Tag Archives: Confess

Broken Bonds – Sermon on Mark 7:31-37 for the Twelfth Sunday after Trinity

Mark 7:31–37

31 Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. 32 And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. 33 And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. 34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” 35 And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. 36 And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. 37 And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Imagine you’re being punished for something – it doesn’t matter what – and the punishment is that you will be sent to live on the moon, which has become a penal colony. (This is my analogy, so I get to make the rules.) You will never be allowed to return, and no one is allowed to visit you. You beg the judge for mercy, and he gives you a choice between two options.

The first option is that you can have a magic mirror, like the one from Beauty and the Beast, but it doesn’t transmit any sound. That mirror will allow you to see your spouse, kids, parents, siblings, and friends, but you can’t speak to them or hear them. And the mirror is on a ten second delay that doesn’t allow any communication. It blacks out if there are letters, so they can’t wear a shirt that says, “I love you,” or hold up a note; it also doesn’t allow any sign language, thumbs up, hand hearts, or anything like that. (Again, this is my analogy, so I can make the magic mirror do whatever I want.)

The second option the judge gives you is that you can have a magic phone that lets you talk to your family and friends whenever you want, but you will never be able to see them. Which option would you choose? I’d bet we’d all take the phone. We’d rather be able to have a conversation and communicate with our loved ones than simply look at or watch them because God created us for communion and communication – with Himself and with others. It isn’t good for man to be alone (Gen. 2:18). This is why God created us with ears to hear and mouths to speak. Besides the angels, humans are the only created things that interact with God and others through words.

In Genesis, God speaks to Adam before Adam says anything, and the first words Adam heard were, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Gen. 2:16-17). God promised to provide Adam with all the delightful food and nourishment he would need. You can think of God’s first words to Adam as a sermon, which is basically, “Listen Adam, I’ll take care of every need you have. I don’t want you to ever know what evil is. Just trust Me on this – evil is bad.” So, God created Adam to hear His Word and, by hearing that Word, Adam would trust and believe. But God also created Adam to speak.

The first recorded words of Adam in Scripture are his response to seeing the bride God made for him. “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of man” (Gen. 2:23). However, we know that Adam used his voice prior to that because, before God created the woman, God had Adam give names to all the animals. Genesis would be a whole lot longer if it gave us all those details. “God brought Adam a four-legged, creature with black and white stripes, and Adam called it, ‘Zebra.’” By naming the animals, we have a concrete example of how Adam is created in God’s image. Like God did with Day, Night, Heaven, Earth, and Seas (Gen. 1:5, 8, 10), Adam joins with God in naming parts of creation.

That is why, when we consider this text, we know that this deaf and mute man’s condition is so pitiful. He isn’t what God created him to be. He can’t hear or communicate like he should. But Jesus releases this man to be what he was created to be and to do what he was created to do. Christ opens His ears to hear and releases his tongue to speak. Our translation there does a decent job by using the word “released,” but the Greek is even more vivid. In Greek, the text says, “the cords of his tongue are untied.” Jesus breaks the bonds that imprisoned this man to a lonely world without any communication. With one word, “Ephphatha,” Christ, the Word made flesh, restores this man to be what God had created him to be. A man who speaks rightly and plainly. (The Greek says that he speaks ‘orthodoxly.’)

Our Epistle reading today (Ro. 10:9-17) also highlighted the importance of hearing and speaking. “Faith comes by hearing” (Ro. 10:17). God’s Word goes into your ears, and the Holy Spirit creates faith in your heart. Then, with the mouth you confess and are saved (Ro. 10:10). We are created to first hear God’s Word which creates faith. Second, we are created to confess with our mouths, pray to God, and praise Him. This is what God intended for our lives. He speaks, and we respond. Over and over. Even now, after the Fall, prayer and faith is a continual conversation with God.

When we understand how sin has bound and imprisoned both our hearing and speaking, we can start to see how far we have fallen. The things that come out of our mouth should cause us extreme grief and shame (Mt. 15:11). James 3:8-10 says that our sinful tongue is a restless evil full of deadly poison that lives in contradiction. We use our tongues to bless our Lord and Father, but then we turn around and curse people who are made in the likeness of God. This should not be so. It doesn’t help that, most of the time, the damage our tongues do to our neighbor goes unpunished. You aren’t going to be fined or jailed for gossip or so-called “little white lies.” Christian, with God’s help, you need to control your tongue and ask for mercy for the havoc your tongue causes in creation.

You also need to guard the communication you have with yourself in your mind. Philippians 4:8 says that we are to think about whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise. Your mind, and the minds of others, is never a vacuum. You’re always communicating something – even if it’s only with yourself. That is why we always need to put the most charitable construction on the actions of others. When we think they are doing things for wrong motives, we are more prone to think that they do the same toward us.

Here, Jesus tells this man and the people present to not tell anyone about the miracle. Jesus will periodically do this. We don’t always know why, but we do see in other instances that, when people disobey this kind of command, Christ’s ministry is hindered (Mk. 1:45). When Jesus tells you to be silent, be silent. But, and this is me speaking here, I think we Christians have adopted the attitude that this command is for everyone all the time. But that is wrong. There are other times where Jesus will tell people to return home and declare to others how much God has done for them (Mk. 5:19).

Yes, there are times to be silent but not always. The world needs to hear what God has done; the world needs to hear God’s truth very badly. There is a phenomenon in group communication called “the Abilene paradox” which is when a group of people decide on a course of action that is contrary to the preferences of all or most of the individuals in that group.

It was named that because of a story by a guy named Jerry Harvey where a family is comfortably playing dominoes on a porch in Texas. The father-in-law thinks everyone else is bored, so he suggests they take a hot, 50-mile drive to Abilene, TX to have dinner. His wife says, “Sounds like a great idea. I haven’t been to Abilene in a long time.” Their daughter goes along with it as does the son-in-law. So, the four of them hop in the car to Abilene. The drive is miserable, hot, and dusty. The food is as bad as the drive. When they return, one of them dishonestly says, “That was a great trip, wasn’t it?” But the mother-in-law says she only went because everyone else was so enthusiastic about it. Their daughter says she wanted to keep everyone happy. The son-in-law confesses he didn’t want to go either, and the father-in-law admits he only suggested it because he thought everyone else was bored. So, the four of them sit back perplexed that they collectively decided to take a trip none of them wanted to go on. They all would have preferred to sit comfortably playing dominoes. The only thing that needed to happen to spare them the misery of that trip was for one of those four to speak up.

I wonder – and, again, this is my own speculation – if that is part of the reason our world and culture is so crazy right now. We Christians are afraid to simply confess the truth. Many people are insisting on things that are completely contrary to what is so obviously true. Just think of how often people want to redefine marriage or call a baby in a mother’s womb a cancerous tumor (yes, I actually heard someone say that), and a whole host of other insane things. The world needs us Christians to confess the truth. But too often, we are cowered into the corner and keep silent because we don’t want to rock the boat or be offensive. Christian, God has given you a mouth and voice. If you don’t use it and let the culture dictate the conversation, the world descends into chaos.

Christian, Jesus has opened your deaf ears and broken the bonds of your tongue to speak what is right, good, and true. Do that. Do it boldly. Do it lovingly. Do it with conviction.

Again, in our Epistle reading we hear, “Everyone who believes in [Jesus] will not be put to shame” (Ro. 10:11). And remember that Scripture connects believing with confessing (Ro. 10:8-9). When you speak the truth, you might be mocked, ridiculed, and told to be silent, but speaking the truth in love will never end in you being ashamed.

Dear saints, the bonds of your mute tongue and deaf ears have been broken by the Savior. Bring Christ and His work into your conversations around the coffee pot at work and in the bleachers at your kids’ games. Talk about Jesus while you eat with your children and buy groceries. Praise Him in the doctor’s office and wherever you go (Dt. 6:4-9). This is what you have been created, bought, and cleansed for. God speaks. We listen, respond, and declare that He does all things well.

Jesus is here today. He has opened your ears to hear His Word of forgiveness and mercy. He opens your mouth now to receive His Body and Blood. And Christ sends you from here with His praise on your tongue. Confess His name, proclaim His work, and declare His truth to the ends of the earth. Amen.

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

Fear Not, Confess – Sermon on Matthew 10:26-33 for the Presentation of the Augsburg Confession

Matthew 10:26–33

26 “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 27 What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. 28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. 

32 “So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, 33 but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

If we’re honest, we all have to admit that there are times we have been afraid to speak the truth. What Jesus tells us in His Word, we are often afraid to bring into the light. We hear things in Church that we don’t whisper outside these walls, and we don’t dare shout from the housetops.

Jesus clearly says that nothing is covered or hidden that will not be revealed and known. But speaking the truth can still be hard. We don’t want to say something that will cause us to be criticized, ridiculed, and rejected. We don’t want to deal with the discomfort of knowing we have offended someone. We don’t want to be misrepresented as being hateful people. But every reason for not speaking has a common root – fear. But all those fears in the wrong things. We are fearing those who can kill the body but not the soul. Repent. Repent and stop fearing mere men, but fear God who can destroy both the soul and body in hell.

As I mentioned earlier, today is the 493rd anniversary of the presentation of the Augsburg Confession which lays out a summary of what we believe, teach, and confess here at Christ the King. I want to give a very brief bit of history about that presentation before I apply the rest of this Gospel reading to you. I’m sorry if you don’t like history, but it will be helpful for you to hear it so you can boldly live out your faith in today’s culture.

In 1529, the army of Muslim Ottoman Empire was marching its way from Istanbul, Turkey into Europe and through the Holy Roman Empire. But the unusually rainy weather that year caused the Muslim invaders to stall out just south of Germany before they returned home. Emperor Charles V knew the armies would probably return, and he wanted unity in his empire so they could all fight against the Muslim armies together. This meant that Charles had to deal with the religious problem between the German territories who had been awakened by Luther’s proclamation of the Gospel on the one side and the Roman Church on the other side.

Charles called the Lutheran princes and officials from the Roman Church to meet in the city of Augsburg. When the Lutheran princes arrived, they were met with an order from Charles to participate in a festival called Corpus Christi. That festival of the church of Rome is where a priest or bishop would consecrate the elements of the Lord’s Supper, but then, rather than consuming it, the Bread would be placed in a golden box and paraded through the town so people could see the elements. The Roman church taught that simply seeing the Bread was a way for the people to commune. The whole thing flies in the face of what Jesus says about the Lord’s Supper. He says, “Take, eat,” not, “Take, walk behind, and look.”

The Lutherans were appalled at the situation. One of the Lutheran rulers stood before Charles and replied to this demand, “Before I would deny my Lord and Savior in this way, I would gladly kneel before you and have my head chopped off.” In other words, “No.” Charles could barely speak German, so he responded, “Nicht kopf ab. Nicht kopf ab.” Which is, “Not head off. Not head off.”

A few days later, at 3:00 PM on June 25th of 1530, Charles, the Roman officials, and the Lutheran princes gathered to hear the doctrinal statement of the Lutherans which is the Augsburg Confession. In that document, the Lutherans wanted to show that they were not heretics but were faithfully preaching the doctrines of Scripture and traced their doctrine and practice back to the early years of the church. Crowds came to hear the confession; in fact, so many people gathered they couldn’t all fit in the castle. The windows were opened, and the document was read in its entirety. The voice reading it was so clear and articulate that it is recorded that thousands outside the castle were able to hear. And all the Lutherans stood as it was read.

By holding to that confession, the Lutheran princes were all risking their lands and lives, but they held firm to those Scriptural doctrines anyway. They spoke of God’s testimonies before kings and were not put to shame (Ps. 119:46). And they didn’t know how Charles, the head of the government, would respond. It was possible that they would all be executed, and their lands and people would be attacked by Charles’ armies. It was possible that Charles would agree with them. They didn’t know. They didn’t have control. All they could do was speak God’s testimonies and leave everything in His hands.

Ok. History lesson over.

Today, we don’t have control over the government. We don’t have control over the culture or the media. We don’t have control of the perception others have of us. So many things are outside our control, but that’s ok. It’s ok. Our confidence in confessing God’s testimonies is never based on having control or tax benefits or a favorable political or social environment. 

We can always speak God’s testimonies and not be put to shame. Yes, we might be mocked and ridiculed and labeled as ‘old-fashioned.’ Yes, we might be kicked to the side of the culture. Yes, we might even be persecuted by the government, society, and media. But that doesn’t matter because none of them have control over reality. They’ve never had that control, and they never will because their word didn’t create the heavens and the earth. Their word didn’t establish what is right and what is wrong. Their word doesn’t determine the truth. But God’s Word did and still does.

By God’s Word the heavens and the earth were made. By God’s Word, Christ was sent to be the Savior of sinners. By God’s Word, you have been called, gathered, enlightened, and sanctified as the Church. By God’s Word, you are kept and sustained in the one true faith.

That is why we can confess God’s Word without fear. The worst anyone can do to us is merely kill our bodies; they cannot touch our souls (Mt. 10:28). The God who created the sparrows by His Word knows when one of them falls to the ground. And that same God is your heavenly Father who has numbered every hair on your head. That same God is the One who came to earth, took on flesh, shed His blood, and died for you. That same God is the One who inscribed your name in the Book of Life before the foundation of the world (Rev. 17:8).

Now, we might wish that God would send revival to our land. We might wish that God would send reformation to unite the scattered and divided Christians here on earth. We might wish that God would raise up another Luther or, like He did in our Old Testament reading (Neh. 8:1-2, 5-6, 9-12), another ruler like Nehemiah or another priest like Ezra who can restore the Word of God to our land and to the people around us. But God in His wisdom, which is greater than yours, hasn’t given one – at least, not yet. But God has raised up you. God has placed you in your family; in this congregation; in your workplace; in this city, state, and country to confess His testimonies, and you will not be put to shame.

So, dear saints, acknowledge Christ before men, and He also will acknowledge you before God the Father (Mt. 10:32).

And if you still fear to speak His testimonies and acknowledge Christ, if you aren’t sure how to speak the truth in love (Eph. 4:15), here are some suggestions for overcoming that fear:

Start by being here at church for the services and Bible studies. Learn from God’s Word because that will help you grow in your faith. And, as you grow, you will be more equipped to confess.

Then, talk with your family after church. Talk about the hymns and the Scripture readings. Talk about what you leaned in Sunday school and the sermon. Discuss with your spouse, kids, and parents what God taught you and how He encouraged and blessed you through His Word. All of that is zero risk because you won’t be persecuted for doing that. It won’t put you or them in danger. Also, it is good practice for confessing the faith and speaking the truth of God’s testimonies to others.

If you’re already doing that, expand further out. Confess to friends and relatives that you are close to – people who are a little further out but you have a good, solid relationship with. If you mess up and say something that offends them, you have a better chance of getting another opportunity to confess better or more clearly. That is also low risk.

As you become more comfortable doing that, keep going. You will be better equipped to confess to people you are less familiar with and even to strangers. The more you confess, the better you get at it. And along the way, you will be building up and encouraging those around you to confess as well.

Dear saints, fear not. Confess God’s testimonies.

When time is no more and you stand before God, you will only have Him to answer to. Everything else will pass away. As many days as God gives to you, confess Him knowing that only God and His Word will stand. The world may try to shame us, but they don’t have any power. The power of men comes and goes. All flesh is like grass and eventually passes away, but the Word of the Lord endures forever (Is. 40:6, 8; 1 Pet. 1:24-25).

Dear Christian, Jesus is risen. We are going to win. Amen.

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

No Question – Sermon on Jonah 3:1-10 for Ash Wednesday

Jonah 3:1-10

1 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.” 3 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days’ journey in breadth. 4 Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” 5 And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them. 

6 The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. 7 And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water, 8 but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. 9 Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.” 10 When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

For several reasons, I don’t preach with props, but if I did tonight’s sermon would begin the sermon with a ‘clapperboard’ – one of those things used during the filming of movies and TV shows. “Jonah called to preach to Nineveh; take two.” “Action!”

We know about the ‘out-take.’ Instead of going to preach to Nineveh, Jonah ran the other direction. He was thrown overboard in a stormy sea, swallowed by a great sea creature, and submerged to the depths of the sea to be digested and die. It looked like Jonah’s refusal to preach to Nineveh would be his own undoing. But from the depths, Jonah prayed to God for mercy, and God heard. God answered from heaven and sent out His steadfast love and faithfulness (Ps. 51:3). God is merciful, but His mercy takes different forms in different situations. In Jonah’s case, mercy looked like being whale vomit instead of becoming whale poo.

God gave Jonah a second chance, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.” Jonah preached a one-course sermon of Law, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” Notice what the sermon doesn’t do. It does not accuse the people of specific sins. It doesn’t name any of Nineveh’s many evils (Jon 1:2). The sermon only does one thing – it calls Nineveh’s future into question. This is just an aside: In your conversations with unbelievers, be on the lookout for opportunities to point people to the return of Christ, the final judgment, and end of the world (Act. 17:31). Those may be the windows where God will shine the light of the Gospel into the darkness of people’s hearts.

Well, Jonah’s doomsday sermon was used by the Holy Spirit to change the hearts of the Ninevites. From the greatest to the least of them, they called for a fast. Even the king of Nineveh descended from his throne to sit in sackcloth and ashes. He gave a command to all the people of Nineveh, “Fast. Don’t eat or drink. Call out mightily to God. Turn from evil and violence. Who knows? God may turn from His fierce anger against us, so we may not perish.” This wasn’t a revival, it wasn’t a reawakening, it was an initial awakening. But also notice that for the Ninevites this was a shot in the dark. At best it was a, “Maybe,” a “Let’s give this a try,” a, “What if?”

Well, their blind shot at repentance paid off. “God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that He said He would do to them, and He did not do it” (Jon. 3:10).

Dear saints, as we begin this repentant season of Lent, you have something better than the preaching of Jonah. You have God’s sure and certain promise forever etched in the Scriptures, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 Jn. 1:9). That verse is so important because it contains a promise. We can, and probably should, understand it as, “When we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us.” Whenever you bring your sins to God, He responds with His forgiveness and mercy.

In Greek, the word ‘confess’ is two words smashed together – ‘same’ and ‘words.’ So, when you confess something, you have the same words as someone or something else. This means that biblical confession of sins has two parts. To confess your sins, you say what God says about those sins. First, you say that those sins are horrible, they are deserving of death, they separate you from God, they harm your neighbor, they earn eternal damnation. That’s what God says about your sins, and when we confess our sins, we have those same words. That’s the first part of confession. But don’t ever stop there!

Keep saying the same words about your sin that God clearly says in His Word. Those sins have been removed from you by Jesus who became sin (2 Cor. 5:21), and God has laid your sin on Christ (Is. 53:4, 6). Those sins are died for by Christ who bore them to the grave which is now empty (Col. 2:14). Those sins are removed from you as far as the east is from the west (Ps. 103:12).

Dear saints, there is no question whatsoever about how God will respond when you confess and cry out to Him for mercy. The answer is the cross and the empty grave. Because of what Christ has done, you, sinner, are forgiven (1 Jn. 2:2). Amen.

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