according to those percentages, it would mean three out of every four you feel Jesus is not returning anytime soon, which sounds odd as you listen our reading from Mark 13:32-37:
[Jesus says:] “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch. "Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’” No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, and yet, seventy-three percent of Christians apparently have pinpointed when Jesus will return. They have done what Jesus says no one can do. I know, that 73% of Christians did not determine the precise day and hour of his arrival. Yet, by feeling Jesus will not return until after [the year] 2050, three out of every four Christians have just claimed: “Jesus is not coming soon. There is still time.” Feeling there is still time between your life “now” and Jesus’ return may sound like you still have an opportunity to deal with spiritual matters at a more convenient time. Yet, feeling there still time between your life “now” and Jesus’ return can actually leave you unprepared to meet him. That’s why Jesus sounds the warning: Keep Watch for the Savior’s Coming! Remain alert and Remain active. You have every reason to remain alert. Before Jesus enters heaven, he tells you what to expect before he returns to earth. He gives signs that point to the end of this world (Matthew 24:3). “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars… Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places… [Y]ou will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold…” (24:6-12). You see those signs happening, don’t you? The media reports wars erupting in the Middle East. Civil wars break out in Libya, Syria, and Zimbabwe. You constantly hear rumors of war with North Korea. Famines rip through Africa. Earthquakes level cities in Mexico, Haiti, Indonesia, India— all over the world. Cold-hearted murderers show no love for life; they barge into churches, gun down concert-goers, and transform schools from a place of safety to a place of concern. False prophets still exist; pastors (that is, people who look and appear honest) stand up in church buildings (places that look like your church— with Bibles and songs and seats) and [they] openly announce that the Bible is full of errors. They share teachings on forgiveness, sexuality, or money that openly contradict what God so clearly says. Wickedness is increasing. What was once considered “wrong” is now praised as “right,” and what was once considered “right” is now condemned as “wrong.” Children disrespect parents, teachers, and authority-figures. Parents neglect children, argue with police officers and teachers, and refuse to care for those in need. Masses are not just leaving worship, but are leaving their faith in Jesus as Savior behind. Are you paying attention to these signs? These “signs of the end” are not just entertaining fun-facts meant to settle your curiosity; each individual sign powerfully preaches: Jesus is coming soon! (Luke 21:28) These signs are the reason why you Keep Watch for Your Savior’s Coming. You have the ability to remain alert because as you watch the signs unfold, you know Jesus will follow them! Or, does this all sound like something you have heard before? After all, these signs are nothing new, right? Wars and earthquakes and famines and persecution and hate and violence and unbelief have been going on ever since Jesus walked on the earth. (Maybe you can remember connecting these signs with other wars and rumors of wars, famines and earthquakes, acts of lovelessness, and people staying away from worship.) When you hear the same warning repeated so often, you begin doubting the seriousness of the warning. At first, you expect something significant to happen soon, but if nothing happens, then you start believing that the warning is not really all that serious. That’s why 73% of Christians do not feel Jesus will return anytime soon. Many watch these signs of the end, but do not see Jesus coming down from heaven. And if Jesus is not coming down from heaven, then his arrival must not be too serious. And if he is all too serious about returning, then you do not need to seriously consider how you stand before God. “There’s still time,” is the thought. And if there is still time between your life “now” and Jesus’ arrival, then it feels that you still have an opportunity to deal with spiritual matters at a more convenient time. The Master leaves and stays away for a while; the servants realize he’s not returning soon and so they ignore the command to work. (1) You feel there will always be a later time to turn from sin and so (2) the sins God hates no longer bother you. You fall into spiritual slumber. You start drifting from what you were taught: you cannot remember the Bible stories of creation, the Flood, or Jesus’ Passion; you have forgotten those accounts and are content to have a gap in knowledge. Yet, that gap does not stop there. Soon, you stop listening to the other parts of Scripture. You disrespect your God-appointed authorities; you argue with your parents (because you don’t get your way). You challenge your God-given Pastor/Shepherd because you do not want to hear God’s instructions expose your wrong behavior. The more you stay out of the Word, the more you focus on yourself; you live in ways that serve you, that make you feel happy, that will benefit you most. And so, your love grows cold. You gossip and cut down. You no longer offer to help others; instead you make excuses as to how other are taking advantage of you. You accuse and criticize. No longer do you check what your heart believes. Rather, you grow content behaving in whatever way makes you feel happy at the moment. You become perfectly content to let your heart fall into a deep spiritual sleep. My friends, If [Jesus] comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping-- because when Jesus arrives, it will be too late to wake up. That’s why Jesus sounds the warning. He wants you to prepare for his coming. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. Who does not know when that time will come? You. You do not have the privilege to put off spiritual matters for another day because you do not know if you will have another day to deal with them. So, Keep Watching for the Savior’s Coming! Remain alert because Jesus has given you the ability to remain alert. When the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, born for you (Galatians 4:4-5). For you— that is, Jesus lives constantly aware and alert that earth is not your forever-home. He lives constantly aware and alert of making heaven your eternal home. His alertness means that he keeps God’s Word central in his life. He worships. His words and actions fall in line with what God calls “right.” When the time had come, he allows himself to be betrayed, arrested, sentenced, and crucified. And on the cross, he makes heaven a reality. His life is used to open heaven. He leaves the tomb to show you that there is life after death. He enters heaven to prepare a place for you. Then he makes a final promise: I will come back for you (John 14:3). Keep Watch for Your Coming Savior! Remain alert because Jesus has done everything necessary to set up eternal life for you. Through his Word, he focuses your heart to see him reign as your forgiving King. Since you know what is coming, you can Remain active. If you live in Florida and hear reports of a hurricane barreling towards your house within the next three days, what would you do? Sleep?... Sit around?... Wait until day three to finally prepare your house for the hurricane? No! You breathe a sigh of relief that you still have three days to get everything done that you needs to get done. In the same way, God tells you want is coming so that you may remain active now and prepare for his arrival now! In verse 35 Jesus says: Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. You do not know when Jesus will return, but there is something you do know: Jesus will come back. Instead of using that knowledge as an excuse to grow spiritually lazy, use that knowledge to remain active. Put another way, instead of saying: “Great! Another day to not care about how I live my life!” Let your thinking be: “Great! Another day for me to let the love of God dwell in me and through me!” Remain active in your watching by making God’s Word a priority in your life. It will always feel like you do not have enough time to worship Sunday mornings or read your devotions at home or even pray. During the Christmas season, there’s parties, activities, friends, family, Christmas lights and presents—all good things that you get to enjoy during the season. Yet, remember that on Christmas Day, you get to say “Thank you” to God for giving the gift of eternal life through Jesus. What a reason to make God a priority during a busy season. When you set aside time and make sure nothing steals that time away, you will find that you do have opportunities to worship, have devotions, and pray. When you set aside ten minutes in the morning or before bed, you will discover that you suddenly have time to read a chapter of the Bible or a devotion from the Meditations booklet. When you keep Sunday worship times open in your schedule, you will discover that you have time to worship (and still have time for other family activities). Remain active in Watching for Your Coming Savior! Do not merely make hearing the Word a priority, but keep its teachings a priority in your life. As you hear the Word, consider what areas of your life to which it applies. Let the Word set your heart at rest as you trust God. Let the Word shape the words that come out of your mouth. Let the selfless love of Jesus transform your thoughts into selfless giving. Remain active in Watching for Your Coming Savior as you let the Word sink into your head and heart Because No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son. Since you do not know when Jesus will return, it means that today is the day to get your heart ready to meet him. Today is the day to remain spiritually alert and active! Today is the day to Keep Watch for the Savior’s Coming! Remain alert and Remain active.
This kind of art is called a “holusion.” To see the garden, you have to look behind the chaos, behind the swirling mess, behind all the confusion. Stop concentrating on each individual blob and color and pattern. Let your eyes un-focus. Concentrate (or stare) off into the distance (http://www.vision3d.com/sgphoto.html) and then you can see the real picture. Can you see the garden now?
It’s not easy, is it? It takes concentration. It takes patience. It takes discipline to focus on the “big-picture” instead of fixating on all these individual images. Maybe you find it just as difficult to always remain focused on the “big-picture” of your Christian life. It’s as though this holusion constantly hangs in front of your eyes. You watch a society sinking into a swirling mess of rejecting what is right and embracing what is wrong. You’re left without answers when streaks of tragedy rip into your life. Role models disappoint you; your best-laid plans fail, and you’re left frustrated to see God still remaining in control. That’s why God gives you these words from Ezekiel. He gives you a long-term focus on life by looking at life through his eyes. See The Lord Is Your Shepherd, who rescued you from gloom, who leads you to good pastures, and who will tend you forever. It can be difficult to see at first. Just consider Ezekiel’s audience: the nation of Judah. The Lord does not look much like a shepherd. There is no protection, no safety, no life filled with good-feeling blessings. Look around Judah and watch nothing but utter chaos unfold. Massive siege towers lean against city walls, their bridges unrolled and soldiers streaming out. Babylonian soldiers march through their beloved city streets, sword in hand, seizing Jewish politicians, shoving them into wagons and carts, and whisking them away and out of sight. Over there, troops unwrap the gold from inside God’s church; some pick away at the fine cedar paneling and others pull down the glistening white-stone walls with ropes. Dust blows down the empty streets in the once-bustling marketplace. Jerusalem has fallen— and there is nothing anyone can do to change it (Ezekiel 33:21). Life suddenly feels so dark; the future feels so uncertain, as if a thick cloud drops down and crushes out any remaining light of hope that God is still with believers. This is not the way life is meant to be; this is not the kind of life anyone wants. God creates a perfect Eden (Genesis 1:1-2:4). No tears, no sadness, not even a reason to be sad. No death, no mourning, no heart-wrenching sorrow that comes from losing loved ones. No pain, no hurt, no single ache from getting older. Life is filled with non-stop, constant happiness! Most of all, God himself is their God (Revelation 21:3-4). This is the “big-picture” behind the swirling mess of Babylonian captivity; God desires life lived with him and his commands! Yet, that “big-picture” shatters into pieces the minute God’s creation finds no happiness with him. Yes, God did not remove himself from the nation; it is the nation which chose to scatter from him! It is those in Jerusalem who ran to foreign kings for help instead of God their King! It is those in Jerusalem who favored prostitutes instead of God’s gift of marriage. It is those in Jerusalem who turned worship into nothing more than a empty-minded habit (Ezekiel 22). God is not the problem; the fault lies with the nation. They are the ones who made the “big-picture” into a blurry mess. They are the ones who scattered into the darkness. Darkness is not God’s intentions for his creation—and not just for those of long ago, but also you who live today.Even though about 2,500 years separate you from Ezekiel’s audience, God still created the Garden of Eden for you. God still desires that you find perfect joy in obeying his Word, praising him, and trusting him. Yet, relationships crumble when you find little contentment in God’s instructions for you as a wife … as a husband (Ephesians 5:21-27). Fear over health, worry about money, apprehension over the future flares up when you begin questioning God’s control over his world. That feeling of abandonment swells up when you run away from the Bible for comfort and instead search for answers in godless friends, family, and leaders. The reason the “big-picture” becomes blurry, unfocused, confusing, and frustrating comes, not because of God, but because we scatter from him—and we have scattered from him the very moment we are conceived. By nature, I am sinful (Psalm 51:5). By nature, I do not choose to do what is good. By nature, God would have every right to leave me in eternal darkness. Yet, God himself steps into this confusing picture, rolls up his sleeves, and makes something clear: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. Those lost in the uncertain darkness of sin, God finds. Yes, God himself. He does not demand that you find him (John 15:16). He does not hand you a new set of Ten Commandments to follow (John 14:6). God himself makes a promise to you: I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. The Lord, your Shepherd, kept his promise. Under Good Friday’s clouds and thick darkness, the Lord rescues you from gloom. On the cross, Jesus pries open the jaws of death to free you and he lets those jaws close around his own life. Thick darkness blacks out his life as he dies for your willful wandering. He dies to remove eternal darkness from you forever. On Easter Sunday, he rises from the dead. In fact, he is the first to rise and remain alive! He intends to lead you out of your grave as well (1 Corinthians 15:20-28). He enters heaven, sitting on his throne, getting ready to gather you around him forever! The Lord Is Your Shepherd and he rescued you from gloom. Now, you get to live in the light of the knowing peace with God! That means, the best is still yet to come because The Lord Is Your Shepherd who leads you to good pastures. Yes, right now, in this life, as you live; the Lord presently, currently remains active! Six times he stresses what he will do. I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. And God did! After seventy years of living in the nation of Babylon, God led the nation of Judah back to their old homeland. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land. And they did! They farmed the land and led their cattle to rivers. Kings ruled the nation again. Homes dotted the countryside; businesses opened shop; an economy and government started again. Yet, this promise does not stop with Judah’s return from exile. God points ahead to the day when Jesus would be the Shepherd among many people. Jesus is born in that nation of Judah. He ministers to those living in the land of Judah. He enters heaven after his earthly ministry is over. And he still tends to you, his sheep. How? With the Word of God [the Bible]. Look to the Bible; see what he promises to do: I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord. I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak. When you are crushed by guilt, when you feel that God cannot possibly love you, listen to Jesus say: “I have found you, healed you from sin, and brought you into my believing flock.” When life appears to be this blurry picture, listen to Jesus say: “I strengthen you with my promises.” When violence rips through society, trust that I send my angels to protect you (Psalm 91:10-11). When friends take advantage of you, do not take revenge because I will take revenge (Romans 12:19). When you feel sad or depressed, see that I am with you always as I bless you with friends and family, and I provide for you, as I lift you spirits by remaining in your life (Matthew 28:20; Hebrews 13:5). The Lord Is Your Shepherd who leads you to good pastures of his Word, so that you may be fed, strengthened, and nourished. Not just that, The Lord Is Your Shepherd who leads you to good pastures as he defends you from your spiritual enemies. [B]ut the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice... God has not lost control of his world. With that same powerful Word he strikes down the devil. The devil has lost; you will not go to hell. With that same powerful Word God strikes down a godless society. No one can change the fact that you are heading towards the eternal pastures of heaven. No one can fluster the spread of God’s Word. In fact, the Word of God is spreading like wildfire in countries that still stand so opposed to its teachings. With that same powerful Word God will forever damn the devil, the evil angels, and those who rejected him. This is the “big-picture.” It may appear blurry at times, but soon it will become perfectly clear. The Lord Is Your Shepherd, who leads you to good pastures of his Word and who will tend you forever. Perhaps a better way of saying that is: The Lord Is Your Shepherd, who tends you forever, That means right now and he continue to do so. Through Ezekiel God promised: I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd. When Ezekiel first says these words, King David has been dead for over 400 years. God is not promising to raise David from the dead. Rather, he draws your attention to that great descendant of David’s line: Jesus Christ. Ezekiel points ahead to what will happen (Jesus will come); you (and I) get to look back and see what has happened. God has already raised up his servant David. He has already sent his Son to the cross. He has already raised his Son from the grave. He has already taken his Son into heaven. He has already placed a crown on his Son’s head. He has already entrusted all authority to Jesus. What’s left? I the Lord will be their God…He is now, but soon you will see him face-to-face. [A]nd my servant David will be prince among them. He is now, but soon you will stand around the golden throne of the triumphant Lamb. Where God gets to be with his people and live among them. Just as the way God has made it to be. No one will get in his way. I the Lord have spoken. Can you see the “big-picture” now? Look behind the chaos, behind the mess, behind the confusion— and see what God is doing now. Look into the Bible and see what God has done behind the scenes of this life. The One born Christmas day has lived for you, died for you, rose again for you, and entered heaven to prepare your eternal home. God still rules all things so that you may lift your eyes up to him and trust his ever-present, guiding care. With his Word he makes one final guarantee: “Yes, I am coming soon” (Revelation 22:20). Gain a long-term focus on life by looking at life through God’s eyes. See The Lord Is Your Shepherd, who rescued you from gloom, who leads you to good pastures, and who will tend you forever.
liftetime. So, you can live however you want and prepare for eternity later. You could fight with your kids and complain about your grandkids. You could stop helping others and blow your money on the lavish gifts you always wanted. You could live so self-centered because Jesus will not surprise you with a sudden return. Since you know the exact date, you could make things right with God on your deathbed. Or, if you determine that you do have enough years to reach 2042, then you can live any way you want now: stay out of worship, stop reading the Bible, do not help others out of love, stop being polite and kind, stop lending a hand to your parents or the elderly. Live in whatever way makes you feel good. Then, when [the year] 2041 comes around, well, then return to God. Say you’re sorry for your arrogance; worship, read your Bible, be kind and loving; straighten things out with God right before the end. Wouldn’t it just be great if Jesus told you when this world would end? You wouldn’t have to guess anymore; you may better prepared for Jesus’ arrival.
For reasons known only to God and for the reason to continue working all things for your eternal good, God the Father does not reveal the final date of this world’s existence. Even if you knew the exact day and precise hour of Jesus’ return, you are still not guaranteed to reach it. Old and young alike get sick and die. Old and young perish in accidents. Old and young both fall asleep in death. Knowing when this world will end does not prepare you to meet your God. And believing that your life will continue in the same way as it always has can leave you foolishly unprepared to for that Last Day. Gain real wisdom for your life by taking Jesus’ warning to heart. Be Ready with a Heart Full of Faith to meet the Bridegroom and to enter the wedding feast. Jesus makes the future abundantly clear: the Son of Man will come on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory (Matthew 24:30). All the nations will be gathered before him. He will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. (25:32). I’m not sure how much clearer Jesus needs to make it: He will return and bring this earthly life to an end. He provides crucial information so that you may know what to expect. He says in our parable: At that time… that is, on the final day of this world’s existence. If you want to know what will happen, then continue listening. The kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. The Jewish wedding tradition was for the groom to run off to his in-law’s house and get his bride. Then he would lead his wife back to their new house, and the feast would begin. These virgins? Well, their responsibility is to wait outside the groom’s house, with lamps burning bright, so that when the new couple arrives, they could light the way into the house. So, they wait, and they wait, and they wait. Hours tick by. Light becomes dark. Eyelids get heavy; they fall asleep. Suddenly, right at midnight, someone shouts: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ [A]ll the virgins woke up, grabbed their lamps, and hopped to their feet. After hours of waiting, those lamps are now running on empty. The bright flames had licked up much of the oil. They’re now nothing but faint little flickers of light. This is it! The groom is arriving! The feast is about to begin! And five of those young ladies whisk out extra oil and strengthen the flame. Yet, the other five had no choice but to race out to the markets, hoping to buy more oil. [W]hile they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. Later the others also came. ‘Sir! Sir!’ they pleaded, ‘Open the door for us!’ “But he replied, ‘I tell you the truth, I don’t know you.’ Jesus makes a pretty clear point: Keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour. The kingdom of heaven… that is, the day when you find yourself standing before God Almighty, the events of that majestic day will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five are prepared for that feast because they have the one thing necessary: the oil. Five are forever locked outside. What makes five virgins foolish is their actions. They had information that the groom was coming, but they chose not to react to it. They chose to disregard its significance. And it was not until the door was shut that they realized time had run out. It’s a very stern warning—that this kind of foolishness still exists in this world today. It happens when you think Jesus cannot possibly show up in your life. When you think there’s still more time to straighten yourself out with God later. That you have time to skip worship. That you can stop reading and better knowing your Bible. That you can embrace the God-less desires and pleasures of this life and give it all up when you’re old and near death. It’s foolish to think that you can run off to buy more oil later, that there will always be more time to prepare for eternity later. It’s foolish to point at some human achievement and to rely that for entering the feast. To point at your church membership and say, “Well, my name’s in the book. That’s good enough, right?” It’s foolish to point out at your baptism, marriage, and [intentions to] burial— and consider them as some sort of trophy of what you have done for God. It’s foolish to think that the “oil” God is looking for is not faith in him, but rather believing all God wants you to do is fulfill some sort of “religious-action-checklist.” It’s foolish to change Jesus’ warning into something less than a warning (as though Jesus is not really serious about locking the five virgins out of the feast). It’s foolish to say: “I already believe in God. I don’t need to be in church.” It’s foolish to be a Christian who declares an undying love for Jesus, but does not feel a compulsion to pour out that love in word and song. Jesus makes it so clear: he will return. If you feel there is more time to change your heart, to worship more frequently, to start reading devotions later, to chase out all selfish love, then be ready to hear the most awful sentence ever spoken: I do not know you. My friends, Jesus gives this warning, not to scare you, not to leave you terrified about standing before him; he gives this warning so that you may Be Ready with Hearts Full of Faith to meet the Bridegroom. Your Jesus, your Bridegroom, has already prepared this wedding feast. He has already marched off to the cross because he knows this world has an end. In fact, for that reason he marches to the cross for you. His heart remains perfectly wise each day for your Last Day. Never once does Jesus shrug off the command to worship God. Never does Jesus rest on his knowledge, claiming he knows the Bible “good enough.” Never once does he take his eyes off of his heavenly home. Instead, each step taken is another step taken to make you his bride. By his death on the cross he opens heaven’s doors. He leaves the grave and into heaven in order to prepare heaven’s great feast. I’m not sure how much clearer Jesus needs to make it: He will come again. He makes this abundantly clears so that you may Be Ready with a Heart Full of Faith to meet the Bridegroom. Be Ready with a Heart Full of Faith you will enter the wedding feast. With a heart trusting in the saving work of Jesus, this is what you get to live for: you get to live expecting to enter that heavenly feast. Through baptism he wrote your name on the party-list. Every single time you sin, he points you back to your baptism: “Remember how I washed away your sins? It means you’re forgiven.” In Holy Communion, Jesus lays a hand on your shoulder, saying: “My body and blood was shed for your eternal benefit. I have removed and lifted off what you have done. Do not worry that you will be locked out. You will enter through heaven’s door.” Remember God’s forgiveness attached to your baptism. Remember Jesus’ assurance of forgiveness in the Lord’s Supper. He sets your sights on entering the feast. Continue growing in the Word of God. Those wise virgins were not content to have enough oil; they brought more than enough so that no shortage would rip away their faith. Never be content to know “just enough” of the Bible; strengthen your understanding of the Bible’s teachings so that doubts, worries, fears, and unanswered questions do not rip away your faith. Learn God’s answers to challenges, to sickness, to modern-day lifestyles, to marriage. Make worship a priority and share what you hear in this place among your family and friends throughout the week. Be Ready with a Heart Full of Faith to enter the wedding feast. Be Ready with a Heart Full of Faith to enter the wedding feast as believers who lived before you have done. Your spouse. Your child. Your dear friend. Your parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles— those who believed that Jesus came for them—are gathered in that wedding feast. Their faith continued burning bright as they heard again and again: Jesus removes guilt and has removed it all! They nestled in the arms of God, who through baptismal waters said, “I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine” (Isaiah 43:1). Their faith continued burning bright as they looked forward to entering that great wedding feast. Finally, when their life drew to a close, they saw the door opened and followed their Bridegroom in. Be Ready with a Heart Full of Faith to meet the Bridegroom. For reasons known only to God and for reasons to continue working all things for your eternal good, God the Father does not reveal the final date of this world’s existence. Even if you knew the exact day and precise hour of Jesus’ return, you are still not guaranteed to reach it. You do not know how many years are given to you. You do not know how many more days this world has. What you do know is: (1) Jesus will come again. (2) All people will stand before him. (3) He will judge the living and the dead. Clinging to the saving work of Jesus makes you ready to enter the wedding feast. Gain real wisdom for your life by taking Jesus’ warning to heart. Be Ready with a Heart Full of Faith to meet the Bridegroom and to enter the wedding feast.
for any sign of her slim, smooth cellphone. She finds it. Grabs it. Looks down. No service. Head slowly twists over her right shoulder and catches a glimpse of her grey SUV. Her other hand clenches the key. One last breath. Go! Sprint! Hurry! Crashes into the car door. Opens it. Slams it shut. Key thrust into the ignition. Turns. Nothing. Turns again. *Click.* Nothing. Her eyes immediately lock onto the cabin. That’s her escape. Open the car door. Left foot out. Go! Hurry! Out of the car. Dashing towards the front door— when, suddenly, behind her, leaves rustle. He’s here! He’s moving faster. Faster. Faster— after you! She scrambles onto the porch. Kicks open the door. Turns. Slams it shut. Clicks the deadbolt. Leans against it. Silence. Nothing. Quiet. No, wait! The window! He’s at the window staring right at her!
A bell rings. The director shouts: “Cut!” The terrifying creep at the window relaxes. He pops out from behind the Hollywood set and high-fives the girl, who is now smiling at the door. It’s just a movie. That means, this terrifying scene of killer chasing girl is not real. That means, the girl is not really scared; she’s just pretending. That means, the creep is not really a murderer; he’s just acting. Have you ever considered that? You watch those previews of horror movies on television. Maybe they even frighten you (and you do not want to watch that movie). Yet, the terrifying figures are just actors. The villain wears makeup. He has a family, wife, and kids. At the end of his filming session, he will hop into a car, drive to the suburbs, enter his one-story ranch house, and sleep in a warm, cozy bed. He celebrates Christmas and hands out presents to his loved ones. He has friends, dinner parties, and plays games. Look behind the Hollywood sets and you see an entirely different life. You see what is real. But do you see what is real about this life? So often, it appears God has lost all control over his creation. Violence strips away safety. Natural disasters destroy life. Oppression and injustice stokes anger. Is this really what life is all about— forever sitting under the veil of misery? God pulls back the curtain so that you can Look Behind Life’s Scenes and see what’s really going on. See the Ancient of Days come. Watch the Ancient of Days judge. You get to Look Behind Life’s Scenes through the eyes of Daniel. Daniel, before he’s ever thrown in the lion’s den, lies on his bed one night, relaxing in his upstairs room— a room that is not his own. Not his own because he’s a captured man. The stronger, more powerful nation of Babylon had come and choked off his home nation’s food supply. Its army marched through the city walls and raided God’s temple, stealing the offerings of gold, the candle-stands, the furniture— everything. Then they turned on the people. Wise men, politicians, teachers, educators are arrested. Ropes bind their wrists, chains shackle their feet, and soldiers shove them towards a new land, with a new culture, with a new religion, with a new government, and into an entirely new way of life. Daniel has no other choice but to live under orders of another king. This Babylonian captivity feels real, as in: God cannot help Daniel now. This is the way life will be: a new king, new oppression, new persecution against his beliefs. What a future to look forward to! Yet, Daniel falls asleep and falls into a dream. Through that dream God pulls back the veil, showing Daniel what is going on behind the scenes. It is as though God pushes ‘PLAY’ on the movie of world history. Daniel watches oceans, enormous bodies of water churned up by powerful winds, massive waves slap into each other. Suddenly, four beasts rise up from the raging torrents, reaching into the heavens like skyscrapers. One beast, like a ferocious lion with four wings. Another, an enormous bear gnawing on three meaty ribs. Still another, a leopard dashing around the world with four wings and four heads. Terrifying unsettling images playing before him, but images that reveal what will soon happen. Ferocious nation after nation will rise in power. Mighty armies swiftly devour empire after empire. Multiple heads of state rise to power, governing, ruling. Harsh laws oppress innocent people. And just when it doesn’t seem like it could get any worse, a final beast rises up, a beast with iron teeth, ten horns, and a little horn with human eyes and a boastful mouth. That boastful horn tries to shout over God’s voice. That horn pretends to be a leader in God’s church, but shouts lies and leads many people into false teaching and false beliefs. What a sight Daniel sees! It looks like his world is spinning chaotically out of control—and God has no power to intervene. Like life now? You and I live in this world— a world you can see and touch. You and I live in this nation, with a government you can see and touch. You and I live with people— people you can see and touch. And maybe your world appears frightening, like a beast with iron teeth seeking to devour you. You see a world that praises sexual immorality, calling once-shameful-behaviors “normal,” “acceptable,” and “tolerable.” Some within your government consider your personal beliefs on sexuality and pro-life matters to be an infringement on the First Amendment. The nightly news replays a rented Home Depot truck plowing over streams of innocent people strolling through a park; it speaks of a maniac raining down bullets on tens of thousands of Las Vegas concert-goers. You hear reports of powerful people who violate people’s personal boundaries. False teachers stream out into your neighborhoods, sharing teachings that do not come from Scripture. You see real tragedy. You see violence spreading. You see anger and hatred march through city streets. How is God possibly in control? Or, do you not worry about that anymore? Has your conscience been lulled to sleep by the shouts: “Peace and safety!” (1 Thessalonians 5:3) After all, trouble has existed in this world ever since Adam and Eve brought sin into this world. After a while, tragedy, heartache, evil can just seem normal. People live together outside of marriage and so you shrug off God’s desire for marriage. Your friends get drunk, and it doesn’t really look too bad. Society grows increasingly God-less. They like God, but do not want to hear God’s guidance on life issues, and so you try to keep God in church and out of your home life. It may feel like that terrifying beast with iron teeth and God-less horn is not really that dangerous. It will not hurt you spiritually. But thrones were set in place. Yes, just when it that it appears life will continue on with heartache and sorrow, thrones were set in place. Just when it feels like God is not going to show up during your lifetime, thrones were set in place. God suddenly rips back the curtain before your eyes and shows you what is going on behind life’s scenes. God is still in control. God is still watching. He always has been because God is the Ancient of Days. “Ancient” because God the Father has been around before time began. “Days” because he will remain well after your final breath. The Ancient of Days will come. Understand this is not a wish, but rather God telling you what will happen. Thrones were set in place. The Ancient of Days took his seat. Past tense verbs. God speaks as though the world’s last day has already happened. Look Behind Life’s Scenes. See the Ancient of Days come and bring life to a sudden halt. And continue Looking Behind Life’s Scenes because the Ancient of Days will judge. Yes, judge. You confess every Sunday: Jesus will come to judge the living and the dead. Everyone who has ever lived, those who live now, those who will live will be brought before his flaming throne of fire. You, who live now, will one day stand before the Ancient of Days. The Ancient One who kept record of the times you shrugged off your faith for the sake of convenience. He sees the times you, as a child, couldn’t wait to get out of this church and away from this [so-called] boring worship. He sees the times you, as a parent, turned a blind eye to your child in your house who willfully skip time with God. He sees the times you, as a spouse, threw a tantrum to get your way. He sees the times you, as a single person, acted as if God has no bearing in your life. The Ancient of Days has seen it all. He is perfectly pure— his white clothes and hair reveal that he is without fault. He holds the standard of his holy Ten Commands and measures your life against them. Fire rips out from his throne—a fire not to destroy you, but to devour every excuse you (and I) want to make for our actions. With every excuse burned away, there’s nothing left but to stand loaded with our guilt. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him— those angels serving the God you (and I) are expected to serve with undivided heart. The court was seated, and the books were opened. Are you still Looking Behind Life’s Scenes? Do you understand what God is showing you here in Daniel? Life as you know it will reach an end. You may live out your years— living until you fall asleep in death. Life may end suddenly unexpected— in a car crash, a heart attack, cancer, accident. As you stand before the Ancient of Days, as you watch him judge, as you watch him open up the book on your life, what will he find? He will see your every single failure wiped away with the blood of Jesus. Jesus carries your (and my) book of sin to the cross. The Holy One of God cancels out each crime with his own blameless life. With his own blood as ink Jesus writes your name into God’s book of life. When the court was seated, and the books were opened, what will the Ancient of Days see? Your name in the book of life. How will he judge? He will declare the sentence Jesus has won for you: “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.” (Matthew 25:34) My dear friends, pay attention to the words you speak in the Nicene and Apostles’ Creed. Jesus will come to judge the living and the dead. God is telling you what will happen. God is pulling back the curtain of this life so that you may Look Behind Life’s Scenes and prepare yourselves for that Final Day. Notice where you stand in world history. Beasts have come and gone; kingdoms have risen and fallen. Kings have reigned, only to lose their kingdom. Jesus has been born, suffered, died, buried, and risen again. What’s left? This. Here. The Ancient of Days coming. The Ancient of Days judging. Look Behind Life’s Scenes and see what’s really going on. See the Ancient of Days come. Watch the Ancient of Days judge.
bulletin and hymnal in lap, and not just mulling around with smartphone in hand? Why? Because you trust the promises made. A majority agreed to worship on Sunday mornings at 9:00am [at Harrison; 11:00am, Clare]. You asked your Pastor to prepare a Bible-based message and lead worship. So, you arrived at the right time at the right place for the purpose of praising God.
That takes faith, does it not? You trust that these events are going to happen. You expect to arrive on site and find a church building at this address. You expect to walk up to the front door, reach out, tug the handle, and the door will open (and not remain locked). You expect to sit down— not in an empty building, but gathered with your fellow Christians. You trust Pastor will be here to lead worship and share a carefully prepared (and thoughtful) message. You trust the promise made. That takes faith. But… you could doubt those promises. Then what would happen? What if you did not believe we worship on Sunday mornings? What if you doubted that we gather at 9:00am [or 11:00am]? What if you did not think your Pastor would lead worship? What would happen? You would rely only on your thoughts and feelings! You could only find assurance in you— and what you felt would happen! Faith trusts promises. Faith even trusts the promises of God— trusting that he will accomplish what he says he will do. Placing your faith on anything other than the Word of God will leave you floundering in the heaving waves of emotional despair. Faith Anchors You to the completed work of Jesus and to the certain promises of God. Because that’s what anchors do; anchors keep objects in place. Anchors keep boats from drifting across the ocean. Anchors keep your balloon from floating into the sky. Anchors keep your tent from tumbling away in the wind. Anchors keep your emotions, your fears, your worries fastened to the unchanging, guaranteed promises of God. Just look at our reading, and recognize what God uses to anchor faith. After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision. “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” What could ever make Abraham afraid? Just consider everything he has! Sheep, goats, steer swarm as far as the eye can see (and, not to mention, Abraham owns every single acre of this land). Maids rush in with dinner and out with dishes; in with clothing and out with laundry; servants feed cattle, pay bills, stand guard, tend to any need you might possibly have. Gunnysacks jingle with gold and jewels. Abraham even has an army— 318 fierce fighters. Kings respect him (Genesis 14:21-24). God’s priest blesses him (14:18-20). What could Abraham possibly worry about? Something out of his control. “O Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.” But God promised! Everything moving around Abraham would belong to his child! (12:7; 13:14-17). No, not his head servant— but his own flesh and blood! Abraham must have a son! But God made that promise 10 years ago. And nine months had turned into twelve months, one year becomes two years, two grows to five, five to ten… and he’s still waiting; he’s still waiting for God to place that baby into the crook of his arm. And it’s not the waiting that’s the difficult part. Each passing year means Abraham is another year older. Abraham is 85-years-old. And his wife? She’s 75-years-old. “God, I’m waiting. God, I’m not getting any younger. God, human biology rules out having children. God, where’s this promised child?” Because you do not see God keeping his promise, do you? That’s the difficult thing about faith, is it not? Faith trusts something not seen. Faith considers the unseen promise as already having been kept. Faith is certain your Pastor will lead worship that takes place on Sunday mornings at 9:00am [11:00am]. Faith considers promises as good as done. And yet, when you see real problems with your own eyes, it often feels that those problems are the real thing— and the promise is just an empty wish. God promises to send angels to protect you (Psalm 91:11), but you get hurt, you’re sick, you have cancer. You see pain; you do not see protection. God promises to forgive you (Matthew 18:18), but you still feel guilt, shame, fear that you’re going to hell. You feel guilty; you do not feel forgiven. God promises to work things for your good, but you don’t see “good” (Romans 8:28). Loved ones die too soon. Living as a Christian in 2017 is not exactly popular. You’re still sad, depressed; you feel empty— and you really don’t know why. God makes promises, but you do not see answers. And if you do not see answers, then who can you trust? Yourself, right? Abraham wants a child. He waits. No child. So, he has a child with his maidservant— and rejoices; he has an heir! (Genesis 16:1-4) You want safety, so trust your medical choices without praying at all. You feel guilty, so you try to feel saved by relying on how good of a person you are. If you consider God untrustworthy, you will place faith in yourself. That means, you rely on your own decisions. You trust you abilities to get healthier. You trust that you made some decision to accept Jesus as Savior. You trust that God does not make things work for your good. You doubt God. You trust yourself. If you trust yourself, then you will push God away. Do you see how God strengthens faith? It shows up twice in our reading: [T]he word of the Lord came to him. That’s it! God does not snap his fingers, and *poof* a child drops from the sky. No thunderous guarantee: “Abraham, this will happen on November 18th!” God simply speaks; God reveals what will happen. Eliezer will not be your heir. You will have a son coming from your own body. God places Abraham’s attention on his unchanging Word. Abraham believed the Lord. It’s more than Abraham believing that God exists. Faith is not that God is “somewhere out there.” No, faith grasped God’s promise. Abraham would have a Son. That Son would be great. That Son would be the Savior of the world. Yes, Abram never saw Jesus with his very own eyes. Yet, his faith had eyes. With the eyes of faith, Abraham watched Mary’s Son stretched out on a cross because he [Abraham] doubted God. Abraham raised his eyes to the heavens, certain that God’s Son would come down and bring him home. He trusted God’s promise was as good as done. Faith Anchors You to the completed work of Jesus. There may be times you are tossed about by your emotions. There may be times you do not feel saved. There may be times you want certainty that God is for you. In those troubling times, God speaks to you. Look to God’s Word and see your Savior. See the One who died to remove your doubts. See the One whose blood covers over fears. See the One crucified for you and etches your name into heaven’s book. Faith Anchors You to the completed work of Jesus. That’s why God could bolster Abraham’s faith with his Word: “Do not be afraid, Abram, I haven’t forgotten about you. Don’t be afraid Abraham, you will have a son. Don’t be afraid Abraham, your son will lead to Jesus. Don’t be afraid Abraham, I am your shield, your very great reward.” You can plug your name in here too. “Don’t be afraid, Andy… Bob… Sue… Tom… Don’t be afraid because that Christmas-day baby is still your Savior.” You may not have seen Jesus with your own eyes, but your faith clings to him. When you’re terrified over sins, look to the cross; hear Jesus say “I paid for them.” When you feel that you can never be forgiven, that God cannot possibly love someone like you, look to Jesus who says: “If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven” (John 20:23). If you feel that God has abandoned you, listen to the God who says: “I have called you by name. You are mine” (Isaiah 43:1). God is your shield—and notice the verb. Present tense means he remains your defense today. That bronze shield wards off the devil’s temptations to doubt that you are anything less than a possession of God. Your God still comes to you with his Word and Sacraments to strengthen and grow faith. After all, your faith is a living thing— just like a houseplant. What happens if you stop watering a plant? It dies, right? What happens if you do water it? It lives—and more than that, plants grow and spread and flower. Plants are living things; they are not static, they do not remain one size forever. Your faith is not static; it does not remain one size forever. It either grows or it shrivels. God doesn’t water you, he feeds you with his Word. That’s why it is important to be in worship and hear his Word. That’s why it is important to remember your baptism. That’s why it is important to receive the Lord’s Supper. God is strengthening your faith with these tools. God is teaching you more about what he has done for you. God is combating the fears in your life. He is answering questions you may have. The more you stay away from the Word, the more you forget. The more you stay away from the Word, the more you will rely on your own decisions. The more you remain in the Word the more you know who your God is— and what he has done. The more you remember your baptism, the more you realize that you have done nothing to save yourself. If you want to feel saved, then stop probing your emotions. See how God used water and a promise to adopt you as his child (Titus 3:4-7). The more you receive the Lord’s Supper, you again hear him say: “Forgiven! Forgiven! Forgiven! I have given you the strength to say “No” to sin. You no longer live to gratify whatever feels pleasurable to you. You live to serve me. Imitate my patience, kindness, and love.” God remains your shield who uses Word and sacrament to defend you against the devil’s accusations. God is your very great reward.” Notice the verb: “Is.” Present tense. God constantly remains your priceless possession. Abraham has all this stuff— 318 fighting men, a large family, many servants, thousands of cattle, and a pile of wealth —and yet none of it compares to an ounce of what God gives him. All the stuff you have cannot even bring you one step closer to God, but the blood of Jesus can. And by faith you have that blood purifying and cleansing you (1 John 1:9). God is your very great reward. He is the only thing you get to take out of this life and into the life to come. He’s the one who fills you with real comfort in a world with lots of trouble in it. He’s the only thing that assures you: “Everything is ok,” even when there’s hurricanes, earthquakes, and shootings. Jesus has already won. Faith Anchors You to the certain promises of God. Over these past two weeks we have looked at “What it means to be a Lutheran.” Martin Luther lived in a time where pastors taught him: “The more you do, the more you will be saved.” Yet, he stood on Scripture— where God tells you himself: You are saved by grace. Jesus makes the payment God demands for sin. This payment is made for your benefit— without you asking, seeking, or deserving it. God hands you eternal life as a gift— a free present! As you stand on Scripture, you see that you are saved by grace, and that grace enters your heart through. Place your trust in what God has done for you and not on how you feel. Take God at his Word. Faith Anchors You to the completed work of Jesus and to the certain promises of God.
Didn’t fill it out? Didn’t scratch off your sweepstakes ticket, reveal the matching magic numbers, tuck it into the self-addressed envelope, and send it back? To be honest, I think I received the letter, and filed it away in the paper shredder. Maybe you shrugged off the news too.
That’s an interesting thing, isn’t it? Junk mail and television ads use big, bright red print: “FREE!”— and that magnificent word is almost automatically tossed aside. In America we have this saying: “Nothing is free.” You expect some catch, some condition that you must meet in order to get something— which then, in reality, no longer makes something truly “free.” Even television infomercials offer to double your purchase for “free.” Yet, you still have to pay an additional $10.00 for shipping and handling— hardly what I would call “free.” So, when you hear: [I]t is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, there may be a part of you that leans forward, intently waiting: “and… what’s the catch? What do you expect me to do?” God’s gift of complete forgiveness, wiping away every single guilty stain, may sound too good to be true. Standing on Scripture teaches you to Rely on Grace! Because grace is God’s saving gift and grace unleashes life to the fullest. Look at our reading from Ephesians, chapter 2. Verses 4-5 define what “grace” means and how it looks. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. So, what does “grace” mean? God says it: his great love for us. In English we have only one word for love. You can say you “love” a hamburger, “love” your friend, and “love” your spouse. The way you are using the word “love” in each of those statements is a little different. So, you have to understand the context in order to know what type of “love” is being shown to a hamburger, your friend, and your spouse. The Greek language uses three different words for “love”— and this part of the Bible in written in Greek. One word for “love” is (1) eros [ἔρως]— a romantic love between husband and wife. Another word is (2) phileo [φιλέω]— a friendship love. The other word is (3) agape [ἀγάπη]— which describes loving someone even when they do not deserve it. So, when God says: “[I have] great love for you,” he is not describing a physical romantic attraction to you. He does not merely call himself your “friend.” He says: “You did not— and never did— deserve my affection. It was I who chose to love you first.” (1 John 4:19). That is grace. God chooses to love you, even when you (and I) gave him absolutely no reason to do so. Sound too good be true? In America, nothing is “free;” you always expect some condition to good news. In our lives, love is never “free;” you always expect some condition for love. If you are nice to me, then I will be nice to you. If you give me some money, then I will consider you generous. If you are not nice to me, then I will be rude to you. If you are not generous, then I consider you stingy and greedy. So often we expect this condition for love: If you give me a reason, then I will love you. How easily we can act as though God deals with us in this very same way! That God is looking for something from you in order for him to love you. Your mind cannot shake off the shame from years ago when you made yourself a fool in front of friends. Your secret was so well hidden, but then someone found out what you really daydream about— and you feel so horrible. Regret fills your heart— you could have been a father who was there for his kids, or a mother who showed more love, or a child who could have been more respectful. That guilt can absolutely crush you, and it can spontaneously haunt you— and, boy, how you want to make it go away. So, you try to find a reason God should want to love you; you make love conditional. If you change your habits, then God will remove the rest of your guilt. If you convince yourself that you are not really all that shamefully bad, then God must think of you as good too! If you are an absent father or a overbearing mother, then make it up— be there for your adult children, love your grandchildren— and that must undo your past. If you give God a reason to love you, then he must love you! A part of you may feel that grace is too good to be true— that God must love you because of something you have done. But that’s not true. God says: “You were dead in transgressions.” All people are born spiritually dead. Dead people cannot move. Spiritually dead people cannot earn or choose God’s love. They are lifeless. You and I are born without the ability or power to earn or choose God’s love. And so, God chooses to deal with you in grace— love which you (and I) do not deserve! Verses 8-9 make that explicitly clear: For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. God chooses to have mercy on you. God has compassion and chooses to send his one and only Son into the world. God chooses to hang his perfect Son on the cross. God chooses to heap on Jesus the punishment for your shame, your foolish past, your failure to live up to your calling as father, mother, or child. Jesus is the One is not loved. He is the One forsaken by God. He is the One seized with physical pain— aching joints, nails piercing his hands, blood gushing out, lightheadedness, life draining out. Jesus is the proof of God’s undeserved love for you. Jesus takes what you (and I) deserve and removes your guilt from the sight of God. Sound too good to be true? Yes, it does— but that’s why God calls it “grace.” He does not give you (and me) what we expect. In fact, God calls grace a gift! And you know what a gift is, right? After all, why do you receive presents for your birthday? Because you didn’t really do anything to deserve presents, right? You did not get a new dirt bike because you chose to be conceived (as though your family celebrates your decision to enter their life). A friend did not give you a new tablet because you picked the day you would enter this world. You did not receive a new Barbie doll because you behaved so well over the past year. So then, why do you get presents for your birthday? Because, in reality, you didn’t do anything to earn them. That’s the point, right?! For something to truly be a “gift” it means you receive something without conditions attached. God hands you the perfect life of Jesus as a gift— no conditions, no strings attached! When you worry about how you stand before God, Rely on Grace! God deals with you in love which you (and I) do not deserve. That is called “grace,” and It is God’s gift to you. And It unleashes life to the fullest. Look at verses 6 and 7; see your past, your present, and your future. God raised [you] up with Christ. In the past— God raised Jesus from the dead, and Jesus lives anew— exalted above any earthly leader and any devilish enemy (Ephesians 1:20-21). In the past— God raised you up out the waters of baptism— creating spiritual life in your heart, creating a new way of life for you. When you came to faith, God applies the saving work of Jesus to you specifically. You own it, you possess it, and you keep holding onto it. It’s similar to a high school diploma. You received it once. You still have it. You will always carry the title: “High-School-Graduate.” You came to faith. You still have faith. With faith in your heart, you will carry the title: “Believer.” What was started so long ago has given you this new life as a child belonging to God. And as if that’s not enough, God seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus. Notice that verb: He seated you. Past tense, the action’s already done. Isn’t that amazing? In God’s eyes you living with him in heaven is already a completed fact; it’s as good as done. God already looks to the future and sees you seated around banquet table in heaven! You have this privilege because of God’s grace. And as if that’s enough, verse 7 says: in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. In the coming ages-- that can refer to two different time-eras, but the understanding remains the same. (1) It can refer to the very moment Jesus burst out of the Easter-day-tomb. Everyone from Easter day to the end of time are able to see how high and deep and wide and long God’s love is. Isn’t that true? You and I living in 2017 still recognize just how powerful God’s grace is. Even though Jesus rose from the dead 2,000 years ago, he still wipes clean your slate against him. Nowhere does he say: “I’m done with you. You have sinned too much. Stop coming to church. Stop bringing your confession to me. I don’t want it.” He does not treat you in this way. God says: “My grace hasn’t worn out over the past 2,000 years.” God continually puts a hand on your shoulder and says, “I can do more than you have ever done against me.” No matter how horrific your act, no matter how shameful your secret, no matter what pet sin you keep stumbling into, God still showers you with the incomparable riches of forgiveness. Those coming ages (2) could refer to the moment you come to faith— from that point to the ages to come, to the years ahead in your life— you still see God’s grace. God does not treat you and me as our sins deserve. If you and I received what we deserved, then life would literally be hell on earth. Yet, God still forgives you— every single day. You do not have to fear that your hospital stay came as a result of something you did. Your car did not break down because God is angry at you. He does not seek revenge for your foolishness. God allows you to sit and stand in his presence today and hear of his love for you. He is not an adversary, he’s not a mean foe, he’s your heavenly Father. Grace unleashes a new way of life—a life without fear or distress, a life confident of how God sees you! Being “Lutheran” means you Rely on Grace. Nowhere does God teach that you must earn his love. Nowhere does God teach that you must choose to bring his love in your heart. You and I contribute nothing because Jesus has done all of it. God chooses to give you Jesus. God chooses to use Jesus to wipe your heart clean from guilt. God chooses to give you eternal life as a free gift— no conditions attached! The more you recognize that you cannot save yourself, the more you treasure just how much God has loved you. Sound too good to be true? Yes! Yes, it does! …But that is why God calls it “grace.” God deals with you in undeserved love. Rely on Grace! Because grace is God’s saving gift and grace unleashes life to the fullest.
those pages or that book entirely. In some cases, nothing is left in a book but footnotes— footnotes that no one really reads. Eventually books are tossed out altogether, thrown into piles and left for firemen to arrive and burn.
You can’t read a book like that and not find a hidden message. For many the book serves as a warning against government censorship. Many fear the government may begin limiting freedom of speech until society can no longer freely address so-called controversial topics. Eventually, the government controls not only your words, but also your thoughts on certain issues. Except that’s not what Fahrenheit 451 is about. The author, Ray Bradbury, went on record to say that his book is “a story about how television destroys interest in reading literature.” (http://www.laweekly.com/news/ray-bradbury-fahrenheit-451-misinterpreted-2149125) Already in 1953, Bradbury feared people would grow so addicted to television that they would stop reading books. When Bradbury shared this interpretation at a lecture at the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA), students protested. They insisted that he was wrong. They told him, the author, that his book only references government censorship. Can you imagine what it must feel like when someone tells you, the author of your own book, that you have it all wrong? More than that, if you reject the author’s interpretation, it means that you have injected a new message into that book—a message never there to begin with. You are believing a message that does not come from the author. You are believing a message that you created. And if you believe a message you created, then you will receive an entirely different outcome than what the author ever intended. When it comes to what you believe about your status before God, look to what God, the divine Author, so clearly reveals. Stand on Scripture. Find God’s heart revealed. Gain certain confidence. You have heard me say it before: You and I live in a postmodern society. That means society teaches there is no absolute truth; there is no set standard of what is universally “right” and what is universally “wrong.” So, if I choose to wear a dress today, you cannot tell me that my clothing style is wrong. By you insisting that I change, you have now created a fixed truth that there is certain clothing reserved only for men and certain clothing reserved only for women. Yet, to me and my thinking, I may feel that dresses are not exclusive only to women or men. If I believe one thing about dresses, then that becomes a truth by which I will live. If you believe dresses do not belong on men, then that is a truth by which you live. We have two differing truths, but two differing truths that are both valid and equal because we feel strongly about our beliefs. Your society feels truth is constantly changing and truth changes based on a person’s individual beliefs. If you feel something is true, then it must be true— and no one can tell you that you are wrong. So, if you feel God will let you into heaven because you are a good, moral person, then this must be true. God must let you into heaven because you think this is correct. Or you may feel that God will give you eternal life because you are sincere in your beliefs— you sit in a church building, you listen to the Pastor, you are dedicated to behaving like a churchy-person. If you feel this is what God looks for in a person, then you must be right; sincerity in religious practice will give you eternal life. Or, you may cling to a tightly-held belief— even if it contradicts what God says. If you do not want to be judged for your lifestyle, then simply say, “I do not think God would judge me.” Therefore, you would believe that God accepts the way you live. If you want God to bring all people to heaven, then say: “I feel God will save everyone.” Your feeling, then, is considered true. If you want to skip worship, then simply state: “I think God knows why I’m sleeping in and he doesn’t care.” You can feel better about your life because you just said God doesn’t care. This is how postmodern thinking not only shapes your civilian life, but also how it can affect our views towards Scripture. We begin telling God, the divine Author, that he has it all wrong! Yet, here’s the question: How do you know if your personal beliefs are right? A roomful of students told Ray Bradbury that his interpretation of his own book was wrong! Yet, Bradbury revealed an undeniable truth: He is the author. As the author, he put down his intentions in writing. Students may believe what they want, but their beliefs cannot change the purpose of his book. When it comes to Scripture, and to its teachings, God reveals an undeniable: He is the Author. You may want God to condone your lifestyle, but God has still said: “Be perfect like me” (Matthew 5:48). You may feel that God loves you because you are a good person and because you are here today, but God still says: “All have sinned and all fall short of reaching heaven with me” (Romans 3:23). If you try to make up reasons as to why God forgives you, you may feel they are right, but God will still call them “wrong.” Clinging to your own personal belief— no matter how much you want to believe it is true— can still leave you standing apart from God forever. A monk named Martin Luther dreaded that. He was terrified that God hated him— because he knew the Bible clearly teaches: God punishes sin— and he was a sinner. Luther never knew how to remove that guilt. His priest told him to confess his sins, to pray, to beat himself, to stare at bones of dead church leaders, to pay money, to do good things, to give up money— do all these things and his guilt would diminish. It did not. Luther never knew how to remove that guilt. Making up solutions never fills you with peace. Trying to do more good than bad does not erase the bad you did do. How do you remove guilt? How can you be sure you can go to heaven? Stand on Scripture and find God’s heart revealed. Our reading says: For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last. How do you remove feelings of guilt? How can you fill your heart with peace? How can you know for sure that you will enter heaven? God says, “Look in the gospel.” The word “gospel” means “good news.” The “good news” is that Jesus rescues you from the consequences of your actions. You will never discover this truth by digging into your emotions. You will never recognize this truth by trying to live as a perfect person. You will only find this truth in Scripture because only in the Bible is a righteousness from God revealed. God reveals to you this one chief truth: Jesus lives a “right” life. Jesus never calls the Bible a book of lies. Every time someone asks him to “prove” his teachings, he points to Scripture. When he needs comfort or guidance, he embraces what God clearly says. Jesus lives a “right” life. Even though Jesus lives the “right” life God demands, Jesus still dies on the cross. He steps into your place, is treated harshly by God, and suffers so that you never will. When it comes to understanding why God forgives you, Stand on Scripture and you find God say: “I forgive you because Jesus paid your punishment. Stand on Scripture and you will find God’s heart revealed. As you see what God so clearly says, you will gain certain confidence. Look again to our verse: I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes… This gospel, this good news that Jesus rescued you from the hellish effects of sin, is not just a happy message that you read in a newspaper and then throw away. This news is powerfully life-changing— literally. In the Greek, the word for “power” (δύναμις) is where we get our word “dynamite. That little phrase: “it is the power of God” says Scripture works like dynamite. You read and hear Scripture, and Scripture blasts open your heart to trust that only Jesus makes you “right” before God. When it comes to understanding what you believe, Stand on Scripture. Point to what God, the divine Author, has so clearly said. Point to his clear words which tell that Jesus lived, died, and rose for you! When you Stand on Scripture you will always be certain of how God sees you. You will always know that Jesus has done enough to bring you into heaven. For a man like Martin Luther, he Stood on Scripture for his confidence of eternal life. He did not try to do things to earn God’s forgiveness. He did not try to feel forgiven. He pointed at God’s unbreakable truth. This is what it means to be a Lutheran. Like Luther, when wonder how you stand before God, you Stand on Scripture. Stand on Scripture when you are crushed by guilt and gain certain confidence. In Scripture God says: “I forgive you” (1 John 4:19). He does not say that you must “feel” forgiven— as though your emotions must convince you that all is well between you and God. He does not say that you must earn his forgiveness— that you must do more good than bad. Rather, God points you to the cross and asks: What happened there? Jesus died. That’s a fact, a historical event. Why did Jesus die? Scripture says that he dies as you Substitute, stepping into the punishment you deserved (Isaiah 53). Since Jesus died in your place, it means you do not die forever. You are forgiven— not because you feel this to be true, but because God says it is true (2 Corinthians 5:21) Scripture has that dynamite power to blast away doubts and fears about eternity. Stand on Scripture and gain certain confidence when you confront various ideas about God. Human beings always have and always will create new thoughts about how God should act. Someone may think all religions lead to the same God. Yet, those beliefs, as sincere as they are, are not capable of making people right with God. Someone may feel good works are enough to enter heaven, but that person cannot force God to agree with him. Only Scripture has the ability to free your soul from the pits of despair and to fill you with peace. Scripture has that dynamite power to blast away lies about God. Stand on Scripture and gain certain confidence forever. As you get older, you may ask yourself: “Will God really forgive me?” You may feel that God is lying to you. You may think God wants something more from you. Point to Scripture, stand on what God has so clearly said. God made a specific promise to you— and God will never break that promise. Scripture has that dynamite power to blast away fears that God has hidden something from you. When you Stand on Scripture you will never be wrong. Yes, a postmodern world may disagree with God’s truth. Yet, the fact remains: God is the divine Author. He has revealed his intentions about sin and forgiveness, heaven and hell in Scripture. Scripture reveals God’s heart— the heart which moved him to send a Savior from sin. Scripture reveals the completed action: Jesus died for your benefit. Scripture reveals God’s feelings towards you so that you may have certain confidence in an ever-changing world. When it comes to matters of what you believe about your status before God, look to what God, the divine Author, so clearly reveals. Stand on Scripture. Find God’s heart revealed. Gain certain confidence.
But what does that mean? … the Holy Christian Church? …the communion of saints? You do notice that “Holy Christian Church” is capitalized, right? (And just in case you’re wondering, that’s not a typo in the hymnal.) Why is this “C”hurch capitalized? What is meant by the expression “Holy Christian Church?” And what is this “communion of saints?” More importantly, what do these words have to do with you?
After all, you are in Isaiah’s prophecy. Isaiah is not describing some random group of people in some random land in some random era. Even though Isaiah lives 700 years before the birth of Christ, he sees you, gathered here, in Clare & Harrison, Michigan, worshipping your God, serving him, and praising his name. Dig into our reading again. See where you fit in. Rediscover what you, as God’s child, are equipped to do. God Reveals His Salvation to make foreigners his citizens and to motivate service for him. It starts with that order. Before you can ever begin reflecting on what you can do to serve God, you must start by recognizing why you can serve God at all. Your service all starts with the Lord. Literally— verse 1 begins: This is what the Lord says[.] Notice who speaks. Yes, the Lord is God, but he uses a special name here. Isaiah does not say: “This is what God says.” It’s: This is what the Lord says[.] That title: the “Lord” (in all capitals) is not a typo; it’s intentional. The “Lord” (in all capitals) tells you two things about your God (Exodus 34:6-7). (1) God expects all of humanity to live a holy life— to be as perfect as he is; to love what is morally good and to hate evil (Leviticus 19:2; Matthew 5:48). So, The Lord says: Maintain justice and do what is right[.] This is how people of God are to act every day. If you wish to know if the way you live is “right,” then compare your behavior to God’s every single commandment (Exodus 20:1-17). Love everyone as much as you care for yourself. If you do not enjoy someone hating you, then do not hate anyone. If you do not want your friends gossiping about you, then do not gossip about your friends. If you want the car salesman to treat you honestly, then be honest, kind, patient, compassionate to everyone. Love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:39). Do not stop there, but love your God with every fiber of your being. Do not consider worship boring, but rejoice that you get to worship God. Do not feel home devotions and prayer rob you of time. Rather, fight for time to spend with God in prayer and devotion. Treat God’s name better than a curse Word. Recognize what the name “God” means and trust that “God” is powerful enough, wise enough, and available to be in your life. In case you’re wondering, the Lord is not giving a suggestion; he commands. You are to maintain this morality, this justice, today, tomorrow— always. Do this and you will live; fail and be forever cut off from God (Luke 10:25-28). How do you measure up? Would you be proud if God saw everything you did last week? The God who is everywhere, dwelling in your home, standing beside you, would he be pleased with your internet search or what you post to Facebook or what you watch on television? Would he be pleased with your thoughts on your way to worship this morning or where your mind was from the start of worship to this moment? Could God say that you loved your family with perfect compassion, that you humbly built up others, that you never complained about the way your congregation functions, but that you always supported decisions and offered your time to help? Have you maintained the justice God expects? Did you always do what is right? You trust in Jesus as Savior; you love God. Yet, you recognize there’s still a part of you that finds discontentment in being a member of God’s family. Instead of being a citizen of Christ, that sinful nature wants to live as a foreigner— someone God does not recognize as belonging to him! That is why, when you consider how you serve your God, it can never start by looking at you. Either you will find God’s commands to be a new form of slavery or you will be crushed by the fact you can never be perfect enough. That is why, when you consider your service to God, it must start with the “Lord” (in all capitals). Your “Lord” (in all capitals) threatens to punish every sinner, but he does something else: (2) the Lord is patient, loving, and forgiving. How do you know? Well, Isaiah says, “[The] salvation [of God] is close at hand and [his] righteousness will soon be revealed.” The word “salvation” simply means “to deliver” or “rescue.” When Isaiah is alive, God has made a promise to Jesus to blot out the transgressions of the world. Even though Jesus had not yet been born, his arrival comes closer with each passing day. Everyone who lives before the first Christmas could prepare their hearts for the coming Savior. For all of us who live after the first Christmas, you realize that deliverance and rescue from the wages of sin is found in the forgiveness of Jesus has already won. God’s salvation is always close at hand. You have the privilege to run to the cross again and again and be assured: You are forgiven. God Reveals His Salvation to make foreigners his citizens, to bring forgiven sinners into the family of God. Not just that, God Reveals His Salvation to make foreigners his citizens— literally. Jesus comes through the bloodlines of the Jews. Yet, the Jews do not keep this message only to themselves. The good news of Jesus has reached all people—Jews and non-Jews included. If you look around today, you can see that Isaiah’s prophecy has come true. You are the ones who have been gathered into the family of God. God has come to you in the form of his Word. In this Bible he tells you: God so loved the world that he gave his Son for you— for your eternal benefit— to step into your death sentence and die instead of you. He takes this truth, packages it up, and delivers it to you in baptism. You see, baptism is not just plain water. The water is not supernatural holy water. God takes plain, ordinary water, and attaches a promise to it. When the words are said, “You are baptized in the name of the Father, Son, + and Holy Spirit,” God says that you enter his family. God has put his name on you. Jesus has signed citizenship papers: “Heir of heaven.” “Child belonging to God.” “God is your Father.” And he thrusts those papers into your hand. God has joined you to his family— just like Isaiah said he would. To connect it to what I said earlier, you are therefore brought into the [big-C] “C”hurch. A church is a gathering of worshippers. You see these churches. You see how many there are. Some who enter believe; others do not. So, we call those [little-c] “c”hurches. Yet, the [big-C] “C”hurch refers to the gathering of all believers. All who have faith in Jesus as Savior stand in this gathering. That means, you do not enter heaven just because you sit in a church building. You are not loved by God because your name is in the church membership rolls. You do not earn heaven because you sat for two or three years in catechism class or in adult instruction class. That is how you become part of a visible congregation. You study Bible teachings so that you can confess what you believe. As for entering God’s family, God reveals Jesus, His Salvation, as your Savior from sin. God Reveals His Salvation to make you, once foreigners cut off from God in unbelief, his citizens. God joins you into this [big-C] “C”hurch. The Holy Christian Church? What is that? That’s you! You are those believers who gather around God and God is your Good Shepherd. Since you belong to this [big-C] “C”hurch, you are called the communion of saints? A “saint” because Jesus washes away your sins and makes you a holy person. A “communion” meaning, a fellowship, or a gathering. As God Reveals His Salvation he motivates you to serve him. Isaiah describes three things that people brought into the family of God do: (1) serve him, (2) love his name, and (3) worship him. You serve him by living as the priests you are. No, God is not telling you to enter the seminary and become a Pastor. Neither does he expect you to return to Old Testament worship practices of animal sacrifice. Rather, by faith, God gives you the privilege of coming directly to him just like the Old Testament priests were the only ones able to stand in the presence of God. Old Testament priests would pray for the people, offer sacrifices for their sins, and share the Word. Now, you are the priest who walks right up to God. You can unload your burdens and frustrations. You can ask God to help your loved ones; you can plead for him to deliver you from trouble. You do not need to ask a Pastor to bring your prayers to God; you get to pray directly to God. You can preach the Word to yourself. You have Bibles in your home; you get to read devotions. So, when anxiety fills your mind, you remember: Cast your anxiety on God (1 Peter 5:7). When you have a terrible day, you recall: Come to me—all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28). When you have no idea where to turn for answers, you hear: Call on me in the day of trouble. I will deliver you (Psalm 50:15). You love the name of the LORD. God’s “Name” is his reputation. Just think about everything the Name “God” makes you feel. He forgives you—freely, fully, repeatedly. He is patient. He does not afflict you with trouble because you make him angry. He does not make life hell because you missed worship last week. Your God is loving— filling your life with tremendous blessings. Feeding you. Allowing income to flow in. Blessing you through your children, your parents, your grandparents, your friends, and Pastor. You love finding peace and rest in this Name: “God.” So, you worship him. How? By keep[ing] the Sabbath. Now, remember, in the New Testament, God gives you freedom in selecting your day of worship (Colossians 2:16). In fact, that’s what the Word Sabbath means: “day of rest” (and not “Saturday”). You have selected the first hours of the first day of the week to be devoted to God. As citizens belonging to God, you get to worship him. You get to sing praises thanking him for all he does. You get to hear his Word so that you have confidence in life. You get to hear a message shared with you so that you can learn applications; you get to see how God fits into every aspect of your life. Those who love God love worshipping God. Do you see where you fit in? Isaiah paints this gorgeous picture of where you stand. God has brought you to his holy mountain. He has brought you into this the Holy Christian Church. Holy—because Jesus makes you holy from sin. Christian because you follow Christ. Church—because you gather with believers around God. When you confess your faith, you admit that God has made you a citizen. Now, you spend your days serving him. Loving him. Worshipping him. No, not because you must. Rather, as someone touched by God, you are motivated to serve him with your offerings, talents, and time. God Reveals His Salvation to make foreigners his citizens and to motivate service for him.
After all, I’m assuming you consider this day significant. You are here today, maybe even dressed in a new outfit. You may be planning an Easter brunch or Easter dinner for after service. Perhaps a part of you is excited to sing some favorite Easter hymns. Yet, what is it about Easter that sets it apart as “special?” How do the events of this one single day change life as you know it?
Come & See! the empty tomb of the risen Savior and then discover your newfound life in the risen Savior. What do you think Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were up at the crack of dawn looking for? Look at the first verse of our reading: After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week [they] went to look at the tomb. They are on their way to tuck fine-smelling spices into the linens wrapping the body (Luke 24:1). If you are carrying burial spices to a tomb, then you expect to find a dead body. If you expect to find a dead body, then you expect the dead body to remain dead. If you expect a dead body to remain dead, then you expect this body will be forever out of your life. So here it is: The women are not expecting to lead Jesus home, eat Easter brunch with him, sit around the table, and hear him teach. They expect to find the dead body of Jesus Christ, to finish burial customs, and then leave it behind in the cemetery as they walk home. Really, that is no different from what we expect to experience in cemeteries. On their journey there, There was a violent earthquake, [because] an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. When the women arrived, they saw the angel and the angel [immediately] said to the[m], “Do not be afraid.” What reason to be afraid! The women had seen what happened to Jesus. He is crucified! The noontime sky turns pitch-black. Earthquakes split stones and rip buildings in two! Jesus shouts out: “My God, why have you forsaken me!” They had witnessed just how serious God is over sin! May I confess something to you? I have never gone hunting. I have never sat in a deer blind, huddled next to the heater, with rifle in hand, looking and aiming for deer. I have never hunted. Yet, I think I know what the point of hunting is: to shoot the deer. Right? To aim a rifle at (or near the heart), pull the trigger, and make sure the bullet strikes home. So, does it matter if you miss? What if you find a 10-point buck, aim, fire, and miss? The big buck scampers off into the woods. Is it a big deal? Of course it is! The point of hunting is hit the mark, to strike the bull’s-eye. Missing the mark is to fail. Or, as the Bible teaches, missing the mark is to “sin.” That’s what “sin” means: to “miss the mark” of being as perfect as God. If it is a big deal to miss shooting your 10-pointer, then be sure it is a big deal missing God’s standard of perfection. God is not laughing when you pick just the right word to destroy the ego of your boss. He does not look past the fact that global tensions send you running for help in your government, rather than placing trust in his Word: “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). When you think you are sitting alone with the bottle or online or any other substances, your God sits right beside you. He declares: The soul who sins will die (Ezekiel 18:4). Yes, you can try to ignore the wrongs you have done. You can point to others who struggle with the same addictions (as you) and shrug off your consequences. You can try to create your own rules and believe that God must love you— in spite of your behavior. Yet, nothing you say or think can change what God, the Lord of death and life has to say about sin: the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). That is why the fiercest fighters of the day— the seasoned Roman soldiers wrapped in armor and armed with the finest of deadly daggers, were so afraid of [this holy angel] that they shook and became like dead men. That is why these women running to the tomb trembled before this heavenly messenger. That is why, my friends, sin is a big deal. It misses the mark of God’s perfection and earns eternal death. But that is why the events of Easter change life as you know it. God knows the fear that can plague our minds and so he sends his angel with a message for you: “Do not be afraid!” That means right now. This is not a suggestion, it is a command! “Do not be afraid,” because Jesus was crucified— once, in the past. He was crucified to die the death you (and I) deserve. Our words “missed the mark” of being perfect words to encourage, but Jesus suffers our consequences. Our trust misses God and fixates other objects, and yet the life of Jesus is cut dead. The wages of sin is death, but Jesus uses his life to pay for the consequences of our sins (Romans 6:23). This is what makes Easter change life. The women expect to find only another dead body, thinking that Jesus is just like everyone else. He is not. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. His heart beats. His brain functions. Breath rushes into his lungs. Blood courses through his veins. Muscles contract. He opens his eyes, sits up, swings his feet over the side of the stone slab, stands up, and leaves the tomb! He lives! And he lives to declare to you and me that the wages of sin have been paid in full. Where there is nothing more to pay for guilt, there is nothing more owed to God. It means you will not die forever, but rather you will rise to eternal life! If you wonder if this is really true, then Come & See the empty tomb of the risen Savior. The stone rolls away like a coin on its edge, spins, and falls down. You can see inside the tomb. What is in there? Nothing! No more sins holding Jesus down in death. Our wrongs have been removed as far as the east is from the west! Seeing the empty tomb of the risen Savior means that he has fixed death. Since death is no longer a fearful consequence, you can discover your newfound life in the risen Savior! The women hurried away from the tomb… because they have new news to share! The dead in Christ come back to life! Yet, they still run out of the cemetery afraid yet filled with joy. Then suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. What a message! Just think about it. These are women who heard he would rise again on the third day, but still carry burial spices in their hands because they doubted Jesus would actually come back to life. These are women who wailed in utter despair because they feared he was still dead. These are women who think Jesus failed his mission to bring them to God. Out of all the things Jesus could have said regarding the fear of the women, out of all the reasons he could be angry with them women, he sends greetings of peace. Jesus says, “Do not be afraid.” You— you do not need to be afraid! Jesus is not against you; he is for you! He does not afflict you with cancer because you were not the best parent. He does not call your loved one to heaven because you fight with your family. Your accident is not the result of making God angry. Jesus has restored a right relationship between you and God! So you can “Stop being afraid!” Stop probing the very recesses of your heart, hoping to figure out a way to rise up into the presence of God! Stop searching for comfort in human advice or to manmade remedies. Stop thinking your Jesus is dead, lifeless, and unable to help you—because he is not dead. He has risen, risen indeed to proclaim you at peace with God! In case you still worry that Jesus meant something else, then listen on. “Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” Go and tell… who? “My brothers.” Jesus is not speaking about going to his literal family (—his mom and dad, brothers and sisters). Rather, these are Jesus’ disciples— his followers who completely failed him at the end of Holy Week. One disciple gets caught in this mob— and he wants to escape so much that he wiggles out of his clothes and runs away naked! Peter promises to cling to Jesus, but denies knowing him three times. Every single disciple abandons him, not standing by his side, offering refreshment, or working to free him! If there were ever a time for Jesus to make life a living hell, this would be it. Instead, he calls them: “My brothers.” People who will live in his house, share the same view towards life, and share the same Father in heaven. It means your relationship with God has changed entirely! Come & See your newness of life in the risen Savior. The empty tomb reveals a Savior who conquers death— literally. He does not leave his body behind and live on in our hearts (as some disembodied spirit). He rises— body and soul united— and Jesus is your brother, your family member. Because of the events of Easter you have a right relationship with God. You can bring every worry, anxiety, fear to him in prayer and know that he is listening. You can face challenges and illness, confident that this is not a punishment for a specific action. You know God will stand beside you to strengthen and heal. You can even walk into a cemetery and trust that you will rise to eternal life. This is not some unfounded hope or wish. Rather this is a certain truth (1) demonstrated in the empty tomb of Jesus and (2) promised by Jesus himself. Come & See the newness of life you have in the risen Savior. Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed! So what? Do you have a concrete, specific answer now? Easter changes life as you know it. Because Jesus lives, it means you also will live in heaven forever! Because Jesus lives, it means you can approach God as your Father—and approach him without fear or trembling. You stand in a right relationship with God. Not because you are trying to make up new methods. Not because you are trying to convince yourself this is true. But because Jesus tells you so and because Jesus shows you so. Come & See! the empty tomb of the risen Savior and live your newfound life in the risen Savior.
|
Details
Past messages
December 2017
Bible Topics
All
|