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Sermon Archive - September 20, 1998
Pastor Danielson
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1 Timothy 2:1-7
Take another glance at our "Gospel Lesson for the Day." I'm not going to read
any portion of it again but, I ask you -- how many readers and listeners would
cite this scripture as their favorite? Very few, I suspect. Luke 16:1-13 is,
at first and last sight, both complicated and confusing. Not only is it a
difficult text to understand, but when I think I understand it, I don't think
I like it very much.
Fortunately, we have an exceptional Epistle Lesson and I'm not embarrassed to
give way to it. You may have noticed that over the last several weeks,
coincidentally or providentially, every one of our lessons from Paul's First
Letter to Timothy seems to speak directly to happenings in our nation's
capital ---and does so in marvelous ways. Listen again to this Sunday's text:
". . .I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings
be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we can lead a quiet and peaceful
life in all godliness and dignity. This is right and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour, who desires
everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." (1 Timothy 2:1-7)
AND, likewise last week's lesson from the same epistle :
"The saying is sure and worthy of acceptance,
that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners
---of whom I am the foremost.
"But for that very reason I received mercy,
so that in me, as the foremost (of sinners),
Jesus Christ might display the utmost in patience,
making me an example to those
who would come to believe in him for eternal life."
(1 Tim. 1:12-17)
Hearing God speak so clearly through the inspired words of the Apostle Paul I
feel, as so many preachers often feel, that I should simply sit down and let
these two portions of Scripture speak for themselves. But, I'm not going to do
that. That would be too easy. Nor will I stand in this pulpit and pontificate
about who is right and who is wrong, who's the saint and who's the sinner.
What I will do is call your attention to a few points of interest that can be
derived from these texts.
First off -- what amazes me is that these Epistle lessons were not assigned to
this season of the Church Year last month, they were assigned centuries ago.
Ponder the providential nature of that fact for a moment.
Secondly, you should note that not only is this Sunday's epistle reading
located in a portion of "1st Timothy" that focuses primarily on prayer in the
context of worship, but it is also significant that the body of this letter
opens with a command to pray. According to Paul prayer is the heartbeat of
public worship. Without prayer, the church is empty, no matter how full. With
prayer, the church is empowered, no matter how empty.
Furthermore -- since prayers for political leaders had long been a part of
Jewish worship, Paul wants to make sure that this is a heritage from Judaism
that is adopted by the new Christian church. Thus Paul's first directive is
that everyone should be included in our "worship prayers" -- kings and those
in high positions being a very good beginning.
Paul reiterates in verse 4 that prayers at worship are for "everyone"
precisely because God wants them to be for everyone -- even as God wants
everyone to be saved. (It is important to note here that God does not will
everyone to be saved but indeed, he wants everyone to be saved).
Finally ---here and throughout the pastoral epistles, the focus is on the
unlimited, all-encompassing, saving grace of God made possible by Christ
through prayer. No mention here of sacraments.
The implications here are two-fold:
A) All of us have the choice as to whether we will accept God's grace.
B) If God wants everyone to be saved, it is imperative for God's people to do
everything in their power to make certain that the good news is shared in ways
that are conducive to helping people accept the Word and bring necessary
change into their hearts? Suddenly we're talking "EVANGELISM"-- aren't we!
This morning, between services, a small group of determined individuals who
call themselves the "Evangelism /Fellowship Committee" will gather in the
church library for their regular, monthly meeting. For those of you who are
afraid of the word "evangelism," the passage before us is a good place to
start to understand what Jim Benton and his "faithful few" are all about. They
put into action that which can have its true beginning only with
congregational prayer. Paul says that through prayer the congregation seeks
God's guidance as to how to share the Word; through prayer the congregation
ask God to place before us a sense of "to whom" he (God) believes we can best
communicate the Word -- prospective members, inactive members, or folks "out
there" who have simply fallen through the cracks of the institutional church.
And, through prayer we can humble ourselves with the knowledge that without
God's good work in us we cannot effectively evangelize.
Whether we are brand, spanking new members of the Church or whether we are
among those fortunate enough to have been held in God's arms for many years,
Paul reminds us that we are saved through the efforts of Jesus Christ, who
died for all of us and is mediator for us whether we seek to save or seek to
be saved ---evangelize or be evangelized.
Throughout my seminary years we read a lot of Reinhold Niebuhr as well as,
some works of his brother Richard. It was Reinhold that offered this very
telling observation:
"Nothing that is worth doing (and here Niebuhr is talking about what is
really, really worth doing; like putting an end to hunger, or racism, or war,
or evangelizing) . . . Nothing that is (really) worth doing can be achieved in
our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope. Nothing which is true, or
beautiful, or good, makes complete sense in any immediate context of history;
therefore we must be saved by faith. Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be
accomplished alone; therefore we must be saved by love." -- Reinhold Niebuhr,
The Irony of American History (New York: Scribner, 1952).
Regardless of a person's position in society, or that they are comfortable
financially, or that they have many accomplishments, life still may throw them
a curve ball. All of God's children stand in need of our prayers and our
evangelizing.
In his book, Reaching Out, Henri Nouwen wrote, "Prayer is often considered a
weakness, a support system, which is used when we can no longer help
ourselves. Prayer, therefore, is a great adventure because the God with whom
we enter into a new relationship is greater than we are and defies all our
calculations and predictions."
It is then within the context of Nouwen's understanding of prayer that I would
add:
- Feeling overwhelmed by your problems? Pray for someone else whose burdens are
equal to or greater than your own.
- Feeling resentment toward a family member or coworker at the office? Give
thanks to God for that person, asking God to let him or her be an instrument
of growth in your life.
- Feeling alone and in the dark, uncertain where to go next? Pray, asking God to
shed the light of divine wisdom in your soul.
- Feeling critical of others? Thank God for the objects of your criticism, and
ask God to make them a blessing wherever they go.
- Feeling bitterness toward others who have succeeded where you have failed?
Pray for their continued success.
- Feeling impatient with the pace of your spiritual growth? Thank God for your
progress so far.
- Feeling unforgiving toward others? Perhaps this is the heart of the matter.
How can we be true, active, evangelizing Christians, praying and thanking God,
unless we have an attitude of forgiveness?
AMEN.
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