Speak Clearly

Jeremiah 26:1-6

2^nd last Sunday of the Church Year

† In the Name Jesus †

Grace and Peace from God our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ!

Don’t miss this communication

It was a cloudy ominous day for the people of Britain. The very weather seemed as depressed as they were. The fogs and clouds hung close to the ground, and visibility was so bad, even people walking past each other on the street barely could see each other.

All were depressed because 20 minutes before, a message was sent from the coast, two simple words. Wellington defeated. The hope of England, to stop a ruthless dictator named Bonaparte, the news declared was crushed. Most thought all of Europe was lost to this madman. The news spread quickly throughout London, and throughout the Thames River Valley.

Yet the message was incomplete, for some 10 minutes later, the fog parted, and the message was repeated, Wellington defeated the French at Waterloo. The incomplete message, which dashed the hopes of the heart of a nation, were soon relieved by the complete message. Victory belonged to the British, and the people of Europe were finally set free!

A story circulated about the District Attorney’s office. It seemed the man about to be tried for murder, had confessed to a national television reporter. One of the aids had walked by the interview room, and heard the accused exclaim loudly “I killed that kid”! The DA’s office seemed jubilant, for such a confession would seal a very difficult case to prove in court. Later that evening, when the actual interview was played on television, the full quote was heard, “There is no way in the world that I killed that kid”.

What a difference a complete message makes.

If we look briefly at the passage from the Old Testament this morning, there is an inherent danger of getting the message incomplete, of getting the message wrong. We have to have the complete message of scripture to completely understand it. Jeremiah had to deliver the message clearly, and completely. We today, still need to hear that message.

So let’s get to Jeremiah’s message:

Speak Clearly

Who is commanded

So people will repent!

Purpose – seen 1 Thessalonians

Jeremiah is directed by God to speak a message. To speak that message where the people of God are to gather, that they might hear it. They have come, in order to worship, to do their “duty” to God, in order that they might appease Him. Jeremiah is told to get the message out, in order that they might, that they just might listen, and having listened, they might repent. This is not the first time this message has been brought to the people of Israel, it is not even the first time for Jeremiah – a very similar message was given to them in chapter 7.

The hope, that in hearing the message of God, that they will really hear it. That for the moment, they will put aside thoughts of where to eat after church; that as they listen, the worries of last week, and the concerns of this week will not distract them. That they will not focus so much on trying to do that which they consider their duty as believers, but that they will hear the message of God.

A simple message really. A message that once heard, will cause repentance. That will cause the incredible blessing that Paul desires for the Thessalonians,

May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, ¹³ so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.

God wants people to listen, so that He can bless them. Yet so often, the distractions of sin, the distraction of the world that Satan so deftly uses, and our worries about life and death, pull us away from listening. We find ourselves wandering around in sin and despair, because we do not listen. All while God desires to pour out His love and grace, His forgiveness, His power, upon us. Does anyone really think that God wants to create evil and disaster to punish us for the evil we do?

He says speak clearly to my people, that they might come back…

Speak completely

Law and Gospel

Urgent message

In America today, I think we have become masters of disinformation. I am talking about politicians, for they have nothing on the rest of us. We have radio psychologists advising people not to share hard truths with others; we have people who want us to break the truth to them gently, or even politely. I have even heard that we should allow each of our friends a major character flaw, rather than encouraging them to grow out of it. We have classes in preaching that teach us to step quickly and quietly around the negative aspects of scripture, less we drive people away with “hell, fire and brimstone” preaching. We want our sin to be confronted, if it truly has to be, with a bit of Novocain or anesthesia, while reclining comfortably in a reclining chair.

This doesn’t seem to be a new problem. God tells Jeremiah – speak it ALL – don’t hold anything back. In Lutheran-speak – let the Law and the Gospel accurately be spoken. It is an urgent message, and it has always been one. Part of Jeremiah’s message includes that – that God continued to send to the people prophets with an urgent message. The urgent message that no one wanted to listen to.

It is a hard message, one very hard to get clear, and complete. It is the theme of Sunday School at this time, as Rich leads you in the study of Law and Gospel. To use God’s law, and the very real punishments that are associated with breaking it, not to drive people into the ground, but to drive people to the cross. To use the gospel to help those that are convicted by the law, to know the mercy of Christ Jesus, that His death rids us of the need for ours. Never are we to use the comfort of the gospel for those who see themselves as not in need of it. One pastor coined the phrase – afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted. This is especially true when it comes to motivating people to do what God has called them to do, where the motivation should never be fear from the law, but a response to the gospel.

Then, when they are listening, comes the grace of God, in ways beyond our expectation, beyond our most incredible dreams. Then, they realize the incredible wrath of God was not meant for them, despite the very fact that we tend to head for it, like a paperclip is drawn to the magnet.

The interesting blessing/curse

Shiloh, God’s Spirit no longer dwells there

Ps 78:60

Jerusalem’s Curse, God killed there.

Let me give you the most incredible example of the way in which God blesses those who listen, who hear the entire message. We see things in a different light, in view of our salvation, and the salvation of the world, for those that believe.

There is, at the end of our Old Testament reading, the wrath of God, that is promised if the people do not repent. The wrath is poured out, in two parts, and I will claim, that this wrath was already poured out.

The first is simple, it is saying that Jerusalem will be like a city called Shiloh, from the Israel’s past. It was there, that for a long time, the Arc of the Covenant was kept in the Tabernacle. The very presence of God dwelt there, among His people. Yet because of their sin, the temple was taken from that place, and captured by the Philistines. God’s gracious presence was taken from them, because of their sin.

The second is also very similar, that God will make Jerusalem the place where every nation of the world was cursed. Where every nation of the world was brought into judgment, and found wanting.

Sounds horrible, doesn’t it?

Yet for us, those who have been baptized into the people of God, the promise is incredible.

You see, these judgement already occurred, about 2000 years ago. It was then, that even as Christ died on the cross, the temple became meaningless, and forever will be. For in Christ’s death, we are united in Baptism, and our bodies become the temples of the Holy Spirit. He no longer resides in temples of Stone, but in the midst of His people throughout the world.

In the death of Christ on the cross, the world that rejects Him is ultimately cursed. For not all in those countries will reject the love of God, but the powers that come against God’s will are rendered helpless. Consider from Psalms 2,

¹ Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? ² The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, ³ "Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us." ⁴ He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. ⁵ Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, ⁶ "As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill." Psalms 2:1-6 (ESV)

Yes, the nations of the world are cursed, and that in an utterly convincing manner, as sin, Satan, and Death are completely defeated, as Jesus becomes the name above all names, that they must all come and eventually proclaim as King.

For us, this is glorious news, for those who have listened and known that Jesus died for us, that we are united with Him in his death in Baptism, even as we shall be untied in His resurrection. For us who realize that our salvation is not depended on our doing “worship” but in hearing the good news that Christ has already died to save us from sin. It is then we praise, it is then we rejoice with all that we are.

It is then, that we know the piece that passes all understanding.

That is God’s peace, given to us, in Jesus Christ.

Are we Blessed?

Matt 5:1-12,

November 6^th

† In the name of Jesus †

May you realize the blessing of the grace and peace that comes from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Post-Note Holiness (place post it notes on various parts of the pulpit)

Let’s see, here we have my reminder to be meek, and here my reminder to be poor in Spirit. Here is my reminder to hunger and thirst for righteousness. Now here is one, I have to rejoice when I am persecuted. Neat reward there, so how do I go about getting people to persecute me. Oh wait, they have to persecute me for being righteous, that will make it a bit harder. I am sure, if I am holy enough, and I really let people know it, I will be persecuted. Everybody hates the know-it-all goody too shoes type.

Now this mourning one…not sure if I like that one all that much. I wonder, can I skip that one? Especially when I have to mourn for those sinners, the ones that betrayed me, or my country. Imagine, mourning for Saddam Hussein, because he does not know Jesus. Mourning for loved ones is difficult, mourning when bad things happen to bad people, or when they die without receiving the forgiveness of sins Jesus died to give them… that is impossible!

I hope that all sounded as silly as I wanted it to sound. Let me explain why.

It is impossible, to treat all of these statements about being “blessed” or as theologians call them “beatitudes” in depth, within the time allotted to one sermon. Matter of fact, there are several 300 to 400 page books written on this passage. Some pastors will use them for an entire sermon series, lasting weeks and months. I have even seen a 13 week Bible Study series based on them. What they attempt to do is to dissect each one, to determine what the attribute means, and then what a great thing the blessing is, and then encourage you to “achieve” that attribute and receive the blessing. Used to do it, stealing sermon titles like the “be- attitudes”. We almost want someone to publish – the Dummies Guide to Being Blessed, a simplistic step by step approach to holiness.

Iit does not work that way. These 12 verses are not a 12-step approach to living life, blessed and full of joy. They are the first 12 sentences of a 3-chapter sermon, given by Jesus one day on the side of a mountain. I do want to look at them in this sermon, but in a different manner, to look at the blessing first, to see the similarity in them, and then to realize something truly incredible.

1. In the Father’s Kingdom!

a. Poor in Spirit. Persecuted, reviled and slandered for Him

b. Pure in Heart

c. Consider descriptions of the Kingdom

d. Romans 8:28

For four of the groups described in our gospel reading, the way in which they are counted blessed, is because to them is given the “Kingdom of God”. It is to the poor in Spirit, to those who are persecuted, and to those who are hated and slandered. Finally, it is also to those who are pure in heart. The reward for this group is that theirs is the Kingdom of God, or as one says it – they shall see God.

As we have been going through the Book of Revelation on Thursday evening, we have seen the throne room pictured. An incredible sight, with all sorts of incredible descriptions of the power and majesty and purity of God. In Isaiah, the very site of the throne and the one leaves Isaiah certain he will die, for he is a sinner. It is a place where sin cannot abide, nor can sinners. Yet all, every man, is a sinner. The answer we find in the Hebrews 4:

¹⁴ That is why we have a great High Priest who has gone to heaven, Jesus the Son of God. Let us cling to him and never stop trusting him. ¹⁵ This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same temptations we do, yet he did not sin. ¹⁶ So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it. (NLT)

The only way we can truly find ourselves in the Kingdom of God, in His presence, is by the blood of Christ, the Blood He offered up at the cross. Knowing we can approach God, then being poor in spirit, being persecuted and lied about, seems easier, for we know we can go into the presence of the Father.

To have complete access, how incredible! To know that God sees us as being pure in heart, our motivation not questioned, because of the forgiveness given to us in Christ. How amazing. How blessed, we are!

2. Co-heirs of Christ!

a. Inherit the Earth/Called sons of God

b. Co Heirs with Christ

c. Our Adoption – eph 1:5

d. Rom. 8:16-17 – transistion

It does go on beyond that, as we see the next grouping. The next group are described as “blessed”, because they inherit, because we are called the very “sons of God”! We are His children, He is our Father. Every week, as I stand there with you, and we recite the words of the Lord’s Prayer, realize, we have the right, the incredible blessing of calling the Creator of the Universe, Dad! Here it in the words that Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus,

⁴ Long before he laid down earth's foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. ⁵ Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) ⁶ He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son. (MSG)

Those described as sons of God, as inheritors of the earth, are those who called meek, or humble, and are those called peacemakers. Literally those who “do peace”. Where they go, there can exist peace, they bring peace to others. How incredible to take the peace of God, and bring it to those around them! How blessed we are, through Jesus!

As Jesus spoke these works to the crowd, could they have realized that He was describing them in the future, that He was describing how His church would live, because He died for them?

That as Romans 1 says, His gospel, the Good news that He brought, is the power of God that saves us, each one of us, no matter what our background. We hear the message from God, and trust Him! Holiness, being “blessed” is not so much a matter of reminding ourselves to be Holy, but simply living day to day in the knowledge that Jesus has made us Holy!

3. Ministered to by Holy Spirit

a. Mourn, Hunger for Righteousness, Mercy

b. These shall be done

ON this day, when we celebrate All Saints Day, how incredible to consider the amount of people, all over the world, throughout all of time, that have been saved because of the work of Jesus Christ. From every people, from every tribe, and tongue, from every time period, they have heard Jesus’ Gospel, and believed!

The people that mourn, for the losses in their life, and for the lost in the world, who receive the Holy Spirit’s comfort! The word there for comforted, is the very word that Jesus calls the Holy Spirit – the paraclete, the one that calls us alongside! Those who hunger to be made holy and righteous, because of Jesus, they too are filled, and those of us, who realize we are sinners, and approach the throne of God, seeking mercy, do it, as we heard earlier – boldly – knowing that we have received that mercy!

How incredible is our God! We have been given lifetime E-tickets into His kingdom, for we are His sons and daughters. We have been blessed, we have been made Holy and righteous, by the incredible work of Christ!

We are free to live in that righteousness, we are free to create peace in people’s lives, to be persecuted for the righteousness counted as ours, but that comes from Christ!

4. Our Baptism…

a. Marks us as the Father’s

b. Unites us with Christ

c. Gives the gift of the Holy Spirit,

In our baptism, God takes us, and calls us His own! We are marked with the incredible name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit! How incredible!

We are united with Jesus the Messiah, we through His work, are made His brothers and sisters, sons and daughters of the Most High, most Powerful God.

We join the incredible throng of the people that have been called and given faith in the incredible promises of Jesus Christ! Given the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, who equips us to live in these incredible ways. To work in the Kingdom, knowing that all is in His care.

I titled this sermon, are we blessed?

Yeah, we are, more than blessed,

For we have the peace of God, which passes all understanding, which comes through our risen, and reigning Lord of Lords, and King of Kings.

Amen!

And let’s us know – we are blessed