“We Are One In Christ”

            1 Peter 4:12–14 ¹²Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. ¹³But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. ¹⁴If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.

            I was listening to the news the other day as they were reporting the terrible fires that were engulfing all of the houses nearby.  The News person was interviewing a lady who was looking at the burnt rubble that used to be her family’s home that they spent many years building and paying for.  It was what the lady said that struck me because I have heard it so many times before.  She said, “You see things like this happen to others but you never think it would happen to you.”

            It is like we view life through our TV and feel it is contained within that 40 to 60 inch box.  What we don’t experience ourselves doesn’t seem to be a true reality to us as if our TV separates us from the reality that it can happen to us too. 

            After the disaster of 9/11, one viewer who was in the area and saw firsthand one of the planes crash into the first tower said, “It seemed like I was watching a movie, it just didn’t seem real.”  Our big screens and tragic movies have desensitized us from reality that tragedy can happen anywhere.  We just saw this in California where a young man sought revenge.  People die every day and some through tragedy, people get sick and contract very destructible diseases and each time we seem surprised that it happened to us or to our loved ones.   

            Maybe it is more like we think others might deserve things to happen to them but we ourselves do not deserve things to happen to us.  Yet the test of fire comes, and we must endure the suffering it causes.  And sometimes this suffering is because of the consequences of sin, and sometimes it is because we suffer for the sake of God’s will like our Lord Jesus Christ did.  Did you realize that Christ died suffering the consequences of all sin, and this was the will of God the Father?

            1 Peter 4:19 ¹⁹Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good. 

            We do suffer, and when we suffer regardless of the reason we always have our Lord Jesus Christ to go to, knowing He suffered greatly for all the people of God.  Remember we all belong to God whether we believe or not.  We cannot say that those tragedies we might face should be taken with a grain of salt.  However we can say that we can have faith in our God that He will get us through all of our suffering whether we caused it, or it was caused by others, or it is a fiery test that God feels we need as a means to build our faith.  It is all about seeking the grace of God in everything.  Remember when we seek Him first He grants us all that we need through His promises. (Matthew 6:33)

            1 Peter 5:6–9 ⁶Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, ⁷casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.  ⁸Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. ⁹Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.

            We have a God that does care for us even when at times we wonder if He is watching what we are going through, or it seems like He is doing nothing to help us.  We look at the big picture on the big movie screen, but we fail to look at the big picture that is God’s final will for all who believe, and have faith God wants all to believe.

            We will all certainly suffer and it will seem like some of us will suffer more than others, even when we feel we have been good stewards to God’s word.  Though we suffer in this part of our life, we will not suffer in our transformed life paid for us by the very blood and life of our Lord Jesus Christ.

            1 Peter 5:10–11 ¹⁰And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. ¹¹To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

            This is great we get to come together each week and worship our God who does care for us.  We even get to come together as small groups outside of worship and learn about our God who’s very will is to strengthen our faith, establish our adoption as His children, and confirm our salvation and eternal relationship with Him. 

            John 17:1–11 ⁹I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. ¹⁰All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. ¹¹And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.

            Did you know that you belong to God the Father?  Did you know that the Father loves His only begotten Son?  Did you know that the Father loves you, and gives you to His Son because He loves Him and you?  And, did you know that when we become one in the body of Christ we become one with each other, and one with our Father in heaven.   Let us all realize we are one in Christ and grow together in the Body of Christ.  Amen.

“Do we love Jesus Christ?”

            John 14:15–21 ¹⁵[Jesus said:] “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.  ¹⁶And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, ¹⁷even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

            If you break one commandment you have broken them all, there is a formula to prove this.  Let’s say you broke the eighth commandment, this is actually the commandment broken most if you could single a commandment out.  First you gossiped about your neighbor, friend, or family member, this we all know.  Second you broke the second greatest command (Mark 12:31) which means you did not love your neighbor as yourself or as God loves you.  The second greatest command summarizes the last seven commandments, oops, here we go!

            When you slander someone you have stolen their reputation, harmed their reputation, and somewhat tried to kill their reputation.  You just broke commandments 5, 7, and 8.  Wait, we’re not finished, I know, oh darn.  You coveted the person’s life as well as you are trying to take away from them their own very personal property, “and anything that belongs to him. (10^th Commandment)” Now you broke commandments 5, 7, 8, 9, and 10.  You say commandment 9 deals with the persons house…, well is that person like yourself not a temple of God?  

            Matthew 25:40 ⁴⁰ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

            What we do or not do to one another we also do or not do to God.  That is breaking the greatest command (Mark 12:30), loving God, which summarizes the first three commandments.  So how can one keep the Sabbath day holy if he is sinning against his brother?  When we slander one another we also slander God and use His name in vain, we are supposed to love one another through God’s commands, grace, and mercy.  And when we feel that we are greater than one another that we can slander our neighbor, friend, or family member, we become the idol and we put ourselves before God.  Wait a second, if this is all true then none of us loves God because none of us keeps God’s commandments!

            Well…, why do you think our Christ knew we needed a helper and gave us one?  We all govern our actions based on our desire that comes from our sinful nature, maybe not all of the time, but surely a lot of times.  One’s nature is one’s characteristics of self governing and personality; we look at our own desire first and then others at times, and God’s desires last. 

            Can we change our sinful nature, no, can we change our desires, yes, but only if you really want to?  The change is easier with the Helper and the Word of God, which is, the Holy Spirit and the Holy Scriptures and the salvation we receive through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Christ wanted to make sure that there is always a means to escape the prisons we put ourselves into.  And the best part of Christ’s plan is that we do not have to do it alone, one, and two He gives us freely the ultimate escape through our salvation that He paid for Himself.  What do you think loving God and loving your neighbor means?

            Ephesians 4:16 ¹⁶ from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

            This is a faith family of which is in the likeness of Matthew 25:34-40 that we love one another, and realize our love for one another transfers to God (Matt 25:40). Yes! We do love God at times!  Though we love God at times we certainly do not do this perfectly and we act more like orphans who have no parental guiding.  That is why Jesus Christ also said…

            John 14:15–21 ¹⁸“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. ¹⁹Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. ²⁰In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. ²¹Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”

            Christ did not leave us on our own because He knows that none of us can be perfect enough to bring us into the fold of God’s love.  So Christ took the punishment for our sins so that we are forgiven and adopted into His love.  The punishment has been served, our repentance has been noted, and God our Father looks down upon us and sees a people He has called us to live in His love.  It is true, Christ died so that we can live in an eternity filled with love, joy, and pure relationship with our God.  This is Gospel, this is love from our Father in heaven who sees though we rebel, we are still worth loving, and He sees it through the loving lens we call Jesus Christ the Father’s only begotten Son.  Amen.

           

           

 

“Being in the WE with Christ”

            1 Peter 2:2–10 ²Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up to salvation— ³if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

⁴As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, ⁵you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

            What would you say is a spiritual sacrifice?  Jesus sacrificed His life suffering pain and humiliation for our sake.  Jesus made a physical and spiritual sacrifice as He was nailed and died on a cross.  What would you say your spiritual sacrifice is? And, what would you say our spiritual sacrifice is here at Peace? What would a spirit filled Body of Christ (church) look like?  And, what would the Lord taste like that is good?  What then would a spiritual sacrifice that is acceptable to God look like too?

            These are questions WE need to answer so that WE can be a spiritual house built up by God.  There are good things to do in life and there are spiritual things to do in life too.  It is certainly good to be kind to one another and even help one another.  God commands us to love one another in Mark 12:31 and other places in scripture.  This is good that WE obey the mechanics of God’s great commands Mark 12:30-31.  But what of spiritual love, taking the time to not only help your neighbor but to pray with them as well.

            It is certainly good to spend time in social gathering and even in worship.  Again WE do well in the mechanics of being with one another.  But what of spiritual gathering outside of the worship time when WE can interact with one another and share in prayer and outward actions of worship.  It is always good to seek enjoyment for ourselves, but what of love for our God and seeking enjoyment in Him? 

            Anita and I just came back from a five day retreat on wellness.  It was a fantastic week as Anita and I discovered more of what WE means in our lives with each other and our Lord Jesus Christ.  WE also learned what it means to be a WE with you the congregation and our Lord Jesus Christ.  When the WE shows up in any relationship the relationship is strengthened.  When the WE includes our Lord Jesus Christ the relationship becomes a living stone, solid in every way, precious and unbreakable.  With Christ WE are built up to be a Spiritual House.  Christ justifies us so WE can receive our salvation, and through the Holy Spirit working through the Holy Scriptures WE are sanctified into being a Spiritual House.

            Sanctification again comes from the Holy Spirit through the Holy Scripture along with our working through the Holy Scriptures.  Sanctification is actually our spiritual works not just the mechanics but the actual sharing in God’s word and Holy Spirit.  The sacrifice that is acceptable to God is the one that comes from the heart that realizes the gifts of God received. 

            When you read through the many types of sacrifices the Hebrews made to God one thing should stand out and that is they are mostly a mechanical means to receive God’s gift that needs to be repeated over and over.  However if you look at Christ’s sacrifice you see an ongoing spiritual action of God’s love for us.

            1 Peter 2:2–10 ⁶For it stands in Scripture:

“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

⁷So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” ⁸and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.”

They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

            If you don’t study it you can’t know what it’s about.  When you went to school, even the smartest of you had to study in order to pass the test.  For those of us who might have struggled with the study, it might have been a great time to have a WE moment and had someone to help us in our study.  WE have that relationship now, WE have the WE moment available to us to study the Holy Word of God and pass the race WE are running.  WE just need to use our WE to get things growing.

            WE are a chosen race, chosen by our God and He calls us great, a “Royal Priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His possession.”

            1 Peter 2:2–10 ⁹But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. ¹⁰Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

            Christ died for the community of saints, which is the chosen race.  He does not expect us to be perfect, but He does expect us to participate in His Body and Blood, that is, The Body of Christ, which is the Church.  What is the Church?  It is the means that God disperses His mercy upon all of us because the church is Christ, the Body of Christ.

            Our Father in Heaven sacrificed everything putting His only begotten Son on a criminal’s cross and letting Him die for our sin.  Christ hung in obedience to His Father and our Father in heaven to assure that WE are adopted back into the love of God.  Our God who loves us dearly wants us to be in the WE with Him forever and ever.  Amen.

            John 17:20-24 ²⁰ “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, ²¹ that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. ²² The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, ²³ I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. ²⁴ Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.  Amen, Amen, Amen.

“We Are Worth The Birth Pains”

1 Peter 2:19–21 ¹⁹For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. ²⁰For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. ²¹For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.

            We have three celebrations today.  We celebrate Easter as this is the fourth Sunday in Easter, so let’s continue to celebrate our risen Lord. We also celebrate mothers as this too is Mother’s Day.  We also celebrate with the mothers of the Catechism class their Confirmation, which makes their moms and all of us proud to celebrate. 

            It is very interesting that our Epistle reading deals with suffering.  Of course there are many times we do not do what is right and we sometimes suffer the pains and consequences of our actions.  A mother does the right thing and gives birth to her child, endures the pains of birth and sees the gracious gift from God.  It is this gift of a new life that helps the mother endure the great suffering of giving birth.  This is what a mother was called to do from the time of the fall of mankind to endure the pain of birth.

            We suffer great pains for those things God has called us to do and sometimes we think these pains are too much.  We suffer great pains when we force ourselves to endure the consequences of our sins.  And the Confirmands will tell you they suffered pains trying to learn all they had to so they could be confirmed.  Though they might not appreciate the pain they endured they will at least receive their parents respect and great appreciation.  Later on in life they might be able to look back and see the fruits of their labor.

            A mother can always look back and see that their labor at birth was not in vain, rather as they watch their children grow, they see the gift of God.  A mother might see and understand the gift of God more so than a father because of the pains they endured.

1 Peter 2:19–25 ²²He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. ²³When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. ²⁴He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. ²⁵For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

When a mother raises her children and sees them growing into adults she would most definitely say the birth pains were worth every minute of them.  You her child was worth suffering for and worth participating in the gift of life given to you.  Here is where a mother might see and understand the gift of God more so than a father.  Christ Jesus suffered great pain and humility so that we could have the gift of life too, that is, eternal life with God. 

            When you consider the amount of pain and suffering endured by Jesus who only did the right things; you might recognize that He too thought it was worth every hour of pain He endured.  Christ would not have died the death He endured for the sake of suffering, but to die for the sake of saving you and me He endured the death of worse sinners.  The cross was for all who had committed awful crimes, yet Christ had committed none and was truly unjustly crucified for all sin. 

            Christ endured much for our sake and for the sake of His Father’s and our Father’s great and awesome love for all.  It is the birth pains that Jesus endured so that we could be reborn, and adopted as heirs of the greatest gift of all.   To our God, you and I are worth those birth pains that gives us eternal life and everlasting relationship with our Savior and God.