Text: Ephesians 3:20
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.
Sermon
“Pastor, we would like to meet with you to baptize our daughter.” That was the message that was left on our church answering machine 22 years ago. I was the first pastor of a brand-new mission church called Faith Lutheran Church in Radcliff, Kentucky right next to Ft. Knox.
Jared was the dad who left that message. He and his wife Cady brought their daughter, Madison to church to be baptized. I took Jared and Cady through adult confirmation classes. Jared had grown up Lutheran in another synod. Cady never really went to church growing up. In her words, I was her first real pastor.
Being in the military, Jared and Cady and their three daughters have moved 15 times around the United States. Wherever they have moved, they have found the closest Wisconsin Synod church. There were times a church wasn’t close and they had to drive an hour one way for worship. When they were stationed at West Point, where Jared was teaching as a Colonel, they invited cadets to their home where they set up a makeshift altar and worship space in their living room. They listened to a recording of a pastor’s sermon.
In May, I attended my first graduation service at Martin Luther College – our college for training for the public ministry. 22 years after I poured water and God’s Word over her head, I watched Madison walk the stage to receive her teaching degree.
Who could have imagined that all this could result from an answering machine message? God will do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine.
The Wisconsin Synod has created a goal of starting 100 new home mission churches – like Faith in Radcliff – over the next 10 years. That’s 10 new dots on the map throughout North America each year from 2023 to 2033. During the same time, we want to fund 75 enhancement grants to help existing congregations who wish to start a new outreach effort to reach more souls.
This is an aggressive plan. To some it might seem unachievable. There are certainly a lot of questions. Can our Synod do this? Do we have the money to accomplish this? Where are the pastors going to come from to fill these 100 pulpits? Why are we looking to start more churches when so many of our existing churches are dying?
The task seems daunting. Intimidating. Unachievable.
What is our natural reaction when we are confronted with a task that is overwhelming? We freeze in place. We curl up in the fetal position. We become paralyzed by fear. We lash out at those around us for posing such a difficult task.
We often shrink and shirk when things become difficult. We oppose the aggressive initiative because we are being practical. Pragmatic. Reasonable. Realistic. … But, let’s face it. We can often hide behind words like that.
The easiest thing to do is to keep on doing what we’ve always been doing. But I ask you, has what we’ve been doing been working? Or is it time to do something different? To do something difficult. To challenge ourselves. To achieve something so immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine so that its accomplishment could only come through the Lord’s almighty power.
You know me. I’m not a deep thinker. I’m not a great planner. I’m a worker. A doer. To my wife’s chagrin on vacations, I always have to be doing something, working towards something, moving forward on something. Admittedly, it may not always be the best way or the right thing. But I live by the motto: I prefer my way of doing something to your way of doing nothing.
God wants us to do something. And what is God’s something? Jesus said, “Go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). That’s a big something!
Don’t forget the words Jesus spoke right before that. “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me” (Matthew 28:18). Look at the One who commissioned us to go into all nations – to start new churches by going into this nation. He is the One who has all authority. The authority to command the wind and the waves, “Quiet, be still” (Mark 4:39). The authority to say to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and walk” (John 5:38). The authority to call dead Lazarus from the tomb, “Come out” (John 11:43).
Jesus has all authority. He is the One who defeated death by dying. Who crushed the Ancient Serpent’s head while being struck in his heel. Who conquered the grave by rising from the grave. Who proclaimed his victory over hell by descending into hell.
This is the authoritative Jesus who has commissioned us. This is the Jesus who sits on his throne at God’s right hand and is ruling over his Church on earth. This is the One who equips us for doing his mission work in Racine, Caledonia, the southeastern Wisconsin district, North America, and beyond. This 100 in 10 initiative is about aggressively and confidently doing the mission work Jesus Christ has called us to do. To tell more and more people in our nation about the One who was born, lived, died, rose, ascended, and rules.
When a task seems overwhelming, what do you do? A good approach is to break it into more manageable pieces. 10 new starts each year may seem like a lot. But our Board for Home Missions in the WELS currently funds 6 new mission starts every year. Our 100 in 10 initiative will add 4 more new churches every year. Our southeastern Wisconsin district mission board, where I’m the chairman - is planning on bringing two new start requests in 2024.
Where will we find the manpower for these new starts? Pre-seminary student enrollment at Martin Luther College and class sizes at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary are some of the largest we’ve seen in a while. But we always need more pastors and teachers.
At Water of Life, by God’s grace, we currently have 3 students at WLC and MLC who are training to become Synod teachers. We have at least 7 students at Shoreland who are considering attending MLC to become a pastor and teachers. In two weeks, I’ll be taking 6 of our 8th graders with me to make shut-in visits. 2 of them are considering becoming pastors, but all 6 are thinking of becoming teachers.
Now, imagine if our young people and young people in other churches are encouraged by their parents, pastors, and people in the pews to go into the public ministry. Imagine these young people getting excited by these outreach initiatives. Perhaps this is the impetus for them to get involved. If you know anything about today’s generation of young people, they don’t want to just belong. They want to do. And God is certainly giving them the opportunity to do!
God will do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine. Perhaps we are overwhelmed by 100 in 10 because our prayers are too small. God is inviting you to make big requests. Be persistent in your prayers like the widow before the unjust judge (Luke 18:1-8). Have confidence in your prayers like aged St. John encourages, “This is the confidence that we have before [God]: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us” (John 5:14). Wrestle with God in your prayers like Jacob (Genesis 32:24).
Martin Luther once said: Imagine that the richest ruler in the world invited a poor beggar to ask for whatever he wanted. Suppose that beggar only asked for a ladle of soup. Wouldn’t the ruler be insulted by such a request? We also insult God when he promises us inexpressible riches and all we do is ask for a lousy piece of bread. (Paraphrase from the Large Catechism)
Luther is saying that most of our prayers are just “bread prayers”. It’s time we ask the King of the Universe for more. So, what is the big prayer that God is inviting us to ask? Paul gives us an example in the verse preceding our sermon text: “I pray that you would be able to comprehend, along with all the saints, how wide and long and high and deep [Christ’s] love is” (Ephesians 3:17-18).
Can you think of a bigger prayer than that? What could be better than comprehending Christ’s love? Imagine how many families in our communities would want to use our Lutheran elementary schools if they would witness God’s people comprehending and displaying the fullness of Christ’s love in our classrooms? Imagine how much outreach each member of a church would do among their family and friends if they could comprehend the fullness of Christ’s love in their sanctuaries. Imagine how many new churches would be started if God’s saints realized the need for more people to come together to comprehend the fullness of Christ’s love.
But how is any of this possible? How can we comprehend the width and length and height and depth of Christ’s love? How can God answer such big prayers as 100 new starts in 10 years? St. Paul answers those questions. “Now to him, who is able, according to the power that is at work within us, to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen” (Ephesians 3:20, 21).
God is able to do immeasurably more than you ask or imagine. And he is at work within you. 100 in 10 begins with each of you. Pray for a bountiful harvest of souls for Jesus says the fields are ripe but the workers are few (Luke 10:20). Encourage your young people to become those workers in the harvest fields. Reach out personally to those within your family and friends to comprehend the fullness of Christ’s love with you. Support the ministry of your church and church body with increased offerings.
Your prayers, your efforts, your financial support, your children will make a difference. “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that although he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that through his poverty you might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). God’s generosity has resulted in the riches of forgiveness, peace, joy, and the confidence of life in heaven through faith in Jesus Christ. Let Christ’s spiritual gifts to you move you to give generously with your physical gifts – so more people might comprehend Christ’s love and receive Christ’s spiritual gifts.
We pray and trust that God will use our combined gifts to bring that family to church. That child to the baptismal font. To leave that message on the church answering machine. Then years and decades later, we will see that God has done and will continue to do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine. Amen.
To him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen” (Ephesians 3:21).