Tag Archives: All Saints’ Day

Blessed Wages – Sermon on Matthew 5:1-12 for All Saints’ Day (Observed)

Matthew 5:1–12

1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: 

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Dear saints, that’s you. If you are a Christian, you are a saint. A saint is nothing more than a holy person. I don’t imagine you think that you are holy in and of yourself. If you think you are, that is nothing more than pride, which is evidence that you are not holy. No, you are a saint because you belong to Jesus. He has made you holy by shedding His blood and dying for you. Christ has purchased and redeemed you and has made you holy.

Now, that brings us to the Beatitudes, but we’re going to start at the end so we can better understand the whole thing. In the last two verses, Jesus says, “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.”

Jesus commands us to do something here, but it might be one of the most difficult commands in Scripture. Your Lord commands you to rejoice and be glad when you are reviled, when you are persecuted, and when people utter all kinds of evil against you falsely. This command doesn’t have to do with how you use your body. We’re used to those kinds of commands – don’t use your mouth, tongue, and lips to lie; don’t use your arms and hands to kill or steal. We can do those things at least outwardly – even though we don’t perfectly keep those commands when we don’t lie, kill, or steal. But with this command, Jesus demands that you have certain feelings. Be joyful and glad. Yes, Jesus commands even your emotions and feelings, and Christ gives the reason we are to have those feelings.

“Rejoice and be glad for,” in other words, ‘because,’ or ‘here’s why,’ “your reward is great in heaven.”This is so helpful. The reason you are to rejoice is your heavenly reward is great. If you looked up the Greek word that gets translated as ‘reward,’ the first definition you would see is ‘wage.’ In fact, it’s the same word Jesus uses in the parable about the workers in the vineyard who all get paid the same wage of a denarius, no matter how many hours they worked (Mt. 20:1-16).

We do use the word ‘reward’ in a similar way. If you win a game or a race, your reward is a trophy or medal – it’s what you’ve earned for all your work before and during the contest. But ‘wage’ puts a little more of an edge to it. Wages are what you get paid for doing something, and Jesus promises great, heavenly wages.

In the Beatitudes, Jesus lets you know that things are going to be difficult in this life, at least for a while. You will be poor in spirit. Many things will cause you to mourn. You will be meek and humble. You will constantly hunger and thirst for righteousness. You will be merciful instead of vengeful. You will be pure in heart. You will seek to make peace instead of demanding your rights. And when you do all of that, Jesus says, people will persecute you because of it. But Christ wants you to endure all of that with rejoicing because He will pay you. And He will pay you well.

And to be clear, this isn’t the only time Jesus says something like this. In Luke 14:12-14, Jesus says, and I’ll paraphrase: “When you give a feast, don’t invite your friends, family, or rich neighbors because they will invite you to repay you. Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind who cannot repay you. Do this because you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” There, Jesus says that one of the reasons or motivations for you to treat people well – even those who can’t repay you – is that you will be repaid by God at the resurrection.

Shouldn’t you just do this because Jesus has been so kind and merciful to you? Yes, you should. God’s mercy freely given to you is all the motivation you should need. But Jesus gives another motivation here in the Beatitudes and in Lk. 14:14, and that motivation is that God Himself will repay you.

This is a great promise, and we should use it more often. So, take this promise, and keep it in your back pocket so you can pull it out regularly. The next time you are mistreated, pull this promise out of your pocket. When you spend hours planning, shopping, chopping, and cooking a nice meal for your kid and you place that that healthy food in front of him, but he says, “I don’t like that!” and slides it off the table so it spills all over the floor, take a breath. Remind yourself, “Jesus promises that I will be repaid.” When you are waiting in a long line and someone rudely and budges in front of you, take comfort in the fact that you will be repaid. When someone dominates the conversation and constantly interrupts you, don’t be impolite back and take your vengeance. Instead, think about those heavenly wages that Christ promises.

Of course, none of this – not one bit of it – is the basis for your salvation. You aren’t earning God’s favor or pleasure because of these works. But, again, this promise of blessed, heavenly wages can give you patience and motivate you toward good works. This is simply doing what you are called to do in Colossians 3:1-4, “Seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your Life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.”

So, to go through the Beatitudes quickly:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. You are the subject of a king who isn’t going anywhere. He won’t ever be unseated. This world is not your home. You have a better one now and forever.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. That’s a heavenly reward. You will be comforted by Jesus. Yes, you have this comfort now through the Gospel and forgiveness of your sins, but there is even more and greater comfort yet to come in heaven.

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. The new creation will be yours. You, dear saint, will be co-owners of the new heavens and earth. It belongs to you.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. You already have the righteousness of Christ. You don’t hunger and thirst for that. But you do hunger and thirst for the righteousness that will be yours when your sinful nature is finally done away with. That will come, and it will be paid to you as your blessed wage.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Yes, you have mercy now, but there’s still more to come. And you will be given this mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. You will behold Him and His face forever. The closest you get to that here is in the Lord’s Supper where you get to eat and drink His Body and Blood. But here, He is still veiled. Eventually, that veil will be removed.

Finally, blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Yes, you are God’s children now, but what you will be has not yet appeared. But know that when He appears, you will be like Him because you will see Him as He is (1 Jn. 3:2).

The treasures of earth are going to fade and pass away (Mt. 6:19), but your blessed wages will not. Dear saints, blessed are you. Jesus promises. Amen.

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

The Most Blessed Story Is True – Sermon on Matthew 5:1-12 observing All Saints’ Day

Matthew 5:1-12

1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: 

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

“Blessed.” Nine times, Jesus proclaims a blessing in this text. Each of these blessings that Jesus speaks is the kind of story that we like – a rags to riches story. The poor, the down and out, the little, and the weak rise from their pitiful condition and get something good.

Other than the Bible, the book my nose has spent the most time in is Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. And, I have to say the obvious, don’t just watch the movies, read the books – they’re infinitely better. The little hobbits “rise from their quiet fields to shake the towers and counsels of the Great,” and topple the dark lord, Sauron. We love that kind of story. We love how Cinderella ascends from mopping the floors of her wicked stepmother and waiting on her cruel stepsisters to live in the palace married to Prince Charming.

The stories where the small, weak, despised, and ostracized overcome all the obstacles and live happily ever after capture our attention. They are often a nice escape from reality because we know that not everything works out so perfectly. And even though we like to hear, “and they all lived happily ever after,” we know that real stories don’t end up that way. Cinderella grows old, wrinkly, and dies. The Ugly Duckling turns into a swan, but eventually gets entangled in a windmill. And Bambi either gets chronic wasting disease or shot during hunting season.

So, back to Lord of the Rings for just a moment: Old Bilbo was the one who found the ring of power which gave him an unnaturally long life. He has passed the ring on to his nephew, Frodo, and retired from adventuring at the elven house of Rivendell so he could settle down and write a book about his adventures. But when Bilbo finds out the ring must be taken on a perilous journey to Mount Doom to be destroyed, he figures it’s his job. He mourns for a bit saying, “I was just writing an ending for [my book]…. I had thought of putting: and he lived happily ever afterwards to the end of his days.” That last phrase, “to the end of his days,” is more realistic. Happily ever after can only last so long in this fallen world. Psalm 90:9 says, “we bring our years to an end like a sigh.” Deep down, we know that happily ever after doesn’t come in this world. Rags-to-riches stories rarely happen, and even when they do, those riches don’t last.

So, when Jesus sits down on the top of the mountain and teaches us the Beatitudes, we know our Lord doesn’t lie. We want our own happily ever after, so think we need to try to be what Jesus describes in order to be eternally blessed. But, when we hear who Jesus says is blessed, we take a step back. Who wants to be poor in spirit, mournful, meek, hungry, thirsty, and persecuted? We spend so much time and energy trying to avoid being those things. We want to be spiritually strong, not poor in spirit. We want to be happy and joyful, not mourning. We want to be powerful, not meek. And we typically avoid persecution at all costs.

Today, as we observe All Saints’ Day, it is important to remember that the Beatitudes are not attitudes that Jesus commands us to have. They are not Jesus’ advice on how we must arrange our lives to attain our own rags-to-riches, happily ever after ending. That approach turns the blessings Jesus gives here into be-curse-itudes. Instead, the Beatitudes are a description first of Jesus and then of who you are, dear saints, because you are in Jesus.

And we can say that because of what Christ has done. Christ’s story is a better but different kind of story than rags-to-riches. In fact, Christ’s is the only story that even makes rages-to-riches possible. It is the story, the true story, of Jesus who went from riches to rags to save us ragged sinners.

The eternal Son of God left His dwelling in heaven. He humbled Himself to be born in a manger and entered this sin-sick world. Christ endured every temptation, disappointment, and sorrow you have ever and will ever face. He was poor in spirit (Mk. 14:34). He mourned death (Jn. 11:35). He was meek (same Gk. word in Mt. 11:29 and Mt. 21:5). He became hungry (Mt. 4:2) and thirsty (Jn. 19:28). He was merciful, pure in heart, and a peacemaker. And persecuted? Yes, He was persecuted. Abandoned by even His closest friends, betrayed into the hands of evil men, beaten, mocked, scorned. Crucified, forsaken by God the Father, died, and buried. It doesn’t get any lower than that.

Jesus didn’t have to do or experience any of this, but out of His great love for you – He did. “He left His Father’s throne above, so free so infinite His grace. Emptied Himself of all but love and bled for Adam’s helpless race.” Jesus left the riches of heaven to descend to you and me in the filthy rags (Is. 64:6) of our sin. He came to you to raise you from your rages to His riches. He did that to make you His saints, His holy ones, His beloved, His blessed.

Dear saints, you don’t ever have to wonder if the blessings Jesus proclaims in the Beatitudes are for you. If v. 3-10 were all we had, then, sure, maybe there would be doubt. But Jesus closes the Beatitudes by saying, “Blessed are you.” You are blessed now even when you are reviled, persecuted, and slandered for your faith in Jesus. Rejoice and be glad, your reward is great in heaven.

“Beloved, [you] are God’s children now, and what [you] will be has not yet appeared; but know that when He appears [you] shall be like him, because [you] shall see Him as He is” (1 Jn. 3:2). Blessed Jesus, may that day come soon. Amen.

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

Known – Sermon on Revelation 7:9-17 for All Saints’ Day

Listen here.

Revelation 7:9-17

9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, 

“Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, 
and to the Lamb!” 

11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, 

“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving 
and honor and power and might 
be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” 

13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” 14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, 

“These are the ones who are coming out of the great tribulation. 
They have washed their robes 
and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 
15 “Therefore they are before the throne of God, 
and serve him day and night in his temple; 
and he who sits on the throne 
will shelter them with his presence. 
16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; 
the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. 
17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, 
and he will guide them to springs of living water, 
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Dear saints, yes, you saints.

What sets the saints apart? How do the saints become holy? Normally, when we use the word ‘saint’ we are thinking about the really good people. If the church were a classroom, we think the saints would be those who are on the ‘A’ honor roll, the summa cum laude graduates. But that is not the Scriptural way to talk about saints. Instead, that kind of thinking is close to the Roman Catholic idea of saints – those who have done enough good works to avoid purgatory.

The saints are not those who have done so many good works that they earned extra credit before God. Saints aren’t the teacher’s pets. Instead, the saints are those who are made holy by Jesus. We got a picture of the saints in this reading from Revelation 7. The saints are those who have come from every nation, tribe, people, and language who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. That means, you are included in the number of the saints. You have been cleansed and made holy by Jesus and have had your sins wiped away by Christ.

Today on All Saints’ Day, we remember the saints who are not famous to the world, but they are famous to us. We knew them, took Communion with them, prayed, fellowshipped, and worshipped with them. As a congregation today, we remember with thanks to God Grace Hjelle, Carol Quern, Delores Malm, and John Griffith. We love them and we miss them, but as much as we love them, we know that they probably won’t be remembered in history books. They probably won’t be remembered by many others, but we will never forget them. In particular, we remember that while they have finished their course of faith, they are not gone from us. They have become part of the great cloud of witnesses that was mentioned in our verse of the week (Heb. 12:1-2), who surround us and are now cheering us on as we run our race of faith.

So far in our service, we have had two Biblical descriptions of all the saints that focus on how many there are. The saints are this ‘great cloud of witnesses’ from Heb. 12, and then here from Rev. 7:9 they are called a ‘great multitude’ that is so large you cannot count them. Imagine this massive throng, this sea of people, this glorious crowd so numerous that it takes your breath away. But don’t think for one minute that because there are so many of them that each individual becomes anonymous.

In v. 13, one of the four elders asks John, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” And I love John’s response. It’s like he says, “Boy, I hope you know!” But the elder tells John who they are, where they have come from, and how their robes got to be so white. Listen to the answer:

“These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will shelter them with His presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and He will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” 

These people are all known, intimately known, by God! They have white robes washed clean in the blood of the Lamb. Think about this for a minute. Remember Jesus’ parable about the wedding feast (Mt. 22:1-14). They have been called and invited. They have been greeted at the door. They have been given a wedding garment.

These people are guided by Jesus, their good Shepherd. Think of what Jesus says about this in John 10. “I am the good Shepherd. The good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep” (Jn. 10:11). Jesus goes on to say about those who are His sheep, “I know My own and My own know Me, just as the Father knows Me”(Jn. 10:14-15). And the book of Revelation says that each one of these people have their names written in the Lamb’s book of life (Rev. 3:5, 13:8). In other words, each one of these people are known by God by name. God knows who they are, and He even knows the number of hairs on their head (Mt. 10:30).

The saints are the known ones! Known and loved by God. God be praised!

Because they are known by God, look at what these saints know by what they sing. Our text has two songs sung by two different choirs. The second one is sung by the choir of angels surrounding the throne. The angels sing, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen” (v. 12). But the first song, the song of the saints, is different.

The choir of saints sing, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb” (v. 10). The angels didn’t sing about salvation, but the saints do. This is remarkable.

Now, there is something you need to know about this song, the original Greek does not have the word ‘belongs,’ the ESV supplies that word. The Greek doesn’t have a verb here. Greek does this at times. It leaves us to supply the verb. When Greek doesn’t supply a verb, it is because it doesn’t want to limit the action in any way, so ‘belongs’ is as good verb as any. But it is also legitimate to say, “Salvation is or belongs or is accomplished by or depends upon our God and to the Lamb.”

In other words, the eternal song of the saints is that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone. Now, of course, they are singing about this because it is true. They wouldn’t be singing about something false. But you don’t sing about normal, everyday things. You sing about wonderful things, amazing things, remarkable things. The saints in heaven are amazed and, we could even say, surprised that salvation belongs to God alone. Are they really surprised by that? You wouldn’t think they would be. It’s what the whole Bible teaches. It’s obvious that salvation is by grace alone.

It must be that even though they knew that salvation is by God’s grace alone, but when they got into heaven and saw this reality, they understood better than they ever did before. They are even more amazed and stunned by the salvation they have by grace now that they are in God’s presence.

This is marvelous, it should give us hope, and it should make us excited for when we are with Jesus. We also know that salvation is by grace alone. But we get so focused here about how to live our lives, how to be better people, how to have better relationships, how to improve in good works. All of that is good and right. But while the saints in heaven did those things while they lived here, when they arrive in heaven all those things fade away. The saints are eternally amazed at what God has done for them in saving them.

Dear saints, I hope that you never tire in this life about hearing that God has saved you by His infinite grace. And I hope that even though I mention in every sermon that Jesus has gone to the cross, shed His blood, and died to save you from your sin, I hope that you realize that this salvation will merit an eternal song of praise to Jesus. I want to hammer that into you with every sermon and through the liturgy we use here every week. But you will know it even better and it will be more glorious when you arrive in the presence of your Savior.

No matter how many times you hear it now, no matter how wonderful the Good News of the Gospel is in this life, it is still like looking at a picture of the Grand Canyon but never visiting it. Pictures can capture wonderful moments and remarkable beauty, but it never matches the reality.

On this side of heaven, we are always fighting the temptation to think that we offer something to God for our salvation. But know this, dear saints who are known by God, God’s mercy, grace, forgiveness, and salvation is more than enough to satisfy God’s wrath and remove it forever.

Apparently, things are clearer in heaven than they are here. May God bring us at last to that throng who is known by Him and who knows better than we do now the salvation that Christ has won for us. In that day, we will also know, and we will join in their song. Amen.

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

Saints – Sermon on Revelation 7:9-17 for the Observation of All Saints’ Day

Listen here.

Revelation 7:9-17

All Saints gathered around the throne9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice,

“Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb!”

11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying,

“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving
and honor and power and might
be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” 14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me,

“These are the ones who are coming out of the great tribulation.
They have washed their robes
and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

15 “Therefore they are before the throne of God,
and serve him day and night in his temple;
and he who sits on the throne
will shelter them with his presence.
16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;
the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat.
17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,
and he will guide them to springs of living water,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Dear saints, the Apostle John wants you to see what he saw. The text says, “Behold,” so, get this picture in your mind. You see a huge crowd, so many people that you can’t begin count them. Even though there are too many to count, you can see thousands of faces and notice that they are not all the same. They have different skin colors and facial features. They come from all the different tribes and peoples and languages. You want diversity? This is diversity.

Yet, despite their different upbringings every member of that throng is doing the same thing. They are all standing before the throne of God and the Lamb. They are all clothed in white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. And they are all crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb!”

The myriads of angels are there, and they cry out with that multitude, “Blessing, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power, and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

The elder asks John, “Who are these clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” John simply responds, “Sir, you know.” It doesn’t seem as though John had no idea who the crowd was. It isn’t as though he throws up his hands and responds, “I have no idea.” Instead, it’s as though John is so overcome with wonder and amazement that he can’t put words together to answer the question. You know how you want your grandpa or one of your friends to tell a story that you were involved in because they can tell it so well? It might be something like that.

The angel, the elder, says, “These are the ones who are coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” There is no question or debate that John here is seeing the saints, Christians who have died and are with God. But people will debate if John is seeing the Christians who have died during his time or if John was transported into the future and given a glimpse of all the saints after the return of Christ and the resurrection of the dead.

Well, we have a clue to answer this debate in the text. (But I would like to note that, even if the interpretation of this particular phrase of v. 14 is incorrect, everything else I will preach could be shown from a variety of other Scripture passages.) The elder there says, “These are the ones who are coming,” present tense and there is a sense that this is a continual thing, “the ones who are coming out of the great tribulation.” The picture is that there is a constant, steady stream of people continually being added to this great multitude. Of all the things that could be said about these saints, the elder mentions they are coming out of the great tribulation.

Imagine the comfort that this must have been for John. At this point in his life, he is likely the last living apostle of Jesus when he sees this vision. John was the bishop of the entire region of Asia. He has been exiled to the island of Patmos because there was a persecution of Christians at that time. He had at least heard of – and, more likely, had seen with his own eyes – all sorts of men, women, and children who died for their confession of faith in Christ. Like you, John saw and experienced the fact that Christians leave earth. They breathe their last and are buried. And John knows the sadness and mourning that comes along with that.

But here John gets a glimpse of the heavenly view of what happens when Christians depart this earth. He sees the same ones who leave this earth filled with sorrow, difficulty, and tears now entering heaven in victory and glory. Stop and consider this for a minute:

When Christians die and leave this world, it is grievous, sudden, and often unexpected. Even if someone has been sick for a long time and you know they are going to die, there is an abruptness to death – like running into a wall. But that is how it is for us from the perspective of earth. Here, we get the picture of the same thing from the perspective of heaven.

All SaintsWhile death may come suddenly and abruptly here, those who die in the faith are not surprise arrivals in heaven. The company in heaven is not startled or shocked by those who show up at the doors of glory. The gates are open, and the believers who arrive there have been anticipated and are welcomed into the great multitude to be with the Lamb who shepherds them. Their arrival into glory is no shock to the residents of heaven. It is perfectly ordinary and on time.

Consider as well that this multitude has come out of the great tribulation. They have come out of corrupted cultures and depraved societies. They endured the same disappointments and failures that you do.Like you, they struggled to balance their faith with their experiences. Like you, their families were hurt and torn apart because of sin. Like you, they wept for family and friends who abandoned faith in Christ. Like you, they served and supported others in ways that went unrecognized and unthanked. Like you, they were ridiculed and mocked for their faith. Like you, they knew the sorrow of pain, sickness, heart attacks, strokes, cancer, and dementia. Like you, they worried about the future. Like you, they feared as they walked through the valley of the shadow of death. Like you, they sinned and fell short of the glory of God. And like you, they pressed on in the midst of it all.

They pressed on and persisted in the faith while Jesus held them in His hand, just as He even now holds you. Jesus, their Shepherd, tenderly spoke to them as He speaks to you right now in His Word. Jesus gave them eternal life, and they will never perish (Jn. 10:28), just as He has given you eternal life and you will never perish.

Here is the point of all of this; here is the comfort for you: No one who believes in Jesus dies. This is a promise directly from the mouth of Jesus. Christ says, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die” (Jn. 11:25-26).

This year, as a congregation, we have mourned the deaths of Sonia Link, Ken Malm, and Verdie Pederson. You can add the names of others as well – friends and family members who either weren’t known to our congregation or who died years ago. These brothers and sisters in Christ have safely passed through death into life because whoever believes in Jesus lives. You can find comfort and solace in the fact that whoever believes in Jesus is of eternal significance and that person’s faith is of eternal consequence.

All Saints 1Because of this, we can have joy in the midst of sorrow. Here and now, as we are gathered together in God’s house and are invited to God’s table, we come to what is described in Hebrews 12(:22-24). This very morning in a small church on the north end of East Grand Forks, MN, we have come, “to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant.”

There are more here with us today than we can see or count. The saints of all time – those who are famous and known, those whom we don’t know yet, and our loved ones who preceded us in faith – they are all here with us as we gather together at the Lord’s Table.

Those who have departed this world with faith in Jesus are still united to us in Jesus because they are redeemed in the same Blood of Christ. They have washed their robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb. And, dear saints, you who have been made holy, so have you. Amen.

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

The Race – Sermon on Hebrews 11:39-12:2 for Observation of All Saints’ Day

Listen here.

Hebrews 11:39-12:2

39 And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40 since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

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

Let these words of Scripture paint a picture in your mind. The picture is of a huge stadium, and it has to be massive. We’re not talking thousands or tens of thousands of seats. Imagine millions, billions, even trillions of seats. And every single seat is filled – a capacity crowd. You, believer, are there in that stadium, but you are not in the stands. You are running a race on the track.

All the people in the stadium are Christians. They are the believers who have come before us. Hopefully, the rest of Hebrews 11, which you didn’t hear, is familiar to you. It is sometimes called “the hall of faith” and is a list Old Testament believers who finished the same race. The chapter gives sixteen names including Abel, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Moses, Rahab, David, etc., but it also includes multitudes more who aren’t named. All of them had faith in Jesus (v. 13, 39) even though they faced persecution, difficulty, trials, and temptations. They were all sinners who clung to faith in Jesus. But these saints have finished their race, are now in heaven, and are part of that great cloud of witnesses that surround us.

Wedding Feast of the LambSo, the picture is this: These Christians have crossed the finish line. But instead of going to the locker room and getting into an ice bath, they go into the stands to cheer us on as we run our race. And again, this is multitudes of people – more than you could count – people from every nation, tribe, people, and language (Rev. 7:9). Imagine the cheers, chants, clapping, and whooping encouraging you as you run.

Here you are on the track. Running your race of faith. The race has been long. It has been hard and difficult. Parts of the course of your race have been filled with sorrow, with disappointment, with discouragement. Parts of your course have brought you through the valley of the shadow of death. And you have gotten tired. Your lungs are burning. You can hardly feel your legs, and with each stride your feet hit the ground harder and harder. You are weary and might be tempted to stop pushing, to take it easy and walk, or even stop the race altogether.

But everyone in the stands is cheering you on, “Don’t stop! Run! Keep going! Dig deep! Keep pressing on! Go!”

I remember when I was in cross-country (I was never a great runner, but I still did cross-country to get ready for swimming, and I was good at swimming). But when I was in cross-country, everyone running the race would start in a huge pack. Scores of runners would all get on the starting line, and all the parents and classmates would be there to cheer everybody on at the start. As the runners would make their way through the course, fans would find different spots to cheer people on, and when their runner went by, they would move to another spot to cheer. Anyway, people would all try to be at the finish line to encourage runners to finish strong. But as the leaders and the main pack of runners finished, the crowd at the finish line would thin out. Usually, by the time I would finish, there would hardly be anyone left to watch. I think even once, the official timer wasn’t paying attention when I crossed the finish line which was discouraging to say the least.

But that is not the picture Scripture gives us about the race we are running. This great cloud of witnesses is there encouraging us at every last bit of the race.

These Christians who have gone before us and are cheering us on are called ‘witnesses.’ They aren’t called an ‘audience’; they are ‘witnesses.’ That means, as we run our race, they are cheering us on with their witness, their testimony, encouraging us to press on.

Exhausted Runner.jpgSo, maybe you are tired and struggling with quarrels in your family, and you want to quit running. But there is Abel cheering you on, “Keep going. I know it’s hard. My brother hated me for my faith in Jesus and killed me. But Christ was faithful to me and brought me to the end of my race. Keep going.”

Maybe, you are tired of all the evil in the world and it’s pressing down on you. But there is Noah, “Don’t stop. The evil in the world is nothing new. I was one of only eight people in the whole world who believed in Jesus. But Jesus protected us. He delivered us from the evil. He brought us to the finish line. He’ll get you there too.”

Maybe, you discouraged because you want to have kids but can’t. There is Sarah, “I know your pain and heartache. Keep running. God is faithful. Jesus will see you through.”

You are afraid of your enemies, there are the people who crossed the Red Sea on dry land and the people who walked around Jericho and shouted telling you to look to Jesus.

You are filled with regret and guilt or how you gave your body away to people who were not your spouse, and there is Rahab telling you to look to Jesus.

You committed one little sin which tossed you headlong into more sin, shame, guilt, and regret. There is David telling you that Jesus is faithful to you.

This is one reason – not the main reason, but one reason – that it is important to know your Bible. No matter what you are struggling with, no matter what problems and guilt and shame you have, you can see how Jesus was faithful to your brothers and sisters in Christ who went through the same things you are going through.

All those saints are bearing witness. They are telling you, “Those sins and burdens you have, let them go. Get rid of them. You don’t need them. Lay them aside. Let them go, and don’t look back. Cross and CommunionLook to Jesus. Fix your eyes on Him. Look to Christ, the author, the founder, and the perfecter of your faith. For the joy what was set before Him, He endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Yes, dear saints, the race is long and hard. But here is Jesus. He is here to lift your drooping head. He is here to draw your wandering eyes back to Himself. He is here to nourish and sustain you for the race. He is here to give you His Body and Blood in His holy Sacrament. Amen.

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