December 13, 2023 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Zechariah 13:1-6 (EHV) “CHRIST’S ADVENT: AN END TO FALSE TEACHING!”

 

MIDWEEK ADVENT 3

December 13, 2023

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Zechariah 13:1-6 (EHV)

 

“CHRIST’S ADVENT: AN END TO FALSE TEACHING!”

 

          We are in the time of the year that we are looking forward to and waiting for something big, Christmas! What is it you are most looking forward to? There can be many different answers. Some will say things that have to do with worship: the music, the message that we have a Savior and God keeps His promises, the children’s service, the star. Some will say the cookies and treats and food. Students will say a vacation from school…maybe a few others might say that too. Then there is seeing family and the giving and getting of gifts. None of those answers are wrong. There are many things that Christmas brings for us to look forward to. Christ’s Advent is the same way. You can look forward to Christ’s coming at the end of the world for a number of reasons. In our midweek Advent services Zechariah has been helping us as he revealed what he was looking for. We’ve already heard how he was looking forward to the Lord living with us. Last week we heard how he was looking forward to being part of a holy kingdom. We related to that. No more having to complain and chafe about what’s wrong with your country when you are part of a holy nation with the perfect Lord Jesus as your leader. But wait, there’s more that Zechariah was looking forward to and we can too.

 

Zechariah 13:1-6 (EHV) “On that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness. ² In that day, declares the Lord of Armies, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered. I will also remove the prophets and the impure spirit from the land. ³ If anyone still prophesies, his father and his mother who gave birth to him will tell him, “You shall not live, because you have spoken lies in the name of the Lord!” Then his father and his mother who gave birth to him will stab him when he prophesies. ⁴ In that day each of those prophets will be ashamed of his vision. When he prophesies, he will not put on a prophet’s garment made of hair in order to deceive. ⁵ Instead he will say, “I am not a prophet. I have been a tiller of the soil since my youth, when a man bought me.” ⁶ Someone will ask him, “What are these wounds on your body?” He will reply, “I received these wounds in the house of my friends.”

 

          What was Zechariah looking forward to? An end to false teaching. That’s what this prophecy is about, an end to idolatry and false teaching, they go hand in hand. Idolatry blatantly puts something in the place of God and false teaching does it secretly. “This is what God says,” the false teaching prophet said, but God did not say it. Every false prophet and false teacher is a false God putting themselves in the place of God. In Zechariah’s time the false prophets tried to discourage God’s people who had come back to Israel from continuing their faithful service to God. Following his time the false prophets perverted the Old Testament ceremonial worship that was to point to Christ and made it into the work righteous religions proclaimed by the chief priests and Pharisees of Jesus’ time. Zechariah looked forward to the time when Christ would come because the false teachers would be exposed for what they were so that their parents would turn on them. They would lie about themselves because they would be ashamed of their false teaching.

          To a certain extent that happened when Christ came the first time. How often don’t the Gospel writers record that the people were amazed at Jesus’ teaching because He taught as one with authority—not like the chief priests and teachers of the law? How often didn’t it happen that the Pharisees tried to trap or trick Jesus using Scripture and Jesus made them look like fools? For that time when Jesus walked the earth physically He dealt with false teaching.

          But He did not put an end to it. That waits until Christ’s second Advent. If you want, read the epistles in their historical order and see how quickly they switch from mainly teaching to correcting false teaching. Lovers of church history will have no shortage of false teaching fodder as you see the Nicene Creed developed to straighten out false teaching. Same with the Athanasian Creed. And the Lutheran Reformation would not have had to happen if the visible church kept its teachings straight. But it didn’t. False teaching was prevalent before, during, after and now. I’ve watched Joel Osteen to try to figure out what the draw is. He’s not the most charismatic speaker I’ve seen. But his lies in God’s name are shameful. I wonder how many people have been led to believe God does not love them because they are not getting their best life now. Jesus told us that our best life comes in heaven with Him and because of Him. Jesus told us that if we follow Him faithfully we can expect to take up crosses not get whatever we want. Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Mormons are zealous to get their false messages with no Jesus as Savior into as many homes as they can, preying on lonely people and leading to spiritual depression when people realize they can’t keep all the rules. I’ve not seen it myself, but enough people have asked me that it must be out there. Some commercial tooting the so called Rapture and what to do if Jesus’ leaves you behind for a second chance. That’s false teaching. Scripture is clear that Jesus will return only once. That will be the end of the world. It will be followed by the public Judgement Day with no second chances and the only rapture Scripture speaks about is our great joy when all believers are caught up with the Lord in our eternal existence we call heaven which is why the Apostles’ Creed so clearly confesses, “…he ascended into heaven. He is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.” Period. Stop. No rapture.

          Now all these false teachings are and can be confusing for many people but what really bothers me is the people cost. The worst is when people are led to believe that their relationship with God depends on their good works as though Jesus was not good enough. Some of the people caught in those false teaching churches still hold on to Jesus for mercy but live their lives in fear and with guilt instead of the peace and joy they could have if their false teaching pastors would give them the truth. False teaching harms so many personal relationships. It splits and divides families. Can plague marriages. And there is a reason people are warned against bringing up religion and politics at the family reunion or in a bar conversation. False teaching divides.

          But not when Christ comes again. He will put an end to false teaching and all the divisions that it causes. He will make His church whole again and there will be one flock and one shepherd. No wonder Zechariah looked forward to Christ’s coming. No wonder we do too. Come Lord Jesus. Amen!

 

December 2-4, 2023 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Isaiah 64:1-9 “WE ARE ALL GOD’S PEOPLE!”

 

ADVENT 1

December 2-4, 2023

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Isaiah 64:1-9

 

“WE ARE ALL GOD’S PEOPLE!”

1.     A waiting people.

2.     A messy people.

3.     A useful people.

 

Happy New Year! New Church year, that is. The regular calendar’s transition to a new year is often used to look back and look ahead and the word of God before us from Isaiah 64 helps us to do that spiritually as we begin the Church year with Advent. It proclaims the truth that whether we are talking about believers in the past or present we are all God’s people who have things in common.

First, we are a waiting people. The prophet Isaiah served God’s people around 700 years before Jesus was born. While the people Isaiah served were experiencing relative prosperity, the nation as a whole was in spiritual decline. Some good God fearing kings, more evil, idol worshippers. The believers were chafing because they could see and feel their nation turning away from God. They had seen their cousins in the northern nation of Israel conquered by the Assyrians. They had heard the announcement from Isaiah that their own turn was coming at the hands of the Babylonians. Isaiah expressed their angst well! “Oh, that you would rip open the heavens and come down. Mountains then would quake because of your presence. 2As fire ignites stubble and as fire makes water boil, make your name known to your adversaries. Then nations would quake in your presence. 3You did amazing things that we did not expect. You came down. Mountains quaked because of your presence. 4From ancient times no one has heard. No ear has understood. No eye has seen any god except you, who goes into action for the one who waits for him. 5You meet anyone who joyfully practices righteousness, who remembers you by walking in your ways! But you were angry because we sinned. We have remained in our sins for a long time. Can we still be saved?” Can we still be saved? God’s people were a waiting people. They were waiting for God to save them from their evil rulers. Save their nation from its own evil. Save them from their enemies.

We too are a waiting people. Can you relate to believers living in angst as they watch their nation go into spiritual decline? Can you relate to believers who are disgusted that their government leaders do not lead to God but reject and oppose God in so many ways? Can you relate to believers concerned about what this means for our nation’s future? You know you can. The church year season of Advent reminds us that we are waiting people. Waiting for Jesus to come the second time. But there are mini waitings happening all the time. Have you noticed that? You wait for Thanksgiving and its mini break only to so quickly be waiting for Christmas. Life seems to be one mini crisis after another. A sickness, a surgery, a family issue, a problem with the kids. We are waiting for them to be done. But what we are really waiting for is Jesus to come help us. Whether it is a health issue, financial issue, state of the nation issue or people issue. We are a waiting people who need Jesus to come and save us.

What we really need is Jesus to save us from ourselves because just like the rest of God’s people, we are a messy people. Isaiah admitted it for his time. “All of us have become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like a filthy cloth. All of us have withered like a leaf, and our guilt carries us away like the wind. 7There is no one who calls on your name, who rouses himself to take hold of you. So you hid your face from us. You made us melt by the power of our guilt.”  God has made it clear. Our sinful natures are not a minor boo boo that you can control with a band aid. Sinful ways of thinking and motivations drive people more than anyone wants to admit. There is a term for it. Total depravity. Think of what comes to mind if you describe a person as depraved. Total depravity. That is the effect of sin living inside a person even when we are talking about the people of God. So Isaiah owned up for himself and God’s people back then. They had followed the people of their nation in selfish living. They had neglected the priorities God set for them. Even their righteous acts were filthy, tainted by sinful pride and selfish motivations. They were a messy people.

And so are we. Just like the rest of God’s people we tend to follow the sins of our society just a few steps behind. The blatant 2^nd Commandment sin of misusing God’s name in the phrase “O my” God’s name comes off our lips and we may not even realize it. Affluence and wealth which God gives so we can be generous instead makes us cold to the needs of others. We waste our money through unchecked spending on wants, not needs, and blame God for not providing for us. I hate it when pagans are better at righteous living than the people of God. “Assume positive intent” is a phrase many businesses strive to incorporate into their workplace culture. Before getting upset at what someone did or said assume positive intent. You know what that is? The 8^th Commandment. Take their word and actions in the kindest possible way! Are we doing that? Or instead have we become experts in the law, at least applying it to others and assuming negative intent behind what they say and do? While many things have changed the big ones have not. We are all God’s people and we are a messy people because of our sin.

But that is no reason to despair or give up. The Savior Isaiah and his people were waiting for came. He lived the perfect life that messy people of God have not. He paid the sin debt owed by all people through His death on the cross. He cleaned us up so God does not cast His people away. He makes use of them. Isaiah knew that. “But now, Lord, you are our father. We are the clay, and you are our potter. All of us are the work of your hand. 9Do not be angry, Lord, without limit. Do not remember our guilt forever. Please look closely. All of us are your people.” It was a beautiful picture for God’s people in Isaiah’s day. They were worried and concerned about the future for themselves, their children, their grandchildren. Because their fellow citizens had turned from God they would get caught up in the consequence of captivity. Lions and tigers and bears O my! No worries. God was like a potter and his people the clay. He would shape them and use them for glorious salvation purposes. Some of those people had names like Haddasah, Belteshazzar, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. You know them better as Esther, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshak and Abednego. Useful people that God used to advance His salvation plan.

Just like you, the people of God are useful too. God is the potter. You are the clay. Ponder this for a second. God has shaped you your whole life to be what He knows you should be to be useful in His kingdom. It began in your mother’s womb where you, the unborn child, were fearfully and wonderfully made with the physical framework He wanted you to have. I’ve always said I never asked to be a perfect heighted 5’7’’--neither abnormally tall or short. God made me that way. He made you your perfect height as well. He gave you your characteristics and abilities, those things you are drawn to and good at. You and I have gotten to honor God by taking those traits and characteristics and running with them. Honing them. Using them. Accepting opportunities when formally asked or when God just drops a person in your life to be a blessing to, God’s blessing to. Helping them in time of need. Being their connection to Jesus the only one who saves. Don’t let the Devil tell you otherwise or make you feel otherwise. We are a useful people in the hands of the Almighty God.

          So again I say, “Happy New Church Year!” As we once again follow the life of our Savior and learn to serve Him rejoice that you are a part of that select group who gets to be called the people of God! A waiting people, a messy people, but because we have been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb and a people useful to God. Amen.

 

 

THANKSGIVING November 22/23, 2023 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Job 1:21 Thank the Lord!

 

THANKSGIVING

November 22/23, 2023

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Job 1:21

 

Thank the Lord!

1.     For giving.

2.     For taking away.  

 

Job 1:21“The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. May the name of the Lord be praised.”

 

          An attitude of gratitude. A spirit of thanksgiving. Everybody on the planet knows that this should exist in the heart of mankind. It’s part of the natural knowledge of God that He places in people’s hearts from birth. When others give to you or serve you the right response is thanksgiving. You haven’t noticed anyone trying to get rid of, hide or ban secular thanksgiving items like they are with Christmas have you? Everyone knows thanksgiving should be there. But you also cannot force it. Sure you can make your kids say “Thank you.” “Thank you for the socks and undies Grandma.” You can write a thank you but to actually be thankful is a different matter entirely. Either you are thankful or you are not. You are. That is why you are here. You recognize that your blessings come from God and His grace and you desire to thank him so you are taking the time and making the time to do so. My goal for all of us here is that our gratitude to God will grow from the easy and shallow to a deeper appreciation and thanks to God for all He has done for us.

          For that we turn to a brother in faith named Job. His words that I read to you are probably the most well known words from Job even though his resurrection confession, “I know that my Redeemer lives,” probably should be. These words are well known because  of when they are often read, at funerals and at gravesides. “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. May the name of the Lord be praised.” May they guide our thanksgiving as we focus on thanking the Lord for giving.

          Job certainly knew how to do that. The Lord gave Job a wife, 7 sons and three daughters. That’s a lot of blessings. And if that were not enough from the Bible’s description, they all got along. That’s rare. The Lord also gave Job 7,000 sheep, think wool and mutton and garment production, 3,000 camels, think owning an international shipping and trucking company, 500 yoke of oxen so that means 1,000 oxen, the equivalent of large tractors and excavators in our time and 500 donkeys, female donkeys, prized for their nice ride, milk and ability to reproduce, Cadillacs if you will. Add to them all the servants needed to take care of all these animals and you realize that God gave Job a lot. People have a hard time trying to gauge modern day equivalents in US dollars. I saw everything from $250 million to $2 trillion. Take your pick. The Lord gave to Job. He recognized and was thankful.

          You and I can do similar thanking of God, can’t we? Like the hymn we just sang reminded us we have 10,000 reasons and more to thank the Lord. He has given to us, richly and daily. Just like with Job God has placed people into our lives. Friends, Family. Church family. Just like with Job God has provided a means of income, Social Security, investments and pensions, the different jobs we have. God has chosen to place us in a wealthy country at a wealthy time with more food and clothing than we need each day and not just a shack in the woods but comfortable shelter. It is still true that the poorest Americans are among the world’s wealthy. And with the wealth God has given us the ability to experience the joy of generosity in helping people in our community, family members who are in need, our church and its ministry. These all are obvious blessings that lead us believers to say, “Thank the Lord!” Thank the Lord for giving.

          In the account of Job Satan realized that thankfulness for obvious blessings can be a sign of shallow faith. Here is what he said to God about Job, “Satan answered the Lord, “Is it without cause that Job fears God? ¹⁰ You have put a protective hedge around him and his household and everything that belongs to him, haven’t you? You have blessed the work of his hands. His livestock has spread throughout the land. ¹¹ But just stretch out your hand and strike everything that is his, and he will certainly curse you to your face!” (Job 1:9-11 EHV) Those of you familiar with Job’s history know what happened next. On one single day raiders stole Job’s oxen, donkeys and camels and killed his servants, a firestorm destroyed his sheep and something like a tornado killed all his children as they were having a family get together. That’s when Job uttered his famous words that are most often used now at funerals and committals. “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. May the name of the Lord be praised.” Thank the Lord for taking away. His people, his things, his means of income. Still Job thanked the Lord.

          You can too. Let’s start with our things. It’s easy to thank the Lord when He gives us nice things, a house, a car, new clothes. Can we thank Him when He takes them away? Sure! Sometimes we love our things more than we should so when our loving God takes them away He is helping us value what He values. How about a job or means of income. You pray for one and get it. Thank the Lord. And then it gets taken away. Thank the Lord again. God knows your future. You don’t. He knows where you should be and where you should not be. It could be that the job you were in was going to be dangerous for your faith or your well being. Thank the Lord for taking away. I am reminded of a prisoner I visited many years ago as a pastor in Texas. His nickname was Thumper. Like the rabbit. He got it when he was in the juvenile detention system in Texas. Why? He was good at running away from the juvenile detention centers, so good that when he became of age they locked him up in a maximum security prison. I visited him because at that prison he reconnected with the faith of his youth as a member of one of our sister churches in El Paso. I still remember him telling me how thankful he was that the Lord had taken away his freedom through the Texas court system because by doing so God gave him back his faith which gave him freedom in Christ. In a similar way we can say thank the Lord when He takes away our physical health because it helps us detach from this sinful world and long for heaven as we should. We can say thank the Lord when He takes away our ability to be self righteous by letting us continue to struggle with those pet sins and temptations because they keep us dependent on Jesus. We can thank the Lord when He takes away our self reliance by giving us problems we can’t fix because they help us have a more fervent prayer life. And what about people? Can we really thank the Lord when through death He takes away parents, friends, children, spouses? Yes, through our tears, we can, as we recognize the reason we miss these people is that they were blessings to make our earthly lives more tolerable for at time.

          And some of God’s take aways are easy. Thank the Lord for taking away our sins. Through Jesus we have full forgiveness of all our sins and so we thank the Lord for taking away our shame and guilt. None of us has to live haunted by our past. Even if people remember, God does not and we will get to stand before Him on the last day with heads held high because of Jesus. Thank the Lord that by taking away He has given us the gift of eternal life in heaven.

          Now if you would choose to thank the Lord this week by reading all about this man Job I’ve been talking about in the Bible book that bears his name you will likely come to the same conclusion I do every time I read it and come to the point where Job exclaims, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. May the name of the Lord be praised.” Who does that? In the moment how could he say that? Maybe if you have been at funeral or committal recently and the pastor read those words they kind of stuck in your ears at the time. It’s hard to be thankful when our hearts are hurting. But Job did. So can you. Not just one day a year but everyday. You and I know Job’s God, who works all things for the good enabling us to say in all circumstances, “Thank the Lord for giving and for taking away!” Amen.

 

October 13-15, 2023 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Matthew 22:1-14 (EHV) “ AN OFFER WE CAN BUT BETTER NOT REFUSE!”

 

PENTECOST 20

October 13-15, 2023

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Matthew 22:1-14 (EHV)

 

“ AN OFFER WE CAN BUT BETTER NOT REFUSE!”

1.     Free Banquet!

2.     Free Clothes!

 

If you have been reading the little Theme of the Day summaries provided in the service folder (and I hope you have been!) you saw the summary of this parable of Jesus as ‘A story of insane rejection.’ I know what the writer means but I personally would like a little more accuracy. We have this way of talking. You see some social media dare or challenge like the superhot One Chip Challenge and you say, “That’s insane!” Or someone tells you they are going to jump out of a perfectly good flying airplane to go skydiving and you say, “You’re crazy!” Probably time to change our speech. Mental health issues are real, just as real as physical health issues. Certain mental health issues can’t be dealt with unless there is proper medical treatment just like certain physical problems won’t just go away without treatment, so if you need help, get it. But my point is this. Someone who truly is crazy or insane and is not treated can’t be responsible for their actions any more than someone who breaks their leg and is not treated is responsible for not  being able to run. I’d say a better title for the theme of the day is ‘A story of idiotic rejection.’ You see, our word idiot comes from the Greek word idios which means ‘one’s own.’ In Biblical context an idiot would be someone who chooses their own way instead of what God gives freely through Jesus. Now listen to Jesus’ story of idiotic rejection!

 

Matthew 22:1-14 (EHV) “Jesus spoke to them again in parables. He said, ² “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. ³ He sent out his servants to summon those who were invited to the wedding banquet, but they did not want to come. ⁴ “Then he sent out other servants and said, ‘Tell those who are invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner. My oxen and my fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet!’⁵ “But those who were invited paid no attention and went off, one to his own farm, another to his business. ⁶ The rest seized the king’s servants, mistreated them, and killed them. ⁷ As a result, the king was very angry. He sent his army and killed those murderers and burned their town.⁸ “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. ⁹ So go to the main crossroads and invite as many as you find to the wedding banquet.’  ¹⁰ Those servants went out to the roads and gathered together everyone they found, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. ¹¹ But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. ¹² He said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wearing wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless. ¹³ Then the king told the servants, ‘Tie him hand and foot and throw him into the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ ¹⁴ For many are called, but few are chosen.”

          Jesus’ picture story is easy. A king has invited people to come to the wedding banquet for his son. Now, I am not into royals. I like to remind those who go gaga over British royalty, “You know we beat them, right?” And yet an invitation to a royal wedding. The best of food and drink and pomp and circumstance. All free. You’d have to be an idiot to refuse that. And you got my attention when you said it was free. And yet there were a bunch of idiots. These were the important people in the eyes of the world. Successful business owners. Minor nobles. The movers and shakers and celebrities of the time. They rejected free food. They had other priorities, work or recreation. Some took it a step further. Others mistreated and killed the messengers. They rejected the generosity of their king and went their own way. What a bunch of idiots. What did they think the king would do?

          Remember, earthly story, spiritual meaning. Jesus told this parable right after His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The Pharisees and chief priests were there with the people. Jesus was reaching out to them in love to try to help them see that rejecting God’s Son and their Savior was idiotic. Refusing to be a member of God’s kingdom on earth is idiotic. Refusing an eternity of joy in heaven is idiotic. And what do you think the King of Heaven will do to those who mistreated and killed his prophets and rejected His Son? Sadly, history tells us most of these people remained true idiots and chose their own way to try to get to heaven and failed miserably because they lacked their own righteousness and now suffer in Hell. Idiots. But we can still be sad for them.

          Jesus’ parable went on. The gracious King extended the invitation to this most sumptuous and glorious banquet to others, the “little” people of the time. The average day worker, the poor, those considered good for society and those considered bad. All were invited. All were given wedding clothes to wear. Coming in from the highways and byways their own would not be good enough. Everyone gets brand new wedding clothes, for free. You’d have to be an idiot to refuse that and once again you had me at Free! But in the parable someone rejected the free clothes. He chose his own dirty shabby clothes over brand new clothes from the king. As a result he was uninvited from the wedding banquet. What an idiot?

          Again earthly story, spiritual meaning. The Bible makes frequent use of the picture of your clothes or robe as what you look like to God. People on their own have filthy robes because of our sin. And we are filthy. Any of you young people want to disagree with me give me your phone unlocked after service. By the way mom and dad, when is the last time you checked your child’s phone? If you are choosing to provide them with a tool that is dangerous and has been used by Satan for so much wrong and harm, it is your responsibility to check and monitor. The robe or clothes provided by Jesus is His righteousness like we sang in the beautiful hymn. “Jesus your blood and righteousness my beauty are, my glorious dress.” My daughter’s used to call my pastor robe a dress. Daddy’s dress. It’s not a dress. It’s a robe. The main reason we wear it is to cover us and to signify we are in the role of a spokesman for God. Believers in Jesus are covered with His perfect life of a obedience. A robe of righteousness that presents us as perfect people in the eyes of God. You would have to be an idiot to hold up your life next to Jesus and say, “I’m good enough.” Sadly, as Jesus’ parable points out and our fellow Americans demonstrate, there are a lot of idiots out there.

          That’s kind of fun, isn’t it? Calling other people idiots. Try it with me. Idiots. But God’s word has not been given to us so we can look down on and despise other people. It’s to warn and encourage us. First, don’t be an idiot! It’s unlikely that anyone here is going to blatantly say to Jesus, “I’m better than you” or “I think I’m good enough to get to heaven on my own.” And yet we have in us this “I want to do it my way” sinful nature that the Devil wants to cultivate so eventually we do. And here’s how we fall into his trap. Jesus offers us His very body and blood for the forgiveness of sins in the Lord’s Supper and yet, Jacobi members, how often have we responded with a No? “I’ve got business to attend to. Sports things to get my kids to.” Free banquet. Nah. Idiotic, don’t you think?. “Cast your burdens on the Lord” we are encouraged and yet too often prayer is the last resort, ‘all we can do now’ as though we are so important. We have an idiotic tendency in all of us. My way. This parable provides a warning we need.

          And an encouragement. Someone in your life making you feel like you are not good enough? Got your own mom guilt going on? Life’s struggles make you think about your sins and why you should be suffering? Free clothes. You are covered by Jesus. There is nothing you have to do or can do to make the King love you anymore than He already does. He treats you on the basis of grace no matter how you feel or what anyone else says. God invites you to regularly receive comfort, strength, peace, help in His word and Sacraments and through the gift of prayer. It’s an offer we can but better not refuse. And why would we? It’s all free and by God’s grace we are no idiots. Amen.

September 23-25, 2023 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Matthew 20:1-16 (EHV) “GOD’S WORK, GOD’S WAY!

 

PENTECOST 17

September 23-25, 2023

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Matthew 20:1-16 (EHV)

 

“GOD’S WORK, GOD’S WAY!

 

          Last week and for the next few weeks in the Gospel lessons from Matthew Jesus teaches us things using stories. Important things we need to know about life as citizens in God’s kingdom. Last week he made clear the importance of ongoing forgiveness of others as we need ongoing forgiveness from God. This week’s story focuses our attention on work in God’s kingdom. You will notice that the workers and the owner have decidedly different perspectives. See if you can pick them out.

 

Matthew 20:1-16 (EHV) “Indeed the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. ²After agreeing to pay the workers a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard. ³He also went out about the third hour and saw others standing unemployed in the marketplace. ⁴To these he said, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will give you whatever is right.’ So they went. ⁵Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour and did the same thing. ⁶When he went out about the eleventh hour, he found others standing unemployed. He said to them, ‘Why have you stood here all day unemployed?’ ⁷“They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ “He told them, ‘You also go into the vineyard.’ ⁸When it was evening, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, starting with the last group and ending with the first.’ ⁹“When those who were hired around the eleventh hour came, they each received a denarius. ¹⁰When those who were hired first came, they thought they would receive more. But they each received a denarius too. ¹¹After they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner: ¹²‘Those who were last worked one hour, and you made them equal to us who have endured the burden of the day and the scorching heat!’ ¹³“But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not make an agreement with me for a denarius? ¹⁴Take what is yours and go. I want to give to the last one hired the same as I also gave to you. ¹⁵Can’t I do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ ¹⁶In the same way, the last will be first, and the first, last.”

 

          Like most of Jesus’ stories called parables, this one is not hard to picture as it relates to real life. First there is the workers’ perspective. We have all probably been at a point some time in life, or will be, where there is a job you really want to have. You hope for it. You pray for it. You go for it. You get it! You are filled with a sense of joy, pride, happiness and satisfaction. You understand the privilege of getting this job. Day laborers in Jesus’ time had that times 10. Each workday they left home and kissed their wife on the cheek. “Pray for me, honey.” It was an important prayer. His goal for the day would be to earn enough to buy food for his family for the next day. No job. No food. They waited in the marketplace where the landowners who had work would look for day laborers. “Pick me! Pick me! Please!” went the silent prayers. “You, come with me.” Privilege! Relief. A denarius. Food for my family.

          But they weren’t all that different from us. The joy and privilege of being chosen for a job can wear off when you start looking at your fellow workers. They don’t work as hard as I do. They are so incompetent. Why are people always asking me to do more? There are 15 other people in this department. I bet she gets paid more than I do. We’ve all thought it and/or said it many times so say it with me. “That’s not fair!” Here’s how that came out in the parable. “When those who were hired first came, they thought they would receive more. But they each received a denarius too. ¹¹After they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner: ¹²‘Those who were last worked one hour, and you made them equal to us who have endured the burden of the day and the scorching heat!’” The workers’ perspective is very normal. It is the common way of thinking and works in the workplace. I put more time in, I do more, I am more competent, I deserve to be paid more. That’s what’s fair.

          The owner in Jesus’ parable takes a decidedly different approach. He picks workers at the beginning of the workday, 3 hours in, 6 hours in, 9 hours in and with only one left to go! And for all of us whiners and complainers who actually think we work hard and long I hope you noticed this is a 12 hour workday, 6 days a week. We soft American need to replace our whining and complaining with thankfulness to God that we get to live when we do. But I digress. It comes to the end of the day. Back then you did not wait two weeks for a paycheck. You got paid at the end of each day because you needed that money just to stay alive for the next. The owner hands out the pay beginning with those whose workday was shortest to those whose workday is the longest. Everybody got the same! A denarius. Join me in speaking for the 12 hour workers. “That’s not fair!” “Hold on,” says the owner.

          “But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not make an agreement with me for a denarius? ¹⁴Take what is yours and go. I want to give to the last one hired the same as I also gave to you. ¹⁵Can’t I do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?” Ooh! Now the truth comes out. The complaining workers got exactly what they had agreed to work for. That’s fair. The owner of the money is the one who gets to decide where it goes. That’s fair. Now remember the times. When Joseph and Judah and Joachim left their homes that morning their prayer was to earn enough to provide food for their families. One hour, three hours, half a day’s work won’t get very much. The owner was being kind and while these first hired workers hid their hearts behind their own concept of fairness, they showed they did not have love for others. They weren’t thinking about the other workers who would now be able to feed their families. They were only thinking of themselves.

          Now Jesus is not trying to change the way companies and businesses do their hiring practices or how they pay their workers. Remember this is a parable, an earthly story that has a spiritual meaning, meant to teach believers what life is like as a citizen of the kingdom of God. So, what’s the point? God’s work, God’s way. Two main points. First is that being a part of the kingdom of God and getting to “work” for Jesus is a privilege. Did you notice the reason the owner hired the workers? They were standing unemployed.  There is no, “he needed more workers so…” He had mercy on them. They needed Him. He did not need them. But He did love them and care for them and so He chose them. So too is your place in the kingdom of God and my place in the kingdom of God. He doesn’t need us. We need Him. In fact, if we want to play the fair game with God, what must He give us? What we’ve earned of course! And the wages of sin is death. I was reminded of that a few weeks ago when we sang “Rock of Ages, Cleft for me.” Let me remind you of verse 3. “Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to thy cross I cling; naked, come to thee for dress, helpless, look to thee for grace; foul, I to the fountain fly; wash me, Savior, or I die.” Do you believe that? That we are members of the kingdom of God is a privilege. It flows from God’s love and is possible only because of the life and death of our Savior Jesus. God’s work, God’s way is the way of grace and mercy.

          That takes us to the second main point. That we get “paid” is an astounding display of God’s grace. Jesus’ story is about being a member of God’s kingdom. We get to work for God now by being witnesses for our Lord Jesus. We get to work for God now by carefully striving to live our lives for God’s glory. Our “pay” is heaven. An eternity in the glorious presence of God where there is joy evermore and we will be co-heirs with Christ whatever that means however that can be true. Joy. Happiness. Love. Unity with each other, all believers and the Lord. A brand new heaven and brand new earth. It is impossible for us to earn or deserve that so God gives it us freely by grace through Jesus. And that is why we are just as happy that our generous God gives that gift to people like the thief on the cross as we are for those who have lived their whole lives with that truth. God’s work, God’s way highlights the beauty of God’s grace where we who know we are last because of our sins are put first in the kingdom of God while those who think they are first because of all they do become last. It’s God’s Work, so it’s God’s way! Amen.

          Brian, you are among the very few believers in Christ who not only get “paid” in eternity but also are getting paid right now. You are a called worker which means that for the past 25 years people have paid you to do what most other believers are expected to do without pay: be in God’s word daily, proclaim, teach it, be a witness. So for the past 25 years you have had extra reasons to rejoice that it is God’s work, God’s way because you understand the extra privilege you have. By God’s grace you were chosen for God’s family. By God’s grace you get to be a full time worker in one of His churches. By God’s grace you will get “paid.” Jesus said, “Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven.” Those treasures are people who believe in Jesus. For the past 25 years you’ve had the chance to proclaim Christ to lots of students. That’s a lot of treasure. 25 more? Amen.

September 2-4, 2023 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Romans 8:18-25 (EHV) “IT’S ALL WORTH IT!”

 

PENTECOST

September 2-4, 2023

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Romans 8:18-25 (EHV)

 

“IT’S ALL WORTH IT!”

1.     Suffering

2.     Groaning

3.     Waiting

 

          Is it worth it? Sometimes the answer is yes. On a recent vacation my daughter and I were hiking to see some waterfalls. The hike was getting long. No waterfalls. We met some people coming back. “Is it worth it?” we asked. “Oh yes, you will not be disappointed,” was the response. And we were not. The beautiful falls God created were worth the sore feet and temporary shortness of breath. Sometimes the answer is No. Is it worth it? One more drink and a drunk driving ticket. No, that’s not worth it. The word of God we are looking at comes from Romans chapter 8. I hope all of you have that bookmarked in your Bibles. It is filled with comfort and encouragement for all seasons of life. This section hits head on the truth that life is not always easy for followers of Christ. We experience suffering, groaning, waiting. So, is it worth it? Is it worth to pick up your cross and follow Christ?

          Is the suffering worth it? The Apostle Paul wrote this. “For I conclude that our sufferings at the present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us. ¹⁹In fact, creation is waiting with eager longing for the sons of God to be revealed. ²⁰For creation was subjected to futility, not by its own will, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in the hope ²¹that even creation itself will be set free from slavery to corruption, in order to share in the glorious freedom of the children of God.” For the followers of Christ life is filled with sufferings. We have the hurts, heartaches and problems common to all people living in the sin filled world. Following Christ does not give you immunity to cancer, Alzheimer’s and Parkinsons. It does not give you a get out of sickness free card or guarantee no broken bones, or broken relationships. Our world is ruined by sin. Our bodies are ruined by sin. We will have those sufferings and the extra suffering that comes with the hurt when we don’t understand why God allows certain things. Following Christ does not divorce proof your marriage or make your kids act like angels. It does not protect you from mean girls in high school. We are sinners living with sinners and some sins other people do hurt us, deeply, and the hurt can hurt more as you understand God could end those hurts, but He doesn’t. Deliberately following Christ in your life brings more suffering. We get extra when the society you live in is not Christian In case you have not noticed our society is turning more and more anti-Christian. Every sin is to be welcomed and tolerated but calling something God says is wrong sinful, well now, we can’t tolerate that. Watch the way the media treats churches, schools, individuals who make moral stand based on what God says. Sufferings are coming. Followers of Christ also feel the angst of the personal struggles against our own sin. Guilt and shame are not fun. The unbeliever does not have that. We do. Suffering. Is it worth it?

          Groaning. Is it worth it? “For we know that all of creation is groaning with birth pains right up to the present time. ²³And not only creation, but also we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we eagerly await our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.” Here and in the previous section Paul reminded us we are not alone in suffering, groaning and waiting. He pictured the rest of Creation like a person. Creation suffers because it does not work like it’s supposed to. God’s original plan for creation was never to let it be destructive with winds whipping fires and hurricanes and viruses making people sick. Just like we don’t like the sin that comes from us, Creation doesn’t like being destructive. And it groans. “No, not again! This is not what God created me to do! When will it end?” We groan too. Now there are different kinds of groaning we do. “All right students, tomorrow we will have test.” Groan! “Yes, you can play your video game, after you clean your room.” Groan! If you’ve ever heard a Mr. Kasten dad joke. Groan! That’s not the groaning we have to do as believers. Kids on bikes in hit and run accidents. Another senseless shooting. Dirty politicians getting away with it. Another hit to the family finances. Loved ones dying too soon. People who want to go to heaven hanging on. Another drug overdose. God blasphemed and kicked out of our nation and God does nothing about it. We groan. How long O Lord? Is it worth it?

          And then there is the waiting.  “Indeed, it was for this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he already sees? ²⁵But if we hope for something we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with patient endurance.” “The waiting is the hardest part,” an old rocker crooned in a song that probably is not about something good. But in many ways, he’s right. Waiting is hard. You wait when something is out of your control. You wait when there is nothing that you can do to change the situation. Think of waiting for Christmas when you are kid, a medical test result for an adult. It’s all out of your hands meaning it is in God’s hands which we know is a good thing but…there’s a little Veruca Salt from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory in all of us. “I want it and I want it now!” But God says wait. There will be justice. When? Wait. Those who make your lives miserable for following me will pay. When? Wait. Your broken heart will stop hurting. I will give you peace. When? Wait. Your body will work the way it’s supposed to. When? Wait. Satan won’t get away with it. Evil will not triumph. Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess Jesus Christ as Lord. When? Wait. All of this waiting for what we do not have and do not see. Is it worth it?

          Snowflakes. Might seem an odd thing to mention in the midst of a hot sunny weekend and on the heels or a hotter more humid one. But I’m not talking about the snowflakes that fall from the sky and we want at least for Christmas! In modern usage calling someone a snowflake means they are overly sensitive and will melt when the heat is on. Satan wants you to be a spiritual snowflake. He wants you to look at your sufferings that God could take away and does not melt your love for God. Satan wants you to let your groaning at the unfairness of it all and your community and country turning its back on God and you and God does nothing about it, to melt in your faith, to give up, be hopeless and ultimately turn against your God who loves you. But God’s Good News for you is you are no snowflake. You are not going to give up because you know the suffering, the groaning, the waiting, it’s all worth it!

How do we know? We keep our eyes on Jesus. In the book of Hebrews we are told to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus who “…for the joy set before him endured the cross scorning its shame.” (Hebrews 12:2) Suffering. Groaning. Waiting. That’s Jesus on the cross paying for our sin. If ever someone would be justified in giving up, giving in to the Devil’s temptation to take the easy way out. But He didn’t. It was worth it to Him. Joy was set before Him, the joy of winning us for God, the joy of having us with Him in heaven. It was all worth it to Him to have you. And that’s why we consider our suffering and groaning and waiting worth it. Glory is coming! “For I conclude that our sufferings at the present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us.” Creation is looking  “to share in the glorious freedom of the children of God.” Twice Paul reminded us we are “eagerly waiting.” Heaven. It’s better than a waterfall. It’s better than a baby. It’s better than we can imagine. Just take the happiest you have felt, the best you have physically felt, the closest to God you have ever felt multiply it times a billion and you are far short of how great it will be. The Lord Jesus will make everything new. A new heaven and a new earth. New relationships and new bodies. And the Devil thinks were going to snowflake on that? No. Whatever we have to put up with to faithfully follow Christ, it’s all worth it! Because He is. Amen.

 

 

August 12-14, 2023 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: 1 Kings 19:9-18 “ONWARD!”

 

PENTECOST 11

August 12-14, 2023

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: 1 Kings 19:9-18

 

“ONWARD!”

1.     We have God’s power.

2.     We have a mission.

3.     We have each other.

 

          There are these times in you’re your life when you just feel like giving up. Sometimes it’s because of our own sin and the mess we have made of our lives. Sometimes you can do everything right and it still turns out wrong. You feel defeated, like giving up. As you heard earlier in the reading from 1 Kings, God’s prophet Elijah found himself at one of those moments. If you don’t like our nation’s leaders do a little Bible reading on Ahab and Jezebel. Wicked. Evil. Conniving. Lying. Only looking out for themselves. Enemies of God who tried to wipe out all believers. God stepped in. There was this great showdown between the prophet Elijah representing the one true God and 450 prophets of the idol Baal. You have to read it for yourself in 1 Kings 18! God and Elijah made fools of the prophets of Baal and God revealed Himself to all the people there as the one true God so that all the people turned to God, rose up and killed all the prophets of Baal. “Ah!” thought Elijah. “This will be the turning point. The nation will return to God. But they didn’t. Soon after wicked Queen Jezebel heard what happened Elijah was running for his life. He fled Israel and ran to where the nation of Israel began, Mt. Sinai. That’s where the Old Testament lesson began. Elijah, down and discouraged, hiding in a cave. He was done.

          But as you heard, God did not leave him there. God came to Elijah in the cave and asked, “Why are you here, Elijah?” That’s a good question, that we will come back to. Elijah responded. “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of Armies, but the people of Israel have abandoned your covenant. They have torn down your altars and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking to take my life.”   Elijah was done. He couldn’t go on. Or so he thought.  Elijah wasn’t done. He needed to go onward. So God picked him up. He had Elijah stand at the mouth of the cave. First came a powerful gale force wind and if you have ever seen the aftermath of a tornado, hurricane or straight line wind you know it’s power. Then came an earthquake. Again, been in one or seen the aftermath, power. Was the fire that God used next like the fire He used to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah? Again power. But not God’s real power to build up or tear down. That came next. A soft whispering voice, the power of God He has placed in His word. It would accomplish the destruction of God’s enemies and the saving of His people. Elijah was not done. He had God’s power in His word. Elijah would use that word to accomplish the work God gave him. “Then the Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came and go to the Wilderness of Damascus. When you get there, you are to anoint Hazael as king over Aram. ¹⁶You will also anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel and Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah as prophet in your place. ¹⁷Whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill, and whoever escapes the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill.” If we go back to our map you can see God told Elijah to go back the way he came and then some. All the way to Aram or Syria. Why? He had work to do. Two kings and one prophet to anoint or set aside for service to God. They would bring God’s punishment on the people who needed it. Elijah couldn’t be done. He had a mission. He needed to go onward. And despite how he felt, Elijah was not alone.  “But I have preserved in Israel seven thousand whose knees have not bent to Baal and whose lips have not kissed him.” It’s a classic mistake, judging by what you see with your eyes rather than what God says. Elijah felt alone. But he was never alone. God was with him and God had provided others. Elijah’s eyes saw no one. In fact there were over 7000 faithful believers just like Elijah. Elijah needed to go onward because he had God’s power, he had a mission and he had other workers and people to help him.

          And the same thing is true for you and me. Can you relate to how the prophet Elijah felt? If not now, at some time in your past? Lord. I’ve done my best. I’ve tried to save my marriage, I did all I could to raise my children to love you. I worked hard for this company. As a church we’ve stayed faithful to your word. But…the marriage has failed, the kids don’t care, I’m the one let go, the nation’s gone to pot. I’m done. I’m done fighting. I’m done dealing with it. I’m done. I’m going to crawl into that cave I call my home, mind my own business and whatever happens, happens. I’m done. I’m done trying, I’m done being the only one working at it. Feelings like that are normal for sinful human beings who whose eyes are on themselves instead of their God. Because we are weak that happens. And it actually is true that by ourselves we are helpless, helpless to save ourselves for sure and honestly helpless to change people around us. But we are not by ourselves. As God graciously came to Elijah in the cave He comes to us today in His word. “Buck up little trooper! With whatever I have asked you to deal with, Onward! Keep going.” Why?

          We have God’s power. Our earthly eyes and a part of our frustrated self wants God to show His power in destructive force that everyone can see. Send some fire and brimstone on Washington DC! Clean up that mess. Drown the drug dealers in the depths of Lake Michigan. God has the power to do that and more. His real power He has placed in His word. This is the power to save souls eternally and to destroy them. This is the only source of the message of free salvation through Jesus Christ to all who believe. It powerfully cleanses away sins and snatches souls from the Devil and saves them for an eternal life of joy and happiness with Jesus. This is the power to destroy. Drowning in Lake Michigan or death by brimstone is nothing compared to what happens to those who persistently reject and despise Jesus as Savior. We have God’s power. We can’t give up on our families, our community, our nation. Onward.

          Onward because we have a mission. “Why are you here, Elijah?” Remember that question? God asked it twice to help him think. Why are you hunkered down in this cave when I have work for you to do? “Why am I here?” is a good question for each of us to ask ourselves. Right now, the answer is to praise God and be strengthened and encouraged by His word. But there’s a bigger answer. Why did God choose you for His kingdom? Why does He have you living here and now? Why are you retired or doing the job you are? It goes to the important question of meaning and purpose in life. We have a mission, from Christ Jesus Himself. It’s to be His witnesses. Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to everyone is the marching orders for all of Christ’s church. Onward with the Gospel in the greater Greenfield community is the specific one for you and me. The reason you are in your job you are at or retired is to be a blessing to the people God brings into your life. Help them. Do good. Do your job well and then be ready when they ask you for the hope that you have. The purpose of St. Jacobi church is not to be a cave for us to crawl in once a week to lick our wounds because our society is not going the way we want to, it’s a gathering together of people zealous for Christ knowing we can do a lot better job of proclaiming Christ together than alone. The reason we have our school is not so that our kids don’t have to go to a school with transgender bathrooms and litter boxes for the furries but so we can teach children who are so precious to Jesus just how much He loves them so they believe and are saved. And the Devil wants us to give up? Crawl in a hole? Throw ourselves a pity party? No way! Onward. We have mission from the Lord Jesus Himself.

          And we have each other. Poor Elijah had to just trust God’s word there were 7000 fellow believers left. We don’t have to do that. We can look around. If in person worship is your regular weekly practice, keep it up. It’s good to see and be seen. If it’s not it needs to be if at all physically possible. God has given us to each other to encourage one another. I wish all of you could be aware like we pastors are of how much is getting done by all of us working together. Your prayers, your presence, your gifts, your time, your sweat. (Today we also are happy to welcome new called workers God has given us, people who will use the power of God’s Word for the mission of Christ with us. None of you are new to the congregation, Mandy, thanks for accepting additional duties, Katrina and family, pardon the interruption of your regularly scheduled programming. We appreciate the sacrifice. TJ, the last time you were here was as student teacher, so overwhelmed and nervous you were hoping you wouldn’t wet you pants. Now you are here as veteran teacher so you shouldn’t have to worry about that anymore. Like Elijah anointed Hazael, Jehu and Elisha, the Holy Spirit has anointed you three to come help us. You are a part of the “each other” of Jacobi so that you can be a blessing to us and we can be a blessing to you.) Give up? Stay silent about our Savior? Stop reaching out? Close our school? No way! Onward, with God’s power, carrying out His mission with each other. Amen!

 

July 22-24, 2023 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Matthew 13:24-30. 36-43 (EHV) “WHAT DO YOU DO WITH ALL THE WEEDS?”

 

PENECOST 8

July 22-24, 2023

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Matthew 13:24-30. 36-43 (EHV)

 

“WHAT DO YOU DO WITH ALL THE WEEDS?”

1.     Live with them.

2.     Live differently than them.

3.     Live without them.    

 

          It’s a familiar problem for Wisconsinites. Weeds. You know how it goes. You plant your garden or put your flowers in after Mother’s Day so you are safe from frost. Everything is nice and neat. You tend the garden early on and then get the chance go on vacation. You come back. Weeds! Everywhere. You didn’t plant them. You do want them gone. Options. Pull them by hand. A lot of work. Spray Roundup or use a homemade flamethrower. Effective but collateral damage. What do you do with the weeds? Jesus uses that all too common picture to teach us some lessons we need for our spiritual life. We are in a section of the Gospel of Matthew where Jesus tells 7 parables to teach about life as a believer. Three deal with the growth of God’s kingdom in a believer’s heart. Four deal with how God’s kingdom works in the world. This is one of those.

 

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 (EHV) “He presented another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. ²⁵But while people were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. ²⁶When the plants sprouted and produced heads of grain, the weeds also appeared. ²⁷The servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where did the weeds come from?’ ²⁸He said to them, ‘An enemy did this.’ The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and gather up the weeds?’ ²⁹‘No,’ he answered, ‘because when you gather up the weeds, you might pull up the wheat along with them. ³⁰Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “First, gather up the weeds, bind them in bundles, and burn them. Then, gather the wheat into my barn….³⁶Then Jesus sent the people away and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” ³⁷He answered them, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. ³⁸The field is the world. The good seeds are the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the Evil One. ³⁹The enemy who sowed them is the Devil. The harvest is the end of the world. The reapers are angels. ⁴⁰Therefore, just as the weeds are gathered up and burned with fire, so it will be at the end of the world. ⁴¹The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will pull out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and those who continue to break the law. ⁴²The angels will throw them into the fiery furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear.”

 

          This parable is not hard to understand since Jesus plainly explains it to us. Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross has sprinkled this world with believers, the sons of the kingdom. His enemy and ours, the Devil, has worked very hard to fill this world with unbelievers. It is important to take note that if you are not a believer in Jesus then you are a son of the Evil one for the worst form of evil is to reject the kindness and love of God in punishing His Son for sins instead of the sinners. There is no middle ground. There are weeds and wheat. At the same time it is not always easy to tell a believer apart from an unbeliever. Here is a picture of what Jesus’ disciples thought of listening to the parable. Very hard to tell apart until they start bearing fruit. Sometimes weeds can look like wheat. And sometimes wheat can look like weeds. Sometimes believers can look and act like unbelievers and unbelievers can look and act like believers. Weeds and wheat. What do you do with all the weeds?

          Three things Jesus’ parable teaches us. One. Live with them. Jesus’ parable exposes the idolatry that lives in our hearts. We really have a hard time letting God be God. We inwardly give our approval when He does things the way we want and when He doesn’t? We chafe. We question. We feel disappointment. Specifically this parable exposes how our impatience with God’s timing is idolatry. “God, didn’t you want a perfect world, or at least just one with all believers in it? Look at all the weeds. Why do you put up with them? They make our life more difficult. When are you going to do something about them? Or maybe we should.” At least the angel harvesters had the divine decency to ask permission of God. Should we go pull them up? Should we get rid of all the unbelievers? But why does God want us living with the unbelievers? Why does He let them remain? Why is He so patient with them? He doesn’t want to lose anyone who will be saved. Some people are weeds and will remain weeds. They have confirmed themselves in their evil rejection of God. Some people who look like weeds now, maybe choosing lifestyles that are detestable to God, will repent and be saved. God doesn’t want to lose them. Not too long ago I was having a conversation with someone you connected me to by handing out one of my pastor trading cards. This person asked a question that has really had me thinking. “When we get to heaven do you think we will be more surprised about who is there that we thought would not be or who isn’t there that we thought would be?” At Jesus’ time everyone thought the Pharisees and the teachers of the law would be in heaven but they are not. They thought the tax collectors and ‘sinners” were beyond redemption but they weren’t. Some believed and were saved. Makes you think. What do we do with the weeds? Live with them. It is the Father’s will.

          Live differently from them. That too is our Father’s will. After all we are wheat and not weeds. When a man sows good seed he does so with the expectation there will be a harvest. When God grants the gift of faith He expects there will be fruits of faith. While on the outside you may not be able to tell a believer and an unbeliever apart just by looking at them they are different. Faith in Christ brings repentance along with it. Repentance is a change of heart on the inside that brings changes on the outside. Believers want what Jesus wants. Believers want to please Him in their thoughts words and actions. So as we continue to live with the weeds we can’t just be upset by them and complain about what they are doing. We have to check ourselves. Are we living differently than the weeds? God has us right where He wants us so that by actions and then words we can draw unbelievers to Him. For that to happen our way of talking, handling problems, dealing with people needs to be markedly different than the unbelievers. What do you do with all the weeds? Live differently than them.

          And then finally live without them. Listen again to the end of Jesus’ explanation. ⁴⁰Therefore, just as the weeds are gathered up and burned with fire, so it will be at the end of the world. ⁴¹The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will pull out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and those who continue to break the law. ⁴²The angels will throw them into the fiery furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear.” Despite the way that many Americans like to try to create God in their own image and so paint God as some smiling senile doting grandfather who never gets upset or punishes anyone God is a God of justice as well as grace and mercy. He has decreed that those who reject Him as the one true God and specifically these days, those who reject His Son Jesus as Savior, there is one eternal fate. Hell. Described here as a fiery furnace where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. This is Good News! Why? It’s there to help us with our impatience. It’s there to keep us from vengeful thoughts. It’s there to stop us from trying to step into God’s shoes. Let the weeds be weeds until God says it’s time to take care of them. And He will take care of them.

          A world without weeds! Can you imagine coming home from a vacation and finding no weeds in your gardens? Nothing messing up your pretty rows? Nothing choking out your pretty flowers? That day is coming. There are no weeds of any kind in heaven. Until that time it is best for the wheat to be more concerned about how we are doing our job, than how God is doing His. Amen.