Tag: preaching

Loving Hate

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(Luke 6:27-38)

We’re conflicted, aren’t we? A tension exists between two desires that many of us have: we want to fit in, but we also want to stand out. Sociologically speaking, we want to be a part of a group rather than be isolated or lonely or the odd person out. We don’t want to be on the outside looking in. So we have different group dynamics that help to meet that need. It might be our nuclear family. It might be a gaming group or online community. It might be a group that enjoys a shared interest or hobby. We want to fit in.

Yet within that group, there can be a desire to stand out. We don’t want to be just cookie-cutter copies of everyone else. We want to be somewhat different, an individual. We want others to take notice so that we aren’t just lost in the crowd of our particular group. We might want to stand out by being the best. We might have some odd or quirky contribution for which we become known. That’s our thing. It’s what makes us stand out.

For those wanting to stand out, look no further than Jesus’ words today. How do you stand out? Let Jesus tell you again: “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you” (v.27-31). There you have it. There are plenty of ways for you to stand out.

But it’s easier to just fit in with the rest of the world, isn’t it? And for those not interested in standing out, Jesus also laid out how you can easily continue to just fit in with the rest of the world. “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full” (v.32-34). If we summed up these words, it might be to say simply that we fit in with the rest of the world when we are kind to those we feel deserve it. If others are kind to us and treat us well, then we are kind to them and treat them well. You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours, and we’ll all get along just fine in the world. 

Sounds good in theory, doesn’t it? But look around in the world today and ask how well that appears to be working out. If the criteria upon which we base our decision to be kind to others is whether or not they’re kind to us, then everything already starts to fall apart the very first time someone is unkind. If someone is unkind to me and I fail to show love to him because of it, now what happens when a third party unfamiliar with the situation sees me being unkind to that person? Now they have a reason not to show me love, and so on and so forth, until everything inevitably snowballs into a world devoid of kindness. What ends up happening then is that we aren’t looking for people to love; we’re looking for reasons not to love people. And frankly, we don’t have to look very hard, do we? Just like that, following the “be good only to those who are good to you” principle, we have a very badly broken world. 

And the real underlying problem is this: if I am using others’ treatment of me as the determining factor for whether I will show them love or not, then who is fixing me? If the behavior of others is the only concern guiding my decision to love others or not, then I have blinders on regarding my own behavior. I am not dealing with me. I am by default always saying that any love the world expects to see from me will always and only depend on if the world loves me first. If I get love from the world, then I’ll show love to the world. 

Stop right there and consider a most terrifying thought. What if Jesus had entered into our world determined to lead his life governed by that approach? “If I get love from the world, then I’ll show love to the world. If Jesus had decided to love only those who loved him, no one ever would have experienced Jesus’ love! No one would have been on the healing side of his miraculous touch. The 5,000 would have departed with empty stomachs. There would have been no good news delivered on the hillsides, the seasides, or in the synagogues. There would have been no cross or empty tomb. There would have been none of it had Jesus chosen to show love to the world only if he had received it first, because he never would have received it first. And had that been the case, everyone’s ticket for eternity would have been stamped for the same destination: damnation.

If there was ever going to be any love between God and men, God had to be the one to initiate it, because his enemies – you and me – were not interested. St. John reminds us, “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Jesus did not come into the world waiting to receive love before he dished it out; rather, he came into the world to love the loveless, to love everyone who by nature hated him, to love you and me. And Paul describes that love, pointing out how radically different Jesus’ approach was. Jesus didn’t extend love only to those who loved him first. Jesus didn’t base his treatment of others on their treatment of him. Quite the opposite. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Jesus didn’t wait for the world’s love; rather, he loved his enemies first. 

You think these words from Jesus are hard? Tell Jesus something he doesn’t know! Can we really take issue with how challenging Jesus’ call to love enemies really is when he knows from experience exactly what that entails? When you are caught up in how impossible it is to carry out these words of Jesus this morning, stop and reframe them. 

See, when we hear or read these verses from Jesus, we automatically place ourselves in the role of “good guys” having to exercise all of these daunting actions toward the “bad guys.” But these words will take on a whole new meaning for you when you first hear them the way they need to be heard: seeing yourself in the role of the “bad guy,” or enemy, or the one who hates, or the one who curses, or the one who mistreats, slaps, steals. That’s your role and my role! That’s an accurate depiction of how we daily treat Jesus in our rebellious sin. With that understanding in mind, give thought to how you would treat you when acting that way. Would you have as much patience, understanding, compassion, mercy, forgiveness, etc. with you as you expect others to have with you? Absolutely not!

But Jesus did. And that’s what makes Jesus special. Miracles wow. Wise sayings amaze. Even his death and resurrection are astounding. But can anything top that these verses capture perfectly how Jesus chose to deal with us? Now that is astonishing!

And absolutely necessary, if we are to find any hope at all for being able to live out any of these hard sayings of Jesus, if we are to carry out the paradoxical charge to love haters. Jesus acknowledged that it isn’t easy. Easy is loving those who love you. That’s easy. But he rightly points out that anyone can do that, so it makes you no different than the unbelieving world. 

Jesus, though, didn’t save you and set you apart to blend in with the world, but to stand out so that he might use you to draw others in. Stand out to draw others in. And do it by loving others. Everyone.

Do you know why it’s so important that you stand out in the world? It’s because God made you stand out. He saved you. He made you his. He promises you heaven. You stand out, but if you look and act and speak and behave exactly like the rest of the world, then you hide what he’s done for you. How will others ever know what God has done for you if you blend in? Stand out to draw others in. Otherwise they will glance right past you and not even know what they missed. 

Billy Graham liked to tell a story of something that happened to him, early in his ministry. He had just arrived in a small town, having been invited to preach at an evening revival service. Graham had a few letters to mail, so he asked a young boy if he could tell him the way to the post office. The boy gave him directions, he thanked him and turned away — but then, on impulse, he turned back to the boy and said, “If you’ll come to church this evening, you can hear me telling everyone how to get to heaven.” “I don’t think I’ll be there,” said the boy. “You don’t even know the way to the post office.” If people fail to see that Christians don’t know the way to love radically, then why would they think Christianity is the way? Why would they consider Christ if Christ’s followers show the same lovelessness, impatience, self-righteousness, judgment, spite, bitterness, etc. that is the norm for the world? Why would they ever think twice about asking or exploring what is different about you if they don’t notice anything different about you? 

Love others. Love everyone. Even the haters. Instead of throwing all of your energy into lamenting how rough we have it as Christians at the next persecution pity party, discuss how you could show love to those making your life so miserable. Instead of the disgusted eye roll the next time you hear of or interact with someone openly broadcasting their recent decision about their gender or identity, love them by listening to better understand them, remembering that they are in fact a human being. Instead of allowing your own pride to continue standing in the way of improving a strained or non-existent relationship with a friend or family member, swallow your pride and love them by gently and patiently bending over backward to meet them wherever they’re at, again and again, if necessary. The next time you’re struggling to love someone else in the way that person needs loving, ask yourself if Jesus would have withheld his love from you if you were in their shoes. And then immediately give thanks because you know he didn’t. He wouldn’t. Know that it is 100% possible to love your enemies. After all, Jesus loved you, didn’t he? And it changed your eternity. Love your enemies and take what could be the first step in changing their eternity, too.

Messengers Uncovered

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(Luke 5:1-11)

The Super Bowl is next Sunday. To make it to that level, your team has to have a pretty solid quarterback. It would be pretty big news then, if one of the teams’ starting QBs was not going to be playing. It would be even bigger news if none of the backups were going to be replacing him because the coach made a last-minute decision to someone else in that position: the janitor. Not only would he not know how to pull off the plays; he likely wouldn’t even know how to put on the pads! It’s not just another football player in a different position, but someone totally lacking any of the skills necessary to even fake it. Let’s just say that running a sweep would take on a whole new meaning with a janitor taking the snaps!

Is it any less absurd that Jesus chose who he did to be his messengers? He didn’t hit up the religious experts. He didn’t tap the experienced public speakers. In fact, if you want to search for what was likely the bottom of the barrel when it came to necessary communication skills, you might just find fishermen about as low as you can go. They didn’t need people skills – they were out on boats half the time fetching fish, not striking up a conversation with locals. But fishermen were exactly the ones Jesus called to spread the word! Yet if you find that shocking, try this on for size: it’s not just fishermen he called his messengers; it’s also you and me.

There was definitely something different about the crowds this time around in our verses from Luke. Two weeks ago the crowds rejected the message (Lk. 4). Last week they wanted more of Jesus – not necessarily because of the message, but because of the miracles. Today we finally see it: the people are “crowding around him and listening to the word of God” (v.1). Let’s start there. People were listening to the word of God! Good things happen when we listen to the word of God. Actually, maybe that needs clarification, as have a tendency to interpret the word “good” according to our own definition of good. Maybe we should say it a little bit differently: “God” things happen when we listen to the word of God. Simon Peter would find that out. 

Simon was patient. Fishing was not easy work and he had just been up all night busting his tail for nothing. Now he’s cleaning everything up at the end of his shift, and along comes Jesus to tell him how to do his job. Peter must have been physically drained from a night of hard work. He undoubtedly was emotionally drained by the frustration of coming up empty-handed. That makes his response to Jesus all the more remarkable. “Simon answered, ‘Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets’” (v.5). 

“Because you say so…” How different would our lives be if that was the only change we made? How blessed would we be if we let those words guide our lives more? Trust the Lord your God… give generously… love your enemies… forgive one another… pray for your president and leaders… stay married, etc., and all “because [Jesus] says so.” 

Of course we would let Jesus’ “because I said so” guide our lives; it’s just that we happen to know better than he does. Now that may come across as a little extreme for me to state it that way, but isn’t that really the simplest conclusion we can draw? When a parent tells a child to do this or that and the child doesn’t (isn’t the child’s least favorite explanation “because I said so”???), or when the superior directs an employee to take care of something and he doesn’t, what does that say if not, “I know better than you do, so I am not going to bother doing what you told me to do?” So when we ignore the many exhortations in Scripture to do this or that, what are we saying to God but that we know better than he does? 

When this is our natural rebellious attitude, should it surprise us that we excel at ignoring Jesus’ commands “just because he said so?” Today though, our verses key us in on one specific area that Jesus tells us so: “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people” (v.10). We are pretty good at dismissing Jesus’ double directive there, aren’t we? Not only do we know better than he does, resulting in our contentment to leave the fishing up to other people, but we also fail to take to heart his initial words, “Don’t be afraid.” In fact, that is probably the most common excuse given for not fishing for men – we’re too afraid. While we use it to justify our aversion to evangelism, what we really end up doing when we extend such an excuse is incriminating ourselves! Not only are we ignoring the second part, but we’re also failing to live out the first! We let fear cripple us when Jesus says not to!

How quickly we forget what Jesus is able to do, as he had just demonstrated to Peter. “When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.’ When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break” (vv.4, 6). No fish all night, then one net cast and the boats almost sink because of such a large haul of fish! Look what Jesus is able to do!

Do you really doubt that he can haul in as big a catch of people if you get over yourself and your fear? Do you really doubt that the One who just humbled a bunch of experienced fisherman with as big a catch as they probably had ever had could also do the same through you?

Imagine that you were required to fill out an application to be one of God’s messengers. On that application, there were two sections, one for listing all of the qualifications that makes you ideal for serving as one of God’s messengers, and another section that listed shortcomings that would not provide evidence for why you would not make a good messenger. On which of those two sections do you think most of us would have more to write? Based on what I have heard most from others, not too many would be listing much of anything in the “qualification” section, but just about everyone would probably need more space for the “shortcomings” section. You’d include things like “I don’t know the Bible well enough,” “I’m not a strong enough Christian,” “I am not good with words,” “I don’t have any non-Christian friends,” “I’m too afraid,” etc. For those really willing to be honest, we might also include, “I am too busy” or “I just don’t care that much” to the list. Now those things may or may not be true, but in the end, it doesn’t really matter because any application you would fill out and turn in to Jesus, he would return it back to you stamped in large letters with the word, “QUALIFIED.” 

Why? Because the ability to be Jesus’ messengers is not based on your ability to be Jesus’ messengers; rather, it is based entirely on the fact that he is the One who sends you to be his messengers. And the One who sends you doubles as the One who saved you. Remember the whole cross thing, the very foundation of the message he is sending you to communicate? Don’t forget that that cross is just as much for you as it is for anyone else. Don’t forget that you need that cross just as much as anyone else. That cross was necessary to cancel out every instance in which your actions revealed your rebellious “I know best” directed at God. That cross was necessary to cancel out the prideful control you insist on having in your life instead of the humble submission God calls you to. That cross was necessary to qualify you to be God’s messenger. And it has, for at the cross God’s righteous justice and his undeserved mercy collide and we are the beneficiaries. Jesus paid the price of our rebellion and arrogance against God, and only because of that grace and forgiveness are we qualified to be his messengers.

If the Lord chose us to be his messengers on the basis of our qualifications, he’d have a total of zero messengers. Go back to Simon. Remember how much success he had fishing all night? Zero. So why would Jesus send a fisherman who caught zero fish for something as important as fishing for people. It wasn’t because of Simons’s success, but because of the Savior’s sending. Jesus qualified him. Jesus sent him. And follow Peter’s ministry in the book of Acts after Jesus’ resurrection – Jesus gave him success.

What stood out in Peter’s case was not his expertise, but his obedience. Wasn’t Jesus illustrating something extremely powerful – and confidence-boosting – in this account? He was foreshadowing that Peter’s success on the lake that day had absolutely nothing to do with his own ability or qualifications and everything to do with the simple fact that he did what Jesus told him to do. That is exactly how God grants success to his messengers – not because we are superb evangelists, but because we have a superb Savior who can bless our obedience a thousand times over and far more than we could ever expect or imagine! 

Don’t hold your breath waiting for either team next on Super Bowl Sunday to start a janitor as their quarterback. But as crazy as something like that sounds, God has actually determined to do something far crazier – he chose you and me to be his messengers!

Will you go? Will you go for no other reason than that the Lord says to each one of us, “because I said so?” Will you give him some effort to bless? Will you throw your nets out again and again, even after one unsuccessful try after another, just because he said so? Will you give him nothing but your faith-filled obedience? Will you be his messenger?

Reception Uncovered

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(Luke 4:16-30)

Perhaps you experienced it not too long ago when exchanging gifts at Christmas. You were genuinely more excited about giving a certain gift to a certain person – even more excited than you were about the anticipation of receiving any gifts. As you shopped for it, your face lit up when you came across it while thinking of the individual to whom you were going to give it. You had a beaming smile on your face while wrapping it as you imagined their reaction upon unwrapping it. You couldn’t wait for them to receive it!

And then they did.

And it fell flat.

It was not at all the ecstatic reaction you had played out in your mind. Their ho-hum reception of the gift didn’t come close to matching the eagerness with which you gave it, leaving you deflated. 

Could you imagine God feeling similarly about how his Word is received? Consider the eternal plans God had in place for our salvation and all of the details involved in carrying it out. He countered the very first death-inducing sin with the very first promise of a life-restoring Savior. To the patriarchs God personally repeated that promise numerous times. He sent his private army of prophets throughout the Old Testament, armed with the promise and his powerful Word. Rulers were raised up and brought down, empires rose and fell, language, commerce, technology – God brought all things under his control and used all of it to establish the ideal time for the Savior to be born. And it was finally happening! Jesus’ message and ministry were underway. The good news was starting to spread. God was unveiling his precious, priceless gift to the world – surely the world would receive it with eagerness and delight!

We have the same expectation, don’t we? Those of us who have been accustomed to listening to sermons for perhaps the better part of our lives expect that the natural response to the Word of God will be a positive one. Hearts that have been made alive in Christ know how precious his Word is. We expect that whenever it is preached, taught, read, or studied, it will be received with eagerness and joy. We know the Word of God is a good thing, a necessary thing, a beneficial and blessed thing. Therefore, whenever it is heard, the normal response we anticipate is a positive one. We even refer to the Bible as “The Good Book.” We keep coming back here to God’s house not primarily out of obedience or obligation, but because we find value in hearing the Word of God. It is a good thing for us and we presume the same about the others around us. So a positive reception to the Word of God is our normal expectation.

And it even seemed as if a positive reception was going to be the case initially in Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth. Following his reading from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah and his initial part of his message, the listeners were eating it up. “The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him” (v.20). They couldn’t take their eyes off of him as he spoke! “All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips” (v.22). This was no ordinary Sabbath at the synagogue – they were hearing something special! 

But by the end of Jesus’ message, things had taken a drastic turn. “All the people… were furious when they heard this. They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff” (v.28-29). What on earth happened? How had things taken a turn for the worse so quickly and to such a degree?

In short, Jesus called them out. When it clicked for them that this Jesus was no one more than the neighborhood boy who had grown up in their community, Jesus knew where their hearts were going. He knew they’d demand to see the proof that he was someone more special than just the hometown kid who had grown up a bit. Familiarity breeds contempt, and apparently, it eventually demands to see the amazing miracles that other villages and towns got to witness. For without those, all the buzz surrounding Jesus would quickly die down. Then, just as Jesus made clear to them with the examples of Elijah and Elisha, God would take his message outside of Israel to people who might be willing to listen.

Let’s not pretend we don’t know what was going on, for the hearts that beat inside our chests are every bit as capable of turning against God and his Word. Oh, the message is positive enough! It’s uplifting. It’s inspiring. It’s encouraging. Just take the words of Isaiah that Jesus quoted. They are filled with all kinds of positive pictures: “good news,” “freedom,” “recovery of sight,” and “favor.” These are word pictures and concepts that any inspiring or memorable speech is sure to include!

But its sweet taste turns suddenly sour when its intended audience is revealed. “Poor,” “blind,” “prisoners”? Wait, who are you calling “poor,” “blind,” “prisoners”? Those labels aren’t being applied to me, are they? Surely they must refer to someone else not quite as righteous as I am, for those aren’t very flattering terms!

Here’s the odd thing about the relationship we sometimes have with the law: sometimes we pride ourselves in not shying away from the law or talking about sin. We even say we crave it. We want to hear it. We want to confess it. We conclude that other larger Christian churches must only grow because they don’t take sin as seriously as we do. I have been encouraged over the course of my ministry to preach the law in this area or that, to speak more pointedly about this sin or that sin. And yes, this is necessary – the law must be preached. 

But may I provide you with some food for thought? If we want to hear the law, if we clamor for it, if we find comfort in hearing the law preached and sin condemned, then there’s a problem. If the fire and brimstone preaching of the law ever leads us to favorably cheer on the preacher, there’s a problem. If the idea of railing on the blatant and besetting sin of others around us prompts sadistic thoughts of “Yeah, give it to ‘em, pastor,” there’s a problem. If the appeal of coming to church is to get beat up by the law each week, there’s a problem!

No, the law should have the same effect on us that it did on Jesus’ listeners that day in the synagogue – it should drive us to the point of wanting to throw Jesus – or those speaking on his behalf – off the nearest cliff. It ought to make you want to forcibly tie any preacher, drive out to Sunset Cliffs, and toss him over! That’s how the law should make us feel! Because that means it has led us to connect the dots and see that the law is actually referring to me when it talks of being poor, blind, prisoners, hostile to God, etc.! 

Our relationship with God’s Word is a lot like sitting around a campfire. We can become entranced almost by the flicker of the fire, sitting in enjoyment of its warmth and cozy crackle. But if you’re roasting marshmallows and using a small stick, it requires you to be so close to the fire’s heat that it becomes unbearable. What is nice and enjoyable from a ways away becomes painful when it gets too close. So it is with the law and repentance. The law cannot deliver pleasure, but only pain!

When the law is worked properly in us, though, then those words of Isaiah breathe life into beaten-down souls. Then the message of the sweet gospel hits its mark with pictures like “good news,” “freedom,” “recovery,” and “favor.” When the law has revealed how truly enslaved and imprisoned by sin I am on my own, along comes the good news of freedom. When the law has beaten me up and left me for dead, along comes the good news of restoration and rescue. When the law shows how blind and lost I am on my own, along comes the good news of recovery of sight! When the law condemns me as forsaken and forgotten, along comes the good news that we are favored!

This was the good news Jesus came to bring! This was the salvation he came to secure! He was stripped of his freedom so that we could be free. He was arrested and chained up for our crimes. He was beaten up and left to die the death our sins deserved. He was forsaken and forgotten by the Father in our place on the cross. It was the same prophet quoted by Jesus that day in the synagogue, Isaiah, who prophesied another event Jesus would fulfill: “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed” (53:5). That is good news, promised by God, preached by Christ, and made possible by him. The same Savior preaching the law in the synagogue is the one who came to endure the wrath of that law in our place. May we always receive that amazing news with joyful hearts!

Let us not stop there, though. Let us carry on the work Jesus started in the synagogues. Let us be proclaimers of that peace to others. You know when that becomes easier to do? When rejection – not acceptance – becomes our expectation. That’s when our view starts to shift. That’s when “no” isn’t seen as rejection, but rather as redirection. Move along and take the good news to the next person. Jesus didn’t sit and sulk in Nazareth, “But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way” (v.30). Give the Holy Spirit the opportunity to change hearts and minds from loathing God’s Word to loving it. Be patient with them so that the law can do its work of convicting and killing, so that the gospel can do its work of setting free and giving life. 

Delight Uncovered

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(John 2:1-11)

The way we view God tends to swing back and forth like a pendulum between two extremes. On the one end, we view him as our Savior God whose sole care is the big matter of our souls and our eternity, concluding that he’s unconcerned with the smaller, trivial matters in our lives. On the other end, we view him as the One who is able to address and fix every little detail of our lives, leading us to lose sight of the big reason he came: to forgive and save. Viewing God in only one or the other category fails to fully see him as he wants to be seen and known. 

This morning he reveals both sides to us, that he is a God who delights in taking care of the big and the small matters in our lives. Leave behind the notion that the little things are a bother to your Father, as if you could ever possibly pester him with anything that is on your heart. Bring it all to him, from the smallest hangnail to the most shattering heartbreak – it all matters to him.

Can’t we draw that very conclusion from the first of Jesus’ miracles ever recorded for us, the wedding at Cana? Did Jesus stop the heavenly bodies in their orbit or rescue millions from some natural disaster or catastrophe? No, no he didn’t. He turned water into wine. Not, mind you, at some royal reception celebrating the uniting of two prestigious families in some powerful political alliance, but at a no-name wedding with a nameless bride and groom in an otherwise unknown city except for this miracle. Does Jesus care about the little details? Of course he does!

But you know that there is more to it than meets the eye in our Uncovered series. We are privy to this party for a purpose far greater than even the amazing truth that God does care about the details; there was much more being revealed about Jesus at Cana than just party tricks and wine tasting. In fact, John clues us into as much in his conclusion of this account: “What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him” (v.11). So let us explore this morning exactly what was being uncovered for us about Jesus, the Savior of the world. 

We simply aren’t given many details about the wedding itself – just that the wine was gone, which was a notable cultural taboo of the day. What stands out though, amidst the lack of other details, is Jesus’ curious response to his mother’s observation that the wine was gone. He says, “My hour has not yet come” (v.4). What exactly did Jesus mean by that statement? Well, obviously he wasn’t defying his mother and refusing to do anything about the wine, as he proceeded to do just that, revealing the finest wine ever sampled! So then what did he mean that his time hadn’t yet come?

It is worth noting that John records Jesus using the same phrase later in his Gospel. In chapter seven, his disciples urged him to ride his wave of growing popularity by making himself a public figure and joining them on their way to Jerusalem. Jesus declined their invitation to accompany them to Jerusalem in a showy way, but then later ended up showing up in a low-key, under-the-radar fashion. It was clear that he was not interested at that time in drawing attention to himself in the ways and for the reasons that the disciples had in mind. 

So if not at Cana, and not later in Jerusalem, when would Jesus’ time come? Jesus’ hour, – his time – came at the close of Holy Week, at the arrival of his hour of suffering and death (cf. Mt. 26:44-46). That was why he had come. To many though – including his own disciples – Jesus’ suffering and death didn’t appear to be the reason for his coming, but a roadblock in the way of something greater.

The disciples and the crowds had become so accustomed to witnessing Jesus address pain and problems and death and dying and sickness and sorrow on a small scale. They couldn’t imagine him addressing all of those things on the grandest scale of all. They couldn’t envision him doing what needed to be done to address those pain points not just temporarily, but to address their underlying cause permanently. Suffering and pain were merely the symptoms; sin was the cause. Jesus ultimately came to address the cause and not just the symptoms. Jesus came for a greater purpose than changing water to wine; he came to change sinners into saints.

When in our pursuit of Jesus we reverse those priorities and are more concerned with having Jesus treat the symptoms than the cause, we run the risk of being disappointed. Disappointed because in some cases he may not choose to deal with the symptom the way we’d like – he may let it languish. A season of unemployment lingers for weeks and then months. A chapter of life filled with sickness isn’t followed by recovery, but by an even more discouraging diagnosis. An individual who has wronged us in the past does so yet again while it seems God stands idly by doing nothing.   

And when we are more concerned with having Jesus treat the symptoms than the cause, we also run the risk of being disappointed because when we zero in so much on just seeing the symptoms in our lives, we can’t see the bigger picture. It’s like the child parked inches away from a screen. When looking at it that closely, he can really only see one or two details of what’s happening on the screen. But when he backs up a bit he can see the whole picture. When we stop focusing on just the symptoms of sin and step back to see the big picture, that is when we get a fuller sense of everything that Jesus is able to do. 

At Cana, Jesus took care of a rather trivial thing – running out of wine – but not for a trivial reason. John highlighted the reason: this was a miracle – better yet, a “sign.” A sign points to something. A sign makes something known or uncovers some information that wasn’t previously known or if it was, makes it more commonly known. If you’ve been a member here for a while, you don’t have to ask where the restrooms are, but if you’re a guest or first-time visitor, a sign is a pretty helpful thing to make that information known. At Cana, Jesus was making it known that his power to miraculously provide wine from water made him different. He was getting attention, not just for the same vain purpose so many today seek attention, but ultimately to turn more eyes and hearts toward the Savior. 

Behind all of Christ’s kindness to others throughout his ministry as he compassionately cared for and healed others was a great purpose: that through his kindness others might see not just a good samaritan, but their God-sent Savior. One of our readings from last Sunday captured it well: “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy” (Titus 3:4-5). 

When we only look to Jesus for the little things, we run the risk of missing out on the bigger thing – the biggest thing. But when we see him first as coming do deal with the biggest thing, we get the other stuff, too. If we look to Jesus only to “get us through” this life, where does that leave us for the next life, the real reason he came? 

Notice how surprised the wedding guest was that the best wine was saved for last? Don’t be shocked – that’s also what the Lord promises to you today. Oh, he may – he will – do some absolutely amazing things for you during your life here on heart, but like the wine at Cana, the best is being saved for last. 

Heaven will hold nothing back. While we see glimpses and samples of God’s kindness and love and infinite blessings during our time here on earth, the door to storehouses of eternal blessings will be thrown open in heaven, revealing the full measure of God’s goodness and grace. The best is saved for last. 

So with that confidence, stay dialed into that truth and appreciate more fully the stuff that God does for you here and now, because you know that something better is coming along. But if you’re looking for God to bring you heaven on earth right now, then step away from the screen so you can see the big picture and see that God has done so much more for you. 

Changing water into wine was pretty impressive, but not nearly as much as changing sinners into saints! The large jars that held the wine were there for ceremonial washing, but the kind of washing that Jesus came to bring would render them useless! He came to wash away sin, to forever repurpose every jar previously used for ceremonial washing. They could only serve as a symbol of the kind of washing Jesus came to do. There is no washing, no works-righteousness, no penance possible – or necessary! – that can achieve for us what Jesus came to do: forgive sins and save sinners.

Jesus shows us that God isn’t interested only in the small details of your life – he cares about the big things and the little things. He will keep food on your table and clothing on your back. But he does so much more. He forgives and restores. He refreshes and fills us. Do not look to him for just the little things, for he has taken care of the big things, too. And if he takes care of the big things, look to him for the little things as well. He delights in handling all things for you.

Anointing Uncovered

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(Luke 3:15–17, 21-22)

Plot twists. Remodels. Voting results. Learning in general. There are things in life that have to be revealed to us – things that we either do not have the authority, the ability, or the necessary information to figure out. Such things need to be made known to us. They need to be revealed and/or explained to us.

As we shift in this new year from the church season of Christmas to the season we call “Epiphany,” we are entering a season in which the entire focus is on something that needs to be revealed. That is actually what the word epiphany means in the first place: “to make known” or “to reveal.” So over the course of these weeks of Epiphany, just what needs to be made known or revealed? This simple, yet essential truth: Jesus Christ, the very One whose birth we celebrate at Christmas, is the Savior of all people. 

In this series then, Uncovered, we follow Jesus at the outset of his ministry, stopping at key events through which he reveals – uncovers – for us truths about God that we simply cannot discover on our own. For unless Jesus had revealed these truths to us and God had recorded them in the Bible, we would remain in the dark, closed off and clueless to the realities of a gracious God who both laid out and carried out every minute detail necessary for our salvation. 

We need only look at the history of man’s contrived religious efforts to see failure after failure at achieving any closeness or relationship with God on our own. Mankind is driven toward the divine, for it is imprinted in us by God himself that he exists. But apart from what must be revealed to us about him, man will only succeed in drawing up a woefully inadequate version of God. Man’s best effort at identifying God on his own will be a far cry from the faithful Triune God who delights in revealing himself as the Lord who saves. 

This morning, God uncovers for us something that at the time was quite unexpected: Jesus, not John the Baptist as some had surmised, was in fact the Chosen One, the One anointed by God to carry out our salvation. There was obviously enough about John that led people to the conclusion that in him God was finally making good on his promise to send a Savior. “The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah” (v.15). John, the desert-dwelling hermit, was different, and not just in terms of his diet and dress. His preaching was powerful and the number of his followers was trending upward. 

But as John explained, he was not the One; rather, he came to ready the world for the Anointed One. As God has made clear time and again, he doesn’t look at the things man looks at. John clarified it this way: “John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire” (v.16-17). John was not the One, but rather came to prepare people to receive the One. He came to pull back the curtains and uncover the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One. 

This needed to happen, for Jesus had not been on anyone’s radar. Of course, his birth had been a big deal, as we were just reminded in so many ways during the season of Christmas. Since then, though, there had not been much about Jesus’ life that was all that noteworthy, as God didn’t see fit to record any of it for us until this point in Jesus’ life. Aside from Jesus staying behind as a twelve-year-old in the Temple, we know nothing of Jesus’ life until the Gospel writers pick up his life with the event recorded for us this morning, Jesus’ baptism. Prior to this, not much had been revealed about Jesus; he was largely unknown.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. It could still be said today that Jesus is largely unknown. Sure, people know the name, Jesus, but that isn’t the same as knowing Jesus, is it? A recent interview with Elon Musk revealed that he agreed with the teachings of Jesus. While being familiar with the teachings of Jesus may put him in a different class than those who know nothing other than his name, isn’t that still quite a different thing from knowing why Jesus came and actually believing it? Still today then, how many “know” the name Jesus, but remain in the dark about the salvation he came to bring? 

But God’s people don’t gather together on Sunday morning to focus primarily on what the unbelieving world knows or doesn’t know of Jesus. No, our time is better spent reflecting on how much of Jesus has been revealed to us. How much still needs to be uncovered for us? How much still needs to be made known to us? 

If we can get straight to the point, if our Christian faith was compared to an end-of-the-year performance review at work, many of us would be fired! We show up at work (church) once in a while. We’ve learned nothing new in our field, acquired no new skills, and concern ourselves only with the bare minimum – just enough to pull in a paycheck. Some of Jesus has been revealed to us – the veil has been lifted ever-so-slightly, but we have never bothered to uncover more of Jesus in our lives. WE know him only slightly better than the unbeliever! 

So Jesus needs to be uncovered for us as much as ever! We know him so little! We are far too satisfied with far too simple an understanding of the One who gave himself up for us to that we might have a future, an eternity. Meanwhile, the devil runs about in the world today, trying to cover up any light with darkness, always seeking to snuff it out so that we are not drawn to it. He would keep us in a dimly lit room, unable to see and experience the full light of our salvation. 

And we are a willing party to it. We sample the light, but it bores us. We find so much more fun in the dark. We want to celebrate what the world celebrates, to think as the world does, to elevate what it does, praise what it does, and pursue what it does. The dark, after all, is so much easier on the eyes, isn’t it? The glaring light of salvation not only hurts our eyes, but it also exposes those things about ourselves which we’d prefer to keep hidden in the dark! 

See how desperately we need his light to shine into our lives, to see him for who he is! It was so in his day, too – it was necessary that the world come to know who he was. And the Father made it so at his baptism, leaving no question about who the Messiah was. It was not John the Baptist, but Jesus. The Father made it known in a spectacular scene. “And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased” (v.21-22). 

Think of all the effort an individual or a business has to go to today to get noticed: ads, social media campaigns, word of mouth, etc., and still it may not bear any fruit! The Father left nothing up to chance, splitting open the heavens so the Holy Spirit could make a visible entrance in the form of a dove, and doing his own voiceover in one of the most iconic scenes ever witnessed in history. 

Do not let Satan keep this significant event hidden in the darkness of so many other meaningless historical events. This one matters! This is God making it official: the Messiah was on the scene. The Savior had been revealed! 

This was so much more than the high school Senior making a big deal on signing day by revealing the college he’ll play for. This is so much more than the teaser trailer revealing an upcoming flick. This is bigger than the tech giants revealing the game-changing new device or next model. This is God uncovering for the entire world to see: Sin wouldn’t win! Satan would be smacked down in defeat! Eternal death’s suffocating grip would be loosened forever! The Savior was ready to be set apart for his saving work and to get his elbows dirty working out our salvation for us!

And so he was baptized. And friends, this was not just a meaningless dunk in the Jordan River. This was not just an empty ritual required of him. This was not merely an act of obedience to be imitated. No, this was his anointing! This was the equivalent of the Old Testament prophets and kings having oil poured out over their heads to mark them as designated by God himself! This was the Father saying, “Look not to John the baptist for your salvation. Look not to the nation of Israel for your salvation. Look to Jesus, my Son, the Promised One – he alone saves!”

What did the Father say of his Son? “With you I am well pleased.” The Father is pleased with the Son! And what does the Scripture call you again and again? Children of God through faith in this very Jesus. Daughters! Sons! The Father is pleased with his Son – he is pleased with you. He delights in you. He wants forever with you, and the Son is the proof, for he came to make it so. And the One set apart for that work carried it out all the way up until his “It is finished!” from Calvary. It is done.

His work is done. Yours is not. Pull the veil back further this year on your relationship with Jesus. Uncover more of him. Know him better. The Holy Spirit is not content merely to have shown up in a remarkable scene at Jesus’ birth and then exit stage right. He wants to continue to reveal more to you about your Savior. He wants to uncover the blessings that you have allowed to remain hidden from you for far too long. Why not this year? Why can’t this year be the year you come to know Jesus better than ever before? Why can’t you allow the Holy Spirit to uncover more and more and more for you about Jesus? He stands by. He waits. Let him uncover more of what the Father revealed at Jesus’ baptism – your Savior has come, and he can be the best thing that ever happens to you this year.

Substitute

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(Luke 2:41-52)

Sometimes we want a substitute; other times we need one. There are certain social situations when we wish we could simply hit the pause button and be replaced by a substitute to allow us to be anywhere but there. But there are also scenarios in which we simply cannot be two places at once. When work and family obligations collide, it would be nice to have a substitute so you could be two places at once. This morning, whether or not we want him, we see that Jesus is the Substitute we need. So far our Christmas series, “What Child is This?” has provided two answers: this child is the Prince of Peace and our Redeemer. The final answer provided in our series highlights that this child is also our Substitute.

You think time flies (wasn’t it just Thanksgiving???), how about jumping from infant to adolescent in one week! Just last weekend we were celebrating Jesus’ birth and here we find him twelve years old already. While it seems like quite a jump, the Bible doesn’t really cover much of Jesus’ life until he is baptized and begins his ministry around the age of 30. So this glimpse of twelve-year-old Jesus is a rare one.

And it’s interesting, isn’t it, that the one account we have of Jesus over that thirty-year period is Jesus sticking around at church long after the service was over? Of all of the curiosities and questions we might have about Jesus’ upbringing, his teenage years, and his twenties, God provides one account for us, and it is centered on worship and the Word. At the very least, we can conclude that gathering in God’s house for worship ought not to be an afterthought or treated as an optional leave-it-or-take-it element of the practice of one’s faith. At most, we could conclude that by covering just this one account of Jesus’ life over the span of 30 years, God is emphasizing the prominence and priority that public worship should be in the Christian’s life. 

There is a need for this conversation among Christians today. While I don’t question the intent behind the encouragement often provided for attending worship, I don’t know if the way we have tried to get there has always been the best. The one making the case for an increase in church attendance often points out that church attendance has been on the decline for decades now, and since that’s bad, we should correct that trend by going to church. Not only is such an argument ineffective, but it also fails to address that church attendance isn’t primarily a habit issue, but a heart issue.

Listen, a church on Sunday morning can be just as easily filled with empty people as it can with empty pews. These are the empty people Isaiah described: “The Lord says: ‘These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught’” (29:13). While we often imagine the church was much healthier in “the good ‘ole days,” which tend to be whatever we subjectively presume them to be in our own minds, the number of people worshipping on a Sunday morning is not the only metric for church health, and I would submit that it isn’t even the best one. 

As I said, we’re dealing with a heart issue, not a habit issue, and a heart issue is more difficult to treat than just measuring a metric. Many lament how Christianity is on the decline. It may appear that way based on church attendance, but what if not as much has changed as appears? What if it isn’t actually a reality that there are fewer Christians, but rather it just appears that way, as many more unbelievers/hypocrites used to hide in the church than outside it? So we lament those not in church, but how many in the past who were actually in church were simply doing so to meet an expected requirement or to be seen? Pride can work with either one – “look at what a fine Christian I am who worships regularly” or “look what a fine Christian I am who is so strong in his faith that I don’t need church attendance to showcase or prove my faith.” Pride can work with either scenario – being present without being present or being absent without being active.

But… shame on us if we are inclined to use that as justification for not worshiping weekly. There is a real need to emphasize corporate worship in an individualized church culture. A personal relationship with Jesus doesn’t mean that’s the only personal relationship I have with the body of Christ. To belong to the body of Christ is to belong to more than just Christ, the head, but also the whole body! And where more than anywhere else does the body stay connected to the other parts and Christ, the head? When we gather for worship.

Trying to change behavior by increasing worship attendance fails to address the real issue – the heart. Only Jesus does that. Look at how Jesus did that in our account this morning. After his mother expressed her dismay at his behavior, his response – a question of his own – explained his behavior perfectly: “‘Why were you searching for me?’ he asked. ‘Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?’” (v.49). He was honestly surprised. He had to be in his Father’s house. Let’s understand that in two ways. 

We talk that way when trying to convince someone else of something. “You have to try this food at this restaurant.” “You have to listen to this song by this artist.” “You have to get this gadget or that device.” When we convey that level of passion to someone else we are stressing that how much it has meant to us personally. We feel so strongly about it that we want someone else to have the same positive experience with it. Jesus felt so passionately about being in his Father’s house that he had to be there.

But he also literally had to be there. Remember that God created us to love and worship him with pure holy hearts. Yet ever since worship first went wrong when Adam and Eve cast aside God’s command and ate from the tree, not one human heart has ever been able on even a single occasion to worship God in purity and holiness. Even our best worship is but worthless waste before God! Sin stains our worship! If even attending worship regularly in the first place, we are so easily distracted, disinterested, and disengaged when in God’s house. That’s if we’re attending regularly and not believing whatever lie it is that tells us there’s something better going on Sunday morning than gathering with God’s people around God’s Word to glorify God together. So Jesus literally had to be in the Temple to meet God’s demand that pure and holy hearts love and worship him. 

Even more astounding is that rather than being the One worshipping, Jesus had every right to be the One worshipped! He ought to be the object of worship, not the one offering up his worship. The One the wise men journeyed great lengths to worship in person with precious gifts was the same twelve-year-old boy offering up his worship in the temple courts. The One who would make the ultimate sacrifice on Good Friday deserving of ultimate praise and worship is the same One humbly offering up his worship among the adult spiritual leaders of his day. 

Into a me-centered world came a Father-focused Substitute. We make public worship about us; He made it about his Father. Our lives are an act of worshiping according to our own will; his perfect life was an act of worshiping according to his Father’s will. Where we casually dismiss the Third Commandment’s call for weekly worship, Jesus embraced and kept it perfectly. What we don’t even have the will to carry out perfectly, Jesus not only had the will, but also the obedience to carry out perfectly. We needed One who could put the Father first at all times, including love for his Word and worship, and we have One who met that demand. We have Jesus. Holy Jesus. Perfect Jesus. Substitute Jesus. 

Notice that his perfect obedience to his heavenly Father also expressed itself in obedience to his earthly father and mother. “Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them” (v.51). When we see Jesus as he came to be seen – as our Substitute – we appreciate even more his perfect record of obedience. He was not born into our world for some short-sighted purpose like setting an example for us to follow – that is too small a thing! Instead, he came to achieve what we could not, cannot, on even our greatest days. He came to obey as a Substitute for those who disobey. He came to live in righteousness to be our righteousness. He came to be the purity and holiness required for entrance into heaven. He came to be the perfect child we could not, loving God’s Word and worship in ways we cannot. 

Children, follow suit. Do not disregard your parents’ commands, whether by defiance or indifference. That applies to the home and it applies to the church. You do not yet know what is best for you, so God has given you parents to guide you. When it is time for church each Sunday morning, do not burden or exasperate your parents with your stubborn whining, but be a joy and blessing to them, so that worship might be a joy and blessing to both you and them.

It’s that time of year again when goals and resolutions are on our radars. What’s easier when it comes to hitting the mark with goals – hitting the goal or maintaining it? Suppose you’ve wanted to organize the garage for years. But whenever you think about it you get overwhelmed because you don’t know where to start. Truth is, you’re not just talking about one goal, but a project requiring many steps to achieve that goal. Organizing the garage includes sorting through stuff, then determining which stuff you’re going to keep, what’s going to Goodwill, and what’s getting pitched. It likely includes determining whether or not you need shelving or bins to store things more efficiently. It will obviously include a good measure of cleaning, too. So it’s quite a project that you’re talking about!

But wouldn’t it be so much easier if an expert organizer came and did it for you? Wouldn’t it be so much more enjoyable if all you had to do was maintain a garage that has already been sorted and organized and cleaned for you? That would be much less overwhelming! You might even be energized and excited to keep it the way it is after someone else already did the hard work – and did an exceptional job at that!  

Jesus has done just that for you. He had more than a resolution on his mind; he had your righteousness, and he came with his perfect obedience to tidy up your disorganized, disobedient life. He did all of the work for you as your Substitute. He kept God’s law. He was the “good Christian” we could never amount to. He treasured Word and worship with an honest and sincere heart. He already did the hard work for you, and an exceptional job at that! Now the burden of having to be like Jesus has been replaced by the joyful freedom of wanting to be like him, with no strings attached. He met his Father’s demand of holiness, leaving us to enjoy the blessing of walking in his footsteps. What Child is This? This Prince of Peace is your Redeemer and Substitute. May the blessing of his perfect obedience bring blessings through your guilt-free obedience in the new year! 

He Humbles My Enemies

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(Zephaniah 3:14-17)

I know the beloved annual Festivus tradition of the Airing of Grievances is still a few weeks away, but that’s the tradition that comes to mind when I think of this morning’s theme. When you consider the word “enemy,” who comes to mind? Do your thoughts shift to the international level and to other nations, nations that are either overtly hostile or even unfriendly to the US? Are those your enemies? Do politics come to mind and you immediately consider anyone associated with your opposing political party to be your enemy? Perhaps your enemy resides on the other side of the fence along your property line or works in the cubicle adjacent to yours. Some may be convinced the enemy is even closer to home than that – living with me right under my roof – a spouse or family member. Who is your enemy?

We’ve got our own list of enemies that come to mind. The Bible names its share of enemies, too. Many are rather easily identified in the Old Testament by their opposition to God’s chosen people, the Israelites. The Egyptians enslaved the Israelites and then, after allowing them to leave Egypt, sent their army to hunt them down. Clear enemies. The Philistines, known for sending their champion, Goliath, to defy Israel and God, were clear enemies. The Assyrians and Babylonians, responsible for the downfall of Israel’s Northern and Southern Kingdoms, were obvious enemies. 

Enemies are listed in the New Testament as well, although not as easily identified since they aren’t as much associated with a specific nation or people. Paul identified one type of enemy on his missionary journey. Speaking to a sorcerer named Elymas, who was trying to turn a believer away from his faith, he said, “You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord?” (Acts 13:10). So our enemies are those who stand against what is right and pervert the ways of the Lord.

Paul also referred to those who oppose Christ’s cross as enemies. “For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ” (Philippians 3:18).

Enemies are also included not just among those who fiercely or directly oppose Christianity, but among those who cozy up too much with the world and its ways. “You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God” (James 4:4).

And Jesus himself warned his followers that yes, enemies may even lurk under your own roof in your families as unbelievers, stating the harsh reality, “A man’s enemies will be the members of his own household” (Matthew 10:36). 

That last one might be the toughest enemy of all… until we point out one more: you. It isn’t natural to think of ourselves as enemies. The designation “enemy” is something we typically reserve for others, not ourselves. We don’t consider ourselves enemies to others, but rather consider others who might be viewed as enemies to us. And yet the Word of God is clear – we are in fact natural enemies to God. 

“The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so” (Romans 8:7). “Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior” (Colossians 1:21). You’ve heard the phrase, “I’m my own worst enemy.” Do you realize how true that is?

Or to state it more accurately, we were natural enemies to God. But God forever changed that. “For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!” (Romans 5:10). We were enemies, but God himself changed that when through the death of his own Son, Jesus, he paid the price for the sin that separated us from him, transforming his enemies into his friends. His enemies who have been bathed in baptism are now his friends. His friends now have the joy of receiving his body and blood in the sacrament. His friends never tire of hearing the assurance that his grace and forgiveness forever changed everything. What you were is not who you are – Jesus made sure of it.

Ultimately, what was necessary for that to happen? Jesus had to defeat THE enemy, Satan. Finally, the devil is the one directing every ounce of opposition against God. After turning against God along with a number of rebellious angels, he recruited his first mercenaries in Eden when Adam and Eve through their disobedience switched their allegiance. He has been successfully recruiting for his army through unbelief ever since. “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). He does not let up. He is relentless. 

But he is fighting for a lost cause, for he has already lost the battle. Because God made good on the head-crushing promise he gave in Eden, Satan cannot win the war. So those who fight for him are fighting a losing battle. He has already been defeated. His head has already been crushed. Yet he lashes out with the last bit of his remaining energy until the victorious Christ returns again on the last day when no one – not even Satan himself – will stand in opposition to him.

At that time, Zephaniah’s words will sink in perfectly. Then we will truly know what is like that “He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17). What? Who am I that God should delight in me? Who am I that God himself should crank the volume all the way up and rejoice over me with singing? Who am I? Who are you? We are the ones he thought enough of to send his own Son to suffer in our place. Surely a Father willing to do that must truly delight in us! So until the resurrected Son returns on the Last Day, we, too, can rejoice and be glad, because he delights in us and because we know that what he has done to Satan will apply to all of those who stand with Satan and refuse to humble themselves before God. 

A word about that. We can rejoice and be glad, not with a focus on the eternal wrath that awaits our enemies, but rather that justice will be served. Wickedness will not go unchecked forever. Opposition to Jesus and his church will not be tolerated. Everyone will be humbled, either willingly or unwillingly. Our heart’s desire is the same as the Lord’s, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. Our heart’s desire would be that the Holy Spirit would work humble repentance in every human heart. 

But in the cases where that doesn’t happen because hardened hearts refuse to be softened, God will have the last say. He will not be made out to be a liar. Those who placed their faith in him, trusting him for salvation, will not have done so in vain. Every knee will bend and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord (cf. Philippians 2). Many will do so out of faith; many others will do so when faced with the cruel reality of regret that their refusal to believe God’s gracious promises results in their being given for eternity what they chose during their lives on earth – an existence without God. 

Faith in Jesus, though, guarantees a different eternity than that – one in the presence of our faithful Father. So check your body language and posture and don’t hang limp (v.16). Do not hang your head at the gloom of this world. Do not mope. Jesus has given you the victory. “Sing, Daughter Zion; shout aloud, Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, Daughter Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away your punishment, he has turned back your enemy. The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you; never again will you fear any harm” (v.14-15). You are not victims, but victors! 

Therefore, do not fret over your enemies, at least not in terms of worrying if justice will be served. No, rest assured, God will take care of that. God has already taken care of that, in fact, and it is merely a matter of time until the whole world acknowledges it. That means we are freed for something greater: loving our enemies, just as Jesus calls us to.

God has not enlisted your help in making sure that vengeance is carried out or that justice is served. But he has enlisted your help to counter the devil’s efforts at recruitment. He has enlisted your help in recruiting to the winning side. After all, why all the shouting and glad rejoicing? It is not only because that’s a natural reaction on our part, but also so that others may be drawn in by it. Shout aloud and declare to others what you know – that the Lord has turned back our enemy and we have nothing whatsoever to fear. The battle, carried out in stages at Jesus’ birth, throughout his life, at his Good Friday death, and finalized from the empty tomb, has been won. Jesus has defeated the enemy. Jesus will defeat every other enemy. But you, dear Christian, you, by his grace, he has made his friend.

He Humbles Me

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(Luke 3:1-6)

It doesn’t matter which highway around San Diego you’re on – you don’t have to be on it very long before you see all the signs from your car. The heavy equipment that cuts and carves into the hillsides. The piles of dirt. The wooden stakes jutting out all over, polka dotting the area with ribbons of various color. The flattened future lots. What used to be a landscape of uneven rocky and rough terrain spilling down the hill or mountainside has become smooth and level. All of that earth is moved around, shifted, dug down, or piled up to make way for a future subdivision, apartment complex, or commercial development. 

Of course we know why this is all necessary. Building cannot take place on an uneven surface. A foundation poured on uneven earth will crack sooner than later, as will the walls and roof of any building erected on top of it. Parking lots and landscaping that aren’t graded to drain water properly will retain water and flood during the rainy season. Any building project requires no small amount of preliminary work before the finished product can even begin to take shape.

So it is with the building project that God is doing in each of us. As a child I had a hand-stitched picture of a curly red-head boy with his head down and a slingshot in his back pocket, implying he had just gotten in trouble with the slingshot. Accompanying the picture was the caption, “Please be patient – God isn’t finished with me yet.” How true that statement is, no matter where we are in life! This morning we will consider how God goes about with his ongoing building project in each of us, but before we do, we remember how important last Sunday’s message was to set the tone for our Humble Expectations series.

Last Sunday God’s Word reminded us that the only way hell-bound sinners and a holy God could be reconciled and brought into a right relationship was for Jesus to bring himself to us, to make himself less, to humble himself. And he did just that. That, of course, is the celebration we’re all eager to get to in three more weeks – God humbling himself to endure childbirth, a life that was the farthest thing from any semblance of a charmed life, ridicule and punishment for committing no crime whatsoever, and finally, a crucifixion reserved for convicted criminals. 

But there is more to the story. Though Jesus humbly endured all of that to make a relationship with rebellious mankind possible, sadly, not all of mankind will benefit from it. Why? There’s too much uneven rocky and rough terrain spilling out of our hearts and reflected in our lives. Unless all of that is moved around, shifted, dug down, or piled up to make way for the humble Savior, then he cannot reside in our hearts. So not only Jesus, but we, too, must be humbled. 

That was John’s mission. John was the earth-mover, the one called to do the heavy lifting and the scraping and the leveling among mankind to prepare the way for humble Jesus. You know the work John was called to do by another name: repentance. He came to call a rebellious world to repentance. One general way to consider what repentance means is to capture it with the picture of turning around. If you see a “Dead End” or a “Bridge Out Ahead” sign while driving, you’re wise enough to know to turn around and go the other direction. Repentance is seeing God’s law as a sign that indicates going our way instead of his is the wrong way. But we can break down repentance even further than that.

Repentance really starts with realizing and acknowledging that our hearts are defective. When you have something that’s defective, it won’t work properly. It isn’t a matter of double-checking the directions. No amount of trouble-shooting will matter if the object is defective. You don’t shake it around a bit or kick it or give it a good cleaning and hope it will work. It’s defective. It isn’t merely contributing to the problem – it is the problem. Sometimes, talk of repentance moves directly from this step right into the step of turning around. But there is a necessary transition that must happen between the first step of acknowledging our defective hearts and turning from our rebellion and sin. We could call that transition, contrition. 

What is contrition? Sorrow over sin. It is a different thing than merely acknowledging wrongdoing. For example, a criminal can acknowledge he did something without showing an ounce of remorse over it. But such cannot be the case for sinful mankind before a righteous God. Genuine repentance cannot bear genuine fruit without the soil of contrition. 

Let’s stay on this for a bit more. What does contrition look like? A few thoughtful questions might help you identify its presence or absence in your life. When it is discovered that you did something wrong, do you feel bad about what you did, or do you just feel bad about getting caught? When you apologize or ask for forgiveness, do you do so in a way that avoids accountability (e.g., “I’m sorry that you were offended/hurt by what I said.”) or do you own up to what you did wrong and take full responsibility (e.g. “I’m sorry that I ________ and that my words/actions hurt you.”)? 

Here’s another way to dig beneath the surface to try to discover genuine contrition; ask yourself if you even want to be more holy or if too long ago you comfortably embraced the fact that you’re not. If you’re willing to take a good hard look at your own heart, you may notice some areas where a progression in sin over time has resulted in contrition gradually eroding away. Here is what that progression looks like.

The first time the sin is committed there is guilt and remorse – we genuinely feel awful about it. That is contrition. Then, a few more times of the same sin and we become somewhat complacent. There is still a knowledge that we shouldn’t be doing it, but it definitely bothers us less than it did initially. Then, a few more times of the same sin and we become complicit. This is where we start to justify it in our own minds or even rationalize it as being normal and/or acceptable. Finally, after enough time in that stage, the last step can turn into openly welcoming and embracing the sin – we commend it. When this happens, a person typically drifts toward associating with other people who feel the same way, which results in reinforcing our thoughts on that sin. Not only has contrition completely faded in those cases, but the sin which once caused sorrow and guilt is now praised and celebrated. 

Paul actually spoke this very point of embracing sin in two places. In Romans 1:32, he wrote, “although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.” In his letter to the Philippians, he observed of those opposing Christianity, “Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things” (3:19). It may go even further still to result in aggressive opposition to other Christians who continue to call out that same sin. Once that whole process has played out, it’s back to the beginning of the process of repentance all over again. But you better believe the work that John the Baptist calls us to do is FAR more difficult from that point on (cf. Hebrews 6:1-6).

But if instead, that first step of genuine contrition and the Holy Spirit continues to work in us a genuine loathing of sin and a desire to squash it in our lives, then here is where the turning around comes in. It’s what Luke described in our verses this morning. “Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth” (Lk. 3:4c-5). It’s leveling my pride and seeing my sin for the damning spiritual roadblock that it is. It is refusing to insist that my crooked path is the better alternative to God’s way. It’s confessing that my default to blame others for the damage my sin has done is the real culprit cutting me off from God. We aren’t talking about filling a pothole here or sealing a crack there – we’re talking about a complete demolition and removal to clear all the sinful debris for God to carry out his building project on us.

Finally, there is the last crucial step of repentance, the absolutely most important one: looking to the One who humbled himself for my forgiveness and salvation. For even an unbeliever can merely acknowledge he did something wrong,  feel contrition over it, and strive to turn around on his own. But that is quite a different thing than the repentant believer who longs to turn away from sin and to the grace and forgiveness Jesus extends freely to him. Recall that Luke spelled out the purpose of John’s call to repentance in verse 3 – that John came “preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” The goal is not to leave us wallowing in guilt and shame, but rather to see that humble Jesus came to lift up humble sinners out of the muck of guilt and shame and dress us with his perfection, his righteousness.

This is the final goal for us, for you. This is the final goal for all people, as John stated it: “And all people will see God’s salvation” (Lk. 3:6). So this call to repentance is absolutely essential, for without it, we are not able to see salvation because of the obstinate obstructions in our way that are sin. 

Think of a time you arrived late at the movie theater. After grabbing your popcorn, candy, and drink, you make your way into the dark theater. Once you find a spot, you then have to climb over any number of theatergoers to get to your spot. What is happening while this is going on? Not only are you missing out on the movie while trying to avoid spilling your drink on someone’s lap, but you are also keeping them from seeing the screen as you walk in front of them.

The goal of repentance is that everyone can see God’s salvation in Christ Jesus, and that not even our own sin would obstruct the view of others, or keep us from seeing our own need of salvation. Repentance clears the way for us to clearly see what God has done for us in Christ. Repentance clears the way for the star of Bethlehem to spotlight our salvation born on Christmas. Repentance clears us out of the way so that our own sin doesn’t cloud the view of others, and all people can see God’s salvation. Jesus humbled himself for us – may he also continue to humble us so that we can believe and appreciate it. 

Heaven Is… a Great Banquet for Everyone

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(Luke 14:15-24)

When you attend a significant event, the number of people present matters. How would it feel going to hear your favorite band or singer in concert at a large venue and being surrounded by empty seats? What if you received a special exclusive invite to the opening of a trendy new restaurant and only a handful of other people were there? It was one thing to have to witness that kind of emptiness during the pandemic when in-person attendance was not permitted, but barring those restrictions, we expect big events to bring in big numbers of people. If not, and attendance is sparse, it can result in lower expectations, second-guessing the level of quality associated with the function, or wondering about the organization of the whole thing. Numbers matter. We are impressed by large attendance numbers at events – they give credibility to something.

Have you ever wondered what the attendance numbers in heaven will be like? On the one hand, we have pictures of multitudes gathered around the throne. Each of Daniel and John’s (Revelation) visions make reference to thousands upon thousands and ten thousands upon ten thousand – numbers which may refer to just angels or could also include believers. Jesus preached to large crowds and many came to faith. Throughout the book of Acts we are told the Holy Spirit added thousands to the faith here and there through the preaching of the Word. World statistics of professing Christians currently top 2.5 billion, to say nothing of the total number of believers existing throughout history. So it would appear that heaven will be pretty full.

But Jesus also said, “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to” (Lk. 13:24). And in the parable before us this morning there are clearly a number who excuse themselves for a variety of reasons, leaving the master to conclude, “I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet” (14:24). So will it be many or few? What will the numbers be like in heaven? We can’t say for sure, and while I know few of us like to hear that answer, we must be willing to accept it frequently in regard to questions about heaven. Instead then, let’s give our attention to two matters that we DO have control over: 1) making sure we get there, and 2) taking as many with us as we possibly can.

I know it feels rather odd even to state it that way, to “make sure we get” to heaven. There’s nothing for us to do! Jesus did it all, so what could we possibly need to “do” to make sure we get there? He traded heaven for earth to make sure that one day we would be able to trade earth for heaven. His perfect obedience replaced our daily disobedience. On the cross he was forsaken so we could be forgiven. How do we cover that debt when it has already been paid? How do we convince a judge who’s already declared us innocent because of what Jesus has achieved as our Sacrifice and Substitute?  

It’s really more about what we can make sure we don’t do rather than taking credit for anything we can do. Simply put, don’t lose what you’ve been given. Don’t reject the free gift of salvation. Don’t misplace your invitation. Don’t let the big day arrive and find you unprepared because you allowed enough excuses to mount up over time that you became preoccupied with this life at the expense of the next one. It’s as if every time you make an excuse, you are pounding in yet one more tent stake to make this your permanent home instead of heaven.

It would appear this is a very legitimate concern on the part of Jesus. At least that’s the way it comes across in the parable. Not only do the servants receive a variety of excuses from the invitees when the party is finally ready, but notice how many times the host has to send out his servants to bring in more guests – three times they are sent out! That would seem to emphasize two important truths. One, many will end up on the outside looking in when it comes to heaven. Two, God really means it when he says that he wants everyone to be saved. Why else would he continue to send out his servants to invite others? “Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full” (v.23). There’s still room. 

There’s still room. You probably noticed the Trunk or Treat invites in your worship folders. Those invites aren’t for you, because you already know you’re invited. But they are for you to pass along to someone else. Heaven is the same. You already know it’s for you, but now the invite is for you to pass along to others. 

So each and every one of us can focus on one or both of the two things we DO have control over. If you are in the excuse-making camp of the banquet invitees in the parable and are dangerously close to forfeiting your spot at the heavenly banquet, then that needs your urgent attention. Get your act together and make your faith the priority it needs to be so that you don’t give up what you’ve been given. And if you are solid in that department, then you can give attention to your role of passing along the invites. One or the other or both is where we all should be. Make sure you get there and do your best to help as many others as possible get there. 

Where exactly is “there?” What will “there” be like? After all, that’s what we’re really interested in – the information about what the accommodations in heaven will be like, right? So will there be an actual feast, a banquet, as heaven is so often depicted in Scripture? Will the most tantalizing food and drink imaginable be served? The perfect cut of meat, perfectly cooked, or for those who prefer, the perfect Beyond Meat plant-based product perfectly imitating the perfect cut of meat, perfectly cooked? Will the food melt on your tongue the moment it touches it? Will the beverages be served chilled so they aren’t too cold or not too hot so they avoid burning your tongue? Will there be appetizers? How many courses? And dessert – what about dessert??? Now that I’ve lost you for the rest of the sermon… will we actually experience any of this? 

Or… is it all figurative picture language to make heaven more relatable to us? It would make sense that Jesus would speak a parable involving a great feast, given he spoke these words this morning while he was a guest at a Pharisee’s house for a meal. And, the comment made to Jesus leading up to the parable referenced the blessing of feasting in the kingdom of God. So is Jesus merely tying his description of heaven to something we can conceptualize, something we could connect to through personal experience? After all, as much as both the Old and the New Testaments speak about heaven as a sit-down saintly smorgasbord, the Bible also says that no one in heaven will ever hunger or thirst. Therefore, if there is eating and drinking, it won’t be out of a need of sustenance, but rather out of the joy and pleasure associated with it.

Here is another thought: why should we ever experience any good pleasure at all in a broken, fallen world? Why should we be able to enjoy tasty delicacies and delightful drink? Surely a world of rebellious sinners has not and could not earn the right to such pleasure? No, but God is good. God is gracious. Maybe there is another reason behind God allowing us such enjoyment – perhaps such pleasures have an even greater purpose: merely to whet our appetite for what is coming in heaven. Certainly no good, no excellent experience here on earth was ever intended to attract us so strongly to this temporal world; rather could it serve all the more to provide us with teaser upon teaser of how splendid heaven will be? 

And don’t forget another part of a great meal – one enjoyed with favored guests! After all, a meal spent with old friends can make even the blandest food palatable. And even outstanding food is only made better when enjoyed in the presence of those dear to us. Think of that part of a feast or banquet – not so much about the food, but about the guests gathered together to enjoy it together. That is real joy! Gathering around food builds community. Meals are where stories are shared and memories are made. Traditions and family rituals so often involve food. Food satisfies, but sometimes the biggest role it serves is to bring people together. And that is certainly one of the main themes of heaven, isn’t it – all of God’s blood-bought saints finally being brought together in perfect unity and harmony? No polarizing division. No draining disagreements. Just Jesus-centered gathering.

Years ago there was a popular series of T-shirt slogans that had a statement regarding one’s favorite sport. It had a simple phrase indicating that one’s favorite sport was life, and the rest was just details. “Basketball/tennis/golf/baseball/etc. is life. The rest is just details.” The point was clear: nothing else really mattered. The wearer of the T-shirt was claiming that other concerns in life were quite trivial in comparison to the favorite sport. 

At the end of the day, there is much speculation about what heaven will be like. There are many unknowns. We don’t know if there will be a literal banquet feast or if the imagery is merely figurative. But there is one known: Jesus will be there. And we’ll get to be with him. Nothing will be better. In heaven we could rightly sport the T-shirt, “Jesus is (eternal) life. The rest is just details.” Let’s make sure that when we’re done here on earth, each and every one of us – and as many others as we can possibly bring along – are all wearing the same shirts.

Heaven Is… Coming

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(Matthew 25:31-46)

More and more evidence points to the reality that the happiness associated with a certain experience has less to do with the experience itself and more to do with our anticipation of it. Studies that measured brain activity and the subjects’ feelings of happiness prior to a positive experience and during that experience have seen higher dopamine levels before than during the experience itself. So it seems that looking forward to a positive experience is many times the most exhilarating part of all.

I won’t disagree. When I got to the last book of the Harry Potter series, I recall how bittersweet it was. While it was always exciting to finish one book in the series and look forward to starting the next, I knew I wouldn’t have anything to look forward to after I read the last one. So, I actually put off starting the final book for some time just to extend the time I had to look forward to it. We’ve probably all experienced something similar in the past at some point regarding vacations. We were so eager to plan and look forward to and anticipate an upcoming vacation – but the vacation itself didn’t match our anticipation of it. Or, we look forward to watching an episode of our favorite show, but how bummed are we when the last episode airs? Now we don’t have anything to look forward to anymore. It is the anticipation of the experience – not the actual experience itself – which is so often the most exhilarating part. 

Heaven, dear friends, will be the exception. Are we eager about heaven? Do we anticipate it? Are we looking forward to getting there? Absolutely. But unlike every other experience we have had on earth, it will not be the anticipation of heaven that fills us with the greatest joy, but our experience of it. Our experience of heaven will absolutely surpass in every possible way any detail we could have imagined about it. No matter how high the dopamine levels register in our anticipation of heaven, they’ll be off the charts when we actually experience it!

When it comes to anticipation, studies have shown that two primary factors play the biggest role in heightening our good feelings about an experience: 1) simply looking forward to the experience itself, but also 2) the increased likelihood that it will happen. When those two factor in together, we experience the height of anticipation. You get a rush from placing an online order, but that anticipation is heightened when your tracker tells you the delivery truck is only two stops away! The opening music to your favorite show starts playing on the screen and you get a quick rush no matter how good or bad the episode is. You look forward to the possibility of reconnecting with an old friend, but that anticipation is heightened when your phone pings with a text confirming the date and time. It’s really going to happen! It’s a certainty!

Jesus provides us with the same certainty as he introduces his teaching on heaven this morning. He started out, “When the Son of Man comes…” (v.31). There is no uncertainty in those words, is there? Jesus doesn’t say “I’m hoping to” or “I’ll really try” or “I might be available”; he says, “when the Son of Man comes.” Everything then, which follows, will happen. Jesus will return. He will come back to us. Doesn’t that heighten our anticipation?

And we are so in need of that repeated reminder, aren’t we? As more time passes, we wonder more. We question ourselves. We question God. The world worsens. Is Jesus’ return a reality we can count on, or is it just wishful thinking? Am I foolish for believing it or looking forward to it? Jesus puts that to rest. Jesus doesn’t lie. He laid out what will happen when he returns. He will return. 

And his return will be glorious! While Jesus’ first coming into our world was meaningful and marvelous in its own right, I don’t know that “glorious” is the description we’d use for the child born in a barn. Jesus highlights the difference between the first coming and the second coming – “in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne” (v.31). Glory – what a contrast to Jesus’ first arrival! That last glorious day is described elsewhere in Scripture in this way: “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God” (1 Thessalonians 4:16). No secluded stable, but the most glorious announcement, accompanied by hosts of angels and trumpet calls – “Jesus returns!” 

And why is he returning? To judge. Notice both parties on that last day are shocked, but for different reasons. They are surprised at the criteria behind Jesus’ judgment. Believers were not even aware of their service to others amounting to service to Jesus himself. The believer, from whom faith naturally springs into action to love and care for and serve others, thinks nothing of those things. They weren’t carried out to earn points with God or to elevate our standing before him, for we know that nothing good lives in us by nature. Yet through faith, God works much good in the lives of believers!

Unbelievers, on the other hand, were not aware that their selfishness and lack of service to others amounted to selfishness and lack of service to Jesus himself. The unbeliever was convinced he was doing enough to be on good terms with God, that he was a pretty decent guy or gal, making some positive contributions in the world. At the very least, better than a whole lot of other people. And they’re absolutely shocked to not be acknowledged by God.

So the sheep and the goats, believers and unbelievers, were both surprised, both shocked. In other words, you will be shocked on that last day. The question is, for what reason? Will you be surprised by how effortlessly and naturally your faith flowed into service for others without ever thinking of recognition or reward? Or will you be surprised because you were pretty sure you were going to hear from Jesus’ lips, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, take your inheritance…” (v.34), but instead will hear “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (v.41)? I don’t imagine too many people actually expect they will hear those words from Jesus, but he makes it clear that he will speak them. Will they be spoken to you? 

They may be, if you should make the terrible mistake of presuming that how you live doesn’t matter, that you treat your faith like a hazmat suit that somehow protects you from caring for others and serving their needs. You may hear those words if you make the grave mistake of treating grace and forgiveness as merely a free pass to live as you please. Those words may be spoken to you if your confession of sins and confession of faith are merely empty words that have no root whatsoever in your heart. Now before you blow off that possibility, are you really willing to gamble that you might be wrong? Maybe you don’t believe there is a hell. Maybe you don’t believe a loving God would actually ever send anyone there. One, do you really want to chance that, to take that risk, and two, are you comfortable with calling Jesus a liar when he lays out that this is exactly what will happen on the last day? Hell and eternal punishment are real and many are really going to end up there. Don’t let it be you.

Let us instead hear the other words of Jesus, music to our ears: “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world” (v.34). We are finally going to experience what all the “fuss” is about! We’ll finally experience the culmination of everything he’s done for us and the blessings laid out for us from the very beginning. Jesus calls you “blessed.” You think you know what that word means now? People toss it around as a blanket term that covers anything good that happens to us – whether or not they acknowledge God as the source of blessing. Rest assured, the word will take on a new meaning in heaven. If the best it can do this side of heaven is describe only the stuff we know now, imagine what it will truly mean to be blessed when we hear that word on the last day in reference to what’s waiting for us. 

And what is waiting for us is an inheritance. An inheritance is always a good thing. No one leaves behind an inheritance that is intended to harm another or leave them worse off. An inheritance is always a good thing. How much more so with heaven! What will that inheritance include? How can we use known terms and experiences to describe what can’t be known or experienced here on earth? It will simply surpass the best of the best in this world by leaps and bounds, and exclude anything and everything that is undesirable and unpleasant. 

Jesus described that inheritance as “the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.” He is not referring to just an object or item, but an entire kingdom, a way of life, a world, an experience that completely overshadows anything we could know or experience in this life.

And imagine how much the Lord has been longing to grant this to us – he’s had it prepared from the beginning. Ever shopped for someone and found the perfect gift that you know they are going to love? But you have to wait to give it to them. You want to right now, but the occasion has not arrived yet, so you have to wait. Imagine God holding on to this amazing gift that he knows will blow our minds, and he’s been waiting this whole time, throughout the entire history of our world, from creation until that last day, to give it to us. He must be about to burst every day that he waits!

What will determine who receives this gift? In a word, faith. Only Jesus doesn’t use that word; rather, he describes what it looks like. Think of faith like this. Coaches in many sports speak of the importance of follow-through. A golf or tennis swing with a strong follow-through matters. A shooter in basketball knows the importance of follow-through after he releases his shot, as does the pitcher on a baseball mound. Follow-through is important. It matters. Faith alone saves, but faith has a follow-through: works. Works are the follow-through of faith. They are the continuation of it. They are how faith shows itself, how it manifests itself. So without works, faith is not only incomplete; it simply doesn’t exist. There is no such thing as saving faith that is not accompanied by works. Jesus makes this clear by referencing works to determine who are the sheep and who are the goats, as those works are the follow-through of faith. 

Heaven is coming. Anticipate it. Strengthen your faith to be sure of it. Get to know the voice of Jesus more and more through his Word, so that you will be confident of the words he will speak to you on that last day, leaving nothing up to chance. Believe, boldly show that belief in how you live, and long to hear those words of eternal life, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world” (v.34). Amen.