November 14/15, 2010 sermon by Pastor Paul Eckert on 2 Thessalonians 2:13-3:5

November 14/15, 2010 Saints Triumphant
Sermon by Pastor Paul G. Eckert
Sermon text - 2 Thessalonians 2:13-3:5
CHRISTIAN STEWARDSHIP TAKES TIME
TO BE THANKFUL AND TO STAND FIRM,
TO BE ENCOURAGED FOR DEEDS AND PRAYER,
and TO BE CONFIDENT IN GOD’S LOVE AND DIRECTING.

"Saints Triumphant" is the title for this week in the church year. That makes us ask, "Who are the saints, and how can we speak of them being triumphant?" The basic meaning of the word saint is holy. So the saints are holy people, as we say in the Apostles’ Creed: "the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints." We can speak of that communion of saints also as the congregation or gathering of saints, of those who are holy. That holiness in time, being triumphant now while we live here on earth, is because of the forgiveness of sins through Jesus. That holiness in eternity, being triumphant where there is no sin, is in full glory with Jesus in our heavenly home.
How wonderful that will be, when we are home in eternity with Jesus in glory, when every tear will be wiped from our eyes and all of the difficulties of life the way it is now in time will be gone. But we who are gathered as God’s saints here, His forgiven people here on earth in time, aren’t there yet, are we.
So we are still dealing with time, something that has a beginning and an ending. What then do we, who are triumphant saints now because of our Savior’s forgiving love, do in our time that has a beginning and an end? We live, don’t we, and we can speak of our Christian lives as a time when we are stewards of whatever amount of time God gives us. Let’s call tha t Christian stewardship of time, and now point out that Christian Stewardship Takes Time to do various things.
CHRISTIAN STEWARDSHIP TAKES TIME
I TO BE THANKFUL AND TO STAND FIRM (13-15)
1. Thankful that God chose us (13a)
But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved ---.
a) we can choose a lot of things, like what to have for breakfast,
whether we go to one of our Sunday services or go on Monday
evening, what clothes to wear, and so on and on
b) but choose to be saved? make the decision to accept Jesus as
Savior when by our natural thinking someone dying on a cross
makes no sense, when our natural thinking about being saved
can come up only with being reasonably good or at least better
than a lot of other bad guys out there? - fellow saints, be
thankful from the bottom of your hearts that we did not choose
to be saved but that God chose us, and that He did that from
way before we could think or choose to do anything
2. Thankful for how He did this (13-14a)
But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our gospel, ---.
a) in eternity already God chose us to be saved; then in time, in
the lifetime of each of us, He called us through the Gospel, the
good news about His Son being sent into our time on this earth
to substitute for us sinners, to take our place in order to pay the
wages of our sin, to bring the innocent sacrifice that God
would accept to cancel our debt of sin so that we might be
forgiven and have the promise of eternal life in glory
b) and then, as God sent His Son for us, be thankful that He also
sends His Holy Spirit to us through this good news so that we
believe this Gospel truth, as our text again says, "from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth."
3. Thankful for what this means (14)
He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
a) glory already, right now saints triumphant; that is how God in
His grace sees all who believe, all in Christ Jesus in whom there
is no condemnation, no sin to bar our way into heaven
b) and finally heaven, sharing there "in the glory of our Lord
Jesus Christ," when the ills of our earthly life will all be gone
4. Stand firm in this precious truth (15)
So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.
a) the plan of salvation is God’s plan, what He did for us
b) this truth, His Word, His teachings in Word and sacraments, is
what the Holy Spirit uses to give us faith in that precious truth
c) take time, use time, to hear and read and grow in this Gospel
of salvation; and in that way be thankful and stand firm
II TO BE ENCOURAGED FOR DEEDS AND PRAYER (16-3)
1. Consider again what we have (16)
May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who
loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good
hope, ---.
a) every day, now in our lifetime on earth, we have God’s love,
also when we don’t always understand His ways; we have His
grace which assures us that for Jesus’ sake we are forgiven,
holy, triumphant saints
b) and what about the future? - for that we have eternal
encouragement and good hope, because God has glory for us
after this vale of tears
2. Let that encourage what we do in time (16-17)
May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.
a) what we have now and will have in eternity should not be
hidden away, kept secret from those who don’t yet have it
b) instead let that encourage us in our Christian stewardship to
take time to let our deeds - how we live our Christian lives, and
to let our words - the language we use, show people who we
are to the glory of our Savior God so that our moral behavior
and our God-pleasing talking draw people to want to find out
why we live the Christian lives we live
3. Use time also for prayer (1-2)
Finally, brothers, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you. And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men, for not everyone has faith.
a) be mission-minded; pray for those who don’t yet know Jesus,
don’t yet know the wonderfulness of forgiveness and grace
b) pray for those who proclaim the message of grace, for our
synod and its workers in our country and in other countries,
for St. Jacobi congregation’s called workers as we try to share
the Gospel with children and adults, members and others
4. And be encouraged by God’s assurances (3)
But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.
a) are we alone as we take time for deeds and words and prayer?
b) no! we have our faithful Lord to strengthen and protect us
from the devil who doesn’t want us to use time for serving God
c) trusting that, be encouraged to take time for deeds and words
and prayer
III TO BE CONFIDENT IN GOD’S LOVE AND DIRECTING
1. Notice Paul’s confidence here (4) /(4-5)
We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command.
a) Paul expressed much confidence in this congregation’s doing
b) that included confidence they would continue, not slack off
2. Can we have the same confidence? (4)
We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command.
a) our children are instructed and make promises of faithfulness
and become adult members of our congregation; our long-time
members and new members joining us say they are one with us
in the confession of the truth, that they will make faithful use of
Word and sacraments, and that according to ability they will
serve the Lord with their time and talents and offerings
b) is that happening? can we have the same confidence about St.
Jacobi congregation in Greenfield that the apostle Paul
expressed about the Christian congregation in Thessalonica?
3. May we continue to be directed in the right direction (5)
May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.
a) "into God’s love" - O how great that love that loved the
world, loves us, forgives us and makes us saints triumphant
b) "Christ’s perseverance" - Christ did not quit; He persevered
to the cross, to an innocent death, to His resurrection; all for us
4. In this way may we be confident in the Lord (4-5)
We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command. May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.
a) be confident because we know God’s love and His will for us
b) continuing in that confidence, let us remember that Christian
stewardship takes time and will use time to serve our God
c) and so let us ask God to strengthen us through faithful use of
His Word and His Supper so that we continue to use time
TO BE THANKFUL AND TO STAND FIRM,
TO BE ENCOURAGED FOR DEEDS AND PRAYER,
and TO BE CONFIDENT IN GOD’S LOVE AND DIRECTING.