Hebrews 13:7-8           Today's Message - same yesterday's                            28/8/16

{1)  Keep on loving each other as brothers. {2} Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. {3} Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. {4} Marriage should be honoured by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. {5} Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." {6} So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" {7} Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. {8} Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

{9} Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by ceremonial foods, which are of no value to those who eat them.

{15} Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise--the fruit of lips that confess his name. {16} And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

Is the message that we hear and take on as our own today, the same as it was yesterday and in years gone by? Is Jesus Christ and his death on the cross for the forgiveness of sins, still preached as boldly and consistently as it was? At a time when we are hearing all kinds of strange teachings being put forward - within Christian circle and outside; and when things are changing at such a fast rate in our world, is there something that we can hang on to as a constant and secure thing, that will help us through it all? Or are we at the mercy of the winds of change - being blown this way and that; never quite knowing what is right and wrong?

As we look around us we see many people who are in trouble in this way. There are many who no longer sit here in this building or any other such building. While a number of others who do so, do so only occasionally. And perhaps there are some of us here who are not quite sure: hearing lots of other thoughts and ideas which make us question that which we have been brought up with; making us think of changing our ideas or even doubt the value of our church.

However, we are constantly warned in Scripture to beware of those who try to lead us astray with all kinds of fancy talk. It warns that in the later days there will be many who will come in God's name, but not with God's Word. They will come in their own name giving us that which our ears are itching to hear. They will claim they are ‘christian’, but in reality be far from it; even if they use the name Jesus. They will quote from the Bible without really considering what God is and has said in and through it.

We are living in very difficult times when it comes to the Christian faith; but the answer is not to walk away from that which is all important. Nor to let go of that which ultimately is the only thing that is beneficial to us all. Or again to follow that which will only simply makes us feel good, but does not deal with the real issues. To do so, is to even further erode any security and hope that we would have that will be able to give us life and salvation; and help us through the difficult and troubled times of life. As well as leaving us even more uncertain and alone. Which is of course the devils aim.

Our reading here today however gives us some very simple and important advice in this matter. So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.

Now I know this sort of thinking is out of tune with what is happening in our world today, where change at all costs is the order of the day: Where we are constantly encouraged to ignore the past as out of date and no longer relevant; And to go ahead and be more broadminded in our thinking and to accept all kinds of different thinking as being OK; and all the rest. Yes, even within the church.

But here we are encouraged to hold firmly to that which is important and to follow closely that which has been handed down to us from the very beginning; imitating the faith of the great leaders that have gone before us. Here again we are encouraged to remember Jesus Christ and what he has to say and what he has done on the cross for us, as all important.

Some time back I listened to tape where one young man, when asked who he wanted to be most like and whose example he would follow; said that he wanted to be like his father who was a committed Christian and evangelist. All his lecturers and peers got into him suggesting that he had a real psychological problem: no one follows the example of their fathers any more [ unless it their bad traits]. Now it was great to hear that he stood up and told the lot of them that they were the ones who had a problem, if they were not committed enough to stand up and imitate those many good points of their fathers.

We too, need to stand up once again and imitate those many good Christians that have gone before us. They are the ones through whom God's grace has been at work carrying the Good News of Jesus Christ on to us here today. God has been at work in and through his Church for many hundreds of years, speaking his word to each successive generation; encouraging them to stand firm in their faith. And our church here stands in that line: The Gospel being the centre and focus of everything that we stand for.

But will we be responsible for that Word going forward to the children of the coming generations; or will our slackness and indifference mean that our children and grand-children will no longer have anything to follow and imitate. Will our running here and there, following every wind of doctrine, leave nothing solid for those who come after us.

Remember again what Jesus Christ and his life, death and resurrection means for us and for the Church of all time. It is he alone that stands central to our whole being, existence and future. What he has done and continues to do for us is paramount to everything. Forgiveness of sins and eternal life through him, is what gives life and hope.

Our fore-fathers in the Faith held firmly to the biblical view that both Law and Gospel were to be understood clearly, but at the same time to be rightly distinguished. So they held to the biblical view that we are all sinners deserving death and hell and unable in any way to get ourselves out of that mess that we have made for ourselves. But at the same time they clearly proclaimed that Jesus Christ came to earth for the express purpose of taking our punishment on himself so that we might be forgiven.

Now, that we see from many of the Christian leaders that have gone before us. With full assurance that they had been forgiven through Jesus’ death on the cross, they knew that they had salvation and life eternal: they had a joy and hope even in the midst of the most terrible of situations. They were able to put away from their lives many of those things that are bad and wrong such as drunkenness, envy, greed, selfishness etc. And in their place came those qualities that are good, helpful and positive. Love becoming the basis of much of what they did.

But undergirding this, always was Jesus Christ and his death on the cross for the forgiveness of sins, that he has made available to us. They clung to that which they could not see, feel or touch; trusting that in Christ and his death lies their only hope and their only life. Then with that faith, they gave their all to share that which was so important, with those around them. Even as they faced death in whatever way or form it came, they trusted that nothing could ever separate them from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

Now then, that is what our reading is calling us also to do: to imitate that faith, - carrying on forward that same hope and trust in our own life and as we face our own death. Primarily we are called to put aside all those thoughts of self and my achievements, commitment and whatever. The whole work of salvation and life now for us, lies firmly at the foot of the cross and Jesus Christ. Then with that as our basis for life, to go forward living and being the people that God has called us to be; knowing always that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.

We do so because he is forever faithful and true. He alone stands as the one who offered himself for all sinners in the past. But also who ever intercedes for us in the present. He always remains our faithful Saviour and Lord. That is the message that has been passed on to us through our Church from the past; and is that which I give you today; and I pray that it is the same message that will go on being given and imitated for years to come.

So don't ignore the Church, this message and the truth that has been passed on to us. But let us continue to see Jesus Christ and the forgiveness that he offers as being that which is of utmost importance; trusting him and so giving your all to see that this same message and faith goes on to those who follow.

 Let us pray that God will help us to continue to imitate those great men and women who have gone before us. Through it all may we always remember that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. To him alone be all glory and honour, now and always. AMEN.

Pastor Roger Atze

Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish

Luke 13:14-15.                   Why is Sunday so important???                                 21/8/16

¹⁴ Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”

¹⁵ The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water?

Hebrews 12:28-29.

²⁸ Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, ²⁹ for our “God is a consuming fire.”

Isaiah 58:13-14.

¹³ “If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath
    and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight
    and the Lord’s holy day honourable,
and if you honour it by not going your own way
    and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,
¹⁴ then you will find your joy in the Lord,
    and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land
    and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.”
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

This morning in our readings we are confronted with what our Sunday worship is all about. Here in particular it is addressing why it is that we have so many problems with, not only our worship, but life itself.

These days we hear all too often that worship is boring or not fitting to our societal thinking today: or that it doesn’t do anything for me; or even that it is not done right. Along with that we think that we can worship when and where it suits us; or that I don’t need to go because I still have my faith. Then there are also those who think that we can change almost anything and everything about worship to suit what I and the people around me think would be good and nice.

But already just in that I think we can already begin to see a major problem with our attitude today about Sunday worship. It is all about me and what I think and feel. Our Christianity has thereby become a religion, rather than a faith. It is more about what I and we do, than about Christ and what he has done. Therein we have a major problem. Also we find that we have lost the joy and strength that God desires for our lives.

In the first of these three readings we have God very clearly addressing this issue. He says:  “If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath
    and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight
    and the Lord’s holy day honourable,
and if you honour it by not going your own way
    and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,
 then you will find your joy in the Lord,
    and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land
    and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.”

Here God is talking about consequences that flow from the decisions we make with regard to what is important in life; and particularly here with our attitude toward God and our worship of him. If you – then you will…. If you take God seriously and follow what he says and wants, then we will find joy and blessings.

Conversely then, if Sunday is all about me and what I want, then the opposite is also true. If we make no attempt to keep the Sabbath holy and just do as we please: and if we fail to see Sundays as God’s special day for us and honour it as such: and if we go our own way and do our thing; then it should not surprise us if we find no joy in the Lord, and no real blessings in our daily lives.

Sunday is about taking God and what he has to say seriously. It is about following what he has to say is right, good and beneficial for us, rather than we doing what we think we would like. He is Lord. In other words, he is all important and what he says goes. This is vital that we get our heads around this. Our sinful human nature always wants to turn the focus to ourselves, and we get into real trouble as a result.

God tells us in the Ten Commandments that we are to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. And Luther’s explanation of this in the Catechism goes like this: We should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and his Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it.

Yet we all too readily worship only when we feel like it and have little regard for God’s Word. This is readily seen today as more and more we change and ignore what God has to say in his Word to suit what we and our society would like it to be. Then we wonder why everything goes wrong for us. We wonder why there is a huge drop off in church attendance.

Then when we look at the Gospel reading this morning we see another aspect to this that is equally a big problem. Again however, the same underlying problem is there. The synagogue leader was so focussed on doing the right according to the rules that they had made up as an extension to what God hold told them. In the process they had forgotten that God and his love for sinners was to be ever present.

¹⁴ Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”

¹⁵ The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water?

He points out that they look after their own animals on the Sabbath but do not have the same compassion for a cripple. They are more concerned about everything going the way they want, so that everything looks and feels good for them and their own worship. Again it is ‘all about me’, rather than who God is and what he would have for us.

Here it is that Jesus reminded the Pharisees of his day, as well as us today, that there is a far more central issue involved here, than what we do and how we do it. This day has to do with us being freed from that which binds us and grinds us into the ground. He speaks of being freed from Satan. It has to do with forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. It has to do with our Lord and who he is and what he does.

It has to do with, as Paul says to the Hebrews:

But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

Yes, that is what God has in mind for you and me here this morning and every time we gather here in his presence. He wants to meet with you here, together with all the saints, and he wants to reassure you that you are part of a new covenant where we can have that guarantee that we are forgiven for all our selfishness and sin, and that he has many blessings surrounding that for you and me. God and what he has to offer is what is essential for this life and the next. He is here to do just that and along with that he gives us the directives that we need for our worship and for life.

So also as Paul said to the Hebrews:  See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. [That is Jesus and his word of forgiveness] If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens." The words "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken--that is, created things--so that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our "God is a consuming fire."

We certainly do have a great God who has done something truly remarkable for us who in no way deserve it. We who have turned our backs on him and even the worship that he has in mind for us. We have made ourselves the centre of life and worship and brought nothing but misery and hardship on ourselves. By doing what we want and changing to be all about ourselves we have lost the joy and blessings that God has in mind for us.

Yet he still loves us and still wants to remind us again that he is Lord of the Sabbath. He still calls us back to himself and seeks to impart to us the joy and blessing that is so much needed in our worship and in our lives. He calls for us to look beyond ourselves and our wants and desires, so that he can give us those things that are truly needed in our lives. He wants to serve us so that we receive what we need in order to get through this life and into eternity with himself.

So we have a great, awesome, and loving God who calls us week by week into his day of rest and receiving of all the good things that he has in mind for us. Through Word and Sacrament he seeks to richly bless us.  Who then are we to deny him this opportunity. Or do we think that we are greater, stronger and wiser than God himself. No let us be challenged and encouraged to see the Sabbath as God’s gift to us for our welfare and good. And through it all may all glory and honour go to our great God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. AMEN.

Pastor Roger Atze

Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish

Luke 12:32-40.                   Do not be afraid!!                                                            7/8/16

³² “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. ³³ Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. ³⁴ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

³⁵ “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, ³⁶ like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. ³⁷ It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. ³⁸ It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak. ³⁹ But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁰ You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”

Here in this reading God is saying to all of us here; Do not be afraid little flock: do not be afraid as we go forward in our Christian life. Do not be afraid to stand up and be a Christian, even though it goes against the grain of our society. Even though we are more and more being ostracised for being ‘a Christian’. Take seriously what we have heard about what God has done for us in and through Jesus, and be ready and prepared for all that God has in mind for us.

Now of course, it would seem as though we are not afraid of very much at all these days. We all too often have all the confidence in the world. We have an enthusiasm and freedom of spirit; and yes even an element of rebellion, which suggests that there is hardly a care in the world. There appears to be very much that Aussie spirit of ‘she’ll be right mate. I’ve got it all under control.’

There is also a growing promotion of ‘positive thinking’, rather than being negative or realistic. And when life gets a little tough we no longer want to ask, what is wrong or why it is the way it is; just take a pill to make it better, or sue someone, or change the channel, so that the problem, hopefully, will instantly go away.

Even when it comes to the Christian faith, these same attributes often seem to apply, and in some ways that is good to see; but in other ways it is also a bit scary. Are we today not afraid of anything? I am sure, below the surface, we all are to greater or lesser degree. And if we aren’t, we should be to some extent. But so often it would seem that we are not as concerned as we perhaps we should be about some of the really important issues of life.

In this area, we either, seem to have a false sense of security and are unaware of the dangers that in reality are there, or we are hiding our fear by simply believing that we can live as we please and that somehow it will all work out in the end. After all, if God is for real then he’ll take care of it all and if not then it is his fault: and after all what does this passage say here, I hear you say? ‘Do not be afraid – God is pleased to give you heaven.’ I have my faith, so she’ll be right.

Now if that is our attitude I would suggest that we need to be afraid: because again that is simply trying to twist what Jesus is saying here to suit ourselves. And from Scripture we know that the consequence of doing that is not good at all. Luther in his Small Catechism continually says that ‘we should fear and love God so that we trust in God above all things: misuse God’s name; hurt, harm, steal, lie, and all the rest’.

However, we hear so often today that this is wrong; God made us and loves us, so we do not need to be afraid. This is true; but at the same time the Scriptures are very clear that if we think that we can ignore God and what he has to say to us we had better be afraid. The consequences of not taking God seriously is deadly.

Here, Jesus tells us to be ready for service – to be prepared to live the good life that God would have us live. We are servants of the Master who has duties for us to perform in his kingdom. We are to live for our Lord and not for ourselves.

As well here, he tells us to be ready at all times for the Lord’s presence in our midst. Prepared also for the fact that a thief is out there who seeks to take our Christian life away from us.

Here he is telling us not to put our trust in money and possessions, as if they are able to give us everything we need. In fact, he says, get rid of it rather than allow it to get in the way of our Christian life. So don’t fall into the trap that the rest of our generation has by making our possessions and money our treasure: our god; because as it says here, they will disappear –and quickly. They can be stolen, eaten up or wear out: as we can see as we look around us. Earthly treasures do not give us that which has lasting value.

So here Jesus is encouraging us to make sure that nothing distracts us from him and the Christian life: To make sure that we recognise that our greatest treasure is Jesus Christ and all that he has to offer us; and that we are not distracted to place our focus and hope on ourselves or anything else. At the same time, we are to be ready and prepared for his coming at any time; because we do not know when our time is up: when he will come to take us to himself in heaven.

And it is in this regard that he says, do not be afraid. As we seek to live and be his people, he knows that we will face all kinds of difficulties and pressures and that we will struggle to live the Christian life: And when we do, he knows we will be given a hard time – persecuted to a greater or lesser degree. And it is in this context that he says, do not be afraid little flock.

So these words are very fitting for us today, as we seek to be faithful to our promise to trust God for our salvation, and life, and to live for him. This encouragement and challenge is important to us who say that we believe that Jesus has died on the cross to save us from our sin, but also to take him seriously and to live as is fitting for one who truly believes that he is our Lord and saviour. In turn he says to you; Do not be afraid little flock for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.

So as we go on in life from here with that aim; there will be many times when we will feel like little people, or be made to feel like a little person: we will be ridiculed – we will fall – and we will do stupid things; Or, more likely still, we will be tempted to not take our Christian life all that seriously. We will be tempted to take the easy way, and to simply attend worship when and where it suites us, and when we feel like it. We will be enticed to look to ourselves and what we do, think and feel and place that as what is so important for our Christian lives: or we will be led by the thief to simply say, I have my faith, therefore it doesn’t really matter how I live my life, as long as I am reasonably good.

As a result of this kind of thinking, we will feel as though we are little people: that we are weak and helpless – unable to stand up against the pressures and stresses of life. We will become afraid, as life l becomes more and more scary, stressful and full of worries and concerns. We will rush and tear – run hither and thither, and do all kinds of things to cover and hide from those fears. We will chase after all sorts of earthly treasures in the vain hope that they might make up for what is missing. We will pretend to be a big shot, to hide the fact that we in reality are a little scared person. We will be encouraged to look to all kinds of things to give us the peace, hope and security that we long for, but we will not be able to find it in any of them. 

That is why our Lord seeks to reassure us – not only here – but throughout the Bible and throughout life, to not be afraid –That he is there with us and for us: That he does have something far better in mind for us: That his kingdom – his rule - is there for us. So just turn back to him and be reassured again of all that he has done for us and has in mind for us.

As we again look to him, we will not only receive the assurance of forgiveness for our failures and sin, but also of life and salvation. We will find again the right way to live so that we can live at peace with God and each other; and so have happiness, contentment, security and all the rest that we need for this life and the next. And on top of that we can have that sure hope that beyond this life we will be a part of something even better: We will be with our Lord and saviour; the truly great One who will ensure our unending happiness and joy.

So do not be afraid little flock. Do not be afraid. God is pleased to give the kingdom. So go live as his children – always ready and prepared: constantly looking to him for assurance of forgiveness, and also for strength and courage to live as he would have us. And always remember that our Lord is there with us and for us. He wants us to be sure that he wants what is best for us. So yes do not be afraid little flock for the Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. And that assurance and hope, I pray, will go with us throughout our lives.

So again to him be all glory and honour, now and always. AMEN.

                                 

Pastor Roger Atze

Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish