Tag Archives: Enough

Enoughness – Sermon on 2 Corinthians 3:4-11 for the Twelfth Sunday after Trinity

2 Corinthians 3:4-11

4 Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. 5 Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, 6 who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 

7 Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, 8 will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? 9 For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. 10 Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. 11 For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Imagine that you received an invitation to a banquet. You get yourself ready and put on your best suit or dress. You drive to the location and enter the building to find that this banquet is a lot fancier and way more formal than you realized. The crystal chandeliers and candles cast a golden light over an exquisitely decorated room. The tables are set with fine china and crystal flutes. You look at all the other guests and discover that they are wearing either designer tuxedos with cufflinks and cummerbunds or sparkling gowns and jewelry. There you are sticking out like a pigeon in a peacock parade.

You try to mingle with the glittering guests, but they mostly ignore you. The only acknowledgement you get are cold smiles and people saying, “Oh, I love your outfit,” as they turn away laughing and asking each other, “Who’s that guy?” You pull out the invitation, and, sure enough, it’s got your name and address. But you’ve had it. It must have been a mistake. So, you start looking for an exit, one that will allow you to avoid as many people as possible.

As you’re leaving, the host of the gala approaches and calls you out by name saying, “I’m so glad you’re here. I’ve got all sorts of people I want to introduce you to.” You try to explain that you should probably leave because you don’t fit in. You point out that you aren’t as polished as everyone else there and mention how the crowd has already rejected and made fun of you. But the host simply says, “You aren’t here to be fancy. You’re here because I invited you. My choice is enough to make you belong. Just stick with me.” The rest of the evening, he takes you around the room showing you off, bragging about you, and highlighting how important you are to him. He seats you next to himself at the head table. The rest of the evening, your confidence grows. Now, you are treated with respect and honor by everyone else – not because you’ve won them over. Your importance is rooted in the host’s attitude toward you, and his opinion carries a weight that no one can challenge. It is enough.

Dear saints, such is the confidence you have through Christ toward God.

In this text, Paul is defending his office of being an apostle. There were some false teachers in the congregation at Corinth who were saying that Paul didn’t have the authority to say anything in the church. They questioned the sufficiency of Paul’s preaching. They were saying that Paul’s preaching of God’s grace through Christ was not enough. That’s why he says that God had made him sufficient to be a minister of the ‘new covenant’ of the Gospel that points people to Jesus as the Messiah (2 Cor. 3:6). And that’s why Paul goes on in v. 7-11 of this text to compare his ministry of the Gospel to Moses’ ministry under the old covenant.

Now, this would be a really good text to preach at an ordination service as a man is called by God to be a pastor. All pastors, myself included, need to recognize that when they preach, they aren’t doing it by their own authority but by the authority that God has given (1 Pet. 4:11). When God puts a pastor into a congregation, he is there to deliver God’s gifts to God’s purchased and redeemed people.

Pastors are called to speak two different words to their congregations. First, pastors are to preach ‘the letter that kills’ also called here ‘the ministry of condemnation.’ In other words, pastors are to preach the Law. And second, pastors are to preach ‘the ministry of righteousness,’ the Gospel. God sends pastors to declare that people are sinners so they can be pointed to repentance and faith in Christ. That’s the main point of this passage. But what Paul says here can be applied to other callings and vocations as well.

Dear saints, you have been called out of the darkness of your sin into God’s kingdom. You are called to be God’s hands and feet to the people around you so you can render service to them. And you can have confidence as you serve and carry out those vocations. You are not sufficient on your own. God Himself has made you sufficient. In this text, the word translated ‘sufficient’ means enough.

There are all sorts of places we might look to build confidence and find our enoughness, but there is only one legitimate source of confidence. Any other source will lead to bad outcomes. The most common place we look is inside ourselves – our abilities, our eloquence, our strengths or skills. There are certainly productive, able people who are successful at many things. The problem is that when those moments of success come and we think it’s because we’re sufficient in ourselves, pride sneaks in. We start comparing ourselves to others and look down on them. We get puffed up, and when that happens, we’re setting ourselves up for a big fall. Even when you are successful and humble, the devil will attempt to draw your attention back to yourself and your humility, and again, pride sprouts up.

If you to think that you are strong and capable on our own, you will start to think that you can handle the challenges in life by yourself. When that happens, you’ll quickly find that your own strengths and abilities fade and fail. And when you fail, it’s easy to fall into despair.  The devil wants you to be constantly looking at yourself because there you’ll see that your strength and ability isn’t enough to do all that God has called you to do. Any setback or misstep can be used by the demons to paralyze you.

But when God is the source of your confidence, and He is, then, you lack in nothing. Look at the sheer holiness and privilege of your callings – spouses, parents, children, teachers, friends. When you first recognize the massive, holy responsibilities that God has given you, you realize that these things are beyond you. And you aren’t adequate to carry those vocations out. You can’t claim anything – any ability, any strength, any eloquence, any skill – as coming from you. But God Himself has given you everything. He has won and purchased you by giving His Son, Jesus to die on the cross as your Savior. Everything you are, everything you have, every calling and responsibility has been given to you as a gift. And what God has given you is enough.

As citizens of God’s kingdom, recognize that God has given you more than enough, more you can imagine. He has given His gifts in full measure, pressed those gifts down into you to make room for more and His gifts are always running over (Lk. 6:38).

The same Holy Spirit who blew through the upper room at Pentecost now fills you with everything you need to carry out the tasks entrusted to you. The Holy Spirit who abides in and with you is like that host at the gala. He accompanies you and makes you worthy to be in His kingdom. Anyone who questions that worthiness insults Him directly and isn’t worth listening to. God Himself has made you sufficient and enough. 

By His calling, His redeeming, His grace, His sanctifying, He has made you enough. And that is enough. Dear saints, your enoughness is from God, and from God alone. So, go; boldly carry out the tasks that He has given you. Amen.

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

Enough – Sermon on Luke 2:22-40 for the Presentation of Our Lord

Luke 2:22–40

22 And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” 25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, 28 he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, 

29 “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, 
according to your word; 
30 for my eyes have seen your salvation 
31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, 
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, 
and for glory to your people Israel.” 

33 And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed 35 (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.” 

36 And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, 37 and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. 38 And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem. 

39 And when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. 40 And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.

It’s Not Enough – Sermon for the Fourth Sunday in Lent on John 6:1-15

Listen here.

John 6:1-15

1 After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. 2 And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. 3 Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. 4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand.

5 Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” 6 He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. 7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.” 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, 9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” 10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. 11 Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. Jesus feeds the 5000 112 And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” 13 So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. 14 When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!”

15 Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Armies can’t feed a crowd this size without preparing in advance. But Jesus knew all along what He was going to do. He knew that this boy would be there with his little snack of five loaves and two fish, and what Jesus does is absolutely remarkable. This miracle shows that Jesus doesn’t need soil and seed and rain and time and combines and grain elevators and flour mills and bakers and grocers to feed people bread. It shows that Jesus doesn’t need fishing boats and bait and nets and processing plants or even water to feed people fish.

But if we come away from this text seeing only Jesus’ power, we miss the point. Now, don’t get me wrong. This miracle certainly shows His power, that He is God in the flesh. But there is much more than simply that. This text shows us who we are as sinners and how generous God is. That is why the text tells us that Jesus set this whole situation up as a test (v. 6). Because we are sinners, we always think that what God provides isn’t enough. The disciples show how we aren’t content when God gives little, and the crowd shows how we aren’t content when God gives an abundance.

Phillip is the first to say there isn’t enough. Jesus asks, “Hey, Phillip. Know any good bakeries around here where we can buy bread for all these people?” Without even checking his pockets or asking the other disciples how much they have in their wallets, Phillip answers, “Whoa there Jesus. We don’t have enough. Two hundred day’s wages wouldn’t scratch the surface.”

Andrew chimes in as well. “This kid has five loaves and two fish. But it’s not enough. It’s just his afternoon snack.” The disciples see their lack and fall into despair.

You and I do the same. We never think we have enough. We sinfully think that we need more income to pay the bills, more time to get things done, more resources at our disposal. Like the disciples, we worry when there is a lack. We forget that we have a God who has promised to be our Father and give all that we need for this body and life. Jesus has promised, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you” (Mt. 6:33).

So, the disciples see their lack and say, “It’s not enough.” But Jesus proves the disciples to be wrong.

Christ extravagantly feeds the whole crowd. Jesus has them lie down. Our translation says ‘sit down,’ but Jesus has them lie down like lords, kings, and emperors at a feast so they can be served. When their ancestors were fed with mana in the wilderness, they had to go out each morning and gather it up themselves (Ex. 16:2-21). But Jesus makes sure they are waited upon.

Each and every last one of them gets to stuff their face with as much food as they like. No one is told, “Look fatty, slow down. You’ve had enough.” There is always more – even for the gluttons.

But even in the midst of this abundance, the crowds say, “It’s not enough; we need more.” They see this sign and want to make Jesus their bread king. They figure that if Jesus can provide food for them to eat like royalty, they can make Him their king and they won’t ever need to worry about food or clothes or homes or anything ever again. Just put Jesus on a throne in Jerusalem and they can live the rest of their lives on easy street.

But Jesus didn’t come to be their bread king. Jesus Himself says, “It’s not enough. I will not be your bread king. I will not be your king apart from the cross.”

Jesus came to give them more than bread and fish. He desired to give them more than food, clothing, homes, shelter and protection. Jesus had come to give them, and you, Himself.

Cross and CommunionJesus came to have His back torn by a whip and His forehead sliced open by the crown of thorns. Jesus came to have His body broken. Jesus came to have His hands and feet nailed to the cross, His side run through with a spear. Jesus came to give you every last drop of His forgiving blood. Jesus came to give you eternal mercy, forgiveness, and life.

So, don’t be like the disciples who see their lack and day, “It’s not enough.” Jesus wants you to believe when you have nothing because He will certainly provide.

And don’t be like the crowds who see the abundance and say, “It’s not enough; we want more.” Jesus wants you to receive what He gives. Don’t let it spoil. Use it knowing that He will always provide more than you will ever need.

Also, don’t forget about the boy. He is the picture of faith in contrast to both the disciples and the crowds. This boy generously gives everything he has. He doesn’t know what Jesus will do with it. He doesn’t give because there is a promise that he will be blessed or rewarded. The boy simply believes that what he gives to Jesus will be used for good. And it is. Jesus multiplies what the boy gives – multiplies it and satisfies the hunger of others.

The same is true when you give, no matter how much or how little. God can and will multiply it because God knows how to multiply the gifts that you bring and satisfy the needs of others. Amen.

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