8/26/12 - Christian Education - Proverbs 9:1-6

AN INSTITUTE OF HIGHER LEARNING

Children Are about to Become Wise

            There are a number of children who are about to become very wise very soon.  In just two days there will be a group of three and four and five year olds that walk through these doors, many of which you have never seen before.  In fact, in the next few months there will be at least 12 children if not more who will enter this building and begin their formal education for the first time in their lives.  And, frankly, I can’t think of better place for them to begin then right here.  Because this isn’t just a place that hosts carnivals and community events.  This isn’t just a church building either.  This facility truly is an institute of higher learning. 

            Now I realize that when someone normally talks about an “institute of higher learning,” they have in mind a college or a university or a post-graduate institution of some kind that takes students beyond the basic knowledge of middle school and junior high, a place that helps people obtain specialized degrees in a variety of different fields.  A preschool set up in the fellowship area of a church building isn’t usually placed into the category of an “Institute of Higher Learning.”  But this isn’t just a regular preschool; it’s a Christian preschool.  And so together with what we do here on Sunday mornings and throughout the week in Bible classes this really is an institute of higher learning.  And it will not be the teaching methods that will be used or even who teaches the material that matters.  It will be what is taught in this preschool that makes all the difference.  Because these handful of children are about to enter a building that is filled with true wisdom whether they know that yet or not.

             Very appropriately, we have a section of the Bible from the book of Proverbs in front of us this morning, a section that deals with the house that wisdom built.  Wisdom has built her house; she has hewn out its seven pillars.  She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine; she has also set her table.  She has sent out her maids, and she calls from the highest point of the city.  “Let all who are simple come in here!” she says to those who lack judgment.  “Come, eat my food and drink the wine I have mixed.  Leave your simple ways and you will live; walk in the way of understanding.”

            It is clear from these words of God in the book of Proverbs that true wisdom is fixed, it is unchanging, it is immoveable.  True wisdom has “built her house” so it is not something that is elusive and hard to find; true wisdom has chiseled out “seven pillars” so that this house will remain standing for a very long time; true wisdom has prepared the meat and the wine and she has “set her table” so that anyone who is hungry for this wisdom can be fed.  True wisdom is not out of our reach.  True wisdom is not hiding behind college credits or stacks of textbooks.  It is not something that only comes with titles or degrees.  It is not something that can be bought; it’s not even something that can be earned.  True wisdom is offered to all; it is given without it being asked for.  Because true wisdom is based on faith in Jesus as your Savior.

It’s the Same Wisdom

            Just a few verses after this section of Proverbs that we just read, God explains exactly that: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding (Proverbs 9:10).  “The fear of the Lord” = the awe, the respect, the honor, the trust… the faith we have in our God is the very beginning of wisdom.  And so without faith in Jesus as your Savior you cannot be wise at all!  Without that faith you cannot be intelligent!  Faith in Jesus shines a new light on everything else; it puts everything into its proper perspective.  And so without it, no other bit of knowledge can be understood in its entirety.  This is the wisdom that these children are about to learn.  Not just their ABCs and their colors and their shapes, but faith in Jesus as their Savior.  There is no greater wisdom than that.  And so there can be no better institute of higher learning than one that offers that wisdom.

            And it a wisdom that all of us have been blessed with here for years, isn’t it.  We may have only been in this building for 11 months or so, but this same wisdom concerning this same Jesus has been preached and taught and studied at this congregation for decades.  This institute of higher learning has been in operation since before World War II!  And the same wisdom that was offered then is offered now.  It hasn’t changed!  It hasn’t moved on!  It hasn’t mutated into something different in an attempt to keep up with the cultures and trends of our generation.  Because wisdom has built her house and established its pillars and prepared its meal.  This wisdom is here to stay.  What many of you learned as children years ago is exactly what these children will learn in just two days.  A different place, perhaps, a different time, a different situation, but not a different message.  Jesus, true God and true human being, living, dying, rising, saving.  There is no higher wisdom that can be obtained.  And you’ve got it.  And later this week the wisdom that you have had for years will also be given to those who do not yet know how to tie their own shoes!

Acting in Unwise Ways

            It should come as no surprise to us that this book of Proverbs, which is filled with words of wisdom, was written by King Solomon - the wisest person that has ever lived.  Remember the dream he had at the very beginning of his reign?  The Lord appeared to him in this special dream and told him to ask for anything that he wanted.  Solomon, already being wise beyond years, asked for more wisdom so that he could lead God’s people in the best way possible.  The Lord was so pleased with Solomon’s request that he not only granted him that gift, but also gave him fame and honor and wealth as well.  The Bible says that “God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore.  Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the men of the East, and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt.  He was wiser than any other man…” (1 Kings 4:29-31).  Solomon was blessed with wisdom beyond anything anyone else has ever received.  But for all his wisdom, Solomon often times acted in some very unwise ways.

            The most unwise thing he did was to take 700 wives and 300 concubines because this is what they did: “As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God” (1 Kings 11:4).  He may have been the wisest person on the face of this earth, but the one piece of wisdom that Solomon absolutely could not give up, he did: the wisdom of faith in the coming Savior.  Now we would hope - and there are a few indications - that Solomon was brought back to faith in his Savior by the time he died.  But the fact remains: this wise man who had been filled with the wisdom of the Bible sometimes did not act in the wisest of ways at all.  Which shouldn’t surprise us either.

            Because I have been filled with this wisdom of Scripture about my Savior for 32 years now and counting.  And some of you have had the benefit of this wisdom for a little less, others of you for a lot more.  But I think we would all be in full agreement that no matter how many years we have be trained with these words of wisdom, we have acted in some awfully unwise ways.  We have known for years what the Lord wants us to do but sometimes we just refuse to do it.  We have known for years what the Lord doesn’t want us to do and sometimes we do it anyway.  We have known for years how a Christian should act, what a Christian should say, and the way a Christian should think, but we have done some very unwise things, we have said some very unintelligent words, and we have thought some very unflattering thoughts.  We may have been taught with this wisdom of Scripture for years, but just like Solomon sometimes we seem to throw everything that we have learned right out the window.

The Wisdom of Our Lord

            Is our ever-wise Lord happy with us when that happens?  No, of course not.  He is extremely displeased when we act in ways that are in direct contradiction to what his wisdom says.  He can’t stand when our actions are not motivated by faith and when our words and thoughts are disconnected to the knowledge he has provided us through his gospel.  But in his wisdom our God has made sure that our stupidity does not keep us from him.

            How wise it was of our Lord to not only foresee what was going to happen, but to perfectly plan for it.  How wise it was of our Lord to know how sinful we were going to be and what he needed to do to fix it.  How wise it was of our Lord to send his Son to this earth at exactly the right time and in exactly the right place.  How wise it was of our Lord to not only come up with this design for our salvation but to predict it for thousands of years beforehand through the Old Testament prophets.  How wise it was of our Lord to accept Jesus’ perfect life for our own, to count Jesus’ death as if we had died, to use Jesus’ resurrection to secure ours.  How wise it was of our Lord to provide a number of different ways to give this forgiveness to us through the Word and sacraments.  How wise it was of our Lord to preserve for us his Bible down through the centuries and a church body that faithfully proclaims it today.  How wise it was of our Lord to arrange everything in this life so that we would be kept safe in this wisdom until the end.  How wise it was of our Lord - and how loving.

            If it hadn’t been for the wisdom of our Lord and the wisdom that he gives us through his Word, we would be intellectually, mentally, physically, psychologically, and eternally lost.  Just consider how many “smart” and “intelligent” people you can think of in this world that know many things but do not know their Savior.  And if they do not rest on Christ, if they do not lean on his cross, if they do not rely on his tomb, they are the most misguided and foolish people ever to live.  Because “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”  Without it you cannot truly learn anything at all.  Fortunately for us, because of the grace of our God, we have that wisdom right here.  And, Lord willing, it will stay right here for years (if not centuries!) to come.

All Wisdom is All Right Here

            I was talking to a young man years ago who was deep into a semi-Christian denomination.  He told me that he really wanted to learn the Bible in the original Greek and Hebrew like I had, but he had to fill out an application for it and reach a certain level within his church body before he ever got a chance to really get into the Bible in depth.  He was still waiting for that opportunity.  And I thought: “How sad.  How sad that a church body would deny someone who is eager to learn the Word of God until they have met some sort of requirements.”

            You do not have to meet any requirements.  You do not have to go to our seminary in Wisconsin to gain the wisdom of the Bible.  You don’t have to go to Martin Luther College - our pastor and teacher training college - to gain the wisdom of Scripture.  You don’t have to pick up books written by experts, attend seminars of well-known presenters, or have a doctorate in theology to gain the wisdom of God’s Word.  You get that wisdom right here.  And so will at least a dozen more children and their families in the near future.  And so have countless other children in our Sunday school classrooms throughout the years.  Regardless of the teacher, the location, the class size, or the materials, the wisdom of our Lord contained in the Bible has been taught and shared and proclaimed to both children and adults, both young and old in more ways and at more times than we can count.  And what a blessing that has been!  What a wonderful gift from our God that he has placed the highest wisdom in our hands, a wisdom that can be grasped by the smallest among us but a wisdom that can still stretch the most mature: faith in Jesus as your Savior.  How simple.  How profound: faith in Jesus as your Savior.  There is nothing better that you will ever hear in this institute of higher learning.  And nothing will ever take its place.

            Amen.

“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!  For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.”  - Rom. 11:33,36

8/19/12 - Pentecost 11 - Hebrews 5:11-6:1

IT'S TIME TO GROW UP

An Encouragement from Scripture

            It’s time to grow up.  And I’m not just saying that to catch your attention this morning.  I’m serious.  It’s time to grow up.  And I’m not directing that towards somebody else either.  I’m saying it to you.  It’s time to grow up.  But not because I have observed all kinds of immature behavior from you; on the contrary, I think this body of believers is very spiritually mature for the most part.  And so I’m not specifically talking about outward actions per se; I’m referring to the depth of understanding and knowledge of God’s Word.  To know more.  To better understand.  To be able to apply God’s Word to your everyday life more consistently, more effectively, and more often.  That’s what I mean when I say that it’s time to grow up.  And it’s not just me saying it.  It’s not some sort of personal agenda that’s driving this.  I don’t stand up here on a soap box on Sunday mornings.  I stand behind a pulpit from which you are supposed to hear the very words of God himself.   It is the Lord who gives us this strong encouragement in the pages of Scripture: It’s time to grow up.

            “We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!  Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.  But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.  Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity.”

       
Milk to Solids

            During the first few months of a baby’s life after birth, that child will only be able to drink milk or special baby formula from a bottle.  They do not have the teeth to chew, a throat large enough to swallow chunks of food, or the digestive system to manage more than that.  But as that child grows the milk and the baby formula will not be enough.  That child will have to start eating “real” food, solid food, food with some substance to it.  Because that is how the Lord has designed the human body: milk first, solid food soon after.

            He has designed your faith in the same way.  After the Lord grants a person the gift of faith through the power of the Holy Spirit in God’s Word, that person is able to handle the basic elementary truths of Scripture: those teachings about sin and a Savior, Jesus’ life and death, his resurrection and the beautiful home of heaven.  But after a while that faith needs more.  That faith grows to such a degree that it needs more than milk, it needs solid food.  It needs the heavier starches and the chewier pieces of meat. 

            Now, theoretically, could a grown person live on bottles of baby formula and nothing else?  Sure, that person could survive.  But that person would not be very healthy, he would not be very strong, and he would not be very capable of fending off diseases and viruses with such a depleted immune system.  Could the faith of a Christian survive on the basic truths of Scripture and nothing else?  Sure, the faith of that person could survive.  But that faith would not be very healthy, it would not be very strong, and it would not be very capable of fending off attacks from the devil and temptations from this world with such a depleted immune system.  A body needs solid food.  Faith needs solid food.  And if that solid food is not consumed, things could go seriously wrong in a hurry.  There’s a reason the Lord encourages all of us that it’s time to grow up.

Immaturity

            Every evening around 9pm or so I try to mature a little bit.  And I do that by sitting down to read my Bible.  I do it at that hour because I usually don’t have any classes by that time and the kids are in bed so it is relatively quiet.  After I read the section of Scripture assigned for that day (taking it slow, jotting down notes), I read through a section of Hebrew Old Testament and then a section of Greek New Testament that is set for that day in a book that I have.  And about every other day I also read from another one of the books that I have on the shelf.  Now depending on what part of Scripture I’m reading from and how hard the Greek or Hebrew is and how long I read, sometimes that takes me a good hour to get through, sometimes 45 minutes, sometimes 30, sometimes 20.  But every day I try to feed myself with the solid food of Scripture so that the Holy Spirit can work in my heart as he sees fit. 

            Of course, there are times (even entire weeks) when I read the Bible just to get it done.  I’ve got four chapters in the middle of Ezekiel to get through on a given day so I just get through them because I’m tired and my mind is exhausted and I have to get up early the next morning and I’m just not in the mood to read right now.  And so although I’m technically attempting to eat “solid food” I’m more or less swallowing it whole: I’m not chewing it, I’m not savoring it, I’m not even really tasting it.  I just shovel it down as quickly as possible so that I can get on to more important things.  How juvenile of me.  How immature.  It’s time for me to grow up.

            I hope that every one of you here reads your Bible on a regular basis.  But if you do, or if you are in the middle of a Bible study, or if you are following along with one of the Scripture readings in a church service, or if you are listening to the sermon, do you ever find your mind wandering off?  Do you ever catch yourself just going through the motions?  Do you ever notice yourself shrugging off the tougher concepts, ignoring the deeper issues, disregarding anything that might actually make you think?  And I do that too.  There are certain things I come across in the Bible that I don’t get right away, but instead of taking some time to figure it out, I just pass them off.  Because far be it from me to actually look something up, to dig a little deeper, to put in the effort of comparing similar passages of Scripture so that I can fully understand the wonders of God’s Word!  Sometimes we are just a little bit too lazy.  Sometimes we just like to spend more time on ourselves than we do on our Lord.  Sometimes we would rather spend more effort on our lives in this world than on our lives in his Word.  How juvenile of us.  How immature.  It’s time for us to grow up.

Jesus Feeds You with What You Need

            What does a good parent do when a child refuses to eat any fruit, any vegetable, or any food that is healthy?  There might be a meal or two when that parent will let it slide, but it will come to a point where a faithful parent will make that child eat what is healthy.  “You are not getting anything else until you eat this!  You are not getting up from this table until you eat this!  You are not going to be allowed to do this fun thing until you eat this!”  And why does the parent make such a demand?  To be mean to the child?  To show the child who’s boss?  No!  The parent does this out love - because the child is too immature to realize that this kind of food must be eaten and it’s the parent’s responsibility to make sure it happens.  Our God does the same thing.

            Our God is oftentimes called our “Father.”  And we are his children - his immature children who do not always eat what he has given us.  And so sometimes he has to make us eat that solid food for our souls.  And he does that by putting us into situations and positions where we can do nothing else than feed ourselves with his Word.  He does that by making us go through difficulties and struggles that present only one way out: to eat what we should have been eating all along.  He doesn’t force it down our mouths, he simply makes us aware that we have been neglecting our spiritual health and have been harming our souls in the process.  Our Father is good at that.  He is good at revealing our self-imposed malnutrition.  But he is also good at holding out to us exactly what we need for nourishment once again.

            And so our Father holds out to us something like the book of Romans - a letter that is the focus of our women’s Bible study right now.  A 16 chapter book of the Bible that not only clarifies our sinfulness but also illuminates our salvation as well.  It delves deep into what our Lord had to do for our forgiveness, the sacrifice that he had to pay, and the peace, the joy, and the freedom we receive because of it.  The book of Romans expounds on who we once were but who we now are because of Christ.  It provides us with one of the most complete pictures of God’s grace towards sinners and one of the most vivid explanations of what faith in Jesus actually means.  These precious pages in the middle of the New Testament carefully lay out how God chose us from the very beginning and what will become of us in the end.  It is a letter by the apostle Paul that is filled with solid food.  And our good Father makes it available for us at every meal.

            But there is more food as well!  The Father holds out the story of David for us - something we are studying on Sunday morning together.  David was the great king of God’s Old Testament people who not only modeled his faith, but someone who carried on the line of the Savior himself.  The Father holds out for us a thorough explanation of his 10 Commandments that we will get to in the middle of the God’s Word Only course starting this Thursday.  An explanation that is not just a cursory overview of the surface meaning of each commandment, but an in depth discussion of the opportunities they provide for Christians to praise our Lord.  Our Father holds out for us the many passages of Scripture that give us the charge to carry this gospel to the world.  A topic we will visit once again in our Monday morning Bible study.  But these are only a few of the main courses offered on the Lord’s menu.  There are 66 books of the Bible after all.  Each one of them containing multiple precious truths of God’s will; each one providing an insight or a path that leads to the Savior who loves you and has saved you and has promised you heaven.    This is the solid food that the Lord makes available for you every day.  And he is thrilled when you are mature enough to be able to enjoy it.

Exciting Possibilities to Mature

            It’s exciting how much there is for us to learn.  It’s thrilling to think about all of the insights the Lord has stored up for us in his Word and how many applications to our lives we will be able to make.  And it’s all right here in front of us: in a worship service, in a Bible study, in a devotional book, in the pages of Scripture itself.  Solid food.  Food that will sustain you when times are hard.  Food that will provide you with the energy and the direction to keep going.  Food that is rich with flavor.  Food that is filled with power.  And so it’s time to grow up.  “Let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity.”  Not leaving Christ behind but getting to know him better.  Spending more time on what he has to say.  Putting more effort into what he has to teach.  Leaving more room in our spiritual stomachs for what he has already done. 

            An old prayer that we had in our old hymnal years ago had a beautiful phrase in it.  After thanking our Lord for the words of the Bible he had recorded for us, we would ask him that we might “read, mark, learn and inwardly digest them.”  What a great phrase!  My good friends, I love inwardly digesting this spiritual feast with you.  I love the worship services and the Bible studies and the personal conversations when we get at least a sample of God’s wonderful Word.  There is nothing better.  And so let’s continue to mature together.  Let’s push each other and encourage each other to eat more, to savor longer, to inwardly digest just a little bit better.  Because there’s so much of it.  And it’s all good.  It’s time to grow up.  Not because we have to, but because we get to.  And how exciting it is to think of all the foods the Lord has in store for us that we have yet to taste.  Amen.

“Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.” - 2 Peter 3:18

8/12/12 - Pentecost 11 - John 6:24-35

THE BASICS: BREAD & WATER

The Center of Our Worship Space

             I want you to take a moment this morning and look at how this room is arranged.  Especially at the things up front because there’s a specific reason why they are where they are.  Front and center, high above everything, we have the cross: a vivid reminder about our salvation; the torture device on which Jesus died to set us free.  Underneath we have the altar, the piece of furniture that holds the sacrifice of forgiveness that Jesus gives us in his real body and blood in the Lord’s Supper; but it is also the table that holds our small thank offerings that we give back to him.  Here we have the pulpit: the place from which we hear about this free forgiveness; and there we have the font: the place where that same forgiveness is given in yet another way through the power of God’s promise connected to baptism.  And that’s it.  There’s nothing else up here on this step.  Just the gospel about Jesus and his cross in word and in these two sacraments.

            But why is that?  Why are these things the center of our worship space?  Why don’t we have the bulletin board and mailboxes from the fellowship area up here on the wall instead of the cross?  Isn’t the work we do together as a congregation communicated through that bulletin board and those mailboxes a blessing from the Lord and pleasing to him?  Why don’t we have the kitchen serving counter up here instead of the altar or the coffee pot and a tray full of mugs there in place of the baptismal font?  Aren’t the food and drinks that supply our physical needs blessings from the Lord too?  Why don’t we put a couple tables and chairs up here where the pulpit is?  Isn’t the fellowship we have with brothers and sisters in Christ a blessing from the Lord worth celebrating?  I think that all of us here would admit that the fellowship we share and the physical sustenance we receive and the work we do together are all blessings from the Lord.  But I think we would also agree that they aren’t the most important blessings.  The most important gifts from our God have a special spot reserved right up here, in front of our eyes, at the center of attention: the gospel in word and sacrament.  These are the basics of our existence, the Bread and Water of our salvation.  And we don’t really need anything else to survive.

They Wanted More Than the True Bread

            This has always been true ever since the first promise of a Savior was given.  Jesus and what he would do (or for us now: what he has done) is the center of our faith and the only thing that is necessary.  And so when Jesus himself was physically and visibly on this earth, that truth should have been more evident than ever!  Unfortunately, the people of Jesus’ time were just as sinfully inclined as we are today.  And so even though they had the Bread of Life (=Jesus) at their fingertips and the Water of Life (= the words of Scripture about Jesus) flowing into their ears, they were looking beyond what was right in front of their faces.  This is obvious in the story that happens in John 6 right after Jesus’ miraculously fed those thousands of people with five loaves of bread and two fish.  And if it weren’t so pitiful, it would almost be humorous how the people in this story wanted so many things from Jesus except for Jesus himself, and how Jesus kept trying to pull their attention back to the only thing they needed. 

            Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.  When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”  Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.  Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”  Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”  Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”  So they asked him, “What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do?   Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”  Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.  For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”  “Sir,” they said, “from now on give us this bread.”  Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.”

            So the people find Jesus on the other side of the lake.  And, in Jesus’ own words, they are looking for him not because he is the Savior but because they want him to miraculously produce more food that they could eat.  And after Jesus points out that earthly food will not last, the people want to know what kind of works they have to perform to gain God’s approval.  And when Jesus tells them that there are no “works” they can actually perform to get to heaven, then they want to know what “work” Jesus is going to perform so that they might believe his words!  It is only then, after Jesus once again steers them back to himself, that they finally focus on the basics of their salvation: the Bread and the Water.  “Sir,” they said, “from now on give us this bread.”  Yes!  Finally!  They’re getting it!  They were no longer worried about what physical blessings they could get from Jesus; they were no longer worried about what they had to do to gain Paradise; they were no longer concerned about what outward sign Jesus would show them to verify his claims.  All they wanted now was the only thing that mattered: the Bread of Life.  “Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the Bread of Life.  He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.”  The people had wanted so many other things from him.  And it wasn’t until Jesus hit them over the head three consecutive times that they wanted nothing more than their Savior, the Bread of Life.

Don’t Forget about the Bread You Already Have!

            How many times do we have to get hit over the head?  Because when we aren’t in here, when we’re “out there” in the real world living real lives, dealing with real people and experiencing real problems, the cross and the altar, the pulpit and font aren’t always front and center, are they?  We ask and we worry; we beg and we plead and we get stressed about so many little different things.  We get so concerned about the physical blessings that we do not yet have, we get so frustrated with all of things that we try to accomplish but can’t, we get so wound up with what might happen in the future (or what might not), that we look past what the Lord is already giving us right now.  And the Lord has to keep hitting us over the head again and again to re-focus our attention.  “Stop wondering about what things you can get next,” he says.  “Stop being overwhelmed by all of the things you think you need to accomplish.  Stop being anxious about what’s around the corner.  I’m right here.  And I am all you need for the rest of eternity.”

            But I, for one, don’t always pay attention to those words of wisdom.  I look right and then I look left.  I glance up and down and sometimes I even seem to push Jesus out of the way (because he’s standing right in front of me) so that I can see around him and look at something else!  If Jesus gets frustrated he’s got to be frustrated with me because he’s constantly holding out the Bread of Life and the Water of Life, but I seem to be looking at something else far more interesting.  The attitude is almost, “Thanks for the salvation, Lord, I appreciate it - don’t get me wrong! - but I don’t have this little thing that I’d really like to have and I haven’t been able to accomplish this little thing over here that would make my life a lot easier and I don’t know what will happen with this little thing in the near future so I’m not really content yet…”  As if I’m not satisfied with the biggest and greatest blessings that the Lord has given; I want all those little things too.  And so the Lord continues to hit me over my ungrateful head over and over again with the words of the Bible: “You don’t need to be concerned about those kinds of things; you’ve got everything you need right here.  You’ve got me and the words about me.  You’re set for eternity.  What do you have to complain about?” 

       
You Will Never Be Hungry or Thirsty Again

            Thankfully the Lord is ever patient with me - just as he is with you.  And no matter how many times we look past him or over him or around him, he gently reminds us about the Bread of Life we already have on our plate and the Water of Life we already hold in our cup, the basics of our salvation that we have been given and that will never be taken away.  “I am the Bread of Life,” Jesus says.  “He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.”  And when we actually listen to his words and take a step back and assess the situation we are in, we can confidently say: We believe in Jesus, the one who sacrificed himself for us, and our hunger is forever satisfied; we believe in his words found in the Bible and our thirst is forever quenched.  Because those basics: the Bread of Life and the Water of Life supply us with everything we will ever need: forgiveness in a world that doesn’t deserve it, fulfillment in a world that is next to empty, peace in world that is filled with war, joy in a world that is riddled with sorrow, comfort in a world that offers nothing of the sort, hope in world that can only breed fear, life in a world that is headed for death.  You have the Bread of Life: Jesus himself.  You have the Water of Life: the words about Jesus and by Jesus and from Jesus.  Your heart is filled and your soul is satisfied.  And one day your body too will enjoy all of the benefits of this simple meal: a life of perfection in the home where this feast is from.

Eat and Drink Your Fill

            So eat and drink your fill.  It’s right here in front of you!  Free of charge.  Always available.  Never out of date.  And the nutrients that these basics supply are irreplaceable.  You can’t find them anywhere else.  You can try, and people have, but nowhere else is the surety and guarantee of your salvation found than in the ingredients of this bread and the makeup of this water.  They are all you need.  Because what you need is your Savior.  Jesus, the one who thought so much of you that he decided to become just like you.  Jesus, the one who longed so badly for you that he experienced every evil.  Jesus, the one who fought so hard for you that he actually died.  Jesus, the one who wanted you to win so much that he rose from the dead.  Jesus, the one who cares so much about your everyday life that he now reigns over your everyday life.  He is the Bread of Life.  The Bread that gives you life.  The Bread that saves your life.  The Bread that secures your life forever with him.  And this Bread is all yours.

            Enjoy this unsophisticated, uncomplicated, unpretentious meal this morning.  Enjoy the Bread and the Water.  Enjoy the energy that they supply and the strength that they give.  But don’t just make it a once-a-week meal.  In fact, these basics need to be consumed even more than once a day.  Go back to your Savior time and time again throughout the hours of your life.  Think about your Savior, revel in your Savior, rest in your Savior.  And make the interior design of this room the interior design of your life: with the cross at the center and the “means” through which you receive God’s grace from that cross, the word and sacraments, close at hand.  They are the basics of your existence, the Bread and Water of your salvation.  And they are yours.  There is nothing else you’ll ever need.

            Amen.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” - Eph. 1:3

8/5/12 - Pentecost 10 - 2 Cor. 9:8-11

YOU'VE GOT IT ALL

Blessings from Small to Great

            You’ve got it all.  And I mean that!  You’ve got it all.  Now I understand that most of us in this room don’t usually think of ourselves in that way.  We might think of others in that way: “He has that and I don’t… She’s blessed in that way and I’m not… I can list a whole bunch of different things that I want but don’t yet have and so maybe he’s got it all or she’s got it all but I certainly don’t.”  But the truth of it is: You do have it all.  Because you have everything you need and much, much more. 

            Let’s start with the little things, the small blessings.  You’ve got taste buds, for example.  The Lord didn’t have to bless you in that way but he did: he made sure that every single food had a distinct flavor and a specific nuance with thousands of different combinations.  And you can taste that!  Or think of the colors of this world.  The Lord didn’t have to bless you with eyes that could see in that full spectrum of beauty; but he did.  Instead of black and white and shades of grey, most have the ability to see a deep dark red, a scarlet red, a rose-colored red, a brick red, a bright red, a faded red, a soft red, an apple red… and your eye can tell the difference! 

            Let’s move on to some blessings that might not be so wide-spread.  Next time you walk into the grocery store go to the bread aisle.  Count how many brands of sliced bread there are.  And then count how many varieties of bread in each brand.  And then count how many actual bags of bread there are on those shelves in that half aisle.  They might not all belong to you but you have been given access to them all.  The Lord has provided them for you to enjoy.

            When you walk into your house later today, stop in the living room and count all of the things you see that are now yours.  Furniture, pictures on the wall, knickknacks on the end tables… There will be hundreds of things you will see.  And they are all yours.  Consider your family: both immediate and extended family.  Consider how important those people are to you; how much happiness they bring; the comfort and the confidence they provide.  Look around you right now: the building that you’re in and what it is filled with.  Look at the brothers and sisters in faith next to you.  Look at the cross in front of you.  Ahh, now we’re getting into the big blessings, the weighty gifts of our Lord: the sacrifice there on that cross, the powerful effect of forgiveness from the cross through the body and blood, the forgiveness from the cross through the water of baptism, the forgiveness from the cross through the spoken words of God’s love.  You’ve got it all: salvation, eternal life, peace, joy, comfort, and a whole slew of other temporal blessings as long as you live on this earth.  You’ve got it all.  The question is: what are you going to do with it all?

Corinthian Offering

            This is the question that the congregation in the city of Corinth had to answer for themselves.  The apostle Paul was in the middle of his 3^rd missionary journey.  And before he made his way back to the city of Corinth, he decided to write a second letter to them preparing them for his arrival.  In this letter he describes them as people who had it all.  But as you read through a few of these verses again, don’t just pay attention to what they had been given; notice the reason why Paul says they had been given everything.  “God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.  As it is written: ‘He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.’  Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.  You are being made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion.”

            They had been given it all.  But why?  So that they could enjoy life?  Partly.  So that they could praise the Lord for all that he had given them?  In a way.  But the main reason why the Lord had given them so much was so that they could give much to others.  “You are being made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion.”

            Paul was going to be passing through Corinth on his way to Jerusalem.  He had been collecting offering from the cities he visited for those in Jerusalem and the congregation in Corinth had promised to pitch in.  Paul’s letter is a reminder to these Christians about what they had said as well as an encouragement to be as generous as possible.  And he did that by showing them that they had it all.  They Lord had supplied them with everything they needed so that they could in turn supply the needs of others.

It’s All Mine!

            If you read through the two letters to this congregation you’ll understand why Paul needed to give them this encouragement: they were a little selfish at times, a little arrogant, a little self-centered.  They hadn’t proven to be very loving and giving in the past even though they had it all and Paul wanted to prompt them with the Word of God to excel in this opportunity to praise their Lord.

            I need that kind of prompting too.  Because I’m not always so generous.  I’m usually more like a spiritual 2 year old: “I want that.  I want that now.  And once I get it I want to keep it.  It’s mine!  Not anyone else’s!  It’s mine!”  And I’m not just talking about money here or the things we can put your hands on; but I’m talking about things like the time the Lord has blessed us with, the abilities, the skills, the opportunities that may be ours but those that are ours to give.  But as a spiritual 2 year old I don’t always want to spend my time looking for ways to help others; I want to spend it on myself.  I don’t always want to spend the effort to use my abilities to make life easy for others; I want to relax and enjoy some peace and quiet by myself.  I don’t always want to take advantage of those opportunities to lend a hand when others need it because that would mean a lot of work on my part, a lot of complications and headaches that I could avoid if I just didn’t get involved.  I may have it all but I want to keep all of it for me!

            Do you remember Judas Iscariot?  He, of course, was the disciple who betrayed Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, the one who sold him out for 30 pieces of silver, the one who eventually hung himself because he felt so guilty for what he had done.  But Judas had also been the treasurer for that group of disciples.  The Bible says that Judas was in charge of the money bag that they lived off of and that they undoubtedly distributed to the poor and less-fortunate, but Judas would regularly help himself to the contents of that bag.  He would keep some for himself instead of giving it away as it was intended.

            Don’t we end up being like Judas sometimes?  “You are being made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion.”  We have been entrusted with God’s moneybag so to speak.  We have been given responsibility over the blessings that the Lord wants distributed to others.  And so when we keep a tight fist around those blessings and stuff them in our own pockets, we have negated the reason why the Lord gave us those blessings in the first place.  He wanted to bless others through us.  But sometimes we have different ideas with those blessings.  Because we are a little bit selfish or greedy or just plain unloving.   

It’s All for You

            Of course, the story of Judas doesn’t just remind us of our sins, it also demonstrates how much our Lord loves sinners.  When Jesus knew that Judas was taking money out of the money bag for himself, what did Jesus do?  Did he kick him out of his chosen group of disciples?  Did he make his sins public for all to see?  Did he immediately condemn him for such a wicked act?  No.  Amazingly, if you read the story at the beginning of the 12^th chapter of the book of John, Jesus pointed Judas to his coming resurrection.  And he allowed more and more money to come into that treasury.  And when Jesus realized that Judas was going to betray him for a handful of coins, he reached out to Judas and even allowed Judas to celebrate the Passover with him.  And when Jesus was hypocritically kissed on the cheek by Judas in the Gethsemane an armed mob waited to arrest him, Jesus gently reminded Judas about who he was and that he still loved him.  Jesus continued to shower blessings on Judas despite his greed and selfishness and sinfulness!  The blessings never stopped!  In fact, we might even say that the blessings increased the worse Judas was.

            But that’s what the Lord does: he increases the blessings specifically at those times when we don’t deserve them.  When you are aware of the awful amount of your sins, does Jesus hold a grudge against you?  Does he make you pay?  No!  Instead he reminds you about how much he has already paid for your sins and points you back to the forgiveness at his cross!  When you step into this building after an terrible week of selfishness and greed, does he take all of your blessings away because of your ungratefulness?  No!  He gives you even more as he offers you his real body and blood in the Lord’s Supper and the forgiveness that comes with it!  When you are overwhelmed with guilt and can’t seem to get over the sins hat plague you every day, does the Lord give up on you for being so pitiful?  No!  He gently leads you back to your baptism where those sins were drowned; he leads you back to your Christian brothers and sisters where you can be comforted; he leads you back to his Word where you can be strengthened in the forgiveness it proclaims. 

            You may be greedy at times but the Lord is always gracious.  You may be selfish at times, but the Lord is continually generous.  You may be downright nasty at times, but the Lord is nothing but forgiving.  He always gives and gives and gives.  And he gives it all to you.  You’ve got it all.

The Lord Re-Supplies

            And so we come back to the same question that we asked before: If you do have it all, what are you going to do with it all?  Keep it or share it?  Hoard it or distribute it?  Quickly stuff a handful in your pocket so that no one else can have a chance or open your hands as wide as possible so that everyone can see what’s available?  And there are many practical ways to be generous, aren’t there?  You can certainly throw some money in the offering plate on Sunday mornings; that’s a good and God-pleasing thing to do.  And you can contribute to the preschool and the giving tree; that’s a fine thing to do to.  But generosity doesn’t just have to be connected with the church.  Sure you can help out with the carnival next week; sure you can participate in inviting new movers to Montrose to visit us here; sure you can take time to spread wood chips on playground or wash the windows of the sanctuary; but your generosity can be put into practice at home too.  Give to your spouse and then give some more.  Give to your children and then give some more.  Give to your neighbors, your co-workers, your friends.  Give them your time, your energy, your efforts… anything that they could use, give it.  And the Lord will re-supply.  He has an endless storehouse of blessings with which he can restock what you have given away.  Trust him: you are not going to be able to give away more than what he can give back to you.  Because that’s what he intended all along: he wants you to give what he has given to you!  “God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”  Giving to others what has been given to you is the whole point!  And you have been given it all.  You’ve got it all.  What are you going to do with it?

            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

7/29/12 - Pentecost 9 - Numbers 27:12-23

A JOB TOO BIG

The Successor to Moses

            Moses was about to die.  He had led the people of Israel for years, but the Lord had made it known to him that he would not be the one to lead the people of Israel into the Promised Land that they had waited so long to enter.  And so Moses prayed, “May the Lord, the God of the spirits of all mankind, appoint a man over this community to go out and come in before them, one who will lead them out and bring them in, so the Lord’s people will not be like sheep without a shepherd.”  The Lord granted this last request of Moses by choosing a man named Joshua.  He was to lead the people of Moses passed away.  But I can’t imagine Joshua was too thrilled with the position at first.  Because not only was he supposed to be the new leader for the entire nation of Israel, he was also supposed to take over the reigns from Moses himself!  Moses was the only leader God’s people had ever known since they came out of Egypt.  Moses was the one through whom the Lord performed all of those incredible miracles - including the Ten Plagues against Pharaoh and the Egyptians.  Moses was the one who raised his staff over the Red Sea at God’s command and made a dry path right through the middle.  Moses was the one who talked to God face to face up on the mountain.  Moses was the one who received the actual Ten Commandments inscribed by the Lord’s own hand on stone tablets.  Moses was the one through whom God brought water out of a rock so that the people would not die of thirst, the one through whom God held the sun back in the sky so that the Israelites could gain the victory over the Amalekites, the one through whom God miraculously fed his people with those white wafers called “manna” every morning as they traveled through the desert.  For over 40 years Moses had led the people of God.  But now it was Joshua’s turn.

            Can you imagine stepping into that role?  Who could take over for a man like Moses?  Who could live up to those kinds of expectations?  Joshua was much younger than Moses; Joshua wasn’t related to Moses and so there wasn’t a natural succession by birth; in fact, Joshua had been nothing more than Moses’ aid, his administrative assistant if you will, before the Lord chose him to be the next leader.  What an intimidating position to be in!  What an intimidating job Joshua was chosen to do!

Joshua’s Job was Too Big for Him

            Joshua had a big job in front him.  He was supposed to lead the entire people of Israel across the Jordan River and into the Promised Land for the very first time.  And not only that, he was also supposed to make sure that the millions of people under his care were to go to their allotted areas of land that had been assigned to each of the tribes of Israel.  And not only that, Joshua was also supposed to be the military leader of the people - charging into battle against the multiple enemies that they would inevitably face.  And not only that, he was also to serve as the Supreme Court for the major decisions of the people.  And not only that, he was also dealing with a group of people that had been notoriously disobedient throughout their history, a nation who had complained, protested, and rebelled against Moses and the Lord for decades.  And if they had done those things against God and against Moses, what were they going to do when Joshua was in charge?  This job wasn’t just big, it was too big for Joshua to handle - even without considering his own faults and shortcoming.

            Joshua certainly had plenty of personal defects, just like we all do.  He may have been a Christian leader but he was far from a perfect leader.  He undoubtedly had his weaknesses, his lapses in judgment, his own personality flaws.  He couldn’t have been prepared for every single incident that came up; he couldn’t have made exactly the right decision every single time.  And so Joshua had to have been a little intimidated by what lay ahead of him.  Not only because of the magnitude of the work, but also because of the inadequacy of his own abilities to handle it.

We Have a Job Too Big for Us

            Over the past three weeks we’ve been focusing our attention on the “Challenges of Preaching.”  We as Christians have been called on by the Lord to preach - to proclaim - the message of salvation to the people of this world.  And that message is this: We are sinful to the core.  We cannot get to heaven on our own.  And so Jesus came to this earth on his own.  He lived the perfect life we could not.  He died a terrible death to take our place.  He rose from the dead to conquer death.   And now we get to go to heaven because of his work.  Free of charge.  No strings attached.  That is the simple and powerful gospel message.  But there are certain challenges that go along with sharing that message!

            Two weeks ago we looked at the challenge of feeling rejected by those we want to share the gospel with.  Last week we looked at the challenge of feeling unqualified for the job we have been given to do.  This morning we are looking at the challenge of feeling intimidated by the enormity and importance of the work in front of us. And it is intimidating, isn’t it?  We are to bring this Word of God to those who do not yet know it?  We are to speak about the Savior to those who refuse him?  We are to invite, encourage, and offer to bring people to hear something that they have never heard before?  And this has eternal implications?  Our work will be used to determine what happens to these people after they die - whether they end up in heaven or hell?  That’s intimidating!  This job and how we carry it out is of serious consequence!  I would even say that it’s a job too big for us to handle.

            Because think about who we are: not only is the job itself of utmost importance, we are far too flawed to do the job well.  At least I am.  I know that I am usually too lazy to put in the effort that it takes.  I know that I am usually too distracted to keep my mind focused on the task at hand.  I know that I am usually too intimidated to invite and encourage like I should.  I know that I am usually too selfish to step out of my comfort zone for the sake of souls.  This all-important job of sharing the Good News about Jesus: his life and his perfection, his death and his forgiveness, his resurrection and his victory - this job is too big for me.  I cannot handle it.  I cannot carry it out with the integrity and the faithfulness that it demands.  And I have proven that throughout my life.

Joshua’s Help

            I can’t help but imagine that Joshua had some of those same misgivings about himself.  When he was told for the very first that he was going to be the next leader of the Israelite nation, he had to have been at least a little nervous about how big the job was going to be!  And so the Lord, knowing Joshua and knowing the nature of human beings in general, made sure that Joshua would know that he was not being sent out on his own.  “The Lord said to Moses, ‘Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him.  Have him stand before Eleazar the priest and the entire assembly and commission him in their presence.  Give him some of your authority so the whole Israelite community will obey him.  He is to stand before Eleazar the priest, who will obtain decisions for him by inquiring of the Urim before the Lord. At his command he and the entire community of the Israelites will go out, and at his command they will come in.’”

            From the very beginning the Lord saw to it that Joshua understood that he had been given 1) the abilities to perform the task, that he had been given 2) the authority to do what needed to be done, and that he had been given 3) the appropriate calling for everyone to see.  And on top of that, Joshua would be able to inquire of the Lord at any time for any reason whenever he needed help.  “He is to stand before Eleazar the priest,” God said, “who will obtain decisions for him by inquiring of the Urim before the Lord.”

            The Urim was an integral piece of the high priest’s wardrobe, usually mentioned in connection with something called the Thummim.  Unfortunately, we don’t even know what the Urim and the Thummim were.  They were supposed to be part of the breastplate that the high priest wore, so they could have been two other stones along with the 12 stones representing the 12 tribes of Israel, but we can’t say for sure.  What we can say is this: the high priest would go to the Lord in prayer and the Lord would apparently answer that prayer on occasion through the Urim and the Thummim.  The way that exactly worked is not known nor does it matter.  What matters is that Joshua was encouraged to inquire of the Lord at anytime for any reason through the Urim and Thummim of the high priest.  And Joshua was going to need it!  He would have to go to the Lord on numerous occasions when he was faced with difficulties.  He would have to rely on the Lord constantly throughout his service to the people.  He would have to depend on the Lord and his wisdom and his power on a regular basis if he was going to be able to handle the task in front of him.  And as we read about Joshua’s leadership throughout the years in the pages of the Bible, there is no doubt that he went to the Lord for help as often as possible.  The job may have been too big for Joshua to do alone, but it was not too big for his Lord.

Our Help

            You have a big job in front of you: telling, sharing, inviting, encouraging, offering, teaching, comforting, guiding, preaching.  And the job is too big for you.  It is too grand.  Too monumental.  But it is not too big for your Lord.  The one who long ago took on the life of a human being in the womb of a girl named Mary is still standing by your side right now as your brother.  The one who fought off every temptation of the devil while on this earth will protect you from the same.  The one who bent his head to the fatal blow of death forgives you for every fault and inadequacy that sent him there.  The one who beat the grave after three days has left your failures behind in that empty tomb.  The one who now reigns on the throne over all things reigns over everything for you.  Nothing is too big for the Lord.  Go to him.  Rely on him.  Lean on him.  Rest on him.  He will see you through.

            Because in this life you will have the opportunity to share the Word of God with someone you love.  And it will be intimidating!  It will be too big for you to handle!  You’re going to have to go to your Lord.  He will give you the strength.  You will have the opportunity to invite someone that lives right next to you to hear the wonderful promises of your Lord.  And it will be intimidating!  It will be too big for you to handle!  You’re going to have to go to your Lord.  He will give you the words to say.  You will have the opportunity to encourage your friend with the only words that can give a person peace: the words of Jesus and his love.  And it will be intimidating!  It will be too big for you to handle!  You’re going to have to go to your Lord.  He will give you the courage.  You will have the opportunity to tell someone what you believe and why you do.  And it will be intimidating!  It will be too big for you to handle!  You’re going to have to go to your Lord.  He will give you the confidence.  In this life you will have many opportunities with many different people, and you will let many of them pass by.  Because it was too intimidating.  Because it was too big for you to handle.  And you didn’t go to your Lord.  You’re going to have to go to the Lord at times like those as well.  And he will give you the forgiveness and the peace  and the comfort that you can’t live without.

            You may not be Joshua called on to lead the entire nation of Israel.  You may not be a pastor called on to preach from a pulpit.  But you are a Christian called on to proclaim the Good News to anyone you can.  It is a big job - too big in fact.  But your Lord is bigger.  He will give you the motivation through his Word, he will enable your effort through his Word, he will do the work of moving a heart through his Word.  The Lord will help you through his Word just like he always has.  Go with that confidence.  And may our gracious God bless our work together.

            Amen.

“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.”  - Gal. 6:18