Feb. 23, 2008 St. Peters Ev. Lutheran Church
Ephesians 5:8-14 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
In Christ Jesus, Dear Friend,
Did you see the lunar eclipse on Wednesday evening? It was really amazing. I was driving home after Lenten Services and you could almost see the shadow moving across the moon. And then when it had completely covered the moon, the moon was dark and then it turned orange. It was truly an amazing sight to see. Light is an amazing this isn’t it? And yet no one really knows what light is. Some times it acts like it is a ray shinning and at other times it acts like it is particles. We know that there is really no such thing as darkness. Once it is dark you cannot make it darker. Darkness is really just absence of light. And to get rid of the darkness, all you have to do is turn on the lights. That’s what our text says also, But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes everything visible. It’s kind of like the two little old ladies who were walking around an overcrowded English country churchyard and came upon a tombstone that was inscribed, “Here lies John Smith, a politician and an honest man.” “Good heavens!” said one lady to the other. “Isn’t it awful that they had to put two people in the same grave!” She couldn’t see the possibility of a politician being an honest man so she figured there were two men in the same grave one honest and one a politician. Who knows? May the Lord Who has turned on the lights in our life, keep us honest and turn them on in every aspect of your life and mine.
Paul writes in our text, You were once darkness--But now you are light in the Lord. Things are Different Now. The fact is we’re born “in the dark” when it comes to faith in Jesus. All of us are born without any understanding of Jesus.
We were just like the Ephesians to whom the apostle Paul had written: “For you were once darkness,” he said. They were directed by the darkening power of sin. They were totally ignorant of divine truth. Their spiritual ignorance led them to live ungodly lives, which were full of heartache and misery.
Did you see what Paul said you were? He said you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. He’s describing an amazing thing that happens “in the Lord,” that is, when a person is brought to a personal faith in Jesus Christ. When you believe in Christ, you go from darkness to light. This is a remarkable spiritual transaction that has profound practical results in our lives. We began with an emphasis on death – the fact that we are all dead, spiritually, because of our sin, and we all face death because of sin. Before we meet Christ, we are bound by, our futures are determined by the impact of sin in our lives. That’s darkness. When Paul says you were darkness, he means not just that you and I were in the dark, but we were the dark – our hearts were filled with darkness as a result of sin. But when we meet Christ and believe in his death for our sins and resurrection for our lives, the lights come on. The darkness in us is removed through forgiveness and replaced by the presence of God’s Holy Spirit. God is light, in him there is no darkness at all. The Scriptures tell us in 1 John 1:5, and so when His Spirit comes to dwell in us, we are now full of light. We go from darkness to light, just like that! Peter writes the same thing. 1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. And in the Old Testament Isaiah the prophet says the same thing. Isaiah 60:1-2 “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you.
It is kind of like the two brothers who earned their money by stealing sheep and selling them. One day they were caught. Rather than kill them the villagers decided to brand the two brothers on the forehead with the letters S. T. for sheep thief. The action so embarrassed the one brother that he left town and was never heard from again. The other brother was so filled with remorse that he stayed in town and tried to reconcile himself to the villagers he had wronged. At first the villagers were skeptical and most of them wouldn’t have anything to do with him. But he was determined to make restitution. Whenever there was sickness, the sheep thief was there to help care for the sick person. Whenever there was work that needed to be done, the sheep thief showed up to help. He was always there to lend a helping hand and he soon was an integral part of the community. His life was lived for others and as a consequence he was a friend of all and became well respected.Years later a traveler came through town and as he sat eating his lunch at a little cafe, he noticed the old man with the strange brand on his forehead. People would stop by to say a few words to him and even the children seemed to like him. The stranger’s curiosity caused him to ask the owner of the cafe, “What does the strange brand on his forehead stand for?” The cafe owner thought for a minute and said, “It happened so long ago that I don’t rightly remember. But I think it stands for SAINT.” The Lord has done the same for you and me. He has changed us from thief to saint. He has brought us out of the darkness and into the life. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.
And now the Lord says, turn on the lights in your life. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. In a very practical way the Lord is telling us that we are not a Christians to live a different life that the people on this world, the people living in darkness are. Because we are no longer darkness but are light, we must live like children of light. Because God has brought us out of darkness into his kingdom, his family of light, we now must live like it. We are no longer children of darkness, we are children of light. He says our behavior ought to match this reality in our lives, that we are now light.
How do we do that? And find out what pleases the Lord. Is one way and he other is Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. He says; find out what pleases the Lord. What makes the Lord happy when we do it? We know what that is. We know it is living according to His Will and that will is revealed to us in His Word. He wants me to trust and love him above everything else. He doesn’t want me to curse and swear and misuse His name but to come to Him in prayer. He wants me to be in His word and regular in my church attendance and in Bible Class. He wants me to respect those in authority over me and to help my neighbor out when he needs my help. He wants me to avoid sexual immorality and to lead be clean life. He wants me to use what He has given me to benefit others and to provide for my family. He wants me to return to Him some of what He has given me to us. He wants me to keep from gossiping about other people or putting them down ahead of others. I am sure you recognized the fact that I just shared with you the Ten Commandments. It is in those commandments that we find out what pleases the Lord.
But Paul goes on, Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. This world we live in is filled with fruitless deeds of darkness. You can’t grow any plants in the dark. You must have light to grow plants. That’s why God calls the deeds of darkness “fruitless.” All you have to do is look around at our world to see the darkness. Virtually every aspect of this world is filled with darkness. The immorality, the lack of honesty in business and in personal relationship, the rejection of God and His Word. Darkness every where. It reminds me of a Dear Abby column from a few years ago. A man wrote: “Dear Abby, I am in love and I having an affair with two different women other than my wife. I love my wife but I love these other women too. Please tell me what to do, but don’t give me any of that morality stuff.” Signed: Too much love for only one. In this case Abby’s answer was classic. She wrote: “Dear too much love for only one, the only difference between humans and animals is morality. Please write to a veterinarian.”
We are to Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness but rather expose them. To live in the light means to examine, let the light of Christ examine your life. Shine Christ’s light on what you do, say, etc., and see if it passes this test: Does it please God? One thing this light we now have in us does is examine things to see if they please God. Take the light of Christ in you and shine in on what you’re doing and see what happens. Let Christ’s light examine your speech. Does it please God? Shine the light on your attitude toward your boss, or your parents. Does it please God? Is it good, right, true? What about the last movie you watched? How’s it look with the light shined on it? Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness but rather expose them. That means I don’t read that book. I don’t rent that movie. I turn off that TV program. I don’t go to that bar. I don’t wear those clothes. I don’t dress like the world does. And I don’t hang around with those people that do those things. I do those things that do please the Lord.
Have you ever been in dark? I mean, have you ever been in a situation where the lights go completely out and you are left in pitch blackness? Do you know the fear, the uneasiness that comes with that? And then do you remember the relief you felt when the lights suddenly came back on? Paul says that is what has happened to you, spiritually. You were completely blacked out. Now, you are in full light. But it doesn’t make any sense to live, to act like the lights are still off!My Friend, our dear Lord brought us out of the darkness as Peter said, who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. He has turned on the light in each of our lives. Now Lord help us to live in that light. A little boy was asked by his Sunday School teacher what a saint was. He thought for a moment and then pointed to the stained-glass windows in the church and said: “A saint is someone the light shines through.”
Lord, shine through each of us and bring light to this dark world. Amen.Labels: Pastor Larry Zesson
posted by St. Peters 2:38 PM
Matthew 4:1-11 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: ”‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
In Christ Jesus, Dear Friend,
Temptation is something all of us face. Temptation is not a sin, but it can lead to sin. It depends what we do with that temptation. For example a man and his wife were shopping at a mall and a shapely young woman in a short, tight-fitting dress walked by. The man’s eyes followed her. Without looking up from the item she was examining, his wife asked, "Was it worth the trouble you’re in?" He was in trouble with his wife because she saw the look he gave that young woman. Now it was not the temptation that was sin. It was how he handled the temptation. You and I are under constant attack by Satan, by the world around us and by our own sinful flesh. Today may the Lord help us grow in faith and spiritual skills as we face the attacks of Satan even as the Lord did at His time. Today we’re going to look at temptation, and may the Lord show us some practical ways to help us get past them and overcome them.
Jesus had just been baptized in the Jordon River by John the Baptist. He had heard His heavenly Father say, This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. At a high point in his life, when everything is going great, He is led by the Holy Spirit out into the wilderness, to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” You see, temptation always offers to make our life easier or better.
Doesn’t the Devil tempt you this way too? Bow down to me, the Devil says, and you’ll be happy. Instead of worshiping God, worship money. Instead of striving to be pure in your life, be immoral. Then you’ll be happy. Disrespect authority. Gossip about other people. Don’t ever read the Bible. Live like an unbeliever, and you’ll find happiness in your life. Do what I say, the Devil says.
I think we are a little like the ringtail monkey: it is one of the hardest animals to catch. For the Zulus of that continent, however, it’s simple. The trap they use is nothing more than a melon growing on a vine. The seeds of this melon are a favorite food of the monkey. The Zulus simply cut a hole in the melon, just large enough for the monkey to insert his hand. The monkey will puts his hand in, grabs as many seeds as he can, then start to take his hand out. But he can’t do it. Now his fist is larger than the hole. The monkey will pull and tug and fight the melon for hours. But he can’t get his hand out unless he gives up the seeds. And he won’t do that. Meanwhile, the Zulus sneak up and grab him. The devil knows how best to tempt us. So what do we do?
The first key to dealing with temptation is 1. Know what temptation really is. Temptation is not sin. Temptation is the opportunity to sin. So it’s very important that we learn what temptation really is and how it operates. Let’s take a look at James 1:13-15. When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. God is not the source of temptation. God is holy, pure, and perfect. God allows temptation, but He is not the source.
The source of temptation is our own evil nature. No more claiming the devil made me do it. ¨ Why? Because he didn’t; you did. You followed your own desires, your own appetites, your own habits. The devil knows how to play on those, that’s for sure but he doesn’t make you do anything. The choice begins and ends with you. Notice what it says in verse 14:but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. For years scientists were puzzled about apples that had worms in them but had no breaks in the surface of the apple! How did they get inside when there did not appear any outward signs of entrance? What they discovered was that a certain worm lays its eggs right on the apple blossom in Spring, and as the apple develops it encases the egg right from the beginning. Later when the apple nears it complete maturing process so does the insect egg, it hatches and eats its way out from the inside! – The source of temptation is our own evil natureThe second key is to 2. Recognize patterns of temptation. You may have never thought of this, but temptations many times follow patterns that are tailor-made to the individual. But I think It’s safe to say that there are some times when temptations seem to be particularly vicious. After big spiritual victories. Jesus had just been baptized by John, endorsed by the Father, and visited by the Holy Spirit. During hard times. Notice that verse 3 says that Jesus was hungry, and then the devil came up to Him and tried to get Him to make some food. Sometimes the devil comes to us in our most vulnerable times. Maybe it’s hunger, like in the case of Jesus. Maybe it’s the painful end of a significant relationship. Maybe it’s the loss of a job, or financial strain, or family tension, or something else. And the enemy loves to take advantage of those times to tempt you to sin.During times of separation from family or friends. Loneliness is a fertile ground for temptation. If you travel a lot, this is very important. You need to be intentional about focusing your thoughts on other things rather than your loneliness. If you don’t, sin is crouching at your door, waiting to devour you.
Let’s move on to the third key for dealing with temptation, and that is to3. Learn how to handle temptation. 1 Corinthians 10:12-13 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! 13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.Some actions to take in handling temptation: Know it’s coming. This verse says it’s coming, so don’t live in denial. You will face temptation. You are not above temptation. You will face it in all shapes and sizes.
Many times temptation comes in the form of legitimate desires being met in illegitimate ways. For instance, money for food is a legitimate desire, even a need. Robbing banks to get that money is not good. Sexual fulfillment is a legitimate desire. Obtaining that fulfillment outside of marriage between a man and a woman is illegitimate. My point here is that temptation often dresses itself up as a legitimate need. But know it is coming and be ready for it.Prepare your mind. When you know something’s coming, you can prepare for it. Romans 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.2 Corinthians 2:10 - we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. How do we prepare our minds? There are several ways: First, recognize the patterns that I mentioned earlier. Be aware of those things that draw you toward sin.
Another way is to develop a habit of prayer and Bible reading. And a fourth way to prepare your mind is to do what Jesus did, memorize Scripture so you can use it to defeat the lies of the devil. You probably noticed that in our passage today. Three temptations, and each time Jesus quoted Scripture. Look at how Jesus resists this temptation. He doesn’t use his powers as the Son of God, and vaporize the Devil. He could have done that. But He uses the Word of God. “It is written, ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Instead he fights off the Devil with God’s Word. Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test. And again with the third temptation. Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only. The more you become familiar with Scripture, the better off you’ll be. Memorize passages that deal with the particular temptations most common for you. If you are tempted with sexual immorality, memorize verses dealing with that. If you are prone to cheat on your finances or business deals, memorize verses that talk about integrity. Or if your prone to gossip, memorize verses about how to control your tongue.Avoid areas of temptation. Intentionally change your path so you do not come across whatever temptation you fight the most. In an episode of the program, "Hee Haw." Doc Campbell is confronted by a patient who says he broke his arm in two places. The doc replies, "Well then, stay out of them places!" Stay away from the places where you are being tempted.Drop the rope. Don’t get in a spiritual tug of war with temptation. Don’t fight , run. 2 Timothy 2:22 in the Living Bible says to-Run from anything that gives you evil thoughts If you think you can just stand up to all the temptations you will face, just understand that you’re setting yourself up to fail. Run. Our passage in 1 Corinthians doesn’t say that God will provide a way to beat the temptation into the ground. It says that God provides a way out! And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. If you take the way out, you’re wise. If you don’t, you’re foolish. It’s that simple.4. Find encouragement in Christ. And so, the Bible tells us, Satan left him, and angels came and attended Jesus. Only through Jesus can we overcome. Our hope is in Jesus. Hebrews 4:14-16 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Before coming to Christ, Augustine frequented 2 places; bars and houses of prostitution. After surrendering his life to Christ, he passed one of the bars he often visited. A prostitute saw him coming and thought that he must have given up his religious phase. As he came closer; however, he refused to make eye contact and eventually passed her without saying a word. She spoke up to get his attention, “Augustine, don’t you recognize who you just walked by. It’s me!” For a moment he stopped, turned to her and said, “Yes, but it is no longer me.” In Jesus Christ we are changed people.
Jesus knows what we are going through in the time of temptation. He has been there. And He has conquered Satan in our place. Satan has no power over us. We may be under attack but the victory is ours through Christ. May the Lord help us to live our lives as changed people. Amen.
posted by St. Peters 10:16 AM
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
In Christ Jesus, Dear Friend,
How many here have played Hide and Go Seek? I remember getting together with my cousins or with the neighborhood kids and playing Hide and Go Seek. It was fun and most of the time we played it in the evening. It didn’t make any difference if I was the one hiding and trying not to be found or if I was the one looking for those hiding. I remember how some of those who were “it” would have to count out loud up to a hundred and then when he or she reached 100, they would yell our “Ready or not here I come."
Now there were four things that were for sure. 1. It was sure that “it” was really coming. 2. It was for sure that ‘It” was coming when he had counted to 100 and he was ready. 3. It was sure that he was coming and it didn’t make any difference is I was ready or not. He was coming. And 4. If I was not ready for him to come I suffered the consequences.
I never realized how much Hide and Go Seek is like Jesus return on Judgment Day. It is. In Hide and go seek, it is sure that “it” was really coming. The same thing is true with Jesus. He is coming. Paul writes Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. There is no question Jesus is coming back again. We don’t know the exact day, but we can be absolutely positive that Jesus is coming back. The Lord will come like a thief in the night. (257 prophecies foretelling Christ’s second coming.)The question is not "if Jesus will return?" but "when will he return?" Paul answered this question by saying, "No one knows." The time of Jesus return will be as a thief in the night. Just as a thief comes at when least expected, so will be the coming of the Son of God. Jesus Himself said in Matthew 24:36 “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. And later He said in Matthew 24:44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. In Hide and Go Seek the person who was it came when he was ready and that’s why he would cry out “Read or not, here I come.” It didn’t make any difference if the person was ready for him to come or not. He had counted to 100 and was coming, ready or not. And so my friend it doesn’t make any difference whether or not I am ready or you are ready. When Jesus comes He will come ready or not.
If you are not ready, you can expect some real problems, eternal problems. While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. Paul refers to the second coming of Christ as the "Day of the Lord." Throughout scripture the "Day of the Lord" was the designation of that time in history when God will pour out His wrath on the ungodly. Paul says they will not escape. What won’t they escape? They will not escape hell. Matthew 25:46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment. 2 Thessalonians 1:9 They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power. The subject of the day of the Lord comes up more than 20 times in the Bible. Both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. Isaiah 13:6 says that "the day of the Lord is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty." And Isaiah 13:9 says "See, the day of the Lord is coming - a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger - to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it." And in 2 Peter 3:10 we’re told that "the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare." I don’t understand everything that is going to happen when Jesus comes back but one thing is crystal clear: If you are not a Christian at the time this happens, then you are going to wish you were somewhere else. Because it is going to get ugly. If you are not a Christian, then the day of the Lord is a bad day. It is a time of terrible judgment. And all of your sin. And all of your indifference. And all of your rebellion, all your gossip will be laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. And you will not escape. How do I know that? Look at verse three: "While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape."
The tragedy of this day is that so many will be unprepared. And not only will they be unprepared they will actually be deceived and actively deceiving others as they cry out "Peace and safety" while thinking there is no danger at all when in fact destruction is immediately upon them. Back in Roman times, the Roman government would approach these small towns. And they would say to them, "If you let us keep a garrison of troops in your village you will come under the umbrella of our protection, we will guarantee that you will enjoy peace and safety!" While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly and they will not escape." My friend, if you are not ready when Jesus says, “Ready or not, Here I come,” then you are in trouble.Six years ago, on the morning of September 11th, 2001, many people in the United States were saying the same thing the Romans were: "Peace and Safety! Nothing bad can happen to us! We’re the most powerful nation on earth! Our military and our intelligence can handle anything!" And then, under clear blue skies, when we were least expecting it, the terrorists attacked. And before we knew what was going on the twin towers came down. And the Pentagon was on fire. That’s what it will be like when Jesus Christ returns like a thief in the night. The unbelieving world will be completely caught off guard. Just like we were on 911. And people will be saying to each other, "What is going on? What’s happening? Luke 21:26 Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. The Bible tells us that people will try to kill themselves and not be able to.
Are you ready, my friend? Are you ready for Jesus’ return? You say, “Well, I am a Christian. I believe in Jesus.” Your mouth says that, but does your life say the same thing? I honestly believe that many of those who call themselves Christians don’t know what they are talking about. They say one thing with their mouth but they say quite another with their lives. They try to look and sound oh so pious but their hearts are filled with lust and sinful desires and bitterness and greed. They pretend to care about their fellow man but they gossip about him. They talk about him behind his back and they piously say I would never do what he has done. I honestly believe that the most damnable sin we have in our church and in our community is talking behinds someone’s back. And that sin will destroy the person who does it and the church or community that tolerates it. Listen what God thinks about gossip and talking about someone behind their back, Ps 52:2-5 Your tongue plots destruction; it is like a sharpened razor, you who practice deceit. You love evil rather than good, falsehood rather than speaking the truth. You love every harmful word, O you deceitful tongue! Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin: He will snatch you up and tear you from your tent; he will uproot you from the land of the living. Ps 59:12 For the sins of their mouths, for the words of their lips, let them be caught in their pride. For the curses and lies they utter.
My friend are you ready for Jesus return? Well ready or not here He comes. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.
As a soldier is commanded to "stay alert" on his post, so must we as Christians. Paul instructs us to "be alert." His command is in the present tense which means we must continually be alert. A Roman soldier would be put to death for falling asleep on his watch. The outcome could be just as fatal for the person not constantly looking for the return of Christ.Paul is warning us that we must not allow anything within our lives that will influence our moral alertness. Just as alcoholic beverages will greatly influence and inhibit a person’s abilities to focus and make important decisions, sin will affect one’s ability to make moral decisions. A person does not become drunk with just one drink, but one drink leads to two and then to three. Slowly the drinker becomes drunk without even noticing it and all of his senses become blurred making him a danger to himself and also to others. In the same way, if we do not control the sin in our lives, we will soon become so overcome by its effects that we are oblivious to spiritual matters and therefore unaware of and unconcerned about the imminent return of Christ. As a drunkard who is passed out and oblivious to the world. so is the uncontrolled sinner spiritually passed out.
Paul continues But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. Notice how we are to be ready for Jesus return. Let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. He is telling you and me that if we are going to be ready for Jesus’ return, then we had better be self-controlled. We had better learn how to keep our mouth shut, how to keep our desires in check and how to keep our hands to ourselves.
We are to putting on faith and love as a breastplate. If we are going to be ready for Jesus’ return we need to keep the faith and get rid of bitterness out of our hearts and replace it with love. Instead of trying to get even we show love. Instead of living my life the way I want to, live it in the hope of salvation.
A minister waited in line to have his car filled with gas just before a long holiday weekend. The attendant worked quickly, but there were many cars ahead of him in front of the service station. Finally, the attendant motioned him toward a vacant pump. "Reverend," said the young man, "sorry about the delay. It seems as if everyone waits until the last minute to get ready for a long trip." The minister chuckled, "I know what you mean. It’s the same in my business." Don’t wait until it is too late. It is a matter of Hell or Heaven. We know what the Lord wants for us. It is spelled out in the final verse of our text. God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. That’s what God wants. He wants you and me to be with him in heaven. Don’t blow it my friend. Don’t blow it. Be ready for when He comes. Amen.
posted by St. Peters 12:31 PM
October 13, 2007
Theme: What does Jesus Look Like?
John 12:20-22 Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the Feast. 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.
In Christ Jesus, Dear Friend,
Has this ever happened to you? You walk into a room and you are introduced to someone. You start talking to them and you think to yourself, “Now, what was their name?” And then you start going through names to see if you can remember it. You don’t want to embarrass yourself by calling them by a wrong name or asking them again what their name is. . But you just can’t remember it. Then it gets worse. Your spouse or a friend comes over and says, “Well aren’t you going to introduce us.” It doesn’t get much worse than that. I heard of a solution even though I have never tried it. You ask the person their name and if they say Bill you quickly add, “No, I know that, I meant your last name.” And if they give you their last name, then you say, “No I mean your first name.” The real solution is to listen closely the first time you hear their name, something we are not always that good at. In our text we find some people who wanted to be introduced to Jesus. They wanted to see Jesus. My friend, if you were to see Jesus, would you recognize Him? Today may the Lord grant us that blessing, To See Jesus.
It is Tuesday of Holy Week and Jesus is in the temple. The triumphal march of Palm Sunday has come and gone. But many of the people remained in Jerusalem waiting to celebrate the Passover at the end of the week. Among them were Jewish converts from Greece. They had traveled many miles to celebrate the Passover and had heard of Jesus who held hope of being the promised Messiah. And so They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.”
We are not told why they wanted to see Him. Was it just curiosity? Or was it to be healed? Or was it to gain some special wisdom? We don’t know. Nor do we know if Jesus ever saw them. It isn’t told us. We would consider it unusual if they did not see Him for the Lord is ready and willing to receive all that come to Him. It would also appear from their request that they might not recognize Jesus. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.”
This has been a common request. Many people have wanted to see Jesus. The shepherds came with haste to see Jesus. The Wisemen traveled hundreds of miles to see Jesus. Anna and Simeon waited in the temple courts to see Jesus. The Syro-Phonecian traveled to Israel to find Jesus. Not all came to worship or for healing. Some wanted to see Jesus that they might destroy Him. Herod told the wisemen, “Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.” While his real purpose was to kill Him. There have been those who wanted to see Jesus out of idle curiosity. Another Herod at another time would want to see miracles performed. 8 When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been wanting to see him. From what he had heard about him, he hoped to see him perform some miracle. Many people looked forward to seeking Jesus. From Eve who thought that her first son was the Messiah to the prophets of the Old Testament, many have wanted to see Jesus. Phillip who saw Jesus didn’t realize what he was seeing. He said to Jesus, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” 9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me?
My friend, have you ever wanted to see Jesus? Would you recognize Him if you did see Him? I don’t know if we would recognize Jesus if He walked by us on the street or sat next to us in church. Several years ago I was talking with my granddaughter Rebecca when she was five years old and asked her if she knew what Jesus looked like and she replied, “I know exactly what Jesus looks like.” Her picture of Jesus is probably closer to reality that ours. For a child sees the inner beauty more perfectly than we who judge people on their outward appearance Yes, Rebecca, I think that you do know exactly what Jesus looks like.
No artist at Jesus time painted His picture. No photograph has been taken of Jesus. I am sure that if it had we would have been disappointed. The Old Testament describes His physical appearance. Isaiah 53:2. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Jesus was not the handsome person our artists have conceived. People were not attracted to Jesus because of His great looks. I am sure that there must have been a gentle and loving look in His eyes when He held the little children close to Him or when He gave a dead son back to his mother, but there was no real physical beauty there, in fact quite the opposite was true. Isaiah adds, Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. To see Jesus was not to overwhelmed by His beauty.
But my friend, we can still see Jesus. As the disciples on the road to Emmaeus eyes were opened and they saw Jesus so we too can see Jesus. It may not be in picture hanging on the wall or in a photograph in our wallet but we can still see Jesus. In His holy Word Jesus gives us the most beautiful picture of Himself. It is a picture of loving friend who walks by our side over difficult roads and through trouble times and gently whispers in our ear, Matthew 11:28-30 28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” It is the picture of a Savior who reaches into the depths of our hearts and fills them with confidence and peace as He proclaims, John 10:14,1514 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—and I lay down my life for the sheep. It is the picture of a righteous judge who will come at the end of time to judge the living and the dead. It is also the picture of loving Savior hanging on the cross in our place praying Father forgive them for they know not what they do. It is the picture of a risen Savior who fills our hearts with joy at the funeral of a loved one. It is the picture of a living Lord who proclaims, Because I live ye shall live also. To see Jesus is to see our Beautiful Savior. You see, my friend we do have a picture of Jesus. It is drawn in blood on the cross of Calvary and it is published on the cover of the Book of Life. My friend would you like to see Jesus better? Then look at His self-portrait drawn in His holy Word.
Would we see Jesus? Listen how? John 14:21 Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.” Do you see my friend, to whom Jesus will show Himself? To see Jesus means to know his commands and to obey them and that out of love for Jesus. For in loving Jesus we are loved by Him. The evidence and fruit of our love for the Lord is found in our obedience. Notice our obedience is not a hard or cruel thing. It does not come from being under the hand of a cruel dictator. It comes from a heart filled with love. It comes from a heart filled with deep appreciation for all that our Lord has done for us. Our obedience then becomes a joyful expression of our love and faith.
It also carries with it another blessing. Jesus says, John 13:15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. You see if I follow the example that Jesus has set for me than others will see Jesus in me. Those around me will also see Jesus. Paul picked up on this and wrote, Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. Peter also understood the importance of living so people could see Jesus in his life. He wrote, 1 Peter 2:21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. Isn’t that neat? We can show each other what Jesus looks like. How often don’t I take out my wallet and show someone pictures of my grandchildren. (Oh and once in awhile a picture of the big buck I shot.) We can do the same thing with our lives. I can show Jesus’ love by loving others. I can show them His healing power when I lay my cool hand on someone’s feverish brow. I can show them His power as I pray for them. I can show them His wealth as I share with them mine. Oh what great joy to show Jesus to others as they look at me.
The blessing of that obedience is that it brings an even clearer picture of Jesus love for us. In our obedience Jesus says, I too will love him and show myself to him.” As you and I walk in Jesus’ ways we will feel His loving presence there. We will experience the joy of His patient guidance and the confidence of knowing we are truly on the right path, a path that leads to His waiting arms. As Paul writes, 1 Corinthians 13:12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. To see Jesus! Finally, to see Jesus. Oh what joy that will be when we can finally see Jesus. Oh what joy to stand in the presence of our Lord, to touch Him and feel His warm embrace. Oh, what tremendous joy it will be when we are privileged to see Jesus. What tears of joy and happiness will stream down our faces when it sinks in that finally behind us are all the sorrows and hurts of this life and before us looms and eternity of being in Jesus presence. To see Jesus, Dear Jesus, grant that each of us may for an eternity truly see you face to face. AmenLabels: What does Jesus Look Like
posted by St. Peters 10:57 AM
By Pastor Larry Zessin
Matthew 18:1-6 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. “And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.
In Christ Jesus, Dear Friend,
This weekend we dedicate to and emphasis on Christian Education. We look at the importance of being in God’s Word for ourselves and our children. It is important to be in the Word for there we find the pathway to heaven and are given the strength to walk that path. How much do you know about the Bible, God’s Word. Let’s check it out this morning.
True or False
There is really only one God.
God is love.
God always knows what I am thinking.
God created the world in 7 natural days of 24 hours each.
It rained 40 days and 40 nights while Moses was in the ark.
Magi brought gold, frankincense and myrrh to Jesus at the manger in Bethlehem.
Paul is the author of the book of Romans.
Is it perhaps time for you to attend another Bible Class?
Our text for today talks about the importance being in the Word from a very practical point of view, the salvation of the souls of our children and our own souls. One of the worst crimes in the world is abuse. And the worst kind of abuse, in my mind is child abuse. I can not fathom how anyone could abuse a little child. And yet in our nation child abuse is at an all time high. During Federal fiscal year 2005: An estimated 899,000 children were victims of maltreatment; 3.6million children abuse cases were investigated in 2005.
More than three-quarters (76.6%) of abused children who were killed were younger than 4 years of age, 13.4 percent were 4-7 years of age. 89% of the children who died from child abuse in our country were younger than 7 years old. Three-quarters (76.6%) of child fatalities were caused by one or more parents. More than one-quarter (28.5%) of fatalities were perpetrated by the mother acting alone. I just cannot understand how that is possible. How can anyone abuse their own little child? But my friend there is a worse abuse of a child. And that is spiritual abuse. It is time for all of us to wake up, to wake up to the abuse that is taking place right here.
On thing is sure, the Lord loves little children. He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. “And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. The faith of a little child is an example for you and me. A little child just trusts. It doesn’t question. It doesn’t wonder if what mom or dad says it true. It just trusts.
Jesus called a little child and he just came and stood among them. In the Gospel of Mark we are told that Jesus took the child in his arms and held him. The disciples wanted to know who was the greatest in the kingdom of God and Jesus told them, Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And then he adds, And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. Wow to welcome a little child in Jesus’ Name is to welcome Him. The world may look at a little child and not think a child isn’t very important. But Jesus looks at a little child and loves him or her with all His heart and soul and says “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
That is why Jesus adds if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. There are several very important words in this passage. If anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me. The Greek word Jesus uses refers to a very little child, from newborn babe to an infant.
And notice again what He says of those little children, who believe in me. Jesus is saying that little baby believes in Him. He may not be able to tell us he belives, but I can’t tell anyone I believe in Jesus when I am asleep. That doesn’t mean that I don’t believe in Him. It simply means that I can’t express that faith. And so Jesus says it is with one of these little ones who believe in me.
And then Jesus adds if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. The word to sin is a word that means to entrap someone and kill them. In the spiritual sense it means to cause to weaken or to lose their faith. We shudder to hear of child abuse today. We cry out in horror when we hear of parents who murder or torture their children. We want to string up the person who would rape a little girl and then bury her alive. He deserves to die. And rightly so. But what is worse, to kill a little child in this life or to destroy that child for an eternity?
We cry out at the murder and abuse of little children, but when it comes to the lack of Christian training, it doesn’t bother many people today. But again I ask, “what is worse, to kill a little child in this life or to destroy that child for an eternity?” Both are terrible. But it is one thing to die and go to heaven and quite another to die and go to hell forever. God help any who do not feel that the Christian training of their children is not that important. If anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. It would be better never to have been born. It would be better to be drown and like on the bottom of the sea than to weaken or destroy the faith of this little child.
Who is Jesus talking about? Who could weaken or destroy the faith of a little child. Certainly He is talking about parents to whom the Lord has entrusted the soul of that little one. How wonderful when we see parents bringing there little ones to Jesus in Holy Baptism. But there is more than just bringing them. There is the matter of keeping them in the faith. And that comes when we bring them to Jesus’ Word, in Sunday School, and LES and in our home devotions. You see, not to follow up after Baptism is to take away the faith the Lord gave them at their baptism. It is to cause one of these little ones who believe in me to sin. And that will bring God’s judgment on those parents. I remember a father who neglected the spiritual training of his son. As that son grew older he turned against his father. In fact he tried to kill his father. Instead the son was killed and as the father heard the news of his son’s death, 2 Samuel 18:33 He went up to the room over the gateway and wept. As he went, he said: “O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you—O Absalom, my son, my son!” That father’ name was David, King David. It was too late to do anything more for Absalom. He was dead and in Hell and nothing David did or said could change that. What a terrible feeling to know you could have made a difference in a child’s eternal life and didn’t do it.
Two friends were discussing the training of children. One friend say that he thought it was totally unfair for a parent to prejudice his children before they reached the age of discretion and could decide for themselves that they wanted to accept and what they wanted to reject. As time passed the other friend asked if he would like to see his botanical gardens. As his friend walked through the garden it was covered with weeds and he asked, “How can this be a garden?” The man answered “That is only because it has no yet come to the age of discretion and choice. The weeds, you see, have taken the liberty to grow and I thought it unfair of me to prejudice the soil towards roses and strawberries. My friend, if we don’t wake up and stay awake, the weeds will be planted and grow in the hearts of our children. Don’t let that happen. “And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.
This weekend we are talking about Christian Education and we want to stress the great importance of training our children in the way of the Lord. But that training doesn’t end when our children or we are grown up. It continues all our life.
It is very obvious whether or not a person is concerned about his or her spiritual welfare. You can see it in the children. In the Lay Ministry Team we work with the members of our congregation who have fallen away from church and the Lord. The greatest number of those who have gone astray are in the 20 – 30 age bracket. In the younger group the number who have gone astray is in almost every single case related directly to his or her parents. If the parents are not attending church the young people are not either. If the parents are, then the children are also.
Sometime ago a family was on its way to a Sunday outing in the mountains. It was mid morning when they drove past a church. From the back seat of the car came the voice of the 5 year old Karen, “Daddy, aren’t we going to church today?” In the front seat mom and dad looked at each other rather embarrassed and then finally dad said, “We can worship God in the mountains.” There was a brief moment of silence and then from the back seat came the wise observation which only a 5 year old could make, “But we won’t Daddy, will we?”
My friend, it is important to be in God’s Word, in the church service, in our home devotions and it a regular Bible Class that studies God’s Word. At the entrance to church there are schedules and descriptions of the classes that will be held this year. I am sure that you will find them very interesting and inspiriting.
We also have small in home Bible Study Classes. You are invited to join one of these. Sunday evening we will get together for a pot luck meal and meeting to discuss these classes. You are invited to come. I am sure that the groups would be happy to have you join them.
I don’t know about little Karen and her parents. Did they worship the Lord in the mountains? If I had to guess, I would say no. But my friend continue to bring your children to the Lord. Notice I said, bring not send. Bring your children and with your children learn more of you dear Lord and His great love for you. And then one day you will wake up and will sit at his feet in heaven, together. Together with Him and with each other.
May the Lord who lived and died and rose for each of us bless us with that privilege in our home in heaven. Amen.
posted by St. Peters 10:41 AM
Revelation 2:1-7 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
In Christ Jesus, Dear Friends,
If Jesus were to write a personal letter to the members of St. Peters, I wonder what He would say? Would He be happy with us or would He chastise us? Would He tell us we are doing a good job or a not so good job? n Over the past few summers we have preached a series of sermons on different topics. We will do the same this summer and this summer it will be to discuss seven letters that the Lord has sent to St. Peters congregation in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. Each of these letters was recorded in the book of Revelation and originally written to early congregations in Asia. Much of the Book of Revelation is written in symbolical language and must be interpreted the same way. Some have suggested the reason for the symbolical language was so that the Roman government could not understand what he was writing. Others have stated that when it comes to visions of the end of the world and heaven, no earthly language can full7y describe it. Both are probably correct.
There is a warning needed though. We must be careful not to read more into what it says and we must always follow the basic rule of intrepretion and that is that the Bible does not contradict itself. For example, some have tried to say that John says that 144,000 will be saved. But what John is doing is telling us that all believers of the old and New Testament will be saved. He uses the number twelve to do that. There were 12 tribes of Israel and twelve disciples. 12 x 12 = 144 x 1000 (a number used to describe completeness) = 144,000.
The seven letters to the seven congregations however are not deep and symbolical. They are easy to understand. They also apply to our congregation in our times. With that in mind let’s begin with the first letter, the letter to the church at Ephesus.
The Lord is speaking to John. The Lord says Revelation 2:1 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: the word angel means messenger and here is meant, the pastor of the congregation. He continues These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: In the verses right before this he explains the meaning of the stars and the candlesticks. 20The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches. And so when the Lord says, These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: He is saying that He holds in his right hand, the hand of power and love, the pastors of the seven congregations. They are His representatives. And He walks among the seven golden lampstands. He means that He is present in the congregation. He did not forsake his church when He ascended into heaven. He is still very much concerned in his congregation and in its actions and teachings. That’s why this letter could really be addressed, Dear Members of St. Peters Ev. Lutheran congregation.
Now to us He says, My dear friends at St. Peters, I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. The first words the Lord speaks to us words of praise and I truly believe that the Lord means these words to our congregation. I know your deeds, your hard work. I know how had some of you have worked for me. I know how many hours you have spend attending meetings and planning the work of my kingdom. I know how much of your possessions you have given back to me. I know how much money you have send to do my work in your own country and around the world. I remember how many of you took out a second mortgage on your own homes so that this church building could be erected. Jesus says, Dear members of St. Peters, I thank you for that. I thank you for faithfully carrying on the work which I have entrusted to you. May you continue to do so.
And then Jesus continues. , I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. Your perseverance. You have not given up. Even when times were difficult. You did not give up. You even established a Christian Day School where my little ones could be brought to learn of me and my love. You have established a Sunday School and Confirmation classes and Bible Classes where everyone has the opportunity to grow in their relationship with me. Good for you! Good for you!
The Lord continues, I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. I also praise you because you have stood up for my word. While many others have rejected My Word and called it just a book of fables and myths, you have not. You have accepted it as it is, the very Word of God. Many have laughed at you and ridiculed you. But I praise you. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.
What a wonderful feeling to hear the Lord bless us and praise us when the world does just the opposite. But all is not praise. Listen as the Lord continues, Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. When a couple falls in love, it is usually head over heals. It is a fervent love and all a person can do is think about the other person. It is a beautiful thing to behold. But then as time goes on, for many the love deepens and becomes stronger in another way. For others the flame of love begins to weaken.
The Lord says the same thing is happening with some of the members of St. Peters. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. You have left your first love. That love, which was so strong on your Confirmation Day, is flickering and on the verge of going out. I am no longer the first and most important part of your life. You have become practical and things are more important than I am. The world has crept into your life. You go to movies and watch TV shows and visit web sites you never would have before. You are no longer willing to lend a helping hand. You take me for granted. Oh, sure you pray to me but only when times get really rough or there is something you really, really want. You don’t come to worship me very often any more. You hardly, if ever, show up for a Bible Class and I very rarely see you for the Supper I have prepared for you. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.
Listen of the Lord’s warning. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. Do we understand what Jesus is saying to us? If we do not repent, He will come and take His Word away from us. He will not tolerate misuse or lack of use for His Word. He will take it away and give it to someone who does appreciate it. Oh pray to God, my friend that the prophecy spoken by God through the Prophet Amos never comes true here at St. Peters, Amos 8:11 “The days are coming,” declares the Sovereign LORD, “when I will send a famine through the land— not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD.
We say, that could never happen here. It will never happen that we close the doors of St. Peters. It could. There could come a time when the Word of God is no longer spoken from this pulpit, when the baptismal font lies empty and the altar no longer holds the body and blood of our Lord. That famine has hit many, many churches and nations before. The famine did hit the congregation at Ephesus. It no longer exists. It hit Asia Minor. It hit Rome and Italy. It hit Germany and Russia and France. It hit China and England. It has hit many churches in the United States of America. My friend, do not deceive yourself. It could happen here. Listen of the Lord’s warning. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.
Our Lord concludes His letter to St. Peters with these words. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. My friend, there still is time. And what a beautiful promise the Lord gives to each of those who do repent and cling to His Word. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. Can we even begin to imagine what it means to eat of the tree of life in the paradise of God. The tree of life was protected by an angel in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve could not eat from it. To eat from the Tree of life is to live forever. To eat from the tree of life is to be in paradise forever. Later on in the Book of Revelation, John describes what that means. Revelation 22:1-5 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.
My Friend there are three trees in Scripture that the Lord holds before our eyes. There is the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Our first parents disobeyed God and ate of the forbidden fruit. They brought pain and suffering, sin and death into this world. There was no hope for mankind.
But then came another tree. It was planted on Calvary’s Holy Mountain. On that tree death and sin, pain and suffering were done away with and eternal life was born. It was on that old rugged cross that our dear Lord paid the price for all peoples rebellion and sin. He washed them away when He died on that Tree of the Cross.
And now there remains one more tree which the Lord holds before our eyes. It is the Tree of Life planted in paradise. With our hearts trusting in the Tree of the Cross, the Tree of Life is ours today and one day we will by the grace of God feast beneath that tree in paradise.
Jesus says “Dear Members of St. Peters, To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. May the Lord ever keep us faithful to His Word and grant each of us the greatest of all blessing to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. In Jesus’ Name we ask it. Amen.Labels: Dear Members of St Peters
posted by St. Peters 9:22 AM
by Vicor Dustin Bergene
One of the most well known poems by Robert Frost is called “The Road Less Traveled.” It talks about the questions which run through his mind when he came to a fork in the road. He had to make a decision: he was either going to go down one road or the other.
Have you ever been there? Maybe you’ve been driving in a big city and you notice off on the horizon that the road splits off in two or maybe even three ways. If you’ve never driven this way before, you have to make a quick decision. Time is precious, and if you choose correctly, you will reach your destination quickly. Choosing the wrong road leads to delay and frustration. How do you choose? There are a number of methods you could use: you could guess. You could use the trial-and-error method, or best of all, you could look at a map!
Frost’s poem doesn’t just apply to driving. It applies to many different aspects of our lives. We are all forced to make decisions in our lives. We make choices about our occupations, the people we associate with, the way we spend our time, and the list goes on. Many of the decisions we make have a big impact on our lives.
Our psalm for today also speaks about the decisions we make when we come upon the “fork in the road” in our lives. Our reading contrasts the lives of godly and wicked people. In our lives we can choose one of two paths; either The Road of Rebellion or we can take The Road of Obedience. These are the only two roads we can take, and the road we travel has major implications of our lives. Let us listen to the words of the Psalmist: (Psalm 1:1-6)
1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. 4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
I. The lives of the righteous and the wicked are completely opposite. In the Psalm we see three areas of their lives which are completely different- 1) in sin, 2) in God’s Word, and 3) in producing fruit. Let’s talk first about The Road of Rebellion. God demands perfect obedience to his will and commands, and day after day we disobey God’s will. We do what we desire instead of what the Lord desires. When we walk down the road of rebellion, we are not able to resist sin.
Verse one speaks of the progression of sin. Listen to the verbs of progression. We see the wicked walking in the counsel of the wicked, standing in the way of sinners and sitting in the seat of mockers. The more we let sin take control of our lives, the more relaxed we are. At first we might just be standing, but the deeper we get in sin, we’re comfortable to sit.
The progression of sin starts with tolerance. While we might do a good job of staying away from sin at first, but if we remain in its presence, we end up tolerating it more, and before long, we are not even shocked or affected by sin anymore.
There is so much of society today which is traveling down the road of rebellion. Think of the garbage on television. We see countless acts of unacceptable language, violence, other immoral actions which would have put us in shock 20 years ago is just accepted as natural today. I read a statistic that the average person sees 200,000 violent acts on TV by the time they are 18. It doesn’t even faze us! Are you still shocked today when Christian people live together before marriage? Or when people get a divorce without Scriptural cause? Or do we accept these things because “That’s how it is these days…” When we see sin and immorality as being the norm in our lives, this leads us to believe its ok, and then we don’t feel bad joining in, because “everybody’s doing it.”
The more we let sin in our lives, the more it takes over! Sin is like a slippery slope—when we slide away in sin, we start by rolling very slowly, but eventually we pick up speed just like a runaway truck down a mountain—faster and faster, until we are totally out of control.
We have all wandered from the Lord, and have fallen to the desires of our sinful nature. When we walk down the road of rebellion we don’t love God’s Word. There are 168 hours in a week. Every week. How do we use them? It’s hard to say that we are “well equipped” to resist sin if the only time we spend with God is the one hour a week on Sunday, and the rest of the 167 hours are spent on ourselves.
When we come to the fork in the road, it would be good to have a map. It would be even better to know the map by heart so we wouldn’t even have to pull it out to know where to go. The Bible is the map that we need in this life to guide us to heaven. Our problem is that we are spiritually blind, dead, and enemies of God. Our sinful blindness leads us to shake our fist at God and say, “God, I don’t need your directions! I’ll just shut my eyes and I’ll still be able to find the way on my own.” How foolish!
When we walk the road of rebellion, we also cannot produce good fruit. Isaiah tells us "all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away." (Isaiah 64:6). Because we have the disease of sin in our lives, we can do nothing on our own to please him. Even the sweetest, kindest, most loving things we do are nothing! They are light and worthless, just as the chaff which is blown away after the farmer threshes grain. Chaff is not living. Chaff is not fruitful. Chaff is only good for the fire-pit.
The psalmist goes on: "Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous… the way of the wicked will perish." The Lord is coming one day in judgment, and those who continue to follow the road of rebellion will face the eternal fire pit in hell.
Our sinful nature does lead us down the road of rebellion, which is the “highway to hell.” The Bible tells us that we deserve unending punishment because of our sin. But that’s not all. We also have the wonderful news of the Gospel-the good news of Jesus. Jesus Christ, our Savior, never did walk down the road of rebellion. He was tempted just as we are, but when he came to the “fork in the road,” he always chose obedience. Everything he did was according to his Father’s will. He died for our sin and rebellion. Thanks be to God that in his grace, he credits us with the holiness of Jesus.
We can also be thankful for the Holy Spirit- the “man behind the scenes who seldom gets the credit.” He is the one who called us to faith, enlightened us with the Gospel, and keeps us in the one true faith. Unlike Robert Frost, we could never choose between roads- our sinful nature always chooses the road of rebellion. But, the Holy Spirit enables us to walk down the other road, The Road of Obedience.
II. Make no mistake about it, the Road of obedience is narrow. Jesus taught that "wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." (Matthew 7:13-14). When we travel on the road of obedience, we wonder if we’re going the wrong way, because we don’t see many others traveling with us on that road. The Lord, however promises to bless those on the road of obedience, and he promises a marvelous final destination— heaven!
The psalmist speaks of the blessings that are ours: "He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers." When we follow the road of obedience, we are not like the chaff that blows away; we are firmly planted in the ground.
When we walk on the road of obedience, we will not be immune to sin. With God’s help, however, we are stronger to resist the world’s temptations. If we are not careful, we will let open the door of our lives and let sin creep in, and before we know it, sin will be very comfortable in our hearts. How do we resist this? When we see ungodly attitudes in ourselves and others, we need to get away from it! We can be truly prepared to resist sin when we are firmly planted in God’s Word.
If we wish to have our lives shaped by God’s Word, we need to look at the opportunities we have to be in the Word. The psalmist tells us about the obedient, but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. We have a great opportunity on Sunday, but that’s not the only time; we have other opportunities in 1) coming to Bible class, 2) family devotions, 3) personal Bible study. God’s Word doesn’t change. When we are familiar with God’s Word, we can better apply it when we are confronted with challenges and temptations.
The psalmist tells us that when we follow the road of obedience, we are like a tree planted by streams of water. When we are planted like this tree, our roots are planted deep in the ground. We will not be blown over by the winds of temptation. Our deep roots draw life from God’s Word, and being next to the stream gives us a steady stream of nourishment.
God also promises to bless us as we travel the road of obedience. What kind of blessings does he give us? He forgives our sin and removes our guilt. He assures us of his love, and that he is always there for us when we need a friend. Just as God’s Word never changes- his blessings never do either! The Holy Spirit not only brought us to faith, he also will continue to strengthen us through God’s Word and the Sacraments. Through these means, we are also able to produce fruit.
It is the nature of a healthy tree to produce fruit. So it is with us. As God blesses our works, they are called fruits- because they are beneficial to us, and to others who are affected by us. The kind things we do for our neighbor, or a friend in need, they are fruits, bringing glory to our God. Not only does God bless us, he also blesses others through us.
My friends, The Lord is coming again to us on Judgment Day, and he will at that time separate the “wheat” from the “chaff.” Have you ever worried about death and the end of the world? This might sound frightening, but we have no reason to be afraid—because of the sacrifice of Jesus, we are holy and righteous in God’s sight. When the Lord comes again, we will truly be able to go “home,” to heaven.
In life we are all standing at the fork in the road. When we look ahead we see two roads ahead of us. One road is the road of rebellion, and it leads to eternal death. The other road is the road of obedience, which leads us to eternal life. There are no other routes. There are no other destinations. As we think about what road we are traveling on, let us remember that there is nothing more important than being on the right road. Robert Frost chose to take the road less traveled, and he said “this made all the difference.” Taking the road less traveled makes all the difference to us, too. In Christ, we will take the road less traveled to eternal life. Amen.
posted by St. Peters 4:41 PM
1 Kings 3:23-27 23 The king said, “This one says, ‘My son is alive and your son is dead,’ while that one says, ‘No! Your son is dead and mine is alive.’” 24 Then the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought a sword for the king. 25 He then gave an order: “Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other.” 26 The woman whose son was alive was filled with compassion for her son and said to the king, “Please, my lord, give her the living baby! Don’t kill him!” But the other said, “Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two!” 27 Then the king gave his ruling: “Give the living baby to the first woman. Do not kill him; she is his mother.”
In Christ Jesus, Dear Friends and Especially Dear Christian Women and mothers,
Hear the story of a little girl. "I grew up knowing I was different, and I hated it. I was born with a cleft palate. When I started school my classmates made it clear to me how I must look to them: a little girl with a misshapen lip, crooked nose, lopsided teeth and garbled speech.” I was convinced that no one outside my family could love me. "There was, however, a teacher in the second grade that we all adored -- Mrs. Leonard was her name. Every year we would have a hearing test. I was virtually deaf in one of my ears. But when I had taken the test in past years, I discovered that if I did not press my hand as tightly upon my ears I could pass the test. Mrs. Leonard gave the test to everyone in the class, and finally it was my turn. I stood against the door and covered one ear. The teacher sitting at her desk would whisper something and we would have to repeat it back ... things like, ’The sky is blue’ or ’Do you have new shoes?’ I waited there for those words that God must have put into her mouth, those seven words which changed my life. Mrs. Leonard said, in her whisper, ’I wish you were my little girl.” That teacher was a real mother. Today on this Mother’s Day weekend we would like to talk about real mothers and answer this question, Who Is the Real Mother?
In our text we hear question who is the real mother? Listen to the story. Solomon has just taken over the throne of his father, David. God offered Solomon anything he wanted and Solomon said, “Just give me wisdom to rule Your people. Listen to what the Lord said to him, 1 Kings 3:10-12 God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, … but for discernment in administering justice, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. And God did. According to tradition when the Queen of Sheba came to meet Solomon, she tested his wisdom. One test was this. She had a cedar tree cut down so that you could not tell which end was the top and which was to the bottom and then asked Solomon to tell her which was the top and which was the bottom. And he did. How? Solomon ordered the tree to be placed in water. When one end sank while the other floated, he said to her, "The part which sank was the root, and that which floated on the surface was the end containing the branches. Solomon was indeed wise. But would he be able to solve the problem that came to him in our text?
Two prostitutes showed up before the king. The one woman said, 1 Kings 3:17-18 17 “My lord, this woman and I live in the same house. I had a baby while she was there with me. 18 The third day after my child was born, this woman also had a baby. We were alone: there was no one in the house but the two of us.
“The son of this woman died one night when she rolled over on him in her sleep. She got up in the middle of the night and took my son – I was sound asleep, – and put him at her breast and put her dead son at my breast. When I got up in the morning to nurse my son, here was this dead baby! But when I looked at him in the morning light, I saw immediately that he wasn’t my baby.”
“No way!” said the other woman. “The living one’s mine; the dead one’s yours.” The first woman answered, “No!” Your son’s the dead one; mine’s the living one.” They went back and forth this way in front of the king. The king said, “What are we to do? This woman says, ‘The living son is mine and the dead one is yours,’ and this woman says, ‘No, the dead one’s yours and the living one’s mine.’” Well who is the real mother?
What kind of mothers were these two? They were prostitutes who sold their own bodies for money. They probably didn’t even know who the fathers of their children were. How dare anyone call them mothers? But they were mothers regardless of what anyone says. Each had given birth to a son. Does that make them real mothers?
One mother was selfish and heartless and cruel. She didn’t care who got hurt, just so long that others close to her aren’t happy either. The other mother was had a spirit of self-sacrificing love. Think about what she had been through. Imagine waking up and finding your baby lifeless. Then, she discovered that she had been robbed as well! But she was willing to give up her child rather than let him die.
So how do we define what a real mother its. We know it is more than a biological thing, just giving birth doesn’t make you a real mother. Someone once said, “Real mothers are not perfect because they usually start out young. The commonest fallacy among women is that simply having children makes one a mother-which is as absurd as believing that having a piano makes one a musician.”
So what is a real mom? We look sidewise at the “mothers” in our text. They were not married. They were women who sold their bodies for the highest price. Are real moms always perfect? But are real moms always married? It is interesting when we look at our society today. The number of moms who have never been married has doubled since the last generation. There are twice as many moms today who have never been married than there were one generation ago. Among moms today who are 18 to 22 years old, four out of five are not married. That means, at least with that age group, most of the children do not live with a father and mother.
But then who was the real mother? How do you decide? If you had been there, how would you have decided? Now what does Solomon do? There were no witnesses. There was DNA testing. What is the king to do? He came up with an idea. Solomon was wise enough to use one of the most powerful forces in the universe to get to the truth – a mother’s love. Solomon knew that the love of a mother for her child – even if it meant separation from her child – would tell who the real mother was. After a moment the king said, “Bring me a sword.” They brought the sword to the king. Then he said, “Cut the living baby in two – give half to one and half to the other.” The real mother of the living baby was totally distraught “1 Kings 3:26-27 26 The woman whose son was alive was filled with compassion for her son and said to the king, “Please, my lord, give her the living baby! Don’t kill him!” But the other said, “Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two!” The king gave his decision: “Give the living baby to the first woman. Do not kill him; she is his mother.” Solomon knew that a mother’s love for her child is one of the most powerful emotions in the world and that a real mother would rather die herself than to let her child be killed.
Real mothers have certain qualities. The mother in our text was not perfect. She had made some bad choices in her life. But she loved her child. Mothers don’t offer perfection; they offer sacrifice. Real mothers will sacrifice Nobody has the perfect Mother. Nobody is the perfect mother. Mothers aren’t expected to be perfect. Real Mothers know their children - You can’t fool a mother! There is a special bond between a good mother and her children. Real mothers have problems - Being a mother is high-stress, a life-long ministry. It is not easy being a mother. But above all Real mothers have a heavenly father. Your Heavenly Father will always be there for you … always!
A real mom can be a stay at home mom who wants to be there for her children. She puts her career on hold. She gives up the appointment at the beauty shop so she can take her child to the activity at school. She loves her child so much that she never even thinks about what she has to give up to be a real mom.
Or that real mom can be a mom who has to go to work to help provide for her child. She would give anything to be home all day with that child but there is no way she can afford to do that. So she does double duty. She works at her job and she works at home after her job. She gets tired but she never thinks about it because she loves her child so much. She never thinks about what she has to give up because she is a real mom.
Or that real mother today can be a single mom who sacrifices herself day and night to provide for her children. A mom who gives up her life, and her time and her money just to take loving care of her child, she is a real mother, married or not, she is a real mother. She never thinks about what she has to give up because she is a real mom.
Or that real mother can be an aunt or a grandmother who steps in and helps raise that little one, a grandmother who holds that baby on her lap and teaches it to pray and to love her Lord and its Lord. She is not upset because now she has to help raise another child after her own are raised. No not at all. She considers it a privilege to have her grandchildren with her. She never thinks about what she has to give up because she is a real mom.
I recently came across a true story of a real mother that happened during the Holocaust. Solomon Rosenberg, his wife and their two sons were arrested and placed in a concentration camp. The rules were simple. As long as they did their work, they were permitted to live. When they became too weak to work, they would be exterminated. Rosenberg watched as his own father and mother were marched off to their deaths and he knew that his youngest son David would be next because he had always been a frail child. Every evening Rosenberg came back into the barracks after his hours of hard labor and searched for the faces of his family. When he found them they would huddle together, embrace one another and thank God for another day of life. One day he came back and didn’t see those familiar faces. He finally discovered his oldest son, Joshua, in a corner sobbing and praying. “Josh, tell me it’s not true.” Joshua turned to his dad and said, “It’s true. Today David was not strong enough to do his work and so they took him away.” Mr. Rosenberg then asked, “But where is your mother?” Joshua could barely speak and finally uttered, “When they came for David, he was afraid and cried and so mom took his hand and went with him.” That’s what a real mother is. God bless the women and mothers of our congregation who are real mothers. We ask it in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Pastor Larry Zessin
St Peters Ev. Lutheran Church
posted by St. Peters 10:21 AM
March 11, 2007
Don’t You Dare Look Away
1 Corinthians 10:6-13 Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry.” We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. We should not test the Lord, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel. These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!
In Christ Jesus, Dear Friend,
How good is your memory? If I asked you to recite the books of the New Testament, how many here could do it? I know you memorized them at one time or another. Could you still say them? How about some of the lessons you learned in Confirmation Class, let’s say the four things you are to examine yourself for before you come to the Lord’s Supper? What are they? These are really important because they insure that we are properly partaking of the Lord’s Supper. And how about the Bible history lessons we learned in Sunday School or Christian Day School? How many of them do we remember? Who was Belteshazzar? How about Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah? Never heard of them. I think you have. They are Daniel and Sadrach, Meshack and Abendigo. It is so important for us to study God’s Word and learn from the past. George Santayana once said, Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Our text says the same thing, Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. Because of that basic truth of Scripture, We Don’t Dare to Look Away. It is important for us to look at the mistakes God’s people made in the past so we don’t make the same mistake in the future.
Listen to our text, Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry.” Moses had let the Israelites out of Egypt. The Red Sea had opened for them and they all crossed over safely. He had been with them in the wilderness and now they are camped at Mount Sinai. Moses has been gone for forty days getting thelaw from the Lord and after only forty days they dump everything down the toilet so to speak. The make a golden calf and call it their god. They worship the calf and then The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry.” Revelry means more that just having a good time. It carries with it a sexual connotation.
And what is the Lord saying to you and me with this example of his Old Testament people? Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were. God says to you and me, “Don’t you dare look away. I am talking to you and don’t you dare look away from me. He speaks to us through the Prophet Isaiah, Isaiah 46:9 Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I am God and when I speak, you will listen. You will not set hearts on evil things as they did. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were. And again God says He will not tolerate idolatry. Isaiah 42:8 “I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols. And again God says in the Bible, Isaiah 45:21 There is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none but me. There is only one God. I will not tolerate anyone or any thing taking my place.
Idolatry is not just worshipping a golden calf or some other idol. Idolatry is anything that is standing between you and God. My friend, is anything standing between you and your God? Is it your bullheadedness that says you have to have everything your way and your way is the only way. Is it the attitude that says, “I will do what I want to do and the rest of you can take a one way trip to you know where.” Is it my attitude that says, ”I am right and I know I am right and I don’t care what you say.” Is it our stubborn self will that is standing between me and my God. Well, let me tell you, my friend, you and I would make lousy gods.
Or is it my material blessings that stand between me and my God. If it is then they have become my god. Is it all the things I just have to have to be happy and makes me work so many hours that the kids don’t even recognize me when I put them to bed? Is it a position in life that stands between me and my God? Is it control over other people. Listen to God speak again, Exodus 20:4-5 “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God. God will not tolerate any form of idolatry.
I shared a story several weeks ago when we had to call of church because of the snow storm. Two friends were walking along together. One was a very devout Christian the other had no use for Jesus Christ. In fact he told his friend that if he met Jesus walking on the street with him. He would spit in His face. And the Christian answered, “It wouldn’t be the first time you did it.” Any time I let something stand between me and my God, I am spitting in His face. But mark my words, God will not tolerate rejection of Him.
No will God tolerate an immoral life. We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. God again says, Don’t you dare look away. You look at what happened to those people who thought sex was the greatest thing in the world and more important than My Word. Listen to the account of their rejection of God in Numbers chapter 25. Numbers 25:1-4 While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabite women, who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods. The people ate and bowed down before these gods. So …. And the LORD’s anger burned against them. The LORD said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of these people, kill them and expose them in broad daylight before the LORD, so that the LORD’s fierce anger may turn away from Israel.” Some where between 23 and 24,000 people died on that day.
God will not tolerate sexual immorality. He did not do in the Old Testament with His people and He will not tolerate it today with His people of the New Testament times. If ever there is a sign a corruption it is found in the immorality of a nation and its people. We are there today. It seems as though the vast majority of the people of our nation are running down the road to hell with their pants down. Every where you look, it is sex, sex and more sex.
But that doesn’t excuse God’s people today. “Everyone is doing it,” they say. That doesn’t make it right. Oh, but God’s people today are more cautious. They park out at Pottawatomie park in the dark when no one can see them. They drive down to Green Bay where no one knows them. They hide out in their own room with the computer where not one sees them bringing up the pornographic web sites. But God see them. He sees them and says, Don’t you look away from me! Listen me! 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
But there is more. We should not test the Lord, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel. Who were the people Paul is describing in this passage -- the thousands who "fell in one day," the masses who were killed by snakes, and the others who were "destroyed of the destroyer"? These weren't Moabites, Canaanites, Philistines or any of the other heathen surrounding Israel. No, Paul is speaking here of believers -- people of God's own choosing!
These people had witnessed incredible miracles. They'd been fed spiritual food by supernatural means. They'd drunk spiritual water from a rock Paul says was Christ himself. They were well taught and well taken care of. Yet, Paul says, many of these same people were consumed by God's fiery wrath and destroyed by serpents.
The apostle tells us in verse 5 that these Israelites so displeased God, he "overthrew" them in the wilderness. The Hebrew word used here means, "He cast them out of his hand, scattering them to the ground like so much dust." Hebrews 3:17-19 And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the desert? And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.
Listen to the warnings written in Israel’s history. These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! All these example were written down for us to warn us.
Because you are a baptized and communing member don’t think that you could not end up hell . “So if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” Having your name typed on the membership list of a church doesn’t mean that you are automatically going to heaven.. Because you eat and drink the body and blood of Jesus in the Lord’s Supper, doesn’t mean that you get a license to live the way you want, rather than the way your Savior wants. So now when it comes to our Christian living, learn this lesson – listen to the warnings from Israel’s history. Watch out where you place your trust. Being secure in ourselves can lead to deadly consequences. It’s Jesus our Lord to whom we are to turn in trust. Don’t ever think that you are so sure of your salvation that you do not need to use God’s Word or receive His body and blood in the Lord’s Supper.
I know a man who had everything. He had power and prestige. He had money and fame. He had a beautiful family. He had it all. He was a beautiful god-fearing man. But one night he made a mistake. A beautiful woman lived next door to him. Her husband was gone off to war. And this god-fearing man talked the woman into spending the night with him. Some time later she tells him that she is pregnant. He is totally beside himself. Now what does he do? I believe that most of you know this man. His name is David and the woman’s name is Bathsheba. So if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! After God convicts David of his sin, David writes these words, Psalm 51:1-Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight… Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
Listen to the warnings written in Israel’s history. But you and I are the “ones on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come”). Jesus is the fulfillment of the ages. He has already completed living a perfect life, dying the death in our place, and conquered our enemy death by rising from the dead. God has taken away our guilty verdict through Jesus. Forgiveness, life and salvation and eternal life is now ours in Jesus. Now Don’t you dare look away from Jesus. Amen
posted by St. Peters 1:29 PM
Receive my First Fruits – 2/25/07
By Pastor Larry Zessin.
Deuteronomy 26:911 He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey; and now I bring the firstfruits of the soil that you, O LORD, have given me.” Place the basket before the LORD your God and bow down before him. And you and the Levites and the aliens among you shall rejoice in all the good things the LORD your God has given to you and your household.
In Christ Jesus, Dear Friend,
As we start this Lenten season, we remember very clearly all the things that Jesus did in order to pay the price for our sins. During Lent we remember the Lord’s blessings. We remember like the children of Israel—they cried out for deliverance. Then you shall declare before the LORD your God: "My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down into Egypt with a few people and lived there and became a great nation, powerful and numerous. Jacob, when he came to Egypt, came there after the great famine and Joseph had his family brought to Egypt. There were only about 70 of them. Jacob and the rest of his family moved to that country where they grew from a tribe of 70 people to a nation of 2 million! They became a great nation, powerful and numerous. The fact is they became so powerful; they became so great that the Egyptians were scared of them. The Egyptians didn’t know what to do with this great and powerful nation of the Hebrews. They put them to work. They made them slaves.
Then we cried out to the LORD, the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice and saw our misery, toil and oppression. The people called out to the Lord and He heard them. He looked at the children of Israel and saw their misery—which they were suffering at the hands of the Egyptians. The Lord heard, He saw, He listened, and He helped them. 8 So the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror and with miraculous signs and wonders. Just about everyone knows of those plagues that came… the water that turned to blood, the pestilence, the hail, the darkness…the miraculous signs and wonders. Finally, the firstborn of every one was put to death. Except for the Hebrews for they were passed over by the angel of death.
And then He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey; Consider that…for a generation, they walked in the wilderness. For a generation, they had no place to call home. Now they came to a land flowing with milk and honey, a land which the Lord had given to them, which He had promised to their fathers and now was theirs to live in. What was their reaction? They come to worship and bring their offerings. and now I bring the firstfruits of the soil that you, O LORD, have given me." When the Israelites came before the Lord with their firstfruits offering, they were to remember that it was because of God’s grace, not their own greatness, that they had prospered The Lord blessed them.
They came with the very firstfruits they had—a basketful we’re told. It wasn’t anything they had done, was it? It says, ‘that you have given me, O Lord, I bring you back the firstfruits.’ They worshipped the Lord with the very best—their offerings. Then he says: Place the basket before the LORD your God and bow down before him. They bring the basket and put it before the Lord, knowing that it was the Lord who gave it to them in the first place. Then they bowed down and worshipped before the Lord. This is their reaction as they remembered the blessings of the Lord delivered them and brought them to the Promised Land.
As believers, we remember the Lord’s blessings. We remember that whenever we cry out, He hears us and delivers us. None of us has to go through the wanderings as the Israelites did. None of us has had to eat for forty years the same meal. As we look around us we realize, that if indeed, there were ever a promised land, it is our land. Not only is it a land flowing with milk and honey, we would say it is a land overflowing with milk and honey. Today 854 million people across the world are hungry, up from 852 million a year ago. Every day, almost 16,000 children die from hunger related causes one child every five seconds. And we complain because we don’t have steak every day?
We live in a land of excess. We don’t have just enough to get by; we have plenty and even more than enough. The world says we don’t have enough. We’ve always got to have more. We’ve got to have better things, bigger things and more things. Sometimes we’re a little dissatisfied with this life or think, ‘How are we going to be ready for the future?’ We know the Lord has provided for us in the past, He provides for us now. He continues to help us and will continue to help us to the end of our life or to the end of time, whichever comes first. We need to remind ourselves to remember the Lord’s great blessings, of how He helps us.
From Ecclesiastes we read: "Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work this is a gift of God"(Ecc. 5:19). Another blessing is how He helps us to enjoy life. Are we enjoying life? Are we happy in what we are doing? This is a gift of God. Even though the world would say we don’t have enough, the Lord says sit back and enjoy the blessed land we have been given.
I can’t help but think that greatest lie the devil has told is that we deserve all these blessings because we have worked for them and earned them and therefore they are ours. That is a lie. Everything we have is His. He has just loaned it to us. He brought us to this place and gave us this land. And now I bring the firstfruits of the soil that you, O LORD, have given me. ‘that you have given me, O Lord, I bring you back the firstfruits. All the material blessings we enjoy come from our Lord. They are His and He gives them to us to use for His glory. God is the true owner of everything. He lets us use his stuff. We don’t own it. Without the energy, good health, talents, among other things, that God provides we could not work or make money. God owns our money, as well as our food, our homes and other goods, even our bodies. It is not ours and use them or treat them as thought they are ours is to spit in Jesus face. Two Englishmen, good friends, who were out for a walk. One was contemptuous of his friends religion. As they walked along, he said,” If your Jesus should met us here as we walk, I would spit in his face.” In stead of getting angry and leaving his friend, the other said, ”It would not be the first time.” I pray to God that we never spit in His face by the way we use the blessings He has given to us.
Remember the promises of God that He has made and that He has fulfilled in our life. Then, as we reflect on that during Lent we reflect on the sacrifice of Christ, His only Son, our Savior, we realize that He has given us everything. As the Bible says, Romans 8:32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Our reaction is to be just like the children of Israel in that we worship the Lord with our best.! We react, then, with worship that is our very best because the Lord gave us His very best. He gave us His Son. He gives us a clean conscience in the forgiveness of our sins. He gives us the certainty of an eternity in heaven with Him. He gives us the assurance that He will be with us in every trial and heartache and pain that we have to face in this life. We will never face it alone.
Because of His great love for us we are moved to love Him in return. We are moved as He gave us everything to give back what He deserves. It begins with our worship. "Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise the fruit of lips that confess his Name" (HEBREWS 13:15). He says to us a number of things here. Guard our tongues, offer blessing instead of cursing, and offer to God a sacrifice of praise from lips that confess His name. We offer Him our very best when the name of Jesus is on our lips.
We offer our very best in our gifts and in our offerings. In the Old Testament, they had all of these rules and regulations concerning their giving. The Lord says we give because He first loved us. That’s all He says. He reminds us, as believers in this world, that we give of our firstfruits…not of our excess, not what’s left over. We become caught up in the philosophy of the world in that we have to take care of our future and ourselves…otherwise; we’re not doing our job. The Lord says, ‘Give me your firstfruits and I will take care of all of the rest.’ From Luke "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you"(LUKE 6:38). If we measure out to God in our offerings what is left over, you could expect that God could measure out to us His blessings of what’s left over. If we measure out to God what is second best after we’ve taken care of ourselves, we could expect God to do the same to us. We’re thankful that the Lord gives us always His best and He reminds us to do the same…not because we have to, but because we want to. God loves a cheerful giver. As we remember God’s blessings, we see we are not short in anything. He has given us more than we can ask or imagine. In verse eleven, “you …shall make merry”: Giving back to God is to be a joyful act, not a dreary, begrudging fulfillment of an obligation. We give from the top of our earnings, crop, not the bottom, the first, the best, not the leftovers or the dregs. We do so because we want to show gratitude, not to pay off God.
Morning Prayer: This is an example of how we can adopt the attitude of the ancients and adapt it to different circumstances. Each new day is a promising beginning. We can wake up and say, “Oh God, its morning,” in two ways. One is using “Oh God” as a kind of mourning. Or, we can use “Oh God” as an exclamation of joy and gratitude. We can offer to God, in our morning offering, the ‘first fruits” of the new day. We can offer him our “first energy,” the energy we “grew” while sleeping. We can refuse to rush into hurried activity and sit with him or kneel before him and offer him the best time of the day, our first waking moments.
The beginning of Lent is another version of the ceremony of “first fruits.” It matters little how much we offer or what. What matters more is how and with what kind of heart. The Christian at Macedonia understood this. Their brother and sisters in Israel were suffering tremendously because of their faith. Their jobs were taken away. Their homes taken away, Their possession gone and so the Christians in Macedonia wanted to help. But they didn’t have very much either. Listen to what Paul says about them, 2 Corinthians 8:1-5 And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will.
Worship is not about giving up something or anything. It is about giving up everything and giving back everything to God. If the “something” we give up does not represent the “everything,” then it is a mere ceremonial gift, rather than a true celebration of our absolute dependence on God. Worship means that we give back everything to him, the owner, the real and only true owner of everything and everyone.
Finish this sentence in your mind: “I worship the Lord best by…” Did you finish that sentence with something like “…by singing”, or “…by praying”, or “…by telling others about Jesus”? While we can worship the Lord by doing each one of those things, True worship of our Lord is bringing our life to Him who gave it to us in the first place and saying, Take my life and let it be consecrated Lord to Thee. Amen.
posted by St. Peters 1:02 PM
February 10, 11, 2007 – St. Peters Ev. Lutheran Church
By Pastor Larry Zessin
Jeremiah 17:5-8 This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD. He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. “But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”
In Christ Jesus, Dear Friend,
In ancient China, people wanted security against their enemies to the north, so they built the Great Wall of China. It was 4,163 miles long, 25 feet high and 12 wide. It was so high and wide that they believed no one could climb over it and nothing could break it down. They built it, then settled back to enjoy their security. During the first hundred years of the wall’s existence, do you know what happened? China was invaded three times! Not once did the invaders break down the wall or climb over it. They simply bribed a gatekeeper and marched right in. Can you imagine that. All the time and money and energy that want into the wall and The Chinese expected their Great Wall security system to work but it didn’t. That will always be the case when we trust in man rather than God. Those who trust in man and in his ability will always be cursed. It will never work out. And those who trust in the Lord will always be blessed. May the Lord be with us today as we look at those who are cursed and those who are blessed.
The Hebrew words are important in this passage. “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, (ahdahm), who depends on flesh (Basar) for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD. God says, “You know better than to trust in ahdahm.” That’s the Hebrew word for “dirt.” God is reminding us how he made the first human: from ahdahm (dirt). He aptly named him Adam. From dirt we came and to dirt we will return. That means we are corruptible, perishable, and we easily spoil. How foolish to trust in dirt.
In case we missed the point, God repeats it with another word. Basar = “Flesh.” That’s a word the Bible uses to remind us how weak and sinful we are by nature. Perhaps you’re familiar with the term “sinful flesh.” The book of Romans calls the sinful flesh an enemy of God. The book of Galatians says it always acts contrary to the Spirit. The book of Colossians tells us to put it do death or it will kill us! Our flesh is sinful and weak.… and you know it! And yet this “skin n’ bones” is where we should look for help?! No way!
And finally God says, Cursed is the one whose heart turns away from the LORD. To trust in man, to depend on the flesh is not only dumb but such a person is also the person whose heart turns away from the LORD.How can we tell if we are trusting the wrong thing, if we are depending on the flesh and if our heart is turned away from the Lord? It’s like living in the wrong house. There are two houses. One has a great heating system and the other has a great cooling system. One house is eternal misery and the other eternal happiness. Are there any tale-tell signs that would give us a clue to which house we are living in? Yes there are. For instance, if you are more concerned with what others think about you than what God thinks about you, you are living at the wrong address. If you are out with a group of people and you hear them cursing and don’t say anything, whom are you more concerned about, God or man? I think you know the answer. If you go out of your way to impress people with how much you know, or even how Godly you are, you might be living at the wrong address. If you are all consumed with how you look to others, you could be living at the wrong address.
That, God says, is the problem. Your flesh, your human-ness, your sinful nature – is not what curses you. What cursed the people of Jeremiah’s day was their reliance upon the arm of human power. To get them out of trouble, his countrymen cried for help to next-door neighbor Egypt against the Bully Babylon. God says, “You are cursed because of your personal choice to rely on the human factor or to trust in your own flesh.”
In today’s gospel Jesus calls financial ability a false sense of security. If you trust in how much money you have Jesus says “Woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort.” He calls our contentment in home improvement projects and stocked refrigerator shelves a false sense of security, “Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry.” He calls our good friends and good times a false sense of security, “Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.” He even calls our approval by others and our good reputation a false sense of security, “Woe to you when all people speak well of you.”
Worse yet, your “HEART turns away from the Lord.” The heart is place of our deepest desires. Jesus warned us about having bad hearts. He said, “These people honor me with their lips, but their HEARTS are far from me (Mat. 15:8). The things that come out of the mouth come from the HEART, and these made a man ‘unclean.’ For out of the HEART come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.” (15:18-19). When we put our trust in ourselves then our heart turns its love away from its Savior Jesus. We begin to have a love affair with ourselves or with temporary turn-ons. How foolish to trust in ourselves. We trust our physical strength, and then we get sick and can hardly walk. We work and save our money and then a recession comes and threatens our security. We trust friends with secrets only to find their hearts are false and that they use their tongues against us. Our ideals lie shattered, our goals unattained, our ambitions unfulfilled. In the end, we find that self-reliance is able to produce nothing but depression and despair. Anna Nicole Smith had so much as far as material things and honor and fame but when you heard her speak she was a helpless, lonely person. And now she is dead. Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD.
You are at a point in your life that you must make a decision. Either you are a Christian or you are not a Christian. Either you care more about what God thinks or you care more about what your friends think. You cannot be both and you cannot have it both ways. It is like a fork in the road; you either go left or you go right. You can go both directions. You can be cursed or blessed. Where are you my friend. It is time to ake up your mind right now. What is it going to be. If you are a Christian, you must be willing to live that life fully, not just on Sundays. Jesus told us Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
Too many of us seem to depend on our own capabilities for our strength. We think we can fix anything and take care of everything, no matter what it is. I will let you in on a secret right now. You cannot fix anything. At very best, all you can do is put a very small band-aid on it. But, what happens when you put a band-aid on a sore? Does that band-aid heal the sore? No all it does is cover it up for a small period of time?And where does it get us? Nowhere but high & dry and destitute before God. He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.? What do we look like