Politicians are elected to serve the interests of a group of people. So, this group of people expect their elected official to bring unique community needs before a larger assembly, and then together, with other politicians, craft laws for their benefit. That is expected.
Expectations can bring frustration. Your needs might not always be met. Your congressman might vote impeaching the President (of the United States), but you do not want that. Maybe you did want the President impeached and your congressman did not. Your representative may fight for a gas tax that you did not want. Perhaps you did want a gas tax, but your representative did not push for it. A senator could endorse universal health care, but you do not want higher taxes. Perhaps you do want healthcare for all, but your senator does not. Politicians promise advocating for you. They guarantee taking your concerns and suggestions and putting them into law. Yet, that does not always happen. A politician might chase his own self-interests. She may act for her constituents, but your interests are not the majority’s concerns. The reality that your individually unique needs are not always addressed can ignite frustration. When you feel ignored, you feel insignificant. That fuels the pressure to rely on yourself. That’s what makes Christmas Day special. God Most High, King of the universe, leaves his majestic throne room in heaven and comes to earth to be with us. God does not ignore your greatest need; he works for your interest in order to be with you forever. So rejoice! Because God Is With Us! How do you know? His name assures us. Can you be sure? Yes! His actions prove it. Listen to God’s assurance in Matthew 1:22-23. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.” There it is! A guarantee that God will keep your interests on his mind. God says he will be ‘with you.’ He will stand in flesh (with a body!) and experiences the same troubles of flesh! He will grieve at a funeral (John 11:35). He will see crippled limbs and heart-wrenching disease. He will observe fear in the eyes of the poor. He will watch the mighty abuse power. Yet, your God does not isolate himself from the world’s problems behind the ivory towers of a King’s mansion. He lives in the world and deals with the world. He will identify fear and handle it. He will understand anxiety and end it. He will recognize struggles and fix them. God promises to be with you! What a promise that is! God will make all things well and whole! God will restore a bond of love! For hundreds of years people longed to see what you see, to celebrate what you celebrate! God had the prophet Isaiah share this promise seven-hundred years before the first Christmas! (That is three-times longer than the existence of our nation!) Millions of Christians over hundreds of years look ahead to that moment, but never see it. So many left wondering if God would make his intention happen. You are [probably] not that anxious. We live on the other side of that promise. We can point at the record of God keeping his Word. [W]hen the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons (Galatians 4:4-5). Christmas reveals that God did what he said he would do. When you think about it, a promise really has no value. It simply exists as mere words strung together— words that may or may not bring an action into reality. That can make it difficult to rely on those words. You are not sure what you will receive. (1) God promises to be with you always, to the very end of the age (Matthew 28:20). Still, life hurts. Grandpa dies; that’s not fun. A friend manipulates you, abuses your kindness. Where was God to stop that? Is he really with you? (2) God promises to deliver you from trouble, so rely on him! (Psalm 50:15) Yet, a loved one only grows sicker and weaker. The marriage is not improving. Recovery is slow. Is God listening? Is really here? (3) God promises to will make your path straight, so trust him—in good and in bad! (Proverbs 3:5-6) Yet, you found the perfect job opening, and with your skill-set, you should get it. You make plans and they seem pretty definite. Right now, life feels fine, you are content. Where does God fit in when life feels under your control? Promises do not always fill us with comforting peace. A promise should be a guarantee of future action, but so often promises are so often changed, forgotten, or broken— and we cannot rely on them. Even though God promises to be ‘with us,’ we may struggle with feelings of fear and anxiety. How does that happen? Our humans drag God down to a human level. We hear his promises, but receive them as equal to promises from faulty human mouths. We can treat God like some politician who does not always have our interests in mind. A politician who serves the interests of others. Really, our human heart can call God a ‘liar.’ That’s why God does Christmas. Christmas Day took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.” Do you realize how awesome that is?! The Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans worshipped a plethora of deities— and not one [so-called] god cared for his people. If enemies invaded the land, you frantically bargained for their attention. Sacrifice money, animals, people— and hope that was enough. Then there always remained the heart-stopping possibility that the gods simply did not care. God does not send another prophet. He does not send a king. He sends himself. ‘Immanuel’ is a Hebrew word; it means: IM= with. MANU= us. EL= God. ‘God with us!’ That little baby Mary cradles in her arms, the little baby locking eyes with you, that little baby by his simple presence alone is ‘Immanuel,’ God-with-us! Do you wonder if God truly cares about your needs? Do you worry that God might have more pressing matters on his mind? Do you think that with over 7-billion people in the world, God cannot possibly deal with your [seemingly] insignificant fear? End that anxiety here. God Is With Us. How do you know? His name assures us. Even more, His actions prove it. You realize that behind certain names lie certain responsibilities. A politician carries more than just a title. A ‘President’ must lead or a ‘congressman’ crafts bills. ‘Immanuel,’ God-with-us, is not simply the name of God on earth. ‘Immanuel’ does work! In that little baby lies the might to do what we cannot. He grows up and stands up against every attractive temptation. The devil, who so often leads us into doubt, cannot get Jesus to doubt God’s providing care. Those fears which tug on us to question God’s reasoning cannot get Jesus to challenge God. Self-reliance leads us to think we are God, life’s ultimate handler. Yet, Jesus bows under God’s control. Jesus does what we cannot. He withstands temptation. He stumbles not once. In him is life. Jesus, Immanuel, is with us as he brings every single promise of God to complete fulfillment. The Son of David is pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities, and the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed (Isaiah 53:5). The Son of God towers over death by his own resurrection from the dead (Romans 1:4). What does this have to do with you? Everything Jesus does on earth is done to bring you into God’s favor. At your baptism, God said: I have summoned you by name; you are mine (Isaiah 43:1). God binds himself to you. God Is With Us. God Is With Us to this very day. The first Christmas occurred over 2,000 years ago. Jesus ascends into heaven a little under 2,000 years ago. Although off the earth, God remains with us for our comfort. I mean, what accusations can Satan launch at you? He will call you ‘not perfect,’ not good enough for God. He will point out your wickedness and negligence. He will claim that that one secret sin is unforgiveable. How do you remove guilt and shame? Jesus steps up to you and covers you in his innocent life. God does not see filth, he sees purity. God Is With Us to silence those accusations. God is With Us and we can stand before him without fear. Even more God Is With Us in his Word. If I sent you a letter, you receive my thoughts and my intentions. (You might even hear my voice in your head.) When you read the Bible you see God’s heart and hear what’s on his mind. He makes it pretty clear: [N]either death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39). How do you know that? Jesus came to connect you to God; his actions prove that God Is With Us! The troubles you face will only make you stronger because you do not rely on your abilities, you rely God’s powerful might. The funerals you attend will only reinforce the splendid truth that heaven is life’s ultimate home. The good times you enjoy only lead you to thank God for that rest and enjoyment. God’s Word shapes our response to life in this world. We know God Is With Us because his actions prove it. That’s what makes Christmas Day special. God Most High, King of the universe, leaves his majestic throne room in heaven and comes to earth to be with us. Yet, God is not an elected politician serving the interests of some, or working only for the majority. He does not make promises that are broken or changed. God works for your interest in order to be with you forever. So rejoice! Because God Is With Us! How do you know? His name assures us. Can you be sure? Yes! His actions prove it. To prevent a boat from drifting, you must fasten it to a sturdy object. For starters, you need rope. Tie one end of the rope to the boat and the other end to a sturdy object. You could tie the rope to tree, to the end of your dock, to a volleyball post on the beach— to anything that does not move. You even could tie the end of that rope to an anchor or a cinderblock and drop it into the water and the boat will stay in place. Toss that weight onto shore and your boat will remain still. So, to prevent a boat from drifting, you must fasten it to a sturdy object.
(I’m sorry if I insulted your intelligence), but that simple truth makes a significant point: reliable objects prevent aimless drifting. If you do not have that sturdy object, if you do not have rope, you will drift. It remains vitally important to have both sturdy object and rope. This morning, rediscover the splendid truth that God has provided both anchor and connection. When fear grips you and confusion blurs the future, when frightened and nervous, God’s Sure Word Bolsters Faith. It recalls what God has done. It points to what God will do. That’s usually what we look for when it comes to trusting someone: we listen to words and we look for actions. When another person does as promised, we understand that person is serious about his intentions and cares for our personal welfare. For example, I may promise to arrive at your house on Tuesday at 11:00am. If I arrive at your house Tuesday at 11:00am, you know: (1) my words carry serious intentions and (2) I care about you personally— your schedule, your emotions, and your needs. Now, if I arrive at your house Friday at 7:00am, you know: (1) my actions never intended to match my words and (2) I do not care about what errands you have on Friday or that my tardiness angered you or that you have concerns that need addressing. You may find it difficult trusting me. You cannot rely that what I said is truthful and you will not shape your expectations around my intentions. We tend to build trust when actions match words. We tend to place trust in someone when actions match words. God had already made some fantastic promises to Abram. For example, “Leave your country, your people, and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you… I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing” (12:1-2). That means, Abram would have to leave the safety-net of family assistance and the bonds of neighborly-friendship. He must trek hundreds of miles across a desolate wasteland to a land he has never seen before, a land he has no connection to, a land that may (or may not) produce good food. That’s a big promise. Still, Abram goes. Why? Because he considers God’s Words as good as done. Even though he does not see the future, he leaves. At the end of his travels, he settles in good, livable land— just as God said he would. Not just that, the surrounding nations respect Abram. An Egyptian Pharaoh treats Abram as a household guest. Foreigners gladly sell Abram land. Now, remember: (1) We tend to build trust when actions match words and (2) we tend to place trust in someone when actions match words. (1) God gifts Abram a land unseen and (2) God ensures a healthy respect for Abram. God’s Word matched his actions. You realize: God’s Sure Word Bolsters Faith because it recalls what God has done. So, you can almost see Abram’s excitement when God makes another promise: “To your offspring I will give this land” (12:7). Abram has no child, but now he receives a guarantee. He can pass down his land, his riches, his reputation to this one child. So, he waits… and waits… and waits some more. He waits Ten. Years. Abram is now 85-years-old. His wife, Sarai, is 75-years-old. Yes, ten years earlier it would have been difficult to have a child, but still somewhat possible— but now, at this age, it borders on the impossible. Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” Can you hear the desperation? The panicky fear? The complete loss of control? What changed? The boat is not fastened to a sturdy object. Abram completely ignores God’s past powerful actions. He forgets the land, the respect, the safety. Now he relies on his (very) limited abilities. So, fear creeps in— fear creeps in because you confront your own limitations. You tremble at the cancer diagnosis because deep down inside you know that you cannot wish the disease away. You cannot add more days to your life. You have little control over the state of your health. God commands us to remain faithful to his Word, to neither add teachings nor change teachings, to continue clinging to what has been taught for centuries. You do that, but then you get nervous because you do what God says, but see no results. You wonder how long your church will exist. If you will always worship here, if your children and their children will be here. Really, you get nervous because you cannot change a heart. You worry about the future for your children because you want to fix everything wrong in the world with your two hands—but you cannot; you simply do not have that control. Do you see? The reason Abram trembles, the reason we tremble is because we put this incredible pressure to manage life on ourselves. We are treating ourselves as God! Quite frankly, we consider ourselves more trustworthy, more reliable than God! What does a statement like that say about the (1) serious intentions behind God’s Words and (2) God’s care for us? It says that (1) God is a liar— he cannot keep his Word, he lacks the power to do what he says— and (2) God does not care for our welfare. He builds our hopes just to crush them. For just a moment, lay aside that self-reliance and look once more at verse 1. Identify what God uses to strengthen Abram’s faith. After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great. First, ‘after what things?’ Well, read chapter 14 and you find four aggressive kings sweep over Abram’s neighbors. They kidnap Abram’s nephew, Lot, and steal all his possessions. Abram gathers 318-fighting-men and liberates these captives. That’s a big risk; Abram could have died. After that battle-‘thing,’ God says: Fear not, Abram, I am your shield. ‘Abram, just like a big battle shield I protected you. I gave you victory. I kept you safe and brought you home. If I did that, I will not hurt you now.’ Fear not, Abram… your reward shall be very great. ‘Abram, I am with you. That is far more valuable than your millions of dollars of assets, your small mercenary-group, and your status. The almighty God of the universe is on your side!’ God points back to all the things he had done, all his promises— and he kept them all! God’s Sure Word Bolsters Faith. It recalls what God has done. You realize God is (1) serious about his intentions and (2) he cares for your welfare. Past actions prove that. God’s Sure Word continues Bolstering Faith. That Word points to what God will do. Do you see how God handles Abram’s great fear? Abram finishes speaking and behold, the word of the Lord came to him. What does God give Abram? He does not put a baby in his arms. He does not unroll a timeline of future events. God gives Abram his Word. Specifically, ‘[Abram,] This man [Eliezer] shall not be your heir… God makes it clear: ‘Abram, your inheritance-plan is not my plan.’ He addresses Abram’s concern, identifies it, brings it to light, and ends it. [Y]our very own son shall be your heir. Yes, Abram is old; Sarai is old, but this child will hold the biology of both. God does not explain how this will happen, and he does not need to. Explaining how is not the purpose for his speaking. God simply tells Abram what he will do. Just like he protected Abram, just like he poured out riches, just like he brought Abram to his new land, God (at the right time) would give an heir. Dear friends, God kept that promise. Fifteen years after this conversation, at 100-years old, Abram has a son named Isaac. (1) Abram had an heir! Then, Isaac had a son named Jacob. Jacob had a son named Judah. Judah had a son. That son had a son, and that son a son. (2) Abram became a father of many nations! In fact, the family tree branched out to include a man named Joseph, who had a son named Jesus. (3) Jesus came! God keeps his promises! That includes his hatred for our self-reliance. For us questioning if God keeps his Word, God crushes Jesus— because he is serious about punishing the arrogant. For us challenging if God cares for our wellbeing, God abandons Jesus— demonstrating that he cares for you so much that Jesus will be cut off from the love of God instead of you. Jesus wipes clean our self-reliant hearts, leaving only hearts that please God. And now, God sees you as a star in the sky. [God] brought [Abram] outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” God’s not talking about family tree only. The Bible calls believers the descendants of Abram (Romans 4:18). Yes, you (and I) may not be Jews, we may not be able to trace our family tree back to Abram, but that’s alright. We share the same faith. Abram believed the Lord… He believed that God would send Jesus into the world and that Jesus would wipe away his faithless doubting. Abram considered God’s Word as good as done. [A]nd [God] credited it to him as righteousness. God called him ‘saved.’ You (and I) did not see Jesus die on the cross, but we take God at his Word. Jesus removed our guilt, and because of that, you (and I) have been declared ‘right’ in God’s sight. Recall what God has done. Ponder these magnificent promises and consider how God has kept each one. Is there any question behind God’s intentions? When we look back over all that God has done, we realize his seriousness in doing as promised—and that removes fear for the future. God’s Word points ahead not to a wish—but points to what he will do. That keeps us from aimlessly drifting through life’s many challenges. God, your sturdy object remains connected to you with his Word. When fear grips you and confusion blurs the future, when frightened and nervous, God’s Sure Word Bolsters Faith. It recalls what God has done. It points to what God will do. He did not really know his dad. I mean, dad was home— in fact, he was home every single night. He mowed the lawn and trimmed hedges. He repaired leaks and fixed squeaks. He drove to soccer practices and ball games. His La-Z-Boy conformed perfectly to his body. Yes, dad was home— but dad did not talk much. He never talked about work. He taught batting techniques, but never really critiqued anything. He never screamed or cheered at the game on television; he just watched. He was a quiet man.
Yet, every night, right before bedtime, little eyes watched his dad scribble in a journal. Each day ink filled another page. Each week more pages were used. Each year a new journal was needed— until they were needed no more. Hours after the funeral dinner, that son sunk into the form-fitted La-Z-Boy. A box packed full of faded, fuzzy-edged journals lay open. He grabbed one written long ago and started flipping through it. “May 19th: Joe remembered his batting technique and scored the game-winning double. I could not be any prouder of him.” “June 28th: Bought Joe another ice-cream cone after he dropped the first one. Made his tears stop.” “August 23rd: The heat makes roofing unbearable. But I press on for my family’s good.” He leafed through journal after journal, until he came to the last one. On the last page, written just a few weeks earlier, was this sentence: “When I reflect on years past, I thank God for the blessings of wife and children— all of whom I love very much.” Decades of wondering came crumbling down. These journals, this written word, reveal love once unknown. This child has in print a clear, plain declaration of his father’s love. He can return to these words again and again and find concrete evidence his father loved him. The written word makes the unknown known. That very fact abolishes fear. It obliterates nervous worry. It ends baseless ideas the human mind makes up. God does not leave you wondering about his love for you. The Bible Makes an Unknown Relationship Known. It tells of God reconciling you. It increases your grip on your future hope. That makes the Bible important. From cover to cover are words that do not come from the opinions of men, but words God the Holy Spirit instructed men to write down (2 Peter 1:21). That means the Bible is God’s ‘journal.’ This contains his commands, his judgment, and his delight. Since you have this ‘journal’ you have insight into God’s expectation for you. Yet, if you did not have the Bible, what would you have? A diseased, rotting faith— much like the faith of the Colossians. Remember the false beliefs polluting that congregation? A mixture of (1) Jewish and (2) pagan teachings. So, these Christians think God still requires Old Testament religious ceremonies and also concoct superstitious answers to the mystery of who God is and how God lives. This belief poisons them! It has actually led some to challenge the almighty, eternal power the Son of God has (read Colossians 1:15-20). These Christians downgrade Jesus from ‘Savior of the World’ to ‘Super Human Being.” If you treat Jesus as anything less than the Savior, you push away the payment he made for guilt. You start believing an idea not true. That makes the Bible important. God is not sharing opinions; he reveals truth. He tells what he sees. In verse 21, he shares a very ugly, but very real, truth. You (that’s you and me) were alienated and hostile in mind, in your evil deeds. God makes clear: “You stood in this camp. You stood distant and far away. Just like a foreigner has a different culture than American culture, you had a different attitude than the attitude I expect.” That attitude? Evil! [T]he sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. [Since we are] controlled by the sinful nature, [we] cannot please God. (Romans 8:7). It’s impossible! If you (and I) stand as alienated enemies of God, can we enter heaven without a Savior? No! Of course not! You know that; in fact, you confess: “I believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord.” You do not downgrade him… do you? Well, what is your answer to this statement: ‘I am going to heaven because (fill in the blank).’ …“because I’m trying my hardest to be a good parent, a faithful church-goer, a good child”? …“because I am generous and giving”? …“because I’m better than criminals and sex offenders”? Did your answer contain that little word: ‘I’? Did the mental focus instantly shift to that little word: ‘I’? Are you going to heaven because you try? …or made a decision to believe in Jesus? …or because you are somewhat moral? Don’t you see what God clearly wrote in verse 21? You were alienated! You were saturated in evil! You could not, cannot, and can never approach God by you doing the action! You see, like the Colossians, our minds can step off from the Bible. Yes, we have the Bible in our homes. We hear it in worship. We study it throughout the week. It sinks into our ears and hearts, but our sinful nature can blatantly ignore what God clearly reveals. The sinful nature wants to be sure it will enter heaven. So, you point to you instead of Jesus— and that happens because of doubt cannot trust that what God has spoken is truthful and reliable. That is a poisonous belief. That makes the Bible important. The Bible Makes an Unknown Relationship Known. God reveals that you (and I) stand in an evil camp, but in verse 21 he says: You were formerly alienated… That is what you were. Past tense. Formerly. At one time. But today, right now, right here, this moment: different. Why? How? He has now reconciled you… To ‘reconcile’ means ‘bringing two opposing parties together’ or ‘to end hostility.’ Here, Jesus is the subject. The subject performs the action. The action affects the object— and you are the object. Jesus (did the action of) reconciling (the object:) you. See when that took place? That verb ‘reconcile’ is past tense too— meaning, the action was finished long ago. Long ago, God directed his hatred of evil against Jesus. He found our doubting in his Son. He glared at our arrogant-self-worship in his Son. God made Jesus into his enemy, targeted him with wrath, and destroyed him. Jesus has now reconciled you in his fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach. God removes the mystery of what he sees in you. The Bible Makes an Unknown Relationship Known. He puts it down in print so that you clearly know what he has done for you. You are presented: (1) Holy, that is, cleansed from moral filth. (2) Blameless: no shame lingers; no fault is seen, no motive for blackmailing. (3) Above reproach: no one can accuse you of evil before God. The relationship is clear: God has reconciled you. That changes your present and future. t increases your grip on your future hope. Verses 26 and 27 explain how: The mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, [h]as now been manifested to His saints (The Bible reveals Jesus your Savior. You believe this. You are a saint, a ‘holy person.’) to [you] God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles [non-Jews] which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. So, what do you gain from the Word? Riches. Treasures. A fortune. God pours peace into your heart— peace that comes from sin forgiven. Shortly after our opening hymn, what do you hear? God, our heavenly Father, has been merciful to you. He has given Jesus, his Son, to be the atoning sacrifice for sin. Jesus ‘atones’—that is, Jesus makes you ‘at-one’ with God. Since you already stand at-one with God, you have no fear! No nagging guilt! No cringeworthy shame! God the Father says: “I see you holy, blameless, without reproach! This is what I see.” The Father’s love is clearly revealed in his journal, the Bible. What joy! Your life is not chained to a set of rules and demands that will determine how much God loves you today. No! God has (1) already reconciled you. Therefore, (2) live as someone reconciled. What does that look like? Well, if I go to your house, I do not open your refrigerator, grab a sandwich, sit down, and start eating. I am not welcome to take what is yours; your possessions do not belong to me. We do not have that close, open, confident relationship. (Usually you have that comfort with family and a close friend.) Now, if we have that close relationship, then I can walk into your house and raid your fridge without worry. We have this open, confident relationship. So, God is ‘at-one’ with you. He harbors no anger, no grudges, no memory of wrong (Jeremiah 31:34). That means, you can read God’s promises and take them. Make them your own. Say: “This is what God is doing.” God will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways (Psalm 91:11). Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? (Matthew 6:26). [C]all upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me (Psalm 50:15). Nothing in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:39). In my Father’s house are many rooms… I am preparing one for you (John 14:2-3). This all means, that when we tremble about our standing before God, when we feel unworthy or wonder if God hates us, we have somewhere certain to turn— and that somewhere is not you. The Bible Makes an Unknown Relationship Known. That increases your grip on your future hope. For decades a son wondered of his father’s concern. Finally, he held in his hand the very thoughts of his father. These journals, this written word, revealed love once unknown. This child has in print a clear, plain declaration of his father’s love. He can return to these words again and again and find evidence his father loved him. The written word makes the unknown known. That very fact abolishes fear. It obliterates nervous worry. It ends baseless ideas the human mind makes up. God never leaves you guessing about his love for you. The Bible Makes an Unknown Relationship Known. It tells of God reconciling you— which means, you have no reason to try to ‘woo’ God. Everything needed to turn God’s heart to you is done. What joy. What freedom for life! The Bible Makes an Unknown Relationship Known. It increases your grip on your future hope. Every Memorial Day weekend, I drive out to Elm Creek, buy seedlings, and plant my garden. And every year the garden thrives. Vines stretch out. Plants grow thick and lush. I collect half-a-dozen cucumbers each day and pick cherry tomatoes and beans by the bucket full. This year was not like every other year.
A few days after putting the seedlings into the ground, the leaves turned yellow— like Post-It-Note yellow. But, the plants did not wilt; they did not shrivel up or die, they just stayed yellow— which was also strange. These yellow seedlings never grew; they never pushed out new branches and vines and leaves. For three weeks, I saw small rows of miniature yellow tomato, cucumber, and bean plants. Now, usually yellow leaves signal something wrong with growing conditions. The soil could be too acidic. The plants may not be receiving enough sunlight. Overwatering and severed roots can stunt plant growth. If you boil all the symptoms down, the causes for poor growth come from poor soil. Plants need good soil to live, grow, and produce fruit. For you to grow, thrive, and flourish in Christian living, you need good soil. You need a reliable source of comfort when feeling crushed. You need clear answers when confused. You need ever-constant strength when feeling exhausted. Where are you looking for direction? Better yet, does your source produce good results? Drink deeply from this truth: Gospel-Fed Hearts Grow. God has transplanted you into light. His Word grows knowledge. His Word produces fruitful living. The congregation in Colossae needed this reminder. (Now, Colossae sits in the southwest corner of present-day Turkey. So, picture Phoenix lying a little bit off the southwest American border.) An evangelist named ‘Epaphras’ preached and the Holy Spirit planted faith in each listener. Yet, this young congregation gets sick very quickly. They feed on a strange mixture of Jewish and Pagan teachings. Jewish— like: forbidding the eating of certain meats, making Old Testament religious ceremonies mandatory, and creating rules in order to win God’s favor. Then pagan— like: worshipping angels (who are God’s servants [Hebrews 1:14; Revelation 19:10]) and creating strange ideas of who God is, what he does, and how he lives. Those false beliefs poison souls. It seizes attention away from the clear answers God wrote down in the Bible and sets personal beliefs on human opinion. Epaphras and Paul see stunted, shriveling faith, and grow terribly concerned. So, they start right at the roots. After all, when my plants turned yellow, I did not treat the leaves; I started with what caused the leaves to turn yellow. I started with the soil. In the same way, when we drink in guidance for life, we need to make sure that this guidance comes from a healthy source. We want to remain spiritually healthy. Verses 13-14 say: [God] has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. We all entered this world rooted in this stinking soil, this domain of darkness. We were not just yellowed sick, we were spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1-3). That is how we started life. Enemies of God (Romans 8:7). Not going to heaven (Isaiah 53:5). Unable to do anything to change that dreadful status. Yet, God did something: he ‘transferred us.’ With the pure life of Jesus in hand, he scooped you out of hell. He washed away the moral filth that soaks our minds. He clipped away our shameful regrets. He healed us from the disease called ‘sin’— a disease that would kill us. He transferred us into his kingdom. We have been moved from the column: ‘Enemy to be destroyed by God’ to ‘Child Loved by God.’ God’s Word, the Bible, tells you this comforting truth. That is the ‘gospel,’ the ‘good-news’ that Jesus rescued you. That ‘good news’ enters your heart individually. Because the Word of God has the power to change hearts (Romans 1:16). That Word, which was spoken at your baptism, has transplanted you into light. Paul takes us right to the soil. He reminds you that (1) God has bought you and (2) transplanted you so that you may draw strength from God and his Word. When it comes to guidance and strength for life, look down and see where you stand planted. God has transplanted you into light. Rooted in good soil comes good growth. My plants— well, the leaves remained yellow for several weeks. So, I treated the soil. I carefully dug up each seedling, filled the hole with black dirt, mixed in a little lime, and replanted each plant. A few days later those little plants began improving. Leaves changed from yellow to green and new growth appeared. When you have good soil, you have good growth. You (and I), planted into faith, grow. Paul continues in verse 9: [We] ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of [God’s] will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding… So, you, as a Christian, are planted in Christ, but you do not remain stagnant. You grow spiritually. You grow by learning God’s ‘will’— and that ‘will’ (God’s desires) are only found in the Bible. This is why your congregation presents and emphasizes opportunities to be in God’s Word. To be in Bible Class. To be in Sunday School. To be in Catechism class. To have personal, daily devotions. These are all opportunities to see God’s demands, hear God’s forgiveness, memorize promises of rescue, and find God-pleasing answers. Maybe right now, your mind is already fabricating excuses as to why you just cannot possibly be in the Word like that. I mean, we still battle a sinful nature. A sinful nature that thinks it can handle every problem in life. A sinful nature that does not want to rely on the Bible verses memorized in Sunday School and in Catechism class. A sinful nature that defends its ungodly decisions. A sinful nature that only seeks its own interests. We may create every excuse as to why it’s impossible to grow in our knowledge of God, but we only hurt ourselves. The devil loves the excuses you (and I) make because they separate us God’s Word— the only weapon we have against temptation. The further we stay from the Word, the further we can drift from God! That is why Paul prays: [We] ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of [God’s] will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding… The more you read your Bible, the more you learn— and not just that, but the more you remember about who God is and what God does. The information gained from the Bible allows you to apply it to the many different situations of life. This is where you find guidance. You know: Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved (Mark 16:16). Apply that truth when frightened about death. Can you really know that you will be in heaven? Yes. Because God used baptism to save you (1 Peter 3:21). You know that God is with you to the very end of the age (Matthew 28:20). Apply that truth when at a loss for answers. You do not know the future. You might worry the future will be bad, not pleasant. Yet, God has heaven in store for you. God uses even unpleasant things to increase your reliance on him. You also use your knowledge to determine what is false and what is true. Someone might tell you: God will not give you more than you can bear. You would know that this is not entirely accurate. The Bible says: God will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear and that when pressed down, his Word gives you strength not to fall into sin (1 Corinthians 10:13). A friend might say: I don’t need to be in a church to be a Christian. While that sounds a little true, you also know the Bible says: Let us not give up meeting together (Hebrews 10:25). The more you spend in your Bible, the more you know. The more you know, the more you apply. That is how you grow. A Gospel-Fed Heart Grows. God has transplanted you into light; he provides good soil. As a follower of Christ, you will grow in Christian living; His Word grows knowledge. Right now my garden is growing. The soil is balanced. Plants draw nutrients from that soil. Yet, something else happens: those plants produce fruit— good, beneficial, pleasing fruit. Paul points to the fruits that come from putting God’s Word into practice. Verses 3-5 say: We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. God loves the Colossians. He loves them so much that he still keeps the Word in their life. He uses the Word to correct their false beliefs. He does not hold their wrongs against them, but he cleanses them. He keeps them planted in this soil of faith. He keeps feeding them with his Word. That love has an effect: loved much, they love much. Paul notes that in verses 5-6: Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing— as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth… The Word produces ‘fruits of faith.’ ‘Fruits of faith’ are the results that come from putting God’s Word into practice. See what fruits it produces in you. God encourages us: Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said: ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you’ (Hebrews 13:5). We see that God has given house and home, possessions and vehicles, money saved and money spent— and does this all without our constant asking. The Word sinks in; the fruit of contentment grows. God teaches: If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord (Romans 14:8). If we come through surgery, we thank God for another day. If we do not make it through surgery, we thank God for heaven. We will not leave this life a day sooner or a day later than God already knows. So, the Word sinks in; the fruit of trust grows. God instructs: Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord… Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her (Ephesians 5:22, 25). Husbands put the needs of your wife ahead of your own, just like Christ put your life ahead of his and died for you. Wives, listen to your husbands, just like you know God loves you and wants only the best. The Word sinks in; the fruit of stronger relationships grow. Gospel-Fed Hearts Grow. God’s Word does something; God’s Word produces fruitful living. For you to grow, thrive, and flourish in Christian living, you need good soil. You need a reliable source of comfort when feeling crushed. You need clear answers when confused. You need ever-constant strength when feeling exhausted. Where are you looking for direction? Drink deeply from this truth: Gospel-Fed Hearts Grow. Turn here. God has transplanted you into light. His Word grows knowledge. His Word produces fruitful living. Names impact life. A name represents qualities, characteristics, and behaviors— and your life will adjust to the significance behind that name. For example, the name ‘Mom’ or ‘Dad’ instills a sense of trust; you live confident because these two individuals will not mislead you. The name ‘Policeman’ or ‘Firefighter’ provides security; you live secure knowing that someone protects you and that you can reach out to this designated individual to help you. The name ‘George Washington’ inspires leadership. The name ‘Abraham Lincoln’ calls for unity. Names impact life. You respond accordingly to the characteristics behind a name.
Now, the meaning behind names change over time. ‘Mom’ and ‘Dad’ may no longer be present in your life, which means that you lost some experienced wisdom. ‘Policeman’ or ‘Firefighter’ may be tainted by poor examples, or maybe they do not offer the protection you desire. ‘George Washington’ and ‘Abraham Lincoln’ can be forgotten and with them, their behaviors. Time changes meanings behind names. That can leave you frightened and anxious. These people you relied on are no longer present. This morning, your God reveals his special name. A name that never changes over time. A name that never disappoints you. The LORD is A Name You Can Trust to rescue you from oppressive slavery and to deliver you into new life forever. We get to focus on Exodus, chapter 3. [It starts:] Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian… What’s Moses doing out there? Midian lies about 300-miles east of Egypt (that’s about the distance from Clare to Chicago). We primarily associate Moses with leading millions of Israelites out of Egypt. Yet, you do not find him in Egypt now. About 40-years earlier, Moses did live in Egypt. While there, he saw an Egyptian beating an Israelite. He never forgot the sight. He found this Egyptian. He stalked this Egyptian. He killed this Egyptian in a fit of rage. Word about this murder spread quickly— and when the Egyptian Pharaoh heard it, he demanded Moses dead (2:11-15). So, Moses panics; he runs away and lives in the remote Midian desert. On one occasion, [Moses] led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.” Wouldn’t you do the same? You watch fire engulfing a bush— flickering, crackling flames— but the leaves remain green. The twigs stay moist and brown. The bush is not destroyed. I mean, what a strange sight! Yet, that’s the point. This eye-catching miracle is not to figure out how the bush survives, but to see the who behind it all. When the Lord saw that [Moses] had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.” “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. How could he not hide? God is holy. To ‘be holy’ means to ‘be set apart.’ Your God is ‘set apart’ from every thought, every word, every action that goes against his commands. Not only is God ‘set apart’ from wrong, he keeps wrong ‘set apart’ from him. At a manufacturing plant you have both parts and inspectors. A car part comes down the line. The inspector picks up this part and examines it. If he finds cracks or holes or missing pieces, he tosses that part into the reject pile. Understand, the part does not decide if it will be accepted. (If you have ever worked in a factory, you know this is true.) The inspector sees if the part meets the high standard of quality. God expects Moses to be as equally holy, ‘set apart’ from the moral filth of the world. Yet, Moses has revenge in his heart. He has lies on his lips. He has blood on his hands. He buries his face into the dust because his union with God lies broken. When God holds you (and me) up to his high standard of holiness, he finds people who fail to match up (Romans 3:23). That is terrifying. I mean, this broken union between us and God produces terror. All people— Christian and non-Christian alike— can sense it. When a tower in Siloam crushes eighteen bystanders, the automatic response was: “Well, they must have really made God angry.” When the blood of Jews is used for sacrifice, many whisper: “God must be getting even with them” (Luke 13:1-9). A guilty conscience testifies to the fact that all is not well between humanity and God. That guilty conscience recognizes there is accountability for wrong actions. There is punishment. The terror comes from knowing there is punishment, but not knowing how to remove it. So, we wonder, we fear if bad things in life happen because of something we have done. You wonder if your spouse died because you did not love enough. You fear cancer arrives because you do not get along with your siblings. You wonder if your injury happened because of a 20-year-old regret. You believe today is a bad day because you were bad yesterday. Those nagging fears come because you (and I) realize everything is not well between us and God. We fail to be ‘set apart’ from the filth of the world like we should be. That leaves us broken. This brokenness drives us into fear. Yet, God does not incinerate Moses. He does not leave him trembling on the ground. Your God is merciful. He says: “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” Remember those three men? Abraham marries two women because he doubts God will send him a son. Isaac favors one son over the other, creating family rivalry. Jacob marries many women and favors one child over the other. Still, this God remains their God. This God keeps the promises made to them. The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey…” God will deliver his people from physical slavery. No more broken bodies or raw flesh. They would be free and rest. Compared to their slavery, this new land would be a little slice of heaven. Yet, God has more concern than just physical freedom; God is concerned about spiritual freedom. Guilt may hang around your neck. You may fear that your current troubles come because of something you have done. Yet, God lifts off that burden. He shackles our sin to Jesus. He drives his Son into the dust of the earth. God forces Jesus’ head down into death. Then, God the Father turns his back on Jesus and just walks away. On that cross, God broke his union with Jesus. Yet, God remembers his promise. He remembers his mercy. He keeps his Word. He raises Jesus to life. When Jesus leaves that tomb, he walks out without any shackle. Picture this: Your guilt was shackled to him on the cross; at that time it was removed from you. On Easter Sunday Jesus walks out of the tomb still without that shackle. Your Lord rescued you from oppressive slavery and has delivered you into new life. Jesus has restored that relationship between you and God. He has scrubbed your heart pure and has dressed you in his holy life. How can you be sure? God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” At first sight, that name seems strange. ‘I AM?’ Yet, God binds three promises to that name. (1) I AM. God is a personal Being. He is not a generic life-force dreamt up by ancient people. One God exists— a God who has emotions and feelings, a God who can think and react, a God who keeps his Word. A God engaged with his world, with you. (2) I AM. Present tense verb. The action continues. Your God does not change with age. He does not become so old that he can no longer relate to your current struggles. He does not change his mind about forgiveness through Jesus. His mind does not drift off onto other matters about the universe. Your God remains the same always. (3) I AM. Your God rules independently. He does not consult your world leaders for advice. Your God is in heaven, he does whatever pleases him (Psalm 115:3). God has taken these three key points and tied them all together in one name: the LORD [all capitals]. The spelling is not a typo; the capitalization is intentional. That name tells you: God is serious to punish and even more serious to forgive (Exodus 34:6-7). Because you stand forgiven, he stands with you. God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.” That name— the ‘LORD’— is a name Moses could trust. He stood before that bush cleansed from murder. He stood forgiven for impatience. He stood as God’s child. Before, Moses lived hidden away in Midian. Now, he received strength from God to stand before the most powerful man in the world and march God’s people out of Egypt. The LORD— with his kept promise of forgiveness-- delivered Moses into new life. The LORD delivers you into new life. A life set free from guilt. A life that does not fear God seeks revenge on you. A life certain of forgiveness. This is a name you can trust. The meaning behind names change over time, but the name ‘LORD’ and the promises with it will never change. The LORD is A Name You Can Trust to rescue you from oppressive slavery and to deliver you into new life forever. (from our midweek Lenten Series: Three Words of Truth) They called her ‘unsinkable.’ Shipbuilder Thomas Andrews had designed Titanic with sixteen individual compartments, each with its own watertight door. In case of flooding, the crew could swing the door shut and seal off the damaged compartment. The water would then only fill that compartment and still leave the ship fully operational. In fact, Titanic could suffer four flooded compartments and still float. Andrews and his associates prided themselves in this cutting-edge technology that they supplied Titanic with only 20-lifeboats. (That’s enough to hold about half of the passengers on board.) Even Captain Edward Smith believed in Titanic’s unsinkability; he plowed through a patch of icebergs at 22.5-knots (about 25 miles-per-hour).
Then, on Sunday, April 14, 1912, an iceberg scraped Titanic’s right side, ripping open six compartments. Watertight doors could not stop the flooding. Titanic sank in just three hours. The 20-lifeboats rescued only 705 of the over 3,000 on board. To this day, Titanic stands as the fourth deadliest marine disaster in modern history. Titanic was unsinkable— that is, until she sunk. The disaster shocked the world. I mean, the media, the passengers, the architect, the builders, and the captain boasted in Titanic’s abilities. New technology promised that the days of sinking were over. Overwhelming trust was placed in the designs, the steel, and the handiwork. Pride had blinded many to potential flaws and catastrophes, meaning misplaced confidence brought disaster. For that same reason Jesus warns you to Watch and Pray! Temptation may appear harmless. Temptation may appear manageable. Temptation can unleash total spiritual disaster. So, Watch and Pray! Watch our Savior overcome his flesh by the Spirit. Pray that your Spirit is not overcome by the flesh. That requires struggling. For Jesus, Maundy Thursday is racing into Good Friday. Soon, Judas will appear— not alone, but with a detachment of guards. Eleven dear friends will scatter, bolting into the foggy darkness. Guards will bind Jesus hand and foot and push him through trial. Each passing second brings the future a little closer— and before Jesus towers the cross. So, Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father (John 13:1). He knew it because the Bible foretold it. Zechariah prophesied that Jesus, the Good Shepherd, would be struck (13:7). Psalm 22 put Jesus on the cross and cruel insults all around him. Men would cast lots for his clothing. Humanity would despise him. God would reject him. Isaiah pointed at Jesus, saying, “You will pierced for transgression and crushed for iniquity. You will receive the world’s punishment for sin” (53:5). Little-by-little the weight of the world slides across the back of Jesus Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” In this cup bubbles the most absolute concentrated form of God’s wrath. The bone-crushing, muscle-aching, organ-piercing, soul-wrenching suffering. The Father tips that cup for Jesus to drink. This is what your Jesus must consume for you. This is what your Jesus must remove from you— and the devil knows that. Before Jesus lies God’s unchangeable path: ‘Death for the sins of the world.’ Now the devil illuminates another path: ‘Escape from the sins of the world.’ The devil kneels beside Jesus, slips his arm across his shoulder, and pans over an alternate choice. “Jesus, there’s still time. Judas is not here. Run! Flee! Save your life!”… “Jesus, stop and think for a moment. You are innocent. You do not need to endure this. Do you really want to suffer for people who do not want to suffer for you?”… “Jesus, you are the Holy One of God. God does not deserve such insolent treatment from his creation. Blast your enemies away!” The pressure becomes so intense that Jesus’ sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground (Luke 22:44). When I stop to consider this, two thoughts appear: (1) Jesus is fighting and (2) I do not always fight. Jesus has every justifiable reason to agree with the devil. After all, Jesus is innocent. I am not. That is through no fault of Jesus. I stand guilty because I choose to soil my thoughts, I choose to insult, I choose to push. Jesus resists temptation for me. How quickly I surrender to temptation! Gossip? Sure! Thinking the worst of others? Yep! Letting anger fester? It feels fine. Even right now, a part of my heart cannot wait for this Lenten worship to be done and over so that I can pamper my body with rest, my mind with television, and my mouth with food. Jesus is sweating drops of blood so that he can do the will of God. I would rather avoid the sweat and satisfy my will, my wants! How merciful, how gracious, how undeserving that Jesus still pleads: Not as I will, but as you will. The will of God the Father is that Jesus die as our sacrifice for sin. So, God hangs Jesus on the cross. Yes, even though God has made abundantly clear: The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), Jesus is sentenced to death. I am the one who did the crime. I am the one who should serve the time. Jesus is the One who obeyed as his Father commands. Yet, Jesus is the One who drinks my suffering (and yours)— to the very last drop— and he drains away eternal death forever. Watch our Savior obey what God demands. Watch our Savior resist temptation for your benefit. Watch our Savior overcome his flesh by the Spirit. Watch him forge forward to the cross. Watch him conquer temptation once for all. Watch— and Pray. Pray that your Spirit is not overcome by the flesh. That requires struggling. The devil knows he lost. He knows nothing will stop Jesus from returning to gather those who belong to him. The devil also knows the only way you will enter hell is if you stop following Christ. That means, he will hurl one temptation after another in the hopes of getting you to stumble and lose your faith. Yet, your risen Lord does not leave you fighting temptation alone. [Jesus] returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. For one hour! Peter, James, and John see Jesus in distress. They could offer encouragement and support. They could share Bible passages. They could pray with him. Yet, they sleep. Could they keep watch? The answer is pretty simple: ‘No.’ Understand, Jesus is not concerned about the amount of sleep these men receive. His question exposes our limitations. Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak. The disciples wanted to stay awake, but fatigue conquered their bodies. How strong our fight against temptation! As children of God, we love our God. We want to read and hear his Word. We want to put his teachings into practice. We want to grow our knowledge of his promises and better understand our Bibles. This is our desire. This is how we sometimes live. We still fight a sinful nature. The heart cries out, ‘Watch your words!’ but cutting a reputation to shreds feels so deserved. The heart urges, ‘Forgive one another,’ but the mouth just cannot (or does not) want to form those words. The heart loves the thought of worship, but the body loves the thought of laziness. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak. We need help— and we have help. In the Lord’s Prayer, you pray: Lead us not into temptation. God does not tempt us, nor does he steer us into temptation (James 1:13). You are asking God to break, defeat, and destroy every devilish temptation. How does he do this? Well, the devil only seeks to lead astray. The Bible teaches what is pleasing to God. For example, the devil may pull on you to doubt God’s love for you. Yet, the Bible promises: I am with you always (Matthew 28:20)—and the same Bible assures you that God does not lie (Numbers 23:19). The Bible exposes the devil’s temptation as the lie it is. God puts his Word in your hands and in your heart so that you can resist temptation, protect faith, and remain a child of God. Yet, God not only hands you his Word, but he fights for you. Your God powerfully drives the devil away. He may do that by removing a personal challenge. A habit (or addiction) no longer entices you. You have renewed confidence to face cancer. You have the strength to remain patient with those that may irritate you. God may even drive the devil away by saying: “My grace is sufficient for you” (2 Corinthians 12:9). When fierce temptation presses into you, look up to your victorious Jesus, fighting, protecting, watching, and keeping. Watch and Pray— pray that your Spirit is not overcome by the flesh. The Titanic disaster has been called a “legendary story about the dangers of hubris” (https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/unsinkable-titanic-sinks). ‘Hubris,’ that is, ‘exaggerated pride or self-confidence.’ The media, the passengers, the architect, the builders, and the captain boasted of Titanic’s abilities. New technology promised that the days of sinking were over. Overwhelming trust was put in the designs, the steel, and the handiwork. Pride had blinded many to potential flaws and catastrophes. Misplaced confidence brought disaster. For that same reason Jesus warns: Watch and Pray! Temptation may appear harmless. Temptation may appear manageable. Temptation can unleash total spiritual disaster. So, Watch and Pray! Watch our Savior overcome his flesh by the Spirit. Pray that your Spirit is not overcome by the flesh. In Ephesians chapter 6 you read: Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. With those words God highlights a very real truth: You have an enemy, and your enemy is the devil. The devil whispers untrue statements for no other reason than to destroy faith.
Yet, God has not left you defenseless. He dresses you in protective armor. He even identifies the parts of that armor. In a few seconds you will hear those parts listed. As you listen, pay attention! God names many parts used for defense, but lists only one weapon. I want you to identify that weapon. Alright? Stand firm[…] with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (6:14-17). So, what is the one weapon God hands you? A sword, and the sword is the Word of God. That means, you do not stand powerless against your devilish enemy. God gives you a weapon so that you may strike the devil away. The Word Remains Ever Near You to deliver you from defeat and to rely on in battle. In Romans 10:8, God zeroes in on the sword he puts in your hand. He reminds you: The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart… That ‘word’ is God’s Word, the Bible, the instruction God gives for life. In that ‘word’ God uncovers a perfect universe created for you. In that ‘word’ God lists Ten Commands as to how we are to treat him and each other. In that ‘word’ God points to Jesus, whose obedience makes you a friend of God. In that ‘word’ God whispers promises so that you may set your trust in those promises, cling to them, and live under his care. The word is near you… Literally. You can purchase the Bible at just about any store or order one online. You can download Bibles to your smartphone. We have Bibles in the church and at the library. You can even hear the Word preached. The ‘Word’ can literally be in your hand. Yet, the ‘word’ can be even closer than your end table or bookshelf. The Word is in your mouth and in your heart… You have heard of God’s great love for you. You believe God’s great love for you. What you believe in your heart comes out of you with words. For example, each week you put your faith into words by using the Apostle’s (or Nicene) Creed. You admit: “Jesus is Lord.” That Jesus is more than just a man, he is the Son of God— the Son of God who destroyed the devil by his innocent death and that God raised him from the dead… So, here’s the key point God makes about that sword: You have access to the most powerful weapon in the world because the Bible reveals a Savior who delivers you from eternal defeat. The devil knows that. He knows Jesus conquered him. He knows that as long as you trust in that ‘Word,’ then you will enter heaven. So, he fights and he foams and he rages to separate you from the Word. If he gets the Word out of your hand, then you will have no weapon. If you have no weapon, then you lack the power to drive him away. If the devil does not go away, then he can destroy you. Do you know how he gets the sword out of your hand? With one question: “What do you think?” That sinister question invites you to lay aside what God teaches and rely on your own opinion. That question is so seductive because it speaks to our pride. The devil wants you to think that you already know everything in the Bible. If you think you already know everything, then you will not read it and double-check your knowledge. If you will not read it, then you can forget Bible teachings. If you forget Bible teachings, you will just start creating wrong ideas. Soon, you rely on those wrong ideas. You trust your wisdom. You consult only yourself for life’s many choices. You may tell God he is wrong. The heart can even grow so callous that it divorces God from life. Sound over-exaggerated? Well, the ‘word’ says: “Let us not give up meeting together” (Hebrews 10:25). Were you excited to be here today? Or, did the heart pump out excuse after excuse to stay away from worship? “You’re too tired. You lost an hour of sleep. God wants you to be healthy.” “You’re too busy for Jesus right now. You have school, sports, friends, bed, dinner. Jesus understands if you stay home.” “You already know enough about Jesus. You don’t have to be here that much. After all, you will spend eternity with him. Why spend time with him now?” The ‘word’ says: “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes” (Psalm 118:9). Does that promise steady your heart? Or, do you still worry about the future? The ‘word’ says: “Do all things for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). Do you remember that God is involved in your decisions, or have you forgotten that? Do you stop to wonder if the television show you watch is really God-pleasing? Would God be pleased with what you do behind closed doors? Do Or, do you act in whatever way feels right to you? The devil wants you to put down the ‘word’ because when you do, you have laid down your sword. If you have put down the sword, then he can enter your mind and heart without effort. He can lead you false ideas. He can steer you far from a perfect God. He can defeat you for good. So, God points at the sword he gives you. (1) The Word Remains Ever Near You. (2) It even does something great: it delivers you from defeat. In the Bible you see Jesus, the Son of God. The words Jesus speaks are the words God speaks. When Jesus commands, God commands. When Jesus promises, God promises. When the devil tempts Jesus in the wilderness, God strikes down each temptation. Jesus is tempted in every way just as we are (Hebrews 4:15). The devil hisses: “What do you think Jesus? Does God really love you? Do you really need to worship him?” Every sly word is meant to get Jesus to disobey. If Jesus disobeyed, then he would lose. He, too, would be sinful. We would go to hell forever. Yet, Jesus strikes back with: “It is written” (Luke 4:1-13). He points to what will happen. It is written that Jesus will be pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities. It is written that God will kill Jesus because we wandered. It is written that we are healed because of Jesus (Isaiah 53:5). All this is recorded in the Bible. You can hear it and read it for yourself. The Word Remains Ever Near You. In that word, you watch Jesus deliver you from (eternal) defeat. You can rely on this word in every battle. Why? Well, there is no difference between Jew and Gentile— the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Your ‘Lord,’ your Jesus has the only thing God wants; Jesus has an absolutely perfect life. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life (Romans 6:23). Jesus never sinned; he lives forever. On the cross, he hands his Father that perfect which counts for you. The devil lost. He never got Jesus to sin one time. You (and I) hold victory. Nothing will keep you (and me) out of heaven. The Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” That is the sword God has placed into your hand. When the devil tempts you, reveal that Word. Cut through the devil’s lies, and remind him that “Jesus wins.” Remind him how Jesus succeeded in his mission to save you. Remind him that you obey the Word of your God because it pleases him. Remind him that you listen to the Word because it will bring you to heaven. How furious Satan will be if we die trusting in Christ, not ourselves. How livid he will be because we will slip between his hideous fingers into our Father’s hands forever! The Word Remains Ever Near You to rely on in battle. Relying on the Word will be difficult because it calls you (and me) to put God’s Word first. That means putting God’s wants ahead of your own wants. Sometimes that will set you at odds with many. That may even put you at odds with yourself. Some days it would feel better to put the Word down, to ignore, to do whatever pleases you. Yet, to remove the Word removes you from God. That is the reason you fight. You fight so that you will not lose—and you will not, not with God on your side. He tells you: Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. So many parts are used for defense, but only one part is a weapon: the Word. That Word reveals a Savior who delivered you from the clutches of the devil. That Word replays the devil’s loss again and again. That is the weapon God hands you. Use it and strike the devil away. The Word Remains Ever Near You to deliver you from defeat and to rely on in battle. |
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