1 Peter 1:3 (3-9)
"The Father Revived Us to a Living Faith"
Sunday, March 30, 2008; 2nd Sunday of Easter
[Acts 5:29-42; John 20:19-31]
In the name of the Triune God-Father, X Son, and Holy Spirit. [Amen.]
(1 Peter 1:3 ESV) "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!
According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living
hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead . ."
Introduction: Dear fellow tired-and-in-need-of-reviving saints of God.
Finally, we've finished those extended formal liturgical church year
celebrations of Christmas and Easter. Now that they're behind us we can
turn our attention and energies to things like warm weather, spring
cleaning, gardening, spring and summer sports, junior confirmation in our
local setting, end of school activities, and, well, you fill in the rest.
Since Easter followed so quickly on the heels of Christmas this year,
we barely got our decorations down before Lent began. Having now traveled
through another Lenten time of reviewing and rehearsing repentance in
preparation for formally celebrating Christ's resurrection from the dead,
Holy Week, and Easter Sunday itself, we can get on with life's many other
important activities.
Sadly, for many people who made their annual Christmas-and/or-Easter
appearance in church that means they can go another, let's see, . nine
months before appearing here again. On the other hand, I'm thrilled and
joy-filled by your presence this [evening/morning]. How wonderful that you
returned this first weekend after Easter, which is traditionally the
severest attendance letdown of the year, to gather together with fellow
saints of God to hear His comforting Word of mercy and grace, receive the
certain assurance of such in the Blessed Sacrament of Holy Communion, and
offer Him praise and thanksgiving. God bless you for your faithfulness!
Still, it's been a very tiring time . for all of us. We've all been
quite busy during these two major back-to-back seasons. Many of us are
fatigued and low on or out of steam. We need to be revived.
So, what does it mean to be revived? Three things come immediately to
my mind. One is being brought back to life after having apparently died.
Another is being reenergized after having completed some hard work or a
major task. And still another is what happens with our faith after times of
intense spiritual struggle.
Revival is what our formal Easter celebration last Sunday was all
about. In fact, revival is what this activity we call worship is all about.
Even as we sit down at the meal table to revive our physical bodies with
physical food, so also we come together in worship for God to revive our
spiritual souls with His spiritual food. It's all based on and flows from
what St. Peter tells us has already happened, namely, .
Transition: The Father Revived Us to a Living Faith because of which We
Rejoice with Thanksgiving and We Rejoice with Glory-Filled Joy.
I. We Rejoice with Thanksgiving. [4-7: ". to an inheritance that is
imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's
power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed
in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if
necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested
genuineness of your faith-more precious than gold that perishes though it is
tested by fire-may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the
revelation of Jesus Christ."] Basking in the aftermath of last Sunday's
grand formal Easter celebration, maybe we feel a little letdown this
weekend. Our lives for the most part have returned to normal (whatever that
may be) and we're looking forward now to warming up and drying out. To a
certain degree life is returning to being the same-ol' same-ol'. How easily
and quickly we forget the Easter message that Christ is risen [He is risen,
indeed!] which revives our weak and fledgling faith and gives us every
reason to continually rejoice with thanksgiving. After all, what our
resurrected Savior accomplished guarantees that .
A. We have an eternal perfect inheritance. Now inheritance is
something that gets many people's attention! Inheritance is what wills are
all about! Of course, that can be beneficial or detrimental depending on
whether the inheritance consists of riches or indebtedness . both of which
are imperfect and temporary.
Christianity's blessing is that our inheritance is both
perfect and eternal. What Immanuel purchased with His holy precious blood,
accomplished with His innocent suffering and death, and sealed with His
bodily resurrection from the dead is nothing less than forgiveness,
salvation, and eternal life. Regarding this St. Paul told the Ephesian
elders (that word in the New Testament means pastors),
(Acts 20:32 ESV) "And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace,
which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all
those who are sanctified."
In his letter to the Ephesian church St. Paul included
this wake-up warning,
(Eph 5:5, 15-17 ESV) "For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is
sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has
no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Look carefully then how
you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time,
because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what
the will of the Lord is."
The anonymous author of Hebrews wrote the following about
the living God and wills,
(Heb 9:15-17 ESV) "Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that
those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a
death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under
the first covenant. For where a will is involved, the death of the one who
made it must be established. For a will takes effect only at death, since
it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive."
Of course, all this inheritance and wills stuff is based
on trust. That being true, the Holy Spirit's work in our lives has produced
the necessary belief in Jesus so that .
B. We have a tried-and-proven genuine faith. Dr. Martin Luther
wrote that
(LUTHER'S SMALL CATECHISM WITH EXPLANATION, © 1991 CPH, page 15) ". the Holy
Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts,
sanctified and kept me in the true faith. In the same way He calls,
gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and
keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith."
In fact, his explanation to the Lord's Prayer's Sixth
Petition speaks to this very point,
(Ibid., page 19) "God tempts no one. We pray in this petition that God
would guard and keep us so that the devil, the world, and our sinful nature
may not deceive us or mislead us into false belief, despair, and other great
shame and vice. Although we are attacked by these things, we pray that we
may finally overcome them and win the victory."
St. James provided the basis for Luther's explanation when
he wrote,
(James 1:2-4 ESV) "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of
various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces
steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be
perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."
It's all part of renewed life and faith knowing that .
Transition: The Father Revived Us to a Living Faith because of which We
Rejoice with Thanksgiving and We Rejoice with Glory-Filled Joy.
II. We Rejoice with Glory-Filled Joy. [8-9: "Though you have not seen
him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and
rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the
outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls."] Remember the reaction
of the magi when the star appeared that would guide them to Jesus? St.
Matthew wrote that
(Matt 2:10 ESV) "When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with
great joy."
In fact, he also recorded in last Sunday's Gospel Reading that
the ladies whom the angelic messengers first told about Christ's
resurrection from the dead
(Matt 28:8 ESV) ". departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy .
."
Well-known and much-loved hymns that communicate that theme of
glory-filled joy declare
(Lutheran Service Book, © 2006 CPH, #387:1 & 2)
"Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns!
. Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy." and
(Ibid., #803:1 & 3)
"Joyful, joyful we adore Thee,
God of glory, Lord of love!
Joyful, we Thy heav'n inherit!
Joyful, we by grace are Thine!"
That joy is one of the manifestations of the Spirit's love-fruit
that fills our Spirit-revived Christian hearts and is an expression of the
fact that .
A. We love Jesus Christ. Now let's understand and honestly admit
the sad reality that we don't naturally love Immanuel. Quite the opposite
is true. Our Synodical Catechism reminds us that .
(LUTHER'S SMALL CATECHISM WITH EXPLANATION, © 1991 CPH, pages 96f.)
"Original sin . has left [us] without true fear and love of God, that is,
spiritually blind, dead, and enemies of God . ."
God resolved this damnable dilemma by the Blessed
Sacrament of Holy Baptism, in which
(Titus 3:5-6 ESV) ". he saved us, not because of works done by us in
righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of
regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly
through Jesus Christ our Savior . ."
St. John therefore affirmed that
(1 John 4:19 ESV) "We love because [God] first loved us."
God's genuine love for us is what drove Him to offer Jesus on
Calvary's cross-altar as the pure and holy sacrificial Lamb for us. His
holy death and majestic resurrection gained forgiveness, salvation, and
eternal life for all who cling to Him alone by Spirit-given trust.
As God's precious adopted children we now love Him about
whom Jesus Himself testified that
(John 3:16 ESV) ". God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that
whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."
The very God whom we by nature denied, rejected, and hated
is the very God who Himself gave us the necessary faith so that .
B. We believe in Jesus Christ. He is the very same God about whom
St. Paul declared,
(Eph 2:8 ESV) ". by grace you have been saved through faith. . this is not
your own doing; it is the gift of God . ." and
(1 Cor 12:3 ESV) ". no one can say 'Jesus is Lord' except in the Holy
Spirit."
You see, true faith in Jesus Christ is not an inactive
thing. Rather, such faith is an active thing that energizes us to love God
and each other by energetically doing good works that praise God and serve
one another. That's what Jesus meant when He stated in His Sermon on the
Mount,
(Matt 5:16 ESV) ". let your light shine before others, so that they may see
your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."
It's what St. Paul referred to when he instructed the
young Pastor Timothy,
(Titus 3:8 ESV) ". I want you to insist on these things, so that those who
have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works."
And, it's what the author of the Letter to the Hebrews had
in mind when he wrote,
(Heb 10:24-25 ESV) ". let us consider how to stir up one another to love and
good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but
encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near."
So it is that .
Transition: The Father Revived Us to a Living Faith because of which We
Rejoice with Thanksgiving and We Rejoice with Glory-Filled Joy.
Conclusion: The historian Dr. Luke tells us in his record of the developing
early Christian Church,
(Acts 5:29-30, 42 ESV) "But Peter and the apostles answered, 'The God of our
fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree.' And every
day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and
preaching Jesus as the Christ."
That's the bold declaration of salvation! It's what Pastor Cole,
Pastor Marks, and I unashamedly declare to you week in and week out in the
presence of this altar. It's the foundation, framework, and substance of
today's Church even as it was 2,000 years ago. That message alone
distinguishes the true Christian Church from being merely an entertainment
establishment of happy clappy activity verses a place in which the Holy
Spirit equips us for life now and hereafter. It's the only gospel message
that's
(Rom 1:16 ESV) ". the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes .
."
The Holy Spirit inspired St. John to conclude his Gospel narrative with
the following bold statement,
(John 20:30-31 ESV) "Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the
disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that
you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by
believing you may have life in his name."
In the Divine Service, Setting Four liturgy we sing immediately before
the Holy Gospel reading,
(Lutheran Service Book, © 2006 CPH, page 205)
"Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
These things are written that you may believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia."
It reminds us that our faith is not a blind faith but a faith informed by
God's Holy Word, especially words written about and spoken by our Lord and
Savior, Jesus Christ. In fact, those written words that we verbally read
are all about the living Word, Immanuel Himself.
So, along with disbelieving Thomas we see and touch the wounded flesh
and shed blood of Jesus in Holy Communion with the Spirit-given faith that
fills our minds and hearts. After doing so, we then along with him declare,
(John 20:28) "My Lord and my God!"
We do so because, even as He did with Thomas, so the Father Revived Us to a
Living Faith because of which we rejoice with thanksgiving and we rejoice
with glory-filled joy. Let's continually do so here in time even as we will
forever do so hereafter in eternity.
God grant it all for the sake of Jesus Christ, His humble Son, our holy
Savior. Amen.
In the name of the Triune God-Father, X Son, and Holy Spirit. [Amen.]
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