We truly live in an age of wonder. An age when we can truly understand what
is meant in Genesis 1:3: "Then God said,
Let there be light and there was light." Notice that before this verse, the term is created ,then God spoke
light into existence and continued to speak. Light is part of the
electromagnetic spectrum that includes such phenomena as x-rays, radio,
television, lasers,and only recently light wave communications. The words of
our information age can be carried in pulses of light.
On our web site, the home page includes a picture of Meyers Falls. For lack
of a better description, I had this picture in mind of a community I would like
to create in virtual reality. What to call it? How to make people understand
what was there? There are stories on the links from that page, but how to make
it real. Why not a picture, of the real Meyers Falls. Trecking down the sand
hills of the narrow valley where the Colville River empties into the Columbia.
I was able to capture on a piece of plastic acetate, we call film, an image of
a place once spoke into existence or in some way descended from those original
words of Genesis spoken thousands of years ago.
We have had photographic ability for the last one hundred fifty years or so.
There are images of Meyers Falls from a hundred years ago in a collection in a
museum in Spokane. But what makes my pictures different is that I took them to
a laboratory and they converted the minute grains on the film into a digital
image. A series of 1's and 0's or +'s and -'s all strung together form a full
color picture of the falls the way it looked the day I took the picture. The
amazing thing is, where ever you receive this email, you too can know just what
that picture looked like that very day. Created from nothing except, if you
would hear it, sounds a lot like noise. Now if that isn't fascinating enough
instead of just a beam of electrons projecting an image on your computer
monitor, you could store it somewhere for future use, or print it out using
little drops of ink to again create an image similar to what is pictured on the
original slide.
For the last year an a half or so some of you have patiently opened an email
message to see what I was going to say that week. Words created by pushing
little buttons arranged in some weird order. Take a minute to focus on this
whole process. The same digital fingerprints that produced the picture of
Meyers Falls, produce this message. It is stored on a magnetic hard disk in
digital form until it is converted into an analog signal to go about six feet.
It is again converted into another digital signal for the phone company and is
transmitted to an internet hub in downtown Seattle. From there it moves by some
form of electromagnetic means to some server somewhere, and there it is
distributed to all your individual accounts around the world. Now just enlarge
the whole process to mega proportions, let God be the author and the power to
order that which was just spoken into existence. And we see that we are truly
unique in history.
Now let us focus not on just a physical universe but a book known as the
Bible, the Word of God. In 2 Timothy 3:16,17 we find: All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for
every good work.
Also in 2 Peter 2:19-21: And so we have the
prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a
dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your heart;
knowing this first that know prophecy of Scripture is of any private
interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God
spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
From the inspired nature of the words of the Book, let us look at its
application as spoken by Jesus in John 17:9-17: I
pray for them, I do not pray for the world but those You have given Me, for
they are Yours. And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified
in them. Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I
come to You, Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me,
that they may be one as We are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them
in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost
except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I
come to You and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy
fulfilled in themselves, I have given them Your word; and the world has hated
them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not
pray that You should take them out of the world, but that you should keep them
from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
Sanctify them in Your truth. Your word is truth.
In this confusing world where we are taught that truth is relative, the
Bible declares it self to alone be true. The reformers, especially Luther, took
strong stands that the Word of God should be available to all people. Not for
the introduction of private interpretation of the individual, but so that the
individual could understand by the plain meaning of the text, what the Bible
clearly said. They could come to salvation in Jesus Christ solely relying upon
the written Word at the expense of the private or church's self promoting
interpretations. This is a simple statement of the Reformation belief in Sola
Scriptura (Scripture Alone)
But God has not left mankind with just a Book, created for the glory of God.
He has also chosen to use human instruments in the proclamation of His grace
found alone in Jesus Christ. This includes what we normally call preachers, but
also all who call themselves disciples of Christ. This includes not just our
proclamation of the gospel, but just as importantly, our proclamation of
ourselves. When even if using the Bible as a pretext, if we are really
promoting our own beliefs, then we are picturing our beliefs, as did the
Catholic church of Rome in the time of the Reformation, and still does. To put
it another way, God creates diversity to show us a piece of himself, through
man's eternal personality. Distinctives are developed by men to show others our
differences.
Some one may think, not you, or me, but those others, that "they"
are God's gift to something. That is the wrong perspective. The proper
perspective is God chose "they" to be His gift to something. Saying
it another way as long as we promote the Glory of God as His gift, something is
going to be a better place. Once we set our own agenda, our usefulness moves
from the City of God into the City of Man and all our doctrines or religious
experiences are not going to change that reality. That truth. This is why it is
so important for us to choose our words carefully and if they are used outside
of common usage, as the English language allows us to do so, we must explain
our new ideas and our new definitions. So that the focus remains on God and not
our wisdom or knowledge.
I was thinking about communion today. The words of institution, "This
is my body broken for you." means more than just His broken physical body.
It means each eternal personality that partakes of that bread of life, is in a
greater way a part of His Body through out time. It is our unique opportunity
to be that gift of God to something. If, and to the extent we are united with
Him, through that brokenness, our actions and our words bring the eternal truth
of salvation or judgement. The cup of His blood, then becomes the source of
life in, and as truth. Not just a red grape based product, but the uniting
oneness of the redeemed life, brought from death into life during the
resurrection all those years ago.
To the extent we add to that word of truth given to us, is the extent we
drift aimlessly on the sea of humanity, blowing hot air into our own sails and
wondering why the sea does not seem to pay attention and we do not make any
land marks. We have progressed, or evolved as the church, to such a point that
for the most part the world does not hate us, as Jesus mentions, we have
sanctified ourselves, our denominations, fellowships and movements in many
cases to the extent that as one famous Red said in a movie, "Frankly, my
dear I don't give a damn!" When we seem to understand evil as a person in
a red suit and not something that is part of our own make up, that damnation is
more than just an idol threat. To that horror the grace offered alone in Jesus
Christ must be preached in our unique giftedness and God's unction and not our
comfortable self-serving power..
I was supposed to get a check last week for some
of the work I had completed months ago. Today when it did not arrive, I called
again and found out that it was sent to the wrong address. As that money comes in,
and as other work is developing , this allows for the planning and steps for a
move. God has his timing and I must rest in that work and I see this delay in
funding as part of that process, no matter how frustrating. This sum is just a
partial payment of what is due, so please intercede for the remainder of those
funds. Now! And also for the understanding for this unique opportunity.
This week's message was delayed because of the Northwest Pastor's
Conference, but most of this message precedes that event even though it wasn't
written out. In is intended that next week we will begin a series of Bible
studies to promote the whole council of Scripture. In that respect this message
is just an admonition to me to not venture far beyond God's path making and creating
abilities, following my own strange ideas. Please intercede for this series.