October 17, 2010
Dear friends in Christ.
How many of you have heard of Xeroderma Pigmentosum? It wouldn’t surprise me if very few of you had ever heard of it, because it is not a well known disorder. In fact, the only reason I know about it is because during my South Dakota days, when I was driving nearly 1500 miles each month, I listened to a lot of books on tape. One of the Authors I enjoyed listening to was Dean Koontz, who, at that time, had written two books in which the main character, Christopher Snow, lived with xeroderma pigmentosum. Now to explain to you what xeroderma pigmentosum is, I give you Christopher Snow from Dean Koontz’s Fear Nothing. © 1998 pp 22-23:
I have xeroderma pigmentosum—XP for short—a rare and frequently fatal genetic disorder. XP victims are acutely vulnerable to cancers of the skin and eyes. Even brief exposure to sun—indeed, to any ultraviolet rays, including those from incandescent and fluorescent lights—could be disastrous for me. All human beings incur sunlight damage to the DNA—the genetic material—in their cells, inviting melanoma and other malignancies. Healthy people possess a natural repair system: enzymes that strip out the damaged segments of the nucleotide strands and replace them with undamaged DNA. In those with XP, however, the enzymes don’t function; the repair is not made. Ultraviolet-induced cancers develop easily, quickly—and metastasize unchecked. The United States, with a population exceeding two hundred and seventy million is home to more than eighty thousand dwarfs. Ninety thousand of our countrymen stand over seven feet tall. Our nation boasts four million millionaires, and ten thousand more will achieve that happy status during the current year. In any twelve months, perhaps a thousand of our citizens will be struck by lightning. Fewer than a thousand Americans have XP, and fewer than a hundred are born with it each year. The number is small in part because the affliction is so rare. The size of this XP population is also limited by the fact that many of us do not live long. (Koontz, Dean. Fear Nothing. New York: Bantam Books. © 1998 pp. 22-23).
Though XP is indeed a rare disorder, in some ways, it is an accurate illustration of what we were according to our sinful nature. Don’t misunderstand me. I am not saying that XP is the result of some type of sin or anything like that. However, what I am saying is that in the same way that those with XP find themselves friends of darkness, and in some ways, enemies of light, according to our original sinful nature, that is what we once were. We were once friends of the darkness of sin and unbelief and enemies of the Light. There was a time when we would hide ourselves away from the Light of Jesus Christ and the Gospel of Salvation because we did not want our evil deeds and desires exposed by that light. We were comfortable in our sins, in our unbelief, and our separation from the Lord our God. But then came the day when everything changed. Then came the day when the Holy Spirit entered our hearts and struck the match of the Gospel. On that day, when the Holy Spirit struck the match of the Gospel in our hearts, he produced the spark of faith that lit the candle of hope and trust, illuminating our hearts with the flame of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ our Savior.
For most of us, our time loving darkness and hating the light is something that we cannot remember, simply because the majority of us in this congregation came to faith in Jesus Christ, early in life. The majority of us came to faith on the day that we were baptized either as infants or as young children, when the Holy Spirit came into our hearts through the water and the Word, creating faith in Jesus as our Savior. However, for others, this change came later in life, perhaps as a child, a teenager, a young adult, or even farther into your adult years, after you heard the Word of God for the first time or maybe even the fiftieth and at that time the Holy Spirit did his work calling you from the darkness of sin and unbelief into the Light of the Gospel and the Salvation that is now yours through faith in Jesus Christ, your Savior. But whenever it was that the Holy Spirit struck that match of the Gospel and lit the illuminating flame of faith in your heart, calling you form the darkness of sin and unbelief, through the faith that was created in your heart, you are now a child of God; a child of the light in Jesus Christ your Savior!
This is the life that the Apostle Paul is now calling on us to live in our lesson today. If you haven’t done so already, I invite you to open your Bibles to Ephesians 5 beginning with verse 8. Now, while you are turning to Ephesians 5:8 let me give you a little background on what we are reading. When Paul wrote this letter to the Ephesians, he broke it into two parts. The first three chapters talk about how God’s amazing grace forms us together as a body of believers, while the last three chapters show us how we, as God’s people demonstrate that grace in our lives by what we do. This is what Paul is telling us today as he calls on us to live as Children of the Light! Take a look at Chapter 5 beginning with verse 8: “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10 and find out what pleases the Lord. 11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13 But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, 14 for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” (Ephesians 5:8–14, NIV)
Though there was a time we lived in darkness as darkness, since the Holy Spirit called us to faith in Jesus Christ we are now Children of the Light. We are children of the light who have been called, gathered, enlightened, and sanctified by the Holy Spirit. We are Children of the light who have been taught what God’s good and pleasing will is! This is the will of God that we learn right here in worship, in Sunday school, in Bible Study, and in Confirmation class. Since we were little children we have learned just how important it is for us to grow in the grace of God and our knowledge of our Savior. Since we were little children our parents have sought to lead us down the path of righteousness, away from the fruitful deeds of darkness. Since we were little children, our parents, our Sunday school teachers, even our Pastors have exposed the fruitless deeds of darkness by shining the light of God’s Word upon them. In the same way that the morning sun dispels the darkenss of the night, so also the Son of God, through the light of his Word enables us to discern between that which pleases the Lord and that which is a fruit of darkness. Thus, as Paul calls us to live as Children of the Light, he calls us to turn our backs on the fruitless deeds of darkness. The problem, however, is that in this life we will never be completely free from the darkness that once held us. We will always be enticed by that darkness. We will always be tempted to walk down the dark ally of sin convinced that our own candle light of faith will be enough to keep us from succumbing to temptation, instead of trusting the Lord our Savior, avoiding that darkness completely and living as his children in his light.
Thus the Apostle Paul continues in verse 15 of our lesson: “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. 19 Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 5:8–20, NIV)
Right here, in verse 15 and 16 we come to the very heart and core; the very reason for this Stewardship emphasis of time! Right here, the Apostle Paul is calling on us to make the most of very opportunity we have been given to live as children of the light. Right here the Apostle Paul is calling on each and every one of us to make the most of every opportunity we are given to grown in our faith and our knowledge of Jesus Christ, our Savior. But how do we do that? Of course by attending worship every week so that we might here God’s Word proclaimed to us and grow in our faith. But what about Bible Study? How often haven’t we simply been too busy to gather with other Christians as we dive deeper into the Bible together? What about our own personal Bible Readings? How often haven’t we been too tired or too busy after a long day of work that we can’t be bothered to read the Word for ourselves, but we have plenty of time to catch up with the news paper, read another chapter in our favorite book, or simply veg out in front of the TV for hours? How often doesn’t it happen that we simply can’t find the time to pray, unless we are running from one place to another, or lying in our bed, trying to say our prayers even as we drift off to sleep? How often haven’t we failed to make the most of every opportunity to grow in our faith as Children of the Light?
We all have, and I’m no different! For the truth is, I am guilty of every one of these things that I mentioned. Yet it is the Lord who forgives us. It is the Lord who reminds us that we are his, and it is the Lord who gives us the strength and the courage to change ourselves to be better stewards of our time! With the Lord’s help we can become better stewards of our time and live as Children of the Light by changing 1 simple habit. Maybe that means you get up a little earlier on a Sunday and gather for Bible Study, or you set aside just 15 minutes each day to read a little from the Bible and pray. Maybe it means you purchase a good audio Bible and put it on in the background while you are doing other things. Or maybe it means something else. You have to decide how you are going to make the most of every opportunity the Lord gives you to grow in his Word as a child of the Light.
Now, just imagine how your life would change if you did that! Imagine how your life would change if, in your lives as children of the light, you started gathering for Bible Study and delved into the Scriptures with fellow members of our congregation. Imagine how your life would change if you spent just 15 minutes each day reading the Bible for yourself and praying about it. Imagine how your life would change if you listened to an audio Bible on your commute to work rather than all the bad news that streams over the air waves today. Imagine how you would grow in your faith and your knowledge of Jesus Christ your Savior. Imagine how your confidence in your salvation would grow because it was no longer something that the preacher was telling you but it was something that you read yourself. Imagine the comfort that you would be able to give to others from the very things you had read for yourself through the Word. Imagine how others would recognize you as a Child of Light and by your actions they would see your faith in Jesus Christ your Savior. Now, imagine what it would be like if our entire church did this. I don’t have time to get into it, but I’m sure you can imagine ways in which this congregation would grow and change for the better!
How amazing it is to realize that it was the Lord Jesus who called us out of the darkness of sin and unbelief to his glorious light of salvation. How amazing it is to think that it was the Lord Jesus who chose us to be his own and called us to live as his Children; as children of the Light. Though we were once enemies of the light, through faith in Jesus we are now enemies of the darkness. We are children of the light, purchased by Christ our Savior who called us from the darkness of sin to the wonderful light of his salvation.
Amen.
Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church--Le Sueur, MN
Friday, October 22, 2010
Fight the Good Fight of Faith (1 Timothy 6:12)
October 3, 2010
Dear friends in Christ.
It was a fight that some of you may have seen, or at least read about in the newspapers, or even seen in specials on ABC’s Wide World of Sports. It was a fight that was announced, advertized, promoted, hyped, and talked about for months before and for years after. It was a fight between speed and strength, agility and endurance. It was a fight that boxing promoters named, “The Fight of the Century”—the first boxing match between champion Joe Frazier and challenger Muhammad Ali, held on March 8, 1971 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. By the evening of the match, Madison Square Garden had a circus-like atmosphere, with scores of policemen to control the crowd. Yet, spectators were not disappointed as the fight itself exceeded even its promotional hype by lasting the full 15 rounds. Ali dominated the first three rounds, peppering the shorter Fraizer with rapier-like jabs that raised welts on the champion's face. Frazier began to dominate in the fourth round, catching Ali with several of his famed left hooks and pinning him against the ropes to deliver tremendous body blows. Ali's speed and combinations kept him on even terms with Frazier and the fight was about even until late in round 11. During that round Frazier caught Ali with a crushing left hook that almost floored Ali, sending him falling into the ropes. Ali managed to survive the round, but from then on Frazier seemed to come back in the next three rounds. At the end of round 14 Frazier held a lead on the three scorecards. Early in round 15, Frazier landed a spectacular left hook that put Ali on his back (for only the third time in his career). Ali, his right jaw swollen grotesquely, got up from the blow quickly, and managed to stay on his feet for the rest of the round despite several terrific blows from Frazier. A few minutes later the judges made it official: Frazier had retained the title with a unanimous decision, dealing Ali his first professional loss.
Since that March night nearly 40 years ago, sports commentators still say that there hasn’t really been anything like that Fight of the Century. For no matter how you look at it, both fighters can be seen as examples of strength, endurance, and a willingness to keep on fighting no matter how greatly the odds are stacked against them. In fact, even as Christians, these men can be examples to us, especially when we consider the impact of what Paul is telling us in our lesson today! For as Paul speaks to us from more than 40 years ago, he is telling each and every one of us to Fight the Good Fight of Faith! Turn with me to 1 Timothy 6:12. Now, as you are turning to 1 Timothy 6:12, let me give you a little bit of background to this verse. Timothy was in Ephesus. Paul had left him there when he traveled on to Macedonia on his way to Jerusalem. Paul had left Timothy there for the stability of the congregation and so that Timothy might command certain men not to teach false doctrine. Paul, on the other hand had traveled to Jerusalem, where he had been arrested and imprisoned. He had been transferred to Caesarea where he was tried again, appealed to Caesar, and transferred to Rom. Now, as Paul writes to Timothy he is in prison in Rome, waiting for his appeal to be heard by the Emperor. As he writes he tells Timothy in verse 12, “Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” (1 Timothy 6:12, NIV)
What better words could Paul have given Timothy as he served the congregation in Ephesus leading them in God’s Word, and what better words could the Lord speak to us through Paul than these! Fight the Good “Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” (1 Timothy 6:12, NIV) What better words could there be for us to hear than these, especially when we consider the fight we have been in, since the day we were called to faith. Though we don’t have TV crews covering our every move or boxing promoters delivering the play by play action, each and every one of us is involved, not merely in the fight of the century, but in the fight of faith. For the truth is, on the day that we were called to faith, Jesus Christ, who was at one time our enemy, marched boldly into satan’s camp and rescued us from our enslavement there. He brought us into the hospital of his salvation. He laid us on the gurney of his love. He took a bowl of his own blood and began to wash the filth of our sins from our hearts, from our minds, and even from our bodies. He applied the salve of his grace to our small cuts and our deep wounds so that they would heal. He discarded the filthy stinking rags of our sinful lives and dressed us in robes of his righteousness, marking us as his redeemed children and people. Then, he began training us with his word so that we might be ready to fight the good fight of faith.
For you see, ever since the day our Savior rescued us from satan and brought us into his kingdom by faith, we became satan’s opponents. On that very day that our Savior called us to faith, we stepped into the boxing ring of life and began our toe to toe battle with the devil. But unlike the fight of the century that lasted only 15 rounds, the good fight of our faith is a fight that lasts until the final bell rings and our Savior takes us home to heaven. Each morning as we wake, we hear the sound of the bell marking the next round in the fight of our faith. We see our opponent, satan, coming out of his corner ready to deliver blow after blow, hoping that each blow might weaken us or knock us down. Each day we feel our adversary landing blow after blow weakening our resolve to fight back, confusing us into accepting his temptations, knocking us to the mat in hopes that this time he has finally knocked the faith out of us so that he might be declared victorious in this fight of faith.
Yet, even though satan may land some stinging blows and even knock us to the mat on more occasions than we care to admit, we are not alone in this fight of faith. Jesus is in our corner and he is backing us the whole way. Not only is he our coach who has taught us how to fight with his Word. He is the one who buckled the championship belt of his truth around our waists and taped our hands with his righteousness. He is the one who fitted our feet with the readiness that comes from the gospel and gloved us with the word of God. He is the one who equips our faith to defend against the vicious blows of our enemy, and to attack, peppering our enemy with all the power and force of his Word. It is the Lord Jesus who strengthens our arms with his powerful word so that our blows leave welts on satan’s face. When we grow weary in the fight, it is Jesus who refreshes us with the refreshing waters of his grace and salvation. When we can barely keep our gloves up to defend ourselves, it is Jesus who rings the bell and gives us a respite so that we might regain our strength in his Word. When we are so tired that all we want to do is lay on the mat and be counted out, it is Jesus who steps in and fights for us, comforting us with the assurance of his salvation, soothing our wounds with the salve of his gospel, and washing us clean, once again, with the blood of the covenant, the blood that he poured out for you and me when he went to the cross in our place. This is our Savior who calls on each and every one of us to “Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” (1 Timothy 6:12, NIV)
Though he calls us to fight, we do not fight alone. Though we may not always feel ready to fight, he gives us so many opportunities to prepare ourselves with his Word. He invites us to join together week in and week out in this house of worship where he provides his word without cost and without price. He invites us to gather as children to learn the precious truths of salvation from our teachers in Sunday School. He invites us to gather as young adults and delve into the deeper truths of his Word in Confirmation Class. He invites us to gather as adults and examine the precious truths of salvation in Bible Study. He invites us to gather as families to confess our sins, receive forgiveness, to pray to him, to praise him, to hear his Word proclaimed to him and to worship him with all our hearts. He invites us to use the time with which has blessed us to grow in our faith and our knowledge of him so that we are better prepared to continue fighting the good fight of faith against our enemy, the devil.
This is our Fight of Faith. Though we don’t have any sportscasters writing about it or giving play by play commentary as Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali did, we still fight on. Though our fight is much longer than the grueling 15 rounds that they went, we can learn a great deal from their endurance. Though each one had been guaranteed $2.5 million just for fighting, this fight wasn’t about the money; it was about taking hold of the title, Heavy Weight Champion of the World. For us, the same thing is true. We don’t fight the good fight of faith because we are being paid for it. We don’t fight the good fight of faith because we derive recognition from it. We don’t fight the good fight of faith because the world is cheering us on. We fight the good fight of faith because we want to take hold of the eternal life that is ours by faith. We fight because we long for the day when the final bell will ring and we will be declared victorious through faith in Jesus Christ. We long for the day when our Savior will bring us to the halls of heaven and bestow upon us the crowns of victory that he promised when he called us to faith. We long for the day when the faith that God our Savior instilled in our hearts will be fully confirmed as we live by his side forever in heaven.
So as you go from here today, heed the words that Paul wrote to Timothy and us nearly 2000 years ago. “Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” (1 Timothy 6:12, NIV)
Amen.
Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church --Le Sueur, MN
Dear friends in Christ.
It was a fight that some of you may have seen, or at least read about in the newspapers, or even seen in specials on ABC’s Wide World of Sports. It was a fight that was announced, advertized, promoted, hyped, and talked about for months before and for years after. It was a fight between speed and strength, agility and endurance. It was a fight that boxing promoters named, “The Fight of the Century”—the first boxing match between champion Joe Frazier and challenger Muhammad Ali, held on March 8, 1971 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. By the evening of the match, Madison Square Garden had a circus-like atmosphere, with scores of policemen to control the crowd. Yet, spectators were not disappointed as the fight itself exceeded even its promotional hype by lasting the full 15 rounds. Ali dominated the first three rounds, peppering the shorter Fraizer with rapier-like jabs that raised welts on the champion's face. Frazier began to dominate in the fourth round, catching Ali with several of his famed left hooks and pinning him against the ropes to deliver tremendous body blows. Ali's speed and combinations kept him on even terms with Frazier and the fight was about even until late in round 11. During that round Frazier caught Ali with a crushing left hook that almost floored Ali, sending him falling into the ropes. Ali managed to survive the round, but from then on Frazier seemed to come back in the next three rounds. At the end of round 14 Frazier held a lead on the three scorecards. Early in round 15, Frazier landed a spectacular left hook that put Ali on his back (for only the third time in his career). Ali, his right jaw swollen grotesquely, got up from the blow quickly, and managed to stay on his feet for the rest of the round despite several terrific blows from Frazier. A few minutes later the judges made it official: Frazier had retained the title with a unanimous decision, dealing Ali his first professional loss.
Since that March night nearly 40 years ago, sports commentators still say that there hasn’t really been anything like that Fight of the Century. For no matter how you look at it, both fighters can be seen as examples of strength, endurance, and a willingness to keep on fighting no matter how greatly the odds are stacked against them. In fact, even as Christians, these men can be examples to us, especially when we consider the impact of what Paul is telling us in our lesson today! For as Paul speaks to us from more than 40 years ago, he is telling each and every one of us to Fight the Good Fight of Faith! Turn with me to 1 Timothy 6:12. Now, as you are turning to 1 Timothy 6:12, let me give you a little bit of background to this verse. Timothy was in Ephesus. Paul had left him there when he traveled on to Macedonia on his way to Jerusalem. Paul had left Timothy there for the stability of the congregation and so that Timothy might command certain men not to teach false doctrine. Paul, on the other hand had traveled to Jerusalem, where he had been arrested and imprisoned. He had been transferred to Caesarea where he was tried again, appealed to Caesar, and transferred to Rom. Now, as Paul writes to Timothy he is in prison in Rome, waiting for his appeal to be heard by the Emperor. As he writes he tells Timothy in verse 12, “Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” (1 Timothy 6:12, NIV)
What better words could Paul have given Timothy as he served the congregation in Ephesus leading them in God’s Word, and what better words could the Lord speak to us through Paul than these! Fight the Good “Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” (1 Timothy 6:12, NIV) What better words could there be for us to hear than these, especially when we consider the fight we have been in, since the day we were called to faith. Though we don’t have TV crews covering our every move or boxing promoters delivering the play by play action, each and every one of us is involved, not merely in the fight of the century, but in the fight of faith. For the truth is, on the day that we were called to faith, Jesus Christ, who was at one time our enemy, marched boldly into satan’s camp and rescued us from our enslavement there. He brought us into the hospital of his salvation. He laid us on the gurney of his love. He took a bowl of his own blood and began to wash the filth of our sins from our hearts, from our minds, and even from our bodies. He applied the salve of his grace to our small cuts and our deep wounds so that they would heal. He discarded the filthy stinking rags of our sinful lives and dressed us in robes of his righteousness, marking us as his redeemed children and people. Then, he began training us with his word so that we might be ready to fight the good fight of faith.
For you see, ever since the day our Savior rescued us from satan and brought us into his kingdom by faith, we became satan’s opponents. On that very day that our Savior called us to faith, we stepped into the boxing ring of life and began our toe to toe battle with the devil. But unlike the fight of the century that lasted only 15 rounds, the good fight of our faith is a fight that lasts until the final bell rings and our Savior takes us home to heaven. Each morning as we wake, we hear the sound of the bell marking the next round in the fight of our faith. We see our opponent, satan, coming out of his corner ready to deliver blow after blow, hoping that each blow might weaken us or knock us down. Each day we feel our adversary landing blow after blow weakening our resolve to fight back, confusing us into accepting his temptations, knocking us to the mat in hopes that this time he has finally knocked the faith out of us so that he might be declared victorious in this fight of faith.
Yet, even though satan may land some stinging blows and even knock us to the mat on more occasions than we care to admit, we are not alone in this fight of faith. Jesus is in our corner and he is backing us the whole way. Not only is he our coach who has taught us how to fight with his Word. He is the one who buckled the championship belt of his truth around our waists and taped our hands with his righteousness. He is the one who fitted our feet with the readiness that comes from the gospel and gloved us with the word of God. He is the one who equips our faith to defend against the vicious blows of our enemy, and to attack, peppering our enemy with all the power and force of his Word. It is the Lord Jesus who strengthens our arms with his powerful word so that our blows leave welts on satan’s face. When we grow weary in the fight, it is Jesus who refreshes us with the refreshing waters of his grace and salvation. When we can barely keep our gloves up to defend ourselves, it is Jesus who rings the bell and gives us a respite so that we might regain our strength in his Word. When we are so tired that all we want to do is lay on the mat and be counted out, it is Jesus who steps in and fights for us, comforting us with the assurance of his salvation, soothing our wounds with the salve of his gospel, and washing us clean, once again, with the blood of the covenant, the blood that he poured out for you and me when he went to the cross in our place. This is our Savior who calls on each and every one of us to “Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” (1 Timothy 6:12, NIV)
Though he calls us to fight, we do not fight alone. Though we may not always feel ready to fight, he gives us so many opportunities to prepare ourselves with his Word. He invites us to join together week in and week out in this house of worship where he provides his word without cost and without price. He invites us to gather as children to learn the precious truths of salvation from our teachers in Sunday School. He invites us to gather as young adults and delve into the deeper truths of his Word in Confirmation Class. He invites us to gather as adults and examine the precious truths of salvation in Bible Study. He invites us to gather as families to confess our sins, receive forgiveness, to pray to him, to praise him, to hear his Word proclaimed to him and to worship him with all our hearts. He invites us to use the time with which has blessed us to grow in our faith and our knowledge of him so that we are better prepared to continue fighting the good fight of faith against our enemy, the devil.
This is our Fight of Faith. Though we don’t have any sportscasters writing about it or giving play by play commentary as Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali did, we still fight on. Though our fight is much longer than the grueling 15 rounds that they went, we can learn a great deal from their endurance. Though each one had been guaranteed $2.5 million just for fighting, this fight wasn’t about the money; it was about taking hold of the title, Heavy Weight Champion of the World. For us, the same thing is true. We don’t fight the good fight of faith because we are being paid for it. We don’t fight the good fight of faith because we derive recognition from it. We don’t fight the good fight of faith because the world is cheering us on. We fight the good fight of faith because we want to take hold of the eternal life that is ours by faith. We fight because we long for the day when the final bell will ring and we will be declared victorious through faith in Jesus Christ. We long for the day when our Savior will bring us to the halls of heaven and bestow upon us the crowns of victory that he promised when he called us to faith. We long for the day when the faith that God our Savior instilled in our hearts will be fully confirmed as we live by his side forever in heaven.
So as you go from here today, heed the words that Paul wrote to Timothy and us nearly 2000 years ago. “Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” (1 Timothy 6:12, NIV)
Amen.
Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church --Le Sueur, MN
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Return Your Love to the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:14-15)
Dear friends in Christ.
This morning I want to share a story with you. It’s a story that I told the students of Minnesota Valley Lutheran High School when I conducted chapel there this past Thursday. It’s even a story that I have permission to tell, because I asked Joshua if I could tell it. I asked Joshua if I could tell it because it’s his story. It’s the story of our son and how he started having seizures when he was just two years old. Though Laura and I knew something wasn’t right, at the time, we didn’t know that he was having seizures. Though from time to time we would see him just stop doing what he was doing, stare off into space and start smacking his lips, almost as if he was trying to breath like a fish, we really didn’t understand what was happening at the time. Though we saw his lips turn blue while this was happening, we thought he might be holding his breath through the pain of something like acid reflux, because the lip smacking instances happened mostly during meal times. (It was only later that we would learn that those are text book symptoms of seizures.)
So, we did what any parent would do when something isn’t right with your child, we took Josh to our local doctor. Though our local doctor was actually a Physician’s Assistant, he had always taken good care of us and we trusted him. Though I remember him saying something about seizures, there was something in what we said to him that suggested these symptoms might be heart related. So we started Josh out on a range of tests for his heart, which he passed with flying colors. He was given a clean bill of health, and his lip smacking episodes even stopped, that is, until around his 3rd birthday; for it was around his 3rd birthday that the seizures began again. However this wasn’t the lip smacking we had seen a year earlier. This time his eyes would move to the left corner, his face would grow slack, and he would simply be unresponsive for anywhere between as little as 30 seconds and as long as 3 minutes. After a series of tests, an EEG and an MRI, the Doctors discovered that it was a brain tumor, a brain tumor that he had been born with, that was causing Joshua’s seizures. You might remember the whirlwind of activity as we quickly set everything in motion and headed up to Children’s Hospital where Joshua was scheduled for a 3 – 3 ½ hours surgery. He spent a day and a night and part of another day in the ICU, and then 3 more days in the hospital. Though these were some traumatic days for our family, we cannot help but thank the Lord and return our love to him for all the love that he showed us even through those difficult days.
We cannot help but thank the Lord and return our love to him for all that he has done for us! If you think about it, what better theme could there be for a Christian’s life! My life is all about returning my love to the Lord, because of all the love that the Lord showed me. For the truth is, when it comes right down to our natural born condition we were not much different than my son. In the same way that he was born with a tumor growing in his brain, we were all born with the tumor of sin, so to speak, growing in our hearts. Each and every one of us, were, at one time controlled by our sinful nature in the same way that my son was controlled by his seizures. But unlike my son who was controlled for only a few minutes, we were controlled for every second of our lives. There was no relief for us! There was no nope for us! We were residents of the hospital ward of this sinful world, being wheeled down the hallway of life on our way to our rooms, the rooms of eternal death and damnation that were prepared for us at the end of the hall. There was nothing we could do to change our condition! There was nothing we could do to change our fate! We needed radical surgery, and that is exactly what Jesus provided when he went to the cross.
As we’ve been taught since we were little children, God’s solution to our inborn problem of sin was to simply remove it; completely! When God our Father sent his Son to the cross, our surgery was begun as the Father applied the suction of his grace removing every single sin from our hearts. Those sins of lying, cheating, stealing, cursing, swearing, speeding, and every other sin we ever committed; they were removed from our hearts and placed on our Savior Jesus. Every single sinful thought and sinful action—all of them!—were removed from our hearts and placed upon our Jesus our Savior! Each and every sin that we had ever committed, are committing even now, or will commit until the day we die; every single spot and blemish of in within us was removed and placed upon our Savior’s shoulders! Our Savior, who, without any form of anesthesia endured the punishment of hell itself, in our place, so that we would be forgiven. In his grace, God, our Father, burned his Son at the stake of the cross, with the flames of hell so that our sins might be forever burned away forever, and we would be declared not guilty in the eyes of the Lord our God. However, that is not the end of the story. For when the Lord our God made his exchange, removing our sins and placing them on Jesus, he did not leave us empty. Rather, the Lord our God filled us with our Savior’s righteousness, innocence, and holiness. He filled us with our Savior’s holiness so that through faith we would be declared not guilty of any of our sins, we would marked brothers and sisters of Jesus our Savior, and known as God’s righteous children through faith in Jesus.
This is the love that the Lord Jesus our Savior poured out on us, and this is the love that now moves us to return our love to Jesus Christ our Savior. This, in fact, is the love about which Paul is writing as he writes in our lesson today, “Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15)
As Christians, who all their lives have been taught about what Jesus did for us, we cannot help but be moved by the Love that Christ Jesus our Savior poured out upon us. We cannot help but be moved to live for our Savior now that he has freed us from our sins and brought us into a right relationship with our heavenly Father. Though we were once residents of the hospital of this sinful world, being wheeled down the hallway of life to the room of eternal death and damnation that had been prepared for us, because of the surgery the heavenly Father performed on our hearts, we have been moved to the recovery ward. We are free to move about the hospital. We are free to talk to those who have not yet received the surgical message of Jesus’ crucifixion, death, and resurrection. We are even looking forward to the day when we will be completely healed by death so that we might finally leave this hospital and return home to the rooms that Jesus, himself has prepared for us in the halls of heaven.
This is the great love that the Lord our God has poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who called us to faith in Jesus our Savior. This is the great love that now burns within our hearts as a great fire, heating the boiler of our actions until the Holy Spirit throws the throttle and the locomotive of our love begins its return journey to our Savior. For the truth is, the love which Christ has poured out on us is the very love that compels us to return our love to him by making the most out of Sunday morning; sending our children to Sunday School, gathering for Bible Study, and gathering together in worship. Even though activities like this might take 3 – 4 hours on a Sunday morning, it is through these very activities that we hear the Word of God and are strengthened in our faith. It is Christ’s love for us that moves us to return our love for him by watching our words and our actions, whether we are here in church, walking down the street, talking on the telephone, texting, facebooking, emailing, youtubing, playing with our friends, or simply sitting in the comfort of our own homes watching TV. It is Christ’s love that moves us to return our love for him by folding our hands in prayer to thank him for all the blessings he gives us day after day, to express to him our joys, our sorrows, our hardships, our heartaches, our frustrations, and yes our thankfulness. It is Christ’s love for us that moves us to open the Bible for ourselves to read what is recorded on those amazing pages so that we might grow in our faith all the more. This is the love that Christ poured out on us when he went to the cross. This is the love that now burns in our own hearts, kindled by the love our Savior has given us, and this is the love that we long to return to the Lord in everything we say, think, and do.
This is the kind of love that Laura and I have expressed to the Lord on many occasions for returning to us a healthy, energetic, and loving son. Though his surgery was completed over four years ago, every time I see that mark of victory, that beautiful mark of God’s love and faithfulness on the side of his head, I cannot help but thank the Lord for all that he did for our Son. A surgery scheduled for 3 – 3 ½ hours was done in 45 minutes. A hospital say that was scheduled for 7 days lasted only 5. All the complications and problems that could have arisen, because of your prayers and the Lord’s blessings they were all put to rest as the surgeon was easily able to access and remove the tumor completely. Though I know that some of you have been through even more difficult things than we I pray that you, like we have seen our Savior’s love, revealed in those situations. I pray that you have been moved, like we have been, to return your love to your Savior. I pray that in the same way that we see our Savior’s love in the victorious scar that now adorns the left side of Joshua’s head, you see all your Savior’s love in the arms of the cross. I pray that each and every time you look at this, or any cross, you are reminded of the amazing love that the Lord poured out on you through Jesus’ death and resurrection. I pray, that moved by that love, you continue living your life, making every effort to return your love to Jesus Christ, your Savior.
Amen.
Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church -Le Sueur, MN
This morning I want to share a story with you. It’s a story that I told the students of Minnesota Valley Lutheran High School when I conducted chapel there this past Thursday. It’s even a story that I have permission to tell, because I asked Joshua if I could tell it. I asked Joshua if I could tell it because it’s his story. It’s the story of our son and how he started having seizures when he was just two years old. Though Laura and I knew something wasn’t right, at the time, we didn’t know that he was having seizures. Though from time to time we would see him just stop doing what he was doing, stare off into space and start smacking his lips, almost as if he was trying to breath like a fish, we really didn’t understand what was happening at the time. Though we saw his lips turn blue while this was happening, we thought he might be holding his breath through the pain of something like acid reflux, because the lip smacking instances happened mostly during meal times. (It was only later that we would learn that those are text book symptoms of seizures.)
So, we did what any parent would do when something isn’t right with your child, we took Josh to our local doctor. Though our local doctor was actually a Physician’s Assistant, he had always taken good care of us and we trusted him. Though I remember him saying something about seizures, there was something in what we said to him that suggested these symptoms might be heart related. So we started Josh out on a range of tests for his heart, which he passed with flying colors. He was given a clean bill of health, and his lip smacking episodes even stopped, that is, until around his 3rd birthday; for it was around his 3rd birthday that the seizures began again. However this wasn’t the lip smacking we had seen a year earlier. This time his eyes would move to the left corner, his face would grow slack, and he would simply be unresponsive for anywhere between as little as 30 seconds and as long as 3 minutes. After a series of tests, an EEG and an MRI, the Doctors discovered that it was a brain tumor, a brain tumor that he had been born with, that was causing Joshua’s seizures. You might remember the whirlwind of activity as we quickly set everything in motion and headed up to Children’s Hospital where Joshua was scheduled for a 3 – 3 ½ hours surgery. He spent a day and a night and part of another day in the ICU, and then 3 more days in the hospital. Though these were some traumatic days for our family, we cannot help but thank the Lord and return our love to him for all the love that he showed us even through those difficult days.
We cannot help but thank the Lord and return our love to him for all that he has done for us! If you think about it, what better theme could there be for a Christian’s life! My life is all about returning my love to the Lord, because of all the love that the Lord showed me. For the truth is, when it comes right down to our natural born condition we were not much different than my son. In the same way that he was born with a tumor growing in his brain, we were all born with the tumor of sin, so to speak, growing in our hearts. Each and every one of us, were, at one time controlled by our sinful nature in the same way that my son was controlled by his seizures. But unlike my son who was controlled for only a few minutes, we were controlled for every second of our lives. There was no relief for us! There was no nope for us! We were residents of the hospital ward of this sinful world, being wheeled down the hallway of life on our way to our rooms, the rooms of eternal death and damnation that were prepared for us at the end of the hall. There was nothing we could do to change our condition! There was nothing we could do to change our fate! We needed radical surgery, and that is exactly what Jesus provided when he went to the cross.
As we’ve been taught since we were little children, God’s solution to our inborn problem of sin was to simply remove it; completely! When God our Father sent his Son to the cross, our surgery was begun as the Father applied the suction of his grace removing every single sin from our hearts. Those sins of lying, cheating, stealing, cursing, swearing, speeding, and every other sin we ever committed; they were removed from our hearts and placed on our Savior Jesus. Every single sinful thought and sinful action—all of them!—were removed from our hearts and placed upon our Jesus our Savior! Each and every sin that we had ever committed, are committing even now, or will commit until the day we die; every single spot and blemish of in within us was removed and placed upon our Savior’s shoulders! Our Savior, who, without any form of anesthesia endured the punishment of hell itself, in our place, so that we would be forgiven. In his grace, God, our Father, burned his Son at the stake of the cross, with the flames of hell so that our sins might be forever burned away forever, and we would be declared not guilty in the eyes of the Lord our God. However, that is not the end of the story. For when the Lord our God made his exchange, removing our sins and placing them on Jesus, he did not leave us empty. Rather, the Lord our God filled us with our Savior’s righteousness, innocence, and holiness. He filled us with our Savior’s holiness so that through faith we would be declared not guilty of any of our sins, we would marked brothers and sisters of Jesus our Savior, and known as God’s righteous children through faith in Jesus.
This is the love that the Lord Jesus our Savior poured out on us, and this is the love that now moves us to return our love to Jesus Christ our Savior. This, in fact, is the love about which Paul is writing as he writes in our lesson today, “Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15)
As Christians, who all their lives have been taught about what Jesus did for us, we cannot help but be moved by the Love that Christ Jesus our Savior poured out upon us. We cannot help but be moved to live for our Savior now that he has freed us from our sins and brought us into a right relationship with our heavenly Father. Though we were once residents of the hospital of this sinful world, being wheeled down the hallway of life to the room of eternal death and damnation that had been prepared for us, because of the surgery the heavenly Father performed on our hearts, we have been moved to the recovery ward. We are free to move about the hospital. We are free to talk to those who have not yet received the surgical message of Jesus’ crucifixion, death, and resurrection. We are even looking forward to the day when we will be completely healed by death so that we might finally leave this hospital and return home to the rooms that Jesus, himself has prepared for us in the halls of heaven.
This is the great love that the Lord our God has poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who called us to faith in Jesus our Savior. This is the great love that now burns within our hearts as a great fire, heating the boiler of our actions until the Holy Spirit throws the throttle and the locomotive of our love begins its return journey to our Savior. For the truth is, the love which Christ has poured out on us is the very love that compels us to return our love to him by making the most out of Sunday morning; sending our children to Sunday School, gathering for Bible Study, and gathering together in worship. Even though activities like this might take 3 – 4 hours on a Sunday morning, it is through these very activities that we hear the Word of God and are strengthened in our faith. It is Christ’s love for us that moves us to return our love for him by watching our words and our actions, whether we are here in church, walking down the street, talking on the telephone, texting, facebooking, emailing, youtubing, playing with our friends, or simply sitting in the comfort of our own homes watching TV. It is Christ’s love that moves us to return our love for him by folding our hands in prayer to thank him for all the blessings he gives us day after day, to express to him our joys, our sorrows, our hardships, our heartaches, our frustrations, and yes our thankfulness. It is Christ’s love for us that moves us to open the Bible for ourselves to read what is recorded on those amazing pages so that we might grow in our faith all the more. This is the love that Christ poured out on us when he went to the cross. This is the love that now burns in our own hearts, kindled by the love our Savior has given us, and this is the love that we long to return to the Lord in everything we say, think, and do.
This is the kind of love that Laura and I have expressed to the Lord on many occasions for returning to us a healthy, energetic, and loving son. Though his surgery was completed over four years ago, every time I see that mark of victory, that beautiful mark of God’s love and faithfulness on the side of his head, I cannot help but thank the Lord for all that he did for our Son. A surgery scheduled for 3 – 3 ½ hours was done in 45 minutes. A hospital say that was scheduled for 7 days lasted only 5. All the complications and problems that could have arisen, because of your prayers and the Lord’s blessings they were all put to rest as the surgeon was easily able to access and remove the tumor completely. Though I know that some of you have been through even more difficult things than we I pray that you, like we have seen our Savior’s love, revealed in those situations. I pray that you have been moved, like we have been, to return your love to your Savior. I pray that in the same way that we see our Savior’s love in the victorious scar that now adorns the left side of Joshua’s head, you see all your Savior’s love in the arms of the cross. I pray that each and every time you look at this, or any cross, you are reminded of the amazing love that the Lord poured out on you through Jesus’ death and resurrection. I pray, that moved by that love, you continue living your life, making every effort to return your love to Jesus Christ, your Savior.
Amen.
Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church -Le Sueur, MN
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Commit Yourselves to Christ (Luke 14:25-33)
Dear friends in Christ.
On February 19, 1812, 24 year old Adoniram Judson and his wife, Ann set out together with another missionary couple on their way to Burma, India. Once in Burma, Judson worked for 18 years without a furlough. During the first six years he worked he didn’t even have one single convert. He endured torture and imprisonment, and he admitted that he never saw a ship sail without wanting to jump on board and go home. When his wife's health broke and he put her on a homebound vessel in the knowledge he would not see her for two full years, he confided to his diary: "If we could find some quiet resting place on earth where we could spend the rest of our days in peace. . ." But he steadied himself with this remarkable postscript: "Life is short. Millions of Burmese are perishing. I am almost the only person on earth who has attained their language to communicate salvation. . ." Though he dealt with some incredibly difficult circumstances, he remained committed to his mission because he viewed mission work as a job for life, not merely as a job for a few years. When he died in 1850, though he had not seen vast numbers of Burmese people saved through his ministry, his work in Burma and his translation of the Bible into Burmese revealed how he had totally committed himself to Christ his Savior.
Well, in the same way that Judson had so completely committed himself to Christ his Savior, so also Christ our Savior is calling on each and every one of us to commit ourselves to him. In fact, if you open your Bibles to our lesson from Luke 14, you will find that our Savior is calling on us to commit ourselves to him. While you are turning to Luke 14:25-33, let me set the stage for you. For some time now, Jesus has been teaching the people on the other side of the Jordan River, which was known as the region of Perea. This was the very region where Jesus had sent those 72 disciples to prepare the way for him. Now, as Jesus was traveling and making his way to Jerusalem, he was traveling with a large crowd of people. He was traveling with a large crowd of people who may well have been pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. As they traveled, Jesus took the time to teach them just how important it was for them, as believers, to commit themselves to Christ. Take a look at what Luke tells us in verses 25 and 26: “Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:25-26, NIV)
Now, I don’t know about you, but when I first read these words, I was shocked! I mean, what is Jesus saying here? Why is he telling me that if I want to be his disciple I have to first hate my parents, my spouse, my siblings, my family, even my own life? Isn’t Jesus the one who so regularly teaches that we need to love each other as ourselves? Isn’t he the one who teaches how important it is for me to love my enemies and pray for those who are persecuting me? What is he doing here? Is he contradicting himself? Is he introducing some post modern idea that hating is actually loving, and loving is actually hating? Is he setting me up for some kind of practical joke that will be revealed in the next verses of our lesson today? No. Jesus is not doing any of these things. Instead, what Jesus is doing here is using some very harsh language to help us understand just how important it is for us to commit ourselves to Christ our Savior. He is telling us just how important it is for us, as his disciples, not to allow anyone or anything to distract us from our commitment to Jesus Christ our Savior. In other words, we must be ready to turn our backs on anything or anyone that distracts us from our commitment to Jesus Christ. This is what Jesus is talking about when he says we must hate our parents, spouse, children etc. Though we will continue to love them as Christ has loved us, if they should, in any way, seek to hinder our faith or keep us from our Savior, then we must hate them by turning our backs on them, even breaking our association with them if necessary, so that we might continue on in our commitment to Christ.
This is the type of commitment that Judson demonstrated as he worked with the Burmese people, and this is the type of commitment that the Lord Jesus is looking for from us! For the truth is, now that we have been called to faith in Jesus Christ our Savior, we have the gift of eternal life. Now that we have been called to faith in him and through faith have committed ourselves to Christ, we know the eternal joy that awaits us, and the eternal destruction that awaits us, if we should fall away. This is why our Savior is calling on us to consider the cost of discipleship now that we have committed ourselves to him, because being his disciple is much more than simply calling oneself a Christian. Discipleship is about being committed to Christ our Savior, living our faith in all that we say and do, feeding our faith by gathering for worship on a regular basis, growing in our faith by regularly reading the Word of God for ourselves, understanding that no matter what it might cost us to remain faithful to our Savior that price is mere pennies compared to the cost we will pay in eternity if we fall away from him. Take a look again at what Jesus is saying in verses 26-33: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple 27 And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. 28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? 29 For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:26–33, NIV)
With these very clear examples; Jesus lays out for us exactly what committing ourselves to him is all about. Committing ourselves to him is all about walking the path he walked—the path that led him to the cross. Though Jesus knew what it would cost him to take on our human flesh and blood, he did it anyway. Though Jesus knew that going to Jerusalem would result in his crucifixion, the Bible tells us that Jesus committed himself to his heavenly Father, setting his face resolutely to go to Jerusalem. Though he knew the mockery and the beatings he would face, Jesus stood silently before his accusers and allowed events to unfold as they had to. Though he knew the pain that was coming, even as the soldiers nailed him to the cross, he breathed a prayer of forgiveness for them. Though he knew the abandonment and the suffering he would endure, Jesus remained on the cross because he was committed to his heavenly Father and to his mission of forgiving our sins. Because Jesus so willingly committed himself to the Lord and took up his cross for our salvation, we can be confident that our sins have been forgiven. Because Jesus so clearly demonstrated his love for us by his commitment to his heavenly Father, we now seek to show our love and our thankfulness to him by carrying our own crosses and following after him.
Yes, it is Jesus’ love for us that moves us to take up our own crosses and follow him. Though each one of us must carry a different cross through this life, we know that the Lord our God has not given us more than we can possibly handle. Though we each face a different set of burdens in this life when we remember how willingly Jesus suffered death on the cross for us and then rose to life again for our acquittal, those burdens become that much lighter as we commit ourselves more fully to Christ our Savior. Though today those crosses might seem all the harder to bear as the shadow of economic uncertainty hangs over us, our Savior has promised to help carry whatever burden we might have. For when we commit ourselves to Christ, it is Christ our Savior who walks beside us. Though he is the one who has give us the crosses we must carry, he is also the one who helps us when they become to difficult to carry. For when we find that we have grown too weary, or tired, or simply feel that we are unable to carry on, it is Jesus who take that burden from us. He places it on his own shoulders and carries us in his arms until we are once again able to carry on.
This is what the Lord did for Judson as he worked in Burma. Though he carried a heavy cross at times the Lord continued by his side and helped him through. Though he may not have had the success he had hoped for or of which he had dreamed, the Lord blessed his work and his commitment was rewarded in ways that Judson may never have realized. The same is true for us, though we may carry some heavy crosses through this life, it is the Lord who helps us through. Though we may be facing some difficult times with family, friends, or even the economy, we know that our Savior still walks beside us and will help us. No matter what crosses we might bear in this life, we are looking forward to the joys of eternal life by our Savior’s side forever because through faith we have committed ourselves to Christ our Savior.
Amen.
Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church--Le Sueur, MN
On February 19, 1812, 24 year old Adoniram Judson and his wife, Ann set out together with another missionary couple on their way to Burma, India. Once in Burma, Judson worked for 18 years without a furlough. During the first six years he worked he didn’t even have one single convert. He endured torture and imprisonment, and he admitted that he never saw a ship sail without wanting to jump on board and go home. When his wife's health broke and he put her on a homebound vessel in the knowledge he would not see her for two full years, he confided to his diary: "If we could find some quiet resting place on earth where we could spend the rest of our days in peace. . ." But he steadied himself with this remarkable postscript: "Life is short. Millions of Burmese are perishing. I am almost the only person on earth who has attained their language to communicate salvation. . ." Though he dealt with some incredibly difficult circumstances, he remained committed to his mission because he viewed mission work as a job for life, not merely as a job for a few years. When he died in 1850, though he had not seen vast numbers of Burmese people saved through his ministry, his work in Burma and his translation of the Bible into Burmese revealed how he had totally committed himself to Christ his Savior.
Well, in the same way that Judson had so completely committed himself to Christ his Savior, so also Christ our Savior is calling on each and every one of us to commit ourselves to him. In fact, if you open your Bibles to our lesson from Luke 14, you will find that our Savior is calling on us to commit ourselves to him. While you are turning to Luke 14:25-33, let me set the stage for you. For some time now, Jesus has been teaching the people on the other side of the Jordan River, which was known as the region of Perea. This was the very region where Jesus had sent those 72 disciples to prepare the way for him. Now, as Jesus was traveling and making his way to Jerusalem, he was traveling with a large crowd of people. He was traveling with a large crowd of people who may well have been pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. As they traveled, Jesus took the time to teach them just how important it was for them, as believers, to commit themselves to Christ. Take a look at what Luke tells us in verses 25 and 26: “Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:25-26, NIV)
Now, I don’t know about you, but when I first read these words, I was shocked! I mean, what is Jesus saying here? Why is he telling me that if I want to be his disciple I have to first hate my parents, my spouse, my siblings, my family, even my own life? Isn’t Jesus the one who so regularly teaches that we need to love each other as ourselves? Isn’t he the one who teaches how important it is for me to love my enemies and pray for those who are persecuting me? What is he doing here? Is he contradicting himself? Is he introducing some post modern idea that hating is actually loving, and loving is actually hating? Is he setting me up for some kind of practical joke that will be revealed in the next verses of our lesson today? No. Jesus is not doing any of these things. Instead, what Jesus is doing here is using some very harsh language to help us understand just how important it is for us to commit ourselves to Christ our Savior. He is telling us just how important it is for us, as his disciples, not to allow anyone or anything to distract us from our commitment to Jesus Christ our Savior. In other words, we must be ready to turn our backs on anything or anyone that distracts us from our commitment to Jesus Christ. This is what Jesus is talking about when he says we must hate our parents, spouse, children etc. Though we will continue to love them as Christ has loved us, if they should, in any way, seek to hinder our faith or keep us from our Savior, then we must hate them by turning our backs on them, even breaking our association with them if necessary, so that we might continue on in our commitment to Christ.
This is the type of commitment that Judson demonstrated as he worked with the Burmese people, and this is the type of commitment that the Lord Jesus is looking for from us! For the truth is, now that we have been called to faith in Jesus Christ our Savior, we have the gift of eternal life. Now that we have been called to faith in him and through faith have committed ourselves to Christ, we know the eternal joy that awaits us, and the eternal destruction that awaits us, if we should fall away. This is why our Savior is calling on us to consider the cost of discipleship now that we have committed ourselves to him, because being his disciple is much more than simply calling oneself a Christian. Discipleship is about being committed to Christ our Savior, living our faith in all that we say and do, feeding our faith by gathering for worship on a regular basis, growing in our faith by regularly reading the Word of God for ourselves, understanding that no matter what it might cost us to remain faithful to our Savior that price is mere pennies compared to the cost we will pay in eternity if we fall away from him. Take a look again at what Jesus is saying in verses 26-33: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple 27 And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. 28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? 29 For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:26–33, NIV)
With these very clear examples; Jesus lays out for us exactly what committing ourselves to him is all about. Committing ourselves to him is all about walking the path he walked—the path that led him to the cross. Though Jesus knew what it would cost him to take on our human flesh and blood, he did it anyway. Though Jesus knew that going to Jerusalem would result in his crucifixion, the Bible tells us that Jesus committed himself to his heavenly Father, setting his face resolutely to go to Jerusalem. Though he knew the mockery and the beatings he would face, Jesus stood silently before his accusers and allowed events to unfold as they had to. Though he knew the pain that was coming, even as the soldiers nailed him to the cross, he breathed a prayer of forgiveness for them. Though he knew the abandonment and the suffering he would endure, Jesus remained on the cross because he was committed to his heavenly Father and to his mission of forgiving our sins. Because Jesus so willingly committed himself to the Lord and took up his cross for our salvation, we can be confident that our sins have been forgiven. Because Jesus so clearly demonstrated his love for us by his commitment to his heavenly Father, we now seek to show our love and our thankfulness to him by carrying our own crosses and following after him.
Yes, it is Jesus’ love for us that moves us to take up our own crosses and follow him. Though each one of us must carry a different cross through this life, we know that the Lord our God has not given us more than we can possibly handle. Though we each face a different set of burdens in this life when we remember how willingly Jesus suffered death on the cross for us and then rose to life again for our acquittal, those burdens become that much lighter as we commit ourselves more fully to Christ our Savior. Though today those crosses might seem all the harder to bear as the shadow of economic uncertainty hangs over us, our Savior has promised to help carry whatever burden we might have. For when we commit ourselves to Christ, it is Christ our Savior who walks beside us. Though he is the one who has give us the crosses we must carry, he is also the one who helps us when they become to difficult to carry. For when we find that we have grown too weary, or tired, or simply feel that we are unable to carry on, it is Jesus who take that burden from us. He places it on his own shoulders and carries us in his arms until we are once again able to carry on.
This is what the Lord did for Judson as he worked in Burma. Though he carried a heavy cross at times the Lord continued by his side and helped him through. Though he may not have had the success he had hoped for or of which he had dreamed, the Lord blessed his work and his commitment was rewarded in ways that Judson may never have realized. The same is true for us, though we may carry some heavy crosses through this life, it is the Lord who helps us through. Though we may be facing some difficult times with family, friends, or even the economy, we know that our Savior still walks beside us and will help us. No matter what crosses we might bear in this life, we are looking forward to the joys of eternal life by our Savior’s side forever because through faith we have committed ourselves to Christ our Savior.
Amen.
Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church--Le Sueur, MN
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Fix Your Faith on Your Unchanging Savior (Hebrews 13:1-8)
Dear friends in Christ.
In 1893, engineer George Ferris built a machine that bears his name--the Ferris wheel. When it was finished, he invited a newspaper reporter to accompany him and his wife for the inaugural ride. It was a windy July day, so a stiff breeze struck the wheel with great force as it slowly began its rotation. Despite the wind, the wheel turned flawlessly. After one revolution, Ferris called for the machine to be stopped so that he, his wife, and the reporter could step out. In braving that one revolution on the windblown Ferris wheel, each occupant demonstrated genuine faith. Mr. Ferris began with the scientific knowledge that the machine would work and that it would be safe. Mrs. Ferris and the reporter believed the machine would work on the basis of what the inventor had said. But only after the ride could it be said of all three that they had personal, experiential faith.
In the same way that Mrs. Ferris and the reporter fixed their faith on Mr. Ferris assurances that his Ferris Wheel would work, so also the writer to the Hebrews is calling on each and every one of us to fix our faith on what he has to tell us. In fact, he is calling on us to fix our faith on Jesus our unchanging Savior as he writes in Hebrews 13:1-8. I invite you to open your Bibles to Hebrews 13:1-8 to hear firsthand what he is telling us. As you’re looking that up, let me bring you up to speed as to what has been happening. As I’ve told you before, the letter to the Hebrews was written to Jewish Christians who were seriously considering giving up their Christianity and going back to their old way of life in Judaism. For the first 10 chapters the writer demonstrated why belief in Jesus Christ was far superior to anything Judaism had to offer. In Chapter 11 he talked about how faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. In Chapter 12 he spoke about how God does discipline his children to bring them closer to him and to prepare them for works of service in his kingdom. Now in Chapter 13 he is calling on his hearers to fix their faith on their unchanging Savior as they live their lives according to his will. We read in Chapter 13 beginning with verse 1: “Keep on loving each other as brothers. 2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. 3 Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. 4 Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. 5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” 6 So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” 7 Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:1–8, NIV)
Wow! Those are some powerfully comforting words right there in verse 8, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8, NIV) In fact, what greater comfort could we find than words that tell us that Jesus is our unchanging Savior! Though everything is constantly changing in the world around us, Jesus remains the same. Though we may find that some of our best friends are merely our good friends and sometimes even our worst enemies depending on the day and the fluctuation of their emotions, Jesus Christ, our Savior never changes. Though we grew up learning Acronyms like, “My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pickles to help us remember the order of the planets, now that Pluto is no longer a planet, teachers have had to change their Acronym and so many of us feel the loss of our beloved planet named after Mickey’s dog. Yet, even though Pluto’s status has changed, the status of our Savior remains unchanged. He is still the Son of God. He is still our Savior. He is still the one who came to free us from our sins. He is still our unchanging Savior who is the heart of the Gospel message—the message that has been proclaimed from generation to generation.
What greater comfort could there be as we fix our faith on our unchanging Savior, than the comfort that comes from knowing that the message of salvation, the message of Jesus Christ has never changed! For the truth is, the message of salvation that you have heard me preach for the last 5 years is the same message that all the all the Pastors who have served this congregation have preached to you for the last 60 + years of Grace’s existence. The message of salvation that was preached to you is the very same message of salvation that so many immigrants brought with them when they came to the New World. The message of salvation that we hold today is the same message that Martin Luther struggled to return to the church as he fought to proclaim it to the people of Germany. This is the message that the disciples proclaimed as they went forth, making disciples of all nations. This is the message of salvation that Jesus, himself, taught and then fulfilled when he gave his life on the cross. This is the message of the Old Testament, which promised a Savior who would come to take away the sins of the world. This is the message that the prophets proclaimed to the Israelites time and time again. This is the message that Abraham believed when the Lord credited his faith as righteousness. This is the message of salvation that Adam and Eve were given when the Lord told them that the offspring of the woman would crush the serpent’s head.
Because Jesus is our unchanging Savior, whose message of salvation has remained constant since the beginning of creation, we can confidently fix our faith on Jesus and trust in him for eternal life. We can be certain that when Jesus went Jesus went to the cross for us, he was forsaken by his heavenly Father so that we would never have to be. We can be certain that he endured the punishment of our sins, suffering the pains of hell itself in our place so that we might never know the torment of eternal damnation. We can be certain that when he took our sins upon his shoulders, he completely emptied us of our sins; filling us instead with his own righteousness, declaring us not guilty in the sight of God our Father. Because of this, because of all that Jesus has done for us we can confidently fix our faith on Jesus Christ our Savior confidently trusting that he is our unchanging Savior who has indeed provided us with eternal life!
This is exactly what the writer to the Hebrews is telling us today! He is assuring us that Jesus is our unchanging Savior. He is assuring us that we can fix our faith in Jesus because he is the one who has provided us with the very salvation he has promised to all people and delivered to all who believe in him. He is assuring us that through faith in Jesus we have been declared not guilty in the eyes of the Lord our God. And now that we have fixed our faith on Jesus, our unchanging Savior, he is calling on us to serve the Lord with our lives! Let’s take a look, once more, at the first 6 verses of chapter 13: “1 Keep on loving each other as brothers. 2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. 3 Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. 4 Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. 5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” 6 So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”(Hebrews 13:1–6, NIV)
These are but a few ways that we can serve the Lord now that we have fixed our faith on our unchanging Savior! Let us not live as people who feel that they have put in their time and now they can coast on to eternal life. Rather, let us live as Christians, serving the Lord by putting our faith into action. Let us show our love for each other by greeting each other before and after church. Not just our friends or the people we get along with, but make every effort to get to know the members of this family of believers. Let us serve the Lord, especially during these troubled times, by setting aside a specific portion of our income, and giving what we have decided to give with a happy and a joyous heart out of thanks for all that our Savior has given us. Let us serve the Lord by honoring his gift of marriage! Not simply by living an honorably married life, but by helping couples in their marital distress rather than simply gossiping about them.; by keeping our lives free of the lust that movies, TV, and off color Internet sites hope to inspire in us; by keeping ourselves from crude jokes about sex, adultery, and married life.
Let us also serve the Lord by trusting him. For now that we have fixed our lives to our unchangeable Savior, we know that we don’t need to be worried about what we will eat or what we will wear, because we know that the Lord will provide for us. We can find confidence in his promise that he will never leave us nor will he forsake us. We can find confidence in this because this is the very same promise he gave to Abraham when he said, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” (Genesis 15:1) This is the same promise that Isaac received from the Lord when he said, “I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” This is the same promise the Lord gave to Moses and all of Israel when he said, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6) This is the promise the Lord gave to Joshua when he said, “No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Joshua 1:5) This was the promise that Jesus gave to the disciples when he said, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)
There is great comfort in these assurances from Scripture that our Savior will never leave us nor will he ever forsake us! And, again, because he is our unchanging Savior we can be certain that what he promised to these believers also applies to us. We can be certain that everything he has told us is true. Thus, in the same way that Mrs. Ferris and a reporter fixed their faith on what Mr. Ferris told them about his wheel, we can fix our faith on our unchanging Savior.
Amen.
Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church,--Le Sueur, MN
In 1893, engineer George Ferris built a machine that bears his name--the Ferris wheel. When it was finished, he invited a newspaper reporter to accompany him and his wife for the inaugural ride. It was a windy July day, so a stiff breeze struck the wheel with great force as it slowly began its rotation. Despite the wind, the wheel turned flawlessly. After one revolution, Ferris called for the machine to be stopped so that he, his wife, and the reporter could step out. In braving that one revolution on the windblown Ferris wheel, each occupant demonstrated genuine faith. Mr. Ferris began with the scientific knowledge that the machine would work and that it would be safe. Mrs. Ferris and the reporter believed the machine would work on the basis of what the inventor had said. But only after the ride could it be said of all three that they had personal, experiential faith.
In the same way that Mrs. Ferris and the reporter fixed their faith on Mr. Ferris assurances that his Ferris Wheel would work, so also the writer to the Hebrews is calling on each and every one of us to fix our faith on what he has to tell us. In fact, he is calling on us to fix our faith on Jesus our unchanging Savior as he writes in Hebrews 13:1-8. I invite you to open your Bibles to Hebrews 13:1-8 to hear firsthand what he is telling us. As you’re looking that up, let me bring you up to speed as to what has been happening. As I’ve told you before, the letter to the Hebrews was written to Jewish Christians who were seriously considering giving up their Christianity and going back to their old way of life in Judaism. For the first 10 chapters the writer demonstrated why belief in Jesus Christ was far superior to anything Judaism had to offer. In Chapter 11 he talked about how faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. In Chapter 12 he spoke about how God does discipline his children to bring them closer to him and to prepare them for works of service in his kingdom. Now in Chapter 13 he is calling on his hearers to fix their faith on their unchanging Savior as they live their lives according to his will. We read in Chapter 13 beginning with verse 1: “Keep on loving each other as brothers. 2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. 3 Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. 4 Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. 5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” 6 So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” 7 Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:1–8, NIV)
Wow! Those are some powerfully comforting words right there in verse 8, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8, NIV) In fact, what greater comfort could we find than words that tell us that Jesus is our unchanging Savior! Though everything is constantly changing in the world around us, Jesus remains the same. Though we may find that some of our best friends are merely our good friends and sometimes even our worst enemies depending on the day and the fluctuation of their emotions, Jesus Christ, our Savior never changes. Though we grew up learning Acronyms like, “My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pickles to help us remember the order of the planets, now that Pluto is no longer a planet, teachers have had to change their Acronym and so many of us feel the loss of our beloved planet named after Mickey’s dog. Yet, even though Pluto’s status has changed, the status of our Savior remains unchanged. He is still the Son of God. He is still our Savior. He is still the one who came to free us from our sins. He is still our unchanging Savior who is the heart of the Gospel message—the message that has been proclaimed from generation to generation.
What greater comfort could there be as we fix our faith on our unchanging Savior, than the comfort that comes from knowing that the message of salvation, the message of Jesus Christ has never changed! For the truth is, the message of salvation that you have heard me preach for the last 5 years is the same message that all the all the Pastors who have served this congregation have preached to you for the last 60 + years of Grace’s existence. The message of salvation that was preached to you is the very same message of salvation that so many immigrants brought with them when they came to the New World. The message of salvation that we hold today is the same message that Martin Luther struggled to return to the church as he fought to proclaim it to the people of Germany. This is the message that the disciples proclaimed as they went forth, making disciples of all nations. This is the message of salvation that Jesus, himself, taught and then fulfilled when he gave his life on the cross. This is the message of the Old Testament, which promised a Savior who would come to take away the sins of the world. This is the message that the prophets proclaimed to the Israelites time and time again. This is the message that Abraham believed when the Lord credited his faith as righteousness. This is the message of salvation that Adam and Eve were given when the Lord told them that the offspring of the woman would crush the serpent’s head.
Because Jesus is our unchanging Savior, whose message of salvation has remained constant since the beginning of creation, we can confidently fix our faith on Jesus and trust in him for eternal life. We can be certain that when Jesus went Jesus went to the cross for us, he was forsaken by his heavenly Father so that we would never have to be. We can be certain that he endured the punishment of our sins, suffering the pains of hell itself in our place so that we might never know the torment of eternal damnation. We can be certain that when he took our sins upon his shoulders, he completely emptied us of our sins; filling us instead with his own righteousness, declaring us not guilty in the sight of God our Father. Because of this, because of all that Jesus has done for us we can confidently fix our faith on Jesus Christ our Savior confidently trusting that he is our unchanging Savior who has indeed provided us with eternal life!
This is exactly what the writer to the Hebrews is telling us today! He is assuring us that Jesus is our unchanging Savior. He is assuring us that we can fix our faith in Jesus because he is the one who has provided us with the very salvation he has promised to all people and delivered to all who believe in him. He is assuring us that through faith in Jesus we have been declared not guilty in the eyes of the Lord our God. And now that we have fixed our faith on Jesus, our unchanging Savior, he is calling on us to serve the Lord with our lives! Let’s take a look, once more, at the first 6 verses of chapter 13: “1 Keep on loving each other as brothers. 2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. 3 Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. 4 Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. 5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” 6 So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”(Hebrews 13:1–6, NIV)
These are but a few ways that we can serve the Lord now that we have fixed our faith on our unchanging Savior! Let us not live as people who feel that they have put in their time and now they can coast on to eternal life. Rather, let us live as Christians, serving the Lord by putting our faith into action. Let us show our love for each other by greeting each other before and after church. Not just our friends or the people we get along with, but make every effort to get to know the members of this family of believers. Let us serve the Lord, especially during these troubled times, by setting aside a specific portion of our income, and giving what we have decided to give with a happy and a joyous heart out of thanks for all that our Savior has given us. Let us serve the Lord by honoring his gift of marriage! Not simply by living an honorably married life, but by helping couples in their marital distress rather than simply gossiping about them.; by keeping our lives free of the lust that movies, TV, and off color Internet sites hope to inspire in us; by keeping ourselves from crude jokes about sex, adultery, and married life.
Let us also serve the Lord by trusting him. For now that we have fixed our lives to our unchangeable Savior, we know that we don’t need to be worried about what we will eat or what we will wear, because we know that the Lord will provide for us. We can find confidence in his promise that he will never leave us nor will he forsake us. We can find confidence in this because this is the very same promise he gave to Abraham when he said, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” (Genesis 15:1) This is the same promise that Isaac received from the Lord when he said, “I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” This is the same promise the Lord gave to Moses and all of Israel when he said, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6) This is the promise the Lord gave to Joshua when he said, “No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Joshua 1:5) This was the promise that Jesus gave to the disciples when he said, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)
There is great comfort in these assurances from Scripture that our Savior will never leave us nor will he ever forsake us! And, again, because he is our unchanging Savior we can be certain that what he promised to these believers also applies to us. We can be certain that everything he has told us is true. Thus, in the same way that Mrs. Ferris and a reporter fixed their faith on what Mr. Ferris told them about his wheel, we can fix our faith on our unchanging Savior.
Amen.
Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church,--Le Sueur, MN
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Make Every Effort to Enter through the Narrow Door! (Luke 13:22-30)
Dear friends in Christ.
For quite a number of years the Mankato Clinic, the clinic in Mankato connected to ISJ, had a special play room just for children. It was a little room in which the tables, chairs, and bookshelves were all the perfect height for children. The acoustically tiled ceiling was set at a mere 7’ tall, making the room feel especially cozy and perfectly proportional for the children who played in there. The length of the room was approximately as long as one of our benches, from armrest to armrest, while the width of the room covered an area similar to that of the front of the front bench to the back of the fourth bench. There was a window on each of the short ends of the room and a door in the very middle of one of the long walls. But while this door was very easy for children to pass through, when it came to the adults who were often invited by their children to come into the room, entering through that narrow door took a little bit of an effort. As it was, the door was only about 4 ½ feet tall and 3 ½ feet wide, so when adults tried to enter, it took a little extra effort. It was always fun to watch parents putting forth the effort to enter that narrow door. Some would duck, while others would simply crouch. Some would squat down and sort of scuttle in sideways, while others would get down on all fours and crawl in. Personally, I found that squatting down and sort of scuttling in sideways was the best solution. However, at that point in my life, I had a greater girth than I do now, and often times sliding my belly through the door took a greater amount of effort than I expected. Yet, for every parent that made the effort to enter that room, the reward of seeing their children’s faces light up with delight at their presence was worth the effort.
Well, in the same way that so many parents, myself included, made every effort to enter into that children’s play room through an incredibly narrow door, so also Jesus, our Savior, is calling on each and every one of us to make every effort to enter the kingdom of heaven through the narrow door, which is standing open for us! This, in fact is the very exhortation that Jesus is making in our Lesson today from Luke 13:22-30. Turn with me, if you would, to Luke 13:22-30. Now, while you’re looking that up, let me give you an interesting tidbit of information. The first thing that Luke is going to tell us in our lesson today is that Jesus was traveling through the towns and villages and teaching the people on his way to Jerusalem. Now, you might remember how we heard Luke mention something like this before. In fact, it was about two months ago, when Luke recorded how Jesus resolutely set his face to travel to Jerusalem, thus beginning the last six months of his earthly ministry. As Luke mentions it again in 13:22, he is not only reminding us of where Jesus is now and giving us the background for what is following, he also seems to be dividing what he recorded between Chapter 9:51 and Chapter 18:30 in to two parts. He may even be indicating that we are now passing into the last 3 months of Jesus’ earthly ministry. I don’t know if that is what he is trying to do, but if it is, it makes sense why Jesus is so intently and passionately calling on each and every one of us to make every effort to enter the kingdom of heaven through the narrow door! Luke tells us, beginning with verse 22: “Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. 23 Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?” He said to them, 24 “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.” (Luke 13:22-24, NIV)
Did you hear the intensity and the passion in Jesus’ voice? Make every effort to enter through the narrow door! Now, if you took a look at that phrase in the Greek language, you would find that the verb Jesus used was “agonidzomai”. Agonidzomai is the very verb from which we get our English word, “agony” and “agonize”. This is the very word that Paul used in 1 Corinthians 9:25 when he described the competitors in the games and how they would undergo strict training so that they could be the victors. This is the same Word that Paul used in 2 Timothy 4:7 as he said his farewell proclaiming that he had fought the good fight and done everything he could to proclaim the gospel. This, in fact, was the very same word that Jesus used in John 18:36 as he stood before Pilate and told him that if Jesus’ kingdom was of this world his servants would fight to prevent his arrest. In other words, his servants would make every effort to free Jesus, just as Paul had made every effort to serve the Lord and athletes went into strict training so that they could make every effort to win the race.
This is the very thing that Jesus is calling on each and every one of us to do! He is calling on us to make every effort and push every muscle and nerve as far as it can go and then just a little farther to make certain that we are able to enter the kingdom of heaven through that narrow door while it is still open, because the time will come when it will no longer be open. Take a look at verse 24 again. Jesus says, “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. 25 Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’ “But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’ 26 “Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 “But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’ 28 “There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. 29 People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. 30 Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.” (Luke 13:24–30, NIV)
Make every effort to enter through the narrow door! Not only is this Jesus’ exhortation to us, this is his warning to us as well! He is warning us to make the most of our time of grace and enter now, rather than waiting until it is too late; for the truth is, unless we enter while we can we will be barred outside of the kingdom of heaven, forever. Though we know that the door to the kingdom of heaven will be completely shut to all people on the last day, the Lord has also closed that door for a time when his longsuffering patience comes to an end for any nation or any individual. This was the very thing that happened to the Jews in 70 AD when the Romans came in and destroyed Jerusalem. This is the very thing that happened to the 7 cities listed in the book of Revelation. This is the very thing that has happened in nations like Germany, France, England, and many other European nations. Though at one time these were strongholds of God’s Word and the message of the Gospel, the gospel has run its course and like a passing shower has moved on to a new place. Though the Gospel, which was once so prevalent in these countries, has come to America, how much longer will we be privileged to proclaim it? How much longer will we be blessed with God’s patience? How much longer will he allow our country to snub him before he closes the doorway to heaven and sends his gospel on to another stronghold in another nation? We don’t know! That is why our Savior is so passionately calling on each and every one of us to make every effort to enter into the kingdom of heaven through the narrow door!
But how do we do that! It’s not like we can just walk up to that narrow door, squat down, and scuttle through on into the kingdom of heaven! Rather, we enter through that narrow door, as Freshman College Religion Professor explained, by living in the Word and Sacraments. We enter by means of sorrow over our sins and repentance for them. This is the strenuous effort or the struggle that we face on a daily basis. This is the struggle that Luther described as he explained the meaning of baptism. He wrote, “It means that our old self with its evil deeds and desires should be drowned by daily sorrow and repentance, and die and that day by day the new self should arise, as from the dead, to live in the presence of God in righteousness and purity now and forever.”
This is where you and I are! Through faith in Jesus, we have entered the kingdom of heaven through that narrow door. Through faith in Jesus, our lives are now hidden with God. Through faith in Jesus, we know that our Old Self has been drown along with its evil deed and desires, and we now seek to live in the presence of God. The problem is, however, that satan is constantly trying to win us back to his way of thinking. He is constantly enticing us to squeeze back through that narrow doorway and meet with him in the living room of temptation, where we can sit in the lazy boy of our favorite sins, prop our feet up and just relax before his plasma screen of worldly enjoyments instead of making all that effort to squeeze through such a narrow doorway into the kingdom of God!
This is why our Savior is passionately calling on us to make every effort to enter through the narrow door by taking every opportunity to hear his word as it is proclaimed to us. He is calling on us to take time out of our busy schedules to read and study his word for ourselves, to meditate on it and to pray about it. He is calling on us to make every effort to live our lives according to his will rather than according to our own feelings. He is calling on us to turn to him in repentance whenever we find that we have grown weary and have sat for a time in the easy chair of our sins, and he is assuring us that when we turn to him in repentance he will forgive us. He will shower us with his blood, dress us in the robes of his righteousness, and lead us once again through that narrow door which leads into the kingdom of heaven.
Knowing this; knowing all that our Savior has done and still does for us to help us make every effort to enter through the narrow door, it is clear that our Savior has also called us to help each other make every effort to enter the kingdom of heaven. It is clear that our Savior is calling on us to share our faith with others so that they too, might know, all that Jesus has done for them. It is our mission to share our faith and encourage our brothers and sisters who have simply stopped struggling to enter the narrow door and have drifted away from our fellowship here. It is our mission to speak to them, encourage them, assure them of our love and their Savior’s love for them so that they might once again begin to make every effort to enter the kingdom of heaven before the Lord closes that door for good.
So do just that! As you strive and struggle, sorrowing over your own sins, repenting and seeking to live in our Savior’s Word, continue to pray for those who have left our fellowship. Pray that the Lord would lead them to return. Pray that the Lord would give you opportunity to speak to them. Pray that the Lord would bless your efforts, so that when you do meet them, you can encourage them and invite them back so that they too can continue with us, striving to enter the kingdom of heaven. For the truth is, in the same way that every parent saw that their struggle to enter that little children’s room was worth all the effort of passing through the narrow door, so also when our Lord calls us home to his heavenly kingdom, we will see that every moment of our struggle and our effort to enter through the narrow door of the kingdom of heaven will have been worth it too.
Amen.
Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church,--Le Sueur, MN
For quite a number of years the Mankato Clinic, the clinic in Mankato connected to ISJ, had a special play room just for children. It was a little room in which the tables, chairs, and bookshelves were all the perfect height for children. The acoustically tiled ceiling was set at a mere 7’ tall, making the room feel especially cozy and perfectly proportional for the children who played in there. The length of the room was approximately as long as one of our benches, from armrest to armrest, while the width of the room covered an area similar to that of the front of the front bench to the back of the fourth bench. There was a window on each of the short ends of the room and a door in the very middle of one of the long walls. But while this door was very easy for children to pass through, when it came to the adults who were often invited by their children to come into the room, entering through that narrow door took a little bit of an effort. As it was, the door was only about 4 ½ feet tall and 3 ½ feet wide, so when adults tried to enter, it took a little extra effort. It was always fun to watch parents putting forth the effort to enter that narrow door. Some would duck, while others would simply crouch. Some would squat down and sort of scuttle in sideways, while others would get down on all fours and crawl in. Personally, I found that squatting down and sort of scuttling in sideways was the best solution. However, at that point in my life, I had a greater girth than I do now, and often times sliding my belly through the door took a greater amount of effort than I expected. Yet, for every parent that made the effort to enter that room, the reward of seeing their children’s faces light up with delight at their presence was worth the effort.
Well, in the same way that so many parents, myself included, made every effort to enter into that children’s play room through an incredibly narrow door, so also Jesus, our Savior, is calling on each and every one of us to make every effort to enter the kingdom of heaven through the narrow door, which is standing open for us! This, in fact is the very exhortation that Jesus is making in our Lesson today from Luke 13:22-30. Turn with me, if you would, to Luke 13:22-30. Now, while you’re looking that up, let me give you an interesting tidbit of information. The first thing that Luke is going to tell us in our lesson today is that Jesus was traveling through the towns and villages and teaching the people on his way to Jerusalem. Now, you might remember how we heard Luke mention something like this before. In fact, it was about two months ago, when Luke recorded how Jesus resolutely set his face to travel to Jerusalem, thus beginning the last six months of his earthly ministry. As Luke mentions it again in 13:22, he is not only reminding us of where Jesus is now and giving us the background for what is following, he also seems to be dividing what he recorded between Chapter 9:51 and Chapter 18:30 in to two parts. He may even be indicating that we are now passing into the last 3 months of Jesus’ earthly ministry. I don’t know if that is what he is trying to do, but if it is, it makes sense why Jesus is so intently and passionately calling on each and every one of us to make every effort to enter the kingdom of heaven through the narrow door! Luke tells us, beginning with verse 22: “Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. 23 Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?” He said to them, 24 “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.” (Luke 13:22-24, NIV)
Did you hear the intensity and the passion in Jesus’ voice? Make every effort to enter through the narrow door! Now, if you took a look at that phrase in the Greek language, you would find that the verb Jesus used was “agonidzomai”. Agonidzomai is the very verb from which we get our English word, “agony” and “agonize”. This is the very word that Paul used in 1 Corinthians 9:25 when he described the competitors in the games and how they would undergo strict training so that they could be the victors. This is the same Word that Paul used in 2 Timothy 4:7 as he said his farewell proclaiming that he had fought the good fight and done everything he could to proclaim the gospel. This, in fact, was the very same word that Jesus used in John 18:36 as he stood before Pilate and told him that if Jesus’ kingdom was of this world his servants would fight to prevent his arrest. In other words, his servants would make every effort to free Jesus, just as Paul had made every effort to serve the Lord and athletes went into strict training so that they could make every effort to win the race.
This is the very thing that Jesus is calling on each and every one of us to do! He is calling on us to make every effort and push every muscle and nerve as far as it can go and then just a little farther to make certain that we are able to enter the kingdom of heaven through that narrow door while it is still open, because the time will come when it will no longer be open. Take a look at verse 24 again. Jesus says, “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. 25 Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’ “But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’ 26 “Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 “But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’ 28 “There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. 29 People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. 30 Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.” (Luke 13:24–30, NIV)
Make every effort to enter through the narrow door! Not only is this Jesus’ exhortation to us, this is his warning to us as well! He is warning us to make the most of our time of grace and enter now, rather than waiting until it is too late; for the truth is, unless we enter while we can we will be barred outside of the kingdom of heaven, forever. Though we know that the door to the kingdom of heaven will be completely shut to all people on the last day, the Lord has also closed that door for a time when his longsuffering patience comes to an end for any nation or any individual. This was the very thing that happened to the Jews in 70 AD when the Romans came in and destroyed Jerusalem. This is the very thing that happened to the 7 cities listed in the book of Revelation. This is the very thing that has happened in nations like Germany, France, England, and many other European nations. Though at one time these were strongholds of God’s Word and the message of the Gospel, the gospel has run its course and like a passing shower has moved on to a new place. Though the Gospel, which was once so prevalent in these countries, has come to America, how much longer will we be privileged to proclaim it? How much longer will we be blessed with God’s patience? How much longer will he allow our country to snub him before he closes the doorway to heaven and sends his gospel on to another stronghold in another nation? We don’t know! That is why our Savior is so passionately calling on each and every one of us to make every effort to enter into the kingdom of heaven through the narrow door!
But how do we do that! It’s not like we can just walk up to that narrow door, squat down, and scuttle through on into the kingdom of heaven! Rather, we enter through that narrow door, as Freshman College Religion Professor explained, by living in the Word and Sacraments. We enter by means of sorrow over our sins and repentance for them. This is the strenuous effort or the struggle that we face on a daily basis. This is the struggle that Luther described as he explained the meaning of baptism. He wrote, “It means that our old self with its evil deeds and desires should be drowned by daily sorrow and repentance, and die and that day by day the new self should arise, as from the dead, to live in the presence of God in righteousness and purity now and forever.”
This is where you and I are! Through faith in Jesus, we have entered the kingdom of heaven through that narrow door. Through faith in Jesus, our lives are now hidden with God. Through faith in Jesus, we know that our Old Self has been drown along with its evil deed and desires, and we now seek to live in the presence of God. The problem is, however, that satan is constantly trying to win us back to his way of thinking. He is constantly enticing us to squeeze back through that narrow doorway and meet with him in the living room of temptation, where we can sit in the lazy boy of our favorite sins, prop our feet up and just relax before his plasma screen of worldly enjoyments instead of making all that effort to squeeze through such a narrow doorway into the kingdom of God!
This is why our Savior is passionately calling on us to make every effort to enter through the narrow door by taking every opportunity to hear his word as it is proclaimed to us. He is calling on us to take time out of our busy schedules to read and study his word for ourselves, to meditate on it and to pray about it. He is calling on us to make every effort to live our lives according to his will rather than according to our own feelings. He is calling on us to turn to him in repentance whenever we find that we have grown weary and have sat for a time in the easy chair of our sins, and he is assuring us that when we turn to him in repentance he will forgive us. He will shower us with his blood, dress us in the robes of his righteousness, and lead us once again through that narrow door which leads into the kingdom of heaven.
Knowing this; knowing all that our Savior has done and still does for us to help us make every effort to enter through the narrow door, it is clear that our Savior has also called us to help each other make every effort to enter the kingdom of heaven. It is clear that our Savior is calling on us to share our faith with others so that they too, might know, all that Jesus has done for them. It is our mission to share our faith and encourage our brothers and sisters who have simply stopped struggling to enter the narrow door and have drifted away from our fellowship here. It is our mission to speak to them, encourage them, assure them of our love and their Savior’s love for them so that they might once again begin to make every effort to enter the kingdom of heaven before the Lord closes that door for good.
So do just that! As you strive and struggle, sorrowing over your own sins, repenting and seeking to live in our Savior’s Word, continue to pray for those who have left our fellowship. Pray that the Lord would lead them to return. Pray that the Lord would give you opportunity to speak to them. Pray that the Lord would bless your efforts, so that when you do meet them, you can encourage them and invite them back so that they too can continue with us, striving to enter the kingdom of heaven. For the truth is, in the same way that every parent saw that their struggle to enter that little children’s room was worth all the effort of passing through the narrow door, so also when our Lord calls us home to his heavenly kingdom, we will see that every moment of our struggle and our effort to enter through the narrow door of the kingdom of heaven will have been worth it too.
Amen.
Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church,--Le Sueur, MN
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Embrace the Flame that Jesus Kindled (Luke 12:49-53)
Dear friends in Christ.
When I was about 12 I became the grill master for our family. Though it started off rather slowly with only a few opportunities, I quickly embraced my new position because I loved everything about it. Though we didn’t have a gas grill, or even a Weber, I embraced every part of my task, but my favorite part was lighting the charcoal. Now, you have to understand, we didn’t use lighter fluid. We had a charcoal lighting cylinder type of thing. We placed crumpled newspaper on the bottom. Over the newspaper was a metal grate where we first put the charcoal we had used for the last grilling before we added the new stuff. I can still remember how fun it was to light the newspaper kindling and watch as the flames grew, lighting first the older charcoal before it light the new. I remember watching with amazement as the kindling gave way to glowing briquettes that eventually produced flames that leaped out of the top of that cylinder. Well, in the same way that I used to kindle the flames that cooked the food on our family’s grill, our Savior has kindled the flames of faith that we embrace in our hearts to this day, by his death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead.
In fact, now that our Savior has done kindled the flame of faith in our hearts, our we hear our God calling on us to embrace the flame that Jesus kindled. To do that we want to take a closer look at our Gospel lesson in Luke 12:49-53, which can be found on page 1032 of your Bibles. As you’re turning to Luke 12:49 let me refresh your memories as to what has been going on. Though we’ve been studying chapter 12 for the last three weeks, we have not been wanting for good teaching. After all, it was in this chapter that Jesus warned us against all kinds of greed as he taught us to find our true wealth in the Lord our God. It was in this Chapter that we saw just how precious we are to the Lord our God and how the Lord invites us to rejoice as we look forward to the return of our Savior; knowing that our God has already given us the keys to the kingdom of heaven through faith in Jesus. Now, today, as Jesus continues his discourse with his disciples and the crowd of thousands he is revealing to us the very nature of his mission here on earth, and he is inviting each and every one of us to embrace the flame that Jesus himself kindled when he went to the cross. Let’s look at Luke 12:49-51 where Jesus is speaking and says: “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50 But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed! 51 Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division.” (Luke 12:49–51, NIV)
As Jesus spoke to the thousands who had gathered to hear him, he revealed to them the very purpose of his mission here on earth. Though so many had thought of the Messiah as the great peace bringer who would bring an end to the Roman tyranny, re-establish the sovereignty of the Jewish Nation, and rule on the throne for many years, returning the glory days of David and Solomon along with the same level of peace and prosperity, Jesus clearly revealed that his mission was not an act of peace, but an act of war! Jesus mission was to infiltrate satan’s territory, to seek out the lost sheep of Israel, and to proclaim freedom for the captives. This is what Jesus had been doing for the last three years as he cut a path of destruction through satan’s territory. Not actual destruction, mind you, but spiritual destruction; for everywhere that Jesus went he proclaimed the gospel of salvation. He preached the harshest law against the self-righteous servants of satan who thought that they did not need Jesus; and he preached the sweetest gospel of forgiveness to those whom he rescued from satan’s grip; soothing their wounds with the salve of his grace. Now, with only a few months left, Jesus is already preparing himself for the final showdown, the final battle between himself and satan, our enemy—the battle where Jesus would light the fire that will cover the earth. Look back with me at what Jesus is saying in verses 49 and 50: “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50 But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed!” (Luke 12:49–50, NIV)
With only a few months before the conclusion of his earthly ministry, Jesus tells us that he is more than ready for the conclusion of his mission. He is more than ready to completely destroy satan’s power over us by his death and resurrection from the dead. This is the baptism of which Jesus speaks—his crucifixion where he would forgive the sins of the world, destroy the power of the devil, forever, and where he would kindle the flame that would burn in the hearts of every man and woman until the very last day. This is the flame that was struck when Jesus was crucified; the flame that burns in some hearts as the flame of faith and the flame that burns in other hearts as the flame of offense and unbelief. Though Jesus was by no means eager to see people turn against him in unbelief, he knew it was best to carry out his saving work so that some might believe, be freed from satan, be forgiven of their sins, and receive the gift of eternal life. Though Jesus was by no means eager for his disciples to suffer and be persecuted, he knew that the result of his death and resurrection would be that the message of salvation would be preached to all people. Though Jesus was by no means eager for us to suffer persecution and divisions because we have embraced the flame that Jesus kindled—the flame which now burns in our hearts as faith—he knew that we would find peace, comfort and strength in the message of salvation whenever we faced fiery persecution from those who do not believe. He knew that because we had embraced the flame of faith that Jesus himself had kindled in our hearts, we would take comfort in the knowledge that satan’s power had completely been destroyed. We would take comfort in the knowledge that our enemy no longer holds any power over us. We would take comfort in the knowledge that eternal life in heaven is waiting for us because Jesus’ death and resurrection has washed us clean of all our sins; lighting the flame of faith which we have embraced since we were little children!
The problem is, however, that even though we have embraced the flame of faith that Jesus has kindled in our hearts by his death and resurrection, there are many others who have not embraced it. Instead they have embraced the flame of offense and unbelief where Jesus is concerned, which is exactly what Jesus is speaking about in verses 51-53 of our lesson today. Let’s take a look at what Jesus is saying in Luke 12:51-53: “Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. 52 From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” (Luke 12:51–53, NIV)
Sadly, this is exactly what we are seeing in our world today! We are seeing more and more divisions where Jesus is concerned. We are seeing more and more people who are embracing the flame of offense and unbelief. Though Jesus completely destroyed satan’s power when he went to the cross, satan still hasn’t given up! Unlike Lee who simply rode away after the surrender at Appomattox, satan has refused to surrender. Even though Jesus has completely forgiven all sin, satan continually works in the hearts and minds of people doing everything he can to cause people to take offense at the idea that 2000 years ago, some man died on a cross and rose again from the dead. Whenever the message of salvation through faith in Jesus comes up, he is right there whispering to the heart about how foolish it is to believe something like that. He is right there stoking the fires of logic against the idea that the death of some person could possibly forgive sins, because something like that is simply too easy to believe. He is right there in the brain, screaming about how difficult salvation truly is and that if we ever want to attain it we must get busy right now to make it happen for ourselves. Thus, more and more people each day embrace the flame of offense and unbelief rather than the flame of faith.
But what is even sadder still is that we see these very divisions coming to light in our own families! Some of you have seen your own children, who so firmly embraced the flame of faith begin to loosen their grip on that flame and allow the flame of doubt and offense to take up at least partial residence in their hearts soon after the day of their Confirmation. Some of you have seen teens on our own families begin to question the value of worship, fight against their need to go and be bored for an hour by the Word of God, and even begin to keep themselves from fueling the flame of faith that Jesus kindled in their hearts. Some of you have watched your children leave the nest for school or work knowing that now it is up to them to make the decision to embrace the flame of their faith or to allow the flame of offense and unbelief to grow in their hearts. Some of you have seen your adult children change as they began embracing the flame of offense and unbelief. Some of you have faced the frustration of divisions between you and your children or you and your family because these very divisions have taken hold and not every member of your family is embracing that flame of faith that you hold so dear. Some of you may even be at your wits end because of the heart ache you feel for your family, your children, or even your relatives and you are worried about what you can do. Some of you may even be angry with the Lord for allowing such terrible divisions to come from the flame he kindled when he went to the cross.
If you have ever faced divisions like these, or if you’ve ever been worried that they might happen to you, allow me to share with you an illustration of God’s faithfulness to encourage you as you embrace the flame of faith that God himself kindled in your hearts. This illustration comes from a sermon by James MacDonald, which I’m sure that God saw to it that I heard when I was running errands so that I could share it with you. (Clip)
Though some of you may be facing divisions in your families, always remember the faithfulness of our God. Though some of you may be facing difficulties with children who are beginning to embrace the flame of offense rather than the flame of faith, place them in the Lord’s hands through prayer. And trust what the Lord has to say. Look back at Luke 12:52-53 with me one more time, and as we read pay attention to what Jesus does not say. “From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” (Luke 12:52–53, NIV)
Though our Savior tells us that divisions like these can come into our lives, he does not say that they are permanent. He does not say that once the flame of offense and unbelief begins to grow in your heart forever will it dominate your destiny. He also gives us the very weapons we can use against divisions like this. For even before we face divisions like these we need to live our faith as an example to our families, to our children, and even to others. We need to speak with our children and teach them the precious truths of salvation so that as proverbs says, “when they are old they will not turn from it.” We need to encourage our children as they grow, especially if they begin to fall from their secure footing of salvation. We need to pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, and pray for ourselves, for our children, for our families, for our friends, for those who are slipping, for those who are struggling to hold on to the flame of faith, for those who have begun to embrace the flame of offense and unbelief, for those who have fallen away from the faith completely, and especially for those who have not yet heard the message of salvation. We need to do this so that our Savior might kindle or rekindle the flame of faith in the hearts of those who are struggling, fallen away or who have never heard the message so that they too can live in the salvation that Jesus won for them and once again embrace the flame of faith that he first kindled in their hearts.
So, dear friends, heed the invitation of your God to embrace the flame of faith that Jesus has kindled in your hearts. Embrace it in the same way that I embraced the task of grilling and lighting the charcoal for my family. Embrace it, feed it, and watch it grow into an all consuming flame of faith; one which you will never set aside or let go of, ever.
Amen.
Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church,--Le Sueur, MN
When I was about 12 I became the grill master for our family. Though it started off rather slowly with only a few opportunities, I quickly embraced my new position because I loved everything about it. Though we didn’t have a gas grill, or even a Weber, I embraced every part of my task, but my favorite part was lighting the charcoal. Now, you have to understand, we didn’t use lighter fluid. We had a charcoal lighting cylinder type of thing. We placed crumpled newspaper on the bottom. Over the newspaper was a metal grate where we first put the charcoal we had used for the last grilling before we added the new stuff. I can still remember how fun it was to light the newspaper kindling and watch as the flames grew, lighting first the older charcoal before it light the new. I remember watching with amazement as the kindling gave way to glowing briquettes that eventually produced flames that leaped out of the top of that cylinder. Well, in the same way that I used to kindle the flames that cooked the food on our family’s grill, our Savior has kindled the flames of faith that we embrace in our hearts to this day, by his death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead.
In fact, now that our Savior has done kindled the flame of faith in our hearts, our we hear our God calling on us to embrace the flame that Jesus kindled. To do that we want to take a closer look at our Gospel lesson in Luke 12:49-53, which can be found on page 1032 of your Bibles. As you’re turning to Luke 12:49 let me refresh your memories as to what has been going on. Though we’ve been studying chapter 12 for the last three weeks, we have not been wanting for good teaching. After all, it was in this chapter that Jesus warned us against all kinds of greed as he taught us to find our true wealth in the Lord our God. It was in this Chapter that we saw just how precious we are to the Lord our God and how the Lord invites us to rejoice as we look forward to the return of our Savior; knowing that our God has already given us the keys to the kingdom of heaven through faith in Jesus. Now, today, as Jesus continues his discourse with his disciples and the crowd of thousands he is revealing to us the very nature of his mission here on earth, and he is inviting each and every one of us to embrace the flame that Jesus himself kindled when he went to the cross. Let’s look at Luke 12:49-51 where Jesus is speaking and says: “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50 But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed! 51 Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division.” (Luke 12:49–51, NIV)
As Jesus spoke to the thousands who had gathered to hear him, he revealed to them the very purpose of his mission here on earth. Though so many had thought of the Messiah as the great peace bringer who would bring an end to the Roman tyranny, re-establish the sovereignty of the Jewish Nation, and rule on the throne for many years, returning the glory days of David and Solomon along with the same level of peace and prosperity, Jesus clearly revealed that his mission was not an act of peace, but an act of war! Jesus mission was to infiltrate satan’s territory, to seek out the lost sheep of Israel, and to proclaim freedom for the captives. This is what Jesus had been doing for the last three years as he cut a path of destruction through satan’s territory. Not actual destruction, mind you, but spiritual destruction; for everywhere that Jesus went he proclaimed the gospel of salvation. He preached the harshest law against the self-righteous servants of satan who thought that they did not need Jesus; and he preached the sweetest gospel of forgiveness to those whom he rescued from satan’s grip; soothing their wounds with the salve of his grace. Now, with only a few months left, Jesus is already preparing himself for the final showdown, the final battle between himself and satan, our enemy—the battle where Jesus would light the fire that will cover the earth. Look back with me at what Jesus is saying in verses 49 and 50: “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50 But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed!” (Luke 12:49–50, NIV)
With only a few months before the conclusion of his earthly ministry, Jesus tells us that he is more than ready for the conclusion of his mission. He is more than ready to completely destroy satan’s power over us by his death and resurrection from the dead. This is the baptism of which Jesus speaks—his crucifixion where he would forgive the sins of the world, destroy the power of the devil, forever, and where he would kindle the flame that would burn in the hearts of every man and woman until the very last day. This is the flame that was struck when Jesus was crucified; the flame that burns in some hearts as the flame of faith and the flame that burns in other hearts as the flame of offense and unbelief. Though Jesus was by no means eager to see people turn against him in unbelief, he knew it was best to carry out his saving work so that some might believe, be freed from satan, be forgiven of their sins, and receive the gift of eternal life. Though Jesus was by no means eager for his disciples to suffer and be persecuted, he knew that the result of his death and resurrection would be that the message of salvation would be preached to all people. Though Jesus was by no means eager for us to suffer persecution and divisions because we have embraced the flame that Jesus kindled—the flame which now burns in our hearts as faith—he knew that we would find peace, comfort and strength in the message of salvation whenever we faced fiery persecution from those who do not believe. He knew that because we had embraced the flame of faith that Jesus himself had kindled in our hearts, we would take comfort in the knowledge that satan’s power had completely been destroyed. We would take comfort in the knowledge that our enemy no longer holds any power over us. We would take comfort in the knowledge that eternal life in heaven is waiting for us because Jesus’ death and resurrection has washed us clean of all our sins; lighting the flame of faith which we have embraced since we were little children!
The problem is, however, that even though we have embraced the flame of faith that Jesus has kindled in our hearts by his death and resurrection, there are many others who have not embraced it. Instead they have embraced the flame of offense and unbelief where Jesus is concerned, which is exactly what Jesus is speaking about in verses 51-53 of our lesson today. Let’s take a look at what Jesus is saying in Luke 12:51-53: “Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. 52 From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” (Luke 12:51–53, NIV)
Sadly, this is exactly what we are seeing in our world today! We are seeing more and more divisions where Jesus is concerned. We are seeing more and more people who are embracing the flame of offense and unbelief. Though Jesus completely destroyed satan’s power when he went to the cross, satan still hasn’t given up! Unlike Lee who simply rode away after the surrender at Appomattox, satan has refused to surrender. Even though Jesus has completely forgiven all sin, satan continually works in the hearts and minds of people doing everything he can to cause people to take offense at the idea that 2000 years ago, some man died on a cross and rose again from the dead. Whenever the message of salvation through faith in Jesus comes up, he is right there whispering to the heart about how foolish it is to believe something like that. He is right there stoking the fires of logic against the idea that the death of some person could possibly forgive sins, because something like that is simply too easy to believe. He is right there in the brain, screaming about how difficult salvation truly is and that if we ever want to attain it we must get busy right now to make it happen for ourselves. Thus, more and more people each day embrace the flame of offense and unbelief rather than the flame of faith.
But what is even sadder still is that we see these very divisions coming to light in our own families! Some of you have seen your own children, who so firmly embraced the flame of faith begin to loosen their grip on that flame and allow the flame of doubt and offense to take up at least partial residence in their hearts soon after the day of their Confirmation. Some of you have seen teens on our own families begin to question the value of worship, fight against their need to go and be bored for an hour by the Word of God, and even begin to keep themselves from fueling the flame of faith that Jesus kindled in their hearts. Some of you have watched your children leave the nest for school or work knowing that now it is up to them to make the decision to embrace the flame of their faith or to allow the flame of offense and unbelief to grow in their hearts. Some of you have seen your adult children change as they began embracing the flame of offense and unbelief. Some of you have faced the frustration of divisions between you and your children or you and your family because these very divisions have taken hold and not every member of your family is embracing that flame of faith that you hold so dear. Some of you may even be at your wits end because of the heart ache you feel for your family, your children, or even your relatives and you are worried about what you can do. Some of you may even be angry with the Lord for allowing such terrible divisions to come from the flame he kindled when he went to the cross.
If you have ever faced divisions like these, or if you’ve ever been worried that they might happen to you, allow me to share with you an illustration of God’s faithfulness to encourage you as you embrace the flame of faith that God himself kindled in your hearts. This illustration comes from a sermon by James MacDonald, which I’m sure that God saw to it that I heard when I was running errands so that I could share it with you. (Clip)
Though some of you may be facing divisions in your families, always remember the faithfulness of our God. Though some of you may be facing difficulties with children who are beginning to embrace the flame of offense rather than the flame of faith, place them in the Lord’s hands through prayer. And trust what the Lord has to say. Look back at Luke 12:52-53 with me one more time, and as we read pay attention to what Jesus does not say. “From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” (Luke 12:52–53, NIV)
Though our Savior tells us that divisions like these can come into our lives, he does not say that they are permanent. He does not say that once the flame of offense and unbelief begins to grow in your heart forever will it dominate your destiny. He also gives us the very weapons we can use against divisions like this. For even before we face divisions like these we need to live our faith as an example to our families, to our children, and even to others. We need to speak with our children and teach them the precious truths of salvation so that as proverbs says, “when they are old they will not turn from it.” We need to encourage our children as they grow, especially if they begin to fall from their secure footing of salvation. We need to pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, and pray for ourselves, for our children, for our families, for our friends, for those who are slipping, for those who are struggling to hold on to the flame of faith, for those who have begun to embrace the flame of offense and unbelief, for those who have fallen away from the faith completely, and especially for those who have not yet heard the message of salvation. We need to do this so that our Savior might kindle or rekindle the flame of faith in the hearts of those who are struggling, fallen away or who have never heard the message so that they too can live in the salvation that Jesus won for them and once again embrace the flame of faith that he first kindled in their hearts.
So, dear friends, heed the invitation of your God to embrace the flame of faith that Jesus has kindled in your hearts. Embrace it in the same way that I embraced the task of grilling and lighting the charcoal for my family. Embrace it, feed it, and watch it grow into an all consuming flame of faith; one which you will never set aside or let go of, ever.
Amen.
Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church,--Le Sueur, MN
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