Roger's Postings

Saturday, January 19, 2008

John 1:29-42. Your Witness???? 20/1/08

{29) The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! {30} This is the one I meant when I said, 'A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.' {31} I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel." {32} Then John gave this testimony: "I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. {33} I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' {34} I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God." {35} The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. {36} When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, "Look, the Lamb of God!" {37} When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. {38} Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, "What do you want?" They said, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?" {39} "Come," he replied, "and you will see." So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour. {40} Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. {41} The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ). {42} And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas" (which, when translated, is Peter).

Do your neighbours and the people you come into contact with know that you are a Christian? Are they in any doubt as to what you believe? Perhaps even more to the point, do they get to know the importance of the Lord Jesus and his death on the cross, as a result of their contact with you? Are we pointing them to Jesus Christ and the forgiveness of sins that is there for us all through his life, death and resurrection?

Or perhaps do they simply know you as the good person that you are? Is it that as a result of what they see and hear from us, is that Christianity is all about good morals and being a reasonable and tolerant person? Or is it that they see us as self-righteous, nitpickers who pick on everyone who is not like us? Do they see us as people who live life as we please and then use our irregular church attendance as some sort of crutch or ‘two way bet’? If this is the case, it is very sad. In fact it is downright tragic.

Here let us remember our whole life is a witness. Every life is a witness. It is a matter of what are we witnessing to. We often are quite good at witnessing to the fact that we are very capable and talented people; good family people; well educated; and the like. Or that our money, possessions and leisure is important to us. In this regard we need to reflect on the fact that the things that we talk repeatedly about and are involved in are the things that we so often see as important. Others see that and take it that this is what makes life tick for us.

So what is it that we so often talk about, think about and focus on in our lives? A follow up to that is, is this consistent with what our Lord would be happy about? I would suggest that all too often our focus does not match with what should be there. I know in my own life as I critically assess what I think and say in this regard, that all too often I am placing myself and my own thinking and desires into the situation, rather than allowing our Lord and what he wants, to be what is important. Too often I witness to my own knowledge, or to numbers that we have or don’t have, or how I have been hurt, or any number of other things.

So our focus and witness all to often is not on our Lord Jesus, but something else. We fill our lives with all sorts of other thoughts and concerns, to such an extent that Christ is pushed from the centre. His Sprit is there trying to work in and through our lives, but we don’t give him a chance. He wants to focus our thoughts, lives and witness on Jesus Christ and the forgiveness of sins that he has won for us through his death on the cross, but instead we focus on ourselves and what we want. He wants to help us share the Good News with others, but we would sooner leave that to others, so that we do not have to make ourselves unpopular with an unbelieving world around us.

But it is here again that we need to remember that as Christians we will witness to that which is all important to us; Jesus Christ and the forgiveness of sins through his death on the cross. Surely that is what is important to us. Absolutely vital! After all he came into our world because of our sin and the absolute hopelessness that we have from a human perspective. He knew that because of our disobedience we were facing an eternity in Hell. There is no way that we could be saved by the things we do. We were and are in dire straits without him.

But thankfully he did come and die in our place. He has ensured that we have full forgiveness of all of our sins. He has won for us life and salvation. He now does have a place for us with himself in heaven. He does have a better way for us to now live and act. And so much more. Having bought us from death to give us life with himself surely is the greatest thing in the world that has ever and could ever happen to us. Surely that is what we cannot help but live and breathe. Surely now we cannot help but live and talk Jesus Christ. Surely!

Here let us take John as an example of one who knew the importance of Jesus and our witness to him. Very quickly we can see that he was very eager to point other away from himself to Jesus. Because he was so amazed, overwhelmed, or whatever by the fact that here was God’s Son come to save his people, and he wanted others to know it. It is important that others knew that this was so. So he allow the Spirit of God to do what he wanted to do in his own life.

That Spirit drove him out into the desert to do that which was unpopular. That Sprit lead him to proclaim that Jesus was the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Even though Jesus had not yet died on the cross he points to this one who would make forgiveness of sins, life and salvation available to humanity. He could not help but tell others of this one who was so important to us all. He told Andrew, who told Peter, and on it went. That witness has gone on and on down through the ages; right down to the point where someone has passed that message on to us personally.

But what are we here now going to do about it? Are we prepared to pass that message on to the next generation and to those out there around us who are not Christians? Or are we going to sit back and calmly and silently let them go to Hell? Are we going to simply tell them that it is church politics, good morals, or whatever that is what is important in life?

No surely we too know that Jesus Christ is, who and what is all important. Surely we also will want to pass on the Good News of Jesus to our children and the people around us, as that which is the greatest thing that anyone could have and be a part of. The Lamb of God has come; he has sacrificed himself in our place. This is too good to keep to ourselves.

So let us here again allow Jesus Christ to have that central, most important place in our lives. Let us take the time to be here, so that his Spirit can work in our lives through Word and Sacrament to remain firm and strong in the Faith. Then to allow him to guide us as we go about our daily lives, seeing and speaking of the importance of Jesus Christ for us and for those around us.

To be a Christian; to be a witness to Jesus Christ is not and will not always be easy; particularly as our country becomes more and more ungodly. It is time though for us to stand up and be counted. Is Christ and the cross important for us, or is it the things that our world has to offer? Even as Christians, is it me and what I think and do that is important, or is it Jesus Christ the Lamb of God? As we proclaim that we will be given a hard time, but we also have God’s promise that his Word will not come back empty. It will produce result; either salvation or eternal destruction. In the end we are told, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. For some that will mean to their damnation because the have rejected it. Others however it will be to their salvation and his eternal glory.

With God’s help we can be witnesses to the great importance of this Jesus Christ. Or more to the point, he will do it in and through us as we allow him. We can thereby stand up and let it be seen to others that Christ and what he has done for us is what is truly important in life. Here let us have an urgency about it, so that we might be able to help some of the many out there who are blindly on the road to Hell. Let us help them to see that Jesus is their Lord and saviour; and not just a swear word. So may our Lord fill your life so that your witness will be to him and the salvation that he has made possible for us all. To him be all glory and honour, now and always. AMEN.

Pastor Roger Atze
Redeemer Lutheran Church
Toowoomba

Saturday, January 12, 2008

Matthew 3:13-17. Jesus’ baptism – for us!! 13/1/08

{13) Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. {14} But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" {15} Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfil all righteousness." Then John consented. {16} As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. {17} And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."

Today the focus for us is placed on Jesus’ baptism. But the question for many is; what is his baptism all about? After all he is God’s Son. He is a sinless being. Surely he does not need to be baptized for the forgiveness of his sins. But probably the bigger question for most today, is ‘what has this got to do with us anyway?’ ‘Here, then, is one sermon that we surely can go to sleep in because this has nothing to do with me. It is only a lot of theological mumbo jumbo.’

Well, let me begin by saying that this has got everything to do with you and me. If this event of Jesus’ baptism had not occurred you and I would be facing an eternity in Hell; guaranteed. Jesus’ baptism has everything to do with you and me and our salvation. If we think we can bypass this event, then you are also bypassing everything he did on the cross for us; and we are also bypassing the true significance and importance of our own baptisms today and the confidence and certainty we gain from it.

Here again God is doing something in and through Jesus Christ that gives us great assurance with regard to the certainty of our salvation. Here again Jesus becomes the centre and core of what our salvation really entails. It is what he has done that guarantees our salvation and helps us to now look away from ourselves and to place Jesus at the centre and focus of not only our salvation, but everything that we say and do. Because he did what he did there at the Jordan River we have every reason to now allow him to lead and guide and do what he wants to do in and through our lives.

But I wonder; do we really want Jesus as the centre of our lives? Do we want his identification with us and his salvation that he has won for us; and thereby also the new life that he has for us? Or do we want to continue to justify ourselves before each other and before God? Do we continue to want to live and do as we please?

Sadly I think, all too often, this is the case for us today. Life is all about me and what I think and what I make of life. This is sin! This is our desperate plight as human beings. We tell God and everyone else what we want to do and have, so that everything can go the way we want. From that flows all kinds of deeds which break the harmony that God intended for us. As a result we are all left hurt, lonely and depressed. Deep down we know that we are guilty; but we continue to try to justify ourselves; we keep trying to prove that we are alright. But we are not. We are in deep trouble.

Yet, it is right here that Jesus’ baptism becomes so significant for us. Here Jesus as he now is about to begin his ministry of seeking to save this lost, lonely and guilty humanity, goes to John the Baptist on the banks of the Jordan to be baptized. Here John the Baptist gets it right. Jesus doesn’t need to be baptized, for he is sinless; he is God come to us. John’s baptism is for the forgiveness of sins. It is interesting that John does not baptize some of the Pharisees because of their impenitence, and here he is unwilling to baptize Jesus because of his sinlessness.

But Jesus insists, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfil all righteousness." Even though John is right in his assessment of the situation, Jesus say it is right and proper that he should be baptized. Why? To fulfil all righteousness. That is to fulfil everything that is necessary in order for us to be right with God. Here at the Jordan, Jesus enacts God’s saving deeds for human kind by [literally] standing with sinners. There he joins with us sinners. In his baptism he becomes one of us. He takes on himself our sin; and then heads forward to Jerusalem and the cross. There He as the sinless one offers up his own life as the ransom payment in the place of many; in the place of you and me.

So here, get this straight, at his baptism Jesus joins himself to you and me. He fully becomes one of us, sinful human beings. He knows full well the dire situation of us human beings: sinful and without any way of being able to get ourselves out of our own mess. Yet he takes all of that on himself; and then proceeds to Jerusalem to ensure that we can once again be made right with God. That is absolutely incredible.
Now recognising that in his baptism Jesus has identified fully with us, God’s words from the heavens immediately following then also become very significant. "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." So not only now do we have acknowledgement that Jesus is God’s very own Son, but this also signifies that all with whom Jesus has joined himself to and are identified with him here in his baptism, are addressed here in these words. In a number of places in the Old Testament God addresses his people as his ‘sons.’ So with this one who came and identified himself with us so that he could save God’s ‘son’ lost in sin, also comes the acknowledgment that all for whom Jesus died on the cross, these words are spoken; "This is my ‘son’, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." Truly remarkable.

Again that can only be because of Jesus’ death on the cross and his resurrection three days later. There he died our death; taking the punishment that we deserve on himself so that we might be forgiven and accepted as his Fathers own dear ‘sons.’ Then he was raised from the dead three days later as a clear confirmation that what he has done on the cross is accepted by God and his work of salvation for us is complete. Now he and we can once again live at peace with God and with one another.

Jesus has come, connected himself to us as sinful human beings that he can bring about salvation and eternal life for us. His baptism and his connecting himself to us had as its focal point, his death on the cross and his resurrection. For there alone is our salvation.

Now then, for us living this side of his death and resurrection he gives us baptism where he can again connect, not only himself, but also the Father and the Holy Spirit, with us, so that again he can impart to us all that he has done for us through his death on the cross. Now the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation are now freely available to all who are connected to him and his death and resurrection. Through baptism he washes away our sin and joins us to his family for all eternity. All now may become members of God’s people, God’s ‘sons’, through baptism and faith in him.

So yes we say that the cross and the empty tomb stand at the centre of the Christian faith, with Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan pointing forward to those central saving events in anticipation; and with Baptism flowing out from those events, to us, including Lachlan here this morning, placing on us the salvation that he has won for us. Just as he connected himself to sinful humanity at his baptism, now he joins us to himself and the new life that he has for us.

Now we can have complete certainty as we go forward in life, for God himself, Father, Son and Holy Spirit has united himself to us and to all that Jesus has won for us through his death on the cross. Forgiveness of sins, life and salvation are now guaranteed for us, and confirmed in us. Now there is hope for us; there is new life; there is a new ‘Lord’ for us as we live out our lives every day.

Now, surely, Jesus and the cross, stand at the centre and the core of our very life. He and what he has done for us is what gives us our meaning and direction for life. There is what is important to us. That also surely will mean that everything we say and do will be guided by him as well. Now, He is Lord for us, instead of ourselves. Now we will be outward looking, focussing on the needs of others instead of our selves and our wants. It means we will love one another, even though we recognise that as long as we live here on this earth, that we will constantly be dealing with the results of sin. So we will be forgiving of one another; but at the same time seeking to overcome weakness so that we do not cause offence and hardship.

But most importantly of all, we will constantly be seeking to give glory to Christ and the cross. We will want to do all that we can so that others also may know of this wonderful Good News that is here for us through Jesus Christ and his identification with us and his death and resurrection for us. Jesus and what he has done for us is what is absolutely essential for us and for our lives.

Thank God that in his baptism Jesus Christ identified with us in our sinfulness, so that he might do what was necessary for our salvation. He truly is Lord. To him be all glory and honour, now and forever. AMEN.

Pastor Roger Atze
Redeemer Lutheran Church
Toowoomba

Saturday, January 05, 2008

Isaiah 60:1-6. Light is shining in darkness!! 6/1/08

{1) "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. {2} See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you. {3} Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. {4} "Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the arm. {5} Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come. {6} Herds of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah. And all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense and proclaiming the praise of the LORD.

These verses have, I believe, great significance for us all today. Here we have a very apt description of the scene of life for our western world at this time. Darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over peoples. This one sentence adequately describes the situation of life for so many who are living in our a world that promises them so much, but has left them hurting, alone and without meaning and hope.

We as a world have lost our way as we continue to grope around in our own self-importance and self-gratification. We don't have any real and lasting sense of direction and purpose, except to follow these promises of our world, even though we can see the impact that it is having on so many lives. Yes, on the surface, we are full of confidence and bravado; but for so many, it belies what is inside. We are a world and a nation of hurting, lonely and depressed people.

As we look closely at what is going on around us, we see that we are continually ‘shooting ourselves in the foot’ as we try to fix our problems and hurts with a few more dollars and a lot more technology. Think about it, we believe that divorce is the answer to our marriage difficulties, but end up ruining the lives of our children, as well as leaving ourselves more lonely and hurt than before. Abortion is seen as an easy solution to an unwanted pregnancy, that is the result of chasing after a few fleeting moments of pleasure. But then the woman sadly suffers untold psychological problems for the rest of their life. Here again I could go on with one example after another.
The point being, that time and time again, in an attempt to solve our problems, we fail; and in turn create even further difficulties for ourselves. We do so, because we have forgotten; - one - that it is people and relationships that matter more than anything else. Secondly - but most importantly, we have left God out of our lives, or relegated him to only a very small part of our lives. We have forgotten or failed to heed what God has to say about life and how we are to live and treat each other and our world. We have thought of ourselves and our achievements and thinking, too highly so that we fail to regularly turn back to God for forgiveness and help. That is why we find that more and more we are finding life to be dark and gloomy. We are groping around in the dark for our answers, and making things even worse for ourselves.

Sadly in our world today there are far too many who, though they have started out as Christians, now think that they have outgrown their need for God. Yet it is interesting that now they seek their help and answers in all sorts of weird places; horoscopes, clairvoyancy and tarot cards are all the rage; eastern meditation and devil worship is on the increase; new age positive thinking has crept in everywhere, even in the church. And again I could go on. More and more we are winding ourselves down and down into moral and spiritual decadence, depressive loneliness and hopelessness. We have lost our way. Thick darkness is over the peoples.

However, thankfully, that is not the full story - there is hope. The Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Through the doom and gloom of existence, there is a piercing light shining into this self-same world. In the midst of all of this darkness in life we are given a whole new perspective that does change things, if only we would allow it. Because of Christmas there is a bright star hovering over us, lighting up our way and giving new hope for the future, if only we would take notice of it.

In Jesus Christ and his death on the cross there is now one who gives meaning, hope and direction to all of life. We now know that we are loved - that someone does care. We are valuable in the sight of God, no matter who are and how miserable our existence might be. The failures, sickness and death of this world is not the end; broken relationships can be mended - forgiveness is possible. No matter how troubled or difficult our life is, God is prepared to stick by us through it all. Above all, eternal life with God, is there for us now. So we can now live at peace with God and have the best of everything in heaven. In and with the Lord Jesus, this is all possible. And it is this that is the light that now shines over us.

However this light not only gives us a new way to look and think with regard to our relationship with the Almighty God, but it also now illuminates a different way of approaching life here and now. Jesus has also showed us the way to live with God, others and ourselves. He has given us answers to such things as divorce, abortion, the environment and many other things. He has shown us that it is possible to think and act in a way that is not centred on self, first, last and only. It is possible to love and be considerate of others. We can forgive one another, because God has forgiven us.

As a result of the coming of Jesus Christ and the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation that he has won for us, we can now have a better idea on the importance of money, pleasure and material things. We are able to see that they are not as important as a good relationships with God and our fellow human beings. We can approach life in a whole new way because Jesus Christ and his death on the cross. There is a brightness there now for us in the midst of the darkness of this world.

So there is no need for us here to go about being gloomy. Yes, we can and must realistically look at life and recognise the problems that are around us, and name them. But we can at the same time go forward with hope and certainty through the difficulties of a sinful world. However, we don't need to follow the crowd, groping around in the darkness. We have every reason to be positive and confident about life, death and salvation. Christ has illuminated life for us, revealing all that is necessary for us to get through the turmoil of this life and to gain eternal life with our gracious God.

But here again we are realistic enough to know that we do not have everything within ourselves to help us, but that we need our Lord’s help all along the way. We also know that, even as Christians, not all of our difficulties and hardships will be taken away from us, or that we will not avoid facing death; but together with Jesus Christ we are given what is needed in order for us to get through it all. It is only as we acknowledge the presence and help of the Lord Jesus that our way is lit and the darkness is dispelled.
Then having this awareness of the Light, we are called to arise, shine, for our light has come - the glory of the Lord is shining over us. The call is for us as people who are Christians to now reflect the glory of Christ to those around us. It is through our witness that others will come to see the light of Christ and perhaps find meaning and hope for their own life; that they too may find the answer to everything - Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour.

If we are going to do anything to help our nation and our world through these troubled times, then we need to first have a closer relationship with God ourselves. For us the light increases as we spend time in personal devotion and our Divine Service, worship times. The more we allow Christ to have the focal point in our lives, the more he will be reflected out to those around us. And it is through that witness alone that our world has any hope of improvement. We are to reflect that light of Christ - to let his light shine, to those around us.

That really is the central message of our text; to let The Light shine. Not that we are to be the light - nor to ignore it - or to keep it to ourselves; but we need recognise that the light of the glory of Christ has risen over our lives and our world. He has done so much for us. It is He who has enlightened life for us. So let us not go back to groping around in the darkness. Christ has made so much difference. There is now meaning and purpose to life; there is peace, joy and hope for us all. There is light in the midst of the darkness, so let us all enjoy and reflect this for our own benefit and for the good of our world; But above all to the glory of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. AMEN.

Pastor Roger Atze
Redeemer Lutheran Church
Toowoomba