Samuel Proctor - "Being Christian When We Are Ahead in Life" (May 1, 1994) / Duke Chapel Recordings / Duke Digital Repository

(pleasant bell music)

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(joyful bell music)

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Good morning.

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Welcome to Duke Chapel.

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Our distinguished guest preacher today

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is Dr. Samuel Proctor.

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We're so glad that he has accepted

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a position at the Divinity School

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as Professor of the Practice of Christian Ministry,

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for it has given us the opportunity

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to have him here several times this year.

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And we hope that that will be

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a trend that we can continue.

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Welcome again, Dr. Proctor.

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We also welcome the Raleigh Ringers

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and their director, David M. Harris.

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We're grateful for their music leadership this morning.

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Please stand as we continue our worship with the greeting.

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Christ is risen.

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Congregation

Christ is risen indeed.

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Glory and honor, dominion and power

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be to God for ever and ever.

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Congregation

Christ is risen, hallelujah.

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("Christ, Whose Glory Fills the Sky")

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♪ Christ, whose glory fills the skies ♪

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♪ Christ, the true, the only Light ♪

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♪ Sun of Righteousness, arise ♪

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♪ Triumph o'er the shades of night ♪

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♪ Dayspring from on high, be near ♪

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♪ Daystar, in my heart appear ♪

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♪ Dark and cheerless is the morn ♪

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♪ Unaccompanied by Thee ♪

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♪ Joyless is the day's return ♪

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♪ Till Thy mercy's beams I see ♪

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♪ Till Thou inward light impart ♪

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♪ Glad my eyes, and warm my heart. ♪

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♪ Visit then this soul of mine ♪

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♪ Pierce the gloom of sin and grief ♪

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♪ Fill me, Radiancy divine ♪

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♪ Scatter all my unbelief ♪

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♪ More and more Thyself display ♪

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♪ Shining to the perfect day ♪

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Let us pray.

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Oh God, you have created us for yourself.

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You have made our minds restless

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until they embrace your purpose as our own,

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our hearts aimless until they adopt your will as our own,

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and our hands profitless until they

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seize your task as our own.

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We praise you in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord,

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in whom you have revealed the person you created us to be.

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Let your revelation never cease until our minds and hearts

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and hands are wholly committed to your service.

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In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, amen.

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You may be seated.

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Let us pray together the Prayer for Illumination.

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All

Open our hearts and minds, O God,

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by the power of your Holy Spirit,

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so that as the Word is read and proclaimed,

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we might hear your Word with joy this day.

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Amen.

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The first lesson is taken from the Acts of the Apostles,

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Chapter 11, from the beginning of the first verse.

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Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip,

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"Get up and go towards the south to the road

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"that leads down from Jerusalem to Gaza."

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This is the wilderness road.

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So he got up and went.

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Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch,

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a court official of the Candace, or queen,

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of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury.

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He had come to Jerusalem to worship, and was returning home,

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seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah.

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Then the Spirit said to Philip,

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"Go over to this chariot and join it."

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So Philip ran up to it and heard

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him reading the prophet Isaiah.

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He asked, "Do you understand what you're reading?"

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He replied, "How can I, unless someone guides me?"

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Then he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him.

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Now the passage of the scripture

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that he was reading was this:

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Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter,

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and like a lamb silent before its shearer,

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so he does not open his mouth.

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In his humiliation, justice was denied him.

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Who can describe this generation?

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For his life was taken away from the earth.

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The eunuch asked Philip, "About whom,

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"may I ask you, does the prophet say this?

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About himself, or somebody else?"

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Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture

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he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus.

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As they were going along the road, they came to some water,

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and the eunuch said, "Look, here's some water!

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"What is to prevent us from being baptized?"

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He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them,

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Philip and the Eunuch, went down into the water,

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and Philip baptized him.

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When they came up out of the water,

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the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away.

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The eunuch saw him no more and went on his way rejoicing.

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But Philip found himself in Azotus,

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and as he was passing through the region,

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he proclaimed the good news to all the towns

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until he came to Caesarea.

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This is the Word of the Lord.

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(congregation speaking faintly)

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The Psalter is found on page 753 in your hymnbook.

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Please stand and read responsively verses 25 to 31.

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From you comes my praise in the great congregation.

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Congregation

My vows I will pay

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before those who worship the Lord.

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The poor shall eat and be satisfied.

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Congregation

Those who seek the Lord

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shall praise the Lord.

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May your hearts live forever.

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All the ends of the earth shall remember

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and turn to the Lord.

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Congregation

And all the families of the nations

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shall worship before the Lord.

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For dominion belongs to the Lord

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who rules over the nations.

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Congregation

All who sleep in the earth

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shall bow down to the Lord.

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All who go down to the dust shall bow before the Lord,

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and I shall live for God.

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Congregation

Posterity shall serve the Lord.

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Each generation shall tell of the Lord

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and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn.

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Congregation

Surely the Lord has done it.

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("Glory Be To Our Creator")

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♪ Glory be to our Creator ♪

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♪ Praise to our Redeemer, Lord ♪

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♪ Glory be to our Sustainer ♪

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♪ Ever three and ever one ♪

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♪ As it was in the beginning ♪

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♪ Now and evermore shall be ♪

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The second lesson is taken from 1 John, chapter four,

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beginning with the seventh verse.

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Beloved, let us love one another because love is from God.

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Everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.

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Whoever does not love, does not know God, for God is love.

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God's love was revealed among us in this way.

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God sent his only son into the world

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so that we might believe through him.

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And this is love: Not that we loved God,

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but that he loved us and sent his son

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to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

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Beloved, since God loved us so much,

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we also outta love one another.

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No one has ever seen God.

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If we love another, God lives in us,

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and his love is perfected in us.

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By this we know that we abide in him, and he in us,

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because he has given us of his Spirit.

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And we have seen and do testify

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that the Father has sent his Son as the savior of the world.

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God abides in those who confess that Jesus

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is the Son of God, and they abide in God.

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So we have known and believed the love that God has for us.

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God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God,

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and God abides in them.

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Love has been perfected among us in this,

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that we may have boldness on the day of judgment

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because as he is, so are we in this world.

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There is no fear in love.

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But perfect love casts out fear,

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for fear has to do with punishment,

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and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love.

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We love because he loved us first.

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Those who say, I love God and hate

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their brothers or sisters are liars.

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For those who do not love a brother or sister,

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whom they have seen, cannot love God who they haven't seen.

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The commandment we have from him is this:

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Those who love God must love

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their brothers and sisters also.

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This is the Word of the Lord.

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(congregations speaking faintly)

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(joyful organ music)

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(pleasant bell music)

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The Gospel, this morning, the good news,

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is taken from the Gospel According to Saint John,

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the 15th chapter, beginning with verse one.

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I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-grower.

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He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit.

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Every branch that bears fruit he prunes

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to make it bear more fruit.

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You have already been cleansed by the word

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that I have spoken to you.

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Abide in me as I abide in you.

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Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself

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unless it abides in the vine,

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neither can you unless you abide in me.

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I am the vine, you are the branches.

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Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit,

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because apart from me you can do nothing.

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Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away

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like a branch and withers;

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such branches are gathered,

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thrown into the fire, and burned.

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If you abide in me, and my words abide in you,

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ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

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My Father is glorified by this,

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that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.

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This is the Word of the Lord.

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Let me say how grateful I am, once again,

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to be privileged to worship with you here

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in this glorious chapel, and to enjoy the fellowship

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of the staff and the members of the congregation

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who participate in the service.

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It is no ordinary thing to try to be prepared

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for this responsibility several times in a year.

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But when I looked over there and saw

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some of the music that the bell choir was using

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and saw the gymnastics that some of them

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had to go through to get that bell struck on time,

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I was very grateful that all I

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had to do was give this sermon.

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(laughing)

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On being Christian when we are ahead in life.

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This sermon is inspired by a parable of Jesus

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found in the 18th chapter of the

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Gospel According to Matthew,

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and it begins at the 23rd verse.

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I'm reading from the New English Bible.

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The Kingdom of Heaven, therefore,

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should be thought of in this way:

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There was once a king who decided

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to settle accounts with the men who served him.

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At the outset, there appeared before him

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a man who debt ran into millions.

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Since he had no means of paying,

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his master ordered him to be sold to meet the debt,

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with his wife, his children and everything he had.

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The man fell prostrate at his master's feet.

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"Be patient with me," he said, "and I will pay in full".

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And the master was so moved with pity

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that he let the man go and remitted the debt.

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But no sooner had the man gone out than he met

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a fellow-servant who owed him a few pounds.

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And catching hold of him, he gripped him by the throat,

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and said, "Pay me what you owe me."

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The man fell at his fellow-servant's feet, and begged him,

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"Be patient with me, and I will pay you".

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But he refused, and had him jailed

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until he should pay the debt.

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The other servants were deeply distressed

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when they saw what had happened,

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and they went to their master and told him the whole story.

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He accordingly sent for the man.

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"You scoundrel," he said to him,

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"I remitted the whole of your debt when you appealed to me;

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"were you not bound to show your fellow-servant

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the same pity as I showed you?"

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And so angry was the master that he condemned the man

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to torture until

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he should pay the debt in full.

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On being Christian when we are ahead in life.

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When I served as president of a small college in Virginia,

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it was routine for the president

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to get to know the students one by one.

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There weren't that many of them, about 900 or so.

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It was also frequently the case

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that I had to get involved with helping students

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who did not have means to stay in school.

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Often I would solicit churches for scholarships

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for students with promise and ability,

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but who were with limited means.

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One of my most talented students

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throughout the entire time I was there

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went out and met with great success.

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In fact, he became the president of two institutions

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in a very short while.

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He was dismissed from both of them, sadly,

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because he lost the favor of students,

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faculty, trustees, alumni, and community leadership.

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And when I asked some of his friends confidentially,

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one after another, his closest friends, what had happened,

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he was so far ahead in life, fine looking,

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intellectually superior, very extrovertive, verbal,

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charismatic, but he was severely egotistical,

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extremely self-regarding, profanely selfish

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and uncharitable, and quick to use

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anyone he found to promote himself.

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And after a few months anywhere,

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these traits about him became glaring.

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And on of them said this to me,

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the very words of the subject today.

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One of them said, Sam, he is a person

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who does not know how to act

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when he is way ahead in life.

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This is an awful thing to have to say about anyone,

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but even more troubling when said about

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a person committed to Christ and who

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is pledged to follow the example of Jesus.

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How should persons behave when they look up

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and see that they are way ahead in life?

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Jesus told this parable about a man

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who owed his lord an awful lot of money.

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It's hard to translate exactly with inflation

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in another currency in another era,

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but this translation says he owed in the millions

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and could not pay the debt.

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He was asked for the money and threatened with enslavement

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of himself and his whole family, and he was in deep trouble.

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His whole life was about to cave in.

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He fell on his face, he was pleading,

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and then the lord to whom he owed the money

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showed mercy and forgave the whole debt.

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The whole debt!

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Then with this clean slate, he had it made.

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He was in a go condition, as we would say.

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His troubles were behind him.

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Suddenly he was way ahead in life.

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Then he ran upon another buddy

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who owed him just a few dollars,

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and look at how he carried on.

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He demanded payment in full right away.

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This servant made the same plea

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that he had made just a little while earlier.

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The servant could not pay,

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and the one who had been forgiven jumped on him, choked him.

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The Bible says he took him by the throat,

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beat him and dragged him to jail,

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and ordered him to be tortured

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until he could pay the whole debt.

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This is how he behaved after he had been set free

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of his debt, which was many times larger.

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It's almost comical, this parable.

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It's so simple.

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But this is a parable about human behavior

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and how we seem to forget our benefactions

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and behave so unseemly when we find out

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that we are free and we have gotten way ahead in life.

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The one who had his debt forgiven

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behaved in very familiar ways.

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We've all seen this.

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He had come out the winner.

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He had gotten over.

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The heavy burden was lifted.

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He was in a cruising condition,

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and sadly, what often accompanies such feelings

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is looking down in contempt on others

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who were no so smart, not quite so clever,

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not so lucky, not yet out of the tangled cords

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of missed opportunities, poor timing,

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weak connections, false starts,

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questionable people skills, and strategic blunders.

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And there they are, drifting in mediocrity and average

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success, while others have emerged

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way ahead in life.

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Now Jesus is referring to God's forgiveness, we know that,

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and what a burden it is to labor

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under the weight of unforgiven sin.

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That's what the parable is all about.

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The parable illustrates how generously God has forgiven sin,

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and how begrudging we are toward others

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who need forgiveness from us.

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So beginning right there,

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we understand what the parable is saying.

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But then we make the application even broader

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to other aspects of life and see how it fits us

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in our handling all of the blessings and benefactions

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in our lives that give us such a release,

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such a forward thrust, a premium advantage,

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and see how we behave when we are ahead.

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And strangely, it seems that those who get ahead

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somehow manage to stay ahead.

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Nothing breeds success like success.

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Momentum somehow multiplies, and acceleration

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picks up in quantum degrees.

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And whatever it was that put us out front

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seems to work well, and the gap just widens

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between our position and whoever is trailing us.

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It seems that way.

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The man in Jesus' parable got ahead because he borrowed

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a large sum of money and had his debt forgiven.

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He had not really earned his position of advantage,

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but there he was treating another with stern

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self-righteousness when he had been thrust ahead

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by someone else's mercy, someone else's generosity.

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And often, these are the worse offenders,

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those whose success is flaky and unearned.

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And those of us who need to be most careful

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are the ones who are ahead because they really earned it.

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They worked hard, they made sacrifices,

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they studied hard, they lived frugally,

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made prudent decisions, deferred pleasures,

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saved money, invested wisely, told the truth,

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lived above reproach, and arrived way ahead in life.

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My generation is very much threatened

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by all of this because we came along

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when there were not all of these loans

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and grants and fellowships.

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Almost everybody I know who was a schoolmate of mine

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was making a great sacrifice to get through school.

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These are the ones who really have to be careful

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and need to ask the question over and over again,

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how should a Christian behave who's way ahead in life

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and who believes that he deserves all of it?

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Well, Jesus made it perfectly clear how not to behave

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when we are ahead, and hardly anyone could miss the point.

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Jesus told one parable after another to warn us

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on how to behave and how not to behave

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when we found ourselves ahead.

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He told about a man whose crops had yielded bountifully,

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and who had filled his barn to overflowing.

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He bragged about his abundance and decided

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that rather than share with others,

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he would just build bigger barns.

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And he said, soul, take thine ease.

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We've got enough now and for the foreseeable future.

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Now that's how not to behave,

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and Jesus said that God came that night

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and said, this night thy soul shall be required of thee.

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The point is obvious to everyone.

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There was no hint, incidentally,

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that he had robbed or exploited anyone.

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There is no suggestion that he had done anything wrong.

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All he did was be successful.

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He used his intelligence.

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He practiced sound agriculture, no doubt.

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He used good seeds, and he kept the weeds down,

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and kept the parasites away.

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And when you add that to God's free sunshine

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and God's free rainfall, and God's chemicals in the soil,

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and God's genetic secrets, and reproductive secrets,

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that causes everything to come out just fine.

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And when you put your little genius

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to God's inexhaustible benefits, look out,

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You just may get way ahead in life.

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Then you've got the problem, how do I behave

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when I found out that I used

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what God gave so generously,

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and I applied what was given to me as a person,

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and then I practiced what my parents

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and my teachers taught me, and I did not violate any rules.

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My soul, you could hardly miss like that.

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Then comes the temptation to behave like this man behaved,

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whose whole debt was forgiven.

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Jesus told about a pharisee and a tax collector

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who went into the temple to pray.

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The pharisee stood in one aisle and declared

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how far ahead he was on the moral scale.

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He had not sinned at all.

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He was way ahead, and he pointed

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to the publican, the tax collector.

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Oh, tax collectors were despised people.

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They were around there collecting taxes

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from their own people on a commission

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to give the money to the Roman procurator

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so that an occupation army could be paid.

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Now you know they didn't like him.

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And there he was standing over there,

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ashamed of what he was doing.

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He would not even lift up his eyes

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unto heaven, the Bible says.

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He held his head down and beat his breast and said,

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Lord, have mercy on me a sinner.

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And Jesus' parable says that the Lord did have mercy on him,

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and he came down from the temple justified.

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He told about a priest and a Levite

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out there on the Jericho road

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who came upon a poor victim of a robbery,

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a man left for dead.

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His clothes stripped from him, unconscious, could not speak.

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So one did not know what tribe he belonged to.

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One could not hear whether he said sibboleth or shibboleth.

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There he is unconscious and naked,

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unable to identify himself.

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And there were two persons of the leadership class,

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way ahead in life, who looked down on him,

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took no chances of dealing with an impure stranger

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who might have belonged to another group of people,

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with no ID on him at all,

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and they passed by on the other side.

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A priest and a Levite, leaders in the community,

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way ahead in life.

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But a Samaritan, who was looked down upon by everybody,

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had compassion, cared for him,

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while those who were way ahead in life

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showed him nothing but benign neglect.

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So what are the lessons that we learn now

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on how we ought to behave?

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So many of us have been so richly blessed,

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and many of us are sensitive about this,

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and want to be scrutinous about how we act

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in the light of our forward position in the world.

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So when we look at ourselves in the light of what

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Jesus taught, what is the message that we get?

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Well we learn that so much of our well-being

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is due to the benefactions that we did not earn

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or deserve, and just as they were passed on to us,

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the least that we can do is to pass them

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on to others who did not enjoy such sponsorship.

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Most of us are like the man whose huge debt was forgiven,

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and we ought to remember that in all

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of our dealings with others.

44:24

We've got some debts that we're not really asked to pay.

44:26

That has put us way ahead in life.

44:30

When I attended college, I had as scholarship donated

44:33

by an anonymous benefactor in New Hampshire.

44:36

I didn't know the donor at all.

44:38

There I was in a small college with my tuition paid

44:41

by somebody many, many miles away,

44:44

way up there in New Hampshire,

44:47

and I was in Richmond, Virginia.

44:49

And so I asked over and over again, what was his name?

44:52

No one would tell me.

44:55

They thought I was gonna ask him for more money,

44:56

and I was if I could of gotten his name.

44:58

But they wouldn't give me his name.

45:01

I did not know the man at all, did not ask for this charity.

45:03

I did not select myself to receive it, it just came to me.

45:09

And in the days of the deep depression,

45:14

I'm sure I could not have stayed in college without that.

45:16

I could not even thank the donor

45:20

because the donor remained anonymous.

45:22

Well here's something you'll find hard to believe.

45:25

The truth sometimes is stranger than fiction.

45:28

20 years later, I was the president of that college,

45:33

and Mrs. Lighter, my secretary, called me on the phone

45:37

and said there's someone who wants to speak with you

45:40

and will not tell what it is about what he wants to say.

45:43

And sitting in my office with me was a young fella,

45:47

sitting there trembling and crying,

45:51

saying that he was approaching his last semester

45:53

and was stone broke, had borrowed all he could.

45:57

No one in the family could help him,

46:00

and he was about to be leave school.

46:02

I checked on him and he told me his average was straight As,

46:05

one of our summa cum laude graduates coming up.

46:08

And there he was.

46:12

He had married young and had two infant children.

46:13

His wife could not work because

46:16

these were babies at her feet.

46:18

And there he sat with this story, all of this sad report.

46:21

About to graduate and no funds for his last semester.

46:26

As we talked, this telephone rang and I took the call,

46:29

and guess who it was?

46:34

An old, old cracked voice of an elderly man

46:37

asking me if I were the same Samuel Proctor

46:41

whom he had helped in that school 20 years earlier.

46:45

I told him that I was, and then I told him

46:49

how much I wanted to thank him but I was not allowed to.

46:52

He exchanged a few words of felicity,

46:55

then asked me this question.

46:58

Do you know, are you ready for this?

47:00

Do you know of another student

47:03

who needs help such as I gave to you.

47:06

I said, sir, you won't believe this,

47:10

but I've got a basketcase sitting in front of me right now.

47:12

I gave the phone, they talked for a while.

47:18

The man was so impressed he said to my secretary,

47:21

give me all the information about him,

47:25

and do you know that that man paid his tuition

47:26

for that last semester and paid his way

47:29

all the way through Harvard University's medical school.

47:33

And today, if you should go to Richmond, Virginia,

47:38

you'll find in the Yellow Pages

47:40

the name of Charles Cummings,

47:43

one of the fine, successful Richmond physicians.

47:45

Whenever I go to Richmond for anything,

47:50

he finds out that I'm there,

47:52

he comes, he wants to introduce me.

47:55

He heaps on me such gratitude that I really feel guilty.

47:58

All I did was answer the telephone.

48:02

(congregation laughing)

48:05

I was just the agent whereby the same

48:07

benefit that put me ahead in life,

48:09

put him ahead in life too.

48:11

And thank God he has created now a scholarship fund

48:14

that will be there for a long time to help other

48:19

young people coming along who run out of money.

48:22

That's easy.

48:26

That's how to behave when we're way ahead in life.

48:27

All we have to do is to remember how we got over,

48:31

and then help someone else.

48:34

The problem is, not all of us remain fully aware

48:37

of how we got over, and therefore feel no obligation.

48:40

That's what the parable was all about.

48:45

In a matter of seconds, the man forgot

48:48

the great debt that had been forgiven.

48:51

He did not know how to behave

48:53

when he found himself ahead in life.

48:55

Now it may not be possible always

48:59

to do this on a one on one basis.

49:01

I was just lucky that someone happened

49:03

to come by, and the case was easy.

49:06

Sometimes it may be done through

49:08

institutions that we support.

49:10

Sometimes it may be done through something

49:13

as remote as our tax dollars that enable

49:15

our government to answer needs in distant lands

49:19

that we can't get a handle on at all.

49:22

Or even help persons right here in our own country

49:27

who are far removed from our own circle.

49:30

It takes some imagination to see in these situations an

49:33

opportunity to be Christian when we are way ahead in life.

49:38

The saddest thing I have seen in recent times

49:43

has been for Christian people, in the name of prudence,

49:45

and all other kinds of placebos and that sort of thing,

49:51

using all kinds of deceptive language

49:56

to line up behind the most begrudging

49:58

and mean-spirited causes that I have ever heard of,

50:01

and behave as though they never knew Jesus at all.

50:05

When we're ahead in life, we need to pass on to others

50:09

those acts of grace that put us so far ahead.

50:12

We've seen some awesome problems

50:16

arising in our society recently

50:18

lots to do with the fact that so many persons

50:20

never had the interventions that you and I

50:23

have been able to take for granted.

50:26

I know the difference between my life

50:29

and the lives of some of the failures that I have seen,

50:32

and I can blame them for all of it if I want to,

50:35

but I can close my eyes and just remember

50:38

the interventions that came into my life

50:41

that did not come near their lives.

50:44

Look further, now, and see that even when we think

50:47

we've earned our favored position in life,

50:50

it sounds commendable and honorable,

50:52

but a closer look shows that even the most spartan

50:55

of us really began with the huge debt

50:58

of which we may not even have been aware.

51:02

A long time friend of our family is Bishop Kelly.

51:07

Many of you know her, she's been here to preach.

51:10

Bishop Kelly of the United Methodist Church.

51:12

Oh, she's a remarkable person, a dynamic preacher,

51:14

and a wonderful Christian leader.

51:17

She was widowed when she was rather young.

51:20

I knew her husband well, and her family.

51:22

In fact, when she was a grown woman, she went back

51:24

to college and she was a student of mine also.

51:27

Oh, I tell you, I've been run out of

51:30

some of the nicest places in this country.

51:32

I've had some of the finest students you can imagine.

51:34

She reared her children, she began preaching.

51:37

When her husband died, see, the congregation

51:40

told the Bishop we don't want another pastor,

51:42

we just want the pastor's wife to be our pastor.

51:45

And you know, if you say that loudly enough

51:48

you just might get it, and they got what they wanted.

51:49

Before she knew it, she was moving up in the church.

51:52

Moved up fast.

51:56

She became a bishop in record breaking time.

51:58

I think the only one who broke her record

52:00

was Ambrose of Milan, who was made

52:02

a bishop two weeks after baptism.

52:05

But Bishop Kelly was next with her rapid rise.

52:08

She grew up in Ohio where her father

52:12

was a Methodist minister.

52:15

And in one old run down church

52:17

that they gave to her father,

52:20

there was a deep cellar underneath

52:23

the church with a dirt floor.

52:25

And someone had dug a hole in the cellar

52:29

about three feet in diameter and about 10 feet deep.

52:32

It was covered with a manhole,

52:37

and then with boards lying over it to disguise it.

52:39

Her three brothers found it and they took their baby sister,

52:44

isn't it awful what brothers will do to a baby sister?

52:49

They convinced her to let them

52:53

let her down in this strange hole.

52:55

There she was with her tender young self

52:59

trying to placate the wishes of her macho brothers,

53:01

and here they let her down there with a rope.

53:05

It looked like a well.

53:07

And her brothers did this to her.

53:09

Let her down there until her feet touched the bottom,

53:11

and she had to yell up and tell what it was that she saw.

53:14

Well luckily it was only about 10 feet deep,

53:18

she came out safely.

53:20

I heard her tell that story with her bishop's robe on

53:22

at a large ecumenical gathering out in Ohio.

53:25

And I thought to myself, those bad boys

53:28

took that tender little sister and never dreamed

53:32

that one day she would be a bishop,

53:35

and there they are letting a bishop of the church

53:38

down in a deep hole in the basement of that old church.

53:40

Well, I've been reminded of that many times.

53:45

But then she became bishop of the church,

53:50

and she became bishop of the church

53:54

and had an assignment there in Ohio.

53:57

And she went back to that old church

54:00

and studied it's history, and my soul,

54:02

guess what she found out?

54:06

That old church was an underground railroad station

54:08

where slaves were received, and hidden,

54:14

and fed, and clothed, and sent on to another safe station

54:17

on the underground railroad network.

54:22

And she learned that the hole in the basement

54:26

of that church was where a slave was hidden

54:29

from time to time in case the bounty hunters would come,

54:32

they could not find the slave.

54:36

And here she was, a black woman,

54:39

bishop in the United Methodist Church

54:43

with so much memory and such a reminder

54:47

that long before she was a Methodist bishop,

54:51

way back in those early days in Ohio,

54:56

there was someone so concerned about slaves

54:59

escaping to freedom that they would take the risk

55:03

of digging a hole like that and hiding a slave

55:07

until it was safe for that slave to move on.

55:12

No doubt, she'd never had any idea

55:16

that such activity had gone on in that old church

55:19

to which her father had been assigned.

55:22

But this is the lesson we learn about life.

55:24

Things that we don't even know about happen in our behalf.

55:28

It's sort of like what appears to be randomness

55:34

is not so random after all.

55:37

There's a quiet providence out there

55:40

that shapes our future while we are asleep.

55:43

Some facts were coming together and creating

55:48

synergistic and novel situations out of which

55:50

new syntheses appeared and intersected her life.

55:55

And we benefit in marvelous ways

56:00

and find ourselves strangely ahead in life.

56:02

And then when we act as though we did it

56:06

all ourselves, we have to be reminded

56:07

that we're debtors whose debts have been canceled

56:10

by the grace of God and we should pass it on

56:14

to someone else less fortunate.

56:18

Finally, the parable is really told

56:21

to remind us of the grace of God,

56:24

who does not measure what is given to us.

56:25

God's grace is boundless and it demonstrates

56:28

how we should show mercy and compassion to others.

56:30

Broadening this truth ad this principle

56:34

to it's wider application, we are where we are

56:37

ultimately because God has provided

56:40

circumstances that we could not contrive.

56:43

God had character building elements

56:47

poured into our lives that we did not control.

56:50

Relatives, neighbors, friends,

56:54

helped us in our early days of growth.

56:57

Discipline crept into our lives by some

57:00

people who cared deeply about us.

57:03

Love was showered on us.

57:05

Initiative and accountability were taught to us

57:07

at the hands of so many silent witnesses

57:10

that we are burdened with an infinite debt,

57:14

and it took all of that to get us where we are.

57:17

Look at what we inherited, a free society,

57:21

a decent standard of living, the company

57:24

of sages and martyrs found in the books in these libraries,

57:27

the institutions of public education,

57:31

great universities, private and endowed,

57:34

and supported by tax dollars, a nation safe

57:37

from invading armies, preventive medicine,

57:40

loving parents, stable governments,

57:43

protection from tyrants and fascists.

57:45

Oh, the list is long!

57:48

A fellow stopped me in Raleigh the other day,

57:51

I was preaching at a convention over there.

57:53

And he said, when are you going to Norfolk again?

57:55

I don't know, why do you ask?

57:58

He said, there's a woman 98 years old

58:01

who was a friend of your mother.

58:03

She's now paralyzed and in an old folks home,

58:06

and she asked me had I ever seen you,

58:09

and he said when you see him, tell him I'm here

58:12

and if he ever comes through here, stop by to see me.

58:15

I'm not going to wait until some trip

58:19

carries me to that place.

58:21

That was one of those ladies who would stop me

58:24

on the street and tell me not to do this and to do that.

58:27

She's the one who used to give me figs

58:30

off her fig bush and dishes of ice cream

58:33

and pat me on my cheek and give me encouragement.

58:36

She's the one who affirmed me over and over again,

58:39

and you know what I'm gonna do?

58:42

I'm gonna go way outta my way and find

58:44

my way to that senior citizen's home.

58:46

And if she can't say a word to me, I'm gonna just

58:49

stay there until she gets tired of looking at me,

58:52

because I want to behave like a Christian

58:56

when I'm way ahead in life.

58:58

And then apply that to the society at large and the persons

59:04

out there who need our ministrations so badly,

59:08

and here we are hung up about our success?

59:11

And the way to prove ourselves most accomplished is

59:14

to remember how to behave as a Christian

59:17

when we are way ahead in life.

59:21

Not long ago I was in the office

59:23

of Doug Wilder there in Richmond.

59:25

Now he's a student of mine also.

59:26

He used to sleep in my philosophy class.

59:29

(congregation laughing)

59:31

when I reminded him of that, well, he slept because

59:33

he was working in the John Marshall Hotel

59:36

and he didn't have a lot of time to get from

59:38

the hotel to class, and he just slept when he got to class.

59:40

Well, I asked him how far it was from that office

59:44

where we were sitting talking to 17th and Main Street.

59:49

What's the distance between the capitol and 17th and Main?

59:53

He said, oh, Dr. Proctor, it's only about four blocks

59:57

and I can almost see it from here.

1:00:00

I said, Doug, do you remember that it was in 1865

1:00:03

at 17th and Main that a Mr. Lumpkin had a jail.

1:00:07

An old jail for incorrigible slaves.

1:00:12

And after the Emancipation, the jail was surplus.

1:00:16

Nobody needed the jail anymore.

1:00:19

And the black Baptists were trying to find a place

1:00:22

to buy some real estate to start a college.

1:00:24

No one would sell them real estate to start a college.

1:00:27

No one would rent them space.

1:00:30

But Mr. Lumpkin had a jail, and the black Baptists

1:00:32

said they would buy the jail if they could get the money.

1:00:37

So they sold chicken and sweet potato pie

1:00:39

and fish and all of that until they could raise the money.

1:00:42

Then the white Baptists of Richmond learned about it

1:00:45

and they gave a contribution,

1:00:47

then the American Baptists Home Mission Society

1:00:50

from Philadelphia made a contribution,

1:00:52

and the next thing they knew, in 1865,

1:00:53

they were buying Mr. Lumpkin's jail.

1:00:57

Ah!

1:01:00

And then they converted those cell blocks into classrooms.

1:01:01

Ripped out those bars at the windows

1:01:05

and put in clean window panes.

1:01:08

Took the whipping posts and made lecterns out of them.

1:01:11

And there Doug Wilder and I, sitting in his office.

1:01:16

I said, Doug, you know, you finished Virginia Union

1:01:18

and I finished Virginia Union,

1:01:21

and that's where Virginia Union started.

1:01:23

Four blocks from here in Lumpkin's jail.

1:01:26

You and I are alumni of Mr. Lumpkin's jail.

1:01:31

Here you are, the governor of Thomas Jefferson's Virginia,

1:01:37

and I'm down there teaching at Duke Divinity School.

1:01:41

Doug this is a burden on us.

1:01:45

We've got to learn how to behave as Christians

1:01:48

when we're way ahead in life.

1:01:51

May God bless you all.

1:01:55

("O Word of God Incarnate")

1:01:59

♪ O Word of God incarnate ♪

1:02:41

♪ O Wisdom from on high ♪

1:02:47

♪ O Truth unchanged, unchanging ♪

1:02:52

♪ O Light of our dark sky ♪

1:02:58

♪ We praise Thee for the radiance ♪

1:03:03

♪ That from the hallowed page ♪

1:03:09

♪ A lantern to the footsteps ♪

1:03:14

♪ Shines on from age to age ♪

1:03:20

♪ The Church from her dear Savior ♪

1:03:28

♪ Received the gift divine ♪

1:03:33

♪ And still that light she lifteth ♪

1:03:38

♪ O'er all the earth to shine ♪

1:03:44

♪ It is the sacred blessing ♪

1:03:49

♪ Where gems of truth are stored ♪

1:03:55

♪ It is the heaven-drawn picture ♪

1:04:00

♪ Of Christ, the living Word ♪

1:04:06

♪ Our savior is a banner ♪

1:04:14

♪ Before God's host unfurled ♪

1:04:19

♪ It is a shining beacon ♪

1:04:25

♪ Above the darkling world ♪

1:04:30

♪ It is the chart and compass ♪

1:04:36

♪ That, o'er life's surging sea ♪

1:04:42

♪ 'Mid mists and rocks and quicksands ♪

1:04:47

♪ Still guide, O Christ, to Thee ♪

1:04:53

♪ O make Thy Church, dear Savior ♪

1:05:01

♪ A lampstand of pure gold ♪

1:05:06

♪ To bear before the nations ♪

1:05:12

♪ Thy light, that all behold ♪

1:05:17

♪ O teach Thy wandering pilgrims ♪

1:05:23

♪ By this their path to trace ♪

1:05:29

♪ Till, clouds and darkness ended ♪

1:05:34

♪ They see Thee face to face ♪

1:05:40

Debra

The Lord be with you.

1:05:51

Congregation

And also with you.

1:05:53

-

Let us pray, you may be seated.

1:05:55

Please respond to each petition

1:05:58

with the words, Lord, hear our prayer.

1:06:00

Gracious God, we give thanks for this time of worship.

1:06:07

A time to slow down the pace of our lives

1:06:12

and to reflect upon your many graces.

1:06:15

Truly all the blessings we enjoy

1:06:19

are gifts from your abundant mercy.

1:06:22

We give thanks for all that you have provided for us.

1:06:26

Giving us not only life, but life abundant.

1:06:30

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

1:06:36

Lord, we pray that your word may be planted in us.

1:06:41

Prepare our hearts and minds to receive it

1:06:46

with understanding, that we may become fertile ground.

1:06:49

Plant it deeply that it may stand

1:06:54

in the face of hardship or success.

1:06:57

Nurture it that the roots of your Word may not wither

1:07:01

in the midst of the world's cares or successes.

1:07:05

Finally, make us fruitful as disciples of Jesus Christ,

1:07:09

who offer grace and mercy and generosity to one another,

1:07:14

even as we have received all of these and more from you.

1:07:20

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

1:07:26

Compassionate God, you have encouraged

1:07:31

us to pray for on another.

1:07:34

Therefore, with trust in your great love,

1:07:37

we offer our prayers for the world.

1:07:40

Let us pray for the church.

1:07:43

Lord, we pray for the church

1:07:51

of Jesus Christ around the world.

1:07:53

As the scattered seed brings forth grain one hundred fold,

1:07:56

may your church which is scattered as seed on the wind

1:08:01

also bring forth bounteous fruit as we learn to live

1:08:04

as those who are Christians in the world

1:08:10

in our success as well as in our hardship.

1:08:14

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

1:08:18

Let us pray for the homeless,

1:08:23

the hungry, and victims of disaster.

1:08:25

God, you suffer with those who suffer.

1:08:40

We pray to you for those who are denied

1:08:43

what they need to live, and those whose dreams

1:08:45

have been shattered by war and disaster,

1:08:49

especially in Rwanda and Bosnia.

1:08:52

Reach out and bring healing through

1:08:56

the hands of your faithful people.

1:08:58

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

1:09:01

Let us pray for the sick and the grieving.

1:09:07

Holy Comforter, Healing Spirit, grant your peace

1:09:18

to those who are sick and those who grieve,

1:09:23

especially those listening in Duke Hospital this morning.

1:09:26

Radiate through their lives with the light of your presence,

1:09:30

that renewed health and strength may be theirs.

1:09:34

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

1:09:38

Let us pray for our community.

1:09:43

Lord, you call us into community with one another,

1:09:54

yet so often we fail to reflect your vision for us.

1:09:58

Overcome the walls of fear and suspicion

1:10:02

and narrowness that separate us.

1:10:05

Help us learn to appreciate our differences

1:10:09

as signs of strength, and bring us into unity

1:10:12

with one another through your spirit of love,

1:10:15

that we might create humane communities where all people

1:10:18

are empowered to realize the fullness of life.

1:10:22

Especially be with us as we make decisions

1:10:27

about our public schools, that we might strive

1:10:29

not only protect our self interest, but to create

1:10:33

a school system where all our children might flourish.

1:10:37

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

1:10:42

Let us pray for ourselves.

1:10:48

God of hope and new life, help us to see the joy

1:11:02

in abundant life you intend for us.

1:11:06

Grant us your peace.

1:11:09

Peace which is not the absence of trouble, but the awareness

1:11:11

of your guiding presence in all that we do.

1:11:14

Use our lives for the building of your kingdom.

1:11:18

In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

1:11:21

Now let us give ourselves and our gifts

1:11:26

as signs of our thanksgiving.

1:11:29

(pleasant bell music)

1:11:50

("The Doxology Hymn")

1:16:05

♪ Praise God from whom all blessings flow ♪

1:16:32

♪ Praise him all creatures here below ♪

1:16:39

♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪

1:16:46

♪ Praise God above, ye heav'nly host ♪

1:16:54

♪ Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ♪

1:17:01

♪ Alleluia ♪

1:17:08

♪ Alleluia ♪

1:17:11

♪ Alleluia ♪

1:17:15

♪ Alleluia ♪

1:17:18

♪ Alleluia ♪

1:17:22

-

Let us pray.

1:17:34

We give thanks, O God, for every gift received,

1:17:37

and for each gift we are blessed in giving.

1:17:40

May these gifts bring light to those who walk in darkness,

1:17:44

hope to those who live in despair,

1:17:48

and justice to those who are oppressed.

1:17:51

Grant to each giver a sense of participation

1:17:54

in the most important opportunity of all,

1:17:57

to share your love with the world.

1:18:00

To this end, we dedicate our offerings and ourselves

1:18:03

as we pray together:

1:18:07

All

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

1:18:09

Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done

1:18:14

on earth, as it is in heaven.

1:18:17

Give us this day our daily bread,

1:18:20

and forgive us our trespasses,

1:18:22

as we forgive those who trespass against us.

1:18:24

Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

1:18:28

For thine is the kingdom, and the power,

1:18:33

and the glory forever.

1:18:36

Amen.

1:18:37

("Sing, With All the Sons of Glory")

1:18:40

♪ Sing with all the saints in glory ♪

1:19:13

♪ Sing the resurrection song ♪

1:19:17

♪ Death and sorrow, earth's dark story ♪

1:19:22

♪ To the former days belong ♪

1:19:26

♪ All around the clouds are breaking ♪

1:19:31

♪ Soon the storms of time shall cease ♪

1:19:35

♪ In God's likeness we awaken ♪

1:19:40

♪ Knowing everlasting peace ♪

1:19:45

♪ O what glory, far exceeding ♪

1:19:52

♪ All that eye has yet perceived ♪

1:19:56

♪ Holiest hearts, for ages pleading ♪

1:20:01

♪ Never that full joy conceived ♪

1:20:05

♪ God has promised, Christ prepares it ♪

1:20:10

♪ There on high our welcome waits ♪

1:20:15

♪ Ev'ry humble spirit shares it ♪

1:20:19

♪ Christ has passed the eternal gates ♪

1:20:24

♪ Life eternal! Heav'n rejoices ♪

1:20:31

♪ Jesus lives who once was dead. ♪

1:20:36

♪ Shout with joy, O deathless voices ♪

1:20:40

♪ Child of God, lift up your head ♪

1:20:45

♪ Patriarchs from distant ages ♪

1:20:49

♪ Saints all longing for their heav'n ♪

1:20:54

♪ Prophets, psalmists, seers, and sages ♪

1:20:58

♪ All await the glory giv'n ♪

1:21:04

♪ Life eternal! O what wonders ♪

1:21:12

♪ Crowd on faith; what joy unknown ♪

1:21:16

♪ When, amidst earth's closing thunders ♪

1:21:21

♪ Saints shall stand before the throne ♪

1:21:26

♪ Oh, to enter that bright portal ♪

1:21:31

♪ See that glowing firmament ♪

1:21:36

♪ Know, with you, O God immortal ♪

1:21:40

♪ Jesus Christ whom you have sent ♪

1:21:45

Debra

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,

1:21:55

the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit

1:21:58

be with you and keep you in grace,

1:22:01

love, and fellowship with one another.

1:22:04

Amen.

1:22:07

(joyful organ music)

1:22:09

Samuel Proctor - "Being Christian When We Are Ahead in Life" (May 1, 1994)

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