Brews with Andrewes

A Sunday Chaser on the Solid Rock of the Holy Scriptures

When we are not drinking brews with Andrewes and discussing his sermons, we are often preaching ourselves. Here is Fr. Allen’s sermon from Advent II 2022

"Withstanding the Times by Standing Upon the Eternals"

Preached at St Michael the Archangel Anglican Church in Matthews, NC on December 4, 2022

 

Jesus’ descriptions of life on earth after His heavenly enthronement are strikingly accurate: distress, perplexity, failing hearts, and the whole world order being shaken. But what is even more striking is that He says these things, not as an observer as though He was simply recounting the evening news, but as the instigator – as the Word who shakes the earth when He speaks. Remember Hebrews 12:26-27: ²⁶ [At Mt. Sinai] His voice shook the earth, but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven.” ²⁷ [To remove] those things which can be shaken, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.

    Yes, once again, we find ourselves living in a time of great shaking, but our Scriptures call us to remember that it is only the gates of hell that will not prevail (cf.Matt.16:17-19), the Church has the unshakable Cornerstone and the solid foundation of the apostles and prophets (Eph.2:20). Sure, it might look like all the wheels are falling off of Pharaoh’s chariots, as everything in our culture seems to be falling apart, but we are the New Israel of God, and we are already standing on the opposite shore.

    Yet, the only way a person would know this, and can know this, is by making a way to read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest the Holy Scriptures, which Yahweh has caused to be written for our learning in times like these. For they alone equip us to embrace and hold fast to Him, His kingdom, and the life He offers through Jesus.

    Thus, as we watch our culture being rattled by fatherlessness in homes, assisted murders and suicides in hospitals, incompetence in the places of education, and the insanity of transgenderism everywhere from children’s entertainment to sports, we do not fear, but rest assured that God is shaking our society to its core just as He did to the kingdoms of Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome. Instead of fearing, we take our stand upon the Solid Rock and begin living our lives by Its Truth (which lasts far longer than the 20-30 seconds of a TikTok video, but instead “endureth from generation to generation,” Ps.100:5).

    Yes, while our culture reads, marks and inwardly digests the latest news snippets on YouTube or the science of the doctors who agree with them, we turn to the Holy Scriptures to find out: who God is; who we are; what we are to be doing; and what makes us worth knowing and/or loving. For if we want to withstand the times, we must stand upon the eternals, and in so doing we will find the grace and consolation known by the countless generations who have gone before us (from Moses to the Founding Fathers of our Nation to today).

    Now, I know. I can hear you thinking, “Do I have to read the whole thing?” The answer is, “YES” (Even those weird books in the Apocrypha and those referenced by St. Peter and Jude) the Scriptures are there for our learning, to break free from the downward spiral of insanity all around us. They now only show us what a woman is, they show us what a man is as well - someone who protects their household, commits himself to one woman (not one at a time, but one), raises children in the paideia (or culture) of God, and who is not ruled by their passions or feelings. The Scriptures show us that all life from the womb to the tomb is sacred and worth protecting and loving.

    And what’s more, is that it shows us the Church – not the motivational, money hungry organizations we are all familiar with – but the family of God brought together in the Body of Jesus where men and women learn to live life together, loving and looking out for one another, practicing the mind of Christ, and continuing toward the hope of Glory.

    This is where you and I will find the ground which cannot be shaken. By its light we can learn to protect our families from the World that has chosen to exchange truth for a lie and Christ for chaos. This is where we will find, as Mr. Rogers said, “the something deep inside, greater than feelings, that helps us become what we can, leading girls to be someday a lady, and boys to be someday a man.” This is where we find “the things that cannot be shaken” as Hebrews tells us. “So let us be grateful for receiving this kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and all” (12:27-28).For “the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.” Amen.

A Sunday Chaser on the Saints, life after death, and life after life after death

When we are not drinking brews with Andrewes and discussing his sermons, we are often preaching ourselves. Here is Fr. Allen’s sermon from Trinity XXI 2022 celebrating The Feast of All Saints

"Numbered with the Saints"

Preached at St Michael the Archangel Anglican Church in Matthews, NC on November 6, 2022

 

I don’t know about you, but I grew up singing: “Oh, when the saints go marchin' in, Oh, when the saints go marchin' in, Lord, I want to be in that number When the saints go marchin' in.”

     So, who are the Saints, where have the saints who have died gone, and how do we make sure we are in that final number spoken of in our Epistle Reading? According to the New Testament, saints are those who believe in Christ, name Jesus as their Lord, are sanctified, serve as faithful and true witnesses for Jesus on earth, and then dwell with Him in paradise upon their death awaiting the resurrection into the New Heavens and Earth.

Thus, if we want to be numbered with them when we die, we ought to be numbered with them while we live: following their faithful examples, dealingwith the problematic sins that effect our witness in the world, refusing to compromise on the demands which the gospel places upon us just to be socially acceptable, and persevering in faith and good works until the end. If we follow their examples of living in the Lord, we can rest assured we will die in the Lord and never be forsaken of his presence (not in this life, life after death, or in life after life after death).

      But why does this matter? Because if a person does not make sure they are running in the direction of the Saints who have gone before, their finish line will not heaven. Those who have chosen the way of the Saints will be welcomed into Paradise, while those who reject their way of life will be sentenced to torment. These are the two destinations awaiting humanity when they, like Fred Sanford say, “This is the big one! I’m coming to see you, Elizabeth”?

     At the first death, when our souls abandon the body, those running the race of Saints, will enter the place now called Paradise, (since Christ did not abandon the souls of His O.T. people in Sheol/Hades, but brought them out of Abraham’s Bosom to Himself). Just as Jesus told the thief on the Cross, “Today, you will be with me in Paradise” (Lk.23:43), so those who die in the Lord will be able to enjoy their Lord’s Presence (although not fully until the resurrection). It is here that Paul longed to be in Philippians 1:21-23, as it is a sublime and blissful experience of refreshment, even though we will still have a sense of incompleteness since our souls will be separated from our bodies, like the martyrs in Revelation 6:9-10.

     Now, those who refuse to run the race of the Saints opting instead for the rat-race of this world, they’ll enter the place commonly called Hades, which the Bible reveals as a place of isolation and torment. It is the place of banishment from the Presence of God and the life people were made to live, where unbelievers will await their final judgement. It’ll be like waking up every day on death row with no chance of a stay of execution.

     This temporary place of punishment is where the rich man makes his plea from in Luke 16, and where Jesus warns the Pharisees that they are headed because of their greed and love of money. Anyone whose whole life and love is of money and not God, like the rich man, will end up in that place, waiting for a resurrection into the lake of fire.

     Now, you say, “What about heaven and hell?” Well, they’re still coming, for they are the final destinations to be experienced bodily after the resurrection. As Jesus said, “^Jhn.5:28-29Do not be amazed at this, for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear His voice and come out— those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.” Or as Daniel put it, “Those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt” (12:1-3). Thus, we see that for the Saints, the race ends with the resurrection of the body to live and reign with Christ in the New Heavens and Earth, but for those who Ain’t, it ends with the resurrection of the body to live and experience the Second Death in the Lake of Fire.

     St. Augustine probably best describes this final stage of life after life after death in The City of God (Bk.13 Ch.2), but especially the part where unbelieving souls are bodily resurrected and abandoned by the God they had abandoned in life:

Nevertheless, with the help of the grace of our redeemer, we [believers] may be enabled to decline, or avoid, that second death. For that death, which means not the separation of soul from the body, but the union of both for eternal punishment is the more grievous death. It is the worst of all evils. There by contrast, men will not be in the situations of before death and after death, but always in death. And for this reason, they will never be living, never dead, but dying for all eternity. In fact, man will never be in death in a more horrible sense than in that state where death itself will be deathless.

So, “^Heb.4:16Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find [the grace of our Redeemer] to help” us continue running the race that is before us (Heb.12:1) following the Saint’s examples of looking to, accepting, serving, and living in Jesus.

      For “The hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the father seeketh such to worship him.”

A Sunday Chaser on Living Faithfully Today 9/25/22

When we are not drinking brews with Andrewes and discussing his sermons, we are often preaching ourselves. Here is Fr. Allen’s sermon from Trinity XV 2022

"Living Today in Faithfulness not Fearfulness"

Preached at our sister-parish All Souls in Asheboro, NC on September 25, 2022

 

The future has a way of preventing us from seeing the present accurately and thus being able to act appropriately. It can both prevent us from seeing the truth, as well as keep us from living the truth. Some try to use an overly positive view of the future to mask the present (“He will be better tomorrow; even though he beat me today.” “Tomorrow, I will stop drinking; today isn’t who I really am”). Growing up watching cartoons, I distinctly remember one character who would say, “I will gladly pay you on Tuesday for a hamburger today.” He wasn’t going to pay; he wasn’t going to become the kind of person who would pay, even if he could.

Similarly, an overly negative view of the future can likewise prevent us from doing what needs to be done today. Simply by hearing news about the future, we can be stopped in our tracks by the fear and worry it can induce, and it will prevent us from becoming the kind of people we both want to be, and need to be. This is what Jesus is getting at in our Gospel Reading. He calls us to realize how an inappropriate perspective of the future can, and will, ruin the present and prevent us from taking care of what needs to be taken care of today. The necessities of today require action – actions that are necessary for forming the character we will need to able to take care of the future when it arrives.

The future fears which we imagine can cause us to shirk our responsibilities in the present and if we shirk the responsibilities in the present, it’s guaranteed that we will not be the people we need to be when the future arrives. This is why Jesus concludes this sermon of His with the parable of the Two Builders (7:24-27): He expects us put His instructions into practice today. Faithfulness today, not fearfulness, is the way to prepare for an uncertain future.

In this part of His sermon, however, He is shining His light of truth of just how inappropriate-views of the future cloud our judgment in the present. We know that we are called presently to love God and neighbor, but worry about being enough and having enough in the future can quickly lead us to start making excuses to both God and neighbor for withholding the acts of love we owe them today.

Throughout this sermon, Jesus teaches: we have to deal with our anger and resentment today, if we do not want to find ourselves in hell tomorrow. We have to address our wandering eye today, so we’re not faced with an affair and divorce tomorrow. We must address our discontentment today – which we try to numb by spending the majority of our income on things, experiences, and medications – so we are not faced with irreparable consequences tomorrow. We need to commit to Biblical generosity today if we are going to be able to be a part of the spread of Jesus’ Kingdom tomorrow.

Essentially, Jesus calls us to keep the main thing the main thing in the present (loving God and loving our neighbor), and if we do that today, the future we all long for will be ours: “it will be added unto you.” Negative views of the future can become self-fulfilling prophecies if they prevent us from doing what Christ calls us to do today. What does he call us to do? Our Prayer Books says it best on page 291, when it asks, “What is the bounden duty of a member of the Church?”: “Our bounden duty is to follow Christ, to worship God every Sunday in His Church; and to work and pray and give for the spread of His kingdom.”

If we are too busy today to work for this; if we are too unmotivated to pray for this; and if we are too anxious about the future to give to this, then we need to repent and believe afresh the Gospel which Jesus preaches here in His Sermon on the Mount.

All of Jesus’ commands work this way and are expected to be implemented today. Just as there is no baseball without spring training and football without offseason training, so there will be no Christian future for the man or woman who does follow Christ today. Do we want our Churches standing tomorrow, we must practice the faith today: working, praying, and giving for the spread of the kingdom.” And we come to the altar now to receive the grace, comfort, and assurance necessary to do just that.

 For “The hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the father seeketh such to worship him.”

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).

A Sunday Chaser from St. Michaels Charlotte

When we are not drinking brews with Andrewes and discussing his sermons, we are often preaching ourselves. Here is Fr. Allen’s sermon from Trinity IV 2022

"Living our Our Christian Ideals"

July 10, 2022

     There is a quote about “freedom” that I love, which reads, “Freedom is a fragile thing and it's never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by way of inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people” (Ronald Reagan, 1967). In other words, the life we all desire does not and will not come automatically. There’s work to be done and realities to be built and guarded by each of us. But as has become an all too familiar reality, it’s hard to find people to work.

    Nearly fifty-five years before this speech, GK Chesterton put out his book What’s Wrong with the Word, and part of his answer was both religion and politics love to spout out ideals, but they stop working toward their ideals before the world can benefit from them. So, what’s wrong with the world isn’t religion or politics per se but rather the people spouting out religion and politics aren’t living out and up to the ideals of their espoused religion or politics. People will sign up and talk about it, but once the work becomes too demanding it becomes someone else’s problem and responsibility.

    Now, this morning we do not want to talk politics, and there is no need, because religion is just us much at fault for our current predicament. Of religion, Chesterton said, “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left on tried.” A lot of people have heard Jesus’ call and began to follow him, but then instead of personally putting in the work to become men and women who truly love God and their neighbors, they made it as far as a church pew and said, “Phew. This is far enough” (Like our old GPSs which lead us into the middle of nowhere, their internal GPS said, “You have reached your destination” even though they clearly haven’t made it). And the world suffers because of it.

    If we really want to see where the hammer gets dropped and people walk off the worksite, look no further than our Gospel reading this morning. We know that Jesus is building a church (Matt.16:18) and that people are to be that church’s living stones (1Pet.2:5), but today’s reading says not just any kind of stone will do – only the ones which Jesus has shaped into being generous and forgiving will suffice.

    If we want to be a part of His Church that brings heaven’s ideals to earth making them a reality, we will have to allow Him to chisel off the parts that do not fit. Like freedom, revival and spiritual blessing are not inherited, only the testimony of those who have gone before us who tell us what practices procure them is handed down. We simply must choose to follow their good examples or not.

    They followed Jesus all the way, but we too often want to set our tools down and say, “I have come far enough. I am merciful enough. I have given enough. I have forgiven enough.” And because of it the temple we were going to be a part of never gets too far off the ground.

    Yet, Jesus doesn’t call us to do anything He has not done. He doesn’t espouse things He Himself isn’t willing to work toward.

    As the Way, the Truth, and the Life, He simply calls us to begin judging life according to His truth (not according to our standards) – and as many of us know, speaking the truth (even when done in love, Eph.4:15) causes many of our temporal activities and acquaintances to be chiseled away from our lives, but once it happens, eternal ones can be sought.

    As the One Who saves us from the sins we have committed against God (Matt.1:21), He calls us to begin to save others from the sins they have committed against us – not perpetually rubbing it in their faces, but letting it go so that eternal friendships can be formed.

    As the One who emptied Himself of unfathomable riches so that in becoming Poor, we might become rich (2Cor.8:9), He calls us to quit squandering our temporal resources on self-indulgent gratification and to become generous toward those eternal things that last (Lk.16:1-9).

    This is the work we are to “spend and be spent in” answering His call and allowing Him to chisel away our judgmentalism, unforgiveness, and stinginess, until we are shaped into stones of forgiveness and generosity – cut to align with Him and others.

       This, of course, is the most adequate understanding of why a person becomes a disciple of Jesus – why they would begin submitting to him as their master. It is an apprenticeship to become like Him and shaped into His likeness.

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).