revmattil.org

Last Sunday my pastor started a series of sermons about “Half Truths.” He started with the saying “God helps those who help themselves.” A lot of people have the attitude that they have to do as much as they can and then God will come to their aid and do the rest. That’s the mindset behind the “Protestant Work Ethic.” It is a distortion of what God says in His Word and would have us do. A better understanding would be to say the God wants us to do the best we can with the gifts and talents He has given to us. We do that in response to what He has already done for us in Christ. He already earned our forgiveness and salvation, so our lives should be lived in grateful response to that.

During that sermon, I was reminded of a scene from one of my favorite movies: “Shenandoah.” It is a prayer that shows a wrongheaded attitude. You can watch the clip here. The family has gathered at the dinner table for a meal and the father offers this prayer:  “Lord, WE cleared this land, WE plowed it, sowed it and harvested. WE cooked the harvest. It wouldn’t be here, we wouldn’t be eatin’ it if we hadn’t done it all ourselves. We worked dog-bone hard for every crumb and morsel, but we thank you just the same anyway, Lord, for this food we’re about to eat. Amen.”

Is that how you feel? Is that how you act? Sometimes we seem to think everything we have is only because we worked for it. We did it. We leave God’s goodness out of the equation altogether. We discount His involvement in our lives.

For our entire married life, Cheryl and I have tithed of our gross income to our local congregation. Often times, we gave more than 10% of our earnings to carry out the mission and ministry that God has entrusted to all of us. And that does not include the gifts we give to other entities outside our congregation. And through it all,  God continued to bless us. Tremendously. It all comes from Him anyway, and He keeps giving us more. We don’t miss what we give to Him with grateful hearts.

I’ve heard some say, “I don’t make enough to tithe.” That’s a ridiculous argument. If you can’t trust God and return 10% when you’re making $100 a week you won’t give 10% when you’re making $1000 per week. It comes down to whether or not you believe God’s promise.

It saddens me to think that so many are depriving themselves of the blessings you could have if you would just trust God in this matter.  It also saddens me when I think of how a lack of first fruit giving limits congregations in what they are able to do ministry wise.

After all, that is what we are really all about. We are people who know and believe without a doubt that when Jesus came to this earth, He did it for us. We know that all of our sins and our failings and our shortcomings make us deserving of death, but Jesus took care of that for us. We have been led by the Spirit to believe that the life and death of Jesus paid for our sins and His resurrection from the dead guarantees us life everlasting. We have this faith. We want to respond to this good news with new lives, holy lives, good stewardship lives.

But things keep getting in the way. Our fears. Our uncertainties. Our doubts. Don’t let your fears and uncertainties and doubts rob you of the blessings God wants to give you, the blessings that come from living the new life to which He calls His children. Remember, He is the one who gave you His Son, gave you forgiveness, gave you salvation, and gives you everything else you have. It all belongs to Him. How are you using what God has given you for Him?

“What a Difference You’ve Made in My Life” is an inspirational song written by Archie Jordan and first made famous by two artists during 1977: then-teenage Christian music singer Amy Grant and country music singer Ronnie Milsap. Milsap’s version was released in November and was soon #1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.

This was just over a year after I graduated High School and I was attending college in Austin and was just starting to discover Country music. I really liked the Ronnie Milsap version, but at the time I had no idea it was actually a song about faith in Jesus. I thought it was just another little love song.

When asked about his religious beliefs, Milsap said quite simply: “I am a Christian. I know I am a Christian, knowing that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior.” He has the certainty that the death of Jesus paid for his sin and that His victory over death belings to all who trust in Him. So even though this song does not mention Jesus by name, it tells the story of how God changes lives when you put your faith and confidence in Him. Reflect on the lyrics from that vantage point.

What, a, difference you’ve made in my life
What a difference you’ve made in my life
You’re my sunshine day and night
Oh what a difference you’ve made in my life

What a change you have made in my heart
What a change you have made in my heart
You replaced all the broken parts
Oh what a change you have made in my heart

Love to me was just a word in a song
That had been way over-used
But now I’ve joined in the singin’
‘Cause you’ve shown me love’s true meanin’
That’s why I want to spread the news

his should be the description of the lives of those who have heard the Good News of Jesus, been led to believe it by the Holy Spirit, and strive to show their gratitude here until He takes us to be with Him.

Listen to the song here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIC1XJUbHy8

Yesterday I wrote about the danger of following your heart, which by nature is sinful. But I shared that as believers in Christ, God gives us the new heart we need. A clean heart and a right spirit (Psalm 51:10). That is what our faith in Jesus does for us here and now.

Even more, He is constantly renewing our hearts through His Word and Sacraments. We listen to and meditate on His Word, which assures us of our salvation. Through Baptism God has put His name on us, washed away our sins, and brought us into His family. In the Lord’ Supper we receive His body and blood to assure that we share in His payment and His victory.

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

This is the confidence in which we live. We have a new heart.

Anyone who has received a heart transplant is grateful – such a person has a new resolve in his or her life. It should be no different for believers who have received a spiritual heart transplant. There should be a resolve in our lives guided by the Spirit of God to live as His children, because that is what we are. Listen to these encouragements:

1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

This message is too good to keep to ourselves.

Philippians 2:9–11 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

We gladly bow before our Lord and willingly speak the Good News of what He has done.

Ephesians 2:8–10⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰ For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Our response to the undeserved love of God should be to live as the children He has made us, those who gladly and willingly live according to His will.

When you hear “Follow your heart,” remember that without Christ in your  life, your heart is sinful and goes against God. And your old sinful self will continue to try to go against what God would have you do. The only time “Follow your Heart” is good advice is when you follow that new heart and right spirit that God has placed in you. Rejoice in the forgiveness and life and salvation that you have in Christ. Live in the confidence you have as a redeemed child of God.

“Follow your heart.” You’ve probably heard that advice many times in your life: Just follow your heart. We think that is sound advice. People want to believe that you will never go wrong if you just follow your heart.

But there is a problem with that sentiment. It needs clarification. Have you seen what  Scripture has to say about your heart?

Genesis 6:5 The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.

Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

And these warnings are not just in the Old Testament.

Matthew 15:19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.

Mark 7:21–23 For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean.’ ”

Romans 7:18 I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.

In our fallen, sinful  state, we need help. It is not simply a matter of dusting ourselves off. It is not even an extreme makeover. It is more radical than that. We need a transplant.

Psalm 51:10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

God’s answer to that spirit-driven plea is plain and simple and exactly what we need.

Ezekiel 36:26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

God gives us what we need. And it was accomplished the only way it could be accomplished: God did it for us. He gives us a new, clean heart. It was not a self-improvement fixer upper – it was God’s gracious gift to us in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ. Listen to how Jesus explained it to His disciples the night before He was crucified.

John 14:1–6 ¹ “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. ² In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. ⁴ You know the way to the place where I am going.” ⁵ Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” ⁶ Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

He is the Way. The only way to life. His work has given us what we need. Jesus came to take care of the problem sin caused. He was born as one of us. He lived without sin to have a perfect life that He could offer as the payment for the sins of the world. And He did just that by allowing Himself to be arrested, tried, beaten, tortured and crucified. They took His dead body off the cross and buried it. The payment for sin was complete.

But Jesus did more. He defeated death for us as well by His triumphant resurrection from the grave. He gives His payment for sin and life everlasting to everyone who believes His promise. He gives us the new heart we need.

M0re on this tomorrow.

The last three days we have been looking at the hymn “Hark the Voice of Jesus Calling.” There is another stanza that I would guess many of you have not heard. It was an original stanza of this hymn written by Daniel March. It was not included in The Lutheran Hymnal, Lutherean Worship, and even though there are two versions of this hymn in the Lutheran Service Book, it does not appear in either one. We are going to look at it any way.

If you cannot cross the ocean, And the heathen lands explore,
You can find the heathen nearer, You can help them at your door;
If you cannot give your thousands, you can give the widow’s mite,
And the least you give for Jesus Will be precious in His sight.

According to the “Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal” this stanza was omitted from our hymnal because it was feared that people would misinterpret it to say that you didn’t have to give as God had blessed you, you could give just a little and God would be satisfied with it. That was the opposite of what Mr. March intended, but it was feared some would misunderstand.

I think it is a great hymn writing – and so appropriate for today. It reminds us that unbelievers are all around us, right at our door. We don’t have to go to them – they are here! And it speaks of the power of mites, something the ladies organization  of my church body knows a little bit about. The Lutheran Women in Mission have collected “mites” since 1942 and funded mission projects around the world with millions and millions of dollars. This is over and above what they give to their local congregations, and those are indeed “mighty mites.”

Each has his or her part in the great Commission, as leaders or otherwise. You need to do what God has equipped you to do, what God is calling you to do. You do this in the context of knowing who you are.

A number of years ago my congregation had a surprise party for me that included a roast – not a pot roast, but a roast of me! One of the speakers was my father-in-law, a retired preacher who spent his entire ministry in the same parish in West Texas, and he was quite the storyteller. He said that he was confessing to God one day and he asked God, “You know that son-in-law of mine? I know he confesses his sins, and I would like you to tell me what he told you.” God said, “Let me get back to you on that tomorrow.” So the next day he asked again, “God, can you tell me what his sins are?” And you know what God said? “I don’t remember.”

That is what God says to each of you in His Word, in Baptism and in Holy Communion. “I don’t remember” – because Jesus paid for your sins. And that same one who has forgiven your wickedness and will remember your sins no more is the one who is calling you to share that message with others.

May that be what you do and who you are as the redeemed and forgiven children of God.

If you cannot speak like angels, If you cannot preach like Paul,
You can tell the love of Jesus, You can say He died for all.
If you cannot rouse the wicked, with the judgment’s dread alarms,
You can lead the little children To the Savior’s waiting arms.

A young pastor, who was having difficulty with his sermon presentation, went to listen to one of the preachers in a neighboring town known for his oratorical skills. This preacher was a master at holding the congregation’s attention. He started off his sermon that day by announcing, “Some of the happiest moments in my life were spent in the arms of a woman who is not my wife … Yes, some of the happiest moments in my life were spent in the arms of a woman who is not my wife … that woman was my mother.” He then preached a wonderful sermon on the virtues of Christian mothers.

The young preacher was duly impressed and decided to file away that illustration for a time when it would come in handy. A few months later, he was preaching and noticed he was losing the attention of his congregation once again. He suddenly recalled that message of the skilled old preacher and blurted out, “Some of the happiest moments in my life were spent in the arms of a woman who is not my wife …” At this point, the young preacher had the undivided attention of everyone in the church. “That’s right,” he continued, “some of the happiest moments in my life were spent in the arms of a woman who is not my wife …” He saw all eyes intently focused on him, and he froze up and listened in horror as he heard himself continue, “but I can’t for the life of me remember who she was.”

Not everyone is gifted with preaching ability. But not everyone is to be a preacher. God will not ask you to do anything without first giving you the ability to do it. Read that last sentence again. Each of you have been by God and equipped to do the work He wants you to do. And that work is to share Jesus, using whatever talents and abilities you have to share the message of Christ as Savior is how you do your part in fulfilling Christ’s great commission.

Do you reach the point where you have learned enough? Probably not. Even if you think you know everything, you don’t. But I think you can reach a point where you just don’t want to learn anything new. I feel that way about some things. AI is one example. I’m sure it has a lot of positive uses, but do I really need to learn how to use it?

Even though I took Calculus in college as an engineering student, I never mastered it. And when I decided to follow God’s plan for my life and go into ministry rather than engineering, I never looked at or used calculus again. I am grateful others know it and use it to help mankind.

Most of us just want to learn enough to live. We want to have the information needed to live our lives and not be burdened with stuff we think we don’t need.

Cheryl feels that way about computers. She has often said, “Just tell me which button I need to push after you die to find the information I will need.”

Some people approach Christianity and the Bible that way. “Just give me the bare minimum. Tell me what I need to know to be saved.” And Scripture does give you that information.

Acts 16:30–31 (ESV) Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

That will be enough. That’s all you need. But God wants so much more for His children.

2 Peter 3:18 (ESV) But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

God wants you to grow as His child. You do that when you spend time in His Word. You need to listen to what He has to say to you. I know I need to spend time in Word so I remember who I am and who I am not. I am NOT God. I am a poor, miserable sinner that God loves and cares for and redeemed from sin and death so that I could live with Him forever. He paid for my sin so that I would not have to do so forever in Hell. Jesus did all that with His holy, precious blood and His innocent suffering and death.

It doesn’t matter what world thinks of me or what I think of myself. God placed a high value on me.

Isaiah 43:1 (ESV) But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.

He wants to do that for everyone. Let them know about Him.

Numbers 6:22–27 The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: “ ‘ “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” ’ “So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”

This passage contains is known as the Aaronic (or Priestly) Blessing. It is the one I used at the conclusion of the vast majority of worship services I led during my ministry. I have always loved hearing and speaking those words. But I would usually say the last phrase from another translation of Scripture: “The Lord look upon you with favor and give you peace.” To lift up your countenance was a Hebrew expression for looking favorably on someone, and it can also be understood that you would see a smile on that person’s face.

I know there were times my children saw anger and disappointment in my eyes when they did something wrong. Hopefully they knew the love was still there, too. I say that because I know my sin grieves God. When I catch myself in a sin, I imagine the disappointment on my heavenly Father’s face. That leads me to sorrow and repentance. But I know He still loves me. That love is what brought Jesus down here to be the Savior of all people. That love assures me of forgiveness for Jesus’ sake. That love embraces and sustains me every day.

You and I have God’s favor, God smiling at us, because of the grace He has shown in saving us. We deserve nothing but wrath from God because of our sin and disobedience. But He sent Jesus to stand in the way of that wrath. He took the full impact of God’s anger over sin for us and gives us His perfection as a covering. When we stand before God with faith in Jesus, we will see His shining face smiling at us.

Big Daddy Weave is a band that has put out some awesome songs of faith. One that I really like is called “Yours Will Be (The Only Name).” I’ve already told my family I want this sung at my memorial service. Here are some of the lyrics.

Yours will be The only name that matters to me
The only one whose favor I seek
The only name that matters to me

Yours will be The friendship and affection I need
To feel my father smiling on me
The only name that matters to me

And yours is the name, the name that has saved me
Mercy and grace, the power that forgave me
And your love is all I’ve ever needed

Because of my faith in Jesus, the certainty of forgiveness and life is mine. I feel my Father smiling at me. I pray that you do as well.