Hymns of the Church – Jesus Paid it All – 29 February 2024, Anno Domini (In the Year of our Lord) originally posted 7 April 2015

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ND Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, 2 And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. 3 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: 4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? 5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. 6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. (Acts 9:1-6)

 

 “These Christians are an exasperating lot,” thought Saul (later the Apostle Paul) as he journeyed to Damascus to murder and maim any Christians he found there. “They seem to fear nothing or no one, yet pretend to a faith of greater enlightenment than our religious teachers of the Jews. Their ill-intentioned faith seems to have turned the world upside down. They must be destroyed, along with the memory of their supposed Savior, Jesus,” he mused as he went on the way with his escort on that dusty road to Damascus that day. But Saul never completed the mission he had planned. Why not? Because he heard a Voice unlike any other voice he had ever before heard. “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?” The Voice carried with it the tone of Authority and Divinity. Saul KNEW this was no earthly Voice. Saul knew this was a Voice from Heaven, but WHO was it? “Who art thou, Lord?” he asked with trembling voice. Once he knew the Voice to be that of Jesus, suddenly the error of years of false learning dawned on poor Saul. This was the very Jesus against whom Saul was going to war against in Damascus. That ‘was’ became an eternity. Saul never again warred against the Lord Jesus Christ or His people. That Voice changed Saul’s life forever, and in an INSTANT! It will change the life of all who hear it!

 

This wonderful old hymn is by Elvina Hall and was published in 1865. The music, All to Him I Owe, was composed by John T. Grape.

 

There is a truly wonderful and soul-inspiring testimony regarding this hymn that happened not long after it was first published. The story takes place in London under the Preaching of Rowland Hill – a rather colorful and lively evangelist: “While he was preaching in a park in London to a large assemblage, she was passing in her carriage. She said to her footman when she saw Rowland Hill in the midst of the people, "Why, who is that man?" That is Rowland Hill, my lady." She had heard a good deal about the man, and she thought she would like to see him, so she directed her coachman to drive her near the platform. When the carriage came near he saw the insignia of nobility, and he asked who that noble lady was. Upon being told, he said, "Stop, my friends, I have got something to sell." The idea of a preacher becoming suddenly an auctioneer made the people wonder, and in the midst of a dead silence he said: "I have more than a title to sell -- I have more than a crown of Europe to sell; it is the soul of Lady Ann Erskine. Is there anyone here who bids for it? Yes, I hear a bid. Satan, Satan, what will you give? 'I will give pleasure, honor, riches -- yea, I will give the whole world for her soul.' Do you hear another bid? Is there any other one? Do I hear another bid? Ah, I thought so; I hear another bid. The Lord Jesus Christ, what will You give for this soul? 'I will give peace, joy, comfort, that the world knows not of -- yea, I will give My life for her eternal life.' Lady Ann Erskine, you have heard the two bidders for your soul, which will you accept? And she ordered the door of her carriage to be opened, and came weeping from it, and accepted the Lord Jesus Christ. He, the great and mighty Saviour, is a bidder for your soul to-night. He offers you riches and comfort, and joy, peace here, and eternal life hereafter, while Satan offers you what he cannot give. Poor lost soul, which will you have? He will ransom your soul if you but put your burden upon Him. Twenty-one years ago I made up my mind that Jesus would have my soul, and I have never regretted the step, and no man has ever felt sorry for coming to Him. When we accept Him we must like Him. Your sins may rise up as a mountain, but the Son of Man can purge you of all evil, and take you right into the palaces of Heaven, if you will only allow Him to Save you.”

 

Jesus Paid it All

I hear the Savior say,

“Thy strength indeed is small;

Child of weakness, watch and pray,

Find in Me thine all in all.”

Refrain

Jesus paid it all,


All to Him I owe;


Sin had left a crimson stain,


He washed it white as snow.

 

For nothing good have I

Whereby Thy grace to claim,

I’ll wash my garments white

In the blood of Calv’ry’s Lamb. 

Refrain

 

Lord, now indeed I find

Thy power and Thine alone,

Can change the leper’s spots

And melt the heart of stone. 

Refrain

 

And when from my dying bed

My ransomed soul shall rise,

“Jesus died my soul to save,”

Shall rend the vaulted skies. 

Refrain

 

            The most wonderful thing about the unbelievable meanings of this hymn is that they are very true and believable to all who will hear the Voice of the Lord. “I hear the Savior say, “Thy strength indeed is small; Child of weakness, watch and pray, Find in Me thine all in all.” It is beyond doubt that Saul, too, recognized his utter weakness before that Personage that struck him down and blinded him with His brilliance on Saul’s Road to Ruin. That Road to Ruin became Saul’s Road to Light. He heard the voice of Jesus, and that was ENOUGH! Saul did find in Christ his “All-in-All”!  Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.  (Col 3:11)

 

            “For nothing good have I Whereby Thy grace to claim, I’ll wash my garments white In the blood of Calv’ry’s Lamb.” True, Saul had no good thing to give, but his intentions were full of bad things – just like you and me before we heard that Voice. “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:” (Rom 3:10) By the way, grace is not something to be earned or purchased. Grace is the free gift of God. It is unmerited and undeserved mercy. The Prodigal Son (you and I) was covered with the finest robe his father had to offer to cover the filth of the pig sty. Imagine! You and I, too, are covered with the finest White Robe of Righteousness that Heaven has to offer  – a Robe purchased at the immeasurable expense of the Blood of our Lord and Savior! The miracle of forgiveness – and that is what it truly is – is beyond our understanding. How can we wash our dirty rags of sin to a white splendor in the crimson blood of Jesus? Yes, and even whiter than snow? It is the red stains of His blood that bleaches out the black and sickening stains of our sin. He is our Lamb of the Passover!

 

            “Lord, now indeed I find Thy power and Thine alone, Can change the leper’s spots And melt the heart of stone.” If we are depending on the slightest iota of our own power to cross Jordan Banks, we shall be drowned in the deep; for our power can avail nothing of salvation. He is the only resurrection power that acts as a magnet to pull up that metal of similar nature to Him. We will be like Him because we have taken on that Mind which was in Christ Jesus! The leper’s spots are blemishes in our feasts of righteousness that is made of sin. Given a White Robe each morning by way of repentance and forgiveness, it has horridly defiling spots by evening time. But Christ has made the Mercy Seat available to all who will plead their cause to their Advocate seated by the Father. The stony heart is cold and hard, but the volcanic fountain of Christ’s love will melt even that stone, and replace it with a heart of flesh upon which He has written His Table of Laws.

 

            My dear friends, regardless of your present age and health, there awaits every reader of this devotion a room of dying determined by the will of God. When we are children, we believe, mercifully, that no such day and hour will come; but come it surely will, and not always at the expected moment. “And when from my dying bed My ransomed soul shall rise, “Jesus died my soul to save,” Shall rend the vaulted skies.” Please bear in mind that the Lord, our God, has reserved an escort for you at the moment of death – an escort of the angels of Heaven. It will be the first VIP escort for many of us. Notice the deference paid to the saint of God, as opposed to the sinner, at death. In the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus, we read: “22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;” (Luke 16:21-22) Remember the old negro spiritual: “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, Coming for to Carry me Home?” It was a band of angels that was coming after that dear old singer, and that band was coming to carry him home! “A band of angels coming a’ter me, jes’ a coming for to carry me home!” I hope I will meet that old gentleman beyond the stormy Banks of Jordan Waters. Jesus paid for our travel fare but we must accept the ticket!

 

The Refrain

 “Jesus paid it all, All to Him I owe; Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.” It is true! Jesus paid it all on that terrible instrument of torture called a cross. We can never give to God a single thing. All of Creation belongs to Him alone. But we can surrender our souls (which belong to Him) back to His loving care. We are able to surrender those souls because Jesus paid it all at Calvary! The crimson gashes of the whip made in Pilate’s paddock; the gaping and crimson wounds on His sinless brow made by the crown of thorns; the terrible and painful crimson wounds on His feet and hands made by the Roman nine-inch nails: and the horrific wound made by the spear to His divine and Holy side by the lancer which drains crimson blood and water – all were made to pay for the laundry bill of our crimson sins. His blood washes – not just white as snow – but WHITER than snow. Snow flakes are formed by the condensation of ice crystals about a particle of dust or smoke in the upper atmosphere. So at the heart of every snowflake is a particle of impurity. But the blood of Christ removes even that particle of impurity.

 

Please consider the gems of truth in a single verse of the Psalms: “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” (Psalms 51:7) Hyssop is a popular purgative in Asia. It cleans out the alimentary canal. It cleans the INSIDE of the body. If we are cleaned by God from within first, we shall appear every whit as white, and even whiter, than snow in the outward appearance. But if the filth remains at our core, the impurity remains in the heart.

 

Hymns of the Church – My hope is built on nothing less – 29 February 2024, Anno Domini

Click here to listen and watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tkpwtl8AYsQ

 

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HEREFORE whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will like him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. (Matthew 7:24-25)

 

            This hymn is much older than the impression it gives in its casual, but profound, meanings. Composed in 1822 by Edward Mote (1797-1874), It is a hymn which points to the anchor of Hope we have in our Lord Jesus Christ. The tune is SOLID ROCK by Edward Bradbury in 1863.

 

My hope is built on nothing less

 

My hope is built on nothing less

than Jesus' blood and righteousness;

I dare not trust the sweetest frame,

but wholly lean on Jesus' name.

Refrain:

On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand:

all other ground is sinking sand;

all other ground is sinking sand.

 

When darkness veils his lovely face,

I rest on his unchanging grace;

in every high and stormy gale,

my anchor holds within the veil.

Refrain:

 

His oath, his covenant, his blood,

support me in the whelming flood;

when all around my soul gives way,

he then is all my hope and stay

Refrain:

 

When he shall come with trumpet sound,

O may I then in him be found:

dressed in his righteousness alone,

faultless to stand before the throne. 

Refrain:

 

1 My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. Verily ‘nothing less’ nor ‘nothing more’ than the blood sacrifice of our  be saved, and certainly our trust should be fixed on Christ and upon no mortal.

 

2 When darkness veils his lovely face, I rest on his unchanging grace; in every high and stormy gale, my anchor holds within the veil. [Refrain] In is in the darkest hours that His Presence may be most keenly felt. This is because there is little of the world to distract us from being stayed on Him and His Word. The Anchor that holds within the veil is that Holiest of Holies made accessible by His death on the cross when that veil was torn from top to bottom as Jesus became our High Priest and only Intercessor with the Father. His grace is unchanging.

 

3 His oath, his covenant, his blood, support me in the whelming flood; when all around my soul gives way, he then is all my hope and stay. [Refrain] When the rolling billows burst upon us past the shoals, we are swamped in despair; but then comes the strong arm of Christ to lift our fearful souls from the deep. He knows our frame and He knows what limits we can bear. His oath is the only covenant of import to us: “He that believeth on me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.”

 

4 When he shall come with trumpet sound, O may I then in him be found: dressed in his righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne. [Refrain] When the angelic groomsmen sounds the trumpet for the Marriage Feast, we must have our lamps trimmed and full of the oil of the Holy Spirit, elase we may be cast away from entrance. Being in Christ is an assurance of security and being imputed with His righteousness. There can no evil, sin, or death exist in Christ who is our eternal abode.

 

Refrain 

On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand: all other ground is sinking sand; all other ground is sinking sand. Christ is that huge, immovable Rock that cannot be moved. When we stand on the Jordan Banks at the latter end of our days, our feet shall not falter or stumble if that rock is our support. But the sands of unbelief and unrighteousness will offer only the sinking gloom of the eternal Deep.

 

 

AOC Sunday Report – Second Sunday in Lent

Happy Second Sunday in Lent.

 

The AOC Sunday report can be downloaded RIGHT HERE.

 

We have excellent sermons today from Bishops Jerry, Roy, Igor and Jack. In addition, as normal we have a sermon from Rev Bryan, it is particularly good today;  I’d like to point that out and ask you to give it your special consideration.  Bishop Jack brings the propers together.  His sermon can be viewed on video HERE ->https://youtu.be/-TVbL9-aRj0

 

Bishop Jack’s sermon looks at the unifying message of the Collect, Epistle and Gospel and examine how they share a common message of action as we enter into the time of Lent, which is a season of preparation.  In the Collect, we acknowledge to God that we cannot direct our own lives; if we listen to our own selves we are without guidance. Paul tells us to keep our bodies under control of our minds and our minds to be guided by God only, He helps move us on course.  Matthew gives us a fine example of faith that demonstrates how we must be guided by faith in our Lord.  The woman who cries unto Jesus is a Gentile, just like us.  Just like us she longs for His Mercy and will not give up. Action, not diction is what counts. It all comes together.

 

As always, we have a lot of people who desire your prayers. I know that seems to never change, that is because it doesn’t ever change. Today we ask you start with Alan Ridenour’s father who is been in ICU for well over a month now with Covid then work your way through Shamu, Tricia, Laurie and continue from there when you have time.

 

As we work our way through Lent, season of preparation for the coming of the Lord amongst other things, we all need to see if we are really opening our heart to God’s guidance in the form of the Holy Ghost. If we’re not, and I doubt any of us really are as much as we could, we need to try harder and harder to do that. It is very difficult to follow God’s instructions if you don’t listen to them.

 

May you see the epic week ahead

 

Godspeed,

Hap Arnold

Bishop Coadjutor

Anglican Orthodox Church Worldwide

Second Sunday in Lent - Propers with explanation – Bishop Jack’s Sermon – With Video

Bishop Jack brings the propers together.  His sermon is below the propers and can be viewed on video HERE -> https://youtu.be/-TVbL9-aRj0

 

Bishop Jack’s sermon looks at the unifying message of the Collect, Epistle and Gospel and examine how they share a common message of action as we enter into the time of Lent, which is a season of preparation.  In the Collect, we acknowledge to God that we cannot direct our own lives; if we listen to our own selves we are without guidance. Paul tells us to keep our bodies under control of our minds and our minds to be guided by God only, He helps move us on course.  Matthew gives us a fine example of faith that demonstrates how we must be guided by faith in our Lord.  The woman who cries unto Jesus is a Gentile, just like us.  Just like us she longs for His Mercy and will not give up. Action, not diction is what counts. It all comes together.

The Propers for today are found on Page 127-128, with the Collect first:

 

The Second Sunday in Lent.

The Collect.

 

 

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LMIGHTY God, who seest that we have no power of ourselves to help ourselves; Keep us both outwardly in our bodies, and inwardly in our souls; that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

And due to the rubric, the Collect for the Day is followed by the Collect for Ash Wednesday, which is found on Page 124:

 

The first day of Lent, commonly called
Ash Wednesday.

The Collect.

 

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LMIGHTY and everlasting God, who hatest nothing that thou hast made, and dost forgive the sins of all those who are penitent; Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

¶ This Collect is to be said every day in Lent, after the Collect appointed for the day, until Palm Sunday.

 

The Epistle for today comes from the Fourth Chapter of Paul’s First letter to the Thessalonians beginning  at the First Verse.  Apparently the Corinthians were not the only church founded in a Red Light District.  In this letter Paul is telling the people to refrain from random sex and get married.  Paul is starting into the beginning of his New Man concept.  We are called to be as God wants us to be, not as we would be without His guidance and help.  God does this, not that we would miss fun, but rather that we would enjoy happiness.

 

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E beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God: that no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his Holy Spirit.

 

This morning’s Gospel comes from the Gospel of Saint Matthew, the Fifteenth Chapter, beginning at the  Twenty-First Verse. 

 

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ESUS went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

 

This story surfaces again in the Book of Common Prayer in the Prayer of Humble Access, in the Book of Common Prayer, Page 82:

 

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E do not presume to come to this thy Table, O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in thy manifold and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under thy Table. But thou art the same Lord, whose property is always to have mercy: Grant us therefore, gracious Lord, so to eat the flesh of thy dear Son Jesus Christ, and to drink his blood, that our sinful bodies may be made clean by his body, and our souls washed through his most precious blood, and that we may evermore dwell in him, and he in us. Amen.

Bishop Jack Arnold

Anglican Orthodox Church of the United States

Training and Education Department

Diocese of the West

Church of the Faithful Centurion - Descanso, California

Bp Jack brings the Collect, Epistle and Gospel together because as is always the case there is a unifying message in the Scripture for this Sunday.   Bp Jack’s sermon is below the propers and can be viewed on video HERE -> https://youtu.be/-TVbL9-aRj0

Good morning! I hope you are all doing well. In today’s sermon we will be looking at the unifying message of the Collect, Epistle and Gospel and examine how they share a common message of action as we enter into the time of Lent, a season of preparation.  Let us start by reading today’s Collect:

 

The Second Sunday in Lent.

The Collect.

 

 

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LMIGHTY God, who seest that we have no power of ourselves to help ourselves; Keep us both outwardly in our bodies, and inwardly in our souls; that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

Consider these words from the Collect:

 

… we have no power of ourselves to help ourselves; Keep us both outwardly in our bodies, and inwardly in our souls; that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul …

 

In the Collect, we acknowledge to God that we cannot direct our own lives; if we listen to our own selves we are without guidance.  Consider the airplane flying, it orders its movements according to Polaris, the Pole Star of True North.  If a pilot flies guided by his “inner self” he soon knows only where he is: at the controls, and little else.  Like the pilot who needs to know where the True North is so he can orient himself, we need God’s guidance to move towards our goal of eternal life with Him. While flying my aircraft in instrument meteorological conditions or IMC , I have to rely on the aircraft instruments as our bodily senses lie to us about our aircrafts true altitude. So too do we have to rely on Scriptures for our guidance on the path towards heaven as our natural inclinations will also lie to us on our true performance.. This is why we cannot rely on ourselves to navigate towards heaven but we need the help of our spiritual navigator the Holy Ghost.

 

The first step of getting onto the narrow uphill path towards heaven is that we have to let Him into our hearts in order to let Him guide us. If we do not do this, then how can we expect to have Him guide us, if we are not open and ready to receive Him and His Guidance? We would be perpetually lost and would never make it onto the narrow uphill path towards heaven. This is why need the help of the Holy Ghost to be our infalliable co pilot and help guide us on the narrow uphill path towards heaven

 

Thus, when Paul tells us to keep our bodies under control of our minds and our minds to be guided by God only, He helps move us on course. He tells us to avoid the things that can sabotage our journey towards God and can physically hurt both our souls and body. These things he lists out are things that would derail us if we engaged in those activities. We must seek to not do them and to instead remain on the courseline that the Holy Spirit has outlined for us. This ties in very well with the collect’s request for God to keep us outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls. It links the theme of both spiritual and physical moderation extremely well. If we stay away from the things that would derail us, we will find our journey on the narrow uphill trail to be much easier than if we didn’t stay away from those things. The Holy Ghost will help us avoid those negative activities and moderate our spiritual and physical lives if we will allow Him in and listen to His Guidance.

 

Being honest with others and especially ourselves is one of the most important things we can do. If we are not honest with ourselves to start, how can we be honest with others?  The worst person to lie to is yourself after all. For only by living our faith can we demonstrate that we in fact have faith.  For professed faith with no action when you are able to act is not real.  You must actualize what you claim to believe. We must put our nice words into action and not just leave them as words. We are called to be as God wants us to be, not as we would be without His guidance and help.  God does this, not that we would miss fun, but rather that we would enjoy true happiness.

 

Keeping evil thoughts under control can be a difficult task, but we do not have to face it alone, we have the Holy Ghost in our lives and other Christians and friends that support us and guide us, that can help us battle evil thoughts.  This is not a battle that we should be fighting alone, but with support from the Holy Ghost and our Christians and other friends. This proves that Christianity is not a solitary religion but a social one. We need the help of our fellow believers if we are to succeed at the race of Life. Of course we need to be willing to talk to our good friends within the Church about our problems and evil thoughts and listen to their advice, and more importantly to the Holy Ghost’s advice to combat these evil thoughts and drive away the temptations of the devil.  Christianity did not flourish because its followers were hermits, it flourished because its followers evangelized the religion throughout the known world. It is an active religion and it requires its followers to actively participate in it by spreading the Good news.  It would never have spread as far as it did if it was a hermetic religion.  Keeping our thoughts under control can be almost impossible at times but with the help of the Holy Spirit it is not impossible at all.

 

Matthew gives us a fine example of faith that demonstrates how we must be guided by faith in our Lord.  The woman who cries unto Jesus is a Gentile, just like us.  Just like us she longs for His Mercy.  In her case, she asks only for the mercy rejected by others, the crumbs of the Master’s Table[1].  This is the essence of our faith, we are not worthy to dine at His Table, no more than dogs are meet to dine at our table.  Yet, what is left over is more than enough for us.  And we are content with that, knowing what miserable creatures we are.  And, even more important, even knowing what miserable creatures we are, Jesus offers to share His Table with us.  This woman had just as much faith in Jesus as the Faithful Centurion. She had faith that He would share His Mercy with her and heal her Daughter. She was rewarded for her faith by Him healing her daughter.  The key in all of these interactions that Jesus had with these people, is that these people had tremendous faith in Him. We must have that same faith and we must show it in our lives by carrying out actions consistent with his message.

 

He is not content for us to grovel for His crumbs. If He offers His love for us, should we not love Him back, by acting upon our faith?  If you truly believe, you are compelled to act upon the faith you have. Action is the key cornerstone of the Christian faith. Jesus afterall laid down His life for ours on the cross that we might have eternal life, the ultimate example of action. If He did that for us, it would be behoove us to act upon our Faith and follow His Example of helping others and leading them to God. 

 

It is also important to understand if one loves God, He still has the exact same amount of love available for any other person or group.  His love is infinite, even if it wasn’t, love multiplies in use! We do not have to worry about God running out of love at all. There is more than enough to go around!

 

Recognize how poorly you do with your own guidance, accept His Guidance, stay on course and accept the fruits of that action. Realize that you will make mistakes multiple times in your life, but what counts is that you turn back to God and do your best not to make that same mistake again.

 

There is but one way to heaven.

 

That easy to find, easy to follow, easy to hike path does not lead to the summit where eternal life in the real world awaits.  Open your heart to the Holy Ghost, use His Power to follow our Lord to God who awaits in heaven.

 

The time is now, not tomorrow.  The time has come, indeed.  How will you ACT?

 

It is by our actions we are known.

 

Be of God - Live of God - Act of God

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[1] Sound familiar?  Check out the Prayer of Humble Access, Holy Communion, BCP Page 82.

Lent 02 Collect – 25 February 2024, Anno Domini (In the Year of our Lord)

The Second Sunday in Lent.

The Collect.

 

 

A

LMIGHTY God, who seest that we have no power of ourselves to help ourselves; Keep us both outwardly in our bodies, and inwardly in our souls; that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

            This COLLECT is taken from the Gregorian Sacramentary composed at a time when 6^th century Rome was under constant peril from without and within. The Collects of the time reflect that earnest spirit of devotion that was revisited at the time of the Reformation.  The translation of these COLLECTs into English during the Reformation aroused the ire of those from whose country they originated. Rome was furious with the Reformers and, when given the opportunity of power, burned them at the stake or committed some other unmentionable atrocities against them.

 

            There are at least four salient points recognized in this COLLECT: 

 

1.     Our God is the Lord that SEES us. 

2.     We are powerless to help ourselves. 

3.     We seek to be kept under the shelter of His wings of mercy.

4.     Being kept by God in the covert of His shelter, we shall be defended both inwardly, and outwardly, from all perils.

 

Our God is the Lord that SEES us.

ALMIGHTY God, who seest There is an excellent example in Genesis of the maid, Hagar, whom the Lord saw in her grievous distress. After fleeing from the harsh treatment of Sarai, Abram’s wife, into the wilderness, the Angel of the Lord ‘found” her by a fountain of water. It goes without saying that a person must be lost before they are found; however, the eyes of the Lord followed her every step all the days of her life. He ‘found’ her at the point of need for which He answered that need.  He told Hagar to return to her mistress and that God would bless her progeny. And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me (Beerlahairoi): for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me? (Gen 16:13) God finds the lost often by the wells of waters just as the Samaritan woman who was found by Christ at Jacob’s Well. There was a second time when Hagar fled into the Wilderness of Beersheba having been cast out with God’s approval from the presence of Isaac and his mother.  Again, in the midst of the Wilderness of Beersheba, her water was exhausted and her child, Ishmael, was famishing. Not able to bear his death, she left him under a shrub and wandered a bowshot distance away. As she was weeping bitterly (God had already provided a well of water at her very feet though she knew it not) again the Angel of the Lord spoke to her in tender and comforting tones (see Genesis 21:14-21). Then were her “eyes opened” and she saw the provision of God before her in the form of a well of water. We are often so blinded by our tears of doubt and fear that we cannot see the blessings that God has provided for us.

 

We are powerless to help ourselves

We have no power of ourselves to help ourselves. What great thing did you bring with you into the world when you were born. not only penniless but, naked and helpless as well? What power had you then, and what power has you now? It is certain that you shall leave this world with no more than that which you brought into it at birth. Every breath, every heartbeat, every sunset, every comfort of the cooling breeze has been sent to you as a gift of the Almighty; so of what will you boast? The light from the most remote of star has been sent under the power of God’s creative genius. The cycles of rotation of the planets, their gravitational fields, their weather patterns – all – have been set into motion by the natural laws God inculcated at the moment of Creation. And you He created in darkness so that all of your hairs were number long before you saw the light of day. So you are some power to reckon with? Maybe not! So from whence cometh your help? I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. 2 My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth (Psalms 121:1-2) We have no power to do good apart from that power of the Holy Ghost working in our members.

 

We seek to be kept under the shelter of His wings of mercy.

Keep us both outwardly in our bodies, and inwardly in our souls. When the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the waters cascaded down from heaven in the Days of Noah, where was the place of safety – IN THE WORLD, OR IN THE Ark of God? Did God tell Noah to GO INTO THE ARK, or did He tell Noah to COME INTO THE ARK? And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark. (Gen 7:1) The place of safe keeping is ALWAYS the Ark of God that He has prepared for us. What is our place of safe-keeping today? It is the Ark of Christ. In Him there is no death or danger. Christ never said GO unto Me, but COME unto Me. The world today is mad and drunken with sin just as it was in the days of Noah. So where shall we seek shelter? We must flee to Christ. He can not only heal and save us, but He can heal and save nations that turn unto Him.

 

Being kept by God in the covert of His shelter.

What advantage is there in claiming sanctuary in Christ? “….that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul.” We pray for bodily protection so that our souls may serve better and longer. But all that remains when the body decays is the soul and spirit of man. At the hour of our death, if our souls have been made righteous through the imputed righteousness of Christ, they shall find a good and happy lodging with Christ. If not, they shall be relegated to the only other destination reserved for Satan and his angels – Hell. But the works of God always begin with the inner heart. Once this has been made clean through the shed blood of Christ, then the outward appearance and outward body will reflect that cleanness that is inward. We do not desire to appear as the “whited sepulchers” of the Pharisees that are white and refined on the surface, but full of death and filth within. If our precious treasures are on deposit in heaven, our outward form will reflect the beauty of that bank.

 

            As is always true, we ask these things “….through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.” Those things that we ask THROUGH and BY the Name of Jesus Christ will always be those things which it is His will to grant, not our own wills prevailing. So the right prayer will always include the proviso, “nevertheless thy will, not mine, be done.”

 

  

Sermon Notes - Second Sunday in Lent - Second Lesson, Evening Prayer - Pray without ceasing - Anglican Orthodox Communion Worldwide - 25 February 2024, Anno Domini (In the Year of our Lord)

 

Bishop Ogles’ Sermon

Presiding Bishop

Anglican Orthodox Communion Worldwide

We are oft fortunate to get copies of Bishop Jerry’s sermon notes.  Today is one of those Sundays.  Today’s sermon starts off with the collect, and like always, it will give you a lot to consider in your heart.  Bishop Jerry also provided this lovely video presentation, Drag Net of the Kingdom - https://youtu.be/nXYulgpRYqc

 

The Second Sunday in Lent.

The Collect.

 

 

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LMIGHTY God, who seest that we have no power of ourselves to help ourselves; Keep us both outwardly in our bodies, and inwardly in our souls; that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

One great acknowledgment that stands out in today’s Collect for the Second Sunday in Lent is this: Since our father Adam partook of the ill-natured tree in the midst of the Garden, Man must still find himself constantly relying upon that OTHER Tree in the midst of the Garden at Eden which he rejected – the Tree of Life. Because of that rejection, we are full of sin and incapable of helping ourselves. We even return to, stop and listen to, and partake of the ill-fated fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. It is only the Mercy and Grace offered by the Tree of Life that keeps us from constantly appealing to the serpent of the other tree. This Collect originates in the Gregorian Sacramentary. For a fuller study and brief meditation on the Collects, I recommend The Collects of Thomas Cranmer, by C. Frederick Barbee and Paul F.M. Zahl. (Erdmans, 1999)

 

Sir Francis Bacon has said: “A man’s nature runs either to herbs or weeds. Therefore, let him seasonably water the one and destroy the other.”

 

Second Lesson

Evening Prayer

 

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ND he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; ² Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: ³ And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. ⁴ And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; ⁵ Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. ⁶ And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. ⁷ And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? ⁸ I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?  (Luke 18:1-8)

 

This parable clearly points to the importance of faith exercised through prayer. We have in the Parable, a contrast:

 

…There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:

 

1.     A politically powerful judge and no doubt wealthy by the standards of the day, who does not fear God or man ,  and  ³ And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.

 

2.     A poor widow with no political or social standing who had been oppressed, but who feared God and believed in the power of righteousness and persistent prayer. She was incessant in her pleas for justice. She NEVER gave up on seeking justice, and believed , though she was powerless, that justice would be gained through her persistence in bringing her case. Before Christ, women were property and not entitled to rights or privileges.

 

The unrighteous have momentary advantage over the righteous because they are not bound by just restraint. They make their own rules, but the righteous must abide by justice. But the wicked also like to be left alone to their wicked devices. They do not wish to be constantly reminded that they are wicked. They do not want others to notice, therefore, 

Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.

 

Persistence in prayer, as in Olympic sports, bears its own reward, however, prayer without faith will is simply amount to useless babbling. Why would you plead endlessly to your parents for some desired gift if there were no hope in gaining the thing begged for? Or why study without measure when your final grade will have no possibility of being improved thereby? Or why save your money and invest in gold or silver if there were no prospect of getting a handsome return?

 

Let us refer to the Book of James Chapter 2, beginning at the 14^th Verse:

 

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HAT doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? ¹⁵ If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, ¹⁶ And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? ¹⁷ Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. ¹⁸ Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. ¹⁹ Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. ²⁰ But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? 

 

How did the unjust judge respond to the lady’s petition?

 

⁴ And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; ⁵ Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.

 

The wicked lack the promise the righteous own in knowing all things work together for good to those who love the Lord and are the called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)

 

So the woman has, at least, the satisfaction of knowing that justice will certainly come, either now, or later.

 

Jesus counsels us to take a lesson from this appeal of the poor widow and the results accomplished through persistent petition.

 

And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.

 

Christ is telling us the same principle applies in prayer.

 

And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?

 

We know from the record of history despots and evil-doers all have eventually met their doom. The Caesars of history are remembered with revulsion…..the Hitlers, Mussolini’s, Stalins, Pol Pots, Maos, etc have fallen before the creeping advance of time and wield no power or respect of generations today at all. The same is true of Kim Il Sung who is a rotting corpse in a grave in North Korea.

 

But the righteous, as Moses, Elijah, and Enoch, are in the presence of heavenly bliss and are fondly remembered by the righteous.

 

How will God hear the prayers of His elect?

 

I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. 

 

God will always act at the proper hour. He does not rush to judgment as do men. He considers a thing, and then does it. Moreover, He knows, better than we, the proper answer to our prayers. When we grow strong in knowing the Mind of God, our prayers will more often reflect the will of God in all that we pray for.

 

The Lord’s prayer – …thy Will be done!

 

…..O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. (Matt 26:42)

 

….O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. (Matt 26:39) 

 

The last sentence of this parable should be troubling to us:

 

Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

 

This last question is a rhetorical one, and designed to give us pause to think on its significance.  What does the Bible say about these last days before the return of Christ?

 

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HIS know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. ² For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, ³ Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, ⁴ Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; ⁵ Having a form of  godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. ⁶ For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, ⁷ Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.……¹⁰ But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience, ¹¹ Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me. ¹² Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. ¹³ But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. (2 Timothy 3)

 

You can see this being fulfilled around you this very day. Not only do the wicked deceive, but they are also being deceived because they are evil, and the company they keep is evil.

 

What is the Christian response to this growing wickedness?

 

But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; ¹⁵ And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 

 

Do not respond as the men before the Great Flood while Noah was building the Ark. Their hearts were darkened and they took up vile affections…..what were these affections?  The same as those for which God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.

 

What are some of the signs?  Friday an earthquake shook the Ryukyu Islands of Japan. Saturday, one of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded devasted Conception, Chile and surrounding areas. In January, what happened in Haiti?

 

What about wars that are proliferating around the globe? There is war in Iraq and Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, Africa, and now Yemen. Does God know of these events?

 

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ND Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. ⁵ For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. ⁶ And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. ⁷ For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. ⁸ All these arethe beginning of sorrows. ⁹ Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. ¹⁰ And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. ¹¹ And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. ¹² And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. ¹³ But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.  (Matt 24:4-13)

 

These very events are being fulfilled as we speak.

 

What should the Christian do in these days?

 

Pray without ceasing  (1 Thess 5:17)

 

and 

 

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OR yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. ³ For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. ⁴ But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. ⁵ Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.  ⁶ Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. ⁷ For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. ⁸ But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. ⁹ For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁰ Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.  (1 Thess 5:2)

 

Pray with a fullness of faith that righteousness will come to those who seek it. Justice always follows in the righteous steps of God’s people.

 

Even in our infirmity, God will sustain us always.