II Corinthians 12:9
Elisa Morgan, president of MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) International, testifies:
"I’m probably the least likely person to head a mothering organization. I grew up in a broken home. My parents were divorced when I was 5. My older sister, younger brother, and I were raised by my alcoholic mother.
"While my mother meant well--truly she did--most of my memories are of me mothering her rather than her mothering me. Alcohol altered her love, turning it into something that wasn’t love. I remember her weaving down the hall of our ranch home in Houston, Texas, glass of scotch in hand. She would wake me at 2 a.m. just to make sure I was asleep. I would wake her at 7 a.m. to try to get her off to work."
"Sure, there were good times like Christmas and birthdays when she went all out and celebrated us as children. But even those days ended with the warped glow of alcohol. What she did right was lost in what she did wrong.
"When I was asked to consider leading MOPS International, a vital ministry that nurtures mothers, I went straight to my knees--and then to the therapist’s office. How could God use me--who had never been mothered-to nurture other mothers?
"The answer came as I gazed into the eyes of other moms around me and saw their needs mirroring my own. God seemed to take my deficits and make them my offering.” [-- Morgan, Elisa. Christian Parenting Today, (May/June 1999), quoted in Leadership Journal, "To Illustrate Plus," Vol. 21, No. 1, p. 69.].
The Great nineteenth century British Baptist pastor Charles Haddon Spurgeon reminds us, “The trials of Christian life you shall find heavy, but you will find grace will make them light.” [--Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Christian History, NO. 29.]. Jesus assures us as He did Paul in II Corinthians 12:9, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.”
Good Morning, My name is David Reynolds, and the title of my talk is “The Means of Grace.” Our Emmaus clergy team members are sharing the wonderful message of God’s amazing grace. “Grace is: ‘The unearned, undeserved favor of God, or in one word, mercy!’” It is “the application of Christ’s righteousness to the sinner.” Paul declares in Ephesians 2:8, “It is by grace you have been saved through faith [in Jesus Christ],” and in Romans 5:21 he affirms: “Where sin increased, grace, increased all the more. . .”
From the moment of our conception the Holy Spirit begins to woe us into a personal Father-child relationship with God by using people, the Church, and events in our lives as instruments of His grace. This is the stage of grace we call Prevenient Grace. Prevenient Grace leads us to the moment we say our personal “yes” to this love relationship God offers us, and this second stage of grace we refer to as Justifying Grace.
I can really praise God and relate to experiencing His Prevenient and Justifying Grace, so compellingly shared with us yesterday by Christy Phillips and Lisa Guilliams. I would love to share my personal testimony of such amazing grace, but time will not permit. I am, therefore, including that testimony, along with the major points of this talk, in a handout which you will receive later today.
Prevenient and Justifying Grace only marked the beginning of my journey with Jesus in a personal relationship; there have been countless moments since then that He has touched me by His amazing grace. “MEANS OF GRACE ARE THE SACRAMENTAL MOMENTS IN OUR LIVES AND THE WAYS WE CORPORATELY CELEBRATE GOD’S GRACE.” They are those special sacred moments when Christ is re-presented, when we become aware of His closeness once more.
Means of Grace often refer to the Sacraments of the Church. “THE SACRAMENTS ARE THOSE ACTS OF WORSHIP, INSTITUTED BY CHRIST, IN WHICH CHRIST IS REPRESENTED TO US IN SUCH A WAY THAT WE EXPERIENCE HIS PRESENCE ANEW IN OUR LIVES.”
Until 313 A. D. the Early Church practiced only two sacraments: Baptism and Holy Communion. From 313 to 590 A. D. the Church developed a more elaborate liturgy, and the number of rites considered as sacraments increased to seven which are still practiced today by the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Faiths.
“ALL CHRISTIAN TRADITIONS RECOGNIZE BAPTISM AND HOLY COMMUNION AS SACRAMENTS.” God, whose power is limitless, is not confined to bestowing His grace upon us through these two sacraments alone. “Means of Grace are channels God uses to share His grace with us.” “BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH THE HOLY SPIRIT RENEWS OUR SPIRITS THROUGH EACH AND EVERY MEANS OF GRACE.” Every occasion in the Christian life may become a “Means of Grace.” I pray that this Walk to Emmaus will be a “Means of Grace” for each one of you.
Although we affirm only two sacraments, “OTHER MEANS OF GRACE INCLUDE THE SACRED MOMENTS IN WHICH CHRIST IS MADE REAL FOR US THROUGH SYMBOLIC ACTION OR RITUAL AT CRITICAL POINTS IN OUR LIVES.”
Grace is God’s gift of agape love to His crowning creation the human race. Therefore, I have brought with me this present for each one of us. Let us open God’s gift and discover eight sacred moments when Jeus Christ is "Re-presented to us in such a way that we experience His presence afresh in our lives!"In doing so, please remember that as Christians we come from different traditions. Our practices and convictions may differ at points, but our common foundation for fellowship is rooted in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; we can honor our diversity and accept one another with respect. Let us follow in the path of John Wesley who reminds us, “Though we cannot think alike, may be not love alike? May we not be of one heart, though we are not of one opinion? Without all doubt, we may.” [--Wesley, John. Sermons on Several Occasions. Advertisement to the London Edition 9signed): Thomas Jackson, London, Fe. 8th, 1825. Vol. 1. New York: Carlton & Porter, 1857. 347.].
I. BAPTISM:
We all have experienced the feeling of being unwanted, the sense of
not being loved, the perception that nobody cares for us. In Baptism the Church
affirms that you and I are loved, wanted, children of God. Jesus commands us in Matthew 28:19, “Teach all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Baptism is a sign of profession of faith in Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord and of regeneration of the new birth (Article XVII: “The Articles of Religion of the Methodist Church”).
John the Baptizer linked it with repentance and preparation for entering the Kingdom of Heaven. Water, as a symbol of cleansing, is used as a public testimony of new life in Christ. The Christian community promises to surround those receiving baptism with love and support and to help the baptized disciples along their journey toward spiritual wholeness. We are not alone in our Christian pilgrimage. We care for and help each other along the way.
The modes of baptism in Church History have included: (1.) Immersion in which the candidate is completely put under the water as symbolic of being buried with Christ and raised with Him to walk in newness of life according to Romans 6:3-4, “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.” (2.) Pouring, which is another form of anointing in the tradition of Exodus 29:7, “You shall take the anointing oil, and pour it on his head and anoint him.” (3.) Sprinkling, in the tradition of Ezekiel 36:25, “I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleanness, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.”
The baptism of youth and adults is a celebration of God’s love and justifying grace and a sign that the person has accepted God’s offer of a personal relationship with Him. The baptism of infants and children celebrates God’s unconditional love and promise for their lives in the spirit of Jesus affirming words in Mark 10:14-15, “Let the little children come to Me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” The parents and the congregation commit themselves to training the child in the ways of Christ so that the child one day too will accept God’s offer of a personal relationship with Him and live the Christian life.
II. PRAYER:
Prayer is a special “Means of Grace.” It is the search for a real
Relationship with God. It is conversation between one’s soul and God. Prayer is more than asking God to do things for you; it is a two way communication between God and you. It involves listening to God speak to you through your mind, heart, emotions, memory, imagination, and dreams.
Prayer is an opportunity to experience the presence of God. In prayer we talk with God as we would with our best friend, for that is just what He wants to be to each one of us.
We all would do well to follow the spirit of Jim in our own prayer life. Jim had been a Christian less than one week when he found himself in his first Men’s Prayermeeting. Listen to his openness and honesty in prayer: “Lord, this is Jim. I’m the one that met you last Thursday, remember? I’m sorry I can’t say it the way the rest of these guys say it, but I really love you. Honestly, I do. And hopefully, after I know you awhile, I’ll be able to say it a lot better. Thanks a lot. I’ll see you later” [--Hendricks, 98].
Our hand is a good guideline in helping us pray effectively. Elements of prayer include: praise, thanksgiving, confession, intercession, petition, and listening. We praise God for who He is; thank Him for what He has done for us; confess our sin and seek His forgiveness; intercede for the needs of others; bring our personal needs to him in our petition; and take time to listen to His Holy Spirit. Prayer allows us to practice the presence of God.
Liz and I constantly depend upon prayer in the life of our family. We could not survive without prayer. The first time I served as the Weekend Spiritual Director was on a Prison Walk at the Marion Federal Prison Camp in August of 1999. I had been led to volunteer a year earlier to serve as an Assistant Spiritual Director on the Prison Walk after our oldest son Justin had gotten in with the wrong crowd which resulted in theft and burglary convictions in the State of Indiana, time spent incarcerated, and finally probation. Justin has paid his dues to society and acknowledges that he made some stupid mistakes as a nineteen year old which he sincerely regrets. However, his past record has affected his ability to be employed even though he is a certified welder and has a commercial driver’s license. At present he only has a part time job at a local grocery store, but we are thankful he has that.
Thanks to the prayer support of so many brothers and sisters in Christ both in our local Church and literally Emmaus brothers and sisters worldwide, we received full, legal guardianship of Justin’s now nine year old daughter Sheila Renee in November of 2003. We are the only Christian influence this little girl has. Currently both Justin and Sheila live with us. Although he is currently not walking with Jesus, Justin is in the prayers of a lot of Christian brothers and sisters, and I am convinced that the Lord is moving in his life in answer to prayer. Prayer can be a “Means of Grace” on a daily basis.
III. CONFIRMATION:
Confirmation is our personal acceptance of the relationship that was
offered at baptism. Many churches hold confirmation at a time when youth are seeking their own identity. In churches which practice infant baptism the youth have been spiritually nurtured in the intervening years. In other churches, among them Baptist groups, confirmation and baptism are one event; Believer Baptism is equivalent to Confirmation and concurrent with conversion.
In confirmation I accept Christ as the model for my life and commit himself to be a witness for Him in the world. Confirmation involves: (1.) Knowing what Christ did; He died on the cross for my sins; (2.) Repenting of my past sins; (3.) Accepting what God has done for me in Jesus Christ; (4.) Having a change of heart (re-birth); (5.) Acting on this new commitment (being a witness for Christ in the world). In confirmation I die to self and live for Jesus Christ and others.
IV. ORDINATION:
It was the summer before my freshman year at Marion High
School that God began “calling me to preach.” It all began at Beulah Youth Institute in Eldorado, Illinois. The year before I had made a recommitment of my life to Jesus Christ at this very same camp. In July of 1962 I got through the entire week without feeling the need to go to the altar, until the Closing Service, the Service of Consecration.
The evangelist invited all those who had received a “Call to Preach” to come forward for a time of consecration and prayer. Then he did the same for those who had been “Called to the Mission Field.” I just knew I was “going to get out of this Altar Call Scott free,” but was I wrong. His closing invitation was, “If you have not received a call to some special ministry but would be willing to say yes to God if he should ever call you, please come forward, for we want to pray with you too.”
I thought this was the easiest invitation to obey. After all it was every Christian’s duty to be obedient to the Lord if He called that person to special service. I can still point to the spot I was sitting on Saturday Morning, July 14, 1962. It was on the west side of the tabernacle, to the right side of the pulpit, right about “there.” Without hesitation I jumped out of that pew to the altar to do my
“Christian duty.” After all, “God wasn’t going to call me to preach or be a missionary, for I wanted to be a music teacher, and God would never “interfere with my plans.”
Two or three months later I found out differently. God began calling, and I began resisting. At first I was worried it was going to be a call to go to Africa as a missionary; therefore, I became the original artist to record the Christian hit single “Please don’t send me to Africa with the lions, and tigers, and snakes.”
God soon clarified the call; it was a “call to preach.” God was persistent in doing what he wasn’t supposed to do. I argued with Him and constantly resisted the Call for 2 ½ years that I would never have peace until I fully obeyed the Lord. I finally surrendered to Him and His will and plan one cold, Saturday evening, February 27, 1965, when I was almost killed in an automobile accident. I said, “Lord, if you get me out of this, I’ll do what you want me to do.”
As I look back on that time of struggle, I wonder how I could have been so selfish and stupid, for I have found that following God’s plan for my life has brought contentment, joy, and peace beyond measure. I could not be happier or more fulfilled than I am in doing what God wants me to do with my life.
When I was ordained a Deacon in 1971 after my first year of seminary, that was one of the most sacred moments in my life as was my ordination as an elder three years later. I sensed that like Paul and Barnabas God had “separated me for the work to which I had been called.” [--Acts 13:2].
Yesterday Kelley Lascelles showed us in “The Priesthood of All Believers” that all Christians are called to be ministers. We all have been blessed with differing gifts to be used for ministry in Jesus’ Name. Clergy and laity are partners in ministry. Clergy are essentially ordained to care for souls and to administer the sacraments. In ordination those whom God has called to the “Ministry of Word and Table” are “commissioned by the Church for ministry in the name of Jesus Christ.”
V. MARRIAGE AND SINGLENESS:
In marriage a man and a woman are joined for a life together in the
Presence of God. Saturday, February 16, 1974, Liz Bluff and I had our first
Date. Saturday, September 28, 1974, just a short 202 days later, we were married. We celebrate both anniversaries each year. As with my ordination, that September evening in 1974 was one of the happiest and most sacred moments in my life. She was radiant and gorgeous as she came done the aisle.
Our wedding was not an event to call attention to us but a worship service to glorify Jesus Christ, and we continue to look to Him to guide our lives and our family through both hard and happy times. The basic responsibility in a marriage is to give 100% of yourself in representing Christ. If both partners gave 100%, think how much love would overflow into the world.
Too many marriages today are based on worldly standards and are full of tension, hardship, and pain; but when marriage is a “Means of Grace,” it opens the door for God’s grace to make a difference in our family and an impact upon society. The New Testament often compares the marriage bond between husband and wife to the relationship that exists between Christ and His Church. Practice Ephesians and
Colossians 3 in your marriage, and it will be a true “Means of Grace.”
What part do singleness and divorce play in the life of a Christian? Although we uphold marriage as a sacramental moment, we also affirm singleness as a “Means of Grace;” marriage may not be for everyone, and a single Christian can live a productive, fulfilled life in Christ. In his book REDISCOVERING OUR SPIRITUAL GIFTS, Charles V. Bryant affirms “Singleness” as a gift of the Spirit, citing such passages as I Corinthians 7:22-25: “I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to please the Lord; but the married man is anxious about the affairs of the world, how to please his wife, and his interest are divided. And the unmarried woman and the virgin are anxious about the affairs of the Lord, so that they may be holy in body and spirit; but the married woman is anxious about the affairs of the world, how to please her husband. I say this for your own benefit, not to put any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and unhindered devotion to the Lord.” Oftentimes persons with the gift of singleness find the Holy Spirit frees them to devote more time and energy to serving Christ and His Church in ministry.
What about divorce? Please remember the words of Jesus in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark: “It was because you were so hard-hearted that Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so” [--Matthew 19:8]. We do not live in a perfect society. It is marred by sin. Divorce, even among Christians, is on the rise.
Divorce was not part of God’s perfect plan, but His grace is always sufficient in even this situation. As He said to Paul, so Jesus says to those going through divorce: “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness” [--II Corinthians 12:9]. My sisters and brother, God’s grace is sufficient—it is enough, it is all that is needed—to forgive, heal, restore even through the pain of divorce. By His grace and power, His children do find life goes on after divorce and that even in these low valleys when we surrender to Him, the Divine Potter “forms our marred clay into another pot shaping it as seems best to Him” [--Jeremiah 18:4]. Now, that leads us directly into the “Grace of Forgiveness . . . .”
VI. FORGIVENESS:
Forgiveness is the ultimate gift of grace that God offers us in our
Father-son relationship with Him. When Jesus began His ministry, John the Baptizer pointed to Him as “The Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world” [--John 1:29]. We have the assurance and promise of I John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. “God said it in His Word: ‘If I confess my sins, He forgives my sin. . .’ I believe that. . .in my heart. . .that settles all doubts forever.” Fellows, that’s liberating grace. God’s forgiveness is
Absolute and complete. When I confess my sins, He forgives my sins, setting me free from bondage to guilt, sin, and death.
Because Jesus has forgiven me, I now can be an agent of forgiveness in the lives of others. I have the power to forgive people who have wronged me, for I remember the words of Jesus: “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” [--Matthew 6:14-15]. By the power of the Holy Spirit Christian Disciples forgive those who have wronged us in the spirit of Ephesians 4:31-32, “Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.”
VII. HEALING:
Jesus’ ministry was threefold: He came preaching, teaching, and
Healing according to Matthew 4:23, “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the Good News of the Kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. Someone has well said:
“Preaching proclaims the Gospel.
Teaching explains the Gospel.
Healing makes real the Gospel” [--Wagner, 21].
When Jesus dispatched the Twelve Disciples on their first mission in Luke 9, “He sent them to preach the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick.”
We must remember that all healing comes from God. Richard and I are both graduates of Asbury Seminary. Our Professor of Church history Dr. Kenneth Kinghorn outlines five ways God heals in his book Gifts of the Spirit:
(1.) God heals instantly and directly.
(2.) God heals gradually through the processes of nature.
(3.) God heals through medical science.
(4.) God gives grace to suffer redemptively by healing our attitudes.
(5. ) God heals in the Resurrection.
[--Kinghorn, p. 68].
About twenty years ago I attended the Holy Spirit Conference in Jacksonville sponsored by the John Wesley Fellowship. Two United Methodist evangelists Jack Gray and David Seamands were leading in a healing service that evening. Before inviting us to the altar for prayer, anointing and ministry, Jack Gray remarked: “Suppose we pray and anoint you and nothing happens? I have no easy answer, just remember that in this ministry God is in administration; we are simply in sales and promotion.”
I unashamedly affirm the healing ministry of the Church and often conduct healing services in my Church anointing people with oil and praying for healing—spiritually, physically, emotionally, and for broken relationships. It is time to return healing to a prominent ministry in the Church and take it out of the hands of a few quacks that make it a mockery for securing personal financial gain.
VIII. HOLY COMMUNION:
Holy Communion is a powerful “Means of Grace” that enables us to
celebrate the presence of Jesus Christ. Christ is truly present with us in Holy Communion, for He promises, “Where two or three are gathered in My Name, I am among them” [--Matthew 18:20]. I am convinced that a Christian should take communion as often as possible. John Wesley received it almost every day for much of his life. I have always appreciated Holy Communion, but it has taken on a much deeper meaning in my life through the Emmaus Community. I can not receive it often enough.
Jesus shared Holy Communion with His Disciples at the Last Supper. According to Paul’s account in I Corinthians 11:23, Jesus said, “This is the New Covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” The Risen Christ may even have celebrated Communion with the two disciples at Emmaus in Luke 24. When they returned to the eleven in Jerusalem, “They told about the things that happened on the road and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread.”
In communion the outward and visible signs of bread and wine testify to the inward and spiritual grace of God’s love, forgiveness, and acceptance of each of us for whom Christ died “while we were yet sinners” [--Romans 5:8]. It signifies God’s offering each of us a personal Father-child relationship with Him and our acceptance of His offer.
The historical invitation to Holy Communion in the Anglican and Methodist traditions beckons us, “You who do truly and earnestly repent of your sins. . .and intend to lead a new life following the commandments of God, draw near with faith, and take this Holy Sacrament to your comfort, and make your humble confession to Almighty God.” Holy Communion should be received in the spirit of repentance, confession, and faith. Paul was concerned that some of the Corinthian Christians did not receive communion in a worthy manner, but all who come with the spirit of repentance, confession, and faith should neither be turned away from the Lord’s Table nor feel unworthy to come.
In my first pastorate at Marissa I had the joy of seeing a woman become a Christian at the table of Jesus. As I gave the lady the bread, I heard herd her cry out in tears, “Oh, Lord, please save me.” God heard that humble, simple prayer, and she began her new life in Christ. That is one communion I’ll never forget. She came to the Lord’s Table “Just as she was, a sinner,” coming in repentance, confession, and faith. Jesus responded by receiving her, forgiving her, and giving her abundant and eternal life.
When I served as pastor at Sumner United Methodist Church, Harold would never take communion. He shared with me that he had never become a Christian, and that he could not take the sacrament knowing he was lost. I told him that I appreciated his humble, honest spirit while encouraging him to turn to Jesus. He said he just was not yet ready to do so. I reassured him that in God’s time I would be happy to pray with him for his salvation, but I did not push for commitment on the spot. I even suggested that he come forward during communion some Lord’s Day and accept Christ as His Saviour, reassuring him there was no better time and place to do so than at the Table of Christ.
Harold did become a Christian before Christ called him home, but it was while he was dying from cancer. As I recall, I did get to share communion with him in the hospital one time before he went to be with Jesus. Sisters, if any of you still need to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour, he waits for you at the Communion Table with outstretched arms to receive you as His son. Whoever comes to him in the spirit of repentance, confession, and faith He will “in no wise cast out” [--John 6:37].
At the last supper Jesus sat with those He loved. He called them friends. They would soon be the beginning of a new community of faith the Church, the Family of God. In Holy Communion we too should sit with our sisters, our friends, and commit ourselves to being the beginning of the Christian Community where we are, in our place and time, in our Churches.
Jesus says in John 15:1-2, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit.” To make room for new life in Christ, something old has to die. God prunes away those dead and unproductive parts in our lives in order to mold us into fruitful and productive disciples. Just like the first disciples did that Passover evening, we come to the Lord’s table with all our human weakness and brokenness.
Please follow me to the chapel for a special service of Holy Communion so we may share in this “Means of Grace” as a joyful reminder of the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Let us go in silence, and sit with our table groups. The assistants will guide us.
DE COLORES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
