Sabbath Sermon: “You Gotta Have To Want To!”
As I walked into the early-bird Sabbath School lesson at Berean SDA Church this morning, the facilitator, Elder Wright, was reflecting upon the many names by which God is referred to. The list prompted him to reflect upon a recent encounter he had with a pair of missionaries from a denomination that prefers to use the name “Jehovah.”
Elder Wright greeted the two Witnesses at his front door. They asked him if he wanted to discuss the Bible. Elder Wright replied as follows: “Anytime anyone wants to talk about the Bible, I am ready.” The missionaries asked the Elder, “had he had ever read John 17:3?” Elder Wright quoted it to them from memory, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” Elder Wright then added one of his favorite passages, First John 2:3-4 “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. We are of God: he that knows God hears us; he that is not of God hears not us. By this we know the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.”
The emissaries of Jehovah probably felt as if they were in water that was over their heads. Perhaps, like the Queen of Sheba before Solomon, there was “no more spirit” in them. Rather than continue to hold a tiger by the tail, they chose to back down, saying, “We respect you for the things you have to say, and will see you next time.” I know it is a vanity to refer to my own song lyrics, but it put me in mind of a line from the irritating composition “Street Preacher.” Afraid that Elder Wright’s citations might “strike a chord, for comfort’s sake they left the word ignored.”
This morning I was trying to familiarize myself a little with the legacy of Soren Kierkegaard. He is hailed as the “Father of Existentialism,” but I am more interested in his attitudes toward Christianity. A few points tie him in with this week’s Sabbath School lesson. Jeremiah had a bone to pick with the errant Hebrews of his day. The first page of the lesson mentions Jeremiah’s struggle against “empty and dead rituals that can leave people in a false state of complacency.” Kierkegaard devoted the last years of his short (but productive) life to a struggle against the established church of his day. Some commentators feel that his attacks may have gone overboard, but Kierkegaard, like Jeremiah before him, did not allow criticism to diminish his zeal.
The Monday lesson, “Ritual and Sin,” repeats the introduction’s warning about the pitfalls of institutionalized worship. Jeremiah 7:9-10 describes the lifestyle of many who only claim to be Christian, a hypocritical blending of unabated worldly sin combined with regular appeals to God for forgiveness. This phenomenon will probably exist until the Second Coming. Jeremiah observed it in Israel, Kierkegaard was highly offended by it in nineteenth century Copenhagen. People I know right now cite hypocrisy as the reason they are not interested in joining a church.” My church isn’t like that,” I reply to them.
The lesson mentions “cheap grace.” Adventists strive to not be just another group of two-faced dabblers. As a Sabbath School classmate of mine one stated, “Christianity is not an easy religion.” Kierkegaard, as well, was not about to let anyone slack off. He believed that suffering, and absolute commitment, are both indispensable components of being a Christian. The Christian is obliged to imitate Christ,
The 13 week lesson ends with an analogy between the “remnant” of Hebrews the Babylonians left in Jerusalem and the “remnant” spoken of in Revelation. The source of the analogy is Ellen White herself. This LINK is to page 466 of her book “Prophets and Kings,” source of the quotation, but the print is too tiny to read on my bargain-basement screen.
I have read Jeremiah a few times. One episode that sticks in my mind is in 38:6, where the prophet is lowered, as punishment, into a muddy pit. An Ethiopian eunuch (Ebedmelech) intercedes with the king on Jeremiah’s behalf, securing his removal to a more humane location. The Ethiopian issues instructions to Jeremiah as to how he is to be elevated, by cords, from the narrow place he is in. 38:12: “…put now these old cast clouts and rotten rags under thine armholes…” Speaking English was a lot more fun in King James’s day.
Here are a few parting fragments from the Book of Jeremiah, highlighted in yellow by myself in a disintegrating Gideon Bible:
- 6:14: “They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.”
- 9:23-24 (cited in Lesson 7 “Let Him Who Boasts…”): Thus says the Lord, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord.”
- 11:19 (This one seemed kind of prophetic to me): “But I was like a lamb or an ox that is brought to the slaughter, and I knew not that they had devised devices against me…”
- 12:8: “Mine heritage is unto me as a lion in the forest; it crieth out against me: therefore have I hated it.”
- 15:17: “I sat not in the assembly of the mockers, nor rejoiced; I sat alone because of thy hand: for thou hast filled me with indignation.”
- 17:7-8: “Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters…”
- 17:9 ( So famous it had to have been in the lessons somewhere): “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”
- 19:5 (God speaking, rather colloquially): “They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind:”
- 22:29: “O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord.”
“Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.”
You need read no further, for here, as usual, is a link to the ENTIRE SERVICE. Pastor Boyd’s sermon commences at time marker 1:06:50.
Pastor Tyrone Boyd is currently Pastor at both Dallas Fellowship Seventh-day Adventist Church and Agape Fellowship Seventh-day Adventist Church., both located in the Lone Star State. He is also involved in Prison Ministry, and it was mentioned that he is Florida State Chaplain Services Administrator, as noted in this LINK to a Florida newspaper article on this activity
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The geographic dispersal of Pastor Boyd’s talent is no more remarkable than our local mega-preacher Creflo Dollar pastoring churches in both the New York and Atlanta areas, but I suspect Pastor Boyd fills his multiple roles without using a $70,000,000 jet, as described in this LINK. I was intrigued that he hails from the Dallas, Texas area. If there is such a thing as a “Bible Belt,” then Dallas may be it’s buckle. A lot of churches in Dallas are into energetic evangelism, and some are fortunate to have access to the funds these efforts require. Some of them sink a lot of dough into building programs, too. Robert Jeffress, pastor at First Baptist Church, Dallas TX, was trying to raise millions for an expansion to the church’s downtown facility, and doing this when the economy was bad. He explained to potential donors that money spent on construction during a recession went a lot further than money spent when times were flush. It was an ingenious appeal, and the result can be seen at this LINK, one which bills it as “the largest church building project in modern history.” When I was working on the South Charlotte Baptist Church project, a member of the congregation remarked, “we want to give the pastor (retired Charlie Scott) what he wants.” Pastor Jeffress not only got what he wanted ($130,000,000 worth), but is being hailed as a hero for not abandoning the Dallas central business district for the suburbs.
I will present the conclusion to the sermon in this place, as it will help keep the reader oriented during the brief course of my summary. THE KEY TO THE HEALING WAS THE LAME MAN”S BELEIF IN JESUS. Knowing this conclusion will not spoil the experience of viewing the sermon on video. Pastor Boyd’s preaching style, like that of Berean’s own Pastor Austin Humphreys, is dramatic and forceful, and words (particularly my words) cannot do it justice. Pastor Boyd stated, at the outset of the sermon, that he did not intend to make an appeal to our “reason.”
Pastor Boyd began his sermon by recalling to his listeners one of the recurrent themes of the Gospel of John: Jesus is the “life.” Pastor quoted from John 14:6 , “I am the way and the truth and the…” He paused for a split-second in order for the congregation to respond, “life!” He tested our memories with a few other verses, but as the missing word continued to be “life,” we were all made into instant Bible scholars. Regarding Adventism, the pastor made this statement: “I love this church, but our faith is often a rational, intellectual faith.” He added that he did not mean that we should check our brain at the door, but noted that if we filtered everything we heard through “common sense,” then our faith would become only what our intellect allowed.
This recognition that the “heart” has an even larger role to play than the “head” in our spiritual makeup reminded me of one of Dr. Emil Peeler’s Berean sermons, mentioned briefly in a previous post, “Revival Report,” regarding the meaning of the Hebrew word Hallel (crazy, over-the-top). Here is a sentence from the post: “This Hebrew word forms part of “hallelujah.” Dr. Peeler Instructed us that Psalm 34 calls for extravagant, uninhibited praise, as if we were loosing our minds.”
Out of the large group of sufferers that lay poolside, Jesus, all knowing, selected one for His query, “Wilt thou be made whole?” The pastor feels that Jesus was aware of the lame man’s thirty years of simply hanging out. There may have been nothing in the lame man’s attitude that indicated that he even wanted to get up. The pastor hypothesized that he may have even been “comfortable” with his sickness. Pastor interjected a personal observation, saying that he was “tired of disturbing people who like it where they are. Some people are determined to stay in their beds.” (This is kind of a looney reference, but In a legendary fit of reclusiveness, Beach Boy Brian Wilson spent several years in bed.) The pastor said that these “bedridden” folk may wish for air-conditioning, or a big-screen T.V., but were basically happy with their lot. In an aside, the pastor pointed out that there were people who blamed all of their current difficulties on things they did NOT used to have.
Pastor Boyd related that, thirty years ago, he learned from the “Spirit of Prophecy” about Ellen White’s advocacy of “primitive Godliness.” Here is a LINK to part of an Ellen G. White work, “Modern Revivals,” that mentions “primitive Godliness” in section 464 as a fruit of revival. The pastor said “if we are going to survive, we are going to need simple faith.” (This LINK is to a Wikipedia article on the Shaker song “Simple Gifts,” used as a theme by Aaron Copeland in his composition “Appalachian Spring.” Like, “Go Tell It On the Mountain,” I can’t think of this tune without hearing hammered dulcimers in my head.)
The pastor said that the lame man needed to “believe” in order to be healed. This word, “believe,” was the common denominator in an extended statement of the pastor’s beliefs. It was an effective bit of oratory. Accompanied by the music of “If You Will Only Trust Him,” (by Richard Smallwood) this brought the sermon to it’s conclusion. The variations on “believe” begin in the YouTube LINK at time marker 1:37:00 (My head is visible at 1:27:04! Fame, Andy Warhol style.) Viewing the service again, I am made aware of how these synopses of mine pale when compared to the real thing. But perhaps all of this verbiage can serve as an internet vector, drawing strangers to an acquaintance with the significant activity at Berean Seventh-day Adventist Church, Atlanta.
Guest Pastor Tyrone Boyd’s closing words neatly tied up the presentation. “Don’t tell me about your common sense.” He quoted Proverbs 14:12: “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” His words again, a final restatement of the keyword, “You have got to believe!” A last verse from scripture, from Luke 18:8 (partial): “when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”
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