Find Comfort in Jesus Christ, Your Savior! (Revelation 1:1-20)

Series: The Stained Glass Series 

October 16, 2011

Dear friends in Christ.

Robert Louis Stevenson tells of a storm that caught a vessel off a rocky coast and threatened to drive it and its passengers to destruction. In the midst of the terror, one daring man, contrary to orders, went to the deck, made a dangerous passage to the pilot house and saw the steerman, at his post holding the wheel unwaveringly, and inch by inch, turning the ship out, once more, to sea. The pilot saw the watcher and smiled. Then, the daring passenger went below and gave out a note of cheer: "I have seen the face of the pilot, and he smiled. All is well."   In such a simple way, with such the simple gesture of a smile, the pilot of that storm caught ship provided comfort not only for that daring passenger, but for all the passengers on that ship.  Well just like those passengers found comfort in that smiling steerman, so also we find our comfort in Jesus Christ our Savior.  In fact, this is the very comfort that the Lord Jesus proclaims to us through the Apostle John in our lesson today!

Now, if you haven’t already done so, I invite you to open your bibles and take a look at the words that Jesus brings to us through John his Apostle in Revelation 1.  Now, I don’t know about you but I love looking up the book of Revelation because it is one of the easiest to find since it is the last book of the Bible, so I often tease my Confirmation class that if they cannot find Revelation they fail my class.  Now, the thing I love about this book is the comfort that the Lord bestows on his people at the end of the 1st Century AD.  It was the early 90’s and the Roman government was turning on the Christians.  In some cases the persecution was nothing more than mild announces because people didn’t like the Christians.  In some cases the persecution was more difficult as Christians were being brought to economic ruin because they were viewed as untrustworthy, security risks and un-hirable for the good of the empire, while in other cases, especially in Rome, the Christians were being fed to lions in the coliseum simply because they believed in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and would not acknowledge the Roman Emperor as a god. 

Thus, Jesus speaks to all his people through these words of John in our lesson today:  “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. 3 Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near. 4 John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen. 7 Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen. 8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”(Revelation 1:1–8, NIV84)

With such simple and beautiful words, the Apostle John lays out the Savior’s greatest comfort both to the people of his day as well as to you and me.  For with these words John is assuring each and every believer that no matter what situation we might be facing, no matter what hardships, no matter what frustrations or persecutions, we are at peace with God through the comfort that is ours through the forgiveness of sins.  Just take a look at those beautiful words that John write in verses 4-6:  “Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever!” (Revelation 1:4-6, NIV84)

In three simple verses John reminds us of the very things that we have been studying in detail for the last 10 or 11 weeks.  He reminds us how Jesus came to the earth to be our Savior.  He reminds us that it was Jesus who gathered up all our sins in the same way that we are right now working in our yards to gather up all the leaves that are falling from the trees.  But unlike the way that we have to continually go back and rake or mow to get the majority of the leaves without ever getting all of them, it was Jesus who collected every single one of our sins at one time.  He loaded those sins in the bags of his forgiveness and carried them with him to the bonfire of the cross where he threw them in and burned them up even as he suffered the very flames of hell in our place.  It was this Jesus who not only cried out “It is Finished!” to assure us that he had completely forgiven all of our sins through his innocent suffering and his death, but it was also this Jesus who was raised to life again on the third day to assure us that we had been completely acquitted of all our sins.  We had been completely forgiven of all our sins.  Those sins that had been piled so deeply in our hearts that they were beginning to rot and spoil our hearts; all of them have been removed.  Our hearts have been washed clean by the blood of Jesus our Savior who has had mercy on us and who freely pardons us, as Isaiah told us in our first lesson today! (Isaiah 55:6-9)

Yet this is not the only comfort we find in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior!  For as his children, who have been washed clean by his blood, we have the great comfort and assurance that he is the one who dwells among us and holds us in the palm of his hand!  Take a look at how the Apostle John reveals this very truth to us in the next verses of our lesson today:  “I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10 On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, 11 which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.” 12 I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and among the lampstands was someone “like a son of man,” dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. 15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. 17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades. 19 “Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. 20 The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.” (Revelation 1:9–20, NIV84)

With such beautiful words the Lord Jesus reveals himself as the King of all kings who comforts his people with his presence.  Even though the Christians of John’s day were undergoing persecution and suffering death for their beliefs, John saw and reported that Jesus himself was dwelling in the midst of his people.  Jesus himself was the one whom John saw, the one like a son of man who dwelt among the seven golden lamp stands, which as verse 20 tells us were the seven churches to whom John was to write.  But not only was Jesus dwelling among his people and his churches, he was also holding the seven stars, the seven angels or messengers, or pastors of those congregations in the palm of his hand.  Even though the Christians were dealing with hardships, persecutions and in some cases begin hunted down and driven from their homes because of their beliefs, they could take comfort in the knowledge that their Lord and Savior dwelt with them and was holding them in his hands. 

The same is true for you and me today!  We can still find comfort in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior!  Even though we are now dealing with the beginnings of economic crisis that the experts warned us about two or three years ago, we can still look to our Savior who has always provided for us and will always provide for our needs.  Even as we’ve begun to feel the economic sting as it has affected our jobs, our careers our industries, and our ability to find profitable employment or even provide for our families, we can take comfort that the Lord our God, Jesus Christ our Savior dwells among his people.  Just as he promised his disciples before he returned to heaven that he is with us always and will be with us even to the very end of the age. (Matthew 28:20)  We can take comfort in the knowledge that Jesus our Savior is the living one!  Though he was dead, he has risen from death and now lives and reigns eternally.  Though he sacrificed his own life by throwing himself on us as the mortar fire of sin and death rained down on us, he is the one who took back his life.  Even as we crawled out from under his protecting arms knowing that there was no way he could have survived such an attack, when we least expected it, he stirred.  He stirred.  He stood up, and he revealed himself as the Son of God our Savior “Who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” (2 Corinthians 1:4, NIV84)  He comforts us with the forgiveness of our sins.  He comforts us with the peace we have with our God through faith in Jesus as our Savior.  He comforts us with the assurance that no matter what we might face in this life, not only does he dwell among us, he also holds us in his hands because we are his dear children.

Now, knowing the comfort that is ours through Jesus Christ our Savior, it is our mission to carry the message of salvation with us wherever we go!  This is what the believers did with the Word when the left Jerusalem. This is what Jesus told his disciples to do when he told them that they would be his witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth, as we heard last week. (Acts 1:8) This is also what Jesus commanded us to do at his ascension when he told us,  “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”(Matthew 28:18–20, NIV84)

What greater comfort could we carry with us than the comfort that the Lord Jesus, our Savior, is with us always!  He is the one who dwells among us.  He is the one who holds us in the palm of his hand.  He is the one who goes with us wherever we go.  He is the one who helps us in our weaknesses.  He is the one who protects us from harm and danger.  He is the one who gives us the words to speak when we are sharing our faith with others and he is the one who protects us and is preparing a place for us.  Could there be any greater comfort than the comfort we receive from Jesus Christ our Savior who is and who was and who is to come!  This is the comfort that we carry with us.  No matter how stormy the seas of our lives might be, Jesus is the pilot of the ship of our lives.  Just as that daring passenger sought comfort as he came to the wheel house, so also we find our comfort in Jesus Christ our Savior.  He is the one who has freed us from our sins.  He is the one who has promised to be with us always.  He is the one who dwells among us and even holds us in the palm of his hand.

Amen.

Pastor David M. Shilling

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church--Le Sueur, MN

Marvel at the Lord's Work in your Life! (Gensis 37, 39-50)

July 10, 2011

Dear friends in Christ.

Have you ever just sat back and marveled at how the Lord works in the lives of his people?  Have you ever considered just how the Lord has orchestrates the events of history so that all things do, indeed, work out for the good of those who love the Lord their God?  Though we may not always see it or understand exactly how the Lord does these things, we know that he is the one who is constantly working in the lives of his people.  He is the one who led the Israelites to the Promised Land and carried them on Eagles wings as he brought them to himself. (Exodus 19:3)  He is the one who saw to it that at just the right time, while we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly so that we might be justified and declared not guilty by our God from whom we received reconciliation.  (Romans 5:6-11)  He is the one who provided the Apostles as his messengers and sent them out to proclaim the message of salvation (Matthew 10:1-8) Because they went preaching and teaching wherever Jesus sent them, that message of salvation was passed on from generation to generation until finally it came to you and you came to faith in the Lord your God who is constantly at work in your lives.

But the question still stands.  Have you ever just sat back and marveled at how the Lord works in your lives?  Though it is not always easy to see what the Lord is doing or what he is seeking to accomplish on a day to day basis, when we look back at our lives we can more easily see all that work that the Lord has done in our lives, and we can marvel at what he has done.  Take for example Joseph.  Though Joseph wasn’t able to see exactly how the Lord was working in his life until he hit certain milestones and looked back, from the Scriptures, we can see exactly how the Lord worked in Joseph’s life.  We can see just how the Lord orchestrated different events in his life that were designed to prepare him to be the second in command of all Egypt, the reigning super power of the day.  As Moses tells us in Genesis 41:44-44, “41 So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.” 42 Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. 43 He had him ride in a chariot as his second-in-command, and men shouted before him, “Make way!” Thus he put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt. 44 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, but without your word no one will lift hand or foot in all Egypt.” (Genesis 41:41–44, NIV84)  But before we get too far ahead of ourselves this morning, lets take a few steps back and start at the beginning of the story, so to speak, so that we might more fully marvel at how the Lord was at work in Joseph’s life.

Now, you may or may not remember Joseph’s birth, but he was the first born son of Jacob’s beloved wife Rachel. Of course he was born as the 11th of 12 sons.  Though Benjamin was born to Rachel as number 12 not long after Joseph, Joseph was his father’s favorite son, as Moses tells us in Genesis 37:3-4, “3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made a richly ornamented robe for him. 4 When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him. (Genesis 37:3–4, NIV84)

Not only did they hate him because he was the favorite son of their father, they hated him for his dreams.  They hated him for his dreams of sheaves of grain; even the sun, moon, and eleven stars bowing down to him.  They hated him for his dreams.  They hated him for his robe. They hated him because he was the favored son. They hated him so much that when Joseph was 17 years old his brothers were willing to kill him, just to be rid of him.  I’m sure you remember how it was.  The brothers had taken the sheep up to Shechem and then up to Dothan (roughly 60 miles from home) for grazing and during the time they were away Joseph’s father decided to send Josef to check on them.  But, as Moses tells us verse 18, “18 But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him. 19 “Here comes that dreamer!” they said to each other. 20 “Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.” 21 When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. “Let’s not take his life,” he said. 22 “Don’t shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern here in the desert, but don’t lay a hand on him.” Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father…25 As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt. 26 Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? 27 Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.” His brothers agreed. 28 So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt. (Genesis 37:18-22, 25–28, NIV84)

Though the brothers intended to harm Joseph and take his life, the Lord worked in his life to spare him.  The Lord worked in his life through his brother Ruben and his brother Judah, to set in motion the events that would take place during the next 13 years; the events that would culminate in his becoming the second in command of all Egypt.  Jump with me to Genesis 39 where Moses tells us, “1 Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there. 2 The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did, 4 Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. 5 From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the LORD blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the LORD was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. 6 So he left in Joseph’s care everything he had; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.” (Genesis 39:1–6, NIV84)

Though the Lord had given Joseph success in everything that he did, sadly, his position in Potiphar’s house was not to last, for we all remember the accusation that Potiphar’s wife made against him.  We remember how Potiphar burned with anger when he heard the story his wife had told him of how Joseph was supposed to have tried to seduce her.  Yet, here again we marvel at how the Lord worked in Joseph’s life.  Though we know that Potiphar was angry, we are not told exactly why.  It is possible that he was angry because he suspected that his wife was not telling him the truth and her lie was going to cost him an amazingly gifted, competent and conscientious business manager.  A clue to this is the fact that in the ancient world for a slave to make such advances toward his master’s wife that slave would almost certainly find himself facing the death penalty.  Yet this is not where Joseph found himself.  It seems that because Potiphar could not publically humiliate his wife by ignoring her accusation, Potiphar led Joseph off to the King’s prison.  Not a cell where he would await death nor a dungeon where he would simply be forgotten.  Rather he was led off to the King’s prison—a prison where the king’s prisoners were confined; prisoners such as the chief baker and the chief cup bearer.  Yet even in prison, the Lord was working in Joseph’s life.  Take a look at the middle of verse 20: “But while Joseph was there in the prison, 21 the LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. 22 So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. 23 The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did. (Genesis 39:20–23, NIV84)

Instead of being in solitary confinement, Joseph was put in charge of the other prisoners, he had access to all the prisoners, and when the time was right the Lord introduced Joseph to the prisoner who would change his life as the Lord allowed Joseph to correctly interpret the dreams of the chief baker and the chief cup bearer.  Though Joseph would have to wait in prison for two more years, when the time was right, the Lord brought Joseph before Pharaoh, the Lord allowed Joseph to correctly interpret Pharaoh’s dreams, and when Pharaoh heard Joseph’s solution to the coming famine, the Lord placed Joseph in charge of all Egypt as Pharaoh’s vizier; Pharaoh’s right hand man.  Though the brothers intended to harm Joseph when they sold him into slavery, “it was to save lives that God sent [Joseph] ahead of [his brothers]” (Genesis 45:5, NIV 84)

Now, just think about this for a moment.  Just think about how the Lord worked in the life of his servant Joseph.  For 13 years Joseph dealt with all sorts of situations that were designed to prepare him for what the Lord had in store for him to do.  But while Joseph was living it, he wasn’t able to see how the Lord was working in his life to prepare him for the future.  He wasn’t able to see it until after he had passed through it.  Only then was he able to look back and marvel at how the Lord had worked in his life.  Sound familiar?  How often hasn’t it happened that you have passed through some frustrating hardship, only to discover after it was over just how the Lord was at work in your life even in the midst of that hardship?  How often haven’t you looked back on your life and recognized just how the Lord was working in your life as he moved you through one struggle or another, helping you to grow and stretch, as he prepared you for the next phase of your life?  

Just think back to those days when you were teenagers.  Do you remember that feeling that your life would never start?  Do you remember that feeling that you would never get your shot?  Do you remember wondering what the future would hold for you and how the Lord would work in your life?  Though you really didn’t know exactly what the Lord had in store for you then, you can look back now and see just how the Lord was at work in your life.  Even if you are currently a teenager or a young child, the same thing is as true for you.  Though you may be wondering what the Lord has in store for your future, you can still look back and see just how the Lord has been at work in your life up to this very day.  You can see how the Lord has led you through your lives so that you arrived at this very point at this very time.  No matter what age you are at, you can do that very thing.  You can look backward and marvel at how the Lord has been at work in your life leading you to this very point.  Though you may even now be at a sort of cross roads in your life, or may find yourself facing struggles or hardships, you can take comfort in the fact that the Lord your God is at work in your life even now. 

Though we may find ourselves like Joseph did, unable to understand why all these things were happening to him, we know that through the Lord’s work in our lives he is drawing us closer to himself, he is strengthening our faith, and he is preparing us for what is next to come.  Just think about the work he has already accomplished in your life.  He is the one who called you to faith through the waters of baptism.  He is the one who taught you the precious truths of salvation through your parents, through your Pastor, through your Sunday School Teachers, and if you had the privilege, through your Lutheran Elementary School teachers.  He is the one who has sent the Holy Spirit into our hearts who constantly reminds us of all that Jesus did for us and how he freed us from our sins by his death and resurrection from the dead.  He is the one who shaped every single experience of our lives as he molded us and prepared us for the situation in which we find ourselves. Though we may not be able to see exactly how the Lord is using our present situation, be it the sluggish economy, the scarcity of the job market, the constantly changing gas prices, debts, payments, or whatever it is. Though we may not be able to see exactly how the Lord is using our present situation for our good, soon we will be able to sit back and marvel at what the Lord has accomplished in our lives, just as Joseph was able to do.

Though it is always difficult to see what the Lord is working to accomplish in our lives on a day to day basis, whenever we look backwards we are able to marvel at all that he has done.  After all, he is the one who led the Israelites from Egypt to the Promised Land carrying them on wings like an eagle.  He is the one who went to work while we were still powerless and brought us to faith in the one who saved us.  He is the one who prepared the Apostles and sent them out proclaiming the message of salvation.  He is the one who orchestrated the events of Joseph’s life, preparing him for his position of power, and he is the one who causes us to marvel every time we consider just how the Lord has been at work in our lives.

Amen.

Pastor David M. Shilling

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church -Le Sueur, MN

Take Comfort in these Last Days! (Joel 2:28-32)

June 12, 2011

Dear friends in Christ.

If there is one thing that all Americans want for themselves and for their families, it is comfort. For the truth is comfort is something that we look for in any and every situation in our lives. We look for comfort when it comes to our linens, our bedding, and our sleeping arrangements. We look for comfort in our food, the ingredients we buy, and the things that we make at different times of year. We look for comfort in our technology, that perfect pair of headphones, the best mouse and the most ergo-metric keyboard for those of us who are constantly typing. We look for comfort in our vehicles, and in our traveling arrangements, and we look for comfort in our families and with our friends. However, comfort is not something that we are always able to find in every aspect of our lives! Though we’ve started to see gas prices retreating from the $4.00 mark, we all find ourselves wondering when the prices will start going back up. Though is seems that food prices may have stabilized for the time being, we all know that if the gas prices should start climbing our food prices will follow suit. We hear stories on the news about how many people are looking for jobs these days, and personally know at least a few people who are struggling in this way. We hear about banks foreclosing on houses and houses sitting on the market for years. Some of us have personally dealt with foreclosure, repossessions, bankruptcy, houses that simply won’t sell, and we wonder where we might find even the slightest bit of comfort in the midst of these overwhelming hardships!

Well, that is where the Lord our God steps in and speaks to us directly from his Word with his comfort and assurance. In fact, as we study the lesson before us we will hear the Lord our God calling on us to take comfort in these last days. He is calling on us to take comfort in these last days, because he is the one who has poured out his Holy Spirit upon us. He is calling on us to take comfort in these last days, because he is the one who has shown his signs and his wonders in the skies and on the earth below to remind us that the time is short. But even more than that, he is calling on us to take comfort in these last days, because he himself has assured us that whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved! Take a look with me at what the Lord our God has to say to us in our lesson today: “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. 29 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. 30 I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. 31 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. 32 And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has said, among the survivors whom the LORD calls. (Joel 2:28–32, NIV84)

Though we don’t know exactly when Joel wrote these words, we know that we are living in the fulfillment of this very prophecy of Scripture! We are living in the last days, which came to a beginning back on the Day of Pentecost nearly 2000 years ago. For on that day the Lord fulfilled this prophecy as he graciously poured out his Holy Spirit on the disciples who stood up and addressed the crowd of people who had gathered that day. The Lord fulfilled this prophecy as he poured out the Holy Spirit on his disciples, and the people heard them proclaiming the wonders of God in their own languages. The Lord fulfilled his prophecy as in one day some 3000 people were added to the number of believers! Yet this was not the end all and be all of this prophecy! Rather, it was just the beginning. For since that day when the Lord poured out the Holy Spirit upon his disciples, he has not stopped pouring out his Holy Spirit on his believers or even on the people of the world!

For after that day of Pentecost, the disciples took that word of God to the nations as they were sent out to proclaim the wonders of God. They wrote letters and gospels for the churches to read and share and be strengthened by, and these have been gathered, collected, and compiled into the Bible that we have today! Today, some 2000 years after the day of Pentecost, the Bible has become the bestselling book of all time. About 10 years ago I read a statistic saying that the average American home has something like 7 Bibles in it. The Bible has been translated into nearly every language on the face of the planet. Each week Pastors proclaim the wonders of God in churches, on Television, over the Radio, and on the Internet. Today we can see the clear results of the out pouring of the Holy Spirit on all the people of the earth through the easy accessibility of God’s Word! Today, we can take comfort in that out pouring of the Holy Spirit, even as we are living in these last days, because we know that through the working of the Holy Spirit we have been prepared for the last days. We have been prepared by the Holy Spirit to recognize false claims of the last days, and we have been taught by the Holy Spirit to recognize the signs and wonders the Lord has revealed and will reveal in the heavens and on the earth below, as Joel tells us, “I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. (Joel 2:30-31)

Though we are most certainly living in the last days, what a comfort it is to know that the Lord our God is in control! What a comfort it is to know that even as we see his signs and wonders marking the last days, he has not placed them there to cause us fear, but to turn us toward him in repentance for the forgiveness of sins. In fact, how many signs and wonders haven’t we seen that have driven us closer to him, causing us to look for comfort in the solace of his word? Since the beginning of this new millennium we have seen disasters that have tested the very fiber of our being. We have seen disasters that have caused us to look up at the skies and cry out, “Why?” We have seen disasters that have caused us to draw closer to the Lord in thanksgiving that we had not been affected in such a way, even as we pray for God’s deliverance of the people whose lives have been fundamentally changed by hurricanes, tornadoes, fires, lightning and hail damage. We have been shocked by that magnitude of destruction caused by floods, earthquakes, and even tsunamis. We have been horrified by the hatred of terrorist attacks throughout the world and even on our own soil, and we have even many of the prophecies of the last days being fulfilled in our own day and age.

For we have seen the blood and the fire and the billows of smoke caused by wars throughout the world. Back in the mid 80’s we have witnessed clouds of radiation raining down over Europe from the nuclear disaster in Chernobyl, causing waters to turn bitter and causing many to die from radiation poisoning. Back in the early 90’s we saw the skies filled with smoke from the oil fields fires in Kwait blocking out what some have said was a third of the sky so that a third of the day and a third of the night was without light. Most recently, we have seen the twin towers fall, and our nation rise to war in the Middle East, and just a couple of years ago the big news was the lunar eclipse that caused the moon to glow with a distinctive reddish hue, looking almost as if the moon itself was covered with blood.

While there are some who have linked the nuclear disaster in Chernobyl with the sounding of the third trumpet in Revelation 8, the Gulf War and the burning of the oil fields with the fourth trumpet, our current war with the sounding of the fifth trumpet, and even the most recent eclipse with the words of our text today, only time will tell if these are the very events the Lord had in mind or if there are others, more specific events to come. But no matter what the case is, from these signs and wonders on the earth below and the skies above, we can take comfort in these last days! We can take comfort in these last days, because we know that our Lord’s return is coming soon. We can take comfort in these last days, because even though we are seeing all sorts of signs and wonders around us, we know, as Joel tells us, “Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.” (Joel 2:32)

How wonderful it is to know that no matter what happens to us on this earth, through faith in Jesus Christ, we have salvation. Even if the world should fall apart around us, heaven is our home. Even if gas prices should sky rocket to over $4.00 per gallon! Oh, wait, we’ve been there and even when we were there the Lord was providing for us, caring for us and giving us a reason to take comfort in him! Even if all the prophecies of the last days suddenly came true and we found ourselves living in a completely different world, we would not have to worry, because we would know that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

What greater comfort could there be for us than this! Through faith in Jesus Christ, the debts of our sins have been paid in full. The mortgage payments of our iniquities, which we were making to this world have been done away with. The mortgage note was burned by Jesus blood and he, himself has handed us the deed to our mansions in heaven. Through faith in Jesus we can take comfort in these last days because we belong to the Lord. Now, no matter what might happen in this life, we can take comfort in the fact, that through faith in Jesus we have the sure and certain hope of eternal life by his side forever in heaven! Amen.

Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church -Le Sueur, MN