Rev. Dustin ParkerThe Promise is for You AND...
Concordia Lutheran Church
Trinity Sunday, June 19th, 2011
This Promise if for You AND…
Acts 2:14, 22-41
† In His Name †
May we realize the depth of God’s promise to us, revealed in Christ, and fulfilled in the pouring out of the Holy Spirit!
Promises, Promises
There are few things made with such energy and passion, yet they lack physical substance. Even so, when they are broken, no insurance policy could replace that which was shattered.
Children will make them to their Dads, often modeling the faithfulness they have observed as dads have made to them. Husbands and wives make them to each other. Sports teams and athletes make them, as do those running for office, from 3rd grade class president to President of the United States.
Oh the making of promises, whether made and given with the deepest levels of sincerity, or hiding agendas complex and simple!
Our lives are littered with broken, shattered promises, and even though the relationships linger, they are reduced to mere skeletons of that which was, when received by willing ears, these promises brought joy and a sense of “hope”?
Whether we realize it or not, these skeletons and the pain they testify to cause a struggle within us. A struggle to trust those around us, a struggle to avoid to avoid being cynical when another promise is made. A struggle to hope that for once, a promise would be fulfilled for more than just the moments after it is given. Far to common it is that our cynicism and even our self-doubt causes us to withdraw, to protect our hearts, to avoid being open and transparent with others,
Even with our friends,
Even with our families,
Even with God.
It would be easy, given our society, to overlook the PROMISE mentioned in today’s reading from Acts.
Confusing the Means with the Ends
It has always amazed me, the number of “Bible Promise Books” that are sold in Christian bookstores. Every publisher has one, different ministries put them out. There are Bible Promises for Couples, Bible Promises for Teens, Bible Promises for Kids, Bible Promises for Older Folk, for Men, for Women, for Nurses, Police and Fireman,
It is as if we need to be convinced of God’s care, of His presence in every situation.
It causes me to wonder, do we get the means by which God bestows His Promise on us, confused with the actual Promise given? Do we realize what we have received? do we lose it in the confusion of all the other things, and even in view of the means by which we receive the promise?
How often do we pray, and look to scripture for a promise that will see us relieved of the trouble we are in? Or to better our lives, or those lives which for which we care deeply? The prodigal sons, the daughters who fell “in love” with the wrong man, and now struggles to survive? The promise books tell us God will never forsake us, they tell us to stand firm, they appeal to our logic and emotions well, but rarely do they focus on “the PROMISE”, the one Peter reveals is for us, and for our children, and for all.
The Big Promise!
We even get a bit confused at times with the means by which the promise is delivered. This is seen a lot in how people hear and perceive verse 38. “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
This is often understood to be an exchange – if you do A and B, C and D will come to you. Except that both repentance and baptism are things done to us, not by us, as God gives us a new mind, as He cleanses us. Similarly, the word for Peter’s discourse is not imperative – it is not a command, but similar to the word illuminate or reveal. Hear it this way then,
“Your mind is being made new, Peter says, as you are cleansed (by God) by Christ’s authority, as your sins are pardoned and as you receive this gift, the Holy Spirit
The process of repenting, of having been given a new mind, the process of being cleansed in baptism and united to Christ’s death and new life, the act of being pardoned for all your sins, all is in preparation for the gift.
They are incredible things on their own, they are the freeing one captive to sin, the healing of one sickened by dwelling in sin, yet they only lead us to the true gift, the fellowship, the communion, the incredible blessing of the Holy Spirit’s dwelling with us here!
The Needed Means
There was once a little booklet called “my heart, Christ’s home”. It was a good illustration of how too often we expect God to be a guest in our house, allowing Him to be part of some parts, but not others. There are some minor issues with it, but the premise is clear.
Does the God, in the presence of the Holy Spirit come to live in just a part of your life as a very polite guest? Or does He become Lord of the manor, accessing all parts of your life, remodeling it as He determines is correct? That is what repentance, and our baptism, and the pardoning of our sins truly accomplishes, it is Extreme Home Makeover – life edition – and the Holy Spirit is the one who moves into a brand new life.
This cleansing, this change, this new life we have is not the gift, but it makes the gift possible. We needed those actions to take place, we need God to do that work, for without it, we cannot receive the gift. We need Him to do all this, that we are ready for the most incredible gift of all. Think of a being visited by a King or Queen, and their retainers coming an re-modeling and furnishing your home beyond anything imaginable, that the King and Queen would be more than welcome and proud to stay with you. That is what God does, that we can receive the Gift.
The Gift.
The Promise – and who stands behind it.
The gift is the promise of the Holy Spirit, that God’s presence just doesn’t come and visit and put his feet up, but He comes and takes part in every aspect of your life.
Knowing what this promise means is hard to describe, to know God’s presence is with us.
We know the benefits of it, the comfort, the peace, the awareness and assurance of our lives, our beings being loved. Those promise books deal with all the these, and they do share what these benefits are like, yet the whole is far greater than the sum of the benefits.
I suppose on Father’s day, there are a lot of examples of what it means to realize God’s presence. One of mine is simple – my dad an I – me about 13, walking down shore road at Lake Ossipee. The kind of walk a Father and Son have, where nothing has to be said, you just know you are with each other. Or the feeling a few years later, when my dad was able to show up to a race I was in… there is something about presence, and even more so with God.
But even then, these examples do not go far enough, for it is not just the Holy Spirit and one individual walking a road – it is the people of God, that intimately sharing life with God, together. There is much to our blessing that we share in the communion/fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Much to grasp about being welcomed and drawn into His presence.
And even as we just begin to realize this now, so much more will we realize it, when we see Him face to Face….
Such is the life we have been given, one that is full and abundant because of His presence, one that is sustained because of a promise, a promise that is not just words, but is guaranteed by the entire Triune God, Father,
A promise for us, for our children, for all within God’s view – even if they think they are far off….
He is not far from them, but desires that they too, come to this point, to know the depth, the breadth, the width and the height of the Father’s love, revealed to us in the death and resurrection of Christ, revealed to us by the presence of the Holy Spirit of God, given to us in our baptism.
AMEN!
Trinity Sunday, June 19th, 2011
This Promise if for You AND…
Acts 2:14, 22-41
† In His Name †
May we realize the depth of God’s promise to us, revealed in Christ, and fulfilled in the pouring out of the Holy Spirit!
Promises, Promises
There are few things made with such energy and passion, yet they lack physical substance. Even so, when they are broken, no insurance policy could replace that which was shattered.
Children will make them to their Dads, often modeling the faithfulness they have observed as dads have made to them. Husbands and wives make them to each other. Sports teams and athletes make them, as do those running for office, from 3rd grade class president to President of the United States.
Oh the making of promises, whether made and given with the deepest levels of sincerity, or hiding agendas complex and simple!
Our lives are littered with broken, shattered promises, and even though the relationships linger, they are reduced to mere skeletons of that which was, when received by willing ears, these promises brought joy and a sense of “hope”?
Whether we realize it or not, these skeletons and the pain they testify to cause a struggle within us. A struggle to trust those around us, a struggle to avoid to avoid being cynical when another promise is made. A struggle to hope that for once, a promise would be fulfilled for more than just the moments after it is given. Far to common it is that our cynicism and even our self-doubt causes us to withdraw, to protect our hearts, to avoid being open and transparent with others,
Even with our friends,
Even with our families,
Even with God.
It would be easy, given our society, to overlook the PROMISE mentioned in today’s reading from Acts.
Confusing the Means with the Ends
It has always amazed me, the number of “Bible Promise Books” that are sold in Christian bookstores. Every publisher has one, different ministries put them out. There are Bible Promises for Couples, Bible Promises for Teens, Bible Promises for Kids, Bible Promises for Older Folk, for Men, for Women, for Nurses, Police and Fireman,
It is as if we need to be convinced of God’s care, of His presence in every situation.
It causes me to wonder, do we get the means by which God bestows His Promise on us, confused with the actual Promise given? Do we realize what we have received? do we lose it in the confusion of all the other things, and even in view of the means by which we receive the promise?
How often do we pray, and look to scripture for a promise that will see us relieved of the trouble we are in? Or to better our lives, or those lives which for which we care deeply? The prodigal sons, the daughters who fell “in love” with the wrong man, and now struggles to survive? The promise books tell us God will never forsake us, they tell us to stand firm, they appeal to our logic and emotions well, but rarely do they focus on “the PROMISE”, the one Peter reveals is for us, and for our children, and for all.
The Big Promise!
We even get a bit confused at times with the means by which the promise is delivered. This is seen a lot in how people hear and perceive verse 38. “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
This is often understood to be an exchange – if you do A and B, C and D will come to you. Except that both repentance and baptism are things done to us, not by us, as God gives us a new mind, as He cleanses us. Similarly, the word for Peter’s discourse is not imperative – it is not a command, but similar to the word illuminate or reveal. Hear it this way then,
“Your mind is being made new, Peter says, as you are cleansed (by God) by Christ’s authority, as your sins are pardoned and as you receive this gift, the Holy Spirit
The process of repenting, of having been given a new mind, the process of being cleansed in baptism and united to Christ’s death and new life, the act of being pardoned for all your sins, all is in preparation for the gift.
They are incredible things on their own, they are the freeing one captive to sin, the healing of one sickened by dwelling in sin, yet they only lead us to the true gift, the fellowship, the communion, the incredible blessing of the Holy Spirit’s dwelling with us here!
The Needed Means
There was once a little booklet called “my heart, Christ’s home”. It was a good illustration of how too often we expect God to be a guest in our house, allowing Him to be part of some parts, but not others. There are some minor issues with it, but the premise is clear.
Does the God, in the presence of the Holy Spirit come to live in just a part of your life as a very polite guest? Or does He become Lord of the manor, accessing all parts of your life, remodeling it as He determines is correct? That is what repentance, and our baptism, and the pardoning of our sins truly accomplishes, it is Extreme Home Makeover – life edition – and the Holy Spirit is the one who moves into a brand new life.
This cleansing, this change, this new life we have is not the gift, but it makes the gift possible. We needed those actions to take place, we need God to do that work, for without it, we cannot receive the gift. We need Him to do all this, that we are ready for the most incredible gift of all. Think of a being visited by a King or Queen, and their retainers coming an re-modeling and furnishing your home beyond anything imaginable, that the King and Queen would be more than welcome and proud to stay with you. That is what God does, that we can receive the Gift.
The Gift.
The Promise – and who stands behind it.
The gift is the promise of the Holy Spirit, that God’s presence just doesn’t come and visit and put his feet up, but He comes and takes part in every aspect of your life.
Knowing what this promise means is hard to describe, to know God’s presence is with us.
We know the benefits of it, the comfort, the peace, the awareness and assurance of our lives, our beings being loved. Those promise books deal with all the these, and they do share what these benefits are like, yet the whole is far greater than the sum of the benefits.
I suppose on Father’s day, there are a lot of examples of what it means to realize God’s presence. One of mine is simple – my dad an I – me about 13, walking down shore road at Lake Ossipee. The kind of walk a Father and Son have, where nothing has to be said, you just know you are with each other. Or the feeling a few years later, when my dad was able to show up to a race I was in… there is something about presence, and even more so with God.
But even then, these examples do not go far enough, for it is not just the Holy Spirit and one individual walking a road – it is the people of God, that intimately sharing life with God, together. There is much to our blessing that we share in the communion/fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Much to grasp about being welcomed and drawn into His presence.
And even as we just begin to realize this now, so much more will we realize it, when we see Him face to Face….
Such is the life we have been given, one that is full and abundant because of His presence, one that is sustained because of a promise, a promise that is not just words, but is guaranteed by the entire Triune God, Father,
A promise for us, for our children, for all within God’s view – even if they think they are far off….
He is not far from them, but desires that they too, come to this point, to know the depth, the breadth, the width and the height of the Father’s love, revealed to us in the death and resurrection of Christ, revealed to us by the presence of the Holy Spirit of God, given to us in our baptism.
AMEN!
