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14th Sunday after Pentecost – B (Proper 17) LSB #668
Text – Ephesians 6:13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, & having done all, to stand firm. WITHSTANDING EVIL Because our Lord Jesus Christ personally taught the prayer to His disciples, we say this every Sunday, at every service: “…lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” If you’re a lifelong Christian you’ve probably recited those phrases well over a thousand times. Yet, because of our sinful nature, familiarity can breed contempt. Familiarity also causes us to assume that we know what we’re saying, even though we’ve never given it one moment’s thought: “…but deliver us from evil.” Who doesn’t know what that means? Yet, if we ask 100 people we’d very likely get 100 different answers. Some would say that guns are evil. Others say that gun free zones are evil. Alcohol is the devil’s brew, & alcohol is a gift from God to mankind. Even the selling of body parts from the aborted children of God is considered a good thing by almost half of our nation’s people in a recent survey. It’s an appalling & horrifically evil practice in the eyes of the other half. To the question, “What does it mean?” the wide-ranging diversity of answers guarantees that they will not all be on target. Some of those answers have to fall short. In our heavenly Father’s dimension there is only one truth, & it is Jesus Christ – risen from the dead! In today’s reading from St. Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus, you & I are being called to withstand evil. But how are we to withstand evil if we don’t recognize it? Part & parcel of our fallen condition is that we do call evil – good, & we call good – evil! To say our Lord calls us to withstand evil out there in the world is a Mr. Obvious statement. Our Lord is also calling us to withstand evil right here, in this place, on Sunday morning. The direction this sermon is going could make you very uncomfortable. You may feel a knee-jerk reaction to what I say. If your heart rejects what you hear, if your mind rebels against God’s teaching, you need to withstand the evil that is coming from your own heart & mind, even right here, especially right here, in God’s house. The callous, heartless & depraved souls, that are dissecting aborted children of God for their kidneys & livers & brains, have been blinded by the devil. If you don’t believe that, just try picturing Jesus Christ, working in one of those labs, sorting out, in a petri dish, the livers & the kidneys of aborted children to whom His heavenly Father had given life. People working in those conditions desperately need to hear the Good News that Jesus Christ has paid for their sin. Without that news, those workers are already experiencing hell in some measure. No soul that is connected to the Lord of life could butcher a human baby in order to retrieve its organs, even for medical research. During WWII the Nazis performed many atrocious experiments upon living & dead human beings. The medical community has been fairly resolute since then, in not using the results of that research, even when it could help people today. Yet, when it comes to aborted children, almost half of Americans approve of using those bodies, or parts of them, for research. A man who knew firsthand of the Nazi horrors, was Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He started his career as a pastor with a pacifist mindset. By the end of his life, he’d been involved in a plot to assassinate Adolph Hitler. One of his more famous quotations reflects his change of heart: “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.” Another man who knew well the face of evil, & bore the brunt of it on many occasions, finally being assassinated himself, was Martin Luther King, Jr. Regarding evil, he stated: “He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.” Are you cooperating with evil? Have you remained silent in the face of what Planned Parenthood is doing to God’s children? Not to speak is to speak. Your silence is saying that you can live with the dissection of dead, possibly even living, babies for the purpose of furthering medical research. And don’t even think that money has nothing to do with this. Dr. Ben Carson, a man who knows the medical world inside & out, has stated that such research can be accomplished in other ways. Our scientists do not have to chop up the bodies of tiny children of God in order to further our ability to provide health care. The devil is using greed, & he is using evil, to further his ability to destroy the souls of human beings. Satan has an agenda & he is fervently pursuing it. These closing words of St. Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus have been referred to as, “…the Lord’s great call to arms.” They are a call to fight the good fight of faith; to do battle against the rulers, the authorities, the cosmic powers over this present darkness & the spiritual forces of evil. Paul wrote: “Finally, be strong in the Lord & in the strength of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil… Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, & having done all, to stand firm.” (Ephesians 6:10-11, 13 ESV) The picture of the armor-clad Christian is one of defense not offense. We are not fighting to obtain truth. We have the truth. You & I do not fight to obtain victory. We fight because we already have the victory in Christ our Savior. We fight to defend the truth upon which we stand, because it is the Truth that guides us in the Way to Life. The devil is fighting to destroy your soul. He is fighting for the soul of your neighbor, & your children & your grandchildren. Are you going to remain silent? Do you not have the courage to act? If you passively accept evil, you might as well be helping to perpetrate it. As Bonhoeffer said, “God will not hold us guiltless.” Hear God’s word to the prophet Ezekiel in the 8th verse of chapter 33: “If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, & you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.” Are you feeling that knee-jerk reaction? Is the chair you’re sitting in becoming less comfortable? Maybe your heart & mind are rejecting the fairness of God’s Law, which demands absolute perfection? If any of those are true, you can sympathize with the predicament that abortion doctors & nurses are in. You can relate to the guilt being suppressed by “technicians” who are searching for kidneys & livers in a petri dish. We need to hear the Good News that Jesus Christ died for all sinners. Anyone working in the abortion industry needs to hear that same Good News. It truly is the only message that will restore life to their heart, mind & soul. They need, & you & I need, men, women & children who are strong, not in themselves, but “…in the Lord & in the strength of His might.” We need them & the world needs them, though it doesn’t know it. Lutherans have known throughout their history that schools are critical to the task of training men, women & children to be strong in the Lord. It occurs in properly run Lutheran childcare centers & schools. It occurs when Lutheran teachers instill the message of life & hope through our Lord & Savior, Jesus Christ in all subjects – religion, reading, ’riting & ’rithmetic. However, the absolute best place for this to begin is in the home. For there it is that children see real life play out in all its triumphs & all its failures. It’s in the home that they see trial & struggle, victory & defeat, life & death, along with sorrow & laughter. Life in the home is life in the real world. As good as it can be life in school is still an artificial environment. Home life, or family life, was given to Adam when our heavenly Father created Eve for him & established the family as the basic unit of society. If not before, when their firstborn son murdered the 2nd born, they clearly saw the depravity their sin brought into the world. The Lord Himself counseled Cain to withstand evil: “Why are you angry…? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.” (Genesis 4:6-7 ESV) The weapons of Satan are the constant temptations which he puts in our path every day. He uses everything from little white lies to serious doubts that arise from the constant challenges to our faith like the false yet repeated claims of evolution, or the attention that Gnostic literature such as The DaVinci Code gain in our media. The devil has been very successful, in our wealthy & complacent culture, at convincing us to water down our religious teaching & practice. He’s made tremendous gains in deceiving people to think that all religions are of equal merit, value & truthfulness. To those defending the selling of the kidneys, livers & brains of babies, for medical research, these words apply well: “Woe to those who call evil good & good evil, who put darkness for light & light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet & sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, & shrewd in their own sight!” (Isaiah 5:20-21 ESV) What is evil? As people drift further & further away from all that is good, meaning they’re drifting away from God, it becomes increasingly difficult to understand & recognize what truly is evil. Greed, gossip & slander have long been recognized as such & no one is working to create a positive public image for them. St. Paul encourages us to take up the whole armor of God that we may be able to withstand in the evil day, when good is called evil & evil is called good. However, we are also called, at the same time, to love sinners. How do we love others so they will finally be able to see Jesus? We begin by remembering God’s tremendous love, which He’s demonstrated in our own lives, as today’s OT reading stated: “Only take care, & keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things [of God] that your eyes have seen, & lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children & your children’s children…” (Deuteronomy 4:9 ESV) At the beginning of Ephesians, Paul made clear that Christ has won, & now sits “far above all rule & authority & power & dominion…” (Ephesians 1:21 ESV) We only need stand firm in Christ’s victory, which has erased even our most heartless sin. In other words, before people confess their sin of silence in the face of evil, they must have the hope of being forgiven. Before doctors, nurses & technicians will confess the depravity of their actions in those Planned Parenthood clinics, they too must have the hope of being forgiven, of having their cold-hearted deeds washed away. That is after all, the message of the cross. The greatest evil of all history was the crucifixion of the holy Son of God. Yet, Jesus willingly died to erase all sin. Withstanding evil is not about fighting fire with fire; nor is about killing it before it grows. You & I can love sinners freely & fearlessly, because everlasting life, full life, is already ours. This fallen, broken life that we endure here is nothing but the blink of eye in our heavenly Father’s dimension. His children will know that perfectly one day. Until then, we struggle to share the truly Good News that even the sin of murder is forgiven. Therefore, withstanding evil is about turning away from our sin & turning back to Jesus. It is Christ alone who enables us to stand firm in His victory over sin & death & evil. In Jesus, there is no repented sin left unturned. That’s why St. Paul asks, at the end of his letter to Ephesus, “[Pray] also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel…” He wants just the right word on just the right occasion & asks for courage to make the mystery of the Gospel known. If anything in this sermon made you uncomfortable, or gave you that knee-jerk reaction, you will find health & healing in allowing God to turn your heart back to Christ. He offers you His strength through His Word & His body & His blood. He offers you daily cleansing in the mystery of Baptism. Here in God’s house you’re enabled to withstand evil through putting on the whole armor of God. You can do that today, right here with your brothers & sisters in Christ, for God has promised that we do not stand alone. Even now we rise with all the company of heaven & stand in the presence of our Lord & Savior, as we pray, “…deliver us from evil.” Amen. Rise! To arms! With prayer employ you, O Christians, lest the foe destroy you; for Satan has designed your fall. Wield God’s word, the weapon glorious; against all foes be thus victorious. For God protects you from them all. Fear not the hordes of hell, here is Emmanuel. Hail the Savior! The strong foes yield to Christ, our shield, & we, the victors, hold the field. Cast afar this world’s vain pleasure And boldly strive for heavenly treasure. Be steadfast in the Savior’s might. Trust the Lord, who stands beside you, for Jesus from all harm will hide you. By faith you conquer in the fight. Take courage, weary soul! Look forward to the goal! Joy awaits you. The race well run, your long war won, your crown shines splendid as the sun. Wisely fight, for time is fleeting; the hours of grace are fast retreating; short, short is this our earthly way. When the Lord the dead will waken & sinners all by fear are shaken, the saints with joy will greet that day. Praise God, our triumph’s sure. We need not long endure scorn & trial. Our Savior King His own will bring to that great glory which we sing. Amen. Normally, this is the end of the sermon manuscript. However, I felt that, although the material below didn’t seem appropriate to be preached from the pulpit on this particular day, it was important for you to have the opportunity to read it. Some of you may have already seen it. If you haven’t, I encourage you to read it, but it would be wise first to put on the full armor of God. It is a very disturbing rendition of what is going on, not in the back alleys of our nation, but in the back rooms of an organization that is destroying not simply the lives of those being aborted, but also the lives & souls of those who work in the Planned Parenthood clinics. May God be with us if our nation is ever to halt its decent into the depths of hell. From the LCMS Office of National Mission: “It had a face. … Its nose was very pronounced. It had eyelids.” In the seventh Center for Medical Progress video, Holly O’Donnell, ex-procurement technician for StemExpress, describes what she witnessed in a Planned Parenthood clinic: A baby boy, an abortion survivor, was rinsed off and dropped in a pie plate for the procurement of his organs. She continues, recounting the doctor’s words and her own thoughts: “‘I want you to see something cool, kind of neat.’ … She has one of her instruments and she just taps the heart and it starts beating. I’m sitting here and I’m looking at this fetus, and its heart is beating. ‘You know why that’s happening?’ I knew why it was happening. It’s because an electrical current, nodes were still firing.” Her words are heart-stopping. A child, still alive, is then cut — through the chin and face and forehead — so that his brain can be invoiced and sold. “I can’t even, like, describe, like, what that feels like,” O’Donnell says. But we as the Church can. It feels like — it is — evil. The infanticide that is occurring at Planned Parenthood must end. It is not simply time to defund that organization; it is time to end abortion in the United States altogether. As for us, we can no longer claim that we didn’t know Planned Parenthood doctors killed children so ruthlessly or that we weren’t aware human bodies were cannibalized for their organs. We can’t just say it’s a woman’s choice or shrug our shoulders and mumble, “Who are we to judge?” We can’t hide behind the half-truths that women have no other place to find health care or that Planned Parenthood provides millions of mammograms per year. It doesn’t matter. None of it matters. Children are being killed, their organs are being sold, and their mothers are left with physical scars and — greater still — haunting memories that sometimes never fade. The death of these children is barbaric, and it is evil, and we are without excuse. Silence and attempts at justification are no longer options. The only option is for each one of us to act. “More than Tradition, More than Command; It’s Mystery!” by Rev. Richard P. Laeder, Emeritus8/23/2015 ST MATTHEW Sunday Aug 23 2015 | Pentecost Proper 16 Year B
Isaiah 29:11–19, Psalm 14, Ephesians 5:22–33, Mark 7:1–13 Grace, mercy and peace be multiplied to you from God the Father of our head, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. SERMON TEXT: ““Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” (Ephesians 5:31–33, ESV) SERMON THEME/TITLE: “More than Tradition, More than Command, It’s Mystery” When a man and a woman meet and begin to focus on each other something happens. For me and my wife Bonnie it began at a Mr. Hotdog stand in Saginaw. Ain’t that romantic? Then it was a date chaperoned by my older sister. Sweet, huh! Then it was an engagement ring. Then it was 15 months separation while I served my country with a couple of tours to Viet Nam. Then it was marriage and then three children. And – well, you know how it goes. When a man and a woman meet and begin to focus on each other something happens; and there is no mystery in that. It’s all chemistry and hormones and emotions and all those natural things. However, there is something else that happens in a marriage of one man with one woman that has been ordained by God; and that is a mystery; a mystery revealed in Christ and the Church, which is the Una Sancta, the one Holy and apostolic Church. This union consists of only the children of God, the born again regenerated and consecrated believers, people who all together comprise the body of Christ who is its head. That is the mystery. That is so much more than tradition and so much more than command. And the marriage of one man with one woman emulates and mirrors this heavenly union of godly perfection. To God be the glory! But of course, when marriage is redefined by people to be something God did not intend, then the mirror image of the heavenly union is distorted and in some cases, not reflected at all. And that image is distorted when in the marriage of one man with one woman there is a distortion or a misunderstanding of what exactly marriage is and why we celebrate it as a godly estate and tradition. Some think MARRIAGE is only TRADITION. Others think MARRIAGE is only COMMAND. Some others think MARRIAGE might be a combination of both TRADITION and COMMAND. But God has ordained and established the human in creation as male and female for the mutual respect and honor of each other. That goes far beyond just getting to know one another personally, emotionally, and carnally. It’s knowing one another intimately in Christ the head of the spiritual body. If that union is solid, then marriage will be solid. Conversely, if the marriage is not solid, the intimacy with the head, Christ, is suspect. In other words, when the male and the female are both subject to the authority of their head, Christ, they are better at “Keeping the body in control,” as St. Paul says in another place. The marriage remains blessed and functional. That’s what submissiveness is. It is not cowering under some subversive, regimented, authoritarian, demeaning and abusive kind of relationship. That’s not submissiveness. That is subjugation and suppression and pure evil at its very core. And that is just what we are in our very nature except for one thing and one thing only. And that one thing is so much “More than Tradition, More than Command. It’s Mystery!” Human TRADITIONS change with time. For example, some people prefer a goose for Thanksgiving, not traditional turkey. In doing this, they make a new tradition. Political will changes over time. For example, the collective mind of a nation might change respecting how it chooses to be governed. They make a new tradition for themselves, like God's people desiring a King to rule over them. We all know how that turned out, don’t we. And yet, God was still loved them for the sake of His own covenant promise. It might be surprising to some, but in this text there are no COMMANDS. I know someone is going to take me to task on this over the word submit in verse 22 where Paul supposedly says, “Wives, SUBMIT to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.” (Ephesians 5:22–23, ESV) Actually, that word isn’t even there in the original text. It is brought into the thought from the verbal noun in verse 21 which reads: “SUBMITTING to one another out of reverence for Christ.” (Ephesians 5:21, ESV) which is a whole different thought, not a command. Think of it this way; the way Paul thinks: the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of Church, His Body. And what did Christ do for His Body, being that no one ever hates His own body? he honors her and blesses her in what he says and does. This is what Christ did for His body, the Church. “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that HE might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that HE might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.” (Ephesians 5:25–27, ESV) Notice to whom He makes her acceptable. So we see the choice and who is the active agent involved here. It was Christ’s choice to make His body, the Church holy to Himself. That is, to provide everything she needed in order that He might present her to Himself in splendor, with no spots or wrinkles on her clothing. Nothing like that. No, God’s decision in Christ was to present His bride a Holy unblemished body to Himself. And that He did through self-sacrifice of His own Son on the CROSS. Men, this is why the Word of God gives this as a comparison: “Husbands, love your wives, AS Christ loved the church.” (Ephesians 5:25, ESV) This is how we keep ourselves under our head, in submission to Christ, remembering that our wives are God’s gifts given to complete our body. Remembering the first time we laid eyes on our spouse and something just clicked in our being and said, “I really want to know this one.” Jesus’ sacrifice on the CROSS is Christ’s sacrifice for mankind; a sacrifice made for the male and the female, the husband and the wife, that together they may be sanctified in Christ, who desires to know us: for scripture declares: ““Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”” (Ephesians 5:31, ESV) ahh the mystery revealed. God desires us. There is no tradition, no command that can make this kind of union, this kind of oneness, perfect. The mystery of CHRIST and the CROSS through the shed blood of Jesus, makes the union of the BODY [the Church] with the HEAD [Christ] perfect. This is the mystery of our … SERMON TEXT: ““Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” (Ephesians 5:31–33, ESV) So you see, MARRIAGE as ordained by God is so much “More than Tradition, More than Command, It’s Mystery!” And the marriage of one man with one woman, in Christ, is what Paul is talking about. It makes the body complete [for the CHURCH, which is mirrored in the MARRIAGE of one man with one woman]. Amen! The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will keep our hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus now and unto life everlasting. Amen. “Wisdom Reveals what “THE LIFE” in Evil Days Looks Like!” by Rev. Richard P. Laeder, Emeritus8/16/2015 ST MATTHEW Sunday Aug 16 2015 | Pentecost
Proper 15 Year B Proverbs 9:1-10; Psalm 34:12–22; Ephesians 5:6–21; John 6:51–69 THEME VERSE: “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:15–16, ESV) THEME/TITLE: “Wisdom Reveals what “THE LIFE” in Evil Days Looks Like”” Grace to you and peace from God the Father of Wisdom, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. (Proverbs 9:10, ESV) says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, [In Hebrew poetic style, the thought then expands to include this], and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” This verse literally reveals that “WISDOM” is intrinsically connected to an awesome respect [fear] that is due the Lord of life and of all wisdom. Yet even that is but a beginning. His knowledge is infinite. Ours finite. (Proverbs 2:6, ESV) then says, “For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;” The point is this: true “Wisdom” is from the Lord God, not humans. How could it be any different? God is omniscient, which means that He is all knowing. Everything that we as human beings know or learn comes from Him who created all things. But natural to our humanity, this gets all twisted and turned around in human understanding so that people think that they are the ones who are getting smarter in and of ourselves. But who is it that gives growth to body and understanding to the mind in the first place? Remove the knowledge of the Holy One from human understanding and you know right where that lands us—relying only on the inadequate wisdom of man. Listen to how Paul addresses this situation with people of Corinth who lived among those who boasted of their great wisdom, even about God: “And I, … did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. … and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” (Excerpt from 1 Corinthians 2:1–5, ESV). It is no different for us today. We live in a time when people use God’s name rather freely while at the same time, denying His Power. Such do not speak from wisdom, but have taken what God has gifted, then boasted that it is their own. That is not wise. That is foolishness in the Lord’s eyes. That is leaning on one’s own understanding of things. Just one more thought about “Wisdom” as Paul understood it. When he says, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” (Colossians 3:16, ESV), Paul connects “WISDOM” with the word of Christ as it is put to song in Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs. Now isn’t God just awesome to combine things like His Word and music just for our edification, education, and enlightenment? And just think, while the world feeds on the fast food of ‘Rappers’, and suggestive choreographies, we get to feast on the simplicity of God’s Wisdom in the eternal bread of heaven. This bread of heaven comes through the means of WORD and SACRAMENT so that we may eat and drink of Him to our bodily good and our spiritual enlightenment. That’s His plan. That’s His purpose. It is all to the glory of God, Jesus Christ and those who are with Him. So, I just love it when God’s plan comes together! His plan is always so much better than ours, and His plan always leads to a more fruitful, better life and existence for us than anything we can ever think or imagine, … if only we walk in wisdom, His Wisdom. Why? Because “Wisdom Reveals what “THE LIFE” in Evil Days Looks Like”” That life doesn’t exist in the abundance and pleasures of anything the world offers; the lusts of the flesh, the riches of personal wealth, etc. And yet the satisfactions of life in Christ can only be known when a person dies to self and is reborn in Christ. Now someone is going to say, “But that will take a miracle!” This is where our Lord would have us hear Him say: “I am here and have provided, and will provide all that you need, don’t be afraid, just believe.” Others will say, “I’ve been born again, and that’s that.” How foolish! A believer can no more live in the spirit if not properly nurtured and nourished in Christ than a child can live a good life without proper nurturing and nourishment. It is precisely when we see our need for help in this life that our Lord would have us remember: “I have died to the elemental things of this age and have been raised again in the glory of new life. Now I give you my life. I am not hampered by the evils of spiritual forces that control the mind of unbelief, which runs wild with lawlessness in things like “sexual Immorality or impurity,” and “covetousness.” I am the Lord your God. Trust and do not be afraid!” Some believers in Ephesus were making a practice of getting involved in lifestyles and behaviors that so quickly adhere to the flesh and the sinful nature. That grieves the Holy Spirit and puts them in danger of losing their inherited life in Christ. So, to this unseemly behavior, St Paul inscribes these words of wisdom: “Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.” (Ephesians 5:7–11, ESV) (1 John 1:5, ESV) says, “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” So what do you think is supposed to happen when God indwells and takes up habitation in people like you and me? Let me tell you what wisdom makes happen: His light in us turns our darkness into light so that the old things are exposed. Being exposed they can be repented of, turned away from, and our life lived in obedience to God, that is, in faith and trust that He will cleanse us from all unrighteousness, because He has become our life. Here is how wisdom says it: “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” (Colossians 3:3–4, ESV). This is the miracle of grace we have in Christ Jesus. It should not be taken lightly as if it were a gift we control or concoct on our own accord. That grieves the Holy Spirit who indwells us. That’s the way the world thinks of Christ. And the fruit of faith like that is plain to the Spirit of God and to those born of the Spirit. “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:19–21, ESV) Dear friends in Christ Jesus. We did not learn Christ that way! This is how we learned Christ: “But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”” (Ephesians 5:13–14, ESV). Now isn’t that a great plan? God’s plan! God’s will for us? Let God’s people all say “YES!” In His plan and action, there is not a “To do list,” that is, a list of things that if you do them, then you will be walking in wisdom. No, wisdom is spiritual and the Holy Spirit knows just how to apply it in a person’s life. So the best we can do is to always let God’s wisdom be applied to ourselves so that we might bear His fruit: “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.” (Galatians 5:22–26, ESV) This is what it means to walk in wisdom, as the wise children of our Lord God and Creator. “Wisdom Reveals what “THE LIFE” in Evil Days Looks Like.” So, as “Wisdom Reveals what “THE LIFE” in Evil Days Looks Like,” I find myself undergoing an ongoing conflict between mind and heart. Don’t you? What I mean is this: what do we do when someone we love, a family member, a brother or sister in Christ does things they should not, or doesn’t do things they should, bringing dishonor to themselves, or perhaps, even upon us? Should we not associate with them as Paul here seems to be saying? Should we disown them, cut them off from our love? How does that square with the cross of Christ? Concerning family, how can a person remove his own flesh and blood from himself and live? I am talking about a need for discipline, here; self-discipline. Discipline comes from the word disciple, which means; to teach, guide, help one learn. That takes effort. And when I try that, I’m not always sure I’m doing the right thing. Trying to disciple one’s self never seems adequate to me. But this is what I do: I ask God for wisdom. I do that because I know I can’t be trusted, God can! We can always count on Him to give us just what we need when we need it. Perhaps confession to another person; perhaps sharing a kind thought with another person; I think that’s what love does. Love responds with understanding, but not with acceptance of what is destructive to one’s spirit, whether it be in one’s self, or another. Our tendency however is blithely, and unthinkingly to say, or do things without asking for God’s wisdom. And we become the transgressors by slandering the work God has begun in someone’s life, our own, or someone else’s. Discipline, and discipling is difficult. It takes much more than simple human understanding and insight to do this properly and effectively. It takes wisdom from above, the wisdom only God through His Word and Spirit gives. This is all the more reason to keep in mind our text for meditation: “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:15–16, ESV) As “Wisdom Reveals what “THE LIFE” in Evil Days Looks Like” we need to be aware of the unimaginable benefits God has already delivered to each one of us in Love and Mercy and Forgiveness and in the Renewal of the Mind. In this regard, I can’t keep myself from saying: I just love it when God’s plan comes together, and it does come together in real terms simply because “Wisdom Reveals what “THE LIFE” in Evil Days Looks Like.”” Amen. Now the peace of God and the wisdom of God which is ours in Christ Jesus, will keep our hearts and minds save in Him, now and unto life everlasting. Amen. ST MATTHEW Sunday Aug 9 2015 | Pentecost
Proper 14 Year B 1 Kings 19:1–8; Psalm 34:1–8; Ephesians 4:17–5:2; John 6:35–51 Grace, Mercy and Peace be multiplied unto you from God the Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. THEME TEXT: Ephesians 4:20–24 (ESV) 20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. THEME/TITLE: “Offload that Junk, Get the NEW SELF!” “But that is not the way you learned Christ!--” (Ephesians 4:20, ESV). This is where our thought for meditation begins. This thought raises a very important question that reaches right to the heart of the visible church on earth today. This portion of today’s text, verses 20-24, does not assume that anyone learned Christ forthrightly or correctly. Yet it does assume this: “as the truth is in Jesus,” then, as His truth is taught, people will have learned Christ as He is—not some caricature or simile of the Lord—but Christ Himself. That teaching is learned in rather humble and simple ways. How many of you remember the old flannel boards with the flannel figures? Sunday School teachers used to tell the bible stories of Creation, Moses, the Flood, Jonah and the Whale, and about the life and times of Jesus using these boards: the miracles and works He did; the calling and sending of the apostles; the response of people healed; how disastrous lives were completely altered and renewed by Jesus; the feeding of thousands through a miraculous blessing and distribution of bread and fish; His forthright words with those who just could not, or would not, hear Him or believe Him. Oh yeah, I remember those flannel graphs very well. … High tech, in their day! I remember being intrigued by the stories, and how the teachers related those stories to our lives. What I walked away with was this: “Jesus is very important!” I didn’t know it then, but I was learning Christ through the prophetic and apostolic Word of God. It’s really no different today. The materials and the methods might have changed, but the message is still the message, God does not change, His Word does not change and applications to even modern-day lives are still relevant and important. Even so, in the modern mind, which is very much like the mind of the unbelieving world of the first and second centuries, because they are filled with what I refer to as a lot of junk, just doesn’t hear or understand the saving message of Jesus Christ partly because the church has kept its old junk to try to reach a different mindset. It doesn’t work well. Here’s what I mean: A quick comparison would be like trying to use an old wind-up phonograph for music to reach a generation raised on tiny gadgets that can plug into your ears and you can run with. It doesn’t work anymore. It has had its useful time. Try to use it now, and it gets in the way of the message. So other than memorabilia, and its antique awesomeness, it becomes but junk in the trunk. Likewise, the sinful lifestyle that we are so accustomed to accepting as being okay if a person says they love Jesus. Trying to keep what belongs to the old sinful nature gets in the way of the new nature, the new self, so that it cannot thrive and advance. Eventually, if such behavior persists, there will no longer be a new nature at all. Just the old deluded nature happy in its cultural norm that is on its way to death. This is why St. Paul is given these inspired Words for us to learn Christ: “Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:25–32, ESV) In this regard, let us pray: Forgive me dear Lord for the junk in my trunk, and help me to “Offload that Junk, Get the NEW SELF!” Amen. We get the new self through the same message God has handed down by the prophets and apostles, so that those whom the Eternal Father leads to Jesus, come to Jesus, and in Jesus they find new life, a meaningful and grace-filled life that is unexplainable in its power, and needs no justification to the world, or anyone in it. This life is governed by a mind that desires to be like Christ and looks at things above. It is not governed by the past, but by the leading of God’s Spirit through life wherever that life leads. And we know where it leads; to a new heaven and a new earth where there is no sin or unrighteousness. Just the truth of God exists and those who belong to Him. So how did you learn Christ? Did you learn that He was a lover of self; a lover of money; that He was proud, arrogant, abusive, or disobedient to his parents; that He was ungrateful for the work His Father sent Him to do; that He was unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control; a brute who did not love the good; a treacherous, reckless man who was swollen with conceit; that He was a lover of fleshly pleasure rather than a lover of His God and Father? Did you learn Christ as a person only having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power? … I don’t think so! Yet, that is precisely the way those who have learned a caricature or facsimile of Christ portray Him in their own lives. They don’t see that junk as a problem. We ourselves don’t have to look beyond our own skin to see how much junk we have accumulated so fast and so easily in our lives, and didn’t even realize it. Satan’s traps are masterfully crafted, appearing to be very useful and necessary to hang on to by the sinful old self that likes to hoard junk. We ourselves are prone to cling to what we know rather than seek God where He is. God doesn’t live in the past. He never has. God is leading His people through this life into the next life where there is no sin, no health issues, no financial issues, no death, and nothing that causes sin. So why do we hold on to the junk that drags us from that glory? If we let ourselves get hung up on the junk of life, we miss the mark of where He is and where He is going. That isn’t the Christ the prophets and apostles taught. That isn’t the Christ we learned. The Christ we learned is not stagnant or satisfied with the status quo. Thus, our life in Christ is filled with challenges and changes and difficult choices and rough roads. That’s what the cross of Christ looks like in real terms. And perhaps the hardest part of a believer’s life is offloading that junk that accumulates so easily--“putting off the old self and putting on the new self,” as St. Paul states it. It all occurs because of the active agent in the written Word—God’s Holy Spirit. An amazing thing occurs as the WORD of the LORD grows. As people are led by the Father to the Son through the Spirit in the WORD, the CHURCH grows. There is no other way provided by God that makes that happen. All the people on earth could be gathered under one belief system and it be hailed a huge and glorious success for all mankind, and yet, if it is built on junk and not a renewal of the mind in Christ, it has no connection to Christ or His Father in heaven. Even Jesus says: “It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me--” (John 6:45, ESV) So, … “Offload that Junk, Get the NEW SELF!” So what is so good about the NEW SELF that anyone among us should desire it? Listen again to the WORD of God as given through the apostle: “the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” TRUE RIGHTEOUSNESS and HOLINESS. What does this mean? Well, first of all, if it is TRUE, it can’t come from us. We are anything but true. Second, if it is RIGHTEOUSNESS and HOLINESS, it can’t come from us either, because everything we think, say, and do is tainted by the sinful human nature. That’s the junk that we keep needing to offload. And right here is the point: Our life in Christ is an ongoing life of renewal and transformation. (Romans 12:1-2); of putting off the old, and putting on the new self. If we could take a selfie of our natural self at any point in time, we would see clearly what we look like before the Righteous and Holy God. It isn’t pretty, in comparison with the Holy and Righteous One! Yet, because of True Righteousness and Holiness, if Jesus were to take a selfie of Himself with us, all that God the Father would see in that picture is His beloved Son and a train of righteous people with Him all wrapped in the garment of His own Holy Spirit, His Righteousness and Holiness; Bright and beautiful, without spot, wrinkle, or blemish, all. That’s just what happens as we “Offload that Junk, and Get the NEW SELF!” Even so it is not perfect; not this side of heaven. But this is what the believer yearns for, and strives for, not an acceptance of who I am just as I am because I am. No sir! That isn’t how we learned Christ. People who have learned Christ aright don’t like the junk in the trunk of their life. They most heartily desire the purity of true righteousness and holiness that is only found in Jesus Christ. And that is where we find our solace and comfort and joy and peace and assurance and forgiveness. You have heard the old cliché, “God don’t make no junk.” Well, the saying is true, though not biblical. Sin makes junk, junk, not God. And that is why the life lived in Christ wants to … “Offload that Junk, Get the NEW SELF!” The thief can become a useful productive servant part of the Body just like each and every one of us here today. God has given us exactly what we need to make that happen. He has given us His Son, Jesus Christ, the bread from heaven, the Word made flesh, the True Righteousness and Holiness of God given to us through faith in Him. We are not dumpsters for the world and its darkened understanding to let its inglorious trash rot. We are the vessels of the glory of our God! The World has no connection with God, but are aliens and foreigners to Him in their hardened hearts. We are Christ in this world to give voice to God’s redeeming grace to the world in Christ. There is only more of the SAME OLD THING that comes from the world. But we are the NEW THING Created in Christ Jesus for the world! Even if it means we too must become a blood sacrifice for it. Jesus offers Himself as life giving bread and drink to renew the mind so that people can see the junk, turn away from it to where real life is, the bread of life, Jesus Christ! What He gives in His own Body and Blood is TRUTH, RIGHTEOUSNESS, and HOLINESS for ourselves and for those whose lives we touch with the same gracious offering. In this regard, I am very happy and proud to be in a Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod congregation seeking, "to know Jesus and to let Him be known," by ... reflecting God's love, teaching God's children, and serving our community. But just saying this won’t do a thing. Christ knows that. And we learned Christ will raise up people to provide the fruit He is looking for. He will help us “Offload that Junk, Get the NEW SELF!” Amen. The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will keep our hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus now and unto life everlasting. Amen. |
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November 2024
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