You are redeemed to walk with the Lord.

 

Sermon for Epiphany 4, January 30, 2022

To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His own blood and made us a kingdom and priests to God His Father—to Him be the glory and the power forever.  Amen.

Isaiah 43:1-3  But now this is what the Lord says, the Lord who created you, O Jacob, the Lord who formed you, O Israel.  Do not be afraid, because I have redeemed you.  I have called you by name.  You are mine.  ²When you cross through the waters, I will be with you.  When you cross the rivers, they will not sweep you away.  When you walk through fire, you will not be burned, and the flame will not set you on fire.  ³Because I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior, I gave Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you. (EHV)

You are redeemed to walk with the Lord.

Dear fellow redeemed,

            Israel was an enslaved nation, though they didn’t yet realize it.  Worse yet, they had volunteered into that slavery to sin, and for their eager enlistment, they would face deportation, exile, and much hardship in a foreign land.  As such, Israel is a pretty good representative of the whole world.  It started when Adam and Eve voluntarily turned against God.  Israel likewise betrayed the God who demonstrated such love for them time after time.  You and I, also, because we inherited a sinful nature, were voluntarily enslaved in sin, for which we deserve God’s wrath.  Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.” (John 8:34)  The message of our text, however, is pure love.  The Lord is telling His undeserving bride, You are redeemed to walk with the Lord.

Because of Israel’s open rebellion against the Lord of heaven and earth, much of Isaiah’s message prophesies the imminent judgment that would fall upon that adulterous nation and its people.  They deserved God’s righteous anger and His harsh discipline and punishment.  The same should be said of all the rest of us.  By nature, we were born rebellious.  Yet, we can’t lay the blame for our sins against our parents, our neighbors, or even the devil.  Through Ezekiel, the Lord declares, “The soul who sins is the one who will die.  The son will not share in the guilt of the father, and the father will not share in the guilt of the son.” (Ezekiel 18:20)  In other words, since we all have sinned, we all deserve the punishment of death and banishment from God’s presence forever. 

Israel’s unfaithfulness would lead to a period of harsh discipline.  Sin always comes with consequences.  I don’t mean in a karma sort of way that assumes you eventually always get what you deserve, but as people wander away from the Lord and His love, they fall into all kinds of abuse, lovelessness, and the reality of a devil who misleads and entices wickedness while then turning against the wayward to taunt and accuse and belittle.  Yet, this doesn’t please God.

Even as God had His messenger call the people of Israel to repentance, and even as that call fell on deaf ears, God remained faithful to the nation He had chosen to love as a faithful and righteous husband loves his bride.  Though Israel had continually acted, spiritually, as a harlot and an adulterous wife by worshipping the idols of her neighbors, and trusting in earthly powers instead of the Lord, God declares with a solemn promise, “Do not be afraid, because I have redeemed you.  I have called you by name.  You are mine.” 

Our God works outside of time, so the redemption accomplished by Jesus with His life and death is already counted to Israel here seven hundred years before Jesus took on human flesh.  This people, who had been so unfaithful to the God who loved them didn’t deserve God’s grace any more than we do, but our God is the God of true love.  His faithful love is granted to sinners who could never earn it, and though Israel would face some serious consequences in their earthly lives because of their unfaithfulness, they would not be abandoned.  Likewise, we will never be separated from the God who loves us.

God says to all His chosen ones, “Do not be afraid, because I have redeemed you.  I have called you by name.  You are mine.”  When we look honestly at our lives in the mirror of God’s law, we must confess how unfaithful we have been.  At the same time, God takes away our fear by sending His Son to live a perfectly holy life in our place and to die on a cross to suffer the wrath and punishment we deserved. 

With the blood He shed for you and me, Jesus redeemed us.  He paid the ransom price God demanded for our release from sin, death, and the devil’s control.  There is nothing that we have to do to satisfy God’s just anger for our sins, because Jesus has already done it all.  There is no war against the world we now have to fight because Jesus has already won the victory that secured our eternal peace.  There is no arduous journey or search we must undertake to find our God, because He has already found and chosen us for rescue.  Furthermore, as we go through life, we will not be alone, for just like the nation of Israel, You are redeemed to walk with the Lord.

The Lord God says, “I have called you by name.  You are mine.”  God chose Israel already as He called Abraham to faith.  He called them again as He had Moses lead His people out of Egypt.  God called you and me to His loving embrace as He washed us clean in the water of baptism and through the proclamation of all that Jesus has done to set us free from the slavery that was killing us. 

In the tradition of marriage, it was common for the bride to take her husband’s last name as they entered that new relationship.  That may seem old-fashioned to many people today, and some might even avoid it as being too patriarchal, as if that has some negative meaning.  Yet, God puts His name on us to claim us and protect against Satan’s assaults and accusations.  St, Paul used this picture as he wrote, “Husbands, love your wives, in the same way as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, by cleansing her with the washing of water in connection with the Word.” (Ephesians 5:25-26)  Why do we fight to protect the sanctity of marriage in our times?  Because marriage is intended to picture the love Jesus has shown to us all with His sacrificial service.

Now, all of us have a lifetime of trials to endure as we live in this sin-filled, doomed world, but just as Israel faced the prospect of exile from her homeland, God promised, “When you cross through the waters, I will be with you.  When you cross the rivers, they will not sweep you away.  When you walk through fire, you will not be burned, and the flame will not set you on fire.”  The people of Israel and Judah would face many trials and hardships, some so severe it would seem like a consuming fire.  Yet, with God walking with them they would not be destroyed.

Jesus made the same promise to all His followers before He ascended to His Father’s side in heaven.  He assures us, “Surely I am with you always until the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)  While we live as sojourners and exiles in the foreign land of this world, we will have trouble.  We will have hardships and persecution, but Jesus has overcome all things so that at the end of our days you and I will be safely returned to our home in the Promised Land of heaven to enjoy eternity as the Bride, the Church in glory. 

Through all the struggles, sorrows, persecutions, and pains the believer may experience in this world, we have the protection of our Savior keeping us alive and safe in the shelter of His name.  The devil can’t have us, and the world can’t destroy what Jesus has already won for us, and should the world manage to kill the body, we yet live, for our Savior has won for us everlasting life.  In other words, You are redeemed to walk with the Lord.

God didn’t redeem us to put us under another slavish yoke as some beaten-down, subservient tools.  Rather, He calls the people of His Church to walk with Him as His beloved Bride.  It is Jesus’ righteousness that clothes us in majestic glory and holiness.  We don’t get to see that glory here on earth, but it is a sure thing in heaven where sin and temptation will never again trouble our souls, minds, or bodies.  We walk with the Lord, not in the shame of the condemned, but as beloved ones who Jesus gave His entire being to rescue from the torture our kidnapper intended to inflict upon God’s beloved.  Jesus lifts us up from the wretchedness of our birth, and the voluntary rebelliousness that now shames us in retrospect, because He claims those who believe in Him as His beloved Bride whom He has cleansed, adorned, and attached to His name for all eternity.

To the Israelites of Isaiah’s day, God gave a picture of His glory as He said, “Because I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior, I gave Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you.”  The great I AM, who called Moses from a burning bush and sent him to Egypt to rescue God’s people out of earthly slavery, sent His Son to the cross to rescue all sinners from the chains of sin, the torture of death, and the devil’s accusations. 

Egypt was crushed as God made an example out of the defiant Pharoah so that the whole world would know God’s power and commitment to His people.  In a similar fashion, Jesus made Himself the ransom price as He carried all our sins and guilt to the cross.  Like the Pharoah in Egypt, the serpent’s head was crushed when the Lamb of God died to set us free.  Then, God raised His Son from the dead as the sure and certain proof that Jesus is the great I AM, the same Son of God who called Abraham to faith and led Israel through the Red Sea and the wilderness to the promised land.  In exchange for the sin of the world, Jesus gives us the riches of His righteousness and citizenship in His everlasting kingdom. 

Dear friends, we come to church on a regular basis to confess that we have sinned against God.  This is as it should be, for we are sinners from birth.  Primarily, however, we come to our regular worship services, because God calls us to receive the service of His love.  Here, through the proclamation of His Gospel and the washing waters of Baptism, God claims us as His beloved ones, and with the body and blood of our Redeemer and Savior, He strengthens us for our journey home.  Here, He trains us to represent our Lord and King with the reflection of His holiness, and here, he dresses us in the beautiful wedding gown woven from the righteousness Jesus lived for you and me.  Because God addresses us personally with the message of His unchanging love and devotion, hear and believe the promises of your heavenly Bridegroom.  You are redeemed to walk with the Lord.  Amen.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forevermore.  Amen. 

 

Christ’s Word is enough for the faithful.

 

Sermon for Epiphany 3, January 23, 2022

Peace to the believers, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Matthew 8:1-13  When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed him.  ²Just then, a leper came to him and bowed down to him, saying, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”  ³Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him.  “I am willing,” he said.  “Be clean.”  Immediately he was healed of his leprosy.  ⁴Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one.  Instead, go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”  ⁵When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him and pleaded with him, ⁶“Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed and suffering terribly.”  ⁷Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.”  ⁸The centurion answered, “Lord, I am not worthy for you to come under my roof.  But only say the word, and my servant will be healed.  ⁹For I am also a man under authority, with soldiers under me.  I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”  ¹⁰When Jesus heard this, he marveled.  He said to those who were following him, “Amen I tell you: I have not found such great faith in anyone in Israel.  ¹¹I tell you that many will come from the east and the west and will recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.  ¹²But the children of the kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”  ¹³Jesus said to the centurion, “Go.  Let it be done for you as you have believed.”  And his servant was healed at that very hour. (EHV)

Christ’s Word is enough for the faithful.

Dear brothers and sisters of the Lord,

            Over the course of His ministry, Jesus did countless miracles, far more than are recorded in the Bible. (John 21:25)  Each of the miracles show Jesus’ divine nature, and that He has authority over all things, authority over nature, over disease and illness, power to heal close at hand, and power to heal from a distance, and even authority over death.  Here, we see Jesus perform two miracles of healing, but we also see two great expressions of faith, and we learn that Christ’s Word is enough for the faithful.

The first man approaching Jesus in our text was a leper.  That disease made him an outcast.  This skin disease forced any who suffered from it to keep away from other people, even their families.  We might compare it, slightly, to some of the restrictions that have been forced upon people during the current pandemic, but for this man to come out in public and plead for Jesus’ help was already an act of faith.  He was breaking the rules to be out among the crowds.  He certainly shouldn’t have come close to so popular a teacher.  Thus, we have to assume he was desperate for a cure.

At the same time, look closely at the man’s plea, and you will see the reality of his faith.  The leper doesn’t beg Jesus to heal him.  He doesn’t offer any reason why Jesus should.  The man didn’t try to coerce Jesus into performing the miracle.  He simply offered this statement of faith, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”  The leper doesn’t say, “If you are able, or let’s make a deal,” but “if you are willing, you can make me clean.” 

Consider what is being said there.  Yes, the leper desired to be healed.  However, that afflicted man trusted enough in Jesus to leave it to Jesus to decide what was best, and if that meant he had to remain leprous, shunned, hurting, and shamed, the leper was willing to accept that his Lord knew best.  It is a great show of faith for us.  He believed that Christ’s Word is enough for the faithful.

It shows how we should approach our Savior in times of trouble or pain, not demanding things go our way, or giving in to despair or trying to play games, but laying our needs before the Lord in humble trust that He is taking care of us and will do exactly what is best for us in every moment.  It is a pretty safe bet that few of us, myself included, always live up to his shining example.

That day, the leper’s prayer was answered in the way he most hoped for.  Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him.  “I am willing,” he said.  “Be clean.”  Immediately he was healed of his leprosy.  We marvel at the power Jesus demonstrated, but perhaps we should marvel more at the kindness Jesus showed with His touch.  Touching a leper horrified the Jews of that day.  No one would consider it.  Yet, Jesus reaches out and touches the untouchable.  We are reminded that the holy One of Israel, the Son of God from all eternity, came down to earth to dwell with sinners and the wretched refuse of humanity to heal us from our worst affliction which is sin. 

Jesus was willing to make Himself unclean before His Father in heaven so that we would be cleansed forever.  That is what Christianity is all about.  “God made him, who did not know sin, to become sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)  Furthermore, Jesus among us is not a one-time event, for before He returned to His Father’s side in heaven, Jesus promised, “Surely I am with you always until the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)  And we are comforted, because Christ’s Word is enough for the faithful.

The second man who came to Jesus for help shows us a slightly different aspect of true faith: a centurion came to [Jesus] and pleaded with him, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed and suffering terribly.”  Like the leper’s plea, this request doesn’t demand or beg but simply presents the problem to Jesus’ attention trusting that He will intercede.  Jesus’ response was an immediate willingness to go heal that troubled, hurting child.  Here is where we see the full extent of that centurion’s faith.  The centurion answered, “Lord, I am not worthy for you to come under my roof.  But only say the word, and my servant will be healed.  For I am also a man under authority, with soldiers under me.  I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 

A Roman commander was not typically a humble man.  He was used to giving orders that were followed precisely and quickly without question.  But to Jesus, he says, “I am not worthy to have You in my house.”  Now, that is certainly true of every person on earth, for St. Paul wrote, “There is no one who is righteous, not even one.  There is no one who understands.  There is no one who searches for God.  They all turned away; together they became useless.  There is no one who does what is good; there is not even one.” (Romans 3:10-12) 

This hardened Roman centurion understood that Jesus is true God who is far above all of us in holiness and might.  Yet, he understood one thing more about Jesus.  Notice the way the centurion speaks about Jesus and authority: “only say the word, and my servant will be healed.  For I am also a man under authority.”  In other words, he believed that Christ’s Word is enough.

This centurion is both humble and bold at the same time, but he understood Jesus.  Jesus came to earth under the authority of His Father in heaven, and by acknowledging that authority as the Creator of the world, the centurion has confident faith that Jesus can help him.  Whether the centurion knew that the world was made through the Word Made Flesh, or not, he knew Jesus had the authority from God to heal. 

You and I can be comforted here as well for just as Jesus has the authority to heal, He also has the authority to forgive, and Jesus has granted that authority to His Church, so that under the authority Jesus has granted to us through faith, we can forgive the sins of penitent sinners. 

In fact, that is why pastors are ordained, to put us under the authority of Jesus to forgive the penitent sinner and to expel the impenitent. (1 Corinthians 5:13)  We call this the public administration of the office of the keys, for Jesus told His disciples, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.  Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:19)  Therefore, when you hear your pastor declare to you, “By the authority of God and of my holy office I forgive you all your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,” believe that your sins are forgiven as completely and fully as if Jesus or the Father was speaking those healing words to you face to face, for we declare it to you under Jesus’ authority.

After Jesus heard the centurion’s reply, “He marveled.  He said to those who were following him, ‘Amen I tell you: I have not found such great faith in anyone in Israel.  I tell you that many will come from the east and the west and will recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.’”  This is Jesus’ promise to us who believe that Christ’s Word is enough for the faithful.  We have a home in heaven not because of anything good in us or any works we have done, nor because of the strength of our faith, or our background, or any other self-promotion.  We are saved through faith worked in us through the Word of Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The opposite of saving faith is to question or deny the words of Scripture.  All of the Bible testifies about Jesus.  The Jewish leadership of Jesus’ day accepted the laws of Moses and the words of the prophets (or at least thought they did), but they rejected the Savior about whom it was all about.  Many didn’t believe Jesus’ testimony about Himself.  Many likewise rejected the idea that He was fulfilling the Scriptures they claimed to accept.  For them, Jesus could only offer doom.  He said, “But the children of the kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Many Jews thought they had a place in God’s kingdom because their bloodlines traced back to Abraham, but they didn’t have the faith of Abraham.  Rather, they trusted in themselves and their own works, and their destiny had become the gloom and darkness of eternal separation from God.

You and I can enjoy a different future.  As those two men came to Jesus, they trusted Him implicitly.  They trusted Him to know what was best and how to help them.  They recognized that they were unworthy of any blessing, but also that because of God’s love, Jesus could restore the afflicted individuals.  Jesus blessed their faith with the healing they sought. 

You and I have come before our Lord again this morning for the healing of our souls, and by the hearing of God’s Word, we are reassured that Jesus has restored us to a place in His family, and a home in heaven, for Jesus lived for us, died for us, and rose again on Easter morning so that we and the whole world may know that all our sins are forgiven, both in heaven and on earth. 

Then, through the faith we have been granted by the Word of our Savior in the Gospel and baptism, and strengthened by His body and blood in the bread and wine of His holy Supper, we have forgiveness of all sins, and a sure and certain future in the kingdom of heaven.  Many of our world still look for signs, and others still seek human wisdom, but Christ’s Word is enough for the faithful.  Amen.

Peace to you all, for the LORD is good.  His mercy endures forever.  His faithfulness continues through all generations.  Amen.

Serve the Lord who served for you.

 

Sermon for Epiphany 2, January 16, 2022

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus.  Amen.

Romans 12:6-16  ⁶We have different gifts, according to the grace God has given us.  If the gift is prophecy, do it in complete agreement with the faith.  ⁷If it is serving, then serve.  If it is teaching, then teach.  ⁸If it is encouraging, then encourage.  If it is contributing, be generous.  If it is leadership, be diligent.  If it is showing mercy, do it cheerfully.  ⁹Do not just pretend to love others.  Hate what is evil.  Cling to what is good.  ¹⁰Be devoted to one another with brotherly love.  Think of others as deserving more honor than yourselves.  ¹¹Do not be lagging behind in zeal, but be fervent in spirit, as you continue to serve the Lord.  ¹²Be joyful in hope.  Endure trials patiently.  Persist in prayer.  ¹³Share with the saints who are in need.  Be quick to welcome strangers as guests.  ¹⁴Bless those who persecute you; bless, and do not curse.  ¹⁵Rejoice with those who are rejoicing; weep with those who are weeping.  ¹⁶Have the same respect for one another.  Do not be arrogant, but associate with the humble.  Do not think too highly of yourselves. (EHV)

Serve the Lord who served for you.

Dear friends in Christ,

            Before the great flood of Noah’s day, the vast majority of people fell into grave idolatry and depravity, so much so that “The Lord saw that the wickedness of mankind was great on the earth, and that all the thoughts and plans they formed in their hearts were only evil every day.  The Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth.” (Genesis 6:5-6)  Again at the time of Judges in Israel, “There was no king in Israel, and every man did whatever was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 21:25)  This led to great heartache in the land as many wandered away from the Lord, so God allowed foreign powers to invade, torment, and even conquer in order to discipline His wayward people. 

In our day too, it seems that much of society lives as if there is no God nor King, and they would much prefer to make their own rules and live according to whatever wicked thought inhabits their hearts.  You and I on the other hand, have a King who came into this world to serve rather than be served, and because our King has rescued us from the forces of darkness and the punishment all mankind deserved, it is appropriate for us to Serve the Lord who served for you.

In the verses that immediately precede our sermon text, the Holy Spirit reminds us that as believers in Jesus we are members of the Holy Christian Church, the body of Christ, and as such, “to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice—holy and pleasing to God.” (Romans 12:1)  Considering that we are made into the body of Christ, through faith in the Savior who gave His life to rescue us from sin and death, how could we not live in accord to the way our Savior lived for us?  For Jesus sacrificed everything so that we may have righteousness and peace.

Furthermore, how we live makes a difference in how the world sees us, and God uses us through His gifts to bless His people and to encourage many others to enter into the faith that has saved us.  Thus, the Holy Spirit gives us these various gifts because “We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared in advance so that we would walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10)  The question before us is how are you doing at living up to the commands of this list?  Are you using all of your gifts to Serve the Lord who served for you?

Before you answer, recognize that this list of the Spirit’s gifts is rather extensive, and the list continues on even after the end of our sermon text, but let’s look just at what Paul lists here: the gifts of prophecy, ministry, teaching, exhortation, charity, leadership, mercifulness, love, avoidance of evil and holding on to good, devotion to brotherly love, faithfulness in honoring others, diligence in our duties, bubbling in spirit, service to our Lord, joyfulness, patience, steadfastness in prayer, sharing with fellow believers, hospitableness, rejoicing with the joyful and weeping with the grieving, common mindedness, willingness to surround ourselves with the less fortunate, and humility.  Are you ready to say, “Wow!!!?”  I know I am.  By my count that’s at least twenty-five ways the Holy Spirit blesses us so that we can serve our Lord in this sin-torn world. 

Of course, many people might ask why we should serve others, especially those who don’t appear to be our friends, or maybe even fight against us and persecute God’s people.  Why should we do good when so many others intend evil against us?

We find our answer in Jesus.  The truth is, Jesus did everything on this list for people who rebelled against God, who were greedy, selfish, arrogant, and hated His Son—people just like you and me.  In fact, Jesus lived and died so that God’s enemies, including you and me, would be made right with Him again. 

So again, why should we Serve the Lord who served for you?  Because, we all were once God’s enemies, immersed in sin and falling prey to the devil’s temptations time and time again.  “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)  God doesn’t want to withhold His love from anyone.  The Holy Spirit says, “God our Savior,…wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:3-4)  Jesus includes all of His followers in that same encouragement as He told His disciples, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses …to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) 

As we look through Paul’s list, we see the ways Jesus did all these things for you and me.  He proclaimed God’s message in truth and purity.  He ministered to those around Him.  He taught perfectly as He explained the Scriptures.  Jesus was continually encouraging those who came to Him, He shared generously with the people as He blessed them in whatever way was needed.  Jesus is merciful, and that was demonstrated time and again in His healing of the afflicted.  Jesus’ love was perfectly sincere even as in zealous righteousness, He drove the money changers from His Father’s house.  He wasn’t concerned for His own gain or agenda.  Jesus perfectly avoided the evil that so tempts us while He clung to the good. 

Paul wrote, “Do not be arrogant, but associate with the humble.  Do not think too highly of yourselves.”  Our Savior, the Son of God, humbled Himself to leave heaven and come to earth as a Man to dwell with us, not as an overlord or judge, but as a Friend and Redeemer.  Jesus welcomed all who came to Him, and even under the stress of His trial Jesus remained respectful.  He demonstrated such leadership that today even unbelievers look to Jesus for examples of ethical living. 

As the Holy Spirit gives us this list, He is showing us Jesus and how Jesus lived to gain us righteousness and eternal life.  Because we don’t belong to this world, we shouldn’t look like the children of the world.  Rather, living as the body of Christ, we show that God has chosen us by faith to be His own dear children.  Then, as we live as Jesus’ body here on earth, we will be a blessing to all including those who oppose us.  As the unbelieving world sees how Christians live in respect to each other and in service and humility to all, they will notice that we are different, because they will see Christ reflected in our actions, and that way, they may be drawn to believe in Him for their salvation. 

Because there is so much false teaching in this world, it is necessary to point out that we don’t earn forgiveness and eternal life by living up to this list, nor we could we ever do so, but we shouldn’t ignore it either, because Jesus has already won our salvation by fulfilling this list perfectly for you and me.  Jesus devoted His earthly existence to obeying God’s will so that we don’t have to be afraid of those who want to persecute and hurt us.  We don’t have to worry so much about being politically correct.  We simply need to hear what God has done for us as Jesus lived, died, and rose again, and know that we have a home in heaven for Jesus’ sake.  Only then can we try to live up to the instructions on this list.  But then, trusting in Jesus, it becomes a joy for us to Serve the Lord who served for you.

Now, as we look at this list, you might begin to feel overwhelmed.  It might seem like too much to do and too hard to do it all well.  But remember that all of these things are gifts of the Holy Spirit, and He gives them in the proportion He feels we need to do His work.  Some of the gifts may not be given to each one of us, but all of us have gifts on this list through which we can serve our Lord and Savior.

Since we are talking about serving our Savior, it is good for us to look closer at a least a couple of the gifts, especially the first gift on this list.  Paul wrote, “If the gift is prophecy, do it in complete agreement with the faith.”  This phrase has caused many questions over the centuries, but we must recognize that there are not multiple true faiths, nor does God give various faiths to different individuals.  It also doesn’t mean that God measures out the strength of our faith in Him in different measure.  True Christian faith trusts only in God’s pure Word and in the work and sacrifice of His Son.  We proclaim the message of the cross because it is the only power that saves.

The word, “prophecy,” is also often misunderstood.  Many want to make it something incredible and only about future events, but the gift of future prophecy has always been rare.  The main use of this word is to tell the true message of God, to proclaim God’s Gospel right in line with the perfect truth of His Word, using the tools He gives us.  Not every one of us will be preachers.  We won’t all go out as apostles or missionaries, but all of us can tell someone about Jesus and what He has done for us, or by the service in our daily lives, we can show what makes Christians different and lead others to someone who has the ability and the training to proclaim God’s Word in its truth and purity.

Dear friends, God doesn’t promise to give each of us every gift on this list.  Not all of us will be blessed to be big givers of money, but all of us can share what we do have.  All of us can serve in some way, for God gives all of us good gifts.  It may be that your gift, today, is simply to pray for those who don’t yet know Jesus as Lord and Savior.  Perhaps your gift is to rejoice with the joyful or to mourn with the sorrowful.  I promise you that all of us can look at this list and find some way God is blessing us to serve.  We can also look at the list, trusting in Jesus as the perfect fulfillment of its commands, and strive to make better use of each of the gifts the Holy Spirit gives us.  Then, remembering that your salvation is an already accomplished fact through faith in the life and death of Jesus Christ, you can live your life here on earth with confidence and hope, rejoicing to Serve the Lord who served for you.  Amen.

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto everlasting life. Amen.

The Prophet Proclaims the Peace He Brings.

 

Sermon for Epiphany 1, January 9, 2022

The grace of God the Father, and the peace of His Son, our Savior, be yours forever.  Amen.

Isaiah 61:1-3  The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the afflicted.  He sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release for those who are bound, ²to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance for our God, to comfort all who mourn, ³to provide for those who mourn in Zion, to give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, a cloak of praise instead of a faint spirit, so that they will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord to display his beauty. (EHV)

The Prophet Proclaims the Peace He Brings.

Dear fellow redeemed,

            After returning to His hometown, Jesus read from this prophecy of Isaiah, and the people “All spoke well of him and were impressed by the words of grace that came from his mouth.” (Luke 4:22)  Yet, when Jesus explained that it was being fulfilled in their hearing, the mood changed.  By the time He finished speaking, the people were so angry, they drove the Preacher out of the town and tried to throw Him off a cliff. 

This prophecy, or as Luke called it, “the words of grace,” is almost all Gospel, a message of peace and joy from God to all the hurting people of the world.  Yet, Jesus’ hometown folks didn’t want to hear it.  They refused to listen because, they thought it preposterous that the carpenter’s son could claim to be the Promised Savior.  Today, I urge you to hear The Prophet Proclaim the Peace He Brings.

The people of Nazareth recognized that Isaiah was speaking about the promised Savior.  The nation had been waiting for centuries for the Messiah to appear, but they didn’t think He could be someone so ordinary.  They assumed that, surely, the Messiah would come with great splendor and a show of force.  Therefore, the people assumed Jesus must be lying and falsely taking God’s place.

However, Jesus didn’t come into this world on His own agenda.  There are many ways we could show this, but Isaiah foreshadowed Jesus saying, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me.”  God the Father sent Jesus with the full blessing and assistance of the Holy Spirit to fulfill the Father’s mission.  The anointing of the Spirit took place at Jesus’ Baptism where Luke reports, “When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too.  While he was praying, heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove.  And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love.  I am well pleased with you.’” (Luke 3:21-22) 

That day in Nazareth, Jesus read, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the afflicted.  He sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release for those who are bound, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”  One would think that the people would’ve been ecstatic to hear what Jesus had to say, but that wasn’t the case once they understood He was claiming to be the Messiah.  Because they didn’t believe Him, the people of Nazareth rejected God’s Gospel.  It sounds preposterous that anyone would reject such Good News.  Naturally, we are not surprised that people might reject God’s Law, because no one likes the Law’s condemnation, but to our surprise, God’s Gospel is also offensive to the unbeliever.

So, does the Gospel offend you?  It sounds far-fetched doesn’t it?  We come to church to hear God’s Word.  Many of us read our Bibles regularly.  How could the Gospel be an offense to us? 

Well, I certainly hope it’s not.  Yet, do you and I ever take a moment off from trusting God’s Gospel as some trouble takes our confidence away?  Do we ever find ourselves putting a little confidence in our own works as we compare ourselves to the unbelievers and sinners of the world?  Do you ever get the idea that it’s ok to take a day off from following Jesus and His Word?  Perhaps more convicting yet, do you, or I, ever go into hiding when we could proclaim Jesus as Lord and Savior to someone who desperately needs to hear that truth?

We maybe aren’t so much different than the people of Nazareth.  We may have become so familiar with Jesus that we let our daily affairs push Jesus into the background, almost forgotten in our struggle to make a living and or to deal with everyday stresses.  It’s easy to get an attitude of “Talk to me about Jesus next week when I have more time, or next year, or someday.”  Pretty soon, because we just don’t want to deal with Him, today, we’ve pushed Jesus out of our lives, if even for just a little while.  My friends, that is sin that none of us can claim to have avoided perfectly, so we need to repent.  Then in repentance, we need to hear The Prophet Proclaim the Peace He Brings.

By God’s grace, Jesus came into this world for people just like you and me.  He came “To preach good news to the afflicted.…to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release for those who are bound, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”  The poor and broken hearted are the same people Jesus spoke of in His Sermon on the Mount when He said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, because theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are those who mourn, because they will be comforted.” (Matthew 5:3-4)  Jesus blesses us by announcing that He is the solution for the problem of human sin.  Jesus came to rescue us from the dark dungeons that sin bound us in.  How is this so?

Jesus said, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets.  I did not come to destroy them but to fulfill them.” (Matthew 5:17)  Jesus fulfilled all of God’s Law by obeying it perfectly for you and me.  Not one little detail escaped Jesus’ attention.  In all His thirty some years, Jesus never once took a moment off from obeying God.  He didn’t have a cheat day when disobedience wouldn’t count.  He didn’t need that kind of nonsense.  He simply lived His life with obedience to the Father, and He did it so that people like you and me could be credited with perfect righteousness.

There is one short portion of this text that Jesus didn’t read to the people of Nazareth that day.  It’s a section of Law.  In addition to preaching Gospel, Jesus was sent to proclaim “the day of vengeance for our God.”  Does that sound a little frightening?  Certainly, God taking vengeance for our sins is nothing to be taken lightly.  However, we should note that the prophecy speaks of a year of God’s favor and a day of vengeance.  Notice the contrast.  God wants us to know Him as the God of mercy, but that happens in only one way, for The Prophet Proclaims the Peace He Brings.

There is one “day of vengeance” that makes it possible for all of us to experience God’s mercy and be free of His vengeance.  It’s the day God took out His vengeance for all of our sins on His own Son: the day Jesus suffered the cruel taunts and final rejection of unbelieving people who should have been faithful followers; the day when even those who did believe in Him ran away and hid themselves; the day when Jesus suffered blow after blow from the Roman soldiers’ hardened fists and the wounding of their whips and beating sticks; the day when Jesus was nailed to a cross on a hill outside of Jerusalem as the full, final insult to the Son of God for all of mankind’s sin, the day when even God the Father turned away from His Son to punish our rejection. 

The “day of vengeance” also comes with a warning.  Those who reject the Son face one final day of reckoning.  Judgment day will come upon those who refuse the salvation Jesus won.  God’s final day of vengeance will become, for them, an eternity of suffering in hell, not because the debt for their sins went unpaid, but because they rejected Jesus’ payment for their debt. 

My friends, God took out all of His vengeance for your sins and mine on that Golgotha hill. Jesus died there on that cross of shame because we so often push Him away.  Christ’s sacrifice is what makes the rest of the prophecy be true.  “The year of the Lord’s favor,” refers to the Year of Jubilee that God established among the Israelites.  It was a year set aside for the release of any Israelite who had been forced into slavery, a year when the ancestral lands of a family that had been forced to sell because of poverty or poor decisions were returned to them.  The Year of Jubilee foreshadowed the work Jesus would do to return us to God’s good favor.  It was accomplished as Jesus declared from the cross, “It is finished!” 

Because Jesus accomplished everything needed to return us to God, those who mourn for their sins are comforted by the Good News that all sins have been forgiven for Jesus’ sake.  Those who mourn in Zion are those who lament their sins that caused Jesus to suffer so.  They are consoled by the truth that God raised Jesus from the dead to declare to the world that His victory over the old evil foe is accomplished, and life everlasting is granted to those who trust in Jesus alone for their salvation. 

The Lord God promises that Jesus completed His work on behalf of the human race “To give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, a cloak of praise instead of a faint spirit, so that they will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord to display his beauty.”  Jesus’ redeeming work for you and me gives us those promises to enjoy in an everlasting celebration.  Believers are crowned with the beauty of Jesus’ perfect righteousness as the waters of Baptism pour over our heads.  The beautiful dress is Jesus’ righteousness covering our shame so we are prepared for His eternal wedding celebration.  We don’t earn those white robes.  They are given to us purely out of God’s grace and mercy, so that He is glorified in the grace He gives.

The label “oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord to display his beauty,” is applied to everyone who despairs of his own works and trusts in Jesus for forgiveness and salvation.  We are now God’s orchard for He has planted us to do His work.  God lives and moves among the trees of His believers.  He tends and cultivates us to produce fruit of righteousness in the world. 

Jesus said that believers are the branches grafted into Him as the vine.  If we cut ourselves off from Him, we are dead, but attached to Jesus we live and enjoy the everlasting life He gives.  Grafted into Jesus, we produce good fruit, and our lives of fruitful production never end for we will be with Him forever in heaven, and our lives as “a planting of the LORD,” are important, because it is through our lives of faithful fruit production that God expands His garden to include more and more forgiven sinners.  It is through our lives as Christian believers that Jesus continues to Proclaim the Peace He Brings.

My friends, in the Jubilee year of Old Testament Israel, everything was to be returned to the original owners.  Family lands were returned to the families that had lost them, freedom was restored to any Israelites who had been forced into slavery.  It foreshadowed this same Jubilee peace Jesus gives to you and me.  In the Garden of Eden, the devil tricked our fore parents out of their homeland of peace and joy.  Jesus restored that paradise to all of us, for He took on human flesh “To proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”  A home in God’s Paradise is ours once again, and our slavery to sin, death, and the devil is no more.  That is the peace Jesus won for you and me and for the whole world.  So today, and every day, hear and rejoice as The Prophet Proclaims the Peace He Brings.  Amen.

He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.  Amen. 

See the true Servant who won our salvation.

 

Sermon for Christmas 2, January 2, 2022

Grace and peace be yours in abundance from Almighty God and His Servant Son.  Amen.

Isaiah 42:1-9  Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight.  I am placing my Spirit on him.  He will announce a just verdict for the nations.  ²He will not cry out.  He will not raise his voice.  He will not make his voice heard in the street.  ³A bent reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not snuff out.  He will faithfully bring forth a just verdict.  ⁴He will not burn out, and he will not be broken, until he establishes justice on the earth.  The coastlands will wait for his law.  ⁵This is what the true God says, the Lord who creates the heavens and stretches them out, who spreads out the earth and everything that it produces, who gives breath to the people on it and life to those who walk on it.  ⁶I am the Lord.  I have called you in righteousness.  I will hold on to your hand, and I will guard you.  I will appoint you to be a covenant for the people, to be a light for the nations, ⁷to open the eyes of the blind, to bring the prisoners out from the dungeon, and to bring those who sit in darkness out of prison.  ⁸I am the Lord; that is my name.  I will not give my glory to another, nor my praise to idols.  ⁹Look, the former things have taken place, and I am declaring new things.  I am making them known to you before they spring forth. (EHV)

See the true Servant who won our salvation.

Dear fellow prisoners rescued from darkness,

            We are still in the Christmas season, so I am wondering, have ever given a gift to a loved one that you fully expected would delight that person beyond measure, only to have your loved one react with indifference or even disgust?  How great was your disappointment in that reaction?

When we talk about gifts measuring up to expectations, we should consider how we have reacted to the greatest gift any of us have ever received.  The Savior God promised to send should certainly be considered that greatest gift ever.  But does He measure up to what you expected?  Through Isaiah, God teaches us to see His gift rightly, to See the true Servant who won our salvation.

For much of the world Jesus doesn’t measure up.  Many are the people, nations even, that think we Christians are crazy to put our hopes in this Man from Nazareth.  They wonder, how can we believe that this ordinary-looking Man is God Almighty and our Savior when He was executed, without a struggle, by a tiny contingent of Roman soldiers?  How could we put our hope for the future in this pauper, a Man who never even owned a house, never married, never had children, never ran a company, never did anything that seems significant to our money and power focused world? 

God told Isaiah, " Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight.  I am placing my Spirit on him.  He will announce a just verdict for the nations.”  God’s Servant couldn’t be just anyone.  He would be endowed with the Spirit of God.  Designated to carry out God’s will, this Servant would fulfill all God’s promises to a sin-ruined world.  Already seven hundred years before the Savior would come, God told the world that He is delighted with every aspect and action of His Servant.  This shows us two things: first, that the Servant Savior already existed, and then, there was no way He would ever disappoint God.  This fits perfectly with the testimony that this Servant really is the very Son of God. 

Numerous times Jesus claimed that He is God, especially saying, “I and the Father are one.” (John 10:30)  But it isn’t just Jesus’ testimony that verifies Him as the promised Servant.  In fact, if that was all the evidence we had, we might well doubt His divinity.  However, the Father Himself declared it from heaven before witnesses.  “After Jesus was baptized, he immediately went up out of the water.  Suddenly, the heavens were opened for him…and a voice out of the heavens said, “This is my Son, whom I love.  I am well pleased with him.’” (Matthew 3:16-17)  Luke reports that also at Jesus’ transfiguration on the mountain, God the Father declared, “This is my Son, whom I love.  Listen to him! (Luke 9:35)  So, we have Jesus’ testimony, and we have the Father in heaven’s declaration, as well as many eyewitnesses to their statements that Jesus is God’s chosen Servant.

So, how does the world see God’s true servant?  The world finds Jesus to be too humble, too poor, too weak, too timid to be God, much less their Savior.  Yet, that is exactly what God said we would see.  “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth.  Like a lamb he was led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent in front of its shearers, he did not open his mouth.” (Isaiah 53:7)  Jesus did exactly as prophesied without a fight, and with no complaint that the verdict, or the punishment, was unjust.  He accepted the sentence and the cruel death, not because He had sinned and deserved to die, but because we had sinned so much.  Thus, He took our sins on Himself.

Jesus was truly humble and perfectly holy.  In His holy mercy, the True Servant will receive even the guiltiest human who repents and believes.  Isaiah was told, “A bent reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not snuff out.  He will faithfully bring forth a just verdict.”  The broken-hearted sinner can come to the Servant without fear for the sins that caused the Servant to suffer, for all sins are forgiven, because justice has been served by the Lord upon the Servant for you and me.

“He will not burn out, and he will not be broken, until he establishes justice on the earth.  The coastlands will wait for his law."  Nothing could keep God’s Servant from carrying out His mission.  We heard one of the threats to His mission in our Gospel lesson.  Herod tried with all his might to put an end to the Savior’s life, but God preserved His Son and preserved our rescue by sending the Servant and His parents to the land of Egypt and then returning them safely to Nazareth so another prophecy would be fulfilled. 

In His dedicated love for us, the true Servant would never quit in the efforts He was making for disobedient, unfaithful people.  Though the Jews rejected their Savior, though the Gentiles often mocked Him, and though we keep on sinning against Him, Jesus faithfully carried on until justice for all the sins of the world was accomplished.  As the news of Christ’s rescue mission has spread, the far reaches of the earth rejoice to hear of His salvation.  From coast to coast, first in the Mediterranean, and then around the world, the Gospel of Jesus’ salvation has spread to eager ears.  In spite of opposition from Satan, the world, and our own sinful flesh, the Servant’s life and death continues to give hope to millions upon millions of those who need a Savior from sin and death. 

To you and me, God cries out, See the true Servant who won your salvation.  The Servant is humble because we are arrogant and rebellious against God.  The Servant is poor so that we could be rich in heaven.  The Servant is holy to cover our sinfulness.  He is determined and unstoppable, because we have so often given up when it comes to trusting our God.

“This is what the true God says, the Lord who creates the heavens and stretches them out, who spreads out the earth and everything that it produces, who gives breath to the people on it and life to those who walk on it.”  So that no one should refuse this message, the Speaker identifies Himself as the Creator of all things.  To the Servant, the Father declares His commitment to the salvation His Servant was coming to win, saying, “I am the Lord.  I have called you in righteousness.  I will hold on to your hand, and I will guard you.”  Every step of the way, the Father would be with Jesus, strengthening Him and preserving Him so that nothing could stop His holy work.  Though many conspired to kill Jesus, God’s preservation continued until the appointed time for Jesus to die on the cross, then on through the grave and beyond as The Father raised His Servant Son from the dead.

Does the gift of this Servant measure up for you and me?  God declared, “I will appoint you to be a covenant for the people, to be a light for the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring the prisoners out from the dungeon, and to bring those who sit in darkness out of prison.”  God gave us the Savior as the Covenant of forgiveness He long ago promised.  Christ enlightens us to God’s grace.  He makes our lives shine with His goodness.  The Servant will make our eternity a time of bliss and joy and never-ending light and peace, so does Jesus measure up to your expectations?

When stuck in the bondage of Satan’s torments, we knew nothing but darkness.  But into this world of despair, the Servant came, and my friends, He has won our salvation, complete and free.  The chains that held us were broken when Jesus said “It is finished.”  Then through His Word and through the work of His Spirit, He opened our eyes to His glorious salvation. 

Only the human stubbornness of a sinful nature keeps anyone in the devil’s grasp.  Yet Jesus does not give up.  He calls and calls for release of the prisoners, urging all to trust in Him instead of any evil thing.  As the Word was preached to us, as the Baptismal water washed us clean, we were delivered from Satan’s evil control.  Some of us had to be dragged out, kicking and screaming, from the only dungeon home we had ever known, but our Savior doesn’t give up, and He continues to send His messengers with His saving Word, working to break the devil’s fiendish hold on us. 

The Speaker brings us more promise and warning as He again identifies Himself: “I am the Lord; that is my name.  I will not give my glory to another, nor my praise to idols.”  The Lord who calls Himself, “I Am,” is God in the flesh.  He is everything we need to know about God.  St. John began his Gospel with the message, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1)  Our catechism testifies that God’s name includes everything He has said about Himself, that is, His entire reputation makes up His name.

God will not let any other being, or any other thing, steal His glory.  Therefore, to See the true Servant who won your salvation, look to the testimony of the Almighty God and His witnesses.  At the Servant’s birth, “Suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude from the heavenly army, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward mankind.’" (Luke 2:13-14) 

As Jesus foretold His upcoming suffering and death, He prayed, “Father, glorify your name!”  A voice came from heaven: “I have glorified my name, and I will glorify it again.” (John 12:28)

Again, on the night He was betrayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus lifted up His eyes to heaven, and prayed: “Father, the time has come.  Glorify your Son so that your Son may glorify you.  For you gave him authority over all flesh, so that he may give eternal life to all those you have given him.” (John 17:1-2)  Likewise, Peter testified that God “raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.” (1 Peter 1:21)  Now, does Jesus measure up to your idea of a Savior? 

My friends, if you want a boisterous man for your Savior, Jesus is not the one you are looking for.  If you want someone who won great military victories, Jesus is not your man.  If you want earthly riches and power, Jesus doesn’t promise you even that.  What God the Father, and Jesus His Son, do promise you is forgiveness of all your sins, peace with God, eternal life, and a home with Him in heaven. 

Jesus entered this world because we could not come to Him.  He appeared as a weak, insignificant baby in a manger so that He could win the most monumental victory this world has ever known: the victory over sin and Satan and the grave.  God uses humble means to give you everything.  He uses a manger bed, a wooden cross, common water, and humble bread and wine enclosing the body and blood of the true Servant who gave His life for your sins. 

In retrospect, we see that Satan abandoned God to grasp for His power.  On the other hand, Jesus set aside the throne, almighty power, and home in heaven that was rightly His in order to defeat the evil one and win us back to our Creator.  Treasure the gift God gives us in Jesus; See the true Servant who won our salvation.  Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting.  Amen.