Sermon – Revelation 7:9-27 - Heaven

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – Revelation 7:9-27 - Heaven

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

All Saints Sunday

Nov. 6, 2011

Today is the first Sunday of November and we are celebrating the Feast of All Saints. All Saints Day, November 1 each year, is the day we remember all the saints who have served our church in years past. Now that I live in the Dickinson Memorial Manse and have been noticing how ofter the name Dickinson appears at Pitts Creek church. There is a plaque in the back of the church asking us to remember William S. Dickinson who died in 1891 after serving as a “most devoted and beloved elder.” And I found an old offering plate, which we used on Reformation Sunday, that was given in memory of elder James T. Dickinson who died in 1866. These people and others who served this church so faithfully are in heaven. And so on this All Saints Day let's look at heaven from testimony in the Bible. But first let's pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

Revelation 7:9 - 8:1 9 After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb." 11 All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying: "Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!" 13 Then one of the elders asked me, "These in white robes-- who are they, and where did they come from?" 14 I answered, "Sir, you know." And he said, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore, "they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. 16 Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. 17 For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

One Sunday morning an elder came to me with a big smile on her face. She had visited her doctor that week and finally heard some good news. You see she had been suffering from stomach cancer and years of fear and pain as she underwent treatments. But now there was no sign of cancer, and although there was no guarantee that she was cured, at least the tests came back negative and she was feeling great. This thrilled the church because this elder was beloved. She attended everything we did with energy and enthusiasm. She usually had her camera and made sure fresh pictures were always properly arranged on the church bulletin board.

But her joy was not to last. A couple of months later I visited her in the hospital. The evening before she had experienced sharp pains in her stomach after dinner. She was rushed to the hospital where the doctors determined that the cancer had returned, this time to the lining around the stomach. This time there were no treatments. So my elder went home and with the assistance of her daughter and a hospice nurse she prepared for her death.

I visited her frequently during this time. What she wanted to talk about was heaven. She was certain that she would go to heaven. She was truly a woman of great faith. But what she really wanted to know from me was, What heaven is like? What would she find when she got there? This was a difficult question for me as a new pastor. But it did start me to begin thinking about what the Bible says heaven is like.

The church has always taught that when we die immediately the spirits of the faithful go off to be in the presence of God. We remain conscious and aware of what is happening. And we are blessed to be with God with no cares or concerns or diseases to bother us. We will find bliss and true happiness when we realize how much God loves us. We will experience the true joy of having our sins forgiven. We will be spiritually united with God, but this is not where our history will end. We still have one more phase in our existence to experience. The next place we go is to heaven.

Our scripture today tells us that we will enter heaven clothed in white robes. These are clothes we died in: the hospital gown covered in vomit, the tea shirt and jeans covered in blood after the car wreck, the wet bathing suit after the drowning. But our clothes will be clean having been washed in the blood of Jesus. So in heaven we will have bodies to wear the clothes. We will have noses that smell the incense , the animals, and the blood of the lamb. We will have ears that hear the voices of the elders, the angels singing “Holy, holy holy”, the harps, the trumpets, and the prayers in every language on earth. We will feel the shaking of the earth, the palm branches in our hands, the shade of the tent shielding us from the scorching sun, and the satisfaction of having plenty to eat. We will have tongues that taste our own tears and the cool spring living water. And we will have eyes to see the glory of heaven, God sitting on a throne, his Son to his right, the 144000 children of Israel, the 24 elders, the 7 blazing lamps, the four horses and their riders, the sun turning black, the moon turning red and the stars falling from the sky. All five of our senses will be engaged as we encounter heaven. And so in heaven we will not be disembodied spirits. Rather we will have bodies, our own bodies, resurrected from the dead and now alive, in heaven with God.

In heaven we will participate in nothing less than a new creation of God. Isaiah told us “Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind”. (Isaiah 65:17). The new heaven and the new earth constitute a renewal of the Cosmos. In it God's creation is complete, and when creation is at last finish God will come to earth to live. Thus heaven is not some spiritual realm far away. Heaven is right here. Our world is restored and renewed by God. Earth becomes holy and a suitable place for God to dwell.

But notice that in heaven we are not alone. We are part of a group so large no one can count. Heaven is therefore a place of fellowship with peace, harmony, love and righteousness. We return to the Garden of Eden where we live in harmonious relations with each other and our God. And in heaven we will be constantly glorified by being in the presence of God . The Spirit will bring us into perfect conformity with Christ, sin will be abolished. We will praise God continually joining people from all over the world in worship. The Spirit will mold us into one great choir that will glorify God. And in Jesus Christ God will glorify us. And thus we participate in the glory shared by the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Today we are in worship. The bread and wine is on the table. We have sung Holy Holy Holy. The Apostle Paul says , “Now we see but a poor reflection; then we will see face to face.” (1 Cor. 13:12) So our worship today is just a poor reflection of what we will experience one day in heaven in our new glorified resurrected bodies where we will live with God in God's creation forever. But what we do in worship today prepares us for this future. It is here in worship that we learn how to pray, sing praises God, and live in conformity with Christ. Worship is the training ground for heaven. So we remember the saints we have known in years past, and we can rejoice because they are with God and will one day be reunited with us in heaven.

Holy God, Lord of life and death, you made us in your image and hold us in your care. We thank you for your saints, for the gifts they shared with our church, and for the love and mercy they received from you and gave to us. Especially we praise you for your love in Jesus Christ, who died and rose from the grave to free us from evil, and give us life eternal. Grant that when our time on earth is ended, we may be united with all the saints in the joys of your eternal home, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Adapted from The Book of Common Worship p.907)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Sermon – King James Bible - 1611-2011

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – 1611-2011 – King James Bible

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

Reformation Sunday

October 30, 2011

Today is Reformation Sunday. This is the day each year when we celebrate our Reformed heritage rooted in the work of John Calvin and others in the 16^th century Protestant Reformation of the church. 2011 is the four hundredth anniversary of the publishing of the first authorized English language translation of the Bible, the King James Version. And so today we will celebrate the reformers who risked their lives to make an English translation possible. But first let's pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

The year was 1382. The government of King Richard II of England was running a deficit. They needed more revenue. So the King imposed a new tax, a flat tax. Everyone had to send in one shilling. This was a hated tax and started a peasant rebellion. The people asked their priests what the Bible had to say about all of this. But the priests didn't know. The Bibles in their churches were written in Latin which few priests could read. The Bishops told the priest and the people to pay the tax because whatever the king did was God's will.

But there was a man in England who argued intensively that the Bible should be translated into English so that anyone in his native country could read it for themselves and know what God had to say. His name was John Wycliff. Wycliff's ideas were dangerous to the king and the church hierarchy because it would break the monopoly they held in interpreting scripture. The king declared translating the Bible into English a crime, but Wycliff and others cited Divine Law and translated the Latin Bible into English.

In 1450 a German blacksmith has an idea. What if we could use movable metal type to print books? Until then printing required that each page be carved into a block of wood, a time consuming and expensive process. But Johannes Gutenberg thought that movable metal type would make printing far more economical. He developed a permanent ink made from varnish and lamp soot and found that this bonded well with paper. He also found that the paper could be pressed on the metal type covered with ink with a screw mechanism similar to what was used in the production of paper. Gutenberg had invented the printing press and began printing Bibles to pay off his debts.

The church found a use for this new invention and began printing indulgences which could be sold to gullible people as tickets to heaven. This upset a German Monk whose writings were printed and distributed all over Europe. The year was 1510 and Protestant Reformation had begun as Martin Luther began publishing his ideas for all to read. He even translated the Bible into German from its original languages, a book which became a best seller. 

 Luther's work had a powerful impact on a English scholar named William Tyndale.

Tyndale had studied Greek and Hebrew at Cambridge and was interested in translating the Bible from these original languages into English. Neither Oxford nor Cambridge had any interest in translating scripture into English, but Tyndale, influenced by Luther, wanted everyone to be able to read the Bible. So he went to Germany and translated the Bible from its original languages into English. In 1526 Tyndale's English Bible was printed in Germany and smuggled into England.

But the King of England and his church were not happy. Tyndale saw translation as a literary function; he wanted the translation to reflect the original meaning of the author as much as possible. So he translated the Greek word presbyteros as “elder” rather than the word “priest” as the church had taught. He also translated the Greek word ekklesia as “congregation” rather than “church”. This satisfied the protestants who saw the church as a assembly of people or congregation led by the elders. But the English church saw this as a way of undermining the authority of the institutional church and its bishops. So the church attempted to suppress Tyndale translation, but it was so popular in England that the smugglers could not be stopped.

By 1535 the English church realized that an English translation was needed that was free of the problems they saw in the Tyndale translation. Henry VIII had separated the Church of England from Rome and it needed an English Bible. So the church hired Miles Coverdale to put together a new English Bible. What Coverdale did was to put together various translations and correct them to conform to the traditional teachings of the church. With the approval of the church and the king a copy of “The Great Bible” was placed in the pulpit of every church in England.

In 1560 John Calvin was established in Geneva where he had started a school for Reformed Theology. A group of pilgrims arrived from England and an English congregation was started in a French church. John Knox arrived from Scotland as their pastor and they needed an English Bible. William Whittingham developed a new translation with prefaces before each chapter and margin notes to explain difficult passages. The new Geneva Bible was printed cheaply and in a smaller size for family use. It was an instant best seller sweeping across England. Even William Shakespeare quoted from it in his plays. And when James I came from Protestant Scotland as the new King of England many thought that the Geneva Bible would become the official Bible of the Church of England.

But James I had a passionate dislike of the Geneva Bible. He was upset with those margin notes. For example the Geneva Bible's treatment of Daniel 6. You will remember that I talked about Daniel 6 just last week. King Darius issued a decree that everyone should pray only to him for 30 days. Daniel prayed to God and was thrown into the lion's den. Daniel then said that he had been saved from the lion's mouth because he had obeyed the command of God. The Geneva Bible margin note pointed out that God had approved Daniels disobedience of the King's decree because the king did not act within the will of God. This infuriated King James who did not want the English church to have a Bible that said it was ok to disobey the king. James believed that the king was ordained by God with the divine right to rule. So he initiated a process to produce a new translation from the original languages, consistent with the traditional teachings of the church, that would be free from those annoying margin notes of the Geneva Bible. The King James authorized translation of the Bible was begun. And in 1611 the first King James Version of the Bible came off the presses of the King's printer.

The new version fell flat. People preferred the Geneva Bible. The king granted a monopoly to the printers of the King James Version and banned the Geneva Bible. But it continued to be printed in the Netherlands and smuggled copies were still preferred by the people of England. But within a generation, as the economic benefits of the publishing monopoly took hold, the King James Version eventually became the translation everyone used.

When settlers came to Jamestown in 1607 and later to banks of the Pocomoke River they came escaping religious persecution in England. They were intensely religious and brought with them their Geneva Bibles. The Geneva Bible and margin notes had allowed them to see the hand of providence guiding them to a promised land. But England controlled the importation of books into colonial America. This monopoly ensured that only the King James Version would be available to the American colonist and so the King James Version became the American Bible.

In 1769 Robert Aitken came from Scotland and established a printing shop in Philadelphia. By 1777 he was printing the King James Version of the Bible. Congress approved Aitken's freedom to print Bibles in 1782. Aitken's decision to print the King James Version ensured that it would be the preferred Bible of the new country.

The King James Version remained our preferred English translation until World War II when rival translations such as the Revised Standard Version became available. Today there are many quality modern translations. But we still love the majesty of the language of the King James Version. Listen as I conclude with the King James Version's rendering of Psalm 23.

Psalm 23:1-6 ^KJV Psalm 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. ² He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. ³ He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. ⁴ Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. ⁵ Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. ⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. Amen.

Sermon – Daniel 6 – Faith in an Unfaithful Land – God's Law

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – Daniel 6 – Faith in an Unfaithful Land – God's Law

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

October 23, 2011

I would like to begin this morning with some thoughts about an issue our nation is talking about these days. This issue is not directly connected to our scripture text or my sermon topic, but it is something people are concerned about so I will take a few minutes to put in my few thoughts. Mitt Romney is a candidate for the Republican nomination for President of the United States. He is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly called Mormon.

Some evangelical Christians have been calling Mormonism a cult. Cults tend to think that they alone deserve God's approval. So they have little reason to engage in dialog with those with whom they disagree. They see no reason to promote scholarship in pursuit of the truth. So they see no reason to sponsor a college or graduate school to study their basic beliefs. But Mormons are known for their love of scholarship, having founded Brigham Young University with world-class professors. Many of the their leaders have graduated with PHDs from Ivy League schools, and are well read in Christian literature. This is not the type of behavior that you would expect from an anti-Christian cult.

But, are Mormons Christians? They do believe in Jesus Christ, but many aspects of their belief is very different from what we believe. So they are not Christian, but they are willing to talk with Christians about our differences. This is an important dialog for both of us and must not be destroyed by us calling them a cult. Thus we need to accept Mormons as friends and fellow followers of Jesus Christ, and we need to pray for them that they will one day accept the truth of the gospel.

Mitt Romney therefore deserves to be judged on his positions on public policy and political philosophy, but he should not be labeled as a cultist. (Based on Richard Mouw, http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/10/09/my-take-this-evangelical-says-mormonism-isnt-a-cult/ )

And now on to the sermon.

Today we conclude our journey through the stories contained in the first six chapters of the Book of Daniel. Here we have seen the narrative account of a group of faithful Judeans trying to hold onto their faith while living in exile in a faithless land called Babylon. We have seen how they tried to hold on to their religious practices by using their Hebrew names in private and not eating food sacrificed to idols. God blessed them richly by giving Daniel the gift of interpreting dreams which saved their lives. As faithful Jews they were subject to ordeals like being thrown into a hot furnace, but God was always there with them in the midst of these trials. But when an unfaithful king began misusing the holy vessels from the Jerusalem temple, God sent a warning through Daniel and eventually toppled his unfaithful kingdom. Today we will witness one final trial, but first let's pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

¹⁴ When the king heard this, he was greatly distressed; he was determined to rescue Daniel and made every effort until sundown to save him. ¹⁵ Then the men went as a group to the king and said to him, "Remember, O king, that according to the law of the Medes and Persians no decree or edict that the king issues can be changed." ¹⁶ So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions' den. The king said to Daniel, "May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!" ¹⁷ A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel's situation might not be changed. ¹⁸ Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and without any entertainment being brought to him. And he could not sleep.

¹⁹ At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions' den. ²⁰ When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, "Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?" ²¹ Daniel answered, "O king, live forever! ²² My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, O king." ²³ The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.

²⁴ At the king's command, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought in and thrown into the lions' den, along with their wives and children. And before they reached the floor of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.

Daniel had proven his ability as dream interpreter and administrator. His loyalty to the king and his faith in God were beyond questions. There was no longer any reason for either the king or God to test him. But the evil administrators, filled with jealousy tricked the king into issuing a edict that they knew Daniel could not obey. The king, fooled by this trick had Daniel thrown into a pit filled with hungry lions and the only escape was sealed by a stone. This ordeal was not designed to test Daniel. God already knew of Daniel's faith. Rather this was a test of God and whether or not Daniel's God was stronger than the Persian gods.

The king's edict became “the law of the Medes and Persians”. This was the supreme law of the land, could not be changed, and was enforced by the king using the power of the Persian gods. For the Jews living in exile in Babylon the Persian gods must have seemed very powerful. After all they had defeated the great Babylonian empire and controlled what seemed like the whole world. The exiled Jews were required to obey Persian law and must have been tempted to worship Persian gods. No doubt many did just that. But as we have seen Daniel held on to his faith in the creator God of his ancestors. And Daniel had to obey the law of this God.

So the test that we see in today's scripture is between “the law of the Medes and Persians” and the law of God. Which law is backed by a stronger God? We need to know which god is stronger because when laws conflict, the law of the stronger God has to be obeyed. Daniel believed that his God was stronger than the Persian gods. So he obeyed the law of God and violated “the law of the Medes and Persians”, and suffered the consequences.

How did Daniel know the law of God? We haven't heard about any Hebrew schools or the preservation of Hebrew scriptures. These things were happening at this time. Synagogues had been established and scripture was still being copied and preserved. But we haven't heard anything in Daniel about any of this. Rather he hear in the Book of Daniel that Daniel's faith and his knowledge of God's will grew through his prayer life. We are told that Daniel prayed three times every day and this brought him closer to God.

In the medieval monasteries prayers were held every three hours every day. Monks would wake up late at night to complete their prayers. The Protestant reformers said that it was not necessary to wake up every three hours at night to pray. But they pointed out that Daniel prayed three times every day. And the psalmist said that we should pray every morning and evening. So the 16^th century reformers told us to pray when we get up, before and after each meal, and just before we go to sleep at night. My mother told me to pray a blessing before each meal and night time prayers before going to bed. My guess is that your mothers said the same thing. Just as Daniel heard God's law for his life through his prayers so too do we learn God's will for our lives in our prayers. And that is why it is crucial to pray every morning, as we do here in church, pray before each meal and pray before you go to sleep at night.

Once we know through prayer what God wants us to do we may find ourselves at odds with the civil law. Thankfully this rarely happens in America. But it could. We could find ourselves in situations where the government requires us to do something that violates what God wants us to do. Or maybe some other power causes us to ignore God's law. What if a boss tells you that you must work on Sunday mornings, an assignment that causes you to miss worship? What would you do? What if soccer practice is scheduled at a time that conflicts with Sunday school for your kids? What would you do? What if a spouse tells you that it is ok to go to church, but don't pray at home? What would you do. For many people, they respect the law of the boss, the law of the coach, and the law of the spouse because these are very powerful people. But we have to remember that God is stronger than any power in heaven or on earth, and so God's law must be obeyed over any other law.

Of course there will be consequences if you do this. You may loose your job if you don't work Sunday mornings. You children may be cut from the team if they attend Sunday school instead of practice. You marriage might be hurt if you disobey your spouse and practice your religion in the house. All these things happen all the time. But we all called to follow God no matter what happens even if it leads us to a pit filled with hungry lions.

And this leads us back to Daniel. Yes he was thrown in the pit. Yes the lions were hungry. Yes Daniel should have died from his ordeal. But he didn't. He didn't die because his God was stronger than the Persian gods. And so too our God is stronger than all the powers on earth. And the King, when he saw that Daniel had spent the night with the lion and was unhurt, realized that Daniel's God, our God, was truly the King of the Universe. He confessed his belief publicly for all to hear.

²⁵ Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations and men of every language throughout the land: "May you prosper greatly! ²⁶ "I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. "For he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end. ²⁷ He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions." ²⁸ So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

We leave the Book of Daniel filled with reverence for an awesome God. Our God is not some dead relic from the past. But God is alive and at work redeeming the world we live in. God saves us from sin and evil. And God's kingdom will never come to an end. Thanks be to God.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Sermon – Daniel 5 – Faith in an Unfaithful Land – Keeping Holy

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – Daniel 5 – Faith in an Unfaithful Land – Keeping Holy

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

October 9, 2011

In 1962 in Engel v. Vitale the Supreme Court of the United States removed prayer from the public schools. In 1973 in Roe v. Wade it made abortion legal everywhere in the country. Neither of these decisions can be overturned by state legislatures or the United States Congress. We have to live with Supreme Court decisions forever at least until the justices change their minds or we amend the constitution. Today the Supreme Court is looking at a case with enormous implications for the church.

The 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination in employment practices based on faith. If you own an ice cream store or a farm or any business and you hire someone you must not make Christian faith a criteria for the job. But the law has an important exemption for churches. When we call a pastor, an educator, a musician, an administrator we must demand strong Christian faith and the law permits this. When you called me to this church you looked at my statement of faith and had an opportunity to talk with me about my faith. You would never call a pastor to serve this church who did not have strong faith. The government has no right to tell the church who it may or may not hire. But the Obama administration has asked the Supreme Court to change this and have government regulations apply to some religious hiring.

The case before the court this term is Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Church v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The facts of the case are these: Hosanna-Tabor Church operated a school in Michigan. They employed teachers at the school. There were two classes of teachers at the school, contract teachers and called teachers. A contract teacher was hired just like any teacher would be at any private school and would come under government regulation. But called teachers were very different. We believe the God calls people to various vocations and some are called as Christian teachers. Cheryl Perich experienced this call to teach. So she approached her church to confirm God's call and took some courses at a local Lutheran college. She became a called teacher and taught religion and other classes at the school. After a while Cheryl developed a sleep disorder and could not work. The school had to replace her with another teacher. After her doctor said she could return to work the school informed her that she was no longer needed and terminated her employment. She sued demanding protection of federal labor laws. The church claimed their religious exemption from those laws.

This is a difficult case for the court because we have compassion for Cheryl and want her needs met. But at the same time we must demand that employment in churches is a matter between the members of the church and God free from government control. We must do this to keep our churches holy, set aside for God's purposes. As our country becomes less and less faithful we will struggle to keep our churches holy. But this is something we must do as faithful people. And so we turn to the Book of Daniel help us keep things holy in a faithless land. But first lets pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

Daniel 5:17-31 ¹⁷ Then Daniel answered the king, "You may keep your gifts for yourself and give your rewards to someone else. Nevertheless, I will read the writing for the king and tell him what it means.

¹⁸ "O king, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty and greatness and glory and splendor. ¹⁹ Because of the high position he gave him, all the peoples and nations and men of every language dreaded and feared him. Those the king wanted to put to death, he put to death; those he wanted to spare, he spared; those he wanted to promote, he promoted; and those he wanted to humble, he humbled. ²⁰ But when his heart became arrogant and hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and stripped of his glory. ²¹ He was driven away from people and given the mind of an animal; he lived with the wild donkeys and ate grass like cattle; and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until he acknowledged that the Most High God is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and sets over them anyone he wishes.

²² "But you his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this. ²³ Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven. You had the goblets from his temple brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you did not honor the God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways.

²⁴ Therefore he sent the hand that wrote the inscription. ²⁵ "This is the inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN ²⁶ "This is what these words mean: Mene: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end. ²⁷ Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting. ²⁸ Peres: Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians."

²⁹ Then at Belshazzar's command, Daniel was clothed in purple, a gold chain was placed around his neck, and he was proclaimed the third highest ruler in the kingdom. ³⁰ That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, was slain, ³¹ and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two.

According the Babylonian history 25 years have passed between the reign of Nebuchadnezzar at end of Daniel 4 and the beginning of Daniel chapter 5. During that time Babylon had become complacent. The people felt secure, protected by a strong army and massive walls around the city. It was said that the city walls were so thick that a four horse chariot could go around the perimeter at the top. The Babylonians no longer worried about maintaining their empire or growing their economy. They just wanted to party. They were more interested in getting drunk and having sex than working, worshiping or being faithful. The conversion of Nebuchadnezzar that we saw in chapter 4 was long forgotten, and the Babylonian society descended into the decadence that we see in chapter 5.

Also according to Babylonian records Belshazzar was never the king. He was the king's son. His father was Nabonidus, a Babylonian general who led a successful coup. But Nabonidus didn't like leading an empire so he left for a 10 year sabbatical at a resort in the Arabian dessert. He left behind his wife the queen and his son who liked to drink wine and have lots of concubines around.

One day, according to scripture, this son, Belshazzar, after drinking heavily saw what looked like the shadow of a hand writing on a wall. The words the hand wrote were MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN. These words refer to units of measure for money. If you asked a Babylonian merchant what something cost he might say MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN or about 62 shekels. Remember the number 62, it will be important later. Of course none of the magicians or astrologers had any idea what the inscription meant. So Belshazzar's mother suggested that they call for Daniel, an exile from Judah, who had interpreted things for King Nebuchadnezzar years before. Daniel came to interpret the inscription.

Now, to understand what Daniel does to interpret the inscription you have to know a little about the Aramaic language, Written Aramaic, like written Hebrew, contains no vowels only consonants. The reader would be expected to fill in the vowels from the context. Using different vowels would change the meaning of the words. Daniel reads these words but uses different vowels. He reads the words as verbs not nouns. Remember what he said, “ Mene: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end. Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting. Peres: Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians."

While the party continued with riotous drinking Daniel's prophecy was fulfilled. We know from Persian records that they arrived in Babylon and saw the impressive fortress around the city. While the city's inhabitants partied inside, the Persians dug a trench around the walls diverting the Euphrates river. The Persian army entered Babylon from the dry riverbed and quickly subdued the drunken guards. Scripture teaches us that the Persian general who conquered Babylon without a fight that night was Darius the Mede who was 62 years old. Mene Mene Tekel Peres, 62 shekels, I told you to remember that number.

Why did God allow the Persians to conquer this once great empire of Babylon? Scripture teaches us it was because they misused holy things, things that had been set aside for God's use. The gold goblets from the Jerusalem temple were set aside for use in the worship of God. Belshazzar used them for his drunken parties honoring pagan gods. This was not something that God would tolerate. We must keep holy that which is holy.

We must always remember that the church is holy. It set aside for God's use. What we do with the church must be always according to God's will as we discern it in scripture and prayer. The government must never try to use the church for it's purposes by regulating what we do. So we must prayerfully ask God to speak to the Justices of the Supreme Court to rule in such a way as to honor God and preserve what is holy. And we must work politically to ensure that political decisions are always made by faithful people.

Almighty God, we ask that you always help us to preserve the holiness of the church. Keep what we do set aside for your purposes. Help us to discern what you are doing in the world and allow us to work alongside of you. Amen.

Sermon – Daniel 4 – Faith in a Faithless Land: Renounce Your Sins by Doing What Is Right

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – Daniel 4 – Faith in a Faithless Land: Renounce Your Sins by Doing What Is Right

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

October 2, 2011

I am continuing with my series entitled “Faith in a Faithless Land.” We are looking at the Book of Daniel and the faith of the Judean nobility in the faithless land called Babylon. In the first chapter we were introduced to Daniel and his three companions who were determined to hold onto their faith in God even while in exile in a faithless land. In the second chapter we saw how God blessed Daniel with the gift of interpreting dreams saving him and companions from death. In the third chapter we saw how Daniel's companions refused to bow down to the King's golden statute and were thrown in a blazing furnace only to be saved by God in the midst of the fire. Today we will see how God humbled King Nebuchadnezzar and finally brought this tyrant to faith.

We are also comparing this to America which seems to be becoming a faithless land. One place where the increasing unfaithlessness of America can clearly be seen is on our college campuses. I recently ran across this story from Vanderbilt University, but similar situations are occurring all over America. Recently a Christian fraternity at Vanderbilt expelled an openly gay member saying that his behavior violated Christian ethics. This prompted the university to review the charters of all campus groups to see if any violated the university's non-discrimination policy. They found that four organizations on campus required their leaders to participate and lead sectarian practices. Included in this group was the Christian Legal Society who required their leaders to lead Bible studies, prayer groups and worship. The University said that this violated their non-discrimination policy and told them to change their charter so that anyone, regardless of belief and religious practice, could lead their group. The Christian Legal Society said that this was absurd because their group engaged in prayer, worship and Bible study and their leader had to lead them.

Colleges and Universities are increasingly becoming hostile to religion. I was engaged in ministry near Occidental College, formerly a Presbyterian college. As soon as the Presbyterians cut off funding the college removed the cross from the chapel and called it an interfaith center. They had no interest in working with area churches, but asked me to reach out to the local Buddhist temple to help them build an interfaith leadership group. Clearly our institutions of higher learning are becoming pluralist, believe every religion is the same, which puts them in the same category with King Nebuchadnezzar. Locally, I heard just this week that Salisbury University is closing it chapel.

As our colleges, universities and governments become less faithful, placing themselves above God, they have to be warned that this is sinful and destructive behavior. Today we will take a look at the warning given to Nebuchadnezzar and the consequences of ignoring God. But first lets pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

Daniel 4:19-37 ¹⁹ Then Daniel (also called Belteshazzar) was greatly perplexed for a time, and his thoughts terrified him. So the king said, "Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its meaning alarm you." Belteshazzar answered, "My lord, if only the dream applied to your enemies and its meaning to your adversaries! ²⁰ The tree you saw, which grew large and strong, with its top touching the sky, visible to the whole earth, ²¹ with beautiful leaves and abundant fruit, providing food for all, giving shelter to the beasts of the field, and having nesting places in its branches for the birds of the air-- ²² you, O king, are that tree! You have become great and strong; your greatness has grown until it reaches the sky, and your dominion extends to distant parts of the earth. ²³ "You, O king, saw a messenger, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, 'Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump, bound with iron and bronze, in the grass of the field, while its roots remain in the ground. Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven; let him live like the wild animals, until seven times pass by for him.' ²⁴ "This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree the Most High has issued against my lord the king: ²⁵ You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like cattle and be drenched with the dew of heaven. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes. ²⁶ The command to leave the stump of the tree with its roots means that your kingdom will be restored to you when you acknowledge that Heaven rules. ²⁷ Therefore, O king, be pleased to accept my advice: Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed. It may be that then your prosperity will continue." ²⁸ All this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar. ²⁹ Twelve months later, as the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, ³⁰ he said, "Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?" ³¹ The words were still on his lips when a voice came from heaven, "This is what is decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar: Your royal authority has been taken from you. ³² You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like cattle. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes." ³³ Immediately what had been said about Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from people and ate grass like cattle. His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird.

Once again God communicated with Nebuchadnezzar in a dream, and Nebuchadnezzar sent for Daniel to interpret it. In the dream Nebuchadnezzar saw himself as a tree stretching high into heaven and over the entire world. This was a symbol of pride. Nebuchadnezzar saw himself bigger than God, and this is a sin.

We all want to feel good about ourselves and our friends and families. Feeling good is a blessing we receive from God. We say that we are proud of our accomplishments. We are proud when our children do well in school. We are proud when we get a promotion. Pride counteracts the feeling of low self-esteem. But as with all blessings from God, the blessing of pride can be twisted into sin. This happens when we feel so good about ourselves that we forget all about God. We begin to feel that we are greater than God, and don't need God anymore. So pride become a sin when we begin to think of ourselves as gods.

This was Nebuchadnezzar's problem. He thought he was as great as a god and the tree in his dream seemed to confirm it reaching all the way to heaven and covering all the earth. But the tree was not to last. A holy one, possibly Jesus, came from heaven and chopped it down. So much for thinking of yourself as a god. Nebuchadnezzar was reduced to being an wild animal, scrounging along the desert floor looking for food. God has a way of humbling the proud.

But Nebuchadnezzar was warned. A year before the disaster came upon him God sent a dream and Daniel to interpret it. All Nebuchadnezzar had to do was to confess his pride and repent. This meant he had do declare the God of heaven, the Most High to be the real king of Babylon. And he had to do what God told him to do, to care for the poor and needy of his empire rather than build statues and armies. But he ignored these warnings for a year before all of his power and wealth were taken away. And Nebuchadnezzar experienced what it was like to have nothing, for a long time, until he was ready to confess the sovereignty of God.

How long will people of power in America, in our government and in our colleges and universities ignore God? Is there a limit to God's patience? What will happen when God finally humbles the powerful? When will this happen? We don't know for sure, but we have been warned. And we have hope. Scripture teaches us that even King Nebuchadnezzar, that pagan tyrant who thought he was god, one day repented his pride and confessed his belief in the true God. And this is our hope, that America slide into unfaithfulness will stop, and our leaders will one day return to faith in God. Listen to what happened to Nebuchadnezzar.

Dan³⁴ At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever. His dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation. ³⁵ All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: "What have you done?" ³⁶ At the same time that my sanity was restored, my honor and splendor were returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored to my throne and became even greater than before. ³⁷ Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.

And there is the answer. We need leaders in Pocomoke, Virginia and Maryland, the United States and in our schools and institutions of higher learning who will lift up, praise and glorify our God who was revealed to us in Jesus Christ. Use your votes, use your influence to put people into leadership positions who understand that they serve under the leadership of God. Find leaders who will listen to God's call for justice and righteousness. Support leaders who not only have a personal relationship with Jesus, but will also express their faith publicly and lead others to faith. Use your power to make America a faithful nation once again. Amen.

Sermon – Daniel 3 – Faith in a Faithless Land: Worshiping False Gods

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – Daniel 3 – Faith in a Faithless Land: Worshiping False Gods

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

September 25, 2011

This is the third in series of sermons on the topic of Faith in a Faithless land. We have been looking at the book of Daniel for examples of how we should be faithful as our land loses its faith. Is America today a faithless land? I would argue that it is not yet faithless, but it is trending that way. More and more examples of unfaithfulness can be found every day. Consider this story. http://www.pacificjustice.org/news/city-religious-roots-fines-home-bible-study

There is a city in Southern California called San Juan Capistrano. A mission was built there by the Roman Catholic Church to evangelize Native Americans in the 16^th century, a hundred years before our founding here in Pocomoke. The buildings remain and there is an annual festival celebrating the return of the swallows. I took Grace to the festival for one of our first dates. San Juan Capistrano is a very beautiful place just north of San Diego.

Chuck and Stephanie Fromm live there. They are faithful believers and like to host Bible studies in their home. Stephanie has a group of about 20 people over every Wednesday evening, and Chuck hosts a Sunday service that gets about 50. They use their large backyard for parking so their neighbors won't be inconvenienced. And there is no loud music because these groups are quiet and meditative. These Bible studies are expressions of the faithful that bother no one.

The City of San Juan Capistrano has passed a law which prohibits “religious, fraternal, or non-profit” organization in residential neighborhoods. The law imposes a $300 fine for a first offense and a $500 fine for subsequent offenses. Stephanie and Chuck have been cited, owe $300 and will be fined $500 each time they host another unauthorized Bible Study. San Juan Capistrano is not in North Korea or Iran. It is in the United States of America where our Constitution reflects our God given right to worship as we choose. Our worship must not be regulated by the state. And yet the City of San Juan Capistrano is trying to do just that. Whats in California will in a few years move east and we will find ourselves living in a faithless land where the government tries to regulate what we do.

In the Book of Daniel three young men, the best and brightest of Judah, are living in exile in Babylon. They are being groomed to serve in the growing imperial bureaucracy. They are living in a faithless land ruled by a tyrant. Yet they have held onto their faith by privately using their Hebrew names and not eating the food prepared for Babylonian gods. God has blessed them with great wisdom, demonstrated in the interpretation of dreams, and these three have become leaders in the government. King Nebuchadnezzar wants to make certain that everyone in government will follow his direction. So he has erected a great golden statue and has ordered his officials to worship it.

But those the tribe of the Chaldeans, the king's own tribe are jealous of the promotions given to the Judeans. So when they see the four young Jews not worshiping the statue they report to the King. And this leads to one of the most dramatic stories in the entire Bible. Before we get to it let's pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

Daniel 3:16 - 4:1 ¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. ¹⁷ If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. ¹⁸ But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."

(Please notice that the three Judeans do not know for sure that God will save them. They probably expect to die when thrown in the fire. They know that God could save them if chose to. They trust God so much that they will sacrifice their own lives if this be God's will. What they will not do is to betray their God to obey Nebuchadnezzar's will.)

¹⁹ Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual ²⁰ and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. ²¹ So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. ²² The king's command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, ²³ and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace.

²⁴ Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, "Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?" They replied, "Certainly, O king." ²⁵ He said, "Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods." ²⁶ Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!" So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, ²⁷ and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.

²⁸ Then Nebuchadnezzar said, "Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king's command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. ²⁹ Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way." ³⁰ Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon.

So what happened? It doesn't appear that God saved these three young men from the fire. They were thrown into a fire as hot as the furnace could bear. They were wearing highly flammable clothing. The fire was so hot it killed the soldiers who threw them in the furnace. God didn't save them from the fire, he saved them in the midst of the fire.

As we live in an increasingly faithless land our faith will be tested. We will be asked to worship things other than our God. We will be told to worship money, or hard work, or youth and beauty, or the environment, or big government, or whatever else the powerful want us to worship. As faithful people we must be ready to resist these efforts and refuse to worship anything but our God revealed in Jesus Christ.

In ancient times to worship meant to bow down, lay prostrate in front of something. This demonstrated your total obedience to that thing. So you would worship the king by putting your face to the ground as you lay before him. Or you would bow down before an image made of wood or metal representing one of the pagan gods.

Today we do not bow down with our face to the ground for anything. So we might think that we are not worshiping idols. But today we worship something by making it the most important thing in our lives. Maybe money is the most important thing in your life. If so you are worshiping wealth. Maybe controlling other people is the most important thing to you. If so you are worshiping power. Maybe clothes, makeup, and hair style are the most important things you think about. If so you are worshiping beauty. Some worship alcohol and drugs, others worship books and academic degrees, still other worship athletic teams. This list could go on and on. John Calvin once said that the human mind is a “factory of idols.”

As our land moves from faith to faithlessness our post modern thinking will begin to create objects of worship. Each person will worship whatever he or she wants to worship. Worshiping God, which at one time united all of us, will be reserved for the faithful few who remain. And that faith will be tested over and over again.

We can hope and pray that God will deliver us from these trials. God is certainly able to do that. But according to the Book of Daniel we can never be certain that God will save us from the threats of an unfaithful land. The only thing that is certain is that if we remain faithful to God and worship only Him, then God will be with us in the midst of whatever happens to us. We do not have a naive trust that God will save us from death. Rather we believe that God will be with us in life and in death and will bring us to new life.

So go ahead and host Bible studies in your home. And if the government says that you have to have a permit, or tries to regulate what you say and do, do not bow down to the will of the powerful for that is idolatry. Worship only God. And if you are thrown in a firey furnace for your faith remember that God will be there with you in the midst of the fire. Amen.