As a parent I want my sons’ lives to be good. I want them to feel minimal pain, minimal strife, minimal sadness. I want them to be well off, happy, find love and have a family that loves them. Do you all feel the same way towards your loved ones? But, can you guarantee this? Can you state for a fact that their life will be good? We all know the answer is not in this lifetime.

Ever since the fall of man, the expulsion from the garden of Eden, sin entered the world. Everything is now corrupt and corruption breeds corruption. This world, life here is not getting better, but it continues to get worse. This is the making of man, this is the making of sin, you inherit it and pass it on from generation to generation. To ask for good in this life is an oxymoron.

To be honest, this life holds only pain, sadness, suffering, and death. It is full of greed, envy, sloth, adultery, murder, gluttony and humanity thinks it can make it better. It’s like spilling a drip of paint on a priceless painting and saying ‘I can fix it’ in which you just smear it over more parts of the painting in trying to wipe it off spreading the destruction and messing the painting up even more.

You are known by your fruits. Look at what mankind has done. Our sin has led to massive waste, our sin has caused the extinction of species, our sin has led to massive pollution, our sin has led to disease after disease. Humanity apart from God is a diseased tree bearing only deadly fruit. You see this in the selfishness and vanity of people, you see this in the distrust of neighbors, you see this in the apathetic way people ignore others in need. What good can come from man. The answer is none. Dead in sin, rotten literally to your core there is nothing you can do to make your situation any better. Have you not heard the phrase the road to hell is paved with ‘good intentions.’

The Gospel tells you to beware of false prophets. Those people out in the world that will tell you that you are good the way you are. You do you. Do what you feel. Love yourself. Find your happiness. Love is love.
“Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, ‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you.'”
These are the fierce wolves who say twisted things to turn you away from God.

Yes, you are a sinner, but your comfort is not in yourself. Do not listen to those who tell you otherwise, but trust only in the Word of God. For this is your comfort. Yes, you are wicked, yes you are a sinner, but this is why Christ came down from heaven. He took corrupted mankind and was born of a virgin. He was born without sin. He who knew no sin took on sin in our place and went to the cross to die for you. Yes, you are a sinner, but you are saved. Your hope is in Christ Jesus. You know that this world is fallen, but you have real good, pure good with you because you have Christ. You have been washed clean by water and His Word.

Yet, even though you are made brand new in Christ. He does not say that it’s going to be roses and unicorns. He tells you that life as a Christian is going to be rough because you are foreigner in a land that is no longer meant for you. You are a citizen of heaven and that makes you an enemy of this world and satan. This world and satan will do whatever it can to corrupt you, to choke you out so that you turn away from that saving Word, that you turn away from the fact that Christ has forgiven you, and covered you in His righteousness. Not by what you have done, but by what He has done for you. Therefore, because you have this you will be attacked all the more. Look at Job, look at the prophets, look at the apostles, it did not end well for them in this world. Do not think it will end well for you either.

People may think that this is a bleak outlook that I am telling you that you only have troubles and tribulations ahead, but I would be lying if I said otherwise. But, but this world is not where your home is. This world is not where your treasures lie. You can leave this place in joy, you can wake up tomorrow in joy because this is not your home because this is not where your treasures lie. You have joy because of what Christ has done, you have joy in the bleakest of situations because you have been paid for by the blood of the only begotten son of God born of the virgin Mary Jesus Christ. His blood has set you free from the slavery of sin, His blood has set you free from the dominion of death, His blood has set you free from the chains of satan. You are His child! He is with you! He cares for you and in Him you have grace and mercy that knows no bounds.

Through Christ you do bear fruit, you will be recognized by your fruit in this fallen world. You will be recognized by the way you show love to your neighbor, the way you sacrifice for others, the way you have joy in terrible circumstances. These fruits are because God has given you a heart of flesh. He has sent His Spirit to dwell with you. It is He that works in you to do these good works. You are a light shining on a hill that others will see because He has made you clean and it is He that shines through you. You have been attached to the one true vine and He will prune you and make sure you bear love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. It is because of Christ’s sacrifice that God does know you and will never leave you nor forsake you. It is through Him that good has entered back into this fallen world. It is by Him that you are blessed.

In this life, life in Christ, you see God’s work, you see it by what He does in you and what He does in others. You see it in His word, you see it in His Church. Here in this life you see relief with the absolution of your sins, you see joy for God guarantees His forgiveness and grace, you are given strength by His very body and blood. You see life in His Word and Sacraments. Look at baptism, look at the font back there. That font is where life begins. You are reminded of this every time you enter this church. In Christ you see the stain of sin not smeared but removed completely. The masterpiece now fully restored. That masterpiece being you.

As a parent who is saved by grace my son’s lives are good for it is Christ’s life that lives in them. My sons will not have pain, strife or sadness because in heaven Jesus will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. They will be well off for their Father, their Father in heaven has put a ring on their finger and put a robe on them and has celebrated their homecoming. They do have love, they have a love that is pure and good and unending for it flows from the sacrifice of Christ. In this sacrifice they are given a new name and a family that will care for them forever. I can guarantee this. I can guarantee this because God has told me this in His Word. A Word that has always been kept, never unbroken. My sons have this and so do you. You have this guarantee in Christ and what joy that is.

SDG

Pr. Daniel Holm

Matt 7
15 ‘”Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.
‘”Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

Jeremiah 23
16 Thus says the Lord of hosts: Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, ‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you.’

For who among them has stood in the council of the Lord
to see and to hear his word,
or who has paid attention to his word and listened?
Behold, the storm of the Lord!
Wrath has gone forth,
a whirling tempest;
it will burst upon the head of the wicked.
The anger of the Lord will not turn back
until he has executed and accomplished
the intents of his heart.
In the latter days you will understand it clearly.

I did not send the prophets,
yet they ran;
I did not speak to them,
yet they prophesied.
But if they had stood in my council,
then they would have proclaimed my words to my people,
and they would have turned them from their evil way,
and from the evil of their deeds.

Am I a God at hand, declares the Lord, and not a God far away? Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord. I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in my name, saying, ‘I have dreamed, I have dreamed!’ How long shall there be lies in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies, and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart, who think to make my people forget my name by their dreams that they tell one another, even as their fathers forgot my name for Baal? Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? declares the Lord. Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?

Acts 20
27 for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears. And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’

And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. And there was much weeping on the part of all; they embraced Paul and kissed him, being sorrowful most of all because of the word he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And they accompanied him to the ship.

Paul presents the Christian life perfectly in our Epistle reading:
“Just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.” (Rom 6:19)
Instead of presenting yourselves to impurity, you present yourselves to righteousness. This is nothing other than repentance. In repentance you turn away from sin and present yourself to Christ. Repentance is the life of the Christian.

You know this doesn’t make for an easy life.

The Old Testament and Gospel readings are a perfect example of why this life is hard.

The Old Testament reading reminds us that God made fruit for us to eat and it was indeed “very good.” But He restricted Adam and Eve from eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

God made us as physical creatures. We need the sustenance of food to survive. The gift of food is a wonderful gift of God that He still provides for believer and unbeliever alike. In the Gospel reading, we see that even though the crowd following Jesus around was full of believers and unbelievers, Jesus had compassion on them and fed them to the full from seven loaves of bread and a few small fish. The testimony of this incredible miracle tells us that “they ate and were satisfied.” (v. 8) We know that some of the listeners were unbelievers because we’re told in John that they were looking for a bread king.

God has established a regular order for providing daily bread. Farmers farm. Ranchers ranch. Butchers butcher. Grocers grocer. Doctors doctor. Dentists dentist. Mechanics build and fix stuff. Cobblers make and fix shoes. In this normal way, God provides for the daily bread of all people; believers and unbelievers alike. Jesus didn’t come to establish the family or government which provide the framework for all vocations. He established those in Genesis 1 and 2. Some families are more pious than others and hence work better. Some governments are more just than others and hence protect people’s daily bread better. Sin has impacted both family and the government so that they don’t work as they ought to. But Jesus reminds us that He is in control and injustice and family failings won’t last forever. He will make everything right when He comes again in glory.

But Jesus came in the flesh for the same reason He fed the 4,000. He had compassion on us. If there’s one Greek word to remember it’s to have compassion. Σπλαγχνίζομαι (splagchnidzomai) means to have compassion. It literally means that your guts twist on themselves. It’s very graphic which is probably why I remember it so easily and like it so much. Jesus’ guts were twisted with compassion over our pain and suffering. The daily bread required to fix our pain and suffering is not bread and fish, but the heavenly bread that comes down from heaven.

He had to come and put the yoke of humanity upon Himself. Unlike the first Adam who succumbed to temptation, the second Adam lived a perfect life. He kept the Law of God perfectly in the midst of temptation and suffering. Unlike the first Israel who was unfaithful, the second Israel was faithful to death, even death on the cursèd tree. He was the spotless Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. He doesn’t distribute the forgiveness of sins through the farmer or rancher or doctor, but has established His bride, the church, where He distributes this much needed daily bread of the forgiveness of sins. Bread gets moldy and fish rot, but the forgiveness of sins lasts forever and never perishes. Just as much as bread and fish are part of daily bread, so is the forgiveness of sins.

God did not make us mere physical creatures. We are spiritual creatures as well. Bread and fish feed your bodies and the forgiveness of sins feeds your souls. And there is a beautiful symmetry to this.

Satan deceived Adam and Eve through daily bread. Daily bread is a wonderful creation of God for our use, yet how often does it prove as an idol or stumbling block for us? Consider alcohol. It has ensnared so many to a destructive sin filled life that has left so many ashamed of what they have done. Consider food. It has ensnared so many to a destructive, gluttonous life that has left so many ashamed of their body. Consider sex. It has ensnared so many with promiscuity and pornography to a life of debauchery that has left so many ashamed of what they have caught or what they have done. Satan still uses daily bread to tempt Christians into a life of debauchery and shame. If he doesn’t get you with alcohol, he’ll try to get you with food. If he doesn’t get you with food or alcohol, he’ll try to get you with sex. Satan takes the good gifts of God and perverts them to entice you to become a slave to sin.

And if you’ve been caught up in any kind of pet sin, then you know you do become a slave to it. When all you can think about is food or alcohol or sex, you become enslaved to a life of misery and shame. What’s the answer to this problem?

The world would have you change the Word of God so that you can excuse your slavery to sin. Why do you think the LGBTQ community works so hard to normalize perversity and debauchery? And make no mistake, that’s what it is: perversity and debauchery. And it wants to suck you down into its cesspit of sin.

Yet so many so-called Christians have sex outside of marriage, that it’s easy for them to point a finger at the LGBTQ community and ignore their own sin. It’s shameful that the divorce rate among Christians is as high as it is. It’s right over 25% and varies slightly depending on your denomination.

How can so many Christians, a full quarter, knowingly sin against God through divorce. Christians rightly preach against the evil of abortion, but many blindly take birth control. The church, including the LCMS, used to be strongly against birth control. It is shameful that we have bowed to cultural pressures and relented in calling birth control what it is… sin. If Onan were alive, he would whole heartedly agree that birth control is sin. Read Genesis 38 today if you don’t remember who Onan is. When you separate the sexual act from marriage and the possibility of having kids, you are sinning. It is shameful that so many Christians use birth control and refuse to have kids. So many of our young Christians aren’t even seeking marriage. Paul warns that celibacy is a gift only for very few people (1 Cor 7:1-16), but so many of our young people act as if anyone can have this gift. And then they are surprised and ashamed when they fall into sexual sin. This is shameful too.

Sexual sins are especially pernicious, but how many fall into the slavery of alcohol or food addiction? And the world would like to normalize these sinful activities too.

But the answer to the problem of sexual sins and any other sin is not to remain silent or only rail against one sin. The answer is to examine and hear the Word of God and know it better and better. So that you can warn the unrepentant including yourself. So that you can comfort troubled consciences including yours. And so that you can live a chaste life.

And this is the first step of repentance: examining and hearing the Word of God. God teaches us through the author of Hebrews that:
“The Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from His sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” (Heb 4:12-13)

You also know this as the second function of the law, or the mirror. It convicts you of sin. The Word of God doesn’t sugar coat sin. It doesn’t turn a blind eye to your sin. It points it out for what it is: a terrible act in thought, word, or deed against God who created you, redeemed you, and sanctifies you.

There’s only one answer for sin and that is the forgiveness of sins. But you are beloved children of God. You know that God is extravagant with the forgiveness of sins. He provides it through so many ways and it is always available to you.

Paul says to present yourselves as slaves to righteousness. But what if you look at your life and do not see that you are a slave to righteousness? What’s the answer to this problem?

Is it try harder?

Is it try smarter?

Paul’s answer to this is quite surprising. At first blush, it sounds like Paul is saying you need to do something or act in a certain way. Doesn’t “present yourselves” sound like you need to do something. And when Paul talks about the wages of sin, he’s saying you’ve earned eternal death. But when he talks about the other side of the coin, that is the righteous life, he says “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

He’s saying the motivation for good works or fruit of salvation or sanctification, whatever you want to call it, is to look to Jesus, “the founder and perfector of our faith.” (Heb 12:2)

Do you remember the WWJD bracelets? They got it so wrong but not completely wrong. The idea behind the WWJD bracelets is that you would ask yourself the question “What would Jesus do?” when faced with a moral dilemma.

The first problem with this approach is that we aren’t Jesus. Jesus acted from pure motives from a pure heart and acted perfectly. He did this to save sinners from sin, death, and the devil. We cannot do what Jesus did. We cannot even save ourselves from sin, death, and the devil.

The second problem with this approach is that it asks the wrong question. When I am presented with my neighbor in need, my question is not what would Jesus do, or what do I want to do, but what does my neighbor need. And this gets at the little part that the WWJD bracelet had right.

We are to follow the example of Jesus in regard to humility and service. When I ask the question, what does my neighbor need, I am acting from a place of humility. The neighbor in front of me and their need is more important than my own. And God has placed them in my life so that I may serve them. I saw this well meaning, but ultimately stupid, meme on Facebook that you have to take care of yourself before taking care of others. That’s not what God says. He says, “so you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what is our duty.'” (Luke 17:10) Your life in Christ is a life very much like His in the fact that it is a life of humility and service. And just as Christ was exalted during His resurrection and ascension, you will be exalted and raised again in the new heavens and earth. You have the promise of the Almighty Creator and Redeemer that He will vindicate you on that great day.

And when you fail to act from humility and service, the answer to that is to look to Christ on the cross and receive the fruit of His sacrifice. The only answer to sin is the forgiveness of sins. The only answer to failure, a sneaky word for sin, is the forgiveness of sins. The only answer to shortcomings, a euphemism for sin, is the forgiveness of sins.

This is the life of the Christian, also know as living daily in your baptism, daily repentance and the reception of forgiveness of sins. Paul says in 1 Corinthians, “Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature.” (14: 20)

This only happens with the examination and hearing of Scripture and the lavish application of forgiveness of sins. But some of you have sinned grievously in the past. What about you?

Remember two things. First God remembers your sin no more once it is forgiven. “As far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgression from us.” (Ps 103:12) Do you remember the purity rings? They are a bad idea because they look at things legalistically, but there is a gem of a great idea in there. People who had fallen into the sin of sexual impurity would repent and wear a purity ring. They were made fun of by the world, but they understood this wonderful verse from the Psalter. God remembers your sin no more and you are pure in His eyes in Christ.

Second, remember what makes you worthy to kneel before your God and receive His true body and blood for the forgiveness of your sins. It’s not that you have cleaned yourself up or that you have done some rituals or physical practices. No, “that person is truly worthy and well prepared who has faith in these words: ‘Given and shed for you’ for the forgiveness of sins.”

You are a child of God. As our Hymn of the Day puts it, “You are His chosen generation.” You are truly worthy to kneel before Him and receive the bread that surpasses the bread 2,000 years ago that He fed to 4,000 people in a desolate place. Come and receive the daily bread that is above all daily bread. It is the healing balm for your souls.

In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Pr. Wm. Maggard

Jesus says “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them.” This statement is very important by Christ. This statement shows that God has not changed but has remained constant. He wanted perfection and perfect obedience in the OT and He still wants it in the NT. Many people get the misconception that the OT are vastly different. One is chock full of fire and brimstone and the other is full of love and grace. Here Jesus is saying that this is not true, but God has remained and always will remain the same. He also expects perfection and nothing less.

My oldest son had a teacher that had a test that if the student did not get an A on the test they failed. They got a zero in the grade book. As a parent when I heard this I was upset. Imagine if the teacher said get one wrong and you get a zero. Don’t mess up on every assignment and everything has to be perfect or you get a zero and fail the class. Again, as a parent I would be outraged. Why? Is this not what God tells you to do in your life? 24/7 every week, every month, every year you are to be perfect. You are to never mess up, never step out of line or you get a zero aka condemnation. How does that sound? Impossible? Hopeless? What’s the point? Angry? Why? If you feel any sort of way it’s because you know you can’t do it. You know the futility and impossibility of it because you can’t even do it for a day.

Now Jesus didn’t just say this, but he threw extra stuff on there to make sure it was clear what the expectations were. Jesus says “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.” In the verses right after the Gospel Jesus says this too “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

Jesus wants to make it clear that the law doesn’t just encompass that narrow view point of murder or adultery, but it encompasses any and all parts that break from that obedience. This weight and pressure of your thoughts, desires and actions must be perfect and flawless at all times and in all places is too much to bear. It is a load that you cannot carry. What is even worse is that “you were born in sin” You can’t avoid it. Original sin, actual sin you are helpless in your condition and Christ here is pointing this out to you to make sure it is crystal clear that in all things perfection is required.

Today you are to follow His law, tomorrow you are to follow His law. The day after that you are to follow His law. You are to do this. This is why it is so important to know the commandments and what they mean so that you do these very things. Do not forget also “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

Many of you might be thinking well that doesn’t seem fair. Why? How can you be in the presence of God without perfection? He wants perfection from you so that you can be with Him. God who is all good cannot be tainted by something that is bad. This was why Lucifer was cast out this was why Adam and Eve were cast out because remaining would be destruction and annihilation. Perfection is necessary to be with God otherwise you are without.

What is beautiful and amazing is that God knows that you cannot do this. He wants you to know that you cannot do this and this is the importance of Jesus’ line in the Gospel. I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. Your hope, mankind’s hope is not in themselves, but in Christ. Here Jesus born of a virgin without original sin who fulfills the law perfectly dies in your place. His perfection, His flawlessness in His earthly life gets passed onto you in His death and resurrection. You have been made new. This new you is robed in Christ’s righteousness. So even though you have the Old Adam, you still have your sinful body and tendencies for disobedience you are also a saint. You are both sinner and saint. Yet, in Christ’s perfection you can now be with God. It is His relationship with the Father that you now receive. You now have perfects on everything because Christ’s death on the cross perfectly did that. His flawlessness in His thoughts, actions and deeds get carried over to you.

This perfection, the laws that are still in place are so that you will live in perfect harmony and safety with God. This is heaven! You have His grace now. You have His covering now, but you know as well as I do that you mess up on this side of heaven. You do not keep the law of God, but in Christ you have His grace. We are not antinomians who think we can sin all we want now that we have Christ. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. You are free from sin. He has united you to Himself in His death and resurrection in your baptism. You are brought into a new life where God is with you. Where God is there is perfection. You have been made perfect through Christ. As you know this perfection is what you take on the Word of God for if you look at your thoughts and deeds on this side of heaven they are impure, but God is with you. He works in you and the good, the perfection you do, is in communion with God.

You can say that you are perfect. No one on the street would believe you, but you are perfect in the sight of God. For God sees the perfection of His Son. His blood, His body was sacrificed so that it could wash you clean, a clean that can no longer be soiled. A clean that lasts for eternity. This washing is the washing of regeneration. Sin has no dominion over you death has no dominion over you because of the cross of Christ. He has given you perfection and eternity, an eternity in the presence of God. You are no longer a man of unclean lips for His blood is the coal that purged you of all impurities so that you can stand in the company of heaven.

Even though the law is overbearing and the weight is intolerable Jesus took that burden upon Himself and let you rest in Him. This rest, this respite, this peace is in the fact that you are baptized. You know that “It is finished” for Christ finished it. Your confidence is in His sacrifice. So when you are feeling overwhelmed, when you feel that you are not good enough, too rotten, too sinful, unwanted Christ said “I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them.” He has fulfilled the law in your place to the iota and to the dot. He has brought you into His perfection. He brings hope to the hopeless, life to the lifeless. He brings grace to the sinner. Just as He brought His people out of the land of Egypt, and out of the house of slavery He has brought you out of Death and out of the slavery of sin. He has given you perfection so that you can be with Him in the promised land where He will show you steadfast love for thousands of generations because His son has loved Him and kept His commandments.

SDG

Pr. Daniel Holm

Matt 5
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

Exodus 20
And God spoke all these words, saying,
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
“You shall have no other gods before me.
“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
“You shall not murder.
“You shall not commit adultery.
“You shall not steal.
“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”

Romans 6
1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

I think we can all agree that people are pretty bad at establishing and maintaining peace. Just think for a moment about the things going on in the world, in our country, in our communities. It’s not that peace isn’t something we want. After all, the Law of God that’s written on our hearts gives us a certain inclination to peace and order which we can see in our human attempts to organize societies, for example.
Sometimes these attempts at establishing peace are closer to home. I’m thinking of those ‘House Rules’ signs that are readily available to match your home’s unique décor. Some of them have good and helpful rules:
‘if you break it, fix it’, ‘if you make a mess, clean it up’, and such. Some try to be a bit more biblical: ‘love one another’, ‘work hard’, ‘forgive’ … But in spite of our natural longing for order and our inherent understanding of right and wrong, we never seem to achieve the peace that we desire. The reason, of course, is that since the Fall we are also, by nature, sinful and unclean and have an overwhelming propensity for mucking things up, creating confusion and disorder, and outright rebelling against God who is “not a God of confusion, but of peace” (1 Cor 14:33), as Scripture says.

As children of God, Christ’s Holy Church is our home of peace. God brought us into this home of peace by the one Baptism for the remission of sins. And the peace that we have by virtue of Holy Baptism is continually renewed in us by confession and Absolution: the ministry of reconciliation, as St. Paul calls it (2 Cor 5:18) – being reconciled to God by confessing our sins and receiving His gift of forgiveness. And that renewed peace is strengthened in us all the more by the real presence of Christ who gives His true body and blood for us Christians to eat and to drink: nourishing our faith.

The Holy Sacraments that Christ instituted – to minister peace with God for us sinful people with troubled consciences – are also Sacraments of fellowship for us. Christ’s Holy Church, in addition to being a place of sanctuary for sinners in need of forgiveness and a refuge from doubt and confusion, is also a home for us as God’s family. And in today’s Epistle, St. Peter lays out the divinely inspired ‘House Rules’ for us as the family of God.

First, the Church is to be a home of brethren. “All of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.” We are to have one mind in this holy house: a common confession of faith that unites us in spite of our varied opinions and unique personalities. We’re to be mutually sympathetic and compassionate on account of our many individual faults, weaknesses, and difficulties: placing ourselves in our brother’s circumstances – just as God became man in the person of Christ to sympathize with our human weaknesses and reconcile us to the Father. Likewise, we’re to have pity for those who are suffering with all tenderness and humility: avoiding that which causes pain or aggravation out of Christian love.

The Church is also to be a home of guarded tongues. “Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. For “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it.” By Baptism and faith, Christians are heirs of the divine blessings of forgiveness and salvation. And as heirs of the divine blessings, we are to bless and be a blessing to our brothers and sisters in Christ – even the ones we’re not so eager to bless and be a blessing to – because, as Scripture says: “God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.” (1 Cor 12:24-26)

And the Church is to be a home of holy work and prayer – ora et labora, pray and work, as the old saying goes. St. Peter quotes Ps. 34, saying: “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” Your life as a Christian is lived under the eyes and ears of God who directs your work and listens to your prayers and supplications. This is our comfort when we stumble in our labors … and when our worship and prayers falter. No matter what suffering comes upon you in this world of sin, as a Christian you have no need to fear. “Who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? Even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed.” Why? Because by grace, through faith, you “regard Christ the Lord as holy.” Peter was drawing on the Prophet Isaiah here who, when Judah was faced with the coming Assyrian invasion, said: “do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. And he will become a sanctuary …” Christ the Holy One is our true sanctuary from all the fear that we’re faced with because He entered the heavenly sanctuary as our great High Priest, having atoned for our sins by means of His own blood, where He intercedes for His household of faith and peace day and night. That’s the peace of God which passes all understanding.

But while we rejoice in the peace of sins forgiven and richly poured out on us repentant sinners in Christ’s house of peace, we aren’t called to simply sit idly by: selfishly enjoying that peace without sharing it with others.
St. Paul, after Christ called Him by the Gospel on the road to Damascus, made his way to Jerusalem to share the peace of sins forgiven with others. And we learn from this passage in Acts that “the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied” (Acts 9:31). The Church had peace. It walked in the fear of the Lord. And by Christ’s Spirit, it multiplied. This is how our Epistle Reading and our Gospel Reading fit together.

From the Gospel, we learn that Christ is always laboring in His house of peace, and we should be too. The fishermen had called it quits for the day. They were out of their boats and were cleaning their nets. They may have been worn out and overwhelmed with feelings of despair over their lack of success, but Jesus wasn’t. He got into the boat and continued to teach the people with His life-giving Word. Then He called upon Peter to “put out into the deep and let down [their] nets for a catch.” Peter was to be brave and trusting but leave the results to Christ. Even though we labor, it is Christ who fills the net. Indeed, the best workers in Christ’s Church are those who are humble … who know their transgressions … who know that apart from Christ they can do nothing (Jn 15:5). To such as these, Christ gives peace to their anxious consciences and success to their work.

It’s true that no matter how much we try to show people that there’s no bondage in Christ’s net, there will still be those who prefer to remain in the vast ocean of sin and self-will. But our power is Christ’s power and our work as the Church is Christ’s work. When we understand this, we are able to labor in peace … without fear.

We are the people “pressing in on Jesus to hear the word of God.” We have been drawn out of the ocean of sin by Baptism and faith. We are kept secure in Christ’s house of peace by His Word, His absolution, and His Supper. And as we labor to see that the net of the Gospel is cast out far and wide, we rest peacefully in the knowledge that, in spite of our failures, it is Christ who will fill the net of His Church.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Pr. Jon Holst

The Gospel sets the tone with “Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.” This reading follows on the tails of loving your enemy and doing good to those who hate you. The Gospel reading is at the end of the sermon of the plain where the beatitudes have already been said the woes have already been said and now this is speaking to the Christian, the disciples of Christ. So when you hear “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not and you will not be condemned” we are not talking about actual judicial decisions but it is speaking to judgements of believers against unbelievers. Dr. Just, a Lukan scholar, puts it this way:
“It refers to judgements of believers against unbelievers, and particularly those judgements in the Christian assembly among believers. These would not simply be the normal kinds of petty criticisms that take place in every community, but judgements and condemnations about doctrine and life that are made without substantial evidence or are based on a faulty understanding of God’s standards. Above all, since Jesus does not want his disciples to misrepresent God. If they themselves are judgemental or legalistic, they sully God’s character as a God of grace.”

Therefore, this does not mean you cannot make judgements where there is evidence and it goes against God’s Word. This does not mean we cannot condemn actions that oppose the Word of God. This means you do not get to judge a person on their repentance, you cannot judge a person on their faith. To clarify, if someone asks for forgiveness and you put conditions on it to earn the forgiveness, like what they must do to earn it if they really mean it. Then forgiveness becomes about works and no longer grace. Also, you cannot say to a person if they were truly faithful then they would do this, this and this. Again, faith becomes a work based on the individual rather than a gift from God. In these cases you are judging or condemning wrongly and you are sullying God’s grace. You are tainting what Jesus has done.

Did Christ put any conditions on His forgiveness? Does He not give you faith through the Holy Spirit? You can make judgements if people do not believe Christ is both God and man, you can make judgements if people say that there is no triune God. These prohibitions, things not to do, are the characteristics Christians take on. Loving your enemy, showing mercy, giving grace. Christians reflect the love, mercy and grace Christ has shown them.
“Give, and it will be given to you.” Christ’s words reflect that very message. You have been given grace and mercy because He has loved the lepers, the outcasts, the enemies, the sinners. You were loved first by God, given grace in His sacrifice and is this you will naturally give as it has been given to you. This next verse did not make sense to me as I am a California boy, but I looked it up and it helps express the love and mercy He shows you. “Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap.” Have you ever opened a bag of chips and it looks like one-third of the bag is all they give you.

Well this is the very opposite of this. It is if they took that chip bag filled it up as full as they could, then shook it so you could get more chips to fit, then heaped more on top after it could no longer fit any. The picture is an overabundance of love, grace and mercy are given to you. Christ gives you a superabundant amount of grace, mercy and love. These are the very characteristics of God. A God who delights in showing mercy.

So do not be stingy, do not be cheap. Hear this, you who trample on the needy and bring the poor of the land to an end, saying,
“When will the new moon be over, that we may sell grain? And the Sabbath, that we may offer wheat for sale,that we may make the ephah small and the shekel great and deal deceitfully with false balances, that we may buy the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals and sell the chaff of the wheat?”
Do not be like those in the temple. In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there.
And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.”
Have you not heard the parable of the ungrateful servant? A servant whose debt was forgiven by the king only to throw a man that owed him a little into prison. You have eternal life, you have forgiveness, you have mercy and grace through your Savior, Jesus Christ. You are given an inheritance far better than any riches in this world. You have been treated far better than you deserve. Do not withhold these riches from your neighbor.

This is what Christ is talking about with a blind man leading a blind man? This is most particularly talking to pastors, but it applies to the church as well. I know that the only way to heaven is through Christ alone; there are no amount of works that I can do to get there. That I am deserving of hell and damnation, but it is only through Christ’s death and resurrection that my sins have been paid for and I am declared righteous. If I teach you anything else other than this it is if I am the blind man and it would better if I was not born. I should have a millstone tied around my neck and thrown in the sea. Why? I would be portraying Christ incorrectly. I would be barring heaven as those in the temple did by selling the animal sacrifices. I would be giving you a chip bag one-third full and ultimately lead you to disappointment and resentment. I as a teacher of the Word must continue to scoop helping after helping of grace and mercy onto you just as Christ has done for all mankind. You too dear Christians, how can you see the speck in another’s eye if you have a log in yours? Take a minute and really think about that. Can you see at all? It’s rather absurd.

Yet, it is Christ that pulls the logs out of your eye and it is only through the Word and Spirit that you can see the truth. It is the knowledge of Christ crucified. It is the knowledge that Jesus came for to redeem the sinner and grant salvation that lets you see clearly, and also grant mercy to your neighbor that you can love your enemy. It is this sacrificial love that He gives to you that allows you to heap grace and mercy upon your enemy.

A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. Who is your teacher? Who is teaching you how to act? Is it the world. Are you being trained by this world and adopting it’s traits or is Christ your teacher? Are you learning from what He is giving you? Can you even comprehend the amount of grace He has given you? I am not here to remove your speck in your eye, but to comfort you and speak kindly to you. You are God’s chosen people, You are loved by a God who delights in showing mercy. Here in His divine service He remembers His promise, He gives you grace and mercy to let you know that you are justified and He sanctifies you through His Word and His sacraments. His love allowed Joseph to forgive and bless his brothers when they meant to kill him. He through His son Jesus Christ has been merciful to you so that you too can be merciful. Not as a requirement but because His mercy to you is so much that it spills over to your neighbor and your enemy.

SDG
Pr. Daniel Holm

Luke 6
36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”
He also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.

Gen 50
15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him.” So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this command before he died: ‘Say to Joseph, “Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.”‘ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him. His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

Romans 12
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

“Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” (Lk 15:7)

Last week we heard about Jesus eating with Pharisees and teaching them with the Parable of the Great Banquet. While the Pharisees were devout and law-abiding, they tended to be self-righteous: much too certain of their own ability to keep God’s Law. As a result, they tended to be lacking in repentance (something that we Christians must be very cautious of in our own lives).

And in spite of the fact that they repeatedly tried to entrap Jesus, He was always willing to accept their invitations, eat with them, and teach them. Most of them didn’t believe Jesus. Nor did they believe that He was the promised Messiah. But Jesus took on human flesh to call sinners to repentance – that we might be saved by faith in Him – so Jesus proclaimed Law and Gospel to the Pharisees just the same.

But the Pharisees weren’t the only group of people that Jesus associated with. Jesus kept company with those who were widely known in the community to be sinners: like prostitutes and thieving tax collectors.

Not only did Jesus talk with them … and eat with them (something scandalous and unthinkable to the self-righteous who thought they were perfect in every way), but His message to such openly sinful people was also the same as it was to the Pharisees: none of you are righteous before God on account of your own merits; none of you have kept God’s Law perfectly enough to earn God’s favor – indeed, you can’t – for all of you are sinners. And this message applies just as much to us as it did to the openly sinful and the stubbornly self-righteous sinners that Jesus spoke with during His public ministry.

Because we’re sinners, God’s Law condemns us. By God’s grace and the working of the Holy Spirit may we repent and believe the Gospel – that Christ came to save us from our sins – both
the ones everyone knows about like the thieving tax collectors and prostitutes and the ones known only to you and God as with the Pharisees who only appeared blameless on the outside.

Jesus teaches us today in His Holy Word: tearing open the self-righteousness that we think we have to reveal the sinfulness that infects our thoughts, words, deeds, and very nature, but then offering to us the forgiveness of sins, reconciliation with God, newness of life, strengthening and growth in our lives of faith and sanctification in this life, and the certain hope of eternal life in His heavenly kingdom.

Jesus told sinners of all kinds – sinners like each of us – to repent and believe the Gospel (Mk 1:15) and many did. Many were drawn to Christ’s Word and our Lord never turned any of them away. In fact, seeing Jesus intentionally associating with known sinners was seriously troubling to the Pharisees. They were beside themselves with shock and indignation saying: “This Man receives sinners and eats with them” (Lk 15:2).

They couldn’t believe that. It was inconceivable for the self-righteous Pharisees. For all their outward works, the Pharisees had no time for such obviously sinful people: no comfort to speak to them, no mercy to offer them, even if they were broken by their sin and were desperate for comfort and forgiveness. Does this characterize our own thinking? Do we think we’re too good to speak the mercy and comfort of the Gospel to those who are openly sinful?

The self-righteous Pharisees thought that their good works justified them before God and that there was essentially no hope for the likes of tax collectors and other known sinners. The Pharisees didn’t believe that God could ever bring such blatantly sinful people into the household of faith.

This is the context in which Christ tells the parables of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin.

If a shepherd has a hundred sheep and one of them strays from the flock, any faithful shepherd would leave the flock in search of the one that has become lost.

In other words, God doesn’t want those who stray from Him to be lost eternally. As He says through the Prophet Ezekiel, He has “no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked should turn from his way and live” (Ez 33:11). Clearly the Pharisees don’t understand God’s love and mercy.

God is persistent in seeking out those who wander from His sheepfold: those who are worshiping their false gods of career and possessions, those who’ve been led to embrace the gluttony and lust of this world we live in, those who act out of malice or contempt toward their neighbors, and even those who’ve been seduced by the call of secularism that tells them they can do what they want, think what they want, and be what they want because of the heinous lie that ‘we can decide our own truth.’ God would have His good and wise Law and His healing Gospel proclaimed to all.

God’s love and mercy is such that, in spite of all of these and our many other sins, He calls us to repentance by His Word and Spirit: to turn from our own ways and live. He sent Jesus, the Good Shepherd, to seek out sinners, proclaim forgiveness and salvation in His name, and suffer and die for the sins of the world as the once-for-all sacrifice: atoning for the sins of sinners like you and me.

And Jesus continues to seek out His lost sheep through the preaching of the Gospel. His Church proclaims the message throughout the world: turn from your lives of sin and take refuge in Christ who bore your sins on the cross. Believe in Christ and be clothed with His perfect righteousness.

You know the struggle, the hardship, the suffering of this sinful world. Hear the voice of Jesus as He promises you that His yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matt 11:30) for in Christ you have the gift of forgiveness from all your sins. “Though your sins are like scarlet [says the prophet], they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool” (Is 1:18).

On account of Christ, God the Father is lovingly disposed toward you. Even though He knows all the evil you’ve done, He will still receive you into His sheepfold and make you holy in His sight through faith in Christ.

“And when he has found [the lost sheep], he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost'” (Lk 15:5).

When Christ’s Word and Spirit call sinners like us to repentance – and we thereby repent and believe the Gospel – He rejoices. And not Christ only, but even the holy angels and all the saints with Him sing out in praise of God’s grace, mercy, and steadfastness toward His sheep who like to wander.

The Pharisees, on the other hand, were not rejoicing and singing out in praise when the tax collectors and other sinners were gathering around Jesus. In the mind of the Pharisees, heaven was only for self-righteous people like them who, at least in their own minds, had no need of repentance. Jesus corrects this thinking: “I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance” (Lk 15:7).

He then continues His teaching with another parable: a woman who had ten silver coins but lost one and diligently searched the house until she found it. Jesus makes it clear that no person is worth more or less than another. Every soul is precious to God and worth saving.

Christ shed His cleansing blood for all people and sees to it that the Gospel of salvation in Him is preached throughout the world “that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life” (Jn 3:16).

God the Son became Man, spent His life teaching sinners, forgiving the repentant, and eating with them. He sacrificed His life for lost sinners like us, and now rules at God’s right hand: sending the light of His Gospel into the world, searching for every lost soul that they might be enlightened with the gift of faith in Christ.

Both of today’s parables show just how serious God is about seeking and saving the lost. He doesn’t reject anyone who comes to Him for forgiveness and healing.

While this is most sure and most precious to us, it’s also true that as the redeemed and forgiven people of God, we’re not called to sit idly by. That’s why St. James exhorts us, saying: “faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” (Js 2:17).

In other words, we should value the gift of salvation that Christ has won for us so highly that we follow Him into His kingdom in the way that we vowed at our Confirmations when we vowed that we would “faithfully conform all our life to the rule of the divine Word, to be diligent in the use of the means of grace, to walk in a way that is worthy of the Gospel of Christ, and in faith, word, and deed to remain true to the Triune God, even to death.”

It’s only by God’s grace and His gift of faith that we can believe or trust in Him for forgiveness and salvation. And it’s only by God’s grace through faith that we can even begin to “conform all our life to the rule of the divine Word”. That’s why here, in the midst of His Church, Jesus calls us back to Himself. It’s here where He searches us out and finds us through Confession and Absolution, through the remembrance of our Baptism, through the proclamation of the Divine Word, and through the Holy Supper. And as we receive Him by faith, He rejoices over the lost sheep that He has returned to His sheepfold.

Let us cast all our cares upon Him who died and rose again: knowing that He’s sought us out in the dust of our afflictions, and will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish us unto life everlasting.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Pr. Jon Holst

Has anyone gone through rehabilitation? Has anyone gone through physical therapy? Maybe it is just exercising or eating right? Is it easy to do? Is it painful? Why do we do it? A lot of people have seen me on my crutches and how slow I go and say hey can’t you use your scooter? Yeah I could and it would be easier, but my leg wouldn’t get better. I could keep using this boot and crutches, but again my foot would never get better. I have to go through pain, difficulty, strain, and time so that I can walk again. It is a lot of work, it’s not easy, and I have to push myself to do things that sometimes I am scared to do. Believe me that I don’t want to do it, but I know it is the only way that I can walk correctly again.

Your old man wants you to be comfortable. It tells you that it’s okay to eat that extra helping, you deserve it. It’s okay to just veg out on the coach instead of exercising you deserve it. Go ahead and play video games instead of working. Your old man wants you to feast sumptuously on this life. Your old man wants you to take on all the comforts that this world has to offer. Why? You deserve it.

Let’s talk about what you deserve. What do you deserve for working hard? Nothing. Just as Adam was told this carries on to you.
“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
What do you deserve for taking care of your body? Nothing. Just as Adam was formed by God that carries on in the proof from Jeremiah “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” You are supposed to work hard, you are supposed to take care of your body because you are God’s creation. Your sin inherited from Adam and your actual sin that you commit daily means you deserve nothing, but damnation just like the rich man.

Too many times you are whispered to “You deserve this…” or “You deserve that…” from the world, from satan, and especially from your sinful self. This takes your eyes of what you truly are deserving of and who is really deserving of your time, attention and energy.

In this life you are commanded to follow God’s Law. You are to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind and love your neighbor as yourself. Will this be easy? No. Will this be painful? Most likely. Just like anything that is truly for your benefit takes time, discipline, sacrifice and most likely giving up comfort. It is comfortable just to come to the divine service and do no more in this church. It is comfortable to say I don’t need to come to bible study, I already have had enough of God. It is comfortable to say I have already done a lot for this church so I don’t need to do anything else. It is comfortable to say I don’t have to be involved, someone else will take care of it. Are you finding comfort in this world or the next? It’s comfortable not bringing up God in front of your neighbors, it’s comfortable doing your will and not God’s, but just as the rich man if you seek your comforts in this life you will be in anguish in the next.

Let it also be clear that you don’t have to live in squalor, or in extreme poverty like Lazarus did to get to heaven. This is not the takeaway from this Gospel reading. Him being poor is not why Lazarus is comforted in Abraham’s bosom. Neither will giving up your comforts in this life. If salvation was based on your works no one would be in heaven. On the other hand, if you don’t know God’s Word, just like the rich man you also will not believe in the Messiah.

Lazarus trusted in God. This is implied because he was in Abraham’s bosom, because he has a name and the rich man does not. This is also implied because Abraham tells the rich man that his family has Moses and the Prophets. Are Moses and the prophets still alive? No. These are the writings, this is the Torah the laws of God, and the Nevi’im the prophets. This is speaking ot the Holy Scripture which you also have. For in scripture Lazarus knew of the promise of the Messiah. He looked to the Messiah as the one who would save him from himself, that would save him from this sinful world. You too have the scripture that tells you of Christ. It tells you are a sinner in need of a Savior and that He Jesus Christ is that Messiah, He died for you to forgive you of your sins.

Jesus gave up the comfort of heaven, He gave up the comfort of a home, He gave up the comfort of popularity and went toward suffering and death for your sake. He gave up comforts because He knew that you could not, that you would fall short. However, He did everything perfectly. He suffered in your place so that you could have a new life so that you could be perfected. It is through His knowledge of the Word that He could keep it perfectly and fulfilled all of it to the dot and the tilda. He became the scapegoat so you could be declared innocent. He bore the cross and faced the wrath of God unto death so you could be at the feast of victory, that you could be part of His flock.

Now you truly do have comfort. You have comfort that you are saved. You have comfort knowing that your name is in the Book of Life. You have God’s name placed upon you, you have the Holy Spirit. Forgiveness of sins is yours. For Christ says that you receive through scripture that your sins are forgiven. You have eternal life. This is the comfort that this world does not know. This is the comfort Lazarus has. This is the comfort you dear Christian have. You are in the bosom of Abraham for you are covered in the blood of the Lamb. The blood of the all atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. You have this comfort because you are baptized. You know you are washed clean. You have this comfort in confession and absolution because God declares you forgiven by the office of the keys. You have this comfort in the Lord’s Supper where the Lord gives you His very body and blood for the forgiveness of sins. You have this comfort in His Word which continues to reveal His grace to the lost and the dead.
The comforts in this world are only temporary and never give reprieve. The sacrifices you make are no benefit if you don’t have the Lord. Only through Christ can you have comfort. He has given you this comfort so you have hope in this fallen world. He has given you comfort that when you do face trials He will be with you. He gives you comfort so that you may face pain and difficulty. He gives you comfort so that you can have the peace that surpasses all understanding. He has opened up eternal life to you, He has given you a new home. You have that guarantee. He has even given you the comfort that when you do fall short that He will forgive you. He gives you comfort knowing that He will hear your prayers and give you the strength you need. He continues to sustain you and strengthen you. Jesus Christ, the suffering servant, has robed you with perfection, and given you riches beyond measure. He gave this to Lazarus and He gives this to you. He has given you His Word both the Scripture and as a promise that you will be with Him in paradise.

SDG

Pr. Daniel Holm

Luke 16
19 “There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house— for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.'”

Many people try and connect the Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit to worldly things so we can understand it. Some people use the apple to depict the Trinity. The skin is like God the Father, because He protects us. The flesh is like God the Son, because Jesus Christ took on human flesh. The seeds are like God the Holy Spirit, because He helps us to grow. Each of the parts of an apple is different, but they are all ‘apple.’ Others have used an egg with shell, white and yolk
These illustrations try to explain the oneness and threeness of God, but they do a terrible job of illustrating God. And the reason is simple. Apples and eggs are material and are composed of parts. God is immaterial and is not composed of parts.
Another is water. People try to explain God as water. Ice, water and steam. Yet, it can only be in one state at a time. The heresy there is that God can only be Son at one time, or the Father at one time or Spirit at one time. God does not put on certain personas at times. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are at all times existing and still remaining three persons.

The trefoil or clover is one of the most common symbols of the Trinity, often found in Gothic church windows. It depicts a three-leafed shamrock created and used by St. Patrick to illustrate Trinity’s doctrine and unity – the three separate leaves of one clover-like plant.

However, the three-leaf clover can therefore mislead a person, especially a child, into falling into the heresy of Tritheism. Tritheism was (and is) a heresy which taught that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit were three distinct Gods who shared a similar nature rather than the truth of there being one God in three persons who share an identical nature.

Even the triangle, one shape with three vertices or points is used to represent the trinity, but even that fails because one point doesn’t represent the whole. Scripture tells us that God the Father is fully God, not just a part of God. Of course, the same is true for the Son and the Spirit. This heresy is fittingly called Partialism.
This was the problem with Aaron. He made the golden calf to show the strength of God, but this was heresy. God is stronger than His creation. This is why the people were punished and God was upset. Here again, when you try to equate God to His creation it will always falter. All analogies fall short and are insufficient in different ways. However, since analogies of the Trinity are seeking to help us understand the very nature of God, faulty analogies are going to result in faulty knowledge of God. Since our discipleship rests on our growing knowledge and love of God you have to be particularly wary of using these poor understandings of God in the way pastors teach the body of Christ. This was why Athanasius wrote the creed for the church.

Too many times satan, the world or even your own fallen understanding interfere with God and try and turn you away ever so slightly. This slight deviation leads to false understanding and heresy which ultimately leads to destruction. It is only by God, the will of the Father for Christ’s sacrifice so that the Holy Spirit works in you so you will understand His Word rightly. Through Scripture you know there is one God and at the same time there is a Father, there is a Son, and there is a Holy Spirit. All three of one accord, all three encompassing the whole Godhead, yet at the same time distinct. This is why the Athanasian Creed is so long. It goes in great detail about the Trinity and the Persons of the Trinity. It speaks on the Father, on the Son and on the Holy Spirit. It goes in great detail to battle the heresies that were attacking the Church at that time, but these heresies continue to sprout up from misunderstanding. The Athanasian Creed is a summary of Scripture on the subject of the Trinity. It is okay not to understand it logically, but to still believe it fully.

Poor Nicodemus could not understand what Christ was saying because he did not see Jesus for who He was. He did not understand scripture correctly or would have acted like Isaiah in the OT reading. God was standing before Him and Nicodemus says “We know you are a teacher come from God. He almost got it right, but almost doesn’t count. Jesus is God or not. Jesus tells Nicodemus how he is to be saved. “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Your sin, your earthly understanding does not comprehend God. It will not understand the the Trinity. It is only through the revelation of the Holy Spirit through Scripture that you may believe and confess the Triune God. It is only through the Holy Spirit that you can believe Jesus Christ is not just a mere good teacher sent from God, but that He is God incarnate. The understanding that only God can obey HIs Law perfectly, it is only God that can make the justification of the sinner happen through His all availing sacrifice.

You beloved of Christ understand, by no means of your own, that this birth that Jesus speaks of is baptism. It is the unification of a sinner into the death and resurrection of Christ. In this, the dry bones are brought to new flesh, death turns into life. Sinner now becomes saint, exiled becomes a child.

The wind blows where it wishes, the Holy Spirit works where He wills, but it is the same will as the Father and the Son, this Will is for the glorification of God. You in the flesh may not understand His workings, but His ways are above your ways. Yet, you know that For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

Here on Holy Trinity Sunday. We thank God for all He has done. It is only through He, He who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
It is by Jesus Christ and His sacrifice that was payment for the whole world that the Spirit could come to you so that you may understand God. It is through Christ that you understand the Father. That He has made the visible and invisible. He takes care of these things to this day and forever. It is through Christ, that you are given the Spirit, which has formed the Church, that you have the Sacraments, that you know that His Word, the Holy Scripture, is true. Jesus says
“I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
This is why Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. For He is all of God, who reveals the Father and Himself to you through His Spirit. The Holy blessed Trinity!

It is okay that your logic may fail you with 1+1+1=1. It’s okay that you don’t use apples, eggs, clovers, water or shapes to describe the Trinity. The Trinity is pronounced in the Gospel and the Holy Spirit gives you the wisdom to believe it. Christ has saved you! This has been the will of the Father before all worlds, this is the message that the Holy Spirit spreads where He wills. Thank God that He spreads it here. That He has come to serve you today and every Sunday. That He brings you to His table and feeds you His very flesh and blood. It is here where His Word and Sacraments are the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! God has given you eternal life through the Son! Praise Father, Son, and Holy Spirit Amen!

SDG

Pr. Daniel Holm

John 3
1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

Isaiah 6
1 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!”
And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”

Romans 11
33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
“For who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his counselor?”
“Or who has given a gift to him
that he might be repaid?”
For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

In the Gospel and the Epistle speak to the fiery trials that Christians will face. Almost all the apostles died a martyr’s death. Life in worldly terms was not easy. Still isn’t. Martin Luther throughout his life dealt with persecution and health issues. Many Christians since the apostles on have had lives that have been filled with nothing but persecution and pain. Now that you all have decided to call a pastor you are going to be more intensely attacked. The enemy is going to try and thwart every effort for you to remain true to the Word and Sacrament. Most likely he will try and be sly about it trying to nudge you away from the truth. For example, abandoning the liturgy to hopefully bring in more people, cutting out the law so that people don’t feel bad about themselves, allowing anyone to take communion so no one feels alienated. Maybe it is changing hymns out for more catchy music. I am not saying you are going to do any of this, but you will be tempted. This is why Christ has said all these things to you to keep you from falling away.

He, Jesus, clearly tells the disciples what they will have to face. From the fall of Adam in scripture you see what the people of God have had to face. The devil, the world and even your own sinful selves are at battle against you. The goal is to get you to take your eyes off of Christ. This is why we talk of the church militant. This is also why the Word speaks of the armor of God to avoid the fiery darts of the devil, and satan prowling like a lion seeking whom to devour. The unholy trinity tempts you with no suffering, to give you relief from your situation, but it only leads to damnation. Your life may feel overwhelming, you might feel like everything you do ends in disappointment or failure, or everyone is out to get you. The dream of escaping and getting away from it does seem nice, but so does a mirage. Maybe it’s more insidious and the people you love most or care about most continually get on your nerves. So you wish they were different. Maybe you question the choices you made and you wish you could take things back because life would be better now if you had. These things are sinful. These things take your eyes off of Christ and put you at the center of everything. Repent and trust in the Lord.

The epistle tells you to be self-controlled and sober-minded in your prayers. Love each other earnestly. Show hospitality to one another. Use your gift to serve one another. Here in Good Shepherd as you move forward these are crucial so that you are of one accord. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. Why? So Christ is glorified. So that either Christian or not, people will look to your church and see it is the work of God and not of man. Rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed.

How are you supposed to do all of this and face suffering? The Gospel tells you, Christ tells you. The Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me, meaning Jesus! Next week at Pentecost the Holy Spirit comes to the apostles so that Christ will be glorified. Here you hear of the Holy Trinity. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are in one accord. The three Persons, in One God are here to serve you. In your hour of need He will give you the strength to face any situation. How do you have this strength because of what Christ has done. It is His through Christ’s suffering and sacrifice that you are healed. It is because He paid for your sin, when you have turned away from God and fallen to the enemies fiery darts or fallen in your trials. He remained steadfast, He remained unblemished and died for you. Through His payment He has covered you with His blood to wash you clean, to make you righteous. You now have the shield of this faith that can extinguish those darts. Knowing that Christ has died in your place you can confidently say that you are saved. That even in suffering, that even when things look bleak you have joy that this world can never understand or know.

The Holy Spirit, which gives you the truth that you are redeemed, girds you with the truth that no matter what comes your way you can declare that you are baptized. You know that the victory has been won. The unholy trinity has been defeated by the One True God is victorious. Jesus, the Lamb who was slain has begun His reign. This truth comes to you in Word and Sacrament. God has given you these gifts so that you will remember what Jesus has told to you.

The OT gives witness to this truth. God declares I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. Christ, the Messiah, the Redeemer of the World has always been promised and what joy for you that He has already given this to you.

How do you know about all of this? The Holy Spirit has revealed the truth to you in His Word. He has given you the Gospel. The love God has for His people, for His creation. The steadfast love He continually shows His people even when they falter and sin. He remains steadfast and His love endures forever. You have this fact, it is pronounced in the Word, in His sacraments, and in your liturgy. This love God has for you, is found in Christ, this is the cornerstone of the church upon Him the church is built.

Understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. Yes, fiery trials will continue to come on this side of life, but Christ is with you. God’s promise to you is a fact. He does not abandon you and will give you strength in your hour of need. The suffering you face, is not fun and I don’t want to make light of it, but He is with you in your struggle. He gives you His very Spirit so that in all situations you can look to HIm in hope and joy knowing that you are His. His Glory, the glory of the cross is and has been revealed to you. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is with you now and forever.

SDG

Pr. Daniel Holm

John 15
26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.
16
1 “I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me. But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you.

Ezekiel 36
22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.

1 Peter 4
7 The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.

Today is a big day for Good Shepherd. Today you will be voting on whether or not this church should call a pastor. Right now some of you may be feeling like the Israelites in our OT reading. “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness?” Remember that you live in a world that is against God. The world, the devil, and sin all are trying to put out His light wherever it shines. However, this church, this city, this world is not our permanent residence. It is with the Father. Also, know that God is actively working in His church. Again, I don’t mean the physical church, I mean the invisible church, all the believers. His power doesn’t wane, it has not dried up, but is there, it is here, more than ever.

Remember, that in the Lord’s Prayer Thy will be done. You must hold fast to this. This is what James was talking about. Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. This is talking about faith. Do not just hear that God is in control, but believe it. Do not just hear that He cares for you, but believe it. Do not just hear that he died for you, but believe He died for you. Trust in Him, that He continues to care for you physically and spiritually. Believe that Christ has done all for you and your sins are forgiven. Have confidence that He was victorious and has paid for you with His death and resurrection so that you are counted as righteous. Whatever, happens on this earth, here in this church, will be for good. I know all of you want to make a God pleasing decision. Yet, I want you all to understand that in trusting in Him, having faith that God is in control, whatever decision you do make will be God pleasing.

Whatever you do, ask! Jesus says “Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.” Do not just hear that you can ask the Father in Jesus name, but believe He will give it to you. I remember when my sons didn’t know the price of things and they would ask for the most expensive things innocently as if there was a chance to get them and I would have to tell them no it is too expensive. I am on a budget, but your Father is not. Your Father, loves you, He loves you as His children. Why? You have been made His children by being brought into Christ’s death and resurrection in your baptism. You literally, had and still have His name placed upon you. Look at the OT example, God’s people after being rebellious cried out for salvation and were given a pole with the bronze serpent on top to spare them from death. Even more powerful, God sent His son to this rebellious people to hang on a cross so that you would be spared eternal death. The Lord provides for His people.

What does it to ask in the name of Christ? It means you have faith that all things Christ did and said are valid. You confess as the disciples confessed “We believe that you came from God.” You have faith that all of it culminated at the cross in which He paid for the sins of the world, died and was buried. It is knowing that He is the only Way, the only truth, and the only Life. It is knowing that it is only by Christ’s payment that you indeed have a relationship with the Father. Through this relationship you are shown the love the Father shows His Son. You are given what you ask because Christ has robed you with His righteousness.

Listen to these words from Christ “The Father Himself loves you, because you have loved me and believed that I came from God.” The Holy Spirit has given you the faith to believe in Jesus. He has done that through His Word and Sacraments. Your faith in Jesus, your love toward Him is why the Father loves you. God has started this snowball of love. Where it continually gets reciprocated, from Him to you, from you to Him, and so on and so on. The love you give is only from the love you have received. You love because He first loved you. Your ability to love is because you have been grafted into the love that continually is shared back and forth from the Father and the Son. You have been given His Spirit, the Holy Spirit, and now you too partake in this love that is poured out in a superabundance.

Jesus continues with “I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.” Again, this is Christ doing. This is God’s expression of His love that He came down from heaven from the Father, to come into the world so that He could redeem the world. He leaves it so that your new home with Him would be established in heaven. All of this is God showing you His love. He speaks plainly and the disciples now hear Him plainly. Here Christ has summed up who He is and what He is to do so that mankind could be reconciled to God. Upon hearing this truth. The disciples respond with their confession. We know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God.

Dear Christian, you know this truth too. Do you still question Him? Have you forgotten that He knows all things? Do you hold fast that He is in control? If not repent.

He knows that you will not always hold fast to the truth. Christ even tells the disciples, “Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone.” Here Christ reminds you that you will falter that you will go run off to what makes you feel safe and leave Christ alone. Just as the disciples abandoned Jesus before He went to the cross, so do you also abandon Him. Look to the law and see how you have fared.

In this Christ also shows you that the life of a Christian is not easy. There will be many trials, there will be many tribulations. There will be heartache and hurt. All of this not caused by Him, but because you now are one of His. However, look to the Israelites as a reminder that all of the pain, suffering, and hurt you face in this life is temporary. That even though things may not seem clear and the future looks bleak God delivered the Israelites. Even though they were a stubborn and stiff necked people God was faithful to them. If He was faithful to them. How much more confidence do you have that He will be faithful to you as His son or daughter. God’s faithfulness to you will always remain even in your darkest hour. This guarantee is found in Christ crucified and solidified in Christ resurrected.

So, yes, you as the disciples have left Christ alone, and He knew this. He knew this before He came down in the first place. He knew this before the world was created. He knew your sin and still came anyway. He, Jesus, knew that He would be and still is victorious. That even your sin cannot withstand the love God has for us. He knew the tribulations that would come to mankind, but what does Christ say? I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace.

Whatever comes your way, whatever you face, have peace! Christ gives you peace. He gives you peace because death, sin, and the devil have now sway over you. You are free. Your home is in heaven. The New Jerusalem, the possession of peace. He has made you a citizen by His spilt blood because He faced God’s wrath alone so that you could be more than conquerors. Take heart, Jesus has overcome the world. He gives you the ability to ask and receive so that your joy may be full.

SDG

Pr. Daniel Holm

John 16
23 In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
“I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father. In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”
His disciples said, “Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God.” Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Numbers 21
4 From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.

James 1
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.