Tag Archives: Visible

Visible & Invisible – Sermon on Matthew 18:1-11 for St. Michael & All Angels (Observed)

Matthew 18:1-11

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

In April 1961, the Russian cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin, became the first man to go into outer space and orbit the earth. Sometime later, the leader of the atheist Soviet Union was on an anti-religion campaign. The leader said that they had been to space and hadn’t seen God. The conclusion he wanted people to draw was that this must be proof that God doesn’t exist. C. S. Lewis heard about this and wrote a short essay called “The Seeing Eye.” In that essay, Lewis shreds that argument. He says that looking for God in outer space is like reading every play Shakespeare wrote in the hope of finding Shakespeare as one of the characters.

Shakespeare is in every play he wrote, but he isn’t a character on the stage like Hamlet, Lady Macbeth, Romeo, or Juliet. God created the universe, so creation is the set. You could travel millions of light years and still be no closer to God than you already are sitting in this sanctuary. God is not an item to be found inside the universe He authored. We know Him because He has entered His own creation. The second Person of the Trinity became flesh and shed His blood to save it. Lewis named his essay “The Seeing Eye” because we need to be given one.

In our Old Testament reading (2 Kgs. 6:8-17), Elisha’s servant needed a seeing eye to keep him from despairing. All his eye could see was the human army surrounding him and Elisha. What he couldn’t see was that the mountain was already full of allies—the Lord’s horses and chariots of fire. When God gave the servant a seeing eye, nothing new arrived. The only thing that changed was that the servant could see the whole stage.

The Soviet leader looked at outer space and said God was not there. Elisha’s servant looked at the enemy and said they were finished. Both trusted eyes that cannot see the whole set. We just confessed what an opened eye sees: God the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. The Nicene Creed names two realms in one creation—visible and invisible. The authors of the creed didn’t make this up. They got that from Colossians 1:16, which puts it this way: “By Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible.” God gives us that seeing eye through His Word. Some things are real even though our physical eyes don’t see them. The invisible is not a different universe. There are not two creations. There is one. The Lord’s host that surrounded Elisha and his servant was notsomewhere else. It was on that mountain near Dothan.

Even though we aren’t surrounded by the army of Syria, the same angel hosts are present with us right now in this sanctuary. If God gave us seeing eyes, we’d be stunned, amazed, and, maybe, fearful (Dan. 8:16-17; Lk. 1:11-12, 29-30, 2:9; Mt. 28:2-5; etc.) at the number of creatures the Lord has surrounding us. We take attendance here each week. But the numbers on those slips of paper are always wrong. (No offense to you who have taken attendance.) Hebrews 12 says that you have come to Mt. Zion and to “innumerable angels in festal gathering” (Heb. 12:22). In other words, every congregation is a “mega church.” We just can’t perceive it, but just because we can’t perceive it doesn’t make it any less true.

Scripture calls the angels “ministering spirits” sent out to serve Christians (Heb. 1:14). In this Gospel text, Jesus says that the little ones who believe in Him have angels who always see the face of God the Father (Mt. 18:10). The angels are with us wherever we go because God sends them to guard us in all our ways (Ps. 91:11-12). 

These angels also worship God (Is. 6:2-3; Neh. 9:6; Lk. 2:13-14; Heb. 1:6), and fight on our behalf (Rev. 12:7-12). These angels are holy, which is why the Church calls them ‘saints.’ The word ‘saint’ simply means a ‘holy being.’ You are also saints, but in a different way than the angels. Angels have a holiness that is native to their being. God created them good (Gen. 1:31). You have a holiness as well, but you have a holiness that is bestowed, imputed, and given through faith.

Here’s the amazing thing: You are not less holy than the angels. Even though you have sinned, you through faith (Php. 3:9) have the righteousness of Jesus Himself (1 Co. 1:30; 2 Co. 5:21). The angels look at you and are aware of your sins. But when the angels see your righteous and holy status in Christ, Scripture seems to imply that their mouths drop in amazement (1 Pet. 1:12).

So, yes, it’s appropriate to call the angel Michael a ‘saint,’ just as it would be appropriate to call Gabriel or any other angel a ‘saint.’ But, Christian, you have a greater holiness than the angels because you have the righteousness of Christ through faith. They don’t.

That being said, we also know that not all the angels are saints. The devil led many angels in a rebellion against God. Those fallen angels are demons, and they hate us. A compelling argument for why Satan led this rebellion is that he didn’t want to be a ministering spirit. He hated the fact that we are made in God’s image and were given dominion over creation. That jealousy may have led to his rebellion. Scripture doesn’t say that in so many words. But what it does say is clear. Our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, the authorities, the cosmic powers over this present darkness, and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places (Eph. 6:12). All of those are titles for the demons.

In the prophet Daniel, the Bible shows that these demons can stand behind kings and nations. Daniel is told that the “prince of the kingdom of Persia”—this refers to a demon—withstood God’s messenger for 21 days until Michael came to help him (Dan. 10:12-13). From that, I think we can infer that the demons can stand behind organizations that promote abortion, groups that try to redefine marriage, many evil and oppressive governments, and all sorts of other groups that seek to destroy and deface humanity.

The demons also start false religions. In Galatians 1:8, Paul says that even if an angel from heaven should preach a gospel contrary to the Gospel of Jesus, let him be accursed. The false religion of Islam claims to originate from a message brought by the angel Gabriel. Mormonism claims an angelic origin as well. Both claim to have angelic origins, but both claim a different salvation. Don’t listen to them.

The same thing goes for worldly spiritualism. Ouija boards, horoscopes, psychics, and the use of crystals are not toys. They are not cute hobbies that try to manage the invisible realm. They are demonic portals. I’m going to give you an example. Just know that I am going to be vague on specifics on purpose to protect the identity of the people involved.

Several years ago, I got a call from someone late at night. This person had recently had a family member die in a tragic way. This person asked, “Pastor, is there a way I can talk to my dead relative?” I said there wasn’t and cited several Scripture passages as proof (Lk. 16:19-31; Lev. 19:31; Dt. 18:10-12; Ecc. 9:5-6, 10; Job 7:9-10; Is. 8:19-20). This person said that their significant other insisted that using crystals was a way to communicate with the dead. But I stopped this person right then. I said, “If you’re hearing voices while using crystals, you’re hearing the voice of demons.” There was silence on the other end of the phone. I asked, “Have you been doing this tonight?” “Yes.” So, I asked, “What did the voice say tonight that troubled you?” After a brief pause, the person responded, “How did you know?” Well, I knew because getting a call like that at 11:00 PM isn’t normal. And I know what Scripture teaches about the demons. They are real, and they will try to lure people into horrible things. I told this person to get away from their significant other. For the next several minutes, I heard this person walk out of the house, run outside, get into a vehicle, and another person pound on the window of that vehicle while screeching in a non-human voice. The entire time, I prayed for God’s protection and that the blood of Jesus would guard this individual.

For the next several weeks, I regularly talked with this person. Sadly, my contact with this person was received less and less. Today, I couldn’t tell you how this person is doing. Pray for this person.

I share this story for two purposes: First, to warn you. The demonic forces are real and they are active. They will do all sorts of things to lure you into their trap and influence. Don’t dabble in the demonic. Second, to prepare you. Even if you aren’t drawn to dabbling in these things, you probably know someone who is. You might be the instrument God uses to draw someone else out of and away from these demonic practices. Yes, the demons are real, but, God be praised, they are already defeated. 

Scripture is clear. The Son of God took on flesh and blood “that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil” (Heb. 2:14). Christ disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame at the cross (Col. 2:15). St. Michael and the angels do throw the dragon down. The brothers conquer him “by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony” (Rev. 12:11).

The demons do not get the whole stage. Elisha’s servant could only see the Syrian army. But the mountain was not empty then, and it is not empty now.

That is why, in this Gospel reading, Jesus will not let the disciples stare at a greatness they can see. The humble state of a little one who is dependent on another is the greatness Jesus points you to. Do not despise that dependence.

Dear saints, you are the little ones that Jesus talks about in this Gospel reading. Like that little child Jesus put in the midst of the disciples, you are dependent upon another—upon Jesus. God has sent His angels to serve you. They behold the Father’s face, and His face is turned toward you.

Christ has come for you. “The Son of Man came to save the lost” (Mt. 18:11; Lk. 19:10). The Author has walked onto His own set. He became the little Child in the center of all history and grew into the man who is crucified, risen, and returning for the lost.

Today, we thank God for His work through the angels He sends to serve us. And we praise Him because through His Word, your Savior has given you the seeing eye to know about the visible and invisible realities. The mountain is not empty. Amen.

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

Thanks & Blessing – Sermon on John 6:1-15 for the Fourth Sunday of Lent

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?” 6He 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. 11Jesus 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. 12 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.

I have a fresh appreciation for this miracle. Last Friday, I was one of the volunteers at Sacred Heart’s Fish Fry. For about three hours, I stood along the buffet line making sure there was bread, coleslaw, tartar sauce, butter, sour cream, and lemons for people who then waited for fried fish and a baked potato. When something on the line got low, I was ready to swap out the tray or bowl and have a full one ready so the line would keep moving. I one of 64 people working that night, and in those three hours we served 1,316 people their supper.

Now, think about that. Sixty-four people, who have been organized to do particular tasks, fed just over 1,300 people in about three hours. Here, Jesus and his twelve disciples serve 5,000 men plus women and children (Mt. 14:21). In all likelihood, this was a crowd of twenty to thirty-thousand people who are fed by thirteen men doling out five barley loaves and two fish that was brought by a boy. Every person in that crowd ate as much as they wanted. And, when it was all over, the disciples gathered up twelve baskets full of leftovers.

This is easily the ‘biggest’ miracle of Jesus recorded for us in the Gospels, which might be the reason all four Gospels tell us about it. The only other miracle that even comes close would be Jesus turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana (Jn. 2:1-11). Sure, there are times when Jesus will heal many sick people who are brought to Him, but those were still one at a time miracles (Mt. 4:23-25; 8:16; Mk. 1:33-34; Lk. 4:40). This one miracle provided for tens of thousands of people all at once.

It’s no wonder, then, that the people reacted the way they did. Here is a Man who can feed people bread without needing soil or seed or rain or the right weather conditions or combines or grain elevators or flour mills or factories or bakers or truck drivers or grocers. Jesus can feed people fish without boats or bait or poles or nets or processing plants or even water. Jesus is not a politician who spouts empty promises but never delivers. He just delivers. This is the kind of guy who everyone wants to be king. So, they planned to take Jesus by force and chain Him to a throne because, sure, they were full now, but they’d be hungry again later.

Notice what everyone in this account is focused on. Phillip looks at their checkbook balance and says, “Two-hundred denarii? That’s not nearly enough.” Andrew looks at the boy’s snack and says, “This isn’t going to do it.” And the crowds – even after they are fed – they know they would be hungry again. The food Jesus provided that evening wasn’t going to be there for them tomorrow. So, they think, “If this Jesus guy can feed us like this in the wilderness, imagine what He can do if He’s the king with advisors and soldiers and tax revenue.”

We sinful creatures always seem to be fixated on our lack and desire to get more than what we have. But even when we get more, we aren’t satisfied. In his book Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis says that the fact that we have desires means that satisfaction for those desires exists. Behind every desire – even sinful, evil desires – there is something good that is trying to be filled. The drug addict is trying to find the end of his pain or escape from sorrow. The sexually promiscuous are trying to find the good gift of companionship that God gives in marriage but fail to find it apart from marriage. Here, the crowds are doing the same thing. They want the gift of food but not in the way Jesus wants to give it.

You cannot force a gift to be given. Doing that is an attempt to twist gifts into wages, and that never works. All the things we long for and all desires we have are only filled by what God will give in the perfection of the New Creation. Because this world has fallen into sin, this world does not have the satisfaction of the desires we are seeking to fill. So, if you have unfulfilled desires, recognize you are made for another world. Stop looking to created things to fulfill your desires. Repent and instead, look to the Creator, and trust His promise to fulfill those desires. Then, be content with the good gifts God gives you in this life even as they seem to disappear.

In His infinite wisdom, God lets us see how things are used and depleted, but He doesn’t always let us always see how He supplies. None of the four Gospels tell us how the bread and fish are multiplied to feed this massive crowd. I doubt those loaves and fish grew into a massive pile that the disciples kept handing out – I think the Gospel writers would have included that. I like the suggestion that the disciples walk around with baskets of food, and each person reaches in to take some. While it appears to each individual that they are decreasing the amount of food in the basket, when the next person reaches in, there is still more. No matter how many people reach in and take, there is always more food in the basket.

Dear saints, your needs for food, house, clothing, money, health, etc. are things you can see and feel. But God doesn’t have to show you how He provides to meet those needs. He promises to meet them. So, trust His promises. You can see and feel hunger, but you can’t see the God who feeds you. You can see and feel sickness, but you can’t see the Great Physician who heals you. You can see and feel war and chaos, but you can’t see the Prince of Peace who has all authority in heaven and earth and governs all things from His throne at God’s right hand. But God supplies each of those things in ways you cannot see or understand. There are thousands of miracles that happen in your daily life. You’ve just gotten numb to seeing them because you experience them so often.

The fact that you work (in whatever job you have) and food gets to your pantry, cupboards, fridge, freezer, oven, and table is a miracle. When that food goes into your body and keeps you healthy, and when you do get sick but put nutrients, vitamins, or medicines into your body and recover, that is a miracle too. All those things – work, money, food, house, health – they are all good, miraculous gifts from God’s gracious hand. And what God gives He blesses. 

Here, we are told that Jesus gives thanks for the food before it is distributed to the crowd. In Confirmation class we recently went through the texts that recount Jesus giving the Lord’s Supper (Mt. 26:26-28; Mk. 14:22-24; Lk. 22:19-20; and 1 Cor. 11:23-25). In those texts, the Gospel writers use two phrases interchangeably. Jesus giving thanks for something is the same as Jesus blessing it. So, when you pause and take a moment to pray for your food, God is blessing that food to be a blessing for you. 1 Tim. 4:4-5 says that everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving because it is made holy by the Word of God and prayer. Receive with thanks the things that God gives and watch how it is blessed.

I’ll close with this: Jesus did not let the crowds take Him by force and make Him king that day, but He did allow them to take Him by force when a band of soldiers came and arrested Him. They forced Him to stand trial before Pilate and Herod. He wasn’t chained to a throne; instead, He was nailed to a cross where He shed His blood and gave His for you. Thanks be to God. Receive that gift with thanks and faith and watch how God blesses it. He blesses it and multiplies it to make you a blessing to others so that you can point them to Jesus, the One can and does fill their desires with the gift of Himself. Amen.

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