Sermon in Outlook 31.12.2006

As we approach the new year, let us quieten around God's holy word and read and consider according to God's holy will. The words that are recorded in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 4, reading from verse 16 to verse 32.

And we ask, as we have already been comforted and blessed in the worship service of God's children today, let us continue in this prayer that God would continue to feed us of his holy and everlasting word.

And he came to Nazareth where he had been brought up. And as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of the sight to the blind, and to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord."

And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, "This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears."

And all bore him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, "Is not this Joseph's son?" And he said unto them, "Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself. Whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country."

And he said, "Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country. But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land. But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow. And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian."

And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust him out of the city, and led him onto the broad hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong. But he, passing through the midst of them, went his way, and came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the Sabbath days. And they were astonished at his doctrine, for his word was with power. Amen.

First of all, I want to thank you, brothers and sisters, for that gift of money, gift of love, that was given me, as well as the others that are endeavoring in the service of the word. It is certainly with heartfelt thanks that we accept and receive this from you, brothers and sisters. It continues to carry us and comfort us that you do care and support your servants of the word in all things. And may God repay you for your expression of concern and love.

Jesus, I notice reading this here, that this is the first recorded sermon of Jesus. He has delivered many services and sermons prior to this because it said here, just prior to what we read, that this was after Jesus's great temptations, after he was hungry for 40 days and 40 nights. And it says then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee, and there went out the fame of him through all the regions round about, and he taught them in their synagogues, being glorified.

Now Jesus is in his hometown, so to speak, of Nazareth, where he had been brought up. I think of this place and this text and what I consider younger brothers that had been called into this precious and important work in God's kingdom, in the service of the gospel, service of the word. And how one after another, and us older ones many, come here many times with trepidations and worries and heavy doubts before the sobriety of God's word, a fear, and we can say it's a healthy fear that we wouldn't be corrupting God's word, not that God would, so enlighten his word through us poor servants that not one seeking soul would be led astray and not be able to find this kingdom of grace upon this earth.

That we would preach and endeavor in childlike humbleness to preach God's word as God reveals it to us in grace and truth. Jesus, it's hard to imagine when we have this carnal mind with us all the time that Jesus felt, and we can be sure that he felt the same timidness because Jesus was, even though he was full true God, creator of heaven and earth, he was yet true man. He felt heat, he felt cold, he felt hunger, he felt fear, but yet without sin.

And let this be a comfort to all that endeavor in the office of speaking, but all the other offices that God has entrusted with us in his congregation, that regardless of what we feel, our Lord and Savior has felt all these. But when he was the perfect one, when he was God himself, he did not fail or fall in any of these things as is recorded in the temptation of Jesus in the beginning part of this fourth chapter. And it would be good to sometime visit on these matters also.

But we can use this when we have taken on Jesus as our righteousness by and through the gospel that is of the forgiveness of sins that is preached in God's kingdom, regardless of what our offices, we can use the grace of Jesus, the grace of the gospel, to carry us through all our temptations. Jesus experienced these all, and when he had experienced these all, he took upon himself your sins, my sins, and atoned for them on that first Good Friday.

The scripture record of Jesus in the Old Testament, how is it that I have sins like hairs on a head but then yet I am innocent? He carried your sins, he carried my sins onto the cross of Calvary. But not only that he atoned for our sins or bled and died for our sins, but he rose victorious from the dead so death can no longer have power over us.

Now Jesus got up to speak and he stood up to read. These are good and these habits or customs have carried through to this day. We see in many places in the churches that the minister stands and sometimes it can even be easier to stand up and speak, although in these days in our congregations we have had this custom of sitting down, which is fine too.

But what does Jesus then read? He reads from scripture, he reads from Old Testament scripture. The New Testament scripture was still unpublished and was still to be written and recorded. It says how there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias, and when he had opened the book he found the place where it is written.

Now he reads the text. He says that the Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and the recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

We yet preach from selected texts from scripture, be it Old Testament or New Testament scripture, and this is what Jesus did. But what is the difference now and when Jesus was personally upon this earth? He spoke of himself like this scripture tells us. We speak of Jesus. We pray that we wouldn't speak to ourselves or of ourselves but like the apostle Paul says that we preach the Lord Jesus, the Lord Jesus crucified.

And this is that gospel that continues to this very day in God's kingdom and it will continue as long as the windows are open to the street in God's kingdom. This gospel will continue on to the outside. It will never leave from the inside of this kingdom as long as there is one needing this gospel of the forgiveness of sins in the name and the blood of Jesus.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. We trust that the Spirit of the Lord is on the sermons of the word this day the same as it was then upon the sermons of the word. And he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. We yet preach this gospel to those who are poor and needy in themselves. This gospel has the power to make a poor person rich in the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus that we would grow in grace day by day as we endeavor in faith.

He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives. How many parents are there endeavoring faith today who have their hearts have been broken when the unbelieving, when the children who have we have nurtured in the care and the admonition of God's word and his kingdom of grace upon this earth, when they have through the deceitfulness of the enemy of the soul, the world, and our own thin corrupt flesh, they have fallen away from this precious gift of living pain.

Jesus has sent all those that have been brokenhearted whether in those that are carrying faith and a good conscience and those that have fallen away from faith. This broken heart can be healed by and through the proclaimed gospel of the forgiveness of sins in Jesus' name and blood.

Recovering of sight to the blind. How many prayers have gone out to those to the heavenly Father concerning those that have been blinded by the riches of this world, the enticements of this world, of the glory, the honor of this world, not wanting to carry sometimes like we do carry the cross of our Lord and Savior Jesus in this unbelieving world.

Those that desire also can receive this sight, this sight of a child of God, this sight that goes beyond our temptations and our sins and our trials of this time, that sight that continues on to our eternal reward of heaven that we all endeavor and strive for in faith.

To set at liberty them that are bruised and to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. How every day, every year, as long as God's grace is upon this earth and proclaimed upon this earth, this is the acceptable year of the Lord.

Jesus closed the book when he had spoken what he had spoken and he gave it again to the minister and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him and he began to say to them.

And here again Jesus verifies his preaching with scripture. The instruction has always been in God's kingdom that discernment of the word endeavors to preach scripture and to verify what is spoken with the scripture whether it be the Old Testament or New.

And here again Jesus gives this example to us. He says, "This day is a scripture fulfilled in your ears." And all bearing witness and wonder that the gracious words proceeded out of his mouth.

Well, what do they say? They had to acknowledge that this has happened right in this church. I remember our dedication services. The comment was by some that were here that the servants at those dedication services, which were probably the only time that they've ever heard God's living word, how they read from the scripture and they preach the scripture.

We want to be obedient to these customs and these are the customs that God has ordained into the midst of his own. But what did it do to these people that heard him, those that were not of faith? And because of their whatever the reasons, they did not want to humble themselves onto acknowledging that Jesus was Lord and Master and the Son of God.

They said that and they bore him witness and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, "Is not this Joseph's son?"

There brought anger as we heard later that they were filled with anger when Jesus brought to them the realization, the condition that they were in.

One of the scriptures speaks another concerning Jesus and his ministry. It says that's in the 13th chapter of Matthew. It says that when Jesus had finished these parables he departed thence and was when he was come into his own country he taught them in their synagogues insomuch that they were astonished and said, "Whence hath this man this wisdom and those mighty works? Is not this a carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary and his brethren James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas and his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?"

And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, "A prophet is not without honor save in his own country and in his own house." And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

Just think Jesus, just think how strong the spirit of the world, how strong the spirit of unbelief is. A mother not long ago lamented concerning her granddaughter or grandson how dark that person has become when they have denied their faith.

It's that spirit of unbelief and the darkness can be so strong that even God himself as we read here could not do many wondrous works like Jesus in his own hometown of Nazareth.

And he begins to speak to that multitude, those people that were in the synagogue, "Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself. Whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum do also here in thy country."

And he said, "Verily I say unto you, no prophet is accepted in his own country. But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias when the heavens were shut up three years and six months when great famine was throughout the land. But unto none of them was Elias sent save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow."

And many lepers were in Israel in that time of Elisha the prophet and none of them was cleansed saving Naaman the Syrian.

These were rather touchy things to those that were self-righteous and depended on themselves and thought that they were the chosen people of God. Heaven was theirs regardless of how they believed.

Even though they did not believe that Jesus was the promised Messiah, the Son of God, through their own works that they were God's chosen people, they had the unquestionable right to heaven and salvation.

There are those in this same darkness today. It happens and we hear it so often of someone that passes on and they give these credits and merits to such a one that they were good so-called Christians. They did this and they did that in the community. They did that for their country, for their government, whatever the case may be.

And so this would earn and merit salvation or any part of salvation for one. We know that these are good and desirable attributes to follow as children of God. There's absolutely nothing wrong with this. We seek after these things.

But if these become first and foremost in our conditions of salvation, then everyone that believes in such a way is truly and totally lost. This, lest they find the place of a little child and make repentance from that place on.

As Jesus said, "Lest you become as little children, you shall no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven."

And especially this, I thought of this name in the Syrian when he was a leper which is, we understand, is that all of scripture indicates leprosy. Even though it was a very severe ailment, disease of that day, but it also was a picture of sin and unforgiven sins that a person has.

And this picture concerning Naaman the Syrian. And here again we see how God blesses even those that are in spiritual darkness.

And it says that now Naaman, captain of the hosts of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master and honorable because by him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria. He was also a mighty man in valor but he was a leper.

The Lord had given for his reasons the power of that country Syria at the time to overrun many other countries. And they had, like this narrative says, how they had taken this maid, this captive, on some of their raids and their wars into Israel.

And this maid had the keys to the kingdom of heaven. She knew where God's kingdom was when she told her mistress, "Would God my Lord work with the prophet that is in Samaria for he would recover him from his leprosy."

That Naaman, after many difficulties and obstacles on his trip to Israel, did receive the grace of the forgiveness of sins as the scripture indicates.

And this was not acceptable to these people that were listening to Jesus. They were an unclean nation. They were not a nation of God's people according to their thoughts.

Although God has given this gospel to all penitent hearts regardless of color or race or breed or social standing. God's grace searches out those that are penitent in heart and want to believe that their sins can be forgiven upon this earth.

And when Jesus brings all this out to those that are in their false righteousness in that instance in that place of worship it says, "And all that were in the synagogue when they heard these things were filled with wrath."

I guess we can understand and believe that Jesus spoke in a place where there was not one believer. It says all that were in the synagogue were filled with wrath.

These are difficult situations that sometimes a child of God, a servant of the word, can find themselves in.

I can remember different times in this area as well as away from here. Especially one time I remember in Thunder Bay when I was called to keep a funeral service there.

There was that funeral hall, that church, I don't remember what it was anymore, but that good sized building was full of people paying their last respect to that departed one who was a precious sister in faith.

Her family were all in unbelief in their own righteousness. And I don't know what all those other people were. I had no idea.

You can imagine the nervousness and the doubts that I ended up entertaining standing up at that day to deliver this service that we need to perform for those that have departed from this life.

But even then there was a comfort that I when I looked down onto the people, the assembly of the people there, there was maybe one, maybe three or four that believed like I.

And it was so comforting to be able to know that I truly have some brothers and sisters in faith.

Here it would seem that there was not one that was a follower of Jesus.

They and all they in the synagogue when they heard these things were filled with wrath and rose up and thrust them out of the city and led them onto the broad hill whereupon their city was built that they might cast them down headlong.

But he passing through the midst of them went on his way and came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the Sabbath days and they were astonished at his doctrine for his word was with power.

And so Jesus continued in this ministry for almost three years before the time came to fulfill that which he had come upon this earth to fill.

We have just celebrated the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus. There is a time yet coming where we will be commemorating the death of our Lord and Savior.

But this is as God's will was to his Son that he gave his life, shed his blood for the sins of the whole world, all those that would believe upon his name.

And now as we quickly approach the end of this year and begin a new year, it is not God's will that we balance or attempt to balance the negatives and the positives in our life of faith.

It is so wonderful that yet today everything that has been a hindrance to our faith, all those sins and shortcomings and doubts that have beset us on the way in this past year, how wonderful they are that they are drowned in the sea of grace with that eternal forgetfulness and with new strength, new security, and trust in God we can continue into the new year.

Trusting that wherever life circumstances may take us we will be cared for by our heavenly Father in his kingdom wherever we are. What a comfort it is.

We don't need to worry about the future. We don't need to worry about the world conditions. Like Jesus says, "Take no thought of tomorrow. Sufficient is the day thereof."

It is a faith that we live day by day.

Remain brothers and sisters believing sins forgiven in Jesus' name and precious atonement blood.

And will you brothers and sisters preach this gospel to me also? It is wonderful that we could preach this gospel to each other.

And through the power of this gospel we are carried.

I will lift, I will carry, I will save. Jesus' sure promises to all his own.

And if there be any in this assembly this evening that are not yet part of this precious fellowship, this gospel belongs to you also.

Just as you are as a sinner you can believe sins forgiven in Jesus' name and precious blood.

The largest, the biggest sin of all, as always has been said, is the sin of unbelief. And all the other sins are the puppies of that main sin.

In Jesus' name, Amen. Amen.

We thank thee, Heavenly Father, that you have been our guide, our stay, our comfort, our teacher through your Holy Spirit throughout this year that is about to close.

And we trust and we want to trust dear Father that you will continue to care for each and every one of us, our husbands and wives, grandfathers, grandmothers, uncles, aunts, children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren.

As a year, as a new year unfolds, keep every each and every one of us in this grace, precious grace, kingdom of grace upon this earth.

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 peace in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost. Amen. Amen.

Thank you.