. Regarding the Greek background of 2 Timothy 2:15, I read this quote from "Interlinear Greek New Testament Bible" by Frederick Henry Ambrose Scrivener -

From "(1380) dokimos 2:255,183 dok'-ee-mos Adjective from (1380) ; properly, acceptable (current after assayal) , i.e. approved:--approved, tried. accepted, particularly of coins and money. accepted, pleasing, acceptable In the ancient world there was no banking system as we know it today, and no paper money. All money was made from metal, heated until liquid, poured into moulds and allowed to cool. When the coins were cooled, it was necessary to smooth off the uneven edges. The coins were comparatively soft and of course many people shaved them closely. In one century, more than eighty laws were passed in Athens, to stop the practice of shaving down the coins then in circulation. But some money changers were men of integrity, who would accept no counterfeit money. They were men of honour who put only genuine full weighted money into circulation. Such men were called "dokimos" or "approved". Donald Barnhouse"

[Note: you can find this book or similar Greek Interlinears on Amazon for little expense or free: http://a.co/8KVC5SO.]

So, how does this relate to studying Scripture?

Paul is writing to Timothy whom he has placed as the pastor at Ephesus. Timothy is young and establishing himself where there were doubtless older more experienced people. It would seem in light of the meaning of dokimos that Paul is saying that Timothy needs to know his scripture (the Old Testament) so that no one will find a way to question his authority or his knowledge based on sloppy Bible teaching. In other words, Timothy will be "approved" to teach and pastor the church at Ephesus based on how well he knows and communicates the Word of God.

The ESV with footnote brings this out more clearly than the KJV...

2 Timothy 2:15 English Standard Version (ESV)

15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, [a] a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

Footnotes:

[a] 2 Timothy 2:15 That is, one approved after being tested

What does this signify to us now? Why should a Christian be "approved" today? Sure Timothy was a pastor and needed to be able to preach and teach, and we can easily see how that still applies. But what about those who are not called to preach or teach in a church? In Acts 17:11 we read that the Bereans diligently studied the scriptures to see if what they were taught accorded with Scripture. Peter exhorted his readers in 1 Peter 3:15 to "be prepared to give an answer to everyone who askes for a reason for the hope that is in you." All followers of Christ should strive to be effective communicators of the good news about Jesus Christ. Following Paul's advice to Timothy, we do not have to go to a Bible college or seminary to "be approved" but studying and knowing Scripture will certify through our conversations that we do know what God's Word says. Let us show the full value of the Good News, untrimmed and undiluted. Combine that knowledge with grace and acts of mercy, and people will see the love of Christ in us.

Children of Light

info@hypernikomen.net (Vanerable) — Fri, 2 Mar 2018 15:26:00 -0800

The Band of Brothers - Hebrews 13.1

info@hypernikomen.net (Vanerable) — Fri, 2 Feb 2018 21:02:00 -0800

Why does God allow suffering?

info@hypernikomen.net (Vanerable) — Sun, 12 Nov 2017 12:44:00 -0800

Why does God allow pain and suffering?

God didn't start it; humanity did. God made humans the stewards over creation at the very beginning and gave them one prohibition: "but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." [Gen. 2.15-17 ESV]

The knowledge of good was experienced through intimacy, walking with God in the Garden. The knowledge and experience of evil was unknown until Adam and Eve disobeyed God and allowed Satan to remain in the Garden. Stewardship includes protecting. Their disobedience led to the abdication of their stewardship and handing it over to Satan. Satan's stewardship of the earth, brought hate, depression, illness, war, disease and death. The first humans allowed it to happen; effectively they gave Satan permission to act in their place. With the knowledge of evil comes the experience of evil. The experience of evil includes sin, sickness and death. But the experience of evil was not God's plan.

Does God allow pain and suffering? Yes, in the sense that He gave Adam and Eve the freedom to both prevent suffering and the freedom to allow it, and they chose to allow it. They allowed it by following Satan's suggestion rather than adhering to God's warning. We humans blame God for what humanity allowed; what He prohibited. Then we have the audacity to blame Him for the decision our human family made.

We ask "Why does God allow all of this suffering?" as if we had nothing to do with it. As if we never participate in evil as did our first parents. We want the ability to choose for ourselves but we don't want to be held responsible for our decisions. We want the freedom to love and to be loved but we talk like we don't want the freedom to reject love, even though we frequently reject love and chose selfishness. We want to be independent and free but we don't want a Hitler to be free and independent.

This feels acceptable to us because we do not honestly evaluate the hypocrisy of our own desires. We conveniently ignore our own inconsistencies and selfish desires, while pointing out other's errors and blaming God for it. This attitude also feels acceptable to us because we have such a warped view of righteousness; we don't really consider what holiness is. Our convenient view of righteousness is that if we can find someone, anyone who seems worse than us, then we declare ourselves "holy". As if we are God and get to write the definition of good and bad. And why not? Wouldn't we make that same decision at the very beginning? Isn't it ok to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil if I want to - especially if it makes me happy?

But God has shown us that real righteousness and true holiness do not include any amount of wrongdoing or wrong thinking. In reality, we do not have permission to rewrite the definitions of holiness and righteousness. Paul, an early follower of Christ, observed "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." [Romans 3.23]

Please do not misunderstand me. I am not suggesting that you are suffering with an illness because God is punishing you for a specific sin that you committed. Rather, I am saying that all of us are suffering due to the sin that has infected humanity since the fault of our first parents at the dawn of time.

Even so, God has guaranteed our escape from pain and suffering. Through the Son of God, the man Jesus, our escape from pain and suffering is guaranteed. [Romans 5] This life of pain and suffering is temporary, but the next life is free from all of that. Jesus invites us to make Him the steward of our lives and so be free from the control of Satan. God does care about our pain and suffering and wants us to be free from it more than even we do. God desires our freedom to such an extent that He sent His Son Jesus to bear the penalty for our rebellion and to destroy the outcome of death. [1 Peter 3.18-22]

At this time we still experience pain and suffering, but if we put our faith in Jesus and follow Him we will not continue to live in pain and suffering for ever. God will not allow any amount of sadness, illness or suffering to follow us into His presence, and He will exact perfect justice. [Revelation 21.3-8] This is why Jesus said, "The thief [Satan] comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they [us] may have life and have it abundantly." [John 10.10]

The solution to pain and suffering is following Jesus. [John 3.16]

Jesus - Bread from Heaven, Part Two

info@hypernikomen.net (Vanerable) — Sun, 9 Jul 2017 17:30:00 -0700

Jesus - Bread from Heaven, Part One

info@hypernikomen.net (Vanerable) — Sun, 9 Jul 2017 07:00:00 -0700

The Parable of Lazarus and the Compassion of Jesus

info@hypernikomen.net (Vanerable) — Sat, 25 Feb 2017 13:21:00 -0800

An mp3 file of a teaching on the Compassion of Jesus as shown through the Parable of Lazarus is linked here (small file size), and a larger downloadable file size is here. (These files may also be played directly from host site without being downloaded.)

Luke 16:19-31English Standard Version (ESV)

The Rich Man and Lazarus

¹⁹“There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. ²⁰And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, ²¹who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. ²²The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side.^[a] The rich man also died and was buried, ²³and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. ²⁴And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ ²⁵But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. ²⁶And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ ²⁷And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house— ²⁸for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ ²⁹But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ ³⁰And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ ³¹He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”

Footnotes:

Luke 16:22 Greek bosom; also verse 23

Journaling through the Psalms

info@hypernikomen.net (Vanerable) — Wed, 15 Feb 2017 06:55:00 -0800

Those who love the Psalms and enjoy journaling will find The Psalms Journal to be the ideal companion for both. The Psalms Journal provides a convenient place to record your devotions, prayers and reflections, as you meditate through the Psalms.

This version of the Psalms comes from the Psalter of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer. The psalms are printed on the left page and are faced on the right page with blank unruled paper for notes. The Table of Contents is divided up into 60 segments for those who follow the Benedictine method of praying through the entire Psalter each month.

The Psalms Journal is available through Saint Austin's Press for $10.55 each, plus shipping. Bulk pricing is available. The Psalms Journal is available for $13.55 on CreateSpace and Amazon.

Wisdom for men

info@hypernikomen.net (Vanerable) — Wed, 15 Feb 2017 06:36:00 -0800

My son, don’t forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commands; for they will bring you many days, a full life, and well-being. Never let loyalty and faithfulness leave you. Tie them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will find favor and high regard in the sight of God and man. Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; think about Him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the right paths. Proverbs 3:1-6 [HCSB]

Gossip and Verification

info@hypernikomen.net (Vanerable) — Mon, 24 Oct 2016 09:00:00 -0700

The following words of wisdom remind us of the admonition from James chapter 3 about the danger of an ungoverened tongue. We are also reminded of the direction from Jesus to talk directly with the person who may have offended you. This gives him the opportunity to repent or correct a misunderstanding.

Below, the teacher is warning us that a rumor we have heard may not be true. We must verify it with the source. Along with James, the teacher reminds us of the destructive nature of gossip, and our weakness in keeping secrets.

Christian leaders especially must be faithful in holding words shared with them in confidence. Priests are bound by their vows to keep confessions in absolute confidence.

Gossip is corrosive. We know this from personal experience as well, don't we? So, why do we participate in it? The teacher tells us, the one who hates gossip reduces evil!

Ecclesiasticus 19:4-17
⁴ One who trusts others too quickly is lightminded, and one who sins does wrong to himself. ⁵ One who rejoices in wickedness will be condemned, ⁶ and for one who hates gossip evil is lessened. ⁷ Never repeat a conversation, and you will lose nothing at all. ⁸ With friend or foe do not report it, and unless it would be a sin for you, do not disclose it; ⁹for some one has heard you and watched you, and when the time comes he will hate you. ¹⁰ Have you heard a word? Let it die with you. Be brave! It will not make you burst! ¹¹With such a word a fool will suffer pangs like a woman in labor with a child. ¹² Like an arrow stuck in the flesh of the thigh, so is a word inside a fool. ¹³ Question a friend, perhaps he did not do it; but if he did anything, so that he may do it no more. ¹⁴ Question a neighbor, perhaps he did not say it; but if he said it, so that he may not say it again.¹⁵ Question a friend, for often it is slander; so do not believe everything you hear. ¹⁶ A person may make a slip without intending it. Who has never sinned with his tongue? ¹⁷Question your neighbor before you threaten him; and let the law of the Most High take its course. -- RSV

Grace in Pilgrim's Progress

info@hypernikomen.net (Vanerable) — Tue, 30 Aug 2016 08:13:00 -0700

“God's grace is the most incredible and insurmountable truth ever to be revealed to the human heart, which is why God has given us His Holy Spirit to superintend the process of more fully revealing the majesty of the work done on our behalf by our Savior. He teaches us to first cling to, and then enables us to adore with the faith He so graciously supplies, the mercy of God. This mercy has its cause and effect in the work of Jesus on the cross."

- John Bunyan: Pilgrim's Progress

Glory to God!

info@hypernikomen.net (Vanerable) — Thu, 25 Aug 2016 12:09:00 -0700

Mary Sumner - Founder of the Mother's Union

info@hypernikomen.net (Vanerable) — Mon, 8 Aug 2016 14:35:00 -0700

The Mother's Union, which celebrates its 140^th anniversary this year (2016), is well known in the UK and Africa. Its founder, Mary Sumner, is remembered in the Anglican Church's Festival Calendar on August 9^th. Being an American, and unfamiliar with Mary Sumner, I decided to do a little research and found the following quotations that reminded me of Deuteronomy 6:4-9, 20, 21:

4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. . . . 20 “When your son asks you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the Lord our God has commanded you?’ 21 then you shall say to your son, ‘We were Pharaoh's slaves in Egypt. And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. [ESV]

Mary Sumner's advice in the following excerpts is directed at mothers and assumes the father of the home is too busy working outside of the home to be involved overly much in the nurture and education of children. However, God's commandments to Moses in Deuteronomy are directed at fathers, as well, if not primarily.

Even so, Mary's advice is wise, biblical and worth recovering, especially at a time when God's role for fathers, mothers and the family are being redefined by a culture who does not know God and often rejects righteousness.

Message at Portsmouth 1885 (excerpts)

" Rich homes and poor homes — all alike — must be won for our God ! It is a call to every one of us to live in prayer, that His help, His blessing and His inspiration may rest upon our earnest efforts."

And again:

" Let us settle it in our hearts that the greatest work we can do for the nation is to strive to bring the Church into the Home; which means Christ Himself into hearts and homes; Christ must be in every home, if it is to be in any way a home of peace and love ....

" . . . . God's plans are better than our own, and He has ordained that the training-place for His human creatures should be the home: the training-place for parents as well as children ....

" . . . . Our task is to restore true family life — for it is God's own institution, and therefore a divine thing — and to convince all our members that there are these two Divine Institutions in the world — the Church and the Home. The Home is God's institution as truly as is the Church: let that be the truth that we proclaim ! "

Conference of November 1887 (excerpts on principles)

" The Principles upon which we would build our work are these: —

" That the prosperity of a nation springs from the family life of the homes.

" That family life is the greatest institution in the world for the formation of the character of children.

“ That the tone of family life depends in great measure upon the married life of the parents — their mutual love, loyalty and faithfulness the one to the other.

" That religion is the indispensable foundation of family life, and that the truths of the Christian faith should be taught definitely at home as well as at school.

" That parents are themselves responsible for the religious teaching of their children.

" That character is formed during the first ten years of life by the example and habits of Home.

" That example is stronger than precept, and parents there fore must be themselves what they wish their children to be.

" That the history of the world proves the divine power given by God to parents, and to Mothers especially, because children are placed in their arms from infancy, in a more intimate and closer relationship with the Mother than with the Father, and this moreover, during the time when character is formed.

" That the training of children is a profession.

" That it needs faith, love, patience, method, self-control, and some knowledge of the principles of character-training.

" That it is the duty of every Mother with her own lips to teach her child that he is God's child, consecrated body and soul in Holy Baptism to be our Lord Jesus Christ's soldier and servant unto his life's end.

" That every baptised child should be taught the Creed, the Lord's Prayer and the Ten Commandments .... and all other things which a Christian ought to know and believe to his soul's health."

Excerpts from archive.org here.

Mary Sumner's Prayer

O Lord, fill us with thy Holy Spirit, that we may firmly believe in Jesus Christ, and love him with all our hearts. Wash our souls with his precious blood. Make us hate sin and to be holy in thought, word and deed. Help us to be faithful wives and loving mothers. Bless us and all who belong to the Mothers' Union; unite us in love and prayer and teach us to train our children for heaven. Pour out the Holy Spirit on our husbands and children. Make our homes, homes of peace and love and, may we so live on earth, that we may live with thee for ever in heaven; for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen

From: A biographical companion to Common Worship, by John H. Darch and Stuart K. Burns

Blessed are the meek, or the weak?

info@hypernikomen.net (Vanerable) — Tue, 2 Aug 2016 13:36:00 -0700

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” - Jesus, Matthew 5:5

“But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace.” - Psalm 37:11

What does “meek” actually mean? It rhymes with weak and seems to fit in the sentence all right, if “weak” were substituted for “meek”. But the meaning is very different. Meekness has no companionship with weakness, whatsoever.

Russian Orthodox author, Jim Forest, in his book titled The Ladder of the Beatitudes, provides the pre-Christian or Classical Greek meaning of “meek,” which sheds some light on the New Testament understanding, “The Greek word translated as “meek,” praus, was used to describe a wild animal who had been tamed and made gentle: a horse that would accept a rider, a dog that would tend sheep.” Clearly, a horse can overpower its rider and the dog could terrorize the sheep. In fact, the dog’s natural desire might be to attack and kill the sheep. Neither the trained horse nor the dog respond the way they do, because of weakness. A professor of Greek once defined “meekness” as “power under control.”

Jim Forest continues by describing the context of “meekness” for Jews, “meekness is the essential quality of the human being in relationship to God. The equivalent Hebrew word, anaw, is often used in the psalms to describe the stance of a man or woman aligned with God.”

Jesus uses the term “meek” to describe himself in Matthew chapter 11, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle (praus) and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” No one who knows even a brief account of the life of Jesus would make the mistake of thinking that Jesus was weak. What Jesus represents to us through his humility, is one who is subject to the will of the Father. In the Gospel of John (6:38), Jesus specifically said, “For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but the will of him who sent me.”

Jesus’ strength is in his relationship with the Father and with understanding God’s will and purposefully submitting to that Will. Paul told the Philippians (2:1-8) that they should, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only unto your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” Likewise, we are told that our “attitude should be the same as Christ Jesus . . . [who] humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross!” Our Shepherd was so meek –so strong in his obedience, that he was not even distracted by death.

Meekness is not a desirable quality from an earthly perspective but “our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body” (Philippians 3:20-21).

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” - Philippians 3:4-7

Act of Conscience versus Act of Supremacy

info@hypernikomen.net (Vanerable) — Mon, 25 Jul 2016 12:28:00 -0700

Thomas More, Henry VIII, and the Future of Anglicanism

by Fr. Van McCalister

On July 6, 1535 Sir Thomas More was beheaded because he was unwilling to agree with the conscience of King Henry VIII, as enforced by the Act of Supremacy, since the King's conscience opposed the Conscience of the Church, as More understood it.

The 1534 Act of Supremacy declared, in part:

Be it enacted by authority of this present Parliament that the King our sovereign lord, his heirs and successors kings of this realm, shall be taken, accepted and reputed the only supreme head in earth of the Church of England called Anglicana Ecclesia, and shall have and enjoy annexed and united to the imperial crown of this realm as well the title and style thereof, as all honours, dignities, preeminences, jurisdictions, privileges, authorities, immunities, profits and commodities, to the said dignity of supreme head of the same Church belonging and appertaining.

Thomas More defended his refusal to sign the oath acceding to Parliament's Act of Supremacy because:

The Act of Supremacy contravened God's Law.
English subjects could not be removed from the corps (ie. body) of Christianity by an act of parliament.
That corps is represented by the General Councils of the Church (over king and pope).

Lord Chancellor, Sir Thomas Audley ruled against More stating, “if the Act of Parliament be not of unlawful, then the indictment is not in my Conscience invalid.” In other words, with some obvious sarcasm, if the acts of Parliament were valid, than the verdict stood. The audacity of Audley: we want it to be so, and so it is. Audley ignored the entire point of More's argument, which was that neither the acts of Parliament, nor the King could overrule the corps of Faith, as held by the Conscience of the Church.

When More defended his inability to defy conscience, it was not in defense of an arbitrary personal conscience but the conscience of the Church, which was proclaimed and protected by the Councils of the Church. More did not elevate the Councils of the Church above Holy Scripture, but saw them as the guardians against the whims of individuals. It may be that Sir Thomas viewed the “Corps of the Church” as protected by the Councils of the Church with the Pope presiding, or at least that the pope was the instrument of unity. And from that perspective, it must seem odd and historically impossible to defend Anglicanism. But the goal here is not so much to defend Anglicanism, as it is ancient Christianity and the inheritors of the Faith. Thomas was defending his faith as a Roman Catholic because he believed the Roman Catholic Church represented the root of Christianity. It is his defense of the root of Christianity, and his argument against those who would arbitrarily claim that root for themselves alone, to which we appeal.

Thomas More's act of conscience is still relevant today on at least two points: (1) as we view his argument from the knowledge that the Catholic Faith predates Roman catholicsm, and Anglican catholicism. (2) National expressions of catholicism are subordinate to the apostolic catholicism of the New Testament and Early Church, from which we receive the corps.

Contemporary Anglicans would do well to follow More's example. We rely too much on a sense of individual personal conscience, without first exploring and submitting to the conscience of the Church. North American Anglicans did well to recognize that the leadership of The Episcopal Church and the Church of Canada abandoned the Doctrine and Discipline of the Church, and reoriented themselves back toward their Anglican roots where the authority of Holy Scripture is honored.

However, this reorientation is incomplete and confused. Some are reorienting themselves to the Reformation Movement with particular respect to Thomas Cranmer. Some are reorienting themselves toward the Roman Catholic Church. Some are orienting themselves toward a form of Evangelical non-denominationalism. Some are finding their identity in the Global South – so long as it doesn't require too much submission. And, some look to 1662 or 1928 as their defining ethos. Others look to Canon Law to define who they are.

Even as we endeavor to re-embrace a genuine and orthodox Anglicanism, we are struggling with our identity. We are so accustomed to being western individuals that we struggle to be authentically Catholic. In other words, submission to our ancient catholic corporate identity does not come naturally to us. We value Apostolic Succession in our catechisms but have difficulty honoring it in actual practice.

There is much that we can learn from all of the post-reformation expressions of Christianity. However, these are not our roots if we are a Catholic Church. Our catholic legacy did not begin with the Reformation Movement, but with Pentecost, and the Apostles, and was carried to us by the faithful Church Fathers. This is evident as we read the history of the Church in the British Isles from the Third Century onward, as well as from the writings of so many of the Anglican Divines, who constantly referred back to the Church Fathers as the source of Anglicanism.

Anglicanism is not the illegitimate child of Henry VIII. It is not the invention of Archbishop Cranmer. Anglicanism is no longer ethnocentric and imperialist. Anglicanism is not a pale reflection of Roman Catholicism, as though there never was an undivided Church.

The primary emphasis of Anglicans in North America over the past several years has been to re-establish Biblical orthodoxy, which must be our first concern. This led to a variety of Anglicans, with different identities, banding together for the sake orthodoxy – but not always unity. While agreeing on Biblical orthodoxy, numerous debates have ensued over the Instruments of Unity and other Anglican distinctives. Discussions and meetings about canons and covenants still occupy a considerable amount of attention throughout the Anglican Communion.

It is going to be extremely difficult to overcome these differences (if not impossible) until we come to an agreement on who we are and what our lineage is. If we continue under the mistaken identity that our patrimony is Henry VIII, Thomas Cranmer and the Reformation Movement, then we will be hopelessly embroiled in all the personal conscience issues that those embody. If, however, we recognize, as did Thomas More and the Anglican Divines, that our identity and lineage is to be found in the corporate conscience of the Fathers and Councils of the Church, we will find an appropriate standard through which we can find catholic unity, not only for ourselves, but also with the Churches of Rome and Constantinople.

Anglicans may be pleased to look back at the Act of Supremacy and see a moment of liberation and so find our identity as a distinct entity. And, it was a moment where the Church in England began a process of re-discovering her ancient Catholic roots, but it is not helpful to corporate Christianity to view that as our “birthdate”. It is helpful when we look through that moment and other historical moments as lenses through which we view the real birth of the Church at Pentecost. But to give the Act of Supremacy and King Henry the VIIIth, any more value than that, is not all that different from recognizing the illegitimate authority of The Episcopal Church and the Church of Canada. Henry never had the authority to redefine the Corps of the Church, nor do we.

. . . And, therefore, since all Christendom is one corps, I cannot perceive how any member therof may, without consent of the body, depart from the common head. And then if we may not lawfully leave it by ourself, I cannot perceive, but if the thing were a treating in a General Council, what the question would avail, whether the primacy were instituted immediately by God, or ordained by the Church.

As for the general councils assembled lawfully, I never could perceive but that in the declaration of the truths it is believed to be standen to; the authority thereof ought to be taken for undoubtable, or else were there in nothing no certainty, but through Christendom upon every man's affectionate reason, all things might be brought from day to day to continual ruffle and confusion, from which by the general councils, the spirit of God assisting, every such council well assembled keepeth and ever shall keep the corps of his Catholic Church. (Thomas More to Thomas Cromwell – March 5, 1534)

Note: The historical references are from lectures by Prof. Dale Hoak of Wm and Mary College; The Last Letters of Thomas More, Letter 5 “To Thomas Cromwell, Chelsea, 5 March 1534.” Edited by Alvaro de Silva, and Life and Writings of Sir Thomas More,.by Thomas Edward Bridgett

This article originally published: December 20, 2011 (Revised July 25, 2016)

Bind and Loose - Freedom for the Captives

info@hypernikomen.net (Vanerable) — Mon, 25 Jul 2016 10:21:00 -0700

One of the passages that Christians frequently wrestle with, and sometimes argue over, is the statement by Jesus in Matthew 18.18, "Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." [See also, Matthew 16.19, John 20.23 and 2 Corinthians 2.10] These verses grab our attention, since the implications are serious.

Because of this, Psalm 146.7, as it is presented in the Psalter from Common Worship, caught my eye recently: "The Lord looses those that are bound; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind." The English Standard Version (ESV) translates that same phrase as, "The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind."

The idea of freeing prisoners recalls the revolutionary announcement that Jesus made as he stood in the synagogue in Nazareth and proclaimed to an astonished crowd that he was the Messiah by quoting Isaiah 61:1, 2, which Luke records as, "He sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." [Luke 418b, 19] Next, he firmly declared that "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." [Luke 4.21b] After saying this, Jesus sat down with no more commentary. Presumably to make the silence punctuate what he said and to let it settle into every one's disbelieving ears. As the Messiah, as the Son of God, he had the authority to make such a declaration and there was no reason for debate. It didn't matter whether or not anyone agreed with him. It was a fact; not a dialogue. I am reasonably certain that for the next several minutes the synagogue was filled with shocked and clarifying whispers, "Did he just say, . . .?"

The older I get, the more I realize how prone Bible readers are to getting stuck in a loop with a mysterious verse, while forgetting or missing the plain truth that surrounds it. Matthew 18.18 is one of those passages. You don't need to spend very much time in a Bible study, or at church, before someone asks about this passage, wondering how this might relate to the sacrament of reconciliation, and to the priest and absolution. Who really has authority to grant or declare absolution? Is that even what Jesus meant when he told the disciples whatever they loose on earth will be loosed in heaven?

Certainly, it is very important for us to wrestle with the Church's teaching on reconciliation and absolution. But while we are asking those questions, or maybe before we ask those questions, we would do well to look at the context of Matthew 18.18 and compare that with Luke 4.17-21 and discover what Jesus was saying first to those people, before the Church looked back at those moments and carried them forward into the continuing ministry of the Church.

This is valuable because Jesus not only made an astonishing announcement in the Synagogue of Nazareth, he also provided a personal mission statement: He came to proclaim good news, which is liberty to the captives and the oppressed! His purpose was to liberate the imprisoned. Likewise, in Matthew 18.18, when Jesus declared to the disciples that they will have authority to bind and loose, it is in the context of people coming together to clear up a fault. The goal is to bring freedom to relationships that have been bound by offense, sin and misunderstanding. The Lord's teaching on reconciliation in Matthew 18.15-20 follows directly after he told the the parable of the one lost sheep that the Good Shepherd went in search of to bring home, to be restored to himself and the other 99 sheep.

The proximity between the Parable of the Lost Sheep and the Lord's instruction on how to be reconciled with someone who might have sinned against us are surely no accident. They both communicate the Lord's desire to free us from captivity. To liberate us from what binds us. To open the eyes of the blind. The lost lamb, while seemingly free to move where she pleases, is unwittingly heading toward her own destruction, a place where wolves devour and consume.

Jesus revealed that captivity, blindness and wandering aimlessly will lead to destruction, unless the lost is found, the blind given sight and the captive liberated. The authority given to the disciples to bind and loose, is to continue the mission of Christ to free captives. Even binding the offender where he is unwilling to repent continues to punctuate the need for repentance and magnifies the fact that we are captive to sin. The lost, blind and unrepentant on earth are more significantly lost to heaven, because they have chosen to remain under the rule of the kingdom of this world. Those who repent on earth are more significantly free to enjoy the fellowship found within the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus it would seem, stated a clear fact: those who are bound on earth are bound because they have chosen to remain under the reign of darkness and captivity. While those who have been liberated are free because they have followed the Liberator.

When Jesus quoted Isaiah 61.1, 2 proclaiming good news and liberty for the captives, it was more than a proclamation, it was a resolution that was being fulfilled that very moment. He was calling his listeners to follow him and know freedom from captivity. Jesus gave his disciples (and still gives them) authority to invite people to follow Him and declare freedom from captivity. The lost sheep, of which we are, is loved and searched after in order to be brought home and restored to the family. The declaration of absolution after a sincere confession is the loosening of one bound by sin and grief. It is the pardon of Christ; the release from prison; the return of one home to her family.

We would do well to consider what captivates and blinds us now. Are dealing with sin on our own, or with trusted Christians? Personally, I think the arguments over whether or not priests have the authority to bind and loose, and, do we really need to go to confession, distract us from the gift that Jesus gives us through the Church.

During Lent this year, I offered a number of no-appointment-needed hours for folks to make their confessions. The only visitor I had was a lady bug. Do I think that people must come to a priest in order to receive forgiveness? Absolutely not! All Christians have direct access to Christ. However, I am concerned that we do not fully appreciate the value of the Church's role in aiding the loosening from bondage. We impede the Church's role when we gossip and do not keep confidences about others' mistakes. We miss out on the gift of the sacrament of reconciliation when we are too shy or too proud to make our confession to a priest.

Clearly, Jesus sees the Church involved in this process. That is evident, not only in Matthew 18:18, but also in James 5:16. No matter how uncomfortable it makes us, Jesus wants us to be involved together in prayer, confession and reconciliation. Our needed response is to be trustworthy as those who listen; humble and obedient as those who make our confessions. The resulting gift is immeasurable: release from captivity and healing from spiritual blindness!

Prayer needed even in the "obvious" decisions.

info@hypernikomen.net (Vanerable) — Fri, 27 May 2016 08:21:00 -0700

"So the leaders partook of their provisions, and did not ask direction from the Lord. And Joshua made peace with them, guaranteeing their lives by a treaty; and the leaders of the congregation swore an oath to them." Joshua 9

Here we see Joshua sizing up a situation that seems so obvious and straightforward, that he doesn't think to seek God's will in it. However, the true story was entirely different than what Joshua perceived. This is a lesson to us that we cannot rely solely on our own senses and logic, but need to seek the Lord in all matters, even those that seem to be "no-brainers".

The Holy Spirit from Jesus' Baptism through Pentecost.

info@hypernikomen.net (Vanerable) — Wed, 18 May 2016 14:20:00 -0700

The following notes mostly follow a line of thought presented in F.F. Bruce's commentary on the Gospel of John, where he emphasized John's teaching on the Holy Spirit as it developed throughout the Gospel, and especially in the Upper Room Discourses. Since the origin of this understanding is provided by Jesus and manifested through the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and the Acts of the Apostles, we are not surprised to see the theme carried consistently through the Acts and Pauline letters.

Below you will see a summary of the activity and statements about the Holy Spirit in John's Gospel, (following Bruce's outline), and the powerful emergence of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. These short statements provide a bird's eye view of the Holy Spirit from Jesus' baptism through Pentecost and in consideration of the Fruit of the Spirit in Paul's letter to the Galatians.

BACKGROUND

Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit [John 1.32f; Cp. also Acts 2:38]

Only those born of water and the Spirit may enter the kingdom of God [John 3.5-8]

True worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him [John 4.23f]

It is the Spirit who gives life. Jesus' words are spirit and life. [John 6.63]. There is unity and cooperation between the Son and the Spirit.

Spirit will come after Jesus is glorified [John 7.39]. The Spirit seems to delight in seeing Jesus glorified. Conversion glorifies Jesus. Note: Re-birth makes a new creature in a new kingdom. We are meant to worship in spirit and truth. Spirit gives life in the Word. Spirit came in power after Jesus was glorified [Cp Acts 1:8; 2:4]

UPPER ROOM

The disciples will do greater works [John14.12] Cp Day of Pentecost – there were more conversions on Pentecost than when Jesus was humanly present. The greatest work is being instrumental in others coming to Christ.

Disciples know the Spirit because he dwells with them and in them. [John 14.17]

I will come to you. (1) Presently through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, (2) Eternally, through the Resurrection [John 14:18]

You [will] see me. The present tense “implies continuity stretching indefinitely into the future.” [Bruce, p. 303] After the ascension the world no longer sees Jesus, but his followers will see him. Because he lives; we live. [John 14.19]

Love for Jesus includes keeping his word and receiving the Trinity who makes His home in us. [John 14.23]

Jesus breathed on them. Disciples indwelled by the Holy Spirit will have authority to forgive and withhold forgiveness [John 20:22, 23]

Ascension. When the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will be my witnesses. [Acts 1.8]

Peter to brothers: the Holy Spirit inspired old testament prophecy by the mouth of David. [Acts 1.16]

PENTECOST

Spirit filled them and gave them utterance in multiple languages [Acts 2.4]

Spirit drove people to repentance and conversion [Acts 2:38-41] The Church grew.

UPPER ROOM DISCOURCES

“But the fullest teaching about the Spirit . . . is given in five passages in these upper-room discourses: (I) John 14:15-17; (ii) 14:25 f. ; (iii) 15:26 f. ; (iv) 16:4b-11 ; (v) 16:12-15. In these the Spirit is presented successively as helper, interpreter, witness, prosecutor and revealer.” - F.F. Bruce [The Gospel of John]

John 14:15-17 HELPER - Another helper (Jesus is the first). Forever. Who dwells with you.
John 14:25 f. INTERPRETER – He will teach and remind you.
John 15:26 f. WITNESS – He will bear witness about Jesus.
John 16:4b-11 PROSECUTOR – He will expose and convict the world of sin and righteousness.
John 16:12-15 REVEALER - Guide you into all truth [13]. Declare (a) things to come, (b) what is mine from the Father [13-15] . Glorify Jesus through the declarations given to the disciples [14].

CONCLUSION

Jesus' followers are recipients of these promises.
Spirit-filled followers, and a Spirit-led Church will exhibit these traits (fruit) of the Spirit. (See I-V above.)

FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT

Galatians 5:22-23 New International Version (NIV)

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance (patience), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Do not grieve the Holy Spirit. [Ephesians 4.30]

Quotes and references are from FF Bruce – The Gospel of John on chapter 14 [pg 302-303]

Sobering Warnings to Preachers and Pastors, (and to those who hear them).

info@hypernikomen.net (Vanerable) — Mon, 18 Apr 2016 11:45:00 -0700

This week I happened to be studying both Ezekiel and John 10 and was struck by the importance of the sheep hearing the voice of Jesus well so that they can follow him, and the sobering responsibility of pastors, preachers and watchmen to convey God's messages accurately and completely. The Lord emphasizes this life and death responsibility repeatedly in Ezekiel, and that responsibility continues to be revealed in the New Testament, as the reader will observe below.

You might read the passages below and think, the focus is unbalanced toward the “negative” warnings and you would be correct in the sense that I focused primarily on God's warnings to preachers and those who listen to them. That was done in response to hearing God's repeated warnings to Israel, particularly in Ezekiel, and to my own recognition that I have not listened to this message as much as to the encouraging words offered to pastors and preachers in contemporary books. Sure, we need encouragement, but if we are ordained as pastors and preachers, we had better pay even greater heed to what God has to say to us about our ministries. I am convicted to study my Bible more vigorously and to communicate the Word of God more fully because of the Word of the Lord that I have received this past week. I pray that I may not lose my resolve. With that thought in mind there is a sad reminder of one who began so well, who was so greatly blessed, and then ended his life so poorly: Solomon. Consider all that Solomon accomplished with God's help, but his is how he ended:

4 For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. 5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 6 So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and did not wholly follow the Lord, as David his father had done. 7 Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain east of Jerusalem. 8 And so he did for all his foreign wives, who made offerings and sacrificed to their gods. 9 And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice 10 and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods. But he did not keep what the Lord commanded. 1 Kings 11:4-9 (ESV)

Having studied and compiled these verses this week, I am also convicted that it is too important not to share with others. So, here are the passages that have been on my mind this week. May the Lord convey them to you and stir you up as He sees fit.

The Sheep follow Jesus

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. John 10.27, 28 (ESV)

Discipline and preaching

But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest preaching to others I myself should be disqualified. 1 Corinthians 9.27 (ESV)

Leaders will give an account

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. Hebrews 13.17 (ESV)

Shepherd eagerly as an example

So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: 2 shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; 3 not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. 1 Peter 5:1-4 (ESV)

Prophetic word is from the Lord

19 And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, 20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. 2.1 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. 2 Peter 1:19-2:1 (ESV)

Speak whether or not they listen

And go to the exiles, to your people, and speak to them and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ whether they hear or refuse to hear.” Ezekiel 3:11 (ESV)

The watchman must warn

“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. Ezekiel 3:17 (ESV)

Preaching to a rebellious house

2 “Son of man, you dwell in the midst of a rebellious house, who have eyes to see, but see not, who have ears to hear, but hear not, for they are a rebellious house. 3 As for you, son of man, prepare for yourself an exile's baggage, and go into exile by day in their sight. You shall go like an exile from your place to another place in their sight. Perhaps they will understand, though they are a rebellious house. Ezekiel 12:2, 3 (ESV)

The Lord's Sabbath

Moreover, I gave them my Sabbaths, as a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them. Ezekiel 20:12 (ESV)

Watchman's Warning

6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them, that person is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman's hand. 7 “So you, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. Ezekiel 33:6, 7 (ESV)

Listening but not transformed by preaching

30 “As for you, son of man, your people who talk together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, say to one another, each to his brother, ‘Come, and hear what the word is that comes from the Lord.’ 31 And they come to you as people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear what you say but they will not do it; for with lustful talk in their mouths they act; their heart is set on their gain. 32 And behold, you are to them like one who sings lustful songs with a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument, for they hear what you say, but they will not do it. Ezekiel 33:30-32 (ESV)

Lazy Glutenous Shepherds

34.1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord God: Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? 3 You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. 4 The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them. 5 So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts. 6 My sheep were scattered; they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with none to search or seek for them. 7. “Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 8 As I live, declares the Lord God, surely because my sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild beasts, since there was no shepherd, and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my sheep, 9 therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 10 Thus says the Lord God, Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require my sheep at their hand and put a stop to their feeding the sheep. No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them. Ezekiel 34:1-10 (ESV)

Android Aps for Bible Study

info@hypernikomen.net (Vanerable) — Mon, 18 Apr 2016 10:08:00 -0700

Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the God.” Matthew 4.4, (quoting Deuteronomy 8.3 in the context of being fed by God with manna, then to cross over into the Promised Land!) The Bread of Heaven is Jesus feeding us in BOTH Word and Sacrament. We are starving to death without regularly feeding on the Word of God.

During an overview of Jeremiah and Lamentations for adult Christian Education on Sunday, I mentioned that I am using my phone to listen to the Bible on Bible Gateway, while also having the Blue Letter Bible Ap up to make bookmarks. I thought it might be helpful to list them and how I use them.

There are a number of Bible editions and audio versions available on Bible Gateway. I listen to the New International Version (NIV), read by George W. Sarris, while reading the Holman Study Bible (HCSB) on the Blue Letter Bible. I read the HCSB on my phone because it does not require a download or online connection, and it is a reliable translation of the Bible, similar to ESV and NIV. The English Standard Bible (ESV) is the physical Bible from which I most often read and preach.

While listening, if a text grabs my attention, I book mark the text on BLB, which is as simple as touching the verse and then touching "Bookmark This Verse". (You don't have to pause Bible gateway audio to do this - just keep both aps active at the same time.) Afterwards, you can scroll through your bookmarks and read the verses that you marked. BLB gives you the option to make different categories of Bookmarks. So far, I am just using the general category. But I can see the benefit in dividing them up, if you sue the BLB ap over a long period of time. I also use my bluetooth regularly, so that I can listen while driving or walking. We really have no excuse for not studying our Bibles when it is this easy. Also, if you don't pause the audio very often, you will be amazed at how fast you get through a book of the Bible, and I find that I gain a better sense of the whole flow and theme of the book this way. With my leather Bible, I linger more over specific passages and don't see it as well on the overall context. Both of these methods are valuable.

The links to the websites are included above. The Android Aps are listed by the same names in Google Play on your Android device. If one of you reading this is Apple savvy and knows of similar links for Apple devices, please add those to the comments.

I pray this is a blessing to your Bible study. I’d love to see your comments about what is working best for you.

Fr. Van McCalister

The Great Vigil of Easter

info@hypernikomen.net (Vanerable) — Sat, 26 Mar 2016 14:21:00 -0700

Who are the Hypernikomen?

info@hypernikomen.net (Vanerable) — Fri, 26 Feb 2016 17:11:00 -0800

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. - Romans 8.37

"More than conquerors" = Hypernikomen+

Calling all men to be victorious Hyperniko-men!

What does it mean to be one of the "Hypernikomen"? (Or "hupernikomen" depending how you prefer to transliterate your upsilon.) Hypernikomen is the Greek word translated into English as "to be more than conquerors", or "to gain surpassing victory"* as in Romans 8:37, "But in all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." This is the only place in all of the New Testament where hypernikomen appears. That, combined with its context in Romans chapter 8, make it worthy of serious reflection.

Hypernikomen combines two Greek words "hyper" (huper = above, beyond, more than) and "nikomen" (nikao = to conquer, overcome, prevail, get the victory).

While the Greek hypernikomen seems to include the word "men" (as in "guys"), that is just an interesting coincidence, and only reflects a particular verb-ending (present active subjunctive, plural) not a gender. However, we're taking advantage of that coincidence to apply the word hypernikomen to men as encouragement to excel as men victorious in Christ. The “plus sign” at the end of “Hypernikomen+” is not part of the Greek but is added here as a symbolic reminder to emphasize that we are ministers of Christ. (Christian clergy traditionally sign their names with a cross at the end to emphasize they are servants of Christ.)

To help us remember the meaning and the application of hypernikomen, let's consider the Greek meaning along with the English words "hyper" and "men", so that we might associate this word with a state of being in Christ, with a faith that is energized and over-the-top. That faith is based on the middle part, the "niko" part, which is victory. But it isn't just a common victory – it is a super victory that we share in the midst of “all these things.” More than that, the subjunctive verb indicates that it is a victory contingent on something or someone else. That someone is Christ. As noted above, hypernikomen refers to everyone who is victorious in Christ, not just men. But, through the use of this play-on-words, we as men can be reminded to seize this super-abundant victory!

Men who are married would do well to recognize the challenge of being victorious in Christ, in relation to how we lead our families. Consider Ephesians 5.25, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her . . ." Victory for Christian men is courage and discipline through love, humility and self sacrifice. In other words, being like Jesus.

What are all these things in which we are victorious? The answer is found in Romans 8.18 where Paul wrote, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” [NIV]. We are frustrated and groaning along with all of creation because of the consequences of sin. [See Romans 3.23] Sin creates bondage, frustration, decay and groaning but God wants to adopt us out of that and provide freedom, which is victory through the love of Jesus. Therefore, we can be hyper-victorious Christian men through the love of Christ! Whatever sin might leads us into failure and subjugation, we know that in all those things we find abundant victory through Christ, because he loves us.

Paul wants to make sure we don't miss the point – he goes on to say, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” [Romans 8.31, NIV] If God went so far as to give up His only Son for our sake, what more could we ask for? There is no limit to what God will do to help us to be victorious over sin! Stop reading for a second and make sure that sinks in: God gave His one and only Son for you and me, so that we can experience victory!

Paul emphasizes further, “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” [Romans 8.32-35, NIV]. “Who will separate us from the love of Christ” is a leading question with the anticipated answer, “no one will separate me from the love of Christ!” This is why we can confidently answer, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us,” who loved us to the point of suffering at the whipping post and dying on a cross. [See John 19.1, Luke 23.34]. That same person is saying, “I suffered all of that, so that you might have freedom.” [John 3.16, 10.10].

In fact, Jesus is interceding for you right now. He is hearing the accusations of Satan made against you [Rev. 12.10-12] and he is telling the court, “I've got that covered, because I love that guy and shed my blood for him.” The court replies, “The penalty has been paid.” And the charges are dropped!

Paul concludes this part of his letter by stating emphatically that not even the most powerful forces in heaven or on earth – not even death – can separate us from the love of Christ. That is how we can be conquerors in all things.

So what has you bound up, groaning with frustration and suffering? Turn to Jesus and become one of the Hypernikomen+ and experience victory.

*Interlinear Greek New Testament Bible" by Frederick H. A. Scrivener