Deuteronomy 8:1–10
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Remember to count your blessings. Indeed, it is good to pause, at least once in a while, and remember all the good things you have, all the things that make you rich. And I think you all know that what’s more important than just being materially rich is being rich in family, friendship, love. In any case, it’s good to recognize and appreciate all your blessings.
In Deuteronomy, Israel is getting ready to enter the Land of Canaan that the Lord had promised them. They have come to the end of their 40 years in the wilderness. The old, stubborn, disobedient generation that came out of Egypt had by now passed away. And also the lack of food and water, the quarrelling and rebellion, the deadly fiery serpents—it’s all behind them. In Deuteronomy, Moses tells this new generation of Israel just how richly the Lord is going to bless them in this bountiful Land: The Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land He has given you. Israel is going from barren wilderness to almost–Eden, practically paradise. Life is going to be good.
And in order that life remains good for His people, the Lord has given them His Law for life in this new Land. The Book of Deuteronomy is Moses preaching this Law for Israel one last time before they enter and receive the Land the Lord is giving them. And so throughout Deuteronomy it is made clear that they should not be motivated to keep God’s Law in order to be saved, or curry favor with God, or get special recognition. But they are motivated to keep God’s Law because of what God has done and is giving to them. Moses reminds Israel, “The Lord rescued you from Egypt and made you His people… And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness… And while He humbled you and tested you and disciplined you, as a man disciplines his son… At the same time, He also provided for you. He fed you with manna… and your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years… So you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God by walking in His ways and by fearing Him. For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land.” Why should you obey God’s Law and treasure His Word? So that He’s pleased with you? No, because of what He has done for you. You keep His Word out of gratitude, with thanksgiving. And what’s more, keeping the Law comes with earthly blessings. Life, in general, goes well for you when you follow the Law. Blessings follow when you walk in the ways of the Lord. He is always ready to give more.
Again and again in Deuteronomy, Israel is reminded that God is giving them this Land and all its blessings. The word “Give” is used 167 times in Deuteronomy, and 131 of those times (almost 80%) it is the Lord who is doing the giving. That’s the kind of God He is. All things come from Him and He is happy to do it. But the reason that Deuteronomy repeats this so much is that there will always be a great danger for Israel to forget God and His gifts. Moses goes on in chapter 8, warning them: Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments… lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied (In other words, after you’ve received all the good things the Lord will give you), then your heart be lifted up (in pride, arrogance), and you forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, who led you through the great and terrifying wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty rock, who fed you in the wilderness with manna… that He might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end.
If they are careless in taking and enjoying all the good gifts, they might forget and forsake the One who gave it all to them. Moses says, Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ They will be tempted to take the Land for granted. Israel, and all sinful mankind, is tempted to assume that all the good things, all the blessings we have in life, are a right, that we have deserved them, either on the basis of what effort we’ve made or on the basis of simply who we are. We are tempted to forget the Lord and His gifts. Moses commands: You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may confirm His covenant that He swore to your fathers… And if you forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish. Like the nations that the Lord makes to perish before you, so shall you perish, because you would not obey the voice of the Lord your God (Deut. 8:11–20).
And that is precisely what Israel does. Once they are established in the Land of Canaan and enjoying its rich bounty, they forget the Lord and how He’s the One who gave it to them—how He’s the one true God deserving of their trust and thankfulness. And so the Lord takes the gifts of the Land away from them, just as He warned. The Bible says that the Land vomited them out because of their faithlessness. Just as your belly might protest if you gorge yourself too much this afternoon, the Land that the Lord gave to Israel protested against their idolatry and ingratitude. The blessings were taken away.
Remember, count your blessings! But counting your blessings can be another way of counting your idols. That’s what it was for Israel—they counted all their blessings: their land, their fruitfulness, their identity as God’s chosen people (even though He never chose them for any reason in themselves). And all this counting of blessings only multiplied into more idols, more chasing after earthly wealth and foreign gods. Blessings become idols when we make them ends in themselves—when we fear, love, and trust the blessing rather than God. Consider your blessings, and then consider how distraught you might be if you were to lose them… That will give you an idea of how much you idolize them. Rather, we are to fear, love, and trust God, and take every other blessing He wants to give as bonus. Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and everything else will be added to you (Matt. 6:33).
Now, we should always remember, especially when reading a book like Deuteronomy, our nation is not the new Israel. The new Promised Land is not America. Sorry, not even Iowa. We are not His chosen nation in the same way Israel was, and He did not give us this land in the same way He gave them Canaan. However, this story of Israel should remind us that He did give us the place where we live and everything else. What do you have that you did not receive? St. Paul asks. If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it (1 Cor. 4:7) as if you earned it? Don’t make the same mistake Israel did. Don’t forget God and say, “My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.” Every good thing you have, every bond of love you cherish are all gifts. And if they are gifts then there must be a Giver. Counting your blessings is only good when you count the One who has blessed you. Today many people will take a little time to think about what they are thankful for… A very good, right, and salutary custom. But really, the even more important question is, Who are you thankful to?
God. And not just any God. This God: the God who took Israel as His own people—a tiny people of no account, stubborn and rebellious. The same God who took all humanity as His own—a corrupt and self-centered race. And Jesus was cursed in our place so that He might bless us. This God, our Lord Jesus, was willing to suffer and lose everything so that He might give us everything. He truly showed us how man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Jesus fulfilled that. He kept the commandments of the Lord His God by walking in His ways and by fearing Him, loving Him, trusting Him completely, even to the point of death on the cross. Jesus kept the Law. He alone is righteous.
And He gives His keeping, His righteousness, to us, so that we can live. So that we can have daily bread, and turkey and pie, dear loved ones, a good country, good books, football, music, a good dog, whatever you have. Anything good in this life comes to you because Jesus died to take away your sins. But above it all, Jesus gives us His righteousness so that we might have His Word, His Name, His body and blood… Everything good for life everlasting.
So, it is good to come to church on Thanksgiving—to remember what our Lord has done for us and for all people. We thank Him by extolling His works and His gifts. We open our mouths to sing and proclaim what He has done. In counting our blessings, we recount the deeds of the Blessed One who comes in the Name of the Lord. And then, in remembrance of Him, we open our mouths to receive more from His hand, from the new Eden He has given us: Life-giving Food from the One who counts us as blessed, heirs of His land forever. O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good, and His mercy endureth forever.
In the Holy + Name of Jesus. Amen.
Preached at Trinity, Clinton, IA and Immanuel, Charlotte, IA
Thursday, November 28, 2019
Sunday, November 17, 2019
Second to Last Sunday of the Church Year
Daniel 7:1–14
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Lutherans don’t talk that much about the End Times when Jesus will return. But that’s not because we’re scared of it or we don’t have a good understanding of what’s going to happen. We don’t have to leave that subject for other Christians to handle. Since we get our teaching from the clear Word of God, we’re going to talk about it this morning. We’ll go through Daniel’s vision in chapter 7, and let Scripture give us our understanding for the End Times. This vision was explained to Daniel by an angel later in this chapter. And we’ll use other Scripture too, since it all comes from the Holy Spirit. And we can also use history as we see that much of this vision has already come to pass.
Daniel’s visions in chapter 7 was given to him toward end of the Babylonian Empire. He tells us this vision came during the reign of King Belshazzar. You may know this guy as the one who literally saw the writing on the wall—God’s hand, spelling out Belshazzar’s doom and the end of his kingdom. So at the time of this vision in chapter 7, Daniel and the other Judeans have been living in exile in Babylon for almost 70 years. They are still longing for the time when the Lord will take them back to Jerusalem and they will rebuild His temple. This vision also has some similarities to a vision that had been given way back at the beginning of the exile to King Nebuchadnezzar—the king with the fiery furnace. He saw a statue made from gold, silver, bronze, iron, and clay, and this showed the unbelieving Gentile king how a series of kingdoms would succeed his own, until at last the kingdom of God would come. But the vision in chapter 7 is given only to Daniel, and at least for the time being, he keeps it to himself. As crazy as it might seem at first glance, Daniel’s vision is for the saints, to comfort and strengthen them, and give them hope. This vision is for you.
Behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. The four cardinal directions (north, south, east, west) mean that the number four often symbolizes the earth. So the four winds stirring up the sea, shows the whole earth in turmoil, and all the people of the earth going through tribulation. The forces of evil in this fallen world are arising out of the hearts of men and working by means of forceful violence. So, out of this churned up tribulation, rise up four great worldly empires. These are the four beasts.
First, there was one like a Lion with eagle’s wings. This was Babylon. It swiftly rose to great power, and quickly conquered a great empire. But then its wings and its bestial ferocity were taken away—it lost its power and fell to the second great kingdom.
The next beast was like a Bear. This was the Empire of the Medes and the Persians, who conquered Babylon. One side of the beast was raised up, showing that within this dual empire, the Persians would have greater power than the Medes. It had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth; and it was told, ‘Arise, devour much flesh.’ The power and triumph of the empire is shown in the beast devouring some carcass. It’s possible that the three ribs represent the three major kingdoms that Persia conquered: Lydia (in modern-day Turkey), Babylon, and Egypt. But we should always remember that visions are symbolic, and especially numbers have symbolic meaning. So, three ribs is clearly not a complete set, not an even number, meaning that Persia would conquer a lot of the known world, but not its entirety. Either way, notice that the beast is told to devour. God commands the empires to rule. And while these worldly kingdoms are not direct agents of God, we know that all authority ultimately comes from God.
The third beast is like a Leopard with four wings and four heads. This was the kingdom of the Greeks. The leopard is a swift animal, and this one has two sets of wings, making it even faster. And this is a good image for the dominion of the Greeks that was achieved when Alexander the Great conquered Persia and, in less than 10 years, established the largest empire ever in the ancient near east. Remember, four is a number for the earth, so the four heads show the ambition and vision of Alexander to conquer all the earth. Also, after Alexander’s death, his short-lived empire was divided into four Greek kingdoms. And once again, we realize it was God who gave this beast its dominion, although the text doesn’t explicitly say that. Because God only rules indirectly through earthly government. The dominion of these worldly kingdoms is very different from the dominion that will come in God’s kingdom later in the vision.
Then came the fourth beast, and Daniel doesn’t tell us if it looked like any animal we would know. But he says it was terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. This was the Roman Empire. Unlike the bear who devoured others, and the leopard who was given dominion, this beast is recklessly destructive. It crushes and tramples with its feet—good imagery for the cruelty of the Roman legions that subjugated so many different smaller kingdoms and peoples. And this beast had 10 horns. 10 is a number for completion, totality (like the 10 Commandments). So this beast is shown to have total power, surpassing the power of the previous beasts. And we know the Roman Empire is the last worldly kingdom, because it was during the Roman Empire that the Christ was born and the kingdom of God was first established (but more on that later).
Next, Daniel noticed something about the horns on the fourth beast. A little horn came up and three of the original horns were uprooted. And behold, in this little horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things. So, this little horn is a power that comes out of the Roman Empire, but only wields a portion of Rome’s power. And later in the chapter, we hear that the great things spoken by the little horn are words against God and against God’s holy people, His saints. So this is the Antichrist.
There’s a lot of false ideas of the Antichrist out there, from Hollywood and from other Christians. But he’s not the devil, he’s not the son of the devil, he’s not even one individual. The really short, simple thing to keep in mind is that the Antichrist is anything that is anti-Christ. So, the first thing to notice is that the main weapon of Antichrist is what he says: great things against God and against His saints. His main weapon is blasphemy, lies about God, false teaching. The Antichrist is all false teachers who twist and contradict God’s Word.
In 2 Thessalonians, Paul calls him the man of lawlessness and the son of destruction. Both St. Paul and St. John say that Antichrist or this man of lawlessness was already active in their time. As Daniel foresaw, the little horn came out of the fourth beast—the Antichrist comes up out of the Roman Empire. So, at the same time that Christ appeared and established His kingdom, Antichrist also gets to work opposing Christ and His kingdom. And so the work of Antichrist will continue, fighting against God’s Word and His people for the entire New Testament age, including our time, until Christ comes again. Daniel records that the Antichrist shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High (7:25), meaning that we become exhausted in trying to fight against his lies and remain steadfast to God’s Word. And it says that he shall think to change the times and the Law (7:25), meaning that he will create new laws for God’s people—man-made laws for how to worship and serve God. And this matches with what Paul says: the man of lawlessness exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God (2 Thess. 2:4). Ultimately, this means that Antichrist takes away from God’s glory and teaches that we can be saved by our works, our glory.
But let’s go back to Daniel’s vision and notice that it’s not all beasts and talking horns. God is there. The Ancient of Days is God the Father. He is sitting on His throne, surrounded by the angel hosts, and He is ready to judge the earth. God’s court sits in judgment on all people, but in this vision we see specifically the judgment of the evil powers that attack God’s people.
And then someone else enters the heavenly court: Behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a Son of Man, and He came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom. This glorious figure like a son of man is someone that has a true human nature, but is also greater than a man. It says that all people will worship Him. This is Jesus—true God and true Man. We know this for sure because many times in the Gospels Jesus calls Himself the Son of Man, and even says that He will come on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory (Matt 24:30). He received His kingdom from the Father even as He said (Matt. 28). And His kingdom was first established at His first coming, when He became man during the Roman Empire.
At that time, He did the work of His kingdom by suffering and dying for the sins of the world, rising to life in victory, and sitting down at the right hand of God to begin His reign. And His kingdom goes on from right now until His final coming and even into eternity. Daniel sees all of this compressed into one big picture: Jesus is incarnate, born, suffered, died, risen, ascended, and coming again. Daniel sees all of this happen at once as the Son of Man receives His dominion from the Ancient of Days. And at the same time, God’s judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom (7:22). Because Jesus didn’t get His kingdom for His own benefit. He did it for us—for our salvation. All who believe in Him inherit His kingdom and we will reign with Him forever. Also, the coming and work of the Son of Man means that the little horn and all the forces of evil are already defeated. And when the King reappears, they will be thrown down to burn in the fire of hell.
Now this all means that almost all of this vision has already happened. All that remains to take place is the final appearance of Jesus and the final judgment. Isn’t that wonderful? But that also means the danger of the little horn is already here. This is the danger of false teaching—the corruption of the Gospel. We must be on guard against that now. St. John in his First Epistle says that there are many antichrists active right now (1 John 2). All false teachers serve that office of Antichrist. They can be Protestants who teach falsely on the End Times or deny the power of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. They can be politicians who use Christianity for their own purposes and make it mean whatever they want. They might even include Islam, which pushes itself as an alternative to Christianity. And these false teachers definitely include the office of the Pope of the Roman Church. Now listen to me carefully: when I say the Papacy is Antichrist, I don’t say that to ridicule or demean Roman Catholic Christians, but to warn them. And we should certainly warn our brothers and sisters in Christ that if they trust in their own works as the papacy teaches then they cannot be saved. We say this only out of love. But because Paul tells us that the man of lawlessness will rule IN the Church, then recognizing the pope as Antichrist also means that the Roman Church is still a part of the one holy Christian and apostolic Church. And that means there are many true Christians there. The only thing we condemn as Antichrist is the office of the papacy as it commands and promotes false teachings and practices.
So, instead of listening to the great and evil words of the little horn, Daniel’s vision focuses our attention on the kingdom of God that is already ours because of God’s free grace in Christ’s death and resurrection. Daniel’s vision teaches us at least four important things. First, God governs all world history for the sake of His kingdom and His people. Second, God’s kingdom comes only through the Christ: the Man who is God. Third, God’s people receive this kingdom. Believers receive what belongs to Christ: His righteousness, His resurrection, His eternal kingdom where they reign with their King. And fourth, this should comfort and encourage God’s people even now while they face suffering and persecution.
I know Lutherans don’t talk about the End Times that much. But that’s because we don’t need to worry about it too much. We know who the King is. We know He’s coming back. We are aware of false teachers and so we keep listening to the Truth. And we know the King is reigning now. He’s even with us now—in His Word and Sacraments. We know that we already live in His kingdom by faith. So, we live and work without fear, praying and longing for His return while doing what we should while here. We live with calm, confident faith. We live according to His promise that we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells (2 Peter 3:13).
Come quickly + Lord Jesus. Amen.
Preached at Trinity, Clinton, IA and Immanuel, Charlotte, IA
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Lutherans don’t talk that much about the End Times when Jesus will return. But that’s not because we’re scared of it or we don’t have a good understanding of what’s going to happen. We don’t have to leave that subject for other Christians to handle. Since we get our teaching from the clear Word of God, we’re going to talk about it this morning. We’ll go through Daniel’s vision in chapter 7, and let Scripture give us our understanding for the End Times. This vision was explained to Daniel by an angel later in this chapter. And we’ll use other Scripture too, since it all comes from the Holy Spirit. And we can also use history as we see that much of this vision has already come to pass.
Daniel’s visions in chapter 7 was given to him toward end of the Babylonian Empire. He tells us this vision came during the reign of King Belshazzar. You may know this guy as the one who literally saw the writing on the wall—God’s hand, spelling out Belshazzar’s doom and the end of his kingdom. So at the time of this vision in chapter 7, Daniel and the other Judeans have been living in exile in Babylon for almost 70 years. They are still longing for the time when the Lord will take them back to Jerusalem and they will rebuild His temple. This vision also has some similarities to a vision that had been given way back at the beginning of the exile to King Nebuchadnezzar—the king with the fiery furnace. He saw a statue made from gold, silver, bronze, iron, and clay, and this showed the unbelieving Gentile king how a series of kingdoms would succeed his own, until at last the kingdom of God would come. But the vision in chapter 7 is given only to Daniel, and at least for the time being, he keeps it to himself. As crazy as it might seem at first glance, Daniel’s vision is for the saints, to comfort and strengthen them, and give them hope. This vision is for you.
Behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. The four cardinal directions (north, south, east, west) mean that the number four often symbolizes the earth. So the four winds stirring up the sea, shows the whole earth in turmoil, and all the people of the earth going through tribulation. The forces of evil in this fallen world are arising out of the hearts of men and working by means of forceful violence. So, out of this churned up tribulation, rise up four great worldly empires. These are the four beasts.
First, there was one like a Lion with eagle’s wings. This was Babylon. It swiftly rose to great power, and quickly conquered a great empire. But then its wings and its bestial ferocity were taken away—it lost its power and fell to the second great kingdom.
The next beast was like a Bear. This was the Empire of the Medes and the Persians, who conquered Babylon. One side of the beast was raised up, showing that within this dual empire, the Persians would have greater power than the Medes. It had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth; and it was told, ‘Arise, devour much flesh.’ The power and triumph of the empire is shown in the beast devouring some carcass. It’s possible that the three ribs represent the three major kingdoms that Persia conquered: Lydia (in modern-day Turkey), Babylon, and Egypt. But we should always remember that visions are symbolic, and especially numbers have symbolic meaning. So, three ribs is clearly not a complete set, not an even number, meaning that Persia would conquer a lot of the known world, but not its entirety. Either way, notice that the beast is told to devour. God commands the empires to rule. And while these worldly kingdoms are not direct agents of God, we know that all authority ultimately comes from God.
The third beast is like a Leopard with four wings and four heads. This was the kingdom of the Greeks. The leopard is a swift animal, and this one has two sets of wings, making it even faster. And this is a good image for the dominion of the Greeks that was achieved when Alexander the Great conquered Persia and, in less than 10 years, established the largest empire ever in the ancient near east. Remember, four is a number for the earth, so the four heads show the ambition and vision of Alexander to conquer all the earth. Also, after Alexander’s death, his short-lived empire was divided into four Greek kingdoms. And once again, we realize it was God who gave this beast its dominion, although the text doesn’t explicitly say that. Because God only rules indirectly through earthly government. The dominion of these worldly kingdoms is very different from the dominion that will come in God’s kingdom later in the vision.
Then came the fourth beast, and Daniel doesn’t tell us if it looked like any animal we would know. But he says it was terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. This was the Roman Empire. Unlike the bear who devoured others, and the leopard who was given dominion, this beast is recklessly destructive. It crushes and tramples with its feet—good imagery for the cruelty of the Roman legions that subjugated so many different smaller kingdoms and peoples. And this beast had 10 horns. 10 is a number for completion, totality (like the 10 Commandments). So this beast is shown to have total power, surpassing the power of the previous beasts. And we know the Roman Empire is the last worldly kingdom, because it was during the Roman Empire that the Christ was born and the kingdom of God was first established (but more on that later).
Next, Daniel noticed something about the horns on the fourth beast. A little horn came up and three of the original horns were uprooted. And behold, in this little horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things. So, this little horn is a power that comes out of the Roman Empire, but only wields a portion of Rome’s power. And later in the chapter, we hear that the great things spoken by the little horn are words against God and against God’s holy people, His saints. So this is the Antichrist.
There’s a lot of false ideas of the Antichrist out there, from Hollywood and from other Christians. But he’s not the devil, he’s not the son of the devil, he’s not even one individual. The really short, simple thing to keep in mind is that the Antichrist is anything that is anti-Christ. So, the first thing to notice is that the main weapon of Antichrist is what he says: great things against God and against His saints. His main weapon is blasphemy, lies about God, false teaching. The Antichrist is all false teachers who twist and contradict God’s Word.
In 2 Thessalonians, Paul calls him the man of lawlessness and the son of destruction. Both St. Paul and St. John say that Antichrist or this man of lawlessness was already active in their time. As Daniel foresaw, the little horn came out of the fourth beast—the Antichrist comes up out of the Roman Empire. So, at the same time that Christ appeared and established His kingdom, Antichrist also gets to work opposing Christ and His kingdom. And so the work of Antichrist will continue, fighting against God’s Word and His people for the entire New Testament age, including our time, until Christ comes again. Daniel records that the Antichrist shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High (7:25), meaning that we become exhausted in trying to fight against his lies and remain steadfast to God’s Word. And it says that he shall think to change the times and the Law (7:25), meaning that he will create new laws for God’s people—man-made laws for how to worship and serve God. And this matches with what Paul says: the man of lawlessness exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God (2 Thess. 2:4). Ultimately, this means that Antichrist takes away from God’s glory and teaches that we can be saved by our works, our glory.
But let’s go back to Daniel’s vision and notice that it’s not all beasts and talking horns. God is there. The Ancient of Days is God the Father. He is sitting on His throne, surrounded by the angel hosts, and He is ready to judge the earth. God’s court sits in judgment on all people, but in this vision we see specifically the judgment of the evil powers that attack God’s people.
And then someone else enters the heavenly court: Behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a Son of Man, and He came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom. This glorious figure like a son of man is someone that has a true human nature, but is also greater than a man. It says that all people will worship Him. This is Jesus—true God and true Man. We know this for sure because many times in the Gospels Jesus calls Himself the Son of Man, and even says that He will come on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory (Matt 24:30). He received His kingdom from the Father even as He said (Matt. 28). And His kingdom was first established at His first coming, when He became man during the Roman Empire.
At that time, He did the work of His kingdom by suffering and dying for the sins of the world, rising to life in victory, and sitting down at the right hand of God to begin His reign. And His kingdom goes on from right now until His final coming and even into eternity. Daniel sees all of this compressed into one big picture: Jesus is incarnate, born, suffered, died, risen, ascended, and coming again. Daniel sees all of this happen at once as the Son of Man receives His dominion from the Ancient of Days. And at the same time, God’s judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom (7:22). Because Jesus didn’t get His kingdom for His own benefit. He did it for us—for our salvation. All who believe in Him inherit His kingdom and we will reign with Him forever. Also, the coming and work of the Son of Man means that the little horn and all the forces of evil are already defeated. And when the King reappears, they will be thrown down to burn in the fire of hell.
Now this all means that almost all of this vision has already happened. All that remains to take place is the final appearance of Jesus and the final judgment. Isn’t that wonderful? But that also means the danger of the little horn is already here. This is the danger of false teaching—the corruption of the Gospel. We must be on guard against that now. St. John in his First Epistle says that there are many antichrists active right now (1 John 2). All false teachers serve that office of Antichrist. They can be Protestants who teach falsely on the End Times or deny the power of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. They can be politicians who use Christianity for their own purposes and make it mean whatever they want. They might even include Islam, which pushes itself as an alternative to Christianity. And these false teachers definitely include the office of the Pope of the Roman Church. Now listen to me carefully: when I say the Papacy is Antichrist, I don’t say that to ridicule or demean Roman Catholic Christians, but to warn them. And we should certainly warn our brothers and sisters in Christ that if they trust in their own works as the papacy teaches then they cannot be saved. We say this only out of love. But because Paul tells us that the man of lawlessness will rule IN the Church, then recognizing the pope as Antichrist also means that the Roman Church is still a part of the one holy Christian and apostolic Church. And that means there are many true Christians there. The only thing we condemn as Antichrist is the office of the papacy as it commands and promotes false teachings and practices.
So, instead of listening to the great and evil words of the little horn, Daniel’s vision focuses our attention on the kingdom of God that is already ours because of God’s free grace in Christ’s death and resurrection. Daniel’s vision teaches us at least four important things. First, God governs all world history for the sake of His kingdom and His people. Second, God’s kingdom comes only through the Christ: the Man who is God. Third, God’s people receive this kingdom. Believers receive what belongs to Christ: His righteousness, His resurrection, His eternal kingdom where they reign with their King. And fourth, this should comfort and encourage God’s people even now while they face suffering and persecution.
I know Lutherans don’t talk about the End Times that much. But that’s because we don’t need to worry about it too much. We know who the King is. We know He’s coming back. We are aware of false teachers and so we keep listening to the Truth. And we know the King is reigning now. He’s even with us now—in His Word and Sacraments. We know that we already live in His kingdom by faith. So, we live and work without fear, praying and longing for His return while doing what we should while here. We live with calm, confident faith. We live according to His promise that we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells (2 Peter 3:13).
Come quickly + Lord Jesus. Amen.
Preached at Trinity, Clinton, IA and Immanuel, Charlotte, IA
Sunday, November 10, 2019
Third to Last Sunday of the Church Year
Job 14:1–6
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
St. Matthew 24:15–28
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble. He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down; He fleeth also like a shadow, and continueth not. These words from Job begin the funeral service in our church. They are words of confession, compelled from us in the face of death. No one lives forever. No one has an easy, carefree life. No one knows when this fleeting life will come to its dismal end. Job learned this well in his afflictions—afflictions at the hand of Satan, but ultimately afflictions sent by the hand of God. Job learned that the trouble of this life and its inevitable conclusion comes from God Himself. Crosses, trials, and even death come by the will of God upon sinful men, who deserve only temporal and eternal punishment.
Did you know, that today is Martin Luther’s birthday? He was born on November 10, 1483 in Eisleben, Germany. And we can be sure that Hans & Margaretta Luther of Eisleben had great joy at the birth of their son. There’s always so much hope at the beginning of a new life. But Job confesses that we are born already dying. We come forth like a flower and are cut down. The fact that even babies can, and sadly often do, die, is proof. Hans and Margaretta Luther knew this, and feared it. Even from its first moments, our life is headed toward death. And 63 years later, in that same town of Eisleben, Martin Luther died. It seems to me that God’s providence took Luther back to the place of his birth for his death. In this way, the famous teacher and reformer of the Church would not be so different from so many others. He ended where he began… like we all do.
I was brought forth in iniquity, confessed David, and in sin did my mother conceive me. Our very human nature is corrupted by sin. And Job wisely asks, Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? And he wisely answers, There is not one. Sinful flesh only begets sinful flesh. Sinful parents deserving God’s wrath can only bear sinful children deserving God’s wrath. And in each man’s life, the corruption of sin grows, infecting every thought, word, and deed, until at last, God’s scalpel finally comes to cut the infection out of this world and kill the sinner. Job wonders, So why does God care? If all we are is short-lived vanity, then why does God even bother to deal with us at all? Why does He even care enough to trouble punishing us? God deals with us in His holy Law and anger because we arrogantly resist and despise God. So, if He is a just God, He will justly punish.
There are great men like Luther or Julius Caesar or George Washington whose names are still known to us for their great achievements. But that’s not true for the majority of mankind. Most of us will be forgotten after a few generations. And even those great names might be forgotten one day (if the Lord allows the world to last long enough). The funeral service continues with this point from Psalm 39: Behold, Thou hast made my days as a handbreadth; and mine age is nothing before Thee. Verily, every man at his best state is altogether vanity (Ps. 39:5). And finally, when the end of the world comes, anything that was said or done, any work of man that does not testify of Christ and find its true glory in God, will all be burned up and thrown away forever. From the womb to the tomb we are in death. Another old prayer from the funeral service hammers this point home:
In the midst of life we are in death; from whom can we seek help?
From You alone, O Lord, who by our sins are justly angered.
Holy God, holy and mighty, holy and merciful Savior,
Deliver us not into the bitterness of eternal death.
(LSB Agenda, p.124)
From whom can we seek help? Don’t look to any man for your help. Don’t look to anything in this world for assurance that your life has meaning. Don’t look to anything from man for you to trust. They will ultimately fail.
Even Jerusalem, God’s holy city of old, was destroyed by God’s anger and punishment, just as Jesus foretold. His prophecy moved from the destruction of Jerusalem to the destruction of the world. This prophecy should reinforce for us that not only was Jerusalem destroyed, but all flesh passes away. In the destruction of Jerusalem, we should see a picture of the fleeting nature of our own lives. The judgment of that city shows the judgment that will come upon all mankind for our sin. In the destruction of Jerusalem we should see the severity of God’s judgment upon ourselves, the utter destruction that death is for us, apart from God’s mercy (Trinity 25 Collect).
This whole world is doomed to destruction because of our sin. Job even considers how the natural world shows this—the entropy of the cosmos—the gradual decline and fall of everything, from order into chaos: The mountain falls and crumbles away, and the rock is removed from its place; the waters wear away the stones; the torrents wash away the soil of the earth; so You, O God, destroy the hope of man (Job 14:18–19). Again, we might wonder with Job, so why does God bother? If we are nothing but tiny specks of dust in this crumbling universe of dust, why does God deal with us at all—in wrath or in mercy?
Because in His infinite and unaccountable grace, God loves us through His beloved Son, and He would have us live with Him. God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live (Ezk. 33:11). So, God destroys man’s hope in himself and in this world, in order to replace it with a far greater hope. As we sang in our Opening Hymn:
What is all this life possesses?
But a hand Full of sand That the heart distresses.
Noble gifts that pall me never
Christ, our Lord, Will accord To His saints forever.
(TLH 523:6)
This life really is nothing but sand, and nothing to hope in. But Christ gives gifts that create and bestow real hope that will not be disappointed. For this reason, Hans and Margaretta took their newborn son the very next day, November 11, down the street to their parish church and had Martin baptized. There was a gift that gave hope for that baby, and 63 years later hope for that dying man—hope that outlasts this short life and this decaying world—hope for the resurrection and the life of the world to come.
St. Paul speaks of this unshakeable hope for us who are dying and for those who are dead: We do not want you to be uninformed about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep. With Christ, death is changed. He is the payment for sins. God’s anger and punishment that we deserve fell on Him. His death is the defeat of sin and the death of death. So, the death of a Christian is not merely the cutting down of a flower or the fleeing of a shadow. The death of a Christian is not the end of that Christian.
Death cannot destroy forever;
From our fears, Cares, and tears It will us deliver.
It will close life’s mournful story,
Make a way That we may Enter heavenly glory.
(TLH 523:5)
Death’s punishment is not removed entirely, and we do still grieve. But Christ has also transformed our death to be a doorway. Death cannot hold us in its prison, but instead it must deliver us. It must serve our Lord and so it must serve those who belong to Him. For a Christian, the Lord uses our death to bring our suffering to an end, and to begin our life with Him in peace and joy. And so, we grieve with hope.
Lord, my Shepherd, take me to Thee.
Thou art mine; I was Thine, Even ere I knew Thee.
I am Thine, for Thou hast bought me;
Lost I stood, But Thy blood Free salvation brought me.
(TLH 523:7)
And there’s more: Christ is risen. So, not only is death changed, but it is completely defeated. And one day, along with the rest of this death-filled world, death will be utterly destroyed. And all who die in Christ will rise again. Not only do we confess with Job that man’s life is short and must come to an end, but we also joyfully confess with Job: I know that my Redeemer lives, And at the last He will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another (Job 19:25–27). In this way we also sang to our living Redeemer:
Thou art mine; I love and own Thee.
Light of Joy, Ne’er shall I From my heart dethrone Thee.
Savior, let me soon behold Thee
Face to face—May Thy grace Evermore enfold me!
(TLH 523:8)
Therefore, as St. Paul says, let us encourage one another with these words. In a world where our days are few and full of trouble, let us comfort one another with words of the resurrection of the dead. Because, although we lose this whole world, we are in Christ and so we have nothing to lose. Not even death gets the last word. The funeral service continues with these Scripture verses, addressing us, those still living—urging us, encouraging us to remain faithful and confident in our salvation: We must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, that everyone may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad (2 Cor. 5:10). Therefore, beloved, let us escape the corruption that is in the world through lust (2 Pt. 1:14), and seek now, in the day of salvation, the one thing needful, which shall not be taken away from us (Lk. 10:42). Let us fight the good fight of faith, and lay hold on eternal life, whereunto we are also called (1 Tim. 6:12). May we be found in constant readiness for the final summons (Mt. 24:42), ever waiting for our Lord and purifying our souls in obeying the truth through His Spirit (1 Pt. 1:22), that, through His power resting upon us, we may overcome the world (1 Jn. 5:4) and be counted worthy at last to reign with Him eternally in heaven (2 Tim. 2:12).
So let us now go back to the opening stanzas of our hymn that also encourage us to confidence in our Lord and Savior even while we now suffer and face death:
Why should cross and trial grieve me?
Christ is near With His cheer; Never will He leave me.
Who can rob me of the heaven
That God’s Son For my own To my faith hath given?
Though a heavy cross I’m bearing
And my heart Feels the smart, Shall I be despairing?
God, my Helper, who doth send it,
Well doth know All my woe And how best to end it.
God oft gives me days of gladness;
Shall I grieve if He give Seasons, too, of sadness?
God is good and tempers ever
All my ill, And He will Wholly leave me never.
Hopeful, cheerful, and undaunted
Ev’rywhere They appear Who in Christ are planted.
Death itself cannot appal them,
They rejoice When the voice Of their Lord doth call them.
(TLH 523:1–4)
So we continue, waiting and working, not in vain, but in hope for the Day when all will be made new—when the eternal heavenly Jerusalem that shall never be destroyed will come down out of heaven from God, and we will live with Him.
In the Holy + Name of Jesus. Amen.
Preached at Trinity, Clinton, IA, and Immanuel, Charlotte, IA
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
St. Matthew 24:15–28
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble. He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down; He fleeth also like a shadow, and continueth not. These words from Job begin the funeral service in our church. They are words of confession, compelled from us in the face of death. No one lives forever. No one has an easy, carefree life. No one knows when this fleeting life will come to its dismal end. Job learned this well in his afflictions—afflictions at the hand of Satan, but ultimately afflictions sent by the hand of God. Job learned that the trouble of this life and its inevitable conclusion comes from God Himself. Crosses, trials, and even death come by the will of God upon sinful men, who deserve only temporal and eternal punishment.
Did you know, that today is Martin Luther’s birthday? He was born on November 10, 1483 in Eisleben, Germany. And we can be sure that Hans & Margaretta Luther of Eisleben had great joy at the birth of their son. There’s always so much hope at the beginning of a new life. But Job confesses that we are born already dying. We come forth like a flower and are cut down. The fact that even babies can, and sadly often do, die, is proof. Hans and Margaretta Luther knew this, and feared it. Even from its first moments, our life is headed toward death. And 63 years later, in that same town of Eisleben, Martin Luther died. It seems to me that God’s providence took Luther back to the place of his birth for his death. In this way, the famous teacher and reformer of the Church would not be so different from so many others. He ended where he began… like we all do.
I was brought forth in iniquity, confessed David, and in sin did my mother conceive me. Our very human nature is corrupted by sin. And Job wisely asks, Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? And he wisely answers, There is not one. Sinful flesh only begets sinful flesh. Sinful parents deserving God’s wrath can only bear sinful children deserving God’s wrath. And in each man’s life, the corruption of sin grows, infecting every thought, word, and deed, until at last, God’s scalpel finally comes to cut the infection out of this world and kill the sinner. Job wonders, So why does God care? If all we are is short-lived vanity, then why does God even bother to deal with us at all? Why does He even care enough to trouble punishing us? God deals with us in His holy Law and anger because we arrogantly resist and despise God. So, if He is a just God, He will justly punish.
There are great men like Luther or Julius Caesar or George Washington whose names are still known to us for their great achievements. But that’s not true for the majority of mankind. Most of us will be forgotten after a few generations. And even those great names might be forgotten one day (if the Lord allows the world to last long enough). The funeral service continues with this point from Psalm 39: Behold, Thou hast made my days as a handbreadth; and mine age is nothing before Thee. Verily, every man at his best state is altogether vanity (Ps. 39:5). And finally, when the end of the world comes, anything that was said or done, any work of man that does not testify of Christ and find its true glory in God, will all be burned up and thrown away forever. From the womb to the tomb we are in death. Another old prayer from the funeral service hammers this point home:
In the midst of life we are in death; from whom can we seek help?
From You alone, O Lord, who by our sins are justly angered.
Holy God, holy and mighty, holy and merciful Savior,
Deliver us not into the bitterness of eternal death.
(LSB Agenda, p.124)
From whom can we seek help? Don’t look to any man for your help. Don’t look to anything in this world for assurance that your life has meaning. Don’t look to anything from man for you to trust. They will ultimately fail.
Even Jerusalem, God’s holy city of old, was destroyed by God’s anger and punishment, just as Jesus foretold. His prophecy moved from the destruction of Jerusalem to the destruction of the world. This prophecy should reinforce for us that not only was Jerusalem destroyed, but all flesh passes away. In the destruction of Jerusalem, we should see a picture of the fleeting nature of our own lives. The judgment of that city shows the judgment that will come upon all mankind for our sin. In the destruction of Jerusalem we should see the severity of God’s judgment upon ourselves, the utter destruction that death is for us, apart from God’s mercy (Trinity 25 Collect).
This whole world is doomed to destruction because of our sin. Job even considers how the natural world shows this—the entropy of the cosmos—the gradual decline and fall of everything, from order into chaos: The mountain falls and crumbles away, and the rock is removed from its place; the waters wear away the stones; the torrents wash away the soil of the earth; so You, O God, destroy the hope of man (Job 14:18–19). Again, we might wonder with Job, so why does God bother? If we are nothing but tiny specks of dust in this crumbling universe of dust, why does God deal with us at all—in wrath or in mercy?
Because in His infinite and unaccountable grace, God loves us through His beloved Son, and He would have us live with Him. God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live (Ezk. 33:11). So, God destroys man’s hope in himself and in this world, in order to replace it with a far greater hope. As we sang in our Opening Hymn:
What is all this life possesses?
But a hand Full of sand That the heart distresses.
Noble gifts that pall me never
Christ, our Lord, Will accord To His saints forever.
(TLH 523:6)
This life really is nothing but sand, and nothing to hope in. But Christ gives gifts that create and bestow real hope that will not be disappointed. For this reason, Hans and Margaretta took their newborn son the very next day, November 11, down the street to their parish church and had Martin baptized. There was a gift that gave hope for that baby, and 63 years later hope for that dying man—hope that outlasts this short life and this decaying world—hope for the resurrection and the life of the world to come.
St. Paul speaks of this unshakeable hope for us who are dying and for those who are dead: We do not want you to be uninformed about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep. With Christ, death is changed. He is the payment for sins. God’s anger and punishment that we deserve fell on Him. His death is the defeat of sin and the death of death. So, the death of a Christian is not merely the cutting down of a flower or the fleeing of a shadow. The death of a Christian is not the end of that Christian.
Death cannot destroy forever;
From our fears, Cares, and tears It will us deliver.
It will close life’s mournful story,
Make a way That we may Enter heavenly glory.
(TLH 523:5)
Death’s punishment is not removed entirely, and we do still grieve. But Christ has also transformed our death to be a doorway. Death cannot hold us in its prison, but instead it must deliver us. It must serve our Lord and so it must serve those who belong to Him. For a Christian, the Lord uses our death to bring our suffering to an end, and to begin our life with Him in peace and joy. And so, we grieve with hope.
Lord, my Shepherd, take me to Thee.
Thou art mine; I was Thine, Even ere I knew Thee.
I am Thine, for Thou hast bought me;
Lost I stood, But Thy blood Free salvation brought me.
(TLH 523:7)
And there’s more: Christ is risen. So, not only is death changed, but it is completely defeated. And one day, along with the rest of this death-filled world, death will be utterly destroyed. And all who die in Christ will rise again. Not only do we confess with Job that man’s life is short and must come to an end, but we also joyfully confess with Job: I know that my Redeemer lives, And at the last He will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another (Job 19:25–27). In this way we also sang to our living Redeemer:
Thou art mine; I love and own Thee.
Light of Joy, Ne’er shall I From my heart dethrone Thee.
Savior, let me soon behold Thee
Face to face—May Thy grace Evermore enfold me!
(TLH 523:8)
Therefore, as St. Paul says, let us encourage one another with these words. In a world where our days are few and full of trouble, let us comfort one another with words of the resurrection of the dead. Because, although we lose this whole world, we are in Christ and so we have nothing to lose. Not even death gets the last word. The funeral service continues with these Scripture verses, addressing us, those still living—urging us, encouraging us to remain faithful and confident in our salvation: We must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, that everyone may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad (2 Cor. 5:10). Therefore, beloved, let us escape the corruption that is in the world through lust (2 Pt. 1:14), and seek now, in the day of salvation, the one thing needful, which shall not be taken away from us (Lk. 10:42). Let us fight the good fight of faith, and lay hold on eternal life, whereunto we are also called (1 Tim. 6:12). May we be found in constant readiness for the final summons (Mt. 24:42), ever waiting for our Lord and purifying our souls in obeying the truth through His Spirit (1 Pt. 1:22), that, through His power resting upon us, we may overcome the world (1 Jn. 5:4) and be counted worthy at last to reign with Him eternally in heaven (2 Tim. 2:12).
So let us now go back to the opening stanzas of our hymn that also encourage us to confidence in our Lord and Savior even while we now suffer and face death:
Why should cross and trial grieve me?
Christ is near With His cheer; Never will He leave me.
Who can rob me of the heaven
That God’s Son For my own To my faith hath given?
Though a heavy cross I’m bearing
And my heart Feels the smart, Shall I be despairing?
God, my Helper, who doth send it,
Well doth know All my woe And how best to end it.
God oft gives me days of gladness;
Shall I grieve if He give Seasons, too, of sadness?
God is good and tempers ever
All my ill, And He will Wholly leave me never.
Hopeful, cheerful, and undaunted
Ev’rywhere They appear Who in Christ are planted.
Death itself cannot appal them,
They rejoice When the voice Of their Lord doth call them.
(TLH 523:1–4)
So we continue, waiting and working, not in vain, but in hope for the Day when all will be made new—when the eternal heavenly Jerusalem that shall never be destroyed will come down out of heaven from God, and we will live with Him.
In the Holy + Name of Jesus. Amen.
Preached at Trinity, Clinton, IA, and Immanuel, Charlotte, IA
Sunday, November 3, 2019
The Feast of All Saints
Alleluia Verse & Proper Preface: Hebrews 12:1–2
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Most of you know the Lord recently took my grandpa to rest in the arms of Jesus to await the resurrection of the dead. I gave a little speech about him before the funeral lunch, and I’d like to share one thing about him with all of you. My grandpa was baptized and confirmed on the same day, when he was 16. He didn’t grow up as a child in the church. He started attending with neighbors as a teenager. And after being instructed, he joined the Lutheran Church. He wasn’t born into it. He did it on purpose, because of the conviction he had. He did it because the Gospel won him over. Of course, this doesn’t mean you have to have some kind of special conversion. I wouldn’t even say that my grandpa did. He came to it gradually, by coming to church and learning. But what I’ve come to realize recently is that I was blessed to be born into the Lutheran Church, in large part because of him. So far as we know, he was the first in our family to become Lutheran. He joined the church, raised his family in the church, including my Mom. And then after my Dad joined, they raised me. I never had to do the hard work of choosing a church, deciding to join a church. And that’s okay, in fact it’s really good to be born and raised in the Church. So, I thank God for that gift, and I’m also very grateful to my grandpa.
I tell you all this, not because my family is special in any way, but because whether you were blessed to join the church later in life or you were blessed to be born into it like me, either way, it takes conviction to be a Christian. That’s really what we remember on All Saints’ Day: not just the people who have died, but their conviction, their faith.
Christian faith is trust in the promises God has made through Jesus Christ. It’s not wishful thinking. It’s not a passing feeling. It’s not a blind leap. It’s conviction. It’s certainty. God’s Word is trustworthy… God never lies… He remains faithful for He cannot deny Himself (Titus 1:2; 2 Tim. 2:11–13). So, however you became a Christian, it means you hold this conviction: that Jesus Christ, true God and man, is the Lord; that He died and shed His blood for the world; that in Him there is forgiveness of sins; and that He is risen from the dead, so there is resurrection and immortality for all who trust Him. This is most certainly true.
But to hold on to this conviction is not the easiest thing. It’s far easier to let it slip away, and drift back into the way of this world, back into the thinking of the devil, back into sin and death. Christian conviction requires some effort, some grit. This is why St. Paul calls the Christian faith a good fight, and a race. When he’s about to die, Paul writes to Timothy who was like a son to him, and he urges Timothy to not give up. As for himself, he says, the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved His appearing (2 Tim. 4:6–8).
So, hold on to your Christian conviction. Fight the good fight. Finish the race. Keep the faith. Because this conviction gives eternal life. Jesus has a crown of victory prepared for you. And so, whether you were born and raised in the Church or you joined in later, continue in it on purpose. Go forward with determination. This faith is going to ask a lot of you: stamina, patience, endurance. This conviction is not a quick sprint. This race is cross–country.
The author of Hebrews also calls the Christian faith a race. We heard part of this in the Alleluia Verse, and we’ll hear more of it in the proper preface for Holy Communion. From Hebrews 12: Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God (12:1–2).
While running this race, we look to Jesus who went before us. He ran this course in joy, even enduring the cross so that we would not be punished for our sin, but saved by His holy precious blood and by His innocent suffering and death. Risen from the dead, He made the way for us, flinging wide open heaven’s door at the finish line. He began this race for us—He is the founder of our faith. And He finished this race for us—He is the perfecter of our faith. All that remains for us is to chase after Him. So many others have already followed after Him, having gone on before us and finished their course. We especially remember them on All Saints’ Day: that great cloud of witnesses, that arena of saints who have already competed and received their eternal reward.
I know many of you have been to cross–country meets. That is the analogy the Bible gives us for the Christian faith. It’s not a short race. And there are parts of the course where you’re almost alone. Maybe you’ve fallen behind the pack. And along some parts there are very few spectators to cheer you on. And there comes another hill (or the same hill for the third time), and you wonder if you can go on. At times it might feel like each step is going to be your last. Yet you keep pushing on—one more step and then another.
It’s not hard to match this up with spiritual struggle is it? You feel alone, not sure who to turn to, and maybe you’re facing the same temptation you’ve been dealing with for years. You wonder if you can go on, even while, somehow, God be praised, you do. He gives His Spirit. He gives His grace. And it’s enough.
So the author of Hebrews wants to remind us in this race, that we are not alone. We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. And sometimes along the course, we can hear people cheering, urging us on. It puts a little new life in our limbs.
And when the fight is fierce, the warfare long,
Steals on the ear the distant triumph song,
And hearts are brave again, and arms are strong. (LSB 677:5)
All the saints are one in Christ and death cannot separate us. The faith that binds us together keeps us so close, it’s as if we can hear those dearly departed already singing the song of heaven. So also, we pray to God in today’s proper preface: In the communion of all Your saints gathered into the one body of Your Son, You have surrounded us with so great a cloud of witnesses that we, encourage by their faith and strengthened by their fellowship, may run with perseverance the race that is set before us and, together with them, receive the crown of glory that does not fade away. We remember the saints gone before us who have already finished the race, not only because we love them, but also because they encourage us. For we are all one in Christ.
So imagine, if you will, you’re running this race called the Christian faith, and these are the faces you see, cheering you on along the course. First, you spot your loved ones who have gone before you: maybe a grandpa or grandma, a dad or mom, or a child. They’re smiling and shouting: “You’re almost there! You’re going to make it.” Then maybe you see the pastor who baptized you: “Keep going!” he says, “Don’t give up!” And pretty soon you see other faces you’ve never met in this life but somehow you know them anyway. There’s Martin Luther. There’s St. Augustine—famous teachers of the church cheering for you! And a little farther on you spot St. James, Jesus’ brother—he’s calling out: Count it all joy… when you meet trials of various kinds (James 1:2). St. Peter is next to him waving his arms, yelling: Rejoice… as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed (1 Peter 4:13). And there’s St. Paul, jumping up and down with the enthusiasm of a little child, shouting: To live is Christ, and to die is gain! (Philippians 1:21).
And so, surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, you look ahead… And there before you is Jesus, the founder and perfecter of your faith. His arms are open wide ready to catch you as you stumble across the finish line, collapsing into Him, finally finished, at peace. You can rest.
Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord… that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them! (Rev. 14:13).
In the Holy + Name of Jesus. Amen.
Preached at Trinity, Clinton, IA & Immanuel, Charlotte, IA
The concluding race and cheering spectators imagery came from Rev. Brian Wolfmueller
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Most of you know the Lord recently took my grandpa to rest in the arms of Jesus to await the resurrection of the dead. I gave a little speech about him before the funeral lunch, and I’d like to share one thing about him with all of you. My grandpa was baptized and confirmed on the same day, when he was 16. He didn’t grow up as a child in the church. He started attending with neighbors as a teenager. And after being instructed, he joined the Lutheran Church. He wasn’t born into it. He did it on purpose, because of the conviction he had. He did it because the Gospel won him over. Of course, this doesn’t mean you have to have some kind of special conversion. I wouldn’t even say that my grandpa did. He came to it gradually, by coming to church and learning. But what I’ve come to realize recently is that I was blessed to be born into the Lutheran Church, in large part because of him. So far as we know, he was the first in our family to become Lutheran. He joined the church, raised his family in the church, including my Mom. And then after my Dad joined, they raised me. I never had to do the hard work of choosing a church, deciding to join a church. And that’s okay, in fact it’s really good to be born and raised in the Church. So, I thank God for that gift, and I’m also very grateful to my grandpa.
I tell you all this, not because my family is special in any way, but because whether you were blessed to join the church later in life or you were blessed to be born into it like me, either way, it takes conviction to be a Christian. That’s really what we remember on All Saints’ Day: not just the people who have died, but their conviction, their faith.
Christian faith is trust in the promises God has made through Jesus Christ. It’s not wishful thinking. It’s not a passing feeling. It’s not a blind leap. It’s conviction. It’s certainty. God’s Word is trustworthy… God never lies… He remains faithful for He cannot deny Himself (Titus 1:2; 2 Tim. 2:11–13). So, however you became a Christian, it means you hold this conviction: that Jesus Christ, true God and man, is the Lord; that He died and shed His blood for the world; that in Him there is forgiveness of sins; and that He is risen from the dead, so there is resurrection and immortality for all who trust Him. This is most certainly true.
But to hold on to this conviction is not the easiest thing. It’s far easier to let it slip away, and drift back into the way of this world, back into the thinking of the devil, back into sin and death. Christian conviction requires some effort, some grit. This is why St. Paul calls the Christian faith a good fight, and a race. When he’s about to die, Paul writes to Timothy who was like a son to him, and he urges Timothy to not give up. As for himself, he says, the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved His appearing (2 Tim. 4:6–8).
So, hold on to your Christian conviction. Fight the good fight. Finish the race. Keep the faith. Because this conviction gives eternal life. Jesus has a crown of victory prepared for you. And so, whether you were born and raised in the Church or you joined in later, continue in it on purpose. Go forward with determination. This faith is going to ask a lot of you: stamina, patience, endurance. This conviction is not a quick sprint. This race is cross–country.
The author of Hebrews also calls the Christian faith a race. We heard part of this in the Alleluia Verse, and we’ll hear more of it in the proper preface for Holy Communion. From Hebrews 12: Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God (12:1–2).
While running this race, we look to Jesus who went before us. He ran this course in joy, even enduring the cross so that we would not be punished for our sin, but saved by His holy precious blood and by His innocent suffering and death. Risen from the dead, He made the way for us, flinging wide open heaven’s door at the finish line. He began this race for us—He is the founder of our faith. And He finished this race for us—He is the perfecter of our faith. All that remains for us is to chase after Him. So many others have already followed after Him, having gone on before us and finished their course. We especially remember them on All Saints’ Day: that great cloud of witnesses, that arena of saints who have already competed and received their eternal reward.
I know many of you have been to cross–country meets. That is the analogy the Bible gives us for the Christian faith. It’s not a short race. And there are parts of the course where you’re almost alone. Maybe you’ve fallen behind the pack. And along some parts there are very few spectators to cheer you on. And there comes another hill (or the same hill for the third time), and you wonder if you can go on. At times it might feel like each step is going to be your last. Yet you keep pushing on—one more step and then another.
It’s not hard to match this up with spiritual struggle is it? You feel alone, not sure who to turn to, and maybe you’re facing the same temptation you’ve been dealing with for years. You wonder if you can go on, even while, somehow, God be praised, you do. He gives His Spirit. He gives His grace. And it’s enough.
So the author of Hebrews wants to remind us in this race, that we are not alone. We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. And sometimes along the course, we can hear people cheering, urging us on. It puts a little new life in our limbs.
And when the fight is fierce, the warfare long,
Steals on the ear the distant triumph song,
And hearts are brave again, and arms are strong. (LSB 677:5)
All the saints are one in Christ and death cannot separate us. The faith that binds us together keeps us so close, it’s as if we can hear those dearly departed already singing the song of heaven. So also, we pray to God in today’s proper preface: In the communion of all Your saints gathered into the one body of Your Son, You have surrounded us with so great a cloud of witnesses that we, encourage by their faith and strengthened by their fellowship, may run with perseverance the race that is set before us and, together with them, receive the crown of glory that does not fade away. We remember the saints gone before us who have already finished the race, not only because we love them, but also because they encourage us. For we are all one in Christ.
So imagine, if you will, you’re running this race called the Christian faith, and these are the faces you see, cheering you on along the course. First, you spot your loved ones who have gone before you: maybe a grandpa or grandma, a dad or mom, or a child. They’re smiling and shouting: “You’re almost there! You’re going to make it.” Then maybe you see the pastor who baptized you: “Keep going!” he says, “Don’t give up!” And pretty soon you see other faces you’ve never met in this life but somehow you know them anyway. There’s Martin Luther. There’s St. Augustine—famous teachers of the church cheering for you! And a little farther on you spot St. James, Jesus’ brother—he’s calling out: Count it all joy… when you meet trials of various kinds (James 1:2). St. Peter is next to him waving his arms, yelling: Rejoice… as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed (1 Peter 4:13). And there’s St. Paul, jumping up and down with the enthusiasm of a little child, shouting: To live is Christ, and to die is gain! (Philippians 1:21).
And so, surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, you look ahead… And there before you is Jesus, the founder and perfecter of your faith. His arms are open wide ready to catch you as you stumble across the finish line, collapsing into Him, finally finished, at peace. You can rest.
Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord… that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them! (Rev. 14:13).
In the Holy + Name of Jesus. Amen.
Preached at Trinity, Clinton, IA & Immanuel, Charlotte, IA
The concluding race and cheering spectators imagery came from Rev. Brian Wolfmueller
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