Rejoice that you are part of the Holy Christian Church

Series: Growing Together in God's Grace

June 2, 2013

Dear friends in Christ.

Have you ever noticed that the title given to a group of individuals often tells us a great deal about the group?  Take for example one of the groups in our congregation called Supper Club.  It’s pretty clear from the name that this is a group of people who get together for the purpose of eating supper.  How about the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the FBI?  Again, it is pretty clear from the title that this is a group of people who are doing all sorts of investigating.  What about the National Football League, or National Basketball Association?  Again these are titles that tell you that the NFL is a league of football players while the NBA is an association of basketball players.  Though the list could go on and on, as we study the Word of God today, we will see that in the same way that names of groups often identify what the group is all about, so also when we confess that we are part of the Holy Christian Church—the Communion of Saints, we are revealing certain things about who we are and what we do.  In fact, as we study the passages before us this morning, we will find great reasons to rejoice that we are part of the Holy Christian Church.

But before we can fully understand why we have reason to rejoice that we are part of the Holy Christian Church, we must first of all figure out what this Holy Christian Church is all about.  To answer that question we turn our attention to the Account of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 4:32-5:14, where Luke tells us: “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. 33 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. 34 There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35 and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need. 36 Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement), 37 sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet. 5:1 Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. 2 With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet. 3 Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? 4 Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God.” 5 When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. 6 Then the young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him. 7 About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 Peter asked her, “Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?” “Yes,” she said, “that is the price.” 9 Peter said to her, “How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.” 10 At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events. The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon’s Colonnade. 13 No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. 14 Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.” (Acts 4:32–5:14, NIV84)

From these verses Luke makes it very clear what the Holy Christian Church is.  Simply put, the Holy Christian Church is the gathering of all who believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.  Were Ananias and Sapphira part of the Holy Christian Church?  I don’t know.  Only God knows.  They tried to make their gift look better than it was by lying, and by their actions it seems that they might have simply been pretending to be Christians.  However, the other side is that they may well have been believers in Jesus who fell into a sin of greed and in their weakness they lied.  It is very possible that the Lord used their death as an example to the other believers to show them how serious he is about sin.  It is also very possible that the Lord called Ananias and Sapphira out of this life as forgiven believers so that they would not have the opportunity to travel down a path that could lead them away from their salvation forever.  We don’t know, only God knows.  Nevertheless, what becomes clear from this section of Scripture is that the Holy Christian Church is known only to God, because it is made up of all those who believe in Jesus as their Lord and Savior, not those who are merely pretending to believe or simply going through the motions.

Though we cannot see those who have faith in their hearts, we can take comfort in the fact that each and every one of us who believes in Jesus is part of the Holy Christian Church.  And the thing that is even more comforting and amazing is that this group is not limited to a specific location, because there are believers in Jesus all over the world!  There are Christians in China, Brazil, Egypt, Norway, Africa, Russia and in just about every country in the world.  And our joy and our reason for rejoicing is that each and every person who believes in Jesus as Lord and Savior, regardless of where they live, or when they lived or will live; each and every one who believes in Jesus is part of the Holy Christian Church—the gathering of believers which we have also called the Communion of Saints.

Now, as amazing as this fact truly is, the next logical question which you are all probably ready to ask is, “If we can’t see this church, how do we know where it is found?”  This question is answered by the Apostle Paul as he begins his first letter to the Corinthians.  He writes, “Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, 2 To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours: 3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4 I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. 5 For in him you have been enriched in every way—in all your speaking and in all your knowledge— 6 because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you. 7 Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. 8 He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful." (1 Corinthians 1:1–9, NIV84) 

Thus, Paul tells us that the Holy Christian Church is found wherever believers in Jesus call on the name of Jesus, or as we are more comfortable saying, where we gather to worship Jesus.  But Paul does not stop there!  He also tells us in Chapter 15, “Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. 3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. 9 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11 Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed." (1 Corinthians 15:1–11, NIV84)

As Paul continues in his letter, he tells us very clearly that the Holy Christian Church can only be found where the Word of God, the Gospel of Jesus Christ our Savior, is preached and believed.  And, as we read, this is a very specific Gospel message.  It is the message of Jesus Christ who was crucified, died, buried, and raised from the dead so that through the grace lavished upon us through faith in him we have received the forgiveness of sins; and we now believe the message of salvation that is ours through the Gospel that has been revealed to us.  This is the gospel message through which we have been called to faith in Jesus Christ our Savior. 

But Paul doesn’t even stop with his letter to the Corinthians.  He continues telling us about where the Holy Christian Church is found as he writes to a young Pastor named Timothy.  He tells Timothy, “In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2 Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry." (2 Timothy 4:1–5, NIV84)

In short, as Paul calls on Timothy to preach the Word, to be prepared, to correct, rebuke and encourage, he is reminding Timothy of the simple truth that the Holy Christian Church can only be found where the Gospel is faithfully preach and proclaimed—the message of salvation that is ours through faith in Jesus Christ our Savior.

So what does this mean for the churches in Le Sueur?  It means that where the gospel is being proclaimed; where the message of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ is being preached and taught, there you will find members of the Holy Christian Church.  Though some churches do not hold as solidly to the Scriptures as others, through some churches interpret and understand the Scriptures differently than others, though some churches add things to the Scriptures and others subtract things, we can take comfort that wherever the Gospel message of salvation is proclaimed we will find people who believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.  And those who believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior are the ones make up the Holy Christian Church—the Communion of Saints, of which we also are a part.

Now, please understand what I’m saying!  I’m not advocating that we go out and claim that we believe and teach exactly the same thing as every other church in town.  I’m not advocating that at all, because it is very clear that we do not believe and teach exactly the same thing as every other church in town.  In fact, all one has to do is a little research into each church and that person will very quickly come to an understanding of the basic differences between each church’s teachings.  Please also understand that I am not saying that because a person belongs to a church that person automatically belongs to the Holy Christian Church.  I cannot say that, because the Holy Christian Church is made up of all those people, everywhere, who believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior who delivered them from their sins by his life, death, and resurrection from the dead.  Not everyone who belongs to a church believes that.  How can say that?  Because it is true!  How can I possibly know?  Because Jesus very clearly says, “By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.” (Matthew 7:16–18, NIV84)

Though in the context Jesus is speaking about being wary of false prophets, the message of how we can tell those who belong to the Holy Christian Church is clear.  We will know them by the fruits of their faith. We will know them by their actions.  Take for example our own congregation.  If you say that you believe in Jesus as your Lord and Savior, but come up with all sorts of reasons and excuses why you don’t need to gather for worship to grow in your faith or partake of Holy Communion for the assurance of forgiveness, doesn’t your life show that you don’t really believe in Jesus?  If you say that you believe in Jesus but feel very comfortable living in a specific sin, perhaps living with your boyfriend, your girlfriend, or your fiancée, fully knowing that this is against everything that the Lord has taught us, doesn’t your life show that you don’t really believe in Jesus as your Savior?  If you say that you believe in Jesus as your Savior but you are constantly pouring out lies, or spreading gossip, or continually talking about people behind their backs is your life actually showing that you believe in Jesus as your Savior?  Though it is true that we will be recognized by our fruits, this is not 100% accurate, just as we saw with Ananias and Sapphira.  Only God knows if their eternal fate.  Yet, our actions and our lives are almost always a very clear indication of the faith in our hearts.

Though belonging to a church does not guarantee that we are members of the Holy Christian Church, each and every one of us can rejoice today, because today we have again heard the Gospel message of salvation proclaimed to us.  We have been built up in our faith in Jesus Christ who came to live for us, die for us, and rise again from the dead to free us from our sins.  We have been moved by the Holy Spirit who lives in our hearts, to live our lives in reflection of our faith even as we grow in God’s Word.  Thus, today, as we have gathered here, we have found every reason to rejoice that we are part of the Holy Christian Church—the Communion of Saints—the gathering of all believers everywhere who call on the name of Jesus, their Lord and Savior.

Amen.

Pastor David M. Shilling

GraceEvangelical Lutheran Church--Le Sueur, MN

Behold! The Plans of our Enemy, Revealed! (Revelation 12:1-17)

August 26, 2012

Series: What I'd Like to Know Is…(5/6)

 

Dear friends in Christ.

During World War II, one of the greatest weapons that the allies had was their ability to understand the plans of their enemies.  Because they had broken the enemy’s code, there were many times that they knew what their enemy’s next move was and they were able to counter it.  Well, for us as Christians, the same thing is true.  We have been blessed by the Lord, because today the plans of our enemy have been revealed to us! Though satan had sought to keep his plans from us and to lead us astray without even our knowing what he was up to, it is the Lord Jesus who reveals satan’s plans to us in our lesson today. 

Now, if you haven’t already done so, I invite you to turn with me to our lesson in Revelation 12, and we’ll take a look at the plans that satan has utilized in an effort to win the victory over us.  As John writes, he begins by taking us back in time, in a symbolic way, to the birth of Christ.  We see a woman, clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and with twelve stars encircling her brow as a crown of victory.  She is pregnant and ready to give birth, and from the context of the chapter, we quickly realize that this woman represents the Church—the gathering of God’s believer on earth.  It is through this Church, specifically the line of David and the House of Israel through which the Savior came.  He is the child with which the Old Testament Church was pregnant with expectation for millennia, and as Chapter 12 begins, John reveals satan’s plan to do away with the Christ.  John writes, “A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. 2 She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. 3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. 4 His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born. 5 She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. 6 The woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days." (Revelation 12:1–6, NIV84)

This was satan’s plan from the beginning!  Ever since the Lord had promised Adam and Eve that he would send a Savior, satan had been standing in readiness, seeking to destroy the child so that we would have no Savior.  He sought to destroy the Israelites by leading them away from the worship of the true God, but the Lord always retained many faithful people in Israel.  He tried to destroy the line of David when Queen Athaliah killed off all of the royal family in Judah.  Thus satan hoped that he might do away with the line of the Savior and thus destroy the Christ before he was even born!  But the Lord intervened and spared the life of Joash, the next king in David’s line and the next ancestor in the line of the Savior. (2 Kings 11).  Satan tried to destroy the line of the Savior by turning the religion of the Israelites into Pharisaical rules and regulations which ultimately kept people from learning about or understanding the promise of the Messiah.  Yet, the Lord again kept the message of salvation alive in the hearts of many of his people.  Even when the Savior was born, satan sought to destroy him when Herod ordered all the babies 2 years and younger to be executed.  But again the Lord intervened and his son was swept away to Egypt.  Satan sought to destroy Jesus by tempting him, in the wilderness, but Jesus did not succumb to his temptations.  Satan sought to destroy Jesus through the Pharisees, Sadducees, Teachers of the Law, and other critics who constantly sought to trap in falsehood, but they never succeeded.  Satan tried to destroy Jesus by tempting Jesus to water down his message or become simply a bread king as we’ve heard in our Gospel lessons from John 6 for the past few weeks, but Jesus kept on teaching the truth of God’s Word wherever he went, and never once watered down the message.  Finally satan tried to destroy Jesus by raising up such a hatred of him that his own people chose to crucify him.  Yet, Jesus used this very event to complete his mission.  He willingly gave up his life on the cross so that he could forgive the sins of the world.  He endured the very punishment of hell in our place giving his life over to death, and thus destroy satan, stifling and completely running his plan to destroy the source of our salvation.

Even though satan sought to destroy Jesus and his ability to be our Savior, Jesus completed his mission.  He saved his people.  He destroyed the power of the devil, and at his ascension, Jesus was snatched up to God and to his throne where he now lives and reigns over us.  Though for a short time the Church on earth enjoyed the physical presence of her Lord and Savior, today, the Church is left to sojourn in the desert of this world.  But even though we are living in the desert of this sin-filled world, we are still being fed and nourished by the Lord and his Word.  We have the comfort of congregations like this one, where we have the opportunity to hear the Word of God on a regular basis; where we are cared for by our Lord and be built up in our faith until the time when our Savior comes again on the Last Day!  This is the 1,260 days that John writes about here!  Whether it is written as 1,260 days, 42 months, 3 ½ years, or time, times and half a time, it all means the same thing.  It is the symbolic time of the New Testament Era—the complete amount of time that must pass from the day of Jesus’ ascension until the day of his return on the Last Day.

But taking out Jesus was only part of satan’s plan!  Not only did he want to destroy Jesus’ ability to be our Savior so that we would be trapped in our sins with no hope of salvation, satan also wanted to take over heaven itself and become the new god!  Take a look at what John writes beginning with verse 7: “And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. 10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. 11 They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. 12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.”" (Revelation 12:7–12, NIV84)

Though it is very possible that John here receives a flash back to the day when satan originally rebelled against the Lord, from the context, it seems more likely that John sees a picture of the war that took place when Jesus was going to the cross.  It seems that even as Jesus is arrested (Luke 22:52-53) and is led to the cross; even as Jesus is enduring the pains of hell and damnation; even as God the Father seems to be distracted by the plight of his Son and he rejects him for the sin that he has become on the cross, it seems that satan takes the opportunity to storm the halls of heaven itself so that he might once and for all overthrow the Lord, and become the new ruler of creation.  Why does it seem this way?  Because the only battle in which satan lost the ability to accuse is the battle that ended with Jesus’ death on the cross.  It was after this battle, before Jesus rose from the dead that he victoriously marched through hell itself declaring total victory over our enemy, the devil.  It is through this battle that the salvation and the power of our God and the authority of his Christ came because satan, the accuser of our brothers had been hurled down.

This is what John saw in our lesson today.  He saw satan, as his plans come to ruin as he lost the battle when he was defeated by Jesus’ death and resurrection.  He saw satan as his plans come to ruin when he went up against the angels of heaven and learned that he was not strong enough to defeat the angels of God who fought against him and all his demons with the power of the Lord God himself.  He saw satan defeated, losing his ability to accuse us of our sins because through faith in Jesus our sins have been washed away.  Our dirty, stinking, filthy, sin-filled garments have been removed by Jesus and replaced by a robe of his righteousness and holiness.  No longer can satan accuse us, because through faith in Jesus our Savior, we are at peace with God and members of his household! 

But even though satan has been defeated, he has not given up.  He is still fighting against the Lord to this very day.  Though the first two plans that the Lord revealed to us today may have failed, satan is very resilient.  Even though satan is not able to defeat the Lord of Hosts, and even though he is not able to defeat Christ’s bride, the Church because the Lord has promised that the gates of hell will never overcome her, satan has implemented a new plan—a plan that has been working since the beginning of time!  Take a look at verse 13-17: “When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach. 15 Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. 16 But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. 17 Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring—those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus." (Revelation 12:13–17, NIV84)

Even though satan is not able to defeat the Lord, or completely destroy the Lord’s Church, he still seeks to do everything he can to separate the Church, and her offspring from the Lord.  He spews out false doctrine in an effort to overtake, dilute, and utterly destroy the truth of salvation.  He slowly infuses thoughts of social justice, social change and other social agendas into the messages that congregations teach in an effort to change their focus from a message of salvation through faith in Jesus to a message of making this world better for the benefit of all society.  He takes the message of God’s great love that moved him to send Jesus to be our Savior to free us from our sins so that we could be forgiven and live with him forever in heaven, and begins to corrupt it into thoughts of God being nothing more than love.  Thus the thoughts naturally follow that if God is love he must love me no matter what, and if God loves me no matter what it doesn’t matter how I live because God loves me for who I am.  So, because God loves me for who I am, I can then live in God’s love by loving others in whatever way seems best to me, whether they be men or women.  Thus, through satan’s deception, the God who is love has been replaced by Love, which has become, to many, a god.  Just think, how many congregations hasn’t satan infiltrated, diluting and even stealing the message of salvation from God’s children, separating them from him and him from them?  How many times hasn’t satan’s war against those who hold to the testimony of Jesus been effective enough to make them turn from their faith and walk away from the Lord?  How often hasn’t satan worked in our congregation and been successful in separating some from their Lord and Savior here at Grace?

Though I wish we were immune to satan’s plans, how often hasn’t he sent anger and frustration rippling through our congregation in an effort to separate us from the love of our God?  How often hasn’t he sought to make even the strongest Christians question their faith in God?  How often hasn’t he sought to fill our hearts with a lukewarm attitude toward worship and Bible study?  How often hasn’t he sought to fill us with the attitude that it is more important for us to be spiritual than it is for us to be religious?  How often hasn’t he set parents and children against each other, pushing and pushing until children simply refuse to come to church because the message is out dated or it simply doesn’t speak to them anyway?  How often hasn’t he set husbands and wives against each other in arguments that are only meant to drive a wedge between them and their God?

These are but a few of the ways that satan is seeking even now to destroy us and separate us from the Lord Jesus, our Savior.  But even though he is seeking to separate us, we have the benefit of knowing his plans, and as GI Joe would say, “Knowing is half the battle!”  The other half is equipping and going on the offensive.  So, do just that!  Equip yourselves against satan’s schemes.  Build yourselves up in the Word of God through regular worship and regular Bible study.  Review the battle plans with which the Lord has equipped you in his Word.  Put on the full armor of salvation and speak to the Lord with Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs on a regular basis.  Live in the love that Jesus has lavished upon you—the forgiveness of sins.  Remind yourselves daily of your baptisms, and seek to drown, your enemy every day through sorrow over your sins and repentance.  Thus, strengthened by the Lord, you will be built up in your faith, strengthened in your knowledge of forgiveness and ready to stand against your enemy, because today the Lord has revealed his plans to you, and drawn you closer to the Lord, your Savior, who has separated you from satan and made you his own through faith in Christ Jesus. 

Amen.

Pastor David M. Shilling

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church--Le Sueur, MN