Why is the Work of the Holy Spirit so Important?

Fifth Sunday of Easter

April 28, 2013

Dear friends in Christ.

Whenever you watch a sporting event like basketball or football, baseball or even NASCAR, it is very seldom that you get a glimpse of the people operating the cameras.  Oh, sure, from time to time the network might give you a wide angle shot of the stadium crowd or maybe an unusual angle of home plate, and in that shot you will see one or maybe two different cameras with their operators.  But on most occasions we never see them.  Even though they have the very important job of following the ball as it arcs toward the outfield wall, and capturing all the action of the game so that we feel like we are right there in the stadium we hardly ever see them.  We know they are there because we are being blessed by the important work that they are doing, but in all reality they are the ones who work behind the scenes, as it were.  Well, in many ways this is how the Holy Spirit works in God’s kingdom.  He works behind the scenes.  He works quietly and often times subtly as he does his most important work of calling people to faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.  Though we can often tell where he is and even sometimes see what he is doing through the work that he has accomplishes, like most camera operators, we never see him.  This is why we want to take a few minutes today to take a look at the important work that the Holy Spirit does so that we might learn why it is so very important for us as Christians.

Well, as Christians, we already know why the work of the Holy Spirit is so very important!  We know that the work of the Holy Spirit is so important because he is the one who calls people to faith through the Word of God.  He is the one who causes faith in Jesus to spring up in a person’s heart so that through that faith they might have eternal life, just as Jesus promised us when he said, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, NIV84)  And again, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” (Mark 16:16, NIV84)

Now, if I were to stand up here this morning and tell you that I had a gift of $10.00 for each and every person who came to church today, that would automatically mean that no one would be excluded from that gift.  Each person would be given a $10.00 bill as they left church today.  So, even if you were the last one ushered out of church today, you would have no worries because you trusted me when I said that I had a $10.00 bill for each and every person.  In essence this is the same promise that Jesus made when he went to the cross.  He proclaimed and promised that the benefits of his death and resurrection were for all people.  He ransomed everyone and no one was left out.  But, let me extend that illustration just a little bit more.  What if, as you were leaving church today, I did offer you a $10.00 bill, but for whatever reason instead of taking it and being blessed by an extra $10.00, you simply walked by and didn’t take it.  Even though the money was yours and you would have been blessed by it, you refused to take it and now you are not receiving those blessings.  Not only are you not receiving the blessings, it is your own fault that you did not take the gift that was offered you.  The same is true in God’s kingdom.  It is the Holy Spirit who works in our hearts to call us to faith so that we might receive the blessings that Jesus offers us.  However, if someone resists or refuses to believe all the blame lies on the person who refuses to believe in Jesus.

Sadly, this is our natural spiritual condition and this is why the work of the Holy Spirit is so important!  As Paul tells us in Ephesians, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath." (Ephesians 2:1–3, NIV84)

By nature, we were nothing more than spiritually dead and blind enemies of God.  We did not naturally come to faith in Jesus as our Savior nor did we, one day, out of the blue, simply decide that we were going to become Christians and follow Jesus for the rest of our life.  No; because by nature we were no different than a corpse lying in a coffin!  Though a well meaning pastor might have promised us a gift of $10.00, we would not have been able to take it.  Even if he had come to our coffin and placed the bill in our hand so that we took it to our grave, it would have done us no good, because we were dead and blind enemies of God. 

But now, everything has changed because of the important work that the Holy Spirit has been about in our hearts!  The Apostle Paul says it this way, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. 6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 10 For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation." (Romans 5:1–11, NIV84)

We are at peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ who died for us while we were still sinners only because the Lord himself poured out upon us, the promised Holy Spirit.  It is through the work of the Holy Spirit that we have been called to faith by the Gospel.  It is through the work of the Holy Spirit calling us to faith, in most cases through the water connected with the Word in baptism, that we now believe in Jesus as our Savior.  It is through the work of the Holy Spirit that we have been gathered together as believers and enlightened with his gifts, sanctified—made holy—and kept in the one true faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.  It is the Holy Spirit who works through the Gospel in the Word and in the Sacraments to call us to faith and strengthen our faith in Jesus who has freed us from our sins by his death and resurrection. 

This is the work that the Holy Spirit is continually doing, and this is the work in which we participate every time we take the Word of God with us.  Though we have no power to call someone to faith, we have many, many opportunities to plant the seeds of God’s Word in a person’s heart by humbly and confidently sharing our faith.  We have many opportunities to tell others about Jesus, their Savior, who died on the cross and rose again from the dead, so that through these beautiful words of the Gospel the Holy Spirit might have the opportunity to work in another person’s heart and cause the seeds of faith to grow.

What greater, more important work could there be than the work that the Holy Spirit does!  Though we might expect to find the Holy Spirit right in the middle of the picture, like the reporters who cover the sports action, he is the one who works behind the scenes, like the camera operators.  Though we have never seen him, we know that he is at work.  He is at work in our hearts today, strengthening our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior.  Yet, he is also at work in every part of the World.  He is working even now, every place that the Word of God is being shared and taught.  He is working through that word, calling people to faith in Jesus Christ their Savior, strengthening their faith, enlightening them with his gifts, sanctifying them and keeping them in the one true faith, in Jesus their Lord and Savior.

Amen.

Pastor David M. Shilling

GraceEvangelical Lutheran Church--Le Sueur, MN

Why is Jesus' Exaltation in heaven so meaningful for us?

Series: Growing Together in God's Grace 
Third Sunday of Easter  
April 14, 2013

Dear friends in Christ.

In just a few weeks, on May 5 to be exact, we will be celebrating the Ascension of our Lord and Savior.  On that day we will review the account of Jesus’ ascension and how he sent his disciples into all the world to proclaim the gospel to all nations.  However, today, we are getting a sneak preview!  Today we are reminding ourselves of how Jesus died in our place, how he rose again from the dead, how he redeemed us and bought us back from our enemy the devil, making us his own through faith!  But most importantly today we are reminding ourselves of Jesus’ exaltation in heaven and what it means for each and every one of us as his children.  So as we worship this morning, we will focus ourselves on the task of answering the question before us: Why is Jesus’ exaltation so meaningful to us?

Why is Jesus’ exaltation in heaven so meaningful to us?  Well, the Apostle Paul answers that question so very clearly and completely as he writes to the Christians living in Ephesus.  Paul writes, “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit— just as you were called to one hope when you were called— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8 This is why it says: “When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men.” 9 (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? 10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) 11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:1–13, NIV84)

In these thirteen verses Paul does indeed tell us many, many reasons why Jesus’ exaltation is so very important to us as Christians, however, the key to what Paul is saying here is to remember Jesus’ words on the cross.  One of the very last things that Jesus cried out was simply, “It is finished!”  Only moments before he gave up his life, Jesus declared that his saving work was completed.  Then, he gave up his life to complete the saving work that he had just declared had been completed.  His followers took his lifeless body and quickly, yet lovingly, buried it in the tomb, thinking that this was the end of Jesus.  However, on the Third Day, Jesus rose again from the dead and began appearing to his disciples to assure them that he was alive and to assure them that his work of salvation had been completed.  Forty days later, Jesus returned to his heavenly home, ascending to heaven to assure each and every one of us that his saving work has been completely completed.  Now, because he has completed his saving work, he has returned to heaven and has been exalted there, ascending higher than all the heavens, as Paul tells us, to fill the whole Universe.  Because Jesus has been exalted to the highest place that heaven affords, we are certain that as Christians, we have been unified by the Spirit of Christ whom he pours out on us through his Word and his Sacrament.  We are certain that we have all been baptized into Jesus’ death by the baptism we received as either children or adults, through which the Holy Spirit came into our hearts, creating, strengthening and sustaining our faith, applying the forgiveness of sins to us.  Because Jesus is exalted in heaven, we know that he is the one who has given “some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." (Ephesians 4:11-13, NIV 84)

This is why Jesus’ exaltation is so important to us!  It is so important to us, because now that Christ our Savior has been exalted in heaven, we are confident that he led us, as captives, out of the captivity of our sins.  He called us to faith through the work of the Holy Spirit and made us his own, washing us clean with his blood.  He has called us to serve him with our lives, patiently bearing with one another in love, just as he loved us.  He has called us to serve him in his kingdom in so many different ways, helping in Church, evangelizing, talking to others about Jesus, building up the fellowship of believers.  Because Jesus has been exalted in heaven, we know that his work of redemption is complete, and we know that we are the ones who are to spread that message of salvation to those who do not yet know through our words, and actions, so that many others might know that Jesus is their Savior who is lovingly preparing a place for them in his heavenly kingdom.

This too is why Jesus’ exaltation is so important to us!  Not only does it give us the comfort of knowing all that our Savior did for us to free us from our sins and make us his own, but we also have the comfort of knowing that because our Savior has returned home to his heavenly kingdom, he is right now preparing the very place where we will dwell when he calls us from this life to his exalted side forever in heaven.  This, in fact, is the very thing that Jesus promised his disciples on the night that he was betrayed.  On that night, only a couple of months before he would be exalted he told them, ““Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." (John 14:1–3, NIV84)

This is the day to which each and every one of us is looking forward!  We are all looking forward to the day when our Savior will finally call us out of this veil of tears to his exalted side in his glorious kingdom forever.  We are looking forward to that day because we know that we belong to our Savior.  We are looking forward to that day because we know that our Savior who returned to heaven will one day come back from heaven to take us to be with him so that we can be where he is.  We know that because he has returned to his heavenly home, he is right now sitting at the right hand of God the Father almighty.  Now, because he has been exalted to the right hand of God the Father, almighty, we take comfort in knowing that not only is he preparing a place for us, but he is even interceding for us, just as Paul tells us in his letter to the Romans, “Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us." (Romans 8:34, NIV84)  And as John tells us in his first letter, “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One." (1 John 2:1, NIV84)  And as Paul again reiterates to a young pastor named Timothy, “This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all men—the testimony given in its proper time." (1 Timothy 2:3–6, NIV84)

Because Jesus has been exalted to the right hand of our heavenly Father, we know that he is interceding on our behalf.  We know that he is watching over us and ruling everything for the good of his church, working all things for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.  We know that we belong to our Savior, and we know that when the time is right, he will return to judge the world and take us to be with him forever, just as the writer to the Hebrews reminds us, “Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him." (Hebrews 9:27–28, NIV84)

Though we don’t know the time, we are ready.  Though we don’t know the date, we are ready.  We are ready because Jesus has made us ready by calling us to faith.  Jesus has made us ready and assures us that we are ready through his exaltation in heaven.  This is our comfort and our assurance.

This is the comfort and the assurance that we find in Jesus’ exaltation and this is why his exaltation is so important to us.  Though we still have a few weeks until we celebrate our Savior’s ascension to his heavenly home and remember his glorious exaltation, today we have received a sneak peak.  We have set the stage for May 5, when we celebrate our Savior’s ascension, and we have been reminded, just why Jesus’ exaltation is so important to each and every one of us.

Amen.

Pastor David M. Shilling

GraceEvangelical Lutheran Church--Le Sueur, MN

We Thank Jesus for Redeeming Us!

Series: Growing Together in God's Grace 
Second Sunday of Easter  
April 7, 2013

Dear friends in Christ.

What would you do if you were suddenly jolted awake by the screaming of the smoke alarms ringing all through the house?  What would you do if you found yourself coughing from the acrid smoke pouring in through the door?  The billowing black clouds growing thicker and thicker forcing you to the floor to find clear air to breath!  Trying to find your way to the door, you find yourself lost in your own bedroom, your house suddenly becoming a traitor to your safety as you are unable to make the simple 10 foot trip to your children’s bedrooms!  You grow weaker and weaker as you worry about your family, you begin to lose consciousness and realize that death is only moments away for you and your children.  A tear carves a trail through the soot that has accumulated on your face as you come face to face with your own inability to do anything to save yourself or your children.  But then, just as all hope is lost you hear the sound of breaking glass.  You feel someone lift you off the floor and carry you outside into the cool, crisp, clean, breathable air.  Later, as you begin to recover, you move your head from side to side and see your entire family is there!  They are safe and sound, recovering just as you are.  How would you feel?  What thoughts would be on your mind?  How would you react when you met the person who risked his life to save your family from perishing in that terrible fire?

In so many ways, this is exactly what Jesus, our Savior, did for us!  At the beginning of Lent, way back on Ash Wednesday, we heard the screaming of the smoke alarms waking us up from our slumber.  We saw the billowing clouds of our own sins surrounding us, and very quickly it became very clear that there was nothing we could ever do to make ourselves right before our God.  We knew that eternal death was the only thing in our future, until Jesus ran to the cross and gave his life in our place; until Jesus suffered the punishment that we deserved and died the death that should have been ours.  Though we knew that eternal death was in our future, when Jesus died on that cross and rose again on the third day, he rescued us!  He ransomed us from the Devil!  He redeemed us!  He paid the price of our sins with his own blood so that we could be his own and live to serve him!  This is why we have gathered in worship today!  We have come to give thanks to the Lord Jesus who redeemed us!

On this Second Sunday of Easter, we have gathered, just as we did last week, to give thanks to the Lord Jesus who redeemed us by making us his own through the blood he shed for us!  This, in fact, is the very thing of which the Apostle Paul reminds us when he writes in Colossians, “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross." (Colossians 2:13–15, NIV84)  And again in 1 Corinthians, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." (1 Corinthians 6:19–20, NIV84)

If you’ve ever owned a pet, then you know the bond of loyalty that forms between that animal and its master.  Regardless of what type of animal it is, dog, cat, bird, fish, etc, that animal belongs to you because you bought it.  You are the master and you are the provider.  Your pet relies on you to care for it and provide for it.  In many ways this is a picture of what Paul is telling us in the passages we just read.  We are no longer our own, we have been bought at a price.  Because Jesus redeemed us by his death and resurrection, we now belong to him, and we rely on him to provide for us, which is exactly what he does.  He provides for us by forgiving our sins, by standing by our sides and even carrying us through our troubles.  He blesses us with everything that we need for our bodies and our lives, and gives us even more than we could ever use or need.  Because Jesus redeemed us, we do belong to him in the same way that children belong to their parents.  In the same way that parents teach their children to honor their family through their words and actions, so also Paul calls on us to honor our God in all that we say and do.  Just as he writes in 2 Corinthians, “Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 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, NIV84)

How would you react if as you began to recover from that fire, you move your head from side to side and see your entire family is there!  They are safe and sound, recovering just as you are, even as the night is illuminated by the blaze that is consuming your house.  How would you feel?  What thoughts would be on your mind?  How would you react when you met the person who risked his life to save your family from perishing in that terrible fire?  What would be the first words out of your mouth?  Would you try to spring up from where you laid with tears streaming down your face profusely thanking the person who rescued you?  Wouldn’t you want to do something for that person?  Can’t you just see yourself grasping the person’s hand, not ever wanting to let go, as you hear yourself saying, “How can I ever repay you?”  Though so often rescuers humbly decline any type of compensation, how would you react if your rescuer suddenly said, “I just love strawberries, and if you every have any extra ones…”  Wouldn’t you immediately try to run off and collect every single strawberry you could to give to the person who saved your life?  Wouldn’t you take his name and address so that you could deliver strawberries to him to say thank you?  Might you even make sure to bless him with strawberries every year, on the anniversary of the fire, for the rest of your life?

As Christians, this is how we seek to live, since Jesus redeemed us through his death and resurrection.  We seek to live our lives for our Savior because we understand that our lives no longer belong to us!  They belong to the one who redeemed us and delivered us to be his children.  We seek to live our lives according to our God’s commands and our Savior’s will not because we have to, but out of love and thankfulness to the one who redeemed us, and made us his own by washing us clean with his blood.  Because Jesus has redeemed us we cry out with Isaiah, “I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, " (Isaiah 61:10, NIV84)   Because our Savior has redeemed us and made us his own we praise him as the Psalmist did when he said, “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! 104 I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path. 105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path." (Psalm 119:103–105, NIV84)

In recent years the “Above the Influence” campaign has challenged and encouraged young children, teens, and even adults to live above the influence of drugs.  Through a simple series of commercials of kids speaking about how they live above those influences, thousands if not millions have been inspired to do the same.  As Christians who have been redeemed by Jesus, our Savior, we seek to do the same.  We seek to live above the influence of sin by delighting in the Lord and his word.  We seek to live lives of thankfulness to the Lord by living lives that lovingly reveal the robes of righteous that the Lord has bestowed upon us.  We seek to indulge in the honey of God’s word so that we might gain wisdom and understanding from his precepts so that we, too, might turn away from every evil path.  This, in fact, is the very thing that Paul encourages us to do as he writes in his letter to the Ephesians, when he says, “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." (Ephesians 4:22–24, NIV84)

Since we have been redeemed by Jesus, who covered us with his blood and made us his own through his death and resurrection, we seek to do this very thing for him.  In the same way that we daily change from our work clothes and put on our night clothes, so also we seek to put off our old self as we turn to the Lord in repentance, and then put on the new self, the robes of righteousness as we seek to live for him.  This is what we do out of love and thankfulness for the one who redeemed us!  For in the same way that we would be eternally grateful and thankful to the one who saved our lives by pulling us out of our burning homes, so also we are eternally grateful and thankful to the Lord Jesus, who as redeemed us by his death and resurrection.

Though we did hear the screaming alarm of Lent seeking to wake us from our slumber as the billowing clouds of our own sins surrounded us and made it very clear that there was nothing we could ever do to make ourselves right before our God.  On Easter we heard the good news of salvation that is ours through Jesus Christ our Savior.  Though we knew that eternal death was the only thing in our future, we have seen the salvation that Jesus won for us when he went to the cross and gave his life in our place, paying the punishment that we deserved and died the death that should have been ours.  Though we knew that eternal death was in our future, we also know that when Jesus died on that cross and rose again on the third day, he rescued us!  He ransomed us from the Devil!  He redeemed us!  He paid the price of our sins with his own blood so that we could be his own and live to serve him!  This is why we have gathered in worship today!  We have gathered to give our thanks and our praise to Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior; Jesus, our Savior, who has redeemed us!

Amen.

Pastor David M. Shilling

GraceEvangelical Lutheran Church--Le Sueur, MN