February 22, 2012 by Megan Gandee

Ash Wednesday

February 22, 2012

Rev. Ross Mahan, Pastor
John 18:4-11

Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Savior

Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them. As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground. Then asked he them again, Whom seek ye? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered, I have told you that I am he: if therefore ye seek me, let these go their way: That the saying might be fulfilled, which he spake, Of them which thou gavest me have I lost none. Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus. Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?

Tonight we enter another Lenten Season, a time set aside to worship Jesus and to think again about His suffering and death. We turn our attention this evening to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. After they left the upper room on Maundy Thursday Jesus and His disciples went to Gethsemane where Jesus prayed as His death drew near. Late that night a mob came looking for Jesus. They did not come to worship Him but to arrest Him. Judas had betrayed Him to the Sanhedrin and arranged for the soldiers to take Him quietly away from the crowds. The disciples were in a panic; what they had feared most was happening, the religious leaders were finally striking back. Our Lord’s popularity among the common people had angered the Jewish leaders. They were angry at Jesus for exposing their sins, false doctrine, and hypocrisy, but they didn’t dare arrest him for fear of the multitude. But on this night in Gethsemane they had their chance. Everything was ready. The Sanhedrin had been summoned and was ready to put Him on trial, a legal formality, after which the High Priest would pressure Pontius Pilate to go along with their wicked plans to crucify Him. If everything went as planned they would be rid of Jesus before the people in Jerusalem knew what had happened. They were expecting trouble with His disciples so they brought enough soldiers to quell any resistance. Peter drew his sword in a vain attempt to defend Jesus but our Lord rebuked him. Peter needed to see the bigger picture and that is our task during this Lenten season.

Jesus clearly saw His path to the cross. The mob that came to arrest Jesus that night included a detachment of soldiers, some officials from the Pharisees and Chief Priests, and of course Judas who came along to help identify Jesus to the soldiers. Jesus had often come to the Garden of Gethsemane with His disciples and that is where Judas led the soldiers. The men that came with Judas were not friendly but were armed with weapons, torches, and lanterns. Every corrupt political power structure in history such as Communist Russia, the Taliban, or the Mafia needs muscle to enforce their will upon the people. This gang of thugs obviously worked for the Sanhedrin. When the Jewish leaders wanted to send a message to a member of the opposition or take out an opponent they called upon men like this so they didn’t have to get their hands dirty. The soldiers didn’t come to the Garden to discuss theology or even to carry out a court order to arrest Jesus, they came for a fight. If the disciples wanted to fight them they were ready to do whatever was necessary. Jesus would be arrested no matter what it took. They came in the dead of night to avoid the crowds but when they arrived, Jesus did the unexpected. He did not hide or run away, but walked toward them. No doubt from Gethsemane the Mob was visible as it came out of the city with torches and lanterns. Jesus knew they were coming and what they wanted which was exactly what He had told the disciples would happen.

And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again (Mt. 20:17-19). Our Lord knew why He had come to earth and what He was going to accomplish. He saw the cross clearly and willingly submitted to the mob, not as a helpless victim for everything that happened to our Lord was part of God’s sovereign plan prophesied hundreds of years earlier in the Old Testament. Jesus would accomplish exactly what God had foreordained would happen. In the book of Acts the Sanhedrin threatened Peter and John for preaching the Gospel. After the disciples returned to the church they prayed these words: The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ. For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done (Acts. 4:26-28). The disciples finally understood what Jesus had tried to tell them so many times. Jesus asked the mob: Whom seek ye? When they responded Jesus of Nazareth and Jesus announced I am He, they drew back and fell to the ground.

These soldiers were standing before the Incarnate Son of God, the Creator of the universe; their torches and swords were useless but He went with them to complete the work His Father had given Him. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day (Jn. 6:39-40). Jesus fulfilled the work His Father sent Him to do, a work that would resurrect His elect people unto eternal life. Jesus voluntarily went with the mob that night that we might be saved. We have also come here this evening to seek Jesus of Nazareth; we come here to see the cross of Christ through His Word with eyes of faith, for without the cross of Jesus we have no hope, forgiveness and life. What is our situation without the cross? Paul summarized our true condition: All have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Rom. 2:23). This verse applies to every natural human being. There is none righteous, no not one (Rom.3:10). The Prophet Isaiah who lived 700 years before the events that night in Gethsemane understood our condition: All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all (Is. 53:6). The Lord knew we had no way of escaping our situation. We had no solution to avoid sin, death and judgment.

Our good works, our zeal, our intentions, even a lifetime of service cannot save us. We needed someone to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves, a substitute, a Mediator, a Savior, someone to die on the cross for our sins. Paul wrote: For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him (II Cor. 5:21). Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus (Rom. 3:24). Jesus knew what He came to do and that it had to happen this way, there were no other options. The sacrificial Lamb had to be put to death and His blood applied to sinners according to the Law. Jesus is the Lamb of God the fulfillment of the Passover Lamb that saved Israel from death in the land of Egypt hundreds of years earlier. Jesus came to the Garden of Gethsemane that night to wait for the mob who would take Him to the Sanhedrin, to Pilate, and then to the cross. We could not appease God’s wrath, we could not gain peace and forgiveness on our own, only the death of Christ on the cross could reconcile sinners to God. Jesus saw all of this clearly. Nothing was going to turn Him away from the way of the cross for without His death we would have no forgiveness and no hope. The disciples were slow in grasping the importance of Christ’s death. Perhaps like many today they thought they didn’t need it. That is why we must see His cross once again and understand what it means.

II.

We need to see the cross clearly. Peter and the other disciples were confused and terrified that night. This wasn’t the first time Peter was confused, when Jesus told His disciples about what was waiting for Him in Jerusalem, Peter took Him aside and rebuked Him. Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men (Mt. 16:22-23). They did not understand. The cross did not fit into their plans. Peter had already boasted of his devotion to Jesus, he would rather die with Jesus than deny Him. In the garden that night face to face with armed soldiers Peter tried to defend Jesus. He did the only thing he could think to do at the time. He drew his sword and struck one of the thugs standing nearby, certainly an act of courage against great odds that drew blood from the ear of Malchus the servant of the High Priest, but Peter had it all wrong. Jesus turned to him and said: Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it? Salvation would never be accomplished by human effort, even great courage in the face of overwhelming odds. Peter could not save Jesus, he couldn’t even save himself. When Jesus said: Put up thy sword into the sheath He made it clear that salvation would come only by the cross.

Peter needed to understand the significance of the cross and what Jesus was accomplishing. Jesus did not need force. He did not need one sword or a thousand swords or any human effort to save mankind, and He certainly did not need anything Peter might do. He doesn’t need anything we might do either. It is His cross and only His cross that saves us. Our salvation does not come by any human efforts, no matter how noble and brave. The world hates the cross of Christ. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God (I Cor. 1:18). But sadly, even some Christians have lost their love for the cross of Christ and are as blind as Peter. The preaching of the cross, the message of Law and Gospel, is the real secret to the life and growth of the church. A church does not really grow spiritually through feel good preaching and worship or hypnotic praise choruses. Paul knew the secret to real success: For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God (I Cor. 2:2-5). Some men are seeking to improve the church’s image in the world by proclaiming another message besides the cross of Christ, one they think will be more appealing to people and draw them in.

They think, perhaps people will come to church if we change the message and give them what they want to hear instead of what they need to hear. After all, the Law is so negative what we really need is a more positive message. But trying to make the church more user-friendly by making the message more upbeat ends up robbing the church of her essential message. God causes the church to grow through His Word and Spirit. Men also lose sight of the cross when they imagine that their standing with God depends on what they do, their prayers, their decisions, or their good intentions. We might not fight with a sword like Peter, but we take pride in our godly lives and like the Pharisee in the Temple we think to ourselves: Thank God I’m not like others. The Lenten Season reminds us that no one can be saved by what they do. You stand before God by grace alone, because of what Jesus did for you on the cross. See His cross clearly and realize you can’t save yourself, in other words, put away your sword and see His cross. Perhaps the first question Jesus asked the mob when it arrived at the Garden that night is important for us too: Whom seek ye? Or who is it you want? Did you come here tonight seeking something other than the crucified Christ? The message of the cross is foolishness to some, offensive to others, but it is God’s wisdom to those who are saved. See His cross! Seek the blessing of that cross through His Word, and put away all human effort to be saved. Put away your sword! See His Cross! Amen!

February 19, 2012 by Megan Gandee

Quinquagesima Sunday

February 19, 2012

Rev. Ross Mahan, Pastor
Luke 18:31-43

Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Savior.

Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again. And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken. And it came to pass, that as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the way side begging: And hearing the multitude pass by, he asked what it meant. And they told him, that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by. And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me. And they which went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace: but he cried so much the more, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be brought unto him: and when he was come near, he asked him, Saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee. And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, Glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God.

The theme of our Gospel lesson is spiritual and physical blindness. I can think of few things worse than being blind, cut off from the beauty of the world, forced to live in darkness, and helpless to do the things we take for granted. Just think how much we use our eyes every day. They keep us from danger and make it possible for us to earn a living. Our eyes allow us to enjoy the beauty of a sunset, the Grand Canyon, the moon and stars, or simply the faces of our children. One of the most tragic results of the Iraq war has been hundreds of young men and women coming home blinded from bombs or bullets who must now spend the rest of their lives in l darkness, forced to live in a world of light and beauty unable to enjoy it. But the Bible describes another kind of blindness, the blindness of the soul that separates a man from God and prevents him from seeing the Kingdom of God. A man that is spiritually blind knows nothing about the joy of the Christian faith and is a stranger to the forgiveness of sins, and the hope of eternal life. Our Gospel lesson connects two events in the life of our Lord, the first was Jesus telling His disciples about His crucifixion, death and resurrection and the second was the healing of the blind man at Jericho. The disciples are a picture of spiritual blindness and the healing of Blind Bartimaeus reveals the power of Christ to give sight to the blind. Let’s examine what God reveals in our Gospel.

Only Jesus can heal spiritual blindness: Jesus wanted to prepare His disciples for what was going to happen to Him in Jerusalem but they couldn’t understand Him. His words were clear and unmistakable but Luke tells us: they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken. There was nothing mysterious or obscure about what He said: Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again. They could not understand because God had hidden the truth from them; why, we can only speculate. Perhaps God knew that if they understood what was going to happen they might stand in the way, as Peter did when Jesus rebuked him for trying to turn Him away from the cross. After the Day of Pentecost they would understand all things, but for now they were clueless. Only Christ can give sight to the soul; He alone gives faith, grace, and salvation to sinners through His Word. None of us can understand the things of Spirit of God on our own; apart from Christ and the new birth we would all be just as blind.

We cannot choose to believe or decide to be good, we are sinners, born under the condemnation of the Law and apart from the redemption of Christ we could not be saved. We are still sinners after we are saved, therefore the Spirit of God must continue opening our eyes through the Light of His Word to preserve our faith. Paul described our condition from birth: This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But ye have not so learned Christ (Eph. 4:17-20). In contrast to the disciples our Lord had perfect vision and understanding and knew exactly where and how His journey would end. From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day (Mt. 16:21). Shortly after this occasion He said to them again: The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men: And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again. And they were exceeding sorry (Mt. 17:22-23). Jesus was the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world (Jn. 1:29). This was why He was born.

Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many (Mt. 20:28).From the beginning Jesus knew He would suffer the penalty for man’s sin and what the penalty would be. The wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23). The Passion and Death of Christ were all part of God’s sovereign plan prophesied hundreds of years earlier in the Old Testament. Jesus knew the Scriptures for He had inspired the Prophets to write them and now His mind was clear His soul uncorrupted by sin and He understood the significance of what He was about to accomplish. Jesus had perfect knowledge of everything that was going to happen to Him, nothing took Him by surprise, yet He did not lose courage or turn aside from His suffering and death. His eyes were wide open to everything that awaited Him in Jerusalem yet He deliberately and voluntarily chose to go to the cross He said to His disciples: Behold we go to Jerusalem. God’s glory is revealed by His great love for sinners, a love that caused His Son to lay down His life to save us from the curse and power of sin. Think of the patience of Jesus toward His dimwitted disciples who couldn’t comprehend what He was saying to them. When all of the things Jesus predicted began to come to pass the disciples were amazed, shocked, and in despair, totally unprepared for the events of Good Friday. They had not listened to what He told them about His Resurrection.

No one was more surprised than the disciples when the women returned from the tomb on Easter morning announcing that He is Risen! The blindness of these early disciples is not unique; since the beginning of time every person on earth has been born spiritually blind. Man by nature is blind to spiritual things because he refuses to believe the clear statements of Scripture. God has left an infallible record of all that Christ accomplished for us. He has clearly revealed the way of salvation, but sinful man refuses to believe. Luther taught us that all doctrines must be based on the clear Word of God. For example, how clear are the words: For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (Jn. 3:16). But men are blind to the truth because sin has darkened their hearts; they need a new birth. Jesus said to Nicodemus: Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God (Jn. 3:3). But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. (I Cor. 2:14). Only the Spirit of God can open the eyes of a sinner to see his sinful condition and need of a Savior. David was a believer who recognized His need for spiritual illumination. He prayed: Open Thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of Thy Law.

II.

Only Jesus can heal physical Blindness: As Jesus and His disciples came near to the city of Jericho there was a blind man named Bartimaeus sitting on the side of the road begging. Hearing the sound of a crowd passing by he asked people nearby what was happening. What’s the occasion? And they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. We don’t know how he had heard about Jesus and His power to heal. Perhaps someone had told him about a preacher from Nazareth who could heal the sick; open the ears of the deaf, raise the dead, and even heal the eyes of the blind or perhaps God revealed this to him directly, whatever the reason, he began to cry out saying: Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me. These were words of faith for the title Son of David was a Messianic title reserved for the Kings of Israel descended from David, but there hadn’t been a descendent of David on the throne for hundreds of years. In the days of Jesus this title was reserved for the coming Messiah, the Savior and King who would one day sit on the Throne of David forever to save and reign over God’s Covenant people. The words have mercy on me is the cry of a sinner who is face to face with God; it is a cry for deliverance from the misery of sin. When the blind man began to cry out to Jesus the people standing nearby tried to shut him up. Some of the people rebuked him and told him to be quiet and hold his peace, but he refused to stop.

But to everyone’s surprise Jesus suddenly stopped and commanded that the man to be brought to him. Jesus asked the man a question: What can I do for you? The blind man asked Jesus to do something that only God could do: Lord I want to receive my sight. Our Lord answered: Receive thy sight; thy faith hath saved thee. His faith that day had done more than heal his eyes it had also saved him his sins were now forgiven. The blind man of Jericho realized he was blind; he believed Jesus was able to heal him, and he called upon Jesus with all his heart and the Lord heard his prayer and healed him. Spiritual and physical healing are gifts of God’s grace. Bartimaeus demonstrated how we find spiritual vision and insight. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. (Ja. 1:5-7). The Word of God was not invented by man nor it did not come from man’s wisdom or cleverness God revealed His Word to us in the Scriptures. Our faith, understanding, and obedience do not come from our own merits, abilities, and worthiness these are all gifts of God’s grace. This is why the Christian lives is a life of gratitude each day thanking God for the gifts of faith and salvation.

Bartimaeus reminds us that our health, wealth, and even our ability to enjoy what God has given us are gifts from God (Ja. 1:17). We do not deserve what He has given us or what His grace has made us these are gifts. I mention these things to remind us that true faith always includes humility, the realization that we are not all that important in and of ourselves; we are not anyone special because we can do what others cannot, everything we have in our life was given to us for God’s purposes and for the benefit of our neighbor and not just ourselves. God is the one who saves and grants us faith to be saved. He is the One that placed us in this great country and joined us to the Church through our Baptism and to this congregation where His Word is taught in its truth and purity. He has promised to take even the bad things that happen to us and use them for our good (Rom. 8:28), therefore why should we worry? What should frighten us? Nothing. We know that God will take care of us because He promises to do so and has always done so in the past. He has revealed His perfect will to us in His word, so that we can be saved and one day He promises that His people will dwell with Him in Heaven. The disciples thought they knew what was happening but they did not; they were blind to the things of God. But God reminds us this morning that He is in charge of our lives; nothing happens apart from His perfect will. All our trouble, sorrow, affliction and trials are all part of our lives as we live under the cross of Christ.

Like the disciples we are often clueless why God is allowing us to go through h difficult times in our lives. This is why we must learn to do as Bartimaeus did and call upon God trusting in His good and gracious will. There was nothing uncertain about the prayer of the Blind Man It was direct, specific, and offered in faith and God answered his prayer and healed his blindness. For you were once in darkness, but now are you light in the Lord: walk as children of light (Eph. 5:8). God hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son (Col. 1:14). You are no longer in spiritual darkness therefore live as those who can see, as those who have been forgiven by the blood of Christ. If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin (I Jn. 1:7). If you are walking with God in the Light of His Word then stop fearing the future. If your sins have been forgiven for Christ’s grace then show it by forgiving others. And if you are justified by faith the Holy Spirit has filled your heart with the love of God, love the people God has placed in your life. And if God has placed His Name upon you in Holy Baptism then live in holiness, truth, and faithfulness. As you live by faith in the light of God’s Word the Holy Spirit will give you eyes to see and a heart to walk with Him. May God grant this to you for Christ’s sake; Amen!

February 19, 2012 by Megan Gandee

Preparing for Lent

February 15, 2012

Rev. Ross Mahan, Pastor
Psalm 119:33-40

Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our blessed Savior.

Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end. Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart. Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight. Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness. Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way. Stablish thy word unto thy servant, who is devoted to thy fear. Turn away my reproach which I fear: for thy judgments are good. Behold, I have longed after thy precepts: quicken me in thy righteousness.

This evening we prepare for the Lenten Season by asking God to give us spiritual understanding. Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart. Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight. Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness. Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way. Sin is a moral evil that perverts the soul of man and destroys his relationship to God. The origin of sin is Satan himself, the father of sin. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it (Jn. 8:44). Sin is the transgression of God’s Law, an offense against a Holy Loving God. Sin is the wisdom of this world. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. (Ja. 3:15). Whenever you sin you do the lusts of the devil. Sin brought a curse upon the whole of creation. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body (Rom. 8:2-23).

Your sin, (until it is repented of and pardoned) makes you hateful to God for sin separates you from God causing Him to withhold good things from you. But God does not desire your death but that you would humble yourself, repent, and live. He gave His only begotten Son unto death to ransom you from sin. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all (Is. 53:6). The death of Christ satisfied divine justice and now the Lord invites you to be reconciled to Him. But if you refuse to enter into His rest He warns that you will suffer His wrath in hell for eternity. God is revealed in Scripture as a consuming fire with the power to destroy both body and soul in hell. And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. (Mt. 10:28). So how do we prepare for Lent? By turning to the Scriptures, the Word of God. Paul wrote: All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works (II Tim. 3:16-17). God did not give us the Scriptures for intellectual knowledge alone, but to teach, reprove, correct, and equip us for good works. The Holy Spirit prepares us for Lent by The written Word of God, which alone is able to deal with our sins.

The Word of God convicts us of sin. The Law shows us our true spiritual condition. Isaiah saw his true condition in God’s presence and said: Woe is me for I am undone. Until we realize we are sinners that deserve death we cannot be saved. They that are whole need not a physician but they that are sick (Lu. 5:31). Before anyone will go to the doctor for treatment he must realize he is sick, but man by nature is blind to his sinful condition. He rationalizes sinful behavior because he is blind and cannot hear the reproofs of God’s Word. I’ve met people in all walks of life who have stopped going to church for years and are perfectly comfortable and happy with their lives. Most of them claim to love God and even believe on Christ yet they ignore His Law. So much of the modern Christian faith has no content. It has morphed into a strange mixture of tolerance and love with no Law, no sin, and no consequences. But when the Spirit of God works His grace in our hearts we begin to understand the seriousness of our sins. Jesus invites sinners to come to Him that are weary with their sins for they are only ones who will repent and come to Christ (Mt 11:28-30). No one will believe on Christ until he understands his desperate need of forgiveness. The conviction of sin is not something that just takes place before we are saved it is an ongoing reality throughout our lives. It is the daily work of the Spirit to reveal God’s perfect standard and our need of Christ.

4. The Word of God grants us godly sorrow. Godly sorrow leads us to repentance, faith, and salvation. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death (II Cor. 7:10). Godly sorrow is also the work of the Spirit through the Law. When the Law is not preached there will be no conviction of sin, no one will be humbled before God, and no one will be converted. The Law of God exposes the failures of even the best Christians. None of us are above sin we all need the work of the Spirit to make us feel our sins. Some people get angry when you tell them they are a sinner, which proves they are unconverted. The unbeliever hates it when the light of God’s Word exposes their sins. This is the main difference between a Child of God and a man outside of Christ. The Christian rejoices when he hears the Law for even though it shows him his sins for he loves the Law. He understands the Law as the will of His Heavenly Father and listens to it with a heart of humility allowing it to instruct him. A Christian also mourns over his sins. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up (Ja. 4;8-10). Does this attitude toward sin lead to a life of melancholy? What about the joy of the Spirit? You will never know true joy until you understand godly sorrow, confession and repentance.

5. The Word of God leads us to confess our sin. You are familiar with the word confession, homologeo in Greek: to say the same thing. We confess our faith every Sunday in the Nicene Creed; we all say the same thing together. Confessing our sins means we say what God’s Word says about them. God says that lying is a sin so when we don’t tell the truth, we agree with God about it and when we do, the Lord promises to forgive. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us (I Jn. 1:8-10). The one thing that is true of every Christian is that a child of God will acknowledge his sins before God, an unbeliever will not. The prayer of the publican: God be merciful to me a sinner is the prayer of a renewed heart. The Holy Spirit continues to provide grace to preserve our relationship to the true God for He knows that sin destroys saving faith. This is why God is always showing us our sins through His Word. There is a wonderful promise in the Old Testament: He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy. (Pr. 28:13). There is no peace of conscience, no rest for the soul, and no forgiveness as long as we refuse to confess and forsake our sins.

6. The Word of God gives us a deeper hatred for sin. The new birth of the Spirit causes us to hate sin. We cannot say we love God unless we hate the things he hates. Ye that love the Lord, hate evil (Ps. 97:10a). Do not I hate them, O Lord, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee? I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies (Ps. 139:21,22). The same is true in life. We cannot say we love our family unless we hate everything in this world that would harm them. We cannot say we love our country unless we hate and oppose every enemy of our nation. We cannot claim to love God’s Word unless we hate error and every false way that would destroy the Gospel and damn the souls of men. Hatred is the other side of love. If you don’t hate anything you don’t really love anything either. They never will love where they ought to love, who do not hate where they ought to hate. Edmund Burke. I can tell more about a man by his enemies than I can his friends. What he hates tells me more about his character than what he claims to love. If he does not hate sin, false doctrine, and evil he is not my brother. The Spirit of God produces within us a distaste and hatred of all that is unholy. David wrote: Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way (Ps. 119:128). The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way (Prov. 8:13). Not every religion, doctrine and lifestyle is equal! If they are contrary to God’s Word they are false, perverted, and destructive.

7. The church has enemies! There is a full scale attack being waged against the Word of God. Those who claim that all religions in the world are equal are liars. Jesus said: I am the way the truth and the life, no man cometh unto the Father but by Me (Jn. 14:6). You can’t be a Christian and believe such nonsense yet most modern churches believe just that. The true church will never surrender the truth of God’s Word. In the past week Obama attacked the First Amendment by trying to force Christian organizations, churches, hospitals, and charities to provide contraception and abortion services under his universal health coverage. The church lacks moral authority in this fight because it has been in league with the devil since the 1930’s. In that day the church equated government social programs under FDR with Christian charity. Most of the churches supported the New Deal; the government stealing money from one group of citizens to redistribute it to the poor and the thievery has only gotten worse. The large religious institutions were more than willing to take money from the government and to turn a blind eye to Catholic liberals who support abortion, well, the devil has returned for his due. Now it doesn’t matter what you believe you will do what the government says or face millions of dollars in fines and possibly prison. This is exactly what these liars promised they wouldn’t do. Remember Bart Stupack from the Upper Peninsula who held out against government health care until they promised it would never mandate abortions? Well, guess what? They lied.

8. The Word of God causes us to forsake sin. Paul wrote: Let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity (II Tim. 2:19b). The more we hear, read, and study the Word of God we will discover what is pleasing and displeasing to the Lord and we seek to be conformed to His Will. We cannot participate in sin or pretend it doesn’t matter how people live or how our own government behaves. How can Christians vote for politicians that support abortion? How can we vote for the bankrupting of our nation through a welfare system that is destroying the souls of millions of people? How can we cheer when our nation engages in perpetual warfare, involving itself in the internal affairs of sovereign nations contrary to our own Constitution? These are national sins the church must stand against. The Law of God applies to every individual and every nation and government leader in the world; the Law is sovereign over our lives, over the church, over our businesses, and over the government. Just because you get a job as a government bureaucrat does not mean you are exempt from God’s authority and can do as you please. The church’s task is to preach the Law, exposing sin, and calling people to repentance and faith in Christ. God’s grace causes faith and obedience to grow in the hearts and lives of the children of God and in the hearts of our leaders. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word (Ps.119:9). The presence of the Holy Spirit will always bring a separation from sin and new obedience in the life of the Christian.

9. The Word of God strengthens us against sin. God sanctifies the Christian through His Word by showing us our sins, revealing our Savior and showing us how we should live. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee (Ps. 119:10).Therefore we should read and meditate upon His Word, His commandments, warnings, exhortations, and promises for the more the Word of God dwells in our hearts (Col. 3:16) the less sin will be able to rule over us. When we are justified by faith the Holy Spirit plants a new love for Christ and His Word within our hearts, a new principle of obedience to His commandments. The Word teaches us how to live a God pleasing life by making us doers of the Word and not merely hearers (Ja. 1:22). A Christian gladly obeys his Father in Heaven out of a heart of gratitude for all that He has done for us. He gives us strength and motivation to obey Him with a heart of love and devotion. Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight. And Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path (Ps. 119:105). The Lenten Season is a time for self examination, repentance, and growth in faith and grace. It is a special season set aside in the church to contemplate the Passion of Christ, who laid down His life for us on the cross that He might sanctify and cleanse us from sin (Eph. 5:25-27). The Holy Spirit through the light of His Word reveals the path He desires for our life and He also gives us a heart to walk in it. May the Lord prepare us for our Lenten journey this year by granting us hearts of faith and repentance and obedience for Christ’s sake; Amen.

February 1, 2012 by Megan Gandee

Faith and Obedience

February 1, 2012

Rev. Ross Mahan, Pastor

Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our loving Savior.

Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbor, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor. In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoreth them that fear the Lord. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not. He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved.

1. The Psalmist asks the question: Who is allowed to commune with God? Who can stand in His Holy presence? Who can fellowship with God whose glory fills the universe? These questions presuppose two things, first, that not everyone can dwell in God’s presence. Secondly, they presuppose that worship is a privilege, not a right. Worship is a favor God grants you by His grace, too often people think they are doing God a favor by coming to church and showing some interest in Him. Worship is not a favor you give to God but a favor He grants to you and there are requirements for entering into God’s presence. Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at his holy hill; for the Lord our God is holy (Ps. 99:9). Sinful man cannot dwell in God’s presence for the Law condemns his sin. If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared (Ps. 130:3-4). For this reason the Christian approaches God with a sense of his own unworthiness. To worship God he needs the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ. Jesus our Mediator allows us to stand before God with confidence. Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord (Heb. 12:14). What is the holiness that God requires of us? The holiness of the Christian is the moral character and actions of those who through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit share Christ’s nature and consent to be ruled by it. (Rees).

2. Whenever the Bible speaks about good works it always assumes saving faith, without faith good works are impossible. Whatsoever is not of faith is sin, and: Without faith it is impossible to please Him (God). Without Me, ye can do nothing (Rom. 14:23b; Heb. 11:6; Jn. 15:5b). Faith is an invisible grace of the heart known by good works. On the Day of Judgment we will be judged according to works of faith, how we lived our lives on earth. Good works born of saving faith reveal the reality of our relationship to God. Jesus described the Day of Judgment. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungry, and ye gave me food: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungry, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. (Mt. 25:34-40). Let us examine saving faith and its connection to the life of the Christian.

3. The necessity of saving faith: Faith believes what God reveals in His Word which is the voice of God to mankind. Man has no true knowledge of God apart from His Word. Jesus rebuked the Sadducees for denying the doctrine of the resurrection saying: Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God (Mt. 22:29). The Bible is the light of divine truth, without the Word of God mankind is in spiritual darkness. This was the condition of the entire world at one time. That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world (Eph. 2:12). When the pure Word of God is absent there is no saving faith. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Rom. 10:14-15; 17). All Christian doctrine and practice come from the Word. The Prophet Isaiah wrote: To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them (Is. 8:20). Jesus is Lord of all things! He rules over the hearts of His people AND over the nations of the world through His Word and Almighty Power. The Child of God gladly obeys His Word out of love and gratitude.

4. Obedience to God is the evidence of the Gospel in our hearts. His Word guides the steps of our life. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path (Ps. 119:105). It the Word that converts the sinner giving him a new desire to obey its precepts. David wrote: The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward (Ps. 19:7-11). Saving faith will always include repentance from sin, a sincere resolve and attempt to amend your sinful life and obedience to God’s Word. Our works of obedience are not acceptable to God unless they flow from faith. Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works (Ja. 2:17-18). We will never be holy until we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, for faith in Christ is the root and foundation of all good works, apart from Him all of our works mean nothing in God’s sight.

5. And these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men (Titus 3:8). The good works of unbelievers apart from faith are dead. The world is filled with good works, feeding the poor, helping the homeless but saving faith is the governing principle of all acceptable obedience. When pastors teach moral duties without union with Christ by faith they are building the church upon the sands of humanism. When the storms of judgment come, what they have built will collapse. Those who teach good works without saving faith are damning the souls of men. I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed (Gal. 1:6-8). When the Psalmist poses the question of who is worthy to dwell in God’s presence, he answers by describing the character of Christ. Jesus alone is worthy to dwell upon God’s holy hill. Perfect righteousness is found only in Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit creates a measure of His holiness and grace in the hearts and lives of His people. What characterizes the life of a Christian who would dwell in God’s presence?

II.

6. The fruits of saving faith: First notice his walk: He walketh uprightly. The man that is welcome in God’s presence seeks to live according to His precepts, a man of integrity, a man of his word, someone who can be trusted. The Hebrew word translated upright (Yasar) literally means to walk a straight, smooth, and level path. The upright man lives a life that is pleasing and agreeable to God’s Law. He listens to God’s Word, ready to be instructed and corrected; continually confessing His sins and asking God to forgive him and to grant renewed strength to walk in His ways. Walking is far more important than talking. It is easy to say you are a Christian but much harder to live as one. Jesus said: Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity (Mt. 7:21-23). Without integrity and uprightness all of our professed faith and good works are counterfeit, hypocritical, and abominable. An upright heart and life by faith in Jesus Christ is the foundation of all Christian graces and virtues. Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name: the upright shall dwell in thy presence (Ps. 140:13).

7. Secondly notice his work: And worketh righteousness. The upright man will always be engaged in good works. A heart of grace is known by service to God, to our family, to our Christian brethren, and our neighbor. The Citizen of Zion is busy working out His own salvation not merely talking or thinking about it. Everything necessary for our salvation has already been accomplished by another, namely Jesus Christ and this knowledge sets us free to do good works in the world, not to earn our salvation, but out of gratitude to God. You must first be righteous before you can do righteous works. The tree makes the fruit good; the fruit does not make the tree good. The tree must first be good before the fruit will be good. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them (Mt. 7:15-20). We are justified by faith through the redemption of Jesus Christ. If a man does not believe the Gospel he may do good works but his works will not be righteous and he will not dwell with God in heaven.

8. Thirdly notice his word: and speaketh the truth in his heart. The fool has said in his heart there is no God. False doctrine begins in the heart and a Christian speaks the truth of God’s Word in his heart. False doctrine causes sinful behavior, what we believe will ultimately determine how we live, and where we will spend eternity. Believers speak the truth with their lips and their heart and God observes the thoughts and desires of the heart. A Child of God cannot live a lie; the Spirit of Truth motivates him to live in reality. Just as Jesus was absolutely honest, sincere and holy, and always spoke the truth the Lord wants us to be like Him, the same on the inside as on the outside; no hidden places, no secret life, no hypocrisy and lies. The believer lives in the realization that the eye of God is upon him. O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my down sitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether. (Ps. 139:1-4). Look at the list of requirements in this Psalm: a blameless walk, does what is righteous, speaks the truth, does not slander, gossip or do wrong to his neighbor, despises a vile and wicked man, honors those who fear the Lord, keeps his word, does not enrich himself at the expense of others, and refuses to be corrupted by money or bribes.

9. The Lord wants our life to be consistent. We dare not live one way on Sunday and another way the rest of the week. Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? So we ask the question: Am I fit to worship? Am I worthy to dwell in God’s presence? If we were honest with ourselves we would have to say NO! I am NOT fit for worship. I am not fit to dwell in God’s presence. I deserve God’s wrath. There is only ONE who is blameless and right. There is only ONE who is worthy to be in the presence of God and that ONE is Jesus and we enter the presence of God through the blood of Christ. Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; And having an high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water (Heb. 10:19-22). I can enter God’s presence only because Jesus suffered and died in my place. Those who trust in Jesus will never be shaken, they will never be moved, for they are safe in the arms of the Good Shepherd. When you fail flee to God’s mercy and there find forgiveness, peace, and reconciliation. Those who enter God’s presence through the intercession of Jesus Christ on earth will one day enter into the joy of the Lord in heaven. Amen.

February 1, 2012 by Megan Gandee

Transfiguration Sunday

January 29, 2012

Rev. Ross Mahan, Pastor
Matt. 17:1-9

Grace, mercy and peace be unto you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only. And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead.

1. The Epiphany Season celebrates God manifest in the flesh. Jesus Christ came into the world to reveal the true God. Today He continues revealing God through the Word. The Bible is not a very popular book these days in fact many people have abandoned God’s Word for a new religion of tolerance, love, and let’s just all get along. There are actually churches that think doctrine is unimportant, even Lutheran churches that no longer confess the Nicene or Apostle’s Creeds in their worship service or practice Confession and Absolution for fear of offending someone. Congregations are even changing their name to avoid being identified with any particular doctrine or synod. But pure doctrine is the basis of Christian morality, what we believe guides the way we live and when churches abandon sound doctrine sin will enter the church. We see this all around us. In many churches if people want to live in fornication or engage in homosexual behavior, no problem. These churches have a doctrinal confession on paper with no clear doctrine or practice to back it up. This explains the spiritual confusion we see in our nation and the churches. Jesus revealed to us that God Himself hides the knowledge of salvation from the proud and reveals it to those who are willing to listen, believe, and obey His Word. In our Gospel lesson on the Mount of Transfiguration we see Christ revealing His divine glory to His chosen disciples. What do we learn from our text?

2. God hides Himself from the world. Man does not recognize the works of God in the world because from birth his heart is blind to the things of God until the Holy Spirit opens his eyes. Jesus prayed: I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto infants. Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him (Mt. 11:25-27). What an amazing statement. God hides the truth from those who think they are wise in this world. And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear (Mt. 13:10-13).

3. To sinful man the glories of Creation are nothing more than natural phenomenon, a work of evolution. Man by nature is a stranger to God. This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness (Eph. 4:17-20). The Lord goes about His work in the world unnoticed just as Jesus did when He was on earth. He was the Son of God and King of kings but He did not look like God or a King. The Wise Men followed the star from the east seeking the King of the Jews in Jerusalem; after all, where else would you look for a King except a palace? But when they arrived in the city they heard the Word of God that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, the city of David, so they went there to worship the child. But what did they see in Bethlehem? The baby Jesus did not appear mighty or powerful. Isaiah described our Lord: He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. (Is. 53:2-4).

4. During His earthly ministry our Lord looked like any other man, not particularly handsome, not very powerful looking, no one would have looked at Jesus and thought: This man must be God. The glory of the Lord was hidden in human flesh and most people never recognized Him. People today admire men that are strong, self assured and confident, but in Christ, the power and glory of God was hidden in weakness. The Creator of the universe came to mankind not as a mighty King and warrior, but as a meek and lowly Savior, a suffering Servant. Christ was busy accomplishing our salvation when He seemed to be at His worst. The Jewish leaders conspired with the Romans to sentence Him to death but Jesus was still in control; no one took His life from Him. Jesus said: Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again (Jn. 10:17-18). And just when the devil and the Jews thought they had silenced Him once and for all Jesus claimed the victory over sin, death, and Hell when He cried out: It is finished. Christ purchased eternal salvation for the world on the cross but it didn’t look like a victory. No one recognized His true identity except the Thief on the Cross and the Roman Centurion after His death. The Thief looked at Jesus as a King and prayed: Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.

5. The Centurion saw what happened that day and said: Truly this was the son of God. Jesus wanted his disciples to see a glimpse of His glory shining through His humanity for a few moments, the glory that was hidden from the eyes of moral man. This was the purpose of the Transfiguration. The disciples needed to understand who Christ was for they were the ones who would testify of His true identity. In this Day of Grace God doesn’t deal with man directly, that would be impossible. John tells us: No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him (Jn. 1:18). For this reason God came to man in the person of His Son to show us He is not what we think; His ways are not our ways His thoughts are not our thoughts. Today God continues to come to us through His Word and Sacraments, the means of grace. Everything we know about God comes from His Word. God expects our understanding of Him to be guided by His Word for apart from divine revelation man is ignorant and blind. The Law is a reflection of God; it never changes; it is eternal and it holds men to values they would like to discard and requires things they think are unimportant. The Word of God reveals that the Lord considers simple faith to be greater than worldly wisdom and He has promised to give the forgiveness of sins and eternal life to all who are foolish enough to simply believe His Word.

II.

6. God reveals Himself to His chosen people. Matthew tells us that Jesus took Peter, James, and John into a high mountain and there He was transfigured before them. The word transfiguration means to be changed or transformed from one shape or appearance into another. It is the Greek word metamorphoo from which we derive the word metamorphosis. As the disciples gazed in wonder the divine glory began to shine through the veil of His flesh and Jesus began to change, His face and clothing shining like the sun. The glory of God that shined forth on that Mountain is the Father’s great love for sinners. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Jn. 3:16; Rom. 5:8). But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man (Heb. 2:9). For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him (II Cor. 5:21). The glory of the Lord was the salvation that Christ was going to accomplish. Suddenly, standing alongside Jesus was Moses and Elijah, talking with Him. What were they talking about? Luke tells us they were discussing His departure which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. The death of Christ was the conversation of Heaven.

7. The atonement of Christ was their salvation too. The disciples saw a glimpse of heaven and the presence of the Old Testament saints a reminder that the Kingdom of God is eternal and includes saints from Adam until the end of time. Then a bright cloud overshadowed them and they heard a voice from out of the cloud that said: This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him. These were the same words spoken at Christ’s Baptism when God announced to the world that His Son was ready to enter into the ministry He was going to accomplish and now three years later God spoke these same words again to remind them that Jesus was about to accomplish the greatest work of all time, the redemption of the world. Christ’s death for the world would make sinners pleasing to God once again for His blood would bring peace between God and man once again. Peter was so shaken by all of this he spoke without really thinking. Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah. After the Transfiguration Jesus instructed the disciples not to tell anyone what they had seen or heard until after His death and resurrection. The memory of this experience would help sustain the disciples through the difficult times ahead and after the resurrection they would bear witness of His Transfiguration to the world.

8. Peter later wrote: For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honor and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount (II Pet. 1:16-18). After they came down from the mountain Luke tells us Jesus set His face toward Jerusalem determined to lay down his life for our sins, nothing was going to stand in His way. He tried to prepare His disciples for what was coming: Let these sayings sink down into your ears: for the Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men. But they understood not this saying, and it was hid from them, that they perceived it not: and they feared to ask him of that saying (Lu. 9:44-45). Jesus was born to redeem the world from sin. Jesus now began His journey toward death; He was ready for what was going to take place in Jerusalem. Jesus knew exactly who He was and what He had come to do and He was going to complete the work His Father had sent Him to do. God reveals Himself to us through the Apostles. They were the ones the Spirit of God inspired to write the New Testament without which none of us would be saved.

9. Peter later wrote about the revelation of God’s Word. We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost (II Pet. 1:19-21). The Transfiguration was the most glorious event in the world, one that Peter, James, and John would always remember, but Peter tells us we have a more sure Word of Prophecy. God has revealed Himself in a way more certain and sure than the Transfiguration. God has given us His Word and the God of holiness and glory condescends to His people through the reading, preaching, and hearing of that Word. It is through the Word that God invites all men to come to Him for forgiveness. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out (Jn. 6:37). For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Rom. 10:13). The death of Christ makes sinners well pleasing to God. Your sins have been forgiven for Christ has suffered your punishment and taken upon Himself the wrath you deserved. This was meaning of the Transfiguration! Jesus our Savior was ready to go to the cross, ready to lay down His life to accomplish our salvation and the disciples were now eyewitnesses of His Glory; Amen.

February 1, 2012 by Megan Gandee

The Fool

January 25, 2012

Rev. Ross Mahan, Pastor
Psalm 14

Grace be unto you and peace from God our Creator and Jesus Christ our loving Savior.

The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not upon the Lord. There were they in great fear: for God is in the generation of the righteous. Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor, because the Lord is his refuge. Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! when the Lord bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.

Imagine for a moment someone thinking that a beautiful painting just evolved from globs of paint on canvas; or that a beautiful symphony wasn’t the result of hard work, genius, and design but came about by chance. Such thinking would be ridiculous and laughable yet how many people see the beauty and complexity of the world, of nature, of man, and of the universe and come to a similar conclusion. They imagine there is no God, no designer, no Creator, and that everything we see in this world is the result of random events, pure chance, and evolution. That is even more ridiculous. The wonder, beauty, complexity and design we see in the world around us are not the product of evolution or chance but the work of the Sovereign Creator who reveals Himself to mankind through Creation. The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handy work (Ps. 19:1). Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture (Ps. 100:3). For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord; and there is none else (Is. 45:18). God has also revealed Himself in people’s hearts. There is a longing in the hearts of men to know their Creator, a common desire to worship, give thanks, and enjoy fellowship with an unseen God.

This reality implies the existence of the One who can satisfy those desires. Only a supreme being can satisfy the deepest longings and aspirations of the human heart, therefore such a God must exist. If God did call the universe into being organized it and then gave consciousness to lifeless chemicals; it would not be surprising that there would be a universal longing to know the Creator (Hammerstrom). God guarantees the meaning of existence when life seems meaningless. Jesus presented Himself to mankind as God in the flesh, the sovereign Creator of the universe, and the only path to salvation. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him (Jn. 3:36). Jesus was both tolerant and intolerant, exclusive yet totally inclusive; He claimed to be the only way to Heaven (Jn. 14:6), yet He promised: Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light (Mt. 11:28). If the Bible truly is the inerrant, inspired Word of God men ignore it at their own peril and when a nation replaces objective truth with tolerance of every religion or lifestyle that nation is foolish, spiritually sick and in need of healing. In our Psalm David describes the atheist as a fool for when men deny the existence of God they are denying the very foundation of life itself. Let’s examine the Fool in Scripture.

The Characteristics of a fool. A fool in Scripture is not someone with a mental deficiency but a moral deficiency. The fool hath said in his heart there is no God. One man has commented: The secular progressives need to relax, they already have their own holiday; April First. Solomon wrote: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction (Pr. 1:7). The fool hates the wisdom of God revealed in His Word through which He gives the wisdom of salvation. And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus (II Tim. 3:15). All of the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are revealed in the person of Jesus Christ and those who believe on Him become children of God and listen to His Word with hearts of faith and gratitude. In contrast the unbeliever is at enmity against God. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. (Rom. 8:7-8). He is spiritually blind. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned (I Cor. 2:14). But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them (II Cor. 4:3-4).

The fool rebels against God. He hopes that God does not exist, for if He does, the fool knows he is in trouble. If God exists then he is accountable to Him therefore his denial of God’s existence is not an intellectual problem but a moral and spiritual one. Sin has blinded him to what God has clearly revealed. Unbelief begins in the heart of man. The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God. This Psalm is quoted in Romans to prove the universal nature of sin. As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps 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: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes. (Rom. 3:10-18). The unregenerate man rejects God’s Law, refuses to repent of his sins and believe the Gospel and he will continue in this condition until the Holy Spirit changes his heart. The cross of Christ will continue to be foolishness to the unbeliever until his heart has been subdued by the Gospel. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God (I Cor. 1:18).

The fool despises the instruction of God’s Word; he is blinded by his own sin and pride, and deceived about his true spiritual condition. Unless his heart is converted he will die in his sins and spend an eternity in hell. Just because someone imagines something is true does not make it so. Fire will burn you whether you believe in it or not, gravity is real even if you think you can fly, and the earth is round even if you think it is flat. All the wishing in the world does not change the truth. Reality still exists even when men refuse to believe in it. Man’s unbelief does not invalidate the Word of God. For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar (Rom. 3:3-4). Man’s unbelief does not do away with the existence of God. Man will worship something in his life, that’s how God created him. To be happy a man must have a purpose in life greater than himself. He may create a god out of gold, wood, or stone, and believe in his god with all his heart, and even worship it with his entire being, but his faith and sincerity will not make his idol or false religion real. A man may not believe in divine justice but he will not escape the Judgment of God. He may not believe in hell but his lack of faith doesn’t make the fires of hell any less real. As one man has written:

The fool lives in his own reality, in a world measured by his own mind, desires, and understanding. He is a slave to sin and blind to the kingdom of God. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God (Jn. 3:3). Jesus told a parable about a man He called a fool. And he spake a parable unto them, saying, the ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. (Lu. 12:16-21). Any man that lives his life as though God does not exist and spends his entire life getting rich while neglecting His own soul, in God’s estimation is a fool. He is rich in this world but lacks the riches found only in the Gospel. Jesus said the only true riches are in heavenl. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal (Mt. 6:19-21).

II.

The making of a fool. What makes a fool? A man becomes a fool when he rejects the knowledge of God. The Lord has clearly revealed Himself to man in Creation, Conscience, and His Word therefore man has no excuse for unbelief. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse (Rom. 1:19-20). God has written the His Law in man’s heart so that even the most primitive people in the world know that God exists. He understands God’s eternal power through Creation and he knows something of the Law of God through Conscience. Man knows he has failed to live up to what God expects of him, and that one day he will give an account of his life. But what did man do with the knowledge of God? Did he believe it? Did he seek to know God better? No. God continues to reveal Himself to man but sinful man rejects that knowledge and his rejection has plunged him deeper and deeper into darkness, error and sin. Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened (Vs. 21).

Man becomes a fool when he thinks he is wiser than God. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools (Vs. 22). The sad history of the human race is man rejecting God and then his sad descent into idolatry, sexual immorality and perversion. We see this happening in our own country as our leaders reject the Law of God and our Christian traditions. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient (Rom.1:24-28). The source of homosexual perversion is men rejecting God which results in a reprobate mind, a mind that could no longer distinguish between truth and error. Men become reprobate by continuing to reject God’s revelation and persisting in rebelling against His Word. This is why sin is so dangerous it will drag a man’s soul to hell.

Man becomes a fool by continually living in sin. This is the sad history of mankind since the beginning of time. The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Apart from the Grace of God every one of us would fall away from the Lord. This is why faith in the Gospel and daily repentance is so important. The longer a person remains impenitent the harder it is to recover. Human nature tries to rationalize sinful behavior until we convince ourselves that we are right and everyone else, even God, is wrong. Left to himself, man will continue in sin until it destroys his eternal soul. It is spiritually dangerous to delay repentance. Don’t put off confessing your sins for sin blinds and hardens the heart. Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called today lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. (Heb. 3:12-13). The Apostle warns us of the danger of unbelief that departs from the living God. If you think it is not possible for you to depart from God, you don’t really understand your own heart. This is why we must not allow stubbornness, grudges, bitterness, and an unforgiving heart to continue in our life for sin will destroy you.

A life of godly wisdom begins with the fear and love of God which are the fruits of the Gospel alive in our hearts by faith. Christ came to earth to redeem the world from sin and Satan and to give believing sinners a life of wisdom and fellowship with Him. The opposite of the fool living in darkness is the child of God walking in the light with His Creator and Savior through the Word. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin (I Jn. 1:7). Walking with God and with our brethren in the light of His Word is a life of true fellowship. We walk with God in the light of His Law and in the light of the Gospel, confessing our sins and receiving the forgiveness of sins Christ purchased for us on the cross. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (I Jn 1:9). Those who walk in the light can no longer walk in darkness it is impossible for a child of God to continue living in darkness and sin. Walking with God is being transparent and open with Him in everything. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth (Vs. 6). Therefore let us walk with God as dear children by faith in Jesus Christ, not allowing sin to remain in our hearts but confessing and forsaking them that we might with walk with God and one another in true oneness and unity. Amen.

February 1, 2012 by Megan Gandee

The Third Sunday After Epiphany

January 22, 2012

Rev. Ross Mahan, Pastor
Matt. 8:1-13

Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Blessed Savior.

When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, show thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard it, he marveled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.

We are in the Epiphany Season at the beginning of Christ’s ministry, a time of miracles, when Jesus was revealed as God in the flesh. The Christian faith is established upon the person of Jesus Christ and His redeeming work for sinners. The Bible could not be clearer regarding His divinity. In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; He is the brightness of his (God’s) glory, and the express image of his person (Heb. 1:3). Jesus spoke with Divine authority. At the Wedding of Cana He showed His power over physical elements turning water into wine. His Word has the power to create just as we read in Genesis: And God said, Let there be light: and there was light (Gen. 1:3). Paul wrote: Great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory (I Tim. 3:16). Christ has the authority to heal, raise the dead, and save the souls of sinners. Jesus preached with divine authority. Our sermon text takes place just after the Sermon on the Mount. At the end of that sermon we read: And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes (Mt. 7:28-29). The theme of our sermon is the authority of Christ. Matthew presents us with two powerful confessions of the Authority of our Lord; let’s examine them together.

The Authority to Heal! The first was the healing of the Leper. Leprosy in that day was a devastating disease. It was incurable, infectious, and if someone came down with it the only thing they could do to limit the spread of the disease was to isolate them from everyone else. Lepers were required to keep their distance from other people and to call out when they came near to anyone: Unclean, unclean. The Leper in our Gospel lesson did something he wasn’t supposed to do when he approached Jesus and said to Him: If Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean. What tremendous faith. He believed that Jesus could heal him at a time when everyone knew only God could heal leprosy. You notice that he did not demand to be healed but simply expressed his confidence that if Jesus was willing to do so He had the power and authority to heal him. No one else would have touched this man for fear of infection but Jesus was not afraid and reached out and touched him saying: I will, be thou clean. Immediately his leprosy was healed. Now the requirements of the Law had to be kept so Jesus told the man not to tell anyone, don’t make a big deal about this, just go to the priest to be examined and offer the sacrifices that’s were commanded in the Old Testament. In other words he was to give all of the thanks and glory to God. The man did as he was instructed. Jesus had the authority to heal an impossible disease with a touch.

The second example was the healing of a Roman Centurion’s servant. A Centurion was an officer in the Roman army with hundreds of soldiers under him. He was a Gentile who had heard somehow that Jesus could heal and so came to Jesus on behalf of his servant who was at home, paralyzed and in great pain. When he asked Jesus to heal his servant our Lord agreed to go with him back to his home to heal the servant, but the Centurion declined the offer. He knew Jesus was busy and also that an orthodox Jew would never set foot in the home of a Gentile. In that day there was complete racial segregation, Jews and Gentiles simply did not socialize with one another, so he said to Jesus: Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. The Centurion understood authority for he himself was a man under authority and he compared our Lord’s authority over paralysis and disease to military authority. He had officers over him that told him what to do and he in turn commanded the men under his authority and this is how he viewed the authority of Christ. In other words he saw his situation was not as an issue of healing as of authority and was convinced that Jesus had authority over sickness, disease, and calamity, and he was right. When Jesus heard this man he marveled at His faith. Here was a pagan Gentile with more faith and understanding than anyone in Israel.

II.

The Authority to Save! The miracles of Jesus demonstrated His authority over disease and also pointed to His work of redemption. Jesus came to seek and to save that which his lost and to lay down His life as a ransom for many. Jesus offered Himself initially to the lost sheep of the House of Israel, the Covenant people of God but they rejected Him. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God (Jn. 1:10-13). Their rejection was all part of God’s Sovereign plan, the Lord knew that Israel was going to reject Jesus as the promised Messiah. This was all part of a greater plan that opened the door of salvation to the Gentiles. The Christian faith was always destined to be a worldwide religion. Its message of reconciliation, peace with God, and forgiveness of sin was simply too great to be anything less. The Centurion in our Gospel lesson was one of the first Gentiles to hear the Gospel and believe on Christ and His great faith prompted Jesus to speak about the future of the Kingdom of God. And I say unto you, that many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.

But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Mt. 8:11-12). Jesus predicted that the apostate Jews would eventually be cast out of His Kingdom and the Gentiles would join Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom of God. Such a thing was unthinkable to the average Jew but it came true just as Jesus had said. Today the Christian Church is predominately Gentile and Jews hate the Christian faith, culture, and the Lord Jesus Christ. The death of Christ on the cross removed the wall of partition between Jew and Gentile and during this Day of Grace the Lord invites all men to come to Christ and be saved. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Rom. 10:13). God saves His elect through the preaching of His Word and He gave the Great Commission to the Church, the command to go into the entire world teaching and baptizing the nations. After the nations of the world are converted the church is to teach the people in those nations to observe all things whatsoever He has commanded (Mt. 28:19-20). The message of forgiveness by grace through faith was to be proclaimed to all men. God wanted the entire world to hear the word of reconciliation in Christ. The Centurion reminded me of another Centurion in the Book of Acts, a man named Cornelius, a devout Gentile who feared God, gave much money to the poor, and prayed to God continually (Acts 10:2).

One day as he as praying, God told Cornelius in a vision to send for the Apostle Peter who would tell him what he must do. You remember the story, Peter was praying at a friend’s house when he saw a vision of a great sheet filled with all kinds of unclean animals and heard a voice saying: Rise Peter kill and eat. Peter objected: Not so Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean; the voice said: What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common (Acts 10:9-16). God was preparing Peter for the greatest revelation in the early church that the Gospel was not just for the Jews, but for the world. When Peter arrived at the house of Cornelius he said: Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons (Vs. 34). As Peter began to preach the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord (Acts 10:44-48). Jesus Christ has the authority to save and His redemption included the Gentiles. Those who were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world (Eph. 2:12) are now part of God’s covenant by faith in Christ.

III.

The Authority to Rule! The same Jesus who laid down His life to save us also rules in the hearts of His people during this Day of Grace by His Spirit and Word, and rules over the world by His Sovereign power. He invites sinners to come to Him by faith for forgiveness and to submit to His Lordship and all those who refuse will be judged. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. This was our Lord’s indictment of the Jews who hated and rejected Him. When men refuse to bow before Christ as their Savior and King in repentance, faith and obedience they are under His wrath and will one day perish for eternity. There is no salvation apart from Christ who said: I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me (Jn. 14:6). The Christian lives his life under the authority of Christ and His Law. We obey His commandments not to be saved, but as the evidence of our new relationship to God. Our Gospel lesson reveals that Jesus has the power and authority to answer our prayers. Paul writes: For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God (II Cor. 1:20). Jesus answers prayer despite the fact that you have sinned and continue to sin. None of us trust in God or pray as we should but He still loves you and sent His Son to die for you. His death paid for your sins and purchased you from the power of death.

By His death and resurrection Christ exercised authority over sin and death and through your Baptism into Christ you are among the ones Jesus said shall come from the east and west and sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom of God. We possess the treasures of the Gospel and the fullness of revelation the Patriarchs did not possess. We have the complete Word of God, the Means of Grace, the Church and all the blessings of God revealed in Christ. We proclaim the Gospel in the world with the authority of Christ, and no one has the right to silence us, for the King of kings has told us to proclaim His Word. God will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth, and He is no respecter of persons. As we proclaim the Word of God the Holy Spirit subdues the hearts of His elect by Grace. Christians gladly bow before the authority of Christ because the Spirit of God has written the Law on our hearts. As we consider the authority of Christ and His Law, the Church has declared today to be Life Sunday, a day when the issues of life and abortion are once again brought to our attention. The Christian cannot ignore the Law that says: Thou shalt not kill (murder). We cannot dismiss the murder of over 50 million babies since 1973. We must love our neighbor and speak for those who cannot speak for themselves. Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter. (Prov. 24:11).

We must bow before the Law of God for like that Centurion we are also men and women under authority. We are under the authority of God’s Law first and the Law of the state second, as Peter said to the Sanhedrin: We must obey God rather than men. We should do everything within our power to see the abortion laws in this country changed, encouraging those who are wrestling with life decisions and making sure we know where a political candidate stands on this issue before we vote for them, but simply changing the Law will not change the hearts of men. The morality of our nation has changed over the past 40 years as the Christian churches have rejected the Word of God. The abortion laws in our nation express a nation’s rebellion against the True God and His Law. When people rebel against God’s Word they will refuse to bow before the Lordship of Christ. Therefore we must fight against abortion politically, but realize that abortion is a spiritual problem that requires renewed repentance from sin, faith in Jesus Christ and submission to the authority of God’s Law. Along with fighting to change the abortion laws we must also ask God to change the hearts of men by His Spirit and Word, starting with us. Leprosy and paralysis seemed like insurmountable problems but Jesus was able to handle them just as He is also able to bring renewal and Reformation to the Church in our day. May God grant this to us for Christ’s Sake; Amen!

January 19, 2012 by Megan Gandee

When God Seems Far Away

January 18, 2012

Rev. Ross Mahan, Pastor
Psalm 13

Grace, mercy and peace be unto you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Savior.

How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord? forever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me? Consider and hear me, O Lord my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death; Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him; and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved. But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation. I will sing unto the Lord, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.

The Christian faith is founded upon the the person and work of Jesus Christ and the knowledge of the true God through faith in Him. But before we can know God we must first know ourselves. Without the knowledge of self there is no knowledge of God, and without the knowledge of God there is no knowledge of self, and no one can attain to true self knowledge until he has been known of God (Calvin). The Spirit of God has given us a desire for God’s presence in our life, a desire for communion with the true God, but when the Lord chooses to remove His conscious presence from us we feel disconnected. We have all had those times in our life, as David described: How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord? forever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? Every Child of God desires that sense of joy, peace, and love only God can give and without them we grow sad and fearful. David prayed for an experiential knowledge of God. As the deer panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God? Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.(Ps. 42:1,2, 11). In our Psalm David is describing a common experience of the people of God when the Lord seems far away. What hope and comfort does the Bible give us when we go through such times?

God could never forget His children! Sometimes it feels like God has forgotten us but His Word assures us He has not. Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted. But Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me. Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me (Is. 49:13-16). The people of God are always before the Lord He will never forget us. I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me (Heb. 13:5b-6). God will never forsake His children. The presence of God is the secret to boldness and courage. What gives the Believer courage to stand for the truth in the world? The assurance that the Lord will never leave us nor forsake us. The Bible tells us who we are this evening by revealing that God chose us to be saved before the foundation of the world. According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love (Eph. 1:4). The Lord knew and loved you from all eternity and sent His only Son into the world to redeem you from sin.

During your life time the Holy Spirit placed you in a family that helped bring you to faith in Christ and now He continues to keep you by His Almighty Power. Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:6). Therefore when you do not sense God’s presence, don’t be afraid; it doesn’t matter, you are absolutely secure in His hands. Growing in faith is learning to trust in God’s Word and not relying on what we can see or feel. All who come to God through Christ our Savior believing in Him for acceptance will never be turned away. Jesus said: All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out (Jn. 6:37). God holds His people securely in His hands and protects them from danger. Jesus said: My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand (Jn. 10:27-29). We confess with the hymn writer:

My hope is built on nothing less

Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;

I dare not trust the sweetest frame,

But wholly lean on Jesus’ Name.

When darkness veils His lovely face

I rest on His unchanging grace;

In every high and stormy gale

My anchor holds within the veil.

On Christ the solid Rock I stand;

All other ground is sinking sand.

II.

God may hide His face for a time. But a hidden face is no sign of a forgetful heart (Spurgeon). The Lord hides Himself from His children to teach us lessons we could not learn in any other way. During those times when we are not conscious of God’s presence, when we seem far removed from Him, we must learn to walk by faith and not by sight, learn to live according to His Word and not just by emotions. Many professing Christians today have made an idol out of emotion confusing enthusiasm and passion with the presence of God. A life based on emotion cannot define a relationship to God. (I feel good today so God must be pleased with me, now I’m depressed God must have abandoned me.) The Lord wants us to move beyond emotions, learning to trust in Him even when we feel nothing. How we may feel on any given day tells us very little about the nature or status of our relationship with God. A man may be overflowing with joy and confidence, yet be on his way to hell. On the other hand, a believer may be sad because of trials yet perfectly right with God. The Lord also removes His conscious presence to drive us to His Word for His perspective. The Bible gives us a deeper understanding about ourselves and about God in times of affliction as David wrote. Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word (Ps. 119:67). It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes (Vs. 71).

When God seems far away the child of God also learns to pray more fervently and to repent of his sins more thoroughly. When things are going well people often grow careless. The Lord purifies His people through trials therefore He tells us to rejoice in the midst of them. My brethren, count it all joy when ye encounter various trials (temptations); Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing (Ja. 1:2-4). Peter’s first epistle was written to a church undergoing afflictions and trials. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory (I Pet. 1:5-8). The Spirit of God causes the believer to hunger and thirst after God’s presence. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God (Rom. 8:16). The Christian is never satisfied unless he is walking with his Savior. The Bible promises: Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you (Ja. 4:8a). Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled (Mt. 5:6).

III.

God will always deal graciously with His children! The departures of the Lord from His children are never final. They may be tedious and difficult but they are temporary. The Lord will always return at just the right time to answer our prayers and deliver us. For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer (Is. 54:7-8). We see an illustration of this in our Gospel reading from Mark. And when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray. And when even was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land. And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them: and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them. But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out: For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid. And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered (Mark 6:45-51). It is interesting that Jesus waited until the fourth watch, the middle of the night, to finally come and rescue His disciples from the storm.

The Lord does not always answer our prayers exactly when and how we might wish but He always provides our needs at just the right time. The Christian lives his life on earth under the cross of Christ, not the Kingdom of Glory. When we get to Heaven there will be no more tears, sorrows, or trouble, but in this world we experience the clouds of trials, difficulties, and afflictions. We enjoy the gentle presence of God each day, and occasionally the clouds are lifted and the Lord allows the sunshine of His special presence to shine on us. But the Christian faith is not just good feelings, joy, and glad circumstances. Feel good theology and worship often present a picture of the Christian life that is false. We live in a fallen world. Paul wrote: For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. (Rom. 8:22-23). The Christian living in a sinful world feels the pressures and trials of this life even more than unbelievers. By God’s Word and power he is able to overcome the world but our faith does not remove us from the reality of this life. We soon discover that we experience the very same trials and difficulties as everyone else. The Lord wants us to be prepared to face them and not merely seek an escape from this life.

This is the main problem with feel good worship. When we base our worship services on entertainment and emotion the worshiper receives a temporary feeling of joy and excitement but it does not last. The source of true godly joy is sorrow for sin, repentance, and faith in Christ. Christian joy begins in a penitent believing heart that seeks to obey God’s commandments out of love for our Savior. God is able to give supernatural peace and joy to a penitent, believing Christian even when the Lord seems far away. David’s experience in our Psalm also reveals the importance of the local church. It is when God seems far away that we need our Christian brethren. The Lord comes to His children through fellow Christians. As we speak God’s Word to one another in the church we become the voice of Christ to encourage our brethren in the midst of their afflictions. Paul reminds us: Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. (Col. 3:16). Each of us have an important ministry to our brethren and we must never underestimate what God accomplishes through us. David ends this Psalm with singing. I will sing unto the Lord, because he hath dealt bountifully with me. Songs of praise during difficult times lift our spirits and give us a renewed sense of God’s presence once again.

But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation. David overcame feelings of sadness and sorrow by trusting and rejoicing in the mercy and grace of God just as we overcome the same through Jesus our Savior. Christ died for our sins that our sins might be forgiven and we can walk with Him in joy and peace. Jesus said to His disciples: These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full (Jn. 15:11). Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid (Jn. 14:27). Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. Faith in God’s promises should fill our hearts with songs of praise in the midst of trouble. David wrote: I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord. Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust (Ps. 40:1-4). God’s people can know joy under the cross of Christ for God fills our way with His presence as we walk by faith on the narrow road that leads to life. Let us pray for the peace of God which passes all understanding for this is God’s gift to His children of faith. Amen.

January 13, 2012 by Megan Gandee

Vespers Prayer Service, 1-11-2012

January 11, 2012

Rev. Ross Mahan, Pastor
Luke 17:3-5

Grace mercy and peace be unto you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Savior

Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him. And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.

1. Christians glorify Christ among men by bringing forgiveness, reconciliation and peace into the world. The Gospel is the word of reconciliation (II Cor. 5:19), the glorious message that God the Father no longer imputes our trespasses unto us because of the perfect Redemption of Jesus Christ and because God has forgiven our sins in Christ He commands us to forgive the sins of others. Forgiveness is an act of mercy and love it is also our duty and obligation. And above all things have fervent charity (love) among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins (I Pet. 4:8). Forgiveness and love are essential to any relationship for there are no perfect spouses, children or friends. But man’s natural tendency is to be unforgiving, to nurse a grudge or cherish anger. He likes to feel sorry for himself when people hurt him and write them off. This is a common temptation. There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man (I Cor. 10:13a). But God commands us to forgive our brethren, family, neighbors, even our enemies. Forgiveness is no option. The people in our life have a right to our forgiveness when they repent. In our sermon text Jesus sets forth the divine Law of forgiveness. Every pastor who declares the Law of God leaves his listeners without excuse. They have been charged with the Law Word of God and cannot neglect it without sin. To hear, and to pay no heed, means that the guilt is ours, and that our own blood is on our heads. Dr. R.J. Rushdoony. Let us examine what our Lord taught concerning forgiveness.

2. A warning from our Lord. Take heed to yourselves. One of the principles of Scripture is that God deals with you the same way you deal with others. For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses (Mt. 6:14-15). A heart of forgiveness is the evidence of true saving faith without which no one can please God (Heb. 11:6). Jesus said: And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise (Lu. 6:31). Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven (Lu. 6:36-37). God treats us the same way we treat others. With the merciful thou wilt show thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt show thyself upright; With the pure thou wilt show thyself pure; and with the froward (crooked, perverse) thou wilt shew thyself froward (Ps. 18:25-26). What we give to other people in life will return to us. Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again (Lu. 6:38). We must always be ready to forgive. That is God’s attitude toward us. For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee (Ps. 86:5).

3. When we sin God doesn’t write us off! He doesn’t rebuke us for seeking forgiveness again and again. Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, until seven times: but, until seventy times seven (Mt. 18:21-22). Peter thought he was being generous when he offered to forgive his brother seven times, but Jesus had a different standard. Afterwards Jesus told a parable: Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellow servants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. And his fellow servant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. So when his fellow servants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.

4. Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not everyone his brother their trespasses (Mt. 18:23-35). The man in the parable owed the King an astronomical debt. A talent was a sum of money, the largest weight among the Hebrews and was used for gold, silver or bronze. A talent was 3,000 Shekels, approximately 94 pounds and with current gold prices around $1,700 per ounce a pound of gold today is worth $27,200. A single talent of gold (94 pounds) would be worth $2,556,800 and this man owed the king ten thousand talents, do the math. Jesus is teaching that we are all hopeless debtors to God that sin against Him every day in thought, word, and deed. It is impossible for us to comprehend the depths and magnitude of our sin. This man failed to value the forgiveness he had received from the King which made him unmerciful toward his fellow servant. The King had forgiven him a massive debt but he was unwilling to forgive a fellow servant who owed him 100 pence, around 14-20 dollars. If you do not have a proper estimation of your own sins, you will never appreciate what Christ has done for you or understand why you must forgive your brother. The sins of other people cannot be compared to what God forgives in us each day.

5. In the Gospel of Luke Jesus went to dinner at the home of Simon the Pharisee and while they were eating, a woman, a notorious sinner, brought an alabaster box of ointment and anointed His feet, weeping and wiping his feet with her hair. The Pharisee thought: This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner. But Jesus said: Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on. There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged. And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also? And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace (Lu. 7:40-48). We love God when we realize how much He has forgiven us.

II.

6. A Command from our Lord. If thy brother trespass against thee rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. Sin is a violation of God’s Law not simply something I don’t like or offends me personally. Jesus said: When your brother sins against you rebuke him. Rebuking someone for sins is the most loving thing you can do. The word rebuke (Grk: epitimao) means to charge, convict, or to put honor upon. When we rebuke our brother Biblically, we are actually honoring and showing love for him. The goal of all godly rebuke is restoration. Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted (Gal. 6:1). Paul tells us to rebuke a fallen brother in humility and kindness with the realization that except for the grace of God we would have fallen into the very same sin. This truth is also taught in the Old Testament. Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbor; I am the Lord. Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbor, and not suffer sin upon him (Lev. 19:16-17). If a brother falls into sin don’t tell anyone else about it unless they are part of the solution, go directly to your brother and speak to him about it and if he repents you have won your brother. I need to go to my brother privately because I may have misconstrued or misunderstood his actions and by speaking to him alone I can get an explanation.

7. Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. (Mt. 18:15). When we admonish our brother we are not rejecting him. Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother (II Thess. 3:15). If he repents, forgive him. (Repentance: A change of mind and conduct). How do I know if someone has truly repented? At first, I take his word for it but afterwards we can look for fruits of repentance. John the Baptist said: Bring forth therefore fruits meet for (in keeping with) repentance (Mt. 3:8). Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision: But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance (Acts 26:19-20). It takes time to produce fruit therefore be patient with your brother as he amends his sinful life. After we rebuke our brother and he repents Jesus commands us to forgive him. What does it mean to forgive someone? The Greek word forgive (aphiemi) means to send forth or send away, the complete removal of the cause of offense. Once you have forgiven your brother the sin is gone; you have sent it away, allowed it to die, and it is never brought up again. This is how God forgives us, removes our sins from us and never remembers them again.

8. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us (Ps. 103:12). We are to forgive others in the same way our Heavenly Father forgives us. And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you (Eph. 4:30-32). God never reminds us of our sins again but forgives and forgets them. I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins (Is. 43:25). I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee (Is. 44:22). And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more (Jer. 31:34). God will treat us the same way that we treat others and this is true in life. People will respond to us the same way we act toward them; our actions toward others will return to us whether good or bad, as people often say: What goes around comes around. We have a special obligation to forgive our family and Christian brethren. But if any provide not for his own, and especially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel. (I Tim. 5:8).

9. We owe our family physical and spiritual support. It is easy to hold a grudge toward those that have hurt us but Jesus tells us to bring the forgiveness we have received into all of our earthly realationships. If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared (Ps. 130:3-4). Forgiveness and reconciliation is the secret to lasting relationships. Sin destroys marriages, divides churches, and tears at the fabric of our nation and the only answer to sin is confession, repentance, and forgiveness. Jesus taught us to pray: And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us (Lu. 11:4). The forgiveness we give to others comes from the forgiveness we receive from God. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (I Jn. 1:9). Have you had to forgive anyone recently? Are you in need of forgiveness from someone else? A life of forgiveness is the secret to true worship. Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.(Mt. 5:23-24). When the relationship to our brother is wrong it affects our relationship to God. Forgiveness is a command of God and Jesus said: freely you have received, freely give. Amen.

January 13, 2012 by Megan Gandee

The First Sunday After Epiphany

January 8, 2011

Rev. Ross Mahan, Pastor
Is. 61:1-3; Luke 2:41-52; Rom. 12:1-5

Grace mercy and peace be unto you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our beloved Savior.

Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day’s journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? Behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? Know ye not that I must be about my Father’s business? And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them. And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.

In our Gospel lesson Mary, Joseph, and Jesus traveled to Jerusalem when Jesus was twelve years old for the Passover. Every true Israelite attended the Feast of the Passover each year and when a child reached twelve years of age it was customary for the parents to present him to the Rabbis to be examined to determine His understanding of the Word of God. But on this occasion as the Rabbis questioned Jesus they were amazed at his knowledge. When it came time for His family and friends to return home Jesus was left behind in the Temple where He continued discussing the Bible with the priests and scribes for three days. The Temple scholars were amazed at the depth and breadth of His understanding. The reason this Gospel was chosen for today is obvious. The Epiphany Season commemorates the incarnation of Christ, Jesus the Divine Glory revealed in human flesh. Here Jesus is manifesting divine wisdom and glory from childhood. Jesus growing up in the home of Mary and Joseph suggests another truth we will consider this morning. Jesus learned God’s Word at home. We are reminded of the words of Moses: And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. The home is to be a place of instruction for children.

The example of our Lord. Jesus was the Son of God and Son of Mary. The union of the two natures of Christ is a mystery, but the question for us is: Why did Jesus make use of the means of grace while on earth? Why did He take the time to hear the Word of God? Why was He Baptized? Why did He attend services at the synagogue each week? Why did He pray? Were these things necessary for Him to grow into perfect manhood? We don’t really know the answer to these questions for no one can comprehend the mind of the Lord but Jesus is our supreme example, we are to live as He lived. God has always worked with man through physical means. In the Old Testament God connected with His people through the rite of Circumcision, animal Sacrifices, the Priesthood, and the Temple and in the New Testament through His written Word, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. God is not bound to the means of grace but He binds us to them and does not promise to save anyone apart from them. God used the family of Jesus in a mysterious way, to prepare Him for His ministry in the world. Joseph and Mary believed, honored, and practiced the Word of God in their home and they taught Jesus to do the same. There is simply no substitute for godly parents in teaching and influencing their children in the things of God. God has given parents a unique opportunity and responsibility to teach your children the Word of God while they are young. If you don’t teach them they may never learn it.

The extraordinary knowledge and understanding of Jesus at age twelve was in part because His parents taught Him and gave Him the opportunity to learn the Word of God at home. During His ministry the people were amazed that a man with no formal education knew the Scriptures so well. Now about the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and taught. And the Jews marveled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned? Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me (John 7:14-16).The Word of God is the foundation of life. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God (Matt. 4:4). The greatest gift you can give your children is sound doctrine. If you are not able to give your children very many cultural or material blessings, but you give them God’s Word, they will be rich. God’s Word will protect your children from many foolish and harmful decisions in life. Jesus taught us to build our lives upon the Word. Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes’ (Matt. 7:24-25, 28-29).

Jesus fulfilled every facet of the Law. He was circumcised on the eighth day of his life to become a member of the Old Covenant. On the fortieth day after His birth Mary and Joseph presented Him to the Priests in Jerusalem, where sacrifices were offered in keeping with the Law. At the beginning of His public ministry Jesus came to John the Baptist to be baptized. Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. (Mt. 3:13-17). Jesus did everything God expects of us. As an adult Jesus attended services at the synagogue every Sabbath Day. 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 for to read (Lk. 4:16). Wherever Jesus was, He took time to gather with the people to hear the Word and worship God.

Jesus was also a man of prayer. During His earthly ministry Jesus would often slip away from His disciples and go find a quiet place where He could pray, sometimes all night. The life of Jesus was marked by prayer. The application is obvious! If Jesus felt a need for the hearing of the Word, the Church, and prayer, how much more do we need these things? Jesus was faithful to the Church! He loved the Word and He kept the Law, why did He do these things? He did it all for us! Jesus was our substitute before God! His perfect obedience to the Law is the basis of our righteousness. Jesus lived the life God requires of us! And He laid down His life for our sins on the cross that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. Did Jesus actually need the Word of God, did He need the Church, and was prayer a necessity in His life? We don’t know. But the Bible tells us to live as He lived. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked (I Jn. 2:6). Jesus was born of Mary and grew up to be an adult just as we do. Luke tells us that: Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man (Lu. 2:52). Our Lord grew in His understanding of God’s Word, the same way we do, by reading, studying and memorizing it his entire life. And as an adult He gathered each week with God’s people around the Word. In all of these things He is the example of what it means to be a child of God.

II.

The duty of every Christian. The example of our Savior toward the means of grace is the duty of every Christian. The Christian life is unique. You receive salvation from outside of yourself. You had nothing to do with it! You did not accomplish your own salvation, you did not decide to be born again, and you did not apply the forgiveness of sins to your own lives. How a sinner is saved is a divine mystery. God is the author of salvation. Jesus said to Nicodemus: The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit (John 3:8). Man does not cooperate in the new birth any more than he cooperated in his physical birth. We were born apart from our will, works, or efforts. The Spirit of God creates spiritual life within our hearts by revealing our sins through the Law and showing us our Savior through the Gospel. He convicts us of sin, leads us to repentance, creates faith in our hearts and gives us the ability to reach out in faith and receive what God is offering us in Christ. When we are born again the Holy Spirit fills our hearts with the love of God. It is divine love that motivates us to love the Lord and keep His commandments. The Apostle John wrote: We love Him because He first loved us. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous (I Jn. 4:19:5:3).

God is the author of all spiritual life. But when a sinner is first converted he is not a mature Christian any more than a tiny infant is a fully grown adult. Even our Lord experienced growth. As a child He increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man. The Christian must grow in grace and knowledge. Spiritual growth should mark his life from the moment his spiritual eyes are opened until God calls him home. How does a Christian grow strong in faith? What can he do to insure that He grows in His Christian faith? The growth of our physical life gives us an analogy. We do not grow strong physically by simply thinking about exercise and nutrition. There are principles of life which determine our physical health and characteristics. There are things we must do if we want to be healthy and grow to our full potential. If we want physical health we must observe the laws of good health which means abstaining from things that would harm or injure our bodies and nourishing our bodies with good food. Without proper food, rest, and exercise the strongest person in the world will eventually grow weak, sick and die. The same is true in our spiritual life. There are things we must do to remain spiritually strong. We must observe the laws of spiritual health. My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh. Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life (Prov. 4:20-23).

A Christian nourishes the new life of the Spirit by the means of grace. God has provided everything we need for growth and spiritual health. The most important is the WORD OF GOD! God gave us His Word for instruction and to nourish our souls. The Word preserves saving faith in our hearts. Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Rom. 10:17). Peter wrote: As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby (I Pet. 2:2). Your faith will never grow if you do not hear, read, and feed upon God’s Word. There is no substitute for the knowledge of Scripture. The church in many places is weak and sick because the people in the churches are ignorant of the Word. Next to the Word of God are THE SACRAMENTS! Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are channels through which God grants saving grace to our hearts. Ignoring or misusing the sacraments has serious consequences Paul said many of the Corinthians were weak and sick because of a misuse of Holy Communion. God has also given us the Divine Service, Adult Instruction, and Midweek Vespers. The stated meetings of the church provide opportunities to hear the Word of God, sing His praise, and fellowship with Christian brethren. The worship and the word of God were priorities in the life of our Lord. It is vitally important to follow His example.

We are to read and learn the Word of God and we must learn to pray. Prayer is an essential part of a Christian life. Jesus taught His disciples to pray. He promised if His people would bring their petitions to God in His Name our Heavenly Father will hear and answer our prayers. Prayer brings God’s blessing in ways we cannot fathom. True prayer is the secret to inner strength and courage. Holy Communion is a confession that Jesus our Savior has redeemed us with His body and blood. His perfect redemption forgives our sins and strengthens us to serve Him with our lives. The life of Jesus was devoted to the Kingdom of God and He expects us to give of our time, resources, and abilities for the same. In our epistle lesson we read: I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. (Rom. 12:1-2). We serve Christ in the world and in the church by being faithful to the Word of God in our hearts. First we must win the battle in our own hearts and only then are we prepared to serve the Lord in the world. These are the means God has given us to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (II Pet. 3:18). May God grant these things to us today for Christ’s sake; Amen.

Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church

"Faith is a living, daring confidence in God's grace, so sure and certain that a man could stake his life on it a thousand times." – Martin Luther

Ash Wednesday

Quinquagesima Sunday

Preparing for Lent

Faith and Obedience

Transfiguration Sunday

The Fool

The Third Sunday After Epiphany

When God Seems Far Away

Vespers Prayer Service, 1-11-2012

The First Sunday After Epiphany