And Are We Yet Alive?
[Preached June 1, 2008; Based on Hebrews 10: 19-25]

“Keep on going and chances are you will stumble on something, perhaps when you are least expecting it. I have never heard of anyone stumbling on something sitting down.” (Charles F. Kettering)


This Wednesday, your pastors and lay delegates will join delegates from 360 other United Methodist churches in the Southwest Texas Annual Conference to worship, make decisions, and renew our commitment to Jesus Christ and his Church. I wish that all of you could attend because it gives a much greater appreciation for our challenges and our common commitment in facing these challenges.

Our first major worship service is the Memorial Service, where we remember our fellow clergy and spouses who have gone on to be with the Lord during the past year.

Each time we gather as an annual conference (and the same can be said of us here each Sunday), we literally don’t know which ones of us will be alive and healthy enough to attend the next gathering and which ones of us will have gone home to glory. It’s not necessarily the oldest who will be missing, is it?

Therefore, we sing a hymn that has been sung at Annual Conferences since John and Charles Wesley: And Are We Yet Alive? Let me walk us through the verses:

1. And are we yet alive,
And see each other's face?
Glory and thanks to Jesus give
For his almighty grace!

In other words, if we are alive (and I suppose we all are), then – thanks be to God, the only one who has kept us here.

2. Preserved by power divine
To full salvation here
Again in Jesus’ praise we join,
And in his sight appear.

It is only by God’s power we are here and God’s plan is for us to experience “full salvation” – nothing less than Christ’s very best.

3. What troubles have we seen,
What mighty conflicts past,
Fighting's without, and fears within,
Since we assembled last!

Since we last met together, life has presented us with many challenges, and I love the absolute honesty of Charles Wesley’s lyrics: troubles, conflicts, fighting's, and fears.... and through it all, God has brought us here again... let’s see how Wesley put it:

4. Yet out of all, the Lord
Hath brought us by his love;
And still he doth his help afford,
And hides our life above.

The Lord has brought us safely together again. He both helps us in this world and protects our future. There is comfort in Providence – not the same as “Que sera, sera – what will be, will be,” but, we are safe in God’s arms!

5. Then let us make our boast
Of his redeeming power,
Which saves us to the uttermost,
Till we can sin no more.

Now there’s a statement! You might say that Charles Wesley didn’t know how talented we are at sinning. Can you imagine a time when “you can sin no more?”

And yet, his was a time of much drunkenness and lascivious living! He believed that God could not only save someone from the penalty of sin, but also from the power of sin. And which of us has not felt the power of sin? It seems so harmless at first:

In 1939, a coast guard vessel was cruising the Canadian Arctic when the men spotted a polar bear on floating ice. It was quite a novelty for them and they threw the bear salami, peanut butter, and chocolate bars. Then they ran out of discretionary food. Unfortunately, the polar bear had not run out of appetite, so he proceeded to board their vessel.

The men on were terrified and opened the fire hoses on the bear. The polar bear loved it and raised his paws in the air to get the water under his armpits. Somehow they were able to force the polar bear to leave the boat – but not before teaching them a horrifying lesson about feeding polar bears.

We make the same mistake about sin – it’s just a little one; what harm can it do? We begin feeding it – a little at a time without thinking through the consequences. Then, we feel trapped. The bottom line is: No sin is worth it! [King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com]

Actually, we rarely talk about sin, much less take it seriously. In fact, we rarely use the word sinful unless we’re talking about a good dessert. We tend to minimize or hide sin:

One man recalled his boyhood when his father had instructed him to plant several rows of corn in the family's garden. Instead of doing it, he went to the far corner of the garden, dug a deep hole, poured all the seeds in it, and went to play. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but a few weeks later dozens of corn stalks appeared where he had buried the seed.

To cover his act, he chopped them down, only to have others grow. In desperation, he doused the plants with an herbicide. Then through many sleepless nights he worried that the chemical might leech into the rest of the garden and poison his family. His lesson? "You can't plant corn deep enough to keep it from coming up." That’s just like sin, isn’t it? It reaps consequences and can affect others – I think we can all relate.

Dr. Melvin Dieter of Asbury Seminary taught a sequence of truths regarding sin:

• All need to be saved from sin. Any debate on this?
• All can be saved from sin. All? What about mass murderers? One’s ex?
• All can know they are saved from sin. Here’s the majesty of Christianity. We can not only be forgiven, but we can know we are forgiven... it’s called assurance of salvation.
• All can be saved to the uttermost. Now, that’s a pretty challenging thought!

Is there some secret struggle that you’ve been unable to overcome? You’ve prayed, cried, and tried hard to break away from it, but you’ve been unable to do it? God wants to free you and the biggest obstacle you have is believing that not even God can help you break free. God wants to free you from that guilt-ridden sense of failure and shame. God not only wants to free you, God CAN!

The end result is: Salvation from all sin is freely available for all people and all people can be freed from all sin. Christianity teaches that there is freedom from sin’s prison, freedom from sin’s penalty, and freedom from sin’s power!

6. Let us take up the cross
Till we the crown obtain,
And gladly reckon all things loss
So we may Jesus gain.

When we prepare to leave this sanctuary, let us take up our cross and be willing to lose everything so that we may gain Jesus! Let’s not be like the rich young ruler who merely went away sad. Let’s not endanger our true reward – life now and forever with Jesus Christ. Don’t give up... for the prize is just ahead... a little further down the road.

Now, let’s see, did we have a scripture lesson this morning? Oh yes: Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart, in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience, and having our bodies washed with pure water. (Hebrews 10: 23-25) (What in the world does that mean? It means: Have you been bathed in God’s word – both written and living?)

This author has said that God has blessed us abundantly and thus, we have a response:

1. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
2. Consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.
3. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, (take the summer off) but let us encourage one another — and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10: 23-25)

Now, what is the Day that is approaching? It must be a special day because it is capitalized! Is it the day of Steve Purdy’s departure? No, of course not, it is the Day of Jesus’ return – His arrival!

As we come together to Christ’s Table for the final time before the Purdys move to Seguin, remember that “This is the Body of Christ broken for you,” and “This is the Blood of Christ shed for you.” You can approach the throne of God:

• With a sincere heart
• In full assurance of faith
• With your heart sprinkled to cleanse you from a guilty conscience
• With your body washed with pure water.


Benediction:

Have you ever seen a little mouse with its tail caught in a trap? The mouse can't go anywhere the trap won't fit. Alive but hindered by the trap, the mouse reminds me that as a Christian I sometimes find myself ensnared in a trap of sin.

Instead of asking God to free me from my trap, like that mouse I find ways to drag it along. I am careful to avoid any doors that my trap will not fit through, but this can leave me spiritually starved.

Like the little mouse, I saw something that drew me to the trap. I thought I could grab it and get out before the lever released, but sin is faster than I am. A loud snap -- and I am caught in the trap.

When we find ourselves in one of sin's traps, God is always ready to reach out, release us from sin's hold, and give us a second chance.

Though it is true we need not get caught in sin’s trap, we all have... and we all need God’s help getting away.