Mark 13:28,29: the First Sprig of Spring.

Presented to The Swift Current Community Advent Lunch Series at St. Olaf’s Lutheran Church, 01 December 2011 and Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army, 04 December 2011.[1] 
By Captain Michael Ramsay

Mark 13:28,29: “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door.”

Now I grew up in Victoria, BC. There we would always have a green Christmas. Growing up there, we had snow maybe once every four years or so and when we did, it was gone in about a week. Every February, when much of our great country is still covered in snow, Victoria has its annual flower count. I recently found the statistics for 2002. In that year Victoria counted 8,521,514,876 flowers on that day in February.[2]

When I first moved to the Prairies some years ago now – we lived in Winnipeg – I noticed that Februaries in Winnipeg are a little bit different than in Victoria. Instead of + 8 billion flowers, in Winnipeg we had what felt like - 8 billion degree temperatures.

It is great here on the Prairies though. My girls really love sledding. They love skating and curling and whenever the snow is suitable you can see them building snow people. Our girls were 3 and 4 when we moved to Winnipeg and we lived a short walk from a really good sledding hill so we would go quite often and when we did it was a lot of fun. Inevitably, too, on our walk home there was a ‘Subway’ sandwich shop that we would walk past so we would always have to stop for a hot chocolate and a cookie after sledding. The girls and I came to really look forward to that. Winter is great… but you know what? We have been living on the Prairies for a few years now and when the end of May – or the beginning of June (!) – rolls around and there is still snow on the ground – I am ready for it to be over.

By the time the snow starts to melt, by the time the trees start to sprout and we can see for ourselves that summer is near, I am quite happy. As fun as sledding to the Subway for a cookie with the kids in the winter is, it is also good to ride our bikes to the Dairy Queen for an ice-cream cone on a hot summer day! And by the end of May I can tell you that I am much more looking forward an ice-cream cone in the heat than a cookie in the cold.

Mark 13:28,29: “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door.”

This is the same sort of idea that our text today is talking about.[3] We all know that in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve (Genesis 3; See also Romans 5:14) -instead of watching squirrels and counting blossoms- they decided to listen to a snake and eat forbidden fruit. This probably wouldn’t have been quite so bad except for the problem that their Father in Heaven had just finished telling them not to do this. So when God caught his children disobeying Him and then deliberately trying to deceive Him about it, God was disappointed and He gave them a time-out from Paradise, the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:23-24, Hosea 6:7, Romans 5:12-14). This is the ‘Fall’; we were separated from God because of this original sin – eating the fruit, disobeying God and then deliberately trying to deceive Him about it.

And this is just the beginning. We the people are not necessarily the best children of God that we should be. Genesis tells us that the people were so bad God felt that He needed to destroy the earth by a flood (Genesis 6-9; see also 2 Peter 2:5). Exodus saw the Hebrews dragged kicking and screaming into the Promised Land. The generation that left Egypt was so bad that God didn’t let any of them - save Joshua and Caleb – even enter the land promised them (Numbers 14:21-24; Deuteronomy 1:31-40; see Hebrews 4:1-13). More than once they voted not to follow God, but – Praise the Lord - God’s Kingdom isn’t a democracy so He saved their children in spite of themselves. Judges tells us that instead of following God the people at that time just did whatever was popular. They did what was right in their own eyes: they did evil in the sight of the Lord and they suffered the natural consequences of that (see Judges 21). Solomon, the wisest man ever to live, even made the serious mistake of turning his back on God and as a result half of his Kingdom was torn from his own children and grandchildren (1 Kings 11). This is all a part of the winter of our sin.

Throughout the times of the kings and the prophets, often Baal worship was more popular than worshipping the Lord (See Joshua 2:11-13; Judges 3:7, 6:25ff., 8:3, 10:10; 1 Samuel 7:4, 12:10, 1 Kings 16- 22; 2 Kings 1-10, 17:16, 21:3; 2 Chronicles 28:2, 33:3; Jeremiah 2, 7, 9, 11, 19, 23, 32; Hosea 2; 9:10, 11:12). If there was something like the TV Show ‘Canadian Idol’ back then - Israelite Idol - the people many times over would have voted for Baal over the Lord. Though there were some exceptions to this: Remember when the prophets of Baal and Elijah, atop Mt. Carmel, when they had a ‘So you think you can dance’ dance-off of sorts (1 Kings 18:16-45)? The prophets of Baal anyway had quite a long and elaborate dance routine but God blessed Elijah by raining down fire and He won the competition (1 Kings 18:38). This was more the exception than the rule though and this is all part of the long cold winter of our consequences of our original and subsequent sins. But we know – like Jesus tells us in our Scriptures today that spring is coming (see also Romans 13:11-12).

Through the Biblical record though this sin, like winter, continued of course. Leviticus tells us that we the people failed to look after the land (Leviticus 25:1-23) and Jeremiah tells us that it was taken away from the Israelites because of this (Jeremiah 15:11, 19:10; 2 Chronicles 36:20-21).[4] Isaiah, Amos and the other prophets tell us that the people cared more about wealth than about taking care of the poor, the widow and the immigrant (Cf. Isaiah 3:14, 15, 10:2, 11:4, 26:6, 32:7, 41:17, 58:7, 61:1; Amos 4:1, 5:11-12, 8:4-6). In Israel of the Old Testament some became rich and some became poor and even though, as Jesus would later tell us, that the whole Law and the prophets were summed up in the command to love God and love your neighbour (Matthew 22:34-40); we the people didn’t do this. We continued to put ourselves first. We continued to do what was right in our own eyes. We continued freezing outside in the winter of our sins when the blossoms of God’s love just wanted to envelope us instead. And now when Jesus is speaking, as recorded in our text today, he tells us to “…learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door” (Mark 13:28,29).

In our world today we still see a lot of problems. Crime in Canada is higher than it ever used to be. According to the CCVF, it is so bad now that many people are losing faith in the authorities abilities to stop it that in many cases charges aren’t even being filed anymore.[5] Even economic crime is on the rise in Canada with Reuters reporting that 56 percent of companies surveyed recently (more than half of them) reported falling prey to white-collar crime.[6]  And – of course – in our winter of sin there is pornography, which horribly is North America’s most lucrative pastime. In the United States, pornography revenue is more than all money made from professional football, baseball and basketball combined. The money made by US pornography exceeds the combined revenues of all their major TV networks (6.2 billion) Child pornography alone generates more than $3 billion annually.[7]

We are still in the winter of our sin but summer is coming (See Romans 13:11-12); Jesus is coming back. The metaphorical snow of sin is still on the ground but as Jesus assures us, “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door” (Mark 13:28,29).

There is this good news if we look around. Jesus himself was the first blossom.[8] He is the branch of Jesse (Zechariah 6:11-13; Isaiah 11:1)[9] and he is the first blossom as well. He shows us and teaches us in parables about the Kingdom of God. He tells us again and again as recorded in this the Gospel of Luke that the Kingdom of God is at hand. It is here. It is in His presence. When we are in Jesus’ presence we see the buds coming through on the trees (see also John 14). It is like Matthew 25:31-40 says,

 “‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

 "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

 "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'”

 And when we share the Good News of God’s love we too are a part of those blossoms of the spring of Christ’s love. In The Salvation Army alone – and we are only one of many Christians denominations in this country - we are one of the world’s largest social services providers. In this country, we also have the blessing of being on the frontlines in the fight against sex slavery; we run food banks, shelters, serve over 2.5 million meals a year and help more than 10 000 people out of their addictions and –again- we are only one part of the Christian Church in Canada and as you and I, as we all share the love of Christ with our neighbours - through our actions and our words both corporate and individual – when we share the love of Christ with our neighbours as bad as the world may seem today in the winter of our sin, we can all be part of those first blossoms that have been sprouting through Jesus, the Branch of Jesse, ever since His first advent 2000 years ago. This past Sunday was the first Sunday of our Advent season. As the first bud of spring sprouted with Jesus coming to live among us all those many years ago and as we know too that Jesus is coming back and Jesus is coming back soon. When he does that will be when all the trees are in full bloom covered in the blossoms of spring and when he comes what a day of rejoicing that will be. This is something for us all to look forward to in the advent season ahead.

Let us pray.

   http://www.sheepspeak.com/
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[1] Based on Captain Michael Ramsay, Luke 21:29-31: the First Sprigs of Spring, presented to St. Stephen the Martyr Anglican Church, Swift Current, Saskatchewan, 29 November 2009. Available on-line: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2009/11/luke-2129-31-first-sprigs-of-spring.html

[2] One of many sources for this: Human Flower Project: http://www.humanflowerproject.com/index.php/weblog/comments/whos_counting_we_and_victoria/

[3] Cf. Gerard S. Sloyan, John (Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching: Atlanta, Georgia: John Knox Press, 1988), 5 and Joel B Green, The Gospel of Luke (NICNT 3: Grand Rapids, Michigan / Cambridge, UK: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1997), 25.

[4] Cf. Michael Ramsay, Leviticus 25 1-23 in the Context of the Holiness Code: The Land Shall Observe a Sabbath. Presented to William and Catherine Booth College (Fall 2006). Available on-line: http://www.sheepspeak.com/OT_Michael_Ramsay.htm#Leviticus 25 1-23

[5] LORRIE GOLDSTEIN, Canadian Crime Victim Foundation (Toronto: Oct 25, 2009), cited November 22, 2009. Available on-line: http://www.ccvf.net/articles.cfm?pageID=articles&subpageID=news&viewID=75 : Every five years, Statistics Canada conducts the General Social Survey. It asks a representative sample of Canadians, among other things, whether they have been crime victims.  From the last survey in 2004 (the next one is being conducted now, with the findings to be released next year) Statistics  Canada reached the following conclusions.  First, progressively fewer Canadians who are crime victims are reporting the crime to police -- only 34% in 2004, compared to 37% in 1999.  Second, based on the GSS, an estimated 92% of sexual assaults were never reported to police, 46% of break-ins, 51% of motor  vehicle/parts thefts, 61% of physical assaults and 54% of robberies.

[6] Economic crime rate rises in Canada, report says (Thu Nov 19, 2009 3:14pm EST) cited November 21, 2009. Available on-line: http://ca.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idCATRE5AI52E20091119 : "Some 56 percent of companies surveyed reported falling prey to white-collar crime during the period, the 2009 PricewaterhouseCoopers' Economic Crime Survey showed. That's a 10 percentage point increase over 2003 and a 4 point increase from two years ago."

[7] Christian Technology Solutions, Pornography Industry Statistics. Cited 21 November, 2009. Available on line: http://christiantechnologysolutions.com/content/view/18/24/

[8] Cf. E. Earle Ellis. The Gospel of Luke (The New Century Bible: Grand Rapids, MI, Eerdmans, 1981), p. 242.

[9] Cf. Mary L. Coloe, “Temple Imagery in the Gospel of John.” Interpretation: a Journal of Bible and Theology 63, no. 4 (October 2009): 368-381.

Mark 13:24-37: Happy New Year!

Presented to Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army, 27 Nov 2011
Presented to each the Nipawin & Tisdale Corps, 30 November 2008[1]

by Captain Michael Ramsay

    

To view the original 2008 version click here: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2008/11/mark-1332-37-hope-for-happy-new-year.html

   

Happy New Year: does anyone know why I would wish you a happy new year today? Today is the beginning of Advent. In traditional liturgical churches, Advent is the beginning of the church year where we celebrate the first coming of Christ and celebrate the hope that is in his anticipated return. Now often at New Years there are all kinds of quizzes; so I thought that I would put a little tongue-in-cheek one together for us today. Quiz:

What do these times and dates have in common: 8:00 AM October 19, 1533; April 5, 1534; March 21 and October 22, 1844; Sept. 10, 1979; Dec. 31, 1981; Sept 11 -13, 1988; March 31, 1991; October 20, 1997; May 21 and October 21, 2011; December 12, 2012?

A: They are various people’s predictions for the end of time date.

What do these people have in common: Nero, the Pope, Mikhail Gorbachev, Prince Charles, the US President, and David Hasselhoff?[2]

A. They were/ are various people’s predictions for ‘The’ Anti-Christ.

Now this next one is a good one. It is a riddle –you’ll have to pay attention. Someone has figured out a way to ‘out’ the beast of Revelation by using a Latin-based number system to solve the riddle of ‘666’ – let’s see together of we can solve the riddle and figure out for ourselves who is the beast of John’s Apocalypse?

Given that 666 is the number of the Beast, first we must break that number down into its component parts in such away that when we reassemble them and add them back together, they will total 666.

I will give you this part. If we break 666 down into decimal equivalents, it should look like this: 100. 5. 5. 50. 500 .1 .

Let’s do the math to prove we are right: so we have 100 + 5 =105 + 5 = 110 + 50 = 160+500=660+5+1= 666

So then mathematically proving as we did that these are the component parts of the number of the beast, we will need to translate them into Roman numerals as this was the number system in use at the time that the riddle of ‘666’ was written. Let’s see how we do?

               100   =   C

               5       =   V

               5       =   V

               50     =   L

               500   =   D

               1       =   I

               5       =   V

              CV VL DIV

Now if we expand this ancient Roman system using new web-based lettering for reassembling fragmented texts, we get the following:

CVT PVRPL DINOSVR

Accounting for the fact that Roman lettering had no ‘U’ and used a ‘V’ instead and adding the missing ‘E’s and ‘A’s, we find out from this that the one the number points to as the beast… is…

A CUTE PURPLE DINOSAUR; and we all know who the cute purple dinosaur who is leading children astray… Barney the dinosaur! “I love you; you love me!’

This tongue-in-cheek mathematical proof was published in Science Askew in 2001.[3] This is silly right…we all know that an imaginary purple dinosaur is not the Anti-Christ…anymore than David Hasselhoff or the mayor of Swift Current, or whomever.

About the end of times though, our text today (Mark 13:24-37) says clearly in verses 32 and 33: “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come….” So instead of just hoping for Christ’s return, why do we waste our time with this stuff? – People in general, I mean, why do we? I don’t think that I have ever gone an entire year without hearing someone thinking that they are smarter than God incarnate, Jesus, and telling the whole part of the world that they can reach that they have solved the puzzle about the end of time.

Remember earlier this year, the Californian preacher, Harold Camping of Family Radio, telling the world that ‘rapture’ would occur and the world would end on May 21^st?  One of my favourite comments about that was this: The day after the rapture was supposed to take place, a news commentator seeking to calm the distraught followers of this fellow that that was the day said, “Cheer up, it’s not the end of the world.” When the end didn’t come that day, Family Radio revised the date to October 21^st, which also came and went without the destruction of the world. A few years ago too, I heard a southern preacher being played on the local Christian station (Lighthouse FM) going on and on about how the then leader of Syria is the anti-Christ who will usher in the end of times at such and such a date. Before the US invasion of Iraq, we heard of a number of these so-called ‘Christian pastors’ telling people that they know the unknowable day and hour and that Sadam, as their country’s current adversary must be the antichrist. Dante, himself, located many prominent churchmen of his day in Hell, as did some Reformers and Counter-Reformers in the Reformation and Catholics and Orthodox at the time of the East-West Schism…

Why do we profess to know what we do not know? Why do we pretend to know what we cannot know? And why are reckless people, espousing Christianity, claiming that they know the unknowable specifics of the end of time and, seemingly, leading so many people astray?

Whenever I hear someone say that the world will end on this day or that day or so-and-so is the anti-Christ, I wonder if they themselves by intentionally saying the opposite of what the Bible teaches is true - sometimes I wonder if these people may indeed be antichrists themselves…at the very least they are very confused.

After all, we know, of course, like 1 John 2:18ff says that there are many antichrists and that anyone who denies Jesus as Lord is an antichrist who must and will be overcome (1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3) and 2 John 2:1-7 says this:

[There are] Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch out that you do not lose what you have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. 

If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take him into your house or welcome him. Anyone who welcomes him shares in his wicked work.

Anyone, anyone who does not continue in the faith but rather teaches against it is an antichrist, John says. And Jesus says about this end of times that people seem to like to talk about so much: “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come….”

This is important, I think often times we get distracted by discussing things like ‘pre-trib’, ‘post-trib’, and ‘amillennialism.’ I think we often get distracted by adiaphorons, which are matters of spiritual indifference really. We get distracted by what Timothy refers to as a ‘vain jangling’ (KJV) or ‘meaningless talk’ (1 Timothy 1:3-8, NIV, NRSV). We really shouldn’t worry about who or if there is an arch-end of times antichrist or on what date or at what time the world may come to an end (Matthew 6:25ff; Luke 12:22ff; cf. Matthew 10:19, 13:11; Luke 12:11, 21:14; cf. also, in contrast, Philippians 4:4; cf. Matthew 5:12; Luke 6:23; John 16:22; Romans 5; Philippians 2:17-18, 3:1; 1 Peter 4:13). As fun as some of the things we discuss may be; at best there is a time and a place for them but we really must remember that ‘no one knows the time or the hour’ and we must be careful not to lead or be led astray by various false teachers (Mark 13:22).

Actually as I say this I am reminded of a person I know on the west coast, Michael Collins; he is quite an evangelist. He is a Salvationist and he has a love for the Lord and a passion for souls. He does have a rather long spiel where he states that he does know when Jesus is coming back. As part of his spiel he tells us how much he has studied eschatology, the end of times, and that he is convinced that he knows when Jesus is coming back based right in the scriptures (Matthew 24:32-35,36-51; 25:1-13, 14-30; Mark 13:28-37…) He says without a doubt Jesus is coming back and he knows when  - He says Jesus is coming back … soon. And this is true.

We know this is true. Jesus will come back ‘like a thief in the night’ (Matt 24:33; 1 Thessalonians 5:2); he will come back when no one expects him to, the Bible says, and he is coming back soon (Mark 13:22;Matthew 24:43,44; 25:1-13). And this is the truth of our text today – Jesus says he is coming back and he is coming back soon. Our hope comes from Jesus and our hope should be in Jesus, as this is the case, are we ready?

I had mentioned that today is indeed the Christian New Year and New Year is often a time to look forward in hopes of a better world and of reflection upon what has transpired in the year before; as our hope is in Jesus, are we ready for his return? Do we believe that tomorrow might really be the day when Jesus will come back and that the world and/or your or my life here might end? If we did know that tomorrow was the end of our life here for sure would we, would I do anything different?

As our hope is in Christ, we know that if we deny Jesus, he will deny us (Matthew 10:33); so looking back today as people like to do on New Years, on this Christian New Years Day, how have we done this past year at being bold for the gospel (Philippians 1)? We know that as Jesus says, if we love him we will obey his commands (John 15; cf. Romans 2:7; Jude 1:21)? This includes loving God, loving our neighbour, and laying down our lives for Jesus. How have we done this past year laying down our lives for others and for Jesus? How have we done at listening to and obeying God’s commands rather then just listening to and obeying mans’ or our own whims or personal values? And in this New Year ahead how can we show that we do have hope in Jesus Christ?

In John Chapter 3 is recorded the Pharisee Nicodemus’ coming to Jesus. Jesus tells him that if he hopes to see the Kingdom of God then we must be born again (of the Spirit) and really, actually believe in God’s son. (Cf. also John 5, 6, 12, 17:1b-4; Acts 13; Galatians 6:8; 1 Timothy 1,6; Titus; 1 John.) This past year have we given any reasons for someone to believe that we may have indeed been born again? Are we any different than anyone else? Do we rely on God’s Spirit? And in this year ahead how can we show this hope that we have in Jesus?

In Luke 10, someone asks Jesus what he must do to fulfil the hope of eternal life. Jesus affirms that we must “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ and, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’” (Cf. 1 John 3:15). As an example of loving ones neighbour, Jesus tells the parable of the ‘Good Samaritan’ where a person puts his life and his finances (which sadly seems to be even more important to people these days) on the line for a stranger when no one else will help him (Luke 10:25-37). This past year how have we done at loving God and loving our neighbours in this way? Have we, in Jesus’ name, put ourselves on the line for others? In this upcoming Christian year how do we resolve to show this hope that we have in Jesus?

Matthew records the parable of ‘The Sheep and the Goats’ (Matt 25:31ff.). In this parable two groups of people bow before the Lord as King. One goes to eternal salvation and the other to eternal damnation; the difference…the one group, whose hopes are realised, serves the Lord by, when someone is hungry giving them something to eat, when one is thirsty giving them something to drink, when someone is a stranger inviting them in, when someone needs clothes clothing them, when someone is sick looking after them, when one is in prison coming to visit him. For we serve the Lord by serving each other in this way. Let us all resolve here today to serve the Lord in this way and so show this hope that we have in Jesus.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke each record that a rich man asks Jesus this same question about what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus answers here as well, that among other things, we must love our neighbour. The man replies that he has kept all the commandments and loved his neighbour –what else is there he asks, what else? Jesus replies, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Those who sacrifice, those who leave their families, possessions, and very lives because of Jesus are indeed the ones who will inherit eternal life (Matthew 19:13-30; Mark 10:17-31; Luke 18).

Have we been willing to, as it says in Matthew 19:29, leave our houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for Jesus’ sake so that we will inherit eternal life. How do we show the love for and the hope that we have in Christ Jesus?

This is the beginning of the Christian New Year today so let’s make a resolution. We know that Jesus is coming back soon so let us resolve to be ready to meet him by loving him more than ourselves, by loving him more than our earthly families, and by loving him more than all our earthly possessions. Let us indeed place our hope in Christ and in Christ alone.

Let us pray…

http://www.sheepspeak.com/

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[1] The earlier version of this sermon is available on-line: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2008/11/mark-1332-37-hope-for-happy-new-year.html

[2] Cf: End of time predictions: http://www.bible.ca/pre-date-setters.htm David Hasselhoff: http://www.esquilax.com/baywatch/ Barney the dinosaur: http://www.comedycorner.org/20.html Gorbachev: Robert Faid 1988 http://www.scatteredsheep.com/perilous_times/antichrist/antichrist.htm  Prince Charles, Pope JP II

[3] Science Askew:  Is Barney the Anti-Christ?

2 Timothy 4:1-5: Share the Good News

Presented to Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army, 20 Nov. 2011.

By Captain Michael Ramsay

Paul gives us some sage advice in this pericope so I thought that I would say some wisdom that was imparted to me this week….

q       War doesn’t determine whose right…only whose left

q       To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism, to steal ideas from many people is research

q       If I agreed with you…we’d both be wrong.

q       Nostalgia isn’t what it used to be

q       The last thing I want to do is hurt you…but it is on my list.

q       You don’t need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice

q       A bus station is where the bus stops; a train station is where the train stops; on my desk I have a work station

q       When tempted to fight fire with fire, remember that the Fire Department usually uses water.

q       Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad

    

Let’s see what wisdom Paul has for us today. There are two thoughts in this pericope that we will concentrate on today: Verse 2a, “Preach the Word; be prepared in and out of season” and Verse 3, “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine…

To be blunt: this time is now. In this country we are no longer putting up with sound doctrine. We have spoken many times from the pulpit about how people’s religious freedoms in this country are being quickly eroded. People in Ontario have been arrested for praying in public meetings. In BC, teachers at one time were not only told not to mention Christ in the classroom but they were even told not to even mention Christmas. We have also seen Gideon Bibles removed from many locations around our country and even in our own province. Canada is discriminating more and more against Christianity. That’s not the worst of it. Last week we listed a number of Christian churches that no longer put up with sound doctrine or uphold the traditional value of the Scriptures. And I have heard many Christians here do the same thing in their lives. Here’s one more line, like the ones I read earlier, at the beginning of our time today, that exemplifies this idea: ‘I asked God for a bike, but I know God doesn’t work that way…so I stole a bike and asked for forgiveness.’ It is too bad but I think a lot of us Christians can be tempted to act this way from time to time. We know what is right, but then we do whatever we want anyway…and then we stop reading our Bible and praying all together, so that we don’t even have to hear the helpful, sound doctrine. Verse 3, “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” And look at how we spend our time. Who and what are we gathering around ourselves? Who or what do we spend more time with, God and the Bible or TV? What our we filling our minds with? Who or what do we spend more time with, God and the Bible or internet? What our we filling our minds with? Who or what do we spend more time with, God and the Bible or coffee house gossip? What are we filling our minds with – sound doctrine or whatever tickles our ears?

I have spoken quite a bit about this kind of thing over my time here – including the last couple of weeks - so I won’t dwell on it too much now. Let’s move onto the other important piece of wisdom for us here today and that is to preach both in and out of season. This means to always be prepared to preach the gospel. We have been spending a couple of weeks studying this letter of 2 Timothy, so I want to review a little bit. Here is a mini-test. (Answers below):[1]

1. Who wrote this letter (2 Timothy)?
2. To whom did he write it?
3. Where were the people who received the letter?
4. Where was the person when he wrote the letter?
5. When would the author leave his present location?

Paul when he writes this letter, telling people to always be prepared to preach ‘in and out of season’, is in prison because he has been preaching. Rome at this time was having their own War on Terror where, not unlike the War on Terror today, they were scooping up their adversaries –both real and imagined- and putting them in jail. Serious fires in Rome provided all the excuse they needed to round up all the Christians who were preaching ‘in and out of season’, blame them for fires, conspiracies, terrorism, and put them in jail. Paul was caught in the middle of this first century War on Terror.

This is important: Paul, when he is writing this letter that we are looking at today, Paul is in prison and Paul is about to be executed by his own government for preaching ‘in and out of season.’ and Paul, when this is happening, is writing to his friends in Ephesus and what is he telling them? Is he telling them, “Shhh… keep quiet; don’t let anyone know you are a Christians or this could happen to you? (No) Is Paul telling them ‘Disband the church, flee for your lives, go into hiding so you don’t wind up in jail awaiting the death sentence to be carried out like me?’ (No) Is he telling them to live a good life but to just keep their religion private because it is only your personal relationship with Christ that matters? (No) Is Paul telling them to just keep quiet, live a good life, don’t tell anyone about Jesus –or you’ll be killed and them what good will you do them? (No)  Today we hear people say tall these kinds of things, don’t we? We hear as reason for not telling people about Jesus: ‘We wouldn’t want to offend anyone’ or ‘I’m too scarred’ or ‘I don’t want to impose my beliefs on anyone else’ but these aren’t Christian statements. Paul, even when he is about to be executed via capital punishment for preaching the Word, he is not only continuing to do so but he is encouraging his closest friends to the same. Paul is telling them, regardless of the circumstances and even though there will be suffering attached to it, we should preach in and out of season. We should always be prepared to preach, even if it costs us everything.

This is important. This is one of the key parts of Christianity. Do we believe in Christ or not? The gospel in a nutshell: the world as we know it is fading away. Until Christ returns, we are all going to die. But we don’t all need to perish. We don’t all need to suffer separation from God forever. The word ‘gospel’ actually means ‘good news’. Christianity is supposed to be good news. It is not supposed to be some selfish or private religion; it is instead good news and good news is meant to be shared. This good news is best summed up, I think in John 3:16 -17: ‘For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved (NKJV).’ This is good news. Remember that Paul is condemned to death by capital punishment here as he is writing this letter to Timothy but the good news is, John 3:17, ‘For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved (NKJV).’ This is good news: that we can live forever with Christ and it is so important to Paul that he is even willing to die so that even more people can live. We have just come off of Remembrance Day here where we remember the number of people who risked their life and limb so that we could have the choice and the chance to live. This is what Christ did, he lived and died and rose again so that we can do the same. This is what Paul is encouraging us towards. The gospel of Mathew, 13:44-46 records about the value of this good news, this eternal salvation, pertaining to the Kingdom of Heaven:

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

   “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

The Apostle Paul here has given away his freedom and even his life to gain this eternal life and share it with everyone he can. He knows what Jesus tells us, Mark 8:35: “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.” (Mark 8:35, cf. Matthew 16:25, Luke 9:12, 17:23) And, Philippians 1:21, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

We can have eternal life. We don’t need to perish. All we need to do is Romans 10:9: “… confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:13, “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” This is what Paul couldn’t keep quiet about. This is what Paul was willing to give up his life for. I look at the good news and sharing the good news like this:

It is like when I went to help out after Hurricane Ike struck Galveston Island a couple of years ago. Even though 100 people chose to stay behind and perish, even though we met with, spoke with and prayed with people whose family members chose to reject salvation from the hurricane. The people all knew it was coming; they had a choice and as a result thousands of others were saved.

Can you imagine if the news announcers were so ashamed of the fact  that the hurricane was coming that they didn’t share information that it was coming? Can you imagine if the meteorologists were so embarrassed of the fact that they did not know the exact time and hour the hurricane was going to strike that they didn’t tell anybody? Can you imagine if your neighbour knew that the hurricane was coming and she evacuated but she never told you because she was afraid she couldn’t explain exactly what, why, where, how, and when the hurricane was coming? Can you imagine the horror as you look up to see your life being swept away – and no one ever told you how to be saved?

Well, there is no need to be ashamed of the Gospel: an eschatological hurricane is coming and it is a lot more dangerous than Hurricane Ike. There are people in this city here today who are sleeping in their beds or watching their TVs right now who have no idea that the end is coming. There are people who are lost and just waiting for us to point them to salvation.

So today, let us do that. Today let us be like the rescue workers who go around pointing people to safety. None of us know when our lives are going to end. We may be taken tomorrow. None of us know when the Lord is returning and bringing with him the end to our world. But, like the weatherman watching the storm, we do know that the things of this earth are going to pass away (Matthew 24:35, Mark 13:31, Luke 21:33, Revelation 21:1) and it is our job to share with everyone we meet the good news of the way to salvation so that they do not need to perish but instead can experience the full power of God for Salvation.

It is our responsibility to share the Gospel for, indeed, the Gospel is the power of God for all to be saved both now and forever. To this end then, I encourage us all to look for opportunities to share the good news of salvation in the upcoming weeks here so that all of us here may turn to God and experience the full power of His Salvation.

Let us pray.

http://www.sheepspeak.com/

   

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[1] Answers to quiz: 1) Paul, 2) Timothy (and his mother and grandmother in Ephesus), 3) Ephesus, 4) a dungeon in Rome 5) Only upon his execution for a capital crime

2 Timothy 3:12-17: Lest We Forget

Presented to Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army, 13 Nov. 2011

By Captain Michael Ramsay (Padre, Royal Canadian Legion #56)

                 Recessional

God of our fathers, known of old—
Lord of our far-flung battle line—
Beneath whose awful hand we hold
Dominion over palm and pine—
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget—lest we forget!
 
The tumult and the shouting dies—
The Captains and the Kings depart—
Still stands Thine ancient sacrifice,
An humble and a contrite heart.
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget—lest we forget!

Far-called our navies melt away—
On dune and headland sinks the fire—
Lo, all our pomp of yesterday
Is one with Nineveh and Tyre!
Judge of the Nations, spare us yet,
Lest we forget—lest we forget!

If, drunk with sight of power, we loose
Wild tongues that have not Thee in awe—
Such boastings as the Gentiles use,
Or [other] breeds without the Law—
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget—lest we forget!

For heathen heart that puts her trust
In reeking tube and iron shard—
All valiant dust that builds on dust,
And guarding calls not Thee to guard.
For frantic boast and foolish word,
Thy Mercy on Thy People, Lord!
Amen.

                 - Rudyard Kipling (1897)

Lest we forget, lest we forget. Today’s passage, 2 Timothy 3:12-17 is near and dear to my heart. Paul reminds us that we should not forget: We should not forget the Scriptures. We have just come off the Remembrance Day ceremonies in this community where we intentionally recall the horrors of war that our soldiers suffered through on our behalf. Our soldiers: many were young people who headed oversees in aid of our friends and allies and many of these young people wound up laying down their lives for these friends (cf. John 15:13). Lest we forget, lest we forget...

When we forget the horrors of war, we are more likely to repeat the events that lead to such tragic large-scale losses of life. In the world today we seem to be forgetting. Even our new veterans aren’t joining the Royal Canadian Legions; they are isolating themselves, thus being removed from that common community. George Santayana said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”[1] Canada, from the Suez Crisis until almost the end of the 20^th Century, was a peacekeeping nation. Now as the veterans of WWI are gone and the veterans of WWII are being regularly promoted to glory indeed I fear we are forgetting the peace that they fought to secure. Without remembrance we forget. Lest we forget, lest we forget...

199 years ago on November 11^th, arguably the most important battle in all of Canadian history occurred. Can anyone tell me what that was? The Battle of Crysler’s Farm: says military historian Donald Graves, “That battle spelled the end of the most serious American attempt to conquer Canada during the War of 1812.” Despite being the site of a true turning point in Canadian history, the Crysler’s Farm battlefield -- along with the graves of hundreds of soldiers from both sides of the fight -- was flooded during the creation of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1958. The destruction of the battlefield, Mr. Graves lamented makes it “difficult, if not impossible, to stand on that mound and get any sense of the ground as it was in 1813.”[2] George Santayana said, “[O]nly the dead have seen the end of war.” [3]  Lest we forget, lest we forget…

Just after Remembrance Day here, it is sad that we often seem to have forgotten those soldiers who died hoping we would live in peace with our neighbours: since the 1990s Canada has been involved in a number of aggressive – sometimes even illegal – military adventures. As bad as this may be [or may not be; depending upon your political perspective, I suppose], it is even worse when we forget what the Lord has done. Lest we forget, lest we forget…

The Scriptures are a record of what God has done for creation. The Scriptures are a record of what God has done for us. The Scriptures are a record of what God has done through creation. The Scriptures are a record of what God has done through us. The Scriptures show God’s grace and God’s power. The Scriptures show God’s love and God’s sovereignty. We should not forget this. 2 Timothy 3:12 records Paul’s repeated reminder to Timothy and the church in Ephesus that “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” It has always been this way. Christians are the followers of the one, true God. These true followers of the one, true God have experienced suffering since the beginning. Paul earlier in this very letter of 2 Timothy encourages us to join him in suffering for the Gospel (2Timothy 1:8). Let us not forget this. Lest we forget, lest we forget…

Remember Abraham left his home for a land that his descendants would inherit hundreds of years after his death (Genesis 11-15). Moses brought Israel, following God, through plagues and famine to the precipice of the Promised Land (Numbers 14; Deuteronomy 1, 34). King David saw his own sons turn against him and even killed, as he was told that a descendant of his would sit on God’s throne forever (2 Samuel 7). David’s own grandson saw that kingdom torn from him, never to be fully returned until the return of Christ (1 Kings 12, 2 Chronicles 10). Christ has now ascended the throne and when he comes back, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord (Isaiah 45:43, Romans 14:11). Let us not forget this. If humanity forgets this, what a blessing and what peace we will forfeit. Lest we forget, lest we forget…

Jesus wishes that none of us would perish (2 Peter 3:9; cf. John 3:16, 10:28). He wishes us to instead be perfect as he is perfect and holy as he is holy (Leviticus 11:44-45, 19:2, 20:7; Matthew 5:48; 1 Peter 1:13-15; cf. Romans 8:9-17; Hebrews 10:19-40, 11-12; 2 Corinthians 13; Colossians 1:28, Hebrews 11-12 cf. also TSA doc. 7, doc.10 and TSA SB 281). The Scriptures contain the record of that longing of God to be in a fully reconciled love relationship with all of us (cf. TSA doc. 6). Scriptures contain a record of that Gospel of Salvation both now and forever that God offers to each of us, and for which many generations of people all over the world have suffered. Scriptures record that ultimate victory that the faithful will celebrate with Christ both now and forevermore at the resurrection (cf. Romans 13:11-14; cf. also TSA SB 990).[4] This hope is vital to remember for it changes everything. Let us not forget. Oh, lest we forget, lest we forget…

These Scriptures and this Gospel is more than just a remembrance. 2 Timothy 3:15b-17: The Holy Scriptures “are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Lest we forget…

The Salvation Army’s spiritual grandfather, John Wesley rightly put a strong emphasis on the Scriptures,[5] he said: “I want to know one thing - the way to heaven, how to land safe on that happy shore. God Himself has condescended to teach me the way, for this very end He came from heaven; He hath written it down in a book. O give me that Book! At any price, give me the Book of God. I have it; here is knowledge enough for me. Let me be homo unius libri!”[6] Noting that all scripture is given by God (2 Tim 3:16-17), Wesley reasoned that the Scriptures are infallible and thus profitable for each of us to engage[7] and indeed as “a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the Day-star arise in your hearts.’ (2 Peter 1:19)”, if we want to share in this experience Wesley argues that we should search the Scriptures as a means of grace.[8]

The Scriptures were of the utmost importance to all the Church Reformers. Ulrich Zwingli, the spiritual grandfather of Reformed Theology – at the forefront of the Protestant Reformation - in his work, On True and False Religion, states that the true source of all religion is the Word of God. “The Reformation as a whole was based on this principle, at least in the Reformer’s intentions and any study of Zwingli’s theology ought therefore to begin with his understanding of the Word.”[9] He said, “there is no law or word that will give greater light to the inward man than the Word of God.”[10] He insisted that the word of man must always be subject to the Word of God rather than the other way around[11] as he perceived was happening in his day and which can certainly be argued is happening in ours. We must remember, only humankind can come to know God and oneself through the Word of God; it is the Word of God, which sets us apart from the plants and the animals.[12] Let we forget. Lest we forget…

Like Wesley and like Zwingli, The Salvation Army holds a very important role for the Scriptures in our theological tradition. Our very first doctrine –my personal favourite- reads, “We believe that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were given by inspiration of God, and that they only constitute the Divine rule of Christian faith and practice.” We hold that they are the primary authority, the ‘final court of appeal’ for the Christian that supersedes all other claims and that “as we search the Scriptures, we enter into dialogue with them and experience the transforming power of the message.”[13] Lest we forget; lest we forget…

This is – or should be – I believe, true of all Christians but sadly I think many have forgotten. We have heard of denominations recently in this country and the US arguably tossing aside the role of the Scriptures. Some who have been accused of this recently are the American Baptist Conference, the Episcopalians; and in Canada, the Lutherans, some Anglicans, and most infamously the United Church of Canada. It seems the role of the Scriptures in all our churches has been diminishing; is it any wonder that the role of Scriptures in our society is diminishing? Canada was founded upon Psalm 72. Now Canada does not read the Scriptures in the public schools and indeed the Gideons, who have handed out New Testaments for generations of students, are now banned from distributing the Scriptures to schools in many provinces in our country. Church and State are united in this, it seems: both appear to be neglecting the Word of God. We seem to be forgetting. Lest we forget, lest we forget…

What about us? How many of us spend time reading the Bible on our own? How long does it take to read some of the letters in the New Testament? An hour or less?  Not very long. How many of us bother to set that time aside? We can easily just read a New Testament book or an Old Testament story while we are having our morning coffee or our afternoon tea.  It doesn’t take long. How many of us read our Bibles with our children, grand children, or great-grand children as the case might be? It needn’t take very long and the blessings are eternal and amazing. And if we don’t share this history of salvation with our family, then just think of all the blessings that they will have forfeited without even knowing it (cf. TSA SB 273, 675).[14] Oh what a tragedy; many seem to be forgetting. Oh, lest we forget, lest we forget…

2 Timothy 3:14-17: “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

2 Timothy 3:15 - the Holy Scriptures are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. The Scriptures are able to make us wise for salvation. Romans 1:16 records that the Gospel itself “…is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes ” 2 Timothy 3:15: The Scriptures are able to make us wise for Salvation.

Susan has shared her testimony here before. I won’t retell her whole story for you now - that is her story to tell – other than to remind you that as a university student she came to know the Lord through reading the Scriptures to prove those Christians wrong.  Lest we forget the power of God for Salvation through His Holy Scriptures; lest we forget…

Romans 1:16, the Gospel “…is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes. ” 2 Timothy 3:15: The Scriptures are able to make us wise for Salvation. This is what they have done for Larry and this is what they will do for us. Those who forget the miracles of the past are vulnerable to miss the blessings of the future: Lest we forget the power of God for Salvation for all who believe through His Holy Scripture. Lest we forget…

Let us pray.

http://www.sheepspeak.com/

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[1] George Santayana, Reason in Common Sense, (The Life of Reason, Vol. 1: 1905). Cited from ‘George Santayana’ in Wikipedea: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Santayana

[2] Donald Graves, Cited by Randy Boswell, in ‘Nov. 11: the day Canadians repelled an American invasion, Historians regret so few are aware that Canada was saved by 800 men 190 years ago’, (The Ottawa Citizen: Wednesday, November 12, 2003) Accessed via Havelock Enterprises: http://www.islandnet.com/~havelock/FPNov11AmericanInvasion.html

[3] George Santayana “Soliloquy 25 in Soliloquies in England and Later Soliloquies, (1922). Cited from ‘George Santayana’ in Wikipedea: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Santayana

[4] James D.G. Dunn, The 1st and 2nd Letter to Timothy and the Letter to Titus, (NIB XI: Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon Press, 2000), 850: “The point is not to be missed here is that the reference to the traditions of Paul’s mission work is sandwiched between references to the Biblical precedent from Exodus 7 (3:8-9) and the fulsome affirmation of the role of Scripture (3:14-17). The implication is that the traditions of Paul (now preserved in Acts), like the traditions of Jesus’ teaching (1 Timothy 5:18, now preserved in the gospels), already carry a paraenetical authority similar to that of the Hebrew (or Greek) Scriptures.”

[5]Captain Michael Ramsay, John Wesley’s Means of Grace compared with Ulrich Zwingli as seen through a Salvationist Lens. Presented to William and Catherine Booth College, October 2008. Available online: http://www.sheepspeak.com/Michael_Ramsay_History_TSA.htm#Wesley1

[6] John Wesley, in The Works of the Rev. John Wesley, A.M. (London: John Mason, 1829), Thomas Jackson, editor, V:ii,iii. Cited in Arnett, William M. “John Wesley and the Bible,” Wesleyan Theological Journal 3, no. 1, (Spring 1968): http://wesley.nnu.edu/wesleyan_theology/theojrnl/01-05/03-1.htm

[7] John Wesley, The Means of Grace, III.8-9

[8] John Wesley, The Means of Grace, III.10

[9] Courvoisier, Zwingli: A Reformed Theologian, (Richmond, Virginia: John Knox Press, 1963), 27.

[10] Ulrich Zwingli, Clarity and Certainty of the Word of God (Zurich: 1524), cited in Bromiley, 67.

[11] W.P. Stephens, The Theology of Huldrych Zwingli. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1986), 52-53.

[12] Courvoisier, Zwingli: A Reformed Theologian, (Richmond, Virginia: John Knox Press, 1963), 28.

[13] The General of The Salvation Army. Salvation Story: Salvationist Handbook of Doctrine: (London: Salvation Books, 1998), 8-9.

[14] Ralph Earle, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM:2 Timothy/Exposition of 2 Timothy/VIII. Persecution and Steadfastness (3:10-17)/B. The Adequacy of Scripture (3:14-17), Book Version: 4.0.2: "This was Timothy's heritage. 'The holy Scriptures' is ta hiera grammata  (lit., 'the sacred writings'), an expression found in both Philo (Life of Moses, iii.39) and Josephus (Antiq. x.10.4) for the OT, which is what Timothy was taught as a child." Cf. re. the inclusion of Jesus' and Paul's teaching in this category, James D.G. Dunn, The 1st and 2nd Letter to Timothy and the Letter to Titus, (NIB XI: Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon Press, 2000), 850.

[15] Cf. Captain Michael Ramsay, Matthew 21:23-32: Help Wanted! Presented to Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army on 01 August 2010 and to The Salvation Army’s College For Officer Training on 15 November 2006.