Preacher, Pastor Paul Waldschmidt delivers a sermon entitled “God Keeps Two Sets of Books?” based on Revelation 20:11-12, 15 at Peace Lutheran Church in Hartford, Wisconsin.

Delivered: on Sunday, November 21, 2017

You might say that Richard Scott is in a little bit of trouble. The Los Angeles, California man is in jail tonight, accused of defrauding the United States Veterans Administration of over $11 million dollars! You see, Richard Scott was the owner/operator of the parking lots at the Los Angeles VA Hospital and as such, he was supposed to turn over 60% of his gross revenue to the Veterans Administration. Only he didn’t do that. He kept a big pile of that money for himself and used it to fund a lavish lifestyle as evidenced by the possessions in his garage, which included a racing boat, three Ferraris, a 1969 Corvette L88, two “high-end” Mercedes-Benz, and a Shelby Super Snake Mustang (whatever that is!), luxuries now all seized by the federal government.

How did Richard Scott manage to bilk the VA out of 11 million dollars? Easy. He kept two sets of books. The fake one full of made up expense forms and falsified income statements that he showed federal auditors. And the real one kept by his accountant.

Ask anyone and they will tell you that keeping two sets of books is a really bad idea. It’s the stuff of embezzlers and organized crime and it will sooner or later land a person a spot in the slammer right next to our pal Richard Scott.

Usually two sets of books is really bad thing. But not today, not when it comes to God. Today in our text we see that God keeps two sets of books. It’s not because he’s up to any funny business, of course. Our God is nothing if not pure, and just and totally above board. And it’s not like one set of books is fake and the other legit. No, both sets of books that will be opened on Judgment Day are real, valid and undeniably true.

So what’s in the books? We’ll find out as we study our epistle lesson from Revelation 20, a little more closely. You might know that the Book of Revelation is a vision that Jesus allowed John the apostle to see showing him the battle of God and his church would wage against foe and oppressor, the battle that would play out throughout history. When we jump into chapter 20, we press play as story is reaching its climatic moments. Satan is thrown into a lake of sulfur, consigned to torment day and night for eternity. And then we cut to a different scene. Judgement Day. And it looks….pretty much like you probably pictured Judgement Day to look.

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. It’s relatively easy to deny, defer and delete God from our daily thoughts now. Many people do. They have the option to not think about standing before an almighty Judge. So they occupy their thoughts with chasing after the baubles and trinkets of this material world.

But there will be no denying the Creator-King on Judgment Day.. The one who once dreamt peacefully in a manger, will on that day judge in purity and perfection on a great white throne. Those who called him anything less than God, those who dismissed him as imaginary, those who classified him along with Peter Pan, Superman and Paul Bunyan will realize to their terror just how wrong they were.

As we see in the next verse, no one is too powerful in man’s eyes and no one is too insignificant in man’s eyes, to be exempt from standing beneath the Judge’s gaze. In other words, John sees us. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Uh oh. If you wanna know what’s in those books, remember a couple things.

First of all, God doesn’t count sins like a heavy man counts calories. You know what I mean? Long on loopholes and short on accountability. God does not look at our constant disobedience and say, “Well, he struggles with so much in every other part of his life, it’s probably okay for him to indulge a little bit in this temptation.” God doesn’t say, “She flew off the handle and lost control of her language but her obnoxious kid just wouldn’t stop pestering her. That’s understandable.” He doesn’t say that.

Second of all, God doesn’t sort sins like an 8 year old sorting football cards at the kitchen table. He doesn’t say, Okay, little sin…little sin…medium sin…big sin…ooh, I’m gonna remember that one.” He remembers all of them. He’s God after all, how can he forget? He knows all, sees all and demands perfection above all. So when we’re talking about two sets of books, we have to understand first of all that God is a ruthless accountant. He has to be. He had make sure not a single one was missed, not single one was dismissed so that he could punish them all, ruthlessly and without mercy….on the cross.

Remember, two sets of books. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. So what’s in this book? No works, right or wrong, no sins and offenses. Just names. 15 If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. That’s admittedly a little jarring. And it is true. 15 If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. But don’t forgot the unspoken opposite. If anyone’s name is found written in the book of life, all of a sudden that first book we mentioned no longer spells our doom. O baptized child God rejoice! For you and I can say, “Yes, my sins are real. Yes, I deserve their full, complete and unending punishment. But check the other book and you will see my name.”

How do I know my name is there, listed as a child of God and heir of eternal life? How can you know that your name is there in the book of life? Because God himself has promised it. In the water and the word of Holy Baptism, He not only took you in his arms, he wrote down your name. The apostle Paul wrote, “All of you who have been baptized into Christ, have clothed yourselves with Christ.”

O great and mighty Judge, one day, I will stand in your courtroom. I look forward to that day without dread and without trepidation because I know that I stand in the robes of righteousness you yourself have won for me and given to me. And so I pray, do not delay. Come soon, Lord Jesus. Come today.

That’s one of the side effects that comes from knowing there are two sets of books, that indeed there is a book of life, with the believers’ names written in it. You’re not afraid of Judgment Day. As the world around us continues to devolve, and the society around us continues to crumble, maybe we start to see the leaves on the trees and know that summer is near—as Jesus said in our Gospel lesson. Maybe we start to see that the signs of the end and know that it really, seriously could happen today. Come soon, Lord Jesus. Come today. And even if it’s not today, nothing changes what God has told us in his Word today. We go on with our lives—watching, waiting, eagerly anticipating, and doing the very things God has given us to do while we wait. Living with a quiet spirit, an obedient heart, a mouth that builds the people around us up, hands that are more ready to give and serve instead of taking and being served. Not so that our names can be written in the book of life, but because our names already are.

Two sets of books? Two sets indeed. We thank God for that second book and wait with eager hearts for the day that it is opened! Amen.

Guest Preacher, Pastor Paul Jonathan Loescher delivers a sermon entitled “We Are Not Orphans. God Is Near!” based on John 14:15-21 at Peace Lutheran Church in Hartford, Wisconsin.

Delivered: on Sunday, May 21, 2017

In July 2009, a man was found wandering in Seattle’s Discovery park. He was dehydrated, confused, $600 in his sock. And he had no idea who he was. And no identification. As police investigators questioned him and then local news started to ask the public for help, snippets of the man’s life started to emerge. It was verified that he had taught English in Shanghai, studied to be a chef at the Culinary Institute of America, had encyclopedic of Renaissance art and European history. He was fluent in English, French and German. But even after the investigators told him that his name was Edward Lighthart, he replied, “That doesn’t ring a bell” and insisted that they continue calling him John Doe.

To forget one’s identity is a terrible and tragic thing. Even more so for you, dear Christian. For who you are is the most important thing in your life. I don’t just mean your name, address, or security number. Your identity is about more than your personal information. Your identity gets to the most important questions of life. What is most important to you? Who are the people depending on you and the people you depend on? Where do you spend your time? How do you spend your money?  The answer to those questions is your identity.

But that’s only part of it. You see, those questions make our identity sound like someone that we determine, that we create and craft and control. (There were an awful lot of “I’s, me’s and my’s” in those questions. Listen again, What is most important to me? Who are the people depending on me and the people I depend on? Where do I spend my time? How do I spend my money?) The reality, though, dear friends, is that your identity, the most important thing about you—is not what you call yourself, but what God calls you. That’s real easy to forget. So today it’s good that the apostle Peter reminds us. Don’t forget your identity. The word of the Lord is the epistle lesson from Peter’s first letter, chapter two:

Everybody of a certain age worries about having their identity stolen. Someone who steals your identity can apply for credit cards or loans with your name, can make withdrawals from your bank account, can purchase stuff online using your information. Having your identity stolen leads to countless headaches. But there is an identity theft that’s even more damaging, one that even Lifelock cannot protect you from.

Man was created in the Creator’s image, perfectly in tune with our God and perfectly able to actually do it. But a sneaky scoundrel rose from the flames of hell itself to steal that identity, to horribly deface God’s image in Adam and Eve and now…all of their children. We have a new identity thanks to that rotten devil, an identity you may not have thought about when we were asking those questions earlier—because it’s not necessarily an identity that we’re proud of. “Idol-worshipper.”

I read something this week that reminded me of that. It was an article in which the author laid his soul bare in a brutally honest confession. “If I’m honest, one of the defining features of my identity has been my desire to put something else—popularity, money, influence, sex, success—in place of God. That’s just who I am. For many years, I was taught that idolatry was sinful. As a good Christian, I fought the desire to commit idolatry, and repented when I got it wrong. But the desire to worship idols never went away.” Amen, brother. The 1st Commandment was not just made for ancient civilizations so prone to lay prone before gods made of wood and stone. The First Commandment—you shall have no other gods—was made for human hearts that by nature want to put their trust in anything or anyone else but God. Satan knows we won’t fall for worshiping tiki idols and voodoo dolls—so he tries to get us to worship, trust, find our identity in the things and people we live with, things and people that are God’s greatest gifts to us.

Remember our questions from earlier? What is most important to me? Who are the people depending on me and the people I depend on? Where do I spend my time? How do I spend my money?

They can be used to define our identity. They can also be used to define our idols. You see, when your answer to those questions is concentrated on and limited to the things of this world, to something you can see and quantify whatever it may be…well, I hate to tell you, but you’ve got yourself an idol. Would I choose my spouse over my Savior? Do I love my family even more than Him? Do I trust in my IRA more than him? Does what I want to do, does what I think I deserve control my choices in life more than him?

Did you see it in that last one? What I want. What I think I deserve. Many times the idol I worship instead of God is…me.

If we’re going to have a realistic grasp of who we are, there is one identity that we must own because we most certainly have earned it. Idol worshipper. Self-worshipper.

But that’s not what Peter calls us here, is it? That’s because the image of God, the identity that was stolen away and replaced by the devil, gets added back, returned and restored by Christ Jesus. Peter’s so excited about that fact that he says it four different ways. You want to know your identity? You need to be reminded of who you are? Here you go. You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God.

Let’s talk about that last one in a little more detail. If you had a ring that had been appraised with a $10,000 price tag, you probably wouldn’t be wearing that thing out while out planting flowers. It would get dirty and it could very well slip off your finger and spend months on end in one of your flower pots out front your house or in the landscaping out back. You wouldn’t be so careless, because that thing is precious. If you lose it, you ain’t getting another one. Either you or someone you love paid a hefty price for it. It belongs to you.

Do you think God is going to carelessly leave you laying around—after the price he paid for you???  You are a people belonging to God, paid for with blood, bought back by Christ. When the devil tries to convince you that you are lost, broken, irreparable, irredeemable, tell him what God tells you. “No way, devil. I belong to Him.” When he tries to convince you that the sins of yesterday will never be forgotten, tell him what God tells you. “No way devil. I belong to Him.” When he tries to convince you that tomorrow will be just more of the same, more failure, more sadness, more pain, tell him what God tells you. “No way, devil. I belong to him.” Don’t forget your identity. A people belonging to God. Don’t forget your identity. Blood bought child of Almighty—it’s the identity restored by Jesus.

But you are a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Our identity is not just our name. Our identity is what we do. Peter says that because you are a blood bought soul, you are a person with a purpose. To declare his praises.

Parents, you gave your children a name. Now you remind them of their identity. How do we do that? Care! You declare his praises when you show your children that you care about God and his Word.

Don’t leave it up to pastors, teachers, VBS and Sunday School. God has called you to be the One who declares his praise for your family. Embrace that identity and pursue it with your greatest zeal by what you watch on tv, how you talk to your spouse and your children, how readily you admit your mistakes, how easily you forgive.

Christian friends, your coworkers know your name. Do they know your identity? I know some folks are more reserved about their beliefs than others. I respect that. You can declare His praises by showing up on time, by following through on the things you say will do, by thinking ahead, by lightening the load of others. Those are ways that we show love to our neighbor. Those are ways that we declare his praises.

We declare his praises when we remain faithful even in the face of cancer. We declare his praises when we remain prayerful in the face of tragedy. We declare his praises when we take care of our health.

We declare his praises when take care of our homes. We declare his praises when we bring our offerings.

We declare his praises when we bring ourselves to his house and immerse ourselves in his Word.

We are a people belonging to God that we may declare his praises. That is who we are, that is why we’re here. Don’t forget. Don’t ever forget. Amen.