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

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

We Believe in God the Father

Series: Growing Together in God's Grace 
January 6, 2013

Dear friends in Christ.

Every week, as we join together in confessing our faith in the Lord our God, we begin our confession by stating that we believe in God, the Father, Almighty.  Now, as you know, depending on which creed we use, we either say, “I believe,” or “We believe.”  The reason for this is that the Apostles Creed, which we use on non-Communion Sundays, was designed as a creed to be used and spoken by those who were confessing their faith as they entered into the membership of the church.  Thus the member to be would stand before the congregation—much like our Confirmands stand before the congregation today—and that member to be would confess before the entire congregation, “I believe in God, the Father, Almighty…”  The Nicene Creed, which we use on Communion Sundays because it speaks more fully about Jesus and the work that he did here as our Savior, was designed to be a corporate creed—a creed used by the congregation of believers to confess their collective faith in “God, the Father, Almighty…”  But now comes the logical question!  What do we mean when we confess that we believe in God, the Father, Almighty?  Though we speak these words each and every week and even though we hold them in our hearts as our confession of faith, the question still remains, “What do we mean when we confess that we believe in God, the Father, Almighty? 

Well, to answer this question, we want to turn to the Scriptures to better understand what we mean when we say, “We Believe in God, the Father, Almighty!  First, we turn to John 17:1-3 where John writes, “After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3 Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." (John 17:1–3, NIV84)

In such beautifully simple way, Jesus reveals that belief in God is knowing who the true God is through Jesus Christ our Savior.  Just as we talked about last week!  We believe in God the Father Almighty because we know who he is through Jesus Christ, his Son.  We know that the Father is one of the persons of the Trinity.  We know that he is not the Son or the Holy Spirit and yet he is at the same time our true God.  Now, the interesting thing about belief is that people in all parts of the world believe in all kinds of Gods.  Some gods are idols made up of wood or stone.  Some are gods made up by men who said they had a dream or a vision.  Though these may well be people who sincerely believe in their gods, they do not believe in God, the Father, because they do not know him, or Jesus Christ whom he sent.

Yet believing in God includes even more than knowing who the true God is!  Take a look at 1 Thessalonians 2:13, “And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe." (1 Thessalonians 2:13, NIV84)

When we come to faith in the Lord our God, we come to know who the true God is and what he has done for us.  We come to know this from the lessons and the accounts that our Lord recorded for us in his Word, and from this we accept that the Bible is God’s Word.  We accept that the Bible is the only source of our Salvation and that the Bible is the only place where the Lord has recorded his word for us.  This is what believing in God, the Father, Almighty, is all about!  It is about knowing who the Lord our God is, and accepting that the Bible is his word!

Now, having said this, let me address the question that always comes up every single time that I teach this lesson.  “Pastor, how can you know this for sure?”  Well, the simple answer is, I can’t know for sure.  I can only accept that the Bible is God’s Word through faith in God the Father, and because I have come to know who God the Father is through the Bible I accept that the Bible is God’s Word.  Now, I can’t prove that the Bible is God’s Word.  There is no scientific proof to demonstrate this as a fact.  However, when I compare the message of the Bible to every other religious book in our world, the message of the Bible is always different.  No matter how motivational, encouraging, uplifting, or instructional all the other religious books of our world might be, it is only the Bible that teaches; that we are by nature lost in sin and enemies of our God; that our God loved us so much that he sent his one and only son to take our place and bear the punishment that we deserved; that through faith in Jesus Christ our Savior all that we did wrong has been forgiven, we are at peace with God, our Father, through Jesus Christ, his Son,  and now moved by that knowledge we seek to live for our God out of love for him.  Every other religious book and religious teaching in this world teaches that in order to find forgiveness or salvation we have to take part in the work and contribute something (even just the slightest thing) in order for forgiveness or salvation to be applied to us.  This is the difference between the Bible and every other book and teaching in the world.  This is the difference between the way the Lord our God reveals himself to the human race, and how the human race perceives and seeks to understand who God really is.

As Christians who believe in God, the Father, Almighty, we know who the true God is, because he has revealed himself to us in his Word—the Bible—and because he has revealed himself to us in the Bible, we trust that all his promises are true just as the Centurion did.  Matthew tells us about him in chapter 8, beginning with verse 5: “When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6 “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering.” 7 Jesus said to him, “I will go and heal him.” 8 The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 10 When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, “I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. 11 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! It will be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that very hour." (Matthew 8:5–13, NIV84)

In faith, the Centurion trusted that if Jesus simply said the word, his servant would be healed.  He trusted that Jesus’ words were a bond, a promise of what would happen, and it did.  His servant was healed at the very moment that Jesus spoke the Words.  The Centurion trusted Jesus’ promises in the same way that Abraham trusted the Lord’s promise that one day he would have a Son.  Though Abraham had to wait 25 years until Isaac was born, though he listened to his wife’s plan to have a son through her slave Haggar, and even though by the time the promise would be fulfilled their bodies were to the point that they were no longer able to have children, Abraham trusted the Lord’s promise that he would have a Son, and when he was 100 years old, the Lord fulfilled the promise and gave him a Son. 

This is what believing in God, the Father, Almighty, is all about.  It is about knowing who the true God is; the true God who has revealed himself through the Bible which we accept as his Word.  It is about trusting the promises that the Lord has give to us through his word—promises that the Savior has come; that the appearing of the Gentile  Wise Men is assurance that Jesus came even for the Gentiles like us; that through Jesus death and resurrection all our sins have been forgiven and we are at peace with our heavenly Father; that through faith in Jesus he will take us to be with him forever when he calls us from this life to our life by our Father’s side forever in his heavenly kingdom.

What a comfort it is to know that God, the Father, Almighty, is also our Father.  Though we have all had earthly Fathers who have affected our lives in one way or another, it is God, our heavenly father, in whom we believe, who longs to father us, nurture us, and help us through this life.  No matter what type of earthly father we may have had, we believe in God, the Father, Almighty, who is our heavenly Father, because, as we know from the prophet Malachi, he is the one who created us! (see Malachi 2:10)  We know that God is our Father because he is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who was sent to the earth by God, our Father, when the time was right.  He sent Jesus to the earth to be born under the Law so that he might redeem we, who were under the Law, that we might receive the full rights of sons and daughters of God, our heavenly Father. (See Gal 3:26 – 4:7).  Now, that we have been called to faith God our heavenly Father, by the working of the Holy Spirit through the Word of God, we have come to know Jesus, our Savior and our Brother, who has made known to us our heavenly Father.  Now that we have come to believe in God, the Father, Almighty, we find comfort and assurance that God our heavenly Father loves us, cares for us, strengthens us, disciplines us, teaches us, encourages us, and calls us his own. 

Now, if you would like to understand this concept of our heavenly Father’s fathering activity in your life, I have two books that I can suggest which can help you.  Now, you know that I don’t do this all that often. In fact, this is only the 2nd time I’ve suggested outside reading to you.  You also know that these are books that I have read and found to be a blessing to me and my family.  The first book is:  Wild at Heart, by John Eldridge.  This is a book written primarily for men, but it can also be a benefit for women to read.  It is a book that helps men better understand the wild heart that the Lord placed inside them, and how the Lord longs to father the heart of that son.  The second book is: You are Captivating, by Stasi Eldredge.  This book is written primarily for women, but an also be a benefit for men to read.  It is a book that helps women better understand their feminine hearts and the amazing strength with which the Lord has blessed them.  It is a book that helps women better understand how the Lord loves them and longs to father his beloved daughter.

Now, these books are by no means, Scripture.  They simply are written from a Christian and biblical point of view to help people better understand how God, the heavenly Father, works in their lives.  I recommend them to you because I have read them and they have helped me better understand my heavenly Father all the better.  They have taken me back to the Scriptures and made me study up on my heavenly Father and how he reveals himself in his Word.  They have even helped me foster a greater appreciation for all that my heavenly father has done for me in my life.  Thus, in reading these books, my faith in God the Father has been strengthened because they drove me back to God’s Word, and caused me to study it all the more.  I share them with you today so that you might do the same.

But regardless of what you do, you leave here today with a stronger belief in God, the Father, Almighty!  You leave here with a stronger faith in your heavenly Father.  You leave here, knowing all the more who the true God is because you know how he has revealed himself to you in the pages of the Scriptures which you have accepted is his Word.  You leave here with a greater trust and assurance that all the promise the Lord has ever made are true and have either been fulfilled in the past, or they will be fulfilled when Jesus comes again.  You leave here knowing that God, the Father, Almighty, is your heavenly father who longs to be a father to you, and help you to grow in his grace.  You leave here knowing that the God in whom you believe is the Father of your Lord Jesus who freed you from your sins so that you might live with your heavenly father forever.  Though today we won’t be confessing, “We believe in God, the Father, Almighty” in the Apostles Creed, we will be confessing that very faith as we join together to sing our faith in Hymn 270 on page 7 of your service folders.  Please stand and we will join together in singing our believe in our triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Pastor David M. Shilling

GraceEvangelical Lutheran Church--Le Sueur, MN