May 28-30, 2022 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Revelation 22:12-17, 20 “A PERFECT UNION!

 

EASTER 7

May 28-30, 2022

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Revelation 22:12-17, 20

 

“A PERFECT UNION!

1.     Sin and unbelief has been, and is, the real divider.

2.     Only Jesus can provide true unity.

 

Revelation 22:12-17, 20 (EHV) “Look, I am coming soon and my reward is with me, to repay each one according to what he has done. ¹³ I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. ¹⁴ Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the Tree of Life and so that they may enter through the gates into the city. ¹⁵ Outside are the dogs, that is, the sorcerers, the adulterers, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. ¹⁶ I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright Morning Star.

¹⁷ The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears this say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come. Let the one who wants the water of life take it as a gift….²⁰ The one who testifies about these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!”

 

          Unity. It is desirable. People want it. Some of you may recognize these words. “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union…” That comes from the Preamble to the United States Constitution. And how about these words? E Pluribus Unum. If you have a U.S. coin in your pocket, that phrase is inscribed on it. It’s Latin and it means, “Out of many, one.” It was meant to signify how the 13 original colonies and now 50 individual states became one nation under God. That’s the other phrase on your coins.

          Now we all know that neither of those phrases are actually true. God has been kicked out of our nation in many ways. And we really aren’t all that united nor have we been. It was not long after the defeat of Great Britain and America’s independence that the colonies began looking out for their own interests ahead of the nation’s. We are all aware of the horrible Civil War that was fought and needed to be fought so people would stop owning people. And while we like to think that America has been a melting pot where ethnic groups immigrated and gladly gave up their own former loyalties to be a part of a great nation we know that did not happen easily and does not happen easily today. Ethic groups have always tended to stick together and hold on to their language and customs for several generations before melting into the nation. I am quite certain that the many military people who gave their lives, whose sacrifices we remember on Memorial Day, would look at the state of our nation with its polarization, nastiness, willing and forced segregation and ongoing disunity and say, “That’s not what I gave my life for.” Sadness. And yet unity with one another. It’s so desirable.

          Thankfully our living Lord Jesus comes in as a fresh breath of air. Don’t give up on your longed for unity. He gives us something to look forward to. Perfect unity. It’s why he sent His Apostles out into all the world and to all the different ethnicities with the Good News that He is their Savior. It’s what Jesus prayed for in the Upper Room the night He was betrayed. True unity among people like He and the Father are one. And He tells us it's coming…soon! “Look, I am coming soon and my reward is with me, to repay each one according to what he has done. ¹³ I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” With these words Jesus identifies Himself as the ultimate authority. Christ is risen! He is not dead. In every language, no matter how you say it, He is the beginning and end of all things. What He says goes. He points us to a time when their will be perfect unity.

          But first He has to deal with what really divides.  “Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the Tree of Life and so that they may enter through the gates into the city. ¹⁵ Outside are the dogs, that is, the sorcerers, the adulterers, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.” We are in the last book of the Bible, the last chapter. The end of what is is at hand. What will be is just beginning. Before the glorious and perfect union of all believers in heaven Jesus must deal with what divides. Unbelief. He calls them the dogs. I don’t know about you but I like dogs. They are such loyal friends. But the word for dogs Jesus uses is really the curs, the mongrels, the mangy mutts that are wicked and evil You heard some identifying signs. Sorcery, adultery, murder, idolatry, falsehood. And while all of us can be found guilty of some form of those sins at some time what these lifestyle sin groupings have in common is they flow from what really gets God’s wrath. Unbelief. Rejection of Jesus, His Son, who gave His life so all could be free. That gets God’s anger.

          Recently I was talking with another pastor. He has in his congregation someone we both know. He’s someone whose filter on what is appropriate to say or not say and when is a little faulty. He told me about a Bible Class he was teaching on Judgment Day. Our mutual acquaintance raised his hand. “Pastor, you know when Jesus comes back He’s going to kick some behind.” Only he didn’t say “behind.” He said something else. In Bible Class! Now while we may quibble with him over his choice of words we cannot with the content. When the last day comes it's called Judgment Day for a reason. You and I might get angry with senseless shooting, carjackings, window smashings, murders, drug dealers, logicless arguments advanced to give mothers the option to murder their babies, please understand, your anger and my anger is nothing compared to an angry God. Leave room for His wrath. And beware the call of the wild. The way of the wicked might seem easier or more fun at times but you want nothing to do with it. For unbelief divides and so those who reject Jesus will never get the perfect union we all desire.

          But those who believe will. For only Jesus can unite us. Let’s go back to what He said. “Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the Tree of Life and so that they may enter through the gates into the city.” Who’s blessed? Those who wash their robes. This comes from earlier in Revelation where the people in heaven were described as those “who have washed their robes and made the white in the blood of the Lamb.” That’s a picture of a believer in Jesus. Robes all dirty because of sin. The blood of the Lamb, Jesus’ death and sacrifice makes them clean. Jesus is the uniter. While sin separates and divides people from God Jesus, only Jesus brings them together. His perfect life. His innocent death. Those who believe receive the benefit of what Jesus has done. Only Jesus unites believers with God.

          And only Jesus brings unity between people. The Gospel message is meant for every language, tribe, nation and people. In heaven we will have not a more perfect union but a completely perfect union. Languages will not divide because we will all share the same one and despite what my college professor proclaimed I doubt it will be German. Skin tones won’t matter. Nor will economic status because we will all be rich in what really matters and not care about the gold used to pave heaven’s roads. Their will be no political divide for we will all rejoice being ruled by the King of kings and Lord of lords. And then let’s do those personal sin dividers. You have it your family. I have it in mine. It may be because of divorce. It may be caused by harsh words. It may be because of a great misunderstanding or a long held feud. It may be that a dearly loved child is rejecting you. These things happen and hurt among believer’s families. And the hurt may endure her. But not in heaven. In heaven Jesus unites. There will no more death or mourning or crying or pain or separation or hurt or grudge or resent. “Behold I am making everything new!” says Jesus as He gives us the perfect union.

          That’s something to look forward to. As the Lord ends the writing of the Bible it’s like a good series you want to binge where each episode you finish makes you want to see one more. Or a movie series that has you actually longing for the sequel. Listen to our living Lord as He sets our eyes on the prize! “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright Morning Star.¹⁷ The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears this say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come. Let the one who wants the water of life take it as a gift….²⁰ The one who testifies about these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” How do you respond to that? Say it with me! “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!”

 

 

May 14-16, 2022 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: 1 Corinthians 1:4-9 OUR CONFIRMATION WAY OF LIFE

 

CONFIRMATION

May 14-16, 2022

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: 1 Corinthians 1:4-9

 

OUR CONFIRMATION WAY OF LIFE

1.     Built on God’s Confirmation.

2.     Shown in your Confirmation.

 

1 Corinthians 1:4-9 (NIV 1984) “I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. ⁵For in him you have been enriched in every way--in all your speaking and in all your knowledge-- ⁶because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you. ⁷Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. ⁸He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.”

 

          Every once in a while people will ask me what it’s like to be a pastor. Besides telling them it’s a fun way to serve Jesus and people actually pay you to do it, I normally add, “Being a pastor isn’t a job. It’s a way of life.” You don’t punch a clock and all of the sudden stop being a pastor. You carry that with you wherever you are. It’s an honor and a privilege that comes with responsibility.

          The same thing can be said about being confirmed. It’s not a ceremony. It’s a way of life. It’s a way of life willingly chosen by believers in Jesus Christ who have been instructed in the truths of God’s word. Many of you have already been confirmed and some look forward to it. So today let’s look into God’s Word to see how being confirmed is a way of life.

          It’s a way of life that is built on God’s Confirmation. Some might wonder what confirmation is anyway. You already know. If you book a hotel room or a flight or a rental car you will want to receive a confirmation of that booking. A confirmation is a notice that tells you that you really have it. Yes, there is a seat reserved for you on this plane. Yes, we have a room set aside for you. A confirmation then is really a strengthening or a reinforcing that something really is true.

          God does that for us. He confirms what is really important for us to know. “I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. ⁵For in him you have been enriched in every way--in all your speaking and in all your knowledge-- ⁶because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you, ⁷Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.” The Apostle Paul wrote these words in his first letter to the Christian church in the city of Corinth. It was a congregation that had many spiritual troubles. Its people had to live in a very wicked city, where very few people actually believed in the Lord Jesus. Sound familiar? It was important for them to know they had what they needed from God. Paul confirmed it. He thanked God because they had received the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. Normally we think of grace as God’s undeserved love. It’s also a word that means gift. When the Corinthian Christians received faith in Jesus they received the gifts they needed. They were enriched in speaking and knowledge. Those folks lived in a city that valued eloquent speaking and human philosophy. Now they had better. They could speak words that would lead people to have eternal life. They had the true knowledge of the true God. They had the spiritual gifts necessary to stay faithful to Jesus. This was confirmed by the fact that they believed in Jesus.

          God has confirmed the same things for you, my friends. It’s easy to worry and fear when we look to what the future may hold for Christians in our country, especially our youth. But you know what? I have read some sermon and papers from Lutheran pastors from our sister churches that existed over a hundred years ago. Do you know what they said? They warned about what would happen to the youth because the country was getting so wicked and there was so much immorality and there was so much alcohol abuse. Now the young people of that time would then have been in their fifties and sixties during the time what many people call the good old days. But at the time they did not seem so good. My point is that in every generation confirmed Christians will face challenges to their faith. That is nothing new. And in each generation God is there confirming his people. Confirming you, that is strengthening and reinforcing you.

          He strengthens you by giving you your Baptism, something you can point back to and rely on that says you really are a child of God, despite your many sins and no matter what you are dealing with. He has given you His word, the Bible, so you know you have all the knowledge you need. Not everything you want, but everything you need. Over and over again He confirms the fact that you are forgiven all those sins as He has his ministers pronounce that in weekly worship. He goes further and confirms His love and forgiveness in the Sacrament of Holy Communion where Jesus’ true body and blood are present with bread and wine and say again, “You are forgiven. Here is the proof. I confirm it.”

And while it may happen that you get to the airport or to the hotel or to the car rental place only to find that your confirmation is not valid because they overbooked, that cannot happen with God’s confirmation. “He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.” God is faithful. You can count on Him. He will keep His word and promises. God is faithful.

And that’s why we want to be too. Which takes us to our Confirmation. For any of you who are unfamiliar with Lutheran practice in our churches the preteen children go through several years of formal instruction with their pastors. We want to make sure they have the basic knowledge of the Bible’s teaching. There is a lot of repetition. Then we have this ceremony that announces they have learned those teachings and agree with them. They get a chance to publicly promise to be faithful to Jesus all the way to their death, which is so important because Jesus said, “Everyone who confesses me before others, I will also confess before my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32)

Confirmation was never ever intended to be the end of anything. It does not mark the end of learning and relearning Bible truths. It does not mean you never again sit in class with your pastors learning God’s word. It is meant to mark a new beginning in your faith life. At your Baptism God made His promise to you that you were His redeemed child washed clean of your sins. At your Confirmation you promise, “Lord I will do my best to live like what you made me. I will strive to let the faith you have place in me on the inside show on the outside.” In other words, Confirmation is not just a ceremony. It’s a way of life.

As a confirmed Christian you don’t punch a clock. You aren’t working on faithfulness to Jesus 9-5 and then you are done. You don’t have a church life, a work life, an at home life. You are a confirmed Christian wherever you are. You don’t have a church mouth, a work mouth, a home mouth. You have one mouth that was created to declare the praises of God and to tell others the great things He has done for you at church, at home, at work. Being a confirmed Christian is a way of living very deliberately so that whether you eat, drink or whatever you do you will do it all for the glory of God. It’s a way of living where you deliberately strive to demonstrate faithfulness to the one who was faithful to you first, Jesus.

Here again is why it is so important that we do not view Confirmation as graduating from something. You can be done with going to elementary school. You can be done with going to high school. You never want to be done believing in Jesus. Faithfulness to Him is marked by regular weekly worship and daily devotion to His word. There you will find the strength you need to live your confirmation way of life. There you will find confirmation that you are still loved and forgiven by God when you stray and you will stray. And you will come back. That’s what Confirmed Christian do.

Being confirmed is not a ceremony. It is a way of life. It’s an honor and a privilege that comes with responsibility. You are making a commitment to strive to live faithful to Jesus every day for the rest of your life. And did I mention you get paid? Not money that is here and gone and loses value due to inflation. But the glories of heaven forever. Welcome to a way of life. Amen.