Exalted for Your Redemption – Sermon on the 2nd Article of the Apostles’ Creed for Midweek Lent 3

The Scripture readings used for tonight’s service were Psalm 8; Hebrews 2:5-18; and Luke 24:44-53.

And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit; born of the virgin Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and buried; He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven; and is seated on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from where He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

What does this mean?

I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true Man, born of the virgin Mary, is my Lord; Who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature, bought me and freed me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with silver and gold, but with His holy and precious blood and with His innocent sufferings and death; in order that I might be His own, live under Him in His kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness; even as He is risen from the dead and lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Last week we considered the 2^nd Article of the Apostle’s Creed and Jesus’ humiliation. Tonight, we continue to consider this article, but in the light of Jesus’ exaltation. Jesus, who is God and Man, is now seated at God’s right hand where He rules, governs, and directs all things in creation. This is great news, and we’ll finish by dwelling on that.

But first it is good to recognize where we confess Jesus’ humiliation and where we confess Jesus’ exaltation in the Creed. Jesus’ humiliation includes His conception by the Holy Spirit; His birth of the virgin Mary; His suffering under Pontius Pilate; His crucifixion, death, and burial. Two things should be mentioned at this point:

First, and this will be important later, the fact that the eternal Son of God took on human flesh – the term for that is the ‘incarnation’ – is not part of Jesus’ humiliation. The way or manner in which Jesus took on flesh shows His humility, but the incarnation itself is not part of Jesus’ humiliation. We have to confess that because Jesus is still truly Man. When Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father, He didn’t lay aside or set down His body. No, He ascended physically into heaven. Jesus still has and will forever have His body. So, again, the fact that the Son of God took on flesh is not part of Jesus’ humiliation because He keeps His body in His exaltation. Tuck that into the back of your mind because, again, it will be important later.

The second thing to mention here is Jesus’ descent into hell. It might seem foreign to us, but Jesus’ descent into hell is the first step of His exaltation when we confess the Creed. We are so used to being told about the horrors of hell that we probably think that going there must be terrible, and that is absolutely true for us. However, when Jesus descended into hell, He did so for an important reason.

The only Scripture text that teaches that Jesus descended into hell is 1 Pet. 3:18-19 which says, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison.” Notice that this text teaches that Jesus is made alive in the spirit, in which, He goes and proclaims to the spirits in the prison of hell. As Jesus wins the victory over death by rising again, He descends into hell and proclaims His victory over the devil and the souls of those who refused to believe. Think of it as a victory lap when Christ preaches even to the devil and those who persisted in unbelief that by the shedding of His blood He has won the victory over sin and death.

So, with all of that in mind, when we confess the Creed, Christ’s exaltation begins with His descent into hell then continues with His resurrection from the dead on the third day; His ascension into heaven; and His continued sitting at God’s right hand to this day. Jesus’ exaltation will culminate when He returns in glory to judge the living and the dead on the Last Day.

So, what toes all of this mean for you now?

Well, in our Gospel lesson (Lk. 24:44-53), we got to hear Luke’s shorter account of Jesus’ ascension. Luke gives a longer view of the ascension with a few other details in Acts 1[:6-11]. But I want you to notice two particular details from the end of Luke’s Gospel. Jesus leads the disciples out to Bethany. Ascension 2 He lifts up His hands and blesses them. And while He is blessing them, He is carried up into heaven. The last time Jesus was seen on earth, He is lifting up His hands in blessing. And Jesus continues to lift up His nail-pierced hands in blessing over you, dear saints.

The other detail to consider briefly is that the disciples worshiped Him. Imagine you walked around a corner and saw these disciples. Some of them are standing with their arms raised in praise and gazing into heaven. Some are kneeling with their faces to the ground praising Him. Maybe they are singing one of the Psalms. To someone who didn’t know what had just happened, seeing all this would look pretty ridiculous.

But it isn’t. Jesus was gone. He had ascended to God’s right hand. But the disciples knew that Jesus was not gone in a way that means that He is now absent from them. So, they return to Jerusalem with joy – with great joy. And they were continually in the Temple blessing God. And we join them.

Because Jesus has physically ascended into heaven and is exalted, we have an eternal High Priest who is crowned with glory and honor. As our Epistle text (Heb. 2:5-18) says, He has been made like us, and still is like us, in every respect, so that He is a merciful and faithful High Priest in the service of God. He is the one who carried our griefs and sorrows (Is. 53:4). He knows the struggles you faced today, and He endured the trials you will face tomorrow. Because He suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help you who are being tempted.

Dear saints, Jesus is exalted. Christ is risen, and He is ascended into heaven, but He is not gone. He is still with you. In fact, He has promised to always be with you. Jesus promises, “Where two or three are gathered in My name, there I am among them” (Mt. 18:20). Jesus promises, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me…. And behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Mt. 28:18, 20). We see Him with the eyes of faith. We see Him even though our eyes do not behold Him. We see Him because He has promised to be with us in His Word and Sacrament. We see Him in our brothers and sisters in Christ. And we see Him in our neighbor who needs our help because as we do good to the least of our brothers, we do also unto Jesus.

We see Jesus, and we watch for Him. We watch for Him because this same Jesus promises that He will return to dwell with you for all eternity. As God’s people we say, “Amen. Amen. It will be so. Come quickly, Lord Jesus.” Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

No Empty Houses – Sermon on Luke 11:14-28 for the Third Sunday of Lent

Mar15

Listen here.

Luke 11:14-28

¹⁴ Now he was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marveled. ¹⁵ But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons,” ¹⁶ while others, to test him, kept seeking from him a sign from heaven. ¹⁷ But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls. ¹⁸And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. ¹⁹ And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. ²⁰ But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. ²¹ When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; ²² but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil. ²³ Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

²⁴ “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ ²⁵ And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. ²⁶ Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first.”

²⁷ As he said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” ²⁸ But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

In 2014, it had been about two years of me waking up feeling more tired than when I had gone to bed. At my loving wife’s urging, I went to the doctor to request a referral for a sleep study. I remember the doctor saying, “Well, you’re not old, and you’re not overweight. I don’t think you have apnea, but I’ll refer you for the sleep study.” A couple weeks later, I went down to Altru Specialty Center to spend the night. When I checked in, the nurse who would be monitoring me met me and said, “You’re not old, and you’re not overweight. I doubt you have apnea.” But she dutifully brought me to a room and proceeded to put all the little sensors on my body, head, and beard. A couple hours later, I went to sleep. Less than an hour after that, she woke me up and said, “Put this on.” It was a cushion that covered my nose and blasted air into my nostrils. I hated it. It took me about an hour to figure out how to breathe with it and another hour to fall asleep once again. I only slept for four more hours, but it was the best sleep I had had in years.

The next morning, she unhooked the wires from my head and body. The nurse said I could expect to hear from the doctor in a few days. When I went to that appointment, this new doctor said to me, “Well, you’re not old and you’re not overweight, but you definitely have sleep apnea. We will write things up and get everything to your insurance so you can have a CPAP machine.”

Finally, two weeks after that appointment, I was told I could go to Yorhom and get the machine. The technician who instructed me on its usage said, “You’re not old and you’re not overweight, but this should help you feel better.”

CPAP Mask The CPAP means that a hose dictates how I can move when I turn at night. It means that, when I lie on my side, I have to adjust how the mask fits on my face and doesn’t get moved off my nose by my pillow. It means that I can’t fall asleep having a conversation with my wife. There are mornings that I wake up and have to unwrap the hose from around my neck. But in the six years since I started using that machine, there have only been just over a handful of nights that I have slept without that mask blasting air into my nostrils. I still don’t always like to use it. I wish there were some sort of medicine or a shot I could take, but such a thing doesn’t exist. Sometimes, I wish I could use the machine one night a month or one night a week and be fine, but it doesn’t work that way. I know that if I don’t use that mask and machine each night, I won’t rest or be able to function like I should.

Sorry for the long story, but there is a point and it is connected to the text. Here’s how:

Imagine how frustrated Jesus gets with us when we think that we can simply get a dose of His grace and mercy and then move on with our lives until we recognize or feel the need to take another dose. Imagine how frustrated Jesus gets with us when we think all we need is an occasional shot of the Holy Spirit when He desires that we have the daily and eternal presence of the Holy Spirit in our heart.

You see, your problem is not that you sin every now and then. Your problem is that the devil has essentially taken up residence in your heart. That’s what Jesus means when He says, “When an unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it seeks but finds no rest it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’” The devil has led you into sin and possesses you. That problem can, obviously, be solved. Jesus, the one who is stronger than the strong man devil, expels Satan. And Jesus doesn’t leave you simply as an empty vessel because the house of your heart won’t stay empty. Instead, the Holy Spirit comes and resides within you, and this means that you need to continually receive the Holy Spirit because He can be pushed out. You can neglect God’s good gifts, and the Holy Spirit can be resisted so that He leaves.

Assailed by Demons When this happens, your last state is worse than your first because as Jesus says, the demons come, it finds the house (you) swept and put in order. Then that evil spirit brings seven other spirits more evil than itself.

Throughout your lives, you find yourself in the position of thinking that it would be enough if God would just drive out the devil. And praise God that He does. However, that isn’t the end of the matter. Don’t forget that your house won’t stay empty. If you turn away from the Word that fills you with the Holy Spirit, the devil is going to come back worse then he was before. Don’t think that because you believe today that you will tomorrow.

Read. Study. Meditate on the Scriptures. Make the Bible more important to you today than it was yesterday. Don’t think that you can bring your kids to Sunday School and Confirmation and think they’ll be ok. Don’t be lulled into thinking that is enough Jesus for them.

The greatest threat to you and your children isn’t from terrorism, war, or a virus. The thousands of kids who grow up thinking that they were raised to be Christian because they were taken to church a few times a year. Those same people then go and read five out-of-context verses from some atheist blog thinking they know everything about what Christians believe. They are the very ones who are going to be the most likely to draw your children away from the faith.

But also be comforted because that is much less likely to happen if you train your children now to be in the Scriptures. To be in the very place that the Holy Spirit continues to work in their hearts and lives. That very Word of God is where God fills the house of your heart and theirs with the Holy Spirit and with treasures that cannot be spoiled.

You need to hear this today. There is a lot of uncertainty in our world and country right now. And while there are no plans to stop holding regular services here, it is possible that option might be taken from us. The devil is working very hard to bring enough uncertainty and fear to our society – and to Christians especially – that they would be tempted to think being at church and within the fellowship of the Body of Christ is not essential.

All Saints gathered around the throne Right now, we Christians need one another. Those who do not have faith in Christ need us as well. They need us to comfort them with the very same that we have in Christ. They need to know there is something more than this life. They need to know that Christ is coming back. They need to know that the One who is returning is the very one who shed His holy and precious blood for them. That very blood of Christ is the medicine they need to be freed from the devil’s tyranny over the house of their heart. They need to know that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away their sin.

Dear saints, today know that the house of your heart won’t stay empty. Know that the stronger man is on your side. And know that He desires all to be saved, and this may be the time He uses to call them to repentance and faith. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Humbled for Your Redemption -Sermon on the 2nd Article of the Apostles’ Creed for Midweek Lent 2

Mar12

The Scripture readings used during tonight’s service were Psalm 71; Isaiah 52:13-53:12; and Philippians 2:1-11.

Listen here.

And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit; born of the virgin Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and buried; He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven; and is seated on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from where He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

What does this mean?

I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true Man, born of the virgin Mary, is my Lord; Who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature, bought me and freed me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with silver and gold, but with His holy and precious blood and with His innocent sufferings and death; in order that I might be His own, live under Him in His kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness; even as He is risen from the dead and lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

There are too many lords in here tonight. I’m a lord. You are a lord. You are a lord. Everyone sitting on this side of the sanctuary is a lord. Maybe you don’t feel like much of a lord. You don’t have a castle. You don’t have lands or titles or pedigree. You can’t control the economy. You can’t even control if your house has toilet paper because all the other lords have gone and purchased it all before you could get to the store.

Probably most of us don’t think we are guilty of seeing ourselves as lords. Each of us usually thinks that we are the low man on the totem pole while there is somebody else up there – in the school office, in Washington D.C., or wherever ‘there’ is. But guess again. You are a lord, and there are too many lords here and too many lords out there.

Haughty Pride A lord is not simply someone who has the final say or ultimate authority over a situation. A lord is anyone who exercises power over someone at any time. For example, you are a lord when you get into your car and drive 32 mph instead of the posted 30 mph because your time is more important than the safety of others. By the way, you are also a lord when you slow down to 27 mph in a 30 mph in order to teach a lesson to that guy driving 40 mph behind you. You are a lord when you sit down after a long day and your spouse or kids ask you for something, but you don’t feel like giving them the time or attention they desire. You are a lord when you go to the store or click your mouse to spend your money on yourself or family while ignoring the hungry and needy. Kids, you are a lord when you decide that your sibling has done something you don’t like, so you turn around and do something to them that they don’t like. Yes, there are too many lords today.

The question tonight is this: “What kind of lord are you?” In the Epistle text you heard earlier (Php. 2:1-11), Paul doesn’t ask the question directly, but the Holy Spirit would like that text to have us each answer the question, “What kind of lord am I?” And that Scripture text would have us consider ourselves in light of the Lordship of Jesus who is King of kings and Lord of lords.

As we consider the 2^nd Article of the Apostles’ Creed this week and next, we are going to divide it in two parts – Jesus’ humiliation tonight and Jesus’ exaltation next week. Tonight, know this: because Jesus is Lord, the kind of Lord you have is a humble Lord.

Here is the first thing we have to understand about our Lord Jesus’ humiliation. To be humiliated or humbled, you have to start with some status. The higher you start, the more you can be humbled. So, consider Jesus. Jesus is the eternal, all-knowing, all-powerful, everywhere-present Son of God. You can’t start higher or more lord-like than that. But Jesus didn’t count equality with God a thing to be grasped or held on to.

Jesus’ lordship stands opposite to what Adam and Eve did. Remember in the Garden, Satan aroused Adam and Eve (who were given dominion [i.e. ‘lordship’] over all creation) to eat of the tree which God commanded them not to eat so that they would be like God. They took the bait and fell. Even though Jesus didn’t need to be like God (because He already was God), Jesus is patient and waits to be given that glorification, that lordship, until it pleases God to give it to Him. So, Christ chose to humble Himself.

Even though Jesus was true God and equal to God in all respects, as a man, Christ did not fully make use of His divine powers and attributes. If Jesus wanted to go somewhere, He didn’t teleport. Jesus didn’t sustain Himself by His divine power; instead, He ate food. Jesus took naps, and His feet got dirty. Yes, there are times where Jesus uses His divine power, but almost always it is for the benefit of others by healing them.

good-friday-jesus-comes-to-rescue Jesus, the Son of God, emptied Himself by taking the form of a servant. He was formed and woven together in His mother’s womb, just like you were. Jesus was born just as you were born, but in a stable. The shepherds and wise men saw Him as an infant. As a helpless infant, Jesus entrusted Himself to the care of His parents who had to flee the violent, wicked hands of Herod, the lord of Jesus’ land. Jesus learned to walk, talk, and eat in Egypt. He was even potty trained there. He learned His letters and how to read after His parents moved Him to their hometown of Nazareth. Jesus grew up learning carpentry, the trade of His (earthly) father, Joseph. Lord Jesus made friends with the neighborhood kids, and He had siblings who didn’t always treat Him with kindness (Mk. 3:31-32, Jn. 7:1-5).

Jesus knew tiredness after a long day of travel (Jn. 4:6). He got hungry (Mt. 4:2). Jesus experienced disappointment of friends who betrayed Him (Lk. 22:47-48). He felt the pain of friends and family dying (Jn. 11:32-34). Jesus experienced the lure and enticement of every temptation that you face. Yet, Jesus still did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped. He did not use His divine power to remove Himself from any of those situations.

Instead, your Lord Jesus humbled Himself to the point of death, and not just any death. He humbled Himself to a cross-type death – the most painful and humiliating death ever devised for the lowest of criminals. To illustrate how humiliating Jesus’ death was, it is interesting to note that Muslims believe that Jesus was a prophet, but they don’t believe Jesus died on the cross because dying on a cross is below the dignity of a prophet. And finally, Jesus was buried in a borrowed tomb.

Dear saints, your Lord Jesus humbled Himself. You have a truly humble Lord, and Jesus, your Lord did all of this for your redemption. Yet, Christ is most God-like when He is on the cross. With all power and authority at His disposal, He lays it all aside to shed His blood for you, to die for you, to redeem you, to give you His grace and mercy, and to become your Lord.

Christian, that is the kind of Lord you have. Because you have been redeemed by your humble Lord, you are children of God and lords – with a little ‘l’ (1 Cor. 9:19, Ro. 13:8). And this world desperately needs little lords that have the humble mind of Christ. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Created by the Father to Love and Serve – Sermon on the 1st Article of the Apostles’ Creed for Midweek Lent 1

Mar5

The Scripture readings used during tonight’s service were Psalm 104; Genesis 1:1-2:3; and Matthew 6:22-34.

Listen here.

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.

What does this mean?

I believe that God has created me and all that exists; that He has given and still preserves to me my body and soul, my eyes and ears, and all my members, my reason and all the powers of my soul, together with food and clothing, home and family, and all my property; that He daily provides abundantly for all the needs of my life, protects me from all danger, and guards and keeps me from all evil; and that He does this purely and out of fatherly and divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me; for all of which I am in duty bound to thank, praise, serve, and obey Him. This is most certainly true.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Tonight, we begin this little adventure of considering the Apostles’ Creed and the God who has created, redeemed, and sanctified us. From the moment I began thinking about this series, I knew that preaching the 1^st Article would be the most difficult sermon to write because there are so many possibilities. I thought about preaching against evolution and atheism. Or preaching about the wisdom of God and the wonderful care and detail He used when He situated all the parts of creation for us to live on this little speck of dirt traveling through the universe. I thought about preaching how God our Father and Creator graciously continues to sustain and preserve creation even after the Fall into sin. There were too many possibilities. But my main concern about preaching the 1^st Article was to make sure that as we consider the fact that God created us that it also fit with preaching Christ. So tonight, you are going to get a little of all that.

The poisonous theory of evolution that says the entire universe happened by a chance, chaotic explosion, that caused life to accidentally form in a violent world, and that life continues to exist only because of death and Galexy survival of the fittest. But the more scientists discover and learn, the more it becomes impossible to believe that we are the product of a series of random events.

We live on a big earth, but when you compare our solar system to the size of the universe, our entire solar system is incredibly small. Yet, our solar system is placed in the perfect spot in the Milky Way Galaxy that protects us from radiation. The number and size of other planets in our solar system protect us from asteroids hurtling through space that would destroy Earth. Our planet is just the right distance from the Sun – move us much closer and everything would be too hot, much further and everything would be too cold. The axis of Earth is tilted just the right number of degrees to regulate heat on the planet. The size of our planet means it has enough gravity to hold on to the gasses of our atmosphere, but it is not so large that we become a gaseous giant like Jupiter. The chemistry of our planet is in perfect balance to sustain life. Our moon is just the right size to regulate tides that sustain life in the oceans. And the magnetic field surrounding us is perfect to shield us from the sun’s radiation. Each of these details show that you believe in an Almighty Creator.

That’s just the big picture, macro stuff. Let’s get tiny and consider the micro stuff. Your body is made up of somewhere around 35 trillion individual cells that serve various functions. If the DNA strands in those cells were laid out end to end, it would travel from here to the sun and back 100 times. DNA From the moment you were conceived, the information in your DNA would fill 600,000 pages with information. And right now, in each of the 35 trillion cells of your body, biological “machines” are copying the volumes of information in your DNA into amino acids which are taken by other machines and folded in specific and precise ways into proteins. (So, don’t let anyone tell you that you are lazy.) But with all those minute details, you believe in an intricate, sophisticated, wise Maker.

Yes, you believe in God Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. And we could continue to consider all sorts of other facts about the universe and the size of the sun and the necessity of solar flares on the large scale. Or, we could consider the miracle of trillions of bacteria that line your intestines so you can digest the wonderful soup, sandwich, and desserts traveling through your gut right now on the small scale. And that would be time well spent marveling at the wonders of creation. But we would be missing what might be the most important word in the 1^st Article – the word ‘Father.’

Every detail – both large and small scale – shows that you have a Creator who cares about everything large and small. Your God is the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. He cares for you and governs all creation to make sure that you have everything you need for life. Matthew 6_26 Birds Father Provides Your heavenly Father created and gives you everything. Your body and soul, your eyes and ears, all your members, your reason and senses – everything you have is a good gift from God your Father who daily provides for all the needs of your life. And He promises to continue to provide those things for you without any merit or worthiness in you. So, you don’t have to go running around worrying about what you will eat or drink or wear. God makes the sun to shine on the evil and the good, and He sends rain to the just and the unjust (Mt. 5:45). Everything that God provides for your life in His creation continues to be given as His good gift. The theological shorthand for all these things needed for life in God’s creation is called “1^st Article gifts.” So, if you don’t mind, I’ll use that term again in a bit.

Now, the church has been fighting against atheism and the false theory of evolution for so long that we have forgotten to think about two important questions related to the 1^st Article: How do we, as God’s creatures, view our neighbor? And what is our relationship and responsibility to creation? The answers to these questions are bound up together.

First of all, everyone you meet is one of God’s creatures intricately created and lovingly preserved by God. Every child from the moment of conception to the oldest person alive is a precious creature of God the Father. Every individual – no matter their skin color, their culture, their political views, or their ability – is valued and prized by the God who created them. So, treat them as such.

Your relationship and responsibility to them is to use all the 1^st Article gifts God has given you to love them, to care for them, and to help and assist them. Sometimes, that means changing diapers, feeding, and cleaning up after them. Sometimes, that means holding a door, shoveling a sidewalk, or letting them merge into your lane. Sometimes, that means listening, assuring, encouraging, warning, or protecting them.

So, protect the blessings of creation. Care for this world and protect the blessings God has given both to you and to others. When you look at others, remember that they too are created by God, and He loves them as His creatures.

Rest in the knowledge that God your Father continues to protect you from all danger and guards and keeps you from all evil. He does this because He is your Heavenly Father. He knows what you need. He knows that you need to eat and drink. He knows every last one of your needs, and He will provide every one of these 1^st Article gifts because He is your Father.

How can you know this? Because He sent what was most important in Him to provide for your deepest lack. Hebrews 4_12 - Word of God Sharp Sword

God the Father Almighty who made you has sent Jesus, His beloved Son, into creation, into this 1^stArticle world, to redeem you. And to that redemption, we turn next week. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

The Anatomy of Sin – Sermon on Genesis 3:1-21 & Matthew 4:1-11 for the First Sunday of Lent

Mar1

Listen here.

Matthew 4:1-11

¹ Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ² And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. ³ And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” ⁴ But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

⁵ Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple ⁶ and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and

“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”

⁷ Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

⁸ Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. ⁹ And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”

¹¹ Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

In any sport, a good coach will watch tape of the opponent or will notice how the other team is playing. The coach will use his skill and knowledge to figure out how to minimize the opponent’s strengths and take advantage of and exploit their weaknesses. That is what we are going to do today.

The devil is our enemy who will tempt us to sin. But just getting us to sin is not his ultimate goal. Satan’s ultimate goal is to get us to hate the God who loves us, who created us, who shed His blood and died to forgive us, and who desires to sanctify us and make us sacred.

Look at the back of your Scripture insert because I printed James 1:13–15 for you there: “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God,’ for God cannot be tempted with evil, and He Himself tempts no one.” Now, pay very close attention, “But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” This is how sin goes – this is the anatomy of sin. Temptation Lured and Enticed by Desires James 1_14-17 Your heart has a wrong desire, and that false desire is conceived and eventually gives birth to sin. Then, when sin grows up, it brings forth death. Knowing this, we know Satan’s game plan. But it is helpful for us to see how the devil’s game plan plays out in real time, and we saw it in our Old Testament text (Gen. 3:1-21).

Satan asked Eve, “Did God really say, ‘You shouldn’t eat from any of the trees of the garden’?” Notice what Satan is doing. He is trying to put Eve above God’s Word so that she thinks she can be the judge of what God said. Satan, that liar and deceiver, is trying to get Eve and Adam to think that God doesn’t want them to have something that is good and is holding out on them.

When Eve responds to the devil’s question, she adds to God’s Word. She repeats the command to not eat of the tree but she also wrongly puts an additional command in God’s mouth to not touch the tree.

There’s a whole sermon right there, but let me say this just briefly. It is true that if Adam and Eve never touched the tree they wouldn’t eat the fruit of the tree. You would have to touch the fruit that is on the tree and pluck it in order to eat it. But adding to God’s command didn’t keep Adam and Eve from sinning. It didn’t work for them in the perfection and bliss of Eden, and it won’t work for us in this fallen, broken world. We could consider all sorts of examples, but try this one: The 8^th Commandment tells us to not lie, but it does notcommand us to never speak. If we add to God’s command against lying an additional prohibition against speaking, what happens then? I know this example is absurd, but play it out. If you never speak, you might not lie with your tongue, but you also can’t confess Jesus’ name, can’t declare God’s praise, can’t love your neighbor by saying, “I love you.” And if you never speak, you would likely think, “I’m keeping the 8^thCommandment,” and that thought would be lying to yourself by saying you have no 8^th Commandment sin (1 Jn. 1:8). See? You still sin!

Anyway, back to observing the devil’s tactics. Eve adds to God’s command, and the devil knows she’s added to God’s Word. Satan sees that his attack is working, and he presses on by telling her a bold-faced lie, “You will not surely die!” Catch that – the devil, while lying, calls God a liar. Then, that snake accuses God of false motives, “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened.” He says the reason God is lying is to keep them blind to something. Finally, he entices Eve by saying, “You will be like God, knowing good and evil.” And that, right there, is the essence, the anatomy, of temptation and sin. Satan sees where your desires are different than God’s desires for you. And the devil arouses those desires and tries to get you to bridge the gap between what you want and what God wants. Satan tempts you to be the judge of God.

Temptation in the Garden of Eden When Eve looked at that fruit, she should have recognized, “That fruit is death.” Instead, she wrongly sees that it is to be desired to make one wise. This is the danger for us. There are things that are put in front of us and God says, “That’s bad, and it leads to death.” But instead of regarding those things according to God’s Word, we regard them according to how we see and think. We put ourselves over and above God and judge Him to be wrong. The devil entices us to think that God is the bad guy who is holding out on us, keeping us from having our heart’s desires. Then, we think we know better than God, and we fall for the temptation and into sin.

Now, not all of these steps play out every time you sin. The more you fall into a particular sin, the more you silence your conscience. Think again of the 8^th Commandment about lying. Whenever you lie, gossip, spread rumors, or stretch the truth, you are putting yourself in the place of God. You want reality to match up with what makes you look good or better than others. When you go behind someone’s back to complain about a situation instead of addressing the problem directly with the person, you are putting yourself in the place of God. If you have a problem with an individual, do not talk about those problems with anyone else. The more you do that, the more you open yourself to sin. Repent.

My fellow sons of Adam and daughters of Eve, be wise. The devil attacks you. He comes to whisper lies in your head that God is not good and that you know better than God does. The devil’s game plan worked in the bliss of the Garden of Eden when he tempted our first parents. How much easier is it for him to attack you now when your desires are already stained with original sin? But, now, let us watch the devil use the same tactics but fail when he tempted our Savior and our Brother, Jesus, the Son of God.

The context of Jesus’ temptation is immediately after He is Baptized by John in the Jordan (Mk. 1:9-13). There is no forbidden tree anymore, so the devil is going to attack a different Word from God. With the first two temptations, the devil begins by saying to Jesus, “If you are the Son of God…” (Mt. 4:3, 6). Remember what God said about Jesus just as He was Baptized, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Mt. 3:17). It’s in the verse immediately before this Gospel text.

Christ in the Wilderness (Temptation) Ivan Kramskoi 1872 Jesus has been fasting forty days and nights. I remember as a kid being hungry forty minutes after dinner. Jesus is famished. He is weakened by this fast. So, this temptation to turn stones into bread is a real temptation. The tempter again tries to exploit the gap between Jesus’ desires and what God has given. Jesus wanted food. Because He is man just like you and me, His stomach and His brain would have been screaming at Him, “Feed us!” But God has not yet given Jesus food. So Satan tries to get Jesus to take for Himself what God has not given.

But Jesus responds beautifully. He responds with God’s Word, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Now, this does not mean that we don’t have to eat. It does not mean that every time you get hungry you just take out your Bible and read. Instead, it is a reminder that there is more to our life than bread. Listen to the whole verse from Dt. 8:3 – Moses is preaching his farewell sermon to God’s people who had been led through the wilderness for forty years saying – “[The Lord] humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” In short, God might withhold something from you so that He can provide for you in a way that increases your faith in Him. While you wait for God to provide, don’t fall for the temptation to reach out and take what God hasn’t given. Jesus resists the temptation to take for Himself what God had not yet provided.

So, the devil comes with a second temptation. The tempter puts Jesus on the pinnacle of the Temple and tries to use Scripture against Jesus. Basically, Satan says, “Throw Yourself down. God has promised to protect You.” From Ps. 91:11, the devil quotes, “He will command His angels concerning you,” but Satan leaves out a phrase. The rest of the verse reads, Temptation of Jesus “to guard you in all your ways.” God the Father will protect Jesus in all His ways. But God didn’t send Jesus to earth to be some X-Games-temple-pinnacle jumper.

And there is great comfort for you in this as well. God will protect you in all the ways and paths and vocations to which He has called you. No harm will come to you until God is ready to receive you into His heavenly kingdom. Everything you do, you can do without fear because God will protect you.

Jesus knows this and responds again from the book of Deuteronomy (6:16), “You shall not put the Lord your God to the text.” The devil’s temptation fails again.

So, the devil tries one more. The tempter shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and all their glory in one moment (Lk. 4:5) and says, “All these I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.”

This offer of Satan is absurd. The earth already belongs to Jesus. Psalm 24:1 says, “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein.” But the devil isn’t offering Jesus creation and the universe because he can’t – it doesn’t belong to him. Instead, the devil is offering Jesus the dominion of fallen mankind. Remember, that God told Adam and Eve, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over… every living thing that moves on the earth” (Gen. 1:28). But when Adam and Eve fell, their dominion also fell. And that is what Jesus has come to restore and recover. He came to be the New Adam who has perfect dominion over creation.

Again, Jesus resists the temptation saying, “Be gone Satan,” and quotes from Deuteronomy. Maybe we should be reading Deuteronomy more. If you’re reading through Scripture, don’t stop if Deuteronomy seems sluggish. But, most importantly, know and love God’s Word. The promises of Scripture are your best weapon against temptation and sin. God’s Word is the Sword of the Spirit (Eph. 6:17). Anyway Jesus quotes Dt. 6:13, “You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve.” And the devil is beaten back and defeated.

1 John 2_16 - Temptation Desire Weapons So, dear saints, be wise. Know the devil’s attacks and tactics. The devil is going to use those tactics against you, but God has given you weapons against the devil, your flesh, and the world (1 Jn. 2:15-16). When the devil comes to tempt you, take up the weapon of prayer. Pray God’s Word and watch the devils flee. When your flesh tempts you, take up the weapon of fasting. If you are tempted to certain desires of your flesh, fast from those things. Tell your body, “Body, you aren’t in control.” And when the world tempts you with its vain riches, give. Be generous to the point that it makes you unable to afford falling into the temptations of this world.

And when you are tempted, find comfort in this and in nothing else: Our Epistle lesson (Heb. 4:14-16) invites us who fall into temptation and sin to come confidently as we approach the throne of grace. Come to Jesus because He is our great High Priest who knows our weakness and gives us His mercy and grace to help in time of need.

Now, what does Jesus, the Son of God, say to you? He says, “Come back to the Garden. Be guiltless again. Here, eat this. To undo the curse of sin and the curse of the Fall, take, eat. This is My Body given unto death for you. Take, drink. This is My Blood shed for you for the forgiveness of your sins.” Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Faithful & Just – Sermon on 1 John 1:5-10 for Ash Wednesday

Feb27

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The Scripture readings for tonight were Jonah 3:1-10; 1 John 1:5-10; and Matthew 6:16-21.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

I don’t remember exactly how old I was, but I was definitely old enough to know better. It was a cold, wet, Spring day. A friend from church, my sister, and myself were probably driving our parents crazy, so our parents dropped us off at the Williston Recreational Center to burn off some energy. The Rec. Center had two basketball courts, a few racquetball courts, and a hockey arena that still had the boards up but no ice. When we paid the fee and signed our names in, the employee told us that the empty hockey rink was off limits to the public that particular day, so we went to the basketball courts to play horse and lightning. But it didn’t take long before we got bored and decided we needed a little more excitement. So, of course, we went to the forbidden hockey arena.

I don’t remember exactly how we got past the front desk unnoticed, but we did. And we proceeded to have a grand time playing inside the boards. But not for long. I remember seeing the employee approaching the glass windows and door that separated the hockey arena from the lobby, and he didn’t look happy. I warned my friend and sister that we had been caught and were about to get in trouble. But my sister had a plan. She insisted that if we closed our eyes, the employee couldn’t see us. She said that it worked once for her friend. Now, I’m three years older than she is, so, again, I should have known better. But I did it. I closed my eyes as tight as I could and assumed the fetal position against the boards. I can only imagine how foolish we looked to that employee. Even as he hollered at us for being in there, I didn’t open my eyes until he tapped my shoulder.

Dear people of God, “If we say we have no sin,” (Notice that this is present tense. No matter how long you’ve been a Christian, not matter how much you’ve improved, no matter how much good you do, you still have sin.) “if we say we have no sin we deceive only ourselves,” and we look like a foolish child cowering with our eyes closed. We cannot flee from or escape the watchful eye of the God who created us. He knows your actions. He knows the words that come out of your mouth. He knows the thoughts of your mind. And He knows the hypocrisy of your heart. If we say we have no sin, the truth is not in us.

Repent because there is another way. Repent because that is the only way!

Scripture is clear that our God is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. This is one of if not the most common descriptions of God. In fact, this is how God Himself defines who He is (Ex. 34:6). Repentance of Ninevah by John Martin c 1840 When Jonah preached to the sinners of Nineveh in our Old Testament lesson (Jon. 3:1-10), they repented from their evil, violent ways. And for them, it was as crazy an idea as closing their eyes to enable invisibility mode. The king says in his proclamation, “Who knows? God may turn aside from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish.” In other words, “Let’s try repenting. It might work.” Dear saints, we do not have to wonder how God will respond to humble, contrite sinners. Our Epistle Lesson (1 Jn. 1:5-10) says, “If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Make sure you catch all of the words there in v. 9. The text doesn’t just say “If you confess your sins, God will forgive and cleanse.” No. The text says that God is faithful and just to forgive. We would expect to hear different words there – words like merciful, gracious, kind, generous, or even lenient. But that is not what Scripture says. God is faithful and just to forgive you of your sins and cleanse you from all unrighteousness.

Dear saints, God’s forgiveness delivered to you is right and just. That’s saying it in a positive way. And it is true in a negative way (or the opposite way): God would be unjust to withhold forgiveness from you who confess your sins. Your sin, your shame, your unrighteousness, your guilt was all laid upon Jesus on the cross. He has taken all of it and endured the punishment that you deserve. For God to give you any of His anger or displeasure because of your sin would not be right or just. He would be removed from the bench, disbarred, and thrown into prison if He didn’t forgive you.

Dear Christian, be comforted. God faithfully and justly and willingly and delightfully forgives you all your sins because of what Jesus has done for you. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Holy Deliverance – Sermon on Luke 18:31-43 for Quinquagesima

Feb23

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Luke 18:31-43

³¹ And taking the twelve, he said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. ³² For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. ³³ And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise.” ³⁴ But they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.

³⁵ As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. ³⁶ And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. ³⁷ They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” ³⁸ And he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” ³⁹ And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁰ And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him, ⁴¹ “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” ⁴² And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.” ⁴³ And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Christ is on His way to Jerusalem. He plainly says that He is going there to fulfill everything that was written about Him in the Scriptures. He is going there to be delivered to the Gentiles, mocked, shamefully treated, spit upon, flogged, and killed. But on the third day He will rise. Jesus says this plainly and clearly. But notice how carefully Luke records the reaction of the disciples. They understood none of these things. The saying was hidden from them. And they did not grasp what was said. That’s the long, emphatic way to say, “They didn’t get it.” The text then notes that Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem takes Him through Jericho where a crowd was waiting to meet Him.

Now, Christ’s name in Greek is Ἰησοῦς and it gets brought into English as ‘Jesus.’ But if you said Jesus’ name in Hebrew it would be יְהוֹשׁוּעַ, and when that gets brought into English it is ‘Joshua.’ If I asked you what city most goes with the name Joshua, I would bet you would say Jericho. It was Joshua who “fit [sic.] the battle of Jericho.” When Joshua went to Jericho, it was to destroy and kill. Joshua and the Battle of Jericho Joshua lead God’s people marching around those thick, fortified walls for six days, and on the seventh day, the people shouted and “the walls came a-tumbilin’ down.” Afterward, they burned the fallen rubble and reduced the city to ashes.

But Joshua wasn’t done yet. He stood over the smoke and ruins of that city and pronounced a curse, “Cursed before the Lord be the man who rises up and rebuilds this city, Jericho. At the cost of his firstborn shall he lay its foundation and at the cost of his youngest son shall he set up its gates” (Josh. 6:26). Those ruins were to be a perpetual sign of God’s displeasure with the wicked inhabitants of that city. But about 500 years later, a man named Hiel, began to rebuild Jericho. And you don’t have to guess what happened. The foundation of the city was laid, and his firstborn died. And when the gates were raised, his youngest son died (1 Kgs. 16:34). It should serve as a warning to us not to mess around with what is cursed by God.

We need to remember that, as blessed as our country is, we live in a modern-day Jericho. Most people do not believe in God. Today, sins that would have caused our parents to blush with shame are celebrated. People worship their bank accounts, their careers, and their livelihood. In our land, nearly one million babies are sacrificed in abortions every year. But, while that should cause us to weep and mourn, how many more are sacrificed spiritually?

Kids are programmed by parents to aim for success in this life by getting good grades, playing hard in sports, and finding a good job. None of those things are evil by themselves. But how often are those things promoted to the neglect of teaching those children the fear and love of God? What good is any of that if those same children end up in hell? Yes, parents, give your children those good things, but make sure are secondary to faith in Jesus, the true, merciful God. No, you may not be trying to rebuild Jericho, but too often Christian parents are raising their children on cursed foundations that are protected only by cursed gates.

Repent. Repent, and know that if you are feeling the curse of your sins that the New Joshua draws near to Jericho.

The first Joshua came to curse and destroy the sinful city of Jericho, but Jesus, the new Joshua, comes to bless. Joshua came to hurt, but Jesus comes to heal. Joshua came to march around Jericho, but Jesus came to walk straight through it. Jesus came to rescue from the ruins and curse of sin and bring His holy deliverance into His heavenly kingdom. That holy deliverance will come as His own body is wrecked and the curse of our sin is laid upon Him.

So, the Lamb of God travels through Jericho. It would make sense if Jesus went through the city quickly passing by beggars on the street. Jesus is marching to do something bigger than to simply help a miserable beggar. And that is exactly what seems to be in the minds of some who are walking with Jesus. They tell one of those beggars to sit down and leave Jesus alone. But even though His eyes focused on the cross, Jesus doesn’t pass by this blind man. Jesus stands still, and He stands still to deliver holy mercy.

It is as though Jesus can’t help Himself. He never ignores cries for mercy because He is mercy embodied. Jesus stands still and tells them to bring the blind beggar to Him. And notice how Jesus treats the blind man with dignity and respect. Jesus knows he can’t see, but He goes to the blind man’s level and gives him something for his ears. He asks, “What do you want Me to do for you?” The blind man answers, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” And Jesus delivers him from his blindness.

This morning, Jesus passes through your Jericho. Christ has heard your cries for mercy too. In fact, this same scene played out today just as it does every Sunday you gather here. We beggars come into the presence of Jesus, and we cry for mercy. Jesus doesn’t turn away. Instead, He hears you. He stops and stands still. You confessed your sins, you cried out for mercy, and Christ answered you by absolving you.

Notice what Jesus does not say to the blind man. Jesus does not say, “I have made you well and restored your sight.” Instead, Jesus says, “Your faith has made you well,” or better, “Your faith has (lit.) saved you.” Yes, it was Jesus who saved him, but Jesus points the man to his God-given faith.

Remember, dear saints, that your salvation was won and purchased by Jesus on the cross some two-thousand years ago, but your salvation is not distributed there. Thank the good Lord that it isn’t distributed there because you and I weren’t there. Even if we were to go to Jerusalem today, we couldn’t be at the foot of the cross because there isn’t anything there anymore. Salvation Won and Delivered On the cross, Jesus did everything for your salvation. On the cross, Jesus won the victory over sin, death, and the devil. But God delivers what Jesus did on the cross to you here and now. God delivers the mercy, grace, life, and salvation of Jesus through the preaching of His Word (Ro. 10:17), through your Baptism (Ro. 6:3-11), and through the Lord’s Supper (Lk. 22:14-20). God brings His holy deliverance to you through all those things, and as you receive those gifts of God through faith, you are saved.

Finally, notice the blind man’s response. He follows Jesus. The blind man leaves his Jericho home and follows Jesus to Jerusalem. As we begin Lent this Wednesday, let us do the same as we follow Jesus by listening to His Word. Let us abandon our cursed state and follow Jesus to Jerusalem this Lent. He leads, and we follow with grateful hearts. Let Jesus lead you to Jerusalem, to the cross, and to the empty tomb on Easter. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Holy Rest – Sermon on Hebrews 4:9-13 for Sexagesima

Feb16

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Hebrews 4:9-13

⁹ So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, ¹⁰ for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. ¹¹ Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. ¹² For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. ¹³ And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

This text has two things that, at first glance, don’t seem to go together – striving and rest. Striving is effort. Hebrews 4_13 - God's Rest Striving means that you work hard because you aren’t sure if you are going to make it. That’s why you strive. And rest? Well, rest is rest. It’s the opposite of striving. Typically, striving and rest only go together when the later follows the former. People strive so they can go home and rest for the evening or the weekend, or they work for decades so that eventually they can retire and rest. But that is only how things are in this fallen world.

Christians rest from their works just as God did from His. Genesis 1-2 records how God created all things. Each day of creation follows a pattern. God spoke and created light, and there was evening and morning day one. God spoke and created the sky, and there was evening and morning day two. God spoke and created land, seas, and plants, and there was evening and morning day three. God spoke and created the sun, moon, and stars, and there was evening and morning day four. God spoke and created birds and fish, and there was evening and morning day five. God spoke and created animals and people, and there was evening and morning day six. The pattern breaks there. But Scripture does tell us about the seventh day.

Genesis 2:1-3 says, “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished His work that He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work that He had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all His work that He had done in creation.” Notice that two things are missing. First, God doesn’t speak. God is silent on the seventh day because He is done creating. And second, there is no mention of evening and morning. In the text, the seventh day, the holy day of rest, doesn’t end.

God rested from His work. God didn’t rest because He was tired. He rested because everything was completed. The beautiful thing that happens here in Hebrews is the declaration that you, Christian, enter into the same eternal, holy Sabbath rest that God had on that seventh day (Heb. 4:10). But what works do you rest from?

There are two options. Some might suggest that it is the work you have to do while living in a fallen world. But that rest only comes after you die, and you only have to go back to Heb. 4:3 to see that the Scriptures say believers have already now entered into God’s rest. So, it can’t be the rest that comes only after death. Instead believer, you rest from the work of self-justification and self-salvation (Ro. 3:20 and Eph 2:9).

Hebrews 4_12 - Word of God Sharp Sword Christian, you have entered into the rest of God. You find your rest as you simply allow God’s Word to do its work in your heart as it pierces to the division of soul and spirit and discerns the thoughts and intentions of your heart. That Word of God convicts you of your sin revealing that your thoughts, words, and deeds are sinful in God’s sight. And that same Word invites you to faith in Christ who says, “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,” or better translated, “I will rest you” Mt. 11:28).

Now, none of this is to say that Christian life is easy. No, the Christian life is hard work and full of danger. We all need to realize that we could stumble and fall away from the faith. In fact, that is what the first eight verses of Hebrews 4 warn us about. God’s people, the Israelites, did not enter the rest of the Promised Land because they did not believe God. They fell away. They were the soil on the path, the rocky soil, and the thorny soil (Lk. 8:4-15). They failed to enter into God’s rest. Scripture is very clear about the dangers of falling away.

We need to hold fast, keep our eyes on Jesus, and not stray away. That is striving. But that striving is only possible because of the rest that has already been won for us. It is a rest that has already been given by God. So, the Christian life can be a restful striving.

Your rest has already been won by Jesus. Jesus came into the world to do the work that you and I could not do. He came to battle against sin, death, and the devil. Jesus’ faithful striving led Him to the cross where He endured the wrath of God because of our sin. Jesus faithfully walked all the way to the cross for you. Jesus Rested on the Sabbath And on a Friday, the sixth day from the cross, Jesus cried out as He died, “It is finished” (Jn. 19:30). His striving for your salvation was done. Jesus was laid to rest in a tomb on the Sabbath, the seventh day because all His work to redeem you was complete. And Christ rises on the first day of the week, the first day of the new creation.

Now, Jesus is ascended to His and your heavenly Father. So when you strive, you do it with Jesus on your side. Jesus knows your weaknesses and fears. And because of His work, He pours out His forgiveness every moment of every day. The rest He won and purchased for you is guaranteed, perfect, and stored up for you ready to be revealed at the Last Day (1 Pet. 1:5). You can rest because of Jesus.

Bella, today you are Baptized. Today, you have been joined to Jesus your Savior (Ro. 6:3-11) and have been clothed with Christ (Gal. 3:27). That means, dear Bella, that today you have entered into your rest with God. Jesus has done absolutely, positively everything that needed to be done for your salvation. You are wholly and completely given over into holy rest.

Baptism 2 Bella, and all you saints, because you and I are always tempted to think there is something left for us to do to be saved, God desires that you continue to be pointed to the holy, eternal rest that Christ has given you. Here, assembled in God’s presence with your brothers and sisters in Christ, God reminds you of the holy rest you have now. There is nothing left for you to do. Every time you come here, you receive that rest by listening to God’s life-giving Word and letting that Word do God’s work in you.

That is why we use our liturgy. It is one of the best ways to deliver the holy rest that comes only through God’s Word. We enter God’s presence by hearing His Word and singing His praise. We confess our sins and receive His forgiveness. We hear His Word and confess our faith that is taught in that Word. We receive instruction from that Word and pray to Him as His beloved children. We are fed Christ’s body and blood for the forgiveness of our sins. And we receive His blessing and benediction as we depart so we can carry that blessing with us through the week.

Bella, and all you saints, keep listening to the Word faithfully and diligently as it is preached and enacted in the service because your present access to God’s eternal, holy rest depends upon that Word. And that Word will never fail you. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Holy Work – Sermon on Matthew 20:1-16 for Septuagesima

Feb9

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Matthew 20:1-16

¹ “For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. ² After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. ³ And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, ⁴ and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ ⁵ So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. ⁶ And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ ⁷ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ ⁸ And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ ⁹ And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. ¹⁰ Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. ¹¹And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, ¹² saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ ¹³ But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? ¹⁴ Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. ¹⁵ Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ ¹⁶ So the last will be first, and the first last.” Laborers in the Vineyard getting paid

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

To get at the main point of this parable, I’m going to borrow an analogy. Imagine two waitresses working at a small cafe by themselves. Suddenly, a man brings in eighty of his family members to celebrate an occasion, and those two waitresses have to serve this massive, unexpected crowd. One of the waitresses works hard the whole time. She does her best to get all the drinks and orders. She puts in the effort to make sure all the plates are served to the correct spots. She attempts to keep the glasses full of refills. She promptly comes to wipe up a spill. And even though she is flustered, she does all of this with a friendly smile on her face.

The other waitress is angry about the whole ordeal. She’s mad that such a large party didn’t call ahead to let them know they were coming so the restaurant could be properly staffed. She grumbles when extra napkins are requested. She intentionally lets some of the food sit for several minutes after it was prepared so that it isn’t hot when it is delivered to the table. And she interacts with the party as little as possible and pretends not to hear certain requests. This second waitress actually made the evening more difficult for the first, so difficult, in fact, that it would have been easier for the first waitress to do the whole thing herself.

When the party is ready to leave, the man who brought everyone in walks up to both waitresses and hands each of them a handsome 30% tip. Which of the two is going to complain? Right. The first. She would have preferred for the man to give her a 15 or even 10% tip so long as the second waitress got stiffed. She would rather get less if it meant that all her effort was recognized and appreciated.

Jesus Laid in the Tomb 1 Dear saints, welcome to the kingdom of heaven. In the kingdom of heaven, you are never rewarded based on your works or efforts because, if you received what you deserved, you would be sent straight to hell. In the kingdom of heaven, there are no formulas or set, hourly wages. You are given to based solely on the merits of Christ’s work for you. He is the only one who can say that He bore the burden of the day and the scorching heat. His atonement, His mercy, His grace is what you get, nothing less. Because of God’s unmerited, unearned, undeserved, unconditional love freely given to you for the sake of Christ, you are an heir of the kingdom of heaven. God be praised!

That’s the main point of the parable. The sermon could end here, but it won’t. There are other points in the parable. Yes, they are minor points, but I have four that I know will be helpful and comforting to you today. So, I’d like to draw them out a little bit. And these points all come from a small phrase in the parable from v. 6that never jumped out at me before. Notice in that verse that when the master goes out at the eleventh hour, just before the sun begins to set and working day is ending, the master finds more people standing there in the marketplace waiting to be hired and asks them, “Why do you stand here idle all day?” Did you catch it?

“All day.” It means the guys hired at the very end of the day had been there all along. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve studied, taught, and preached on this parable, but I kept missing that phrase. I had figured these guys were lazy. I thought maybe they slept in, maybe they were trying to avoid working during the hot part of the day. But that’s not the case! They were there early in the morning, at dawn, when the master first went out to hire workers. And they were there at the third and the sixth and the ninth hour when he came. Most people would have given up and gone home around the sixth hour (which is noon). But no. When the master asks why they have been standing there idle all day, they say, “Because no one has hired us.”

Here’s the first point we can draw from that: no one who got paid their denarius at the end of the day decided on their own to go work for the master. Every one of them was called and sent only by the initiative of the vineyard owner. No one volunteered themselves for labor when he came, and no one went to knock at his door to ask, “Would you hire me to work in your vineyard?” Nope. good-friday-jesus-comes-to-rescue Each of them was called, and each of them was called at the precise time the owner called them. He went and retrieved them.

So, if you are a worker in the Lord’s vineyard, if you have been called into the service of the kingdom of heaven, i.e. if you are a Christian, you were called by God. Period. He came. He gave you work to do. You didn’t seek to work for Him. God called you into His service when it pleased Him. Some, God brings in early and has them work the whole day, but for some reason – a reason known only to God – He brings others in a later, at the third, sixth, ninth, and eleventh hour. If it had pleased the master to hire all of them at dawn, he could have.

Which brings us to second point. if you think that you are one of the early hires, if you have been a Christian your whole life and faithfully carried out your vocations, if you have been tempted at times to grumble for all your hard work or tempted to pat yourself on the back for what you have accomplished, be careful. Remember that it was not you who offered up yourself to work. You were called by the grace of God. “By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. You are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that you should walk in them” (Eph. 2:8-10).

Know this. God is pleased with your work. He designed all those works for you, and He laid them all out before you to serve those who needed God’s work offered through your hands. You will be rewarded, and you will be rewarded far better than you deserve.

The third point: Maybe you think that you are one of those who were called to work late. Maybe you are saddened by how much time you wasted pursuing a life of pleasure for yourself. If you think, “How much more good could have I done if I hadn’t been so foolish? If I had been studying Scripture earlier, I could have been of better service.” Dear saint, don’t get discouraged. easte-jesus-brings-us-out-of-death God had a reason for bringing you in when He did. Trust His timing. He brought you into His vineyard exactly when He wanted you.

The fourth point is also along those lines, and I know it will be comforting to many of you, so listen up! If you have been praying for someone who is not in God’s vineyard, or if you have been aching for someone who was once in the vineyard but left – maybe it is a friend or relative. If it seems like your prayers and efforts have been wasted, take courage. Don’t stop praying for them. Yes, God calls some early, but some aren’t called into the vineyard until later. Some are called so late that they only arrive in time to get paid which means they do no more than receive their gracious reward. Be comforted. God has His own timing. Keep praying.

One more thing. I know the most common way the different hours that the workers get hired is understood to be a time in each individual’s life. When it is interpreted this way, the workers hired first represent people who have been Christians their entire lives. They were given faith in baptism and continued in that faith until they died. Those who were hired at the third, sixth, and ninth hour are commonly viewed as those who came to faith later in life – as youth, adults, and seniors. And those hired at the eleventh hour are the deathbed converts. That seems to be a legitimate way to understand that detail of the parable, in fact, that is how this sermon has interpreted that detail up to now.

However, remember this parable is about the kingdom of heaven. 1 John 2:18, written almost two-thousand years ago, says that it is the last hour. In the book of Revelation, we get repeated pictures of the saints who have died and entered into glory, and they are still working by praying for us (Rev. 6:9-11). Also, consider Hebrews 11 that uses the faith and deeds of the Old Testament saints to encourage us. Then, Hebrews 12[:1-2] gives us a picture of the great cloud of saints surrounding us and cheering us on to keep walking in faith. And Revelation 14:13 says that those who die in Christ are blessed because they now rest from their labors, but – and this is the point – their deeds follow them.

Considering all of that, none of us can claim to be those who worked through the heat of the day. Rejoice that God is merciful and has and will continue to give to you far better than you deserve. But also, be encouraged because this means that your labor in Christ is never wasted and is valuable work that lives on after you are gone. Think of the labor done by the authors of Scripture – Moses, David, Isaiah, Matthew, John, and Paul– their labor continues to reap results for the kingdom of God today.

Great Multitude with white robes washed in the blood of the lamb And it isn’t just their work. Your work, done as a Christian, is holy work. Fathers and mothers, the work you do day in and day out will reap results in the lives in your children, grandchildren, and great-great-great-great grandchildren if Christ tarries. But it will also reap results in the lives of others whom you will never meet because you have shined the light of Christ to those you have met, and they will shine that light elsewhere. You Sunday school teachers, you who are praying for and encouraging our youth, you trustees who are caring for our facility, and everyone who is here encouraging another person is offering holy work that will be used by God until Christ returns. Everyone has a story of being impacted by someone else long after that person has entered into glory. So, take heart, and keep working. The labor that God has called you to is fruitful, holy work. It is holy work that God will multiply and expand. For that, God be praised. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Resurrection Mode – Sermon on Matthew 17:1-9 for the Transfiguration of Our Lord

Feb2

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Matthew 17:1-9

¹ And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. ² And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. ³ And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. ⁴ And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” ⁵ He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”

⁶ When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. ⁷ But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” ⁸ And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. ⁹ And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Chapter and verse breaks are helpful for us to find the same passage of Scripture, but they can also get in the way of important context. Our text, which begins a new chapter of Matthew, starts with the phrase “And after six days….” So, before we get to the Transfiguration, we need to see what was happening that week prior to Jesus getting shiny up on the mountain.

Matthew’ context for the Transfiguration starts back in Matthew 16[:13ff]. Jesus asks the disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” The disciples report that some say that the Son of Man is John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. But then Jesus turns the question to them, “But who do you say that I am?” and Peter has his great confession, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus had been proving that all along with His miracles and teaching. So, Jesus praises and blesses Peter even while He states that Peter didn’t come up with this confession on his own. Instead, God the Father had revealed this to Peter.

Then, Matthew tells us from that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things, be killed, and on the third day be raised (Mt. 16:21). Transfiguration & Christ Forsaken And from this point, things get a little crazy and awkward. It is almost as though Peter didn’t hear Jesus say that He would rise from the dead because Peter rebukes Jesus – the very one he just confessed is the Son of the living God. Peter says, “Far be it from You, Lord! This shall never happen to You.” It would be easy to sling mud at Peter here for telling God that what He says is going to happen won’t ever happen. But you do it all the time – more on that in a bit.

Now, when Peter confessed that Jesus is the Messiah, it meant something for him. What exactly Peter had in mind that Jesus would do as the Messiah is a bit hard to pin down. But basically, Peter figured that Jesus, the Messiah, had come to fix problems. Exactly what those problems were we can’t say with certainty. But whatever Peter had in mind, one thing is sure, it would be difficult for Jesus the Messiah and Great Problem Solver to fix those problems if He was dead.

So, Peter rebukes Jesus, and Jesus rebukes Peter. “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a hindrance to Me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man” (Mt. 16:23). And this is the sharpest rebuke Jesus ever gave an individual.

You know how it can be after you have an argument with someone. You try to avoid the other person for fear that a fight will break out at any moment. When you have to talk with them, you feel uncomfortable during every conversation. You carefully word everything in order to avoid the issue flaring up again. Imagine how Peter must have felt during those six days between this rebuke and the Transfiguration.

Now, let’s ascend the mountain. Jesus invites Peter, James, and John to come up the mountain with Him. Maybe this summons made Peter figure the whole issue was over and done with. Anyway, while they are there, Jesus is transfigured. Christ’s face shines like the sun. His clothes become white as light. Moses and Elijah appear and talk with Jesus. Luke tells us that conversation centered around Jesus’ exodus (usually translated as “departure” but the word is ἔξοδος) which Jesus was about to accomplish at Jerusalem (Lk. 9:30). In other words, they were discussing the very thing that Peter said should never happen just a week ago.

To summarize: Six days prior, Jesus told the disciples about His suffering, death, and resurrection. And Peter didn’t like it then, and Peter doesn’t like it now even in the presence of shiny Jesus. Instead, Peter likes being there on the mountain basking in Jesus’ unveiled glory. But even more than that, Peter doesn’t want Jesus to walk down that mountain, down to Jerusalem, down to be arrested, down to be tried, down to suffer, and down to die on a cross – which would appear to be a complete waste. So, Peter pips up and says, “Lord, it is good that we are here.” And the word that receives the most emphasis in Peter’s statement is ‘here.’ It is nice to be there on the mountain away from where Jesus says He will die, so Peter says, “Let’s stay here. I can build some tents so we can stay here!”

In a few weeks, we are going to hear the account of Jesus’ temptation. After Jesus resists the devil’s temptations in the wilderness, Luke tells us that the devil left Jesus to tempt Him at a more opportune time (Lk. 4:13). This, right here, is a more opportune time. In other words, this statement by Peter is a real temptation for Jesus to stay there with Peter, James, John, Moses, and Elijah on that mountain of glory.

But while Peter was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and God the Father speaks the same words He spoke over Jesus at His Baptism, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” But then the Father has one more thing to say – a command to give – “Listen to Him.” That’s not just friendly advice. The previous week, Peter had been rebuked by Jesus Himself for saying that Jesus shouldn’t die, “Get behind me Satan.” Now, Peter is rebuked again by God the Father for telling Jesus to stay away from Jerusalem and death. God says, “Listen to Him!” And the disciples hear this and are terrified.

Now, which of us does not have the same kind of weakness that Peter had? How often do you think you know better than God? You sin, but instead of confessing it for the rebellion that it is, you try to self-justify your actions. You judge God for being hard-nosed because of the things He has declared are evil. You think you know better than God how to raise your children, run your bank account, drive your car, and what to look at on the internet. Every time you complain, covet, and get angry, you are bucking God’s commands and setting yourself above God. It’s all idolatry, and we are all guilty. Stay in your lane. You don’t know better than God. You don’t get to tell God how things should be. Stay in your lane, and repent.

The voice of the Father from heaven says, “Listen to Him,” and crushes Peter’s conscience along with yours and mine.

Transfiguration - Rise and Have No Fear But here is where all of this is leading: Jesus comes to Peter, James, and John cowering in their sins and touches them. And notice what He says. He doesn’t continue to rebuke Peter. Jesus doesn’t say, “See I told you so.” Instead, Jesus says, “Rise,” the same word Jesus used when He spoke about His resurrection.“Rise, and have no fear.” Of all the things our Lord could have said, He says, “Rise, and have no fear.” Jesus is resurrecting Peter from his sin.

And Jesus stays in resurrection mode. As they are coming down the mountain, Jesus says, “Don’t tell anyone about what you saw until I rise from the dead.” There, Jesus speaks about His death. But it almost seems as though this is the first time the disciples realize Jesus says that as the Messiah that He will die and rise again. Christ will rise again.

Despite your objections; despite your idolatrous thinking that you know better than God; despite your continual, obstinate, insubordination against God; Jesus knows what you need. You need His suffering, the shedding of His blood, His death, and His resurrection. You need exactly what Jesus is here to provide for you right now. Here is His body, given for you. Here is His blood, shed for the forgiveness of all your sins. Here, Jesus gives you Himself to be your Savior. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Pastorsamwise

"Don't the great tales never end?"

Author Archives: pastorsamwise

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Resurrection Mode – Sermon on Matthew 17:1-9 for the Transfiguration of Our Lord