Surprise message Sometimes even what is highly questionable can serve good and useful purposes. Ever hear of Morris Cerullo? He is a Pentecostal preacher of dubious report, one of those "please send $25 and you will receive a blessed cloth that you can use to miraculously cure disease" types. His 'missions' have been widely criticized and in a few cases have been kicked out of foreign countries. Not to mention what I would call "Pentecostal excesses" in worship, viz, extreme emotionalism, unverifiable claims, loose (very loose) interpretations of the Bible, and so forth. However, last night I happened to tune in to a fiery sermon on inspiration.org, a Cerullo TV production. I had no idea at the time who Cerullo is and it is a show I never watch. But accidentally tuning in at just the right time made all the difference. What I heard was the kind of sermon that I have been searching for, for a good long time now. I say this after several Sundays over the course of several months, attending a Nazarene church, which is one of a score of Evangelical denominations that attract large followings these days -as they have for many years. Not that what Evangelicals preach is "bad" in some way. The sentiments can hardly be argued with, which promote families, promote the virtues of healthy lifestyles, and promote caring for other people in the community. However, in the end all roads lead to prayerful adoration of Jesus as the answer to all questions, the solution to all problems, and the balm for all ills and miseries. Which, as I see it, is unjustifiable reductionism of faith to devotionalism. It is a form of faith that, outside of emotions and good advice about the kinds of choices in lifestyle we make, and outside of looking to the example of Christ to gain the best effects in our lives, otherwise can be said to be faith where "there's no there, there." It is content free faith, faith with no teeth, where all of one's spiritual sustenance is derived from a "soft approach" to religion. Its all personal, in other words, "between you and God." Which, again despite its good intentions, simply is not for me. What I heard on television, however, definitely was -despite the fact that as soon as the short sermon concluded the pulpit was turned over to a guest preacher who proceeded to drop the ball and spoil everything. I suspect that this was inevitable given Cerullo's track record of religious hucksterism and many of those under his spell. Not that the guest preacher was incompetent; he wasn't. But the crowd was definitely "fired up" by the first sermon, there was what I would characterize as an outpouring of the spirit, and general enthusiasm for action, faith based action... What the second preacher delivered was an analysis of abuses in the Jerusalem Temple, making points about avarice and greed and similar failings. Which , maybe in some other context, might have had merit, but in that context essentially put a wet damper on everything. What the original preacher said was simplicity itself. To try and summarize in a few words, the message went something like this: "We are alive at a special time, a time we should seize and make our own. We cannot tell when another chance like this will come along. It may be unique to our lifetimes. In any case, there are incredible opportunities ahead of us if we can show the necessary courage and if we can help people whom we need to serve us as inspired leaders." "Directly in front of us is the opportunity to win American back for Christ. This does not mean gradual anything, it means getting ready for action in the here and now. It means making the most of the chance to change America for the better and doing our best to make that happen." For those with less religious inclinations, maybe you can translate this as a call to cultural reform, maybe along Teddy Roosevelt's lines when he launched the Progressive movement a century ago, maybe along the lines of John F. Kennedy, his call to "ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country." In any case, the sermon message not only made sense it was inspirational. Perhaps think of Patton at War in 1944, someone who made all kinds of detailed plans but when a difficult opportunity came along, he immediately sprang into action -to think of his heroics that led to the rescue of an American force at Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge. What the sermon made me think of was a passage from Ephesians: "Finally then, find your strength in the Lord, in his mighty power.Put on all the armour which God provides, so that you may be able to stand firm against the devices of the devil. For our fight is not against human foes, but against cosmic powers, against the authorities and potentates of this dark world, against the superhuman forces of evil in the heavens.Therefore, take up God's armour; then you will be able to stand your ground when things are at their worst, to complete every task and still to stand. Stand firm, I say. Buckle on the belt of truth; for coat of mail put on integrity; let the shoes on your feet be the gospel of peace, to give you firm footing; and, with all these, take up the great shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take salvation for helmet; for sword, take that which the Spirit gives you—the words that come from God. Give yourselves wholly to prayer and entreaty; pray on every occasion in the power of the Spirit. To this end keep watch and persevere, always interceding for all God's people; and pray for me, that I may be granted the right words when I open my mouth, and may boldly and freely make known his hidden purpose, for which I am an ambassador—in chains. Pray that I may speak of it boldly, as it is my duty to speak."
There was an announcement in the Nazarene church bulletin about a prophecy study group the last Sunday I attended. The sub-heading said that this would focus on people's needs to mend broken hearts and overcome life's sorrows. Which is a theme that does feature in the Prophetic writings. But what about another prophetic theme, how to fight and fight well on behalf of the truth? The martial language in Ephesians was written the way it was for a reason. It does not say, "put on the gardener's dungarees that God provides" or "take peaceful intentions for a helmet and pick up the garden hose of faith" and fight off the Devil that way. No, the imagery is military. Why? Because sometimes we need to fight for what it is right. Luther also understood all of this with great clarity. The Reformation was not all about peaceful monks tending their gardens. Yes, it featured many things that we more customarily associate with faith but what was central to its success was willingness to fight and, so to speak, to fight like hell to win the victory. Sermon for today..... Rev. Billy -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
