Monday, August 15, 2016

August 13-15, 2016 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Exodus 20:1-6 “AN EXCITING CONCLUSION”


CONCLUSION TO THE COMMANDMENTS

August 13-15, 2016

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Exodus 20:1-6



“AN EXCITING CONCLUSION”

1.     God is serious about punishing sin.

2.     God is (even more!) serious about saving us!



Exodus 20:1-6 (NIV 1984) And God spoke all these words: 2“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 3“You shall have no other gods before Me. 4You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me, 6but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.”



          Some of you may remember that a while ago I had to make the painful revelation that my wife, Chris, is a cheater. No, not in anything important or a bad way. She cheats at the endings. If we DVR a Packer game so we can skip the commercials and halftime and just watch the game she cheats. She finds out from another TV or her phone the ending of the game. She just can’t let it play out. Or if she is reading a book, she starts it and then just can’t wait to find out how it ends so she reads the last chapter. Maybe you can tell that bothers me a little bit. On the other hand I have to admit that I understand why she does it. The ending, the conclusion, is important. A game has to have a final score, a good book, an exciting conclusion. We’ve all felt cheated when the TV show ends “to be continued.” Today we get to the exciting conclusion to the Commandments we’ve been studying all summer. It is very important. So let’s say it together with its meaning on page 6 in the bulletin.



THE CONCLUSION



What does God say about all these commandments?



He says, “I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.”



What does this mean?



God threatens to punish all who transgress these commandments. Therefore we should fear his anger and not disobey what he commands.



But he promises grace and every blessing to all who keep these commandments.  Therefore we should love and trust in him and gladly obey what he commands.



          Now the first thing that probably caught your attention is that God says He is a jealous God. What? Normally we think of  being jealous as wrong and sinful. Green with envy is not good. But God is just and holy. What gives? Well it has to do with how we use that word today. Now it means feeling resentment at the blessings or good things that happen to another. Originally it simply means to want what belongs to you. And so a wife can be righteously jealous if her husband is taking the affection and attention and love that belongs to her as his wife and is giving it to another. He is wrong, not she. A farmer can jealously guard his sweet corn crop from joyriding teenagers who sneak into his field to grab a few ears. They are wrong, not he. God is righteously jealous in that He simply wants what belongs to Him.

          That takes us to the second thing that may have caught your eye. Those of you who have had the privilege of studying the Bible for a long time noticed that what we use as the Conclusion to the Commandments is actually part of the extended version of the 1st Commandment. And God spoke all these words: 2“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 3“You shall have no other gods before Me. 4You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God.” The First Commandment tells us to only treat God as God. Give Him what belongs to Him. That part of it is used as the Conclusion is to remind us that perfect obedience to His commands is what God deserves and is owed. And He is serious about that.

          So serious He must and will punish sin.  “I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me.” There you have it. God is serious about His commandments. He means what He says. He will punish sin. Not fair! We might cry. Why do the children get punished for the sins of the fathers? God is simply reminding us of the truth that children see and do. Those who hate God tend to have children who hate God. And there will be punishment. In a sense that’s good news. The militant Muslim terrorists may escape international or American justice. They will not escape God. Those who murder and rape, gang members and drug pushers who don’t get caught have already been caught by God and will get punished. God is serious about punishing sin. And it does feel good to know God cannot be mocked and the evil will get their due.

          But then there’s that part of us that remembers there are other people who sin. Our look at the 10 Commandments this summer reminded us that God doesn’t just count blatant sins. He counts them all, all the times we have not put Him first or have said “Oh my… and used God’s name, our habits of putting others things ahead of God’s word and worship, our disrespect to our authorities, the times we have thought badly of another, been selfish with money and things, reveled in the bit of juicy gossip and wanted what belonged to another. If God is serious about sin we are going to get punished too.

          Well God is serious sin but we will not be punished. We will not because God is, can we say, even more serious about saving us sinners. “…but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.” Did you notice the difference? 3rd and 4th generation of those that hate Him but a thousand generations of those that love Him? Now for the big question. Why? Why would someone love God so much that they would willingly keep His commandments? You know. Jesus! Have you ever been stopped for speeding and the police officer let you go with a warning? How did you feel? Did you ever break something really important or big, like a family heirloom, a car, the machine at work and the owner was kind and gracious to you? How did you feel? Have you ever really hurt another person, sinned against them and they forgave you and accepted you back? How did feel toward that person? We have sinned against God in more ways than we are aware of. We are commandment breakers. Even though we don’t want to, we still fall into sin. We ought to be punished to the 3rd and 4th generation. God is serious about punishing sin. So serious that He punished Jesus. There was no warning. No that’s OK. Jesus took for us the full punishment that we deserved. Yes, God is serious about sin but He is even more serious about saving sinners. So He gave us His Son to keep every commandment perfectly in our place and to pay the full price for all of our sins. That’s why we are people who love Him and want to obey His commandments. God graciously blesses that obedience and motivates us to more to show love for Jesus.

          And that’s also why we have come together as a church. A thousand generations. Think of all the “greats” you have to add. What if God allowed us, gave us the privilege of making a difference for a thousand generations to come. I don’t know what’s going to happen in the good old USA. God doesn’t let us peek at the last chapter. But if the Lord keeps this world going what if the reason the Gospel message, the good News of the God who saves through Jesus was preserved in our country because of what you and I do today? He trusts us! He trusts us, brothers and sisters, and He has entrusted us with His word, the Gospel message of Jesus. Even though angels could, to our thinking, do a much better job, God trusts you. He trusts me. That’s why we have gathered together as St. Jacobi Lutheran Church to work together to proclaim the true Gospel.

          And that’s why we called you, Heather, Wade and Alex. St. Jacobi owns the Gospel ministry that God has entrusted to. We have called you to serve as teachers in the public ministry of the Gospel. That means that you will serve on behalf of the congregation. You will carry out Gospel work on behalf of these people who will pray for you and support you. We don’t have a school because no one else in the Milwaukee area knows how to teach the three R’s and everything else that now is taught at the elementary level. We have it to teach children to love Jesus. It’s not good enough for your classrooms to be filled with law and order. They need to be filled with law and Gospel. It’s not enough for you to excel at teaching the subjects and grade levels assigned to you. You need to excel at teaching children to love Jesus. Wade, you helped us out last minute last year on an emergency basis and did a bang up job. I thank you for that. I know what you will continue to bring. Heather and Alex you have already blessed our campus with your kind and smiling faces and will bring your best for Jesus. When you get tired or have a hard day I want you to think of a thousand generations. You have the chance to affect a thousand generations for Jesus.

          It’s all about Jesus. That’s what the Conclusion to the Commandments teaches us. God is serious about punishing sin and even more serious about saving sinners. I guess there we are all kind of like my wife Chris. We’ve peeked at the ending even though we are not done yet. It’s a good one. At the conclusion of this world Jesus wins. And because He wins, we win too! Amen.

Saturday, August 6, 2016

9th & 10th Commandments August 7th, 2016 Weekend

The 9th and 10th Commandments
August 7th, 2016

I Kings 21:1-16  Some time later there was an incident involving a vineyard belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite. The vineyard was in Jezreel, close to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. Ahab said to Naboth, “Let me have your vineyard to use for a vegetable garden, since it is close to my palace. In exchange I will give you a better vineyard or, if you prefer, I will pay you whatever it is worth.”  But Naboth replied, “The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my ancestors.”  So Ahab went home, sullen and angry because Naboth the Jezreelite had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my ancestors.” He lay on his bed sulking and refused to eat.  His wife Jezebel came in and asked him, “Why are you so sullen? Why won’t you eat?”  He answered her, “Because I said to Naboth the Jezreelite, ‘Sell me your vineyard; or if you prefer, I will give you another vineyard in its place.’ But he said, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’” Jezebel his wife said, “Is this how you act as king over Israel? Get up and eat! Cheer up. I’ll get you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”  So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, placed his seal on them, and sent them to the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth’s city with him. 9 In those letters she wrote: “Proclaim a day of fasting and seat Naboth in a prominent place among the people. 10 But seat two scoundrels opposite him and have them bring charges that he has cursed both God and the king. Then take him out and stone him to death.”  So the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth’s city did as Jezebel directed in the letters she had written to them.  They proclaimed a fast and seated Naboth in a prominent place among the people. Then two scoundrels came and sat opposite him and brought charges against Naboth before the people, saying, “Naboth has cursed both God and the king.” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death. Then they sent word to Jezebel: “Naboth has been stoned to death.” As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death, she said to Ahab, “Get up and take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite that he refused to sell you. He is no longer alive, but dead.”  When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up and went down to take possession of Naboth’s vineyard.
In the name of Jesus, whose blood cleanses away all sin, dear fellow redeemed children of God,
Years ago I had a job where running errands sometimes took me to a parking ramp where which had a tire ripper.  If you were going the right way into the ramp the big iron spikes in the roadway folded down as your car rolled over them.  But if you were going the wrong way the spikes tore into tires and disabled the vehicle.  In the movies or on the news sometimes you will see policemen put down those strips of spikes to stop vehicles they are chasing. 
The 9th and 10th commandments seem to me to be like spike strips.  If anyone is thinking that they woven and juked and dodged their way through the first eight commandments, the 9th and 10th commandments stop them in their tracks.  In the 9th and 10th commandments God forbids coveting- in others words sinful desires for things that God has given to someone else and not to us.  These commandments pierce into haughty hearts and rip away any thought of sinners like you and me making it into heaven on our own by keeping those commandments.  They remind us again how much we need Jesus.  As we look at Ahab’s coveting today we see that our coveting doesn’t make us happy and our coveting makes God angry.
I think the naughtiest word I ever heard my mom say was “Oh that stinker!”  She might have said those words talking about us kids and our behavior or she might have been watching a TV show where the villain came up with a sneaky evil plan.  When you read this story of Ahab and Jezebel taking away Naboth’s Vineyard don’t you just want to say, “Oh those stinkers!”  It all began with coveting.  Coveting that really doesn’t make us happy.
     “Some time later there was an incident involving a vineyard belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite. The vineyard was in Jezreel, close to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. Ahab said to Naboth, “Let me have your vineyard to use for a vegetable garden, since it is close to my palace. In exchange I will give you a better vineyard or, if you prefer, I will pay you whatever it is worth.”  But Naboth replied, “The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my ancestors.”  So Ahab went home, sullen and angry because Naboth the Jezreelite had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my ancestors.”   This wasn’t the first time that Ahab had been sullen and angry.   As you read through the book of Kings , you get the feeling that Ahab is not a happy man.  The Bible tells us that he “did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger than all of the Kings of Israel before him.”  All that evil, didn’t make him happy.  He wanted to have a princess for his wife.  So married Jezebel, whose father was king of the Sidonians.  But Princess Jezebel was wicked and cruel and brought God’s anger into Ahab’s life rather than bringing true happiness.  Because of Ahab’s wickedness, God shut off the rain.  It turned Ahab’s kingdom into a dust bowl so that he could not have the beautiful crops he wanted.  He didn’t have peace in his heart because he didn’t listen to what God was saying though the prophet Elijah.  Instead of listening Ahab called Elijah the “troubler of Israel.”   Just before these verses, one of God’s prophet tried to talk to Ahab about something he had done wrong and we are told Ahab went home, “sullen and angry.”
      Jezreel must have been a pretty place.  It was on a hill so it was a little cooler there in the summer.  There was a nice spring there with cool water.  Ahab still isn’t content. He wants a vegetable garden.  He could have planted a nice vegetable garden anywhere on his vast holdings of land but instead he wanted to plant a vegetable garden where Naboth’s vieyard was.    That gives us an insight into how selfish Ahab was.  In the movie, “The Emperor’s New Groove”, the selfish Emperor wants to tear down a peasant’s house because it will make an excellent swimming pool.  Things are a little like that as Ahab wants to tear out a vineyard which takes years and years of careful tender care before it produces a crop and put in a vegetable garden where it was easier and quicker to make things grow.  The land he wanted belonged to Naboth.
       The land had been in Naboth’s family for generations.  Jezebel’s father the king of Sidon, could have just seized the land from his people.  The King of Israel didn’t have that right.  The king was the protector of the land but he was not the owner.  God sets things up differently for his people.  Each family was to treasure the land for generations as a reminder that God had given them the land and one day would send a Savior born in this land.  That’s why Naboth says, ““The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my ancestors.”   Naboth’s answer should have been enough to see that God had the vineyard in mind for someone else and not for Ahab.  Instead Ahab went home pouting.
     “He lay on his bed sulking and refused to eat.  His wife Jezebel came in and asked him, “Why are you so sullen? Why won’t you eat?”  He answered her, “Because I said to Naboth the Jezreelite, ‘Sell me your vineyard; or if you prefer, I will give you another vineyard in its place.’ But he said, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’”   Doesn’t sound like the coveting something that belongs to someone else is making him too happy.  Coveting sort of does that.  That evil craving for something that God has given to someone else pushes contentment and happiness out of our hearts.  In its place comes a foolish stubborn drive to get something  that we think will make us so happy.  But then when we get it, we’re not as happy as we thought we would be and we are on to the next thing to try to make us happy.  In the end it is a cycle that doesn’t make us happy at all.  That’s why God say’s “And why do you worry about clothes?...If God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?  So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.”  The pagans like Ahab run after these things.  Coveting things doesn’t make us happy.
      Did your mom or dad ever say, “Don’t make me say it twice.”  That was their way of saying they were serious about something.  With the 9th and 10th commandments God lets us know that he is serious about us not coveting.  The policemen won’t ever slap the cuffs on you for coveting but God takes coveting seriously.  He is concerned about our thoughts and coveting doesn’t belong in our hearts and minds.  Our coveting makes God angry.
     The house that I grew up in had a milk chute.  Years ago when milk was often delivered to people’s houses, the milkman would leave the milk in this little chute by the door.  We sometimes used it to get into the house when we were locked out.  We would have my younger sister crawl through the milk chute and go and open up the door for the rest of us to come in.  One of the reasons God takes coveteous thoughts so seriously is that they worm their way into hearts and then let in the “big” sins, big in sense that they cause harm to others.  Look what Ahab’s coveting did.  Jezebel his wife said, “Is this how you act as king over Israel? Get up and eat! Cheer up. I’ll get you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”  Jezebel takes things from there.  “So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, placed his seal on them, and sent them to the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth’s city with him.  In those letters she wrote: “Proclaim a day of fasting and seat Naboth in a prominent place among the people.  But seat two scoundrels opposite him and have them bring charges that he has cursed both God and the king. Then take him out and stone him to death.”  So the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth’s city did as Jezebel directed in the letters she had written to them.  They proclaimed a fast and seated Naboth in a prominent place among the people. Then two scoundrels came and sat opposite him and brought charges against Naboth before the people, saying, “Naboth has cursed both God and the king.” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death. Then they sent word to Jezebel: “Naboth has been stoned to death.” As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death, she said to Ahab, “Get up and take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite that he refused to sell you. He is no longer alive, but dead.”  Instead of being horrified that his selfish thought had led to all of this, we are told. “When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up and went down to take possession of Naboth’s vineyard.”  Whenever we get the idea that our evil thoughts are really no big thoughts let’s take a look at Naboth’s body with stones piled up on it.  Scoundrels lying, a family’s reputation ruined, a fake trial, corruption, a wrongful death sentence carried out maybe even with the people throwing the stones thinking they were serving God, family land lost- all of those sins were let in by coveting in Ahab’s heart.  It made God angry.   Remember God’s sentence for Ahab and Jezebel? Say to him, 'This is what the LORD says: Have you not murdered a man and seized his property?' Then say to him, 'This is what the LORD says: In the place where dogs licked up Naboth's blood, dogs will lick up your blood--yes, yours!'"
     Coveting thoughts in our hearts tell God that he doesn’t know what he is doing.   “He should have given us more money!  He gave that person too much.   He should have given me a body that is healthy and strong!  He should have given me cooler parents, mine are the worst.  He should have given me a wife or a husband that looks like that!”  Those thoughts are there in the blink of an eye.  Those awful thoughts so often open the door for sins that hurt others to come in. Those thoughts leave out of the equation how our strong and smart God might work blessings in our lives in ways we never thought  possible through things and people we never thought would be a blessing.  Coveting thoughts fail to see the things God may protecting our souls and bodies from by keeping some of the things we want far from us.  If a scan could see wrong thoughts inside of me and inside of you sin would light up the screen.   We need a Savior.  We need Jesus.  Good thing we have a Savior.  He blocked up the milk chute of his heart and coveting out of his heart.  He did that for us.  By faith God hands that record to us and looks at us as though not even the tiniest evil thought had even entered our hearts and minds.  Jesus went to a cross and paid for not only the evil thoughts but all of the evil deeds that went along with them.  Our sins are washed away!  He gives you strength now to more and more to say with Paul “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.  I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” 

         I always found that the 9th and 10th commandments were the hardest to memorize.  Maybe that’s because I thinking that the 9th and the 10th commandments were not quite as important as the others.  I guess I wasn’t seeing that because of my sinful nature I have a heart that looks and sounds like Ahab’s heart.  I have a sinful nature all too willing to follow Jezebel around.  Good thing we have Jesus a Savior who covers us.  Amen.  

Monday, August 1, 2016

July 30-August 1, 2016 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: James 3:3-12 “ANOTHER REASON I NEED JESUS: “I’M NO EXPERT TONGUE TAMER”


REASONS I NEED JESUS #7

July 30-August 1, 2016

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: James 3:3-12



“ANOTHER REASON I NEED JESUS:

“I’M NO EXPERT TONGUE TAMER”



James 3:3-12 (NIV 1984) “When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. 7All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, 8but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. 11Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.”



          I tell the Confirmation Class kids that it’s always easier to learn from someone else’s mistakes. The fact of the matter is we learn best from our own, especially when they hurt. I can still remember the day. I was sitting in my college dorm room with friends and my roommate, good friend, lifting partner. He’d had a girlfriend for quite a while and had been spending more time than usual with her. Some of the guys didn’t like that and started in on him. What started as friendly teasing was getting a little personal and heated and that’s when one of the guys said to my roommate, friend and lifting partner, “Even Spud says you’re whipped.” His gaze turned to me. My face flushed because it was true. Behind his back, instead of defending him, I had joined in. I had some fence mending to do. Have you ever had that happen to you where you got busted for talking behind  someone’s back? If you haven’t, count yourself blessed because you know there are plenty of times you could have and should have.

          Sins of the tongue. We tend to downplay them. “I was only kidding,” is the excuse used to justify cruel teasing. “Well it’s true,” covers a multitude of gossiping and character assassinations. God doesn’t downplay sins of the tongue. Listen again as He reminds us how powerful our tongues actually are. “When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts.” Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.” Little bits control huge horses.  Relatively small rudders steer huge ocean going ships. A tiny spark causes great destruction. California and other western states have experienced the damage one little spark can cause. In a recent devotion I read this. “Martin Luther once commented, “The gossip has the devil on his tongue, and the listener has the devil in his ear.” Not to improve on the Reformer’s observation, but before the devil is on the tongue and in the ear, he’s in the heart.” When we engage in those sins of the tongue the Devil is in our hearts. Hear again how serious God is. “The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.”

          Your tongue gets you in trouble with more than your college roommate. It gets you in trouble with God. And here’s another reason I need Jesus. I can’t tame my tongue. Neither can you. God knows that. He had James write, “All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, 8but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness.” State Fair is just around the corner. My wife used to help neighbors show Belgian draft horses. Have you ever been close to one? Go in the horse barn and see. They are huge draft horses with bulging muscles. And yet these slight of frame girls could easily lead them around. But they couldn’t tame their tongues. Construction workers can control massive cranes placing trusses and beams exactly where they need to go. But they can’t control their tongues. Think of how easy the lies come when you are put on the spot or justly accused. Kids murder each other with words that hurt on the playground and at school and now in text messages and posts to hurt those who are left out. Jesus gave what is known as the Golden Rule to show how easy it is to know how to love others. You can use it in reverse to show our shameful sinful hypocrisy when it comes to sins of the tongue. Do you like it when other family members tell stories about you that don’t make you look good? Why do that with others? Do you like it when those under your authority, your children, students, workers, talk badly about you and make you look bad? Why do feel like you can do that to your authorities? Think it’s no big deal? Look again in the mirror of God’s Word. If you are someone who sits around a campfire, in a dorm room, in the break room, on social media, gossiping, stirring up dissension and  making separations among friends, family, co workers, God calls you a pervert. And you thought that just applied to sexual deviants. The list of tongue sins is endless. Husbands bark at wives. Wives belittle their husbands. Parents think angry yelling is a form of discipline. Children think sass is a constitutional right. Shall we go on? And then there are the times we don’t use our tongues. You’ve heard it said that silence is golden? Silence can also be deadly. For God expects us to be the ones who stand up and defend our family, co workers, bosses, school mates.  I’m no expert tongue tamer. And neither are you.  I need Jesus. And so do you.

          And thankfully we have him. Did you notice in the Gospel lesson how Jesus used His tongue? He had it perfectly tamed. He used His tongue to bless His enemies. “Father, forgive them.” He used His tongue to give a criminal heaven. “Today you will be with me in Paradise!” Jesus is perfect. And He was perfect for us. You see there were more enemies of Jesus and people who dishonored His name on His mind than the ones right before Him. It was more than Roman soldiers who placed Him on the cross. We did too. Oh no, not that we put Him there. We made it necessary. Jesus went to the cross willingly because He loves us so. He didn’t want us experiencing the hellfire our tongues have earned so He took it for us. On our behalf He stands before the Father and says, “Father, forgive them. I have paid their debt in full. I have taken their sin and I give them my righteousness.” On our last day on earth He will come for us and say, “Today! Today is your day for paradise.” Thank you Jesus.

          Yes, thank you Jesus. In the Gospel lesson there was someone who did that! One of the criminals. Did you notice how he used his tongue to defend Jesus? We can use our tongues in a God pleasing way too. James tells us how. “Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. 11Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.” I worked for a construction company for several years while in college. You know how they can talk. Every once in a while when someone would let off a blue streak the foreman would yell, “Do you eat with that mouth?” It was meant to be a humorous way to say, “Knock it off!” James would have us think of how we use the gift of speech and ask, “Do you pray with that mouth? Do you pray to your holy God asking for mercy and help with the same mouth that you tear down and hurt people who were created in the image of God?” And then he uses a couple of pictures. In nature fruit trees only produce the kind of fruit that they actually are. Springs of water can only be fresh or saltwater, not both. Our tongues will only spew forth what already exists in our hearts. If our hearts are evil we will trash another in order to make ourselves look better. If they are pure, we will defend. How can we get them pure?

          There was a very famous man who lived about 3000 years ago. He realized that his response to God’s mercy had been to let his heart become evil. And when he realized that he also realized he could not change on his own. King David prayed to God. We use a portion of that prayer in one of our orders of worship we haven’t used in a while. Please stand and turn to page 20 in the front of the hymnal and sing the prayer you find on the top of the page with me so that from our mouths will come praise and not cursing. “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of your salvation and uphold me with your free Spirit. Amen.”