Sermon in Minneapolis 28.09.2008

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, let us begin our services with opening prayer.

Dear Heavenly Father, again this morning, we thank you for this opportunity that we have been able to gather together around your Holy Word. Father, we thank you for your many blessings you have given us here in this life, needful for our body, but also our soul. We thank you above all for your Son, Jesus Christ, who has paid that price of redemption, who opened the pathway unto heaven and prepared that everlasting home that waits for those who are in need of it. We thank you for your love for Jesus Christ, who believes in him.

So we ask for service blessings again this morning, that you would be with us through your Spirit. Bless us with your everlasting Word. Comfort us and feed us with your Gospel. And preserve us in this begun faith until the end of our life here on this earth. All of this we ask in the name of your dear Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Today is the 20th Sunday after Pentecost. And today's theme speaks to us about faith and unbelief. And one Old Testament text for this Sunday is from the first book of the Bible, Genesis chapter 15. And I will read verses 1 through 6.

After these things, the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram, I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.

And Abram said, Lord God, what will I do? What wilt thou give me? Seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus.

And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed, and lo, one born in my house is mine heir.

And behold, the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir, but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.

And he brought him forth abroad and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars if thou be able to number them.

And he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.

And he believed in the Lord, and he counted it to him for righteousness. Amen.

There was, in the last verse of our red text, an accounting term, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. In other translations, it says, And it was credited unto him for righteousness.

The national debt of our country is nine trillion dollars. They are operating on credit. And perhaps next week, it will rise nearly another trillion dollars to ten trillion dollars. And that translates, because there are 300 million individuals in this country, it translates to nearly 30,000 dollars of debt for every living individual here in this country.

I'm sure each one of us gets letters in the mail almost every day, offering offerings from different credit card companies, and I'm sure this will be the case for a lot of people. How you can open a new credit card account. Transfer your balance interest-free from one to another. People take up these offers, open up new credit cards, and, again, individually increase their debt. They are living on credit.

Many people, because of their great debt load, have to file bankruptcy. And, according to the laws of this land, they can then start over. Begin with a clean sheet. Of course, their credit rating has been hurt, and ruined at the same time.

This is the term, the accounting term, that is used when God is talking to Abraham. Abraham is known as the father of faith. We remember that he was called from his former place of dwelling in Haran. When he was 75 years old, he was asked to leave everything behind. Leave your homeland. Leave your family. Leave your relatives. And go to a land that I will show you. He knew not where he was going. He just listened and obeyed, and trusted in the word of God that was spoken unto him.

And severing the ties with his former background, we could say that this was his repentance when he severed the umbilical cord to the world, to the world of unbelief. And trusting in God, he began his new journey in faith. He continued until he was told again to stop.

This is the promised land. This is the land of Canaan and you can go and scout the boundaries. This is the land where you and your descendants will live in the promised land. But then God said he gave him a promise: I will make of you a father of a great nation. You will have much prosperity, many offspring. Your offspring will be numbered more than the numbers of grains of sand on the seashore.

He was 75 years old and his wife Sarah was 10 years younger, already well beyond her childbearing years. According to biological laws, typically a woman's childbearing years come to an end in her 40s. A very rare exception would a woman have a child any longer in her 50s or 60s.

So God gave this promise, this promise of being the father of a great nation. He would be a father of a nation that would have many descendants. And so he believed, he trusted in this promise.

What is faith? To the Sunday school children this morning, we tried to explain what is the concept of faith. And one definition in the Bible is in Hebrews chapter 11, the first verse: it's trusting in those things that we do not see, having hope for things which in many ways may seem to be hopeless.

I'm sure as a human being Abraham had many doubts, many misgivings. How was it possible that I would be the father of a great nation and my wife is already 65 years of age? Years passed by and I'm not sure that I'm going to be a father of a great nation. But I'm sure that I'm going to be a father of a great nation.

Years passed by and now again God renews his promise. After these things the word of the Lord came to Abraham in a vision. And it was more not a vision that he saw with his eyes but it was an appearance that he heard with his ears. And it was that he heard with his ears and it was more that he heard with his ears and it was more that he heard and likewise he also was able to then witness with his eyes.

And God said, Fear not Abraham, I am your shield. I am your protection. I will protect you, guide you and keep you. But then reiterates the promise: and your reward will be exceeding great.

Yet God's promise is valid. He has not rescinded this promise of Abraham being the father of a great nation.

And Abraham then replies, Lord God, what will you give me seeing it seems to be that I am going to be childless? But they had a servant that lived in their household. And the servant's name is mentioned here, Eliezer of Damascus.

And historical documents and archaeological finds have shown that it was very typical in that society at that time if a couple went childless or remained childless and they eventually passed away, their inheritance, their entire inheritance would go to the servants, to the maids in their household.

So this is what Abraham is saying. It looks like our servant, was it a maid, will be the heir of our entire inheritance.

And Abraham said, Behold, to me you have given no seed. You promised already 20 years ago, nearly 20 years or maybe it's over 20 years ago, that I would be the father of a great nation. I would have children and children would have children. And the numbers would one day be more than the numbers of grains of sand on the seashore.

But you have not fulfilled this promise. And lo, one who is born in my house is my true real heir. At this point, it's going to be my servant, the maid Eliezer. But there has no one yet been born from the bowels of my wife, Sarah.

And behold, the word of the Lord came unto him, unto Abraham, saying, This shall be your heir. But not the maid Eliezer, but he that shall come forth out of your own bowels, your own natural descendant, a real child, shall be your heir.

And then he was. Abraham was led by the hand out of his tent. We can imagine. And asked to look up into the dark, starry sky. And we can imagine asked to begin to count the number of stars that he could see.

And God brought him, Abraham, and said, Look now toward heaven and tell the stars if thou be able to number them.

And God said unto him, So shall thy seed be, or the number of your descendants shall be.

I'm sure this was yet from the human portion very difficult to understand but I understand and hard to believe.

We remember at that point in time when Abraham and Sarah received three guests into their home. And as Sarah was in the tent preparing some food for the guests, which was a natural way of showing hospitality then as it is now, she overheard the three guests, the angels, speaking to Abraham.

And they mentioned that we will come back. We will return one year from now. And at that time there will be a child born into your family.

Abraham then was ninety-nine years old and Sarah was at the ripe old age of eighty-nine.

And we remember Sarah's response. She laughed.

What is faith? As we mentioned already, the book of Hebrews says the definition in Chapter 11: Now faith is the substance of things that are hoped for, and it is the evidence of things not seen.

We remember the book of Hebrews was written with the historical setting and its background of the people of Israel on their wilderness journey. They were on that journey for forty years after being in that foreign land of Egypt for four hundred and thirty years.

And the last period of that four hundred and thirty years, they were under harsh, extreme conditions, being forced to do forced labor and asked to build pyramids in seemingly impossible ways and other structures as well.

Please appropriate their sighs went up one after another. Dones are not that meeting problem that deliver so r statue the plan on bondage and sold her a Alm trained and garden prա remote and and he then 4. The promised land of Pena. But while they were on that wilderness journey, it was not always easy. Things were often very difficult. There seemed to be no water. Many times food was scarce.

And the people began to murmur and complain, longing to be back in Egypt around the flesh pots, around the tables where there was food aplenty.

And so the writer of the Hebrews is illustrating this period of 40 years during their wilderness journey. And he mentions and says that many of them gave up their faith and didn't reach the promised land.

They were given the promise that if you are faithful, trust in God, you will one day make it through this arduous journey and reach that land of Canaan, which is the land of milk and honey.

Over the millions of people that left on that journey, which has been calculated to be in the millions, in the end of that generation that departed, only two, Joshua and Caleb, made it into the promised land.

The rest fell on the wayside, were lost, and died. And they lost their faith. They did not make it to their promised destination.

So, brothers and sisters, we have this gift of faith. By faith, we have Christ Jesus in our hearts. And through his merits, we are able to own and possess the forgiveness of sins.

With this promise that if we keep the faith, we will one day make it from this wilderness journey, this arduous journey likened unto the 40 years in the wilderness, eventually make it to the land of Canaan, the land of milk and honey.

No longer trials. No longer temptations. No longer sin. Faith will then be changed to seeing. Faith will no longer be needed. One will be able to be with Christ, our Savior, and see him face to face.

At this point in time now, we can't see him. We can't touch him. We can't hold him by the hand. We can't see heaven. We can't touch heaven. We can't prove that God exists.

But yes, God's will, in God's word, there are these sure promises that there is a place, the glory of heaven, waiting for those who believe in me.

Christ Jesus has risen into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty, from where he will one day come to judge the living and the dead.

But faith is not just a belief in historical events, events of the Bible that once happened and were fulfilled. But true living faith is this, that we own the Savior of saviors, Christ Jesus, and we are his servants. We are his servants.

God on tan comfortably partakes of our faith, Olympians says, in the film's magical testimony of Cardinal in the contents of verdade of Jesus Christ who came to a needed person with a esfuer in the Mystery of the魚 and asked him to begin to count the number of stars that are up there in the sky. An impossible task, for there are too many.

And God said, the number of your descendants will be more than the number of stars that you see in the sky.

And in response, it says of Abraham, and he believed in the Lord. He believed God. And this was counted. This was credited to his account for his righteousness.

Credit means something that is equal to something else.

It's very interesting that in the Old Testament times, when they were offering sacrifices, that they weren't supposed to offer a sacrifice except for in the temple area. And those who offered sacrifices outside of the temple area were considered murderers, even though they literally were not.

So the word credit in this sense means equal to.

So thinking of our debt. What do we have in our credit balance on our own account? In our own account.

We know what we have, I'm sure each one of us, in our natural lives.

But what does this mean in the spiritual sense?

When Adam and Eve were disobedient, when they ate of that forbidden tree there in the middle of the garden, God had warned them, on the day that you eat of that tree, you will surely die.

And they ate of that forbidden tree. They were chased out of the Garden of Eden.

And at that point in time, they were physically dead, separated from God.

And physical death came into the world through Adam and Eve.

And now we are heirs of that punishment. Every human being in this world. Everyone will one day physically die.

But at that point in time, God looked down from heaven and wanted to see if there was anyone who could correct that fall. Correct that error that was caused by the disobedience and the fall of Adam and Eve.

And we can imagine at that point of time, all roads to heaven were closed. It was just like an impassable curtain came down from heaven which could not be penetrated. Could not go through that curtain. Could not go around that curtain on either side. One could not dig under it. One could not go over it. All roads to heaven were completely shut.

Literally, Adam and Eve were expelled from paradise. An angel with a flaming sword was put to guard that gate back into paradise. The gate of which was closed.

So the psalmist says, at that point in time, God looked down from heaven to see if there was anyone who was acceptable. Anyone who was righteous.

And Paul quotes these same words in his book or his letter to the Romans in the third chapter.

And we could say that this is our report card. This is what our credit card account looks like.

If we could use a simple illustration from life, natural life, of course, our parents, we as parents, would hope and wish that our children would get good grades on their report card.

And if a child gets straight A's, we are, of course, as parents, very pleased and very happy.

And if we can use this analogy, that God, who is righteous, He is just, He is perfect, and He, as a just God, a righteous God, expects perfection from anyone who desires to get to heaven.

So we can say that in order to get to heaven, God expects a straight A report card.

No A minuses, no B pluses, a straight A, a perfect report card.

So now, the psalmist says of God, as a result of Adam and Eve's fall into sin, He looked down from heaven.

And what kind of report card do you have? Do I have? Does every human being here on this earth have? Based on we as ourselves as a human being.

So Paul writes, quoting the psalmist, and says, As it is written, there is no one who is righteous. No, not one.

Righteous means a righteous person. And now you can say, No, not one. It means one who is acceptable to God. Nothing is acceptable, and when God says righteous, it means one who is acceptable to God.

There is none that understand it. There is no one who even seeks after God.

They have all gone out of their way, or have gone astray, or have gone astray, off the true and the living way.

They have become entirely unprofitable, or unacceptable, unworthy.

There is no one who does good. No, not one.

Their throat is an open sepulcher, go open up a grave several years after the body has been buried into the bosom of the earth.

You can imagine what it would be like with a decaying body there in the open sepulcher.

With their tongues they have used deceit. The poison of asps or venomous serpents is under their lips.

Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.

Their feet are swift to shed blood.

Destruction and misery are in their ways.

In the way of peace they have not even known.

So this is what we have in our credit card balance. This is what our report card looks like before God. It's not straight A's. It is straight F's. F F F.

So what then? We remember when Jesus was visiting with this unprofitable servant and this servant was in debt to him ten thousand talents.

So what does that mean? It's a measurement of weight and a measurement of money back in the Bible times.

And one talent was worth six thousand days of a normal worker's wages.

So that translates into twenty million days worth of wages, ten thousand talents.

So this one person is indebted to the king twenty million days of wages.

And this is the result of that or in other words one hundred and fifty thousand years of wages he was indebted to the king.

So that means that every human being on the basis of the fall of sin by Adam and Eve in paradise because of our sin corruption we are indebted to God ten thousand talents which is likened onto in debt one hundred and fifty thousand years of wages to God our heavenly Father.

It seems that we are in debt so great so deep that the only in the natural world the only thing a person could do is file bankruptcy but that's not possible before God our heavenly Father.

So what then is the solution?

Adam and Eve were there in paradise. There was no road at that point open to heaven. There was an impassable curtain that had fallen. All roads were shut. You couldn't penetrate through. You couldn't go under. You couldn't go around. You could not go over.

But then God did not leave Adam and Eve. He did not leave humankind in this state. But he gave a promise and this is the promise of the righteousness by faith, the righteous, the way of the forgiveness of sins. It is the way of faith.

There in paradise he said the words of the seed of the woman will be born him the promised Messiah who will crush—in English it says bruise—in the original language it says crush, destroy the head of the serpent.

And this was the gospel unto Adam and Eve.

And then they were able to be clothed in clothes of skin. In order to get the skin to make the clothes an animal needed to be killed, offered and sacrificed. And then after it was killed the skin was removed from the dead animal.

We remember when John the Baptist was there on the shores of the river Jordan baptizing people in the river and then someone, a man, begins to approach and through eyes of faith John the Baptist was able to see it was enlightened unto him this was the promised Messiah himself.

He lifts his finger and he points to that man approaching and he says, Behold the Lamb of God who will take away the sin of the world.

So these promises that were given to him, given and reiterated time and again to the Old Testament saints of the coming Messiah were now fulfilled on Christmas morning.

He was born there in Bethlehem, laid in a manger.

Then he lived his 30 plus years here on this earth. He was man, a human being like you and I, and he was—he felt pain, he had human emotions, he had hunger and thirst like you and I.

He was even tempted in every way like you and I and any other human being.

But also at the same time he was God of God and light of light.

But there was one exception between Jesus Christ and any other human being: he was without sin.

And therefore God sent him to be that perfect, that one and only sacrifice that was needed.

And he was crucified on the cross there. He gave his life. He shed his blood on the middle cross of Golgotha.

And he was crucified on the cross of Golgotha. All is fulfilled.

He cried out, Father, into your hands I give my spirit, or I give my life.

So the Apostle Paul then writes to the Corinthians that he, Christ Jesus, is our righteousness. He is our perfection. He is our sanctification.

Now going on to the next chapter, going back to Abraham, it says that he believed in the Lord and this was accounted or credited to his account for his righteousness.

So if we could use another illustration, our report card before God as we read from Romans chapter 3 is completely unacceptable.

And we can say that as I use this illustration and confirmation before God we are like this black cover of this book totally unacceptable.

And in order to be heaven acceptable it needs to be perfectly white.

We have nothing of ourselves that we can offer. We are sin defiled. We are completely corrupt.

The only thing we have earned or merited before God our heavenly Father is condemnation in hell.

But by faith we can own that righteousness which is acceptable to God in heaven.

And this is then accounted or credited to our account.

This black book now becomes completely white when we own the righteousness of Christ Jesus in our hearts.

He is our righteousness. He is our sanctification. He is our perfection. He is our holiness.

So this is what happened in the world and what was said unto Abraham and these are the words that are comforting and of assurance for you and I even this morning.

But we carry two portions. We feel the weight of our own unworthiness, sin, corruption and defilement.

In many ways we often stumble and sin clings and makes the journey slow.

The good that I would want to do I often find myself not doing. The bad or the evil that I would not want to do I often find myself doing.

Therefore Paul cries out, Oh, what a wretched man that I am! Who can deliver me from this body of sin and death?

The spirit battles against the flesh, the sin corrupt flesh, and the flesh battles against the spirit.

We have this continual struggle, warfare and battle, and we will until we take our last breath in this life.

But brothers and sisters, we can even again this morning be comforted, be assured with that glad tidings of Jesus Christ, the gospel of Christ which is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe.

Even though we cannot see our Lord and Savior, we cannot touch him and hold him by the hand like the apostles and the disciples did during their time, lay our head upon his bosom like the apostle John the apostle of love did and hear his voice.

As Luther said, we have this golden time when a brother can say to a brother and a sister can say to a sister, Your sins are forgiven unto you.

So even now this morning at this moment there where you sit, perhaps doubting, perhaps feeling temptations and feeling your unworthiness, you can hear all the way from the heart of the heavenly Father, you can believe, Sins forgiven in his name and precious atonement blood.

And this power of the gospel lifts, carries and will bring us one day to our eternal home in heaven.

Their faith will be changed to sight and we can be with our Lord and Savior and see him face to face.

In Jesus' name, Amen.

The Lord bless us and keep us.

The Lord make his face to 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.