Reborn by the Spirit, we inherit glory with Christ.

 

Sermon for Lent 5, March 26, 2023

Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Romans 8:11-19  ¹¹And if the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will also make your mortal bodies alive through his Spirit, who is dwelling in you.  ¹²So then, brothers, we do not owe it to the sinful flesh to live in harmony with it.  ¹³For if you live in harmony with the sinful flesh, you are going to die.  But if by the Spirit you put to death the actions of the body, you will live.  ¹⁴Indeed, those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.  ¹⁵For you did not receive a spirit of slavery so that you are afraid again, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we call out, “Abba, Father!”  ¹⁶The Spirit himself joins our spirit in testifying that we are God’s children.  ¹⁷Now if we are children, we are also heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, since we suffer with him, so that we may also be glorified with him.  ¹⁸For I conclude that our sufferings at the present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us.  ¹⁹In fact, creation is waiting with eager longing for the sons of God to be revealed. (EHV)

Reborn by the Spirit, we inherit glory with Christ.

Dear loved ones in Jesus,

            This morning, we have been blessed to witness a rebirth that natural man struggles to comprehend.  A little girl was rescued from the forces of darkness and granted new life through the power of the Holy Spirit.  Now, we grant that there are no visible changes to her condition.  We also grant that she may struggle, at times, to live up to the Spirit that now dwells within her.  At the same time, we trust our God who promises that Reborn by the Spirit, we inherit glory with Christ.

This little child, who appears so small and innocent, is already at war in the world.  She was born that way.  However, this morning, the sides have changed.  Like all the rest of us, at birth, Miriam was an enemy of God, spiritually dead in sin, and separated from God; hopelessness was her natural condition.  If left that way throughout her earthly life, death and eternal separation from God would be her everlasting fate.  As believers in Jesus, we would not wish that upon anyone, just as God “who wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:4)  This morning, because of His love for this little girl, God through baptism brought Miriam over to His side of the war.

By the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, St. Paul writes, “And if the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will also make your mortal bodies alive through his Spirit, who is dwelling in you.”  Through baptism, Miriam has received new spiritual life in Christ, and along with that, she has received God’s assurance that her now mortal body will be raised to glory everlasting with Jesus.  Just as the Spirit of God raised Jesus from the dead, so He has now entered into Miriam’s life to give her new life.  Therefore, as long as Miriam remains connected to Jesus by faith, her eternity is secure, and her future is glory in heaven with Jesus, for those Reborn by the Spirit inherit glory with Christ.

Baptism has this amazing power because as Paul explained earlier in this letter, “all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death[.]  We were therefore buried with him by this baptism into his death, so that just as he was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too would also walk in a new life.” (Romans 6:3-4)  The death and eternal separation from God that every person deserved because of the sin we were born in, and the sins we each commit, was put on Christ Jesus.  Thus, God’s holy Son bore the punishment of death we each deserved. 

The great news for us is that Jesus didn’t stay dead.  In two weeks, we will be celebrating again the truth that Jesus was raised to life and on that first Easter morning, He walked out of the cold, dark tomb with His body glorified for eternal life.  Therefore, by the baptism He sanctified, and the faith it gives, Jesus’ resurrected glory is granted to us as well, for Reborn by the Spirit, we inherit glory with Christ.

By His resurrection from the grave, Jesus showed the world that His victory is complete.  Eternal joy is secure for all who walk in Jesus.  Still, like terrorists who refuse to concede that the war is over, the devil, the world, and our own natural flesh continue to battle against God’s children.  Though Jesus marched through the devil’s lair early Easter morning in triumph, and the devil knows his war against God is lost, he still fights and connives with the world to steal away as many of God’s loved ones as he can.  Because of the wicked one’s ongoing hatred for God and His Son, you and I are forced to be ever vigilant against his attacks and schemes.  The world and our own flesh often join the enemy in that fight, tempting us to walk apart from Jesus.  To this, the Holy Spirit through Paul tells us, “So then, brothers, we do not owe it to the sinful flesh to live in harmony with it.  For if you live in harmony with the sinful flesh, you are going to die.  But if by the Spirit you put to death the actions of the body, you will live.”

Because Satan is no longer our slave-master, we owe him nothing.  Furthermore, because Jesus paid the price to set us free, we owe to Jesus everything we have and everything we are.  We must remember that there really are only two sides to this war.  Whichever side we would serve has a claim to our hearts.  Thus, if we allow our mortal nature to have control, with all its lusts, impure thoughts, wicked desires, and tendency to self-promotion, we would be turning our backs to the Savior who loved us so much He was willing to live and die in our place.  If we turn against that Savior who loves us, our future returns to that of the devil condemned to eternity in the prison prepared for him and his angels. 

Still, it is our joy and confidence to remember that we are not alone in this war.  The Spirit is working in us to enable us to grow in faith by the power of the Word and the blessing of the Sacraments.  Jesus promised, “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.” (John 14:23)  As John also wrote under the power of the Spirit, “We love because he first loved us.” (1 John 4:19)  Thus, because of God’s love for us and the Spirit working in us, we return daily to our baptisms in repentance and God forgives.

God loved us before time began as He planned our deliverance through Jesus.  God loved us as He prepared the world to receive Jesus and ultimately to reject Him and send God’s beloved Son to the cross to suffer and die in our place.  God loved us when He accepted Jesus’ sacrifice as sufficient for the whole world and raised Jesus from the dead.  And, God loves us still today by coming to us through the Gospel in Word and Sacrament, washing us clean of all sin in the waters Jesus made holy through His sacrifice, and working faith in our hearts by the power of the Good News of all the God has done to reconcile us with Himself.

This is why Paul writes, “Indeed, those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.  For you did not receive a spirit of slavery so that you are afraid again, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we call out, “Abba, Father!”  There are people in our world who claim they would only believe in Jesus if they could personally witness the miracles He performed while living among us on earth.  Yet, the vast majority of those who saw Him, rejected Jesus, and all abandoned Him in the end. 

On the other hand, a true miracle occurs in our time when the Spirit takes hold of our hands and our hearts, for our resistance is conquered, and God claims us as His own beloved children.  Then, to His adopted and beloved children, God opens His hands with forgiveness so great we could not imagine it, and He implores us to bring to Him our every need and concern for He desires to hear our prayers and answer them.  Therefore, we who believe in Jesus may now approach God’s awesome throne as a toddler runs to her father or mother with confidence and joy, because Reborn by the Spirit, we inherit glory with Christ.

Of course, Christianity has been around a long time now, and the world is still an ugly, dangerous place.  Many people even use the ugly history of wickedness in the world as an excuse to reject the One who loves them.  However, life in this world is not our end.  Therefore, giving every confidence in our God’s love for us and His care for our everlasting lives, the Spirit works in us to trust God’s plans for our lives.  “The Spirit himself joins our spirit in testifying that we are God’s children.  Now if we are children, we are also heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, since we suffer with him, so that we may also be glorified with him.” 

God’s own Son came down to earth to live with us, but do you think His life was all sunshine and roses?  From the moment of conception, Jesus was a marked Man.  Before an angel intervened, Jesus’ stepfather, Joseph, was ready to abandon Jesus and His mother.  Herod, the king of the land at the time of Jesus’ birth tried to kill Him, and the infant Jesus was saved only through a midnight flight to a foreign country.  Jesus grew up in a poor part of the kingdom without any claim to fame.  As an adult, Jesus was a pauper who owned only the clothes on His back.  He was persecuted, rejected, mocked, and finally slandered, betrayed, and crucified by His fellow countrymen.  Does that sound like an ideal life to anyone?

If the world treated God’s Son in such a fashion, could we expect anything better?  Consequently, when we suffer any trial or hardship for believing in Jesus, consider it an honor to be counted worthy to walk with your Lord, because the Holy Spirit has made that connection for us former lost sinners who now walk under the holiness of our Savior.  Furthermore, anything we have to endure in this world for our fellowship with Jesus is but a mere annoyance (perhaps like a kitten scratch) when compared to the magnitude of glory, peace, and joy we will experience in our everlasting home in heaven, where “God’s dwelling is with people.  He will dwell with them, and they will be his people.  God himself will be with them, and he will be their God.  He will wipe away every tear from their eyes.  There will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain, because the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:3-4)

Dear friends, the whole of creation waits eagerly for that day.  Because this world was cursed for mankind’s sin, even the physical elements of the world want to be set free from sin’s curse and look forward to learning who among its creatures have been delivered into God’s everlasting kingdom through faith.  In the same way, we cannot, today, look into hearts and know with certainty who among us is saved, but by God’s grace and the faith in Jesus He implants in your heart, you have the Holy Spirit’s assurance that He is at work in all who believe to make sure that being Reborn by the Spirit, we inherit glory with Christ.  Amen.

Now may the God of peace—who brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, in connection with His blood, which established the eternal testament—may He equip you with every good thing to do His will, as He works in us what is pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ.  To Him be glory forever and ever.  Amen.

Shine, you lights in Christ.

 Sermon for Lent 4, March 19, 2023

To all those loved by God…called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Ephesians 5:8-14  ⁸For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.  Walk as children of light, ⁹for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth.  ¹⁰Try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord, ¹¹and do not participate in fruitless deeds of darkness.  Instead, expose them.  ¹²For it is shameful even to mention the things that are done by people in secret.  ¹³But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes things visible.  ¹⁴Therefore it is said, “Awake, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” (EHV)

Shine, you lights in Christ.

Dear fellow redeemed,

            Imagine trying to use a mirror in pitch darkness.  Since I can’t turn out the lights fully this morning, consider how light is reflected off a mirror covered in black cloth.  It reflects next to nothing, just as when we were immersed in sin, we reflected nothing good to the world.  But, when the cloth is removed, and especially, when a strong light shines on the mirror, the difference is obvious.  In this letter to the Ephesians, Paul takes that idea and applies it to our lives.  Because of the faith in Christ that is given to Christians, a transformation takes place that not only benefits us, but is a blessing to those around us.  Therefore, we say, Shine, you lights in Christ.

You and I didn’t start out as lights to the world, for in fact, every person enters this world completely devoid of the light of Christ.  We don’t even start out as blank slates as some imagine.  Rather, we begin fully immersed in inherited sin and unaware of who God is, what He has done for us, or even how we might live according to His laws.  Because of the natural law written in our hearts, most people soon realize a somewhat fractured expectation that there is some divine being and doing certain things is wrong or could even get us in trouble, but when still in sin that typically also leads to an antagonistic reaction to the idea of God, so we are by nature opposed to Him or to any authority imposed over us.  Because of sin in us, we are like that mirror in the dark—useless to anyone or for any good.

Today, though, we praise God that He didn’t leave us in that useless condition.  Paul says here, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.”  How did this miraculous change occur?  The prophet Isaiah wrote, “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light.  For those living in the land of the shadow of death, the light has dawned.” (Isaiah 9:2)  The beginning of the change happens when God’s Son, Jesus, enters our world to be the Light that eliminates the darkness.  The law couldn’t do what we needed because the law couldn’t make us shine.  On the other hand, by humbling Himself to take on our likeness and live among us, to live without sin in our stead, yet die while absorbing our guilt and shame, Jesus is the holy perfection that makes us shine before God.  By His life and death, Jesus removes the shroud of darkness that covered all mankind.

Having said all of that, however, we were still in the darkness of our sins by natural birth, so we needed another gift of God, the gift of faith in our Savior.  Thus, God provided for our salvation by bringing us into His kingdom of grace through the rebirth of Baptism and the hearing of the Good News of all Jesus has done for us.  Properly applied, the law opened our eyes to our need for a Savior and the Gospel led us to repentance of our sins.  Today, you know all of this because the Holy Spirit has worked that faith in you.  “God, because he is rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in trespasses.  It is by grace you have been saved!” (Ephesians 2:4-5)

Now, our Creator had big plans for His Son.  God doesn’t want only a few people saved; He wants all people to enjoy His grace.  Through Isaiah, He declared, “It is too small a thing that you should just be my servant to raise up only the tribes of Jacob and to restore the ones I have preserved in Israel, so I will appoint you to be a light for the nations, so that my salvation will be known to the end of the earth.” (Isaiah 49:6)  Having won forgiveness and salvation for all people, Jesus’s sacrifice gave power to the Gospel which made us alive as it enlightened us.  He then appoints those who believe in Him to reflect His light of mercy and grace on and around the world, which brings us to our sermon text.  By the Holy Spirit’s inspiration, Paul wrote, “Walk as children of light, for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth.” 

Jesus lived as a Man in perfect obedience to the law, with perfect trust in God, in humble service to His neighbors, and showing kindness to those who came to Him.  His life on earth consisted of only “goodness, righteousness, and truth.”  Thus, by the perfect living of the Man, Christ Jesus, “God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them.” (2 Corinthians 5:19)

In our world, today, truth has taken a beating.  Every person wants to command his own narrative as some kind of truth for all.  We see it in the craziness that afflicts our world: men and women deciding they aren’t the sex in which their bodies were formed; nations attacking neighbors using trumped up fabrications to justify the murders; populations here, there, and everywhere seem to be in a race to declare themselves more disadvantaged and unfairly treated than anyone else around them. 

Thank God for the truth that “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)  By His life and death, Jesus set us free from the darkness of sin and death.  By the gracious exchange of our sin for His righteousness, we were released from the devil’s hold over us and from the hellish dungeon that should have been our destiny. 

So much of the world around us still walks in the darkness of the blind following the blind in the land of the shadow of death where no person can save himself by effort or offering.  They all need to know of God’s grace.  Thus, through Paul, the Holy Spirit instructs us, “Try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord, and do not participate in fruitless deeds of darkness.  Instead, expose them.”  We learn what pleases God by hearing His word.  The Ten Commandments are basic instruction in what is true and holy and pleasing for our lives.  The Gospel reveals what God has done to rectify the lost condition of the world where none of us have obeyed the law in any part.

Therefore, the Lord sends Christians out into the world not to be stumbling around in the dark like everyone else, but to live in His light, to reflect His holiness by our kindness to others and faithfulness to His instruction.  That means we have to fight against our flesh, against the wicked among us, and against the temptations of the devil and the world, not with guns and ammunition designed to kill and maim, but with purity of action and intention, with kindness to all even those who hurt or seek to kill us, with forgiveness in our hearts and minds, and with the proclamation of what Jesus has done foremost in everything we do. 

When we are tempted to sin by friends, selfish desires, or the devil himself, we must be brave enough and strong enough in Jesus to resist.  None of this is done to elevate ourselves before the world.  We know that without Christ, we can do nothing.  It isn’t our good efforts that shine on people to give them hope.  It is Christ’s light reflecting off of us that brings hope to those who once were lost in darkness.

We should do nothing that imitates the ways of the world.  Nor should we be seeking to shame people into believing in Jesus.  Paul says, “It is shameful even to mention the things that are done by people in secret.  But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes things visible.”  As faithful Christians, our walk through this life is to imitate that of our Savior, Jesus, not so as to imagine we are contributing to our salvation, or are better than other people, or are earning a reward in heaven.  Instead, we strive to live our lives as such a reflection of Christ that others seek our help, and see that obeying God’s will benefits His people and gives glory to God.  Jesus said, “People do not light a lamp and put it under a basket.  No, they put it on a stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.  In the same way let your light shine in people’s presence, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:15-16)

St. Paul concluded this section saying, Therefore it is said, “Awake, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”  This call to life is what the Holy Spirit works in our hearts by His Word of peace.  When the Gospel is heard and believed, God creates a new life, a spiritual life, a life that knows God and desires to walk in His ways.  As the Lord assured us through His prophet, “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 36:26-27)

Dear friends, like the Ephesians to whom Paul wrote, you have been given new life through faith in Christ Jesus.  By that faith, granted to you by the work of the Holy Spirit, you are counted as holy and righteous in God’s eyes.  For Jesus’ sake, your sins are forgiven and removed from you as far as east is from the west. (Psalm 103:12)  The shame and guilt of sin was washed away at your baptism so that you may shine before men in Christ’s glorious light. 

Consequently, when you examine your daily life, whenever you notice that the stain of sin, the lusts and desires and temptations of the world, the devil, and your own flesh begin to cover the brightness of the Savior who died to give you life, flee back to Baptism’s cleansing flood in repentance, and feast again at Christ’s holy table, where with His holy, precious, body and blood, Jesus again restores to you forgiveness and peace.  Open your heart in prayer and plead “to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.”  Look again to His promises of life and light everlasting through faith in His Word and sacrifice.  Then, happily refreshed in the peace of God—Shine, you lights in Christ.  Amen.

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

His final steps led to a fig tree.

 

Sermon for 4^th midweek Lent, March 15, 2023

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort.  Amen.

Mark 11:12-14, 20-25  ¹²The next day, after they had set out from Bethany, Jesus was hungry.  ¹³When he saw a fig tree in leaf in the distance, he went to see if he might find anything on it.  When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, since it was not the season for figs.  ¹⁴Jesus said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!”  And his disciples were listening. … ²⁰As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered down to the roots.  ²¹Peter remembered and said, “Rabbi, look!  The fig tree that you cursed has withered.”  ²²Jesus replied, “Have faith in God.  ²³Amen I tell you: Whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.  ²⁴Therefore I tell you, everything that you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.  ²⁵Whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” (EHV)

His final steps led to a fig tree.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

            For many people, this miraculous event might seem totally out of character for Jesus.  Jesus had spent His life in service, and His ministry in helping and healing, yet here, His simple curse immediately brought death to the tree.  This evening, we explore why His final steps led to a fig tree.

The first thing we must admit is that God is the owner of all things and He expects certain results.  Early in Jesus’ ministry, He told a parable about an unfruitful fig tree that the owner of the garden was ready to cut down, but the gardener interceded and pleaded for another chance to feed and nurse that tree into production, with the caveat that if it produced no fruit in the next year, he would cut the tree down.  Clearly, Jesus was showing His disciples, the Jewish leadership, and all people of all time that while God is patient, and His servant Son is willing to do everything in His power to save us, there is a limit to God’s patience and a day of reckoning will come.  Likewise, here.

Therefore, Jesus didn’t curse this fig tree because He had a nasty temper or a selfish streak no one had previously seen.  His whole focus was on saving people like you and me.  Consider an example from the Old Testament; the Lord’s closing words to the prophet Jonah.  While Jonah waited, hoping to see God’s destruction of Nineveh, the Lord caused a vine to grow up and give shade over Jonah’s head during the heat of the day, but the next day, God sent a worm that chewed through the vine, so it withered away, and Jonah was angry.  He questioned why God would allow the death of the vine that was giving him comfort.  The Lord’s reply shows us a good picture of Jesus’ intention with this fig tree. 

The Lord asked Jonah, “Should I not be concerned for Nineveh, the great city, in which there are more than one hundred twenty thousand people who do not know the difference between their right hand and their left—and also many animals?” (Jonah 4:11)  The Lord was concerned for the eternal salvation of those former heathens in Nineveh.  He was likewise concerned about the salvation of the people of Judah including even the rulers who so despised Him, and Jesus is concerned about our eternal wellbeing.  Thus, this fig tree is a picture warning of judgment for a lack of producing fruit.

As the Creator and Lord of heaven and earth, Jesus has the perfect right to use that tree as He saw fit, so when He was hungry, Jesus saw the fig tree from a distance, and He went intending to pick some fruit.  However, as he reports this account, Mark gives a very interesting detail.  He wrote, “The next day, after they had set out from Bethany, Jesus was hungry.  When he saw a fig tree in leaf in the distance, he went to see if he might find anything on it.  When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, since it was not the season for figs.”  Did you catch the interesting detail?  “It was not the season for figs.” 

Now, why would Jesus, the possessor of infinite knowledge and wisdom, not recognize that it wasn’t the right time to find figs on the tree?  He wasn’t being deceptive nor being deceived.  Yes, Jesus was hungry just as it says, but Jesus used this fig tree to picture for us that God is looking for fruit from us in season and out of season, and He has every right to do so.  The Jews of His day were worshipping in a magnificent temple.  They followed rule after rule the leaders had laid down to make them look good, but the fruit of faith was missing. 

This event takes place on the Monday and Tuesday of Holy Week.  As Jesus was progressing toward the temple, the leaders of Israel were plotting to kill Him.  Shortly after His reply to Peter’s astonishment, Jesus proceeded to the temple and again cleansed it of the money changers and thieves.  The picture is clear, our Lord doesn’t want the show of faithfulness, He wants to find fruit.  His final steps led to a fig tree so that we would be warned of the result of being unfruitful in our spiritual lives.

Thus, exactly as in His previous parable, this tree represents the life of those who profess to believe in God.  God has chosen us to be His people, planted us as treasured trees in His garden.  The Lord has provided us with nourishment for the body, and most important, nourishment for our souls in His Word.  So, whenever He comes to us looking for faith, He expects to find it—even at an inconvenient time.  However, if the fruit of faith—that is trusting in Jesus as our Savior—is not found in us, He will say to His Son who is given authority to judge, “I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and I have found none.  Cut it down.” (Luke 13:7)

The next morning, as Jesus and the disciples passed by on their way to the temple, “they saw the fig tree withered down to the roots.  Peter remembered and said, “Rabbi, look!  The fig tree that you cursed has withered.”  Jesus replied, “Have faith in God.”  The evidence of judgment was right there plainly in front of them, but the answer?  “Have faith in God.”  That is the point of Jesus’ vivid example; it is faith that saves us.  Faith gives life.  Faith in Jesus produces fruit in us.  Remember, He has told us, “I am the Vine; you are the branches.  The one who remains in me and I in him is the one who bears much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)

The withered fig tree shows us the power of Jesus’ faith.  Now, some will likely scoff at that because obviously God’s Son would believe in His heavenly Father, but Jesus was living on earth in human flesh for you and me.  Therefore, in contrast to our often weak faith, Jesus lived in perfect trust and obedience to all His Father wills.  There was never a moment when Jesus had doubts, or a lack of trust in what God wanted from Him.  Jesus was showing us the way—actually, He was living the way of faith for us.

Furthermore, Jesus was promising what He often taught, that God hears the prayers of those who trust in Him and answers those prayers.  He told His disciples, “The one who believes in me will do the works that I am doing.  And he will do even greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.  I will do whatever you ask in my name so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” (John 14:12-13)  Always seeking to glorify His Father in heaven, Jesus will answer our prayers.  Naturally, those answers are always for our benefit, so if we desire or ask for something not in accord with God’s will, Jesus will give us something that is in line with perfect righteousness.

True faith trusts God completely without doubt.  Jesus tells us, “Therefore I tell you, everything that you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”  True faith believes in God and trusts that however God answers our prayers, it is the good and perfect answer to what we need.  That idea is totally at odds to our sinful nature, but perfectly in line with Jesus.

A troubled father once brought his young, demon-afflicted son to Jesus requesting, “But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”  “If you can?!” Jesus said to him. “All things are possible for the one who believes.”  The child’s father immediately cried out and said with tears, “I do believe.  Help me with my unbelief!” (Mark 9:22-24)  This is how the faithful come to the Lord in prayer, not unsure or wondering whether God can or will help, but pleading for His mercy and begging for stronger faith to believe.  Jesus immediately healed that young boy.  He answers our prayers so well that we are promised, “The prayer of a righteous person [that is, someone who trusts in Jesus] is able to do much because it is effective.” (James 5:16)

True faith also forgives.  Jesus told His disciples, “Whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”  Our Father in heaven has so richly forgiven all our sins for Jesus’ sake.  The first statement to roll out of Jesus’ mouth when being nailed to the cross was, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)  When we come under the shelter of Jesus’ righteousness by faith, we also come under His mercy, and His kindness.  How could we be part of our God and Savior, who willingly died for the sins of the whole world, and yet hold on to grudges and hurts?  How might we dare to withhold forgiveness from someone God the Father has already counted innocent for Jesus’ sake?

I am sure we all can admit to times we didn’t want to forgive, times when the hurts inflicted upon us feel so deep and painful that we can’t get them out of our minds.  Yet, the forgiveness we offer to those who hurt us also helps to heal our hurts.  Though mankind had rebelled against God, He refused to be forever offended.  Instead, He offered up Himself to bear in our place the punishment we deserved for our guilt. 

Ultimately, that is the story of Lent: that God has given Himself so that we might be reconciled with Him, and He invites us to recognize our unrighteousness and the total depravity of our nature, while He opens His arms on a cross to die for us, and then invites us to come to Him for forgiveness, peace, healing, love, and life everlasting.  Having brought us to peace and safety by faith in Jesus, God welcomes us back into His kingdom, invites us to partake of the miracle of faith, and promises that just as Jesus is righteous in every way, so too we will be when He gathers us from this earth and takes us home to heaven.

Dear friends, as you walk with Jesus to a fig tree and ultimately to the cross this Lenten season, “Have faith in God.”  When you pray, trust that your sins are forgiven and God desires to answer your prayers with whatever is best for you, for “As distant as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our rebellious acts from us.  As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him.” (Psalms 103:12-13)  Heaven awaits you on your last day, for having been washed clean in the water and Word of Baptism, and being reconciled to God by faith, your sins are forgiven for Jesus’ sake.  To teach us, His final steps led to a fig tree.  Amen.

How blessed is everyone who fears the LORD, everyone who is walking in his ways.  Amen.

Rejoice in the certainty of God’s grace.

 

Sermon for Lent 3, March 12, 2023

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.

Romans 5:1-11  Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.  ²Through him we also have obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand.  And we rejoice confidently on the basis of our hope for the glory of God.  ³Not only this, but we also rejoice confidently in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces patient endurance, ⁴and patient endurance produces tested character, and tested character produces hope.  ⁵And hope will not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who was given to us.  ⁶For at the appointed time, while we were still helpless, Christ died for the ungodly.  ⁷It is rare indeed that someone will die for a righteous person.  Perhaps someone might actually go so far as to die for a person who has been good to him.  ⁸But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  ⁹Therefore, since we have now been justified by his blood, it is even more certain that we will be saved from God’s wrath through him.  ¹⁰For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, it is even more certain that, since we have been reconciled, we will be saved by his life.  ¹¹And not only is this so, but we also go on rejoicing confidently in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received this reconciliation. (EHV)

Rejoice in the certainty of God’s grace.

Dear beloved in the Lord,

            It has been said that the only sure things in life are death and taxes.  Now, we might argue about whether there are other sure things, however, no one can deny that there is a lot of uncertainty in our lives.  And, while the prognosticators (a big word for those who make guesses about the future) pour out endless forecasts concerning the weather, the economy, future climate, the outcome of various sporting events, the political scene and how it will change in the next election, the only thing we know for sure is we will die. 

Furthermore, regardless of whether one is a believer or denies the existence of God, it is just as sure and certain that every person will stand before God in judgment, either at our deaths or on Judgment Day.  The Bible warns that those who stand in sin before the Judge “will say to the mountains, “Cover us!” and to the hills, “Fall on us!” (Hosea 10:8)  The terror of those who stand condemned before God will be beyond anything this world has known.  Still, that is not what God desires for anyone.  Therefore, our text explains the great gift we have been given by faith, so we Rejoice in the certainty of God’s grace.

St. Paul assures his readers, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”  Being justified means that God has declared sinners like you and me to be innocent because Jesus took the punishment our guilt deserved.  Therefore, because God now counts us as innocent, He no longer holds us under the condemnation that “The soul who sins is the one who will die.” (Ezekiel 18:20)  Now, some may scoff and say, “So what, everyone dies.”  True, everyone dies—because of sin.  Yet, the death God wants to prevent in us is the everlasting separation from Him in hell.  That’s why He gave His Son into death on a cross to pay for our sins.  Thus, Jesus solemnly promised, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life.  No one comes to the Father, except through me.” (John 14:6) 

The sad truth today, though, is that so many people view this as ho-hum news.  The world has worked very hard to convince people that there will be no penalty to pay for not believing in Jesus.  It has worked just as hard to convince the gullible that this life is all there is.  Satan continues to weave his web of lies in his attempt to convince even believers that sin doesn’t matter—that God doesn’t care or doesn’t exist.  Yet, apart from justification through faith in Jesus, the soul is destined to eternal torment with the devil and his wicked cohorts.  Therefore, the Holy Spirit brings Good News through Paul which assures us that “Through [Christ] we also have obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand.  And we rejoice confidently on the basis of our hope for the glory of God.”

What shows us that God exists is that He predicted everything He would do to save us through His Son—and then carried it out.  On a time scale impossible to be contrived by men, God prophesied for multitudes of centuries about what the promised Savior would do, where He would be born, where He would grow up, what miracles He would do to show Himself, how He would suffer and die, but most important, how He would rise to live again and be given authority over all things to judge.

One of Satan’s favorite lies is that the troubles and uncertainties we face in life are because God wants to hurt us, or because He doesn’t care to help us.  To that, Paul defiantly declares, “We also rejoice confidently in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces patient endurance, and patient endurance produces tested character, and tested character produces hope.  And hope will not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who was given to us.”  True faith is seen in how it reacts to opposition.  If everything went perfectly all the time, who would look to God for help?  Examine the history of the world and you will see that when life is easy, God is often forgotten.  Yet, in forgetting God, we earn His wrath and rightful condemnation, so God in love allows hardship that we may be turned to Him.

Now, every person ever born was under the same condemnation because we all sin for we inherit that affliction from our parents.  On our own, we couldn’t escape the sentence of eternal death in hell, but Jesus came, so that we would have a reason to hope for a better life.  “For at the appointed time, while we were still helpless, Christ died for the ungodly.  It is rare indeed that someone will die for a righteous person.  Perhaps someone might actually go so far as to die for a person who has been good to him.  But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” 

You might find good examples of people who gave their lives for the good of country, or to save loved ones, but who among mankind has ever given his life to save his mortal enemy?  Imagine the president of Ukraine offering to give his heart and lungs to save the life of the president of Russia.  That is the kind of undeserved, sacrificial love Jesus showed for us. 

God’s Son, Jesus, holy from everlasting to everlasting lived a perfectly holy life after taking on human flesh to live among us.  Then, with a willingness beyond anything we could imagine, He allowed Himself to be arrested, tortured, falsely accused, and nailed to a cross in order that He might face God’s wrath for sin in the place of those who rejected Him, cursed Him, ignored His gracious invitation to come to Him for help and healing in every need, and even for those who denied He exists.  Jesus didn’t live, suffer, die, and rise again for good people.  He did all this for all of us who deserved only banishment from God’s presence forever.

This morning, we had a baptism—a little child was brought forward for the bath of water and Word so that by cleansing him of his sin God could claim him as His own dear child and make him fully acceptable in His heaven.  This is available to us because Jesus died for us, satisfying God’s just and righteous requirement that sin be paid for with death.  Because of the reconciliation with God and the faith in Jesus granted in Baptism, a little child is made righteous in God’s house.  And because “Christ died for us.  Therefore, since we have now been justified by his blood, it is even more certain that we will be saved from God’s wrath through him.” 

With that exchange of sin for righteousness also comes life in heaven.  This gives us every reason to rejoice.  Paul wrote, For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, it is even more certain that, since we have been reconciled, we will be saved by his life.  And not only is this so, but we also go on rejoicing confidently in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received this reconciliation.”  We rejoice, because God will never change His mind about accepting Jesus’ payment for our sins.  Forever after, God wants all people to be saved in Jesus’ loving embrace. 

Our sermon theme exhorts us, Rejoice in the certainty of God’s grace.  God’s grace is His unconditional love and mercy granted to sinners for Jesus’ sake.  We didn’t deserve it, or do anything to merit it, but Jesus did.  He did it all, and it cannot be undone.  Therefore, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved.” (Mark 16:16)

There is one danger that should concern us.  God will never change His mind, but what happens if we change ours?  God gives faith in Jesus which brings forgiveness, life, and salvation, but what happens if we abandon His love?  St. Paul warned, “By rejecting these, some people have suffered shipwreck with regard to their faith.” (1 Timothy 1:19)  Just as Jesus warned, “Whoever does not believe will be condemned.” (Mark 16:16)  So, what are we to do?

Far too many people today want to go it alone against the world.  They say things like, “I don’t need church, or the help of my fellow congregants.”  “I know about Jesus so why be bothered with all that extra stuff.  All they really want is my money anyway.”  “Why pay attention to a God who demands holy living instead of doing what feels good in the moment?” 

Setting yourself or your loved ones apart from God’s protecting hand puts you in danger of the most savage killer ever to torment the world.  Peter warned, “Be alert.  Your adversary, the Devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.  Resist him by being firm in the faith.” (1 Peter 5:8-9)  The lone lamb is always in grave danger, so we need our Good Shepherd to be guarding and feeding us continually.

The reason God calls us to worship, and to rejoice in His mercy, is that He wants to keep on serving us with His grace and goodness.  He wants to have us hear again and again in numerous different ways all the mercy God has shown us in His Son.  God promises, “My word that goes out from my mouth will not return to me empty.  Rather, it will accomplish whatever I please, and it will succeed in the purpose for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11)  “So then, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message comes through the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17)

Dear friends, the only thing more sure than death and taxes is God’s love for you, which caused Him to live and die and rise again so that you may have life.  We Rejoice in the certainty of God’s grace because Jesus said, “A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.  I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10)  We rejoice because Jesus lived, died, and rose again for you.  We rejoice because Jesus paid for all our guilt and shame to open the doors of heaven to all who believe.  We rejoice because the Holy Spirit has brought this Good News to us as a free gift and worked faith in our heart to believe it.  We rejoice, “For God has said: ‘I will never leave you, and I will never forsake you.’” (Hebrews 13:5)  Rejoice in the certainty of God’s grace.  Amen.

May the LORD our God be with us, just as he was with our fathers.  May he never leave us or abandon us.  May he turn our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways.  Amen.

Believe what Jesus knows.

 

Sermon for Lent 2, March 5, 2023

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.

John 3:1-17  There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council.  ²He came to Jesus at night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these miraculous signs you are doing unless God is with him.”  ³Jesus replied, “Amen, Amen, I tell you: Unless someone is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”  ⁴Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old?  He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?”  ⁵Jesus answered, “Amen, Amen, I tell you: Unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God!  ⁶Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh.  Whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit.  ⁷Do not be surprised when I tell you that you must be born from above.  ⁸The wind blows where it pleases.  You hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going.  So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”  ⁹“How can these things be?” asked Nicodemus.  ¹⁰“You are the teacher of Israel,” Jesus answered, “and you do not know these things?  ¹¹Amen, Amen, I tell you: We speak what we know, and we testify about what we have seen.  But you people do not accept our testimony.  ¹²If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?  ¹³No one has ascended into heaven, except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven.  ¹⁴“Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, ¹⁵so that everyone who believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  ¹⁶“For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.  ¹⁷For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (EHV)

Believe what Jesus knows.

Dear friends in Christ,

            I recently listened to an interview of a world-renowned physicist, and professed atheist, in which he declared that he didn’t trust eyewitness testimony because it has been proven unreliable.  The only thing that man considers reliable is what he sees with his own eyes, or perhaps what has been observed through repeated scientific observations.  What he fails to realize is that both of those rely on what the eyes happen to see, and for good or ill, we tend to see what we want to see.  Furthermore, if he is rejecting eyewitness testimony, honesty would require him to reject even what he has seen.

Much of our modern world wants to treat the Bible in the same misleading way.  There are many who say they cannot trust God’s Word because they claim it is the testimony of men, and therefore not certainly reliable.  That idea is hogwash, because “No prophecy of Scripture comes about from someone’s own interpretation.  In fact, no prophecy ever came by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were being carried along by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:20-21)  When the skeptic claims that the Bible has contradictory testimony, those supposed contradictions are easily resolved when we understand that they agree on what they are reporting about, but the Holy Spirit purposely offers differing details of the events as needed for their audience.  We need perfectly reliable information, and therefore, Jesus’ testimony to Nicodemus in this text teaches us to Believe what Jesus knows.

What many of those critics are really saying is that they only trust certain, preapproved witnesses.  They claim testimony is more valid when it comes with a stamp of expert authority.  Here, Jesus makes a point of giving Nicodemus expert validation that far exceeds what any ordinary scholar could provide.  Though men imagine all kinds of ways to puff up their own reporting and investigation, there is no testimony more valid than that of the originator of whatever one is discussing.  Thus, when Jesus tells Nicodemus how one might enter heaven, we all should listen intently, for Jesus has that certain validity in His testimony that cannot be bested, because “He was with God in the beginning.  [And,] Through him everything was made, and without him not one thing was made that has been made.” (John 1:2-3)

Maybe I should begin at the beginning of the text.  A renowned teacher of Israel came to the greatest Teacher the world has ever known.  Nicodemus came to Jesus under cover of darkness, because he was a careful scholar, who, perhaps, wanted truth without the shouts of his peers.  That may be what made him so respected among Israel’s leaders.  Nicodemus spoke to Jesus, saying, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these miraculous signs you are doing unless God is with him.”  In this, we can see that this Pharisee came to Jesus with certain preconceived notions.  Nicodemus considered Jesus just an ordinary man, yet he was willing to grant that Jesus must have a special connection with Israel’s God, so we see that Israel’s leaders were willing to admit that Jesus is a prophet, but nothing more.

Jesus’ response to Nicodemus stumped him further.  Jesus replied, “Amen, Amen, I tell you: Unless someone is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”  What Jesus is telling Nicodemus is that if God is with Jesus, Jesus must be part of God’s kingdom, which the Pharisees were not willing to admit.  Furthermore, Nicodemus remained perplexed; How could someone old be born a second time, and literally from above?  Physically impossible, correct?

However, Jesus again replies in a mystical way, “Amen, Amen, I tell you: Unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God!  Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh.  Whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit.”  Jesus is showing what He knows—something which was long-overlooked in Israel.  The kingdom of God is not a kingdom of earth.  Even David’s kingdom, so revered among the Israelites, had been more than an earthly kingdom.  Yes, it was a real kingdom on earth, but those who had the faith of David are members of a far greater kingdom in heaven.

Born of flesh, we inherit the legacy of our parents.  It is a life of sin, rebellion against God, and shame.  By our mortal birth, we are all mortal, destined to die, and headed to eternal separation from God, deservedly so, for the sins we commit constantly and for our natural rejection of the Creator who gave us life and formed us in our mother’s wombs.  The unbeliever doesn’t understand this because he is relying on his own observation to derive whatever truth he might discover.

Jesus continued, “Do not be surprised when I tell you that you must be born from above.  The wind blows where it pleases.  You hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going.  So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”  Jesus used an example from the physical realm to show how some things are not discoverable by human observation.  Even today, with our magnificent gadgets and all the expertise of science in our grasp, we still can’t answer exactly where the wind comes from or goes.  We feel it.  We hear it.  We can measure and predict it, but only because we see what it does as it touches other things.

As Jesus said, it is the same in the kingdom of God.  No one on earth can identify exactly who God has chosen to make part of His kingdom or why He has chosen any of us.  Our testimony of what we believe is the only thing we can truly observe.  Yet, Jesus is saying that those who believe in Him have, like the wind, an interaction with the world that is discernable and makes a difference in the world.  The reason behind that is the motivating power of the Holy Spirit.  As the Bible says, “No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 12:3)

Now, Nicodemus was curious but still confused; “How can these things be?” asked Nicodemus.  The man was an expert in the Old Testament, the books of Moses, the Psalms, and the prophets.  He knew the history of Israel and how God had interacted with His people for millennia.  Yet, he still didn’t understand that it takes God working in us to bring us into His kingdom.  “You are the teacher of Israel,” Jesus answered, “and you do not know these things?  Amen, Amen, I tell you: We speak what we know, and we testify about what we have seen.  But you people do not accept our testimony.”  The Pharisees imagined they were making themselves right with God by works.  The Sadducees imagined that there is no heaven, so the only thing to worry about is power on earth.  Neither group would enter heaven without a change of mind.

A couple times in my life, I have had the opportunity to vacation while staying in homes I couldn’t possibly afford.  To have any chance of entering those homes without breaking in and having the police come and take me away, I needed to get a key from the owners, or alternately, learn from the owner where I might find a key he had hidden on the property.  What Jesus is telling Nicodemus is a bit like that. 

Imagine the folly of thinking we can break into God’s heavenly mansions by deception, trickery, or brute force.  First of all, how would we find the place?  And, with multitudes of angels guarding it, how could anyone force his way in?  The idea is ludicrous.  Yet, that is what people imagine when they think they can earn a spot in God’s eternal dwelling place.  Sinners trying to work our way into God’s kingdom only leads to eternal banishment in hell.  All of the Old Testament sacrificial system was designed to show the need for one holy sacrifice that would gain a home in heaven for sinners. 

Having entered our world to be that sacrifice, Jesus here offers us the key to His kingdom.  This is where our sermon theme comes in: Believe what Jesus knows.  Jesus told Nicodemus, “If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?  No one has ascended into heaven, except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven.”  If you want to know how to enter heaven, the most reliable source of that information is the One who descended from heaven to make it possible for us to go there, for when Jesus speaks, it is God speaking to us.

Jesus then plainly explained to Nicodemus what must happen; “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  That teacher of Israel knew what had happened in the wilderness some fourteen hundred years earlier, how Israel had rebelled against God and suffered for it, yet how God had offered relief from death through faith.  So that Nicodemus, and you and I, could be saved from eternal death, the holy Son of God would appear to be a sinner like us then be nailed to a tree in our place so that we could look to Him and be saved.  The Lamb of God, without blemish or spot, would take all the punishment for the guilt of the world so that you and I, and a struggling teacher of Israel, might be saved.

My question for you this morning is what did Jesus know when He entered our world?  We have the answer in this text.  Jesus knew exactly what He came for, what He had to do, what He had to suffer, and even when and how He would die, all to give us the key to His heaven.  He told Nicodemus, “God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”  This is what you and I need to know and believe to be saved.  Yes, now as believers in Jesus, we want to know how to live and how best to serve our Savior and King.  At the same time, we know that our service does not open the door to heaven.  Only Jesus could do that for us.  But He did, and He does.

The key to the kingdom of heaven is given to us in the Gospel in Word and Sacraments.  Faith in the truth of all that God has done for us opens the door of heaven to us.  The testimony of Jesus’ disciples wasn’t given to show us what we must do to be saved, but to teach us how Jesus has done everything God had planned to make us right with Him.  Then, that saving gift of faith is brought to us in the hearing of the Good News and in the washing flood of Baptism.  As St. Paul declares, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes … For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed by faith, for faith, just as it is written, ‘The righteous will live by faith.’” (Romans 1:16-17)  Likewise, Peter teaches, “Baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the body but the guarantee of a good conscience before God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 3:21)

Dear friends, repent of your sins and put your faith in the One who came from heaven to bring us home to our Creator’s side.  Trust the Son of God and Man who told His disciples, “In my Father’s house are many mansions.  If it were not so, I would have told you.  I am going to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to be with me, so that you may also be where I am.” (John 14:2-3)  Believe what Jesus knows.  Amen.

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