The Passionate Faith: A Promise 7/06/2008 Rev’d Dr. Ken McKenzie Today we are concluding our series of sermons on the passionate faith. Over the past weeks we have seen how passionate faith is a gift from God, embedded in our souls; ft is a call from God, by virtue of where He has placed us and the gifts He has given to us; it is our response to that gift and that call based upon our faithful hearing and willingness to meet Him where He directs. Today we will be examining the promises which He gives us as we make our way on the path which leads to the Kingdom. In an earlier parish, I was very excited to run across a member who was agreeable to any idea I had. He was enthusiastic in his support and led me to believe early on that he would, indeed, be my right hand man. At my first staff meeting, I mentioned to our DCE how happy I was that this gentleman had gone out of his way to say that he would help me with anything I needed at all. My DCE just smiled and replied, "Yeah, that's Jerome for you. He's the most promising man in Decatur County. The problem is that he's all promise and no action." To my chagrin, I found out exactly how truly she spoke. Jerome would, indeed, promise you anything and then, just as quickly, go on to promise someone else something else which would, invariably, conflict with the promise he made to you. Thankfully, I haven't met too many folk like mat in my life. Most of us honor our promises. We know that good will in the community is like money in the bank. We like to be as good as our word and the hallmark of a Christian gentleman used to be mat his word was his bond. If anything, these days, I think that we make promises quickly and then don't take them seriously. A businessman I used to know was fond of saying that his success in business was largely due to his habit of promising everything to a client and then delivering as little as possible as slowly as possible. He made good on most of his promises, he just did so at his own pace and when it suited him. And he's not alone. Our courts are filled today with people who made contractural promises and then failed to live up to the stipulations. But God is not one to make promises easily or frequently. As a result, His promises are ones on which we can rely. King David, in Psalm 146, speaks of the "faithfulness of God which lasts forever. He executes justice for the oppressed. He gives food to the hungry and sets the prisoners free. The LORD opens the eyes of the blind and lifts up those who are bowed down." The first promise of God is His presence in the midst of life. Though times may be difficult, God has told us, even as He told Abraham, that He is aware of our conditions and will, in His time, answer all of our tribulations. Most of us have had formative moments in our lives where God has been present, those moments when we could almost see His hand at work. It may have been at the time of a crucial decision, the birth of a child, the death of a loved one. We have sensed God's presence in gentle, healing ways which let us know that we were not alone. God promises us His presence and that is a promise on which we can rely, even in our worst moments. Secondly, God gives us a promise that goes far beyond presence. It is his promise of ultimate triumph. St. Paul had area! sense of that. Here was a man who had been beaten, jailed, betrayed, shipwrecked, ridiculed and rejected. And yet, he had the strength of spirit to pen those familiar words which we read in our Epistle Lesson for today. "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things present not things to come, nor powers nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Now that is a great promise from a great God. The problem lies in the fact that few of us live consistently out of that promise. We live our lives in reaction to the daily difficulties and forget the big picture of ultimate victory. Then, sooner or later, we begin to take on the role and mentality of being a victim. To be a victim as opposed to a victor is to say to God, "You've lost. You have no power to mend my lot. You are helpless over my situation and I am hopeless in my misery." One of the Seven Deadly Sins was Despair. And it rightly deserved the honor. To fall into despair is to fell out of faith with God. And as we saw so often in the ministry of Jesus, if people could not trust Him to heal them, He never could. Paul knew of what he spoke. And I cannot think of any person in here who has suffered as he did. If your courage and faith are failing, borrow some from Paul. He has plenty to share. Finally, in addition to the promises of God's presence and His ultimate victory, we have the promise of Christ's leadership. Our Gospel Lesson for today is a shining example of Christ's leadership. He tells the Disciples to go out and proclaim the Kingdom, but like a good general, He assures the troops that He will always be with them, even to the end of time. The leadership of Christ is not like the leadership of a CEO or a Corporate President where the welfare of the company is paramount. Rather, His leadership is a servant leadership which seeks the welfare, growth and victory of the individual. If you consider His teachings and example, everything He taught and did was to glorify the Father, through healing, saving, and encouraging those whose lives He touched. When we follow his teachings and example, we are doing exactly the same thing: healing, saving and encouraging those for whom He died. And, as He said so emphatically, He is with us always, even to the end of time. So, there you have it. The Passionate Faith. It starts off as a gift, implanted in your soul. It then becomes a call, by virtue of where God has placed you in history and the gifts and abilities with which He has blessed you. In time, the time of God's choosing, we respond to that gift of faith and that call of God in ways which He directs. And finally, as we respond, we rest of the promises of His presence, our ultimate victory, and Christ's leadership. So, what are you going to do with ft? There are many ways for each of us to respond. It may be working at the Food Bank. It may be serving meals at the soup kitchen. It may be serving as an officer or visiting the sick. Perhaps you are called to become more active in local and regional work at the Presbytery or Synod level. Two of our members are leaving in a few weeks to discern their roles with Presbyterian Disaster Assistance on the National Response Team. The list of possibilities is as broad as God's call. And it is waiting for your response. While you consider what your response will be, I invite you to consider what God's response has already been for you. You see it spread on the table before you. God believes in you. Will you believe in Him enough to enter the Passionate Faith of His Kingdom?