Sermon in Minneapolis 22.04.2018

Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Let us begin our service this morning with opening prayer and thanksgiving.

Holy and righteous God, our dear Heavenly Father, we again thank you for this opportunity to gather around your holy and unperishing word. We first of all thank you for your many temporal blessings. We thank you for the beautiful day and the sunshine that we are able to enjoy after the long winter is now seemingly over. But above all, we wish to thank you for your Son, Jesus Christ, in whom you have prepared that gift of salvation. You have opened the way to heaven. And by and through his merits, we can be on this way of life in your kingdom, traveling toward our eternal home in heaven.

So we ask for your service blessings, comfort and console us, lead us and guide us, and also feed us with your everlasting gospel word. All of this we ask in the name of your dear Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Today is the third Sunday after Easter, and the theme is the people of God are longing for their home. And the official theme or word for this Sunday comes from a Latin word, jubilate, which means jubilee, which is found in today's psalm text in Psalm 66. So that word is in the psalm text, and for which reason it is chosen as the official theme word for today.

Even though Easter is past, we are still living the Easter season, and that will be until Pentecost. So we are still remembering and living of the joy of the resurrection. And Jesus rose from the grave for our righteousness sake, as Paul writes in one of his epistles.

The Gospel text for today is from John chapter 14, verses 1 through 7. So we'll quieten our hearts and hear these words as follows in Jesus' name.

Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God. You believe also. You believe in me. In my Father's house there are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you that I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be. And where I go, you know, and the way you know.

Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither or where thou goest, and how can we know the way?

Jesus said unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. But you had known me, and you should have known my Father also. And from henceforth you know him, and have seen him. Amen.

Amen.

This is from Jesus' sermon or farewell sermon. He had gathered together with his disciples to celebrate the Passover meal, and it would be the last time he would do so. Therefore, it is called the Last Supper. And in connection with this Passover meal, Jesus then established Holy Communion, one of the two New Testament sacraments.

When the meal was over, according to custom, they sang a song of praise, which comes from Psalms 118. It encompassed several chapters of the book of Psalms in that part of the Bible.

Now, the events of Good Friday were just about to unfold. And Jesus then keeps a farewell sermon, a long, a warm, a calm, comforting and uplifting farewell sermon. I'm sure it was difficult for him, and especially sad and difficult for the disciples.

Even though Jesus had hinted at his departure many times earlier, the Bible says that the disciples really couldn't grasp it, and they couldn't really comprehend what Jesus was talking about. Jesus wanted to speak something very important to them, and he wanted to make it short and concise.

When we think about ourselves and our lives, and when we meet people and encounter people, none of us know if this will be the last time that we ever meet each other. So in a way, it's good to think about it in this way, that each time we are saying farewell, it could be the last farewell. Well, we would hope not, but none of us ever know.

It's related that as the Winter War was breaking out, Finland had experienced decades of peace. And now this was something new, in a way unexpected, and very traumatic for this small nation of Finland. And the nation, perhaps we could say as a whole, began to pray and turn to God and ask for his help and guidance.

Now many men, many of them young single men, some fathers of families were being called off to war. And this was a sad farewell situation for many. It is related that at the Oulu train station, Viljus Udry was there saying goodbye to tens, perhaps hundreds, of young Christian boys and adult men and fathers as they were boarding the train, leaving for the battlefront. Viljus was blessing them.

There was much evil. There was much emotion. There was even unbelievers who followed what was happening. And many unbelievers even made repentance. Many of those men who boarded the train and left to the battlefront never returned again.

So, Jesus is now saying, There is a great pain that don't let your heart be troubled. It is actually a very strong word in the Greek language, this word troubled, don't let your heart be crushed. Don't let your heart be mortified or incomplete, dismayed.

And in spite of this, there is a great pain, there is a great sorrow of departure. Jesus says, Believe in God and believe in me. Even in the midst of the great sorrow of departure.

So, what were some of the reasons that the disciples were so troubled, their hearts were as if crushed? We can know that the disciples were troubled. We can get a glimpse of it if you read the latter verses of the previous chapter.

Jesus was alluding that one of the disciples would betray me, Judas Iscariot. And he was also hinting that Peter, the quick spoken disciple, would also deny him. But then he was also saying that he would only be with him but a short while any longer.

So, believe in me, in God, and believe also in me. And then he says, In my Father's house there are many mansions. He is referring to our home in heaven. That there in heaven there are many rooms or there is much space. There is room for any number of people. The space will never fill up.

Some people wrongly think that eventually the space in heaven will be full, that no more can enter therein. It will not be like on the first Christmas morning when Mary and Joseph were looking for a place to give birth to a baby. And the Christmas gospel says, And there was no room for them in the inn. But there will always be enough room.

And all of those who believe in Christ Jesus and die in faith, they will make it to the glory of heaven one day. So in my Father's house there are many mansions or there is plenty of room. If it were not so, I would have told you.

But he says, I go to prepare for the day. I will prepare a place for you. So he is soon to leave, soon to depart, ascend back into the glory of heaven. And there everything will be prepared and ready at that moment for when our call, our individual call is heard and we are able to close our eyes in faith to this world and we are able to lay down the travel staff.

We will then receive a crown of life there in the glory of heaven. So here Jesus is talking about that home, that eternal home in heaven.

I have also heard an explanation that here could be a reference to our spiritual home, the kingdom of God on earth as well. And we know that the doors are always open into the kingdom of God. And there is always a beckoning call for those who are on the outside of God's kingdom in unbelief that the doors are open. You are welcome.

And we would hope and pray that you could hear the gospel and receive the grace of repentance. So the doors are always open from the outside to the inside.

But then I heard one brother this week when I was listening to sermons on this text mention in this way that the doors are also open in a sense from the inside to the outside. What does this mean? That means that no one is kept in this kingdom of God, this house of grace, by force.

If someone wants to leave, there is no way we can hold them back from leaving. We wouldn't want that anyone would leave. But it is a voluntary matter, the matter of faith and the matter of believing.

So the doors are open. What can we do? We can pray on an individual's behalf and say, please, don't go. Stay here. For here is found life. And here is found salvation.

So Jesus says that I will go and prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again. So this is in reference to his second coming.

When the disciples and the apostles and all of those who were on Mount Olives saw Jesus ascend into the glory of heaven, Jesus said, don't be dismayed. As you see me departing and ascending into heaven, in like manner I will one day return again.

As we say in the Creed, he will one day come again to judge the living or the quick and the dead.

So I will come again and then I will receive you. As Paul writes to the Thessalonians about the end of the world, that one day the trumpet will be sound and we will hear a cry and a shout. And those that are living will be snatched up to receive and meet the Lord in the winds and the clouds.

And also the graves and the seas will give up their own. And those that have died in faith, those that have died in faith, will be taken into the glory of heaven.

So I will come again and then when I come again I will receive you unto myself that there where I am you also may be.

And where I am going you know and you know the way.

But then a name, an apostle or a disciple by the name of Thomas comes out in our text. And we remember Thomas later on after the events of Easter when Jesus appeared the first time behind locked doors. Thomas wasn't there for some reason.

And Jesus suddenly appeared. The doors were locked and the windows were shuttered. But then suddenly without opening the doors or opening the windows how it happened, I don't know, but Jesus just as if by a miracle appeared in their midst.

And he showed the wounds in his hands, the wounds in his feet, and the wound in his side. And he spoke to them lovingly. At first they thought it was a spirit or a ghost.

And he said, Jesus said to them when they were afraid, they were afraid that Jesus would come with them to them with a whip that you deserted me there in the garden of Gethsemane. Couldn't you stay and give me moral support even for a moment?

But the Old Testament writing was fulfilled when the shepherd is smitten the sheep or the flock will scatter. So I'm sure the disciples were afraid when they saw Jesus that now he's going to harshly rebuke them.

That couldn't you stay and defend me there in the garden of Gethsemane? But to their surprise it was a different encounter. Warmth came forth from him. Radiance was glowing from his face. And softly and lovingly he spoke to them.

And he said, Peace be unto you. As my father has sent me, so I send you.

But then Thomas wasn't there. And when he heard news or heard the greetings from those events behind the locked doors, he said, I don't believe it. I do not believe it.

And Thomas said, Unless I can touch him, physically touch him, unless I can take my fingers and put them in the wounds in his hands, in his feet and thrust my fist into the wound in his side, I simply will not believe what you are telling me.

Jesus appeared the second time. And this time Thomas was there. And we could say he appeared just for Thomas' sake. And lovingly he spoke to Thomas.

And he said, Thomas, come here. Come close. Take your fingers. Here, put them in the wounds in my hands and in my feet. Take your hand and thrust it in the wound in my side. And do not be in doubt or in disbelief. But believe.

Then he said to Thomas, Thomas, since you have now seen me, you now believe. But then Jesus said words which are for us who haven't been able to have an experience like Thomas. But blessed are those who have not seen but yet believe.

But Thomas, when Jesus was talking to him, then he broke out and he cried and he said, a confession of faith. My Lord and my God. Jesus, you are my Lord. Jesus, you are my God.

So now the same Thomas is here in our text. And Thomas asks a question. All questions are allowable in God's kingdom. We can ask any question. Any question under heaven and earth.

Has it ever been said that's a foolish question? Has it ever been said that, no, don't ask that question? We can even ask questions as I've heard in a sermon a couple of weeks ago over the internet that we can even ask any question about the, in Finland the 1970s, or we would say here, the 1980s.

We can freely ask, what were those times? Why did they happen? We are not forbidden from asking even such questions. When they are asked sincerely and with a childlike mind.

We know that there are Pharisees who came and asked questions with a wrong intent. These are different types of questions. But when with a childlike mind and sincerely and simply we ask, there are questions that we are allowed to ask, we can ask, and we will attempt in the light of the Bible to sit down and try to find answers to these questions.

So Thomas asked a question. And it was a good question. Jesus didn't rebuke him? No, not at all.

Thomas said unto him, Jesus, the Lord, we do not know where you are going. And how can we know the way? So that's the question that Thomas asked Jesus. We don't know where you are going. And how do we know the way?

The way.

So then Jesus responds and says, I am the way. And Jesus responds and said, I am.

It's interesting. This is a common phrase that comes up time and time again in the Gospel according to Saint John. And actually, it has very much significance and has much impact.

When Moses was being addressed by God at the burning bush, Moses asked the question, Who are you? And when I'm being sent to go back to the nation of Israel and to be their leader, to lead them out of the bondage of Egypt, they will ask that, Who sent you?

So Moses is asking now the voice speaking to him from the burning bush. When they ask him that question, Who sent you? The voice from the burning bush says, Tell them that I am. The one who has the name, the title, I am sent you.

So I am is equal to God. It's a name, a title for God. I am is equal to God or Lord.

So Jesus uses this title many, many times in the Gospel according to Saint John. I am the bread of life. I am the true vine. I am the good shepherd. And now he says, I am the way. I am the truth. And I am the life.

So Jesus says that, I am the way. And when in paradise, Adam and Eve fell into sin, and the way to heaven was shut, it was like an impassable curtain fell down from heaven, and there was no access at that point into heaven.

So there's no open road to heaven. But then God gave his promise of the coming Messiah, his own son, which is in a very vague form when it was spoken there in paradise, that of the seed of the woman, so there will be born someone from a woman, who eventually was the Virgin Mary.

He who was born of the seed of the woman will crush the head of the serpent or the enemy of the souls. So Jesus Christ will crush the work and the power of the enemy of souls.

So this was the Gospel of promise, the promised Gospel. And when Adam and Eve were able to hear this and believe this, this was their way. It opened for them by faith that way and gave them access to heaven, the glory of heaven.

So there is one way, one pathway to heaven, and it is the way of the righteousness of faith, the way of the forgiveness of sins through faith. That is the only way to access heaven one day. And so that is the way.

And the writer to the Hebrews says in this way that when Jesus died on the cross, symbolically he went into the most holy, and most holy is a picture of heaven, and he went through the curtain, that is through his flesh, and he opened that way unto the glory of heaven.

So he blazed that way. He opened that way, gave access unto the glory of heaven.

In a way this word in the Bible, in the Greek language, has the connotations of being a forerunner. For example, if you go ask someone that I want to go to such and such a store, I am new in this locality, can you give me the directions?

Well, if the person says that, well, go a half mile this way and then take a left, and then go two blocks and take a right, and then take another left, and take another right, and another left, and I am pretty sure your head is spinning, would you find the way to that destination?

But if that person comes and then takes you by the hand, and leads you and guides you and brings you to that destination, isn't that kind of, that kind of the picture or illustration that Jesus is saying?

So Jesus didn't give the people a map and say here you can see the map, the way on the map. But Jesus said, I am the way. And the only way to get to heaven is by and through Jesus Christ, His merits, and what He has done on our behalf.

And simply by faith, alone by grace, when we own Christ Jesus, He is that way. It will lift us. It will carry us. And it will bring us one day to the home in heaven.

Of course this way goes by and through the kingdom of God which is here on this earth.

This old man, Mauno Koiweneva once said, and he used that several times as an illustration, in his sermons, and he illustrated it in this way. He said at that time, way back in the 40s and the 50s, there was, and still is, the store in Helsinki called Stockman. And they had an escalator. It was probably the only store in Finland that had an escalator.

Or if we go to the airport, we got the, you know, the moving conveyor belt so you don't have to walk from one end of the terminal to the other. You can stand on that moving belt. He says this is what it is.

And so, the way of Jesus for us, we step on that escalator or step on that moving conveyor belt and Jesus, who is the way, he lifts us, he carries us, and he will bring us one day to the destination without any efforts, works, or merits of our own.

It is alone through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Savior, and Redeemer. So we are saved alone by faith, alone by grace, alone through the merits of Christ Jesus.

So he didn't, and there he says, I am the way, but I am the truth.

There are people who are scientists in this world and they are always coming up with theories and theorems and testing their postulates and they come up with something which they say is the truth.

But lo and behold, as time goes on and science continues, that theory or that postulate may be overturned and proven to be maybe false and incorrect.

So then the question is, what is the ultimate truth? Is there such a thing in this world as the final truth? Or is it just the final, the ultimate truth?

Pontius Pilate was talking to Jesus one time and he asked him face to face, what is truth? And he was talking to Jesus himself.

And here Jesus says, I am the truth.

Paul writes in one of his letters in this way, that we have been begotten. We have received new birth. A person receives the grace of repentance through the word of truth. Through the word of truth.

The word, the living word of God contains God's truth.

But then it's kind of interesting, there's a couple of, excuse me, a couple of terms in the Bible which may sometimes get intermixed with each other. One is congregation, another is kingdom of God.

These are two different concepts. The congregation means the assembled visible body of believers. And that isn't the kingdom of God. It's not a local congregation.

But the kingdom of God is something that is invisible. It is Christ's kingship.

And Jesus said to the disciples, or the Pharisees, excuse me, when asked that when is the kingdom of God going to come? And Jesus said, it will not come that you're able to see it with your eyes. It's invisible.

But lo here, lo there, he said to the Pharisees, the kingdom of God is in your midst. Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there in your midst.

And the borders of God's kingdom are invisible. And they go from one believing heart to another by and through the bonds of the Holy Spirit and through the ties of love.

But then Jesus says, I am the truth.

But then there's a statement in Paul's letter to Timothy and he says that when I'm gone or not present in these days, then he talks about the kingdom of God, which is a pillar and ground of truth.

So is the kingdom of God the truth? Is that in conflict with Jesus' statement? I am the truth.

We know that Christ lives in his congregation. The congregation and Christ are inseparable.

But it's an interesting analogy. Paul is saying that the kingdom of God, when writing to Timothy, in 1 Timothy 3 verse 15, he says it is the pillar.

When you go to the area where Paul and Timothy were, for example, in Greece, they had all kinds of pillars everywhere. That was part of the culture and the architecture at that time.

So the pillar itself, which is a picture of the kingdom of God, is not the truth. Or that's not the object in question.

But the pillar was only a support for the buttress or the bust of this emperor or that emperor or this king or that king which was on the top of the pillar.

So the kingdom of God, which is like the pillar, is that which is supporting, holding, demonstrating, and showing that which is the truth. The truth which is Christ Jesus.

So yet, Christ Jesus is the truth.

Where is Christ Jesus found? Christ Jesus is found in his kingdom. They are inseparable. They belong one with another.

And another picture that Paul uses is the picture of the body. We are the members as members of God's kingdom, the hand, the feet, and so forth.

But the head, the head of the body is Christ Jesus himself.

But then when we think of truth, John writes in his gospel a little bit earlier in chapter 1, he says that the law came through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

So Jesus is both grace and truth. So they belong together. They are inseparable.

Likewise, grace and truth, just as fire can't be separated from heat. Where you got fire, you got heat. And where you got heat, you most likely got fire. So they go hand in hand.

But yet, grace goes before truth. First grace, and then truth. We must remember that order. First grace, and then truth.

And if it would so happen, said the old man, Mati Suo, maybe many of you don't know his name, but he was a preacher that was living in Finland back in the 1920s.

Well, he died in 1927, so he was living in the late 1800s and up to 1920. He once made this statement, which has been repeated time and time again.

If truth gets put before grace, if truth gets put before grace, it's a harsher whip than the law of Moses ever was.

And we know that the law of Moses is a law of condemnation, death, and death. And in the law of Moses, there is no love at all.

So then we talk about grace instructions. Yes, they are instructions of grace.

We were just at Stoney Lake last week, and then Friday night we read a presentation kept by Olavi Vojtonen, which he kept at the ministers' meeting in Oulu at the end of December.

And he was referring to this, these grace instructions. And the letter, Paul's letters, are filled with grace instructions.

But these are instructions in love. And as he quoted one old grandmother who said, they are dipped in the blood of Christ. They are wrapped in the blood of Christ.

So what does this mean? It means, an instruction is this, if you're talking to another brother and sister and giving them an instruction that says, Dear brother, dear sister, please, don't go down that road. Don't do that.

Don't you realize it could be and is a danger to your faith. And if you continue down that road, you may lose your faith. And we want no one to lose their faith.

So you can see the grace instruction, filled with grace.

But we also talked, as Olavi Vojtonen mentioned, he said, at all times, at all times, there's always the danger of leniency and the dangers of law-mindedness at every moment.

And he said, he mentioned the third use of the law, that this is continually a danger. And with a reason, it was mentioned. I don't know what the reason was, but maybe it's a continual danger during all periods of times in the life of Christianity.

So what is, then, in actuality, I've often pondered in my mind that, what does it mean? We know that Christ is the end of the law unto salvation for all who believe.

The law does not belong to a believer. And the third use of the law is, is this, when it's wrongly being taught that the law also belongs to the believer to keep our flesh under control and keep us on the straight and narrow.

That's a wrong doctrine.

So in theory, I believe sin is forgiven and Jesus' name is blood. So in theory, then, what does this mean? I mean, in theory, I understand it, but what does it mean in practice?

What would make it evident that the law has now been placed on the believers? I've heard mentioned in this way that, whenever the instructions are a command, a demand, and are harsh, he said, immediately, it's the law.

So when they're harsh, when they're a command, and when they are a demand, he said, that is the law.

So the grace instructions are, dear brother, dear sister, this is a loving warning. A loving exhortation. We don't want you to go down that road. We don't want you or anyone to lose their faith. Please, don't do that. Please return. Please avoid this or that.

So Jesus says, I am the truth, I am the way, and I am the life. So Jesus is our life. He is our salvation. He is our hope of heaven. He has done all on our behalf.

Our only hope of heaven is by and through the merits of Christ Jesus and what he has done. There is no other foundation than the foundation which has been set, which has been laid, and it is Christ Jesus himself.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, that whoever hears my word, and believes in him, he, that person, by faith, through faith, will have eternal life.

So Jesus is our life, our source of life, our hope of heaven. He is our purity. He is our salvation.

As Paul writes to the Corinthians, he is our righteousness. He is our sanctification. He is our holiness. And he is our hope of eternal life.

And so, grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ, our Lord. And he is our hope of life, and hope of eternal life, and of heaven.

So, when in faith, we grasp onto and hold Christ Jesus in our heart, we are able to live in the life of Christ Jesus.

Paul writes to the Galatians, I live, not me, any longer, but Christ lives in me.

So by faith, Christ is dwelling in our hearts. Or it's just like the parable of the true vine. When we are like a branch attached to the true vine, which is the trunk, which is Christ Jesus, continually, there is a continual flow of nutrients coming from the root system, up through the trunk, and into each of the branch.

An unbroken flow. Continual flow.

And when we are a member in the body of Christ, whether a finger, a hand, a foot, or a leg, how does each of these members in the body stay alive and receive nutrients and nourishment? Isn't it because blood is the source of life? Isn't it because blood is flowing from the heart throughout all of the members and keeping each of the members alive through the blood flow?

Continual, constant blood flow. Unbroken, unending blood flow.

If the branch would be broken off, the branch would wither and die. If a finger would get cut off, that finger, if it is not reattached, would wither up and die.

And so, likewise the Old Testament prophet Ezekiel was asked to go and step into the stream, that stream of grace. And he went up to his ankles, and he went up to his knees, and he went up to his waist, and pretty soon, it was so deep, he had to swim.

By faith, we are continually swimming in this stream of grace. The stream of grace which flows from the throne of God in the land.

And so, we are continually swimming in the land.

The thief on the cross, at the last moments of his life, he heard from the words of his savior, today, you shall be with me in paradise. Today at this moment.

He was translated from unbelief unto faith. And, moments later, without any works or merits or efforts on his own part, by grace, he was carried into the glory of heaven.

And so, the Bible, or the songwriter, says in his farewell song, he says, grace will carry us on our journey till our homeland, shore, we meet. Grace will carry us on our journey till our homeland, shore, we meet.

So, grace is a good teacher. Grace is the best teacher. Grace is the perfect teacher. Can we speak too much grace?

Jesus says, or Paul, John says in the beginning of his letter to John, that we have received grace, and then, grace of grace. Grace in great abundance.

So, the best teacher is grace. A teacher in the outward sense would begin to teach his students, whether mathematics or history, and getting them prepared for a test, that learn this and this and this and that, and with your outward rote memory, then you'll be prepared for the test, and you'll know the matters.

But, grace is an inward teacher. One brother said in this way that, grace does not allow any permissiveness of sin. Grace does not allow any permissiveness of sin. Grace does not allow any permissiveness of sin.

We have experienced, when we have traveled on the way, and we have stumbled, and we have erred, grace begins to teach us, first of all, ahead of time, don't go there. Don't do it.

And if we err and stumble and fall, and wound our conscience, grace then begins to teach us, that you are troubled. You have things that, that you need to take care of.

Speak softly and gently, and we want to give a tender ear to this voice, beckoning voice. Don't harden your heart to this voice.

And then, when we have received the strength by God to go and take care of that which is bothering us, we must remember, salvation is alone in Christ Jesus, alone in Christ Jesus.

It's not in the endeavor. It's not in confession. Yes, the endeavor is a fruit of living faith. But it's not a condition of salvation. It's a fruit. It's a result. And it automatically comes as a fruit of faith.

And even in confession, it's not that we would become any better, more righteous, more holy before God. But no, that we wouldn't become burdened and overburdened. And so burdened, that we would eventually leave and lose our faith.

One brother said that he lied to one of his teachers at school. And so when we sin, even as a believer, it doesn't mean that we're automatically out of faith. No.

But if the heart is right, God is patient. He is loving. And he said, this one brother said that this matter kept on bugging him, bothering him. And he tried to shoo it away.

And it went on for weeks. And it went on for months. And he just couldn't get it out of his mind. It just kept on bothering him.

And finally he says that when he finally received strength to talk about this matter and have it forgiven, he said it never came back to bother him again.

So isn't it for this reason that we wouldn't have to walk with a heavy burdened conscience and that we could walk with light footsteps, continuing on the journey of faith and traveling to God.

And we're going to walk toward our everlasting home in the glory of heaven.

So we must remember that our salvation is not cooperative work. Say 99% of what God has done and then 1% of what we have done. No.

It's not cooperative work. It's 100% in the work which God has done for us in his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the A. And he is the O of our salvation.

So we sing in one song in this way. I'll say it in the Finnish language because I remember quoting it.

Älä rakas veli syskö. Katso omaa sydäntäs. Se on aivan kylmä kolkko. Kylmä ja ynseä.

And I think it's 584 in the Finnish language. 584. Bear with me. I didn't have it open here.

Dear beloved brother, sister, do not look into your heart. It is evil, vain, and empty, and so cold and sin-defiled.

Katso sydä veri ylkä. Jönk on sydän balava. Synä syndi synkyn løvdä. Sydä mentä ilová.

See the bridegroom's heart is burning in a bloody crimson blaze. In that heart the greatest sinners can behold the heavenly rays.

So brothers and sisters, we can behold our Savior Christ Jesus, the one who suffered and died on our behalf. We can behold his open wounds, yet today with eyes of faith.

And as we sing in the Song of Zion, the voice of the blood of Jesus sounds forth from Zion's hill to you, a weary pilgrim who longs to hear it still.

Isn't this the reason we have come again to services? To again be reconfirmed, reestablished, supported in our life of faith. To be fed and nourished with the Gospel. To be blessed with the Holy Spirit.

To be blessed with the Holy Spirit. To be blessed with the Holy Spirit. To be blessed with the Holy Spirit. To be blessed with the Gospel.

Son and daughter, be of good cheer. Your sins are forgiven unto You. In the name and through the blood of Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior.

And again, as we say in the Finnish language song, sometimes they say, does grace yet belong to me? Does grace yet belong to me, we may ask.

In the Finnish it says, armokulu suule juri, suule rauka syntisin.

Grace belongs to you, even to you who is the most the greatest sinner so believe even now in the merits of Christ Jesus sins forgiven unto peace, freedom and joy.

And I would ask does grace yet belong to me as well and I believe my sins forgiven I wish to believe together with you 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.