Warning: Humble Yourself!

Sermon preached at Our Savior on 9/5/10 for the 15th Sunday after Pentecost. Sermon text: Luke 14:1,7-14

Wow! It's you! I can't believe you're all here! I mean, I've seen some great people in my life, but none of them compare to you. You're literally the smartest, most skilled, strongest, most beautiful group of people that I've ever seen in my life. You can do absolutely anything you want to do, and you came here! I mean, wow. It's amazing. I'm so honored!

Ok. You're probably starting to think, "What does this guy want?" My goal really wasn't to butter you up; I wanted to make a point. It's probably pretty unusual for someone to give you compliments like that. Not just to tell you you're pretty good at something, but the best -- the best at everything! It's enough to make you suspicious or make you think the person saying it has gone a little bit nuts.

But imagine that nobody's telling you that you're the best and great at everything. Imagine that's what you think about yourself. Everywhere you go, you know you're the best. Everyone you meet, you know you're better. No one could have an idea more intelligent than yours. No one can do anything that you couldn't outperform them. You really are the best, and you know it.

Maybe you know a few people who act like that. They're arrogant, they think they know everything, and they're usually not too fun to be around. Thankfully, very few people as arrogant as I've described. But, even if we don't have that kind of arrogance, do we have true humility?

Humility is a very important trait to have. It means you don't think of yourself too highly. It means you put the needs of others ahead of your own. It means you don't rely on your skills and abilities. You don't assume they're better. Instead you look for something better to come outside of yourself.

We need to be humble spiritually. Jesus warns us of that in our text. We need to be spiritually humble enough to realize there is nothing in us that should make God love us. We have done nothing to deserve God's love, his gifts, his eternal salvation. In fact, we deserve the opposite. But being spiritually humble also means we recognize the great things that Jesus Christ has done for us. He paid for our sins. He was perfect in our place. He has given us his forgiveness, his life, his salvation. And he didn't give those things to us because we were so great, but because he is. Realizing that makes you spiritually humble. That's the point that Jesus makes in the events of our text.

He's kind of in a potentially awkward social situation here in Luke's Gospel. One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. (Lk. 14:1) The Pharisees, you might remember, were highly respected people in Jewish society at this time. People listened to them and revered them. And they loved it. For the most part, though, they did not love Jesus. He was a challenge to them. He often spoke against them. And they were looking for a way to take him down.

But here in our text, Jesus turns the tables on them a bit. They're watching him to trap him in something, but he ends up watching them. He noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table. (Lk. 14:7) It's hard to put ourselves in this exact social situation. But apparently where someone sat at a dinner party showed what status they had. Jesus saw that most of the Pharisees he was eating with wanted the best spots. Like little kids rushing to be first in line for snacks, these grown men tried to get the places of honor. They were not being humble.

So Jesus called them on it and told a parable. When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, 'Give this man your seat.' Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. (Lk. 14:8-9)

Again, it's a little hard for us to imagine this exact situation in our culture today. But this might help: imagine that you're at a wedding reception. You want the best spot available to eat the dinner when you get there. So you go to a really nice looking table and sit down. Imagine your embarrassment when the groom taps you on the shoulder and says, "Um, this is the head table. The wedding party needs to sit here. You have to move."

The not-so-humble attitude of wanting to sit in the best place can lead to embarrassment and trouble. Jesus is warning us to have a humble attitude. He warns us that bad things tend to happen with an arrogant attitude, but blessings come with humility. As he put it, Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. (Lk. 14:11)

I want you all to understand something here. Jesus did not speak this parable so that we could learn better wedding reception etiquette. His main goal was not that we act in a humble way to avoid social embarrassment. Like so many of his parables, Jesus was using common stories to illustrate spiritual truths. He wasn't warning us to make sure we stay humble at parties. He was warning us to make sure we stay humble before our God.

We tend to think that it's good to be at least a little bit proud. We want people to have high self-esteem, right? We don't want people moping around feeling sorry for themselves, like they're no good at anything. A little bit of self-confidence can help people in life, whereas constant humility can be self-defeating.

In the same way, we like to be self-sufficient, don't we? Many of us don't like the idea of accepting charity from others. We want to do it ourselves! We're in the USA, after all; we can do anything we put our minds to. Why bother being humble when we know how good we really are.

Those things are all true to a certain extent. But make no mistake: you've got nothing to be proud of before God. He has commanded perfection of you, 100% of the time. Have you delivered? God demands that you not only don't do anything wrong, but that you do everything right. Every temptation you need to avoid, every person in need you need to help, or you have fallen short of God's demands. Falling short of God's demands doesn't bring rewards; it brings punishment.

In the same way, if you're so proud that you won't accept any charity from anyone, not even from God himself, what are you left with? You're left with your own record. Your own sins. Your own mistakes that only bring death and hell forever. Jesus is telling you: take this warning! Humble yourselves! Recognize that you can't be proud before your heavenly Father!

Instead, humble yourself. The book of Philippians puts it best. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death -- even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:5-8)

Jesus is the only human being to truly live up to these standards. He obeyed his heavenly Father perfectly -- even though he himself is true God. He came to us in humility. And what grace that his humility is what rescues us from our arrogance! What undeserved love of God that Jesus' perfection is what rescues us from our sins!

Our sins condemned us, but Jesus rescued us. Our sins humble us, but Jesus lifts us up. He doesn't do this because there is anything good in us; he does it only because he loves us! Do you see what a Savior we have? He didn't come to teach us party rules; he came to save us. And he did. He gave us more than we could ever ask or imagine.

That's why we can put aside our pride. That's why, by the faith God has given us, we want to live in humility before God. That's why we want to humbly serve God in everything we do in our lives. The humble attitude our God works in us by the love of his Son is bound to show itself in humble actions in our lives.

Of course, in this sinful world, we'll be tempted to be arrogant and proud even in the actions and good things we do. Jesus warned about this too. He said that if you throw a dinner-party, Do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. (Lk. 14:12-14)

Again, Jesus' main point here isn't telling us that we should all throw parties and invite poor and crippled people, or that having a dinner with your family is bad. No, again, he's making a spiritual application for us with a real world example. He's telling us that our actions aren't supposed to be looking for earthly gain.

Don't do people favors so that they'll do one for you in return. Don't help someone so that you will be recognized as some great person. Don't give your time, your talents, or your treasures so that you will get some recognition for it. Give out of love for what God has done for you. Serve, because Jesus served you with his life, death, and resurrection. That's what matters. Not the stuff of this world, but the glory of eternity that Jesus won for us.

When we continue to grow in God's Word and Sacrament, God is going to strengthen us to live like this. Focusing on our Savior's humble self-giving love for us moves us to love him and serve those around us! Jesus saw our humble state. He knew that our sins would shut us out of eternal life forever. So he fixed it. In humility, he saved us. He won us blessings now and heaven forever. Focus on that. Live for him.

Wake Up!

Sermon preached at Our Savior on August 15, 2010 for the 12th Sunday after Pentecost. Sermon text: Revelation 3:1-6

American author Mark Twain is famous for having a lot of memorable quotes. One of my favorites goes something like this: "The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated." Mark Twain was usually pretty funny, and when he said the reports of his death had been exaggerated, that was his own unique way of saying that he was alive. Maybe there were people out there who thought he had died, but they were wrong. At the time he made that quote, he was very much alive.

Unfortunately, that quote can be changed around a little bit and applied to the people right here in this church today. This version of the quote is a little less funny: "The reports of your life have been greatly exaggerated." You all look alive. Your smiling faces. Your attendance here at church today. The movements you make. The words you spoke before the service and whispered during it.  The signs all point to your being alive. But you're not.

There is death here today at Our Savior Lutheran Church. I don't mean physical death; I can see that you're really all physically alive. I mean something far more deadly, far more dangerous. You have been infected with a spiritual plague, a spiritual disease: spiritual death. You can't see it with your eyes. For all intents and purposes everyone here, myself included, look like there is nothing wrong. Just a group of the faithful attending a church service. But things are not as they appear. There is death in this room.

Normally, death means the end. It means the battle's over. It means there's no more hope. But that's not how it is with Jesus. With our Savior Jesus Christ, death is never the end. There is always hope. Because he is the life.

In the book of Revelation we see letters that Jesus himself wrote to seven churches. Jesus dictated the letters to the Apostle John in John's vision that takes up the entire book of Revelation. The letter we're looking at today was written to the Christian church in the city of Sardis in the modern country of Turkey.

The book of Revelation can be kind of intimidating. There is lots of figurative language and strange imagery all over the place. It's very easy to read a little bit of Revelation only to say: "I just don't get it." The beginning of our text might make you feel that way. To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. (Rev. 3:1)

It doesn't need to be confusing, though. The angel of the church is another way of talking about the church's pastor. Jesus wrote a message to the pastors of seven churches in Revelation, and he explained elsewhere that the seven stars are also the pastors of those churches. The seven spirits of God is another way of saying the Holy Spirit. Jesus just meant that he is closely connected to the Holy Spirit, which makes sense because they are both persons in the Triune God. The point is clear: God had a special message for these churches.

Jesus didn't mince words in this message. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. (Rev. 3:1) Jesus was telling this church in Sardis, "You think you're alive, huh? Other people seem to think you're alive, too. Well, I've got news for you. You're not." And then Jesus went on: Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. (Rev. 3:2)

It might sound like Jesus gave some mixed signals here. First he says, "You're dead." Then he says, "Wake up!" Dead people aren't supposed to be able to wake up. But remember, this is Jesus we're talking about. He didn't stay dead. He rose. He's the one who said, 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. (Jn. 5:25) In him, death isn't the end.

But what did he mean when he said the people of that church in Sardis were dead? What did I mean when I said that death was here in this church this morning? Sure, Jesus wasn't talking about our church specifically, but as I look at myself, I know it's true. As you look at yourself, chances are you will see the same thing.

You have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. (Rev. 3:1) What's it take for a church to look like it's alive? Well, there have to be people going there. Here you all are today! There have to be things going on and meetings and activities and budgets and offerings, and sure, we've got all of those things.

But all those activities, the meetings, the budgets, the church services, the hymns, the prayers, they are worth absolutely nothing if they don't flow from a living faith. "But wait," you say. "Church services are good! Helping out the church is good! How can you say they're worthless?" It doesn't matter what you do, how great it looks, how faithful it seems, if it does not flow from a living faith it is worthless and dead.

Is coming to church just a habit you got into? Is it something that you feel you should probably do, because God likes it? Do you want to live a good life and do good things, because that's what you're supposed to do? Or are you just going through the motions? You say the prayers and the creed. You sing the hymns. You might even say church is important, maybe that God, that Jesus, is important. But you have to think twice when asked why it's important. You forget what you heard in church just as soon as the service is done. You go through the motions, and it doesn't even bother you all that much.

We all might feel this way to a different degree at different times in our lives, but I'd be surprised if you never felt this way. And it's a dangerous way to be. Jesus gave a stern warning about this apathetic attitude that we can all to easily have. He said, Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you. (Rev. 3:3)

Wake up! Are you just going through the motions in your faith? That's a sin. That's a real sin that brings death! Wake up! Continuing in that sin means that your faith will eventually be snuffed out. You can't just keep on going like everything is okay. It's not. And if it continues, Jesus says, when he comes again like a thief in the night, when all of a sudden your time of grace is over and you are caught faithless, asleep, dead in sins -- it will be too late. You will be lost. Wake up!

Wake up, because it's not too late now. Wake up, because your Savior is still calling out to you in love today. He said, Remember...what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. (Rev. 3:3) Wake up and remember that even though your sins are real, your Savior is just as real! Put your sins behind you. Confess to your Savior your careless attitude toward him. Confess the times you just haven't cared. And guess what? His forgiveness is free and full!

Jesus lived in this world, not half-heartedly, not going-through-motions. He did everything to obey his heavenly Father's will. He did everything to win your salvation. And that's what he did. All the way to his death, even death on a cross. He conquered death forever. He has conquered the spiritual death that might even have its grips on you.

So what do you have to do to wake up? What do you have to do to make sure that spiritual death doesn't keep its grip on you? That's just it. It's not about what you do; it never was. It's about what Jesus has done for you. He is the one who makes the dead alive; they don't do it themselves.

Jesus gives us life in the means of grace that he has given us. God's Word is not a book that gets read once in a while at church and nothing else. No! It's a source of life! God comes to you in his Word to fill you up and convince you that Jesus paid for your sins unconditionally, that your salvation has been guaranteed free of charge, your eternity in heaven has been bought and paid for.

So wake up! Run to God's Word. Don't listen to it in church as if it were like something in a museum: you know, something really old that a few people find interesting. No! It's your source of life. It's the life preserver that God has thrown to a whole world drowning in sin. Take comfort in it! Hear it! Keep it as the most important thing, something you want to study, something that you can't get enough of.

Wake up! Remember your baptism! Remember that it's not just some event that happened a long time ago where your family took a few pictures. It was so much more. The Bible says that all of you who were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ. (Gal. 3:27) In your baptism Jesus clothed you with himself, with his perfection, with his life; he made it yours! Take comfort in your baptism. Wake up! When the devil tells you you're no good, when you fall into sin, when you wonder how you can go on, remember that you have been baptized, so you have been saved.

Wake up! Look to the Lord's Supper. Don't think of the days we take it as the Sundays where church lasts a little longer. Look at it for what it is: another chance for Jesus to come to us with his sweet, free, forgiveness, a chance to taste and see that the Lord is good. And if you're not confirmed yet or you're not a member who can take communion with us, look forward to the time when you can! Take every opportunity to grow in your faith and hunger and thirst for your Savior's love. Wake up!

Jesus' picture in our text is talking about you: He who overcomes will...be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels. (Rev. 3:5) Those aren't things that you can do; they're what Jesus has done. He has clothed you in white and given you his perfection. He has acknowledged your name. His love has bought and redeemed you. Wake up and rejoice in his love.

It is not too late. It is not over. In Christ, even the dead can live. So wake up! Repent of your sins. Hold onto the Word and Sacraments. And live in his love. Then all that's left to do is look forward to Jesus' final command. When Jesus returns like a thief and commands all to "wake up!" We and all believers can awake in joy through the life he has won us.

It Could Happen to You

Sermon preached at Our Savior on 3/7/10 for the 3rd Sunday in Lent. Sermon text: Numbers 16:23-40

It Could Happen to You

"Fairy tales can come true, it can happen to you, if you're young at heart." We live in a time and place here in our nation where we think anything is possible. Any success, any reward, any blessing, can be ours if we just try hard enough or are fortunate enough or just keep at it.

We know the lottery has astronomical odds. Yet people keep playing. Why? Well, maybe they'll win! The New York lottery's slogan is "Hey, you never know." And people spend millions on something with almost impossible odds. The same goes for being a professional athlete or professional musician. It's very long odds to actually be able to make a good living doing those things. But so many dream, and so many keep after their goal. Maybe it could happen!

I'm not sure why, but it seems that many people have the opposite thought when it comes to bad or undesirable things happening to them. All the blessings we enjoy in our lives probably contribute to this idea. A horrible, incurable disease? It could never happen to me! After all, we have doctors who know so much advanced medicine all around us. Getting in a car accident? It could never happen to me! I've been driving for years without so much as a scratch! Having my money stolen in some sort of scam? It could never happen to me! I'm very smart about such things; I'm too careful about what I do with my money.

Famous last words, right? So many people think it could never happen to them. But these things do happen. And sometimes we need to prepare for these things to happen, or take steps to make sure they don't.

And the same danger is there for us spiritually. Look at the blessings we have! We are Christians! We believe in the one true God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We believe that the  Bible is the true, inerrant and infallible Word of God. We belong to a church and church body that believes these things. We've got our names on the membership registry. What blessings we have! How good God has been to us! So the idea of falling away from our faith? It could never happen to me!

Ah, but it could! It could happen to you. We live in a world that's dangerous to our faith, a world where the devil prowls around like a roaring lion just waiting for someone to devour. (1 Pet. 5:8) We walk in danger all the way. Satan and all his evil, sinful forces have flaming arrows aimed directly for us. (Eph. 6:16) The odds, if you want to think of it that way, probably aren't in our favor. Our faith is in constant danger. If you think you're standing firm, be careful that you don't fall. (1 Cor. 10:12) Yes, it could happen to you.

Just look at our text. It picks up right in the middle of the action: "The Lord said to Moses, "Say to the assembly, 'Move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.'" (Num. 16:23) This is the dramatic end to an event in Israel's history known as Korah's rebellion. It all happened during the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness that the people had to do because of their disobedience to God.

As you can imagine, pointless wandering for 40 years can get people in a bad mood. That's probably what had happened here. Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, along with about 250 others, rebelled against Moses and his brother Aaron. They thought Moses and Aaron were lording it over all the other people in the nation (Num. 16:3), and they blamed Moses for the problems the nation was having wandering in the desert. (Num. 16:13-14)

So to solve this fight, Moses suggested letting God pick the winner. He told Korah to get a bunch of his men to light censers (which were incense burners) and burn them before the Lord at the tabernacle. God would then decide who was right. (Num. 16:5-7)

Now, it doesn't seem that Korah and the rest of these men had always been constant troublemakers. They were well known leaders in their community. (Num. 16:2) People liked and respected them. They probably hadn't been planning a rebellion all their lives.

In fact, look how God had blessed them! God had chosen these people to be his own nation as Israelites. He had rescued them from slavery in Egypt. He had brought them through the waters of the Red Sea. He had fed them with manna on the ground and quail from the sky. He had allowed them to be respected community leaders with positions of importance in the nation. They probably would have never guessed that they'd be rebelling against their God-given leaders, against God himself. But that's what they did. It happened.

And it could happen to you. As I mentioned earlier, you have been greatly blessed. We live in a prosperous, safe country, where we can worship God freely. We have his Word widely available; we can read it, we can listen to it on cd, we can access it on the computer or even on our phone. We belong to a church and church body that takes God at his Word. We have the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's supper being administered right here. We have a beautiful church building and still relatively new addition. We have many different members with many different gifts helping each other and working together. We have our Lord's forgiveness for our sins and the comfort of salvation in heaven.

We've got it made! So we have nothing to worry about, right? Drifting away from the Bible? Falling away from the faith? Nah. Couldn't happen!

But it could. It could happen to you. Our lives feel like wandering in the wilderness sometimes. We wonder what the point of our lives is supposed to be. We get frustrated at the problems that come up. We struggle in relationships with others. We get angry when we don't get what we want. We sin and don't think it's a big deal at all.

You see how easy it is? We're in a good situation! God has chosen us! What could possibly happen? So we let our guard down. Reading the Bible becomes less important. The Lord's Supper becomes more about routine, or more about our preparation, and less about Jesus' gift. Church services become just something you do, just because, when you get a chance. Prayer becomes just something you talk about. And Jesus' forgiveness? Instead of our comfort and only hope, it becomes an excuse to do what we want.

Falling from faith happens to people. You probably know some of them. And no matter what you might think, it could happen to you. And the results are disastrous.

Look what happened in our text. God picked who was right, and it wasn't Korah and the others who rebelled. We read that "the ground under them split apart and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed th, with their households and all Korah's men and all their possessions. They went down alive into the grave, with everything they owned; the earth closed over them, and they perished and were gone from the community. (Num. 16:31-33) How horrific! How awful! It's like a scene from some horror movie. And those people offering the incense to the Lord who had rebelled didn't escape either. "Fire came out from the Lord and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense." (Num. 16:35) I don't think anyone who saw those scenes would've forgotten them anytime soon. Blessed people, people who had it all going for them -- they rebelled, and they lost it all.

Of course, when people lose their faith today, it's a lot less dramatic. No earthquakes. No fiery attacks from the Lord. People look normal. They go about their everyday lives. But really, what is happening is no less horrific, no less destructive. Loss of faith -- because that is the final result of these sins that go too far -- loss of faith means loss of salvation. Loss of eternal life. No horror movie can come close to that scene.

And I'm not trying to scare people here, but it could happen to you! That's the exact point that God made in our text, too. When those people offering incense had been burned up in the fire, it seems that all that was left of them was a pile of ashes and their bronze censers. So God commanded that the bronze from those censers be hammered and put on top of the altar in the tabernacle. (Num. 16:39) Why would he do this? "This was to remind the Israelites that no one except a descendant of Aaron should come to burn incense before the Lord." (Num. 16:40) Or, to put it another way, "It could happen to you."

Funny that the reminder was put right on the altar, though. Because that altar was meant to be a reminder of something else. Usually, it was blood that went on the altar, the blood of sacrifices. The message there was similar -- this blood could have been yours, but God is taking the blood of an animal in place of yours. God used his altar to teach his people how he forgave sins.

God uses that altar to remind us of another sacrifice. Jesus' blood was poured out on the altar of the cross. His life met the full force of God's wrath. And you know what, it could have been you meeting that wrath, paying with your life -- but it was Jesus. It could have been you paying the consequence of all your sins, but it was Jesus. It could have been you, suffering and dying. But it was Jesus.

If you think your sins are too great, if you think you will fall away because of all the wrong you've done, because of the rebellion you have committed, if you think, "God's love and forgiveness could never happen to me!" Look at Jesus. Look at that cross. Look at that empty tomb. It has happened to you. God's love happened to you in Christ.

He is your hope. He is your forgiveness. He is your not-guilty verdict when your rebellion should've made you guilty. Jesus is the life when you should have death. Fix your eyes on him! Run to his Word for the comfort of his forgiveness. Fall to your knees for his free mercy. Hunger and thirst for the comfort of his body and blood in the sacrament. He has heard you! No one who takes refuge in him is ever put to shame.

Will it happen to you? Can it happen to you? We might think we know the odds to lots of things in our lives. And we might be right and we might be wrong. But here are odds we can be sure of. On our own, we will fall away from our Savior. On our own, the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh, will be too much for us. So let's never try it on our own. Let's stay with our Savior. Let's stay with Jesus and his Word. With him, forgiveness, life, and salvation aren't something that could happen to you. With Jesus, they're already yours.

The High Price of Sin

Sermon preached at Our Savior for the First Sunday in Lent, February 21, 2010. Text: Joshua 7:16-26

The High Price of Sin

There's a serious condition that afflicts millions of people, and more fall prey to it every day. You could be next, if it hasn't gotten you already. You know what I'm talking about: sticker shock. This condition typically presents itself with an eyes-wide stare, a mouth that drops open, and words being repeated again and again -- usually a variation of, "I can't believe they'd charge that much!" This condition can be caught almost anywhere, from commercials on tv, to car dealerships, to opening your phone bill.  There is no known cure for this condition.

Yes, many things in our lives cost a ridiculous amount of money. We're shocked at the prices...though we usually keep paying. In fact, when prices stay high, it gets to the point that we're not that shocked anymore. You just eventually get used to paying that much.

I think that's how we tend to think with the high price of sin. Sin is missing the mark, crossing the line, breaking God's laws, his commandments -- any one of them, even just a little bit. Have you ever stopped to consider what the actual price of even one of those sins really is? It's astronomical. It's eternal. It's something not one of us can afford.

Yet we spend anyway. We spend and spend; we sin and sin. Maybe we think it's not that big a deal. Maybe we think, well, I already sinned once, just one more isn't going to make much difference. Or -- scariest of all -- we think, "That's what Jesus is for! So it doesn't matter, I can sin all I want! God will always forgive me..." And we use our Savior's love as an excuse to sin more.

Friends, the high price of sin is eternal punishment.  The high price of sin is owed by everyone, and it must be paid. During this season of Lent, keep in mind what Jesus did to pay that price for you. Look to Jesus, not as an excuse, not as your license to sin more, but as your Savior from that sin. The price of sin is frighteningly high. But Jesus paid it in full for you.

Our text takes shows us an example of the high price of sin in this world from the book of Joshua. When the Israelites had left Egypt, walked through the Red Sea, and then wandered for 40 years in the wilderness, they finally entered the promised land. Once there, God commanded them to wipe out all the people who were living in the land. It was God's way of punishing those people for their unbelief and his way of rewarding the Israelite's with their own land.

The first military victory they had was a big one: Jericho. This is the city where the walls came tumbling down after the people had marched around it for seven days. God showed his power in giving his people the victory. But he had a command for this victory: after the people defeated Jericho, all the gold, silver, and bronze was supposed to go to the treasury of the Lord, and everything else was to be completely destroyed.

So after they defeated Jericho, they went on to the next city, Ai. This place should've been easy. It was tiny. The Israelites didn't even think they needed their whole army to beat it, just a few thousand soldiers. But when they attacked, they got defeated -- bad. Thirty-six soldiers died and the rest had to retreat in what should've been an easy victory. Why? What had happened? God finally revealed to Joshua what it was: someone had taken some things from Jericho that they shouldn't have. They needed to find those things, and the person who took them would have a high price to pay.

That's where our text begins. "Early the next morning Joshua had Israel come forward." (Jos. 7:16) This must've been some scene. The whole nation had to assemble before Joshua, and then they probably did some form of casting lots. (Of course, God was in control of the lots and made sure that they revealed the right answer.) They started with the tribes, and the lot came up Judah. Then they went to clans, then to families, then man by man, until the guilty man was found: a man named Achan.

Can you imagine how sick to his stomach Achan must've been this whole time? Did he really think he could get away with this? He must've, or he would've turned himself in before this. But his heart must have sank more and more with each lot that was cast. First his tribe, then clan, then family. Then the chance for escape was gone. His sin had been discovered. Now it was time to pay the price.

I wonder how many of you are acting like Achan right now. Is there a sin in your life that you think no one knows about, that you think you won't get caught for? Is there something you think you're getting away with? Because you're not.

Sure, maybe no one in your life will find out. True, maybe your sin didn't lead to the death of  36 people like Achan's did. Maybe your sins wouldn't lead to you having a press-conference to apologize. Maybe most people wouldn't think your sin is a big deal.

But God thinks it's a big deal. God says it is. God says one sin is enough for death. He says, "the soul who sins is the one who will die." (Ezek. 18:4) But maybe you think you haven't done anything deserving death. God disagrees. The book of Romans lays out our sinful state: "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one." (Rom. 3:10-12)

You are guilty of those sins. There's no denying it. And just like Achan's heart must have beat faster and his stomach must have been twisting itself in knots knowing he would be caught, we too are already caught. God knows everything! He knows your sins before you commit them! He knows your sins in thought, word, and deed. And what does he say about all these sins? "Those who do such things deserve death." (Rom. 1:32) Death, physical and eternal, is the high price of sin.

It seems so harsh, that price. It was certainly a harsh price for Achan. All he did was take one robe and some silver and gold, and because of it, he had to die. In fact, not only Achan, but his wife and children and everything he owned had to be destroyed. Joshua gave him the harsh sentence when he said, "Why have you brought this trouble on us? The Lord will bring trouble on you today." (Jos. 7:25)

It was so harsh. But that's just physical death that Achan had to face. Eternal death, eternal separation from God and all his blessings, that's much, much worse. And that is the high price of sin that is due from all of us.

But did you hear our gospel reading today? Did you hear about Jesus and the devil, dueling it out in the wilderness? (Lk. 4:1-13) The devil came at Jesus with all the temptations he could think of. You'd think he would have known better, trying to tempt the Son of God. But he didn't. He tried. And he failed. Jesus stood up to every temptation.

That might seem like just an interesting story in the life of Jesus, but it's way, way more than that. Because in that story, you can start to see the high price of sin being paid in full. Jesus never sinned! He never gave in, like we do. He had no secret sins, like we do. He never tried to hide, like we do; he had nothing to hide about. No, instead, he faced the temptation and won!

And then, as we will be thinking about this Lenten season, Jesus went to the cross. He didn't hide, but he went to pay for sins he didn't commit. He paid for your sins, and he paid for mine. The high price for sin was paid in full.

Does this mean your sins don't matter? No. It means your sins matter so much that Jesus gave his life for them. Like Achan, none of us can be sure how long our life, our time of grace in this world, will be.  But as of right now, we all still have time in this world. We can still put those sins behind us. We can still look to God's mercy. By the grace of God, we can still trust that Jesus has paid those sins in full.

It's easy if you think of this little rhyme: in Lent, remember to repent. In Lent, remember to repent. Remember your sins. Remember how Jesus paid their price. Trust in his forgiveness, and then get rid of those sins in your life. Those secret sins that you hope no one finds out about -- God already knows, and he's forgiven you. Now turn to his forgiveness and live! Those sins you've committed already today? God knows them, and in Christ he's forgiven them. Repent and believe the good news! In Lent, remember to repent!

I hope that this season of Lent will give you lots of opportunity to reflect on what Jesus did for you. But remember, Lent isn't about feeling sorry for Jesus. It's about feeling sorry for your sins, and rejoicing that Jesus did something about it. No sin is too big for him. Jesus took the high price of sin -- your sin and mine -- and he paid it in full. Live in the assurance of that forgiveness now and forever.

Get Ready to Get Clean

This sermon for the 2nd Sunday in Advent was preached on 12/6/09 at Our Savior. The text is Malachi 3:1-4. http://ref.ly/Ml3.1-4

Get Ready to Get Clean!

It's time to get ready!  So much of what we do in our lives needs a time to prepare and get ready beforehand. When you take a test at school, you have to get ready and study before you take it, or it probably won't go well. When musicians play a concert, the concert isn't the first time they ever pick up their instrument. No, they spend long hours practicing to get ready. And I'm pretty sure no one here this morning woke up in your bed and then came directly here to church. There were some things you had to do first! You got dressed, maybe you ate breakfast. You got ready.

Interestingly, a lot of our getting ready involves cleaning of some sort. Maybe when you get ready for the day, you take a shower and brush your teeth -- both a form of cleaning. If you have guests coming over for dinner, what do you do? You clean, pick up the house, maybe vacuum, and make sure the place is presentable for guests.  You clean up to make sure everything's ready.

During this season of Advent, we get ready for the Savior. But how? How do we do it? How do we prepare our minds and hearts for Jesus' coming? Logically, you might think we should really try to clean ourselves up first and make sure we're good enough for Jesus. But as our text from Malachi shows us this morning, it doesn't do us any good to clean ourselves up to meet Jesus. Try as we might, we can never clean ourselves of our sins. We can never be perfect. We can never hide the sins that have dirtied our hearts and souls.

So to really get ready for Jesus, we need to listen to John the Baptist. "Repent!" he said in today's Gospel. We need to recognize how dirty and filthy with sin we really are; we need to confess that sin, then we need to look with eager anticipation for our Savior. Because when he comes, he will clean us up. He will wash away every spot and stain as he prepares us to serve him in all we do. So as we wait for Jesus again this year, get ready! Get ready to get clean!

Our text is from the book of the prophet Malachi, which is the last book of the Old Testament. By the time Malachi wrote his book, a lot had happened to Israel. They had been led to and given the Promised Land. But they had also turned away from the true God to false gods. Because of this, God had sent the Assyrians and Babylonians to take them away from their own land. But then, about 100 years before Malachi, some of the Israelites had returned from captivity in Babylon back to Jerusalem and Judea.

This was unheard of in the ancient world. Usually, once a group of people was carried off into captivity, they never came back. But God brought his people back! So, as you can imagine, they were fired up to be back! They built a new temple after the old one had been destroyed. They were dedicated to God again! It looked like things would finally be good for them all, that they would stay true to God, and that they'd live happily ever after.

It didn't work out that way, though. By the time of Malachi, the people weren't so fired up anymore. They were kind of sluggish, kind of going through the motions. Their hearts were no longer one hundred percent dedicated to God. Oh sure, they still worshiped him. They still came to the temple and brought their offerings. But their hearts just weren't in it any more.

Sound familiar? In some ways, Malachi might as well have been written in our time. We are just as much in need of the challenge and the call to repentance that God gave through Malachi in our text and that God later gave through John the Baptist.

It's John the Baptist that our text talks about first. "See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me." (Mal. 3:1) The people needed to be woken up from their spiritual apathy and cleaned up from the filth and grime of their sins. Thankfully God was going to send a messenger to prepare the way first. This is the prophecy of John the Baptist who would get the people ready for Jesus to come.  And it's John's message of repentance that we need to get us ready still today.

Because Jesus is coming soon! "Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty." (Mal. 3:1) Yes, Jesus will come unexpectedly. He came when people weren't expecting to Bethlehem nearly 2,000 years ago, and he will come unexpectedly when he comes again. Sounds like a good thing! But is it? Are you really ready?

Malachi asked the same question. "But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." (Mal. 3:2-3) The reason you need to get ready for Jesus is because he is going to clean up when he comes.

This isn't just a little tidying up. Our text says he is like a refiner's fire. If you in a mine and you find silver, it's not going to be pure silver. There will be parts of silver and parts of other stuff, less valuable stuff that you have to get rid of. So you burn it away, you refine it in fire until you have pure silver. That's what Jesus will do at the end of the world. He will purge away with fire anything that's not pure. So are you ready?

Again, Jesus is called a launderer's soap. This isn't a nice, gentle hand soap we're talking about here. This is the kind of soap that cleans so aggressively it burns, like lye or bleach. What do you do when you clean with bleach? You've got to watch out for it! If it gets on your clothes it could ruin them. This is a cleaning that's so thorough it destroys all traces of what's dirty.

And that's not a pleasant experience. Picture a young child who's just eaten a meal. Her face is covered in food. But then mom appears with a washcloth in her hand. What does that child do? She says, "No!" I'm clean enough! Don't touch me with that! And she squirms and wriggles to try to keep that cloth away from her.

That's how we act sometimes with our sins. Jesus is coming to cleanse the world from all sin forever? Nah. Not for me. I'm not dirty with sin. I'm pretty good. Sure, I'm not perfect. But I go to church (at least once in a while), and I try to do my best.

No! That's not good enough! Your sins are serious, even the "little" sins. Each of them is a stain so deep that it seems like it could never come off. And if our attitude toward that sin is that it's no big deal, then when Jesus returns to clean up, he's going to wipe us right out and burn us away forever.

No, instead we need to look at our sins. Like how you would take that messy child to a mirror and show her how messy she really is. We need to look into the mirror of God's law and see how serious our sins really are. We need to see the stain of our desiring what's not ours, the dirt of our lies, the filth of our hate, the rottenness of our lack of respect for God's authority. Above all, we need to see the blackest stain of all on ourselves -- when we have put something, anything, ahead of the one true God.

These are not stains we can clean up ourselves. If you never brushed your teeth for several years, and then had a dentist's appointment, what would you do? You'd probably try to quickly brush your teeth really well and floss before seeing the dentist. But you know it wouldn't do any good! The damage would already be done. No quick brushing could take it away. The dentist would try, but the teeth would probably have to go.

The same would be for our sinful selves standing before our holy God. Nothing we can do can cover up those stains, that rot, that filth. So what can we do? How can we get ready to get clean? Listen to John the Baptist. Repent! Look in the mirror, recognize your sins, and then plead for your life. All you can say before God is: I don't deserve anything from you. I am guilty. I beg you, have mercy on me.

And he has had mercy on us. Jesus has paid for those sins. Jesus himself was punished for our mistakes, he has already cleaned up our dirt and filth. He washed them away in his blood shed on the cross. He scrubbed them out of us in our baptism. Yes, we are forgiven. We are holy. In God's eyes we are clean and pure because we trust in Jesus' salvation for us.

True, we're not perfect until we get to heaven. That's why we live in repentance, constantly turning back to our Savior for forgiveness and cleansing. We continually need to get ready to get clean! And that's exactly what Jesus does for us.

Our text continues, "He will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years." (Mal. 3:3-4)

In the Old Testament, only the Levites and priests could serve God in his temple. It was off-limits to anyone else. But Jesus purifies all of us to serve him. When we recognize our forgiveness, we want to serve him by obeying him and serving him with our whole lives. The Apostle Peter says, that "You...are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." (1 Pet. 2:5)

Now, in Christ, we are all priests who serve God with everything we are. Every action is for him, in thanks to him for our salvation. We don't go through the motions, we live for him from our heart and soul, as we are built up in him through the Word and Sacraments.
Peter says later on, "You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. " (2 Peter 2:9) Jesus chose us to be his, he chose us to praise him with our lives. Let's do that! Let's repent of our sins and declare God's praises with everything we do.

Because as we do, we'll be ready! We'll be ready for Jesus to come. We'll repent and see how much we need his forgiveness. We'll go to him time and again pleading for his forgiveness and rejoicing that it's already ours. We'll go out in the world praising and thanking him in all we do. We'll be ready for him to come again to clean up this world for good and take us home. May that day come quickly! Stay ready for it!

What Have You Done?

This sermon was preached at Our Savior on 10/4/09. Text: Psalm 51:1-9. It was the 18th Sunday after Pentecost, but the sermon text is from a series of sermons on the Sunday school lesson for the week.

What Have You Done?

A little boy looks up at his dad. Shattered bits of glass from what used to be a vase lie on the floor next to him. His dad says, "What have you done?" A mom walks up to her daughter and points at a new dent on the back of the car. "What have you done?" she asks. A husband gets home from a few days away on a trip to find that all the rooms of the house have been painted hot pink. With a sigh he says to his wife, "What have you done?"

That phrase can be enough to make us uncomfortable just hearing it. "What have you done?" Every one of you are probably already thinking of times from your past when you were in trouble, and someone called you on it. Answering that question is usually hard for us, because it usually means admitting to something we might not want to admit to.  It can make us ashamed. It can make us feel guilty. It can make us angry that we got caught, depressed at what we have allowed ourselves to do, or sad at the hurt we've caused others. Because it can be so uncomfortable, because we don't like to admit our faults, because there might be negative consequences involved with our actions, we don't usually like to answer that question, "What have you done?"

But now imagine that the next time you did something wrong, God himself asked you that question. You do something wrong, you commit some sin -- whatever it is -- and the heavens are opened! A light shines down directly on you and the voice of God himself thunders down at you: "What have you done?!" Not a comfortable situation. Nowhere to run or hide. Your choices are either to think of some excuses (which God would see right through anyway), or to 'fess up and lay it all out on the table, then hope for the best.

This is pretty much what happened to David. No, the heavens didn't open, and God's voice didn't thunder down, but David had the next best thing. The prophet Nathan showed up on God's command and confronted David with his sins of coveting, adultery, deception, and murder.  David had nowhere to run or hide. He had to answer for his actions.

Psalm 51, our text for this morning, was written by David after this incident. It not only tells about his experiences from his sins, it speaks to all of us who still sin today. What is your attitude toward the sins you commit? What is your status or relationship with God because of those sins?

The first words of this psalm can give you chills. "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin." (Ps. 51:1-2) You picture David on his knees with his hands stretched out, pleading. "Have mercy on me, Lord! You got me! I'm guilty! Transgressions, iniquities, sins, whatever you want to call them, I've done plenty. I can make no other plea than guilty. I have no excuse to bring before you. All I can do is plead for your mercy. Please don't punish me like I deserve!"

These words of David just sound right, don't they? They should sound pretty familiar, too. After all, we say them constantly here in our services. In our confession today we said, "I am truly sorry for my sins, and trusting in my Savior, I pray: Lord have mercy on me, a sinner." We sang those familiar words, "Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy on us." A little later we sang something similar, "O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, you take away the sin of the world; have mercy on us."

This must be something important if we've said it or sung it so many times already today. But sometimes I have to wonder. Do we mean it anymore? Are we really being like David and getting on our knees, pleading to God? Are we really admitting that there's nothing good in us, that we've failed in every way before God, that we have no excuse, nothing to help our case on our own, that all we can do is plead God for his mercy? Or are we so used to hearing about forgiveness that we don't even think about needing mercy anymore? "Sins? Well, yeah, I guess I do them, but I'm forgiven so it's not really a big deal."

How easy for those words, "Lord, have mercy on me!" to be just that, words.  Just sounds our mouths make. Just our way of participating in the service. But are our hearts far away from our mouths? Has the fact that Jesus forgives our sins lead us to use Jesus' forgiveness as an excuse for those sins? "You can't really be mad at me, God! We both know these sins aren't all that serious! Oh, yes, have mercy! Wink, wink! We all know sins are no big deal." That attitude, even if we never express it in words, can easily clunk around in our hearts.

So maybe it's time to really look what's in those hearts. Our psalm says, "I know my transgressions and my sin is always before me." (Ps. 51:3) Do you really know your transgressions? Is your sin right there on your mind at all times? Think about his past week. Think about the actions you have done that go against God. Think about those sins. Can't think of any? Then you're not trying. Thinking of one or two? You're still not trying.

Or, think about your words. You very likely said something during the past week that was hurtful, or misused God's name, or made something God says into a joke.  Are you thinking of any?  Do you wish you couldn't remember?

Then there's your thoughts. In the time it takes you to say the words "sinful thoughts" you can have dozens of them. They can keep going off like a fire-hose in our mind, and so often it seems like we're powerless to make them stop. We couldn't keep track of these sins if we wanted to, but can you imagine what such a record would look like? It wouldn't be pretty. Like another psalm says, "If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?" (Ps. 103:3)
Friends, your sins are real! They are real rebellions against God. They are ways that you have twisted God's intentions for your life into an ugly mess. You have crossed the line, again and again. Not only have you missed the bull's-eye of what God wants, you haven't even hit the target.

So, when the voice of God thunders at you, he's right! (Ps. 51:4) Oh, he doesn't thunder his voice out of the clouds; he thunders from his Word. "Whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it." (Jas. 2:10) "Your iniquities have separated you from  your God; your sins have hidden his face from you." (Is. 59:2)

Yes, you are Christians. Yes, you're here in church today, but your sins are no less offensive, no less damnable in God's sight. And it's been this way since you were born! As David confesses in our text, "Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me." (Ps. 51:5) These sins aren't a slight problem, a minor blemish. You have been completely corrupted by them. God wants you to know this. (Ps. 51:6) He wants you to recognize this in yourself. He wants you to see how every second of your life since conception, you have deserved nothing but hell.

Lord, have mercy on me. My sins drive me to my knees; God wants these sins to drive you to your knees spiritually. He wants you to be thinking, "Look what I've done! Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner. I plead guilty. Don't treat me as my sins deserve, Lord!"

And you know what? He doesn't. Your heavenly Father has had mercy on you. According to his unfailing love, God the Father sent God the Son. Jesus Christ lived perfectly. He didn't need mercy, because he had done nothing wrong.  But according to God's great compassion, Jesus' death blotted out all our sins. Like scrubbing a stubborn stain out of the carpet, Jesus washed us clean in his blood, shed on the cross. He washed us clean in our baptism. He has forgiven you, cleansed you of your sin!

Listen again to David's words in this psalm. "Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean." (Ps. 51:7) Hyssop was the plant that the Israelites used to paint blood on their door frames on the first passover. It was the same plant used to sprinkle blood on Old Testament worshipers to make them "clean" in God's sight. Jesus' blood has made us clean! It has taken your sins away. When Jesus comes to you with his true body and true blood in the Lord's supper, that's what he's doing! He's making you clean! He's saying, "Not only do I forgive the sins of the world; I've forgiven you. Take and eat this body given for you. Drink this blood shed for you! What grace!

And our psalm continues, "Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow." (Ps. 51:7) It won't be long until the snow is falling here in Springville. Well, you know what happens when the snow stays around for a long time without melting? It gets dirty. All the cars driving around leave the snow looking disgusting and black. But then, a fresh batch of lake-effect snow blows in. And suddenly, everything is white. Everything is clean. Christ has done that for you. He's taken the dirt, the grime of your sin, and he has made you clean.

So you can rejoice! Even though the weight of your sins were enough  to crush your very bones, you can rejoice (Ps. 51:8), because Jesus has taken that burden on himself. He bore our infirmities and carried our sorrows (Is. 53:4), he took them away, nailing them to the cross. (Col. 2:14) So now, when God looks at us, he doesn't see our sins. He doesn't see our mistakes, rebellions, and failures. He sees the perfection of Jesus Christ. By faith, God has hidden his face from our sins; he has blotted them out by Christ alone. (Ps. 51:9) Never doubt that. Believe it! Rejoice in it!

And when you hear the question, "What have you done?" Whether the question comes from a parent, a spouse, a friend, or from God himself, answer that question. Come clean before God, because Christ has made you clean in his sight. Confess to your God, "nothing in my hand I bring, only to your cross I cling." Then rejoice in his forgiveness. Through no power of your own, your sins have been taken away. Make every day of your life a day of the bottomless sorrow of confession and the limitless joy of forgiveness.