Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Wisconsin Lutheran High School April 22nd, 2012

Psalm 119:97-104 – WLHS Sunday –

ARE YOU SMARTER THAN…Your Enemies, Your Teachers, Your Elders.
Pastor Kenneth Fisher at St Jacobi on April 22/23, 2012

Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
Since today is Wisconsin Lutheran High School Sunday, I thought I’d begin with a little test. I want to know: ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A PRESCHOOLER?
Here is the first question: How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator?
Correct Answer: You open the door, put the giraffe in, and close the door. Did you get that wrong? Perhaps you’re thinking too hard. This question tests whether you tend to do simple things in an overly complicated way. I am told that most preschoolers get this question correct.
Next question: How do you put an elephant into a refrigerator?
If you said, “Open the door, put in the elephant, and close the door.” Wrong answer.Correct answer: Open the door, take the giraffe out, put the elephant in, and close the door. This question tests your ability to think through the repercussions of your actions.
Next question: The Lion King is hosting an animal conference. All the animals attend except one. Which one does not attend?
Correct answer: The elephant. The elephant is in the refrigerator, remember.
This question tests your memory. Okay, even if you didn’t get all of those correct, you have one more chance to show your abilities.
Final question: There is a river that you must cross. But it is inhabited by crocodiles. How do you manage it?
Correct answer: You swim across. Why? The crocodiles are attending the animal conference. This test whether you learn quickly from your mistakes.
According to Anderson Consulting Worldwide, 90% of the professionals that they tested got all the questions wrong. But many preschoolers got several correct answers. Anderson Consulting says this conclusively disproves the theory that most professionals have the brains of a four-year old. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8mQzjL2DCE&feature=related)
How did you do? ARE YOU SMARTER THAN… a child.
Children can often see clearly what the wise and learned trip over. That is true in spiritual matters, too. Our Savior Jesus once said, of those who came to faith through his disciples’ ministry, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.” (Luke 10:21)” The spiritual blindness of the people of Jesus’ day, especially the wise and the learned, was evident in their rejection of the way of salvation and the Word-incarnate who stood before them in the person of Jesus Christ. Some things never change.
Those who trust in God’s Word for wisdom, direction and rescue from this world are perceived as foolish. God’s Wisdom seems foolish to the world. But not to those who have been enlightened by the Holy Spirit who works through God’s Word as Paul told the Corinthians, “This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. 14 The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Cor 2:13-14)
ARE SMARTER THAN… that? Today, I’d like you to consider a section of the longest Psalm and the longest chapter of the Bible. Psalm 119 is an elaborate acrostic. That means that the writer used the first letter to form a pattern to spell out a message. This Psalm is a set of units each beginning with the same first letter. Our section is titled “Mem” the Hebrew letter for “m” that begins each of the 8 verse before us. It is a giant alphabetical sequence. The idea is that this Psalm which is all about God’s Word moves us to meditate carefully on every aspect of God’s Word from “A to Z” and that sounds appropriate to do on Sunday in which we’re focusing on Christian Education.
As I read this, I want you to look for synonyms for God’s Word. A synonym is a word that means the same thing as something else or something very similar. There is one word in each verse that is another name for God’s Word. A few repeat. But the idea is clear. The author of this Psalm presents a convincing reason for the study and absorption of God’s Word. Cleverly placed in all but 2 of the 167 verses of this long Psalm is a synonym for God’s Word.

Listen now to God’s Word as you as yourself, IF YOU ARE SMARTER…:
97 Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long.
98 Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever with me.
99 I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes.
100 I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts.
101 I have kept my feet from every evil path so that I might obey your word.
102 I have not departed from your laws, for you yourself have taught me.
103 How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
104 I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path.

This is God’s Word!

Did you see the 8 synonyms for God’s Word -- like “law,” “commands,” “statues,” “precepts,” and “word”? When you study and meditate on this Psalm, it will fill your mind with thoughts of concern for God’s Word, a distress over evil, and lead one to renewed commitment to God’s Word – the Bible. That’s what gives true wisdom. The truth of God’s revealed wisdom is contrasted with what can be the foolishness of three different groups. Did you see those three groups? The Psalm says that he is smarter than… his enemies, his teachers, and his elders. Those are bold claims. Today let’s explore why the Psalmist can say that.. as I also ask you: ARE YOU SMARTER THAN … YOUR ENEMIES, YOUR TEACHERS AND YOUR ELDERS.
1. ARE SMARTER THAN…Your Enemies (v. 97-98)
The Psalmist began: 97 Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. God’s people love God’s Word. That word “law” isn’t just talking about what God told us to do and not to do. It refers to all of God’s Word – especially the two main teachings of the Bible – the law and the gospel. God’s Law exposes our sin and keeps us from doing what is destructive while guiding our daily walk. That’s why Bible study isn’t a one time act but a life-time activity. God’s gospel shows us the tender heart of God and gives us our forgiveness. We love the law and the gospel for different reasons. I suppose it is like a parent loves both of his children, but each has a different personality and talents.

When you love God’s Word, it makes you superior in wisdom. The first group that the Psalmist mentions is his ENEMIES. He said,”98 Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever with me.” Notice what he didn’t conceitedly say. “I am smarter than my enemies.” – like a cocky athlete who thinks he’ll never lose. But those who trust in their own strength and smarts to overcome--eventually run into someone stronger and smarter. Do you recall when the New England Patriots went 16-0 in the regular season only to lose the big one! The Psalmist said “Your commands make me wiser… for they (God’s Word, not the enemies) are ever with me.”

What are your greatest enemies? Too often, we are our own worst enemy. We bring evil upon ourselves by not keeping God’s Word front and center in our lives. The devil is surely our enemy. Death, too is a terrible enemy. Each of them is ever so clever in their plots. The logic of a sinful mind tries to convince us that we know better. The devil’s lies seem so smart. But with God’s Word all those enemies are revealed as foolish. That is why he said “103 How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” This refers to the Gospel.

God’s Word pronounces something sweeter than honey! After the bitterness of sin’s condemnation in your conscience, what could be sweeter than to hear God say, “You are forgiven.” You are only as smart as long as you stay connected to God’s Word. That’s why we are so anxious to partner with parents during those critical years of high school with parents of teenagers. Sociologists who study the habits of generational groups have found that the most formative time in a person’s life is between the ages of 17 and 22. It is during those years that the lasting values and morals are formed. There are many ways that parents can keep God’s Word near to their teens who are becoming adults but we’re happy at Wisconsin Lutheran High School to teach every subject from the perspective of God’s Word and to keep the sweet gospel front and center in daily chapel, every teachable moment and career decision. Are you a little afraid as a parent of the fact that your teens are making decisions that could impact the rest of their lives? The enemies are ever with them. How can we not want God’s Word with them in every way possible during this critical, life-shaping years are our children mature into adulthood?
As a parent, aren’t you worried that you can’t be with your teens always. But God’s Word can be! What could be sweeter than God’s pronouncement of forgiveness when they stumble and his Law and Gospel in Christ Jesus being ever with your teenagers? When God’s Word is “ever with” me, I will be wiser than my enemies.
2. ARE SMARTER THAN…Your Teachers
That’s the Psalmist’s claim. Listen again:
99 I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes.
102 I have not departed from your laws, for you yourself have taught me.
A teacher may pose excellent pedagogical skills to transfer human knowledge to their students. Many do! But there is a warning to those who are Christian teachers not to trust in their own insights but to sit at the feet of Jesus like Mary for the “one thing needful.” The world has much to teach, but God’s Word alone is the source of true and lasting wisdom.
When you pick up your Bible, you are never without a teacher. Every time you sit to study God’s Word, know who your teacher is – God himself. He is the most qualified to teach you. The great lessons that God teaches are in each section of the Word are to love God completely and to love your neighbor as yourself. The phase “you yourself have taught me” is the Psalmist’s way of emphasizing that the lessons that he learned were not self-taught but God-taught.
Sometimes Christians feel uncomfortable with meditation, perhaps due to New Age forms of meditation. But meditation simply means to reflect deeply on something. The Bible is filled with exhortations to meditate on God’s Word and works, and the history of the church records numerous examples of men and women who heeded this call to contemplate God’s Word. There is much we can learn from this approach to prayer that includes sustained reflection on our Lord and his Word. For one thing, meditation is not a mindless repetition of certain phrases, but an intense concentration on God and His ways. Scriptural exhortations to meditate are always directed toward God’s deeds, laws, or promises.
Martin Luther once compared the mediation on God’s Word to “gathering apples” He said:
I study my Bible like I gather apples. First, I shake the whole tree that the ripest may fall. Then I shake each limb, and when I have shaken each limb, I shake each branch and every twig. Then I look under every leaf. I search the Bible as a whole like shaking the whole tree. Then I shake every limb—study book after book. Then I shake every branch, giving attention to the chapters. Then I shake every twig, or a careful study of the paragraphs and sentences and words and their meanings.
Isn’t that why you offer many options for studying God’s Word from preschool to senior Bible class? The Christian who looks to God’s Word as his teacher will never lack for wisdom!
3. ARE SMARTER THAN…Your Elders
100 I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts.
101 I have kept my feet from every evil path so that I might obey your word.
104 I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path.
Elders may have learned ever so much from this life’s experiences, but if there source of understanding is not God’s Word, then turn to that for something far superior to all the wisdom of the ages.
Age can bring cynicism and doubt. “We tried it before and that didn’t work.”Age can bring pride and self-interest. “Look what I accomplished.”
Martin Luther once observed that even old age does not save one from folly if God’s commands are not kept.
Notice that God’s Word prompts God’s people to avoid evil. This is best test if you’re smarter than your elders. Does the wisdom that you have enable you to avoid evil? The Psalmist would emphatically answer “Yes” and credit God with any victory that he enjoys.
In the end, that is what matters isn’t about the ministry of Wisconsin Lutheran High School, too? Obedience. Faithfulness. Heaven. Isn’t that what God wants? Wisconsin Lutheran High School can offer the high level of academics—and it does. Wisconsin Lutheran High School can offer an array of Advanced Placement Classes and our students can score some of the highest marks in the state—and they do. Wisconsin Lutheran High School can field the best sport’s teams in the state and win the highest honors in the state for it choirs and bands—and we do. But if its alumni aren’t sitting in the pews of churches like some of you who raised your hands earlier [indicating that they are alumni or current students of Wisconsin Lutheran High School], what does it matter in the eternal picture? What eternal good will come from our graduates being enabled to enter some of the most prestigious universities if they don’t stay connected to Christ and his church. True wisdom leads to faithfulness and obedience. It leads to people persevering in the faith through the power of God’s Word that works in their hearts. That alone in the end is what counts in Christian Education and our partnership with St. Jacobi in providing secondary education.
So I ask you one last time: ARE YOU SMARTER than your enemies, your teachers and your elders? By God’s grace through faith in Christ as your Savior, may his Word keep you ever in God’s wisdom. Amen.
--Rev. Kenneth J. Fisher, WLHS

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