IT'S SIMPLE
Some of the more important things in this life are oftentimes the most complicated. Taxes are relatively important and they are on many people’s minds during this time of year, but they are far from simple. You need a trained professional or specific computer software or a personal working knowledge of the ins and outs of the tax codes to get them done correctly. Taxes are called many things by many people, but they certainly aren’t called simple. Love isn’t simple either. The love you share with your spouse or with your children or with your parents is a complicated thing. It’s a delicate balancing act at times between emotions and personalities and situations. Love is an important part of every person’s life, but it is far from simple. Life itself isn’t simple. Life is more than just eating and breathing and sleeping, of course. How are you going to live your life? How are you going to spend your time? Where are you going to call home? What are you going to do? What other lives are you going to involve your life with? Therapists and psychiatrists and lawyers and authors have made a lot of money because life is anything but simple.
But ironically, the most important thing in this complicated life is the simplest thing of all. Your salvation - the way in which you end up in heaven with your Lord for all eternity - is not complicated in the least. It is straightforward and undeniably clear. Because God tells us exactly how simple our salvation is in his Word: “If you confess with your mouth ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” It’s that simple. There’s nothing else to it. There is no hidden meaning. There are no extra requirements. There is not another part of the story somewhere else. Salvation really is as simple as the Bible says it is: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
And so since it’s that simple, don’t make it more complicated than it really is! Sinful human beings from the very beginning have always tried to make this simple and comforting fact about salvation more complicated than what is laid out for us in Scripture. People have always assumed that there is more to it than that. It’s too easy! It’s too free! There’s got to be something human beings have to do for their salvation! That’s the only way it makes sense!
Any non-Christian religion - and even some church bodies that claim to be Christian - base their entire body of doctrine on the thought that we have to do something to be saved. Whether it is to lead a good life or try your best or perform the right ceremonies or accomplish the right tasks or make the right decision, there are millions of people who think that they must meet certain requirements in order to make salvation theirs. The apostle Paul was fighting that same mindset right here in the book of Romans. He was talking to his readers about the Jewish nation, of which he was a part. And he says, “Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge… They did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own… Moses describes in this way the righteousness that is by the law: ‘The man who does these things will live by them’” (Romans 10:1-3,5). The man who does these things will be saved. That was the thought process of Paul’s countrymen and that is the same basic thought process of most people still today. And it’s all wrong! There is nothing we have to do for our salvation because there isn’t anything we can do for our salvation. We’re too wicked! We’re too sinful! We’re too imperfect! Even the good things we try to do are tainted with sin and so they wouldn’t measure up to God’s perfect standard anyway.
But this isn’t just a fault found in “other” religions. Even we fall back into that way of thinking at times, that what we do affects our salvation. When we commit a sin that is embarrassingly awful, something grossly out of line with God’s Word, we sometimes start to wonder about the surety of our salvation, don’t we? We begin to think, “What I did was so bad. What I thought was so disgusting. And it’s even something I promised God I wouldn’t do again! But I did it anyway! Even though I knew better! Even though I knew what I was doing the entire time! And it’s probably going to happen again no matter how hard I try! Why would the Lord ever forgive someone so rotten as myself? How can I ever be sure of my salvation when I am constantly so sinful?” My friends, when we think like that we are bringing what we do into the equation of salvation - a place where our actions don’t belong. Our salvation that the Lord gave us through the cross of Christ didn’t depend on how good we were then; and it will not depend on how good or how bad we are now. The way we live our lives does not affect the promise of salvation in any way. Because the Bible clearly says, “If you confess with your mouth ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” You may very well be a horrible sinner. In fact, I’m sure you are. I know I am. I’m a repeat offender of the worst kind. But I also know that I’m saved. I am saved despite the stockpile of my sins that grows greater and grimier each day. Because God himself promises me and he promises you: the faith that is in your heart and comes out as a confession from your mouth saves you.
Could you answer a quick question for me out loud? Do you believe that Jesus is your Savior and that you do not have to do anything to get to heaven because he has done everything for you? If so, just simply answer “yes”. [Yes] That’s it! You’re saved! That’s a confession of what you believe. That one word answer is a confession of the faith that the Lord has placed in your heart through his gospel. “If you confess with your mouth ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” You believe in your heart because I have just heard the confession from your mouth. And they aren’t really two different things at all. Your confession is a verbal expression of what is in your heart. You are saved! Your sins are forgiven. You are going to heaven because that’s God’s Word.
Of course, your act of confession did not save you. The content of your confession saved you. You confessed that you believe in Jesus as your Savior from all of your sins and that you do not have to do anything to get to heaven on your own. That is the gospel and the gospel is what saves. Salvation didn’t come into effect only when you verbally proclaimed your faith. Salvation came into effect when the Holy Spirit worked faith into your heart for the very first time. Your confession is simply announcing what has already happened. And that confession is simple.
I think some people have the wrong impression about what it means to confess your faith. It doesn’t have to be a big production. It doesn’t have to be done in a public setting - although it sometimes is. It doesn’t have to be an extended explanation of what you know about each teaching of Scripture. A confession of faith can be something as simple as what you just did: answering “yes” to the appropriate questions. When a new member is brought into our congregation, they answer “yes” to a series of questions so that the rest of the congregation can hear that they agree with Scripture in both doctrine and practice. Their answer of “yes” is an adequate confession of faith. When a Sunday School teacher asks their students, “Who died on the cross for your sins?” and the answer is a resounding, “Jesus!” - that is an adequate confession of faith. When Jesus healed a man blind from birth and then asked him if he believed in the Son of Man, this newly healed sinner said, “Lord, I believe.” That was an adequate confession of faith. When we join together in a worship service and repeat the words of the Apostles Creed in unison, “I believe in God the Father almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord…” - that is an adequate confession of faith. When we come to the end of the service and sing together the “Amen” in response to the Lord’s blessing - that single “amen” is an adequate confession of faith. The confession itself isn’t the point. What we confess is. We simply state what we believe. And the Christ in whom we believe saves us.
Isn’t it wonderful that our salvation is so simple? We don’t have to be in a constant state of panic like the prophets of Baal were at the time of Elijah: slashing themselves and screaming at the top of their lungs to somehow impress their fake god. And we don’t have to try to survive under a system of ceremonies and sacrifices like the Jews did during Paul’s time and some Jews still do today: rigorously following the Old Testament customs and laws of purification in fear that they won’t be worthy to stand in front of their God on the Last Day. And we don’t have to live under the weight of a guilty conscience like so many people in this world do, well-intentioned people who are striving and determined to do every possible thing they can to please an almighty and perfect God who demands from them an exact accounting in every aspect of their lives. Of course, all of their striving and all of their determination won’t do it. First of all, because no sinful human being can keep God’s law perfectly. And secondly, because Christ already has done it all. And without faith that Jesus has done everything for them, they will never enjoy the blessings of heaven. They will never know what it is like to be saved. They have complicated salvation by trying to add to it something they do. And in doing so, that simple salvation that the Lord won on the cross has escaped them.
I don’t want it to sound like the Christian life that you live means nothing. It means a lot! The way you live this life as a Christian is the outward demonstration of what you believe in your heart. Your life is really a non-verbal confession of faith in many ways. But you don’t have to lead a Christian life to be saved; you automatically strive to lead a Christian life because you already are saved. The simple gospel moves you to live a life of thanks and praise. The simple gospel fills you with a driving desire to do everything you can in appreciation to your Lord. The simple gospel is in your heart and so it is naturally in your life and in your mouth as well. Your salvation is not complicated. It’s as simple as it can be. Jesus died on the cross for your sins. He rose from the dead to solidify your salvation. Do you believe this? Do you believe this? [Yes] You are saved.
Amen.
“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Let all the people say, ‘Amen!’ Praise the Lord.” - Psalm 106:48
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Saturday, February 20, 2010
2/17,24/10 - Midweek Lent - Luke 22:39-46
OUR SAVIOR DRAINED
People have more energy at certain times than at others. The older we get the less energy we seem to have. Maybe at a 7 o’clock midweek Lent service when the sky is already dark and our stomachs are full from a recent soup supper, we might not quite have the energy to stay awake for the entire time like we would on a Sunday morning. After a hard day’s work or after staying up late the night before or after exerting ourselves mentally or physically, our energy is sometimes completely gone. There are plenty of things in this life that drain us of the energy that our bodies normally enjoy.
Jesus, as a true human being in every possible way, was drained of energy at times just like we are. After being in the desert without food for 40 straight days as he was tempted by the devil, Jesus must have been drained to the point of exhaustion. In fact, angels were even sent to help him recover after it was all over. There were times in Jesus’ ministry when he had to take his disciples away from the crowds to a quiet place so that all of them could get a little bit of rest before resuming their preaching and teaching. In fact, Jesus was so exhausted one day that he even fell asleep in a boat during a storm that was so violent that his disciples thought they were going to drown. And then, of course, there was the Garden of Gethsemane on the night before his crucifixion. There on his knees Jesus was praying so passionately for so long that an angel came to strengthen him and his sweat was like drops of blood pouring from his face. The gospel writer Luke describes our drained Savior that night in this way: 39Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. 40On reaching the place, he said to them, "Pray that you will not fall into temptation." 41He withdrew about a stone's throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, 42"Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." 43An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. 44And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. 45When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. 46"Why are you sleeping?" he asked them. "Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation."
Jesus was kneeling in a garden at night when the sweat began to run down his forehead and collect on the ground. He wasn’t running, he wasn’t working, he wasn’t laboring out in the sun on a hundred degree day. He was praying. But he was praying so hard and so fervently that sweat came pouring out of him to such an extent that it must have soaked through his clothes! Luke says that his sweat was like drops of blood falling from his brow! This was not just a little perspiration. This was not only a bit of moisture beading up on his forehead. Our Savior was praying with such intensity that the sweat poured from his body and actually dripped off his face to the ground below! Our Savior held nothing back in his prayers to the Father that night. He poured out his heart and his soul and his mind. Our Savior drained himself.
Have you ever prayed like that? Have you ever approached the throne of your Lord and prayed so feverishly that not only did you work up a sweat, but you sweated so profusely that it ran off the end of your nose and your eyebrows and your chin like drops of blood? Neither have I. I know what it is to sweat in that way; sweat has poured from my face like a faucet on numerous occasions during triple digit days in the summers of the Midwest, but I’ve never had sweat drop like blood from my head during prayer. I don’t think many people have. Because we are more likely to fall asleep like the disciples than spend that much energy praying! How many times have you dozed off on that soft pillow of yours before you were even close to finishing your prayers for the night? How many times have you purposely stayed up through the entire night and drained yourself of every ounce of energy in your pleas and petitions to the Lord? We just don’t usually pray that hard or that long or that passionately. And it might be a little bit of laziness on our part that we have never done that before; it might be a little bit of indifference; it might be a little bit of neglect. And I’m not saying that you have to sweat with every prayer you pray or pray for hours ever time you approach your Lord - Jesus didn’t even do that - but we probably don’t give prayer the priority it deserves. We like to sleep more than we like to pray. We like to eat more than we like to pray. We like to do a whole variety of different things before we ever make time to pray. We certainly have the opportunities to pray and we definitely have plenty of things to pray for, we just don’t always take advantage of God’s open door policy and talk to him as often as we should - when he has been waiting patiently just to hear from us the entire time.
The disciples didn’t take advantage of their opportunity either. They weren’t on their knees while their Lord was on his in anguish. They didn’t pray with him. They didn’t even stay awake with him. They caught a quick nap on the night that happened to be the last night they would ever be able to spend with their Savior on this earth. But that is why Jesus prayed so hard. He knew what was coming. He knew what he was about to go through. And he knew that no one else could go through it with him. He would be alone on the cross just like he was that night in the garden. He would be left to shoulder the agony all by himself on a hill called Golgotha just as he was that evening in a garden called Gethsemane. And the sweat that dropped from his head like blood was an unpleasant reminder of the blood that would soon drop from his head because of the crown of thorns less than 24 hours later.
I don’t think it was a coincidence that the Holy Spirit inspired the gospel writer Luke to describe Jesus’ sweat like drops of blood falling to the ground. Luke wasn’t just describing Jesus’ physical and emotional exertion in prayer; Luke was hinting at the coming cross. Jesus would have nails in his hands, nails in his feet, scourge wounds on his back, and a crown of thorns pressed into his head in just a few hours. Jesus’ blood would flow freely. It would run down his legs and arms, it would soak into the wooden beams of the cross, and it would pour off of his face as it dropped to the ground. Jesus would be covered in his own blood by the next afternoon and so he prayed that night before covered in his own sweat. He pleaded with his Father to find another way; but he also agreed with his Father that the cross was the only way. He struggled as a true man to face such torture; but he also willingly accepted the impending self-sacrifice because he was and remains true God. And this was the way it had to be. Blood would have to pour off his brow, not just sweat, if he was going to save those disciples that were sleeping a stone’s throw away. Blood would have to run out of his body to the point of death, not just perspiration, in order to save us. The Savior would have to be drained. Drained of energy, drained of blood, and even drained of life itself. Our dear Savior Jesus would have to be stripped of that which he breathed into Adam in the Garden of Eden. God himself would have to become a lifeless body so that he could give life to ours.
And it all started here in the Garden of Gethsemane. Look at the anguish on Jesus’ face. Look at the white knuckles of his folded hands. Look at the soiled knees down in the dew and the dirt. Look at the sweat pouring from his forehead like drops of blood. Your Savior drained himself. Your Savior drained himself of everything he had so that you could be filled with joy and peace and forgiveness. Our Savior drained himself. We are now saved.
Amen.
“May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.” - 2 Thess. 3:5
People have more energy at certain times than at others. The older we get the less energy we seem to have. Maybe at a 7 o’clock midweek Lent service when the sky is already dark and our stomachs are full from a recent soup supper, we might not quite have the energy to stay awake for the entire time like we would on a Sunday morning. After a hard day’s work or after staying up late the night before or after exerting ourselves mentally or physically, our energy is sometimes completely gone. There are plenty of things in this life that drain us of the energy that our bodies normally enjoy.
Jesus, as a true human being in every possible way, was drained of energy at times just like we are. After being in the desert without food for 40 straight days as he was tempted by the devil, Jesus must have been drained to the point of exhaustion. In fact, angels were even sent to help him recover after it was all over. There were times in Jesus’ ministry when he had to take his disciples away from the crowds to a quiet place so that all of them could get a little bit of rest before resuming their preaching and teaching. In fact, Jesus was so exhausted one day that he even fell asleep in a boat during a storm that was so violent that his disciples thought they were going to drown. And then, of course, there was the Garden of Gethsemane on the night before his crucifixion. There on his knees Jesus was praying so passionately for so long that an angel came to strengthen him and his sweat was like drops of blood pouring from his face. The gospel writer Luke describes our drained Savior that night in this way: 39Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. 40On reaching the place, he said to them, "Pray that you will not fall into temptation." 41He withdrew about a stone's throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, 42"Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." 43An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. 44And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. 45When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. 46"Why are you sleeping?" he asked them. "Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation."
Jesus was kneeling in a garden at night when the sweat began to run down his forehead and collect on the ground. He wasn’t running, he wasn’t working, he wasn’t laboring out in the sun on a hundred degree day. He was praying. But he was praying so hard and so fervently that sweat came pouring out of him to such an extent that it must have soaked through his clothes! Luke says that his sweat was like drops of blood falling from his brow! This was not just a little perspiration. This was not only a bit of moisture beading up on his forehead. Our Savior was praying with such intensity that the sweat poured from his body and actually dripped off his face to the ground below! Our Savior held nothing back in his prayers to the Father that night. He poured out his heart and his soul and his mind. Our Savior drained himself.
Have you ever prayed like that? Have you ever approached the throne of your Lord and prayed so feverishly that not only did you work up a sweat, but you sweated so profusely that it ran off the end of your nose and your eyebrows and your chin like drops of blood? Neither have I. I know what it is to sweat in that way; sweat has poured from my face like a faucet on numerous occasions during triple digit days in the summers of the Midwest, but I’ve never had sweat drop like blood from my head during prayer. I don’t think many people have. Because we are more likely to fall asleep like the disciples than spend that much energy praying! How many times have you dozed off on that soft pillow of yours before you were even close to finishing your prayers for the night? How many times have you purposely stayed up through the entire night and drained yourself of every ounce of energy in your pleas and petitions to the Lord? We just don’t usually pray that hard or that long or that passionately. And it might be a little bit of laziness on our part that we have never done that before; it might be a little bit of indifference; it might be a little bit of neglect. And I’m not saying that you have to sweat with every prayer you pray or pray for hours ever time you approach your Lord - Jesus didn’t even do that - but we probably don’t give prayer the priority it deserves. We like to sleep more than we like to pray. We like to eat more than we like to pray. We like to do a whole variety of different things before we ever make time to pray. We certainly have the opportunities to pray and we definitely have plenty of things to pray for, we just don’t always take advantage of God’s open door policy and talk to him as often as we should - when he has been waiting patiently just to hear from us the entire time.
The disciples didn’t take advantage of their opportunity either. They weren’t on their knees while their Lord was on his in anguish. They didn’t pray with him. They didn’t even stay awake with him. They caught a quick nap on the night that happened to be the last night they would ever be able to spend with their Savior on this earth. But that is why Jesus prayed so hard. He knew what was coming. He knew what he was about to go through. And he knew that no one else could go through it with him. He would be alone on the cross just like he was that night in the garden. He would be left to shoulder the agony all by himself on a hill called Golgotha just as he was that evening in a garden called Gethsemane. And the sweat that dropped from his head like blood was an unpleasant reminder of the blood that would soon drop from his head because of the crown of thorns less than 24 hours later.
I don’t think it was a coincidence that the Holy Spirit inspired the gospel writer Luke to describe Jesus’ sweat like drops of blood falling to the ground. Luke wasn’t just describing Jesus’ physical and emotional exertion in prayer; Luke was hinting at the coming cross. Jesus would have nails in his hands, nails in his feet, scourge wounds on his back, and a crown of thorns pressed into his head in just a few hours. Jesus’ blood would flow freely. It would run down his legs and arms, it would soak into the wooden beams of the cross, and it would pour off of his face as it dropped to the ground. Jesus would be covered in his own blood by the next afternoon and so he prayed that night before covered in his own sweat. He pleaded with his Father to find another way; but he also agreed with his Father that the cross was the only way. He struggled as a true man to face such torture; but he also willingly accepted the impending self-sacrifice because he was and remains true God. And this was the way it had to be. Blood would have to pour off his brow, not just sweat, if he was going to save those disciples that were sleeping a stone’s throw away. Blood would have to run out of his body to the point of death, not just perspiration, in order to save us. The Savior would have to be drained. Drained of energy, drained of blood, and even drained of life itself. Our dear Savior Jesus would have to be stripped of that which he breathed into Adam in the Garden of Eden. God himself would have to become a lifeless body so that he could give life to ours.
And it all started here in the Garden of Gethsemane. Look at the anguish on Jesus’ face. Look at the white knuckles of his folded hands. Look at the soiled knees down in the dew and the dirt. Look at the sweat pouring from his forehead like drops of blood. Your Savior drained himself. Your Savior drained himself of everything he had so that you could be filled with joy and peace and forgiveness. Our Savior drained himself. We are now saved.
Amen.
“May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.” - 2 Thess. 3:5
Sunday, February 14, 2010
2/14/10 - Transfiguration - Luke 9:28-36
KEEP THE CROSS IN PERSPECTIVE
We have been blessed. There is no argument about that. We have been showered with countless gifts by the Lord in every aspect of our lives. Whether it is a family that loves us, a stable country to live in, or a wonderful congregation that we can call home, the Lord has supplied us with thousands of blessings as long as we been on this earth. But not only has the Lord given us great things out of the blue because of his grace, he has also allowed us to buy things or work for things that make this life more enjoyable. If you wanted tea leaves straight from China, you could order them. If you wanted a traditional Russian nesting doll, you could have it sent right to your doorstep within the week. If you are cold in the winter, you can go to any one of a number of stores in town and get a new winter coat. If you want to travel to visit relatives across the country you have the option of hopping on a plane to get there or driving your own car or taking the train. If you want something as simple as a loaf of bread, you don’t have to gather the grain, grind it into flour, knead the dough, and bake it yourself; there are a dozen different kinds of bread for you sitting at the grocery store right now. There are very few things in this world that we do not have access to if we really want them. We have been blessed. The Lord has actually made life in this sinful world wonderful for us at times!
And there’s nothing wrong with that. Don’t feel guilty about what you have or what you are able to work for or what you have been given. The Lord wants you to enjoy the things he has blessed you with. He wants his children to take pleasure in his gifts. But may I offer a word of encouragement? No matter how many good things you have in this life, no matter how many blessings you are able to enjoy, keep the cross in perspective. Keep the cross in perspective because that is the only blessing that really matters.
And I say that because it seems that, at certain times, our lives almost revolve around the earthly gifts we have. We are always looking for the next thing we can buy or the next thing we can do or the next place we can go. And I do that too. Whether it’s the newest thing I can place in my home or the next major sporting event I can attend or the next vacation my family can take - the blessings of this life almost dictate what I do and how I do it. In fact, my day to day happiness is sometimes based on what I am able to obtain and how many blessings I am able to enjoy. I don’t always keep the cross in perspective. Like a camera that focuses on the closest thing to the lens while everything else behind it is a little bit blurred, I get all wrapped up in the passing blessings of this life that are right there in front of my face, entangled in their novelties and the momentary happiness they can supply. I don’t always remember that the greatest and most essential blessing has already been given to me and it will never be taken away. Even as a Christian, even as a pastor of a Christian congregation, my quest for more blessings and newer blessings and different blessings tends to obscure my view of the cross standing in the background - when the cross should have been in the foreground the entire time, completely in focus. The Lord certainly gives us every earthly blessing in this life, but he never wants these lesser blessings to steal attention away from the blessing of the cross.
During one of his ministry trips through the region of Galilee, Jesus gave a special blessing to a few of his disciples. “He took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning.” This is, of course, the transfiguration of Christ, the event where he displayed a little bit of his glory to these three special disciples. And what a blessing it was! What a gift! No one had even seen Jesus in this way before and no one would ever see Jesus in this way again until the glories of heaven. Peter, James, and John were actually given the unique privilege to be in the presence of their Lord as he peeled away a few layers of his humble appearance and allowed them to gaze upon a small reflection of his majesty. But not only did Jesus’ outward form change in a glorious way up on the mountain, and not only did God the Father speak to the disciples from heaven, but the renowned leader Moses and the storied prophet Elijah also appeared with him! And the disciples, by some miracle of God’s will, instantly knew who these men were and they must have been stunned! Moses had been dead for 1500 years and Elijah had been taken straight up into heaven by a whirlwind, never to be seen again, until now - nine centuries later.
I can’t even imagine what was going through the minds of these three disciples as they saw Jesus in that unexplainable splendor and these two ancient heroes of Scripture standing in front of them! What were Moses and Elijah going to say to them? What kind of advice would they be able to offer? What insights would they reveal about life in heaven? What encouragements would they give to strengthen Peter, James, and John and to motivate them for the rough road ahead? Ah, but that is the interesting thing about this story. The Bible doesn’t record a single word that was exchanged between these two Old Testament Christians and their three New Testament counterparts. Moses and Elijah didn’t speak to the disciples at all. Because they were not there to give them advice. They were not there to offer heavenly insights or to pat Peter, James, and John on the back with a few words of encouragement. Moses and Elijah were there to speak to Jesus. For the disciples benefit, of course, but to speak only to Jesus nonetheless. And do you remember what these two sainted men of God spoke to Jesus about? Their conversation was not about heaven or about the disciples standing right there or about spiritual things to deep for these three followers of Christ to understand; the conversation Moses and Elijah had with Jesus was about the cross. Luke writes that “They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem.” Moses, the former leader of God’s people who led them in the exodus from Egypt, and Elijah, the powerful prophet of God’s people whose exodus from this life will forever be remembered, were sent down from heaven to speak to Jesus about his exodus, his departure from this life. They came to talk with him about the cross. And they spoke so that the disciples could hear them and understand. They discussed Jesus’ plans for the end of his life in the full hearing of his disciples so that they would take these words to heart and keep the cross in perspective. But the disciples were unable to do so.
“As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, ‘Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters - one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’ (But he did not know what he was saying),” Scripture says. Peter and his companions were so distracted by the extra blessings they were experiencing at the moment that they lost sight of the cross. They wanted Moses and Elijah to stay! They probably wanted to ask them some questions! They at least wanted to be in the presence of these famous forefathers and their supernatural teacher for a little while longer before returning to real life down at the foot of the mountain! But these three disciples missed the point. They didn’t pay attention to the subject of the conversation. They didn’t realize that Moses and Elijah couldn’t stay, and neither could Jesus. He had a departure to catch. He had an appointment with a cross outside of the walls of Jerusalem and he couldn’t miss it. He had to go down from the mountain. He had to continue on. He had to head for his death. Because although the disciples weren’t keeping the cross in perspective, Jesus certainly did.
There was never a moment in Jesus’ life when he didn’t keep the cross in perspective. It was always at the forefront of his mind. In every sermon he preached, in every miracle he performed, in every prayer he prayed, in every late night he spent with his disciples, and in every question he answered for the people, he always kept the cross in perspective. Even here. Even here up on the mountain with his three chosen disciples and two of his faithful believers from the past. Even here when his enemies and persecutors were far below and nowhere in sight. Even here where he was able to let loose some of his godly grandeur for a moment and there was no pain and no testing and no hate anywhere around. Even here on the Mount of Transfiguration Jesus kept the cross in perspective. Because he knew there was more pain and testing and hate to come. And he was willing to endure it. He wanted to carry out his departure that would soon be fulfilled in Jerusalem because the three disciples that were in front of him that day needed it. And the millions of Christians who would read these words in the centuries to follow this event would need it. And those of us who are listening to these words still today need it. We need the cross! We needed Jesus to follow through on his departure from this life or we would never be able to arrive in the life to come. The cross was the entire reason Jesus was here in the first place! He didn’t come to this earth to be praised for his miracles or to be honored for his wisdom or to be glorified up on that mountain. He came to die on a hill. He came to suffer. He came to bleed. He didn’t come to enjoy life on this earth. He came so that the people of this earth would take his life from him. And so the cross was always the only thing on Jesus’ mind.
The story of the transfiguration is always the Sunday before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the season of lent. And it’s fitting that this Sunday is placed where it is in the Christian church year because soon after Jesus came down from the mountain he went up on the hill of his crucifixion. Scripture says later in this same chapter of Luke that “As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51). Soon Jesus would face betrayal and arrest and condemnation by the court of his own countrymen. Soon he would be beaten by Roman soldiers and sentenced to death by the ruling governor. Soon Jesus would make that hard march out to a place called Golgotha. Soon he would be tortured to death. Soon he would depart. And instead of his face shining like the sun as it was on the mountain, his face would be beaten and bruised and haggard. Instead of his clothes flashing like lightning, his clothing would be ripped off and divided among the soldiers. Instead of Moses and Elijah standing by his side, two criminals would be dying on both sides of him. Instead of his disciples bowing down in his presence, the Jewish leaders would be insulting him in mockery. Instead of his Father speaking from the heavens about how much he loved his Son, his Father would turn his back on his Son and leave Jesus alone in the dark prison cells of hell. The cross hurt! And it hurt not just because of the nails and the thorns, but because that is where Christ suffered the punishment of every sin for every person all at once. The cross wasn’t just the place of Jesus’ death; it was the place of his damnation. And because it is the place where Jesus was damned, it is also the place where we were saved.
Nothing compares with the cross. No blessing in this life, no good thing, no enjoyment, no happiness, no amount of gratification can come close to the blessing of the cross. Nowhere else did someone love you so much that he died in your place. Nowhere else are your sins completely forgiven. Nowhere else is your eternity secured. The cross is the greatest blessing you have ever been given and it is the only one that will last.
Keep this cross in perspective. Don’t let it just slowly fade into the background amidst the many blessings of this life. Don’t let it be overshadowed by what you can get your hands on and enjoy. Every other blessing in this life would be worthless and meaningless without it. What would the point of good things in this life be if you were just going to end up in hell anyway? And on the other hand, what would a lack of blessings in this life matter if you’re going to end up in heaven with your Savior? The cross clears out all of the distractions. The cross cleans our vision so that we can see clearly again. The cross clarifies. Because when we have it in the forefront of our minds, everything else falls into place; everything else makes sense. Keep this cross in perspective.
Amen.
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” - Revelation 5:12
We have been blessed. There is no argument about that. We have been showered with countless gifts by the Lord in every aspect of our lives. Whether it is a family that loves us, a stable country to live in, or a wonderful congregation that we can call home, the Lord has supplied us with thousands of blessings as long as we been on this earth. But not only has the Lord given us great things out of the blue because of his grace, he has also allowed us to buy things or work for things that make this life more enjoyable. If you wanted tea leaves straight from China, you could order them. If you wanted a traditional Russian nesting doll, you could have it sent right to your doorstep within the week. If you are cold in the winter, you can go to any one of a number of stores in town and get a new winter coat. If you want to travel to visit relatives across the country you have the option of hopping on a plane to get there or driving your own car or taking the train. If you want something as simple as a loaf of bread, you don’t have to gather the grain, grind it into flour, knead the dough, and bake it yourself; there are a dozen different kinds of bread for you sitting at the grocery store right now. There are very few things in this world that we do not have access to if we really want them. We have been blessed. The Lord has actually made life in this sinful world wonderful for us at times!
And there’s nothing wrong with that. Don’t feel guilty about what you have or what you are able to work for or what you have been given. The Lord wants you to enjoy the things he has blessed you with. He wants his children to take pleasure in his gifts. But may I offer a word of encouragement? No matter how many good things you have in this life, no matter how many blessings you are able to enjoy, keep the cross in perspective. Keep the cross in perspective because that is the only blessing that really matters.
And I say that because it seems that, at certain times, our lives almost revolve around the earthly gifts we have. We are always looking for the next thing we can buy or the next thing we can do or the next place we can go. And I do that too. Whether it’s the newest thing I can place in my home or the next major sporting event I can attend or the next vacation my family can take - the blessings of this life almost dictate what I do and how I do it. In fact, my day to day happiness is sometimes based on what I am able to obtain and how many blessings I am able to enjoy. I don’t always keep the cross in perspective. Like a camera that focuses on the closest thing to the lens while everything else behind it is a little bit blurred, I get all wrapped up in the passing blessings of this life that are right there in front of my face, entangled in their novelties and the momentary happiness they can supply. I don’t always remember that the greatest and most essential blessing has already been given to me and it will never be taken away. Even as a Christian, even as a pastor of a Christian congregation, my quest for more blessings and newer blessings and different blessings tends to obscure my view of the cross standing in the background - when the cross should have been in the foreground the entire time, completely in focus. The Lord certainly gives us every earthly blessing in this life, but he never wants these lesser blessings to steal attention away from the blessing of the cross.
During one of his ministry trips through the region of Galilee, Jesus gave a special blessing to a few of his disciples. “He took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning.” This is, of course, the transfiguration of Christ, the event where he displayed a little bit of his glory to these three special disciples. And what a blessing it was! What a gift! No one had even seen Jesus in this way before and no one would ever see Jesus in this way again until the glories of heaven. Peter, James, and John were actually given the unique privilege to be in the presence of their Lord as he peeled away a few layers of his humble appearance and allowed them to gaze upon a small reflection of his majesty. But not only did Jesus’ outward form change in a glorious way up on the mountain, and not only did God the Father speak to the disciples from heaven, but the renowned leader Moses and the storied prophet Elijah also appeared with him! And the disciples, by some miracle of God’s will, instantly knew who these men were and they must have been stunned! Moses had been dead for 1500 years and Elijah had been taken straight up into heaven by a whirlwind, never to be seen again, until now - nine centuries later.
I can’t even imagine what was going through the minds of these three disciples as they saw Jesus in that unexplainable splendor and these two ancient heroes of Scripture standing in front of them! What were Moses and Elijah going to say to them? What kind of advice would they be able to offer? What insights would they reveal about life in heaven? What encouragements would they give to strengthen Peter, James, and John and to motivate them for the rough road ahead? Ah, but that is the interesting thing about this story. The Bible doesn’t record a single word that was exchanged between these two Old Testament Christians and their three New Testament counterparts. Moses and Elijah didn’t speak to the disciples at all. Because they were not there to give them advice. They were not there to offer heavenly insights or to pat Peter, James, and John on the back with a few words of encouragement. Moses and Elijah were there to speak to Jesus. For the disciples benefit, of course, but to speak only to Jesus nonetheless. And do you remember what these two sainted men of God spoke to Jesus about? Their conversation was not about heaven or about the disciples standing right there or about spiritual things to deep for these three followers of Christ to understand; the conversation Moses and Elijah had with Jesus was about the cross. Luke writes that “They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem.” Moses, the former leader of God’s people who led them in the exodus from Egypt, and Elijah, the powerful prophet of God’s people whose exodus from this life will forever be remembered, were sent down from heaven to speak to Jesus about his exodus, his departure from this life. They came to talk with him about the cross. And they spoke so that the disciples could hear them and understand. They discussed Jesus’ plans for the end of his life in the full hearing of his disciples so that they would take these words to heart and keep the cross in perspective. But the disciples were unable to do so.
“As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, ‘Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters - one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’ (But he did not know what he was saying),” Scripture says. Peter and his companions were so distracted by the extra blessings they were experiencing at the moment that they lost sight of the cross. They wanted Moses and Elijah to stay! They probably wanted to ask them some questions! They at least wanted to be in the presence of these famous forefathers and their supernatural teacher for a little while longer before returning to real life down at the foot of the mountain! But these three disciples missed the point. They didn’t pay attention to the subject of the conversation. They didn’t realize that Moses and Elijah couldn’t stay, and neither could Jesus. He had a departure to catch. He had an appointment with a cross outside of the walls of Jerusalem and he couldn’t miss it. He had to go down from the mountain. He had to continue on. He had to head for his death. Because although the disciples weren’t keeping the cross in perspective, Jesus certainly did.
There was never a moment in Jesus’ life when he didn’t keep the cross in perspective. It was always at the forefront of his mind. In every sermon he preached, in every miracle he performed, in every prayer he prayed, in every late night he spent with his disciples, and in every question he answered for the people, he always kept the cross in perspective. Even here. Even here up on the mountain with his three chosen disciples and two of his faithful believers from the past. Even here when his enemies and persecutors were far below and nowhere in sight. Even here where he was able to let loose some of his godly grandeur for a moment and there was no pain and no testing and no hate anywhere around. Even here on the Mount of Transfiguration Jesus kept the cross in perspective. Because he knew there was more pain and testing and hate to come. And he was willing to endure it. He wanted to carry out his departure that would soon be fulfilled in Jerusalem because the three disciples that were in front of him that day needed it. And the millions of Christians who would read these words in the centuries to follow this event would need it. And those of us who are listening to these words still today need it. We need the cross! We needed Jesus to follow through on his departure from this life or we would never be able to arrive in the life to come. The cross was the entire reason Jesus was here in the first place! He didn’t come to this earth to be praised for his miracles or to be honored for his wisdom or to be glorified up on that mountain. He came to die on a hill. He came to suffer. He came to bleed. He didn’t come to enjoy life on this earth. He came so that the people of this earth would take his life from him. And so the cross was always the only thing on Jesus’ mind.
The story of the transfiguration is always the Sunday before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the season of lent. And it’s fitting that this Sunday is placed where it is in the Christian church year because soon after Jesus came down from the mountain he went up on the hill of his crucifixion. Scripture says later in this same chapter of Luke that “As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51). Soon Jesus would face betrayal and arrest and condemnation by the court of his own countrymen. Soon he would be beaten by Roman soldiers and sentenced to death by the ruling governor. Soon Jesus would make that hard march out to a place called Golgotha. Soon he would be tortured to death. Soon he would depart. And instead of his face shining like the sun as it was on the mountain, his face would be beaten and bruised and haggard. Instead of his clothes flashing like lightning, his clothing would be ripped off and divided among the soldiers. Instead of Moses and Elijah standing by his side, two criminals would be dying on both sides of him. Instead of his disciples bowing down in his presence, the Jewish leaders would be insulting him in mockery. Instead of his Father speaking from the heavens about how much he loved his Son, his Father would turn his back on his Son and leave Jesus alone in the dark prison cells of hell. The cross hurt! And it hurt not just because of the nails and the thorns, but because that is where Christ suffered the punishment of every sin for every person all at once. The cross wasn’t just the place of Jesus’ death; it was the place of his damnation. And because it is the place where Jesus was damned, it is also the place where we were saved.
Nothing compares with the cross. No blessing in this life, no good thing, no enjoyment, no happiness, no amount of gratification can come close to the blessing of the cross. Nowhere else did someone love you so much that he died in your place. Nowhere else are your sins completely forgiven. Nowhere else is your eternity secured. The cross is the greatest blessing you have ever been given and it is the only one that will last.
Keep this cross in perspective. Don’t let it just slowly fade into the background amidst the many blessings of this life. Don’t let it be overshadowed by what you can get your hands on and enjoy. Every other blessing in this life would be worthless and meaningless without it. What would the point of good things in this life be if you were just going to end up in hell anyway? And on the other hand, what would a lack of blessings in this life matter if you’re going to end up in heaven with your Savior? The cross clears out all of the distractions. The cross cleans our vision so that we can see clearly again. The cross clarifies. Because when we have it in the forefront of our minds, everything else falls into place; everything else makes sense. Keep this cross in perspective.
Amen.
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” - Revelation 5:12
Monday, February 08, 2010
2/7/10 - Stewardship Celebration - Ezra 8:21-27
THE GOOD HAND OF OUR GOD IS UPON US
Ezra was finally given a chance to go home. Not that he had ever seen “home” before. He had been living in the country of Babylon his entire life because it had been 90 years since his people had been taken into exile. By this time many of Ezra’s countrymen had already been allowed to return, but now Ezra himself would be able to go back to the land he never knew. I’m sure Ezra was eager to see the country God had once given to his people, an almost mythical place about which he had only heard stories. He had to be anxious to finally step foot on the ground that the Bible described as a “land flowing with milk and honey.” But although Ezra was certainly excited to travel to the country of his forefathers, he probably also understood that it wasn’t going to be easy. Not only would he have to travel for four months through strange and dangerous lands he wasn’t familiar with, but Jerusalem itself would still be in ruins when he got there. The city walls had yet to be repaired from the Babylonian attack almost a century before, and Ezra, as a leader and a priest of the Israelites, would have to deal with it. There would be a lot of work to be done with very few people, less money, and no guarantee that he would even reach the land of Israel safely.
But the good hand of his God was upon him. We’ve already seen in our worship service this morning that Ezra was blessed by the hand of the Lord - and he knew it! He saw God working through the people and the situations around him so that everything fell right into place. In fact, in the span of just two chapters in the middle of his book, Ezra repeats six different times that the hand of his God was upon him. Ezra admits that the good hand of his God was upon him when the king simply allowed Ezra to leave. And the good hand of his God was upon him again when 38 Levites and 220 temple servants were found to travel with him to the land of Israel. And the good hand of his God was upon him again when the Lord protected this group of Israelites from enemies and robbers on the 800 mile journey to the Promised Land without any of the king’s soldiers or horsemen to defend them. Ezra was fully aware that the Lord was behind everything that was happening to him and he praised his God for it! But that wasn’t everything that the Lord had done for him. Ezra himself writes: “I weighed out to them the offering of silver and gold and the articles that the king, his advisers, his officials and all Israel present there had donated for the house of our God: 650 talents of silver, silver articles weighing 100 talents, 100 talents of gold, 20 bowls of gold valued at 1,000 darics, and two fine articles of polished bronze, as precious as gold.”
The good hand of his God had moved the king of Babylon and his advisors and his officials to contribute a large sum of money to the treasury of the house of God in Israel. But the Lord had also moved the hearts of the Israelites themselves to give their gifts to the Lord as well. And the total offering was no meager amount! 100 talents of gold were collected - that’s 3 ¾ tons of gold! By today’s standards that would be worth $132,000,000 - not to mention another $335,000 for the 20 golden bowls along with over 28 tons of silver. The good hand of God was certainly at work, supplying these exiled Israelites with an incredible amount of treasure to take back to the house of God in the Promised Land! It was more money than Ezra could have ever guessed he would carry with him. The entire trip was blessed by the hand of his God far beyond anything he could have imagined.
But that’s what the good hand of our God does: he supplies us with blessings beyond anything we dare to dream. And he does it even without our asking. We ask him for a lot of things, there’s no doubt about that, but it seems that most of the blessings we receive come before we ever ask! And the gifts our God gives us without our asking are wonderful! Think of how many blessings the Lord has personally given to you throughout your lifetime that you didn’t ask him for. Your spouse, your children, your parents, your house, your job, your home town, your Christian friends… and sometimes those blessings are as small as the ability to take a breath of fresh air, your heart beating at a regular pace even during sleep, temporary relief from the pain that’s been bothering you, an unexpected phone call from an old friend, a chance to see your grandchildren for a day, an opportunity to relax on a sunny afternoon, a small insight that the Lord gives you while studying his Word… The good hand of our God is constantly upon us, pouring out blessings that we wouldn’t even think about requesting. We don’t even know them all! We aren’t even aware of all the blessings the good hand of our God provides for us because many of them are behind the scenes and out of sight and unnoticeable. Especially here, especially now, especially to us. As Christians in this country at this time, we have received more blessings from our God than we can possibly keep track of. And so it’s a pity that we forget to thank out God for most of them.
We are so used to enjoying the good things of this life, we are so familiar with experiencing the blessings of our God from every conceivable angle, that we sometimes forget to even acknowledge that God is behind those gifts that we don’t deserve. In fact, we almost expect that those good things will keep on coming - and if they don’t, if those blessings that we count on suddenly stop, we sometimes get a little angry and somewhat perturbed that the Lord would do such a thing to us! We act like spoiled brats sometimes. We are the rich kids that are so used to getting everything all the time that we come close to throwing a two year old tantrum when we don’t get something that we’ve always had in the past.
Understand that the life we live here is largely unprecedented in the history of this world for Christians to enjoy. Think of almost any Christian in the Bible. Bring to mind any era of history in the Christian church beginning with the apostles and all the way up to the present day. I would guess that at least 90% of Christians who have ever lived on this earth have lived hard lives amidst violent persecution with very few physical blessings. They lived in dangerous countries under anti-Christian governments with little opportunity to do anything about it. But you can be sure that those Christians thanked their God for the blessings and the gifts that they did receive from his good hand. Those few material blessings they happened to have were precious to them. They cherished them.
The blessings we receive are no less precious. We just don’t always cherish them as much as they should be cherished. And we don’t always thank our God for what he does for us every day of our lives as often as we should. We would do well to be more like Ezra. Because Ezra the priest seemed to keep those kinds of things in perspective. He appreciated what the Lord had done for him and thanked his God even for the small blessings that the Lord had given his people. But he also kept in mind the most important blessing that came from the hand of the Lord: the Word of God. 12 years after Ezra arrived in Jerusalem the walls of the city were rebuilt under the direction of Ezra’s friend, Nehemiah. Nehemiah was an Israelite who had come from Babylon as well. And together Nehemiah and Ezra were able to organize the Israelite nation and rebuild the walls that had been lying in ruins for over hundred years. But during that time they also spent a lot of effort rebuilding the spiritual walls of Jerusalem through the Word of God. Under Ezra’s direction the people celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles for the first time in almost 1000 years. Ezra also read from the Book of the Law in the hearing of the people on a regular basis. And during that time the Israelites praised the Lord not only for the physical blessings he had given them, but especially for the spiritual blessing of forgiveness that he would grant them through the coming of his Son. Ezra made sure that the good hand of his God was upon the people through his Word as much as possible.
The greatest blessing we have from the good hand of our God is no different. It is what we are enjoying right here this morning in God’s house. It is his Word, the written power of God that speaks to us about his mercy and love, his incarnation and his cross, our sins and our forgiveness. The good hand of our God is upon us every time we open our Bibles or sing a hymn or listen to a Scripture reading or recite a psalm. He is reaching out to bless us through his Word, comforting our guilty consciences and convincing our hearts that he has done everything for our salvation and we have nothing to worry about. Nowhere is the hand of our God more evident than in his gospel. Here in the gospel he puts his hand on our shoulder as a good friend in times of trouble. Here in the gospel he places his hand around our side and holds us close to him when we are afraid of what’s to come. Here in the gospel he rests his hand upon on our heads and assures us that we are forgiven because he is our Father, and he loves us more than anything else in this world. The good hand of our God grasps our hearts every time we come into contact with his Word and he leaves no doubt that the gift of heaven is ours to keep because the gift of heaven is his to give.
What a breath-taking way that the good hand of our God blesses us! And what an amazing act of God’s grace that he continues to give us even more! On top of our forgiveness and in addition to Jesus coming down to this earth and dying on the cross and rising from the grave and ascending into heaven and reigning on his throne and working faith in our hearts through his Word and the power of Holy Spirit, he blesses us with countless physical gifts every day! Blessing upon blessing upon blessing because he likes to give us good things and he is happy to fill our cups to overflowing. Just look at what he has done for this congregation over these past few years. He has allowed a group of only 50+ people to spread the gospel in a town filled with souls who need to hear it - despite the fact that the synod itself is closing missions and struggling with finances. And yet here we still are spreading the Word. The good hand of our God has been upon us! The Lord has blessed this congregation with a strong desire to work together and to maintain a unifying bond of peace as brothers and sisters in Christ - regardless of the many strong personalities this congregation is made up of. The good hand of our God has been upon us! The Lord has even moved the hearts of his people here to give an extraordinary amount of money to the building fund - even though visible results have yet to be seen - so that now we at least have the option to look for new land and to make plans for the future when we didn’t have that opportunity three years ago. The good hand of our God has been upon us!
I feel like Ezra, showered with gifts, humbled by God’s people who love the Lord and respect me despite my many and obvious faults, blown away by the outpouring of offerings that have been given for the work of God’s kingdom, and strengthened by all my fellow Christians who have a desire to share the Word of God with people just as much as I do. The good hand of our God has been upon me! He has blessed me exponentially each year. And I love it! I can’t thank God enough! He has been so good to me that I can’t possibly give him enough to make it up.
I pray that’s the way you feel too. I hope you realize how good the Lord has been to you in so many ways and how instrumental his good hand has been in your life. And the good hand of your God will never go away. His hand will always be there to support you and guide you and protect you. The good hand of your God will be with you every step of the way during the 800 mile journey of this life through strange lands and dangerous enemies. The good hand of your God will guide you to the Promised Land with the riches of your salvation in hand. And in the good hand of your God he will one day lead you home.
Amen.
“God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.” - Phil. 4:19-20
Ezra was finally given a chance to go home. Not that he had ever seen “home” before. He had been living in the country of Babylon his entire life because it had been 90 years since his people had been taken into exile. By this time many of Ezra’s countrymen had already been allowed to return, but now Ezra himself would be able to go back to the land he never knew. I’m sure Ezra was eager to see the country God had once given to his people, an almost mythical place about which he had only heard stories. He had to be anxious to finally step foot on the ground that the Bible described as a “land flowing with milk and honey.” But although Ezra was certainly excited to travel to the country of his forefathers, he probably also understood that it wasn’t going to be easy. Not only would he have to travel for four months through strange and dangerous lands he wasn’t familiar with, but Jerusalem itself would still be in ruins when he got there. The city walls had yet to be repaired from the Babylonian attack almost a century before, and Ezra, as a leader and a priest of the Israelites, would have to deal with it. There would be a lot of work to be done with very few people, less money, and no guarantee that he would even reach the land of Israel safely.
But the good hand of his God was upon him. We’ve already seen in our worship service this morning that Ezra was blessed by the hand of the Lord - and he knew it! He saw God working through the people and the situations around him so that everything fell right into place. In fact, in the span of just two chapters in the middle of his book, Ezra repeats six different times that the hand of his God was upon him. Ezra admits that the good hand of his God was upon him when the king simply allowed Ezra to leave. And the good hand of his God was upon him again when 38 Levites and 220 temple servants were found to travel with him to the land of Israel. And the good hand of his God was upon him again when the Lord protected this group of Israelites from enemies and robbers on the 800 mile journey to the Promised Land without any of the king’s soldiers or horsemen to defend them. Ezra was fully aware that the Lord was behind everything that was happening to him and he praised his God for it! But that wasn’t everything that the Lord had done for him. Ezra himself writes: “I weighed out to them the offering of silver and gold and the articles that the king, his advisers, his officials and all Israel present there had donated for the house of our God: 650 talents of silver, silver articles weighing 100 talents, 100 talents of gold, 20 bowls of gold valued at 1,000 darics, and two fine articles of polished bronze, as precious as gold.”
The good hand of his God had moved the king of Babylon and his advisors and his officials to contribute a large sum of money to the treasury of the house of God in Israel. But the Lord had also moved the hearts of the Israelites themselves to give their gifts to the Lord as well. And the total offering was no meager amount! 100 talents of gold were collected - that’s 3 ¾ tons of gold! By today’s standards that would be worth $132,000,000 - not to mention another $335,000 for the 20 golden bowls along with over 28 tons of silver. The good hand of God was certainly at work, supplying these exiled Israelites with an incredible amount of treasure to take back to the house of God in the Promised Land! It was more money than Ezra could have ever guessed he would carry with him. The entire trip was blessed by the hand of his God far beyond anything he could have imagined.
But that’s what the good hand of our God does: he supplies us with blessings beyond anything we dare to dream. And he does it even without our asking. We ask him for a lot of things, there’s no doubt about that, but it seems that most of the blessings we receive come before we ever ask! And the gifts our God gives us without our asking are wonderful! Think of how many blessings the Lord has personally given to you throughout your lifetime that you didn’t ask him for. Your spouse, your children, your parents, your house, your job, your home town, your Christian friends… and sometimes those blessings are as small as the ability to take a breath of fresh air, your heart beating at a regular pace even during sleep, temporary relief from the pain that’s been bothering you, an unexpected phone call from an old friend, a chance to see your grandchildren for a day, an opportunity to relax on a sunny afternoon, a small insight that the Lord gives you while studying his Word… The good hand of our God is constantly upon us, pouring out blessings that we wouldn’t even think about requesting. We don’t even know them all! We aren’t even aware of all the blessings the good hand of our God provides for us because many of them are behind the scenes and out of sight and unnoticeable. Especially here, especially now, especially to us. As Christians in this country at this time, we have received more blessings from our God than we can possibly keep track of. And so it’s a pity that we forget to thank out God for most of them.
We are so used to enjoying the good things of this life, we are so familiar with experiencing the blessings of our God from every conceivable angle, that we sometimes forget to even acknowledge that God is behind those gifts that we don’t deserve. In fact, we almost expect that those good things will keep on coming - and if they don’t, if those blessings that we count on suddenly stop, we sometimes get a little angry and somewhat perturbed that the Lord would do such a thing to us! We act like spoiled brats sometimes. We are the rich kids that are so used to getting everything all the time that we come close to throwing a two year old tantrum when we don’t get something that we’ve always had in the past.
Understand that the life we live here is largely unprecedented in the history of this world for Christians to enjoy. Think of almost any Christian in the Bible. Bring to mind any era of history in the Christian church beginning with the apostles and all the way up to the present day. I would guess that at least 90% of Christians who have ever lived on this earth have lived hard lives amidst violent persecution with very few physical blessings. They lived in dangerous countries under anti-Christian governments with little opportunity to do anything about it. But you can be sure that those Christians thanked their God for the blessings and the gifts that they did receive from his good hand. Those few material blessings they happened to have were precious to them. They cherished them.
The blessings we receive are no less precious. We just don’t always cherish them as much as they should be cherished. And we don’t always thank our God for what he does for us every day of our lives as often as we should. We would do well to be more like Ezra. Because Ezra the priest seemed to keep those kinds of things in perspective. He appreciated what the Lord had done for him and thanked his God even for the small blessings that the Lord had given his people. But he also kept in mind the most important blessing that came from the hand of the Lord: the Word of God. 12 years after Ezra arrived in Jerusalem the walls of the city were rebuilt under the direction of Ezra’s friend, Nehemiah. Nehemiah was an Israelite who had come from Babylon as well. And together Nehemiah and Ezra were able to organize the Israelite nation and rebuild the walls that had been lying in ruins for over hundred years. But during that time they also spent a lot of effort rebuilding the spiritual walls of Jerusalem through the Word of God. Under Ezra’s direction the people celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles for the first time in almost 1000 years. Ezra also read from the Book of the Law in the hearing of the people on a regular basis. And during that time the Israelites praised the Lord not only for the physical blessings he had given them, but especially for the spiritual blessing of forgiveness that he would grant them through the coming of his Son. Ezra made sure that the good hand of his God was upon the people through his Word as much as possible.
The greatest blessing we have from the good hand of our God is no different. It is what we are enjoying right here this morning in God’s house. It is his Word, the written power of God that speaks to us about his mercy and love, his incarnation and his cross, our sins and our forgiveness. The good hand of our God is upon us every time we open our Bibles or sing a hymn or listen to a Scripture reading or recite a psalm. He is reaching out to bless us through his Word, comforting our guilty consciences and convincing our hearts that he has done everything for our salvation and we have nothing to worry about. Nowhere is the hand of our God more evident than in his gospel. Here in the gospel he puts his hand on our shoulder as a good friend in times of trouble. Here in the gospel he places his hand around our side and holds us close to him when we are afraid of what’s to come. Here in the gospel he rests his hand upon on our heads and assures us that we are forgiven because he is our Father, and he loves us more than anything else in this world. The good hand of our God grasps our hearts every time we come into contact with his Word and he leaves no doubt that the gift of heaven is ours to keep because the gift of heaven is his to give.
What a breath-taking way that the good hand of our God blesses us! And what an amazing act of God’s grace that he continues to give us even more! On top of our forgiveness and in addition to Jesus coming down to this earth and dying on the cross and rising from the grave and ascending into heaven and reigning on his throne and working faith in our hearts through his Word and the power of Holy Spirit, he blesses us with countless physical gifts every day! Blessing upon blessing upon blessing because he likes to give us good things and he is happy to fill our cups to overflowing. Just look at what he has done for this congregation over these past few years. He has allowed a group of only 50+ people to spread the gospel in a town filled with souls who need to hear it - despite the fact that the synod itself is closing missions and struggling with finances. And yet here we still are spreading the Word. The good hand of our God has been upon us! The Lord has blessed this congregation with a strong desire to work together and to maintain a unifying bond of peace as brothers and sisters in Christ - regardless of the many strong personalities this congregation is made up of. The good hand of our God has been upon us! The Lord has even moved the hearts of his people here to give an extraordinary amount of money to the building fund - even though visible results have yet to be seen - so that now we at least have the option to look for new land and to make plans for the future when we didn’t have that opportunity three years ago. The good hand of our God has been upon us!
I feel like Ezra, showered with gifts, humbled by God’s people who love the Lord and respect me despite my many and obvious faults, blown away by the outpouring of offerings that have been given for the work of God’s kingdom, and strengthened by all my fellow Christians who have a desire to share the Word of God with people just as much as I do. The good hand of our God has been upon me! He has blessed me exponentially each year. And I love it! I can’t thank God enough! He has been so good to me that I can’t possibly give him enough to make it up.
I pray that’s the way you feel too. I hope you realize how good the Lord has been to you in so many ways and how instrumental his good hand has been in your life. And the good hand of your God will never go away. His hand will always be there to support you and guide you and protect you. The good hand of your God will be with you every step of the way during the 800 mile journey of this life through strange lands and dangerous enemies. The good hand of your God will guide you to the Promised Land with the riches of your salvation in hand. And in the good hand of your God he will one day lead you home.
Amen.
“God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.” - Phil. 4:19-20
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