Robert T. Young - "Creator, Redeemer, Counselor" (June 5, 1977)

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-	Duke University chapel service,	0:05
	June 5th, 1977.	0:07
	(lively church organ music)	0:13
	(lively church organ music continues)	1:13
	(lively church organ music continues)	2:17
	(lively church organ music continues)	3:16
	(lively church organ music continues)	4:15
	(lively church organ music continues)	5:09
	(lively church organ music continues)	6:12
	(lively church organ music continues)	7:16
	(lively church organ music concludes)	8:17
	(choir singing)	8:38
	(lively church organ music)	9:27
	(choir singing)	10:19
	(choir singing continues)	11:13
	(choir singing continues)	12:07
	(choir singing and church organ music concludes)	13:05
-	Dearly beloved,	13:20
	the scriptures move us to acknowledge	13:22
	and confess our sins before almighty God,	13:24
	our heavenly Father.	13:26
	With a humble, lowly, penitent, and obedient heart,	13:29
	to the end that we may obtain forgiveness	13:33
	by his infinite goodness and mercy.	13:35
	Therefore, I pray and beseech you,	13:39
	as many as are here present.	13:42
	to accompany me with a pure heart and humble voice,	13:44
	unto the throne of heavenly grace.	13:49
	Let us confess our sins to almighty God.	13:51
	We come to you, oh God, our Father.	13:56
	With hearts troubled by the memory,	14:00
	and the burden of our offenses,	14:03
	that's which we ought to have done,	14:06
	but have not done.	14:09
	That which we ought to have spoken, but have not.	14:11
	These things are all our sins, remembered and forgotten.	14:16
	We repent unto you, oh God.	14:22
	(congregation prays faintly)	14:26
	in Jesus Christ, our Lord,	14:27
-	Amen.	14:30
-	Let us continue in personal silent meditation	14:31
	and confession.	14:35
	Oh Lord, we beseech Thee, absolve Thy people	14:58
	from their offenses,	15:02
	that through Thy bountiful goodness,	15:04
	we may be delivered from the bonds of those sins,	15:06
	which by our frailty, we have committed.	15:09
	Grant this, oh heavenly Father,	15:13
	for the sake of Jesus Christ, our blessed Lord and Savior,	15:16
	Amen.	15:21
	(lively church organ music)	15:39
	(lively choir singing)	16:24
	(lively choir singing continues)	17:20
	(lively choir singing concludes)	17:47
	Hear now, the reading of the Old Testament lesson.	18:04
	"In the year that King Uzziah died,	18:10
	I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne,	18:13
	high and lifted up.	18:17
	And his train filled the temple.	18:20
	Above him, stood the seraphim.	18:23
	Each had six wings.	18:27
	With two, he covered his face,	18:29
	and with two, he covered his feet,	18:32
	and with two, he flew.	18:35
	And one called to another and said,	18:39
	'Holy holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts,	18:43
	the whole earth is full of his glory.'	18:48
	And foundations of the thresholds shook,	18:52
	at the voice of him who called,	18:56
	and the house was filled with smoke.	18:59
	And I said, woe is me,	19:03
	for I am lost,	19:07
	for I am a man of unclean lips,	19:09
	and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips,	19:12
	for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.	19:18
	Then flew one of the seraphim to me,	19:24
	having in his hand, a burning coal,	19:28
	which he had taken with tongs from the altar.	19:31
	And he touched my mouth and said,	19:36
	'Behold, this has touched your lips.	19:39
	Your guilt is taken away,	19:43
	and your sin, forgiven.'	19:46
	And I heard the voice of the Lord saying,	19:49
	'Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?'	19:53
	Then I said,	19:59
	'Here I am,	20:01
	send me.'"	20:05
	Thus endeth the reading of the Old Testament lesson.	20:07
	Hear now the reading of the Epistle.	20:14
	"After this, I looked,	20:21
	and lo, in heaven an open door.	20:24
	And the first voice,	20:28
	which I heard speaking to me	20:31
	like a trumpet, said,	20:33
	'Come up hither,	20:36
	and I will show you what must take place after this.'	20:38
	At once I was in the spirit,	20:43
	and lo, a throne stood in heaven,	20:46
	with one seated on the throne.	20:50
	And he who sat there appeared like jasper and cornelion,	20:53
	and round the throne was a rainbow	21:00
	that looked like an emerald.	21:03
	Round the throne were 24 thrones,	21:07
	and seated on the thrones were 24 elders,	21:11
	clad in white garments,	21:15
	with golden crowns upon their heads.	21:18
	From the throne, issue flashes of lightning,	21:22
	and voices, and peals of thunder.	21:27
	And before the throne burn, seven torches of fire,	21:31
	which are the seven spirits of God.	21:36
	And before the throne, there is,	21:39
	as it were, a sea of glass, like crystal.	21:42
	And round the throne, on each side of the throne,	21:47
	are four living creatures.	21:52
	Full of eyes in front and behind.	21:54
	The first living creature, like a lion,	21:58
	the second living creature, like an ox,	22:02
	the third living creature with the face of a man,	22:06
	and the fourth living creature, like a flying eagle.	22:10
	And the four living creatures,	22:15
	each of them with six wings, are full of eyes,	22:17
	all round and within.	22:22
	And day, and night, they never cease to sing.	22:25
	'Holy,	22:30
	holy,	22:31
	holy,	22:32
	is the Lord God, almighty,	22:33
	who was and is,	22:36
	and is to come.'	22:39
	And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor,	22:41
	and thanks to Him who is seated on the throne,	22:45
	who lives forever and ever,	22:49
	the 24 elders fall down before Him,	22:52
	who is seated on the throne and worship Him	22:56
	who lives forever and ever.	22:59
	They cast their crowns before the throne, singing,	23:02
	'Worthy art Thou, our Lord and God,	23:07
	to receive glory, and honor, and power,	23:12
	for Thou didst create all things,	23:16
	And by Thy will they existed,	23:20
	and were created.'"	23:24
	Thus endeth the reading of the Epistle.	23:28
	Please let us stand for the reading of the Gospel.	23:35
	"But now I am going to him who sent me,	23:46
	yet none of you asked me, 'Where are you going?'	23:52
	But because I have said these things to you,	23:56
	sorrow has filled your hearts.	24:00
	Nevertheless, I tell you the truth.	24:05
	It is to your advantage that I go away,	24:08
	for if I do not go away, the counselor will not come to you.	24:12
	But if I go, I will send him to you.	24:19
	And when he comes, he will convict the world	24:23
	of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.	24:27
	Of sin, because they do not believe in me,	24:32
	of righteousness because I go to the Father,	24:37
	and you will see me no more.	24:41
	Of judgment because the ruler of this world is judged.	24:44
	I have yet many things to say to you,	24:50
	but you cannot bear them now.	24:54
	When the spirit of truth comes,	24:57
	he will guide you into all the truth.	24:59
	For he will not speak on his own authority.	25:04
	But whatever he hears, he will speak,	25:09
	and he will declare to you the things that are to come.	25:13
	He will glorify me,	25:18
	for he will take what his mine and declare it to you.	25:21
	All that the Father has is mine.	25:26
	Therefore, I said that he will take what is mine,	25:30
	and declare it to you."	25:36
	Thus endeth the reading of the Gospel.	25:39
	(lively church organ music)	25:42
	(choir singing)	25:51
	(choir singing concludes)	26:22
	Please let us affirm what we believe.	26:27
	We believe in God who has created and is creating,	26:31
	who has come in the truly human Jesus,	26:38
	reconcile and make new,	26:41
	works in us and others by the spirit,	26:44
	we trust God who calls us to be the church,	26:48
	to celebrate life and its fullness,	26:53
	to love and serve others,	26:56
	and to seek justice and resist evil,	26:59
	to proclaim Jesus crucified and risen,	27:02
	our judge and our hope,	27:06
	in life and in death,	27:09
	in life beyond death,	27:12
	God is with us, we are not alone.	27:14
	Thanks be to God.	27:18
	The Lord be with you,	27:21
	(congregation responds incoherently)	27:24
	Let us pray.	27:25
	Our Father, God,	27:37
	in whom we live and move and have our being.	27:41
	We come before Thee, in this hour with thanksgiving,	27:49
	thanksgiving for life, and for the joy of living,	27:57
	thanksgiving for,	28:06
	Thy guidance in all the days and years of our pilgrimage.	28:10
	For then Thou has been with us,	28:21
	Thou hast blessed us,	28:25
	in ways, often we haven't understood.	28:30
	When we've been,	28:37
	sick, Thou has made us well,	28:41
	when we've been,	28:43
	weak, Thou has given us strength,	28:48
	when we've been discouraged,	28:51
	Thou has given us courage,	28:52
	when we've been hopeless,	28:54
	Thou has given us hope.	28:56
	And the many times we have faced situations	29:03
	and circumstances,	29:07
	out of which we could see no way,	29:09
	yet Thou hast brought us,	29:16
	safe thus far.	29:20
	And we thank you this morning.	29:26
	We come before Thee,	29:32
	with,	29:36
	penitent hearts,	29:39
	confessing that we haven't been always	29:43
	what you would have us be,	29:48
	we haven't done what you would have us do.	29:52
	We haven't lived as we ought,	30:01
	we haven't loved as we ought.	30:03
	But oh, Lord have mercy upon us,	30:11
	and forgive us of all of our sins,	30:17
	and,	30:19
	speak to us even while we pray,	30:22
	and make us know that our sins are forgiven,	30:25
	that we are Thy forgiven,	30:31
	sons and daughters.	30:35
	We come before Thee this morning,	30:43
	mindful of all,	30:46
	sorts, kinds, and conditions,	30:50
	of men and women around the world.	30:52
	we are mindful of those who,	31:00
	are hungry,	31:04
	we are mindful of those who,	31:09
	have not,	31:14
	the privilege,	31:18
	of worshiping Thee as we do,	31:23
	And we are mindful of those who are oppressed,	31:29
	those who are distressed,	31:36
	in their minds and their bodies.	31:42
	We bring their conditions before Thee,	31:50
	asking oh God, that,	31:56
	you will be with them.	32:00
	And that you will enable your church	32:05
	to be in ministry and in mission,	32:10
	to persons in need around the world,	32:14
	as well as those in need,	32:18
	in our own community,	32:23
	Use us then, our Father,	32:27
	who are called by your name,	32:32
	to minister,	32:38
	to the needs of your people everywhere.	32:42
	We pray for the leaders	32:46
	of this nation,	32:49
	of all levels of government and the leaders of all nations.	32:54
	They may lead us in ways	33:01
	that peace might be found among men.	33:05
	Brother and sisterhood may be a reality in our world.	33:10
	And now our Father,	33:16
	we pray that Thou wouldst be with us,	33:19
	in the days ahead,	33:23
	tonight, tomorrow,	33:27
	next week, and,	33:31
	throughout all the days and years of our lives.	33:34
	Grant unto us Thy presence and Thy power,	33:38
	for we know that if you are with us,	33:44
	we will not stray.	33:48
	Help us, oh God, and bless us,	33:52
	and bless in a special way,	33:56
	these who are gathered here in this place.	33:58
	Grant oh God, that prayers, and,	34:03
	petitions uttered and unuttered from this sanctuary	34:07
	may be heard in heaven today.	34:12
	That answer may be forthcoming if they be in keeping	34:16
	with Thy holy and righteous will.	34:20
	Bless the preacher of the gospel,	34:22
	as he proclaims Thy truth to us,	34:26
	and give us receptive minds to hear and receive it,	34:29
	and to act upon it.	34:32
	While we ask these and all other blessings,	34:35
	we stand in need of,	34:38
	in the name of the Father and of the Son,	34:40
	and of the Holy Spirit,	34:43
	as we pray, as Jesus taught us,	34:45
	saying,	34:48
	our Father who art in heaven,	34:50
	hallowed to be Thy name,	34:53
	Thy kingdom come,	34:55
	Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.	34:58
	Give us this day, our daily bread,	35:02
	and for give us our trespasses,	35:05
	as we forgive those who trespassed against us.	35:08
	And lead us not into temptation,	35:12
	but deliver us from evil.	35:15
	For Thine is the kingdom,	35:17
	and the power and the glory forever.	35:19
	Amen.	35:23
	We are very happy,	35:27
	and pleased to greet and,	35:30
	welcome all of you who have come to worship,	35:33
	this large day in this place,	35:38
	both those of you who come week after week,	35:40
	and those of you who may be here for the first time,	35:44
	we are glad you've come.	35:49
	And we hope that you will feel the warmth of the fellowship	35:53
	of this place and God's presence to bless,	35:56
	so much so, that you will hasten to come this way,	36:01
	again.	36:04
	I remind you,	36:07
	that the communion service,	36:10
	the sacrament of the Lord's supper,	36:14
	will be observed immediately following this service,	36:17
	and all of you are invited to go into the Memorial chapel,	36:23
	for this brief service of the Eucharist.	36:28
	Again, we welcome you,	36:31
	pray God's blessings upon you,	36:34
	as we hear are now the word from the Lord.	36:37
-	Some of you may not be aware of it,	36:46
	but the Reverend Dr. Joseph Bethea,	36:49
	as of today, ends his service with Duke University	36:53
	in a direct way,	36:56
	as he meets tonight for the first time,	36:58
	with the cabinet of the North Carolina conference	37:00
	of the Methodist church and assumes his responsibilities	37:02
	as district superintendent of the Rockingham district.	37:05
	Joe has been director of Black Church studies	37:09
	in the Divinity school for five years now.	37:11
	And if the rest of the university	37:15
	had made the same kind of progress	37:17
	in increased enrollment of Blacks in the university,	37:19
	as the Divinity school has under his leadership,	37:22
	our situation would be significantly different.	37:25
	When he came five years ago,	37:28
	there were seven Blacks enrolled in the Divinity school.	37:30
	As he leaves, there are 41 anticipated to enroll next fall.	37:33
	That's not the only place where he has had	37:38
	a significant impact,	37:41
	but that is indicative of the kind of leadership	37:42
	that he has shown to the church and this place,	37:45
	and Joe, as you go, you go with,	37:48
	are we okay now?	37:52
	You go with God's blessing,	37:58
	and our prayers and our thanks for all you meant to us.	38:01
	Last Monday morning, as I came to work,	38:05
	there was a bulletin of last Sunday service in my mailbox	38:09
	with a typed note on the front of it.	38:11
	With these words,	38:15
	"Woe be unto this church,	38:16
	when on Pentacost,"	38:19
	spelled P-E-N-T-A-C-O-S-T,	38:21
	"Woe be unto this church, when on Pentacost,	38:25
	it ignores the Holy Spirit."	38:28
	That was last Sunday.	38:31
	Well, in case you were not here last Sunday,	38:33
	may I be quick to say that we did not ignore	38:35
	the Holy Spirit on Pentecost,	38:38
	but lest anyone this morning,	38:41
	have any strong urges to type a note similar to this,	38:42
	let me assure you that we are aware	38:47
	that today is Trinity Sunday,	38:49
	and the sermon is to be a Trinity Sunday sermon	38:51
	stimulated by the three Trinity Sunday lessons for this day.	38:54
	May I share with you an autobiographical word	38:59
	from a 17 year old who wrote this,	39:01
	while she was a first year student	39:04
	at the University of Minnesota.	39:07
	"God.	39:09
	So what?	39:11
	I get up every morning, I look in the mirror,	39:12
	I look the same.	39:16
	I wonder how I can look so old.	39:18
	Would there be a difference if I woke up with God?	39:22
	Would I be cheerful? Transfigured?	39:25
	Probably not.	39:28
	Can you tell by looking at someone,	39:30
	whether he or she knows God?	39:32
	Probably not.	39:34
	Doesn't it mean anything to you?	39:36
	So what?	39:39
	Go back in time, back until you are very young.	39:41
	'Don't forget to say your prayers, dear.	39:45
	Remember, God is listening,	39:47
	and God always knows when you don't say your prayers.'	39:48
	Sure. There are 2,971,800,000 people in the world,	39:52
	and God is listening to my prayers?	39:57
	A little older.	40:01
	You begin to doubt.	40:02
	When you expressed your doubt to your parents,	40:04
	they showed vague shock, a decided hurt.	40:06
	'How can you go against us? Why do you want to hurt us?'	40:10
	I don't want to hurt you really, I just want to know.	40:14
	'You'll understand when you're older, dear.'	40:18
	But I'm older now, and I want to know, now.	40:21
	What is God?	40:25
	Is God?	40:26
	What am I going to do about it?	40:28
	I'm 17 years old.	40:30
	You see, I've got to know.	40:32
	And I'm asking you, and you, and you.	40:34
	And more important, your little child will ask you,	40:38
	and more important even still, you will ask yourself.	40:41
	But maybe you won't ask yourself.	40:45
	Maybe God has just been handed over to you.	40:47
	'Look, here's God in a simple three-part plan.	40:51
	Follow the instructions in fine print,	40:54
	and you've got salvation.	40:56
	But kindly pay your weekly installments	40:58
	in little envelopes behind the pews.'	41:00
	Maybe you were brainwashed into God.	41:03
	You were never given a chance to question,	41:06
	or somehow you never took the chance.	41:08
	The brainwashing could have a bad effect."	41:10
	And I say to you this morning, I'm like this 17 year old.	41:16
	I'm older now, and I want to know, now.	41:20
	"Holy,	41:24
	holy,	41:24
	holy,	41:25
	Lord, God almighty.	41:26
	God in three persons, blessed Trinity."	41:28
	We sing that song loudly and lustily,	41:32
	the song about God in three persons, blessed Trinity.	41:35
	And yet neither "Person," nor "Trinity,"	41:39
	with reference to God is found in scripture.	41:42
	William Barclay in his "A Spiritual Autobiography," writes,	41:47
	"In matters of belief, there is only one way to begin."	41:54
	And then he asserts simply and clearly,	42:00
	"I believe in God."	42:03
	That's where we begin.	42:07
	The Apostle's Creed begins, "I believe in God."	42:09
	The Nicene Creed begins, "I believe in one God,"	42:12
	we just said a few minutes ago.	42:16
	We believe in one God.	42:18
	And article one,	42:21
	the Methodist church, one of the articles,	42:23
	which John Wesley did not change at all,	42:25
	as he rewrote the 39 articles of the Church of England	42:27
	and made them into the 25 articles of the Methodist church,	42:30
	says about of faith in the Holy Trinity,	42:33
	"There is but one living and true God,	42:37
	everlasting without body or parts,	42:41
	of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness,	42:44
	the maker and presence of all things,	42:47
	both visible and invisible.	42:49
	And in unity of this Godhead,	42:51
	there are three persons,	42:53
	of one substance, power, and eternity.	42:55
	The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost."	42:58
	Now these are the words that we have used traditionally	43:02
	to refer to our triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.	43:04
	But today I want to look at three other words,	43:10
	used to refer to the Trinity.	43:12
	Creator,	43:14
	Redeemer,	43:16
	Counselor.	43:17
	God is Creator,	43:19
	and next to our traditional view of God as Father,	43:21
	our view of God as Creator is perhaps more deeply implanted	43:26
	in us than any other view of God.	43:30
	And what is called by some, the old Paley argument	43:35
	about God as Creator makes real sense to me.	43:38
	Suppose a man is crossing a field,	43:44
	and in the midst of a field,	43:46
	he comes upon a watch lying on the ground.	43:47
	Suppose this man has never in all his life,	43:51
	seen a watch before,	43:53
	and does not know what a watch is, or what it is for.	43:55
	What will happen?	43:59
	He picks it up and examines it.	44:02
	He finds that it is composed of a metal case	44:04
	and a numbered dial.	44:07
	He opens it, inside, he finds a complicated arrangement	44:08
	of springs, and cogs, and wheels, and levers, and jewels,	44:11
	all ticking away.	44:15
	He looks at the hands on the dial	44:17
	and he quickly sees that they're all moving	44:18
	in a predetermined order.	44:20
	What does he say?	44:23
	Does he say, "I suppose all these things,	44:23
	the metal, the springs, the lever, the jewels,	44:26
	the hands,	44:28
	by chance came together	44:29
	from the ends of the earth,	44:31
	by chance made themselves into these various parts,	44:32
	by chance wound themselves up,	44:36
	by chance, made themselves into a watch	44:39
	and set themselves going."	44:41
	Is that what he says? No.	44:42
	If he has any powers of reasoning at all,	44:44
	he will be bound to say, "I have found a watch.	44:47
	Somewhere, there must be a watchmaker."	44:50
	So when we find a universe which has order	44:56
	more accurate than any watch,	44:58
	it is logical, then it seems, to me to say	45:00
	that somewhere there must be a world maker,	45:02
	or a universe maker.	45:05
	Order implies mind.	45:07
	So there must be a mind behind it all, and in it all.	45:10
	In 1954, Albert Einstein said,	45:16
	"I cannot believe that God plays dice with the cosmos."	45:18
	And now, as you have read,	45:27
	in Newsweek,	45:30
	National Geographic, and other popular magazines,	45:31
	they're writing articles about biology,	45:34
	and about biology's most recent phenomenal discoveries	45:37
	and telling us, indeed,	45:41
	that God, the Creator is not playing dice,	45:42
	that there truly is plan, and order, and purpose,	45:46
	and logic, and sense, and rhythm, and beauty,	45:51
	and fidelity, in creation.	45:54
	And particularly, right now,	45:57
	in the most celebrated chemical of our time, DNA.	45:59
	Deoxyribonucleic acid.	46:06
	The master choreographer of the living cell,	46:10
	and the carrier of the genetic code,	46:13
	says National Geographic.	46:16
	Listen to their description of the intricacy	46:18
	and complexity,	46:21
	and wonder of genes, and cells, and DNA.	46:23
	A gene is a basic unit of heredity.	46:29
	A bit have biochemical information	46:33
	which tells the cell what to do.	46:35
	A human cell, one of them,	46:39
	has perhaps 100,000 different genes	46:43
	linked into strands.	46:47
	These strands contain DNA.	46:50
	Long strands of DNA intertwined in the core of living cells.	46:55
	This DNA in the cells is so narrow,	47:02
	and so tightly coiled together,	47:07
	that all the genes in a human body,	47:10
	would fit into a box the size of an ice cube.	47:13
	And yet,	47:17
	if all of this DNA were unwound	47:19
	and were joined together,	47:22
	the string would stretch from the earth to the sun,	47:24
	and back 400 times.	47:29
	By chance?	47:35
	Biologists also have found that virtually every cell	47:39
	contains the entire repertoire of genes	47:44
	for that particular plant or animal.	47:47
	One cell then in your toe, for example,	47:49
	has all the data in it,	47:54
	in its DNA,	47:56
	for making another person exactly like you.	47:58
	Long before we knew about gene, and cells, and DNA.	48:07
	Long before scientists such as J.B. Gurdon	48:12
	who demonstrated cloning,	48:15
	James D. Watson and Francis Crick,	48:18
	who wrote a one-page paper on DNA in 1953,	48:21
	long before you and I were privileged to live and think,	48:25
	and be, the Hebrew writers were telling us,	48:28
	"In the beginning, God created."	48:31
	The psalmists were exclaiming, "And when I consider	48:34
	the heavens, the work of Thy fingers,	48:37
	the moon, and the stars, which Thou has made,	48:40
	who am I that Thou art mindful of me	48:44
	and who are we that you should care about us?"	48:47
	And the psalmist spoke to us in our generation,	48:51
	a word of warning, when he said,	48:55
	the fool has said in his heart, "There is no God."	48:57
	In his book, "A Time for Christian Candor,"	49:03
	the late Bishop James Pike wrote,	49:05
	"There are many people within the fold	49:09
	who have not really grasped the heart	49:11
	of the Christian message,	49:13
	because they're bogged down with too many doctrines	49:14
	and mores, and precepts, and customs, and symbols,	49:17
	and other traditions,	49:20
	with no sense of differentiation	49:21
	between the essential and non-essential items.	49:23
	Well, I'm here to tell you that God is,	49:26
	and that belief in God is a must, and essential.	49:28
	The 'Unum Necessarium,'	49:32
	the one thing necessary for a Christian,	49:34
	for you and me."	49:38
	God the Creator.	49:42
	God is Redeemer.	49:46
	We return to God through Jesus Christ the Redeemer.	49:49
	God was in Christ, reconciling the world and to himself.	49:55
	"Oh, wretched man, that I am," Paul wrote,	49:59
	"Who shall deliver me?"	50:04
	"I thank God," He then, exclaimed,	50:06
	"Christ will.	50:09
	Christ has delivered me."	50:11
	God in Christ the Redeemer means it is the Christ	50:15
	who renews our broken relationship with God.	50:18
	Who renews our own sense of worth,	50:22
	and of self-worth.	50:26
	Who renews our awareness of the holy in our neighbor.	50:28
	James S Stewart, the great Scottish preacher of Edinburgh,	50:35
	puts it in these words,	50:37
	"I cannot do without Thee.	50:39
	I cannot stand alone.	50:42
	I have no strength nor goodness,	50:44
	nor wisdom of my own.	50:47
	But Thou, beloved Savior art all in all to me,	50:48
	and perfect strength in weakness	50:52
	is theirs who lean on Thee."	50:54
	It is the risen, redemptive presence of Christ,	51:00
	which comes to us, from God, through the Word,	51:03
	through friends, or through angels unaware.	51:06
	There's a real sense in which, when we are in need,	51:12
	it is the presence of God in Christ that comes to us,	51:14
	a word from a friend,	51:17
	a gesture from someone who cares,	51:19
	a lifetime of support from a mate or a parent,	51:24
	an expression of deep concern,	51:29
	an act of love and compassion,	51:31
	these are more than just acts of human kindness.	51:32
	They are the presence of Christ alive and real,	51:35
	in our midst, God was in Christ, reconciling,	51:38
	redeeming, drawing, bringing,	51:42
	loving the world into himself, how do we know this?	51:44
	Not through creed or doctrine or theology,	51:48
	but through personal firsthand experience.	51:50
	The kind of experience that on one occasion,	51:53
	moved Charles Wesley to write a hymn,	51:56
	that said, Christ is the one,	51:58
	who charms our fears,	52:01
	who bids our sorrow cease,	52:04
	who breaks the power of canceled sin,	52:06
	who sets the prisoner, you and me, free,	52:09
	who makes the foulest clean,	52:12
	is music in the sinner's ears,	52:15
	is life and health and peace.	52:17
	He speaks and listening to his voice,	52:19
	new life, the dead receive,	52:22
	the mournful, broken hearts rejoice,	52:24
	the humble poor believe.	52:26
	Hear him, you deaf, his praise, you dumb,	52:28
	your loosened tongues employ,	52:31
	you blind, behold your Savior come,	52:33
	and leap, you lame, for joy.	52:36
	What but the power and the grace of God in Christ	52:38
	can do these things for us?	52:40
	How can we know God,	52:43
	but as a personal firsthand experience?	52:46
	Saint Augustine wrote,	52:49
	"I have read in Plato and Cicero sayings	52:51
	that are very wise and very beautiful,	52:53
	but I have never read from either one of them,	52:55
	'Come unto me, you who are burdened and are heavy-laden.'"	52:58
	And that's the Gospel.	53:03
	That is Christ the Redeemer.	53:06
	"Come unto me,	53:10
	you who are burdened and heavy-laden."	53:13
	And then, there is God the counselor,	53:18
	in his farewell discourse,	53:21
	his farewell word to his disciples,	53:24
	read in John 16, this morning,	53:26
	Jesus said to his disciples,	53:28
	"it is for your own good that I am going away	53:30
	because unless I go,	53:32
	the counselor, the advocate, the supporter, the helper,	53:34
	will not come to you.	53:37
	But when the spirit of truth comes,	53:39
	he will lead you to the complete truth."	53:40
	Jesus reminds us that it is only in memory,	53:43
	that real intimacy with him is possible.	53:47
	Only in memory, will the disciples experience	53:50
	full meaning of what it is that they have seen.	53:53
	In his latest book, "The Living Reminder,"	53:58
	Dr. Henri Nouwen writes,	54:02
	"The great mystery of the divine revelation,	54:04
	is that God entered into intimacy with us,	54:10
	not only in Christ's coming,	54:13
	but also by His leaving."	54:18
	Indeed, he says, "It is in Christ's absence,	54:23
	that our intimacy is so profound,	54:30
	that we can say He dwells in us,	54:36
	that we can call Him our food and drink,	54:39
	that we can experience Him as the center of our being,	54:43
	that this is far from a theoretical idea, becomes clear,"	54:50
	He says,	54:54
	"in the lives of people like Dietrich Bonhoeffer,	54:55
	who, while in a Nazi prison, waiting for death,	54:58
	experienced Christ's presence in the midst of his absence.	55:00
	and Boenheffer writes,	55:04
	'The God who is with us, the God who forsakes us.	55:07
	Before God, and with God,	55:12
	we live without God.'"	55:15
	Creator,	55:22
	Redeemer,	55:24
	Counselor,	55:27
	Trinity,	55:28
	God.	55:30
	I do not understand the Trinity.	55:32
	I do not know or understand	55:35
	how there are three persons in one.	55:38
	Oh, I know some of the analogies that have been given.	55:40
	Trinity is like water, which is one element,	55:43
	but has three forms, frozen, liquid, and vapor,	55:46
	or the Trinity is like a person, a human being.	55:51
	When a woman may be a mother, and a wife, and a daughter,	55:54
	three persons in one person.	55:58
	I have read about and have heard these analogies,	56:01
	but I still do not understand.	56:03
	Intellectually, the doctrine of the Trinity	56:05
	is perplexing to me,	56:07
	philosophically, it is totally mysterious to me,	56:09
	so then I come down under the conclusion	56:12
	that experientially is the only way that the doctrine	56:14
	of the Trinity makes sense,	56:16
	for God has created and is creating,	56:18
	God has come, and is alive in Christ,	56:20
	God is real and is present in the spirit.	56:23
	It may be however, that Kolya's word	56:25
	in Dostoevsky's "The Brothers Karamazov" is right.	56:28
	"Oh," he wrote and said, "I have nothing against God.	56:31
	I admit that God is needed	56:36
	for the order of the universe and all that,	56:38
	and if there were no God, he would have to be invented."	56:40
	Has God been invented?	56:48
	For my own life,	56:54
	the creature cannot create the Creator.	56:56
	The child cannot create the parent.	56:59
	The ax cannot vaunt itself against the handle,	57:02
	nor the clay against the potter.	57:06
	Sure, in the Trinity, there is something for everyone.	57:10
	For those who want the powerful and the forceful,	57:15
	the all encompassing, there is God the Creator.	57:17
	For those who want the actual, the real, the factual,	57:22
	the historical, there is the Redeemer.	57:25
	For those who want the mysterious,	57:28
	the mystical, the spiritual, the experiential,	57:30
	there is the Counselor.	57:33
	Sure,	57:35
	there is something here for everyone,	57:37
	but this is God's design and purpose,	57:40
	and it is not our whim and fancy.	57:42
	I do not understand the Trinity,	57:46
	but if I wait to understand everything	57:50
	and every experience in life	57:52
	before I enjoy it and am blessed by it,	57:54
	then I may never fly an airplane.	57:57
	I may never use electricity.	58:00
	I may never take an aspirin.	58:03
	I may never enjoy a rainbow or a sunset.	58:05
	I may never really experience the love of my wife,	58:09
	or my children for I do not understand these things.	58:12
	How do I know that God is?	58:19
	And that God is good?	58:22
	Old Woodbine Willie, some of you may know, as the chaplain,	58:25
	British chaplain during World War One,	58:29
	writes some words,	58:31
	"How do I know that God is good? I don't.	58:32
	I gamble like a man.	58:37
	I bet my life up on one side in life's Great War.	58:39
	How is it proved?	58:43
	It isn't proved, you fool, it can't be proved.	58:44
	How can you prove of the victory before it's won?	58:46
	How can you prove a man who leads	58:49
	to be a leader worth the following?	58:51
	Unless you follow to the death, and out beyond mere death,	58:52
	which is not anything but Satan's lie upon eternal life.	58:56
	Well, God's my leader,	59:00
	and I hold that he is good and strong enough	59:02
	to work his plan and purpose out to its appointed end.	59:04
	I know not why the evil, I know, not why the good,	59:08
	both mysterious, both remain unsolved and both insoluble,	59:11
	but I bet my life on beauty, truth, and love,	59:16
	not abstract, but incarnate truth,	59:20
	not beauty's passing shadow, but beauty's self,	59:23
	it's very self-made flesh, love realized.	59:26
	I bet my life on Christ, Christ crucified,	59:29
	so through the clouds of Calvary,	59:33
	there shines his face,	59:35
	and I believe that evil dies and good lives on,	59:37
	loves on and conquers all,	59:40
	all war must end in peace.	59:42
	These clouds are lies, they cannot last.	59:44
	The blue sky is the truth, for God is love.	59:48
	Such is my faith and such my reasons for it.	59:52
	I find them strong enough,	59:56
	and you? You want to argue?	59:58
	Well, I can't. It is a choice.	1:00:01
	I choose the Christ."	1:00:04
	Amen.	1:00:10
	(church organ music)	1:00:18
	(choir singing)	1:00:44
	(choir singing continues)	1:01:36
	(choir singing concludes)	1:02:34
	(soft church organ music)	1:02:41
	(soft church organ music)	1:03:39
	(choir singing)	1:03:46
	(choir singing continues)	1:04:48
	(choir singing continues)	1:05:38
	(church organ music)	1:06:17
	(church organ music continues)	1:07:09
	(choir singing)	1:07:33
	(choir singing continues)	1:08:10
	(choir singing and church organ music concludes)	1:08:33
-	Accept, oh Lord,	1:08:40
	these offerings Thy people make unto Thee,	1:08:42
	and grant that the causes to which they are devoted,	1:08:46
	may prosper under Thy guidance,	1:08:51
	and to the glory of Thy name.	1:08:54
	And as we have given our gifts,	1:08:57
	help us now to give ourselves,	1:09:00
	in the name of the Father, of the Son,	1:09:03
	and of the Holy Spirit, amen.	1:09:05
	(lively church organ music)	1:09:10
	(choir singing)	1:09:49
	(choir singing continues)	1:10:29
	(choir singing continues)	1:11:10
	(choir singing concludes)	1:11:55
	Unto God's gracious mercy and protection, we commit you,	1:12:01
	and the blessing of God almighty,	1:12:07
	the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,	1:12:10
	be upon you and remain with you always.	1:12:14
	Amen.	1:12:21
	(choir singing)	1:12:27
	(lively church organ music)	1:13:30
	(lively church organ music continues)	1:14:30
	(lively church organ music continues)	1:15:32
	(lively church organ music concludes)	1:15:53

Item Info

Title:

Robert T. Young - "Creator, Redeemer, Counselor" (June 5, 1977)

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4sn05521

Date:

June 5, 1977

Speaker:

Young, Robert T., 1935-2009

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 RR-0901
ref7005_cd4
uachapelsermaud
duke:627950
dcrau002847
ark:/87924/r4sn05521
8a716adf-36e1-4f45-a18a-444abece127c

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings, 1954-2005

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Language:

English

Location:

United States
North Carolina
Durham (N.C.)

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The Duke University Chapel Recordings were transferred to the Duke University Archives beginning in 1970.

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Educational Use Permitted

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This material is made available for educational and non-commercial use. This recording may contain 3rd party materials, such as music or readings that are therefore not covered by the license indicated here. Copyright in this material has not been transferred to Duke University. For other reuses of this material beyond those permitted by fair use or otherwise allowed under the Copyright Act, please see our page on copyright and citations https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/research/citations-and-permissions.

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Robert T. Young - "Creator, Redeemer, Counselor" (June 5, 1977)

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1. Robert T. Young - "Creator, Redeemer, Counselor" (June 5, 1977)

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Robert T. Young - "Creator, Redeemer, Counselor" (June 5, 1977)

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