January 29-31, 2022 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Jeremiah 1:4-10 “OH YES WE CAN!”

 

EPIPHANY 4

January 29-31, 2022

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Jeremiah 1:4-10

 

“OH YES WE CAN!”

1.     God has chosen us.

2.     God is with us.

3.     We have God’s words.

 

Jeremiah 1:4-10 (EHV) “The word of the Lord came to me. ⁵ Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born, I set you apart. I appointed you to be a prophet to the nations. ⁶ But I said, “Ah, Lord God! I really do not know how to speak! I am only a child!” ⁷ The Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ You must go to everyone to whom I send you and say whatever I command you. ⁸ Do not be afraid of them, because I am with you, and I will rescue you, declares the Lord.” ⁹ Then the Lord stretched out his hand and touched my mouth. The Lord said to me: There! I have now placed my words in your mouth. ¹⁰ Look, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and to tear down,
to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”

         

          The words of God we are looking at come from the book of the Old Testament prophet, Jeremiah. His call was to serve as God’s spokesman in the 40 years leading up to what’s known as the Babylonian Captivity. This was the time when for 70 years or so the nation of Judah and the believers in them were conquered and carried away to Babylon. God gave him a tough job to do. From the time God called him he would continually share the “good news” that the nation was doomed, that the nation needed to repent. God even told Jeremiah what the result would be. The people won’t listen. Jeremiah is no dummy. He knows the lay of the land. His message would be unpopular. That meant he would be unpopular. So unpopular that Jeremiah would have his life threatened. He would be put in prison. He would be branded a traitor. Can you blame him for wanting a way out? “But I said, “Ah, Lord God! I really do not know how to speak! I am only a child!” I can’t do it Lord. The job is too tough.

          “Oh, yes you can!” was God’s response. But it was not an empty response. It wasn’t just “Wah, wah, get over it baby.” It was an empowering response because of what God revealed. First that God had chosen him. “The word of the Lord came to me. ⁵ Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born, I set you apart. I appointed you to be a prophet to the nations.” Even before Jeremiah was Jeremiah the Lord had chosen him. He formed him in his mother’s womb to be a prophet, a spokesman for God. Just as an aside, last week in the prayers Vicar reminded us of the awful anniversary of Roe V Wade. God’s word is clear. People are people in the womb. Jeremiah was Jeremiah, not tissue. Any nation that willingly kills its children, kills its future, and is doomed. So let’s just pause now and everyone pray. Pray for our nation. Pray for our leaders. Pray for those who are in a position to protect lives. Pray for repentance.

 

Thank you. Now back to the word. Jeremiah felt like he could not carry out the work God gave him. But he could and he would because God had chosen him.

          And because God was with him. “The Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ You must go to everyone to whom I send you and say whatever I command you. ⁸ Do not be afraid of them, because I am with you, and I will rescue you, declares the Lord.” Make no mistake about it. Jeremiah’s job would not be easy. People would hate him because of what he said. People would try to kill him. There would be times when Jeremiah would feel alone. He would feel like he was the only one who stayed true to the Lord. He would feel that way, but he would not be that way. The Lord was with him. The Lord rescued him. Even his time in prison was controlled by God who provided strength and help. To Jeremiah’s protest of “I can’t do this,” again God responded, “Oh, yes you can because I am with you.”

          And because Jeremiah had God’s words to use. “Then the Lord stretched out his hand and touched my mouth. The Lord said to me: There! I have now placed my words in your mouth. ¹⁰ Look, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and to tear down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.” The Lord reminded Jeremiah that he was a spokesman. He would not be speaking his own words nor acting on his own agenda. This was God’s time and God’s dime. The message Jeremiah brought would build some up and tear others down. He would say what God says, no more no less. And that Jeremiah could do whether he felt like it or no.

          And so can we. Jeremiah’s protest helps us to come to grips with what lives in us too, the sin of reluctance. A reluctance to be ambassadors for Jesus. A reluctance to stand up, stand up for Jesus. A reluctance to tell people what they need to hear instead of what they want to hear. It all boils down to another heart sin. We want to be popular, to fit in and to have people praise us. But God didn’t put us on this planet to be popular. We are here as his servants, his witnesses, his ambassadors. But the writing on the wall says it is going to get tougher for those who say what God says. This should not surprise us. Believers on earth are called the Church militant, the fighting folks. If you have taken advantage of the Revelation Bible Class taught by Prof. Bivens you understand why. Satan. The Devil. And his allies. The unbelieving world and our own sinful natures. They try to thwart every effort believers make to advance the kingdom of God, to do exactly what Jesus said and make more disciples. All this struggling. All this being on guard from the Devil. It’s enough to make a person feel “I can’t do this anymore!”

God has an answer for us that makes us say “Oh, yes we can!” He chose us too. It’s a hard Bible teaching for our minds to wrap around but God tells us that before the creation of the world he chose us to be His own. You know it’s true for you because He made that choosing visible at your Baptism, audible as you’ve heard the good news of your Savior Jesus and evidenced by what you are doing right now, worshiping and devoting to the word. Like Jeremiah we have been chosen for a purpose. We all have different jobs and lives and roles and vocations and yet we all have the same purpose, to declare the great things God has done. To be ambassadors for Christ and witnesses of His truth. So, when you’re feeling unimportant or worthless and you can’t do anything important for the Lord, Oh yes we can! He chose us for this.

And He’s with us. If you keep up on the religious news in America you already know that our country is de Christianizing at a rapid rate. The fastest growing religious category is the nones, not the kind that live in convents, the people who check NONE next to their religious affiliation. You may have noticed the same things at work where not many talk about going to church. You may have seen departures from active worship life in your own families. Again, the feeling sets in. We can’t do this. Oh yes, we can! God is with us. He’s promised it and proved it. We still aren’t that far away from Christmas. The birth of Jesus. Immanuel. God with us! And that Immanuel promised us “Surely I am with you always to the very end of the age. We are never alone.

And we go with God’s words. At our last Voters meeting our devotion from Psalm 144 reminded us that blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD. Right now our nation’s god is science for some, sports and entertainment for others, self for many more. That we are willing to kill our children is just a symptom of something far worse, rejection of God. Like in Jeremiah’s time. As happy as we would be to have the sin of abortion stopped, that’s not the solution. A heart change is. Only God’s words accomplishes that. We have them. We might feel like people won’t listen but God hasn’t told us that. We might worry what people think about us but we don’t have to. These are God’s words, His agenda, not ours. He may use our witness to build up. He may use our witness to tear down, but he will use our witness.

Remember that the next time you feel like your presence in your family, community and country isn’t doing any good. Remember that when your invitation to join you in worship is not accepted. Remember that if court rulings go against us or laws no longer protect our religious freedom. Remember that when you feel like you can’t. Oh yes we can, people of Jacobi. Before he formed you in your mothers’ wombs, God knew you. He set you apart for Him. He is with you and will rescue you and you are his spokesman to a nation who desperately needs Him. Can we do it? Can we keep doing it? With God, “Oh yes, we can!” Amen.

 

January 8-10, 2022 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Titus 3:4-7 (EHV) “WHAT BAPTISM IS”

 

BAPTISM OF OUR LORD

January 8-10, 2022

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Titus 3:4-7 (EHV)

 

“WHAT BAPTISM IS”

1.     A demonstration of God’s mercy and grace.

2.     A powerful working of the Holy Spirit.

3.     An eternal game changer.

 

Titus 3:4-7 (EHV) “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior toward mankind appeared, ⁵ he saved us—not by righteous works that we did ourselves, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and the renewal by the Holy Spirit, ⁶ whom he poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷ so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs in keeping with the hope of eternal life.”

 

          We are in the Epiphany season of the church year. Epiphany means a revealing or making known. It emphasizes that when God is involved not only are things not what they seem, they are much more than they appear to be. Take the visit of the Wise Men that Pastor Waldschmidt talked about last week. When they came to find the one born to be King, they found him with humble and poor parents in Bethlehem not in the palace in Jerusalem. He seemed to be a common Hebrew baby boy. But that baby they found was much more than he appeared to be. He was and is God’s Son our Savior. So instead of making their judgment on what they saw they believed what God said instead and acted accordingly. Worship. Gifts. Gold, frankincense and myrrh.

          That’s a good principle to keep in mind with Baptism. Don’t judge by what you see but instead by what God says. Today we celebrate Jesus’ Baptism so it’s a good opportunity to think about our own. On New Year’s Eve Vicar showed us the connection between the Old Testament sign of the Covenant, circumcision, and Baptism which is a sign of the New Testament Covenant and a whole lot more. But that’s not necessarily what it looks like and what people see. When I served as pastor down south there was a very popular preacher in San Antonio whose services were on TV. One time I watched out of curiosity. He happened to be talking about Baptism. “You know what happens in Baptism?” he shouted in his southern drawl. “You go into the water a dry sinner and you come out of the water a wet sinner! That’s all Baptism is, getting wet!” And the crowd laughed and laughed. But God didn’t. He gave Baptism to His cherished people to be a cherished blessing that is so much more than it appears to be because God is involved. So today with grateful and humble hearts let’s look at what God says Baptism is.

          First it is a demonstration of God’s mercy and grace. “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior toward mankind appeared, ⁵ he saved us—not by righteous works that we did ourselves, but because of his mercy.” The portion of God’s word we are looking at comes from the Apostle Paul’s letter to a man named Titus. He was telling Titus what he needed to teach to the churches under his care. The people were to be serious about living the way God wanted them to. They needed motivation and encouragement so of course Paul would point them to their Baptism.

          Baptism is a great demonstration of God showing mercy. Think about it. Whether you were baptized as a baby, a child or an adult, baptism was done to you. It was not something you did. It was something you received. That’s God’s way of doing things. Salvation is not a matter of what people do but what people receive. Not because of righteous things people do but because of His mercy. Mercy is not given to those who deserve it. It’s given to those who don’t. God tells us in the Bible that we are all conceived and born with sin present in us. We are enemies of God. We, by nature, deserve punishment. But God gives mercy. He will not treat you as your sins deserve and He wants you to know that. So Jesus instituted Baptism. At your Baptism you received mercy from God.

          And more. “He saved us through the washing of rebirth and the renewal by the Holy Spirit, ⁶ whom he poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior.” So we know why God saves people. Because of His mercy. Paul now turns to the how. It says through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. That is Baptism. In Baptism the Holy Spirit works powerfully to connect us to what Jesus did. Here and elsewhere God is telling us that our Baptism directly connects us to the cross and empty tomb. On the cross Jesus paid for the sins of all people in full. Baptism connects you to that forgiveness, a washing away of sin. The tomb is empty because Jesus came alive again. Baptism gives you rebirth, a new life. We start out spiritually dead because of our sins. But when you are re birthed or born again in Baptism, you are renewed or made new again by the Holy Spirit so you can resist sin, do good and serve God. “But that’s not what it looks like,” some might say. When we baptize babies, sometimes they cry, sometimes they sleep, sometimes they giggle, sometimes they fuss. What’s the change? And baptized people, they still sin. What about that?

          Remember the lesson of Epiphany. When God is involved not only are things not what they seem, they are much more than they appear to be. You know what we would be calling the Wise Men if they had come from the East to worship the newborn king and then turned away disappointed because he looked like an average Hebrew baby boy? We’d be calling them the Dumb Men from the East! The same is true for all who despise, downplay or disregard Baptism. Baptism is a whole lot more than getting wet. The Holy Spirit is at work. He provides a new life. He renews your spirit to want to obey God. So if you were baptized as a baby you started out as a dry child of your parents and you ended as a wet child of God. You started out as a dry sinner but you ended as a wet forgiven sinner. You started as a sinner dead in your sins. You ended as a sinner made alive in Christ now able to and willing to serve Jesus instead of self. If you were baptized later in life when you already believed, pre-baptism you were a forgiven sinner through faith in Jesus but then you became a more confident forgiven sinner as the Spirit marked you as a child of God. You started as a forgiven sinner who wanted to please God and you ended with even more motivation to live your life as a child of God. That’s what Baptism does and is, a powerful working of the Holy Spirit.

          But hold on. We’re not done yet! “So that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs in keeping with the hope of eternal life.” When you are connected to Christ in Baptism your eternity changes. You become and heir of eternal life. Without Christ we were facing the eternal death sentence of Hell. But connected to Christ through faith and Baptism we inherit the glory of and joy of heaven. There is a Packers play by play announcer who likes to pick a defining moment in a game that signals the game is over. He calls it the dagger. Baptism is that for you and me. It’s a game changer for eternity. God wants you to have the comfort and confidence of knowing heaven is your home. So whether your earthly life is relatively easy, tolerable or something you barely get by day after day, just wait.

When I first came to St Jacobi there was a man  we visited who could not come to church any more. Donald Kramer. You knew when you visited you were in for an hour of stories. I soon learned it was an hour of the same stories every time. I didn’t mind. All of his stories in one way or another had to do with his faith in Jesus. One of his favorite stories was about a fork. It went like this. A man was pre-planning his funeral when he came up with what the funeral director thought was a very odd request. He put in his plans that he wanted to be placed in his coffin with a fork in his hand. “Why in the world do you want to be buried with a fork in your hand?” the director asked. “Well, let me explain,” the man said. “When I was growing up and my mother was clearing the dishes after the main part of supper she would always tell us children to save our forks, because the best was yet to come. And I want everyone at my funeral to know that for me the best is yet to come!” For you too. Your Baptism says so.

Brothers and sisters, it’s sad for me that some people look down on Baptism. I think I know why they do it. They see Baptized children of God acting mean, bullying, impatient and yelling. They hear the same potty language from saved as they do from the unsaved. That doesn’t mean Baptism didn’t work. It means that God’s people aren’t working at showing their love for God. Baptism is a whole lot more than getting wet. When you leave this safe place you have a wonderful opportunity with your words and actions to show others just how true that is! Amen.