Tag: faith

Church Is for Everyone

adbLeave a comment

(Matthew 15:21-28)

Church is for everyone. At my church we have a tagline that expresses that: Seeking the Lost, Serving the Found. Whether you’re a non-believer or a believer, you fit into one of those categories – lost or found. Either way, church is for you.

But is that really true? Is the church just towing the company line or is it really a church for everyone? Would literally anyone be welcome on a Sunday? I’m guessing that even as that question is lingering in your mind, you are envisioning a person or two – perhaps even a very specific individual – or maybe just a general type of person, that you’d really struggle to sit right next to in church. Would someone who has that kind of history be welcome? Would someone who voted for that candidate be welcome? Would someone struggling with that right now really be welcome?

Regardless of how much a person might struggle individually with certain people being in church, that doesn’t make it any less true: church is for everyone.

In that regard, Christianity is the most inclusive religion of all. No one needs to measure up or be good enough. There is no application. There are zero requirements. There is no vetting process. There is no referral needed. There is no exclusion on any basis. 

When Jesus did what he did, he did it for every single person. Jesus’ perfect life of obedience was carried out so that every single person could claim the righteousness necessary to be good with God. Jesus’ undeserving death on the cross was offered up so that his sacrifice would pay for every single sin of every single person. Jesus effectively rendered hell and condemnation powerless and death a thing of which to be unafraid. Jesus is for everyone, and because he is, so is his church. Church is for everyone.

But it isn’t really for everyone.

Some of you know what I mean more than others. You’ve probably even explained it that way to someone else before: “Church isn’t really for me. It’s not my thing. I’m not the church-going type.” You have your own reasons. Maybe going to church was forced on you as a child, and that insistence on attending church was never accompanied by any grace or compassion that was supposed to flow from church. Maybe going to church rubs you the wrong way because it’s filled with a bunch of hypocritical pretenders whose lifestyles as far as you’re concerned rarely match up with what they claim to believe. Maybe going to church seems antiquated and unenlightened in this advanced age of science and reason. Maybe… I could go on with reason after reason why church just isn’t for some people. 

And you know what? They’re usually right. It isn’t for them. It may not be for you.

But know the right reason why.

It isn’t because you aren’t welcome. It isn’t because you don’t fit some mold. It isn’t because all of the things Jesus did for all people don’t include you. It isn’t because you wouldn’t stand to be blessed by it – you absolutely would.

It isn’t any of those reasons or a host of others that might be offered. 

No, it isn’t for you because you don’t need it. And until you realize how much you need it, it will never be for you. 

The Canaanite woman hounding Jesus needed him. I mean, really needed him. How much? Well, she wouldn’t take “no” for an answer, and she didn’t think twice about clapping back at Jesus after he seemed to dismiss her!

Jesus plainly told her, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs” (v.26). Jesus wasn’t insulting the woman, but rather laying out God’s game plan for him. He was to reach the Jewish people before the Gentiles (non-Jews).

To understand the point Jesus was making, imagine spending time in the kitchen getting dinner ready for the family. Once it’s all ready, the places are set at the table. Then the food is brought over. Then, as everyone sits down to eat, the first thing the family does is fill the puppy’s dog bowl with the food that was just prepared. Then, after he’s had his fill, the family eats whatever is left over.

That is, of course, not how it happens! The family eats, and the pet gets the leftovers. And the Canaanite woman was bold enough to point that out to Jesus. “‘Yes it is, Lord’ she said ‘Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.‘” (v.27).

What prompted such boldness? She was in need. She “came to [Jesus], crying out, ‘Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly’” (v.22). The need was obvious: her daughter was enduring excruciating suffering as a result of possession. But it wasn’t the need alone; it was also what she was asking of Jesus: mercy. 

Realize what mercy is: undeserved help for the undeserving. She knew she didn’t have any business pestering Jesus. But she also knew Jesus, and she knew what right she had in asking him: none.

That’s what mercy is. It is the undeserving asking for the undeserved from the One who can serve it. It is humbly acknowledging, “I don’t ask this of you because I have it coming or because I am entitled to it; rather, just the opposite. I know that I don’t, but I know who you are, Jesus. Mercy is your middle name.” 

So then, church is not really for anyone who has no need of Jesus or his mercy. If we don’t need his mercy or help, then we don’t need his church where he dispenses these gifts. If we’ve got our life pretty much together and lack nothing, who needs Jesus? We’re good folks, good spouses, good parents, good family members, good workers, good friends, good neighbors. We don’t have struggles, no addictions, no weaknesses, no regrets, no guilt. None of those things. Therefore, we don’t need Jesus or his help or mercy. 

But let’s consider another question: what if Jesus needs you?

I know – rather absurd sounding, isn’t it? If God is truly God, what need could he possibly have that he couldn’t satisfy himself, right? Actually, it isn’t about what God is capable of doing, but how he has chosen to do it. And he chooses to use people like you and me to do his work. 

The way Jesus intends to dispense his help and mercy to those in need of it is through people like you. In the book of Isaiah, the Lord spoke of “foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants” (Isaiah 56:6).

How does one minister to the Lord or be his servant? We often confine such thoughts to religious activities, like going to church and giving offerings. We imagine monks and nuns dedicating their lives in service to the Lord. But serving the Lord is so much bigger than any of that!

We minister to and serve the Lord by ministering to and loving others. Loving and serving my neighbor is my love and service to the Lord. When we carry out that service to the Lord, others come to know about him because they experience his loving qualities and characteristics through his people, his church. 

Paul said it another way in the book of Ephesians (cf. chapter 2). What if Jesus is waiting to build you into his church so that through you he can bless and care for others as you speak of the peace and reconciliation they have through the cross? What if Jesus needs you to love and serve others on his behalf? Could that be possible? 

If you think that is a stretch, let’s go a step further and consider the possibility of having a great faith like that of the Canaanite woman! How so? When you realize that you are even less-deserving of Jesus than she was, and yet still relentlessly plead for his mercy, you have what Jesus said she had: great faith. 

Recall in my previous post how Peter demonstrated a similar faith. Right after his own strength left him sinking in the sea, he looked to Jesus for help and deliverance. That was great faith – faith that refocused on Jesus after self-destructing yet again. 

The Canaanite woman’s great faith had little to do with her and everything to do with Jesus. Great faith doesn’t toot its own horn or talk itself up. Great faith is revealed when Jesus is the focus, front and center. 

That reminds me of what is different about our church’s school, as it begins its 50th Anniversary this school year. It isn’t merely a private school. It’s way more than that. It’s a school that keeps Jesus as the focus, front and center. It’s a school with teachers who know something much more valuable than what any technology or textbook can teach: they know a Savior, a Jesus, whose middle name is mercy. And there is nothing more valuable.

Why? Because there we teach children where to turn when they are in need – and they will be in need for the rest of their lives. And the needs they have are not needs that can be met by even the most loving parents, caring friends, or professional practitioners. Sure, some of those needs can be met by some of those listed, but in other areas, only Jesus can meet their needs. 

Only Jesus will ever love them unconditionally. Only Jesus will forgive them without limit. Only Jesus will value and treasure them as priceless. Only Jesus will listen to, hear, and answer their every request at all times. Only Jesus has opened heaven and eternity to them. In our school, children will come to know Jesus better and better. They’ll come to know that Jesus is for them. 

Our teachers are committed to a ministry that consists of reminding their students on a daily basis that Jesus is for them. As they teach each subject and connect with each student, in so many different ways, they have opportunity after opportunity to instill in their students’ hearts and minds that Jesus is for them. Good grades and excellent test scores will serve to richly bless our students in many ways for this life, but Jesus will both enhance those blessings and add to them blessings that will last for eternal life. In our school, students will know that Jesus is for them.

Jesus is also for you, and for all those who need him. Therefore, his church – our church – is for you, and for everyone who needs him. 

Refocusing Faith

adbLeave a comment

(Matthew 14:22-33)

Regardless of the sport, even superior athletes all have something in common, statistically speaking: they will always miss. The best free-throw shooters still miss free throws. The best wide receivers still drop passes. The best hitters still strike out. 

I realize I am not stating anything that you didn’t already know. But, I want you to see that what is true in the world of sports and competition is also every bit as true when it comes to our faith.

We tend to think that a great faith is one that never misses, never stumbles or falls short, that never experiences weakness. As we wrap up our series that has focused on how we define what it means to be a Christian, I want us to replace the misguided idea that great faith is faith that never falters. Instead, let’s see a great faith as one that excels at refocusing on Jesus every time it does fall short.

If ever there was a disciple of Jesus who had multiple opportunities to put that kind of faith into practice, wasn’t it Peter? How many times do we see Peter’s faith waffle? And yet, how he responds is everything. He gets better and better at refocusing on Jesus.

We can’t help but chuckle a bit at Peter when Jesus meets the disciples on the water. What is Peter’s brilliant idea for confirming that the individual walking toward them was in fact, Jesus? “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water” (v.28).

Two things: First, Jesus’ response, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid” (v.27), really should have been sufficient. Had the disciples – or anyone else in history, for that matter – ever known anyone else who could possibly be doing what Jesus was doing as he stepped along the sea’s surface? Who else would have simply said, “It is I” and expected that to be explanation enough without providing a name?

Second, the proof Peter requests to assure the disciples that it was Jesus, is totally… well, totally Peter. Who else but Peter would have come up with such an over-the-top idea? Wouldn’t it have been enough to ask, “If it’s really you, Jesus, what did we have for lunch yesterday?” or “What was the name of the man you healed last Wednesday?” But no, flashy Peter wants to share the spotlight and be the one to walk on water with Jesus. 

What might be even more surprising than Peter’s audacious request was that Jesus complied! Jesus very well could have called Peter out right then and there. “The first words out of my mouth to you guys were ‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid,’ and you follow up immediately with ‘Lord, if it’s you…?’” “If???” “If it’s me???” We could almost envision Jesus smacking Peter upside the back of his head after his response. Instead, though, Jesus grants Peter’s request and invites him to come out to him on the water.

A brief side note: there might be a place here for the reminder to be careful what we ask for. Peter made a bold request to walk on water – and Jesus granted it! However, given how this account played out, one might wonder if Peter initially had in mind the same outcome that Jesus did. We do well to remember that at certain times when God grants us the thing we asked for, he may very well be granting it for an entirely different purpose than what we had in mind. Granted, his purpose will always be for our good – it just might not be the same “good” that we had in mind!

Back to Peter’s faith. As we look at Peter’s actions in this account, I believe he actually showed remarkable faith not once, but twice.

First, he hopped out of the boat on Jesus’ word alone (yes, it did come after his “Lord, if…”, but still!). For all of the grief we give Peter – and much of it is justified! – his trust in Jesus at times stands out, especially when Scripture shows us plenty of interactions between God and men where faith wasn’t so firm (for example, think of Moses waffling at God’s call to lead the Israelites out of Egypt or Jonah making a beeline away from Ninevah instead of to at as God had commanded)! So to see Peter leap out of the boat without any need of extra coaxing is quite commendable – especially given that walking on water was not a very typical everyday practice or habit for most people! 

Could our own faith stand to do a little more of this? Is our faith at times too stifled or short-sighted that it doesn’t leave room for God to do the things that only God can do (like walk on water…)? Is our faith constrained by playing only the favorable percentages or probable outcomes? Do we live the better part of our lives by sight and not by faith, by what can be seen with our own eyes rather than what God has shown in the past and is more than capable of showing in the future?  Are there areas of your own life where your faith needs to get out of the boat a little more or are you just playing it safe, coasting and relaxing aboard your cruise ship through life?

Jumping out of the boat wasn’t the only demonstration of Peter’s great faith. The second time came when right after his own faith failed him. It had happened so quickly, too! Just like that, Peter’s confidence in Christ sank into uncertainty as the wind acted up. But rather than counting on his own abilities, flailing his arms about or kicking his legs harder or taking deeper breaths or any number of things to try and save himself, he looked to his Lord for rescue. He looked to Jesus immediately and cried out, “Lord, save me!” (v.30). And Jesus delivered him. 

Jesus will do the same for us, even after – especially after – our own faith fails us. Too often we get stuck wallowing in our own imperfect faith after we stumble. Of course it’s imperfect! What did you expect, sinner?!? Stop bemoaning your miserable faith and refocus on your merciful Savior. The solution is not to wallow in self-pity over your lackluster faith! Instead, refocus on the one who makes faith great in the first place: Jesus.

Yes, we need to redefine what great faith is. If we are carrying with us the idea that a great faith is one that never stumbles and that our faith will never be great until it gets to that point, we’re in for a world of disappointment in ourselves! Good luck with that idea of great faith! Your faith will stumble, guaranteed! That isn’t the question. The question is, what do you do when it does? Where do you turn? The better you get at refocusing on Jesus as soon as you stumble, the better off you’ll be.

Yes, Jesus did rebuke Peter after rescuing him from sinking, but don’t quickly gloss over the “after rescuing him” part! Jesus rescued Peter, and then he allowed Peter to look back and reflect on what had happened. Why? So that he could learn from his mistake. So that the next time when something much more threatening than wind or waves would arise, Peter would know not to be terrified by the distractions and would instead refocus on the one who delivers. 

To appreciate the confidence Jesus provides us with here, think of the child learning to walk or swim. Few little ones are brave enough or confident enough to attempt such feats by themselves (and often end up learning the hard way how unwise it is if they do!). But if dad or mom is there, holding out their hands, ready and willing to catch them, suddenly the child’s fears are alleviated and they take the first step or jump into the pool and attempt it. They know they’re in good hands. Instead of focusing on falling down or sinking, they are focused on the safety and security dad or mom provides. 

We have every reason to live in confident faith the same exact way. We don’t pretend our faith will never fail us or let us down – it will; it’s imperfect. But the object of our faith – Jesus – is perfect.

So rather than pretending we can somehow work more on our faith to get it to some point of never stumbling, we instead work on focusing more on Jesus, the perfecter of our faith, and the One who will never let us go. He allows us to take big, bold steps out of the boat, just like Peter. And if we sink or fall – or rather when we sink or fall – he will always be there to catch us. That’s what faith does. It doesn’t wait until it’s big enough or strong enough to act; rather, it acts because it knows Jesus is big and strong enough. 

Lest we miss it, there’s another detail in this account that can go a long way in helping us get better at refocusing our faith.

Before he even walked along the waves, pay attention to what Jesus did first. He and his disciples had just had a long day ministering to literally thousands of people. Jesus had been healing the sick and then at the end of the day, carried out one of his most well-known miracles in the feeding of the five thousand. And all of this, mind you, while he was still internally wrestling with the recent news that his cousin, John the Baptist, had just been beheaded by Herod. After all of that, Matthew explains, “Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd” (v.22). 

Having directed the disciples to get a head start in making their way to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus bid goodnight and farewell to the crowds, sending them on their way. Jesus had some downtime alone. How did he spend it?

Naturally, he poured himself a nightcap and settled in to catch up on a few episodes of his favorite show. Well, not really. “After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray” (v.23). Now there is a way to unwind and recalibrate after a long day. Prayer. 

Now there isn’t anything wrong with a nightcap or a few episodes of your favorite show once in a while. Enjoy those gifts for what they are.

But let’s also grow to appreciate that Jesus found something in solitary prayer that may very well be missing from our lives to a greater extent: time with his Father. In prayer with his Father, where we so often find Jesus in the Gospels, he found not a surreal peace and calm, but a real peace and calm. Prayer – not just before or during his busy ministry activity, but after as well – restored and recalibrated our Redeemer to carry out his work on our behalf. 

Surely we could stand to follow his path of prayer more regularly. Doing so also results in our thoughts and attention being more frequently directed to the Lord, which would go a long way toward helping us grow in refocusing our faith on our perfect Savior and his grace and forgiveness.

Let that be a defining mark of your Christian faith – that you always work on refocusing on Jesus again and again. That is a great faith. Christian, strive to get better and better at looking to Christ.

Don’t Doubt During the Drought

adbLeave a comment

(1 Kings 17:1-6)

When everything in your world is going according to plan and playing out the way you imagine it should be, more or less, we don’t talk about trust. When we have what we need and we’re able to do what we do without interruption or inconvenience, we don’t talk about trust. When health is favorable and finances are fine, we don’t talk about trust. When family is getting along and friendships are thriving, we don’t talk about trust. When there are no challenges at church and we’re on good terms with all of our neighbors, we don’t talk about trust. 

But if – rather when – any of those areas of life start to veer off course or take a completely wrong turn, suddenly trust is a topic of discussion. However, you might not realize it right away, because you may not initially see that as the issue. Instead, it usually starts off with questions about what God is or is not doing, or why he is or is not doing it, or when he’s going to start or stop doing it. We wonder if God has changed his mind about us, has forgotten about us, or is possibly punishing us. When we find ourselves wrestling with those questions, the real concern is not God, but us. God God, who has made it clear he does not change, is not the issue; we are. Or to put it another way, our trust in him is.

It’s interesting, isn’t it, that the times we are most likely to talk about trust are the times when trust is tested? This is the case whether a person’s trust appears to be an unraveling mess or an unshakeable mountain. In each case, the best way we assess whether trust is floundering or flourishing is when trust is tested. To know where we stand regarding trust then, our trust must be tried, and times of trial serve as the litmus test.

One historical season of trial for God’s people came during the reign of the kings. With few exceptions, evil and wickedness were the distinguishing marks of the kings after David. Yet, there was one whose wickedness far surpassed all others: Ahab. As if to set his wickedness apart, Ahab receives noticeably more coverage in Scripture than other kings. His marriage to Jezebel helped seal his nasty reputation. Their state-mandated sleazy and morbid worship of Baal and Asherah took Israel’s idolatry to its lowest low.

In sharp contrast to Ahab, we have the prophet Elijah, who comes onto the scene of Scripture in these verses rather abruptly and with very little introduction. Unlike Ahab, Elijah’s faithfulness bears testimony to the meaning of his name, “The LORD is my God.” In contrast to a king and people whose gods were impotent idols, Elijah demonstrated a towering trust in God. How so? By his words and actions.

Elijah’s confidence is clearly expressed in the boldness of his first recorded words to Ahab, which were not words of encouragement but, as a call to repentance, were words of judgment. “Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word” (v.1).

And Elijah wasn’t only the bearer of the bad news of famine; he also boldly clarified where his loyalties laid: with the Lord, the God of Israel (as opposed to Baal and Asherah, who, no matter how much they were worshipped, were certainly not the gods of Israel). Ahab had the power to put Elijah to death (and indeed did hunt down God’s prophets and put them to death!), but that authority didn’t intimidate Elijah enough to topple his trust in the Lord and keep him from speaking. His words revealed where he tethered his trust: to the Lord. 

Not only did his words demonstrate his trust in God. So did his actions. The Lord had instructed him to hide out from Ahab in a ravine, where he promised to provide for him during the drought. How did Elijah respond? “So he did what the Lord had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there” (v.5).

The Lord directed him and Elijah obeyed. And not just temporarily, until he perhaps tired of it or started to worry once the brook was drying up. No, he “stayed there” until God gave him his next marching orders to go visit a certain widow in Zarephath (where God would continue building up Elijah’s trust with yet another miracle). So we are able to gauge Elijah’s level of trust because there was a season of testing.

If you are not currently in a season of testing, don’t hold your breath – you will be soon. Such seasons at times come on us slowly, allowing us to anticipate and prepare for them. At other times, though, such seasons are relentless, exploding around us like a furious fireworks finale – boom! boom! boom! – one after another after another, with little or no break in between. Either way, no matter the pace, seasons of testing will come. 

Some of you don’t have to wait. Some of you are currently at the beginning, middle, or end of such a season. You are grappling with life after losing a loved one. A financial squeeze is suffocating you, like a python wrapped around you, slowly increasing the pressure one bill at a time. Or, the world’s waywardness weighs on you, taking you to a new low of doubt and confusion over God’s apparent indifference. A relative’s attitude and actions against your family are pushing the exercise of your Christian faith to its limits. Wherever you are in these seasons of testing, these times of drought, you teeter more and more on the edge of doubt as you question God. To be sure, your trust is being tested.

How do we demonstrate where our trust is at? Just as Elijah did – by the words spoken and the actions taken. Pay attention to how you speak to yourself and to others during this drought as your trust is being tested. Do your words reflect that God is good and that in and through Christ you have already been given the victory, which in turn assures you that this, too, shall pass? No, we don’t always speak that way because we often don’t feel that way. 

But that’s backward. Why would you wait until you feel as if it’s true to trust God’s promises? Are your feelings more reliable than the promises of God’s Word? Surely not. So don’t wait to feel as if God is good or that you are victorious in Christ. Instead, start speaking that way during your time of testing. And you know what?

You’ll start to believe it. Too often we let our feelings steer us, as if those will ever be more reliable or trustworthy than God’s promises. Speak his promises. Tell yourself and others what he tells you and promises you. He is good all the time, and in Jesus Christ and through the power of his resurrection, you are victorious.

Then, just as Elijah did, also act as if you believe those truths to be true. Act as if God is good and as if you are victorious in Christ. When our actions follow those truths, we do things differently.

We don’t buy into the lie that a season of testing is a valid or legitimate reason for not gathering with our church family each week to be where we need to be more than anywhere else – reassured and filled up with God’s good gifts of grace and forgiveness.

We don’t wait until we feel like serving others (including the individual or group who very well might be the source of our testing); our love takes action on their behalf.

We don’t spend less time talking to God in prayer because we’re mad at him or can’t understand why he allowed what he did to happen; we spend more time in prayer, pouring out our frustrations and asking God for answers as he wills to reveal them.

We don’t presume we can stick it to God with our pocketbooks by withholding our gifts from him; rather, we continue to thank him with a portion of our gifts even when it seems counterintuitive to being able to pay off our bills.

So we speak and we act in ways that make evident our trust in God during times of testing. We don’t take the all-too-familiar path of doubt during the drought. 

What happened when Elijah trusted during the drought? God was God, doing what God does and keeping his promises. Sometimes, God even uses miracles in doing so. “‘You will drink from the brook, and I have directed the ravens to supply you with food there.’ So he did what the Lord had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook” (v.4-6).

Elijah was tested. Elijah trusted. God delivered. 

That’s how God operates in your life, too. We are tested. We trust. God delivers.

God always delivers – that’s what he does. Delivering is his specialty. How much room is there for doubting his deliverance when we consider the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ? Will the One who paid such a price for your sin really follow that up with, “Oh, but I forgot about the food you need, or the clothes, or the fill-in-the-blank?”

Will the One who redeemed your body and soul fail to provide for the body and soul he redeemed?

Will the One who is present in body and blood of the sacrament abandon us at the death of a loved one?

That is not God. That is not what he does. He does not abandon; he delivers. 

The forgiveness that he delivered through his own death, he will continue to deliver through Word and sacrament until he returns again on the last day. And if he is committed to delivering us in that way, he will deliver us in every other way as well.

But for us to see that deliverance, and to see where our trust is, there will be testing. Elijah was tested. Elijah trusted. God delivered. Let the same be said of you. When you were/are tested, you trusted, and God delivered. Remember what God did on his cross for you and you will not doubt his deliverance – not even during the droughts. 

Faith Gifts

adbLeave a comment

(1 Corinthians 12:3-11)

Years ago there was a movie that established quite a cult following by successfully poking fun at cubicles and corporate politics associated with working in the office. In one particular scene, two interviewers called in to help make corporate cuts are sitting with an employee as he explains exactly what he does in the office. It quickly becomes apparent to the viewer in a humorous way that this employee would be the perfect example of where to make cuts, as the employee struggled mightily to explain exactly what his responsibilities were. After all, if he couldn’t explain what he actually did, then why did he have a job there?

A similar question sometimes comes up regarding the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit: what exactly does he do? What is his job?

Most are quite clear on the role that God the Father has – after all, we address his name and his work in worship each week in the Lord’s Prayer. And Jesus will not be overlooked, either. Since his cross and his name are the focal points of the Christian faith, they are rightly emphasized in worship week, too. Jesus is what we’re all about. 

But what about the Holy Spirit? You probably don’t know the name John McCarthy (not the one associated with politics…). He was a computer scientist who lived and worked in the middle of the last century. Even if you don’t know his name, though, you have already benefited from his work and will continue to. John McCarthy is one of the pioneers of AI, artificial intelligence. It was his foundational groundwork that got us to where we are today and wherever the future of AI takes us. So even if you never knew McCarthy, you’ll still benefit from much of the work he did. 

That’s like the role of the Holy Spirit. When he is at work, you may not necessarily know him any better because of it, but you’ll benefit from his work: making Jesus known and believed. When the Holy Spirit is doing his work, you don’t know it because he’s not interested in jumping on stage into the spotlight. Rather, his work is to put Jesus there. His work is to make Jesus known. His work is to bring us to faith in Jesus and keep us in faith in Jesus. 

Paul emphasized that point in the first verse of our words from 1 Corinthians. “Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, ‘Jesus be cursed,’ and no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit” (v.3). Paul directly connected the work of the Holy Spirit not with making Jesus known and believed. And he stated how important the work of the Holy Spirit is by clarifying that no one can even come to faith in Jesus (which is what Paul means with the phrase “Jesus is Lord”) unless the Holy Spirit enables it by creating the faith to confess it. 

This is the primary work of the Holy Spirit. We call it conversion. When a person is brought from unbelief to saving faith in Jesus, it is the Holy Spirit who has worked that faith. And he works that faith through what we call the “means of grace.” These means, his “instruments” or “tools” of grace, are the gospel (good news about Jesus) in Word and Sacrament. So any effort on our part to make disciples without using those means, without using the Word of God, will be fruitless. The Holy Spirit uses only the message of the Bible to bring people to faith.

When we remember how the Holy Spirit alone works faith through the Word alone, we see faith for what it truly is – a gift. We don’t achieve faith on our own when we work a certain work. We don’t achieve faith on our own when we pray a certain prayer. We don’t achieve faith on our own when we reach some higher level of intellectual or academic achievement. We don’t do anything to come by faith; the Holy Spirit does everything. And he does it through the Word. Faith is the greatest gift the Holy Spirit gives, for through it we receive not only forgiveness and salvation but all other spiritual blessings the Holy Spirit gifts through it as well.

Think of faith like your hand. If I want to give you something, I would place it into your hand. By nature, however, when it comes to our relationship with God, sin leaves our hands clenched in a fist at God. That is because our sin accuses us and shows us our failure at keeping his right ways.

So long as our hands are clenched we cannot receive anything from God. Through the Word, the message about our sin and how God sent his Son to deal with our sin, the Holy Spirit pries open our faithless fists. Then and only then is the open palm of our hand able to receive faith and its gifts from the Holy Spirit.

Although conversion to the Christian faith is the greatest gift the Holy Spirit gives, it is far from the only one. In an effort to make Jesus known to others, once the Holy Spirit gives the gift of faith, he just keeps on giving. He also gives believers spiritual gifts to serve each other and to aid in the process of building up the church with gifts that elevate Jesus to even greater heights.

Although not exhaustive, Paul provided a list of some of those Spirit-given gifts in the second portion of the verses from 1 Corinthians 12. There are a number of ways one might categorize those gifts. One of the simplest might be to just classify them as gifts pertaining to either speaking or serving. While there may be some overlap in gifts, generally most will relate more to speech or service.

Additionally, there are gifts that have been called charismatic gifts, special miraculous gifts given in abundance to the early Christian church. While the Holy Spirit is certainly able to continue dispensing such charismatic gifts to his Church today, that class of gifts does not appear to be as prevalent as it was early on. That is likely because we now have what they didn’t then – the entire written Word of God. 

By no means does that imply that the speaking and serving gifts given to the Church today are in any way inferior. If we should for some reason feel as if we’ve been shortchanged in the gifts given by the Holy Spirit, Paul rules out that faulty thinking. “All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines” (1 Cor. 12:11). The Holy Spirit gives out his gifts in just the right amounts to just the right people, and that includes every single believer. There are no second or third stringers in the church. There are no benchwarmers or backups. Everyone is contributing to the teamwork through which the Holy Spirit does his work.  

And, if we remember the main purpose of these gifts, we can appreciate any and all of the Spirit’s gifts. Paul said, “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good” (v.7). “The common good” means everybody benefits. In other words, your gifts aren’t just for you! My gifts aren’t just for me. They aren’t for personal advantage or personal gain, but for the common good, meaning our gifts are for each other. 

The me-centered miser inside each of us needs that reminder. Sin wants to make everything – even undeserved gifts from the Spirit – all about me. “Look at my wisdom, my knowledge, my faith!” Our sin sees the Spirit’s gifts as an opportunity to shine the spotlight on self.

And that isn’t even the only way that sinful pride abuses the Spirit’s gifts! Yes, I see my gifts as being beneficial to me, but I also see your gifts as a service to me! That’s when we are more than happy to point out to others that they ought to be using their gifts for the common good, when often we really mean for my good. So my gifts are for me, and so are yours. See how expertly we make everything about us!

What happens if you forget the common good and use those gifts selfishly? Consider each individual block in a wall. The wall didn’t just start out like that. It is made up of many blocks stacked together. I suppose a person could leave all of those individual blocks spread out over a large area, but unless those blocks are stacked on top of each other, there will never be a wall. And the more blocks that are stacked on top of each other, the higher the wall reaches. When we use our gifts for the common good, we are stacking them together for the Spirit to build something amazing with his gifts. When we use them selfishly, one person at best benefits – just me.

Think of the paramedic or physician who went through years of training and schooling to acquire the knowledge and skills to help the injured and save lives. Now imagine never using those skills. Those gifts might come in handy for the individual to know how to treat an injury on their own, but no one else will benefit from those gifts. It’s even more damaging than that – not only will they miss out on the benefit when those gifts are neglected or unused; they’ll actually suffer because of it. Some injuries would be more serious than they needed to be, and in some cases, some would die unnecessarily! The body of Christ hurts, too, when the Holy Spirit’s gifts go unused because others suffer. 

On the other hand, what happens when all the body of Christ does put these faith gifts to use? When these gifts are built upon the all-important foundation of the greatest gift of faith, a faith that believes our selfishness is blotted out by the blood of Jesus, a faith that believes our pride is paid for by his sacrificial death, amazing things will happen!

That’s when the Spirit is able to use those gifts to draw attention to Jesus. Do you know the results of the Word at work in connection with the Spirit’s gifts being poured out on that first Pentecost? “Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day” (Acts 2:41). Phenomenal!

That’s the goal, friends. That’s what the Spirit does. That’s why he gives his Word. That’s why he gives his gifts, so that they work for the common good to elevate Jesus to where as many as possible can see him with eyes of faith… until he returns on the last day and we see him with our physical eyes. 

While clinging to the gift of faith then, dear friends, let that faith manifest itself in the expression of your other faith gifts. Use the spiritual gifts the Holy Spirit specialized you with so that Jesus might be elevated and others might be brought to faith. We have the Word. We have the work of the Spirit. We have the gifts to get it done. Put it all together and see what the Spirit can do with it at this time and in this place with and through you. 

Work with What You’ve Got

adbLeave a comment

(Luke 17:1-10)

How would you know? Our series theme is “Lord, Increase Our Faith.” It’s a nice enough-sounding theme. It sounds churchy, like the kind of thing we should be asking for. It has a nice enough graphic to accompany it and a quality bumper video to promote it. But how would you know if it actually happened? At the end of this month, or several months from now, or several years from now, how would you know if a person’s faith has increased? More to the point, how would you know if your faith increased? 

A person will be different. What do we really mean when we say that? We mean they act differently. They don’t do the same things or say the same things they used to say. They are different. Isn’t that how we’d tell if someone’s faith increased?

After all, we don’t have a meter that indicates our faith level. Unlike your phone or another screen that has a little battery icon indicating how much power you have left, your faith has no such indicator. Although, that would be pretty slick if we just had an app or widget on our watch or phone that showed where our faith levels were registering. But we don’t. So how do we know? We see it when behavior changes, when we act differently than we used to, when we don’t do the same things we used to do. 

Realize that that is going to cause a little bit of tension in this series. God’s Word stresses over and over that we are not saved by what we do, by our obedience or righteousness, or by our good works. Yet it’s actually what we do, our obedience and righteousness, and our good works that are all metrics by which we gauge faith! So our works don’t save us – faith alone does – but if we want to see growth in faith, it will show itself through the works that we do. And as far as works go, Jesus directs his disciples to work on three of the more challenging things Christians are called to do.

First, while he acknowledges that in a fallen world, there will be circumstances that cause people to sin, he tells his disciples – he tells us – don’t you be the person who causes others to sin. “Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come. It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. So watch yourselves” (v.1-3a). Better to die by drowning than to cause someone else to sin? Apparently, Jesus thinks sin – and leading others into sin – is a huge deal! 

But we don’t always see it that way, do we? In fact, we become quite good at dismissing our own sin, and downplaying the impact it may have on others. What’s more, whether directly or indirectly, we can even end up encouraging others with certain sinful behaviors. When the line between an occasional drink and drunkenness becomes so blurred for us that we nonchalantly invite others to join us in that sin, Jesus offers us the option of a millstone instead. When we steal from subscription services by sharing passwords with others and nudging them to do the same, Jesus holds out a millstone to us. When we are raving about violence, gore, or sex on the screen and promoting it to others as something “they have to see,” there is Jesus again with his millstone. If Jesus sees sin as such a serious threat, our eyes of faith should see it that way, too.

And when we see sin as the serious threat that it is, the second challenge Jesus issues to us makes even more sense. “If your brother sins, rebuke him…” (v.3b). If sin is serious – and there’s nothing more serious! – then pointing it out and rebuking it is a life and death matter. So not only do we have to watch out that we don’t cause others to sin, but we also have a responsibility to call out sin and rebuke it. 

What makes this so difficult? There are two dangers we want to avoid: relishing the rebuke or refusing to rebuke. We relish the rebuke when we designate ourselves spiritual sleuths, sniffing out every possible sin we can in others, not because we care for their souls and spiritual health, but because we delight in sounding the alarm on their sin. If we enjoy pointing out the sins of others, that’s a pretty strong indicator that we’ve got as much to be concerned about in our own hearts as we do anyone else.

The second danger to avoid is refusing to rebuke. This can happen for any number of reasons. We are overly concerned about coming across as judgmental or hypocritical, so we remain silent. Or, we are concerned that doing so will sour the relationship we have with the other person if we rebuke sin (ignoring the fact that it is actually sin – not the rebuke of it – which damages relationships in the first place!). In either case, failing to lovingly rebuke a brother or sister in Christ is really prioritizing our own reputation over someone else’s salvation.

Jesus has called us to do two challenging things: not causing others to sin and then rebuking the sin we see in others. But wait – there’s more! 

The third challenging action Jesus calls us to take is supremely difficult. “If [your brother] repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I repent,’ forgive him” (v.3c-4). Did you see how many conditions Jesus attached to his charge to forgive? Count them all up and let me know how many you get. If your total is zero, you counted correctly. There are none. No conditions. When someone sins against you and apologizes for it, you have one response: forgive them. That means the number of times they sin and repent should end up equal to the number of times you forgive them.

These three responsibilities we have as Christians are hard things! So the disciples’ response comes as no surprise at all. “The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’” (v.5). That’s a completely understandable response from someone who realizes how tall the task is. It’s a natural request for any Christian who is well aware of the difficulty level of the three things Jesus just urged them to do. It shows something pretty remarkable about those listening to Jesus: they knew their faith had room to grow and they knew Jesus was the one to grant that growth.

The apostles’ response would be an appropriate response for us, too, wouldn’t it? “Lord, what you ask of me is no small thing, and I don’t have it in my to carry it out, so give me what I need to follow through!” But that isn’t always our first response. Maybe sometimes it is. But other times we simply dismiss what Jesus asks of us, if we’re honest. It’s hard, we don’t like hard things or struggling to change into what God calls us to be, so we just don’t do it.

That describes a pretty good chunk of Christians, doesn’t it? They are today right where they were a year ago, three years ago, ten years ago, and frankly, they aren’t that interested at all in the hard work of growing in their faith. But if we have one takeaway from this series, maybe it could be this: healthy things grow, and if we aren’t growing in our faith, what does that say about how healthy we really are?

We might have expected Jesus to respond by leveling up the faith of the apostles right then and there. But instead, Jesus’ response at first appears a bit cryptic. “He replied, ‘If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, “‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’” and it will obey you” (v.6). He doesn’t say, “OK, I’ll do it.” Instead, he brings up a mustard seed and replanting a mulberry tree in the sea.

Wait, what? The disciples just asked for an increase in faith and Jesus responds by talking about a tiny, itty-bitty faith as small as a mustard seed. And who uproots a mulberry tree to send it into the sea? What gives? What is Jesus saying to us as we consider his statement?

Think about it like this. I don’t mind the dad role of getting to play clean-up when kids don’t finish their food. All in all, it’s really a pretty good gig. However, what I don’t have much patience for is whining about getting more when you haven’t finished what you started with. After all, that’s often how the leftovers end up left over anyway. They don’t only happen when a child doesn’t like the food, but also when a child likes it so much that they’re sure they want more piled onto their plate. Then they end up with a full stomach and a good portion of food left on their plate. They request more before they’ve even finished what they had.

That’s the issue Jesus is addressing regarding our faith: why ask for more faith if we haven’t fully tapped into what we’ve already been given? Jesus’ point is that we stop focusing on asking for more faith until we start focusing on putting the faith we already have to work. The issue isn’t that you need more faith, but rather that you aren’t tapping into what even the slightest amount of faith can do.

This all should actually make perfect sense to us, too, shouldn’t it? Good theology emphasizes that it isn’t how much faith a person has that saves her, but rather the object of that faith. So big faith or small, when Jesus Christ is the object of that faith, it’s a saving faith!

That’s why your faith is capable of so much – not because your faith is so great, but because Jesus is! Jesus already secured our salvation. Jesus already fills us with forgiveness. Jesus already perfected the three earlier challenges he tasked us with. Jesus already lived and died and rose. Jesus already did everything. 

And Jesus still does everything. It’s still Jesus who does through you whatever you have in mind to do. It’s still Jesus – the object of your faith and the fuel for your faith – who can do magnificent miracles with even a minute, mustard-size faith. 

Think of how complex your phone is. Most of us use it for a handful of things, but it is capable of doing far more than most of us will ever use it for! That’s OK for your phone, but does that sound OK for your faith? Your faith – as it is right now – is capable of far more than you are using it for. Yes, it locks in heaven for you, but it can also move mountains in the meantime until you get there!

So let that be the first thing in this series. Whatever you have in mind to do, whatever you’re waiting for a greater faith to accomplish, whatever you think requires a significant spike in some non-existent faith meter before you can proceed… get to it. Do it. Today. Tomorrow. The next day. Don’t wait for your faith to increase. Put the faith you have right now to work right now. Watch God increase your faith as your faith-filled efforts continue to be fueled by your faithful Savior and his almighty Word.

Works Won’t Work (Sermon)

adbLeave a comment

We know that heaven isn’t earned, right? We know that our works count for nothing as far as our salvation is concerned, don’t we? So we say. Nevertheless, our way of thinking and our very lives themselves often reveal otherwise. This morning we take an honest look at our works and where they really rank in our lives.

“Works Won’t Work” (Romans 4:1-5, 13-17 sermon), was preached at Shepherd of the Hills Ev. Lutheran Church (WELS) on Sunday, March 8, 2020.

Faith over Fear: Faith Loves (Sermon)

adbLeave a comment

The key to deeper friendships isn’t getting better at loving our friends, but rather loving the One who gave them to us. To know and be loved by him – and to love him best in return – enables us to love others rightly. When this happens, deep, rich, meaningful friendships with others will follow.

1 Samuel 20:12-17 was the text for this sermon, preached at Shepherd of the Hills / The Way LC (WELS) on Sunday, May 19, 2019.

Shield or Security Blanket?

adbLeave a comment
Photo by Pawel Czerwiński

There is nothing greater than forgiveness. 

In and through Jesus Christ, forgiveness is free, it is full, and it is forever. One cannot tire of the practice of reflecting on forgiveness and rejoicing in it every morning and every night. To know and be mindful of forgiveness is to find contentment, freedom, peace, and security in this life that otherwise escape us when we look for them anywhere else.

The question is, do you view this precious and powerful gift of forgiveness in Jesus more like a shield or a security blanket? When we come across a difficult call to action in the Bible that challenges us in our faith (like this or this!), do we quickly crawl under our security blanket of forgiveness, diminishing Jesus’ guidance for our lives because we haven’t/couldn’t/won’t ever be able to do the hard things to which Jesus calls us? Or, is forgiveness a shield that allows us to forge ahead boldly, straining and striving, testing and trying our faith through those challenging calls to action, confident that forgiveness will shield me from my own failures?  

Forgiveness is something special. It is something that ought to lead us to exercise our faith instead of excuse it. Why? Because forgiveness frees us from the fear of failure. 

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Romans 8:1 (NIV)

Forgiveness doesn’t lead to questioning, but to confidence. I don’t have to ever question my status before God when I fail in trying to carry out the tough stuff, because I am confident of my status before God no matter what. That is the difference forgiveness makes. 

To know forgiveness is to begin to grasp what Jesus had in mind when he said “I have come that they may have life…”; to live in that forgiveness is to experience what Jesus meant by adding “… and have it to the full” (John 10:10). Want to have life in Jesus to the full? Then see forgiveness less as a security blanket under which to hide and more as a shield behind which to forge ahead in faith.

Faith Sees

adbLeave a comment
Photo by Daniel Leone

Does faith really “move mountains” or is it “blind”? To describe faith as mountain-moving obviously implies it is able to do things on a magnificently grand scale! To describe faith as blind, on the other hand, well that doesn’t quite paint it in as favorable a light. It implies that it isn’t really founded on anything – some people run with it, and some don’t, but there isn’t really much on which to base it.

Except that there is.

A person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.”

Galatians 2:16 (NIV)

Did you catch it? I hope so, because the phrase was repeated three times in just one verse: “faith in Jesus/Christ.” Christian faith isn’t blind at all! It is “in Jesus.” That means it is based on something – someOne – real!  This a real person, whose real words and real actions can really be studied and scrutinized. Now you may reject his real words and his real actions, but you can’t claim that a faith in Jesus is “blind,” because that conclusion itself is blind at best, and deliberately deceptive at worst. 

As for me, I believe his words and actions wholeheartedly, and am blessed to have the fullest life right here and now – and into eternity – because of them. So, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some mountains to go move.