JANUARY 2020...NEW YEARS EDITION...WONDERFUL WORDS OF LIFE
I. INTRODUCTION: Here we are looking at the New Year of 2020. Thinking about this, time is one of those anomalies that has mystified man from the beginning. The God of the Bible is not controlled or servant of time, as He owns it. Christian Philosophers have been quoted as saying, "God moves in the present, past, and future at the same time." He is in the midst of time and His timing is always right.
I would like to divide this introduction into the tree general areas that consist of our human divisions of time and attempt to make sense looking through the lens of God's eternality. Each day and week is divided into YESTERDAY-TODAY-AND TOMORROW. Two of the three of these sections should be kept from our fears and apprehension. The first is Yesterday, with its mistakes and cares, its aches and pains, its faults and blunders. Yesterday has passed forever beyond our control. All the money in the world cannot bring back Yesterday. We cannot undo a single act we preformed; we cannot erase a single word we said; we cannot rectify a single mistake. Yesterday has passed forever beyond recall and we live with its consequences, but we should learn from it that we do not repeat its regretted decisions. Let it go!!
The other day we should not worry about is Tomorrow, with its possible adversities, its burdens, its large promise and poor performance. Tomorrow is also beyond our immediate control as we contemplate its "possibilities". Tomorrow's sun will rise either in splendor or behind a mass of clouds- but it will still rise. And until it does, we have no stake in tomorrow, because it is as yet unborn. How we have planned to use it in preparation is vital to its quality and satisfaction in our experience to come. But in reality "tomorrow is tomorrow."
This leaves us but one day- Today! We as a human race and as individuals can fight the battles of just one day. Our resources are limited and our faculties waning with time. Yesterday and Tomorrow are futile worries. Let us, therefore, resolve to journey no more than one day at a time as we seek wisdom from God and a loving cultivated spirit. As often quoted by AA, "...today is the first day of the rest of your life..." Happy New Year!!
II. WHAT ABOUT THE "Ekklesia" A DEFINITION OF MEANING... DIGGING DEEPER...
I haven't had a chance to do much exegeses over the last year and hope more can be done in the next year in this blog. The Koine (common) Greek language is the original language of the New Testament. It is precise and direct and rich with meaning and is considered a language preserved by a Lexicon. (see below)
Of all the words in the New Testament pregnant with meaning, there is no other as such at the Greek word "ekklesia." It comes from two words: ek, "out of," and klesis, "a calling." It basic meaning is Church.
The original linguistic framework of this term, and widely understood by the Roman-Hellenistic culture of the first century, was the Greek city state citizenry usage. When the trumpet was sounded, the "free citizens" assembled to discuss the affairs of state politically (Acts 19:32,39,41). The Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, collects another image of the whole nation gathering (Deut. 4:10, 23:2; Acts 7:38; Heb. 2:12). The gathering of the church community was borrowed from this concept and provided an overall structure. Its concern was the early church gathering to consider its policies, doctrinal issues and body life.
In today's world, the concept of the ekklesia in terms of its distinctives is primarily a picture of the church. It is a "gathering" and or "scattering" of the church body itself. It is God's people viewed together as a new and whole community of life at various levels. It worships with the Lord present in a unique way with unique features such as the Lord's Day, or Sunday. (It's singing, prayers, communion, offering and fellowship (koinonia) in its various ways. It also has emphasized a "lifestyle of worship,"outside the regular gathering on Sundays. How does one "live out" the life the ekklesia? Historically, the ekklesia has seen itself "full of, or under the control of the Holy Spirit" in corporate and non-corporate settings. It project Christ in community and into society.
Without listing all the plethora of fabulous scriptures that encompass this name of the church, lets return and consider the context of the ekklesia and its setting of the New Testament.
- A group consisting of "professed and baptized Christians." After and within the book of Acts there was not such individual as an "unbaptized" Christian. See the conversion record in the book of Acts.
- Gatherings for worship.
- A house congregation or small groups that met in homes in the 1st century.
- Most recorded Christians living in large cities. (See Paul's journeys)
- Local communities.
- A large geographic district, such as Asia or Galatia, than included more than one "gathering."
- The whole body of the redeemed throughout the present era.
The word ekklesia is never used to refer to a building specifically used for worships services in the New Testament. It was always the "people" the "body of Christ." The early Christians did not meet in public buildings at least for the first 120 years of the Christian era. The New Testament portrays the ekklesia as a network of intimate, loving, and serving communities of Christ followers. Primary in their goal was seeking to emulate the Lord himself to the world.
Sources of Reference:
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament. (Edinburgh: T.&T. Clark, 1937), 138-39.
William F. Arndt and F. Wilbur Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1957), 240-241.
Lawrence O. Richards, Expository Dictionary of Bible Words. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1985), 164-167.
W. E. Vine, Vines Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, Unabridged Edition. (McLean, Virginia; MacDonald Publishing House), 85-86.
III. NUGGETS OF NOURISHMENT... A New Years Sermon...
Title: Carpe Diem: Seize the Day-
Scripture Text: Philippians 3: 7-16
Introduction: A number of years ago a movie starring Robin Williams came out called "The Dead Poets Society." One of the phrases that was used repeatedly was the resurrection of a long forgotten Latin phrase, "Carpe Diem." This word simply means, "Seize the Day." As we begin to enter a new year the Apostle Paul in the text above gives us three simple "cheer like" admonitions to help us as we enter 2020.
I. FIND YOUR PURPOSE... Why are you here? Your purpose is so important to you and to your life. As I also have noted a number of times that your purpose is enhanced by the "meaning driven life."
II. FORGET THE PAST... Including Forgetting the "Bad" and also Forgetting the "Accomplishments." Attempt to learn from both!!
III. FACE THE PRESENT... Facing the present is to put our Faith into action each and every day. Trust God, not only for your salvation but your vocation in life. Trust him through the trouble and in the blessings of life. "Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that in due time He may lift your up..."
IV. LOOK UPWARD TO THE FUTURE... Keep a positive attitude as you look to tomorrow. One issue is always before us... Life is always changing...allow God to make those changes in us to procure a more productive future. He is our answer!!
Conclusion: A new year stretches out before us. Like a blank sheet of paper, we can write a story of victory or defeat. By trusting God day by day through these simple initiations of Find Your Purpose, Forget the Past..(bad and good) and Face the Present...and Looking Upward to the Future... we can look back with thanksgiving and praise for the grace offered to us and to others in the new year.
IV. QUOTABLE QUOTES... For the New Year...2020
1. "I don't know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve." Albert Schweitzer
2. "If we are going to continue to be proud that we are Americans, there must be no weakening of the code by which we have lived." Dwight D. Eisenhower
3. "Especially for Americans, so bewitched by our own strength, it's important that we understand our limitations and our weaknesses. We need humility. Through it we can avoid the sin of thinking too highly of ourselves." Reinhold Niebuhr- 20th Century Theologian-
4. "All progress is made by men of faith who believe in what is right and, what is more important, actually do what is right in their own private affairs." Thomas Dreier
5. "Seeing much, suffering much, and studying much are the three pillars of learning." Disraeli
