Keep Them From the Evil One

John 17:11b-17
Often when I am visiting someone in the hospital, one of the things that I will say when I am leaving is that we will keep you in our prayers or I will mention that the staff prayed for you today. At one time I thought that this was just a nice way to close off a visit until one time when I was the patient in the hospital and I got a pile of hand made get well cards from the children in our school and many of them said that they were praying for me. What a comforting feeling to know that so many people were bringing requests to God for healing on my behalf. It has happened a several times since I’ve been in the Ohio District that I will receive an e-mail from the district office saying that the staff at the district was praying specifically for our congregation. I have even received letters from congregations in other parts of the country that have chosen our congregation at random and prayed for us. What has been interesting about that is that the timing of those prayers have always coincided with some major activity or decision that the congregation was about to make. The Lord was not only receiving the prayers but was guiding others to pray for us in the process. That is a testimony not only to the power of prayer but also God’s will that we pray for one another.

Our Gospel reading for today is another example of the importance of prayer in the lives of God’s people. What makes this reading so special for us is that the one who is praying is Jesus Himself. If you look closely at all of John 17 you find that Jesus is not only praying for His disciples at that moment but in verse 20 He says, “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message.” When you think about that, you realize that this prayer, which is often called Jesus’ “High Priestly Prayer” was for us as well. If it gives us a sense of comfort to know that our family and friends and members of the church are praying for us, think of the comfort that we can have knowing that Jesus is praying for us as well.

There are many things that Jesus prayed about in this special prayer on the night when He was betrayed and arrested and questioned by the religious leaders of the day. If you were to sum up the thoughts of this prayer it would probably come down to the words of verse 15 that I read before. “I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the evil one.” As we consider the implications of that prayer for our lives today, may we be strengthened and encouraged for lives as people of God for our struggle against the evil one every day.

In our day when many people no longer believe that there is a devil, an evil one, who has a negative effect on our lives, it is important that we continue to hear the Word of God that definitely says that there is an evil one. In his first letter Peter writes in the fifth chapter, the eighth and ninth verses, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith.” Jesus, Himself, in our text recognizes the influence of the evil one. He is all around us and the more we try to resist his influences the harder he will work to get us to fall away from God. That is his sole purpose. He will try any tricks he can to accomplish his goals.

He uses the world around us. He pressures us with the enticements of the world trying to get us to abandon God’s will for the pleasures that he convinces us we need to have. Just like he did with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, he will try to get us to question God’s wisdom and His will and he will try to convince us that we know better than God what is good and right. He will use our friends to influence us to ignore our parents and others in authority. He will use the media to desensitize us to violence and bad language, to sinful lifestyles and greed, and convince us that tolerance of sin is the honorable and loving thing to do.

Not only does the devil attack us using outside influences, he also makes use of our sinful nature. We still struggle with that sinful nature all the time and the devil would like nothing better than to have us convince ourselves that the sinful things that we do are really not all that bad and that it really doesn’t count as bad unless we get caught. Those temptations are with us all the time.

Jesus asks that we not be taken out of the world. That means that we are going to continue to be tempted. If we were all taken out of the world then we would not have the opportunity to be a positive witness for Him to the world around us. We have an important job to do as people of God. If all God’s people were gone, there would be no resistance to the evil one and his dirty tricks. Jesus prays that the Father would keep us from the evil one. That seems like an impossible task, given the fact that the devil is using so many weapons against us including our own sinful nature. But we know that with God nothing is impossible.

As we come to the end of the Easter season this weekend, we are reminded about the great victory that has been won for us through Jesus’ suffering, death and resurrection. Many times during this Easter season you have heard us talking about the fact that Jesus’ victory over sin, death and the devil is our victory as well. Because He lives we shall live also, not just in heaven but also in this life. He gives us new life through the power of the Holy Spirit who works in us through the Means of Grace, the Word and the Sacraments. Through the Word we are reminded of the will of God and we recognize our sin and our need for a Savior. Through the Gospel message in the Word we are reminded that Jesus came to give His life so that our sins could be forgiven. That is the basic Law and Gospel message. It is the truth that brings us the power to overcome the challenges of the devil, the world and our sinful nature. Through our Baptism we are reminded daily that we are new creatures who have been washed in the blood of Jesus. We are reminded that we start each day fresh with the burdens of sin lifted from our shoulders. When we receive the Lord’s Supper we are receiving the forgiveness of our sins and the power of the Spirit to trust in Jesus alone and live the kind of life that gives glory to God as we serve our neighbor.

This is where this prayer of Jesus really touches our lives each day. With the power of the Spirit strengthening our faith and our lives, we can face the decisions of life with a new perspective. We are able to make choices that consider first of all God’s will and then what is best for those around us. We are able to push into the background the selfishness of our sinful nature. When we do that, we can look at the major decision of our life in a new way.

When we make use of the strength from the Holy Spirit to be able to live new lives, we also have guidance in setting the priorities in our lives. What is most important to me? Is it doing God’s will or is it doing what is best only for me? When we consider God’s will the answer is clear. When our priority is to God’s will, then we are also doing what is best for us and for all those around us at the same time.

That power of the Spirit that guides and strengthens us also gives us the courage to step out in faith and serve the Lord first in the face of opposition from the evil one, the world around us and our own sinful self. I can be a courageous Christian because I know that Jesus has already won the greatest victory for me. I may win a few battles and I may lose a few battles but the final victory is already mine. That is how the Father has answered His dear Son’s prayer for me. He keeps the evil one from devouring me because the that evil one has already suffered the final defeat.

Let there never be any doubt in your mind that Jesus continues to pray for you. His prayer on that night recorded in John 17 was not a one time thing. He continues to pray for us. In Romans 8:34 we hear that Jesus is at the Father’s right hand interceding for us. In I John 2:1 we hear, “We have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.” Imagine that. The Risen and Ascended Savior, Jesus the Christ, is praying for you. He is praying that you be kept from the evil one. The Father has answered His dear Son’s prayer through the spiritual blessings that you have in the Means of Grace. May we make use of those means throughout our lives until the evil has no influence on us at all. Amen

And the peace which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

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True Love I John 4:1-11

What a wonderful hymn to recognize and give thanks for the blessings that we all share because of the work and witness of so many women in the Bible. The particular verse that I chose to for today, verse 13, speaks about Eunice and Lois, the mother and grandmother of Timothy. In the introduction to his second letter to Timothy, Paul acknowledged the role that Timothy’s grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice played in development of his faith. The hymn verse includes a prayer that in every household true teachers of God’s Word would be raised up and asks that their lives will bear a clear witness of Christ, our risen Lord. On this Mother’s Day, among other blessings that we consider when we think of our mothers and the influence that they have had on our lives, we have to think about the ways in which they have taught and nurtured our faith. Whether it was teaching us our first prayers or telling us our first Bible stories or simply insisting that regular worship was a way of life the influence of mothers will not be forgotten.

By word and deed, many mothers and grandmothers instilled in their children a love of the Lord and modeled a life of love and service to their families and to others. That is the greatest blessing that we can recall as we celebrate a day that honors mothers. While all of the earthly blessings that we enjoy because of our mothers are important they have meaning only for this life. The spiritual blessings that have come to us through our mothers as they witness to their faith in Jesus and share God’s love have eternal benefits. They share the love that they have first known from God. It is that love of God that is the main topic of John’s first letter that has served as our Epistle lesson the last several Sundays and will continue for a few more. As we look more closely at this love on this Mother’s day, may we come to greater understanding of the source of this love and may we be empowered by the Holy Spirit to live out that kind of love in our lives each day.

Love is word that had many meanings in our world today. It is probably one of the most abused words in our language. A word that is supposed to describe a deep feeling that comes from the heart of God, that is unconditional and eternal, has become used in connection with things that are trivial and fleeting as well as things that are sacrilegious and profane. The word love has been cheapened so much in our language that the real meaning is often lost. It’s good for us to take a look once in a while at what John has to say about love in his letter. Because of his wonderful presentations on the nature of the love that we have from God and the love that we then show to one another, John has been called the Apostle of Love.

To really understand the word love as it is used in John’s epistle and as it is used elsewhere in the Bible, you have to go back to the original language of the New Testament. The Greek New Testament has several words that could be translated as love. One could mean a kind of brotherly love. The city of Philadelphia has been called the city of brotherly love because that is literally what Philadelphia means. There is also another word that describes the love between husband and wife that expresses itself in the physical attraction they have between them. While those understandings of love have their place in our lives, the love that John discusses here and throughout this letter is described with another Greek word. That word carries with it the idea of a love that knows all about the object of love and loves unconditionally. It is a giving kind of love that expects nothing in return. It is a love that would simply be expressed in the word, “I love you.” It has no exceptions or qualifiers. It’s doesn’t say, “I love you because…” or “I will love you if…” or “I will love you when…” It simply says, “I love you.” That is the love that God has shown to us. Paul writes to the Romans, “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” John quotes Jesus in his Gospel, “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” Even though we were sinners who rebelled against God, He loved us so much that He sacrificed His only Son for us so that we could have eternal life. That is real love.

That is the love that we celebrate whenever we come together as people of God for worship. That is what worship really is. Sometimes I think we forget that. We forget about how much God has loved us. We come to worship because we think we have to. We come to worship to feel good. We come to worship to see our friends. We come to worship to receive only and we forget that we are here to give praise and thanks to God through our songs and our prayers and our responses to His love.

The greatest demonstration of God’s love we remembered and celebrated during Holy Week and Easter Sunday. That Easter celebration continues throughout the Church year and really every day of our lives as we are reminded of God’s great love in forgiving our sins and providing us with the strength, guidance and will to live our lives in response to His great love. That is why John says in our text, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.” Real love, God’s love, was shown to us as He sent His son to be the propitiation or satisfaction for our sins. “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

Remembering God’s love toward us, a love that knows all about us and loves us with an unconditional love and wants what is best for us, we are motivated, empowered and commanded to love one another. That begins in our family. We can love our spouse with that kind of love. It is a love that knows all about the spouse and loves unconditionally. It is a love that forgives and seeks the best for each other. Once again we can turn to Paul, this time in I Corinthians 13. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”

The same thing applies to parents and children. Parents are to love and care for their children and do what is best for them and at the same time, children are to love their parents, honor and obey them.

Again, remembering God’s love for us and motivated by the power of the Holy Spirit we show that same love to one another in the other arenas of our lives. That could begin in the church where we share the same basic understanding of God’s love and seek to serve our Lord according to His will. We work together and support one another in times of joy and in times of sadness. We encourage one another in the name of Jesus.

It doesn’t end there though. We also have opportunity to show God’s love to people in our neighborhood, our community and around the world as we see people who are hurting and who need the assurance of God’s love and care. They can see God’s love through the words and actions of His people as they become His hands and His voice in their lives.

With this kind of love alive in the hearts of people, our homes, churches and communities ought to be places where the love of God abounds every day. But we know that is not the case. We are still human beings who struggle with our human nature every day and who make mistakes no matter how hard we try to do what is right and God pleasing. The Good News is that even when we fail to love as He has loved us, He offers us forgiveness for the sake of Jesus and He empowers us to love one another. May that love grow in our hearts. May we find ways to express that love as the Lord gives us opportunity not just today, but every day of our lives. Amen

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Know My Own: John 10:11-18

When I began my career in church work, one of the first things I had to do was attend the district convention. In fact, on the day of my installation, August 19, I had to leave right after lunch to travel from Decatur, Illinois to Quincy, Illinois, where the convention would begin that evening. What made that even worse was that it was my 1st wedding anniversary. As a young first-year teacher, I was in awe of the whole process of a district convention. Presiding over the convention was the district president. To me, he was an awe-inspiring person. He was of course much older and wiser and had an air of authority because he was, after all, the district president. During the course of the convention the new teachers and pastors got to go up on the stage and we were introduced and the president shook our hands. That was quite an experience. I don’t think though that during my first years as a teacher that the district president ever knew who I was.
It wasn’t until I started to make plans to become a pastor that I had to meet with the district president to get his official endorsement. That was a nervous moment. I was about eleven years older but it was still a bit awesome to go into the district president’s office and speak with him one-on-one. From that time on though when I would see the district president, he knew me. He called me by name. Every district president that I have served under since that time has known my name. I have had the opportunity to work closely with a couple of them. It’s a good feeling to know that someone with that kind of authority knows you by name.
It has often been said that the district president is the pastor’s pastor. Actually the title Pastor comes from the Latin word that means “shepherd.” That helps us see what Jesus meant when He said, “I know my sheep and my sheep know me.” What a good feeling that Jesus knows me. He knows me by name and even more than that, He knows all about me, the good and the bad, and He still loves me.”
This Sunday in the church year is known as Good Shepherd Sunday. The Psalm that was sung in hymn form, the Collect that will be prayed later, and the Scripture readings all reflect that theme that is found throughout the Bible. Jesus calls Himself the Good Shepherd. In our Gospel reading for today Jesus makes that statement twice. The first time He contrasts Himself with a hired man who does not own the sheep and doesn’t care for them the same way that the true shepherd does. After the second time that He calls Himself the Good Shepherd He explains the wonderful relationship that He has with His sheep. He knows His sheep. He knows their habits. He knows their tendencies to wander off. He knows their needs and He cares about them. He cares so much, as we hear, that He will day down His life for the sheep.

He also tells us that the sheep know Him. Here Jesus was using an illustration from everyday life at that time. In other parts of John 10, Jesus talked about the sheepfold and how He is the door to the sheepfold. The shepherd speaks and the sheep recognize his voice and follow only Him. The stranger’s voice will only scare them. They get to know and trust their shepherd’s voice.

Those who study infant behavior feel strongly that even before babies are born, they become familiar with the voices of the people who are closest to them. That would include, of course, the mother and father. It’s not surprising then that no one is able to calm a crying baby like its mother can. That familiar voice gives a sense of security and peace.

That is just what Jesus meant when He talked about the sheep knowing Him. We develop a trust in Him when we hear His voice in the Scriptures. We come to know that we are indeed sinners who need rescue from sin, death and the power of the devil that only He can provide. We trust the words and promises that He shared with us as our Good Shepherd. Recall the words in our text. “I lay down my life for the sheep.” Jesus was introducing them to the real purpose of His coming into the world. He would guide them and lead them and protect them like a shepherd. Most important of all though was that He came to lay down His life for the sheep. Jesus even gave them an example by way of a contrast to show them what it meant that He would lay down His life. He mentioned that He was not like a hired man who does not own the sheep. When danger would threaten the sheep, a hired man would run away and leave the sheep. The Good Shepherd would be willing to give His life for the good of His sheep.

Not only would He lay down His life for the sheep, He also has the authority to take it up again. I’m sure that this statement explains why Good Shepherd Sunday is always the fourth Sunday of Easter. This is an Easter statement. “I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again.” That is an authoritative prophecy the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus. This was only a few months before they would be going to Jerusalem for the Passover and, as Jesus knew, for all the events that would lead up to the crucifixion. Jesus had been telling His disciples about what would take place but they didn’t seem to really understand or didn’t want to accept what He was saying. Here He was though, as clear as could be. “I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again.” That’s just what He did. It’s Easter all over again.

There is more to this reading though than simply discovering passages that prophesy about the resurrection. Jesus also made some profound statements about the future of His church, His flock. In verse 16 He said, “I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. There will be one flock, one shepherd. The key words here are “not of this fold.” The original fold is made up of the Jews. Jesus came first to the Jews but they are not the only people who would benefit from having Jesus as their Good Shepherd. The message of salvation would be proclaimed to the Gentiles as well. They too would be able to hear His voice and follow Him. They would be part of the one flock with the one Shepherd. We are now a part of that fold because we have heard His voice. His voice has come to us through those who shared the Good News of the Gospel with us down through the ages. His voice was heard when we were baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, just as He commanded. His voice is heard as the people of God share their faith with their friends and neighbors so that they too can be part of this one flock. We are the voice of Jesus that draws people to hear more. That is an awesome responsibility but it is one that we can not avoid. It is a great privilege to be able to share the Good News of salvation with someone who has been wandering in the wilderness of doubt, fear, despair and hopelessness. It is a privilege to bring the Word of the Good Shepherd to those who are lost in a world of selfishness and self-indulgence. It is a great privilege to bring rescue to those who are prisoners of sin.

In the last weeks we have heard stories about Somali pirates and the ship’s captain who was being held hostage. We heard about the great joy that the captain and his crew felt when he was rescued. We also heard about the joy and feeling of accomplishment by those who rescued him. It can be the same for those who share the message of love, peace and hope through faith in Jesus Christ with those who are being held hostage to sin. He is our Good Shepherd. He knows me by name and I know His voice. I know the comfort and security, the peace and joy that is associated with that voice. He laid down His life for the sheep, for me, and he took it up again so that I could share in His victory over sin, death and the power of the devil. He made it possible for me to hear His voice so that I can find comfort in His promises. He is my shepherd. I have all I need. Goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and most importantly, I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Amen

And the peace which passes all understanding keep your hearts and mind in Christ Jesus, our Good Shepherd. Amen

Repentance and Forgiveness of Sins: Luke 24:36-49

Our Easter celebration continues this weekend. We are still singing Easter songs. There are still some of the beautiful flowers adorning the altar area. But most important of all, we are still hearing the Easter message in our Scripture readings. The Gospel lesson for today is actually a continuation of the story of the Emmaus disciples. That is one of the most interesting Easter appearances that is recorded in the Gospels. It’s one of my favorites because I wish that I could have been one of those two who had this stranger join them on their walk to Emmaus. He spoke with such wisdom knowledge about the Christ that when He revealed to them who He really was their comment was, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” They couldn’t wait to get back to Jerusalem to tell the others that they had seen Jesus alive.

It was while they were telling the disciples what had happened that our Gospel lesson for today begins and presents to us Luke’s account of that Easter evening appearance that was last week’s Gospel lesson from John’s Gospel. The two Gospel writers have a little bit different emphasis in their presentations. While John told us about the forgiving and retaining of sins and told us about Thomas and his doubts, Luke tells us about something that sets the pattern for the purpose and ministry of the church until Jesus comes again.

As we have heard before, when Jesus appeared to those disciples in the locked room on the evening of that first Easter, they were terrified. They thought they were seeing a spirit. Even though the two Emmaus disciples were telling them about seeing Jesus, even though they had heard other reports about people seeing the risen Lord, they still were frightened by His sudden appearance. It was too good to be true. But all the evidence was there that He was alive. He showed them His hands and his feet. He even asked them for something to eat and He ate a piece of broiled fish. That was more evidence that He was truly alive.

There was more to this visit though that simply showing them that He was alive. There were some important lessons about God’s whole plan of salvation that needed to be heard. He reminded them that everything that had happened to Him was just as He had told them. In the weeks before Holy Week, our Gospel lessons included some of the passages where Jesus told His disciples that they were going to Jerusalem and that there He would be handed over to the leaders of the people and he would be crucified and on the third day He would be raised from the dead. You may recall that the disciples had some strange reactions to Jesus when He said those things. Peter tried to rebuke Jesus for talking that way. James and John jumped quickly from that topic to wanting to be seated at Jesus’ right and His left in His kingdom. Each time Jesus had some stern words for those disciples. They didn’t seem to understand what He was trying to say.

Now He was telling them that it all happened just as He said it would and on top of that it was just as it had been foretold by the prophets in the Scriptures, the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms. Next comes a statement that grabs my attention and should grab the attention of any Christian. In verse 45 it says, “Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.” What a wonderful gift that must have been. When we read the Scriptures, we often have a hard time figuring out just what was meant, how a certain passage relates to the rest of what the Scriptures say, or how am I supposed to understand that as it relates to my life now. Wouldn’t it be great to have Jesus open our minds to understand the Scriptures in the way that God intended? He actually does that through the power of the Holy Spirit whenever we read and study God’s Word. The more we study the more we understand. Unfortunately for us, our human minds are simply not able to understand all the things of God. We have a hard time accepting that truth and that is when people get themselves in trouble by imposing their human thinking on the mysteries of God.

On this occasion though, Jesus opened their minds to understand all that He was telling them. They could see the connections between the passages from the prophets and the Psalms that spoke about the suffering, death and resurrection of the Christ, and the events that took place in the recent days. They now had a new understanding that would have an effect on their lives from that time forward. One thing was certain for them. Jesus of Nazareth, their teacher and friend, was truly the Messiah, the Christ. All He had told them happened just as He said. All that the Scriptures said about the Messiah happened to Him. The evidence was clear and beyond a doubt. Jesus is the Christ.

The second thing that He mentioned to them is what gave them the direction for their ministry in the years to come and gives the church its purpose down through the ages. Again, according to the Scriptures, repentance and forgiveness will be preached in His name to all nations.” Going back to Isaiah 49, we hear, “I will also make you a light for the Gentiles that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.” Repentance and forgiveness is the essence of the message that the prophets brought to the people of Israel in ancient times. It was the message that John the Baptist proclaimed as the forerunner of Jesus the Messiah and it was the same message that Jesus proclaimed during His earthly ministry.

Repentance is the acknowledgment of sin, sorrow over that sin, sorrow that we have offended God and hurt our neighbor and then the sincere desire to remove that sin from our lives. It is what we do when we come together for worship. We begin with the confession of sins. While we do it as a congregation, we also need to realize that this is a very personal time of repentance as well. The reason that repentance needs to be an important part of the message of the church is that the devil is always active, trying to get us to think that our sin is really not all that serious. We don’t need to repent. He wants to convince us that we haven’t done anything wrong. We wants to distract us at that point in the service so that we simply stand up with everyone else and say the words that are in the book or that we have memorized without even having to think about it. If we go through the motions that should be enough. That’s not what Jesus said though. Repentance needs to be proclaimed. Not only is it proclaimed but it needs to be practiced from the heart. Then the forgiveness that comes in the name of Jesus will mean something to us. Without true repentance, there is no real appreciation for the great mercy and love that has been shown to us through the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins. We need to hear the Law and the Gospel. The Law calls us to repentance and the Gospel assures us that our sins are forgiven by the grace of God for Christ’s sake and it is ours by faith. Law without Gospel is hopeless. Gospel without Law is meaningless. That’s why Jesus said, “Repentance and forgiveness will be preached in His name to all nations.”

He then added, “You are witnesses of these things.” They had been eye-witnesses of all that had happened and now He had opened their minds to understand God’s whole plan of salvation. He was also going to send what the Father had promised, namely the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit would give them the power to proclaim the message of repentance and forgiveness in His name and would also work in the hearts of those who heard the message so that they too could believe in Jesus as Lord as Savior and receive the blessings of forgiveness, new life now and life forever in heaven. I mentioned before that this would then be the pattern for the church to follow for all time. The Lord has given us the Means of Grace, the Word and the Sacraments for the strengthening of our faith so that we can be His witnesses to all nations. We can proclaim repentance and forgiveness to all people beginning right where we are. This remains the most important function of the church today. In the face of so many distractions, it is vitally important that the church keep its focus on Christ and His message of repentance and forgiveness in His name. Amen

And the peace which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen