Midweek Message from the Mount – May 30, 2012

“All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. (John 14:25-27)

Jesus kept his promise to his disciples.  For three years he had been teaching and preaching, preparing and equipping his disciples for their own ministry.   Their heads were full of things Jesus had taught them.  Soon he would be leaving and they would need to be reminded of everything he had said and everything he had done.  So he promised them the Counselor and he kept that promise on Pentecost, ten days after he had ascended.  This gift would bring them peace and joy as they preached boldly in the face of persecution and the early church grew rapidly.

And Jesus makes this same promise to us as well.  He sends the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, to us.  We have a Pentecost experience every time we come into contact with his Word, every time we receive his Supper, every time we remember the blessings of our baptism.  We don’t speak in different languages, but we are certainly filled with the Holy Spirit, strengthened in faith, and through it, Jesus gives us his peace.  We receive his peace knowing that we are one with God through what Christ has accomplished in our place, and that there is nothing in this world that can take that from us. 

Do not let your hearts be troubled!  Do not be afraid!  You have the peace of Jesus through his promised Holy Spirit!  Cling to Word and Sacrament where you only can find that peace. 

Prayer:  Holy Spirit, we praise you for working through Word and Sacrament to strengthen us in faith and to bring peace to our hearts in such an un-peaceful world.  Lead us to cling to the merits of Christ for forgiveness and for our salvation.  May we be filled with faith and confidence to live the life that you call us to live in this world, so that more may come to know your saving power.  We pray this in the name of Jesus, our ascended Lord, Amen.

Midweek Message from the Mount – May 23, 2012

I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. ¹⁵ My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. ¹⁶ They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. ¹⁷ Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.  (John 17:14-17)

 

“A scuba diver may live in the water but he breathes the air--he has to take his environment with him.”  This is the way it’s supposed to be for the Christian living in this world.  You live in it, but you are not of it.   You don’t breathe what everyone else in the world does.  Instead, you live and breathe God’s Word.

And for that reason, the world hates you.  It opposes what you believe.  It tries to get you to give in and be tolerant and accepting of what God calls sin and the world calls “choices” and “fun.”  Thankfully we do not have to experience violent persecution for our faith in our country, but the persecution is there, as subtle as it may be.  The world hates you and what you stand for. 

And that’s why Jesus prays for you in the words above.  This is part of his prayer to the Father on Maundy Thursday evening before he was arrested.  Consider what he’s facing in the next hours, and it’s you he prays for.  Even though the world may hate you he doesn’t pray that you are taken out of this world.  But he prays that you are protected from the evil one who would use this sinful world to get us to doubt our God and give up on his promises.  And Jesus points us to his Word.  That he has given us his Word and that we be sanctified (made and kept holy) by the truth of his Holy Word.  It’s there we find forgiveness for the times we have looked just like the sinful world around us.  It’s there we find comfort of the perfect life and innocent of Jesus for us.   It’s there we find the peace of knowing that in his time he will bring us out of this sinful world to his heavenly kingdom.  It’s there where we find guidance for our life of faith in a sinful world.

Be sanctified by the truth of God’s Word!  It’s there you find the ammo you need to fight evil one as you continue to be in this world, but not of it.  That’s what God has called you to be!

Prayer:  Gracious Father, there is much evil in the world around us that Satan will try to use to get us to doubt you and give up on you.  Forgive us, for Jesus’ sake, for the times we have become part of the world we live in.  Lead us to your Word where we see how much you love us and to receive the strength we need to remain your children.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Midweek Message from the Mount – May 16, 2012

⁷ But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. ⁸ This is why it says: “When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men.”  (Ephesians 4:7,8)

 

Tomorrow we celebrate the festival of the Ascension of our Lord.  His work was completed, what he came to do was accomplished, it was time for the Son to return to the Father.  He left this earth, but he did not leave us alone!  “Surely I am with you always to the very end of the age,” he assures us (Matt. 28:20).  Jesus promises that the Father would “give you another Counselor to be with you forever— ¹⁷ the Spirit of truth . . . you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you” (Jn 14:16,17). This Counselor comes to us freely and in full measure through Word and Sacrament. He has certainly not left us alone! 

And he has left us with something to do too.  “When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men.”  Our spiritual enemies have been defeated by Christ, and now he has given us gifts to serve him.  “To each one us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”

In addition to the saving grace we have received through Christ’s life, death and resurrection, we each have received gifts of grace that we are not only encouraged to use, but out of response to his love, expected to use.  He has given them to you to use for the benefit of others.  Jesus is gone, but he has chosen to continue his work through you and through the gifts he has given you, so that through your life others may see him.

What are the gifts Christ has apportioned to you?  What are the gifts that he has given you so that he might work through you?  Do you have the gift of teaching?  Of encouragement?  Of working with your hands?  Of prayer?  Of music?  Of leadership?  Of serving?  You have been given gifts, there’s no doubt in that.  The question is, are you using them as he intends for you to, to give him glory?

Jesus is gone, but his Holy Spirit dwells within you through faith and Jesus is with you through Word and Sacrament.  And Jesus now extends his work through you and the gifts he has apportioned to you.  Take time to prayerfully consider: how will you carry out the work that he has given you to do with the gifts he has given you?

 

Prayer:  Lord Jesus, we praise and thank you for completely saving us through your life and death, so that we are yours only by grace and not by our works.  But you have given us work to do and you have given each one of us different gifts to serve you and each other.  Help us to recognize these gifts and to use them to the glory of your name, so that others might see you through us.  Amen.

Midweek Message from the Mount – May 9, 2012

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.”  (John 15:1,2)

 

Do you feel like you are constantly being pruned by the Gardener?  Do you feel like you’d just like a break from the pain and the problems of this life? 

A man once visited an orange grove where an irrigation pump had broken down. The season was unusually dry and some of the trees were beginning to die for lack of water. The farmer giving the tour then took the man to his own orchard where irrigation was used sparingly. "These trees could go without rain for another 2 weeks," he said. "You see, when they were young, I frequently kept water from them. This hardship caused them to send their roots deeper into the soil in search of moisture. Now mine are the deepest-rooted trees in the area. While others are being scorched by the sun, these are finding moisture at a greater depth."

Friends, that’s exactly what God intends for the pains and the problems of this life to do for you.  He prunes you so that you might know where to look for real strength, for real peace, for real solutions.  To look to him.  Not to yourself.  Not to “experts” around you.  But to look to him alone. To seek him in Word and Sacrament that he gives us.  To know that he is in control. To remember that he has proven his love to you through Christ.  To remember that he has showered his love on you our entire life, and that he certainly won’t stop now.

And the result of allowing us to go through pain and problems in this life is so that we might bear even more fruit for him.  That you might know and recognize the limitless power and strength of the God who loves you personally.  That your faith might be strengthened in his promises and his plans for you.  And so that others may see God’s power working through you.

It sounds rather strange, but I encourage you to thank God for the pain of this life.  Praise God for the problems that he allows in your life.   Appreciate the pruning the Gardener does on you.  Remember his faithful promise:  he will not give you more than you can bear.  He is simply leading you to a deeper trust in him.  He is using you to lead others to himself.  And in his love, he’s preparing you for eternity.

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, sometimes I do not understand why you allow certain things to happen in my life.  But let me never doubt your great love for me that you have proven to me in my Savior, Jesus.  Help me to accept your pruning as proof of how much you care about me, that you want my faith in you to increase, that you want me to bear more fruit for you in my life, and that you are preparing me for eternity.  I ask this in the name of my risen Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Midweek Message from the Mount, May 2, 2012

To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: ² Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; ³ not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. ⁴ And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.  (1 Peter 5:1-4) 

 

The Good Shepherd has provided for his sheep, undershepherds, to care for them, feed them, and guide them with the Word.  Pastors, elders, council, boards, committees, teachers, whatever forms of ministry we have leading our flock, they are given encouraging reminders here in our lesson of the great trust they have been given, and how they are to carry out their work in the stead of the Good Shepherd. 

Does Peter make the role of an undershepherd sound like a daunting task?  Seemingly, yes.  Our sinful nature will find any excuse not to serve with the proper motivation and attitude.   But with the example of the Good Shepherd himself, the task of undershepherd is not daunting at all.  Consider the model he set forth for serving as he walked on this earth, a model of humble, willing, selfless service.  Peter is asking our leaders to live out a love and care for us that is nothing other than what our Good Shepherd has already been for them and for us.

These words to the undershepherds also bring to you, the flock, great encouragement, as we see how our Good Shepherd is with us, and how he provides for all of our needs.  You are flock well-cared in this life by those whom the Good Shepherd has chosen to feed and guide you, as they seek to serve you in the love and service of Christ.  Through the love of his chosen shepherds, we see the love of our Good Shepherd! 

But remember to whom you ultimately belong.  You belong to the Good Shepherd.  You are “God’s flock”!  This flock was purchased with the blood of the Good Shepherd himself.  As we heard in our Gospel lesson this past Sunday from John 10, the Good Shepherd laid down his life for his sheep.  He gave up everything to save his sheep, to bring them to himself. 

And this is where motivation of both undershepherd and sheep is found.  Sheep follow because their Savior from sin and death has gone ahead first.  Undershepherds lead because their Savior from sin and death has shown them how to lead.  And the goal of the undershepherds is to simply lead the sheep to see their Good Shepherd, to remind them who they belong to and the love he has for them.  The undershepherds lead the flock to the foot of the cross, to see where the Shepherd became the Lamb, the perfect Lamb who was the perfect sacrifice for the flock which is full of blemishes and defects.  The undershepherds lead the flock to the empty tomb of the Good Shepherd, to see his triumph over death and the assurance of the springs of living water in eternal life, where he will sit as the Lamb at the center of the throne.  The undershepherds lead the flock to the Word to find that even in the earthly struggles, pressures and sufferings; the Good Shepherd leads his sheep.  Through the dark valleys of this life we hear the voice of our Good Shepherd proclaimed through the Word. 

And our Good Shepherd has a purpose in mind.  His chosen undershepherds lead his flock through this valley.  And when the shadow of death of that valley has been eclipsed by the light our Good Shepherd’s reappearance, Peter writes, “you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.” To those who guided the flock, the unfading crown of glory will be graciously given.  To the flock, that same crown of glory will also be awarded.  It’s not a reward for faithful service or faithful following, but a reward of grace.  It is only by the bearer of the crown of thorns that the crown of glory is ours.  It’s his plan, his goal and his free eternal gift of grace to you as his precious flock.

The flock of the Good Shepherd is well-cared for, no matter what this life may hold.  We belong to the Good Shepherd, and he will lead us home!