Fireproof
Revival - Part 5
Sunday, May 9, 2021
Hebrews 10:19-25
Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Hebrews 10:23-25
“I am not afraid that the people called Methodists should ever cease to exist either in Europe or America, but I am afraid, lest they should only exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power. And this undoubtedly will be the case unless they hold fast both the doctrine, spirit, and discipline with which they first set out.”John Wesley
Wesley's fear for Methodism, and for much of the church particularly in the Western world, seems to have come true. Our purifying fire is rapidly burning out, while the destructive and uncontrolled fires of the world rage on.
And so we hide in despair, complaining from behind closed doors how horrible our world has gotten. We have distracted ourselves with fruitless tasks and causes and we are running in so many different directions that we don't even know who we are anymore.
We have replaced giving generously with fundraising to get money from others in our community
We have replaced feeding the hungry with endless buffets for ourselves
We have replaced working for justice and freeing the oppressed with blaming and judging them for their own bad situations in life
We have replaced proclaiming the Good News of the Gospel to the world with sitting in our pews an hour a week to hear the good news for us
We pride ourselves on loving our neighbors, but we have forgotten just who Jesus said our neighbor really was... the people we don't want to love.
And we say we have no enemies, yet we rant about everyone on the news who doesn't act or believe the way we think they should, from militant terrorists to national and local politicians to the kid down the street who's always acting out because his single mom can barely afford to put food in his belly, let alone spend time nurturing his heart and soul
We cannot be salt and light in a world safely separated from us by the screens of our TV's, computers, tablets, or phones, or even by the walls of our church.
In short, we in the church today are facing a crisis of distraction. As the late Dr. Ellsworth Kalas writes, "The UM Church tends these days, like the culture in which it lives - to divide its soul between many causes until it no longer recognizes its own soul."
The writer of Hebrews gives us a much different picture of who the church is called to be (Hebrews 10:19-25).
Let’s draw near with a genuine heart with the certainty that our faith gives us…
Let’s hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering,
Let us consider each other carefully for the purpose of sparking love and good deeds.
Don’t stop meeting together with other believers… Instead, encourage each other
In her reflections on Hebrews 10:24, Dr. Susan Eastman of Duke Divinity School describes the church as “a new community of folks whose consciences have been cleansed by God, who are confident in God’s forgiveness and eager to encourage one another “to love and good works.”
The only way to face the destructive fires of the world is to remain in the flame of God’s love. Just like Daniel’s friends in the fiery furnace, it is only being in the presence of Christ that keeps us from being consumed. Wesley saw himself as a “brand plucked from the fire” (literally as he was rescued by a neighbor from his burning home as a child). Later that image would come to define his life and ministry… plucked from the fire to become a fire blazing with the light and love of the Holy Spirit
Someone once said, “Light yourself on fire with passion and people will come from miles to watch you burn.” Though it was not said by Wesley, as many have thought, the sentiment certainly is an apt description of his life and of the Wesleyan Revival from which the Methodist Church was birthed.
We live under the grace and mercy of the cross, but let us not forget that we are also filled with the flame of the Holy Spirit which cannot be quenched.
Without the cross, the flames of our human passions and pride become forces of destruction, but without the flame, the cross becomes little more than an empty symbol or historical event with no real implications for the way we live our lives.
As Methodists… as Christians… as followers of the Triune God – Father, Son & Holy Spirit… may the cross and flame never be separated in our lives and may we proclaim the power of both cross and flame for the salvation of the world.
Listen to this week’s sermon here:
For more on the Wesleyan Revival, check out Adam Hamilton’s book, “Revival: Faith as Wesley Lived It”