Do you not know that the wicked will not
inherit the kingdom of God? Do not
be deceived: Neither the sexually
immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor
male prostitutes nor homosexual
offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor
drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers
will inherit the kingdom of God.
And that is what some of you were.
But you were washed, you were
sanctified, you were justified in the
name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the
Spirit of our God.
One
of the hymns in our old hymnal was
entitled, “The World is Very Evil”.
You know when that hymn was written -
1140. Can you imagine what he’d
entitle that hymn today? And yet people
don’t see it. When foul language
creeps in, when smut on TV sneaks in, it
doesn’t have the alarming affect as if
it just came out of nowhere – the
shock value. But let’s not let the
slow methodical march of immorality,
deceive us. Paul tells us – do not be
deceived. Sin is serious. But also
understand the completeness of God’s
grace.
The
Christian congregation in Corinth, the
recipients of this letter, struggled
with moral issues. So Paul comes out
with a strong statement, “Do you not
know that the wicked will not inherit
the kingdom of God.” It’s not a
secret that God hates sin. What happened
to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
After they sinned they were banned from
that Paradise. Consider what God had
Isaiah write, “Your iniquities
separate you from your God.” and Paul,
“The wages of sins is death.” God
deals very harshly with sin.
But
people don’t want to believe that.
They point to the universal love of God.
They point to the words of Jesus, “God
so loved the world.” They bring up
what Paul wrote to Timothy, “God is
not willing that any should perish.”
People will point out what John wrote
about God, “God is love.” No way
could God, who loves all people
unconditionally, who wants all people to
live with Him in heaven, who is love,
ever send anyone to hell. Didn’t He
forgive and take back the murder, David;
the denier Peter; the persecutor, Paul?
So
Paul repeats and gets specific, “Do
not be deceived: Neither the sexually
immoral nor idolaters, nor adulterers,
nor male prostitutes, nor homosexual
offenders will inherit the kingdom of
God.” Don’t be deceived by the world
that condones behavior that God’s holy
law condemns. Don’t be deceived by the
devil’s lies which insist such
behavior is not wrong. Don’t be fooled
by your sinful nature that wants to
engage in such behavior. God’s law is
clear. These acts are sin. They
eliminate people from heaven.
The
acts listed as sin? Immorality is sex
before you get married. It’s touching
the private parts of another person.
It’s looking at the magazine, the smut
on the computer. Paul lists adultery,
cheating on your spouse, as a sin that
keeps people out of heaven. And another
that’s listed is one that so called
Christian churches can’t even agree
on, but the Bible is clear –
homosexuality. Paul says don’t be
deceived. These acts are sin. They will,
if not repented of and if continued in,
keep you out of heaven and land you in
hell.
Hearing
that list may cause us to breath a sigh
of relief. It may lead us to look down
on others who have committed or are
committing those heaven blocking sins.
But Paul listed other acts that keep us
out of heaven, “Don’t be deceived:
Neither nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor
drunkards nor slanderers, nor swindlers
will inherit the kingdom of God.” Some
of those acts perhaps hit closer to home
than we’d like.
Thieves
won’t inherit heaven. You’re a thief
if you’ve taken money from your
parents, cheated in school, or
shoplifted. Slanderers, those who cut
others down, make fun of or talk about
others when they weren’t around
won’t inherit heaven? Those who
swindle, trick someone out of something,
won’t inherit heaven. The drunk, the
one who drinks too much, uses illegal
drugs to relax or get high, won’t go
to heaven. The same will happen to the
greedy, those who can’t get enough
stuff and will sacrifice anything, even
a chance to worship the Lord to get it,
loose heaven.
Don’t
be deceived by what the world says, the
devil whispers, the sinful nature wants.
Don’t be deceived. The acts listed by
Paul are sin. Sin, as defined by God and
not the world, separates us from God.
Sin leads to eternal damnation. And then
Paul brings it home when he writes,
“And that is what some of you were.”
That is what all of us are – sinners.
Our acts and thoughts and words conflict
with the holy will of God. And the
result is tragic. Don’t be deceived.
Sinners cannot and will not inherit the
kingdom of God.
Those
are some sobering words. They get us to
realize we can’t escape God’s just
anger. There’s no way that we can ever
enter heaven, that we can escape the
eternal torment of hell. That’s what
the devil wants us to believe. He wants
us to despair of any chance of ever
living in heaven. But don’t be
deceived by the devil. Understand the
completeness of God’s grace. Paul
reminds us, “But you were washed, you
were sanctified, you were justified in
the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by
the Spirit of our God.”
What
a beautiful reminder by Paul – we were
washed. We were covered in the sludge of
all our sins. Our situation was worse
the oil spill in the gulf. But God took
action. He washed us clean. That
happened at our baptism. As the water of
baptism is applied and the Word of God
is spoken a miraculous cleansing takes
place. Ananias put it this way, “Get
up, be baptized and wash your sins
away.” In baptism a perfect
purification process takes place in our
baptism. Every sinful word, thought and
action is rinsed away.
Because
of that washing we’ve been sanctified,
made holy, changed. The sin that makes
us unholy, that puts a barrier between
us and God, and that keeps us out of
God’s family is gone. We’ve gone
from being sinful and sinner to sinless.
We’re holy in God’s sight. The
barrier of sin is gone. We have access
to God. We can be a part of His family.
We can live with Him in heaven. And at
that moment we understand a glorious
truth. We’ve been justified, declared
not guilty, declared innocent of every
sin we’ve ever committed. God has
issued the ultimate pardon. He’s wiped
our record perfectly clean of every sin.
Paul
tells us how that sanctification, that
change took place. First He says, “In
the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
That change was possible because of what
Jesus did for us. He willingly took on
Himself the debt of all our sins. For
His entire life He lived with the shame
of our sins. He faced God’s anger. He
was hung on a cross to endure the curse
of hell, to pour out His blood, to give
His life to erase all of our sins. Jesus
truly is, “The Lamb of God who takes
away the sin of the world.” He truly
is the “atoning sacrifice for the sins
of the whole world.” Jesus secured
forgiveness for every sin of every
person who’ll ever live on earth.
Paul
tells us the second reason that
sanctification, that spiritual change
took place, “by the Spirit of our
God.” The Spirit took the general
truth, Jesus is the Lamb of God who’s
takes away the sin of the world” and
made it our personal belief. In His
letter to the Romans Paul tells us how
that gift of forgiveness becomes mine,
“A man is justified by faith.” When
we come to faith in Jesus as our Savior
we receive the gift of forgiveness that
He won for us on the cross. The Spirit
is the one who leads us to that belief.
We
can’t decide to believe in Jesus on
our own. By nature we’re dead in our
transgressions and sins. We don’t want
to believe in Jesus, “The sinful mind
is hostile to God.” So the Spirit
worked to change us. Paul wrote, “God
chose you to be saved through the
sanctifying (changing) work of the
Spirit. He called you to this through
our Gospel.” The Gospel, the message
of God’s love for us as seen in Jesus
changes our attitude towards God. It’s
no longer hostility, but love; it’s
faith and trust in Jesus as our Savior.
That’s
the miracle that takes place in baptism.
The water outwardly symbolizes what
takes place in the heart. As God’s
Word is spoken, the Spirit works
invisibly in that infant’s heart,
changing, sanctifying, creating faith in
Jesus as that child’s Savior. And at
that instant that child receives the
gift of forgiveness. For adults that
sanctifying, changing, cleansing process
takes place when we hear the Gospel,
“Faith comes from hearing the
message.” As we hear of God’s love
and see Jesus’ willing and painful
sacrifice to secure forgiveness for all
our sins, the Spirit leads us to believe
and confess Jesus as our Savior.
Do
you understand? God really loves you. He
made the ultimate sacrifice – His Son
to death and hell to spare us that
horrible, but deserved fate. He has sent
the Spirit, armed with the Gospel, to
create faith in your heart. For Jesus
sake He’s declared you forgiven of all
your sins. He promises that anyone who
believes in Jesus can live with Him
forever in heaven. The devil says
hogwash. Can’t be. Won’t happen that
way. Don’t let the devil deceive you.
God said in Jesus you’re completely
forgiven. God said by faith in Jesus you
will escape death. You will be received
into the eternal pleasures and joys of
heaven.
The
hymn “The Word is Very Evil” was
written in 1140. The devil doesn’t
want us to believe that. He simply wants
us to think times have changed. We live
in a progressive world. Surely God
isn’t an angry God. He’d never damn
anyone to hell. Don’t be deceived.
God’s rules haven’t changed. He
won’t back down. He’ll punish sin
with death and hell. But then don’t
let the devil deceive you when it comes
to God’s grace. He loves you. He’s
provided forgiveness for you. And
He’ll take to heaven, all who repent
of their sins and cling to Jesus as
their one and only Savior.
5-30-10
– Trinity Sunday – Rev. Peter Sulzle
The
Trinity Testifies to the Truth of
Salvation
1.
God the Father’s Testimony.
2.
God the Son’s Testimony
3.
God the Holy Spirit’s Testimony
I
John 5:5-12
5
Who
is it that overcomes the world? Only he
who believes that Jesus is the Son of
God. 6 This is
the one who came by water and
blood—Jesus Christ. He did not come by
water only, but by water and blood. And
it is the Spirit who testifies, because
the Spirit is the truth. 7
For there are three that testify: 8
theSpirit, the water
and the blood; and the three are in
agreement. 9 We
accept man’s testimony, but God’s
testimony is greater because it is the
testimony of God, which he has given
about his Son. 10 Anyone
who believes in the Son of God has this
testimony in his heart. Anyone who does
not believe God has made him out to be a
liar, because he has not believed the
testimony God has given about his Son. 11
And this is the testimony: God has
given us eternal life, and this life is
in his Son. 12 He
who has the Son has life; he who does
not have the Son of God does not have
life.
It’s good to have witnesses. It
helps to have witnesses when we’re
telling the huge fish story. It
helps to have witnesses in court who
testify to the truth. When God
gave the law to his Old Testament
people, he established a very good way
to find out the truth. He said, “One
witness is not enough to convict a man
accused of any crime or offense he may
have committed. A matter must be
established by the testimony of two or
three witnesses.” That
precedent continued. In 1st
Timothy we hear, “Do not entertain
an accusation against an elder of the
church unless it is brought by two or
three witnesses.” Having
good witnesses makes good sense.
What about witnesses to salvation?
How do we know it’s true? We
weren’t there at creation, the fall
into sin, the birth of the Savior, his
death, and resurrection. So how do
we know it’s true? Well, we have
witnesses who testify to the truth.
Our eternal future hinges on this
testimony. There are three
witnesses. The Trinity
Testifies to the Truth of Salvation.
We hear testimony from God the
Father, God the Son, and God the Holy
Spirit. After hearing this
testimony, we’ll know the truth.
We put a lot of weight on a person’s
testimony. The good witness who
testifies in court can change the entire
outcome of the trial. That’s a
lot of weight on one testimony
considering that human beings are
fallible and make mistakes. They
are sinful and prone to lie. If we
put so much weight on a person’s
testimony, how much more weight should
we put on God’s testimony? We
learn from Scripture that our God is
just. He’ll do the right thing.
He is holy. He doesn’t make
mistakes. God always knows and
speaks the truth.
God
the Father has given us his eye-witness
account to the truth of salvation.
Everything we want to know about
salvation is written down in the Bible.
Jesus spoke to his Heavenly Father, “Sanctify
them by the truth, your Word is
truth.” All Scripture is
God-breathed – right from the mouth
and mind of our Heavenly Father.
It’s true that human witnesses wrote
these words, but humans are fallible.
God had to give them the words to say.
He recorded his plan of salvation.
From the creation to the fall to the
birth, life, and death of Jesus, it’s
all a written testimony straight from
the source. News reporters always
want to get information straight from
the source. It’s more credible
and more reliable. We have
testimony right from the source.
Yet
many don’t believe this testimony.
They treat it like a cafeteria.
They pick and choose what they like.
They discard what they don’t like.
They say the Bible is one of many
choices. But God has given this
warning, “If anyone adds anything
to the words of this book, God will add
to him the plagues described in this
book. And if anyone takes words
away from this book, God will take away
from him his share in the tree of
life.” If we think we can
pick and choose what is right and wrong
in the Bible, then we are calling God a
liar. Anyone who does not
believe God has made him out to be a
liar, because he has not believed the
testimony God has given about his Son.
When we question or doubt God’s
testimony about Jesus, we have no place
in God’s family and no salvation in
Jesus.
Listen
to the Father’s testimony. It is
truth from beginning to end.
Listen to what we get when we believe
it. This is the testimony: God
has given us eternal life, and this life
is in his Son. This testimony
is the truth of our salvation, the
cure to the sickness of sin, and the key
to eternal life. The testimony of
Jesus proves it.
In
the Bible God holds up the credentials
of his Son saying, “This is who he is
and what he has done.” We need
credentials for various things in life.
We need passports to travel, a license
to drive, an ID to get a mortgage loan.
Credentials prove who someone is and
what they can do. Jesus gives us
some very good credentials. This
is the one who came by water and blood
– Jesus Christ. At the
beginning of Jesus’ ministry, John
baptized him with water. At his
baptism, Jesus declared that he was
living perfectly under God’s law.
The Holy Spirit descended on him,
empowering him for his work. God
the Father spoke words of approval from
heaven, “This is my Son whom I
love, with him I am well pleased.”
Jesus came with water.
Then
Jesus also came with blood. Jesus
came into this life with the blood of a
normal human being. That blood
pumped through his heart as he lived
perfectly for us. Then he came to
the cross where all his blood spilled
from his body, purifying us from sin.
Before he died, his testimony was three
simple words, “It is finished.”
Then he gave his credentials at his
resurrection. It proved that he
defeated sin, death, and the devil.
It proved that he had the approval of
his heavenly Father. It proved he
was the Son of God.
Then
add the other works of Jesus to this
testimony. He obeyed his parents,
always loved his neighbor, always
listened to his Father. He healed
lepers, raised dead people back to life,
made food appear out of nowhere,
controlled the weather, read peoples’
minds. See the testimony of his
works and hear the testimony from his
mouth. Jesus said, “I have
testimony weightier than that of John.
For the very work that the Father has
given me to finish and which I am doing,
testifies that the Father has sent
me.” Talk about proof
of our salvation!
It’s
hard to believe that many reject this
testimony. They don’t consider
Jesus to be true God. At the time
this book was written, there were false
teachers infiltrating the church.
They were saying that Jesus was just a
man until his baptism. Then the
Holy Spirit entered him. Then the
Spirit left him before he died so he was
just a man on the cross. These
people didn’t believe in his
incarnation, his atoning death, and his
bodily resurrection. They rejected
the entire testimony of Jesus.
Many today strip Jesus of his
credentials and reject his testimony.
They demote him to just a good moral
example. They say he was a good
person, but not the true Son of God.
They say he died on the cross, but his
death didn’t pay for all our sins.
They don’t talk about the sin and a
need for Jesus as Savior. We must
watch out for the same temptations.
When we strip Jesus of his credentials
and reject his testimony, we are
stripping ourselves of life and
rejecting the gift of salvation.
What
we make of Jesus determines our quality
of life here and where we will spend
eternity. Heaven or hell.
The Bible describes hell as a place
where the flames are never quenched, the
maggots of decay never die, there is
weeping and grinding of teeth, a place
of torment night and day. That’s
where we deserve to be because of our
sins. This is why we need to
listen to Jesus. This is why a
need to know the truth of salvation.
This the difference between life and
death. Thank God, we believe the
testimony Jesus. God has given
us eternal life, and this life is in his
Son. Through Jesus, we have
eternal life in heaven - a place of
eternal joy and peace where God gives us
perfect protection and complete
contentment. We believe this
because of the testimony of God the Holy
Spirit.
We
heard a lot about the Holy Spirit last
week. The work of the Holy Spirit
is very important – just as important
as the Father and the Son. The
Holy Spirit testifies in our hearts the
truth about salvation. It is
the Spirit who testifies, because the
Spirit is the truth. The
Spirit works faith in our hearts to
believe God’s plan of salvation that
Jesus is the Son of God, the Savior of
the world. You know deep down in
your heart this is true. Anyone
who believes in the Son of God has this
testimony in his heart. This
isn’t saying just follow your heart.
Our sinful hearts can only lead us in
the wrong direction. Many people
evaluate the truth based on how they
feel. They expect God to speak
directly to them in meditation.
They say things like “The Lord told me
to do this”., but their words and
actions contradict the testimony of
God’s Word. That’s because
they are following their own sinful
heart. Inner feelings are not the
touchstone of truth.
No,
the Holy Spirit plants the testimony of
truth into our hearts. He changes
our hearts from unbelief to faith.
Our heart of faith is founded on God’s
Word and guided by the Holy Spirit.
Paul testified to the Romans, “The
Spirit himself testifies with our spirit
that we are God’s children.” The
Spirit uses the means of grace – the
gospel in Word and Sacrament – to do
this. “Faith comes from
hearing the message and the message is
heard through the Word of Christ.
Baptism now saves you. It is a
washing of rebirth and renewal by the
Holy Spirit. This is my body and
this is my blood given and poured out
for you for the forgiveness of your
sins.” The Bible.
Baptism. The Lord’s Supper.
These are the means by which the Holy
Spirit gives us forgiveness, spiritual
life, and eternal salvation.
So
God the Father planned our salvation.
God the Son accomplished our salvation.
The Holy Spirit helps us believe in our
salvation. It’s good to settle a
matter with two or three witnesses.
We have three perfect witnesses to our
salvation– the three persons of the
Trinity, our Triune God. They
testify to the truth of our salvation.
The matter is clear. The matter is
settled. God has given us
eternal life, and this life is in his
Son. Trust this testimony of
the Trinity. Amen.
“When
the Counselor comes, whom I will send to
you from the Father, the Spirit of truth
who goes out from the Father, he will
testify about me.And you also must testify, for
you have been with me from the
beginning.”
Sometimes
you can’t help but feel sorry for the
Holy Spirit. People think He’s the
least important of the three persons of
the Triune God. After all He’s called
the 3rd person of the
Trinity. And what’s He do? Jesus saved
us from the curse of sin with His death
on the cross. The Father created us and
cares for us. But the Spirit? Some say
He gives the ability to speak in
tongues. But the truth? Today is Holy
Spirit appreciation day. We appreciate
that He speaks the truth to us and that
He speaks the truth through us.
Today is Holy Spirit appreciation
day. In appreciation of the Holy Spirit
let’s realize that the Holy Spirit
isn’t inferior to the Father and the
Son. Yes, He’s called the 3rd
person. But that’s because He’s
always listed third, Father, Son and
Holy Spirit. That doesn’t make Him
inferior any more than a child’s
inferior because we call his name last.
The Holy Spirit is God. The Bible calls
Him God. The Bible reminds us that the
Spirit has the attributes of God –
eternal, omnipresent. The Bible reminds
us that the Holy Spirit does the works
of God – He creates. The Holy Spirit
is equal to the Father and Son in
majesty, glory, and power.
But now as we look at these words
of Jesus, we realize this is
appreciation day for the Holy Spirit as
we understand what He does for us.
It’s interesting that when Jesus
promised to send the Holly Spirit to the
disciples He doesn’t say a word about
speaking in tongues or the gift of
healing. Granted the Spirit gave those
gifts to the apostles. We heard about
the gift of speaking in foreign
languages in our reading from Acts.
Later on in Acts we do read about
miracles that the disciples performed by
the power of the Spirit.
But listen
to what Jesus says the Holy Spirit will
do, “When the Counselor comes, whom I
will send to you from the Father, the
Spirit of truth who goes out for the
Father, He will testify about me.” The
work of the Spirit is to testify, to
witness to people about Jesus. You’d
hardly think that the disciples would
need that. They had followed Jesus for
three years. They witnessed His
miracles, listened to Him teach. Jesus
privately instructed them. Some saw
Jesus changed before their very eyes on
the Mt. of Transfiguration.
But their level of understanding
what they saw and heard was pretty low.
Remember the two disciples on the way to
Emmaus that first Easter evening? They
didn’t understand who Jesus was or
what He came to do. Thomas doubted
Jesus’ resurrection. Even 40 days
after the resurrection on the Ascension
hill the disciples still didn’t fully
understand Jesus’ mission. They
thought He was an earthly king. One time
Jesus said of them, “Are you still so
dull?” Luke wrote, “The disciples
did not understand any of this.”
So Jesus promised to send the
Spirit of truth. He promised to send
them the Counselor who’d help them
understand the truth about Jesus. On
Pentecost the Spirit came to them. He
miraculously testified to them about
Jesus. They came to understand who Jesus
really was. He was God’s Son. They
were led to understand what He really
came to do. He came to save the people
of this world from the damning curse of
their sin. Without the Spirit coming to
them they wouldn’t have that complete
understanding of Jesus.
That’s
what the Spirit does. He testifies to
the truth. He helps people understand
the truth about Jesus. We need Him to do
that. Just like people in Jesus’ day
didn’t understand Him – some thought
He was a prophet come back from the
dead; His enemies said he was the devil
Himself – by nature we don’t have a
clue as to who Jesus is. The Bible tells
us we’re dead in our transgressions.
No spiritual life in us. No ability on
our own to know Jesus. The Bible tells
us that by nature we’re hostile to
God. On our own, we don’t want to have
any relationship with Jesus whatsoever.
By nature we couldn’t care less about
Jesus.
So
Jesus sends the Spirit to witness the
truth to us about Jesus. The Spirit
informs us that Jesus is God’s Son
whose love for the world is unparalleled
and who did the unthinkable. Jesus,
God’s glorious Son left heavens glory.
He became a human being. He lived in
this less than glorious world. He
scooped up all our sins, covering
Himself in the filth and grime of all
we’ve ever done wrong. He carried
those sins to the cross. There He
suffered and died to satisfy God’s
anger, to erase our sins in order to
gain our release from the grave, and
make it possible for us to avoid hell
and to open heaven to us.
That’s what the Holy Spirit
does. He reveals Jesus to us as our
Savior. Do you know how? Paul wrote,
“God chose you to be saved through the
sanctifying work of the Spirit. He
called you to this through our
Gospel.” Just like a teacher opens a
student’s eyes to science and math
truths through a textbook, the Spirit
opens our eyes to the truth about Jesus
through a textbook called the Gospel.
The Gospel is good news. The Gospel is
that part of the Bible that tells us
about and reveals who Jesus is and what
He does.
That’s why God encourages us to
“continue in my Word” and to
“search the Scriptures”. That’s
why God tells us to “not give up
meeting together,” and why the
Psalmist said, “I rejoiced with those
who said to me, ‘Let’s go to the
house of the Lord.’” When we read
God’s Word, when we come to hear His
Word, the Spirit will testify to the
truth about Jesus. That truth will lead
us to love Jesus, to believe in Jesus as
we’re led to see Jesus’ love, to see
our forgiveness, and to see that our
home, final and eternal is in heaven.
There was a second reason why
Jesus was going to send the Spirit to
the disciples. He told them, “And you
must also testify, for you were with me
from the beginning.” Jesus told these
men to whom the Spirit would witness the
truth about Him to go and do the same
– tell others the saving truth about
Jesus. You wouldn’t think it would be
that tough. They’d been with Jesus
from the start of His ministry. They
were eye and ear witnesses of His glory.
Jesus had sent them out on a trial run.
They came back all enthused.
But you know how that enthusiasm
can be short lived. It’s easy to make
up excuses when it comes time to get at
it. Moses was full of excuses – who am
I, can’t speak got to be someone
better. Jeremiah used youth as an
excuse. The disciples could be full of
excuses too. If people didn’t listen
to Jesus why would they listen to them?
If they killed Jesus what would stop His
enemies from coming after them. So Jesus
not only told them to go but promised to
send the Counselor, the Spirit of truth
to assist them in that work.
And
He did. Again recall our reading from
Acts. When the Spirit came to those
timid, uneducated, not fully
understanding disciples He filled them
with courage. He gave the ability to
speak in foreign languages. He opened
their minds to the truth about Jesus As
a result the disciples courageously and
correctly preached the good news to the
people in Jerusalem. Jesus wasn’t an
earthly king, a miracle man, a fine
teacher. He’s God’s Son. Jesus was
their Savior from sins curse and hells
pain. Jesus was their Savior, who had
secured a spot in and would lead them to
heaven’s eternal glory. The Spirit
came to them and led them to testify to
the truth about Jesus. As a result 3,000
people confessed Jesus that day and were
baptized.
As we take time for God’s Word,
the Holy Spirit won’t just testify to
us, He’ll testify through us. He’ll
motivate us and empower us to tell
others about our Savior Jesus. That’s
what Jesus wants us to do. Jesus said,
“You must testify.” On the hill of
the Ascension Jesus told the disciples,
“You will be my witnesses” But that
can be so frightening. How will people
react? What if they ask me a question?
What if I misspeak? Will it cause a rift
in my friendships? We don’t want to
say the wrong thing and turn them off.
That’s why Jesus doesn’t
expect us to testify on our own. He
sends the Holy Spirit to speak through
us. The Spirit will give us the courage
and the words to speak. And before we
know it we’re testifying to the truth.
We’re talking to people about Jesus.
Think about the possibility. As
they’re introduced to Jesus, hearing
about His boundless love and what He did
for them in love (suffering and dying on
the cross to eliminate their sins and to
prepare a place for them in heaven)
they’ll have the chance to come to
faith in Jesus. They have the chance to
avoid hell and go to heaven, all because
the Spirit testified through you.
It’s hard to think of doing
anything more important than that. And
yet we don’t do it. We let
opportunities to speak about Jesus pass
us by. The result is horrific. A soul
remains spiritually dead. Plus we’ve
sinned. We didn’t do what Jesus tells
us to do. That puts our eternal future
in jeopardy. And that’s true of all of
us.That’s why Jesus encourages us
to continue in His Word. When we do the
Holy Spirit will speak to us.
He will
point to the manger of Bethlehem and say
– see the love. Jesus came to this
earth to be your Savior. He’ll point
to the cross and say – see the love.
Jesus died to purify you from all of
your sins. He’ll point to the empty
grave and say – see the love. Jesus
died so that He could bust out of death
making it possible for you to escape the
same. See the love. As we do, the Spirit
will lead us to love Jesus, to thank
Jesus, to follow Jesus as He leads us to
the unfading and unending joys of
heaven.
Appreciate
the Spirit as He speaks to you to bring
you into God’s family and as He speaks
through you to bring people you care
about into God’s family as well.
**********************************************
5-16-10
– Confirmation – Rev. Peter Sulzle
Jesus
Prays For You.
1.
That you keep your unity.
2.
That you share his glory.
John 17:20-26
“My
prayer is not for them alone. I pray
also for those who will believe in me
through their message, 21
that all of them may be one,
Father, just as you are in me and I am
in you. May they also be in us so that
the world may believe that you have sent
me. 22 I have
given them the glory that you gave me,
that they may be one as we are one: 23
I in them and you in me. May they
be brought to complete unity to let the
world know that you sent me and have
loved them even as you have loved me.
24
“Father,
I want those you have given me to be
with me where I am, and to see my glory,
the glory you have given me because you
loved me before the creation of the
world.
25
“Righteous
Father, though the world does not know
you, I know you, and they know that you
have sent me. 26 I
have made you known to them, and will
continue to make you known in order that
the love you have for me may be in them
and that I myself may be in them.”
“I’ll pray for you.” Those
are comforting words. It’s a
sign of love and concern when someone
prays for us. I’m sure these
confirmands will find comfort in the
prayers of others as they continue in
faith. Unfortunately, we often get
so busy that we forget to pray for our
loved ones. But Jesus doesn’t
forget. Even when he was faced
with his death, he didn’t forget to
pray for his loved ones - for us.
Jesus prays for you. That is one
of the most comforting promises we have.
It’s even more special today as the
Lord allows these young people to
publicly confess their faith. Jesus
prays for you. He prays that you
keep your unity. He prays that you
share his glory.
It may seem odd that we’re going
back to Maundy Thursday. But
it’s actually very fitting. Just
a couple days ago we joined the
disciples as they watched Jesus ascend
into heaven. Knowing that would
happen, Jesus prays that his believers
would continue in unity. Unity is
one of the repeated themes in this
prayer. I pray that all of them
may be one, Father, just as you are in
me and I am in you. May they be
brought to complete unity. Jesus
wants us to be united to him and united
with one another.
That’s what God wants. But
that’s not what he often gets.
We create division and dissension.
The Bible says our sins separate us from
God and from each other. Look at
what sin did to Cain and Abel –
murder. Joseph and his brothers
– slavery. Jacob and Esau –
broken relationship. The
Corinthian congregation – divisions.
But sin doesn’t just destroy our unity
with one another. Every act of
disobedience to God separates us from
him forever.
Jesus knew the deadly divisive effects
of sin. He was about to experience
it all the very day after he prayed this
prayer. But he prayed for unity
because he could bring unity. Any
attempt of this world to create unity
with God would be like putting on a band
aid to cure cancer - futile. But
Jesus could create unity. The key
to this unity is in his prayer. “I
have made you known to them, and will
continue to make you known in order that
the love you have for me may be in them
and that I myself may be in them.”
The Word of God brings faith.
Faith sees the love of Jesus in tearing
down the wall of sin with his suffering
and death. Faith understands that
Jesus has given us complete unity with
our heavenly Father.
That’s precisely why our confirmands
have spent years learning the truths of
God’s Word. That’s why they
profess their desire to hold to the
teachings of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church. That’s why they promise
to remain faithful to the Word until
death. That’s why they desire to
receive the Lord’s Supper because they
know and understand the unity they have
with God and one another through the
work of Jesus and his Word.
Isn’t the world trying to get away
from this kind of unity? People
read Jesus’ prayer and rightly
conclude that the church is united by
faith. But some proclaim to have
unity in teaching and doctrine where
there is no unity. They say,
“Why can’t we all just get together
and agree to disagree? We all
believe in Jesus, so it shouldn’t
matter if we agree on all teachings.”
Our confirmands are going to receive
this same pressure. You will be
asked why you don’t worship and pray
and have Bible Study with churches that
teach differently. Your faith will
be challenged.
Jesus makes it clear that the only way
to come to true unity with God is to
unite around the truth of his Word.
Where there is a difference in teaching,
there is no unity. So to protect
our own faith, to warn them about false
teaching, and to respect God’s Word,
we separate ourselves – not judging
their hearts, but their teaching.
God’s Word sets the standard.
One hundred pianos all tuned to the same
tuning fork are automatically tuned to
each other. But the standard is
the tuning fork, not another piano.
When one hundred worshipers meet
together focused on Jesus and all of his
truth, they are truly united in heart
and mind.
What is true for the church also holds
true for our relationship with God.
True unity with God can only come in
clinging to the Word. If we sever
the bond to him and his truth, we’ll
be back on the path to disharmony and
division. Do you remember making
those paper chains in school?
You’d start with some strips of paper
and glue. Suddenly someone rushed
by your desk and the little strips flew
everywhere. Some were even lost
they flew so far. You finally
picked them up and glued them in circles
together. After they are linked
together, there’s no chance of a
breeze blowing them away.
Without Christ, sinners are like those
loose strips of paper, blown away by the
breath of the devil, the world, and our
sinful flesh. We’re lost in
life’s temptations and sins. But
Christ is the glue that links us to God
and each other anchored in the Word of
God. There is nothing that has the
power to unite like the Word of God.
The message of the love of Jesus removes
the guilt and fear and sin that separate
us. That makes unity. Jesus
prays that our confirmands, that all of
us keep that unity. He also prays
that you share his glory.
I have given them the glory that you
gave me that they may be one as we are
one. When Jesus dwells in us
in perfect unity, we possess his glory.
This is the glory that we lost in sin,
because all have sinned and fall short
of the glory of God. But that
glory is restored through the atoning
sacrifice of Jesus. Jesus prays, “Father,
I want those you have given me to be
with me where I am, and to see my glory,
the glory you have given me.” Jesus
wants all people to be with him forever
in glory. He wants us to remain
faithful to the point of death.
But we have some powerful enemies
working constantly to strip us of our
glory. Satan is a bloodthirsty
deceiver who wants to destroy our faith.
The world will lure us away with its
pleasures so we forget about God.
Our sinful nature wants us to disregard
our sins so we don’t repent and go to
hell. We don’t have a chance
against them. It’s so easy to
break our confirmation vows and be
unfaithful. It’s so easy to set
aside what we believe or ignore God’s
truth when it’s convenient. None
of us have remained perfectly faithful.
When we’re unfaithful, we lose the
glory of salvation from Jesus. We
deserve to hear the words, “Depart
from me, you who are cursed, into the
eternal fire, because you were not
faithful to me.”
But the loving Lord who prays for our
faithfulness is the same Lord who offers
his forgiveness. Just hours after
he prayed this, he went through hell on
a cross to forgive us. Jesus
remained faithful to his promise and
brought us forgiveness. His
forgiveness enables us to live in glory
and share his glory. His
forgiveness enabled the apostles and
many other believers to preach the truth
of God’s Word to their own deaths.
His forgiveness enables this young
people and us to remain faithful to the
point of death.
But to remain faithful, we need to
continue growing in God’s Word.
Confirmation is not graduation. It
isn’t the end of the road. It
has given you a foundation to continue
in the Word. That growth never
ends. Think about this. When
a baby is born it only eats a small
amount of milk. When the baby is
older, it eats milk and solid foods.
At no time does the child say, “Well,
I can eat solid food, so I’ll stop
eating.” That would be foolish
and harmful. Studying God’s Word
is like eating. You don’t stop.
If you do, it is spiritually harmful and
deadly. So spend time with your
God. You will grow in the glory of
salvation. You’ll be able to
share this glory with others.
Jesus prays, “I pray also for those
who will believe in me through their
message.” Jesus wants the
world to know the message of salvation.
People hear you talk and see you act.
Do they see a child of God made holy in
his blood or do you blend in with the
crowd? All of us at some time have
blended in. We left people
wondering if we were really Christians.
How awful for those around us if we
don’t give a clear witness in our
words and actions! What a shame if
that’s us?
So
what can we do? Repent.
Believe God’s forgiveness. Then
seek to share his glory. You see,
when you talk and walk and dress and
act, you represent Jesus. The
world will not know the Savior and his
glory without a clear witness. We
can give that witness. Jesus said,
“You will be my witnesses to the ends
of the earth. Go into all the
world and preach the good news to all
creation. You are the light of the
world.” As you faithfully
witness, Jesus will be with you.
He will never leave you. He will
give you the words to say. Through
those words, he will work faith in
others so they can experience his glory
of salvation now and his eternal glory
forever.
There’s a great comfort of hearing our
Savior pray for us today. It is
comfort for these confirmands. It
is comfort for all of us who walk the
same road that lies ahead of them.
Jesus’ prayer reminds us that through
faith we are united with God and each
other. He reminds us that his
glory is ours now and forever. He
reminds us that we are witnesses to that
glory. So with Jesus, we pray for
you, our confirmands and we pray for one
another that we remain faithful to our
God until death that we may receive the
crown of life. God grant it for
Jesus’ sake. Amen.
Jesus replied,
“If anyone loves me, he will obey my
teaching. My Father will love him,
and we will come to him and make our
home with him. He who does not
love me will not obey my teaching.
These words you hear are not my own;
they belong to the Father who sent me.
“All this I have spoken while still
with you. But the Counselor, the
Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send
in my name, will teach you all things
and will remind you of everything I have
said to you. Peace I leave with
you; my peace I give you. I do not
give to you as the world gives. Do
not let your hearts be troubled and do
not be afraid.
“You heard me say, “I am going away
and I am coming back to you.’ If
you loved me, you would be glad that I
am going to the Father, for the Father
is greater than I. I have told you
now before it happens, so that when it
does happen you will believe.”
It’s
tough for people to get rid of certain
items. People struggle to throw away an
article of clothing, the hand made card
from a child, the autographed baseball,
an old license plate. They have to keep
it because someone special gave it to
them or the memories connected to it.
It’s tough to let go of certain items.
That’s the attitude Jesus wants us to
have towards His Word. He tells us to
cling to His teaching so that we can
prove our love for Jesus and so that we
can receive blessings from Him.
John
records these words of Jesus, “If
anyone loves me, He will obey my
teaching.” Literally the word for obey
means to guard or to keep. In other
words Jesus is telling us to cling to
His teachings. He wants His teachings,
His Word to serve as the foundation for
our faith, the moral compass for our
life, the place to which we turn for
help and hope, the source of our comfort
and the basis for our confidence for
life.
After
all, that’s what the Lord offers us in
His Word. It’s a moral compass,
“Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a
light for my path”. God’s Word
provides us with comfort as the psalmist
reminds us, “If your Word had not been
my delight I would have perished in my
affliction.” Our confidence is given a
boost when we’re reminded, “I can do
all things through Him who gives me
strength.” When you stop to consider
all the help, the hope, and the
direction God offers us in His Word it
just makes sense to cling to it.
But
it’s not always easy. Human reason
doubts the truth of God’s Word – a
flood that covered the entire earth –
no way. This world scoffs at what the
Bible tells us – that God created this
world in six twenty-four hour days some
6,000-10,000 years ago. The teachings of
the role of man and woman, men being the
leader in the family and the church,
seems so out of touch with our modern,
progressive world. We take a beating if
we cling to God’s Word. We face
Intense pressure to let go of or to deny
some of it.
And
maybe we’ve given into that pressure.
We’ve doubted some of the more
miraculous miracles. We’ve ignored
some of God’s commands because my
friends don’t follow them and I want
to fit in. We’ve let a teaching slide
that is ridiculed as been outdated,
archaic. You know what ends up happening
at times? We only cling to portions of
God’s Word. If we like it we’ll
believe it and obey it. If we don’t
like it, if it seems unreasonable, if it
causes uneasiness or offends people,
well we just won’t cling to it any
longer.
By
doing that we’ll make friends with
this world. The devil will applaud us.
But God will simply shake His head.
He’ll become justly angry. He’s
commanded us to obey His teaching, to
cling to His Word. If we don’t for any
reason or in regards to any teaching
we’re disobeying God. We’re sinning.
And here’s a part of God’s Word that
some people want to ignore and don’t
want to believe - God hates sin. He’ll
punish sin. The punishment is the most
severe; unending separation from God in
the unrelenting pain of hell.
When
some people hear that they just want to
let go of God’s Word altogether.
Please don’t. Cling to His Word. It
may not be reasonable. But it’s His
Word of truth. It may not seem possible.
But with God, all things are possible.
What it says may not fit with what our
world says. But God doesn’t want us to
change His Word to fit our life, any
more than parents change their rules to
fit the misbehavior of their children.
God wants us to conform our life to His
Word. And yes, He wants us to cling to
His Word so that we see the embarrassing
evidence of our sin and understand the
painful punishment that results.
Why?
So that we realize we need a Savior. If
we cling to Jesus’ teaching we’ll
see that Savior. We’ll see a Savior
who perfectly followed the light of
God’s law for us, who never
compromised a teaching, who stood for
the truth. He perfectly kept God’s law
for us. He died a perfect death on the
cross to wash us clean of all our sins,
even the times we let go of God’s
Word. Because of what Jesus did God’s
thrilled to declare us innocent. He’s
excited to have us be a part of His
family. He’s eager to receive us into
the unending glory of heaven. When we
cling to Jesus’ teaching we’ll see
our Savior and rejoice in our salvation.
Jesus
said, “Obey my teaching.” Cling to
my Word. When we do, before all else, we
are as Jesus said expressing our love
for Him. We’re saying Jesus your Word
of truth is more reliable to me than
human reason, is more precious to me
than modern society’s opinion, is more
important to me than the pressure peers
can place on me. Jesus said, “If
anyone loves me, He will obey my
teaching.” When we cling to His Word
we’re expressing love for Jesus.
We’re saying, you, your Word are more
important to me than the word of anyone
else.
When
we cling to Jesus’ Word we’re
expressing love for Jesus. At the same
time we can expect to enjoy some special
blessings. Jesus tells us of the
blessings, “If anyone loves me, he
will obey my teaching. My Father will
love Him, and we will come to him and
make our home with him.” Please
don’t misunderstand. God doesn’t
begin to love us when we come to faith
or come to us first when we come to
faith. He loves us with an eternal love
- always. He’s omnipresent – all
over all the time. He’s always with
all people.
When
we cling to God’s Word the Spirit
leads us to realize that God loves us.
We understand, as the Spirit opens our
hearts to God’s Word that God has and
will always be with us. That’s such a
relief. It hits us that there’s no
such thing as luck or good fortune.
Blessings don’t just fall into my lap.
We weren’t just fortunate that we
didn’t get hurt in that accident or
lucky that when I went to the doctor
with one symptom that he found a more
serious problem. As we cling to God’s
Word we realize things don’t just
happen.
When
it comes to blessings in my life –
surprise or not – it was God’s hand
that was open to pour out the much
needed or the extra measure of
blessings. It was the angels God sent to
guard me in all my ways that kept me
from serious injury. It was the hand of
God that moved the doctor to reach the
correct diagnosis when it came to my
health. When we cling to God’s Word we
experience such comfort and relief. His
Word reminds us – God loves me. God is
with me. God will take care of me. God
will bless me.
Jesus
mentioned another blessing that we’ll
enjoy when we cling to God’s Word,
“But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit,
whom the Father will send in my name,
will teach you all things and remind you
of everything I have said to you.”
What a relief it was for the disciples
to hear that. When Jesus sent them to
tell others about Him they didn’t have
rely on their faulty memory; how many
fish did Jesus have when He fed the
5,000, or in what town did He raise the
widows son. The Spirit would give them
the words to speak. He’d give them the
courage to speak. The Spirit would
remind them of what to write in their
books of the Bible.
As
we cling to God’s Word, the Spirit
will work in our hearts and minds as
well. When we have the opportunity to
comfort someone who’s suffering the
Spirit will remind us of passages from
God’s Word that will bring real and
lasting comfort. At times we’ll have
to stand up for our faith when people
question or mock the truth of God’s
Word. We don’t have to rely on our
memory or summon up our own courage to
answer them. The Spirit will straighten
our backbone and supply us with the
necessary Words to speak.
And
the ultimate blessing we’ll enjoy when
we cling to God’s Word. Jesus said,
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I
give to you.” Imagine the peace that
Jesus enjoyed as He lived on this earth.
Oh, there were times that He was upset
with sinful behavior. He suffered pain.
But just think about it. As true God,
Jesus knew that all His needs would be
met. If it was His heavenly Father’s,
will angels would be sent who’d
deliver Him. His conscience was clear
because He never sinned. He knew that
He’d rise from the dead.
Jesus
says, if we cling to His Word, so that
the Holy Spirit leads us to see God’s
love and presence in our life, He’ll
give us that very same peace. Blessings?
Whatever I need, whenever I need God
will supply. He promises, “Seek first
His kingdom and all this will be added
to you.” Protection? God says, He’ll
command His angels to guard us in all
our ways. A clear conscience? Jesus’
blood has washed away each of our sins.
Life after death? Jesus’ promise is
that because He broke out of the prison
of death, so will we. Because He
ascended into Heaven anyone who trusts
in Him as their Savior will follow Him
to that eternal glory. We’ll enjoy so
many blessings when we cling to Jesus’
Word.
Do
you remember that young man from Winner
who won that multi-million dollar power
ball drawing a year or so ago. Can you
imagine how careful he was with that
winning ticket. It was his ticket to
earthly security. Do you know what
God’s Word is? It’s our ticket not
just to earthly peace and security but
to the joy and security of life forever
in heaven. As we think of Jesus who made
the ultimate sacrifice to supply those
blessings, cling to Jesus’ teaching.
When we do we’re expressing our love
for our Savior and we can expect Him to
bless us in so many different ways.
34 “A
new command I give you: Love one
another. As I have loved you, so you
must love one another. 35
By this all men will know that you
are my disciples, if you love one
another.”
A trademark is a distinctive sign used
to distinguish an organization’s
products and services from others.
Almost every business has a mark that
sets them apart. Everyone
recognizes the Nike Swoosh, the Geico
Gecko, Pillsbury Doughboy, the golden
arches. Our school even has a logo
of a knight. So what is your
trademark? What is the
distinguishing mark that sets Christians
apart from the world? What makes
you recognizable? Jesus tells us
what the mark is. The mark of
every Christian is love. Love
learned from Jesus. Love shown to
one another.
Jesus spoke these words on Maundy
Thursday, the night before he died.
He wanted to impress on his disciples
the importance of following his example
after he was gone. So Jesus says, “A
new command I give you: Love one
another.” Two words should
catch our attention. “New
command.” What makes “Love one
another” a new command? This
wasn’t the first time Jesus said it.
When the expert in the law asked
“Which is the greatest commandment,”
Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God
with all your heart, soul, and mind and
love your neighbor as yourself.”
God gave the command back in Leviticus, “You
shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
So why does Jesus call this a new
command? John gives us some help
in his first letter. I am not
writing you a new command, but an old
one, which you have had since the
beginning. This old command is the
message you have heard. Yet I am
writing you a new command; its truth is
seen in him. Love one another
is an old command that got fresh meaning
through the life and work of Jesus.
He visibly set the standard for his
disciples. Never before had anyone
had this example that Jesus visibly
gave. They were to love as Jesus
loved.
Even on this night he displayed his
love. He had a lot on his mind
that night. But we don’t see a
self-absorbed, stressed-out Savior.
No, he was willing to wrap a towel
around his waist and wash his
disciples’ feet. And that was
just the beginning. He instituted
his Supper that would give his love for
generations to come. He prayed for
his disciples there. He
surrendered to his captors even though
it meant death. And the “full
extent” of his love included being
pierced for all transgressions and
crushed for all iniquities on Calvary.
Not only that, but his whole life and
ministry had the trademark of love.
He was obedient to his parents because
he loved them. He spoke to the
adulterous Samaritan woman at the well
because he loved her. Love caused
him to heal the sick and cast out demons
and raise the dead. It was love
that caused Jesus to say to a dying
thief, “Today, you will be with me
in paradise.” The mark of
Jesus’ entire life was love.
But we aren’t just spectators of his
love. We’ve experienced it.
We can say with Paul, “The Son of
God loved me and gave himself for me.”
This love is hard for us to
understand because we love things for
intrinsic value and beauty and
usefulness. We love flowers
because of their scent. We love
diamonds because of their worth.
We love food because of the taste.
We love people because they love us
back. But God saw no value or
beauty or worth or usefulness in sinful
human beings. We lacked everything
good and possessed everything evil.
That did not earn any love, but only
wrath and punishment from God.
Yet God loved us so dearly that he gave
his only-begotten Son to death on the
cross. There was nothing haphazard
about this love. God chose us.
He sent the Holy Spirit to work in us
through the gospel to pour his love into
our hearts. Time and again he
reassures us of his love at his table
and in his Word. Our Savior’s
love for us on a cross came first.
It was all undeserved, but we’ve
learned to know it well and we take
comfort in it. Only then is love
like a flower that springs up from the
soil beneath the cross – soil that is
moistened with the dying Savior’s
blood. Then the mark of every
Christian shows itself in love.
Love for one another.
As I have loved you, so you must love
one another. Jesus simply
says, “Imitate me. Look at all
my loving words and actions and imitate
them.” Paul wrote to the
Ephesians, “Be imitators of God,
therefore, as dearly loved children and
live a life of love, just as Christ
loved us and gave himself up for us.”
The love we’ve learned is the love
we show.
When Jesus gave these disciples the
command to love one another, he was
about to leave them. You might
expect him to tell them to love him or
to love their enemies considering his
suffering and death coming up.
Instead, he tells them to love one
another. They knew exactly what he
meant. No more trying to be the
greatest or arguing or self-seeking.
But, love one another. Make that
your trademark. He isn’t telling
them to feel a certain way, but to act a
certain way, not in selfishness, but
self-sacrifice. Show the love in
what you do!
“Love one another” is easy to say.
But it is difficult to do. The bar
is set really high. That command
includes commandments four through ten.
If pure unadulterated love coursed
through our veins, there would be no
disrespect of authority – parents,
church leaders, government. We
would never hurt each other.
We’d never let loose with angry words
or hold stubborn grudges. We’d
never think impure thoughts or seek to
fulfill sinful sexual desires. We
wouldn’t lie or cheat or covet the
property of others. But we do.
We commit all these sins and more
against one another. Every one
points to imperfect and inconsistent and
non-existent love. Our sins
against the law of love are sins against
the God of love. John puts it
bluntly, “Whoever does not love
does not know God.” And God
doesn’t know him or love him.
And where there is no love of God, there
is no faith. Where there is no
faith, there is no grace. Where
there is no grace, there is no
salvation, but only condemnation.
This is where we have to run back to the
love of Jesus. When we haven’t
loved him or one another as we should,
we confess our sins to him. We
acknowledge our lack of love. Then
Jesus invites us to find refuge in his
love. Jesus is the atoning
sacrifice for our sins. He has
purified us from all unrighteousness.
He wraps us in the loving embrace of his
words and promises. In the
strength of his forgiveness, he says,
“Now love one another.”
We can love each other. We can go
back through the commandments and see
them as opportunities to make our mark
– love. We show love by obeying
those in authority and by speaking
kindly to one another and about one
another. We help others to keep
and improve their property and business.
We keep our minds pure and respect our
body and the bodies of others. We
don’t hold grudges, but forgive as God
has forgiven us. We do all this
and more because the love of Christ
courses through these veins. Big
or small, we have every day
opportunities to show love for one
another.
But let me ask this: Why does Jesus tell
us to love on another and make it our
mark? There are a number of
reasons. God is glorified and we
give him thanks when we reflect his
love. We are blessed with peace
and harmony as we live together in love.
We encourage our fellow believers to
also live in love. But those
aren’t the reasons Jesus gives here.
He says, “By this all men will know
that you are my disciples, if you love
one another.” You know
you’re a believer because you have
faith. But man looks at the
outward appearance and the Lord looks at
the heart. No one else can see
your faith. They see your acts and
words of love that flow from faith.
That’s the mark of a Christian.
Our love can have a powerful impact on
others. The world is always
watching. The world sees how a
Christian family cares for a loved one
in the hospital. The world sees
how Christians repay evil with good
instead of revenge. The world
notices the kind words instead of foul
language. The world sees the
Christian curb his anger and offer
forgiveness. The world sees your
Christian love. Your love is
different than their love. An
unbeliever’s love is selfish and vain
with hope for personal glory or gain.
The world expects everyone else to look
out for number one – me. So when
they see us acting in unselfish,
sacrificing love, they notice.
That distinguishing mark of love can
provide one of the greatest
opportunities for us to reach out to
them with the gospel of Jesus’ love.
Way back in 200AD a Christian leader by
the name of Tertullian wrote this, “But
it is mainly the deeds of love so noble
that lead many to put a brand upon us.
‘See’ they say, ‘how they love one
another. See how they are ready to
die for one another.’” See
how they love one another! How
powerful it is when unbelievers are led
to say such things about us.
That’s what Jesus wants.
That’s why he shows us his love so we
can learn from him. That’s what
happens when his love continues to
increase in us so that we can love even
more.
So what is your distinguishing mark?
Let it be love. We learn what love
is from Jesus. We have the
opportunity to show love for one
another. And even unbelievers
benefit when they see our love. So
continue to love one another. Make
it a point to make it that your
distinguishing mark. Amen.
4/25/10
– Easter 4 – Rev. D. Free
Jesus
Is the Christ
1.
The proof that He offers
2.
The blessings we enjoy
John
10:22-30
Then came the
Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem.
It was winter, and Jesus was in the
temple area walking in Solomon's
Colonnade. The Jews gathered
around him, saying, “How long will you
keep us in suspense? If you are
the Christ, tell us plainly.”
Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but
you do not believe. The miracles I
do in my Father's name speak for me, but
you do not believe because you are not
my sheep. My sheep listen to my
voice; I know them, and they follow me.
I give them eternal life, and they shall
never perish; no one can snatch them out
of my hand. My Father, who has
given them to me, is greater than all;
no one can snatch them out of my
Father's hand. I and the Father
are one.”
It’s
frustrating when people don‘t believe
us. But there may be reasons. If we’ve
lied to them before why should they
believe us now. Maybe what we’re
telling them is unbelievable, it’s
hard to believe. It hurts when people
don’t believe us. Now imagine Jesus.
People refused to believe what He taught
and that He was their Savior. So He let
them know who He was, the Christ, the
Son of the living God. Jesus is the
Christ. Today we review the proof He
offers and the blessings we enjoy when
we believe that truth.
Jesus
is the Christ. Do you understand what
that simple phrase means. The word Jesus
means Savior. The word Christ (in the
Old Testament the word is Messiah) means
anointed one. So the name or phrase,
Jesus Christ, simply means that Jesus is
the one God anointed or designated to be
our Savior from sin. But people didn’t
seem to understand that. John tells us
about the doubt of the Jews, “The Jews
gathered around Him, saying, ‘How long
will you keep us in suspense? If you are
the Christ, tell us plainly.’’
Jesus
had already told them. He reminded the
doubters, “I did tell you, but you did
not believe.” All people had to do was
listen to Jesus’ teachings. He talked
about how He came to “offer His life
as a ransom for many”, to “seek and
to save that which was lost”. He
stated it so clearly. He was Jesus the
Savior. He made it just as clear that
God had sent Him to be the Savior. Jesus
said of Himself, “God did not send His
Son to condemn the world but to save the
world.” Jesus made it clear. God sent
Him. He was the Christ.
Jesus
offered additional proof that He was the
Christ, “The miracles I do in my
Fathers name speak for me.” Which of
Jesus’ miracles impresses you the
most: when He walked on water or changed
water into wine; when He calmed the
raging storm on the Sea of Galilee or
when He feed the thousands with a few
loaves of bread and fish; when He raised
Lazarus from the dead or drove the
demons out of people?
The
miracles Jesus performed served a
purpose. Yes, He provided help, healing
and life to those in need. But listen to
what John wrote about those miracles,
“Jesus did many other miraculous signs
which are not recorded in this book. But
these are written that you may believe
that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the
God.” After Jesus turned the water
into wine, John wrote, “His disciples
put their faith in Him.” The miracles
provide irrefutable proof that Jesus is
the Christ the Son of God and our Savior
from sin.
Let’s
add one more miracle, Jesus’
resurrection. When we think of the
blessing of the resurrection we think of
Jesus’ words, “Because I live you
will live also.” Jesus opened death so
that we could escape it. But Paul
reminds us of an added benefit of
Jesus’ resurrection. Speaking of
Jesus, Paul wrote, “Who was declared
to be the Son of God by His resurrection
from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.”
His resurrection assures us that Jesus
is the Christ. He is God’s Son. It
assures us that He is our Savior from
sin.
Do
you understand how? It proves that He
erased my sins. All my sins, my evil
acts, my lustful thoughts, my vile
speech were dumped on Jesus. My sins
took Him to the grave. But when Jesus
rose from the dead, those sins stayed
buried. Picture it like the grave
clothes that wrapped Jesus’ lifeless
body. Picture those grave clothes as our
sin. When Jesus rose He left the grave
cloths in the tomb. That’s what He did
to our sins that wrapped Him in death.
When he rose He left those sins behind.
They’re all forgiven.
That
means we don’t have to face the
horrible, just anger of God for sin
because our sins are gone. We don’t
have to suffer the harsh punishment for
sin or sit in the prison of hell because
Jesus took away that which brings
God’s anger and eternal hell – our
sins. Jesus did that for us. Can we be
sure? Yes. Listen to what Jesus said.
Look at what Jesus did. His words and
miracles prove who Jesus is. He’s the
Christ, the Son of the living God.
He’s the one God sent to deliver us
from all our sins and the curse they
bring.
Listen
to the words of Jesus. Recall the
miracles of Jesus as they’re recorded
in the Word of God. As we spend more and
more time listening to, hearing and
reading God’s Word, the Holy Spirit
will convince us, He’ll lead us to
believe and confess that Jesus is the
Christ the Son of the living God.
He’ll remove any doubts that we might
have. He’ll lead us to be absolutely
sure that Jesus is the Christ. Then
we’ll enjoy some wonderful blessings.
Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my
voice; I know them, and they follow
me.”
When
we’re led to believe that Jesus is the
Christ, the one God sent to be our
Savior form sin, we’re eager to listen
to what He says. And you know what
you’ll hear – the genuine concern
that Jesus has for you. Think back to
the concern Jesus expressed to His
disciples as we heard two weeks ago. On
that first Easter night they were afraid
of the Jews. They were dealing with the
guilt of their sins. When Jesus came to
them he didn’t scold them. He
expressed His concern. He simply said,
“Peace be with you”.
That’s
what we hear Christ Jesus say to us.
When the guilt of our every day sin
wears on us, when an impending surgery
eats at us, when the death of a loved
one overwhelms us, when divorce destroys
us, when the world seems to be
unraveling before our very eyes, and
immorality becomes so common, Jesus
says, Peace be with you. I’m here. I
the powerful God, the miracle worker am
here to help you. What a blessing to
hear His concern and know that He can
back it up with powerful acts of
deliverance.
As
we listen to Jesus, the Christ, He
offers instructions for our life that
result in rich blessings. Think of what
we heard last week. The poor disciples
worked so hard fishing all night long
and caught nothing. Jesus told them to
let down their nets one more time – on
the right side of the boat. They did and
they literally caught a boatload of
fish. He had performed a similar miracle
for them three years earlier.
That’s
what Jesus does for us in His Word. He
instructs us. Through His law, which is
called the Ten Commandments He teaches
us what we’re to do and what we’re
not to do. His rules may seem to be old
fashioned – no sex before marriage.
His instructions for our life – like
homosexuality is a sin – may be
ridiculed by the progressive world. But
you know what Jesus said, “Blessed are
they that hear the Word of God and obey
it”. When we live our lives as the
Lord instructs, He promises to bless us
richly in our life.
And
those blessings continue into eternity.
Remember what Jesus the Christ said,
“They follow me. I give them eternal
life.” As we hear Jesus’ words of
concern; as we hear and heed Jesus’
words of instruction; as we listen to
the miracles as recorded in the Bible,
the Holy Spirit leads us to trust in
Jesus as our Savior. He leads us to
follow our Savior wherever He leads. And
the ultimate place where He will lead us
– to heaven. So many people wonder
what heaven will be like. Consider just
two aspects of heaven.
Imagine
what we’ll see. In the Revelation John
describes the scene as God sits on His
throne in heaven, “The one who sat
there had the appearance of jasper and
carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an
emerald encircled the throne.” We
can’t begin to imagine the beauty of
heaven. It’ll be breathtaking. It’ll
be like going from watching that snowy
black and white TV to a colored TV; from
an analog TV to a digital TV, What we
see in heaven will be extraordinary.
And
what we hear? We’ll hear the choir of
angels. We like to think our men’s
choir sounds good. But compared to some
local barber shoppers. And those barber
shoppers compared to Tonic Sol Fa.
What we hear in heaven will make
everything else sound like fingernails
running across a blackboard. It’ll be
amazing. And as long as we follow Jesus,
let Him take us by the hand and lead us
– no one will be able to pull us away
from Him. He’ll hold on to us, gently
tug and pull us until we’re safe with
Him in heaven.
Sounds
too good to be true – follow Jesus to
heaven’s glory. It should be. Think of
the times we’ve failed to listen to
Jesus, no time for His Word. How many
times haven’t we blown off the
instruction He offers us in His law –
we know best. How many times haven’t
we let go of His hand to head off in our
own direction. Jesus should let us go.
Our sins aggravate Him. For our sins we
deserve to die. We deserve to go to
hell.
But
then listen to Jesus. Hear His concern
for you when He says, “God our Savior
is not willing that any should
perish.” Hear His simple instruction,
“Believe in the Lord Jesus and you
will be saved.” Do you want to live in
the eternal glory of heaven. Then just
believe in Jesus. Believe that he
suffered for, paid for, erased all your
sins with His death on the cross.
Don’t doubt that. Look at the empty
tomb. The message of that empty tomb is
simple – Jesus’ was successful. His
mission is complete. Our sins are
erased. Heaven stands open and is
waiting to receive all who confess Jesus
as their Lord and Savior.
Listen
to the words of Jesus. Look at the
miracles of Jesus. Believe what they
prove – Jesus is the Christ, the Son
of the living God. Believe and enjoy
rich blessings on this earth and eternal
blessings in heaven.
