Brought to Jesus - John 1.42

 

"Brought to Jesus" John 1.42

 One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus. Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, “You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas” (which is translated, A Stone).

Introduction

     During the Christmas season we remember the way God came into the world. The Son of God was born of the Virgin Mary. During the Epiphany season we remember the way Jesus was revealed and made manifest to be the Son of God to the world. Since we are all by nature sinners, we do not seek God. Instead God seeks us. God said through the prophet Isaiah, "I was found by those who did not seek Me" (65.1). Throughout the Bible we see this again and again. When Adam and Eve first sinned, they hid from God, but He found them and brought them back. God found Abraham when, as the Bible says, he was "a wandering Aramean" (Deuteronomy 26.5). One by one, every believer was found by God and brought to God. All the apostles were found by Jesus and He drew them to Himself (John 12.32). That is how we become Christians, we are brought to Christ. As we shall see that is both a great comfort to us, and it is the key to living the Christian life and bringing others to Christ. 

Jesus Is the Messiah

     After Jesus was baptized, God revealed to the world that He was His own Son. Immediately people were being drawn to Him. In our Gospel lesson today from John chapter one we see how the first disciples were brought to Jesus. Our featured disciple this morning is Andrew, he is one that we don't hear much about in the New Testament. But what he did is something we should all remember: He brought his brother Peter to Jesus. 

     Andrew was blessed to be brought to John the Baptist. He heard John proclaim that Jesus was the "Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." Why did John call Jesus a "lamb." That's not a mighty animal at all. Are there any football teams called "The Lambs"? If there was, people would laugh at a name like that. But John knew what he was talking about. Jesus was "The Lamb of God" because Jesus was the lamb of sacrifice for all of us sinners. God, who knows all things, knew that the only salvation from the horrible problem of sin was love, sacrificial love. Sin is full of anger, hate, and violence. On Judgement Day God will deal with sin in that way. Romans 1.18 tells us that God's wrath is "revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness." But to deliver us from that wrath, God first came to the horrible problem of sin in love, through Christ, the Messiah, His Annointed One. 

     Last Sunday I mentioned the four ways we know Jesus is the Messiah. The first is through the prophecies of the Old Testament. All of them tell us that the Messiah will take away sin and bring righteousness, not by more rules, but by grace, by forgiveness. This forgiveness will be earned by His suffering and dying. The second is through Jesus' teaching. The Gospels give us a one sentence summary of His teaching: Jesus preached, "Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand" (Matthew 3.2; Mark 1.15). The third way is through His miracles which were all given to save lives from the effects of sin. The fourth way is through His resurrection from the dead. In His resurrection Jesus proved that sin, death, and the devil were defeated. 

Four Wrong Ways

     This so important for us to know and believe. But we don't know it and believe by nature. Our nature is the opposite. Let's think about the three ways that human beings deal with sin. 

     The first and most ancient and common way is to Compensate. All other religions are based on the idea that we can oversome sin by trying to be good. The answer to sin is rules. Pray, give offerings, and force yourself to be a better person. Paul lived this way for many years as a Pharisee. But he finally had to admit that he was still a "wretched man" (Romans 7.24). No amount of good works can compensate for or removed the guilt of sin. That is just being honest. 

     The second way is to Compare. "Well, I'll admit I'm a sinner, but there are a lot of people worse than me." This person thinks that because others sin worse, God will somehow overlook their sins. But if God overlooks sin, He becomes a sinner Himself for He has commanded in James 2.10 "Whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it." Pointing to the sins of others is just a deflection. You can't just break a window a little. If you break it, you break the whole thing. 

     The third has become very strong in the last decade. This is the temptation to politicize sin. Karl Marx taught that there are oppressors and the oppressed. Although baptized in the Lutheran Church, Marx rejected God and interpreted everything in terms of the material world. In this view, even if a person does something wrong he blames it on his economic circumstances. Only the oppressors are bad, and all the evils of the world are blamed on them. But the Bible warns against this very thing. "Give me neither poverty nor riches— Feed me with the food allotted to me; Lest I be full and deny You, And say, “Who is the LORD?” Or lest I be poor and steal, And profane the name of my God" (Proverbs 30.8-9). The rich and poor can both be sinners, and neither should excuse themselves because of their political and economic circumstances. 

     The fourth way may not be that popular, but it is growing. Some people think they can overcome the problem of sin by saying there is no such thing as sin. Driven by their worship of science and denying any place for God, the spiritual world, and the soul, they say all things are determined by our molecules. ALL THINGS. NO OTHER ASPECT OF LIFE. Since it's all just biochemistry, no one is guilty of anything because we are either born that way or conditioned to be that way. This is the moral insanity that fuels all mass murderers. The Bible is clear about this: "The fool says in his heart, 'There is no god'" (Psalm 14.1).

Saved

     Joel Chandler Harris was from Georgia. In the 1800s he went around and talked to former slaves to hear their stories. He put them together in a book titled "Uncle Remus Stories." If you want some good hearty laughs, please read this book. One story is about Brer Fox who was frustrated that Brer Rabbit kept tricking him. So he made a doll out of tar and set it up by the road. Brer Rabbit comes along and greets the Tar-Baby. When the Tar-Baby doesn't respond, he gets angry and starts punching and kicking it. Sure enough he gets completeley stuck to it. I'm not going to give away the end of the story, but I'll stop here to show how sin is like that Tar-Baby. We can't fight it ourselves. The more we do, the more we get stuck to it. We have to be pulled from it. We have to be cleansed of it. 

     I would like you to think about how you have been pulled and saved from the tar-pit of sin. Paul said, "By grace you have been saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2.8). I was saved by my parents who brought me to Christ in baptism, prayers, Bible stories, and the catechism. Even after that God brought other people in my life who pulled me back from sin and temptation. If someone asks me how I became and Christian, I have to honestly say that God called me to faith by the Gospel that was given to me by many different people. My becoming a Christian was not my natural choice. It was God's choice as Jesus said, "You did not choose Me. I chose you" (John 15.16). Every day I thank God that, like Peter, I was brought to Jesus. 

For What?

     It doesn't end there. I said earlier that being brought to Jesus is a great comfort (it doesn't depend on us), and it is the key to living the Christian life and bringing others to Jesus. When you realize that you are a poor miserable sinner and cannot escape from sin, but that God rescued you from it anyway - what a great joy that is. Now, doing what God wants us to do is not a burden or chore. It's a blessing. I don't keep the commandments because I'm trying to save myself. I'm doing them because I'm already saved. I'm doing them out of thanksgiving to God. 

     I mentioned that Andrew is not the most well-known disciple. There's very little we know about him. But this little thing that he did is mentioned here in the Gospel for a good reason. God is telling us that everything we do as a Christian saved from the guilt of sin is important to Him. Let me emphasize that: EVERY LITTLE THING. 

     This is one of my favorite examples of that. One day an unhappy man was walking along a railroad track in India. As he walked he saw a cigarette butt that had some writing on it. Being bored as well as sad, he picked it up and unrolled it. Apparently someone had taken a Christian tract and used it for a rolling paper to make a cigarette. It was mostly burned up, but the few words that were left were these: "Whoever calls upon the Lord will be saved" from Romans 10.13. Well, this sounded okay to him. Maybe he should look into it. When he got to the next village, he began asking people about these words. Someone told him it was from the Bible and that he should go talk to the pastor in that village. He did, and when he heard the full Gospel, he believed and he was brought to Christ. This is also a good example of a small act of Christian love that brought someone to Christ. It might have seemed like a waste. Someone gave some money to a Christian tract society. They printed the tract and sent it to India. Someone brought in the train and hopefully read it. But someone else didn't care about it turned it into a cigarette. But God wasn't done with the small act of Christian love. The sad man picked up the butt and was brought to Christ. 

Conclusion

     Everything we do by faith in God has that same potential. Your coming to worship this morning makes a difference. People notice. When someone speak evil of you and love them anyway, people notice. When you do wrong and apologize instead blaming and playing the victim, people notice. When you live as a person who has been brought to Christ, that brings other people to Christ as well. God bless you this week as you remember this little passage about Andrew: "And he brought Him to Jesus." May it be a comfort that you were brought to Jesus, and may that comfort bring others to Jesus. Amen. 

Are You Sure? How the Baptism of Jesus Gives Us Confidence

Are You Sure?

 

"When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:16-17 (NKJV)

 

     Are you sure? This is a question that we often ask ourselves these days. What used to be called the "information age," is now probably better called, "the disinformation age." So much of what people claim to be true and reliable is actually wrong and destructive. When the internet was first introduced, people were amazed how quickly they could get information. Overnight we had no need of encyclopedias and no need of travelling to the library to dig up information. But it didn't take long for the fraudsters to mess everything up, and we began to guard against things like phishing and maleware. In this world the truth has always been undermined by lies. But amazingly the truth always stands in the end. Today we will see how God does this as we celebrate the baptism of Jesus. 

 

     In Jesus' baptism we are brought face to face with the true and only Son of God.  It was the first of many events that would give people confidence that Jesus is their Savior and Lord.  The Apostle Peter once preached to the disciples in the Book of Acts referring to all that Jesus did “beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us” (Acts 1.22).  Jesus’ baptism was an important miracle that gave His mission a start.  It is a miracle that still, when we encounter it in God’s word, encourages us and strengthens our faith.

 

False Confidence

 

     Many people are confident about different things today.  But not all that confidence is well placed.  Make a note that the devil’s effort to undermine our confidence always works first to divert us from Jesus, all the while tempting us to think that we are connected to Jesus.  In the first century all religions, philosophies, and worldviews mocked the Christian faith and derided it. They were very opposed to Christ. Today we see what appears to be the very opposite. Almost all religions, philosophies and worldviews claim to be compatible with the teachings of Jesus.  But this is only so on the surface. When you dig deeper, you find that they are fraudsters. They don't believe in the Jesus who was born of the virgin Mary, died on the cross for the sins of the world, and rose again for our salvation. They follow an imaginary Jesus.

 

     It is important that our confidence be placed on the right person.  How does the baptism of Jesus create or strengthen our confidence in Jesus?  It does so in three ways as we listen to the words of:  John the Baptist, Jesus, and God the Father.  As we look at what each person said, we will find the confidence that God wants us to have.

 

John Tried to Prevent Him

 

     John was baptizing in the Jordan- a baptism of repentance.  People were coming to him to confess their sins and to be baptized.  This is similar to but not the same as the baptism that Jesus would later give us in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  That baptism is also for forgiveness of sins.  But in this case it doesn’t make sense to John, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?”  

 

     John is puzzled because he knows that Jesus is the sinless Son of God.  At the great Christmas miracle that we just celebrated recall that the angel Gabriel told Mary that this child she was to bear would be “the Holy One of God” (Luke 1.35).  Jesus boldly challenged His enemies, “Which of you convicts me of sin?” (John 8.46).  There are many other passages to affirm this truth (1 John 3.5; 1 Corinthians 5.21; Hebrews 4.15; 7:26).  

 

     Can you imagine what it would be like to meet someone who was truly holy?  This person would tell us the truth in all things.  He wouldn’t gloss over unpleasant realities about us.  This is where our confidence building begins.  It actually begins by tearing us down.  It is healthy for us to think of Jesus being by our side at all times - listening in to all our conversations, reading all our emails, and watching everything that we watch with us. The Book of Hebrews warns us: "And no creature is hidden from His sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account" (4.13). 

 

     Our first encounters with Christ, like this one with John the Baptist, can be a little confusing and scary.  Think of Peter, Nicodemus, the Woman at the Well. His holiness exposes our unholiness.  This is something we have to see.  This is why every Sunday in our worship as a Christian church and individually in our private prayers we daily confess our sins and recognize our unholiness that we have according to our earthly bodies.  Our sin and the sins of the world around us is the most destabilizing factor in our lives.  Our confidence in Christ begins by recognizing this and confessing our sin.

 

To Fulfill All Righteousness

 

     Now Jesus speaks. “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”  Jesus was not only born holy, He also complied fully with God’s holy law to fulfill all righteousness.  But in this baptism He is doing even more.  Here He is giving His righteousness to us.  He fulfilled the holy law of God not only for Himself, but for the whole world.  

 

     Isaiah spoke of this in chapter 53 of his great book.  “My righteous Servant will justify many” (v. 11).  Now let me make this as clear as I can.  In the Hebrew language the word “righteous” and the word “justify” are basically the same word.  The problem is that in English we don’t use the root word “righteous” to say “make righteous.”  If we did we might try to say something like “righteous-ize.”  “My righteous servant will righteous-ize many.”  Jesus fulfills all righteousness in this sense that He makes us righteous.  In His baptism He is not being forgiven of any sins.  Rather, He is stepping up to take the sins of the world into Himself.  Isaiah goes on to say it this way:  “For He shall bear their iniquities.”  This is the Gospel.  This is the good news answer to the problem of our unholiness.

 

     Allow me to illustrate this with an unusual story.  Back in the 1950s two young couples went out on a double date. The girl from the couple that was riding along in the back seat had certain allergies.  While they were at a party she indulged in some food that she shouldn’t have eaten.  Her boyfriend reminded her of the potential reaction, but she said it wouldn’t be a problem.  She didn’t eat much.  Everything seemed to go well for the rest of the evening until they were driving home.  Then the allergy attacked with a vengeance.  In her case this allergy appeared with the symptom of nausea.  She became very sick to her stomach but was too embarrassed to say anything.  They were getting close to her home, and she was just sure that she could hold on long enough.  But as they were within one block of her home she lost the battle with the allergy.  Now all this time her boyfriend was quite aware of what was developing…  to save her from total humility in just the nick of time he allowed her to lose the contents of her stomach in the sleeve of his suit.  He also pulled out his clean handkerchief and wiped her face.  Within seconds they were stopped in front of her house.  The other couple never knew what had happened.  They said their goodbyes, and this loving young man proceeded to help his girl friend to the house.  He had saved her from a very bad situation.  

 

     This illustrates what Jesus has done for us.  He has taken into Himself all the sin and guilt of this world in order to save us from a horrible situation.  When He was baptized, He stepped into the Jordan River in order to receive His anointing. This means that He was selected by God the Father to fulfill all righteousness.  This is the beginning of the great exchange.  We give Him our sin.  He gives us His own righteousness.  Imagine all your sins and shame.  How embarrassing it would be to see that portrayed on a huge video screen for everyone.  Think of all the ways you have hurt people and disappointed God.  But now think of all those terrible, stinking things scooped up by Jesus.  He took them with Him to the cross, and there they died with Him never to haunt you again. 

 

This Is My Beloved Son

 

     The last one to speak is God the Father.  In Jesus’ baptism we clearly see the Triune God.  Many sermons on this text focus on the Trinity.  It is a wonderful theme, but we will have to save it for another time.  For now we see that at Jesus’ baptism the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus like a dove.  Then the voice of the Father came from heaven.  “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” 

 

     Jesus probably needed to hear this as much as we do.  Remember that He was fully and truly a man.  He was facing the most awesome task of all.  With this voice God the Father assured Him and strengthened Him.  Throughout His earthly ministry Jesus constantly shows us His close relationship to His Father. He constantly prayed to His Father and taught us to pray to Him as our Father. In the Garden of Gethesemane, as He was preparing for His own death, He prayed to the Father. His very last words from the cross were, "Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit" (Luke 23.46). 

 

     Now the beautiful thing about Jesus’ baptism is that Jesus also brings us to the Father.   The Father’s word to His Son also becomes His word to us in our baptisms.  Because we have been given Jesus’ righteousness by faith, God the Father can also say about you, “This is My beloved son or daughter, in whom I am well pleased.”  Just as God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are a divine family, so we are brought into that family through our baptism and faith in Jesus. Instead of being embarrassed and ashamed in the presence of God, as John was at first, we are now, through Christ, the objects of God's pleasure. Remember the first Christmas carol every sung, the song of the angels to the shepherds of Bethlehem: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased!" (Luke 2:14) And again these words: "Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom" (Luke 12.32). And the words of Psalm 40 "Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me..." (v. 13). God is pleased to save us from our sins!

 

Conclusion

 

     There are so many things in this world that we cannot be sure of, there are so many deceptions and falsehoods. But today we have heard two things we can be very sure of: That Jesus is God's beloved Son, and that in Him, we are also God's beloved children. Because He fulfilled all righteousness we can be assured.  We can have confidence.  “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3.1).

What I Learned in the USMC - Happy 250th Birthday!

 (This is me, in the center with glasses, at Edson Range, 1977)

     In January of 1977, two classmates (Scott Bingham and Danny Dunn), came to recruit me for  the United States Marine Corps. They wanted me to drop out of college and join. They told me it would be great, and I would learn a lot. I wasn't going to drop out of college so they challenged me to join the USMC Reserves. I liked hiking and camping, and thought, "Why not get paid for it?" After signing the papers I wondered, "What did I just get myself into?" But it was done, and I had to do my duty. I also thought, "Maybe it will be good for me, and I will learn a few things along the way." 

     That June I was standing on the "yellow footprints" at MCRD San Diego with a bunch of other guys from every walk of life. I was a chemistry student, and my bunkmate was practically illiterate. He kept talking about how he wanted to get back to "the crib." One private had just gotten married, he had a new baby, and he was told by a judge to either go to jail or go to the Marine Corps. There were a couple of other college kids like me. One turned out to the son of a senator. One day two MPs came in grabbed one of our guys. Turns out he was wanted for murder. That platoon was a perfect cross-section of American culture, and I met guys that I would have never known apart from the Corps! 

     The physical part was hard but doable. I went in doing three pull-ups and came out doing twenty. The psychological part was the most interesting to me. One by one I watched guys get broken down to tears. If you thought you were someone special going in, you found out sooner or later you weren't. One day they got to me. It had to do with taking a pee, of all things. We really only got to go to the head (bathroom) three times a day, and you had better get your business done then. "Break it off privates" came the command from the drill instructors when they wanted us out of the head. If you didn't, and if you had to use the head during the day, they called it an "emergency head call." You had to stand up and make the sound of a siren while twirling your hand over your head like an emergency light. Humiliation for each one of us was their goal. One day it was my turn to make an emergency head call. But that day there was a DI from the next platoon talking to my DIs. He told me to go, so I bolted for the head, siren and all. Then my DIs called me back and started yelling about only taking orders from them! The other DI was a staff sergeant, and out ranked my DIs. So he started yelling at me to go or else. I bolted again, and again my DIs called me back and were yelling their heads off. This time the visiting DI got in my face and said, "Private, you're a racist (he was African American), and that's why you won't obey my orders!" He was really mad, or pretended to be. I was totally confused. He told me to go, so I bolted one more time. This time my senior DI chased me into the head, slugged me in the stomach (not too hard) and quietly said, "You only take orders from me." For weeks I had stoically taken their harassment thinking they aren't going to get to me. But with tears streaming down my face, I just said, "Yes sir." Then he changed. Very nicely he said, "Use the head, and wipe away those tears before you come back." The humiliation was over, and the building of respect was begun. I watched this process over and over with every private. A few just couldn't take it, and they dropped out. But at the end of those eighty-five days we had been completely transformed - broken and built up to become a team that could really take orders - some of the most difficult orders anyone could imagine. 

     There were no wars when I served, so I have no experience with that. But I do believe that training was good for me. I learned humility and respect. I learned to lean on God and not myself. I prayed a lot during those days and never missed a church service at whatever chapel they had. When I went back to college it was a little different walking around with a regulation haircut. Today when people hear that you served in the military they thank you for your service. I NEVER heard those words until ten or fifteen years ago! But I'm thankful for the things I did learn. I learned as much or more from the Marines as I ever learned in college. Today is the 250th birthday of the Marine Corps - Happy birthday! Once a Marine, Always a Marine! 

Glorifying Jesus 2 Thessalonians 1.11-12

Glorifying Jesus

2 Thessalonians 1.11-12

 

Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power, that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Introduction

 

     This is what I want you to think about today - these words from the Apostle Paul: "that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ." When I was in college I liked to sing a song written by Bob Kilpatrick titled "Lord, Be Glorified." It has a very simple message: "In my life, Lord, be glorified, be glorified. In my life, Lord, be glorified today." It's a nice song and easy to play on the guitar, however it doesn't really say what it means to glorify God. But it is actually similar to the song the angels sang at the birth of Jesus, and which we sang already in our service, the Gloria in Excelsis. It is also very simple: "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among those with whom He is well pleased" (Luke 2.14). In either case, if we want God to be glorified in us, it is important to know what it means and how it is done. That's my goal in this message today. 

 

What Does "Glorify" Mean?

 

     Let's look at some examples of the glory of God in the Bible. Moses told the children of Israel they would see the glory of the LORD when He provided them with manna and quail from heaven (Exodus 16). A few chapters later Israel saw the firey glory of the LORD on Mt. Sinai, and then upon the Tabernacle, and later the Temple. David said that "The heavens declare the glory of God..." (Psalm 19.1). The Apostle John began his gospel by telling us: "The word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth" (1.14). Jesus said that people would see the glory of God when He raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11.40), and when He himself died on the cross and rose again for the sins of the whole world (John 12 & 17). One of the ways we glorify God is to see His great works and to praise Him for them. We see the glory of God when we see the great works of God, especially His work of salvation in Jesus. 

 

     But there is another especially important part of glorifying God. We don't just glorify Him like spectators glorifying a winning team. Remember the Blues fans singing the song "Gloria" on their march to the Stanley Cup! Because this is God we're talking about and not man; no one can glorify God and His works without being affected by God and His works in their personal life. Imagine that for a moment. Can you think of anything so great that by looking at it or reading about it, it will completley change your life forever? That's the glory of God! This is why Paul says that the name of the Lord Jesus Christ is glorified in us! Paul also said, "Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10.31). Peter said: "If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ..." (4.11). To glorify God begins when we see the glory of God, but it continues when we become part of those great works ourselves.  So let's look at some of the ways we see the glory of God today, and glorify Him by being a part of those glorious works of the Lord ourselves.

     

Conversion

 

     What is the first glorious work of God that we experience in our lives? It is our conversion. Paul spoke about the conversion of the Thessalonians in his first letter. He had come there and taught them for only three weeks. But in those three weeks the Thessalonians were dramatically converted. Every day, when the people of this Greek city looked up across the sea, they saw the famous Mt. Olympus. This was supposedly the dwelling place of the gods like Zeus, Poseidon, and Aphrodite. But after hearing about Jesus, and another mountain, Calvary, they, in Paul's words: "turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come (1.9-10). They saw the glory of God, and became part of the glory of God in their conversion! 

 

     How has that happened in your life? How were you turned from idols to serve the living and true God? For me it happened early in life when I was a baby. My Christian parents brought me to Jesus in baptism and taught me about Him every day after that. I can honestly say that I can't remember a single day in my life that I didn't know and believe in Jesus. However, that doesn't mean that my early conversion made things easy for me. I was constantly and still am afflicted with temptation. Sadly, there were many times when I wasn't living, as Paul says, "worthy of this calling." But an early conversion is always followed by God's many promises of preservation. I am so thankful for that - thankful for the countless times God has, as the Catechism says, "broken and hindered every evil plan and purpose of the devil, the world and the sinful nature which do not want us to hallow God's name or let His kingdom come."

 

     Your conversion may have come later in life like the Thessalonians or Paul on the road to Damascus. He was going to imprison and kill Christians when it happened - A glorious, blinding light, knocked him off his horse. This light was Jesus in His glory, and He called Paul out for his sins and gave him the gift of forgiveness. Martin Luther was baptized as a Christian, but he wasn't taught the forgiveness of sins. Because of this he feared God and entered a monastery in the hope of pleasing this "unforgiving God." This God was really an "idol" created by the scholastic theologians of the church in the middle ages. In desperation he turned to a friend who simply told him to read the Bible. There he began to see the glory of God when he read, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, 'The just shall live by faith''" (Romans 1.17-18). 

 

     Whether your conversion happened early in life or later, it was the glory of God coming into your life to save you from your sins. If you believe that, you are glorifying God, and His name is glorified in your life. 

 

Persecution

 

     How else do we glorify God? Remember how Jesus said He would be glorified in His death and resurrection? The glory of God is the opposite of the corruption of evil. When God preserves us in our faith, even when we are surrounded by evil, He is glorified in us. One of the reasons Paul wrote his two letters to the Thessalonians was because they were being heavily persecuted. You can read about this in Acts chapter seventeen. For three weeks Paul preached the good news of Jesus in the synogague at Thessalonica. Many Greeks believed, and among them was a man named Jason. Jason had allowed Paul and Silas to stay at his house. But those who didn't believe what Paul was preaching formed a mob and attacked Jason, dragged him to court, and accused him just as Jesus had been accused of proclaiming another king, contrary to the decrees of Caesar. The mob approach to things people don't like is nothing new. 

 

     What would happen if you were attacked by a mob for your Christian faith? Mobs are irrational. They aren't seeking justice because justice requires reason, debate, and democracy. Their purpose is to incite violence and to overpower their opposition by force. Mobs are the work of the devil, or another name given to that fallen angel in Revelation, "Apollyon," which means "destroyer." There is no way for a Christian to stand up against a mob. But there are two things that God does give the persecuted Christian: An insurmountable faith to be saved, and the wrath of God upon the persecutors. We need to keep these two things in mind at all times in this violent, mob-driven world. 

 

     Right now in Nigeria thousands of Christians are being killed by radical Muslims. It is a true genocide, and yet the world largely ignores it. Governments don't want to get involved. Who wants to face the wrath of the Jihad? But don't be discouraged. God gives us a faith that He preserves even unto death as we have all acknowledged in our confirmation vows. Yesterday was All Saints Day. This day was established in the 700s AD by Pope Gregory III. By that time so many Christians had been killed for their faith that no one could keep track of them all. All Saints Day remembers the martyrs "known and unknown" throughout the world. It is good for us to remember that kind of faith in the martyrs and pray for it ourselves. 

 

     But the other side of persecution is Judgment Day. While many persecutions may be ignored or forgotten by the world, not a one is forgotten by God. Paul's words are clear. He will bring tribulation and flaming vengeance upon those who persecute Christians when He comes to be glorified in His saints. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and will never see His glory. It is not our job to return evil for evil. Instead we've got better things to do.

 

Doing Good

 

     This brings me to the last thing in our reading from Paul that shows us how the name of Jesus is glorified in our lives. It is doing good. Paul calls it fulfilling "all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power." Paul gave thanks to God for the Thessalonians because they didn't go out and start a riot to destroy all the pagan temples. Instead he said they "abounded in love." Just as we glorify God by believing in Him and being converted from our idols to the living God; Just as we glorify God by faithfully enduring persecution and leaving the vengeance to God; So we also glorify God by doing the good pleasure of God and the work of faith with power. Jesus said this: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5.11). This has been the legacy of the Christian faith from its beginning. Help for the poor, hospitals, public education, universities, modern science, the ending of slavery, protection for the unborn and elderly - all of these are undeniably the fruit of the Christian faith and the glory of God in His true church. 

 

     The glory of God in us is fulfilled when a we simply ask, "How can I do good?" and when we pray to God to help us do good. We heard Isaiah say in the first lesson today: "learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause" (1.17). Psalm 34 says, "Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry" (v. 14). This is one of the simplest things we can do, and it goes right to the core of who we are by the grace of God. 

 

     The summer I got married I worked for my father-in-law on his farm. He paired me up with one of his farm hands. Here I was a college graduate on my way to the seminary working side by side with a farm hand that couldn't read or write and probably couldn't count much past ten. What could I learn from him? I learned one of the most important lessons of my life that summer. I learned how to do good. Allen didn't have many skills beyond those of a low-level laborer, but he had some virtues that I will always remember. Allen never complained and never criticized, and most of all, he never did less than he was asked to do. He always did a little more. He did the good that he was able to do as humble as that was. 

 

     Many people preach the ethics of doing good, and I'm glad for that. I'd rather people try to do good than try to do bad. But without faith it's impossible to do the good that glorifies God. Without faith in God's word we don't even know what "good" is, let alone have the power to accomplish it. But remember all that Paul has been talking about here - how to glorify God in our lives - is a prayer. He said, "Therefore we also pray for you..." Doing good is a command - a good command. But getting it done is matter of grace. And that is exactly how Paul ends this chapter, "according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ." Always remember that everything God tells us to do, He also empowers us to do. That's how grace works, and also how God is ultimately glorified in every way. 

 

Conclusion

 

     There have been many glorious events in the history of the world. The creation was glorious, the rainbow after the flood was glorious, the giving of the law on Mt. Sinai was glorious, the birth of Christ was glorious and sung by angels. The resurrection of Christ was glorious. Pentecost was glorious. Judgment Day will be glorious. But what about today? What about tomorrow? Will they be glorious? Can they be glorious? They certainly can. Pray for the glory of God in your life - in your baptism and conversion, in your enduring persecution if need be, and in simply doing good. "In my life Lord, be glorified, be glorified. In my life, Lord, be glorified today!" 

The Benefits of Fervent and Consistent Prayer Luke 18.1-8

The Benefits of Fervent and Consistent Prayer

Luke 18.1-8

 

And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. 2 He said, In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. 3 And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, Give me justice against my adversary. 4 For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, Though I neither fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming. 6 And the Lord said, Hear what the unrighteous judge says. 7 And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? 8 I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?

 

     A young man went to a pharmacy and bought three boxes of candy, one small, one medium and one large. The pharmacist asked why the three sizes? The young man said that he was going to have date that night. If she let him hold her hand, he would give her the small box. If she let him kiss her on the cheek, he would give her the medium box. If she let him kiss her on the lips, he would give her the large box. Later that evening he arrived at her house for dinner with the family. He was asked to pray. His prayer was fervent and lasted for five minutes! Everyone at the table was worn out. His date then said, “I never knew you were such a religious person?” He replied, “You never told me your father was a pharmacist!”  (from “P.U.S.H. Pray Until Something Happens” by Dr. David O. Dykes, SermonCentral.com). Note: I don't often include jokes in my sermons. Read the conclusion to understand why I used one here!

 

     Almost everyone will resort to prayer in a difficult situation. But God’s word teaches us that prayer is much more than that. It is one of the most important parts of our Christian life. Jesus Himself prayed fervently and often and taught His disciples to pray.  Paul, in several places, says that he himself prayed without ceasing, and he urges us to pray in the same way. “Be constant in prayer,” he said to the Romans (12.12). 

 

     Yet all too often our prayers become inconsistent and weak. Our sinful nature leads us away from prayer and from God.  We awake in the morning and turn on the radio or television. We hustle off to work and keep busy there all day. In the evening we are too tired to pray. And this pattern will repeat itself over and over again. It is to overcome this natural tendency that Jesus taught the Parable of the Persistent Widow.  

 

Fervent Prayer

 

     Let’s begin by pointing out the obvious in this story. Jesus compares our prayers to a widow that keeps bothering a bad and uncaring judge until he finally does something about her request.  The words “beat me down” (ESV) here literally mean “strike under the eye," or "to give someone a black eye" (ὑπωπιάζω).  We have an English phrase for this:  “to browbeat.”  Is Jesus saying that we should browbeat God in our prayers?  In a way that is what He is saying. We have other examples of this in the Bible. Jacob, the Bible tells us, literally wrestled with God and would not give up until He blessed him (Genesis 32.26).  Hannah prayed so fervently for a child that Eli the priest thought she was drunk (1 Samual 1.15-16). In the Garden of Gethsemane, when Jesus was facing the greatest test of faith – the sacrifice of His life on the cross, He prayed so fervently that His sweat fell like “great drops of blood” (Luke 22.44).  God wants us to be fervent in our prayers.

 

     But, really, what does it actually mean to be fervent in prayer?  We can begin by noting what fervent prayer is not.  It is not going through the motions of prayer without thinking about what the words mean. This is what Cain (Genesis 4.3ff) and King Saul (1 Samuel 13.8ff)  seem to have done when they came to worship God. Fervency is to look carefully at two things. It is to look carefully at ourselves and our problems. It is to be honest with our situation.  One of my most often said prayers is this, “Lord, help me to pray. Help me to see myself and my situation in the right way. Keep me from misunderstanding. Keep me from praying for the wrong things.”  The other part of fervency is to look carefully at God. Martin Luther liked to compare our prayers to God to his dog Tölpel.  “Oh, if I could only pray the way this dog watches the meat! All his thoughts are concentrated on the piece of meat. Otherwise he has no thought, wish or hope” (LW 54 p. 37). Prayer is as much about listening to God and concentrating on Him as it is to talk to Him about ourselves. Many people say that they pray all the time with fervency but nothing seems to come of it. That’s probably because they aren’t focusing on God and listening to Him.  When we focus on ourselves and on God in His word, we will be given understanding, comfort and strength. 

 

Consistent Prayer

 

     What about consistency? Jesus said we “ought always to pray and not lose heart” (18.1). The word for “not loose heart” is interesting.  It literally could be translated, “and not give in to what is bad (ἐγκακέω).”  The opposite of fervent prayer is worry and bad thoughts. All of us will sooner or later battle against these. Paul, in his first letter to Timothy talks about the “sound words” of Jesus. When we turn away from these we soon find ourselves struggling with what Paul calls “evil suspicions.” Our mind becomes “depraved” because it is literally “deprived of truth” (1 Timothy 6.4-5).  

 

     Hospitals maintain a positive pressure of purified air to keep bad air out. In the same way we need consistency in prayer to keep the bad thoughts out of our heads.  We need the pure words of God pouring into our minds constantly and the pure words of righteous prayer pouring out. This is not something that can be effective if it is done only intermittantly.  There are many things like this in life. If we take our medicine inconsistently, if we diet or exercise inconsistently, if we try to learn something inconsistently, it just won’t work.  

 

     God tells us in the Third Commandment to make prayer a consistent part of our life.  “Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God” (Exodus 20.8-10). David said, “Evening and morning and at noon I will pray and cry aloud, And He shall hear my voice” (Psalm 55.17). I would urge you to look at your weekly and daily routines and commit yourself to the priority of prayer. Don’t say, “I’ll worship if it is convenient.” Don’t think, “I’ll meditate on God’s word if I get some extra time.” Install that system of sound words, both those of Jesus in His word and your own in your prayers, and let it run regularly every day.  But, and this is very important, the command to pray consistently is not enough to inspire us! The command is good, but as Jesus said, "The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak" (Matthew 26.41). The inspiration to pray consistently comes from the consistent promises of God. Psalm 91.15 tells us, "He (the one who believes) shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble..." In Isaiah (65.24) God said, "It shall come to pass That before they call, I will answer; And while they are still speaking, I will hear." When Jeremiah was shut up in prison the LORD told him: "Call to Me, and I will answer you... " (33.3). Every week is 168 hours long. A couple of hours of worship each week will always make the other 166 hours much more productive and happy. The same is true for each day. Twenty minutes for meditation and family devotions out our twenty-four hour day will make the rest of the twenty-three hours and forty minutes so much better! God's promises encourage us to maintain consistent times of prayer, and in those prayers God is with us to help us. 

 

Prayers Are Answered with the Cross

 

     Jesus says in the end that justice will be done (v. 8).  We pray because things are wrong. Either something is wrong with us or with others or both.  A little boy was once sent to his room for being naughty. Eventually he asked his mother if he could come out. To appease her a little he said, “I prayed about it.”  His mother said, “Good. God will help you to behave better if you ask Him.”  But the boy replied, “I know that mom, but I also asked God to help you put up with me!”  

 

     God is all about justice. Justice for the stubborn and indifferent is God’s wrath. God fixes the problem by condemning the ones who are bringing it on.  Justice for the repentant is justification.  God fixes the problem by forgiving it and healing it.  For believers the answer to all our prayers begins with the cross.  When I pray, I often pray holding on to this small cross.  I know that every thing I need begins here.  Jesus said that justice will come speedily, and it has come to us in Christ. He takes what is broken and bent and fixes it again. He takes what is sick and heals it. He renews and refreshes what is dead and rotten.  This is no empty promise on His part.  It is the very heart of all truth and reality.  Jesus fulfills the promise of God’s justice in this earth by taking upon Himself all the wrongs of the entire world upon the cross.  There every righteous prayer that has ever been or ever will be uttered has been answered.  The Bible says, "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" (Romans 8.32). There we see the beginning of every thing we need, and we only wait for all the rest of God’s blessings that He will give to us in Christ.  Amen. 

Conclusion

 

     I started this prayer with a little joke, and that's not something I usually do. I don't ever want people to get the impression that I'm not serious about God's word. But in this case I made an exception because I think Jesus is telling a kind of joke in this parable. In this case, though, the joke is not about the word of God or any promises God has made about prayer. The joke is on the devil. I just can't help but think Jesus is telling us a little joke when he portrays this bad judge who "neither feared God or man" being beaten down by a poor widow. The punch line is in these words by the judge: "Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming." Prayer is no joke. Prayer is powerful, and this parable shows how God's promises regarding prayer turn the devil and all his allies into a joke! Amen. 

A Christian Approach to Immigration - Bible Study

 A Christian Approach to Immigration

Adult Bible Study - Faith Lutheran Church, Beaufort, SC

October 19, 2025

As of 2025, immigrants to the United States make up about 15% of the population.

This is slightly higher than 1870 when the immigrant population was 14.5%. The

immigrant population dropped to almost 2% by 1960. Immigration has played an

important role in this country! Currently illegal immigrants make up 4.2% of the US

population or about 27% of all immigrants. (Information from MS Copilot)

 

1. How is legal immigration a blessing for our country?

     Legal immigrants bring many workers and creative thinkers into our country.

     (Levi Strauss, Andrew Carnegie, Albert Einstein, Nikola Tesla, Irving Berlin, Arnold Schwarznegger, Julia Child, Jonas Saulk, Elon Musk, Sonya Sotomayor)

 

2. How is illegal immigration a problem for our country?

     Felons make up 8% of the US population. If we allow ten million undocumented people into our country, we are allowing at least 800,000 criminals into our country. This has increased the problem of human trafficking, drug smuggling, murder, rape, etc. in our country. 

 

3. What role did immigration play in the Bible? Can you identify the immigrations mentioned in these chapters?

 

     Genesis 12.1ff Abraham is told to migrate from the land of his fathers to the land of promise.

 

     Genesis 37-50 Joseph was sold into slavery and taken to Egypt. Later Jacob moved his family to Egypt because of famine.

 

     Exodus-Joshua Moses led one of the greatest migrations in history when he leads the children of Israel out of Egypt and to the Promised Land.

 

     Ruth 1 Ruth, the Moabitess, immigrated to Israel.

 

     2 Kings 24.14 The captives of Jerusalem were carried off to Babylon. Jeremiah promised 70 years of captivity in Babylon and tolds Israel to get used to it. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abenego were migrants.

 

     Ezra 1 Ezra and Nehemiah led the migration of Israel back to Judah to rebuild the temple

 

     Matthew 3 Joseph, Mary & Jesus fled to Egypt and then returned to Israel.

 

     Acts 11.19 The Jewish Christians were scattered because of persecution. The went as far as Phoenecia, Cyprus and Antioch preaching the Gospel.

 

     Acts 13 Paul and Barnabus were sent on the first missionary journey.

 

4. Immigration played an important role in the Bible. How do these verses address both the blessings of immigration?

 

     Leviticus 19.33-34 Israelites were required to treat foreigners justly.

     Matthew 22.29 Christians must love their neighbors as themselves.

     Philippians 3.20 & Hebrews 13.14 Our ultimate citizenship is in heaven. Therefore we ultimately work for that "divine immigration process."

 

5. What do we mean by illegal immigration?  Why is the following Naturalization Oath important? 

 

     I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God.

 

6. Does God give a country the right to ask for such an oath? Must Christians respect immigration laws? When would they not?

 

     Romans 13.1-7 & 1 Peter 2.13-17 God establishes governments to punish evil doers.

     Acts 5.29 We must obey God rather than men when men command us to disobey God.

 

7. What should a country do about illegal immigration? 

 

     Seek the Wisdom of God's Word. (Proverbs 3.5-6).

 

     Avoid the Opinions of Men that Contradict God's Word (Colossians 2.8).

 

     Respect the Limitations of God's Word (Matthew 15.9)

 

     Work for Peace (Romans 12.18-21; 14.19) 

 

     Pray (1 Timothy 2.1-4) 

 

For Further Study: CTCR Bible study — ‘Immigrants Among Us: A Lutheran Framework for Addressing
Immigration Issues’ as well as the Report by the same name. Available for free online.