The Fourth Sunday of Pentecost Äì 6/24/07 Sir, we would see JESUS!
Emmanuel, Asheville, NC Luke 12: 32
In the Name of JESUS! "Fear Not, People of Christ!"
Grace, mercy and peace is yours through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
"Fear not, little flock. It is your FatherÄôs good pleasure to give you the kingdom!"
- Luke 12: 32 -
Beloved in the Lord, please pray with me:
Gracious Savior, God of love and mercy, what amazing promises You have given us in the Holy Scriptures! Yet you know how difficult it is for us to trust and act upon them. May our great Helper, the Holy Spirit, through Your strong Word enable us this day to walk more often by faith rather than sight, thereby increasing in us the peace and joy of Your salvation. Amen.
In the name of our all-sufficient King and Savior, Jesus Christ, dearly beloved:
We, the members of Emmanuel, are facing a major change in just over two weeks. As hopefully you all are aware, our new pastor, Dr. Michael McFarland, will be taking over the pastoral office of our congregation on Sunday, July 8th, during our morning worship services. However, his formal installation will be on Sunday, August 19th.
A new pastor means changes are ahead of us. Folks react to impending change in differing ways. Some people donÄôt like it at all. Others often find changes exhilarating and a challenge. I am no psychologist, but I suspect most people fall into a third category of those who have a careful wait-and-see approach to coming changes. Indeed, there are many combinations and varying degrees of reactions and feelings folks experience in response to the news of approaching changes, for each of us is different and each is a unique person with different experiences..
In any case, no matter what our reactions are to receiving a new pastor and similar situations, our dear Savior has good and encouraging news for us. It lies in His sure Word and promise recorded in Luke 12: 32. Jesus speaks forcefully and directly and says to each of us, "Fear not! It is Your FatherÄôs good pleasure to give you the kingdom!"
Why do we need to hear and take to heart this blessed promise? Besides our varying emotional reactions to changes, we know that God is our Judge. He even judges our thoughts from afar off. As our reading from Isaiah this morning reminds us, the Lord God detests our idolatries Äì those times when we shove Him out of first place in our hearts and lives. He is deeply hurt each time we break His holy will and Commandments doing that which is wrong in His sight and by not doing what He demands. He finds all self-righteousness an abomination. As Isaiah forthrightly reminds us, God declares, "I will not keep silent but will pay back in full. Ķ I will measure into their laps the full payment for their former deeds." [Isaiah 65:6b & 7b] Any believing child of God knows that the Lord means what He says, and He will not retract His judgments. Therefore, Dr. Martin Luther is on target when he wrote that "we should fear GodÄôs wrath Ķ" [LutherÄôs Small Catechism, Explanation of "What does God says of all His Commandments"] Not to fear GodÄôs wrath is to be a fool for time and eternity. To do so is to put oneself in jeopardy of eternal separation from God in hell.
In contrast, our text today is such a wonderful and encouraging word of hope. "Fear not! It is Your FatherÄôs good pleasure to give you the kingdom!" How does one reconcile GodÄôs wrath and His just judgment with such a gracious promise like this? Well, dear friends, we donÄôt! But God already has.
You see, as Scripture reminds us so pointedly, Christ Jesus came into the world to seek and to save the lost [Luke 18:10], to save sinners [1 Timothy 1:15]. As Jesus suffered and died on the cross, He offered His holy, sinless self as a full payment for all our transgressions of GodÄôs holy will. In the imagery of Isaiah, during His saving death our Lord also had the full payment for our sins thrown into His lap. There on Calvary our Lord faced the full brunt of His heavenly FatherÄôs just and holy wrath for our grievous failings when He was totally cut off from His heavenly Father and cried out, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" [Matthew 24:45] Then with divine authority when our Savior descended into hell, He told Satan and all his demons, "You lose! I win! And My people win with Me!" The Bible tells us that on Easter Christ rose again for our justification. Because day by day, moment by moment Jesus now removes our sin and casts it into the bottom of the sea, our heavenly Father in spite of our sin declares us "just," that is, to be without sin in His sight when we trust Jesus as our Redeemer. All of our transgressions are purged away. What astounding love and grace! Now tied to Jesus by our Spirit-given faith, it is indeed our FatherÄôs good pleasure to give us the Kingdom. Truly we have nothing to fear.
Note well, precious people of Christ, JesusÄô promise makes it abundantly clear that we in no way earn our way into the kingdom of God in any way whatsoever. Christ Jesus declared His Father gives us the kingdom. Thank God our salvation is 100% the FatherÄôs free gift to us! If we had to do something to earn GodÄôs kingdom, we would always wonder, "Have I done enough? What else must I do?" Äì much like the young lawyer who asked Jesus, "What must I do to be saved?" ItÄôs not that way at all! Our having the kingdom is GodÄôs free gift to us!
Just what is this kingdom freely given us which alone can dispel our fears? It means above all that right now Jesus Himself is our own Savior King. We are not cut off from God but intimately united with Him in Christ Jesus. Whether or not we consciously recognize it, as long as we trust Jesus as our Savior, He actually lives in our hearts by faith. We are His people, and He is our God, and He delights in giving us His kingdom. ThatÄôs true in any situation that happens. Thus this is a certainty for us throughout Pastor McFarland days of service with us at Emmanuel and through all of our days. This is a vital reality not just in good situations but even in bad or painful ones Äì in any terminal illness, if being treated on a psychiatric unit, when faced with a major economic crisis, when alone in a jail cell, when facing homelessness, and when all seems to be collapsing around us. ThatÄôs a guarantee even if we were to face persecution or martyrdom by death because of our trust in Jesus Christ. Neither Satan, nor the world, nor our own sinful flesh, nor any spiritual or earthly enemies we face will have the last word. JESUS DOES! GodÄôs promise is not revocable: "Fear not! It is your FatherÄôs good pleasure to give you the kingdom."
This will even be true when we die or when Christ returns in glory. Trusting our dear Savior, instead of being the Judge who comes to us in terror, Jesus will declare, "Come, you who are blessed by My Father. Receive the everlasting inheritance prepared for you from the foundation of the world." [Matthew 25:34] And what an inheritance it will be! Äì Life forever before the glorious heavenly throne of our one true God Äì Father, Son, and Holy Spirit! Life forever without pain, sin, or sorrow! No tears other than tears of joy! We will join the holy angels and the redeemed of the Lord to sing,"Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to God, for true and just are His judgments." [Revelation 19:1b] "Hallelujah! For our Lord God omnipotent reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, Ķ" [Rev. 19:6b-7a]Think of that. Our heavenly Father gives us His kingdom that we may serve Him forever and ultimately feast in the perfection of His beauty! THANKS BE TO GOD!
Jesus is surely on target then when he comforts us, saying, "Fear not! It is Your FatherÄôs good pleasure to give you the kingdom!" To me the amazing and mysterious part of His love is that when we cannot do this perfectly as He tells us, Jesus still loves us and forgives us. He does that because God is LOVE! And Christ never changes. He is "the same yesterday and today and forever." [Hebrews 13:8] So, "fear not, little flock! It is for sure Your FatherÄôs good pleasure to give you the kingdom!" Amen.
To God alone be glory!
© The Reverend Frederick A. Stiemke
Vacancy Pastor
June 18, 2007