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.