1/29/12 - Epiphany 4 - Hebrews 3:1-6

FIXATE ON CHRIST

Keep Your Eye on the Ball

            “Keep your eye on the ball!” the coach or the parent says to a child learning to play the game.  “Keep your eye on the ball!  Don’t look at me; don’t look at your bat; don’t look at the players in the outfield; don’t pay attention to the people watching; don’t get distracted by the plane in the sky or the car horn honking or the dog barking.  Concentrate!  Keep your eye on the ball!”  And that parent or coach says those words for good reason: they want the child to hit the ball; and the only way that will happen is if that child blocks out everything else and fixates their attention on that little white orb coming at them. 

            It is important for us to keep our eye on the ball.  It is crucial for us that throughout our lives we do not get distracted by what is happening around us or focus our attention on something else.  We need to remain fixated on Jesus: who he is; what he has done; and why he has done it.  There really is nothing else more important than keeping our eye on that ball.  We do not want to miss it.  In fact, there’s nothing worth missing it for.

Fixated on the Past

            In the first few decades of the early Christian Church during the time of the apostles, many of the people that made up those congregations were Jewish converts.  They had been brought to faith in their Savior through the preaching and teaching of the Word of God.  But some of these people of Jewish decent had a hard time letting go of the past.  They were fixated on something, but it wasn’t Christ.  Instead they were all too preoccupied with the traditions and the rituals that had been handed down to them from generation to generation by their ancestors.  They were still focusing on the Old Testament laws and rules and regulations of worship life; they were struggling with the fact that no sacrifices needed to be made anymore and they did not need a priest to be their mediator; and they were still placing too much of their pride in the great heroes of their ancestry: men like Abraham and Jacob and Moses.

            And so as the writer of the letter to the Hebrews picks up his pen and addresses his comments to these Jewish Christians, he explains at length how everything in the Old Testament points to Christ.  The Jewish people did not need to forget what they had been taught or completely disregard the storied culture that they had become so proud of, but they did have to realize that Jesus was the center of it all - and he always had been.  Even Moses the great leader of the Israelite people foreshadowed the Savior and it was imperative that they were aware of that connection.  And so in chapter three of his letter, the writer of the book of Hebrews makes the following plea:

            Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess.  He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house.  Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself.  For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.  Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house, testifying to what would be said in the future.  But Christ is faithful as a son over God’s house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast.

            Moses was a godly person, the writer to the Hebrews would admit.  He was a faithful servant in God’s house, a loyal leader, an exemplary man in the annals of Jewish history.  But Jesus was worthy of greater honor.  In fact, Moses testified to what would be said in the future about Christ.  And so Moses understood that everything was supposed to be pointing to the Savior, but somehow his descendants many years later had lost their focus on the only one they should have been focusing on from the very beginning.  They were not fixated on Jesus.  And because of that they were losing sight of everything.

Veering Off to the Side

            Back when my wife’s parents lived out in the Denver area years ago, they liked to drive through the mountains and hike and shop and just enjoy the beauties of God’s creation.  Jessica’s father would usually drive as her mother sat in the passenger seat.  And as they would go through the canyons and up and over the mountain passes, my mother-in-law would look out of the window at all of the different vistas and views and wildlife and she would say things like, “Oh, look at that!  Isn’t that beautiful!  How breathtaking!”  But then she would quickly add, “Oh, but you don’t look!”  She appreciated the beauty of the mountains and the valleys and the rivers, but she didn’t want her husband to take his eyes off the road for obvious reasons.  Because if he were to lean over and look out and up and around, chances are he might have veered off to the side in one way or the other.  And so she always followed up her comments about the wonderful panoramas of the Rocky Mountains with, “Oh, but not you.  You don’t look.  Just keep driving.”

            And we understand that from our own time behind a steering wheel, don’t we?  When we are driving and looking around at different things outside our windows, we can easily veer to the right or to the left and sometimes we quickly have to adjust to stay in our lane when our eyes get back to where they were supposed to be all along.  We can be reaching down for something on the floor or grabbing our cell phone that is ringing or even talking to someone in the passenger seat when our focus is turned away from the road and on to something else.  And that can be a very dangerous thing.  Because good driving demands your attention.  Good driving requires that your eyes stay on the road in front of you and you remain alert to what is most important.  If you don’t, things could get ugly in a hurry.

            This life requires that we keep a fixated gaze on what is most important.  Our day to day activities demand that we focus on Christ.  Because when we don’t, things get ugly in a hurry, don’t they?  When we lose our focus on who Jesus is and what Jesus has done and why Jesus has done it, our life starts to fall apart.  When we get so wrapped up in our jobs or so worked up about our family or so involved with our friends or so absorbed in ourselves, we start to veer off to the side, we start to shift lanes, sometimes we might even start heading in the wrong direction.  And if that isn’t happening to you right now, it certainly has happened before, hasn’t it?  There have been times when we were not completely fixated on Jesus and things didn’t happen to be going all that well and our attitude was terrible and our outlook on life was miserable.  Which isn’t surprising because when we aren’t fixated on Christ that means we are breaking the very first commandment.  When we aren’t fixated on Jesus then that means we are fixated on something else and “You shall have no other gods” has been violated.  Our trust or our love or our happiness wasn’t based on him at the time.  We took our eyes off of our Lord, we weren’t concentrating on what was most important, and so everything else was in disarray.

Absorbed in Christ

            When I was taking driver’s ed many years ago, we were driving through the city streets where I lived.  It was my first time driving around a number of other vehicles and I was a little nervous.  My driving instructor was in the passenger seat, of course, and we were going down a street with cars parked diagonally on both sides.  As we were approaching another car traveling down the other side of the street in our direction, I apparently was drifting a little too close to the parked cars on my right hand side.  My instructor told me to move the car to the left a little bit, but I didn’t move over enough.  And so he quickly reached over, grabbed the wheel with his left hand and turned it just enough to make sure that I would clear the ends of the cars that were sticking out in the street.  I was veering too far to the right, but I didn’t realize I was that close to danger until he reached out and put me back into the middle of my own lane. 

            And sometimes that’s what happens to us in this life.  We drift, we veer, we wander to one side or another and we don’t realize how dangerous it is until our God takes the steering wheel in his hand through his Word and pushes us back into the middle of the lane.  Only then do we realize that we were so close to hitting something.  Only then is our attention readjusted and we become fixated again on what is most important.  Only then, through that powerful Word of God, do we focus our attention again on Jesus our Lord.  And so with that Word of God on the wheel let’s fixate on Christ once again this morning.  Let’s pay careful attention to who he is and what he does and why he does it.

            Fixate on this: Jesus is called our High Priest by the writer to the Hebrews.  That means just like the Old Testament high priest he is our mediator before God.  But more than that, he is also the one that takes our sins before the Almighty.  But even more than that, he is the one who sacrifices the offering to release us from our sins.  But even more than that, Jesus is also the sacrifice!  He offered himself!  He spilled his blood!  He earned our forgiveness all on his own!

            Fixate on this: Jesus is also called the Apostle here.  He was “sent” by the Father - which is what the words “apostle” means.  He was called to preach, teach, perform miracles, and lead people to God.  He was in direct communication with his Father and willingly obeyed everything that he commanded him to say.  He was there for the people.  And he is here for us.  And we can go to our Apostle at any time to hear his wonderful words once again.

            Fixate on this: Jesus is called the Son of God’s house.  He is the heir apparent.  He receives everything his Father has and he is able to give it all to us.  Fixate on this: He is called the builder of the house.  Fixate on this: We are the house that he builds.  And although we might not think that we are stable enough or dependable enough to be a solid structure for our God, Jesus builds us up with the impenetrable wood from the cross and the unshakeable stones from his tomb.  He constructs us with his power and supports us with his love.  And he is an expert builder, an experienced builder, a builder whose blueprint is flawless and whose execution of those drawings is without fault.  That’s why you are who you are today.  That’s why you are a Christian.  Because Christ took that forgiveness that he won for you and worked it in your heart like the skilled craftsmen that he is so that your faith will not crumble. 

            And finally, fixate on this: You are called “holy” brothers and sisters of your Lord by the author.  You are said to share in the “heavenly calling” pronounced by the Savior himself.  And so although you may not be holy - perfect - right now, through faith in Christ you are considered holy by the Father.  And although you may not be in heaven right now, your ticket is already punched and your spot is already prepared.  Fixate on that.  Fixate on where you will one day be because of where your Savior one day was.  Keep your eye on that ball.  Focus your attention on that road.  Use whatever analogy you want to remind yourself to fixate on Christ at all times and in every way.  Because he is not only the most important thing in your life, he is the only important thing in your life.  And I pray that together as Christians, as we continue to absorb ourselves in God’s Word, that we never take our eyes off of his cross or look away from his empty tomb.  There is nothing else we need to look at on this earth than the face of Christ.  And there’s nothing else we will want to look at when we see his face fully for the first time in heaven.

            Amen.

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.”  - Heb. 12:2

           

1/22/12 - Epiphany 3 - Acts 13:1-5

CALLED TO SERVE

Paul’s Missionary Journeys

            “Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.  Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers.  I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.  Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.  Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?”

            These are the impassioned words of the apostle Paul as he wrote his second letter to the congregation in Corinth about what he had to go through during his missionary journeys.  And he wasn’t even done yet!  He had not yet finished his third trip by the time he wrote this letter.  He would soon travel back to Jerusalem, be accused by the Jews, arrested, put on trial, escape a plot against his life, be sent to Caesarea, held there for two years without cause, be transferred to the Rome, experience another ship wreck on top of the three he already mentioned, and live under house arrest a couple different times in Rome.  Paul’s missionary journeys were not pleasant.  His entire ministry to the people of this world was not at all “fun.”  And his life apparently ended in the same way: he was murdered at the hands of his enemies.

            But what’s even more amazing about all of this is that Paul knew these kinds of things were going to happen!  The Lord himself said about Paul long before he ever set out on his first journey, “This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel.  I will show him how much he must suffer for my name” (Acts 9:15-16).  Paul knew he was going to have to suffer some awful things in this life as a servant of God.  He understood that there was going to be a lot of hardships he would have to go through simply for being a Christian.  But that did not stop him.  That did not deter him from serving the Lord in the way the Lord wanted him to serve.  In fact, I’m not even sure that Paul took the dangers and the persecutions into consideration.  His attitude from the very beginning was that no matter what he had to go through, it was all worth it.  Listen to the story of Paul’s calling to serve the Lord on his very first missionary journey:

A Deep Sense of Gratitude

            “In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul.  While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”  So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.  The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus.  When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper.”

            Paul was specifically chosen by the Holy Spirit to take the Word of God that he knew so well and share it with peoples and nations that had never heard it before.  And that’s what Paul did!  He and Barnabas and their helper John immediately went to Seleucia, sailed over 100 miles to Cyprus, and began preaching the Word.  And by the time it was all said and done, Paul traveled almost 7000 miles during his three missionary journeys, not counting another 2200 mile trip on boat to Rome afterwards.  Paul lived to serve his Lord.  No matter how many troubles he had to deal with and no matter how many miles he had to travel, he lived to serve his Lord.  Because he remembered who he had once been.

            Paul never forgot about that road leading to the city of Damascus.  Because that’s where the Lord found him.  That’s where the Lord stopped him, appeared to him, blinded him, and called him.  That’s where Paul was turned from an unbeliever into a believer, from a Christian killer into a Christian missionary.  That’s where Jesus revealed himself to Paul and convinced him that what he accomplished through his murder on the cross was for murders too.  Paul was saved on that road.  Paul was rescued on that road.  And he never forgot it.  In fact, Paul recounts the story of his conversion in two separate sermons; throughout his letters to different congregations he refers to himself as an apostle but one “abnormally born,” the “least of the apostles,” “the worst of sinners.”  Paul realized how fortunate he was that by God’s grace he was now a child of God and was privileged enough to be called to serve him in this wonderful way.  And so if Paul had to face persecution, it didn’t matter because he remembered who he once had been.  And if Paul had to face some dangerous situations, it didn’t matter because he remembered who he once had been.  And if Paul had to face some disappointing and discouraging circumstances, it didn’t matter because he remembered who he once had been.  Paul was willing to serve his Lord so faithfully not because of his exceptional personality and not because he was hoping to gain wealth or possessions or fame from his work, but because he remembered what his Lord had done for the man he once had been.

Remember Who You Were

            Remember who you once were.  You were once on a road to Damascus.  You were, at least at one point in your life, an unbeliever because the Bible says you were born that way, you were actually conceived that way.  And so no that you are a Christian is another testament to God’s grace.  But whether you were given that gift of faith in your Savior at your baptism as an infant or brought to faith through the written Word of God a little bit later on as a child or, like Paul, you were grasped by the Lord through his gospel as an adult for the very first time, there was a point when you were not his child.  There was a time when you were his enemy - whether knowingly or unknowingly.  And I’m included in that.  We were, right from the outset, headed in the wrong direction with nothing inside us to turn ourselves around.

            But then the Lord stepped in.  Then our God brought the message of our Savior to our hearts in a truly miraculous way: through the gospel connected with audible words or ordinary water.  And he somehow softened our naturally stone-hard hearts by persuading our souls that he not only exists, that he not only created this world, but that he actually came down to this world as one of us, that he actually suffered like one of us and was tempted like one of us and died like one of us.  Our God convinced us through that powerful gift of faith that, in spite of what our minds say and our intelligence claims and our logic screams, forgiveness is ours.  Salvation is ours.  Eternity with the Savior is ours.  And it’s ours for free.  Remember what your God did for the person you once were.  He sought you out; he grabbed you; he turned you; he brought you into his arms; and he holds you there still.  Remember who you once were.  Remember where you once were headed.  And don’t forget who you now are.

Different Ways to Serve

            You are now an adopted child of your heavenly Father.  You are an important member of the body of Christ.  You are connected with him and all of your fellow believers in a very special way by the work of the Holy Spirit.  And you are called to serve him by sharing this message with the Lord.  Yes!  You are called to serve!  Just like Paul was in the middle of the book of Acts, you are called by the Lord himself to serve him in specific ways.  Now that doesn’t mean you are called to be a missionary to the world like Paul was.  Not even all the Christians in the first five verses of Acts 13 were called to do that.  But you will notice in these verses that those Christians were all faithfully carrying out their calling - whatever it may have been.

            These verses say that there were both prophets and teachers in Antioch: different duties, different responsibilities, different callings.  And out of those prophets and teachers that are named only two of them were set apart by the Holy Spirit to go on this first missionary journey.  Paul and Barnabas were given a special assignment.  But that didn’t mean that the other men were now unneeded.  No, “After they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.”  That is a way you can serve too.  You can pray for those who preach the gospel around the world.  You can put some effort into going before your Father’s throne with hands folded and heads bowed on their behalf.  And that’s important!  Prayer is a key aspect of mission work and every one of you here is perfectly capable of doing it!  In fact, you’re called to do so!

            But that’s not all you can do.  We see at the end of our story today that Paul and Barnabas weren’t alone in their travels.  “John was with them as their helper.”  But John wasn’t listed in the group of prophets or teachers there in the congregation at Antioch.  And he wasn’t called by the Holy Spirit to lead the charge out into the unbelieving world on this inaugural missionary journey either.  But he still had a vital role to play nevertheless.  He helped Paul and Barnabas.  He helped them.  And I’m sure that entailed a whole variety of different tasks.  But the bottom line is that John served his Lord by helping those who spread the gospel.  And John’s act of helping wasn’t any less pleasing to God than the work Paul and Barnabas were doing.

            There is no reason you can’t do that, is there?  There is no reason you cannot help those who spread the gospel - and you can do that in countless ways!  Above and beyond your prayers you can offer a few words of encouragement every so often or you can give your financial support or you can send well-wishes of reassurance or you can spend your time volunteering for the sake of the gospel or you can utilize the talents and skills the Lord has given you on behalf of the gospel proclamation in this town and throughout the world.  There is no limit to the ways you can serve your God by helping others preach and teach and spread his Word.  Just look for them!  Find those different ways you can pitch in and help.  And whatever you find to do, do it willingly and enthusiastically and especially gratefully.

Serve in Gratefulness

            The men in Acts 13 certainly did their jobs with grateful hearts: Paul preached, Barnabas encouraged, John helped, Simeon and Lucius and Manaen prayed, a woman named Lydia invited the apostles into her home, the congregation in that same town supported them with their offerings, the jailor in Philippi gave them something to eat, and so on and so on and so on.  Thousands of different people contributed to the work that went on in what we call Paul’s missionary journeys; and every bit of that work was important.  The Lord isn’t going to rank what you do in this life over and against what someone else does.  He isn’t so concerned about what is done than he is why you do it.  And why would there be any other reason to pray and help and spread this gospel about Jesus than a deep appreciation for what God has done for you?  He has saved us with the gospel; what greater thanks can we give than to help this gospel be shared with others?  It is exciting to think of all the ways in which we can serve our Lord in this way, isn’t it?  There are an infinite number of possibilities and the Lord is pleased with them all.  And so congratulations!  You have been called to serve in the work of sharing the gospel.  To pray.  To help.  To encourage.  To invite.  And there is a lot to do.  And so let’s get to it together.

            Amen.

“May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us—    yes, establish the work of our hands.” - Psalm 90:17

1/15/12 - Epiphany 2 - 2 Thess. 2:13-17

MAKE THE GOSPEL YOUR HOBBY

Hobbies

             What do you do for fun?  What kinds of interests do you have?  How do you spend your free time?  What hobbies have you taken up?  I know that some of you knit and others of you read and a few of you hike or bike or involve yourselves with various cardiovascular exercises.  Some of you stay busy with small projects, others of you with sporting events, others of you with music, and still others of you with your family and your kids and your grandkids.  There are any number of activities that can fill up your time on any given day and, for the most part, I would guess that those pastimes or hobbies are probably things that you enjoy, right?

            Could I make a suggestion this morning?  Along with all of the other things that you do with your free time, the things that you enjoy and look forward to and sometimes even escape to, could you add one more item to that list?  Could you possibly also make the gospel your hobby?  And what I mean by that is this: when you have a free moment this coming week, a time when you would normally pick up the knitting needles or the latest novel or your walking shoes or the remote control, pick up your Bible instead.  And just start reading.  We have a number of reading lists that you can use by the front door if you need one, but just start reading.  Or pick up a religious book from our church library.  Or go to our website and read and listen to some of the sermons from the past few weeks.  Do something with the Word. And when you get another free moment, do it again!  And again and again!  Now, I’m not suggesting that you neglect your family or the various responsibilities you have this week, but I am encouraging you to make the gospel your hobby.  At least for a week!  It’d be nice if you could implement the gospel as your favorite pastime for the rest of your life, but at least try to make the gospel your hobby for the next seven days.  Fill your time with reading the Word of God and listening to the Word of God and studying the Word of God.  Dive into the gospel deeper this week than you ever have before.

Loved, Chosen, Sanctified, Called

            And I’m not saying this because I feel like standing on a soapbox this morning and it’s just my opinion that I’d like to see it done.  I’m saying this because the portion of the Bible that has been set for the basis of the sermon today warrants this kind of language!  2 Thessalonians 2:13-17 is all about the gospel and the amazing things that our Lord has done through this gospel for our salvation. The apostle Paul wrote this letter to the congregation in the city of Thessalonica, but these are words that apply to every Christian: “We ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, that is, through belief in the truth.  He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

             Paul makes it very clear: God loved you.  God chose you.  God saved you.  And God sanctified you - which means he set you apart to be his child by giving you the gift of faith to believe in the Truth.  And he called you to this faith through the gospel.  Only through the gospel have you been called to believe, only through the gospel have you been sanctified by the Spirit, only through the gospel have you been chosen by grace from the very beginning, and only through the gospel have you been loved by the Lord from all eternity.  Only through the gospel was this plan of your salvation carried out.  Only through the gospel were you brought to know your Savior and everything he did for you.  The gospel, and the gospel alone, is your lifeline.  It is the basis for everything you believe.  It is the reason why you are going to end up in heaven one day with the Lord.  The gospel about Jesus is your everything.

Stand Firm!  Hold Fast!

            And so the next words that Paul writes to us are understandable: “So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.”  If it is true that the gospel about our Lord Jesus Christ that describes his life and his suffering, his death and his resurrection, is the only avenue through which the Lord connects us with salvation, then it is obviously critical that we “stand firm and hold to the teachings” of this gospel!  You are sitting in this room today as a Christian because of this gospel.  You have a sure hope and a real comfort and a pure joy in this life because of this gospel.  You would be lost and helpless and miserable without it - and so would I.  And so Paul shouldn’t even have to encourage us like he does!  We should automatically want to “stand firm and hold to the teachings” of the gospel with a passion and a persistence that is unmistakable to those around us.  Because the gospel about Christ is our only connection with him.  The gospel about Christ is the only source of strength and encouragement that we have in this life.

            Right now there are a few different ways that I’m trying to make the gospel my “hobby.”  I’m reading a book called “The Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel,” a biography of Martin Luther which of course deals with church history and the foundational doctrines of the Christian Church, the current Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly produced by our synod that contains scholarly articles on various teachings and passages in Scripture, a book that selects a few verses to translate in the Hebrew and Greek languages along with a short paragraph from the Lutheran Confessions, a devotional book I read with my wife each night, and naturally my daily Bible readings in English.  But some days are better than others.  I almost never fail to read those set chapters from Scripture or the devotional book at night, but I don’t always get to the other books that I’m in the middle of.  Sometimes I’m too lazy or supposedly too busy or too absent-minded or too distracted or too tired or… too something.  Realistically, this “hobby” of the gospel is something I just dabble in from time to time, something I get to only when I think of it.  There are days when the only time I am “in” the gospel is when I am required to for sermon work or Bible class preparation or devotion writing.  I’m “in” the gospel, but only for others.  And that’s just not good enough.  That’s not healthy enough.  That’s certainly not treating the gospel of my salvation with the importance that it deserves.

            I’m not going to quiz you on how much time you spend in the gospel on a daily basis.  There is no standard; there is no set amount of hours that you need to put it.  But I’m going to be bold enough to assume that if you are thinking about your schedule right now and how often the gospel of your Lord shows up in it, there are probably at least a few times when the gospel could be a little more prominent than it is, right?  There are probably days when you might do dozens of different things that you enjoy, but reading God’s Word doesn’t make the list.  There are probably weeks when you plan events and spend a lot of time getting ready for them, but studying God’s Word doesn’t make the cut.  There are probably entire months when you look back at all of the things you did and accomplished and were involved with, but an in-depth examination of the gospel was not even considered.  Rarely does the gospel become a “hobby” for anyone.  But is there any reason why it shouldn’t be?  What could be more important or more exciting than the rich words of God that talk about your salvation?  What could be more fulfilling?  What could be more rewarding?

Encouragement and Strengthening

            We are not alone in our lack luster attempts to delve into the gospel like we should.  The Christians in the city of Thessalonica struggled with it too.  In fact, Christians throughout the history of this world have found it difficult to immerse themselves in this Word of God like they should.  And so as the Holy Spirit moved Paul to write this letter, he fittingly ends this section about the gospel of Christ with these words: “May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.”

            The blessing of the Lord is this: Because he loves you so much, he will give you eternal encouragement and he will give you good hope and he will continue to strengthen you whenever you need it as long as you live.  And so at those times when we set his gospel aside for something else, our Lord will remind us how Jesus did not set us aside but came down to us personally.  And at those times when we get distracted by other activities in this life and forget about the gospel, our Lord will remind us how Jesus never got distracted from his goal of our salvation but had a drive and a purpose in life from which he never wavered.  And at those times when we are too tired or too lazy or too absent-minded to put any effort into reading the gospel, our Lord will remind us how Jesus put every bit of effort into our salvation no matter how tired he was and no matter how many excuses he could have come up with to stop what he was doing.  Our Lord will continue to encourage us and strengthen us with the gospel.  And he will only strengthen us with the gospel through the gospel.

            Whether it’s in worship, a Bible study, a devotion book, a Forward in Christ magazine, or the pages of your own Bible at home, he will encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word through the gospel.  He will work your heart over, mold your heart, knead your heart, and shape your heart with his forgiveness.  And he will do that not because you asked him, not because you please him, not because you’ve earned it, and not because you are so likeable.  He will do that to your heart because of his love, because of his deep longing for your soul.  That’s what the gospel is, after all: the Lord’s deep longing for your soul and everything he did to save it.

A Gospel Obsession

            Make the knowledge and understanding of this glorious gospel your hobby.  Make it your obsession.  Search out ways you can come into contact with these words.  Dig deep.  Ask questions.  Find answers.  Don’t settle for a peripheral awareness of what the Bible says; make it a point to comprehend - through faith - every concept, every sentence, every Word by the grace of God.  Use your free time wisely this week.  Tell me what you did to dig deeper.  Ask me questions about what you found.  Come to me for suggestions about what you can read or listen to.  Simply spend some time with your Lord in his Word.  And I guarantee your faith will be bolstered because of it!  Your sure hope for a life in heaven will be refreshed!  Your confidence in your Savior will be strengthened!  And your joy in Jesus’ forgiveness will be at an all-time high!  And that’s not just my wish, that’s God’s promise.  He actually promises you that when you are in his Word, he will work great things in your heart.  He will fill you with his forgiveness and grace to such an extent that it will flow out of you. 

            Just try it.  Make the gospel your hobby this week.  Plan to come to as many Bible classes as you can.  Plan to get into the Word as deep as you can go.  And I will too.  I will do my best to fill my schedule with the gospel for the good of my faith.  And I realize that some of you will have more time than others.  That’s OK.  Whatever time you have, take advantage of it.  Dedicate yourself.  Exhaust yourself.  Read and study and drink in that gospel until your mind just can’t handle anymore.  It will take some effort.  It will take some concentration.  But the Lord will encourage you and strengthen you throughout the entire process.  He will make it all worthwhile.  He will assure that it will be time well spent.  And so “stand firm” this week, my brothers and sisters, and “hold fast to the teachings that were passed on to you.”  It’s going to be a good week!  It’s going to be a great week!  I’m honestly excited about what the Lord will do through this new hobby of yours.  I can’t wait to get started on this new hobby of mine.

            Amen.

“May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.”

1/8/12 - Baptism of Christ - Mark 1:9-13

WE WERE HIS MOTIVATION

The Gospel Account of Mark

            The book of Mark is a rapid-fire account of Jesus’ life.  It almost reads like a bullet list of events because Mark doesn’t waste any time.  He doesn’t usually bother elaborating on the basic details of a story.  He doesn’t look to record extended sermons of Jesus or lengthy conversations that the Lord had.  Mark is mainly concerned about what Jesus did.  The miracles he performed, the activities he was involved with, the visible acts of love and mercy and power that he displayed throughout his life.  And so when the author Mark writes about the baptism of Jesus, he doesn’t say anything about the conversation that Jesus had with John the Baptist leading up to that event like the book of Matthew does.  And when Mark tells us about the story of Jesus being led into the desert to be tempted by the devil, he doesn’t spend thirteen verses on that battle like Luke does - instead Mark describes that confrontation in just two verses.  No matter what Mark writes about he always seems to want to get to the point as quickly as possible and move on.  And you can see that from the very first chapter of his book.

            At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.  As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.  And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”  At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert, and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.  That’s as much as Mark tells us about these two monumental events in Jesus’ life.  Short and sweet and to the point.  But even though he doesn’t say a lot, what he does tell us is enough to make us sit up and notice at least two things: 1) how soon Jesus got to work for our salvation the moment he began his public ministry and 2) his willingness to do it.  For the first 30 years of Jesus’ life he wasn’t involved with preaching and teaching in a public capacity.  But from the moment he was baptized and the Father spoke from heaven claiming him as his Son and the Holy Spirit physically came down in the form of a dove, his public service officially began.  And once it started he jumped into action and never looked back.

What Moved Him?

            Notice that Jesus didn’t bask in the glow of that baptismal event for any length of time.  He didn’t go to Jerusalem and look for a part time job to generate some income.  He didn’t try to ease his way into this new preaching and teaching gig by taking his time.  No, Mark clearly says that right after Jesus was baptized “At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert, and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan.”  There was no pause.  There was no down time.  Jesus went right into the desert to be harassed and harangued by the devil himself for over a month straight!  And if we were to read on in the book of Mark, the very next couple verses after this showdown in the desert talk about Jesus going on a preaching tour among the people; the next three verses speak about the calling of Andrew and Peter as his original disciples; and the next two verses after that describe the calling of James and John.  And so within the span of 11 verses in the middle of Mark’s very first chapter, Jesus goes from a man no one knows to a well-known leader with 4 of his 12 disciples already in tow.  Now there were certainly other things that happened in between these events recorded for us in the book of Mark.  But when you read through his account you can start to clearly see all of the things that Jesus did for the good of our salvation and how tireless he was in that pursuit.  He did not let up.  He did not hold back.  He forged ahead at a frantic pace, pushing his human body to the extremes every single day.

            But why?  Why would God himself, for whom the skies ripped open when he was baptized, about whom the Father audibly spoke from heaven for all to hear, upon whom the Holy Spirit physically rested in visible form… why would this almighty God do the things that he did on this earth?  What moved him to allow himself to be lead into the desert just to be tormented by the angel he had kicked out of heaven?  What moved him to immediately begin preaching the gospel to a people who did not want to hear it?  What moved him to soon after pick disciples who would end up letting him down on a number of occasions and actually run away from him at the end of his life?  That which moved Jesus to do everything that Mark tells us he did was you.

            You were Jesus’ motivation.  You were the reason he instantly threw himself into the gauntlet of temptation and persecution.  You were the goal.  You were the prize.  You were the person always on his mind as he suffered and agonized and endured everything that he had to undergo.   Because your life was at stake.  Your forgiveness was on the line.  Your eternity was hanging in the balance and so Jesus did not hesitate to sacrifice every ounce of energy and every minute of his time to win it for you.  From the Jordan River to the desert to Capernaum to the villages throughout Galilee and beyond, Jesus instantly dedicated every waking moment to your salvation.  And he did not stop until it was finished.

A Lack of Dedication

            Do you know the story behind the race that we now call the “marathon”?  It is said that this 26.2 mile contest came into existence in commemoration of a man named Phidippides who ran 26 miles from the plains of Marathon to the Greek city of Athens in order to announce a great victory over the Persian army.  But because Phidippides had been called on to run several hundred miles just before the battle began to gather support from the Spartans, this final 26 mile run was his last.  Because he ran so hard and so fervently from Marathon to Athens, after he delivered his message to the anxious citizens of Athens he collapsed and died from exhaustion. 

            Phidippides had undoubtedly ran with a single-minded purpose.  He was intent on doing what needed to be done and he was not going to let anything keep him from it.  He did not stop.  He did not get distracted.  He spent himself; he drained himself of everything he had, moved by the message he carried.

            We as Christians should have a single-minded purpose as well.  We should be absolutely intent on doing everything that the Lord has asked us to do and carrying out everything that the Lord wants us to carry out.  We should be so focused on our God and his Word that we do not stop, that we do not get distracted by things around us.  We should be so moved by our desire to thank our Lord that we spend ourselves, completely drain ourselves of everything we have.  As Christians, we should be none other than a spiritual Phidippides on this 26.2 mile course of life.

            But I sure can’t claim that kind of dedication.  I can’t in good conscience brag that I have completely spent myself and fully drained myself for the Lord throughout my life.  In fact, the only claim I could make is to have done the opposite.  The Lord hasn’t always been the motivation for the things I have done.  His Word has not always been the reason behind the words I’ve said.  His wishes have not always inspired the things I have thought.  I’ve slowed my pace at times so that I could have some energy left for what I want and what I like.  I’ve stopped at times because something on the side of the road seemed a little more interesting than the course I was on.  I’ve sat down and rested at times because being a Christian isn’t easy and it’s hard to constantly be on top of everything that the Lord says all the time.  It’s exhausting.  It’s tiring.  It’s time consuming.  But it’s no excuse.

He is Still Moved by Us

            At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.  As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.  And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”  At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert, and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.  Jesus didn’t come to this earth and undergo everything that Mark talks about because the Lord expected that we would return the favor.  He didn’t go out into the desert to fight the devil because he thought we would always fight for him.  Jesus didn’t tirelessly continue on towards hatred and abandonment and unjust punishment because we would be able to somehow pay him back in some way.  Jesus did what he did because that’s what we needed him to do.  That’s it.  He was moved by us.  He was moved by our helplessness.  He was moved by our hopelessness.  He was moved by what he wanted for us.  He was so moved that he gave up his own life for us!  But Jesus wasn’t just moved by us in the past.  He still is.

            Jesus still is moved by our situation.  And so as he sits on his throne next to his Father, he continues to act and control and guide and steer and shape things that happen in this world for your benefit.  You could even go as far to say that, according to what the Bible says about our Lord, everything single thing he does is with you on his mind.  He places the stars in the skies and directs the planets in their orbits for you.  He sends the rains and makes the sun shine for you.  He opens different doors and provides various opportunities for you.  He preserves his Word and announces his forgiveness and clarifies the effects of his cross for you.  He truly is moved by you.  And as far as we know: there is nothing else he thinks about other than you. 

He is Our Motivation

            How can we not be moved by this kind of love?  How can we not be motivated by our Lord’s dedication to us and to his constant care and attention?  His devotion to us is so overwhelming - especially since we don’t deserve a second of his time or an ounce of his affection.  And yet he gives it to us every day in thousands of ways and he always will.

            I would hope that Jesus was your motivation for coming here today - for singing loudly, for listening intently, for praying passionately.  But as you go back home this afternoon, don’t let that motivation slip away.  Keep Jesus as the reason you say the words that you say to that family member who gets on your nerves.  Keep Jesus as the motivation for how you are going to do the things you do this evening.  Keep Jesus as the source of what you want to think about.  And it doesn’t have to be something extraordinary!  You can cook a meal with Jesus as your motivation!  You can fix a doorknob with Jesus as your motivation!  You can walk the dog with Jesus as your motivation!  The simple everyday things that you do and say can and should be moved by your Lord.  Enjoy it!  Work on it!  Consciously think about it today: “How can I thank my Lord by what I do?  How can I thank my Lord by what I say?  How can I thank my Lord by how I act?”  Because just as you are his motivation, he is yours.  What other motivation do you need?  What better motivation could there be?

            Phidippides was certainly motivated.  He ran and he ran hard.  But he didn’t run for himself.  There was something bigger, something greater he was running for.  We have something bigger and greater to run for us well.  But we don’t run to get to heaven, we run because Jesus has already promised us that prize when we reach the finish line.  And so we run in thanks, in praise, in a deep gratitude for what our Lord has done.  And so run hard.  Enjoy it!  But run hard.  Run as Christ has already run for you.

            Amen.

“May the Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.”  - 2 Thess. 2:16-17

1/1/12 - New Year's Day - Psalm 138:2

LOOKING BACK & LOOKING AHEAD

Looking Back on Our Sins

            Day number one.  This is day number one out of 366 this leap year since February 29^th is included in the calendar this time around.  366 days of 2012 that we have to look forward to.  And 365 days of 2011 to look back on.  It’s natural at this time of year to look back and reflect on the things that have happened in the 12 months previous as well as to look forward and anticipate what might happen in the months to come.  And, depending on the year, sometimes there are enjoyable memories that you never want to forget and at other times there are things you wished you never remembered.  There may be events that you eagerly anticipate in the future and there may be some inevitable dates on the calendar that you would rather avoid if at all possible.  In any case, on January 1^st of any given year, you are standing on top of a high mountain peak in a way.  You can look back at where you’ve been and see the bumps and the rocks and the beautiful grassy meadows where you had walked, but you can also turn around and look to where you’re headed; and although it’s a little misty up here and it’s hard to make out the exact details of what lies ahead, you can see some possible summits that you might like to get to as well as some dark and intimidating canyons that you would like to get around somehow. 

            And we’ve done a little bit of that already this morning, haven’t we?  We’ve looked back at how the Lord has blessed this congregation through baptism and through the Lord’s Supper and through his powerful written Word.  And I’d like to do that a little more on an individual scale.  We’ve looked back as a group of Christians, but now let’s do so as individual Christians.  And after we take a look back at our Christian lives this year then we can look ahead at the year to come.

            Let me start with this question: How was this past year for you as far as your faith was concerned?  Was 2011 good for your faith or did your faith in your Lord waver a bit?  Do you think that your relationship with your Lord grew stronger, or did you end up farther away than when you started?  Is your faith the same?  Maybe it didn’t go up or down at all but was kind of static and unchanging?  Here’s a question to ask yourself that might help you measure the strength of your spiritual life this past year: How would you describe your sins in 2011?  More?  Less?  New and unanticipated sins or the familiar and the reoccurring sins that seem to pop up year after year? 

            Let me ask an even more difficult question: If you were to guess, how many sins do you think you committed this past year?  And, of course, remember that it’s not just your actions that count, it’s also your innermost thoughts as well.  It’s not just what you do, it’s also what you don’t do that should have been done.  It’s not just what you get caught doing, it’s the very attitude you go about doing things.  It’s not just what you can recall, it includes everything you didn’t even realize was a sin in the first place.  And also consider that the Bible says “all our righteous acts are like filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6), and “no one has done good, not even one” (Rom. 3:12), and “every inclination of the thoughts of our hearts are only evil all the time” (Gen. 6:5).   Realistically, we’ve committed more sins this past year than we can count, haven’t we?  Which makes sense because if we can never reach God’s perfect standard in what we do or say or think, then everything we do or say or think is imperfect and, therefore, filled with sin.

            It’s kind of disheartening to look back on all of our sins, isn’t it?  At least for me it is!  I don’t really like looking back and evaluating how many times I’ve gone against God’s Word.  It’s embarrassing.  It’s frustrating that I couldn’t have done better.  And it seems to be the same thing every year.  There’s never been a January 1^st when I’ve looked back on the year gone by and have thought to myself: “Wow, I did pretty good this year!  I’m proud of the level I reached!  I have no regrets about any of the sins I’ve committed!”

Looking Back on God’s Name and his Word

            King David probably had that same guilty feeling at the beginning of quite of few of the years he lived on this earth.  Some years were good for him, but some were not so good.  And in the Psalms that he wrote he does show his distress quite a bit about some of the things he had done in the past.  But as he looks back and considers his Christian life especially in Psalm138, there’s something else he notices as well.  “I will bow down toward your holy temple and will praise your name for your love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.”  David remembered his sins, there’s no doubt about that.  He understood how ugly they were and how miserable he had been.  But what he also recognized was that throughout the years the Lord’s love and the Lord’s faithfulness had never failed.  And no matter how many sins David had committed and no matter how grotesque they may have been, the Lord had exalted his name and his Word above them all.

            God’s name is something special.  And not just because it’s God’s name but because his name tells us exactly what he has done for us.  And he has a lot of names!  He is called the “I AM” because he has always existed and he always will.  He is called the Creator because he has hand-made everything we see, hear, taste, smell, and touch.  He is called the Redeemer because he bought us back from the prison cell of sin.  He is called the Way, the Truth, the Life, the Door, the Shepherd, the Vine, the Bread of Life.  He is called Jesus because he saves his people from their sins.  He is called the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the Resurrection and the Life.  And notice how this small sampling of names describes our God: they describe him as a patient God, a caring God, a loving God, a forgiving God.  These names characterize our Lord as someone who is not a harsh judge that will pour out his wrath on his children, but rather someone who will go to the extremes to save his children from those punishments that we deserve.  Our God has exalted his name, every name he has, above all things - including our sins.  And the way he exalts his name is by exalting his Word.

            His Word, written down for us in the pages of Scripture, is the only way we know about his name.  It is the only avenue in which we are brought to faith in a patient God, a caring God, a loving God, and a forgiving God.  We would still be depressed about our sins and worried about their consequences if it were not for this Word.  And look back at this past year: His Word and his name have always been there for you!  He has provided you with countless opportunities to hear his Word and read his Word and sing his Word and study his Word.  He has reminded you through his Word about his name of Peace at Christmas, his name of Prophet at Epiphany, his name of Priest at Lent, and his name of King at Easter.  He has brought you back through his Word time and time again to his name of The Sufferer and The Crucified and The Buried and The Risen.  He has not let you forget about what he has done and what he has accomplished.  So that whenever you were distressed by a sin, his cross that you find in his Word was right there to overshadow it.  Whenever you felt guilty because of your inadequacy, the blessings of the Word in your baptism was brought back to your mind.  Whenever you were weighed down with misery, his actual body and blood were given to you once again in the Lord’s Supper to comfort your soul.  His Word and his name have been constant this past year.  Which should not be a surprise for us since his Word and his name have been something Christians have been able to depend on for thousands of years.  Yes, 2011 was filled with sins and mistakes and disappointments and regrets, but God’s name and his Word were made greater than them all.

Looking Ahead to Our Sins

            And that bodes well for the year to come, doesn’t it?  Will you commit a whole slew of sins in 2012?  Most definitely.  Will you commit more sins than you did in 2011?  I hope not!  I really truly hope that I will be able to cut down and cut back and hem in those awful things that I do and say and think against God’s Word.  Because that’s the goal, isn’t it?  To continually get better and improve - not to gain the Lord’s favor of course but because this is a way we can thank our Lord for his favor.  Of course, I know that no matter how hard I try and no matter how noble my intentions are, there will be times that I will stumble.  There will be situations that I will not handle as I should.  There will be moments that get the best of me.  And, unfortunately, that will be true for you as well. 

            2012 will not always be pretty.   In fact, 2012 will probably be a lot like 2011 as far as sinfulness goes.  It will have its share of setbacks and failures and frustrations.  And many of them will happen because of you.  As long as you are on this earth you will sin.  You will break God’s law.  You will go against his Word.  You will not measure up to every single command in every single way.  Welcome to the club!  But that should not discourage you to the point of despair.  Because as you look ahead to this year we are beginning today, you know what else lies in front of you.  Not just your sins, but God’s name and his Word that are exalted above them all.

Looking Ahead to God’s Name and his Word

            Inevitably you will have a rough week sometime in this next year.  But when you do, when you are physically, emotionally, and psychologically exhausted from the seven days you spent dabbling in your inadequacies, where can you go?  You can go to your God’s house and listen to his Word and be comforted by his name.  Inevitably you will have a bad day this next year.  But when you do, when nothing seems to be going right, where can you turn?  You can turn to your Bible in your own home and read his Word and be lifted up by his name.  Inevitably you will struggle, you will fail, you won’t know what else to do.  But when those things happen, on what can you depend?  You can depend on your Lord’s Word and his name that is proclaims.  And when 2012 is over and done with and you are standing on January 1^st 2013 looking back at this year and looking ahead to the next, what will you be able to say?  You will be able to say exactly what you can say today, exactly what Kind David said 3000 years ago, “I will bow down toward your holy temple and will praise your name for your love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.” 

            The future looks bright, doesn’t it?  I’m not saying that life will be easy for you this year or that it will always be enjoyable or that you won’t really have any problems simply because you trust in your Savior to take care of things!  But I am saying this: when those problems do plague your life in the days and the weeks and the months to come, when things aren’t so enjoyable, when things are more difficult than you can handle, there will always be something you can count on: God’s name and God’s Word.  God’s name and God’s Word do not change with the seasons.  They do not vary with the weather.  They do not need to be modified with the times.  They do not need to be updated with the trends.  God’s name and God’s Word remain the same.  Cling to them.  Lean on them.  Depend on them for everything in 2012 just like you’ve always been able to do before.

            Amen.

“May the LORD our God be with us as he was with our fathers; may he never leave us nor forsake us.”  - 1 Kings 8:57