Overcoming Darkness of the World with Light from the Word – 2023

Music Prelude: Noel – Chris Tomlin ft. Lauren Daigle Nativity Story video – https://youtu.be/t-dGh5E_AQw

Dear BLCF Friends,

Effective April 10, 2022, Bloor Lansdowne Christian Fellowship – BLCF Church will reopen by reservation only for Sunday worship under the limitations and guidelines set by Public Health and the Board of BLCF. In order to protect those who are vulnerable at Bloor Lansdowne Christian Fellowship from COVID-19 Virus infection, the BLCF Board mandates that the church will be open by reservation, with the following rules:

• attendees must wear a mask while on the premises
• attendees give their contact information upon arrival
• attendees observe two meters of social distance while seated
• attendees use hand sanitizer as needed
• attendees follow any additional directions given by members of the board, while inside the church

Please be advised that both the BLCF Café Community Dinner and the BLCF Wednesday Prayer Service will continue to remain closed effective March 16, 2020, and until further notice. We pray with the administration of sufficient COVID-19 vaccinations, and following the determination of Health Canada and other Health Authorities, that the danger of the Pandemic will have subsided sufficiently, to allow BLCF to reopen safely more of our worship and outreach activities without any concern of infection to the vulnerable within our community.

– Pastor Steve

Responsive Reading #631: (The Incarnate Christ – John 1)    

Bloor Lansdowne Christian Fellowship – BLCF Church Message for Sunday:

‘Overcoming Darkness of the World with Light from the Word’

© January 2, 2023,  by Steve Mickelson

Based on a Message Shared at BLCF on December 27, 2015

BLCF Bulletin December 27, 2015

Call to Worship: Announcements and Prayer            

Tithing and Prayer; Hymn #572: Praise God; Prayers  

Doxology (Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow) Instrumental – https://youtu.be/Mk4p3rihONU

Music Special: Ryan Stevenson – Heart and Soul of Christmas (Official Lyric Video) – https://youtu.be/nEzrCN_yEvA  

Music Special: Light of the World – Lauren Daigle (with Lyrics) – https://youtu.be/WR5iwssnTn4

Amy Grant – Thy Word (Lyric Video) – https://youtu.be/sKlQpjl_oqY

Scriptures: Psalm 119:105, John 1:1-18, John 12:44-50, 2 Peter 1:16-21

Message by Steve Mickelson: Overcoming Darkness of the World with Light from the Word’

Let us pray…

Welcome to BLCF Church’s Praise and Worship Service, on this, the first Sunday of 2023.God’s Blessings for a happy, healthy, and peaceful New Year. Today is a special Sunday, as it is Communion Sunday, where we will be lighting a candle to honour the birth of Jesus, and of course welcome in the New Year, 2023. Our lesson today will focus on light, the spiritual light that the Lord brought to humanity, a little over 2000 years ago, notable on that Day of Pentecost, when through the sacrifice of Jesus to pay the debt for the sins of humanity, believers were able to receive the blessing of the Holy Spirit of God, illuminating each believer with a flame like glow that came to them not unlike a might gust of wind. That Spirit, a gift of God’s presence continues to be given unto each believer since that day until the present time.

For the last month, we observed each of the Sunday Advent Services by lighting four Advent Candles, one on each Sunday, which respectively represent the hope, peace, joy, and love that our Savior’s nativity brings us.

Due to the severe winter storm that caused the closure of BLCF Church last Sunday, we have chosen today to light the fifth candle, known as the Christ Candle, lit to observe the nativity or birth of our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus.

The 5^th Candle: Christ Candle (John 8:12)

At this time of the service, we will light the Christ Candle. Having lit an Advent Candle on each of the four Sundays prior to Christmas Day, a fifth candle is traditionally lit on Christmas Eve or  Christmas Day. We  light the Fifth Candle, the Christ Candle,  in order to reflect upon the following significant aspects of the Lord Jesus Christ:

Jesus is our light, the Son of God and a son of man; the King of kings.

Jesus is our hope; he died a man and rose from the grave; the highest Priest of priests.

Jesus is our peace; he brought us our salvation from the judgment of sin; no more worry, pain or fear.

Jesus is our joy; promising us eternal life. He demonstrates God’s love– pure, holy, undying love.

Whoever believes in Him will never perish but have eternal life! (John 3:16).

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! (2 Corinthians 9:15)

Lift up the light of your face upon us, O LORD! (Psalm 4:6b)

Christ Candle

Celebrating the birth of Jesus and rejoicing in His coming to us, we light the Christ candle. Let us read the verse: John 1:5 (ESV):

Walking in the Light

⁵ This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

Light represents an important symbol in the Scriptures, often represented by flame or a candle, as we light the Christ Candle, let us read John 8:12 (ESV):

   I Am the Light of the World

¹² Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Mary Fairchild, writing in Christianity.about.dot com, gives us  a further explanation of what the light, represented today by a lit candle, signifies:

Christianity Symbols Illustrated Glossary: Light in the Bible

Light represents the presence of God. God appeared to Moses in the burning bush and to the Israelites in the pillar of flame.

The eternal flame of God’s presence was to be lit in the Temple in Jerusalem at all times. In fact, in the Jewish Feast of Dedication or “Festival of Lights” we remember the victory of the Maccabees and the rededication of the Temple after being desecrated under Greco-Syrian captivity. Even though they only had enough sacred oil for one day, God miraculously causes the eternal flame of his presence to burn for eight days, until more purified oil could be processed.

Light also represents the direction and guidance of God. Psalm 119:105 says God’s Word is a lamp to the feet and a light to our path. 2 Samuel 22 says the Lord is a lamp, turning darkness into light.

http://christianity.about.com/od/symbolspictures/ig/Christian-Symbols-Glossary/Light-of-the-World.htm

Continuing with our lesson…

Many Christians mistakenly believe that the New Covenant, between God and humanity, began with the birth of the Lord in Bethlehem and ended with Christ’s death on the cross at Calvary.

This somewhat simplified view of our Lord is both inaccurate and incomplete. To begin with, the New Covenant was spoken by our Lord at the Passover Supper, which Christians commonly refer to as the Lord’s Supper or the Last Supper, in which he broke bread and served wine to begin the institution or practice of the Communion between God and humanity. As part of this New Covenant, believers are instructed to regularly observe Communion until the day the Lord returns.

While it is true that our Savior’s death on the cross was the final blood sacrifice to atone for humanity’s sins, the oversimplified view that the Lord was born to die really misses other aspects of the Savior’s impact upon our lives.

A more complete assessment of the Gospel of Christ could be given, as follows:

Jesus is often referred to as, ‘The Word made flesh‘ and  the ‘Light of the world‘, as we see in Psalm 119:105 (ESV):

¹⁰⁵ Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path.

This light came from God to shine in a world enveloped in the darkness of sin as described in Isaiah 9:2(ESV):

^2 [a] The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
on them has light shone.

Footnotes: a. Isaiah 9:2 Chapter 9:1 in Hebrew

While we have the arrival of the Christ child alluded to by Isaiah, the physical light God provided at the creation, described in Genesis 1:1-3 (ESV) was there at the time of creation:

The Creation of the World

1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. ² The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

³ And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

The light we celebrate as Christians is not the physical illumination that comes from the sun, but the Spiritual light from the Word. When we say Word, we are not talking about the Bible, but Jesus, the Word made flesh. It was at his nativity or birth, that Jesus not only arrived as the Word made flesh, we see that the Nativity of Christ brought God to humanity, John 1:1-18 (ESV):

The Word Became Flesh

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. ⁴ In him was life,^[a] and the life was the light of men. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

⁶ There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. ⁷ He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. ⁸ He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

⁹ The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. ¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. ¹¹ He came to his own,^[b] and his own people^[c] did not receive him. ¹² But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, ¹³ who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. ¹⁵ (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) ¹⁶ For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.^{[d] 17} For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ No one has ever seen God; the only God,^[e] who is at the Father’s side,^[f] he has made him known.

Footnotes: a. John 1:4 Or was not any thing made. That which has been made was life in him b. John 1:11 Greek to his own things; that is, to his own domain, or to his own people c, John 1:11 People is implied in Greek e. John 1:16 Or grace in place of grace f. John 1:18 Or the only One, who is God; some manuscripts the only Son g. John 1:18 Greek in the bosom of the Father

While by Jesus’ birth, we see God coming to humanity, we see in the Crucifixion of Christ, we see the Way he brings humanity to God by removing the judgment for sin, John 12:44-50 (ESV):

Jesus Came to Save the World

⁴⁴ And Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. ⁴⁵ And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. ⁴⁶ I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. ⁴⁷ If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. ⁴⁸ The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. ⁴⁹ For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak. ⁵⁰ And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.”

The Resurrection of Christ demonstrates the Lord’s glory as Jesus brings the promise of eternal life to humanity, 2 Peter 1:16-21 (ESV):

Christ’s Glory and the Prophetic Word

¹⁶ For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. ¹⁷ For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son,^[a] with whom I am well pleased,” ¹⁸ we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain.

¹⁹ And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, ²⁰ knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. ²¹ For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Footnotes: a. 2 Peter 1:17 Or my Son, my (or the) Beloved

On the Day of Pentecost, Christ sends humanity the Comforter, which is God’s Holy Spirit, so that, as apostles or messengers of Christ’s Gospel, we are empowered by the Spirit to shine the light of Christ throughout the word to the Glory of God,          Matthew 5:13-16 (ESV):

Salt and Light

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.

¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that^[a] they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Footnotes: a. Matthew 5:16 Or house. ¹⁶Let your light so shine before others that

In conclusion, Jesus, the Word, existed as part of the Godhead or Holy Trinity at the time of Creation.

Sin brought a loss of Spiritual light upon humanity, causing us to fall into a state of darkness, devoid of the Spirit.

Jesus, the Word, came as the Son of God, the Word made flesh, in order to restore the Spiritual light upon humanity, by being a final sacrifice to atone for our sins.

We may celebrate Christ by observing the following:

The Nativity of Christ brought God to humanity.

The Crucifixion of Christ brings humanity to God.

The Resurrection of Christ brings the promise of eternal life to humanity.

On the Day of Pentecost, Christ sends humanity the Comforter, which is God’s Holy Spirit.

And that the light of Jesus, the Word made flesh, shines to overcome the darkness of the world. A light that shines from all who believe in the Lord, by way of the Holy Spirit.

Let us pray…

 

Communion Special – Lauren Daigle – “We Will Not Forget” (Lyric Video) – https://youtu.be/izeZa9wx8wA

Mark 14:22-25 ESV: Institution of the Lord’s Supper 

²² And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing, it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” ²³ And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. ²⁴ And he said to them, “This is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many. ²⁵ Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

Matt Maher – Glory (Let There Be Peace) ([Official Lyric Video]) – https://youtu.be/QW4c6DcxgGc 

Closing Music Special: In Jesus’ Name (God of Possible) – Katy Nichole – Lyric Video – https://youtu.be/R84PqRdZ7_Y

Benediction –  (Numbers 6:24-26):

 The Lord bless you and keep you;
 the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

 

Overcoming Darkness of the World with Light from the Word

Bloor Lansdowne Christian Fellowship – BLCF Church Message for Sunday:

‘Overcoming Darkness of the World with Light from the Word’

© December 27, 2015 by Steve Mickelson

BLCF Bulletin December 27, 2015

Call to Worship: Responsive Reading #631: (The Incarnate Christ – John 1); Prayer                 

 Hymn #105: What Child Is This, Who, Laid to Rest                                              

Hymn #102: Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus                                                       

Hymn #109: Once in Royal David’s City                                                                                

Tithing and Prayer; Hymn #572: Praise God; Prayers                                                

Scriptures: Psalm 119:105, John 1:1-18, John 12:44-50, 2 Peter 1:16-21

Let us pray…

Welcome to BLCF Church’s Praise and Worship Service, on this, the last Sunday of 2015.

For the last month, we observed each of the Advent Services by lighting four Advent Candles, one on each Sunday, which respectively represent the hope, peace, joy, and love that our Savior’s nativity brings us.

Today we have a fifth candle, known as the Christ candle, which is lit to observe the nativity or birth of the Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus.

Many believe that the New Covenant, between God and humanity, began with the birth of the Lord in Bethlehem and ended with Christ’s death on the cross at Calvary.

This somewhat simplified view of our Lord is both inaccurate and incomplete. To begin with, the New Covenant was spoken by our Lord at the Passover Supper, which Christians commonly refer to as the Lord’s Supper or the Last Supper, which he broke bread and served wine to begin the institution or practice of the Communion between God and humanity. As part of this New Covenant, believers are instructed to regularly observe Communion until the day the Lord returns.

While it is true that our Savior’s death on the cross was the final blood sacrifice to atone for humanity’s sins, the oversimplified view that the Lord was born to die really misses other aspects of the Savior impact upon our lives.

A more complete assessment of Gospel of Christ could be given, as follows:

Jesus is often referred to as the ‘Word made flesh’ and as the ‘Light of the world’, as we see in Psalm 119:105 (ESV):

¹⁰⁵ Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path.

This light which came from God to shine in a world enveloped in the darkness of sin as described in Isaiah 9:2(ESV):

^2 [a] The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
on them has light shone.

Footnotes: a. Isaiah 9:2 Chapter 9:1 in Hebrew

While we have the arrival of the Christ child alluded to by Isaiah, the physical light God provided at creation, described in Genesis 1:1-3 (ESV) was there at the time of creation:

The Creation of the World

1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. ² The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

³ And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

The light we celebrate as Christians is not the physical illumination that comes from the sun, but the Spiritual light from the Word. When we say Word, we are not talking about the Bible, but Jesus, the Word made flesh. It was at his nativity or birth, that Jesus not only arrived as the Word made flesh, we see that the Nativity of Christ brought God to humanity, John 1:1-18 (ESV):

The Word Became Flesh

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. ⁴ In him was life,^[a] and the life was the light of men. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

⁶ There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. ⁷ He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. ⁸ He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

⁹ The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. ¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. ¹¹ He came to his own,^[b] and his own people^[c] did not receive him. ¹² But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, ¹³ who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. ¹⁵ (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) ¹⁶ For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.^{[d] 17} For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ No one has ever seen God; the only God,^[e] who is at the Father’s side,^[f] he has made him known.

Footnotes: a. John 1:4 Or was not any thing made. That which has been made was life in him b. John 1:11 Greek to his own things; that is, to his own domain, or to his own people c, John 1:11 People is implied in Greek e. John 1:16 Or grace in place of grace f. John 1:18 Or the only One, who is God; some manuscripts the only Son g. John 1:18 Greek in the bosom of the Father

While by Jesus’ birth, we see God coming to humanity, we see in the Crucifixion of Christ, we see the Way he brings humanity to God by removing the judgment for sin, John 12:44-50 (ESV):

Jesus Came to Save the World

⁴⁴ And Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. ⁴⁵ And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. ⁴⁶ I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. ⁴⁷ If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. ⁴⁸ The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. ⁴⁹ For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak. ⁵⁰ And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.”

The Resurrection of Christ demonstrates the Lord’s glory as Jesus’ brings the promise of eternal life to humanity, 2 Peter 1:16-21 (ESV):

Christ’s Glory and the Prophetic Word

¹⁶ For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. ¹⁷ For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son,^[a] with whom I am well pleased,” ¹⁸ we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain.

¹⁹ And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, ²⁰ knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. ²¹ For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Footnotes: a. 2 Peter 1:17 Or my Son, my (or the) Beloved

On the Day of Pentecost, Christ sends humanity the Comforter, which is God’s Holy Spirit, so that, as apostles or messengers of Christ’s Gospel, we empowered by the Spirit to shine the light of Christ throughout the word to the Glory of God,          Matthew 5:13-16 (ESV):

Salt and Light

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.

¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that^[a] they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Footnotes: a. Matthew 5:16 Or house. ¹⁶Let your light so shine before others that

In conclusion, Jesus, the Word, existed as part of the Godhead or Holy Trinity at the time of the Creation.

Sin brought a loss of Spiritual light upon humanity, causing us to fall into a state of darkness, devoid of the Spirit.

Jesus, the Word, came as the Son of God, the Word made flesh, in order to restore the Spiritual light upon humanity, by being a final sacrifice to atone for our sins.

We may celebrate Christ by observing the following:

The Nativity of Christ brought God to humanity.

The Crucifixion of Christ brings humanity to God.

The Resurrection of Christ brings the promise of eternal life to humanity.

On the Day of Pentecost, Christ sends humanity the Comforter, which is God’s Holy Spirit.

And that that the light of Jesus, the Word made flesh, shines to overcome the darkness of the world. A light that shines from all who believe in the Lord , by way of the Holy Spirit.

Let us pray…

 

Closing Hymn #126: Amen, Amen!

Benediction –  (Numbers 6:24-26):

 The Lord bless you and keep you;
 the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

 

Are You Running from God’s Judgment or towards His Grace?

Bloor Lansdowne Christian Fellowship – BLCF Church Message for Sunday:

‘Are You Running from God’s Judgment or towards His Grace?’

© July 13, 2014 by Steve Mickelson

Originally Published September 19, 2010

BLCF Bulletin 13, 2014

Announcements and Call to Worship: Responsive Reading # 648 ( A Challenge to Faith – Hebrews 11 and 12); Prayer                                             Opening Hymn #200: The Church’s One Foundation; Choruses                                                                                                                                                           Tithing & Prayer Requests: Hymn #572: Praise God from Whom All Blessings                                                                                                                        Scriptures: Hebrews 12:1-3,  1 Corinthians 9:24, Acts 20:24, 2 Timothy 4:7 

Let us pray…

In this age of instant fast foods, instant bank tellers (a.k.a. bank machines), movies on demand, and instant access to a wealth of information via the internet, it is refreshing to slow the tempo of our surroundings and do something that requires more than just a few minutes of our time to complete. For some, such low tempo activities includean extended period of unstructured time, untethered to clocks, schedules or timetables. For others, it is the challenge of completing a goal that involves continuous effort for a protracted period of time, dedication, commitment and provides a goal worthy of the effort.

One such event is the marathon, a cross-country run, not run as a competition between individual participants, but as a vehicle for a group of people to raise awareness and funds, by its participants in order to recognize or help others who suffer from, are afflicted by or have died from a disease or affliction. An example of one such marathon for a cause is the Terry Fox Run for Cancer Research, which occurs annually every around September 14.

 

The Terry Fox Run dates for the next three years:

2014	September 14	34th Anniversary
2015	September 20	35th Anniversary
2016	September 18	36th Anniversary

 

Some people run in marathons for personal satisfaction of completing the challenge of the race. For others it is all about the cause.

The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometers (26 miles and 385 yards), which is usually run as a road race. The event was instituted in commemoration of the fabled run of the Greek soldier Pheidippides, a messenger from the Battle of Marathon (the namesake of the race) to Athens. Upon completion of the run where Pheidippides reported a victory, he collapsed and died. While he had died he completed his task and gave the message which gave hope and joy to the people of Athens.

 

Today, many marathon races are run to commemorate a person or just cause. Often the person and the cause are inseparable, such as the Terry Fox Run. Though he never finished his race, the effort and idea of running across Canada to raise awareness of, and funding for, Cancer was a victory for him.

We have with the Terry Fox Run, no individual winners; only a common desire amongst the runners to defeat Cancer. In our race as Christians, we run together to defeat Satan, to defeat death and win victories for God.

 

While Paul and other authors of the Scriptures speak of running or winning a race, I think the God was not speaking of a short sprint or even a middle or long distance event. God was talking of a long endurance race, such as the marathon. A life-long marathon.

And how do we prepare ourselves for in the long run, (if you excuse the pun)? God does provide us with a “Runners Handbook” in His Word. Here are a few of the important verses to prepare us for the race of life, beginning where the Bible describes ways of preparing the believer for the challenges encountered along the way of a lifelong “Christian Walk”:

 Ephesians 6:10-20, describes them as wearers of ‘The Whole Armour of God’.                  

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. ¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. ¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. ¹³ Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. ¹⁴ Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; ¹⁷ and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, ¹⁸ praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, ¹⁹ and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰ for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

And in 1 Chronicles 12:22, talks of the ‘The Army of God.’

²² For from day to day men came to David to help him, until there was a great army, like an army of God.

We are part of the “army of God”, engaged in battle, wearing the armour of God. But armour is not the only analogy given to our Faith Walk.

 

The Bible in 1 Corinthians 12:27, also, describes Christian believers as part of the “body of Christ”.

 ²⁷ Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

 

Looking at 2 Corinthians 5:20,we are “Christ’s ambassadors”; His envoys, representing him in this world.

²⁰ Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

Ephesians 5:22-33 describes the church of believers as “bride of Jesus”, with Christ being the groom, described similar to the relationship between a wife and husband.

²² Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. ²³ For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. ²⁴ Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.

²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, ²⁶ that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, ²⁷ so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.^{[a] 28} In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹ For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, ³⁰ because we are members of his body. ³¹ “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” ³² This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. ³³ However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

Footnotes: a. Or holy and blameless

 

The Bible likens us in 1 Corinthians 3:17, to a “temple of God”.

¹⁷ If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.

 We are “healthy branches” and Christ is the vine, as described in John15:5.

⁵ I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

 

Matthew 5:13-16, characterizes Christian believers as “salt of the earth” and the “light of the world”.

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.

¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that^[a] they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Footnotes: a. Matthew 5:16 Or house. ¹⁶Let your light so shine before others that

Each one of these is varied and each one is valid.  Each one could easily take a sermon to explain and understand.

However, let me simplify all of them by describing them an aspect of our personal relationship with God. As soldiers in God’s army, wearing God’s armor we battle both Satan and sin. God is our Commander-in-Chief; the Bible gives us both His strategy and the weapons to battle within the scriptures. However, the battle, that challenges both our determination and tests our endurance, is lifelong; but great are the victories won, if we stay faithful in serving the Lord. Victory is found in souls saved from the final judgment of death by receiving God’s love and avoiding the obstacles Satan places in our path. The gaol and reward is salvation and eternal life.

Once we have made a decision to accept Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour, having confessed our sins, and committing ourselves to God, we are immediately appointed His ambassadors. As ambassadors our passports are stamped by the precious blood of Christ who died for our sins. As so we carry the diplomatic immunity from judgment for our sins. But we are expected to represent the Kingdom of God in an appropriate and fitting manner. Our diplomatic mandate requires us to understand God’s purpose and policies, as outlined in the Bible. And as Holy diplomats, we must use the gifts given us by the Holy Spirit to walk, talk and act as messengers of truth. Otherwise, we lose credibility and do our appointed position a disservice and dishonor the One who sacrificed so much that we may be His representatives, unto the ends of the world.

 

A bride and groom are joined together in marriage until death. That is until death bids them to part. But God expects married partners not to be unequally-yoked. Like a pair of oxen, of one we stronger than the other. Otherwise the cart or the plough, or whatever the team pull, would be drawn into circles. God wants us walking a straight path, with straight rows, not making crazy crop circles. A bride and groom are kept together because they share the same values, seek the same goals, and work together in harmony. Jesus, the groom, did His part to provide for his bride, which is the church, by fulfilling the scriptures and being the last and final sacrificial lamb for all of humanity. Every believer; man and woman, Jew and Gentile, adult and child, alike may be judged sinless forever in God’s eyes’ thanks to the sacrifice of Christ.

And the bride in this relationship, being the Church, has the responsibility to maintain and nourish the faith; to ensure all her children understand the message of the Gospel, as well as God’s unconditional gift of love. Not for only a day; not until the kids are grown; and not until retirement; but until death, which in God’s time frame, forever! Forever includes this lifetime, the next, as well as the hereafter.

 

A married couple may have a wedding album to mark that special day, with all the events of the day being recorded by the photos,  as well as by saved mementos which, when added to the photos, make the scrapbook a tapestry of a life event. This album is often followed by other albums to record other important events, such as: birthdays, vacations, anniversaries and other significant events of a whole lifetime bound within the albums’ collective pages. Today, tech savvy couples may post such images on social media pages, such as Facebook, Flickr, BLOGs and Instagram on the Internet for the whole world to see. To make a good impression, these social media albums are edited to show only the best images of what we do.

 

The Lord keeps an album too, sometimes referred to our “Book of Life”. Unlike our scrapbook albums, this one has a record of all that we do, say and think; the good as well as the bad. But like our album, all of the good and bad will be posted for all to see come Judgment Day. That is a daunting thought, for instead of warranting a title such as “The Highlights of My Life”, the title for such a Book might have one sounding like a spaghetti western title like “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of My Life”! To the Lord the content of this Judgement Book that is important to Him includes: whether we have faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour; whether we have confessed our sins; and perhaps most importantly, have we embarked upon the race that the Lord has set for us as Christian believers: to spread the Gospel to others and whether we grew in faith and trust in His Way.

Before I get carried away, and attempt to comment on all of these examples of our Christian walk, let me address the topic of this Sunday’s message: ‘Are you running from God’s judgment or towards His grace’?  There is another analogy of the Christian walk, but the Apostle Paul describes it as a race, like a marathon. With a few exceptions, the runners of these races are not necessarily running the race as competitors against each other, but like the marathons for a just cause, as a group running with the common goal of just making it to the finish line by overcoming the challenges of obstacles, such as the wall of pain and exhaustion. They must find inner strength from within and demonstrate to the world that they can continue the race into to the end.

 

I have a sister-in-law, Suuzie who is a triathlete. She does triathlons, which include three endurance races combined in a single marathon race. Part of the race is in the water; part is like the original marathon is on foot; and part is on bicycle. One of Suuzie’s first races took place in Hamilton, early in the month May, with the first leg to be swum in Hamilton Harbor. My brother-in -law recorded that race with over three hundred participants at the starting line.  At the start of the race,  we  see that the starting gun goes off and the triathletes run into water. In the next scene of the video, about half of the participants doing a 180 – turnaround and run right back out of the water.

 

If you are curious as to how cold the water of Lake Ontario can be in early May, ask Sophie as she was baptized in Lake Ontario at Sunnyside Park in the month of May.

I believe Suuzie was one of those who ran in, then out of the lake. She and the other runners were not prepared for the conditions of the lake. Eventually Suuzie re-entered the lake and eventually finished her race.

 

Recently, Suuzie lived in Australia for a couple of years, and while on the road had her training run interrupted by a gang of kangaroos, which surrounded Suuzie on the roadside. This kangaroo encounter, while somewhat bizarre and sounding humorous could have had a very serious outcome, as the hopping marsupials are well known for their aggressive and combative behavior. Fortunately, Suuzie escaped from the encounter, unharmed. After she escaped the kangaroo threat, Suuzi actually returned to the same location with her husband, camera in hand, hoping to take a photograph the ‘roos. Come to think of it, it is likely that Suzie’s photo albums, at least those documenting her runs, are likely to be quite different from the norm.

As believers in the Resurrected Christ, those running the ‘Race of Christian Faith’, we must be prepared for the unexpected, which is Satan’s way of distracting us from our goal of sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

 

 

In school I used to like running to middle distance races. A middle distance was 880 yards before metrification or 800 meters today. I recall during one practice run, where I knew none of my opponents. I had taken, and was maintaining, a lead over the rest of the pack for most of the race, with one pesky runner, whose name was Alan, maintained a pace beside and behind me for most of the race.

At one point of the race, near the last thirty yards of the finish line, Alan looked at me with a show of apparent concern saying, “You look tired! Are you OK? Maybe you should take it easy, as it is only a practice.”

For me that was I all I needed to hear. My legs and arms were burning, my lungs bursting at my efforts and Alan’s words spoke to me of everything that my body felt. I was done, as Alan had effectively broken my focus enough to pass me and win the race.

 

In our race on the Glory Road, we too have someone like Satan whispering in our ears that the water is too cold to swim or that we have reached an insurmountable wall. Even something as innocuous as “Oh look a bunch of kangaroos”. Whatever it is, we must resist the temptation to stop or quit the race. For in quitting, we hand the garland of victory to Satan!

We must not be diverted from our route or distracted from the goal in our race. Satan loves to chill the water in which we swim or throw a kangaroo or two in our path. He will do anything to make us lose our focus and ultimately to stop us from running God’s race. Remember, that Jesus, immediately following his baptism and having received the Holy Spirit, was taken into the desert, where he fasted and was repeatedly tested by Satan. But Jesus, through faith in His Father, and by his knowledge of the scriptures, stayed on track and defeated Satan. Jesus’ victory was our victory. Jesus did not allow himself to be detoured from his appointed path to defeat sin on our behalf.

 

Having prepared ourselves for the race, let us review the race set before us:

Hebrews 12:1-3 (ESV)

¹Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ²looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

 ³ Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.

 

         1 Corinthians 9:24 (ESV) 

⁴Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.  

 

The goal of our race is testify to the Gospel of Christ and to keep the faith:                                                  

  Acts 20:24 (ESV)  

²⁴But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. 

           

  2 Timothy 4:7 (ESV)

⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

 

And if we set upon the marathon of our life, intent to share, without distraction, the Gospel of Christ and keep our faith in the Lord, then when our race is run. We may claim for ourselves the rewards of our efforts to draw closer to the Lord’s “Throne of Grace”, so that we may receive His mercy and, with the help of God’s Holy Spirit, find the grace to help those who have not yet found it.

 

Hebrews 4:14-16 (ESV)

 ¹⁴Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. ¹⁵For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. ¹⁶ Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.                                                                                          

Let Us Pray…

 

Closing Hymn #546: Sing the Wondrous Love of Jesus

Benediction (2 Corinthians 13:14): The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.