Bless thou, the words of my lips and the meditations of  our hearts that they be of profit to us and acceptable tothee, oh our Rock and our Redeemer.  Amen.

Today I want to talk to you about devotion - devotion to the teachings of the apostles, to the fellowship of the  church, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer.

The first thing I want to tell you is this - that without devotion to these things our life as individuals - and our life as a church - cannot succeed.

It can't succeed because without devotion to those things God has
given us, we end up adrift - we end up separated from our Lord -
the shepherd of our souls, and swept away by the false teachings
of our world.  
   We loose the strength and the hope that we are supposed to
   have, and our joy, our health, and our strength, quickly
   dissipates.
       We become a people who are lifeless and unattractive and,
       unless we change our ways, unless, by the grace of God, we
       are once again found - we stumble and fall..

The father of all lies tries to tell us - that devotion,
      - that the dedication of ones time and energy to the
      teachings of the apostles,
      - and to the fellowship of the church,
      - and to the breaking of bread and to prayer,
is not really all that important.

He tries to tell us that we can get by with an occasional prayer,
   and that it will not hurt all that much if we don't read and
   learn about the bible,
       and that a person doesn't really have to attend church or
       get involved in Christian groups to be a follower of
       Christ.

This is a lie - and anyone who tells you otherwise is speaking to
you with the voice of Satan. 

The secret of every growing church, and the basis of every
healthy spiritual life, is an overriding commitment to hearing
the word of God and applying it to one's life.

It is a dedication to the health and prosperity - both spiritual
and physical, of one's fellow believers, and the desire to invoke
the presence of God within that community, and within one's own
private prayer life.

I am sure many of you have seen the bumper sticker that says
- the family that prays together, stays together -

We are the family of God 
- and unless we pray - together,
- unless we study and seek the will of God in the word of God - together,
- and unless we share good times and bad times - together,
we will suffer the fate that comes upon those who stay apart,
we will be alone;
and ultimately we will loose our sense of direction; 
our sense of purpose; our faith.

And that is happening and has happened in churches throughout
North America and Europe.  

It is happening in those places where individual happiness is
prized more than righteousness;
   where pursuing material success is held to be important than
   spending time in community
       where golf on Sunday or watching Football or taking the
       kids to a ball game is deemed more important than building
       one's relationship with God 
   where watching TV or going shopping for the weekend is deemed
   more important than sharing with one's brothers and sisters
   the joys and the concerns that we have and praying together
   and sharing together those things which have helped us in
   God's word.

I assume, that despite our parent's advice, that all of us have
played with fire.

We have sat before a fire place or a camp fire,
and watched the coals glowing red and hot.
And all of us know - that if we take a single coal out of the
centre of the fire and place it to one side - it soon turns dull
grey, its bright heat becomes first lukewarm and then cold -
while the rest of the fire continues to burn.

So it is with us.

Separate a person from the Christian community, 
take them away from the place in which the word is proclaimed,
bread is broken,
and prayers uttered,
and soon the light of their faith grows dull,
and the warmth within their souls begins to diminish.

Let no one lie to you!

You can't be a Christian,
at least you can't be an effective Christian, 
a fully alive Christian,
   one who, as Jesus says in today's reading - has life and that
   abundantly,
if you do not listen to the voice of the shepherd who calls you by name,
or if you flee from the sheepfold that he would lead you to for
your own safety.

How can you expect do what is right, 
   how can you expect to experience the blessings of God
       how can you hope to minister to one another the love of
       Christ and feel that love return to you 30, or 60 or 100
       fold,
if you do not turn to Christ and listen to his voice?
if you do not enter the sheepfold with your brothers and sisters?
if you do not pray together and work together and love each other
with the love of Christ?

You can't!  And the evidence of that is all around us.
It is in the people we meet day by day who claim to believe in
and love God - and yet have none of the signs of the abundant
life that Christ promises to all who hear his voice and enter his
sheepfold.

Devotion, Dedication, Commitment --
this is the secret of success in all endeavours,
and in all endeavours that devotion, that dedication, that
commitment is focussed on specific things.

To experience life - and that abundantly - as Christ says we can,
our focus must be on the teachings of the apostles, which are the
teachings of our Lord,
      on the fellowship of the believers,
       on the breaking of bread - the invoking of Christ's
       presence in community,
            and on prayer.

The early church had this focus - 
and the results were tremendous.

As Luke tells us in today's reading -

   "all who believed were together and had all things in
   common, they would sell their possessions and goods and
   distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need.  Day by
   day, they spent much time together in the temple, they
   broke bread from house to house, and ate their food with
   glad and generous hearts, praising God, and having the
   goodwill of all the people.  And day by day God added to
   their number those who were being saved."

Day by day, God added to their number.

From that first community - came the entire church - 
   a church that survived the stoning of Stephen,
       the persecution of Paul,
          and the destruction of Jerusalem itself.

The early church survived and prospered,
   because the people within it committed themselves to one
   another and to the Lord who brought them together,
              
The early church grew and spread like a fire in dry grass
   because those who believed sought God' presence, and prayed
   for his will to be done in their midst, not just one day a
   week, but each and every day.

I wonder how many of us even pray each and every day?
let alone seek out the fellowship of fellow believers and pray
with them and eat with them on a regular and consistent basis?

I wonder how many of us read the scriptures each day?
or even think about what it is God has said in the past to us?
let alone seek to hear what it is he may be trying to say to us
now - in the midst of our busy routines?

I am sure everyone here is familiar with the expression - "cool
as a cucumber".

   The expression "cool as a cucumber: refers to someone who
   is able to remain calm and collected in the heat of life's
   battles.  The expression actually has its basis in
   scientific fact.  A cucumber lying in the sun on a hot day
   is cooler on the inside than the outside.  In fact the
   centre can be as much as ten degrees cooler that the
   outside.  Even without a thermometer, the temperature can
   be easily detected by the touch.

   But the difference in temperature between the inside and
   the outside can only exist as long as the cucumber is
   attached to the vine.  Once the cucumber is severed, it
   loses its ability to "keep its cool."

Like the cucumber, we can only keep our cool in the midst of
difficult circumstances, we can only thrive in the midst of an
insane world, as long as we remain attached to the vine.

Our vine is the fellowship of fellow believers and its head -
Jesus Christ.  The sap which runs through it is the word of God
and the power unleashed in listening to it and in breaking bread
together and in praying together. 

In the vine we have life.

Jesus said: "I am the vine, you are the branches.  They
   who abide in me and I in them, bear much fruit, but apart
   from me you can do nothing."

Jesus also said - I am the gate for the sheep.  Whoever
   enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out
   and find pasture. 

God has prepared a fold for us,
He has made ready a safe haven for us,
and appointed a faithful shepherd over us.

To enjoy that haven, we need  to listen to voice of our shepherd,
and together, in the company of our fellow believers, follow him.

When we follow him - he will lead us by the still waters, 
and to the green pastures,
and he will keep us safe as we walk through the valley of the
shadow of death
his rod and his staff will comfort us.

And the opposite is also true.

When we fail to follow him,
when we fail to listen to his voice
and join ourselves with the rest of the flock
the waters will not be stilled,
we will experience terror in the valley of the shadow of death,
and our cups will not overflow in the presence of our enemies.

We need,
and all those who claim to believe in God need,
to truly commit ourselves to our Lord and his teachings,
and to one another as brothers and sisters in him
if we are to be as alive as was the church in Jerusalem after the
day of Pentecost.

As we do this, as we pray and break bread together
Christ our Lord will do the rest.
He will make sure our souls are restored,
he will set a table before us in the presence of our enemies
and ensure that we dwell in the house of God forever,

He will do this, for he is the bread of life; 
and the good shepherd; 
the way and the door; 
the resurrection and the life,
the one in whom God was pleased to fully dwell within,
the one in whom God is even now fully revealed for those with
eyes to see and ears to hear.

Praise be unto our God, and to our Lord Jesus Christ - now and
forevermore AMEN

I Peter 2:1-10 and John 14:1-14

"Gracious God - bless now the words of my lips and the meditations of our hearts. Breath your Spirit into us and grant that we may hear and in hearing be led in the way you want us to go. Amen.

Peter begins the second chapter of his first letter to God's chosen people with an exhortation:

He writes: "Rid yourselves then, of all evil; no more lying or hypocrisy, or jealousy, or insulting language. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by drinking it you may grow up in your salvation."

In the last verse of today's gospel reading Jesus says: "You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it."

What do you crave? What do you yearn for? What blessing do you ask God for?

A couple of items for you to ponder as you think about that question.

Some years ago, I understand that a well-known televangelist sent green prayer cloths to thousands of his viewers. God supposedly told him that the prayer cloth would be a point of contact, between him and the audience, for releasing God's blessing - with one essential condition. His viewers needed to send lots of money with the prayer cloth, or as he put it, "Sow your very best seed."

To those who returned the green cloth with some money, the televangelist promised great prosperity: "Send me your green prayer cloth as my point of contact with you!" he pleaded. "When I touch your cloth, it will be like touching you! When you touch this cloth, it will be like taking MY hand and touching me. I want the anointing that God has put upon my life for miracles of finances and prosperity to come directly from my hand to yours... You can reign in life like a king!" According to this televangelist, within months of sending in her prayer cloth, one woman received $286,000 in bonds and $65,000 in cash. Also, as a bonus, her husband was delivered from alcoholism.

That's interesting. Get rich and have your family problems solved in a moment by just sending for a prayer cloth. It seems like a good deal.

The second item is something that appeared in a newspaper quite a while ago.

The Rev. Patrick Leary is the rector of the Shrine of the Most Holy Redeemer in Las Vegas, Nevada. He says visitors to the cathedral there often make the same request.

Can you guess what it is??

"Father, will you pray for me to win?"

The article continues by saying that Father Leary pointing around at the beautiful church and said to the reporter, "I tell them if it was that easy, do they think we will still have a debt on this place? I believe in the power of prayer, but even prayer has its limits."

"Even prayer has its limits." Do you believe that??

If you do - what do you do then with these words of Jesus: "If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it"?

Think of the possibilities - a new car, a new home, a cure for baldness. All we have to do is ask.

"If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it."

Dr. Leslie Weatherhead, a well know preacher many years ago, said that once, when he was a high school student, he had a very difficult examination. But he had discovered that verse, "And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do..."

He believed that verse meant that all he had to do was ask and he would pass the exam. He told God he was believing God's promise, and he wanted a good grade. The next day young Weatherhead took the examination, but when the grades were in, he had failed. He was disillusioned. He rebelled and almost lost his faith. He came to the conclusion that the promises of the Bible were not good - all because God had not granted his wish for a good grade.

The next year he repeated that course. He worked hard, and he passed. This time he decided that he did not need God, that he could get along by himself.

I think that this is a conclusion that many of us reach - we need something, we want something, and we pray for it - and - when we don't see the results that we want, we come close to losing our faith. At the very least - we conclude as did Dr. Weatherhead that we can, or we must, get along by ourselves.

Fortunately, Leslie Weatherhead changed his opinion over the years. Fortunate because his life touched hundreds of thousands of people, bringing to them the blessings of God in a way that the televangelist I mentioned earlier has not.

After some years had passed, Dr Weatherhead came to understand that his own powers and abilities were in reality the power that God had given to him. He began to realize that God had already given him the power to pass the examination, but he had not used that power the first time.

God never gives us more power than we need. As Dr. Charles L. Allen has said, "Until we are willing to use what God has already given us, there is no need to ask for any more."

"If you ask Me anything in My name," said Jesus, "I will do it." Quite a claim. But let's examine it a little closer.

Notice first of all that Jesus is talking to his disciples.

"Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me?", Jesus asks his disciples. "The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me.... I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to the Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son...."

Jesus is giving his disciples words of encouragement." You have seen the blind recover their sight," he is saying. "You have seen the lame made whole. You're going to do greater works than that!"

Jesus was talking to the church. He was not talking about new houses or new cars or passing examinations. He was talking about the work of the Kingdom. He was saying that when his disciples decide to get into action doing the work God has called them to do, and when they enlist God's help, nothing is impossible! And that is true. Nothing is impossible for the church of Jesus Christ!

What do you crave, what do you desire the most?

Do you thirst for pure spiritual milk?
Do you yearn to do the works that Jesus did?
Do you desire that the church, that the people of God, that you yourself, might make a great witness to the world and bring glory to God's name?

Dr. Robert Schuller, that legendary advocate of Possibility Thinking, says that there are two words that have killed more God-inspired dreams and hopes than anything else he can think of.

The two words are "Be realistic!"

If we Christians, Dr. Schuller says, were "realistic" then nothing would be accomplished. He cites the example of Tom Dempsey - a young man who was born with half a right foot and deformed right arm but a ton of faith.

Dempsey wanted to be a football player - in spite of his considerable handicaps. And he did play football. He became a kicker for his high school team. But that was not enough. He wanted to play college ball. And again, he became the kicker on his college team. But when he graduated from college, his dream became even wilder and more fantastic. He wanted to be a professional football player!

A professional football player with half a foot and a deformed right arm. Impossible! No coach would accept him. They all shook their heads. All except one, and it is ironic and more than coincidental that Dempsey became a kicker for the professional football team, The New Orleans SAINTS!

The rest, as they say, is history. In 1972, Dempsey kicked the longest field goal ever - 63 yards! All because he was not realistic! All because, Schuller tells us, Tom Dempsey had faith in Jesus Christ who gave him the strength to do what he dreamed.

Amazing things are accomplished in this world by people who believe and will not give up. Our text for the day says that you and I are capable of amazing things when we set out to serve Jesus Christ. Jesus was speaking to his church when he said, "If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it." Nothing is impossible for the church of Jesus Christ.

But there is something else just as important... Jesus adds a qualifier: "And whatever you ask in My name," Jesus promises, "that will I do, that the Father may be glorified..."

Christ will do anything we ask if it glorifies the Father. Here is where we generally stumble. Not everything we do in the church is done to the glory of God.

Isaac Asimov, familiar to many as a noted scientist and author, once told a hilarious story about a Rabbi Feldman who was having trouble with his congregation.

It seemed they could agree upon nothing. The president of the congregation said, "Rabbi, this cannot be allowed to continue. Come, there must be a conference, and we must settle all areas of dispute once and for all." The rabbi agreed.

At the appointed time, therefore, the rabbi, the President, and ten elders met in the conference room of the synagogue, sitting about a magnificent mahogany table. One by one the issues were dealt with and on each issue, it became more and more apparent that the rabbi was a lonely voice in the wilderness. The president of the synagogue said, "Come, Rabbi, enough of this. Let us vote and allow the majority to rule." He passed out the slips of paper and each man made his mark. The slips were collected and the president said, "You may examine them, Rabbi. It is eleven to one against you. We have the majority."

Whereupon the rabbi rose to his feet in offended majesty. "So," he said, "you now think because of the vote that you are right and I am wrong. Well, that is not so. I stand here" - and he raised his arms impressively - "and call upon the Holy One of Israel to give us a sign that I am right and you are wrong."

And as he said this, there came a frightful crack of thunder and a brilliant flash of lightning that struck the mahogany table and cracked it in two. The room was filled with smoke and fumes, and the President and the elders were hurled to the floor. Through the carnage, the rabbi remained erect and untouched, his eyes flashing and a grim smile on his face. Slowly, the President lifted himself above what was left of the table. His hair was singed, his glasses were hanging from one ear, his clothing was in disarray.

Finally he said, "All right, eleven to two. But we still have the majority."

We all know that not everything that is done in the church is done to the glory of God.

But wouldn't it be great if we had a dream for this church that was big enough that we would have to depend on God to accomplish it? And wouldn't it be great if we searched our hearts and souls with prayer so that our dream would match God's dream? Wouldn't it be great if we yearned for the pure spiritual milk that will helps us to grow in our salvation - and which affects the whole world around us?

George Barna, a church-growth specialist, asked a group of pastors how they believed Christ would rate their church if He were to return today. Fifty-three percent of those pastors said Christ would rate their church as having little or no positive impact on souls or society.

How sad. How very sad. Wouldn't it be great if we could see concrete evidence that our community is a better community and our town is a better town because this church is here?

Christ tells us we can see such evidence - if we dream great dreams and if those dreams are to God's glory and not our own.

What do we crave? What do we yearn for? What do we desire?

All prayer is answered my friends. Even the prayers that we ask strictly for ourselves and for our families.

Sometimes the answer is no - I have plans - trust me in this. Sometimes it is - no, not yet, the time is not right.

Other times it is yes - I thought you'd never ask. And still other times it is yes - and just wait to see what else I have in store for you.

What God does for the faithful - what God allows to happen to them - how God answers their prayer - always works for the good.

As that is true for each of us as individual believers is doubly true for us as the church - for us as the people who gather in God's name to worship and work together the works he calls us to work.

If we dream a dream for this church and if it is truly God's dream, then great things will happen and each of us can be part of it.

What is your dream? What do you desire the most? Is it pure spiritual milk that you may grow in your salvation and continue to know that God is good? Is it to do the works of God - even greater works than Christ did - that God's name may be glorified?

I started this message with the first words from today's reading, from the First Letter of Peter. I would like to conclude with the last words from that reading - where Peter writes:

"You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy; but now you have received mercy."

We have a purpose - and we have the tools that we need to accomplish that purpose, so much so that we can do even greater things than did Christ - should we desire to.

"You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it." Why not put Christ to the test?

Blessed be God, day by day. Amen