Emmanuel Lutheran Church Asheville

15th Sunday after Pentecost (9/17/06) 
Sir, we would see JESUS! 

Emmanuel, Asheville, NC, Rev. Frederick Stiemke
Ephesians 6: 10-17
In the Name of JESUS!

To Battle! To Battle Fully Armed!


Beloved, will you pray with me? 

O eternal merciful God and Father, You chose us in Your Son, Jesus Christ, to be Your redeemed children. How helpless we would be if You, O Lord, deserted us! But Your Son has graciously promised to be with us always. In Jesus?? name and for His sake, we humbly pray that You would fill us with Your Spirit, so that we might be fully armed to fight against Satan, our fallen world and our sinful flesh until You grant us eternal peace and joy in heaven. Hear us for Christ??s sake. Amen.

In the name of our Lord Jesus, dear people of God:

I??m fairly sure that most of you know the old nursery rhyme, 
HUMPTY DUMPTY SAT ON A WALL. 
HUMPTY DUMPTY HAD A GREAT FALL. 
ALL THE KING??S HORSES AND ALL THE KING??S MEN 
COULDN??T PUT HUMPTY TOGETHER AGAIN.

While written centuries ago, this is a very accurate picture of fallen mankind today. To bring it closer to home: It??s even true of you and me ?± if left to ourselves.

But it??s my joy as the called servant of Christ to remind you all today that there??s hope for all us ?¨Humpty-Dumpty people.?Æ We know the KING, who picks up the myriad pieces and puts us back together again. We know and trust Jesus, the Lord, who has already given us new and ever-lasting life. Because of Christ??s saving death and resurrection for us, we can now sing the familiar Christmas carol refrain ?± ?¨GOD AND SINNERS RECONCILED!?Æ As those who have been baptized into the name of our Triune God, our Lord cries out to us, ?¨TO BATTLE! TO BATTLE! TAKE UP THE KING??S ARMOR GIVEN TO YOU AND STAND!?Æ

Indeed, as Christian soldiers we have a real fight on our hands. As St. Paul wrote: ?¨?ñ our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, ?ñ authorities, ?ñ powers of this dark world and against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.?Æ [Eph. 6;12] Our fight is against Satan and all the powers of hell, our fallen world, and even our own corrupt sinful nature. That??s easy to see today. And how have we fared to date in the fray? 
You know that all too often we have become halfhearted and careless in our spiritual battles. At times we have been led astray by the devil??s 5th column within us. Why, if we are honest, we have to admit that in our self-righteousness we have sometimes fought as if we could get along without our Commander-in-Chief and the armor which our Lord Jesus has issued to us. Frequently as a result we have been wounded in the conflict and sinned. We??ve gone AWOL many times. It??s bad enough that if we don??t take the battle seriously, we could end up on the losing side. But an even worse tragedy is this: Again and again we have let down our loving Savior, who gave His very life for us. What amazing grace our Father in heaven has that He hasn??t cast us aside as unfit for combat! When we look to Jesus as our Savior, our heavenly Father doesn??t even remember our past sins and failures. Our Lord even continues to give us a place of importance in His marching army.

As we receive our orders each day, we find that we are being led into battle by our Victorious Commander, Jesus Christ. Because our Savior leads the way, we can launch forth into the coming battles with a song in our hearts, ?¨But for us fights the Valiant One, whom God Himself elected. Ask ye, ?´Who is this??? JESUS CHRIST IT IS, Of Sabaoth Lord, And there??s none other God. He holds the field forever.?Æ [From Dr. Martin Luther??s hymn, ?¨A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.?Æ] We go forth with our ascended Savior??s unfailing promise, ?¨And surely, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.?Æ [Matthew 28:20] 

And look at the trusty armor and weapon our Lord Commander has issued to us! To keep everything in place, God supplies us the belt of God??s truth. [vs. 14a] The Lord, who does not lie, has given us His Gospel, ?¨which is the power of the God for salvation of everyone who believes.?Æ [Rom. 1: 16] That Gospel is the good news that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, and that He has done everything necessary that we might have God??s forgiveness and eternal deliverance. With all of God??s Word as our guide, we will not be tossed about in battle by every wind of doctrine.

As the armor for our chest the Lord gives us the breastplate of righteousness. [vs. 14b] Note well, Scripture reveals this is not our righteousness. If it were, we would be lost forever, for our own righteousness would prove to be nothing but tattered tinfoil easily pierced by the enemy??s arrows. No, the breastplate of righteousness God issues His army is the perfection and holiness of Jesus that safely protects and covers our heart. Incidentally, as the Lord provides armor for us, He does not assign any for our backs, as He doesn??t see us retreating. 

God provides as our footwear for battle the readiness that comes from the Gospel of peace. [vs. 15a] Our feet do not slip in those sturdy boots, because the Gospel of peace is the good news that nothing in all creation can separate from God??s love in Christ Jesus. [Rom. 8: 38] Furthermore, Scripture comes with the glad tidings that the peace treaty between God and all people who trust in Christ Jesus as their Savior has been signed, sealed and delivered with the blood of Son of God. [Ephesians 2: 13-14 et al]

In addition, we are well protected from the fiery arrows of the evil one because the Spirit has given us the shield of faith. [vs. 16] No secret weapon of our enemies can pierce that shield, for through faith given by the Spirit Jesus Himself keeps us safe.

God guards our heads and minds with the helmet of salvation. [vs. 17a ] As we enter the fight, ever running through our minds is the sure promise of our Savior to those who trust Him that He will say to us on the Last Day, ?¨Come home, My child. Come to where there is eternal peace and life at My side in heaven.?Æ [Cf. Matthew 25:34] And we can respond, ?¨Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me.?Æ [Ps. 23; 6] 

As our offensive weapon, our Commander has placed into our hand the sword of Spirit, which is the Word of God. [vs. 17b] As the Son of God overcame the temptations of Satan, even when that scoundrel quoted Scripture out of context to our Savior, we too can overcome temptation with the Spirit??s help by citing words from the Bible. For as Christ has promised, ?¨Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away.?Æ [Matt. 245: 35] Genesis 1 begins with an account of how our Lord created and now preserves our universe through the Word of His power. We also carry fresh in our minds the memory of how Jesus with His strong word cast out devils, stilled the raging storm, even restored the dead to life again. God??s Word will not fail us! But, beloved, to do that, we need to know our Bible well.

Now, knowing you are so well equipped for battle, what will your response be today? How seriously do you take being spiritually armed for battle? Those of you who are parents, are you also taking time to prepare your children for the onslaught, or have you simply left that all up to the church to do? 

One way a person could respond to Christ??s battle cry is to act like a museum curator. An individual could look at the armor and be so proud of it that it??s then hung on a museum wall for all to see. But let me ask you this. Where would we be today in the United States of America if citizens on the night of British invasion of Massachusetts had taken their rifles down from the wall, cleaned them thoroughly, checked the workings, oiled them well, and even double checked to see that all gunpowder was dry. Then after admiring how well prepared for battle they were, they had hung the equipment on display for all to see. We might not be in a free nation today! Believe me, as far as our spiritual armor goes, we will be doomed ?± forever lost ?± if that??s what happens to our armor, for without faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior only hell lies before us.

The God-pleasing response is to seek the Spirit??s aid so that by the Lord??s grace and power we put on and ask the Lord to secure the armor on us described in today??s Epistle. Then we are to take our position in the front ranks of the victorious army of the Lord to battle the evil in our world and within us. Remember that long ago Jesus of His own free will entered the battle for us. He stood His ground on the hill of Calvary in the face of the fiercest of all battles ever waged. He didn??t balk at walking into the valley of the shadow of death so that you might be eternally safe in His loving care. After death before His resurrection, Jesus descended into hell itself to proclaim His victory, telling that mean old devil and all his army, ?¨You lose! I win! And my people win with Me!?Æ And then He rose from the dead, showing Himself alive and the eternal Winner over evil. Jesus has already won the war! We??re just in a mopping up operation, but without God??s armor we would be lost.

It is this same Lord Christ who stands before us today, waving us on with His nail-pierced hands in encouragement, and who cries out to each of us, ?¨TO BATTLE! TO BATTLE! BE STRONG IN THE LORD AND IN THE POWER OF HIS MIGHT! PUT ON THE WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD, AND TAKE YOUR STAND AGAINST SATAN AND ALL HIS WILES!?Æ And wonder of wonders, if we falter or fall, the hands of our forgiving Savior will reach out to steady us on our feet and give us renewed strength and courage to carry on. Finally our merciful Commander, our loving Redeemer, will say, ?¨The battle is over. See, I have indeed won victory for you! Come home, my child, to everlasting rest and peace.|?Æ And then there will never again be war or tears or pain or sin! To GOD alone be all glory! Amen. 

© The Rev. Frederick A. Stiemke, DD, Vacancy Pastor
Emmanuel Lutheran Church
Asheville, NC

2nd Sunday after Pentecost, ??06
In the Name of JESUS!
Sir, we would see JESUS!

Emmanuel (6/18)
2 Corinthians 4:5-12

?¨Harassed, but Not Overcome?Æ 

Holy and merciful God, as Your Spirit enabled St. Paul to trust you both in good times and days of great trial and persecution, draw us into the waiting arms of our dear Savior, Jesus Christ, so that we also may be filled with great joy and peace in believing in all circumstances. Help us likewise to be imitators of our Savior so that the world sees that in You, our Triune God, we have the One thing needful for time and eternity, through Christ, our Lord. Amen. 
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The holy inspired Word of God that forms the basis of my message today is the reading from 2 Corinthians 4:5-12, that was read earlier.
+ + + 

In the name of Jesus, our only Savior, precious people of God:

St. Paul very soon after his conversion to faith in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and to his dying day had to face much opposition. Those who caused him so much grief were not only unbelievers outside the Church, but also false teachers within the Church. They were ?¨the sheep in wolves clothing,?Æ about which our Savior forewarned His disciples. Paul??s enemies were Satan??s helpers trying to wean folks away from the blessed truth that Jesus alone can save people from their sins and all spiritual enemies. Is this true today? Do we have enemies who want to pull us away from our Savior? One doesn??t have to look very far outside the USA to know that religious radicals overseas are not only harassing, but even killing people who claim to be or even look like they might be Christians.

Within our own country, with the immigrations bringing many folks who come from other cultures and religious persuasions especially into larger metropolitan areas, there are a growing number of people of other faiths trying to woo followers of Christ away from our only Savior. Asheville itself is a hotbed of Eastern religious groups, and among others a modern version of the Gnostic heresy that denies that Jesus Christ became a man true, and Earth Religions including Wiccan witch covens. These heresies are particularly attractive to teenagers and young adults. Like ancient heresies, they all ultimately lead one to trust in what they do, rather than in our Lord, who cared enough to come to earth as our one and only Savior, who loves, forgives and cares for us. 

But are such enemies even lurking within the Church? Of course! Satan still wants to reach out and lead us anyway he can into his dark fold. Look at the many divisions in Christendom even in our own country. The devil certainly does not want us to see the light of Christ. He wants to sabotage our faith in Jesus by having us question on whom we should base our hopes for eternal salvation. Our spiritual enemy wants to turn us into being our own worst enemies.

Satan delights when he sees us doubting whether Jesus really forgives our sins. The old devil also roars with approval when we start hoping that God accepts us for a place in heaven because of what we do, because we think we??re ?¨better?Æ than many other people. That sly old rascal is filled with glee when we think we are going to heaven because we are members of the right church or hold to the correct doctrines. God forbid! No church died for us. Important as it is to reexamine the teaching and practice of Emmanuel Lutheran Church to see that all teaching, preaching, and worship is 100% true to the Scriptures, our doctrine and practice do not save us! It??s Jesus alone who cleanses our souls from sin and brings God??s victory at the time of death ?± the Jesus to whom our church and doctrines point!

St. Paul, led by the Holy Spirit, gives us the response to use to answer the questions and false hopes that Satan puts into our head. He tells us to remember, ?¨What we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord.?Æ [2 Corinthians 4:5] That statement agrees 100% with Jesus?? words, ?¨I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except by Me.?Æ [John 14:6] The only One who can dispel the darkness of sin, death, the devil and all that is evil is our loving Triune God. Thus St. Paul writes in our text today, that God, who at the time of creation caused light to shine out of darkness, now ?¨has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God?Æ ?± WHERE? ?± ?¨in the face of Jesus Christ.?Æ [2 Cor. 4: 6] As the hymn writer aptly wrote, ?¨Jesus! Jesus! only Jesus can my heartfelt longing still. 

As we take seriously the onslaught of the enemies of Jesus Christ against our faith both within and without the Church, with the Holy Spirit??s help we should be like the Bereans, whom Scripture commends because they searched the Bible first before accepting that what Paul taught them was God??s truth. 

Because of the content of today??s sermon text, I want to focus on just one such false teaching that subtly, or not so subtly, can destroy a person??s faith. It is taught and held by too many who claim Jesus as their Savior. Listen carefully to what many television and radio evangelists preach. Many often proclaim that if one has enough faith in God then that individual will never face financial hardship, physical malady or danger. But nothing could be farther from the truth! No human being on earth has perfect faith. Our heavenly Father does not save us or bless us because we have perfect faith. The Lord saves us and blesses us only because Jesus is our perfect Savior. 

As a former institutional chaplain working at first in mental hospitals, I ministered many times with persons who believed with all their hearts that they were going to hell because they sinned against the Lord. They knew they had not reached perfection as their personal preachers mandated. What a tragedy! Their clergy preached damnable heresy, and those poor folk believed them. They knew not our Savior??s readiness to forgive all and any one sin to everyone trusting Him.

Unfortunately, due to the messed up brain chemistry involved in depression, some individuals who trust Christ as Savior get parallel feelings and delusions. God forbid that this happens to you! Only those who have experienced the depths of depression know what that??s like. At times like this we must find special comfort in the sure words of Scripture recorded in 1 John 3:15, ?¨For whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart ?ñ?Æ 

Regarding the possibility of our facing painful, difficult days, even perhaps persecution at the hand of unbelievers, recall the words of our Savior, ?¨A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.?Æ [Matthew 10:24] Then Jesus went on to tell His followers that they might face harassment from Christ??s enemies, adding, ?¨And do not fear those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear Him who can destroy both body and soul in hell.?Æ If you do not face hard times, it is God in His wisdom who graciously spares you. However, if your faith is tested by trials, Jesus will indeed give you His grace sufficient for your every need and His strength, which is made perfect in weakness. [2 Corinthians 12:9] 

St. Paul who wrote those very words in the 12th chapter of this same epistle didn??t just dream up this wonderful assurance from our Lord. First of all, as is true of the entire Bible, none other than God the Holy Spirit, who never lies, inspired these words. But, humanly speaking, they also came out of what the world calls ?¨the school of hard knocks.?Æ In 2 Corinthians 11 Paul lists imprisonment, beatings and stoning, and shipwrecks among the many hardships he faced. But Paul was never alone! Jesus was always with him to see him through all his trying days. Thus, he could also confidently face his impending death. 

Paul??s confidence in the face of danger and trial did not just come because He knew Jesus would keep His promise to be with him at all times. He also knew Jesus as his Savior when his faith wavered. He trusted that Jesus also had him in mind when our Lord prayed on the cross, ?¨Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.?Æ Paul, I??m sure, often recalled how Jesus set him free to bring the saving Gospel to the Gentiles when he had started out on the Damascus Road, as yet unconverted, to imprison early Christians. Paul was harassed but not overcome!


So what does all this have to say to each of us today? Well, one way would be to say, I am going to avoid all false teachings both from within myself and from without. We might even add, I??m not going to trust that Jesus will completely make everything ?´peaches and cream?? by the world??s standards during my earthly life.?Æ We could tell others, ?¨I know without a doubt that Jesus will lead me safely through all trials during my earthly life.?Æ But did you hear the ?¨BIG I?Æ in those statements? If we were to do these things, we would be caught in the devil??s trap of trusting ourselves and what we can do. That??s idolatry ?± pushing God out of first place in our hearts! No, rather may the Spirit lead us more faithfully to trust that ?¨GOD is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.?Æ [Psalm 46:9] Only Jesus, the Light of the world, dispels the darkness of our sin and false beliefs even when our faith is weak and shaken. For ?± our sufficiency is of our God, whose love for us is perfect through Jesus Christ, our Lord. In Him we are nit overcome!

Did you really hear what I said? Let me repeat: ?¨GOD is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.?Æ Our sufficiency is of our God, whose love for us is perfect through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Then if harassed, we shall not be overcome!
?¨Lord, give us such a faith as this; 
And then whate??er may come, 
We??ll taste e??en now the hallowed bliss
Of an eternal home.?Æ Amen. 

[William H. Bathurst, alt. 1832: The Lutheran Hymnal, 396, stanza 6] 

To GOD alone be glory!
¬© Rev. Frederick A. Stiemke, D.D., 
Emmanuel Lutheran Church 
Asheville, NC, June 18, 2006

http://emmanuellutheran.info/plugins/editors/jce/tiny_mce/themes/advanced/skins/default/img/items.gif); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; background-position: 0% 100%;">Sermon 10-1-06: "In the Pootsteps of Peter" - 2006/09/28 20:06 17th Sunday after Pentecost, ??06 (10/1) 
Sir, we would see JESUS!
Emmanuel, Asheville, NC Mark 8: 27-35
In the Name of JESUS!

?¨In the Footsteps of Peter?Æ

The holy, inspired Word of God, which forms the basis of the thoughts I would like to share with you this morning, is found in the standard Gospel reading for today ?± Mark 8:27-35:

?¨On the way (Jesus) asked His disciples, ?¨Who do people say that I am??Æ And they told Him, ?¨John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.?Æ And He said to them, ?¨But who do you say that I am??Æ Peter answered Him, ?¨You are the Christ.?Æ And He strictly charged them to tell no one about Him.

And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after 3 days rise again. And He said this plainly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. But turning and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter and said, ?¨Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.?Æ

And He called to Him the crowd with His disciples and said to them, ?¨If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the Gospel??s will save it.?Æ

Beloved, please pray with me: Gracious heavenly Father, giver of all good gifts, accept our praise for Your unfailing faithfulness in the gift of Your dear Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. For Jesus?? sake in Your mercy continue to grant us the gift of Your Holy Spirit who alone can keep us in the one true faith, enabling us to be faithful in serving You and others; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

In the name of Jesus, our faithful Savior, precious people of Christ:

If one subtitled today??s reading from Mark??s Gospel, it might well be, ?¨Let anyone who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.?Æ [I Corinthians 10:12] This is solid, wise counsel. Peter??s experience in our Gospel today helps us to see this more clearly. Without the help of the Holy Spirit, all persons are capable of turning away from Jesus as the Savior and not coming back. And you know that the end for such a person will be everlasting separation from God in hell. So, let??s look at this event once more.

One day in the midst of His travels, Jesus asked His disciples who the people said He was. He already knew the answer, but our Lord asked this for the disciples?? sake. They repeated what they were hearing, listing the false ideas people held. Then Jesus asked them directly, ?¨But who do you say I am??Æ Then Peter made his great confession, ?¨You are the Christ!?Æ [vs. 29b] ?± in other words, the anointed One, the promised Savior Himself. Matthew in his account of this bold confession, added Jesus?? words of commendation to Peter, ?¨Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah! For flesh and blood have not revealed this to you, but My Father in heaven.?Æ [Matthew 16:17] Our Lord even went on to tell Peter that on this rock, He would build His Church. Jesus was referring to Peter??s faith, rather than the man, Peter. Then, strange as it might seem, our Lord told His disciples not to tell anyone this truth at that time. Their time would come to do this after Jesus?? resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit.

Mark adds that Jesus then began to teach His friends exactly why He is the Christ, the promised Savior. He came to suffer much, to be rejected by many and killed, but he added plainly ?± ?¨and after three days to rise again.?Æ [vs. 31] But Peter thought he knew better. He heard only the bad part ?± that Jesus would suffer and die. So, he pulled Jesus aside and told his Master in effect, ?¨Don??t let that happen!?Æ Jesus then scathingly said to Peter, ?¨Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man!?Æ [vs. 33] One minute Peter was on top of the world, but quickly he failed miserably. Jesus at that point equated Peter with being none other but Satan. 

If with the Holy Spirit??s help we have the courage to see in this recorded event what our Lord wants us to take from it, there??s both great pain, but also tremendous hope. There is indeed great pain! ?± pain in seeing ourselves with the same fallen, rebellious, sinful ways! How often like Peter ?± perhaps in behalf of someone else, if not ourselves ?± have we approached the Throne of Grace ordering God just how and when to respond to human need! How often have our minds been set on the things of this world rather than on our Triune God and seeking His glory and His will! 

Why in all the world do we act so wrongfully when we know Jesus?? unfailing love to us? Our problem is not just that we do sinful, hurtful, foolish things. The problem goes much deeper than that. We all have inherited sinful, rebellious hearts, out of which evil deeds spring and good remains undone. Along with our saving faith, we still have the malignant cancer of sin, for which we need daily help and forgiveness. To know the depth of Jesus?? love for us sinful people, we need with God??s help to see and take our depravity seriously. As Paul put it: The old man wars against the new man in Christ. 

But thank God! There??s sure and lasting help for this! It??s our dear LORD JESUS, who in love corrected Peter. His love for you and me not only corrects us, but was so great that He permitted people to arrest and abuse Him grossly, finally to be nailed to the cross to pay the full price for our sin and failure. Ultimately, Jesus surrendered Himself into death, bowing His head to die. And, as Scripture declares, that didn??t end Jesus life. On Easter morn He rose again as the conqueror also of hell and death for us. Now He lovingly shares His victory with us who trust Him as our Savior.

Our dear Redeemer also calls us to follow Him. Our Savior said this involves ?¨denying yourselves and taking up your cross and following Me.?Æ [vs.34] Thus, if you want an easy life now, don??t follow Jesus! Carrying the cross is never easy. You might want to drop your cross. But we never know when the day of reckoning will come when we must stand before Jesus in the final judgment. Forget about Christ, and one rots in hell for all eternity ?± without end. As Isaiah says of the damned, ?¨?ñ their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.?Æ [Isaiah 66:24] Jesus also warns us, ?¨What (indeed) does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul??Æ [Mark 8:36] 

What, then, does it mean to deny ourselves to take up our cross and follow our precious Savior? Well, first of all, for Jesus taking His own cross meant willing surrender ?± surrender to the will and desire of His heavenly Father. Jesus 100% of the time did what His Father??s wanted. He was perfect, even to the point of dying and being buried in what outwardly looked like defeat and disgrace. So, our taking up the cross means seeking to do God??s will as He has made it know in the Bible ?± no matter what happens.

I can already picture some of you lamenting, ?¨But, Pastor, I try to carry the cross but keep falling flat on my face!?Æ True, we all do just that. Our walking with Jesus must always begin with repentance prompted and enabled by the Holy Spirit. That??s why, again and again, our worship services here often begin with a confession of sin ?± and thank God! ?± then through God??s love to us in Jesus comes the absolution of God??s forgiveness. 

Carrying our cross also means surrender in terms of honestly admitting that we can??t on our own change either our sin-sick soul or our behaviors. Carrying the cross involves crying out in all earnestness and desperation, ?¨Help, Lord! I??m perishing!?Æ And then with the aid of the Spirit, we can begin to serve our God and one another more faithfully. The Lord then faithfully nourishes us through His Word and the Lord??s Supper to enable our growth in grace.

As Christ speaks to us today, we also see that taking up the cross to follow Him might even mean suffering, facing persecution or death for the sake of Christ. Christians are often the strongest at such times. That??s because our Lord has promised to give us His grace sufficient for our every need and His strength made perfect in weakness. [See II Corinthians 12:9] 

Taking up our cross to follow Jesus also means sacrifice. On this LWML Sunday, I want to point us to one area where we all need to grow ?± sacrificing in supporting missions. The women of our parish have often been living witnesses of what it means to support missionary efforts. Some of our ladies regularly fiscally support the mission outreach of our Synod and District with the offerings gathered through mite boxes, which have brought in millions of dollars for Christ??s missions in other countries and here at home from the small change gathered and offered to our Lord over many past years. 

However, even if you are not aware of it, you are also already supporting missionary 
work. Each time you pray, ?¨Thy kingdom come,?Æ you are asking God to bring His rule not only to us, but throughout the world. You also are contributing money for this effort to bring the Gospel to others as a portion of each Sunday??s offerings at Emmanuel go for this purpose. 

Yet, unfortunately, none of us can stand before our Lord and say that we have at all times faithfully and earnestly prayed that He would send forth laborers in His harvest. We neglect such praying too often. The reality is also that we cannot send forth laborers without also providing funds to do so. If we individually or as a congregation fail to give sacrificially to support our District and Synodical missions, we are literally dropping the cross that Christ has called us to carry. I humbly pray that God opens our hearts to respond more generously to the cry, ?¨Come over and help us.?Æ 

Very soon you will begin hearing more and more about the nationwide effort of our church body to get all of our people more involved in telling others about our dear Savior, Jesus Christ. We will also be seeking to gather nationally several million extra dollars to begin new missions here in the USA and abroad through an effort called ABLAZE. It will be important that all of us remember this effort in our congregational and personal prayers, for only then can we count on the Lord??s blessing our efforts, and only then will the Spirit increase the fires of love for our Lord, His Kingdom, and those who do not yet know Jesus as their Savior from sin and death and hell.

Lord Jesus, today You stand before us urging us to take up our cross to follow You. You know that we cannot do this in our own power and strength. Help us to be more faithful in following You and in reaching out to others with Your love to Your eternal glory. Amen.

To GOD alone be the glory! 

© The Reverend Frederick A. Stiemke, DD