“Looking Ahead, by Looking Back”

S-1531 NY/3C 12/31/15; Hymns: (O) #897 (S) #733; L.S. 739; 740; (C) #917

Texts: Psalm 111; Ecclesiastes 3:1-8; Romans 8:31-39; Matthew 6:25-34

Theme: “Looking Ahead, by Looking Back” (Luke 9:62)

Question: “What are you hoping for in the New Year?” (20^th Sermon at Trinity).

Faithful followers of the Savior, Happy New Year to all of God’s beautiful children. The text for our meditation is from the book of Luke: “Jesus said to him, ‘No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God’” ( Luke 9:62).

In Nomine Iesu

Saints in Christ, we find ourselves one more time standing on the threshold of another year. The year past is over. All its mistakes, all its success, all of its failure and all of its heartaches are behind us. Before us lies another year with all of its promises and hopes and dreams. We stand on the door of closing one year and opening another. Always hoping, always dreaming that the New Year would be better than the last.

This evening we call on the Holy Spirit to awaken us to the truth that time keeps marching on. We know we are getting older and the time is going a lot faster; and it is hard to believe 2015 is almost over and 2016 will start soon.

So it’s another new year. If you’re like me, you look back into the old year and scratch your head and think, “What did I accomplish last year? I know I was busy, but what did I do with my time, how was it used? Did anything of importance happened?” For me, I need to pull out my red calendar and flip through it, and then I remember. “Oh yeah, that’s what that was like…thus and such happened in this month…” What’s written down jogs my memory, and then I know what happened in the old year.

But you don’t see what’s not there. If you flipped through your own calendar or thought back over your year, what do you notice that is missing? The kind words you never spoke to someone else? The time when you unleashed your tongue when your spouse or a family member provoked you; instead of being calm and forgiving. The hug, the smile, the loving gesture you gave to someone that you knew was having a hard time – that’s missing because you were too busy with your own things to notice when someone else was struggling. The patience, the joy, the kindness you never showed to those around you who deserved it the most. The act of love that you just never did, even though you knew it’s what the other person wanted more than anything from you. The sin you should have struggled against, but didn’t. The times you chose to put others first – they’re all not there. You can’t remember them because you never did them.

But there is more to life than looking back in regret. This evening we call on the Holy Spirit to help us look ahead by looking back. As you hear me say that you say to yourself. “Pastor what you say, doesn’t really make sense! How can we look ahead by looking back?” PAUSE.

The answer to the question is this; you must know what happened in the past so that you may know to look ahead. Our Synod’s President the Rev. Matt Harrison stated: “When a Church body forgets its past, it loses its compass and doesn’t have a future!” Dr. Luke in chapter 9 speaks of the discourse of Jesus with some people who wanted to follows Him. This is how this encounter is recorded for us in Holy Scripture. “To another He said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Jesus gives a most perfect advice, when we are about the Lord’s business. We should be looking back, in order to look ahead to find the means and methods of proclaiming the Gospel. And I don’t want you to think that I am going contrary to My Lord’s advice and command.

I am simply stating for us Christians in order to look ahead to the promised future we must look back. But not just back to 2015 or 2014, but back all the way to the Garden of Eden and His promise to give us a Savior. And back all the way to Good Friday the day Pilate and the Jewish leaders determined that the innocent Lamb of God must die. Go all the way back to the dark and dismal day when the Savior was hanging on the cross and learn what that means to you and me.

The instrument of shame and cruelty became a badge of honor and glory. That day—a day of infamy for Jesus when He died, became a day of triumph. That day Satan was silenced, Sin conquered and death destroyed. That day of darkness became a day of light and life. A day of hope and promise of life with Him forever. That day is day of victory and confidence.

When you look ahead through the prism of looking back, you see much more than dollar sings, and bright tomorrows. You see so much more. You see God coming to you in Word and Sacrament to bless you and enrich your life. You see the God who became Incarnate serving you in all of your presents and tomorrows. You see a future that is secured. You see eternity guaranteed, you see sins forgiven and heaven’s door opened wide for all who put their trust in the ONLY Lord and Savior. PAUSE.

Beloved and purchased saints, my father-in-law Ed Miedema plowed SD farmland with a John Deer tractor. There is one thing that he taught me and it is a no-no. You never try to plow while looking over your shoulder. If you do, your rows are crooked and your field is difficult to work. Just ask me about it. The day was so nice and dad said, “Go ahead and plant some wheat.” Which I was eager to do! But remember, I am a city boy. So I drove the tractor proudly to the North and that had many points of reference of keeping straight rows. But the problem started when I turned around to head south, and there was nothing in front of me except open spaces. At first it wasn’t noticeable, but when the wheat began to grow some of the neighbors began to whisper, I wonder how many beers did Ed have that day?

To “put your hand to the plow” means to begin the task of plowing. The Greek verb tenses underline the point. Literally, “No one who puts (Aorist tense, past complete action) his hand to the plow and looks back (Present tense, continuous action), is fit for the kingdom of God.” Jesus isn’t saying you can’t look back. But He is saying you can’t continue to look back once you’ve begun to plow. If you do, you’re not “fit,” Greek euthetos, “fit, suitable, usable, convenient for something.”

But I do want you to look back at the cross and pay close attention what Christ has accomplished for you. Look back not only on the cross but more importantly on the empty tomb and mighty deeds the Savior accomplished. The Psalmist often tells us of the mighty deeds of God for which we praise His name.

So go on and look ahead, but don’t forget where you have come from. Look back and thank God for what you see ahead of you—a bright and blessed future. One that is guaranteed that there is nothing in this world or the next that can separate you from His loving hands and that there is nothing to worry about for tomorrow, because we know who holds tomorrow that is our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ.

On this final day of 2015, I exhort you in the name of the Living Christ to look ahead by looking back. Amen.

Now the peace…

SOLI DEO GLORIA

“A New Beginning!” (2 Corinthians 5:17-19)

S-1405 NE/3A 12/31/2013 Hymns: (O) SOD #32; (S) #123; LS #416; #54; (C) LSB,#917

Texts: Exodus 12:1-6; 2 Corinthians 5:16-21; John 1:1-5

Theme: “A New Beginning!” (2 Corinthians 5:17-19)

Question: “Are you working on a new project?” Armour, SD

Happy New to you faithful followers of the Savior, the text is from the Epistle lesson: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5:17-19).

INTRODUCTION: In Nomine Iesu.

Most precious people of God, some of you know that I enjoy watching Western movies. Recently I was watching The Cowboys starring John Wayne as Wil Andersen. Wil finds himself with a herd of cattle which he has to drive 400 miles to the Belle Fourche market before the winter sets in, but he has no men to help him. He turns to a group of young school boys as his last hope to get the job done. There is no better training for these boys than hands-on as they don’t know what they are in for. They set out as schoolboys but return as Cowboys.

Wil’s cook is Jebediah Nightlinger. On the drive late one night they were visiting about family. Wil tells Jebediah that he has lost two sons. He doesn’t know how, but he wasn’t a very good and caring father. He didn’t know how to teach his children the value of family and life. Jebediah says to him: “You might have another chance to make the wrong right with these young boys!” Soon after, Wil began to speak in a different tone with these young boys and he made a difference in their lives.

This evening as we close the year, you might be just like Wil Andersen dealing with regrets of past sins and acknowledging that you may have fallen short of what God has asked you to be. You may not have loved your family to the best of your ability, your neighbor and even God. You may have lived to please yourself instead of Jesus Christ.

If you are like Wil, and if we are honest, at many times in our lives we are just like Wil, therefore, you are in the right place. The Holy Spirit has brought you here. In this place you will receive the medicine that heals broken hearts, cleanses guilty consciences and removes regrets. Listen to a preacher who has his best interest for you: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” Paul states that if you are in Christ then you have become a new person with a new beginning. In Christ the old is removed and the new is brought forth. In Christ that which was done yesterday is over, you have another beginning. On account of Christ the regrets are removed and reception into the family of faith is granted.

Please also notice that Paul doesn’t say “if” as in conditional statement meaning it depends on you. No! Salvation is not conditional. To be sure, there is nothing “iffy” about the way of salvation. The Gospel of Christ doesn’t have an “if” clause.” It is a simple and beautiful declaration. “Christ died for our sins!” Paul confessed it this way: “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them…” We have been reconciled. We have been redeemed. We have been washed and made new.

The reason we can stand in the presence of God as New creatures because Christ reconciled us to Himself by not counting our sins against us. Because our sins have been forgiven the past is covered by the blood of the Lamb and the New has come forth. The old has been destroyed and placed into the cold tomb of Christ and the New has risen out of the tomb. This is not a remodel job. It is completely new construction! You and I have a New beginning on account of Christ who is the in the business of reconciling us to God the loving and gracious Father. PAUSE.

Tonight in this hospital room know that Christ has made you a new creature with a new beginning. Don’t look back and wish you could have done better! Instead look up to Jesus the Redeemer and the Reconciler of your heart and life. Here in this household of faith which is also a banquet hall, don’t let the devil rob you of the joy of being forgiven, neither should you attempt to win God’s favor by doing the best you can be. The best you can be is not good enough—only the goodness of Christ is good enough to cover every sin and makes us NEW. Only in Christ every sin is covered, every regret is abandoned and every event of past history is forgotten in Him who has reconciled us to God.

Regrets can drag us down and drown us in sorrow. I don’t have enough time tonight to tell you of my many regrets. I can barely scratch the surface in admitting to you how often I have dishonored and disgraced, shamed and violated God and His Word.

But that is why I came tonight on this final opportunity I have to be in this hospital and banquet hall in 2013. Here I will by the power of the Holy Spirit hear again the sweet message of Pastor Paul who tells me and you, “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them…” Indeed, we have been FORGIVEN, RECONCILED AND REDEEMED! And we even get to dine at His table.

Beloved children of God don’t let the world determine how you live for Christ! Don’t fall into the trap of making resolutions that you can’t keep. Every one of us has made these resolutions: I want to be a better husband and father, wife and mother, stop drinking, smoking, using fowl language, attend church more, show kindness and provide for my family better. And the best—I will go on a diet and lose weight. All of this is good, but not for your salvation. Instead rely on Your Redeemer and Lord Jesus Christ who has won your freedom and forgiven you ever sin you have every committed and will commit. PAUSE.

Remember, I said, I enjoy Western? The Rifleman was a great western TV show about Lucas Macain, a man raising his son Mark after the death of the boy’s mother.

Each episode contains a moral lesson about what is right and wrong. One, in particular, involves Lucas telling Mark how his mother died. It was a terrible wintery day. Lucas’ wife had given birth but was ill and needed medicine. She asked her husband to send her father—Mr. Gibbs—to retrieve the medicine. Lucas reluctantly agreed, gave his father-in-law money for the medicine, and sent him on his way in howling wind and blowing snow.

But Mr. Gibbs was an alcoholic, and the biting weather wore him down. He entered a bar thinking one drink would give him the energy to keep going. One drink wasn’t enough, and by the time Mr. Gibbs returned with the medicine, his daughter was dead. Mr. Gibbs left and never spoke with Lucas, who blamed his father-in-law for his wife’s death.

Twelve years later, Mark has learned to hate his grandfather for what happened to his mother. But in this episode, Mr. Gibbs is back and asking for forgiveness. Mark isn’t interested, yelling, “You killed my mother and I grew up without her. I will never, every forgive you!” Surprisingly, Lucas tells his son to let go of the past and to forgive Mr. Gibbs. Slowly Mark walks over to his grandfather and utters in a low voice, “Mr. Gibbs, I forgive you!” He then walks a little closer to the old man, looks up at him and says, “Grandpa, I forgive you!” Gibbs responds, with a huge smile, “That is just fine, boy. That is just fine!”

Today, as we stand on the portal of the New Year, the Holy Spirit helps us hear the voice of the Second person of the Trinity—Jesus the Christ saying to you and to me, “I forgive you for all of your sins. For all of your past disobeDIEnce. For every time you dishonored Me, shamed Me, denied Me and defiled My NAME. You are new in Me and have a wonderful life ahead because of My Sacrifice on the cross in your place!”

Unlike Lucas Macain who had to teach his son Mark how to let go of the past and forgive, God is different. He sent His Son to forgive us our sins and give us a new beginning through His death and resurrection.

We are not a new beginning because of “if”. We are not saved “if.” We are saved because—because God in His immeasurable mercy sent His Son into the world to die for your sins and mine. Our salvation is completed. Christ died, He rose again. We can believe this message. Not “if” but because our Lord has said so. And Since He has said so—we have a New beginning with Him now and always. HAPPY NEW YEAR! Amen.

Now the peace…

SOLI DEO GLORIA

“Not a Plastic Jesus” (Luke 2:21)

S-1356-1SAC/C 12/30/2012 Hymns: O) #123; S) #114 L.S. #124; #125; C #47

Texts: Isaiah 9:2-93, 11-15; Acts 4:1-12; Luke 2:21

Theme: “Not a Plastic Jesus” (Luke 2:21)

Question: “Have you seen the blow up nativities?” Armour, SD

Blessed New Year faithful followers of the Savior, Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed! Alleluia! The text for our New Year’s Eve is from the Gospel lesson: “And at the end of eight days, when He was cir­cumcised, He was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb” (Luke 2:21).

INTRODUCTION:

Saints in Christ, outside in front of our church we have a manger scene that we set up during the Advent and Christmas season. They are brightly colored, illuminated at night and early morning, and all with the lifelike joy of a department store mannequin. The set includes sheep, a cow, the shepherds, three Wise Men, Mary and Joseph, all staring past the lifeless baby Jesus with dead plastic eyes. There are also around our town nativity scenes that blow up—the kind that have to be anchored with wire to the ground. These plastic figures are made in a country that doesn’t even believe in Jesus and are so light that a strong wind can blow them in every direction. Some of these figurine have actually blown away that the owners had to chase after the plastic baby Jesus rolling down the street.

Unfortunately, the Christ of modern imagination is no more substantial than the lifeless Jesus of the plas­tic manger scene. As soon as any hardship, difficulties, crisis or challenges of the soul, the imaginary Jesus just blows away before the winds of trouble, scud­ding down the street in need of our rescue. The plastic Jesus of popular imagination neither suffers nor shares life’s experiences with us poor sinners. The plastic Jesus has no feeling or concern about us poor miserable sinners. The plastic Jesus can’t touch, feel, comfort, console or help.

However the Jesus Born of Mary is NOT a hollow plastic saint who comes to make a good scene or fine appearances. Instead, this Jesus is real, takes our flesh and chooses to bear all its bur­dens for our sakes. This real Jesus comes to our rescue and deliverance. This real Jesus has eyes to see our hurts, hands to heal our wounds, soul to show He cares and a heart that demonstrates God’s love.

This real Jesus doesn’t wait for someone to run after Him to be rescued because He has blown away by the strong wind of life’s challenges. No, this Jesus—the Real One, comes to our rescue and deliverance. He doesn’t come to make a good scene or fine appearances. Instead, He takes our flesh and chooses to bear all our bur­dens upon Him. By this act of taking our burdens, He frees our humanity from the corruption caused by sin.

This Jesus is real and true and He came to earth to be one with us. In order to earn our rescue, He was willing to be cir­cumcised on the eighth day for us. He places Himself under the Law for us. He is real enough so as to undergo a bloody circumcision as a sign of His further shedding of
blood. The cross is not far from the temple. But He, the Real Jesus, bears the burden of the temple and carries it all the way to the cross.

He is circumcised so that we don’t have to be. We now live without being compelled to be circumcised. We Gentiles are latecomers—and yet no less grafted in through what Jesus, the Incarnate One, undergoes, including circumcision for us and on our behalf. PAUSE.

You and I, have no real Jewish blood in us. Yet, we are invited to the banquet of salva­tion. For God had chosen the people of ancient Israel, giving to them the divine promises and the perfect seal of His Word given to Moses and the prophets (Rom 1-2). God promised that He would bless Israel through the off­spring given to Abraham. The Messianic line was given to the patriarchs and fulfilled in these last days by the incarnation of God’s Son (Heb 1:1-2). Unfortunately, those who ought to have depended on the promise begin to depend on themselves instead. They act as if the sign of God’s grace in circumcision is their own work. Their own works of righteousness became substitutes for the work of that offspring of Abraham, who would be their perfect substitute and ultimate sacrifice.

Likewise, we too, act at times like our Jewish counter parts saying to ourselves, “I am baptized now and I can live the way I want to. I can come to church or not. I can come to the Lord’s Supper or not. I can give my offerings or not. I can do what I desire and God still loves me.” We fool ourselves by thinking we have it all, when we don’t have the Real Jesus growing in our hearts. We think God owes me and He needs to bless me by His grace just because I have my name in the church’s roster.

How foolish we are, when we make Jesus just as shallow and hallow as the plastic Jesus made in China or other countries. How foolish we are, when we think Jesus will do anything that we desire, if we only blow Him up, He will waive His magic wand and bring about our hearts desires. How foolish we are when we think our piety earns us points with God and His grace will follow.

And we are foolish enough to listen to the world’s ways of teaching instead of the Real teaching of the Messiah—Jesus by thinking “Jesus has done His work, and now it is up to me to prove myself worthy of receiving His benefits.” If that is how we think, we shall fail miserably, just as Israel did when she relied on circumcision.

Let me assure you precious saints on this final day of the year of our Lord 2012 and as you listen to the last sermon of this year, our efforts are worthless, and our works avail us none, as Isaiah reminds us, “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment” (Is. 64:6). PAUSE.

Tonight call upon the Holy Spirit to help you see into the manger and behold the REAL Jesus. For the Word of God stoops to take on human flesh of the Virgin Mary that He might become an object of human experience and sense. He does all of this since we could not climb up to the Throne of Grace and see Him in heaven. We could have never opened the gates of heaven by ourselves or by our works. But He chose to deign to come and be with us and for us.

The incarnate Word of God has come so that He may reveal to us the love of God. He has come to show us that only in Him and through Him are we able to know the true God—not the one made in a Chinese factory, but the One who created heaven and earth and everything that is in it. You and I can’t mount up to find Him; He stoops down to find us in the midst of His bloodied weakness, which begins at His cir­cumcision.

He does this by taking on our human flesh of the Virgin Mary. He becomes visible, touchable, reachable and audible. He becomes the One upon whom we looked when He was pierced for our transgressions. He becomes the One who stops the twelve-year flow of blood when touched. He becomes the One who is subjected to brutal treatment under rough hands. He becomes the One who for us was nailed to the accursed tree.

In the flesh He also becomes a son of Abraham and is subject to the responsibilities and debts that came upon Abraham and his children. He Himself fulfills the whole Law, undergoing circumcision, and in that shedding of blood foreshadows yet more blood being shed from His own veins. That profusion of blood clears us of the Law’s debt both by perfectly fulfilling the Law and by bearing its full penalties under the wrath of God. Jesus is not a plas­tic saint, for His blood is REAL, RED AND RUNS to YOU to SAVE YOU from sin and hell.

Thank God that our Jesus is not a plastic but REAL. AMEN.

Now the peace…

SOLI DEO GLORIA