May 18-20, 2024 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: John 15:26-27 “HARVEST TIME!”

 

CONFIRMATION/PENTECOST

May 18-20, 2024

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: John 15:26-27

 

“HARVEST TIME!”

1.     The Holy Spirit does His work.

2.     We do ours.

 

John 15:26-27 (EHV) “When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father—he will testify about me. ²⁷ And you also are going to testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.”

 

          It’s a big weekend for the St. Jacobi church family. We are celebrating Pentecost. Pentecost is often called the birthday of the Christian Church. As you heard in the reading on that first Pentecost day the Holy Spirit gave special gifts to the Apostles so the Gospel message could be heard by people in their own language. Many were added to the Christian church that day. It’s also Confirmation weekend here at St. Jacobi. 18 more young people will be added to the communicant membership of our church as they make their public promises to faithful to Jesus. Lots to celebrate.

          Now if we were Old Testament believers, we would still be celebrating on Pentecost but something a little different than we are today. We would be celebrating a Harvest Festival. Kind of like an old time Thanksgiving. Because of the affluent times we live in we don’t always realize just how important a successful harvest is and how thankful we can be for a good harvest. Back in Jesus’ time they found it much easer to be thankful that they’d gotten another year’s harvest in safe from drought, insects and raiders. They could live another year.

          It strikes me that the harvest, Pentecost and Confirmation have some similarities. There is work only the God can do and there is work for us to do. Jesus words in John 15 remind us of that. He was with His disciples in the upper room. It was the night he was betrayed, the night before He gave his life on the cross. He was building up those disciples and us, praying for them and us and providing them and us what we need. The Holy Spirit. This is what He told them, “When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father—he will testify about me.”

          Can you imagine how Jesus’ disciples must have felt? Jesus had told them He would be leaving them. All the details of what would happen that night, on Good Friday and Easter were too much for them to absorb. The leaving part they probably could. Jesus told them that they would be the ones who would go throughout the world teaching all the things He had taught them. How would that work? How would they know what to say? No worries. The Holy Spirit, called here the Counselor, would do His work. And there are some things only God can do. Just think of harvest time. While there is plenty of work for farmers to do, only God controls the weather, the rain, the temperature and the sunshine. Only God controls the path of the locusts. Only God makes photosynthesis work. So He does His work.

          Same thing for Pentecost and Confirmation. So on Pentecost the Holy Spirit gave the Apostles the understanding of Scripture that they needed. Peter who had poorly wielded a physical sword thinking that was what Jesus needed when He didn’t, all of the sudden is an expert at wielding the sword of the Spirit which is God’s word, making all the connections between Old Testament prophecy and what was happening. Peter’s boldness, which had so often been used to promote self now promotes Christ. The other Apostles speak in the foreign languages they were immediately gifted to speak and are no longer concerned with an earthly kingdom but connecting people to Christ and His eternal kingdom. And there was a harvest of souls for the Lord. Harvest Time! A time to celebrate.

          Just like today is a time for us to celebrate. The Holy Spirit is doing His work among us. Your very presence here today in a church which holds to all of the Bible’s teachings is evidence of that. In case you haven’t noticed being with an only Christ as Savior church and only God’s morality as right and wrong will not get you elected to public office or make you the talk of the workplace in a positive way. Yet here you are. You are here because the Holy Spirit has been working in you, adopting you into God’s family through Baptism, feeding your faith every time you have heard the Word. Now you are part of the harvest of souls for Jesus He has made.

          And you are part of harvesting souls for Jesus too. Just like in a harvest of crops. There is some work people need to do as well. They plant seeds. They cultivate. They weed. They fertilize. They gather in the crops that they didn’t make grow but now get to enjoy. Jesus told the disciples there was some work for them to do for His harvest.  ^“And you also are going to testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.” The job of Jesus’ disciples on Pentecost was to testify, to be witnesses that Jesus is the Messiah, the world’s one and only Savior. They did their job, not just on Pentecost, but also for the rest of their earthly lives until Jesus took them to eternal life they did their work.

          Today on this Confirmation weekend it’s good to remember there is work for us to do. All of you here either were confirmed at one point or are looking forward to it and if you know nothing about it please speak with me after service.  It took work to get to that point, hours spent learning God’s Word. All the time the Holy Spirit was doing His work. Now, like the Apostles of Jesus we have ongoing work to do. Testify. Tell the truth. God’s truth. That all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. That Jesus is the only solution. We don’t have to convince anyone of these truths. We do need to testify. Our families need us to. Our community needs us too. Our country needs us to. And then look forward to Harvest Time!

          Like a pebble dropped in the center of a pond the Gospel message proclaimed at Pentecost caused a ripple that has spread and grown and continues to grow. The Holy Spirit does His work. We do ours.  An Old Testament Pentecost was a cause for rejoicing. There was a new harvest. God had done His work. His people had done theirs. And it was time to enjoy. On this Pentecost and Confirmation day we do the same. We thank God for a new harvest of young people that will join us in testifying. We rejoice and celebrate. And we look forward to the time when we will know just how much harvesting God got done through us. Amen.

May 4-6, 2024 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Acts 9:36-42 “AND MANY BELIEVED IN THE LORD!”

 

EASTER 6

May 4-6, 2024

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Acts 9:36-42

 

“AND MANY BELIEVED IN THE LORD!”

1.     Because of Christ’s love in action.

2.     Because of our love in action.

 

          “I don’t have to, but I have to!” That well turned phrase has been running through my head recently. I heard it first from Pastor David Scharf who teaches religion at MLC. He was the emcee at a gathering to raise money for financial aid at LPS. He was speaking broadly about why we live our lives for Christ and specifically why we would want to give of our wealth to encourage students considering being pastors and teachers. “I don’t have to, but I have to!” You all know what he was talking about because you have done it yourselves in small ways and are doing it constantly in big ways. In a small way you present a thank you gift to someone who has helped you. They say, “That is so nice. You didn’t have to do that.” You say, “I know but…” In other words, I don’t have to, but I have to! And that really sums up our lives as followers of Christ. All the things we do from worshipping to volunteering to giving to what we are going to talk about today. I don’t have to! Jesus paid it all. Jesus lived perfectly. Jesus takes me to heaven. There is nothing I have to do. I don’t have to. But I have to. I have to thank Him. I have to live my life for Him. I have to reflect His love. My living faith in the living Lord Jesus will allow nothing less. Neither will yours.

          And as we do that, many will believe in our Lord as we do. We see a great example of that in the reading from Acts. Acts describes the life of the early Christian church and we can learn a lot from our fellow believers. Today we learn from a woman named Tabitha. “In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas. She was always doing good deeds and acts of charity.” In that passage one word jumps out. Always. She was always doing good deeds and acts of charity. And the inquisitive mind wants to know why. Why was she that way? That’s explained by a second word. Disciple. Follower of Jesus. One who has learned from Him. What had she learned? Love. What it means to be loved. She became a believer in the Lord because of Christ’s love in action.

          A word on love because there are all kinds of definitions and understandings for what love is. For many Americans love is a feeling. Being loving is letting the collective opinion of your society determine what is right and wrong. Love is accepting people for who they are. Love is being kind. Some of those understandings have elements of truth. Some are far afield. Christ’s love is not a feeling. It is a commitment. A commitment to do what it takes for people to be cleansed of their sins so that the relationship with God is restored for now and forever. Christ’s love does not let the shifting opinions of society determine what is right and wrong but only God Himself because only He knows what is really best and right and wrong for the people He created. Christ’s love moves Him to accept sinners where they are at, but not leaving them there pursuing a happiness by pursuing sin. No instead the Lord Jesus would consistently tell the tax collectors and sinners, “Go and sin no more!” That’s love.  And Christ’s love moved Him to acts of kindness, providing for people’s needs. And so He came and lived a perfect life of love that followed the commands of God. And since there was no other way, He let Himself be covered with the sins of all people and received the punishment for them in full. And He commissioned every one of His followers, His disciples, to be living Bibles, who, wherever they go and whatever they do, proclaim His truths and His love. And the result of Christ’s love in action is that many believe in the Lord. Tabitha was one. You and I are many more.

          And when followers of Christ who know His love in action show their love in actions many more believe in the Lord. Look at our sister Tabitha! “At that time she became sick and died. After they had washed her, they laid her in an upstairs room. ³⁸Since Lydda is near Joppa, when the disciples heard that Peter was there, they sent two men to him, who urged him, “Come to us without delay!”³⁹Peter got up and went with them. When he arrived, they led him to the room upstairs. All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing him the robes and clothing that Dorcas made while she was still with them. ⁴⁰After Peter sent them all outside, he got down on his knees and prayed. Then he turned toward the body and said, “Tabitha, get up!” She opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up. ⁴¹He gave her his hand and helped her stand up. After he called the saints and the widows, he presented her to them alive. ⁴²This became known all over Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.”

          We are not told a lot about Tabitha but it is very obvious that she made a huge impression on the people around her. How? She put her love into action. She made robes and clothes for people in need. I doubt she was featured in a news story by Joppa 7 news now. I seriously doubt the movers and shakers of Joppa considered her special. But she was. She put her love into action. She didn’t have to, but she had to. Had to let her love show. I think she knew what many of us overlook that it is the little things that count and the unnoticed acts of service that catch Jesus’ attention. And the attention of other people. Look at how God used her love in action. A crowd gathered because of her death. Through Peter God demonstrated His power over death. And…And…? And many believed in the Lord.

          And the same thing happens when you and I put our love in action. We are all different, with different gifts and the Lord provides us with different ways and opportunities to serve others at different ages in life. When kids are little many of our acts of love will be directed to them. But when nests are empty, other opportunities arise. Maybe it’s taking care of an elderly neighbor’s lawn or grocery shopping or rides to appointments. Maybe it’s visiting with someone who is lonely. Maybe it’s volunteering in a school. Christ is risen! And He lives in each one of us. We hear the voice of Jesus. “Love one another as I have loved you.” Sacrificial love. We hear His apostle John. We can’t say I love God and hate one another without being a liar. Our sinful natures need to hear again that being self-centered, self-serving and selfish is not OK. It is sin. Where there is no love in action, there is no love and Jesus is not in us. But Jesus is in you. So let it show. Look for the little ways to serve God. It will not get your name mentioned in the Bible like it did with Tabitha. The Bible is complete. But since your names are written in the Lamb’s book of life it will get you mentioned by Jesus on the Last Day when He says,” I was lonely and you visited me. I need a ride and you gave it to me.” Love in action. It’s the little things that count. We don’t have to. But we have to! And honestly, because of Jesus, we want to.

          Now, I think you all realize that this Tabitha that was raised by to life died again later. That provided another opportunity for people to gather and if her pastors did their job the people gathered again heard about what made the difference in Tabitha’s life, her Lord Jesus. As you and I show put our love in action there is a part of us that is hoping we will get that opportunity to tell them about Jesus. That might not happen while we live. But what about when we die? One of my favorite Bible stories growing up was Sampson and his great strength. Remember how his life ended? He pulled down the pillars to the temple of the idol Dagon which was filled with God’s enemies, the Philistines. Sampson’s story ends with this phrase, “Thus he killed many more when he died then when he lived.” When you and I put our love in action people notice. They will come to your funeral. If your pastors do their job all these people will hear about Jesus, the only one who turns death into life. Then it may be said about you, “And so she witnessed to many more people in her death than in her life.”  And…And…” And many believed in the Lord. God grant this for Jesus’ sake! Amen.