What Do We Do with Our Fear? Matthew 14.22-33

 “What Do We Do with Our Fear?”  

Audio

 

Matthew 14:22-33 Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away.  ²³ And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there.  ²⁴ But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.  ²⁵ Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea.  ²⁶ And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear.  ²⁷ But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid."  ²⁸ And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water."  ²⁹ So He said, "Come." And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.  ³⁰ But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!"  ³¹ And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"  ³² And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.  ³³ Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, "Truly You are the Son of God."

 

Introduction

 

     Brian Simo is a race car driver, and most of you have probably never heard of him. However, there is one thing about him with which you are probably familiar. In 1985 he created the “No Fear” clothing line and found an idea that appealed to many Americans. We have a lot of respect for bravery and for those who are willing to take challenging risks. But this “No Fear” attitude often crumbles when it has no real foundation, when that foundation is simply ourselves rather than our Savior. Today’s Gospel lesson teaches us that “No Fear” is not just a decal or a T-shirt. It is not just a spirited hope of getting lucky. It is not at all about taking foolish risks. The real “No Fear” lifestyle is found in those, who like the Apostle Peter have the faith to cry out to Jesus, “Lord, Save me!”  

 

Jesus Prayed

 

     We start our thinking about the problem of fear by noticing Jesus’ focus on prayer. After the feeding of the five thousand, He wanted to be by Himself to pray. Jesus prayed often and for significant lengths of time. Why did Jesus pray? Jesus prayed because although He is completely and fully the Son of God, He is also completely and fully a human being. This is the mystery of the Two Natures in Christ. Jesus’ prayer life is one of the ways He faithfully obeyed God’s Law for us. His prayer life is an example for us to follow, but it is also the edge of an axe that splits the chains of the Law that condemn us because of our failure to keep the Law and to pray constantly as we should. 

 

Trouble

 

     We also notice that Jesus sends His disciples on in the boat knowing that they would run into trouble. Trouble is everywhere in this world because of sin. God knows that, and His promises to us are not that we will be exempt from trouble, but that we will survive it and thrive in spite of it. A friend of mine, Pastor Sam Boda, who passed away some years ago, had a small banana grove in his backyard. Bananas will grow in our hot and humid summers. But the season isn’t long enough for them to produce fruit. Some people tried to overcome this by starting their banana trees in a green house earlier in the spring. But, according to Pastor Boda, banana leaves have to be exposed to the wind as they are growing. If they grow in a quiet greenhouse, and are then are put outside, those big beautiful leaves will be shredded by the first summer windstorm. So too, we are exposed to troubles of all kinds as we grow as Christians just like anyone else. But God uses those troubles, mixed with faith, to strengthen us.  Job said, “But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold.” (ESV Job 23.10).  Peter said it this way: “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1.6-8). (See additional passages at the end of the sermon.)

 

Three Words

 

     Now Jesus comes out to the disciples walking on the water. This must have been a fantastic sight. Matthew actually uses the word phantasma, which is often translated “ghost.” Peter, the leader of the twelve, rises to the rescue. “If it is You... command me to come...” Peter is commanded, and incredibly, he also steps out onto the water. But the ordeal is not over. As Peter came close to Jesus, a strong wave frightened him, and he began to sink.  It is then that Peter prayed one of the simplest prayers, “Lord, Save me.” This is a beautiful prayer which God answered by a beautiful and amazing miracle. “Immediately” Jesus reached out to grab hold of his arm and saved him.  

 

     Three words… Three little words that make all the difference. Let’s examine them closely.  First of all, consider the word, “Lord.” This is not the “lord” of your imagination. This is not some vague higher power. This is not Muhammed’s rule giving Allah, Buddha’s Supreme Being, or even the modern woke Jesus, who the world only believes when they cross out almost everything He said. The world screams “All gods are the same.” Look carefully at the gods of this world before you seek their help. They are not Saviors. They are idols, mirror images of their makers. They are the gods that people want… gods who will reward them for their own goodness in the end. But Scripture says, “I, I am the LORD, and besides Me there is no Savior” (Isaiah 43.11). Jesus is truly that Savior, the Son of God, who came down from heaven and gave His life for ours. His blood, and His blood alone wipes away the guilt of our sin and makes us God’s people.  

 

     This leads right to the second word of this simple prayer, the word “save.” “Save” does not mean that we merely receive some help from God. When a person drowns and is resuscitated by a lifeguard, the first words they say when they are conscious are not: “Thanks for helping me. It’s good thing I’m in pretty good health, swam halfway to the beach, and I was easy to resuscitate.” No, they would simply say: “Thank you. You saved me.” To be saved means we didn’t help. It means we were helpless. 

 

     Finally, there is that little word “me.” “Lord, Save me.” The world cannot handle large numbers of people. Therefore it always focuses on groups. The government helps categories of people. Corporations cannot afford to treat everyone individually. This is just a fact of life. But with God it is different. He does look at each one of us as an individual.  When His friend Lazarus died the Jewish people said, “See how He loved him” (John 11.33).  Jesus regularly took time to meet one to one with individual people. Their names will be remembered forever: Nicodemus, Zacchaeus, Mary Magdalene. Jesus said that not even a sparrow falls to the ground without God caring about it. “Do not fear therefore. You are of more value than many sparrows” (Matthew 10.31). God saves you, personally. In Revelation 3.5 Jesus said, “He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.” Imagine that, Jesus calling out your name before God the Father and His angels! This is why you can confidently pray: Lord save me. He has promised to do just that.

 

Truly the Son of God

 

     After Jesus saved Peter and calmed the storm, He urged the disciples not to be afraid but instead to have faith. They responded by worshiping Him as the Son of God. Now this last part is most important. Matthew chapters 11 to 16 form a unit in which Jesus repeated demonstrates that He is the Son of God. It will conclude with Peter’s great confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Notice that I said Jesus “demonstrates.” Doubters and skeptics love to point out that Jesus Himself rarely “said” He was the Son of God. These fools are willfully blind. Jesus showed Himself to be the Son of God by walking on the water and stilling the storm. Who defies the Laws of Nature unless He is the Lord of Nature? Jesus also accepts the worship of the disciples which is another way of saying, “I am God.” 

  

What Is Your Fear?

 

     What kind of fear have you been dealing with? Is it the fear of the unknown... what will happen with the economy, my job, my retirement? Is it the fear of change... your freshman year in high school, college or relocating? Is it the fear of difficult relationships? Are you being bullied in a bad divorce or pressured to endure a bad marriage? Are you worried about spiritually wayward children? Have you been hurt by former friends who now disregard you? Are you worried about what lies ahead with your health? Pain? Suffering? Perhaps it is the most basic fear of all: The fear of God’s judgment, the fear of how I stand before God?  This world is full of the strong and fearful winds of trouble. Even those who stand side by side with Jesus will end up, at times, like Peter sinking in fear.  

 

     If this miracle of Jesus walking on the water teaches us anything, it teaches us that all human beings have their moments when fear will overwhelm us. All of us are weak by nature. What we should not do is to try to rely only on ourselves to overcome the troubles of this world. “No Fear” is not a slogan. Real “No Fear” is much more than that… It is staying close to Jesus and crying out to Him, “Lord, Save me.”  

 

Conclusion

 

      At our Vacation Bible School in June, we sang the Christian hymn: “Jesus, Loves Me.”  This hymn was originally a poem that was included in a novel titled, Say & Seal. The poem was spoken by a teacher to a dying child to bring them comfort. A musician later added the music, and since 1860 it has become one of the most well-known Christian hymns today: “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so. Little ones to Him belong. They are weak but He is strong. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. The Bible tells me so.” That hymn has brought comfort to many fearful Christians over the years. Why? Because it captures the important truth that “we are weak, but He is strong, and therefore we can always and at any time say with Peter, “Lord, Save me.”  Amen.  

Hold Fast. Hold Forth. (Doctrine of Election) Romans 9.1-13

 Hold Fast. Hold Forth. (Doctrine of Election)

Romans 9.1-13

 Audio: https://michaelpwalther.podbean.com/e/sermon-romans-91-13-hold-fast-hold-forth-election/

Main Teaching: Israel is God’s chosen nation. He chose them to bring salvation to this world through the messiah. Though most of Israel and most of the world reject Jesus as their messiah, Christians hold fast to Jesus and hold forth Jesus as the only hope of salvation for all.

 

1.     Israel is the beginning of God’s incarnation.

2.     Most of the people of Israel have tragically rejected God just as most of the world rejects God.

3.     Jesus is still choosing people for His kingdom. 

 

     I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises; of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen. But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, “In Isaac your seed shall be called.” That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed. For this is the word of promise: “At this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son.” And not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one man, even by our father Isaac (for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls), it was said to her, “The older shall serve the younger.” As it is written, “Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.”

 

 

Introduction

 

     Last Sunday we learned that the kingdom of God is above all the other kingdoms of the world (Matthew 13). That kingdom comes to all the other kingdoms of the world through people who believe in Jesus. Today our epistle lesson raises the question of the nation of Israel. If the kingdom of God came to us through the nation of Israel, why did the majority of Israel reject that kingdom, and Jesus as their king and messiah? 

 

Israel Is the Beginning of the Incarnation

 

     God’s intervention into this world through Jesus to save it from sin is a “flesh and blood” intervention. It is spiritual, the words of God; And it is physical, the presence of God. The words bring us promises, but the substance of those promises is the very real and physical intervention of God to save us from sin and death. Just as God created the physical world and sin corrupted the physical world, so God came physically into the world through His son Jesus to save us spiritually and physically, body and soul. We call this physical intervention, the “incarnation,” the coming into the flesh by God’s Son. 

 

     Two of the most important facts that identify all human beings is their date of birth and place of birth. You can only be born on one day and in one place. Jesus had a date of birth and a place of birth like any other person who has ever lived. God prepared that for Him by creating the kingdom of Israel. He didn’t choose Egypt or Rome or Arabia. He chose Israel. For this reason, the people and the land of Israel will always be important. This is the beginning of God’s incarnation. God had promised that one of the children of Adam and Eve would crush the head of Satan (Genesis 3.15). That promise was very broad and could have come from any nation. But the promises of God narrowed as He chose Abraham, Israel, Judah, David, Mary, and Bethlehem. 

 

     In June of 2003 I was in visiting the Biblical sites in Israel. One day we visited the Temple Mount. I walked down a stone stairway. I passed a young Israeli soldier with an Uzzi machine gun slung over his shoulder talking to his girlfriend. I stood before the famous foundation of the Temple built by Herod the Great. I saw Jewish men praying to HaShem. I looked up and saw the Muslim shrine, Dome of the Rock. Muslims like to build mosques and shrines over the countries and religions they think they have conquered. That moment confirmed again for me that everything the Bible says about Jesus is real. Jesus was here. He knew the tensions, the hatred, the violence, and the wars of mankind. But He had come to intervene. He had come to bring an end to the power and authority of evil in this world. He had come, God in the flesh, to save sinful men in the flesh. Being in that spot reinforced everything I knew from God’s word about the incarnation. I knew that Jesus was the only hope for a sinner like me and for this sinful world. 

 

Most of the People of Israel Have Tragically Rejected God Just as Most of the World Rejects God.

 

     But Paul brings up something very discouraging. For the most part Israel has rejected this incarnation and salvation through Jesus. This was so painful for Paul that he said he wished he were “accursed from Christ for my brethren” (9.3). How could this happen he wondered. To them belong the covenants, the law, the worship, and the promises of the fathers, “from whom, according to the flesh Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen” (9.4-5). Has the word of God somehow failed? 

 

     No, it has not failed. Paul went on to explain that “they are not all Israel who are of Israel” (9.6). Abraham had a total of eight sons, but only Isaac was called. Isaac had two sons, but only Jacob was called. Jesus came from the people of Israel, but that doesn’t mean that all the people of Israel came to Jesus. In the same way Jesus came from Adam and Eve and is a brother to everyone in the world, but most of the world rejects Him as the Son of God who came to save them. 

 

     Last Sunday we heard Jesus say that He spoke in parables, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them (to those who reject) it has not been given” (Matthew 13.11). The rejection of Jesus by most of Israel and most of the world is a great mystery. But we must not let that rejection tempt us to doubt God’s salvation in Jesus, and that He has chosen us for His kingdom. I’ve thought a lot about this, and I have prayed a lot about it. Here is one way to think about it: Who and how many reject Jesus as their Messiah doesn’t change for a moment the fact that Jesus is my Messiah. What if it were not “most” of Israel and “most” of the world that rejected Christ? What if it were only half? Would that make me feel better? No. I would still be sad. Well then, what if only one fourth of all people rejected Jesus, would I feel a little better about that? “No,” again is the answer. I don’t want anyone to reject Jesus and choose damnation over salvation. Even if only one person did this, it would still wreck my heart. Rejection is sad. Period. 

 

Jesus Is Still Choosing People for His Kingdom

 

     Paul tells us in verse eleven that no matter who or how many people reject Jesus, the purpose of God’s election still stands. It is “not of works but of Him who calls.” This is the doctrine of election or predestination. It is the Bible teaching that if we believe and are saved, it is because God called and elected us to this. “You He made alive who were dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2.1).  If we reject His grace, God lets us reject Him and judges us accordingly. “Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens” (Romans 9.18). Rejection is not only sad, it is also a great mystery. 

 

     So here we need to ask the great question of the Catechism: What does this mean? Why is Paul teaching this? Last week we heard the parables of the pearl and the treasure hidden in a field. Both tell us that the kingdom of heaven is so valuable that it is worth everything we have here on earth and more. Today we heard how Jesus fed more than five thousand people with five loaves and two fish. How can Jesus not be the Messiah, the one who reconciles us to God and brings us forgiveness and all the other blessings of God? Yet many violently reject or passively ignore this as they cling to their own self-righteousness. In their hearts they say, “I don’t need Jesus’ righteousness. I have my own, and it is good enough.” Or, as we heard a few weeks ago in the parable of the soils, the faith some Christians is being choked out by the cares of the world that in their minds have become more important than the kingdom of God. 

 

     Jesus warned us about this in His sermon on the Mt. of Olives: “You will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended… Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24.9-14). Notice how Jesus emphasizes “all” and “many.” This is exactly what we see going on in our world today. 

 

     America is one of the most Christian countries in the world. Yet more and more Americans mock the Christian faith, and every Sunday the majority will sleep in rather than go to church. Of those who do worship, many will sit at the feet of false prophets who teach a repentantless and crossless gospel of feel betterism rather than the true gospel of the salvation from sin, death, and the devil. This is tragic, and we should feel the same pain that Paul felt for his fellow Jews who rejected Jesus. 

 

     Nevertheless, as Paul said, the purpose of God’s election still stands “not of works but of Him who calls.” God is still calling you and me and your neighbors and everyone into His amazing kingdom. Jesus said, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” We hold fast, and we hold forth. We hold fast to the gospel as our hope and salvation. And we hold that same gospel forth to the world because it is their only hope and salvation. 

 

Conclusion

 

     Here is one of my own parables: Once there was a great famine, and many people were starving. Many blamed God for the famine and were cursing Him and stealing from one another. But one man went out into the desert to pray to get away from all the cursing and stealing. He prayed that God would deliver him by giving him food to eat or taking him to heaven. Amazingly God answered his prayer by leading him to a beautiful oasis with fruit trees and grain. He ate with joy and immediately came back to his countrymen and told them about the oasis. Most of the scoffed and would not risk what little life they had left to go across the desert to the oasis. But some did. They believed, and they also went out into the desert ready to die or ready to live rather than cling to a sure and certain death by starvation. He held fast to that oasis for his salvation, and he held it forth to his friends for their salvation. That is our Christian life. Amen. 

Sermon for August 2, 2026

Immanuel Lutheran Church, Mt. Olive, Illinois 

Matthew 13.10-17 Mysteries of the Kingdom

Immanuel Lutheran Church, Mt. Olive, Illinois July 26, 2026

Mysteries of the Kingdom

Matthew 13.10-17

 

Main Teaching: God’s kingdom is the best kingdom of all. It is a kingdom of power, a kingdom of grace, and a kingdom of glory. There is no other kingdom like it. Believe in it. Live in it. Bring it to others.

 

1.     Why do we have kingdoms?

2.     How is God’s kingdom different from other kingdoms?

3.     How do Christians live in two kingdoms? 

 

Introduction

     The past couple of Sundays the Gospel lesson has featured Jesus’ kingdom parables. We have heard the Parable of the Sower, the Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds, and today the Parables of the Hidden Treasure, Pearl of Great Price, and the Net. All these parables begin with the words, “The kingdom of heaven is like…” Today I would like to take a step back and encourage you to think about the Kingdom of God and what it means to be part of the kingdom of God. I especially want to focus on these words that Jesus spoke when the disciples asked Him, earlier,  why He spoke in parables. Jesus said: 

 

“Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, And seeing you will see and not perceive; For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.’ But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

 

     Today we will consider why we have kingdoms; why God’s kingdom is different from other kingdoms; and how we live in God’s kingdom and man’s kingdom. 

 

Why Do We Have Kingdoms?

     When sin came into the world human beings became selfish. Men began to steal and murder. In a sinful world only the strongest survive, and humans quickly realized that there is strength in numbers. However, to keep the numbers together and to survive as a group, you need leaders. In Genesis eleven men had united to create a global kingdom of power and attempted to displace God. This was the first attempt at a one world government, and it was symbolized by the Tower of Babel. This tower was to reach to heaven and to be a symbol of man’s autonomy. God confused their languages and forced them to become many nations. Among these nations some were better, and some were worse. God used the better nations to hold the bad ones back from their destructive aims. Evolutionists have told us for years that human beings are not much different than animals. Yet, seven thousand languages and five thousand tribes and kingdoms confirm the Biblical teaching of God’s creation and His creation of nations to preserve life by curbing the evil of men.  

     

How Is God’s Kingdom Different from Other Kingdoms?

     Yet over all these kingdoms there is a Divine Ruler. The Bible says He is: “the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see” (1 Timothy 6.15-16). Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor, asked Jesus at His trial, “Are you king of the Jews?” Jesus replied, “My kingdom is not of this world… I have come into the world to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice” (John 18.33, 37). Before His ascension Jesus said, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 20.18). The apostle Paul said, “[God] raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all” (Ephesians 1.20-23). 

 

     Jesus’ kingdom is different from all those of men. First, it is a kingdom of ultimate power. In Revelation 17.14 John said that the kings of this world will make war with the Lamb, the King of kings, and He will overcome them. The kingdoms of men increase and decay, they rise and fall. But God’s kingdom will never fail. His kingdom is a kingdom of truth, justice, and peace. All who resist this will be destroyed. 

 

     That is why it is important to know that Jesus’ kingdom is also a kingdom of grace. All of Jesus’ preaching and teaching is summed up by St. Mark who recorded Jesus’ words: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe the Gospel” (1.15). There is no birthright citizenship to this kingdom. No one can buy their way into this kingdom. The only way to come into this kingdom is by grace, the grace of the gospel. This gospel teaches us to repent of our sins and be forgiven by the love of God in Jesus, who gave His perfect life on the cross for our imperfect lives. We come into this kingdom by baptism as Jesus said, “God therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28.19-20). 

 

     Finally, Jesus’ kingdom is a kingdom of glory. In the kingdoms of men, as they struggle with each other there is suffering. But St. Paul said, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8.18). And again: “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself” (Philippians 3.20-21). When we die and when Jesus comes again, all those who were with Him in the world will also be with Him in the glory of heaven. 

 

How Do Christians Live in Two Kingdoms?

     Two of today’s parables focus on the value of the kingdom of God – the Parable of the Pearl of Great Price and the Parable of the Treasure Buried in a Field. This kingdom is so valuable, it is worth everything we have in this world to obtain it. The greater miracle is that we don’t buy it ourselves with everything we have. God has bought it for us giving up what He loved most – His own Son, so that we could be included in His kingdom of power, grace, and glory. 

 

     Once two businessmen were riding on a train late at night. One was an American and the other was a Korean. The Korean man sat near the American and wanted to have a conversation with him. But he didn’t know English, and the American didn’t know Korean. That didn’t stop the Korean man from trying. After a while he started to annoy the American, and the American was just about to tell him to be quiet when he heard a word from the Korean that sounded familiar. It sounded like “Yesu.” The American looked at the Korean and asked “Jesus?” “Yes” the Korean man responded nodding his head joyfully. “Yes.” It turned out the Korean and the American were both Christians. While their earthly nationalities and languages separated, their common faith in the eternal Kingdom of God united them. Suddenly, with just one word “Yesu,” the two men were united in the one kingdom to which they both belonged. 

 

     All Christians belong to God’s kingdom. They also belong to one of man’s kingdoms.

Jesus was a Jew, a subject of King Herod. Jesus was also king of His own kingdom. Paul was a Roman citizen and a citizen of God’s kingdom. On Pentecost there were people from seventeen different nations from Libya to Rome who were baptized into Christ and were “supernaturalized” into God’s Kingdom. This kingdom has been spreading ever since to Europe in the north, to Asia to the East, to Africa to the south, and to the New World to the west. The Kingdom of Christ is the most ethnically diverse kingdom of the world. 

 

     How we live in the Kingdom of Christ and in our respective earthly kingdoms is important. First, we recognize that the Kingdom of Christ is preeminent because God is the creator and ruler of all nations. Jesus is also the Savior of all nations and the only hope for the curse of sin and evil in this world. Secondly, for this reason, Christians pray for their earthly kingdoms that they would abide by the will of God as much as possible. Thirdly, Christians are always ambassadors for God’s kingdom wherever they live. They are always pointing people beyond earthly leaders to God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Earthly leaders can help us, but only God can save us through the forgiveness of sin. Don’t put your faith in earthly leaders. Put your faith in God. Fourthly, when earthly kingdoms turn against God, and many do; Christians must faithfully resist just as Peter and John and Paul refused to stop preaching the gospel when they were ordered to do so by earthly authorities. 

 

     Jesus specifically said that He taught with parables because many people are stubborn and sold out to sin. They do everything they can to stop people from believing and belonging to God’s kingdom. Yet the parables and all the teachings of Jesus and His apostles have a powerful way of breaking through. This is why Jesus said: “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.” 

 

Conclusion

     Jesus spoke more about the kingdom of God than anything else. In the Lord’s Prayer, He taught us to pray “Thy kingdom come.” Our little catechism explains this beautifully: “God’s kingdom comes when our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy word and live godly lives in time and in eternity.” I encourage everyone to look to Jesus and to ask for His help to live a godly life now in our earthly kingdom and forever in His eternal kingdom. You will never regret that. Amen. 

Matthew 13.24-43 Resident Evil

Immanuel Lutheran Church, Mt. Olive, Illinois July 19, 2026

Resident Evil

Matthew 13.24-43

 

Introduction

     The lessons we read each Sunday come from a long Christian tradition. The lessons are divided into seasons. Advent is the season of the coming of Christ. Christmas is the season of the birth of Christ. Epiphany is the season of the realization of Christ as the Son of God. Lent is the season of Christ going to the cross and dying. Easter is the season of Christ's resurrection. Pentecost is the season of the church. The first five seasons focus on Jesus bringing salvation to the world and to us. The Pentecost season focuses on the church bringing Jesus and His salvation to the world and the church's enduring faithfully trials, troubles, and persecutions unto the Day of Judgment. 

 

     The Bible tells us that Satan attacks the church constantly. We usually think of those attacks coming from the outside as Peter said, “The devil prowls about like a roaring lion...” (1 Peter 5.8).  But in the Parable of the Weeds, our text today, we see how Satan works from within the church to try to destroy it. 

 

The Problem of Evil in the Church

     What about the Devil's work inside the church? There are two ways that evil works within the church. One way is simply through the weakness and bad behavior of its members. No one in the church is perfect, and sometimes people make the mistake of thinking everyone should be perfect. So someone says something or does something they don’t like. Or perhaps they fail to say something or do something they should. They feel offended and leave the church.  I meet people all the time who have spent many years away from the fellowship of the church, and that is almost always what happened.  This is one problem that we need to avoid. We are to bear one another’s burdens, as Paul says, and so fulfill the Law of Christ (Galatians 6.2).  But Jesus is talking about something else in this particular passage today. Let me reread the explanation that Jesus gives to this parable:

 

Text:  Matthew 13.36-43

36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.” 37 He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. 39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. 40 Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. 41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

 

The Weeds of Satan

     Jesus tells us in this parable that there are true believers in the church, and there are hidden unbelievers or hypocrites. They are the “weeds.” They are very destructive precisely because they grow up in the midst of the true believers and are thought to be believers by association. Jesus says they "cause sin." The Greek word is scandalon, and it gives us the English word scandal or scandalize. He also says they cause "lawlessness." They are not true Christians, yet they do things in the name of Christ and of the church that are sinful, and they bring ruin to the church. When you look at the reasons atheists give for not believing in God, they will often say it is because Christians are hypocrites. They love to focus on those weeds that Satan himself has planted in the church to discredit it. They say, "The church has a very checkered history." Yes it does, because it has always been infiltrated by hypocrites. 

 

     What kinds of sins do they cause? All Christians are sinners, and we all struggle with temptations. The difference is that in the case of the weeds there is no real repentance, no love of God's forgiveness and no desire to do better. They want the name "Christian," but they aren't committed to Christ. They are really of the world and not of Christ. When I began serving in the church more than forty years ago, only three percent of Americans would have considered themselves "non-religious" or the "Nones." Today that number is thirty percent. Many people try to blame the church for this which is exactly what Satan wants. But I believe the "Nones" were there all the time. Christians in name only has always been a problem in the church as this parable of Jesus shows us.  

 

What We Should Not Do

     There are three things we shouldn't do. The first "don't" is don't leave. Don't leave the church because it has problems. As long as the God allows the Devil to cause problems, there will be problems. The Christian church will never rest from it's efforts to stop false doctrine and practice from emerging within its midst. The second "don't" is don't go on a witch hunt. The Christian church is founded on grace. Unfortunately, the Devil teaches some people to take advantage of the grace and misuse it. But we can't stop teaching grace because of this. The third "don't" is don't give in to the resident evil. Many churches today are watering down their doctrine and practice to accomodate the "Christians in name only" to keep them in the pews and to prop up the outward institution of the church. Eventually such churches become an outershell that crumbles. 

 

What We Should Do

     There is a saying that you may know: "Don't let perfection become the enemy of the good." It almost seems as though Jesus is saying something like this. The church and the world aren't perfect, but don't give up trying to do good. I once met a retired man who had been the mayor of a small town. I asked him how he liked his job as mayor. "Well," he sighed, "the problem with a job like that is... you have to work with people." He then went on to quote this verse from Romans 12.18 "If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all." Basically he was saying that in an imperfect world, you just have to do your best. 

 

    Indeed the Bible does teach us that we should always work for the good even in an imperfect world and an imperfect church. St. Paul also said in Romans, "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (12.12). Jesus said, "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5.16). Solomon said, "He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who observes the clouds will not reap" (Ecclesiastes 11.4). It is true that we shouldn't expect perfection in this world in which the Devil is still at work, and we do have to keep working for the good. 

 

     However, this is not all. Remember how the parable ends. The farmer told the servants not to tear the field up trying to remove every weed. He told them to wait until the harvest, and then separate the wheat from the weeds. The Bible indeed teaches us to do good in an imperfect church and world. But it also teaches us not to give up on the perfection of Jesus and the coming divine justice of Judgement Day.  The church may not be perfect, but the foundation of the church – Jesus – is perfect. In fact the only way we can do anything that is actually good in this imperfect church and world is to do it in the name of Jesus. The Book of Hebrews reminds us of this assuring us that, "having been perfected, [Jesus] became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him" (5.9). 

 

Conclusion

     I'd like to conclude this sermon by asking you to take out your hymnals and turn to hymn number 452, "O Perfect Life of Love." This hymn was written by an Anglican pastor in the 1800s. His father had been an admiral in the British navy. I'm sure that Henry W. Baker was very familiar with the problems and imperfections of the world and church. But his answer to that was to focus on Jesus. We have four of his hymns in our hymnal besides this one: "Of the Father's Love Begotten," "The King of Love My Shepherd Is," and "O God of Love, O King of Peace." 

 

    This particular hymn was written for Good Friday. Look at stanzas six and seven: "In every time of need, Before the judgment throne, Thy work, O Lamb of God, I'll plead, They merits, not mine own. Yet work, O Lord in me, As Thou for me hast wrought; And let my love the answer be, To grace Thy love has brought."  In the midst of resident evil and imperfection, Christ is our perfection and the author of all that is good. Cling to Him, and look forward to Judgment Day, when the struggle against evil will be done. 

Romans 7.14-25 Wretched, Thankful & Blessed

Immanuel Lutheran Church, Mt. Olive, Illinois

July 5, 2026

Wretched, Thankful & Blessed

Romans 7.14-25

 

   ¹⁴We know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. ¹⁵I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. ¹⁶Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. ¹⁷So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. ¹⁸For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. ¹⁹For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. ²⁰Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

     ²¹So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. ²²For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, ²³but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. ²⁴Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? ²⁵Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

 

Introduction

 

     All of us would like to think that we are pretty good people. We work. We pay our taxes. We obey most of the laws of the state. We try to get along with other people. We even help people out from time to time. Compared to mass murderers and zombified drug addicts, we are certainly very good people. But all of that is really on the outside. All of that is based on comparisons to other people. What about the inside? What about all our thoughts, feelings, and desires? It's easy to live by the standards of men especially when they tend to be lower. What about living to the standards of God? Should we think of ourselves as relatively good people or relatively wretched people? Paul called himself a "wretched man," and "chief of sinners" (1 Timothy 1.15). David said he was brought forth in iniquity and conceived in sin (Psalm 51.5). Job said "man is born to trouble, As the sparks fly upward" (5.7). Jesus said all people are evil and that His main purpose was to call men to repentance (Matthew 7.11, 4.17). Are we to take these men seriously? Why do they have such a negative view of humanity? Is that good view to have? This sermon will answer all those questions. 

 

1. What Is the Law, and What Are It's Three Uses?

 

     When God created the universe, He created it to move according to His laws of nature. The speed of light, the force of gravity, and the charge of an electron are all under His divine control. We know this must be true because we live in a universe that has more than twenty of these physcial constants, each of which is necessary for life as we know it. The universe is not an accident. It is not random. It is perfectly ordered, and the One who has ordered it all is God. 

 

     Yet even more important than these laws of nature are God's spiritual laws. Paul said in our text that the law is spiritual. There is more to God's law than the laws of nature. God created us with bodies and souls. Our souls are spiritual, not material or physical. My body needs air, water, and food to live. My soul needs words of truth and love to live. When we look at our children, we don't just see the offspring of our bodies. We see them as unique persons, and we love them body and soul. If they become weak or sick, we don't just cast them off like we might cull a sick animal. In every courtroom in American men and women are tested with words to determine the soul and character of their actions, whether they were good or evil.  All of this is spiritual law.

 

     Even without the Bible men can know the basic laws of God. The Bible says these laws are written on their hearts (Romans 2.15). In every culture there are laws against murder, adultery, stealing, and lying. The Bible hones these laws and perfects them. The first use of the law is to keep men from going completely evil and annihilating all humanity. Since it is written in all hearts, even though it is disobeyed, it still curbs the evil that has invaded this world. The second use of the law is to show us our sins. Here it isn't just holding us back from doing really evil things, it is bringing us to repentance to turn us to the forgiveness of God so that evil no longer dominates our life. The third use of the law is to guide us in the will of God so that we, by faith in God, learn to grow  and increase in our obedience to God's law. 

 

2. Why Does Paul Give Thanks in His Wretchedness?

 

     All of this is good and sensible, but what about this business of wretchedness? Can't we all just learn the commandments of God and begin to do them? Imagine if it were that simple – Everyone obeying God's law. There would be no more need for discipline, for police, for lawyers, or courts. Everyone would be happy. But this is not reality. 

 

     Everyone struggles in one way or another with evil in their souls. For some the struggle is very obvious as they find it difficult to control their lying, or violent behavior, or love of money, or love of pleasure, etc. But no one is without sin. No one has perfect thoughts, feelings, desires, and actions. "We all," the Bible says, "fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 6.23). There are two great lies that control people's minds today. One is that they are basically good. This is a very easy opinion to hold of yourself as long as you really don't take God's laws seriously. Jesus taught the law in two parts: Love God with all your heart, mind, and soul; and, love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22.36-40). Can anyone say they have done this perfectly? Even adequately? The second great lie is that little sins aren't that big of a problem. Imagine it this way: If I drop a lit flare into a five gallon bucket of gasoline, I will start a huge fire. If I drop a tiny lit match onto some dry newspapers that are lying next to a five gallon bucket of gasoline, I will also start a huge fire. It may take longer, but all sin leads to death and destruction sooner or later. 

 

     Paul had been a Pharisee, and the Pharisees were zealous keepers of God's law. However they kept it only in an outward way – only in a way that it could be seen by other men. Paul did this to perfection. But deep inside, he knew something was wrong. His heart wasn't right. The law against coveting, sinful desires, was still raging in his heart. There is an old story about this that helps us understand. A younger and an older Buddhist monk were travelling. They came to a rushing river, and there was a woman who was afraid to cross it. The older monk offered to carry her on his back. They crossed the river, and the monk set the woman down. She thanked him, and they went on their way. Many hours later the younger monk was troubled. "Master," he said, "It is wrong for us to touch a woman. Why did you carry the woman across the river?" The older monk replied, "I carried her for a minute across the river. You have been carrying her in your mind for hours." Jesus taught: "For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies" (Matthew 15.19). 

 

     Paul couldn't get rid of his sin no matter how hard he tried. But then Paul met Jesus on the road to Damascus, the one man who had never sinned. Jesus told him to stop pretending to be holy, and instead to repent of his sin. He told him to believe that He came into this world to take sins away through His own innocent suffering and death. Once there were two soldiers. One was sold out to sin – always causing trouble. The other had a remarkable control over his sinful feelings. He wasn't perfect, but he obviously wasn't a slave to sin. A grenade fell in front of them both. The good soldier immediately threw himself upon the explosive saving the other man's life while losing his own. For years this troubled the sinful man. "It should have been me. I am the worthless one. Why?" One day the old, guilt ridden soldier started reading the Bible. He saw how Jesus, the perfect Son of God, died on the cross for all the sinners – including a Roman centurion. It was then that he realized there is a way out of this trap of sin. It doesn't help to ignore it,  give in to it, or think you can fight it on your own. There is only one escape from it – through Jesus, through His blood shed forgiveness. Finally he found the same peace his friend had many years before. More than that, he actually began to live a better life in Christ. Like Paul, he was thankful because he knew that his wretchedness had been taken away by Jesus. 

 

3. Thankful, Wretched People Are the Best Citizens

 

     The founders of our nation all held to this view of life. John Adams wrote: "Human passions unbridled by morality and religion... would break the strongest cords of our constitution." Benjamin Franklin wrote: "If men are so wicked with religion, what would they be if without it?” (Letter to Joseph Priestly, 1780). George Washington wrote: "Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports" (Farewell Address 1796). It was this view that made our country one of the greatest of all time. 

 

     Yet many people today are trying to suppress this, and rewrite the history of this country by writing the concern for sin and God out of it. That is because they have a totally different view of life. They are gods unto themselves. They believe that they are inherently good, and that they need no commandments from God or forgiveness from God to live. On the one hand we have a Christian view of life and on the other a humanistic view of life. In one we have fathers and mothers. In the other we have parent one and parent two. In one we have freedom that comes from God, and on the other we have freedom that comes from the government. In one we have freedom of conscience and speech, in the other we have punishments for those who use the "wrong pronouns." 

 

    It is as I said last week, in "The Battle of the Prophets."  It is nothing new. It is an ongoing confrontation between the Christian view of life and every other view of life. What can we do about this? We do as Paul did. We say, "Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord." The battle of worldviews is the same battle that goes on every day in our own hearts. We can give thanks that Christ has gotten the victory for us. "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." (Galatians 2.20). Every day I thank God for His creation, His laws, and His judgments. I know they are true. Every day I thank God for His love by sending His own Son to die on the cross for my sins and for yours. Every day I thank God for the Spirit of Holiness, who has given me faith and comforts me in all my battles with sin. The battle has been won in our hearts by God. Now we live to see that battle won in the hearts of all who are around us, in our families, in our communities, in our country, and in the world. 

 

Conclusion

 

     What can we do to make this a better country as we look back two hundred and fifty years? Well, I will take you back exactly 251 years, to July 4, 1775. On that day General George Washington gave his first general order. His order was: "The General hopes and trusts that every officer and man will endeavor to live and act as becomes a Christian soldier." It only gets better. One month later, on August 3, 1775 he ordered: "The General... requires and expects of all officers and soldiers not engaged on actual duty to attend divine service." That remains my hope and trust for myself, for all of you, and for all people. Take this view of life. It will serve you well. It will serve your country well. Amen.