Enlarge the Place of Your Tent! (Isaiah 54:1-5)

Mission Festival Sunday 

November 11, 2012

Dear friends in Christ.

If you’ve ever been camping, then you know that tents come in all shapes and sizes.  Some are so small that all they are able to hold is one person in a sleeping bag, while others are so large that they are designed with as many as four separate rooms in them.  Sometimes you might see a couple camping in a simple dome tent, while other times, you might see a family of eight ingeniously join a pair of smaller tents to make one large tent.  But no matter what kind of tent a person uses, one simple rule always applies:  the more people you have, the bigger your tent will need to be.  The same rule also applies in God’s Kingdom, for as more and more people come into it the larger it will need to be.  In fact, as we study the lesson before us this morning, this is the lesson that the Lord will be teaching us as we hear him calling on us to enlarge the place of our tents.

Just listen to what the Lord is telling us in our lesson today:  “Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes. 3 For you will spread out to the right and to the left; your descendants will dispossess nations and settle in their desolate cities. 4 “Do not be afraid; you will not suffer shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated. You will forget the shame of your youth and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood. 5 For your Maker is your husband— the LORD Almighty is his name— the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth." (Isaiah 54:2–5, NIV84)

Enlarge the place of your tent!  Believe it or not, this is the very thing that the LORD is calling on us to do today!  He is calling on us to enlarge the place of our tent, because, as he tells us, we will spread out on all sides.  However, for us living out here in the Valley of the Jolly Green Giant, this may seem like an almost silly idea!  After all, it is very clear that the exact opposite is true.  We are not spreading out on every side!  Rather, our congregation has been shrinking for the last decade.  As we look around us, we can’t help but notice how few people there are sitting in our pews, and how many churches there are in town.  As we talk to each other it is easy to come to the conclusion that those who want to be part of a congregation already are, and those who don’t want anything to do with church regularly keep themselves away. But, even though this may be the case, the Lord is still telling us, “Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes. 3 For you will spread out to the right and to the left; " (Isaiah 54:2–3, NIV84)

Now, when Isaiah first spoke these words in Judea, the Israelites were having a pretty tough time.  For even though the Lord had established his temple in Jerusalem, the majority of the people had turned away from the Lord—leaving only a small group of believers.  On top of that, it wouldn’t be long before the Babylonians came to destroy Jerusalem and take the rest of the people off into captivity.  It wouldn’t be long until the Babylonians came and destroyed the temple which Solomon himself had built, bringing a stop to the daily sacrifice for over 70 years.  But even in the midst of this coming trouble, the Lord speaks to his believers and tells them to enlarge the place of their tent, because they would indeed spread out as more and more believers were added to their numbers. 

But even though the Lord never promised that this influx would come right away, he promised that over time they would.  He promised that over time they would grow and he illustrated his promise with the picture of someone enlarging his tent.  For in those days, often times wives would live in their own tents, apart from their husband.  In this tent, children would also live, be cared for, and be schooled.  So, when a wife was expecting another child, that tent would need to be increased in size so that there would be plenty of room for the family as well as the new child.  This was how that small group of believers would grow. It wouldn’t necessarily be quickly, but it would be slow and steady until they reached such a great number that no one would be able to count them.

The same is true for you and me today.  Even though we are but a small group of believers, the Lord is calling on us to enlarge the place of our tent, because we will indeed spread out on all sides.  Now, that doesn’t mean that we need to hold an emergency council meeting to decide how best to remodel our church and make it larger, but it does mean that we need to prepare ourselves for the influx of believers who will be brought into God’s Kingdom, by going out and looking for them! 

Sadly, this is the very thing that we, as a congregation have not been doing for a long, long time.  For nearly as many years as I’ve been here we have turned away from evangelism opportunities because we simply didn’t have the money to fund them.  If we’ve done any evangelism at all, we have only been looking for the right type of people.  We have been looking only for those who are well off so that they can help us pay our bills.  We’ve been looking for the people who have it together and are not carrying too much baggage, and if we are completely honest with ourselves, we have to admit, that in many ways we are only looking for white people.  Let’s face it!  Though we long to be a growing congregation, the truth is the idea of bringing the gospel to the growing Hispanic and Latino community in Le Sure terrifies us.  It terrifies us because suddenly we are crossing cultures, and for most of us crossing cultural boundaries is completely outside our comfort zone. 

Yet, this is what mission work is all about!  It is about going to those who do not know the gospel and sharing it with them.  it is about taking the good news of Jesus Christ to each and every nation of people that we find living right here in our own community.  It’s about talking to your friends, your neighbors and your relatives and simply inviting them to come to church with you to hear the Word of God.  It’s about us as a congregation building a warm and friendly community where people feel welcome to come in and grow in the Word of God together.  It is about us putting the Lord first, trusting his promise that as we seek to do this, as we seek to enlarge the place of our tent, we will not suffer shame as we share his Word with those who do not yet know him.  As he promises in our lesson today, “Do not be afraid; you will not suffer shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated. You will forget the shame of your youth and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood. 5 For your Maker is your husband— the LORD Almighty is his name— the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth." (Isaiah 54:4–5, NIV84)

What incredible comfort the Lord is giving us today!  Even though we are a small group of believers, he is assuring us that we will not suffer shame as we work to enlarge the place of our tent.  Now, I don’t know about you, but to me these are some very comforting words, because these words assure us that even though taking the gospel to another culture can be terrifying, the Lord will be with us.  We will suffer no shame in sharing his Word, because we are doing his Work.  The Lord is assuring us that even as we work to enlarge the place of this tent, if we should find that the faces of the people around changing we will be blessed as his kingdom continues to grow.  He is assuring us that even if we have to rethink the way we work as a congregation, or even rethink the way that we support this congregation, as we seek to spread his Word, and enlarge the place of his tent, he will bless us, just as he blessed his people Israel.

For when Isaiah first spoke these words to that small group of believers, and they realized that it was now their mission to enlarge the place of their tent, they might have been a little afraid.  After all, they were only a small group of believers, and now they were being asked to prepare for more.  Perhaps they were simply afraid that if their small group grew large once again, they would suffer the shame of watching another majority of believers turn away from the Lord.  This is why the Lord spoke to them through the Prophet Isaiah and said: “Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes. 3 For you will spread out to the right and to the left; your descendants will dispossess nations and settle in their desolate cities. 4 “Do not be afraid; you will not suffer shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated. You will forget the shame of your youth and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood. 5 For your Maker is your husband— the LORD Almighty is his name— the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth." (Isaiah 54:2–5, NIV84)

This is what the Lord is saying to you and me today as well!  He is telling us not to be afraid because we will not suffer shame as we work to enlarge the Lord’s Church.  We will not suffer shame as we go about doing the work for the Lord’s kingdom.  Even though we may be a small group of believers, even though we may feel that there is not much that we are able to do in the Lord’s kingdom, there are quite a few things that we can do to enlarge his Church.  We can give to the Lord out of the bounty with which he has blessed us.  We can give to the Lord so that the work of his kingdom might continue.  We can give our gifts and offerings to the Lord and support the spreading of the Gospel both here at home and all over the world.  We can give offerings to support the work going on at Minnesota Valley Lutheran and Martin Luther College in New Ulm.  We can give our gifts and offerings to the Synod to support the training of Pastors, Teachers, and Staff Ministers so that other churches and schools might have workers to serve.  We can give our gifts and offerings to help support the work of our Childcare so that we might continue to nurture little bodies and souls in the Word of God.

But money is not the only thing we can give to the Lord, for we can also give to him of our time.  We can give our time to the Lord by praying that he would bless us with many more men and women who desire to become pastors and teachers.  You can give your time to the Lord by sitting down each day and praying for the members of your mission board who send missionaries out to foreign lands, by praying for your missionaries, and their families, who are spreading the Gospel in places you cannot go.  You can give your time to the Lord by simply taking fifteen minutes out of your busy day and reading from his Word.  You can give of your time by dusting off your catechisms and reviewing the truths which you learned so many years ago.  For by doing this, you will not only be building up your own faith, but you will be preparing yourself for the time when the Lord does give you first hand experience at sharing the Gospel with someone who doesn’t know Jesus.  These are but a few of the ways we as a small group of believers can work to enlarge the place of our tent.  Only don’t stop working, for there is no shame in doing the work of the Lord Church, however, shame does come when we fail to do it.  Shame does come when we sit idly by waiting for the Lord to do the work we refuse to do. 

So now, as you live your lives in service to the Lord, continue working to enlarge the place of your tent, because you know there is no shame in doing the Lord’s work, and you will indeed spread out on all sides.  Though we may not see much or any of the growth the Lord has promised in our small congregations, we can be assured that by our efforts, we will be working to enlarge the kingdom of heaven.  Amen.

Pastor David M. Shilling

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church--Le Sueur, MN

Marvel as the Word of the Lord Grows! (Acts 1:8)

Series: The Stained Glass Series 

October 9, 2011

Dear friends in Christ.

I don’t know about you, but I have to confess that I was a little surprised when I realized that we are on the 2nd to last window in our Stained Glass Window Series.  Though it was back on June 19th when we began this series, it seems like it was just yesterday that we were talking about creation, Adam and Eve, Noah, David and Goliath, and even Daniel.  But now, suddenly, we are taking a look at the window designed to remind us of how the Word of the Lord grew as the disciples carried it with them as they traveled to the ends of the earth!  It was the very message of the three previous windows that they carried with them wherever they went; the message of Jesus Christ who had died on the cross to pay for the sins of the world; the message of Jesus Christ, who though he had died was raised to life for our justification—declaring us not guilty before our Father in heaven; the message of Jesus Christ who had ascended to his Father’s side in heaven and who would one day return again.  This was the message that they carried with them wherever they went, and now, as we turn our attention to our second last window, we cannot help but marvel at how the word of the Lord grew and how it continues to grow according to the plan our Savior laid down in our lesson today in Acts 1:8.  “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”(Acts 1:8, NIV84)

Now, you might remember hearing these same words last week as Acts 1:8 was part of the account of Jesus’ Ascension.  You might remember how Jesus was standing with his disciples on the Mount of Olives giving them his last instructions before he would ascend to his Father’s throne in heaven.  As he speaks with them one last time, in one short sentence Jesus reiterates the very truth he had spent the last three years teaching them.  In one short sentence he lays out the plan of action for which he had prepared them.  Just moments before they would see Jesus return to his Father, he reminds them of the game plan that they would be following, “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”(Acts 1:8, NIV84)

Well, that very mission which Jesus bestowed upon them, was the very mission they took up only 10 days later, on the day of Pentecost.  For on that day, when the Lord sent the Holy Spirit to his disciples, not only did he establish the first Christian Church among his people, Israel, he also laid the foundation for the spreading of the gospel to the ends of the earth.  On that day, when the Lord sent the Holy Spirit, he gathered a huge crowd of Israelites with the sound of a rushing wind.  He marked his disciples with a tongue of flame on their heads, and he allowed them to speak in all sorts of different languages as Luke records for us later on in chapter 2:  “How is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”(Acts 2:8–11, NIV84)

Though the Apostles were mocked for having too much wine, it was Peter who stood up in front of the whole crowd and preached to them God’s harshest law and God’s sweetest gospel.  He condemned the people of Israel for their rejection of Jesus as their Savior and how they acted as accomplices in his death.  He cut them to the heart with the sharp scalpel of God’s Law in preparation for the healing salve of the gospel—the message of the salvation that was theirs through faith in that same Jesus whom God had raised from the dead.  Peter preached that message while the other disciples undoubtedly translated, and the Word of the Lord grew as about 3,000 were added to their number that day!  Then, from that time on Luke tells us, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:42–47, NIV84)

Thus, what the Lord Jesus had told them on the Mount of Olives had come to pass.  They were, indeed, his witnesses in Jerusalem.  So many were added to their numbers in fact, that the apostles appointed 7 men to help with the daily distribution of food; two of these men were Stephen and Philip.  Stephen, we remember, was the one who was stoned to death because the Sanhedrin didn’t like what he had to say.  He was the one for whose stoning Saul was present—a young man watching over the cloaks of those who were murdering Stephen.  Saul was there giving approval to Stephen’s death, and Saul was the one who began the persecution, going from town to town, arresting Christians, and throwing them in prison.  Thus, the Christians did the only sane thing they could.  They ran for it.  They ran for it and they took the Gospel with them, preaching it wherever they went!

Though a great persecution had broken out against the Christians in Jerusalem, the Word of the Lord continued to grow!  Just as the Lord had planted his church in the midst of the Jewish stronghold of Jerusalem, he continued to spread the message of salvation through the people who took the gospel with them as they scattered into Judea and Samaria.  Next thing we know, Philip, (not the Apostle but the helper the Apostles had chosen along with Stephen) he was traveling in Samaria and preaching the gospel wherever he went.  He was the one whom the Lord sent down toward Gaza to meet an Ethiopian Eunuch on his way home after spending time in Jerusalem.  He is the one whom the Spirit of the Lord took from that road to Azotus where he preached the Word until he reached Caesarea.  Because of this, the Apostles began to leave Jerusalem and go out as the Lord’s witnesses in Judea and Samaria.  Because of the work that the Lord sent Philip to do in Samaria, Peter and John traveled into the same region to proclaim the Word and the Word of the Lord continued to grow.  It continued to grow not only among the Jews who had been scattered, but it began to grow among the Gentiles as well as the Lord sent Peter to Caesarea to the house of a man named Cornelius (Acts 10).  Now, suddenly the disciples begin to understand the Lord’s plan to spread his message to the ends of the earth among the Jews and the Gentiles.  Thus the Word of the Lord continued to grow and spread just as Jesus had told his disciples, “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”(Acts 1:8, NIV84)

For the disciples, Jesus plan of action really did happen in a linear way.  They pretty much followed his pattern: Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and then the rest of the World.  However, the Gospel did not follow this same pattern!  When Peter stood up on the day of Pentecost there were Israelites from every nation under the face of the earth.  “Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs”(Acts 2:9–11, NIV84)  They were there, Jews from all these different nations.  They were there and they heard Peter proclaim to them the message of salvation that was theirs through faith in Jesus Christ their Savior.  In that moment the message of salvation went global.  Though they weren’t able to record Pete’s message with their smart phones and immediately post it and their reactions to it on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites, in that moment the message of salvation had already reached the ends of the earth.  The people who had gathered there that day, who had heard what Peter had said, now took that message of salvation with them as they went back to their home countries.  In this way the Word of the Lord grew as they simply told others about what they had seen and heard.  As they traveled home, they took the gospel message with them and the prepared the way for the Apostles to come to them with the gospel!

All by the Lord’s design!  All according to the Lord’s plan!  The Apostles were indeed Jesus witnesses in Jerusalem and in all of Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.  Though we only know for sure where Paul and some of the other Apostles traveled, when we take a look at what some of the traditions tell us, it gives us a real sense of how they were the Lord’s witnesses to the ends of the earth.  Now, what I am about to share with you comes out of traditions and in some cases is not much better than conjecture or best guesses.  Take Paul for example.  We know where he went on his missionary journeys.  We know he wanted to go to Spain, and we assume he made it to Spain but we don’t know for sure.  In fact there is a tradition that Paul not only made it to Spain but even traveled into the British Isles.  Whether that is true or not, I cannot say, but we do know how Paul was a very well traveled missionary.   Take a look at Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.  Some traditions say he worked in Scythia—a region north of the Black Sea in modern day Russia.  However there is also a tradition that Andrew worked in Achaia in Greece.  Nathanial, also known as Bartholomew, and Thomas are both thought to have worked in Phrygia in modern day Turkey, as well as in India.  James, Son of Alphaeus, is most often associated with Egypt.  Though it is very difficult to discern exactly what is truth in these traditions, they do show how the disciples were the fulfillment of Jesus words in our lesson today, “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”(Acts 1:8, NIV84)

They were our Savior’s witnesses who spread the message of salvation wherever they went.  They were the Savior’s witnesses through whom he caused his Word to grow.  Though we cannot prove exactly where most of the Apostles went, we can see the results of their work as the Word of the Lord continued to grow throughout the Roman Empire even during times of persecutions.  Because of their efforts and the blessings of the Lord that message of salvation spread in to countries like England and France, Germany and Russia, Ireland and Scandinavia.  Because the Word of the Lord grew and expanded as it did, those who came to this country brought the word with them and it continued to grow and spread.  Now, today, we are the Savior’s witnesses who are bringing the gospel message back to the countries where it once was.  We are now the Lord’s servants who are continuing to spread that message of salvation to the ends of the earth and beyond.

What a marvelous thing it is to see just how the Word of the Lord has continued to grow since the day of Pentecost nearly 2000 years ago.  Though there is so much more history that we could look at, and though there are so many examples of how the Word of the Lord had grown and traveled around the world again and again.  We have seen more than enough to make us marvel at how the Lord has caused his Word to grow.  He has preserved it from generation to generation.  He has caused the message of Christ crucified, Christ risen and Christ ascended to be continually preached for the blessing of his people  everywhere.  What an amazing blessing the Lord has given us to be able to look back at how his word has spread, to be able to see how he has continued to spread his word today, and to look forward into the future and wonder how he will continue to cause his Word to grow among the nations.

Amen.

Pastor David M. Shilling

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church--Le Sueur, MN

Marvel at the Lord's Salvation (Romans 10:8-13)

Dear friends in Christ.

Between my senior year of High School and my first year of college, my family traveled to Estes Park Colorado for a couple weeks of family vacation. However, on the way we stopped at any number of sightseeing places. We stopped at Wall Drug, we drove through the Black Hills, and of course, we stopped at Mt. Rushmore National Park. Now, when I saw Mt. Rushmore for the first time, I couldn’t help but marvel at what I was seeing! For there before me were the faces of four famous presidents expertly carved out of solid rock. Though I had seen the films showing what the workers went through and how they blasted and chiseled the rock away to reveal the faces within, I was astounded by what they were able to accomplish. Even now, after I have seen the monument as many as ten times, I still marvel at what Victor Borgland and his workers were able to accomplish on the side of that hill. But even though what they accomplished there was an amazing feat, it is nothing compared to the salvation, which the Lord has chiseled in to each and every one of our hearts today. In fact, as we study the word of God before us, we will have one more opportunity to marvel at the Lord’s salvation. And as we do this, as we marvel at the Lord’s salvation, we will find that it not only belongs to you and me by faith, but that it also belongs to all who trust in Jesus Christ as their Savior!

Yes, dear friends, as we have gathered to study God’s Word this morning, we cannot help but marvel at the Lord’s salvation because it does indeed belong to each and every one of us through faith in Jesus Christ our Savior! This, in fact, is exactly what the Apostle Paul is assuring us of as he writes in our text today: “‘The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,’ that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. (Romans 10:8-10)

Now, when Paul first wrote these words, he wrote them to assure us that salvation belongs to us, not because of anything we have done, but simply through faith in Jesus Christ our Savior! For, as we heard in our Gospel lesson last week, it was Jesus, our Savior, who defeated satan for us, and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers! Though satan offered Jesus three incredibly appealing temptations designed to entice him to take the easy way out, Jesus stood his ground, and did not fall. He made his defense in with the Word of God and finally satan was forced to flee. Though satan continued to rear his ugly head, tempting Jesus every chance he got, Jesus continued to win battle after battle against his adversary. He defeated satan in the wilderness. He defeated in Nazareth when the people rejected him and tried to push him off the brow of the hill. He defeated satan as we heard in our Gospel Lesson this morning when the Pharisees tried to scare Jesus off form completing his mission. He defeated satan in Jerusalem as the Pharisees continued to try to trap Jesus and discredit him. He defeated satan in Gethsemane, and he defeated satan once and for all on the cross. For when Jesus went to the cross, he in effect threw satan into a coffin, nailed it shut, and buried him below hundreds of feet of earth. This is why we marvel at the Lord’s Salvation today, because we know that when Jesus gave his life for us on the cross, he not only freed us from our sins, he completely stripped satan of any power he had over us!

What a great comfort it is for us to know that through faith in Jesus Christ, our salvation has been secured! For it is through the message of the Gospel, which we hear proclaimed to us week after week, that faith has been created in our hearts! It is through that faith, which has been created in our hearts, that we have now been justified, that is, declared not guilty before our Lord and God. It is through that message of the Gospel, through which faith has been created in our hearts, that we now live to confess our Savior’s holy Name through our words and actions. In doing this, we show that we are truly marveling at the Lord’s salvation! We are marvel at the fact that this salvation belongs to us not because of anything we have done, but solely through faith in Jesus Christ our Savior! No, we have not earned this salvation because we have lived extremely glorious lives! We have not received it because Martin Luther was such a staunch defender of the faith and many of us have some German heritage in our bloodlines. We did not earned it because we are extremely good looking. It was not offered to us because we are incredibly talented. The Lord hasn’t even awarded it to us because we are living in the valley of the Jolly Green Giant!

No! Rather, we have received the Lord’s salvation as a precious gift through faith in Jesus Christ our Savior! There is nothing more incredible in all the world than knowing that the Lord our God loved us so much that he willingly sacrificed his Son on the cross to free us from all our sins. There is nothing more humbling than the knowledge that the Lord made sure that we heard the message of the Gospel and therefore came to faith in Jesus as Christ our Savior. There is nothing more incredible than the Lord’s salvation, at which we are marveling today! For as we have heard again and again, that salvation now belongs to us through faith in Jesus Christ our Savior, we cannot help but marvel at that incredible salvation! But the most incredible thing about the Lord’s salvation, is the fact that this salvation also belongs to everyone who trusts in him.

Yes, the Lord’s salvation is truly a marvelous thing! For it not only belongs to you and me through faith in Jesus Christ, it also belongs to everyone who trusts in him as his Lord and Savior. This, is exactly what the Apostle Paul is reminding us of as he continues in our text, he writes: “the Scripture says, ‘Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.’ For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile--the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’” (Romans 10:11-13)

What greater comfort could the Lord offer than the comfort he offers in his salvation! For as he tells us, his salvation belongs to each and every person who believes in Jesus Christ as his Savior! This, in fact, is the most marvelous part of God’s salvation! It shows no favoritism and it has no boundaries, because it belongs to every single person who trusts in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. Anyone, from the poorest homeless person living on the streets of New York City, to the worst murder on death row can claim salvation through faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior. Anyone, from the most devout Native American to the most extremely radical Muslim believer can also receive God’s salvation. Not by sincerely trusting in their own religion. Not even by relying on what they have done. Rather this salvation comes only through the faith which the Holy Spirit alone can create in a persons’ heart.

Though there are times when we forget this and think that it is just harder for some people to come to faith and be saved than others, we need to remember the power of the Holy Spirit. For if the Holy Spirit was able to soften the granite of our unbelieving hearts and mold them into a monument of the Lord’s salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. He can do the same thing for any other person who hears the Word of God.

This, in fact, is exactly what the Holy Spirit has been doing since the beginning of time, and this is what he is still doing today. For he is the one who is working in the hearts of the Lakota people in Mission, SD and calling them to faith through the Gospel that has been preached to them. He is the one who is at work among the Apache people in East Fork, AZ. He is the one who has called quite a number of Hmong people in St. Paul, MN to faith in Jesus Christ through the message of the Gospel that has been lovingly proclaimed to them. He is the one who has snatched many of the Vietnamese people living in Meridian, ID from the clutches of satan, bringing them under the protection of their Savior, Jesus Christ. In fact, this is the very thing the Holy Spirit has been accomplishing throughout the world. For through the preaching of the Gospel, he has called many Africans, Chinese, Japanese, Russians, Bulgarians, and Albanians to faith. He has even managed to convert quite a few Jews to the Christian faith as well as a great number of people from the Muslim world. For wherever the Word of God is being preached, there the Holy Spirit is at work, changing hearts and offering salvation to all who come to believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Truly the Lord’s Salvation is a marvelous thing! And now, as we sit here today, being reminded that his salvation belongs to each and every person who comes to faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior, our mission could not be clearer! For now that we have been reminded of the power of the Gospel and the marvelous wonder of the Lord’s Salvation, we cannot help but realize that it is our mission to go out into all the world and preach the Gospel and make disciples of all nations. It is our mission to give our gifts and our offerings not only for the work of this congregation, but so that we can continue to send our offerings to our synod so that they can continue to do their work on our behalf. It is our mission to make every effort to worship the Lord here at church so that our faith might be strengthened and built up in Jesus Christ, so that we are always ready to seize every opportunity the Lord gives us to tell others about Jesus Christ their Savior. It is our mission to go out these doors and invite our friends, neighbors, and even our enemies to come and join us to hear the Gospel so that they to might come to know their Savior. And, even though it might be a little scary, as you already know, it is our mission to bring the Gospel of our Savior to the Hispanic people living in our community as well as any other ethnic groups around us. It is our mission to bring them the Word of our God so that the Holy Spirit can work in their hearts and bring them to faith in Jesus Christ, so that they can marvel with us at the Lord’s amazing Salvation.

What greater thing could there be than countless Christians together, marveling at the Salvation the Lord has won for us! Though this salvation was never carved into the granite face of a mountain like Mt. Rushmore, we know how it was set in our hearts by the working of the Holy Spirit! What a marvelous thing it is to realize that the Lord’s salvation not only belongs to us, but it belongs to all who trust in the Lord, Jesus Christ. For as Scripture has truly taught us: Everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be Saved!”

Amen.

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