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It is fitting that after a week in which we set aside time to give thanks to God for all that He has done for us, we now come to that time of the Christian Year known as Advent. This is a season of expectancy as the calendar leads us through the life of Christ and we anticipate the incarnation of Jesus at Christmastide.

Of course we approach this season of anticipation and remembrance in the light of its fulfillment having already taken place. As we rehearse and remember the life of Christ and God’s good gifts to us, we know the future. It is good and right to be reminded in this way of the already and the not yet. Christ has already come, and yet we joyfully anticipate the incarnational celebration of Christmastide.

An “already, not-yet” state fills our lives as Christ followers. Jesus is ruling and reigning. He has subdued his enemies. And yet He must rule until He has put (future) all enemies under his feet. We who are alive in Christ need not fear death, for death has been defeated. And yet Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians that the last enemy to be destroyed is death.

We still anticipate a future state of victory that is yet to be realized. The incarnation of Christ is what makes this future state of victory possible. And His incarnation makes possible the salvation of His people, which has been, is being, and will be accomplished.

As the first Advent candle is lit today, remember the hope imparted by the prophets who declared the coming of Christ. As The Lesson taken from the Old Testament today says, Christ is, “A Branch of righteousness,” and, “He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.” This has happened, is happening, and will happen. So look expectantly this day to the incarnation of Christ your Savior!

“My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight…”

In the gospel reading today, Jesus reveals the nature of His kingdom. It is not of this world, and therefore, traditional, worldly tactics will not be employed.

The apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 10, “ For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ…”

Our battle is not with flesh and blood, but with principalities, rulers of darkness, and spiritual wickedness in high places. It’s easy to focus on government overreach and wars and rumors of wars. Of course, politics are not to be ignored, but we must be careful to not be distracted from even more important things.

James tells us in James 3, “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom … the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”

We proclaim the gospel message, “peace on earth, goodwill toward men.” And we do so through good conduct with meekness and wisdom. So when you are tempted to focus too much on the fleshly front, remember these words of Christ, and of Paul and James. You bring a message of peace. Live peaceably with all men to the extent possible on your part.

In our day and time many Christians are forgoing the weekly worship of Jesus in an established church, staying at home and reading their bibles or watching a podcast from a Christian speaker. They believe the church has failed, the Evangelical pastorate has failed, and the church won’t fight the culture war. Discipleship online is the way forward.

How do you answer this belief? Biblically and with kindness, of course! There are multiple lines of persuasion (the list below is not exhaustive!).

Stephen calls the people of Israel in the wilderness “the church” in Acts 7, even when pastored by sinful men, such as Moses and Aaron.

The church in Jesus’ day was corrupt, but Jesus never told them to stop worshipping. In fact, he would tell those he healed to go to the priest for ritual cleansing. He also told people to “do as they say, not as they do.”

Matthew 16 gives the church the keys of the kingdom even though Peter was about to deny Christ.

Hebrews 10:25 tells us not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together.

Hebrews 13:17ff says to submit to your leaders who watch over your soul.

Ephesians 4:11-16 teaches us that the church is the body of Christ. You’re not connected to Christ, the head, without being in his body. Jesus has appointed some apostles, and some teachers, for the building up of the body, not just individuals.

1 Corinthians 10-11 emphasizes the importance of feeding on Christ rightly in the body. If you’re not in church, you are also not being nourished weekly with the body and blood of Christ.

Finally, we were never made to live as lone rangers. God is a Trinity and man was designed for communion with Him and with each other.

“For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly” — 1 Peter 2:21—23

The words of Jesus are instructive for us after the recent election. No matter how you voted or what you espouse in terms of political views, we dare not revile others if they revile us. Our Lord did not do that and neither should we. We should remain steadfast, kind, and worthy listeners of others. We don’t strive with muscle but with gospel persuasion.

But this should be true in other areas as well. It’s easy for faithful believers to be reviled over a whole slew of issues, whether homeschooling, modest dress in clothing and grooming standards, teaching our children respect for seniors and others, self-discipline, corporal punishment, six-day creation, the Bible as infallible truth, sexual purity before and in marriage, courtship, private charity, biblical counseling vs psychological secularism, etc. The list could go on and on. We are different from the world and we shouldn’t shrink back from that-we follow the Lord Jesus where he leads.

The world needs us to be different, for they have no answers and no hope without Christ. They are confused; we are not. Let us be the light.

So let us not revile, but let us love and lead and show the world the way forward in kindness with resolute firmness, entrusting ourselves to our Heavenly Father. He will sustain us even as he did his Son.

Pastor Joe emphasized the statement of Jesus, “if you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,” when he preached to us about reformation on Reformation Sunday. That was spot on. We must anchor our lives and obedience in what is the truth as it comes from the mouth of the second person of the Trinity. “By what standard” is always a valid question when we start thinking or talking about faithfulness and ethical standards.

But the answer of the Jews to the statement of Jesus is also worth noting (John 8:33). They note that “We are the offspring of Abraham…” Not only does this tell us that they weren’t listening to Jesus, it also tells us that generation of Jews, at least historically speaking, did not learn anything from the exile into Babylon. They are still resting and trusting in their Jewish bloodline, rather than trusting in Yahweh by faith. They are still looking to their covenantal status rather than looking to Yahweh and trusting him. In fact, and in spite of their covenantal status, Yahweh threw them out of the land because of their unfaithfulness, their idolatry, their sins, and their rebellion to his Word.

Yes, it’s good to have a covenantal legacy; it’s good to come from a long line of Christian believers. But as the body is composed of individuals, so we as those individuals must wholeheartedly believe and act in accordance with faith in Christ in our own lives and generation. “We” must run the race with endurance (Hebrews 12:1) and not rest on the status or legacy from which we originate. John the Baptizer said that God could make “children of Abraham” out of the stones if he wanted to (Matt. 3:9). Undoubtedly, he can make Christians as well. But what matters is the good fruit that comes from abiding in Christ himself, and his word.

While Martin Luther may have kicked off a reformation in the 1500s with the 95 Theses, the pattern of reformation is all over scripture and all over history. God is a God who re-creates, and re-forms. Consider King Josiah of whom scripture says, “And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in all the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.” (2 Kings 22:2). King Josiah enacted a reformation in the kingdom tribe of Judah on the following fronts:

1. He returned Judah to the word. Hilkiah the priest and Shaphan the scribe delivered the word of God to him and he repented of Judah’s unfaithfulness (2 Kings 22:10–13).

2. He returned Judah to the right worship of Yahweh. The people were engaged in syncretistic worship with unclean things made for Baal and Asherah having been brought into God’s house. This was liturgical sin. Josiah put these things out (2 Kings 23:4) and made sure the people observed the covenant meal (vv. 21–24).

3. He removed unfaithful priests (2 Kings 23:5). Judah could not be faithful if her minsters were unfaithful.

4. He removed the idols (2 Kings 23:6–8). God has commanded His people not to engage in the worship of him (or anything else) by means of idols. Josiah rid the land of the idols.

5. He removed the high places used to worship false gods (2 Kings 23:13–15).

On this Reformation Day, we should consider this example set for us by Josiah. We should seek to elect good leaders like Josiah, make the word of God preeminent in our lives, worship, and the public square like Josiah did, we should engage in right worship and not liturgical paganism, we should not follow unfaithful ministers (and be thankful for faithful ministers like pastors Joe and Burke), we should remove idols in our lives and in the culture, and we should remove high places that keep us from worshipping God with all our heart.

Consider this Reformation Day how you can live a reformational life — re-fashioned, re-created, re-formed by our great God. Pray for the Holy Spirit to spark once again a reformation in us and our culture!

In chapter 7 of Revelation we see the saints crying out “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And then we see the angels who surround the throne respond with a seven-fold blessing. With the full coming of the new covenant, the angels begin to respond to our liturgical leadership!

For a little while, we were lower than the angels, Psalm 8:5

Until Christ, until Faith came, the angels administered the “guardian” law as tutors for mankind, Galatians 3.23-26.

But now that Christ has come, they take their cues from us! They are ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those inheriting salvation, Hebrews 1:14. The Apostle says we are to judge angels, 1 Corinthians 6. “For two thousand years, … the church conducts the heavenly worship, united to the chief liturgist, the Lamb of God … The angels praise in response to our praise, sing in response to our song, pray as we pray, trumpet when we trumpet, and pour out plagues on God’s enemies as we commune at the Lord’s table” (PJL).

In Christ, you have been exalted to rule with him, to lead in worship even the angels! You have been exalted with Christ in his own exaltation, even as he promised the churches of Thyatira and Laodicea.

So rejoice and revel in what you have been given by your union to Jesus your Savior, and then, grasp that exaltation by faith so that you can “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:12-13). What a wonderful position to be in! What a task you have!

This past Monday and Tuesday Pastors Thacker and Shade and Elder Kernodle attended the 31st meeting of Athanasius Presbytery in Greenfield, SC. Monday evening was a time of fellowship and eating together, preceded by an outside Vesper’s service where all 60-70 attendees worshipped and sang together. Tuesday was the actual Presbytery meeting (14 churches), with several items of business:

The first was the reception of a mission church (mission church being a new church overseen by another existing church for at least a period of two years) in Fairhope, AL, which was turned down due to a lack of clarity on the issues of credobaptism and paedobaptism and the efficacy of baptism on the part of the present leadership. The consensus of Presbytery to the mission church and its sponsor was to clear up these issues and come back again in the future.

The second item of business was the receiving of two previously ordained men to be the pastors of churches in Knoxville, TN and in Newnan, GA. Drew Maney and Grant Van Brimmer both gave biography’s of their past religious lives, training and experience, as well as family details. Both were warmly welcomed.

The third items of business were mission church reports, where the Presiding Minister, Pastor Thacker, allowed each mission church to briefly address the body on their present situation, trajectory, and prayer requests. Athanasius Presbytery presently has ten mission churches who gave reports.

Our next meeting is April 2025 in Valparaiso, FL.

After conclusion of the meeting, we all enjoyed the lunch hosted by Christ the King Church of Greenville.

A famous poet once wrote: “I think that perchance I shall never see, something as beautiful as Psalm 73.” Or something like that!

But it’s true! Why? Because it expresses the constant frustration of the righteous when they see the prosperity of the wicked. That’s what we see every day in the news, on social media, any screen: the wicked’s apparent prosperity.

To Asaph, they appear to be living the “good life,” the “salt life,” the “beach life,” you name it. They have fatness of life, overflowing hearts of laughter, arrogant defiance with violence that covers them like a garment. They constantly scoff at God while questioning his knowledge of their antics. It’s so bad Asaph is tempted to think that in vain he has kept this heart and life pure and innocent. He can’t sort it all out, how this works in God’s world.

But then, he goes into the sanctuary of God (17), and he sees things as they really are; then he sees the end of the wicked. God really has set them up in slippery places; he makes them to fall to ruin, they are ruined in a minute. Diddy? Epstein? Nixon? Lennon? Hitler? Mussolini? Alexander? Rehoboam? Goliath?

From the sanctuary he realizes God is constantly with him, guiding him with counsel, receiving him in glory. God really is the strength of his heart, forever!

So where do you get this sanctuary perspective? From being in the sanctuary! From being with God’s people called out on Sunday morning by Jesus, gathered to worship Him and see Him and realize, once again, Yes, Jesus is on the throne and ruling and His eyes see all and He has us all in His hands!

Seems like Asaph is making something very clear to us: only wild horses should keep you from the Sanctuary on Sunday morning!

38 days till election day, and by all accounts it’s a frustrating election cycle. Both parties promise the moon, with the party in power trying to buy their way to victory giving out free stuff, whether forgiveness of college loans, investment of billions in your community, house loans, citizenship privileges, etc. The party out of power tries to buy your vote with goodies in the future, such as lower taxes/no taxes on tips, lower inflation, high tariffs to protect your job, deporting illegal aliens who are stealing your jobs, or the ending of regulations for businesses.

In the end, it amounts to more socialism, more statism, more greed, more elites handing you what is good for you, even if you don’t know it yet.

The candidates themselves are flawed as well. Nationally, they have serious non-Christian morality flaws, sinful views of sexuality and abortion, unbiblical views of liberty, and they all wanted or practiced draconian immoral policies of theft and confiscation during Covid! State and local candidates are just as flawed, and even professing Christians rarely or never mention the name of Jesus while legislating. Most don’t believe the faith has anything to do with ruling.

So what’s the faithful Christian to do? How do you keep from going mad, or getting anxious about the direction of the country? After all, the pundits tell us, this is the most important election since 1776! Hmmm, have I heard that before?

So how about some encouraging words from Jesus!

Proverbs 3.5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him…”

Matthew 6.33: “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness…”

Isaiah 40.27-31: (…but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength….they shall walk and not faint.”

Pastor Thacker preached on Exodus 23:10-19 last Sunday, and it is a timely passage. We are entering that Festive time of year where we have Thanksgiving, All Saints Day, Advent, Christmas, New Years Day, etc. Mixed in with all those days are usually plenty of extended family and friends get togethers. So what practical wisdom we can glean from Exodus 23 on observing the season?

First, the whole passage is about rest in some manner or other. We don’t have sabbath years in the New Covenant, but in both that section and the following weekly section, there is admonition to rest. Not only for ourselves, but for those under us or that we influence: your land, the poor, wild beasts, vineyards and orchards, work animals, the son of your servant, and the alien. They all should have some time to “be refreshed” (vs.12). So are you making sure you, and those whom you influence, will be getting some time of rest and refreshment? Do you look for opportunities to give rest and refreshment? Usually we only think of our immediate family, but some fellow Christians have applied this to their workforce, such as Chick-fil-A and Hobby Lobby!

Second, rest also means not being involved in the worship of false gods. Can you think of any false gods prevalent this time of year to watch out for?

Third, part of resting is feasting. So it would be good to make sure those working behind the scenes, wife, children, etc., have plenty of rest as well.

Fourth, we should offer the best of our hand to the Lord, just as they brought the best of the first fruits. So make sure you, your wife, your children, those visiting you, get plenty of rest Friday and Saturday night so they are rested and primed to offer their best on Sunday morning!

The very first words in recorded Biblical history were spoken by God. “Then God said, “Let there be light.”

God spoke the world into existence. God’s word carries power. God speaks, and things come into being. God rules creation by the power of His word.

Now consider that man was made in the image of God. There are many aspects to that image bearing, but one of them is certainly that we have the power and ability to affect our world by what we say. We have the ability to build up or tear down. To some extent we also speak a reality into existence.

Adam, following after God, rules over the creation by speaking the name of each animal. He also speaks the name of the first Woman, given to Him by God.

But Adam then fails to rule and exercise the power of his word. He stood by silently while the serpent spoke deceitful words. He failed to exercise the authority given to Him by God by not exercising the tongue He was given.

In the epistle reading of James 3:1–12 this morning, James warns us about the nature of the sinful tongue. The tongue can spew forth powerful poison, which stands to reason since words are very powerful. And what’s more, as no part of humanity was untouched by the fall, our tongue, our words are certainly very affected by man’s sinful nature. James says, “the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity… With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men… My brethren, these things ought not to be so.”

The exhortation from James is clear: Do not be as the first Adam. Be sure to exercise the power of your tongue righteously. Make sure the spring of your mouth brings forth fresh water, and not bitter water.