Weekly Sermon

. . . that we may not be outwitted by Satan;
for we are not ignorant of his designs.

God’s adversary has an endless supply of devices he uses to destroy the children of God, ‘or at least to torment, to perplex and hinder them from running the race which is set before them.’[1] In Satan’s ‘tool box,’ are countless instruments intended to distract, discourage and deter us from being effective, faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. But I want to focus on one particularly devious method Satan uses to break down that which God is building up. The deceiver uses the very world that ‘God so loved,’ the world that Jesus Christ has redeemed and by His Spirit is restoring – to divert our attention from the things of God and diffuse our desire to be ‘salt and light.’

What worldly tools does the tempter use to try to destroy our faith, erode our hope and undermine our joy in the Lord? First, he uses the cares and sorrows of this world to hammer away at our confidence in God’s loving presence and favor. Life is hard. It pounds us down with trials and tribulations: a loved one dies; a friend betrays us; a spouse walks out; a child rebels; we lose our job and can’t pay the bills; our bodies break down with disease or old age. And with every hit we take, Satan whispers, “If God really loved you, He wouldn’t let this happen. . . God has bigger things to worry about than your piddling problems.” Beware! The Evil One uses our troubles to hammer away at our faith.

The church takes a pounding as well: we struggle to make payroll; our aging facility demands constant repair; thieves rip off whatever parts of the building they can sell for scrap; we lose members and we lose heart. The evil one distracts us with struggles and diverts our attention from the business of saving souls. We become preoccupied with mere survival.

Like a chisel, Satan uses our busyness and trivial pursuits to chip, chip away at our desire and commitment to love and serve God. In North American culture, life is a blur of constant activity: travel time, work time, “quality time” with family, church time, community time, time to read the paper, time to check our email, time to walk the dog, time to work out at the gym. We spend the day rushing hither and yon, trying to finish our “to-do” list. It would seem that our Franklin Planners and palm pilots have become the “Lord” of our lives!

Then we squander our time on trivial pursuits. We spend hours surfing the internet and leave no time to study God's Word. We chatter idly on the telephone, but seek no meaningful conversation with God in prayer. We spend hours in front of the television, know the intimate details of every Hollywood icon, but don’t take time to reflect upon our own situation.

When our days are exhausted in the pursuit of trivial things, we leave no time for eternal things, like offering praise and thanksgiving to God, listening for the Holy Spirit's wise guidance, reflecting upon the Holy Word. Satan uses our overly-busy schedules and trivial pursuits to chisel away our devotional life.

And what is the result of our lack of devotion and attention to God’s Word? We grow ignorant of it! According to researcher, George Gallup, while 92% of households in North America own at least one copy of the Bible, only 37% of us actually read it and a mere 14% of us belong to a Bible study group. Gallup concludes, ‘Despite the impressive statistics concerning Bible reading and study, it is apparent that ignorance about its contents is widespread.’ He gives evidence for this conclusion:

· Only half of adults interviewed nationwide could name any of the four Gospels of the New Testament.

· Only 42% of adults were able to name as many as five of the Ten Commandments correctly. [2]

Researcher George Barna has also documented the lack of Bible knowledge in the United States:

· 75% believe that the Bible teaches that God helps those who help themselves. [3]

Friends, how can we love and serve God, if we have little understanding of God’s ways and will, revealed to us in scripture? How will be ‘stand on the promises of God’ if we are unsure of what God has promised? Unless we are growing in our knowledge of Holy Scripture, we will be like ‘children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine’[4] Like an ax fells a tree, Satan uses our immature understanding to hack away at our confidence in the God of love and mercy. He topples our desire to share the faith, for we cannot testify to what we do not know. Our adversary uses our ignorance to cut at the very heart of the church’s witness.

As our world becomes increasingly pluralistic, it is absolutely essential that the Church be both confident and equipped to offer a clear and effective witness to the unique hope that is ours in Christ Jesus. The evil one’s devices are well served, when our uncertain and timid voice gets lost in the cacophony of other claims to the ‘truth.’ He delights to see us acquiesce to the prevailing cultural assumption that the Christian faith is ‘just one among many equally valid paths to God.’ Through our ignorance Satan chops away at the Church’s confidence, credibility and prophetic voice in the world, rendering us dead and lifeless.

Our adversary uses worldly tools which destroy our faith, erode our hope and undermine our joy in the Lord. He attempts to break down that which God is building up – the Body of Christ. But friends, hear this good news: when it comes to the battle between good and evil – God will always have the last word! God, in God’s goodness, has provided us with all the necessary tools to protect and sustain our faith, to restore our hope and buoy our joy in spite of every attack of the tempter.

What tools has God supplied the church for the building of God’s Kingdom on earth? To begin, we have God’s Word, which serves as a plumb line for our individual and communal lives. ‘All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.’ [5] If we constantly strive to align our lives with the demands of scripture, then we will become increasingly more true to the nature and character of Jesus Christ, who is God’s Living Word. John Wesley, founder of the Methodist movement reminds us, ‘The Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation. . .’ [6]

When our adversary hammers away at our confidence in God’s loving presence and favor, God’s Word reminds us that ‘neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.’[7]

When we are tempted to overextend ourselves with busyness or waste our time on trivial pursuits, scripture admonishes us, ‘whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.’[8] If God’s Word is our primary tool to withstand the wiles of the devil, then we all would do well to recommit ourselves to read it, study it and meditate upon it, for scripture will keep us aligned with God’s will and ways.

God has also given us the ultimate power source to enliven our study of scripture, ignite our faith and energize our witness. Like an extension cord, the Holy Spirit connects us with power to seek God, power to trust God, power to serve God, power to love and forgive one another, power to live a life that is pleasing to God. ‘His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.’ [9]

When we attempt to be godly under our own power, and apart from the fellowship of believers, we may be tempted to go to extremes: we become self-righteous or self-loathing, over-zealous or under committed, judgmental or laissez faire. That is one reason that God has given us the Church. Like a level, the fellowship of believers promotes healthy balance in the life of a Christian disciple.

We need one another! When we become uncertain and disheartened and confused, we need another Christian to speak God’s Word to us. When our eyes are blinded by hatred, we need the insight of fellow believers. When our mouth spews words that hurt and destroy, we need someone to lovingly correct and call us to account. When the future seems dim, we need to hear a word of encouragement. And when our bodies grow old and slow down, we need to know we still can make a useful contribution to God’s work in the world.

In a world of extremes, the corrective, stabilizing influence of the church is needed! ‘It takes a church to create a community of love in a world of hate, to model the way of forgiveness in a world that feeds on revenge, to demonstrate the way of peace in a world that believes in violence, to be the agent of reconciliation in a world of alienation, to shape a vision of economic justice in a world that is controlled by greed, to become nothing less than the living, dynamic, human expression of the Kingdom of God, coming on earth as it is already fulfilled in heaven.’[10]

God has provided us with every tool needed to build up the Kingdom of God on earth: Scripture – our plumb line, the Holy Spirit – our power cord, and the Church – our level. And God gives us yet another tool – the ‘Means of Grace’ which are like carpenter’s glue, binding us to God and to one another.

Through prayer, we join our hearts and minds with the heart and mind of God. The Eternal One already knows what we need, but uses our time of prayer to build a more intimate, authentic relationship with God. We pray for strength to withstand temptation. We pray for discernment to recognize the devil’s tricks. We pray for power to be effective witnesses as we reflect the light of Christ in the world.

Through fasting, we release ourselves from the grip of worldly concerns, so that we can adhere more closely to God. Whatever holds you in its sway, whether food, or television, the telephone, or the casino; when you fast from the things that dominate your life, you become more open to God’s influence and direction.

Through worship, we express our affection to God. It is possible to serve God without loving God. You can obey God without adoring God. You can even believe in God without enjoying God. But in worship, God draws you into an intimate relationship where you can love and be loved, know and be known, cherish and be cherished. Worship creates a strong bond between Creator and created.

So too, through the sacraments, God firmly joins God’s self with us. In your baptism, God claimed and named you; anointed and appointed you to be ‘a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.’ [11] Our baptism binds us together as the Family of Christ.

Then, we are invited to ‘Come, sinners, to the gospel feast, let every soul be Jesus’ guest. Ye need not one be left behind, for God hath bid all humankind.’ [12] At the Lord’s Table, we are drawn into deeper communion with the Living Christ and united in fellowship with all the saints who call him, ‘Lord.’ ‘Ye who believe his record true shall sup with him and he with you; come to the feast, be saved from sin, for Jesus waits to take you in.’ [13]

God is so good to us! Through the means of grace, the fellowship of believers, the Holy Spirit and the Living Word, God has provided every tool that we need to withstand Satan's devices. Our adversary may use worldly instruments to distract, discourage and deter us from being effective, faithful disciples of Jesus Christ, but ‘whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith. Who is it that conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?’ [14]

Friends, remember to ‘keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering. And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the power forever and ever. Amen!’[15]

[1] John Wesley, The Works of John Wesley Vol 2, Albert C. Outler (ed). Nashville, Abingdon Press, 1985, pg 139.
[2] Michael J. Vlach, ‘Americans and the Bible: Bible Ownership, Reading, Study and Knowledge in the United States’ http://www.theologicalstudies.citymax.com/page/page/1572910.htm[3] Ibid
[4] Ephesians 4:14
[5] II Timothy 3:16-17
[6] Article V – Of the Sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures for Salvation – Our Doctrinal Standards and General Rules, The Book of Discipline, 2004 The United Methodist Publishing House, Nashville, pg 60
[7] Romans 8:38-39
[8] Philippians 4:8
[9] II Peter 1:3
[10] ‘It Takes A Church to Raise a Disciple’, Rev. Dr. James Harnish, from sermon posted on http://www.hydeparkumc.org, date unknown.
[11] I Peter 2:9
[12] Charles Wesley, ‘Come, Sinners, to the Gospel Feast’ The United Methodist Hymnal, The United Methodist Publishing House, 1989, pg. 616, Verse #1
[13] Ibid, Verse #5
[14] I John 5:4-5
[15] I Peter 5:8-11