Brews with Andrewes

Episode 12: The Four Marks of a Biblical Faith Acts 2:42

Episode 12: Four Marks of Biblical Faith in Acts 2:42

 

Andrewes discusses the various imaginations which have led men and women to stray from the positive, outward forms of worship approved by God.

June 11, 2024

Sermon II of Lancelot Andrewes Preached at Sundry Times upon Several Occasions

Preached in the Parish of St. Giles, Cripplegate on January 9, 1592.

 

Copies can be found in Lancelot Andrewes Works,

Sermons, Volume Five, or on The Project Canterbury Website.

 

Summary:

      Andrewes highlights a variety of ways we can be tempted to stray to the right or to the left (cf.Deut.17:11) of the biblical, historical model of Faith as handed down by the Apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in the breaking of bread and the prayers, opting rather for more attractive models produced by man’s fancy and imagination.

 

 

1. Introduction: The Biblical Model and The Origins of Contrary Imaginations
   1. Biblical Worship in Acts 2:42 involved:
      1. The Apostles’ Doctrine
         1. Salvation is neither a system of legalism or licentiousness
         2. Faith is best practiced when aligned with the first centuries
      2. The Apostles' Society, or Fellowship
         1. The Apostles’ Doctrine is meant to bring us into the Apostles’ Fellowship
         2. Jesus intended the Fellowship to be Governed by His Apostolic authorities
      3. Breaking of Bread
         1. It’s the primary mark of the Apostles’ Fellowship to be practiced regularly
         2. Instituted by Christ as both a Sacrament and Sacrifice
      4. The Prayers
         1. Invocation is the primary habit of those in the Apostles’ Fellowship
         2. A meaningful prayer life utilizes both written and extemporaneous forms
   2. Origins of Contrary Imaginations
      1. Inspiration comes from the Devil to stray outside the bounds of revelation. St. Augustine, “The devil, seeing the temples of the demons deserted, and the human race running to the name of the liberating Mediator, has moved the heretics under the Christian name to resist the Christian doctrine” (City of God, Ch.51).
      2. Yester-year’s heresies (as were delt with by Solomon, Ecc.7:29 & Paul, Eph.4:14) dressed anew
      3. Doctrines of crafty men (Matt.15:9)
         1. Pharisees & Sadducees (16:12)
         2. Nicolaintes (2:6,14-15) – taught some degree of participation in the idolatrous culture of Ephesus was permissible. MORE on his followers below (IV.a.i).
2. Contrary Imaginations from Gentile Philosophy, which twists Biblical worship (the philosopher’s gloss)
   1. Simon Magus (a converted heathen philosopher),
      1. The first heretic
      2. Strayed into New Age sorcery/magic (cf.Act.8:9-24)
   2. Valentinus (Not St. Valentine) & Basilides strayed into Gnosticism
      1. Dualism of Spirit and Matter: Only inner Spirit matters, bodily sins do not
      2. Reliance upon subjective Spiritual knowledge/feelings
   3. Manichee
      1. Dualism of Good/Light/God and Evil/Dark/Satan
      2. All things are ordained so how you live doesn’t really matter
   4. Pelagian
      1. Man’s will is completely free and able to keep God’s Law
      2. Man doesn’t necessarily need the grace of Christ
3. Contrary Imaginations from Judaism, which add to Biblical Worship (The Pharisee’s addition)
   1. Ebion (Acts 15)
      1. 2^nd heretic behind Simon Magus for “adoptionism” (Jesus is Son of God by adoption)
      2. Heir of the New Testament’s Judaizers (deposed by Irenaeus, Justin Martyr, Tertullian)
   2. The Ascetic, Angel Worshippers (2:18)
4. Contrary Imaginations from Christianity, which corrupt Biblical Worship (Christian perversion)
   1. Perversions of the Apostles’ Doctrine (both its matter/substance, and its manner/ceremony)
      1. Nicolas (Rev.2:6) & Carpocrates – attacked foundation
         1. “Carnal-Gospellers” who say there is no need for “repentance” or faithfulness as long as a person believed the Gospel.
         2. “Faith is all that matters” repentance and how one lives has no effect
         3. Salvation is by “right knowledge” (if you know the creeds, you are saved)
      2. Latinus & the Encratites – attacked foundation
         1. “Strict livers”/“civil Christians” who say “faith” is not mandatory
         2. Just live a moral, upright and just life
         3. Salvation by “right behavior” (who needs creeds if you’re doing the deeds)
      3. Cathari, (original Puritans) & Donatists – attacked the building upon
         1. Cathari imagined that biblical worship involved being pure to the discipline and exact pattern of the Apostles
            1. Keeping for example, love-feasts after the Sacrament, and
            2. Celebrating the Sacrament after supper (Strict keepers of Didache).
         2. Donatist emphasized the clergy had to be faultless to Apostolic teaching for their prayers and sacraments to be valid.
      4. Other attacks upon the ceremony of the Apostle’s doctrine
         1. Some say no ceremony while others say every ceremony
            1. Women covering heads (11:5)
            2. Everything thing done decently and in order (14:40)
            3. Eating of food sacrificed to idols (8)
         2. May there be diversity in diverse places, but all hold the unity of faith
      5. Other attacks on the delivery of the Apostles’ doctrine (imaginings of new ways to deliver the faith/imaginations of novelty)
         1. Dumbed Down – no Latin or Greek, or need to think
         2. Truncated – no Apocrypha or Pseudepigrapha
         3. A-historical – no Jewish context or comparisons
         4. Incestual – no outside voices or authorities
   2. Perversions of the Apostles’ Fellowship Imagining Different Governmental Leadership – (“Many Christians walk as enemies of the Cross,” Phil.3:18)
      1. Jesus instituted its Government to be of two Degrees (Andrewes expounds on this more in his A Summary View of The Government Both of The Old and New Testament: whereby The Episcopal Government of Christ’s Church is Vindicated):
         1. The 12 (Apostles, now succeeded by bishops), and
         2. The 70 (Ministers, now succeeded by presbyters/priests)
      2. Modern imaginations say it should be three: lay-elders, Pastors, Doctors
         1. They use 1Corinthians 12:28 (apostles, prophets, and teachers)
         2. They use Ephesians 4:11 (apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers)
         3. They use Romans 12:6-8 (other spiritual giftings)
      3. Even though these imaginations were unheard of until the Reformation:
         1. While St. Chrysostom maintained that some Priest/Elders/ Presbyters should only baptize while others taught, yet neither he, nor those before him, ever mention lay-elders as pastors and elders. He says, “For preaching the Gospel is a work perhaps for one or two; but baptizing, for everyone endowed with the priesthood… we commit this matter to the simpler sort of presbyters, but the word of doctrine unto the wiser… Wherefore [Paul] says himself (5:17), ‘Let the Elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially they who labor in the word and in teaching.’” (St. Chrysostom on 1Corinthians 1:17)
         2. St. Jerome also taught that “pastors and teachers” were not separate offices but were both one.
         3. St. Augustine likewise when asked whether “pastors and teachers” ought to be distinguished replied that they were the same, like a compound name.
         4. Justin Martyr said Deacons distribute Communion.
         5. Tertullian, Cyprian, and others say Deacons do Baptism.
   3. Perverted Imaginations touching the “Breaking of Bread”
      1. Imaginations of the Church of Rome
         1. In his day, some in the Church of Rome would omit the “fracture” contrary to 1Corinthians 10:16-18 where the Eucharist is essentially equated with the “peace-offering.”
         2. No Bread to break as transubstantiation supposedly occurs at consecration and therefore the fracture is a breaking of Christ’s Body.
      2. Imaginations which “fancy only a Sacrament,” a memorial
         1. Although Scripture says it is for covenant renewal (23:20)
         2. Although Scripture calls it a sacrifice (16-18, and the table an altar Heb.13:10)
      3. Imaginations which separate the Breaking of Bread from the moral obligations they necessitate like caring for our pour brethren (the bread of the needy, Isa.58:7)
         1. Jesus’ command to the rich, you ruler: “Give to the poor” (10:21)
         2. Offertory for poor replaces the agape love feasts which served as a ministry to feed the poorer members (11:20-34)
      4. Imaginations to not break the bread regularly
         1. Some imagine it ought only to be done annually, whereas the Primitive Church did it 1 to 3 times a week.
         2. Some imagine they are not worthy of it, yet by this reasoning they are unfit for prayer as well.
   4. Perverted Imaginations concerning Prayer
      1. Some imagine no need to use the “Our Father” although Jesus commanded it (Matt.6:9-13), and even St. Augustine said that the universal Church had always used it to begin and end her prayers.
      2. Imaginations in one direction by the Church of Rome
         1. No need to pray with the mind (14:14-15) but simply say the Latin prayers, or unmindfully recite rosaries and pray who psalters.
      3. Imaginations in the other direction by the Protestants
         1. Finding fault with any liturgy, they opt for extemporaneous prayers, which still can be as unfruitful as Latin prayers
         2. Finding fault with rosaries, they ramble on with Pharisaical, long prayers thinking it a sign of holiness.
         3. St. Cyprian said “to express prayers with unprepared speeches” has always been regarded as absurd. He says, “not to throw abroad our prayers indiscriminately, with unprepared voices, nor to cast to God with tumultuous wordiness a petition that ought to be commended to God by modesty” (Treatise 4, on The Lord’s Prayer).
5. Concluding thoughts: the City of God vs the City of Babylon
   1. We will spend eternity with the one whose imaginations we follow: either God’s or rebel-man
      1. Zion is ordered by God, and man there abides by His wishes.
      2. In Babylon there is no order, and man can do as He wishes.
   2. May we be careful to continue in what God has imagined and staying true to the Apostles’ Doctrine, Government, Sacraments, and Prayers.

 

Music & Sound Attributions:

Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions “Lost Shoe” (www.sessions.blue). Sounds used are as follows: “Beer Can Opening” recorded by Mike Koening found at (http://soundbible.com/216-Beer-Can-Opening.html) and “Pouring Drink” recorded by Mike Koenig found at (http://soundbible.com/2115-Pouring-Drink.html).

Episode 11: Who is this that cometh from Edom in Isaiah 63

Who is this that cometh from Edom in Isaiah 63:1-3

Andrewes on the victorious return of Jesus, the blood-stained warrior, from His conquest against demons, death, and Hell on Resurrection Sunday.

July 19, 2022

 

Sermon XVII of Lancelot Andrewes’ Sermons on The Resurrection Preached upon Easter-Day before King James at Whitehall on April 13, 1623.

 

Copies can be found in Lancelot Andrewes Works, Sermons, Volume Three, or on The Project Canterbury Website.

 

Summary:

      Andrewes uses the imagery of winepresses in Isaiah 63:1-3 to, first, speak about Christ’s victory over the kingdom of demons and death (Edom), along with its capital city, Hell (Bozrah), by His Passion and Resurrection, and, then, to emphasize the benefits that Christ offers to His people who accept the great exchange He won – namely that of “God becoming man so man can be able to become god,” or in theological terms: man’s deification (qewsiV, theosis) by grace.

 

1. Introductory Remarks about Isaiah 63:1-3
   1. Philip could have just as easily used this passage to teach the Ethiopian Eunuch about Christ
      1. Isaiah 53:7-8 teaches about Jesus’ Passion (cf.Act.8:26-40)
      2. Isaiah 63:1-3 teaches about Jesus’ Resurrection
   2. This passage is about Christ for two reasons
      1. Immediately before it, in Isa.62:11, we are told “Behold, here comes your savior,” and our passage says, “Who is this who comes?”
      2. The one coming says that He has accomplished this saving work alone.
   3. This passage was fulfilled by Christ by his Resurrection from death and hell
      1. He was not left in hell (Ps.16:10) – in Bozrah
      2. He was brought back from the deep of the earth (Ps.71:20) – from Edom
   4. This passage is therefore a conversation between the prophet Isaiah and the Christ.
      1. The Prophet asks, “Who is this?” And Christ answers:
         1. The one who “speaks righteousness”
         2. The one “Mighty to save”
      2. The Prophet asks, “Why are you covered in red?”
         1. The winepress of redemption: “I have trodden alone”
         2. The winepress of vengeance: “I will tread them down”
      3. The prophet asks these questions because of the stranger’s appearance (his habit) and the way he is walking (his gait)
         1. The person responds that He had a conquest in Edom and a victory in Bozrah
         2. This was good news for Isaiah since Edom was one of the worst enemies of God’s people.
2. A Spiritual Edom and Bozrah
   1. As Jesus was never in Bozrah physically, we must look to the spiritual meaning and fulfilment (compare spiritual Sodom and Egypt where Jesus was crucified, Rev.11:8)
   2. Edom symbolizes the kingdom of darkness and death because of their wickedness, envy, rancor, and insulting over men in misery.
      1. Historically, it was known for its notoriously wicked people who the LORD always had anger toward (cf.Mal.1:4)
      2. The Edomits were descendants of Esau, Jacob’s older brother, and were the nearest of kin to the Jews. Yet out of their envy of Israel, they turned into rancorous enemies of God’s people.
      3. They gloated in Israel’s misfortunes and desired to see God’s people suffer.
      4. Historical Edomites of note were Doeg, antagonist to David (1Sam.21-22), and Herod the Great, antagonist to Christ.
   3. Bozrah symbolizes hell itself, the seat of the Prince of Darkness
      1. As the strongest hold and city of the Kingdom of Edom
      2. As a great walled-in seat of power
   4. Edom and Bozrah Conquered
      1. Geographically David conquered historical Edom and Bozrah
      2. Symbolically David’s Son conquered spiritual Edom/death and Bozrah/hell
         1. He did this in His Crucifixion, Death, and Resurrection
         2. It was a shocking victory and no one recognized Him at first when He came walking back (for example: Mary at the grave and the disciples on the Road to Emmaus)
3. Two Titles to answer “Who is this?”
   1. Both titles are fulfilled by Christ as the one who subdues and treads down death, hell, and all the powers of Satan.
   2. The One “speaking righteousness”
      1. His Word is truth
      2. He is known by His Word
      3. He is the Word who was “in the beginning” (Jhn.1:1)
      4. He is a Priest forever whose lips preserve knowledge (Mal.2:7-9)
      5. He offers righteousness through His preaching
      6. By His speaking we receive knowledge of His truth, against error
   3. The One “mighty to save”
      1. His work is salvation
      2. He is known by his deed
      3. As “Jesus” He saves His people from their sins (Matt.1:21)
      4. He is King, as the messiah and prince of Daniel (Dan.9:25-26)
      5. He offers salvation through His suffering (Is.53:5)
      6. By His saving we receive the power of grace against sin and saved from sin’s sequel (spiritual Edom and Bozrah) “Sin is hell begun, as religion is heaven anticipated” – J. Lathrop
   4. As the One “mighty to save” (able to both destroy threats and extend mercy), He does so to those He “speaks righteousness” to and they hear Him and don’t return to folly.
4. The winepresses answer “Why are you covered in red?”
   1. The Radical Image of Yahweh drench in blood
      1. If He is so mighty why are his garments red? Covered in blood.
      2. NOTE: the word translated “marching” (צעה) is usually translated “bowed down, stooping, or sprawled” (cf. Isa.51:14; Jer.48:12; 2:20-inclinded like a whore).
         1. “The poetry portrays Yahweh not as a triumphant gloating warrior, swaggering back from battle, unmoved by the enormity of what he has had to do, but as tiered and bloodstained, barely recognizable, as someone who knows what it is to suffer” (John Sawyer, “Radical Images of Yahweh in Isaiah 63,” JSOT supplement series 144, JSOT Press, 1993, p.80)
         2. Andrewes seems to account for this poetry in the first winepress below.
   2. The Two Winepresses: 1^st when He was pressed & 2^nd when He did the pressing
      1. The First Press when the True Vine was pressed on our behalf to remove the cup of death and to offer us the Cup of the New Testament in His Blood.
         1. At Gethsemane sweating blood
         2. In the Judgment Hall’s blood from scourging
         3. At Golgotha and His pierced side
      2. The Second Press when He crushed His enemies going to the kingdom of death (Edom) where we were to be led captives, and all the way to hell (Bozrah) to smash its gates
      3. With two presses come two sources of blood
         1. Blood from the lamb slain
         2. Blood from the dragon defeated
      4. Jesus is both the lamb and the lion
         1. The lamb slain wearing His own blood
         2. The lion of Judah wearing the blood of His enemy
   3. Christ accomplished this ALONE
      1. He was forsaken even by his disciples and left alone
      2. He was alone when resurrected victoriously
   4. Christ did this on our behalf so that we will not be abandoned but resurrected
      1. The Great Exchange: He that is most naturally associated with white, became red in order that we might become white.
      2. Scarlett is fitting for both Titles
         1. Speaker of Righteousness: the color for doctors and priests
         2. Mighty to Save: the color of valiant men in Nahum 2:3
      3. Winepresses correspond to both Titles
         1. Only the Mighty to Save could tread down the enemies
         2. Yet by being pressed Himself, those who drink His blood can share in the Righteousness He Speaks
5. Conclusion: A Final Winepress is coming at the Last Harvest
   1. The Two presses of Christ (the one for us and the other for the enemies) have happened, but the Third Winepress of the Day of the Lord is still to come.
   2. Those who rest in the first Two need not fear the Third.
      1. Those who hear the voice of the One Speaking Righteousness
      2. Those who accept His Cup of Blessing while it is extended to them

 

A Word about the word “hell”

      Typically, when preachers or evangelist today speak about “hell,” they describe something far more closely related to the “lake of fire” mentioned in the Book of Revelation (see Rev.21:14-15), instead of anything the Bible calls “hell.” So, consequently, when we hear that Jesus descended into “hell” our imaginations often visualize Him entering a place much different than what the Bible describes. So, often times, when discussing Jesus’ descent, debellation, and harrowing of “hell,” it can be helpful to look up the actual Biblical words, which we use the English word “hell” to translate. They are:

• “Gehenna” (the “place of burning” where children were sacrificed by passing through the fire, and a later-day garbage heap, in the Valley of Hinnom) – see 2Kng.23:10; Jer.7:32; Mrk.9:42-48; Matt.10:28
• “Sheol/Hades” (the place of the dead w/gates) – see Lk.16:19-31; Matt.16:18; Job7:9-10; Is.38:10
• “Tartarus” (the deepest part of the underworld where the rebel angels of Genesis 6:1-4 are chained) – see 2Pet.2:4; [1Pet.3:18-19]

And while the Bible does not refer to it as “hell,” but since we have already mentioned it:

• “The Lake of Fire” (experienced at the second death and is the place which was originally prepared for the Devil and all his angels) – see Matt.25:41; and again Rev.21:14-15

For when we do this, we can see how the Bible clearly, or at least poetically, describes roughly four different places, yet in our imagination, we often hear only one location, which we call “hell.” Furthermore, this is complicated by the fact that we then attach our definition of “hell” (i.e., “the place of final retribution for the unrepentant”) to each of these Biblical references.

      Now, if we come to the Bible and hear it on its terms, we see that when Jesus was put to death (the First Winepress) he was made alive in the spirit (for the Second Winepress) whereupon He descended into Sheol/Hades(cf.1Pet.3:18; Ps.16:10; Act.2:27-31). Once there, 1^st His Presence made Sheol/Hades into Paradise for St. Dismas, the penitent thief (cf.Lk.23:43), and all others who have, or will, die loving the Lord (cf.2Cor.5:6-8; Phil.1:21-23; Ps.139:8). 2^nd In line with that, He thus brought His people out of the experience of Sheol/Hades – those in Abraham’s bosom, if you will – into His Paradise completing the perfection begun in the spirits of the Old Testament faithful (cf.Heb.12:23), all of which we now refer to as the “Harrowing of Hell.” Then, finally, 3^rd He went into the deepest part of the underworld, Tartarus, and made proclamation of His victory over all the plots and ploys of the fallen angels who tried to destroy His creation with forbidden wisdom and demonic offspring (cf.1Pet.3:19). With that work completed, He then rose again from the dead by a bodily resurrection.

      “But,” you might still be asking, “what about those who die now, on this side of Jesus’ death, burial, descent, and resurrection?” Well, it all boils down to whether or not a person believes the Gospel of the Kingdom and discovers that God is as good as Jesus demonstrated Him to be. If they do, this naturally changes the directory of their lives as God increasingly becomes their greatest treasure and they long to be in His unfiltered presence. Upon death, they will be usured into the paradise of God’s presence in heaven where they will be preserved, perfected, and made to participate in the continued establishment of the coming kingdom, which upon completion they will be bodily resurrected to work and keep the new earth under the new heavens. As for those who do not come to believe the Gospel and therefore never develop a love and desire for God, He will allow them to exist in the place furthest from His presence where they will continue in their anger and sadness (“weeping and gnashing their teeth”) toward Him. However, when God’s kingdom is fully established on earth, they too will experience the resurrection, but only into the second death – The Lake of Fire.

 

 

 

Music & Sound Attributions:

Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions “Lost Shoe” (www.sessions.blue). Sounds used are as follows: “Beer Can Opening” recorded by Mike Koening found at (http://soundbible.com/216-Beer-Can-Opening.html) and “Pouring Drink” recorded by Mike Koenig found at (http://soundbible.com/2115-Pouring-Drink.html).

Episode Ten: Remember Lot’s Wife

Episode Ten: Remembering Lot’s Wife in Luke 17:32

 

Andrewes on the requisite intentions for spiritual growth

and the lifelong perseverance that marks

the lives of true believers.

 

May 30, 2022

 

Sermon IV of Lancelot Andrewes’ Sermons Preached in Lent

Preached before Queen Elizabeth on March 6, 1594.

 

Copies can be found in Lancelot Andrewes Works,

Sermons, Volume Two, or on The Project Canterbury Website.

 

Summary:

      Andrewes teaches on the sobering example of Lot’s wife, which Jesus commanded His followers to remember in Luke 17:32.

 

1. Introductory Remarks
   1. This verse is short so there is no excuse for not memorizing and learning its lesson.
   2. The context of this verse is applied to future events, so it still applies to us
2. Two Moments of God’s Judgment
   1. The lake of Sodom – a punishment for resolute sin
      1. For sins of commission – a judgment against those in a state of sin
      2. We ought to learn the dangers of living in open sin
   2. Lot’s wife’s pillar – punishment for faint virtue [Christ’s emphasis is on this one]
      1. For sins of omission – a judgement against those in a state of grace
      2. We ought to learn the dangers of not continuing to grow/progress in faith – “We sprinkle ourselves with the salt of her pillar that we turn not again to follow, or fall away from our steadfastness.
      3. If we stop growing, then we stop going.
3. Two Necessary Reminders
   1. In regards to religion
      1. Her story is for old-timers, not new converts
      2. She motivates us take serious progression in religious life
   2. In regards to nature
      1. As breasts complete the work of the womb, or a healthy regiment completes the work of the physician, so remembering her story completes our first faith
      2. She motivates us to take serious the proneness-to-wander-astray of our nature
         1. Like Israelites wanting to go back to Egypt
         2. Like the Romans turning their backs on Paul
         3. Like the declining morality of our time: “The wavering and amaze of others that stand in the plain with Lot’s wife, looking about, and cannot tell whether to go forward to little Zoar or back again to the ease of Sodom, show plainly that Lot’s wife is forgotten.”
4. Point One: Christ uses such stories and calls us to remember these stories of the past
   1. By the office of preaching reminding us of the fragility of life and dark days to come
   2. By the preservation of the Scriptures for us to remember the days of old
      1. We are to hold our actions up in comparison to the actions seen in these stories
      2. We are to read stories past so that we do not become the stories of the future
5. Point Two: What to remember about Lot’s wife particularly
   1. Two kinds of “remembering”
      1. Remembering examples to follow
      2. Remembering examples to flee from
   2. Two things to be remembered: “what they did” and “what their outcome was”
      1. What Lot’s wife did – “she drew back, or looked back
         1. She did not head the angel’s warning (Gen.19:17) as if there was no peril
         2. She did all that she was forbidden and despised the counsel of God
      2. What was her outcome – she was turned into a salt stone
   3. The Degrees of Her Disobedience
      1. A wavering Mind with the Sin of Unbelief – She did not keep the Angel’s charge but believed her sons-in-law knew better.
      2. This sin produced a weariness and slow steps – She lost the intent to follow drawing back
      3. For the love of Sodom remained in her heart causing the convulsion of her neck – She cast her eyes for where she longed.
      4. She did not want to give up Sodom’s ease – She had been moving all her life, Sodom gave her a sense of stability and security; she did not want to enter an uncertain future.
   4. The Doubly-heinous nature of her sin
      1. She fell away and looked back after 30 long years of hard faithfulness
      2. She was punished the instant she looked back out of willful defection from God’s mercies
         1. Judged for forgetting all of God’s past mercies to her
         2. After God so warmly remembered her all the times past, she coldly forgot Him here
         3. She chose bodily pleasures of Sodom instead of safety of her soul in Zoar
         4. She was judged for “looking back” not “going back” (sins of the heart)
   5. The punishment of her sin – a fearful death – which we ought to flee from
      1. A Sudden Death – “back she looked, and never looked forward again”
      2. A Death in the Act of Sin – she died with her face toward Sodom
      3. A Strange Death – not death by old age, but one full of terror
      4. A Death without Burial – to remain a spectacle above the ground of God’s wrath
6. Point Three: How to apply the lessons of Lot’s wife’s story “that the salt of this pillar may be the season of our lives.”
   1. This evil is turned to good if we learn by its example
      1. God makes use of both Good and Bad examples
      2. God could erase the memory of evil, but instead preserves its memory so that good can be pursued next time (Memory can be is used to find wisdom).
   2. Lessons to be learned from Lot’s Wife
      1. Perseverance – the Queen and preserver of virtue
      2. Due Care – To intentionally look forward, no looking to old pleasures or securities
      3. Fear – false senses of security
   3. Four Considerations
      1. Just because one is being led does not mean that one is safe
      2. The inconsistency of one hour can make void a whole life’s work
      3. The same end is shared by both unrepentant sinners and non-persevering believers
      4. There are 11^th hour disqualifications as much as conversions
   4. Final remembrances:
      1. Remember so that we do not think this can’t happen to us
      2. Remember so that we do not grow weary of what God wants in using us (“Do not grow weary in doing good,” Gal.6:9)
      3. Remember so that we do not stand still in progressing toward God’s calling (“Press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus,” Phil.3:14).
      4. Remember so that we do not look back after putting the hand to the plow (“No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God,” Lk.9:62)
      5. Remember so that we do not leave the old ways in our hearts (“The last state of that person is worse than the first” Lk.11:24-26)
      6. Remember so that we do not squander/waste a lifetime of God’ mercies (“We appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain,” 2Cor. 6:1)
      7. Remember so that we end our lives in the Spirit and not in the folly of flesh (“Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” Gal.3:3)
      8. Remember so that our lives leave testimonies of grace not disgrace
      9. Remember so that we do not create a scandal by falling as she did (“If I had, I would have betrayed the generation of your children,” Ps.73:15)
      10. Remember so that we do not leave behind a memory of infamy
      11. Remember so that we do not long for lesser things and others take our place
      12. Remember so that we stay in step with the Spirit leaving no vacancy for other spirits
      13. Remember so that we do not justify Sodom by the way we live; to not go the way of virtue is to go the way of vice
      14. Remember now while we have time to learn from her mistake
      15. Remember Christ is the one who gave us this story; conform to Him not Lot’s wife
      16. Remember so that we persevere and will be remembered by the Lord in the Book of life
   5. The blessing of living under a Queen who remembered Lot’s wife

Beverages of Choice:

Guinness Draught Stout by Guinness Ltd.

Sweet Baby Jesus Chocolate Peanut Butter Porter by DuClaw Brewing

SeaQuench Ale Session Sour by Dogfish Head Brewing 

Cayman Jack Margarita 

 

Music & Sound Attributions:

Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions “Lost Shoe” (www.sessions.blue). Sounds used are as follows: “Beer Can Opening” recorded by Mike Koening found at (http://soundbible.com/216-Beer-Can-Opening.html) and “Pouring Drink” recorded by Mike Koenig found at (http://soundbible.com/2115-Pouring-Drink.html).

Episode Nine: On the Lord's Prayer, Pt. 4

Episode Nine: The Lord’s Prayer, Pt.4

Andrewes on seeking God’s grace to do no evil

nor befall it and giving God the glory as the

only One Who can give such grace.

January 23, 2021

 

Sermons 16 - 19 of Lancelot Andrewes’

Nineteen Sermons upon Prayer in General,

and The Lord’s Prayer in Particular.

 

Copies can be found in Lancelot Andrewes Works,

Sermons, Volume Five,

or on The Project Canterbury Website.

Summary:

      With the 10^th, 11^th, 12^th and 13^th sermons of this 13-sermon collection on the Lord’s Prayer, Andrewes teaches on the often over-looked, or unconsidered, realties contained in the intentional wording of the Lord’s Prayer’s “Lead Us Not into Temptation” “But Deliver Us from Evil,” “For Thine is the Kingdom, Power, and Glory, for Ever and Ever” and finally “Amen.”

1. Introductory Summary and Overview of the Lord’s Prayer
   1. Jesus opens up to us a relationship with the Divine Creator as
      1. Our good, merciful and willing Father
      2. Our powerful and able King
   2. Where we can discover how our lives were always meant to be
      1. Keeping God as number One in our lives
      2. Making sure our lives (careers, possessions, families, etc.) are part of God’s rule on earth
      3. Making sure our wills and wants are in line with God’s
      4. Learning to participate and progress in being made fit for heaven
   3. Where we can find everything necessary for such a life
      1. The necessities for both our physical bodies and spiritual souls
      2. Removal of everything that creates a barrier between us and God
      3. Removal of everything that creates a barrier between us and neighbors
   4. Where we can actually come to live this kind of life on earth
      1. Increasingly learning to no longer commit evil (acts contrary to God’s ways)
      2. Trusting God to protect us from any evil befalling us
      3. Giving God the glory always
      4. Living in the Amen.
2. “Lead Us Not Into Temptation” (That We May Not Commit Any Evil)
   1. Forgiveness is in vain without repentance
      1. Parts of Repentance
         1. Sorrow for past sins
         2. Care to avoid sin to come
      2. This Petition demonstrates our allegiance against Satan
   2. The Nature of Temptation
      1. God’s Trials
         1. They are for our ultimate good
         2. God allows them to try/prove/purge/strengthen our faith
      2. Satan’s Trials
         1. Not for our ultimate good (only temporal, immediate good)
         2. For quenching our faith and dashing our patience
      3. Inner, Human Temptations
         1. Proceed from within us
         2. Come from the flesh/mortality
      4. Outer Temptations
         1. Proceed from the world outside us
         2. Proceed from the works of the Devil
      5. God Delivers from Temptation
         1. From Inner Temptations
            1. Delivers us to know true pleasure
            2. Delivers us to know what should truly be feared
         2. From Outer Temptations
            1. Grants confidence that God can indeed deliver
            2. Since He has overcome, He can deliver us
            3. By keeping Satan chained/bound limiting his influence
   3. The Nature of Being Led
      1. God knows and will protect our weaknesses
         1. We can’t truly love another without knowing their weakness
         2. He became our weakness so to love us in our weakness and to protect it from Satan
      2. In taking the lead, God prevents us from...
         1. Becoming a son of perdition by being led by a “lying Spirit” (1Kngs.22:19-23; similar to the testing Job faced in Job1:6; 2:1)
         2. Becoming a participant in Satan’s temptation willingly, wittingly, or even delightingly
      3. If God allows us to be led into the wilderness for tempting, then we can count Him to lead us out
   4. Our Duty concerning this petition
      1. We must not set ourselves up for temptation
         1. We must remove known stumbling blocks
         2. We must restrain our eyes and mouths from evil
      2. We must let God lead us; He will not God force Himself upon us
      3. We must pray specifically for key areas of temptation
3. “But Deliver Us from Evil” (That We May Not Suffer Any Evil)
   1. Praying for the removal of things laborious and troublesome
   2. Things to be aware of concerning this petition
      1. Temptation & Evil are two different things
      2. Unlike the heathen, we have one God to give us what is good and to deliver us from evil
      3. If the Devil can’t get us by temptation, he will try to brake us by torment
      4. We are promised aid in both temptation and evil
         1. We pray that temptation/evil will not come our way or we to it
         2. Even if we do fall into temptation/evil, we can be delivered
   3. The Nature of the Evil from which we desire to be delivered
      1. The Church Fathers’ Help in describing it
         1. Chrysostom said the Devil was the greatest evil
         2. Augustine added us to the list
         3. Cyprian added all manner of calamity and trouble
      2. Deliverance from Satan
         1. From his jaws in the Second Death
         2. From his claws in the First Death
      3. Deliverance from both poverty and plenty
         1. From loss of goods which would prevent our service to God
         2. From plenty of good which would cause us to forget our service to God
   4. What we are asking for in being delivered
      1. We acknowledge our inability to deliver ourselves
      2. We desire to be freed from the Devil’s bondage and captivity
      3. We desire the freedom which only Christ can offer
         1. By receiving the Wisdom of God
         2. By receiving the Power of God
      4. We are to understand that “all” evil will not be removed from our lives (such as everyday persecutions)
      5. We are not only talking about deliverance from future evil, but also from past ones
         1. We can ask God to take it away completely
         2. We can ask God to lighten the burden of it
         3. We can ask God to grant us patience and strength to endure our affliction
         4. We can ask God to show us the good, which will result from the evil we face
            1. We can rejoice in it because being chastened by evil means is often part of God’s means for discipling His children
            2. We can rejoice because for the believer a cross in this life leads to a crown in the next
            3. God does not waste our pain
         5. We must trust God to deliver us in the way He sees is best
            1. If God wills that we suffer a cross we pray to be enabled to do it like Jesus
            2. If God wills that we suffer a cross we pray to be able to use it to show repentance and remorse like the good thief.
      6. Why we can trust God to Deliver us
         1. We are His servants; thus, He will free us from servitude to Satan
         2. We are His children, whom He has taught to call Him Father; thus, He will not abandon us to be children of the Devil (cf.Jhn.8:44)
         3. We are His workmanship; He will not despise the work of His hands (Ps.138:8)
         4. We are His image
         5. We have been bought by the Son’s blood
         6. We are vessels that bear His Name; to abandon us would give Him a bad name
         7. We are parts of the Body of Jesus, the Head in heaven; He will not abandon the Son
         8. We have a mutual enemy: the Evil One
      7. We have a duty to pray for the others of “us” to be delivered because we will all need deliverance unto the last enemy – Death – is destroyed.
4. “For Thine Is The Kingdom, Power, and Glory, For Ever and Ever”
   1. An “Orderly” Conclusion to the Prayer
      1. We do not just make a list of petitions and then abruptly end our prayers
      2. We are to conclude our prayers by given God the glory after our confessions of need
         1. We confess our weakness, wanting, needs, and inability to do anything that pleases God apart from His intervention
         2. Thus, we end by glorifying Him for the riches, power, and goodness with which He intervenes as our willing Father and able King
            1. God’s Triune Power: the Father’s as King of Kings; the Son’s as Conqueror of death; and the Spirit’s as the Inscriber of hearts.
            2. Those who are in the process of glorification ought to learn to glorify God like the fully glorified angels.
         3. After “taking” by petition; we “give” back by glorifying
         4. It is our duty to humble ourselves before and to ascribe glory to God
            1. Prayers are answered for the glory and honor of God’s Name
            2. We acknowledge that He alone has what is necessary to amend our condition
   2. Lessons we Learn from the Prayer
      1. If we do not humble ourselves by the petitions of this prayer, we should not expect grace to be given
      2. We are to seek God’s glory and pleasure more than our own comfort and wants thus the prayer ends with praise
      3. They prayer teaches us to live from our true selves (poor & needy) before the true God (willing and able)
         1. To the Father we are His workmanship for His glory
         2. To the Son we are His purchased kingdom; and
         3. To the Spirit we are His vessels to fill with power
      4. God’s Kingdom is one of both Power (to protect) and Glory (to bless)
         1. The Duties of the King are to protect His subjects from injury and wrong and provide for their wellbeing and fruitfulness
         2. The Duties of the Subjects are to
            1. Yield service to the King
            2. Respect and honor His office bearers
            3. Be faithful stewards of the power and strength the King give to them
            4. Acknowledge all glory and credit is owed to the King; their labors are for His glory
      5. While God’s Kingdom is similar to earthly kingdoms in regard to power and glory, His is the only one that lasts “for ever and ever.” His Kingdom is Eternal.
      6. Moreover, God’s Kingdom is “The Kingdom”
         1. In Generality it contains all the Earth
         2. In Superiority it contains all Kings and Nations
5. “Amen”
   1. The word “Amen” as a seal to or prayers
      1. Jerome says it’s a “seal of faith” showing our the desire of our will for what we have asked and petitioned for
      2. Cyprian says it’s a “seal of love” showing the desire of our heart in both wanting the lessons of this prayer to happen in our lives and petitions to be obtained.
   2. Commands to use, and benefits of keeping, the word “Amen”
      1. In the Old Testament (1Chron.16:36; Ps.106:48)
      2. In the New Testament (1Cor.14:16)
      3. Use in both assists in maintaining One mystical body of Christ where people of all ages, races, and languages can share the same seal of faith and heart.
   3. The Lord’s Prayer brings all ages and races into line with what the Jewish side of the Body had already been taught to pray:
      1. Ps. 57 taught them “Hallowing God’s Name
      2. Ps. 106:5 taught them to seek “Thy Kingdom Come”
      3. Ps. 143:10 (Hymn Version) taught them to seek God’s “Will Be Done”
      4. Ps. 145:15-21 taught Who provided “Daily Bread”
      5. Ps. 65:3 taught them to seek the “Forgiveness of Sins”
      6. Ps. 7 taught that their prayer would be heard based upon the treatment of others
      7. Ps. 119:37 and 141:3 taught them to pray for God to lead them toward righteousness
      8. Ps. 25:22 taught them to pray for God to deliver them from Evil
   4. Uses of the word “Amen” before and after statements
      1. Before a statement expresses the truth of what is about to be spoken
      2. After a statement reinforces the desire and consent to what has just be spoken
   5. Reasons for the “Amen” at the end of the Lord’s Prayer
      1. Our faith, trust, and confidence in God’s truth
      2. Our faith, trust, and confidence in God’s faithfulness
   6. How to be able to say the “Amen” rightly
      1. It must be prayed from the heart with earnest desire
      2. It must be prayed in Spirit (sincerity/feelings) and Truth (intelligence/understanding)
      3. It must be prayed with an intention to see it become a reality
      4. It must be prayed with confidence in God to answer our petitions
         1. Limitations to God’s answering our petitions
            1. God will answer only if it is expedient (the right timing) for us
            2. God will give us the better reality we were not aware of when praying
      5. It must be prayed indivisibly in that we desire each petition to be answered
         1. Daily Bread comes with doing God’s Will/Commands
         2. Deliverance from evil requires the fleeing of temptation
         3. Personal forgiveness isn’t granted without forgiveness of others
         4. Hallowing God name in this life is required for the glorious kingdom come in the next
      6. It must be prayed according to the purpose for which Jesus gave the prayer
         1. To have thanksgiving and praise toward God for his provisions and deliverances
         2. Our Hallelujah must be as loud as our Hosanna

 

 

Music & Sound Attributions:

Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions “Lost Shoe” (www.sessions.blue). Sounds used are as follows: “Beer Can Opening” recorded by Mike Koening found at (http://soundbible.com/216-Beer-Can-Opening.html) and “Pouring Drink” recorded by Mike Koenig found at (http://soundbible.com/2115-Pouring-Drink.html).

 

Episode Eight: On the Lord's Prayer, Pt. 3

Episode Eight: The Lord’s Prayer, Pt.3

Andrewes on Asking for Our Daily Bread and

Seeking the Forgiveness of Our Debts as We

Forgive Our Debtors

Dec.12, 2020

 

Sermons 13 - 15 of Lancelot Andrewes’

Nineteen Sermons upon Prayer in General,

and The Lord’s Prayer in Particular.

Copies can be found in Lancelot Andrewes Works,

Sermons, Volume Five, or on The Project Canterbury Website.

 

Summary:

      With the 7^th, 8^th, and 9^th sermons of this 13-sermon collection on the Lord’s Prayer, Andrewes teaches on the often over-looked, or unconsidered, realties contained in the intentional wording of “Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread” “Forgive Us Our Debts,” and “As We Forgive Them That Trespass Against Us.”

 

Outline:

1. “Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread”
   1. Introduction
      1. We now move from the eternal petition for glory and the spiritual petition for grace, to the natural, temporal petition for necessities to live and to be able to serve God.
      2. Only after first seeking the Kingdom, then for the fulfilling of God’s will, and finally the righteousness God requires, are we to seek the things we stand in need of.
   2. The Petition Itself for God’s Giving
      1. The benefits of our asking God to give
         1. We confess that we are in want (maintaining our dependence upon God)
         2. We are protected from becoming workaholics (maintaining our reliance upon God)
         3. We look for His blessing of our work allowing us contentment (protecting us from idolatry and maintain our relationship with God)
      2. What God Gives
         1. He gives bread to believers and unbelievers by blessing the earth w/fruitfulness
         2. He gives bread to believers and unbelievers by giving them the ability to work
         3. He gives bread to believers and unbelievers by blessing the food to nourish and strengthen their bodies.
         4. He uniquely gives sanctified-bread to believers for them to serve Him with both body and soul.
   3. The “Bread”
      1. “Bread” is symbolic of many things
         1. The physical necessities needed for bodily health, peace/comfort, and contentment
         2. The spiritual necessities needed for the soul
            1. The nourishing force of God’s Word (“bring us out of our dry spell”)
            2. The spiritual food offered by the Savior (Jhn.6:36)
   4. The “Our” Bread
      1. When we ask for “Our” Bread we mean that which rightfully belongs to us as God’s Children
         1. To receive the necessities that are ours by right for faithfully laboring for them
         2. To receive the necessities that are blessed by God
            1. Not the bread of violence, deceit, or demons, but of God
            2. Not the bread only good for this life, but that conveys holiness for both
   5. The “Daily”
      1. We are asking for our daily care
      2. We are asking for that which is appropriate for our substance
         1. Natural sustenance for our natural body
         2. Supernatural sustenance for our spiritual soul (“epiousios” super-substantial)
      3. We are asking for what satisfies hunger, not cravings, as not to become gluttons
         1. Necessity, not wantonness
         2. Needs, not wants
   6. The “Give Us”
      1. The Reason God gives to us
         1. God cares for all His creatures
         2. God cares especially for man
         3. God cares even more especially for redeemed man
      2. The Limitation for God’s Giving
         1. God gives to us for the purpose of blessing others
         2. We are not only to seek the removal of our burdens but to be able to alleviate the burdens of others by what we have received.
   7. The “This Day”
      1. We are seeking our present need, not our future needs
      2. This does not mean we can be careless about our future
      3. Answering Objection: If we have enough today, our desire is, that as we have enough now, so we may be preserved in this state, and that God would not change plenty into poverty.
2. “And Forgive Us Our Debts”
   1. Intro: the dual nature and purpose of prayer/grace: to receive good and to remove evil
      1. Glory for Kingdom to Come – Removal of Sin
      2. Grace for God’s Will to be Done – Removal of Temptation
      3. Provision of Daily Necessities – Removal of Daily Evil
   2. The Necessity of this Petition
      1. “Debts” = “Sin”
      2. Sin creates a partition between us and God and prevents the three earlier petitions
         1. It prevents entrance into the Kingdom/Heaven
         2. It prevents us from doing any good things
   3. The Goodness of God to Give Us this Petition
      1. God desires to pardon the sins of man
      2. God has not provided a way to pardon the sins of angels
   4. The Sins that cause Man to be a Debtor to God
      1. Sins of Commission (Committing the wrong actions)
      2. Sins of Squandering God’s Blessing (Not blessing others with what was given)
      3. Sins of Omission (Not doing the right actions)
   5. The significance of “Our” Debts/Sins
      1. Our duty to desire the forgiveness of others as much as ourselves
      2. Characterized by compassion for others to be forgiven more than be condemned
   6. A Note about Debts
      1. Even the Apostles were Debtors
      2. We are not only sinners, but daily sinners (daily forgiveness as much as daily bread)
      3. Our debts require God’s mercy, not patience
         1. Like the indebted widow, the prophet provided her debt and livelihood (2Kng.4)
      4. These realities ought to humble us:
         1. Leading us to confess, not justify
         2. Not only confessing, but feeling sorrowful over them
   7. Comforts Given by this Petition
      1. We learn our sins are forgivable
      2. We might lose our affection as sons, but God will never lose His Fatherly heart
      3. We learn that God is ready to forgive on a daily basis
      4. Christ has satisfied the debt we never could have worked off
   8. Duties in Relation to this Petition
      1. We are to apply Christ’s satisfaction to ourselves by this prayer confessing sin
      2. We are to strive to be among the number of those who can say “Our”
3. “As We Forgive Them That Trespass Us”
   1. The two “as”s of our Lord’s Prayer
      1. Duty we owe pertaining to God: “As in Heaven”
      2. Duty we owe pertaining to our neighbor: “As we forgive them”
   2. Note about Forgiveness
      1. If we desire to be forgiven, we mustn’t only not hate our brother, but must forgive
      2. We have a pledge of our own forgiveness, if we have forgiven others
      3. When we have forgiven our brethren and purged our hearts of hate, then we are made fit for service
      4. By saying this petition, we bind ourselves to this condition
      5. It is out of the goodness of God that he agrees to the bond of this petition
   3. An added note concerning our “indebtedness”
      1. “Every man is a debtor [to God], having a debtor [also who owes them]”
      2. We are debtors to others when we do not give them the charity and justice due them
   4. Difference between God’s Forgiving and Our Forgiving
      1. We forgive the debts of those to whom we might one day owe a debt; God forgives the debts of those whom He will never be indebted.
      2. We are indebted to God by the “thousands” while others only owe use “hundreds.”
   5. Imitating God by This Practice
      1. God gives us the power to forgive even as He forgives, whereby a person can be to another even in God’s place
      2. Christ calls us to find true honor in being like, and imitating, God Who is slow to anger and long suffering.
         1. The greatest honor for us to aspire to is to more and more resemble the Father.
         2. The greatest shame for us is to be like the weakest things that desire revenge.
   6. The Benefit of Practicing This Part of the Prayer
      1. Outwardly, we have a covenant with God in which we can press for forgiveness
      2. Inwardly, we have a convincing reassurance of our stance with God.
   7. The Duty we have In Regards to this Part of the Prayer
      1. We are to both forgive our brethren and forget their offence, thus we must strive to master all corrupt desires for revenge in either word, deed, or sight
      2. As Prayer is the means to apply Christ’s satisfaction to our souls, so forgiving charity and mercy are the ways to apply God’s forgiveness to our souls
         1. Forgiveness is something all men have to give
         2. To forgive and then offer kindness is proof of supernatural work
         3. Nothing is more fitting to receive God’s mercy, than for us to show mercy to others
      3. Christ actually repeats this teaching after the prayer in order to make sure we were paying attention to the significance of practicing forgiveness.

 

Music & Sound Attributions:

Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions “Lost Shoe” (www.sessions.blue). Sounds used are as follows: “Beer Can Opening” recorded by Mike Koening found at (http://soundbible.com/216-Beer-Can-Opening.html) and “Pouring Drink” recorded by Mike Koenig found at (http://soundbible.com/2115-Pouring-Drink.html).

Episode Seven: On the Lord's Prayer, Pt. 2

Episode Seven: The Lord’s Prayer, Pt.2

Andrewes on Establishing God’s

Heavenly Honor, Kingdom, and Will on Earth

Nov.14, 2020

Special Guest: Bishop Chandler Jones

 

Sermons 10 - 12 of Lancelot Andrewes’

Nineteen Sermons upon Prayer in General,

and The Lord’s Prayer in Particular.

.

 

Copies can be found in Lancelot Andrewes Works,

Sermons, Volume Five, or on The Project Canterbury Website.

 

Summary:

      With the 4^th, 5^th, and 6^th sermons of this 13-sermon collection on the Lord’s Prayer, Andrewes teaches on the often over-looked, or unconsidered, realties contained in the intentional wording of “Thy Kingdom Come” “Thy Will Be Done,” and “In Earth as it is In Heaven.”

 

Outline:

1. “Thy Kingdom Come”
   1. Seek first the kingdom of God/heaven (“Thy Kingdom”)
      1. By seeking the renewal of our minds by God’s Spirit of Wisdom and understanding (cf.Isa.11:2; Rom.12:2; Eph.1:27).
      2. By seeking the renewal of our hearts and learning to contemn, and live for more than, earthly pleasures, our own selves, and this mortal life.
   2. Aspects of God’s Kingdom
      1. It is a Universal Kingdom, with God reigning over all things, kings, rulers, and nations (cf.Ps.99)
      2. It is a Kingdom of Glory (referring to God’s outer power and protection)
         1. Against this, the Kingdom of Satan seeks to rule the world in God’s stead,
         2. The Kingdom of Sin pushes back against the glory of God’s Kingdom, and
         3. The Kingdom of Death pushes back against the power of God’s Kingdom.
      3. It is a Kingdom of Grace (referring to God’s inner working)
         1. This part aspect of the Kingdom grants the New Birth to those who desire it,
         2. Roots out the presence of Satan’s Kingdom of Sin and Death, and
         3. Produces the virtues of righteousness, peace, and joy.
   3. The Nature of Its Coming
      1. When it comes, it reveals our corrupted appetites for the things of this world,
      2. It lightens our blind eyes for us to be able to walk in God’s ways,
      3. It inflames/enlarges our hard hearts to love God’s ways (cf.Ps.119:32)
      4. It removes from our lives all that offends God, and
      5. Its fullest coming will be at the eschaton (Bliss for some and Hell for others):
         1. We enter the Kingdom of Grace now that we might enter the Kingdom of Glory;
         2. Those who do not become acclimated to God in His Kingdom of Grace will find the coming of His Kingdom of Glory dark and torturous.
2. “Thy Will Be Done” (not just known, but done)
   1. We are seeking the grace to “Do”
      1. We seek God’s grace to reign in us now that we might reign with Him in glory.
      2. It’s not about calling Jesus Lord, but serving Him as Lord. It’s not about wishing, or desiring, but doing.
   2. We are seeking that God’s Will would become our own will by submitting to His hidden/secret will and framing our actions to His revealed/open will:

      1. God’s Hidden/Secret Will

         God’s Revealed/Open Will

         For His Pleasure What He wills Knowable only to Him Irresistible To be adored (election/reprobation) Passive (kept with or without our intention or awareness) In regards to the Secret Will we pray that nothing God’s commands will displease us and that nothing we do displeases Him: Anything not plainly spelled out can be dissented to It is possible in good will to desire something else than what God wills secretly (e., death of a loved one) It is possible in ill will to desire to do something God has willed not

         Disclosed to us What we ought to will Knowable and to be searched by all Resistible (thus we pray to be able to do it) To be studied Active (must be made aware of and intentionally acted upon) In regards to the Open Will we pray that when God does reveal His Will, we will have what it takes to see that it is done: Be it death, Be it trials and tribulations, or Be it His commands, We pray we might do it well

   3. We show our desire for God’s Kingdom by our obedience to His Will.
   4. Requirements for doing God’s Will
      1. We must lay aside, seek the conversion of, and discipline of our own wills for God’s Will
      2. We must acknowledge and honor God’s Will as being superior to our own in wisdom, knowledge, goodness, and sovereignty since ours, due to mortality, is blind, foolish, sinful, and in need of guidance.
      3. We must seek God’s grace and power not only to change our thoughts and desires but also our actions:
         1. God’s Passive Grace – that which awakens us to life from above.
         2. God’s Active Grace – that which accomplishes our new way of living.
3. “In Earth as It is in Heaven”
   1. As an Appendix to the First Three Petitions this shows us that it is not just about doing the action of hallowing God’s Name, spreading God’s Kingdom, and doing God’s Will, but equally about how, and in what manner, these actions are done.
   2. A Qualification: How God’s Will is Done Within Heaven and What That Means for the Way We Pray:
      1. Just as the three Heavens of Nature (weather), Heavenlies (sun, moon, and stars), and Throne Room (God, the Angels, and the Saints) obey the will and commands of God, so
      2. We pray that
         1. Heaven can use us to bless the earth like the weather
         2. The earthly Body of Christ (the Church) would match its Heaven Head (the ascended Christ)
         3. We might be like the angels ready to do God’s Will
         4. We follow the examples of the saints in heaven, becoming saints in the earth and bearing the heavenly image
         5. We will obey heaven’s Will even when it strikes against our natural inclinations:
            1. Like the Sun and Moon which stopped for Moses
            2. Like Christ who laid down His mortal life
            3. Like the Angels who willing leave heavenly bliss to help those on earth
            4. Like the martyrs who want vindication no but wait (Rev.6:10-11)
            5. Not like the demons who do it begrudgingly
      3. An Elevation of the Soul: Seeking the Things Above
         1. We seek progression in this life and perfection in the one to come
         2. We make it our present intention to walk in heavenly likeness.
      4. An Application:
         1. As we pray for the Will of God to be done, we must seek to perform it once it is revealed to us – both the Micro, Particular Will for us (personal sanctifications) and the Macro, General Will for all (patience under suffering)
         2. We must not postpone our spiritual lives thinking we will do it in the future.
         3. We must seek God’s will for our own countries where God has placed us.

 

Music & Sound Attributions:

Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions “Lost Shoe” (www.sessions.blue). Sounds used are as follows: “Beer Can Opening” recorded by Mike Koening found at (http://soundbible.com/216-Beer-Can-Opening.html) and “Pouring Drink” recorded by Mike Koenig found at (http://soundbible.com/2115-Pouring-Drink.html).

 

 

Episode Six: On the Lord's Prayer, Pt.1

Episode Six: The Lord’s Prayer, Pt.1

Andrewes on Understanding God as Our Father in Heaven

And Sanctifying His Name

October 3, 2020

 

Sermons 7 - 9 of Lancelot Andrewes’

Nineteen Sermons upon Prayer in General,

and The Lord’s Prayer in Particular.

 

Copies can be found in Lancelot Andrewes Works,

Sermons, Volume Five, or on The Project Canterbury Website.

 

Summary:

      With these first 3 sermons of the 13 sermon collection, Andrewes teaches on the often over-looked, or unconsidered, realties contained in the intentional wording of “Our Father,” “Which art in Heaven,” and “Hollowed be Thy Name.”

Outline:

1. “Our Father” (Connecting to the perfection of God’s goodness and merciful nature)
   1. Benefits of Praying to God
      1. The guarantee of being heard when we prayer
      2. The gift of being able to pray to God as “Father”
         1. It reinforces our trust in God’s goodwill and favor toward us
         2. It balances our experience of kingly fear with bold confidence (Kingship implies His ability to answer prayers; Fatherhood implies His willingness to answer those prayers for us).
   2. Ramifications of having God as “Our Father”
      1. Calling God “Father” demonstrates the love we bear to Him
      2. Calling God “Our” demonstrates the love we bear toward our neighbor (other children of God)
      3. Knowing God as “Father” assures of His favor and gives us hope
      4. Challenges to accepting God as “Our Father”
         1. His Majesty ≠ our baseness (having been made from dust and ashes)
         2. His holiness ≠ our sinfulness
      5. Christ authorizes and enables us to call God “Our Father”
         1. We are given an exalted position above the Patriarchs and Heavenly Spirits
         2. By returning to God through the unique Son, we are given a unique relationship
      6. God as “Father” speaks of and acknowledges His affection for what He has made
         1. He is the Father of all creatures
         2. He is the Father of humanity, which He created in His own image
         3. He is the Father Who prepared the way back for His fallen children
         4. He is the Father of the New Birth granting us sonship
      7. As “Father” God’s affection toward us is shown to be immutable and excellent
         1. His fatherly love for us is unchanging in both chastening and blessing
         2. His fatherly love for us is excellent and abounding in forgiveness and mercy
      8. Additional benefits of God’s affection toward us being fatherly:
         1. It doesn’t take much to satisfy a Father’s anger
         2. There is a plentiful bounty of mercy
         3. We share in the inheritance He has prepared for His Son
      9. Out duty and response to God as “Our Father”
         1. To live as becomes His children and to repent/return to the Father when we haven’t
         2. To seek to grow up fully through His glorification/theosis as sons of God
         3. Respectfully reverence Him as our “Father”
         4. Realize all these benefits apply to everyone who refers to Him as their “Father”
         5. Pledge our love to all other brethren who say “Our” Father
            1. This fights against pride
            2. This prevents malice
            3. This teaches us to pray for others (fellow believers, those in open rebellion to God and their neighbor, and even our enemies).
2. “Which Art in Heaven” (Connecting to the excellency of God’s power and greatness)
   1. This phrase is meant to be and expression of the Father’s greatness and power more than a description of the location to where the prayer is being sent.
   2. The phrase is used to temper the boldness gain by the idea of God as “Father” and to maintain a balanced understanding of God (He is both merciful Father and powerful rulers).
   3. The phrase is used to increase our confidence and faith in God because, like heaven, He is immortal, immutable, and able to give that which is incorruptible.
   4. The phrase serves to prepare us for prayer by making us to look upward in our desires.
   5. The phrase serves to focus us upon asking for heavenly gifts and blessings
   6. The phrase serves to beckon us to discover our true selves which were meant for that heavenly country
      1. In desiring to be in heaven, we begin to desire wanting to learn its ways
      2. In desiring heaven, we begin to desire wanting to be in the LORD’s Presence
      3. In desiring heaven, we begin to desire wanting to live under the Father’s roof/rules/will
   7. The phrase serves to remind us of our duty to be heavenly children of our heavenly Father.
3. "Hollowed Be Thy Name"
   1. Praying for the ability to sanctify God’s Name is the 1^st Petition to be sought in prayer
   2. It is a prayer to be enabled to have a reverend regard for God’s Name
      1. Therefore, it must come before even requests for the Kingdom
      2. Such regard distinguishes true worshippers from the rest because His Name conveys holiness to that which bears it. Such as:
         1. People (like the Old Testament priests or Paul in the New Testament)
         2. Places (like the house of God)
         3. Times (like sabbaths and feasts kept holy to the LORD)
         4. Proclamations (like preaching in God’s Name)
         5. Sacraments (like the Old Testament Bread of Presence or the New Testament Eucharist)
      3. Our regard for those things or persons which bear the Name demonstrate our estimation of God Himself
      4. Only the sanctified can sanctify the Name
   3. The duties that pertain to sanctifying the Name
      1. Pray not to misuse it
         1. Either by slip of the tongue or through contempt
         2. Sins of the heart: to speak inappropriately of the Name is equal to the action of treating God inappropriately (much like the relationship of lust and adultery)
      2. Pray to use it rightly
         1. In our hearts
         2. On our tongues
         3. By our actions
      3. Pray that others might do this, that all places may do this, and that all times may do this
         1. Pray that people will come to know His Name
         2. Pray that people will come to profess, worship, and honor His Name rightly
         3. Pray for those who once professed, worshipped, and honored His Name rightly may repent and do so once again
         4. Pray that God’s Name might get the glory alone
            1. Not ourselves nor other men
            2. Not those who, or things that, bear the Name in themselves apart from God Himself
         5. Prayer that people will be given the “Fear of God”
            1. Knowing their unworthiness
            2. Blessing God for His goodness
            3. Telling others of His goodness
            4. Praising God for His goodness
      4. Praise and Bless His Name for our Sanctification
      5. Remember that if we have the desire in us now to glorify His Name, He will not deny us the place to do it eternally.

 

Music & Sound Attributions:

Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions “Lost Shoe” (www.sessions.blue). Sounds used are as follows: “Beer Can Opening” recorded by Mike Koening found at (http://soundbible.com/216-Beer-Can-Opening.html) and “Pouring Drink” recorded by Mike Koenig found at (http://soundbible.com/2115-Pouring-Drink.html).

Episode Five: The War in Heaven with Lancelot Andrewes on Revelation 12:7

Episode Five: That War in Heaven

Andrewes on the Role of Angels in Revelation 12:7 and the Bible

Recorded August 29, 2020

 

Sermon 13 of Lancelot Andrewes preserved in A Collection of Posthumous and Orphan Lectures preached by him in the Parish Church of St. Giles outside Cripplegate, London on the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels, September 29, 1599.

 

A copy can be found in Apospasmatia Sacra, or on The Project Canterbury Website.

 

      In this sermon, Andrewes expounds upon the Twelfth chapter of St. John the Divine’s Revelation which tells about the war fought in heaven between the forces of Michael and his Angels and the forces of the Dragon and his Angels, using it to explain both the roles of all Angels in the life of the Church and her believers as well as the congratulations due to God and these Angels that should be offered by the Church and her believers. A detailed outline is as follows:

1. Introduction: Angels in the Christian Faith
   1. The Christian Faith neither worships nor dismissed Angels and the spiritual realm
      1. Adoration and worship are due solely to Jesus Christ ( Col.2:8; Rev.22:9)
      2. Acknowledgment and respect are due to His heavenly host ( Act.23:8; Gen.28)
   2. The Christian Faith includes a thankfulness to God for the roles His Angels play and a giving of congratulations to them for their service 
2. Who are the Angels
   1. Beings who willingly leave the bliss of God’s Presence in heaven to serve those on earth by taking charge, protecting, and ministering to believers ( Matt.18:10; Ps.16; 91:11; Heb.1)
   2. Beings who willingly leave the glorious Presence of God’s company for the sinful, corrupt presence of creatures formed with clay (Job 4; 17:14)
   3. BIBLICALLY SPEAKING: the word “angel” is a title for a spiritual being who has been given a task by the LORD. Any of the invisible beings spiritual of the spiritual realm: Serephim, Cherubim, Thrones, Dominions, Watchers, Princes, Powers, Principalities, Sons of God, Holy Ones (lit.hagios/saints) and even the second Person of the Trinity can serve as an “Angel.”
3. What Advice and Assistance They Offer
   1. They offer direction, knowledge, understanding, council to God’s people ( Gen.31:11; Dan.9:22; Rev.1:1)
   2. They encamp around God’s people and wage war against both evil men and angels on behalf and in defense of the righteous so that they may overcome the adversary (Ps.34; 2Kng.6:17; Ps.35:6; Exod.12; Isa.37; Ps.91:13)
4. Why We Celebrate them on St. Michael’s and All Angels

1. 1. We Celebrate their Great Battle Against and Victory over the Dragon
      1. Michael
         1. Michael serves under Christ taking charge over the Church on earth (cf.Dan.10:13,21)
         2. Michael serves under Christ keeping the devil in check (cf.Jude9)
         3. Michael serves under Christ as the chief spirit among the created spirits (cf.Rev.12:5)
      2. The Dragon
         1. The Dragon is none other than the Slanderer of old [Hbrw: Satan & Grk: Devil] who is shown to both slander the LORD’s goodness to man (Gen.3) and man’s goodness to the LORD (*Job1*).
            1. BIBLICALLY SPEAKING: in the Old Testament “Satan” or “the Satan” is never used to speak of the chief rebel of the Bible, but during the Second Temple period when God’s people began trying to understand the evil they were experiencing in the world from a Biblical perspective this idea developed. See below.
         2. The Dragon is the chief enemy of both the good (Rev.12:13,17) and the bad (Rev.12:9)
      3. The Angels on Both Sides
         1. The angels on Michael’s side are elect of God and are shown to excel in strength and obey God’s commands (cf.Ps.103:20; 1Tim.5:21)
         2. The angels on the Dragon’s side are angels of evil who rebelliously sinned and rejected the positions under the LORD choosing rather to serve under the Dragon as their Prince (cf.2Pet.2; Jude; Matt.12).
      4. The Battle Itself

1. 1. 1. 1. Scriptures inform us that while they are known as Angels of Peace, they also war and battle for the sake of it (cf.Isa.33:7; Gen.32:2; Isa.6; Lk.2; Matt.26). For they must work toward and fight for the same peace God works and fights for (cf.Heb.11:14; Matt.13)
         2. Likewise, Scripture tells us that there was actually a war in heaven. Because the LORD desires a partnership with His children (both spiritual and human) there must be room for both parties to rebel (Gen.3; Rev.12)
            1. BIBLICALLY SPEAKING: we are told about a “Divine Council” (1Kng.22:19-23; Job1:6-12; Deut.32:8-9; Ps.82)
         3. The Dragon’s Campaign is spiritual in nature utilizing slanderous propaganda and temptation (cf.Ps.104; Eph.6; 2Cor.10)
         4. There are actually Four Battles recorded between Michael and the Dragon:
            1. The First was when the Dragon attempted to make himself like God and Michael stands asking “Who is like God” [the literal meaning of his name] (Isa.14:13; Dan.7)
            2. The Second was the Dragon’s claim over Moses’ body since he died in his territory (Jude9)
            3. The Third was then Michael had to hold the lines against the Dragon’s lessor princes so that the message could come to Daniel (10:13)
            4. The Fourth was when the Dragon turned against the Christ and His Church (12:13)
         5. Why and How the Dragon fights against Michael
            1. The Dragon could not abide to honor a piece of clay [Wisd.2:23-24; Life of Adam and Eve]
            2. The Dragon could not abide the God he wanted to usurp taking up the same clay nature and then him being expected to adore Him.
            3. The Dragon could not abide God’s forgiving the clay creatures and that they were going to be given a position over them who rebelled (6:3).
            4. The Dragon temps Michael and his Angels to likewise rebel with these suggestions
   2. We celebrate their Great Victory Against the Dragon
      1. Michael and his Angels are intrigued, not irritated, by Christ’s redemption of man and worship Jesus for this great saving work ( 1Pet.1:12; Heb.1:6; Rev.5:12-13)
      2. Michael and his Angels refuse to exalt themselves over Jesus or mankind, and in fact they like Jesus are ready to welcome redeemed men and women as brethren (Matt.25:14; Rev.22:9)
      3. Therefore, Michael and the Angels rejected to heed the Dragon’s slandering.

V. The Rightful Response of Humanity

1. 1. This victorious battle should evoke a thankfulness to God and change of perspective:
      1. Man is a desirous palace worthy fighting for by both the forces of heaven and hell, thus if heaven and hell esteem us as such so we ought not think so badly of ourselves. Man is no ordinary thing.
      2. If the angels are busy defending the earth, we ought all the more diligently to fight for heaven. Faithfulness to the LORD is not a past time sport, but a life or death struggle.
      3. The battle that was in heaven, has now come to earth, and believers must know who their enemy truly is. Just as the Dragon and his fallen horde sought to convert the heavenly host, so have they come down slandering God to the nations taking them captive (1Pet.2:11; Eph.6; Rev.12:12)
   2. We ought to pray for further deliverance and protection from the angels against the Dragon on earth since they have been commanded to fight for us and have successfully overcome the Dragon in heaven.
   3. As we are now being made brethren with the Angels we ought to learn to live in such a way that they are not provoked or alienated from us (23:21), having clean words and speeches, due reverence in worship, honorable behavior toward fellow believes, and setting our hearts to understanding God’s will and seeking for His Kingdom to be established on earth as it is in heaven (cf.Eccl.5:5; 1Cor.11; Dan.10:12)
   4. As certain as the Dragon’s defeat was in heaven, so we ought to cling to the same hope for our own lives knowing that the struggle now will be worth it because his defeat is sure.

VI. Last Call Material: Old Testament Imagery for Describing the Devil:

      “Beelzebub” = (Baal Zebub, chief of demons 2 Kings 1:2,3,6,16; Matt.22:24; Mark.3:23; Lk.11:15). Spoken of as such, he is the strong man that holds men and women in slavery by the fear of death until the stronger One comes (cf.Matt.12:24-29; Heb.2:14-15). He is behind all of human idolatry – the giving our allegiance to the lord of the flies, the kingdom of death. All other sins flow from that. The New Testament’s question is not “do you know without a shadow of doubt that if you die tonight you will go to heaven” but rather “Whose team are you on? Who is lord? When things get hard what are you leaning on? (Bank account, bottle, attractiveness, good deeds, etc.) what are you leaning on for significance meaning and worth? To kingdom of God or the kingdom of Beelzebub? Faith is more than believing unbelievable things. Biblically speaking faith is about pledging allegiance to and living within a kingdom system.

      “Lucifer”^[1] (King of Babylon)= Babylon is the symbol of man’s corporate rebellion against God and when “Lucifer” is used it is done so to describe him as the leader of it (cf. Isa14:12). Thus, he is the force behind the kings and kingdoms that oppresses the nations. When this title is used it speaks of him as the king, political and economic ruler/god of the world (cf.2Cor.4:4). He is behind the oppressive political and economic structures God’s people are called to come out from under in their lives (Rev.18:4).

      “Satan” (Hebrew literally meaning “adversary/opponent”; “Devil” is from its Greek synonym), is the spiritual power that pushes against God’s kingdom from being realized among His people (cf.Rev.12:9). He is behind the dark current that is flowing against the kingdom of God and His ways, preventing it from taking root or finding footing (cf.Matt.13:19). His influence is what causes people to say to God, “We can’t do that in our situation.” He controls “the pattern of the world” (cf.Rom.12:2) of apathy and hate that the world wants us to fit into and that the Scripture calls us to resist.

 

[1] The King James Bible, from the Vulgate tradition, retains “Lucifer” here while most other English translations translate the word “Morning Star,” “Day Star,” or “Shining One.”

Episode Four: God Save the King with Bishop Andrewes on Judges 17:6

Episode Four: God Save the King

Andrews on Being in Want for a King in Judges 17:6

August 1, 2020

Sermon 8 of Lancelot Andrewes’ Certain Sermons Preached at Sundry Times upon Several Occasions before the King’s Majesty at Whitehall on March 24, 1606 roughly 4 months after the Gunpowder Plot to blow up King James I attempted on November 5, 1605

A copy can be found in Lancelot Andrewes Works, Sermons, Volume Five, pp.169-185, or on The Project Canterbury Website.

 

Sermon Summary:

        Looking at the historical point of God’s people in which it became most clear of both their need for a king and God’s desire to establish one, Bishop Andrewes examines both the negative effects produced in the lives of men in women who are without a king (such as encouraging their propensity for misusing religion, liberty, and behavior), as well as the positive effects provided by having a king (especially in preventing idolatry and cultural syncretism). His outline is simple:

1. Introduction
   1. Opening acknowledgements of both the blessing of now having a king, and the painful realization of their necessity when their seat in not filled
   2. Judges 17:6 and the others like it (18:1; 19:1; 21:25) begin to build anticipation in the mind of the reader for the Books of Kings
   3. Andrewes shows how kings were always a part of God’s perfect plan for His people (Deut.17:14-20)
2. The Effects of Being in Want of a King
   1. Upon the eye (when individual perception is king)
   2. Upon the hand (no restraint but will and strength)
   3. Confusion wrought when both work together in rebellion (any man doing any thing)
   4. Remedy: 1) eye salve; 2) led by the hand; and then 3) hand restraint
3. The Cause: Being in Want of a King
   1. No king to keep religion from idolatry, lives & goods in safety, and vessels in honor
   2. No king in Israel to keep the LORD’s Israel from becoming like the world’s Babel
   3. No kingly rule to govern and maintain the love of God and love of neighbor
4. Conclusion
   1. Seven reasons to be thankful for having a King: 1) a King, 2) a singular King, 3) a local, non-foreign King, 4) a Christian King, 5) a wise King, 6) a King of peace, and 7) a King with a successor

 

Music & Sound Attributions:

Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions “Lost Shoe” (www.sessions.blue). Sounds used are as follows: “Beer Can Opening” recorded by Mike Koening found at (http://soundbible.com/216-Beer-Can-Opening.html), “Pouring Drink” recorded by Mike Koenig found at (http://soundbible.com/2115-Pouring-Drink.html), and “Time Warp” recorded by Mike Koenig found at (http://soundbible.com/978-Time-Warp.html)

Episode Three: Christmas in July with Bishop Andrewes on the Union of Word and Flesh in John 1:14

Sermon 6 of Lancelot Andrewes’ Sermons of the Nativity preached before King James at Whitehall on Wednesday, December 25, 1611.

A copy can be found in Lancelot Andrewes Works, Sermons, Volume One or on The Project Canterbury Website.

If you do download a copy of the sermon from Project Canterbury note that the “Ô” and “Õ” symbols are equivalent to quotation marks and that some of non-modern English languages have not transcribed well.

 

      In this sermon, Andrews expounds upon St. John’s eye-witness testimony in 1:14 of how he, Peter, and James truly beheld the undeniable divine glory manifested by the Son, who is the living embodiment of the eternal Word (the nature, wisdom, and life of Yahweh), when Jesus altruistically full of grace and truth lovingly condescended to be made flesh (the vilest, weakest, and wound-able part of humanity) in order to abide with estranged humanity, to invade a world taken hostage ever since humanity’s fall, to serve as humanity’s champion in order to liberate them from their oppression, and to acceptingly adopt and truthfully transform humanity out of their empty state.

Although the first part of the sermon is somewhat difficult to follow, the outline laid out by Andrewes is very simple:

1. Introduction: the nature of St. John’s Gospel
2. The Mystery: The Word Became Flesh
   1. Significance of the words: “Word” “flesh” and “made”
   2. Significance of “glory,” “grace and truth,” and “full”
3. The Benefit: What the Word did for Flesh
   1. 1: God cannot hate us who are flesh, since the Word has become our flesh.
   2. 2/Hope 1: All who are flesh may come to Him who has become flesh as they are.
   3. 3/Hope 2: As He restored His own flesh thru Resurrection, so He will do for His own.
   4. 4/Hope 3: Since the Word became like those of flesh, now those who are of flesh can begin the process of becoming like the Word (glorification/theosis).
4. The Duty: What Flesh is to do for the Word, again
   1. Pursue Holiness: While the Word become our flesh, He kept it orderly and subdued allowing glory to be what seen in His living; so show those who received Him (receive Him not into a stable, but a decent and orderly home).
   2. Be an Incarnation: As Word became flesh for us, so we ought to incarnate His spoken word in our flesh for Him. And this we do not in fleeting spits and spurts of faithfulness, but in an abiding faithfulness that remains in all seasons.
   3. Use the Sacraments (Hope 4): As the Son has now chosen to communicate Himself by both natures of Word and Flesh, so we ought to receive Him by both: Word and Sacrament together.
5. Conclusion: Christmas is the Feast celebrating the union between Word and Flesh, and by celebrating it we procure a dwelling for Him in our own lives wherein He may fill us with grace and truth.

 

Music & Sound Attributions:

Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions “Lost Shoe” (www.sessions.blue). Sounds used are as follows: “Beer Can Opening” recorded by Mike Koening found at (http://soundbible.com/216-Beer-Can-Opening.html), “Pouring Drink” recorded by Mike Koenig found at (http://soundbible.com/2115-Pouring-Drink.html), and “Time Warp” recorded by Mike Koenig found at (http://soundbible.com/978-Time-Warp.html)