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God Means It!

Pastor: 

Pastor Mike

Sermon Date: 
October 4, 2009
Bible Passage: 

2 Thessalonians 2:13-17

            In our world of fine print and broken promises, there’s a question we often ask. It’s a question voters ask after another promise-packed political speech. It’s a question parents ask guilty-faced 1st graders who swear on grandma’s grave they have no clue where the last cookie went. That common question is this—“Do you mean it?” Do you mean you’ll really lower taxes? Do you mean you’ll love me in sickness and in health? In essence, our mood, our joy, our hope for the future, our everything is based on that question—Do you mean it? Can I trust that what you tell me is true? 

            There is no question more important than that for those of us who listen to God’s Word. Every time we open this book we are challenged to believe in things we cannot see—that our sins really are forgiven, that heaven exists, that baptism does something, that the Lord’s Supper is more than a Sunday snack, that God even knows who we are. Every chapter of the Bible raises the question every soul is asking, “God, do you mean it? Is this really true?”
            When a missionary named Paul wrote to a troubled church in the city of Thessalonica, he knew those questions must have been on their mind. After all, they were being harassed, persecuted, and run ragged by their unbelieving neighbors. If they were really loved by God, God had a funny way of showing his love. If they were really chosen by God, God had chosen them for a gut-wrenching struggle. If they were really saved, God certainly wasn’t saving them from insults and exhaustion. So when Paul picked up the pen to encourage them, he left out the question marks of doubt and made full use of the periods of certainty. “But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. 14He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Note what’s missing in his words. There are no “maybe’s”, no “perhaps’s”, no “God’s thinkin’ about it.” No, instead Paul says, “God means it!” You are “brothers loved by the Lord.” Fact. “God chose you.” Fact. “He saved you through the work of the Holy Spirit.” Fact. “He called you through the gospel.” Fact. Even in the midst of your most agonizing moments, God means what he says.
            And what God meant for believers back then he means for believers today. We need that same certainty, too, don’t we? Because sometimes we wonder if God would really choose us. Looking at our spiritual struggles, our win-loss record vs. temptation, we might seriously doubt that. God chose us? But God’s Word kicks the question mark out of the sentence and slaps a period of faith in its place. “From the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit.” God meant it. He meant it from the very beginning. Before your grandma was a speck in her mother’s eye, before Columbus sailed the ocean blue, before Adam and Eve took that fateful bite, “from the beginning,” God meant to choose and save you. The Holy Spirit had you penciled in to his schedule to work faith in your heart and bring God’s choice to life. That Spirit got you in touch with Jesus, who took over your heart with his forgiveness and made you holy. God planned it that way and he meant every bit.
            But here’s what you can’t miss—This work of the Spirit is done “through the gospel”. If you’re going to understand our ways of worship, why “church” here at Eastside is a bit different, you cannot miss this. The Spirit works through the gospel. The gospel is the good news that Jesus forgives sins. Wherever that gospel is preached, God the Holy Spirit is working to change hearts and change lives.
A youth pastor once tried to teach that to a group of teenagers. As they gathered together, the pastor set up a circle of chairs with an extra chair placed in the middle. On each of the outside chairs was a note card with a verse from the Bible written on it. The pastor explained to the teens he wanted a volunteer to sit in the center chair blindfolded and share a struggle he/she was facing. Then those on the outside could read whatever passage seemed to address the problem. It was a brilliant idea…in the pastor’s mind. The students, however, thought it was completely lame. No one wanted to sit in the circle. No one took the exercise seriously. The first boy cracked jokes about his “D” on Mrs. Anderson’s math test (and no passage seemed to quite fit that struggle). But then the new girl volunteered. “I’ll do it.” She put on the blindfold and immediately spoke, “I am so miserable. I don’t know if I can stand my life anymore.” The room fell dead silent. Then, glancing down at the card in his hand, a young man read, “But I am faithful. I will provide a way of escape.” The girl continued, “But nobody cares about me!” A student read, “Cast all your anxiety on God because he cares for you.” “You don’t understand,” she yelled, “My parents kicked me out last night and they told me to never come back!” A soft voice responded, “But I will never leave you. I will never forsake you.” The pastor took the blindfold off the girl. She was crying. “Why,” she asked, “doesn’t God really talk to me like that?” The youth pastor looked into her aching eyes, “Sweetie, he does. He just did. That was him.”
            God means what he says in his Word. This book is not a 5th hand version of the story; it’s God’s first-person proclamation. You may have walked into this church today with an addiction, a sinful habit, or perhaps the unspoken attitude, “I can’t stop sinning.” But then God himself spoke to you in his Word, “We died to sin…we were buried with Christ…and just as Christ was raised, we too may live a new life.” That’s God saying to you, “Yes, you can. With my help, all things are possible.” You may have entered here lonely, feeling that no one understands what you’re going through. But God is speaking when the Word is read, “We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are.” The Holy Spirit speaks to us through the Word. If you want to know why we put so much emphasis on the Bible in our services—why the lessons, why a long sermon, why the liturgy laced with Scripture—it’s because God speaks to us in these words. And he means what he says!       That gospel is not only found in the Scripture lessons; it’s also found in the Sacraments. I was reminded this past year that we are in the minority of churches who would say that. One Sunday morning I visited a local church on the east side. The people were incredibly kind. The music was amazing. The preacher was outgoing and easy to listen to. But then came the baby dedication. The pastor explained that their church asked God to bless children, but they did not baptize them. In the pastor’s words, “A little water isn’t going to determine whether a child goes to heaven or not.” He went on to explain that all children go to heaven if they die young because of their innocence. Their church taught that baptism was something we do for God, not something God does for us. I was tempted to stand up and shout, “But God means what he says!” Have you not read Psalm 51, “Surely I was sinful from birth”? Or Mark 16, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved”? Or Romans 6, “You were buried with Christ through baptism”? Or Galatians 3, “All who are baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ”? Or Acts 22, “Be baptized and wash your sins away”? Or John 3, “You must be born of water and the Spirit”. Or 1 Peter 3, “Baptism now saves you”? God means what he says about baptism. It does something for us because the gospel is in it. It is not the water that saves, but the gospel used with the water. God has attached to that Sacrament the power to cleanse, forgive, and save. He makes us saints through baptism. If you want to know why we talk about baptism and baptize all ages, it’s because God means what he says.
            The same is true for the other Sacrament—Holy Communion. On the night he was betrayed, Jesus took bread and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is kind of like my body. It’s given for a few of you to take an extra ten minutes in the service and make you miss the kickoff.” No, he didn’t say that! He said, “This is my body given for you for the forgiveness of sins.” He meant that! He meant to give you a breath-taking gift that goes beyond understanding. That same Jesus said, “This is my blood of the new covenant, shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” He meant that, too! The new covenant is God’s agreement to not remember your sins. No joke—God chose to forget your sinful past. If you want to know why we celebrate communion and approach it with reverence and joy and awe, it’s because Jesus means what he says.
            Lutherans have called these three things—the Word, baptism, and communion—the Means of Grace. They are the means, or the ways, God gives us his grace. So if you want grace, come to the means. Come and hear the Word preached. Come and be baptized. Come and take communion. Like pipes that connect our homes to the source of city water, the Means of Grace connect us to Christ, the source of forgiveness and salvation. 
            The devil knows he’s defeated when we value these Means of Grace. He knows they assure us God loves us, chose us, defends us, forgives us, empowers us, and saves us. As long as we hold on to them, the devil cannot win. That’s why the he pulls out his red pen and tries to correct our beliefs. And that’s why Paul writes, “15So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.”  Stand firm and hold on to this teaching. The devil will spend the rest of your life trying to edit your faith. He will suggest a question mark where God has placed a period. “Children sinful?” “Bread and wine and Word forgives?” “Baptism saves?” So, brothers and sisters, stand firm on the periods the Holy Spirit has written. Hold on to God’s truth. The Savior who called himself “the Truth” will speak to you clearly in his Word. Don’t let that Word go. 
            And believe that he will keep you. Jesus tells us, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.” He means that. Amen.
 
Now receive the blessing Paul spoke to the Thessalonians: 16May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, 17encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.” Amen.

 

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Eastside Evangelical Lutheran Church and School
2310 Independence Lane Madison, WI 53704
Phone: 608-244-3045 info@eastsidelutheran.orglogin