Blog Archives

Last Sunday of the Church Year: Fuel Up!

11/27/2017

Matthew 25:1-13

Jesus calls the five virgins, who brought lamps without oil foolish. Why? Well, lamps aren't much good without oil, are they? They're just nice to look at. Everything that runs needs fuel. When I was a teenager I used to drive a 14' Alumacraft boat with a 1969 Johnson two-stroke 9.5 hp outboard motor, across Gunflint Lake. I made hundreds of trips across that lake with that motor. Yet, one day when I was crossing the lake with my younger brothers the motor quit working. There was nothing wrong with the motor. It just ran out of gas. As I rowed the boat toward the gas-dock my Dad drove by in his boat with my Mom. He laughed at me and kept driving. And he should have laughed. I was foolish. You can't run a motor without gas.

Jesus calls the five virgins with oil in their lamps wise. They are the ones, who will be ready when the Bridegroom comes. They will enter the wedding hall and enjoy the banquet. They are wise, because they have oil that fuels their lamps. Daniel chapter 12 similarly prophesies, "And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever." (vss. 2-3)

So, what is the fuel that we need, so that we will shine like the wise in this prophecy? Certainly, Jesus isn't telling us to keep flasks of oil wherever we go. The oil we need to fuel up on is wisdom. Now, not the world's wisdom. No, this wisdom is faith. It is foolishness to the wise in this world. The Holy Spirit caused St. Paul to express it quite well:

For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and folly to the Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men." (1 Corinthians 1:21-25)

Christ crucified, this is our fuel. We await the return of Christ with hope, because he died for our sins to reconcile us to God. Our certainty of salvation, our certainty of God's forgiveness and love, our certainty of an open gate into the heavenly banquet rests in these words, "Jesus crucified for me." This is why the children in Wednesday School have learned by heart this hymn:

On my heart imprint Your image, Blessed Jesus, King of grace,
That life's riches, cares, and pleasures Never may Your work erase;
Let the clear inscription be:
Jesus, crucified for me,
Is my life, my hope's foundation,
And my glory and salvation! (Thomas H. Kingo, LSB 422)

There is no other hope of salvation. Many people have lamps, that is, they have the appearance of religion. They are nice and do good works for people. They look no different than any other Christian. If you saw the women standing in a line with their clay lamps, you wouldn't be able to tell which one has oil in her lamps and which one doesn't, until the Bridegroom arrives and the lamps need to be lit. Though the virgins bang on the closed door with their oil-less lamps, the Lord will not open to them. The appearance of faith does not save. Good works do not save. Only faith in Jesus Christ alone saves.

This is an urgent message from our Lord. No one knows when Jesus will return. He will arrive like a thief in the night. And when he comes you will not have time to go and fill your lamps. And many have a false security that their lamps are full. They say, well, I have faith. But if they are asked simple questions like, "who is Jesus," or "what did he do for you" or even, "how do you know that you will go to heaven" they stare blankly like deer in the headlights. But this isn't something to play games with. Jesus said to those faithless virgins, "I do not know you." No worse words can be spoken to you by Christ on the day of his heavenly banquet. You must have oil now and you must constantly make sure that your oil has not run out.

Where do you get oil now so that you are ready? The Psalmist confesses to God, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." (Psalm 119:105) Romans 10 states, "Faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ." (vs. 17) 2 Timothy 3 states, "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness." (vs. 16) You fuel up by hearing the Word of God.

You hear things all the time. And you believe things all the time. We're growing in all types of wisdom every day. But are you hearing what God says? Are you gaining his wisdom? Or is the wisdom you're gaining from the world making God's wisdom seem foolish to you? Oil runs out. And faith dries up too. Unless you continue to fill it up by hearing God's Word, you will not retain your faith.

One of the most glaring signs that someone's faith is weakening is when they stop regularly going to church. Hebrews 10 states, "Do not neglect to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." (vs. 25) It is in church that we hear God's Word the most. It is there where it is explained and taught, where the Law is distinguished from the Gospel. It is in church where Christ feeds you his very body and blood, which we confess strengthens our faith toward God and our love for one another. It is in church where we encourage one another. Yes, having fellow Christians stand with you, confess the Creed with you, sing the hymns with you, listen to God's Word with you, that is encouraging! Even the Bible says so! So, when you go to church, you don't just do it for yourself, you do it for your brothers and sisters in Christ, who need encouragement in the Lord.

Our Epistle lesson states, "For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing." (1 Thess. 5:9-11) How do you know that God has destined you to obtain salvation? By hearing the Gospel that Jesus died for you, so that you might live with him. This is what Scripture teaches us to believe and confess. This is how Scripture teaches us to encourage one another: by confessing Christ and him crucified. The Gospel, that you can confess to your husband or wife, your children and your friends, this is that fuel that lights your lamp.

Yet, people don't like hearing the Gospel. They think it's boring. "I already know it." Or they think it's embarrassing, someone might think you're religious or a "Jesus-freak." And many are simply offended by it. If Jesus died for your sins, that means you have something about yourself that is wrong, that needs to be fixed. It means that you need to repent of your sins and try to amend your life. That ticks people off. "Don't tell me I have to change my attitude or behavior. The Jesus I know wouldn't be so judgmental. The Jesus I know would accept me for who I am." And so many, to save their own pride, invent a false-Jesus, who doesn't care about your sins and they reject the Jesus covered in the blood which washes away their sins.

I suppose their made-up Jesus also would have let in the five foolish virgins for having pretty lamps without oil. But the Jesus, who actually exists says to the faithless virgins, "I do not know you." And this is what Jesus says to those who refuse to repent of their sins and believe the Gospel.

For many, the real Jesus seems mean. They'd prefer the imaginary Jesus. So, many are led astray by a teaching called Universalism, which states that everyone will go to heaven. But the true Jesus is much more merciful than anyone could imagine. Our Lord Jesus, although he was in the form of God did not seek equality with God a thing to be grasped, but humbled himself to the point of death on the cross. He took our sins from us. If you could actually see the full weight of your sins and the damage they do to your soul, you would be horrified. And Jesus took all sins and suffered more than anyone could ever know for them. And Jesus welcomes us into heaven purely through faith in him, Jesus rescued you from real danger. Universalism mocks Christ's crucifixion and denies the existence of danger.

And so, we cling to the real Jesus in faith. We trust in his forgiveness and mercy. We let him feed our souls and fill our lamps. The world calls us foolish. This faith is nonsense to them. But this faith is the wisdom that gives salvation. And with this faith, our lamps will be lit, so that we will enter the heavenly banquet when our Bridegroom Jesus comes. Amen.

1 Comment

November 25th, 2017

11/25/2017

0 Comments

Luke 17:11-19
Trinity Lutheran Church
Pastor James Preus
November 22, 2017

Last week President Trump not so subtly asked for a thank you from three college basketball players whom he helped release from custody in China, where they were arrested for alleged shoplifting. Now you may have opinions about our president and his use of Twitter, but our septuagenarian chief of state displayed a sentiment felt by many, especially those of the older generation. "The youth these days aren't grateful! They don't know how good they have it. They don't know how to say, thank you!"
And it's true, mostly! Young people are in general unappreciative. But it's not just the young. Everyone has a problem with realizing the blessings they have. Counting your blessings is a good exercise, especially in this season of thanksgiving. And we certainly have a lot to give thanks for. We're dressed in fine clothing, we eat sumptuously every day, we live in warm, dry, and clean homes. We have beating hearts and our members and senses function.
Yet to give thanks you need more than simply to count your blessings. Even an atheist can recognize his fortune in having good health and wealth. To be thankful you also need to know from whom your blessings come. When you recognize both the blessings you receive and you know who gives you these blessings, that is faith. Giving thanks is a beautiful fruit of faith. So, the thankful leper in our lesson teaches us a whole lot about saving faith.
All ten lepers cry out to Jesus asking for help. This doesn't necessarily mean that they all had faith in Jesus. Leprosy is a terrible disease. These men were in excruciating pain, not to mention they were ostracized from their families and communities. They had heard that Jesus could heal them, so they ask him for help. Suffering makes people desperate. There is a whole industry of so-called natural medicine, much of which does not work at all, but desperate people suffering from various ailments buy them, because they don't know what else to do.
Yet after Jesus heals them, only one of the ten returns to give thanks. Having faith isn't a prerequisite for being healed. God lets his rain fall on the just and the unjust and shines his sun on the wicked and the righteous alike. He feeds the unbelievers just as he does the Christians and medicine works on both those who pray and those who don't. And when someone recovers from an illness it doesn't mean that he had a stronger faith than the one, who didn't recover.
Yet Jesus says to the one thankful leper, "Your faith has made you well." Well, actually Jesus said, "Your faith has saved you." The Greek word for "save" can mean to save eternally. It can also mean to help or make someone healthy. Considering the context, that the man was just healed from leprosy, most translators think "made you well" is the most fitting translation. Yet, all ten of the lepers were made well from their leprosy. Did they all have faith? We know only of the faith of this one leper, because he gave thanks.
When Jesus heard the request of the lepers he told them to go to show themselves to the priests and on the way, they realized they were healed. Jesus didn't send the lepers to the priests to be healed of their leprosy. Jesus already healed their leprosy. He sent them to the priests, because God had established a rite to cleanse a leper after he had been healed of his leprosy. This cleansing is spiritual. The healing is physical.
Leviticus chapter fourteen explains what the priest must do for a man, who has been healed of leprosy, so that he may be clean. It involves sacrificing a pigeon and dripping blood on the leper as well as sacrificing lambs to atone for sin. Jesus tells the lepers to go to the priests in the temple. The priests would then make sacrifices for them to make them spiritually clean.
And it's not that there is something special in the blood of doves or lambs that makes lepers clean. Rather, the sacrifices are done according to the God's command and because God promises to be present in his temple. The healed lepers were going to the temple to be in God's presence and receive spiritual healing. Yet the one leper, when he saw that he was healed returned to Jesus. He gave thanks and glorified God at Jesus feet. The word used here for "give thanks" is only used in the New Testament to give thanks to God. And here the man gives thanks to God at the feet of Jesus. The man recognizes, who Jesus is. He recognizes God in Jesus. He sees in Jesus that he can get not only physical healing, but spiritual cleansing.
And this is why Jesus says, "Your faith has saved you." The man has faith in Jesus. He worships him as his God. He gives thanks to him as the provider of all good things. Yet, even more, the man sees Jesus as the source of spiritual cleansing. The dove and lambs that would be sacrificed in the temple in Jerusalem were only a shadow pointing to Christ, who even then was journeying to Jerusalem, where he would be the final sacrifice for atonement, which would cleanse the whole world.
Giving thanks is not what saves you. Faith in Jesus Christ alone saves. Yet thanksgiving makes known that faith is living just as large juicy shiny apples make clear that the roots under the ground are strong and healthy. And so, when you give thanks to God you make known your faith. You acknowledge that you receive all good things from God alone. As our hymn of the day proclaims,
Now thank we all our God With hearts and hands and voices,
Who wondrous things has done, In whom His world rejoices;
Who from our mothers' arms Has blessed us on our way
With countess gifts of love and still is ours today. (LSB 895)
With such proclamation of thanksgiving, we also express full confidence that God will continue to bless us throughout our lives and that we may ask him for all we need.
Holy Communion or the Lord's Supper has historically been referred to as the Eucharist. Eucharist comes from the Greek word for giving thanks. "Our Lord on the night when he was betrayed took bread and after giving thanks he broke it and gave it to them saying..." Jesus gave thanks to his Father for the Sacrament he was giving to his disciples. And we give thanks to God every time we receive this Sacrament. "It is truly meet, right, and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, holy Lord, almighty Father, everlasting God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord..." we pray before the Words of Institution every Sunday. "O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good, and His mercy endureth forever... We give thanks to you almighty God, that You have refreshed us through this salutary gift, and we implore You that of Your mercy You would strengthen us through the same in faith toward You and in fervent love toward one another; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord..." We pray this prayer of thanksgiving after we receive the Sacrament.
We give thanks, because we, like the thankful leper, recognize where our true healing comes from. In our prayer of thanksgiving we confess the benefit we receive from Christ's body and blood, strengthening in faith toward God and in fervent love toward one another. These prayers of thanksgiving express our faith that the Jesus, who gave himself up to die on the cross for the atonement of our sins gives himself to us in this Sacrament with all the benefits of his dying and rising.
Thanksgiving, like faith, can be misplaced. Most people will say they have faith. Whether their faith is in the promises of the forgiveness of sins and eternal salvation won through the atoning suffering and death of Jesus Christ and given through the preaching of the Gospel and administration of the Sacraments is another story. Likewise, nearly everyone in America is celebrating Thanksgiving this long weekend. But for what are they thankful for? And to whom are they giving thanks? We are thankful for all good things, which God showers upon us in our lives, which we can list off from the explanations to the First Article of the Creed and the Fourth Petition, "Give us this day our daily bread" from our Small Catechism. But above all, we give thanks for Jesus, his death for our sins and resurrection, which gives us eternal life and for his coming to us now in the midst of this life. And we give thanks to the only God, who can save; the one who sent his Son to save us. Such thanksgiving is not misplaced, because such faith is not misplaced. Amen.

0 Comments

Final Judgment: Love Christ, Love His Church

11/20/2017

0 Comments

Trinity 26 (Second to Last Sunday)
Matthew 25:31-46

November 19, 2017

On the Last Day the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne and before him all nations will be gathered. And he will separate the people as a shepherd separates sheep and goats. The sheep on his right will enter eternal life. The goats on the left, however, will go away into eternal punishment.

People don't like to think of a final judgment. And oddly enough, many who even believe in heaven don't believe that there is a hell. I'm sure many people come to this opinion by their own wishful thinking, yet even those who claim to be leaders in the church make the same claim! Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Elizabeth Eaton was recently asked in an interview for the Chicago Sun, "Is there a hell?" She answered, "There may be, but I think it's empty."1

Of course, she's wrong. Jesus is right. Jesus tells us clearly that just as there is a heaven, where the righteous will enjoy eternal life, there is a hell, where the cursed will go to be punished eternally. So, for anyone who fears God, life's greatest question is, "How will I be judged righteous, so that I will go into eternal life and not into eternal punishment?"

Scripture clearly answers this question. You are declared righteous by God through faith in Jesus Christ, not by your works. The Holy Spirit caused St. Paul to write, "Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: 'Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.'" (Romans 4:4-8)

You are declared righteous, because you are forgiven for Christ's sake. For the sake of Jesus' suffering and death all your sins are forgiven. That means that on Judgment Day none of your sins will remain to accuse you, as the Psalmist says, "As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us." (Psalm 103:12) You don't earn this forgiveness and righteousness through your works, rather it is given to you as a gift through faith alone, as Romans 3:28 states, "For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law."

And our Gospel lesson agrees with this teaching. The King will say to those on his right, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." This kingdom where the righteous will enjoy eternal life was prepared for them from the foundation of the world! In other words, before the righteous could do any righteous deeds, God had chosen them as heirs, blessed them, and prepared a kingdom for them. This is exactly what St. Paul says to the Ephesians in chapter 1, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him." (vss. 3-4)

Nevertheless, our Lord Jesus chooses in this lesson on the final judgment to extol good works. The righteous will be praised for their good works. While these works don't earn your salvation, they were prepared beforehand for you to do, "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." (Eph. 2:10) What are these good works, prepared beforehand by God himself, which will be praised by Christ as he sits on his glorious throne? They are works of love. Giving food to the hungry and water to the thirsty. Clothing the naked, visiting those in prison and aiding the sick and lonely. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. It's actually pretty simple.

Of course, even non-Christians can do these things. Why then are they not rewarded? A good tree bears good fruit. The fruit of the Christian is good, because the Christian has been washed in the blood of Jesus and received the Holy Spirit through faith. So, even when your works seem insignificant, God counts them as precious, because one of his little children has done them. The works of the unbelievers are not praised by God, because they are produced by bad trees. Scripture states, "Without faith it is impossible to please God." (Hebrews 11:6) Without faith your works will all stand together, the good with the bad. Every so-called good deed you do will be judged by your sinful motive and along with your evil thoughts and desires. Yet through faith in Jesus, God makes your works holy. Your sins have been erased and God glories in the works Christ has done through you.

And to whom do we do these works of love? Now, we are certainly commanded to do good to everyone, even our enemies. Scripture states, "If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink." (Proverbs 25:21) Yet, Jesus says to the righteous, "As you did to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me." Who are the least of these his brothers? They are your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Jesus wants you to find him in your fellow Christian. He says the same thing in Matthew 18, "Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me..." (vs. 5) And in Matthew 10 Jesus says, "Whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward." (vs. 42)

Christ dwells in each of his Christians. So, he wants each of his Christians to love the other. Our Lord says in John 13, "A new command I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (vss. 34-35) If you hate one of your fellow Christians, you hate someone Christ loves. Even more, if you hate one of your fellow Christians, you hate Christ.

It is common for people to say that they love Jesus. It is less common for people to love Christ's Church. People refuse to go to church, because they don't like the people there. Or they show complete disinterest in the people of God. All the while they claim to love Jesus.

What would you husbands do if a guy went up to you and said, "Hey man, I think you're really cool, but your wife is a real so-and-so." Would you have beers and chum around with him? If you did you'd be a total loser and a bad husband. Christ is not a bad husband to his bride. He loves his Church. And if you are going to love Christ, you have to love his Church.

And this is why the King will bring out these works and extols them as the finest works ever done. He extols them as one would a bountiful harvest from his grove of fine trees. These works show love to Christ. We all want to serve Christ. If you don't want to serve Christ, then you aren't a Christian. Well, how do you serve Christ? He's in heaven. We're down here. Jesus tells us to love one another. When you receive your brother and sister in Christ you receive Christ himself.

And through these marvelous works, God does great things both in this life and in the life to come. Just look at the incredible welfare provided to the poor and needy by Christians: orphanages, hospitals, schools, charities and relief programs. Yes, Christians will help even unbelievers, but they have especially taken care of their own. And this glorifies God.

And who builds churches and funds missionaries? Do unbelievers pay for men to preach the gospel, baptize and visit the sick and distressed? No, Christians, who love Christ and his Church do. God worked through Christians to fund missions, build churches, translate Bibles and other Christian books. And we today are the benefit of these acts of love. We have a church building built and paid for by the tithes of those, who came before us. We benefit, even in eternity, by the sweat and blood and sacrifice of Christians, who went before us, who loved Christ's Church and wanted future generations to learn of Jesus. And how many of you here today benefited from a father and mother, who were determined to teach you about Jesus, to bring you to church, to pray with you; who received you in Jesus' name?

Do you love Christ's Church? Do you love your fellow Christian? Do you care if he's hungry or thirsty, whether he needs clothes or just a friend to talk to, or a someone who will pray for him? Do you care about the salvation of your neighbor? Do you teach your children about Jesus? Do you support the preaching of the Gospel, so that future generations can have the inheritance you have in heaven?

My father-in-law was given a t-shirt as a joke, with the sentence on the front, which says, "Jesus is coming. Look busy." But that's not what the message of Jesus is for you today. You can't just look busy for Jesus; give a bunch of money to the church, donate your clothes to charity or give to Swaddling Clothes. That would be like taping apples onto an ash tree. No, to produce good fruit you need to be a good tree. To love Christ's Church, you first need to have faith in Christ.

You'll notice that when Christ credits the righteous for their selfless works of love toward him, the sheep replied, "Lord, when did we see you in need and minister to you?" They were ignorant of their good works. They didn't remember them. That's because they weren't keeping tabs of their own good works. They weren't just keeping busy in hope that Christ would consider them righteous. They loved, because God loved them. (1 John 4:19)

The Christian is rich in good works, but the Christian doesn't trust in good works. He trusts in Christ. St. Paul after listing off his myriad of good works proclaims, "But whatever gain I had, I count as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends of faith." (Philippians 3:7-9)

God finds value in your good works. You find value in Christ. If your good works are lacking, focus on Christ. It is through faith in Christ that Christ works in you and through you. And for those who trust in Christ, their good works will not go unrewarded by God. You have certainty that you will inherit the kingdom of heaven by having certainty in Christ, who died for you. Everyone whose has faith in the forgiveness of sins through Christ will be called blessed by our Father in heaven. Amen.

0 Comments

Trinity 25

11/13/2017

0 Comments

Matthew 24:15-28

11/12/2017

Our Gospel lesson is actually a chunk taken out of the middle of an answer Jesus gives his disciples, which takes up the entire 24th chapter of Matthew. At the beginning of the chapter Jesus tells his disciples that the temple will be destroyed. His disciples then go up to him and ask a flurry of questions, "When will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?" And in our Gospel lesson Jesus answers these questions in one big mesh.

Jesus addresses the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, which was actually destroyed in the Siege of Jerusalem in the year 70. This is the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel in chapter 7. Roman troops burned the temple and killed hundreds of thousands of people in Jerusalem. The temple was never rebuilt and sacrifices were never offered on its altar again. Jesus warns his disciples to flee when they see these things beginning to place.

Jesus also addresses his coming and the close of the age. On the Last Day, Christ will return on clouds of heaven with power and great glory and he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other (Matt. 24:30-31)

So, it might seem like this Gospel lesson doesn't apply to you that much. The temple in Jerusalem was destroyed nineteen and a half centuries ago, so you don't need to heed the warning to flee to the mountains. And the return of Christ and the closing of the age seems so far away. Every generation of Christians is told to expect it, but they die before it happens. But do not be mistaken. This warning Jesus gives applies to you and me today.

We are living in the end times. In the 24th chapter of Matthew Jesus perfectly describes what it is like to live in the end times. Lawlessness will be increased and the love of many will grow cold. False christs and false prophets will arise to deceive the people. There will be wars and rumors of wars, famines and earthquakes, Christians will be persecuted and killed, and people with betray and hate one another. Does this sound familiar?

We're an impatient people. Just like the children of Israel, we think Jesus has been delayed for too long, so we go after other gods. Sure, we may not worship a golden statue, but we fear, love, and trust in things that are not the true God. We worship money, fear the influence of people, love our friends and family more that Christ, we trust in ourselves, in our own jobs, and our government instead of the God, who has promised to continue to take care of us.

Christ warns that false christs and prophets will lead astray, if possible, even the elect. The elect! Those, who are chosen before the foundation of the world to sit at the feast of salvation! Satan and his false teachers will go after you. It doesn't matter if you are a life-long Lutheran or your father was a charter member of the congregation or you go to church every Sunday, those are exactly the people these false christs and false prophets will seek to lead astray. And so, you must never put down your guard.

False prophets will lead people astray with great signs and wonders. How many times over the centuries and still today do people flock to a statue or grave of a saint, because it is claimed that it provided healing remedies. Roman Catholics and those in the Eastern Orthodox Church continue to put their trust in saints instead of Christ alone, because they are convinced by a supposed miracle. While their devotion is certainly religious, it is not centered on Christ, who alone saves!

And I'm sure you've seen them on television: faith-healers. People flock to churches that promise to heal various diseases. Many are fooled into thinking others are healed or even that they themselves are healed of an illness they may or may not have had. And even perhaps, by some satanic power some are even temporarily healed from actual ailments. And they'll claim to speak in tongues, saying they have the gift of the Holy Spirit. And that is why many flock to these healers and tongue speakers: they want to have the Holy Spirit. Yet, God's Word promises the gift of the Holy Spirit in Baptism and in the Lord's Supper with Christ Jesus, himself! Yet, these churches reject Baptism as a work of God and the Lord's Supper as the true body and blood of Christ. So, they look for some other assurance of the presence of God. And they are led astray by faux wonders instead of the true means of grace given by God and promised in Scripture.

Of course, these false prophets will lead many astray even without wonders, as many probably wouldn't even believe in Jesus' miracles if they saw them. So, they lead many away with smooth talk. They scratch the itching ears by giving the people what they want to hear. "Let's not talk of sin, that makes us uncomfortable. Repentance is so archaic. The Church really needs to get in step with the 21st century, doesn't it? Let's not talk about true and false doctrine, that's so divisive." So, many are willingly led astray, because they don't want to deny themselves and follow Jesus.

And of course, if miracles and rhetoric won't work, Satan will try violence, which is actually the least effective weapon against Christ's saints. We saw this last Sunday, when people gathered to worship Christ were gunned down in their church building. Twenty-six people died and twenty more injured. It outraged the nation, because church should be a safe place to gather in this free country. It was a horrible and wicked action that was no doubt instigated by the evil one.

Yet, even in that moment of horror, God was able to do good. The most persistent warning Jesus gives concerning his return is to stay on guard. You do not want to be caught unawares when the Master returns, lest you be found unfaithful. The Christians greatest fear is to die with an unrepentant heart or in the state of unbelief. In the Lord's Prayer, we ask God to "deliver us from evil." Certainly, this would include delivering us from a mad man shooting up our church. Yet, much more, we pray that God would deliver us from an evil death. An evil death is to die a sinner without repentance and without faith. So, we thank God that he was patient with us, so that we did not die when we had a hateful or unrepentant, or unbelieving heart, but has turned us back to him. And we pray that God would continue to keep us repentant and trusting in Jesus, so that we are ready to die or Christ's return, whichever comes first.

And so, God did deliver even those shot and killed in that church in Sutherland Springs, Texas from an evil death. They died trusting in Jesus. To die a Christian is the greatest way to die. To die confessing Christ is to die well. And no amount of bullets or bombs can make the Christian death evil. The murder is evil. But the death of his saints is precious in God's sight (Psalm 116:15).

You do not know your dying hour. And even more, you do not know the hour of Christ's return. He will return like a thief in the night. And so, you must be prepared today to meet your God. You are prepared by trusting in Christ and his death for your sins.

When the temple was destroyed all sacrifices stopped. The Jews trusted in the sacrifices, because through them God forgave their sins. Of course, the sacrifices of animals didn't forgive their sins, but the sacrifices pointed to Christ, who has once and for all died for all sins. This is why God has not and will not have the temple be rebuilt. Christ has replaced the temple. The temple was where God's presence was. The destruction of the temple was called the abomination of desolation, because it removed God's presence from his people.

The warning of the abomination of desolation is still valid today. The abomination of desolation is the removal of God's presence from us his people. It is the removal of Christ from us. "Christ's over here! He's over there! This is what Jesus really says." These are the cries we will hear. And they'll be accompanied with signs and wonders and sweet talk. But Jesus says not to listen to them. Christ is only where his blood is offered to his Christians; where the forgiveness he won on the cross is faithfully proclaimed. False christs and false prophets, they all have the same goal: to take you away from the sacrifice of Christ for your sins. You identify these false christs and false prophets by what they teach. They teach contrary to God's Word. And their aim is to take your focus away from Christ and his work of forgiveness.

No one can predict when Jesus will return. So, if anyone claims to know when, you can mark him as a false prophet. Yet, when Christ does return there will be no mistake what's happening. Just as lightning lights up the sky, everyone will see it and it will be too late to prepare when it happens. But those gathered around Christ will be prepared. They will not be caught off guard. And so we continue to gather where Christ promises to be, where his sacrifice for our sins is proclaimed and where his forgiveness is administered to us in both Word and Sacrament. Right here, we are prepared to die well. And right now, we are prepared for Christ's return. Oh, Lord, Keep us steadfast in your Word and Faith. Amen.

0 Comments

Trinity 24: Jesus Cuts Through the Commotion

11/5/2017

0 Comments

Matthew 9:18-26

November 4, 2017

You can imagine how the father felt. He enters his own house, yet today it seems like a strange place. The songs of flutes pierce the air as mourners wail and howl. His normally spacious home is cramped as he elbows his way through the crowd clad in black. He hardly recognizes his wife as grief distorts her face and tears wet her cheeks. It's so noisy his vision blurs. Then he sees through the crowd the slightly ajar door of his little girl's bedroom. His heart sinks, because he knows that behind that slab of wood lies the lifeless body of his young daughter. The man is so discombobulated by clamor and sorrow he nearly forgets that Jesus, the healer, stands behind him.

Jesus expresses different emotions. He's irritated by the commotion and says to the flautists, wailers, and mourners, "Go away! The girl is not dead, but sleeping." They laugh and jeer at him, yet Jesus sends them out nonetheless, permitting only the child's father and mother, and three of his disciples to stay. He takes the girl by the hand and raises her from the dead as if he were waking her from sleep.

All these noise makers thought they were helping. But they weren't. They were just making a bunch of noise and distracting the man from the presence of Jesus. And this really is what our life is filled with. A bunch of noise; distractions from what is really important.

Death is inevitable for all of us. Whether you get plowed over by a terrorist driving a truck or suffer a fatal heart attack after Thanksgiving dinner, you know that you're going to die. And the world has a way of dealing with this imminent death. Make noise. That's all it is. Noise to distract you from your grief and fear.

Television preachers will sell you a prosperity gospel of riches and fame if you worship the god of optimism. Politicians will promise you safety and security. The gods of the marketplace will convince you to eat this, drink that, or take this to postpone death. And everyone listens to a different spirit preach a different meaning of life and death and happiness. And all this is simply noise being blown into your ears to distract you from the corpse lying across the room.

If only that's all these noisemakers were doing. But the real goal of all this noise is to block out Jesus from your vision; to distract you from your faith in him. According to Mark's Gospel, when the ruler heard the gut-wrenching news that his daughter had died, Jesus turned to him and said, "Do not fear, only believe." (Mark 5:36) "Don't worry, didn't I promise you I would help?" So, the man finds strength for each step home in this promise of Jesus.

"Don't be afraid," our God tells us. "Block out all this noise that seeks only to distract you from me. Did I not tell you that I would keep you safe." You sitting here today have this promise. Scripture says that God our Father "has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." (Colossians 1:13-14) Do you believe this? Sometimes?

It's easy to be distracted from God's promise that he forgives you and has rescued you from Satan and death when you are assaulted by both on a daily basis. "Has God really transferred me into his Son's kingdom? But my sins still haunt me. I don't feel forgiven. I disobey my God, I'm not filled with his wisdom and understanding and I certainly am not walking in a manner worthy of the Lord!" Repent! Repent of your foolishness and sin and hear God's promise of forgiveness and redemption in Jesus Christ! Cut through the noise by listening to Christ's promise.

This is why we must continue to hear God's Word and remind ourselves of his promises of grace and mercy. We forget it so easily. And the noise of this world is deafening. Satan will always find something else to distract us from our faith. He'll get us paranoid about earthly problems. But if I don't do this, I won't have enough money. If I do this, I'll lose all my friends. If I don't do that, I'll die! "What are you so worried for?", God asks. "I, I am he who comforts you; who are you that you are afraid of man who dies, of the son of man who is made like grass, and have forgotten the LORD, your Maker?" (Isaiah 51:12-13a)

How insignificant all our problems are, especially when we consider what God himself has promised us! Stay true to God's Word. Trust in him. Do you actually think he'll let you go to ruin. Who on earth is capable of harming you? Are you afraid of someone, who's heartbeats are numbered? Or fear losing something that will pass away with the wind? The God, who laid down the foundations of the earth has promised to take care of you. Stay faithful to him. Hear his word and find comfort in his promises.

And yet this is the most difficult thing in the world to do. And many reject this comfort out of hand. Why is that? If a doctor offered to take away your pain for free, would you refuse him? If someone offered to wash your windows or fix your washing machine or bring you a hot and tasty meal, would you refuse? We don't refuse help for much lesser important things, yet when Christ offers help from death, that ever-present danger, we ignore him. And how many even get angry when someone offers a prayer or an invitation to church?

This shows you that this noise is not just incidental. It is a coordinated attack. And when Jesus comes with the promise and power to rescue from death and hell, the noise becomes deafening and Satan entices hearts to grow cold or even hostile to this help. The ruler of this world raves. And his wails grow louder and more vitriol the nearer Christ's kingdom comes.
You do not have the power to cut through this commotion nor to silence the attacks of the devil. Only Jesus has this power. Jesus silences the moans of this world and shuts the mouth of Satan. And our Lord doesn't simply distract us from death. Christ conquers death, swallowing him up with his own death on the cross. And he gives us the victory through faith in him. Jesus is our only safe haven, as we just sang:

In Thine arms I rest me; Foes who would molest me
Cannot reach me here.
Though the earth be shaking, Ev'ry heart be quaking,
Jesus calms my fear.
Lightnings flash And thunders crash;
Yet though sin and hell assail me, Jesus will not fail me. (LSB 743:2; Jesus, Priceless Treasure)

You need Jesus to cut through the noise, but Jesus comes to you in a very specific way. He promises to come to you through his Word. The trees aren't going to assure you of Jesus' promises. Neither will your television or unbelieving friends or bottle of booze block out Satan's noise and comfort you with the Gospel. Jesus comes through his Word. Preached, prayed, and sung. You need to have Jesus' word in your home and you need to come and hear it preached. You need to hear that your sins are forgiven. You need to sing the faith. And having tasted that the Lord is good, you need to receive the Lord's benediction. This is how Jesus comes to you. This is how Jesus cuts through the noise. As Christ promises in John 15, "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me." (John 15:4)

When you have confidence in Jesus' promise to defeat death for you, you can approach your own death in a different light. You may find the air clear a bit. When you look at death you see a defeated enemy. You know that God is the God of the living. Those who die trusting in him may be dead to the world, but they remain alive to God. And God will exercise his power to raise all the dead and bring us, who believe in Christ, both body and soul into eternal life.

Many sons and daughters died in Israel during Jesus' three-year ministry, yet Jesus only raised a few from the dead. Yet by these demonstrations of power over death and finally through his own resurrection, our Lord communicates to us today that he is both willing and able to rescue us and all believers from death. May God give each of us grace to block out the noise and hold fast to Christ's promise to defeat death. Amen.

0 Comments

<<Previous

"For faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." ~ Romans 10:17

Last Sunday of the Church Year: Fuel Up!

November 25th, 2017

Final Judgment: Love Christ, Love His Church

Trinity 25

Trinity 24: Jesus Cuts Through the Commotion

Rev. James Preus

Archives

Categories