Praise the Lord it is Friday and Sunday is coming. While in Oxford, last summer I visited a beautiful building which celebrates the 16th century Oxford Martyrs Cranmer, Ridley, and Latimer. The Victorian Gothic building resembles the spire of a sunken cathedral. As I stood there in front of the building, I praised the Lord for the faith and the faithfulness of Cranmer, Ridley and Latimer. I also resolved in my heart to serve the Lord with faithfulness and devotion to the end, and to finish the race well. We read in Hebrews 12, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."
The “cloud of witnesses” that is referred to are those men and women, those faithful souls who have gone before us. We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, not just those who are listed in Hebrews 11. Indeed, libraries could be filled with the stories of faithful men, women, boys, and girls who have gone before us, choosing to cling to the Lord. Included are men like Nicholas Ridley, the Archbishop of London, and Hugh Latimer, the Bishop of Worcester.
It was 1553 when the Roman Catholic Queen Mary, later known as “Bloody Mary” for her execution of so many reformers, came to the throne. Thomas Cranmer (Archbishop of Canterbury), Nicholas Ridley (Archbishop of London), and Hugh Latimer (Bishop of Worcester) were summoned to appear before a commission in the Church of St. Mary the Virgin in Oxford to be examined for their alleged Protestant heresies. They would not admit to a belief in transubstantiation, the Catholic belief that the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper literally become the body and blood of Jesus, and they were all found guilty. Ridley and Latimer were separated after their condemnation in St. Mary’s Church. They had to stay in separate houses as they awaited their execution in two weeks.
The morning of the October 15, 1555, was just as damp as the day of the trial when the two friends met at the stake. Onlookers remarked how stooped and bent the Bishops looked as they journeyed through the streets, but how strong and radiant they became when at the stake they removed their outer garments and stood in new white singlets which reached to their feet. Mr. Shipside, a relative of Ridley’s, stood in the crowd and he had asked permission from Lord William of Thame to be allowed to put gunpowder packages around the necks and beneath the arms of the victims. This was granted as a mercy so that they might have a quick ending once the fire took hold. Soon the brushwood was piled up around them and they stood knee deep in wood. As the soldier in charge reached out his taper and lit the brushwood it began to flare. It was at this point in time that Latimer spoke up and uttered those now famous words: "Be of good cheer Master Ridley and play the man. For we shall this day, by God’s grace, light such a candle in England as shall never be put out". Within minutes Latimer was dead as much from the thickness of the fumes as from the heat of the flames. Ridley however was to need all the strength he could get from Latimer’s final words to him. He was actually standing on green wood which itself was damp and so refused to catch fire and just smoldered under his feet. After what seemed an age he called out to Mr. Shipside to do something to help him as he could stand the agony no longer. All in a fluster Mr. Shipside piled more wood on which caused the fire to die down even more, thus prolonging poor Ridley’s pain and cooking his feet and legs right through. Soon however a soldier pushed through the crowd and used his bill hook to make an air hole in the wood pile. This being done the wind blew, the fire flared, and touched the gunpowder sag around his neck. Thus in one final blast Nicholas Ridley went to glory and the marriage supper he had so looked forward to. (Taken from the Oxford History website. http://www.occ.org.uk/students/history/tour9.htm)
We could spend many weeks simply revealing the records of those men and women, boys and girls who are now in that great crowd of witnesses that surrounds us including over 100 men and women, many of whom I knew personally,who were burned alive and who were killed cold blooded, during the persecution of Christians in Orissa, India in 2008. Being surrounded by such a great crowd of faithful men and women should inspire us to “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.”
When we are encouraged to “throw off everything that hinders” – we are being encouraged to examine ourselves as a runner takes stock of what he needs and what will only slow him down.
The Greek word for “hinder” means, “that which serves to hinder or prevent someone from doing something, a hindrance or an impediment.” A “hindrance” is not necessarily something bad. A hindrance to a runner is anything that will prevent him from running as fast as he can. We must examine our mission, our hearts, and all of those things that will hold us back from running towards the high calling of Jesus Christ upon our lives.
The writer of Hebrews calls us to “throw off the sin that so easily entangles us.” The Greek word for “entangle” is an interesting word, a powerful word, that we need to understand. This is not just “sin” in general, but sin that progressively tightens its control over your life and mine. The Greek word means, “pertaining to the exertion of tight control, being in control of, controlling tightly. It is the sin that controls us so tightly, cleverly placing itself around in order to exert tight control. Sin is deceptive. Sin entices us and lures us with its promises of escape from the troubles we are in, the mundane experiences of life, and the excitement that it promises. Though sin lures us, when we take the bait sin leads us deeper and deeper into its clutches draining the life out of us with every step we take.
Each of us has our own story that we could tell. We are not simply called to “throw off,” but we are called to run the race that God has set before us. God has called us to run in an intentional way, with endurance. Hebrews 12:1 says, “…and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” That is, we are to maintain a “steadfastness, constancy, or endurance.” It is the characteristic of a man who is unswerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest trials and sufferings. The word is used many times in the New Testament where the followers of Jesus are going through hard times, but each time they are called to bear up under the weight of their trials. We are able to persevere because we have a hope, a confidence that our suffering, our trials, have a purpose and we will experience deliverance from all of our troubles one day.
Paul wrote to the Romans and told them that they could gain strength for enduring by understanding the lives of those who had gone before them and God’s holy Word. Paul wrote, "For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, (Romans 15:4-5 NIV)
Not only can we gain great strength from seeing how Moses, Esther, David, and others persevered, but God can use our struggles to encourage others. Paul wrote to the people of Thessalonica and said, "We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Thessalonians 1:3 NIV)
PRAYER (traditional language)
Keep us, O Lord, constant in faith and zealous in witness, after the examples of thy servants Hugh Latimer, Nicholas Ridley, and Thomas Cranmer; that we may live in thy fear, die in thy favor, and rest in thy peace; for the sake of Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
In Christ,
Brown
Saturday evening worship service.
Location: First United Methodist Church. Endicott
53 McKinley Avenue, Endicott.
Sponsored by the Union Center United Methodist Church, 128, Maple Drive, Endicott
Saturday February 26, 2011
6PM Coffee Fellowship
6:30 PM Worship Service
Worship Music: Aric Phinney and the worship Team
Speaker: Rev. Brown Naik
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qEjRLlL9iE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izXnc-Rspgc
Friday, February 25, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Brown's Daily Word 2-24-11
We spent last weekend in Boston visiting our daughter, son-in-law, and three beautiful grandchildren. I had the opportunity to get to know our new grand- daughter Ada, who was born on January 16. She is beautiful, peaceful, and precious. Her older siblings, Micah and Simeon, love her dearly. We drove back to Endicott Tuesday. It was a glorious and gorgeous day, both sunny and brilliant throughout the trip. We drove to Endicott during the most brilliant sunset.
As we were driving back to New York I was reflecting upon the fact that we live in a fantastic universe. Our planet, a tiny speck in this vast universe, is filled with illustration upon illustration of the mind-boggling order and design that God has written into every fiber of His creation. For example, have you ever thought about the changing of the seasons that we experience? August can be extremely hot and December through February can be bitterly cold. We may at times complain about the extremes that we experience, but we really don’t know how extreme the heat and cold could get if the earth were not perfectly positioned 93,000,000 miles away from the sun and tilted at just the right angle. If we were positioned a little closer to the sun then we would burn up like forgotten toast in the oven. If we were positioned a little further way from the sun then we would freeze like a Popsicle. God has placed us in just the right place for life to thrive.
God’s intricate design is written into His creation to teach us who He is and to show us that He is a God of purpose. Along with His design, God has also written natural laws into His creation which we know as the “Law of Gravity” or the “Laws of Thermodynamics.” Though we may debate the truth of these natural laws all we want, it remains true that if you jump off of a ten story building you will quickly learn about the “Law of Gravity.”
Just as there are laws of nature that govern the universe there are also moral and spiritual laws that God has written into His creation. We can try to get around God’s laws that govern our lives, but we will end up bringing about our own ruin if we ignore God’s counsel.
"Do not be deceived. God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. (Galatians 6:7-10 NIV)
This is an immensely powerful section of God’s Word for us who live in a day when immorality is rampant, when good is called evil and evil is called good. “Do not be deceived. God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.” Don’t be deceived. Don’t try to convince yourself that you can get away with such … you cannot. God has never, and will never, be mocked. The word for “mocked” is a very descriptive word in the Greek language. The word means, “to turn up the nose, sneer at, to show contempt for, or to ridicule.”
A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. (Galatians 6:7b-8 NIV) The lesson in sowing and reaping is a universal truth. There is no farmer who sows wheat in his fields and expects to harvest corn. No one can plant an orchard of oranges and expect to sell apples from those trees at market. We cannot "sow our wild oats" and expect to reap a harvest of peace, joy, and righteousness. As a matter of fact, the sowing of wild oats leads to crop failure.
The Scripture points out two different ways that we can “sow.” To what end are you and I sowing? Are we sowing to the flesh, our sin nature, and that which we want? Are we sowing to the Spirit, the will of God, and His purpose for our lives? It is imperative that we understand how and what we are sowing because the crop will come in due season.
Paul says that if we are sowing to the flesh then we will reap destruction. The Greek word for “destruction” means, “corruption, destruction, perishing, or decay.” Timothy George says in his commentary on Galatians, that the word phtora, ‘destruction,’ ‘decay,’ ‘corruption,’ conveys the idea of a putrid corpse in the process of decomposition … the consequences of sin are nowhere more vividly seen than in the ravaging of the human body through disease, decay, and death. (Timothy George, Galatians, p. 423)
On the other hand, the believer who sows to the Spirit shall from the Spirit reap eternal life. The Christian who is preoccupied with the things of God rather than the fleshly things of the world will produce the fruit of the Spirit (5:22-23). To sow to the Spirit is the same as to walk by the Spirit (5:18) or abiding in Christ and in His Word and having His words abide in us (John 8:31; 15:7). It is the same as walking in Christ (Colossians 2:6) and setting one’s ‘mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth’ (Colossians 3:2). It is also equated with giving one’s body as ‘a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God,’ and not being ‘conformed to this world, but being transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect (Romans 12:1-2). (John MacArthur, Galatians, p. 189)
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CBNE25rtnE
Saturday evening worship service.
Location: First United Methodist Church. Endicott
53 McKinley Avenue, Endicott.
Sponsored by the Union Center United Methodist Church, 128, Maple Drive, Endicott
Saturday February 26, 2011
6PM Coffee Fellowship
6:30 PM Worship Service
Worship Music: Aric Phinney and the worship Team
Speaker: Rev. Brown Naik
As we were driving back to New York I was reflecting upon the fact that we live in a fantastic universe. Our planet, a tiny speck in this vast universe, is filled with illustration upon illustration of the mind-boggling order and design that God has written into every fiber of His creation. For example, have you ever thought about the changing of the seasons that we experience? August can be extremely hot and December through February can be bitterly cold. We may at times complain about the extremes that we experience, but we really don’t know how extreme the heat and cold could get if the earth were not perfectly positioned 93,000,000 miles away from the sun and tilted at just the right angle. If we were positioned a little closer to the sun then we would burn up like forgotten toast in the oven. If we were positioned a little further way from the sun then we would freeze like a Popsicle. God has placed us in just the right place for life to thrive.
God’s intricate design is written into His creation to teach us who He is and to show us that He is a God of purpose. Along with His design, God has also written natural laws into His creation which we know as the “Law of Gravity” or the “Laws of Thermodynamics.” Though we may debate the truth of these natural laws all we want, it remains true that if you jump off of a ten story building you will quickly learn about the “Law of Gravity.”
Just as there are laws of nature that govern the universe there are also moral and spiritual laws that God has written into His creation. We can try to get around God’s laws that govern our lives, but we will end up bringing about our own ruin if we ignore God’s counsel.
"Do not be deceived. God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. (Galatians 6:7-10 NIV)
This is an immensely powerful section of God’s Word for us who live in a day when immorality is rampant, when good is called evil and evil is called good. “Do not be deceived. God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.” Don’t be deceived. Don’t try to convince yourself that you can get away with such … you cannot. God has never, and will never, be mocked. The word for “mocked” is a very descriptive word in the Greek language. The word means, “to turn up the nose, sneer at, to show contempt for, or to ridicule.”
A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. (Galatians 6:7b-8 NIV) The lesson in sowing and reaping is a universal truth. There is no farmer who sows wheat in his fields and expects to harvest corn. No one can plant an orchard of oranges and expect to sell apples from those trees at market. We cannot "sow our wild oats" and expect to reap a harvest of peace, joy, and righteousness. As a matter of fact, the sowing of wild oats leads to crop failure.
The Scripture points out two different ways that we can “sow.” To what end are you and I sowing? Are we sowing to the flesh, our sin nature, and that which we want? Are we sowing to the Spirit, the will of God, and His purpose for our lives? It is imperative that we understand how and what we are sowing because the crop will come in due season.
Paul says that if we are sowing to the flesh then we will reap destruction. The Greek word for “destruction” means, “corruption, destruction, perishing, or decay.” Timothy George says in his commentary on Galatians, that the word phtora, ‘destruction,’ ‘decay,’ ‘corruption,’ conveys the idea of a putrid corpse in the process of decomposition … the consequences of sin are nowhere more vividly seen than in the ravaging of the human body through disease, decay, and death. (Timothy George, Galatians, p. 423)
On the other hand, the believer who sows to the Spirit shall from the Spirit reap eternal life. The Christian who is preoccupied with the things of God rather than the fleshly things of the world will produce the fruit of the Spirit (5:22-23). To sow to the Spirit is the same as to walk by the Spirit (5:18) or abiding in Christ and in His Word and having His words abide in us (John 8:31; 15:7). It is the same as walking in Christ (Colossians 2:6) and setting one’s ‘mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth’ (Colossians 3:2). It is also equated with giving one’s body as ‘a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God,’ and not being ‘conformed to this world, but being transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect (Romans 12:1-2). (John MacArthur, Galatians, p. 189)
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CBNE25rtnE
Saturday evening worship service.
Location: First United Methodist Church. Endicott
53 McKinley Avenue, Endicott.
Sponsored by the Union Center United Methodist Church, 128, Maple Drive, Endicott
Saturday February 26, 2011
6PM Coffee Fellowship
6:30 PM Worship Service
Worship Music: Aric Phinney and the worship Team
Speaker: Rev. Brown Naik
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