March 16-18, 2024 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: John 12:20-33(EHV) “SUCH COMMITMENT!”

 

LENT 5

March 16-18, 2024

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: John 12:20-33(EHV)

 

“SUCH COMMITMENT!”

1.     From Jesus, for us.

2.     From us, for Jesus.

 

Commitment! More and more that seems to be a hard thing to find. It used to be that commitment was one of those stereotypes used as the world tried to pit men versus women instead of them being together as God designed things. The man’s fear of commitment in a relationship was the foil for many sitcom episodes. Now fear of commitment or lack of commitment is popping up in other places. Recently whatever algorithm is watching my computer browsing popped up this teaser. “Seventeen reasons people have stopped attending church.” Now you can’t tease a pastor with that tidbit and not expect him to click on it. So I did. There were many different reasons given. One was that Christ’s teachings don’t seem relevant anymore.  But you can really boil most of the reasons given down to this: commitment, or rather not wanting to commit. With the hustle and bustle of family life they didn’t want to commit to being at in person church. People wanted their church to be more accepting of sinful lifestyles and did not want to commit to a church that expected people to actually follow Jesus’ teaching. They also didn’t like to feel they had to make a commitment to support a church through going, serving or giving. I guess it’s not just guys that have commitment issues, is it? But Jesus doesn’t! He is fully committed to you and to me. That’s what the Gospel lesson from John showed us.

The events described there happened on Tuesday of Holy Week. Jewish people from all over the world and converts to the Jewish faith from all over the world were in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. Some of those converts were from Greece. Somehow they had heard about Jesus and they wanted to see Him. When Jesus’ disciple Andrew told Jesus this He said, “The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. ²⁴Amen, Amen, I tell you: Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it continues to be one kernel. But if it dies, it produces much grain.” Jesus knows. He knows the time has come for Him to die. He knows the purpose. Like a kernel of wheat must “die” to produce the wheat that will follow, He must die so that others can follow Him to the Father. But this will be no ordinary death. He will not just die physically but die spiritually as he will take on Himself the filthy weight of the sins of all people. And how awful this is we will never understand but it helps us understand Jesus when He says, “Now my soul is troubled.”

And here is where the weak willed human being would have the chance to back out, to demonstrate a lack of commitment. “You know I really like you but… But Jesus is not weak willed. Such commitment!  “And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, this is the reason I came to this hour. ²⁸Father, glorify your name!” A voice came from heaven: “I have glorified my name, and I will glorify it again.” ²⁹The crowd standing there heard it and said it thundered. Others said an angel talked to him. ³⁰Jesus answered, “This voice was not for my sake but for yours. ³¹“Now is the judgment of this world. Now the ruler of this world will be thrown out. ³²And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” ³³He said this to indicate what kind of death he was going to die.” Jesus says, “Bring it on!” His Father voices approval. Both tell us that Jesus’ commitment will result in glorifying God’s name, His reputation. First by putting Satan, the God wannabe who thinks he is the ruler of this world, in his place. By being lifted up on the cross Satan’s damage would be undone. His hold on people and ability to accuse them of sin would be taken away as Jesus took away the sins of the world. Satan is exposed for the liar and fake that he is. Jesus’ commitment to us and all others did not waver. Whatever the cost to Him, whatever the sacrifice needed, he would make it. Such commitment by Jesus for us.

And that commitment by Jesus would glorify God in another way. It changes people and changes hearts. Jesus said His commitment would draw all people to Him. What, you mean people would be committed to Him? Yes! Absolutely. The information in the worship summary box is 100% correct. The heart of Christianity is God’s devotion and commitment to us. A commitment so strong it put God, Jesus, on the cross. It is not our commitment to Christ that is at the center of Christianity but Christ’s commitment to us. At the same time Christ’s commitment to us does something. It draws people to Him. Those Greeks who asked Philip to see Jesus were drawn to Him. The disciples of Jesus were drawn to Him. Yes, in a couple of days their commitment to Him would prove shaky. Peter would deny. Others would run away. And yet when Jesus rose from the dead proving He is the Christ and the Devil had been defeated they responded with a commitment that showed as they went away rejoicing when they were whipped for talking about Jesus, that saw then traveling from Judea to Samaria to the ends of the earth to be His witnesses, that saw all of the but John dying a martyr’s death rather than denying their commitment to Jesus. John just died in exile. And millions, yes billions of followers of Christ who have never had the privilege of seeing Jesus face to face have shown commitment by striving to willingly follow His commands, by gathering to glorify His name publicly and by working together to be His witnesses to a world that needs Him as Savior whether they know it or not.

This is no surprise. Jesus said, “Anyone who loves his life destroys it. And the one who hates his life in this world will hold on to it for eternal life. ²⁶If anyone serves me, let him follow me. And where I am, there my servant will be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.” Followers of Jesus are different. They understand this life for what it is. Temporary. Filled with blessings but not always pleasant. Imperfect in so many ways. So they don’t love it. They love eternal life with Jesus. So they serve Him knowing the best is yet to come and their service is expressed in commitment to Him. Yes, our commitment is imperfect and shaky and sometimes in our own ways we deny or run away. But Jesus keeps drawing us back to Himself with His unwavering love and commitment. That’s why you schedule time to publicly worship Jesus when many of your fellow Americans think that’s insane. That’s why, when able, you give your time and abilities so that our ministry can be the best it can be, not to glorify Jacobi’s name but Jesus’ name. That’s why you give your offerings so we and many others may continue to be taught to obey everything He has commanded us whether that’s popular or not. And to do that for Jesus is a privilege.

I can’t help but think of one your St. Jacobi brothers who is now a saint in heaven, Clarence Benz. By the time I got here Clarence was no longer physically able to make it to church so we pastors would visit him. He had some kind of throat condition or was taking some kind of medicine with the result that his throat was constantly raw. I remember the first several times I gave him communion and when he drank the wine we use he would wince and his eyes water as it burned going down. I would ask if he was OK. Finally one time I said, “Clarence, we can water that wine down. It does not have to burn.” “No!” said Clarence very adamantly. “If my Lord Jesus can take the burn of Hell for me the least I can do is take a little burn for Him.” Kind of sounds like commitment, doesn’t it. Oh and that first reason some gave for no longer attending church? That Christ’s teachings are no longer relevant. Ask Pat Betram about that the next time you see him. Amen.

March 6, 2024 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Luke 23:1-12 (EHV) “GOD ON TRIAL: Misconceptions!

 

MIDWEEK LENT 4       March 6, 2024      Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Luke 23:1-12 (EHV)

 

“GOD ON TRIAL:

Misconceptions!

 

          We have been following the theme GOD ON TRIAL for our special worship services. If you have watched any TV lawyer shows like Perry Mason or Law and Order you know that there can be misrepresentations of the truth and misconceptions about witnesses and defendants. When God gets put on trial the same thing happens. Its roots go back to the Garden of Eden. God created Adam and Eve in His image. Then the God wannabe, Satan, tempted Adam and Eve to try to be more than they were, to be like God. They fell for it. And they fell. And since that time sinful man has been trying to create God in our image. So many ideas of what God should be like and God should do. And as you heard when our Lord Jesus was put on trial the same misconceptions are thrown around.

          Luke tells us a whole group of them took Jesus to Pilate. This whole group was the chief priests, the experts in the law, the members of the Sanhedrin. What were their misconceptions about Jesus? “We found this fellow misleading our nation, forbidding the payment of taxes to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king.” First misconception. Jesus is misleading the nation. Why would they say that? Because Jesus was leading the people away from the Pharisees and teachers of the law. That was true. The whole assembly had been leading the nation away from the God. They were the misleaders. They had replaced God’s truth and holy law which revealed the need for a Savior with their teachings and a keepable law so they needed no Savior. What Jesus was actually doing was correctly leading the nation back to God and salvation. Second misconception. Jesus forbids paying taxes to Caesar. I don’t even know what to do with that one. They had heard Jesus say, “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar.” Third misconception. Jesus claims to be Christ, a king. Partly true. He is Christ. But he is not a king. He is the King and not of puny earthly kingdoms but of the entire universe. But this group’s misconceptions about Jesus really started with misconceptions about themselves. They thought they were righteous on their own. They thought their good deeds were good enough. The didn’t think they were sinners. And there is no worse misconception than thinking you are right with God and can get to heaven on your own. That misconception is what led to their other misconceptions about Jesus. They didn’t need a Messiah to save them from their sins so Jesus couldn’t be the God sent Savior.

          But the whole assembly was not the only ones who had misconceptions about Jesus. Pilate did too. “Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” “It is as you say,” Jesus replied. ⁴ Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no basis for a charge against this man.” Pilate’s misconception? Jesus is a nobody who will not affect anyone’s life. Jesus correctly answered Pilate’s question. He is the King of the Jews and all people. But Pilate could not get past what his eyes saw. A simple Jewish man, despised and hated by his own people. A nobody. So Pilate wanted to let Jesus go. But the whole assembly would not have it. They put more pressure on. “But they kept insisting, “He stirs up the people, teaching all through Judea, beginning from Galilee all the way here.”

          Pilate saw an out. If Jesus was from Galilee he wasn’t Pilate’s problem. Herod the puppet king of Galilee could deal with him! So Pilate shipped Jesus off to Herod. I wonder if this Herod had any idea that his father, also named Herod, had tried to kill Jesus by murdering all the baby boys in Bethlehem when Jesus was born. At any rate Luke tells us that “When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad. For a long time, he had wanted to see him, because he had heard many things about him. He hoped to see some miracle performed by him.” Herod’s view of Jesus? An entertainer, kind of like a court jester only better. He could do miracles. Only he didn’t for Herod. Silence, even when falsely accused. Disappointed Herod got what entertainment value he could out of Jesus, having his soldiers mock and ridicule Jesus before sending Him back.

          All these misconceptions about who Jesus is what He should do. Sadly, they are still around today. Sometimes they creep into our own hearts. Jesus, we like how you tell us to love all people and be kind that’s a message everyone wants to hear and is popular. But that only through you can people get to heaven, that any use of sexuality outside of the one-man one-woman marriage is sin, that our bodies aren’t our own and we can’t do whatever we want or kill another life growing inside of us? That makes people mad at us. Are you misleading us, Jesus? Lord, I have prayed and prayed to you and you still have not done what I asked/told you to do. Are you really a king? Or are you a nobody? Jesus, there are so many cool things in our world. I can stream movies and shows and play video games. They all entertain me. Shouldn’t worship of you be really about entertaining me too? All misconceptions.

          So many misconceptions of Jesus as God was put on trial. I did hear one correct one in the word of God before us. The whole assembly as they tried to pressure Pilate said, “He stirs up the people!” He stirs up the hearts of His people. Brothers and sisters, you are Jesus’ people!  You know why He stays silent when falsely accused and does not correct every misconception made about Him with the force and power He commands as the Son of God. Here it’s because He wants to go to the cross for you. He is willing to let it seem like people have power over Him so He can show His great love for you by taking away the offense of your sins through His sacrifice. He puts up with misconceptions that sometimes creep into our minds, because He understands our weakness and the hurt living in this sinful world brings. He allows people today to try to make Him in their image, He refuses to entertain with miracles that demonstrate His power because He wants people whose hearts are tied to Him through His word. That’s you. People stirred up by His teaching. May the Holy Spirit bless us so that people who watch us and listen to us will have no misconceptions about what we think of Jesus. Our Lord and Savior. Amen.

 

 

Luke 23:1-12 (EHV) “The whole group of them got up and brought him before Pilate. ² They began to accuse him, saying, “We found this fellow misleading our nation, forbidding the payment of taxes to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king.” ³ Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” “It is as you say,” Jesus replied. ⁴ Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no basis for a charge against this man.” ⁵ But they kept insisting, “He stirs up the people, teaching all through Judea, beginning from Galilee all the way here.” ⁶ When Pilate heard this, he asked if the man was a Galilean. ⁷ When he learned that he was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem during those days. ⁸ When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad. For a long time, he had wanted to see him, because he had heard many things about him. He hoped to see some miracle performed by him. ⁹ He questioned him with many words, but Jesus gave him no answer. ¹⁰ The chief priests and the experts in the law stood there, vehemently accusing him. ¹¹ Herod, along with his soldiers, treated him with contempt and ridiculed him. Dressing him in bright clothing, he sent him back to Pilate. ¹² Herod and Pilate became friends with each other on that day. Before this they had been enemies of each other.”

 

February 24-26, 2024 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Romans 5:1-8 “OH, THE JOY OF BEING A CHRISTIAN!”

 

LENT 2

February 24-26, 2024

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Romans 5:1-8

 

“OH, THE JOY OF BEING A CHRISTIAN!”

1.     We get to rejoice in who we really are.

2.     We get to rejoice in our full access to God.

3.     We get to rejoice, even in suffering.

 

          Can you imagine seeing a job application that had some of these qualifications? Looking for people. Can be any age. No special skills needed. Must be willing to put the company’s mission ahead of personal likes. Suffering for belonging to the company is expected. Now how many people do you think would apply for that job? How many of you would? Actually, you all are a part of this company. You belong to Christ. That made up job description comes from Jesus’ own words. He wants all nations to be His disciples. To follow Him, you must deny yourself, that means put personal likes second, take up a cross, suffering and follow Him. And that’s a good thing.

          The Lord Jesus had the Apostle Paul make that abundantly clear to us in his letter to the Christians at Rome. Paul, who suffered much as an apostle of Christ Jesus and who made many sacrifices to proclaim Jesus, focuses our attention, not on what is given up for following Christ, but what is gained. Joy.

          First there is the joy of owning up to who we really are: ungodly sinners. That’s not something most people want to own up to. The normal way of dealing with sin and ungodliness is making excuses, hiding or justifying it. You know how people do that right. They sin against you and say, “I’m sorry but…” and then say something to explain away what they have done. Or “I know it’s wrong but…” and then follows some justification for what was done. People will do that. Their sin, ungodliness gets minimized so they don’t look so bad. And the stuff that everyone would call bad, people try to hide. What are we saying? It’s not just other people who do that. We do that too. But we don’t have to. We can actually rejoice in who we are. Listen to what God had written. “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Did you hear that? Did you hear what God did so we don’t have to lie about our sinfulness and weaknesses? So we don’t have to justify them? And even if we try to hide them from other people God still knows and that’s OK? Christ didn’t die for perfect people. He didn’t come to save those who can save themselves. God shows His love by having His Son die for the ungodly, the powerless, the sinners. That’s me. That’s you. So rejoice! Jesus came for you and me just as we are.

          We also get the joy of having full access to God. “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ²through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.” Have you ever gotten special access to something normally off limits? This holds no appeal for me but girls, what if you got access to Taylor Swift’s private suite to watch the Super Bowl? I’d rather have what newest Packer Fan Hall of Fame member, Dan "Bogie" Bogenschuetz, received: sideline passes to a Packer game. God has so much better for us. Since we are justified through faith, that means declared innocent of our sins because of what Jesus has done, we are at peace with God. He holds no anger against us for sinning against Him. We have access by faith to God’s grace and undeserved love. That means that God listens to your prayers always. You get to go straight to Him and pour out your heart, give Him thanks and ask boldly for anything. So, pray, Christian, pray. Unlike access to people some think are special, or events that are here and gone, your full access is to the almighty God, maker of heaven and earthy, and it never ends. Anytime. Anywhere. You get to pray directly to God as your dear Father in heaven.

          And then there is joy even in an area of our life where we would think there can be no joy: suffering.  “And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. ³Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.”  The word translated suffering here really means afflictions or things in life that press on you, stress you, take you down. It includes physical suffering from accidents or disease and cancers in your body. It includes emotional suffering that comes from family strife, a broken relationship, loneliness. The hurt of being left out or manipulated. And it most certainly includes those crosses we carry as followers of Christ, from ridicule of beliefs that are “old fashioned” to things we miss out on because we put Christ’s mission first in our lives and that takes a chunk out of our checks and our schedules. Notice it does not say we rejoice because of the suffering. “I’ve got cancer. Yay!” It says in the suffering. While we endure it.

          You see suffering without purpose is meaningless. Worse, allowing suffering without purpose is cruel. God does not do that. When He allows any kind of suffering He takes no joy in it anymore than a loving parent takes joy in disciplining their child. No, when God allows suffering there is not just some purpose but a good and loving purpose. We are in the Church Year season of Lent and it shows us clearly that God’s allowance of suffering has good and loving purpose. Fix your eyes on Jesus. We follow Him in His passion. His suffering. Look at the good God had! Jesus suffers in our place. Jesus pays for our sins. He does that because in His great love He did not want us separated from God in Hell but with Him in heaven. Only one way to punish sin and free the sinner. A perfect substitute. Suffering with meaning and purpose. A loving purpose.

          Brothers and sisters, this is why you and I can rejoice when we are experiencing sufferings. They are normed by God’s love and they have a good purpose. When we go through them clinging to God and His mercy, trusting His plans for us, they produce perseverance in us, that’s stubbornness used for good! You go through that a few times and it becomes a part of your character so that no matter what the Devil or other people throw at you, you are able to have peace, and patient enduring, know God will work it for good. I heard a great story that illustrated that truth one time. It goes like this. There was a young man who lived in a cabin in the woods at the foot of a small hill. He earnestly wanted to serve the Lord and prayed every day to know and understand his purpose in life. One day as he stood before a large boulder at the foot of the hill he heard a voice from heaven say, “Push!” Delighted to know a way to serve the Almighty the young man began to push the boulder determined to get it to the top of the hill. All day he pushed. Breaking only for meals. He pushed until nightfall. Nothing happened. The next day he went at it again. From dusk to dawn he pushed. Days went by and then weeks. Though he pushed with all his might the boulder would not move. Spring turned to summer. Summer to fall. He pushed. But the boulder did not move. Finally in despair and sadness the young man called out to God. And God answered, “What do you want?” The man said, “I heard your voice telling me to push and I have been pushing faithfully for days, weeks and months and nothing has happened. It is no closer to the top of the hill than it was before. I am tired. I want to give up.” But the Lord said to him, “What I told you to do was push. I didn’t tell you to move it. I can do that myself. But now look at you. Your arms and legs and back are strong! And now you are ready to be a blessing to other people.” Suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character. And character hope. Patient waiting for God’s good solutions. So we can rejoice even in suffering.

          Oh and I forgot something in the Christian job description I showed you. Yes, it’s true that there is nothing special about the applicants. Yes, it’s true that some reprioritization and sacrifices are part of being a Christian. But I forgot to tell you about the benefits. Out of this world. And they last forever! Oh the joy of being a Christian. Amen.

February 14, 2024 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Matthew 26:57-64 GOD ON TRIAL “ACCUSATIONS!”

ASH WEDNESDAY

February 14, 2024

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Matthew 26:57-64

GOD ON TRIAL

“ACCUSATIONS!”

 

          “From there He will come to judge the living and the dead.” How many times do you think you personally have confessed that truth the concludes what we call the 2^nd Article of the Apostles Creed? If you are in worship weekly it’s about 28 times a year if you want to try doing the math. Those words have us looking forward to the end of the world, Judgment Day. And the right order of things is this. All people will stand before Jesus. They will be on trial. He will serve as Judge and pronounce the verdict. That’s the right order of things. Our Lenten worship series this year focus our attention on a time when the order was reversed, when God was put on trial by people. During this journey we will find faith to forgive and to love even our enemies. We will find strength to endure trial and to testify faithfully. God is on trial and it starts with accusations.

          Matthew 26:57-64 (EHV) “Those who had arrested Jesus led him away to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the experts in the law and the elders were assembled. ⁵⁸ Peter was following him at a distance and went as far as the courtyard of the high priest. He went inside and sat down with the guards to see how it would turn out. ⁵⁹ The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false testimony against Jesus so that they could put him to death. ⁶⁰ They found none, even though many false witnesses came forward. Finally two came forward ⁶¹ and said, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’” ⁶² The high priest stood up and said to him, “Have you no answer? What is this that these men are testifying against you?” ⁶³ But Jesus remained silent. Then the high priest said to him, “I place you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God!” ⁶⁴ Jesus said to him, “It is as you have said. But I tell you, soon you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

          We are joining Jesus after His arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane. He is put on trial. Caiaphas, the High Priest, the chief priests and experts in the law, the Jewish ruling council known as the Sanhedrin will stand in judgment over Jesus. They need some evidence to convict Jesus. Witnesses are procured. They accused Jesus falsely. Now we all know the power of an accusation. Have you ever been accused of something you did not do? It hurts. It’s not fair. Accusations have such power that, even if they aren’t true, they can ruin reputations, and irreparably damage relationships. How many people have lost jobs, or had to step down from positions of leadership simply because they were falsely accused? It’s bad enough when people do that to other people. Here they did it to God! “The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false testimony against Jesus so that they could put him to death. ⁶⁰ They found none, even though many false witnesses came forward.”

          We can’t help but get righteously angry with them. And with ourselves. We too have falsely accused God. We have done so in so many different ways. Why are you letting this happen to me God? Accusation: You don’t love me. I know you said you won’t give us more than we can bear, Lord, but this too? Accusation: you don’t really know what you are doing. Lord, what did he do to deserve this? He’s such a good man. Accusation: Lord, you are not fair. Lord your grand idea of grace stinks. Some of us deserve better than others. We put God on trial. Now I want you to think of the last time you were falsely accused? How did you feel? How did you respond?

          How about Jesus? Silence. He takes no umbrage. There is no complaining that this is not fair. No vigorous defense and exposure of the false accusations. Finally though a true accusation. Then the high priest said to him, “I place you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God!” Now remember what is going on here. This is a kangaroo court, a sham trial with one purpose, to publicly get to what has already been decided privately. Jesus must die! False witnesses who can’t agree won’t get you to a verdict deserving of death. Even though we and they knew that when Jesus talked about destroying the temple and raising it again in three days, He was talking about His body, that wouldn’t cut it either. What was needed was a provable charge of blasphemy, claiming to be God or taking the glory of God for oneself. Out came the accusation. Are you the Christ, the Son of God? “Jesus said to him, “It is as you have said. But I tell you, soon you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” There you have it. As far as Caiaphas, the chief priests, the experts in the law and the Sanhedrin were concerned they had a confessed crime worthy of death. Blasphemy. Claiming to be the Son of God and Savior of the world. One problem. It’s true. Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. It’s as though you would say to me, “Are you Tim Spaude, pastor at St. Jacobi? And I said Yes. What Jesus confessed to is absolutely true. He is the Son of God, the world’s Savior, so that means our Savior.

          And that is what will make the difference when the right trial is held, when Jesus comes back to judge the living and the dead, when He comes back at the right hand of power coming on the clouds of heaven. At that time all kinds of accusations will be made—by Satan. In fact, that is what that name for him means, Accuser. Can you imagine what it would be like to have to stand before God and all other people while Satan starts going down the list of all the sins he and his fellow demons have seen you commit? What do you do when he lists the words you said about other people and how you really feel after you were so nice to their face? What if he brings up all those things you did in secret because you knew they were wrong? Then as you stand before the Lord, the Judge of all, all the times you put God second, or third, or never thought about Him at all, until you were in trouble. Oh the shame and embarrassment we will never feel! Because Jesus went on trial instead of you and instead of me. Because when Jesus was falsely accused He kept silent so the sham trial would continue. Because Jesus made sure to own the true accusation that He is the Christ, the Son of God, so that the ones putting Him on trial would become convinced that He must die.

          Because that is exactly what Jesus came to do. And He did it so that when He comes to judge the living and the dead He will shut Satan the Accuser down and so for you and me and every believer in Him the only evidence brought will be the blood of the Lamb cleansing us from every sin and the good deeds which are evidence of our faith in Him. No shame. No embarrassment. Just the absolute joy of belonging to Jesus. Today we have begun another Lenten journey. We will follow Jesus as He walks to the cross. Often the tone of our worship will be somber. The tunes of our worship will be sad. It’s the right response because we know Jesus is on trial instead of me. But never forget, this is something He wanted to do. Lent’s message is better than any valentine because it shows Jesus’ great love for you. Amen. 

January 27-29, 2024 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: 2 Corinthians 5: 14-21 (EHV) “WE ARE AMBASSADORS FOR CHRIST!”

 

EPIPHANY 3

January 27-29, 2024

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: 2 Corinthians 5: 14-21 (EHV)

 

“WE ARE AMBASSADORS FOR CHRIST!”

1.     Compelled by the love of Christ.

2.     Changed by His presence.

3.     Proclaiming His message

 

          I must tell you I am very honored to be in the presence of such important people. I am not kidding nor stroking your egos. You are very important people. Why? Each one of you has been appointed to serve as an ambassador for Christ. From the moment the Holy Spirit brought you to faith you received that appointment. So that you would know you have been appointed, Jesus gave you your Baptism where you put on Christ. So from the youngest baby to 104 year old Helen Tellier we are ambassadors for Christ and that has some implications for each one us. The Apostle Paul helps us to see that in his second letter to the church at Corinth. What he wrote about himself and them is true for me and you. We are ambassadors for Christ.

          An ambassador’s job description can be quite simple. You represent the real ruler of a country to other nations. Motivation is important. For instance, for America, if you really don’t like your President, it would be difficult to fairly represent that president. As Christ’s ambassador we have the best motivation. “For the love of Christ compels us, because we came to this conclusion: One died for all; therefore, all died. ¹⁵ And he died for all, so that those who live would no longer live for themselves but for him, who died in their place and was raised again.” The love of Christ. Linguistically you have to make a decision. In both New Testament Greek and modern American. Is Christ subjective or objective? In other words, when saying “The love of Christ” does Paul mean that Christ’s love of us compel us or is our responsive love for Him? The love of Christ compels. Subject or object? Isn’t the right answer “Yes.” Both. Because Christ loves us, we love Him in return. That’ s why we want to be His ambassadors first or foremost.

Let’s keep that in mind this election year. In America the government wants informed and involved citizens. It becomes our civic duty and our 4^th Commandment Christian duty to then be informed and involved citizens. So please do that as you see fit. However, let’s make sure that our zeal to see one candidate or another in office does not detract from our first love. Let’s make sure that our actions and words and posts don’t disqualify us from being Christ’s ambassadors. I can’t spew hate and venom and then expect people who know me to accept my invitation to know Christ better. And don’t let your best ambassadorial skills be wasted on someone who didn’t die for you, and in fact is not willing to give their life for you. None of them will. Jesus did. We are Christ’s ambassadors, compelled by His love.

          Changed by his presence. “As a result, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we knew Christ according to the flesh, we no longer know him that way. ¹⁷ So then, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. The new has come!”  Christ’s presence in our life changes how we view people. In case you haven’t noticed, people are messy. Our sinful natures haven’t just put a blotch on us we can cover with some makeup. We are broken. All of us have weaknesses toward selfishness, lust, pride greed, one of them, all of them and more. That’s what makes people messy. When we regard people according to the flesh it means we look at them the way the world looks at them. How is that? Friend or Foe. Us and them. It has always been that way since sin came into the world. Think Cain and Abel. Hatred of my brother. For much of our world’s history that hatred was based on culture. Greek vs Persian. Jew vs Gentile or Samaritan. Rich vs poor. In our country it’s about color: black vs brown vs white. If you look like me, talk like me, have the same status as me you are friend, if not you are foe. If your sins and weaknesses are the same as mine, you are normal, if they are something I would never do you are the vilest of sinners. Us and them. When you look at people according to the flesh, the way of the world.

          But Christ changes us. The old has gone. The new has come. At a recent conference the presenter asked a thought provoking question. Do you view yourself as an American who happens to be a Lutheran Christian or a Lutheran Christian who happens to be American? That order changes things, doesn’t it? Let me ask it a different way. Are you a black person or white person or brown person who happens to be a Lutheran Christian or are you a Lutheran Christian who happens to be gifted and tinted just the way God wants you to be? What’s your first love, your first identity? While sin divides it is Christ that unites. So we need to first see ourselves as equally sinful and equally saved no matter our status or color and that the presence of Christ is what is most important and has us cheering for the same team and playing for the same team.

          Then as Christ’s ambassadors we need to view others in the same way. Other messy people. The list of initials and genders and identities that our fellow Americans are using for themselves continues to grow. You can’t keep up. When you look at people, messy people, from a worldly point of view you may find yourselves doing anything from rolling your eyes and shaking your head to muttering FREAK! Under your breath. But with Christ in our lives we see others differently. People Jesus loves so much He gave His life for them. Messy people just like us and the only difference between us and them is we have Jesus in our lives and He cleaned us up. You know the only people difference the Bible focuses on is believer and unbeliever. And amongst those unbelievers some are Christ haters and they are lost. But some are ignorant and some are victims of lies of the Devil and some are following wrong ways because they instinctively know there is a God sized hole in their heart that needs to be filled with something.

          That is where you and I come in. We are ambassadors for Christ. An ambassador’s job is quite simple. Speak the message the one you represent gives you. What is Christ’s message He wants us to deliver? Reconciliation.  “And all these things are from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. ¹⁹ That is, God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them. And he has entrusted to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰ Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, inasmuch as God is making an appeal through us. We urge you, on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. ²¹ God made him, who did not know sin, to become sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.” In these times that we live in where our government leaders seek to divide us along political lines so they can stay in power and our sinful natures try to divide over color or social status Jesus comes in and seeks one thing for all people. Unity. With God. Reconciliation. Two parties who are at odds coming together.

          Sin divides. People from people. People from God. Sin cannot be undone. You can’t make up for sin. Oftentimes you can’t undo its earthly damage. Only one thing takes care of sin. Forgiveness. Only one thing makes that possible. The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son. We are His ambassadors. When you rub shoulders with those who like to identify themselves with initials make sure they don’t get the impression that what you really want to do is change their behaviors. You are an ambassador for Christ. What I really want to do is change your relationship with God. Jesus does that. He had no sin. Yet He became sin, the world’s one and only sinner on the cross. For you. Heart first. Behaviors later. We are ambassadors for Christ.

          Which means you are very important people. But maybe you don’t feel that way. Maybe you think you can’t influence many people. In 2022 Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barret was appointed to be ambassador to Luxembourg. Belgium. I remember my first reaction. Mmm. Why him? And Luxembourg. Not very important. I wonder if the people in Belgium would agree. There are actually smaller countries. Liechenstein, Tuvalu, Nauru and covering a whopping .77 of a square mile, Monaco. The people there are all important. So are the people God has you rubbing shoulders with whether many or few. Whenever you do keep this truth in the forefront. We are Christ’s Ambassadors. Amen.

January 6-8. 2024 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Matthew 2:1-12 (EHV) “INSIGHTS FROM THE EPIPHANY”

 

EPIPHANY

January 6-8. 2024

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Matthew 2:1-12 (EHV)

 

“INSIGHTS FROM THE EPIPHANY”

1.     God does not care about the things that man cares about.

2.     Man does not care about the things God cares about.

3.     God’s preplanning is absolutely astounding!

 

Matthew 2:1-12 (EHV) “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, when Herod was king, Wise Men from the east came to Jerusalem. They asked, ² “Where is he who has been born King of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” ³ When King Herod heard this, he was alarmed, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴ He gathered together all the people’s chief priests and experts in the law. He asked them where the Christ was to be born. ⁵ They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, because this was written through the prophet:

⁶ You, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are certainly not least among the rulers of Judah: because out of you will come a ruler, who will shepherd my people, Israel.”

⁷ Then Herod secretly summoned the Wise Men and found out from them exactly when the star had appeared. ⁸ He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. When you find him, report to me, so that I may also go and worship him.” ⁹ After listening to the king, they went on their way. Then the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them, until it stood still over the place where the child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they rejoiced with overwhelming joy. ¹¹ After they went into the house and saw the child with Mary, his mother, they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. ¹² Since they had been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their own country by another route.”

 

          So there is Epiphany and there are epiphanies. Very specifically Epiphany is referring to the time when God revealed that the Messiah, Jesus, is Savior for all people, not just the Jews, but for all people as well. The occasion is when the non Jewish Wise Men came from the East. Today when people say they have had an epiphany they mean the light bulb went off in their head as they gained some new insight or revelation about something important. The Epiphany of Jesus serves as a source of some other epiphanies for us too.

          The first is that God does not care about the things that man cares about. God gives us that insight as the Wise Men come to visit. Where do they stop first? Jerusalem. Why? It’s the capital city of Judea. They had seen the special star that told them the new King of the Jews that had been born. Where would you expect to find the new crown prince? In the capital city. In the palace with guards and servants and pomp and circumstance. Those are things man cares about. But not God. His son is born in the little town of Bethlehem, nowheresville. He was born in a stable, not a palace. And while it is very unlikely that Mary and Joseph were still in the stable when the Wise Men came, they were the only attendants of Jesus that the Wise Men found.

          What else does man care about? Power. Being in charge. Because you know the rest of Matthew chapter 2 you know exactly why Herod said to the Wise Men, “Go and search carefully for the child. When you find him, report to me, so that I may also go and worship him.” Liar. Herod did not want to go worship Jesus. He wanted to kill him. Why? He thought that Jesus was a threat to his power and his throne. And let’s make sure we understand what Herod’s authority was. He was a puppet king. Rome controlled Israel at this time. Rome allowed conquered nations to keep their rulers as long as they behaved and paid their taxes. Herod valued temporary and limited earthly power. God doesn’t. His Son was born to rule an eternal kingdom with unlimited power of King of kings and Lord of Lord.

          Now what can we learn from this Epiphany insight? Check your values. Align them with your Lord’s. We have tendencies to value the things of man over the things of God. Cars. Heirlooms. Clothes. Epiphany! God does not care about those things. Prestige. Status. Who’s in charge of temporary powers and limited authority. Epiphany! God does not care about those things. He just uses them. So should we.

          For as God does not care about the things man cares about, the reverse is also true. Man, sinful man, does not care about the things that God cares about. What is it that God cares about? People! Their salvation. Keeping His promises. Everything that happened leading up to Epiphany was put into place because God cares about people. He loves them. He wants them in heaven. So His Son becomes man to take the place of sinful man, to be their substitute. To live the perfect life they could not and die the sinner’s death so they don’t have to. The coming of the Savior into the world was such a great event that God made sure Wise Men from the East went to a whole lot of trouble, spent a lot of time and money to come and see that Jesus was for them. But that was not the common reaction. King Herod? He doesn’t care about his eternal salvation, only his earthly power. And what a spiritual tragedy! When the Wise Men come it is the chief priests, the experts in the law, the equivalent of the pastors and seminary professors of today, who are consulted. And what do they do when they hear the long-awaited Messiah has been born? Nothing. They didn’t care about the things God cares about.

          Nothing new today. Sinful man pretends to care about people but does not. You hear too often of how the United States sends humanitarian aid to some third world country only to have its rulers turn around and sell it for profit instead of giving it to its people. King Herod didn’t care about the families of Bethlehem but would order the murder of every baby boy 2 years old and younger because he didn’t care about what God cares about. Those babies could potentially inconvenience him. In the same way some of our government leaders don’t care that God cares about every human life. Instead, our Vice President will be here in Wisconsin soon on a nationwide tour that pretends to care about people, but not those who could potentially makes someone’s life inconvenient. As I would not want to be Herod on the day of Judgment I would also not want to be the abortionist. It is a terrible thing to fall into the hand of an angry God. Sinful man does not care about the things God cares about. One day too late, he will.

          But not everyone is messed up. There are some who care about what God cares about and not what man cares about. Here it is the Wise Men and that leads to our third Epiphany Insight. God’s preplanning is absolutely astounding! Wise Men. From the East. Who are they? How did they get there? God’s preplanning. We are not told but the only thing that fits with the truth Scripture reveals is that they were exposed to Old Testament prophecy. My guess is these are descendants for the wise men influenced by Daniel of lions’ den fame. Over 500 years before it happened God set the stage for these Wise Men to be believers in the Savior. He also equipped them to serve. They were different from the rest of the people in Matthew 2. They did not care about pomp, circumstance, earthly power or all the other things man cares about. They had in mind the things of God. They looked to the baby Jesus as their Savior. They treated Him as their Savior. They served Him as their Savior. Gold. Frankincense. Myrrh. Costly items. Easily transported. These Gentiles received the honor from God of providing for Mary, Joseph and Jesus when they would flee to Egypt to escape the baby murdering Herod. God preplanned all of it so the Wise Men would be in place and have the opportunity and means to serve Jesus.

          God is doing that same thing today with you! Read this passage with me if you don’t already have it memorized.

 

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰ For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:8-10)

 

Did you catch that? Good works which God prepared in advance for us to do. His preplanning is absolutely astounding. For each one of us God has preplanned a part to play in His plan of salvation for you and others. We all get to be Wise Men who don’t act like sinful man and do value what God values. Think. Look at your life. What has God prepared you for? How has He gifted you, shaped you, blessed you? There’s a method and meaning to all of it. God’s preplanning.

          As I said, there is Epiphany and there are epiphanies. We thank God today for giving us Epiphany insights that lead us to check our values and align them with God’s and to be aware of and be willing participants in God’s preplanning. One final epiphany from the Epiphany: Here’s a great motto for 2024:

 

As with gladness men of old

Did the guiding star behold,

As with joy they hailed its light,

Leading onward, beaming bright,

So, most gracious Lord, may we

Evermore be led to thee.