Sermon in Phoenix 28.10.2007

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you now and always. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, let us join our hearts together in opening prayer of thanksgiving. Amen.

Dear Heavenly Father, you have given us grace to gather this morning around your holy and unperishing word. Dear Father, we pray that through your Spirit you would be with us, that you would open your word to your servants, that you would also open ears to hear and hearts to believe that which you see as necessary. Dear Father, we also pray that through your Spirit you could be calling those who yet wander in darkness, especially those who are near and dear to us, our family, loved ones. Amen.

And that the enemy of souls has received them into his nets. Dear Father, bring them again to the fellowship of your grace. We also pray to you, Father, this morning that as your Son has taught us, that your kingdom would come to us. That we would be able to again know and understand how we are in the midst of your flock, as your children, endeavoring on the way which leads one day home to you. Give us power to yet continue our endeavor of faith for one more day.

And we pray, Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

Before reading this text, I would wish to bring you greetings from the Rockford congregation. There are those who knew I was coming to this workshop this weekend and who requested that their greetings be brought here. And we have relatives, friends here, especially from my family who has left home. I remember you with love and God's peace.

We will read this morning from the 16th chapter of the Gospel according to St. Matthew, the first four verses, in Jesus' name as follows. It's that prayer in our hearts that the Heavenly Father would open His Word.

The Pharisees also, with the Sadducees, came, and tempting, desired Him that He would show them a sign from heaven. He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather, for the sky is red. And in the morning it will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky, but ye cannot discern the signs of the times. A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, and there shall no sign be given unto it but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them and departed. Amen.

This part of God's Word speaks to us about the core message of God's Kingdom, and upon that foundation which we base our faith upon. Amen. It's not a sure thing that man is able to comprehend faith. It's very evident, for we know that even in this time period and era, that there are few that are within God's Kingdom in comparison to those who still wander in darkness.

But isn't it the case, though, dear brothers and sisters, that there are many religions in this world? I don't remember the exact number, but they number in the thousands. Over at least a thousand different religions in this world today. Yes. We can say, though, when we begin to pause to study God's word that it seems that man has sought for himself teachings which attempt to calm their restless minds and hearts.

For if they would in truth begin to study God's word as it is truly written, their consciences would be burdened. For God's word first of all leads man to that realization that he is a sinner from beginning to end. There is nothing that we can do to inherit eternal life. There is something which man does not wish to accept.

It's never more evident though as this text relates about the basis for our salvation and the core message of God's kingdom of the gospel that man has rejected the teachings of God's word. Just as the Pharisees and Sadducees of Jesus' time came to Jesus and tempted him wishing that he would show them a sign from heaven. This is what the mind of man would really want. And perhaps our minds and hearts would wish to have the same kind of sign. An outward sign that would clearly show us that we are within the true kingdom.

Jesus explained to these Pharisees and Sadducees that there is a sign. That there is a, and God says in Romans verse 3 that this sign is given usually in telling and reflecting rather than restrict and smile on us. And you may notice He as God does not make any distinction between seeking another good sign. When we study God's Word and this that same foundation. That Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. There is nothing changed in God's Word.

And when we begin to consider those speeches which we hear in God's kingdom from even the pulpit, if we would begin to find a different message, then we could say that the One who speaks that message has erred. Because God's Word does not change. The Spirit does not teach us in different ways. Sure, there are different gifts to speak of the Word, but the message is still the same.

But son or daughter, be of good cheer. Your sins are forgiven.

A month ago, I was able to, for the first time, visit Ecuador. And by chance, we were able to discuss with a man who is from Panama about the basis of our salvation. He had his lifetime been a Pentecostal. And it seemed as the basis of his faith was outward signs. Outward signs of this, that they were a believer.

I had never been asked so directly before a question. I had never even considered it. He asked me, and asked Ray Hornamy, who was with me, he asked us, Have you seen the Holy Spirit? Visibly, have you seen the Holy Spirit? It struck us. Because that is what they had believed, that they had seen the Holy Spirit. It was a basis for their salvation. That that is what they believed, that they saw the Holy Spirit descend on a person. And that's how they acknowledged that that person was a believer.

We had to humbly admit to him that no, we had never seen the Holy Spirit in a visible form except in this way that we thought it affects the believer. In the same way also, when we speak of the Holy Spirit and those kinds of signs, He turned our attention to parts of Scriptures where it spoke of the words of Jesus. Where it speaks of the Comforter and how He would send it to them.

And then if we recall that on the first Pentecost, they did see the Holy Spirit in a visible form. And that was the basis for their belief that at that time, Jesus gave the Holy Spirit for the first time and that's how it was evident that you had the Holy Spirit. You had the Holy Spirit that it was visibly poured upon you.

But yet when placed before those parts of Scriptures, surely it was a sign to the believers that that which they were experiencing was truly that which Jesus had prophesied of Himself. That He was to die and He was to rise again. And as such it was a sign to a believer, those that lived at that time, that this Comforter was in their midst.

But yet it wasn't the first time that this Holy Spirit had been in the hearts of men. For even the chapter before the, in the Acts of the Apostles, where it speaks of Pentecost, the chapter before that speaks of David. It says, Men and brethren, this Scripture must needs have been fulfilled which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus.

He had never paused to consider that the Holy Ghost could ever have been around before. It visibly was poured upon the disciples and those who believed during that first Pentecost. It was simply an outward sign for them.

And so then our conversations turned to what we believed was that true sign of a believer, of which Jesus speaks here in our text this morning. That just as we can tell what type of weather it is by looking at the skies in the evening or in the morning, and judging by the color we can perhaps predict the weather, so also we do have a sign in God's kingdom.

Which Jesus had already been given. Which was the sign of the prophet Jonah. Jonah was that prophet who, if you recall at first, was rebellious to the call of God to preach to the people of Nineveh. And at first he attempted to leave, to escape from that call. That he believed he wasn't the proper person to reveal that message.

I'm sure even you children recall how Jonah was swallowed by the whale. And he was in the belly of that whale for three days and three nights. Jesus in another part of scriptures explains the sign of the prophet Jonah that just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale for three days and three nights, so also the Son of God, so also the Son of Man was to be brought into the fires of hell for three days and three nights.

And that is the sign of the prophet Jonah. It's the core message of God's kingdom. It's the foundation of our faith. That the Lord Jesus took upon himself the sins of the entire world, your sin and mine, and carried them to the cross at Golgotha, suffered because of them, was brought into the depths of hell, but was victorious and rose again. The message of the gospel in its entirety.

And so this sign which we have in God's kingdom is in all simplicity the gospel of the forgiveness of sins. The apostle Paul writes to the Corinthians about this gospel, how the world has not received it, and how this gospel is the foundation of our faith and no other outward sign or symbol.

For instance, he says that Christ sent me not to baptize but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. There is nothing that should come into the way of the gospel as a sign of our faith or our belief. We can't place any of these sacraments before the gospel.

That sacraments are a strength giving power into our lives of faith, but yet they are not a condition of faith. They strengthen our faith. But we believe by and through the gospel, through faith.

But this same message which we preach is as the apostle here continues that the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

I thought a little bit about this gospel over the years of what effect it has on man and how man receives it. First we can think about those who hear the gospel but don't believe it. They are one type of person. There is another type of person who hears the gospel. They can see the power of it, but yet don't have the strength to follow the Lord Jesus.

Then there are others who hear the gospel and believe it. I'm sure you would have similar experiences as I have about those who you speak with in your work lives and school lives. You could come up with similar examples to place in your life. And if God allows, we will pause and speak about them.

Those who hear the gospel and do not believe it. I wish you would have a great time. I work with a lady who belongs to a Lutheran denomination. And over the years we have had many conversations about scriptures and what we believe.

And one particular day that I remember we were alone that day in the room. There was no one else working with us. And she began to then question me further. She was trying to discern the differences between us.

And so we ought to, even as God's kingdom, the scriptures tell us that we ought to search the spirits to see if we are truly on the way which leads to heaven. And so we began to speak about how we saw scriptures.

And as is so often the case when we speak of scriptures, especially perhaps Lutherans, we can find so many similarities. And so we began to count them off one by one. That we both believe. That we both believe the same way and this way and in this topic.

One after another we had to admit that we believe the same way. Beginning to get a little nervous myself, I was starting to wonder if perhaps I had erred. That if I believed the same way she did, that I obviously was not believing the same way as the believers were.

But for my own curiosity then I asked her that. Well, we both believe that we are believers. I bluntly asked her, how did you become a believer? And she began to relate how she had that time of awakening in her life where she knew she was on the wrong pathway.

And through prayer she had had this conversation with God. And after weeks of prayer and meditation, she had come to understand faith. And so she was a believer.

And then I had to tell her that we finally found something that we did not believe the same way. And I attempted to, with weak words, explain to her that I believe that scriptures don't teach that. That scriptures teach us about the gospel of forgiveness of sins, which is preached by the mouth of a believer to another person.

I began to speak to her about examples from scriptures which showed this. For instance, about the Apostle Paul's conversion and about the center. And if you remember, he had a similar experience as she did. Had become awakened.

But yet, without someone to speak to him, to preach the gospel, he understood he was not a believer. He traveled with an awakened conscience until Peter was brought to him to reveal God's kingdom to him.

She listened to this for a little while and then she stopped and then just said, I can't believe that. And I said, What can't she believe? She said, I can't believe God would give that great a power to man to preach sins forgiven.

It stopped me. I admitted to her then that, isn't it sometimes our doubt as believers that God has forgiven our sins through the gospel. But this is what we believe by faith. And we have seen the effects of the spirit through the preaching of the gospel. It has relieved our burdened conscience. It has given us peace.

That there is no other power given to man than that, than the gospel. And it is that same power which the apostle says that he is not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. For it is the power of God unto each man that believes unto salvation.

The second example of someone who hears the gospel, can see its power, but still cannot believe. It is a very difficult place to find yourself. Still cannot believe.

For quite a few years I had worked on an ambulance crew in Colorado. One particular day we were called to a home where a small child had fallen, had become seriously injured. And when we pulled up into the yard I recognized the ones who lived there.

The man of the house was one who had given up faith years before. He was the son of a believing family.

I'm sure each of you could understand what grief and fear there would be in the heart and mind of a father or mother who saw their child grievously injured. And so he was grieving. He came with us to the hospital.

And in the back of the ambulance me and my partner were attempting to care for this child. And he sat there back with us and cried. And he asked me, he recognized me. He said, Do you still belong to the church you used to belong to when you were a young boy? And I said, Yes.

He said, Can you preach the Gospel? My mind said not to. But, ashamedly, I quietly preached the Gospel to him in front of my co-worker.

We dropped him off at the hospital and I didn't see him again. I spoke to one of his relatives about what had happened and asked them to make contact with him to see what he was really thinking. And so they did.

They called him and went to his house and they actually went out for lunch and talked about what had happened. And he said it in this way that he knew what power the Gospel had. But he found that in his own church that that's where he belonged.

He still couldn't follow after the Lord Jesus. His heart was so attached to that which he had already done in his life. What a difficult place, dear brothers and sisters, to be. To know and understand the power of the Gospel and of that which the Gospel can accomplish and still not follow.

May God grant us grace to never find ourselves in that situation. It is that type of situation, dear brothers and sisters, where perhaps could be seen as Scriptures tell us about the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.

Those who know the power of the Gospel but yet deny it may attempt to use it but still not follow after it. They can't find a place of repentance. That is what it means, dear brothers and sisters, to have committed that blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.

Sometimes believers have wondered and doubted that have we done that? Because it's such a difficult topic to speak about for Scriptures tell us that one who commits that sin never has the chance to repent. It's impossible.

We need not fear, dear brothers and sisters, for it is that type of sin that your mind is so hardened that you will not wish to return. God will not allow you to have an awakened conscience, God will not lead you back to His kingdom but you would be left on the outside.

But if you have those doubts, dear brothers and sisters, it is a sure sign that there is life, there is the possibility to put sin away. As you find yourself, you can lift up your heart to believe. Your sin is forgiven.

If you have that desire, dear brothers and sisters, God is gracious and loving to forgive sins.

Final example of one who hears the Gospel and believes it. To hear the Gospel and believe it.

Dear brothers and sisters, this morning I'm sure you find yourself as I have found myself, a failure as a believer. A failure where sin so easily attaches. There is nothing else for us to grasp a hold to, is there? There is nothing of our own merits that suffice. There is nothing of our own goodness.

There is only the Gospel. That because of our sins the Lord Jesus was nailed upon the cross. Suffered on our behalf. So often we can tell ourselves that Jesus died for the sins of the whole world. But isn't it the case, dear brothers and sisters, that it is more personal. He died for you. For your sins. He died for my sins.

We caused His suffering. We caused His pain. With grace of grace. That as scriptures tell us that no greater love can be shown than this. That one would die for another. Jesus died on your behalf and mine.

So that even this morning as failing believers, as sinful, we can hold to the gospel. We can hold to the gospel of Christ. Even on this Reformation day as the church calendar tells us we can recall the words of Luther who said in this way that this is a golden time and a golden era when a brother can say to a brother and a sister uplift your heart to believe your sin is forgiven.

And as a weak servant of God I say even this morning dear brother and sister I lift up your heart to believe your sin is forgiven. In Jesus' name and precious blood and be of good comfort. Believe it unto peace and freedom and joy.

Can I hear the same gospel? Can I believe my sin is forgiven? I wish to believe together with you. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Let us join our hearts together in closing benediction. The Lord be with you. The Lord bless us and keep us. The Lord make his face shine upon us and be gracious unto us. The Lord lift up his countenance upon us and give us peace. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost. Amen.