Printable PDF:  4-26-2020 Easter 03 Sermon

David R. Clark  ~  1 Peter 1:17-21  ~  May 26, 2020  ~  Easter 3

REJOICE IN YOUR RESURRECTION HOPE

¹⁷ Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. ¹⁸ For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, ¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. ²⁰ He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. ²¹ Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

Brothers and sisters in our living hope,

I know it wasn’t our usual Easter celebration a couple of weeks ago, but it was still stirring, wasn’t it? It was great to hear music and sing. The readings and the sermon were joyous. Even if the celebration was not as big outwardly, Easter was in our hearts, the place it matters most. We were lifted up by Easter joy!

But that was two weeks ago. Do you see how hard Satan is working to take that joy away with cancellations and physical distancing? This is nothing new.  Every year he tries to make us think that Easter is important only when we die.

So how do we show that Easter is more than an eternal life policy? How do we keep the joy? The believers of Peter’s time didn’t know what COVID19 was, but they still had struggles. Peter’s encouragement to them is still very good for you and me today.

1. By showing what is perishable.

People have to make decisions/judgments every day. People raise their children the way they were raised. They treat their spouse the way they saw their Mom and Dad treat each other. Success is usually how well they measure up or improve on that standard.

People also make decisions/judgments about their personal lives. Their attitudes and morals are shaped from those same traditional places or from our society. That is powerful.

But as popular as such decisions/judgments are, they can’t be ours. Why? A resurrected Jesus. Easter changes the very fabric of our lives. It makes what the world says, what is traditional, what is popular, not what is most important to us.

This is how Peter says it: (17-18) Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors,

Those traditional measurements are a problem. As common as they may be, God doesn’t judge you based on what your parents did or said. He judges you impartially according to his standards. Living according to those former standards he calls an empty way of life. They are no better than taking an opinion poll with all the people of Glendale asking them how someone gets to heaven. It doesn’t matter what the poll says. It’s worthless.

Peter wants Christians to see that all of these kinds of things are perishable. In other words, they don’t last. If you go into a grocery store and buy something that is perishable, you know it won’t last. They have to be refrigerated or they have a date on them because they don’t last. The world’s way of looking at life is perishable.

But how do we show such things are perishable? We live as if these things are not as important as everyone else does. That will make us stick out.  Peter says it means living here like we are “foreigners.”

Think what a foreigner is:  they speak a different language and don’t quite fit in. For us that means we are not led by fear and dread. We don’t look at the government as the solution or the enemy.  We are not led by rights, but by love. We don’t take people’s words and actions in the harshest possible way.

We recognize that we have a judge who will judge us on whether our lives show what is perishable in reverent fear.

2. By showing what is precious.

 If this was easy we wouldn’t need this encouragement. (19-21) [For you know that that you were redeemed] with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

Peter pointed his Jewish believers to a sacred symbol of God’s love. They knew a lamb without blemish or defect was a symbol of delivery from slavery. The blood of the Passover lamb was painted on the doorframes to keep the Angel of Death away. But Peter wasn’t pointing them to Passover. He told them that the lamb is Jesus Christ.

 Jesus, a man without any sin whatsoever, shed his blood not on a doorframe, but on a cross. His resurrection proved that our slavery to sin and its result, death, had been overcome. That makes his blood the most precious commodity in the world.

Rejoicing in resurrection hope means showing how precious that blood is. We live knowing the resurrection is a factual event that happened in the past that keeps our focus on the future when we shall live even after we die, just as Jesus did.

But that guides us every single day until we die or He comes again.  It makes every single day a day of rejoicing, another day of Easter hope. Every day is a day to recognize that what the world considers normal or precious, their silver and gold, is not the most precious elements in our lives.

It’s ironic that one thing this virus has done is forced us to see the difference between what we like and what is crucial. It has forced us to see what is necessary and what is unnecessary. Jesus’ resurrection has been doing that for 2000 years.

Easter may be gone for another year but our joy is not. Keep Easter in your hearts and in your lives so you continue to REJOICE IN OUR RESURRECTION HOPE.  Amen.

Printable PDF:  4-12-2020 Easter Sermon 2020

Pastor Mark R. Jacobson  ~  Revelation 19:11-16  ~  April 12, 2020  ~  Easter Sermon

Victory!

¹¹I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. ¹²His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. ¹³He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. ¹⁴The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. ¹⁵Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. ¹⁶On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:  KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. 

Victory!

The painting I have on my left is entitled “The Race Track.” Albert Ryder is the artist and this work hangs in Cleveland’s Museum of Art today. Its subtitle reads, “Death on a Pale Horse.” The horseman is alone on the track and is wielding a huge scythe. On the ground alongside the track is a big snake. Notice as you look at the picture the rider is going clockwise—the wrong way. The rider is going in the “wrong” direction so he can pick off as many people as he can. We know he will get everyone. That pale rider, Death, is coming after me. He’s got your friends and family in his sights. He’s going to catch you, too. He always wins or so it would seem to us in this world. The picture we have from the last book of the Bible is much different. The vision given to the Apostle John on the Island of Patmos was not “Death on a Pale Horse, but “VICTORY on a White Horse!”

1. Our hero is not dead, but alive, having defeated death.

Look again at what the Apostle John says, “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war.”

America has had its share of famous generals. Many of them are best known by their nicknames. Do you know the real names of these American generals? Old Blood and Guts, Stonewall, The Bear, Ike? (Answers: George Patton, Thomas Jackson, Norman Schwarzkopf, Dwight Eisenhower) Here’s the name of another famous general:  Faithful and True. His real name is Jesus Christ. Though we might not often picture Jesus Christ as a general, this is how he pictures himself in Revelation 19.

What a glorious picture of Jesus Christ! He is no longer pictured as a captive humiliated by soldiers. He is no longer beaten and whipped. His head is not bowed. Jesus had certainly died. As a matter of fact, after he was already dead, the professional killers stabbed him in the side to make sure he was dead. His body was then placed in a grave, sealed tight and guarded. The blood Jesus shed cleanses us from sin and not just our sins, but the sins of all the world. The victory over sin was made clear when Jesus shouted, “It is finished!”

Yet one more foe must be conquered:  Death! That’s what today, this Easter Day, is all about! Victory! The mighty rider on the white horse is a victorious rider. The body of Jesus Christ is not in a grave. The empty tomb made the women and the Apostles wonder what had happened. The resurrection appearances of Jesus Christ leaves no doubt. The Bible lists over a dozen different appearances of the risen Jesus, including one time when there were five hundred people present. Most of the gospel accounts, including St. Paul’s account of the resurrection, were written during the lifetime of thousands of people who were alive at the time of the first Easter. Many people knew about Jesus’ resurrection from personal experience. They saw the resurrected Jesus themselves, or they heard about the resurrection directly from people who had seen Jesus. Jesus defeated death. 

How important that is to all of us! Our country has recently spent trillions of dollars in an effort to defeat one virus. We spend trillions more to try to treat cancer, heart disease, and other health threats to life. Humanity does its best to push death away and the best we can do is a few more years or a few more decades. No one gets 100 more years. No one lives forever. Humanity can’t defeat death. There is no cure but one!

The empty tomb and the resurrection appearances of Jesus prove his words about death are true: Jesus once said, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die” (John 11:25). The one who believes in Jesus is you and me. We believe in Jesus. We will rise because the one who has conquered death said so. St. Paul tells us: “In a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality” (1 Corinthians 15:52,53). Our hero is not dead, but alive, having defeated death, and now we see in the vision given to St John …

2. Our living hero has all authority on the Day of Judgment.

Our lesson continues, “His eyes are like a blazing fire.” Mothers may have eyes in the back of their heads. Police write up detailed incident reports just in case they will need to appear in court. Jesus, his eyes like a blazing fire, sees everything. No one can hide from Jesus. Jesus is all-knowing. No one can run from Jesus either. Jesus is all-powerful. “On his head are many crowns.” The crowns on his head are not only from the world leaders who have willingly submitted to his authority, but also the crowns he has taken from those who have rejected him. On the Day of Judgment those who have rejected Jesus will feel his name. “…his name is the Word of God … Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations.” His robe dipped in blood is not his own blood shed on the cross, but the blood of his enemies who refused to live according to the Word of God. He will crush them like grapes. “He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.”  

If you ever had the idea that Jesus was too soft on sinners or too forgiving of his foes, think again. His eyes, his crowns, his robe, his sword, ultimately his name – the Word of God – will terrify impenitent sinners. This image of Jesus as a conquering general also gets us thinking about whether or not we are faithful and true. Are you a faithful and true disciple of Jesus – hanging on his every word? Are you a faithful and true parent – raising your child in the fear of the Lord? A faithful and true spouse – reflecting God’s love to your husband or wife? A faithful and true child – obedient to authority? A faithful and true friend and neighbor – loving your neighbor as yourself? A faithful and true employee or student – knowing God is watching you? Jesus did say, “If anyone hears my words but does not keep them…the very words I have spoken will condemn them on the last day” (John 12). 

The last day will be scary to some but not to us who believe in Jesus. True to his Word and faithful to his Father, Jesus took the place of sinners under the law and lived as our perfect substitute. He went to the cross and paid the full debt we owed God because of our unfaithfulness. True to his Word and faithful to his Father, Jesus says, “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears and believes in him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life” (John 5:24).     

3. Those with the rider are safe forever. Alleluia!

Our last section of Revelation reads, “The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean….On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:  KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” “The armies of heaven” are the holy angels. These angels have always served Jesus as faithful and true soldiers. They served as God’s messengers and protectors of God’s holy people. On the Last Day the angels will be spectators as their King conquers all of his enemies and establishes his new kingdom. We know Jesus is the King, and we know Jesus is the Lord, but who are the “of kings” and who are the “of lords”? We are!

It might be tempting to see the “of kings” and “of lords” as the defeated kings of this earth. Jesus is their King and Lord, too, but the Bible says, “If we endure, we will also reign with him” (2 Timothy 2:12). In heaven we will reign! No longer will sickness and death rule over us! We are safe forever. Alleluia! Even more, in heaven we will be in total control of our lives. No longer will we have to fight to take people’s words and actions in the kindest possible way. No longer will we concern ourselves with what others think of us or even of what we think of ourselves. In heaven our conscience will never again wrestle with right and wrong. We will be like the King! We have noble thoughts and pure motives. We will also have loving words and kind actions. Never again will hurtful words slip and fall out of our mouths. Never again will songs of praise be left unsung. “And when we’ve been there 10,000 years, bright shining as the sun, we’ve no less days to sing God’s praise than when we’d first begun.”  Amen.

Printable PDF:  4-9-2020 Maundy Thursday Sermon

David R. Clark  ~  Luke 22:47-48  ~  April 9, 2020  ~  Maundy Thursday

THE BATTLE IS PERSONAL

⁴⁷While he was still speaking a crowd came up, and the man who was called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him, ⁴⁸but Jesus asked him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”

 Brothers and sisters in Christ,

In February when I first heard the report about a virus in China, I didn’t pay much attention. When cases were reported on the East Coast, I noticed it, but it was far away. When our schools were closed and everyone was urged to stay at home, it suddenly became personal. Thank God for the help we have from our medical personnel!

As Christians we are always aware of temptation in the world. It’s easy to look at what is happening in society morally and see the danger temptation holds. But when we start seeing what temptation does in our own lives, it’s different. Now it becomes personal and it is clear we need some help in that battle.

This evening we consider just how personal such a battle is waged.

1. The struggle within Judas

It was right after Jesus and the disciples had their last meal together. They had gone out to the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives. When Jesus had finished praying, Jesus woke his disciples and “while he was still speaking a crowd came up, and the man who was called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him, but Jesus asked him, ‘Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?’” (Luke 22:47,48).

Judas went up to Jesus and singled him out for the soldiers by dramatically kissing him (a traditional greeting that would have been on both sides of the face). But the soldiers and Jesus knew what it really meant:  He was using the display of friendship to betray and hand over our Savior to his enemies.

By that time, Judas’ personal battle had already been lost. This is what we know about the temptations Judas faced:

• He had been helping himself to some of disciples’ money (John 12:6).
• Satan had entered into him and pushed him to go to the chief priests to get paid for betraying Jesus—30 silver coins on the spot (Luke 22:3; Matthew 26:15).
• Before the Supper: “As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. So Jesus told him, ‘What you are about to do, do quickly’” (John 13:27).
• Jesus had warned that one of the disciples would betray him (John 13:10,11) and had said it was a fulfillment of the OT prophecy. Judas ignored the warning.

To me, the most surprising part is that when Jesus told the disciples that one of them was going to betray him, they didn’t all look directly at Judas. “His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant” (John 13:22). The battle against Satan was a personal one for Judas and for all of his disciples.

2. The struggle within us.

Don’t we know how true that is? Maybe you know, but maybe you also wonder what kind of temptation Satan will use in your heart.” St. Paul said, “In my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?” (Romans 7:22-24).

There is a war here! We want to trust Jesus with all our hearts, but our faith is under attack. Our sinful flesh is weak. Maybe you get guilt flashbacks and you feel dirty and unworthy of Jesus. Could it be something going on right now? Are you living right now in disappointment? Perhaps depressing thoughts have been working against your faith causing you to lose your cheerful spirit to serve and give? Have you been getting spiritually lazy? And what about your prayer life? Do you see the temptation within?

3. Our hero loves us every day of our lives!

We have a warrior who can help us fight these battles and sneak attacks! St. Paul rejoiced: “Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:25).

There is a stronger hand than ours on our hearts closing the gate against Satan’s war within us. Jesus is the defense against our sinful flesh and Satan’s battle for us. How? Our betrayed Jesus never betrayed us! When Jesus voluntarily gave up his life on the cross, God cleared you of every charge. The only thing that God sees in you is the holy, perfect life of Jesus! He has made that freely available for everyone.

Jesus is the starting point in our personal battle against temptation. He has given us some wonderful weapons to help us grow stronger in faith, to become more like him, to brighten our vision of our final home in heaven, to give us a bolder life, to enlarge the daily joy we already have in him! There are two weapons in particular for our personal struggle against Satan and sin:

The first is his powerful Word with all those promises. God’s Word makes our faith stronger, and it even alerts us to the temptations of Satan! It’s both our armor and our offensive weapon (Ephesians 6).

Second, that special meal, the Lord’s Supper. Although we cannot celebrate it tonight, our warrior provides each of us personally with his true body and blood. Whenever I feel like I’m slipping, this meal points me back to Jesus. He gives me the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation that he has battled to win for me. My battle against Satan is personal, but so is this Supper:  My Warrior’s flesh and blood with the bread and wine to strengthen me.

The battle is personal for all of us. Our Savior’s help is just as personal. Walk with him, rely on him, and you will have all the help you will ever need. Amen.

printable PDF:  Lent 5 Sermon

Pastor John Ehlers  ~  March 4, 2020  ~  John 11:33-37  ~  Lent Midweek 6

Hidden Warrior

When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. “Where have you laid him?” he asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they replied. Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

We all boarded the plane at the same time. The flight attendant scanned all the boarding passes, and everyone walked down the Jetway. If you looked at the people, they all looked normal. But, of course, they were different: men, women, children, old, young, and from different ethnic backgrounds. When we were comfortable in our seats, the attendant welcomed us all on board and welcomed one special passenger. When she announced his name, most did not know who he was, but then she said that he was a veteran who had earned the Medal of Honor for his valor on the battlefield. We were surprised and clapped our appreciation.

Our theme for this Lenten season is about the Son of God going forth to the war that would change the whole world. But Jesus did not look like a warrior any more than the passenger on the plane did. Jesus as our great warrior walked among the people like anyone else. You could say that he was a Hidden Warrior.

1. He wept like one of us!

We are told that Jesus was like all of us. He got tired, hungry, and thirsty. When he was a child, he grew up like every other child. “Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52).

But there was one difference. He had no sinful nature and was completely without sin. When he was a child, it must have felt unusual to be his parents. He was always respectful, smart, and obedient, even when they lost their temper for the wrong reasons or were grumpy. They never had to give him a time-out or a spanking, and they never had to send him to his room without supper.

Peter tells us that we were redeemed (ransomed, purchased) from sin, death, and the devil “with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect” (1 Peter 1:19). He goes on to tell us, “[Jesus] committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth” (1 Peter 2:22).

Could you live a sinless, perfect life? I can’t, and neither can you. That’s why I am so glad that Jesus remained without sin all his life. When he gave himself for us on the cross, we can know for certain that his was the absolutely perfect sacrifice! There has never been a human being like Jesus! But you couldn’t tell he was sinless by looking at him. He felt compassion for others, he wept, and he even was angry when God’s house was turned into a market.

If someone had paid close attention, they might have seen that he was different. Every year Jesus went to Jerusalem for the Passover (Luke 2:41). As a 12-year-old preteen, Jesus went with his family just as they always had. But Jesus showed he had come for the battle to come. As he engaged the temple teachers in truth discussions, they could see that Jesus was a boy—he looked like your average sixth grader. But the words that came from his mouth gave evidence that he was much more! They were getting the first recorded peek at the hidden side of Jesus.

His greatness and his power were evident at times. On one occasion, this perfect Jesus arrived at the home of friends: Lazarus and his sisters, Mary and Martha, in Bethany (about 2 miles outside Jerusalem). Lazarus had died and been buried for four days when Jesus arrived. Mary was crying: “When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. ‘Where have you laid him?’ he asked. ‘Come and see, Lord,’ they replied. Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, ‘See how he loved him!’” (John 11:33-36).

What a caring heart Jesus has! That’s what caused him to cry real, salty, human tears when he saw the grave of his very good friend Lazarus. Even the people who were there to support the family of Mary and Martha could tell that those tears rolling down his face were real. They knew that Jesus had spent time with that family—they had eaten, laughed, and now cried together. Jesus felt their pain. It was a completely human thing.

You know what that is like. You have been at funerals of loved ones. Tears are the outflow of a grieving heart. The pain that comes from loss is very real. Jesus’ heart was as broken as yours or mine has ever been.

We have other tears to shed as well. Lent is a really good time to consider the pain we have caused others in our lives—how many times have our children been hurt by angry thoughtless words? How much irritation and anger have we caused because we’ve spent way too much time on Facebook, YouTube, or Internet gaming? How many tears have been shed because we’ve allowed our love for our family to shrivel and starve? How many times have we avoided the chance to start a conversation about Jesus and left another soul untouched by our Savior’s love? How many regrets do each of us have because of our sins?

Really, this church ought to have a box of tissues alongside the hymnals as we grieve over our sin. True repentance begins with sorrow (contrition). Lord, let it be so today!

We have something better than tissues to dry our honest tears! Because…

2. Great unimaginable power lies just beneath the surface of our warrior!

Those in Bethany at the death of Lazarus had questions: “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” (John 11:37). Jesus grieved because of the damage sin had done. Death wasn’t part of God’s plan for this world. It was introduced by Satan from outside our earth, and we hate it.

The friends of Mary and Martha hated it, too. They probably had heard—perhaps even seen—the recent miracle of restoring sight to the blind man in Jerusalem. Those friends were naturally wondering why Jesus had not used some of that healing power on Lazarus, his good friend. It’s the same question that was on Martha’s mind.

They asked because they knew there was something special about Jesus. We know that Jesus made the universe (Hebrews 1:2), which includes us! Think of the awesome power he has! Astronomers estimate that there are one hundred trillion galaxies in the universe, a number so big we can’t even imagine it, much less design it. They say there are more than ten million different species of animals on earth! Think of the unlimited creativity, brilliance, and power it took to make all that! None of this was an accident.

St. Paul writes, “Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness” (Philippians 2:5-7).

That means that the man Jesus is also the Son of God, the second person of the triune God. He’s NOT 50 percent human and 50 percent God. Rather, he is what the Bible describes as the God-man, 100 percent fully human and 100 percent fully God. Martin Luther said that trying to understand this was “like trying to illuminate the sun with a candle!”

This is the astounding truth: The eternal Son of God, when he was born in Bethlehem, added a second nature to his perfect, holy, almighty self. God also became a human being! “He made himself nothing,” literally means that he “emptied himself.” In other words, he set aside and put on the shelf much of his God nature. He hid his glory. But once in a while he peeled back the veil and let it show.

And this was one of those times. He told Martha that she would see the glory of God (John 11:40). You know the rest of this miraculous event. He called the dead Lazarus out of the grave. He showed a glimpse of the power at his disposal. He smacked death in the face and forced it to yield. Like a warrior practicing his skills before a great conflict, Jesus is getting ready for the final battle with Satan just a week or so away.

Look at the damage Satan has done and is still doing. His personal goal is to rob you of your faith, take away your hope, and see you burn in hell while he laughs in your face. He’s bigger than any human being can handle. That’s why God’s plan to save this world was so perfect. We have our sinless human Jesus as the perfect sacrifice for our sin. But if Jesus were just a perfect human, his life would only count as a sacrifice for himself alone, not for the rest of the world. He’d have to keep coming back and go through hell billions of times, once for each of us. But he is the all-powerful Son of God. His death was more precious than the death of one human. He is our substitute and the substitute of all humanity. His suffering and death was complete for each one of us! Perfect man. Perfect God. Perfect plan!

3. As both God and man, he fights for us.

Jesus called Lazarus his friend (John 11:11). His friend Lazarus was important to him. He also calls you his friend and has made you his friend by Baptism. How do you think he feels about you, especially when you are at a weak spot in your life—kids picking on you in school, your coworkers constantly critical of your efforts, your spouse giving you the silent treatment, or your friends abandoning you? Look at the cross and find your answer there. Jesus has your back.

You and I will continue to struggle in our lives. Maybe it’s physical pain. Maybe your heart is aching. We struggle with doubts about our faith. Sometimes God seems far away, doesn’t he? You pray, but it seems as if he’s not listening. You read the Bible, but it doesn’t seem to speak to you. It’s almost as if he is hiding. For now, he actually is hiding in plain sight in his Word and sacraments.

We are fully aware of the fact that the devil and his evil angels are circling our lives, looking for pounce points. But we know that God has made this promise to each of us: “The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). So picture this: With one hand the God-man Jesus is controlling our universe, and his other hand is wrapped around you. You can’t see it yet, because our risen Jesus, who fills the entire world with his presence, has chosen to remain hidden from our vision right now. But he’s there—always has been there. He’s working out his plan for you because you matter to him. The cross proves that!

He’s fighting for you each and every day. The Bible tells us that he is making all things in our lives work together for our good! Every prayer you have uttered as a believer has been picked up by him and personally delivered to our heavenly Father. He has assigned angels to protect us as the spiritual battles are waged for our souls.

The tears of Jesus over the death of his good friend show that he cares deeply. The cross proves it. And our risen Jesus assures it. You’re in the best and most powerful hands in the universe! Now he remains hidden, but his power remains through all eternity—for us now. You are in a mighty warrior’s hands! Live boldly with him! Amen.

Printable PDF:  3-25-2020 Midweek 5 Sermon

The Promised Warrior  ~  Pastor Lincoln Albrecht  ~  Isaiah 42:13  ~  March 25, 2020

Our Champion Is Committed & Victorious

They stood there, on the edge of blood. The Israelites assembled on one hill. The Philistines on another. Frightened men could find plenty of cover in the Valley of Elah, and the Israelite men were frightened. During the days of Saul, the enmity between the Israelites and the Philistines had reached a fevered pitch.

The Philistines were famously powerful, tall warriors from the southern part of the Canaanite coast. They had been a thorn in the side of Israel for at least 100 years. The Philistines inflicted some of Israel’s worst losses. They captured the strong-man Samson and gouged out his eyes. The Philistines, in one day, killed 4,000 Israelite soldiers. The next day, when the Israelite army brought the Ark of the Covenant to battle as a good luck charm, 30,000 men were killed and the Ark was stolen. The Philistines were organized, experienced in warfare, and armed to the teeth. The Philistines had thousands of archers, cavalrymen, and charioteers. From the days of Samson through the reign of King David, the Philistines were public enemy number one.

As they assembled there at Ephes Dammim (literally “The Border of Blood) these powerful people sent out just one man. A man who cut a frightening figure. Almost 10 feet tall and covered in bronze nearly from head to toe, he was hard to miss. With a javelin on his back, a sword at his side, a massive spear in his hand, & a shield-carrying servant by his side, he was more fortress than man. But for forty days—morning and evening—he dared the Israelites to fight him. He mocked them for lining up for battle, shouting their war cries, and then doing nothing. For more than a month straight, Goliath challenged the children of Israel. Choose a man and have him come down to me. If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects. But if I prevail over him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us.

For forty days, no one stepped up to the challenge. Everyone cowered in fear. Everyone except David. And you know how the story ends. In fact, today, Goliath, that massive and mighty warrior, is overshadowed by a small shepherd-boy. A boy whose own father didn’t think much of him. A boy whose brother questioned why he was even there at the battlefield. A boy whose own king underestimated him saying you’re only a youth, and Goliath has been a warrior from his youth. 

A boy who was so unremarkable, that—even though David had served as Saul’s personal musician, and had just tried on Saul’s own armor moments earlier—king Saul didn’t know whose son he was or where he came from. Yet, through this young man, the Lord delivered his people.

And today the story of David and Goliath is almost legendary. Sportscasters and political pundits reference it as they describe the fierce battles they cover professionally. Coaches and CEO’s leverage David’s victory for their own purposes, too. They hope to inspire the people they lead to see that plucky underdogs have their day when they are bold and courageous and determined.

While David vs. Goliath has become a rallying cry for many leaders ever since, so many have missed the point. David’s triumph over Goliath is not the story of a brave underdog beating the odds. David’s victory over Goliath is not about how one well-placed stone can defeat an imposing enemy. David’s victory over Goliath is about how God responds to the boastful and blasphemous defiance of the evil one. David’s victory over Goliath is an example of how the Lord rescues his people from evil. David’s triumph anticipates God’s greatest delivery when the Lord himself marches out to the battlefield and triumphs over his enemies.

The Lord our God draws upon these war themes in the words of the prophet Isaiah. Like during the days of king Saul, Israel was suffering because of their sinful choices…again! They had forsaken the Lord’s way and done what seemed best to them. And that created problems far bigger than Goliath…again. Problems that we face today, too.

Ever since Satan’s first strike in the Garden of Eden, the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve have been facing evils that are far more powerful and frightening than even Goliath and the Philistine armies were—sin, death, and the devil. This unholy trinity has waged war on every aspect of life in this world. They are the reason our lives are filled with so much pain and suffering. They are the reason that our world is filled with so much violence and greed. They are the reason that our own homes are filled with so much heartbreak and unhappiness.

And much like the Israelite soldiers in the Valley of Elah, we are too afraid to confront our foe head on. Deep down, we know we don’t stand a chance against evil that powerful. Not when we’re this weak. Not when we’re this overmatched. Not when we’re this mortal.

The truth is, on our own, we’re even weaker than we realize. More overmatched than we might think. Because the evil that dwells in our hearts and minds by nature—that predisposition to sin—is too much for us. For a moment, take your eyes off of the victories evil has won and is winning in our world and in our communities. Just look at your own past. Your own life. You will see personal battles against specific sins that seem like they’ve been going on as long as you can remember.

Each of us faces a fierce battle against a remarkably formidable temptation. Maybe it is against anger or lust. The fight against those fiery passions of the flesh doesn’t ever seem to really die down, does it? Perhaps you have a penchant for jealousy or greed or some other form of selfishness. Each time you see another person experience a measure of success, or receive some kind of blessing, you find yourself straining to rejoice with or for them.

It could be that you’re a very prideful person. You think you’re humble, but you’re most motivated to work when there is praise or respect to be won. You’ve always struggled to accept any criticism, to forgive those who’ve wronged you, and to pray without ceasing. Or maybe you are the opposite. You wage war against worry and anxiety. Your life is filled with poor choices made in an effort to please others. You’ve lived like a cat on hot bricks, stepping carefully everywhere you go. Always fixated on what people are thinking and saying about you. Your timidity has caused you to be silent in situations when you should have spoken up and to accept the unacceptable—and only now do you see all the damage that stems from your inactivity. Now you spend sleepless nights worried about this thing and that person. Even after hours in prayer—you feel exhausted, instead of soothed.

The battle against the evil in ourselves is fierce. And sometimes, just like the Israelites gathered in the valley of Elah, we are content just to draw battle lines, raise war cries, and hope evil will just go away. But it won’t. And God knows that. This is why he sent his champion. The one the Scriptures said would be David’s son and David’s Lord. Isaiah 42:13 – The Lord will march out like a champion, like a warrior he will stir up his zeal; with a shout he will raise the battle cry and will triumph over his enemies. 

Like David did for the Israelites that day, the Lord marches out as our champion, our representative. He stands in our place in the fight against sin, death, and the devil. Jesus had an unmistakable commitment to righteousness. Jesus faced all the temptations we face and triumphed over them. His love for people never became lustful. His righteous anger, of which we only see flashes, never wandered into arrogant wrath or pettiness. Jesus was generous and humble, selfless to the point of troubling and insulting his disciples. When his disciples thought little children were a bother to their Teacher, he rebuked them and said, “Let the little children come to me.” On Maundy Thursday evening, Jesus stooped down to wash his disciples’ feet. Peter took exception, but Jesus insisted, telling Peter that unless you let me wash you, you have no part with me. The Son of Man came to serve sinners.

In all situations, Jesus was never prideful, but also never was steered by public opinion. He didn’t stop eating with prostitutes, tax collectors, or other sinners because it affected his reputation. Instead he said: It is the sick who need a doctor. It’s sinners who desperately need a Savior. It’s those held hostage by the evil one who desperately need to be rescued.

Isaiah 42:13 tell us that the Lord in his zeal to win back those he made in his own image got mad and went to work. Isaiah 59:17 says, “He put on righteousness as his breastplate and the helmet of salvation on his head. He wrapped himself in garments of vengeance and zeal as his cloak.” And then he delivered us through weakness. By allowing himself to be arrested and mocked. He let temple guards take him captive and Roman soldiers make fun of him. He allowed himself to be whipped and wounded because there was no other way to deliver us from the evil of our sins. There on the cross he suffered for us and he did what even David did not. He died. But before he died he raised his battle cry. In John 19:30, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. By his death and resurrection, death was swallowed up. Our champion triumphed over the one who holds the power of death, the devil.

And we do not need to be afraid. We know we are weak. But he is strong. We know we are sinful. But he is righteous. We know we have lost, time and again. But he has triumphed. By God’s grace, through the faith he has worked in our hearts, we share in his triumph. All your guilt, all your shame, all your iniquities have been scrubbed clean. You are God’s own victorious child. David’s Son has won the victory and like David’s fellow soldiers, we pursue evil and plunder all the good things sin has taken away from us. Our zealous Lord has raised his battle cry. It is finished! Psalm 118:15 says, “Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous: ‘The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!’” He has triumphed over all our enemies. Now and forever. Amen.