“God’s
People Understand the Times”
August 18,
2013
The 13th
Sunday of the Christian Season of Ordinary Time/Kingdomtide/Time of
the Church
Jeremiah 23: 23 – 29/
Psalm 82/Hebrews 12: 1 - 14 Luke 12: 49 - 56
His Eminence
The Most Reverend Archbishop Loren Thomas Hines D.D.
Archbishop of Manila
and
Primate
of the
National Church in the Philippines
and
the Territorial Church of Asia
International Communion of the Charismatic Episcopal Church
Our lives are controlled by times. We arise at a certain time. We have calculated the amount of time we need to prepare ourselves so that we are in our office, in our school, or in a place wherever we need to be at a proper time. We regulate our lives by this time. Even though in some cases people don’t pay a lot of attention to time, it is still the international standard of regulation of discipline in life.
Jesus was
also regulated by time. In the gospel,
Jesus was speaking of something that was very important to us, and yet, most do
not comprehend the time. Therefore, we don’t comprehend what Christ is doing.
The gospel shares, “I have come to cast fire upon the earth; and how I wish it
were already kindled! But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am
until it is accomplished! Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I
tell you, no, but rather division; for from now on five members in one
household will be divided, three against two and two against three. They will
be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter
and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and
daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
And He
was also saying to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west,
immediately you say, ‘A shower is coming,’ and so it turns out. And when you
see a south wind blowing, you say, ‘It will be a hot day,’ and it turns out
that way. You hypocrites! You know how to analyze the appearance of the earth
and the sky, but why do you not analyze this present time? And why do you not
even on your own initiative judge what is right?”
This
portion of this gospel perhaps would be confusing to some because it looks like
Christ did not come to bring peace; but He came to bring peace. In His birth, the angels proclaimed, “Peace
to men upon earth.” This portion of
Scriptures would seem as though it was saying the opposite. This is not true. When it says that He came to cast fire upon
the earth, many will say, “He is going to destroy the earth with fire.” This is not what fire is for. Fire, out of control and out of discipline
destroys; but fire controlled properly does good. It brings warmth; it cooks food; it separates
the bad from the good in metal wherein the purity is brought out, that which is
valuable. It is not destructive, and yet
some people would look at this and say, “Oh, He is going to destroy the earth
by fire. He is going to purify the earth
by fire.”
If you
know God, He is not one for destruction. He is one for restoration. He is one for purification. This is why He sent Christ to come to
us. He came to bring peace, but His truth
will cause division.
The
gospel says that the young people will be against the older people. Father against son; son against father;
mother against daughter; daughter against mother; mother-in-law against
daughter in-law. In every case, it was
the elders against the younger ones because in too many cases, the elders have
not prepared their children properly. No
discipline; no training. Scriptures says to train up a child in the way that he
will go and when he is old, he will not depart from it. But it also says that if we are not
disciplined, we are not legal children.
Today,
many children are not disciplined so therefore, we will find eventually the
division in the family. It is not Christ
who came to bring division because the elders are morally trained and inclined
than the younger ones. The young ones
think everything is okay, so we have the division.
The home
is vital in preparing a child. The
things around us will not affect the child if he has been prepared properly in
the home. The home is important; the
home is that core that makes the family what it is supposed to be. The family need not be afraid of what is
going around in the world or in the culture.
If the family is trained properly, the culture will not affect them. Too
sad, in many families, the father doesn’t train his children. The mother doesn’t do her part; and so
therefore, when the children are older, they divide from their parents. They don’t agree. They say, “My parents are too old to
understand.”
This is
what Jesus is saying: the necessity of preparation; of knowing and recognizing
what is going on and addressing it. It is not just throwing up our hands and
saying, “Culture is so terrible. Society
is going wild.” Yes, it may be, but it
doesn’t have to affect. It doesn’t have
to affect your family if you have been trained in the things of God and in the
provision of God.
In Jeremiah,
he was warning Judah of what was taking place.
He was speaking loudly about the principles of God, sharing with them
that they have left those principles.
Scriptures says, “They forgot My way because of Baal.” Baal, in the Hebrew language, is symbolic of
demons. Having a capital letter on it
would mean that it is probably the chief of the source of deception, false
truth.” This was what Jeremiah was
fighting against. Again, God said, “My
Name is like fire purifying like a hammer that it crushes so that the
purification can come out and that which God has given to us can be made
manifest.” In Hebrews, it says, “Lay
aside all encumbrances which so easily entangle you. Run the race.
Eyes fixed on Jesus."
A moment
ago, the dance, the music was “Jesus With Skin On.” This was the incarnation of God. God became
flesh and dwelt among us for a purpose.
There was a reason for His coming.
There was a reason He was speaking to us so loudly and so importantly
about and yet, in most of our lives, we have not listened to what He would care
to share with us.
I would
pray that you hear God speak to us. In
John 1, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God.” Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning.” Here, we find the very essence of all that
God has ever done. It is tied into the
coming of Christ, into the identification of His Word. The value of that which
He has given to us and that is provided for us.
John
1:14, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” Christ coming, becoming flesh, being what we
are, identifying with us for a purpose.
More than just a purpose, He was setting a standard for our lives. He was encouraging us to realize the love of
God, the grace of God, and the mercy of God.
How that God intended us to rise victoriously. It is not to be subject to the things around
us.
Genesis 1
says that He gave to us dominion and authority over all things on the
earth. It was not that we would be
subject to the things around us. The
things around us were to be subject to us.
They were to be under our dominion; they were to be under our control;
but we have pulled back not understanding the provision of God, not
understanding the work of God, not understanding the plan of God.
The Word
became flesh and dwelt among us. Christ
is pouring His divinity into all human nature. In Peter’s writing, “By His
stripes, we were healed.” This
relationship that was established in the creation, when God breathed His breath
into the dust, and became a living soul, that relationship was restored by
Christ. His stripes healed us. It brought us back into the relationship with
the Father, into the oneness with the Father.
He ‘tabernacled’ with us; He dwells in us.
“Full of
grace and truth.” Here is where we are
going to find the truth. Here is where
we are going to know the times because when Christ is dwelling within us, when
His provision and His life is in us, we will know what is going on around
us. We will be alert to the
circumstances. We will not be deceived,
but we will be aware of and be enlightened by.
John 1:4,
"In Him was life, and that life was the light of man." Light means things are no longer hidden from
you, but wisdom and understanding and knowledge are being revealed to us. When Christ comes into our lives, when He
is there with us, we are no longer deceived.
We are no longer held in darkness.
We are no longer in bondage, but that light shines into us and it brings
new hope and provision to us.
John 1:9
says that light enlightens every man.
This is the provision of God in our lives. This is the gift of God. This is the grace of God. This is His mercy in each of us. No longer lost, no longer confused, no longer
deceived. This light dwells within
us. “For in Him, the fullness we have
received and grace and upon grace.”
How does
this become ours? How does this become
alive in us? How does this become like
“Jesus with skin on”? When our thoughts
are of Jesus and our mind is set on the ways and the principles of Christ and
the very essence of all that He is, John
8:31 says, “If you abide in My Word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and
you shall know the truth, and the truth will shall make you free.”
The Word,
the provision of God, this is Christ Himself. When He comes into our lives, He
becomes a living reality to us. It sets our course and our direction. It helps us understand what is going on
around us. We can identify the times. We can identify the circumstances, the
situations, and with the wisdom that it brings to us, we know how to correct
things that are not what they are to be.
We understand because of His Word coming into our lives. As we meditate on it, as we allow it to
become what we are, we, then, become what He is. We become like Him because we have brought
into our being what He has set and what He is in His own life. He brings this
to us.
John 15:7
says, “Abide in My Word. If My Word is
in you, and My Word has become flesh through you, you can ask what you will and
it shall be done for you.” Sometimes,
we wonder why our prayers are not answered.
Sometimes, we wonder why are pleads are not met. Why?
Is the Word abiding in us? Has it
become what we are? Are we living it
out? Can we literally say that, “As
Christ was, so am I in this world?”
This is
what Scriptures says to us, “As He is, so are we in this world.” It comes only because we spend time
meditating upon His Word. Letting that
Word become alive in us. So alive in us
that it brings forth, through us, the very essence of Christ, the very being of
Christ. We will not be Christ, but we
will be like Him. We will be in His image before the world. The world will see
Him like much they saw Christ when He was incarnate in the flesh. They will see that through our lives, there
comes forth that ability to bring answers, to bring peace, to bring joy, and to
bring hope instead of despair.
Are we
looking for this? Are we spending our
time bringing into our lives the very principles of Christ so that we can live
them out? So that we think them? So that we know the very place we are
now? That we understand the times and we
understand how to prepare for the times?
We spend
time looking for other things. We spend
time trying to find about problems. We
want gossip about people. We go through all these things rather than being
Christ in the flesh. We have become deceptive; almost in the realm of evil
because in our hearts, we judge, we condemn, we put people down rather than
reaching out as Christ did lifting them up, bringing healing and restoration
because that was what He was. This was
His life and this was the very essence of His whole being.
Christ
came not to judge, but to save, to redeem, to restore, and to forgive. This is
what Christianity is. This is what we
are to be – abiding in Him and His Word abiding in us. Do we know His Word? Do we spend time studying His Word? Do we
spend as much time studying His Word as we do studying in the Internet or in
Facebook, putting those things in our hearts that we find ourselves
discouraged, depressed, anxious, jealous or angry because of what we put in?
If we put
the words of Christ, out of our very being will flow rivers of living
water. As we drink of that water which
He gives to us, He says, “Out of us will spring forth rivers of water.” Not just trickles, but rivers, water that
brings hope and cleansing and life to mankind.
Colossians
1:27 says, "Christ in you the hope of glory.” The Word in you. Christ and the Word are synonymous. They are the same because the Word represents
Christ, and as we assimilate that into our flesh, into our minds, into our
being, we, then, begin to live it out.
As we begin to live it out, we change from glory to glory into His
image. We begin to see things as Christ
would see them. We begin to act as
Christ would act in situations. We would
be bringing peace; we would be bringing joy; we would be bringing forgiveness;
we would be bringing restoration to mankind because Christ is alive in us.
This is
what it is to be. This is what the
Eucharist is all about. The body and
blood of Christ is being brought to us that we become like Him. What we eat, we become. We are to be this; we
can no longer find ourselves focusing upon the things around us. Those things don’t control us. Those things don’t hold us down. All of creation was created by God for our
benefit. It was not created to control
us or to put us down or to limit us. It
was there to strengthen us. It was there
to lift us up, to bless us, to feed us and to strengthen us to do the work that
God has given to us.
Today, we
find all the things around us control us.
We find that they are our limitations and we can’t do things because of
this and that. We are bound and put in
slavery to these things, when in reality, God says, “No, all dominion is yours. All things upon the earth are under your
dominion.” This is how He created us.
For some
reason, we have lost the insight of that because the Word is not deeply
entrenched within us. When the Word is
deeply entrenched within us, when our thoughts reflect the thoughts of Christ,
when they are thoughts that reflect the ways of God, the whole imagery of that
which is around us will change. We will not see it as a threat; we will not see
it as intimidation; we will not see it as punishment. We will see it as that which brings us closer
to the kingdom of God and to the provision of God. His Word becoming one in us; we, becoming one
with Him, because of that. It will stop
the families from the divisions. It will
stop the problems of the world when the Church becomes to live out the life of
Christ.
Hebrews
tells us to set your eyes upon Him. Run the race. Keeping your eyes upon Him,
knowing Him, having His Word hidden within you, so deeply entrenched that it
brings out the provision and the hope that we look for that life can be a
blessing. Life can be joyful. Life can be filled with understanding.
1Timothy1:1
says, “Christ is our hope.” Hebrews 12
tells us that Christ is the Author and the Perfecter of faith. He has given to us faith. He is the One who created faith. He is the Author of that faith. He causes
that faith to be perfect. In our lives, that faith can rise when we have His
Word hidden within us. It will rise to a
place of perfection. It will rise to a
place wherein we are walking as God would want us to walk.
Ephesians
5:15, “Be careful how you walk.” Walking
in that Word that He has given to us; speaking of Christ and of the
Church. This is what it brings to us. We see this according to His guidance. We see things according to His
understanding. We see things according
to the way He has created them to function, so that when we find that we have
done the things the way of God, they work well in our lives. It causes our lives to bring forth greatness.
I had my
automobile checked, and they said to me, “The coils that you have in your car
are not the quality that should not be in your car. It is causing your automobile to have a
vibration. If we will put the proper coils in the care, you will have a smooth
operation of your automobile.” Putting the proper things into that which it was
created to bring forth brings forth perfection.
Faith in
your life, the Word of God in your life will bring out that which God intended
it to bring out. Like Adam, you will be
able to walk in the cool of the evening talking with God. The relationship will be so close; there will
not be a question in your mind. There will not be that lack of understanding
because His Word is deeply entrenched within you. His Word is given to us to
guide us.
His Word
is a manual of life. It shares with us
those things that He has created to be brought forth in us, and yet we ignore
them. We set them aside; we don’t pay
attention to them. We spend more time in
other things. We spend more time in the
universities, in the school, in our business and in other areas, but how much
time do we listen to Him? How much time
do we give Him time to speak to us? To
communicate with us? Have I hidden His
Word in my heart that I might not sin against Him?
This is
what the Scripture says to us. We are
members of His Body. Are we functioning
as He would? Are we living out who He
is? Is the world seeing Him in all that
we do? Is it speaking loudly in the
darkness? In the confusion? In the hurt and in the pain? In the midst of rebellion, is it coming forth
as to who is the Lord and Life in us?
We are to
be a witness to the greatness of God.
We are to bring forth His life.
Jesus with skin on – that is you; that is me. We are to be like Him. We are to open the doors. We are to bring back life to the world. As Mary gave birth to Christ, so are we to
give birth to Christ in our lives and to the things we live out every day. Our
words, our thoughts, our actions are to be like Him. When that is within us,
the world will see Christ in us, the hope of glory. They will want what we have.
May we
recognize Christ to us. As it becomes
alive, as it becomes flesh, now, it is the answer to the world. It is the answer to circumstances and
situations. May we give Him that attention
in our lives. May we focus upon
Him. May we allow Him to speak to
us. May His words become precious to us. May His principles guide us in everything
that we do. May His love, His
forgiveness be lived out in our lives.
May we give glory, praise, and honor to Him.
Christ,
His Word in you, the hope of glory!
LET US CONTINUE OUR REFLECTION
WITH
CARDINAL OF HOLY MOTHER CHURCH
AND
VENERABLE PRIMATE
OF THE PHILIPPINES
THROUGH
THROUGH
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