29. June 2009 by admin.

²⁶He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. ²⁷Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. ²⁸All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. ²⁹As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.” ³⁰Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? ³¹It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. ³²Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade.” ³³With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. ³⁴He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.

- Mark  4:26-34

In the name of him whose kingdom goes beyond this world, dear friends in Christ Jesus,

 

How many of you have ever purchased something after seeing it advertised on an infomercial?  Was it that stain-remover that promised to lift even grape juice out of your white carpet?  Or maybe it was the workout DVD that promised “rock-hard abs in only ten minutes a day.”  Were you the one who bought that miracle polish that would eliminate almost any scratch on your car?  Oh, wait a minute . . . that was me!  But I’m sure I have company when it comes to believing in some miracle product being offered on a late night TV ad.

 

My car-scratch remover didn’t work.  Some of you find the same results with the purchases you made?  No wonder we’re all a little skeptical when he hear bold promises about this product or that product working miracles for us.  Wouldn’t it be nice if there was something out there that wasn’t phony, that wasn’t a gimmick, that actually did what it was advertised to do?

 

Good news!  Our God in heaven above promises us (Isa 55:11), “My word . . . will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”  This is the Lord’s very own guarantee that we won’t be failures when we serve as his witnesses.  This morning we’ll see how this is possible, as Jesus himself assures us that:

 

“The Word Works”

 

                                                              I. Gradually

                                                              II. Inconspicuously

                                                              III. Impressively

 

In the words before us today we find Jesus teaching the crowds by the lake about the kingdom of God.  Unlike what many had thought, God’s kingdom is not a visible entity.  It isn’t contained within visible borders, protected by a powerful army, and ruled over by a line of materialistic monarchs.  Later on Jesus would proclaim (Lk 17:20,21), “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.”  Yes, God’s kingdom is his rule in people’s hearts!  And how is such a kingdom established?  Such a kingdom’s foundations are laid through the Word!  Hearts encased in stone are shattered and consciences surrounded by ignorance are infiltrated by “the power of God” (Ro 1:16) – his almighty Word!

 

Jesus uses a couple of parables to get his point across, as he so often did.  Jump to the end of our text and we’re told (vv 33,34), “With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand.  He did not say anything to them without using a parable.  But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.”  The use of parables was a favorite teaching method of our Lord’s.  We shouldn’t be too surprised.  We imitate our Savior by using our own illustrations, especially with our children’s sermons.  Chances are, you may end up remembering more from those simple presentations than from what you hear in the regular sermons!  If you’d like, just think of the “adults’” sermon as the further “explanation” of what was shared with the children!

 

Parable #1 starts out simple enough (v 26), “This is what the kingdom of God is like.  A man scatters seed on the ground.”    In another parable Jesus explained (Lk 8:11), “The seed is the word of God.”  Here we have summarized for us the work we’ve been called to do – sow the seed of God’s Word!  Proclaim it, teach it, share it in any way we can; at home, at work, at school, in our neighborhoods – anywhere we can!

 

Then get out of the way and let the Word work!  Jesus’ parable continues (vv 27,28), “Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how.  All by itself the soil produces grain – first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head.”  We can prepare the ground and nurture the plant, but finally it’s only God who can make the plant of faith bloom in a person’s heart — “all by itself.”  Paul puts it this way in 1 Corinthians (3:7), “Neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.”  The seed grows on its own schedule, as God sees fit.  The Word always works!

 

But sometimes we get discouraged because the growth of God’s Word in people’s hearts and in the world seems too gradual.  We’re impatient people, so we get frustrated when we have to pull out of some mission fields for “lack of growth,” or when our friend turns us down yet again when we invite him to church.  Tell me seven years ago when our child care center opened that our church membership would be about the same seven years later, and I’d have been the first to proclaim, “O ye of little faith!”

 

But just as the diligent farmer scatters the seed and lets the rest up to God, so we also sow the seed of his Word and let God take it from there.  Want proof that the Word works?  Look where you are today – in God’s house, singing praises as God’s child.  How come?  Peter explains (1 Pe 1:23), “For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.”  You didn’t get to where you are overnight, and you’re still not the finished product.  The Word’s been working in your heart, gradually, and will continue to do so until you’re with your Lord in heaven.

 

Watching things grow has always amazed us.  Remember as a child the joy and wonder brought about by seeing those first sprouts poking through that pot of dirt?  You were excited, even though you couldn’t explain it.  So it is with how God’s Word works.  “The seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how.”  Rest assured that the Word always works, even if it does so inconspicuously.

 

Parable #2 – the mustard seed (vv 30,31), “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it?  It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground.”  Nothing fancy or noticeable about a mustard seed.  It’s only one millimeter in diameter and is easily overlooked.  That’s how many people at Jesus’ time treated his Word.  It was preached but went unnoticed and unheeded by so many, including the majority of the religious leaders who should have known better.  They kept demanding powerful miracles and great signs to prove Jesus’ authority when all along the most powerful proof was right there in that simple, inconspicuous Word proclaimed each and every day by our Lord.

 

Seems too simple sometimes, doesn’t it?  We sprinkle a little water on a baby’s head; we open a book and read the words in front of us or listen as someone else reads them to us; we partake of a tasteless piece of bread along with some grape wine – how can these things make any kind of difference in our lives?  Well, they can’t – unless they’re connected to the Word of God!  That’s where they find their power!  Hidden under these mustard seed-like disguises, the Word may not come with flashing bolts of lightning or deafening claps of thunder, but don’t be fooled – it still works!  Don’t be fooled by its simplicity.  Paul tells us (1 Co 1:27,28), “God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.  He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things.”  Again, think of your own story.  Anything fancy about how you came to faith?  It may have been simple, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less wonderful!

 

Want an up-close example of the Word working inconspicuously?  Journey down the hall into our child care center some weekday morning or afternoon.  No glamorous faith-healings are taking place.  No blasphemous demons are being cast out.  But the gospel message of salvation is at work in those little hearts, no matter how inconspicuous it may be.  Don’t ever underestimate the power of the Word.  It works!

And the results are impressive, just as they are with the planting of a mustard seed (v 32), “Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade.”  They start out as the tiniest of seeds, but the mustard plants can grow to a height of 10 to 15 feet and be strong enough for birds to nest in.

 

The way God’s Word works is just as impressive.  It was sown in a little corner of the world among 12 disciples.  Added to their number was another 3000 on the Day of Pentecost.  From there the growth was phenomenal as persecutions meant to snuff out the gospel only fanned its flames all the more, causing it to reach today to the four corners of the earth.  Even with our synod’s own history one has to be impressed by a church body that began with five pastors around the Milwaukee area joining together and now having grown to almost 1300 congregations.  Keep this in mind if you get too worried or depressed by recent financial woes confronting our church body.  The Word works, and not even a shortage of dollars can shut it down.

 

The Word will continue to work until the time of the harvest (v 29), “As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”  On the Last Day our Lord himself will come and with his holy angels will gather up the ripened grain, the souls redeemed by his blood, and will bring the harvest home to himself in heaven.  Then you and I will see for ourselves how impressively the Word works, when we’re gathered together as part of that great multitude to be with our Lord for all eternity.

 

You may be frustrated as so many things prove to be faulty when they fail to come as advertised.  Hopefully you’re able to get your money back, but there’s often no guarantees.  No wonder we’re so skeptical – we’ve learned that often things just don’t work!  But today I want you to take home with you the fact that God’s Word is different.  It does work – gradually and inconspicuously, and yet so very impressively!  It’s worked on you, and it’ll continue to work on others.

 

No need to ask for your money back.  You have God’s guarantee – his Word works!

Amen.

- Rev. Jonathan Rockhoff

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Who Is Jesus’ Real Family?

22. June 2009 by admin.

²⁰Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. ²¹When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.” ²²And 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.” ²³So Jesus called them and spoke to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? ²⁴If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. ²⁵If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. ²⁶And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. ²⁷In 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. ²⁸I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. ²⁹But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin.” ³⁰He said this because they were saying, “He has an evil spirit.” ³¹Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. ³²A 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. ³⁴Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! ³⁵Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”

-

Mark 3:20-35

 

In Christ Jesus, dear fellow members of God’s family,

 

Today is Father’s Day – not a church festival, but certainly a day worthy of mention for all that fathers do for their families.  Whereas it could be said that a mother is the glue that holds a family together, a father can be pictured as the foundation upon which the family is built.  This is especially true when it comes to the spiritual welfare of the family.  I ran across an interesting statistic recently concerning fathers and church attendance.  Of the children whose dads do not attend church with the rest of the family, only 20% end up attending church when they become adults.  80% end up leaving the church, largely in part because they didn’t have the strong spiritual leadership which fathers are to provide for their families.

 

The family unit, led by God-fearing fathers, still plays an important role for Christians today.  But no family is perfect.  Someone once said that families are like fudge – they’re mostly sweet with a few nuts!  Some of you might come to that conclusion when you take a look at Jesus’ family in the words before us this morning.  Still others might be shocked that some tried to throw Jesus into Satan’s family.  And we all might be a bit surprised to hear how Jesus defines his family tree.

 

So this morning, we want to answer the question:

 

“Who Is Jesus’ Real Family?”

 

Let’s start with Jesus’ birth family.  His mother and brothers were worried about him.  Let me give you a little bit of the context.  Jesus had just healed a man possessed with a demon which had kept this man from being able to see or talk.  Such a public display of divine power had people asking themselves (Mt 12:23), “Could this be the Son of David?”  Many were starting to make the connection that this man could be the promised Messiah himself.  His powerful preaching and moving miracles were attracting bigger and bigger crowds.  Such is the case before us this morning (v 20), “Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat.”  This is when his family said, “Enough is enough!”  “When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him for they said, ‘He is out his mind’” (v 21).  They thought it was insane and unhealthy how Jesus was spending his time, allowing the crowds to disrupt his life so much that he and his disciples couldn’t even sit down for a meal.  But there was more to it.  John tells us that Jesus’ family was having trouble understanding the reason why he came.  At the time we’re told that “even his own brothers did not believe in him” (Jn 7:5).  Sure, they had heard about all the miracles, but they also couldn’t help seeing the hostility developing among the religious leaders.  They thought it best for Jesus’ own good to step in and take him by force, if necessary, because they considered him to be “out of his mind,” literally, that Jesus was “out of it.”  In their judgment he had lost his connection with reality, getting so carried away with his work that he didn’t know what he was doing.

 

Later in our text we’re told that they sent someone in to get Jesus (vv 31,32), “Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived.  Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him.  A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, ‘Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.’”  Jesus’ reaction?  “‘Who are my mother and my brothers?’ he asked” (v 33).  If his birth family was trying to interfere with his saving work, then they weren’t part of Jesus’ real family.  No one would stop him from completing the work he was sent to do.

 

Jesus’ mother and brothers took a look at Jesus and didn’t like what they saw.  To them he had become obsessed with his work, too fanatical, too driven with his mission.  They wanted him to calm down and come to his senses.  In short, they wanted him to stop being so different!

 

People today may look at us as Christians and come to the same conclusion – we’re different!  We don’t fit in.  We live differently, talk differently, with different values and different goals.  And so the unbelieving world gives us labels:  hypocrites, brainwashed, homophobic, judgmental, pro-life wackos, etc.  As a result we’re tempted to leave our Christian baggage at home and at church and put on our secular face when we’re out in the world, choosing to make Jesus a part of our family only when it’s convenient to do so.  But then we run the same risk as that of Jesus’ birth family, of not being part of his real family.  When it comes down to it, wouldn’t you rather be “different” from the world than “disconnected” from Jesus?

 

There was another group present that day who questioned the makeup of Jesus’ family (v 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.’”  These law teachers were actually scribes sent down from Jerusalem to help the local religious leaders challenge Jesus.  They came to try and publicly humiliate Jesus by discrediting his ministry.  Since they couldn’t deny the miracles he had displayed in driving out demons, they came up with a different plan – they claimed that he did so by the power of Satan himself!

 

They may have been law teachers, but Jesus uses a couple of simple parables to show us that these critics weren’t all that bright (vv 23-26), “So Jesus called them and spoke to them in parables:  ‘How can Satan drive out Satan?  If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.  If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.  And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come.’”  No king would ever think he could strengthen his kingdom by starting a civil war.  So it would be completely illogical for Satan to be the one behind Jesus casting out demons.  Jesus was not part of Satan’s family!

 

Instead of being an ally of the devil, Jesus was his greatest adversary.  Scripture plainly states (1 Jn 3:8), “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.”  Jesus was on his way to doing just that by traveling the way of the cross.  Until then, he still showed repeatedly that Satan was no match for him.  He goes on to explain how it was possible for him to cast out demons (v 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.”  The only way Jesus could enter the devil’s domain and steal back precious souls was because he had rendered the devil powerless.  On the cross he tied the devil up with a double knot!  And now we have the confidence expressed by John when he writes (1 Jn 4:4), “The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”  Satan can no longer plunder our Savior’s blood-bought possessions, for we have his promise (Jn 10:27), “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.”  By faith we’ve been made part of Jesus’ real family!

 

Jesus was concerned about the false conclusion his adversaries were promoting.  He gives the teachers of the law this warning (vv 28-30), “‘I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them.  But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin.’  He said this because they were saying, ‘He has an evil spirit.’”  Jesus’ birth family had come to the wrong conclusion about his work but would later see clearly who he was.  But the rejection by his enemies was different.  They couldn’t deny the miracles, and yet they still viciously attacked Jesus and spoke evil against him.  They were in danger of being eternally rejected, because time after time they were saying “no” to the Holy Spirit.

 

Whereas Jesus assures us that “all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them,” there is still this one exception, often called “the unforgivable sin.”  Such a sin occurs through repeated resistance of the Holy Spirit to the point that he withdraws forever so that there is no longer a chance for that person to repent and be forgiven.  It involves not only thinking evil of God, but openly speaking against him and denying the work of his Son.  The enemies of Jesus were accusing him of being in cahoots with the devil.  They were in danger of being lost eternally.

 

Jesus once said (Mt 12:30), “He who is not with me is against me.”  There’s a warning today for all those who reject Jesus.  Instead he wants us to be on his side!  He wants us to be part of his real family!

 

Just who is Jesus’ real family?  Not necessarily his birth family (although we’re assured in Acts that they did come to believe in him), and certainly not Satan’s family.  Our Savior answers this question for us (vv 34,35), “Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers!  Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.’”  Jesus points to those sitting at his feet, listening to him and his message of salvation, and calls them his real family!  In John we’re told (Jn 1:12,13), “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.”  In Galatians Paul tells us (Gal 3:26), “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”  By faith you and I were adopted into the family of God!  All those who believe in his Son, who acknowledge him as Lord and Savior and display that faith by doing his will – these are the real members of Jesus’ family!

 

Such a status involves more than mere lip service.  We can’t claim membership in the family of God simply by producing our church membership papers or our church attendance records.  No, membership in God’s family changes everything, because it changes hearts.  It changes how we live, the way we talk, the way we think.  It changes our priorities from the temporary to the eternal.  It even changes death itself from a time of sorrow to a time of joy!  And it changes our focus away from ourselves and to others who are not yet members of Jesus’ family.  Being part of Jesus’ real family changes everything, and it’s all for the better!

 

In Holy Baptism we were first adopted into Jesus’ family.  In the Lord’s Supper we’re reminded again and again of how that adoption was made possible – through the forgiveness won by Jesus on the cross.  And every time we gather around God’s Word we’re having a “family reunion” of sorts as our “family ties” are being strengthened all the more – all because of what our Savior in love has done for us!

 

Isn’t it such a wonderful thing that now, when God looks down from heaven at us, because of Jesus, he sees us as “family”!

Amen.

-Rev. Jon Rockhoff

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God’s Treasure Is Revealed

15. June 2009 by admin.

⁵For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. ⁶For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

 ⁷But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. ⁸We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. ¹⁰We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. ¹¹For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. ¹²So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

-2 Corinthians 4:5-12

In the Name of Our God, the Lord of the Sabbath, Dear Fellow Servants of the Word,

 

Back in the days when merchant ships sailed the seas, transporting goods from port to port, crew members were told to be constantly on the lookout for another kind of sailing vessel — the kind that belonged to pirates.  Stormy seas were one thing, but they weren’t met with the same kind of panic and terror that men experienced when they saw the Jolly Roger blowing in the distance.  In most cases merchants knew it was just a matter of time until their treasured cargo was seized by these outlaws of the open seas.

 

Remember what these pirates often did with their stolen booty?  Many times they would take it ashore on some deserted island, find a secluded spot, and bury it.  To remember where they had buried their treasure, they would draw up a “treasure” map, one in which an “X” would traditionally mark the spot.  In the event that something would happen to the pirates on one of their excursions, their buried treasure would remain uncovered and lost for good — unless someone would get ahold of the treasure map.  If the directions on the map could be deciphered and the path followed, then the treasure hunter would reap the benefits of his search when the hidden treasure was finally revealed.

 

In the words before us this morning the Apostle Paul doesn’t talk about pirates or secret maps, but he does talk about treasure — God’s treasure.  And his treasure isn’t hidden.  Today we learn:

 

“God’s Treasure Is Revealed”

 

I. With light shining in darkness

II. With power from jars of clay

III. With life proclaimed in death

 

The main reason why Paul wrote this second letter to the Corinthians was to defend his ministry, the ministry of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  There were certain men in Corinth who went on the attack against Paul, building themselves up as “super-apostles” (2 Co 11:5), as Paul referred to them, while at the same time criticizing Paul and his preaching.  They were telling the people that true apostles should be powerful and great in worldly ways: in worldly wisdom, worldly influence, and worldly possessions.  Their idea of what the ministry should be was centered on man and not God.  That’s why they took issue with Paul, for he refused to promote anything but the gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

It was clear to Paul who deserved center stage in his preaching (v 5), “For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.”  Paul knew that God’s treasure was not found in the messengers, but in the message that “Jesus Christ [is] Lord.”  There was only one Lord, and Paul was just a servant sent to the Corinthians for the sake of his Lord Jesus Christ.  Back in his first letter to the Corinthians Paul humbly proclaimed (1 Co 2:1,2), “When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.  For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”  Paul was only the tool God was using to reach out to the Corinthians with his love and mercy.  That’s why he wanted to keep the attention off himself so that people would be drawn all the more to “Jesus Christ as Lord,” the treasure God revealed to all the world.

 

With the emphasis of his preaching properly placed on God’s gift to mankind, Paul goes on to explain how the Lord’s wonderful treasure was revealed to the world (v 6), “For God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”  At the beginning of time God made light appear simply by saying the words, “Let there be light.”  That same God is responsible for revealing his treasure to us by making the light of the gospel shine in our hearts.  Paul doesn’t take any credit for the faith of the Corinthians.  With them and with us, our conversion is all God’s doing.  He brought Christ into this world for our salvation.  Now, when we see Christ, when we see his love for sinners, when we see him suffering and dying in order to redeem sinners, when we see him rejoicing over a lost soul which he found, then we see the glory of God.  God’s glory appears in the face of his Son.  When we see Jesus, we see the Father.  When we see Jesus, we see God’s treasure revealed!

 

The Lord still wants his treasure revealed today, and he’s chosen you and me to make sure his light continues to shine in this sin-darkened world.  He’s worked his miracle on each of us, changing hearts of stone to hearts of faith.  Now he wants us to let his light shine.  Remember the little children’s song?  “This little gospel light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine . . . . Hide it under a bushel?  NO!  I’m gonna let it shine!”  That’s what God wants us to do.  Jesus tells us (Mt 5:16), “In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your  Father in heaven.”  Let the light of the gospel shine forth in your life so that others can see the Lord’s treasure!

 

As precious as the gospel message is, God doesn’t want us to keep it under lock and key.  Nor does he store it away in a vault up in heaven.  Instead he’s placed his treasure in each of us, further proof that the revelation of the Lord’s treasure is all his doing.

 

The packaging isn’t anything special.  The power lies within us, in the message of the gospel (v 7), “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”  The gospel really packs a punch.  In Romans Paul calls it “the power [’dynamite’] of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Ro 1:16).  Only the gospel has the power to blow open hearts of stone so that the seeds of faith may be planted in each of us.  Look what it did for Paul.  Once he was a blood-thirsty Christian persecutor, but now he had become a bloodied Christian servant, eager not to persecute but to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

The power is in the gospel.  Sometimes when we see such power at work, we’re tempted to try and take some of the credit for ourselves.  But Paul sets us straight.  He says we’re just the “jars of clay,” the clay pots in which his treasure is contained.  It’s like hiding money in a cookie jar.  Ever do that?  Why?  Because you know that a cookie jar isn’t anything special.  It won’t attract attention, so your money will be safe.  In the same way God uses us as “containers” of his gospel because we’re not meant to attract attention.  Instead, all the praise and glory goes to him and to his message where it belongs.  The power of the gospel may be in us, but it still belongs to God.  That’s why we do well to join with Isaiah in praying (Isa 64:8), “O Lord, you are our Father.  We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.”

 

As jars of clay we would easily crumble if left on our own.  But when we lean on our Lord we find the strength we need.  Paul explains (vv 8,9), “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”  From the world’s point of view, Paul should have been losing it.  He was being attacked from every side by Satan, sinful people, and his own sinful nature.  Many must of been wondering how long Paul could take it before he would finally just throw in the towel and give up.  And yet even though he was knocked down many times, Paul was never knocked out.  The smelling salts that kept him going was the sweet aroma of the gospel.  Against all odds, Paul continued to endure, empowered by the gospel message of Jesus Christ, the treasure the Lord had revealed in him.

 

Look inside yourself, and you’ll find that same power.  On the outside we’re nothing special.  We’re just simple containers, just like Paul.  And yet when we feel hard pressed, when we’re perplexed, persecuted, and struck down by life, when we feel frustrated because we feel like we’re fighting a losing battle here on this earth, the power of the gospel is there to keep us going.  We’re reminded that we’re just the containers, just the messengers sent to point people to the Lord’s treasure.  God takes it from there.  It’s only by his “all-surpassing power” that people are able to receive his gospel-treasure.

 

Paul suffered a great deal for the sake of the gospel, but it was all part of God’s plan.  In his suffering Paul saw a reflection of what his Lord went through (vv 10,11), “We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.  For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body.”  God saw fit to allow Paul to suffer as he did, not because he was cruel, but because he wanted to bring life to others.  With the light of the gospel already in him, Paul was also able to reveal the life-giving work of Jesus Christ to the world in his own suffering and impending death.  But even in death Paul was serving the Lord, for even in death he was able to reveal the hope that he had — the everlasting life that was his because the Lord’s treasure had been revealed.

 

Paul drives home his lesson on the Lord’s gospel by concluding (v 12), “So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.”  Because he preached Christ crucified, Paul suffered.  Eventually he would be put to death because of the message he proclaimed.  But by so doing others were given life.  To Paul it was all worth it.  In Romans he proclaims (Ro 6:5), “If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.”  Paul endured it all so that God’s treasure would be revealed.

 

As we proclaim the gospel message of Christ crucified, we present an interesting irony to the world.  We proclaim life through death.  We carry around with us a cross — to most, a symbol of death, but to us, a symbol of life eternal.  In our daily lives let us also carry around with us the suffering and death of Jesus, because in the revelation of what he did for us we find our greatest treasure.  And if we carry that revelation with us, others will notice.  They’ll see a difference, a difference that offers hope for the future.  We can offer them the answers to life.  We can get them past their fear of death.  We can reveal to them that in death they actually have life — life in heaven because of Jesus, death’s conqueror and our Savior.

 

God’s treasure is revealed.  The Spirit has led us to it.  We know why someday we’re going to be in heaven for all eternity, because God gave us the map which led to the buried treasure.  Now we can share the map with others.  Share God’s Word, the map which will lead others to that same treasure.  They’ll be led to Jesus, the “X” that marks the spot — the entrance to eternal glory!

 

Amen.

 

- Rev. Jonathan Rockhoff

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You Belong to the Triune God

7. June 2009 by admin.

¹⁴because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. ¹⁵For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” ¹⁶The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. ¹⁷Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

- Romans 8:14-17

When I was younger, I remember getting a basketball for my 10^th birthday.  Right after I opened up the package and had a chance to play with it for a while, my mom brought me a Sharpie marker and told me to write my name on the ball.  She was afraid that if I took it to school to play with, or if it rolled down the street, someone might pick it up and not know who the ball belonged to.

We do that a lot, don’t we?  We write our names on all sorts of things.  The college student may write their name inside the front cover of their book to identify it as theirs.  We, as a church, place our name inside our hymnals and church library books to identify them as books of Messiah.  Children at Loving Arms have their names written on the tags of their shirts.  It doesn’t matter where we write our name, it’s done for the same purpose – to identify that object as being ours.

In the same way, God has written his name on you.  No, don’t try looking at your back in front of a mirror this afternoon.  You won’t see the letters G-O-D scribbled in marker across your back.  But nevertheless, God still has written his name on you.  He did this to mark his ownership of you.  He wrote his name on you to say that You Belong to the Triune God.  Since we belong to God, these wonderful truths apply to us all: The Spirit is your guide; In the Father you can confide; and the Son for you has died.

Have you ever filled out a family tree?  It used to be that you had to do all the research yourself.  Perhaps you asked your parents or Grandparents who your relatives were and then recorded them on pieces of paper or in a book.  It’s a lot easier now that there are websites that help you research your family tree.  You can find the family tree for your father’s family, your mother’s family, or both.  But did you hear what the Apostle Paul is telling you this morning?  He’s saying that there is a third family tree that we all belong to – our heavenly Father’s family!  Those who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God (v 14).

It is not that we are part of God’s family because we live sanctified lives.  Rather, it is through the Spirit that we are sons and daughters of God!  The Spirit brought us to faith in our Savior, and through that faith we have been adopted into God’s family.  And now that we are all members of his family, we gladly are led by the Holy Spirit and lead lives of sanctification.

And our loving God does not adopt us and then let us roam as we so choose, but the Holy Spirit leads us in our lives of sanctification.  But let’s be careful that we don’t misunderstand how he leads us.  He doesn’t lead us through some miraculous inward revelation.  To say such a thing would be going against the rest of Scripture.  He works through the Word as he reveals the will of God to us through that Word!  He leads us as we follow his commandments, as we live in love with each other, and as we spend regular time in God’s Word.  He leads us as we produce fruits of faith connected to the vine of our Savior.  Before we were brought to faith, we had a spirit that did as our flesh wanted.  Now, The Holy Spirit, through his Word, gave us a new spirit.

But what is that new spirit?  Listen to what Paul writes.  For you did not receive a spirit that makes you slaves again to fear, but you received the Spirit of son-ship (v 15a).  Do we have a spirit similar to the one we had before we were brought to faith?  By no means!  We have been given a brand new spirit.  It is not a spirit of slavery – we are no longer bound to fear.  As unbelievers, you and I feared the God’s wrath and punishment.  We feared, and rightly so, what our sins had done to us!  We acted like Adam in the Garden of Eden.  We realized what we had done wrong, and then cowered behind the bushes, vainly thinking that we could hide from God!

But Paul comforts us this morning.  He tells us that we did not receive that kind of spirit again.  Instead, he tells us that we have a whole different kind of spirit – one of son-ship!  Here is the comfort – our spirit of son-ship means that we are God’s children, adopted by him and made a part of his family!  As such, we have a Savior who’s paid for our sins, removing any fear we may have.

How sure are you that you are God’s children?  That claim wouldn’t be as strong if it was just you or I making it.  That’s not the case though, is it?  As Paul writes, The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are the children of God (v 16).  That’s some kind of assurance, isn’t it?  It’s like a man on trial.  He claims that he has an alibi for the crime, but unless someone else can verify that alibi no one will believe him.  You and I could claim that we are children of God, but unless someone gives testimony to support it, no one would believe us.  Could there be any one better to testify on our behalf than the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit testifies with our spirit through Scripture to give us that assurance of our son-ship.  He uses the Bible to show us that we are Christians.  We see that our fruits of faith do indeed line up with God’s will.  We read the gospel message, and our heart leaps for joy at its comfort!

2. Did you catch what having the Holy Spirit lead us means?  You heard it earlier.  As we belong to God, not only do we have the Holy Spirit as our guide, but in the Father you can confide.

Paul writes: By him, that is, the Holy Spirit, we cry “Abba, Father” (v 15b).  It isn’t a long section, even in this short text but it is not short on comfort.  Hear again the name that Paul uses for God – Abba, the Aramaic word for “Father.”  It was this word that little children would shout out as they played or wanted their dad’s attention.

We don’t whisper to our heavenly Father as if we’re afraid to bother him either.  Paul says that we “cry out.”  Yes, we can approach our heavenly Father as his dearly beloved children.  Martin Luther put it this way in his Catechism, as he explained the Address to the Lord’s Prayer.  “He is our true Father…we may pray to him as boldly and confidently as dear children ask their dear father.”

As a child, I remember that my brothers and I would beg my dad to play catch with us Saturday afternoons.  We never stopped to think that he may have a sermon to memorize or other things to do to prepare for church on Sunday.  Instead, we just thought of how much we wanted to spend time with our father, and so we asked him and asked him until he finally gave in.  It didn’t matter to our dad how tired he may have been.  It didn’t matter what else may have been on his mind – he wanted to spend time with us since we were his children.

Have you ever stopped and thought of God that way?  So often we’re tempted to think that the problems in our life are too insignificant to bother God with.  We think that in the grand scheme of things we shouldn’t bother God with our tiny problems – after all, he’s got a great big world to watch over, right?  And yet, what does our text this morning encourage us to do?  By him we cry out “Abba, Father.”  What an amazing assurance!  Just as a child doesn’t bother to think of how busy his dad may be or how tired he may be – so also you and I are encouraged to not worry about “how busy” God may be, or whether our prayers or problems are too “insignificant.”  In fact the Apostle Peter wrote this: Cast all your anxiety upon him because he cares for you (1 Peter 5:7); the Psalmist wrote, Call upon me in the day of trouble, I will deliver you (Psalm 50:15).

You and I don’t need to be afraid of passionately going to our Father in prayer, in fact he welcomes it.  But we also pray in the same way our Savior did in Gethsemane – not expecting that our will be done, but rather praying that our heavenly Father’s will be done.

3. As great as they are, the fact that we are led by the Holy Spirit and that we can confide in the Father would never be possible if it weren’t for the second person in the Triune God.  You see, you and I belong to God because the Son for us has died.

Our text this morning ends this way.  If we are children, then we are also heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory (v 17). Did you notice the common thread that ran through all four of these verses?  It is summed up in one word: assurance.  You and I are assured that we are not alone – we’re led by the Holy Spirit; we’re assured that we have a loving Father who delights in listening to our prayers.  Now we’re assured that because we belong to God, because we are his children, we have an inheritance waiting for us.  Paul doesn’t elaborate on that inheritance in our text this morning, but that’s ok.  We read about our inheritance throughout the rest of Scripture.  We see that our inheritance is everything that God has promised us.  It includes our daily bread and the preservation of our life, but it is so much more than that!  Our inheritance includes the greatest promise God has given us – our sins are forgiven, salvation has been won for us, and we have an eternal home waiting for us in heaven!

But wait, there’s more.  We are not only heirs of God, we are co-heirs with Christ!  Stop, for a moment, and consider that.  Consider what Christ has done.  He lived a perfect life.  He died an innocent death on the cross.  For all his work, Christ was rewarded with the highest inheritance: he was raised from the dead and glorified.  God “gave him the name that is above every name,” and gave him authority over everything.

Everything that Christ did, he did for you and for me! Everything he did, he did to make you and me co-heirs with him.  He suffered and died so that you and I might be co-heirs in his righteousness.  He suffered and died so that you and I might be co-heirs in his resurrection.  He suffered and died so that we might be co-heirs with him in the glories of heaven!

As his co-heirs, though, you and I can expect to share in his sufferings.  He promised us that much.  Since he suffered, so we too will suffer.  No, not suffering from cancer, lower financial status, or any other suffering that might be common to mankind.  We are co-heirs in his suffering as we take up our crosses and follow him.  We will be co-heirs as we face problems and persecutions – of whatever level – because we are his followers.

But we are also co-heirs in his glory!  There’s the underlying assurance.  We may suffer throughout our entire earthly life for following Christ, but we know that the co-inheritance of glory awaits us.  The glory that Christ has is also the glory that we will have.  One day, you and I will be raised to life, unless he comes before we die.  And our bodies will be changed to be like his glorious body, we will be made perfect.  And then we will spend eternity in the glorious presence of our God.

It is my prayer that you feel the assurance of your Triune God, not just this morning on Trinity Sunday, but always.  It’s not an easy thing to understand – for who can truly comprehend that there is one God, but three separate persons?  And yet, what a comforting truth, for each person of the triune God looks out for you and me in his own specific way.   The Holy Spirit leads us.  The Father lovingly listens to us.  The Son died for us to make us his co-heirs.  All this boils down to one wonderful truth: You and I belong to the Triune God.

Amen.

 

-Vicar Paul Voss

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Dry Bones, Hear the Word of the LORD!

1. June 2009 by admin.

 ¹ The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. ² He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. ³ He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
I said, “O Sovereign LORD, you alone know.”

 ⁴ Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! ⁵ This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath ^[a] enter you, and you will come to life. ⁶ I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’ ”

 ⁷ So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. ⁸ I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.

 ⁹ Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’ ” ¹⁰ So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.

 ¹¹ Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ ¹² Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. ¹³ Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. ¹⁴ I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.’ “

 

-Ezekiel 37:1-14

 

In the name of Jesus, the Life of all the living, dear friends in Christ,

 

To those who study them, bones tell stories.  Police investigators who come across any part of a human skeleton will study the bones to determine if a crime has been committed.  Those bones will help them figure out how that person died, whether that person was male or female, how old the person was, and even what race they were.  When it comes to studying bones, one can learn a great deal.

 

Today in God’s Word we come across a message delivered by a pile of bones – bones that were miraculously brought to life.  God was delivering a message to the people of Judah whose spiritual condition were symbolized by those dry bones.  Once God’s chosen people, now they had become nothing but skeletons.  They were spiritually dead and unable to serve God in any way.  The story their bones told was a record of their rebellion against God and their disregard for his Word.  Sin had killed them.  Their constant disobedience had sucked the spiritual life right out of them.

 

And yet all was not lost.  There was still hope.  Even lifeless bones didn’t pose a problem for the Lord.  Just as the Holy Spirit made a huge difference in the disciples on that first Pentecost, so also he can make the same difference in us.  That’s good news for us, because the vision given to Ezekiel was not only for the people of Judah — it was also meant for us today.

 

This morning we learn the answer to the question, “Can these bones live?”  It’s found in our theme:

 

“Dry Bones, Hear the Word of the LORD!”

 

I. By ourselves we are spiritually dry

II. By the Spirit we are miraculously alive

 

Read Ezekiel sometime.  You’ll notice the bulk of the prophet’s message is doom and gloom for the land of Judah.  Many of the people had already been taken captive to Babylon, and soon their beloved capital city of Jerusalem would face total and complete destruction.  As the city crumbled, so did the Lord’s temple.  Up until this point Ezekiel had forcefully proclaimed God’s judgment on their rebellion in an effort to lead them to repentance.  But now as their spirits shifted from stubbornness and rebellion to hopelessness and despair, Ezekiel’s message changed to one of consolation and hope.  God would not forsake his people.  He would not let them remain a pile of lifeless, dry bones.

 

But that’s the first picture Ezekiel saw when given a special vision by the Lord (vv 1,2), “The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones.  He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry.”  This was no ordinary valley where the Spirit of the God had taken Ezekiel.  There was no waving wheat or other life-sustaining crops here.  Instead it was more like Death Valley – it was full of dead men’s bones.  Whose bones?  The Lord told Ezekiel (v 11), “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel.”

 

Let’s just suppose that Ezekiel had called in a coroner to determine the cause of death of the people to whom these bones belonged.  What would he have found out?  What story would they have told?  From those bones the coroner would have determined that the cause of death had been their diet, lifestyle, and environment.  Instead of the milk and meat of God’s Word, the Israelites fed on the junk food of human ideas and pagan philosophies.  They starved themselves of the truth that God had revealed through his prophets and refused to drink from the water of life that they offered.  Instead they chose to listen to the lying tongues of the false prophets, leaving them spiritually malnourished.  And instead of living their lives according to God’s will, they flocked to sin like moths to a bright light.  Their love for sinful thoughts, words, and actions sucked the spiritual life out of them.  They lived like their pagan neighbors for so long that in time they became just like them – a lifeless pile of dry bones.

 

That’s why God brought down the hammer of his law upon his people.  That’s why he allowed the Babylonians to come in and ransack Jerusalem and his own temple.  His chosen people had become set in their rebellious ways and showed no signs of spiritual life.  So God saw to it that they were soundly defeated and carried off into captivity.  Their spirit had been broken.  That’s why they cried out (v 11), “Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.”  They could ignore God when everything was going well, but they couldn’t ignore him when their nation was in ruins and their lives appeared hopeless.  They had to see what they had become.  They were nothing but dry bones.  It was time that they started to hear the Word of the Lord!

 

Is there any lesson here for us today?  After all, we’re not like the Israelites, are we?  It’s been said that those who ignore history are condemned to repeat it.  History says that we’re in the same boat as the Israelites.  The apostle Paul tells us (Eph 2:1), “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins.”  We, too, were nothing but dry bones.  Jesus says in John 3:6, “Flesh gives birth to flesh.”  In Romans Paul declares (8:6-8), “The mind of sinful man is death . . . the sinful mind is hostile to God.  It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.  Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.”  Although we were born with a body full of life, spiritually we were as dead as those lifeless bones in Ezekiel’s vision.  But by the grace of God we were made alive.  For many of us that life came at infancy through Holy Baptism.  For the rest the Holy Spirit used a friend or relative to bring us his life-giving Word.  Either way, it was God who made us alive!  More on that later.

 

For now let’s ask ourselves what God sees when he takes a look at us now.  Does he see that life-sustaining faith that he gave us, or does he see a bunch of dry bones?  The fact that we’re here this morning receiving God’s Word and responding to it tells us that there must still be a pulse.  But do we have one foot in the grave already?  Before God calls in the coroner, let’s take an honest look at our spiritual diet, lifestyle, and environment.  Are we still hungering for God’s Word, or are we feeding our souls with the junk food of human ideas and philosophies?  Think of the poison we ingest through television programs, movies, and the radio.  Humanism tells us that we should listen to ourselves.  Materialism tells us that we need more money and more things.  Existentialism tells us that there is no right or wrong.  If we listen to these philosophies they’ll steal our spiritual life and send us to the bone pile.

 

No wonder we often feel as if we’re just going through the motions, putting in our time, living out the string here on this earth.  We feel as if our lives have no sense of purpose.  Then our worship of God becomes half-hearted at best.  Our daily walk with God turns into a struggle.  Our service to God becomes motivated by guilt.  We have to be prodded and pushed to give back to God from what he has given to us.  By ourselves, we become spiritually dry.  Sin makes us that way.  That’s the message we hear loud and clear from our Lord.  Ezekiel’s warning applies just as much to us as it did to Israel.  Dry bones, hear the Word of the Lord!

 

“Can these bones live?”  That was the question posed to Ezekiel by the Lord.  His answer was one of faith (v 3), “O Sovereign LORD, you alone know.”  If these dry bones were going to come back to life, only God could make it happen.  In the same way, if we are going to come back to life, it will only be by God’s power.  By ourselves we may be spiritually dry, but — dry bones, hear the Word of the Lord!  By the Spirit we are miraculously alive!

 

The Lord’s command to Ezekiel points this truth out to us (vv 4-6), “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD!  This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life.  I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life.  Then you will know that I am the LORD.’”  The results of God’s Word being preached to the dry bones would be miraculous.  Ezekiel goes on to tell us what happened (vv 7,8), “So I prophesied as I was commanded.  And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone.  I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.”  Try and imagine the commotion!  Everywhere, throughout the whole valley, you could see bones coming together with “a rattling sound.”  But it was no longer just bones the prophet saw.  The bones, held in place by tendons, fleshed-out and covered with skin, were reassembled.  And yet one important element was still missing – there was no breath in them.

 

But not for long!  The Spirit of the living God was about to animate these lifeless figures (vv 9,10), “Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.”’  So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet – a vast army.”

 

God made his point through the vision he gave to Ezekiel.  Dry bones can live!  Because God is the giver of life he can give life to dry bones.  But notice the means by which he gave life to those bones.  It was by the power of the Holy Spirit that God breathed into them.  By the Spirit they were miraculously alive!

 

This is what God had been saying all along to the people of Israel through his prophets.  A spiritual revival in Israel would only be possible when the people would open their ears to what God had to say.  By the Spirit they too could miraculously be brought back to life.  Just listen to what God had in store for his people (vv 12-14), “O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel.  Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them.  I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land.  Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.”

 

The same God has the same message for us today: “Dry bones, hear the Word of the LORD – and live!”  We don’t have to stumble along through life half-asleep.  We’ve been made alive!  In Romans 8:11 we’re told, “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.”  All this is possible because of what God has done for us in Christ.  In Ephesians we’re told (2:4,5), “Because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved.”  That’s why we can sing after the sermon this morning (Ps 51:10-12), “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.  Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.  Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.”

 

The Word makes us spiritually alive, enabling us to live our lives with meaning and purpose in all that we do.  When it comes to our jobs, we’re not just working for a paycheck, but we’re serving our God and supporting our families to God’s glory.  We’re not just putting in our time at school, but we’re using our God-given gifts to the best of our abilities so we can be everything he wants us to be.  As parents we’re not just doing our duty by taking care of our kids, but we’re shaping the souls of God’s own children by teaching them about their Savior and all that he has done for them.  In our relationships with each other we won’t settle for just coexisting, but with the Spirit’s strength we’ll be willing to work at improving those relationships, confident that God will bless us.  In short, we won’t want to go back to being dry, lifeless bones.  The Spirit’s changed all that.  Now we’re miraculously alive, and we’ve got so much more to live for – both here on earth, and forever in heaven!

 

So, dry bones, hear the Word of the Lord!  Do so by being here in God’s house as often as possible.  Come early (or stay late) for Bible Class.  If you have kids, keep them from drying out by having them in Sunday School.  Get back to those home devotions if you’ve become lax, or start them up if you haven’t had them before.  Open your Bibles at home and allow yourself to be watered with the Word!  That’s the cure to the spiritual drought that produces nothing but dry, lifeless bones.  Left by ourselves, separated from the Word, that’s all we’ll ever be.  But can these bones live?  When miraculously made alive by the Spirit, not only do they live, but our Lord promises us that they will never die!

 

So, dry bones, hear the Word of the Lord – and live!

 

Amen.

 

-Rev. Jonathan Rockhoff

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Tell the Truth!

26. May 2009 by admin.

¹¹I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one. ¹²While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled. ¹³“I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. ¹⁴I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. ¹⁵My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. ¹⁶They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. ¹⁷Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. ¹⁸As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. ¹⁹For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.- John 17:11-19 Dear fellow recipients of God’s truth, and especially you, our graduates/confirmands, 

Think back to your early childhood, when you were sitting on the hot seat in front of Mom or Dad, trying to explain how the window got broken, how your clothes got torn, how the carpet got stained – fill in your own misdeed that you remember.  As you sat there, no doubt you were tempted to give your own version of what happened to save your skin, only to hear Mom or Dad cut you off at the pass by saying, “Now, tell the truth!”  They didn’t want any wild stories or fabricated tales.  All they wanted was the truth.  We live in a world today which constantly questions truth, proclaiming that truth is something which is ever changing and constantly evolving.  Some have even gone so far as to say that truth is whatever the majority of people decide is true.  But before we can be lulled into believing such nonsense, Jesus grabs a hold of us and shakes us from such spiritual slumber, proclaiming loud and clear that there is such a thing as absolute truth – his Word is truth!  And as his children he entrusts us with his Word, telling us this morning to always: 

“Tell the Truth!” 

I. The truth that separates us from the world

II. The truth that sends us out into the world 

It was the night before Jesus’ crucifixion, the evening of Maundy Thursday.  Knowing what his disciples would soon be experiencing as he made his way to the cross, Jesus prays to his heavenly Father, asking him to continue watching over his disciples (v 11), “Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name – the name you gave me.”  “Protect them by the power of your name.”  Remember what you learned in confirmation about the “name” of God and what it meant?  God’s name stood for everything God has revealed about himself in his Word.  So it would be appropriate to say that Jesus is asking his Father to protect his disciples through his Word! You and I have been surrounded by God’s protection ever since the day he placed his name upon us at our baptism.  Since that day you and I have grown stronger in our faith as the Holy Spirit has continued to bring us his Word, protecting us from temptation and fortifying us for life in a sinful world.  He’s equipped us for battle.  In Ephesians we’re told (Eph 6:17), “Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”  Martin Luther would often emphasize how the Word served to protect the Christian.  On one occasion he wrote, “Yes, indeed, it is the power of God which causes the devil the deepest anguish but strengthens, comforts and helps us beyond measure.”  It’s the truth of God’s Word that offers us protection like none other. 

While Jesus was here on this earth, he was the one who kept an eye on his disciples (v 12), “While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me.  None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that the Scriptures would be fulfilled.”  Jesus had constantly shown himself to be the true Shepherd of his sheep, not losing any of those entrusted to him, except for “the one doomed to destruction,”  a reference to Judas.  Don’t misunderstand what Jesus is saying here.  He’s not saying that Judas had been destined to betray him, as if there was nothing in his own power he could have done to avoid such a crime.  Keep in mind that just because God knows something is going to happen doesn’t necessarily mean that he wants it to happen.  Even though God knew Adam and Eve would fall into sin, it doesn’t mean that he wanted them to or that he had in some way “programmed” them to.  Jesus never gave up on Judas, again and again calling him to repentance.  Finally, since God knew that Judas would betray Jesus despite the warnings, he directed the prophets to write about the betrayal centuries before it happened.  That’s why Jesus could say that Judas was lost “so that the Scriptures would be fulfilled.”  The downfall of Judas was the result of what he already was.  His sin and his damnation wasn’t God’s fault.  He was “doomed to destruction” because of what he chose to do. With everything that was about to happen, Jesus wanted his disciples to concentrate on the big picture.  He wanted them not to be sad, but to have joy in understanding that this was all part of his Father’s will (v 13), “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.”  The constant assurance of their divine protection was meant to shield the disciples from the confusing events they would soon be experiencing.  Jesus wanted to protect them.  He wanted them to eventually look back at the upcoming events and to share the joy of all that he accomplished for their salvation. 

Opposition was inevitable – and it was to be expected.  It had already started.  Jesus continues with his prayer (v 14), “I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more that I am of the world.”  You and I as Christians cannot really live in this world unless we understand that we are not of this world.  If we are determined to tell the truth, to speak the truth of God’s Word, then we’ll be separated from the world.  Luther said that “the world is bound to crucify whatever is of God.”  If you don’t believe in a Savior from sin, then you’ll naturally be opposed to someone trying to tell you that all people are sinful and need some kind of divine deliverance to make things right.  Hence, the conflict between Christians and the sinful world. We see this all around us today.  Whereas the Christian is motivated by the love of God and lives for the life that is to come, this world teaches us to be self-motivated and to live for the here and now – and all too often the world’s lesson is followed!  Take a look in high school yearbooks and see what goals graduates list under their names.  How many are limited to this life – to getting a good job, making a lot of money, having a lot of fun?  Even many so-called “preachers” today have fallen into this trap and promise wonderful, successful, prosperous lives to those who follow the Lord.  But God makes no such promises – not for this life.  Instead we’re told we’ll face hardships, persecution, and hatred.  The truth of God’s Word separates us from the world. 

If you want to be close to the world and its view of what life is all about, listen to what Solomon says, one who could truly say that he’d “been there and done that” (Ecc 2:10,11), “I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure . . . . Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and that I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.”  Doesn’t it make better sense to follow the advice of the apostle Paul who writes (Php 3:14), “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Jesus told his disciples (Jn 8:31,32), “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.  Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  It’s OK to be different, to live by the truth of God’s Word when so many others want to make up their own rules and their own version of what’s right or wrong.  Especially in your teen years and as you make your way through high school and into college, expect to have your faith and beliefs challenged.  Don’t be worried if you find that you have less in common with the world around you.  Just remain strong, and keep telling the truth!  It may separate you from the world, but it’ll never separate you from your Savior! 

The truth was always meant to separate but never to silence.  The same truth that separates us from the world also sends us out into the world to reach lost souls. Notice that Jesus was asking his heavenly Father to protect his disciples, not to deliver them from this world.  That’s because he still had work for them to do (vv 15,16), “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.  They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.”  Take all the believers out of this world, and then there’s no hope for the rest.  That’s why we’re not all beamed up to heaven right now.  We’ve still got work to do!  There are still lost souls to be saved!  And we are the Lord’s messengers, commissioned to take his truth to the world! 

It’s that truth that sets us apart.  Jesus prays (v 17), “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.”  The word “sanctify” means “to set apart.”  God’s Word has set you apart from the world — it’s made you something special, holy in the sight of God because of Christ — and yet that same truth now empowers you to go out into the world and face whatever comes your way.  Jesus gives us our marching orders in the last verses (vv 18,19), “As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.  For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.”  Jesus set himself apart by coming into this world and taking on our sins and our punishment.  He did this so we would be “sanctified” – made holy and set apart to be sent out into the world.  As his heavenly Father had sent him into this world for a specific purpose, so also now Jesus sends us out with a specific purpose – to tell the truth!  As you make your way to the next stage of your life, you will have a number of opportunities to tell the truth of God’s Word to others.  You’ll find people hurting, people confused, people looking for joy in all the wrong places – and you’ve got the answers!  You know what works!  You don’t have to speculate and tell people, “Here, try this and see if it helps.”  No!  You can speak the truth with all certainty, because you know that God’s Word provides the answers people need.  You know what it’s done for you.  Now simply share it with others. This is an exciting time in your life, but I’m not all that sure that I’d trade places with you.  It’s my belief that since the world is becoming increasingly evil and more sinful every day, those your age are facing far more temptations now than what I had to at your age.  But don’t panic, because even as the world constantly changes for the worse, you have a God who never changes, who’s the same yesterday, today, and forever!  And his Word never changes either!  Hang on to that truth, and you’ll be OK.  Keep God’s Word close.  Read it often.  Make it your constant companion through life.  But don’t hoard it – tell it to others!  Tell the truth – whenever, wherever, and to whomever you can! 

Amen.

- Rev. Jonathan Rockhoff 

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Find Complete Joy

18. May 2009 by admin.

⁹“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. ¹⁰If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. ¹¹I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. ¹²My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. ¹³Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. ¹⁴You are my friends if you do what I command. ¹⁵I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. ¹⁶You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. ¹⁷This is my command: Love each other. 

- John 15:9-17 

My friends, the search is on.  No – not the search for the mystical, and now animated, River Festival medallion.  Besides, I’ve heard it was found already.   The search is on for joy.  People everywhere are searching for that one thing or the correct combination of things that will give them lasting joy.

I’m sorry to disappoint, but most people are looking in the wrong places.  They search for joy in stores, long vacation road trips, alcohol or drugs, and yes, sometimes even in jobs.  But the joy they find is never the lasting joy they are searching for, and they have to keep on looking.  The lasting joy that the world seeks can only be found in our Savior!  This morning he tells us to Find Complete Joy!  We find that complete joy in our Savior’s love and as our Savior’s friend.

1. Jesus was reclining with his disciples in the Upper Room.  As they celebrated the Passover on Maundy Thursday, Jesus spoke many things to them.  He spoke of what was about to happen to him and what that would mean for them all.  He told them that he was a vine and they were the branches of that vine.  The only way for them to have true life was to remain in him, like branches connected to a grapevine.  And so, just like a branch connected to the vine produces grapes, so also would they, being connected to their Savior, produce fruits of faith. 

Jesus continued explaining what being connected to him meant for them all.  As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.  Now remain in my love.  If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love (vv 9-10).  There is a love expressed between Jesus Christ and God the Father.  This love is far superior to any love that exists between friends or even spouses.  It is a love that can be described in only one way: a perfectly faithful love.  As God, Jesus could love in no other way.  It’s this love that prompted our heavenly Father to send his Son to earth.  This love that led Jesus to do the Father’s will – which led to his death on the cross and resurrection from the dead!

This is the love that Jesus promised he had for his disciples.  He now asked them to remain in his love by obeying his commands – showing the fruits of their faith.  He gives himself as an encouraging example for his disciples – he remains in his Father’s love since he obeyed his commands.

But what was the purpose for Jesus sharing this discourse?  Listen to his words: I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete (v 11).  Jesus spoke about his love so that his disciples may have his joy and so that their joy may be made complete.  For it is only in the Savior Jesus Christ, in his love, that true and complete joy may be found. True joy can be found in him because he is our Savior.  True joy is then found in obeying his commandments.

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends (vv 12-13).  I have loved you with a perfect love, a self-sacrificing love – the same love that exists between me and my Father, Jesus told his disciples.  Now, they were to love each other in that same way: perfectly, faithfully, completely.  But again, their Lord did not leave them without an example.  He stated a general truth – what greater way to show your love than to give your life so that your friends may live!   

If only the disciples know that Jesus was also speaking of actions he would do just hours after speaking these words!  Jesus himself would not only give them an example of love with his words, but he would give them an example with his actions!  He would show his perfectly faithful love as he allowed himself to be arrested and sentenced to death.  He would show his complete love when he allowed himself to be nailed to a cross, despite his innocence.  He would show his love by crying out: Father, forgive them!  It is finished!  Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!  On that cross, he showed his love by paying for the world’s sins.  He not only laid down his physical life as a sacrifice on behalf of the whole world but he also suffered the torments of hell and separation from his heavenly Father’s love.

Let’s ask ourselves this morning: where do we find our joy?  The world encourages us all to find joy in the temporal things of this life.  That encouragement is all around us.  We hear it in songs like the once-popular refrain: Everybody’s working for the weekend!  We see that encouragement in TV ads or shows.  They leave us with this idea that to find true joy we need to have the latest and greatest toys like golf clubs, new cars, iPods, vacations or whatever else it may be.  But what the world fails to tell us is that even if we are “working for the weekend,” that weekend will ultimately end.  The world fails to tell us that the joys we experience from new toys or events eventually fade and leaves us with an empty feeling.

But we have a Savior who invites us to find complete joy in his love!  He invites us to know his love and to see complete joy his love.  He shows us how much he loves us as he gives his life so that we all may live.  He tells us in his Word that his sacrifice is the greatest example of a perfect love.  He says that his perfect love gives us a complete joy – one that will not fade like earthly joys.  Our joy is rooted in his love – a love that led Christ to lay down his life that our sins may be forgiven! 

He invites, now that we know his love, to remain in that love by obeying his command to love each other.  What better way for us to show our love than to lay down our lives for our friends?  What a wonderful way to show how much we care for each other (should we have the opportunity) than to save another’s life by giving up our own!  And yet, we can still lay down our lives for our friends in other ways.  We can lay down our lives for our friends by considering their needs as more important than our own.  In doing that we ask “How can I serve or help my neighbor?” rather than asking “What will I get out of helping my friend?”

The world will argue that joy is found in trips, toys, and gadgets but as Christians we know that true joy, complete joy is found in doing the will of our Savior.  For our Savior’s will is always in our best interest and will never fade or leave us feeling empty.  We do our Savior’s will, we obey his commands, as we love each other the way God the Father loves his Son.  The entire law can be summed up in Jesus’ command here in our text to love one another.  The Apostle Paul explains it this way – whatever other commandment there may be, they are summed up in this one rule: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no harm to its neighbor.  Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law (Rom 13:9,10). 

A close college friend of mine always uses the same greeting.  Each time we see each other, he gives me a big hug and says, “Brothers don’t shake hands, brothers gotta hug!”  His point is this – as friends, we share a level of love.  He sees a hug as the only appropriate way to express the joy of seeing his friends.  You and I have the love of our Savior.  He has told us that that love gives us a complete joy – joy as our Savior’s friend.

2. You are my friends if you do what I command.  I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business.  Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you (vv 14-15).  What did the Savior’s love mean for the disciples?  It meant that he now considered them his friends!  As friends of their Savior, the disciples were privileged to information which mere “servants” would not have known.  Just as Jesus asked them to remain in his love, he also asks them to remain as his friends by continuing to do what he commands.  John, the writer of this Gospel would later write in his first Epistle – and this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us (1 Jn 3:23). 

Jesus continued, You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last.  Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name (v 16).  It was Jesus himself that sought out those disciples to be his Apostles.  But more than that, he sought them out to be his friends through faith.  It was not anything that Jesus saw in them that made him desire their friendship.  It was grace, grace alone, that led Jesus to choose them as his friends.  Grace led him to bring them to faith through his Word! 

As friends of their Savior, the disciples would see results.  They would bear fruit as branches connected to the vine.  They would bear the fruits of faith that showed they remained in Jesus’ love and as their Savior’s friends.  Their friendship with their Savior meant that they could now approach the throne of their heavenly Father in prayer through Jesus’ name!  They could ask for anything from their Father, and have the confidence that he would hear their prayers!

What about you?  How did you get the friends that you have?  Maybe you asked them the obvious question, “Do you want to be my friend?”  More likely is that many of us sought out people who shared common interests with ourselves.  An initial connection was formed and then there was a mutual decision, whether it was vocalized or not, to continue with the deeper bond of friendship. 

Let us all thank the Lord that this is not how our Savior approached friendship with each of us!  If that were the case – if it was because of some common interest or trait – then we would never be his friends.  The fact is this: we, on this side of heaven and because of our sinful natures, have nothing in common with our Savior.  We are mortal, he is eternal.  We are human, he is God.  We are sinful, he is perfect!  No, there was no mutuality in this friendship.  This friendship is based solely on love and grace.  It was the love of Christ and his grace that led him to choose us his friends. 

Just as he told his disciples he also tells us: find complete joy as my friends.  As his friends, we have a lasting joy that will never fade.  As our Savior’s friend, we have been given faith in him and the joy of forgiveness.

We aren’t like servants or employees. A servant or employee is given a job and they do that job whether they know the reason for it or not.  For example, the cement workers who poured the foundation of our building did so without knowledge of where the rooms would be divided.  The carpenters assembled and raised the frame of the building without knowledge of what each room would be used for! 

As our Savior’s friends we are not like servants, we are friends in his inner circle!  Jesus has shared with us the gospel words of salvation and forgiveness!  As his friends, he has given a faith which believes that gospel message.

What a friend we have in Jesus!  He is our perfect friend who brings us complete joy!  He is the one perfect friend who is always there when we need him.  He is the one friend who knows us and understands us, who gives us perfect advice through his Word.  He is the friend who does not leave us homeless, but opens his eternal home to us – so that we may live with him forever! 

Now that we are our Savior’s friends, we too see results.  We naturally produce fruits of faith!  We love each other, just as our Savior loved each of us.  As the result of this eternal friendship, we too can approach our heavenly Father.  In confidence we can come before his throne and know that he will give us whatever we ask for in Jesus’ name!

In 1776, our nation’s founding father’s decided to put a certain line into the Declaration of Independence.  This line reads: All men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.  It’s that last phrase that describes what most people on earth are doing.  They are searching for happiness when they should be searching for joy.  It was once said that there is a difference between happiness and joy.  Happiness is here one moment and then next it is gone.  Happiness is often the result of some man-made action.  Joy is eternal.  Joy is God-given.  It is based on God’s love for sinners – love that sent his Son to lay down his life for his friends.  Because of God’s love, that’s what you and I are – friends of our Savior!  Our Savior’s love and friendship means that you and I truly have complete joy.

Amen.

 

-Vicar Paul Voss

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Chasing Chariots

11. May 2009 by admin.

 ²⁶Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” ²⁷So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, ²⁸and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. ²⁹The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”  ³⁰Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.  ³¹“How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.  ³²The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture:
   ”He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
      and as a lamb before the shearer is silent,
      so he did not open his mouth.
 ³³In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.
      Who can speak of his descendants?
      For his life was taken from the earth.” ³⁴The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” ³⁵Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.  ³⁶As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. Why shouldn’t I be baptized?” ³⁸And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. ³⁹When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. ⁴⁰Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea. 

- Acts 8:26-40

In the name of the Vine, Jesus Christ, dear fellow branches connected to our Lord,

I had just finished mowing my lawn when I heard it – the repetitive yet melodic sound of the neighborhood ice cream truck.  I couldn’t help but think of my childhood, when such a sound would set off a chain reaction of events.  First my brothers and I would run into the house and find Mom.  Then we’d beg her for the few coins needed to make a purchase.  Then we’d dash out and literally chase after the elusive vehicle until it finally recognized the potential customers hot on its heels.  Our pursuit was anything but halfhearted.  After all, we knew what that vehicle contained.  The speed of our quest made it obvious that we weren’t going to stop until we had caught that four-wheeled transporter of frozen treats.

This morning we learn that there’s a pursuit more worthy of our attention as servants of our Lord than chasing after ice cream trucks.  Today we’re going to learn from the example of a man named Philip the importance of:

“Chasing Chariots”

I. Our salvation is won

II. Our job’s not done

The Philip mentioned in our text is not the apostle Philip.  No, he’s one of the seven deacons mentioned in Acts 6, a dedicated layman who was already having great success bringing God’s Word to the Samaritans.  The work there was going so well that even Peter and John were sent in to help.  But now the Lord wanted Philip to leave his successful ministry in Samaria and head to the desert.  For what?  For one lost soul.

Have you ever played a game of Solitaire, only to find out that the deck you were using had 51 cards instead of 52?  Ever try putting together something for your kids, but then discover that some pieces were missing?  Flying home from Milwaukee early last week I was offered the usual complimentary bag of peanuts, only to discover that the bag had just four – yes, four! – peanuts inside!  We get upset when things are missing, when we don’t get what we paid for, when we don’t receive what we feel we have coming to us.

How do you think God feels, then, when he thinks about heaven missing some of the souls his Son’s blood paid for?  Scripture tells us that our Lord “wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Ti 2:4).  When 99 sheep are in the fold, our Good Shepherd still goes out after that one lost sheep.  And that’s why the Lord sent Philip out into the desert to chase down the chariot of a man from Ethiopia.

“Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, ‘Go south to the road – the desert road – that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.’  So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet.  The Spirit told Philip, ‘Go to that chariot and stay near it’” (vv 26-29).  Filling the chariot to which Philip was sent was a man who had traveled all the way from Africa – some 200 miles – just to worship the God he had come to know as the true God.  He was an important man.  We might call him the “secretary of the treasury” for his native country.  Being a man of wealth he may have just purchased the scroll he was reading on the journey home, a scroll containing the writings of the prophet Isaiah.

The book of Isaiah has sometimes been called the fifth Gospel, because no other Old Testament book talks about Jesus as much as Isaiah.  What wonderful Messianic prophecies are contained in this book!  And yet what frustration it was causing this Ethiopian man!  When Philip had finally chased down his chariot, he asked the man (vv 30,31), “Do you understand what you are reading?”  His reply?  “How can I, . . . unless someone explains it to me?”  Here was the opening Philip was looking for (v 31), “So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.”

If this man was a recent convert to Judaism, no doubt he had been inundated with the misguided teachings of the Pharisees which emphasized work-righteousness as the way to “become right” with God.  The concept of a loving God who would supply a solution to sin purely out of love for mankind must have been quite foreign to this man, so it’s no wonder that he couldn’t figure out the words he was reading from Isaiah 53 (vv 32,33), “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth.  In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.  Who can speak of his descendants?  For his life was taken from the earth.”  Obviously absent from what he had learned in Jerusalem, the man asks Philip for an explanation (v 34), “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?”  “Who is this person who suffered such undeserved shame and punishment without ever complaining or resisting?”  The Ethiopian wanted to know if Isaiah was speaking of himself, or did he mean someone else?

He had opened his chariot door to Philip, and Philip used the opportunity God gave him (v 35), “Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.”  This was nothing new for Philip.  When he was in Samaria we’re told that he “proclaimed the Christ there” (Ac 8:5).  And that’s what he did here!  He taught the Ethiopian about his sin and about his Savior.  He told him why Christ allowed himself to be put to death, that he did so to take our place, but that he came back to life to show his victory over death and the devil.  We’ll see later that he also must have spoken about baptism and the blessings that came with it.  Through the Holy Spirit working in him, Philip was able to assure this man that unlike what he may have heard in Jerusalem, his salvation was complete, won by the life and death of his Savior Jesus!

When it comes to our salvation, there’s no chariot-chasing involved.  There’s nothing left for us to do – no goals to reach, no worthiness to prove, no price to pay.  Those who still think they have to do something to prove themselves worthy of salvation are chasing after a chariot that they’ll never catch.  We can never do enough.  How wonderful, then, to have a Savior who’s assured us that he has done enough – that he’s done it all! – so that we can have confidence, peace, and joy in knowing that our salvation is won!

Philip knew his Savior, but he also knew his job on this earth wasn’t done just because he knew where he would be spending his eternity.  So it is with us.  Even though our salvation is won, our job’s not done.  There are still souls to be won.

“Philip . . . told him the good news about Jesus.”  Was this man really that important to God?  Ever wonder how important you are to God?  Do you sometimes feel as if you’re just another number to him?  Often here on this earth we’re painfully reminded that we’re not all that significant – at least, not by worldly definitions.  To the government I’m better known as 3**-7*-3*** – I’m identified more by my Social Security number than anything else when it comes to tax forms and wage statements.  Nothing makes you feel less important than having a nine-digit number assigned to you.  Or the next busy lunch hour you spend at the local McDonald’s, ordering your Big Mac and fries, take note that when your order is up, they won’t call your name.  No, instead they call out your number!  And, as they tell you to have a nice day, you may smile at their courtesy, but then you realize that they say the same to every customer with so little feeling and emotion that they might as well be saying, “Now take your food and keep it moving!”  Is that how God looks at us, as just another number?

If a single soul, making a return trip to his native Africa, mattered to God, then so do you and I!  And if he’s concerned about each one of us, even being aware of the number of hairs that still adorn our heads, then he certainly doesn’t consider any soul to be unimportant.  That’s why he keeps some of his children here on this earth even after they’ve come to faith.  He has more souls to reach, and we’re his toolbox!

“My word . . . will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it” (Isa 55:11). That’s God’s promise to us – his Word works!  Philip found that out (vv 36,38), “As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, ‘Look, here is water.  Why shouldn’t I be baptized?’  And he gave orders to stop the chariot.  Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.”  Wanting to proclaim his new faith and allegiance to his Savior, this man saw no reason why he couldn’t be baptized, right then and there.  Neither did Philip!  What a blessing for him to be used by the Holy Spirit in bringing to faith what many have called “the first New Testament convert”!

And yet there was still work for Philip to do, so he didn’t stick around for long (vv 39,40), “When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again . . . . Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.”  Someone once said that Christians are to keep the faith, but never to themselves.  Philip knew that his job wasn’t done.  There were more chariots to chase.

As for the Ethiopian?  The shock of a vanishing Philip was overcome only by his joy, as we’re told that he “went on his way rejoicing” (v 39).  No more confusion!  No more doubt!  No more worrying!  He knew his Savior, and he knew his salvation was secure!

What chariots has the Lord sent into your life for you to chase?  Has he sent you a chariot that contains that person at work who seems to be opening up more and more to you about their problems but never mentions having a church

home?  Have you been sent after a chariot occupied by a classmate who feels compelled to give in to peer pressure and needs someone to offer support and to give them the right answers?  Maybe running right under your noses are chariots containing the parents you sit next to at all your kids’ sporting events, people with whom you share many a conversation but people who still need to be told about the hope and strength you’ve found in the Savior.

Perhaps you’re chasing after little chariots in your own homes.  Moms, happy Mother’s Day!  And thank you for chasing after your kids and teaching them their prayers, for telling them their first Bible stories, for taking that extra hour on Sunday mornings to bring them to Sunday School, for driving them to confirmation every week and helping them with all that homework the pastor and vicar gives them, and for continuing to bug them even when they’re out of the house to make sure they’re still making time for their Savior.  Kids, be sure and thank your moms today for chasing after your chariots, for not giving up, for making it a priority to teach you about Jesus.

When we finally caught up to the ice cream truck when we were kids, we got what we were after – that soothing, popsicle or drumstick.  But it wasn’t free – we still had to pay for it.  Not so with our salvation!  It’s free of charge, and when we are invited into the chariots of lost souls, we can share that wonderful news!  We can offer them the Savior, free of charge!

So keep your eyes open!  God will continue to send chariots for you to catch.  Don’t let them get away!  Just be ready to start chasing!

Amen.

-Rev. Jon Rockhoff

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The LORD Is My Shepherd

4. May 2009 by admin.

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.  He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,  he restores my soul.  He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.  Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.  You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.  You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.  Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. 

- Psalm 23

I’m going to conduct an experiment after church today.  It’s going to be conducted just inside the door to Wal-Mart, and as each person passes by I will ask them one question: What part of the Bible can you recite to me?  I think that I can guarantee what the top four responses will be: 1) strange looks that are really asking, why do you care; 2) Lord’s Prayer 3) John 3:16; and 4) Psalm 23. 

The 23^rd Psalm is by far the most well-known and most loved of all the Psalms.  It’s really not a surprise either – the picture language and serene scenes give it a quality that’s easy to love.  But what’s surprising is that for how well this Psalm is known and able to be recited, how few people have stopped to actually think about what this Psalm means.  Few people have really stopped to consider exactly how beautiful the word pictures in this Psalm are.  Psalm 23 has many comforting pictures for our lives here on earth!  This Psalm assures us that our lives aren’t spent wandering uselessly without a leader, but that we, as sheep, have a shepherd.  This Psalm tells us that The LORD is my Shepherd!  He is the Good Shepherd who provides for us (vv 1-3), who protects us (v 4), and who blesses us (vv 5-6).

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want (v1).  What familiar words!  We could all probably recite those words in our sleep, but do we ever think of what they mean?  Yes, David calls the LORD his shepherd – and we with him – but think about the other side of that coin.  When we call the LORD our shepherd we have to admit that we are sheep.  When we call ourselves sheep, we can’t help but think of Isaiah’s words: We all like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way (Isaiah 53:6).  A family friend from back home is the largest sheep farmer in

Michigan, and he’s told me that sheep love to wander.  They need someone to lead them completely in the right direction or they will stray off and go the wrong way. 

That’s a pretty insightful comparison, isn’t it?  After all, we have to admit that there are a lot of similarities between ourselves - according to our sinful nature – and sheep!  We love to go our own way, to do our own thing, instead of doing what our Shepherd would have us do or going where he wants us to go.  Even the Apostle Paul struggled to follow his Shepherd: What I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing (Rom 7:19).  Our sinful nature tells us to do something – perhaps it’s as seemingly insignificant as sloughing off at the job or more significantly ignore studying God’s Word – and too often like sheep we wander off in the directions we want to go instead of staying on the path we should be on. 

But thank the Lord that we are not left to our own wandering!  We have a Shepherd, and he is the LORD.  The LORD, the God of free and faithful grace – for that is what his name means!, is our Shepherd.  Our Shepherd is our loving Father who created us and preserves us.  Our Shepherd is our Brother, Jesus Christ – whose life, death, and resurrection made him our Shepherd.  Our Shepherd is the Holy Spirit, who brings us to faith in Jesus and keeps us in that faith. 

As our Shepherd, the LORD does not leave us wanting or desiring anything. Please, don’t misunderstand what I’m saying.  I may never have a home worth a quarter million dollars, complete with a rolling landscape, and you may never have all of your earthly desires fulfilled.  But you and I still do not desire anything more.  We can be content with our situations in life, content with all that we’ve been given.  We can be content because our Shepherd has provided us with the greatest thing possible – the forgiveness of sins and hope of eternal life!

He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside quiet waters (v 2).  Did you know that sheep are particular animals?  Sheep have to be soothed and pampered before they lie down.  Shepherds might as well forget about their sheep laying down or resting if they are still hungry, thirsty, or bothered by insects.  They will refuse to rest, so it’s the shepherd’s job to make sure their sheep’s needs are taken care of. 

Again, the similarities run deep.  The world is full of things that bother and pester us.  We are pestered by the insects we call poor relationships or a shortage of our finances.  We are pestered by worrying about everything going on around us – Will the building addition finish on time?  Will the swine flu affect us?  Are our jobs safe?  We are left spiritually hungry and thirsty when we ignore the Word.  And let’s face the truth – all these things that pester us leave us pretty restless and unable to relax. 

Our Good Shepherd, however, provides for our needs.  He gives us our daily bread, whether we remember to ask for it or not.  He preserves our lives and even gives us abundant blessings here on earth.  But most importantly, he fills our spiritual stomachs and quenches our spiritual thirst with his Word.  It is his Word that is the green pastures in which we lie down and the still water by which we are led.  

On the way to conference a little over a week ago, I passed through the Flint Hills.  What a sight that stretch of land is during the Spring!  Rolling hills of green grass stretching for miles and miles on which cattle graze and fill their stomachs.  It’s in the Bible that we find the endless nourishment our souls crave – and the green pastures of God’s Word stretch further and are far greener than the Flint Hills could ever dream of being.  It’s in the Bible that can fill our spiritual stomachs like sheep grazing on abundant fields of green grass – and we never have to worry about being hungry again!

David now leaves his comparison with sheep and lays forth plainly what it is the LORD has done for us all: He restores my soul; he guides me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake (v 3).  In those green pastures and quiet waters of his Word our Shepherd restores our souls – souls that were once burdened by sin and guilt are now freed from those burdens!  He restores our souls each and every day as we are refreshed through his Word.  He will restore each and every one of us again at Judgment Day – should he come again after we have all died, he will restore us from earthly death to life again forever in heaven. 

With souls restored, he now leads us on paths of righteousness which began at the instant we were brought to faith by the Holy Spirit.  Through the gospel our Shepherd placed us on the path of righteousness and continues to lead us on that path.  He leads us through his Word down paths of sanctified lives lived according to that Word because we can’t lead ourselves –  on our own we’d end up as lost, wandering sheep.

It is certainly true that as our Shepherd the LORD provides for us. But the benefits of having the LORD as our Shepherd continue.  As our Shepherd, he also protects us.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me (v 4).  There will be times when we are on top of the world.  But we also know that, as Christians, our lives won’t always be spent living the high life.  Christ has assured us that since he was persecuted, we too should expect low points in our own lives.  The devil will constantly try to use the weapons at his disposal to destroy our faith.

But still, during the times spent in the valleys of life, there is no reason to fear.  We’re not vulnerable sheep separated from the rest of the flock and the Shepherd.  Our Shepherd, the LORD, leads us through the valley, and he protects us when we face evil. 

One of my favorite Christian poems, and believe me, I’m no poetry guy!, is entitled Footprints.  Perhaps many of you have heard of this same poem or may even have a plaque of it hanging in your house.  In this poem, a man is shown two sets of footprints in the sand – one is his and the other is his Good Shepherd’s.  Curiously, though, when it came to the roughest times in his life one set of footprints disappears.  The man asks, “Why Lord, at the times I needed you most, did you abandon me?”  “My child,” the LORD responded, “I did not abandon you.  You only see one set of prints because those prints are mine – I didn’t abandon you, I carried you!” 

It’s easy to think of that story and to picture our Shepherd carrying each of us, his sheep, on his shoulders.  But that is not the only way our Shepherd protects us.  Your rod and your staff, they comfort me!  Our Good Shepherd carries a shepherd’s staff- that familiar walking stick we all know – complete with the hook of the Law to keep us, his sheep, on paths of righteousness and away from spiritual evils!  Our Good Shepherd carries a shepherd’s rod – the lesser known weapon of shepherds.  This shorter rod was used to beat predators in close quarters or to throw at predators far off.  The LORD our Shepherd keeps our spiritual enemies – the world, the devil, and our own sinful flesh – at bay with his Word. 

What a wonderful thing to have the LORD as our Shepherd.  He provides for us and protects us in a way that only he can!  As our Shepherd, the LORD also blesses us.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you have anointed my head with oil, my cup overflows (v 5).  The scene of this psalm shifts once again, from the rolling green mountains and valleys on which the Shepherd and his sheep roam to the banquet hall of a wonderful palace.  This shift may seem peculiar to most, but not if we consider that in David’s time the name “shepherd” was applied to both those who cared for sheep and also to a nation’s king.  It’s no different with our Good Shepherd – he is not only the one who tends to the flock of his Church, but he is also the King who lovingly rules over us and blesses us.

Our Shepherd-King invites us to live in his palace and to eat at his table with him.  We can eat this banquet in peace and confidence even if it were in front of our enemies.  We have no fear of living our Christian sanctified lives, no fear of sharing the message of Christ crucified and risen because we are blessed by a Shepherd-King who is watching over us.

And before we approach this banquet table of our Shepherd-King, our heads are anointed with oil.  In David’s time there were two types of anointing – the anointing of kings and priests for service and the anointing pictured here, one of luxury and celebration.  In this second anointing, a nice-smelling oil was poured on the hair of guests to sooth them from the harsher climate of the Mid-East and to serve as a sort of perfume or cologne.  Through faith, you and I are anointed with the sweet-smelling perfume of the gospel.  We are blessed by our Shepherd-King, being made holy by his blood, and marked as sheep of his flock. 

As sheep in our Good Shepherd’s flock we now realize that everything we have is a blessing from the LORD, and we now are thankful for those blessings.  We look upon all the blessing we receive from above – from our daily bread to all the “extras” we have to our most important blessing: life eternal – and we truly realize that our cup overflows. 

David concludes this 23^rd Psalm with what the LORD as our Shepherd means for Christians: Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever (v 6).  Our LORD’s goodness and his love, which is his grace and undeserved love for sinners, now follow us.  Even more so, this passage could be translated goodness and love pursue me all the days of my life.  No matter how fast we may run, no matter how we might try to shake them off – if we would even want to! – We can’t escape the LORD’s goodness and mercy. 

That goodness and love means we have the hope of an eternal dwelling in the house of the LORD.  The joy that we experience when we lie down in the green pastures and walk by the calm waters of God’s Word will be completely fulfilled in the house of the LORD.  We may forget the joys of grazing in God’s Word when we experience troubles here on earth, but a day will come when those joys will never end.  Those joys will be multiplied exponentially and will never cease as we live in the house of the LORD!  There we will dwell in the joy of our Shepherd forever.

It’s pretty accurate for you and I to be described as sheep.  We have all the needs of sheep.  We need someone to lead us, or we would wander.  We need someone to feed us or we would go hungry.  We need someone to comfort us or we never could rest.  The good news is this: we have that someone we need!  He is the LORD, and he is our Shepherd!  As our Shepherd, the LORD provides for us, protects us, and blesses us!  That’s why we call him the Good Shepherd – the only Shepherd we’ll ever need!

Amen.

- Vicar Paul Voss

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What’s In a Name? — In the Name of Jesus Christ!”

26. April 2009 by admin.

 ⁸Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! ⁹If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, ¹⁰then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. ¹¹He is
   ” ‘the stone you builders rejected,
      which has become the capstone. ¹²Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

- Acts 4:8-12

In the Name of Jesus, the Resurrection and the Life, Dear Fellow Believers, You would think that everyone would have been happy about what had taken place.  A man who had been crippled from birth all of a sudden could walk for the first time in his life.  Shortly after Pentecost, Peter and John had gone up to the temple to pray.  At the temple gate they met this once-crippled man.  He was begging for money and was hoping Peter and John could spare some change.  Peter had something better to offer (Ac 3:6), “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you.  In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”  The man not only walked, but he also jumped for joy as he entered the temple, praising God for this miracle.  The people in the temple “were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him” (Ac 3:10). 

But not everyone was happy.  Peter and John used this opportunity to preach about the power of Jesus Christ, causing this reaction among the priests, the captain of the temple guard, and the religious leaders known as the Sadducees (Ac 4:2,7), “They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. . . . They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them:  ‘By what power or what name did you do this?’”  Today we’re going to listen as Peter answers their question.  He tells them: 

“What’s In a Name? — In the Name of Jesus Christ!” 

I. Opposition

II. Motivation

III. Salvation 

With the name of Jesus comes opposition.  It was that way his entire life.  Even as a baby, wicked King Herod tried to kill him for fear of losing his throne.  When he began his ministry, it didn’t take long for the Pharisees and Sadducees to take offense at his words.  They hated the following he was attracting and were determined to bring him down.  Finally they succeeded — at least, from a human point of view.  Peter tells the religious leaders how he had healed the crippled man (v 10), “It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.”  But then he adds (v 10), “…whom you crucified.”  Peter also describes Jesus as “the stone you builders rejected” (v 11).  Here before their very eyes was the promised Messiah, God’s own Son, who had fulfilled all the Old Testament messianic prophecies which they had studied, and still they wouldn’t accept him.  They rejected him and crucified him.  There was great opposition to the name of Jesus. Peter and John learned time after time that they would face opposition for preaching the name of Jesus.  We shouldn’t expect anything less.  Still today there are many who oppose the message of a Savior who died for the sins of the world.  Far too many reject the cross of Christ as the way of salvation and would rather strive for heaven on their own terms and with their own efforts.  Others oppose the name of Jesus by misusing his name to support their false teachings.  Still others oppose his name when they claim to be following him, but inside their hearts are far from him.  What’s in a name?  In the name of Jesus there was and continues to be opposition. 

Let’s keep this in mind when we speak out about our Savior to others.  Don’t expect everyone to listen.  And don’t get discouraged when you’re rejected.  As Jesus tells us (Lk 10:16), “He who rejects you rejects me.”  If we’re actively sharing our faith, then opposition is sure to surface.  But don’t let such opposition silence you.  Keep proclaiming the name of Jesus. Peter and John didn’t keep quiet.  They didn’t try to cover up what they had done.  They spoke the truth.  That’s because they found the motivation they needed in the name of Jesus. 

When asked to explain how they were able to heal the crippled man, Peter wasn’t ashamed to admit their association with Jesus (vv 8-10), “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: ‘Rulers and elders of the people!  If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, then know this, you and everyone else in Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you completely healed.’”  Notice first of all that Peter was able to speak so boldly because he was “filled with the Holy Spirit.”  Remember, this was the same Peter who couldn’t even admit to knowing Jesus just a couple months earlier.  Then again, it really wasn’t the same Peter, because a change had taken place.  The Holy Spirit had come upon the disciples at Pentecost, giving them the power they needed to serve as Christ’s spokesmen.  That’s why Peter now had no problem speaking of his association with Jesus.  He didn’t hesitate to proclaim that this crippled man was healed “by the name of Jesus.”  We could translate the Greek for this phrase with the words “in connection with” the name of Jesus.  The disciples were able to work this miracle because of their connection with Jesus of Nazareth.  It was by his power that this miracle had been done. Notice also that Peter refers to Jesus as “Jesus Christ of Nazareth.”  He was commonly known by the name Jesus of Nazareth.  But now Peter adds to this name the title of “Christ,” “the Anointed One.”  Whether the Jews accepted him or not, Jesus was the Lord’s Anointed.  The leaders of Israel had rejected Jesus and had judged him as unacceptable, sentencing him to be crucified.  But God overruled them and raised Jesus from the dead. 

That’s where Peter and John found their motivation to speak out for their Lord.  In Jesus they had a living Savior, one who had accomplished everything he said he would, having done everything for our salvation.  What could they do for the one who had done so much for them?  Simply proclaim his name to the world!  They knew that in healing this crippled man, others would take notice.  But they didn’t do it for their own glory.  Jesus told them (Mt 5:16), “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”  Peter and John healed the crippled man in order that the name of their God might be praised.  They wanted more people to come to know the Savior and to believe in him for salvation.  They loved their Savior, but only because he first loved them. It’s that same love that motivates us to be our Lord’s representatives here on this earth.  Paul tells us (2 Co 5:14,15), “For Christ’s love compels us, . . . that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.”  Out of love for our Lord and for others, we strive to share our Savior’s message.  Our motivation comes from above, from the power of the Holy Spirit, who gives us the courage to speak up.  By ourselves we couldn’t do it.  But the more time we spend with God’s Word, the more we’re moved to want to share what we know with others.  And that’s all that God asks of us.  He’s given us the message.  He’s given us the audience (we all know someone who needs the good news of the gospel!).  And he’s given us the  power of the Spirit.  By being connected to the name of Jesus, we’re able to share with others what that name really means.  We’re able to tell them that in the name of Jesus is found salvation! 

Our salvation is founded on the name of Jesus.  Peter puts it this way (v 11), “He is the stone you builders rejected which has become the capstone.”  Peter uses the architectural picture of a “capstone.”  A capstone was the stone in the middle of an arch upon which all the other stones rested.  Take away the capstone, and the arch collapses.  Take away Jesus, and our salvation collapses.  No other “stone” would do.  Only in the name of Jesus do we find salvation.  Peter lays it on the line (v 12), “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”  The “name” stands for the revelation of our Savior.  He was revealed to us when he came to this world as “Jesus,” the name given to him before he was even conceived.  That name contains the whole gospel message, for it means “Savior.”  The name of Jesus reveals that this is God’s chosen Deliverer.  Man cannot free himself from sin and its consequences.  He must be rescued by one other than himself.  And that salvation is found only in the name of Jesus! We need to hear this message often, because we have a sinful nature that often looks inward for salvation instead of outward.  We live in a world that wants to believe that every religion is really O.K., that it really doesn’t matter what we believe as long as we’re sincere and as long as we believe in something.  We’re not doing anyone any favors if we leave them with the impression that there are other ways to heaven.  We have to be direct.  We have to be specific.  We have to declare that salvation is found in no one else, but only in the name of Jesus! 

Know what you’re getting into if you want to be connected with the name of Jesus.  You will face opposition, guaranteed.  But in that same name you’ll find motivation to live for your Lord and to proclaim his name to others.  And by proclaiming that name you’ll be pointing others to the only source of salvation.  So follow the example of Peter and John.  They knew what they had in the name of Jesus.  So do we.  We have all we need for this life and for the life to come!

Amen.

-Rev. Jonathan Rockhoff

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