“God Does What He Promises”
July 9, 2023
Dear brothers and sisters, grace and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.
As many of you know, and as I’ve mentioned before, summer is my favorite time of year for a lot of different reasons. But I’ll also admit, for those of us who have gardens, summer can also be a bit stressful – hotter weather, and even more humid weather, means having to water a lot more. Even though we’ve had rainstorms like we did yesterday, it still gets hot again. But we know that if we don’t water our gardens, our plants and flowers are going to die. So, to make sure we keep giving them life, we have to water our gardens. That’s also why we come to church every week, and that’s why, at least once a month, we also take Communion: to keep our spiritual lives, our relationship with Jesus, alive. And that’s important because, even as we live our lives during the week, we always have to remember that we don’t just live our own life: we live the life of Jesus.
When we were baptized, we were not only given the promise of eternal life after death, but we were also given a new life, to be lived in this life. Our life is no longer only our own, but we have been united to the life of Jesus. Perhaps we do not always realize it, but we share in the life of Jesus. The power of Jesus reigns in our hearts and minds, and each day we are being transformed to become more like Jesus. Especially when times are difficult, or we face doubt and uncertainty, having something to fall back on, namely faith in Jesus to be there, take care of us, and save us, is always a blessing. And what is faith? Believing that Jesus does whatever He promises. Sharing in the life of Jesus therefore means living as Jesus did, a life where our own very existence is so bound up with our heavenly Father, and our identity is so closely tied to becoming like God. In fact, as Paul says in today’s Second Reading from Romans, verse 4, “We were therefore buried with him by baptism into death in order that, just as Christ as raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” He then goes on, “The death [Jesus] died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive God in Christ Jesus.” And, brothers and sisters, that’s what we are – we are alive! Even though some may be saying covid killed the church, I, and I’m sure many others of us, beg to differ – we are not dead, but we are more alive than ever before, because Jesus has kept us alive. He has kept us going for a special purpose – to speak, act, and live in His Name.
That’s why, just like our gardens, we’ve been kept alive: to live the life of Jesus among other people. In fact, to live a life which truly follows the Bible is to share in the life Jesus lived with others, and live according to the pattern He has set.
As the late Eugene Peterson says, “We do not qualify as biblical simply by quoting the Bible. We are biblical only when we share in the wilderness with those who are tempted and fall, when we carry the cross of Jesus, and when we love extravagantly in Jesus’ name.” And what this means is that, as Christians, we are called to be a propheticpeople, people who prophesy on behalf of Jesus.
Another thing we maybe haven’t realized, or have never realized, is that we all have been given the gift of prophecy. When we were baptized, we were given the Holy Spirit, which means we were given all the gifts of the Holy Spirit, including the ability to prophesy. Now, contrary to popular belief, prophecy doesn’t just mean the ability to foretell and predict the future. In my own experience, true prophecy nowadays is also never entirely specific: there are frequently vague images involved, which are made clear once the events they predict take place. Prophecy is also never done “for hire”: it is a message which comes directly from God, and which may be unexpected to both the one prophesying as well as the hearer. Which, in our First Reading, is why Hananiah is shown by the Prophet Jeremiah to be a false prophet, because what Hananiah is predicting is specific, comes out of his own bias, and may be what the king and people want to hear, but is not what God is actually saying. Also, contrary to popular belief, not only pastors or even trained preachers are given the ability to prophesy, or have the exclusive right to prophesy – all Christians who have been baptized, and therefore given the gifts of the Holy Spirit, are given both the right, and the responsibility, to prophesy in Jesus’ Name.
So, if we know what prophecy isn’t, then what is prophecy? This list gives us a pretty good description. I’m going to be honest, I didn’t come up with this list on my own; I actually found it on Google from another person’s presentation, which I’ll provide the links for when I post the sermon text online. However, it’s still an excellent description of what prophecy is:
- Speaking out the mind of God under divine inspiration
- Speaking the heart of God
- Edifying, exhorting, and comforting people
- Restoring the image of God in people
- Showing people what God has for them
- Telling people how God sees them
God frequently inspires us – if we are able and willing to listen. In fact, I’ll let you all in on a little secret: each time I myself go to prepare the Sunday sermon, or before any occasion where I am called upon to preach or speak, I pray, asking God to give me the words to speak, and that they would be His words, the words He wants people to hear. He knows what we need to hear to guide us, He knows what is on His heart, and He tells us what to say that is on His heart. Speaking the heart of God means telling people what sort of heart God has: a heart which cares about the well-being and needs of every person; and who also desires everyone to have the same heart for people He does. This means He wants everyone to live in peace and love with each other, in families, neighborhoods, and even all around the world. Edifying, exhorting, and comforting people means that we have to speak clearly, sometimes even bluntly, to make sure God’s message is heard. Which means, as Jesus Himself says in today’s Gospel reading, we may sometimes face opposition for what we say – especially if what we say goes against what the attitudes of the times are. Which also means, just like Jeremiah, we may be having to tell someone exactly what they don’t want to hear, or not what they expected to hear, but what God wants them to hear, which is ultimately for their own good. But we are never to be afraid to speak what God inspires us to say, because what we say or do for someone might be just the right thing at the right time, especially to give them comfort and peace in trouble. Just as God is, we are to be concerned about the well-being, dignity, and image of God for all people. Restoring the image of God in people means speaking words and doing actions which enable God to rescue them from living according to destructive, undignifying, harmful, and addictive patterns and habits; or which also enable people to recognize that they are loved and accepted by Him as they are, and are of worth and value in His sight. Which also means encouraging people to recognize that God has something even greater for them than what they currently know. What does God have for them? A life where He gives them every good gift and blessing; unconditional love and acceptance; help in times in trouble; peace that comes from knowing He is always there and in control; freedom from harmful habits; freedom from abuse and hatred at the hands of others; and the promise of eternal life with Him, including being reunited with everyone else who has died. How does God see them? As people He loves, forgives, and accepts. But in order to nurture and really exercise this gift of prophecy we have, this also means we have to lay aside our own biases and agendas, and be open to where God sends us, and to whom He sends us.
There is also another component to all this: the word evangelical has taken on a certain meaning, frequently a political or cultural one – and one which has strayed far from its original definition. But, as with everything else we’ve been discussing, whether or not we realize it, by our prophesying, telling people the heart of God, we are being evangelical. What does the word really mean? Simple: someone who has the Gospel, the good news of Jesus, to tell all people. And that’s what we have: the good news of Jesus for all people. As we prepare to receive Communion in a few minutes, we’ll hear this good news once again: that Jesus loved us so much He gave His life for us, and then He rose again to give us a new life. We’ll be filled anew with the power of Jesus, by the power of His body and blood, to speak and act in His Name. Then, we’ll be reminded of what our purpose is when we sing after Communion: “Thank the Lord and sing His praise, tell everyone what He has done!” Tell people what He’s done for us, what He can do for them, and what He promises. Whatever He says, He promises, and whatever He promises, He does. That’s the good news He wants us to prophesy, to tell everyone.
Now may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
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