We Believe in the Holy Spirit, the LORD and Giver of Life

Sermon on Ezekiel 37:1-14 Mt. Olive Lutheran  May 27, 2012 Pentecost Pastor Joel Schroeder "We Believe In the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life" 1. He Speaks to Dry Bones Through Prophecy 2. He Gives Life With His Breath

Imagine you were a Jewish priest in the 500s BC. Let's call you Ezekiel. Your life's a mess. Your fellow citizens forsook the true God, so God carried out his threat and let the Babylonians invade your country. You've lost all you owned. Solomon's Temple you loved and worked in has been destroyed. Your nation no longer exists. You and other leaders, including your king, have been deported from your beloved homeland 1,000 miles to Babylon. You don't understand their language or culture; you have zero rights. You feel powerless, helpless, hopeless, cut off. When you preach many respond with loud indifference--you may as well preach to dry bones. Israel's lament was: "Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off." It seems God's turned his back on you and his people, and isn't listening to your prayers. And if Israel doesn't exist, what about God's promise to send the Messiah from Israel? The prophet Jeremiah encouraged Israelites to settle down, build homes in Babylon, and do their best in this strange land. And Jeremiah offered this hope: God promises he'll bring back a remnant to the Promised Land after 70 years. But how can that happen? Israel's dead, a helpless corpse, like a bunch of dry bones scattered on the battlefield, bleached by the sun. All you have to keep you going is God's Word.

But suddenly, God has work for you. The Holy Spirit takes you to a valley full of very dry bones, maybe a battlefield. He asks, "Son of man, can these bones live?" You give a safe answer: "Lord God, you alone know." You know you don't have the power to make them live. You don't presume to know what God will do, but you know he can make dry bones come alive again. But instead of just commanding the dry bones to come alive, God involves you in giving life to the dry bones. "Prophesy to these bones and say to them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord...I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.'"  

You say what the LORD told you to say, and your ears and eyes hardly believe what they hear and see. The dry bones rattle as they come together and arrange themselves into skeletons. Then tendons join the sets of bones. Flesh covers the skeletons, then skin. Like computer-generated animation, or time-lapsed photography, piece by piece, layer by layer, from the inner bones to the skin cover, dead bodies are rebuilt. They look alive, but aren't alive, so the LORD gives you another command: "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.'" Again God's involved you in an amazing act of creation. As his Holy Spirit once breathed into dust shaped like a body and gave life to Adam, the LORD uses your words, your prophecy, to summon the Holy Spirit to breathe on the dry bones, now covered with tendons, flesh, and skin; and they get up and start moving like a mighty army of soldiers!

You wonder what it means, but you don't wonder long. God explains: the dry bones coming alive represent God's people Israel in captivity, who'll come alive at God's command, and be brought back to rest in the Promised Land, as his Word promised through Jeremiah. The LORD will save his people powerless in slavery well deserved for their idolatry. Then you'll know I've spoken. I've kept my promise. How comforting and full of hope that word-picture and those words must have been to Ezekiel. How comforting to anyone who heard Ezekiel's message or read his book. The LORD hasn't forgotten us. We're still his special people. The land of Israel will be ours again. The Messiah will still come. God's covenant to forgive our sins is still in effect. God delights in giving life to the dead. He is the resurrection and the life. Whoever lives and believes in Jesus...will never die. Preach my powerful Word.

Isn't what happened to Ezekiel what happens to us, and through us? We were like dry bones, dead in trespasses and sins. We had no power to listen to God's Word, believe it, and come alive. All power to do that had to come from the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit told prophets to write that message of law and gospel, and told others to preach it to us, and we came spiritually alive. The LORD spoke to our dry bones through the foolishness of preaching--through prophecy--and now we're spiritually alive. We're able to believe the gospel, confess our faith, love God and our neighbor, and prophesy to others: "Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Breathe into these slain, that they may live." And the dead husband, wife, or little sinners we conceive and bring into the world, or the guy at the cubicle next to us at work, or the old Hmong woman in Kansas City, Kansas, or the Buddhist youth in Thailand, believes in Jesus, comes alive, and lives. And will live forever. Can these dry bones live? Yep. And the Holy Spirit uses us to prophesy and give life to dry bones, to a remnant of lost sinners--unable otherwise to come alive. What a miracle! What a privilege that God uses us in that miracle! Sometimes we'd rather preach to skeletons. Skeletons can't talk back. Reject our message. Call us names. Laugh at us. But that's just what God call us to do. Preach to dry bones so they can live. And some come alive. God uses us to raise the dead. To create and give life.

Ezekiel's dry bones miracle is an appropriate passage today, because today is Pentecost, the day the Holy Spirit was poured on the disciples. On this day the LORD made 3,000 spiritually dead dry-bones Jews come alive through Peter's preaching. Imagine you were a Jew in Jerusalem that day. You would have come to Jerusalem to celebrate the festival of Pentecost, Firstfruits, the Feast of Weeks, or Shavuot. It was an agricultural festival to mark beginning the wheat harvest. Seven weeks earlier you'd celebrated Passover and another Firstfruits beginning of the barley harvest. In addition to other sacrifices, the priests offered two leavened loaves of wheat from the first wheat harvested. It was God's reminder all the land and all the grain was his. He'd take care of his people and give them all they needed, so he told them to offer the first wheat harvested to thank him, and trust he'd would keep his promise and give them more.

Of all the days of the year, why did God pour out the Holy Spirit on that particular day, the Old Testament festival of Pentecost? Jews in Jesus' day considered Pentecost the anniversary of the giving of the law on Sinai, which occurred in the second month after they left Egypt, probably the 50th day after they left. God gave his law and Israel made a covenant with him to obey his law The rest of the Old Testament is like a long rap sheet chronicling their offenses which broke that covenant again and again. On Sinai there was a thick cloud, thunder and lightning, the sound of a trumpet, and smoke like a furnace. Moses wrote in Deuteronomy the LORD spoke to the Israelites "from the midst of the fire,"  and "showed them his great fire and they heard the words from the midst of the fire." (Deut 4:36) Philo of Alexandria, a rabbi who was a contemporary of Jesus, taught this: on Sinai the flame sounded like breath through a trumpet, an articulate voice so loud it seemed to be audible equally to people far and near "in language familiar to the audience." Other rabbis taught the LORD's voice on Sinai divided into 70 languages, so all nations heard the law spoken in their own language. God offered it to the whole world, but only Israel accepted it.

Surely many in Jerusalem were thinking these things when suddenly there was the sound of a mighty wind, and what looked like tongues of fire sat on the heads of Jesus' disciples, and people in Jerusalem from many countries for Pentecost all heard humble disciples of Jesus declare the wonders of God in their own languages, languages those disciples hadn't studied. God was speaking to them from the midst of fire. Dry bones from all nations were commanded to come alive through the word of prophesy powered by the Holy Spirit. Peter preached a powerful sermon telling them they'd killed the Christ, but God raised him from the dead. And the Holy Spirit made dry bones of 3,000 people come spiritually alive through the forgiveness of sins. He gave life with his breath. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the and giver of life.

Jews before the time of Jesus also linked Pentecost with the year of Jubilee, on the calendar and in meaning. It's easy to see why. Jubilee was to come after seven sets of seven years--in the 50th year. Pentecost was to be celebrated annually after 7 sets of 7 days--the 50th day after Passover. They thought of Pentecost as a yearly reminder of what they were to do every  50 years-about a lifetime. Jubilee reminded Israel God owned the land, so they were to rest and not plant grain that year. They were also supposed to rest on Pentecost, because they could trust God to provide food for them, since the land was his. Jubilee, as you know, reminded them of God's saving acts by picturing blessings the Messiah would win for his people. They were to cancel debts in the year of Jubilee, for the Messiah's sacrifice would cancel our debt of sin we owed God. They were to return property to its original owner, for the Messiah would give us back the right to an eternal inheritance in heaven we forfeited by our sinning. They were to release slaves every Jubilee, for the Messiah would set us free from our slavery to death and the devil. Jubilee was a time for dry bones to live again, so it brought unlimited joy to hurting people: debtors, down-and-out landowners, and slaves. On the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit was poured on like tongues of fire, the apostles preached about the man the Jews had crucified, whom God raised from the dead as both Lord and Christ, and through whom God obtained full forgiveness of sins for all people. On the anniversary of the laws and sacrifices of the old covenant the Jews hadn't kept, Pentecost thus became the day to celebrate with joy the anniversary of the new covenant given by the Messiah. Old Testament Pentecost and New Testament Pentecost were joyful days because they celebrated emancipation.

Firstfruits  or Old Testament Pentecost was a day of waiting. You gave God the first loaves, waiting, confident he'd keep his promise and give you the rest of the harvest. For 40 years after God commanded Firstfruits or Pentecost to be celebrated, it was a holiday of waiting, too. Firstfruits was celebrated in the wilderness only in anticipation of the day when they would possess the Promised Land and eat wheat grown in that land. Israel waited 1500 years to see the Old Testament type of Pentecost be fulfilled 50 days after Easter. And for 40 days after Easter Jesus told his disciples to wait for the Holy Spirit to be poured out on the day we call Pentecost. Paul by inspiration showed another fulfillment of waiting for something promised, pictured by the pouring out of the Holy Spirit that day. He wrote in Romans 8:23 "...we...who have the firstfuits of the Spirit...eagerly await our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies..." As Firstfruits or Pentecost was a time of various kinds of waiting for God to keep a sure promise, the pouring out of the Holy Spirit into our hearts is a pledge God will keep his Word by redeeming our bodies as he has our souls when he one day raised our bodies from the dead.

Do you understand a little better what an awesome day Pentecost was for the Jews, and should be for us? Though the world pays it no attention, for centuries faithful Christians have considered it the third major festival to celebrate along with Christmas and Easter. We should rightly get as excited about Pentecost as we do about Jesus' birth and resurrection, because without the pouring out of the Holy Spirit, we'd still be a bunch of dry bones lying lifeless in our sins. It takes the Holy Spirit, the LORD and giver of life. He is our God and loves us as much as the Father and Son. His work of making us holy--sanctification--is as needed as the Father creating us and the Son redeeming us. Without the Holy Spirit speaking prophecy through fire, telling us about God's new covenant of grace through the Messiah, we couldn't believe, confess our faith, love him, or serve him. Without the Spirit we wouldn't have his gifts: the forgiveness of sins, comfort in suffering, the confidence to pray, or the hope of heaven. Without the Spirit we'd do no good works, produce no fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance). Without the Spirit the Word would be powerless, lifeless words of sinful humans.

"Prophesy to these bones and say to them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD...Prophesy to the breath...Come...O breath, and breathe into these slain that they may life...[and] they came to life..." The dry bones Ezekiel saw come alive pictures what happened to Israel when God brought them back from Captivity in Babylon. It pictures what happened in Jerusalem when God poured out the Holy Spirit speaking through fire, and 3,000 spiritually dead Jews came spiritually alive. It's a good picture how God the Holy Spirit came into us, brought us to spiritual life and causes us to wait patiently for the day our bodies will also be raised. It's a good picture the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, wants to use us to speak to dry bones through prophecy, so he can give life with his breath to more people redeemed by Jesus blood. What power that Word has as the Holy Spirit speaks through us from the midst of the fire. At Christmas we say: "Merry Christmas." On Easter we say: "Happy Easter," or "the Lord has risen." What can we say on Pentecost? How about this: "Breath and Life." Today on Pentecost, we celebrate because the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life: Speaks to Dry Bones Through Prophecy, and Gives Life With His Breath. AMEN

Choose Your Building Materials Wisely

Sermon on 1 Cor. 3:10-23  Mt. Olive Lutheran  May 24, 2012  Graduation Pastor Joel Schroeder "Choose Your Building Materials Wisely" 1. You Have the Right Foundation 2. Fire Will Test Your Work

Whew! Kira! Eight years of elementary school, done! I know how you feel. Years ago I completed elementary school, high school, college, and seminary. It's good to pass another milestone. You can look back on years of effort--hours memorizing Bible passages, catechism, and hymns; completing science and art projects, learning spelling lists and taking tests, writing essays, and solving long division problems. Sort of like when a construction crew completes a building and celebrates the occasion. But your construction project isn't finished. We expect you'll live a few more years. but don't know when you'll die or when Jesus will come back to end this world. How you live your life, and your spiritual life, is like building a building, and you have more building to do--perhaps much more. That's why Paul tells us and you tonight: "Choose Your Building Materials Wisely." You can be thankful You Have the Right Foundation. But know this...Fire Will Test Your Work.

Having a good foundation is very important in a building. The Church of the Italian, or Leaning Tower of Pisa, has demonstrated that for over 800 years. About 190 feet tall, this 7-storey bell tower next to a cathedral took 177 years to build because of war and other delays. But right from the start, it started to lean. It's top was moving sideways at a rate of a 1/20th inch per year and was once 17 feet out of plumb. It would have fallen over unless something were done. About 20 years ago engineers removed a lot of soil from under one end, added 800 tons of lead counterweights, and anchored the tower with huge steel cables. When they removed more soil in 2008 the tower stopped moving for the first time in its history. The name of the town gives a clue to the problem. Pisa means "marsh land." The tower was built on a 10-foot deep foundation, on water-logged soil! That poor foundation couldn't support the building's 16,000 tons of white granite and 7 huge bells. Now it supposedly won't fall over for 200 years.

Kira, you and all true Christians are building on the right foundation, solid bedrock. You know your Bible well enough to know what I'm talking about. Jesus told a parable of two builders. One built his house on sand, and one on a rock. When storms came, the house built on sand was destroyed, but the one built on bedrock endured. The Bible shows that solid bedrock foundation is Jesus Christ. Isaiah wrote about the Messiah: "Behold, I lay in a stone Zion a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, for a sure foundation; the one who  trusts will never be dismayed." Paul told the Ephesians they were God's building, "...built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone." Paul was instrumental in laying that foundation at Corinth, too: “I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” He ruled out any other foundation as a viable alternative to build one's life on: "For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.” 

That's why our school and church exist. So you and all who gather here or learn in our school's classrooms build their lives and base their only hope for eternal life on Jesus.  Even if you forget everything else you learned in all the years you spent in our school--what 10 times 11 equals, when to use a semicolon, every tip for good spelling--I know you love spelling--your state capitals and Great Lakes, atoms and electrons, key signatures, who painted "Starry, Starry Night," and how to high jump 4'8", don't you dare forget who Jesus Christ is, and what he's done for you! Because if God takes away all your great physical and mental abilities, but leaves you trusting in Jesus, you'll still inherit eternal life and have a glorious life--no matter what you don't have. Of course, we want you to do your best in life, use your gifts wisely, have a good marriage, and raise productive, well-adjusted kids, and find much satisfaction in life. But the most important thing we've taught, and re-taught you, is the good news Jesus lived, died, and rose again so God the Father could declare you "not guilty" on the Day--Judgment Day. You know you're a saint through Jesus.

God set that foundation in place at your baptism. It was strengthened when you heard and learned God's Word. You heard stories handed down by the prophets. You learned about Jesus from the Evangelists and Apostles. The Apostles explained and applied God's law and gospel to you. That Word convinced you you're a sinner who'd have no hope, and deserved to have no hope because of your sins, and the good you couldn't do, except for the grace and mercy God showed in Christ, his Son.

People build on other foundations. False gods, works, their intelligence, education, science, government, materialism, pleasure, their achievents, money, and the love and goodness of other people. They've put their trust, love, and efforts into these things and find how empty they can be. They don't give lasting peace or joy in this life. They don't take away the pain from living in a sinful world. They don't solve the problems of sinners living with sinners. And they don't take away guilt, or the fear of death. So don't let anyone talk you into giving up this foundation of your faith and life. Don't surrender your relationship with Jesus to please any man or other person. Don't let any activity or pleasure of this life, anything competing for your time, attention, and love, crowd Jesus out of first place in your heart. If you do, when death or judgment comes, if anything besides Jesus becomes the foundation you built your life on, you'll hear Jesus say to you, "Depart from me you cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels."

The amazing thing you've learned from your grandparents, parents, pastors, and teachers is that this foundation doesn't cost a thing. It's free. It's a gift. God did it all for you and says, "Take it. It's yours." And no matter what you face in life: health crises, career difficulties, failed relationships, heartache over marriage or children, money troubles, natural disasters, war, oppressive government, persecution, your building will stand. You'll be OK because you'll know the truth you learned and re-learned: "Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so." And if you ever doubt that, remember your parents had you baptized, and God laid that foundation. Pick up your Bible, Bible history, or Catechism and read what you learned there. Remember what Miss Krause, Mr. Rundgren, Pastor Zarling, I, or your parents and grandparents taught you. And you'll find peace that comes from sins forgiven, and joy that lifts the soul to heaven. Ford Motor Company used to say "Quality is Job One." Not for Mt. Olive School and Church. Jesus is Job One. Laying Jesus as a rock-solid foundation and teaching about him to make sure that foundation remains and endures. Nothing will please us more. Each of us has been building on that solid foundation of Jesus God laid in your life. Now others will build more on that foundation.

God is the master architect behind the building of your life. So it would be wise to listen to him as you lay other building materials on top of the rock-solid foundation of Jesus Christ. "If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames."

If you were building a building to be fireproof, you'd carefully selecting fireproof building materials. Did you ever see a burned home or cabin, and all that remained was the brick or stone fireplace and chimney? The rest of the building was probably made of wood. Wooden buildings can stand strong against the weather--even high winds. But not against fire. Some materials are superior to others for certain tasks. That's why cities have building codes--to give a reasonable assurance buildings won't cave in or start on fire due to faulty construction. In the old movie The Towering Inferno, sub-par building materials were used to cut costs. Overloaded circuits caused the high rise to catch fire the day it opened. Scrimping on building materials proved very costly when the building was consumed by fire and many lives were lost.

Paul mentions six building materials: the first three are much more expensive (gold, silver, precious stones) than the last three (wood, hay, straw). Each can be useful, depending on what you use them for. The first three would survive a fire, the last three would be burned up. Gold and silver actually become more precious when they are put in a fire and impurities are removed. When fire swept through an ancient town in Paul's day, many of the buildings might be burned to the ground. The only thing left standing might be a temple built of large stones, with its silver and gold ornamentation.

As we build the temple of our lives, we need to use building materials that last even beyond the fires of Judgment Day.  Human philosophies may be interesting to study in high school or college. but they won't make it past Judgment Day. They'll be consumed in the fire. Don't build your life on them. Evolution is the darling of many intelligent people today. Don't you buy into it. It won't make it into heaven. It will be shown to be foolishness. It will be burned up. "Live a good life, and you'll be OK and make it to heaven" may be what most people believe. On Judgment Day it'll be shown to be the spirit of anti-Christ. Those who espouse it will be eternally condemned. Reason is a great gift, but it dare not become the ruler of your heart. On Judgment Day all will see reason as something God gave us to use, but not abuse by putting it above him and what he tells us. Kira, you're a very bright girl, but don't let sinful pride or boasting ever convince you you're smarter than God, the Holy Spirit, God's Word, or the simple truths you learned from godly parents and teachers at Mt. Olive. "For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight. As it is written, 'He catches the wise in their craftiness.'"

A woman said a troubling thing to me about a half year ago. "I guess I'm not good enough for your church." She didn't think we wanted her here, or that she belonged here. When I asked her what she meant, she said she didn't like to hear us identify other teachings as false doctrine, and those who espouse them as errorists. But isn't that what Paul's telling us to do? He doesn't want us to pretend every religious teaching is of the same quality. They're not all fireproof, quality building materials. Paul's indicating Christians faithfully using and studying God's Word can figure out what teachings will survive Judgment Day, and which ones will be burned in the fire.  We can determine whether a statement agrees with what Moses, Isaiah, David, Daniel, Jesus, Peter, John, and Paul wrote, or not? If it does, believe it, and strive to live by it. If it doesn't, identify it as false doctrine, reject it, and warn other people not to believe it or live by it.

It's not a game: How many false ideas can I accept and still be saved, provided I still believe in Jesus? Paul says all who believe in Jesus as their Savior will still be saved, even if they build on Christ with poor building materials--some false doctrine. But some who once believed will lose their faith, their solid foundation of Jesus, when they carelessly use flammable building materials--false doctrines. A lot of smart, self-confident people think they could play harmlessly with fireworks. Some can; others lose fingers, or their lives. Don't be so foolish as to mess around with the fireworks of false doctrines by attending churches you know have false teachings--because someone you know or love goes there, or you like their music, or it's close by, or they're friendly, or they have activities you or your kids find attractive or fun.

A missionary couple were returning to America to retire after spending many years spreading the gospel in Africa. When their ship got to New York they were tired, poor, and discouraged. Teddy Roosevelt was on their ship, coming back from a big-game hunt in Africa. Roosevelt was welcomed by a band and great fanfare; the missionary couple was ignored. The husband got more and more upset. They'd given their lives to serve the Lord but nobody gave two hoots about them. His wife suggested he go to the bedroom and tell the Lord about his bitter discouragement. He emerged a short time later with a smile on his face. "What happened?" asked his wife. "I complained to the Lord no one met us as we returned home. When I finished, it seemed the Lord put his hand on my shoulder and said, 'But you are not home yet.'"

Be careful how you build, Kira. Don't let anything move you from the foundation your faith is built on, Jesus Christ. Be careful what building materials you use--what other teachings you let into your mind and accept as true. Make sure they're fireproof--that they'll be shown to be true by our God when you stand before him when you die, and on Judgment Day.  Don't let your good mind, your reason, be corrupted by sinful pride, but always humbly accept in faith whatever agrees with the teaching of Scripture. Then you'll bring honor to your parents, the teachers and pastors of Mt. Olive Evangelical Lutheran School--and more importantly--to your Savior. You'll be a building of great beauty--a regular Taj Mahal, lived in by the Holy Spirit. And you'll hear your Savior tell you that building on the right foundation with quality building materials was certainly worth it, when he tells you, "All things are yours." Now that's a successful graduate. AMEN.

Die Like a Man - the God Man

May 20, 2012                    Acts 7:54-60               Mt. Olive, Overland Park, KS

            Stephen, the first martyr, faced  the last hour of his life with the dying words of Jesus’ on his lips.  If we  are conscious enough do so, would that we all had the heart of Jesus and the example of Stephen on our minds as we face, our end.  Here are the last words of a few other people before they died.  See if you think they died like a man, like Stephen. Timothy Leary, professor and drug abuser advocate for legalizing LSD said “Why not?  Yeah.” The last words of Dylan Thomas, a Welsh poet and writer were, “I’ve had 18 straight whiskeys. I think that’s the record;”  Or this from Joan Crawford an actress: After uttering a curse she said, “Don’t you dare ask God to help me.”  Spoken when her nurse began to pray for her on her death bed. And finally this one, “I know you have come to kill me.  Shoot, coward, you’re only going to kill a man.”  Che Guevara, Bolivian revolutionary in the 60’s, spoken to his assassin. They sound kind of macho and tuff, dying like a man - according to the world’s standards at least.  But not Gods. They hardly merit comparison to the dying words of the godly Stephen spoken from a heart of faith.  Because he didn’t just die like a man.  He “Died Like the God-Man.”  (I) With an eye on the glory that awaits; (II) With a heart of forgiveness to those who wronged him.

            Stephen was the first martyr in the New Testament church.  He was one of the seven deacons chosen by the church in Jerusalem to help the Apostles with the daily administration duties of the church so the apostles could concentrate on preaching the Word and prayer.  The Bible says that Stephen was “a man full of God’s grace and power who did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people.”  Stephen stood out as a man of God so much that opposition against him arose from unbelieving members of the Synagogue of Freedmen as it was called.  They argued with Stephen but they couldn’t stand up against his wisdom and spirit.  So they hired false witnesses to accuse him of blasphemy and he was brought before the Sanhedrin.  Asked to testify on his own behalf Stephen gave a powerful speech of how God had worked through history to guide His people until the coming of the Savior.  Then Stephen concluded his testimony by fearlessly denouncing these leaders as stiff necked people who just like their fathers always resisted the working of the Holy Spirit, killed the prophets, and now even betrayed and murdered the Righteous One whom God sent to fulfill His promise of a Savior.  They, who had received the Law, but not obeyed.  And that was it.  Enraged they heard enough.  That’s where our text begins.  “When they head this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him.  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.”  At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him.” You can almost understand their fury.  Here this godly, devout man condemns them in no uncertain terms for their godlessness in not listening to what God says, and calling them murderers for putting to death the One God sent to be their Messiah.  And then He says, “I see God, and the One you murdered standing at the right hand of God in heaven.”  As if to say, boy did you mess up.  You are going to have to answer to God;  the very One your murdered is right there with Him, and is going to be your Judge.

            People don’t like to be called out like that.  Even we as Christians sometimes let out old Adam get the best of us and get upset if someone points out our sin and rebukes us.  Do you always take it kindly and appreciate it when your parents, or your spouse, or the elders or a pastor admonish you for what you know in your heart is not right?

            But our text this morning is not so much about Christian rebuke.  It’s more about Stephen dying like a man - the God man, with his eyes on the glory that awaited him.  Serving the Lord Jesus amid the crosses of this life, while awaiting the glory that God promises His children, is what Stephen’s life was all about.  And, now, as the hour of his death approached, God literally opened his eyes to see the glory that was waiting for when this lynch mob was finished with another act of hate inspired murder. That was dying like the God-Man, Jesus because before He died God the Father gave Jesus a foretaste of the glory that awaited Him on the mount of Transfiguration, to strengthen Him for the suffering and death that lay before Him.

            I don’t know how many of us will ever face being put to death like Stephen because we stand up for our faith.  It happens with much greater frequency in other areas of the world where non-Christian societies prevail, and especially the Islamic world where hatred for Christianity inspired by sharia law leads to beheadings and other persecutions of those who confess Christ.  And the closer we get to the end of the world, and our society abandons Christian ideals and tries to minimize Christian influence, the more such extreme trials of faith will await us. Recognize what is happening when it does.  Prepare you kids.  And be ready to die like the God-Man.

            Even if it never happens to you God would have you still live your life, and be ready to die when He calls you, with an eye on the glory that awaits.  And I’m not talking about those stories you hear once in a while about a person on their death bed seeing the angels coming, or the light and glory of heaven beckoning him. Be that as it may, the readiness to die as a child of God in more normal circumstances starts with letting God help you remember the glory that awaits; the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God waiting to receive you escorted by angels to the realms of eternal glory.  We talked about famous last words  of dying men at the beginning this morning.  It was not his last words that my father spoke when he was diagnosed with terminal cancer 28 years ago this August.  He still lived nearly three months after that and there were other conversations and devotions when we had with him.  But as he sat there in a wheelchair in the hospital lobby with IVs and tubes going into him and my family gathered around him, he said the last two things I can specifically remember him saying.  One was to his five year old grandson as he put his hand around his waist, “You be a good boy.”  And the other was to all of us as we silently grieved over the terminal condition he faced and he emphatically said, “Don’t lose sight of the glory.”  Those were his famous last words to me.  God’s Word says to all of  us, “Here we do not have an enduring city…we are looking for the city that is to come.” (New Jerusalem). Jesus said, “I am going to prepare a place for you.”  Paul wrote, “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness which the Lord the righteous Judge will give me at that day, and not to me only, but to all them also who love his appearing.”   When your time comes, may God’s Word to all of us, help you to die like the God-man with your eyes on the glory that awaits. 

            That’s the easy part.  The other part is easy, also, unless we let our old Adam have too much say in how we feel.  And that’s the attitude we take towards when we’ve been wronged. How would you feel if you were Stephen and these unbelieving men were furious with you and wickedly dragged you out of the city to stone you?  Would you pray, “Lord Jesus, avenge me of my enemies?”  That would not be a prayer of unbelief.  It could, also, be a prayer of a child of God, leaving vengeance against injustices in the hands of God.  But as God’s child you would still be forgiving, like Stephen.  “While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”  Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” When he had said this, he fell asleep.”  Stephen died like the God-Man with a heart of forgiveness to his enemies. 

This can be a struggle for our flesh. We don’t’ by nature feel compassion and forgiveness for those that wrong us.  There is anger, and sometimes if we don’t deal with it appropriately, it turns into bitterness.  And it sours us on just about everything else in life. They say, correctly, that when we hold on to grudges and let bitterness grow, the one we hurt the most is ourselves.  We hurt ourselves by infusing into our own hearts a negative, unhappy spirit that spoils just about everything else in life.  It prevents us from enjoying so many of God’s blessings in the way of friendship, and companionship, and harmony and trust in others.  We hurt ourselves even worse by allowing to rule in our hearts a spiritually draining emotion that does not easily lay hold even of God’s forgiveness for us; and feels no desire to keep the promise we make when we pray, “And forgive us our trespasses, we forgive those who trespass against us.”  Enjoying God’s forgiveness to be at peace with God feeds a sound, emotionally healthy spirit that can enjoy life.  And having a forgiving attitude towards others, even when the wrong us the way they did Stephen, is the way we can keep a positive spirit.  Without letting the wrong of others drag us down, we  lean on the right of a forgiving heart to let it go, and let the evils of life be someone else’s woes to carry.  If they are not sorry for what they have done, or if they are not ready to accept your apology when you have wronged them, if they won’t let it go and continue to carry grudges for wrongs, or perceived wrongs, or the way you admonish their wrong, let that be their problem, not yours.  You forgive, and be released of all that to enjoy God’s forgiveness and the peace filled life that goes with it.  Let God take care of the wrongs.  “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”  You forgive as I have forgiven you, God says to us.  And then you can live your life, and face your death with no burdens on your heart still dragging you down. 

When Maximilian the Emperor of Mexico faced his executioners in June of 1867 he said, “ I forgive everybody; I pray everybody may also forgive me, and my blood which is about to be shed bring peace to Mexico.”  He forgave his enemies about to execute him in hopes that it would bring peace to his people.  Not a bad comparison, not only to Stephen, but to the God-Man Himself.  Jesus died to forgive everybody and bring peace to His people.

            When He died Jesus said, “Father into your hands I commend my spirit.” The same spirit, and practically the same words that Stephen prayed here. “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”   Before that Jesus had prayed for those who were executing Him, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.’  Again, the model for Stephen who cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them,” and also for us.  But Jesus is more than the example for us on how to die like the God – Man.  He is the source of our hope for when we die because He is the God-Man gained our forgiveness before God.  His death succeeded in bringing peace to His people.  The forgiveness of God’s enemies is possible because Jesus paid for our sins with His death, reconciled all the world to Himself through the blood, rose again from the dead to prove His victory over death, and ascended into heaven telling his followers to take this message of forgiveness of sins, life and salvation in His name to all the world. 

Did Jesus succeed in what He prayed for when He died.  Certainly. You and I can forgive our enemies, and face our death without fear, and without guilt, and look forward in hope to the glory that awaits us when we die because in Him we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins.”  And “being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord, Jesus Christ.”   Did Stephens prayer to God before His executioners meeting with any success for His enemies?  Yes, at least with one if not more.  One of those present on that day was a young man by the name of Saul who watched the cloaks of those who threw the stones, and consented to the death.  We know him better, as Paul, the man who saw the glory and found peace with God on the road to Damascus, and spent the rest of his life telling people that their sins are forgiven and to look forward to the glory that awaits us through faith in Jesus.  That’s what’s being preached to us.  That’s what we believe.  When our end comes, whenever it comes, and however it comes by God’s will, whether it’s a peaceful death in our sleep, or a martyr’s death at the stake, or anything else in between, may we die – not just like a man, but like the God-Man:   With an eye on the glory that awaits us; With a heart of forgiveness to any who may have wronged us.  Then the Glory.  Amen.

Hail the Messiah-King (Our Ascended Lord)

Sermon on Revelation 19:11-16 Mt. Olive Lutheran May 17, 2012 Ascension Day Pastor Joel B. Schroeder

"Hail the Messiah-King! (Our Ascended Lord Jesus)" 1. What He's Like 2. What He's Doing

Since the first human ruled others in government, perhaps in a city built by Cain, people have been hoping, dreaming, praying for the perfect leader or king to rule them. But it hasn't happened in 6,000 years. Well, actually it has. Just once. That king's coronation occurred almost 2,000 years ago before a relatively small group of near unknowns outside Jerusalem. The king was Jesus. The place was the Mount of Olives. The gathered subjects were his disciples and other followers. We call that event Jesus' Ascension and we're celebrating the anniversary of that coronation tonight. It happened after Jesus set his followers straight (again): his kingdom was a spiritual kingdom which would grow by their preaching, a kingdom that will finally be seen by all when he returns in glory. His kingdom would not grow by amassing weapons, making treaties, skillful military maneuvers, or rigorous physical training and drilling. When Jesus finished this important lesson, he rose into the sky until a cloud took him out of their sight.

About 70 years later, one of Jesus' disciples, John, received wonderful visions from God. God pulled back the veil hiding spiritual truth from God's eyes and showed John and us just how amazing our Messiah-King Jesus really is. On this Ascension Day, let's look at what John saw, as he described our king in Revelation 19. We will be moved to "Hail our Messiah-King" (Our Ascended Lord Jesus) when the Holy Spirit NS John show us: 1. What He's Like and 2. What He's Doing.

Do you want a king who can fight for you and win each battle? John saw a rider on a white horse, well equipped to go to war. The rider is obviously Jesus. He fights only just wars. He's not like so many kings who pick fights to make themselves great and line their own pockets. This king is like the great patriarch Abraham, who was content to live in peace with his neighbors, but quickly armed his 318 servants and went to war with the four kings who'd conquered Sodom and carried off his dear nephew, Lot. Jesus fights to set free those who rightfully belonged to him, their Creator, in the first place, but were enticed or wandered away, and were taken captive by Satan. Our king couldn't and wouldn't let things stay that way. He had to fight for his own, for those he made and loved. He went to war to set free you and me and all sinners.

Do you want leaders who tell you the truth? Of course we do. One of the most infuriating things about elections is when those we elect lie to us. Some tell us what they think we want to hear so we'll vote for them, then once they're in office, do the opposite. Many lie to cover up their love of power and money. You've heard the riddle: How can you tell a politician is lying? His lips are moving. Don't you want a ruler to tell you the truth when he tells you how powerful your enemy is, or what victory will cost? Or when he tells you you're winning, or what the spoils of victory or consequences of defeat will be?

Our Ascended Messiah-King, John wrote, the rider on the white horse, is "called Faithful and True." You can take everything Jesus ever said as absolute truth. All his sermons. All his promises. All his prophecies. All his warnings, and comforting statements. And when you realize he is the Word of God, you can broaden that assurance: every word of the Bible is reliable. Scholars can't explain disprove it. New archeological discoveries won't contradict but confirm it. Science won't make it outdated. Immoral sinners won't prove its commands are an outdated recipe for good and wise living that blesses humankind. Call him "Faithful and True." What he said, what he was and did, sums up for us how much God cares for us and loves us unconditionally. And he told us those who reject him will meet a horrible fate when they die. You can trust what your king says. Sin separates sinners from God. Unrepented sin and false doctrine destroys faith. Through faith in Christ, your sins are forgiven. You'll live after you die. Your body will rise. Jesus will come again. You are winning. Suffering for him isn't foolish or wasted.

Jesus has the character and traits to be the most effective king or ruler who ever lived. And he used those qualities and character to carry out the perfect plan of his Heavenly Father to save people. John saw what the Messiah-King, our Ascended Lord is doing.

Kids want everything to be fair. That must be very important for the American people, too; we keep hearing new programs and laws will make things fairer for all Americans. People want their king to be fair, and just. They don't really want their ruler to use different standards for some, and different laws for others. (Unless, of course, the ruler can tilt those laws in your favor--selfish sinners can go for that!) But our king is Jesus Christ, the Righteous. John said "With justice he judges and makes war." He never sins. Never makes a mistake. Never treats anyone unfairly. His concern for justice, for fairness brought him to earth as a man to die, for he also wanted God the Father's just laws with their strict penalties to be obeyed or punished. Since they weren't obeyed, someone had to suffer the consequences, and he decided it would be he.

You don't want a king who can be tricked or fooled. You want a ruler who can see clearly so he can make good decisions. How about our king? "His eyes are like blazing fire..." That's scary when you're trying to hide your sins and guilt from him. But even that's really good. When we can't hide our sins from Jesus, when our sins come out, that sets the stage for us to admit them, and go to him for mercy. But think how comforting those words are also. His fire-blazing eyes see through Satan's tricks. His fire-blazing eyes can't be fooled by lies the devil tells. Before they happen he sees the tricks our spiritual enemies like to use. He knows how to run things because he sees and knows everything that has happened, is happening, or will happen. He knows what's right and true, and tells us. He knows what will hurt us and warns us about them. He knows what will be good for us, and commands us to do that. He knows the future, and can warn us and prepare us to be ready. He can read our thoughts and knows where we are weak, and how strong we are. He knows whom to send to help us and what they need to say or do. When Judgment Day comes he can see the faith in Jesus in our hearts which other people can't see, and give us eternal life.

Everybody wants to be on the winning side, when Tigers play Jayhawks, Chiefs battle Raiders, the US team takes on the world's best athletes in the Olympic Games, or your candidate's running for office. What American rooted for the USA to lose WW2 to Hitler? You want a king who will win all his battles. John saw our Ascended Messiah-King Jesus "dressed in a robe dipped in blood." That could be his own precious blood he shed to pay for our sins; but it's probably blood from his enemies he conquered. Our Savior-Messiah-king leading a white-robed holy angel army is the invincible, all-victorious conqueror. The sharp sword of his Word has defeated every false teacher, every lie of Satan. It's shown to be a lie every statement that called him just a good man, just a prophet, a false prophet, or an evil man leading people to believe things that hurt them. The devil still exists, but blood's gushing out of his head, the head Jesus stepped on when he was crucified, and again when he rose on Easter, and again when he ascended, and again when he poured out his Spirit on Pentecost, and again when he wins soul after soul by the preaching of the good news. Can you read the most appropriate title monogrammed on his robe and thigh: "King of Kings and Lord of Lords"?  It's obvious no earthly ruler can defeat him or overcome his faithful followers --his army of Christian soldiers. Not Cain, not Nimrod, Pharaoh, Sennacherib, Nebuchadnezzar, no Herod, Pilate, Caesar, no Communist, no Socialist, no politician, lawmaker, or cop, or teacher. So don't fear them.

His powerful weapon is his Word, which can look so weak, so easy to disobey, disregard, or not believe. But think about the power of that Word. It created all things in six 24-hour days. All he had to do was say the Word--from heaven, or through one of his lowly prophets, and mighty rulers died, or empires fell. He holds back powerful forces ready to destroy this world, while his promise prevents another worldwide flood or keeps man from accidentally setting off a holocaust that would end mankind too early. He rules all things in nature, government, commerce, economics, education, and science by the iron scepter of his Word. He upholds all things by his powerful Word. What he decides and says must happen, happens. It can't be any other way, no matter who wants it to be otherwise, or dreams up a clever way to change God's plans. The simple phrase "Jesus died for you" has the power to determine where you and I will spend eternity. The sentence: "whoever does not believe will be condemned" can't be countermanded. No matter what, those who reject Jesus as Savior will go to hell forever. John saw our Messiah-King carrying out a sad but necessary and just task: "He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty." As stepping on a grape produces red grape juice, Jesus will condemn those who don't trust in him. God's anger against unbelief will produce the red blood of eternal death. Ascension means Judgment Day is coming.

Jesus our Messiah King is ruling in heaven right now. He's preaching through pastors, teachers, parents, laypeople, and children. And his kingdom of grace is growing as that's happening. He's pleading with his heavenly Father on our behalf, and because of what Jesus our Messiah King suffered and did, the Father is listening favorably. He's managing the world in such a way that all the elect will die in faith or be alive believing the Gospel when Jesus returns. He's ruling over our president, congress, governors, state legislatures, mayors, city councils, and every foreign nation and ruler--even when they pass laws that are anti-Christian or persecute Christians. Nobody's overpowering or putting one over on our king!

Like an ancient Jewish bridegroom, day after day he's getting things ready for his bride, the church. Everything in history, in human hearts, in the church, will be just like his Father wants it. Then our Messiah- king, our conqueror, our liberator, our husband, will come to take us home.

We know all things are ours. But we don't have them yet. But that day is coming. Our king, the rider on the white horse, "called Faithful and True," has told us, and he never lies. He's visibly gone from this world, and just as sure as he did that, he's coming back. Our king, who died, still lives, for he lives again and will never die. Long live our Messiah-King, our Ascended Lord. Hail to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. AMEN.

Test the Spirits

May 10, 13, 2012               I John 4:1-11 (Mother’s Day)              Mt. Olive, Overland Park, KS

            Have you ever held up a $100 bill to the light to see if you can see the water mark and determine if the bill is genuine or counterfeit?  In ancient times they would bite on a coin to see if the metal was too soft and pliable indicating it was an imitation, not an actual Roman coin. That’s actually where the word for test got it’s meaning: to bite and think.  Bite into it and think is this good or not. We test a lot of things in life of course. You take a car for a test drive to see if you think it’s good enough to buy, or whether you can detect some defect that would say no; we try on a pair of shoes to see if they fit; check the ingredients on a label to see whether they pass our test for healthy food.  And nowhere is the testing we do more critical to our wellbeing than what John writes here. When it comes to matters of faith and religion, “Test the Spirits.”  Are they legit, or are they a counterfeit bill of goods that Satan is trying to sell us.  Examine things carefully, John urges us.  (I) Do they acknowledge Jesus as our only Savior; (II) Do they listen to what God says in His Word; (III) Do they love others as God has loved us. 

            Test number one:  Do they acknowledge Jesus as our only Savior.  There are many ideas about spirituality and religion in the world.  Are they legit?  John says, “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out in to the world.”  John was a good student.  He listened when Jesus taught him and the other disciples, “Watch out that no one deceives you.  For many will come in my name, claiming ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.”  And so John, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, passes that warning on to us.  He says, apply the test. “This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God.  This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.”  The first test in matters of religion always starts with Jesus. Is Jesus the Savior?  Does the spiritual teaching being advocated confess that Jesus Christ - the historical, physical person of Jesus that lived and died roughly 2,000 years ago -  that He is the One who came from God in heaven to fulfill the promise of a Savior?  Is He the only One that can save us from the punishment of death that we deserve for our sins? If it acknowledges that, its from God.  If it doesn’t teach that, if it says that there is some other way besides faith in Jesus that can make a person right with God, or if it adds to Jesus, and says that Jesus is from God, but you still have to live your life good enough to please God in order to be saved, well, that’s not acknowledging Jesus as our only Savior.. It’s against Christ as our only hope for salvation.  That’s the spirit of antichrist which John says was already starting to be taught in his time.

            That’s the first test.  So, children, young adults who were confirmed last Sunday, or children who are not yet confirmed being instructed in the faith, or children of God who have been confirmed maybe 50 years ago already, mothers who want your children to know God and be saved, don’t forget this test.    There are a lot of religions out there; world religions, you could name many of them, different denominations, you could name many of them: ideas about spirituality, teachings about being in touch with God and nature, advice how to maintain inner peace and harmony. Never stop applying this test to your scrutiny of spiritual matters. If it doesn’t start with acknowledging that the historical person, Jesus Christ, is our only Savior from sin, it’s junk.  Waste no more time on it.  Dismiss it, reject it, rebuke it.  It’s counterfeit.  Satan is trying to use it to deceive you.  Because you know, as Scripture teaches everywhere, that Jesus is your only Savior. Everything else is a spirit of antichrist. “Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven, given among men whereby we must be saved.”

            Test number two:  Do they listen to what God says in His Word?  That’s a simple enough test, but it’s very important.  Do they listen to what God says?  There are those confess to believe in Jesus, but they aren’t ready to listen to everything God says in His Word.  Now, before we go any further, we  will acknowledge that even where there is error, God the Holy Spirit can preserve faith.  If the Gospel is still preached, and the error does not deny Christ Jesus as true God and our Savior, than the Holy Spirit can still work.  And we thank God for that happy inconsistency as it is often called.  But the Holy Spirit does not work through error. He works only through the truth.  Error always competes with the truth for control of the human heart. And if the error which spreads and grows like leaven finally drowns out the voice of the Holy Spirit and crowds out saving faith, than a person is lost.  God forcefully warns against allowing error to stand along side the truth and fervently directs us to avoid it.  “I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned.  Keep away from them.”  So test the spirits. Do they listen to what God says?

            So, there are those who claim to worship God, but aren’t willing to follow what God says in His Word.  You can recognize them.  Either they claim to have a different holy book, like the Koran, or sayings of Confucius, or they claim another holy book along side of Scripture like the Book of Mormon which they use to interpret or overrule Scripture to fit there teachings; or they may simply relegate Scripture to the lesser status of something that men wrote about God, and elevate their foolish reason above what God says to support what they want to believe and do.  And you know they’re out their crying for toleration of sinful things like same sex marriage, or insisting on worldly wisdom like evolution, or advocating world views that claim there is no such thing as eternal truth, or even denouncing Scriptural standards as being hateful and unloving.  We could go and on with examples. 

There’s so much error and confusion out there in conflict with  what God says, one wonders how we could ever resist the spirit of falsehood from misleading people and even eroding our own faith.  But you know God and you know what He says  And John assures us, “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.  God and His Spirit of Truth in you, is more powerful than Satan and all the errors of men. Don’t sell God and the power of the Gospel short. “They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them.  We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us.  This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.”  Jesus told Pilate, “Everyone on the side of truth, listens to me.”  Jesus told us, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” 

            This isn’t complicated. This is Mother’s Day. We’re not giving much attention to the blessing of  Christian mothers today.  But this is not unlike the way kids listen to their mothers and fathers.  They know who their mother is, and they know how much she cares for them.  In their hearts they know that when she is scolding or praising or urging them in some way it’s because she loves them, and wants what is best for them.  They also know what other kids are saying, and what their parents are like, and what they hear on TV and classmates and the internet and Facebook and other social media.  And if they know what’s good for them, they’ll test every thing they hear from others according to the standard of what Mom says, and go along with it only if it agrees with what Mom says. It’s when they stop listening to Mom and listen instead to what others say that they start getting into trouble.  John says, You dear children, are from God. Greater is he that is in you than the one who is in the world.  Test the spirits.  Do they listen to what God says in His Word;  Whoever knows God listens to us because we teach what God says.

            Final test; easy test, when testing the spirits.  Do those who claim to  know the way to life love others as God loves us?  That’s the way it works.  When faith is worked in a person’s heart they are renewed in God’s image.  God is love. So in our new man our spirit becomes loving toward others like God.   John says, “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.  Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.  Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.  And then he reminds us of just how loving God has been toward us.  “This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him.  This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. We hear those comforting words every Sunday: ‘God our heavenly Father has been merciful to us and has given His only Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.’ “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” 

      On Mother’s Day we are often reminded of the depth of a mother’s love.  At 7:00 AM on a Wednesday morning Patsy Lawson of Running Springs, CA left for her fifth grade teaching job down the mountain in Riverside.  The first stop was to drop of her five year old daughter and two year old son at the baby sitter’s, but she never made it. 8 ½ hours later her husband found her and the daughter dead in their wrecked car upside down in a cold mountain stream. But the two year old boy was still alive, barely. That’s because Patsy had not drowned; she had been overcome by hypothermia.  Instead of trying to free herself had held her son’s head above the water for 8 ½ hours before finally succumbing to the cold water.  She was found in that position, stiff in death, but still holding the child’s head above the water.  A mother will still love her child even when he does wrong and everyone else is filled with contempt for him, because he is her child.  “But God demonstrated His love for us in this: while we still sinners, Christ died for us.”

You know the Gospel well.  It  is the story of God’s Son being trapped on the cross by the justice of God’s law for six hours. But rather than save Himself, He endured the very torments of hell, to hold us up for life. “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down His life for His friends.”   God’s love is all about life.  And God’s life is all about giving of oneself in love to help others as He does.  So when you test the spirits, see if they act in loving ways towards others like God has loved us.  Do they teach love for others, even one’s enemies, to help life?  Or do they teach death to the infidel, and plant explosive devices to carry out terrorist acts of death?  Do they teach love for others according to the standards of God’s Word, which loves a person enough to rebuke sin and try to turn a sinner from the error of his ways and save a soul from death?  Or do they heartlessly tolerate a person’s sinful behavior, and deceive him into thinking everything is fine between him and God to his soul’s damnation?  Do they teach a message of love with words, and say “be warm, be well fed, I wish you well,” but then shut out compassion in their heart and with their actions show they don’t really care.  How does the love of God dwell in him.?  Those who are born of God love others as God has loved them.

      That’s the final test when you test the spirits.  And all three tests need to be held up to the light of God’s Word and you bite into them in order to see whether a spirit is from God or not. I, II, III.  When you evaluate the spirits that are out there in the world, see whether they pass these three tests.  When others evaluate you to see whether what you say and do as a Christian is genuine or counterfeit, how would you pass the test?   When you test the Spirit and actions of God according to these standards you know what that test will show.  He is the real thing. There are no counterfeit deceptions with God.  He is the Light to which we hold everything up to see if it is true.  You can bite into Him to taste and see that the Lord is good.  His promise of life, and love, forgiveness and salvation are yours.  You can take that coin to the bank.  Amen.