In the Collect for Purity, as we open the service this morning, we refer to how our hearts are open to God. In our Epistle from James, we heard that if we don’t bridle our tongues, we can deceive our hearts. There are so many songs you can hear on Christian radio that refer to the heart and its relationship with God. We have spent the last month or more in Morning Prayer going through the life of David. Samuel the prophet had told King Saul;
“But now your kingdom shall not continue; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart; and the LORD has appointed him to be prince over his people.
[1 Samuel 13:14]
You have to wonder what is it about King David that made him a man after God's heart? For our answer we have to turn the 1st Book of Kings. After David's death and one of his descendant’s is on the throne, we read this comment about King Abijam.
"And he walked in all the sins which his father did before him; and his heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father. Nevertheless, for David's sake the LORD his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, setting up his son after him, and establishing Jerusalem; because David did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, and did not turn aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite." [1 Kings 15: 3-5]
Abijam's heart was not wholly true to the LORD he did not do what was right and he turned aside from the way of the LORD. David his great-grandfather was focused on the LORD. From his youth he followed the LORD's commandments and did not stumble until he was settled in his palace, living the good life and could send his men off to war while he stayed behind in Jerusalem. Prior to this he always went on the campaign with his men. But this time he stayed behind in Jerusalem. You know that old saying "Idle hands are the devil's workshop" certainly turned out true in this case. David's eye roams and he spots Bathsheba, Uriah’s wife. One thing leads to another, and we have a case of Adultery, and unwanted pregnancy, and finally a murder, so that David can cover up the adultery. Until this episode, David did not falter in his walk with the LORD. But after he thinks it is all over with Nathan the prophet comes to him and confronts him with the deed. David's response is repentance. I have sinned against the LORD he says. David's begins to fast and pray as the child that was born of the affair is struck down and eventually dies. David returns to the LORD with all his heart, but the damage had already been done. It cost him his baby son and a lot of heartache thereafter from his other sons. The relationship of our hearts with Almighty God is so very important because it is the focal point of all that happens in our relationship with him and with everyone else. The prophet Micah said it very succinctly:
"He has showed you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?"
[Micah 6:8]
To walk humbly with God signifies an attitude that speaks of being in accord with each other. Like-mindedness and a trusting and obedient willingness to follow the LORD. In this morning's collect we call upon the LORD of all power and might to graft in our hearts the love of his name; to increase in us true religion, to nourish us with all goodness and to bring forth in us the fruit of good works. That is a powerful list of things to be accomplished in us, but He can do it. We have to be willing to allow Him to work in us. Moses warned the Israelites, and he speaks to us also when he says:
"Take heed and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things, which your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life; make them known to your children and your children's children. [Deuteronomy 4:9]
God is concerned with the heart and with what is going on inside the person. We are unaware of what is going on inside because we cannot see inside the heart of person. All we see is the outside and so we can be baffled and fooled by a determined effort to deceive. And then again, we sometimes see only what we want to see in a person, again ignoring any signs or actions that would disprove our preconceived ideas. When Samuel went to the house of Jesse in Bethlehem, he checked out all the sons of Jesse and the LORD had to tell him:
"Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the LORD sees not as man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart." [1 Samuel 16:7]
Jesus told the Samaritan woman by Jacob's well that "God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. [John 4: 24] There is no hiding from the spiritual reality of God. That is why Jesus came down so hard on the Pharisees and scribes and other religious leaders of the day. They were pretending to worship God, by the external religious actions and piety that they had set up through their traditions. They had lost touch with the statement of faith they recited everyday. Namely that they would love the LORD their God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength. That is why Jesus said:
"Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, `This people honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men." [Mark 7:6]
The elders of the day had developed a tradition of oral laws in order to keep from breaking the major provisions of the Torah. The problem facing the average Jew of the day was how to deal with these 613 other laws that had developed. The problem for them was living up to the Pharisee’s interpretation of these laws. In applying these interpretations, the Pharisees had neglected the heart and spirit of the command of God. They thought that by neglecting their interpretations of the law a person defiled himself. Jesus rightly teaches that it is what comes out of the heart that defiles a person. We have to go all the way back to Genesis to see that from the beginning evil thoughts proceed from the heart. God is about to destroy the inhabitants of the earth because:
"The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."[Genesis 6:5]
This is why the true measure of one's character is the inner life and not the external camouflage that we present. God who is spirit, is able to see the inner person and the heart and He knows our true personality. When Nicodemus came to Jesus, he was told that he had to be born anew or from above. Jesus said:
"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water; and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." [John 3: 5-6]
To be born of the spirit joins us with God, who is spirit, in order to clean up our act. Then what comes out of our heart will not defile us. For St. Paul reminds us in his letter to the Romans what that change in our hearts can affect for us. He told the Christians at Rome:
"For man believes with his heart and so is justified, and he confesses with his lips and so is saved. For everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved,"
[Romans 10: 10, 13]
When we call upon the name of the Lord we speak or verbalize that condition of the heart that indicates a sincere desire to be obedient to the Holy Spirit of God. We will allow Him to lead us, and we will trust in Him during the battle that is sure to come. St. Paul reminds us in his letter to the Ephesians that the battleground is the heart, mind and soul of each of us:
“Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints. Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak.” [Ephesians 6:10-20]
The only way to combat spiritual powers is with spiritual weapons, especially prayer and fasting. The other weapons are those mentioned in the next verses of the letter to the Ephesians. Before we enter the prison on our Kairos weekends, we take up these spiritual weapons.
DOCTRINAL POINTS
I heard Dr. Charles Stanley of First Baptist in Atlanta preach on the Real War and he suggested putting on the armor in this manner. Working your way from top to bottom. Take the helmet of salvation to protect your minds and thoughts from the evil one. Put on the breastplate of righteousness to guard your heart and your emotions to counter the temptations of Satan with the truth of God. Next, we put on the belt of truth in Jesus Christ to protect us from deception by Satan. That only comes through the serious study of his Word. Next comes the shoes or boots of the gospel of peace as we spread the good news of life in Jesus. Then the shield of faith, which is not some dinky little shield but a large door-like piece of equipment, which covers the child of God. The shield defuses two of Satan’s most deadly weapons--unbelief and doubt. Finally, the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. This weapon can be used offensively and defensively. As Christians we are soldiers on duty all the time and we should be arming ourselves every day as we go out in to world. Even though we cannot see the weapons we describe here they are nonetheless real because we are dealing with real spiritual powers. To help you understand this concept we have in the catholic churches those gifts from God called Sacraments. There are three questions in reference to them in our Catechism. The first asks what are they? And the classic answer is they are an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace. Even though we cannot see the grace it is nonetheless real because we see the result of it. Grace is that unearned, unmerited favor from God that forgives our sins, enlightens our minds, stirs our hearts and strengthens our wills. The two great sacraments of the Gospel given us by Christ are Holy Baptism and Holy Eucharist. The sacraments, the spiritual armor and weapons all have one purpose and that is to strengthen us for our journey with and our mission in Christ. That is done through the power of the spirit. This power of the Holy Spirit is available to each of us as we pursue our Christian walk. We are told foremost to pray and to stand fast or firm in the LORD. The key to success in the battle is to resist the devil and all his evil forces.
APPLICATION/DISCUSSION
But God does not force himself on us, there are six things WE MUST DO ON OUR PART. They are as follows: 1. We must be open to the spirit of God. 2. We must trust in God and not in ourselves. 3. We must truly desire to have the Lord working in and through us. 4. We must seek God's will for our lives. 5. We must believe in the Power of Prayer. 6. We must pray for the power to carry out his will. There are three questions that a man named John Heuss asked in his essay on the "True Functions of a Christian Church" and those questions were: 1- What is the mission of Saint Augustine’s? 2- How can all that is done in this church advance that mission? 3- To what extent is everything we are doing changing the lives of the people involved? We need to pray about those questions as we look to the future of this church in these times. Our purpose should give us a vision of the future for us to strive toward. When we determine that our mission is truly the heart and soul of our new life in Christ for all of us. Then the sacramental acts of our life together that is nurtured through the Body and Blood of Christ strengthens us for the journey each day. So, lift up your hearts. There are pictures of the triumphant Christ represented holding up his hands almost saying to us "Lift up your hearts!" When we reach that point in the Eucharist and the celebrant says "Lift up your hearts" put your hands together like you are receiving the Body of Christ and hold them out to the Lord when your answer "We lift them to the Lord". When we turn our hearts over to the Lord then he can work in and through us for his glory.
"The True Function of a Christian Church" was written by John Heuss of Trinity Parish in New York City. In it he looked at the qualities of the first parish in Jerusalem. He noted five of them:
1- It was a fellowship that had a soul-shaking personal experience with Jesus Christ.
Living, walking, working, talking, eating, and arguing Jesus had stamped Himself
daily upon the disciple's minds.
2- It had a certain genuineness of its trust in God through Christ. It was a believing
fellowship, and its belief was so powerful that it was willing to commit its ways in
confidence to God.
3- It knew itself to be a Spirit-filled community. The Holy Spirit had come. Nothing was
now impossible. The task of the parish was to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to
the whole world.
4- It had a glad awareness of the forgiveness of sins. Trust in God through faith in
Christ brought with it a remarkable new sense of being free. The burdens of anxiety,
dread, and guilt were lifted from the believer's heart.
5- It placed very little value on any organization or activity that did not contribute
directly to three important things. Those were Worship, Teaching, and the collection
of alms for the needy brethren. Being a member of the fellowship did not mean
committee work. It meant a changed relationship to God.
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