Sermon in Cokato 22.04.2012

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, let us unite our hearts in opening prayer and thanksgiving.

Our beloved Heavenly Father, Thou who hast done so much good unto us, and hast gifted us with so many gifts, above all this gift of living faith. We thank You, dear Father. But we oftentimes, dear Father, struggle along this endeavor of faith. Oftentimes, trials of many different forms beset us, making the journey in the footsteps slow and difficult. But Thou art so gracious, and so merciful, and of so abundant love, that Thou hast not forgotten us. Thou hast come to uplift and comfort.

Many times, dear Father, we struggle against the onslaughts of the enemy, become weary in faith, sin besets, doubts arise. And again, dear Father, You have approached us with Thy grace and mercy and love. Dear Father, we have so much reason to thank and to praise Thee. And yet, so oftentimes, we are discontent. And again, You approach us through Thy word, Thy blessed, eternal word.

Dear Father, we thank You for all that You have done unto us. And this evening, we simply plead to keep us in a place of a child. Protect us here in Thy kingdom. Keep us, dear Father, in the midst and in the middle of Thy flock, of Thy children here. And we ask even this evening, dear Father, simply to open Thy word unto us, feed and nourish us, we who are in such need of Thy word, of Thy instruction, we who oftentimes are so in need of comfort. And for all this, we ask in Thy beloved Son's name, in Jesus' name, Amen.

Amen.

You know, it was kind of amazing during Christmas. I personally did not want to leave that season behind. And yet the days and the weeks come and go. And I wanted to hold on to that celebration of Christmas. And indeed, dear brothers and sisters, we do. Don't we? All year. But it is so even has been now during a time of Easter.

And so I'm going to take a text this evening that reminds us of that latter portion of Easter day. The happenings of Easter day. The happenings of that evening when twilight was coming and night beset on the first Easter day. And that's found from the gospel according to St. Luke, the 24th chapter. I'm going to start reading from the 15th verse. And these words are in Jesus' name as follows:

"And it came to pass that while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were holden that they should not know him. And he said unto them, 'What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?'

And they said unto him, 'Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet, mighty indeed in word before God and all the people. And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him. But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel. And beside all this, today is the third day since these things were done.'

Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulcher. And when they found not his body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels which said that he was alive. And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulcher and found that even so as the women had said: but him they saw not.'

And he said unto them, 'O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?'

And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

And they drew nigh unto the village whither they went, and he made as though he would have gone further. But they constrained him, saying, 'Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.' And he went in to tarry with them.

And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and he blessed it, and brake, and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him. And he vanished out of their sight.

And they said one to another, 'Did not our hearts burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?'

And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them, saying, 'The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared unto Simon.'"

Amen.

And dear brothers and sisters, it's good to be home. We spent some days up at a workshop, or training, teaching, and days of instruction, uplifting and comfort there at Stoney. There were seventy of us little boys there. Dear brothers and sisters, that's all we are: little boys here in God's kingdom. And it feels good to be a little boy.

You know, dear brothers and sisters, it's important when you come here, as you're driving here to this church, you get out of your car, and you walk in, and it's good that you have this prayer to God: God, simply open Thy word unto us. That's all. Just a little, simple prayer. That whomever sits here before us to serve us, that God would open his mouth, and that he would fill it with goodness. We need that.

It was wonderful to be there. Very, very uplifting. It was incredible. It was good.

Dear brothers and sisters, we are nothing but little boys here in God's kingdom. And we come here to learn, and to relearn, and to be reminded. And when we go home, it's good that we're at home, that we would take the Bible down from the shelf. Yeah, it looks nice on the shelf. But it looks much better there on your lap. And if you have children or grandchildren, open the Bible, and it's remarkable what comfort and instruction there is in the Holy Scriptures.

Boy, we have a good God. We have such a good God.

You know, they were at camp also last evening. Then we were up late into the night. And I didn't get much sleep last night either. But, you know, it was kind of... We had some light moments there last evening. And you know who came there? Peter Nordstrom. If one closed his eyes and listened, Peter was there preaching to us. It was incredible. There was Jake Ulioya there, Melvin Pearniss, and other brothers. It's amazing the gifts that one has to mimic. Incredible.

And we were riding home this afternoon with a dear brother, a brother that I grew up with, one of my best friends. You know what the Bible says about a friend? The Bible says if you have one friend, you have a treasure. One friend, and you have a treasure.

And we visited about what had happened and the events there that we were able to experience. And he made a remark, too, about last evening, how those old brothers were there then in our midst. They were there in our thoughts. Their voices were there very clearly. And those brothers, they had their joys and their sorrows. They had their victories and their defeats.

And then he went on to say how the Bible is full of those brothers and sisters. These former saints are no different than you and I. They're not. They're not any different than you and I. Yes, we live in a different time and in a different environment and so on. But they were people like you and I. They were people who endeavored to believe and who were tempted and led astray by Satan. Sin beset them. And God, the voice of God came, and oh, that sweet voice of God encouraging them to come this way. That still, small voice. Nothing has changed. Isn't it true? The Bible says there's nothing new under the sun. There isn't.

Many of the temptations are different today in this day of modern technology and so on. But God, our living Father, is the same.

We gathered out this early afternoon when we came home. Gathered out in the cemetery with the family whose loved one had recently passed and remembered. And there were tears of sorrow and of yearning, and there were tears of joy, and there was laughter, and life continues. And he is resting upon the bosom of Abraham. What better place to rest than upon the bosom of Abraham? Safe and secure heaven there. That's where we're going.

You know, we're back. Oh, a lot of greetings. A lot of loving greetings from the boys there from camp. They wanted to send their greetings of love. There was, I don't know, 75 of us little boys there. Luther called us dogs, and that's what we are: little shepherd dogs of the chief shepherd, the Lord Jesus.

You know, when you think of the first Easter or even think of the first Passion Week, as we call that final week of Jesus, I tell you Maundy Thursday, when they gathered into the upper chamber, about one third of the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—about one third of the chapters take place on Maundy Thursday. Thirty of the ninety chapters take place that evening in that upper chamber.

And it's good, dear brothers and sisters, that we go there. It's good that we bring our children there into the upper chamber and that we sit there at the feet of Jesus and listen to what he has to say unto us. Do that at home. Do that at home. Take the Bible and go into that upper chamber.

Good Friday came, and the world of the believers was completely turned upside down. But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel. Even the disciples thought that he would be an earthly king.

You know, in that upper chamber, one of the things that they talked about? No, no, no, no, no. They argued about it. You know one of the things they argued about? Which one of us is the greatest? That's what they argued about.

Boy, this weekend we learned it's not of us. It's not of us. We learned and relearned. And you know what's so amazing? Even for us speaker brothers, sometimes we fall into that error, and all Satan is there. And one tries to prepare a sermon beforehand, and this is what I want to preach then when I come here to this place. And often when one does that, it seems there's nothing there. It just does not seem that the Spirit does not open.

And yet many times we've experienced when we come here fearful and we just do it. One just opens his mouth. It's amazing how God fills it with goodness. But isn't it the same in your life, dear brother and sister? That simple faith of a little child.

Trials come and difficulties come, and our flesh is trembling and fearful. Yet we're reminded: little faith and trust in God who knows when a hair falls upon our head. Boy, He knows our lot and our heart better than we know it ourselves.

You know, these two disciples, now it's Easter. They were there behind locked doors. Imagine, they were behind locked doors. They were so fearful. They heard the knocking on the door, and they opened the door, and the women were there, and they came in, and they were rejoicing. Not only had they found the sepulcher empty and the message of the angel, "Fear not. Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, he is risen."

And then Jesus appeared unto them. Mary Magdalene first. Mary was standing at the sepulcher alone because she had run to get the disciples and tell them that He's gone. And then she was weeping there.

Oh, Mary Magdalene, you remember Mary, she had been tormented by Satan. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, she was tormented by seven Satan. She had seven demons. And Jesus approached her, and Jesus knew her need, and Jesus preached unto her the gospel, and the demons fled from that gospel. Satan cannot stand the gospel, dear brothers and sisters, and that's why it's so important in our home to preach the gospel every day, many times in a day.

She was standing there weeping. Oh, the doubts that have come up, came upon those first believers that first Easter time. She heard the angels, and then she turned around, and she saw someone standing there, and the Bible says that she supposed him to be the gardener, and she asked him, 'Where have they laid the body? Where have they taken it?'

And it was Jesus. Imagine. She was so pressed down by Satan, and I doubt that she didn't recognize the Lord. Mary, oh boy, who had been tormented by Satan. Oh, imagine seven demons. There was not, I have to say, that there was not a sunny day in her life during that time. Perhaps it doesn't say much of Mary. Maybe she was like you little boys and girls, and she grew up in a believing home. I don't know. There was sunshine then, for sure. But at some point Satan came and deceived her into unbelief and tormented her so much that there were seven demons tormenting her, and she did not find joy in life. She did not find beauty in God's creation.

We came here with a dear brother, and we stopped at the church here first, and then we ran to the cemetery, but he jumped out of the car right there at those doors, and he said, 'Such a beautiful day.' His father lay there in a cemetery. 'It's such a beautiful day.' And later in the cemetery, he marveled over that even. 'Such a beautiful day.' This is what God can root in our life.

Mary, Mary Magdalene, and you remember then Jesus only said one word. Jesus said, 'Mary,' and the Bible says that immediately she recognized him, and all she could say is, 'Rabboni, Rabboni,' that is to say, Master, Master.

And so those women also who had left the sepulcher also saw Jesus approach them. And so they went to those locked doors, and you can imagine how they must have felt. They saw the risen Lord Jesus. I'm sure they were crying behind the locked doors that Jesus is not dead; He lives. And the disciples unlocked the door and slowly opened the door and looked out, and the women came in, and you know that their cups were overflowing. You know that there was rejoicing there among those.

You know what the Bible says? The Bible then says, 'And they believed them not.' So downtrodden they were.

Now it was evening. Two of them were traveling to that little village of Emmaus, and as they're traveling then they met this man, or maybe they overtook him. Perhaps he was traveling the same way, or he may have been standing there. It was Jesus. It was the Lord. They didn't recognize him. They didn't recognize him.

You know it's interesting how it says here, 'And it came to pass that while they communed together and reasoned among themselves, they were using the wisdom of man, reason of man. And Jesus himself drew near and went with them.'

You know, reason has a way of overwhelming faith. Doubts destroy hope. Hope had done so to these and to those disciples. Oh, it's remarkable. You know they experienced that love of God. It says, 'And their eyes were holden that they should not know him.' So heavy were their thoughts and doubts, and so pressed down they were.

And it says that he said unto them, Jesus said unto them, 'What are you guys talking about as you're walking here and are so sad? What manner of communication are these that you have one to another as you walk and are sad?'

And they were just amazed. And so they responded as we heard here, and one of them whose name was Cleopas answered said unto him, 'Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days?'

And Jesus, now walking with them, gently says unto them, 'Well, what things?'

And they said unto him, 'Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people. And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death and have crucified him. But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel. And beside all this, today is the third day since these things were done. Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished which were early at the sepulcher.'

Then he said unto them, 'O fools and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. Ought not Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into his glory?'

And it says here, beginning at Moses, the first five books of Moses in the Old Testament, and all the prophets, all the prophets that followed in the Old Testament, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures concerning himself. He didn't have those individual scrolls with him. He didn't need them. He knew the holy scriptures by heart.

And so he began in Genesis. He brought them back to the Garden of Eden, and from there he began to teach them again that which they had learned already. Everything that the Bible said.

And when you think of the Bible, the Bible is about the Son of God. The Old Testament is filled with the prophecy of the coming of the Lord Jesus. The New Testament speaks of his life while he lived here. The Bible is about the King of Kings and how salvation is found in such a simple way.

Beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures of things concerning himself.

And when they drew nigh unto the village whither they went, he made as though he would have gone further, but they constrained him, saying, 'Abide with us, for it is toward evening and the day is far spent.' And he went in to tarry with them.

You know, they didn't want this guy to leave. They didn't know it was the Lord Jesus yet, but the word of God warmed their cold and empty hearts. Oh, they were already there outside. They were feeling so good. They didn't want this to end. No, no, no, no, come with us. They didn't want him to go.

Dear brothers and sisters, isn't it wonderful to be at the feet of Jesus to hear what he has to say unto us? And we believe so simply. God is the giver of all things. It is God that fills one's mouth here and there at home when you mothers and fathers speak to your children or you grandmothers and grandfathers or aunts and uncles, dear brothers and sisters, it is God who fills your mouth.

The Bible says here, 'When it came to pass as he sat, he took bread and he blessed it and he gave it unto them.' Just three short days before, in that upper chamber, Jesus gave the first holy communion. He took bread and he broke it and he blessed it and he gave it unto them: 'Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you; this do as often in remembrance of me,' and so on.

Now their eyes opened, the Bible says, and their eyes were opened and they knew him, and he vanished out of their sight. One moment he was sitting there, the next moment he was gone. He didn't go out the door; he vanished, it says.

And they said one to another, 'Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked with us by the way and while he opened to us the holy scriptures?'

They felt good. Oh, they had Easter services there in that place. Jesus himself comforted them.

Dear brothers and sisters, you know when we think of our endeavor in this journey of faith, oh, we want to get to heaven, don't we? We want to get to heaven. As a matter of fact, one could ask any unbeliever and they would also say, of course they would want to get to heaven. Everyone wants to get to heaven.

But we are so blessed. Jesus is leading the way for us. His word comes to encourage and to uplift.

You know, when we were talking about the disciples, and when we were coming, first we were talking about those dear brothers that had been with us and who are now saints of heaven, and then we were talking about how those disciples and early believers, they were the same way: joys and sorrows, sins, defeats and victories. Nothing has changed. Nothing has changed.

And you know Paul, Paul then who also saw the Lord Jesus well, he saw that bright light. He actually heard the voice of Jesus: 'Saul, why persecutest thou me?' And he was struck blind. He was a righteous man, one would say, one who's in unbelief. Paul thought he was a righteous man. He went around taking captive the believers, and he thought he was doing the Lord's work. Jesus taught him otherwise.

And he lamented that, 'I am the least of all the apostles, for I persecuted the church.' He also complained about the thorn in his flesh which buffeted him, which wore like a thorn into his flesh, and he lamented to God about it, to Jesus, and he was reminded, 'Sufficient is my grace.'

Nothing has changed, dear brothers and sisters. Each one of us has that low place in the fence where we especially need to be watchful in our life.

The apostle Paul went on to lament. Imagine, you know, when you read about, well, you can read the letters of the apostle Paul. Do that to your children, the epistles of Paul, the letters that he wrote to those believers.

In one of them he lamented and he said, 'Oh, wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from this body of death?'

He experienced sin and defeat like you and I do. He experienced sin as you and I.

Those sins on the left side of the way, and even those sins on the right side of the way. Often when we're vigilant and battle against those sins on the left, those sins of the flesh, Satan then is pulling us to the right side to the sins of the right, of the righteousness of man, the self-righteousness which is so prevalent in our time and in the time of Jesus and throughout time.

One speaker brother related in this way of it, that one gets mired down in the deceiving bogs of self-righteousness. What a picture! It's amazing a picture that words can describe, and that is self-righteousness.

One is mired down in the deceiving bogs of righteousness of man. One is incapable of doing anything when one is there. But isn't it so? One is incapable of doing anything when one is on the left side of the way.

We are totally dependent upon the angels that God has here in his kingdom. We need that love of Christ in our midst. That love of Christ must flow from heart to heart to heart to heart. It must. And we must take time to re-bind those bonds and re-tie those bonds that tie us together.

Dear brothers and sisters, we are living in a time of unity and such love that there has not been here for many, many, many a long time. We are living in a time of building and upbuilding of God's kingdom and of increase, and we're experiencing the blessing of God.

And yet especially it's important that we bind, re-tie those bonds that tie us together, that bond of love. The mice of bitterness and envy and greed are gnawing away at that continually, and there's need again and again to re-tie those bonds.

When difficulties come, dear brothers and sisters, offenses come, oh please, please talk and speak. You need to visit among yourselves. If there is bad feelings between one brother or sister in faith to another, oh Satan is rejoicing.

And yet in this time of increase and upbuilding of God's kingdom, we experience the onslaught of Satan. We do.

We in recent times experience this very thing about the reason of man, the wisdom of man, the academic thoughts of man, even among former believers that have been with us and have left, who have difficulty understanding and believing the very basics of living faith, those things that we accept without question and believe simply from the eyes of a child of God.

And yet we have such a loving heavenly Father. The vast, vast, vast majority of God's children are huddled there together in one flock. But at any given time there are those on the outskirts who are struggling, difficulty.

Oh, how we need to remember one another, carry one another, to uplift one another.

Dear brothers and sisters, believe this evening, believe this message from our Lord: 'O fools and slow of heart to believe all that you have been taught, simply believe. Your sins and doubts are forgiven in Jesus' name and precious blood. Be of good comfort.'

Oh, so many times we are in that place of a fool and slow of heart to believe all that we have been taught. And again Jesus comes and approaches us. We hear that sweet still voice of God always encouraging, 'Come this way, simply believe.'

In that place where you are, you do not need to make yourself any better, nor must you make yourself any worse, but simply believe. In that place, sins are forgiven. Jesus is not dead; He lives, and we live in Him.

Oh, I need to hear that forgiveness and that blessing too. Will you forgive me for my shortcomings and fears? Don't I want to believe with you? I want to get to heaven, and I'm just like you. I need to be carried there by you, dear brothers and sisters.

And boy, is it nice to be home.

And so we thank God for all that He's done to us in Jesus' name. Amen.

We'll close in benediction: 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 kindness upon us and give us peace in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.