Confessing Before Kings by Pastor Zarling

Confessing Before Kings

Psalm 119:46 Then I will speak of your testimonies before kings, and I will not be put to shame.

There was great religious division in Germany between the Lutherans and the Roman Catholics. The lands controlled by the Emperor were divided among Lutherans and Catholics. They disagreed with each other and did not get along together. Charles V, the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, called for a meeting between the Pope’s theologians and the Lutheran reformers because he wanted to put this “silly” religious disagreement behind him, so he could get on with the important matter of the day – uniting the empire for a military battle against the Muslim Turks.

Charles called a diet – a meeting – in the German city of Augsburg. The night before the Lutherans were to present their confession of faith, Charles and his brother Ferdinand, the King of Austria, met privately with the Lutheran princes. They ordered the Lutheran princes to forbid any Lutheran preaching in Augsburg during the meeting. They also commanded the Lutherans to attend the Corpus Christi – the Body of Christ – festival the next day with the Emperor.

George, Margrave of Brandenburg, spoke boldly for the Lutherans. He refused to concede to Charles’ demands, saying, “Before I let anyone take from me the Word of God and ask me to deny my God, I will kneel and let them strike off my head.”

The Emperor was clearly taken aback by George’s boldness. Charles sputtered in broken German, “Not cut off head, dear prince. Not cut off head.” (Introduction to the Augsburg Confession, Book of Concord, p. 25).

On June 25, 1530, a group of faithful Lutheran princes and electors met in Augsburg, Germany, to present the confession of their faith to the Emperor. This was a time in the Roman Catholic Church when the Papacy was a superpower, and dissent was handled at the stake or at the rack. All the efforts of reform by previous reformers had fallen on deaf ears or resulted in death. But, by the grace of God, this Lutheran Reformation was turning out differently.

The Emperor and the Pope had the power to arrest and kill anyone who disagreed with them. The Lutherans decided there was only one thing to do – confess. These were not theologians that were standing before the Emperor. They were courageous Lutheran laymen – like yourselves. They confessed their faith and told the Emperor and the Roman Church what they believed, taught, and confessed. They relied on the promise of God’s Word, as contained in Psalm 119:46, “Then I will speak of your testimonies before kings, and I will not be put to shame.” The Augsburg Confession was presented as a statement of biblical truth and a proposal for true unity in the Christian faith. It has never been withdrawn or found in error.

This confession caused a stir as soon as it was read. The Bishop of Augsburg, who was faithful to the Pope and in whose palace it was read, said that it was all true and could not be denied. One of the princes who was loyal to the Pope asked the Pope’s head theologian if it could be refuted. Dr. Eck replied: “I can’t refute it using only Scripture.” The prince was stunned and asked: “Do you mean to say that these Lutherans sit inside Scripture, and we outside?”

All of us – pastors and people – are to make bold confessions of our faith. Faith alone makes us Christians. Confession alone marks us as Christians. St. Paul describes the relationship between believing and confessing, “Certainly, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and it is with the mouth that a person confesses, resulting in salvation” (Romans 10:9-10).

Jesus also says, “Everyone who confesses me before others, I will also confess before my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32). Jesus is talking about confessing our faith. Our confession of sins may be private, but there is no such thing as a private confession of faith. Our confession of the Christian faith is public for the whole world to see. Jesus says: “For nothing is hidden that will not be revealed, and nothing is secret that will not be made known and come to light” (Luke 8:17).

God does not call us to proclaim something as fragile as our opinions or ideas before the world. He calls us to proclaim the powerful, living, and enduring Word of God. God called the universe into existence through his Word. Christ is the Word made flesh. The Holy Spirit works faith through the Word. This is the Word that has the power to break down the barriers of unbelief, to forgive the sinner of his or her sins, to give spiritual life to those marked with the power of death, and to even grant physical life to those who had died.

By God’s grace, this is the Word you have in your pews, the Word you have in your Bibles at home, the Word you sing in hymns, and the Word you have memorized in your head and in your heart. This is the Word you are called upon to confess with your mouth.

What the Lord tells us in the shadows we are to shout from the housetops. Have you noticed how quick we are to weigh in on a sports team or restaurant or brand name? Have you noticed how easily we argue our position in politics? If we will speak up for a mere opinion, why will we not speak up for the truth that endures forever? God did not mean us to shout behind the closed doors of the church only to whisper in fear when we head back out into the world. Actually, it’s just the opposite. Before the Lord we whisper in awe of his love but outside the House of the Lord our voices cannot be silenced for the cause is too marvelous and the good news too great.

The Augsburg confessors put Psalm 119:46 at the front of their confession, “I will speak of your testimonies before kings, and I will not be put to shame.” That verse sums up their attitude. With the power of the Pope and the Emperor lined up against the Lutherans, the consequences for their confession could be severe. But the conviction of God’s Word was stronger than the fear of earthly powers. In the face of real risk, the confessors of Augsburg spoke up for what they knew to be the truth.

The rulers of this sinful world may disagree about a myriad of things … but they find themselves united on one point – they oppose God’s rule. “The kings of the earth take a stand, and the rulers join together against the Lord and against his Anointed One” (Psalms 2:2). God’s people must stand up to rulers who stand against the Anointed One and those whom he anoints with the water of Baptism.

Christians must remember that we will suffer for our faith in this world (John 16:33). We are like sheep being led to the slaughter. God promises the godly eternal joys and blessings (1 Corinthians 2). God promises the godless with eternal condemnations and wailings (Matthew 8:12).

Christ testified to Pilate, “My Kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36). That means our kingdom is not of this world, either. We are not called to be Christians to have good days in this life – for as Christians we are but strangers here. We are guests who are citizens of the Kingdom to come. We patiently suffer in this world waiting for the world to come.

The Reformer Martin Luther expected hatred from people – particularly when it became clear that he and the Roman Catholic Church were not only on a different page but in a different book. He expected to die a martyr’s death because he had taken on the church and its false teachers. That’s why he resisted getting married for so long. He didn’t want his wife to be made a widow

or future children to be fatherless. But even though Luther knew he might die at any moment after being branded a heretic by the Pope and an outlaw by the Emperor, he would not remain silent. In fact, on one occasion, Luther received a note from a man who urged him not to go to a meeting in Augsburg to which Luther’s enemies had invited him. What was Luther’s response? “Even in Augsburg, in the middle of his enemies, Christ reigns.” Luther expected hatred from the enemies of the gospel; even more than that, he expected help from his gracious Lord.

Moses and the prophets, the apostles and early Christians, Luther and his fellow reformers, knew that Jesus’ words would come true, “All men will hate you because of me” (Luke 21:17). We as twenty-first century Christians and modern-age reformers certainly do not go looking for trouble – enough trouble will find us. It has been said that where Christ builds a church, the devil builds a chapel. Wherever the gospel is proclaimed, Satan must attack. Wherever we soldiers of Christ lift high the cross, Satan’s minions inflict pain and pressure. Wherever Christ reigns as King, this world’s prince still scowls.

We may not fear beheading, loss of property, imprisonment, or death, like other Christians in centuries past or Christians suffering presently around the world. We don’t fear a den of lions or a fiery furnace, but persecution abounds when we’re faithful to the Word. We lose relationships because of a Biblical belief that honors the sanctity of marriage. We lose promotions because of worship priorities. We lose friendships because we won’t join in sinful talking or walking. Jesus says we will lose family relationships because of our connection to him, “I came to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. A man’s enemies will be the members of his own household” (Matthew 10:35-36).

Don’t be fooled into faintheartedness. Don’t be coerced into cowardice. Don’t be scared into silence. As you allow the Holy Spirit to reform your former sinful way of life, expect derision and insults. As you work with God’s Word to reform the world, expect hatred and persecution.

Also expect help from your gracious Lord, the Shepherd of helpless and hapless sheep. Even as we stand on trial for our beliefs, we are witnesses to our enemies. Even as we are arrested and persecuted, the Holy Spirit is giving us the boldness to speak clearly. Luther concludes his Battle Hymn of the Reformation: “And do what they will – hate, steal, hurt or kill – though all may be gone, our victory is won; the kingdom’s ours forever!” Even as we face the hatred of men, we are comforted and encouraged with the knowledge that a life free from all suffering and pain awaits us.

There is nothing to fear. Yes, there will be kings, emperors, and popes who will join together against the Lord. But St. John also assures us that these kings, rulers, and governing authorities “will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them, because he is Lord of Lords and King of Kings” (Revelation 17:14). So, have no fear. Boldly confess Christ before kings. Put into practice the words of the psalmist, “I will speak of your testimonies before kings, and I will not be put to shame.” Amen.

Now to the King eternal, to the immortal, invisible, only God, be honor and glory forever and ever (1 Timothy 1:17). Amen.

God Makes His Kingdom Grow by Pastor Klusmeyer

God Makes His Kingdom Grow

How many of you have or have had a garden? I’ve attempted it several times over the years, never with very much success. This summer I am attempting a garden again with peas, carrots, tomatoes, peppers, and herbs. Every time I have ever planted a garden I have always been amazed that you can take something as small as a single seed, plant it in the ground, and a few months later harvest an entire crop of vegetables from those small seeds.

One of the biggest issues I have with gardening is patience. I plant the seeds in the ground and all I can think about is how good those fresh peas are going to taste right out of the pod. But we can’t hurry that process. We need to plant the seed and then wait for it to grow. Those first couple of days can be really hard when we don’t see the tiny sprouts poking up through the soil. I know I was tempted to poke around and see if anything was growing, but that could hurt and damage the young plant.

We don’t like waiting for things. We want instant results. This is especially true for us in our day and age when we can order almost anything we want from Amazon and have it delivered to our doorstep the next day. We want things to happen right away. But some things can’t be hurried and planting seeds and waiting for them to grow is a perfect example of this. Once the seeds are planted we can’t hurry the process or do much to make that seed sprout. This is why Jesus uses this as the basis for the parables we are studying this morning. God’s kingdom grows like seeds planted in a field. And just like seeds it grows on its own and it grows in ways that we don’t expect.

During his earthly ministry, Jesus often used parables to teach the people about the kingdom of God. He used earthly stories and examples to illustrate heavenly truths. He did this because heavenly truths are often difficult for us to understand. For example, when we hear Jesus talk about the kingdom of God we immediately think in political and military terms. We think of God establishing a Christian kingdom in this world. And this is exactly what the people of Jesus’s day were looking for. They wanted God to send a Savior who would bring back the glory of the kingdom of Israel. They wanted another mighty warrior king like David. Instead, God did something very different. He sent his one and only Son to live a life of humility and to suffer and die for the sins of the entire world.

God’s kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. Instead, it is his rule in the hearts of those who believe in him. It is a kingdom of faith. We understand this from reading God’s Word, but we too fall into the temptation of wanting to see God’s kingdom established here in the world. When want to see immediate results when we preach the message of the Gospel. We want to see our society get better, the number of members in our churches grows, and the amount of our offerings increases. And when we don’t see these things happening in the way we want at the time we want we are tempted to think that there is something wrong with God’s Word.

Think of the parable that Jesus shares with us. A sower goes out and sows his seed. He then patiently waits day after day for that seed to sprout and grow. He knows that he can do nothing to make the seed sprout or grow faster. He simply sows the seed and waits. This is how the church grows as well. We sow the seed by preaching the message of the Gospel and then wait for the Spirit to do his work. We struggle with this because it is so different from everything else, we do in our lives. It requires patience and faith.

Faith in the power of God’s Word is something we sometimes struggle with. We are tempted to think that God’s Word needs help because we don’t always see the results we want. Maybe we talked with a family member or friend about our faith again and again and they still don’t believe. Or maybe we have a child who has strayed from the church and despite our best efforts they haven’t returned. Perhaps our church and synod have been faithfully proclaiming God’s Word but the numbers and growth that we want just aren’t happening. We can be tempted to think that we need to do something to help God’s Word along. We can be tempted to believe that God’s Word is not powerful and effective. We can be tempted to put our faith in a new and fancy outreach program or style of worship instead of God’s Word.

We may also be tempted to doubt our own ability to share the message of the Gospel. We don’t believe that God can work through us. Maybe we doubt our ability to talk to others. Or maybe we worry about what

others will think if we talk about our faith. We worry that we won’t have the right words to say, or we won’t be able to answer difficult questions. We don’t trust the power of God’s Word and so we don’t sow the seeds of the Gospel. This parable reminds us that we don’t need to worry about these things because God’s Word is powerful and effective on its own. We can’t do anything to increase the power and efficacy of God’s Word. The church grows where and when our Lord decides. We plant the seeds, but God makes them grow.

This is what makes God’s kingdom so different from every other kind of earthly kingdom. We can’t evaluate the kingdom of God based on standards of earthly success. This is why Jesus gives us the next parable with the mustard seed. From outward appearances, a mustard seed is small and insignificant, but it grows to a very large size. I’m not very familiar with mustard plants so it’s easier for me to think of an acorn. It is so amazing that something so tiny can grow into a massive oak tree. God often works in ways that seem small and insignificant but have extraordinary results.

Jesus from all outward appearances seemed insignificant. He was born to an ordinary man and woman. who were so poor that he was born in a stable. He lived a life of humility and poverty. He was then humiliated, tortured, and crucified as a criminal. From all earthly appearances, his life seemed to be a failure. But God accomplished extraordinary things through Christ. We know that Christ is true God from eternity. We know that he willingly chose to humble himself and place himself under God’s law for us. He lived a perfect life free from sin. He sowed God’s Word faithfully and boldly even in the face of opposition and hatred. He then willingly allowed himself to be betrayed and humiliated for us. He endured the shame and agony of the cross for us. He offered his perfect life as a sacrifice for our sins and endured all of God’s wrath and the torments of hell in our place. He died so that we might live. By his death, he made full and complete payment for all our sins, and by his resurrection, he defeated the power of death and hell and gave us the certainty of eternal life with him.

This is the message of the Gospel that changes lives, grants forgiveness of sins, and gives the blessing of eternal life. It seems so simple and ordinary. It is like that mustard seed that seems so small and yet it grows into a huge plant. This is how God works. Through ordinary means. God creates faith in the heart of a tiny infant through his Word and a splash of water. God gives us the forgiveness of sins through a morsel of bread and a sip of wine that is in with and under the body and blood of his Son. God creates faith in the hearts of those who hear our simple confession of faith as we tell of the love of our Savior.

At some point in our lives, God used an ordinary person: a pastor, a teacher, a family member, or a friend, to share the message of the Gospel with us. That person planted a seed in our hearts that God caused to grow. Because of that person sharing the message of the Gospel with us, we know the peace of forgiveness in Christ. We have the certainty of eternal life because of Christ’s victory over the grave. This is why we can boldly share our faith with others. We want them to have the same peace and joy that we have. We don’t need to worry about saying the right thing or finding the right way to share the Gospel. Because we know that it’s not about us. We are just the sower. We spread the seed of the Gospel and wait for it to grow. We know that this may take years. We know that we may not always see the results, but we know that God is continually working through his Word to create and strengthen faith. We plant the seed and God makes his kingdom grow.

The Angel has Chained the Dragon by Pastor Zarling

The Angel has Chained the Dragon

Revelation 20:1-6 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven. He had the key to the abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2He seized the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the Devil and Satan, bound him for a thousand years, 3threw him into the abyss, locked it, and set a seal on it, so that he could no longer deceive the nations until the thousand years come to an end. After this he must be released for a short time. 4Then I saw thrones, and those who were sitting on them were given the authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshipped the beast and his image, and they did not receive his mark on their forehead and on their hand. They lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5(The rest of the dead did not live until the thousand years came to an end.) This is the first resurrection. 6Blessed and holy is the one who has a share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them. Instead they will be priests of God and of Christ. And they will reign with him for a thousand years.

Jesus promised he is the stronger man tying up the strong man of Satan, “No one can enter a strong man’s house to steal his possessions unless he ties up the strong man first” (Mark 3:27). Amen.

The dragon is ticked! There was a war in the heavens – in sky and space. The archangel Michael and his legions of angels cast the seven-headed red dragon of the devil and his demonic horde down to the earth (Revelation 12:7-9).

The dragon attempted to come after Christ. But Christ ascended into heaven, out of the reach of the dragon (Revelation 12:5). So, the dragon turned his fury upon Christ’s followers.

Jesus Christ is the Angel in John’s vision in Revelation 20. “Angel” means “messenger.” The Lord said in the Old Testament, “Look! I am sending my messenger! He will prepare the way before me” (Malachi 3:1). Jesus is the Angel of the Lord who appeared throughout the Old Testament. Now Jesus appears in John’s vision chaining the dragon of the devil. John writes, “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven. He had the key to the abyss and a great chain in his hand. He seized the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the Devil and Satan, bound him for a thousand years, threw him into the abyss, locked it, and set a seal on it, so that he could no longer deceive the nations until the thousand years come to an end. After this he must be released for a short time” (Revelation 20:1-3).

Because the devil is a spirit, Jesus cannot bind the devil with an iron or steel chain. This chain is the gospel of Christ. John writes that St. Michael and the angels “conquered [the dragon] because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony” (Revelation 12:11). This defeat of the devil happened at Christ’s crucifixion. That’s when the seed of Eve and the only-begotten Son of God stepped down with his bloody heel and crushed the Ancient Serpent’s head (Genesis 3:15). That’s when Jesus said he saw Satan fall like lightening from the sky (Luke 10:18).

Jesus bound Satan for a symbolic 1000 years. The number 10 in Revelation symbolizes completeness. Multiply 10x10x10 and you have 1000 years – the complete time of the New Testament from Christ’s ascension to his glorious return on the Last Day.

Satan is ticked! He’s like a mean dog on a chain. He will snap and snarl and attack. But Jesus can yank on the dragon’s chain whenever he wants. Just like he did numerous times with Job. The less the true gospel of Christ is preached, the longer the dragon’s chain seems to get. The more Satan prowls looking to devour Christ’s saints (1 Peter 5:8).

You can see recent examples of Satan’s prowling attacks through the persecution of Christians. The Kansas City Chiefs’ kicker, Harrison Butker is a conservative Christian. He said conservative Christian things in his commencement speech at a conservative Christian college. For that, people tried getting him fired from the Chiefs.

In his graduation speech, Micah Price encouraged his classmates to find God and said that Jesus is the only way, truth, and life. For that, his Campbell Co. high school withheld his diploma for a week.

Our federal government is prosecuting Christians for protesting and praying outside of abortion mills. That same federal government funds the murder of unborn infants with our tax money.

Mothers, fathers, and military veterans get a day to celebrate their godly vocations. Yet, we must tolerate an entire month set aside for the celebration of ungodly and abhorrent sexual deviations. These are lies and doctrines of the devil that are spewing forth from the pits of hell.

I told the Shoreland seniors in their graduation sermon that when their grandparents were their age, Christianity was promoted. When their parents were their age, Christianity was tolerated. Today, our culture is antagonistic toward our Christian faith. This world hates us, hates what we believe, and hates who we believe in.

There is a growing movement in America working to push Christianity into irrelevancy. Hollywood, media, social media, and the government are altogether intolerant of Christianity and the followers of Christ. Their intolerant voices are getting louder and meaner. Their bullying of Christians is fiercer than in previous decades. Christians are canceled, doxed, silenced, fired, and called all kinds of horrific names. All because they will not go along with the unchristian ways of the world.

The devil is a bully. Like any bully, the devil intimidates and insults. Like any bully, the devil has a gang that assists him in his dirty work. The devil wants to make sure you cower in fear. Curl up in the fetal position, sucking your thumb. Shut your mouth and be quiet. Cancel yourself before the culture cancels you. Ignore the filth of the world. Accept the lies of the devil. Forsake the truths of Scripture. Go off in the corner and hope that the bully and his gang leave you alone.

When we see Christians being persecuted like this, it can drive us to a lot of things. Fear. Silence. Feeling alone. Feeling despair, distracted, disheartened, defeated.

As we see all the evil in the world, the proliferation of Satan’s lies, and the worship of the human body, it may even feel like Satan has defeated Christ. Like the ideas of the flesh that were practically born yesterday are more prevalent than God’s eternal truth. Like it is wrong for Christians to be assertive in the face of absurdity. Like we should compromise on God’s uncompromising Scriptures and abandon 2000 years of rich Christian tradition.

John was writing the Book of Revelation to Christians who were uncompromising in their faith in Christ. John writes, “Then I saw thrones, and those who were sitting on them were given the authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshipped the beast and his image, and they did not receive his mark on their forehead and on their hand. They lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years” (Revelation 20:4). The Christians to whom John was writing refused to worship the beast out of the sea – the governments of the world when they serve the dragon. The early Christians did not burn incense to the Roman Ceasar as a god or worship the Roman gods or participate in their pagan, adulterous lifestyles. For that refusal, the

dragon had his beast create ingenious ways to kill Christians by throwing them to the lions, forcing them into gladiatorial games, burning, crucifying, and beheading them.

Yet these Christian saints were not afraid! They became “devil-proof”. They may have been excluded from society because they did not have the mark of the beast (Revelation 13:16-18). This was a symbolic mark that showed they worshiped the beast of the government and its master the dragon of Satan. The Christians were fine with not having the mark of the beast because they bore a much better mark – the seal of the Spirit on their foreheads (Revelation 14:1). By God’s grace, this is the same seal you were given at the baptismal font. You were baptized with water and the Word. You had the sign of the cross placed on your head to your heart, marking you as a redeemed child of Christ. You – like the early Christians before you – were taken from spiritual death to spiritual life. This is the first resurrection. John writes, “(The rest of the dead did not live until the thousand years came to an end.) This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who has a share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them. Instead they will be priests of God and of Christ. And they will reign with him for a thousand years” (Revelation 20:5-6).

The second death of dying physically and suffering eternally in the abyss of hell no longer has any power of you. You, too, have become “devil-proof.” This is what I mean by “devil-proof.” When the beast threatens to take away your stuff, you’re OK with that because your lasting treasures are stored in heaven. When the beast threatens to take away your house, you’re OK with that because you have mansions waiting for you in paradise. When the beast threatens your ability to provide food for your family, you’re OK with that because you have a banquet feast prepared for you in heaven. When the beast threatens your family, you’re not OK with that and you will fight for them, but you know you’ll see your Christian family again as saints around Christ’s heavenly throne. When the beast threatens your life, you’re calmly OK with that because you desire to depart and be with Christ.

Imagine the frustration of the devil! He wants to make you suffer, but you rejoice in suffering in Christ’s name. He wants to persecute you, but you consider it an honor to carry Christ’s cross in persecution. He wants you dead, but you are looking forward to death. Satan gives you suffering, you praise God. He gives you good, you praise God. He gives you evil, you praise God. He ends your life, you praise God eternally with your fellow saints. You become “devil-proof.” This is exactly what we pray in the seventh petition of the Lord’s Prayer for God to “deliver us from evil” (or the Evil One).

So, instead of fear, you have zeal. You are energized to fight for what’s right. You are excited to stand up to the bully of the devil.

The dragon is chained by the gospel. The Angel of the Lord tightens the chain when you share Christ’s good news. It gets tighter when you receive Christ’s absolution in worship. Tighter when you remember the seal placed on your forehead in baptism. Tighter when you apply the Scriptures and sermon to your life. Tighter when you receive the Sacrament of the Supper. Tighter when you attend Bible study with your family. Tighter when you bring a friend to worship with you. Tighter when you sit down to pray with a co-worker who is hurting. Tighter when you stand up for God’s truth in the public square.

The world considers you crazy for believing in Jesus. But that’s OK. You’re in good company. Jesus’ own family thought he was crazy.

When you feel powerless, remember you are a priest serving Jesus with prayer and sacrifice now and serving him eternally around his altar in heaven. When you feel defeated, remember you are

kings and queens reigning with Christ now and reigning with him around his throne forever. When you feel abandoned, remember that Christ considers you his very own brothers and sisters (Mark 3:35).

You may see churches shrinking and closing. By God’s grace, you see Water of Life growing. In addition to people with white hair, you see more children, teens, and adults than in many other WELS churches. That means Jesus is using us to chain up the dragon with the gospel.

The dragon is ticked! He will be coming at all of us hard! Don’t be afraid. Don’t be discouraged. Don’t feel defeated. The Seed of Eve and the Son of God has crushed the Ancient Serpent’s head. The stronger man of Jesus has tied up the strong man of Satan (Mark 3:27). Satan fell out of the sky when Christ was crucified. The devil was defeated once and for all when Christ rose from the dead.

The Angel of the Lord has already chained the dragon. Amen.

God promised the Ancient Serpent, “I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will crush your head, and you will crush his heel” (Genesis 3:15). Amen.

Rest Shouldn’t Be Work by Pastor Klusmeyer

Rest Shouldn’t Be Work

Rest shouldn’t be work, and yet so often it seems that we turn things that are supposed to be good and restful into things that are bad and stressful. It’s summer and some of you are probably planning a vacation. This is supposed to be restful, but sometimes it seems there is more work than rest on vacation. The same is true of our spiritual lives. God’s law was created for our good. Yet we often look at God’s law as a burden and obligation that we need to fulfill. We are hard-wired to think we have to keep God’s law to earn his grace and mercy. We forget that Christ has fulfilled all the requirements of the law in our place. Because of our freedom in Christ, God’s law is not an obligation that we need to keep, but a guide as we live our lives for him.

God’s law exists for our good which is why Christ says, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” Yet how often do we look at the Third Commandment “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy” as a burden instead of an opportunity for rest and refreshment? God wants us to find rest in learning and hearing his Word. He wants us to be refreshed when we gather together for worship and receive forgiveness for our sins. And yet too often church becomes something that we need to do. We forget that God’s law is for our good and instead see it as something we need to do to make God happy. But God does not want reluctant or self-righteous adherence to his law. Instead, he wants us to joyfully serve and obey him. Our rest in the Lord shouldn’t be work.

The Pharisees in our Gospel lesson did not understand this about God’s law. They did not see the Sabbath as something God had given to his people as a blessing. Instead, they saw it as an obligation that must be fulfilled. They had become obsessed with keeping God’s law and had even added to its requirements in a futile attempt to earn their salvation. They foolishly believed that they could achieve the standard of perfection that God’s law demanded, and looked down on those who were not as “pure” as they were. Their self-righteousness clouded their judgment and blinded them. They were experts in the details of God’s law but had forgotten the chief purpose of God’s law was to show love for God and love for our neighbor.

On a certain Sabbath day, Jesus and his disciples were walking through the grain fields. The disciples were very hungry and began picking some of the grain to eat. This was something that was allowed under the Law of Moses. However, the rabbis and Pharisees had added more requirements to the Law of Moses. According to God’s law, you were supposed to rest and do no work on the Sabbath, but you were allowed to provide yourself with food. The Pharisees had added more requirements that even plucking grain to feed yourself was doing work. They had even added a law that you could not stop a leak in a container in your house and had to let a puddle form on your floor during the Sabbath. They were upset that Jesus was not enforcing these additional regulations with his disciples. Instead of arguing about what was and wasn’t lawful, Jesus tells the Pharisees about an event from the life of King David.

David was on the run from King Saul who was trying to kill him. As he and his men were fleeing, they became very hungry. They went to the priests for help. The priests did not have any food available except for the bread that was placed on the table before the Lord in the Tabernacle. According to the Law, only the priests were allowed to eat this bread. But Abiathar the priest knew that the greater requirement of the Law was to show love to those who were in need. He gave this consecrated bread to David and his men. Jesus uses this story to illustrate to the Pharisees that God does not desire blind obedience to the requirements of the law. He wants us to show love and compassion to our neighbors. God created the Sabbath and the other regulations of the law for our good. The disciples were doing nothing wrong by picking a few heads of grain to eat. However, the Pharisees had gotten so wrapped up in keeping their additional rules that they were unwilling to show love and compassion to others.

This lack of love is further demonstrated in the second interaction that Jesus had with the Pharisees on another Sabbath day. Jesus was teaching in the synagogue and there was a man with a withered hand. The Pharisees were there not to hear Jesus teach the Word or to help this poor man. They were there to trap Jesus and see if he would do work by healing on the Sabbath. They were more concerned about keeping the outward requirements of the law instead of helping someone who was in need. Jesus saw straight through to the hardness of their hearts. He was filled with anger and sorrow at their lack of love. In his mercy, he healed the man with the withered hand. But what is interesting is that Jesus did not physically do anything. He willed the man’s hand

to be held and thus did not technically break the Pharisees’ made-up laws. This filled them with rage, and they stormed out of the synagogue and began to conspire about how they could kill Jesus.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ these two stories serve as a warning for us today. By nature, we are all Pharisees. We need to be constantly reminded that we are not saved by our works. The Pharisees believed that they could earn God’s favor by keeping his law, and that if they added to his law this would make them even better. But this is not the purpose of God’s law. God created his law for our good; to show us what his will is for our lives. But when Adam and Eve fell into sin they destroyed our ability to keep God’s law. By nature, we are contaminated by sin. We cannot keep even the smallest portion of God’s law. Instead, God’s law shows us our many sins and shows us our desperate need for a Savior.

Just think of how easily we fall into this sin of self-righteousness just when it comes to keeping the 3rd Commandment. How often do we compare ourselves to others? Do we think that because we come to church every Sunday, this makes us better in the eyes of God than those who hardly come at all? Are we tempted to look at the size of our offerings or the amount of time we spend volunteering at church and think this makes us better Christians than those who do less? Unfortunately, this attitude is a constant part of our sinful nature. We want to make these sinful comparisons. We want to believe that we are better than others because this allows us to ignore or whitewash our own sins.

But we can’t hide from God’s law. If we want to save ourselves by what we do, then we need to keep God’s law perfectly. But dear friends, there is no rest in living our lives that way. On our own, we cannot achieve God’s perfect standard of holiness. We can’t even perfectly keep the command to remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. If we try to live by works of the law, we turn rest into work and we will never find peace.

This is why Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” We can’t keep God’s law perfectly, but Christ did. Jesus Christ came to this world and placed himself under the requirements of God’s law and kept it perfectly in our place. Paul describes this in our reading from Colossians: “Even when you were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ by forgiving us all our trespasses. God erased the record of our debt brought against us by his legal demands. This record stood against us, but he took it away by nailing it to the cross.”

All our sins have been paid for with the blood of Christ. We do not need to keep the requirements of God’s law to earn our salvation because Christ won our salvation by offering himself as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. This however does not mean that God’s law is unimportant.

God’s law is his perfect and holy will and it teaches us how to live in a way that is pleasing to our Father in heaven. We keep God’s law because we are his dear children and know that his law is for our good. This is especially true when it comes to the Third Commandment. God wants us to honor his Word. God wants us to spend time gathered with other Christians to encourage one another and praise him. God does not need our worship. Instead, he wants us to use our time in his Word as a time of rest and not work.

Dear friends God does not want us to slavishly come to church each Sunday because we think it's something that we should do. God does not want us to read his Word because we know we have to. This is doing what the Pharisees did. Instead, God wants us to spend time reading, studying, hearing, and meditating on his Word because it provides rest for our souls. We are strengthened and encouraged whenever we spend time in God’s Word. This is the blessing of the Third Commandment. It is a blessing of God’s law that draws us closer to him and gives us rest from our work.

You are adopted by Pastor Zarling

You are adopted

Romans 8:12-17 So then, brothers, we do not owe it to the sinful flesh to live in harmony with it. 13For if you live in harmony with the sinful flesh, you are going to die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the actions of the body, you will live.

14Indeed, those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15For you did not receive a spirit of slavery so that you are afraid again, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we call out, “Abba, Father!” 16The Spirit himself joins our spirit in testifying that we are God’s children. 17Now if we are children, we are also heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, since we suffer with him, so that we may also be glorified with him.

We heard the song of the seraphs singing, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Armies! The whole earth is full of his glory!” (Isaiah 6:3). Amen.

My dad’s mother died when he was 4 years old. His father then had to try to raise five children – of whom my dad was the youngest – all by himself. He died the next year after a nervous breakdown. Now, my dad was an orphan at age 5.

Back then, children often went to live with their godparents. My dad went to live with his godfather, Bill Miske, and his wife, Marie.

According to God’s plan, Bill and Marie weren’t able to have children of their own. But then my dad showed up at age 5. Now, the Miskes never adopted my dad. That’s why I’m a Zarling and not a Miske. But they treated this little orphan boy like their son.

St. Paul tells us today that we are adopted. “You received the Spirit of adoption” (Romans 8:15b). This is pretty amazing since we were in a much worse condition than being little orphan boys and girls. We were born enemies of God. Seed of Satan. Slaves of our sinful nature. Slaves to Satan’s tyranny.

We heard Jesus tell us today, “Unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God! Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh. Whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:5,6). Paul explains, “We do not owe it to the sinful flesh to live in harmony with it. For if you live in harmony with the sinful flesh, you are going to die” (Romans 8:12,13).

God gives us the blessing of sexual happiness reserved for marriage. But people who are opposed to God’s will engage in all kinds of awful and abhorrent sexual acts. They are living in harmony with their sinful flesh.

One of the blessings of marriage and sexual happiness is the gift of children. Yet people who are opposed to God’s will put their own selfish needs over the needs of children, so they murder them in the womb. They are living in harmony with their sinful flesh.

God has given us the beauty of creation to enjoy. But people who are opposed to God’s will worship creation and at the same time are afraid of creation. They have fallen into the cult of Mother Earth. They are living in harmony with their sinful flesh.

But that’s not just them out there who are living in harmony with their flesh. So do we here inside the sanctuary of this church. God has given us mouths and tongues to speak our prayers and sing God’s praises. But we use our mouths and tongues for gossip, bullying, and deceit.

God has given us eyes and ears to focus on what is good and godly. But we let our eyes look upon filth and allow our ears to hear foul language.

God has given us the gift of time – time to spend in God’s house, to spend with our family, to spend nurturing relationships with others at work or in our neighborhood. But we waste so much of that valuable time scrolling on our phone.

We do all this because we, too, are living in harmony with our sinful flesh.

Paul reminds us, “If you live in harmony with the sinful flesh, you are going to die” (Romans 8:13a). Then Paul adds, “But if by the Spirit you put to death the actions of the body, you will live.” (Romans 8:13b). If we live in harmony with our sinful flesh, we will die. But we will live if we put to death the misdeeds of sinful flesh. We put our sinful flesh to death with daily contrition and repentance. Contrition is sorrow over sin and repentance is turning from sin. Our sinful flesh cannot be reformed. It must be killed. Crucified. Nailed to the cross. Drowning our Old Adam daily in the waters of Baptism. The problem is that our Old Adam is a good swimmer. He keeps coming back day after day. So, we keep returning to the baptismal font drowning the enemy of our sinful flesh again and again.

Paul informs us that we don’t have to live in harmony with our flesh. “We do not owe it to the sinful flesh to live in harmony with it” (Romans 8:12). We don’t owe our flesh anything. We used to be slaves to Satan, our selfish mind, and our sinful flesh. But we aren’t slaves anymore. Christ broke us free from our slavery when he crushed the Serpent’s head under his bruised heel. We can look up to Christ on the pole of the cross and live. Jesus defeated sin when he paid for sin with his bloody sacrifice. Jesus defeated death when he rose from the dark grave on Easter morning. Jesus’ death and resurrection is applied to us in the waters of baptism. It is at the baptismal font where we were reborn of water and the Spirit (John 3:5).

It is through conversion to faith and baptism with water that we are adopted into God’s family. “Indeed, those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery so that you are afraid again, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we call out, “Abba, Father!” (John 3:14-15).

When I think of adoption, I am reminded of my good friend Pastor Dave Rockhoff who served for many years at Friedens in Kenosha. Pastor Rockhoff and his wife Janice were not blessed with children, so they decided to adopt. They were blessed with Stephanie, a little black baby girl. Then when they were adopting Stephanie, God allowed Janice to also become pregnant with their son.

Years later, when Stephanie was in high school, Pastor Rockhoff was going through some serious issues with the veins in his legs. I was teasing Stephanie saying, “You know, what your dad has is hereditary. You should go get yourself checked out.” She replied, “Oh, thanks, Pastor! I will!”

I love that story! Even though she’s black and her parents are white, even though her brother is natural-born and she is adopted, Stephanie didn’t consider herself anything less than a true daughter of her parents. She is a Rockhoff.

That’s a beautiful illustration of what God does for us through adoption. At our conversion to the Christian faith or at the baptismal font, the Holy Spirit takes us away from Satan who despises us and gives us into the arms of our heavenly Father who loves us. When the pastor poured water over our heads and baptized us in the name of the Triune God, we were adopted into God’s holy family. The pastor made the sign of the cross on your head to your heart, marking you as a redeemed child of God.

That means we are brothers and sisters. We are all adopted into the same family. We have the very Son of God, Jesus Christ, as our Brother! God our Father does not treat us any differently as his adopted than he treats his only-begotten Son (John 3:16).

As God’s adopted children, we now live desire to live for our Father. The Holy Spirit has brought us into harmony with our sanctified spirit through water and the Word. We no longer have to live in harmony with our sinful flesh. We are no longer Satan’s flunkies. We don’t have to come when he whistles. We owe a debt to God, not to our sinful flesh. The sinful flesh never did anything for us but cause problems and lead to death. The Spirit of God in us gives power to resist that and truly live.

As God’s sanctified children, we use our tongues and mouths to praise the Triune God. We fill our eyes and ears with what is good and godly. We use our time to fulfill our vocations as parents, children, spouses, employers, employees, and citizens. As sanctified children, we listen to our Father’s instructions about marriage, we cherish his blessing of children, and then we take our children outside to enjoy the beautifies of God’s creation.

My Grandma Miske died before I was born. My Grandpa Miske died when I was in college. My dad had hoped he would receive the Miske farm as his inheritance. But my Grandpa Miske donated his farm in his will to Kettle Moraine Lutheran High School, where my sisters and I went to high school. My dad wasn’t too happy about that. But he bought his own farm and everything turned out fine.

As God’s children, we don’t have to be concerned about our inheritance. “Now if we are children, we are also heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, since we suffer with him, so that we may also be glorified with him” (Romans 8:17). Since we are God’s children, we are also his heirs. We won’t be getting a farm as an inheritance. We will be receiving the mansions of heaven. Jesus ascended to heaven to prepare our rooms for us. We will have the green pastures and quiet waters of paradise to enjoy. We will be able to drink often from the water of life that flows from the river of life.

Receiving knickknacks, portraits, and family heirlooms from our parents and grandparents are important. Far more important is that when we arrive in heaven, we will have a crown of glory placed on our head, a palm branch of victory placed into our hand, and the white robe of Christ’s righteousness placed over our body.

As great as it is to sit around the family table at holidays, we know we will be seated at the Lamb’s High Feast for all eternity. God grants his heirs a foretaste of that banquet feast every Sunday in his Son’s Supper.

When our children were younger, we enjoyed having them call us Mommy and Daddy. As they get older, they call us Mom and Dad. When they’re teenagers, they don’t want to acknowledge knowing us. But when they mature, they like calling us Mom and Dad again.

Listen to what Paul says, “You received the Spirit of adoption by whom we call out, “Abba, Father!” (Romans 3:15). “Abba” is Aramaic for “Father” or “Daddy.” We are sinful. God is three-times holy like the seraphs sang in Isaiah 6:3. We are born as spawn of Satan. We often live in harmony with our sinful flesh and not in harmony with our sanctified spirit. We can be like rebellious teenagers and not want to acknowledge our divine Parent. We choose to hate what he loves and love what he hates.

And yet … because we are adopted, we can use a special title to call upon God. He is the Almighty God. The Creator of the Universe. The King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And we get to call him Abba, Daddy, Father.

Please pause when you pray the Lord’s Prayer today and every day. You get to pray the prayer God’s only-begotten Son taught you to pray. It is a prayer of children addressing their almighty God … whom they also get to call their Father. … Their Daddy.

All these blessings, all these gifts, all this inheritance is already yours. All because you are adopted. Amen.

As God’s adopted children, hear and believe this promise from your Divine Brother, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Amen.

Prove him wrong! by Pastor Zarling

Prove him wrong!

Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid and do not be terrified before them, because the LORD your God is going with you. He will not abandon you and he will not forsake you.”

The Navy recruit stood on the beach. The surf coming in that day was about 8 feet high. The recruit was training to become a Navy SEAL – one of the hardest things to do in the military.

The SEAL instructor stood 6 foot 2. He towered over the recruit who stood 5 foot 4. The instructor looked at the recruit and said quietly, “Do you really want to be a SEAL?” The sailor stood straight, with a look of defiance in his eyes. He shouted, “Yes, sir, I do!” The instructor said loudly for all the other recruits to hear, “You’re a tiny, little man! Those waves could break you in half. You should think about quitting now before you get hurt.”

The sailor shouted over the breaking waves, “I won’t quit!” Then the instructor leaned in and whispered something into the student’s ear. He said, “Prove me wrong!” … And he did! (adapted from “Make My Bed.”)

Graduates, Satan is coming at you hard! He is working overtime to make you quit. But at the same time, Jesus whispers in your ear, “I know you can do it. Satan thinks you can’t. Prove him wrong.”

I want you to remember seven lessons today. Seven lessons are hard to remember, so, I wrote them down for you. Go ahead and reach under your seat. You’ll find a card taped for you to keep and remember. If you find any gum under there, you can keep that, too.

1. Make your bed. How many of you make your bed every morning? Very soon, you will be moving out of your parents’ home. That means you won’t be able to count on mom to make your bed, do your laundry, or make your meals. You won’t always have dad available to fix your car, help with your finances, or give you advice. You’ll be on your own. It can be chaotic.

The devil lives in chaos. He wants you to be too busy, overburdened, and overwhelmed. He wants you to be driven solely by emotions. He wants you to be filled with fear and anger and turmoil.

Your God, though, is a God of order. There is order in the days of creation. Followed by the order of creating man and then woman. There is order in how God planned everything so that at just the right time, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law.

Life will be chaotic. If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It provides a sense of structure. You accomplish one task, then another and then another. Making your bed reinforces the fact that little things matter. If you can’t do the little things right, you will never do the big things right.

Satan wants you to live in chaos. Jesus whispers in your ear, “Prove him wrong. Cut the chaos. Add order. Make your bed.”

2. Shower daily. As high school seniors, I don’t think I need to tell you to shower daily. But that wasn’t that way in middle school. Back then there were signs in the hallway like this that read, “Stop ignoring your two best friends!” It showed a picture of a shower and deodorant. The sign continued, “The rest of us will be very appreciative!” After a hard day at work or before a full day of classes, I’m sure your fellow students and workmates will appreciate you taking a shower.

The devil doesn’t really care about your physical hygiene or your smell. He wants you to get dirty every day with sin. Your sinful nature loves the dirt and filth of this world. Dirty words. Filthy images. Vulgar lyrics. Impure thoughts. Hurtful actions. Indifferent inactions.

Pray daily with King David, “Be gracious to me, God, according to your mercy. Erase my acts of rebellion according to the greatness of your compassion. Scrub me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin” (Psalm 51:1-2). You wash yourself by confessing your sin. Begging for God’s mercy. Then letting the forgiveness Jesus won on the bloody cross and the open tomb wash over you. Remembering your baptism.

The devil wants you to remain filthy with sin. He doesn’t think you want to be clean. Jesus whispers to you, “Prove him wrong. Shower daily in baptismal waters.”

3. Stretch. You’re young enough that with a little bit of stretching you’re ready to go. When you get to be your parents’ and grandparents’ age, it seems like no matter how much stretching you do, you will always be stiff. But you need to keep stretching to prevent injury.

As you age, you will be tempted to become sedentary. To doom scroll on your phone. To binge-watch Netflix while eating Cheetos. To play video games. To watch life on a screen instead of experiencing life in the real world.

Jesus wants you to get up and stretch. Not just stretching your physical muscles, but also stretching your spiritual muscles. Bow your head in humility. Fold your hands for concentration. Kneel beside your bed for prayer. Open your mouth for praise. While in church, stand to confess your sins and confess your faith. Sit to hear God’s Word in the Scripture lessons and sermon. Walk forward to receive the Lord’s Supper. Then go home and go into your workplace, move around, and put God’s Word into action.

The devil thinks he can make you sedentary. Isolated. Lonely. Lazy. Jesus whispers, “Prove him wrong. Stretch. Exercise your body and exercise your faith.”

4. Be present. Over the years I’ve had dads ask for advice. They have an opportunity for a promotion. It will mean more money, but it will also mean more time away from the family. Every one of those dads chose more time fishing, hunting, coaching, and hanging out with their family over the promotion. Moms have talked to me about remaining in their career while putting their kids in daycare or staying home to raise their children. Those who chose to be stay-at-home moms never regretted it.

Satan wants you to believe you can have it all. Career and family. To believe that quality time is equal to quantity of time. They are both lies. You must prioritize. You must sacrifice. When God blesses you with marriage followed with the blessing of children, your kids will need mom to nurture them and dad to train them. No one else will be able to know, care, and love your children like you will.

Satan wants you to be absent from your family. God the Father reminds you that he is present every day in your life. Quantity and quality of time. “You received the Spirit of adoption by whom we call out, ‘Abba, Father!’” (Romans 8:15). The Almighty God is your Father, Abba – Aramaic for Daddy. The only-begotten Son is your Savior and your Brother. The Holy Spirit is your Comforter and Counselor. Your Triune God is present every day in your life. Your graduation verse reminds you, “the Lord your God is going with you” (Deuteronomy 31:6).

Satan thinks you will forsake your family for your career. Jesus whispers in your ear, “Prove him

wrong. Your heavenly Father is present with you. Be a great father and mother and be present in your kids’ lives.”

5. Stand up to bullies. Bullies are the worst. On the playground. In the locker room. In the workplace. On social media. You’ll have bullies with atheist professors demeaning your Christian beliefs. You’ll have bullies as coworkers badgering you for your Christian conscience. You’ll have bullies on social media cancelling and doxing you for believing what Christians have always believed.

Graduates, when your grandparents were your age, Christianity was promoted. When your parents were your age, Christianity was tolerated. Today, our culture is antagonistic toward your Christian faith. This world hates you, hates what you believe, and hates who you believe in.

The biggest bully of all is the devil. Like any bully, the devil intimidates and insults. Like any bully, the devil has a gang that assists him in his dirty work.

Stand up to the bully of the devil and his demonic gang. Confront their lies with the truth of God’s Word. Swing the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God (Ephesians 6:7). Bullies back down when challenged. You have One more powerful than the devil, his demons, and this sinful world. You have the King of Kings and the Commander of the angelic army on your side. Jesus has already seen Satan fall like lightening from the sky. Confront the devil by reminding him he’s already beaten.

The devil is a bully thinking he can intimidate you. Jesus whispers in your ear, “Prove him wrong. Stand up to the bully.”

6. Don’t quit. The devil wants you to quit when you struggle. To give up when life becomes hard. To give in when the pressure is on.

The devil did everything he could to make Jesus quit. Mockery and shame. Piercing and flogging. Hell and wrath. But Jesus endured it all for you. Jesus didn’t give up on you. He did everything to save you. Now he is with you to make sure you do not give up your faith in him.

You may struggle. You may suffer. But nothing can defeat you. Nothing can keep you away from the eternal victory Jesus Christ won for you.” I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor rulers, neither things present nor things to come, nor powerful forces, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

The devil thinks he can make you quit. Jesus whispers. “Prove him wrong. My victory is your victory.”

7. Have courage. Everything I’ve said today is going to be tough. But nothing worthwhile is ever easy. I would often tell my four daughters, “If it was easy, everyone would do it.” God has called you to do something difficult, something unique, something special. To be his child. To be forgiven. To carry a cross. To love your enemies. To pray for those who persecute you. To speak God’s truth in a culture of lies.

Not everyone can do that. You can. God gives you the strength and courage to do it. Nobody and nothing can stand in your way. With courage, you can accomplish the goals God sets for you. With courage, the demons cower, and the devil cringes.

As you stand strong with courage, it isn’t just for you. It’s for your classmates, family, friends,

co-workers, fellow soldiers, and neighbors. It’s for those who come after you – your family, your nation, and those in the next 50 years at Shoreland.

The devil thinks you will cower in fear. Jesus whispers, “Prove him wrong. I will give you courage.”

Your graduation verse sums up these thoughts very well. God was sending Joshua and the Israelites into the Promised Land filled with bullies, who hated God’s people, who wanted them to quit. Yet God told them the same thing he tells you today, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid and do not be terrified before them, because the LORD your God is going with you. He will not abandon you and he will not forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6).

The devil is throwing you into a world that threatens to break you in half. He thinks you’ll quit. Stand straight, with courage, with defiance in your eyes, and listen to Jesus whisper in your ear, “I’m here with you every moment of every day. I know you can do it. I’ll help you do it. Prove Satan wrong.” Amen.

Be Faithful to the Point of Death by Pastor Klusmeyer

Be Faithful to the Point of Death

The Bible is a record of God’s faithfulness: from the very beginning when God promised Adam and Eve that he would send a Savior to the promise that Christ will return in glory. God is perfectly faithful and keeps his promises. But God has also given us some promises that cause us to struggle: the promise that we will face opposition and hatred for our faith in Jesus and the proclamation of the Gospel. Jesus warns us of this quite clearly, “You will be hated by all people because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved.” This has been the truth for God’s faithful people ever since the fall into sin. Wherever the truth of God’s Word is proclaimed in its truth and purity there has been opposition. Satan, the world and our own sinful natures despise being reminded of their wickedness and rebellion. People respond with anger when they hear that they are sinners and Jesus is the only way to salvation. We see this anger and rage demonstrated in the story of Stephen.

The story of Stephen gives us a powerful example of what it means to remain faithful to Christ in the face of persecution and even death. We will face hatred and persecution for our faith. We will be tried and tested. We will be hard-pressed on every side. But our Savior has also promised that our struggle is not in vain. Our victory is assured by his death and resurrection. We boldly confess his name because we trust his promise, “Be faithful to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

In the opening chapters of the Book of Acts, we hear about the rapid growth of the Christian church. On Pentecost, the Holy Spirit had come on the disciples, and they began boldly confessing that Jesus Christ had died and risen from the dead. The Jewish leaders fiercely opposed the preaching of the disciples. They had arrested the disciples several times and commanded them to stop preaching, but the disciples continued their bold confession even in the face of mounting opposition.

The Holy Spirit worked through preaching the Gospel, and many people now believed in Jesus Christ as their Savior. But there was a problem in the church. There were so many people that some of the day-to-day ministries of the church were being overlooked, especially the daily distribution of food to the widows. To deal with this problem the congregation chose seven men who were filled with the Holy Spirit and wisdom to assist the Apostles in the ministry of the church. One of these men was Stephen.

Stephen was filled with zeal for the Gospel of the Lord. He wanted others to know that by his perfect life, Christ had fulfilled all the requirements of the law. His death had been the ultimate sacrifice that paid for the sins of the whole world. But the bold proclamation of Stephen sparked fierce opposition. Many of the Jews in Jerusalem were deeply offended by the message of Stephen because he was speaking against their culture. They didn’t understand that he was proclaiming that the Law of God had been fulfilled in Christ or that God had freed us from the burden of sin and guilt by the death of his Son.

These men were not able to directly refute the message that Stephen was speaking so they began to lie and make false accusations against him. Satan still uses this attack against Christians today. The world claims that Christians are foolish if they believe that the entire Bible is God’s true inspired word. After all, science has proven that the world came into existence through evolution. Satan slanders Christians by claiming that Christians are hateful and bigoted when they preach the truth of God’s Word. He claims that it is unloving to preach the Law and show people their sins. After all, if God were truly a God of love he would not send anyone to hell. Satan also tries to undermine the truth that the only way to salvation is through Christ alone. Surely a loving God would provide many paths to salvation especially if someone is doing their best. Anyone who teaches that Jesus is the only way to salvation is clearly hateful and unloving.

What do we do in the face of these false accusations dear friends? I think all too often we stay quiet. We don’t want to be labeled as hateful, bigoted, or ignorant so we don’t confess our faith. We don’t want to be thought of as weird or strange, so we don’t talk about our savior. We are far too willing to make compromises with the world. Instead of talking about Jesus, we go along with the crowd. Instead of honoring God’s institution of marriage, we laugh or tell dirty jokes to fit in. Instead of honoring God’s name, we curse and swear so that others will accept us. Instead of defending our neighbor’s reputation, we join in when others are gossiping and making fun of others. Jesus says of his people, “They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.” And yet far too often there is very little that distinguishes us from the world.

How did Stephen respond to these false accusations? He was dragged before the ruling council, the same council that had condemned Jesus to death, and made a bold confession. He proclaimed God’s law to them. He reminded them how their ancestors had killed God’s prophets and how they had done the exact same thing to Christ! “You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him.”

Put yourself in Stephen’s place. Imagine that you are in a room filled with people who hate you and hate everything you stand for. People who want nothing more than to silence you at any cost even if that means killing you. Would you be able to boldly proclaim the message of God’s law? Would you be able to confess your faith even to the point of death? That situation seems farfetched in our day and age and yet this has been the reality for God’s church since the fall into sin. We will face opposition to our faith. We will be hated and persecuted for the truth we confess. But like Stephen will make a bold confession because we know the glorious victory that is ours in Christ.

            The leaders of the Sanhedrin were filled with murderous rage at Stephen’s words. They were even more enraged as Stephen confessed his faith. Stephen gazed into heaven and received a vision of Christ. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” Stephen was confessing before the very group that had murdered Jesus that he now sees Jesus standing at the right hand of God. Stephen knew and believed the message of the Gospel. He knew that Christ was both true God and true man. That he had offered his life as a sacrifice to make full and complete payment for the sins of the entire world. Stephen knew that he had been washed clean of all his sins by the blood of Christ.

            This is the promise that is ours as well. Your sins have been washed away with the blood. Your debt has been paid and you have been declared not guilty of all your sins by God. All of this has been given to you as a gift of God’s grace through your faith in Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Stephen knew this truth. Stephen also knew that by the resurrection of Jesus death no longer had any power over him. Even if he was killed for his bold confession he knew that he would receive the crown of life. This is why Stephen could confidently pray at the moment of his death, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” This is the certain hope that we have through faith. We are faithful to our Lord because he was faithful to us. God has kept all his promises, and he will keep his promise to give the victor’s crown of eternal life to us as well.

     The story of Stephen seems like a story of defeat and not victory. Stephen was killed for his confession. But it is truly amazing how God uses things that look like defeat to the world to prove his victory. The Jewish leaders did not win that day. They killed Stephen, but he received his eternal reward. The congregation in Jerusalem was scattered, but that allowed the message of the Gospel to spread out from Jerusalem to the very ends of the earth. And we also see the impact that the death of Stephen had on another person. There was a young man named Saul who stood and gave approval to Stephen’s death. That young man would become the Apostle Paul whom God would soon use to be his champion proclaiming the message of the Gospel to the Gentiles. God will use our confession as well to impact the lives of others. We are God’s messengers and witnesses, and we know that we do not need to fear the attacks of Satan or the world because we cling to the promise of Christ, “Be faithful to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

You Will be My Witnesses by Pastor Klusmeyer

You Will be My Witnesses

What does it mean to be a witness? Perhaps you think of someone who is called on to testify in a court of law. They are someone who either saw or had firsthand knowledge of a crime or an event. They may be someone who has unique and advanced knowledge in a particular area and can offer expert testimony on a particular issue. In a court of law, a witness is evaluated based on the trustworthiness of their testimony. Did they personally see an event, or did they only hear about it later from someone else? Are they someone who is known for their reliability? All these things factor in whether or not a witness is believed.

Jesus appointed his disciples to be his reliable witnesses. They were eyewitnesses of his resurrection and had learned the Word of God directly from him. After he ascended into heaven, he promised that the Holy Spirit would come upon them and give them power to testify about his death and resurrection. They would spread this glorious message of hope as they went out from Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria, and then to the very ends of the earth.

Jesus has called us to be his witnesses as well. We are not eyewitnesses to his resurrection, but we have experienced his love and grace. Our faith is built on the reliable testimony of his very Word. The Word he revealed to his Apostles and Prophets. His Word that he preserved through the centuries in its truth and purity. In his Word, we see God's gracious plan of salvation. He promised that a Savior would come to free the world from the sins of Adam and Eve. Jesus was the fulfillment of all the Old Testament promises of God. He is the promised Savior who was true God and true man.

In his previous book, Luke recorded all the words and works of Jesus. He wrote how Jesus Christ was born of a virgin and lived a perfect life fulfilling all the requirements of God’s holy law. We are shown the power of Christ as he performed miracle after miracle. And then we are told of the amazing love of Christ who offered his life as a holy sacrifice to pay for the sins of the whole world. After three days he rose again victorious from the grave and shattered the power of sin, death, and hell once and for all. He freed the world from sin and gave eternal life to all who believe in his name. This is the glorious message of the Gospel the disciples were to proclaim to the ends of the earth. And this is the message that has been entrusted to us as we follow the command of Christ, “You will be my witnesses.”

In the opening chapter of Luke’s second book, we are told about the last day of Jesus’s ministry on this earth. Jesus took his disciples outside the city of Jerusalem and gave them his final instructions. He reminded them of the things he had taught them and opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. Jesus was preparing them for their ministry as his witnesses. He knew the suffering and hardship that was in store for them as they began spreading the message of the Gospel into a dark and hostile world. He knew that most of them would eventually be killed for their faith in him. The Greek word for witness is martus which we get the English word martyr. Jesus wanted to thoroughly equip his disciples as they began the work of his kingdom. This is one of the reasons that we can have certainty in the resurrection of our Savior; the disciples were willing to suffer and die for their testimony about the resurrection of Jesus.

Satan wants us to doubt that Jesus rose from the dead. Satan knows that if he can undermine the truth of the resurrection, he can destroy our faith. Just as the Apostle Paul warns in 1 Cor 15, “For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.” This is why Satan worked so hard to destroy the credibility of the witnesses of the resurrection. This is why Jesus appeared so many times to his followers so there could be no doubt whatsoever that he had indeed risen from the dead. Luke tells us that Jesus appeared to his disciples over a period of 40 days and gave them many convincing proofs of his resurrection.

Our Savior knows the constant attacks his people endure. After all, he suffered and was tempted in every way that we are. He knows that Satan is constantly seeking to undermine our trust in his promises. He knows how Satan tries to convince us that the trouble and suffering in our lives are proof that God doesn’t really love us or care about us. This is why God has given us the testimony of his witnesses. They show us how God has kept every promise he made to his people.

As followers of Christ, we cling to the promises of God. We believe that our sins have been forgiven in Christ. We know that we are sinners and deserve only the wrath and punishment of God. We know that we can

do nothing to earn God’s grace or forgiveness. We cling to the certain knowledge that by his death Christ has made full and complete payment for all our sins. And we cling to the testimony of his witnesses that our Savior rose from the grave and defeated the power of death.

We also believe the testimony of those same witnesses who saw our Savior ascend into heaven in all his glory. The disciples were eyewitnesses to the coronation of our Savior as our glorious King of kings and Lord of Lords. Christ ascended into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God. As we face trial, hardship, and even persecution in this life we don’t need to be afraid because we know with absolute certainty that our Savior is ruling over all things for the good of his church. In his letter to the Ephesians Paul writes about the glorious power and majesty of our ascended Lord, “That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”

As the disciples watched their Lord ascend a cloud hid him from their sight. Two angels appeared and gave them a wonderful promise. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” The people of God have been waiting almost 2,000 years for the fulfillment of this promise. Christ will again return in all his power and glory to judge the living and the dead. On that Last Great Day, all people dead and living will be gathered together. Those who believe in Christ will join him in the glory of the new heaven and new earth where there will be no more weeping or crying or pain. But those who have rejected the Son of God will be condemned to the eternal fires of hell.

This is why Jesus has called us to be his witnesses to the ends of the earth. The return of the King is near at hand as Peter reminds us in 2 Peter 3, “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord, a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.” There are so very many who have not heard the message of the Gospel. They are ignorant of God’s will and foolishly believe that there is no punishment for their unbelief.

We have been given the very words of eternal life in the Gospel. We can be faithful witnesses of our Savior as we share that message with others. We can do this in so many ways as well. We can let our light and faith shine by showing kindness to others and reflecting the love of Christ in this sinful world. We can tell others of our faith as they see its impact in our lives. We can use our offerings to support the church as it trains and equips others for service as witnesses to the ends of the earth.

We know the amazing love the Father has lavished on us. We know the peace that we have in Christ because we are free from guilt and shame. We know that glory that awaits us in the life to come. We cannot help but tell others about the glorious message of the Gospel because we love to tell the story of how our Savior died and rose for us. Amen

Jesus chose to call you his friend! by Pastor Zarling

Jesus chose to call you his friend!

John 15:9-17 “As the Father has loved me, so also I have loved you. Remain in my love. 10If you hold on to my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have held on to my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11I have told you these things so that my joy would continue to be in you and that your joy would be complete.

12“This is my command: Love one another as I have loved you. 13No one has greater love than this: that someone lays down his life for his friends. 14You are my friends if you continue to do the things I instruct you. 15I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because everything that I heard from my Father, I have made known to you. 16You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will endure, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 17These things I am instructing you, so that you love one another.”

Dear friends, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God (1 John 4:7). Amen.

Nezamuddin “Nezam” Nezami was an Afghani soldier who fought alongside American troops. After what the New York Post called the American administration’s “botched evacuation” of American troops from Afghanistan, Nezam was trapped. The Taliban knew all about Nezam, who was now a marked man.

Nezam did the only thing he could do. … He texted Scott Mann. Lieutenant Colonel Scott Man is a highly decorated Green Beret who had fought alongside Nezam in Afghanistan. But now he was retired and living 8000 miles away in Tampa Bay, FL.

Mann called in favors and contracted a crack crew of military experts from the special operations community – some retired and some active. Together, they hatched a plan to bring Mann’s old friend to safety. As soldiers, they knew what “I have your back” means. It means they will do whatever is necessary to protect and provide for their soldiers. No one is left behind!

Mann vowed this would be one mission for one man.

Nezam could not travel with papers identifying himself. Nezam was known to be a hunter of Taliban. So, if the Taliban found him and could identify him by his papers, he would be executed on the spot.

So, to get Nezam inside Kabul Airport – which was chaotic with crowds – an American officer provided a randomly chosen code word for Nezam to use. He said, “Tell him to shout, ‘Pineapple’ and we’ll know it’s him!”

It worked! Nezam was saved! Four days later, Nezam’s family was also saved from certain death.

The setting of today’s Gospel has Jesus in the upper room with his disciples on Holy Thursday. Jesus was on a rescue mission. It wasn’t a mission to save one person. It was a rescue mission to save all humanity … to also save you.

Today, from Jesus’ words recorded in John 15, we see that Jesus chose to call you his friend.

Many non-Lutherans have this choosing wrong. They mistakenly believe you are to say a certain prayer, ask Jesus into your heart, and make your decision for Christ. They put the action on you. You are to actively choose Jesus.

But Scripture clearly teaches that you are by nature an enemy of God. The Bible teaches, “The mind-set of the sinful flesh is hostile to God” (Romans 8:7). Our sinful flesh is an enemy of God. The Bible also teaches that “While we were still sinners (enemies), Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

You did not choose Jesus. You cannot choose Jesus. You wouldn’t want to choose Jesus. As an enemy of God, you hate what God loves. You love what God hates. You hide from God when you sin, just like Adam and Eve hid from God in the Garden when they sinned.

Scott Mann went out of his way to save a friend. Jesus went from heaven to earth to save his enemies.

Jesus is the One who is active in choosing us. We have no choice in our faith except to say “no” to what Jesus offers. We sang a few minutes ago, “Lord, ‘tis not that I did choose you; that, I know, could never be, for this heart would still refuse you, had your grace not chosen me” (CW 581). You learned in Catechism class what Martin Luther wrote in his explanation of the Third Article: “I believe that I cannot by my own thinking or choosing believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to him. But the Holy Spirit has called me by the gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith. In the same way he calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith.”

Jesus teaches, “As the Father has loved me, so also I have loved you. Remain in my love” (John 15:9). God the Father loved you and sent his Son on a rescue mission.

When America abandoned Afghanistan, our administration and military leaders did not create an effective plan to rescue American soldiers and those Afghani people who were loyal to our cause. God had an effective plan from the very beginning. As soon as Adam and Eve sinned, God promised the Enemy, “I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will crush your head, and you will crush his heel” (Genesis 3:15). The Seed of woman and the only-begotten Son of God came to crush the Enemy’s head under his bloody heal. Jesus – who is divine nature and human nature in One – laid down his life for those who are enemies by their inborn sinful nature.

Today is the confirmation of six of our youth. As teens, they have sins specific to their age – lazy, indifferent, gossipy, and vengeful. They roll their eyes. Talk back. Don’t listen. Parents, you know what I’m talking about. But for the rest of you, you have sins specific to your age, too. You are lazy, indifferent, gossipy, and vengeful. You roll your eyes. You talk back. You don’t listen.

Jesus makes it clear, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will endure, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name” (John 15:16). There’s a reason Scott Mann chose to save Nezam. Love. There is only one reason Jesus chose to save people like you with your specific sins. Love.

There has been a concept throughout the ages that it is not manly to love. Men – young men, older men – that’s totally wrong! There is nothing more manly than love! Loving your friends so much you will not leave them behind to die. Loving your children so much you put yourself between them and the danger that threatens them. Loving your wife so much you will lay down your life for her.

Men and women, boys and girls, you love other people. Hopefully all those people you love also love you back. Jesus loved the world so much he laid down his life for the whole world – for many people who reject his love and refuse to love him back.

Out of all the billions of people that Jesus chose to love … Jesus chose you to love him back.

Jesus chose you in Baptism. When the pastor poured water over your head and spoke God’s Word into your ears, the Holy Spirt put saving faith into your heart. The Holy Spirit ripped you out of the devil’s hands at the font and placed you into the nail-scarred hands of your Savior.

In a few moments, our confirmands will be standing in front of the Lord’s altar. They will be making the same promises many of you made years ago. They will be promising to be faithful to the One who is faithful to them. They will promise to be faithful even to the point of death rather than fall away from their baptismal faith they are confirming today.

Then they will kneel to receive the Lord’s Supper for the first time. Jesus’ broken body with the bread and Jesus’ shed blood with the wine. They will taste and see that the Lord’s forgiveness is good.

Jesus told his disciples, “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because everything that I heard from my Father, I have made known to you” (John 15:15). Does Mayor Mason know you? Does Governor Evers know who you are? Does President Biden know your name?

The King of Kings knows you. The Lord of Lords knows who you are. The Commander of the angelic host knows your name. The Ruler of the Universe knows everything about you. And he’s working everything out here to get you to be with him there.

Jesus says you aren’t a servant in his house. You aren’t merely a soldier in his army. Jesus calls you his friend. He has taken you who were born his enemy and he has made you reborn through Word and Sacrament into his friend.

Don’t overlook that! Don’t ever forget that! The Son of God calls you his friend! As your friend, he talks to you in his Word. He invites you to talk to him in your prayers. Have a daily conversation with your Best Friend. Call upon him in every trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks. Lay your burdens on him. Give him your sins. He’ll give you his righteousness.

Jesus is the Best Friend you’ll ever have. He’ll never abandon you. He’ll never forget you. He has your back. No one is left behind. That’s why he went on a rescue mission to save you.

Jesus demonstrated his manly love for you by laying down his life for you. His love motivates you to love others. As your divine Friend loves you, now you are to reflect his love in your love for others.

Jesus didn’t take your sin so you could keep on sinning. The blood of God shed at Calvary is not divine permission to love whatever – or whomever – you want. It is forgiveness from God himself. Jesus put an end to sin. It’s dead, buried, never to be raised again by him. So as his baptized, forgiven, and bloodied people, we live lives of repentance. This is not a fun or pleasant life. It is a life of self-denial. A life of carrying a cross. A life of putting our family first. A life of loving our enemies. A life of being loved by Jesus. A life that flees from sin and flees to Jesus for forgiveness when we fall into that sin. The world hates this kind of love. But this is the kind of love that Jesus loves. That’s because you’re showing the same kind of love for others that Jesus showed in loving you.

Jesus teaches, “This is my command: Love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this: that someone lays down his life for his friends” (John 15:12, 13). Decades later, Jesus’ disciple, John writes to disciples, “This is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, if God loved us so much, we also should love one another.” (1 John 4:10, 11).

Operation Pineapple became a great success. It was designed to be one mission to save one man. But it became so much more. Sometimes it was too successful. It became an obsession for those involved, eating up family time, impinging on jobs. They put businesses on hold, one guy quit his job, another cashed in his kid’s college fund to pay for a safehouse. Operation Pineapple saved 700 to 1000 people who were in danger of being killed by the Taliban. It all started while Scott Mann was 8000 miles away so he could save his friend Nazam via texts.

Whatever the distance is between heaven and earth, that’s the distance Jesus traveled to save you while you were still enemies. It was the Father’s divine obsession from eternity to send his Son on a rescue mission. Jesus came to save humanity through his blood, sweat, tears, wounds, a bloody cross, and a dark tomb.

Though that rescue mission was to save everyone, it was also a rescue mission to save one. … You. Don’t ever forget that Jesus chose to call you his friend. Amen.

We love because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19). Amen.

Glorify the Father Through Your Fruit by Pastor Zarling

Glorify the Father through your fruit

John 15:1-8 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he is going to cut off. And he prunes every branch that does bear fruit, so that it will bear more fruit. 3“You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4Remain in me, and I am going to remain in you. A branch cannot bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Likewise, you cannot bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5“I am the Vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him is the one who bears much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. 6If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown away like a branch and withers. Such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8My Father is glorified by this: that you continue to bear much fruit and prove to be my disciples.

Dear children, let us love not only with word or with our tongue, but also in action and truth (1 John 3:18). Amen.

Have any of you read “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”? I believe it was God’s timing that I finished listening to the book last week because the story of the titular character Tom ties in so powerfully with Jesus’ words in our Gospel that he is the Vine and we are the branches. We are to be branches who glorify the Father through our fruit.

I’m going to give you some spoilers. But since the book was published 172 years ago … you've had plenty of time to read it.

In the beginning of the book, Tom is a slave owned by Mr. and Mrs. Shelby in Kentucky. The Shelbys are Christian people who treat Tom and the other slaves like family. In fact, as a boy, young George Shelby will sit on Uncle Tom’s lap in Tom’s cabin.

Mr. Shelby gets himself into debt, so he sells Tom to settle that debt. The book tells the story of Tom and other slaves in the South who were bought, sold, treated well, and treated awfully.

At the end of the book, Tom has been purchased by a vicious plantation owner named Simon Legree in rural Louisiana. Legree sees talent in Tom and wants to train him to be the head of the other slaves on his plantation. Tom is commanded by Legree to whip a female slave for being too slow in picking cotton. Tom refuses. He says to Legree, “I’m willin’ to work, night and day, and work while there’s life and breath in me, but this yer thing I can’t feel right to do – and, Mas’r, I never shall do it, - never!”

Legree replies in anger as he gives Tom a violent kick with his heavy boot, “Didn’t I pay twelve hundred dollars, cash for you … An’t yer mine, now body and soul?”

From the ground, with blood and tears that flow down his face, Tom exclaims, “No! No! No! My soul an’t yours, Mas’r! You haven’t bought it, - ye can’t buy it! It’s been bought and paid for, by one that is able to keep it – no matter, no matter, you can’t harm me!”

So Legree has two large slaves beat Tom savagely, attempting to harm him.

A while later, two female slaves escape Legree’s plantation. Legree knows Tom knows something. Legree decides he will either break Tom’s will or kill Tom’s body. He has the two slaves beat Tom mercilessly. Just before he faints from the beating, Tom looks up at Legree and says, “I forgive ye with all my soul!”

Just as Jesus prayed for those who crucified him, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing.”

The two slaves take Tom to a building. His wondrous words and pious prayers have convicted the hearts of the two slaves who had brutalized him so. They lay Tom on a bed of cotton and clean his wounds and give him a drink of Legree’s brandy. One slave confesses, “O Tom, we’s been awful wicked to ye!” Tom replies faintly, “I forgive ye, with all my heart!”

The other slave asks, “O Tom, do tell us who is Jesus, anyhow? Jesus, that’s been standin’ by you so, all this night?” With fainting but powerful words, Tom tells these slaves about the One who had set them free through his life, death, and everlasting presence.

The two men weep. One cries, “Why didn’t I never hear this before? But I do believe! I can’t help it!” Then the two confess together, “Lord Jesus, have mercy on us!”

The Holy Spirit converted these two men. Just as he converted the repentant thief on the cross who prayed to Jesus, “Remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Just as he converted the Roman centurion at the foot of the cross who confessed, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”

Tom was a branch connected to the Vine of Jesus. In life … and with his dying breaths, he bore the fruits of that connection to his Savior. Through those fruits, he glorified his heavenly Father.

Jesus teaches, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he is going to cut off. And he prunes every branch that does bear fruit, so that it will bear more fruit” (John 15:1, 2). Jesus is talking to believers – people who are connected to him by faith. But he also warns about cutting ourselves off from him. When we cut ourselves off from Jesus – that’s when we sin and can lose our faith.

One of the greatest evils in American history is slavery. Today, we may not hurt other people with whips, but our tongues can be whips that hurt people with our words. We can lash out at others with anger and unforgiveness. We can abuse others as we fill up our minds with all kinds of vengeful thoughts.

In theological terms, these are signs of commission. The sins we commit against God and our neighbors.

In theological terms, we also commit sins of omission. These are the sins that come from the good and godly things we omit doing.

In her concluding remarks in “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” author Harriet Beecher Stowe calls out Christians in both the South and the North for their sins of omission. She calls out the Christian slave owners in the South because even though they treated their slaves like servants or even family, they did not speak up or stand up to stop the horrible practice of slavery. Stowe calls out the Christians in the North who blindly said they were submitting to the government and returned escaped slaves back to their slave owners in the South.

Our sinful omission can be when we are apathetic and indifferent to others who are struggling and suffering. We can be impatient and unsympathetic toward those who are weak and hurting. We may not say a kind word, offer a smile, or lend a helping hand to someone for whom it could change their day.

These sins of commission and sins of omission happen when we cut ourselves off from the Vine of Jesus. And what happens then? Jesus warns, “If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown away like a branch and withers. Such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned” (John 15:6).

That sounds terrifying!

How do we prevent that burning in eternal hellfire? We stay connected to Jesus. And why Jesus? Because the Son of God left his heavenly throne to be born of human flesh and laid in a manger. He came to be connected to us because we cannot connect ourselves to him.

Because of his connection to us, Jesus allowed himself to be cut off from his Father. He was forsaken so we would not be forsaken. He was abandoned so we would not be abandoned. He endured the eternal hellfire during his hours on the cross so we might never have to fear one moment of those hellish flames.

For all your sins of commission, Jesus committed to do everything perfectly in your place. For all your sins of omission, Jesus never once omitted anything. On top of that, Jesus suffered, bled, died, and rose to pay for your past, present, and future sins of commission and omission.

The Holy Spirit has connected you to the Vine through his Means of Grace – the Gospel in Word and Sacrament. As branches, you are well-watered through the Waters of Baptism. You are well-nourished through the Lord’s Supper. You are well-fertilized through God’s Word. These are the Means of Grace the Holy Spirit uses to connect you and keep you connected as branches to the Vine of Jesus.

St. John writes about the fruits of faith, “This is how we have come to know love: Jesus laid down his life for us. And we also should lay down our lives for our brothers” (1 John 3:16). You’ll probably never push anybody out of the way from a speeding bus. But maybe you help your elderly neighbor clean his gutters. Or you help your neighbor who is a single mother by cutting her grass. Or you help your widowed neighbor across the street by bringing her a casserole and some conversation.

Jesus showed his big way of loving you by laying down his life for you. These are little ways of saying “I love you” back to Jesus. They are also little ways of saying “I love you” to your neighbors. These little things are like grapes on the vine. They are beautiful to look at. They are sweet to the taste. They bring joy to your neighbor. They bring joy to you. They bring joy to Jesus. … And they glorify your heavenly Father.

Jesus teaches, “I am the Vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him is the one who bears much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. … My Father is glorified by this: that you continue to bear much fruit and prove to be my disciples” (John 15:5, 8).

In listening to the 45 chapters of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” I was wondering why the author gave it that title. Tom’s cabin is only mentioned in the beginning of the book. But then, on the very last page, I finally understood the title.

The years have passed, and George Shelby is now a young man. He searches the South to find Tom. He finally finds him … on his deathbed of cotton. George hears Tom’s final words of resurrection faith. He buries Tom and returns home to Kentucky.

When he arrives home, George gathers his mother and the slaves together. He tells them of Tom’s faith, his final words, and his death. George then writes papers of freedom for all the Shelby’s slaves. Amazingly, the slaves beg not to be freed and sent away. The Shelbys have been good to them. They already feel free in their home.

George hands them the papers and insists they are now free. Free to go … or free to stay. If they stay, he will pay them and give them a home to live in.

Then George tells everyone, “It was on his grave, my friends, that I resolved, before God, that I would never own another slave, while it is possible to free him; that nobody, through me, should ever run the risk of being parted from home and friends, and dying on a lonely plantation, as he died. So, when you rejoice in your freedom, think that you owe it to that good old soul, and pay it back in kindness to his wife and children. Think of your freedom, every time you see Uncle Tom’s cabin; and let it be a memorial to put you all in mind to follow in his steps, and be as honest and faithful and Christian as he was.”

By God’s grace, Tom was a man connected to his Savior. By God’s grace, we are men and women and children connected to our Savior. Every time the freed slaves would look upon Uncle Tom’s cabin, they were to glorify the Father for their freedom. Every time we look upon the bloodied cross and open tomb of Jesus, we remember our freedom from the slavery of sin, death, and the devil. We bear the fruits of our faith shown in “love not only with word or with our tongue, but also in action and truth” (1 John 3:18). In these fruits of faith, we glorify our Father. Amen.

This is his command: that we believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and that we love one another just as he commanded us (1 John 3:18). Amen.