At Your Strongest – Sermon on Ephesians 6:10-20 for the Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. ¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. ¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. ¹³ Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. ¹⁴ Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; ¹⁷ and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, ¹⁸ praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, ¹⁹ and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰ for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

I love this text. I’ve always loved this text, but younger me really loved this text – however, for the wrong reasons. All this talk about strength, might, armor, wrestling, and facing powerful, cosmic enemies – it gets a guy’s juices flowing. It brings out the fighter and warrior in a man. Sorry if that doesn’t resonate as much with you ladies and mothers here. Maybe, you gals will need to calm down and restrain your husbands and sons and brothers after the service, so they don’t march off to conquer Manitoba or something.

The passage tells us about a war that surrounds us every moment of every day. And it’s good that it does because we would be completely unaware of this war unless Scripture told us about it. Being oblivious to a war that surrounds you is not good. The reason we would be ignorant of this war is that it isn’t a war that we can see. As we confessed in the creed earlier, we “believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and [maker] of all things visible and invisible.”

Today, we heard how in six days God created everything we can see (Gen. 1:1-2:3), but God also created things we cannot see (Col. 1:16). And, dear saints, the enemy in the war that surrounds you is in that invisible part of God’s creation. In fact, none of your enemies exist in the visible part of creation. You do not – I repeat you do not – wrestle against flesh and blood. Instead, you wrestle against the rulers, the authorities, the cosmic powers over this present darkness, and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places (Eph. 6:12). And some of you men out there are thinking, “Cool, an invisible enemy! That’ll make our victory even more impressive!”

Calm down, guys. And take heart, ladies. Because, while this text is about fighting in an invisible war against an unseeable enemy, the battle plan is straightforward and simple.

Before we can even dive into that battle plan, we have to understand where this invisible war is taking place. To be ready for battle, you have to know the battlefield. And one of the ways our enemy has made us unprepared for battle is taking this text out of its context. You might be very familiar with this text, but do you know what comes immediately before it? Maybe. But, I’ll admit, that even as your pastor and as someone who gets paid to study and teach the Scriptures, I find it easy to forget the context.

The context starts back in Eph. 5:22. Paul has been laying out the callings and duties for Christians in their vocations. Christian wives are to submit to their husbands. Christian husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the Church. Christian children are to obey their parents. Christian parents are do bring up their children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. And so on. It’s in that context that this passage about spiritual warfare falls.

In other words, you, Christian, need recognize that the battle described here is occurring in your everyday callings, vocations, and relationships. It’s there that you need God’s strength. It’s there that you need God’s armor because that’s where the devil and demons are attacking. They are attacking both you and those around you. Your daily life is the battlefield.

You husbands, wives, parents, and grandparents. The war is happening as you earn a living, as you keep the house, as you shuttle kids around. You kids, as you go to school, as you do your homework and chores, as you interact with your friends, the battle is taking place there.

There are two points I want to make sure you take away from this sermon, and this is the first. So, listen up: There is a spiritual war raging all around you every moment of every day, and you need to be strong and aware all the time. And that leads to right into the second point: You are at your strongest and are completely prepared for this war when you stand in the Lord’s strength and in the armor that He provides.

Right off the bat (Eph. 6:10), you are told, “be strong in the Lord.” Almost all of the popular versions of the Bible will read that way, and I understand why it’s translated that way. It’s a fine translation. But the verb there “be strong” is passive. When it’s only translated, “be strong,” you might start wondering how you go about becoming or making yourself strong.

I wish our translations read, “be strengthened in the Lord, in His mighty strength.” The text is clear. God is the One who makes you strong (Php. 4:13). Earlier in Eph. 3:16-17, Paul says that, according to the riches of His glory, God Himself grants you to be strengthened with power through the Holy Spirit so that Christ dwells in your heart through faith.

Not only does God make you strong, He also clothes you in His armor. You have the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the boots of the Gospel, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. All of that, God’s strength and God’s armor, it all comes from God’s Word. God’s Word is truth (Jn. 17:17). Christ’s righteousness is given through the Word (2 Tim. 3:16-17). The Gospel is only revealed in the Bible. Faith is given through God’s Word (Ro. 10:17). The Scriptures are what make you wise to salvation (2 Tim. 3:15; Jam. 1:21).

Strengthened by God and armed with and by His Word, you are prepared for this war. But you still might wonder, “Am I properly trained for the war? What are my duties?” Well, you aren’t told to march off to war. You also aren’t told to retreat. Instead, four times in this text, you are told what your assignment is in the battle. You are to stand (Eph. 6:11, 13-14). The picture Paul is giving is that you are a particular kind of soldier – a sentry, who stands guard over the kingdom.

The picture of this passage is this: Christian, you are God’s soldier. As God’s soldier, your responsibilities are simple. You are a sentry who guards the holy ground of God’s kingdom. And God has placed you in a particular place – where no one else is stationed. You are there to watch and to pray. In other words, when the enemy attacks, you are not supposed to go off and fight alone. No. Instead, you stay in your post. You stand in God’s strength and in the protection of His armor. And you pray. With that prayer, you call in the reinforcements of the Lord’s army.

When you see the war raging around your spouse, your children, your parents, or any neighbor – stand your ground, man your post, and pray. You, dear saints, stand in the Lord’s strength and protection. And when the battle gets in close, take up the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. Wield that sword against the devil, and he will flee.

Psalm 35 opens with a beautiful prayer for you to use in the battle. “Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me! O Lord, take hold of shield and buckler and rise for my help! Draw the spear and javelin against my pursuers! Say to my soul, ‘I am your salvation!’” Christ Himself is the One leads the charge against your enemies, and He turns over His shoulder to remind you that He is your salvation. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Php. 4:7). Amen.

Loved Ones – Sermon on 1 John 3:1-3 for All Saints’ Sunday

Nov2

1 John 3:1-3

¹ See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. ² Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. ³ And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Typically, names are given. When you’re born, you’re given a name. Whether or not you like your name, doesn’t matter. The name your parents gave you is your name. Sometimes, you are given a nickname, which you may like or dislike.

In junior high, my schoolmates called me ‘string-bean.’ I didn’t like it so much. But being over 6 ft. tall and weighing maybe 120 lbs. soaking wet, it fit. When I made the varsity swim team, I thought, “This is my chance for a cool nickname,” because no one else from my school was a swimmer. So, I tried to give myself a nickname. The movie Rudy had just come out, and the story of that weak, little football player who finally got a chance and proved himself on the field was so inspirational that I told my teammates to call me ‘Rudy.’ I even had it printed on my first varsity swimming t-shirt. Long story short, ‘Rudy’ didn’t stick, sadly. Even worse was that one of the other swimmers was dating a girl from my school. As soon as he found out that I was called ‘string bean,’ the name followed me into the pool.

The Bible has lots of names and titles for people who are saved by grace through faith in Christ – Christian (Act. 11:26), believer (Act. 5:14), child of God (Jn. 1:12-13), people of God (1 Pet. 2:9; Rev. 21:3), citizens of the kingdom of heaven/God (Php. 3:20), people belonging to the Way (Act. 9:2). I could go on and on. All of those names and titles have a different focus, and you are probably comfortable with some of those titles and names for yourself. But the Bible has another name for you. Even though it’s a name that you might not like, even though it’s a title that you wouldn’t claim for yourself, it’s a name that is true and accurate. You, Christian, are a ‘saint.’

A saint is not someone who does a lot of good works, has witnesses who can verify two miracles, and gets recognized by people wearing funny hats at the Vatican. No! To be a saint literally means to be a ‘holy one.’ And no; you aren’t holy by your own works or efforts. You aren’t holy when it comes to keeping God’s commands. You aren’t holy because of your obedience. Instead, you are made holy by grace through faith in Jesus. Christ is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (Jn. 1:29). That means Jesus takes all your sin and shame and guilt and bares it to the cross. In exchange, Jesus gives you His perfect obedience, His total righteousness, His pure holiness. Because of Christ, God makes you holy. The fact that you are a saint is God’s work – not yours.

Here in chapter 3, John wants you to see, to behold, to recognize that you are a saint. Even though the word ‘saint’ doesn’t come up in the text, there are three other terms or titles in this text that point to the fact that you are a ‘saint.’

First, you are God’s child, and John wants you to bask in the fact that God has made you His child. “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we…” we who are sinful and unclean, we who rebel against God, we who by nature are enemies of God, “See the love God the Father has given to us that we should be called children of God.” And John drives the point home, “And so we are” (1 Jn. 3:1).

You, dear saints, are God’s children. Jesus Himself said so. The morning of the Resurrection, shortly after Jesus finished tidying up His grave, folding up His burial cloths, and making the bed, He tells Mary Magdelene to tell the disciples, “Go to My brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God’” (Jn. 20:17).

In Hebrews 2:10, Jesus is referred to as the Founder of your salvation who brings “many sons to glory.” Then, Hebrews goes on to say, “He who sanctifies,” (in other words ‘makes holy’), “and those who are sanctified,” (in other words, ‘who are made saints’), “all have one source. That is why [Jesus] is not ashamed to call [you who are made holy] ‘brothers’” (Heb. 2:11). Since Jesus, the Son of God, is not ashamed to call you ‘brothers,’ then you also are children of God. And children inherit characteristics from their parents. Since God is holy, holy, holy (Is. 6:3) – you also are holy. You, children of God, are saints.

John goes on to acknowledge that the world doesn’t recognize you as the children of God. People can’t look at you and say, “Oh, I see you’re a Christian. You look just like your heavenly Father.” You and I don’t bear that divine resemblance because even though we are children of God, we still sin and fall short of the glory of God (Ro. 3:23). In the eyes of the world, we look like sinners, so the world doesn’t see us as children of God. But the fact that the world doesn’t recognize that we are children of God shouldn’t surprise us. The world doesn’t recognize us as children of God because it didn’t recognize Jesus as the Son of God when He came to earth.

The second term John uses to point to the fact that we are saints is “beloved” or lit. ‘loved ones.’ God has poured His love into you. And by His love, He has given you the right to be His children who are born of God (Jn. 1:12-13; 3:5). And in that love you receive grace on top of grace (Jn. 1:16). Because of Jesus, God’s love washes over you. His love makes you clean, forgiven, and sanctified, i.e. holy and sainted (1 Co. 6:11). That is what it is to be God’s beloved. As God’s loved one, you also have His promise that the day is coming when you will be like Jesus because you will see Him as He is (1 Jn. 3:2).

And it’s a good thing that we need to wait for that transformation before we look like Jesus. Can you imagine if you already had the glory of being God’s beloved child? Imagine if as soon as you were Baptized and given the gift of faith that you started to radiate like Jesus did in the Transfiguration. You face shines like the sun (Mt. 17:2), and your clothes become radiant and intensely white (Mk. 9:3). You’d probably get pulled over all the time, and the police would demand that you have more tint on your windows.

The third term John uses to ‘saint’ you is in this text is in v. 3. As you have this hope of being like Jesus when you see Him John says, “Everyone who thus hopes in Him purifies himself as He is pure.” The root of the word for ‘purifies’ and ‘pure’ is the same as ‘holy’ and ‘saint.’

This purification doesn’t happen by you doing good works and no longer sinning. This purification comes through faith and the hope you have of being like Jesus – which is, again, only by God’s love and grace. To live by grace through faith is to have this hope. The picture here is that, through faith and hope, Jesus’ purity is given and poured into you. The Old Testament had all those regular sacrifices that delivered this same purity by pointing people forward to the cleansing that comes only through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. Now, you have the fullness of what those were pointing to. Faith in Christ continually purifies you as Jesus Himself is pure.

Since the last time we celebrated All Saints’ Day, one of our sisters in Christ became like Jesus. On Tuesday, March 25th, Ros, who was already a saint in this life, saw Jesus as He is. She entered that great multitude around the throne of Jesus. She exited this great tribulation and got her white robe. She is now sheltered in God’s presence where Jesus will shepherd her to springs of living water (Rev. 7:9-17). Now Ros and every other believer who has gone to be with Christ surrounds us and cheers us on as we look to Jesus, the Founder and Perfector of our faith (Heb. 12:1-2).

Dear saints, behold what manner of love the Father has given unto you, that you should be called children of God – and so you are. God your Father now invites you to His Supper. God the Son comes to serve you. And God the Holy Spirit comes to continually purify you by grace through faith. This is God’s promise, and this is our hope. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Php. 4:7). Amen.

The Clash – Sermon on Matthew 11:12-19 for Reformation Sunday

Oct26

Matthew 11:12-19

¹² From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. ¹³ For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, ¹⁴ and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. ¹⁵ He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

¹⁶ “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates,

¹⁷ “‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’

¹⁸ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ ¹⁹ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Do you believe that God uses the plans and actions of violent men to accomplish His will? I hope you can answer, “Yes.”

We don’t normally think of it this way, but the cross is the greatest example of God’s will being accomplished through the actions of evil men. The very event that won your salvation was the height of mankind’s rebellion against God. The world planned, plotted, and schemed to put the Son of God to death (Mt. 12:14; Mk. 3:6; Jn. 11:47-53). Christ’s death on the cross was the most unjust act ever committed by mankind. Jesus, the only person to ever live a righteous and sinless life, was condemned and crucified. And it was through Christ’s death that death itself was undone. There, on the cross, God won your salvation.

So, if God can accomplish your salvation through the actions of violent men – which He has, He absolutely has – then you don’t ever have to fear any evil in this world. The plans and actions of evil men never stop God and His will. When we see all the violence, upheaval, and opposition in this world, it can be easy to fall into despair and think that God isn’t in control. But He is – no question He is. Christ is still ruling and reigning over all things. And God’s will is still done.

Still today, God destroys and brings to nothing every evil council and purpose of the devil, the world, and our own flesh. His Name is still hallowed. His kingdom still comes. God continues to strengthen and keep us steadfast in His Word and in faith. This is His good and gracious will that we pray would be done in the Lord’s Prayer.

So, believer, every night when you go to bed, you can close your eyes in the peace and comfort of knowing that your sins are forgiven because of what Christ has done. Even as the world constantly clashes against the kingdom of heaven, you have God’s comfort and peace that surpasses all understanding (Php. 4:7).

Ever since the Fall into sin, there has been a clash between fallen humanity and God. This clash is rightly described when theologians make a distinction between believers on earth and believers in heaven. Christian, as long as you are in this world, you are part of the “Church militant,” and when you are removed from this world – either when you die or when Christ returns – you are transferred to the “Church triumphant.”

In this text, Jesus teaches us how to live as members of the “Church militant.” And this is important and helpful instruction because the clash between this fallen world and you citizens of the kingdom of heaven, that clash can make us want to fight back against the world. But you don’t need to fight because Jesus has already won the war.

So, in this text – which is not an easy text – Christ helps you understand how to live when you face violence and opposition in this world. There are two portions of this text that I’ve always found confusing and somewhat difficult. The first deals with the violence the Church faces in this world. The second deals with the world’s opposition and ridicule of the Church. We’ll think our way through each of them; then, we’ll see how Jesus tells us to respond.

The first difficult part is right away in v. 12 where Jesus addresses the violence that faces the Church. Our Lord says, “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence,” no problems so far. It’s what comes next, “and the violent take it by force.” What is Jesus talking about? Do the violent seize control of the kingdom? No. There’s something else going on. But we have to wade through all of this to get the full picture.

Both John the Baptist and Jesus came preaching the exact same message “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mt. 3:2; 4:17). And the world didn’t like that message. It turns out – surprise, surprise – that people who don’t think they’re sinners, they don’t want to be told to repent. So, they violently attacked the messengers. John’s preaching got him arrested, and soon after this text, John will be beheaded (Mt. 14:1-12). At this point in Matthew’s gospel, Jesus is still a couple of years from being crucified, but it’s coming.

That violence against the kingdom of heaven that John and Jesus faced continues to this day. It’s happening all over the world – even here in our country. The shootings at Annunciation School in Minneapolis, the Christian school in Nashville, Charlie Kirk’s martyrdom, and many other events are part of this clash. Today, in North Korea, China, Egypt, and all around the world, Christians are being violently persecuted. Just this week, I saw horrifying statistics from Nigeria. Since the year 2000, 62,000 Christians have been martyred there, and already in 2025, 7,000 have been martyred. Yes, the kingdom of heaven still suffers violence. Lord, have mercy.

So, what does Jesus mean with that last phrase, “the violent take it by force”? Again, it isn’t that the violent gain possession or ownership or control of the kingdom of heaven by force. Instead, they try to take it away by force. In other words, this world actively tries to prevent the coming of God’s kingdom. But they will never succeed.

The second part of the text that can be confusing starts in v. 16 where Jesus is trying to figure out how to describe ‘this generation.’ “To what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance. We sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’”

In a way, this is a little parable. The generation Jesus is speaking about isn’t just the generation of His time. The children in the marketplace are the same violent people Jesus talked about in v. 12 – it’s the generation of sinners. Sinners aren’t happy with anything. Basically, they say, “We were happy, but you weren’t happy with us. We were sad, and you didn’t get sad with us.” And Jesus goes on to explain that little poem to illustrate how the world reacts to the kingdom of heaven. The explanation is seen in how this generation reacted to John the Baptizer and to Jesus Himself.

In short, neither John nor Jesus followed the world. John wouldn’t dance when the world wanted him to. He came eating locusts and honey, and he wasn’t feasting with them because he was too busy calling them to repentance. They thought John’s preaching was too pessimistic. They figured things weren’t as bad as John said they were. So, they tried to dismiss John saying, “You won’t dance to our flute? You must have a demon.”

But then Jesus came, and He did eat and drink. He went to many feasts throughout His ministry. He went to dinners at Pharisees’ houses (Lk. 7:36ff; 14:1ff). Jesus feasted with tax collectors and sinners (Mk. 2:15-17; Mt. 9:10-13; Lk. 15:1), and the world didn’t like that either. Christ wouldn’t mourn during their dirges and funeral songs. So, just like they did with John, they tried to dismiss Jesus saying, “You’re a glutton, a drunkard,” (both of which are ridiculous accusations), “a friend of tax collectors and sinners.”

In other words, dear saints, you can live a life of fasting that avoids all of the pleasures this world seeks because you know this world is not all there is. And people will respond by calling you evil and demonic. You can also live a life where you participate and eat and drink, and people will say that you are a glutton and a drunkard.

So, Jesus is saying you can’t win with the world. Yes, there is a time for fasting and saying that the things of this world don’t matter. And there is also a time for feasting and enjoying the fullness of the gifts God has given. But it doesn’t matter to the world if you fast or feast, the world is going to hate you – not because of your eating and drinking or your abstaining. The world is going to hate you, dear saints, simply because you are a citizen of the kingdom of heaven.

So, what should our response be? How do we live in a generation that violently attacks and opposes the Gospel?

Well, first, recognize that the kingdom of heaven advances through the simple, unimpressive Word of God that can be attacked and resisted. The kingdom of God advances through the preaching of the Gospel because faith comes by hearing (Ro. 10:17). In other words, listen. Jesus puts it this way, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Mt. 11:15).

One of the most important lessons from the Reformation is that we don’t need to talk as much as we need to listen. Christians are first and foremost hearers. You hear the Law which stops your mouth and makes you silently accountable to God (Ro. 3:19). Stop making excuses for your sin and be silent before God. Then, hear the Gospel, which forgives all your sin.

The other response to the violence and opposition from this generation is to patiently wait. Jesus says, “Wisdom is justified by her deeds” (Mt. 11:19). That means that the day is coming when your faith and your identity as a member of the kingdom will be proven true. No one will be able to deny the wisdom you had in confessing your sin and believing in Jesus. That right fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Pr. 9:10).

Christian, you do not need to try to make God’s kingdom come. God is, and He will, bring about the coming of His kingdom. In the meantime, He arms you with the sword of His Word (Eph. 6:17). The sword of God’s Word doesn’t function like any other sword because it is the sword that makes the wounded whole. Use that sword to heal this broken generation. And pray. Pray, “Lord, keep us steadfast in Your Word.”

When this world is filled with wickedness, when violence surrounds you, when the evil people oppose you, and when all of this is clashing down around you, remember what Jesus says to you. “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Lk. 12:32). Alleluia! Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Php. 4:7). Amen.

Silenced – Sermon on Matthew 22:34-46 for the Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity

Oct19

Matthew 22:34-46

³⁴ But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. ³⁵ And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. ³⁶ “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” ³⁷ And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. ³⁸ This is the great and first commandment. ³⁹ And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. ⁴⁰ On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

⁴¹ Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, ⁴² saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.” ⁴³ He said to them, “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying,

⁴⁴ “ ‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
until I put your enemies under your feet” ’?

⁴⁵ If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?” ⁴⁶ And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Arrogance was behind that question, “What is the great commandment in the Law?” We know this was arrogant because the lawyer is asking this question in order to test Jesus. This text is at the end of a conversation Jesus has been having with the religious leaders. If you look back to the beginning in Mt. 22:15, you’ll see that the religious leaders are trying to entangle Jesus in His words. The Pharisees had debated which command was the greatest for centuries, but they couldn’t come up with an answer because picking one would imply that something God commanded isn’t important. Or, at least, not as important. And, of course, that can’t be true. Every word that comes from the mouth of God matters because He is the One whose powerful voice spoke all things into existence.

Imagine a student who is studying to be a heart surgeon. I don’t actually know how heart surgeons are trained, but I see them getting something similar to a recipe. It’s got a list of all utensils and ingredients needed followed by instructions on how to use them. Imagine a student seeing that recipe. Step 1: Scrub up. Step 2: Make the incision. Step 3: Find this artery. And so on, going through the whole process. If one of those students asked which step is the most important, how would the instructor reply? I imagine the instructor saying, “They’re all important! Do everything correctly – from scrubbing up to closing. You have to get it all exactly right. Don’t leave anything out, or you’ll kill your patient!”

Basically, that is what Jesus says here. Everything God has commanded is important. All the Commands are good, right, and true. That’s what Jesus communicates when He summarizes God’s Law as, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. And love your neighbor as yourself”(Mt. 22:37-39). Everything command of God is important, and everything He requires falls into two categories of either loving God or loving neighbor. In Ro. 13:10, the Law is summarized even further, “Love is the fulfilling of the Law.”

But sadly, this summary the Law is twisted. The devil has used countless false teachers say that the word ‘love’ is God’s only command. And when they do that, those false teachers utterly corrupt love. Yes, the command to love summarizesGod’s Law, but it doesn’t replace God’s commands. Today, to combat that devilish twisting, I want to make six points about God’s Law. I’ve done this before, but it’s been seven years since I last did it. So, it’s worth reviewing again.

First, while the command to love summarizes the Law, the word ‘love’ doesn’t replace the Law. We sinners will do all sorts of things that go against what God has commanded in the name of love. But you don’t get to steal food from a store because you love your children and want to feed them. Instead, loving your children requires you to keep the Command against stealing by getting a job to buy food for them. Committing adultery is not suddenly ok just because you love someone. That leads to the second point.

Second, the Law defines how to love your neighbor. There’s a 4th Command love that honors parents. There’s an 8th Command love that does not bear false witness and tells the truth. In each Command, God is telling us, “Here is how you love Me and love your neighbor.”

The third point about the Law is closely related to that. While the Law shapes how you love your neighbor, the needs of your neighbor also shape your love for them. The 7th Command about stealing will take one shape if you are an employee. It looks like working hard, not wasting time, and doing good work. But if you own a business, the 7th Command takes a different shape. It means that you are generous and pay a fair wage that rewards the work and skills of your employees. Same with the 4th Command to honor parents. When you are a child, honoring parents means obeying them. When you’re an adult, honoring parents means respecting them.

Fourth, you show love for God by showing love for your neighbor. 1 Jn. 4:20 says, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.” If you want to demonstrate love for God, you do that by loving your neighbor, according to the commandments and according to your neighbor’s need.

And with this fourth point we see that there is an order to your love. You are to love the people God has placed closest to you first, then love everyone else. 1 Tim. 5:8 says that a person needs to provide for all his relatives, but especially the members of his household. And Gal. 6:10 says, “As we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” So, it is loving to give to the Feed My Starving Children offerings, but it is not loving for you to put your entire paycheck in there and not be able to feed your family or to let your brothers and sisters in Christ go hungry while you feed people you haven’t met.

Fifth, and this is the most important one: The Law always accuses. There’s no time in your life where you can say that you have kept God’s Law perfectly. As long as you have a pulse, you can’t check off the boxes to love God and your neighbor because you still have strength. Those boxes are always on your to-do list. And you and I are sinners and always fall short when it comes to the command to love. So, the life of a Christian is always filled with repentance and receiving the forgiveness that comes only through Christ.

Finally, the sixth point: Even though the Law always shows you that you are a sinner, don’t fall into the temptation of giving up in your attempt to keep God’s Law. Christian, even though you are going to fail to love perfectly, you need to strive to do it. Pray for strength and wisdom. Pray that God would open your eyes and ears to your neighbors’ needs. Then, be God’s hands and feet to meet those needs.

Changing gears and getting back to Mt. 22. We know that the Law is not the only word God has spoken to you. God also speaks His comforting words of Gospel. After Jesus summarized the Law, He turns the tables. Now, He has a question for the religious leaders about the Gospel. “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?”To their credit, these Pharisees know their Bible. They know that in 2 Sam. 7, God promised that the Christ would come through King David’s lineage, and He would reign as King forever and ever.

But Jesus wants to draw them further into the Gospel and into a further knowledge of the identity of the Christ by asking, “If the Christ is David’s son, how can David also call him, ‘Lord’?” (Ps. 110:1). The Pharisees can’t figure out this riddle because they figured the Christ was going to be a man who would set things right and save them. They didn’t understand that the Christ would be fully God and fully Man. But Jesus wasn’t trying to trick them. There He was, the Christ, standing right before them. The God-Man and Messiah, talking with them, calling them to Himself. Sadly, their only response was silent ignorance.

Dear saints, this question from Jesus silences you too, but in a very different way. You aren’t silenced into the shame of the Pharisees; instead, you are silenced in a holy wonder. Your silence is an awe that realizes that, to save you from the condemnation of the Law, God has located Himself in the body of Jesus. Because of Jesus’ birth, part of God’s nature is that He now has a human body. He took on that body so He could suffer for you, shed His blood for you, die for you, rise again for you, and rule as King until all your enemies are placed under His nail-scarred feet. Your Christ, your Savior, and your God has united Himself to you.

Lucy, today, we rejoice with you that you are Baptized. You are now clothed with Christ (Gal. 3:27) and joined to Him in His death and resurrection (Ro. 6:3-4). Remain in Him. Lucy and all you Baptized saints, we will never fully understand the unity that we have with God because of our Baptism. And yet, we, in silent wonder, can bask in the glory that God Himself has loved us in this way.

God came to you. He took on your flesh. He lived a perfect life and died an atoning death. Now, He is risen and rules as the Lord of all creation. Your Savior from sin is David’s Son and David’s Lord. He is your Lord and King, and yet He is your brother Who now invites you to His royal banquet to receive His Body and Blood for the forgiveness of all your sin and failure to love God and neighbor. Come and receive Him. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Php. 4:7). Amen.

Moved Up – Sermon on Luke 14:1-11 for the Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity

Oct12

Luke 14:1-11

¹ One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully. ² And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy. ³ And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” ⁴ But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away. ⁵And he said to them, “Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?” ⁶ And they could not reply to these things.

⁷ Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, ⁸ “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, ⁹ and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. ¹⁰ But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. ¹¹ For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Everyone is religious. Everyone has a belief in what is good and right and true as opposed to what is evil and wrong and false. And in the end, there aren’t hundreds of religions. There are only two. One is true. The other is false. And we can put a title on each of these religions: the true religion of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the false religion of the law.

The true religion of the Gospel is faith in our Lord, Jesus Christ, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (Jn. 14:6). This true religion believes that God is merciful. It believes that we are made right with Him because of the cross. It believes God is gracious and forgives us despite our sin against His good and holy Law. The false religion of the law wrongly imagines that we have to reconcile ourselves to God by our own works and efforts. Even though the false, pagan religions of Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, etc. – those all serve false gods instead of the true God. But they all operate in the same manner and under the same premise. And that premise boils down to this: You need to work yourself out of the messes of this world.

In this Gospel reading, it’s that false religion of the law that Jesus is attacking because that is the religion these Pharisees. They have placed the full weight of their trust in the idea that they can make themselves right with God and the world. But their religion is weaker than a house of cards.

Before we continue, one thing needs to be crystal clear. The Pharisee heresy isn’t exclusive to Pharisees. It’s a heresy that’s in all of us. It’s our default operating system because of our sinful nature. Normally, when we think about our sinful nature, we think of it as the part of us that drives and moves us toward sinful actions. And that is true, our sinful nature certainly does that. But it does more than just that. Our sinful nature also invents our own standards, morals, and commandments that are simpler than God’s standard of total, complete perfection.

This is why the Pharisees invented and added all their extra laws to God’s Commands. For example, the Pharisees took the 3rdCommandment, “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy,” and because they believed in their false religion of the law, they figured, “Let’s really get after keeping the Sabbath holy to make God happy with us.” So, they added all sorts of extra rules and regulations. They decided you could only walk 2,000 cubits (or about two-thirds of a mile) on the Sabbath because walking further than that would be considered the work of travel. In a futile effort to please God, Pharisees debated if it was ok to walk in the rain on the Sabbath because if you got rain on your clothes and went inside, that could be considered the work of delivering water. I don’t know anyone who drinks water from rain-soaked clothes. I wonder why they didn’t consider walking in rain on the Sabbath the work of doing laundry.

But they would also come up with all sorts of ways to get around their additional Sabbath laws. So, with the 2,000 cubit limitation on walking, they decided that, if you considered the whole town your home, then you could walk as far as you wanted so long as you stayed in town. They decided that if you walked in the rain on the Sabbath, you could just take off your clothes before you entered your house and leave them outside because then you weren’t delivering water. Can you imagine that? “Honey, I’m home.”

Now, we can laugh at how ridiculous this is because – it is. But we do the same sorts of things. Christ is clear that, when we get angry, it is the same as murder (Mt. 5:21-22). But rather than repent of our anger and receive God’s forgiveness, we do all sorts of mental gymnastics to try to justify our breaking of the 5th Command. But the Pharisee inside each of us also does something even worse. When our conscience still bothers us because of our sin, when it isn’t quieted by our mental justification of that sin, we recruit. We recruit and gather others around us. We tell them about whatever it was that made us angry – usually, in a way to make our anger seem right and just. We do that because we want others to confirm and affirm our sin. But it doesn’t matter if you could get the entire world to agree with you. God doesn’t care about the consensus you build, no matter how large it is. If God says it’s sinful, it’s sinful. Period. End of story.

Now, all of that was to build to this point: Dear saints, God’s view of what is right or wrong, what is good or bad, and what is holy or evil – that’s the only opinion that matters. That is what Jesus is getting at in this text – especially with the parable He tells in v. 8-11.

This parable isn’t like any other parable that Jesus tells. In fact, it is so unique that it won’t appear in most lists of Jesus’ parables that you can find. But Luke clearly calls it a parable in v. 7, so a parable it is. I would guess that the confusion about it being a parable stems from the fact that, at face value, it’s an etiquette lesson of how to be a good guest at a wedding feast. Basically, don’t automatically sit yourself in a place of honor because the host might see someone who is more important than you. Then, the host is going to tell you to sit somewhere else and give the more important person the seat of honor. If that happens, you’ll end up sitting somewhere obscure because all the other good seats are taken. Instead, Jesus says to sit in a low, undesirable place so the host can honor you saying, “Hey, friend. You deserve better. I’m going to move you up here.”

Again, this is just good, wise advice. But this advice is also a parable because there is a deeper theological truth here. Discovering that truth hinges on one thing. In this “etiquette parable” whose opinion matters? The host’s. Only the host’s. It doesn’t matter if everyone else at the wedding feast thought you were the most important person there. If the host tells you another guest gets the seat of honor, it’s his feast. So, the other guy gets it.

Here’s the point. Don’t move yourself up. Instead, be moved up by God. In that parable, the host is God Himself. His opinion of you and your honor – that’s the only thing that matters. So, there are times where you have to tell the little Pharisee inside of you to shut up and stop trying to clamor for honor and recognition and accolades. The opinions of others (and even your own opinions), they don’t matter (1 Co. 4:3-5). And Jesus, the Son of God, clearly tells you what He finds honorable and shameful in the last verse of this reading. “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Lk. 14:11).

If you are trying to exalt yourself and be impressive by your self-chosen good works, it isn’t going to go well for you. God is going to come into the banquet hall and say to you, “No. You don’t get to sit here.” And where will that leave you? Ultimately, it’ll leave you outside and in the darkness (Mt. 22:13). Instead, sit in the lowest seat, and don’t worry if others ask, “What are you doing there? Why are you putting up with that lowly, humiliating spot?” Don’t worry about being in positions that others think are shameful. God the Host is going to come Himself and say, “Friend, why are sitting way down here? Move up higher.”

One of the things Jesus is doing with this parable is He’s giving you God’s perspective on your simple, normal, everyday callings and vocations and works. Don’t ever forget that God is the One who has put you in those vocations and given you those works. Even if they don’t look flashy or impressive to the world, they are exactly the places where God has put you and given you holy work to do. If you stop and think about it, what higher seat is there than the seat God gives you?

To understand this better, imagine two people. The first is a devout monk who has abandoned the world to live a life of holiness. He takes a vow to get up every night at 2 AM and pray for three hours. Every night, this monk deprives himself of sleep; goes into a chapel to burn incense; lies face-down on a stone floor; and earnestly prays. The second person is a mom. At 2 AM, she gets woken up by the cries of her newborn because he’s sick with a stuffed, runny nose and has a full, stinky diaper. Exhausted, she stumbles around the room. She gets her hands into the snot and poop. She cleans and comforts and feeds the child. And she spends hours to finally rock him back to sleep.

Both of them are getting up at 2 AM. Both are doing work instead of sleeping. But which one is more holy, exalted, and honorable – the monk who chose to take that vow? Or the mom who received her child from God Himself? Of course it’s the mom.

Think of Paul in today’s Epistle reading (Eph. 4:1-6). In v. 1, he wrote, “I therefore, a prisoner…” I mean how low can you get? Paul is there in prison – rats running across his feet, muck oozing down the walls, mold in the air. And Paul writes, “I a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.” Paul recognized that, even in prison, he’s the Lord’s prisoner. It wasn’t Caesar or a king or a governor. God put him there. And if God, his loving heavenly Father, put him there, what better or more honorable place could there be?

Dear saints, the religion of the Gospel is the only thing that moves you up. You don’t need all the Pharisaical nonsense that vainly tries to get God to clap for you and give you accolades. One, it’s not going to work. And two, God has already given you important, holy works to do. Those works are pleasing to Him; those works show your love for Him by showing love for your neighbor.

So, walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called. And you’ve been called God’s friend. God’s saints. God’s holy ones. God’s children. The work God gives you is worthy and holy. So, do that work with all your might.

Dear saints, you have the true religion which is faith that God is the One who moves you up. Not yourself. Not ever yourself. You are moved up, exalted, and honored by the holy and righteous God who calls you, “Friend.” And He calls you, “Friend,” solely because of what Christ has done on the cross for you. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Php. 4:7). Amen.

At the Gate – Sermon on Luke 7:11-17 for the Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity

Oct5

Luke 7:11-17

¹¹ Soon afterward he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. ¹² As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. ¹³ And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” ¹⁴ Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” ¹⁵ And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. ¹⁶ Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!” ¹⁷ And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

One of the great mysteries of Scripture is that Jesus is fully God and fully Man. Saying that isn’t hard; you’ve probably grown up saying it. But believing that Jesus is both 100% God and Man is hard to believe – especially when it comes to Jesus’ life here on earth. As the Son of God, Jesus is eternal, all-powerful, and all-knowing, but as a Man, Jesus didn’t always fully use His divine rights and attributes. As God, Jesus all-powerful, but as a man, He still had to eat (Lk. 4:2), His body got tired and needed sit after a long walk (Jn. 4:6), and He had to sleep (Lk. 8:23). Because Jesus is God, He is all-knowing. He had known from all eternity that He would meet this funeral procession at the gate of Nain. But as a man, it wasn’t as though Jesus woke up that morning thinking, “Oh, today’s the day I’ll raise that boy in Nain.”

The way Luke records this event, he makes it clear that Jesus didn’t intentionally go to Nain for the purpose of raising this boy from the dead. Instead, Luke gives us the impression that Christ just happened to be going by the city at the precise moment this boy, widow, and funeral procession was exiting the city gate. This resurrection is very different from what we see in John 11, when Jesus raises Lazarus.

In John 11, Christ does use His divine omniscience. Jesus is a long way from where Lazarus lived when He gets a message that Lazarus is sick, but He doesn’t move an inch. He stays put. He says that Lazarus’ sickness would not end in death and that it was for the glory of God (Jn. 11:4). Then, Jesus waits two more days before He finally decides to go to Lazarus’ house because He knows that Lazarus has died, but our Lord says that He is going to wake Lazarus from the sleep of death (Jn. 11:14, 11). By those statements before Lazarus’ resurrection, we know that Jesus did plan on going to Lazarus’ grave for the purpose of raising him even though no one told Jesus that Lazarus had died.

But this resurrection miracle is different. No one had summoned Jesus to come and help like they would for some of the other miracles (Lk. 7:1-10; 8:40-56). His presence wasn’t requested at the gate of Nain. He just happens to be at the gate at that very moment. But even though Jesus intended to pass by the city, His compassion for the mother means that He has to stop and raise her son.

Dear saints, your Savior is no priest or Levite who passes by and leaves someone for dead in the ditch (Lk. 10:30-32). No. Your Savior is the Good Samaritan. He sees the widow and her dead son coming out of the gate, and He has compassion. He interrupts that march toward the grave. He pours on the medicine of His Word by telling that mother to stop weeping, and He raises her son. In that moment, the gate of Nain was more than just a way to enter or exit the city. It was much more significant than that. The gate was the threshold between life and death, and it was the place where the citizens of Nain encountered and recognized the God who had come in the flesh to visit His people (Lk. 7:16).

Throughout the Bible, gates were always incredibly important places. Generally, when we think about a gate, we only think about its purpose. A gate exists to be either a barrier to block entrance or a doorway to grant it. Gates separate insiders from outsiders, allies from enemies, friend and family from foe. That’s probably all we imagine when we think about gates. But in the ancient world, gates were much more significant than that. In the Bible, gates were important places for commerce, politics, and justice.

The city gate was where citizens would typically meet (Pr. 1:21). The gate is where business deals and transactions were made (Ru. 4:11). Leaders would have people assemble at the gate so they could make important announcements (2 Ch. 32:6; Neh. 8:1, 3), which is why prophets and priests would proclaim God’s Word at the gates (Is. 29:21; Am. 5:10; Jer. 17:19-20). Instead of courthouses like we have today, trials took place at the city gate (2 Sam. 15:2). The gate was where you would learn about everything that was going on in the city (Gen. 19:1; Ps. 69:12; Est. 2:21).

So, in this reading, it’s likely that almost the entire town of Nain was there, at the gate. The gate would have already been busy and crowded just because of the normal, day-to-day things that took place at the gate. And it would have been even busier than normal because this boy’s funeral. The mother and the mourners were carrying her son through the gate to lay him to rest outside of the city, away from the living. So, again, that gate was the threshold between life and death. But there, at the gate stood the Author of Life (Act. 3:15), and Jesus does not let death cast this boy outside.

Now, before I go on here, I need to say that this miracle is an actual, historical event that really happened. Because it happened, it reveals that Jesus is the long-promised prophet (Dt. 18:15) and that God has visited His people (Lk. 7:16). But even more than that, the Holy Spirit inspired Luke to record this event for your comfort because this resurrection miracle is a glimpse into your story.

When God created all things, He gave Adam and Eve a home in the Garden of Eden. But when they chose to sin and rebel against God by eating the forbidden fruit, they were cast out of Eden. Now, Eden is never described as having a gate, but it is described as having borders made by four rivers. And when Adam and Eve are expelled from Eden, God, in His mercy, sent a cherub with a flaming sword to protect the way to the Tree of Life to prevent mankind from living forever because we would have lived forever in sin (Gen. 3:23-24). So, even though Eden is never mentioned as having a gate, the idea of a gate is certainly there. It is right to say that the cherub shut the gate to Eden and to an eternal life in sin and death.

God did not want the path to life to be forever blocked by a gate, but He had to do something before the gate could be reopened. God had to send Jesus to pay the penalty for your sin, my sin, and the sin of all mankind (1 Jn. 2:2). By Jesus’ death and resurrection, the gates to Eden, to paradise, and to eternal life free from sin are now open for you.

And even better, now that Christ is raised and ascended, He always and fully uses His divine attributes. He sees your sorrow and has compassion on you. He sees you when you are lost and outside of the gates. He runs to embrace you and bring you unto Himself as His child (Lk. 15:20-24). Christ uses all of His divine power to bring you back to Himself through the gates that He has opened for you.

One of the most beautiful scenes in all Scripture is the new heavens and earth in Rev. 21. The New Jerusalem is described as having twelve gates, three gates on each side of the city, and all twelve gates are made out of a single pearl (Rev. 21:12-13, 21). And the most wonderful thing about those gates is that they stand wide open – never to be shut (Rev. 21:25). They can remain open without any danger because when Christ returns, all your enemies are utterly defeated and cast out forever.

In that blessed, eternal city, every tear is wiped away. Mourning is turned into dancing (Ps. 30:11; Jn. 16:20). There will be no more pain because this fallen world will have passed away (Rev. 21:4). In that city, all the children of God dwell together because they are raised, never to die again (Ro. 6:7-11).

So, you who are dead in sin, know that God is able to do far, far, far more abundantly than all you ask or think (Eph. 3:20). Hear your Savior’s call. Rise from your deadness. Christ, who is the Resurrection and the Life, has given you to the rest creation to be a blessing.

Dear saints, you have been raised to new life. So, enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. To Christ Jesus be glory in the Church throughout all generations, forever and ever (Eph. 3:21). Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Php. 4:7). Amen.

Don’t Worry; Go Outside – Sermon on Matthew 6:24-34 for the Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity

Sep28

Matthew 6:24-34

²⁴ “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ²⁷ And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? ²⁸ And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, ²⁹ yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ³⁰ But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? ³¹ Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. ³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

³⁴ “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

If you ask anyone if they worry, I’m sure the answer would be, “Yes,” so long as that person is honest. People are worried about all sorts of things. You turn on the news and find anchors talking about wars and conflicts; high taxes and wasteful spending; poverty and greedy corporations; diseases and medicines; heatwaves and cold spells; fires and droughts and floods; and all sorts of other things.

They put all that in front of you, go to a quick commercial break, and then talk about the mental health crisis in our country. Isn’t that ironic? They produce a news broadcast, which is filled with all kinds of stories that their viewers can’t do anything about, and are shocked by reports about the amount of stress in our culture. We live in what is, probably, the safest time in history, but people are still worried about all sorts of things.

So, what can you do to improve your mental health? First, you can probably consume a lot less news than you do. Second, you can take the advice of ‘experts.’ Now, I will say that, when it comes to any health advice, it’s hard to know whom you can and cannot trust. That being said, psychologists, psychiatrists, dietitians, and doctors all seem agree that, if you are anxious or worried, it’s good for your mental health to spend more time outside. Simply getting some fresh air and being in sunlight, even if there’s cloud cover, is good for an anxious mind. If you’re worried, the common consensus and treatment plan is to start with this: Go outside.

The mental health ‘experts’ will say things like, “Studies show that going outside is good for you and reduces anxiety.” I wonder how much money has been spent and how many hours have been wasted to come up with the exact same prescription Jesus just gave when He preached this 2,000 years ago. Jesus says to you, “Do not worry/be anxious. Instead, go outside to look at birds and lilies.” But don’t just look; also, consider the birds and flowers. God cares for them without them needing to worry.

Now again, everyone has anxiety; everyone worries. We shouldn’t. Worry is a sin. Three times here, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, commands you, “Do not worry/be anxious.” I wonder if one of the reasons we struggle so much with the sin of worry is that we don’t have a right understanding of what worry even is. The word ‘worry’ isn’t in the Ten Commandments, but worry is a sin against the 1st Commandment to have no other gods, and it’s a sin against the 9th and 10th Commandments about coveting.

We wrongly think that worry is just a lack of trust. And sure, worry is a lack of trust, but that’s only small part of the sin. Worry is also something much worse and much more twisted than that. Worry is a misplaced trust. When you worry, you are placing too much trust in the wrong thing(s). Worry takes God out of the equation. Anxiety is caused when you wrongly believe God is disinterested or completely absent from every day, minute, and second your life.

As humans, God created us to have trust, to be trusting creatures. When we aren’t giving that trust to God, it isn’t that we stop trusting. There isn’t a vacuum of trust. Instead, our trust goes to the wrong things and places.

When you’re worried about your finances, you are placing too much trust in a piece of paper. You wrongly believe that the cash in your wallet or the numbers in your bank account are what feeds, clothes, and houses you. When you’re worried about getting a promotion or keeping/finding a job, or when you’re worried about what others think of you or your reputation, you are placing too much trust in someone else’s opinion of you. When you’re worried about sickness or getting a particular diagnosis, you’re placing an inordinate amount trust in doctors and medicine to be able to fix you or in your body to heal itself. When you’re worried about the weather, you’re placing too much trust in created things that are all controlled by God. In short, worry is a problem within you and within me. It’s a form of idolatry that places too much trust in the wrong things.

So, again, don’t worry; go outside. Go into creation to see the things that Jesus points you to – to birds and grass. Christ could have pointed to elephants, bears, camels, or cows. All of those things require large amounts of food to stay alive. Jesus could have said, “Look at how your heavenly Father feeds the elephants with the huge amounts of food they need.” But He doesn’t. Instead, He points you to little birds that eat seeds or berries or worms. Even though there are tens of billions of birds in God’s creation, each one of them receives that little bit of food it needs from the hand of God.

Jesus could have pointed to the beautiful, majestic mountains and how God adorns them. Or, He could have told you to look at the tall, massive trees with thousands of leaves. But He doesn’t. Christ points to lilies, and the lilies Jesus speaks about here aren’t the lilies we know from Eastertime. Those don’t grow in Galilee. The flowers Jesus refers to here are tiny and grow along the grass in the fields. They are similar to the white clover we have around here. That clover is pretty, but it isn’t something you plant. And, if you want to have the best lawn on the block, you’re going to try to get rid of clover because it’s more of a nuisance – a pretty nuisance, but still a nuisance.

The point is this: Jesus directs you to look at how your heavenly Father feeds and clothes the littlest things. Since He cares for those tiny parts of His creation, isn’t He going to take care of you? You, who are the crown of creation. You, who are much, much, much more valuable – valuable enough for God to shed His blood for you.

So, don’t worry; go outside. Look at creation to see God’s provision. But also, and more importantly, don’t worry; go outside. Go outside of yourself, outside of your mind and your sinful idolatry.

In a real sense, Jesus is calling you to take a hard, defiant stand against things that would cause you to worry and say to those things, whatever they are: “Listen, you (thing that I’m worried about). You are not my God. My God is eternal and all-powerful. My God spoke all things into existence. That same God took on flesh and blood so He could die for me, so He could pay for my sin, and so I could live forever with Him. So, listen, you dollar bill, are you really going to come and demand that I worry about you? You, pain or sickness or the grave, want me to worry about you? Why would I give you that false worship? Why would I put you in the place of God? I don’t need you because I have Jesus. He’s the Lord of heaven and earth with all authority (Mt. 28:18), and He’s promised that He uses that authority for my benefit (Eph. 1:21-23). My Lord Jesus already warned me about how you will try to get me to worship you with my worry. You aren’t worth it. My Savior said that in this world I would have trouble, but I can take heart because He has overcome the world” (Jn. 16:33).

Christian, you don’t need to worry because Jesus has come out of the grave, and He has promised that you, believer, will come out of your grave too.

Notice that Jesus doesn’t say, “There isn’t anything to worry about.” Instead, He says, “Don’t worry.” Don’t worry because your Jesus is bigger than whatever you’re worried about. And Jesus adds, “Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” In other words, Jesus says that He gives plenty of things for you to care about each day. Each day has its own cares. So, why bring tomorrow’s cares into today? Instead, rejoice in God’s provision today, and trust in His provision tomorrow.

Tomorrow is clouded in the unknown, but tomorrow is also clothed with God’s promises to be with you, to never leave or forsake you (Dt. 31:6; Mt. 28:20), to provide all that you need, and to protect you with His power and might. God will care for you. He’s promised.

Now, that doesn’t mean that you get to be lazy or idle. Scripture is clear on that too (1 Th. 4:11; 2 Th. 3:10; Pr. 10:4). In each moment, God gives you work to do, and He has promised to bless you in that work. There’s a quote from a Swedish theologian and pastor, Bo Giertz, and I really like the way the way he balances things. He wrote, “We should of course work as if all depended on us and pray as if it all depended on Him.” Do what God has given you to do right now. But everything that falls outside the scope of what you can do right now, all of that falls into the nail-scarred hands of your merciful God.

The things that God sets before you today are the things that should have your attention. With all your strength and effort, do everything God gives you to do knowing that God promises to give you the strength you need for the future He will give you.

Dear saints, pour yourself into the tasks God gives you knowing that He loves you and promises to provide for you. He promises to give you the strength you need to face each moment. So, work and trust. And when you are worried, go outside. Look at God’s provision for the little things of creation. He values you more than birds and grass. And go outside of yourself. Dive into His promises that He delivers to you in His Word. Promises that will never fade or fail. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Php. 4:7). Amen.

Cleansed & Thankful – Sermon on Luke 17:11-19 for the Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity

Sep21

Luke 17:11-19

¹¹ On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. ¹² And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance ¹³ and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” ¹⁴When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. ¹⁵Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; ¹⁶ and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. ¹⁷ Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? ¹⁸ Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” ¹⁹ And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Trouble will often create fellowship. After the terrorist attacks on 9/11 our country had a strong sense of unity – at least for a bit. Those of you who lived here during the ’97 flood still have that fellowship. Maybe you’ve noticed having better fellowship with your family when a loved one has gone through lengthy medical treatments or died. Everyone bands together to get stuff done.

One of the reasons Alcoholics Anonymous or other support groups are so helpful is that struggling people can meet others have gone through similar situations. People gain strength and encouragement from others who have had similar experiences and struggles. All those are good examples of trouble creating fellowship. That kind of fellowship produces unity and focus, a renewed sense of purpose and drive, and hope in the midst of sorrow. Fellowship created by and through trouble can have a powerful positive effect.

But trouble can also create bad fellowship – really bad fellowship. I’ve heard of support groups that morph into a kind of contest where some will try to show how much more pain they have endured than the rest of the individuals in that group. Or, when a group like that only focuses on their pain and struggle, some might start to think they’ll lose their connections if they begin to heal from the pain. So, everyone gets fixated on either being or, even worse, remaining a victim in an effort to not lose that camaraderie.

It seems like that fixation on victimhood is one of the tactics the devil is using to divide our culture today. There is so much conversation about privileged and the underprivileged. The super-rich and those who aren’t. The oppressors and the oppressed. Even if you aren’t initiating those conversations, the natural, knee-jerk reaction to that kind of talk is to view people who are introducing that kind of vocabulary as the enemy, so you put up walls and barriers. Dear saints, you must fight against that urge.

As a Christian, you know that all of humanity is much more united than we are divided. Whenever you have the urge to shove others away – and it doesn’t matter who the ‘others’ are – remember two things: First, you are united with every person you meet by the trouble of sin. We are all under the curse of sin and the sentence of death because of that sin. Second, you are united with every person you meet by the mercy of God that is only found in Christ. You know from the Word of God that every person you meet is someone from whom Christ died (Jn. 1:29; 1 Tim. 2:6). Those two points of unity are desperately needed in our society and culture today.

In this text, the ten lepers were united by the trouble of their disease. Leprosy was a chronic skin disease caused sores, numbness, and the eventual loss of limbs. Because it was so contagious, leprosy also caused isolation from family and friends. Lepers had to live apart from others. But these ten found fellowship with each other because of their common trouble. The leprosy created a tight-knit community of ten that is more remarkable than we might realize. Apparently, most of these lepers were Jewish, but at least one was a Samaritan.

This is remarkable because this community of ten wouldn’t have formed unless they shared this disease. It wasn’t even conceivable. The disdain and divide between Jews and Samaritans was even bigger than between Vikings and Packers or Red Sox and Yankees fans. Or any other divide you want to insert here. But here they are in this little community of the suffering. And they are so united they do something very interesting.

When lepers encountered people who weren’t lepers, they would cry out, “Unclean, unclean” (Lev. 13:45). But that isn’t what these ten holler when they see Jesus. Instead, with a united voice (by the way, the Gk. for ‘voice’ there is singular not plural), these ten lepers cry out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” Jesus tells them to present themselves to the priests, and the only reason a leper would do that is if they had recovered from their leprosy. It’s only as they walk away from Jesus that they are healed from their leprosy. But only one, only the Samaritan, does an about-face and returns to give thanks to Jesus.

Once the leprosy that united them was miraculously healed by Christ, the unity they had was gone, so the group splits up. The Samaritan is now united through faith to Jesus. So, of course, this cleansed Samaritan returns to the One who cleaned him. The saved returns to his Savior. What happened to the nine? Were they just too excited to get back to their families that they forgot to thank the Son of God? Who knows?

We can ask this Samaritan in the Resurrection because, dear saints, you will meet him there. You will meet him because you have also been cleansed from the leprosy of your sin, just as he was. One day, you will join him in giving thanks and worshiping at the feet of your God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Maybe that Samaritan will tell us how he went and witnessed to the other nine and will introduce us to them.

From this Samaritan, we should learn that one of the characteristics of faith is thanksgiving and being a person of thankfulness. It’s interesting when Paul listed the fruit of the Spirit in our Epistle reading (Gal. 5:16-24) that he didn’tinclude thankfulness. But based on this account of the thankful Samaritan, we do see that thankfulness is one of the ways that faith is manifest.

As the Samaritan lies with his face on the ground giving thanks at Jesus’ feet, our Lord says to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has (lit.) saved you” (not just ‘made you well’). In other words, the Samaritan’s thankfulness is the visible manifestation of faith because giving thanks is how he recognizes and acknowledges the Source of his cleansing.

Dear saints, be people of thanks, not just people of gratitude. There’s a lot of talk about gratitude today, and gratitude is good, but thankfulness is better. The distinction between the two is this (you’ve heard me say this before): Gratitude recognizes the goodness of the thing that has been given. But thankfulness goes a step further. Thankfulness recognizes the goodness of the giver. If a daughter asks her mom for a snack and is given a bowl of ice cream, the girl can be grateful, but if mom gives her a few sticks of celery, the kid won’t be grateful because celery is gross. But that same child can be thankful with either a bowl of ice cream or disgusting celery because it comes from her mom who loves her and knows what her daughter needs.

This distinction between gratitude and thankfulness helps us understand 1 Th. 5:18 which says, “Give thanks in all circumstances.” Not all circumstances are good, so how can you give thanks? Well, because thankfulness is not gratitude. Through faith you can give thanks whether God sends you joy or sorrow, pleasure or pain, goodness or even evil. Remember Job. After all his property and children were taken from him, Job said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21). Even after Job’s health was taken from him and his wife told him to curse God and die, Job said, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” (Job 2:10). In both instances, Scripture says, “In all this Job did not sin with his lips” (Job 1:22, 2:10).

In moments of loss and pain, you might not be able to be grateful, but you can be thankful. If nothing else, you can give thanks to God for what He has given, even if He takes it away. Through faith, you can give thanks – even when God takes His gifts from you because you know the goodness of the God who gave and removed those gifts. Through faith, you know that His goodness doesn’t fade or change. Only through faith can you give thanks in all circumstances (1 Th. 5:18).

Dear saints, in this world you have lots of trouble (Jn. 16:33), but even in and through that trouble, God unites you into the community of His Church. Christ has delivered you from your sin by the forgiveness He won and purchased with His blood on the cross. Because of that, you aren’t just united with others by trouble. You are united by something much, much stronger. You are united by His Blood, which cleanses you from all your sin.

Live now as God’s forgiven people, united in giving Him thanks. Your gracious, cleansing God and Savior, Jesus Christ, now invites you to His table to receive that cleansing through His Body and Blood. Come. Receive. And leave here with His thanks and praise on your lips. Let that thankfulness be on your tongue as you go about your business this week and every week because that thankfulness will point others to your Savior, who has cleansed you. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Php. 4:7). Amen.

The Move – Sermon on Luke 10:23-37 for the Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity

Sep14

Aimé Morot (1850-1913). “Le bon Samaritain”, 1880. Huile sur toile. Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris, Petit Palais.

Luke 10:23-37

²³ Then turning to the disciples he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! ²⁴ For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”

²⁵ And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” ²⁶ He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” ²⁷ And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” ²⁸ And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”

²⁹ But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” ³⁰ Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. ³¹ Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. ³²So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³ But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. ³⁴ He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ ³⁶ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” ³⁷ He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Jesus didn’t say that the priest and Levite only passed by the half-dead man in the ditch. Christ added the fact that they passed by, “on the other side,” to even further distance them from him. They moved away. Both intentionally and deliberately ‘un-neighbored’ the guy. You’ve heard me say this before, but it’s worth repeating. The reason our English word ‘neighbor’ is spelled so weird is that it comes from the word ‘nigh’ as in ‘near’ and the word for ‘dweller.’ The same thing is true for the Greek word that gets translated ‘neighbor.’ The word means near, but it refers to an individual, so it means ‘close by person.’

In the parable, the priest and Levite aren’t dealing with a gray area. “I wonder if he really needs help?” There are times you might see a person begging for money on the street, and you don’t know that person. You don’t know if giving them money is just going to aid an addiction or be a type of soft theft where they take your money and use it for something different than you intended when you gave it. In this parable, there’s no ambiguity. The situation is black and white. It’s simple. He’s been robbed, stripped, beaten, and left dying in the ditch. If he doesn’t get help, he’s going to die. So, why do the priest and Levite not only pass by, but pass by “on the other side”?

They are trying to quiet their conscience. The more distance they can put between them and this guy in the ditch, the easier it is for them to not think about him. They make a move. They move away from the guy’s need toward their own comfort. Now, this is a parable, so we can’t ask them what they thought was more important than the guy’s need. Maybe it was their schedule. Maybe it was the fact that they knew it would cost them time and money to help the guy. Maybe they just wanted to be left alone so they could have some ‘me time.’ It doesn’t matter. They move away from need of their neighbor toward their own comfort and pass by on the other side.

Then comes the Samaritan. He sees the guy, and he also makes a move. But his move is in the complete opposite direction. He moves away from his comfort toward the guy’s need. And I’m sure he would have preferred comfort. The Samaritan has things going on. He’s got a schedule to keep and a family to feed. His time is limited and valuable. He has all the same reasons and excuses the priest and Levite have. But the Samaritan sees the man, and he moves toward the need.

Jesus makes it clear that the Samaritan has compassion. The way Jesus says it is that his guts were wrenched. The Samaritan went to the man; bound up his wounds; poured on the medicine of oil and wine that he had with him; he set the guy on his own animal; brought the man to the inn; cared for him through the night; gives the innkeeper two denarii (imagine a few hundred bucks); asks the innkeeper to take care of him; and promises to return and pay off any additional expenses. That’s nine things the Samaritan does. Nine ways he moves away from his own comfort toward the guy’s need. It’s absolutely beautiful and noble. Who doesn’t want to be as generous and loving as the Samaritan?

Primarily, this parable shows us a tiny fraction of what Christ has done for you. Jesus, the eternal Son of God, made the ultimate move away from comfort and toward you in your need. Though Jesus was in the form of God, He did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped. He emptied Himself by taking the form of a servant by being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross (Php. 2:6-8).

He did all that because you needed it. The eternal Son of God made the move from His comfort toward your need. And for that, God be praised! That’s the main point of the parable. But I want to spend the rest of this sermon focusing on what Jesus says before the parable.

After the lawyer correctly summarizes the whole Law with “Love the Lord your God with your soul, strength, and mind. And love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus says, “Do this and you will live.”

Now, when Jesus said that, I do think it was partly to show the lawyer that he was the guy left for dead in the ditch because the Law robbed and stripped him of any self-righteousness (Gal. 3:19). But, at the same time, when Jesus says, “Do this and you will live,” He is being completely straightforward. Christian, do the Law. Do God’s will. The Law is how God created you to live. The Law is how Jesus wants you to live. It isn’t how you’re saved, but it is how Jesus wants you, believer, to live (Gal. 3:21-22). Jesus wants to motivate you to also be one who moves away from comfort and toward need.

This world is full of needs, but I’m going to focus on one very specific need today because it’s a need that everyone can meet, everyone can fulfill. And that is the need of speaking the truth in a broken and fallen world and that loves lies. The martyrdom and assassination of Charlie Kirk this week is a reminder of the lengths that the demonic forces will go to silence the truth.

Christian, do not be afraid to stand on the truth. Yes, speaking the truth can come with a cost. You might offend others. You might be ridiculed and called all sorts of names. You might lose your job or friends. But, dear saints, do not let that silence you. Silence in the face of lies is nothing other than bowing at the pagan altar of comfort.

Charlie was an amazing example of someone who loved others in a way that led him to move away from comfort toward need. He intentionally went to places to talk with people who suppress truth. He would shine the light of the truth in that darkness with logic and rhetoric that few have. But his example should teach us one simple lesson: the Truth always wins.

Jesus taught us that the devil is a liar and the father of lies (Jn. 8:44). That means wherever there is falsehood, the devil and his demonic forces are at work. Dear saints, don’t give an inch to what is false. Stand on the truth. Speak the truth and know that you are not alone. God doesn’t give many people a sphere of influence as large as Charlie had, but the numbers of people you can reach don’t matter.

Even though most of us (myself included) don’t have the rhetorical and debating skills that Charlie had, those are skills that can be nurtured and strengthened. So, strengthen yours. We’ve seen how one person can influence millions of people. That’s great; for that, God be praised. But imagine what God will do through thousands of people with smaller spheres of influence use that influence to speak the truth to the people around them. You don’t need a larger audience or bigger microphone. You can simply speak to the precious lives that God has placed around you.

And as you shine the light of truth, know that, ultimately, it doesn’t matter if you win people over. That might not happen. But it’s also not your job. That task solely belongs to the Holy Spirit who alone can – and does – change hearts. Leave the results to Him. The only thing that matters that you are faithful (1 Co. 4:2-5).

Our Christian faith requires us to love our enemies and pray for those who curse and persecute us. It does not require us to stand silently in the midst of chaos, evil, savagery, and violence. That would only be a move toward comfort. Dear saints, move toward need. This world needs to hear that sin is bad, and there is forgiveness for sin because of the death and resurrection of Christ. They need to hear that life is precious from womb to tomb; that a man and a woman should get married before they do things that create children; that God created people in His image with gifts and talents that should be nurtured, strengthened, and used for the benefit of others; that criminals should be justly punished; that men are men and women are women; and all sorts of other things. Saying those things in a loving way can be difficult, but it is the loving thing to do.

So, spread the name and light of Jesus every opportunity you have and everywhere you go. With your words and actions, point others to the beautiful, the good, the orderly, the unchanging, and the unending. Because, ultimately, all of that points people to the love of God that comes only through Christ.

As you do that, remember that light has no fellowship with darkness (2 Co. 6:14). Yes, absolutely, strive to rescue others from the darkness. But, if they love the darkness rather than the light (Jn. 3:19-20), shake the dust from your feet (Lk. 9:5).

Dear saints, Jesus is your Good Samaritan who moved from comfort toward your need. You, go and do likewise (Lk. 10:37). Move away from comfort and toward the needs of your neighbor – especially toward those who have believed the devil’s lies. And as you make that move, live in the Light that will never know dusk. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Php. 4:7). Amen.

What fellowship has light with darkness?

Sep11

I didn’t realize it until a friend and colleague texted me this morning, but the assassination of Charlie Kirk yesterday gave me a similar feeling to what I experienced twenty-four years ago on 9/11/01 while I was attending Bible College.

I first heard of the terrorist attacks during our choir period. The director came into the room very distraught and told us there had been an explosion at the World Trade Center. That’s all we knew at that point, so we prayed and went on with practice. I foolishly dismissed the director’s concern, figuring he was merely being overdramatic.

On the way to my next class, I saw a television that revealed the carnage and destruction. I spent the rest of that day in a fog.

That evening, I sat outside a coffee shop with a few friends as we watched cars line up at the gas station. We discussed the evil and darkness of this world and felt totally inadequate to do anything about it. That conversation was a stark reminder that so many things in this world are completely outside our control. Praise God, that they are not outside of His.

God only gives each of us a certain sphere of influence, and we must be faithful in that. Over the years, I’ve come to realize that Scripture teaches that faithfulness is the only true rubric of success and only God’s determination of faithfulness matters (1 Cor. 4:2-5).

Yesterday, Charlie Kirk, a godly man who was faithful over his large, God-given sphere of influence, was assassinated – another reminder of the evil and darkness that vainly seeks to fill this world.

My fellow saints, what are we to do? Here’s where I suggest we start:

Remember. “This world is very evil.” A hymn was written in the 12th century with that title. It was true then; it remains true today and every day. Read and/or sing that hymn. It’ll give you a proper, Scriptural perspective on facing the evil of this world. You can find it here.
Be faithful. God hasn’t given many a sphere of influence as large as Charlie’s, but the size of our spheres doesn’t matter – only faithfulness does. Do what God puts in front of you to do with diligence, determination, strength, and zeal. Then go to your bed in peace (Ps. 4:8).
Fight. Fight knowing that this fight is not against flesh and blood but against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places (Eph. 6:12). No, this fight will not be won with any weapon that can do bodily harm. The war has already been won by Christ’s death and resurrection. Battles still rage, but the victory is secure. Fight the battle with the words of Truth and speak.
Speak. Charlie did this with excellence and eloquence. He spoke into the darkness in ways that few of us can. But his example taught us one simple lesson: THE TRUTH ALWAYS WINS. Speak knowing you are not alone. Even though most of us (myself included) don’t have the logic and rhetoric of Charlie, it is a skill that can be nurtured and strengthened. Strengthen yours. Then, go. Drive back the evil with words of Truth. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter if you win people over. That’s not your job anyway; that task belongs to the Holy Spirit who alone can change hearts. What matters that you are faithful to the Truth.
Pray. Take up the armor of God that shields you from the assaults of the enemy and place the battle squarely in the divine hands that were pierced for you. Jesus is still the Lord of hosts who rules and reigns over all things in His resurrected Body. Christ still governs all things on earth for the sake of His Church (Eph. 1:22-23).

We do not need to mourn for Charlie, and he wouldn’t want us to anyway. He has more peace and joy now than he ever had in this life, and he had plenty of both. We do mourn for his widow and children, but we do so knowing that Christ has them. We mourn for ourselves and for this world that no longer has Charlie’s light. And we mourn knowing and trusting that God determines when each individual’s race has been won (2 Tim. 4:7).

Finally (to paraphrase another person), our Christian faith requires us to love our enemies and pray for those who curse and persecute us. It does not require us to stand idly by in the midst of chaos, evil, savagery, and violence. Spread the name and light of Jesus every opportunity you have and everywhere you go.

Go. Live even now in the Light that will never know dusk.

Pastorsamwise

"Don't the great tales never end?"

Author Archives: pastorsamwise

At Your Strongest – Sermon on Ephesians 6:10-20 for the Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity

Loved Ones – Sermon on 1 John 3:1-3 for All Saints’ Sunday

The Clash – Sermon on Matthew 11:12-19 for Reformation Sunday

Silenced – Sermon on Matthew 22:34-46 for the Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity

Moved Up – Sermon on Luke 14:1-11 for the Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity

At the Gate – Sermon on Luke 7:11-17 for the Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity

Don’t Worry; Go Outside – Sermon on Matthew 6:24-34 for the Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity

Cleansed & Thankful – Sermon on Luke 17:11-19 for the Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity

The Move – Sermon on Luke 10:23-37 for the Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity

What fellowship has light with darkness?