Follow the Star who is, who was, and who is coming.

 

Sermon for Advent 2 at St. Paul’s, December 5, 2021

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Numbers 24:15-19  ¹⁵Balaam took up his oracle and said: The declaration of Balaam son of Beor, the declaration of the man whose eye is open, ¹⁶the declaration of the one who hears the words of God, who receives knowledge from the Most High, who sees the vision of the Almighty, who is falling down, but his eyes are wide open: ¹⁷I see him, but not now.  I behold him, but not near.  A star will come out of Jacob.  A scepter will rise up out of Israel.  It will smash the foreheads of Moab and the skulls of all the people of Sheth.  ¹⁸Edom will lose its territory to others.  Seir, Israel’s enemy, also will become a possession, but Israel will display its power.  ¹⁹One who comes from Jacob will rule, and he will destroy the survivors of the city. (EHV)

Follow the Star who is, who was, and who is coming.

Dear friends in Christ,

            You have a star engraved above the entrance of the church that represents the star of Bethlehem, the star that lit up the night sky some two thousand years ago calling to all people that the Savior coming into the world was coming not just to help the tribes of Israel, but He was a true King coming to rescue people just like you and me.  Just about a month from today, we will remember and celebrate those wise men who travelled from far east of Bethlehem to meet a newborn King who would bring so much promise to the world.

It is thought that the Scripture before us is the prophecy that motivated those wise men when they went searching for Jesus.  As we remember the Bethlehem star, it is necessary that we understand that the reason for its being engraved in stone before you, and the reason this congregation has gathered around the Scriptures for 150 years, is the Light who was coming into the world to remove all darkness.  The message for us is to Follow the Star who is, who was, and who is coming.

It is undeniable that Balaam was anything but a faithful prophet, for though he knew of God, he agreed to be hired by an enemy ruler to curse God’s chosen people.  However, God intended to bless the Children of Israel.  Therefore, all the words God put into the prophet’s mouth spoke of victory over the enemies of the people God loves.  Balaam acknowledged that the words he spoke were not his own.  Rather, this prophecy came directly from the One true God.  Therefore, the prophecy is true because God is ever true.  Furthermore, there is a timelessness to the prophecy.  Balaam said, “I see him, but not now.  I behold him, but not near.”  In his trance-like-state, Balaam was seeing the Lord Himself but in a future place and time. 

Our Lord has declared, “Certainly I, the Lord, do not change.  That is why you, sons of Jacob, have not come to an end.” (Malachi 3:6)  The nation of Israel was incredibly fickle in its relationship with the Lord.  Far too often that people questioned God’s leadership and succumbed to the temptations of foreign idols.  We too must likewise confess that our allegiance to the Lord and our dedication to doing God’s will often wavers.  As sinners born in the image of our fathers, we enter the world fighting against God—a battle that often rages within us still today.  Yet, our Lord remains ever faithful to His promises and true to His Word. 

My friends, we praise God because it is His Word of grace that led us to believe in His Son as our Savior and Redeemer.  God says, “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)  It is God’s faithfulness that sent His Son to enter this world as a human infant, to experience the poverty of the human condition, and the frailty of our existence.  With His own human eyes, God’s Son saw the troubles we endure, the temptations thrown against us, and the sorrows and pains of being alienated from God.  The writer to the Hebrews said, ^“Although he was the Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered.” (Hebrews 5:8)  Jesus suffered because He was living on earth for you and me.

Here, Balaam foretold, “A star will come out of Jacob.  A scepter will rise up out of Israel.  It will smash the foreheads of Moab and the skulls of all the people of Sheth.”  Many people likely assume this foretold a king like David who conquered Israel’s enemies at will.  The wise men from the east, however, recognized that the true King was something more.  Regardless of whether those wise men from the east had the whole Old Testament available to them, or just the five books of Moses, they came to Israel’s capital city longing to meet this promised King who would conquer Israel’s enemies for good, because they understood that the Bethlehem star was leading them to the true fulfilment of Balaam’s prophecy.  Likewise, St. Peter instructs us, “We also have the completely reliable prophetic word.  You do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the Morning Star rises in your hearts.” (2 Peter 1:19)  Thus, we Follow the Star who is, who was, and who is coming.

In the writings of Isaiah, we listen in to God informing His Son of His salvation plan, for He said, “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)  In the same vein, Jesus told His disciples, “I am the Light of the World.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12) 

The first time Jesus arrived on earth, He came to live in humility and weakness.  He didn’t publicly demonstrate His true status as the Son of God who holds all the power and authority of heaven and earth.  That is because Jesus was here for the express purpose of living a perfect life in our place.  Therefore, Jesus lived through what we experience, yet He remained without sin.  Jesus showed enough power over earthly things that the people should have recognized His divine nature, but it was hidden so well that most thought of Him as only a man.  In the end, Jesus was rejected by everyone, because He didn’t look like a victorious King.  Yet, this too was His Father’s plan.

Jesus took on human flesh to live and die on our behalf.  His perfect obedience fulfilled all law and the whole will of His Father in heaven—for us.  Then, as the Scriptures had long foretold, “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)  Carrying all the sins of the world, the One true Light, the Son of God, and the only truly holy Man who has ever lived, was nailed to the cross of shame as the payment price that set us free from death and condemnation. 

It boggles the sinner’s mind that this abused, stripped, mocked, bleeding Jesus could be anything more than the rebel He was accused of being.  Yet, Pilate knew Jesus was a King, and the disciples who had abandoned Jesus also knew it.  But, there hung Jesus, bleeding on a cross, alone, rejected even by the Father in heaven, because of our sins.  Yet, this is not something to be mourned, for this had been God’s plan from the beginning. 

It was God’s plan when He put the words in Balaam’s mouth that foretold the coming King of Light.  And, God’s plan did not include Jesus staying dead.  Instead, Jesus rose from the grave Easter morning, as you all well know.  There, on Easter morning, we see the victory of our King.  There, we see Jesus crush the wicked foe who led Adam and Eve to sin, crushing the head of the devil who has accused and tormented us all ever since.  As Balaam unwillingly foretold, the enemies of God’s people have been crushed by the Morning Star, the glorious One who came to win the victory for all who believe in the Savior who is David’s son and David’s Lord.

For one hundred fifty years, this congregation has been following the Star who is the Light of the World.  Generation after generation has handed down the truth to their children that Jesus is the King of God’s chosen people, that He is the Star of Jacob, and the ruler of heaven and earth.  You have rightly taught that Jesus is the true Son of God and (as He often referred to Himself) the true Son of Man through His birth-mother Mary.  Furthermore, with the faith in Jesus worked in us by the power of the Holy Spirit, we trust Jesus’ promise, “Surely I am with you always until the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)  Therefore, Jesus always was, and He always is, yet He also is still coming. 

Balaam prophesied, “Israel will display its power.  One who comes from Jacob will rule, and he will destroy the survivors of the city.”  In his letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul asked rhetorically, “Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? … Do you not know that we will judge angels?” (1 Corinthians 6:2-3)  At the judgment, the saints will testify against those who have never believed in Jesus.  We testify against them already by our faith in Jesus as God’s Son and true Savior of the world.  Every worship service and every confession of faith is a testimony against Satan’s forces.

In the greeting of the Revelation, St. John gives glory to Jesus as he says, “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.  Look, he is coming with clouds, and every eye will see him, including those who pierced him.  And all the nations of the earth will mourn because of him.” (Revelation 1:5-7)  Jesus came to save the world from sin and death.  However, much of the world still rejects Him.  There will be a reckoning for those who do not believe.

Jesus testified, “The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who rejects the Son will not see life; instead, God’s wrath remains on him.” (John 3:36)  There is no salvation apart from faith in Christ Jesus.  He is the bright morning Star who has brought light and life to the world.  On the last day, Jesus will return—though this time to judge the world.  He will separate the believers from the unbelievers, and those who have rejected Jesus, or have never known Him, will be cast to outer darkness, forever separated from the God of love, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 13:42)

On the other hand, for those who believe in Jesus, who have been washed in the waters of baptism and cleansed by the blood of Christ, there is hope, and this hope is not a wishful thinking, for Jesus has promised to take us to be with Him.  Confident of this, St. Paul wrote, “The Lord himself will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.  Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them, to meet the Lord in the air.  And so we will always be with the Lord.  Therefore, encourage one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18)

Dear friends, today we recognize one hundred fifty years of faithfully following the Lord of Light.  At the same time, we are in Advent, a time in which we prepare to meet the King who once was born in a manger but now lives and reigns in heaven above.  It is a time to encourage you with all hope that Jesus has done everything necessary to give you eternal life.  He has taken away all your sins.  He has destroyed all those enemies who seek your destruction.  In baptism, Jesus has connected you to both His death and to His resurrection, while He also put over you His perfect righteousness making you perfectly acceptable to His Father in heaven.

It has been over twenty years since I have been able to worship with you on a regular basis.  The day is coming when we will be gathered together with our Lord Jesus to sing with the holy angels and all the saints of all generations, all gathered together around the throne of the Lamb of God who was slain.  Jesus shed His blood for you and me.  Here, in this place, Jesus regularly gives you His real human body and blood as evidence that His sacrifice has set you free—it is real medicine that sets you free from sin, free from fear, free from Satan’s control, and free to live and walk with your Savior, both now and in eternity.  Beloved children of the heavenly Father, Follow the Star who is, who was, and who is coming.  Amen.

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

The Lord our Righteousness reigns.

 

Sermon for Advent 1, November 28, 2021

Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you from God the Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Jeremiah 33:14-18  ¹⁴Listen, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will fulfill the good promises that I have spoken to the house of Israel and concerning the house of Judah.  ¹⁵In those days and at that time, I will cause a righteous Branch to grow up from David’s line.  He will establish justice and righteousness on earth.  ¹⁶In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely.  This is what she will be called: The Lord Our Righteousness.  ¹⁷This is what the Lord says.  David will never fail to have a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel.  ¹⁸Neither will the priests, who are Levites, fail to have a man to stand before me to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings, and to offer sacrifices continually. (EHV)

The Lord our Righteousness reigns.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

            At a time when God’s people had turned their back to Him, God sent a messenger to call them to repentance.  At a time when God’s people refused to listen, God spoke of judgment, but also of promise.  Though the people had turned away from the covenant their forefathers had made with God, God refused to abandon the covenant He had made first with the world, but especially with His people.  For you and me, today, the result is that The Lord our Righteousness reigns.

As the people of Judah were under attack, and finally, carted off into exile, surely many of those rebellious ones felt that if the God of their fathers existed, He had certainly abandoned them.  Yet, God never abandoned those He pledged to love.  He never withheld His love from us either.  The problem for the people of Judah was that they had abandoned God.  They chose to chase after the idols of their neighbors and to seek help from human solutions.  No longer did they turn to the God of their forefathers for help in times of distress of danger, nor with thanks in times of blessing. 

When we consider those long-ago tribes, though, we dare not judge them more harshly than ourselves.  We too have our moments when we forget to seek God’s help.  Maybe that is when we are tempted to sin against one of His commands, or perhaps when we question His plan for our lives.  There are moments when we too forget to give proper thanks to the Lord our God.  Oh yes, we just celebrated Thanksgiving Day like most others in our nation.  Yet, ask yourself, how often do you give thanks to God in your daily life?  Do you thank God for health when illness or pain reminds you of the blessings we normally enjoy?  Do you thank God for the rain when drought, or flood, reminds us that our existence depends on the fact that God waters the ground from the skies?  Furthermore, how often are we tempted with ideas of earning some small sliver of our salvation through our own efforts or obedience to laws?  How often do we look down at others as greater sinners than ourselves?

What should blow our minds is that through even Israel’s great rebellion, God did not forget them, nor did He forget His promises to their forefathers, or to us.  If you are racking your brain wondering what promises God made to Israel for your benefit, remember the word of our God through the prophet, Isaiah; speaking about the promised Savior, the Lord said, “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)  Before He created the world and everything in it, God knew He wanted to save you from the destructive power of sin.

Here through Jeremiah, God said, “Listen, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will fulfill the good promises that I have spoken to the house of Israel and concerning the house of Judah.”  What promises you might ask?  Promises of a Redeemer and Savior, one Son of David who would ransom God’s people from the devil’s schemes.  A seed of the woman who would wrest the fallen race from the devil’s grasp.  A Son of Man would restore hope, righteousness, and life to all those who would believe in Him.  All these promises, and more, God was bringing to pass in Jesus.

“In those days and at that time, I will cause a righteous Branch to grow up from David’s line.  He will establish justice and righteousness on earth.”  A righteous Branch, a holy Child, born from the line of David, entering our world to bring peace between God and mankind.  We had nothing to do with that birth except our sin that made it necessary, but God knew our trouble and despair.  God knew only He could rectify our desperate situation.  Therefore, God had a plan, and it would be followed perfectly.  As we draw closer to celebrating the birth of our Savior, I hope you will take time to reread the accounts in the gospels detailing just how our King entered this world in human flesh.  There is so much more for us to remember than the few short readings we get on Sunday mornings.

That Righteous One “will establish justice and righteousness on earth.”  Jesus established righteousness by living a perfectly holy life in our place.  I know you hear me tell you that quite often, but it cannot be emphasized too much.  Jesus taught His disciples, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets.  I did not come to destroy them but to fulfill them.  Amen I tell you: Until heaven and earth pass away, not even the smallest letter, or even part of a letter, will in any way pass away from the Law until everything is fulfilled.” (Matthew 5:17-18)  Nothing was left to chance.  Jesus obeyed every law perfectly.  Every promise and prophecy about the coming Savior had to be lived out in real time exactly as God had foretold, so that there would be no doubt that Jesus is God’s Son and our Redeemer and Savior. 

The will of the Father in heaven was also perfectly fulfilled, and it was that will that drove Jesus to the cross.  To establish justice on earth, the debt of sin had to be paid.  The law demanded death for sin.  God’s pure holiness required that no sin and no sinner could enter His presence.  Therefore, the sin had to be dealt with forever.  St. Paul explained, “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.’  He redeemed us in order that the blessing of Abraham would come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that we would receive the promised Spirit through faith.” (Galatians 3:13-14) 

Only by being perfectly holy in Himself could our Savior substitute for us.  If Jesus had sinned, He would have died only for Himself, but we know that the Father in heaven was perfectly pleased with the life and work of His Son, Jesus.  The Father declared it from heaven Himself.  Therefore, Jesus was sentenced to death not for sins He committed, but for ours, and just as sin had been placed symbolically on the heads of countless lambs in the temple, our sins were poured on Jesus, once for all people, so that “you were redeemed from your empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, not with things that pass away, such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like a lamb without blemish or spot.” (1 Peter 1:18-19)

The Lord declared, “In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely.”  Judah stands in here representing all God’s people.  That includes all those descendants of Abraham who walked in his faith in the Messiah, and it includes all those in the Christian Church who believe in Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.  As St. Paul wrote, “The promise is by faith, so that it may be according to grace and may be guaranteed to all of Abraham’s descendants—not only to the one who is a descendant by law, but also to the one who has the faith of Abraham.  He is the father of us all.” (Romans 4:16)  Jeremiah also pictures Jerusalem as that assembly of believers upon whom the Lord has placed His name.  “This is what she will be called: The Lord Our Righteousness.”

Finally, “This is what the Lord says.  David will never fail to have a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel.  Neither will the priests, who are Levites, fail to have a man to stand before me to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings, and to offer sacrifices continually.”  There are many challenges to the Christian faith in this world, but we are never left defenseless.  We have a King who cares about our eternal wellbeing.  We have a King who has lived in our skin and walked in our paths, who like us has felt sorrow and pain, endured the scorn of enemies and the betrayal of friends, who on our behalf, faced the demons head on and came out victorious in every way.

This Jesus is the one and only, true God-Man who not only died in our place, but rose again from the grave bursting the gates of death to live triumphant evermore in heaven.  Since Jesus willingly bore the sins of the world unto death, “God worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule, authority, power, and dominion, and above every name that is given, not only in this age but also in the one to come.  God also placed all things under his feet and made him head over everything for the church.” (Ephesians 1:20-22)  At His Father’s side Jesus reigns over all things for our everlasting good.  There too, Jesus intercedes for us, offering His own righteous life in exchange for ours so that when the Father looks over His adopted children of faith, He sees only the good of His Son.  Likewise, Jesus is the one High Priest unlike any who came before Him.  “Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices on a daily basis, first for his own sins and then for the sins of the people.  In fact, he sacrificed for sins once and for all when he offered himself.” (Hebrews 7:27)

Dear friends, in a time of great trouble and trial caused by a rebellious, idolatrous nation, Jeremiah was given a message of hope, a hope for his time and for ours.  It pointed forward to the coming Christ.  It shows us that Jesus is exactly the Savior we need—the Savior-God who willingly entered our world to rescue us from darkness and death at the cost of His own precious blood—who, risen from the dead, promises that He will never leave us nor abandon us, and that all things will be worked out for our everlasting good because The Lord our Righteousness reigns.  Amen.

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

Seek the Bread that gives eternal life.

 

Sermon for Thanksgiving Eve, November 24, 2021

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

John 6:22-29  ²²The next day, the crowd that stayed on the other side of the sea noticed that only one boat was there.  They also knew that Jesus had not stepped into the boat with his disciples, but they had gone away without him.  ²³Other boats from Tiberias came to shore near the place where they ate the bread after the Lord gave thanks.  ²⁴When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.  ²⁵When they found him on the other side of the sea, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”  ²⁶Jesus answered them, “Amen, Amen, I tell you: You are not looking for me because you saw the miraculous signs, but because you ate the loaves and were filled.  ²⁷Do not continue to work for the food that spoils, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.  For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”  ²⁸So they said to him, “What should we do to carry out the works of God?”  ²⁹Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God: that you believe in the one he sent. (EHV)

Seek the Bread that gives eternal life.

Dear blessed ones in Christ,

            Bread, moolah, cash, scratch, loot, dough, bankroll, riches, treasure, t-bills, ice, glitter—how many k’s in your 401-K?  How many bushels in your bin?  We have oodles of words we use when talking about money.  Do you suppose that money and treasure play a big part in our lives?

Naturally, we keep track of our money because we use it every day.  We plan for our next years so that our businesses succeed.  We plan for our later years so that we can retire from our labors at least somewhat comfortably.  We hire consultants and investment advisors.  We pay our government to insure our deposits in the bank.  If we are not careful, someone might think we are more like the people of Jesus’ day than we ordinarily imagine.

It was quite common in Jesus’ day for people to view the rich as more deserving of God’s blessing.  The Pharisees, especially, viewed wealth as a sure sign that God was pleased with your efforts to obey Him.  Others, on the other hand, were simply looking for an easier path through life, because as we all know, working for a living is hard.  God told Adam, “By the sweat of your face you will eat bread until you return to the soil, for out of it you were taken.” (Genesis 3:19)  And boy, don’t we know that has been proven true!

This past crop year, did you ever find yourself questioning your relationship with God?  When it was unseasonably hot and dry, did you wonder if God was punishing you, or our nation?  When we hear of terrible flooding, tornadoes, hurricanes, out of control forest fires, and climate change, does it make you wonder if God is disciplining the world for its immorality and idolatry?  When we hear of hundreds of thousands, or even millions, killed by a new virus, do we wonder if God is punishing sinners?

Now, I cannot say how and when God is disciplining us, or the world, and He very well might be doing that all the time.  However, there is more than a little chance that we are focusing our attentions more on worldly concerns and less on spiritual concerns than we should be.  In our text, Jesus is teaching His people that instead of worrying too much about earthly things, we should Seek the Bread that gives eternal life.

The events of our text happen the day after Jesus fed over five thousand people with five small barley loaves and two small fish.  It was a miracle of epic proportion that no one had seen since the days of Moses when God provided bread outside the tents of Israel every day for their forty years of wandering.  In Moses’ day, the people grew tired of that manna and complained against God.  Here, after witnessing this miracle, the people were ready to make Jesus their king, hoping that He could provide their daily food without labor on their part.

When the crowd arose that morning, they discovered that Jesus was not around even though only the disciples had left by boat the night before.  They were mystified about where Jesus had gone and how He got there.  I’ll let you read the account in the gospel if you don’t remember.  Anyway, the crowd came “to Capernaum looking for Jesus.  When they found him on the other side of the sea, they asked him, ‘Rabbi, when did you get here?’” 

To us, it sounds like an innocent question.  However, Jesus knew their hearts.  That vast crowd wasn’t seeking a Savior from sin.  Instead, they wanted a Savior from work and sweat.  They wanted someone to be their bread-king, their guardian from the Romans, and perhaps their personal healer.  Yet, they still didn’t recognize their greatest need.  Jesus replied, “Amen, Amen, I tell you: You are not looking for me because you saw the miraculous signs, but because you ate the loaves and were filled.  Do not continue to work for the food that spoils, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.”

This year, as we celebrate Thanksgiving, we surely do want to give thanks to God for the rich blessings He has poured out upon us even when the weather seemed highly uncooperative at times.  We surely do want to thank God for every day of health and blessing we have enjoyed, and for most of us there were many.  We want to thank God for the love in our lives, the money in our bank, the possessions in our homes, our homes and lands, our food and clothes, and every talent God gives us through which we earn our living.  But, what if God in His good wisdom took it all away?  Would we still give thanks with the same gusto, the same faith, the same appreciation?

Jesus said, “Do not continue to work for the food that spoils.”  He wasn’t telling people to sit on their buts and wait for Him to feed them.  That isn’t what this lesson is teaching us either.  Instead, Jesus wants us to be seeking that one thing needful, which is His Word, His life, His being.  Jesus told the crowd, “I am the Bread of Life,…The one who comes to me will never be hungry, and the one who believes in me will never be thirsty.” (John 6:35)  But, the crowds grumbled.  They thought it was too hard a message to swallow.  Some were confused about what He meant.  Others rejected the truth that Jesus came from heaven to be their Savior.

Seek the Bread that gives eternal life.  Jesus wants us to be looking to Him for forgiveness, life, and salvation.  Everything else is easy.  The Father knows we need food and drink, clothing and shelter, and He provides them richly through the various ways He gives us talents, jobs, and farms.  Jesus told the people, “Do not continue to work for the food that spoils, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.”  The “food” Jesus refers to here is the substitutionary work He was doing for you and me and for all.  These are the things that give us life in heaven, life that never ends.

Sin would keep us out of heaven and condemn us to eternal death, but Jesus took away our sin.  Unholiness means death from God, so Jesus took our unholiness to the cross and endured His Father’s rejection on our behalf.  Yet, the honest sinner would plead, “We have no righteousness to stand in God’s presence,” so we would still not be able to live forever.  Except that in exchange for our sin, Jesus gives us His righteousness, His perfect humility, His perfect submission to His Father’s will.  This is the Bread of Life Jesus gives us—Himself living a perfectly holy life in our place—Himself suffering the curse of death as He hung on that tree for you and me. 

God the Father placed His seal of approval on Jesus.  The Father announced that righteous decree at both Jesus’ baptism and His transfiguration.  Ultimately, God put His stamp of approval on Jesus when He raised Him from the dead Easter morning.  That resurrection is the sure proof that Jesus is our Savior from sin, death, devil, and condemnation.  It confirms that everything the Bible teaches is true, trustworthy, and effective for our salvation and eternal life.

The people who came to Jesus that day still expected they would have to work their way into God’s favor, so they asked, “What should we do to carry out the works of God?”  Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God: that you believe in the one he sent.”  The Bible tells us, “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message comes through the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17)  We are saved through faith in what God has done for us in Christ Jesus.  Rather than seeking to earn our way to God, God wants us to know that He has worked our salvation through His Son, through His life and sacrifice on our behalf.  Our assignment is simply to believe it, but even that isn’t something we do.  Rather, our faith is a gift of God to us by the power of the Holy Spirit in the gospel.

Whatever we have in this life, no matter how that compares to those around us, is a gift of God for our good.  Be thankful for whatever God has given you.  Rejoice that He has blessed us far beyond what any person has deserved.  More than that, though, recognize and believe that God has given you a much greater gift in His Son than all the gold, silver, diamonds, land, and whatever other materials things we might value.  Trusting in Jesus as our Savior, we will have the faith to stand with Him through any hardship, or prosperity, with praise on our lips and in our hearts for the God who loves us and has opened Paradise to us through Jesus.  Seek the Bread that gives eternal life.  Amen.

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

Watch and rejoice! Jesus ends all weeping!

 

Sermon for the Last Sunday of the Church Year, November 21,2021

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His mercy endures forever.  Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Isaiah 65:17-19  ¹⁷Watch this!  I am about to create new heavens and a new earth.  The former things will not be remembered.  They will not come to mind.  ¹⁸Instead, rejoice and celebrate forever, because of what I am creating.  Watch this!  I am about to create Jerusalem to be a source of gladness, and her people will be a source of joy.  ¹⁹I also will be glad because of Jerusalem, and I will rejoice over my people.  The sound of weeping will not be heard in her again, nor will the sound of crying. (EHV)

Watch and rejoice!  Jesus ends all weeping!

Dear friends in Christ,

            Pastoral friends have suggested that this Sunday could be called Ultimate Sunday, because on this Last Sunday of the Church year, we are looking at what lies ahead for us in Christ Jesus.  This morning is also our harvest festival in which we begin our thanksgiving for all that God has provided for our earthly lives.  Both are appropriate ways to consider the harvest that will soon take place because our Lord has prepared everything necessary for our eternal dwelling, our ultimate home.  So, as we consider the words of our Lord this morning, I tell you, Watch and rejoice!  Jesus ends all weeping!

Our text says, “Watch this!”  In the Hebrew, it is literally, “Behold Me!”  The idea is that we should keep watching the Lord for the amazing things He accomplishes for us.  In heaven, time is irrelevant, therefore God speaks in the present what will come to pass hundreds of years in the future.  When Adam and Eve fell into sin and God promised to send a Savior, that promise was already as good as done in heaven.  Nothing would ever alter God’s plan to restore His people. 

The Lord says, “I am about to create new heavens and a new earth.”  Again, time has no relevance in heaven.  Therefore, this promise was true immediately.  God was working out His plan of salvation for all who would believe in His Son.  Every detail would be accomplished according to God’s will.  That means that history on earth had to happen just as God had determined.  Kingdoms rise and fall.  There are wars and rumors of war.  Through it all, God’s plans proceed without delay.  Then, when the time had come, God sent His Son to win our rescue from this veil of tears.

Jesus entered this world as a seemingly helpless infant.  Yet, already from the moment of conception, He was perfectly holy, and though holding all the power and authority of God, He set aside that power to be one of us, and as one of us, Jesus lived in perfect humility, perfect trust in His Father’s will, perfect obedience to all the law God had laid down for mankind, and perfect submission to the role His Father had assigned Him.  Thus, at the appropriate time His Father had determined, Jesus submitted Himself to the torment of the cross as He laid down His holy life for your sins and mine. 

In the eyes of the world, Jesus’ death on the cross looks like a tragedy, or at least, a failure.  In contrast, though, from the throne room of heaven, St. John was shown that this is the victory over the devil’s rebellion. (Revelation 5:6-12)  From that moment forward, the Lord Jesus continues making preparations for our entrance into His eternal dwelling place.  The troubles and trials of this world continue until the Lord returns, but only so that many more can be made acceptable for that heavenly kingdom through faith in Jesus.

That brings us to today’s celebration.  On this last Sunday of the Church year, we look into the mansions of our God.  There we see what He has in store for us.  There we see the joy that is ahead for all who walk in true faith.  In the new heavens and new earth, “The former things will not be remembered.  They will not come to mind.”  The sufferings and sorrows of living in a world afflicted with sin will no longer trouble us.  The trials, hardships, illnesses, pains, and even death will never cross our minds again, for God will have restored us to that perfect relationship of fellowship with Him that Adam and Eve enjoyed before sin entered the scene.  Today, we Watch and rejoice!  For Jesus ends all weeping!

Here on earth, Jesus told Nicodemus, “No one has ascended into heaven, except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven.” (John 3:13)  Our Savior knows the joy and the glory that awaits us because He came down from heaven for the express purpose of preparing us to return there with Him.  On our own, we couldn’t comprehend or imagine what needed to be done to reconcile us with God.  On our own, we truly had no knowledge of the glory of heaven and the perfect holiness we will enjoy there.  However, the true God-Man who inhabits heaven and earth promised His followers, “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)

The Lord declared through Isaiah, “Watch this!  I am about to create Jerusalem to be a source of gladness, and her people will be a source of joy.”  Jesus’ sacrifice in Jerusalem becomes the “foundation of peace’ for all who will believe in Him.  It is Christ’s holy life and sacrifice in our place that has won peace between God and the world.  Through Jesus, we are counted righteous.  Through the faith the Holy Spirit gives us in Jesus, we become children of God.  And still there is more reason for us to be glad.  By Christ’s intervention on our behalf, we are not only welcome in heaven, but we become a source of joy to God.  He honors Himself by being our Rescuer and Deliverer.  Therefore, Watch and rejoice!  Jesus ends all weeping!

The blessed relationship God intended when He created mankind in the beginning is restored to all who believe.  Remember Jesus’ assurance that “There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:10)  Throughout history, God has called people to return to Him desiring that they repent of their rebellion against Him, so that they could dwell in the kindness of His care.

It might sound strange to us, but God the Father was glad to sacrifice His Son on that cross at Jerusalem because by the life and death of His Son, God defeated Satan and rescued all who would believe in Jesus.  Here, God declares, “I also will be glad because of Jerusalem, and I will rejoice over my people.  The sound of weeping will not be heard in her again, nor will the sound of crying.”  We know that there is much crying at the death of a loved one.  Therefore, we cannot imagine how God can rejoice to sacrifice His Son for sinners such as you and me.  Yet, even when Israel rebelled against God with extreme idolatry, God swore with an oath, “As I live, declares the Lord God, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from their way and live.  Turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why should you die, O house of Israel?” (Ezekiel 33:11)

When His disciples returned to Him rejoicing at the success of their first experience telling their neighbors about Jesus, Jesus told them, “Do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names have been written in heaven.” (Luke 10:20)  Seven hundred years earlier, God had encouraged His people, saying, “Rejoice and celebrate forever, because of what I am creating.”  For, “The sound of weeping will not be heard in her again, nor will the sound of crying.” 

Throughout the Church year, we follow the story of our salvation.  We go from looking forward with great anticipation to the fulfillment of God’s promises, to celebrating the birth of the Christ Child, watching Him grow and work in the world, then seeing all Jesus did for us in His life, death, and resurrection.  We then learn that through Baptism, we are united with Christ both in His death and in His resurrection so that we may live a new life. (Romans 6:4)  We continue on through the second half of the Church year with instruction for how to live Christian lives in this world of sin and rebellion.  Now, at the end of the year, we are reminded of what lies ahead.  Because of the salvation our God has won for us through his Son and worked in us by the power of His Holy Spirit through the Gospel in Word and Sacrament, the gates of heaven are opened to us.  The troubles and sorrows of this life will no longer weigh us down to despair. 

Unlike those who have no trust in the God of our salvation, we have a future.  We have a sure and certain hope of something better than the trauma of death.  We know that our Redeemer lives and because Jesus lives, we shall live also.  We rejoice in company with St. John, who when seeing a vision of what Jesus has done for us, heard a voice from heaven declare, “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, we gather here this morning knowing that our sins are many and we are unworthy on our own to stand before God.  Yet, we also know that we have a great Savior, who lived for us, died for us, and rose victorious over sin, death, and the devil, and because of our Jesus, we have been counted forgiven, declared innocent in the courts of our God, and dear children who will inherit eternal life with our beloved Brother who gave His all so that we might live with Him forever.  We don’t know how much longer this world will exist, but we know with sure and certain confidence that Jesus is coming again to take us home to dwell with Him forever in Paradise.  Watch and rejoice!  Jesus ends all weeping!  Amen.

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

Thank God for Faith in Jesus!

 

Sermon for the 2^nd Last Sunday of the Church Year, November 14, 2021

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

2 Thessalonians 1:3–10  ³We are always obligated to thank God for you, brothers, as is fitting, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love that each and every one of you has for one another is increasing.  ⁴So we ourselves boast about you in God’s churches in regard to your patient endurance and faith in all your persecutions and in the trials that you are enduring.  ⁵This is evidence of God’s righteous verdict that resulted in your being counted worthy of God’s kingdom, for which you also suffer.  ⁶Certainly, it is right for God to repay trouble to those who trouble you, ⁷and to give relief to you, who are troubled along with us.  When the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his powerful angels, ⁸he will exercise vengeance in flaming fire on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.  ⁹Such people will receive a just penalty: eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord and from his glorious strength, ¹⁰on that day when he comes to be glorified among his saints, and to be marveled at among all those who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. (EHV)

Thank God for Faith in Jesus!

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, 

I suspect that, by now, you have noticed that the overall theme of this Sunday’s worship service is Judgment Day.  The idea of a final judgment has troubled mankind throughout history, and in our day, too, many are terrified that this world will end.  So, would it surprise you if I said that Christians can look forward to Judgment Day?  In our sermon text, the Apostles give us good reasons why we don’t have to fear that great and awful day, but rather, can anticipate our Savior’s return with hope and joy. 

St. Paul wrote this letter along with Silvanus and Timothy, and they begin by giving thanks to God for the faith of their Christian brothers and sisters in Thessalonica.  Paul wrote, “We are always obligated to thank God for you, brothers, as is fitting, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love that each and every one of you has for one another is increasing.”  The apostles’ obligation wasn’t a matter of law, but rather humble gratitude that God had worked saving faith among these friends.  We should emphasize that their praise did not go toward those Christians but to God on behalf of the Thessalonian congregation.  Paul acknowledges that it is fitting and proper to give thanks to God for saving faith, because the source of Christian faith is God alone, for all are lost and condemned until the intervention of the Holy Spirit who alone gives faith in Jesus.  Thus, with St. Paul, we Thank God for faith in Jesus!

Paul thanks God, because the faith of the Thessalonians was growing more and more, as was the love that each and every one of them showed their fellow believers.  Reports coming back to Paul and his fellow apostles about the Thessalonians’ faith allowed them to use this congregation as an example of what God could do to transform people from hopeless, idolatrous pagans into hope-filled, faithful Christians. 

Now, each of us could likely find many examples of people who consider themselves Christians but whose faith seems to be of little consequence or value to them.  Therefore, we might well ask ourselves how much we value our own faith: are you and I willing to suffer, and even be killed, to testify concerning what Jesus has done for us?  Are we willing to set aside humanistic desires, or fears, to bear any hardship or persecution if it should come our way, while still boldly demonstrating and sharing our faith in Jesus?  Or, are we also tempted to abandon our faith in Jesus when trouble threatens, or worldly pleasure or physical security is offered in exchange for our faith?  With a gun to our heads, or a knife at our throats, will we still maintain our confession about Jesus?

The apostles testified, “So we ourselves boast about you in God’s churches in regard to your patient endurance and faith in all your persecutions and in the trials that you are enduring.”  The Christians in Thessalonica faced unusually strong persecution for their time.  After only three weeks of Paul’s preaching in the city, a number of Jews and Gentiles had become believers, but many Jews who did not believe reacted violently against Paul, and Christ, and their neighbors who had newly believed. 

Luke reported that this mob not only tried to arrest Paul, but failing that, they arrested Jason and other new converts and accused them of insurrection and treason against Caesar.  Those accusations, if judged true, would have meant certain death for these believers, and yet, even this wasn’t enough to satisfy the venom of those who rejected Christ.  After Paul left the city, that mob of unbelievers followed him to Berea to try to stomp out Christianity there. (Acts 17:1-14) 

Paul boasted about the Christian Thessalonians because they clung so strongly to the promises that they heard concerning Christ Jesus.  Even in the face of wicked persecution, those new Christians marched under the banner of Christ with the confidence that even death couldn’t separate them from His love and salvation.  It’s no wonder that Paul would Thank God for their faith in Jesus!

Speaking of the Thessalonians’ faith. Paul wrote, “This is evidence of God’s righteous verdict that resulted in your being counted worthy of God’s kingdom, for which you also suffer.”  It might sound like the Thessalonians were counted worthy by God because of their faithfulness, as if they were earning God’s righteous judgment.  But God’s righteous judgment is found at the cross.  At the cross on Golgotha, God meted out on His Son His punishment for all sin as Jesus suffered the death that all the people in this world deserved, including the Thessalonians, and you and me.  However, my friends, the faith God gives us in His Son is evidence that we are “being counted worthy of the kingdom of God.”  True faith in Christ cannot be hidden, for it shines out from the believer’s life.  Likewise, the believer can expect that he may have to suffer in this world simply because of his faith in Jesus.  The enemies who oppose the will and love of God still seek to drive Christians away from their faith.  The devil hates Christians just as much as he hates God.  Yet, our Lord tells us He will not abandon us in our time of trial but will provide a way for us to bear it. (1 Cor. 10:13)  So again, we Thank God for faith in Jesus!

In our times, many people have the vain hope that if they ignore God and His Word, Judgment Day will never come.  At the same time, many of our contemporaries are terrified that the world as we know it will end.  This fear comes up continually in the talk about climate change and pandemics.  It drives our politics and many economic decisions whether rational or not.

Some others hold out the wishful fiction that a loving God would be unwilling to condemn anyone, except maybe the really bad people, for example, those they disagree with or condemn.  Do not be misled, Judgment Day is a sure thing, because God is not only perfectly loving, He is also perfectly just.  He will carry out His vengeance against those who abuse His children as Paul explained when he said, “Certainly, it is right for God to repay trouble to those who trouble you, and to give relief to you, who are troubled along with us.  When the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his powerful angels, he will exercise vengeance in flaming fire on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.  Paul reminded the Thessalonians that Jesus would reveal Himself, again, on the day God has chosen, and that day will bring final separation between the two sides. 

For the time being, Jesus commands us to turn the other cheek if someone might strike us.  Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, He taught, “Do not take revenge, dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath.  For it is written, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay,” says the Lord.” (Romans 12:19)  In our world, we see the devil still rages, but Paul teaches us that those who reject God’s grace, human or angel alike, will be banished from God’s presence forever.  Those who were tormenting and persecuting the Thessalonians would certainly not go unpunished.  They would be repaid with eternal tribulation.  Likewise, any who persecute God’s children will suffer forever in hell with their leader, Satan.  Those who war against God, in any place and time, will eventually be repaid with eternal suffering.  Not because they are worse sinners than us.  Rather, they will be punished for their rejection of God’s Son.

Our heavenly Father has already punished all sin in the suffering and death of His Son.  Because of Jesus’ life and death, God has already declared the whole world “not guilty.”  Therefore, it would seem sensible that no one would ever want to reject that “not guilty” verdict.  Yet, that is exactly what the unbeliever does.  Indeed, Satan is actively working to get you to throw away your salvation. 

However, for faithful believers, Judgment Day will bring “relief.”  All those believers who have trusted in Christ as their Savior—believers from the time of Adam until the day Christ returns—will receive permanent relief from every trouble.

That relief is our eternal rest in the care of our loving Savior.  Jesus said, “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:28-29)  By His holy life and sacrificial death on our behalf, Jesus won for us forgiveness of all sins, life, and salvation, and in the victory of His resurrection, we have an eternal home in heaven. 

So, what makes the difference in the final outcomes of the various people on Judgment Day?  The difference is faith.  Those who have faith in Jesus as their Savior from sin will be welcomed into His heavenly home as brothers and sisters who inherit the eternal mansions of the Father.  But for “those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus,” Judgment Day brings a horrible eternity.  The Holy Spirit says, “Such people will receive a just penalty: eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord and from his glorious strength.”  Those who have rejected Jesus, and yes even those who never heard about His salvation, stand condemned to everlasting pain.  Our Lord makes it very clear that all unbelievers are without excuse.  His salvation is free to all.  It has been available since mankind’s fall into sin when God, in His great mercy, promised a Savior for the world and then gave His only begotten Son to deliver us from the fate of eternal death.  Anyone who rejects God’s free grace will be banished from His presence forever.  So, Thank God for your faith in Jesus!

Earth’s last day will be, for Christians, a day of great rejoicing.  Paul tells us that on Judgment Day and forever after, Jesus will “be glorified among his saints, and to be marveled at among all those who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.”  Paul is able to rejoice at the thought of that end.  Here, again, we are reminded that Paul began this section by giving thanks to God.  Paul praises God because the Lord had worked faith in the hearts of these believers through the testimony they heard.  They would be part of that eternal choir that glorifies God and gives praise to the Lamb around His throne in heaven.  You and I, also, are part of that heavenly choir, even now, as we Thank God for faith in Jesus! 

Because of who He is, God certainly deserves our worship and praise.  Yet, believers praise God because His Son provides for us the perfect righteousness mankind had lost so long ago in the Garden of Eden: a righteousness we had no ability to regain.  Jesus earned that holiness for us with His perfect obedience and trust in His Father’s plan.  Then having lived righteousness on our behalf, Jesus paid for our sin with His suffering and His death on the cross.  The blessings of His work are given to you and me through faith as the Holy Spirit works that saving faith in our hearts through the Word and Sacraments of our God, so that for now and all eternity, we join with all the saints and holy angels saying, Thank God for faith in Jesus!  Amen.

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