Jesus is your invitation.

 

Sermon for Trinity 2, June 26, 2022

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.  Amen.

Jesus is your invitation.

Dear friends in Christ,

            Did you ever ponder why you might accept, or reject, an invitation?  If you are invited to a wedding reception, graduation party, or governor’s ball, how do you decide whether, or not, to attend?  Do you base your decision on whether you have other things to do?  Or what food or entertainment is offered in the invitation?  Do you attend in order to honor someone with your presence, or because you are honored to be invited?  Any, and all, of those considerations may be valid points in your decision-making process when we are talking about the ordinary celebrations in our lives.  However, there is one banquet that you simply do not want to miss, and Jesus is your invitation.

Jesus had been invited to dine at the home of a Pharisee.  As He attended the dinner, Jesus noted several quirks in those attending, and He responded to those observation by teaching important truths.  One man was quoted saying, “Blessed is the one who will feast in the kingdom of God!” (Luke 14:15)  We can safely say that was the understatement of all time, for to miss out on that feast is to spend eternity in hell.  Thus, Jesus warns against despising our invitation to feast with Him.

Luke 14:16–24  ¹⁶Jesus said to him, “A certain man made a great banquet and invited many people.  ¹⁷When it was time for the banquet, he sent out his servant to tell those who were invited, ‘Come, because everything is now ready.’  ¹⁸But they all alike began to make excuses.  “The first one told him, ‘I bought a field, and I need to go and see it.  I ask you to excuse me.’  ¹⁹“Another one said, ‘I bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out.  I ask you to excuse me.’  ²⁰“Still another said, ‘I just got married, and so I am unable to attend.’  ²¹“The servant arrived and reported these things to his master.  Then the master of the house was angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town, and bring in here the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’  ²²“The servant said, ‘Master, what you commanded has been done, and there is still room.’  ²³“Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and urge them to come in, so that my house may be filled.  ²⁴Yes, I tell you that none of those men who were invited will taste my banquet.’” (EHV)

In this parable, the great man Jesus mentions is His heavenly Father.  God has been preparing for this festival celebration since before time began.  The invitation was being sent throughout the course of history ever since God first promised a Savior when He told the devil, “I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed.  He will crush your head, and you will crush his heel.” (Genesis 3:15)  God sent numerous prophets to prepare the way for the Savior of the world culminating in John the Baptist.  Furthermore, God has continued sending His servants still to this day to call people into the heavenly wedding feast of the Lamb.  The question remains who will come in.

Many of those at the dinner Jesus attended that day didn’t respect Him.  They openly questioned His motivations, credentials, and authority, as well as the message He delivered.  Jesus’ point with this parable is that in their time, He was God’s chief servant calling them into the heavenly banquet.  Yet, Jesus was serving His Father in so much more than just delivering a message.

The Lamb’s wedding banquet had to be prepared.  For you and me to enter heaven, we needed holiness.  We needed to have the stain and stink of our sins removed.  No wedding celebration would ever allow guests to attend in the filthy rags of unwashed enemy slaves.  Yet, that is the condition in which we were found because of sin.  Therefore, Jesus came into the world to change all that.  For the perfect righteousness we need to attend God’s great banquet, Jesus lived in perfect and complete accord with the law and His Father’s will, never once stumbling or falling short of holiness in thought, word, desire, or deed.  No other human in history could ever come close, but Jesus did that perfectly for you and me.

To remove our guilt, the death of every sinner was required.  There is no rule bending in the courtroom of our holy God.  Through Ezekiel, the Lord declared, “The soul who sins is the one who will die.” (Ezekiel 18:4)  Thus, because we are all sinners, we all were deserving of death and eternal separation from God.  Thankfully, our God is not only just and righteous, He is also gracious and love.

Because we all deserved eternal death, which God does not desire for us, “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)  With the stench of the world’s sin on being put on Jesus, there was no other remedy than that He had to die, and die He did in the most shameful way man has devised.  By taking on the form of a servant, Jesus died the death of slaves and traitors as He was crucified.  In this, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.  As it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.’” (Galatians 3:13)

By carrying out every detail of His atonement plans, God prepared His heavenly wedding celebration of which He wants all people to participate.  “God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)  Jesus hand delivered that invitation in His time on earth, and what was the response?  We see the results in the parable He told.  Some thought earthly property was more valuable than the invitation.  Some thought that the activities of earthly life were far more important than celebrating with our God and Father.  Another was too involved with his family relationship to be bothered with God’s invitation to eternal salvation.

How many of us have treated God’s invitation just as lightly at times?  God hand delivered His invitation to eternal celebration as His Holy Spirit gave us faith and life in the cleansing waters of baptism.  Yet, how often do we lay that invitation aside by refusing to return to it in repentance?  God calls us to enjoy a foretaste of His heavenly banquet with His invitation to weekly worship.  Do we always make it a point to come and partake?  How many of us have decided we don’t really need the Supper Jesus prepared to strengthen our faith and restore our righteousness through forgiveness?

Perhaps, there are times when we are not so much different than those scribes and Pharisees who rejected Jesus’ invitation to believe in Him as their Savior.  Indeed, many rejected the idea that they needed a Savior to intervene on their behalf.  Many a person, both then and now, arrogantly assumes they can crash God’s heavenly banquet in their own clothes.  We will leave that idea for treatment with another of Jesus’ parables, but I’ll give you a hint—it doesn’t turn out well for those who imagine they can crash God’s celebration.

Whenever there is a presidential ball, the wedding receptions of the rich and famous, a royal inauguration, or any truly grand and glorious celebration, it is absolutely mandatory that you hold an invitation in order to attend.  This is a mere shadow of God’s heavenly wedding celebration.  No one will enter heaven by his own choosing.  No one can enter heaven dressed in rags stained by sin.  We need Jesus.  We need Him as our invitation.  With His perfect life and sacrificial death, Jesus earned the right to celebrate with His Father in heaven.  Through the faith in Jesus granted to us through the work of the Holy Spirit, our names are added to the list of invitees who are counted worthy to attend.  We dare not neglect our faith in Jesus because without it, there can be no heaven for us.

Jesus gave a firm warning to those who were rejecting His message.  As the servant reported the reluctance of the invited to attend, “The master of the house was angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town, and bring in here the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’  The servant said, ‘Master, what you commanded has been done, and there is still room.’ Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and urge them to come in, so that my house may be filled.  Yes, I tell you that none of those men who were invited will taste my banquet.’”

You and I should give thanks that so many among Israel refused the invitation to attend.  Actually, we should give thanks that God is so merciful that He sent His servants out to the highways and byways, to the distant lands and the far corners of the earth, so that we might hear His call and accept His gracious invitation.  Though we were of no account and had nothing of our own to offer the Creator of the world, He has invited us to enjoy heaven forever—solely because of Jesus.

At the same time, take heed of Jesus’ warning—those who reject His invitation will never taste the joys of heaven.  When Jesus sent His disciples out to spread far and wide the good news of His forgiveness and salvation, He told them, “Whoever listens to you listens to me.  Whoever rejects you rejects me.  And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.” (Luke 10:16)  Ultimately, that is the sin that caused the rejected to be kept out of the banquet of the parable.  It wasn’t that they rejected the master’s servant, or even merely that they didn’t value the invitation.  Instead, by rejecting the servant and ignoring the value of the invitation, they disrespected the one who sent the invite.  The point is: those who reject Jesus reject the only God who can save them.

So, what should we do now that we have heard Jesus’ warning?  King David wrote, “Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is everyone who takes refuge in Him.” (Psalm 34:8)  Our Lord is giving us a foretaste of heaven every time we consume His holy Word.  As we gather together to sing God’s praise and hear the message of salvation through faith in Christ, we are given a tender morsel from God’s banquet table.  We are joining in the celebration with all the saints who have entered heaven before us.  We are singing with the angels who rejoice that God has made all things ready through His Son Jesus.

How can you ensure that you don’t miss out on the heavenly celebration?  Make the use of God’s Word your highest priority.  When we were children, we often had to be drug into church kicking and screaming because we didn’t yet know the joy of God’s feast.  Now, understand what God is doing for you every time you enter this building to partake of His Word, and every time you open your Bible to read of His Son, for you are not just obeying God’s command to hear His Word, you are being fed from His life-giving food.  Open your Bible and drink deep.  Come to the Lord’s Table to taste and see Christ’s body and blood, for it strengthens you against the distractions of the world. 

Dear friends, cling to your invitation with all your strength.  Never let go of the One Man who paid the price for your ticket to God’s heavenly banquet celebration.  Cling to the Savior, your Lord Jesus, who is your invitation into the banquet hall of the marriage feast of the Lamb.  Amen.

Now, may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit, both soul and body, be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.  Amen.

Remain in the power of God’s perfect love.

 Sermon for Trinity 1, June 19, 2022

Grace, mercy, and peace will be with you from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father's Son, in truth and love.  Amen.

1 John 4:16-21  ¹⁶ We also have come to know and trust the love that God has for us.  God is love.  Whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him.  ¹⁷ In this way his love has been brought to its goal among us, so that we may have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are just like Jesus.  ¹⁸ There is no fear in love, but complete love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.  The one who continues to be afraid has not been brought to the goal in love.  ¹⁹ We love because he first loved us.  ²⁰ If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar.  For how can anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, love God, whom he has not seen?  ²¹ This then is the command we have from him: The one who loves God should also love his brother. (EHV)

Remain in the power of God’s perfect love.

Dearly beloved of God,

            The primary command given to us says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and, love your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27)  The young man who gave this answer to Jesus soon realized that he didn’t measure up to even the first part of the command.  You and I, likewise, will go away ashamed if we assume we naturally possess the perfect love these commands require. 

When we examine our hearts, and our histories, honestly, it isn’t hard to find times we fail to love as we should.  Perhaps, we took advantage of a situation that hurt someone else while seeking our own gain.  Perhaps, anger caused us to treat someone in a less than ideal way.  Certainly, our love for God has been tested again and again when we didn’t really want to obey His commandments. 

Our personal love for God also fails us when we begin to fear about our future, as when we worry that our bank accounts will shrink instead of grow.  Currently, inflation is rearing its ugly head in our economy, and so much fear is being broadcast on the news and social media.  What will we do if times get hard?  What will we do if the Lord in His great wisdom allows us to suffer loss, or even hunger, as rare as that might be in our experience?  Will we still love God if our lives are on the line?

The people to whom John wrote experienced much trouble and hardship.  Furthermore, they were under attack from false teachers spouting misguided ideas about God and His love.  For the benefit of those early Christians, and for ours, the Holy Spirit caused John to record these words to encourage us to Remain in the power of God’s perfect love.

Our lesson begins with the bold statement, “We also have come to know and trust the love that God has for us.  God is love.  Whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him.”  First, this is what the Holy Spirit granting faith to us does.  It allows us to know God and His love.  Prior to the Holy Spirit working in us through Word and Sacrament, we knew nothing about God, nothing about what He does and did for us, nothing that would enable us to love anyone properly, even ourselves.

Now, many might argue against that statement.  People of all faiths and backgrounds, including atheists and agnostics might claim to love fervently.  However, apart from the love of God, we have no concept of the complete love John speaks of here.  This love is self-sacrificing, doing only what is best for the other without regard for reward or recompense.  This is the love the Bible says God demonstrates for us.  In fact, this is God.

Completely without our help, God created this world for our good.  Whether people believe in Him or not, God continues to provide for the daily needs of everything on earth.  Furthermore, God promises, “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.” (Genesis 8:22)  Jesus also assures us that God “makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” (Matthew 5:45) 

Yet, God’s providence in material things is the littlest part of the love He shows, for when man rebelled against God, God remained faithful to His plans for man.  The main part of that plan was to have a loving relationship with the human race.  Therefore, even though we had rebelled against God’s will and lost the loving ability with which our first parents were created, God continued to love us—so much so, in fact, that He sent His Son to atone for all our sins, to live the love we should live and to die in our place for the lack of love and other sins that so infect us.

This portion of God’s Word tells us to love our brothers.  Certainly, that applies to our blood relatives and to our church family, but it also applies to the rest of the human population for we are all descended from the same original parents.  Still, we know how hard we find it to love those who maybe don’t show great love to us.  It is hard for sinners to love the unlovables, which we all are because of sin. 

Lately, we are bombarded by the idea that so many people are racists and haters.  The truth is we all have a very narrow group we feel love for, and even those we love the most often suffer from our lack of love.  Yet, there is a way that changes this, and there is historical proof that Christ working in people changes them to love others.  John wrote, “In this way his love has been brought to its goal among us, so that we may have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are just like Jesus.”  In this way, we are all perfect and perfectly loving, right?  You feel that way, correct?  Oh, if only I could!  Yet, we will.  And we are.

Here is the deal, as long as we are in this world, we are afflicted with the sinful nature of our birth.  We couldn’t shake it on our own, and it still troubles us.  That is why we so often don’t love as we should.  However, there is another side to the Christian believer, and sometimes, we are barely aware of that strong love flickering in our hearts, but it is there, and it moves us to do things we wouldn’t do on our own.  When the Holy Spirit through the Gospel and through Baptism connected us with Jesus, we became connected to God who is love.  In Baptism, we died with Christ, but we were also raised to live a new life. (Romans 6:4 & Galatians 3:27)  That new life with Christ gives us confidence on Judgment Day, because we are counted as righteous and holy for Jesus’ sake. 

At the same time, the new life in us empowers us to love as no unbeliever ever could.  The non-Christian may well do things that look like love, but they are always done seeking some reward whether that be affection, honor, fame, material return, or a heavenly payback.  Yet, that is not the way of love.  Jesus told His disciples, “No one has greater love than this: that someone lays down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13)  True love puts the needs of the loved ones ahead of his own, and that is what Jesus did for us.  We needed perfect holiness restored to us so that we could live with God and live like God.  Therefore, Jesus, the Son of God from all eternity, entered this world taking human flesh into the divine, so that He could live with perfect love in our place.  Jesus’ perfect obedience and the love He lived is now credited to all of us who live connected with Him.

Furthermore, there was a punishment due us for the lovelessness in which we were born, and which we lived until connected with Christ.  Even the lovelessness that sometimes traps us still today needed to be paid for with death.  Thus, apart from Christ Jesus, we would still be destined to the darkness of hell, but Jesus laid down His life in our place.  On a cross of bitter shame and horrible pain, the Son of God bore all the guilt of the world, yours and mine included.  There, Jesus counted us all as His dear friends.  He still does today.  Then, because God is love, Jesus was raised to life again, triumphant over everything that should have made us unlovable.

“We love because he first loved us.”  God loved us in the beginning when He created this world for our home.  God loved us after we rebelled as He promised a Savior for sinners deserving of death.  God loved us as He turned against His own dear Son on the cross, so that He wouldn’t have to turn us away forever.  God then loved us by raising Jesus from the dead to live forever, and God loved us when His Holy Spirit brought saving faith to us, washing away our guilt in the waters of Baptism, drowning our sinful nature and raising up a new life of loving faith. 

God continues to love us, and He will never change.  He loves us by providing His Word to strengthen us, His body and blood in the bread and wine to heal our guilt, to assure us of His sacrificial love, and empower our love.  All of this is God working in us, so that we could be His own beloved ones again, and so that we could reflect God’s love in our lives as originally intended when God created man and woman.

Now, how will the world know we love, and more important, what evidence will there be when we stand before the righteous Judge of all on Judgment Day?  John tells us, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ but hates his brother, he is a liar.  For how can anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, love God, whom he has not seen?  This then is the command we have from him: The one who loves God should also love his brother.”  The love of God is demonstrated in the lives of His children.  Though we struggle with our sinful nature, God’s love often shines through as we live our lives of willing service, as we honor the authorities placed over us, as we sacrifice selfish goals for the good of those God puts in our care such as spouse and children, friends and neighbors. 

It even becomes evident in the way Christians step up to help those we never meet, and how foreign enemies are treated in times of war.  The world has known that the place to go for help is America, not just because of the riches God has given us, but because of the Christian faith that has so guided our nation for much of its history.  This generosity doesn’t earn us merit before God.  Instead, it demonstrates to the world, and to our Lord, that Jesus is working in us to love and to do.

Our sermon theme tells us, Remain in the power of God’s perfect love.  How do we remain in this love, not just to stay on God’s good side, but also to keep loving as God wills?  We remain in the power of God’s love through faith—faith that is nurtured and grown by the power of the Spirit in Word and Sacrament.  We remain in this power as we trust the love God has for us, as we trust that God works all things for our everlasting good. (Romans 8:28)  We remain in this power of love when we continue to rely on the forgiveness Jesus won for us all with His atoning life and death, for it is in Jesus that we are counted holy.  In Jesus, the love of God lives on in our connection with His Son.

Dear friends, cling firmly to the love God has shown you both in Scripture and in the everyday providence He bestows on your life.  God promised Jeremiah, “I have loved you with an everlasting love.  I have drawn you with mercy.” (Jeremiah 31:3)  That promise is just as valid for you and me.  Therefore, forgiven of all sin, Remain in the power of God’s perfect love.  Amen.

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.

God is pleased to give you new life.

 Sermon for Trinity Sunday, June 12, 2022

Grace to you and peace from God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Ezekiel 18:30-32  30 Therefore, I will judge each one of you according to his ways, O house of Israel, declares the Lord God.  Repent and turn away from all your rebellious acts, so that you will not set out a stumbling block that makes you guilty.  31 Throw off from yourselves all your rebellious actions by which you have rebelled, and obtain a new heart and a new spirit for yourselves.  Why should you die, O house of Israel?  32 For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies, declares the Lord God.  So repent and live! (EHV)

God is pleased to give you new life.

Dear fellow redeemed,

How do you picture God?  Along with that question, how do you see yourself in relation to God?  People have different ways of thinking about who God is.  For some, He’s a nice guy who wouldn’t hurt anyone.  Some think He’s asleep or doesn’t pay attention to what happens on earth.  On the other hand, many people view God is a fearsome judge or as a vindictive tyrant intent on causing them harm.  Yet perhaps the most common view is that God is unpredictable, or unreliable.  

Now, I pray that we don’t think God is unfair.  However, it is certain that most people consider themselves good.  Therefore, most people likely expect that everything should always go well for them, because it feels like they deserve it.  Consequently, when troubles come or things cause us pain, we are tempted to look for someone to blame, and often, that someone we blame is God.

At the time Ezekiel lived, the Children of Israel, were blaming God for their troubles.  They accused God of punishing them, unfairly, with exile in Babylon, because of the sins of their forefathers.  They claimed to have done nothing wrong, themselves, but God was punishing them on account of their parents’ godlessness.  God, however, makes it clear that He punishes no one for anyone else’s sin.  Each sinner will suffer God’s judgment only for his own life.  At the same time, God here shows His mercy as He calls Israel away from their path of death, so that He could give them life.  My friends, this bit of Scripture tells us that God is pleased to give you new life.

After hearing Israel’s complaints, God announced to them, “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways.”  The Israelites thought they were already suffering God’s judgment, but the truth is that God was using this captivity to call them to repentance.  His true judgment was yet to come.  It’s a common misunderstanding.  We experience some serious trouble, and we wonder, “What did I do to deserve God allowing this bad thing to happen to me?”  Usually, what we’re really doing is blaming God for our pain.

We know, of course, that blaming God is nothing new.  Adam and Eve tried it after they disobeyed God’s command not to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  With his misleading lies, the devil had accused God of not treating us fair.  He convinced Eve that God was withholding something good from her and her husband.  If they would only eat from the tree, the devil assured them, they would then become like God.  But by listening to the devil, Adam and Eve went from being the image of God, to reflecting the image of the liar who led them to death.

Sadly, when we try to judge God’s providence, we also make idols of ourselves.  Does that sound harsh?  Did you ever cry out “Why God, why me?” when some great trouble came into your life?  When we are afflicted with cancer or some other serious illness, it’s very easy to wonder if God is really taking care of us.  When a loved one is called out of this world, it’s very tempting to accuse God of stealing away the blessing He has given us in that person.  When people treat us poorly or cause us harm, we are tempted to wonder, why does God allow their evil?  When we see unjust wars, school shootings, racial attacks, and a hundred other painful crimes, it is very tempting to ask why does God continue to allow evil to afflict our world?  But if we would be truly honest, doesn’t that mean we are actually asking God to destroy us right along with the other sinful people?

It is foolish and sinful to blame the Lord God for the evil, troubles, and sorrows of this world.  Those who do so merely show that they are placing themselves above God.  Yet, even though we sometimes fall into this evil way of thinking, God calls to us, “Repent and turn away from all your rebellious acts, so that you will not set out a stumbling block that makes you guilty.”  Rather than being determined to destroy us for our sins, our Lord wants us to have every good blessing He can give.  Especially, He wants us to enjoy eternity with Him in heaven.  St. John tells us how much God wants us to live when he says, “God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

For some who read the words of our sermon text, it is tempting to make it law, “Thou shalt repent!”  But remember what Paul wrote to Timothy: “God our Savior… wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:3-4)  In this text from Ezekiel, God is calling us to turn away from our own foolish desires as He invites us back into His loving arms.  Three times God pleads with us: turn away from your sin, throw off your sin, and return to the LORD.  

God pleads with His people, “Why should you die, O house of Israel?  Though God allows the consequences of sin to afflict us, He doesn’t punish our individual sins here on earth, and He certainly doesn’t want to punish us with eternal death in hell.  God never causes sin, but His holiness requires punishment for sin.  At the same time, in His never-ending love for us, Jesus became our substitute, and God poured out all His wrath for the sin of the world on His own Son on that cross outside of Jerusalem, and because He punished Jesus for all of our sins, God doesn’t want us to suffer eternal death; He wants us to live.  Furthermore, so that we can be sure that the payment Jesus made for us is enough, Jesus rose from the grave triumphant over sin and death, ready to welcome us into His heavenly home at the appropriate hour.

Today, we are entering the Trinity season of the Church year.  During the festival half of the church year, we heard of all Jesus did in His life and death to heal the rift between God and the human race.  Now, in the Trinity season, we will focus a little more on how we are to live in response to Jesus’ salvation, but before we can start living for Jesus, we must be turned away from living for our sinful flesh.  So, God sends His Holy Spirit through His Word to call us to repentance, and through that same Word, God is pleased to give you new life.

Ezekiel wrote down God’s words, “Throw off from yourselves all your rebellious actions by which you have rebelled, and obtain a new heart and a new spirit for yourselves.”  Those who are willing to carry the burden of their sins can do that, but they will carry them into eternal punishment in hell.  However, God is telling us that there is no need for us to do that.  All of your sins were paid for by His Son on the cross.  God tells His people to throw their sins off themselves and onto their Savior, because God wants us to live, forever.  He made that possible through Christ Jesus.

In our sermon text we read, “I take no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies, declares the Lord God.”  God wants nothing more than to give you and me and every other person who ever walks on this planet, a new and holy life.  Through Jesus’ life and death, God reversed the curse of sin so that He could share His home in heaven with us.  There’s only one thing that stops that, and that is rejection of His mercy and grace.

In Ezekiel’s writing, God told Israel how He planned to give us life for the sake of His holy name.  He said, “I will sprinkle purifying water on you, and you will be clean.  I will cleanse you from all your impurity and from all your filthy idols.  Then I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit inside you.  I will remove the heart of stone from your body and give you a heart of flesh.  I will put my Spirit within you and will cause you to walk in my statutes, and you will carefully observe my ordinances.” (Ezekiel 36:25-27)  By nature, our hearts were as dead as stone.  You can judge for yourself whether anyone can do his own heart transplant, but we were born with no ability to come to God, no willingness to believe in Him, and no desire to serve Him.  Therefore, God comes to us through each person of the Trinity, to do everything necessary so that He can give you new life. 

“I take no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies, declares the Lord God.  So repent and live!”  As we live our lives here on earth, we like to think that we make good choices.  In reality though, on our own we always chose wrong.  God doesn’t want us to make the wrong choice.  That’s why He sends out His messengers with the words that can change stone dead heats into living hearts that believe in the salvation He offers.  That’s why God puts the power of His word in the water of Baptism through which He brings you to faith and cleanses you of your sin.  That’s why He puts His flesh and blood in the bread and wine of the Sacrament through which He strengthens your faith and assures you of the salvation won for you by Jesus. 

As believing Christians given life through faith in Jesus, we will have a choice each day going forward.  We can continue to believe the God who redeemed us through the death of His Son and trust the God who brought faith and life to us through Baptism and the preaching of His Word, or we can trust in ourselves and suffer forever in the pit of hell.  It doesn’t sound like much of a choice to me.  So, hear the Lord as He cries out to you, “Throw off from yourselves all your rebellious actions by which you have rebelled, and obtain a new heart and a new spirit for yourselves.”  

Dear friends, the Lord God is calling you to spend your life letting Him give you that new heart and new life through the use of His Word.  Living in a world so afflicted with the curse of sin, there may be difficult times or sad days that come your way.  There may be times when you may feel like questioning God, but it is far better, simply, to turn away from rebellion and trust in Him alone.  

Through the apostle Paul, the Holy Spirit assures us that God works all things for our eternal good, even those things that seem so hard for us to bear. (Romans 8:28)  Through good days and bad, God continues to provide all the good things we need for our lives.  True, sometimes He allows us to experience difficulties, even some tragedies, but even in those, God is calling us to turn again to Him—for help in any trouble, for forgiveness of every sin, to let Him be our salvation, to let Him give us new life.

God didn’t create the world to cause us pain or death, and He certainly doesn’t want you to suffer death in eternity.  He wants you to give you life.  He wants you to enjoy the heavenly home He is preparing for you.  Therefore, He calls you through His Word, enlivens you and strengthens you through His Gospel in Word and Sacraments.  In His love for you, God is pleased to use those things to give you new life.  God grant that you always hear Him as He calls.  Amen. 

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

Peace—Jesus gives it; the Spirit brings it.

 

Sermon for Pentecost, June 5, 2022

Now may the God of hope fill you with complete joy and peace as you continue to believe, so that you overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

This morning, I am doing something I have never done before—with just minor changes, I will be repeating a sermon that you heard me preach to you just four years ago.  As I prepare my sermons, I often look back at what I have preached previously, but when I looked back at this sermon, I was struck by how relevant it still is four years later.  I hope that, hearing it again, you will understand that we will never change this world to give us peace, but Jesus also never changes so that we will forever have the peace He gives.

John 14:23-31  ²³Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will hold on to my word.  My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.  ²⁴The one who does not love me does not hold on to my words.  The word that you are hearing is not mine, but it is from the Father who sent me.  ²⁵“I have told you these things while staying with you.  ²⁶But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I told you.  ²⁷“Peace I leave with you.  My peace I give to you.  Not as the world gives do I give to you.  Do not let your heart be troubled, and do not let it be afraid.  ²⁸You heard me tell you, ‘I am going away and I am coming to you.’  If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I.  ²⁹“I have told you now before it happens so that, when it does happen, you may believe.  ³⁰I will not speak with you much longer, because the ruler of this world is coming.  He has no power over me.  ³¹But I want the world to know that I love the Father and that I am doing exactly what the Father has instructed me.  “Get up.  Let’s leave this place.” (EHV)

Peace—Jesus gives it; the Spirit brings it.

Dear friends in Christ,

            Peace seems to be in short supply in our world.  That’s nothing new, I guess, yet when you read about mass shootings almost daily, including at schools, and graphic suicides just as often, when our politics and social media are filled with mudslinging, flat out lies and distortions, when people in power take advantage of their positions, or attack their neighbors, when it feels like danger lurks around every corner, and so many want to be viewed as victims of one thing or another, it makes one wonder just what is going on?  How will we ever have peace?

Of course, we can look closer to home for vivid examples of someone in need of peace.  Maybe it’s a young mom overwhelmed by taking care of a colicky baby, or a parent wondering if all the hours he or she is putting in at work is worth the sacrifice of family time.  Maybe it’s a farmer feeling guilty for missing church a Sunday or two during planting or harvest (or feeling guilty about coming to church when field work is waiting), a new graduate wondering what the future holds, a teacher or coach who feels that he or she can’t do enough for the children that need extra help, or a retiree who is worried about what the doctor will say at the next appointment.  Maybe we all just want to get away from the worries and troubles that so abound in this present world.  Maybe we all want to ask, “Where can we find peace?”

Many in our world will use the troubles of our times to push for more laws, or more government involvement.  Many will decry the unfairness of life in general, even though the complaining solves nothing.  Today, I would like to offer you a better answer, a peace that no one can take away from you, a peace that won’t end at the next bad news you hear.  Today, let me tell you about true peace with God, and let our theme be Peace—Jesus gives it; the Spirit brings it.

Shortly before He was betrayed by His friend, and therefore, shortly before Jesus suffered and died on our behalf, He spoke the words of our text when a disciple asked Jesus why He was revealing Himself to His followers and not to the whole world?  Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will hold on to my word.  My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.  The one who does not love me does not hold on to my words.”  Earlier, Jesus told His disciples, “Do you think that I came to bring peace on the earth?  No, I tell you, but rather division.” (Luke 12:51) 

What this shows is that not everyone will enjoy the peace Jesus gives.  Like that questioning disciple, many people want to ask why this is so.  The reason many people won’t have the peace Jesus gives is not found in God, but because so many people refuse to accept His teachings.  Those who reject Jesus and His word are guilty of not loving Him.  There is no one to blame for that except the one who refuses to trust what Jesus taught, and Jesus emphasizes that His message doesn’t come from Him alone, but it is exactly what God the Father sent Jesus to teach.

Here too, we must admit that none of us deserves to be loved by God.  The lack of peace in the world is caused by sin in people, by the curse of sin, and by the devil’s manipulations.  We also sin, and we sin when we forget that “our sufferings at the present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us.” (Romans 8:18)  Therefore, the peace Jesus gives isn’t earned by anyone.  Rather, solely because of God’s amazing love and mercy, Jesus entered this world to win peace between us and His Father. 

As Jesus spoke the words of our text, the conclusion of His salvation mission was near.  His final instructions to His disciples were preparing them for the days and weeks ahead.  In a few short hours, Jesus would be arrested, put on trial, condemned, and finally nailed to a cross until dead.  Nothing about that weekend seemed peaceful.  In fact, the men who had followed Jesus for three years, fully committed to His cause, suddenly found themselves alone, confused, and terrified.  Yet, the peace that only Jesus gives was still theirs.

Now you might ask, how can that be?  How could they have peace yet be so troubled?  The answer is in this—the peace was not in them, but in Jesus, in His life and death on their behalf.  The Father already loved those disciples because of their trust in Jesus.  The Father had already forgiven them of all sin by the time Jesus died that Friday afternoon, just as the Father forgave us for Jesus’ sake.  Jesus was leaving their physical presence for a time, but He wasn’t abandoning them.  He was going to the cross to save them, and as we heard at Ascension, Jesus returned to His Father after completing His mission of bringing peace between God and mankind. 

That night before Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice for the sinners of the world, He said to His followers, “Peace I leave with you.  My peace I give to you.  Not as the world gives do I give to you.  Do not let your heart be troubled, and do not let it be afraid.”  Jesus knew every detail of what was to come for Him.  He also knew that He would not fail at carrying out His Father’s plan.  Peace, everlasting peace, was as good as won because God’s Son was carrying out the mission.

The disciples would go through a roller coaster ride of emotions over the course of the next weeks.  The lows of Jesus’ arrest, torture, and death were soon replaced by the high of His resurrection.  Left on their own, however, their emotions would likely remain just as fickle when they were sent out to tell the world about Jesus.  But one thing changed—the Helper Jesus promised and sent came to them, and that’s what we are celebrating today on Pentecost.  The Holy Spirit was sent to those disciples with a rushing wind and flames of fire on their heads.  However, the real difference for them isn’t those outward signs, but rather, what Jesus promised them the night before He died: “The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I told you.”

In our world, some people want to focus on the miraculous signs.  They want to know when they will be able to speak in tongues, when will they be able to withstand snakebites, and when they might receive the other signs that those first apostles were given, but the real gift of the Holy Spirit is to know God’s Word and to trust it, and from that Word comes true faith and true love for our Savior.  Furthermore, with faith in Jesus comes certain hope that “our momentary, light trouble produces for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond any comparison.  We are not focusing on what is seen, but on what is not seen.  For the things that are seen are temporary, but the things that are not seen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:17-18)

When the Spirit rested upon them, everything Jesus told His disciples before He died finally made sense.  It really is the same for you and me.  God forgiving us for the sake of Jesus doesn’t make any sense to a rational mind.  It isn’t something we can dream up or understand on our own, but this too is why Jesus left the physical world to reign from above.  As the Ruler of all things, Jesus sends the Holy Spirit to work a change in our hearts, and the Holy Spirit works through the Word (Remember, though, John also called Jesus the Word). 

The Spirit works through the Word in exactly the way God promises.  He uses the Law to terrify us and to show us our sin.  Then, He uses the power of the Gospel to transform us from spiritually dead, rebellious, God-haters, into a people sanctified for God’s own household.  By the Word of our Savior, the Holy Spirit makes us alive, makes us acceptable to the Father, makes us willing servants of the Almighty God, and having put love for Jesus in us, and His righteousness on us, the Spirit brings us the joy of knowing that we have the Father’s love forever.

That same night, Jesus said, “I have told you these things, so that you may have peace in me. In this world you are going to have trouble.  But be courageous!  I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)  Jesus likewise declares, “Do not let your heart be troubled, and do not let it be afraid.  You heard me tell you, ‘I am going away and I am coming to you.’  If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I.  I have told you now before it happens so that, when it does happen, you may believe.”  Everything Jesus did was for the purpose of completing God’s mission of saving you and me.  Yet, it wasn’t to give us a perfect life here in this crumbling world.  Rather, Jesus restored us to peace with God in order that we would enjoy His gift of forgiveness and peace—and with that, the certain hope of everlasting life in heaven.

Jesus continued teaching His disciples as they walked toward the Garden of Gethsemane where the betrayal would take place, but in the upper room where He had instituted the Lord’s Supper, Jesus spoke these final words, “I will not speak with you much longer, because the ruler of this world is coming.  He has no power over me.  But I want the world to know that I love the Father and that I am doing exactly what the Father has instructed me.”  The outcome of the battle between Jesus and the devil was never in doubt.  To satisfy the righteous justice of our God, Jesus did exactly what His Father planned—He lived the perfect righteousness we need, and in our place, He suffered the punishment we deserved.  Then, on Easter morning, Jesus rose from the grave alive forever to give us everlasting peace.  You and I need to know this, because this is the truth that sets us free from the devil’s snares.

Because of Jesus’ perfect life, and substitutionary sacrifice, His love for the Father was complete.  Because of Jesus’ perfect love for the Father and the change His Spirit works in our hearts, you and I are credited by faith with perfect love for the Almighty God.  The message of the Gospel, which the Spirit instills in us, is that because of Jesus we have peace with God.

Therefore, whenever the difficulties of your life begin to overwhelm you, if a deadly diagnosis should come your way, if life seems too uncertain and too dangerous to face, if you are feeling guilty about anything, then hold on to Jesus and His word.  In Christ, we have forgiveness and redemption that the world can’t take away.  In Christ, we have peace with our Creator.  In Jesus, we have a High Priest interceding for us day and night.  Yet, God hasn’t stopped even there, for in the Holy Spirit, we have God building up our faith in Jesus and our love for Him.  In the Holy Spirit, we have a Helper who works through the Word to wash away our sins and lead us ever closer to our Father’s eternal home. 

Dear friends, four years ago, forty years ago, four hundred years ago, and likely four thousand years ago, people of the world were wringing their hands and wondering what can we do to have peace?  What law can we make or enforce to make people behave?  All, while many were rejecting the Prince of Peace. 

It remains true that this world will always be at war with God, and with His people, because the sinner hates God and everything God says.  However, because of the work of the Holy Spirit, you and I know that Jesus lived, died, and rose again to reconcile us with the Almighty, so no matter what happens here on earth, having been justified by faith, you always have true, everlasting peace with God: Peace—because Jesus gives it; peace because the Spirit brings it to you.  Amen.

Now to the King eternal, to the immortal, invisible, only God, be honor and glory forever and ever.  Amen.