Sermon on Minneapolis 30.01.2011

May the grace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the love of God our Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with each and every one of us this morning, now and always.

Let us join in opening our services with prayer and thanksgiving. Our dear Heavenly Father, holy, righteous, and all-knowing God, we humbly draw an eye unto you in prayer, asking for your presence and blessing for our services. Father, you know our needs, our trials, and our temptations, and you alone are able to give us that which we need from your Holy Word. So divide unto us those morsels of grace which our hungering and thirsting souls so have need of, that we would be refreshed and strengthened to be able to take one more step on this narrow way of life.

Father, we pray on behalf of those who are not able to be with us this morning at services, where they are bound in illness, infirmities of old age, or even employed or in everyday doings at home. Or even those who are far away from family and friends and faith, serving our country and nation in its armed forces. Father, be with each and every one of your children. Father, comfort them, strengthen them, refresh them, and allow them to see your glory and feel your grace and your blessing, that they, together with all of your saints, would be able to comprehend the breadth, the height, the depth, and the width of your love.

And we, in addition, pray, Father, that you would not yet close the doors of your kingdom. We have so many dear friends, relatives, and neighbors who are not partakers of faith and blessing. We ask, Father, that you would awaken them and cause them to seek for that which pertains to the peace of their undying souls, that they could come knocking on the doors of your kingdom and hear that life-saving gospel message.

Give unto our leaders of our land, our nation, wisdom and understanding, to so lead and guide our country that we would be able to continue to freely gather and worship you, dear Father. But our prayers and our petitions are weak and imperfect and lacking, so we enclose all those said and unsaid in that prayer as your Son has taught us to pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

Before reading this text, I would like to bring greetings of love and God's peace. We were in an Internet Skype conference with our son, Anti, and his wife, Annika, and their girls, and they're in Japan yet for two more months. And they asked to be remembered. But also from Finland with our daughter, Johanna and Jari and their boys, and they also ask that their greetings would be related to you here.

So I shall read for our mutual study this morning a gospel text set aside for this fourth Sunday after Epiphany, which is found in the 14th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew from verse 15 through 33. These following holy words of God:

"And when it was evening, his disciples came to him saying, 'This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away that they may go into the villages and buy themselves victuals.' But Jesus said unto them, 'They need not depart; give ye them to eat.' They say unto him, 'We have but five loaves and two fishes.' He said, 'Bring them hither to me.' And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven he blessed and broke and gave the loaves to his disciples and disciples to the multitude. They did all eat and were filled, and he took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full. And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children.

And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship and to go before him onto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. When he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray. And when the evening was come, he was there alone.

But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves, for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, 'It is a spirit,' and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, 'Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.'

Peter answered him and said, 'Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.' And he said, 'Come.' When Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, 'Lord, save me!' And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand and caught him, and said unto him, 'O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?'

And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. And they that were in the ship came and worshipped, saying, 'Of a truth thou art the Son of God.' Amen."

I thought to read both of these narrations of the happenings in the life of the disciples and Jesus because it pictures for us also our own endeavor of faith: how we go from being able to rejoice together with the other children of God to being at our own place of watching, struggling in the midst of our own storms and needing the help that Jesus offers in his kingdom.

But when I thought of this Jesus and the disciples in the midst of the desert and the disciples becoming concerned, of course, that the people have not enough food, that it's time to send them away so they can go out and get their food because they had, of course, left from their homes and the cities and the villages of the area to come to hear, to be with Jesus, to listen to his teachings.

And when Jesus said unto them, 'Give ye them to eat,' the disciples said unto him, 'We have here but five loaves and two fish.' Now the evangelist relates that there was a little boy who brought forth these five loaves and these two fish, and the disciples, of course, accepting that from that little boy, recognizing that this is so little food that there is no way it is sufficient for these thousands of people.

And Jesus, as the Son of God, of course knew what was possible, what God could do. But we see in the disciples our own rational portion as they also had, and our own doubts.

And when Jesus commanded the people to sit down and he blessed the bread and then he gives each of the twelve disciples only a portion of a loaf, of course, because there are only five loaves, and they only got a small piece of fish, and he tells them to now go and feed those people.

And I think of myself in the place of a disciple in such a situation: here I have this little piece of bread and a little piece of fish, and now what do I do? I would probably start out being pretty stingy with the first family I came to, giving them only a small chunk, small piece of bread and a small piece of fish.

So what did they experience? They experienced the way we always experience in the kingdom of God: that God supplies in abundance, that no matter how many times they broke off a piece of bread from that piece, there was still more; no matter how many times they broke off a piece of fish, there was still more.

God blessed that work, and they gathered up twelve basketfuls of the leftovers, so there was food in abundance for all.

And so each and every one of us experiences at our own place of watching, we doubt our own abilities and our own faith: "Will God give? Will He bless even as I have doubted?" Coming before you, dear sisters and brothers, I ask, "Can I hear that gospel?" So I desire to believe.

But so we are just sinful doubting ones. Can God bless? Will He give? Is He able to divide of His Word that which He needs to such a one as I, to such a one as you?

We are sinful, corrupt human beings, but through just such as we are, dear brothers and sisters, He blesses us at home, in our little home congregations. He blesses us in our families. He blesses us in the congregation of God.

There is grace in abundance. The heavenly manna can be divided and it never ends. The grace doors of God are so full to the brim that when we open those doors, God gives such as we have need of, gives every day grace in abundance.

And therein we learn, therein we experience every day how much more we have need of that grace of God because we are such sinful ones.

But Matthew notes that it was immediately after this that Jesus sent the disciples out in this fishing boat out into the Sea of Galilee or Tiberias. And it's not that huge a sea, of course; it is a large lake, to go to the other side.

And so they're rolling out into that lake, which is in that valley where the storms can come up so suddenly, and they, of course, are fighting the waves and fighting the wind, trying to get the boat to the other side all night long.

They're battling the storms, probably beginning to doubt and wonder, taking turns at the oars, trying to get that boat to move forward against the wind and against the waves, the waves flashing upon them, probably getting them all wet.

Even as fishermen, they were probably pretty discouraged.

But after Jesus having prayed in the mountain goes out to them, and Matthew notes that it was the fourth watch of the night; in other words, the night is already far spent and they are exhausted.

Has it ever been so in your life, your brother and sister, that you have battled against the storms, the storms of your life, of your mind, of those difficulties that meet you, come up? Because we all have them. We all experience that we are just such battlers.

God gives us these struggles and these trials so that we would learn to appreciate His help and His grace, His assistance.

And we see from the disciples the reaction that Jesus is coming to them: they said, "It is a spirit," and they cried out for fear. They didn't recognize Jesus. They didn't recognize their own Savior.

Why has it ever happened, dear brothers and sisters, in your life when the kingdom of God has approached, awakened you? As the prophet says, when Haggai came unto him, the angel came unto me, awakened me as if one awakened out of their sleep.

Prophet Zachariah probably fallen asleep on his own place of watching. When Haggai came to him, he said, "What do you see?" Zachariah said, "I see a candlestick all of gold."

The congregation of God was still there. It was pure gold, no fault, no defilement there. The Spirit of God is where the kingdom of God is, where the congregation of God is.

There God blesses with His gospel, and there is no defilement. It is the kingdom washed by the blood of Christ to be pure and holy before God, righteous before God because of faith.

God gives such wondrous blessings to His own.

So Zachariah was awakened and he saw that his vision was still clear.

But the disciples in the midst of their battles, what did they see? They thought they saw a spirit, and they were afraid, extremely afraid, cried out for fear.

Matthew was one of those who cried out for fear.

Jesus said, "Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid."

Jesus had to tell them who He was, that He is. It was coming to them upon the water. Of course, they had never seen Him or anybody walk on water before, and it wasn't physically possible to us natural people of this world.

We think we can't walk on the water; we are such earthly ones.

But Jesus, as the Son of God, walked on the water out to the boat because He knew His own were in distress. He knew what they were battling. He knew what their conditions were and how they felt and what they were thinking.

And that is why He approached them. That is why the kingdom of God is here, dear brothers and sisters.

That's why we are one another's escorts, so that when we see a brother or sister who is struggling and has need of help, we can approach them, bring unto them the gospel, and assure them that they still can believe even in the midst of such difficulties and trials.

They can believe God is still almighty, all-knowing Father in heaven. He knows what make we are and what trials and tribulations we have, and He is able to help.

And where does He help us? He helps us in His kingdom, there where the other brothers and sisters are, there where the children of God are.

There is the love of Christ. It surrounds us, encourages us, exhorts us, uplifts us, refreshes our faith, and we are able to take one more step.

That's all that's necessary: one more step on this narrow way of life.

And so we desire, desire to promise to believe that He will help us.

Luther takes this portion of the scripture where Jesus doesn't rebuke His disciples as having misunderstandings or superstitions or wrong beliefs about a spirit coming on the water to note.

Luther notes that there are two forces in this world, two spiritual forces: that which is of God and that which is of the enemy of God, of Satan.

And Luther notes that the scripture is very clear, and Jesus, of course, in the portion of the rich man and Lazarus points when the rich man was suffering in the torment of hell, wanted somebody to go to speak to his brethren that they wouldn't come here.

He could not leave there; nobody can leave there. The condition of the soul is determined already here while living on this earth.

So then that soul either ends up in condemnation as the rich man did because of his lack of faith, or in the bosom of Abraham as he was given to see as the beggar Lazarus did because of faith.

By faith we are saved through grace. It is the gift of God, not of our merits or our works, that any should boast.

God gives His grace; it is His calling.

So there are, Luther notes, two powers in this world: the enemy of the soul who has power for a time and his angels, and the Holy Spirit of God.

And what does Jesus promise, dear brothers and sisters? What did He say to His own? He that is in you is greater than he that is in the world.

Christ overcame all sin, death, and hell on our behalf, and He has promised to be with us.

He has given unto each and every one of us, each and every one of His children, each and every one of you, His Holy Spirit so that you also will be victorious, overcome all trials and temptations, all of the storms of the world, and be victorious, attain the glory of heaven.

In the world you will have tribulation, Jesus says. Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

In the world we will fight these storms. We will fight these battles. Sometimes they are within our own mind, and those may be the fiercest of the ones we fight.

Sometimes they are battles of our life, battles of the times that we live, the economy, our jobs, whatever may come before us.

But God is able to bless, bless us through all such struggles and trials.

He is able to give unto His own that, of course, which first of all is most important: the opportunity to believe, the opportunity to again lift up our hearts and be assured that such as we are, such as you are, dear brothers and sisters, you are a child of God.

You are on the way to heaven, and God will bless you and bless your little ones, bless your grandchildren so that we all can one day attain the glory of heaven.

Peter was so bold that he said out to Jesus, "If it is you, bid me come onto you on the water." And Jesus said, "Come."

And Peter stepped out of that boat, stepped onto the water, and Matthew notes that he walked on the water until he saw the waves and the wind.

So for a step or two, Matthew doesn't say how many, Peter appeared to have sufficient faith, but it didn't last very long, did it?

What happens, dear brothers and sisters, if we attempt to rely on our own power and our own strength? What happens if we attempt to say, "I believe, I'm able, I can withstand these onslaughts, these temptations, these difficulties, these trials I have experienced," and I'm willing to guess that you have also experienced?

We fall. We fall.

The enemy wounds us again.

And dear young people, don't be amazed if you fall again and again into those very same sins because the enemy knows where we are weak, and that's where he attacks.

He knows how to entice our flesh to cause us to fall.

But what do you hear? The enemy, of course, will preach a sermon of doubt and unbelief: "See, you fell again into sin; you aren't worthy of being a child of God."

Don't listen to the enemy. Don't listen to that sermon of doubt and unbelief.

But rather listen to the message that comes from the heart of our Lord and Savior: you can believe just as you are; your sins forgiven again.

Remain on this way which brings you to the glory of heaven.

You can uplift your heart in spite of those wounds, in spite of those trials.

Accept that best of ointment for wounds which come from sin and from those battles that we fight.

It heals our wounds, and we are able to believe.

Lift up your hearts, your brothers and sisters, to believe that just as you are, your sins are forgiven in Jesus' name and blood unto peace, freedom, and joy.

So God blesses us, and so we are able to experience that from the congregation of God.

The hand of Jesus is extended to us when we are sinking into the water and not able to walk on it.

He lifts us, brings us back into the ship of the congregation of God where we are able to rejoice over our salvation, our personal salvation, and the mutual salvation of all of the children of God.

"O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" Why do we doubt? Why do we doubt?

We doubt because we carry such an incorrupt flesh and blood portion. We are of this earth and earthly.

That is why we need again and again to be able to hear that just as you are, you can believe that your sins are forgiven.

And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.

Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, "Of a truth thou art the Son of God."

So if they weren't quite convinced through the miracle of feeding those five thousand men plus women and children with five loaves and two fish, now upon the sea and having battled those waves, Jesus again is able to assure them that He is the Son of God and He is able to bring calm into their lives, into their faith, for their endeavor.

So He is able, dear brothers and sisters, to bless when we place our sinful hearts into His care.

Lift up your hearts and believe that your sins are forgiven in Jesus' name and blood unto peace, freedom, and joy in Jesus' name. Amen.

The Lord bless us and keep us. The Lord make His face shine upon us and be gracious unto us. The Lord lift up His countenance upon us and give us His eternal peace in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Amen.