I Was Glad

Prophetic Pastors 101

Pastors are not on the job to 'Save America'. We are here to announce its eventual demise and replacement with something that is already here and growing ever more powerful in this world every day - the Kingdom of God. Capitalism and Socialism are just labels for power centers that will fall. The flags of men will be folded up before the unfurled banners of Christ the King. That's what Pastor's announce. Christian Faith is not an exercise for weekend warriors. If anyone expects their Pastors to simply affirm them in their marginalizing of reality, all in the name of the so-called real and relevant, they either have the right Pastor for their pipe dream, or they are quietly being served by someone who actually loves them as he patiently subverts their false hope. There. You've been warned.

Sermon Notes for September 30, 2012

Its a Sign!
Part Three: Your Son Lives! Faith in God’s Word as the Path of Life
John 4:46-54
Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost
September 30, 2012

Have you see Signs, the exciting sci-fi thriller by M Night Shyamalan? Its not only a fun film that grossed over $425m, its also a stunning portrayal of the power of Christian signs defeating the darkness and moving people from unbelief to a recovery of authentic faith.
* “Swing away!” - he remembered the word spoken and quoted it.
* “The battle turned in the Middle East” - indeed it did!

* Sam Harris on Faith as dangerous and irrelevant
* “The most extraordinary thing about the 20th century was the failure of God to die.” - Paul Johnson

In this age of rising disbelief and misbelief we are called to be people of faith. Does it makes sense to believe? GK Chesterton said that even if he didn’t believe in God he needed his banker and his lawyer to do so! In the end Descarte couldn’t doubt that he was doubting! Perhaps like that old philosopher, a spirit of faith may yet rise from the despair of doubt crushing many. This should begin with the Church recovering her Faith in Christ!

I. Faith in the Word Come Down - John 4:46-49
A. Back to Cana and ‘Down’ to the Need - v.46-47, 49
* Where we really are: on the verge of death
* “Royal Official” - probably from Herod’s Court, but the ICU is a great equalizer.
- Romans 3:23
- He came with the faith as defined by Wordsworth - “Passionate intuition.”

B. Collective Unbelief: John 4:48
* The Word made flesh - John 1:1-3, 14
- “Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; hail the Incarnate Deity Pleased as man with man to dwell; Jesus, our Immanuel”
“Lord, come down...” - He had!
* “I can see how a man can look down upon the earth and be an atheist, but I cannot conceive how he could look up to the heavens and say there’s no God.” - Abraham Lincoln

II. Faith in the Word Spoken - John 4:50-53
A. Seeing to Believe or Believing to See? John’s Gospel is written to call us to authentic faith that rests our lives upon Jesus and his word
* John 20:26-29 - Confessing Jesus as God among us and receiving his blessing upon all who are in his faithful generation.
- We don’t have faith in miracles but rather faith in the word spoken by Jesus.
* “Do not seek to understand in order to believe, but believe that you may understand.” - St Augustine
* “Its not the parts of the Bible I don’t understand that bothers me. What bothers me are the parts of the Bible I understand only too well.” - Mark Twain
- The nobleman believes Jesus word and goes on his way. Let no parent here cease praying for their child, but as you do, go on your way believing that the One who is the Word will speak life to your child, recovering them and keeping them for the Kingdom.

B. “Hath God said...?” remains one of the most potent weapons in our enemy’s arsenal. “It is written...” remains the single most powerful one in ours!
- “How firm a foundation ye saints of the Lord is laid for your faith in his excellent word!”
- Your faith in Jesus will lead others to the same faith: 4:53


III. Faith in the Word Raised Up - John 4:54
A. Three times the Gospel records the words “Your son lives!”, making sure that we don’t miss the point (see also 1 Kings 17:23)
B. The King will see to it that The Son is not left in the clutches of death, that he is rescued from corruption and raised to life. This makes the Prince of Life the Author of Faith, the One who by his own death and resurrection brings us into his Life.
* John 5:21, 24; 20:

The Word Incarnate has comes as the sign and wonder, ‘coming down’ into our pain and desperation. He has given us his word of command by which we may come to life eternal here and now, and return to and live in the world of pain, trusting in the One who is Life and makes all things new.

“To the one who has faith no explanation is necessary. To the one without faith no explanation is possible.” - St Thomas Aquinas

Like the Nobleman we head out on our way trusting the words of Jesus, knowing he is not only our last hope, but our only hope, and the Hope of all.

Study Notes for John's Gospel, Week Three

John’s Gospel, Part Three
The Eternal Word
John 1:1-5, 14-18


This appears to be a hymn to Christ, and serves in this location as an introduction to the biography, declaring origins, ‘hymning’ praise, setting forth mission, and so on. This was typical of Hymns to the Emperor prior to a drama. John uses this structure to set out from the beginning of his narrative the identity of the Person he is summoning us to believe in so we can navigate through the story knowing all along what the people in the story don’t know.

Strophe 1 - v.1-2
Strophe 2 - v.3-5
Strophe 3 - v.10-12a
Strophe 4 - v.14-15

(as noted by BW)

That a Hymn to Christ as God was sung is hardly surprising! Note First Apology of Justin Martyr c.125. There are others as well, especially Philippians 2.

The material about John the Baptist is central to the introductory section too, demonstrating his large - and largely forgotten! - place in early Christian faith. We will take up the witness of John in three weeks time. It is not, however, part of the Christ Hymn as originally composed and so appears here as an insertion.

This structure presents the Word as God AND as Man, as the Author and Agency of creation, and as one who enters into that creation, adding it to his eternal being. We will take these up in successive weeks, noting about the Incarnation John Donne’s magnificent words, “Twas much that man was made like God before/ But that God should be made like man, much more!”


I. The Word - Logos Background

A. Greek Thought -
1. Heraclitus (600 BCE) - ‘Thought’ guiding the universe, the divine cause
2. Stoics - founded by Zeno: the universal law (natural law, common law). The passive principle of the universe is matter while the active principle is the Logos
3. Under Plutarch’s influence, the Divine Mind and Creator
* These however are pantheistic notions, one with the world through permeation, and impersonal abstract principle rather than a Person.

B. Jewish Thought - Philo
1. Logos is personal, bridging the gap between human reason and the Divine Mind
2. Logos is below God and above the Powers through which God rules his creation
3. God’s archangel, eldest offspring, ambassador to humanity. Philo seeks a middle Platonism, combining ancient and competing Greek schools with Jewish monotheism. Logos governs the World as Law governs a city.
4. Divine Wisdom - Proverbs 8:22-31; note creation via the agency of the word - Genesis 1:3; Psalm 33:6
* Also note the Wisdom of Solomon ch 8-9.

II. The Word in John 1
A. Overall View - The Pre-existent Word who is God
1. Not simply a Mediator between God and creation and/or man but is identified as ‘with God’ and as ‘God’.
2. Emphasis away from reason to revelation
3. Emphasis on reconciliation with an estranged humanity
4. Historical Human Person and Eternal Divine Person who is one with the Father and yet distinguishable from the Father.

B. John’s Logos as Torah Made Manifest (‘Instruction’ more than ‘Law’ - Nomos - in the legislative and penal sense). He is God’s Word transcending the Law of Moses (v.17).

C. He is the Creator and Agency of Creation

D. Emphatically God -

In the beginning
was
the word
and the word
was
with God
and God
was
the word
This One
was
In the beginning with God

The “X” marks the spot.

E. The Divinity of the Logos as Christ
1. God speaking to God: Psalm 110
2. God speaking of the Son as God: Hebrews 1
3. The Apostles speaking of Christ as God: Philippians 2 and Romans 14:10-12 (Isaiah 45:23ff); Colossians 2:9; Titus 2:13; 1 Corinthians 2:8 (bridging in one statement the whole John’s prologue!); 1 Timothy 3:16; and of course, John 1:18. Many other such passages could be brought forward as witnesses.

F. In Relationship With God
1. With: “Face to Face”
2. Agency of Creation - Life (Zoe)--> Light (Phos)
* Hebrews 1 and Colossians 1
* The darkness (Scotia) cannot ‘seize and overpower’ (katalambano, see also Mark 9:18) the Light that comes from God because this Light is from the very Life of God. The Light of God is invincible because the Life of God is indestructible.
3. Revealer of God
* “The Word was God”, not “the Word was the God”, for that would mean the Word was all there was to God. “God” includes the “Word” but the “Word” does not exhaust who God is.

In summary, the Word is with God and is God. All things exist through him and from him - he is involved in the whole act of creation. He is also the Word made flesh, involved in the whole work of redemption - nothing is restored without him. It is to this aspect of his Person which we will turn next - God the Word made flesh. What does the Incarnation mean and what does it accomplish?

Sermon Notes for September 23, 2012

Its a Sign!
Part Two: Ancient Lessons for Contemporary Couples
John 2:1-11
Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost
September 23, 2012

Lets return to Cana one more time to look and listen in on the first of Jesus’ seven signs he performed to reveal his glory to the disciples and ultimately to the whole world. Each sign points beyond itself to Christ’s real identity and mission, and it all begins with a wedding.

Sadly for many people a wedding is no longer a sign to them of God’s goodness and love. This miracle-sign, however, points us to Jesus and the possibilities of his grace entering into our plight.

* A word to singles: vocation and witness

* Recognizing Biblical Marriage
- Jesus sanctifies marriage by his presence and it was a marriage of a man and a woman: BCP
- Jesus does define marriage and does it from Creation not the Law. The Law, even God’s law, does not and cannot give life. Our work in the Church and the world is not FIRST about the civil order, its about the Gospel and Grace that transforms and gives life.
* Reclaiming Marriage in the Church
- Marriage redefined? Yes, about 40 years ago: No-Fault divorce.
- The State and the Church: the day may come when we refuse to recognize ‘Roman’ marriage licenses. God, not the State of Texas, defines what a marriage is.

Lessons from Six Stone Pots

I. Even Dead Marriages Can Rise - John 2:1
* Because dead people make a dead marriage and deadness has never been a problem for the Prince of Life.
There are lots of things that can kill a relationship - porn, infidelity, deception, violence, intimidation, indifference, disrespect, and mistrust - but nothing HAS to end it finally except real, actual physical death. Anything short of that is an open door for grace that is always greater than our sinful folly.

II. Invite Jesus into Your Marriage - John 2:2
* Especially when you’re in conflict, but hey, why wait?
- Invite the Merciful One, the Forgiving One, the Peacemaker
- Get ready to change.

III. Restructure the Relationship on Jesus’ Word - John 2:5
* Co-Heirs of Grace and Life.

IV. Ask to Be Filled - John 2:7
* I wake up empty every day with nothing to offer unless God fills me
- Are we helping each other find places where we meet with God?

V. Be Drawn Out and Offered Up - John 2:8
* I’m not here for me. You think your partner exists for you? To make you happy? That’s a recipe for disaster!
- God designed marriage and babies to crucify our self-centered egotistical approach to everything.
- That’s even the Biblical model for human sexuality - union and communion and protection of one another through lots and lots of it and given as a gift to the other.

VI. Expect the Best is Now not Then - John 2:9-10
* Dream Big and Rejoice in the Gift of Today.

The whole story of Redemption is the narrative of Marriage ruined and restored through love that gives all to bring life from the dead. Your marriage - even your dead one! - can, like the water made wine in Cana, become a sign of Jesus’ glory in this world.

Study Notes on John's Gospel, Part Two

Prologue to John’s Gospel
John 1
Part One - Epiphany for All: Jesus Revealed

I. The Word: John 1:1-3, 14, 18
- God and With God
A. While the other Gospels reach back to Abraham and Adam in their considerations of Jesus’ origin, John goes beyond time and space, into the realm of the eternal. The setting of Jesus’ mission is cosmic - he comes to save the world rather than Israel alone, and to save all of creation through all of history, for all things came into being through him.

B. John brackets his Gospel with the Confession of Jesus as God - John 1:1; 20:28

II. Only Begotten Son of the Father - John 1:14
A. Unique Son of the Father (see also Hebrews 11:17) - the Son has his ‘origin’ with the Father

B. Resurrected Son - Acts 13:28-35; Psalm 2; Hebrews 1:5-13; Psalm 110


III. Lamb of God/Son of God - John 1:29-34
A. Take away sins (of the world!)

B. Baptize with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1-2)


IV. Wisdom of God - John 1:35-40
* The ‘Teaching House’, or “House of Wisdom”; note Proverbs 8. This of course is more than hinted at in 1:1-5, but ‘Come and you will see’ makes it explicit. “Wisdom Christology” is very important (yet often overlooked!) in the NT: 1 Corinthians 1:24; Colossians 2:3,9, etc

V. Messiah (Anointed), King, Son of God - John 1:41-49
The King of Israel, David’s Son, who ascends the throne to rescue Israel and judge the nations: Psalm 2

VI. The New Adam - John 1:42-50
* Creation/Genesis language throughout John, especially here in chapter 1 (en arche, etc)

A. The one who names: authority, and note as well Genesis 17:5

B. The one who rescues those under the fig tree: Nathaniel, as old Adam in unbelief beneath the fig leaves, is restored by the Last Adam who gives new names to the new creation (Genesis 3). He is a son of the Messianic age and ‘sitting under his fig tree’ - Zechariah 3:10. Nathaniel is called by Christ, just as Christ sought for Philip.


VII. The Son of Man - John 1:51
A. The One who mediates heaven and earth - Genesis 28:12 (the gate of heaven, and ‘Bethel, the House of God’: note also 1:14; 2:19-21; 14:2, 23); Jesus is ‘Jacob’s Ladder’.

B. The One who reigns as God’s representative - Daniel 7
* used 14x in John
- Nathaniel, like Jacob, has rested his head on the rock and his eyes are being opened to the startling reality of where he is and with whom he is walking. Unlike Jacob, there is ‘no guile’ or ‘no deceit’ in Nathaniel. He is a true Jew.


Next week we will return to the first section of chapter one, the Prologue to John’s Gospel, looking in detail at 1:1-18.

Sermon Notes for September 16, 2012

Its a Sign!
Part One: Water to Wine at a Wedding
John 20:30-31; 2:1-11
Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost
September 16, 2012

I've been privileged to serve at a number of weddings and if there's one thing to be counted on its that something is bound to go a little haywire. That's half the fun. I think I've seen just about everything! That said, I've never witnessed the kind of social catastrophe that was unfolding in Cana in the text before us. The anxious moments surrounding a dwindling wine supply became the opportunity for the first 'sign' Jesus performed to open his new disciple's eyes to his true identity and mission. It remains true that Jesus has many admirers but few disciples; his signs point us past ourselves and our limited vision to the full impact of who he is - The Word made flesh, Immanuel, God with us.

* The Book of Signs - 7 signs that point ahead to the ultimate sign that, like the first one, was a 'third day' sign

* Why a Wedding to get things started? Because Redemption is a Love Story. It begins with a man and woman fashioned by God, in communion with him and one another; it concludes that way as well! In between those two great weddings we find this one, a wedding just like so many others, on the outskirts of Empire, far from the corridors of power, but the place where the glory really is being seen.

I. The Old Is Passing Away
A. Our Old Lives are Empty - the wine is gone

B. The Old Covenant is Passing Away - water to wine (and lots of it!)
* "The modest water saw its Maker and blushed" - Witherington



II. Behold the New has Come!
* The best for now
A. New Life Filling us to the Brim

B. New Life Transforming Us

C. New Life Drawn Out - Made New for the Joy of Another

* They saw the glory, the ‘weightiness’ of the One they were following.

Jesus came to a couple who'd run out of wine; he still does. Jesus came to people who needed to see his splendor; he still does. Jesus came to people who needed everything made new; he still does. All of the red wine in those stone pots, drawn out and tasted, pointed to another day when his blood would be drawn out, poured out, on the cross, making all things new. His life drawn out made the new covenant, inaugurated with a chalice of wine and renewed today at this Table until it reaches its fullness at the end of the Love Story called Redemption. His life will make your life new If your life has run out of wine, there is someone here with more than enough to satisfy you. He's come to the wedding. Are we out of wine? Have we reached the end of our resources? He can take this emptiness and make of it something beautiful, joyful, and glorious - something really weighty. Its a sign!

Study Guide for John's Gospel, Week One

Behold the Glory
Studies in John’s Gospel, Part One
Introduction
September 12, 2012

I. Initial Observations
A. Temple Emphasis and Pattern - John 2:1-12

1. Lamb of God: Bronze Altar - ch 1

2. Water: Laver - ch 2-5

3. Bread: Table - ch 6-7

4. Light: Lampstand - ch 8-12

5. High Priest’s Intercession: Golden Altar of Incense - ch 13-17

6. Atonement: Ark/Mercy Seat/Holy of Holies: ch 18-20

B. Trinity

1. “Father” used of God: Matthew, 23; Mark, 4; Luke, 6; but in John, 107x.

2. “Son” in relationship to the Father: Matthew, 2; Mark and Luke, 1; but in John, 18x

3. Spirit: Paraclete discourse in ch 14-16


II. The Basics

A. Purpose - John 20:30-31
* Believing and Life: “The Gospel focuses on Christology...and only in a few places on matters of discipleship and community...It intends to inculcate faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the Christ.” - Ben Witherington (BW)
- The Evangelistic Purpose
- The Pastoral Purpose

B. Genre - Ancient World Philosophical Biography
“A dramatic biography written for Christians to use for evangelistic purposes.” - BW
* note use of information needed for a largely Gentile audience: John 4:9; 5:2; 6:4; 1:28; 2:1; 6:1; 11:18

C. Source/Author: John 20:20-25
“The last of the four Gospels appears...like Melchizedek...without father, without mother, without genealogy...” - GR Beasley-Murray
1. The Originator or “Source” - The Beloved Disciple, the eye witness; Fourth Evangelist/’John’, BUT with an additional ‘writer’ (John 19:35)
2. “Final Compiler” - Community of Disciples: “We testify...”
a. A Judean Jew with deep immersion in Jewish culture and life, with unique connections to the Jerusalem hierarchy, offering a substantial critique of the Jerusalem power structure, but who would be amazed to be accused of ‘anti-semitism’: John 4:22; 5:2; 18:15-18; 19:25-28, 35; 20:1-10; 21:2. * He doesn’t clearly appear in the story until 13:23
b. Communicates well in Greek, but at a ‘readable, simple’ level.
c. The title ‘according to John’ shows up first in the late second century, but may have appeared in an early collection of the four Gospels ‘as early as AD 125’
- First attribution to John son of Zebedee is in AD 181 by Theophilus of Antioch; Then Irenaeus (end of second century) recalls that he heard from Polycarp (mid second century) that Polycarp had spoken with ‘John’ from Ephesus (end of first century) who was an eyewitness to Jesus ministry and was the Beloved Disciple (Against Heresies 3.1.2); Eusebius (fourth century) quotes Papias (early second century) who in his writing is making clear references to John’s Gospel. Yet Papias’ quote infers two men named John as ‘disciples’ - John son of Zebedee and ‘John the elder’.
- So perhaps it is John the Elder who is the Beloved Disciple, a title his community may well have ascribed to him (certainly not one he would have used of himself), and this is why the language of the Gospel is so very like that of the Epistles, which do indeed refer to John the Elder. I would suggest that 1 John is a sermon/homily, while 2 and 3 John are ‘letters’ in the more traditional sense.
* Papias was Bishop of Hierapolis in first part of the second century, and claims a knowledge of and contact with John. Eusebius wrote that John lived until the time of Trajan, and so I would suggest that -
i. John the Elder wrote and preached to sustain his community through the persecution of Domitian (AD 96) and lived in Ephesus, where he also died, past the end of the first century - but not much past it! This, in turn, gave rise to the final ‘edit’ of the Gospel (John 21), that was attached to the already largely finished written version produced as early as 60 (note the way Jerusalem is viewed) and as late as 90, no doubt going through some developmental stages.
- I don’t believe this is the John of Revelation, who sees the Apostles as other than himself, and identifies himself as a ‘prophet’, though he does have a relationship with the churches in Asia Minor, of which Ephesus was one.

D. Overall Structrue

1. Prologue - 1:1 - 18

2. Book of Christ’s Signs and Sermons - 1:19 - 11:57

3. Book of Christ’s Passion (Fulfilling all Signs and Sermons) - 12:1 - 20:29

4. Postlude - 20:30-31

5. Addendum of Veracity - 21


III. Key Elements

* Glory Christology and Sanctuary Presence

A. Seven Signs

B. Seven ‘I AM’ Sayings (Ego Eimi

C. Seven Discourses (Interwoven with the Signs)

D. Movement! Watch for directional words, like ‘up’ and ‘down’, ano and kato

E. Imagery: “There was a wedding on the third day...”

In all these things and through all these means John invites us to come the wedding and with the disciples ‘see his glory’, ‘glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth’ (John 1-2). Let us then give thanks for the prayer Jesus has prayed for us: “Father, I desire that they also whom Thou hast given me may be with me where I am, so that they may see My Glory which thou hast given me. Amen.”



We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And to know the place for the first time.

- TS Eliot

Scorched Earth to Paradise: The Transformational Power of the Gospel

Isaiah 35
From Scorched Earth to Paradise: The Gospel as Transformational Truth
Sunday Evening Worship
September 9, 2012

The Arrival of the Kingdom of Grace – Isaiah 35

A. “Salvation” - it is personal, cultural, and comprehensive; it is the result of judgment overflowing in redemption: Isaiah 35:1-4
· God is “just and the justifier” (Romans 3:21 ff)
· There is no salvation without just judgment
· One of the hallmarks of godless anti-christian “gospel” is to neglect or deny the wrath of God. This denies the need for atonement and proposes reconciliation apart from judgment on sin.
- “The idea of substitutionary atonement is nothing more than cosmic child abuse.” So claimed British “evangelist” Steve Chalke. No, atonement reveals both justice and mercy, which find their reconciliation only in the Triune God of Grace.

B. Salvation is New Creation: Isaiah 35:5-7

C. Salvation is Pathway: Isaiah 35:8-10
* Grace leads the “delivered” on the “highway of holiness” and on to Zion

Note how this corresponds to a portion of what is generally referred to as “ordo salutis ”: justification leads to sanctification and then to glorification (Romans 8:29ff).

But this very personal application of the Gospel always leads forward to familial and cultural applications of the Gospel. Christian Faith is not simply contra-cultural but rather transformational of culture in every respect. It sees and hears in the current culture’s narrative (expressed in the arts - film, stage, novel, painting and sculpture) the aspirations, fears, rebellion, and anxieties of that culture. Taking a ‘Taliban’ approach to culture is not Biblical - whether one starts with Genesis or with Paul.

* The application of Neihbur’s Christ and Culture model to contemporary ministry in the city.
- Note Tim Keller’s approach in NYC.

Questions for Thought -

1. Have you rejected the idea of just judgment as central to salvation?

2. How does knowing one is righteous in Christ transform the anxious heart?

3. How does personal transformation lead to cultural transformation?

4. How do you view your culture, your city? What are its idols, and what are its blessings and hopes?

Sermon Notes for September 9, 2012

Becoming a Disciple, Part Four
Following Jesus on the Road to Jerusalem
Mark 10:46-52; 11:1-6
Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost
September 9, 2012

By way of review -

“Disciple” - mathetes: an apprentice

What Bartimaeus has shown us -

* The Necessity of Confessing Our Blindness - that following Jesus begins by admitting that we can’t see and can’t live without him.
* The Necessity of Receiving Mercy - that only Jesus can heal our brokenness and make us vessels of mercy
* The Necessity of Living by Faith, that we believe in order to see, walking by faith in Jesus and not by the sight that is so limited.

I. Because We Follow on the Road, Being a Disciple Involves Leaving Some Things Behind - Mark 10:50
* There is always something that Jesus’ followers leave behind
- nets by a seashore, and a father too: Matthew 4
- a pitcher for water: John 4
* This has always been the case, from Joshua serving Moses to Elisha serving Elijah
* “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” - Jim Elliot

II. Because we Follow on the Road, Being a Disciple Involves Embracing the Unknown Future - Mark 10:52- 11:1
* Peter ; “What about him?”, to which Jesus replied, “None of your business; you follow me.” - John 21:21-22
- Mark is recording the sermons of Peter.
* Would what was coming next in Jerusalem deterred Bartimaeus from following Jesus had he known the nature of the approaching storm? And what about you?

III. Because we Follow on the Road, Being a Disciple Means Union with Jesus in his Suffering as Well as his Glory - Mark 10:52; 11:1-6
* “Do you know what I have done to you?” - John 13
- Not FOR you! TO you!!
* Discipleship begins with baptism and continues with teaching; it means growing to be like Christ, conformed to his image (Romans 8:29). Is that happening? How do we know unless we have opportunities
- to love those who hate us?
- to suffer for the benefit of others?
- to serve as the highest expression of faith?
- to forgive those who sin against us?

Don’t misunderstand what you’ve become part of in being joined to this community called the Church. Its a school of discipleship. That means that here, right here, with these people - as opposed to the Christians you wish you could hang with! - you will be presented with opportunity after opportunity to leave things behind, embrace the unknown, and suffer with Jesus so you can actually experience glory. Here, right here, you will be able to love some haters, offer your suffering as a gift, volunteer to serve, and forgive people who sin against you. Or not. You can always just go to another congregation where, guess what, you’ll get the same opportunities. Why? Because, as it turns out, you’ve become a disciple, a radical Jesus follower.

Living by Faith - Sermon Notes for September 2, 2012

Becoming a Disciple, Part Three
Living by Faith
Mark 10:46-52
Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost
September 2, 2012

We’ve been standing in the crowd watching the helpless, blind beggar Bartimaeus sitting at the gates of Jericho become a seeing, dancing disciple of Jesus, following him on the road to Jerusalem. How did that happen? Well Jesus ‘happened’ of course. Yet its also true that Jesus told Bartimaeus that it was his faith that had made him well. Bartimaeus was given a gift greater than sight, the gift that led to seeing and dancing - the gift of faith. Yes, ‘the faith’ is an objective body of truth, but ‘faith’ as it is used here is a subjective trust in another, in this case in the Other!

* Faith as the Gift of God
- Ephesians 2:8-10; Romans 1:17
- Faith isn’t a merit or something that merits God’s favor. Faith is a gift that lays hold of Christ’s merit and makes his work our only sufficiency before God.

I. Faith is Resting - in the perfect and finished work of Jesus.
* “Faith in Jesus Christ is a saving grace whereby we receive and rest upon him alone as he is offered to us in the Gospel.” - WSC 86

* Faith is ‘an absolute transfer of trust from ourselves to another.’
- BB Warfield

- A ‘person of faith’? That’s true of demons, as James wrote! Faith is authenticated by its object not its mere presence. Saving faith is faith in Jesus, and that is why Bartimaeus called out to him so desperately. This is Biblical faith, trust in Christ that arises from a heart made new. We don’t have faith and so become new, we are made new and so have faith.

II. Faith is Wrestling - with the doubts we encounter and the enemies we face.
A. It is by faith alone that we are justified but the faith that justifies is never alone.
- Hebrews 11:1-3, 32-39
- Sometimes faith means shutting a lion’s mouth and sometimes faith means chains and death.

B. Faith is not something we leave at the starting blocks of the race we’re running, but rather the fuel that propels us from beginning to end, ‘through many dangers, toils, and snares...’
- “Faith seeks understanding.” - St Anselm.
* This is certainly true, yet God owes us no explanations. I am all for apologetics, but the finest apologetics cannot and do not answer every possible problem or objection. The ultimate apologetic is Jesus himself - and thus the ultimate stumbling block too! There are many questions for which I have but partial and inadequate answers, matters I am still searching out; mystery, paradox, contradiction - all remain. But in this search and in my questions, I have Jesus and Jesus has me.

* “It is not ,strictly speaking, even faith in Christ that saves us, but Christ who saves us through the gift of faith. The saving power resides exclusively, not in the act of faith itself, but in the object of faith...Christ himself.” - BB Warfield
- Thank God! My faith is weak - yes; but my Savior is strong!

This also means that faith in Jesus Christ is not faith in a formula, but rather in the realities a theological formula expresses. One can be a very orthodox demon! Authentic faith is faith in Jesus himself - “The believer’s act of faith does not terminate on propositions, but in the realities such express.” - St Thomas Aquinas

It is moreover true that while I must believe as an individual I never believe all alone. We are personally saved by Jesus but we are never saved in isolation. We hear the Gospel - and so believe - through the work of others, and we confess and live our faith with and before others as well. The whole Church is a community of faith, of trust in Jesus.


III. Faith is Rising - to the high calling of being a disciple now and a saint who dwells with Jesus forever.
Faith is not ‘for this life only’ (1 Corinthians 15), but rather embraces all of this life with the perspective of what is yet to be. Faith not only looks back at the finished work of Christ on the cross, and upward to the intercession of Christ on his throne, but forward to the future of joining Christ in his glory. We not only live by faith, but die in faith - and that, writes Paul, is gain!
* Hebrews 12:1-3; 2 Corinthians 5:7; Philippians 1:21
- “...we contemplate the blessedness of faith even now...as if we already possessed the wonderful things which our faith assures us we shall one day enjoy.” - St Basil

Bartimaeus did not go back for the cloak he cast aside, and forgot about his reserved seat at the main gates of Jericho. He could see now, by faith, and was too busy following and rejoicing to ponder such trivialities. He was on his way with Jesus and headed to Jerusalem.

So are you.

For Bartimaeus faith came before sight...that's the way it is for us all.