Friday, June 15, 2018

Don’t Be Crazy! (A sermon based on Mark 3:20-25)

"Don't be crazy!" You know what's really crazy? Calling Jesus out of his mind! Who would do that?! Actually, don't we tell Jesus he's crazy whenever we suggest that we know better than he does, that our thoughts are better than his thought, that our ways are better than his ways? But even though we side with satan when we do that, nevertheless, God's crazy love for you and me stopped at nothing to rescue us. He paid for our sin. He brought us into his family. As crazy as it sounds, it true! Read or listen to (download) this sermon based on Mark 3:20-25 and rejoice in his crazy love!

Don't Be Crazy!

A sermon based on Mark 3:20-25

Sunday, June 10th, 2018 – Pentecost 3B

 

"Did you see the game last night?! That was crazy!!" "There's this crazy sale happening at my favorite store today! You want to go?" "Oh, that guy? I love that guy! He's crazy!"

Don't you think we maybe overuse the word "crazy" in our modern usage? It's no joke to actually be crazy. But do you know what's really crazy?! Daring to call Jesus, the Son of God, the Creator of the Universe, crazy! You've got to be out of your mind to do that. But that's exactly what Jesus' family did in our text for this morning, recorded for us in Mark 3:20-25…

 

20 Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. 21 When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, "He is out of his mind."

22 And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, "He is possessed by Beelzebub! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons."

23 So Jesus called them and spoke to them in parables: "How can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. 27 In fact, no one can enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can rob his house. 28 I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. 29 But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin."

30 He said this because they were saying, "He has an evil spirit."

31 Then Jesus' mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. 32 A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, "Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you."

33 "Who are my mother and my brothers?" he asked.

34 Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother."

 

Jesus' mother and brothers cared for him. There was no doubt about that. But they thought he was crazy. He wasn't taking very good care of himself, they thought. He was working himself to death and he couldn't sustain the pace! He was working so hard he didn't even have time to eat! They loved him so much they just had to stage an intervention. They went to take charge of him, for they said, "He is out of his mind."

"Jesus, you're a work-a-holic. And you're acting crazy! You don't even have time to eat. If you really care about your disciples, if you care at all about yourself, you'll slow down. You need to stop this right now! And we'll force you to if you won't do it on your own. We love you too much to let you do this to yourself. Stop this madness."

But of course, thinking they knew better than Jesus was crazy! Had Mary forgotten who Jesus was? Did she forgotten that she was a virgin when Jesus was born—that he was no ordinary child, but the God-man? Had his brothers forgotten that he is the eternal God who created the heavens and the earth and all that is in them?! They must have! How else could they try to correct him? How else could they try to stage an intervention and stop him from doing what he thought was best? How else could they scold the God-Man and tell him that they, not he, knew best?!

It's crazy to tell Jesus what to do. And you've got to be out of your mind to tell the God man that he's out of his mind. But don't we do the same? Don't we often tell Jesus that he's crazy? I know, you may never have voiced it in those words—at least I hope not—but isn't that really what we imply anytime we suggest that we know better than Jesus?

"Jesus, do you really want us to rely on the simple proclamation of the Gospel to grow your church?! Don't you think we need some trick or gimmick to bait them? They won't listen to me! Your Word's not really that powerful. You must be nuts!" "Jesus, are you really saying that this water sprinkled on a baby's head can create faith and wash away sin? Are you seriously saying that this bread and wine is actually your body and blood?! You must be crazy!" "Jesus, are you seriously suggesting that I ought to forgive my ex? My parents? My enemy who hurt me? Did you see what he did? Did you hear what she said? And you still want me to forgive?! Jesus, that's insane!"

Do you ever try to take charge of Jesus and tell him what to do? If we're honest we have to say, "Yes. Every time we sin, we really say to him, 'Listen, Jesus. I know best. And this is how it's going to be…'" as we ignore his Word and live for ourselves. And it's crazy! We side with satan every time we do! We know what we deserve for such behavior—hell, apart from God forever!—but we keep doing it! We must be out of our minds with selfishness and sin!

Now Jesus' family thought he was crazy. But if they had their misgivings about Jesus' sanity, the teachers of the law were absolutely certain that Jesus wasn't right in the head. They thought that he wasn't just insane, but was actually demon possessed…

"Beelzebub!" they cried, "The Lord of the Flies!" that's who he's working for! Or "Beelzeboul" the Greek literally says, "He's possessed by the Lord of Dung!" He's not just crazy, insane! He's Possessed by the devil! "By the prince of demons he is driving out demons."

But Jesus loved his enemies and wouldn't let them leave with the wrong idea about him. He called them over to teach them the truth. "A house divided cannot stand!" Made famous by Abraham Lincoln in his plea to end the Civil War, it was really Jesus who said it first: "If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand." "You guys are talking crazy talk," Jesus told them, "satan isn't so stupid as to fight against himself! If he did that he would never win!" "And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come." Jesus pointed out that he wasn't the one who was crazy, they were! "If you think I come from satan, that I'm driving out demons in his name, than you're nuts! That's not how a war is won! You're crazy!"

In fact, Jesus took it a step further: "In fact, no one can enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can rob his house." In other words, Jesus said that he couldn't drive out demons if he weren't more powerful than the demons were. But he clearly had driven out demons. They had seen it! There was no denying the miracles! So Jesus is far more powerful than they are. He is far stronger than satan, far mightier than his demons, and he can tell them where to go and they must obey!

Make no mistake! Jesus was not crazy. He was not from Beelzebub, or from satan! He is the God-man, who, by his victory on Calvary's cross, he has defeated satan once and for all! What comfort we find in that truth, because we know he has defeated satan for us and has brought us into his family…

 

It was about 11 O'clock at night when my phone startled me awake. The woman on the other end was hysterical. She wouldn't give me her name, but she was certain that she was damned. She was disappointed with God and angry with him that he wouldn't give her what she'd asked for. And in her anger and frustration she had uttered words she knew to be blasphemous, words that slandered God. She told me that she had screamed in her room, "I curse you, God! I curse you, Jesus! I curse you, Holy Spirit!" Now, in a moment of deep regret she was convinced she could never be forgiven and would certainly spend an eternity in hell for what she said. For she had read verse 29: "But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin."

But let's take a look at what that actually means. In the other Gospels, Jesus adds something. In Matthew he says, "Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come." So, did you ever wonder, how could one sin against the Son and not sin against the Spirit? After all, you cannot separate the Triune God. A sin against one person is a sin against the others. But the key to understanding this verse is understanding the work of each person of the Trinity.

We usually speak of the work of God the Father as creator and preserver of life, the work of God the Son as redeemer and savior from sin, and the work of God the Holy Spirit as the enlightener and sanctifier. Well, one could slander the Father in anger as Job did, suggesting that God was not caring for him the way he ought. That's not wise, but it's not an eternal sin of which one cannot be forgiven. One could slander the Son and suggest that he didn't know best as Mary and Jesus' brothers' did, as we often do. Again, that's not wise, but it's not an eternal sin of which one cannot be forgiven.

But if one slanders the Holy Spirit by refusing to believe in Jesus, if you sin against his office and reject the truth that he brings, then there can be no forgiveness, because you refuse the one and only way to find that forgiveness. It would be like severing the pipe that brings water into your house. You can no longer get water because you destroyed the means of bringing it to you.

So I comforted that hysterical woman with this truth and assured her that if she was concerned that she might have blasphemed the Holy Spirit, that she hadn't. She certainly sinned against God in her blasphemous words, but forgiveness was not out of reach—not yet. She was not "guilty of an eternal sin," and " [would] not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come."

 

When we tell Jesus we think he's crazy and that we know better than he does—and that's really what we do any time we sin—we really side with satan who thought God should not be in charge, but that he should. But that doesn't mean that we are guilty of an eternal sin and will not be forgiven. It means we must repent of our foolish rebellion and our stupid sin. But we're not without hope.

You know what Jesus has done for you by the work of the Holy Spirit. You know how he has brought you into his family. Now, don't reject him and his work for you. That would be insane!

And what did he do for you? He lived a perfect life pleasing his Father in every way. Nevertheless, he was forsaken not just by his mother and his brothers, but his Father forsook him on the cross. Crazy, right? And as Jesus endured hell itself being forsaken by him, he paid for every sin you or I have ever committed—for every time we've told Jesus that he was crazy and that we would do things our own way. He defeated satan! He crushed the serpents head! And he made you and me a part of his family by the work of the Holy Spirit! What crazy love he has for you and me!!

John 1:12-13 says, "Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God." Hebrews 2:11 says, "Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them [that is, us] brothers [and sisters]." God has brought us into his family! Sounds crazy, doesn't it? "After all we've done? You mean we're just forgiven! You must be out of your mind!" But it's absolutely true! 1 John 3:1 says, "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!"

And now, we are eager to be a part of the family and join together with each other to listen to our Father! To rejoice in our awesome big Brother! To stop acting so crazy in telling Jesus we know better than he does! And to live for him and for each other!

"Who are my mother and my brothers?" [Jesus] asked.  Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother."

I know it sounds crazy, but you are forgiven of every sin you've ever committed, no matter how bad it seems! You are children of God the Father! You are Jesus' brother or sister! You know who Jesus is. He's not crazy like his natural family thought. He's not in league with satan like his enemies thought. He's your Savior. And through his work on the cross and the Holy Spirit's work in the Gospel, you are now a son or daughter of God. You are a brother or sister of Christ himself. You are adopted into his family. And you are an heir of eternal life. Crazy as it may seem, it's true: You are a part of God's family. In Jesus' name, dear friends, amen.

 

In Him,
Pastor Rob Guenther

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church
47585 Ciechanski Road, Kenai, AK 99611

Listen to sermons online: www.GraceLutheranKenai.com/Podcast
Watch services online: www.GraceLutheranKenai.com/Webcast

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Monday, June 4, 2018

Rest in Peace A sermon based on Mark 2:23-28

Do you get enough sleep each night? Wish you could get more rest? Is your life peaceful? Wish you could have more peace? There will be plenty of time sleep and rest in the grave. But perhaps you'd like a little more rest and peace right now. Well, Jesus has a solution for you. Read or listen to (download) this sermon based on Mark 2:23-28 and Rest in Peace...

Rest in Peace

A sermon based on Mark 2:23-28

Sunday, June 3, 2018 – Pentecost 2B

 

So the Guenthers are getting closer and closer to what I'm pretty sure is going to be the longest road trip of our lives. And I'll admit that I'm a bit nervous. I hope we don't break down along the way. That would throw off my fastidious plan. I hope the boys don't fight in the back non-stop. That will drive me crazy. And I'm pretty sure that I'll be doing almost all of the driving on my own because, you see, my wife has this condition that I call, "Carcolepsy." It's like narcolepsy, but it only seems to hit her when she gets in the car. As soon as she hits that passenger seat she's out.

But I get it. A lot of us aren't getting as much sleep as we need. 26% of Americans average only 6 hours of sleep each night. Another 14% get 5 hours or less. That's a lot less than the 8 to 10 hours recommended. At least 40% of Americans are weary, tired, worn out. Is that you sometimes? Wouldn't it be nice to get some rest?

Of course, when it is Becky's turn to drive, I have a second problem. That's usually when the boys are wide awake. They're either talking and laughing or they're bickering and fighting and still can't get the sleep I need because I have no peace.

One of my college professors had a brilliant solution to the problem of not getting enough rest and peace. If he ever noticed anyone yawn or their eyelids start to droop in class he would loudly remind us, "Boys, wake up! There's plenty of time to sleep in the grave." And so you see on every iconic tombstone: R.I.P. Rest in peace.

I don't know about you, but I for one would like to rest in peace before I'm dead. And if you do too, then listen up because God has another solution for us. In the Old Testament he called it the Sabbath Day: a day off from work, a day to rest from your labor, a day to find peace in the Word of God and in the promises which it contains.

But not everyone understood that rest. Not everyone wanted that peace. This morning, we hear of an encounter between some Pharisees and Jesus. And as we hear Jesus' response to their challenge, we rejoice that through him we can rest in peace. Our lesson is from Mark 2:23-28…

 

23 One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. 24 The Pharisees said to him, "Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?"

25 He answered, "Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? 26 In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions."

27 Then he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."

 

Ever feel like you just can't get enough rest? No matter how late you sleep in on Saturday, it just isn't enough to make up for the late nights or early mornings of the week? It seems to be a problem for me especially in summer in Alaska. There's lots of light to go play, but still plenty of work to be done. Especially now that we're packing.

In fact, the time spent playing makes more work: to prepare for the party, to pack for the trip, to shop for the camping trip, to process the fish, to clean up when it's all done. There may be rest in the summer for Floridans, but it doesn't seem there's ever a chance to rest in the summer for Alaskans. Wouldn't it be nice to rest in peace?

But there's a much worse restlessness than the tiredness we feel in our bodies. There's a restlessness of the soul that can leave one entirely worn out. The guilt of sin and the shame of regret can leave one feeling pretty exhausted. So what do we do about it?

The Pharisees taught a theology of works. Work hard. Clean up your act. Improve your life. Follow the rules. Change your behavior. Be a better person. Then, when you have become all you were meant to be, you can have rest in knowing what a great person you are.

But there's a problem with that theology: It doesn't work. Working hard to be the person God wants you to be can never give you rest because you can never be perfect! And make no mistake, that's not just God's desire, but his demand: Be perfect! And so, without perfection, you cannot be at peace with God. The best you can do is water down the law and lower the bar to something you can keep.

That's what the Pharisees did. If they couldn't keep their thoughts pure, well, then they'd ignore that command and make up a new one: Don't take too many steps on Saturday. The Pharisees even turned even rest into work! The Sabbath Day, the day of rest, became a day of rules. They added rule upon rule and insisted these rules must be kept or people would be sinning. Prepare your meals for Saturday on Friday night. For it would be work to cook. Eat light on Friday and Saturday morning because you can only walk outside the city to the latrine once. More than that would be too many steps and too much work. And it's still the same way today…

When I went to visit Israel in 2008, one Saturday (the Sabbath Day), I got on the wrong elevator. I thought someone was playing a joke on me because on my way up to my room, the doors opened and closed on every single floor on the way up to my room on the 15th floor. I was on the Sabbath elevator. It did that so orthodox Jews who observed the Sabbath wouldn't have to work by hitting the button. No joke! When I learned that from my tour guide I asked him, what if a hotel doesn't have such an elevator, would they have to wait for a Gentile to push the button for them? Ironically, he was serious when he said, "Either that or take the stairs."

I once said to the rabbi down the street from the church I served in Raleigh, "I notice that when I come in on Saturday to run through the sermon or fold the bulletins, I'll often see you and your family walking to the synagogue. Why is that? I thought the Sabbath was a day of rest." His serious reply was, "We walk to give our cars a day of rest."

Do you see how ridiculous it is? How they turn the Sabbath on its head?! What God intended to be a day for his people to rest from their work to focus on the Word, they turned into a day of rules to be kept to work your way into heaven by earning God's favor.

So while God commanded his people not to harvest on the Sabbath, but to take a day off to focus on his grace, the Pharisees turned it into a command not to pick a snack while you walked along the road. When they saw Jesus' disciples picking some heads of grain, they challenged Jesus: "Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?"

But Jesus set them straight. "Have you never read what David did…  when he and his companions were hungry and in need…  he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions."

They were surely familiar with the account we just read. David ate the consecrated bread that the law said was only for priests. Yet he was not sinning. In the case of necessity, love is the fulfillment of the Law, and no one ever thought of censuring David for his action. Jesus' point was clear—if David wasn't guilty of sin when he ate the bread in the tabernacle when he was hungry, Jesus' disciples weren't guilty either for picking heads of grain on the Sabbath when they were hungry.

The Pharisees got it all wrong. And so they stripped the Sabbath of its rest. They stripped the symbol of its peace. They did it to water down the law to become something they could keep to feel like they deserved God's love. But it didn't work. They still weren't perfect. They had no peace with God.

Now I know it's easy to look down on those shameful Pharisees, but before we do, consider this: Don't we sometimes do the exact same thing? Don't we sometimes think that we earn God's favor by toeing the line, by following the rules, by keeping God's commands, even by being here in church? What makes you a good Christian? If you've ever answered, "Because I go to church every week," or "Because I am an active member," well, you've just done the same thing that the Pharisees did!

Being in church no more makes you a Christian than being in a garage makes you a car! And your presence here this morning earns you no brownie points before God. Sitting on the couch after worship (instead of working) doesn't always bring him glory. And it isn't a sin to mow your lawn on Sunday afternoon.

Keeping God's laws do not get us closer to God. They never have. They cannot get us rest for our souls. They cannot bring us peace because we cannot keep them perfectly, all of the time, as God demands that we do.

It's easy to make up rules about elevators and steps walked. But it's not easy to keep our hearts free from arrogance and pride, from lust and greed, from sinful thoughts that look down on others who aren't "as good" as us. And each one of these thoughts reveals the Pharisee in each of us and earns us God's condemnation. We deserve to rest in pieces, obliterated by God's wrath. We deserve damnation in hell.

But Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath. And the Sabbath Day was never really about rules for people to follow in order to earn God's favor. No! It was all to point ahead to Jesus: "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."

The Sabbath was meant to serve people, not enslave them. Of course there's wisdom in taking a day off from work for the sake of one's physical and emotional health. But God had a more important purpose in mind for the Sabbath. He intended the Sabbath to be a special opportunity to worship, to study God's Word, and to better learn his plan of salvation—not through following legalistic requirements, but through faith in the Messiah to come, through faith in Jesus.

Remember what he said in Matthew 11(:28-29): "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 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."

The Old Testament Sabbath Day pointed ahead to the rest that our Savior would bring—the rest that we have in the forgiveness of sins. "Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ." (Colossians 2:16-17)

The requirements haven't changed. We still must be perfect to find peace with God. But that's what the Gospel is all about: how Jesus took our sin—our arrogance and pride, our lust and greed, our sinful thoughts that look down on others, all of it—on himself. He did live a perfect life, always keeping every one of God's commands. And he gave that perfection to us. Now, through Jesus, you and I are perfect; sinless in every way.

And we don't have to do a thing to be right with God. He's done it all. There's no work for us to do to earn God's favor. We already have it. And so we can rest and be at peace because we know we have peace with God. We don't need to count our steps or select the right elevator. We don't need to follow ceremonial laws or even keep the moral law to get into heaven. Jesus gives us rest from our sin and he gives us rest from the law. We really can rest in peace.

But, ironically, we no longer want to just rest. Having peace with God through Jesus and rest from struggling to earn his favor, all we want to do is get to work for him to show him how thankful we are. We're eager to share the message of his grace that lets us rest in peace. We're eager to work hard to support the work of the Church that we might share the Lord of the Sabbath, our Lord of Rest, with others, that they, like us, can rest in peace as together we rest in his grace.

And, finally, we work hard now in thanks to Jesus knowing that one day soon when our bodies and souls separate, we will forever rest in perfect peace as we join our Savior forever in heaven. And they can mark each one of our graves with a big R.I.P. For we will rest in peace until he comes to wake us from the grave. What a restful sleep that will be. In Jesus' name, dear friends, rest in peace. Amen.



In Him,
Pastor Rob Guenther

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church
47585 Ciechanski Road, Kenai, AK 99611

Listen to sermons online: www.GraceLutheranKenai.com/Podcast
Watch services online: www.GraceLutheranKenai.com/Webcast

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Thursday, May 31, 2018

Signed, Sealed, Delivered (A sermon based on John 3:1-17)

God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit all love you so much that God would stop at nothing to secure your salvation. The Father sealed the plan of your salvation with his Son's own blood. The Son sealed your salvation by his sacrifice on the cross. The Spirit delivered your salvation through the Word and the faith he's given. Signed, sealed, and delivered, God is yours and you are God's. Read or listen to (download) this sermon based on John 3:1-17 and rejoice in the work of the Triune God for you... 

Signed, Sealed, Delivered

A sermon based on John 3:1-17

Sunday, May 27, 2018 – Trinity Sunday

 

In a 1970's hit song, 20 year-old Stevie Wonder wrote of a man who had cheated on his girlfriend and now went back to plead for her mercy and forgiveness. Can you name that song? The young man mailed himself back to her, if you will, in "Signed, Sealed, Delivered. I'm Yours."

In a sense, we could sing this song to God. We've cheated on him. And at times we might feel like singing the opening lines to him: "Like a fool I went and stayed too long. Now I'm wondering if your love's still strong… Then that time I went and said goodbye… Now I'm back and not ashamed to cry." We may plead with God as the young man of Stevie Wonder's song pled with his girl, throwing ourselves on his mercy: "You got my future in your hands."

But in another sense, it's God who could sing that refrain to us. We didn't go to him. We didn't seek him out. No. He came to us. He sought us. He delivered himself to us. And he says to us, "Signed, sealed, delivered; I'm yours."

This Trinity Sunday we look at a familiar text, which includes perhaps the most famous Bible verse. And we see the role of each person of the Trinity in our salvation. Signed by the Father, sealed by the Son, and delivered by the Spirt, our relationship is restored. God is ours and we are his. Our text is found in John 3:1-17…

 

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him."

3 In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."

4 "How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!"

5 Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."

9 "How can this be?" Nicodemus asked.

10 "You are Israel's teacher," said Jesus, "and do you not understand these things? 11 I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.

16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."

 

Nicodemus came to Jesus at night, afraid of what his peers might think if they saw him visiting this homeless man who claimed to be the Messiah. But the miracles Jesus did were too convincing to not investigate more. Nickodemus had to know more about Jesus. "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him." And so, even though it was the middle of the night, Jesus took the time to teach him. And thankfully John recorded it for us so we get to listen in. And Jesus' message to him was this: the triune God is active in every part of your Salvation.

Now I feel for Nicodemus. Like "Doubting Thomas," I think he gets a bum rap in his nickname: "The Night Disciple." After all, are we much different? Born to sinful parents, we inherit from them a sinful nature—a nature that reveals itself in the way we treat Jesus too. Have you ever been ashamed of Jesus? Afraid of what your friends or coworkers might think if they knew you followed him? Have you ever played the part of the chameleon—when the crowd is cool to Jesus, have you ever changed colors to fit in?

Imagine if your spouse, or your boyfriend or girlfriend, or your parents told you, "Hey when we go out in public, I'm going to pretend that I don't know you. It's nothing personal, but you're not exactly good for my reputation. So if it's cool with you, whenever we're with others, I'm not with you." Wouldn't that hurt? If they did that every time—if they repeatedly showed you that they were ashamed of you—wouldn't that maybe be enough to end the relationship?

That's exactly what we deserve for acting like Nicodemus, for being ashamed of Jesus (imagine how we hurt him!), for all of the times we've open rebelled against him or accidentally slipped up: We deserve to have God end the relationship with us. We deserve to be separated from him forever in hell.

But God loved us too much to let the relationship end. Each person of the Triune God loved us so much that he acted in our rescue…

 

I.        Signed by God the Father

 

First, the Father came up with the plan and signed it with his Son's own blood. "God so loved the world…" Stop there. That alone is enough to marvel at! That God should love any one of us is almost too incredible to believe! In spite of our sin, in spite of our cheating, in spite of our rebellion he loved us. And not just us, but the entire world. If you were born on the moon, then I guess this verse might not apply to you. But even then it probably still would since the word translated "world" here is "cosmos" and is used for all of the created universe including the stars, the heavens, and all that's in them. The point is that what follows certainly applies to you.

"God so loved the world that he gave…" God didn't just pine away for the world, longing to be with its inhabitants the way a boy pines for a girl with unrequited love. No. God acted. He did something—a big, grand gesture to show his love? No! Much more! A big, grand gift that gave his love.

"God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son… God [sent] his Son into the world… to save the world through him." What more precious and costly gift could anyone ever give than to sacrifice their own dearly loved child to save another? I can't think of any greater price. But so great was God's love for you, so determined was God to save you, that that's exactly what he did. Before the world was made, before time began, he planned your rescue and signed it with own Son's blood.

 

II.      Sealed by God the Son

 

And how great is the love of Jesus, God the Son, that he would seal your salvation by his sacrifice! Jesus said, "Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life."

You remember the story from Numbers 21: The Israelites had been set free from their Egyptian slavery and were heading to land flowing with milk and honey that God had promised to give them. "But the people grew impatient on the way," Moses tells us. "They spoke against God and against Moses, and said, 'Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!'"  

And as a consequence for their whining and griping, God sent venomous snakes. Their poison killed many people when they bit. And the discipline worked. The people repented and they came to Moses for help. And Moses, in turn, went to God for help. And this is what God said, "Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live." (v.8) "So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived."

Now, humanly speaking, it's ridiculous to think that by just looking at a bronze statue poisonous venom would be removed from someone's blood stream. All they had to do was look up at it and they would live?! Yes! That's it! Just trust in God's promise attached to that snake and God would forgive and restore.

And that's exactly the point that Jesus was making to Nicodemus. Though I doubt Nicodemus understood what Jesus was talking about that night, I'm sure this conversation came rushing back to him when he later heard how Jesus died. Just as the snake was lifted up on a pole, Jesus was lifted up on a cross. Just as, humanly speaking, it is ridiculous to think that looking at a statue could remove venom from your blood, so too, humanly speaking, it is ridiculous to think that looking to a man crucified almost 2,000 years ago in faith will remove your sin. But nevertheless, just as those who trusted the promise of the bronze snake looked and lived, so too, those who trust the promise of Jesus and look to him in faith have eternal life.

We do nothing. Jesus did everything. He lived a perfect life in our place. He took our sin on himself. And he willingly sacrificed himself to suffer and die and endure God's wrath in our place on that cross. So that, "everyone who believes in him may have eternal life…" And just in case Nicodemus or we missed the point, Jesus said it again: "whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." What love God the Son has shown to us! He sealed our redemption by his sacrifice on the cross!


III.    Delivered by God the Spirit

 

But finally, we wouldn't know about any of this and we certainly wouldn't believe it, if not for the work of God the Spirit who has delivered these truths by the Word, who had delivered faith into our hearts.

Jesus told Nicodemus, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit."

"How in the world can a person be born a second time?" Nicodemus wondered incredulously! And Jesus explained: by "water and the Spirit… the Spirit gives birth to spirit."

Do you remember your birth? Do you remember choosing when to be born; on what day? Or choosing where you would be born; at which hospital? Do you remember picking out your parents or even deciding whether or not you would have parents? Of course not!

And that's Jesus' point to Nicodemus here. Birth is not something you choose. It's something that happens to you. You are passive. Mom is doing the work the first time you're born. God the Holy Spirit is doing the work the second time.

Through Baptism ("water and the Spirit"), that water connected to the promise of God, your sins were washed away, you were born again into God's family, adopted by him as his own. And through the Word, the Spirit continues to strengthen your faith and deliver comfort, peace, and forgiveness right to your door.

 

Yes, you and I have cheated on God. And we might want to sing with Stevie Wonder, "Like a fool I went and stayed too long. Now I'm wondering if [God's] love's still strong… Then that time I went and said goodbye… Now I'm back and not ashamed to cry." We do well to repent as the Israelites did in the wilderness and throw ourselves on God's mercy: "You got my future in your hands."

But God responds by revealing his love; the love of the Triune. He came to us. He sought us. He rescued us. He delivered himself to us. And he says to us, "Signed, sealed, delivered; I'm yours."

For our salvation was signed by the Father before the world began. It was sealed by the Son by his perfect life and innocent death. It was delivered by the Spirt by water and the Word. And so, our relationship with God is restored. God is ours and we are his. And we will be together forever. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

In the name of our Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

In Him,
Pastor Rob Guenther

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church
47585 Ciechanski Road, Kenai, AK 99611

Listen to sermons online: www.GraceLutheranKenai.com/Podcast
Watch services online: www.GraceLutheranKenai.com/Webcast

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Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Peace Through the Spirit (A sermon based on John 14:25-27)

Does your life seem peaceful? Hardly, right? There are external problems that threaten our health, our finances, our relationships. Then there's the internal guilt and shame. These all come as a result of sin -- of disobedience to God. But the Holy Spirit has come to give us peace. Jesus promised it. On the Day of Pentecost he brought the disciples peace by giving them a right understanding of what Jesus had come to do and a right faith in the forgiveness he won. And he did this through the Word. He does the same for us. Read or listen to (download) this sermon based on John 14:25-27 and rejoice in the peace the Holy Spirit gives! 

Peace Through the Spirit

A sermon based on John 14:25-27

Sunday, May 20, 2018 – Pentecost B

 

How much peace do you think the disciples had that night? Jesus was doing some unusual things, washing their feet, changing the Passover, praying alone in the garden. And what he was saying was even more odd: The bread was his body? The wine was his blood? He was going to depart and they couldn't come with him? I'll bet that night left them confused and without much peace.

How much peace do you think the disciples had later that night? Jesus was arrested and he let himself be abused. He could have stopped it. They knew that. But he didn't. He chose to let them hurt him. Maybe he would let them hurt the disciples too. So they ran. Those who had so recently boldly declared they would never leave Jesus' side now ran away like terrified prey into the dark night. I'll bet that night left them scared and without much peace.

How much peace do you think the disciples had later that night? Hiding behind locked doors, they feared that the authorities would come for them next. And I'm sure the shame of deserting Jesus—their teacher, their master, their friend—soon hit hard. I'll bet that night left them feeling quite guilty and without much peace.

And yet, on that night, the night on which he was betrayed, Jesus promised his disciples peace. And it's a peace he promises to us too. It's a peace promised to be delivered by the Holy Spirit, a peace described for us in John 14:25-27…

 

25 "All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

 

I. The Holy Spirit Brings Peace by Giving You Faith

 

The disciples were troubled and scared. They were worried and fearful—and understandably so! Their lives were in jeopardy. Their families in danger. Their friend was talking about capture and death. And soon their hopes in Jesus to be the Messiah who would rule the nations would lay in utter ruins. That night, after his arrest, things must have looked pretty hopeless to those disciples. I'm sure there wasn't much peace among them.

We too are often robbed of peace in this sin-filled life, aren't we? Sin brings pain and disease, so we worry about our health. Sin brings disasters and crooks, so we worry about our finances. Sing brings selfishness and war on a big scale and a smaller personal scale so we worry about our jobs and about our kids and about our relationships. At times, it sure seems like there's not much peace in our lives. But then something worse robs us of peace…

The external circumstances were certainly enough to rob the disciples of peace that night. But how much more the internal guilt and shame must have robbed them of peace. We know the remorse of Judas and of Peter who both broke down in shame at what they'd done. And it robbed them both of peace.

And I think we can understand.

In one of the verses right before our text, Jesus said, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching."

And how well have we obeyed his teaching? Not well enough. Too often we show that we love ourselves more than Jesus. We care more about our comfort than about speaking up for him, more about our fun than service to him, more about our friends than our Savior.

 

And when we realize what we've done, how little we've loved him, then the guilt and shame of our sin can rob us of peace. Nagging, gnawing guilt, the shame and regret, sting our consciences like a piece of Devil's club stuck under the surface of the skin. Our consciences sting… unless, of course, they've become so calloused that we can no longer feel the sting. But even then the quiet night can often bring back the memories of our sin that haunt our souls with guilt and shame and rob us of peace.

But Jesus sent his Spirit to bring us peace. And he does that by giving us a proper understanding and a right faith…

The disciples had no peace because the lacked understanding. They didn't understand what the Messiah was all about. They didn't get why Jesus had come. They thought he had come to bring them peace in this life: peace from the Romans, peace from poverty, peace from suffering and pain.

But that's not the kind of peace that Jesus had come to bring.

In verse 27 Jesus explained that this wasn't the kind of peace the Holy Spirit would bring. He said, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives." He didn't come to just bring physical health and financial security or happy human relationships that fill our hearts. For all of those would ultimately leave us empty in the end. For "What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?" (Mark 8:36)

But Jesus brought a better peace. And the Holy Spirit gives us a proper understanding of what God came to do, just like he did for those disciples.

When Jesus said, "While I am still with you," he alluded to his departure from this life. The next day he would die. He would be killed on a cross, tortured to death. Why? To win the battle for them--and for us! A battle that would bring us peace—to bring us peace with God. This is the peace of which Jesus spoke: a peace of heart and mind which comes from knowing our sins are all forgiveness through his perfect life and innocent death for us, a peace that was proved by his resurrection from the dead. It is a peace which passes all understanding. It is a peace which only God can give.

And though the disciples didn't get it that Maundy Thursday, Jesus would send his Holy Spirit to comfort, counsel, help, and enlighten them. On the Day of Pentecost, the light came on for the disciples as the flames appeared above their head. For the first time they really understood what peace Jesus had brought them. He didn't give them a small, temporal, feeble peace that the world gives. He gave a different peace, a better peace, his peace.

And they boldly proclaimed, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call." (Acts 2:38-38) Now they understood. And so do we. We understand that, "since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." (Romans 5:1)

And we understand this—we believe this—because the Holy Spirit has worked this understanding—and this faith in this understanding—in our hearts. And he's done so and continues to do so through the Word.

 

II. The Holy Spirit Brings Peace by Giving You His Word

 

When Jesus said, "While I am still with you," he alluded to his departure from this life. But perhaps he also alluded to his ascension 43 days later. He would leave them bodily and physically. But he didn't leave them alone. While he was still with them he made them this promise: "The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." Jesus left his disciples the Holy Spirit and the promise that he would leave them with the Word.


And Jesus has not left us alone either. He sends us his Holy Spirit who always operates through the Word. Do you want to be close to God? Do you want to know his heart and mind? Do you want to find peace in what he says to you? Then read his Word. It is not just an interesting book with good ideas about God. It's not just a record of the things the disciples could recall from their memories. It is the very Word of God written by him through the apostles he sent. Jesus promised this to his disciples: It is his Word. "The Holy Spirit… will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you."

You've heard the argument and the illustration before, right? If we play that old game of telephone, where I whisper a message to one person who passes it on to the next and then to the next, the message is very likely to be garbled—sometimes in a ridiculous and humorous way by the time it gets to the last person because human memory doesn't always work that well.

But that's not how the Scriptures work. Let people use their cell phones to record the message before they pass it on and the end result will be quite different. Or better still, let the last person talk to the first—the original message giver—and the end result will be flawless.

The disciples didn't have a recording device. But they didn't need one. They had something better: A promise from Jesus that he would send the original message giver right to them. "The Holy Spirit… will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you."

So we know that what they wrote of Jesus is the inspired, inerrant Word of God. What comfort that brings when our worries and fears try to rob us peace. We know that it's God himself, not just Matthew, who promises that he is with us always. (cf. Matthew 28:20) What comfort that brings when we face problems and pain that would rob us of peace. We know that it's God himself, not just Paul, who promises that he'll work all things for the good of those who love him. (cf. Romans 8:28) What comfort that brings when we face the thought of our own death that would rob us life and rob us of peace. We know that it's God himself, not just John, who promises that whoever believes in him will never die. (cf. John 11:26)

So when problems or pain or troubles or terrors try to rob you of your peace, then go back to the Word. Read of God's grace to you in Christ. And find peace. Better still, read, mark, learn, and digest that Word of God before problems or pain or troubles or terrors try to rob you of your peace and they won't be able to. Then you will always rejoice that the Spirit has brought you peace by the understanding and the faith that he's given you and that the Spirit has brought you peace by the Word that he's given you. Read the Word. Read of his grace. And be at peace.

And may the grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit give you peace at all times and in every way. Amen.

 

In Him,
Pastor Rob Guenther

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church
47585 Ciechanski Road, Kenai, AK 99611

Listen to sermons online: www.GraceLutheranKenai.com/Podcast
Watch services online: www.GraceLutheranKenai.com/Webcast

Have you been blessed by our ministry at Grace? Consider supporting us with your generous gifts. Give securely online with a check or credit or debit card here: www.GraceLutheranKenai.com/Give

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