Sermon in Rockford 27.03.2011

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

Gracious God, our dear Heavenly Father, this morning as we come before your holy and unperishing word, we come with thankful hearts. Thankful for this reason, dear Father, that you have protected us through the night. Thankful that you have awakened us to a new day of grace, whereas your children we have come together.

Dear Father, we pray that you would open your word to us, that those things which you will would be apparent, that those things which you desire to be made known would be made known, that those who sorrow may be comforted, those who doubt would be given strength to believe, and that each one of us would be given strength to continue the journey of faith.

Dear Father, we also pray that in this world in which we live, you would still be calling those who are the Lord. And that those who seek for peace for their troubled consciences, lead them not only to the hearing of your word, but lead them on to the narrow pathway which leads to you.

And dear Father, we humbly pray that if it be your will, we would be able to serve you. That we would be as lights in this darkened world. That we could be gathering the flock to you. That all of us, all of your children would one day be gathered in heaven in eternal rest.

And we pray as your Son has taught us, 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.

This morning hour, I would like to read from the Gospel according to Matthew, from the 18th chapter, the following words of God in Jesus' name, beginning with the 18th verse.

Verily I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Amen.

We live in a very troubled time. Nations struggle against nations. People walk in fear. And we have, those of us who perhaps watch in newspapers and listen to radios, have seen and have heard of things which are troublesome.

Not only that, but for some reason at this time there are those false prophets who make predictions which are beyond the grasp of human understanding. As believers, we are not immune from those things which happen around us. For we live in the world. We have not been placed into a separate earth to dwell, but we live in the midst of the world which God created.

But yet we can always pause around God's holy and precious word to find His will. And when we seek for His will, we oft times come to this conclusion that it's not always what we think. It's not always what we hope for, but it is His will.

So many times as I've come to serve, I've wondered about the portions of God's word which have opened and I've pondered why they are selected. Even those texts which have been opened before me as I have been here. And it's one of those things which I don't understand. But God in His wisdom leads His servant to this place from their own lives, leads them to this place in their own thoughts.

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I want to say this morning knowing that in the last weeks my own thoughts have been filled with doubts and fears, and this morning I want to ask that can I hear the gospel. I want to believe with you. God leads in this way though that He opens His word as He wills.

In the midst of my own doubts and fears I found myself in a time of study. God's word is more important; it's the only place to find comfort. And amongst other things I found how it was good to pull the books off the bookshelf which haven't been read for a long time, and somehow one of those things I read brought me to this part of God's word because it brings us to the core of living faith and to the basic understanding of living Christianity and the basis for surety of faith.

This part of God's word is actually at the end of a discussion which Jesus had with the disciples. He had taken a child who was in their midst and placed them on his lap and began to teach them about the humility of faith. It is a topic which we don't always pause to think about.

As believers we live as we are. We live as sinful men but we have found comfort in the gospel and the hearing of God's word. But yet we again and again come to this conclusion that there is a humility found by faith which we are over and over again led to. We need to become as little children for we are in a kingdom of children.

In the midst of this discussion though, Jesus in teaching this humility of faith talks about the care between a brother and another brother who has offended. And we won't go into that into much depth this morning but to say that in the midst of that care which occurs in God's kingdom it's always led to this point of which we've read in our scriptures.

All the discussions which occur, whether they be times of concern or times of rebuke, they all lead to the same conclusion of which Jesus speaks about in our text. It says, verily I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Listening every so often on the radio to a Sunday night service there, the minister, the person who kept the service was a very well known man. He had gathered a very large flock and I listened to what he had to say and there were so many things which I agreed with.

And you know it's a similar thing I recall at Outlook summer services one year at a youth discussion, our brother Elmer Alayoki took a turn to speak and spoke about exactly these things, how he had also listened to those speeches and had come to this conclusion that this particular man could lead a person to the door of God's kingdom but was not able to open the door.

And this is what I also found in the hearing of that speech. It was a message which spoke about God's law and how we as people are sinners. There is no question there, we are sinners.

And I felt that in the midst of those speeches I noticed something that I had never paused to consider. It seemed as if the speech spoke about those things and brought forth into the mind the listener the feelings of sinfulness and then it spoke about Jesus how he has paid the debt, the sin debt of the world.

And exactly when I needed to find the consolation of my failures and sins that were truly taken away, the sermon ended. The sermon ended.

Isn't that what our own understanding wishes to do? All other forms of godliness do exactly this.

I thought for instance about those who believe that there is forgiveness in prayer. In the midst of their troubled conscience they've perhaps talked with others, they've had discussions and they spoke about the way how it has not gone well and they perhaps know that they're not in faith.

And the whole conversation occurs and then at the end the task is to go by yourself and pray. I don't know about you dear brothers and sisters but I've never found consolation in myself. Doubts and sins swirl in the mind. I've never found a way to console a troubled conscience of mine.

Seems like a difficult decision even to make. I can't imagine after living in God's kingdom to even attempt to consider this, to have a discussion with a dear brother, dear sister who is troubled in conscience and in the midst of the discussion to explain how perhaps this person could understand how they have fallen and to know their sin and then to send them away.

One of the books I read the past week was of Martin Luther where he explains you in this part of God's word, for he had a different perspective. He fought against different issues which we don't often think about but nevertheless they're all part and parcel to the same thought.

If you recall in the church history of that time a foreign doctrine had come in and it was this type of doctrine that the only one who could forgive sins was the priest and above the priest was the pope.

And Luther in his writings and his speeches wished to reveal the core issues of God's kingdom and how they relate to us. His conclusion was this: that God's word is God's word and we either accept it or we don't.

Does God's word say that any one of us can sell forgiveness? It was a common practice at that time where for an offer of money you could pay for forgiveness for your brother or sister or for an offer of money you could pay for your own forgiveness.

Does God's word say that it comes down to this? As Luther himself says, that we either do believe God's word or we don't.

And so we in the beginning of this text we hear words which it says Jesus said. He says I verily say unto you. He was the Son of God but yet he was God and the second person. So we either believe this or we don't.

Whatsoever he shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatsoever he shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. On get our minds around sometimes. And you know, at its core, I don't understand it. But yet, as a believer, we believe what God's Word says.

Jesus has told us, given us this command that whatsoever we shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever we shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. A task which he gave his own disciples.

From that perspective, it brings to mind another part of God's Word, which tells of Peter. Very similar words.

Peter had this discussion with Jesus, and it was about who they thought he was. And Jesus directly asked them, to whom say ye that I am? And Peter said, that thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood have not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

And then he says, And I say also unto thee that thou art Peter. And upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

This part of God's Word is oftentimes misconstrued that the keys of God's kingdom were given only to Peter. But thinking about this in connection to these other parts of God's Word, where Jesus says to his disciples in bigger groups, gives me this understanding as I'm sure we know already as children of God that this office of the keys was given to each believer.

I ask you to place yourself then for a moment in the place of Peter, in a discussion like that. And ask you that isn't this the case? Peter had confessed his faith openly before his brothers in faith.

And as Peter had spoken, then Jesus turned to him and seeing how he spoke to him, he turned to him and says, that thou art Peter.

If this conversation would have included, instead of Peter's name, your name, or my name, that thou art Rick. Is there anything to grasp onto? He was pointing out, he was speaking to Peter.

What did Peter find? He was simply a sinner. The Heavenly Father wishes to approach each of us, even this morning, in our own places of watching, in our own doubts, with our own address, thou art Peter.

Peter. You are a sinful person. And upon this rock, upon the rock of a confession of a sinful person, is his church built.

It's hard to understand. And not only is it the case, dear brothers and sisters, that the church, the congregation of God is built upon sinful people, but Jesus tells us something miraculous.

That the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And then he says, why? Why won't the gates of hell prevail against a church built upon sinful people, of where he himself is the chief cornerstone? Why? Why?

Because he gives them the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

A great task has been given to the church of God. A task of abiding and loosing.

As a youth, though, I recall, though, thinking about this part of God's Word, that other examples. How is this done? How do we lose someone from sin?

We know, dear brothers and sisters, that in this time of visitation, we have used words which you've heard over and over again, even at these services. Words which say that, dear brother and dear sister, you can believe all of your sins forgiven in Jesus' name and blood. Amen.

In my doubts, I pondered. Where have those words come from? How do they have effect? They're not written in exactly those words in God's Word. You won't find them in that order in the Bible.

How do we say, then, that this is the case? These same types of questions seem to surface in God's kingdom every so often.

In fact, if you recall from history, perhaps from presentations or your own study, recall from the times of Lestadius and Rastama, the things which they discussed.

This gospel of forgiveness was preached to Lestadius by a woman named Mary. It's interesting to note that Lestadius felt the effects of that preaching.

So much so that he received consolation for his heavy conscience. The sins which pressed him to the ground were released from his shoulders.

But yet, a few years later, he and Rastama perhaps began to doubt. Are these words really the words of release? Can we use them?

And so they began to study scriptures even closer. Began to study the writings of the former saints, amongst others, Luther. And some of those parts of God's Word, it's important to every so often stop and look at.

In the New Testament, early church, in the Acts of the Apostles, it tells us, amongst other things, in the fourth chapter of the Acts, in the twelfth verse, it says that neither is there salvation in any other. For there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.

No other name. No other name.

So we can understand that in Jesus' name, certainly we preach forgiveness. For forgiveness.

The Apostle also writes in this way that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. And so in Jesus' name and in His blood we have forgiveness.

There is no other place. There is no other place. There is no other place. There is no other place. There is no other place.

In the second book of Samuel, it tells us about David and when he had received grace of repentance for his fall into sin. It says that David, in his confession, said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord.

And Nathan, it says he said unto David. He didn't tell him to go somewhere and pray. He said unto David, the Lord also hath put away thy sin. Thou shalt not die.

God. God. He said unto him.

It's a message that we cling to always.

Again and again we find how when we doubt we are gathered again closer to the gospel, to the core message, to the foundation of our faith.

When we fear we are gathered again to the gospel, to the core of our faith.

When we fall into sin, when the enemy has been successful, we are gathered again to the gospel, to the core of our faith.

There is no greater words under heaven that can be preached and they are preached from a brother to a brother, a sister to a sister.

Our text concludes saying that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name there am I in the midst of them.

There are two or three gathered this morning here. The Lord of life Jesus is in our midst and in his name and in his blood.

Dear brothers and sisters, you can believe all of your sins forgiven. All of your doubts can be removed, even fears. It's that simple.

From a weak brother in faith, from a sinner is preached the gospel.

A dear brother, dear sister, lift up your heart to believe all of your sins, last doubts and fears and shortcomings forgiven in Jesus' name and blood and be of good cheer.

There is power in the blood. It will lead us home to heaven's home in Jesus' name. Amen.

Song number 177.

Amen. Amen. Hey.