Grace Lutheran Church Weekly Sermons

New Sermon Site Starts Today

2011-07-03T06:45:00.000-05:00

Hi all,

Just a reminder that today begins the start of our new sermon site. All future sermons will be published there and after a couple of weeks this site will be deleted.

You can find all our sermons at: http://sermons.grace-lesueur.org. Or if you want the specific address go to: http://grace-lesueur.blogspot.com.

Either link will bring you to the latest sermon. If today's sermon is not yet published, it will be at 9 AM.

May the Lord continue to bless you.

Pastor Shilling

Marvel at the Lord's Faithful Forgiveness! (Genesis 3:1-15)

2011-06-26T09:00:00.002-05:00

June 26, 2011

Dear friends in Christ.

Forgiveness; Forgiveness is something for which everyone looks, but not everyone finds. Forgiveness is something for which everyone asks, but not everyone receives. Forgiveness is something that everyone hopes to receive, but forgiveness is something that is not always given. Forgiveness is hard. Forgiveness is hard, especially in a relationship that is tormented with past troubles. Forgiveness is hard in situations where trust has been lost, confidences have been betrayed, or one party feels that the other party does not deserve it, has not earned it, or will simply misuse it if they receive it. Forgiveness is hard and forgiveness often hurts. Forgiveness always costs because forgiveness is releasing another person from sin or guilt rather that demanding payment for wrongs done. Forgiveness is reaching out in love rather than seeking to extract revenge. Forgiveness is costly, because it is always given at the cost of something—the cost of tears, wounded pride, a broken heart, even diminished trust. Forgiveness has always been a costly gift for the one who is giving it, but it has never cost any of us as much as it cost the Lord our God!

Just think about what it must have been like for God, sitting there in eternity and planning his creation. He knew that satan would rebel against him. He knew that Adam and Eve would listen to his enemy and turn against him rather than remaining faithful to him. He knew the depravity into which the world would fall so that he would destroy it once with a flood and then finally, completely, on the Last Day. He knew all of this and he knew the cost he would pay with the life of his Son. Yet he still went ahead with it. He created the world. He allowed satan to tempt Adam and Eve. He allowed them to fight their own battle and even choose to turn against him. He allowed them to become unfaithful to him so that they and all the world would have the opportunity to marvel at the Lord’s Faithful Forgiveness.

Take a look at what I’m talking about. Take a look at Genesis 3:1 and see the beginning of how the Lord demonstrated his faithful forgiveness. Now, as you know the Lord had recently finished his work of creating. At some point after the sixth day satan rebelled against the Lord, tried to take over, was defeated by the Archangel Michael, and was cast out of heaven forever. At sometime after that, perhaps even the very next day satan shows up in the garden, determined to utterly destroy what the Lord God had created. Take a look at verse 1: “Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1, NIV84)

With these words Moses clearly assures us that this is, indeed, a real snake. It is not merely some symbol of evil or some kind of benign thought. It was a very subtle and crafty animal, as Moses tells us, which is something that could not be said of any other of the animals that God had created. Thus, by revealing this to us, Moses is in effect calling on us to pause here for a moment, and consider what is going on. A snake, a serpent, that is more than a serpent, a crafty and cunning serpent is speaking to Even in the Garden! Verse 1: “He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ” 4 “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:1–5, NIV84)

Just think about what’s going on. Adam and Eve were created in the image of God. They were perfect in every way. Their thoughts were in complete and holy harmony with God’s will. They were not capable of tempting themselves into sin. Their temptation had to come from an outside, evil source, which is exactly what happened. Their temptation came from the master tempter and deceiver who enticed Eve into doubting God’s Word. He moved Eve from not even thinking about the fruit on the tree as food to thinking about it to the point that it was the only thing that she could think about. Verse 6: “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. 8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?” 10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” 11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” 12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” 13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” (Genesis 3:6–13, NIV84)

But before we go any farther, I have to ask a question. How often haven’t we been in that very same boat? How often hasn’t satan or one of his evil angels whispered in our ears or in our thoughts and subtly suggested that we not follow the Lord’s will in one way or another? How often hasn’t the siren song of certain websites, or certain Television shows, allured us away from work that had to be done, time that could have been spent with family, or time that needed to be spent with our spouse? How often haven’t we felt desire grow in our hearts like Eve did; desire for something we had hardly considered suddenly become so strong that we could not possibly live without it? How often haven’t we served as the tempter, as Eve did for Adam and drawn our spouse into sin with us? Or how often haven’t we gone along with our spouse, even though we knew that we should stand firm and not give into the temptation? How often haven’t we wagged our own tongues in order to point the finger at someone else’s sin in the hopes of hiding our own? How often haven’t little things like decorations, traditions, or personalities caused monumental problems in our lives or in our church? How often haven’t agreed with what Jesus said when he said, “If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you.” (Matthew 18:15, NIV84) But, as soon as we are offended by a brother or sister, we bring the matter up to the person who is just a little bit higher in the chain of command, so that now someone else will have to deal with it and we don’t have to go talk to the person? How often haven’t we allowed anger or frustration to fester and boil in our hearts until we are not able to even look at or be around the person or persons who either knowingly or unknowingly caused the hurt? How often haven’t we stood before the Lord like Adam and Eve did, blaming the Lord as the cause of our sins? How often haven’t we stood before the Lord expecting some form of punishment for our sins and finding ourselves once again marveling at the faithful forgiveness that he was so lovingly pouring out on us, even though we didn’t deserve it?

That’s where Adam and Eve found themselves. They were standing before their creator. They were standing before the God who had promised them that they would surely die when they ate of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, undoubtedly expecting that the worst was yet to come. But as Moses tells us in verse 9, it was the LORD God who called to them. It was Yaweh Elohim, who called them and before whom they were standing. Now, as I told you last week, Elohim is the word we translate as God. This is also the name that is most often equated with God’s power, with his righteousness, and with his holiness. The name Yaweh, on the other hand is translated as LORD. In your NIV Bibles this name is indicated by typing LORD either with all capital letters of the same size or with a large capital “L” and with smaller capitals for “ORD”. This is the name that is sometimes translated as Jehovah. This is the name that Moses received at the burning bush when the Lord declared “I Am”, and this is the name through which the Lord has revealed himself as “the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in love and faithfulness.” (Exodus 34:6; Psalm 86:15 and Psalm 103:8)

Though Adam and Eve had been unfaithful to the Lord their God, it was the Lord, or Yaweh, or Jehovah who remained faithful to them, gave them his forgiveness and promised their salvation. Take a look at verse 14: “So the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” (Genesis 3:14–15, NIV84)

With these words the Lord God makes it clear that he is speaking to more than just a snake. He makes it clear that he is speaking to satan, a morally responsible creature, which again is something we learn from other parts of Scripture. Though satan seemed to win a victory here, it is only short lived, because God forgives Adam and Eve, removes their enmity with God and places it between them and satan, and delivers the first promise of the Savior. For with this promise God established an enemy status between Eve and satan by forgiving Adam and Eve. He would establish that same enemy status between her descendants—those who believed in the Lord—and satan’s descendants which would be those who did not believe in the Lord. Finally he would single out one specific descendant, Jesus, who would come to crush the serpent’s head and destroy the devils work. Though this would cause great suffering, pain, and even death as satan struck Jesus’ heal, by his death and resurrection Jesus would completely work forgiveness, destroy the power of satan forever, and cause us to marvel continually at the faithful forgiveness of our Lord.

Though we have been unfaithful, like Adam and Eve, the Lord has remained faithful to us. Though we have not deserved it, it was the Lord who has forgiven us for all of our sins. It is the Lord who has applied that forgiveness to us through the faith that he created in our hearts by the work of the Holy Spirit. It is the Lord who has established enmity between us and satan, and between us and unbelievers. It is the Lord our God who has completely destroyed satan’s power over us. Though there are still times when our enemy gets the better of us, tempting us to sin, it is our God who faithfully calls us to repent, grants us the blessing of his forgiveness, and empowers us to forgive each other.

This is the faithful forgiveness that the Lord has shown in our lives. But the question is, do we allow that same forgiveness to show in our lives? How long has it been since you’ve let the faithful forgiveness of your Savior melt your heart into forgiveness for those who have wronged you? How long has it been since you let go of your pride, your frustration, your anger, or whatever it is that you are holding on to, and forgiven your fellow members, your pastor, your friends, even yourself for whatever wrongs might have been done? Are you still holding that grudge from that thing that happened so long ago that you can’t quite remember what it is, but you are still mad at a specific person and don’t know why? If you are still holding on to any past wrongs, I urge each and every one of you to let go and live in the marvelous forgiveness of your Savior, by forgiving those who wronged you in any way. Though I know that forgiveness is never easy and it will always cost something, can you imagine how amazing this place would be if we daily lived in the faithful forgiveness of our Lord! Can you imagine the joy that would permeate this house of worship because we were able to live together as God’s forgiven people because we had forgiven each other for whatever wrongs we may have caused! Can you imagine the blessings that the Lord would reign down upon us because there was finally room in our hearts now that we had let go of the sins, the hurts, and the wrongs to which we had once clung!

Though forgiveness isn’t always an easy thing to give away, it is the Lord’s forgiveness that enables us to give it away freely. Though forgiveness is something that will always cost us, it will never cost us as much as it cost the Lord our God. So as we bring this sermon to a close, take a moment during the offering to utter a prayer to the Lord. Release to him all your hurts, your heart aches, your frustrations, your grudges and ask him to forgive you for holding on to them. Ask him to help you to forgive completely those who have hurt you or wronged you in any way. Then with clear conscience, come forward and marvel at the faithful forgiveness the Lord has for you in the body and blood of his Son. If forgiveness is not something that comes naturally or easily today, then continue to pray to the Lord during this next week, until you find yourself able to forgive. Though forgiveness is sometimes difficult, though it is sometimes hard, though it always costs, continue to ask and you will receive it. Then, when you find yourselves living in forgiveness, able to forgive each other, go out and live in the faithful forgiveness of the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, abounding in love and faithfulness, the Lord who not only forgave our first parents, but also forgives us.

Amen.

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

See Your Triune God at Work! (Genesis 1:1 - 2:3)

2011-06-19T09:59:00.001-05:00

June 19, 2011

Dear friends in Christ.

Did you know that today is a very special Day? Even though it is not Christmas or Easter, The Day of Jesus’ Baptism or the Day of His Ascension, the day of Transfiguration, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday or even the Day of Pentecost (which we celebrated last week) today is a very special day. It is a very special day because not only are we beginning a new sermon series based on the stained glass windows of our church, but most importantly because today is the day that we have specifically set aside in the Church Year to praise and worship our Triune God. Today is Holy Trinity Sunday, the day we take a closer look at the Work our Triune God has done as three persons in one God and one God as Three persons. Even though we regularly remind ourselves of the Work our Triune God has done and continues to do for us, today we specifically take time out of our lives to watch our Triune God at work as we take a look at the lesson before us in Genesis 1:1-2:3.

Now, normally, as you are opening your Bibles to Genesis 1, I would give you some background information and explanation as to what is going on so that you could better understand the context of what is taking place in our lesson. However, today, there is no background because before Genesis 1 there was nothing except for our Triune God. And even though we might have a fair number of questions as to what the Lord our God was up to during his time in eternity before he created the world, because he doesn’t tell us anything until he tells us about the beginning of us all. Take a look at Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1, NIV84)

If these aren’t some familiar words! After all, these are words that we have known by heart since we were little children. These are words that made our parents smile when we first learned them in Sunday School or Christian Day School. These are words that we have cherished as we’ve grown from Children to Teens and from Teens to Adults. But sadly, these are also words that have sometimes been drown out by the cacophony of worldly ideas that bombard us on a daily basis. Since we were little children Television has been assuring us that the world is millions of years old and that dinosaurs and humans couldn’t have possibly lived at the same time, even though we know that our Triune God created everything that exists in six, twenty-four hour days, so then they would have had to live at the same time. Not only that, but if you received an education in public school, even though you received an excellent education, you were taught, especially in the last 20 years or so, you were taught to believe that science is king and that the theory that all living creatures evolved from a puddle of primordial ooze millions and billions of years ago. You were taught either subtly or openly, you were taught to believe that science is true and what God says about creation is not as true as you might have once thought.

Just think about how many times you’ve been tempted to try to harmonize the Trinity’s Work of Creation with Science’s ideas of Evolution. Just think about how many of your children have come home from school openly questioning the truth of creation and favoring the “facts” of evolution because it is “scientific”. Just think of how doubting creation has led people to doubt other parts of the Scriptures and even caused people to fall from faith because they came to the logical conclusion that if one part is false the whole of Scripture cannot possibly be true. These are the reasons why we have gathered together to take a closer look at the work our Triune God did back at the beginning of Creation. Take a look again at Genesis 1:1-2, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. (Genesis 1:1–2, NIV84)

Wow! In just a few short words Moses establishes the fact that it was our Triune God who began the world at the beginning! Now, if we take a look at the Hebrew for this passage, the first three words in Hebrew are, (spelled Phonetically) “beraysheet barah Elohim” Beraysheet means “beginning” or as we translate, “in the beginning.” Barah means, “he created” and Elohim, which is the subject of the sentence, means, “God.” So, in three short words, Moses tells us that until Elohim, God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit created the heavens and the earth, there was no time as we know it. There was nothing but our Triune God in eternity until the very beginning (Berahsheet) when he, Elohim (Barah), began his creating work, creating time and light out of nothing, and calling this world into existence, again out of nothing, as a formless and empty lump of clay, so to speak which he would then mold to his plan in the next 5 twenty four hour days. This is the work our Triune God began on day one!

“But Pastor,” you might ask, “how can you possibly know that the Triune God was at work? There really is no mention of the Trinity in these verses.” Now, if you asked me this question I would simply say, you are absolutely right! There are no specific mentions of our God being Triune or the Triune God at work. However, there are hints of God being Triune. Now, as I already said the name used for God here is, “Elohim.” This name is used 31 times throughout the account of creation. In Hebrew Elohim is actually plural and has been described as a plural of majesty, which means that God may be referring to himself as Kings and Queens of old referred to themselves as “we” rather than “I” like the common people did. Elohim has also been called a potential plural setting forth the vast potentialities of the Godhead, which would include mystery of the Holy Trinity. In themselves, these explanations cannot prove that our God is Triune, they can only hint at the fact that our God is Triune. However, when we take a look at the unity of the Scriptures and how our God describes himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit throughout the Bible, we can then look back and say that Father Son and Holy Spirit had to be at work in creation because our God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This would have been apparent to God’s people because, as we learn from reading the Old Testament, they believed in God as their Father. They believed that God would send his Son who would be there redeemer, just as the offerings foreshadowed. They even believed in the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God who worked in their midst. They knew and believed in God as three persons and yet they also believed that they only had one God as Deuteronomy 6:4 so beautifully confesses, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.” (Deuteronomy 6:4, NIV84)

Today, we know and believe the same thing! Just as we will confess in the Athanasian Creed in just a few short minutes, we believe in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. We believe that they are all co-equal in majesty and glory, yet they are not three who are God but they are one God in three persons and three persons in one God! So, as we look at these words from Genesis we see God the Father at work creating and calling things into existence out of nothing. We see God the Holy Spirit hovering over the waters, and we see Jesus at work as the instrument of creation because the apostle John tells us, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. (John 1:1–3, NIV84)

It is because of all of this (and many other passages of Scripture) that we believe, teach and confess that our Triune God was at work in creating the world for us. Just take a look at verse 3-5: ‘And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. (Genesis 1:3–5, NIV84)

Verse 3 begins with the phrase “And God said,” which occurs ten times in the creation account. It shows us the manner by which God worked, namely, by his command and through his word (Hebrews 11:3). The phrase “God saw that the light was good” is noteworthy. In verse 4 it refers specifically to the light God created, but it also occurs six more times in the creation account. God is not telling us with these words that he was pleased with himself for what he had made, as if he were a human craftsperson stepping back to admire his work. He relates this information for our sake. He keeps us mindful of the wisdom and order that he put into his creation, which he was preparing for us to inhabit. He reminds us of the initial perfection of that creation, which is now spoiled by sin.

That was the first day. From there our Triune God went on to separate the waters on the earth and the waters in the sky. He called forth the dry ground and produced vegetation on it! Never planting see, but simply calling it forth with his word. He set the sun, moon, and stars in the heavens for the purpose of giving us light and helping us to tell time in weeks, months, and years. He filled the skies with birds and the waters with fish, and finally he created all the land animals, and then formed Adam from the dust of the ground and Eve from one of Adam’s ribs.

This is the work our Triune God did for you and me! He created the perfect world for us to live in and enjoy. Though our first parents ruined God’s creation when they brought sin and death into the world, our Triune God continued his work for us. He promised a Savior and sent prophets to renew and reiterate his promises for centuries. When the time came our Triune God saved us through the Work of the Son of God, Jesus Christ our Savior. Now, our Triune God continues to proclaim that message to you and me through his Word—the Bible—of which we have many, many copies. He continues to proclaim his message of salvation through pastors and teachers whose work it is to tell the story of salvation, teaching the young children and building up the faith of all the members of the congregation. And he continues to share his message of salvation through each and every one of you!

For now that you have seen the Trinity at Work in the creation of the world, you are reminded of all the work he has done to free you from your sins and bring you the sure and certain hope of eternal life. Who better than you to carry that message of salvation wherever you go? Who better than you to tell the work of the Trinity in your life calling you to faith, strengthening you with his Word, sustaining you in your faith, and leading you to your heavenly home? Who better than you to proclaim the Work that your Triune God has done? This is the work that our Triune God has given to each and every one of us—to make disciples of all nations, to teach them what Jesus taught us, and to baptize them in the name of our Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

This is today is a very special day! Though it is not Christmas or Easter, or any other holiday of the Church Year, it is Holy Trinity Sunday. Today is the day that we have set aside to specifically remind ourselves of all the work our Triune God has done for us. Today is the day we specifically give thanks and praise to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for all he has done for us. Today is the day we continue to carry the message of salvation with us wherever we go so that we are always ready to tell others the reason for the hope we have in our Triune God.

Amen.

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

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

2011-06-12T12:35:00.000-05:00

June 12, 2011

Dear friends in Christ.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rejoice in the Facts of Jesus' Ascension! (Acts 1:1-11)

2011-06-05T09:00:00.003-05:00

June 5, 2011

Dear friends in Christ.

If you grew up watching Dragnet, then I’m sure you will remember Sergeant Joe Friday and his no nonsense demeanor. I’m sure you will remember his methodical attention to details. But most of all, I’m sure you will remember the phrase for which he will always be famous; that phrase which he would speak whenever an eye witness was either embellishing too much or becoming too emotionally involved in what he or she was recounting. For whenever that would happen, Sergeant Friday would utter those three simple words, “just the facts.” “Just the facts!”—that was all Sergeant Friday wanted so that he could clearly peace together the solution for the case he was trying to solve. Well, this morning, we will also be looking at the facts of the case that Luke has laid out before us. Today we will be reminded of the events that led up to it. Today we will be assured of the promise it contains. Today, we will rejoice in the fact of Jesus’ ascension!

As we do this, as we rejoice in the fact of Jesus’ ascension, I invite you to turn with me to our first lesson from Acts 1 and take a closer look at the facts that Luke is providing for our rejoicing. Now, when Luke wrote began writing the book of Acts, he began with the Ascension, essentially continuing where he left off with in his Gospel. In his Gospel letter to Theophilus his main purpose had been to tell about the life, the death, and the resurrection of Jesus and how through all of this Jesus had brought about the forgiveness of sins for all people. Thus as we heard in the gospel the account of the ascension was so brief. But now, by beginning with the Ascension in Acts, Luke’s purpose is to tell the Theophilus that this Jesus who died and rose again is truly the Son of God who has returned to his Father’s side. He is the Son of God who has freed all form their sins and brought life and salvation to light through the Gospel. He is the Savior in whose ascension we rejoice and whose work we now proclaim to the world. Take a look at what Luke writes in Acts 1, beginning with verse 1:

“In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with a water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” So when they met together, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 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.” After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:1-11)

What greater reason could there be for us to rejoice Today than the reason Luke gives with these facts of Jesus’ Ascension! For as Luke writes in the first verse of our text, he so expertly reminds us of the amazing and miraculous events of Jesus’ life. In such a simple way, Luke causes our minds to recall the events of Gabriel appearing to Mary, Mary and Joseph traveling to Bethlehem so that the Savior could be born there in fulfillment of all the prophecies, and Jesus’ first trip to Jerusalem where he stayed behind, teaching the teachers, in fulfillment of another prophecy. In such a simple way Luke causes us to remember how Jesus went throughout the land of Israel preaching and teaching the good news of the kingdom of heaven, how he healed the sick and raised the dead, and how the Pharisees and teachers of the law constantly looked for ways to be rid of him. In such a simple way Luke causes us to remember how Jesus willingly gave his life for us on the cross, how he did in fact die, was in fact buried in the earth, and how he did in fact rise from the dead to assure us that our sins have truly been forgiven. In such a simple way Luke lays out for us the facts of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection so that we might rejoice all the more over the fact of Jesus’ ascension, which Luke records for us beginning in verse 9: “After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:9-11)

I don’t know about you, but if I had been there on that day, I probably would have stood there staring up into the sky with the disciples. If I had seen Jesus suddenly floating up off the ground in the way the people simply don’t, I would have been so shocked and amazed that long after the cloud hid him from view I would have simply stood there, gazing up into the sky, hoping for another glimpse of my Savior. If I had been there that day, I’m sure that I would not have moved until the angels appeared, giving me Jesus’ amazing promise that one day I would see him returning to the earth in the same way that I had just seen him go. If I had been there that day, I can tell you that I would have joined in with the disciples’ rejoicing in Jesus’ ascension as they worshiped their Savior on their way back to Jerusalem.

What greater reason could there be for us to rejoice this morning! What greater fact could there be for us to celebrate than the fact of our Savior’s ascension! For Today, we have been assured of the forgiveness of our sins! Today, we have been assured that just as we have seen Jesus return to his heavenly home, we will one day see him returning in glory and great majesty. Not only that, but Today we have built the hope of our own ascension upon the fact of Jesus’ ascension. Today, we have been assured Jesus has been exalted to the highest place that heaven affords. Today we have been assured that Jesus is indeed sitting at the right hand of our heavenly Father and interceding for us. Today we have been assured that Jesus is still watching over us and protecting us, guarding us and keeping us in his tender care. Today as we have seen the facts of Jesus life, death, and resurrection laid out for us, we have great assurance in the fact of his resurrection, which assures us of the fact of eternal life, and the fact of his imminent return on the last day!

So let us rejoice in the fact of our Savior’s Ascension! For Today, we have traveled with Sergeant Joe Friday, so to speak, as we have gathered the facts of the case before us. Though we may not have done so with a no nonsense demeanor or with methodical attention to details, we have found great joy in the facts before us! We have found great joy in the fact that our Savior has indeed ascended to his throne in heaven, from which he will one day return to take us to be with him forever.

Amen.

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

Confess Your God before the World! (Acts 17:22-31)

2011-05-29T06:48:00.001-05:00

May 29, 2011

Dear friends in Christ.

Have you ever wondered why we take time out of each service to confess our Christian faith with the words of either the Apostles’ or the Nicene Creed? Well, if you ever have wondered why we do this the answer I’m about to give you might surprise you just a little, because the reason we confess our faith in our God is not because our God needs to be reassured that we do truly trust in him. It’s not because our God needs to be encouraged by our faith or have his ego built up by knowing that his followers do truly trust in him and believe in him. Instead, the reason we confess our faith each and every week is so that we might build each other up in our faith and our trust in our God. It is so that we can build each other up in our confidence that we do indeed believe in the all-powerful Lord our God who cares for us and watches over us. It is so that we might assure each other in our belief that the Lord is our God. Well this is exactly what the Apostle Paul is doing in our lesson today; he is confessing his faith in the Lord in front of, essentially, all the world. He is confessing the Lord as his God before the people of Athens who have gathered to hear the “new teaching” that Paul was brining to the people. In short, Paul is confessing the Lord as the God of all and the Savior of all people as he stood before the people of Athens in the Areopagus. Just as Luke records Paul speaking in our lesson today; Paul says, “Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.” (Acts 17:22-24).

Now, for the Athenians, to hear that the God who had made the world and everything it was the Lord of all, would have been a bit of a surprise to them. After all the people of Athens, indeed all the people of the Greek Islands had an entire Pantheon of gods who were responsible for any number of the aspects of their lives. In fact, according to the Greek Myths, the gods that they were currently worshiping were not the gods who had made the world. Rather they were the gods who had taken over from the previous godly government of the Titans. So hearing Paul confess that the Lord God was indeed the Lord of all would have been a surprise to them. After all, the Athenians were indeed a very religious people. They were a people who lived in a city filled with shrines, and temples, and statues dedicated to all sorts of gods and goddesses. They lived in a city where every square had its own little shrine and every gate had its own protecting gods. They were a community where every house had its own shrine and each person who lived there in worshiped their own personal protecting god or goddess. But the most remarkable part of the city was the statue of the goddess Athena which had been built in the Acropolis, a hill towering 150 feet over the city. This was a 75 foot tall statue, with face, and hands, and feet carved from the purest ivory. This was a statue that was draped in coverings of glittering gold. This was a statue which the sailors used as a land mark as they sailed near the city. This was a statue that the people of Athens worshipped as one of their many gods and goddesses.

Just imagine the scene as Paul confessed the Lord before the people of Athens. There he was, standing before a group of maybe 500 men who had gathered to hear him. Maybe 50 feet to the South East of where he was stood the Acropolisthe impressive temple and fortress designed to protect the citywhere the great statue of Athena stood. Then, below the Acropolis, the city with all its temples, and shrines, and household gods, and here was Paul making his confession before the people that God is the Lord of all. Here was Paul saying, “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ ” (Acts 17:24-28).

In the same way that Paul confessed the Lord before the people of Athens in our lesson today, he is confessing the Lord before you and me today. He is reminding us that the Lord our God is indeed the Lord of all, and he is encouraging us to make the same bold confession before the world today, because we too, are living in a world that is also filled with all sorts of religious ideas. We are living in a world where the teachings of reincarnation are becoming widely accepted. Though this was once an Eastern philosophy, there are many people in America who not only believe that they have lived previous lives, but they also believe that when they do die they will be reincarnated and return to the world in some other form. We are living in a world where more and more people are putting their faith and their hope in angels, rather than in the Lord their God. We are living in a world where people are more worried about being spiritual than they are worried about being religious. We are living in a world where more and more people are turning from the worship of the true God to the worship of false gods like Buddha, Confucius, the Dalai Lamma, Allah (the god of Islam), their own ancestors, the saints in heaven, and yes, there are even some who have such regard for the pope that they essentially worship him as a god on earth. Not only that, but we are living in a day and age where people are looking for guidance from spirits, spirits who they believe come to them and guide them in their lives.

It is because of all of this that the Apostle Paul is calling on us to confess our faith in the Lord our God and confess it to the world. He is calling on us to confess our God to the world lest we be deceived by any of these false teachings. He is calling on us to confess our faith to the world so that we might not be taken in by the generic ideas of God that are so pervasive in our society today! He is calling on us to make a clear confession of the Lord our God and our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior, because there is so much false teaching in the world that wants to group all Christians into one big category, even though there are very clear differences between churches of different denominations. This is why Paul is calling on us to confess the Lord our God before the World, so that all the world might know that Jesus is the Lord our Savior who has freed us from our sins. This, in fact, is the very clear confession that Paul made as he stood before the members of the Areopagus and said: “Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone--an image made by man's design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.” (Acts 17:29-31).

Though in what Luke records for us, Paul never had the opportunity to specifically mention Jesus Christ as their Savior, he gave a clear confession when he called them to repent. He gave a clear confession when he told them that the Lord has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he appointed. He gave them a clear confession when he stated that God had raised this man from the dead. If Paul had not been interrupted by some of the members of the Areopagus at that moment, you can sure that Paul’s next sentence would have been, “And that man is Jesus Christ, the Savior of us all!” But even though he was never able to say those words, there were many people who repented of their sins that day. Even though he was not able to say those words, there were a number of people who came to faith in Jesus Christ that day. Even though he was not able to mention Jesus as the Son of God, there were many who came to realize that the Lord Jesus was their one and only Savior that day, through Paul’s clear confession.

This is the same confession that Paul is making to us today when he calls on us to repent! For he is calling on us to repent of our many sins! He is calling on us to repent of the times that we have not made a clear confession of God as Lord. He is calling on us to repent of the sins we have committed in being lax in our gathering for worship. He is calling on us to repent of our stubborn refusal to study his Word. In short he is calling on us to make confession of every sin and iniquity we have committed before our God. Then, as we stand before the Lord exposed and naked, Paul reminds us that the Lord our Savior has removed our sins. Though he may have never spoken those words in our text, he clearly brought them to memory when he spoke about the man whom God raised from the dead. For in raising Jesus from the dead, he assured us that all our sins have been forgiven. Every sin we’ve ever committed! Our laxity in attending worship for the strengthening of our faith; it has been forgiven. Our stubborn refusal to study his Word; it has been forgiven. Even our failure to utter a clear confession, it has been forgiven. All our sins have been forgiven by the Lord Jesus who is our Savior. This, then, becomes our confession which we want to bring to the world. Not merely that our sins have been forgiven. Rather, the confession that all sins have been forgiven by the Lord who is our Savior.

What better message could there be for us to carry to the world than the clear message of the Gospel. After all, our world today is not that different from Athens in Paul’s day. As a people we are very religious, or at least, very spiritual. There are many different people who believe many different things. Some people clearly believe and teach that we must live a good life in order to be saved. Others have clearly believe and teach that it doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you are sincere in your believe. Still others believe and teach that there are many roads that lead to eternal life. Clearly there are many people who need to know what we know. There are many people who need to hear the clear confession of the Lord our God and Jesus our Savior. There are many, many people in our world who are in serious need of the message that Jesus Christ, their Savior, is the only way to eternal life. There are many people who need us to bring this message to them. This is our mission, to spread the message that the Lord is the Savior of all. This is now our challenge, to confess our Lord before the world. So as you step out those doors today and enter the mission field before you, make the most of every opportunity that the Lord gives you to make your clear confession of Jesus as the Savior of all, by inviting someone to worship with us. Go out and make that clear confession, by talking to someone about their Savior. Go out and make that clear confession by talking about your faith when someone asks you about the hope you have. Only don’t be silent! For when we are silent, our confession is not heard. But when we active our confession about the Lord our Savior is heard loud and clear.

Though today we will not be confessing our Christian faith after the sermon, we were all built up when we confessed it together earlier. For it is through our confession of faith that we build each other up in faith in the Lord of God. But it is also through that same confession that we bring to the world that the world may come to know God who is the Lord and Savior of all.

Amen.

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

Remain in Christ the True Vine! (John 15:1-8)

2011-05-22T06:22:00.000-05:00

May 22, 2011

Dear friends in Christ.

I have always been amazed at how the Lord has blessed this great country of ours. Though it began out of 13 colonies it has grown to contain 50 individual states, which are able to operate independently within the system of our National Government. Yet, even though each state is free to act independently in many ways, no state is able to exist apart from our National Government. Though about 150 years ago some states tried to succeed from the nation and go it alone, It was the determination of President Lincoln that those states should remain part of this nation and that this nation should remain a unified whole. Thus, today, we find ourselves living in the best of the 50 states—states that have remained together as a nation. Well today, as we study the lesson before us from John 15:1-8, we will hear Jesus speaking to us about the importance of remaining together. However, he will not be speaking about the importance of remaining together as a nation. Rather he will be calling on each and every one of us to remain in him, the true vine.

Now, when Jesus spoke these words, he was speaking to his disciples one last time on Maundy Thursday Evening. Though in our Gospel lesson from John 14 Jesus and his disciples were still in the upper room, by the time Jesus is speaking in chapter 15, they have left the upper room and are most likely together in the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus says, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you,” (John 15:1-4a).

As soon as the disciples heard these words, their ears must have perked up, for all through the Old Testament Scriptures, the Lord had used the illustration of vines and vineyards in reference to his chosen people Israel. However, rather than speaking about his chosen people, this time Jesus is drawing their attention to himself. This time Jesus is telling his disciples that he is the source of their faith and their life. In essence, what Jesus is doing in these last moments is boiling down the last three years of teaching and assuring his disciples that if they remain in him, Jesus will remain in them. Well the same thing is true for you and me today, for in the same way that the branches of a grapevine depend on the vine for sustenance, we also depend on Jesus for our lives. He is the one who has called us to faith. He is the one who nourishes our faith through his Word. He is the one who comforts us and assures us in every trouble. He is the one who strengthens us and protects us when the hardships and challenges of life come our way. He is the one who is faithful to us and has promised us that if we remain in him he will remain in us, because he is the vine and we are his branches. If we remain in him we will continue to grow, but if we don’t remain him we will quickly begin to wither and die. This, in fact, is the very warning that Jesus gives us as he tells us “If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.” (John 15:6).

Around here, we don’t see too many grapevines or other vinery plants, but we do see trees, and I’m sure that we’ve all seen a tree that is just thriving, but has a few dead branches here and there. We had a tree like that just outside the fellowship hall not too long ago. During the winter, one of the branches broke either in the wind or under the snow. Though it was winter, the prognosis for this branch was bleak. It had broken and no sap would be able to flow to the limb and nourish it. There would be no leaves on this branch come spring because it had broken and died. Though this broken and dead branch hung there in the tree through the winter, a couple of months ago, it was removed by the city while they were cutting down the tree at the neighbor’s house on the other side of Smith Street. It was cut off, hauled away, and if it hasn’t already been burned up it will be burned up the next time the branches are burned down there by the river. In the same way that this branch was removed, so also will be the fate of all those who do not remain in Christ the True vine, as Jesus himself tells us, “[My Father] cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit…it is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown in to the fire and burned,” (John 15:2a,6).

Sadly, there are many who, though they once were fruitful branches in the Lord Jesus are no longer bearing fruit. There are many who, though they once held tightly to Jesus their true vine, have loosened their grip on him and have allowed themselves to wither. There are even some who have allowed their faith in Jesus to die and are like that dead branch in the tree outside, simply waiting to be removed completely. This is why Jesus tells us in verses 4-5, “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me, I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing,” (John 15:4-5).

Now, with your permission, I will ask you an obvious question. If I were to go out to vineyard, find a nice branch form a grapevine, cut it off and bring it home, could I expect it to produce grapes for me? No, I couldn’t because that branch is now on its own. It is no longer attached to the vine. That branch is no longer receiving the life sustaining sap, which allows it to flourish and grow and produce grapes. All that is left for that branch is for it to wither and die. We are the same way. Only when we are connected to Christ by faith can we bear fruits of faith. When we neglect to read God’s Word and speak to him in prayer; when we neglect Holy Communion; when we allow our church attendance to drop because we are too busy doing other things; we are in effect taking a saw and cutting ourselves off from the Jesus the true vine. We are separating ourselves from the faith sustaining sap that Jesus the true vine provides us, and as we know apart from Jesus we can do nothing. This is quite a warning for us to behold, because if we do not remain in Jesus our Savior, our faith will die, we will be removed from him, and we will be cast into the fires of hell where we will pop and crackle like the burning branches in the campfire.

However, if we remain in Christ Jesus our Vine, he will remain in us. When we remain in Christ, we are like the branches of a grapevine that are laden with clusters of succulent grapes, as we bear fruits that flow from faith. When we remain in Christ our faith quite naturally shows itself in love to our fellow neighbor. Our faith blossoms into simple acts of kindness, a gift given for no particular reason or two children quietly and peacefully playing a game. When we remain in Christ, our faith blooms into patience and self-control as we learn to accept the crosses that the Lord has given each of us to bear in this life. When we remain in Christ, our lives glorify our Father in heaven, for through our lives, we bear much fruit and show ourselves to be his disciples. This is what Jesus was teaching his disciples that day, and that is what he is teaching us as well. Though no one can look into the heart of another human being and see who is a Christian and who isn’t, we can see the results of faith in the way people live and the fruits that they bear in their lives. This is why our Lord Jesus calls on us to remain in him, to bear fruit with our lives. As we live and remain in Jesus the true vine, he gives us the promise that we will receive whatever we ask for in prayer. Just as he tells us in verse 7: “If you remain in men and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you,” (John 15:7).

Now this passage has often given people trouble, because they are not exactly sure what Jesus is saying here. Sometimes people think that this means that when they become Christians Jesus will give them everything they ask from him. But the truth is Jesus is not telling us that everything we want will come to us just because we prayed for it. Rather, Jesus is teaching us that when we remain in him and he remains in us he forms the minds of his faithful people into a single will. He makes us to love his commands and desire his promises. When we remain in Jesus, we will pray that his will be done, just as we pray in the Lord’s Prayer, and he will work his will in our lives just as he did in the lives of the disciples. When the disciples asked Jesus to explain the parables to him, Jesus did so. When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, Jesus taught them the Lord’s Prayer. When the disciples prayed that the Lord’s give power to his servants to speak the Word of truth boldly, that is exactly what the Lord did.

What about us? How many times haven’t we received whatever we ask for in prayer? How many times haven’t we prayed for safe travel and he has given it to us. How many times haven’t we prayed for good weather or rain and he has given it to us? How many times haven’t we prayed for the growth of his Church in all the world and he has given it to us. How many times haven’t we prayed, “Thy will be done,” and his will has been done. Yes, we know that it is true! We know that when we remain in Jesus the true vine our will understands God’s will and asks that God’s will be done. This is how we receive whatever we ask for in prayer.

Dear friends, we belong to Christ in the same way that branches belong to a vine. Remain in Jesus Christ, our true vine. For when we do so, he will remain in us. We will bear much fruit to the glory of God the Father. We will receive whatever we ask for in prayer.

Amen.

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

2011-05-15T09:00:00.001-05:00

Text: Revelation 7:9-17 May 15, 2011
Theme: The Lord Is Our Shepherd

Dear friends in Christ.

If there is one picture that the Bible regularly uses to describe the relationship between us and our Savior, it would have to be the picture of a Shepherd and his sheep. This is the picture that King David used as he penned the well known, opening words of Psalm 23, “The Lord is my Shepherd!” This is the picture that Jesus himself used again and again as regularly called himself the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep. This is the picture that Peter used when spoke about how we have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls. And this is the description that the Apostle John records for us in our lesson for today. For this morning, our lesson comes to us from some of the most beautiful and most comforting words of the Scriptures. Our lesson comes to us from the Book of Revelation 7:9-17, which is John’s vision of Jesus Christ our Savior—the Lamb of God who will be our Shepherd!

Now, if you haven’t already done so, I invite you to open your Bibles to our Lesson from Revelation 7:9-17. I’ve always felt that Revelation is one of the easiest books to find in the Bible because it is the last book. In fact, I often tease my confirmation students by telling them that if they don’t know where Genesis and Revelation are in their Bibles, then they fail my class. But all silliness aside, the Book of Revelation, and indeed our lesson from chapter 7 bring us some of the most beautiful and comforting words of all Scripture. In fact, as we look at these words, just think about what an incredible picture the Holy Spirit paints for us through the pen of the Apostle John! What an incredible picture for us to see with John as it were; the picture of the Lord Jesus as the Lamb of God our Savior serving as our Good Shepherd who will one day call us out of this troubled world so that he might forever shepherd us in his heavenly kingdom where we will finally have rest from all our labors! This is the incredible picture of the Lord our Shepherd that John reveals as he writes in our lesson, beginning with verse 9: “After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: “Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God forever and ever. Amen!” Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?” I answered, “Sir, you know.” And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore, “they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (Revelation 7:9-17)

How incredible that the Lord recorded this vision for us today! How incredible that the Lord our God knew the comfort we would need and centuries before we were even born he recorded this vision of comfort and assurance for us in the pages of Scripture. How incredible that the Lord our Savior reveals himself as our Good Shepherd who will one day call us out of this sin-filled and troubled world to our life of rest by our Shepherd’s side forever! What greater words of comfort could there be for us today, especially as we look around at the world in which we are living. In fact, with your permission, I would like to take a little informal survey. How many of you have found yourselves cutting back and stretching every single dollar you have? How many of you are trying to drive less or trying to combine your schedules so that you are traveling with more than just 1 person in the car? How many of you have felt the rising costs of prescription drugs or even found yourselves having to decide which prescriptions you really needed to pick up because all of them were just too expensive? How many of you have worried about insurance costs or wondered how you would get along without it? How many of you have found yourselves hoping and praying that the thing that just doesn’t seem to be quite right with your vehicle will go away, because you just can’t afford the time or the expenses of a break down? How many of you have faced unexpected bills that have eaten up more of your paycheck than you expected and have found yourselves struggling to cover all the other expenses while you wait for your next check to come?

If you raised your hand for any one of these questions, you are not alone. You are not alone because my family and I have faced each and every one of these questions again and again over the past 10 years, though in the last three years we’ve faced them more frequently. You are not alone because each and every person in this congregation has faced one or more of these questions on any number of occasions since our economy went sour. You are not alone because Christians throughout the world and throughout the centuries have faced these same frustrations or frustrations like them. Yet, even in the midst of these troubles, hardships and unrest, the Lord our Savior, our Good Shepherd gives us the most beautiful comfort in our lesson today. As John writes: “After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb."…“Then one of the elders asked me, "These in white robes--who are they, and where did they come from?" I answered, "Sir, you know." And he said, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb,” (Revelation 7:9-10,13-14).

This is the comfort our Good Shepherd pours out on us today! Though here on earth we deal with all sorts of frustrations and hardships, as Christians, we are even now wearing the white robes of righteousness won for us by Jesus on the Cross. Though we constantly feel the effects of sin in our lives and find that our garments are stained by our sins, each time we turn to our Savior in forgiveness, we are, in effect, washing our robes in his blood and making them clean once again. Though this is our daily practice here on earth, when our Good Shepherd calls us out of this troubled world to our home in haven, we will pass though the river of his blood one last time, and our robes will be made white forever. When the Lord calls us home to his throne in heaven, we will stand before him in eternal righteousness, innocence and blessedness, because Jesus has delivered us from death by his death and resurrection from the dead. There, we will praise our Good Shepherd because he has delivered us from this world of tribulation and sin. There, as we stand around the throne and the Lamb, we will give praise and thanks to our Good Shepherd who will give us rest in his kingdom forever. This is the picture that John paints for us as he records the Elder’s explanation of the great multitude: “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore, "they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (Revelation 7:15-17).

Here on earth, we have the exact opposite of rest. We feel the empty space between our ribs and hear the angry complaining our stomachs make when we don’t take time to feed them. We taste the clay of our cheeks and feel the crumbs of dirt that stick in our throats as our parched tongues cling to the roofs of our mouths. We are baked in the summer oven of this river valley as the flames of the sun descend upon us and the ever increasing humidity seeks to cook us from within. Though we seek the cooling shade of the trees where we might relax and find a cool glass of water, we know that that this rest will not last long. For before we know it, we will be forced back into the kiln of life where satan kindles the fires of temptations hoping that he might harden in our sins before he glazes us for eternal death and destruction in hell. But when our Good Shepherd delivers us to the rest he has promised us, we will know peace. When our Shepherd calls us home to his heavenly kingdom, never again will we hunger, never again will we thirst, the sun will not beat upon us nor any scorching heat, for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be our Shepherd, he will lead us to streams of living water, and God himself will wipe away every tear from our eyes.

Though we cannot fathom the beauty that heaven affords, or even begin to comprehend the rest that heaven offers us from the trials, temptations, and hardships that we face each and every day of our lives, we continue to follow our Good Shepherd as he leads us on the path to eternal life. Though we may not know exactly what we will do in heaven, or exactly what is waiting for us there, we do know one thing for sure. We know that heaven is where our Shepherd is, and heaven is where we will live with him forever. We know that in heaven, we will no longer have to deal with all the trials, and hardships that this earth affords. We know that satan and his evil angels will no longer be able to tempt us or lead us astray. In heaven, we will be free from sin forever, and we will live with the Lord our God, our Savior and our Shepherd who will spread his tent over us.

What better picture could there be for us than the picture our Savior uses of himself as our Good Shepherd. For in the same way that shepherds care for their sheep, Jesus, our Good Shepherd cares for us. Though here on earth we may walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we need not fear any evil because our Shepherd is with us. He is the one who leads us to quiet waters, makes us to lay down in green pastures, and restores our souls. He is the one who gives us his comfort and his assurance in this life, and he is the one who will give us rest forever in his heavenly kingdom. What a day it will be when we join that multitude from every nation, tribe and people; a multitude that cannot be counted. What a day it will be when we stand before the Lamb, our Shepherd and serve him day and night in his temple. How amazing it will be when he spreads his tent over us, leads us to springs of living water, and wipes away every tear from our eyes!

Amen.

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

Today is Confirmation Sunday

2011-05-08T07:00:00.000-05:00

Since we are holding both Examination and Confirmation on the same day, there will be no Sermon today. We'll see you again next week.

Pastor Shilling

Sing Praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! (1 Peter 1:3-9)

2011-05-01T07:48:00.000-05:00

May 1, 2011

Dear friends in Christ.

If I could choose only one season out of the entire church year as my favorite, I would have to choose Easter. I love Easter. I love how the whole church seems to transform from a veil of sorrow to a veil of joy. I love how we beautify our church with all sorts of different flowers as we celebrate the resurrection of our Savior, Jesus. But most of all I love how joyful our celebrations are as we gather to sing praise to the Lord our God on Easter Sunday. It is always so fund to gather and raise our voices together in song as we sing praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ as we did last Sunday, with songs like, I know that My Redeemer Lives, Amazing Grace, Sing, My Tongue, the Glorious Battle, and even a couple of stanzas of How Great Thou Art! As I’ve said before, I do wish that all of you could sit where I do and hear how beautiful you all sound as we raise our voices together, singing praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! For, as we gathered on Easter Sunday and as we’ve gathered here again this morning, we have gathered to sing praise to the Lord our God who raised his Son from the dead. We’ve gathered to sing praise to the Lord our God who freed us from our sins and made us his own through the death and resurrection of his Son, our Savior. We’ve gathered to sing praise to our God and Father because he has redeemed us, restored us and forgiven us. In short, we have gathered to sing praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ for all the great things that our God has done for us, just as Peter explains to us in our lesson for today.

Now, if you haven’t already opened your Bibles to our lesson for today, I invite you to open to 1 Peter chapter 1 beginning with verse 3 and we’ll take a look at all the reasons Peter gives us to sing praise. Now, as you are turning to 1 Peter, let me give you the back story, so to speak. As Peter writes in 1 Peter chapter 1, the year is somewhere between 62 and 64. The Apostle Paul is most likely traveling in the region of Spain, and Peter, perhaps at the request of Paul, sits down with Silas to write a letter of comfort and encouragement to the believes in the cities where Paul and Silas had traveled on Paul’s second Missionary Journey. A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned in Bible Class that it was Luke who had written 1 Peter along with Peter, however, that was not correct, as Peter tells us in chapter 5 that it was with the help of Silas he had written this letter (1 Peter 5:12) And who better than Silas, the man who had visited these congregations with Paul, to aid Peter in writing this letter of praise!

Take a look at what Peter writes beginning with verse 3: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (1 Peter 1:3–9, NIV84)

What better message could there be for us to hear on the heels of Easter than this message, giving us every reason to praise our God who has brought us into a new and living hope. What greater message could there be than the assurance that we have hope in any and every situation, especially when we take a look at the world around us. It is no secret that our economy is struggling. It is no secret that people are scared. It is no secret that more and more people have entered survival mode and are on the brink of losing hope? How many of us are in the same boat? How many of us are finding ourselves scared about the future? How many of us are sacrificing little things here and there to keep from having to enter survival mode too soon. How many are looking at the world around us and beginning to wonder if hope will hold out?

This is why Peter is writing as he is this morning! He is writing to assure us that in the midst of our economy we have every reason to sing praise to our God and Father. We have every reason to sing praise to our God and Father because even though we had once been lost in the darkness of sin and unbelief, God the Father willingly handed over his one and only son to death so that we would not have to die. Before we were even born, God the Father loved us and planned for our salvation. Before he even created the World, God the Father laid out his plan for our eternal salvation which centered on nothing that we could do for him, but everything that he could do for us. Now, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ our Savior, we have been given new birth in to a new and living hope. No matter what might be happening around us, the hope we have is secure, because our hope is in the forgiveness of sins that Jesus won for us. Our hope springs from the waters of Baptism that have washed us clean through the work of the Holy Spirit in connection with the Word of God. Our hope is certain because Jesus Christ who died in our place, rose again from the dead to assure us that our sins have been completely washed away.

Now, through faith in Jesus Christ, our Savior, we have been made children of God and heirs of eternal life! In the midst of an economy where people are concerned about their investments, 401k’s, stock options and other retirement funds, we have no concern whatsoever. We have no concern because we know that our retirement benefits are not only safe but they are out of this world. We are confident because we know that our inheritance is kept for us in heaven, where no thief can ever break in. No moth can ever destroy. No rust can ever corrupt. Nothing can ever spoil it, nor can it fade away, nor can it be lost because the stock market takes a turn for the worse. Thus we sing the praise of our God and Father because he has secured our inheritance through his mighty power with which we are shielded even now, until our salvation will be revealed when the Lord calls us home.

Because of this, we have every reason sing the praise of the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if that’s the case Pastor, if we can rejoice in the Lord our God, if we can sing his praises because he has redeemed us, made us his own, and even protects us in this life, why do we still have to face sorrows and hardships? Why do find ourselves suffering at the hands of others? Why do face difficulties in this life? Peter answers that question for us beginning with verse 6 where he says, “6 In this [that is all these things with which God has blessed you] you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (1 Peter 1:3–9, NIV84)

Though no one likes hardships or suffering, we can still rejoice in them because we know that they come to us so that our faith might be proven to be genuine. They come to us to draw us closer to the Lord. They come to us to make us take our eyes off the things of the world and refocus our vision on the things of eternal life. They come to us because Jesus promised that when we followed him the world would hate us and we would be persecuted just as he was. They come to us because satan is looking for any and every opportunity to distract us from our faith, cause us to despair, lose our hope, and finally fall away from the faith. They come to us because sometimes the Lord sends them into our lives, as he did when he asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, so that we can learn what we are made of; so that we can learn the caliber of our faith and our trust in Jesus Christ as our Savior. Though they are never easy to cope with, James tells us that we can consider it pure joy whenever we face trials of many kinds because it will produce perseverance of faith. (James 1:2) Though they are never the most easy thing to cope with, Paul assures us that we can rejoice in suffering because produce perseverance, perseverance produces character, and character produces hope. (Romans 5:3) Though they are never easy to cope with Peter assures us that they come to help us look forward to our living hope in a better future with the Lord our God forever in heaven.

This is why we have every reason to sing praises to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! We have every reason to sing praise to our God and Father because he is the one who freed us from our sins by sending his Son to be our Savior. He is the one who crushed Jesus and caused him to suffer (Isaiah 53:10) so that we would never have to. He is the one who forsook his own son on the cross so that he would never have to forsake us. He is the one who raised Jesus from the dead to assure us that not only have all our offenses been cleared, but that he will also raise us, just as he raised his Son. Thus we have gathered together on this Sunday after Easter, to sing praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, because he is the one who has made us his own and has given us a sure and certain living hope in eternal life through his Son, our Savior.

Amen.

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

God's Great Exchange

2011-04-24T07:00:00.002-05:00

April 24, 2011
Easter Sunday

Dear Friends in Christ

If you’ve ever tried to return home to the United States after traveling in a foreign country, then you know what going through customs is like. You know how you have to provide the proper documentation of who you are before they will even consider letting you in. You know how you will be asked all sorts of different questions by the custom agent before he or she will approve your credentials and allow you to enter. And you know that if you should fail to provide proper identification or fail to adequately answer the questions, you will be turned away and not able to enter at all. Yet with the proper documentation it is a very easy thing to pass through customs and return home to your own land. The same thing is true for us as Christians. Though we are citizens of heaven we are currently traveling outside of our home country, but we all know that one day we will stand at the border cross between this world and the next. One day we will be asked for our passports to eternal life. One day we will be asked why we should be allowed to enter our home land of heaven. It is because of this that I want to review with you the very hope and the very reason we have in looking forward to eternal life, and I want to begin by asking you a couple of questions. The first is, “If you were to die to night, are you sure that you would have eternal life?” …The second is, “If you did die tonight, and you were standing before God and he asked you, ‘Why should I let you into my heaven?’ what would you tell him?”

… Though I don’t expect you to give me an answer right here and right now, these are questions I want you to ponder as we continue today. For the answers to these questions are answers that only come through faith, and in doing so, they lead us into a right relationship with the Lord our God.

For a person to be in a right relationship with God, that person needs first of all to ask God what his requirements truly are. To find out what those are, we turn to the pages of Scripture where we learn in Matthew 5:48, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” And again in Leviticus 19:2, “Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.” From this we learn that the very thing God demands of us is that we must be perfectly holy, completely set apart from sinners, without flaw of any kind, and absolutely perfect. This, in fact, is the very thing that Jesus said to a man who came to him asking , “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus answered him with a question: "What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?" He answered: "`Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind' ; and, `Love your neighbor as yourself.' " Jesus told the man that he had answered correctly, God demands nothing less than perfection, a perfect love for him at all times, a perfect love for our neighbor at all times as well. Then Jesus said, "Do this and you will live." (Luke 10:16-28). In other words, keep on doing this at all times. Show nothing less than perfect love toward God and your neighbor in all that you do, and say and even think, and you will live. Always put God first in your life, never use his name in a wrong way, never have so much as a single greedy, covetous, lustful, vengeful, jealous, hateful, or even selfish thought. Be such a perfect, holy, sinless person at every moment of your life, and you will live, that is be in a right relationship with the Lord your God and receive eternal life.

The problem is, as we know, what God demands of us is the very opposite of what he sees. The Bible tells us, “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23). That means that each and every one of us has sinned in one way or another, and because of our sins, we have fallen short of God’s glory. It’s like going to Wal-Mart to buy groceries or things that you might need. You go around all the isles, spending a few hours shopping and getting all that you need, and finally when you fill that you’ve filled your cart full enough, you go to the check out. As the cashier rings up your purchases, you dig out your checkbook only to find that you ran out of checks yesterday, and completely forgot to put a new book in. So you look in your purse, or your wallet, for a check card or credit card of some kind, only to find that you’ve left them home as well. Now, you as you begin to search for some money, you know that it will be entirely fruitless because you left all your cash at home. Though you hunt and hunt for through your pockets, all you are able to find is two quarters, a dime and a nickel. The problem is, you have fallen short of that $150 tab that the clerk has just finished ringing up, and your sixty five cents will by no means cover that bill. Now, you have no choice but return home completely empty handed. That is what our sins have done to us. For in the same way that a lack of money separated you from the possibility of buying groceries, the Bible tells us, “your iniquities (sins) have separated you from your God” In fact, in the end, our sins will finally separate us from our God forever, as Paul tells us, “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23)

So then, what can we do? If God sees in us the very opposite of what he demands, what can we do to change it? Well, some might say, “I’ll try harder. I’ll keep trying my best to sin less and less every day.” The problem is, of course, as James tells us, “whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” (James 2:10). Another person might come up with the idea of balancing out the sins I commit with all sorts of good deeds. If I come home in a bad mood, yell at my kids, and argue with my wife, I’ll take them all out for a special dinner to make up for it. The problem is, even if we could balance out our sins, they would still be there. We would not be able to get rid of them, and we would still be stuck full of sins, completely lacking in holiness, worthy of nothing more than death. Another might give in to the fact that he is not perfect, he might say, “I know I’m not perfect, but at least I’m not as bad as that guy over there.” Though comparing ourselves to another might make us feel pretty good about ourselves in the short term, when we look up, and compare ourselves to God, we realize that we are still destined for eternal damnation. Though these ways might seem right and logical to us, in the end they lead only to death and damnation. (Proverbs 16:25)

So then, what can we do! If we are so filled with sins and so lacking in holiness that we can only look forward to eternal death. If we can do nothing to remove our sins, and every sin we commit means we are guilty of breaking all of God’s law that we cannot possibly keep it ourselves to earn eternal life, what can we do? The answer is nothing. But even though there is nothing that we can do, it is God who has done it all for us! This is God’s remedy.

God’s remedy centers in a person. That person is his own Son, Jesus Christ our Savior. Jesus is the one about whom the Bible tells us, that though he was true God, he was also true man. Though he was true God from eternity, he became fully human, exactly like you and me in every way, except he was without sin. Jesus was completely holy, completely without sin! In fact, what God demanded, Jesus did 100%

There was even a time when Jesus flat out asked his enemies, “Can any of you prove me guilty of sin?” (John 8:46). But no one could. Even when Jesus was on trial and the Jews were seeking to have him crucified, even then the accusations brought against Jesus did not agree. Even when false witnesses were coached on what to say, they still couldn’t make their stories agree. It’s as if the Lord himself were telling the world, “There’s no one who can find one fault in my Son. He lived an absolutely holy, sin free life.”

But even though he had lived his holy, sin-free life, his life still ended in death on the cross. But his death was not in vain, as Isaiah tells us, “The Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6) God transferred all our sins over to Jesus and let him pay the penalty for them. In the same way that we can easily transfer money from a savings account to a checking account, the Lord transferred all our sins over to Jesus account, and sent him to the cross with those sins, so that through his death, their payment would be covered. And when Jesus died, he cried out in a loud voice to let us know that his payment was complete that our sins had been forgiven.

It’s like being back at Wal-Mart, fishing in your pockets, fining nothing more than sixty-five cents. As you’re about to apologize to the cashier, and take your leave, someone from the line behind says, “Don’t worry, I’ll pay for your things.” That’s what Jesus did for us. He paid the penalty in full for us. He took our sins upon himself so that we could be in a right relationship with our God. This is exactly what the Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21). In the same way that the Lord transferred our sins to Jesus, He transferred Jesus’ righteousness and holiness to us. Through Jesus, we become the righteousness and holiness that God demands. For God has covered us with the news cloths of Jesus’ holiness so that he no longer sees our sins, but only the Holiness and righteousness that Jesus won for us through his death and resurrection. This is God’s great exchange! He takes my sins and gives me Jesus’ Righteousness so that now, in his eyes, I am filled with holiness, completely devoid of sinfulness, and I am now in a right relationship with my God. The very thing that God demands of me, he has now given me. Not because I have earned it or deserved it, but because of his great love for me.

What a blessing this is indeed! For now that I am in a right relationship with the Lord my God through Jesus Christ my Savior, I receive his great blessings indeed. I have received forgiveness of sins and freedom from guilt. I have received the gift of eternal life and new life of faith. I have received the Lord’s guidance for life and his answers to prayers. I have received the gift of Christian fellowship and the power for living for the Lord. These are the great gifts and blessings the Lord has given me through this great exchanges. My sins on Jesus, Jesus’ righteousness on me, the gift of the forgiveness of sins, a God pleasing life, and eternal salvation forever in heaven.

So now, what about you, do you believe this? Do you know what you have to look forward to? Of course you do! If you were to die tonight, would you have eternal life? Absolutely! If you did die tonight, and you were standing before God and he asked you, “Why should I let you into my heaven?” what would you answer? Heaven is mine through Jesus Christ my Savior. This is God’s great exchange! The very thing he demands of us, he gives us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Give thanks to God for what he has done for you, for he has given you eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ, his Son.

Amen.

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

One of the Mob; a Follower (Matthew 27:20-23)

2011-04-22T19:00:00.002-05:00

Mach 9, 2011
Good Friday
Preached from the perspective of one of the mob.

Dear friends in Christ.

Were you there when they crucified the Lord? Where you there when they nailed him to the tree? Were you there when they crowned his head with thorns? Were you there when the crowds cried, “Crucify”? Though I know that none of you were there on that dark day so many years ago, I can tell you that I was. I was there as one of that mob. I was there as a follower. Yes, I know I told you this same story back on Ash Wednesday. But sometimes we just need to hear a story two and three times before it begins to sink in. But as I said, I was there, and I can remember the details of that day as clearly as if it happened yesterday. I remember all the sights and sounds from that day. I remember how the sun seemed almost tentative as it warmed my skin that morning and how the breeze almost seemed to hold its breath when Pilate brought Jesus out before the crowd.

Funny thing, isn’t it, I can remember all those details. I can remember exactly how Jesus looked; bruised and beaten with blood trickling down his face from the crown of thorns pressed into his head. Yet I simply, for the life of me, cannot remember why I was part of the crowd in Pilate’s courtyard that morning. I can’t remember if I had gone there out of curiosity to find out why Jesus was on trial or if I had simply been swept along to the palace by the mentality of the mob gathering there. After all, I wasn’t a follower of Jesus at that time. Oh, I had heard him preach. I had seen some miracles, I liked what he had to say, but the Holy Spirit had not yet created faith in my heart to trust in Jesus as my Savior. Though I now know exactly why I was there as part of that mob that day, at the time when Jesus was on trial, I was merely following the crowd.

Yes, I do remember exactly what Jesus looked like when Pilate brought him out before the crowd. I remember Pilate’s booming voice as he asked the people, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” (Matthew 27:17) And I remember seeing the Chief Priests and the Elders circulating through the crowd persuading the people to ask for Barabbas and to have Christ crucified. (Matthew 27:20). I probably wouldn’t have noticed it except for the Elder who came up to me, put his hand on my shoulder, looked me straight in the eye, and told me that if I considered myself and Israelite, I would demand Jesus’ execution and Barabbas’ release. It was in that moment that time seemed to stand still as a saw the Chief Priests and Elders, essentially the entire Sanhedrin—the ruling body of the Israelites—milling through the crowd; turning the people against Jesus. I wondered what I should do! Should I stay and ask for Jesus? Should I do what my leadership told me? Should I just leave and go somewhere else? I didn’t know what I should do. I was frozen with indecision as I heard Pilate ask, “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” (Matthew 27:21)

It took a few seconds before my mouth started working again. I heard some shouting for Jesus, but I heard others shouting for Barabbas. Then I heard more and more people taking up the cry for Barabbas, and before I knew it, I joined right in with all the people chanting Barabbas’ name and drowning out any other voices crying out for Jesus. When Pilate asked, “Why? What crime has he committed?” (Matthew 27:23) I didn’t even hesitate. I was right there shouting with the crowds, “Crucify!” “Crucify!” I was fully part of that mob now. I was following every direction that the collective mentality of crowd was giving me. My eyes were gleaming with evil intentions. My stomach hungered for the deed to be done. My blood was boiling with lust to see Christ’s blood spilled on the ground. Every fiber of my being demanded to see him nailed to the cross and crucified. Every part of me needed to see it happen, because I was caught up in the frenzy of the mob that day. I was following the crowd demanding that the governor give the order, so that we could go out to the place of the skull and see it come to pass.

Now, I’m not proud of what I did by any means. But, before you judge me too harshly, let me ask you a question. How often haven’t you done the same thing? How of then haven’t you been part of the mob; a follower of the crowd when it came to sins? How often haven’t your own temptations led you to a mob mentality as you quickly rushed in to your favorite and most comfortable sins with an ever increasing hunger for more? How often haven’t you simply followed the bread crumbs of temptation in to the courtyard of the palace of sin, joining with other sinners as a mob of people trying to justify their actions to each other by comparing their sins to other worse sinners in the world? How often hasn’t our blood boiled with lust as the TV screen, movie screen, or computer screen flickered before us? How often haven’t our mouths cried out with curses upon others, oaths sworn to get even with the person who wronged us in some way, foul language, lies, hatred, gossip, slander, or other sins? How often haven’t you acted just as I did in that crowd, following the mob mentality of sin that moves us to rush forward into more and more greater sins as we hurtle ever forward moving closer and close to the cliffs of damnation?

That’s where I was! I was hurtling through those gates, moving as one; following the mob of people as they led me behind Jesus, out toward the place of the skull. I was there, standing, watching, desiring, and needing to see the nails driven through his hands and feet! I was there needing to see him raised up, dropped into place, and left to die! I was there as part of that mob, following every move until I heard something that began to separate me from them. As they were crucifying him, I heard him pray, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:32–34) In that moment my heart seemed to stop beating as I came back to my senses. When I heard the exchange between one of the thieves and Jesus, and heard Jesus promising the thief that he would be in paradise with Jesus today (Luke 23:39-43) I began wondering if this Jesus might be the Messiah for whom I had been waiting. When the sun stopped shining and darkness covered the land for three hours, I knew there was something special about this Jesus. When I heard him cry out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46) I was immediately reminded of what David had written about the Savior in Psalm 22. Then, when I saw how he died, how he declared everything to be finished, how he committed himself to his heavenly Father, and how the earth shook and the rocks split, I knew that this Jesus had to be the Son of God, the Messiah for whom I had waited, my God who saved me from my sins. Now, I told you that when I was part of that crowd in Pilate’s courtyard I wasn’t a believer. However, I can tell you that if I had not followed the crowd out to Calvary that I may not have had the opportunity to come to faith in Jesus as my Savior. Though I am not proud of my part in the mob, I know I am forgiven. I know that I am forgiven through my Savior who poured out his blood upon the mercy seat of God to atone for my sins.

The same thing is true for each and every one of you who have gathered here today! Though you may have given into a mob mentality when it came to your sins, your sins have been forgiven! Though there have been many occasions that you have rushed head long into your favorite and most comfortable sins, with an ever increasing hunger for more, your Savior’s blood has not only washed you clean, but gives you the desire to turn your back on those sins. Though you may have felt your blood boiling with lust, or your mouth on fire with vicious and sinful words, even these sins have been taken away! They were all nailed to the cross with Jesus your Savior. They were atoned for by his death. They were erased from your record by his blood poured out for you. But best of all, through the faith created in your hearts by the Holy Spirit, you all have been separated from the mob barreling its way toward the cliffs of damnation. Instead you are traveling with the group of believers, following after your Lord and Savior who redeemed you by his blood, made you his own, and has given you the guarantee of eternal life in heaven through faith in the one who poured out his blood for you.

Though none of you were actually there when the crucified our Lord, each time we review the events of that day, our Savior’s love is brought home to us all the more clearly. I pray that through my witness today that you have grown in your faith and your assurance that you have been forgiven by the Blood of the Lamb. I pray that you won’t find yourselves as I did, part of a mob; a follower. Rather, I pray that you will continually be found as a follower of Christ, your living, loving, and forgiven Savior. In his Name.

Amen.

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

Jesus Is Our Servant Leader (Luke 22:19-24; John 13:2-5, 14)

2011-04-21T19:00:00.001-05:00

April 21, 2011
Maundy Thursday

Dear friends in Christ.

The phrase, “Servant Leadership” is a phrase that was originally coined by Robert K. Greenleaf in an essay that he published back in 1970. In that essay he said, “The servant-leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead” Since that essay was written there have been many people who have sought to practice principals of servant leadership in their homes, businesses, and industries.

Yet, throughout all of history, there is no greater servant leader than Jesus Christ, our Savior. For it was Jesus himself who told us that he did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Mark 10:45) and that is exactly what Jesus did. He served the Israelites by traveling from town to town and proclaiming the message of salvation through faith in him, the Savior of the world. He served the people by meeting their needs with the condemnation of the law and the comfort of the gospel. He served his people, and indeed the whole world, as he prepared himself on this night to give up his own life so that we might live. In fact, as we meet Jesus in our lesson from John 13 we see him leading his disciples by serving them. For in John 13, Jesus and his disciples are in the upper room celebrating the Passover. But, as we find them, the disciples were all arguing about which one of them was the greatest. So Jesus showed them, through an act of servant leadership, what being the greatest was all about. Take a look at what John has to tell us in chapter 13, beginning with verse 2: “The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him…14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.” (John 13:2-5, 14, NIV84)

How humbling it must have been for the disciples, and how embarrassing, to see Jesus, their Lord and Master displaying his love for them by humbly washing their feet, even as they had been so recently arguing about their greatness. Yet, how often don’t we act exactly like the disciples did? How often don’t we jockey among ourselves to see which one of us is the greatest in the church? Oh, we may not openly argue about our own greatness, but how often don’t we subtly or even overtly point out our own over all service record? How often don’t we like to review how long we’ve served in one position or another, or even how long we’ve been members of this congregation? How often haven’t we, as volunteers, voiced our anger and frustration against all those others who simply don’t do anything for the congregation? How often haven’t we complained about the running of a committee or organization within the church, speaking about its members or leaders behind their backs? How often haven’t we expressed our own ideas in the church and then been hurt when our ideas are not used or voted down? How often haven’t we seen something that needed to be changed, but kept quiet about it, until finally we couldn’t stand it anymore and burst forth in anger, exercising authority over a situation with anger and frustration? How often haven’t we been just like the disciples, self righteously stepping ever closer to our secret desire to be called greatest in the Kingdom of Christianity?

Jesus knows exactly how many times we have done these things and even more than that, just as he knew it about his disciples. Yet, Jesus never switched tracks. He never deviated from his course. In fact, Luke 22 tells us that Jesus continued traveling the path that would lead him to the cross in just a few short hours. Luke 22 tells us how Jesus revealed the identity of his betrayer, how Jesus was setting in motion all the events that were unfolding before him, even how he instituted a new meal of forgiveness for his disciples who were still struggling to understand what servant leadership was all about. Take a look at Luke 22 and well read verses 19-23: “And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. 21 But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table. 22 The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed, but woe to that man who betrays him.” 23 They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this. (Luke 22:19–23, NIV84)

In such an amazing way, as they partook of that holy supper, Jesus gave them to eat and drink the very events that would play out before them in roughly 12 hours time. He gave them his body together with the bread. He gave them his bold together with the wine. He gave it to them for the forgiveness of their sins. He gave it to them to help them understand what his mission was all about. He gave it to them to help them grow in their faith, be strengthened in their faith, and be moved to live in their faith in Jesus, their Servant Leader.

In the same what that Jesus gave this special meal to his disciples, he made sure that they passed it down from generation to generation so that we too could participate in the events of Good Friday. He made sure that through the Apostle’s preaching, we too would learn about this marvelous meal of Christ’s body and blood given and poured out for us for the forgiveness of sins. For tonight, as you approach this table to eat the bread and wine—in a special way I cannot understand but only believe because Jesus tell me that this is how it is—you will be eating the very body that was broken for us on the cross. You will be drinking the very blood that Jesus poured out for us for the forgiveness of all of our sins. In this meal, Jesus body together with the bread, and Jesus blood, together with the wine, come together to assure us that our sins have been completely and totally washed away. Those sins of jockeying for position with our words; those sins of voicing our anger against all those who don’t volunteer as often or as willingly as we do; those sins of complaining against others and speaking behind their backs; those sins of feeling unduly hurt when our own ideas are not accepted; those sins of bursting forth with rage and anger rather than working to fix a problem; all our sins are washed away by the blood of Jesus. All our sins are forgiven by Jesus’ body given for us. All our sins have been forgiven because the Son of Man came to serve and give his life as a ransom for many. (Mark 10:45)

What greater attitude of servant leadership could there be than that of Jesus’ willing sacrifice for our sins! Though he knew what was to come, he willingly went forward to the cross in our place. Though the phrase “Servant Leadership” was only really coined some 40 years ago the concept has been around since even before the time of Christ. Yet as we have studied the People of the Passion, we can truly see how Christ our Savior stands out as our Servant Leader. So, as you leave here today with the taste of your Savior still on your tongues, live in the forgiveness that he has so lovingly bestowed upon you and seek to emulate him with your lives.

Amen.

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

The Day the Lord Entered (1 Samuel 6: 2 Samuel 6; 1 Kings 8; Matthew 21(

2011-04-17T06:51:00.001-05:00

April 17, 2011

Dear friends in Christ.

Back in the days of BC, that is, Before Children, my beautiful wife, who was at that time my beautiful fiancée, introduced me to a man named James Burke. Now, if you are not familiar with him, James Burke is an English author and science historian who is probably best known for his ten episode documentary television series called Connections; a series which originally aired on PBS in 1979. In the series he took an interdisciplinary approach to the history of science and invention, demonstrating how various discoveries, scientific achievements and historical world events were built from one another successively in an interconnected way to bring about particular aspects of our modern technology. The series was noted for Burke’s crisp and enthusiastic presentation, his dry humor, historical reenactments and intricate working models.

The popularity of the Connections series led to the production of a new program entitled The Day the Universe Changed. While the show was similar to his original work, The Day the Universe Changed gave a more linear history of several important scientific events. Both series were incredibly interesting and even spellbinding as James Burke traced the connections that changed our world into what it is today. Yet, Burk is not the only one who likes to trace connections of different events and reveal how these events set other events into motion; for this is something that the Lord our God has done since the beginning of time. He is the one who has orchestrated the events of the world, so that they would finally lead to the day when the Lord entered.

What a day that must have been on that first Palm Sunday; the day when the Lord Jesus entered Jerusalem on the back of that colt. How amazing it must have been to hear the people shouting with joy, crying out with Hosanna to the Son of David! How incredible it must have been to have been part of that crowd laying down garments and palm branches as Jesus passed by. Though this was undoubtedly one of the greatest days when the Lord entered, it was not the first time, nor would it be the last! Turn with me, if you would to 1 Samuel 6, and we’ll take a look at another day that the Lord entered. Though 1 Samuel 6 is by no means the first record of the first time the Lord entered, it is a joyful celebration as well. In fact, if you are following along with the chronological schedule, you will find that 1 Samuel 6 is part of today’s scheduled reading. Now, as you are tuning, let me fill you in on the back ground. Eli is 98 years old. He has served the Lord in the Tabernacle for many years, and has trained Samuel to do the same. However, Eli’s two sons are wicked and did not fear the Lord or follow in his ways. Now, on one occasion, Israel went out to fight against the Philistines, one of the nations that they failed to destroy in the original invasion of the land. However on this day, Israel was defeated. So, after the defeat, Eli’s two sons bring the Ark of the Covenant into the camp superstitiously believing that the Lord would now have to fight for them because they brought him with them by bringing the Ark. However, rather than placing their faith and trust in the Lord, they placed it in the Ark and in the next battle, the Philistines completely route the Israelites and capture the Ark. Which brings us to 1 Samuel 6:

“1 When the ark of the LORD had been in Philistine territory seven months, 2 the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the LORD? Tell us how we should send it back to its place.” 3 They answered, “If you return the ark of the god of Israel, do not send it away empty, but by all means send a guilt offering to him. Then you will be healed, and you will know why his hand has not been lifted from you.” …7 “Now then, get a new cart ready, with two cows that have calved and have never been yoked. Hitch the cows to the cart, but take their calves away and pen them up. 8 Take the ark of the LORD and put it on the cart, and in a chest beside it put the gold objects you are sending back to him as a guilt offering. Send it on its way, 9 but keep watching it. If it goes up to its own territory, toward Beth Shemesh, then the LORD has brought this great disaster on us. But if it does not, then we will know that it was not his hand that struck us and that it happened to us by chance.” 10 So they did this. They took two such cows and hitched them to the cart and penned up their calves. 11 They placed the ark of the LORD on the cart and along with it the chest containing the gold rats and the models of the tumors. 12 Then the cows went straight up toward Beth Shemesh, keeping on the road and lowing all the way; they did not turn to the right or to the left. The rulers of the Philistines followed them as far as the border of Beth Shemesh. 13 Now the people of Beth Shemesh were harvesting their wheat in the valley, and when they looked up and saw the ark, they rejoiced at the sight. 14 The cart came to the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh, and there it stopped beside a large rock. The people chopped up the wood of the cart and sacrificed the cows as a burnt offering to the LORD. 15 The Levites took down the ark of the LORD, together with the chest containing the gold objects, and placed them on the large rock. On that day the people of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices to the LORD. 16 The five rulers of the Philistines saw all this and then returned that same day to Ekron. (1 Samuel 6:1-3, 7–16, NIV84)

How great the people’s rejoicing must have been on that day when the Ark returned to the people and the Lord entered Beth Shemesh. Though the ark had been captured and the glory had departed from Israel, the people rejoiced as the Lord’s presence, expressed by the Ark of the Covenant entered among them. The Lord had entered among his people and the people rejoiced in his presence. After the people had celebrated the day the Lord entered, the Ark was taken to the house of Abinadab, where it remained for many, many years; at least until the day the Lord Entered Jerusalem. Turn with me to 2 Samuel 6.

Now, as you are turning to 2 Samuel 6, let me set the stage for you. At least 20 year have passed (if not more) since the Ark was returned and the Lord entered Beth Shemesh and the house of Abinidab. In that time, the people had demanded a king and Saul had been anointed. Saul began to disobey the Lord, was rejected as King, and David was anointed to take his place. Saul had died in battle and David began his reign, conquered Jerusalem, waged war against the enemies of Israel and expanding their territory. After all this had taken place, the Lord entered into the city of Jerusalem. Take a look at 2 Samuel 6:
“1 David again brought together out of Israel chosen men, thirty thousand in all. 2 He and all his men set out from Baalah of Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name, the name of the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim that are on the ark. 3 They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart 4 with the ark of God on it, and Ahio was walking in front of it. 5 David and the whole house of Israel were celebrating with all their might before the LORD, with songs and with harps, lyres, tambourines, sistrums and cymbals.” (2 Samuel 6:1–5, NIV84)

Now, along the way the cart bumped and one of the men reached out and grabbed hold of the Ark. The Lord’s anger burned against him and the Lord struck him down because of his irreverent act. Thus the Lord revealed his holiness and reestablished proper fear among his people. Even David was unsure about taking the Ark to his palace and it stayed with a man named Obed-Edom until verse 12: “Now King David was told, “The LORD has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the ark of God.” So David went down and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing. 13 When those who were carrying the ark of the LORD had taken six steps, he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf. 14 David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the LORD with all his might, 15 while he and the entire house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouts and the sound of trumpets. 16 As the ark of the LORD was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, she despised him in her heart. 17 They brought the ark of the LORD and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and David sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the LORD. 18 After he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD Almighty. 19 Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each person in the whole crowd of Israelites, both men and women. And all the people went to their homes. (2 Samuel 6:12–19, NIV84)

On that day, as the lord entered Jerusalem, the people worshiped and praised the Lord. They offered sacrifices to the Lord and fellowship offerings in worship of their God. They sang songs and hymns and even danced in the presence of the Lord. Incidentally it seems that Psalm 24, our Psalm for today, may have been written by David for this very occasion, to be sung as the Ark was entering Jerusalem.

Yet there is one more day at which we want to take a look. Turn to 1 Kings 8. Now, in 1 Kings 8 we have David’s Son Solomon bringing the Ark of the Lord in to the Lord’s temple, which the Lord had commanded Solomon to build. Now that the Temple was completed, we learn in 1 Kings 8: “1 Then King Solomon summoned into his presence at Jerusalem the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs of the Israelite families, to bring up the ark of the LORD’s covenant from Zion, the City of David. 2 All the men of Israel came together to King Solomon at the time of the festival in the month of Ethanim, the seventh month. 3 When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the priests took up the ark, 4 and they brought up the ark of the LORD and the Tent of Meeting and all the sacred furnishings in it. The priests and Levites carried them up, 5 and King Solomon and the entire assembly of Israel that had gathered about him were before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and cattle that they could not be recorded or counted. 6 The priests then brought the ark of the LORD’s covenant to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, and put it beneath the wings of the cherubim. 7 The cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark and overshadowed the ark and its carrying poles. 8 These poles were so long that their ends could be seen from the Holy Place in front of the inner sanctuary, but not from outside the Holy Place; and they are still there today. 9 There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where the LORD made a covenant with the Israelites after they came out of Egypt. 10 When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the LORD. 11 And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled his temple. (1 Kings 8:1–11, NIV84)

Again the people rejoiced on the day that the Lord Entered and celebrated as they had before. However this day was different; for on this day the Lord revealed his glory to his people in a way he really hadn’t since the days of Moses. He revealed his glory in the cloud that filled the temple, showing the people that he had indeed entered among them.

Now, fast forward to today and feel the joy that filled the people on the day the Lord Jesus was entering Jerusalem. Imagine the joyful shouts of Hosanna to the Son of David as Jesus fulfilled the prophecy in Zechariah 9:1-10. Though sadly many of the people thought that Jesus was entering the city as a conquering hero, a political messiah bent on freeing Israel from the tyranny of the Romans, this time the Lord’s entrance was different. This time the Lord was entering in preparation for his death. In less than a week he would give himself over to death to forgive our sins. He would rise from death to assure us that our sins were completely forgiven, and then he would send us out with the message of salvation so this day could happen again and again. He would send us out with the message of his Word so that through the proclamation of the message of the gospel he would have countless opportunities to enter the heart of those who came to believe in him as their Lord and Savior who has freed them from even the guilt of their sins.

These are but a few of the connections that the Lord has laid out for us in the pages of the Scriptures. Though I may not be able to present them with the same energy and humor as James Burke, they are none the less amazing. For through these connections we see how the Lord our God has entered into the hearts and minds of his people in the past and will continue to do so, entering into our hearts and minds through his Word, just as he did on that first Palm Sunday so many years ago.

Amen.

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

Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life! (John 11:17-27, 38-45)

2011-04-10T08:30:00.001-05:00

April 10, 2011

Dear friends in Christ.

There are well over three hundred verses in the Bible which speak of Jesus’ resurrection. Some of them tell us that Jesus resurrection was a sign for believers, others speak of it as an answer for believers doubts. Some speak of the resurrection as the central message of the Gospel itself, while others tell us how Jesus’ resurrection is a guarantee that all his teachings are true. Well, today, as we study the Word of God before us, we will be looking at a lesson that doesn’t exactly speak of Jesus resurrection from the dead, instead we will stand before Jesus our Savior as he tells us and assures us that he, himself, is the Resurrection and the life. In fact, I invite you to open your Bibles to John 11 so that we can take a look at these events together and listen as Jesus tells us that He is the Resurrection and the life.

Now, if you think about it, as Jesus speaks to us in John 11, he is giving us a great comfort. For the truth is, one of the hardest things that you and I have to cope with in this world is death. It is a difficult thing for us to deal with because it is such an unnatural event. Even though it has become a part of our lives, it was never intended to be a part of our lives when God created this world for us. But as it is, it is one of the many sorrows that we face in our lives as we journey through this vale of tears. It was also a sorrow with which Mary and Martha had to contend, as we hear in our text today: “On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother.” (John 11:17-19). Though it isn’t part of our text today, if we were to read the verses shortly before where our text begins, we would find that Mary and Martha had sent a message to Jesus telling them that their brother Lazarus was seriously ill. Jesus, in turn and responded that “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it.” (John 11:4). However, unknown to Mary and Martha he stayed where he was for two more days so that by the time he arrived, Lazarus had already been dead for four days.

Now, upon first glance, this may seem like a cruel and heartless thing for Jesus to do. Yet what Jesus did would ultimately serve as a comfort for both Mary and Martha. As John tells us, “When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. ‘Lord,’ Martha said to Jesus, ‘if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ Martha answered, ‘I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.’ ” (John 11:20-26).

When Martha met the Lord at the edge of town, it was Jesus who comforted her in the midst of her sorrow and misery with the words of sweetest Gospel. For when she expressed her anguish that Jesus had not been there to heal Lazarus when he was sick, Jesus assured her that her brother would rise again. That, in itself, was a comfort to her, for she knew he would rise again on the last day. But what Jesus said next was truly a comfort. For in telling her that he was the Resurrection and the Life, Jesus was assuring her that her brother who had come to faith in Jesus Christ was now living with the Lord in heaven.

This is the same comfort that you and I receive in our sorrows. For we know all too well the pain and anguish of death. Far too often we are forced to watch our friends and loved ones growing older and more feeble. Far too often we are forced to gather here to say our final farewells to those we love. Yet even in those times, we are assured of the Lord’s comfort when we hear Jesus speaking to us and saying: “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” (John 11:26). In those beautiful words, we are reminded that all of us who have come to faith in Jesus Christ our Savior will never die. Though we will face physical death when our bodies finally stop working, at that moment the Lord’s angels will carry us to his side where we will live forever. Though our bodies will decompose and fall apart in the ground, Jesus, the Resurrection and the Life will raise them up at the last day and give us new and glorious bodies, which we will have for all eternity. This is the comfort, which the Lord gives us in our sorrows--the knowledge that this world is not our home, the knowledge that we will live with him forever when he finally calls us to our eternal rest. This is the comfort we receive, and this is the comfort that strengthens our faith in Jesus Christ, the Resurrection and the Life.

There’s an old Indian proverb that tells us, “Whatever doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger.” Though this phrase has become a cliché in our day and age, it still is a very true statement. For how often haven’t you found yourself quickly growing stronger, more confident, and even more determined in that face of adversities, but growing only moderately in the face of no conflicts? This is exactly what the Lord did for Martha in our text today. For even in the midst of her sorrow, Jesus gently led here to a deeper understanding of who he was, which in turn strengthened her faith in Jesus, the Resurrection and the Life. John tells us, “When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. ‘Lord,’ Martha said to Jesus, ‘if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.’ ”(John 11:20-22).

Though every time we think of Mary and Martha, our thoughts naturally turn to the account of Mary sitting at the Lord’s feet and Martha rushing around trying to get everything ready for her guests; we cannot help but be struck by the strength of Martha’s faith. For even though Jesus had not been there to heal her brother and keep him from dying, she was confident that God would give Jesus whatever he asked for. This was the part of Martha’s faith that Jesus was looking to strengthen. He was looking to strengthen her faith by correcting her understanding of him as the Christ. For with these words she clearly stated that she believed Jesus could do anything, but she thought that he would first have to ask God for permission to do it. This was the misunderstanding that Jesus cleared up for her when he said, “‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?’ ‘Yes, Lord,’ she told him, ‘I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.’ ” (John 11:25-27).

By revealing himself to her as the Resurrection and the Life, Jesus was calling on her to look to him in faith. He was calling on her to place her trust in him as Lord and God. Jesus was calling on her to recognize that he and the Father were in perfect harmony. He did not have to ask permission to perform miracles. Rather, as Lord and God he was the power to raise Lazarus from the dead. This is what gave strength to Martha’s faith and caused her to confess: “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.” (John 11:27).

Our Savior is doing the same thing for us today. For by revealing himself to us as the Resurrection and the Life, Jesus is strengthening our faith in him as our Savior. He is calling on us to realize that he is more than just a human being who lived on the earth years ago. He is calling on us to realize that he is more than just the Son of God who had power to do a few miracles. Rather, he is calling on us to realize that he is the Almighty God, who holds the power of life and death in his hand. He is the Lord of the Universe, who keeps the planets in their orbits, the stars in their courses, and preserves life in this world. In fact, he is calling on us to confess with Martha, that he is the Christ, the Son of God who came into this world to save sinners! For that is why Jesus came. He came into this world to save us from our sins, by his victory over death.

In football, whenever the top two teams in their divisions meet, you will often hear the announcers exclaim, “This could easily be a preview of the Super Bowl!” Well, if there had been announcers broadcasting Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, one of those announcers could easily have said, “This could well be a preview of what we’re going to see in just a few short months!” He could easily have said this, because when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead he demonstrated his power over death, and when he demonstrated his power over death, he was assuring us that he would win the victory over death by his resurrection from the dead.

For when Jesus came to raise Lazarus from the dead, his whole purpose was to show all the people there that he, the Resurrection and the Life was the one who would always be victorious over the power of death. This is why Jesus waited for four days before he came to raise Lazarus. He waited so that even the mystics in the crowd who believed that the soul hung around the body for three days after death would have to admit that Lazarus was truly dead and that Jesus had truly raised him and won the victory over death in this showdown. John tells us, “Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. ‘Take away the stone,’ he said. ‘But, Lord,’ said Martha, the sister of the dead man, ‘by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.’ Then Jesus said, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?’ So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, ‘Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.’ When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, ‘Take off the grave clothes and let him go.’ Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him. (John 11:38-45).

Here it was a showdown between life and death. In one corner was Jesus, the Resurrection and the Life. In the other was the grave, which had held Lazarus for the past four days. And in the silence as the stone was being removed, one could almost hear the cry of, “Let’s get ready to rumble!” For there could be no question in anybody’s mind of the fact that Lazarus was truly dead. They knew that after four days in that Mediterranean climate his body had begun to seriously decay. And yet, Jesus commanded them to open the grave! Then, when the grave was opened Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” It wasn’t that he cried out to be sure that Lazarus would hear him back in the cave. It wasn’t that he yelled so loud because he had a better chance at raising him if he spoke that much more loudly. Rather, Jesus cried out in a loud voice so that everyone there would know that he was the one who had power over death. He cried out so loudly so that all the people standing there would hear his proclamation and be assured that he had won the victory over death.

Our Savior is assuring us of the same thing today. Through his raising of Lazarus from the dead, he is assuring us that he indeed has won the victory over death. But more importantly, he is giving us a preview of the events to come. For in just a short time from now, Jesus will be going to the cross, suffering, and dying for our sins. But from this display of his power, we can be assured that he will win the victory over death, because he is the Resurrection and the Life. This is the assurance our Savior is giving us today. The assurance that if he was able to raise Lazarus from the dead, if he was able to raise himself from the dead, then raising us from the dead will be no problem whatsoever! This is the victory of which our Lord assures us, and this is the comfort we have in him! Because Jesus has mastery over death, we know that he has saved us from death. Though we will all one day close our eyes in the sleep of death, we will wake at our Savior’s side in his heavenly kingdom. This is the assurance we have in knowing that Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life! He has won the victory over death.

What a wonderful comfort to know that Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life! He is the one who comforts us in every sorrow. He is the one who continually strengthens our faith in him. He is the one who has won the victory over death! He is the Resurrection and the Life! Whoever believes in him will live, even though he dies, and whoever lives and believes in him will never die.

Amen.

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

Come, Let Us Return to the Lord! (Hosea 5:15 - 6:3)

2011-04-03T09:00:00.001-05:00

April 3, 2011

Dear friends in Christ.

Even if you are not a fan of bicycling, I’m sure you’ve heard the name, Lance Armstrong. After all, he is the one who started the LiveStrong Foundation fighting to improve the lives of people who have been affected by cancer. He is the cyclist who rode in the Tour de France, the biggest and most exciting bike race, until he was diagnosed with brain, lung and testicular cancer. He is the one who returned to bicycling in 1999 after a three year absence due to cancer, only to win his first Tour de France. Each year after that he continued to return to France only to with the Tour again and again until in 2003 he joined a very elite group of riders who have won the tour 5 times. In 2004 he returned again to win an unprecedented 6th time. Then, in 2005, the very year he planned to retire from bicycling regardless of the outcome of the Tour, he returned to France and won his 7th tour in 7 years. He had done what no other cyclist had done before. He had returned year after year only to continue winning one of the toughest events in bicycle racing. Yet this is not the end of his story, because in 2009 after nearly 4 years of retirement, Lance Armstrong returned to France with a new team. Though he didn’t win the tour 2009, if I remember correctly, he placed in the top 15; an incredible performance returning to the Tour after nearly 4 years off. Well, in the same way that Lance Armstrong continually returned to France each year, in our lesson today, we will hear the Prophet Hosea speaking to us about returning. He won’t be urging us to return to a bicycling event, rather, he will be calling on each and every one of us to return to the Lord our God. He will be encouraging us to come with him and return to the Lord.

Now, when Hosea spoke these very words to the Israelites, the Israelites had all but completely turned away from the Lord, their God. In fact, for the last 200 years, the kings and leaders of the Northern Kingdom had encouraged their people to worship gods like Baal and Ashtaroth. They had been urged to forget about the true God, avoid his temple, ignore his Word, and simply stop listening to his prophets. It was because of this that the Lord finally said, “I will go back to my place until they admit their guilt. And they will seek my face; in their misery they will earnestly seek me.” (Hosea 5:15)

Though the Lord had continued to send them prophets, the nation simply didn’t listen. Though he had sent them wars and destruction, they still had not turned to him. Though he had sent them hunger and famine, the simply refused to acknowledge him, so finally, he left the ball in their court. He went back to his place and left it up to his people to seek him out.

Sadly, this is the very thing that the Lord has begun to do to our great nation. Though he may not have completely returned to his place to see if we will come to seek him out, it can be truly said that the Lord is thinking about it. For the truth is, our nation is no different today than the Northern Kingdom of Israel was nearly 3000 years ago. For we, as a nation, have set up our own false gods to take the place of the Lord. Though our great nation did once look to the Lord for wisdom and justice, today she looks to her own wisdom and her own ideas of justice. Today, the god of money and the goddess of possessions have taken the true God’s place in the hearts of many Americans. Today, the god of TV and the goddess of personal or leisure time have become more important that the true God’s Word and his worship. Today, the god of power and the goddess of wisdom, the god of relativity and the goddess of personal choice have so enveloped our society that we as Americans hardly have the time to hear the true God speaking: truth, judgement, absolute right, and absolute wrong.

This is why Hosea is calling on our great nation, just as called on the great nation of the Israelites, to return to the Lord and to seek his face. He is calling on us to return to the Lord and to seek his face because we, as a nation, have greatly sinned against the Lord our God. He is calling on us to return to the Lord and seek his face, because even we as Christians are in danger of doing the same thing. Yes, even we, as Christians, are in grave danger of turning our backs on the Lord, because each and every one of us has a sinful nature. Each and every one of us has been pulled in by the god of money and the goddess of possessions at one time or another. Each and every one of us has dreamed about having more money than we could ever need and more possessions than we would know what to do with. In fact, how many times haven’t we played the financing game and gotten burned? How many times haven’t we over extended ourselves with credit cards because we just had to have that particular thing and we just didn’t have the money for it at the time? How many times haven’t we had to re balance our over extended budgets by reducing what we give to the Lord, or simply stop giving to him at all?

But that is just one set of our American gods, and the next is just as deadly to our Christian selves. For we too have worshiped at the altar of the TV god. We too have spent far too much time in front of the TV watching all those shoes that come at us from a humanistic point of view, and we have been affected by it more than we can imagine. For from the god of TV we have come to know the goddess of personal and leisure time, and we have worshiped her by believing that our personal time is sacred. We have worshiped her by believing that our personal time should not be taken up by such mundane things as reading God’s Word, or making time for worship every single week. From the TV god, we have come to know the god of relativity and have started to believe his teachings: that there is no absolute truth, that what might be right for one person may not necessarily be right for another person, and his most destructive teaching that no one should be able to judge the lifestyle I have chosen. Sadly, once we have meet him, the goddess of our own wisdom, the goddess of our own personal choice, the god of rights without responsibility and a whole bunch of others come swarming into our lives, assuring us that we are in the right and the True God is in the wrong.

This is the danger that we as Christians face, each and every day, and that is why Hosea is calling on us to return to the Lord and seek his face. He is calling on us to do that very thing, because we have so often turned our backs on the Lord and done what is evil in his sight. He is calling on us to turn away from those false gods and idols that so clearly speak to our sinful nature and seek out the face of the Lord our God. He is calling on us to return to the Lord and trust that he will heal us.

If you are like most people, when you get sick with something you simply cannot cure at home, you go to see a doctor. Though sometimes it might take quite a bit of prodding and persisting on the part of our husbands or wives, we go to see the doctor, because we know that he is the one who has experience in diagnosing our particular illness and prescribing the proper medication that will heal us. This is why Hosea is prodding, poking, and insisting that each and every one of us return to the Lord today, because Hosea knows that when we return to the Lord, it is the Lord who will heal us. For it is Hosea who cries out in our text, “Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence. Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.” (Hosea 6:1-3)

When Hosea spoke these words to the Israelites, he knew that it didn’t matter how sinful they might have been or how far away from the Lord they had traveled. Because he knew that if they simply returned to the Lord in faith and trust, the Lord would heal them with his forgiveness and his grace.

Well, the same thing is true for you and me today, and that is why Hosea is urging us to return to the Lord! He is urging us to return to the Lord because he knows that when we do, the Lord will heal us. Even though we may have turned our backs on the Lord to trust in the false gods of money and possessions, when we return to the Lord he does forgive us. Though we may have fallen in with the gods of TV and personal time, or even those of relativity, our own wisdom, rights without responsibility, and all those who tried to make us believe they were right and our own God was wrong; when we return to the Lord he will heal us.

What greater comfort can there be than the comfort that comes from the healing that our God provides! For this healing cannot be found at any pharmacy. It cannot be found at any of the world’s most exclusive spas. It can’t even be found in the waters of the Dead Sea itself, or the pool of Siloam. Rather this healing can only be found in Christ! For when we turn away from our sins and return to the Lord, it is the Lord who heals us by washing us in the waters of Jesus’ blood. It is the Lord who heals us by applying the slave of Jesus’ mercy and grace to all of our open wounds. It is the Lord who heals us by opening our bruised and beaten hearts to our Savior’s love for us, and it is our Savior’s love that assures us that our sins have been forgiven.
This is why Hosea is calling on each and every one of us to return to the Lord so that the Lord might heal us, because when we do return to him he does heal us. So drop whatever you are doing right now, and return to the Lord with me. Whatever sins you might be carrying around with you lay them at Jesus’ feet. Whatever sins might have you trapped even now, confess them to your Savior, and pray that he would give you the strength to turn from them, avoid them, and keep from falling into them again. In fact, I invite you to do this with me right now. Join with me in confessing your sins to the Lord…

Merciful Father in heaven, I am altogether sinful from birth. In countless ways I have sinned against you and do not deserve to be called your child. But trusting in Jesus, my Savior, I pray: Have mercy on me according to your unfailing love. Cleans me from my sin, and take away my guilt.

God, our heavenly Father, has forgiven all your sins. By the perfect life and innocent death of our Lord Jesus Christ, he has removed your guilt forever. You are his own dear child. May God give you strength to live according to his will.

What greater healing could there be for us who have returned to the Lord, than the healing than comes with the forgiveness of sins! There is nothing greater! It is greater by far than returning to France to claim the Yellow Jersey year after year. For now that we have returned to the Lord we have received the healing that comes from the forgiveness of sins, and we are ready to continually seek the face of the Lord our God.

Amen.

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

Jesus Is a Man of Action (John 2:12-22)

2011-03-27T10:00:00.001-05:00

March 27, 2011

Dear friends in Christ.

Dr. J.B. Gambrel tells an amusing story from General Stonewall Jackson's famous valley campaign. Jackson's army found itself on one side of a river when it needed to be on the other side. After telling his engineers to plan and build a bridge so the army could cross, he called his wagon master in to tell him that it was urgent the wagon train cross the river as soon as possible. The wagon master started gathering all the logs, rocks and fence rails he could find and built a bridge. Long before day light General Jackson was told by his wagon master all the wagons and artillery had crossed the river. General Jackson asked where are the engineers and what are they doing? The wagon master's only reply was that they were in their tent drawing up plans for a bridge. Though it is true that the engineers got right to the work of planning for the bridge, as a man of action the wagon master accomplished the job as quickly as he possibly could. Well when Jesus was on the earth, he too, was a man of action. As it was, Jesus always made the most of every opportunity to preach the Word of God. He was always traveling from town to town and village to village so that he could proclaim the message of the kingdom of heaven to as many people as possible in his three short years. He was always ready with a word of comfort. He was always ready to heal the sick. He was a man of action who revealed his authority as the Savior in everything he said and did. In fact, this is the very thing that we will discover as we take a look at the lesson before us from John 2:12-22.

Now, if you haven’t done so already, I invite you to open your Bibles to our lesson for today, from John 2:12-22 and we’ll see how Jesus took action in this lesson. Now, as you are turning to John 2, let me give you a little bit of background. It was early in Jesus’ ministry. He had recently gone head to head with satan in the wilderness. He had traveled up to the wedding in Cana, where he performed his first miracle and his disciples put their faith in him. Now, Jesus had traveled to Jerusalem for the Passover feast, as John tells us, beginning with verse 12: “When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, ‘Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father's house into a market!’ His disciples remembered that it is written: ‘Zeal for your house will consume me.’”(John 2:12-17, NIV 84)

Now, imagine with me for a moment what it would have been like if you found a livestock sale going on when you arrived at Church this morning. Even though you might have been expecting to take your regular parking spot, you would have found yourselves parking quite a ways away because of all the other vehicles. After you parked and came closer you would have seen the pens and corrals set up on every side of the church to hold and display the animals that were going to be auctioned off. You would have encountered crowds of people milling around trying to get a good look at the cattle, and the auctioneer practicing his trade. Then, once you finally forced your way in, you wouldn’t have found any room to hang your coat because of all the people in the entryway taking care of all the money that was changing hands. Though you had come for worship, by the time you finally made it into the sanctuary, worship would be the last thing on your mind. Though you would normally be able to sit down and concentrate on the service, even with all the doors and windows closed, you’d still be continuously distracted by all of the racket outside.

This is what Jesus found when he came to the temple on this day! Gathered in the outer court of the temple, the court of the Gentiles, were all sorts of merchants selling all sorts of different animals. There were cows and bulls, sheep and goats, pigeons and doves all crowded together and doubtless making one huge racket. But on top of that, it wasn’t that these merchants were doing business right outside the temple, rather, they had all their livestock in the outer courts of the temple complex. The gentiles who had come to the temple to worship would have found that their worship space was completely taken up by all the animals and the merchants. The Jews who were going in to worship would have had to pass by this confusion on their way to the inner court, and even though they would be separated from the noise by a wall they would still be disturbed by all the commotion on the other side. That is why Jesus took the action he did, take a look again at verse 15: “[Jesus] made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, ‘Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father's house into a market!’” (John 2:15-16, NIV 84).

Now, there are some that say that in doing this, Jesus sinned. There are some that say that Jesus was wrong for what he did. But let me ask you, how would you react if you came to church this morning and there were a livestock sale going on right outside these walls? Would you have come in, sat down and try to ignore it? Would you have come in, sat down, and complained about it? Or would you have done everything you could to drive them away before you even came into church today? Well if it were me, I would have done everything I could to get rid of them before I even came into church. I would yell and scream and holler until I had finally gotten rid of them all. But would I be wrong? Absolutely not! For this place is a place of worship. It is a place of prayer and meditation. It is not a place for the buying and selling of cattle. The same was true in Jesus’ day. He didn’t sin in driving people out of the temple; rather, he was returning the temple to the purpose God had intended it for. In fact, when Jesus cleared the temple, there wasn’t anyone who said he had done wrong. Everyone who was present knew that Jesus had done what was right. Even the Jews who opposed Jesus never once said that he shouldn’t have done this. Rather, they came to him asking for a sign to prove that he had the authority to do this. They knew that Jesus had done what was right, however, they wanted to justify themselves. They wanted to put themselves back on top and expose Jesus as a false prophet, that is why John tells us in verse 18: “Then the Jews demanded of him, ‘What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?’” (John 2:18)

That’s how it was when Jesus took action to cleanse the temple, the Jewish leaders refused to believe him even though he had already demonstrated his authority to do such a thing by all that he said and did. For when the dust finally settled and the Jews came running to Jesus demanding that he perform a sign to prove his authority, what they saw should have stopped them in their tracks. For there, standing before them was not some ordinary man, but the righteous Son of God. There, standing before them was the man who had just forced them to remove their merchandise from his Father’s house. There, before them, was the Son of God standing in the outer courts of his own temple, and the Jews still had the gall to demand that he prove his authority to do what he had just done.

Can you imagine the look of righteous indignation that must have crossed Jesus’ face? Can you imagine Jesus turning to look at them and spreading his arms out as if to say, “Look around! Here is your sign!” For the truth is, the simple fact that Jesus, the Son of God, was standing in his own temple was demonstration enough to show he had the authority to do this. But if that were not enough for those Jews, by his actions, Jesus powerfully brought to fulfillment two different prophecies form the Scriptures. The one, which the disciples remembered, was spoken by the Psalmist David who said in Psalm 69, “I am a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my own mother's sons; for zeal for your house consumes me, and the insults of those who insult you fall on me.” (Psalm 69:8-9). The other was recorded by the Prophet Malachi, who wrote: “‘See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,’ says the LORD Almighty.” (Malachi 3:1)

But this wasn’t enough for the religious leadership! They wanted to see a miraculous sign done by Jesus in which he would thus prove his authority to them. However, because he knew the unbelief in their hearts, Jesus gave them a sign they would have to wait for. He said in verse 19: “‘Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.’ The Jews replied, ‘It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?’ But the temple he had spoken of was his body.” (John 2:19-21)

When Jesus gave this sign to the Jews, they did not understand what he was talking about. Because of their unbelief, and their absolute refusal to believe that Jesus was the Messiah who came into the world, they missed out on the salvation the Lord had planned for them. But even though the Jews didn’t understand what Jesus was saying, we do, and it is through these words that Jesus brings us comfort and assurance as his believers. For just as Jesus’ disciples recalled these words and believed after Jesus was raised from the dead, we also believe. Even though we never witnessed Jesus’ crucifixion, his death or even his resurrection, we believe from the Scriptures that these things did indeed take place. Even though we have never seen Jesus our Savior in the way the disciples did, we believe that he came to earth as the Son of God just as the Bible tells us he did. Even though we have never heard Jesus speak, we have his words before us today, and these are the words that assure us that we too have the forgiveness of sins. For with these words that Jesus spoke, he was indicating already the kind of death he was going to die. He was, in effect, telling the Jews that when they destroyed his body by nailing it to the cross, three days later he would take back his life. Three days later he would rise from the dead as the Savior of the world.

This is the action Jesus preformed, which gives us comfort and assurance as believers. For we know the sins we have committed. We know how we have failed the Lord. We know how we have allowed ourselves to be distracted form God’s Word on a regular basis. We all know how easily we can convince ourselves that we are too busy or too tired to come to church. We know how easy it is to pick up the Bible and start reading one day, and then leave it unread for the next two or three weeks. We know how easy it is to start the day intent on following the Lord’s will and living in a way that is pleasing to him, but at the end of the day we can’t even count how many different ways we failed him. This is why Jesus’ actions today are so assuring to us. For through his actions of clearing out the temple and demonstrating his authority to the Jews, we are assured that Jesus is the one who has done everything right. We are assured that Jesus is the one who fulfilled all of God’s law. We are assured that when Jesus went to the cross to die and rise again, he took away our sins. This is our comfort and assurance as believers that Jesus through his actions has freed us from our sins and given us his salvation.

What a comfort to know that Jesus was a man of action. He was always moving, always preaching, always proclaiming, always comforting. Jesus was always ready to act in whatever way was necessary to bring the Word of God to his people so that they might come to faith in him as their Savior. Though his actions weren’t always popular among the religious leaders, Jesus did what needed to be done to call sinners to repentance. He was a man of action who demonstrated his authority as the Son of God, our Savior, as he cleared the Temple on that day before the Passover.

Amen.

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

We Are Saved by God's Grace! (Ephesians 2:4-10)

2011-03-20T09:00:00.000-05:00

March 20, 2011

Dear friends in Christ.

If I were to ask you the question, “What is the most beautiful portion of the Scriptures?” What would your answer be? Would your answer be a simple, “Job 19:23-27” where Job confesses his knowledge that his redeemer is living and that one day Job himself will see him standing upon the earth. Would your answer be, “Psalm 23” or, “Psalm 46” where the Psalmists speak of the Lord as our Shepherd and the Lord as our Fortress? Would your answer be, “Isaiah 53” Where Isaiah prophecies about the coming Christ? Would your answer be, “Luke 2” where Luke speaks about all the events surrounding Jesus birth? Or would your answer be, “Ephesians 2:8-9” because there is such great comfort in knowing that our salvation comes by God’s grace and it is not based on anything that we have done! Well, if you’re like most people, these words from Ephesians 2:8-9 are very familiar to you. Even if they are not your favorite section of Scripture, they are words that we have learned since we were little children. They are words that we learned over and over in Sunday school, Confirmation class, and they are words that regularly come up in Bible Study. In fact, these very words that Paul includes in our text, are words that assure us beyond that shadow of a doubt that we have been saved, not by anything we have done! Rather, we have been saved by God’s great love for us. We have been saved by God’s grace!

We have been saved by God’s grace! Now if you really sit down to think about it, that is a very powerful statement! That is a very powerful statement, because by telling us that we have been saved by God’s Grace, the Apostle Paul is assuring us that our salvation did not come by anything we had done! Rather, it was motivated out of God’s great love for us, as he tells us in verses 4 and 5 of our text. Paul writes, “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.” (Ephesians 2:4-5)

Even though we didn’t deserve it, our God saved us by his grace. Even though we were at one time dead in our transgressions and sins, our God made us alive in Jesus Christ, our Savior. Even though we were nothing but his enemies who wanted nothing to do with him, our God loved us so much that he willingly sent his son to be our Savior. Even though we were once nothing more than a lifeless corpse lying on a mortician’s table, unable to do anything for us because we were thoroughly and completely dead, the Lord God loved us and cared for us. The Lord God in his mercy treated us in a way that we did not deserve. The Lord our God looked upon us poor, reached, dead, damned and detestable sinners, and he showered us with his grace when he sent his Son to make us alive. Though we were dead in our trespasses and sins and couldn’t reach out to our God, couldn’t turn to him, cry out to him for help, or even turn our eyes toward him because we were powerless, in his great grace, the Lord Jesus came to us and made us alive in him by creating faith in our hearts. Through his great grace, the Lord Jesus, our Savior, breathed into our nostrils the breath of life, and through faith in him we became his living children!

But that isn’t the end of the story! For Jesus didn’t simply make us alive in himself and then leave us trapped in the tomb of our own sinfulness! Rather, in his great grace, the Lord our God raised us up with Christ, as Paul tells us, “God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:6-7)

What an incredible picture Paul is painting for us! For here, with these very words, Paul is assuring us that in the very same way that Jesus was raised from the dead through the glory of God the Father, we too have been raised from the death of our sins to life in Christ Jesus our Savior. In the same way that Jesus escaped the prison of the tomb that sought to keep him in, so also Jesus released us from the tomb of our sins when he raised us up with him through his grace. In the same way that the angel rolled the stone away so that all the world would see that Jesus was no longer dead, but risen, so also the Lord has rolled the stone of our transgressions away from the tomb of our iniquities so that all the world might see that by his grace, we have been raised from the death of our sins to life with Christ!

Now, just as Jesus has been seated at the right hand of God in the heavenly realms, our God has seated us there with him! Not that we are actually and physically sitting with our God in heaven or that our faith has projected us to that place as if we were holograms, rather this is simply another assurance for us as forgiven children of God’s grace, that because we have been raised with Christ, heaven is our home. Because we have been raised with Christ, heaven is the place where we will spend eternity. In fact, we can go so far as to say that we have crossed over from death to life because of God’s grace! Though here on earth we will always be plagued with sin and tempted to do evil, because we have been saved by God’s grace, we have already been declared not guilty. We have already been declared citizens of heaven, and we are simply waiting until the day when the Lord Jesus himself will open the door of death so that at his invitation, we can step from this life into our eternal life with him!

What a comfort! What a great comfort it is to know that we have been saved by his grace! What a great comfort it is to know that Christ Jesus, our Savior, has raised us from the death of sin to life by his side, here on earth and forever in heaven! What a comfort it is to know that our salvation has absolutely nothing to do with us, but everything to do with God and his grace! Just as Paul tells us in the last few verses of our text: “it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Now, let me illustrate that point with a brief video.

Just like this simple little video showed, we are saved by grace through faith. We are not saved by anything we have done. Rather, we are saved only by the works and the merits of Jesus Christ our Savior. Now that we know that we have been saved by Grace through faith, it is our faith that moves us to go out and show our faith in everything we say and do. Just as Paul tells us, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:8-10)

What better way could there be for us to show our love for God than the way that Paul just suggested! What greater honor could our God have given us than the honor he gave us in creating us to do the very good works which he himself prepared in advance! What greater thanksgiving could we show the Lord our God who saved us by his grace than the thanks we show in serving the Lord with our lives! For it is true! The Lord our God created us to do good works! Not good works designed to earn us eternal life, as some people believe and teach! But good works that flow out of hearts that are thankful to their God for saving them by his grace.

These are the works that you and I do so naturally as an expression of our faith and our thankfulness to the Lord our God who saved us. These are works that you and I do so naturally that more often than not we don’t even realize we are doing them. These are the works that spring out of our eagerness to serve the Lord with our lives, our willingness to support his work with our gifts, offerings, and our prayers. These are works that spring out of our excitement to tell others about the Lord who has saved us! For now that we have been saved by God’s grace, our love for our God moves us to serve him as we serve each other. In fact, these are the very things that I see in our congregation on a regular basis. I see it in the way we give our gifts and offerings to the Lord. I see it in the way that so many of you give gifts to each other, spend time with each other, volunteer and help in the church, and simply pray for each other. These are but a few of the ways that we accomplish those good works which God prepared for to do to show our great love to him, and there are many, many more.

So then, let us live our lives out of love for our God. Let us be moved by the Lord God who so graciously saved us, and show our love for him in all that we do. Let us go out those doors today and take every opportunity we have to show our love for the Lord by the things we do for him. Not motivated by a need to procure our salvation! Rather moved by our God’s love for us that in his great grace he made us alive in Christ, raised us up, with him, and created us in Christ Jesus to do good works out of love for him.

Though this may not have been one of your favorite sections of Scripture when we began our sermon, has its status changed? I wouldn’t be surprised if it had! After all, what greater news could there be than the news that we have been saved by the Grace of the Lord our God!

Amen.

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

Learn from Jesus' Lessons on Avoiding Temptation (Matthew 4:1-11)

2011-03-13T09:00:00.000-05:00

March 13, 2011

Dear friends in Christ.

I think it was about 10 years ago when I first heard of the Do It Yourself, the DIY, Network. I remember being intrigued by the different levels of projects that they displayed, and being especially impressed at how they laid it all out so simply for people so that they could do it themselves. Since then, DIY has grown. All you have to do is type DIY into an Internet search engine and you will have millions of results in about 1/10 of a second. So if you need to know how to do something, with just a few key strokes you can find instructions on any topic under the sun. Well, in some ways, you could say that our lesson today is a bit of a DIY project, because as we study this section of Matthew, we will see Jesus showing us exactly how to resist and avoid temptation. Now, understand, this is not Jesus teaching us how to be holy, perfect, or sinless! Rather, this is Jesus teaching us by his word and his example how to live in our faith and avoid temptation. In fact, I invite you to open your Bibles to our Gospel lesson, to Matthew 4:1-11 and we’ll take a look at the lessons that Jesus is teaching us on avoiding temptation.

Now, as you are turning to Matthew 4, let me remind you of the events that took place just prior to our lesson today. John the Baptist had been preaching and preparing the people for the coming of Jesus. Then suddenly, without warning, Jesus had appeared at the Jordan requesting Baptism by John. After Jesus was baptized God the Father spoke from heaven and the Holy Spirit descended on him as a dove, and immediately Jesus went out into the wilderness. This is where we begin with Jesus’ lessons on avoiding temptation. We begin with lesson 1: Listen to the Lord your God. Take a look at what Matthew records, “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.’ Jesus answered, ‘It is written: “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” ’ ” (Matthew 4:1-4). It was just after Jesus’ baptism when this event took place. For after the Holy Spirit had descended on Jesus he led Jesus out into the wilderness where he was to be tempted by the devil. As part of his preparation, Jesus had been fasting for the past forty days and forty nights. He had not eaten anything for over a month! He was undoubtedly being wracked by intense pangs of hunger, and was surely growing weak from lack of food. This was the opportune time the devil wanted, and this was when satan came to Jesus to tempt him!

But did you notice what satan did as I read the text for you? He appealed his temptation to Jesus’ hunger, but he disguised the temptation with religious talk. For he came to Jesus saying, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” With these words, satan was playing to Jesus’ human nature trying to get him to doubt that he truly was the Son of God, and trying to get him to doubt that the Lord God would take care of him. He was in effect trying to suggest that it was beneath the Son of God to go without food! After all, if Jesus really was the Son of God, he would have had the power to create food out of nothing and eat rather than wander around this wilderness starving himself simply because his Father in heaven had commanded him to. Basically, with this temptation, satan was trying to play to what he perceived as a weakness for Jesus.

This is the same thing that the devil does to us. When he tempts us, he always plays to our weaknesses. He focuses on our pet sins, entices us, and makes us want to do something we know is absolutely wrong. Even when we are wise to his temptations, and feel that we are ready to contend with him, he disguises his real temptation, as he did with Jesus, and leads us right around the defenses we’ve set up until we are wallowing around in the pool of the sins which we had hoped to avoid. This is when we need to learn a lesson from Jesus’ examples and listen to the Lord our God as he did. For on our own, we will constantly fall into temptation, but when we follow Jesus’ examples, he will help us stand against our enemy. This is what Jesus did when he was tempted. He didn’t use his almighty power to send satan packing, rather, he used God’s Word. For when satan tempted him to turn those stones in to bread, Jesus simply replied: “Man does not live on bread alone, but every word that comes out of the mouth of God.” In effect, Jesus was saying, “I will listen to what the Lord my God commands, and not you.”

This is the example that Jesus gives for us to follow. For when we are tempted, we have the Word of our Lord to which we also can listen. We have his Word recorded for us in the pages of Scripture, and when we are daily reading our Bibles, we are that much better prepared to face temptations. For when satan comes to tempt us, we can listen to the Lord by simply reminding ourselves of what he tells us in his word. When satan tempts us to steal, we can remember that the Lord says no. When satan tempts us to lie, we can remember how the Lord tells us to let our yes be yes and our no, no. When satan tempts us to do anything, we can listen to the soft, still voice of the Lord our God as he speaks to us through the Bible. Then, as we listen to the Lord our God, we can avoid the temptation into which satan is trying to lead us. Though there will still be times when satan’s temptations get the better of us and we fall into sin, when we turn to the Lord in repentance he will forgive us. When he forgives us he also equips us to listen to him all the more carefully, as we use his word to avoid temptation.

However, the problem is that this is never a onetime battle! The problem is that satan and all his evil angels are crafty individual who are always looking for a way around our line of defense, and just as the Germans marched right around France’s Maginot Line during World War II, satan’s forces quickly find a way to flank our fortifications. This is exactly what satan was trying to do to Jesus after his first temptation failed, and it is this second temptation that leads us into Jesus’ second lesson on avoiding temptation. Let’s take a look at what Matthew tells us, “Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. ‘If you are the Son of God,’ he said, ‘throw yourself down. For it is written:’ “He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” ’ Jesus answered him, ‘It is also written: `Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” (Matthew 4:5-7).

As satan lead Jesus to the highest point of the temple he tried to lead Jesus in to a false trust in God. Though Jesus had brilliantly proven he was the Son of God by listening to what the Lord said and trusting that the Lord would sustain him, satan was now trying to maneuver around that defense by getting Jesus to prove his trust. Quite simply, satan was playing on Jesus’ trust in the Lord and trying to use that trust against him. But Jesus’ trust never once wavered, because Jesus, the Author of the Scriptures recognized that satan was setting one Scripture against another. Yet, even as satan did this, Jesus demonstrated his trust in the Lord by placing one Scripture along side of another when he answered satan for Jesus basically responded, “It is true that the Lord has charged his angels to take care of his children, but it is also written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test!’ ”

Well, just as satan used this ploy against Jesus in the wilderness, so he also uses it against us on a regular basis. In fact, it is because we have placed our faith squarely in the Lord that satan constantly seeks to make us doubt that decision, by seeking to make us doubt the Lord himself. Just think about how satan tries to chip away at our trust when bad things happen in our lives. He subtly begins to plant doubts in our minds about the goodness of our God. He makes us wonder, “Why is this happening to me?” “What have I done to deserve this?” He even goes so far as to remind us that the Bible assures us that God loves his children, but we must not be his children if all these things are happening to us. He is right there telling us that the Bible says that God watches over those he loves, but he must not love us, if we are going through such frustrating hardships. And in doing this, satan is seeking to drive a wedge between us and our Lord. He is seeking to weaken our trust in the Lord our God. He is hoping to make us doubt the Lord’s love and give into the temptation to trust ourselves and turn away from the Lord. Though there are times when he succeeds in weakening or even breaking our trust in the Lord, when we turn to the Lord in repentance, it is the Lord who forgives us. It is the Lord who renews us. It is the Lord who reestablishes our trust in him and gives us the ability to trust him all the more. In fact, it is the Lord who assures us that when we completely place our trust in him, satan is not able to tempt us, because the Lord is on our side and fighting for us.

But once again, the problem still remains! Satan does not give up easily. He will continue to tempt us and tempt us as long as he is able. That is why Jesus’ third lesson to us is this: resist the devil and he will flee from you. When satan came tempting Jesus, this is exactly what Jesus did. Just as Matthew tells us in our lesson: “Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ‘All this I will give you,’ he said, ‘if you will bow down and worship me.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Away from me, Satan! For it is written: “Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.” ’ Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.” (Matthew 4:8-11).

When it came to the last temptation of the day, satan pulled out all the stops. He took Jesus to a high mountain, and because the Lord allowed him to, he showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and all their splendor. Then he simply said, “All this can be yours if you simply bow down to me and worship me.”

With these words, satan was trying to tempt Jesus with an easy way out. He was trying to tempt Jesus with an easy way out because he knew why Jesus had come to the earth. He knew that Jesus had come to the earth to suffer and to die for the sins of the world. He knew the horrors that Jesus would endure as he hung on that cross suffering under the weight of all those sins. He knew that in his human nature this would be something that Jesus just wasn’t looking forward to, and with this temptation, he was trying to get Jesus to take the easy way out. In effect he was saying, “Why go through all that pain and agony and suffering to attain the glory which the Lord has promised, when I can give you all that glory right now if you just bow down and worship me.” But what was Jesus’ response? “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’ Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.” (Matthew 4:10-11).

How often doesn’t satan do the same thing to us? How often doesn’t he tempt us to take the easy way out? How often doesn’t he whisper in our ears, “You know it’s so hard to get up in the morning to get to church on time, maybe you should just sleep in today.” How often doesn’t he try to convince us, “You know, God will understand if you miss church from time to time. He understands that you are busy and that you might want to go to church but your job has to take precedence over worship.” How many times doesn’t he try to convince you that you get more out of worshiping God in nature than you do from sitting in church and listening to the Pastor drone on and on about nothing. How often doesn’t it happen that he succeeds and we take the easy way out? Though there are times when we give in and take the easy way out, when we turn to the Lord in repentance, it is the Lord who forgives us. It is the Lord who builds us up, and it is the Lord who reminds us that when we resist the devil, he will flee from us. Sometimes it may happen with a single rebuke to our enemy. Other times we may have to stand our ground five, six, seven, or even more times as satan comes at us with stronger and stronger temptations. Yet, as Jesus taught us today, we know that when we resist satan, by the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, satan must flee from us

Yet, while these lessons should be aptly learned, there is one final lesson we need to keep in mind. In fact, it is the very lesson that has been intertwined with the three we have learned here today and that lesson is simply this: when we do fall into temptation, turn to the Lord in repentance for forgiveness. Though by listening to the Lord our God, by placing our trust squarely in him, and by resisting the devil, we will avoid temptation, we are not perfect like our Savior, and we do fall into temptation. But when we do, we don’t need to beat ourselves up over it, because Jesus Christ our Savior, who endured all of satan’s temptations and never once fell into sin, is the one who forgives us. This is our comfort when we do fall Jesus Christ has forgiven all of our sins, and we can rely on his salvation.

What greater lessons could Jesus be teaching us today than these lesson on avoiding temptation. For it is through his example we have learned that through faith we are able to avoid satan’s temptation by listening to the Lord our God, by placing our faith squarely in the Lord, and resisting the devil until he flees from us. But best of all the lessons is the assurance that when we do fall into temptation all is not lost. Rather we can always turn to the Lord our God in repentance and he will forgive us. he will forgive us, strengthen us, and give us yet one more opportunity to learn from his lesson on avoiding temptation.

Amen.

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

One of the Mob; a Follower (Matthew 27:20-23)

2011-03-09T19:00:00.001-06:00

Mach 9, 2011
Ash Wednesday
Preached from the perspective of one of the Mob on Good Friday

Dear friends in Christ.

Were you there when they crucified the Lord? Where you there when they nailed him to the tree? Were you there when they crowned his head with thorns? Were you there when the crowds cried, “Crucify”? Though I know that none of you were there on that dark day so many years ago, I can tell you that I was. I was there as one of that mob. I was there as a follower. I was there, and I can remember the details of that day as clearly as if it happened yesterday. I remember all the sights and sounds from that day. I remember how the sun seemed almost tentative as it warmed my skin that morning and how the breeze almost seemed to hold its breath when Pilate brought Jesus out before the crowd.

Funny thing, isn’t it, I can remember all those details. I can remember exactly how Jesus looked; bruised and beaten with blood trickling down his face from the crown of thorns pressed into his head. Yet I simply, for the life of me, cannot remember why I was part of the crowd in Pilate’s courtyard that morning. I can’t remember if I had gone there out of curiosity to find out why Jesus was on trial or if I had simply been swept along to the palace by the mentality of the mob gathering there. After all, I wasn’t a follower of Jesus at that time. Oh, I had heard him preach. I had seen some miracles, I liked what he had to say, but the Holy Spirit had not yet created faith in my heart to trust in Jesus as my Savior. Though I now know exactly why I was there as part of that mob that day, at the time when Jesus was on trial, I was merely following the crowd.

Yes, I do remember exactly what Jesus looked like when Pilate brought him out before the crowd. I remember Pilate’s booming voice as he asked the people, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” (Matthew 27:17) And I remember seeing the Chief Priests and the Elders circulating through the crowd persuading the people to ask for Barabbas and to have Christ crucified. (Matthew 27:20). I probably wouldn’t have noticed it except for the Elder who came up to me, put his hand on my shoulder, looked me straight in the eye, and told me that if I considered myself and Israelite, I would demand Jesus’ execution and Barabbas’ release. It was in that moment that time seemed to stand still as a saw the Chief Priests and Elders, essentially the entire Sanhedrin—the ruling body of the Israelites—milling through the crowd; turning the people against Jesus. I wondered what I should do! Should I stay and ask for Jesus? Should I do what my leadership told me? Should I just leave and go somewhere else? I didn’t know what I should do. I was frozen with indecision as I heard Pilate ask, “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” (Matthew 27:21)

It took a few seconds before my mouth started working again. I heard some shouting for Jesus, but I heard others shouting for Barabbas. Then I heard more and more people taking up the cry for Barabbas, and before I knew it, I joined right in with all the people chanting Barabbas’ name and drowning out any other voices crying out for Jesus. When Pilate asked, “Why? What crime has he committed?” (Matthew 27:23) I didn’t even hesitate. I was right there shouting with the crowds, “Crucify!” “Crucify!” I was fully part of that mob now. I was following every direction that the collective mentality of crowd was giving me. My eyes were gleaming with evil intentions. My stomach hungered for the deed to be done. My blood was boiling with lust to see Christ’s blood spilled on the ground. Every fiber of my being demanded to see him nailed to the cross and crucified. Every part of me needed to see it happen, because I was caught up in the frenzy of the mob that day. I was following the crowd demanding that the governor give the order, so that we could go out to the place of the skull and see it come to pass.

Now, I’m not proud of what I did by any means. But, before you judge me too harshly, let me ask you a question. How often haven’t you done the same thing? How of then haven’t you been part of the mob; a follower of the crowd when it came to sins? How often haven’t your own temptations led you to a mob mentality as you quickly rushed in to your favorite and most comfortable sins with an ever increasing hunger for more? How often haven’t you simply followed the bread crumbs of temptation in to the courtyard of the palace of sin, joining with other sinners as a mob of people trying to justify their actions to each other by comparing their sins to other worse sinners in the world? How often hasn’t our blood boiled with lust as the TV screen, movie screen, or computer screen flickered before us? How often haven’t our mouths cried out with curses upon others, oaths sworn to get even with the person who wronged us in some way, foul language, lies, hatred, gossip, slander, or other sins? How often haven’t you acted just as I did in that crowd, following the mob mentality of sin that moves us to rush forward into more and more greater sins as we hurtle ever forward moving closer and close to the cliffs of damnation?

That’s where I was! I was hurtling through those gates, moving as one; following the mob of people as they led me behind Jesus, out toward the place of the skull. I was there, standing, watching, desiring, and needing to see the nails driven through his hands and feet! I was there needing to see him raised up, dropped into place, and left to die! I was there as part of that mob, following every move until I heard something that began to separate me from them. As they were crucifying him, I heard him pray, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:32–34) In that moment my heart seemed to stop beating as I came back to my senses. When I heard the exchange between one of the thieves and Jesus, and heard Jesus promising the thief that he would be in paradise with Jesus today (Luke 23:39-43) I began wondering if this Jesus might be the Messiah for whom I had been waiting. When the sun stopped shining and darkness covered the land for three hours, I knew there was something special about this Jesus. When I heard him cry out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46) I was immediately reminded of what David had written about the Savior in Psalm 22. Then, when I saw how he died, how he declared everything to be finished, how he committed himself to his heavenly Father, and how the earth shook and the rocks split, I knew that this Jesus had to be the Son of God, the Messiah for whom I had waited, my God who saved me from my sins. Now, I told you that when I was part of that crowd in Pilate’s courtyard I wasn’t a believer. However, I can tell you that if I had not followed the crowd out to Calvary that I may not have had the opportunity to come to faith in Jesus as my Savior. Though I am not proud of my part in the mob, I know I am forgiven. I know that I am forgiven through my Savior who poured out his blood upon the mercy seat of God to atone for my sins.

The same thing is true for each and every one of you who have gathered here today! Though you may have given into a mob mentality when it came to your sins, your sins have been forgiven! Though there have been many occasions that you have rushed head long into your favorite and most comfortable sins, with an ever increasing hunger for more, your Savior’s blood has not only washed you clean, but gives you the desire to turn your back on those sins. Though you may have felt your blood boiling with lust, or your mouth on fire with vicious and sinful words, even these sins have been taken away! They were all nailed to the cross with Jesus your Savior. They were atoned for by his death. They were erased from your record by his blood poured out for you. But best of all, through the faith created in your hearts by the Holy Spirit, you all have been separated from the mob barreling its way toward the cliffs of damnation. Instead you are traveling with the group of believers, following after your Lord and Savior who redeemed you by his blood, made you his own, and has given you the guarantee of eternal life in heaven through faith in the one who poured out his blood for you.

Though none of you were actually there when the crucified our Lord, each time we review the events of that day, our Savior’s love is brought home to us all the more clearly. I pray that through my witness today that you have grown in your faith and your assurance that you have been forgiven by the Blood of the Lamb. I pray that you won’t find yourselves as I did, part of a mob; a follower. Rather, I pray that you will continually be found as a follower of Christ, your living, loving, and forgiven Savior. In his Name.

Amen.

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

The Lord Has Blessed You! (Numbers 6:22-27)

2011-03-06T09:00:00.000-06:00

March 6, 2011

Dear friends in Christ.

How have you been enjoying exploring God’s Islands of Adventure? Personally I have loved this Bible reading challenge, because so many of you are reading and studying the Scriptures for yourselves on a regular basis. Though only a few people have added their names to ships that have been anchored on the different Islands, so many of our members have told me that they are reading on a regular basis. More and more people are coming to Bible Study to study the Word of God together and discuss different things they have learned, and I have enjoyed preaching on different lessons from the Chronological schedule of readings that so many of you are following. I have enjoyed it, because I have seen just how the Lord has begun blessing us as a congregation through this Bible Reading challenge, for that is what the Lord does as we grow in our faith through his Word.

In fact, this is the very thing we want to study as we take a look at the Aaronic blessing recorded for us in Numbers 6:22-27. I invite you then to open your Bibles to our first lesson, to Numbers 6:22-27. Now, as you are turning to Numbers six, let me give you a little bit of background. The Nation of Israel had been camped at Mt. Sinai for roughly 10 months now, and during their time there they had seen amazing things, been unfaithful to the Lord, forgiven by the Lord, blessed by the Lord and accomplished great things for the Lord. They had seen the Lord appear to them in a fiery cloud on the top of Mt. Sinai. They watched as Moses climb the mountain and disappeared into that cloud of fire and smoke. They grew impatient for Moses return and persuaded Aaron to fashion them a new god, a golden calf. They felt the sword of the Lord’s judgment when Moses returned from the Mountain. They repented and were forgiven. They watched as Moses again returned to the top of the Mountain for another 40 days. But this time, when he came down, there was no golden calf. Rather, whIen Moses returned to them with his radiant face glowing with the glory of the Lord, they set to work constructing the Tabernacle. Now, as the Lord speaks to Moses in our lesson for today, the Lord bestows upon his people, both Israel and all of his followers, what we have come to know as the Aaronic Blessing: Take a look at verse 22: “The LORD said to Moses, 23 “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: 24 “ ‘ “The LORD bless you and keep you; 25 the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; 26 the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.” ’ 27 “So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.” (Numbers 6:22–27, NIV84)

In such a simple way, with such well chosen words, the Lord our God bestows the gift of his blessing upon his people Israel; both physical descendants of Israel as well as spiritual Israel, people like you and me who are now Israelites through faith in Jesus. What a comfort it is to know that whenever we hear these words of blessing spoken to us, it is as if the Lord himself is speaking to us, placing his name on us and blessing us! Though it could be said that this is a blessing that we take for granted because we hear these words spoken so often, they are still filled with great comfort. Though it could be said that we have emptied the word bless of all its meaning by constantly using it after people sneeze, when we take a close look at the word bless, we find that it is an amazing word filled with layers if meaning.

For example, if you turn to the Dictionary, you will find that the word bless means, “to invoke divine favor upon someone”; to convey well-being or prosperity on someone”; or “to endow, as with a talent.” This pretty much describes how we view blessings in our lives, yet, if you dig a little deeper and take a look at the Hebrew word in our passage, you would find that the Hebrew word for bless is barek or barak depending upon how you pronounce it. Hearing that, many of you are probably thinking that our President’s name must mean “bless”. Interestingly that is exactly what it means, in Swahili, which I understand is the language either his Father or Grandfather spoke. However, based on what I could find, when it comes to Hebrew it seems that his name means lightning. This is all based on the length of the vowels and which Hebrew letter is used for the K sound. Anyway, as I was saying, the Hebrew word for bless is barek or barak, depending on how you pronounce it and it is a word that carries the idea of conveying favor upon a person. But it also carries the idea of kneeling down on the knees, either with a straight back, or bent over with your face toward the ground as in a position of worship or humility. This paints the picture that the person who is blessing you is greater than you and you are showing appreciation to that person by humbly accepting his gift of favor upon you. But the thing that is even more interesting is what you discover when you take a look at the etymology or the Word History of our English word bless. When we do this we find that it is a word that comes to us from the Old English which conveys the meaning of wishing happiness upon someone or consecrating someone. If we look back even farther we discover that the word can be shown to derive from a Germanic root that literally means “to consecrate with blood”

Though the Hebrew word itself may not convey the idea of consecrating with blood, when we take a look at how the Lord our God has blessed us, we quickly realize that it is the Lord who blesses us with his favor through the forgiveness of sins that Jesus won for us by washing us clean with his blood and setting us apart as his brothers and sisters, children of God through faith in him. Thus, when we hear those words, “The Lord bless you and keep you” we are assured that it is the Lord our God who is not only continually bestowing his favor upon us, but he is also the one who is keeping us, and guarding us because we belong to him. Just as he assures us in Psalm 91:11, “He will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;” (Psalm 91:11, NIV84)

How often hasn’t the Lord done this for us? How often hasn’t the Lord blessed us when we least expected it or simply needed it the most? How often hasn’t the Lord provided for you exactly what you needed in the very moment you needed? How often hasn’t the Lord protected you from harm? How many situations can you point to in your life that you can see the Lord’s protecting hand keeping you safe from trouble and danger? This is how the Lord our God has blessed us in the past and will continue to bless us into the future as he promises when we hear those beautiful words, “ ‘ “The LORD bless you and keep you; 25 the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;” (Numbers 6:24–25, NIV84)

What is the first thing that you do when you walk into a dark room? You flip the light switch and turn on the lights so that you can see where you are, where you are going, and what is in the room! This is something that is so ingrained into our nature that we do it without thinking about it. We often do it when we walk into a room on a sunny day. We even do it when the power is out. Though we know the power is out, we naturally reach out and flip the switch to illuminate the room, only to stand there, befuddled for a moment or two, until we realize that the power is out and there can be no light. The Lord our God works in much the same way, each time we hear that the Lord is causing his face to shine upon us, we understand just how greatly he is blessing us. For throughout the Scriptures, whenever the Lord hides his face from his people they face suffering, hardship, destruction and even death. However, when he shines his face upon them he graciously blesses them with his loving presence.

The Lord has done the same thing for us! In fact, each week as we hear this blessing, we are assured that the Lord our God will continue to cause his face to shine upon us and be gracious to us! Each week we are reminded of how the Lord our God did that for us through his Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior. For Jesus, our Savior is the shining light of the Lord’s grace to us. As the Scriptures tell us, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being,” (Hebrews 1:3, NIV84) Jesus is the one who came to us, revealing his gracious love for us in all that he did. Though we had done nothing to earn it or deserve it, Jesus willingly carried the concrete slabs of our sins to the execution chamber of the cross. As the crowds gathered expecting to hear his final confession or pleas that he was innocent, they only heard him whisper, Father forgive them. As they taunted him, expecting him to reply, they heard only silence. Though they expected only to hear the strangled gurgle of suffocation when Jesus died, they heard him cry out in a loud voice, they felt the earth quake, and the rocks split. This is how the Lord our God has blessed us, how he has caused his face to shine upon us and been gracious to us! Though we had been lost in the dark midnight of sin, the dawn of the Lord’s grace rose upon us and the Light of Christ our Savior was shown in our hearts. Though we had done nothing to deserve it, it was Christ our Savior who: “redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature, purchased and won me from all sins, from death and from the power of the devil, not with gold or silver, but with his holy precious blood, and innocent suffering and death. All this he did that I should be his own and live under him in his kingdom and serve him with everlasting righteousness, innocence and blessedness, just as he has risen from death, and lives and rules eternally. This is most certainly true.”

How greatly the Lord has blessed us that he should make his face shine upon us and be gracious to us, or that he should even turn his face toward us and give us peace. (Numbers 6:25–26, NIV84) Yet this is exactly what the Lord our God has done for us. He has blessed us not only by causing his face to shine on us but by turning his face toward us and giving us peace. Now I realize that the final clause of the Lord’s blessing sounds very similar to the second clause. Interestingly the same Hebrew word is used in both verses when speaking of the Lord’s face. Yet while verse 25 speaks about the Lord causing the light of his face to shine upon us, verse 26 speaks about the Lord fixing his loving gaze upon us; not only fixing his loving gaze upon us, but giving us his undivided attention. In such a simple way the Lord is assuring us that he is intensely interested in each and every one of us, and he will give us the individualized attention that each and every one of us needs!

What a comfort it is to know that the Lord our God cherishes us so much that he blesses us with his peace, which is the peace that goes beyond all understanding, the peace of the forgiveness of sins! This is the uplifting peace that the Holy Spirit pours out in our hearts as he assures us of the forgiveness of sins won for us by our dear Savior Jesus. This is the peace that builds us up when we are weak and sustains us when we cannot stand. This is the peace through which the Lord our God assures us that we have been completely forgiven of all our sins, that our slates have not only been washed clean but have been completely replaced without any chalk to keep a record of wrong, and that continues to assure us that we are, once again, in a right relationship with the Lord our God.

What greater blessing could there be than this blessing that the Lord our God bestows upon us each and every week! For it is through this very blessing that the Lord our God places his Name on us and blesses us as his people. It is through this blessing we are assured that he is watching over us, guarding us, and protecting us. It is through this blessing that we are assured of his peace and that we are in a right relationship with him through the forgiveness of sins. Though there are times when we take this blessing for granted, as you hear it one more time, let it wash over your heart and mind as you hear it one more time: “ ‘ “The LORD bless you and keep you; 25 the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; 26 the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.” ’ (Numbers 6:24–26, NIV84)

Amen.

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

The Lord is our Bridegroom (Hosea 2:14-16, 19-20)

2011-02-27T09:00:00.000-06:00

February 27, 2011

Dear friends in Christ.

Back in 1999 Julia Roberts starred in the movie, “Runaway Bride”, a story about a woman who has cold feet when it comes to being married. Though she has been engaged to be married a number of times, each time she leaves the groom standing at the altar, running out of the church and away from the marriage that was to be. During the course of the movie, as she is engaged to fiancée number 4, a reporter who had written an article about her comes to town to learn more about her. Though she cannot stand him at the beginning, slowly she begins to fall in love with this man, and the two of them make plans to be married. Yet, when it comes to their wedding, the same thing happens! She gets scared, she turns and she runs out of the church, fleeing the scene on the back of a Fed Ex truck. However, rather than just standing at the altar shocked and bewildered like the other grooms, this time the groom runs after her. This time the groom chases after her because he is simply not willing to let her go! Interestingly enough, this movie is, in many ways, a portrayal of our lives. We are the bride who keeps getting cold feet and running off, and the Lord is our Bridegroom. The Lord is our Bridegroom, and it is in his great mercy for us that he chases after us, that he leads us back to himself, and that he reconciles us to himself.

Now, as we take a closer look at how the Lord is our Bridegroom, I invite you to open your Bibles to our lesson today in Hosea 2:14-16, and 19-20. Now, as you are looking up Hosea 2, let me give you a little bit of background as to what is going on here. About two hundred years before Hosea was on the scene, King Solomon was ruling the land. He was the wisest and richest king Israel had ever known. He was the one who built the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. However, toward the end of his life he began to fall away from, the Lord and worship the false gods of his many wives. Then, after King Solomon died, ten of the tribes of Israel rebelled against his successor, Rehoboam, and founded the Northern Kingdom under the leadership of King Jeroboam. This left only the tribes of Judah and Benjamin who formed the Southern Kingdom under Rehoboam. Once the Northern Kingdom was established, King Jeroboam forbade his people to go to Jerusalem to worship the Lord. Instead, he set up two golden calf idols and commanded those living in the Northern Kingdom to worship these idols as their gods. So, by the time the Lord appointed Hosea as his prophet to the Northern Kingdom, idolatry was firmly established. Though Israel had acted as an unfaithful bride to the Lord her bridegroom, the Lord sent Hosea to her to call Israel back to himself. He says: “Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her. There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she will sing as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt. In that day,” declares the LORD, “you will call me ‘my husband’; you will no longer call me ‘my master,’”…I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the LORD,” (Hosea 2:14-16, 19-20, NIV 1984).

Even though Israel had been unfaithful to him, by going off to worship false gods and idols, it was the Lord, Israel’s bridegroom, who in his mercy sent the Prophet Hosea to lead them back to himself so that they might be reconciled to him. Well just as the Lord did this for his people Israel, he does the same thing for you and me. For the truth is, each time we sin, we wander farther and farther away from the Lord. In this way we are so much like sheep grazing out in the pasture. Though we might start off grazing near the shepherd, before we know it we completely focused on the green grass before us. As we much on that grass, we keep our heads down, focused only on the green grass in front of us; following it as we graze. We go from patch to patch following the grass that seems to keep getting greener and greener. Then before we know it, with stomachs full to bursting, we look up and see that we have separated ourselves from the shepherd. The other sheep are nowhere to be found, and we are lost.

Though we may not have gone off to worship false gods and idols, we have all wandered away from the Lord, our Bridegroom. We have all fallen into sins that have led to other sins, that have given us cold feet when it came to spending time with the Lord either in church or personal Bible Study, and like Julia Roberts in “Runaway Bride” we have turned and run away from the Lord as fast as our feet could carry us because we knew our sins. Yet, even though we didn’t deserve it, in his mercy, the Lord, our Bridegroom ran after us. The Lord our Bridegroom called to us with the sweet love song of his Word. The Lord our Bridegroom spoke tenderly to us with the gospel message of salvation that is ours through Jesus Christ. The Lord, our Bridegroom allured us with the wedding gift of salvation that he provided for us through the death and resurrection of his Son in our place, and in doing so the Lord leads us back and reconciled us to him as his dearly loved bride. In fact, take a look at the promise the Lord makes to us in verse 19 and 20 of Chapter 2: “I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the LORD,” (Hosea 2:19-20, NIV 1984).

During Old Testament times, when a couple was betrothed, they were setting themselves aside only for each other. They were promising themselves to each other as husband and wife. In fact, in those days people who were betrothed were recognized as husband and wife in all ways, except for the way that produces children. Everyone recognized that these two who had promised themselves to each other would soon be united as husband and wife in every way as soon as the marriage feast took place. When the Lord made this promise to his people Israel, that he would betroth them to himself forever, he was assuring them that he was the Bridegroom who loved them, who had forgiven them, who had set them apart for him, who had made them his people, and who, as their Bridegroom, loved them as a husband loves his wife.

This is the promise that the Lord, our Bridegroom has also made to us through the blood of our Savior. Though we didn’t deserve it by any means, in his mercy, the Lord our God betrothed himself to us when he reconciled us through the death and the resurrection of his Son, our Savior. In doing this the Lord has demonstrated his great love for us. He has assured us that we belong to him in the same way that wives and husbands belong to each other. He has assured us that we have been forgiven of all our sins. In fact, because we have been betrothed to the Lord our God, we have the joy and certainty of knowing that he is our God. Though here on earth we are living in the joy of engagement, so to speak, when the Lord calls us home, we will live in the joy of marriage, the joy of living with the Lord, our Bridegroom forever in heaven.

This is the, “happily ever after” that closes so many of the fairy tails of childhood, and this is the happily ever after that closed the movie “Runaway Bride”. Though Julia Roberts did run away from her marriage to the reporter, at the end of the movie we see the two of them finally married and beginning their lives as husband and wife. Today, we have seen the same thing in our lives. Though we have run away from the Lord, our Bridegroom, he is the one who chased after us. He is the one who led us back to himself. He is the one who reconciled us to himself. He is the one who has betrothed himself to us. Because of all of this we are looking forward to our happily ever after that we will spend with the Lord our Bridegroom, forever at the marriage feast in heaven.

Amen.

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

Jesus Reveals Himself as our Savior (Mark 1:40-45)

2011-02-20T06:30:00.000-06:00

February 20, 2011

Dear friends in Christ.

For centuries magicians have been entertaining people with their tricks, illusions, misdirection and sleight of hand, and for centuries audiences have been clamoring to find out exactly how magicians did what they did. Though most have strictly followed the code that a magician never reveals his secrets, recently there have been some magicians who have come forward and publicly revealed at least some of their secrets. You may have seen some of the TV specials that have aired in the last few years, specials where a magician will perform a certain trick to amaze the audience and then repeat the same trick, revealing to them exactly how it was done. In some ways Jesus was doing a similar thing in our lesson today. It wasn’t that he was doing miracles to entertain the crowds who had gathered to see him and then revealing to them exactly how he had done it. Instead, Jesus was using his miraculous power to reveal himself as the Son of God; the Savior of the world. This, in fact, is the very thing that Mark is revealing to us in our Gospel lesson today!

Now, if you haven’t done so already, I invite you to open your Bibles with me to Mark 1:40-45. There, in Mark chapter 1, Jesus is traveling from village to village, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons. As he was traveling, Mark tells us, “A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” 41 Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” 42 Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured. 43 Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: 44 “See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” 45 Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere. (Mark 1:40–45, NIV84)

Now, when this man came to Jesus, he was not just someone who had leprosy. Rather, this was a man who was in the last stages of a terrible, flesh eating disease. We know this because as Luke reports this same account he tells us that the man who met Jesus was a man who was “covered with leprosy” (Luke 5:12-14). He came to Jesus hoping with all his heart that Jesus would heal him. He came believing and trusting that if Jesus was willing to make him clean, he would be made clean by the divine power of his Savior, and when Jesus saw him, Mark tells us (Mark 1:41) that Jesus was filled with compassion when he saw the man. Now, we need to pause right there for a second because even though it is absolutely true that Jesus was filled with compassion, this translation pales in comparison to everything that is conveyed by the Greek word. For what the Greek word conveys here is that Jesus was moved in his inner being, his heart ached at the sight of this man suffering from an incurable disease. We could even go so far as to say that Jesus’ stomach was in knots at the sight of the man; even that his bowels, his intestines were in turmoil at the state of this man and his condition. For this state in which Jesus found himself was born, not merely out of sympathy for this man’s pain, but Jesus, our Savior felt this man’s pain, he carried this man’s infirmities, and he wanted to do something for him, which is exactly what Jesus did.

In such a simple and beautiful way, Jesus revealed himself as the Savior by revealing his compassion for this child of Israel, by reaching out and touching this man. Just think about what that must have meant to him! Here was a man who had lived apart from humans for a long time. Here was a man who had been shunned by his fellow Israelites as one who was unclean. Here was a man who had not felt the touch of any one, other than other lepers, in many, many years, and Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man! Can’t you just see Jesus, standing before this man who was kneeling in the dust before Jesus? Can’t you see Jesus’ face, pained at the suffering this man was enduring, as he reached out his hand touching the man and speaking those beautiful words, “I am willing, be clean”? In his compassion, Jesus revealed his almighty power as he healed this man of his leprosy, and through that miraculous display of power, Jesus revealed himself as our Savior!

Well, in the same way that Jesus revealed himself as Savior through the compassion he displayed in the life of this leprous man, so also he reveals himself as our Savior through the compassion he continually shows in our lives. Tough our Savior is now living with his Father in heaven, he is still moved by the troubles and the hardships that we face. Though this world might think that Jesus has turned a blind eye to the things that are going on today, we know that he is with us. Even now as so many of us are struggling through economic hardships, our Savior is with us. Even now was we are still reeling with sorrow from the loss two sons of this congregation, Jesus our Savior is compassionately dispensing his love for us and his comfort to us through the gospel message of salvation that we are hearing today. No matter what situation we might face in our lives, our Savior continually reveals his compassion in our lives. When we face troubles and hardships because of rising prices and falling income, our Savior is there, touching our lives with his love. When we are beaten down by the evil around us and all the troubles that our sins cause us, Jesus wipes our tears with the hand of his grace. When we feel as if the world has turned against us and there is nothing we can do to change it or there is no one we can turn to for help that is when Jesus wraps us up in the blanket of his word. When we feel that all hope is lost, our Savior holds us tight in the arms of his love and assures us that we belong to him; that he is our Savior. Though we may still face troubles, hardships and adversities in our lives, our Savior continually reveals himself in our lives through the great compassion that he continually pours out upon us through the love that he displays in calling us his own.

When that leprous man came to Jesus, trusting that Jesus would heal him, Jesus not only revealed himself as Savior through the compassion he displayed in that man’s life. He also revealed himself as Savior through the love Jesus displayed in warning him not to tell anyone what had happened. Take a look with me at verses 43-45: “43 Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: 44 “See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” 45 Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere. (Mark 1:43–45, NIV84)

Now, I don’t know about you, but if I had been that leprous man, I would have been just a little surprised and maybe a little bit scared by what Jesus had just said. After all, here he was, kneeling in the dust, with Jesus’ hand on him, he had just head the tender words, “I am willing, be clean” spoken to him, the leprosy had left him and now Jesus was warning him not to tell anyone what had happened. If it had been me, I wouldn’t have understood why Jesus had warned me with such a stern voice not to tell anyone. I wouldn’t have understood why Jesus was immediately sending me away from him to go and show myself to the priests. After all, it wasn’t that Jesus didn’t want the publicity. For the truth is, we find in the other gospels that large crowds were following after him. Rather, by telling this man not to tell anyone, Jesus was revealing his love for his people; in part, his love for the people who were with him, but more specifically, for the people in Jerusalem. You see it was Jesus’ intention to send this man to the Priests in Jerusalem, who would examine him from head to toe, looking for anything that resembled leprosy. After this, the man would offer two birds as a sacrifice for purification. Then, on the eighth day, he was to bring two lambs as a guilt offering and as a sin offering. IN doing this, the man would be a testimony to the priest not only that Jesus had come to fulfill the law, but also that Jesus was the Messiah; the Savior who had been promised. He was here, and he was revealing himself as the Savior through his acts of loving kindness—a truth that he would ultimately reveal when he went to the cross as Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

When Jesus went to the cross, he revealed himself as our Savior through his willing sacrifice! For in the same way that husbands will give up their lives to save their wives, and parents will do anything to protect their children, Jesus willingly, lovingly gave up his life to free us from our sins. For when Jesus went to that cross, our Savior stretched out his hand and cleansed us from the leprosy of sin. Though our sins had bound us to the railroad track of death, and satan was steaming ever closer with the locomotive of damnation, Jesus swept in at the last minute, freed us from the chains that held us there, helped us off the track, and then allowed satan to run him over, completely destroying satan’s power over us. In such an amazing way, our Lord Jesus revealed himself as our Savior through his love for us; his love that led him to the cross where he freed us from our sins.

How amazing it is to know about our Savior and how he revealed himself to be our Savior through his loving and compassionate actions. How amazing it is to know that Jesus is our Savior who went to the cross in our place so that we could be his own and live under him in his kingdom. Though he may never have taken the time to perform a miracle and then reveal to the people exactly how he did it, through his words and actions he has revealed himself as the Son of God our Savior. He is the one who has freed us from our sins. He is the one who is always with us. He is the one who loves us and cares for us through any and every situation in life.

Amen.

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

The Lord Is Our Warrior (Exodus 7-15)

2011-02-13T09:00:00.001-06:00

February 13, 2011

Dear friends in Christ.

I don’t know about you, but ever since I was a little child, the account of Moses, the plagues, and the exodus from Egypt has been one of my most favorite Bible History stories. I can still remember the feeling of excitement that would come over me every year when we studied it in our Bible History lessons. I loved hearing about the amazing miracles that the Lord enabled Moses to do in the presence of Pharaoh. I practically cheered for Moses as he and Aaron stood before Pharaoh demanding that Pharaoh let God’s people go into the wilderness to worship. Though Pharaoh kept trying to change the deal, promising to let them go and not delivering on that promise, I admired Moses and Aaron for how they simply stood their ground on God’s Word and never backed down. But most of all, I remember marveling at the plagues that the Lord sent upon Egypt. I remember being amazed by the mighty displays of God’s power against the Egyptians; mighty displays that revealed God’s judgment against those who didn’t believe in him and that revealed his love for those who did believe in him. Though I didn’t realize it then, I realize now that the reason I so love these chapters so much is simply because they reveal the Lord God as the warrior that he truly is. They reveal the Lord as the God who truly loves his people, who defends his people, and as the God who fights for his people. Though there are many other places in Scripture that the Lord is revealed to us in this way, I truly love how these chapters show the Lord as our Warrior. In fact, these are the very words that Moses, Miriam, and all Israel used to describe the Lord after they had crossed the Red Sea and Pharaoh’s Army had been drown. They stood on the banks and sang, “The Lord is a warrior; the Lord is his Name!” (Exodus 15:3)

But before I get too far ahead of myself, let’s take a look at exactly how the Lord is our Warrior! After all, the account of the plagues shows the Lord actively fighting to deliver his people from their slavery. Yet, not only do the plagues show the Lord actively fighting to free his people from their slavery to sin, they also foreshadow the Lord our Warrior actively fighting to free his people from their slavery to sin and death. For in the same way same way that a Knight of old would throw down his gauntlet as a challenge or even as a precursor for battle, so also the Lord threw down the gauntlet of a shepherd’s staff to begin his battle with Pharaoh. In fact, it is at the beginning of Exodus 7:1-13 where Moses and Aaron stand before Pharaoh and command him, in the Name of the Lord, to let the Lord’s people go into the desert to worship the Lord their God. But, as we know, Pharaoh did not feel compelled to listen to this Jehovah, who was the God of the slaves. After all Pharaoh had a plethora of gods and goddesses that he served, roughly 80 different gods and goddesses in fact. Not only did Pharaoh have a plethora of his own gods to serve, as Pharaoh, he was believed to be a god in the flesh himself! So why in all the world should he listen to the god of the Hebrews, the very people who had been enslaved to him for so many years.

So, it began! Pharaoh refused to listen to the Lord and demanded a sign. Aaron threw down his staff and it became a snake. Now this would have gotten Pharaoh’s attention straight away as the cobra was a symbol of Pharaoh’s ruling power. But, not to be out done, Pharaoh summoned his magicians and by their secret arts, which means by their satanic means, they too were able to produce snakes by throwing down their staffs. Yet, it was Aaron’s staff that swallowed up all the other snakes. The snake of God had overcome Pharaoh’s snake and his ruling power. But Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not let the Israelites go. Thus begins the 10 round battle between Pharaoh and God. The battle where the Lord brought judgment on all the gods of Egypt (Exodus 12:12 and Numbers 33:4) The battle where the Lord used the things of nature, the very things the Egyptians worshiped, to plague the people, to cause them to wonder why their god so and so was unable to protect them and stand up to the Warrior God of the Hebrews, and to destroy the power of Egypt—a blow from which they have never recovered.

Round 1: The Plague of Blood (Exodus 7:14-24). As Pharaoh was on his way to the Nile to worship, Moses and Aaron met him. They gave Pharaoh the Lord’s ultimatum to let his people go but Pharaoh refused. So Aaron struck the Nile with his staff and its waters turned to blood. Blood was everywhere in the land of Egypt. The fish died! Not only the sacred fish that they worshiped, but also the fish that the Egyptians ate and traded, and the river smelled so bad they could not drink the water. In one powerful swoop the Lord God took down some of the most important and most powerful gods of Egypt. He took down Osiris, one of the chief gods of Egypt who was also first of all the gods of the Nile. He took down Hapi, tauret and Nu, gods of life and fertility in the Nile. Though this was a powerful blow against Pharaoh and all of Egypt as the Nile to them was the source of their life, Pharaoh hardened his heart when his own magicians sought help from satan and were able to reproduce the same results, only on a much smaller scale.

Round 2: The Plague of Frogs (Exodus 7:25-8:15). Seven days later the Lord sent Moses back to Pharaoh with the same ultimatum, “Let my people go so that they may worship me.” To which he added, “If you do not let them go, I will plague your whole country with frogs.” Though Egyptians were used to a great number of frogs filling their lands after the annual flood of the Nile, these frogs were naturally controlled by other predators. This time, however, the Lord brought the frogs up out of the rivers and streams of Egypt when Aaron stretched his staff over them. There were so many frogs that the people could barely move without stepping on one of them. They came up into the houses, the ovens, the kilns, the bedrooms, yes even the beds of the Egyptians. Though frogs pose no real threat to us, frogs were the symbol of the goddess Heket who presided over conception and birth. She was also said to be present at the birth of every Pharaoh of Egypt. Imagine the feeling of the Egyptians as they wondered what had happened to make their god malfunction and bring a curse upon the land. Imagine the favor that this goddess lost as the frogs sat in piles reeking and rotting after the Warrior God of the Hebrews destroyed them. Though the Lord showed Pharaoh that his gods could not control their own frogs, because the magicians were able to use satan’s power to bring up a small number of frogs, Pharaoh hardened his heart.

Round 3: The Plague of Gnats (Exodus 8:16-19). Again the Lord struck at the heart of the false gods of Egypt. This time, however, he went after Geb, the god of the land, the very god the Egyptians believed had created the earth and the great and fertile land of Egypt. Without warning the Lord told Aaron to strike the ground with his staff and throughout Egypt the dust became gnats or as another translation say, lice or perhaps fleas; the people of Egypt who so valued cleanliness were covered with vermin. The priests who served in the temples of the gods of Egypt were not able to do their duties because no one was permitted to enter a temple of a god with parasites upon them. Though Pharaoh may have been confident that his gods would eventually win the day, this time things were different. This time the Lord did not allow satan to intervene. This time the Lord knocked satan out of the battle completely as the priests themselves declared that this was from the finger of God when they could not reproduce the plague. Yet Pharaoh still hardened his heart!

Round 4. The Plague of Flies (Exodus 8:20-32). Now, in the Hebrew, the word flies is not there. Instead the Hebrew tells us that this is the plague of swarms. It may have been swarms of flies or even beetles. In our days we’ve seen both. Not too many years ago we saw swarms of Asian beetles that turned the air orange where they were swarming, and we’ve seen swarms of flies that turned the air black where they were. But regardless of what was swarming these swarms showed that the god Khepera, the god of creation, fertility, and resurrection, as well as all the other gods associated with those tasks were simply not cutting the mustard. They could not fight against the Lord our Warrior. But here’s the even greater thing. From this miracle on, the Lord separated his people. They were not affected by the rest of the plagues. They were spared while Egypt was ravaged. Yet even as Pharaoh saw this, he hardened his heart. He would not bow to the will of the Lord the God of the slaves, even though the God of the slaves was waging war against Pharaoh and all of Egypt’s gods and winning.

Round 5. The Plague of the Livestock (Exodus 9:1-7). This time it was Hathor, the cow goddess who was the great mother supposed to have conceived and brought forth all life, she was not able to stand up against the Lord. The cattle died, the sacred animals who were worshiped at Hathor’s temple. Even the bulls died, bulls where were symbols of Pharaoh himself. This plague affected all the livestock in Egypt and many died because of it. Yet not one of the Israelites animals died or even got sick. This time God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. Pharaoh who had resisted the Lord had resisted to the point that he was no longer able to repent or turn to the Lord. His time of grace was at an end and the Lord hardened him in his unbelief, because Pharaoh had resisted the Lord—the Holy Spirit.

Round 6. The Plague of Boils (Exodus 9:8-12). Isis, the goddess of healing and medicine could not compete or even stand against the Lord God Almighty. One by one the Lord was showing all of Egypt’s gods to be false, useless, and nonexistent. Boils broke out on people and animals throughout Egypt, but not in the land of Goshen where the Israelites lived. In fact, because of this plague the magicians could not stand before Moses. Again Pharaoh did not listen. The Lord hardened his heart

Round 7. The Plague of Hail (Exodus 9:13-33). Now it was Nut’s turn. She was the goddess of the sky and she could not stop the rain, the hail, and the fire that the Lord rained down upon Egypt. With this plague there were some in Egypt who began to fear the Lord. They made sure that their animals and their families were inside when the plague came and they were saved. Those in the field, along with the barely and the flax were destroyed. Thus the Lord crippled the clothing industry, as Flax was what the Egyptians used to make linen. He also destroyed the beer industry as barely was one of the primary ingredients of beer and bread. Yet Pharaoh hardened his heart.

Round 8. The Plague of Locust (Exodus 10:1-20). Though there were times when the Egyptians saw plagues of locust, they had never seen a plague like this, nor would there ever be a plague like this again. When the Locusts came they covered the face of the land and they ate everything that was left after the hail. Though Pharaoh refused to listen to the Lord, some of his officials began to openly question his rule and urge him to listen because Egypt had been ruined by this war that Pharaoh kept fighting against the Lord our Warrior.

Round 9. The Plague of Darkness (Exodus 9:21-29). For three days the eye of Ra, the sun was blotted out. For three days the Lord visited the Egyptians with the same darkness that was seen in Genesis 1:2, for the Hebrew word for darkness is the very same word that the Lord used in Genesis 1 to describe what it was like at the beginning of creation when there was nothing but darkness upon the face of the deep! How it must have terrified the Egyptians to know that one of their greatest and most important gods had been taken away from them. There was no light in the land of Egypt anywhere, but there was plenty of light in the land of Goshen where the Israelites were.

Round 10. The Death of the Firstborn (Exodus 12:29-32) (Exodus 11:1-12:32). We know this plague well. At midnight, the Lord sent the Angel of Death through the land of Egypt to kill all the firstborn from the first born of Pharaoh who sat on the throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, even all the first born of the livestock. The only acceptation was for those who followed the Lord’s decree of the Passover. They sacrificed a one year old lamb, painted its blood on the doorposts and the door frames of their homes, and ate the roasted lamb in the house. That night the Lord took down the god Pharaoh and Pharaoh drove the people out of the land. That night the Lord our warrior delivered the people from the land of slavery and foreshadowed the deliverance he would bring through the Lamb of God when the time had fully come. That night the Lord won the victory for his pople.

Epilogue. (Exodus 12:33-15:21) Though Pharaoh had driven the people out, he didn’t like to lose. He sent his army after them and trapped them, or so he thought, at the Red Sea. Yet the Lord fought for his people again. He separated the two camps with a Pillar of Fire. He divided the Red Sea so the people could cross over on dry ground. Then, when Pharaoh’s army tried to follow he drown them in the Red Sea as the walls of water came crashing back down upon them. Thus the Lord delivered his people, demonstrated that the gods of the Egyptians, and all other gods for that matter are nothing but idols and demons, and he showed himself to be the Lord, the Warrior who fights for his people and wins.

Now, why did I spend the last 20 minutes telling you a story you already know? Because, even we need to be reminded that the Lord our God is the Warrior who fights for us! He is the one who delivered the Israelites out of the Land of Slavery when Egypt was the world’s super power. He is the one who fought the battle against satan and triumphed through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ our Savior! He is the Lord who has our backs! No matter what we might face in this life, the Lord is by our side. He will provide for us. He will lead us through trouble and hardship. Even if we should walk through the valley of the shadow of death, the Lord is with us and we don’t need to fear any trouble, because he will work it out four our good. Though satan, our enemy, is constantly trying to separate us from the Lord, the Lord is our all powerful warrior who cares for us and delivers us. He has promised us that no one can pluck us out of his hand. He is the one who loves us and cares for us because he is God our Savior and our hope is in him all day long.

No matter what satan might throw at us; no matter what hardships might come our way; no matter how hopeless the situations of our lives might seem, from these 8 chapters of Exodus, we are assured that the Lord is our Warrior. The Lord is the one who fights for us. The Lord is the one who loves us and has redeemed us with his own might arm and outstretched hand. So, when you feel down or depressed, remind yourselves of what the Lord did for the Israels, and be assured that the Lord is your Warrior. Just as he fought for his people Israel, he will fight for you, because you too, through faith, are descendants of Abraham, belonging to the house of Israel.

Amen.

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

Let Your Boast be in the Lord (1 Corinthians 1:26-31)

2011-02-06T11:56:00.000-06:00

February 6, 2011

Dear friends in Christ.

According to a story in the Grand Rapids Press, the owner of a small foreign car had begun to irritate his friends by bragging incessantly about his gas mileage. So they decided on a way to get some humor out of his tireless boasting, as well as bring it to an end. Every day one of them would sneak into the parking lot where the man kept his car and pour a few gallons of gas into the tank. Soon the braggart was recording absolutely phenomenal mileage. He was boasting of getting as much as 90 miles per gallon, and the pranksters took secret delight in his exasperation as he tried to convince people of the truthfulness of his claims. It was even more fun to watch his reaction when they stopped refilling the tank. The poor fellow couldn't figure out what had happened to his car.

Well, in some ways, this was what was starting to happen to the Corinthians in our lesson for today. In fact, I invite you to open your Bibles and take a look at what the Apostle Paul has to say to the Corinthians in 1:26 and following. Now, as you turn to 1 Corinthians 1:26-31, you will find that the Corinthians weren’t boasting and bragging about the incredible mileage their chariots got. Instead, they were beginning talk pretty loudly about which preacher they liked the best because they had started to misunderstand the message of the Gospel. They had begun to focus their attention on the preacher rather than the message. They had started focusing on the Spiritual gifts rather than on the giver of the Spiritual gifts. They had begun focusing on things that made them look wise rather than on the wisdom of salvation that came through faith in Jesus Christ, and through all of this they were boasting and bragging about how wise they were, what gifts they had, and who they followed. So when Paul wrote these words he called on them to let their boast be in the Lord. Take a look at what Paul writes: “Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him. 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”(1 Corinthians 1:26–31, NIV84)

In such a simple and loving way, Paul reminds them that when they were called to faith, there were not too many in that congregation who could claim great wisdom according to human standards. There were very few of them were influential or of noble birth. Yet, it was the Lord who chose them to be his own and through the teachings of the gospel, he had made them wise for salvation. He had chosen them to be his own. He had called them to faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior. He had given them every reason to boast in the Lord because it had not been by their power or by their might that they had come to faith, instead they had been called to faith by the working of the Holy Spirit through the Word of God.

The same thing is true for you and me. For if we honestly look at our lives, we must realize that there is no reason why the Lord should have chosen us. Yet, because the Lord did choose us to be his own, how often haven’t we secretly thought to ourselves that the Lord chose us because we were so special? How often haven’t we considered how smart we were that as soon as we heard the Lord’s Word we came to faith. How often haven’t we thought to ourselves that we did the Lord a favor in letting him chose us? Maybe you’ve never had thoughts like this, but I can guarantee that we have all been pretty confident in our own accomplishments at one time or another. I can guarantee this because we have all been confident in our own accomplishments as Christians. Just for example: if I asked you the question, “why are you so confident that you will be in heaven when you die?”, what pops into your head first? Is it the answer, “Because Jesus died for me.”? Or is it the answer, “Because I’ve been a good person.”? Too often, when we try to answer this question, our sinful nature plants that thought in our brains and tries to lead us down the path of trusting in our own accomplishments. But this is not just a onetime battle, this is a battle that rages constantly within us.

For our sinful nature seeks every opportunity to lead us away from the idea that God chose us and tries to make us think that we chose God. It tries to make us think that we are pretty good people on our own who don’t necessarily need God’s salvation. It tries to make us think of our sins as only minor infractions of God’s law and not the soul destroying projectiles that they are. It tries to make us think that God owes us something because we have struggled so hard to keep his law even though it is nearly impossible for us to do. This is when we begin to rely on our own wisdom rather than on God’s wisdom. This is when we begin to rely on our own accomplishments for salvation rather than on what our Savior has done for us. This is when we need to hear those very same words that Paul wrote to the Corinthians nearly 20 centuries ago, “Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him. 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”(1 Corinthians 1:26–31, NIV84)

In such a simple way the Lord assures us that it was not we who chose him, but he chose us. He did not choose us because we were the strongest or the wisest. He didn’t choose us because we were the most influential or the noblest. Instead, he chose us because he loved us, and so that he might display his almighty power through us. He chose us so that he might make us wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ our Savior. Thus our boasting is no longer in ourselves, but our boasting becomes our proclamation of what Jesus did for us and how he saved us by his death and resurrection!
This is where the sinful world has problems. For, in the eyes of the world, any teaching about Jesus Christ is simply foolishness, because the world cannot figure out how Jesus death could possibly have forgiven sins. The world cannot figure out how Jesus Christ, a rather unremarkable character of the Bible could possibly have been the Son of God. The world cannot figure out how Jesus, a lowly child, and a weak human being, could have accomplished all that the Bible says he did. To the world, Jesus is nothing more than an annoying friend with a small foreign car bragging about his incredible gas mileage.

But to us, Jesus is the Son of God, our Savior. Jesus is the one whom Jacob prophesied in Genesis 49. In fact, if you still have your Bibles open, turn with me to Genesis 49:8-12. Now, Genesis 49:8-12 happens to be part of the Bible Reading that is scheduled for today if you are following the Chronological schedule. Not only is Genesis 49 part of that schedule, but it is also where Jacob is blessing his 12 sons shortly before his time on earth comes to an end, and in these particular verse he is passing the promise of the Savior on to his Son, Judah as he says, “Judah, your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons will bow down to you. 9 You are a lion’s cub, O Judah; you return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness—who dares to rouse him? 10 The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his. 11 He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch; he will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes. 12 His eyes will be darker than wine, his teeth whiter than milk.(Genesis 49:8–12, NIV84)

Though this prophecy would not come true for many, many years, Jacob placed his faith in the promise of the coming Savior. His boast was not in the things he had done, but his boast was in the Lord who had provided for him, cared for him and called him to faith in the coming Savior. This is the boast that you and I carry with us today. It is the boast of all that our Lord has done for us! Though there is nothing special about us, it was the Lord who loved us and called us to be his own. Though we had done nothing to deserve it, it was the Lord who called us to faith by the working of the Holy Spirit in baptism. Though we may not be the wisest, the noblest, or even the most influential, the Lord has called us to be his own, he has given us the gift of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ our Savior, and his has called us to make that message known throughout the world. Amen.

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

Are You Ready for a Rumble? (Genesis 32:22-30)

2011-01-30T08:08:00.001-06:00

January 30, 2011

Dear friends in Christ.

Roughly twenty years ago, a man named Michael Buffer introduced a phrase that has become known as the “clarion call to the pure integrity of the competitive spirit.” (from: http://letsgetreadytorumble.com/main.html) It is a phrase that captures all the excitement and anticipation that the crowds feel as they are about to watch two men step into a ring, or two teams enter an arena. It’s a phrase that many sports teams, both professional and colligate have used to create a higher level of excitement before play begins. This phrase is Michael Buffer’s trademarked phrase: “Let’s get ready to rumble!”

Now, even though I am simply speaking these words to you with my normal voice and am not using them in any way to introduce the start of any type of competition, I’m sure that many of you immediately heard Michael’s distinctive voice echoing in your minds and calling out those words, as he does, at the start of so many competitions. In fact, I’d be willing to bet that as soon as I spoke those words, some of you felt a twinge of anticipation and excitement flow through you. After all, these words have become embedded in our American culture as the beginning of some of the most exciting events!

But even though Michael Buffer’s introduction has been preparing fans for the start boxing matches and countless other sporting events, what is it that prepares us to contend with our Lord, so to speak, in prayer? How is it that we approach our God with our prayers? Do we use our prayer time as an opportunity to speak to the Lord on a regular basis? Or do we use our prayers as a last resort, when nothing else has worked? Do we think of them as time to speak to our Lord with praise and thanksgiving as we pour out the hurts and the desires of our hearts to him? Or do we view prayer as a battlefield, a contest, a struggle, a rumble, if you will, with our God?

Well, that is exactly what it was for Jacob in our lesson today. Jacob’s prayer was nothing short of an all night rumble with the Lord! So before we turn to our lesson this morning, let me ask you a question: “Are you ready for a rumble?” If you are, if you are ready for a rumble with the Lord your God, then I invite you to turn to our lesson today. I invite you to turn to Genesis 32:22. Now, in Genesis 32:22, Moses records a rumble that is so much bigger than the Rumble in the Jungle of 1974. For this rumble that Moses records for us took place between the Angel of the Lord—the pre-incarnate Christ—and Jacob, the Forefather of all the Israelites. Take a look at what Moses is telling us with the beginning of verse 22: “That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two maidservants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. 24 So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 The man asked him, “What is your name?” “Jacob,” he answered. 28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome.” 29 Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.” But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there. 30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.” (Genesis 32:22–30, NIV84)

Now, put yourself in Jacobs shoes for a moment and just think about how this patriarch was feeling! Here he was, getting ready to cross the Jabbok River, on his way to his Father’s house after 20 years with his Uncle Laban. Though Jacob had every reason to be joyful for his homecoming, he was still filled with fear because one question had not been answered; had Esau’s anger faded? Had Esau forgotten what Jacob had done which caused Esau to hate him and plan how he would kill Jacob after his father had died, thus causing Jacob’s mother to send him to Laban? After all, it was Jacob’s actions that had ignited the flame of Esau’s fury. Not only had Jacob tricked Esau into selling his birthright for a bowl of soup, Jacob had also disguised himself as Esau, tricking Isaac into thinking that Jacob was Esau and thus stealing the blessing that Isaac had intended to give to Esau. Though Rebecca had sent Jacob away with the promise that she would send word when Esau’s anger had cooled, no word had come, and Jacob was on his way home; fearing the worst. Though he had sent messengers to Esau hoping to gain Esau’s favor, all that Jacob received in return was the message that Esau was coming to meet Jacob with 400 men. So that night, Jacob prepared himself for a rumble. But the rumble he got was not the one he expected. Take a look again at verses 24-26: “Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” (Genesis 32:24–26, NIV84)

In fact, just listen to how the Prophet Hosea describes Jacob’s rumble with the Lord: “4 He struggled with the angel and overcame him; he wept and begged for his favor. He found him at Bethel and talked with him there— 5 the LORD God Almighty, the LORD is his name of renown! (Hosea 12:4–5, NIV84) Jacob was so worried and fearful of Esau’s coming that the longed for the Lord’s blessing. So badly did he want that blessing that Hosea tells us he wept and begged and Moses tells us that he wrestled with the Lord all night long. Even when the Lord wrenched Jacob’s hip so that he could do nothing more, Jacob threw his arms around the Lord’s neck and would not let him go unless the Lord blessed him. This was Jacob’s Rumble with the Lord!

So, are you ready for a rumble like that? Are you ready to wrestle with the Lord all night in prayer if that is what it takes to gain his blessing? Or are you content to simply step into the ring for a few minutes, voice your petitions, and then jump out again before the Lord has the opportunity to leave his corner? Though there are times when the Lord answers our prayers just as quickly as we speak them, there are other times when the Lord wants us to rumble with him. There are times when the Lord is pleased to let us wrestle fervently and vigorously with him in prayer. In his amazing love, the Lord longs for us to approach him as Jacob did and “wrestle away” if you will, from God’s hands the very blessings he desires to give us. He wants us to approach his throne of grace with confidence so that we might win the victory over the Lord on the basis of our humble faith expressing itself through prayer.

When Jacob did this, he received the Lord’s blessings. He understood that his real strength came from the Lord’s gracious hand and not his own schemes or devices. Yet Jacob was not free from the terror that had gripped him when he learned that Esau was coming with 400 men. Yet after this Rumble with the Lord, Jacob was prepared to meet his brother because his ears were still ringing with the Savior’s promises and blessing. For when Jacob met Esau, he would no longer be the heel grabber, but he would be known as Israel. He was the one who struggled with God and overcame. Jacob’s new name became a constant reminder of the blessings he had received from the hand of the Lord—blessings that were his, only by grace, especially the blessing that the Savior would come from his line.

This is what the Lord wants for each and every one of us. He wants us to be Israels also. He wants us to be people who struggle; who rumble with God and over come, and through faith that is what we are! Through faith in Jesus be are God’s children and we rumble with the Lord God as Jacob did. We rumble with the Lord when we come to him with our sins and beg their forgiveness and our Savior pours out on us all the grace and blessing of his forgiveness. We rumble with the Lord when we are troubled in Spirit, and our Savior comforts us with his peace. We rumble with the Lord when we approach his throne boldly and confidently with our hardships, our frustrations, our heartaches, our annoyances, and pray for his strength, his courage, and his blessing. In fact, it is through this account of Jacob’s rumble with the Lord that the Lord teaches us that we can come to him and wrestle with him and win! Though the Lord may not always answer our prayers exactly as we might want or expect, when he blesses us with his peace we are ready to face any situation in this life with confidence and peace.

So, are you ready for a rumble? Are you ready to approach God’s throne of grace with confidence that he will hear you and answer you? Of course you are! You are ready to take everything to the Lord your God in prayer. Though there are times when the answers will come quickly, we also know that there will be times when the Lord is ready for a rumble. These are the best times, because every time we walk away from a rumble with the Lord we are better for is. We walk with his confidence, knowing that we have once again earned the name Israel, and we walk in his forgiveness. We walk in his forgiveness, knowing that we are at peace with him, that he has blessed us, and no matter what we might face he will give us the strength we need and carry us through.

Amen.

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

Why does the Lord allow such suffering to come into the lives of his faithful people? (Job 1-42)

2011-01-23T10:26:00.001-06:00

January 23, 2011

Dear friends in Christ.

How many of you have faced suffering, frustration, or hardship in your lives? If you have, you’re not alone, because in this sin-filled world we are constantly facing hardships, frustrations, and even suffering. We are constantly struggling against some form of temptation, some hardship that has come into our life, even some form of suffering that is causing us pain or anguish in some way or another. There are times that we wonder why we have to deal with these things. There are times when we’ve raised our heads to heaven and asked, “What have I done to deserve this?” There are even times, when we see all the pain and sorrow, disasters and destruction around us that we begin to ask the question, “Why does the Lord allow such suffering to come into the lives of his faithful people?”

To answer a question like that we need to take a look at the life of a man named Job. So, I invite you to open your Bibles to the book of Job and we’ll begin our look at his life in chapter 1. Now, if you’ve been following the chronological schedule for our Bible reading challenge, then you have not only already read from Job 1, but you have spent the last couple of weeks reading through the entire book. Now, if you’ve spent the last two weeks reading through the book of Job, you may have been amazed to find that the majority of the book is a conversation between Job, his friends, and finally God. You may have been amazed to see just how greatly the Lord allowed Job to suffer. You may even have been amazed to hear Job cry out, as he did, in his anguish and suffering, essentially asking the question, “Why does the Lord allow suffering to enter the lives of his faithful people?”

Take a look at Job 1:1, “In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. 2 He had seven sons and three daughters, 3 and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East. 4 His sons used to take turns holding feasts in their homes, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would send and have them purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular custom. 6 One day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them. 7 The LORD said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the LORD, “From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it.” 8 Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” 9 “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. 10 “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. 11 But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.” 12 The LORD said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.” Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD. (Job 1:1–12, NIV84)

Why satan was there, presenting himself before the Lord along with the Lord’s angels, we don’t know. We don’t know because this is one of the things the Lord simply doesn’t tell us. However, as we read, it was the Lord who brought Job up as the subject of conversation. Take a look again at verse 8: “The LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” When the Lord held up Job as an example of faithfulness and righteousness, satan immediately sought an opportunity to get back at God and he essentially bet God that Job would reject the Lord if the Lord took everything away from Job, which is exactly what the Lord allowed satan to do. Verse 15: the Sabeans attacked carrying off all of Job’s oxen and donkeys and killing his servants. Verse 16: The Fire of God fell and burned up the sheep and the servants. Verse 17: the Chaldeans stole all his camels and killed his servants. Verse 18: Job’s sons and daughters were killed with the house collapsed after being struck by a mighty wind. But what did Job do? Verse 20: “At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship 21 and said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.” 22 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing. (Job 1:20–22, NIV84)

Again satan appeared before the Lord. (Job 2:1-2) Again the Lord held Job up as a great example of faithfulness and righteousness. (Job 2:3) Again satan bet the Lord that he could make Job lose his faith by striking his health, so the Lord allowed it. (Job 2:4-7) He gave Job over to satan to do to him whatever satan pleased. However, satan was not allowed to take his life. Satan afflicted Job with such painful sores that even his wife urged him to curse God and die. Yet Job remained faithful as he accepted even this suffering that the Lord had bestowed upon him. (Job 2:8-10) Though the Lord had allowed satan to inflict great suffering upon Job, he did not sin in the things that he said or the things that he did.

Yet, out of all the suffering that Job endured, what took place in the next 34 chapters was undoubtedly the most frustrating! Though his friends had come to comfort him, all they had done was sit with Job on the ground for 7 days and 7 nights. They hadn’t spoken a word to Job because they could see that Job was in such agony. Then, when Job finally spoke, he spoke with such anguish and pain in his voice that he cursed the day of his birth and wished he had never been born. In that moment his friends seized upon that anguish and began accusing him of hidden sins. They told Job that he was not nearly as righteous as he thought he was, that he was harboring some hidden sin in his heart, and it was because of that sin that the Lord was punishing him. Job responded that he was not harboring any secret sins, that his life was an open book, and that his righteousness was clear by his faith expressing itself in action in all he did. This was how the conversation went for 34 chapters; Job’s friends accusing him of secret sins while Job maintained his righteousness. They accused him of secret sins so vehemently that Job passionately defended his righteousness. In fact he so passionately defended his righteousness that he essentially began trusting in his own righteousness and began accusing God for acting unjustly in causing Job’s anguish and suffering. Though he may not have uttered the words of our theme today, if you read through what Job says, there are times that you can honestly hear him lifting his voice toward heaven and crying out, “Why, O God, am I being made to suffer?” “Why, O Lord, have you forsaken your servant?” “Why, O Lord, are you allowing such suffering to come into the life of your faithful servant?”

Yet, before we join the ranks of Job’s friends and condemn him in the midst of his anguished suffering, we need to take a step back and ask ourselves, how often haven’t those very words escaped our mouths? How often haven’t we raised our voices to heaven and cried out, “Why, O God, am I being made to suffer?” “What have I done to deserve this?” “Why, O Lord, are you allowing such suffering to come into the life of your faithful servant?” How often haven’t these very thoughts and words escaped our lips as we felt pain coursing through our bodies because of illness, disease, or even because of age? How often haven’t we grown angry with the Lord, because the Lord in his mercy and wisdom took our husband, our wife, even one or more of our children from this life to his heavenly kingdom. How often haven’t we cried out, “What have I done to deserve this?” when we were faced with insurmountable odds, when we or a loved one was diagnosed with a terminal illness, when we were facing financial troubles? How often haven’t we said, with tears flowing freely, “Why, O Lord, are you allowing such suffering to come into the life of your faithful people?”—Especially when we’ve seen the destruction caused by storms and earthquakes. How often haven’t we wondered why the Lord has allowed suffering to come into our lives when we face persecution or mockery for what we believe; when we face rising food prices, rising gas prices, and bills that just don’t stop coming?

For the truth is, we have all been filled with anguish and faced suffering in one way or another in our lives. We have all grown just as angry and impatient with our situation as Job has. And we have all cried out to the Lord in one way or another demanding an answer as to why the Lord has allowed suffering to enter into our lives. Yet, like Job, the answer to our question never comes. In fact, turn with me to Chapter 38 and we’ll take a look at the answer that Job got. Though the Lord answered Job, it was not the answer he expected or hoped for. Take a look at Job 38:1 and following. “Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm. He said: 2 “Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge? 3 Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me. 4 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand. 5 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? 6 On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone— 7 while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? (Job 38:1–7, NIV84) And again in 39: “Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn? 2 Do you count the months till they bear? Do you know the time they give birth? 3 They crouch down and bring forth their young; their labor pains are ended. 4 Their young thrive and grow strong in the wilds; they leave and do not return. 5 “Who let the wild donkey go free? Who untied his ropes? 6 I gave him the wasteland as his home, the salt flats as his habitat. 7 He laughs at the commotion in the town; he does not hear a driver’s shout. 8 He ranges the hills for his pasture and searches for any green thing. (Job 39:1–8, NIV84) and Again in chapter 40: “The LORD said to Job: 2 “Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let him who accuses God answer him!” 3 Then Job answered the LORD: 4 “I am unworthy—how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth. 5 I spoke once, but I have no answer— twice, but I will say no more.” (Job 40:1–5, NIV84)

When Job received his answer form the Lord, it was not the answer he expected. Rather, Job saw the Lord’s righteousness and recognized his own sins of blaming God and accusing God and demanding answers from God. He recognized his sins, he repented of them, and the Lord forgave him. Though Job was never given an answer as to why the Lord allowed suffering to come into his life, Job saw how the Lord worked even that out for good, because today we have the example of Job and we are strengthened in our faith and better prepared to face suffering in our life because of what Job endured.

The same thing is true today. Though there are times when the Lord may allow or even send hardship and suffering into our lives, we may never receive the answer as to why he does it, because the truth is our God does not need to give us an answer for why he does the things he does. As his children, we do not know or fully understand the plans that he has for us, and just like parents do not always need to explain things to their children so also the Lord does not need to give us a reason for why we face certain situations in our lives. Yet, having said that, we are reminded of what the Lord says in Romans 8: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28, NIV84) We are reminded of what Jesus tells us in John 15, how his father is the one who prunes us to make us more fruitful for him, and we know how the Lord used this suffering brought upon Job to give Job the opportunity to see his faithfulness to the Lord. Though Job did sin against the Lord with some of his words and complaints, he never lost his faith. He never rejected the Lord, and the Lord used this suffering as an opportunity to show Job just how faithful the Lord is, and how faithful Job was to the Lord. For it has been said, we never really know just how faithful we are until we have the opportunity to be unfaithful. Though we many never know why the Lord allows a particular form of suffering to enter our lives, we can take comfort in the fact that he will use it for our good, so that we might grow in our faith in him, that we might remain faithful to our Savior, that we might even be given the honor to lose our lives in this world so that we might gain them forever in heaven.

Amen.

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

Praise Your Savior for His Appearing (Job 19:23-27; Isaiah 42:1-7; Matthew 3:13-17)

2011-01-16T20:25:00.000-06:00

January 16, 2011

Dear friends in Christ.

So how have you enjoyed this first week of Exploring God’s Islands of Adventure? Have you jumped right in and read or listened to the Word of God as you planned? Did you face any time thieves this week and find that you hadn’t accomplished all the reading you planned on? Or are you still undecided as to which plan you are going to follow? Well, if you are still undecided as to which plan to follow, I hope I’ve made it easier by including in the bulletin the chronological schedule that I’m using for our weekly Bible Study and worship. If you’ve faced time thieves this week, you’re not alone, the same thing happened to me on Tuesday! Suddenly it was Wednesday and I realized I had not read my Bible the day before. If you’ve accomplished your reading exactly as you planed this week, then good for you! In fact, my congratulations to all of you who read or listened to even the slightest little bit this week, and my encouragement to those of you who haven’t yet begun! I say this because the truth is whenever you make a decision to change and grow in any way; you suddenly have a struggle on your hands—especially when you make the decision to read the word and grow in your faith.

Yet, as I said last week, I so badly want each and every one of you to be reading or listening to the Bible this year, because when you do, you will grow in your faith and your knowledge of Jesus Christ as your Savior. As you grow in your faith and your knowledge we will grow together as an even more closely knit family of believers. In fact, just think about how your faith would grow if you were in the word for an entire week. Just think about how your life would change for the better, how your faith would grow, and how you would walk with confidence in your salvation if you were in the word of God for an entire month. Just think about how your live would change for the better, how your faith would grow and be as strong as steel, how you would walk with absolute confidence in the knowledge of your salvation through faith in Jesus, and how you would be constantly, passionately ready to share the comfort of God’s Word with those who were hurting, and share your faith with those who do not yet know the Lord Jesus as their Savior if you just spent the next year reading or listening to God’s Word for yourselves.

This is the growth that I long for, for you. As I said last week, I’ve spent the last six months reading this schedule so that I could stay ahead of you and share with you the beautiful truths I’ve found. Yet, while I keep reading to stay ahead of you, I’m also starting over at the beginning so that I can read with you and share with you the beautiful truths and amazing connections that I’ve discovered, while at the same time learning from you through the insights you will be placing on the navigation board in this next year. In fact, today, I want to share with you an amazing connection that I discovered. It is a connection between some of the words that Job speaks in chapter 19, which is part of the scheduled reading for today, and two of the lessons that I’ve already read as part of our worship today. It is a connection that will lead us to Praise the Lord our Savior as we celebrate his appearing at his baptism today.

I invite you to open your Bibles to Job 19:23-27. As you are turning to Job 19, let me give you a little background. Though we’re not exactly certain when Job lived, our best guess is that he lived around the time of the Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob). This is why we read only the first 11 chapters of Genesis and then jumped right into Job. Now, the book of Job is an interesting book. In fact, it has been said that without the first two chapters none of the book would make sense, and yet, as we read through it, we see a believer dealing with some of the most horrendous hardships, frustration, sickness, and accusations that friends could bring against him. As we read through the book of Job, we see Job proclaiming the same frustration and anger that we all have directed at God or others when we’ve faced difficulties, hospital stays, life threatening illnesses, financial ruin or any other hardship. Though there are times that Job blames God for all his troubles and God confronts him at the end of the book, Job never lost his faith and the Lord always counted Job as his child. Even in the midst of his pain and anguish the Lord allowed Job to praise the Lord his Savior because Job knew that one day his Savior would appear. Take a look at Job 19:23: “Oh, that my words were recorded, that they were written on a scroll, 24 that they were inscribed with an iron tool on lead, or engraved in rock forever! 25 I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. 26 And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; 27 I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! (Job 19:23–27, NIV84)

In the midst of struggle and hardship, pain and anguish, Job utters such beautiful words of praise for the Lord his Savior whom he knows will one day appear. He utters words of praise that Christians have sung since they were written in hymn form by Samuel Medley in 1775. He utters words of praise that I have used as the closing of my grave side service since the day I heard the pastor under whom I served as a bishop speak them as the close of his grave side service. Thus, we these words, Job reminds us and assures us that no matter what we face in this life, no matter what struggles or hardships we might have, even if we should lose our health or our ability to work, even if gas should make it to $4.00 a gallon as is being predicted; no matter what might come our way, we can still give praise and thanks to the Lord Jesus, our Savior, as we celebrate his appearing today. We can praise our Lord and Savior because we know that when he appeared here on earth, he came as the Lord’s servant, just as Isaiah told us in our first lesson today.

Turn with me now, if you would, to Isaiah 42 and we’ll see how verses 1-7 connect with what we just heard from Job. Now, as you are turning to Isaiah 42, let me give you the setting. At least 2000 years have passed since the days of Job. Israel has been living in the Promised Land for roughly 700 years and there were roughly 700 years remaining before the Savior would be born. Now, as Isaiah speaks the words in chapter 42, the complete destruction of the Northern Kingdom of Israel is close at hand. Yet, even in the midst of pending destruction on the Northern Kingdom and rampant unbelief that Isaiah faced in the Southern Kingdom, the Lord gave Isaiah a beautiful message for those who still believed. The Lord gave Isaiah a message that would lead believers to praise the Lord their Savior for the promise of his appearing. Take a look at what Isaiah writes in chapter 42 beginning with verse 1: “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations. 2 He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. 3 A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; 4 he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his law the islands will put their hope.” 5 This is what God the LORD says— he who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and all that comes out of it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it: 6 “I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, 7 to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness. (Isaiah 42:1–7, NIV84)

As Isaiah speaks these words, he gives us, and the faithful Israelites of his day every reason to praise the Lord Jesus at his appearing, because from these words we learn exactly what our Savior will do and has done for us. As Isaiah said in verse 3-4: “A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; 4 he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his law the islands will put their hope.” (Isaiah 42:3-4, NIV84) In other words, when the Savior appears, if someone is dealing with the bruises of doubt in their faith, or if someone is so weak that the flame of their faith is but a smoldering wick, Jesus will build them up and strengthen that faith through his comforting word. As he preaches he will proclaim the truth of salvation to his people and through that message he will establish his justice and his forgiveness. In fact, it will be in that message of salvation that the Islands—the gentiles like you and me—will put our hope.

Well, just as Isaiah prophesied, Jesus appeared and did all these things and even more. Jesus appeared to proclaim the message of salvation to us. Jesus appeared to be our Savior and free us from the curse of our sins. Jesus appeared to give his life in our place so that we might live eternally with him in his heavenly kingdom. Jesus appeared just as was promised throughout the ages and that is why we have gathered to give praise to the Lord our Savior as we celebrate his appearing today. We have gathered to give praise to our Savior because he appeared just as Job hoped and just as Isaiah prophesied. He appeared as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, just as Matthew records for us in our gospel lesson for today.

Turn with me, if you would, to our final lesson for today. Turn to Matthew 3:13-17, and we’ll take a look at how our lesson from Job and Isaiah connect to our Savior’s appearing at his baptism today. Now, as you are turning to Matthew 3 the stage has already been set for Jesus appearing at the beginning of his earthly ministry. In fact, if you take a look at the first three chapters of Matthew you can see just how he set the stage for us. He told us about the genealogy of Christ, showing that he was a descendant of David as the Lord promised. He told us about Jesus birth in Bethlehem and the visit of the Magi. He told us how Jesus escaped to Egypt and then returned to Nazareth in fulfillment of the Lord’s promise that he would call his Son out of Egypt, and now at the beginning of Chapter 3, Matthew tells us about John and how John was preparing the way for the Savior, proclaiming the Word of God and baptizing people in the Jordan River. Now, on one day while John was baptizing, Jesus appeared there at the river, coming to be baptized. Take a look at Matthew 3:13: 13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. 16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:13–17, NIV84)

As hoped for by Job, as prophesied by Isaiah, Jesus appeared to his people Israel when the time was right. He appeared at the Jordan river and was baptized by John to mark him, anoint him, if you will, as one of us. Thus, his baptism was the beginning of his earthly ministry and the time when Jesus actively began his work of living a perfect life in our place even as he preached God’s Word. It was on that day that the Father gave approval to his Son so that all present would know that this Jesus who had suddenly appeared among them was the Lord and Savior for whom they had waited. He was the one whom John had spoken about, whom Isaiah prophesied, and for whom Job had hoped.

This is our Lord and Savior whom we praise today! We praise him that he appeared for us just as he promised. We praise him because he freed us from our sins by his death and resurrection. We praise him because we know that through faith in him eternal life is ours. We praise him because we know that one day he will return again. Just as Job said, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. 26 And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; 27 I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! (Job 19:25–27, NIV84)

What an amazing reason for us to praise the Lord our Savior as we celebrate his appearing today! What an amazing connection between the words of Job, Isaiah, and Matthew! What an amazing thing that we have discovered them simply because we are exploring God’s Islands of Adventure together! May the Lord bless you in the coming week as you continue your reading of his Word for the strengthening of your faith and our growth together as a family of believers.

Amen.

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

Come, Worship the God of our Salvation (Genesis 1 - 3; Matthew 2:1-12)

2011-01-09T09:00:00.001-06:00

Sunday January 9, 2011

Dear friends in Christ.

Here we are! We’ve finally arrived! We’ve come to the day that I’ve been talking about for the past few months! Today, we are beginning our Exploration of God’s Islands of Adventure! Now you all should have received a letter from me this past week detailing exactly how things are going to be working. If you didn’t receive a letter, then it is most likely that I have the wrong address for you and you will need to double check the address info that I placed in your boxes this morning. Also, please be sure to put the corrected sheets in my box before you leave today. Now, back to the letter; as I wrote it I knew it was too long and most of you would not read much more than the first paragraph. Thus, I planned to explain our challenge more clearly today.

During the next year, we will be reading or listening through the Bible so that we might grow together in our faith and knowledge of God’s Word. I have prepared a schedule that will take you through the entire Bible between today and December 31. I have placed these on the back table for you to pick up and take home. The cool thing about this schedule is that we are reading the Bible Chronologically. This means that we will read sections from 1 & 2 Samuel together with Sections from 1 & 2 Chronicles and avoid being bogged down in those books. We will also read psalms in connection with the events during which they were written. This is the schedule that I will follow for preaching and Bible Study, however, if you prefer a more relaxed schedule, such as a schedule that you have followed in the past, or the listing of readings that are printed in the bulletin each week, feel free to use whatever works for you. As I said in the letter, I want each and every one of our members to be in the Word on a regular basis during this next year. Now, that does not mean that I want you to become a slave to a schedule or feel guilty if you fall behind. No! What I want you to be doing is reading or listening to the Word of God on a regular basis as it fits in your life. For me, that means I take time in the mornings Monday – Friday to read or listen to God’s Word. I don’t read on Saturday or Sunday because my schedule on those days is too unpredictable.

Now, as you are reading I have set aside different ways to record your progress. When you find something that strikes you, you, a Navigation Notes sheet, write it down, and we will post it on the Navigation Notes bulletin board so that we can learn from each other. As you complete each book you will take a ship, add your name and the book and it will be anchored at the Island of God’s Word. Finally, as you complete certain books, you will also discover that treasure chests will be posted next to your name on our treasure wall. So, as I said before, this is something that I want each and every one of you to participate in during the next year. It doesn’t matter to me if you read or listen to the entire Bible in the next year or just part of it. I simply want you to be in the Word of God on a regular basis so that we can grow together in our faith as we worship the God of our Salvation.

So, with that explanation, let’s jump right into it. Open you Bibles to Genesis 1:1 and well take a closer look at why we have come together to worship the God of our salvation. As you’re opening to Genesis 1:1, let me give you some interesting statistics. When it comes to learning, we retain only about 5 % of what we hear, 10% of what we read, 20% of Audiovisual, 30% of Demonstrations, 50% of discussions, 75% of things we practice doing and 90% of what we teach others. So, if you think about it, being taught to sit still and listen to the Pastor during the sermon has really set us up for failure because we will only retain about 5% of what we hear. But, if we open our Bibles, read along, answer the personal study questions, even take notes, we will retain quite a bit more!

Genesis as you know is the first book of the Bible. The Word Genesis comes to us from the Latin language and simply means beginning, or origin. Interestingly the very first word of Genesis in the Hebrew is Biresheet, which also means, beginning. Take a look at verses 1-5: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.” (Genesis 1:1–5, NIV)

Here are some things to take note of; on day 1 our Triune God was busy. He called the heavens and the earth into existence out of nothing, and when he created them they were formless, empty, and dark. The Holy Spirit was hovering over the waters and the Son was present in the Words that God the Father spoke. The only reason we know this is because John tells us in the first 3 verses of chapter 1: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. (John 1:1–3, NIV) But not only did the Lord create the heavens and the earth on that day, he also created light. This is my favorite part of the whole creation account, on day 1 before he even created the source of light, God created light. This is why scientists believe that the earth is billions of years old. Light takes a certain amount of time to travel through space, so they calculate the time it takes light to travel from the farthest stars to the earth and that is one of the ways they figure out how old the earth is. However, God takes care of that problem by creating light before he creates the source of light. Thus, by the time he is finished creating, everything is working the way it should, the brand new earth is created with age, and Adam and Eve are ready to go about with the jobs assigned to them by the Lord. Thus on day 1 God created 4 things: the heavens, the earth, light, and time. As he says in Genesis 5: “And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.”

From there Moses goes on to tell us how the Lord built on the foundation of the formless, empty world that he had created on day one. On Day 2 (Genesis 1:6-8) he created the expanse of the sky separating waters from water. On day 3 (Genesis 1:9-13) He gathered the water to one place so that dry ground appeared and he caused all sorts of plants and vegetation to grow. On day 4 (Genesis 1:14-19) God created the lights in the sky: the sun, moon, and stars. Three days after light was created God created the source of light. That just blows my mind! I love it! On day 5 (Genesis 1:20-23) God created the fish and the fowl—all the creatures of the waters—the birds to rule the waters of the sky and the fish to rule the waters of the sea. On day 6 (Genesis 1:24-2:1, Genesis 2:4-25) God created all the living creatures of the land, he formed Adam out of the dust of the ground, he had Adam name all the animals so that he might discover that he, Adam, did not have the same companionship that the animals had, God said that it was not good for Adam to be alone, he put Adam into a deep sleep, took a rib from his body, formed a woman from that rib, brought Eve to Adam and the two of them were married by God at the beginning of time establishing God’s blessing of marriage for his people.

Not only did God establish Adam and Eve as husband and wife, he also blessed them, telling them to be fruitful and increase on the earth. He made them rulers over the earth and caretakers of his world. He blessed them by giving them every seed-bearing plant for food and every tree that bears fruit with seed for food. The only two trees that they could not eat from were the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, which were in the center of the garden. Then, at the end of day 6 (Genesis 1:31-2:2) God declared that everything he had made was very good and then he rested or ceased his creating work.

Now, one of the questions that naturally follow is: “When were the angels created?” To which I can only say that they must have been created at some point during the first six days of creation. Other than that we simply cannot say because the Bible does not tell us. The other question that follows is when did satan rebel against God and lose his position in heaven? Again the only answer I can give is that it must have been at some point after day 6 when God declared that everything was very good and sometime before satan tempted Adam and Eve to sin, which is what happened in chapter 3. Take a look at Chapter 3:1, “Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1, NIV)

If you think about it, the fact that the serpent spoke to Eve should have been Adam’s first clue that this was no ordinary snake. It should have been his cue to grab Eve and walk away rather than stand there and listen. But rather than fight for his wife and fight for the truth, Adam stood there and caved, and we know that Adam was standing right there because the last part of verse 6 tells us, “She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. (Genesis 3:6, NIV) We know how it happened, they stood there and listened to satan and they gave into temptation. They booth ate the fruit and instantly realized what they had lost by sinning. We know how the Lord came to them and spoke the consequences of their actions. The serpent was cursed to crawl on its belly (Genesis 3:14) Eve’s pain in childbearing was greatly increased (Genesis 3:16), and Adam, because he had not stood up for what was right, because he had listened to his wife, creation itself was cursed. (Genesis 3:17-19 and Romans 8:20-22). The ground would now produce thorns and thistles making plowing, reaping and every other aspect of life difficult. Yet, in the mists of all this bad news, the Lord gave an incredible promise of his grace. Take a look at Genesis 3:15: As the Lord concludes his judgment upon the snake he turns to satan who had undoubtedly, recently tried to take over heaven and tells him, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” (Genesis 3:15, NIV)

With such beautiful words, the Lord God revealed himself as the God of our Salvation by promising to send a Savior who would free his people from their sins. With such beautiful words the Lord put into motion the events that led to Jesus’ birth, which we celebrated only a couple of weeks ago. With such beautiful words, the Lord set the stage for the events of Matthew 2. Turn with me, if you would to Matthew 2:1 and we’ll take a look at how the appearing of the Wise Men also assures us of God’s salvation for us. Now, as you are turning to Matthew, let me just remind you that today we are celebrating the Epiphany, which has also been called Christmas of the Gentiles. It has been called this because with the arrival of and the worship by the Gentile Magi from the east, we are certain that the Savior promised by the God of our salvation is the Savior of all people; Jew and Gentile alike. Take a look at Matthew 2:1, “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” 3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: 6 “ ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.’” 7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.” 9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. (Matthew 2:1–12, NIV)

Though the prophecy within this reading from Matthew tells of how the Savior would be the shepherd of Israel, as Simeon said at the temple, Jesus would be the light to enlighten the gentiles. Today, as we hear about the gentile kings who came from such a distance to worship the God of their Salvation, we are assured that this Jesus, who was born in fulfillment of God’s promise to Adam and Eve, is our Savior as well. He is our Savior who came to free us from our sins by his death and resurrection from the dead. So, with all this in mind, let us worship the God of our Salvation who has called us to faith in him and freed us from our sins. Let us begin, together, our Exploration of God’s Islands of Adventure so that through this coming year we might grow together in our faith and as brothers and sisters in the Lord God who saved us.

Amen.

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

1 + God = The Majority (Acts 6:8-7:2, 51-60

2010-12-26T10:00:00.001-06:00

December 26, 2010

This sermon was preached from the perspective of Stephen

Dear friends in Christ.

I want to thank you for the opportunity of being with you this morning to tell you my story. Though I’m sure that many of you already know my story quite well from your days in Sunday school, my story is a story that bears repeating. I don’t say that because it is a story about me, and I have the opportunity of relating it to you today. But I say this because it is a story that will teach you the all important truth that 1 + God = The Majority!

You see, my story begins back in the days after Pentecost. I’m sure you remember how it was, the sound of rushing wind came to the place where the Apostles were and then tongues of fire separated and came to rest on their heads. The Apostles began speaking in all sorts of different languages and some from the crowd mocked them saying that they had too much wine. That was when Peter stood up and preached to the people telling them exactly what was happening; how the Lord had poured out the Holy Spirit on his people in fulfillment of his promise. He told the people about Jesus and what his life, his death, and his resurrection had meant for them. He called on the people to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins and on that day roughly 3000 people were added to the number of believers!

Well, it didn’t stop there. The believers continued to meet together and the Apostles continued proclaiming the gospel message of salvation, performing the miraculous signs and wonders that the Lord enabled them to do, and the Lord continued to bless them! Day after day he continued to add to their numbers until the number of believers was up, well over, 5000. So many had been added, that a complaint arose, stating that some of the widows were being over looked in the daily distribution of food. So, when the complaint came forward, the Apostles suggested that 7 men be chosen from among the believers to help out in the daily distribution of food. Thus, when the church acted and chose us, I was one of the men who was chosen to do just that, as it says in our lesson today: “Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. 9 Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia. These men began to argue with Stephen, 10 but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke. (Acts 6:8–10, NIV)

Though I had been chosen to help in the ministry of distributing food, it was the Lord who allowed me to also perform miraculous signs like the Apostles, and it was the Lord who led me out to proclaim his Word. As I proclaimed his Word, there were some who began to oppose me and the message I was bringing. Yet, this was not the first time opposition had arisen against the preaching of the gospel, for if you really think about it, Jesus’ ministry on earth was filled with opposition by the Pharisees, the Teachers of the Law, in fact the entire Sanhedrin—the ruling body of religious leaders in Israel—was essentially opposed to the message that Jesus brought. So, it really was no wonder that the Apostles faced opposition as they preached. Take for example Peter and John. Early on in the days after Pentecost, they had healed a crippled beggar in the Temple Courts and then used the opportunity to proclaim the gospel of salvation to the people who had gathered around. But shortly after they had finished, some form the Priests and Sadducees took them off to the Sanhedrin for trial, because the Priests and the Sadducees were greatly disturbed that these Apostles were preaching the resurrection. At the close of the trial, just before they were released, the Sanhedrin ordered them no longer to preach the Name of Jesus, to which they declared their plan to follow the will of God rather than the will of men. When they gathered with the other believers and reported what had happened, they prayed and praised God, the Lord shook the place where they were praying and the disciples, filled with the Holy Spirit continued proclaiming the message of salvation through faith in Jesus. Thus, God himself demonstrated that 1 + God = the Majority!

Again opposition arose because the High Priest and the Sadducees were filled with jealousy against the Apostles and they arrested them, once again, for preaching about Jesus. Again they were put on trial before the whole Sanhedrin and ordered no longer to preach about Jesus. Again their response was that they must obey God rather than men because they knew that 1 + God = the Majority. This time, however, the Apostles were whipped! Yet, as they left, they left rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering for the Lord Jesus, their Savior and even though they suffered they were confirmed in their knowledge that they were the Majority because they were partnered with God.

Again the leadership grew jealous of what was happening in the camp of the Lord because the number of disciples was increasing daily and because quite a number of priests were coming to faith in Jesus as their Savior. Because of this, the Sanhedrin, the religious leadership of the Israelites, undoubtedly felt as they did when Jesus walked the earth; they felt that they were losing their positions of power and control over the people. It was at this time that opposition arose against me from the Synagogue of the Freedmen, as it was called. They began to argue with me and against the Word of God which I was proclaiming. But they could not stand up against the Holy Spirit by whom I was speaking, and in that moment it became clear that 1 + God = the Majority. It was not by my power that they could not stand up, but by the power of God himself who was on my side and who was proclaiming his eternal power of salvation through his Word, which I was privileged to speak. So, because they could not stand up against the Lord, they did what all stubborn unbelievers do; they lied. Just like they paid false witnesses to testify against Jesus, “they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We have heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God.” 12 So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. 13 They produced false witnesses, who testified, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. 14 For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.” 15 All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel. 1 Then the high priest asked him, “Are these charges true?” (Acts 6:11–7:1, NIV)
In their zeal to be rid of me, they accused me of blasphemy—profane or sacrilegious speech—against Moses, against God, and against the Temple. But even though I stood alone against those 70 elders of Israel made up of the High Priest together with the Pharisees and Sadducees, I knew I was the Majority that day, because I stood with the Lord beside me. In that day the Lord Jesus fulfilled his promise and gave me the words to speak through the Holy Spirit! For as it came time for me to speak in my defense, suddenly my face began to shine like an angel and the Holy Spirit enabled me to defend myself through the power of God’s Word.

Though they accused me of blasphemy against God, through the Holy Spirit I proclaimed to them the history of God’s gracious dealing with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and the Israelites and in doing so the Holy Spirit revealed how I was actually exalting the God of the covenant and his gracious promises, while the Sanhedrin had forsaken the covenant God. Though they accused me of blasphemy against Moses, through the Holy Spirit I reminded them of the Israelites history of rejecting Moses as God’s given leader and their breaking of God’s covenant with them by turning to idolatry. Thus, the Holy Spirit revealed that I was honoring Moses as God intended by following the Lord’s Word while the Sanhedrin had blinded themselves to the meaning of the law given by Moses as well as the promise of the Savior that Moses prophesied. Though they accused me of blasphemy against the temple, through the Holy Spirit I proclaimed to them the history of the tabernacle and the temple as a place to go and worship the Lord through the sacrifices he gave, while the Israelites had changed the temple into an idol by merely going through the motions of worship. Thus the Holy Spirit revealed that the message I proclaimed gave the temple the place the Lord wanted it to have while the Sanhedrin had perverted both the right view of the temple and the God-pleasing use of it.

Even as I was speaking they began to grow antsy. Like little children they covered their ears so they wouldn’t have to listen to what I was telling them. They ground their teeth in anger because they could not fact the Lord’s judgment on them when I said, “You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit! 52 Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him— 53 you who have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it.” 54 When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. 55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 57 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58 dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep. (Acts 7:51–60, NIV)

Even though they thought they had won by killing me, I was the victor that day, because 1 + God = The Majority! Even in death I was allied with the Lord and through faith in him, I was given a seat of honor in his heavenly kingdom. I was honored as the first of God’s martyrs in the New Testament, and I was honored to be the one whose story gives strength to all of God’s people who face hardships, trials, frustrations, persecution, and even martyrdom. I was given this honor so that God might be glorified when people see from my story the absolute fact that 1 + God = the Majority!

Now, why do I tell you all this? Because you need to know and be certain that 1 + God = the Majority! You need to know this because whether you realize it or not, you are already being persecuted for being a Christian. More and more people are complaining against Christianity and more and more court cases are coming up about Christian symbols, prayer, and many other Christian freedoms that have begun to offend others. In fact, take a look at this clip from October 2008 in which Paul Washer speaks about persecution in our day. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7UyZYpeReY)

I do not tell you these things or show you this clip to scare you, but to encourage you. Though we have enjoyed an unprecedented time without persecution, it has begun. It is continuing and it is growing. But no matter what kind of persecution we may face, remember my story and remember that no matter what 1 + God = the Majority! Through faith in Jesus you are God’s redeemed child! Through faith in Jesus all your sins have been forgiven. Through faith in Jesus, your place in heaven has already been prepared for you. Through faith in Jesus you are already victorious. Through faith in Jesus you are the Majority because you are aligned with God. Through faith in Jesus, no matter what happens in this world you are victorious, as the Apostle Paul said, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21, NIV) So no matter what happens, you are the majority with God. If you live out your days and fall asleep in the Lord at a good old age, you are blessed. If your life should be cut short by an accident or even a sickness, you are still blessed because you will be at home with the Lord all the sooner. If you should face what I faced, and be murdered for what you believe in, you will be blessed because the Lord will reward you with eternal life! This is our comfort whether we live or whether we die we belong to the Lord, because 1 + the Lord = the Majority. There is no one who can snatch us out of his hand. There is no one who can take away our salvation.

Though the days will eventually grow even more evil than the days I faced, the Lord is on your side. When you face frustration, hardship, trouble, persecution, suffering, or even death, take my story with you. Hide it in your heart so that no matter what you face you always remember that 1 + God = the Majority!

Amen.

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

Are you the One who was to come? (Matthew 11:2-11)

2010-12-12T08:32:00.000-06:00

December 12, 2010

Dear friends in Christ.

It has been said that God sometimes baffles us and disappoints us in order to make us succeed. In many ways, that is exactly what the Lord did to Philips Brooks. Born in 1835, Philips Brooks is best remembered today as the author of O Little Town of Bethlehem. However, former generations accounted him as the greatest American Preacher of the 19th Century. Yet, if Philips Brooks would have succeeded in his position as a school master, he never would have stood in the pulpit to move men with his mighty ministry. This is also what the Lord did to an English Man named Frederick Robertson. Born in 1816, Frederick Robertson long dreamed of being a military officer, like his Father, and his dream was to serve the Empire in India. Yet, at the wish of his Father, just two weeks before he would have received his military commission, Frederick left school and went on to become an amazing preacher. You see, if Frederick had succeeded in his goal and received his military commission in the British Army, never would have written the sermons which still throb with his great and yearning spirit; sermons which are still read and studied today! For these two men, if God had not disappointed them they may never have received the great blessings that he longed to pour into their lives.

In many ways, the very same thing could be said for the life of John the Baptist. Turn with me, if you would, to our lesson for this morning from Matthew 11 and we’ll take a look at the disappointment and the perplexity that John was facing. Now, as you are turning to Matthew 11, let tell you about some of the events leading up to our lesson today. Though John had served well as the forerunner to the Messiah, preaching in the spirit of Elijah of old, calling Israel to repentance and pointing them to place their faith in Jesus as their Savior, John had come upon some disappointing and troubling times, as he was now locked away in Herod’s prison. He was locked away in Herod’s prison because he had forcefully preached that it was wrong for Herod to have married his brother Philip’s wife. When John was put in prison, Jesus left the region of Judah and Jerusalem and headed up to Galilee where he preached the gospel of salvation, he healed the sick, he restored sight to the blind, he cleansed lepers, he even raised the dead, but he did not bring any kind of judgment upon the people as John had said that he would. It was because of this that John was confused and perplexed; he may even been a little disappointed. That is why Matthew writes as he does in Chapter 11 beginning with verse 2: “When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples 3 to ask him, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?” 4 Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. 6 Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.” 7 As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind? 8 If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings’ palaces. 9 Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is the one about whom it is written: “ ‘I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’ 11 I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. (Matthew 11:2–11, NIV)

Are you the one who was to come, or should we be expecting someone else? This was John’s question, born out of his disappointment and his frustration at being locked away in prison for preaching the truth of God’s Word. Though it is sometimes difficult for us to conceive of any type of doubt ever crossing the lips of such a great Prophet as John the Baptist, as we study the Scriptures, there are many examples of God’s prophets facing disappointment, frustration, perplexity, and even doubt. Take for example the Prophet Elijah. Immediately after his great victory for the Lord over the 950 false prophets on Mt. Carmel, we see Elijah fearing for his life. We see him running away to the Mountain of God, doubting his effectiveness, and even despairing of his life. We see Jeremiah weeping and complaining to the Lord because all the people of Israel were against him and no one seemed to listen to the message that the Lord gave him to preach. We see Jonah running away from the Lord so that he wouldn’t have to go to Nineveh, doubting that his message would be affective, and then growing angry and sullen when it caused the people to return to the Lord. Even Moses doubted that he would be able to lead the people Israel, when the Lord called him to be his prophet.

Yet, in the same way that the Lord answered each one of his prophet’s concerns, removing their doubts and fears and building them up in his Word, so also the Lord Jesus does the same thing for John today. For as Jesus replies, he doesn’t simply say, “Go back and tell John, ‘Yes, I am the one who was to come! You don’t need to look forward to anyone else!’” Rather, Jesus basically tells John, “Judge for yourself, based on what you have heard and seen.” “Judge for yourself, based on the things I am doing, things which Isaiah said I would do.” “Judge for yourself, and you will see that there is no doubt that I am the one who was to come! You do not need to be looking forward to someone else!” Take a look with me again at Chapter 11 beginning with verse 4: “Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. 6 Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.” 7 As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind? 8 If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings’ palaces. 9 Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is the one about whom it is written: “ ‘I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’ 11 I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. (Matthew 11:2–11, NIV)

What a comfort these words must have been to John as he sat in prison! What a great assurance for him to hear his cousin and his Savior assure him not only that he, Jesus, was the one who was to come into the world as the Messiah, but that he, John, the forerunner, had done his job of preparing the way for the Lord, extremely well. As Jesus stood before the crowd of people there, he told them, in no uncertain terms, that even though John was currently sitting in prison, he had done his job to prepare the way for the Savior! John was the messenger whom the Lord God had revealed ahead of the Savior to prepare his way. John was the one who pointed Jesus out as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the Word. John was the one who had so eloquently proclaimed the Law of God, cutting the people to the heart, moving them to repentances, and preparing them to receive Jesus as their Savior. Thus, in pointing to his actions as the Messiah, and pointing to John’s actions as the forerunner to the Messiah, Jesus reveals two witnesses that proclaim him as the one who was to come to be the Savior of the world! He is the one who was to come not simply because he said so, but because he was the one who accomplished what the Scriptures said he would. He was the one who was to come not simply because he said so, but because John, the forerunner whom the Scriptures foretold, prepared the way before him and pointed him out to the people.

Though the Lord had, in some ways, disappointed John and even frustrated him by locking him away in prison, John’s ministry was that much more successful because through his imprisonment, even more people came to place their faith in Jesus as their Savior. Even we, because of the ministry of John, have been blessed by the Lord our God, because we too have come to faith in Jesus as the Messiah who has freed us from our sins. In fact, we too, can take the same comfort that John, his disciples, and the crowd of people took that day as Jesus revealed that he was the one who came as the Messiah! In fact, today, as we look forward to the celebration of our Savior’s birth, we can be certain that he is the one who came into the world to save us from our sins. He is the one who came into this to give his life as the Lamb of Atonement so that his payment for our sins might wipe God’s slate clean. He is the one who came into this world to preach the Gospel so that his word would be carried to the people of every nation, tribe, and language. He is the one who came into the world so that you and I might be made his own and live under him in his kingdom!

Though there may be times that the Lord does baffle us and even disappoint us, we know that he is doing it to make us successful in him. Just as he made John the Baptist successful in his ministry of preparing the way for the Savior, so also he will make us successful in our faith. What a comfort it is to have our Savior’s assurance that we don’t need to look for anyone else! He is the one who was to come into the world! Jesus was the one who was to come into the world to free us from our sins. Amen.

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

Prepare the Way of the Lord (Luke 3:1-6)

2010-12-05T07:51:00.000-06:00

December 5, 2010

Dear friends in Christ.

Before the days of Interstate Highways, US Highways, even before paved country roads; back even before the days of the prophets, there was custom practiced by the Kings of the Orient. Whenever a king wished to make a journey he would first send out his officials to prepare the area through which he intended to travel. The officials would go to the people living in the region and order them, in the name of the King, to prepare the highway for their lord. The people would then have the task of making sure the roadway was ready for their king. They would clear away any brush or dead branches, they would fill in any ruts or potholes, and they would even level the surface so that everything would be ready for their king; so that he would have the smoothest journey on the flattest road possible. This is the very picture that Luke is painting for us through the ministry of John the Baptist. In essence, the Lord is pictured as coming through the vast and impassable Arabian desert which lay between Babylon and the land of Judea. Thus, the preaching voice of John the Baptist, the forerunner of the Savior and the official of the Lord, came to the Judean wilderness. He came summoning the people to clear the way of all obstacles so that Israel’s Lord and Savior could have a smooth road to their hearts as he came to set his people free from their sins.

This mission, to prepare the way for the Lord, was the very mission that John had been given even before he had been born. For when the Angel Gabriel visited Zechariah in the temple as Zechariah was burning incense, Gabriel told Zechariah that the child that would be born would be great in the sight of the Lord. He would be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from birth. By his preaching he would bring many in Israel back to the Lord their God, and in the spirit of the Prophet Elijah he would make ready a people prepared for the Lord, which is exactly what John was doing when we meet him in our lesson today. Luke writes: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene— 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. 3 He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4 As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: “A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. 5 Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. 6 And all mankind will see God’s salvation.’ ”(Luke 3:1–6, NIV)

Though John may had gone out to live in the dessert at an early age, he did not begin his ministry until the Lord came to him and authorized it. But when that day finally came, he began with a fury. He went around the area of the Jordan preparing the way of the Lord by calling the people to repentance through the Law of God. He baptized the repentant in the waters of the Jordan, assuring them of the forgiveness of sins, and he pointed people ever forward, to look for the Lamb of God, the Messiah who would soon be coming into the world. In fact, he did this so effectively that people began to flock to him from Jerusalem, the region surrounding Judea, and even from places as far away as Capernaum in Galilee. Many people who would never have considered going to the dusty desolate region of the Jordan where John was now left their comfortable homes just so they could come out and hear what he had to say.

Well, in the same way that John prepared the way of the Lord in his day, he is doing the same thing for you and me today! Though we don’t have him standing in front of us preaching against our sins, through Luke’s account we have the next best thing. For as we look back at the account of John’s preaching, we hear just how forceful of a speaker he must have been. We hear him preparing the Messiah’s Highway into the hearts of his people by calling them to repent because the kingdom of heaven is at hand. We hear him going up against the Pharisees and other religious leader telling them flat out that their self-righteous ways will get them nowhere near their eternal goal. And we hear him, as he turns to us and condemns us for our sins. For we too have been right there with the Pharisees, thinking that we can get into heaven with our good looks and good works. We too have been right there with the tax collectors taking more than our fair share. We too have been right there with the soldiers accusing people falsely and slandering their names to our friends. We too have let the fire of our anger rise against those who have wronged us and sworn that we would get even with them. We too have let our tongues run wild, gossiping about anyone and anything in any place at any time of day. We too have let the rage of our jealousy cloud our minds so that we have resented even our closest friends.

In truth, we are no different than the Israelites who came out to hear John in the wilderness. We, too, need John to prepare the way for our Lord, because the road to our hearts is also covered with many obstacles of sin, and doubt, and disbelief. But when we hear John speaking to us with the full measure of God’s Law we find ourselves looking directly into the mirror of that Law. We see our reflections covered with the debris of our sins. We feel the weight of our sins pressing down upon our shoulders. We see the shame and the guilt of those sins reflected in our eyes, and before we know it, we are down on our knees in sorrow over our sins, repenting, and praying to the Lord our Savior for forgiveness. It is in this way that our hearts are prepared for the coming of the Lord and the way to our hearts made smooth and ready for him! For it is the crushing blow of the hammer of God’s Law that leads us to repentance, and it is through that repentance that the way is prepared for Jesus to enter into our hearts and lives.

When Jesus enters into our hearts and lives, he enters in with the soothing Gospel, filling in those trenches of heartache and despair. Though the Law shows our reflections covered with sins, Jesus uses his gospel to remove each and every spot and satin of our sins. He uses the gospel to cover over every one of our iniquities so that all that is reflected is the Salvation of our God. He shows us that the true and only way to our homes in heaven is through faith in him. He assures us that though we may have taken more than our fair share, let our anger rise and worked to get even, let our tongues run wild, and even let rage and jealousy cloud our minds, these things have all been forgiven. But not only have they been forgiven, by the way that was prepared in our hearts through the law, our Savior now brings the healing of the gospel which not only assures us that we have been completely forgiven, but it also moves us to live our lives according to God’s will out of love for our Savior.

This is why John’s work as forerunner to the Messiah was such important work. For as forerunner, it was his mission to prepare the way of the Lord. Though John may not have gone out and commanded the people of the region to prepare the roads so that their king could travel on them, he did prepare the hearts of the people for the coming of their Savior. Through his use of Law and Gospel, John was able to prepare the way of the Lord, so that the nations would be ready for the coming of their Savior. Thus we can be sure that John came in fulfillment of the prophecy that Isaiah had uttered so many years before, for through his proclamation of Law and Gospel John has prepared the way for the Lord for countless generations of believers who have come to faith through the work that he did.

Amen.

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

Prepare for the Coming Savior (Matthew 24:37-44)

2010-11-28T09:00:00.002-06:00

November 28, 2010

Dear friends in Christ.

How are your Christmas Preparations going? Have you completely finished them? Or are you just getting started? Personally, today is the day we are planning to get all our Christmas decorating done, not merely here at church, but also at home. In fact, I would be willing to bet that most people make the most of Thanksgiving break in order to get started on their Christmas decorations. That’s what our family used to do in those years when we stayed home for Thanksgiving. We never really participated in after Thanksgiving shopping. Instead, we would stay home and my sister and I would do our best to stay out of Dad’s way as he brought all the Christmas items down from the attic. We would watch as he unpacked everything, set up the Christmas tree, screwed in all the light bulbs, went outside to replace Christmas bulbs that had burned out the previous year, and then, follow him from room to room as he placed candles in all the windows. In short, when we stayed home over the Thanksgiving Holidays, Saturday afternoon was a flurry of Christmas preparation, preparing everything for the coming Savior. Though yesterday may not have been the flurry of Christmas preparation as it was in my house when I was growing up, I’m sure that each and every one of us will be making the most of our time in the next few weeks to prepare our homes, our families, even ourselves for the Coming of our Savior at Christmas time.

Yet, even as we prepare ourselves for the coming of our Savior at Christmas time, today, as we have gathered for worship, our Savior is calling on us to prepare ourselves not only for his coming at Christmas time, but to prepare ourselves for his return on the last day, as well. In fact, this is the very thing that Jesus is speaking about in our lesson today, in Matthew 24:37-44. I invite you to open your Bibles and turn with me to Matthew 24:37-44 and we’ll take a look together at what Jesus is telling us.

Now, when Jesus spoke these words, it was Tuesday of Holy Week. Jesus had spent the day in the Temple, teaching the people and answering all the challenges brought to him by the Pharisees, Sadducees and Teachers of the Law. Then, once the challenges came to a conclusion and no one dared to ask Jesus anymore questions, (Matthew 22:46) Jesus began speaking his condemnations of woe upon the Pharisees, Sadducees, and the Teachers of the Law (Matthew 23) because they simply refused to believe that Jesus was the Savior whom the Lord had promised to his people. After Jesus had completed speaking, he got up and left the temple for the last time (Matthew 23:37-24:3) and he and his disciples headed out from Jerusalem, to the Mount of Olives. It was there that the disciples spoke to Jesus privately, asking him about the signs of the end of the age and the time of his coming. Jesus spent the next couple of chapters answering their question (Matthew 24:4-25:45), but the section we want to focus on is found in Matthew 24:37, where Jesus says, “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. 42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” (Matthew 24:37–44, NIV)

In such a simple way Jesus tells us to keep watch and prepare ourselves for the coming of our Savior. As he says in vs. 42: “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.” (Matthew 24:42, NIV) And again in verse 44: “So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” (Matthew 24:44, NIV)

But how is it that we are supposed to prepare? What do we need to do to be certain that we are prepared for the coming of our Savior? The answer to that question is simple. “Continue,” as Paul said, “to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,” (Philippians 2:12, NIV) In other words, dive into the Word of God and make a habit of swimming in it daily. Plumb its depths for treasure on a daily basis, and make certain that it is part of your faith exercise habit every day. Not only that, but make the most of every opportunity to gather to worship the Lord our God so that you might hear his Word yet again, be built up in faith, and strengthened in your preparation for our Savior’s reappearing. Take time to spend a few extra moments with the Lord in worship on those days when the feast of his flesh and blood is offered, for it is there, in that miraculous meal that we receive such tangible assurance that our sins have been forgiven. Pray to the Lord at all times and in every situation. Pray to the Lord for his blessings to be showered upon the family of believers wherever they may be, and pray to the Lord for his forgiveness, that through faith in him you may live your life according to his will.

In doing these things you will continue in your preparation, continuously prepared for the coming of your Savior. For in the same way that the angels suddenly appeared to the shepherds in the fields and announced the birth of the Savior; suddenly, when we least expect it we will hear the trumpet call of our God. In the same way that the people of Noah’s day were shocked by the rain, we too will be surprised by the sight of our Savior returning on the clouds of heaven. But unlike those who were unprepared because they ignored 120 years of Noah’s warnings about the coming flood and were swept away when the flood came upon them, we, who, through faith, are prepared for our Savior’s coming, will be taken to be with the Lord. This is the difference that Jesus describes in verse 37-41, where he says, “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.” (Matthew 24:37–41, NIV) Just as the only difference between Noah’s family in the ark and the millions of people outside the ark was the difference of faith, so also the difference between the two men and the two women who are taken is faith. Faith is the difference between the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25:31-46, and faith is the only difference between those who are prepared for our Savior’s coming and those who are not.

So with that in mind, you and I have an important task ahead of us. We have the task of proclaiming the message of salvation to those who do not yet know it! And what better time of year to take up that task! What better time to take up the task of telling people about their Savior so that they can be prepared for his coming, even as they prepare themselves for the Christmas Season! So as you go into the world, let us do just that! Let us share our faith through our words and actions—a smile to grumpy cashiers, a word of encouragement to tired shoppers, a message of Merry Christmas to whomever we meet, and a wary eye always looking for an opportunity to tell another about Jesus who came as the baby in Bethlehem and who will soon return as the King of Kings.

This is the very thing that you and I are prepared for through faith, though our homes may not be exactly prepared for the coming Christmas season, through faith we are prepared for the coming of our Savior. We are prepared for his birth in Bethlehem, and we are prepared for his coming on the Last Day.

Amen.

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

Give Thanks to the Lord for All Your Blessings (Luke 17:11-19)

2010-11-24T19:00:00.001-06:00

November 24, 2010
Thanksgiving

Dear friends in Christ,

What is your favorite Thanksgiving memory? Mine favorite thanksgiving memory is Thanksgiving with Grandpa and Grandma in Viroqua, WI. On Wednesday afternoon we would jump in the car and travel the 5 hours from New Ulm to Viroqua. We would get up early for 9 AM Worship, my Grandpa was the Pastor, and then, after church we would come home to Grandma’s amazing Thanksgiving meal. Sometimes it was just our family, other times all three of the daughters would make it home so Debbie and I would spend time playing with our cousins and sitting at the kids table while all the adults sat around the dining room table for the meal. Sometimes Grandpa would say a special prayer before we ate, sometimes we would talk about why we were thankful and how it was so good to get together with family, most of the time the husbands would clear the table and do the dishes (Grandma did not have a dishwasher), and then we would always wind up watching Green Bay play whomever they were playing on Thanksgiving Day. Though it’s been more than 20 years since we last gathered like that and both Grandma and Grandpa have been called home to heaven, every time I remember those times, I cannot help but give thanks to the Lord for that great blessing.

What about you? What is your favorite memory of Thanksgiving? What kind of things does it involve? How do you take time to give thanks to the Lord for all his great blessings? If we took the time tonight to go around the room, I’m sure that we would all have different memories to share, different things that were special to us from our childhood, and different traditions that our families follow. Yet, I’m certain that one thing would be the same, in expressing those memories we would all, in one way or another, be giving thanks to the Lord our God for all the blessings that he has showered upon us in our lives. We would be giving thanks to the Lord our God for all the blessings he has showered upon us, because giving thanks is a natural fruit of faith. It is the most natural way that our faith in Jesus finds expression in our lives. In fact, this is the very thing that happened when the Samaritan came running back to Jesus in our lesson today. Let’s take a look at this section together. Turn with me, if you would, to our lesson from Luke 17:11-19.

Now, this section of Scripture is very familiar to all of us, because it is one of the Bible History Stories that we learn as little children. Often times this story is repeated on a yearly basis, because it is an account that teaches about Jesus power to heal along with the difference between a thankful heart and 9 unthankful hearts. Take a look at Luke 17, beginning with verse 11: “Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” 14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. 15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. 17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.” (Luke 17:11–19, NIV)

When these lepers saw Jesus, they knew and they believed that he was able to heal them. Even though they were forced to live away from people, separated from society because of their incurable disease, they had still heard about Jesus and what he was able to do. When they saw him passing through where they were, their hearts must have leaped with joy as cried out to Jesus asking for his mercy. Their hearts must have fluttered with hope, anticipation, and even a little worry as they asked Jesus for healing. Though they may have been a little fearful that Jesus might say no, Jesus blessed them with his healing. As verse 14 tells us, “When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” Though this was undoubtedly the very last thing that they expected to hear, they trusted that they would be healed and as the rest of verse 14 tells us, “As they went, they were cleansed.” (Luke 17:14)

In his great mercy and compassion, the Lord Jesus showered upon these 10 lepers the blessing of healing from an incurable disease. By healing them he restored them to society, he restored them to the assembly of Israelites who could go to the Temple and worship the Lord, he restored them to their wives and children, he gave them back the ability to work and provide once again for their families; in short with this great blessing, Jesus returned their lives! Now, if this had happened to you, if you had cried out to the Lord and he healed you from an incurable disease, how would you react? Would you simply go on with your day as if nothing happened? Or would you go running back to your Savior who healed you thanking and praising the one who had blessed you in such an amazing way by healing you? Sadly, only one of them came back to give thanks to the Lord Jesus for his great blessings, as verse 15 and following tell us, “One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. 17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.” (Luke 17:15–19, NIV)

Though there were ten lepers, nine of whom were undoubtedly Israelites who should have been the first to return to the Lord Jesus to give thanks for his blessings, it was only the Samaritan who returned. It was only the Samaritan whose faith in Jesus’ ability to heal him grew into saving faith when he saw that he was healed. It was that saving faith that moved him to stop where he was, turn around, and run back to his Savior as quickly as he could praising God in a loud voice, glorifying him and thanking him for the great blessing that Jesus had bestowed upon him in curing him form an incurable disease!

Well, in the same way that this leper returned to give thanks to the Lord Jesus for the great blessings of healing and salvation that Jesus had bestowed upon him, so also we have gathered to give our heartfelt thanks to the Lord for all the blessings the Lord has bestowed upon us today! Though there have been times when we have acted exactly like the thankless nine and simply gone on with our lives when the Lord has blessed us, today, as we take time to thank the Lord for all the blessings he has given us, we cannot help but be overwhelmed by our Lord’s love for us. We cannot help but be moved to live a life of thanks and praise! Take a moment, now, and just let your minds wander as you think about how the Lord your God has blessed you. Close your eyes, and visualize yourself standing in your kitchen and look around. What do you see? Do you see food cooking on the stove? Do you see dishes lined up on the counter, waiting to be washed? Do you see cupboards filled with seasonings, cups, saucers, plates, and bowls? Do you see drawers filled with silver ware, cooking utensils, dish towels? Do you see that drawer where you keep everything that doesn’t have a home? Do you see your cell phone charging on the counter? Do you see your kitchen light glowing brightly against the night? Do you hear your refrigerator running? Do you hear the water boiling on your stove? Do you feel the heat that your furnace is providing?

I could go on and on and have you walk through every room in your house, out to your garage, even to your workplace, and we could spend the rest of the night counting the many blessings the Lord has given us and giving him our praise and thanks. But even if we did that, our night would not be complete unless we took a look at the cross behind me and remembered the greatest blessing our Savior has given us! For it is from that cross we hear our Savior speaking to us and telling us: “Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. (Isaiah 1:18, NIV)

Is there any greater blessing that the Lord could bestow upon us? Is there any greater reason for us to give thanks to the Lord God, our Savior? For just like the leper who came to faith in Jesus as his Savior when he was healed of leprosy, we have come to faith in the Lord Jesus who healed us from our sins by his death and resurrection from the dead! No matter what we may have done, it is forgiven! No matter what sins we may have committed, they are forgiven! No matter how far from the Lord we may have wandered, he has called us back to his side, washed us clean in his blood, and he calls us his children! Let us run together, with that Samaritan leper, who ran back to Jesus. Let us run to Jesus praising him, thanking him and glorifying him with our all our hearts for all the blessings that he has bestowed upon us. Let us run to Jesus praising him and thanking him for all our blessings. Amen.

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

Rejoice and Be Glad Because You Are Blessed! (Matthew 5:3-12)

2010-11-21T07:00:00.000-06:00

November 21, 2010

Dear friends in Christ.

For the past seven weeks we’ve taken time to talk about Christ’s love for us and our calling to serve him. We’ve been amazed by our Savior’s love for us. We’ve talked about how important it is for us to seek time with our God, with our family, with our fellow believers, and even with our neighbors who may or may not yet know the Salvation of our Lord Jesus Christ. Today, as we come to the end of our stewardship emphasis on time, we take time to remind ourselves of all the reasons that we have to rejoice and be glad in the Lord, because the Lord our God has truly blessed us. We take time to remind ourselves that every since we have committed ourselves to Christ, through faith, no matter what we have faced in this life, we have been blessed by the Lord in one way, or another,

In fact, if we really stop to think about it, each and every one of us would have to admit that we had every reason to rejoice and be glad in the Lord our God, because we have been blessed in every way imaginable. Though we may not always feel blessed, or feel that we may not have been as blessed as this person or that person, we know that through faith in Jesus we can rejoice because we are truly blessed. Though we may not feel like the blessings of our Savior are flowing into our lives as freely or as quickly as we might expect, we can take comfort and rejoice, because we know that since we have committed ourselves to Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, he has blessed us and he will continue to bless us each and every day of our lives. In fact, I invite you to join me in taking a closer look at the blessings our Savior pronounces on us in our lesson today. Turn with me, if you would, to our Gospel Lesson, Matthew 5:3-12. Now, in Matthew 5:3-12 Jesus was at the high point of his earthly ministry. About 18 months had passed since Jesus had been baptized in the Jordan, beginning the public phase of his earthly ministry, and he had spent the last six months or so, preaching and teaching to the people of Galilee. Now as he sat on the side of that mountain, he had just recently named his 12 disciples, those men whom he would send out into the world as apostles about 18 months from this day. And now, as he sat before that group of disciples who had come to hear what he had to say, Jesus was giving them every reason to rejoice and be glad. For as Jesus spoke to them, he assured them that they truly had been blessed!

Take a look at what Jesus is say in beginning in Matthew 5:3: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:3-12)

Could there be any greater words of encouragement and assurance for Jesus to give his disciples on that day! Though he did not assure them of the forgiveness of sins or the fact that eternal life in heaven was theirs through faith in him, he gave his disciples great comfort in the words he spoke. For as Jesus sat before this group of people, he knew that he was sitting before a group of his disciplespeople who had come to hear what Jesus had to say because they knew that Jesus was truly the Messiah. They knew that he was the Savior who had been promised for long generations. They knew that he was the one who had come to free them from their sins, and now as they had gathered on the side of the mountain to hear what Jesus had to say, he encouraged them and assured them that they could rejoice! He assured them that they could rejoice because no matter what situation they faced in their lives, they would, indeed, be blessed! Whether they enjoyed a simple, quiet life as Jesus disciples, or they faced persecution, heartache, troubles and pain, their Savior, promised that they would truly be blessed!

Well, Jesus is telling us the same thing today! For as we have heard these words spoken to us, it is as if we are on that very mountainside and Jesus is sitting before us assuring us that we have been blessed. It’s as if Jesus, himself, is sitting before us and telling us to rejoice and be glad because we can be confident that we will be blessed by our Lord no matter what situation we might face in our lives. For as we have sat here, this morning, listening to the words that Jesus has spoken, it is as if we are that group of disciples who followed him to the mountain side. It is as if we are the ones who have been waiting all our lives for the Savior to appear, and now that we’ve found him we have come to hear every word he has to say. Though we have not been reminded of our sins or specifically called on to repent in this sermon today, we were reminded of our every sin as we confessed them at the beginning of our worship today. Though we have not been specifically assured that our sins have been forgiven, we were assured of that fact as we heard the words of absolution and, very shortly, we will receive tangible assurance that Jesus has forgiven us as we receive his Body and Blood in the Sacrament.

But now, as we sit at Jesus’ feet, listening to the words he is speaking today, Jesus is speaking directly to our Christian Nature—our New Self. He is speaking directly to that part of us that only delights in God’s will and longs to obey his commandments. He is speaking to us as his disciples who trust in him and telling us, “When you are poor in spirit because you are sorrowing over your sins, do not be downcast, but be assured that the kingdom of heaven belongs to you! When you are in mourning because a loved one has died, when you are facing financial difficulties, when you have become bedridden, when you cannot venture out into the world because of the snow or ice, or you are facing the realities of a terminal disease, remain hopeful, because you will be comforted. I myself will comfort you with the comfort I received from my heavenly Father. I will comfort you and uphold you and strengthen you in your faith. When you hungering and thirsting for my righteousness, you will be filled. When you are ridiculed and mocked, insulted and persecuted for what you believe, take heart, because through faith in me, heaven is already yours!”

This is why we can rejoice and be glad today, because Jesus has assured us that we will be blessed in any and every situation in our lives. For he has told us that the meek, the humble, the unassuming, those who daily go about their work with no thought of recognition, they will inherit the earth. They will be recognized. They will be thanked. They will be rewarded. They will be blessed. He has told us that those who are merciful, who are kind and compassionate, they too will receive mercymercy both from their Father in heaven, as well as the people of the world. He has told us that those who are pure in heart through faith in Jesus Christ, they will see God. They will see him face to face. They will live with him forever in heaven, and they will know him in the same way that you and I know each other. He has told us that those who are the peace makersthose who are willing to be the first to make peace when an argument has broken out, those who seek to keep the unity of peace and of the Holy Spirit in the Church, in their families, and in their livesthey will be called the sons of God. They will be named as God’s children who look forward to the inheritance that their Father offerseternal life with him forever in heaven.

What greater assurance and encouragement could our Savior give us today! For with these words, we know that we have every reason to rejoice and be glad! From these words he has spoken today, we know that we will be blessed no matter what situation we might face in our lives. This is why we have gathered here, to rejoice and be glad! Though this may be the ending of seven weeks of emphasizing our need to be stewards of our time, I pray that you have been built up and strengthened through it. I pray that you have learned or even re-learned the importance of using our time to serve the Lord, sit at his feet, and grow in his Word. I pray that you have been reminded of just how important it is for us to spend time with our friends, family, neighbors, loved ones, and fellow believers, and I pray that you have been reminded of why you too can rejoice. For, as Christians, who have committed ourselves to Christ Jesus our Savior, we have every reason to rejoice and be glad, because we have indeed been blessed by the Lord our God in every way imaginable! He has given us everything that we have, he has forgiven our sins, and he has given us the gift of eternal life by his side forever. What greater joy could we take with us today that that!

Amen.

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

Make the Most of Your Time of Grace (Philippians 1:18-27)

2010-11-14T07:00:00.000-06:00

November 14, 2010

Dear friends in Christ.

What would you want to do if you knew that you only had 6 more months to live? Now, I know, I asked you a very similar question about 3 weeks ago, and yet once again, this question here it is. What would you want to do if you knew you only had 6 months left to live? Would you want to travel and see sights that you had never seen before? Would you immerse yourself in projects and activities, volunteering your time and your energy to help others who were worse off than you? Would you wake up each and every morning thankful for one more day in which you could make the most of your remaining time, or would you simply roll over, pull the covers over your head, and wait for the end? I think it’s safe to say that if it every happened that we received the news of a severely limited life-span, each and every one of us would be moved to make the most of our remaining months on the earth. Well, in many ways, this is exactly what the Apostle Paul is calling on each and every one of us to do today. Though he may not be calling on us to make the most of our remaining time here on earth, he is clearly calling on us to make the most of our time of grace. In fact, I invite you to open your Bibles with me to Philippians 1:18. Now, when Paul wrote these verses in Philippians 1, he was sitting in prison. He was, as he said, in chains for the gospel, yet even as he wrote he expressed his great joy because he was making the most of his time of grace. He had invested his life in Jesus Christ his Savior, and through his witness, some of the guards who were guarding him had come to faith in Jesus as their Savior. Take a look at what Paul writes beginning with verse 18: “But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. 20 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. (Philippians 1:18–20, NIV)

Now, if there were ever a man who made the most of his time of grace here on earth, I would say that it would have to be the Apostle Paul. Even though he had started out as a Pharisee and a persecutor of the Church, when the Lord called him to faith, he made the most of his time of grace by investing everything he had into his life for Christ. Wherever he went, he preached the gospel and told about the Savior. Whenever he was whipped, beaten, stoned, shipwrecked, arrested, imprisoned, and otherwise abused, he continued to tell others about Jesus, the Messiah, who had come into the world to free all people from their sins, by his death and resurrection from the dead. Even now, as Paul was preparing to stand before Caesar and his court, he was looking forward to giving glory and honor to Christ his Savior through his proclamation of the Gospel, even if it should end up that he was found guilty and condemned to death. In this way, Paul made the most of his time of grace, for as he invested his life in Jesus Christ his Savior, he was looking forward to the return on his investment, the reward, the profit, the gain of eternal life in heaven. Take a look again at what Paul write in verses 18-26: “But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. 20 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23 I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; 24 but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me.” (Philippians 1:18–26, NIV)

As Paul writes from prison, he is both looking forward to the reward of eternal life with his Savior, and looking back at how he has spent his time of grace investing his life in the service of preaching the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ his Savior. Though he longed cash in that investment and finally gain the return of eternal life, he knew that his time of grace had not yet come to an end. He knew that the Lord had more investments for him to make, more labor to perform, more time that needed to be spent in this life serving those brothers and sisters who had come to faith and seeking out those who still did not know their Savior. And now, as Paul closes this section of our text, he calls on you and me to do the same and make the most of our time of grace, as he writes in verse 27: “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel (Philippians 1:27, NIV)

In such a simple way, Paul calls on each and every one of us to follow his example, and make the most of the time of grace our Savior has given us. He calls on each and every one of us to put our faith into action, investing our lives in Christ our Savior, as we share our faith with friends, family, acquaintances, and strangers—people who already know Jesus as their Savior as well as people who do not yet know of what he did to free them from their sins. In short he is calling on us to preach Christ with our lives so that people may see those good deeds that naturally flow out of our faith and give praise and glory to God, our Father, in heaven.

But how do we do that? How do we make the most of our time of grace? How do we invest our lives in Christ our Savior and live in a way that is worthy of the Gospel? Simple, we become managers, Christian Stewards of the Gospel which the Lord has given us. We take the time, as so many of us have done, to read, to listen, and to study our Bibles so that our faith continues to grow stronger. We commit ourselves to gathering regularly for worship so that as we give glory to our God we are also built up in our knowledge and understanding of our Lord. We recognize the importance of bringing our children to Sunday school and using that opportunity to gather with fellow believers and study the Bible together, and in this way strengthen and build each other up as we contend as one for the faith of the gospel. Then, when we have filled ourselves with the gospel, we take it with us into the world. We take it with us as we open our mouths to tell others about the faith that we have. We take it with us, as we open our mouths to answer the questions that others ask about our faith and the hope of eternal life that we have. We take it with us and we bring glory to God as we take time to bow our heads and give thanks for the food we are about to eat, even in the midst of a crowded restaurant. We take it with us and show that we are God’s children by the words and the actions we use while working, playing, laughing or crying, and in this way we make the most of our time of grace here on earth as we bring glory to our Savior and our God.

It is in this way that we serve as Christian stewards, investing our lives in Christ, looking forward to the eternal rewards of heaven, and making the most of our time of grace here in this world. Yet, there are times in our lives, when things simply do not go as well as we would like. There are times when it seems that the economy of our lives changes from good to bad as troubles and hardships enter into the picture. But even though there may be times when we seem to face a down-turn in our investment as sickness and sufferings enter into the picture; these are nothing less than blessings God uses to draw us closer to him. Though there may be times when we feel we are receiving negative-returns as chronic illness, debilitating pain, or seemingly endless medical attention is needed, these are nothing less than the lenses our God uses to refocus our faith on him so that we might bring him glory and honor and praise through our life and even, if he should require it, through our death! This is why the Lord has allowed the most intelligent of his followers to succumb to Alzheimer’s. This is why the Lord has allowed the strongest of his people to face Arthritis, Cancer, Dementia, and Parkinson’s. This is why the Lord has suddenly taken the life of babies, young children, teens and even young adults. He does it to remind us that our time of grace on earth is short, and we need to make the most of it now, as we serve him. He does it so that the rest of his people might see the faith and the life of his followers as they endure these hardships, sufferings, and diseases, and be strengthened by the faith of those who have been afflicted. He does it to give us the opportunity to approach his throne of heavenly grace for our friends, our loved ones, and even ourselves when we face afflictions like these. He does it so that no matter what, his name will be glorified by our life or by our death. Just as Paul wrote in verse 21: “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21)

What greater comfort could there be than the comfort of knowing that if we should live, we would be living to glorify our Savior and if we should die it would be great gain as we gained eternal life! How comforting it is to know that no matter what we face, be it life or death, we will be the victors! So then, since it is true that we will be the victors whether we live or whether we die, let us make the most of our time of grace by serving the Lord our God. Let us be managers, Christian Stewards, of God’s gift of his Word. Let us go out from here and proclaim the message of salvation with all those around us so that they also might look forward to the great return on a life invested in Christ. Let us not grow weary or complacent, pulling the covers over our heads to wait for the end to come. But let us always be like those who make the most of every day they have left as we make the most of the time of grace our Lord has given us.

Amen.

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

We are the Fellowship of Believers (Acts 2:42-47)

2010-11-07T07:00:00.000-06:00

November 7, 2010

Dear friends in Christ.

What were you doing on December 19, 2001? Were you one of the many people who were standing in long lines, waiting for their opportunity to buy a ticket to the first of the Lord of the Rings films? Were you one of the many people got a ticket for opening night and had the opportunity to sit down in a sold out theater with all the other fans you just had to see The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring on the first night? Or were you one, like me, who waited until all the excitement had begun to die down before you went to see The Fellowship of the Ring? For me, it was on the evening of December 25, 2001, when I first saw The Fellowship of the Ring. After Christmas Day Services and dinner at one of the member’s houses, Laura and I decided to make the 3 hour trip down to Rapid City (which was the closest place that the movie was playing). We made it to Rapid City just in time to purchase tickets for the last show of the evening, and though we had to wait in line for quite a while before we could go in and get our seats, we had a great time that evening.

Now, if you are not familiar with the movie, The Fellowship of the Ring, it is a story about a young hobbit, named Frodo Baggins, who through a strange twist of fate is give an ancient ring that had been lost for centuries. When it is discovered that this ring is the One Ring of the Dark Lord Sauron, Frodo begins his harrowing quest to the land of Mordor and the Cracks of Doom in order to destroy it. However, Frodo does not go alone. He is joined by nine companions who travel with him. These nine companions form the Fellowship of the Ring, and they travel together through mountains, through snow, darkness, forests, rivers, and plains facing evil and danger at every turn. Yet together they struggle on, fighting side by side, encouraging each other, and helping each other through tight scrapes. They work together because they know just how important it is for them to destroy that One Ring and end the reign of the Dark Lord Sauron. Thus is the purpose of the Fellowship of the Ring.

Now, if you think about it, in the same way that the Fellowship of the Ring traveled together on their important quest, so also we, the Fellowship of Believers, travel together on our important quest through this life. For, if you really think about it, this is what the Lord has called us to be. He has brought us together with a common faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. He has washed each and every one of us in the Water of his Word in Baptism, and given us the gift of the Holy Spirit who now lives in our hearts. He has made us brothers and sisters through faith and given us the opportunity to struggle on through this life together, fighting side by side, against our enemy, the devil, with the weapons of his Word, and he has given us to each other as companions in this life; companions who are able to comfort each other and build each other up even in the face of the most difficult times. Yes, he has brought us together as the Fellowship of Believers.

In fact, turn with me to Acts 2:42-47, and we’ll see an example of how the Lord has done this. Now in Acts 2:42-47 Luke records for us the results of Peter’s preaching to the people on Pentecost Sunday. As we heard, when we read this section as our first Lesson, when the people heard all that Peter had said, and how he convicted them of their sins, explained to them Christ’s purpose, and condemned them for rejecting Jesus as their Lord and Savior, the people who had gathered there were cut to the heart. They turned to Peter in repentance, asking how they could possibly be forgiven for what they had done, and Peter turned them to Jesus. Peter told them, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” (Acts 2:38–39, NIV) And on that day, roughly 3,000 souls were added to the Fellowship of Believers in Jerusalem.

Now, as we take a look at verse 42, Luke shows us how that faith had so taken hold of the believer’s hearts that they showed themselves to be a Fellowship of Believers. Take a look at verse 42: “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, NIV)

How would you like to be part of a congregation like that? How would you like to find yourself as a member of a congregation that so freely shows its love and dedication to the Lord in everything that it does? How would you like to be part of a congregation that is so focused on serving the Lord and loving the Lord that they show their love for the Lord by their love and concern for their fellow brothers and sisters in the faith? How would you like to belong to a Fellowship of Believers that acts exactly like those Christians did in those days and months following Pentecost?

Well that is exactly what we have here, for we are the Fellowship of Believers who have dedicated ourselves to the Apostle’s teaching as we read and study the Word of God in Bible Study. We are the Fellowship of Believers who have dedicated ourselves to the Lord and his Word by bringing our children to Sunday School where they can learn the precious truths of salvation and be built up in their knowledge and love of Jesus Christ as their Savior. We are the Fellowship of Believers who have dedicated ourselves to the Lord by our constant presence here, where we can worship the Lord our God, where we can praise him, where we can thank him, and where we can hear him speaking to us through his Word. We are the Fellowship of Believers who have been comforted by the grace and the Love of our Lord Jesus Christ, and who comfort each other in our sorrows with the comfort we, ourselves have received from our God. We are the Fellowship of Believers who sit and listen to each other when times are difficult, who sit and cry with each other through illnesses, in hospital rooms, and especially at funerals. We are the ones who think about the struggles our friends are going through and who pray for them. We are the ones who pray for each other as members of this congregation. We are the ones who bring our prayers to the Lord for his blessing upon our church and our synod so that our efforts to proclaim our Savior might continue to go forward; and we are the ones who continue to pray for all Christians throughout the world that the Lord would strengthen them in their faith and help them through their difficulties. We are even the ones who spend time with each other inside church and outside. We enjoy each other’s company. We help and serve each other through church committees, by volunteering our time to help accomplish various projects through the year, even fellowshipping with each other through things like potlucks and supper clubs.

Does that mean that our church is perfect? Oh, my, no! We are by no means perfect because we, who make up this Fellowship of Believers, are sinners saved by grace. Each and every one of us still has some rough edges to be trimmed off. There are times when we have not been as welcoming as we could have been, and visitors, guests, and even some of our members have felt put off. There have been times when we have been frustrated because Worship has simply been too long, Pastor preached for too long, there were too many prayers, we sang too many stanzas of too many hymns, or something else caused us to be less than dedicated to the Lord on that particular day. There have been times hurting brothers and sisters have put on brave and smiling faces because they have felt that no one really cares about how they feel, or even has time to give them a word of comfort or encouragement. There have been times, especially recently, when our fellowship has allowed an issue to begin to fragment us and cause us to fight among ourselves rather than standing side by side fighting with each other. You see, because we have this great fellowship through faith in Jesus Christ, our Savior, our enemy, satan, will do everything he can to destroy our unity. For in the same way that the fellowship of the nine companions in the movie, The Fellowship of the Ring, began to fragment, so also, if we are not careful our fellowship as believers could also fragment.

So what is the solution? Simple! Take a look again at Acts 2:42, where Luke tells us exactly what the Fellowship of Believer in Jerusalem did. Luke tells us, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” (Acts 2:42, NIV) This, too, is our purpose. Because we are the Fellowship of Believers whom the Lord has brought together so that we might befriend, strengthen, and up lift one another as we seek to grow in the forgiveness that Jesus won for us and grow together in his Word, our purpose and mission is to dedicate ourselves to the Apostles teaching that has been handed down to us in the pages of the Scripture. Our purpose is to make the most of every opportunity we have to gather together with our fellow brothers and sisters in faith so that we might be strengthened in our faith through our worship together. Our purpose is to make the most of every opportunity we are given to gather together to examine what the Lord has to say to us as we study the Bible for a mere 45 minutes before worship even begins. Our purpose is to encourage each other to join with us on a regular basis so that we might worship the Lord together as his children. Our purpose is to encourage each other to make the most of every opportunity to feast on the body and blood of our Lord so that we might grow in his grace and strength. Our purpose is to comfort each other in our sorrows with the comfort we have received from the Word of God. Our purpose is to fight for each other and defend each other from rumors and lies. Our purpose is to stand shoulder to shoulder with each other, wielding the weapons our Savior has bestowed upon us through his Word, as we continue to do battle against our enemy the devil and all the temptations that he brings against us.

This is what we are together! We are sinners saved by Grace. We are the children of God through faith in Jesus Christ our Savior. We are the Fellowship of Believers. Though we may not have a fancy ring that we are carrying toward destruction, we are nevertheless joined together through faith. We are warriors together in battle against satan and his evil angels. We are the Fellowship of Believers whom the Lord has called together as companions who befriend each other, uplift each other, and strengthen each other as we seek to grow in the forgiveness that Jesus won for us, which he has revealed for us in his Word.

Amen.

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

How Great is the Love the Father Has Lavished on Us! (1 John 3:1-2)

2010-10-31T07:00:00.002-05:00

October 31, 2010

Dear friends in Christ.

This morning I’d like to begin with a question. It’s a question that most of you have probably never been asked. It’s a question that many of you may not be ready to answer. It’s a question that some of you may not even be certain of how to answer. Yet it is a question that I submit to you for your consideration as we begin this morning, and my question is this: “What is your love language?” What is your love language? In other words, how is it that you express love to your spouse, or your children? How is it that you feel loved or receive love from your spouse, or your children? For most people, this is a question that they have never considered. For most people, this is a concept that they have never explored. Though each of us naturally expresses our love in a specific way, when it comes to feeling loved, or receiving love, our spouse and even our children might be used to receiving love in a different way than we are used to expressing it. It is because of this that Dr. Gary Chapman wrote his New York Times Best Selling book entitled, The Five Love Languages. In his book—which I began using in my pre-marriage classes about 4 years ago, and which I recommend to everyone—Dr. Chapman clearly tells readers that “We must be willing to learn our spouse’s primary love language if we are to be effective communicators of love.” [Chapman, Gary. The Five Love Languages. (13) Chicago: Northfield Publishing (2004).] In fact, Dr. Chapman’s conclusion, after 30 years of marriage counseling is that there are basically five emotional love languages—five ways that people speak and understand emotional love. These five ways, according to Dr. Chapman, are: Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Receiving Gifts, Acts of Service, and Physical Touch.

However, the problem is that it sometimes happens in a marital relationship that two people who love each other have difficulty showing it. They have difficulty showing their love to each other simply because they are speaking completely different love languages. For example, I am good friends with a couple who struggled with this very thing. Though the husband regularly showed his love to his wife with acts of service, such as keeping the yard beautifully mowed, raked, and the driveway shoveled, as well as by keeping the car clean and well serviced, all she really wanted was a little quality time with her husband where the two of them could sit and talk over coffee, or even just five minutes on the sofa without the kids around. (No, this is not Laura and me, this is an actual couple I know.) They struggled with showing love and feeling love until they finally understood their spouse’s primary love language. Though they have yet to perfectly master this concept, since they learned it they have grown closer to each other, they are better at sharing their love and receiving it, and their relationship has greatly improved because of it.

Thus, Dr. Chapman’s words that we must be willing to learn our spouse’s primary love language if we are to be effective communicators of love, continue to ring true, even in our lives. But even though we may need to take some time to learn our spouse’s primary love language, the Lord our God is already an expert at speaking to us with our primary love language! Even before we were born, the Lord knew exactly how he needed to communicate his love to us, and to this day he continues to communicate his love to us in the very way that we need to hear it. In fact, let’s take a look, together, at our lesson for today and see just how the Lord our God continues to do this. Turn with me, if you would, to 1 John 3:1-2. Now, as your turning to 1 John 3:1-2, let me give you a little back ground. The year was somewhere between 85 and 95 AD, we really don’t know for sure. But we do know that when John wrote this letter, he was the only Apostle who was still alive. He was the only Apostle who was not murdered for his faith, but died a natural death at a good, old age. Now, as the First Century was coming to a close, John wrote this letter to assure the second and third generation of Christians of the great love that the Lord had lavished upon them. Take a look at what John writes in 1 John 3, “1 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:1–2, NIV)

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” Could there be any greater Words of Affirmation for us, anywhere in the Bible! How great is the Love the Father has lavished upon us that we should be called the children of God! And that is what we are! We are the children of God because God the Father has lavished his love on us! Though we had been his enemies! God made us his friends! Though we were born as spiritual orphans, not knowing the Lord God our true Father, he showered his love upon us by making us his children. In fact, here is a passage you may want to write down and look up later. Galatians 3:26-29: “26 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Galatians 3:26–29, NIV) Or how about this one! Ephesians 2:4-7: “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:4–7, NIV)

What greater Words of Affirmation could there be for us to hear today that the words that John gives us when he says in 1 John 3:1 “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” This is what the Lord our God made us! This is the gift that the Lord our God bestowed upon us! For it is through faith in Jesus Christ our Savior that we have Received the Gift of the forgiveness of sins! No longer do we need to fear punishment for our sins, or eternal suffering because we cannot please God by our actions, because Jesus has blessed us with the gift of the forgiveness of sins. We have Received the Gift of Adoption, through which we have become children of our heaven Father. We have received the gifts of Salvation and Eternal life, all because the Father has lavished his great love upon us. Look with me, once again, at the two beautiful verses of our lesson today. In fact, if you have your Bibles open, read it with me: “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:1–2, NIV)

Nearly 1000 years before Christ was even born, King David spoke about these gifts in Psalm 16:11. In fact, if you go home and read the whole Psalm you will see that with these Words King David was prophesying about the coming Savior. In fact, Peter even quoted these words in his Pentecost sermon in Acts 2:24 and following: But it was in Psalm 16:11 where David said, “You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. (Psalm 16:11, NIV) Paul spoke about the gift of the Spirit that we received in Romans 8:15-17: “For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” (Romans 8:15–17, NIV) And again in Ephesians 2:8-9, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8–9, NIV)

How great is the love the Father has lavished upon us that we should be called the children of God! And that is what we are! In his great love for us, our Savior did not come to be served, but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many. (Matthew 20:28) Jesus himself told us that God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son that whoever should believe in him would not perish, but would have eternal life. (John 3:16) Even John tells us in the very next chapter, in 1 John 4:9-10, “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. (1 John 4:9–10, NIV)

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” Though the world in which we live does not know us or even understand the love in which we live, we understand that it is because they did not know him when he walked the earth, and they still do not know him today. Though this can be a very difficult thing for us to deal with as we walk through this life, our Savior continues to shower his love on us through the Quality Time that he spends with us day after day. For every time we lift our hearts and voices in prayer to the Lord, the Lord Jesus sits beside us and quietly listens to everything that we have to say. Each time we sit down to read and study his Word, our Lord Jesus communicates with us, speaking to us through those pages, even as he conveys his great love to us. Each time we gather in worship, we spend our time in quality communication with the Lord our God and Jesus Christ our Savior. For it is here in worship that we speak to him with our hymns, in our prayers and through our praises as we worship him; and it is here that he communicates with us through the lessons and even the message of our sermon. Each time we gather here we spend Quality Time with the Lord our God who continually lavishes his love upon us.

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” Though we have not had the blessing of physically seeing and touching our Savior as the Apostles did, that is not to say that we have not felt the Physical Touch of our Savior’s love. For each time that we come forward to celebrate the feast of the Lord’s Supper, we feel the physical touch of our Savior’s great love for us. Each time that wafer touches our tongue, and we ingest that bread together with our Savior’s body, we are clearly reminded of Jesus’ sacrifice for us on the cross. Each time we taste the wine, knowing that we are absorbing Jesus’ blood together with the wine; we feel our Savior’s forgiving hand holding our hearts and washing them clean, once again, from every spot and stain of our sins!

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” How great is the love our Father has lavished upon us that he continually communicates his love to us in each one of the five love languages that Dr. Gary Chapman has identified through his 30 years of marital counseling! Our God knows exactly what our primary love language is, and he lavishes his love upon us through it, but have we taken the time to learn what our God’s primary love language is? Have we taken the time to learn his primary love language so that we might communicate our love for him in it? If you had to guess, what might you say God’s primary love language is? Would you say Words of Affirmation? Would you say Quality Time? Would you say Receiving Gifts? Would you say Acts of Service? Would you say Physical Touch?

Though in reality you could argue that when it comes to God all five of the love languages work together hand in hand, I would argue that God’s primary love language is Quality Time, and his secondary love language is Acts of Service. I would argue this from what Jesus said in Matthew 22:37-40: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37–40, NIV) Loving the Lord requires that we put him first in our lives; that we spend quality time with him in reading and studying the Word, meditating on it, praying about it, and gathering to worship him. Loving our neighbor suggests that we allow the Lord’s love for us to flow through our lives as we show our love for our neighbor in the things that we do for them. Though you may not agree with me on this what is truly important for us today is that we grow in the love that our Lord has lavished upon us. As we have learned today: “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”

Amen.

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