F ê TEE REFORMING
With retirement Youth
Association Mission & Youth (WAY)
Text: Es 62.6-7 10-12
6 "On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have guards who will never remain silent, day or night. You who are responsible for reminding the Lord do you give no respite.
7 Do not let him rest until he establishes Jerusalem and makes her a praise on earth.
10 Pass through, pass through the gates! Prepare, prepare the road, remove the stones!
11 Here is what the Lord announced to the ends of earth: "Say to the daughter of Zion," Your salvation arrives. He has his salary with him and his reward is before him. ".
12 They will be called "holy people", "ransomed of the LORD," and you will be called "desired", "city not forsaken." "
(NASB 21, 2007)
meeting Celebrate!
The Feast of the Reformation has a long tradition. We commemorate this day, the enormous task at 16 th century, to "reform", reshape - shape the Bible - the Church of Jesus Christ.
It would also have called "restoration" because he acted to restore the Church by bringing it on the solid foundation of Scripture.
famous Why do we celebrate the October 31 (or the nearest Sunday)? Because that day in the year 1517 , Martin Luther , professor of theology at the University of Wittenberg, posted on the doors of Castle Church "95 theses" for submission to a debate among academics.
That was the tradition. It does not innovate.
For cons, the content of his theses has shaken the Church at the time. By studying the Bible to prepare his lectures at the Faculty of Theology, Martin Luther had discovered that the Church of his time had deviated from the fundamental truths of the church. He did one thing is being discussed between teachers and there was the hello people!
God has decided otherwise. The printers of the city have recognized the importance of these theories, it is captured and were prevalent in the German states. They were quickly translated and printed in other languages, including French. The Reformation was under way: it would no longer stop despite the opposition of the powerful and the Church of Rome.
And it will never stop until the end of time. That's what this phrase means already used by Jean de Gerson, chancellor of the University of Paris a century before the Reformation: Ecclesia semper reformanda is " ," the Church is continually reform ". Yes, the Church must continually reassess its position to maintain a teaching and a practice consistent with the Bible.
is exactly what God calls us to our text from Isaiah! This should not surprise us: the prophet Isaiah was more than 7 centuries BC, a reformer before the hour. Like Martin Luther, he placed the Gospel of Christ the Savior in the center of his message. Think only of his wonderful chapter 53!
On Reformation Day, let us recall that the prophet
CHURCH IS
A "CITY SEEKS"
1. composed of "ransomed of the Lord" ,
2. in dialogue with God,
3. vigilant
about her teaching and practice
4. engaged in the mission
X X X 1 X X X
Church, a "city sought"
composed of "ransomed of the Lord"
That means the Church is a "city sought " ? Even better: a "abandoned town not" ? The crowds they not abandon the churches?
How many of us this morning to worship? Even if I add the three Catholic parishes, the Reformed, the Mennonites and the Orthodox, I doubt the total attendance over 400 people, according to what their pastors and priests told me last week. Gold Châtenay-Malabry has nearly 32,000 inhabitants! That's less than 1.25% of the population to worship! And the situation should hardly be any better at Plessis-Robinson, who has between 23 000 and 24 000 inhabitants and where there is no Protestant Church.
Can we now say that the Church is a "city not forsaken" , "sought" ?
No, if we talk about people, but we knew that God warned us in the Bible. The unbelievers are the Christian Church with his Gospel is the "madness" either an outright "scandal" (1 Cor 1.23). How can we preach that salvation of the human being does not depend on achievements but a crucified!?
Yet the Church is indeed a "city not forsaken" , "sought" ! But wanted by God.
It was he who came to meet us in Jesus Christ. More than seven centuries before the coming of Jesus, Isaiah has already been appointed to proclaim: "Your salvation is coming! "
is still God who comes to us in person the Holy Spirit. This came to us "search" in Baptism and continues with us "call" through the Word and the Eucharist.
Yes, God has taken matters in hand when he saw the defeat of humanity mired in sin and guilt. It is God who has taken the initiative not to "abandon" it was he who took the lead in paying himself the price of our rescue. Hence the other name of the Church: "the redeemed of the Lord" !
Are we lucky that the Son of God has given us so much he has paid our ransom for his life!
And that's not all: we also made a gift of holiness to cover our sin. Hence the other name of the Church, the communion of believers "holy people" !
You heard right: God sees you as "saints" , "saints" of holiness that Christ has given you. For a scoop, it is! What we fail to achieve ourselves - perfection in thought, word and deed - Jesus Christ offers us through grace alone, without any merit on our part!
Do you understand now that the Church - ie all those who put their faith in Jesus the Savior - that this church is due to the Titles "city not forsaken" but "sought" ?
It is this sublime discovery or rediscovery in a morass of misconceptions that led Luther and his fellow reformers to clear all that hid the beauty of the Church, the spiritual beauty that comes only his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Having been researched, visited, purchased, redeemed and sanctified by God itself, the Church can not remain silent:
X X X 2 X X X
Church, this "city sought"
is in constant dialogue with God.
Isaiah insists even twice that with our prayers we should not let "no respite" to God (v. 6).
"no respite" to ask what? - For "remind" Church "the Lord" ! (V. 6)
Do you pray for your Church, your parish for its members? Does of the concerns that you present to God in your prayers?
Do you ask it to send his Holy Spirit through the Gospel to enlighten the hearts with the Good News of their Saviour, their salvation?
you ask Him to lead your congregation (and therefore also your pastor) and your church in the truth, but also in love, What is "said the truth in love" (Eph 4.15), both young and old, to be grown in wastelands, rich as the poor, the able-bodied as the sick and dying, the parishioners and to those who are not?
It is true that Isaiah calls it particularly to those he calls "guards" of the Church, its pastors and shepherds. They are especially "loaded" pray for her (v. 6). It's part of their ministry. That gave this curious phrase in German: "die Kartei durchbeten" (cross file parish in prayer). Thus it is certain to leave anyone out, even if through the entire file and submit successively each parishioner with its joys and problems to God can take several days.
But we also pray for specific situations or specific companies. Martin Luther once said that there is more work ahead, and he spends more time prior to prayer.
The apostle Paul also refers to its parishes prayers for missionaries he could rely. Ephesians he writes: "I pray the Lord He gives you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your heart by faith. I pray that you being rooted and grounded in love [etc.]. " (Eph 3:16-17)
But as said, the prayer for the Church, especially power r your Church, your church and your pastor is the business of all, including you.
And we must do "until God restores" Church "and make it a subject of praise in the earth" (v. 7). That is, until Christ returns. Without doubt we have now already times when God allows us to thank him for what the Church has the grace to live: a camp or a youth meeting successful, expanding a mission station or parish an increasing involvement in parish activities, a spirit of both loyalty and testimony, etc..
But here, we will always be the Church Militant, the Church struggles with the problems and challenges it faces. We will not be triumphant Church in heaven!
Meanwhile
X X X 3 X X X
Church, this "city sought"
must remain vigilant about
its teaching and practice .
A Church, a parish, can never say, "That's it, I have more to worry: the Reformation gave the Gospel truth to light. We have in our parish. I can let myself go! "
Consider the image of the church in our text. There are walls, doors and, as in everything on earth, we must maintain, replace, repair. Over time, the stones stand walls or doors began to creak, windows broken, everything wears out. And it must "removing stones" lurking that interferes with the normal activity of the Church, as Isaiah says (v. 10).
On the spiritual plane, it's a little similar. Moreover, our text is a kind of parable which speaks of the spiritual state of the Church.
If we do nothing, if one has no people's faith through the Word and the sacraments, faith warms, it can even die, strange views are introduced into the Church, be realized without being diverted to the Word of God.
"On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have guards who will never remain silent. " (v. 6). Who is God and the Church. Yes, God instituted the pastoral ministry. And it gives to the servants therein titles as "shepherds" , "guards" , "overseers" , etc.. In the book of Ezekiel he also harshly attacked the pastors who do not fulfill their ministry guards and shepherds with zeal and fidelity.
When they see a stone was cut, their duty is to go to consolidate. And if she has already fallen, they should try to put it back among "Ransomed of the Lord" .
It's not always easy because sometimes the cases are too heavy, sometimes marginals are already firmly installed in the margins of the Church. Sometimes they do not want to hear any more of the Saviour and his salvation. Gold is the only tool that God has entrusted to his Church to call sinners to repentance.
Thus Luther left his hideout in the Wartburg castle to restore order in the town of Wittenberg where extremist fanatics put the work of Reformation in danger. And you know how he calmed the situation? Preaching every day for a week in the church of the city. He knew that only "the Gospel, the power of God for salvation" (Rom 1.16), could touch hearts deeply and bring them back to reason.
Believe me, given the character of Luther, it was certainly tempted to give a good kick in the anthill. But he knew that repentance and faith, only the Holy Spirit can create in their hearts by the Gospel.
But the Church must not only be concerned with its proper operation, it must not only ensure that teaching is biblical and its practice according to the Gospel,
X X X 4 X X X
Church, this "city sought "
is also involved in the mission .
The end of our text is entirely focused "peoples" up "at the ends of the earth" (v. 10-11).
A parish can not wallow in his four walls. Believers can not say: "Phew! I'm saved. Too bad for the others: they need only turn to Christ! "
Remember what Isaiah has already told us: In our case it is God who has also taken the initiative, not only the initiative, he did everything: our redemption by his son on the cross, our conversion and retention in the faith by the Holy Spirit through the Gospel.
He used it for its "guards" , our pastors, but also those other "guards" What was for each their relatives, friends or other meeting of a parish or a work like "Mission and Youth."
All "guards" helped remove "stones" that stood in the way of Christ. They "prepared the way" our Savior into our heart. Perhaps causing you to Baptism as infants and then raising you in faith, perhaps by directing you, adults, to a parish or pastor who helped you to walk to meet your Savior.
This is the function of each of us, whether we are a pastor, deacon or single parishioner. Do not forget that we bear witness to our faith in our Lord and Savior by the way we live, by our reactions, our responses to life's challenges (whether academic or professional couple, family or relationship ).
Let us pray that our behavior in life shows what joy we know the number of "ransomed of the LORD " !
We do not often mean much to show our faith in Jesus Christ. We observed, judged. We do not pass us by. Our life will make a strong testimony or barely audible, depending.
We will have failed. Luther has also been, and his enemies have not missed ..., them and the work of the Reformation has had moments of stops due to human weakness of the reformers.
We also let us not be surprised that hit us when we make a mistake. We are exposed, like 'guards on the walls of Jerusalem' .
Let us then that the Lord knows what we are made, he knows our weaknesses and those of his church, and yet he has promised his blessing to those who keep faith in his Word and its provisions.
reformers have done - and their work was blessed by God.
May the Lord grant us the same faith and the same zeal for the sake of the Gospel!
Amen.
Jean Haessig
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