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The Day of Pentecost (5/27/07) Sir, we would see JESUS!
Emmanuel, Asheville, NC Acts 1: 1-11
In the Name of JESUS!
"Power from on High"
Beloved in the Lord, please pray with me:
Gracious heavenly Father, who with Your Son, Jesus Christ, kept Your promise to send Your Holy Spirit to those first followers of our Savior, how grateful we are that You have also sent the Holy Spirit to us so that we can trust Your perfect deliverance from sin, death and hell won for us by Jesus! Knowing that without the Spirit we would lose our saving faith and Your blessings for time and eternity, we humbly pray for JesusÄô sake take not Your Holy Spirit from us. To that end, bless now our hearing and meditating upon Your saving Word; for the sake of Jesus Christ, our ascended and triumphant Redeemer. Amen.
In the name of Jesus, our only Savior, precious children of our Heavenly Father:
What an amazing event that first Pentecost of the Christian era is! If it were not recorded in Scripture, I doubt that we would have expected this to happen. WouldnÄôt you have loved to have been there?
The first chapter of Acts tells us that after JesusÄô ascension, His followers came together constantly to pray. Ten days after JesusÄô triumphant return to heaven, all His followers were gathered together in one place. When assembled on the Old Testament Feast of Pentecost, the festival to thank God for the first fruits, suddenly there came from heaven the sound like a mighty rushing wind filling the whole house without damage to structures. There also appeared before them tongues of fire which separated and rested on each of them without their being harmed. Immediately they began to speak in many different foreign languages that they had never learned or heard before proclaiming the wonderful works of God. Many people focus on this as the greatest miracle of the day; but, beloved, while it was an extraordinary miracle, it was not the greatest!
Think back to the evening before JesusÄô death on the cross. Where were the disciples at the close of day? They didnÄôt stand by our Lord to aid their Master when He was taken captive. As cowards they all ran away to save their own hides. Peter later turned back to be near our Savior while He was on trial, but quickly three times disgracefully denied even knowing Jesus. Even on Easter evening, where did our risen Lord find His disciples? Äì Securely locked up behind shut doors for fear of the Jews!
Now 50 days later, note the contrast. Boldly and openly they all proclaimed the wonderful acts of God in the other peopleÄôs native tongues as people rushed to see what had happened. Peter, the denying disciple, even stood up without hesitation not only to tell the assembly what had happened that day on the basis of Scripture, but also courageously reminded the crowd of what evil they had done, namely, put Jesus, the Son of God, to death by nailing Him to a cross. [Cf. Acts 2: 22ff.]
Through the SpiritÄôs power from on high these cowardly folks became bold confessors of Jesus Christ as the Son of God and mankindÄôs only Savior. That was a miracle of God indeed! An even greater miracle we find in the SpiritÄôs using their witnessing to convert 3,000 enemies of Jesus into those who repented of their sin, trusted JesusÄô forgiveness and saving love, and were baptized into the family of JesusÄô forgiven people. All this is a testimony to the awesome power of the Holy Spirit.
In this actual, historical event we can see more clearly the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer in Jesus Christ. He is our Helper, who comes with power from heaven on high, to change those who will be and those who are the children of God in Christ Jesus. Why do we need the gift of the Spirit so much? Well, the Spirit answers that for us bluntly through St. Paul in Ephesians 2:1. He wrote, "As for you, you were dead in transgressions and sins." A dead person cannot help himself, can he? While we came into the world very much physically alive and remain such until we die, spiritually we enter this life absolutely dead, cut off from the source of life Äì our eternal holy God. ThatÄôs because we inherit the sinful nature of our parents and all ancestors. This is the way it is. The Bible tells us this in a number of different ways.
In fact, we could not even come to trust Jesus and His saving love without the intervention of the Holy Spirit. In fact, we canÄôt trust and understand GodÄôs amazing grace in Jesus without the gift of the Holy Spirit, our Helper. Led by the Spirit, St. Paul candidly wrote these words, "Ķ no one can say, ÄòJesus is Lord,Äô except by the Holy Spirit." [1 Corinthians 12:3b]
Beloved, because you now trust Jesus as your Savior, there is great comfort in these words. For when our merciful and loving God does anything, He does it perfectly. There is also assurance in this revelation if anyone comes up to you and asks, "Have you got the gift of the Holy Spirit?" Trust the Bible.The one common possession of each believing child of God is FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST AS YOUR LORD AND SAVIOR! Take a moment now to thank the Lord for the gift of the Spirit who has brought you to faith in Jesus and kept that trust alive in you.
The Holy Spirit is also the One who brings power from on high for us to do good works in the eyes of holy and righteous God. Note well: I said, "in the eyes of God." For it is true that both the unbeliever and the hypocrite can do many good, helpful, humanitarian acts. Tragically, they may outshine Christians in their going about doing good by earthly standards, and that should not be. But in the eyes of GOD, only those who believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior can do "good works." Again, hear what the Word of God has to say about this in Hebrews 11:6 Äì "Ķ without faith it is impossible to please God Ķ"You see, even the good works that we do here on earth are still tainted by our sinful natures Äì still polluted by our corrupt, sinful motives and desires. ThatÄôs why GodÄôs judgment is that all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. [Cf. Isaiah 64:6] GodÄôs grace is so wonderful and amazing that He not only forgives all our failings, but He also accepts our works as being pure and acceptable through the cleansing blood of Jesus. Again, let me stress: Only a believing Christian can do a good work in GodÄôs judgment.
Our precious Savior in promising to send the disciples the Holy Spirit also called Him our Comforter. Indeed He is that. For even in the darkest days of our earthly pilgrimage, this Helper points us to the sure promises of GodÄôs Holy Word. The Greek word Jesus used for "Comforter" also means "Confirmer" or "Strengthener." He is the One who equips us for battle and in the midst of lifeÄôs earthly forays gives us His strength and guidance.
For all these reasons it critical for us to know how the Spirit does does His work? Here both the Bible and our Lutheran teachings based on the Scriptures are very clear. The Spirit works through what Lutherans are accustomed to call the Means of Grace; namely, GodÄôs Word and the Sacraments Äì Baptism and the LordÄôs Supper. Both Baptism and the LordÄôs Supper are not primarily something we do. These precious gifts are primarily GodÄôs reaching out to us in saving love. ThatÄôs true because JesusÄô strong Word and promises always get done what He desires through the SpiritÄôs power in the Word.
Since the Word of God is the vehicle by which the Holy Spirit brings us power and help from on high, every pastor should be constantly urging people committed to his care by our God to be faithful in attending not only worship, but also Bible study. It pains me to walk through the halls during Sunday School Äì Bible Class hour when IÄôve been delayed after service to meet someoneÄôs needs and see adults visiting in the hallways. ThatÄôs not only a horrible example for our children who see this, but itÄôs in effect saying to the Spirit, "IÄôve had enough of You!" Nor should a late night out on Saturday be an excuse for our absence from worship and Bible study. For us older folks who are not severely physically limited, not gathering up strength to be in GodÄôs Word is an abomination. If we had a doctorÄôs appointment, weÄôd make it on time.
Because the Spirit does His work through the Word of God, I also urge you not to the leave the Bible a closed book in your homes. Parents, please spend time each day with your children reading Scripture and/or wholesome Bible based devotional materials. If any of you parents donÄôt know appropriate materials for home use, see me or one of our teachers in our school who are members of Emmanuel for suggested materials appropriate for your childrenÄôs ages. The Lord wants you to be in His Word from the cradle to the grave. For the Word of God is the SpiritÄôs "pipeline" to bring you and your family power and GodÄôs love and help from on high. In JesusÄô name and for your own spiritual growth I plead with you: DonÄôt cut yourself off from the Spirit and Him as your source of light, guidance and power!
As we realize once again how essential it is that the Spirit be at work in our hearts and lives on this Pentecost Sunday and how God forgives us for JesusÄô sake when we shut Him out, what but awe and thanksgiving can arise from our hearts for the faithful love and care our God has for us. He has not given up on us. Surely we have every reason to pray with earnestness from our hearts, "Dear God, take not Your Holy Spirit from me, for JesusÄô sake." For each of us needs GodÄôs help to be daily in the Word of our loving God to remain strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Amen.
To God alone be the glory!
© The Rev. Frederick A. Stiemke
Vacancy Pastor
May 28, 2007
The Holy Trinity (1st Sunday after Pentecost Äì 6/3/07) Sir, we would see JESUS!
Emmanuel, Asheville, NC Ephesians 1: 3-14
In the Name of JESUS!
"GodÄôs Grace Lavished on Us"
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the blessings of the Holy Spirit be yours now and forever. Amen.
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of His will, according to His purpose, which He set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Him, things in heaven and things on earth.
In Him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of His glory. In Him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of salvation, and believed in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of His glory." Ephesians 1: 3-14
Beloved in the Lord, please pray with me:
O eternal God Äì Father, Son and Holy Spirit Äì blessing and honor and power and glory be unto You now and forever. In Your boundless mercy, enable us not only to be hearers of Your Word today, but also those who rejoice in it and live to Your glory now and forever. Amen.
In the name of our Triune God Äì Father, Son and Holy Spirit, dearly beloved:
Have you ever had a time when something so wonderful happened to you that you wanted to clap your hands and jump for joy? Were you so excited that you could hardly wait to tell everyone, "Look what happened to me!" I can hardly picture a young lady getting an engagement ring and hiding it. Likewise when we take to heart what Paul is writing about in todayÄôs text, one gets the feeling that the apostle was at such a point in his life. What made St. Paul so joyous and anxious to share his good news? It certainly wasnÄôt the physical circumstances in which Paul found himself. He was in jail as he wrote these words! It was rather that he implicitly trusted GodÄôs great and wonderful love, given so freely and lavished upon him and all other believers in our Savior Jesus Christ, which brought him such delight and the need to share this good news with others.
GodÄôs extraordinary love is nothing we have in any way earned. It is sheer, undeserved grace on the part of our God that makes it possible for Him to lavish His love upon us. As the Bible tells us,
we "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." [Romans 3:23] It is not just the evil that weÄôve done that stands between us and our holy, sinless Lord, but also the good we have left undone. Any time we shut our eyes to someone in need, Jesus says, "You have done it unto Me." [Cf. Matthew 25: 41ff] It isnÄôt just all the needy out there in the greater Asheville community and the world that we neglect. Often our failure to care happens in relationships with those closest to us. And what happens when a loved one ignores or is insensitive to our needs? Usually that really upsets us. In fact, we tend to perseverate on how hurt we are without considering why our loved one acted that way. We then become guilty of the same sin, that of ignoring and being insensitive to the other person. Almost always, itÄôs a two-way street! All of this occurs because of the sinful nature with which we are born. As a result none of us left to ourselves can be found righteous and acceptable in the eyes of God.
Today, as we recall on this Holy Trinity Sunday the great mystery revealed in GodÄôs Word that there is only one God, who is at same time three Persons, each of Whom is fully and completely God Äì not each 1/3rdGod, our text reminds us what our Triune God has done and continues to do so that He might lavish His love and grace upon us. First of all, regarding our Heavenly Father, Paul reminds us that "He chose us in [Christ] before the foundation of the world." [Vs. 4] Does this ever undercut any claim that we in any way merit GodÄôs love and our salvation! Even before our Father in heaven spoke His first creating Word, He chose to bless us with every spiritual blessing in CHRIST. [vs. 1]
That the FatherÄôs love is unmerited is also clearly stated in PaulÄôs word picture of the FatherÄôs predestining us in love for adoption through Jesus Christ. [vs. 5] An adopted child doesnÄôt pick his parents. No! The parent in love reaches out to call such a child his own.
The view that somehow we contribute to this adoption is shot down even further as Paul lays out how our holy Father can lavish His grace upon us, embracing us as His precious children. It is only because of what the Second Person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ, has done for us. Our Heavenly Father blessed us in His Beloved Son, because Jesus redeemed us Äì as Peter reminds us, "not with perishable things as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ Ķ" [1 Peter 1:28-19] As a result when we trust Jesus as our Savior, all of our sins are forgiven [vs. 7] and not even remembered any more by our dear Father. Our God has even made known to us the mystery of His holy will, that forgiven we might be forever united with His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ.
On top of all this, the LordÄôs undeserved love, His grace in Christ, has obtained for us the promised inheritance of heaven itself. Once again Paul is very careful under the SpiritÄôs direction in choosing his words. The apostle stated that heaven is our inheritance. An heir doesnÄôt earn his inheritance. He simply receives this as a gift. All this was and is GodÄôs purpose for you because this is, not ours, but His will. [vs.11] Added to this is GodÄôs amazing purpose in giving us this inheritance, namely, that "we might be to the praise of His glory." [vs. 12] Think of that! You and I for JesusÄô sake are chosen and set apart for the praise of our Heavenly FatherÄôs glory. While we have often not acted like this or seen ourselves so valued by our holy God, we have an important role now and will in heaven continue to praise God perfectly with all His saints and angels.
Finally in our text we also see how the third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, has such an important role in our lives. In the SpiritÄôs bringing us to faith in Jesus as our Savior, the Heavenly Father put the protective seal of the Holy Spirit upon us. Having the seal of the Spirit means, neither Satan, nor our fallen world, nor all the powers of evil can claim us as their property. In placing His seal upon us, the Lord God has written over our hearts, ÄòTHIS IS MY CHILD!" In fact, Paul ends this section by telling us that the Holy Spirit is GodÄôs guarantee, His down payment, on our final inheritance in heaven until we actually live forever with our Triune God in the glories of heaven. Tragically we can foolishly throw away that seal by no longer wanting anything to do with Jesus as our Savior. GOD FORBID! But sealed with the Spirit we live under the immeasurable grace of God with all its blessings in Christ Jesus now and ultimately in the perfection of Paradise.
St. Paul in the remainder of this letter tells us what our response should be. In a few words we should be giving our loving Triune God sincere thanks. We need to praise God for His glorious grace lavished upon us. May we then with the SpiritÄôs aid GIVE THANKS UNTO THE LORD not just in words, but also with our lives to the praise of His glory! Amen.
To GOD alone be glory!
© The Reverend Frederick A. Stiemke
Vacancy Pastor
The Fifth Sunday of Pentecost Äì 7/01/07) Sir, we would see JESUS!
Emmanuel, Asheville, NC Galatians 5:1
In the Name of JESUS!
"Stand Fast in ChristÄôs Freedom"
Now unto Him who has loved us and washed from our sin in His own blood and made us kings and priests to reign with Him eternally be all honor, praise, dominion and glory now and forever. Amen.
Beloved in the Lord, please pray with me:
Blessed Savior: What glorious freedoms You have graciously given us both as citizens of our beloved country and as citizens of heaven! Forgive us, dear Jesus, where we have lived out our lives in sin and transgressions unworthy of our high calling in Christ Jesus. Help us more faithfully to stand firm in the liberties with which You have set us free. To that end, bless our hearing of Your Word this day. Amen.
In the name of our all-sufficient King and Savior, Jesus Christ, dearly beloved:
In just three more days, the 4th of July, we, citizens of the United States of America, will be privileged to celebrate another Independence Day. Truly as followers of Jesus Christ we have a sure cause not only to celebrate this day with parades, family gatherings and patriotic assemblies and speeches, but to give thanks to our God and Father for graciously preserving our country and the precious freedoms we enjoy. David reminded us in Psalm 145 from whom and where all good things come. He wrote of our loving Lord, "You open Your hand and satisfy the desires of all living things." [Vs. 16] In Psalm 103 the Psalmist expands that thought further when He confessed concerning our Lord that He "satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagleÄôs." [Vs. 5]What is so amazing is that God graciously does all this in spite of our not being in the least worthy to receive such blessings. Our Lord clearly revealed to us in the Bible, "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people." [Proverbs 14:34] When we hear Bible passages like that, our first inclination is to think about the scandalous headlines in the newspapers or stories about sordid crimes on the TV. But thatÄôs not the only place our loving Lord wants us to look for signs of our nationÄôs sin and rebellion against our holy God. Recall the clear directive of our Savior, "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." [Matthew 7:1] The place to begin if we judge at all is by looking at our own heart, and souls, and minds.
For the smallest distortion of the truth on our part is just as evil as a whopping, big lie. Hatred and unjust anger in GodÄôs eyes are just as evil as murder. In mentioning these sins, weÄôve barely scratched the surface of our failings before our holy and righteous God. Then, too, every sin we commit is a form of idolatry, for it is an attempt on our part to dethrone our holy God. ThatÄôs why James was led by the Holy Spirit to write, For whoever keeps the whole Law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it." [James 2:10] That may not seem fair to you, beloved. But this is GodÄôs standard of judgment, and it is He to whom weÄôll have to answer.
Thus, hopefully you see and are awed that it is solely by GodÄôs grace that we as individuals and a country have survived to this day. It is of the LordÄôs mercy that we have not been consumed! It is only when we as a nation and individuals acknowledge our sin and flee to Jesus for pardon that we can stand firmly in the liberty with which Christ has set us free. Surely for GodÄôs grace to us as a nation we have cause to pause this coming Independence Day to thank God for His mercy and to sing His praise for the freedoms we treasure.
However, in our text St. Paul is speaking about a freedom far greater than not being slaves under the rule of a foreign nation. It is not even about the Bill of Rights, as important as they are for our life together or how much those rights have enriched our lives as citizens of the USA. Throughout his Epistle to the Galatians, Paul is pointing those early Christian people and us to the glorious truth that in Christ Jesus we have been set free from slavery to GodÄôs Law.
The painful and scary thing to Paul was that false teachers had come to the congregations of Galatia. They attempted to destroy the saving truth after the Apostle had correctly taught the Galatians that Jesus Christ by His saving death and resurrection had done everything necessary for their sins to be forgiven and to be at peace with our holy Lord. Those heretics taught that more than JesusÄô death and resurrection were needed to be saved. They were insisting that male believers had to be circumcised as their Jewish counterparts. They tried to force these newborn Christians into worshipping on Saturday as their chief worship day rather than on Sunday, the Day of ChristÄôs resurrection. In fact, they mandated that the new believer in Jesus keep all the laws concerting the Sabbath Day. They were also demanding that the Christians in Galatia keep the Jewish dietary laws about not eating or touching unclean food, like pork as forbidden by the Law of Moses, and many other rules. Because our Redeemer fulfilled all the Jewish laws that pointed to the need for the coming Savior and therefore were no longer binding upon believers, Paul knew that if his new converts to Christianity gave in to these false teachings that they would completely lose the precious forgiveness of their sins and the salvation Jesus won for them.
The Apostle took seriously the revelation that "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law." [Galatians 3: 10, Deuteronomy 27:26] The only way anyone could be saved by the Law of God is if he or she kept every single demand perfectly, and thatÄôs impossible. ThatÄôs why he wrote so forcefully at the beginning of this letter, "Ķeven if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!" [Galatians 1:8} ThatÄôs also why Paul urged the believers to stand firmly in the freedom Christ won for them.
In our lives today Satan and his cohorts have become more subtle in their attempts to attack and destroy our trust in Jesus Christ alone as our only Savior. They still desire to push us back into slavery to sin and the Law. That crafty old demon and his fallen angels try to twist and distort our good works into what we view as something we do on our own rather than that which the Holy Spirit enables us to do.
Therefore our caring Lord, knowing us better than we know ourselves, urges us through the Apostle Paul to stand fast in the freedom in which Christ sets us free. You see, once we look to Jesus alone as our Savior from sin, death, hell and all evil, Satan, the Father of lies, and our sinful nature cunningly and craftily try to lead us astray. Let me try to uncover one of the evil foeÄôs strategies. Over the past 12 months I have periodically stated how desperately we all need to worship regularly and that all of us need to be actively involved in Bible Classes and daily meditation in GodÄôs Holy Word. In their sneaky ways our spiritual enemies take these very realities to undermine our faith. They begin to lead us to think that because we are actively and regularly in the Word that we are children of God, rather than it is only by being cleansed by JesusÄô blood that we are a part of GodÄôs redeemed family. In a similar way we could begin to believe because we belong to a church that proclaims the pure Gospel of Jesus as our only Savior that we are saved. Our trust can too quickly shift toward trusting in what we do and what we are rather than what God in His mercy has alone done for us in Christ Jesus that saves us. Bit by bit, tiny bit by tiny bit, our trust can erode from looking alone to the Lord to what we do and what we are. We indeed must be constantly on our guard!
Beloved children of the Heavenly Father, this is my final sermon as the Vacancy Pastor here at Emmanuel. I plead with you: With the aid of the Holy Spirit let these words forever be etched upon your hearts and minds,"But when the kindness of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life!" [Titus 34:4-7] Indeed, "our salvation is from the Lord!" Therefore by the power of the Spirit, STAND FAST IN THE LIBERTY WHEREWITH CHRIST HAS MADE YOU FREE! For "Jesus, Jesus Äì only Jesus
Can (our) heartfelt longing still." (*) Amen.
(*) Ludaemilia Elizabeth, 1687"Jesus, Jesus, nichts als Jesus"
To God alone be glory!
© The Reverend Frederick A. Stiemke, DD
Vacancy Pastor
June 22, 2007
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
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