Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost
September 23, 2012
Dear friends in Christ.
For the past week, the book of Philippians has been
on my mind. On numerous occasions I was
reminded of how the Apostle Paul so boldly declared, “For to me, to live is
Christ and to die is gain." (Philippians 1:21, NIV84) I was reminded of the joy that Paul conveyed
to the Christians in the city of Philippi, even as he, himself, was locked away
in a Roman cell, awaiting his trial before Caesar. But out of all the things that came to my
mind this week was how Paul was defiantly one who made the most of his time of
grace while he lived on the earth. These
were the thoughts that kept permeating my heart and my mind even as I sought to
study the lessons assigned for this day and compose a sermon to strengthen and
uplift you with the Word of God. But no
matter how hard I worked, I kept thinking about Philippians and the lesson
before us this morning from Philippians 1:18-27. Though I didn’t understand it at first, I
know now that this was the hand of the Lord guiding me and preparing me so that
I would be ready to serve you with words of comfort and encouragement! So, what I am doing today is something that I
have done only on a couple of other occasions.
I’m bringing to you a sermon that I preached to you only a couple of
years ago. Though some of you may remember
it or even portions of it, the more I thought about it, the more I realized I
needed to preach this to you today, especially after the Lord, in his wisdom
unexpectedly called Calissa home to his side.
I realized I needed to preach this sermon to you one more time, because
in our lesson today, the Apostle Paul is calling on each and every one of us to
make the most of the time of grace that the Lord gives us here in this world.
Now, if there was ever a man who made the most of
his time of grace here on earth, I would say that it would have to be the
Apostle Paul. Even though he had started
out as a Pharisee and a persecutor of the Church, when the Lord called him to
faith, Paul made the most of his time of grace by investing everything he had
into his life for Christ. Wherever he
went, he preached the gospel and told people about their Savior. Whenever he we shipped, beaten, stoned,
shipwrecked, arre3sted, imprisoned, and otherwise abused, he continued to tell
others about Jesus, the Messiah, who had come into the world to free all people
from their sins by his death and resurrection from the dead. Even now, as Paul was preparing to stand
before Caesar and his court, he was looking forward to giving glory and honor
to Christ his Savior through his proclamation of the Gospel, even if that meant
he would be found guilty and put to death.
In this way, Paul made the most of his time of grace, for as he invested
his life in Jesus Christ his Savior, he was looking forward to the return on
his investment, the reward, the profit, the gain of eternal life in
heaven. In fact, take a look at what
Paul writes in our lesson today, in Philippians 1 beginning with verse 18:
But what does it matter? The important thing is that
in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And
because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, 19 for I know
that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. 20 I eagerly expect
and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so
that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by
death. 21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 If I am to go on
living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I
choose? I do not know! 23 I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be
with Christ, which is better by far; 24 but it is more necessary for you that I
remain in the body. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will
continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that
through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on
account of me. 27 Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of
the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you
in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one
man for the faith of the gospel" (Philippians 1:18–27, NIV84)
As Paul wrote from prison, he was both looking
forward to the reward of eternal life with his Savior, and looking back at how
he had spent his time of grace, investing his life in the service of preaching
the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ his Savior. Though he longed to cash in that investment
and finally gain the return of eternal life, he knew that his time of grace had
not yet come to an end. He knew that the
lord had more investments for him to make, more labor for him to perform, more
time that needed to be spent in this life serving those brothers and sisters
who had come to faith, as well as seeking out those who still did not know
Jesus as their Savior. Thus, as Paul
calls on the Philippians to conduct themselves in a manner worthy of the gospel
of Christ, he is essentially calling on them, and each and every one of us to
follow his example and make the most of the time of grace that our Savior has
given us. Paul is calling on each one of
us to put our faith into action and invest our lives in Christ our Savior as we
share our faith with our friends, with our family, with acquaintances, and even
strangers—people who already know Jesus as their Savior, as well as those who
do not yet know that Jesus has freed them from their sins.
But the question that naturally follows is, “How do
we do that?” “How do we make the most of
our time of grace?” “How do we invest
our lives in Christ our Savior and live in a way that is worthy of the Gospel
of Christ?” Simple, we become managers,
Christian Stewards of the Gospel which the Lord has given us. We take the time, as so many of us have done,
to read, to listen to, and to study our Bibles so that our faith can continue
to grow stronger. We commit ourselves to
gathering regularly for worship so that as we give glory to our God we are also
built up in our knowledge and understanding of the Lord. We recognize the importance of bringing our
children to Sunday School and using that as an opportunity for us to gather
with other believers in studying the Bible together, so that we can build each
other up and strengthen each other in our faith. Then, when we have filled ourselves with the
gospel, we take it with us into the world.
We take it with us as we open our mouths to tell others about the faith
that we have. We take it with us as we
open our mouths to answer questions that others ask us about our faith and the
hope of eternal life to which we constantly cling. We take it with us and we bring glory go our
God as we take time to bow our heads and give thanks for the food we are about
to eat, even in the midst of a crowded restaurant. WE take it with us and we show that we are
God’s children by the words and the actions we use while working, playing,
laughing or crying, and it this way we make the most of our time of grace here
on earth even as we bring glory to Christ our Savior.
It is in this way that we serve as Christian
stewards, investing our lives in Christ, looking forward to the eternal rewards
of heaven, and making the most of our time of grace here in this world. Yet, there are times in our lives when things
simply do not go as well as we would like.
There are times when it seems that the economy of our lives changes from
good to bad as troubles and hardships enter into the picture. But even though there may be times when we
seem to face a down-turn in our investments as sickness and sufferings enter
into the picture, these are nothing less than blessings that the Lord our God
uses to draw us closer to himself.
Though there may be times when we feel that we are receiving negative-returns,
such as chronic illness, debilitating pain, or seemingly endless medical
attention is needed, these are nothing less than the lenses that the Lord our
God uses to refocus our faith on him so that we might bring glory and honor to
him with our life and even, if he should require it, our death!
This is why the Lord has allowed the most
intelligent of his followers to succumb to Alzheimer’s. This is why the Lord has allowed the
strongest of his people to face Arthritis, Cancer, Dementia, and Parkinson’s. This is why the Lord has suddenly and
unexpectedly taken the lives of babies, young children, teens, and even young
adults. Though this is always terribly
painful, and we are still reeling from the Lord’s decision to take Calissa home
to himself, he is using even this as an opportunity to draw each and every one
of us closer to himself. He is using
this as an opportunity to remind us just how precious our lives on this earth
truly are. He is using this as an
opportunity to remind us of how important it is to make the most of the time of
grace that the Lord has given us. Though
any hardship that the Lord gives us can feel like a struggle and even though
the separation of death cuts us to the heart, the Lord allows us to endure
these things for his glory and so that we might be a light to others, that they
might see our faith and our trust in the Lord even in times like this, and they
might be strengthened in their faith or moved to learn about the faith that we
have and learn to love Jesus as their personal Savior as well. In short, the Lord allows these things to
come into our lives so that no matter what his name will be glorified by our
life or by our death, just as Paul wrote, “For to me, to live is Christ and to
die is gain." (Philippians 1:21, NIV84)
What greater comfort could there be for us today,
than the comfort of knowing that if we should live, we have every opportunity
to glorify the Lord our Savior with our lives!
But, if we should die, we would gain all the blessings of eternal life
at our Savior’s side forever more! How
comforting it is to know that no matter what we should face, whether it be life
or it be death, we are victorious through faith in Christ Jesus our Savior.
This is the comfort that the Lord our God has for us
today! Through faith in Jesus Christ our
Lord and Savior, we have been washed clean of every sin. We are the Lord’s children, and heirs of
eternal life. We know that we are but a
step way from our eternal homes and all times.
Even though we are separated from all our friends and loved ones who have
been called home to heaven before us, today the Lord our God calls on us to
make the most of our time of grace here in this world. Make the most of the time of grace that the
Lord has given us, because we do not know when he will call us home. We do not know if it will be today, tomorrow,
or many years from now.
So, dear friends, as you go from here today, go with
God’s richest blessings and make the most of the time of grace that he has
given you.
Amen.
Pastor
David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church--Le Sueur, MN
