Hebrews 13:1-6: A Gentle Reminder

Presented to The Salvation Army Alberni Valley Ministries, 19 September 2021, by Captain Michael Ramsay

A few interesting things happened in the previous week or two – well, lots of things actually – but one or two things I’d particularly like to share today.

 

You know of course that The Salvation Army has a drug and alcohol policy: we don’t drink or do drugs at work (or soldiers anywhere, anytime). I recently needed to print out our drug and alcohol policy and go over it with some of our volunteers, staff, or community partners. Apparently one or two folks may not have remembered (even though they all read it when they were hired or started volunteering) that they can’t use drugs at work with our clients. You'd think that would be self-evident, a ‘no-brainer’ as they say. We don’t want to harm people and we do want  to help people, but good, well-meaning folks actually needed to be reminded that they shouldn’t use drugs with our clients. There are many reasons for this and God gave us an object lesson, an example of being sober so we can help others out; as well as a lesson about the very real dangers of drug use, this week.

 

On this past Sunday, Rees, one of our employees, the one who saved the dog’s life a week or two previous, saved a person’s life as he was walking to work. The person overdosed outside of the OPS, the safe injection site; there was no one there who called 9-11; there was no one there who tried to revive him; there was no one there who was helping him; maybe he didn’t use inside the site, who knows? Rees saw the person on the sidewalk and Rees saw he was starting to turn blue. He stopped. He gave him some Narcan. He called 9-11. God used Rees to save his life. Praise be to God.

 

And thanks be to God as well for this gentle reminder of this self-evident, ‘no-brainer’ that we should be sober when at work and when heading to work – like Rees was – so that we can be used to help others.

 

Paul, Barnabas, Silvanus, Apollos, or whoever dictated Hebrews concludes this letter or sermon with this gentle reminder of some very important points for anyone who serves Jesus to remember as we go about our daily lives.[1] The first four of which should be self evident for all Jesus’ followers so that we are available to serve God and others.

 

1)    He says that we should have genuine affection for one another, for fellow Christians. If you see me on the street tomorrow you shouldn’t duck and hide (as tempting as it may be!); wave and smile instead; do not try and run away before I notice you. We shouldn’t try to avoid one another; we should genuinely look forward to seeing each other. We are, after all, all on the same team – or at least we should be.

 

2)    Then he says that not only should we be happy to see each other and genuinely care about one another; we should also be nice to strangers, to people who aren’t part of our group here. (This may be referring to Christians you don’t know – such as itinerant preachers – but it should certainly apply to any stranger.)[2] This week, a fellow who is a stranger to us but well known to the Parksville Salvation Army came in here seeking help. Nichi and Leslie were right there helping. They called me from another part of the building and I called Major Norm in Parksville and we prayed together offering support and other help as we were able.

 

If there is some way you can build a relationship with a stranger that is great. I love to go down to the Bread of Life many days for lunch. I often have conversations with people on the street – the fact that I almost always wear my uniform or logo-ed gear helps a lot! When needed, I also direct people to opportunities for them to help others or to be helped as the case may be.

 

3)    Paul, Barnabas, Silvanus, Apollos, or whoever dictated this letter or sermon to the Hebrews, gently reminds us that even more than genuinely looking forward to seeing each other, and being sociable to strangers; we should remember those who are in real need in our community. Pray for those who are mistreated in society. The letter/sermon here particularly mentions prisoners. As awful as our prisons are today – and they are awful – in the First Century Roman Empire, friends of the prisoners had to provide their food and basic necessities themselves;[3] so if you didn’t have any friends or if your friends were ashamed or afraid to be associated with you… Today, who are those with no friends and support? Who are those who are in real danger or jeopardy? How can we help them? How can we remember them? You can chat with people up here – I think we might start our coffee times up here again soon; we can have lunch at the soup kitchen; we can help out on the food truck – that is a great way to get to know those who are mistreated. And of course, we can all pray for those in need.

 

4)    Paul, Barnabas, Silvanus, Apollos, or whoever dictated this letter or sermon then says that as well as genuinely looking forward to seeing each other, being sociable to strangers, and remembering those who are in real need in our community; we need to pay special attention to our marriages. He mentions two ways. 1) don’t commit adultery with outsiders and 2) don’t the two of you do anything immoral.[4] Honour one another.

 

Just like how this week, we had to actually put in writing that our staff and community partners may not do drugs with our clients, something that one would think would be self-evident, these first four items are what Paul, Barnabas, Apollos, or whoever dictated this letter or sermon thinks are the self-evident. He gently reminds us that all Christians should honestly and almost instinctively:

 

1. look forward to seeing each other,
2.  be sociable to strangers,
3. remember those who are in real need in our community,
4. and pay special attention to our marriages.

 

And then Paul, Barnabas, Silvanus, Apollos, or whoever dictated this letter or sermon, tells us something a little more tricky. He says that, just as we are to genuinely care for each other and love strangers, we are NOT to care for and love money in the same way (cf. 1 Tim 6:10). This plays out a couple of different ways. 1) We as individuals aren’t supposed to love money and 2) corporately, as a society we aren’t supposed to love money. The church, we know, is not a building, it is a community, a society and it is (or should be) a society that does not love money.

 

There was a meeting of the ACRD’s Emergency Support Services this week. These are some of the people who help in emergencies in our community. The Salvation Army has an MOU with the ACRD to provide various services, so I was there. The meeting was at the Beaver Creek Firehall. It was great to get a tour of the building, see the fancy expensive trucks, and hear what the fire chief and others had to tell us before our regularly scheduled meeting.

 

One thing that came out of the side conversations was how much our society’s love of money is adversely affecting volunteer fire departments, service organizations, and even employment in our country. When the Beaver Creek Fire Department was founded, they were able to staff the department entirely with volunteers from Beaver Creek and they were able to acquire enough resources to keep it going. As a result, a team could be ready to respond to a fire in 5 minutes or less. Now it takes them much longer as they have to wait for people to come from all over the valley to assist at a fire in Beaver Creek. There aren’t enough local volunteers. Even if people are interested in volunteering, now qualifications and equipment are so expensive (and/or take so long to get) that they are having trouble getting enough people and money to keep it going at all. I wouldn’t be surprised if volunteer fire departments started closing around the country the same way that service groups and other volunteer organizations are quickly vanishing from our landscape.

 

Currently, at a time when people in our country are spending more money on leisure activities than in any previous era – trips, sporting events, lessons – people are spending less and less time volunteering and working together. The more a society orients itself towards money, the more the gap between the rich and the poor grows. The larger the chasm between people grows.

 

Property is a prime example of this: a realtor friend pointed out to me that housing has now become primarily a commodity, an investment and as a result more and more people can’t afford housing. The most recent homelessness count results were published just recently – I read them this week. Did you know that the percentage of actual homeless seniors right here in Port Alberni (this doesn’t include people who live in shelters, slum housing, or on someone else’s couch) has literally doubled from 9% to 18% of the homeless population? A society cannot be oriented towards money and at the same time be oriented towards God and our neighbour (cf. Mt 6:24-34; Lk 6:13).[5] These are anchored in opposite directions. We cannot love both God and money. Corporately, how are our churches oriented? We need to be aware of this. Are we church members – like the Scriptures say - content with what we have?

 

This brings us to the individual aspect of this very important point. Do each of us here love God and people more than we love money (cf. Dt 31:6, Ps 118:6-7)? Do we spend more time acquiring, spending, and saving money or do we spend more time loving God through helping others? As Christians, we are not to look forward to getting money; we are not to be sociable in order to get money; we are not supposed to serve others with the intent of getting money, etc. He gently reminds us, we are supposed to be content with what we have. We are supposed to love our spouses, each other, and our neighbours – we are not to love money![6]

 

If you can give something to someone who will actually benefit from receiving it, instead of selling it to them for money; give it to the person. Hebrews 13:5-6 contrasts loving each other and loving money. The Bible says that if you love God, you will love your neighbour and the Bible says that if you serve money, you do not serve God (Mt 6:24). And then Paul, Barnabas, Silvanus, Apollos, or whoever dictated this letter or sermon gently reminds us that for perfect peace and harmony, for salvation, we really must be content with what we have.

 

This contentment is simple, but it is also very important – especially since we live in a capitalist society, a society that by definition has chosen to serve money. Our motivation, what we love, our reason for doing something should never be to get a paycheque and pay-off. Our motivation should always be to serve God and our neighbour. Here is a gentle reminder, Hebrews 13:1-6, that as followers of Jesus we will,

 

1. look forward to seeing each other,
2.  be sociable to strangers,
3. remember those who are in real need in our community,
4. pay special attention to our marriages,
5. and be content with what we have

 

Friends, this is key to being able to survive, to being able to be saved in our world today. We need the church and we need to be the church. And this is what the church is, it is a group of people who

1. look forward to seeing each other
2.  be sociable to strangers,
3. remember those who are in real need in our community,
4. pay special attention to our marriages,
5. and be content with what we have

 

So this is my encouragement today: May our group of people here be a people who continues to do just this for as we are, we will experience God’s salvation in our lives and He will use us to be a transformative influence in our community for now and forever more. 

Let us pray.

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[1] Cf. Thomas G. Long, Hebrews (Interpretation: a Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching: Louisville, Kentucky: John Knox Press, 1997), 1.

[2] Cf Tesfaye Kassa, ‘Hebrews 13:1-21: Practical Evidence of Faith’ in Africa Bible Commentary, (Nairobi, Kenya: Word Alive Publishers, 2010), 1532 and Simon J. Kistemaker, Hebrews, NTC (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic: 2007), 408 but conversely cf. Fred B. Craddock, The Letter to the Hebrews (NIB 12: Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon, 1998),162 which contends that ‘strangers’ are itinerant preachers or other Christians who aren’t part of one’s own congregation. While this is possible, I concur with Tesfaye Kassa’ and Simon J. Kistemaker that the term as broader than that.

[3] Fred B. Craddock, The Letter to the Hebrews (NIB 12: Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon, 1998), 163

[4] Leon Morris, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM:Hebrews/Exposition of Hebrews/IX. Christian Living (12:1-13:19)/F. Love (13:1-6), Book Version: 4.0.2

[5] Fred B. Craddock, The Letter to the Hebrews (NIB 12: Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon, 1998), 164

[6] Simon J. Kistemaker, Hebrews, NTC (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic: 2007), 409

Ezekiel 33:7-11 and 2 Peter 3:9: Hope and the Ropes

Presented to The Salvation Army Alberni Valley Ministries, 05 September 2021; Swift Current Corps, 24 July 2022; the Summer Rain Evangelistic Festival, 07 August 2022, by Major Michael Ramsay

Let me tell you three stories. These are all true stories; they all happened this week and they do have some other things in common too. They all have a rope in the story. They all have peril. 2 of them have water. 2 of them have happen endings.

 

One evening this week Susan suggested that I should take Heather kayaking for a couple of hours before dinner. She said be home at 7pm. Dinner's at 7pm. Be home at 7pm.

 

I threw the kayaks in the back of the vehicle. Heather and I quickly drove out to Sproat Lake. We didn’t have that much time. We got out there. Heather was already a little tired, I think. I asked her where we wanted to go on the lake; she said, she wanted to go to Manitoba Island. (There is this small private island that you can reach from the boat launch and whoever owns the island has a Manitoba flag that they fly from it, thus Heather and I call it Manitoba Island.)

 

It was pretty choppy out there. The waves were pretty high and the wind was blowing quite a bit. And if you crossed a boat’s wake, the waves coming at different angles could really threaten to swamp or tip the boat. It was a lot of work. I paddled out for a little while and looked behind me (as best I could, I didn’t want to turn all the way around in my seat, lest I dump myself out of the kayak) and here was Heather slowly paddling. I turn back, paddle up to her and ask her how she is doing. She asks for a tow. (sometimes on a nice warm, calm day, I will tie Heather’s boat to mine and instead of paddling she will just lie in her boat – she says she doesn’t sleep but I am not always convinced.) 

 

So here I am paddling across the lake to Manitoba Island; It is hard work! Heather in tow; the waves are coming from every angle and the wind also seems to be working against me. We make it to the island. She wakes up, I mean, she sits up. I check the time because we have to be back by 7pm. Then she lowers herself in her boat again, eyes closed but not sleeping, and I start pulling her back. It is quite a struggle with the waves and the wind and towing someone in another kayak. But part way back, I feel like I am getting into the rhythm because it gets a little easier. When I get about ¾ of the way back to shore I look back - and there in no Heather.

 

I am in a panic for a moment. You know that feeling? I look back and I see the rope has broken and there is no kayak behind me and no Heather. Now Heather isn’t the greatest swimmer, she does have her life jacket on. I am looking everywhere as fast as I can to see her boat. I see it and paddle faster than I think I ever have in choppy conditions to get there. You know that feeling when you are racing somewhere, praying that it is not the worst possible result and hoping for the best!

 

While I am racing towards Heather as fast as I can, a nice gentleman, by the name of Keith, in his speedboat sees this kayak just floating around with no one apparently in it (as Heather is lying down) and goes up to the kayak. At this point Heather sits up, opens her eyes and is wondering what is going on. Keith stays with her until I get there and then he puts both of our kayaks in his boat and gives us a ride back to shore – which is good because I really don’t know how much more I could paddle that day! And then Heather and I head for home and we get there just on time. When I walk upstairs to where Susan is, she remarked on how we timed it perfectly because it was 7pm on the nose.

 

It was quite an adventure. But you know that feeling of panic when you notice your child is missing. You know that moment when you think your child might be lost or have had something horrible happen to them. That was the feeling in the pit of my stomach, even sort of after she was found and we got home safely. Though there was certainly a lot(!) of relief as well.

 

My second rope story is about another water rescue that I heard about this past week, I heard this story from one of our employees, Rees. Rees was at Harbour Quay, I believe. He saw the gentleman there who always plays Frisbee with his dog. I don’t know the man’s name. The dog’s name is Wes. 

 

The man threw the Frisbee into the water and Wes went to get it. He got it in his mouth and started paddling back to shore when he accidentally got caught on a rope hidden under the water. The rope got stuck right in his mouth with the Frisbee; so maybe Wes didn’t even know it was there. He couldn’t or wouldn’t let go of the rope because he would have to let go of the Frisbee. He couldn’t get back to shore no matter how hard he struggled and  - unlike the rope between Heather’s and my kayaks – this rope wasn’t breaking. Rees then took off his shoes, gave his phone and/or wallet to the man and jumped in to save Wes. He had to really struggle to get Wes free of the rope but in the end he did and Wes and Rees both swam safely to shore.

 

My third story about a rope this week is tragic. Russell, a regular on 3rd avenue, who many of us know from the Bread of Life, the food bank, the ‘ghetto’ or other places, hanged himself behind the Friendship Centre this week. It was a tragedy for sure. He was in that tree for 3 days or so before he perished. Many friends went there to try to talk him from the tree. Selene, who used to work for us and now works for the Friendship Centre, called me and I took a turn trying to talk him down. Brandy R., who works in our Thrift Store knows Russell and tried to convince him to come down. I was there when the mother of his children was trying to get him down. One of the people who works with us at the Drop-in Centre, Mya, spent many hours with her friend trying to convince him to come down.

 

Police were there. Fire department was there. EMT was there. One of the police who chatted with me – a good Christian fellow who knew his Bible very well - told me that they would not leave as long as Russell was in the tree. Days later, whoever was on duty did leave and Russell died. Now I don’t know what happened to Russell eternally: I hope and I pray that he is eternally at peace with our Lord.

 

One tragic remark that someone made has stuck in my head since that day. I don’t think the person who said it meant it but my brain has not been able to shake it. While he was still alive and still in the tree, someone said that death was probably the best outcome for him. He is an addict. His life is terrible… I cringed when I heard that.

 

I would never want to see anyone lost – not even one – like it says in 2 Peter 3:9. And in Ezekiel 33:11 even those of us others would call wicked, God does not wish any of us to be lost for now or eternity.

 

I think about how Rees, not to mention Wes’ owner, watched Wes struggle and how Rees had to decide whether or not to dive in to save him from the rope he was trapped on. I think about how I felt when my own daughter was lost on the lake for however long it was before I noticed the rope had broken. I think about how I felt when I did not know whether she was okay or not and I didn’t know how scared she was or was not. I think about how I would have felt if something terrible had happened to Heather.

 

Our Heavenly Father feels the same way about each of us. He doesn’t want any of us to be lost – in this life or the next.

 

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.

 

For any of us to perish hurts the Lord like it would hurt us to lose a member of our family, like a beloved pet, or even our own child. As such, we need to share with people the Good News of Salvation. Talk to people you meet about God, their Father who loves them. Talk to people you meet about Jesus. We don’t know how long any of us have on this earth – and that any of us would have to spend any of our time here - not to mention eternity - away from our Father’s love is tragic. 

 

Some terrible things happen in life. I know when horrifying things have happened in my life I have gone to my Heavenly Father for love and support and I know that God is eternal and His love never fails. He is faithful. If you know anyone who is struggling, please tell them about the Lord who can comfort them in their struggles and save them in their struggles. 

 

I know He will get me through all the tough things in life and He will keep me forever. All of us who love the Lord are able to experience His love and support forever and for now. With this in mind, I know there are people who are part of our church family, our Salvation Army family, and others who aren’t, who are struggling. Let us pray for them. Let us reach out to them. If you are struggling let us pray with you. The Lord loves us; He wants us to be safe in this world and the next. 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.

 

Let us pray.

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Colossians 3:11, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:26ff: Hate: the Division; Love: the Unity.

Presented to Alberni Valley Ministries, 29 August 2021, by Captain Michael Ramsay

 

• Colossians 3:11 Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. 

• 1 Corinthians 12:13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 

• Galatians 3:26ff So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. 

It is election season again. Is it me or are these things coming around way too frequently these years? It seems like only yesterday, or last year anyway that we just had a provincial election, and I am sure that next year we are having another municipal election and now we are in the middle of the second federal election since we have lived in this riding, and we have only been here for three years. That seems like a lot of elections. 

 

There are some very positive things about elections. We do get to see and chat with our Members of Parliament and interview their rivals. Both our incumbent MP, and his most competitive challenger, have helped on the Salvation Army food truck in the previous two weeks. This is great because they have an opportunity to meet those in most need in their prospective riding and those of us on the truck are able to have their ear and speak to the issues that matter most to the people the Salvation Army serves. 

 

Susan, the kids and I have lived across the country. We have lived on NDP Orange Vancouver Island, the Tory Blue Prairies, and in Liberal Red Toronto and here we are again back on the ‘left coast’. I have learned some very important things from this. One thing I have learned is that not every Liberal/ Tory/ Green /NDP (pick your least favourite party) is evil. It is true. There was a time when I thought that if you supported a particular political party, you must be either an idiot or a very bad person. I was wrong.

  

In Swift Current, I had the opportunity to get to know our Conservative MP a bit – he was, I believe, a good solid Christian. He came to speak at the Swift Current Salvation Army’s Centennial celebrations, and I had a lot of respect for him.  

 

In Toronto we worked very closely with the staff of the Liberal Cabinet Minister who represented our 'work' riding – I didn’t get to know him well, but we did work with his office and his assistants. One of his key people, Roz, I believe, even worked for the Salvation Army before she worked for his office. She and his other staff were a great help with some immigration issues that faced a number of our people, as well as various other things.  

 

Since we have been back on Vancouver Island, our NDP MP has been a great advocate for some of our initiatives. And, of course, he and I went to high school together in Victoria many years ago and this riding is also Susan’s dad’s old riding; so, we have a few points of connection. 

 

Honestly, it has been a much greater revelation than it should have been that there are great people who are members of all the political parties - even whatever party you may dislike the most. There are many great people in politics who we have gotten to know over the years. In Swift Current, the mayor’s grandma was part of our corps. And, of course, here the mayor’s husband is part of our team. There are many great people running for each of the parties. And I don’t think that God (or conversely the devil) has more influence over one party than the next so please don’t let the devil trick you into thinking he does and thus gain some measure of control over you. 

 

Christians, people who honestly serve Jesus, people who regularly read their Bibles, people who pray every day – even more than we or you do, they will vote for a member of that political party that you cannot stand or even understand! And they may even be a member of said party.

 

On election day, you are of course able to vote for whomever you want, for whatever reason you want to vote for them – but please don’t become a victim of the present campaign. Don’t become collateral damage. Don’t let yourself be manipulated by being worked up into a rage or worked down into helplessness. Don’t let the devil mess with your mind and your emotions. He wants to mess you up. MLK jr said, “don’t let any man drag you so low as to make you hate him.”  The devil wants to make you hate Trudeau, O’Toole, Singh, or your local MP. Don’t do it! Genesis 4:7b “Sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.” Once we are divided by hating others, the devil can make us do all kinds of things that drag us into self-destruction and the destruction of others. Ephesians 4:27, “do not let the devil get a foothold.” He can divide us and destroy us.  

Therefore, we need to remember that in the Christian Church, Colossians 3:11 paraphrased: there is no Liberal or Conservative, NDP or Green, Libertarian, People’s Party, Bloc, separatist or nationalist but Christ is all, and is in all. 

 

Paul wrote in the 1st Century:

• To the Colossians, 3:11, “...there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all” and,  

• To the Corinthians, 1 Corinthians 12:13, “For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink” and, 

• To the Galatians, 3:26, 28,29, So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, ...There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

 

Why did Paul write this same thing to different people in different congregations in different cities? Paul wrote this because among his friends and colleagues, there were divisions that were threatening to tear them and the whole church apart. People in Paul’s group, Paul’s friends, were letting the devil into their churches. 

 

How were they letting the devil into their churches? They were holding the door open by identifying first as Jews or Gentiles, circumcised or uncircumcised, slave or free, men or women and only later as Christians – and then they would inevitably wind up fighting amongst themselves about these important things. So, you would have people who were previously united in the purpose of telling others the Good News of how Jesus can save them in and from their struggles who were now focusing INSTEAD on the election type issues that were important in the first century.  That is not to say that the issues aren’t important; it is to say that we need to solve the issues as members of the same team, God’s team. And God’s team is unified in loving Him and others and trying to serve Him and others – even if we have different ideas about how to do that, we need to work together as a team united under His leadership. That is what the Church is.

 

People invited the devil into the churches in the First Century by caring more about the issues that divide them than about the only real solution, which unites them – the love of God and Jesus Christ. This division threatened to destroy the whole First Century Church before it even had its footing. As Jesus said, recorded in Mark, “A house divided against itself cannot stand” (Mark 3:25; also Matthew 12:25, and cf. Luke 11:17) and Matthew, “no one can serve two masters” (Matthew 6:24, Luke 16:13). This is what the devil was trying to do – he was trying to make them care more about an issue (as important as it may be) than about God and their neighbour so as to divide them. Divide and conquer. 

 

The devil is doing the same thing today. You can actually see him prey upon good, solid people, trapping them in their own hatred for others who hold opposing ideas. We Christians invite the devil into our lives and our churches by fighting with each other instead of praying for each other and serving together. And friends this is a tragedy.

 

God has used you who are here in this room and others who are part of our group (as we are part of His Church) to do some great things for others and for the Kingdom during Covid; and friends God has used you and those who have come before you to do some amazing things in this community for over 70 years. Don’t let the devil mess things up by dividing us! 

 

• 1 Corinthians 12:13, “For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink” 

• Galatians 3:26, 28,29, So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, ...28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise

• Colossians, 3:11, “Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all” 

 

So Friends I implore us today to put our differences aside. If the devil has got a hold of our lives in anyway by making us hate one another, we can pray now and God will deliver us from that hate.  The Enemy is trying to divide us. For when we are divided we will fall but when we are united in Christ we will stand firm and we will stand forever. So rather than hate the world into destruction, let us love the world into salvation. And then the world will know we are Christians by our love. 

 

Let us pray.

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[1] Martin Luther King Jr, A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr (Ed. James M. Washington (HaperCollins: New York, NY, 1986)

[2] Cf. NT Wright, Paul for Everyone: The Prison Letters (Louisville, Kentucky, USA.: John Knox Press, 2004), 179.

[3] Samuel Ngewa, Galatians 3:26-4:11: Africa Bible Commentary, (Nairobi, Kenya:Word Alive Publishers, 2010), 1448: All categories have become one because they are united in Christ.

 

1 Peter 3:7-13: The Earth is on Fire

Presented to The Salvation Army Alberni Valley Ministries, 15 August 2021, by Captain Michael Ramsay

 

The earth is on fire. Rena and Tim’s son’s family and some friends of Mary Anne and others are in and around Vernon. There is a massive fire burning between Vernon and Kamloops (more than 557 km2 have been on fire there at one time this week alone). Susan, Sarah-Grace, Heather and I were just up there during our furlough. We saw helicopters carrying buckets almost every day, dropping chemicals on the ground (while the water bombers sit quietly by the Lake here). Roads were blocked due to the fire.

 

There were places we couldn’t go. We checked the news every day to see if we would need to be evacuated (like we needed to flee while on our previous holiday; when the plague of coronavirus hit the world, we scrambled to try to get safely home). This recent trip we stayed in Salmon Arm for a week.

 

There was smoke everywhere. We went kayaking, as well as tourist-ing: sometimes you couldn’t even see across the lake it was so smoky and the sun was a strange orange-y-red ball of fire, itself covered by the haze of the smoke. It looked like the heavens were on fire - just like the earth.

 

The earth is on fire. We just finished the Olympics. All around Athens is on fire. The home of the original Olympics is on fire. California is on fire. Australia is on fire. BC is on fire. Lytton burned to the ground. I have some great memories around Lytton. I have gone there with great friends. I have met close friends on trips there. More than once we went white-water rafting there. We have camped there. We have played paintball there. When I was a young adult, maybe about the ages of my oldest two daughters, I had a lot of fun making memories there. Now Lytton itself is just a memory. It has been burned to the ground.

 

There is talk about global warming and talk of climate change. Some climate scientists and others are saying that this is the consequence of our sin of not taking care of the earth – which was one of the very first commands God gave humanity (Gen 1:26-28). The earth is right now cursed because of our sin (Gen 3:17). Many are calling for us to repent of our sins and to take care of the earth.

 

The earth was first cursed because of the sins of Adam and Eve and they fled Eden. The earth was later cursed (different word in Hebrew) with a flood because of the sins of humanity leading up to the time of Noah. God created the earth from water, through water; and then, Genesis 6-9, it was drowned in water and destroyed by water.[1]   

 

2 Peter 3 tells of a time when the heavens and the earth will both be on fire and the earth will be destroyed by fire. Today the earth is on fire. The fire that is consuming the earth at the present time may not be the ultimate fire or even the penultimate fire. It should ultimately however be a reminder of warnings of 2 Peter 3, Genesis 6-9, and so much more.

 

Peter tells us that there are scoffers and mockers; people who just do what they want with no mind to others. Peter (2:3) says that they follow their own evil desires. How many of us in our world today are scoffers and mockers; people who just do what they want with no mind to others? How many of us are following our own desires and scoffing; denying, ignoring God, others, and our responsibilities or pretending that we can do nothing? How many of us are ignoring the warning of the burning fires?

 

The environmental aspect of this passage cannot be ignored. As Genesis (15) and Leviticus (25) tell us, if humanity declines its responsibility to tend for the earth, we will be removed from it just as Adam and Eve, the Amorites and the Israelites were (cf. 2 Chronicles 36:20-21). [2]  We cannot ignore God’s commission to care for the earth and expect the earth to be cared for all at the same time.

 

There is more. Peter knows that every day since the resurrection of the Christ is the last days. Peter was in the last days. We are in the last days. Peter warns us that the end is coming soon– today’s fires should be a reminder of that – and Peter explains how he hopes we will respond to this warning.

 

Peter exhorts us to, 2 Peter 1:5-8, make every effort to supplement our faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with perseverance or steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with kinship or brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For when these qualities are in our lives, we will not be ineffective and we will fulfil our responsibilities to God, our neighbour, the earth, and our world.

 

Peter warns us that there will always be temptations, Chapter 2, to sensuality, greed, much more - and even blasphemy. Peter warns us that even when we get free, the many terrible things in our lives that interfere with our wholeness, holiness, happiness and peace; they will try to grab us and pull us back to misery and enslavement.

 

Even just judging by Facebook and other social media, some of us here have probably struggled with hate in one form or another: either of a person, a political party, an idea, a movement, a pet peeve, or something else. Judging even just by Facebook and other social media, the sins of self-righteous anger, un-forgiveness, and hatred are reaching out like smoke from a fire to choke the life and love out of many people. Greed and self-indulgence also try pull us away from peace, healing, holiness, and wholeness as well. Sin can be like an addiction: just when we think we are free of it, it reaches out to try to pull us into a self-destruction that is accompanied by as much collateral damage as possible. When we are captured by a sin that we had previously escaped, Peter says, Chapter 2:22, we are like a sow which, having just been washed clean, heads directly to the pig sty – rejecting that cleansing that is so freely offered and so effectively applied.

 

But this letter that we call 2 Peter isn’t a lecture telling us that we must be good and we mustn’t be bad. That will come.[3]  This letter is a promise. This letter promises that we can be delivered from the things that are trying to separate us from our peace and our sanity. This letter tells us that we can be delivered from our addictions, self-righteousness, self-indulgence, and greed. We can be restored to wholeness and holiness and God will not give up on us until we all have had our chance. [4]  God is patient. He is perseverance personified.

 

If there is some sin or addiction trying to drag your life away from you, don’t give up. Keep keeping on. God wants you to succeed and to be free from it. He is patient with you (3:9). He does not wish that any of us should perish in our struggles. He desires that we should all turn away from and be free of that which is trying to destroy us.

 

God won’t destroy the earth by fire prematurely. Just like the Amorites were given four hundred years grace before He eventually removed them from His land; and just like the Israelites were given the same warnings in the same land, generation after generation, before He eventually removed them from His land; and just like the people of Noah’s generation were not removed from the land until every inclination of their heart was only towards evil all the time, so too in these last times. When everything else had been done, God finally cleansed the earth with floodwaters. [5] Only when everything else has been done, will He cleanse the earth with fire. The Lord is not slow in bringing this concluding fire and resulting renewal. He will give us every opportunity to be free of all that tries to enslave us before He scrunches up, like a paper, this world of sin that tries to ensnare us, and tosses it in the bin, into the fireplace. God will not end any of our time here before we have all the time and every opportunity to experience the freedom that only comes from serving God. He doesn’t want any of us to miss out on His peace, His love and forgiveness.

 

Peter encourages all of us. As sure as the fires are burning across our world today, people are perishing in many ways – help them. People are struggling with many things – help them.

 

When the world does eventually get so bad that there is nothing left in it but only evil inclinations all the time and God does cleanse it with fire, He promises that even then He will create the world anew: new heavens and a new earth. He promises that in these new heavens and on this new earth there will be no more sorrow, no more sickness, no more suffering, and no more death (Rev 24:4). This is something to look forward to - but don’t worry. The Lord is not being slow in bringing these new heavens and the new earth; He loves us all so much that He wants to make sure that everyone who wants to be present in the new heavens and on the new earth, He wants to make sure that everyone who desires to be a part of His eternal kingdom of love and forgiveness can and will be a part of His eternal kingdom of love and forgiveness. All the same, He is not slow to come. He is coming soon.

 

It is to this end that I really encourage each of us today: if you know someone who is struggling, reach out to them. If you see someone who is suffering, reach out to them. If you are struggling, as it is possible, reach out to someone; if you are suffering, reach out to the Lord. For as we come to Lord and as we bring each other to the Lord, He will transform us, making each of us anew, even before He makes the whole world anew, so that even now - in the midst of the very real challenges of our lives - we can start to live new whole, holy and peaceful lives that will continue on in love and peace for now and eternity - even unto the new heavens and the new earth.

 

Let us pray.

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[1] Doug Oss and Thomas R. Schreiner, 2 Peter3:4-6, in ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, Illinois: Good News Publishers, 2008), 2422.

[2] Captain Michael Ramsay, The Nipawin Journal, "What is My Responsibility to the Environment?" (September 2008) Available on-line: http://sheepspeak.com/sasknews.htm#environment And cf. Laird Harris, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM:Leviticus/Exposition of Leviticus/IX. Laws of Land Use (25:1-55), Book Version: 4.0.2

[3] Tokunboh Adeyemo, Africa Bible Commentary, (Nairobi, Kenya: Word Alive Publishers, 2010), 1554: By the Yoruba of Western Nigeria, “Faith is regarded as a gift that brings salvation. But accepting this gift has consequences...We do not receive faith without it taking something away from us. It will take away sorcery, idolatry, adultery, witchcraft, and the like.”

[4] Cf. Duane F. Watson, 2 Peter, (NIB XII: Abingdon Press: Nashville, 1998), p. 353

[5] The story of Noah demonstrates God’s ability and desire to deliver the righteous even in the most extreme circumstances. Cf. Pheme Perkins, First and Second Peter, James, and Jude, (Interpretation: Louisville, Kentucky, USA: John Knox Press, 1995), 183.