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A Blessing for you, that “Works”
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Devotional Thought of the Day:
20 Now may the God of peace— who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, and ratified an eternal covenant with his blood— 21 may he equip you with all you need for doing his will. May he produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to him. All glory to him forever and ever! Amen! .Hebrews 13:20-21 (NLT)
So many times we say, responding to someone’s sneeze, “God bless you!” But what kind of blessing do we actually desire?
As we pray, as we ask God to bless people, do we consider how God would have them blessed? Is it all about our lives being pleasant, or rescued from the place we’ve gotten ourselves into?
Or is there more to a blessing?
The author of Hebrews ends this incredible epistle with the blessing above….one that we often end our church services with, because of what it says
First it deals with who God is, defining the Father and Son and the role they have in our life. How they establsihed a relationship with us (the covenant) where resurrected Christ guides us, and guards us in the very peace of God. This can occur because of His death (the blood that establishes and guarantees that we are found in this incredible relationship. God is identified as such so we know who the blessing is from – and therefore – knowing this is God’s blessing – are assured that the blessing will come to pass.
It is as when we pray the Lord’s prayer. We pray that certain things will happen – from God’s will, to having food, to protecting us from evil. We don’t pray this because if we do not, God will not have these things occur, but because as we pray, we realize that He is doing this! So we are assured who is “backing” this blessing, who will make it happen.
Secondly, this blessing is one that has a clear idea of what the blessing is.- that our lives, transformed by the gospel, would be what God desires and plans for them to be. That we become the masterpiece of God (see Eph. 2:10) That like little children wanting to please our Father, this happens, we really can, for the power of the Holy Spirit empowers us, even as God’s promises to us, happen because of Christ!
This is something that amazes me, as I struggle as we all do with sin. So much like Paul I want to please God, but feel I don’t – because sin seems ever present. I don’t do what I want, I do what I don’t want to do. Yet my heart cries out to God, for I want to please Him. There are days I know I do, but just as often, if not more, I wonder what I did for God during the day. Yet this blessing goes beyond what we are aware of, the little things we do naturally, because we are being conformed to image of Jesus. Just as there are sins we commit that we are unaware of, so there are words we do, where God directs our words, or our works, and we are unaware of it. Yet these things – these acts of love, bring joy to the Father as well.
So my friends, know the God who blesses you, and be amazed at what He empowers and transforms your life into – the actions and words that will bless others.
And remember to pray such for those around you, that they two would share in this blessing!
And know and rejoice in this most of all – for God to promise and bless you in this way… means that the Lord is with you!
God Blesses
(Twice a year, the three congregations that use our facility combine for one incredible service. People who were born in Europe, Africa, South America, and Asia as well North America God has gathered here…. The entire service is in both English and Mandardin and people are welcome to pray during the prayer times during the Creed and the Lord’s prayer in their own language. Sometimes the songs alternate languages, sometimes the song is sun simultaneously in Mandarin and English. I was very blessed to have an incredible translator work alongside me today, helping me deliver this sermon. Cindy’s translation will be up later.
All praise to God, who brings us through all challenges, and unites us in worship. AMEN.
God Blesses!
Matthew 5:1-12
† In Jesus Name †
May the grace and mercy of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ instill in us the trust to know that He has blessed us, and the patience to wait for that blessing to be revealed!
God Blesses….
The English Translation of our gospel reading this morning from the New Living Translation adds a small three-letter word that the older translations assumed we would read into the passage.
Yet it is critical we hear that word, it makes all the difference in the world.
The word is “God”.
For it is God who blesses. It is His blessing, His favor, His healing, His touch on our lives. The word in Greek for blessing is one that is used only for divine, supernatural blessing. Not just luck, or coincidence, but the touch of God’s hand in our life.
In this life many are crushed by sin, and the world’s pressures crush many of us as well. The pressure might be financial pressure, or challenges with physical health, psychological health, it could be family issues or even anxiety over death. Pressures that Satan is trying to use to crush us and humble us….
God comes to us, even in those places… and God Blesses.
God Blesses us, (pause) and God desires to bless all of those outside of this place… even blessing them through us.
It is God, who would bless us all, and that is what we are here to celebrate… AMEN?
Why can’t we always see it?
This is more challenging than it sounds though. More challenging for a simple reason we see when we slowly read verses 4- 9 slowly. When we see what is common to all.
It says God blesses those, (or Blessed are they) and then it describes people caught in a challenging situation.
Those who mourn,
Those who have been humbled,
Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness and justice…. Which means they haven’t seen it, yet.
Those who have had to show mercy… which means they have been brutally sinned against.
Those whose hearts are pure, which means they have been tempted and either overcome the temptation, or been cleansed of the sin when they failed…
God blesses those who work to make real peace. Not covering up or hiding that which divides people from each other, but those who actually engage the problem and try to reconcile people together.
Each of us, caught in those situations are blessed. God blesses us.
We rejoice in that! We truly do.
The challenge appears when we look at how God will bless them. The challenge is that word I just said.
Will.
God will bless them as He comforts them, as He gives them the earth, as He satisfies their craving for justice and righteousness. God will show them mercy and they will see Him and they will be called His children.
Will. Future tense. Something that does not always appear to us yet! Even though it is promised to be reality. Even though it is reality. Even though God already blesses us, we do not always see it in the moment.
That causes a problem with most of us, as patience is not always something to admit we can exercise.
We want to see healings now, we want the heartaches to fade away in a moment, we do not want to hear we might have to work at our relationships and that being merciful requires to interact with those we need to show mercy towards.
Knowing we are blessed by God is now, realizing how God Blesses us, that may take time, and lot of faith and patience. It takes remembering who it is that blesses us. It takes remembering that God does not break promises, He doesn’t change His mind and what He has done, He has done.
God Blesses… He always blesses us, He always does. Guaranteed.
Even when we struggle to see the blessing, Even when we struggle to see Him.
He is with us. The Lord is with you!
Except for the two “is”
So how do we deal with the time when we have to be patient, when we have to trust in God that we will receive the blessings, the comfort, our hunger and thirst for righteousness quenched?
We need to look to the two blessings that are not in the future tense. The promised blessing for those poor in spirit, for those who are persecuted for being just, mistreated for living in Christ, for living life in view of God’s desire that all should come to know Him, to be granted repentance, to be transformed.
You see the two beatitudes tell us we’ve become part of the Kingdom of God. We are in Him, His reign over us is now. Brought into a relationship where God is our Lord, our Master, we have been made His children. He has made promises, bound Himself covenant promises to us.
You see, God being our Lord is an awesome thing. That means He has committed to us in a relationship and dwells with us, working on us, in us, and yes through us to reach the world, to reach Cerritos and all in this area.
In Biblical times there was more an obligation on the Lord, than the servant, just like there is more obligation on the parent than on the child. God commits to us in ways that go beyond our understanding… but that is okay, He is God.
It is the Master’s responsibility to care for the servant, His obligation to provide for them and assure their welfare, just as it is parents responsibility to care for their children. Not our wants, but our needs, and always n His wisdom, which is pure and holy and loving.
We have been brought into the Kingdom of God.
We’ve been brought into the relationship with God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
That is why the Father sent Jesus to be our blessing. Why Jesus came and defined each of these blessings.
Why he became poor in spirit, allowing sin to crush Him.
Why He mourned over all the people of God as He mourned over Jerusalem
Why He chose to be humbled and He hungered and thirsted for righteousness so much He died to see that hunger satisfied, He humbled Himself and became a servant to the point of death as Paul writes to the Phillipian Christians.
That is what all these blessings are about, it is what the Kingdom of God is about. God’s love for us, His uniting Himself to us through the death of Christ. The mercy of God shown to us, the way in which are hearts are purified even though we have sinned, as He worked to make peace for us, peace with us, for He is the Son of God.
We are blessed, because we are united to Jesus, to His death, to His resurrection. We have been brought to Christ, marked as His, as has every believer, everyone who trusts in Him. It doesn’t matter if we are from Germany or Taiwan, from Boston or the Philippines, or from South America or Africa or you are a native California. It doesn’t matter whether we are 6 months old, or 6 years old or 100 years old, God has called us into a relationship to care for us, to provide for us, to heal our souls and make us His children. He brings us into this relationship and commits to us…
He commits to bless us, to be our God, to be our Lord, to be our Father.
To bless us.
Today we celebrate All Saints Day, we look back at the saints who God has blessed in the past, we realize that He has blessed us and is blessing us, and we know He will bless the next generation of Concordia and Passion. For He has always done this, He has always taken care of His people, His children.
Even when we struggle to realize it.
For God is always faithful. He can be counted on, for all of the blessings we find in scripture, including one last one I would leave you with one final blessing, from today’s reading… a look at the day when all of the blessings are fully revealed
9 After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb.
that’s us, and here is the blessing…
15 “That is why they stand in front of God’s throne
and serve him day and night in his Temple.
And he who sits on the throne
will give them shelter.
16 They will never again be hungry or thirsty;
they will never be scorched by the heat of the sun.
17 For the Lamb on the throne
will be their Shepherd.
He will lead them to springs of life-giving water.
And God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”
May it be that we, to whom this blessing speaks, and our children and children’s children, both physical and those children who come to faith as God works through us, may it be that we all realize we dwell secure in His peace… the unsurpassable peace of God. For it is there we dwell, for we are in Christ, and He guards our hearts and minds in that peace.
AMEN?
God’s Zeal did…. this?
God’s Zeal did… this.
Isaiah 9
† In Jesus Name †
As we look at the life of Jesus, may we realize the manger is just the beginning of the story, as is the tomb, and even out baptism… and that God’s zeal uses that to accomplish something…beyond our belief
Mary Did you Know Video?
The Manger, the Cross, the Tomb, and the Throne…
All this accomplished because of God’s zeal
The lighting in the sanctuary this evening, allows for the beginning of the sermon to be a video of the life of Jesus, accompanied by a song most of us have heard before. (start video)
The reason is showed the video is simple – the manger – and the incredibly peaceful looking scene in most nativity scenes can only be understood as we contemplate the ministry of Christ – what occurs in it, the miracles, the teachings, the Cross, the Tomb, the encounter with Paul, and especially the throne.
I love in our Old Testament reading tonight, the use of the word “zeal”. Not normally a word we think of, when we think of God our Father, and the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It seems odd to use such a passionate, emotional word to describe the Creator of the Heavens and Earth, the Creator of life, the Sustainer of His people. But zeal is the word used.
Zeal – the thing we think of when we think of football fans, or the excitement of a couple as they look forward to their wedding – zeal. Words like enthusiasm, passion, ardor and fanaticism are synonyms. It is that all out- gung ho approach to getting what is desired….
And it is God’s zeal that accomplishes what we celebrate tonight.
Immanuel! God with us! With us, hereto live, to teach, to comfort, to heal, to die, rise, and reign! To create for Himself a people – holy and righteous.
He’s come to take and transform us, for we have too long lived in the darkness, it is time to live in the glorious light of His presence.
It is hard to imagine God that emotionally tied to us – that desirous of our company – so willing to give His son… that we would know and love and be with Him… yet His zeal is for that very thing – and Isaiah, writing hundreds of years – says that the zeal of the Lord of hosts gets this done!
Accomplished –
The Light which shatters darkness
His reign and peace
His justice and righteousness
I have long counted Isaiah and Hebrews as my two favorite books in the Bible – because of the clarity of their presentation of the work of Jesus, the Lord who was chosen to be the child that Isaiah says was given to us. And the passage tonight – tells us of the incredible work that He came to accomplish.
We live in a world that seems dark. Darkened by sin, and darkened by the vary evil of mankind. By our thoughts, and the words we say, and even the deeds we do. I was talking to Bob recently, and we discussed that those deeds, once hidden, once never discussed, are now talked about freely, indeed we find people who take great joy, not just in doing evil – St Paul describes the people of his day, and indeed ours, this way….
28 Because those people refuse to keep in mind the true knowledge about God, he has given them over to corrupted minds, so that they do the things that they should not do. 29 They are filled with all kinds of wickedness, evil, greed, and vice; they are full of jealousy, murder, fighting, deceit, and malice. They gossip 30 and speak evil of one another; they are hateful to God, insolent, proud, and boastful; they think of more ways to do evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they have no conscience; they do not keep their promises, and they show no kindness or pity for others. 32 They know that God’s law says that people who live in this way deserve death. Yet, not only do they continue to do these very things, but they even approve of others who do them. Romans 1:28-32 (TEV)
Living in a world like this is difficult – where evil seems to reign. Even more darkened by things we cannot understand – the challenges of living life in a world were disease and disorders change our very lives – the very people we are.
But into this kind of life comes a baby, a little boy, that has promised to be a light unto the world.
Look at the things Isaiah promises He will bring – the wonderful comfort of God, His presence which will sustain us and cause us to be victorious over sin, and satan, and even.. death. He is promised to be our everlasting Father, the one who cares and protects and teaches us!
Incredibly – He will be our peace, the Lord, the Prince who establishes peace and keeps us in it!
The zeal of God – His desire to have you in His life, in His glory, makes this happen. It was planned before the foundation of the earth was laid, and it was revealed to us in scripture – even as it is today, and it was revealed in the flesh, as Mary and Joseph looked down upon Him and rejoiced!
And yes – it went through His life, as people were freed from demons and illnesses, the blind saw, the crippled walked and the dead – both physical and spiritual were given life! The plan was completed at the cross – and the grace and ascension bring its goal to fruition – even as we see it revealed in Pentecost – and in our lives.
That’s what this night is about – that is why we desired His advent – His coming into the world.. even as we desire that He comes again, to reveal the completeness of His glory to us, even as we are to abide in it for eternity, even as we do now, though we cannot see it all….
For we will dwell with Him, our Father, our Lord, our Counselor… our God forever.
For the zeal of the Lord HAS accomplished this. AMEN?
The Blessing of Pain?
A favored quote from the Princess Bride:
“Life is pain, highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something.”
There is a lot of pain in the world, even as there is a lot of beauty in the world. There is no way to doubt that, and we can only deny it so long. Occasionally, we get a glimpse of something that is both, tied in a paradox that can be enjoyed and suffered through.
But let’s be honest – most pain sucks!
Rarely, do we see the beauty in pain, the glory of God revealed in trauma. It is very difficult, for the pain grabs our focus. It dominates us, it pushes us down, and yes it causes us to doubt. To doubt those around us, to doubt ourselves, to doubt God.
Yeah – it’s time to stop playing games – because of the levels of pain, it causes us to doubt God.
Even pastors, perhaps especially pastors.
Even apostles – hear how God had Paul reveal that in his own life.
4:7 Yet we who have this spiritual treasure are like common clay pots, in order to show that the supreme power belongs to God, not to us. 8 We are often troubled, but not crushed; sometimes in doubt, but never in despair; 9 there are many enemies, but we are never without a friend; and though badly hurt at times, we are not destroyed. 10 At all times we carry in our mortal bodies the death of Jesus, so that his life also may be seen in our bodies. 11 Throughout our lives we are always in danger of death for Jesus’ sake, in order that his life may be seen in this mortal body of ours. 12 This means that death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. 2 Corinthians 4:7-12 (TEV)
While I know I exaggerate the pain I have to endure, these words of Paul so incredibly describe some days I have. It can be my pain, but often it’s the pain that people I walk alongside develop. The pain endured by people struggling with the loss of a spouse, or losing a parent. The people who are dealing with job sresses, or dysfunctional family members and dysfunctional families. The pain due to lack of trust, the pain of betrayal, the pain of opposition as we try to bless those opposed to us.
As we are troubled, as we doubt, as we deal with enemies, as we are “badly hurt”, how can we say this can be what this same Paul promises (speaking for God) that “all things work for good, for those who love God?”
The ability to endure such times, is to know the difference comes from seeing, knowing the relationship we have with the God. TO begin to grasp the life that is united with Christ’s cross, which happened to us in baptism (see Romans 6:1-8)
Knowing that we endure in Christ (scripture talks about us as being hidden in Christ as well) we begin to look to Him in the midst of trauma, in the midst of pain. We find His presence, and we find it very dear – even when we can’t see the fulfillment of the prophecies, when we can’t find the joy in the journey.
But we begin to trust, even in the midst our doubt – ever more and more, His presence. We realize our pain can cause us to run to God, as we look to Him for some hope, some sense of peace… and that is when the miracle occurs…. Like the disciples in the boat, we realize the Lord is with us… and the storms don’t die down, the pain doesn’t always diminish. But God’s presence becomes the dominant part of our life, not the pain… we begin to find ourselves ministering to others when they observe the pain..we find our spiritual senses more attuned, and eventually trying to praise God ….for in the midst of lament, we find some of the most honest, most dependent worship there is….
And that is when pain….becomes a blessing.
When we realize HE IS HERE… when we realize the Holy Spirit is called the “comforter”, the One who comes alongside, for a reason…
HE IS HERE!
And that is more than enough…. even though we can never explain how….
