Profitable for Us

Rev. Andrew Brashier / August 11, 2025

The Eighth Sunday after Trinity

O Thou who camest from above,

the pure celestial fire to impart

kindle a flame of sacred love

upon the mean altar of my heart.

Providence is knowing that God knows where you are, even when you do not. Providence is a blanket in the night under a cold, starry night off the beaten path. Providence is comfortingly knowing that although you may not be where you want to be, you are exactly where God knew you to be.

Discouragement comes easily as a Christ follower because the devil is always nearby, throwing your sins in your face and the world’s burden on your back. Be not in despair, for your Father sees you and sends His Holy Comforter. Judge not where your sister is ahead of you on the Way, nor your brother who lags behind. Look to the Father and trust in Him “whose never-failing providence ordereth all things both in heaven and earth.” (Collect of the Day). He will guide you along and not ever leave you alone nor abandoned.

There let it for thy glory burn

with inextinguishable blaze,

and trembling to its source return,

in humble prayer and fervent praise.

The Father leaves you not, but neither does the evil one. He seeks to discourage, discomfort, and despair you upon the rocks cutting against your feet, the thorns pressing into your flesh, and the blister formed by trial and temptation.

Yet the Lord is with you. Because He promises to be with us, this week we turn to the Father, asking Him “to put away from us all hurtful things”. (Collect of the Day). This does not mean trials shall cease, but that we never undergo such trials alone, for the Father shall “give us those things which are profitable for us, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.” (Collect of the Day). There are thorns in the flesh, serpents to be trampled upon, and temptations ahead, yet Christ Jesus is there all along the Way, ever guiding us and the Holy Ghost ever strengthening us. What others mean for evil, God shall use to bless us with holy callouses stronger in the Spirit and shaped to reflect the Son even more.

So when the tough times come, and they do and shall, remember you are no longer indebted to sin, the flesh, and the devil. (Epistle lesson, Romans 8:12). Do not think God can be mocked, as those on the Way are no longer “to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.” (Romans 8:12-13, KJV). Undoubtedly, there shall be obstacles in your way while you are on the Way. The most deceptive obstacle is those who appear along the Way but do not walk the Way. We must be alert and on our guard, for not only do the demons camp out like highwaymen, ready to steal our souls, but worse, we must “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” (Gospel lesson, Matthew 7:15, KJV). Yes, there are hired hands who care more about fame, fortune, and the flesh than the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Nevertheless, fear not, but trust in the providential Father who cares for His children and did not leave us without His Word and the Holy Comforter.

Oftentimes, the hardest adversaries are those within the Church. The wolves in sheep’s clothing may appear like us, but their fruit is never far behind them. Namely, they deny Christ by unholy living, they deny Him by belittingly the Word of Scripture for their personal cut-and-paste of the Bible and trade the Spirit of God for the demonic spirit of the zeitgeist. They deny Him by blessing what God has never ordained in the apostolic church through innovations, novelties, teachings, and practices within worship prohibited by the Word. Worst still, such false prophets have a knack of obtaining a following through itching the ears of ignorant believers. What they lack in true doctrine, they make up for with a large following through popular podcasts, best-selling books, trendy videos, social media grandstanding, and false worship that provides promises built on men instead of resting upon the fulfilled promise of the Father through Jesus Christ. St. Paul warned Timothy how to recognize them and we should heed his words today:

Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.1 Timothy 3:4-9, KJV

How shall we avoid having our sinful ears itched? Through daily prayer, Scripture reading, and regular receiving of the blessed Sacrament. How can we recognize the false prophets infecting the Western Church? “Ye shall know them by their fruits.” (Matthew 7:16, KJV). Since on this side of Eden, where we see “evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived,” how much more should we heed the remedy prescribed by St. Paul to Timothy:

But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; 15 and that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.2 Timothy 3:14-17 (KJV)

The evangelical church is notorious for scandalous stories about pastors who fall. Yet the problem is not isolated to those churches. The failure to protect against false prophets runs rampant in every communion, from Rome to Baptists, from Presbyterians to Anglicans, and everyone else in between. Yet scandal is only one instance of bad fruit. Forsaking the doctrines clearly revealed in Scripture is another. Blessing what God has cursed is another false prophet tactic, for it erodes a trust in the Scripture and sends the sheep scattering and looking for another source of authority – one that often ends up in trusting in a ravenous wolf in sheep’s clothing. Finally, offering “strange fire” (Leviticus 10:1) by perverting worship and transforming it either into a circus better left for children’s television or administering the Sacraments contrary to Holy Scripture jeopardizes who we are worshipping – God or ourselves?

It is a scandal and perilous when laity and clergy alike fail to rebuke and call for repentance from those living in sin or teaching sin. We would do well to revisit the two Books of Homilies and remind ourselves that the third mark of the church is “the right use of ecclesiastical discipline” (An Homily for Whitsunday, Second Part, Second Book of Homilies). Furthermore, the first mark of the church is “pure and sound doctrine” preached, and equally important, “the sacraments ministered according to Christ’s holy institution.” We will stray after the sirens calling our name off the marked Way if we do keep course with the compass of the Word preached, following it to the letter in administering the sacraments as God commands, and disciplining those who are false prophets who dare encourage us to deny Scripture’s authority and clarity.

What is Christ follower to do? Learn your faith. Dig deeper into the good soil and find the roots of your salvation revealed in the Scriptures. Be catechized and recatechized every year. Submit yourself to God’s authority and truly live as Jesus is Lord and the Holy Spirit lives within you. Walk the ancient Way through the prayer book life’s required feasting and fasting, aka the church year. Do not merely know, but trust and live the ancient faith preserved in the church. Abovve all else, while following the ancient Way of Christ, do not be wavered or decieved by clergy, vestry, family, friend, coworker, nor even a vision from angel, “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.” (2 Corinthians 11:13-14, KJV). You keep your eyes on Jesus by keeping your eyes in the Word and praying to Him daily.

Jesus, confirm my heart’s desire

to work and speak and think for thee;

still let me guard the holy fire,

and still stir up thy gift in me.

Parents, we are at war against the evil one and the world. Learn your faith, know your faith, and live your faith. Your children are watching, and they need you to protect them from the wolves. Pastors, hell’s demons wish nothing less than to destroy you, and thereby destroy the faith of many of your flock. Stand firm in the ancient faith. Do not yield an inch and take a sabbath every week. Your soul and the souls of those in your care need it, and God commands it. Flock, pray for your pastor every day and for your bishop. Yes, even if you have a bad minister or bishop, pray even harder, for if we are commanded to pray for the ruler of our nation, even Emperor Nero in the Apostles’ time, how much more should we be slow to complain and quick to pray for priest and bishop alike.

Children of God, “ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.” (Romans 8:15, KJV). Your Father truly is in heaven. Seek Him through the love letter of Scripture so that you may know your identity in Christ. Dwell in the peace of the Lord through lifting up holy hands in prayer and meditating on the divine Word of God in His written Scripture. I assure you, even when you live in the midst of confusion, you shall find clarity in the Scripture because “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.” (Romans 8:16, KJV). As His children, we are not abandoned to the wolves, but are protected by the Good Shepherd, who is our heavenly brother due to what He accomplished for us. Therefore, since we are “children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.” (Romans 8:17, KJV).

Flock of God, remember, “A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.” (Matthew 7:18, KJV). Our call is to be a good tree. Take the good seed of the Gospel implanted in you and the Holy Ghost deposited within you and invest your body, mind, and soul in the good soil of Christ Jesus. As the old hymn tells us, “Trust and obey.” Because “Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.” (Matthew 7:20). The reality of hell, judgment, and eternal separation from God is clearly attested to by our Lord and from Jesus’s own lips. Yet the false prophets both within and without the church enjoy nothing more than to deny the simple truth that “it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” (Hebrews 9:27, KJV).

Is it no wonder that the ancient Western lectionary paired this Epistle reading with this Gospel lesson? St. Paul gives us the prescription for a Christian life. Namely, shed the flesh and put on the new Life in Christ through the Holy Ghost. Meanwhile, the Lord Jesus warns us to beware of the false prophets and sheep in wolf’s clothing who produce no fruit or rotten fruit, thereby evidencing they are not filled by the Holy Ghost. Then our Lord echoes for us to hear and heed His warning: “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” (Matthew 7:20, KJV).

Our Lord repeats the same warning in verse 16 through His words in verse 20, because He is flipping the script and calling us to examine ourselves. Christ shocks the original hearers and us today by stating, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21, KJV).

Trust and obey, for there is no other way.

Trust the Father saves you by the Son’s blood and has redeemed you from darkness into Light by pouring His own Holy Ghost within you. Trust that He has given “us those things which are profitable for us,” namely, the Scriptures and the Holy Ghost. Now obey, and live as free sons in the Spirit, who glorify the Father’s mercy, the Son’s sacrifice, and the Spirit’s life by bearing fruit that is not your own and reaping a harvest you did not sow.

Ready for all thy perfect will,

my acts of faith and love repeat,

till death thy endless mercies seal,

and make my sacrifice complete.