Authentic Christianity
Pastor Paul Waldschmidt delivers a sermon entitled “Authentic Christianity” based on James 1:17-27 at Peace Lutheran Church in Hartford, Wisconsin.
Delivered on Sunday, September 2, 2018
Ferdinand Demara was a man who wore many hats. His mile long resume included stints as a civil engineer, a doctor of applied psychology, a monk, a philosophy professor, a lawyer and a warden at the Texas State prison. There was only one problem. He didn’t have a single diploma, certificate or license to do any of it. He was a brilliant con man, with a photographic memory and astronomical IQ, who successfully did all those jobs—albeit for short periods in different places under various aliases. Perhaps his most impressive impersonation came when he passed himself off as surgeon during the Korean War and literally saved the lives of numerous casualties, including one who required major chest surgery. In 1957, TIME Magazine described him as an “audacious, unschooled but amazingly intelligent pretender who always wanted to be a Somebody, and succeeded in being a whole raft of Somebody Elses.”
I don’t know about you, but Ferdinand Demara’s story captivates me. To think of a man so brilliant that he could succeed in so many fields with no formal training—it’s the stuff of Hollywood films and best selling novels. But let’s face it, under normal circumstances, being an imposter is a decidedly BAD thing! I mean, honestly, would you really want your professor, your lawyer or your heart surgeon to be a fake, a person without any formal training or certified competency?
Isn’t being an imposter when it comes to our Christianity also a decidedly bad thing? Think about the Pharisees in our Gospel lesson. They wore all the right clothes, quoted all the right Bible passages, observed all the right outward rituals. They looked the part. And yet Jesus called them “whitewashed tombs”(Matthew 23:27)—pretty on the outside, rotten and decaying on the inside. In other words, he condemned them as imposters.
James was worried about the same things. He wrote to people who were phoning it in, Christianity-wise, sleepwalking through life, thinking they could wholeheartedly embrace sin and embrace their Savior at the same time. To put it another way, the book of James questions fake Christianity and challenges people who were thinking: “I’m a sinner. But God forgives. So it really doesn’t matter what I do or how I live, because you know ‘Jesus saves’ and all that stuff.” James confronts that attitude by asking his readers, if not in these exact words…did you ever consider that you might be the imposter?
Yikes. That’s a hard question to have to grapple with. I mean, it’s relatively easy, maybe fun, for us to flag hypocrisy in other people. Nobody wants to consider themselves an imposter, especially with something as important as our faith. But look at the things James mentions in our text. And then superimpose it over our lives. Is there any way that this is going to end well?
James describes Authentic Christianity when he says….Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. Are you slow to speak? Or are you lightning fast on the draw, willing to talk right over the other person, because you need to make sure your point is heard and heard now. Are you slow to become angry? Or does the bile always bubble hot in you, right below the surface, ready to lash out at the first thing that even mildly annoys you or the first person who gets in your way?
James says….Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Are there times when you head home from listening to the Word at church and do the exact opposite of what we just talked about in worship? Or does your Monday morning way of speaking differ immensely from your Sunday morning way of speaking?
James says…. If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself. Do you want to do better with your words, but then don’t? Do you try, but some times forget? Do you promise to keep a tight rein, but then in the heat of the moment, there you go again—saying something that’s more from a red hot heart, than a cool calm head? Do your words and actions always match up with your values and principles? Mine don’t. Yours don’t either.
Does that disqualify us from Authentic Christianity? Or is it possible that that just might be Authentic Christianity? Or at least a part of it. The Pharisees never considered themselves to be hypocrites. They were quick to speak and slow to listen, no matter how many times Jesus warned them. But we just listened. And were convicted. We didn’t speak….except to say, Jesus forgive me for my hypocrisy.
Jesus even loves hypocrites. He even loves me. He even loves you. We struggle with consistency. But his promise remains ever valid and his blood remains an ever acceptable payment for sin. When our actions prove us false, we look in faith to the One who is true. When confronted with the impurity of our hearts, we cling all the more tightly to the One who is pure—and covered us (head-hands-mouth-and heart) with his perfection. Jesus saved me and you.
That’s authentic Christianity.
If you ever start to feel like you might be the imposter, look less at your works and more at the font. Remember his table. Drink deeply of the Word. It’s in those places that our true identity is revealed, because it it’s there that God tells us who we are. And he does not lie.
Yes, Jesus even loves hypocrites. But he does not love hypocrisy. Jesus forgives us for those times when we are exposed as imposters. But that doesn’t mean it’s okay to be an imposter.
Authentic Christianity means looking at temptation like it’s poison, not drinking it like it’s a glass of water on a hot day. Authentic Christianity means struggling against the devil like the apostle Paul did, boldly proclaiming “Sin will not be my master!” (Romans 6:14) Authentic Christianity means listening closely to the words of Moses in our Old Testament lesson: Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them. Authentic Christianity means revisiting and recommitting to the path James describes in our text. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
Don’t pass that by too quickly. You know… “Don’t know any orphans, so cross that off. Be kind to little old ladies. Will do. The world is bad. Got it.” James is talking about two general attitudes that radiate from an authentic Christian constantly, everyday. Embrace those who need you. Keep the world at arms’ length. That doesn’t mean we’re anti-social. It does mean that we take much of what we see on TV, or on social media, or in workplace conversation and we say, “That’s not what I’m about.” Live in the world. Enjoy God’s blessings in this world. Don’t be polluted by the attitudes of the world. It’s not doing the right thing in order to get to heaven. It’s doing the right thing because you already are. That’s authentic Christianity.
May the Holy Spirit enable you and those you care about to believe it, to grow in it and live forever because it. Amen.
Idols You Never Knew You Had – Sundays @ 8:45am (Sept. 9,16,23,30)
What is an idol? While we might initially think of golden calves, graven images, and gods named Baal or Buddha, would we agree that an idol is really anything that is more important to us than God? If so, then idolatry isn’t just a primitive practice from ancient cultures, but it’s a real danger to modern-day Christians. And maybe, just maybe, we have idols in our lives that capture our hearts and absorb our time more than we realize.
In this four-week series, Idols We Never Knew We Had, we’ll seek to identify some of those sneaky present-day idols and, by the power of God’s Word, avoid the spiritual dangers that accompany them.
Day: Sundays (September 9, 16, 23, 30)
Time: 8:45 a.m.
Location: Fellowship Hall
Be my rock of refuge to which I can always go.
Pastor Aaron Steinbrenner delivers a sermon entitled “Be my rock of refuge to which I can always go” based on Psalm 71 at Peace Lutheran Church in Hartford, Wisconsin.
Delivered on Sunday, August 26, 2018
Two teenage girls were in the kitchen cooking when all of a sudden a grease fire broke out. They panicked. They ran…out of the house and into their front yard. A neighbor came to their aid, learned of the fire, and calmly asked if they had any fire extinguishers. The girls said yes, in fact, they had three of them…handy, right near the kitchen. So the neighbor calmly but efficiently zipped into the house, located an extinguisher, and quickly put out the fire. You see, help had been right there, but the girls just didn’t see it, think about it, or know how to use it.
Do you think that ever happens to Christians today? Do you think Christian believers ever get weighed down by burdens or surprised by hardships or overwhelmed by trials to the point that they panic a little and maybe even run right by the help which is right there before them?
Today, the Psalmist shows us the importance of knowing where our help is found and then how to use that help. The help, obviously is the LORD. Referring to the Lord, the Psalmist says…My Rock of Refuge to which I Can Always Go. At every stage of life…thru every chapter of our lives…in any circumstance of our lives…God is our rock and our refuge.
Psalm 71 doesn’t specifically mention who the author is. But because of some of the familiar phrases and where in the book of Psalms it is located, most everybody agrees that Psalm 71 was written by King David in the late stages of his life. And if we are looking for an example of someone who turned to the Lord throughout the different stages of his life, I can’t think of a better example than David.
Just open up his scrapbook. Do you see the picture of young David tending sheep. And there’s a picture of him taking a sack lunch to his brothers who were off at battle. Oh, and look at this picture of David trying to wear the armor of King Saul…he’s drowning in it. And this one – David carrying a sling shot with Goliath towering over him. How will this shepherd boy ever defeat the giant?
And here’s another picture from a different time in his life. It’s a picture of him hanging his head in shame. Nathan the prophet had just visited him…reminded him of how he stole Uriah’s wife and took Uriah’s life and then tried to cover it all up. Great King David had fallen…the moral leader had had a great moral laps. What an embarrassment to himself and to his people. How could this guilt and shame ever be lifted?
And here’s a sad photo. David, fearing his newborn child might die. He eats no food. He lies on the ground. He prays and prays. And yet his child does indeed die. How will he ever be comforted?
You know the answers to those questions.
It was the Lord who defeated Goliath…not the stone…not the sling….not the shepherd boy.
It was the Lord who took away David’s sin, as far as the east is from the west.
It was the Lord who comforted David even in his darkest hour.
This much is true – no matter what stage of life, you’re going to have challenges. Young people have young people challenges; old people have old people challenges. But you have the same God…the same rock of refuge to which you can always go.
Do you have sins to confess? Have you allowed worldly things to take a priority in our life while God has been cast aside? Have you allowed yourself to coast a little bit, treating your Christianity kind of like a diet…sometimes you’re serious about and well, sometimes you’re not? Do you have sins to confess that no one knows…sins you’d hate to be revealed? Have you been weighted down by guilt?
I know where you can ALWAYS go…to the Lord, your rock of refuge…he will never turn you away.
Instead he’ll turn you to Jesus. He won’t treat you as your sins deserve, instead he’ll treat you in grace. He’ll lift away the sin and remove the guilt and cover you with forgiveness. And he’ll give you a promise so real you can taste it.
Some have called Psalm 71 a prayer for aging believers. That’s because David was up in age…and I wonder if he started to feel a little irrelevant. Have any of you ever felt that way? I was surprised when I looked up challenges that older people face. I saw the usually suspects – diminishing immune system, loss of eyesight and hearing and memory, fragile bones. On that list – depression. I wonder if David was depressed when he realized he wasn’t the strong king any more…when his own family members were trying to oust him. I wonder if any of our aging members get depressed when they realize they can’t do the things they once could….aches and pains increase…health decreases…children and grandchildren move away…loved ones pass…the house gets quieter…or maybe the house gets traded in for assisted living. Young or old, do you ever get depressed? Every start to feel unwanted or irrelevant?
I know where you can ALWAYS go…to the Lord, your rock of refuge…he will never turn you away.
Instead he’ll turn you to Jesus….and he says, others may forget about you, but I never will. Others may leave you, but I never will. I will love you with an everlasting love.
Do you need the strength to keep the faith and confess that faith in a world that is sometimes hostile? Do you want to get better at seeing the positives in this life rather than dwelling on all the negatives? Do you want a more grateful heart? Do you want to have the wisdom and strength to set a good Christian example for your kids and grandkids? Do you want to be a more loving husband or wife…a more patient parent?
I know where you can ALWAYS go…to the Lord, your rock of refuge…he will never turn you away.
Instead he will turn you to Jesus. And he will help you to share Jesus. And he will empower you to live for Jesus. And he will help you to love like Jesus.
Those two teenage girls were just too preoccupied to realize they were running right past their source of help. There was a fire in the kitchen…and all they could think about was running out the door. No matter what stage of life – you’ll have problems and challenges and maybe a few grease fires…young people have young people problems and old people have old people problems. Lord, give us the mind and the heart…so that all we think about is running to you, our rock of refuge. Amen.
Seek the One Who Sought You
Pastor Jeremy Husby delivers a sermon entitled “Seek the One Who Sought You “ based on Matthew 6:33 at Peace Lutheran Church in Hartford, Wisconsin.
Delivered on Sunday, August 12, 2018
Do not worry.
That’s the way that Jesus begins this pericope—this section cut out– from his infamous Sermon on the Mount. For three chapters in the Gospel according to Matthew, Jesus taught his people about so many different aspects of Christianity.
Jesus saw a crowd of people who were hurting and hopeless. They were searching for answers and were desperate. They were not finding fulfilment in their fishing, in their carpentry, in their tax collecting, or in their farming. Their marriages were breaking or already broken. Their children were rambunctious and didn’t listen. Their friends betrayed them, their drachmas and denarii were dwindling, and, well, to be quite honest, their healthcare system relied heavily on a miracle worker like Jesus to take away their pains and sicknesses.
Jesus saw all this and reached out to people that he loved and cared for. He knew that these people were in need and so he helped them by preaching to them. He sought them out and shared with them wisdom from above. And smack dab in the center of three chapters of these teachings is this encouragement and enjoiner from Jesus, Do not worry.
You have likely heard it said before, but it bears repeating: the Holy Spirit doesn’t waste words. As he inspired Matthew to write these words, he likely did not have him record a word for word dictation of the entirety of this discourse, but, rather, to share what was most needful.
In so doing, these words stand out. You could even say that the words Do not worry serve as some sort of an overriding theme and central focus for the whole sermon. And, if you do that, a wealth of knowledge is opened for, and shared with, those who read and hear these three chapters.
Are you hurting?
Are you seeking answers?
Are you unfulfilled?
Is it your marriage that is falling apart—or, are you just a bit jealous of those whose are because you wouldn’t take marriage for granted like they have?
Are you the one wondering how tuition, the car, the house, or even tonight’s dinner is going to be paid for?
Are you the one with the sickness that even modern medicine can’t mend?
Friends, Do not worry.
If you are hurting, Jesus has comfort.
He has the power to fix what is broken.
He has love that surpasses this world’s most desirable romances.
He has riches far beyond the biggest billionaire’s bank accounts.
He has the cure for any and all ailments.
Jesus has it all figured out, is in control of all things, and has the ability to give you all these things as well.
Jesus is telling you to have faith—to trust that everything is going to be ok. Faith is being sure of what you hope for and certain of what you do not see. Everything in this world may be telling you otherwise, but Jesus says not to worry about it.
In essence, the entirety of the Sermon on the Mount is an expository, or explanatory, sermon of the 1st Commandment. Fear, love, and trust in God above all things. Do not put your trust or your reliance on anything other than your God.
Truthfully, Jesus could have just said, Do not worry as his whole sermon and, because he is God, expected and required you to believe him and think, speak, and act accordingly. Like a parent who gets fed up with his child who keeps whining and complaining, Jesus could have just told his disciples of all eternity not to worry “because I said so.”
But he didn’t. He sought you out in your pain, sickness, sadness, and anxiety, and shared with you the secret to removing that worry from your life. Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
He doesn’t promise to eradicate cancer, to deposit drachmas or denarii on your doorstep, to force your kids to do their chores, or to get your nagging wife off your back. But what he does promise is to remove your worry over them. You see, when you seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, you begin to realize quite quickly that you have something far more worrisome than all of those issues combined.
Without Jesus, you are not a part of his kingdom and you are the complete opposite of righteousness. The original sin inside of you since the moment your life began not only caused you to be unworthy of your God and unable to enter into his presence, but it is also the reason why you commit so many of your sins, from worry, itself, to the selfish thoughts, words, and actions that flow so freely from it.
Notice that Jesus did not say to seek first his kingdom and his righteousness so that all these things will be given to you. Rather, first, have faith and then recognize that all of these things will be taken care of by the one who loves you and gave you everything that he has.
Trust to be true all that he did for you. Believe that, while you were completely lost and unworthy of his attention and his love, he kept the law of God in your place. He put the will of God in front of his own and sacrificed what was best for him for what was best for you. He put your wants, needs, and even your worldly possessions in front of what he could gain for himself. He became a human being in order to be the perfect substitute for you, both in the perfect life you were unable to live and the sacrificial death that you don’t have to die.
He lived and died to win forgiveness for you, to clothe you with the robe of his righteousness, and to reconcile the relationship between you and your God. And not only did he have the power to do those things, but he actually did them all—for you.
Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, not so that he will share with you all that he has. Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, that is, have faith in what he has done for you is true, and know that not only can he provide for all your earthly needs, he will, because he did everything in his ability to make you his own.
Seek first the One who sought you. Believe that he has it all figured out, is in control of all things, and he will give you all these things as well. Amen.
Lifting Our Spirits
Pastor Paul Waldschmidt delivers a sermon entitled “Lifting Our Spirits “ based on Psalm 51:10-12 at Peace Lutheran Church in Hartford, Wisconsin.
Delivered on Sunday, August 12, 2018
Goldenseal, Grape seed extract, St. John’s Wort, Dandelion root, Cytogreens and something called “Mushroom Emperors”—which I’m assuming are legal, but also sound kinda’ shady! You know what they all have in common? They’re all dietary supplements touted by the testimonials of world famous internet “physicians”—who may or may not be real. One thing’s for sure, they promise big things. One supplement I came across hyped its effects this way:
This powerful enzyme has been proven to dissolve non-living
tissue and leave any living tissue alone. It can safely remove the
fatty deposits and fibrin buildup on the inside of your arteries
without any side effects. The dissolved deposits flush harmlessly
out of your body!
In other words, take a pill and that little tiny enzyme will go to work cleaning up your heart, chomping up years’ worth of garbage and restoring veins and arteries to pristine condition. Does it work? I have no idea. But when I read that I thought to myself, wouldn’t it be cool to have something that works like that on our stubbornness, on our selfishness, on our apathy, a spiritual drano that gets rid of all the junk that clogs up our hearts with things that keep us away from God? And is that what David was praying for when he penned the words of our text for today, the familiar of the words of the “Create in Me” from Psalm 51? Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
Perhaps one of the reasons that Psalm 51 is so familiar and so dear to so many of God’s people is because we see so much of ourselves in David. He messed up, big time, he knew it and he knew there wasn’t anything he could do to make it right. Specifically, he’d committed adultery with another man’s wife and then had that man, a faithful soldier named Uriah, killed on the field of battle. It seemed like the perfect cover up. But God knew the truth. And when the prophet Nathan called David out for his sleazy behavior, there was no place to hide any longer, there was no way to deny the facts any longer. He was bad guy. From inside the vice of public shame and profound, sleepless night, never a moment of solace guilt, David does the only thing he can do. He begs for mercy. Can you hear the frantic nature of his crying out, just in these verses? Look at all the imperatives, every phrase is begging for something. This is not the sound of a man bossing God around. This is the sound of man drowning in his sins, going under for the last time, desperately pleading, “Save me!”
Isn’t that at the heart of our worship service confession? “Lord, have mercy on me a sinner.” Isn’t that at the heart of our bedtime prayers? “Jesus, Savior, wash away, all that I’ve done wrong today.” Isn’t that at the heart of our pre-communion self examination? “Lord, may your body and your blood be for my soul the highest good.” There’s a deep need in all those entreaties, the sound of the helpless drowning in their sins, going for the last time, desperately pleading, “Save me!” If we speak those words thoughtlessly, merely going through the motions we have some serious soul searching to do. For the sins that clog up our hearts are not benign—they are ugly cancers that kill faith and will grow out of control if left unchecked.
But when we cry out, “Create in me a clean heart!” our desperate cries do not fall on deaf ears. Jesus hears, his heart is moved, he reaches out a nail marked hand and he says—every single time, without fail—“The Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost. If you are lost, you are the one that I’ve come to find. If you are a mess, you are the one I’ve come to clean up. If you are the one drowning in sins, you are the one I’m here to save.”
Once we’re in the boat, so to speak, the question inevitably comes to mind. “What happens next? If I’m pulled out the depths by my Savior, it would be pretty stupid to jump back. But, you know, I can be pretty stupid.” When we pray Create in me a clean heart, we’re not only praying “forgive me,” we’re also praying, “change me from this day forward.” That’s where the Holy Spirit really starts to shine. It’s true that No one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. It’s also true that no one can truly hate sin, daily drown the Old Adam, consistently offer up sacrifices of loving obedience—except by the Holy Spirit. You can see it in David’s words. In verse 10, David pleads for a steadfast spirit. In verse 12, David pleads for a willing spirit. But the meat in that sandwich, the thing that ties our text together is found in verse 11. “Do not take your Holy Spirit away from me.”
How does the Holy Spirit change hearts? In Baptism, he creates a new person in us, and then recreates that new person in us each day throughout our lives. In Lord’s Supper, he empowers us to believe that Jesus’ in really present and strengthens us to leave sin behind. In the Word, he tells us how we are loved by God and how we can live for God. Through what we call the Means of Grace, the Word and the Sacraments, he goes to work on our hearts, chomping up the bad stuff, daily clearing out the things that alienate us from the Giver of All Good. Now…you, me and every Bible writer as well, understand that we’re still people who wrestle with temptation living in a world full of temptation. But no longer does the devil always win. In fact, it’s our goal that he doesn’t win and a lot of the time, he gets a real beat down. That wouldn’t happen, those attitudes wouldn’t exist in us if the Holy Spirit wasn’t at work. He’s the one who cleans hearts, who makes us want the things that God wants and love the things that he loves and actually grow in those things.
With that in mind, David’s words in Psalm 51 give us something to take with us today. Whether you call them prayers, commands, requests or desperate pleas for help, there are a whole bunch of them in these verses. Maybe we could shine the spotlight on just one. “Renew a steadfast spirit within me.” The Hebrew word that’s translated “steadfast” means to be firmly established—it’s used to describe a roof that’s held up by cement pillars. The roof can bear a lot of weight, it can remain unshaken in many storms, not because of any power or strength by itself, but because it’s held up by the pillars. Oh, Holy Spirit, give me, give us that kind of spirit—a steadfast spirit! That we may remain unshaken in many storms—not because of our strength, but because we’re held up by you.
A believing soul. A cleansed heart. A steadfast spirit. The works of the Holy Spirit are indeed great and glorious! His name is worthy of praise! Amen.
We Believe Jesus Is Lord
Pastor Aaron Steinbrenner delivers a sermon entitled ” We Believe Jesus Is Lord“ based on 1 Corinthians 12:3 at Peace Lutheran Church in Hartford, Wisconsin.
Delivered on Sunday, August 5, 2018
When amazing, miraculous things happen…and they happen often enough, they begin to lose their luster…the WOW-factor, and we begin to view them as routine.
For instance…
- A small seed is planted into the ground. Weeks and months and years later, that small seed is now a large tree producing shade and fruit and turning carbon dioxide into oxygen.
- A human life is formed in the womb (knit together by God, the psalmist would say)…we watch through ultrasound eyes. 12 weeks – fingers and toes and developing lungs; 16 weeks – heartbeat; 32 weeks – unique fingerprints being formed. And then delivery…and then a toddler…and then a teenager.
- A giant orb of rock and dirt and water hurls through space as it circles the sun. It spins at a rate of 1,000 miles per hour and moves over 60,000 miles per hour. And yet we aren’t violently shaken and flung off? Why not? No one can understand how or why gravity works. It’s amazing. But since it’s always happening, we view it as rather routine.
Here’s another seemingly “routine” occurrence. For generations the Lord has used people as his agents. He’s used prophets and preachers and parents and they have delivered and proclaimed and shared the gospel message of Jesus. It seems so routine, so unremarkable…but when teachers teach God’s about Jesus….when missionaries or neighbors or friends introduce unchurched people to Jesus the Christ…something amazing is happening. Yes, those people…those agents are telling others about Jesus but it is the Holy Spirit who is explaining and enlightening…converting and capturing hearts…creating and growing faith. And that, my friends, is amazing…it’s a miracle.
And you are the living proof. It is not just highly unlikely, but by human standards, it is impossible that any of you should be here today, confessing together: We Believe Jesus Is Lord.
It’s true, the human mind seems to have almost unlimited potential. Are you amazed at the advancements in technology? (you can pay bills, buy/trade/sell on the stock market, turn off the lights in your home or adjust your air conditioning just by typing a speaking a few words into your phone). Medical advancements have been enormous. So many diseases have been cured or curbed by medications. Some disease remain a mystery, but research and development continues…because the human mind has almost unlimited potential. Except for this one important thing. The human mind can never and will never be able to grasp or understand or believe in Jesus Christ. Not without help.
Why not? Remember our second lesson for today? The Apostle Paul told us: “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God…they are foolishness to him…he cannot understand them”…those truths are “spiritually discerned.”
Whether we like the description or not, the Bible says that ALL people are conceived and born in sin. Yes, we know that. Yes, but the Bible also says ALL people are conceived and born in unbelief. It uses words like spiritually dead and living in darkness to describe you and me and all people. Isaiah in his 59th chapter describes this spiritual blindness and need for the Spirit when he says: We look for light but all is darkness; for brightness but we walk in deep shadows. Like the blind we grope along the wall (Is 59:9). Yet, here you are. You aren’t groping, you are worshiping…you aren’t stumbling in darkness, you are basking in the light of Jesus…you aren’t searching, you are confessing, “We Believe Jesus is Lord.” What happened? The Spirit happened.
He used agents – people who told you about Jesus. All of it seeming so routine.
- A baby is held over the font by a parent or sponser.
- A toddler sits on dad’s lap as he reads a Bible story.
- A preschooler listens to Sunday school teacher explain why Jesus was born and why he died and why he rose.
- A Teenager memorizes Bible passages and then systematically sorts through the basic teachings of the Bible in catechism class.
- A young couple…a family…an elderly couple…a widow…a widower sits in the pew.
It seems so routine…and to some, maybe even a little boring. Where’s the luster? Where’s the WOW-factor? Here it is.
- The same Word Jeremiah says can smash rocks to pieces.
- The same Word Paul says is powerful like dynamite.
- The same Word that made Timothy wise for salvation.
- The same Word the writer to the Hebrews says is sharper than any double-edged sword.
That same rock-smashing, light-giving, faith-nourishing Word is spoken and taught in every inch of that school and read as God’s truth from this very spot and taken in every time you have your own morning or lunch-time or evening devotion. And there’s the Holy Spirit.
- He loosens your grip on self-reliance and helps you hold tighter to Jesus.
- He turns your eyes away from decaying material things and helps you see value in eternal treasures.
- He entrances you with a story that so many in the world consider too simple and too silly for them to take seriously…but here in the powerful Word the Holy Spirit tells you of a Jesus…who was perfect for you…who was punished for you…who is alive for you.
No one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit. The deep love of the Father. The selfless sacrifice of Jesus his Son – all that would be meaningless to you, had the Holy Spirit not done his routine, amazing, miraculous work and so enabled you to say, “Jesus Is Lord”…Jesus is my Lord.
Let me close with these two points.
- The fact that saving faith is a gift of the Holy Spirit ought to keep us from thinking too highly of ourselves. There’s a danger for us to look around at the inhabitants of this world and identify those who malign conservative Christianity and see them as lesser human beings. Just remember, you and I were among those ranks too…we also, in our unbelief, found God and his message foolish. We were just as blind as they are now. Those blind folks need our prayers and they need someone to introduce them to Jesus…to share the gospel of Jesus…so the Holy Spirit can start swingin away with his powerful, rock-smashing, faith-creating Word. You see, God wants them in heaven too. Young people, our world needs more pastors and teachers. Members of Peace, our neighborhoods need more Christian witnesses.
- Also, the fact that faith is a gift of the Holy Spirit is a big comfort. The deep love of the Father and the selfless work of Jesus is not contingent upon how big or small your faith is. On your down day, when you feel lost and alone and weak in faith…Jesus still is your Savior and God still loves you. The Holy Spirit doesn’t use his power to manipulate your emotions…he uses his power to keep your eyes focused on the facts…to keep your grip galvanized on Jesus. And that is amazing, miraculous.
And there’s your Wow-factor. There’s your luster. God has seen fit to love you, send Jesus for you, and give you the best teacher ever – the Holy Spirit, who enables you to say now and forever: I believe Jesus is Lord! Amen.
