If you click the Bible reference above, it should open in a separate window to let you see the Gospel lesson that Pastor Mallie is using is the text of his sermon. If you have Logos/Libronics and click on the tiny logo above, it should open up that software to that Bible reference.
If you just want to listen to the sermon, click on this link: http://ziontomball.info/wfs23a/Oct26_2008_Matt22_15-22.m4a
CHOSEN FOR A PURPOSE
I Thess. 1: 1-10
Proper 24
Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Our text for this mornings meditation is recorded in Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, chapter 1, verse 1 through 10, particularly these words: “We know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.” This is our text.
In the name of our blessed Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, dear Christian friends. Paul, Silus, and Timothy wrote a letter to their Christian friends who were members of the Church at Thessalonica. Thessalonica was a very prosperous city. It was an important town on the trade routes across northern Greece. They had a very busy harbor for shipping — it brought them great wealth. But with the wealth it also brought crime and immorality of all kinds. Because it was a shipping crossroads, Thessalonica had a mixed population, mostly Greeks of course — but there were also a lot of Jews and a strong garrison of Romans within the city.
Paul visited Thessalonica on his second missionary journey. The Proclamation of the Gospel message bore fruit there. And a small congregation was begun. But Paul was a traveling missionary, and in time he had to move on.
Some time later, Timothy goes back to Thessalonica to visit and see how things were going. He returns to Paul and gives his report. Then following Timothy’s report Paul writes this first letter to the Thessalonians. Martin Luther said of this epistle: “St. Paul writes out of special love and apostolic solicitude. For in the first two chapters he praises them because they received the Gospel from him with such earnestness that they remained steadfast in it despite suffering and persecution, and became a beautiful example of faith to all congregations everywhere, and suffered persecution from their own kinsfolk like Christ and His apostles did from the Jews — as St. Paul by way of example had himself also suffered and led a holy life when he was with them. For this he thanks God, that his Gospel had borne such fruit among them.”
This was a very warm letter written by one friend to a group of friends. Paul wanted to comfort, to strengthen, and to encourage the Thessalonians in their life of faith for the Lord.
The words of Paul in this letter were important to the Thessalonians – for they needed Christian guidance and nurture in a very sinful, cruel, crime filled world that surrounded them – Just as you and I today need these words also in our very sinful, cruel, and crime filled world.
Paul very quickly gives the people a very assuring word. He tells them, “We know, brethren, beloved by God, that he has chosen you.”
Have you ever gotten involved with a real difficult job, or possibly with some kind of community work, or a specially appointed committee, and after a few meetings or days you get totally frustrated with what is going on and you ask yourself, “What am I doing here?” Maybe you said something like, “I don’t understand what is happening, and maybe I don’t belong here.” Paul wanted the Thessalonians to know for sure that they belonged. He told them, “God has chosen you.”
Those words are important for us to remember as well. We belong to God – not because of our great goodness, not because we chose God or decided for God – but because God chose us, and we belong to Him.
When Peter wrote to another group of Christians he told them, “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.” Again the emphasis is on God’s act – God has chosen those who are his. And Jesus himself told us in John’s Gospel, “You did not choose me; I chose you, and appointed you to go and bear much fruit.”
God has chosen us. What a great feeling it is. Too often we get the idea that what we have done is more important than what God has done. We like to remember all that we have done for God. We like to point out the good things we have done. But, then our conscience reminds us of our sins and our shortcomings as well. We remember that God’s law demands more than just being good – God’s law demands that we be perfect. God’s law tells us that the only acceptable standard of what is good, is God himself. If we want to earn God’s favor, then we are going to have to be holy and perfect – even as God himself is holy and perfect – in thought, in word, and in deed. We look at our own sinful lives and cry out as Paul did, “O Wretched man that I am…”
But then comes those comforting words of Paul – “God has chosen you.” God sent his only begotten son to die on a cross for your sins. God’s own son has paid the price for you sin so that you again belong to God. God has made you one of his children. Even with all your sins – God loves you and has made you his own dear child. Our sins are washed clean in God’s grace and mercy through Jesus Christ our Lord.
So, How do you know for sure that you are a child of God? It is really quite simple. Paul told the Thessalonians what their proof was. He said, “Our Gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction.”
Were you baptized? Do you receive God’s Holy Supper? Do you believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? Do you regularly read and study the Scriptures? If you answered “no” to these questions, then there is room for doubt! But if you answered “yes” to these questions, then the Holy Spirit is at work in your life through these means of grace. And through that Spirit, God is at work in your life and God has chose you as his own. When God is at work in your life, it will show. When God takes over a person’s heart, everything else takes second place. When God chooses someone to be his, he doesn’t allow that person to belong to anyone else. And so the total life of God’s people is proof of the action of God in their lives.
It was true of the Thessalonians. Paul tells them, “We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith, and labor of love, and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.”
The life of a Christian will always be proof of God’s action in the life of His people. The good works that we as God’s people are able to accomplish is really God working through us. Our Scriptures remind us, “No one can say that Jesus is Lord but by the Holy Spirit.” And Jesus himself said, “Without me, you can no nothing.” But in Christ, we can do all things!
So the next time you ask yourself – “Do I belong here?” The answer is yes. You belong because God has chosen you and made you his own. God has chosen you and given you a purpose in this life. God has chosen you so that you might give glory to his holy name. And he gives you the strength and will to accomplish his will through His means of grace, through Word and Sacrament.
You were chosen by God for a purpose – to bear fruit – so that men might see your good works and give glory to your Father, who is in heaven. To God alone be the glory, now and always. Amen.
May the peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting. Amen.
If you click the Bible reference above, it should open in a separate window to let you see the Gospel lesson that Pastor Mallie is using is the text of his sermon. If you have Logos/Libronics and click on the tiny logo above, it should open up that software to that Bible reference.
If you just want to listen to the sermon, click on this link: http://ziontomball.info/wfs23a/Oct12_2008 _Matt_22_1-14.m4a
GAINS AND LOSSES
Philippians 3: 8-14
Proper 22
Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, dear Christian friends. Our text for this mornings meditation is recorded in Paul’s letter to the Philippians, chapter 3, verses 8 through 14, particularly these words, “I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that come from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ. This is our text.
In the name of our blessed Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, dear Christian friends. In case you haven’t heard yet, according to our leaders and our media, our nation is currently undergoing an economic crisis. When you listen to the news it sounds like everyone is now bankrupt, that there is no money for any loans of any kind, and that we are very close to another great depression like the 30′s. Sorry, but I don’t buy the hype. Economic trouble, YES! But disaster, NO! But this might be a good time to take stock of what is doing good and what is doing bad. What do you put in the plus column and what do you put in the negative or loss column. If you had stock in the stock market, the price might be down right now — but if it was a good company before this economic mess, it will still be good after the mess is over. If you have gold or silver, you’re doing well right now. But the panic buying will probably end soon and that price will stabilize just like everything else. So maybe this economic crisis is a good time to take a good look at your investments — what is a gain and what is a loss.
In today’s text it would seem that Paul was “taking stock,” not of his investments, but of his spiritual assets. Paul was adding up his gains and comparing them with his losses. And within these words of our text — there is a very important message to all Christians about WHAT IS A GAIN –and WHAT IS A LOSS — and WHERE WE SHOULD BE PUTTING OUR PRIORITIES.
First of all, let’s see what Paul lists as Losses. The world would consider this stuff a gain – but not Paul. Paul was a very educated man — He was a citizen of Rome which was very important in His day — He had good strong political connections with the rulers of the land. As a Jew — he was circumcised — from the tribe of Benjamin — a Pharisee of Pharisees — blameless before the law. With all this going for him, Paul could probably have been a very wealthy man had he continued his work, pulled a few political strings, and used his education to advance himself among his peers. Paul’s status, before his Christian conversion might be compared today with a young graduate from Harvard Law School, who has several good friends who are senators in Washington.
But on the Road to Damascus — things changed for Paul. He saw Jesus Christ face to face. And Christ gave to Paul a new calling, and a new direction for life. It was NOT a life of glamour, or of fortune, or of great power. INSTEAD it was a life of poverty, a life of rejection, a life of persecution, and eventually, a martyr’s death.
And what did Paul have to say about giving up “The Good Life” to which his background, his birth, and his training would have lead him? He said in our text, “For Christ’s sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him.”
To our world of today — a world dedicated to money, wealth, and material gain — this text gives a strong message. Paul could have had all the leisure and the niceties of life — He had the education, he had the status, he had the connections — but these he gave up in order to serve the Lord. And Paul called all these worldly advantages that he gave up “RUBBISH” or GARBAGE. There was something else that was SO IMPORTANT to Paul that he considered a nice home, a good salary, a comfortable retirement, a car and a boat, and maybe a couple of Money Market C.D.’s mere Garbage in comparison. The MOST IMPORTANT thing to Paul was “To know Christ Jesus as Lord.” Compared with that — nothing else was important. Everything else was a loss.
Now, of course our text is NOT asking any of us to give up anything that we have in life — but it does point out to us what is important and what is not. The luxuries which Paul gave up as “losses”, were unimportant. The social Position, which Paul gave up, was unimportant. The political power and leadership that Paul gave up was unimportant — What he gained in their place was VERY IMPORTANT. The things of this life were mere garbage, compared to the worth of Knowing Jesus Christ as Lord.
And that was what went into Paul’s “gains” column: “Knowing Jesus Christ as Lord.” This was the greatest gain that Paul could have had — just as it is the greatest gain that you and I can possible have.
Paul spells out why this is such a great “gain” in the words of our text for today. He says, “For Christ’s sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which through faith in Christ — the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.”
“Being right with God” — being righteous — was the most important thing is Paul’s life, and he found his righteousness with God, by grace, through faith in Jesus Christ. It was God’s act in Christ’s death and resurrection which made Paul righteous. And to have faith, and to know Jesus Christ, was the most important thing in all the world to Paul.
I would hope that this is also the most important thing in your life. The most important thing in our lives should be “to be right with God.” All the things of this world which tempt us, and lure us, and impress us will pass away — those things will be gone — and then we shall all stand before God our eternal judge. At that moment social position, financial genius, political power, worldly wisdom — all those things that seem so important now — will not matter one small bit — At that moment when we stand before God, the only thing that WILL MATTER is “The righteousness of God that depends on faith.” And at that point, that is the ONLY GAIN that matters.
But what about right now? What about today and tomorrow as we continue in this world of wars and rumors of wars, of crime and hostility and hate, of economic and political turmoil. How do we get along today? Paul tells us, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. One thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
Paul says that he forgets the past — and strives toward the future. He knows that his sin and shortcomings of the past have been forgiven through Christ’s life, death, and resurrection — and he knows that through his baptism he has died with Christ, so that he might live with him in his resurrection — and so Paul continues to strive to be what God has already made him to be, that is a child of God. While waiting for God’s call into eternal life, Paul strives on earth to be the best example of what a child of God can be, in order that he might win others to Jesus Christ. Paul said it clearly, “For me to live is Christ. For me to die is gain.”
Like Paul, you and I must decide what our priorities are. If our priority is getting rich — or gaining social position — or using strong political power, then we strive for earthly and failing treasure, what Paul called “garbage.” BUT if our priority is eternal life with God in heaven — then we do not look back — but instead we push on toward the goal which is life in heaven, and that is ours by God’s grace, through faith in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. To God be the glory now and always. Amen.
May the peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting. Amen.
If you click the Bible reference above, it should open in a separate window to let you see the Gospel lesson that Pastor Mallie is using is the text of his sermon. If you have Logos/Libronics and click on the tiny logo above, it should open up that software to that Bible reference.
If you just want to listen to the sermon, click on this link: http://ziontomball.info/wfs23a/Matt21_28-32.m4a
The Bible Verse for Today
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