Nov. 28-30, 2020 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: 1 Corinthians 1:3-9 “THANK YOU, LORD, FOR ADVENT BLESSINGS!

 

ADVENT 1

Nov. 28-30, 2020

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: 1 Corinthians 1:3-9

 

“THANK YOU, LORD, FOR ADVENT BLESSINGS!

1.     Like grace and peace.

2.     Like speaking and knowledge.

3.     Like faithfulness to the end.

 

1 Corinthians 1:3-9 (EHV)  ^“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! ⁴ I always thank my God for you because of the grace of God given to you in Christ Jesus. ⁵ You were enriched in him in every way, in all your speaking and all your knowledge, ⁶ because the testimony about Christ was established in you. ⁷ As a result you do not lack any gift as you eagerly wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁸ He will also keep you strong until the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ God is faithful, who called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.”

 

          So how was your Thanksgiving? When I ask that question I’m guessing most of your minds went to what you did, what you ate, who were you with or not with. But I was actually asking how your thanks giving went, that is, your giving thanks to God. Considering that fact that you are today part of the vast minority of Americans who are actually making time to give worship to God I am confident that in some way you took the opportunity to do what the Thanksgiving holiday was designed for and the word actually means and gave thanks to God. Did any of you happen to thank Him for Advent blessings? Honestly, the only reason I did was because I was getting ready for today. Advent can get glossed over a little bit. It’s sandwiched between two biggies: Thanksgiving and Christmas. Advent is important though. It’s the season of the Church year that has us focusing on being ready for the comings of Christ. We get ready to celebrate Jesus’ first coming at Christmas. We stay ready for Christ to come at the end of the world. Those are both biggies as well. And God has not left us lacking in what we need for either of those. He has blessed us. So today let’s join the Apostle Paul and believers from the past in thanking God for Advent blessings.

          Like grace and peace.   ^“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! ⁴ I always thank my God for you because of the grace of God given to you in Christ Jesus.” Let’s start with grace. Paul identifies it as a gift from God our Father that is given in Christ Jesus. Many of you have your grace definition already memorized. God’s undeserved love. That’s good. There’s a little more to it. Grace is a gift word, a giving word. I picture it like a mark God has put on us that commits Him. “When I see this mark not only will I not treat you as your sins deserve but I will pour out on you my blessings that are impossible to earn.” What a blessing for Advent. Remember Advent reminds us to be ready, ready to for Christ’s coming. If history is any indicator we’re going to need grace for Christmas. We are going to once again get caught up majoring in the minors of Christmas and spending too little time rejoicing and valuing Jesus as Savior from sin. That’s a slap in God’s face. And you think of how we get upset when other people commercialize Christmas. At least they have the excuse of ignorance. We don’t. What if God kept a nice and naughty list for us? Grace is yours. A gift from God in Christ Jesus. He will not treat as our sins deserve. He will not pull back on gifts in Jesus. He will give blessings we can’t earn.

          Like peace. Someone once commented to me that I seem to like to hide song lyrics in my sermons. Not sure where that is coming from. But just like some people are lookin’ for love in all the wrong places, sometimes we get caught up lookin’ for peace in all the wrong places. Peace is a feeling of calmness. Some people look for that peace in the absence of conflict. A family at peace has no struggles, no issues. A world at peace has no wars. And so if you and I look for peace in our life from the absence of conflict in our families, our politics, our world, we will always be sadly disappointed because we are looking for peace in the wrong place. There will not be the absence of conflict because in our world, our country, our families, ourselves we have the presence of sin. Sin causes conflict. God has a different blessing of peace for you. It isn’t the absence of conflict but the presence of God in all things and ruling all things. While the family issues continue, while the money struggles go on, while the country is conflicted God gives you peace. God has all power and wisdom and love. That’s a powerful combination. Peace, brothers and sisters! This too shall pass. This too will be worked for good. This too is governed by the Lord Jesus. Thank you, Lord for Advent blessings like grace and peace.

          And there’s more. “You were enriched in him in every way, in all your speaking and all your knowledge, ⁶ because the testimony about Christ was established in you. ⁷ As a result you do not lack any gift as you eagerly wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.” When you read the rest of the letter to the Corinthians you find out that they were like little children when it comes to spiritual gifts. Little children want the shiny gifts more than the ones that do the most good. Little children want the shiny coins, not the dull green bills. The Corinthian Christians wanted gifts like speaking in other languages they had never learned not speaking plainly in their own. Paul reminded them and us that we have all the needed gifts as we wait for Jesus to be revealed to all as Savior and Lord. The needed gifts are speaking and knowledge. How are those Advent blessings? They keep us busy with the work Jesus gave us all to do. He can come at any time. We want Him to find us zealously doing the work He gave us. Be His witnesses. To do that you need the right knowledge and the opportunity and ability to speak. You got it. The littlest ones here know what to say. “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.

          You adults do too. Get to Jesus. That’s the motto you need to keep in mind as you serve as Jesus’ witness. How do I get to Jesus in this conversation? Here is an example one of our members shared with me and will be very useful this time of year. It’s bound to happen. You are checking out at the grocery store or getting stamps at the post office or buying gift wrap at the Dollar Store. You know what’s going to happen. Someone is going to ask you, “So are you ready for Christmas?” You know what they mean. Do you have all your presents bought, decorations up, meal items bought, cards out. You know what they mostly hear back. “Not yet. A few more things to get.” Can you get to Jesus in that conversation? Here is what one or our members says, “Absolutely! At Christmas I celebrate the birthday of Jesus, the Savior of the world, so I’m always ready. I hope you have a blessed Christmas too!” Busy! Busy! With the work of the Master. You have the gifts of knowledge and speaking and can come up with your own ways too. Thank you, Lord, for Advent blessings, like speaking and knowledge.

          I can’t tell you how many times I have spoken with brothers and sisters who know their time on earth is growing short and they express a common concern. They might know because they have been diagnosed with a terminal disease. They might know because they have lived well past the 70 years or 80 if you have the strength that God has decreed as a normal life span. You know what their common concern is? Will I hold on to my faith? Will I believe enough? This comes from lifelong believers who regularly fed their faith and weak believers who did not. Same concern. It seems that when you are coming face to face with your own mortality the Devil, the doubt bringer, goes to work with a vengeance. Will you be ready for Jesus to come, to advent, to you?

          What an Advent blessing we receive! “He will also keep you strong until the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ God is faithful, who called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.” God gives us faithfulness to the end. His faithfulness. Here it means you can count on Him to keep His word. He’s promising you that that as He called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus, He will keep you there. You may not feel strong at the end but God will keep you strong. You may worry about your sins but God preserves you blameless. He is faithful.

          Thank you, Lord, for Advent blessings! This season of the Church year may be sandwiched between what we consider two biggies, but it’s a biggie too. Remember how the Gospel lesson ended. Jesus said, “What I say to you I say to everyone, Watch!” He is coming. And with your Advent blessings, you are ready! Amen.

November 14-16, 2020 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 "ENCOURAGING WORDS!

 

SAINTS TRIUMPHANT

November 14-16, 2020

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

 

                                      "ENCOURAGING WORDS!

1.     We will be

2.     With the Lord

3.     Forever!

 

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 "Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. {14} We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. {15} According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. {16} For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. {17} After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. {18} Therefore encourage each other with these words."

 

          It can be easy to look at other people, who they are and what they are like and find yourself wishing you were more like them, more happy, more competent, more whatever. Of course the truth is there are no perfect people on earth and the same people we admire and are strong in some areas of life also have weaknesses or difficulties in other areas of life. Take the Thessalonian Christians for instance. As you read and learn about what they were like you can find yourself wishing you were more like them. I mean they took persecution as Christians in stride. No whining. No complaining that they were in the minority. They had joy and confidence in the Lord. And being ready for Jesus to come back. Whoah. I mean, you know what we are like. In Bible Class we will say, “You never know, Jesus may come back tonight.” But do we really believe that? Is there anything in the way we live our lives that would suggest to other people that we really think Jesus might come really, really soon? The Thessalonians did. Big time. I wish I was more like that!

          On the other hand they did have their weak spots. They were worried, very worried, about believers who died before Jesus returned. Were they lost for good? Would they ever see them again? It was causing great angst so God had the Apostle Paul give them some encouraging words that encourage us too. Let’s see why.

          "Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.” The Thessalonians did not know what happened to believers in Jesus who died. While sometimes ignorance is bliss, that was not the case here. Instead knowledge would be power to fight fear. Paul points out for believers in Jesus, dying is like falling asleep. We aren’t afraid to fall asleep. It is natural and normal. So is dying since sin came into the world. Death is separation. Sin separated people from God. Sin’s effect is that that now at a certain point in life the body and soul separate. But there is more . Death separates people. That’s the part that hurts no matter what. So when people we know and love die we will grieve. We will be sad. That too is normal and natural. But did you notice how the right knowledge changes the way you grieve? Paul said we are not to grieve like those who have no hope. That means we are to grieve with hope. Hope of what?

          “We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. {15} According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. {16} For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. {17} After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.” The hope we have is the life to come. It is not wishful thinking hope. It is patient waiting hope. Here are the facts. Jesus died. Jesus rose again. While death came by sin and death separates, life comes by Jesus and life unites. At a time that God has picked out Jesus will visibly, loudly and with power return to end this sin messed world. He will judge the living and the dead, that is proclaim who is a believer and who is not. He will raise the bodies of all people and believers who have died prior to that return will be reunited with their bodies in a perfected state and any believers still living will also be taken to heaven in a perfected state.

          After telling the facts to the Thessalonian Christians, after giving them the knowledge that had the power to change the way they grieved, Paul wrote “And so.” Now we are Americans. We like to skip over little words like they are unimportant. We are so impatient to get to the end. But in the Bible no words are unimportant. And little words are often very important. Like these. “And so.” “And so” ties what comes next to what you just heard. Because of the facts. Because Jesus died , rose again and will come back. And so. Can you imagine how this went the first time this was read at church to the Thessalonians? Remember they are in angst and anguish because they do not know what would happen to their believing loved ones who had already died. Just imagine if you were one of the Thessalonians and the reader paused. “And so… Yes, get on with it. What? And so…” And then you heard these beautiful words.  WE WILL BE WITH THE LORD FOREVER!

          Let’s savor them together. First, “WE WILL Be.” How many of you have ever heard the phrase “Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” Those words were penned by the British poet, Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Many think that he wrote them about romance. Better to have had a love interest and it not work out than to never have that. Hmm. I don’t know about that. Do you know the real reason he wrote it? At the death of a 22 year old friend. That’s it? That’s all you got. Your wife dies and you hear, “At least you had one.” Your child dies and someone says “At least you had a child for a while.” Yuck! What garbage! What grieving without hope. Did you hear the difference Jesus makes? Did you hear the encouraging words? WE WILL BE. God says that. Because of Jesus. Death is no end. It is separation, for a time. But it is not an ending. When a loved one dies it is very common to hear and to say, “I am sorry for your loss.” And there is loss of time with that person for a while and it does hurt. But friends if we could do it perfectly we would hear  and say, “I’m so happy for your gain.” Another one you love that you get to look forward to seeing again. Encouraging words. We. First person, plural. Me and all my loved ones who have already died in the Lord. My mom. My dad. My grandparents. My friends. You take this now. Who is part of WE for you? WILL. It’s going to happen. No American “I hope so.” Christian I know so. Just waiting for it to happen. BE. Exist. Go on. Live. Death separates. Life unites. Jesus is life. In Jesus we will be united, back together with our loved ones. WE WILL BE. And now we pause to remember the members of St. Jacobi who got to go to heaven since our last Saints Triumphant celebration:  Judith Eckert, Mildred Dallmann, Robert Kallin, Moreen Buske, Holly Messinger, Florence Doepke, Kenneth Schultz, and Carl Bavuso. And now think of your loved ones.

          Secondly. WITH THE LORD. Our hearts are tied to those we have seen. We think of people. So much harder to miss the one you haven’t seen—yet. The Lord. Jesus. What will that be like? In the presence of His glory. Finally, fully grasping how loved we are, how he much He values us. No sin. No guilt. No shame. Perfect knowledge in His perfect presence. Able to thank Him in person. Jesus, do you remember when I…Yes, I remember. What stories will He tell? What will it be like to eat with Him and drink with Him? Will the animals all come around? Will He do miracles to delight us? Will we find out that He really liked my off key singing and so it won’t change? Oh my goodness, we could go on and on. There is so much we don’t know but this we do. WITH THE LORD.  That’s heaven.

          Speaking of going on and on. Our last encouraging word. FOREVER. Have you noticed in life how life in the sin filled world is like the carrot in front of the donkey,  always just ahead of you but never finally arrived? We can spend so much time getting ready and so little time enjoying. We get ready for Thanksgiving but then it’s done, or Christmas, or to graduate, and then there is always something else to work for. Heaven isn’t like that. It’s the always enjoying and never working to get ready. It’s the carrot in hand, not out front. And it’s always that way. We don’t have to wait to see our loved ones or for a milestone. We enjoy them, the Lord, the angels, the new heaven and the new earth. A perpetual always. FOREVER.

          Friends, it is Saints Triumphant Sunday. We think of those who have died. We know we will deal with the death of loved ones in the future. God has provided us with some encouraging words. WE WILL BE WITH THE LORD FOREVER. And now you know what to do next.  Therefore encourage each other with these words." Amen.

Oct. 31-Nov. 2, 2020 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Jude “CONTEND FOR THE FAITH!”

 

REFORMATION

Oct. 31-Nov. 2, 2020

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Jude

 

“CONTEND FOR THE FAITH!”

(The need for ongoing Reformation)

1.     Because sinful man has a long history of opposing and trying to destroy it.

2.     Because the Lord Himself has given you the power to do so for Him.

 

Brothers and sisters, today we remember and observe the Lutheran Reformation. Some may wonder why we continue to do so. It happened very long ago. It may have made sense to make a big deal about it at its 500^th anniversary in 2017 but why now?

          To answer that question I remind you of the Second Law of Thermodynamics. It deals with entropy. In very simplified terms it says that everything in the universe is in a continual state of moving from order to chaos unless you put more energy into it. Think of a garden. Those in our Garden Club know that if they plant a beautiful flower garden in spring and do nothing to it they will not have a beautiful garden in a month but rather a bed of weeds. Did they plant weeds? No. But to keep a garden orderly you have to put energy in. Not just any energy, but intelligently guided energy. If you light a fire in the garden, even though you added energy it’s the wrong kind, not intelligently guided. This law, by the way, indicates why it is so important that we don’t blindly follow science. The same science that has correctly come up with the Second Law of Thermodynamics has incorrectly provided us with the Theory of Evolution that says things in the universe went from chaos to order without any intelligently guided energy put in, The theory is exactly the opposite of the law but we are supposed to believe it because the science says so. You don’t blindly follow the science because science can get it really right and science can get it really wrong. Why is that? Because sinful man is involved.

          That’s also why ongoing Reformation is needed. When you look at the events surrounding the Lutheran Reformation from our viewpoint today you can’t help but ask the question, “How? How does it happen that Christ’s church needed reforming?” Think. When Jesus completed His work on earth He left behind a church of people who were committed to Him and all of His teachings. They welcomed death rather than deny. They showed great concern for the well being of each other, giving of their own money to help one another. How do you go from that church to a church that at the time of Martin Luther has a monk commissioned by the Roman Catholic church going from town to town selling indulgences which were pieces of paper that said if you bought them you could get payment for your sins? You could pay off a loved one’s debt of sin when in fact Jesus had already paid for them in full? How does that happen? It seems there is a spiritual law of thermodynamics. Spiritual Entropy. Every true gathering of believers will go from an ordered state of allegiance to Jesus and all of His teachings to a disordered state of following things made up by man unless you put spiritual energy in. Not just any spiritual energy but the spiritual energy guided by divine intelligence. God.

          It’s always been that way since sin came into the world. The portion of God’s Word before us is a one chapter book of the Bible written by a man who identifies himself as Jude. He writes to people like us, who have been called by the Holy Spirit to believe in Jesus, who now know of God’s love for us who are set apart to serve Jesus.

 

          Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James,

          To those who are called, who are loved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: ² Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.

 

Then he tells us why the Spirit had him write this book of the Bible.

 

                ³ Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you concerning the salvation we share, I felt it was necessary for me to write, to urge you to continue to contend for the faith that was delivered to the saints once and for all. 

 

Contend for the faith! It’s a call to arms. Likely this book is written around 65 AD, a little more than 30 years since Jesus ascended. Jude wanted to talk about the fun things, shared salvation, heaven as home. But He instead had to talk about the hard things, fighting to hold on to the truth faith. Why? Spiritual entropy.

 

For certain individuals slipped in secretly, about whom it was written some time ago that they are condemned. They are ungodly people who turn the grace of our God into a license for sin and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

 

Sinful man has a long history of opposing and trying to destroy the faith handed down by Jesus Christ. At the heart is rebellion against God.” God if you are a God of grace then sin does not matter. Jesus, who are you to tell me what to do. I’m the Master. I will do things my way.” Jude gives some examples.

 

                ⁵ I want to remind you, though you already know all these things, that after the Lord rescued his people out of the land of Egypt, he later destroyed those who did not believe.(Read more on this in Numbers 11-14!) ⁶ And the angels who did not keep their position of authority but left their own dwelling place behind—God has kept them in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day. ⁷ Like Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, who in a similar way indulged in extreme sexual immorality and pursued homosexual perversion, they serve as an example of those who are going to suffer the punishment of eternal fire. (Read more on this in Genesis 19) ⁸ Yet, in the very same way, these dreamers are defiling the flesh, despising authority, and blaspheming glorious ones. ⁹ But when the archangel Michael was disputing with the Devil and arguing about the body of Moses, he did not dare to bring a blasphemous condemnation against him. Instead he said, “The Lord rebuke you!”

 

          The children of Israel rebelled against God again and again. They didn’t want the leader God had chosen, Moses. They wanted their own. The people of Sodom and Gomorrah did not want the natural order of things God had set up. They chose their own way of sexual immorality and homosexual perversion. We find that some angels did the same thing. They were not content with angelic authority. They wanted to be God and were cast out and now are the Devil and the demons. In this section only the archangel Michael is careful treat God as the highest.

 

Some more history of sinful man.

 

                ¹⁰ But these people do not understand what they are blaspheming. They are being destroyed by the very things that they know by instinct (like unreasoning animals). ¹¹ Woe to them! They have gone the way of Cain. (Read the whole story in Genesis 4) They have abandoned themselves for hire to the error of Balaam. (Read about this in 22-25) They perished in Korah’s rebellion. (More on this in Numbers 16)

 

          Cain pretended to worship God but cared more about his things.  Balaam was a prophet for hire. If not for a talking donkey he would have been killed and still he persisted in going against God. Korah rebelled against God’s leadership. All of them brought God’s judgment on themselves. All who do the same are like them. And following them leads to nothingness.

 

                ¹² These people are filthy stains on your love feasts when they eat with you without fear, shepherding themselves. They are clouds without rain, being driven along by the winds. They are autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots. ¹³ They are wild waves of the sea piling up the foam of their own shame. They are wandering stars for whom the gloom of darkness has been reserved for eternity.

 

          What do these have in common? Clouds but no rain. Trees with no fruit. Waves that just produce foam. Stars that would not stay in place. They are worthless! Worthless for precipitation, food, enjoyment, navigation. So are those who oppose and try to destroy the faith. And God will take care of them.

 

¹⁴ Enoch, the seventh from Adam, also prophesied about these people, saying, “Look, the Lord is going to come with tens of thousands of his holy ones, ¹⁵ to execute judgment against all of them and to convict every soul concerning all their ungodly deeds, which they did in an ungodly way, and concerning all the harsh words that ungodly sinners spoke against him.” ¹⁶ These are discontented grumblers, who walk according to their lusts, and their mouths speak boastful things as they flatter others to take advantage of them. ¹⁷ But you, dear friends, remember the words that were spoken earlier by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ They said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers who follow their own ungodly lusts.” ¹⁹ These are the people who cause divisions. They are worldly because they do not have the Spirit.

 

          Friends, it’s Reformation Festival. I wanted to talk with you about good and fun things, how nice it is to know we are saved by grace alone through faith alone but instead I have to talk about contending for the faith. Sinful man has a long history of opposing and trying to destroy the faith. It was going on at Jude’s time. It happened in Luther’s time. It is happening now. We know that ultimately the Devil is behind these attacks on our Lord Jesus. We also know that most of the time he works through people. He attacks the church from the outside using government oppression and social pressure. He attacks the church from within. There he uses people who are in the visible Christian church. Some of you have come to St Jacobi because you recognized godless men who were changing the grace of God into a license to sin in your former churches. The fact the God loves the sinner does not mean it is OK to sin as your pastors were saying. Jesus taught marriage as one man and one woman. To teach otherwise is to throw off his headship. When church leaders say sin is not sin anymore the faith is under attack. When church leaders say you can get to heaven apart from Jesus they are denying our only Master and Lord Jesus Christ. When they participate in prayer services and worship service with leaders of the man made religions of the world they lead people to think our Lord Jesus’ sacrifice did not matter, was not necessary, any god will get you to heaven. Just like all that glitters is not gold, everything with Christian stamped on it does not give glory to Christ. It’s more fun to talk about being nice and kind and tolerant but we also have to talk about identifying people and churches who teach falsely, calling it out, and separating ourselves from it. We are called on today to contend for the faith. Why? Because sinful man has a long history of opposing and trying to destroy the faith and so ongoing Reformation is needed. Jude called for it. Luther practiced it.

          So can you and I because as Jude points out and Luther practiced the Lord Himself has given you the power to do so for Him. As the Devil works through evil people God works through His people.

 

                ²⁰ But you, dear friends, continue to build yourselves up in your most holy faith as you keep praying in the Holy Spirit. ²¹ Keep yourselves in God’s love as you continue to wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, which results in eternal life. ²² Show mercy to those who are wavering. ²³ Save others by snatching them out of the fire. Show mercy to still others with fear, hating even the clothing that is stained by the flesh.

 

          There is an emphasis here that sometimes when you first hear it sounds wrong because it sounds selfish. Take care of yourself first and then you can help others. Moms, you know about this. It is so natural to ignore your own needs to sacrifice for your kids until you ignore too long and you aren’t there for the kids. It makes sense when the flight attendant tells you to get your oxygen mask on first, then the baby because if you pass out who helps the baby? In a similar way the Spirit has Jude exhort us, “Build yourselves up. Keep praying. Keep yourself in God’s love.” God has not left us helpless as we contend for the faith. He gives us His powerful word. Use it for yourself. He gives us His powerful self. Pray to Him Ask Him to do what we cannot. It fits right in with spiritual entropy. When divinely guided power goes in the church stays committed to Christ. What is more divinely powerful than word and prayer? Then we are ready to help others. Show mercy, save others. Don’t get pulled into the spiritual pollution they are falling for but be the one that says, “Hey but what about in the Bible where it says…” One of our members told me recently of a conversation she had with a friend. This member was doing a lot of work to bring plants for St Jacobi’s gardens. When her friend asked why she said, “I love my church. It teachers straight from the Bible.” To which her friend replied, “I need that.” That’s mercy, trying to snatch someone from the fire. It’s contending for the faith. God has given all of us the power we need to do that. Luther is roughly quoted as saying, “A simple layman armed with Scripture is greater than the mightiest pope without it." It’s true and all those people back then built themselves up in God’s word and prayed to their mighty God and the faith was saved.

          You and I have the opportunity to be reformers in our time, ones that God uses to save the faith in our time. Our St Jacobi Garden club knows that if they plant beautiful gardens in spring and put no intelligently guided power in to those gardens they will devolve into beds of weeds. They also know that if they do what God allows them to do, if they contend for their gardens, they will be beautiful. In the same way brothers and sisters if we put no effort in to our own personal faith, if we don’t use the power of the word and make sure our churches keep proclaiming it we should not expect our children to have a church that holds to the faith. We will hand them one that “turns the grace of our God into a license for sin and denies our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.” But if we contend for the faith, if we practicing ongoing reformation, if we put into the faith the divinely guided power of the God’s word the faith in America will be preserved for another generation.

         

Now it may feel like I’ve laid on you a heavy burden. The fate of the faith rests on me! Instead I want you to look at contending for the faith as a privilege. There was nothing special about Martin Luther. He was a tool in the hand of God. And if I refuse or you refuse God can pick other tools. At the same time even the simplest of tools in the hand of God is all powerful. What an honor to be a tool in the hand of the almighty God, the God who is so great Jude had to finish his call to contend for the faith with these words of absolute confidence:

 

                ²⁴ Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you faultless in the presence of his glory with great joy, ²⁵ to the only God, our Savior, be glory, majesty, power, and authority through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all time, now, and to all eternity. Amen.

 

This is most certainly true! Amen!