Jesus’ Voice Gives Life

Well, it’s been quite a while since I’ve posted here. I guess things just get busy when you’re a pastor, husband, and father of four! Anyway, I thought I’d slowly but surely get my past few weeks of sermons posted. This one goes back to November 8th, on a Sunday reserved for talking about Judgment Day. It’s certainly a hot topic today, and I hope this sermon can provide some clarity from God’s Word.

Sermon preached on 11/8/09 at Our Savior. Sermon text John 5:19-30

Jesus' Voice Gives Life

There comes a time when you just have to face the music. You probably know what I'm talking about. Maybe you've done something wrong and the time has come to tell what you've done. Maybe you've got some bad news that you need to finally tell someone, and you're just not looking forward to it. Maybe there's a phone call you've been dreading to make, because you're just not sure what the reaction on the other end is going to be. In all of these instances, you can't just avoid the problem forever. Eventually you'll have to face the music and get it over with.

Judgment Day, the day this world finally ends, is a day that's kind of like that. It's a day when everyone in this world will get the chance to face the music. Some people pretend the day will never come. Some will pray that the day never comes. But it will. The time will be up, the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised, and everyone will be judged.

Are you looking forward to that day? We are supposed to be looking forward to Judgment Day as Christians, right? That's the day when Jesus takes us all to heaven to be with him forever! We should be looking forward to it, longing for it, praying that it would come, and come soon! But still, even though our minds might tell us the last day is a good thing, our hearts might tell us something different. Thinking about that last day might still put a few nervous butterflies in your stomach. It might worry you, just a little bit. You might think, "Heaven? Sure. Can't wait. But I'm not looking forward to Judgment Day."

There might be some reasons for that. The first is that even when you're pretty sure of the outcome, there's always the chance that something's going to happen to change things. Judgment Day is the day of a verdict. And even in court cases where it seems like everyone knows what's supposed to happen, the verdict doesn't always go along with the expectations. Maybe the jury won't decide the way people think, or maybe the judge will be having a bad day and will just be looking to make an example out of someone.

Could we face a similar problem on Judgment Day? When we stand before God on that day, what will He say? Will he be the loving Savior of Jesus Christ that we know and love from the Bible, or will he be God the Father, the angry Judge that we've come to fear from the Bible?

Any kids that we have hear today might understand this fear, plus anyone who remembers what it was like when you were younger. Did you ever have something you wanted to ask your parents about, but you'd rather ask one specific parent? There's something you want, and maybe you're pretty sure your dad will say "yes," but you're not sure what mom will say. Or you've done something and you know mom will be understanding, but you're dreading dad coming home. You want to make sure you get the right parent.

We might tend to think of God that way. We might think of Jesus as the understanding one, the forgiving one. But we think of God the Father as the stern one, the powerful one. We might think that meeting Jesus on the last day would be fine, but sure hope we don't run into God the Father!

Jesus dispels that idea in our text. He says, "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does." (Jn 5:19-20) No, Jesus reminds us, God the Father and God the Son are one God, and they are perfectly united in everything. We'll never understand how the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit can be three persons in one God. But knowing that does help us understand some other things. God - the Triune God, will be united in judging us.

Jesus goes on to talk about Judgment Day more specifically. "For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him." (Jn. 5:21-23)

On Judgment Day, Jesus says, God the Father has given the power to judge to Jesus alone. And we don't have to worry about Jesus being in a bad mood that day. The Bible tells us that"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." (Heb. 13:8)

And, when we stand before Jesus, we will be standing before God. If ever there were verses in the Bible that prove that teach that Jesus is God, it's these verses. "...that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him." (Jn. 5:23) If we honor someone just as we honor our heavenly Father, that means we're worshiping that person as God. Well, that's Jesus. In fact, Jesus tells us that if we don't recognize him as God, then we're not really honoring God the Father either. Jesus is our God! And on Judgment day we will see him.

Which brings us to another fear that might be spooking around in our hearts about that day. What about my sins? Oh yes, sure, I know, and I know that you know that Jesus takes our sins away, that his perfect life and innocent suffering and death have given us forgiveness. But still, way back in our minds, when we're up late at night, when no one else is around we think, "Yeah, but he couldn't forgive my sins. He couldn't take away everything I've done." And our hearts beat a little faster as we think that Judgment Day could come at any time.

After all, our sins are real. We might shrug them off. We might give them a wink and a smile. But God and his law do not joke. While giving the Ten Commandments, God said, "I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me." (Ex. 20:5) God is serious about his Law, and he's serious about punishing someone who breaks it. If you don't think God will punish each and every sin you've committed, then you don't know God. The time to face the music comes for every broken commandment.

So what are we to do? Whether it's Judgment Day or just another Sunday morning, we do what we always do: look to Jesus. In our text Jesus gives us the answer in one of the most amazing paragraphs found anywhere in the Bible. He says, "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man." (Jn. 5:24-27)

Jesus' voice gives life! Do you hear and read Jesus' Word in the Bible? Do you believe? Then did you hear what Jesus says here? You have eternal life! You will not be condemned! And what is Jesus' Word that you've heard and believed? Simple: Jesus is the Savior. Yes, every sin comes with a punishment, yes, God's wrath comes upon all who break his commands. That's why God the Father put his wrath on Jesus. That's why Jesus, after living a perfect life, walked that way of sorrows to the cross. He bore the punishment for our sins -- all our sins, even the ones we think no one could forgive. Jesus has taken that punishment. He has taken you from being dead in sins to being alive in him! You are forgiven, those sins are gone, you have eternal life.

Notice, I didn't say you will have eternal life. I didn't say that once you get to heaven you'll have eternal life, or once you've done a certain set of required actions you'll get eternal life. No, you have it now! Jesus said so! By faith, God's verdict of "not guilty" have already been given to you! The same message that brought you to faith, the message of Jesus as your Savior, the message of sins forgiven, the message of eternal rescue from sin, death, and hell. It's that same message that ensures our "not guilty" verdict on the Last Day.

Sure, we're not in heaven yet. We still have life on this earth to live. But we already have eternal life! The only difference is that when Jesus returns to take us home, he will give us the full glory of heaven that he already won for us! We don't need to worry about the verdict of our judgment on the Last Day. We already have it! In Christ, it's not guilty!

Eventually the time comes to face the music. It comes for everyone. Judgment Day is like that. But remember, when that day comes, it's not really us as Christians who have to face the music. Jesus faced it for us. He took the punishment in our place. He bought and won our forgiveness, our eternal life. Jesus' voice gives life. We don't need to be scared of Judgment Day; we rejoice in it. So when that day comes, when all this happens, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near (Lk. 21:28).

Hold On

Sermon from Reformation Sunday preached on 11/1/09. Text: Mark 13:5-11. http://ref.ly/Mk13.5-11 

Hold On

When things get bad, when you go through hard times, you've just got to hold on. Eventually things will get better. It can't stay dark forever.  Just hold on a little longer.

That's the kind of advice you're likely to hear for a lot of different problems common to life today. When children are being especially difficult for their parents, the parents are told, "Hold on; they're just going through a stage." When someone is sick or depressed, well-intentioned people often tell them, "Hold on. It will get better. Everything will turn out alright."

Even when things are dangerous we just want to hold on to something. Tornadoes are fairly rare around here, but back in the Midwest they were quite common. And when they came, the advice for safety was simple: go to the basement, find a room without any windows, crouch down on the ground, and hold on. The idea with all this advice is that if you're just patient, if you know just where to go and what to do, eventually the trouble will pass you by.

But will it? Think of all the trouble going on in our world today. I mean, have you watched the news lately? There's trouble out there. There's always some sort of political intrigue going on. Does this or that nation have nuclear weapons or not? What are the latest hateful statements from this or that leader? How many countries out there would love to see our country disappear?

Then there's the "natural" problems going on. We've heard about so many recently. Earthquakes, famines, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, tsunamis -- there may not be many of those around here, but they're real and they've been all over the place. That's not even mentioning the biggest "natural disaster" that everyone's worried about right now: swine flu, the h1N1 virus. This seems to have many people in a panic. "What will we do? What can be done?" In fact, according to some, one of the most dangerous places you can be now is right here in church.

But that just brings us to the problems in the Christian church and in religion in general. It seems like everyone believes something different. And they're all either trying to convince you that their way is the right way and you better change, or they say that any way is the right way and it doesn't matter what you believe. The amount of denominations in Christianity or even among Lutherans can be dizzying. And then, when you do stand up for what you believe, for the truth, you often get labeled as being insensitive, intolerant, or just plain hateful. It's enough to make you want to say, "What are we supposed to believe anymore? How can anyone possibly get through this?"

So what can we do to get through these hard times? Can we just "hold on" and wait for it to pass? Jesus addresses this question in our text from Mark's gospel.

He reminds us that we shouldn't be surprised that all of this is going on in our world today. We should be expecting it. After all, Jesus himself prophesied things would be this way. "Watch out that no one deceives you. Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many." (Mk. 13:5-6) Jesus knew the religious world would be in chaos like it is today. He knew people would claim to be him. You probably remember some of the cult figures like David Koresh or Jim Jones who have claimed to be the Savior.

It's also common to find those who claim to have found the way of salvation, but that way for them isn't Jesus. Non-Christian religions might pay lip-service to Jesus being a great man, or even a prophet. But they always deny and often condemn calling him the only Savior.

Even in the Christian church, it's becoming less and less common to take Jesus at his word when he calls himself "the way, the truth, and the life." (Jn. 14:6) Many will say, "Yes, sure, Jesus is the Savior, but you need Jesus and your own good works to get to heaven." Or they'll say, "Yes, believe in Jesus, but you better make sure you really believe in him, you'd better feel that you believe in him and have really decided to choose him." And many are left in doubt whether they've really been saved or not.

These events are all signs, Jesus tells us, that God is not going to put up with this sinful world forever. The end is coming. Soon! And the disturbances in nature and the upheavals in the political realm are further evidence of this. "When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains." (Mk 13:7-8)

Jesus wasn't necessarily saying that the world is ending tomorrow (though it could.) He's just saying that we're living in the last times; we've been living in them since Jesus ascended into heaven. And just like the pregnant woman who starts to feel a twinge of pain from her unborn baby and knows that the birth will eventually be coming, we too know that the end is coming.

So as we live in these end times, what can we do? Simple. We hold on. I don't mean we plug our ears and close our eyes and just lock ourselves in our homes until Judgment day. No, we must hold on to the Word.  That's what Jesus means when he says, "You must be on your guard." (Mk. 13:9) We need to be on our guard against all these things in the world crumbling around us. And how do we do that? We hold on to the Word.

God's Word is what gets us through the problems and dangers and lies of this world. It alone is the remedies for the false Christs, false teachings, and false teachers that are so prevalent around us today. It's the true, unadulterated, unchanged, and unchanging Word of God that we celebrate in the Lutheran Reformation today. It's not so much Martin Luther or churches that bear his name that we celebrate. It's God's Word that God allowed people like Luther to bring into light again.

That's where we find the truth to fight the lies around us. When we're told that our works are necessary to save us, we remember that we're saved by grace alone, not by works. We have God's undeserved love through faith alone. It's faith that's not from ourselves, it is a gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. (Eph. 2:8-9) It's not our choice to become a believer, but God chose us in Christ. And how does he come to us to work faith in us? The Holy Spirit works that faith by Scripture alone, as the Word is proclaimed in our ears, or as water is poured on us with that Word in baptism. Hold on to that Word! We have the gift of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in the Scripture alone!

And when the other religions of this world point to other saviors, when they say, "look here he is!" or "There he is!" We know not to listen, because we know that our salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12) It's Jesus! We're saved by Christ alone!
And because we're saved by Jesus, everything will turn out alright. Things will get better as long as we hold on to the Word. For all the earthquakes and famines and flu viruses only remind us that this world is not our home; heaven is. Jesus has gone there to prepare a place for us, and when the time is right, he'll come and get us! (Jn. 14:1-4)

But until he does return, we hold on! We hold on to the Word, constantly reading and studying it and growing in it to make sure no false teaching creeps its way into our hearts. Hold on to that Word! Treasure it and keep it close to your heart always!

But don't imagine that holding onto the Word means you should keep it to yourself. In fact, the more we hold on to God's Word, the more we will be compelled to share it. Jesus mentions that we'll even share it under the difficult circumstances of this world. "You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them ... Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit. (Mk. 13:9,11)

People in this sinful world won't always like hearing the truth. But out of love for our Savior, out of love for the souls of those around us, we're going to be compelled to share the truth of that Word anyway. In fact, when you hold on to the Word, study and keep it close to your heart, Jesus here promises that you will always have an answer to those who question you. The Holy Spirit will be there to remind you of just the right words to say.

What those right words will be might vary with different situations, but you can bet they will be based on the same theme: Jesus is the only Savior. He came to save the world. He has forgiven our sins. He has calmed our fears. Because of him, we can repent, we can believe, we will live. That is the gospel, the gospel that Jesus reminds us we are to preach to all nations. (Mk. 13:10)

May this Reformation Sunday spur you on to hold on. During the earthquakes, famines, sicknesses, and false teachings, hold on to God's Word. It will give you the truth that will never let you down or disappoint you. Hold onto that Word, fill yourself up with the confidence of the Holy Spirit that you have been saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in the message of Scripture alone. Hold on to the Word and receive boldness to proclaim this salvation in Christ alone to everyone you can.

Sure, there's troubles around us. Sure, we face hardships. But it will all end. Jesus will put a stop to it and everything will be alright forever. So trust in him! Rejoice in him! And hold on.