Pastor Edgar Mayer;
For more sermons and other writings check out pastors homepage: http://www.geocities.com/mayeredgar
He
Is At The Door
Three weeks ago I did something new and
submitted two prophetic words to you which God seems to be speaking over our
congregation right now. Last week I expanded on these words and today I will do
the same (and then I think that I
have said what I wanted to say). At a
prayer meeting on the 1st of February God impressed on one of our
members the Bible passage of Revelations 3:14-22 and highlighted two messages from
the Bible reading good news and good news in disguise. I read from the Bible passage Jesus
said to the church in
Never before in the history of Living
Grace have we been confronted by such specific prophetic words and therefore so far I am
a little surprised at our reaction to them. We seem to accept them. Lukewarmness
is an issue and further prophetic words confirmed the problem. Then at the
same time the good news of a
forthcoming revival is stirring us and delighting us. There is faith for more
of God.
For me and probably for you also the most
challenging aspect of the two prophetic words has to do with interpreting the
times. Up to now for the past seven
years our church has been slowly and
patiently transitioning into a deeper relationship with God. Bit by bit
little by little we learned again
about prayer, the Holy Spirit, church unity, obedience, worship, spiritual
warfare, hearing from God, freedom from traditions, etc. This has been a slow
process and a good process but the question is whether now we are coming into a
different season. What does it mean when the prophetic words say: I
Jesus am about to do something about your
lukewarmness. Here I am. I stand at the door and knock. Open the door and I
will come in.
Do these words mean that the time of
slowly transitioning a congregation has passed because Jesus coming with something new is knocking at the door now? My
feeling is that the answer is yes and no. Over the
past few years God did not rush us. He patiently transitioned us but he did
transition us for a purpose. Maybe now is the time to consolidate what we have
learned and be intentional about having faith for more and there is more. The Bible promises Ephesians 3:20: He
is able [and willing] to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine,
according to his power that is at work within us
Consolidation of what we have learned a positive confession of faith may need to happen on a more official
church level and with this intent I submit my preaching to you. Yet and
this is the level where the time for slowly transitioning people has not passed
on a personal level there should not
be any pressure on anyone to move beyond their personal convictions because
according to the Bible every one of us
has to follow their conscience. As different as we may be, every one is welcome
and every one is loved as they are.
I also respect our tradition where one
man Martin Luther was not bowed by the majority but on his
own dared to follow his conscience. Therefore, if you happen to struggle with
where the congregation is going, be encouraged and know that you have a famous
forebear. There is honour in your courage. Just be sure that your conscience is
informed by the truth the Bible and not simply fear or discomfort.
As a pastor and maybe this is the time to say this I do not want to see anyone squeezed out or
pressured beyond what they can bear. Every one belongs and every one has a part
to play.
In the midst of all of these
considerations can I say that God is pleased with us! The words about
lukewarmness are uncomfortable but God is speaking them in love. The Bible
reading of Revelations 3 also features this verse. Jesus says (to us) in
verse 19: Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and
repent. Those whom I love
It is because Jesus loves us and has further plans for us it is
because his favour rests on us that he
is taking extra pains to prepare us for more.
Five weeks ago before any of these prophetic words registered and
before there was an awareness of a new season coming only five weeks ago in response to the preaching we as a congregation repented on our own
behalf and on behalf of our denomination for opposing previous moves of God
such as the Billy Graham crusades, the Alpha course, Hillsong and also the
Toronto Blessing. Four days later at the Gold Coast a church leader shared a
prophetic picture with about 1200 other people in a conference and the
prophetic picture was about us. He saw Jesus and he
saw that Jesus had raised a glass of champagne towards Living Grace. Jesus was
pleased with our repentance.
Looking back over our history there have
been other key times when repentance brought favour upon us. For instance, in
2005 there was a concerted attack on our ministry by some other LCA pastors and
the district president responded by writing and reading out a letter to me in
public (at the St Pauls Lutheran
church in Philip St with hundreds of people in attendance from across the
Darling Downs). The letter contained
quite serious restrictions of what we were doing and in a way we were publicly
rebuked.
However, the next Living Grace church
meeting was amazing. We did not rise up in anger but humbled ourselves. We
repented. We prayed blessings on our denomination. We sought God and then
not much later in a single day God
removed all pressure from us. At a Qld pastors conference the district
president apologized for what he had said in his letter and publicly
before all other Qld Lutheran pastors and in the presence of the General Church
President he endorsed our ministry and
practice. This was nothing short of being a miracle. Jesus was pleased with our
repentance.
Then in 2006 we had simmering internal
conflict over worship banners. Do you remember that? Why would some people want
to worship by waving banners? One young man told me that he and others had even
considered leaving Living Grace over this issue. However, then one Sunday morning
at both services there was a testimony of repentance and the
words were honest. I quote some of them: Over the last 3 to 4 months I
have felt very uncomfortable worshipping at Living Grace: not being sure of the
direction our church was heading, the freedom in worship with the banners, focusing on the
role of the Holy Spirit
A few months ago we started using banners in our
worship services
I couldnt believe that our church had sunk so low as to be
waving flags in church
I am very sorry.
And Jesus was pleased. One person had made
a start and humbled himself in church. Then others got up and spontaneously
shared their own misgivings and judgements. And Jesus was pleased again. The
young man, who had considered leaving, said to me afterwards: Now I know again why I am at Living Grace.
The process may have been slow and may
still be slow for some and the process may have been painful repentance never comes easy for many of us
traditional Christians it was so humbling to rethink what we presumed to know
about God the extent of our unbelief was distressing but Jesus loved us and he has kept loving us and now he says
again with love:
Here I am! I stand at the door
and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat
with him, and he with me
Jesus is our
Saviour and Lord who loves us and we love him in return. The Bible reading of
Revelations 3:14-22 (the one that contains the two prophetic words over Living Grace) says about him:
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of
Gods creation
Then Jesus himself
says in verse 21: To him [to you and I] who overcomes, I will
give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down
with my Father on his throne
Jesus
the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of Gods creation he sits on a throne and he invites us to
rule with him when we overcome. This
is worth having!
The Bible
says in 2 Timothy 1:9-10: God has saved us and called us to a holy life
not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace.
This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it
has now been revealed through the appearing of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, who has
destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the
gospel
These are amazing
words which impress on us and again clarify in this new season that any hope
for anything from God springs from grace, that is: from himself from God from the untold riches
of his love and kindness apart from
any possible human merit. Salvation
and then revival times are always acts of grace.
Hear what is
foundational: Jesus Christ loved us so much that he came into this world to
save us even though we did not appreciate it at the time. On the contrary
humans
like us hated him his message,
his Spirit-filled life and everything and
they nailed him to a cross but his death the shedding of his innocent
blood turned out to be the redeeming
sacrifice for our sins. He died the death that we should have died so that on
the day of the resurrection when he rose to life on the third day he would overcome death on our behalf
as it said in the Bible reading from before:
Jesus
Christ, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light
through the gospel [the good news of the cross and the resurrection]
I repeat more crucial words from the Bible
reading of 2 Timothy 1: God has saved us and called us to a holy life
not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace
Right! This
is what is foundational. None of us here deserve his grace or can earn his
grace or can bribe him for anything. His gifts of salvation and life are free poured out on the most unlikely
people even on us. I read from 1
Corinthians 1:26-31:
Not many of you were
wise by human standards; not many were
influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things
of the world to shame the wise; God chose
the weak things of this world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of
this world and the despised things and the things that are not to nullify
the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of
him [it is because of grace] that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God that is, our righteousness,
holiness and redemption
Thus, I say
it again: This is foundational: Everything from God is grace, grace, grace free, free, free available to even the most foolish, weak,
lowly and despised people on earth. And yet, precisely at this point we are
prone to make a mistake. Salvation and revival times are based on grace, grace,
grace and they are free, free, free but they do
not always come easy without effort.
Here with your permission I want to come back to still another
version of lukewarmness which threatens to undermine what is promised. We come
back to Revelations 3:14-22 and consider once more how these words of warning
may apply to us. Jesus said to the church in Laodicea (and now also to us):
I know your deeds, that you are neither cold
nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm
neither hot nor cold I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, I am
rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing. But you do not realize
that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy
from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to
wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes,
so you can see
These people
had Jesus standing at the door and knocking but they did not open at least not yet because they saw no need for minding the
door. According to their understanding Jesus was already in the building. They
said: I am rich. I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing. And they meant that in spiritual terms
meaning: I have Jesus. I have maturity and do not need a thing. Yet, they were mistaken and so at
times are we.
Ten days ago
a young woman asked me whether I could do her wedding. She was brought up a
Lutheran, baptized and a few years ago apparently I confirmed her. We chatted on the phone her fiance was not
fussed about a church wedding she was not worshipping anywhere and so over the course of the
conversation I became less and less
keen to do the wedding. This is what I said to her: I will do the
wedding but you have to understand: The reason why some of us pastors are so reluctant
to do weddings like yours is that you are not a Christian. We would come before
God on the day of your wedding but not genuinely worship him giving yourself
to him, honouring him as our God.
I feel bad
now because even though it was a nice chat I should have cushioned my words
more but like so many from our traditional
background she did not understand what
I was saying. Why wasnt she a Christian? She still had her beliefs about
Jesus. She thought like the church in Laodicea: I am rich. I have
acquired wealth and do not need a thing. I have Jesus. And we and I have taught her to think like that. Since everything is by grace,
grace, grace and free, free, free just
say that you believe the formula
justified by faith through grace or
just get baptized and you are saved.
However, this
is too lukewarm easy and the deception only works because people like the young
woman on the phone were never taught about experiencing Jesus now. She thought
that she was a Christian and she thought that Jesus was already in the building
because she never knew what difference he would make to her life now fill her with faith, love, joy,
peace that surpasses understanding, speak to her,
This is
where many of us have been coming from and test yourselves some of these old sentiments still linger among us even today with the
result that: 1. We also
still at times think that a
relationship with Jesus is low-effort-easy a mistaken version of grace,
grace, grace and free, free, free and
therefore do not press in. 2. We
also still at times expect to
experience little and therefore again do not press in and have faith for more.
Yet, the
Bible teaches a different truth. Everything is by grace, grace, grace and free, free, free but under normal circumstances only he who is not lukewarm only he
who presses in with passion attains
the free gift of salvation and revival. For instance, take the foundational
Bible text of 2 Chronicles 7:14. I
read God said: If my people, who are called by my name, will humble
themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will
I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
This verse
spells it out in a nutshell. Forgiveness, the healing of the land, revival is
not attained easily and cheaply but costs you everything: a complete life
makeover. God says: Humble yourself, pray, seek my face, turn from your wicked ways,
[Expand: In one sense receiving is easy but surrendering is hard.]
Just one
more example
and I wish that I could preach on this longer because it is important. Take the key Bible-reading of Acts 1:4-2:13:
Jesus gave his disciples this command: Do not
leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised
in a few days you
will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.
When the day of Pentecost came, they
were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent
wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They
saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each
of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in
other tongues as the Spirit enabled them
[They were drunk in the Spirit.]
Even here in
the company of the first apostles the baptism with the Holy Spirit revival did not come easy but required days of persevering prayer and waiting
on God in Jerusalem not to speak of the previous three years of
apprenticeship under Jesus away from family and home. The disciples back then needed passion to press in and they needed to
have the faith for the baptism with the Spirit and ongoing refillings
with the Spirit to occur.
Do we
understand that we need to be like them today at Living Grace? I submit to you that we cannot say in this church: If God wants
us to be filled with the Spirit if God wants us to have a spiritual gift if
God wants us to heal the sick if God wants us to witness in power if God
wants to give us revelation, then I suppose we and I am open to it. Whatever he wants. This sounds okay
humble and submitted but more is
required. Jesus has already declared his will for you you will be
baptized with the Spirit, you will heal the sick, you will have spiritual gifts
operating in your midst,
and if the
disciples had been entertaining this kind of casual and uncertain attitude,
they would have hardly stuck around in Jerusalem for days on end. They would
have concluded that they were not meant to have the Spirit at least not
then and would have begun their
mission work without him.
Yet, that
was not an option. This is never an option. There is no Plan B Christianity. We
need the Spirit and we need to press in until we have him all of him and then even more of
him and then even more of him. Just
consider 2 Corinthians 3:17-18:
we
beholding
the glory of the Lord are being transformed
into the same image from glory to glory
by the Spirit
From glory to glory, from love to love, from
power to power,
God is inexhaustible in his grace.
There is no
Plan B Christianity where we can say for instance: These people over there they
are chasing all of this Spirit stuff and wild experiences but I focus more on
Christian holiness and witnessing and good Bible teaching. This proposition is not possible. Pentecost
the infilling with the Holy Spirit refillings is not optional because it is the Holy Spirit that works holiness and
sanctification. It is the Holy Spirit that provides the power and direction for
mission work. It is the Holy Spirit that guides us in all truth and opens up
the Bible to us. None of us can have any of that without Pentecost and
therefore we need to press in until we have what is promised. Sometimes it
can take a while until we receive and then receive even more but we patiently
surrender and then wait on him without stressing until we have what is promised
from glory to glory.
The church
in