To Whom Are We Responsible? (Matthew 22:15-21)

October 21, 2012

Dear friends in Christ.

So, what is my responsibility in all this?  How often doesn’t this question or one like it, pop up in your favorite TV shows?  How often doesn’t this question, or one like it, pop up in the work place as employees seek to learn exactly what their responsibilities are in their position?  How often doesn’t the idea of responsibility weigh heavily on the minds of employers, employees, families friends, relatives, parents, and children.  Though one could argue that responsibility is not all that it was once cracked up to be, as it seems that more and more people in our world today are seeking to dodge responsibility in one way or another, the truth is, responsibility is something that is constantly demanded of us in one way or another in just about every facet of our lives.  As children, we are to be responsible to our parents.  As citizens we are responsible to our nation.  As Christians, not only are we responsible to the Lord, but we are responsible to each other as well as all those who do not yet know Jesus.  As Christians, responsibility is both a great weight that weighs on us and a joy that leads us to serve the Lord.  That is why, as we study the lesson before us, we will seek to answer the question, “To whom am I responsible?”

To find the answer to our question, we want to turn to Matthew 22:15-21 where the Pharisees are laying down a question of responsibility in order to trap Jesus with his own words.  “Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. 16 They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are. 17 Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” 18 But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? 19 Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, 20 and he asked them, “Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?” 21 “Caesar’s,” they replied. Then he said to them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”" (Matthew 22:15–21, NIV84)

On the surface, the Pharisee’s plan must have seemed like a good plan.  Rather than go to Jesus themselves they would send in some of their own disciples whom Jesus would not know.  These disciples would come to Jesus and flatter him, hoping that their flattery would cause him to drop his guard.  Then, when he had dropped his guard they would ask his opinion on paying taxes to Caesar.  By doing this, they were sure that they would be able to express the opinion that paying taxes to a pagan government was completely wrong, which was an opinion held by quite a few of the Jews of the day.  This was why the Pharisees sent the Herodians along with their disciples that day.  They sent the Herodians because the Herodians were a political party of the Jews who favored the Roman government.  Thus, if Jesus answered as they expected, the Herodians would be there and would instantly be able to accuse Jesus of conspiring against the government and the Pharisees would finally be able to get rid of Jesus, once and for all.

However, things didn’t go as planned that day, for as Matthew tells us, “But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? 19 Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, 20 and he asked them, “Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?” 21 “Caesar’s,” they replied. Then he said to them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”" (Matthew 22:18–21, NIV84)

In such a simple way, Jesus easily avoided the trap the Pharisees had intended for him and in doing so he also reminded them of their responsibility to the government that he, their Lord and Savior, had placed over them.  This is the very thing our Savior is reminding us of today.  For with these words Jesus himself is teaching us that we, as Christians, have the same responsibilities to the government, which the Lord has placed over us.  Be that government city, county, state, or federal, we are responsible to it as the Pharisees and all Israel was responsible to Rome.  Even though we may not always agree with our government’s decisions, as Christians our responsibility is to submit to the laws of the land, unless those laws would force us to do something that is contrary to the Word of our God.  Though we may be frustrated by the seemingly never ending increase in taxes, as Christians tax monies are simply what we owe to Caesar, as Jesus said.  Though we may not always like some of our elected officials or even respect the lives they choose to live, as Christians, it is our responsibility to recognize that the Lord has placed them over us as his representatives who deserve the respect their offices hold. Yet, while all this is true, as Americans we have also been given the responsibility to take part in the election of those representatives. We are allowed to choose which candidates we feel would best serve our cities, our counties, our sates and our nation.  We are even allowed to express our political views and campaign for our chosen candidates in whatever ways we see fit.  But if it should happen that the particular candidate that we wanted was not elected to a particular position, we as Christians are still responsible to them, because they are the servants of the government that the Lord, our God, has placed over us.

These are but a few examples of our responsibility, as Christians, to the government that the Lord has placed over us, and I’m sure that you could think of many, many more.  For the truth is, as Christians, when we recognize our responsibility to our government and live responsible lives under that government, not only are we being responsible to our leaders; we are also being responsible to the Lord himself.  This is why Jesus so clearly tells us in verse 21, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” (Matthew 22:21, NIV84)

 

For the Pharisees, this was something that they knew.  Yet, it was something that they seldom carried out.  Even though they thought that they were giving God what he deserved by their zeal to keep God’s law perfectly, they were actually failing to put him first.  For rather than striving to keep God’s law out of love for the Lord, they got so wrapped up in trying to keep it, that they actually added law upon law that not even they were able to keep.  Though they went above and beyond what the Lord required of them in fasting, praying and even tithing, sadly their attitude again was not love for the Lord, but a desire to demonstrate to others how righteous they were because they were working harder than anyone at keeping God’s law.  This is why those disciples were so amazed by Jesus answer when they asked his opinion on paying taxes.  When Jesus told them so simply, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s” they could do nothing more than walk away.  In that simple sentence, the Lord Jesus had not only answered the question perfectly, but he made them recognize that they had failed to give to the Lord all he deserved.

Jesus is teaching us the same thing today.  For with those simple words, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s” he is causing us to realize that the Lord our God must be our first and foremost responsibility.  Yet, how often don’t we shortchange the Lord our God?  How often doesn’t the Lord simply get the scraps of our worship rather than the full meal that it should be!  How often don’t we feel that family time, hunting, fishing, or sports in general are more important than gathering for worship?  How often don’t we feel that 10:00 is just too early or too late for worship and we don’t come?  How often doesn’t it happen that parents make sure to get their children to Sunday School, but don’t bother to bring their children into church for worship after it is all done? 

Though we as Christians know that the Lord should be the first priority in our lives, how often doesn’t it happen that the Lord is the last priority in our financial lives?  Though it is the Lord who has given us all that we have, how often don’t we feel that we deserve more?  How often don’t we find ourselves pulling out the one credit card that isn’t maxed out so that we can purchase that trinket that we feel we cannot live without?  Or how often doesn’t it happen that we are robbing Peter to pay Paul, or in other cases, robbing the Lord to pay our bills?

Sadly, these are but a couple of the ways that we as Christians fail to live up to our responsibility to the Lord.  Yet even though we do not deserve it, it is the Lord who has forgiven us!  It is the Lord who sent his one and only Son to the earth so that he might die in our place.  The Lord our God willingly gave his one and only Son to death so that we might live.  Not only did he do that, but he also turned his back on his dying Son, causing him to suffer all the pain and torment of hell and damnation so that we would never have to.  This is how much the Lord our God loves us!  He forgave our sins through the death of his Son Jesus Christ.  He called us to faith through the working of the Holy Spirit.  He assures us that just like Jesus rose from the dead we too will rise, and he has promised us that through faith in Jesus Christ our Savior we have eternal life to look forward to. 

Now refreshed by that knowledge, go out and be responsible to the Lord in all that you do.  Go home today and take time to think about all the blessings he has given you and then close your eyes speak a prayer of thanks to him.  Schedule even just five minutes each day so that you can read even just a chapter from the Bible for the strengthening of your faith.  Take time to walk through your houses this week and take note of all the appliances you’ve acquired.  Look in your closets and count how many pairs of shoes you have.  Look in your dresser drawers and see if you don’t have enough socks and underwear to get you through at least a week without having to wash.  Take time to walk through your garages and see how many tools you have in your toolbox or hanging on your workbench.  Count the number of cars and trucks and other vehicles you have there and parked in your yards.  Then when you have done all this take time to evaluate how often you make the effort to be at church to worship the Lord and the amount you are currently giving to the Lord out of thanks for all that he has given for you.

When you do this, you will be showing that the Lord truly is your first and foremost responsibility.  When you do this you will be letting your love and thankfulness for the Lord be your motivation for worshiping the Lord and giving to him of the first fruits of your income.  For when you sit down and realize just how greatly the Lord has blessed you, your love for the Lord will long to give back to him.  In fact, if each and every one of us went home today, contemplating how the Lord has blessed us, and then decided in our hearts to give first to the Lord and then to everything else, I guarantee you that our congregation and our childcare would never want for money again.  If each and every one of us acted on our decision to give first to the Lord and then pay our bills, I guarantee you that you would suddenly have more than you needed to pay your bills and you would even have plenty to save up for a rainy day.  I guarantee you this, because the Lord has promised us that when we are responsible to him, he blesses us beyond our wildest expectations.  Though we may never get rich by putting the Lord first, we know we will have everything that we could ever need.

These are but a few of the blessings that come to us as Christians when we recognize to whom we are responsible.  For just like the world, we also long to know what our responsibilities are.  Today we have answered that question.  For today we have once again been reminded that as Christians, we are truly responsible to our government, but we are responsible first and foremost to the Lord our God.  Amen.

Pastor David M. Shilling

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church--Le Sueur, MN

Raise your hearts in fervent prayer (Matthew 6:9-13)

Sermon Hymn 410: Our Father, Who from Heaven Above
Tune: Vater Unser Im Himmelreich, Der Du: 88 88 88

1. Our Father, who from heav'n above Bids all of us to live in love
As members of one family And pray to you in unity,
Teach us no thoughtless words to say, But from our inmost hearts to pray.

2. Your name be hallowed. Help us, Lord, In purity to keep your Word,
That to the glory of your name We walk before you free from blame.
Let no false doctrine us pervert; All poor, deluded souls convert.

Dear friends in Christ.

A story has long been told about two monks who were discussing the Lord’s Prayer and their ability to pray it completely while concentrating on it fully. The first monk said with sorrow and frustration, “I can’t do it! I try and I try, but invariably somewhere in the middle of the prayer my mind wanders and I start thinking about other things.” “Really,” said the second monk. “I have no problem praying the Lord’s Prayer or concentrating on what I am saying.” The first monk looked quizzically at the second and said, “I don’t believe you! I’ll bet you my horse that you cannot say the Lord’s Prayer without being distracted and thinking about something else.” So the second monk took the bet. He took a deep breath to help clear his mind and focus his thoughts. He folded his hands, closed his eyes, bowed his head, and began praying. But before he even reached the petition asking that the Lord’s will be done on heaven and on earth, he stopped, looked at the first monk and said, “I guess you were right. Everything was going fine. I was focused and concentrating on what I was saying, and then I suddenly wondered if the saddle would come with the horse.”

How often doesn’t the same thing happen to us? How often don’t we begin speaking the words of the Lord’s Prayer when suddenly three or four different thoughts crowd their way into our minds and we simply stop paying attention to the words we are speaking? How often doesn’t it happen that we hear the Pastor say something like, “We join to pray the prayer that Jesus taught, and the next thing we realize is that we are saying, “Amen” and we are continuing on with the Communion liturgy or sitting down to sing the next hymn? How often haven’t we simply taken the Lord’s Prayer for granted? How often haven’t we simply prayed it without considering what we are praying for? How often haven’t we been upset because we were in a church that used that other version of the Lord’s Prayer, the one with which we are not so familiar, and we had to open our hymnals and read it, and think about the words we were saying; instead of simply reciting it verbatim without a care in the world? We’ve all done this! We have all failed to focus on what we were praying as we fervently prayed the Lord’s Prayer. It is for this very reason that we want to take a closer look at the Lord’s Prayer today so that we might grow in our understanding of what we are praying, and so that we might be better able to focus our attention on what we are so fervently praying to the Lord with these words.

To our text! Take a look at Matthew 6:9” “This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,’” (Matthew 6:9, NIV). With these words, Jesus himself is inviting us to believe that God is our one true Father in heaven and that through faith in him and his Son Jesus, we are his true children. With these words, Jesus is teaching us that we can pray to the Lord God our heavenly Father as boldly and confidently as children speak to their parents here on earth. With these words, Jesus is teaching us that we can bring any problem, hardship, frustration, concern, item of joy or praise to our heavenly Father at any time and he will hear us, he will listen, and he will answer our prayer as we fervently pray to him and ask that his name be kept holy.

Now, if you think about it, God’s name is already holy in itself, even without our asking. But when we are praying that the Lord’s name be hallowed, we are asking that we too might keep it holy. We are asking for his help and his blessing in keeping his name holy, because God’s Name is hallowed, when his Word is taught in its truth and purity. God’s Name is hallowed when we, as God’s children, live holy lives according to his Word, and as we pray that his name be kept holy, we are asking our Father in heaven to help us do that very thing so that through our lives others might see our faith and have the opportunity to learn about their Savior through the message of the Gospel. This is God’s will for our lives that his kingdom comes to us and many others through the message of his Word. Join me in singing about his kingdom and his will in stanza’s 3 and 4 of hymn 410:

3. Your kingdom come, we humbly pray, That Christ may rule in us today
And that your Holy Spirit bring Still more to worship Christ as King.
Break Satan's pow'r, defeat his rage; Preserve your Church from age to age.

4. Your gracious will on earth be done Just as in heav'n around your throne,
That patiently we may obey Throughout our lives all that you say.
Curb sinful flesh and ev'ry ill That sets itself against your will.

Such beautiful words the hymnist uses to expound what we are praying in those two very beautiful petitions form Matthew 6:10: “your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10, NIV). How strange it is that we as Christians should be praying such a petition as, “your kingdom come.” After all, we know that God’s kingdom will certainly come even without our asking, but when we speak these words, we are asking that God’s kingdom would come to us and to many others through the Holy Spirit whom the Father sends into our hearts through his Word and Sacraments. We are asking our heavenly Father to send his Holy Spirit into our hearts and the hearts of many others so that we all might believe his Word and lead a holy and godly life here on earth, through faith, and forever in heaven by God’s grace. This is God’s good and gracious will for our lives!

Again, God’s will would certainly be done without our prayer! Yet, whenever we pray, “Thy will be done;” we are praying that the Lord our God would break down and defeat every evil plan and purpose of the devil, this sin-filled world, and even our own sinful flesh. We are asking the Lord to strengthen us and keep us strong in our faith and firm in his word so that we might keep his name holy with our lives and his kingdom might come to others through our words and actions. That is God’s good and gracious will for our lives, that satan would be defeated, that the Lord would use us to spread his word to the nations, and that he would call many others to faith in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

This is our fervent prayer to the Lord as we speak the words which our Savior has given. Though the petitions, to this point, have been rather straight forward and easy for us to speak, as we come to the Fourth and Fifth Petitions, we find ourselves in a little more difficult territory. Though these words roll off the tongue so easily without a thought, when we stop to consider their meaning, they become that much more difficult for us to speak. Join me in singing these petitions from stanzas 5 and 6 of hymn 410:

5. Give us today our daily bread, And let us all be clothed and fed.
From hardship, war, and earthly strife, From sickness, famine, spare our life.
Let selfishness and worry cease That we may live in godly peace.

6. Forgive our sins, Lord, we implore, That they may trouble us no more;
We, too, will gladly those forgive Who hurt us by the way they live.
Help us in our community To serve each other willingly.

So how did you feel as you sung the words of these two stanzas? Did you find these words easy to sing or did you find them a little more difficult than you expected as they so clearly expounded on what Jesus tells us in verse 11 and 12 of Matthew 6: “Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” (Matthew 6:11-12, NIV). But why is it that these petitions are so difficult for us? The answer is quite simple; because we are asking our God not only to teach us to rely on him for all things, but to live in love and forgiveness for each other. In fact, just think about what we are saying when we ask our God to give us our daily bread. We are asking him to provide everything that we need for our body and life on a daily basis. We are asking him to help us realize that he graciously gives us all these things and more, even without our asking, even to those who are wicked. But we are asking him to help us realize that all our blessings come from him and that he will provide all that we need, which is something that so few of us do because it is so contrary to our human nature. All we have to do is look at our budget and calculate how much we are paying in credit card interest and other deferred payments for things that we may not have needed but simply felt that we couldn’t live without in order to find our level of trust in the Lord’s ability to know what we need and provide all that we need every day.

Yet even as we have sinned against the Lord by not trusting him, we are asking him to forgive us. Yet this is also where it becomes difficult for us. Though it is easy to pray that the Lord would forgive our debts, our sins; it is not as easy to pray, as we have forgiven our debtors—those who have sinned against us. This, too, goes completely against our human nature. We long to hold on to our grudges and remember what this person or that person did against us. We see it as a source of pride to withhold forgiveness from someone who sinned against us. Yet we fervently pray for our God to forgive us, we are asking him for the strength to forgive others as well. We are praying that the Lord would neither look upon our sins, nor deny our prayers because of our sins, even though we sin on a daily basis and deserve only his wrath and punishment. Yet, as we approach our heavenly Father, we ask him to act in mercy because of our Savior, forgive us of all our sins, and help us to do the same for those who have sinned against us. We ask him to help us reflect the love our Savior has for us by forgiven others, even as Jesus has already forgiven all of us.

This is the forgiveness in which we all live; the forgiveness that is ours through faith in Jesus, who poured out his blood and took back his life to save us. This is the forgiveness that now moves us to live in his love, love our neighbor as our selves, and forgive those who sin against us. This is the forgiveness that no moves us to pray that the Lord deliver us from temptation and all evil, just as we sing in stanzas 7 and 8 of hymn 410:

7. Into temptation lead us not. When evil foes against us plot
And vex our souls on ev'ry hand, Oh, give us strength that we may stand
Firm in the faith, a mighty host, Through comfort of the Holy Ghost.

8. From evil, Lord, deliver us; The times and days are perilous.
Redeem us from eternal death, And, when we yield our dying breath,
Console us, grant us calm release, And take our souls to you in peace.

Just as we sang so beautifully in our hymn we pray so fervently with those words from verse 13 of Matthew 6: “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” (Matthew 6:13, NIV) Though we know that God does not lead anyone into sin or even tempt them to sin, with these words we fervently pray that the Lord our God would guard us and keep us so that satan, this sinful world, and our traitorous-sinful flesh would not deceive us, or lead us into false belief, despair, or any other sins for that matter. Instead, with these words, we fervently pray that with God’s help we may overcome these and other temptations and win the victory over them as God himself delivers us from the evil one—our enemy, the devil.

This, too, is our fervent prayer that God our Father would deliver us from every evil that would threaten our body and soul, even our property and reputation. Not only that, but we also pray that when our time comes, the Lord would grant us a blessed end by calling us out of this life to his side forever in heaven. This is our fervent prayer to the Lord our God who promises to hear us, answer us, forgive us, provide for us, and deliver us from every form of evil.

Thus, we come to the end of the Lord’s prayer as recorded in the Bible. Though it was a little different in the account in Luke than it is in Matthew, there is no place where the doxology is recorded in the Scriptures. So I cannot point to you any specific passage in the Bible where you can read, “For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.” But even though they may not appear in any specific passage of Scripture, they undoubtedly echo many of the praises found in the Scriptures which describe how the Lord’s kingdom, power and glory shall endure forever. Interestingly enough, these very words were included with the Lord’s prayer in the Didache, which was essentially the Catechism for Christians back in about 100 AD. They were the words that we sang in response to the reading of the Lord’s Prayer during the communion service back when we used The Lutheran Hymnal, and they are words that have stuck. They are words of praise and glory that we proclaim before we say Amen, which is our statement of confidence that the Lord will hear and answer our prayer. Thus we say Amen at the end of our prayer, for this simple word declares, “Yes, it shall be so.” Yes, it shall be so thus declares our confidence in approaching our heavenly Father in this way, for not only has he commanded us to pray and promised to hear us, but these are the very words that Jesus has given us to pray.

So now, as we continue fervently praying the Lord’s Prayer, each and every week, I pray that this brief explanation will help you more thoroughly concentrate on what you are saying as you speak those familiar words that our Savior gave us. Thus, as we bring this sermon to a close, let us join our hearts and voices in singing the Amen from stanza 9 of hymn 410:

9. Amen, that is, it shall be so. Make strong our faith that we may know
That we may doubt not but believe What here we ask we shall receive.
Thus in your name and at your Word We say, "Amen. Oh, hear us, Lord!"

Amen.

Pastor David M. Shilling

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church Le Sueur, MN

What is the Foundation of your Faith? (Matthew 7:24-27)

Dear friends in Christ.

Over the past few weeks the Lord has delivered to us some very powerful, impactful, and important messages through his word. Roughly a month ago, we heard the Apostle Paul proclaiming to us the importance of regularly refreshing ourselves and renewing ourselves with God’s Word. On the last Sunday of August, we heard Jesus himself teaching us just how important it is for us to be regularly feasting on his flesh and blood through our worship and our reading and studying of his Word. Just last week it was Joshua who challenged each and every one of us to dedicate ourselves to the Lord by choosing to serve him with our lives as we follow his Word. Now, today, we will hear a message that will be no less powerful! For this morning it is Jesus himself, who is once again speaking to us and asking us a very poignant and personal question. It is Jesus who is asking us, “What is the foundation of your faith?” Though in some ways this may feel like a very personal question that simply should not be asked from a pulpit, when we get right down to it, it is Jesus, our Savior who is asking us what the foundation of our faith truly is. In short, he is asking us if our faith is founded on him, the Rock of our salvation, or if our faith is founded on the constantly shifting sands of public opinion and worldly ideas. In fact, just listen to the indirect question Jesus poses as he speaks to us today: “Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” (Matthew 7:24-27)

What more powerful words could there be than these words that Jesus is speaking to us! For in just a few simple sentences, our Lord lays everything on the line and tells us that our faith will either be founded on him as the Rock of our salvation, or it will be founded on the sand of human ideas and worldly philosophies! So, what is the foundation of your faith? Well, by the simple fact that you are here today, you are showing that your faith is founded on Christ, your Rock and your Redeemer! By the simple fact that you are here today you are demonstrating that you have believed the message of salvation through faith in Jesus, and you are putting your faith into action by seeking to strengthen the bond between the spiritual house of your faith and the foundation of Jesus Christ your Savior. By your presence here, you are revealing to your spouse, your children, your family, your neighbors, and every one else who is here today, just how important it is for you to have your faith grounded and built up on the foundation of Jesus Christ, your Savior. In fact, by bringing your children to Sunday School this morning and gathering together for worship, especially on this Christian Education Sunday, you are clearly revealing just how important it is for you to maintain and strengthen the connection between yourself and your Savior, which, if you think about it, is exactly what Christian Education is all about!

In fact, if you think about it, Christian Education is all about building a spiritual house of faith upon the foundation of Jesus Christ and maintaining the very connection of that faith which began on the day that we were baptized! For it was on the day of our baptism that our Christian Education officially began as the Holy Spirit entered our hearts and built our faith upon the foundation of Jesus Christ our Rock and our Redeemer! Though it was on that day when our Christian Education officially began, it has not yet come to an end! Rather, it has continued on to this very day. Though we may not remember it all that well, our Christian Education continued as our parents worked to keep our faith connected to the Rock of our Salvation as they sang us songs like, I Am Jesus’ Little Lamb, as they told us Bible Stories of how our God cares for us, loves us and saved us. They continued our education as they taught us to pray before meal time and at bed time. Then, as we grew, they continued our education as they sent us off to Sunday School and vacation Bible School where we continued to learn the precious truths of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. As we grew and reached the age of Confirmation classes, we had the opportunity to delve deeper into the Living Water of the Word and grow in the faith which the Holy Spirit founded on the Rock of Christ our Savior. But even though the day of Confirmation often marks the last day of formal Christian Education, we never graduate from our need to strengthen the connection between the spiritual house of our faith and the solid foundation of Christ our Rock!

Yet sadly, so often it happens that even the strongest of Christians grow tired and weary in the important work of maintaining the connection between the spiritual house of their faith and the solid foundation of Christ their Savior. Sadly, even the strongest of Christians sometimes feel that once they have established their homes on the solid foundation of God’s Word they are free to forget about the work of maintaining and strengthening their connection to that foundation. Though we have been given the very tools we need, how often don’t we simply fail to mix the mortar of God’s Word and apply it when cracks begin to form in the walls of our faith? How often don’t we simply ignore the home improvement courses of worship and Bible Study which teach us first hand how to successfully care for the connection between our faith and its foundation? How often doesn’t it happen that we weaken our own faith by staying away from the Hardware store of Church simply because our personality doesn’t mesh with the presenting pastor, or because the pastor preached a message we didn’t particularly like, or because he preached to forcefully against a specific sin that we didn’t want to be reminded of? How often doesn’t it happen that we claim to know what the Word of God says, yet, never really bother to read it or learn it? Or how often doesn’t it happen that we confess that we believe in Jesus as the Rock and the foundation of our faith while at the same time allowing everything in our lives to confess that our beliefs actually lie else where?

When that happens, we are in danger of allowing the connection between our faith and the solid Rock of Christ to crumble away to nothing more than shifting sand. We are in danger because whether we realize it or not, we have begun to spend too much time at the beach of this world, building philosophical castles in the sand, and scoring numerous points in the volley ball game of the worlds ideas. When things like this begin to happen, we no longer feel the need to climb back up on to the solid foundation of Christ our Rock or even to work at maintaining our connection to him. Rather, as we grow accustomed to trudging through the shifting sands of popular opinion and human ideas, we start to feel comforted by its warmth as it covers our feet and seems to anchor us in place. We start to enjoy the time we spend lying out in the sun of our own personal truth, and before we know it, we are ready to move out of the homes built so inconveniently high up on that Rock of Christ, and we are ready to set up our own little shacks right there on the sandy beach of the world.

Yet, what does our Savior have to say about this? He says, “Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” (Matthew 7:24-27)

So what is the foundation of your faith? Is it the Rock of Christ our Savior? Or is it the shifting sands of human ideas? Have you built the spiritual house of your faith down on the beach where the tides roll in and sweep the sands away? Or have you built it high in the hills securely founded on the unchanging Word of your God? I pray that your foundation is the Rock of Christ our Savior. I pray that you have heard his Words and are ready to put them in to action, for when you put his words into action you are exactly like the wise man who built his home on the rock. When our faith is securely founded on the Rock of Christ, though there may be times when the rain of temptation beats down upon us, the house of our faith will not fail. Though there may be times when the streams of hardship and tribulation rise against us, our faith will not be washed away. Though there may be times when the winds of death blow against us and finally snuff out the flame of our life, we will still continue to sand firm! We will continue to stand firm because when our faith is founded on the Rock of Christ our Savior, we know that there is nothing in all creation that will ever separate us from his love. Even death itself cannot ever separate us from our Savior, because all that death can do is completely unite us our Savior as we move from this life to our eternal life by his side forever. This is why it is so important for us to build our faith upon the foundation of Jesus Christ our Rock and our Redeemer.

So with all this in mind, go out now and continue in your Christian Education. Make the most of every opportunity you have been given to gather for worship and Sunday school, Confirmation class and Bible study. If it is with in your means, seriously consider sending your children to Bell Plaine or to Saint Peter so that they might have the opportunity to sit at Jesus’ feet each and every day in Bible History. If it is within your means, seriously consider sending your children to MVL so that they might continue to grow in their faith and through the daily study of God’s Word they might have the opportunity to strengthen the bond between the house of their faith and the Rock of its foundation. Go out now, and live your lives as a confession of your faith, so that what you believe is clearly affirmed in everything that you say and do. And in all things, give thanks and praise as you seek to serve the Lord in whatever way is pleasing in his sight.

How incredible for us to hear yet another powerful message from Jesus Christ, our Savior! For today, we have once again been reminded just how important it is for us to dedicate ourselves to the Lord, to feast on the flesh and blood of our Savior, and to renew and refresh ourselves with the Word of God. But even more than that, today Jesus himself has revealed to us just how important it is for us to build our faith on him, the Rock and the foundation of our faith and our salvation. Continue to build your faith on him.

Amen.

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