For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3.16
Christ's love is for everyone...John 3.16
*161 first, it offers the universality of God's love toward humanity. His interest is not limited to a few exceptional individuals, to one race, type or vocation. it's all-encompassing. second, that love expressed itself in action: a gift of unprecedented and inconceivable value - His only Son. not one won among many, but the only one.
third, that salvation is given on the basis of belief, not works. of course this theme permeates all of scripture and even became the cornerstone of Martin Luther's epiphany: 'the Just shall live by his faith. Habakkuk 2.4 what a relief that salvation carries no human price tag except belief. it doesn't require a pilgrimage. it doesn't demand material substance. it's not for sale and entails no
*162 negotiation. it's freely offered to whosoever will. if that's not inclusive, I don't know what is. you don't need a college education or to be born into a functional family. you don't need to become good or have a background of living well. Wow.
I remember well that after i accepted this initial offering at 9, lying in a bunk bed in a cabin at a Christian summer camp, I had real doubts as to whether God had accepted me. was i really saved? for growing up in such a good family, I was a bad kid. lying, stealing, bullying. but every time I had doubts, I just recited whosoever will and the peace of God's indwelling Spirit flooded over me anew. full assurance followed that simple phrase. whosoever included me; what a relief.
fourth the verse promises a division between perishing and having everlasting life. in other words, 2 distinct paths exist. this is not allegory and fancy psychobabble. 2 destinies await. where our faith rests sets us upon one course or the other. the notion that all roads lead to heaven is not true. the whole idea of a scale with Grandpa God placing our good deeds on one side and bad on the other to see which way it tilts is not correct.
although God clearly stipulates how to join His family and clearly explains how to know you're in that family, it is absolutely open to all. Democrats, Republicans, Greenies, Socialists ( well, let's not get too carried away - ha!) the whosoever will invitation offers a breadth that embraces everyone.everyone can participate, regardless of education, background, color, socioeconomic status.
this is what it means when God says He is 'No respecter of persons'. Acts 10.34 Jesus made a big point to spend time with the physically, socially or financially unlovely. if anything defines the raw, unbridled human attitude, it's prejudice, exclusivity, elitism and cliquishness. Goodness, look how God had to work with Paul, Peter, James and the other apostles after His ascension to help them understand that 'whosoever will' included the Gentiles.
for the Israelites, whose whole identity and history were wrapped up in exclusivity as God's chosen people to see God extend His
*163 grace and benefits to the Gentiles struck at the core of their being. God grafted in the Gentiles, breaking down the wall of separation that had always existed. prior to Pentecost, non-Israelites could become proselytes, but that was as close as a Gentile could get. now suddenly all believers, whether Jew or Greek, Iranian or American, enjoyed equal heirship status in this inclusive family.
now let's turn the corner, in the light of these wonderful truths, and look at food and farming. can the food system or a farm system be constructed to reflect these truths? do these truths have any ramifications for how we design our physical lives or are they just spiritual disembodied theological expressions that end at our sensual universe? if we could build a whosoever will food system, what would it look like.
for starters. let's look at the 2 currently offered to us. don't get ahead of me -I'm not calling them the one that perishes or the one that leads to everlasting life...yet. let's just stick with the concept of whosoever will. let's start with something simple like eggs. in the industrial model. which is of course today's orthodoxy,eggs come from hybrid chickens that have been selected for a long time to have tiny bodies and lay like crazy. prior to industrialization, the average backyard hen weighed about 6 pounds and laid 150 to 170 eggs per year.
today's commercial bird weighs as little as 3 pounds and lays 300 eggs in a year. unlike her old-fashioned cousin, however, this newfangled industrial bird has some real needs. first, she's extremely fragile. she can't handle rainstorms or frosty nights. second, she requires exceptionally sophisticated nutrients. if she exercised or ran around, she wouldn't be able to put all her energy into simply laying eggs. therefore, her activity must be restricted in tiny cages inside CAFOs.
to ensure maximum production in as short time as possible, these buildings use lights in a tightly regulated regimen to simulate ever-increasing day length. all birds lay best during increasing day length (spring) and reduce production during decreasing day length....
note: the message of this book is fourfold:
one, due to the anti-nature system of farming adopted by a great majority of USA farmers our land is being denuded of the nutrients so necessary to health giving food to our detriment.
two, this needs to change to a nature enhancing practice of farming...ie. it is best practiced by millions of people (my belief, not stated directly by the book) on small parcels of nutrient-rich land. (look at Proverbs 31)
three, if the current practice is not changed we face a nutritional Armageddon.
four, people who fear God and have believed/received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior need to lead the way back to the Promised Land of life enhancing/blessing nutrition...we need to be the Salt of the Earth.
I leave off sharing more of it but rather,
I encourage you to buy the book yourself, read and reread thoughtfully... and digest and.... decide to walk the road back to optimal physical health by a thoughtful, hopefully a determined- to-produce and or eat- only- nutritionally- beneficial- food..... and-then- evangelize- the- eaters- of-dead- industrial- 'food'-substances all around us!
Tuesday, February 27, 2018
Saturday, February 24, 2018
2.24.2018 John Wesley Works Vol. 5 SERMONS #4 Spiritual Christianity; pp37; complete; Aug. 24, 1744 at St.Mary's, Oxford, before the University ; COMPLETE
(Wesley's note about the sermon: it was not my design, when I wrote ever to print the latter part of the following Sermon, but the false and scurrilous accounts of it which have been published, almost in every corner of the nation, constrain me to publish the whole, just as it was preached; that men of reason may judge for themselves'.
*37 whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet and taketh not warning, if the sword come and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. Exe. 33. 4
'and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost. acts 4.31
1. the same expression occurs in the second chapter, where we read, 'when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all, (the apostle, with the women and the mother of Jesus and His brethren) with one accord, in one place. and suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing might wind. and there appeared unto them cloven tongues, like as of fire and it sat upon each of them. and they wee all filled with the Holy Ghost'. one immediate effect whereof was , 'they began to speak with other tongues' insomuch, that both the Parthians, Medes, Elamites and the other strangers who 'came together, when this was noised abroad, heard them speak, in their several tongues, the wonderful works of god. Acts 2.1-6
2. in this chapter we read that when the Apostles and brethren had been praying and praising God the place was shaken where they were assembled together and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost'. not that we find any visible appearance here, such as had been on the former instance, nor are we informed that the Extraordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost. not that we find any visible appearance here, such as had been in the former instance, nor are we informed that the Extraordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost
*38 were then given to all or any of them; such as the gifts of 'healing,of working' other 'miracles, of prophecy, of discerning spirits, the speaking with divers kinds of tongues and the interpretation of tongues'. I Cor. 12.9-10
3. whether these gifts of the Holy Ghost were destined to remain in the church throughout all ages and whether or no they will be restored at the nearer approach of the 'restitution of all things' are questions which it is not needful to decide. but it is needful to observe this, that even in the infancy of the Church, God divided them with a sparing hand. were all even then prophets? where all workers of miracles? had all the gifts of healing? did all speak with tongues? no, in no wise. perhaps not one in 1000.probably none but the Teachers in the Church and only some of them. I Cor. 12.28-30 it was, therefore, for a more excellent purpose than this, that 'they were all filled with the Holy Ghost.
4. it was, to give them (what none can deny to be essential to all Christian in all ages) the mind which was in Christ, those holy fruits of the Spirit which whomsoever hath not, is none of Hiss; to fill them with 'love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness' Gal. 5.22-4 to endue them with faith, (perhaps it might be rendered, Fidelity (def - strict adherence to promises, duties; 'faith') with meekness and temperance to enable them to crucify the flesh, with its affections and lusts, its passions and desires and, in consequence of that inward change, to fulfill all outward righteousness; to 'walk as Christ also walked' in 'the world of faith, in the patience of hope, the labour of love. I Thess, 1.3
5. without busying ourselves, then, in curious, needless inquiries, touching those extraordinary gifts of the Spirit, let us take a nearer view of these his Ordinary fruits, which we are assured will remain throughout all ages; - of that great work of God among the children of men, which we are used to express by one word, Christianity; not as it implies a set of opinions, a system of doctrines, but as it refers to men's hearts and lives. and this Christianity it may be useful to consider under three distinct views:
I. as beginning to exist in individuals.
!!. as spreading from one to another
III. as covering the earth.
I design to close these considerations with a plain practical application.
*39 I. 1. and, First, let us consider Christianity in its rise, as beginning to exist in individuals.
suppose, then, one of those who heard the Apostle Peter preaching repentance and remission of sins was pricked to the heart, was convince of sin, repented and then believed in Jesus. by this faith of the operation of God, which was the very substance, or subsistence, of things hoped for, (Heb. 11.1, the demonstrative evidence of invisible things, He instantly received the Spirit of Adoption, whereby he now cried, 'Abba Father" (Rom 8.15) now first it was that he could call Jesus Lord, by the Holy Ghost, (I Cor. 12.3) the Spirit itself bearing witness with his spirit that he was a child of God. Rom. 8.16 now it was that he could truly say, 'I live not, but Christ liveth in me and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. Gal. 2.20
2. this, then, was the very essence of His faith, a divine elegkos (note - greek for) evidence or conviction of the love of God the Father through the Son of His love, to him a sinner, now accepted in the Beloved. and, 'being justified by faith, he had peace with God'. a peace which, passing all understanding, (panta pan, all barely rational conception) kept his heart and mind from all doubt and fear, through the knowledge of him in whom he had believed. he could not, therefore, 'be afraid of any evil tidings' for his 'heart stood fast,believing in the Lord'. he feared not what man could do unto him, knowing the very hairs of his head were all numbered.he feared not all the powers of darkness, whom God was daily bruising under his feet. least of all was he afraid to die; nay, he desired to 'depart and to be with Christ (Phil. 1.23) who, 'through death, had destroyed him that had the power of death, even the devil and delivered them who, through fear of death, were all their lifetime', till then, 'subject to bondage'. Heb 2.15
3. his soul, therefore, magnified the Lord and His spirit rejoiced in God his Saviour. 'He rejoiced in Him with joy unspeakable,' who had reconciled him to God, even the Father, 'in whom he had redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins'. he rejoiced in that witness of God's Spirit with his spirit, that he was a child of God and more abundantly, 'in hope of the glory of god' in hope of the glorious image of
*40 God ans full renewal of his soul in righteousness and true holiness and in hope of that crown of glory, that 'inheritance, incorruptible, undefiled and that fadeth not away.
4. 'the love of God was also shed abroad in his heart, by the Holy ghost, which was given unto him'. Rom. 5.5 'because he was a son, God had sent forth the Spirit of His son into his heart, crying, Abba, Rather! Gal, 4.6 and that filial love of God was continually increased by the witness he had in himself (I John 5.10) of God's pardoning love to him, by 'beholding what manner of love it was which the Rather had bestowed upon him, that he should be called a child of God'. I John 3.1 so that God was the desire of his eyes and the joy of his heart; his portion in time and in eternity.
5. he that thus Loved God, could not but love his brother also and 'not in word only, but in deed and in truth'. 'If God, said he, so loved us, we ought also to love one another' (I John 4.11) yea, every soul of man, as 'the mercy of God is over all His works. Psalm 145.9 agreeably hereto, the affection of this lover of God embraced all mankind for his sake; not excepting those whom he had never seen in the flesh or those of whom he knew nothing more that that they were 'the offspring of God' for whose souls his Son had died; not excepting the 'evil' and 'unthankful' and least of all his enemies, those who hated or persecuted or despitefully used him for his Master's sake. these had a peculiar place, both in his heart and in his prayers. he loved them 'even as Christ loved us'.
6. and 'love is not puffed up'. I Cor. 13.4 it abases to the dust every soul wherein it dwells. accordingly, he was lowly of heart, little, mean and vile in his won eyes. he neither sought nor received the praise of men, but that which cometh of God only. he was meek and longsuffering, gentle to all and easy to be entreated. faithfulness and truth never forsook him. they were bound around his neck and wrote on the table of his heart'. by the same Spirit he was enabled to be temperate in all things, refraining his soul even as a weaned child. he was crucified to the world and the world crucified to him' superior to 'the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eye and the pride of life'. by the same almighty love was he saved, both from passion and pride; from lust and vanity; from ambition and covetousness and from every temper which was not in Christ.
*41 7. it maybe easily believed, he who had this love in his heart would work no evil to his neighbour. it was impossible for him, knowingly and designedly, to do harm to any man. he was at the greatest distance from cruelty and wrong, from any unjust or unkind action. with the same care did he 'set a watch before his mouth and keep the door of his lips', lest he should offend in tongue, either against justice or against mercy or truth. he put away all lying, falsehood and fraud, neither was guile found in his mouth. he spake evil of no man, nor did an unkind word ever come out of his lips.
8. and as he was deeply sensible of the truth of that word, 'Without me ye can do nothing' and, consequently, of the need he had to be watered of God every moment so he continued daily in all the ordinances of God, the stated channels of his grace to man. in the Apostles' doctrine' or teaching receiving that food of the soul with all readiness of heart in 'the breaking of bread', which he found to be the communion of the body of Christ and 'in the prayers' and praises offered up by the great congregation. and, thus he daily 'grew in grace', in creasing in strength, in the knowledge and love of God.
9. but it did not satisfy him, barely to abstain from doing evil. HIS SOUL WAS ATHIRST TO DO GOOD. The language of his heart continually was, 'My Father worketh hitherto and I work'. My Lord went about doing good and shall not i tread in His steps? as He had opportunity, therefore, if he could do no good of a higher kind, he fed the hungry, clothed the naked, helped the fatherless or stranger, visited and assisted them that were sick or in prison. he gave all his goods to feed the poor. he rejoiced to labour or to suffer for them and whereinsoever he might profit another, there especially to 'deny himself'. he counted nothing too dear to par with for them, as well remembering the word of his Lord, 'Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren ye have done it unto Me. Matthew 25.40
10. such was Christianity in its rise. such was a Christian in ancient days. such was every one of those who, when they heard the threatenings of the Chief priests and Elders, 'lifted up their voice to god with one accord and were all filled with the Holy Ghost. the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul'. so did the love of him in whom they had believed, constrain them to love one another! neither
*42 said any of them that aught of the things which he possessed was his own, but they had all things common'. so fully were they crucified to the world and the world crucified to them, 'and they continued steadfastly with one accord in the Apostles' doctrine and in the breaking of bread and in prayer'. Acts 2.42 'and great grace was upon them all; neither was there any among them that lacked, for as many as were possessors of lands or houses, sold them and brought the prices of the things that were sold and laid them down at the Apostles feet and distribution was made unto every man, according as he had need'. Acts 4.31-5
II. 1. let us take a view, in the Second place, of this Christianity, as spreading from one to another and so gradually making its way into the world, for such was the will of god concerning it, who did not 'light candle to put it under a bushel, but that it might give light to all that were in the house'. and this our Lord had declared to His first disciples, 'ye are the salt of the earth', 'the light of the world' at the same time that he gave that general command, 'Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven'. Matt. 5.13-6
2. and, indeed, supposing a few of these lovers of mankind to see 'the whole world lying in wickedness' can we believe hey would be unconcerned at the sight, at the misery of those for whom their Lord died? would not their bowels yearn over them and their hearts melt away for very trouble/ could they then stand idle all the day long, even were there no command from Him whom they loved? rather would they not labour, by all possible means, to pluck some of these brands out of the burning? undoubtedly they would: they would spare no pains to bring back whomsoever they could of those poor 'sheep that had gone astray, to the Great Shepherd and Bishop of their souls'. I Pet. 2.25
3. so the Christians of old did. they laboured,having opportunity,'to do good unto all men'. (Gal. 6.10) warning them to flee from the wrath to come..now, Now to escape the damnation of hell. they declared,'the times of ignorance God winked at, but now He calleth all men everywhere to repent. Acts 22.30 they cried aloud,turn ye, turn ye, from your evil ways; so iniquity shall not be your ruin'. Ezekiel 18. 30 they 'reasoned' with them of 'temperance and righteousness
*43 or justice - of the virtues opposite to their reigning sins 'and of judgment to come' - of the wrath of God which would surely be executed on evil-doers in that day when he should judge the world. Acts 24. 25
4. they endeavoured herein to speak to every man severally as he had need. to the careless, to those who lay unconcerned in darkness and in the shadow of death, they thundered, 'awake, thou that sleepest; arise from the dead and Christ shall give thee light'. but to those who were already awakened out of sleep and groaning under a sense of the wrath of God, their language was, 'We have an Advocate with the Father; He is the Propitiation (def - 'appease' ; conciliate) for our sins'. meantime, those who had believed, they provoked to love and to good works; to patient continuance in well-doing and to abound more and more in that holiness without which no man can see the Lord. Heb 12.14
5. and their labour was not in vain in the Lord. His word ran and was glorified. it grew mightily and prevailed. but so much the more did offences prevail also. the world in general were offended, 'because they testified of it, that the works thereof were evil'. John 7.7 the men of pleasure were offended, not only because these men were made, as it were, to reprove their thoughts
( 'He professeth, said they, to have the knowledge of God;
he calleth himself the child of the Lord;
his life is not like other men's; his ways are of another fashion;
he abstaineth from our ways, as from filthiness;
he maketh his boast, that God is his Father' Wisdom 2.13-6
but much more, because so many of their companions were taken away and would no more run with them to 'the same excess of riot' I peter 4.4 the men of reputation were offended, because, as the gospel spread, they declined in the esteem of the people and because many no longer dared to give them flattering titles or to pay man the homage due to God only.
the men of trade called one another together and said, 'Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our wealth, but ye see and hear that these men have persuaded and turned away much people, so that this our craft is in danger to be set at nought. Acts 19.25
above all, the men of religion, so called, the men of Outside religion, 'the saints of the world' were offended and ready at every opportunity to cry out, 'Men of Israel,help! we have found these men pestilent fellows,
*44 movers of sedition throughout the world'. Acts 24.5
'these are the men that teach all men everywhere against the people and against this place. Acts 21.28
6. this it was that the heavens grew black with clouds and the storm gathered amain.for the more Christianity spread, the more hurt was done, in the account of those who received it not and the number increased of those who were more and more enraged at these 'men who thus turned the world upside down' (Acts 17.6) insomuch that more and more cried out, 'away with such fellows from the earth; it is not fit that they should live' yea and sincerely believed that whosoever should kill them would do God service.
7. meanwhile they did not fail to cast out their name as evil; (Luke 6.22) so that this 'sect was everywhere spoken against'. Acts 28. 22 men said all manner of evil of them, even as had been done of the Prophets that were before them. Matt. 5.12 men said all manner of evil of them,even as had been done of the prophets that were before them. Matt. 5.12 and whatsoever any would affirm, others would believe; so that offences grew as the stars of heaven for multitude. and hence arose, at the time fore-ordained of the Father, persecution in all its forms. some, for a season, suffered only shame and reproach;p some, 'the spoiling of their goods' ; 'some had trial of mocking and scourging; some, of bonds and imprisonment' and others 'resisted unto blood'. Heb 10.34; 11.36 etc.
8. now it was that the pillars of hell were shaken and the kingdom of God spread more and more. sinners were everywhere 'turned from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God'. he gave his children 'such wisdom, as all their adversaries could not resit' and their lives were of equal force with their words. but above all, their sufferings spake to all the world. they 'approved themselves the servants of God, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours,; in perils in the sea, in perils in the wilderness, in weariness and painfulness,in hunger an thirst, in cold and nakedness. II Cor. 6.4 etc. and when, having fought the good fight, they were led as sheep to the slaughter and offered up on the sacrifice and service of heir faith, then the blood of each found a voice and the Heathen owned, 'He, being dead, yet speaketh'.
9. thus did Christianity spread itself in the earth. but how soon did the tares appear with the wheat and the Mystery of
*45 Iniquity work as well as the Mystery of Godliness! how soon did SATAN FIND A SEAT, EVEN IN THE TEMPLE OF GOD (MATTHEW 16.18), 'till the woman fled into the wilderness' and 'the faithful were again minished (def - 'lessen') from the children of men'! here we tread a beaten path: The still increasing corruptions of the succeeding generations have been largely described, from time to time, by those witnesses God raised up, to show that he had 'built His Church upon a rock and the gates of hell should not 'wholly' prevail against her'.
III. 1. but shall we not see greater things than these? yea, greater than have been yet from the beginning of the world. Can Satan cause the truth of God to fail or his promises to be of none effect? if not, the time will come when Christianity will prevail over all and cover the earth. let us stand a little and survey (the Third thing which was proposed) this strange sight, a Christina World. of this the Prophets of old inquired and searched diligently. I Pet. 1.10-11 of this the Spirit which was in them testified: 'It shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established on the top of the mountains and shall be exalted above the hills and all nations shall flow unto it. and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks. nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. Isaiah 2.1-4 'in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, which shall stand for an Ensign of the people to it shall the Gentiles seek and his rest shall be glorious. and it shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall set His hand again to recover the remnant of His people and He shall set up an Ensign for the nations,and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel and gather together the dispersed of Judah, from the four corners of the earth'. Isaiah 11.10-12 'the wolf shall then dwell with the lamb and the leopard shall lie down with the did and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together and a little child shall lead them. they shall not hurt nor destroy, saith the Lord, in all My holy mountain. for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. Isaiah 11.6-9
2. to the same effect are the words of the great apostle, which it is evident have never yet been fulfilled. 'Hath God cast away His people? God forbid'. 'but through their fall salvation is come to the Gentiles'. 'and if the diminishing
*46 of them be the riches of the Gentiles, how much more their fulness?' 'for I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in and so all Israel shall be saved. Rom. 11.1,11,25-6
3. suppose now the fulness of time to be come and the prophecies to be accomplished. what a prospect is this! all is peace, quietness and assurance for ever'. here is no din of arms, no 'confused noise', no 'garments rolled in blood'. 'destructions are come to a perpetual end'. wars are ceased from the earth neither are there any intestine jars remaining; no brother rising up against brother;p no country or city divided against itself and tearing out its won bowels. civil discord is at an end for evermore and none is left either to destroy or hurt his neighbour. here is no oppression to 'make' even 'the wise man mad'; no extortion to 'grind the face of the poor'; no robbery or wrong; no rapine or injustice; for all are 'content with such things as they possess'. thus 'righteousness and peace have kissed each other ' Psalm 85.10 they have 'taken root and filled the land'; 'righteousness flourishing out of the earth' and 'peace looking down from heaven'.
4. and with righteousness or justice, mercy is also found. the earth is no longer full of cruel habitations. the Lord hath destroyed both the blood-thirst and malicious, the envious and revengeful man. were there any provocation, there is none that now knoweth to return evil for evil, but indeed there is none that doeth evil, no, not one; for all are harmless as doves. and being filled with peace and joy in believing and united in one body, by one spirit, they all love as brethren, they are all of one heart and of one soul. 'Neither saith any of them, that aught of the things which he possesseth is his own'. there is none among them that lacketh; for every man loveth his neighbour as himself. and all walk by one rule: 'whatever ye would that men should do unto you, even so do unto them'.
5. it follows, that no unkind word can ever be heard among them, no strife of tongues, no contention of any kind, no railing or evil-speaking, but every one 'opens his mouth with wisdom and in his tongue there is the law of kindness'. Equally incapable are they of fraud or guile. their love is without dissimulation (def - disguise). their words are always the just expression of their thoughts, opening a window into their breast, that whosoever
*47 desires may look into their hearts and see that only love and God are there.
6. thus, where the Lord Omnipotent taketh to Himself His mighty power and reigneth, doth he 'subdue all things to himself'. cause every heart to overflow with love and fill every mouth with praise. 'Happy are the people that are in such a case; yea, blessed are the people who have the Lord for their God'. Psalm 114.15 'Arise, shine' (saith the Lord) 'for thy light is come and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee'. 'Thou hast known that i, the Lord, am thy Saviour, and they Redeemer, the mighty God of Jacob. I have made thy officers peace and thy exactors (def - 'drive out; thrust out) righteousness. violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders, but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation and thy gates Praise'. 'Thy people are all righteous; they shall inherit the land for ever; the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that i may be glorified'. ' the sun shall be no more thy light by day, neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee, but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light and thy God thy glory. Isaiah 60.1,16-9
IV. having thus briefly considered Christianity , as beginning, as going on and as covering the earth; it remains only that I should close the whole with a plain, practical application.
1. and, First, I would ask, where does this Christianity now exist? where, I pray, do the Christians live? which is the country, the inhabitants whereof are all thus filled with the Holy ghost? are all of one heart and of one soul? cannot suffer one among them to lack anything, but continually give to every man as he hath need? who, one and all, have the love of God filling their hearts and constraining them to love their neighbour as themselves? who have all 'put on bowels of mercy, humbleness of mind, gentleness, longsuffering? who offend not in any kind, either by word or deed, against justice, mercy, or truth; but in every point do unto all men, as they would these would do unto them? with whet propriety can we term any a Christian country, which does not answer this description? why, then, let us confess we have never ye seen a Christian country upon earth.
2. I beseech you, brethren, by the mercies of God, if ye do account me a madman or a fool, yet, as a fool bear with me. it is utterly needful that some one should use great plainness of
*48 speech towards you. it is more especially needful at This time; for who knoweth by it is the Last? who knoweth how soon the righteous Judge may say, 'I will no more be entreated for this people?' 'though Noah, Daniel and Job, were in this land, they should but deliver their own souls'. and who will use this plainness, if I do not? therefore I, even I, will speak. and i assure you, by the living God, that ye steel not your breasts against receiving a blessing at My hands. do not say in your hearts, '(latin for 'your persuasions shall not prevail with us, even though they should really convince us.) let me rather perish in my blood, than be saved by this man!'
3. Brethren, 'I am persuaded better things of you, though I thus speak'. let me ask you then, in tender love and in the spirit of meekness,
Is this city a Christian city?
Is Christianity, scriptural Christianity, found here?
are we, considered as a community of men, so 'filled with the Holy Ghost' as to enjoy in our hearts and show forth in our lives, the genuine fruits of that spirit?
are all the Magistrates, all Heads and Governors of Colleges and Halls and their respective Societies, (not to speak of the inhabitants of the town) of one heart and one soul?
is' the love of God shed abroad in our hearts?
are our tempers the same that were in Him?
and are our live agreeable thereto?
are we 'holy as He who hath called us is holy, in all manner of conversation?
4. I entreat you to observe, that here are no peculiar notions now under consideration; that the question moved is not concerning Doubtful Opinions, of one kind or another, but concerning the undoubted, fundamental branches (if there be any such of our common Christianity. and for the decision thereof, I appeal to your own conscience, guided by the word of God. He therefore that is
not condemned by his own heart, let him go free.
5. in the fear, then and in the presence of the great god, before whom both you and I shall shortly appear, i pray you that are in authority over us, who I reverence for you office' sake, to consider (and not after the manner of dissemblers with God) are you 'filled with the Hold Ghost?' are you lively portraitures of Him who ye are appointed to represent among
*49 men? I have said, Ye are gods', ye magistrates and rulers; ye are by office so nearly allied to the God of heaven? in your several stations and degrees, ye are to show forth unto us 'the Lord our Governor'. are all the thoughts of our hearts, all your tempers and desires, suitable to your high calling? are all your words like unto those which come out of the mouth of God? is there in all your actions, dignity and love? - a greatness which words cannot express, which can flow only from a heart full of God and yet consistent with the character of 'man that is a worm and the son of man that is a worm.'
6. ye venerable men, who are more especially called to form the tender minds of youth, to dispel thence the shades of ignorance, and error and train them up to be wise unto salvation,
are you 'filled with the Holy ghost?
with all those 'fruits of the Spirit' which your important office so indispensably requires?
is your heart whole with God?
full of love and zeal to set up His kingdom on earth?
do you continually remind those under your care, that the one rational end of all our studies is to know, love and serve 'the only true God and Jesus Christ who He hath sent?
do you inculcate (def - 'trample, press, stuff in)upon them day by day, that love alone never faileth (whereas, whether there be tongues, they shall fail; or philosophical knowledge, it shall vanish away) and that without love, all learning is but splendid ignorance, pompous folly, vexation of spirit?
has all you teach an actual tendency to the love of God and of all mankind for His sake/
have you an eye to this end in whatever you prescribe, touching the kind, the manner and the measure of their studies; desiring and labouring that, wherever the lot of these young soldiers of Christ is cast, they may be so many burning and shining lights, adorning the gospel of Christ in all things?
and permit me to ask, do you put forth all your strength in the vast work you have undertaken? do you labour herein with all your might; exerting every faculty of your soul, using every talent which God hath lent you, and that to the uttermost of your power?
7. let it not be said, that i speak here, as if all under your care were intended to be Clergymen. not so: I only speak as if they were all intended to be Christians. but what example is set them by us who enjoy the beneficence of our forefathers? - by Fellows, Students, Scholars; more especially those who are of some rank and eminence" do ye, brethren, abound in the fruits of the Spirit, in lowliness of mind, in self-denial and mortification
*50 in seriousness and composure of spirit, in patience, meekness, sobriety, temperance and in unwearied, restless endeavours to do good in every kind unto all men, to relive their outward wants and to bring their souls to the true knowledge and love of God?
is this the general character of Fellows of Colleges?
I fear it is not.
rather, have not pride and haughtiness of spirit, impatience and peevishness, sloth and indolence, gluttony and sensuality and even a proverbial uselessness, been objected to us, perhaps not always by our enemies, nor wholly without ground?
O that God would roll away this reproach from us, that the very memory of it might perish for ever!
8. many of us are more immediately consecrated to God, called to minister in holy things. are we then patterns to the rest,'in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity?' I Tim. 4.12
is there written on our forehead and on our heart, 'Holiness to the Lord?' from what motives did we enter upon this office?
was it indeed with a single eye 'to serve God, trusting that we were inwardly moved by the Holy Ghost, to take upon us this ministration, for the promoting of His glory and the edifying of His people?
and have we 'clearly determined, by God's grace, to give ourselves wholly to this office?
do we forsake and set aside, as much as in us lies, all worldly cares and studies?
are we apt to teach?
are we taught of God, that we may be able to teach others also?
Do we know God?
do we know Jesus Christ?
Hath 'God revealed His son in us?
and hath He 'made us able Ministers of the new covenant?
where, then are the 'seals of our apostleship?
who, that were dead in trespasses and sins, have been quickened by our word?
have we a burning zeal to save souls from death, so that for their sake we often forget even to eat our bread?
do we speak plain, 'by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God? II Corinthians 4.2
are we dead to the world and the things of the world, 'laying up all our treasure in heaven?
do we lord over god's heritage or are we the least, the servants of all?
when we bear the reproach of Christ, does it sit heavy upon us; of do we rejoice therein?
when we are smitten on the one cheek, do we resent it?
are we impatient of affronts or do we turn the other also; not resisting the evil, but overcoming evil with good?
*51 have we a bitter zeal, inciting us to strive sharply and passionately with them that are out of the way; or is our zeal the flame of love, so as to direct all our words with sweetness, lowliness and meekness of wisdom?
9. once more: what shall we say concerning the youth at this place?
have you either the form or the power of Christian godliness?
are you humble, teachable, advisable or stubborn, self-willed, heady and high-minded?
are you obedient to your superiors as to parents; or do you despise those to whom you owe the tenderest reverence?
are you diligent in your easy business, pursuing your studies with all your strength>
do you redeem the time, crowding as much work into every day as it can contain?
rather, are ye not conscious to yourselves, that you wast away day after day, either in reading what has no tendency to Christianity or in gaming or in - you know not what?
are you better managers of your fortune than of your time?
do you, out of principle, take care to we no man anything?
do you 'remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy' to spend it in the more immediate worship of God?
when you are in His house, do you consider that God is there?
do you behave 'as seeing Him that is invisible'?
do you know how to 'possess your bodies in sanctification and honour'?
are not drunkenness and uncleanness found among you?
yea, are there not of you who 'glory in their shame'?
do not many of you 'take the name of God in vain', perhaps habitually, without either remorse or fear?
yea are there not a multitude of you that are forsworn? (def - swear falsely) I fear a swiftly increasing multitude.
be not surprised, brethren. before God and this congregation, I own myself to have been of the number, solemnly swearing to observe all those customs which I then knew nothing of and those statutes which i did not so much as read over, either then or for some years after. what is perjury, if this is not? but if it be, O what a weight of sin, yea, sin of no common dye, lieth upon us! and doth not the Most High regard it?
10. may it not be one of the consequences of this, that so many of you are a generations of triflers; triflers with God, with one another and with your own souls? for, how few of you spend, from one week to another, a single hour in private prayer! how few have any thought of God in the general tenor of your conversation! who of you is, in any degree, acquainted with the work of His Spirit, His supernatural work in the souls of men?
*52 can you bear, unless now and then, in a church, any talk of the Holy Ghost?
would you not take it for granted, if one began such a conversation, that it was either hypocrisy or enthusiasm? in the name of God Almighty, I ask,
what religion are you of?
even the talk of Christianity, ye cannot, will not hear. O my brethren, what a Christian city is this! 'it is time for thee, Lord, to lay to Thine hand.
11. for, indeed, what probability, what possibility rather, (speaking after the manner of men) is there that Christianity, scriptural Christianity should be again the religion of this place? that all orders of men among us should speak and live as men 'filled with the Holy Ghost'?
by whom should this Christianity be restore?
by those of you that are in authority?
are you convinced, then, that this is scriptural Christianity? are you desirous it should be restored?
and do ye not count your fortune, liberty, life, dear unto yourselves, so ye may be instrumental in the restoring of it?
but suppose ye have this desire, who hath any power proportioned to the effect?
perhaps some of you have made a few faint attempts, but with how small success!
shall Christianity, then, be restored by young, unknown, inconsiderable men? I know not whether ye yourselves could suffer it. would not some of you cry out, 'Young man, in so doing thou reproachest us? but there is no danger of your being put to the proof; so hath iniquity overspread us like a flood. whom, then, shall God send, -a famine, the pestilence, (the last messengers of God to a guilty land) or the sword, 'the armies of the' Romish 'aliens' - to reform us into our first love? nay, 'rather let us fall into Thy hand, O Lord, and let us not fall into the hand of man'.
Lord, save, or we perish! take us out of the mire, that we sink not! O help us against these enemies! for vain is the help of man. unto Thee all things are possible. according to the greatness of Thy power, preserve thou those that are appointed to die and preserve us in the manner that seemeth to Thee good, not as we will, but as Thou wilt!
*37 whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet and taketh not warning, if the sword come and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. Exe. 33. 4
'and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost. acts 4.31
1. the same expression occurs in the second chapter, where we read, 'when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all, (the apostle, with the women and the mother of Jesus and His brethren) with one accord, in one place. and suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing might wind. and there appeared unto them cloven tongues, like as of fire and it sat upon each of them. and they wee all filled with the Holy Ghost'. one immediate effect whereof was , 'they began to speak with other tongues' insomuch, that both the Parthians, Medes, Elamites and the other strangers who 'came together, when this was noised abroad, heard them speak, in their several tongues, the wonderful works of god. Acts 2.1-6
2. in this chapter we read that when the Apostles and brethren had been praying and praising God the place was shaken where they were assembled together and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost'. not that we find any visible appearance here, such as had been on the former instance, nor are we informed that the Extraordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost. not that we find any visible appearance here, such as had been in the former instance, nor are we informed that the Extraordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost
*38 were then given to all or any of them; such as the gifts of 'healing,of working' other 'miracles, of prophecy, of discerning spirits, the speaking with divers kinds of tongues and the interpretation of tongues'. I Cor. 12.9-10
3. whether these gifts of the Holy Ghost were destined to remain in the church throughout all ages and whether or no they will be restored at the nearer approach of the 'restitution of all things' are questions which it is not needful to decide. but it is needful to observe this, that even in the infancy of the Church, God divided them with a sparing hand. were all even then prophets? where all workers of miracles? had all the gifts of healing? did all speak with tongues? no, in no wise. perhaps not one in 1000.probably none but the Teachers in the Church and only some of them. I Cor. 12.28-30 it was, therefore, for a more excellent purpose than this, that 'they were all filled with the Holy Ghost.
4. it was, to give them (what none can deny to be essential to all Christian in all ages) the mind which was in Christ, those holy fruits of the Spirit which whomsoever hath not, is none of Hiss; to fill them with 'love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness' Gal. 5.22-4 to endue them with faith, (perhaps it might be rendered, Fidelity (def - strict adherence to promises, duties; 'faith') with meekness and temperance to enable them to crucify the flesh, with its affections and lusts, its passions and desires and, in consequence of that inward change, to fulfill all outward righteousness; to 'walk as Christ also walked' in 'the world of faith, in the patience of hope, the labour of love. I Thess, 1.3
5. without busying ourselves, then, in curious, needless inquiries, touching those extraordinary gifts of the Spirit, let us take a nearer view of these his Ordinary fruits, which we are assured will remain throughout all ages; - of that great work of God among the children of men, which we are used to express by one word, Christianity; not as it implies a set of opinions, a system of doctrines, but as it refers to men's hearts and lives. and this Christianity it may be useful to consider under three distinct views:
I. as beginning to exist in individuals.
!!. as spreading from one to another
III. as covering the earth.
I design to close these considerations with a plain practical application.
*39 I. 1. and, First, let us consider Christianity in its rise, as beginning to exist in individuals.
suppose, then, one of those who heard the Apostle Peter preaching repentance and remission of sins was pricked to the heart, was convince of sin, repented and then believed in Jesus. by this faith of the operation of God, which was the very substance, or subsistence, of things hoped for, (Heb. 11.1, the demonstrative evidence of invisible things, He instantly received the Spirit of Adoption, whereby he now cried, 'Abba Father" (Rom 8.15) now first it was that he could call Jesus Lord, by the Holy Ghost, (I Cor. 12.3) the Spirit itself bearing witness with his spirit that he was a child of God. Rom. 8.16 now it was that he could truly say, 'I live not, but Christ liveth in me and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. Gal. 2.20
2. this, then, was the very essence of His faith, a divine elegkos (note - greek for) evidence or conviction of the love of God the Father through the Son of His love, to him a sinner, now accepted in the Beloved. and, 'being justified by faith, he had peace with God'. a peace which, passing all understanding, (panta pan, all barely rational conception) kept his heart and mind from all doubt and fear, through the knowledge of him in whom he had believed. he could not, therefore, 'be afraid of any evil tidings' for his 'heart stood fast,believing in the Lord'. he feared not what man could do unto him, knowing the very hairs of his head were all numbered.he feared not all the powers of darkness, whom God was daily bruising under his feet. least of all was he afraid to die; nay, he desired to 'depart and to be with Christ (Phil. 1.23) who, 'through death, had destroyed him that had the power of death, even the devil and delivered them who, through fear of death, were all their lifetime', till then, 'subject to bondage'. Heb 2.15
3. his soul, therefore, magnified the Lord and His spirit rejoiced in God his Saviour. 'He rejoiced in Him with joy unspeakable,' who had reconciled him to God, even the Father, 'in whom he had redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins'. he rejoiced in that witness of God's Spirit with his spirit, that he was a child of God and more abundantly, 'in hope of the glory of god' in hope of the glorious image of
*40 God ans full renewal of his soul in righteousness and true holiness and in hope of that crown of glory, that 'inheritance, incorruptible, undefiled and that fadeth not away.
4. 'the love of God was also shed abroad in his heart, by the Holy ghost, which was given unto him'. Rom. 5.5 'because he was a son, God had sent forth the Spirit of His son into his heart, crying, Abba, Rather! Gal, 4.6 and that filial love of God was continually increased by the witness he had in himself (I John 5.10) of God's pardoning love to him, by 'beholding what manner of love it was which the Rather had bestowed upon him, that he should be called a child of God'. I John 3.1 so that God was the desire of his eyes and the joy of his heart; his portion in time and in eternity.
5. he that thus Loved God, could not but love his brother also and 'not in word only, but in deed and in truth'. 'If God, said he, so loved us, we ought also to love one another' (I John 4.11) yea, every soul of man, as 'the mercy of God is over all His works. Psalm 145.9 agreeably hereto, the affection of this lover of God embraced all mankind for his sake; not excepting those whom he had never seen in the flesh or those of whom he knew nothing more that that they were 'the offspring of God' for whose souls his Son had died; not excepting the 'evil' and 'unthankful' and least of all his enemies, those who hated or persecuted or despitefully used him for his Master's sake. these had a peculiar place, both in his heart and in his prayers. he loved them 'even as Christ loved us'.
6. and 'love is not puffed up'. I Cor. 13.4 it abases to the dust every soul wherein it dwells. accordingly, he was lowly of heart, little, mean and vile in his won eyes. he neither sought nor received the praise of men, but that which cometh of God only. he was meek and longsuffering, gentle to all and easy to be entreated. faithfulness and truth never forsook him. they were bound around his neck and wrote on the table of his heart'. by the same Spirit he was enabled to be temperate in all things, refraining his soul even as a weaned child. he was crucified to the world and the world crucified to him' superior to 'the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eye and the pride of life'. by the same almighty love was he saved, both from passion and pride; from lust and vanity; from ambition and covetousness and from every temper which was not in Christ.
*41 7. it maybe easily believed, he who had this love in his heart would work no evil to his neighbour. it was impossible for him, knowingly and designedly, to do harm to any man. he was at the greatest distance from cruelty and wrong, from any unjust or unkind action. with the same care did he 'set a watch before his mouth and keep the door of his lips', lest he should offend in tongue, either against justice or against mercy or truth. he put away all lying, falsehood and fraud, neither was guile found in his mouth. he spake evil of no man, nor did an unkind word ever come out of his lips.
8. and as he was deeply sensible of the truth of that word, 'Without me ye can do nothing' and, consequently, of the need he had to be watered of God every moment so he continued daily in all the ordinances of God, the stated channels of his grace to man. in the Apostles' doctrine' or teaching receiving that food of the soul with all readiness of heart in 'the breaking of bread', which he found to be the communion of the body of Christ and 'in the prayers' and praises offered up by the great congregation. and, thus he daily 'grew in grace', in creasing in strength, in the knowledge and love of God.
9. but it did not satisfy him, barely to abstain from doing evil. HIS SOUL WAS ATHIRST TO DO GOOD. The language of his heart continually was, 'My Father worketh hitherto and I work'. My Lord went about doing good and shall not i tread in His steps? as He had opportunity, therefore, if he could do no good of a higher kind, he fed the hungry, clothed the naked, helped the fatherless or stranger, visited and assisted them that were sick or in prison. he gave all his goods to feed the poor. he rejoiced to labour or to suffer for them and whereinsoever he might profit another, there especially to 'deny himself'. he counted nothing too dear to par with for them, as well remembering the word of his Lord, 'Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren ye have done it unto Me. Matthew 25.40
10. such was Christianity in its rise. such was a Christian in ancient days. such was every one of those who, when they heard the threatenings of the Chief priests and Elders, 'lifted up their voice to god with one accord and were all filled with the Holy Ghost. the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul'. so did the love of him in whom they had believed, constrain them to love one another! neither
*42 said any of them that aught of the things which he possessed was his own, but they had all things common'. so fully were they crucified to the world and the world crucified to them, 'and they continued steadfastly with one accord in the Apostles' doctrine and in the breaking of bread and in prayer'. Acts 2.42 'and great grace was upon them all; neither was there any among them that lacked, for as many as were possessors of lands or houses, sold them and brought the prices of the things that were sold and laid them down at the Apostles feet and distribution was made unto every man, according as he had need'. Acts 4.31-5
II. 1. let us take a view, in the Second place, of this Christianity, as spreading from one to another and so gradually making its way into the world, for such was the will of god concerning it, who did not 'light candle to put it under a bushel, but that it might give light to all that were in the house'. and this our Lord had declared to His first disciples, 'ye are the salt of the earth', 'the light of the world' at the same time that he gave that general command, 'Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven'. Matt. 5.13-6
2. and, indeed, supposing a few of these lovers of mankind to see 'the whole world lying in wickedness' can we believe hey would be unconcerned at the sight, at the misery of those for whom their Lord died? would not their bowels yearn over them and their hearts melt away for very trouble/ could they then stand idle all the day long, even were there no command from Him whom they loved? rather would they not labour, by all possible means, to pluck some of these brands out of the burning? undoubtedly they would: they would spare no pains to bring back whomsoever they could of those poor 'sheep that had gone astray, to the Great Shepherd and Bishop of their souls'. I Pet. 2.25
3. so the Christians of old did. they laboured,having opportunity,'to do good unto all men'. (Gal. 6.10) warning them to flee from the wrath to come..now, Now to escape the damnation of hell. they declared,'the times of ignorance God winked at, but now He calleth all men everywhere to repent. Acts 22.30 they cried aloud,turn ye, turn ye, from your evil ways; so iniquity shall not be your ruin'. Ezekiel 18. 30 they 'reasoned' with them of 'temperance and righteousness
*43 or justice - of the virtues opposite to their reigning sins 'and of judgment to come' - of the wrath of God which would surely be executed on evil-doers in that day when he should judge the world. Acts 24. 25
4. they endeavoured herein to speak to every man severally as he had need. to the careless, to those who lay unconcerned in darkness and in the shadow of death, they thundered, 'awake, thou that sleepest; arise from the dead and Christ shall give thee light'. but to those who were already awakened out of sleep and groaning under a sense of the wrath of God, their language was, 'We have an Advocate with the Father; He is the Propitiation (def - 'appease' ; conciliate) for our sins'. meantime, those who had believed, they provoked to love and to good works; to patient continuance in well-doing and to abound more and more in that holiness without which no man can see the Lord. Heb 12.14
5. and their labour was not in vain in the Lord. His word ran and was glorified. it grew mightily and prevailed. but so much the more did offences prevail also. the world in general were offended, 'because they testified of it, that the works thereof were evil'. John 7.7 the men of pleasure were offended, not only because these men were made, as it were, to reprove their thoughts
( 'He professeth, said they, to have the knowledge of God;
he calleth himself the child of the Lord;
his life is not like other men's; his ways are of another fashion;
he abstaineth from our ways, as from filthiness;
he maketh his boast, that God is his Father' Wisdom 2.13-6
but much more, because so many of their companions were taken away and would no more run with them to 'the same excess of riot' I peter 4.4 the men of reputation were offended, because, as the gospel spread, they declined in the esteem of the people and because many no longer dared to give them flattering titles or to pay man the homage due to God only.
the men of trade called one another together and said, 'Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our wealth, but ye see and hear that these men have persuaded and turned away much people, so that this our craft is in danger to be set at nought. Acts 19.25
above all, the men of religion, so called, the men of Outside religion, 'the saints of the world' were offended and ready at every opportunity to cry out, 'Men of Israel,help! we have found these men pestilent fellows,
*44 movers of sedition throughout the world'. Acts 24.5
'these are the men that teach all men everywhere against the people and against this place. Acts 21.28
6. this it was that the heavens grew black with clouds and the storm gathered amain.for the more Christianity spread, the more hurt was done, in the account of those who received it not and the number increased of those who were more and more enraged at these 'men who thus turned the world upside down' (Acts 17.6) insomuch that more and more cried out, 'away with such fellows from the earth; it is not fit that they should live' yea and sincerely believed that whosoever should kill them would do God service.
7. meanwhile they did not fail to cast out their name as evil; (Luke 6.22) so that this 'sect was everywhere spoken against'. Acts 28. 22 men said all manner of evil of them, even as had been done of the Prophets that were before them. Matt. 5.12 men said all manner of evil of them,even as had been done of the prophets that were before them. Matt. 5.12 and whatsoever any would affirm, others would believe; so that offences grew as the stars of heaven for multitude. and hence arose, at the time fore-ordained of the Father, persecution in all its forms. some, for a season, suffered only shame and reproach;p some, 'the spoiling of their goods' ; 'some had trial of mocking and scourging; some, of bonds and imprisonment' and others 'resisted unto blood'. Heb 10.34; 11.36 etc.
8. now it was that the pillars of hell were shaken and the kingdom of God spread more and more. sinners were everywhere 'turned from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God'. he gave his children 'such wisdom, as all their adversaries could not resit' and their lives were of equal force with their words. but above all, their sufferings spake to all the world. they 'approved themselves the servants of God, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours,; in perils in the sea, in perils in the wilderness, in weariness and painfulness,in hunger an thirst, in cold and nakedness. II Cor. 6.4 etc. and when, having fought the good fight, they were led as sheep to the slaughter and offered up on the sacrifice and service of heir faith, then the blood of each found a voice and the Heathen owned, 'He, being dead, yet speaketh'.
9. thus did Christianity spread itself in the earth. but how soon did the tares appear with the wheat and the Mystery of
*45 Iniquity work as well as the Mystery of Godliness! how soon did SATAN FIND A SEAT, EVEN IN THE TEMPLE OF GOD (MATTHEW 16.18), 'till the woman fled into the wilderness' and 'the faithful were again minished (def - 'lessen') from the children of men'! here we tread a beaten path: The still increasing corruptions of the succeeding generations have been largely described, from time to time, by those witnesses God raised up, to show that he had 'built His Church upon a rock and the gates of hell should not 'wholly' prevail against her'.
III. 1. but shall we not see greater things than these? yea, greater than have been yet from the beginning of the world. Can Satan cause the truth of God to fail or his promises to be of none effect? if not, the time will come when Christianity will prevail over all and cover the earth. let us stand a little and survey (the Third thing which was proposed) this strange sight, a Christina World. of this the Prophets of old inquired and searched diligently. I Pet. 1.10-11 of this the Spirit which was in them testified: 'It shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established on the top of the mountains and shall be exalted above the hills and all nations shall flow unto it. and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks. nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. Isaiah 2.1-4 'in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, which shall stand for an Ensign of the people to it shall the Gentiles seek and his rest shall be glorious. and it shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall set His hand again to recover the remnant of His people and He shall set up an Ensign for the nations,and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel and gather together the dispersed of Judah, from the four corners of the earth'. Isaiah 11.10-12 'the wolf shall then dwell with the lamb and the leopard shall lie down with the did and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together and a little child shall lead them. they shall not hurt nor destroy, saith the Lord, in all My holy mountain. for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. Isaiah 11.6-9
2. to the same effect are the words of the great apostle, which it is evident have never yet been fulfilled. 'Hath God cast away His people? God forbid'. 'but through their fall salvation is come to the Gentiles'. 'and if the diminishing
*46 of them be the riches of the Gentiles, how much more their fulness?' 'for I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in and so all Israel shall be saved. Rom. 11.1,11,25-6
3. suppose now the fulness of time to be come and the prophecies to be accomplished. what a prospect is this! all is peace, quietness and assurance for ever'. here is no din of arms, no 'confused noise', no 'garments rolled in blood'. 'destructions are come to a perpetual end'. wars are ceased from the earth neither are there any intestine jars remaining; no brother rising up against brother;p no country or city divided against itself and tearing out its won bowels. civil discord is at an end for evermore and none is left either to destroy or hurt his neighbour. here is no oppression to 'make' even 'the wise man mad'; no extortion to 'grind the face of the poor'; no robbery or wrong; no rapine or injustice; for all are 'content with such things as they possess'. thus 'righteousness and peace have kissed each other ' Psalm 85.10 they have 'taken root and filled the land'; 'righteousness flourishing out of the earth' and 'peace looking down from heaven'.
4. and with righteousness or justice, mercy is also found. the earth is no longer full of cruel habitations. the Lord hath destroyed both the blood-thirst and malicious, the envious and revengeful man. were there any provocation, there is none that now knoweth to return evil for evil, but indeed there is none that doeth evil, no, not one; for all are harmless as doves. and being filled with peace and joy in believing and united in one body, by one spirit, they all love as brethren, they are all of one heart and of one soul. 'Neither saith any of them, that aught of the things which he possesseth is his own'. there is none among them that lacketh; for every man loveth his neighbour as himself. and all walk by one rule: 'whatever ye would that men should do unto you, even so do unto them'.
5. it follows, that no unkind word can ever be heard among them, no strife of tongues, no contention of any kind, no railing or evil-speaking, but every one 'opens his mouth with wisdom and in his tongue there is the law of kindness'. Equally incapable are they of fraud or guile. their love is without dissimulation (def - disguise). their words are always the just expression of their thoughts, opening a window into their breast, that whosoever
*47 desires may look into their hearts and see that only love and God are there.
6. thus, where the Lord Omnipotent taketh to Himself His mighty power and reigneth, doth he 'subdue all things to himself'. cause every heart to overflow with love and fill every mouth with praise. 'Happy are the people that are in such a case; yea, blessed are the people who have the Lord for their God'. Psalm 114.15 'Arise, shine' (saith the Lord) 'for thy light is come and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee'. 'Thou hast known that i, the Lord, am thy Saviour, and they Redeemer, the mighty God of Jacob. I have made thy officers peace and thy exactors (def - 'drive out; thrust out) righteousness. violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders, but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation and thy gates Praise'. 'Thy people are all righteous; they shall inherit the land for ever; the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that i may be glorified'. ' the sun shall be no more thy light by day, neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee, but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light and thy God thy glory. Isaiah 60.1,16-9
IV. having thus briefly considered Christianity , as beginning, as going on and as covering the earth; it remains only that I should close the whole with a plain, practical application.
1. and, First, I would ask, where does this Christianity now exist? where, I pray, do the Christians live? which is the country, the inhabitants whereof are all thus filled with the Holy ghost? are all of one heart and of one soul? cannot suffer one among them to lack anything, but continually give to every man as he hath need? who, one and all, have the love of God filling their hearts and constraining them to love their neighbour as themselves? who have all 'put on bowels of mercy, humbleness of mind, gentleness, longsuffering? who offend not in any kind, either by word or deed, against justice, mercy, or truth; but in every point do unto all men, as they would these would do unto them? with whet propriety can we term any a Christian country, which does not answer this description? why, then, let us confess we have never ye seen a Christian country upon earth.
2. I beseech you, brethren, by the mercies of God, if ye do account me a madman or a fool, yet, as a fool bear with me. it is utterly needful that some one should use great plainness of
*48 speech towards you. it is more especially needful at This time; for who knoweth by it is the Last? who knoweth how soon the righteous Judge may say, 'I will no more be entreated for this people?' 'though Noah, Daniel and Job, were in this land, they should but deliver their own souls'. and who will use this plainness, if I do not? therefore I, even I, will speak. and i assure you, by the living God, that ye steel not your breasts against receiving a blessing at My hands. do not say in your hearts, '(latin for 'your persuasions shall not prevail with us, even though they should really convince us.) let me rather perish in my blood, than be saved by this man!'
3. Brethren, 'I am persuaded better things of you, though I thus speak'. let me ask you then, in tender love and in the spirit of meekness,
Is this city a Christian city?
Is Christianity, scriptural Christianity, found here?
are we, considered as a community of men, so 'filled with the Holy Ghost' as to enjoy in our hearts and show forth in our lives, the genuine fruits of that spirit?
are all the Magistrates, all Heads and Governors of Colleges and Halls and their respective Societies, (not to speak of the inhabitants of the town) of one heart and one soul?
is' the love of God shed abroad in our hearts?
are our tempers the same that were in Him?
and are our live agreeable thereto?
are we 'holy as He who hath called us is holy, in all manner of conversation?
4. I entreat you to observe, that here are no peculiar notions now under consideration; that the question moved is not concerning Doubtful Opinions, of one kind or another, but concerning the undoubted, fundamental branches (if there be any such of our common Christianity. and for the decision thereof, I appeal to your own conscience, guided by the word of God. He therefore that is
not condemned by his own heart, let him go free.
5. in the fear, then and in the presence of the great god, before whom both you and I shall shortly appear, i pray you that are in authority over us, who I reverence for you office' sake, to consider (and not after the manner of dissemblers with God) are you 'filled with the Hold Ghost?' are you lively portraitures of Him who ye are appointed to represent among
*49 men? I have said, Ye are gods', ye magistrates and rulers; ye are by office so nearly allied to the God of heaven? in your several stations and degrees, ye are to show forth unto us 'the Lord our Governor'. are all the thoughts of our hearts, all your tempers and desires, suitable to your high calling? are all your words like unto those which come out of the mouth of God? is there in all your actions, dignity and love? - a greatness which words cannot express, which can flow only from a heart full of God and yet consistent with the character of 'man that is a worm and the son of man that is a worm.'
6. ye venerable men, who are more especially called to form the tender minds of youth, to dispel thence the shades of ignorance, and error and train them up to be wise unto salvation,
are you 'filled with the Holy ghost?
with all those 'fruits of the Spirit' which your important office so indispensably requires?
is your heart whole with God?
full of love and zeal to set up His kingdom on earth?
do you continually remind those under your care, that the one rational end of all our studies is to know, love and serve 'the only true God and Jesus Christ who He hath sent?
do you inculcate (def - 'trample, press, stuff in)upon them day by day, that love alone never faileth (whereas, whether there be tongues, they shall fail; or philosophical knowledge, it shall vanish away) and that without love, all learning is but splendid ignorance, pompous folly, vexation of spirit?
has all you teach an actual tendency to the love of God and of all mankind for His sake/
have you an eye to this end in whatever you prescribe, touching the kind, the manner and the measure of their studies; desiring and labouring that, wherever the lot of these young soldiers of Christ is cast, they may be so many burning and shining lights, adorning the gospel of Christ in all things?
and permit me to ask, do you put forth all your strength in the vast work you have undertaken? do you labour herein with all your might; exerting every faculty of your soul, using every talent which God hath lent you, and that to the uttermost of your power?
7. let it not be said, that i speak here, as if all under your care were intended to be Clergymen. not so: I only speak as if they were all intended to be Christians. but what example is set them by us who enjoy the beneficence of our forefathers? - by Fellows, Students, Scholars; more especially those who are of some rank and eminence" do ye, brethren, abound in the fruits of the Spirit, in lowliness of mind, in self-denial and mortification
*50 in seriousness and composure of spirit, in patience, meekness, sobriety, temperance and in unwearied, restless endeavours to do good in every kind unto all men, to relive their outward wants and to bring their souls to the true knowledge and love of God?
is this the general character of Fellows of Colleges?
I fear it is not.
rather, have not pride and haughtiness of spirit, impatience and peevishness, sloth and indolence, gluttony and sensuality and even a proverbial uselessness, been objected to us, perhaps not always by our enemies, nor wholly without ground?
O that God would roll away this reproach from us, that the very memory of it might perish for ever!
8. many of us are more immediately consecrated to God, called to minister in holy things. are we then patterns to the rest,'in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity?' I Tim. 4.12
is there written on our forehead and on our heart, 'Holiness to the Lord?' from what motives did we enter upon this office?
was it indeed with a single eye 'to serve God, trusting that we were inwardly moved by the Holy Ghost, to take upon us this ministration, for the promoting of His glory and the edifying of His people?
and have we 'clearly determined, by God's grace, to give ourselves wholly to this office?
do we forsake and set aside, as much as in us lies, all worldly cares and studies?
are we apt to teach?
are we taught of God, that we may be able to teach others also?
Do we know God?
do we know Jesus Christ?
Hath 'God revealed His son in us?
and hath He 'made us able Ministers of the new covenant?
where, then are the 'seals of our apostleship?
who, that were dead in trespasses and sins, have been quickened by our word?
have we a burning zeal to save souls from death, so that for their sake we often forget even to eat our bread?
do we speak plain, 'by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God? II Corinthians 4.2
are we dead to the world and the things of the world, 'laying up all our treasure in heaven?
do we lord over god's heritage or are we the least, the servants of all?
when we bear the reproach of Christ, does it sit heavy upon us; of do we rejoice therein?
when we are smitten on the one cheek, do we resent it?
are we impatient of affronts or do we turn the other also; not resisting the evil, but overcoming evil with good?
*51 have we a bitter zeal, inciting us to strive sharply and passionately with them that are out of the way; or is our zeal the flame of love, so as to direct all our words with sweetness, lowliness and meekness of wisdom?
9. once more: what shall we say concerning the youth at this place?
have you either the form or the power of Christian godliness?
are you humble, teachable, advisable or stubborn, self-willed, heady and high-minded?
are you obedient to your superiors as to parents; or do you despise those to whom you owe the tenderest reverence?
are you diligent in your easy business, pursuing your studies with all your strength>
do you redeem the time, crowding as much work into every day as it can contain?
rather, are ye not conscious to yourselves, that you wast away day after day, either in reading what has no tendency to Christianity or in gaming or in - you know not what?
are you better managers of your fortune than of your time?
do you, out of principle, take care to we no man anything?
do you 'remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy' to spend it in the more immediate worship of God?
when you are in His house, do you consider that God is there?
do you behave 'as seeing Him that is invisible'?
do you know how to 'possess your bodies in sanctification and honour'?
are not drunkenness and uncleanness found among you?
yea, are there not of you who 'glory in their shame'?
do not many of you 'take the name of God in vain', perhaps habitually, without either remorse or fear?
yea are there not a multitude of you that are forsworn? (def - swear falsely) I fear a swiftly increasing multitude.
be not surprised, brethren. before God and this congregation, I own myself to have been of the number, solemnly swearing to observe all those customs which I then knew nothing of and those statutes which i did not so much as read over, either then or for some years after. what is perjury, if this is not? but if it be, O what a weight of sin, yea, sin of no common dye, lieth upon us! and doth not the Most High regard it?
10. may it not be one of the consequences of this, that so many of you are a generations of triflers; triflers with God, with one another and with your own souls? for, how few of you spend, from one week to another, a single hour in private prayer! how few have any thought of God in the general tenor of your conversation! who of you is, in any degree, acquainted with the work of His Spirit, His supernatural work in the souls of men?
*52 can you bear, unless now and then, in a church, any talk of the Holy Ghost?
would you not take it for granted, if one began such a conversation, that it was either hypocrisy or enthusiasm? in the name of God Almighty, I ask,
what religion are you of?
even the talk of Christianity, ye cannot, will not hear. O my brethren, what a Christian city is this! 'it is time for thee, Lord, to lay to Thine hand.
11. for, indeed, what probability, what possibility rather, (speaking after the manner of men) is there that Christianity, scriptural Christianity should be again the religion of this place? that all orders of men among us should speak and live as men 'filled with the Holy Ghost'?
by whom should this Christianity be restore?
by those of you that are in authority?
are you convinced, then, that this is scriptural Christianity? are you desirous it should be restored?
and do ye not count your fortune, liberty, life, dear unto yourselves, so ye may be instrumental in the restoring of it?
but suppose ye have this desire, who hath any power proportioned to the effect?
perhaps some of you have made a few faint attempts, but with how small success!
shall Christianity, then, be restored by young, unknown, inconsiderable men? I know not whether ye yourselves could suffer it. would not some of you cry out, 'Young man, in so doing thou reproachest us? but there is no danger of your being put to the proof; so hath iniquity overspread us like a flood. whom, then, shall God send, -a famine, the pestilence, (the last messengers of God to a guilty land) or the sword, 'the armies of the' Romish 'aliens' - to reform us into our first love? nay, 'rather let us fall into Thy hand, O Lord, and let us not fall into the hand of man'.
Lord, save, or we perish! take us out of the mire, that we sink not! O help us against these enemies! for vain is the help of man. unto Thee all things are possible. according to the greatness of Thy power, preserve thou those that are appointed to die and preserve us in the manner that seemeth to Thee good, not as we will, but as Thou wilt!
Thursday, February 22, 2018
2.22.2018 John Wesley Works Vol. 5 SERMONS #3 Awake Thou That Sleepest p25f; complete; April 4, 1742, before the University of Oxford
'Awake, thou that sleepest and arise from the dead and Christ shall give thee light' Eph. 5.14
in discoursing on these words, I shall, with the help of God,
First. describe the sleepers, to whom they are spoken
Secondly. enforce the exhortation, 'Awake, thou that sleepest and arise from the dead
Thirdly. explain the promise made to such as do awake and arise: 'Christ shall give thee light'.
I. 1. and, first, as to the sleepers here spoken to.
by sleep is signified the natural state of man; that deep sleep of the soul, into which the sin of Adam hath cast all who spring from his loins; that supineness, (def - 'lying face up; inactive), indolence, (def - 'painful'; disposition to avoid exertion, avoid action) and stupidity, that insensibility of his real condition, wherein every man comes into the world and continues till the voice of God awakes him.
2. now, 'they that sleep, sleep in the night'. the state of nature is a state of utter darkness; a state of utter darkness; a state wherein 'darkness covers the earth and gross darkness the people'. the poor
*26 unawakened sinner, how much knowledge soever he may have as to other things, has no of himself. in this respect 'he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know'
he knows not that he is a fallen spirit, whose only business in the present world is,
to recover from his fall,
to regain that image of God wherein he was created.
he sees No Necessity for the One Thing Needful,
even that inward universal change,
that 'birth from above' figured out by baptism,
which is the beginning of that total renovation, that sanctification of spirit, soul, and body, 'without which no man shall see the Lord.
3. full of all diseases as he is, he fancies himself in perfect health.
fast bound in misery and iron, he dreams that he is at liberty.
he says, 'Peace! Peace!'
while the devil, as 'a strong man armed' is in full possession of his soul.
he sleeps on still and takes his rest,
though hell is moved from beneath to meet him;
though the pit, from whence there is no return, hath opened its mouth to swallow him up.
a fire is kindled around him, yet he knoweth it not;
yea, it burns him, yet he lays it not to heart.
4. by one who sleeps, we are, therefore, to understand (and would to God we might all understand it!)
a sinner satisfied in his sins;
contented to remain in his fallen state,
to live and die without the image of God;
one who is ignorant both of his disease and of the only remedy for it;
one who never was warned, or never regarded the warning voice of God
'to flee from the wrath to come'
one that never yet saw he was in danger of hell fire or cried out in the earnestness of his soul,
'What must I do to be saved?'
5. if this sleeper be not outwardly vicious, his sleep is usually the deepest of all
whether he be of the Laodicean spirit, 'neither cold not hot',
but a quiet, rational, inoffensive, good-natured professor of the religion of his fathers
or whether he be zealous and orthodox and
after the most straitest sect of our religion' live 'a Pharise' that is, according to the Scriptural account,
one that justifies himself;
one that labours to establish his own unrighteousness
as the ground of his acceptance with God.
6. this is he, who 'having a form of godliness, denies the power thereof'
yea and probably reviles it, wheresoever it is found, as mere extravagance and delusion.
meanwhile, the wretched self-deceiver thanks God, that he is 'not as other men are;
adulterers, unjust, extortioners'.
no, he doeth no wrong to any man.
*27 he 'fasts twice in a week', uses all the means of grace, is constant at church and sacrament; yea and 'gives tithes of all that he has' does all the good that he can
'touching the righteousness of the law' he is 'blameless'
he wants nothing of godliness, but the power
nothing of religion, but the spirit
nothing of Christianity, but the truth and the life.
7. but know ye not, that, however highly esteemed among men such a Christian as this may be,
he is an abomination in the sight of God and
an heir of every woe which the son of God,
yesterday, today and forever
denounces against 'Scribes and pharisees, hypocrites?'
he hath 'made clean the outside of the cup and the platter' but within is full of all filthiness.
'and evil disease cleaveth still unto him, so that his inward parts are very wickedness' our Lord fitly compares him to a 'painted sepulchre' which 'appears beautiful without', but
nevertheless, is 'full of dead men's bones and of all uncleanness'.
the bones, indeed, are no longer dry
the sinews and flesh are come upon them and the skin covers them above.
but there is no breath in them,
no Spirit of the living God.
and 'if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His'.
'Ye are Christ's, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you'.
but if not, God knoweth that ye abide in death, even until now.
8. this is another character of the sleeper here spoken to.
he abides in death, though he knows it not.
he is dead unto God, 'dead in trespasses and sins'. for,
'to be carnally minded is death'.
even as it is written, 'by one man sin entered into the world and death by sin
and so death passed upon all men',
not only temporal death, but likewise spiritual and eternal.
'In that day that thou eatest', said God to Adam, thou shalt surely die'
not bodily, (unless as he then became mortal) but spiritually.
thou shalt lose the life of they soul
thou shalt die to God, shalt e separated from Him thy essential life and happiness.
9. thus first was dissolved the vital union of our soul with God
insomuch that 'in the midst of' natural 'life, we ar' now in spiritual 'death.
and herein we remain till the Second Adam becomes a quickening Spirit to us, till He raises the dead,
the dead in sin, in pleasure, riches or honours.
but, before any dead soul can live, he 'hears' (hearkens to) 'the voice of the Son of God'.
he is made sensible of his lost estate and receives
*28 the sentence of death in Himself. He knows Himself to be 'dead while he liveth
dead to God and all the things of God; having no more power to perform the actions of a living Christian,k than a dead body to perform the functions of a living man.
10. and most certain it is, that one dead in sin has not
'senses exercised to discern spiritual good and evil'.
'having eyes, he sees not; he hath ears and hears not'
he doth not 'taste and see that the Lord is gracious'
he 'hath not seen God at any time' nor 'heard His voice' nor 'handled the word of life'.
in vain is the name of Jesus
'like ointment poured forth and all his garments, smell of myrrh, aloes and cassia'.
the soul that sleepeth in death, hath no perception of any objects of this kind.
his heart is 'past feeling' and understandeth none of these things.
11. and hence, having no spiritual senses, no inlets of spiritual knowledge,
the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God;
nay, he is so far from receiving them, that
whatsoever is spiritually discerned is mere foolishness unto him.
he is not content with being utterly ignorant of spiritual things,
but he denies the very existence of them.
and spiritual sensation itself is to him the foolishness of folly.
'How, saith he,can these things be?
How can any man Know that he is alive to God?'
even as you know that your body is now alive.
faith is the life of the soul and if ye have this life abiding in you, ye want no marks to evidence it
To Yourself, but elenkos neumatos, that divine consciousness, that Witness of God,
which is more and greater than 10,000 human witnesses.
12. if he doth not now bear witness with they spirit, that thou art a child of God,
O that He might convince thee, , thou poor unawakened sinner, by His demonstration and power,
that thou art a child of the devil!
O that, as I prophesy, there might now be 'a noise and a shaking' and may 'the bones come together, bone to His bone!'
then, 'come from the 4 winds, O Breath! and breathe on these slain, that they may live! and
do not ye harden your hearts and resist the Holy Ghost,
who even now is come to convince you of sin,
'because you believe not on the name of the only begotten Son of God'.
II. 1. wherefore, 'awake, thou that sleepest and arise from the dead'. God calleth thee now by my mouth and bids thee
*29 know thyself, thou fallen spirit, thy true state and only concern below. 'What meanest thou, O sleeper? Arise! call upon thy God, if so be thy God will think upon thee, that thou perish not'. a mighty tempest is stirred up round about thee and thou aft sinking into the depths of perdition, the gulf of God's judgments. if thou wouldest escape them, cast thyself into them. 'Judge thyself, and thou shalt not be judged of the Lord'.
22. Awake, awake! stand up this moment, lest thou 'drink at the Lord's hand the cup of His fury'. stir up thyself to lay hold on the Lord, the Lord thy Righteousness, mighty to save! 'Shake thyself from the dust'. at least, let the earthquake of God's threatenings shake thee. Awake and cry out with the trembling jailor, 'What must i do to be saved? and never rest till thou believest on the Lord Jesus, with a faith which is his gift, by the operation of His Spirit.
3. If I speak to any one of you, more than to another, it is to thee who thinkest thyself unconcerned in this exhortation. 'I have a message from God unto thee'. in His name, I warn thee 'to flee from the wrath to come'. thou unholy soul, see they picture in condemned Peter, lying in the dark dungeon, between the soldiers, bound with 2 chains, the keepers before the door keeping the prison. the night is far spent, the morning is at hand, when thou aft to be brought forth to execution. and in these dreadful circumstances, thou art fast asleep: thou art fast asleep in the devil's arms, on the brink of the pit, in the jaws of everlasting destruction!
4. O may the Angel of the Lord come upon thee and the light shine into thy prison! and mayest thou feel the stroke of an almighty Hand, raising thee, with, 'Arise up quickly, gird thyself and bind on they sandals, cast thy garments about thee and follow me'.
5. Awake, thou everlasting spirit, out of thy dream of worldly happiness! did not God create thee for Himself? then thou canst not rest till thou restest in Him. return, thou wanderer! fly back to thy ark. this is not thy home. think not of building tabernacles here. thou art by a stranger, a sojourner upon earth, a creature of a day. but just launching out into an unchangeable state. make haste. eternity is at hand. eternity depends on this moment, and eternity of happiness or an eternity of misery!
*30 6. in what state is thy soul? was God, while I am yet speaking, to require it of thee, art thou ready to meet death and judgment? canst thou stand in His sight, who is of 'purer eyes than to behold iniquity'? art thou 'meet to be partaker of the inheritance of the saints in light'? hast thou 'fought a good fight and kept the faith'? hast thou secured the one thing needful? hast thou recovered the image of God, even righteousness and true holiness? hast thou put off the old man, and put on the new? Art thou clothed upon with Christ?
7. hast thou oil in they lamp? grace in thy heart? dost thou 'love the Lord thy God with all they heart and with all thy mind and with all thy soul. and with all they strength? is that mind in thee which was also in Christ Jesus? art thou a Christian indeed, that is a new creature? are old things passed away and all things become new?
8. art thou a 'partaker of the divine nature'? knowest thou not, that 'Christ is in thee, except thou be reprobate?
knowest thou, that God 'dwelleth in thee and thou in God by His Spirit, which He hath given thee? knowest thou not that 'thy body is a temple of the Holy Ghost, which thou hast of God? hast thou the witness in thyself? the earnest of thine inheritance? hast thou 'received the Holy Ghost? or, dost thou start at the question, not knowing 'whether there be any Holy Ghost?
9. if it offends thee, be thou assured, that thou neither art a Christian, nor desirest to be one. Nay, thy very prayer is turned into sin and thou hast solemnly mocked God this very day,by praying for the inspiration of his Holy Spirit, when thou didst not believe there was any such thing to be received.
10 yet, on the authority of God's word and our own Church, I must repeat the question, 'Hast thou received the Holy Ghost? if thou hast not, thou art not yet Christian. for a Christian is a man that is 'anointed with the Holy Ghost and with power'. thou art not yet made a partaker of pure religion and undefiled. dost thou know what religion is? that it is a participation of the divine nature; the life of God in the soul of man; Christ formed in the heart; 'Christ in thee, the hope of glory'? happiness and holiness; heaven begun upon earth? 'a kingdom of God within thee; not meat and drink' no outward thing, 'but righteousness and peach and joy in the Holy Ghost' an everlasting kingdom brought into thy soul;
*31 a 'peace of God, that passeth all understanding'; a 'joy unspeakable and full of glory'?
11. knowest thou, that, 'in Jesus Christ, neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but faith that worketh by love' , but a new creation? seest thou the necessity of that inward change, that spiritual birth, that life from the dead, that holiness? and art thou throughly convinced, that without it no man shall see the Lord? art thou labouring after it? 'giving all diligence to make thy calling and election sure?' 'working out thy salvation with fear and trembling? 'agonizing to enter in at the straight gate?
art thou in earnest about thy soul?
and canst thou tell the Searcher of hearts, 'Thou, O God, art the thing that i long for?
Lord, Thou knowest all things!
Thou knowest that i Would love Thee'!
12. thou hopest to be saved, but what reason hast thou to give of the hope that is in thee?
is it because thou hadst done no harm
or because thou hast done much good?
or because thou art not like other men, but wise or learned or honest and morally goo;
esteemed of men and of a fair reputation?
alas! all this will never bring thee to God.
it is in His account lighter than vanity.
dost thou know Jesus Christ, whom He hath sent?
hath He taught thee, that 'by grace we are saved through faith and that not of ourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast?
hast thou received the faithful saying, as the whole foundtion of thy hope, 'that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners?
hast thou learned what that meanth,'I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
I am not sent, but unto the lost sheep?
art thou(he that heareth, let him understand!) lost. dead, Damned Already?
dost thou know thy deserts?
dost thou feel thy wants?
art thou 'poor in spirit? mourning for God and refusing to be comforted?
is the prodigal 'come to himself' by those who are still feeding upon the husks which he hath left?
art thou willing to live godly in Christ Jesus?
and dost thou therefore suffer persecution?
do men say all manner of evil against thee falsely, for the Son of Man's sake?
13.O that in all these questions ye may hear the voice that wakes the dead and feel that hammer of the word, which breaketh the rocks in pieces! 'if ye will hear His voice today while it is called to day, harden not your hearts'
now 'awake,
*32 thou that sleepest' in spiritual death, that thou sleep not in death eternal'. feel thy lost estate and 'arise from the dead'. leave thine old companions in sin and death. follow thou Jesus, and let the dead bury their dead. 'Save thyself from this untoward generation'. 'come out from among them and be thou separate and touch not the unclean thing and the Lord shall receive thee'. 'Christ shall gibe thee light'.
III. 1. this promise, I come, lastly, to explain. and how encouraging a consideration is this, that whosoever thou art, who obeyest his call, thou canst not seek His face in vain! if thou even now 'awakest and arisest from the dead', He hath bound Himself to 'give thee light'.
'theLord shall give thee grace and glory'
the light of His grace here and the light of His glory when thou receivest the crown that fadeth not away.
'Thy light shall break forth as the morning and thy darkness be as the noon-day'
'God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, shall shine in thy heart to give the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Chrit'.
'on them that fear the Lord shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in His wings'.
and in that day it shall be said unto thee, 'Arise, shine; for thy light is come and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee'.
for Christ shall reveal himself in thee, and he is the true Light.
2. God is light and will give himself to every awakened sinner that waiteth for him and thou shalt then be a temple of the living God and Christ shall 'dwell in thy heart by faith. and 'being rooted and grounded in love, thou shalt be able to comprehend with all saints, what is the breadth and length and depth and height of that love of Christ which passeth knowledge'.
3. ye see your calling, brethren. we are called to be 'an habitation of God through His Spirit dwelling in us, to be saints here and partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. so exceeding great are the promises which are given unto us, actually given unto us who believe! for by faith 'we receive, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God', -the sum of all the promise, - 'that we may know the things that are freely given to us of God.
4. the Spirit of Christ is that great gift of God, which, at sundry times and in divers manners, he hath promised to man, and hath fully bestowed since the time that Christ was glorified
*33 those promises, before made to the fathers, He hath thus fulfilled: 'I will put My spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes'. Ezek. 36.27 'I will pour water upon him that is thirsty and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour My spirit upon they seed and my blessing upon thine offspring. Isaiah 44.3
5. ye may all be living witnesses of these things: of remission of sins and the gift of the Holy Ghost. 'If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth'. 'Who among you is there that feareth the Lord and ' yet walketh on 'in darkness and hath no light?' I ask thee, in the name of Jesus, believest thou that His arm is not shortened at all? that He is still mighty to save? that He is the same yesterday, today, and forever? that he hath now power on earth to forgive sins? 'Son, be o good cheer; they sins are forgiven'. God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven thee. receive this, 'not as the word of man, but as it is indeed the word of God' and thou art justified freely through faith. Thou shalt be sanctified also through faith which is in Jesus and shalt set to thy seal, even thine, that 'god hath given unto us eternal life and this life is in His Son.'
6. Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you and suffer ye the word of exhortation, even from one the least esteemed in the Church. your conscience beareth you witness in the Holy Ghost, that these things are so, if so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. 'This is eternal life, to know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He hath sent'. this experimental knowledge and this alone, is true Christianity. he is a Christian who hath received the Spirit of Christ. He is not a Christian who hath not received Him. neither is it possible to have received him and not know it. 'For, at that day, (when He cometh, saith our Lord) ye shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me and i in you'. this is that 'Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him, but ye know Him for He dwelleth with you and shall be in you'. John 14.17
7. the world cannot receive Him, but utterly reject the Promise of the Father, contradicting and blaspheming. but every spirit which confesseth not this is not of God. yea, 'this is that spirit of Antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come into the world and even now it is in the world'. He is
*34 Antichrist whosoever denies the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, or that the indwelling Spirit of God is the common privilege of all believers, the blessing of the gospel, the unspeakable gift, the universal promise, the criterion of a real Christian.
8. it nothing helps them to say, 'we do not deny the assistance of God's Spirit, but only this Inspiration, this Receiving The Holy Ghost and being Sensible of it. it is only this Feeling of the Spirit, this being Moved by the Spirit or Filled with it, which we deny to have any place in sound religion'. but, in Only Denying This, you deny the whole Scriptures; the whole truth and promise and testimony of God.
9. our own excellent Church knows nothing of this devilish distinction, but speaks plainly of 'feeling the Spirit of Christ' of being 'moved by the Holy Ghost' and knowing and 'feeling there is no other name than that of Jesus whereby we can receive life and salvation. she teaches us all to pray for the 'inspiration of the Holy Spirit'. yea, that we may be 'filled with the Holy Ghost. Nay and every Presbyter of hers professes to receive the Holy Ghost by the imposition of hands. therefore, to deny any of these is, in effect, to renounce the Church of England, as well as the whole Christian Revelation.
10. but 'the wisdom of God' was always 'foolishness with men'. no marvel, then, that the great mystery of the gospel should be now also 'hid from the wise and prudent', as well in the days of old, that it should be almost universally denied, ridiculed and exploded, as mere frenzy and that all who dare avow it still are branded with the names of madmen and enthusiasts! this is 'that falling away' which was to come; that general apostasy, of all orders and degrees of men, which we even now find to have overspread the earth. 'Run to and fro in the streets of Jerusalem and see if ye can find a man', a man that loveth the Lord his God with all his heart and serveth Him with all his strength. how does our own land mourn (that we look no farther) under the overflowings of ungodliness! what villainies of every kind are committed day by day, yea, too often with impunity, by those who sin with a high hand and glory in their shame! who can reckon up the oaths, curses, profaneness, blasphemies; the lying, slandering, evil-speaking; the sabbath-breaking, gluttony, drunkenness, revenge; the whoredoms, adulteries
*35 and various uncleanness; the frauds, injustice, oppression, extortion, which overspread our land as a flood?
11 and even among those who have kept themselves pure from those grosser abominations, how much anger and pride, how much sloth and idleness, how much softness and effeminacy, how much luxury and self-indulgence, how much covetousness and ambition, how much thirst of praise, how much love of the world, how much fear of man, is to be found! meanwhile, how little of true religion! for, where is he that loveth either God or his neighbour, as he hath given us commandment? on the one hand, are those who have not so much as the form of godliness; on the other, those who have the form only: There stands the Open, there the Painted, sepulchre. so that in very deed, whosoever were earnestly to behold any public gathering together of the people (I fear those in our churches are not to be excepted) might easily perceive, 'that the one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees. the one having almost as little concern about religion, as if there were 'no resurrection, neither angel nor spirit' and the other, making it a mere lifeless form, a dull round of external performances, without either true faith or the love of God or joy in the Holy Ghost!12. would to God I could except Us of this place! 'Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God, for you is that ye may be saved' from this overflowing of ungodliness and that here may its proud waves by stayed! but is it so indeed? God knoweth yea and our own consciences, it is not Ye have not kept yourselves pure. corrupt are we also and abominable and few are there that understand any more, few that worship god in spirit and in truth. we, too, are 'a generation that set not our hearts aright and whose spirit cleaveth not steadfastly unto God' He hath appointed us indeed to be 'the salt of the earth, but if the salt hath lost its savour, it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out and to be trodden underfoot of men'.
13. and 'shall I not visit for these things, saith the Lord? shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this? Yea, we know not how soon He may say to the sword, 'Sword, go through this land!' He hath given us long space to repent. He lets us alone this year also, but He wars and wakens us by thunder. his judgments are abroad in the earth and we have all reason to expect the heaviest of all, even that He
*36 'should come unto us quickly and remove our candlestick out of its place, except we repent and do the first works' unless we return to the principles of the Reformation, the truth and simplicity of the gospel. perhaps we now resisting the last effort of divine grace to save us. perhaps we have well nigh 'filled up the measure of our iniquities ' by rejecting the counsel of God against ourselves and casting out His messengers.
14. O God, 'in the midst of wrath, remember mercy! be glorified in our reformation, not in our destruction! let us 'hear the rod and him that appointed it!' now, that thy 'judgments are abroad in the earth'. let the inhabitants of the world 'learn righteousness!'
15. My brethren it is high time for us to awake out of sleep before the 'great trumpet of the Lord be blown' and our land become a field of blood. o may we speedily see the things that make for our peace, before they are hid from our eyes! 'Turn thou us, O good Lord, and let Thine anger cease from us. I Lord, look down from heaven, behold and visit this vine' and cause us to know 'the time of our visitation'. 'Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Thy name! O deliver us, and be merciful to our sins, for Thy name's sake! and so we will not go back from Thee. o let us live and we shall call upon Thy name. Turn us, again, O Lord God of Hosts! show the light of Thy countenance, and we shall be whole'.
'Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto Him be glory in the Church, by Christ Jesus, throughout all ages, world without end. - Amen!
in discoursing on these words, I shall, with the help of God,
First. describe the sleepers, to whom they are spoken
Secondly. enforce the exhortation, 'Awake, thou that sleepest and arise from the dead
Thirdly. explain the promise made to such as do awake and arise: 'Christ shall give thee light'.
I. 1. and, first, as to the sleepers here spoken to.
by sleep is signified the natural state of man; that deep sleep of the soul, into which the sin of Adam hath cast all who spring from his loins; that supineness, (def - 'lying face up; inactive), indolence, (def - 'painful'; disposition to avoid exertion, avoid action) and stupidity, that insensibility of his real condition, wherein every man comes into the world and continues till the voice of God awakes him.
2. now, 'they that sleep, sleep in the night'. the state of nature is a state of utter darkness; a state of utter darkness; a state wherein 'darkness covers the earth and gross darkness the people'. the poor
*26 unawakened sinner, how much knowledge soever he may have as to other things, has no of himself. in this respect 'he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know'
he knows not that he is a fallen spirit, whose only business in the present world is,
to recover from his fall,
to regain that image of God wherein he was created.
he sees No Necessity for the One Thing Needful,
even that inward universal change,
that 'birth from above' figured out by baptism,
which is the beginning of that total renovation, that sanctification of spirit, soul, and body, 'without which no man shall see the Lord.
3. full of all diseases as he is, he fancies himself in perfect health.
fast bound in misery and iron, he dreams that he is at liberty.
he says, 'Peace! Peace!'
while the devil, as 'a strong man armed' is in full possession of his soul.
he sleeps on still and takes his rest,
though hell is moved from beneath to meet him;
though the pit, from whence there is no return, hath opened its mouth to swallow him up.
a fire is kindled around him, yet he knoweth it not;
yea, it burns him, yet he lays it not to heart.
4. by one who sleeps, we are, therefore, to understand (and would to God we might all understand it!)
a sinner satisfied in his sins;
contented to remain in his fallen state,
to live and die without the image of God;
one who is ignorant both of his disease and of the only remedy for it;
one who never was warned, or never regarded the warning voice of God
'to flee from the wrath to come'
one that never yet saw he was in danger of hell fire or cried out in the earnestness of his soul,
'What must I do to be saved?'
5. if this sleeper be not outwardly vicious, his sleep is usually the deepest of all
whether he be of the Laodicean spirit, 'neither cold not hot',
but a quiet, rational, inoffensive, good-natured professor of the religion of his fathers
or whether he be zealous and orthodox and
after the most straitest sect of our religion' live 'a Pharise' that is, according to the Scriptural account,
one that justifies himself;
one that labours to establish his own unrighteousness
as the ground of his acceptance with God.
6. this is he, who 'having a form of godliness, denies the power thereof'
yea and probably reviles it, wheresoever it is found, as mere extravagance and delusion.
meanwhile, the wretched self-deceiver thanks God, that he is 'not as other men are;
adulterers, unjust, extortioners'.
no, he doeth no wrong to any man.
*27 he 'fasts twice in a week', uses all the means of grace, is constant at church and sacrament; yea and 'gives tithes of all that he has' does all the good that he can
'touching the righteousness of the law' he is 'blameless'
he wants nothing of godliness, but the power
nothing of religion, but the spirit
nothing of Christianity, but the truth and the life.
7. but know ye not, that, however highly esteemed among men such a Christian as this may be,
he is an abomination in the sight of God and
an heir of every woe which the son of God,
yesterday, today and forever
denounces against 'Scribes and pharisees, hypocrites?'
he hath 'made clean the outside of the cup and the platter' but within is full of all filthiness.
'and evil disease cleaveth still unto him, so that his inward parts are very wickedness' our Lord fitly compares him to a 'painted sepulchre' which 'appears beautiful without', but
nevertheless, is 'full of dead men's bones and of all uncleanness'.
the bones, indeed, are no longer dry
the sinews and flesh are come upon them and the skin covers them above.
but there is no breath in them,
no Spirit of the living God.
and 'if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His'.
'Ye are Christ's, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you'.
but if not, God knoweth that ye abide in death, even until now.
8. this is another character of the sleeper here spoken to.
he abides in death, though he knows it not.
he is dead unto God, 'dead in trespasses and sins'. for,
'to be carnally minded is death'.
even as it is written, 'by one man sin entered into the world and death by sin
and so death passed upon all men',
not only temporal death, but likewise spiritual and eternal.
'In that day that thou eatest', said God to Adam, thou shalt surely die'
not bodily, (unless as he then became mortal) but spiritually.
thou shalt lose the life of they soul
thou shalt die to God, shalt e separated from Him thy essential life and happiness.
9. thus first was dissolved the vital union of our soul with God
insomuch that 'in the midst of' natural 'life, we ar' now in spiritual 'death.
and herein we remain till the Second Adam becomes a quickening Spirit to us, till He raises the dead,
the dead in sin, in pleasure, riches or honours.
but, before any dead soul can live, he 'hears' (hearkens to) 'the voice of the Son of God'.
he is made sensible of his lost estate and receives
*28 the sentence of death in Himself. He knows Himself to be 'dead while he liveth
dead to God and all the things of God; having no more power to perform the actions of a living Christian,k than a dead body to perform the functions of a living man.
10. and most certain it is, that one dead in sin has not
'senses exercised to discern spiritual good and evil'.
'having eyes, he sees not; he hath ears and hears not'
he doth not 'taste and see that the Lord is gracious'
he 'hath not seen God at any time' nor 'heard His voice' nor 'handled the word of life'.
in vain is the name of Jesus
'like ointment poured forth and all his garments, smell of myrrh, aloes and cassia'.
the soul that sleepeth in death, hath no perception of any objects of this kind.
his heart is 'past feeling' and understandeth none of these things.
11. and hence, having no spiritual senses, no inlets of spiritual knowledge,
the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God;
nay, he is so far from receiving them, that
whatsoever is spiritually discerned is mere foolishness unto him.
he is not content with being utterly ignorant of spiritual things,
but he denies the very existence of them.
and spiritual sensation itself is to him the foolishness of folly.
'How, saith he,can these things be?
How can any man Know that he is alive to God?'
even as you know that your body is now alive.
faith is the life of the soul and if ye have this life abiding in you, ye want no marks to evidence it
To Yourself, but elenkos neumatos, that divine consciousness, that Witness of God,
which is more and greater than 10,000 human witnesses.
12. if he doth not now bear witness with they spirit, that thou art a child of God,
O that He might convince thee, , thou poor unawakened sinner, by His demonstration and power,
that thou art a child of the devil!
O that, as I prophesy, there might now be 'a noise and a shaking' and may 'the bones come together, bone to His bone!'
then, 'come from the 4 winds, O Breath! and breathe on these slain, that they may live! and
do not ye harden your hearts and resist the Holy Ghost,
who even now is come to convince you of sin,
'because you believe not on the name of the only begotten Son of God'.
II. 1. wherefore, 'awake, thou that sleepest and arise from the dead'. God calleth thee now by my mouth and bids thee
*29 know thyself, thou fallen spirit, thy true state and only concern below. 'What meanest thou, O sleeper? Arise! call upon thy God, if so be thy God will think upon thee, that thou perish not'. a mighty tempest is stirred up round about thee and thou aft sinking into the depths of perdition, the gulf of God's judgments. if thou wouldest escape them, cast thyself into them. 'Judge thyself, and thou shalt not be judged of the Lord'.
22. Awake, awake! stand up this moment, lest thou 'drink at the Lord's hand the cup of His fury'. stir up thyself to lay hold on the Lord, the Lord thy Righteousness, mighty to save! 'Shake thyself from the dust'. at least, let the earthquake of God's threatenings shake thee. Awake and cry out with the trembling jailor, 'What must i do to be saved? and never rest till thou believest on the Lord Jesus, with a faith which is his gift, by the operation of His Spirit.
3. If I speak to any one of you, more than to another, it is to thee who thinkest thyself unconcerned in this exhortation. 'I have a message from God unto thee'. in His name, I warn thee 'to flee from the wrath to come'. thou unholy soul, see they picture in condemned Peter, lying in the dark dungeon, between the soldiers, bound with 2 chains, the keepers before the door keeping the prison. the night is far spent, the morning is at hand, when thou aft to be brought forth to execution. and in these dreadful circumstances, thou art fast asleep: thou art fast asleep in the devil's arms, on the brink of the pit, in the jaws of everlasting destruction!
4. O may the Angel of the Lord come upon thee and the light shine into thy prison! and mayest thou feel the stroke of an almighty Hand, raising thee, with, 'Arise up quickly, gird thyself and bind on they sandals, cast thy garments about thee and follow me'.
5. Awake, thou everlasting spirit, out of thy dream of worldly happiness! did not God create thee for Himself? then thou canst not rest till thou restest in Him. return, thou wanderer! fly back to thy ark. this is not thy home. think not of building tabernacles here. thou art by a stranger, a sojourner upon earth, a creature of a day. but just launching out into an unchangeable state. make haste. eternity is at hand. eternity depends on this moment, and eternity of happiness or an eternity of misery!
*30 6. in what state is thy soul? was God, while I am yet speaking, to require it of thee, art thou ready to meet death and judgment? canst thou stand in His sight, who is of 'purer eyes than to behold iniquity'? art thou 'meet to be partaker of the inheritance of the saints in light'? hast thou 'fought a good fight and kept the faith'? hast thou secured the one thing needful? hast thou recovered the image of God, even righteousness and true holiness? hast thou put off the old man, and put on the new? Art thou clothed upon with Christ?
7. hast thou oil in they lamp? grace in thy heart? dost thou 'love the Lord thy God with all they heart and with all thy mind and with all thy soul. and with all they strength? is that mind in thee which was also in Christ Jesus? art thou a Christian indeed, that is a new creature? are old things passed away and all things become new?
8. art thou a 'partaker of the divine nature'? knowest thou not, that 'Christ is in thee, except thou be reprobate?
knowest thou, that God 'dwelleth in thee and thou in God by His Spirit, which He hath given thee? knowest thou not that 'thy body is a temple of the Holy Ghost, which thou hast of God? hast thou the witness in thyself? the earnest of thine inheritance? hast thou 'received the Holy Ghost? or, dost thou start at the question, not knowing 'whether there be any Holy Ghost?
9. if it offends thee, be thou assured, that thou neither art a Christian, nor desirest to be one. Nay, thy very prayer is turned into sin and thou hast solemnly mocked God this very day,by praying for the inspiration of his Holy Spirit, when thou didst not believe there was any such thing to be received.
10 yet, on the authority of God's word and our own Church, I must repeat the question, 'Hast thou received the Holy Ghost? if thou hast not, thou art not yet Christian. for a Christian is a man that is 'anointed with the Holy Ghost and with power'. thou art not yet made a partaker of pure religion and undefiled. dost thou know what religion is? that it is a participation of the divine nature; the life of God in the soul of man; Christ formed in the heart; 'Christ in thee, the hope of glory'? happiness and holiness; heaven begun upon earth? 'a kingdom of God within thee; not meat and drink' no outward thing, 'but righteousness and peach and joy in the Holy Ghost' an everlasting kingdom brought into thy soul;
*31 a 'peace of God, that passeth all understanding'; a 'joy unspeakable and full of glory'?
11. knowest thou, that, 'in Jesus Christ, neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but faith that worketh by love' , but a new creation? seest thou the necessity of that inward change, that spiritual birth, that life from the dead, that holiness? and art thou throughly convinced, that without it no man shall see the Lord? art thou labouring after it? 'giving all diligence to make thy calling and election sure?' 'working out thy salvation with fear and trembling? 'agonizing to enter in at the straight gate?
art thou in earnest about thy soul?
and canst thou tell the Searcher of hearts, 'Thou, O God, art the thing that i long for?
Lord, Thou knowest all things!
Thou knowest that i Would love Thee'!
12. thou hopest to be saved, but what reason hast thou to give of the hope that is in thee?
is it because thou hadst done no harm
or because thou hast done much good?
or because thou art not like other men, but wise or learned or honest and morally goo;
esteemed of men and of a fair reputation?
alas! all this will never bring thee to God.
it is in His account lighter than vanity.
dost thou know Jesus Christ, whom He hath sent?
hath He taught thee, that 'by grace we are saved through faith and that not of ourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast?
hast thou received the faithful saying, as the whole foundtion of thy hope, 'that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners?
hast thou learned what that meanth,'I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
I am not sent, but unto the lost sheep?
art thou(he that heareth, let him understand!) lost. dead, Damned Already?
dost thou know thy deserts?
dost thou feel thy wants?
art thou 'poor in spirit? mourning for God and refusing to be comforted?
is the prodigal 'come to himself' by those who are still feeding upon the husks which he hath left?
art thou willing to live godly in Christ Jesus?
and dost thou therefore suffer persecution?
do men say all manner of evil against thee falsely, for the Son of Man's sake?
13.O that in all these questions ye may hear the voice that wakes the dead and feel that hammer of the word, which breaketh the rocks in pieces! 'if ye will hear His voice today while it is called to day, harden not your hearts'
now 'awake,
*32 thou that sleepest' in spiritual death, that thou sleep not in death eternal'. feel thy lost estate and 'arise from the dead'. leave thine old companions in sin and death. follow thou Jesus, and let the dead bury their dead. 'Save thyself from this untoward generation'. 'come out from among them and be thou separate and touch not the unclean thing and the Lord shall receive thee'. 'Christ shall gibe thee light'.
III. 1. this promise, I come, lastly, to explain. and how encouraging a consideration is this, that whosoever thou art, who obeyest his call, thou canst not seek His face in vain! if thou even now 'awakest and arisest from the dead', He hath bound Himself to 'give thee light'.
'theLord shall give thee grace and glory'
the light of His grace here and the light of His glory when thou receivest the crown that fadeth not away.
'Thy light shall break forth as the morning and thy darkness be as the noon-day'
'God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, shall shine in thy heart to give the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Chrit'.
'on them that fear the Lord shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in His wings'.
and in that day it shall be said unto thee, 'Arise, shine; for thy light is come and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee'.
for Christ shall reveal himself in thee, and he is the true Light.
2. God is light and will give himself to every awakened sinner that waiteth for him and thou shalt then be a temple of the living God and Christ shall 'dwell in thy heart by faith. and 'being rooted and grounded in love, thou shalt be able to comprehend with all saints, what is the breadth and length and depth and height of that love of Christ which passeth knowledge'.
3. ye see your calling, brethren. we are called to be 'an habitation of God through His Spirit dwelling in us, to be saints here and partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. so exceeding great are the promises which are given unto us, actually given unto us who believe! for by faith 'we receive, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God', -the sum of all the promise, - 'that we may know the things that are freely given to us of God.
4. the Spirit of Christ is that great gift of God, which, at sundry times and in divers manners, he hath promised to man, and hath fully bestowed since the time that Christ was glorified
*33 those promises, before made to the fathers, He hath thus fulfilled: 'I will put My spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes'. Ezek. 36.27 'I will pour water upon him that is thirsty and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour My spirit upon they seed and my blessing upon thine offspring. Isaiah 44.3
5. ye may all be living witnesses of these things: of remission of sins and the gift of the Holy Ghost. 'If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth'. 'Who among you is there that feareth the Lord and ' yet walketh on 'in darkness and hath no light?' I ask thee, in the name of Jesus, believest thou that His arm is not shortened at all? that He is still mighty to save? that He is the same yesterday, today, and forever? that he hath now power on earth to forgive sins? 'Son, be o good cheer; they sins are forgiven'. God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven thee. receive this, 'not as the word of man, but as it is indeed the word of God' and thou art justified freely through faith. Thou shalt be sanctified also through faith which is in Jesus and shalt set to thy seal, even thine, that 'god hath given unto us eternal life and this life is in His Son.'
6. Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you and suffer ye the word of exhortation, even from one the least esteemed in the Church. your conscience beareth you witness in the Holy Ghost, that these things are so, if so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. 'This is eternal life, to know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He hath sent'. this experimental knowledge and this alone, is true Christianity. he is a Christian who hath received the Spirit of Christ. He is not a Christian who hath not received Him. neither is it possible to have received him and not know it. 'For, at that day, (when He cometh, saith our Lord) ye shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me and i in you'. this is that 'Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him, but ye know Him for He dwelleth with you and shall be in you'. John 14.17
7. the world cannot receive Him, but utterly reject the Promise of the Father, contradicting and blaspheming. but every spirit which confesseth not this is not of God. yea, 'this is that spirit of Antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come into the world and even now it is in the world'. He is
*34 Antichrist whosoever denies the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, or that the indwelling Spirit of God is the common privilege of all believers, the blessing of the gospel, the unspeakable gift, the universal promise, the criterion of a real Christian.
8. it nothing helps them to say, 'we do not deny the assistance of God's Spirit, but only this Inspiration, this Receiving The Holy Ghost and being Sensible of it. it is only this Feeling of the Spirit, this being Moved by the Spirit or Filled with it, which we deny to have any place in sound religion'. but, in Only Denying This, you deny the whole Scriptures; the whole truth and promise and testimony of God.
9. our own excellent Church knows nothing of this devilish distinction, but speaks plainly of 'feeling the Spirit of Christ' of being 'moved by the Holy Ghost' and knowing and 'feeling there is no other name than that of Jesus whereby we can receive life and salvation. she teaches us all to pray for the 'inspiration of the Holy Spirit'. yea, that we may be 'filled with the Holy Ghost. Nay and every Presbyter of hers professes to receive the Holy Ghost by the imposition of hands. therefore, to deny any of these is, in effect, to renounce the Church of England, as well as the whole Christian Revelation.
10. but 'the wisdom of God' was always 'foolishness with men'. no marvel, then, that the great mystery of the gospel should be now also 'hid from the wise and prudent', as well in the days of old, that it should be almost universally denied, ridiculed and exploded, as mere frenzy and that all who dare avow it still are branded with the names of madmen and enthusiasts! this is 'that falling away' which was to come; that general apostasy, of all orders and degrees of men, which we even now find to have overspread the earth. 'Run to and fro in the streets of Jerusalem and see if ye can find a man', a man that loveth the Lord his God with all his heart and serveth Him with all his strength. how does our own land mourn (that we look no farther) under the overflowings of ungodliness! what villainies of every kind are committed day by day, yea, too often with impunity, by those who sin with a high hand and glory in their shame! who can reckon up the oaths, curses, profaneness, blasphemies; the lying, slandering, evil-speaking; the sabbath-breaking, gluttony, drunkenness, revenge; the whoredoms, adulteries
*35 and various uncleanness; the frauds, injustice, oppression, extortion, which overspread our land as a flood?
11 and even among those who have kept themselves pure from those grosser abominations, how much anger and pride, how much sloth and idleness, how much softness and effeminacy, how much luxury and self-indulgence, how much covetousness and ambition, how much thirst of praise, how much love of the world, how much fear of man, is to be found! meanwhile, how little of true religion! for, where is he that loveth either God or his neighbour, as he hath given us commandment? on the one hand, are those who have not so much as the form of godliness; on the other, those who have the form only: There stands the Open, there the Painted, sepulchre. so that in very deed, whosoever were earnestly to behold any public gathering together of the people (I fear those in our churches are not to be excepted) might easily perceive, 'that the one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees. the one having almost as little concern about religion, as if there were 'no resurrection, neither angel nor spirit' and the other, making it a mere lifeless form, a dull round of external performances, without either true faith or the love of God or joy in the Holy Ghost!12. would to God I could except Us of this place! 'Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God, for you is that ye may be saved' from this overflowing of ungodliness and that here may its proud waves by stayed! but is it so indeed? God knoweth yea and our own consciences, it is not Ye have not kept yourselves pure. corrupt are we also and abominable and few are there that understand any more, few that worship god in spirit and in truth. we, too, are 'a generation that set not our hearts aright and whose spirit cleaveth not steadfastly unto God' He hath appointed us indeed to be 'the salt of the earth, but if the salt hath lost its savour, it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out and to be trodden underfoot of men'.
13. and 'shall I not visit for these things, saith the Lord? shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this? Yea, we know not how soon He may say to the sword, 'Sword, go through this land!' He hath given us long space to repent. He lets us alone this year also, but He wars and wakens us by thunder. his judgments are abroad in the earth and we have all reason to expect the heaviest of all, even that He
*36 'should come unto us quickly and remove our candlestick out of its place, except we repent and do the first works' unless we return to the principles of the Reformation, the truth and simplicity of the gospel. perhaps we now resisting the last effort of divine grace to save us. perhaps we have well nigh 'filled up the measure of our iniquities ' by rejecting the counsel of God against ourselves and casting out His messengers.
14. O God, 'in the midst of wrath, remember mercy! be glorified in our reformation, not in our destruction! let us 'hear the rod and him that appointed it!' now, that thy 'judgments are abroad in the earth'. let the inhabitants of the world 'learn righteousness!'
15. My brethren it is high time for us to awake out of sleep before the 'great trumpet of the Lord be blown' and our land become a field of blood. o may we speedily see the things that make for our peace, before they are hid from our eyes! 'Turn thou us, O good Lord, and let Thine anger cease from us. I Lord, look down from heaven, behold and visit this vine' and cause us to know 'the time of our visitation'. 'Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Thy name! O deliver us, and be merciful to our sins, for Thy name's sake! and so we will not go back from Thee. o let us live and we shall call upon Thy name. Turn us, again, O Lord God of Hosts! show the light of Thy countenance, and we shall be whole'.
'Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto Him be glory in the Church, by Christ Jesus, throughout all ages, world without end. - Amen!
Sunday, February 18, 2018
2.18.2018 THE MARVELOUS PIGNESS OF PIGS: Faith vs. Fear - Joel Salatin
FAITH vs. FEAR
whatsoever is not of faith is sin. Romans 14.23
* 146 how do we increase our faith? So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10.17 AKJV) any believer knows that to increase faith, we must participate or exercise our faith by spending time in the Word. as we live what we call a life of faith, where we practice stepping out of our comfort zones and ministering or starting a difficult conversation, we enjoy God's intervention and caring.
Jesus promised His followers that the Holy Spirit would instruct them in the words to use and bring His sayings to remembrance when they were brought before judges and magistrates. he admonished them to not worry or fear, these otherwise intimidating circumstances because He would support them. the parables are filled with instructions about fear: 'and why take you (anxious thought fro raiment? consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin and yet I say to you, that even Solomon in all
* 147 his glory was not arrayed like one of theses. why, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
therefore take no thought, saying, what shall we eat? of what shall we drink? or, wherewithal shall we be clothed? (for after all these things do the gentiles seek) for your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things. but seek you first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you. take therefore no (anxious) thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the thins of itself. (Matt. 6.28-34)
as believers, don't we find these promises comforting, especially when we look at the Old Testament stories of God's constant and overriding provision for His people? whether it was an ark, a ram lamb in the bushes, a cattail boat carrying Moses - the wonder and inspiration of the Old Testament is largely the story of God's interventive provision. indeed, Hebrews 12 hearkens back to the historical record to make the case for faith by making it clear that God provides for us.
part of developing faith is simply practicing in things God wants us to do. we can practice a soft answer to see if it turns away wrath. well, my goodness, it works. Amazing. we can practice giving a gift to an enemy. well, by goodness, it works. we can practice being grateful. well, my goodness, it works. we can practice being grateful. well, my goodness, it works. it is in practicing, participating, immersing ourselves in a life of faith that we see our fears gradually diminish.
now let's turn this lesson over to food. Americans fear food. a lot of Christians fear food. Why? because too many of us don't know anything about it. the official policy of the government food police at the FDA and USDA is to fear food. Why? because industrial food is a scary thing.
*148 Campylobacter, listeria, salmonella, E. coli, bovine spongiform encephalopathy.this is a brand-new lexicon that has only come into common use in the last couple of decades.
likewise, I never knew anybody who had food allergies. now we have gluten problems, leaky gut syndrome, type 2 diabetes and a runaway obesity epidemic. we're overfed and undernourished. the USDA began telling us what to eat after World War II: hydrogenated fat, carbohydrates, margarine. meanwhile, big food manufacturers loved that we were exiting the kitchen and giving them proxy status over our menus.
with the kitchen sufficiently demonized as a place where losers, where underachieving non-career women served, a broad food ignorance spread across the landscape. economic wealth with rising incomes enabled the annual special meal out to morph into daily fast food and processed food service. devoid of culinary artistry, the kitchen became simply a place to heat up TV dinners . indeed, no society has ever had the luxury of abdicating a relationship with food this profoundly.
gone were the nuances about taste, texture and odor. neat microwavable packaging with additives to stablize, sterilize and sanitize replaced the whole potato, the oven-cooked pot roast and scratch baking. in food processing, chlorine became the chemical of choice as produce and meat became filthier coming from industrial farms with faster harvesting and growing techniques. fecal contamination could be sterilized with enough chlorine and it is used liberally today. pink slime in ground beef, along with cheap fillers, created a whole new type of food.
soft drinks replaced whole raw milk. twinkies replaced fried eggs and bacon. packaged whole meals in Styro foam clamshells replaced domestic culinary arts. food was no longer prepared, processed, packaged and preserved in the home. those domestic skills were farmed out to professional food manufactuers with laboratories, high fructose corn syrup, monosodium glutamate and a host of
unpronouncables. as American culture unleashed itself from an ecological umbilical, we became profoundly ignorant. and we began fearing the unknown.
I would argue that food more perfectly represents God's sustaining power than any other physical substance. more than money. more than clothes or housing. more than employment. every biblical celebration uses food and feasting as its most significant centerpiece. do you fear food or do you know enough about it to enjoy a deep food faith? do you know what's in season? do you know what farmers in your area have plenty of this year or are scarce on? do you care?
because food is so closely linked with biblical signposts and remembrances, it would behoove us not to fear food, how do we get over our food fears? the answer is the same as acquiring spiritual faith: we practice. yes, we practice food craft. yes, we get in our kitchens. we get in our gardens. we visit farmers and buy directly from local purveyors. we touch it, smell it, examine it. read about it, prepare it, pickle it, slice it, dice it. we quit buying a nameless, faceless disconnected pseudo-proof-like substance of dubious extraction prepared by people with dubious agendas. we embrace a physical partnership with our food.
I think how we view food and our relationship to it sets up the depth and breadth of our desire to know God's provision - really appreciate it. that's the difference between simply ingesting food-like substances until huger is assuaged and actually partaking of a sacred provision that we know. we talk about knowing God, personally, as a a way to measure spiritual growth. how about knowing food as a way to measure our appreciation of the mystery and awesomeness of God's sufficiency?
isn't it amazing that from our pulpits we have no problem demanding that people practice and participate in hearing, seeing, and exercising their faith, but we don't exhort people to create a framework for that spiritual understanding by doing the same thing
*150 with something much easier: food. food is not just something we ingest on a pit stop. it's sacred provision, as requested by the Lord's Prayer: 'Give us day by day our daily bread'. Luke 11.3
do you know the food in your pantry? perhaps not all of it, but at least some of it? do you have a memory, a knowledge base, an experience with it? this creates a framework to truly understand God's providential care. when you've worked at your food, you appreciate its power and meaning. you don't take it for granted. and you don't fear it because you know where it came from, how it was produced, who grew it. it's as safe and sufficient as your spiritual faith, which grows in your life the same way.
when we patronize an opaque food system and pop munchies, it creates an unhealthy physical body. (note- not to say anything of a toxic system of food supply.) by the same token, when we quit seeking, quit seeing and quit discovering biblical truths for ourselves and just depend on munchies from the pulpit or a 'saying of the Day', we become spiritually weak and sick. isn't it fascinating that our churches routinely conduct youth seminars on the dangers of the Internet and websites, but we don't conduct any seminars on the dangers of soft drinks and pretzels?
just for the record, I don't think it's a sin to drink a soft drink once in a while. indulgences are allowed. but drinking one a day is a different story. the cumulative effect of what is now known as the modern american diet, where virtually everything is highly processed, laden with sugar and grown from chemicalized deficient soil, is a seriously sick population. america now leads the world in the 5 leading chronic diseases. that's not a good place to be number one.
make no mistake about it, the overriding view in our culture toward food is fear. it's a product of ignorance. you can't trust what you don't know. the less we know about something, the more we fear it. the less we know about god, the less faith we have in Him. I know we're to fear God, but that's a reverence, not a worry. godly fear is healthy because it drives us to want to please Him.
*151 if food faith (what we see) is metaphor for spiritual faith (what we don't see) then we should embrace a food system that demonstrates knowledge and participation. if the current supermarket industrial food system demonstrates one thing, it's ignorance and lack of participation. if the current supermarket industrial food system demonstrates one thing, it's ignorance and lack of participation. what happens when we fear food is that we ask for government protection. fear creates insecurity and insecurity makes us paranoid. Paranoia is a wonderful tool used by regulators to increase their power.
conservative Christians who want less government intervention must realize that every time we patronize a food system predicated (def -'indicate'; logic - that which is affirmed or denied concerning the subject of the proposition) on ignorance, opaqueness and fear, we unwittingly and subconsciously encourage fear t creep into our lives. if we can't trust our food without government intervention, can we trust education without government intervention? can we trust doctors without government intervention? can we trust doctors without government intervention? can we trust bakers without government intervention? can we trust deacons and elders without government intervention?
the food system that thrives on fear is not healthy for us...in many ways. why we can't appreciate that it's as unhealthy as a pornographic website or an alcoholic binge? why, indeed. because we pray for our little Christian kiddos to get a good job with a well-paying company, to show they are good Americans, patriotic citizens, contributors to society. so we encourage them to apply for jobs at laboratories and food manufacturing associations that create a destructive food system. and we're proud of their achievements when they become number one Twinkie salesmen.
were proud of them when their engineering ability designs a machine that more efficiently injects carcinogenic phenols into hot dogs. come on people wake up. would Jesus eat this stuff? Really? we'd counsel our Christian children to leave an unscrupulous accounting firm in a heart beat if financial irregularities were suspected. 'It'll taint your reputation, we admonish.
'you don't want to be party to those shenaigans', we pontificate. 'don't stay in the devil's workshop'. we preach.
*152 well, what kind of a workshop do you think it is whose chemicals make infertile frogs and 3 legged salamanders? what kind of irregularities might you find in a place that releases genetically modified organisms into the environment to practice promiscuous orgies in crops on land where a farmer doesn't want them to be? what kind of shenanigans are they when the industry and government experts tell cattle farmers to feed dead cows to cows? are these not irregularities, are these not shenanigans are these not the devil's workshop?
since to say anything is to identify with liberal whacko environmental tree-hugger anti-capitalists who go so far as to say the military industrial complex is too big, we Christians can't speak about these things. they're taboo in our circles. these things cause divisions. they make us squirm. and after all, we really don't know enough to have faith in a more natural system. I mean, look at the government reports. look at what the scientists at the most prestigious Fortune 500 corporations in america say.
do you know how silly that sounds? would you measure the credibility of any other conviction by the fact that it was endorsed by government reports or corporate white papers? not at all. we measure things by the Word of God. we ask if it is of faith. I submit that the entire industrial mechanical food system is predicated on fear - it thrives on fearful consumers who want government to prop it up, subsidize it, insure it, protect it. justify it. and it thrives on the fear that natural biological system, God's design for a beautiful synergy of complex relationships from bacteria to bovines, really can't work. that we can't rely on seeds that either don't bear at all or bear after unpredictable kinds. we can't rely on whole foods we have to rely on extruded irradiated amalgamated reconstituted chlorinated adulterated food-like substances.
I submit that a God who can't be trusted to feed us His way can't be trusted to save us His way. a God whom man's cleverness must correct is a God whom theologians must correct. if Sunday school
*153 teachers believe God's agrarianism needs to be corrected, they'll soon believe the Genesis records need to be corrected.
once we begin cavorting with fear rather than faith , we progress as surely as day follows night into a place of anemic spiritual existence.
now that we've explored the faith and food issue, let's move into the farming arena. what does a farm of faith look like, as opposed to farm of fear? does a farm of faith have a refrigerator full of vaccines and pharmaceuticals or does it rely on something else? at this point in the book, if you don't realize that's a rhetorical question, you'd better quit now and start over because you haven't been paying attention.
the average farmer wakes up every morning fearful. what is sick? how many animals died during the night? a farm of faith says this : if I follow the Creator's patterns, immunity and wellness will follow. yes, that's simple faith. but the alternative is an expensively stocked arsenal of crutches that signify that health can't be achieved without drug companies.
how about faith in compost and biomass rather than fear that a carbon-centric system might not work so we'd better apply chemical fertilizers? how about faith that our animals' immune systems will work so we can have visitors and let them walk about freely without fear?
goodness, I challenge you to go to any industrial farm. you'll see anti-microbial shoe dips, shower in shower out, plastic suits. whenever we get scientists visiting our farm, they invariably remark about how seemingly nonchalant we are about bio-security. the industry is paranoid about bio-security. the industry is paranoid about bio-security because their animals and plants are fragile. if our farm plants and animals had as dysfunctional an immune system as that found in industrial facilities, I'd be paranoid, too. I don't blame them for being paranoid. they're wise to be paranoid. but is it faith? no, it's abject fear.
*154 one of my favorite stories about my son Daniel growing up was when he was 13 and took his first 4-H illustrated talk to the senior contest at Virginia Tech. the title was 'Symbiosis and Synergism in the Rabbitry'. he had already been raising rabbits for 5 years at the time and had become quite a little guru on the rabbit enterprise. as we're wont to do on our farm, rather than a mono=species rabbitry like you see in all the production books, we built a Raken house. the rabbits were in roomy wire cages suspended at eye level and chickens roamed freely underneath.
hence, Rabbit plus Chicken equals Raken. Bet it? a deep bedding of carbon underneath provided plenty of litter to absorb rabbit urine. the chickens scratched in the litter, which mixed the urine in, which decomposed the carbon, which create a bug-growing medium, which grew bugs, which induced the chickens to scratch, with infected oxygen and mixed-in urine...you get the picture. it's kind of like the nursery rhyme 'The House That Jack Built'.
of course, it wouldn't be honest to the story to neglect the fact that Daniel had an excellent communications coach. he practiced in front of the mirror like I told him and had it down cold. the only scary thing about the competition was that it would be judged by 3 veterinarians in the Virginia Tech School of Veterinary Science. not only that, but after the presentation they could ask him any question they wanted. in fact, they were supposed to ask every competitor a question in order to deduce if the child actually knew anything about the topic or had just memorized something he kne3w little about.
we practiced some softball questions and figured we had him well prepared. after all, both Teresa and I had won state 4-H illustrated talk competitions in our teen years, so we knew what to expect. with our 13 year old prodigy and his indulgent little sister in tow, we drove down to the great school of minds on the appointed day of competition. he performed flawlessly and from our vantage point across the room, we could see the judges smiling and completely taken with his charisma. as the completely objective parent in this
*155 case, I knew he was by far the best one in the whole competition. Family was proud.
he finished and first came a softball question: 'How long have you been raising rabbits? ..5 years, sir. we had coached him ...by the way, we think 8 is about the right time in life to start a business.
second judge threw a softball: how do you sell your rabbits? easy. I dress them and sell them directly to customers in the area, sir'.
Third judge threw the hardball: 'Aren't you concerned about disease with the chickens being right there next to the rabbits?" you could hear a pin drop. I caught my breath. the question was accusatory and out of character for this friendly competition where even the last place finisher gest some kind of ribbon..
Daniel didn't bat an eye. He didn't hesitate. He didn't flinch. he looked squarely at the doctor of veterinary medicine and replied firmly: 'We've learned that most pathogens don't cross-speciate, so it's not a problem'. the judges literally threw back their heads and laughed and ave him first place. the room would have mutinied if they hadn't...the vets were fearful about the Raken house.
they could not believe that a place of diversity could carry its own checks and balances. a farm with enough faith in various gits and talents, in the self-correcting and self-policing characteristics of multi-speciated relational production, sets a visible object lesson for the same functionality in a body of believers who exhibit differences. different fits, different talents. these are no supposed to divide and destroy a fellowship group; they are there to sharpen, correct, challenge, encourage. they are pieces of a whole that work
*156 beautifully when all the parts exhibit their distinctiveness and agree to participate.
For as we have many members in one body and all members have not the same office: so we, being many, are one body in Christ and every one members one of another. having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith or ministry, let us wait on our ministering or he that teaches, on teaching or he that exhorts on exhortation; he that gives, let him do it with simplicity; he that rules, with diligence; he that shows mercy, with cheerfulness. Romans 12.4-8 AKJV
have you ever wondered why in the world God made so many different kinds of critters? fungi, mold, bacteria, nematodes. wild animals, domestic animals, plants, fish, coral it really is amazing isn't it? even Christians tend to enjoy this variety because intuitively it's overwhelmingly beautiful. we know that each of these beings (no, I'm not going squirrelly on you, but i like to use it just to honor the distinctiveness of these critters) occupies a certain niche in the environment. we also know that their specificity is far beyond a self-organizing fatalism and required a Creator to design them with horns and lips and scales and mitochondria.
in a big sense, life diversity teaches faith in differences. I think humans are prone to prejudice. we certainly love to segregate ourselves into tribes that look alike, think alike and talk alike. I'm not sure that's wrong. what's wrong is fearing those who are not in our inner sanctum. what's wrong is not embracing people who aren't in our tribe. (def - a class or set of persons, especially one with strong common traits of interests).
when we patronize a farming system predicated on monospeciation as being the most efficient, it encourages this idea that surrounding ourselves only with people exactly like us is the most efficient. it's safe, but I don't think it gets anything done. I'm not
*157 talking about singleness of purpose. I'm talking about background color, verbal vs. mechanical, leader vs. follower, extrovert vs. introvert kind of stuff. we fear innovation. we fear having our assumptions questioned. I know I do.
did God really have to create such variety? I mean, really? did we really need a wombat? a kangaroo? a possum? a skunk? really? part of the wonder of God is that He is a Creator on overdrive. I mean, when God say's He's going to do something, He goes after it. He doesn't piddle around. when He made the earth,k it was so much more than Venus and Mars. it's incomprehensibly blessed. when He made plants, look at the variety! animals, look at the variety! God went all out. he wants to go all out. if you say you're going to do something, do it with gusto.
when God wants to illustrate human variety and how big He is to welcome any of these weird costumes, skin colors and backgrounds into His arms, that's an incredible expression of whosoever will. farmers who fear variety exhibit a small trust system. a farm of faith has lots of variety and exhibits a small trust system. a farm of faith has lots of variety and exhibits lots of innovation. if you come away from a farm saying: 'Wow. that's creative . that's a lot of cool stuff going on', then you'll know you've been t a farm that exercises faith.
may I speak briefly to church properties on this point? who about that nice kitchen downstairs? what if somebody with dreadlocks from the neighborhood urban farm asks you if he can use the kitchen to make vegetarian pot pies? Vegetarian pot pies? Oh my, that would push me. Ha!
but really, what would you day? are you afraid of the kitchen being used by somebody else? that's legitimate, but be creative and embracive and figure out how with some proper oversight it could be used. I think one of the biggest travesties in our churches is refusing to leverage all that stainless steel and kitchen infrastructure around the clock to augment the local integrity food system. how about you being the one to let everyone know: 'Have kitchen for local food use. Fully equipped. let's quit patronizing industrial mechanical.
*158 food and start eating sacred food'. can you imagine the conversations such a come-on would create? You'd have evangelistic and outreach opportunities you couldn't imagine.
how about church lawns? big, spacious, expansive monocultures. energy guzzling show of elitism and royalty. I'm not saying you can't have a little area for children to play or a volleyball court, or a play set. but do we really need 2 acres of golf green equivalence? to fertilize with chemical fertilizer so we can use more petroleum to mow it more? really?
how about community gardens? section it off for people who want to use it to grow their won vegetables. you can park the mower, forget the fertilizer and weed killer and instead spend that time conversing with the most outrageous variety of people you can imagine. I mean, the pace might start looking like the characters in a Dr. Suess book. wouldn't that be a hoot? you'd probably get written up on the front page of he local newspaper. it'd be a big hairy different deal. wouldn't it? and that, my friends, is what Jesus would do.
Goodness, next thing you know you'd be talking to a loan shark (Zacchaeus) and a prostitute (woman at the well). you might be entertaining neighborhood brats and foreign dignitaries. who knows what relationship might develop?
think of the conversations. think of the community emotional equity. rather than bringing industrial canned food to a box in the church foyer for the food bank to distribute to 'those people'. we'd be participating, interacting, exercising our faith that God's humor and abundance are the coolest thing yet. is your faith big enough to carry you through this disturbance of innovative activity? could the elders and trustees handle it or would this drop a couple with heart attacks? what does our faith mean? if it means that we have to segregate ourselves into an elitist structure with our industrial cans of food for the needy because deep down we fear touching them, smelling them interacting with them, then we're running away from faith, not pushing ourselves into it.
how about putting a solarium on the side of that massive stone
*159 church building? whack a hole in the wall of that cathedral and let the sunlight and passive solar heat in. let the super-oxygenated air from lettuce leaves in January fill nostrils and lungs with freshness during the morning song. Goodness, if Sister Sue hyperventilates it'll be the most exciting thing to happen in a long time. feed Big Belly Bob some salad straight out of that soil and you might get him weaned from at least one can of Dr Pepper a day. wouldn't that be a conversion?
Okay, we've had a good time with this and I hope I haven't gone over the edge of decorum. but for crying out loud, folks, we Christians are blessed with infrastructure, money, ability. why don't we show physical faith to our neighbors as directly and clearly as we do with the youth group trip to Mexico to build a house for an orphanage? before anybody jumps me on that, I'm not suggesting we stop missionary trips. but i'm quite concerned that too often we expediently show our faith at the end of a jet airplane trip because we fear being that visceral in our own neighborhoods. that's not the order in which we should express our faith.
it should be visible most apparently where we live, where we worship, where we play, where we eat, where we entertain. that's where the rubber hits the road. it's easy to be good for a week, with groups just like us, in a place far, far away. it's hard, inconvenient and a work of significant faith exercise to exhibit it to the people who see us get out of our cars every day. Yes, that's a whole different deal.
what if your fellowship group, along with sanctity-of-life month and missions-giving month, created a farm-of-faith month? organized field trips to farms of faith? bought from farms of faith for the month? we have hunger lock-ins for youth groups to identify with the hungry. do we not identify with the cancer-stricken pesticide patients? the vomiting animal factory neighbors?
isn't it easy to be shallow? it's like the greenies saying buy a Prius and put in LED lightbulbs: shazam, now you're taking care of the earth. we love shallow; we don't like deep. but if we are going to walk a life of genuine faith, we're going to have to wrestle with these
*160 issues. I have no problem if you think I'm too out there. that's okay. but can we at least wrestle with these issues?
the whole notion that a food system can illustrate fear or faith and a farm system can illustrate fear or faith may be an entirely new concept. I get that. but could we appreciate that such illumination from a lunatic finger could be as valuable and neat as a new evangelistic technique or a new communication technique to help you rediscover honeymoon love? dear Christian brothers and sisters, I really believe that if the faith community could push through this faith of fear food and farm understanding, it would be perhaps the most powerful force for eclectic good our country has seen for a long, long time.
it would sure turn the creation worshippers on their heads. they'd sit there stuttering and stammering, unable to know where to go or what to say. we'd break their stereotypes. we wouldn't fit their pigeonholes anymore. they'd be dumbfounded and that would be a powerful work of faith. God would smile.
whatsoever is not of faith is sin. Romans 14.23
* 146 how do we increase our faith? So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10.17 AKJV) any believer knows that to increase faith, we must participate or exercise our faith by spending time in the Word. as we live what we call a life of faith, where we practice stepping out of our comfort zones and ministering or starting a difficult conversation, we enjoy God's intervention and caring.
Jesus promised His followers that the Holy Spirit would instruct them in the words to use and bring His sayings to remembrance when they were brought before judges and magistrates. he admonished them to not worry or fear, these otherwise intimidating circumstances because He would support them. the parables are filled with instructions about fear: 'and why take you (anxious thought fro raiment? consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin and yet I say to you, that even Solomon in all
* 147 his glory was not arrayed like one of theses. why, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
therefore take no thought, saying, what shall we eat? of what shall we drink? or, wherewithal shall we be clothed? (for after all these things do the gentiles seek) for your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things. but seek you first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you. take therefore no (anxious) thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the thins of itself. (Matt. 6.28-34)
as believers, don't we find these promises comforting, especially when we look at the Old Testament stories of God's constant and overriding provision for His people? whether it was an ark, a ram lamb in the bushes, a cattail boat carrying Moses - the wonder and inspiration of the Old Testament is largely the story of God's interventive provision. indeed, Hebrews 12 hearkens back to the historical record to make the case for faith by making it clear that God provides for us.
part of developing faith is simply practicing in things God wants us to do. we can practice a soft answer to see if it turns away wrath. well, my goodness, it works. Amazing. we can practice giving a gift to an enemy. well, by goodness, it works. we can practice being grateful. well, my goodness, it works. we can practice being grateful. well, my goodness, it works. it is in practicing, participating, immersing ourselves in a life of faith that we see our fears gradually diminish.
now let's turn this lesson over to food. Americans fear food. a lot of Christians fear food. Why? because too many of us don't know anything about it. the official policy of the government food police at the FDA and USDA is to fear food. Why? because industrial food is a scary thing.
*148 Campylobacter, listeria, salmonella, E. coli, bovine spongiform encephalopathy.this is a brand-new lexicon that has only come into common use in the last couple of decades.
likewise, I never knew anybody who had food allergies. now we have gluten problems, leaky gut syndrome, type 2 diabetes and a runaway obesity epidemic. we're overfed and undernourished. the USDA began telling us what to eat after World War II: hydrogenated fat, carbohydrates, margarine. meanwhile, big food manufacturers loved that we were exiting the kitchen and giving them proxy status over our menus.
with the kitchen sufficiently demonized as a place where losers, where underachieving non-career women served, a broad food ignorance spread across the landscape. economic wealth with rising incomes enabled the annual special meal out to morph into daily fast food and processed food service. devoid of culinary artistry, the kitchen became simply a place to heat up TV dinners . indeed, no society has ever had the luxury of abdicating a relationship with food this profoundly.
gone were the nuances about taste, texture and odor. neat microwavable packaging with additives to stablize, sterilize and sanitize replaced the whole potato, the oven-cooked pot roast and scratch baking. in food processing, chlorine became the chemical of choice as produce and meat became filthier coming from industrial farms with faster harvesting and growing techniques. fecal contamination could be sterilized with enough chlorine and it is used liberally today. pink slime in ground beef, along with cheap fillers, created a whole new type of food.
soft drinks replaced whole raw milk. twinkies replaced fried eggs and bacon. packaged whole meals in Styro foam clamshells replaced domestic culinary arts. food was no longer prepared, processed, packaged and preserved in the home. those domestic skills were farmed out to professional food manufactuers with laboratories, high fructose corn syrup, monosodium glutamate and a host of
unpronouncables. as American culture unleashed itself from an ecological umbilical, we became profoundly ignorant. and we began fearing the unknown.
I would argue that food more perfectly represents God's sustaining power than any other physical substance. more than money. more than clothes or housing. more than employment. every biblical celebration uses food and feasting as its most significant centerpiece. do you fear food or do you know enough about it to enjoy a deep food faith? do you know what's in season? do you know what farmers in your area have plenty of this year or are scarce on? do you care?
because food is so closely linked with biblical signposts and remembrances, it would behoove us not to fear food, how do we get over our food fears? the answer is the same as acquiring spiritual faith: we practice. yes, we practice food craft. yes, we get in our kitchens. we get in our gardens. we visit farmers and buy directly from local purveyors. we touch it, smell it, examine it. read about it, prepare it, pickle it, slice it, dice it. we quit buying a nameless, faceless disconnected pseudo-proof-like substance of dubious extraction prepared by people with dubious agendas. we embrace a physical partnership with our food.
I think how we view food and our relationship to it sets up the depth and breadth of our desire to know God's provision - really appreciate it. that's the difference between simply ingesting food-like substances until huger is assuaged and actually partaking of a sacred provision that we know. we talk about knowing God, personally, as a a way to measure spiritual growth. how about knowing food as a way to measure our appreciation of the mystery and awesomeness of God's sufficiency?
isn't it amazing that from our pulpits we have no problem demanding that people practice and participate in hearing, seeing, and exercising their faith, but we don't exhort people to create a framework for that spiritual understanding by doing the same thing
*150 with something much easier: food. food is not just something we ingest on a pit stop. it's sacred provision, as requested by the Lord's Prayer: 'Give us day by day our daily bread'. Luke 11.3
do you know the food in your pantry? perhaps not all of it, but at least some of it? do you have a memory, a knowledge base, an experience with it? this creates a framework to truly understand God's providential care. when you've worked at your food, you appreciate its power and meaning. you don't take it for granted. and you don't fear it because you know where it came from, how it was produced, who grew it. it's as safe and sufficient as your spiritual faith, which grows in your life the same way.
when we patronize an opaque food system and pop munchies, it creates an unhealthy physical body. (note- not to say anything of a toxic system of food supply.) by the same token, when we quit seeking, quit seeing and quit discovering biblical truths for ourselves and just depend on munchies from the pulpit or a 'saying of the Day', we become spiritually weak and sick. isn't it fascinating that our churches routinely conduct youth seminars on the dangers of the Internet and websites, but we don't conduct any seminars on the dangers of soft drinks and pretzels?
just for the record, I don't think it's a sin to drink a soft drink once in a while. indulgences are allowed. but drinking one a day is a different story. the cumulative effect of what is now known as the modern american diet, where virtually everything is highly processed, laden with sugar and grown from chemicalized deficient soil, is a seriously sick population. america now leads the world in the 5 leading chronic diseases. that's not a good place to be number one.
make no mistake about it, the overriding view in our culture toward food is fear. it's a product of ignorance. you can't trust what you don't know. the less we know about something, the more we fear it. the less we know about god, the less faith we have in Him. I know we're to fear God, but that's a reverence, not a worry. godly fear is healthy because it drives us to want to please Him.
*151 if food faith (what we see) is metaphor for spiritual faith (what we don't see) then we should embrace a food system that demonstrates knowledge and participation. if the current supermarket industrial food system demonstrates one thing, it's ignorance and lack of participation. if the current supermarket industrial food system demonstrates one thing, it's ignorance and lack of participation. what happens when we fear food is that we ask for government protection. fear creates insecurity and insecurity makes us paranoid. Paranoia is a wonderful tool used by regulators to increase their power.
conservative Christians who want less government intervention must realize that every time we patronize a food system predicated (def -'indicate'; logic - that which is affirmed or denied concerning the subject of the proposition) on ignorance, opaqueness and fear, we unwittingly and subconsciously encourage fear t creep into our lives. if we can't trust our food without government intervention, can we trust education without government intervention? can we trust doctors without government intervention? can we trust doctors without government intervention? can we trust bakers without government intervention? can we trust deacons and elders without government intervention?
the food system that thrives on fear is not healthy for us...in many ways. why we can't appreciate that it's as unhealthy as a pornographic website or an alcoholic binge? why, indeed. because we pray for our little Christian kiddos to get a good job with a well-paying company, to show they are good Americans, patriotic citizens, contributors to society. so we encourage them to apply for jobs at laboratories and food manufacturing associations that create a destructive food system. and we're proud of their achievements when they become number one Twinkie salesmen.
were proud of them when their engineering ability designs a machine that more efficiently injects carcinogenic phenols into hot dogs. come on people wake up. would Jesus eat this stuff? Really? we'd counsel our Christian children to leave an unscrupulous accounting firm in a heart beat if financial irregularities were suspected. 'It'll taint your reputation, we admonish.
'you don't want to be party to those shenaigans', we pontificate. 'don't stay in the devil's workshop'. we preach.
*152 well, what kind of a workshop do you think it is whose chemicals make infertile frogs and 3 legged salamanders? what kind of irregularities might you find in a place that releases genetically modified organisms into the environment to practice promiscuous orgies in crops on land where a farmer doesn't want them to be? what kind of shenanigans are they when the industry and government experts tell cattle farmers to feed dead cows to cows? are these not irregularities, are these not shenanigans are these not the devil's workshop?
since to say anything is to identify with liberal whacko environmental tree-hugger anti-capitalists who go so far as to say the military industrial complex is too big, we Christians can't speak about these things. they're taboo in our circles. these things cause divisions. they make us squirm. and after all, we really don't know enough to have faith in a more natural system. I mean, look at the government reports. look at what the scientists at the most prestigious Fortune 500 corporations in america say.
do you know how silly that sounds? would you measure the credibility of any other conviction by the fact that it was endorsed by government reports or corporate white papers? not at all. we measure things by the Word of God. we ask if it is of faith. I submit that the entire industrial mechanical food system is predicated on fear - it thrives on fearful consumers who want government to prop it up, subsidize it, insure it, protect it. justify it. and it thrives on the fear that natural biological system, God's design for a beautiful synergy of complex relationships from bacteria to bovines, really can't work. that we can't rely on seeds that either don't bear at all or bear after unpredictable kinds. we can't rely on whole foods we have to rely on extruded irradiated amalgamated reconstituted chlorinated adulterated food-like substances.
I submit that a God who can't be trusted to feed us His way can't be trusted to save us His way. a God whom man's cleverness must correct is a God whom theologians must correct. if Sunday school
*153 teachers believe God's agrarianism needs to be corrected, they'll soon believe the Genesis records need to be corrected.
once we begin cavorting with fear rather than faith , we progress as surely as day follows night into a place of anemic spiritual existence.
now that we've explored the faith and food issue, let's move into the farming arena. what does a farm of faith look like, as opposed to farm of fear? does a farm of faith have a refrigerator full of vaccines and pharmaceuticals or does it rely on something else? at this point in the book, if you don't realize that's a rhetorical question, you'd better quit now and start over because you haven't been paying attention.
the average farmer wakes up every morning fearful. what is sick? how many animals died during the night? a farm of faith says this : if I follow the Creator's patterns, immunity and wellness will follow. yes, that's simple faith. but the alternative is an expensively stocked arsenal of crutches that signify that health can't be achieved without drug companies.
how about faith in compost and biomass rather than fear that a carbon-centric system might not work so we'd better apply chemical fertilizers? how about faith that our animals' immune systems will work so we can have visitors and let them walk about freely without fear?
goodness, I challenge you to go to any industrial farm. you'll see anti-microbial shoe dips, shower in shower out, plastic suits. whenever we get scientists visiting our farm, they invariably remark about how seemingly nonchalant we are about bio-security. the industry is paranoid about bio-security. the industry is paranoid about bio-security because their animals and plants are fragile. if our farm plants and animals had as dysfunctional an immune system as that found in industrial facilities, I'd be paranoid, too. I don't blame them for being paranoid. they're wise to be paranoid. but is it faith? no, it's abject fear.
*154 one of my favorite stories about my son Daniel growing up was when he was 13 and took his first 4-H illustrated talk to the senior contest at Virginia Tech. the title was 'Symbiosis and Synergism in the Rabbitry'. he had already been raising rabbits for 5 years at the time and had become quite a little guru on the rabbit enterprise. as we're wont to do on our farm, rather than a mono=species rabbitry like you see in all the production books, we built a Raken house. the rabbits were in roomy wire cages suspended at eye level and chickens roamed freely underneath.
hence, Rabbit plus Chicken equals Raken. Bet it? a deep bedding of carbon underneath provided plenty of litter to absorb rabbit urine. the chickens scratched in the litter, which mixed the urine in, which decomposed the carbon, which create a bug-growing medium, which grew bugs, which induced the chickens to scratch, with infected oxygen and mixed-in urine...you get the picture. it's kind of like the nursery rhyme 'The House That Jack Built'.
of course, it wouldn't be honest to the story to neglect the fact that Daniel had an excellent communications coach. he practiced in front of the mirror like I told him and had it down cold. the only scary thing about the competition was that it would be judged by 3 veterinarians in the Virginia Tech School of Veterinary Science. not only that, but after the presentation they could ask him any question they wanted. in fact, they were supposed to ask every competitor a question in order to deduce if the child actually knew anything about the topic or had just memorized something he kne3w little about.
we practiced some softball questions and figured we had him well prepared. after all, both Teresa and I had won state 4-H illustrated talk competitions in our teen years, so we knew what to expect. with our 13 year old prodigy and his indulgent little sister in tow, we drove down to the great school of minds on the appointed day of competition. he performed flawlessly and from our vantage point across the room, we could see the judges smiling and completely taken with his charisma. as the completely objective parent in this
*155 case, I knew he was by far the best one in the whole competition. Family was proud.
he finished and first came a softball question: 'How long have you been raising rabbits? ..5 years, sir. we had coached him ...by the way, we think 8 is about the right time in life to start a business.
second judge threw a softball: how do you sell your rabbits? easy. I dress them and sell them directly to customers in the area, sir'.
Third judge threw the hardball: 'Aren't you concerned about disease with the chickens being right there next to the rabbits?" you could hear a pin drop. I caught my breath. the question was accusatory and out of character for this friendly competition where even the last place finisher gest some kind of ribbon..
Daniel didn't bat an eye. He didn't hesitate. He didn't flinch. he looked squarely at the doctor of veterinary medicine and replied firmly: 'We've learned that most pathogens don't cross-speciate, so it's not a problem'. the judges literally threw back their heads and laughed and ave him first place. the room would have mutinied if they hadn't...the vets were fearful about the Raken house.
they could not believe that a place of diversity could carry its own checks and balances. a farm with enough faith in various gits and talents, in the self-correcting and self-policing characteristics of multi-speciated relational production, sets a visible object lesson for the same functionality in a body of believers who exhibit differences. different fits, different talents. these are no supposed to divide and destroy a fellowship group; they are there to sharpen, correct, challenge, encourage. they are pieces of a whole that work
*156 beautifully when all the parts exhibit their distinctiveness and agree to participate.
For as we have many members in one body and all members have not the same office: so we, being many, are one body in Christ and every one members one of another. having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith or ministry, let us wait on our ministering or he that teaches, on teaching or he that exhorts on exhortation; he that gives, let him do it with simplicity; he that rules, with diligence; he that shows mercy, with cheerfulness. Romans 12.4-8 AKJV
have you ever wondered why in the world God made so many different kinds of critters? fungi, mold, bacteria, nematodes. wild animals, domestic animals, plants, fish, coral it really is amazing isn't it? even Christians tend to enjoy this variety because intuitively it's overwhelmingly beautiful. we know that each of these beings (no, I'm not going squirrelly on you, but i like to use it just to honor the distinctiveness of these critters) occupies a certain niche in the environment. we also know that their specificity is far beyond a self-organizing fatalism and required a Creator to design them with horns and lips and scales and mitochondria.
in a big sense, life diversity teaches faith in differences. I think humans are prone to prejudice. we certainly love to segregate ourselves into tribes that look alike, think alike and talk alike. I'm not sure that's wrong. what's wrong is fearing those who are not in our inner sanctum. what's wrong is not embracing people who aren't in our tribe. (def - a class or set of persons, especially one with strong common traits of interests).
when we patronize a farming system predicated on monospeciation as being the most efficient, it encourages this idea that surrounding ourselves only with people exactly like us is the most efficient. it's safe, but I don't think it gets anything done. I'm not
*157 talking about singleness of purpose. I'm talking about background color, verbal vs. mechanical, leader vs. follower, extrovert vs. introvert kind of stuff. we fear innovation. we fear having our assumptions questioned. I know I do.
did God really have to create such variety? I mean, really? did we really need a wombat? a kangaroo? a possum? a skunk? really? part of the wonder of God is that He is a Creator on overdrive. I mean, when God say's He's going to do something, He goes after it. He doesn't piddle around. when He made the earth,k it was so much more than Venus and Mars. it's incomprehensibly blessed. when He made plants, look at the variety! animals, look at the variety! God went all out. he wants to go all out. if you say you're going to do something, do it with gusto.
when God wants to illustrate human variety and how big He is to welcome any of these weird costumes, skin colors and backgrounds into His arms, that's an incredible expression of whosoever will. farmers who fear variety exhibit a small trust system. a farm of faith has lots of variety and exhibits a small trust system. a farm of faith has lots of variety and exhibits lots of innovation. if you come away from a farm saying: 'Wow. that's creative . that's a lot of cool stuff going on', then you'll know you've been t a farm that exercises faith.
may I speak briefly to church properties on this point? who about that nice kitchen downstairs? what if somebody with dreadlocks from the neighborhood urban farm asks you if he can use the kitchen to make vegetarian pot pies? Vegetarian pot pies? Oh my, that would push me. Ha!
but really, what would you day? are you afraid of the kitchen being used by somebody else? that's legitimate, but be creative and embracive and figure out how with some proper oversight it could be used. I think one of the biggest travesties in our churches is refusing to leverage all that stainless steel and kitchen infrastructure around the clock to augment the local integrity food system. how about you being the one to let everyone know: 'Have kitchen for local food use. Fully equipped. let's quit patronizing industrial mechanical.
*158 food and start eating sacred food'. can you imagine the conversations such a come-on would create? You'd have evangelistic and outreach opportunities you couldn't imagine.
how about church lawns? big, spacious, expansive monocultures. energy guzzling show of elitism and royalty. I'm not saying you can't have a little area for children to play or a volleyball court, or a play set. but do we really need 2 acres of golf green equivalence? to fertilize with chemical fertilizer so we can use more petroleum to mow it more? really?
how about community gardens? section it off for people who want to use it to grow their won vegetables. you can park the mower, forget the fertilizer and weed killer and instead spend that time conversing with the most outrageous variety of people you can imagine. I mean, the pace might start looking like the characters in a Dr. Suess book. wouldn't that be a hoot? you'd probably get written up on the front page of he local newspaper. it'd be a big hairy different deal. wouldn't it? and that, my friends, is what Jesus would do.
Goodness, next thing you know you'd be talking to a loan shark (Zacchaeus) and a prostitute (woman at the well). you might be entertaining neighborhood brats and foreign dignitaries. who knows what relationship might develop?
think of the conversations. think of the community emotional equity. rather than bringing industrial canned food to a box in the church foyer for the food bank to distribute to 'those people'. we'd be participating, interacting, exercising our faith that God's humor and abundance are the coolest thing yet. is your faith big enough to carry you through this disturbance of innovative activity? could the elders and trustees handle it or would this drop a couple with heart attacks? what does our faith mean? if it means that we have to segregate ourselves into an elitist structure with our industrial cans of food for the needy because deep down we fear touching them, smelling them interacting with them, then we're running away from faith, not pushing ourselves into it.
how about putting a solarium on the side of that massive stone
*159 church building? whack a hole in the wall of that cathedral and let the sunlight and passive solar heat in. let the super-oxygenated air from lettuce leaves in January fill nostrils and lungs with freshness during the morning song. Goodness, if Sister Sue hyperventilates it'll be the most exciting thing to happen in a long time. feed Big Belly Bob some salad straight out of that soil and you might get him weaned from at least one can of Dr Pepper a day. wouldn't that be a conversion?
Okay, we've had a good time with this and I hope I haven't gone over the edge of decorum. but for crying out loud, folks, we Christians are blessed with infrastructure, money, ability. why don't we show physical faith to our neighbors as directly and clearly as we do with the youth group trip to Mexico to build a house for an orphanage? before anybody jumps me on that, I'm not suggesting we stop missionary trips. but i'm quite concerned that too often we expediently show our faith at the end of a jet airplane trip because we fear being that visceral in our own neighborhoods. that's not the order in which we should express our faith.
it should be visible most apparently where we live, where we worship, where we play, where we eat, where we entertain. that's where the rubber hits the road. it's easy to be good for a week, with groups just like us, in a place far, far away. it's hard, inconvenient and a work of significant faith exercise to exhibit it to the people who see us get out of our cars every day. Yes, that's a whole different deal.
what if your fellowship group, along with sanctity-of-life month and missions-giving month, created a farm-of-faith month? organized field trips to farms of faith? bought from farms of faith for the month? we have hunger lock-ins for youth groups to identify with the hungry. do we not identify with the cancer-stricken pesticide patients? the vomiting animal factory neighbors?
isn't it easy to be shallow? it's like the greenies saying buy a Prius and put in LED lightbulbs: shazam, now you're taking care of the earth. we love shallow; we don't like deep. but if we are going to walk a life of genuine faith, we're going to have to wrestle with these
*160 issues. I have no problem if you think I'm too out there. that's okay. but can we at least wrestle with these issues?
the whole notion that a food system can illustrate fear or faith and a farm system can illustrate fear or faith may be an entirely new concept. I get that. but could we appreciate that such illumination from a lunatic finger could be as valuable and neat as a new evangelistic technique or a new communication technique to help you rediscover honeymoon love? dear Christian brothers and sisters, I really believe that if the faith community could push through this faith of fear food and farm understanding, it would be perhaps the most powerful force for eclectic good our country has seen for a long, long time.
it would sure turn the creation worshippers on their heads. they'd sit there stuttering and stammering, unable to know where to go or what to say. we'd break their stereotypes. we wouldn't fit their pigeonholes anymore. they'd be dumbfounded and that would be a powerful work of faith. God would smile.
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