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

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

Item Info

Title:

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

Permalink:

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

Date:

June 5, 1977

Speaker:

Young, Robert T., 1935-2009

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Duke University. Chapel

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

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Duke Chapel Recordings

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

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

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