St. Michael s Church CHARLESTON, SC SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2107 ROMANS 10:5-15 MATTHEW 10: 27-33 PREACHER: THE REV. AL ZADIG, JR. HELP US LORD TO BE SO CONNECTED TO YOU THAT WE MIGHT BECOME THE SERVANTS OF OTHERS. TAKE OUR LIPS AND SPEAK THROUGH THEM, OUR MINDS AND THINK THROUGH THEM, AND TAKE OUR HEARTS, AND SET THEM ON FIRE. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Let me begin very transparently with yu and pse an interesting dilemma. As a married Anglican Priest, I ve always wndered hw Rman Cathlic clergy carry n their ministries withut being married! I say that because my wife has been the mst magnificent pillar f my ministry, in such a way that I culdn t imagine ding ministry withut her. We realize n this All Saints Sunday that Saints are nt just thse wh have died n gne n, But the Saints are ften the ne s living right next t yu! A Saint defined remember is just any frgiven sinner! Nw, yu may nt knw this, but nearly every sermn I ve ever preached t yu, I ve preached t my wife first which means if there was a sermn yu culdn t make sense f, blame her she is my quality cntrl agent. She is an encurager, A truth teller and can call ut my mistakes, and inadequacies She is a prayer warrir This suthern Cnverse Cllege Cnnie: Gspel Cmmunity Prduces Integrity 1
Even talked dwn the Bishp f Washingtn and gave him a what fr when he was ut f line Mst imprtantly as a slid rck, Elizabeth lves the Lrd and she lves this church. She gave me my very first leather bund Prayer Bk/Hymnal back in 1994.. And in it, she qutes Jesus in Matthew 10:27: What I tell yu in the dark Speak in the daylight What I whisper in yur ear Prclaim frm the husetps +++++++++ What Jesus meant thrugh these wrds is that the Christian life befre anything is listening, Listening in that secret place with Jesus, Bible pen realizing n ne can speak fr Christ unless they have first listened TO Christ.. As ne thelgian writes: Hw can I teach what I haven t learned, Hw can I warm the cld hearts f thers when I am shivering myself? What I tell yu in the dark Speak in the daylight It wrks like this, Jesus whispering in yur ear in the wee hurs YOU ARE LOVED! YOU ARE FORGIVEN.. Which then fuels yur wrds and actins in the daytime! My friends, whether we wear the cllar r nt, all Christians are called t listen with reverence t Christ thrugh His Wrd and then speak and live that ut with curage. ++++++++++++++ And I ask yu this mrning Are yu spending enugh time in the dark with Jesus Gspel Cmmunity Prduces Integrity 2
T light up the wrld with his Wrd? ++++++++++++++ Are yu living yur day ut f yur wn strength r Frm the verflw f that time spent with Jesus? +++ Let me give yu an image f this Imagine the wrds f Jesus we receive in the dark, thse wrds we read frm Scripture wrds f Cmfrt, challenge and wisdm Pretend thse wrds are in Charlestn.. ++++++++++ Nw, imagine the wrds we prclaim frm what s whispered in ur ear, the shuting frm the rftps part Imagine that part is Mt. Pleasant.. One the ne side Wrds given t Us On the ther ur shuting them, frm the husetp Nw imagine a bridge between them That bridge between is this wrd INTEGRITY. Faithfully finding ur fuel in Jesus, and living that with ur lips and lives t a wrld that desn t knw it! Integrity defines a rhythm f life.. Being the same back stage as we are n stage.. It s being the same in the Sanctuary as we are in Schl It s being the same at Hly Cmmunin as we are at Hme It s being the same in ur Pew as we are at a Party Gspel Cmmunity Prduces Integrity 3
It s living cnsistently even when n ne is lking Integrity therefre means having n cmpartments in ur lives where Jesus isn t.. This life n the bridge is living the life f Gspel integrity. And Scripture is full f passages n Integrity, Mst beautifully Rmans Chapter 10 that ur Life Grups will be studying this week, Where Paul fills with full clr the charge f Jesus in Matthew 10 t hear and then speak. Cmpare Matthew 10: What yu hear whispered in the dark, prclaim frm the husetps.. With Rmans 10.. Believe in yur heart that Jesus was raised frm the dead.. Cnfess with yur Muth Jesus is Lrd. Paul in writing these wrds is living n that bridge f integrity. Paul knew that the Jews were trying t find their salvatin thrugh the law.. Paul s purpse in Rmans 10 is t help them find their salvatin in Jesus It s why Paul says It's a heart thing! believe in yur heart that Jesus was raised frm the dead.. This Believing in yur heart desn t just mean intellectually agreeing that Jesus was raised, after all even Satan believes that.. Satan is a believer in Jesus.. The difference between Satan believing and ur believing is this: Believe in yur heart means believing frm the depths f ur sul: 1. That Gd thrugh Jesus Christ is fr us! 2. He has a hpe and a future fr us! 3. Belief therefre is mre than an intellectual agreement, 4. It is the cnvictin-- 5. the cnfidence Gspel Cmmunity Prduces Integrity 4
that Gd has clsed ranks with yu, that Jesus has saved yu fr eternity that the Hly Spirit is in the prcess f making yu new! This side f the bridge means being s cnfident f Gd s pwer and lve that: n fear f wrldly lss nr greed fr wrldly gain will lure us t disbey his will. On this All Saints Sunday, that s the difference between Satan and the Saints, bth believe, but nly ne believes that Gd is fr us, Only ne believes that Jesus is nt just a martyr but is victr! Only ne believes that Jesus is nt just a lng ag Saint, but a living presence tday! My friends perhaps yu re here this mrning and yur faith is an intellectual ne nly, Yu believe but there s n expectatin that Jesus wants t change yur life.. Or that yu can knw Him persnally! Tday Jesus is saying invite me deeper int yur heart in a way that changes yur tmrrw. ++++++++++++++ Which leads t the ther side f the bridge, Cnfess with ur muth Jesus is Lrd. The wrd cnfess here desn t mean aplgize, it means t state that belief with cnvictin and live it ut. Cnfess with ur lips is the call t shut it ut! Yet we can t shut ut smething we have nly agreed t, we shut ut what we have cnfidence in! Fr example.. It s anther Carlina First Dwn! S this bridge f Integrity is all abut cnvictin, cnvictin in here, Gspel Cmmunity Prduces Integrity 5
t then live and take ut there! Which is why Paul finishes this sectin saying there is nthing mre beautiful when peple walk that bridge, nt nly with their lips but with their lives nt nly with their lives but with their lips! S cnfessing Christ is as truly indispensible as believing in Jesus, An act f Gspel integrity. Failure t d s is hypcrisy. There has t be an utward display f ur inward cnvictin, Kind f like water in Baptism, there has t be that utward sign f the inward grace. The tw belng tgether and are as inseparable as tw sides f a cin. ++++ It is this very bridge after all that defines Jesus. Jhn 1: In the beginning was Jesus, and Jesus was with Gd and Jesus was Gd With the missin t be THAT BRIDGE t a fallen and lst Humanity, Matthew 15: Jesus cnfessing I have cme fr the lst sheep! Jesus is that bridge, cnnecting Gd the Father with a lst humanity..the nly prvisin fr ur sin Therefre: Jesus is nt nly the icn f integrity, Jesus is integrity He defines integrity. ++++++++++++++ Here s hw this wrks n an earthly plane Believing in ur heart Jesus is Lrd, leads t realizing AS He is my center I desire t seek Him vertically befre anything else in my life.. Gspel Cmmunity Prduces Integrity 6
ding s is integrity.. ++++++++++++ Believing in ur heart Jesus is Lrd, leads t realizing AS Jesus frgave I desire t cnfessinally walk that bridge by frgiving thers even myself, ding s is integrity.. ++++++++++++ Believing in ur heart Jesus is Lrd leads t realizing AS Jesus tld thers, I desire t cnfessinally walk that bridge by inviting and telling thers.. Ding s is integrity +++++++++++ Believing in ur heart Jesus is Lrd leads t realizing AS Jesus invented the sacrament f marriage I desire t cnfessinally walk that bridge by investing in my marriage Ding s is integrity +++++ Believing in ur heart Jesus is Lrd leads t realizing AS Jesus gave Himself t be that bridge I desire t cnfessinally walk that bridge by giving f myself, dying t self giving financially what I ve been given Ding s is integrity +++++++++++ My friends, nne f this is pssible withut the Hly Spirit t cnvict ur hearts. If we nly have an intellectual agreement with Jesus, if we re nt hearing his vice.. We end up n a very different bridge.. Gspel Cmmunity Prduces Integrity 7
We begin living recklessly Casting ff restraints frm things we knw are wrng We begin t hard and keep what isn t urs We turn inward Fearful and just plain grumpy! What yu hear whispered frm the Lrd, prclaim frm the Husetps walk that bridge as Jesus did. If there is n shuting t the wrld, part f us in here dies. +++++ Here s sme great news. All Saints Sunday is a reminder St. Michaelites we re all n that bridge tgether! As the family f Gd, fellw saints, we re in it tgether! 1 Jhn 1: As we walk in the light, as Jesus is in the light, we have fellwship with each ther, and the bld f Jesus purifies us frm all sin! We cme t the feast thrugh: Cmmunin Life grups, Hly City Cnnects Yuth Grup T break bread and walk that bridge f INTEGRITY TOGETHER! D yu remember the incredible scene n the Ravenel bridge days after the Mther Emanuel tragedy? 15,000 thusand peple frm a line 2 miles lng packing that bridge while hlding hands frming a unity chain. That s what I m talking abut, that's St. Michael s! We re n the bridge OF INTEGRITY tgether. Gspel Cmmunity Prduces Integrity 8
What I whisper in yur ear Prclaim frm the husetps tgether ++++++++++++++ My friends, I began transparently with yu, let me end the same way. This bridge between belief and living that belief has never been mre challenging than right nw. Each day as I sit at my ffice desk, my eyes raise up t ur church building.. Surrunded in scafflding It feels like a re-birthing that ur church building is being brn anew, but I wnder fr whm? This week begins a mediatin that culd, culd very well determine wh ur church belngs t: The natinal episcpal church r the Anglican Church f Nrth America, it s that simple. If this church ges t the natinal episcpal church a false gspel will be preached frm this pulpit where faithful Gspel preaching has been carried ut fr 266 years The false gspel f the day is taking what s whispered and twisting it. Re-writing scripture t fit my situatin, even ur culture.. Verses Ministering here with integrity Which means allwing Scripture TO RE-WRITE US, s that thrugh Jesus WE with integrity wuld help re-write and transfrm the wrld! This week culd, change everything. +++++ Nw, I ve heard sme say Al, I want t cme t church fr peace nly and nt cnflict- I m stepping ff that bridge in my wrship life and giving until its all ver. T thse vices I say, dn t let Satan win.. Our desire fr cmfrt can never be strnger than his cmmandments. The church has always been that place f spiritual warfare why? Because we are part f the rescue missin f Jesus as bridge between Gd and humanity.. Gspel Cmmunity Prduces Integrity 9
Especially here n the 4 crners! The church has always been under persecutin frm within and beynd. Our windw abve ur altar is prf f that! Integrity means faithfully walking that bridge based n the undiluted wrd f Jesus Christ Crucified, with a heart that says Lrd change me s I can help change the wrld. Which means if we believe in ur secret place that Jesus is: The Way The Truth And the Life. And there s n plan B We will preach and teach here until we can t anymre.. We will pray in this church as Saints We will send ur Saints t India tmrrw n missin We will give and tithe t this church as a missin statin We will stick tgether as Saints Until we can t anymre. That s living a life f Gspel Integrity even when the winds are blwing strng against that bridge even when yu can t see the sides f the bridge it s saying Lrd: ur cnfidence in yu frm that darkened place is greater than the cnfidence we place in urselves What I whisper in yur ear Prclaim frm the husetps We re n the bridge OF GOSPEL INTERGRITY tgether. Gspel Cmmunity Prduces Integrity 10
Gspel Cmmunity Prduces Integrity 11