Rise, Let Us Go From Here!

John 14:23-31 Each week we confess our Christian faith in the words of the creed.  We confess that we believe in one, holy, Christian and apostolic church.  When we confess that the church is “apostolic” we are saying that we believe what the apostles believed.  But there is even more to being apostolic than that!

            The root of the word “Apostolic” is the verb “to send”.  From the very beginning of the Christian church, believers in Jesus were sent out into the world with the Good News of salvation.  That was true of the apostles and it is also true of every Christian since then.  Each of us have a part in the mission of the church for the sake of the world’s salvation. 

The words that we have before us for our meditation this morning were spoken by Jesus in the Upper Room after he instituted the Lord’s Supper.  As meaningful as that moment was, it was not meant to be an end unto itself.  After the supper was ended Jesus said:  “Rise, let us go from here!”  Forgiven of their sins, instructed by Jesus, fed by the body and blood of Christ, the apostles were ready for their mission to the world.

So it is for us.  Worship on the Lord’s Day is blessing but it is not an end unto itself.  Instead, it is the preparation and strengthening we need to take our place and do our part in the Lord’s mission by keeping his Word, sharing his peace, and confronting evil.  Jesus said:

“If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me.   “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

            We are going to hear this theme again next week—that a big part of Christian discipleship, of following Jesus as Lord and Savior, of our life with God—is keeping and guarding the words of Jesus.  Our faith and the Lord’s mission depends upon it! 

Faith comes from the Holy Spirit working through the Word.  We believe in Jesus and have a life with God because the Holy Spirit has brought us to faith through the preaching of the Gospel.  The Bible says that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.  Our saving faith in Jesus comes through the Word of God.

Faith is maintained in the same way—by the word.  To continue in faith we need to know what God’s will is for our life and the direction he wants us to go and the forgiveness we have when we fail.  It is necessary for our salvation to keep and guard the words of Jesus.

But it goes much farther than that!  Keeping and guarding the words of Jesus is necessary for the salvation of the world so that others can hear of Jesus and come to faith! 

Just as those who keep and guard Jesus’ words are his disciples and have a life with God—those who don’t know his Word cannot have a life with God until someone shares Jesus.

It was not enough that the disciples around that table in the Upper Room kept the Word of God and were saved by faith in Jesus.  He told them, “Rise, let us go from here” because he came to save not only them-- but the world-- and so to every generation of Christian including us here today, he says the same:  “Rise, let us go from here.”

He wants us to take his words of life out into the world around us and yes, we do that in places where we cannot go through our mission giving, but we also do it through our own personal witness.  The words of Jesus that we have kept are to be upon our lips so that those around us can have the peace with God that we have.  Jesus says:

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe.

            I don’t have to tell you that we live in a world that is filled with anything but peace.  Instead, there is turmoil and conflict and hatred.  And that is not just true among the family of nations—it is true among the family of man—because the nations are merely people in a certain place who share a common language and culture. 

There is no peace among nations- because there is no peace among men- and there is no peace among men- because the great majority of people in the world do not know Jesus.

So it has always been.  Jesus came into this world in the midst of violence.  A tyrant killed dozens of babies trying to get to him.  His own people tried on numerous occasions to murder him and finally succeeded and by the time the last apostle died, Jerusalem and its temple were rubble. A violent world is nothing new. 

But Jesus came to bring peace—peace with God and peace between men.  He did that by offering up his life as an atoning sacrifice on the cross, his shed blood removing the wrath of God over sin that kept us from God’s presence—so that now we have peace with God-real and lasting- even in the midst of a violent world. 

Jesus intends that his blood-bought peace would make us agents of peace in the world.  As his disciples sat around the table in the Upper Room, experiencing the peace that comes from knowing that they were right with God through Christ’s body and blood—he told them:  “Rise, let us go from here!” 

Let us go from here to the garden where I will be betrayed and captured by an armed mob.  Let us go from here to the cross where I will die a violent death.  Let us go!

And what were the words that were spoken by the Prince of Peace in each of those violent places?  Put away your sword!  Father, forgive them!  Words of peace and forgiveness shared with the world so that men could have peace with God and peace with one another.

Very quickly in the life of the church we see how the peace that Jesus gives makes for peace among men as Jews and Gentiles—enemies for generations—were gathered into one church, united in the body of Christ.

In the same way, part of our mission as disciples is to be agents of peace in the midst of violent world in which we live.  Paul says that if possible, so far as it depends upon you, live peaceably with all.  The writer to the Hebrews says that we are to strive for peace with everyone.  And Jesus says that peacemakers are blessed.

We become agents of peace in a violent world, first of all, by sharing the Good News that we have peace with God through Jesus Christ.  The peace that Jesus gives—the peace that comes from knowing that our sins are forgiven and that we are right with God—is the only peace that can heal troubled, fearful hearts.

Second of all, we extend Jesus’ peace by living with others in ways that are gentle and humble and caring—putting flesh and bone on the peace we have in our hearts. 

When those around us see that kind of peaceful life in our marriages and families-- and the humble way we conduct ourselves in the workplace and school and community—it is a compelling witness to the power of Christ to change lives for the better—a witness that is desperately needed in this broken, evil world in which we live.  Jesus says:

I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here.

            One of the many blessings that come with being a part of Christian congregation is that there are people around us who share our values and concerns and priorities.  We share the same understanding about what is right and wrong and that is a comfort because often times when we look at the what the world around us values, it seems like we are the last sane person on earth.  And so to discover that there are others who see the world as we do is a blessing. 

            That night in the Upper Room the disciples must have felt the same way.  They believed in Jesus when the vast majority of their friends and family didn’t.  They believed what Jesus said about what is important and lasting.  It must have been a blessing to gather around that table in the Upper Room in safety and peace. 

But they weren’t allowed to stay there.  Jesus said, “Rise, let us go from here!” and he said that knowing full well the evil they would encounter from the ruler of the fallen world.

But that is exactly why Jesus sent them from that place—to confront evil with the goodness of God! 

Christians have always faced the temptation to remain a holy huddle—people cut off from the world, content to by surrounded by others like themselves.  It certainly seems easier and less dangerous (and it is!) if our only concern is for ourselves.

But Jesus loves the world and wants to save the world and so he sends us out into the world to confront evil—not conform to it!  Evil had no claim on Jesus and it must have no claim on us.  Our lives as his people are to be set apart and different from the world around us as a witness to the world. Jesus said, I do as the Father commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. 

So it is for us!  Our Christian witness is not just the words that we say, it is how we live.  Holy lives, obedient to God are our testimony that we have a Savior who can change human lives and there is no more powerful support to the words we say about Jesus- than the witness to give to Jesus- in the holiness of our lives.

Before long our worship will be over but our witness will being:  keeping Jesus’ words, sharing the peace of Christ, and confronting the evil of our world with the holiness of the Lord.  May God the Holy Spirit bless our witness to Jesus!  Amen.

Rev. Franke's Theme Thoughts

Pentecost May 19, 2013

Lessons for Pentecost

Genesis 11:1–9 ~ God confounded the pride of the earth by confusing the language of its people.

Psalm 143 (Antiphon: Psalm 143:10)

Acts 2:1–21 ~ The Holy Spirit overcame the confusion of languages to proclaim the wonders of God.

John 14:23–31 ~ The Holy Spirit brings peace to Jesus’ followers and unites them in obedience to the Father.

GATHERING THE TEXTS: Making a Name and Building an Empire

Today's lessons make the clear distinction between the way of the world and the Lord's way. The way of the world is to make a name for oneself in God's face, but God turns His face from our confused efforts at empire building. On the first Christian Pentecost, by the power of the Holy Spirit, people from various nations under heaven heard in their own languages that God’s kingdom has been established in the name of the Lord Jesus, the Messiah. Jesus promised to send us the Holy Spirit to lead us in the knowledge of peace and the empire of His love.

PRAYER BEFORE THE SERVICE: Holy Spirit, ever loving, calling all of us as one, fill my heart with trust and mercy; keep me faithful to the Son. Make me strong to face life's trials. Bring me comfort in my grief. You have turned my heart to Jesus, and in Him I find relief. Amen

STEWARDSHIP THOUGHT: When we use material goods to build our own power and influence, we add to the confusion of this shattered world. God calls us to use the gifts of His creation through the power of the Holy Spirit to proclaim His wonders, fulfilled in the obedience of His own Son, who has brought us peace by overcoming the prince of this world.

OFFERING PRAYER:    When the bricks begin to tumble from the turrets that we build,

                                                to Your service, Lord, recall us, in obedience to Your word.

                                                Grant us grace to use these offerings for the purposes You willed;

                                                in our giving may we share the gracious peace that we have heard. Amen.

CONVICTION AND COMFORT: The wonder of God’s good creation is disturbed by the strident voices of dissension and discord. Our own attempts to bring agreement through influence and persuasion only cause greater strife. But God has worked peace and unity through Jesus’ obedience to the Father in His humble death and glorious resurrection, proving that the prince of this world has no hold on Him! Jesus gives us that peace in the forgiveness of our sins. By the power of the Spirit, He sends us out to proclaim God’s mighty work and share His reconciling peace.

A Faithful Mother

1 Samuel 1:1-28 Whether you are a “stay-at-home” mom or also work outside the home—whether you have just one child or several—whether you are in the midst of diapers and nursing-- or your children have children of their own—all faithful mothers  have some characteristics in common. 

You regard your children as blessings from God—you are women of prayer, especially for your family—you trust in the promises of God—and you raise your children to know and love the Lord.

We are going to see these characteristics exemplified today in the story of a faithful mother named Hannah.  The Bible says: 

Because the LORD had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the LORD, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat. Elkanah her husband would say to her, "Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don't you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don't I mean more to you than ten sons?"

            Hannah was blessed with a husband who loved her and she had ample material goods.  But when Elkanah asked her, “Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?”--I’m not really sure that he wanted to know the answer to that question.  Hannah desperately desired the blessing of children. The Bible says:

 “Children are a heritage of the Lord and the fruit of the womb is his reward.  As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man so as children of the youth.  Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them.    

We live in a culture that has lost that view.  Children are seen as unwanted burdens or inconveniences.  Child abuse has skyrocketed in recent decades and the number of children who have been aborted numbers in the tens of millions. 

That is why it is so important to renew a biblical world view regarding children and motherhood that:  sees children as a blessings--motherhood as a high calling—and the command to be fruitful and multiply as God’s will for marriage. 

And just as a side note-- there are still marriages where couples cannot conceive and yet they still desire to be obedient to God and so in love they choose to adopt.  There are few more loving things that a couple can do than adopt children because adoption is particularly reflective of our heavenly Father who has adopted each of us into his family. 

Whether they are adopted or biological, the faithful mother knows that children are a gift from God.  

Secondly, we see in Hannah’s life that the faithful mother is a woman of prayer.  In one of the most poignant passages of Scripture, the Bible tells us that “In bitterness of soul Hannah wept much and prayed to the Lord.”   

So why was Hannah able to keep praying when her life was miserable?  What did Hannah know about God when it comes to prayer that we need to know? 

First of all she knew that the God who loved her was in control of all things.  In the next chapter, she says:  “The Lord brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up.  The Lord sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and exalts.”

Can you imagine what this knowledge meant to her—that God was in charge and yet he had chosen to let her remain childless?  And yet such was her faith that she did not give up or blame God or even ask why—she simply came to him again and again in prayer because she knew that not only did he rule all things-- but second of all, he had the power to change things. 

There was absolutely no doubt in her mind that God knew who she was; knew what her situation was; and desired to bless her in her need.  She knew that the mighty God who ruled the universe-- loved her and cared for her --and the concerns of one poor woman were his concerns too and so she came to him in prayer.

What we see so beautifully portrayed in Hannah’s life is that faithful mothers are women of prayer.  Whether you are joyful or sorrowful—whether your faith is mighty or weak, God invites you to come to him in prayer and pour out your heart to him just like Hannah did.  The Lord wants you to know what Hannah knew:  that he is in control—even in hard times-- and that he can be trusted because he cares for us.  

So far we’ve seen that a faithful mother knows that her children are blessings of God—that a faithful mother is a woman of prayer—and now we see that a faithful mother trusts in the promises of God.  The Bible says:

Eli answered, "Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him."  She said, "May your servant find favor in your eyes." Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast. 

            What is so striking to me about this whole story is how it revolves around the Old Testament place of worship at Shiloh.  Elkanah and Hannah were faithful believers who were regular in worship—earnest in prayer—and serious in their faith.  Hannah poured out her heart to the Lord there at Shiloh—not because she couldn’t pray anywhere else-- but because that was the place where God had promised his people he would be in such a way that they could be certain of his presence.  Eli the priest who served there at Shiloh had one purpose on earth and that was to speak the Word of God to the people of God who worshiped there-- and Hannah believed what she had been promised.  

            The Bible says that when she left there that day her face was no longer downcast.  In other words, she took to heart what she had heard in worship from God’s servant and trusted God’s promises.

That same dynamic still continues in God’s house to this day as we come to the Lord with our sins and burdens and receive from him forgiveness and help. 

I look out at this congregation and I see wonderful mothers.  But I also know that even the most faithful of mothers have made mistakes and have regrets and so I invite you to follow faithful Hannah’s example and believe what you hear here today in God’s house:  that your sins are forgiven—that God loves you—that he cares about what weighs heavy on your heart this morning--that he promises to hear your prayers and bless you. 

That was the promise that Eli made to Hannah and the fulfillment of that promise took on flesh and bone in the birth of her son Samuel.  The Bible says that:  In the course of time Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, "Because I asked the LORD for him."  The Bible is clear that Samuel was conceived normally, but Hannah also knew that her son was God’s gift to her. 

In the same way, God’s promises to bless and help us, have taken on flesh and blood in the birth of another Son—God’s own Son Jesus Christ born of the Virgin Mary.

It is in the blessing of God’s Son Jesus Christ—in his death and resurrection-- that we know that the promises of God are true—that the Lord hears our prayers for mercy and help—that he desires to make right those things that are broken in our lives.   

So far we seen that the faithful mother knows her children are gifts from God—that the faithful mother is a woman of prayer—that the faithful mother trusts the promises of God—and finally we see that the faithful mother makes sure that her children are brought up to know and worship the Lord.  The Bible says:

After he was weaned, Hannah took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the LORD at Shiloh. And he worshiped the LORD there.

            Elkanah and Hannah’s faithfulness was passed on to their young son.  Just as they were regular in their attendance in the Lord’s house, so from a very young age was their son brought to the Lord’s house. 

This scene has been repeated again and again, millions of times over the last three thousand years as faithful mothers have seen it as their first duty to the their children to bring them to the Lord’s house to be baptized and begin their own life with God. 

And what’s more, Hannah herself was a faithful witness to the goodness of God.  When she brought Samuel to the temple she wanted to make sure that Eli knew that she was the woman who had prayed so passionately for a son and now the Lord had granted her prayers.

Faithful mothers still follow her example and bear witness to the goodness of God to those around them and about much the same kind of things.  Whatever our station in life—whatever our daily routine—the Lord can use us mightily to accomplish his saving purposes by simply telling what God has done for us.

That’s what Hannah did.  She said, “I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him.  So now I give him to the LORD”.  Hannah’s faith was not just words.  She kept her promise to the Lord and brought her son to be a servant in God’s house.  He was just a little fellow, and it must have been a hard thing for her to do, but that’s what being a faithful mother is:  doing those hard things that are for the good of our families in obedience to God.  

Dear sisters in Christ, on this Mother’s Day I pray that you would follow Hannah’s example and receive your children as blessings from God—that you would be women of prayer—that you would trust in the promises that God has made to you in his Son—and especially that you would raise your children to know the Lord and entrust them into his care—confident that he loves them even more than you do.  Amen.

A Prayer for Mother's Day

Gracious Heavenly Father, grant us a faith like Hannah’s to come to You in prayer, believing that You will hear and answer us for our good:

We give You thanks for our mothers.  Empower all mothers by Your Spirit to be women after the example of Hannah:  loving their children and guiding them in Your ways so that they would give You glory and be a blessing to their mothers.  Especially do we pray for Martin as he celebrates a birthday, that You would bless him in body and soul all his days.

Rid our nation of those besetting sins that destroy Your good gifts of marriage and family and children.  Especially do we ask You to protect the unborn and open the hearts of Your people to welcome children into their families by adoption.  Give our elected leaders wisdom to enact policies that would strengthen rather than weaken the bonds between husbands and wives and parents and children.

Lead all Christian parents to encourage their children to pursue church work even as Hannah gave her son Samuel to You for the service in Your house.  Bless all of those who are preparing to serve the church in the ministry of the Word. 

Let Your favor rest upon our families that a true and living faith in Your Son Jesus Christ would be our heritage from one generation to another.  Help us to be Your witnesses at home so that those we love would see in us a true and living faith. 

Strengthen the marriages of Your people that husbands and wives would rejoice in one another and count one another the greatest earthly blessing you bestow.  Especially do we pray for Ryan and Robin as they begin their lives together, that they dwell in love for You and one another all their days.

As You looked with compassion upon the needs and sorrows of Hannah, so look with compassion upon those who stand in need of Your help and come to their aid.  Especially do we pray for Myrtle and Moses and J.A. and Barbara who need your healing.  Bring safely to their heavenly home those for whom death draws near, especially Fran.  Comfort all of those who mourn Earlene’s passing and assure them that You are with them in their grief.

We thank and praise You for all Your blessing and tender mercies, especially for the rain of this last week.  Continue to grant us all those things that we need for this body and life until that day You bring us to our heavenly home.  All of things we ask in the name of Your Son Jesus Christ, firmly believing that You hear and answer for his sake. Amen.