/God, to us, a Refuge and Strength; a Help in trouble, well proved.
Therefore we will not fear in a changing earth; and the mountains slip
into the heart of the sea. Its waters roar, foam; the mountains quake at
its swelling. Exalt! There is a river whose streams make glad the city
of God; the holy dwelling of the Most High. God is in her midst, she
will not be moved; God will help her in the dawn of the morning. Nations
uproar, kingdoms totter; He raised up in His voice, the earth melts.
Yahweh of armies is with us; our Stronghold is the God of Jacob. Exalt!
Come, look at the works of Yahweh; He has wrought desolations in the
earth. He makes war stop to the ends of the earth; He breaks the bow and
breaks the spear, He burns the chariots in fire. Stop, and know that I
Myself am God; I will be exalted in the nations, I will be exalted in
the earth. Yahweh of armies is with us; our Stronghold is the God of
Jacob. Exalt! /
Have you ever encountered a foe simply too overwhelming for you? Like a
politician down 20 points to an opponent with only 2 weeks to go before
election day. Maybe it was a class you were failing, with no hope of
passing the final. Perhaps it was an illness for you or an ailment for
family member, and the prospects for recovery were dim. Or it could be a
relationship you'd sufficiently messed up that there seemed no hope for
repair. At such times, you cry jumpin' Jehosephat & pray for a miracle.
Well, the real Jehosephat, king of Judah, faced an overwhelming foe of
his own, back in the day. The mighty Ammonites of Jordan joined the
Moabites & Edomites of the South to form a huge army. They marched on
Judah in battle. King Jehosephat prayed before the people for God's
help, and He raised answered–the battle belonged to God. He fought all 3
armies Himself to save Judah. He turned the enemy armies against one
another, & they were all killed--Ammonites, Moabites, Edomites,
Mosquitobites all! In joyful response the sons of Korah sang Psalm 46!
Which brings us to the overwhelming foe of Jesus' day. Not an outward
force like the Roman legions. Such an enemy, no one would deny. But this
was the enemy within. This was an enemy which enslaved the people,
without many of them realizing it until it was too late. This was no
ordinary illness which rose up within men, for such could be cured with
medicines & treatments. This enemy was *sin*, which wrought death. And
not just ordinary, everyday death, but eternal, permanent death.
Now, the pharisees of Jesus' day were in denial of this enemy within.
They strove to keep some 613 commands they found in the scriptures,
foolishly thinking they could defeat this enemy on their own. Modern day
pharisees wrongly assume the same thing, proudly announcing that they
have overcome the flesh, are no longer sinners of any sort. The pharisee
within your flesh may also rear its ugly head to claim that you can
fight the foe of sin on your own, but you know that you cannot. Sin is
much too powerful an enemy for the likes of ordinary you.
For sin enslaves you. It captures you, and causes you to think its
thoughts, feel its feelings, desire its desires, and do its dark deeds.
If you stop denying sin's hold on you, and admit it has thoroughly
enslaved you, they you will realize how bad off you really are in the
face of this foe. For at such times, the Law of God has done its job
well, convicting you of sin and the hopelessness and helplessness you
face on your own in dealing with such an overwhelming & devastating
opponent.
Martin Luther realized this, all too well. He knew what a great sinner
he was, so much so that even dedicating his life to God's service as a
monk could not help him overcome his servitude to sin. He was a failure
at fighting this foe. But then the Gospel of God finally dawned its
light on Luther. There was a Champion who was strong enough to defeat
this enemy of sin–Christ Jesus! So Luther stopped trying to battle sin
himself, and searched the Scriptures to see how God fought for him!
Jesus, God's Son made Luther free indeed! That is when Luther realized
that the Christian church was not all about what man does, but about
what God does to free us from sin by forgiveness. So Luther sought out
all those ways God sets us free from sin-slavery in the means of grace.
He discovered baptism which delivered you from death as a rebirth to
everlasting life. He found the preaching of the gospel which declares
you absolutely forgiven from the Pastor as from Christ Himself. He
uncovered Jesus' very body & blood hidden in bread & wine of communion
to save you.
Rejoice dear friends in Christ, for the battle against the overwhelming
foe isn't yours. It's God's! He is your Mighty Fortress of refuge &
strength! There is a river which makes the city of God glad. A river
flowing from Jesus' Own pierced side at the +, through His water & blood
of forgiveness. Amen.
John C. Drosendahl, Pastor
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
___________________________________________________________________________
'CAT 41 Sermons & Devotions' consists of works that are, unless otherwise
noted, the copyrighted property of the various authors; posting of such
gives members of this list implied consent for redistribution _with_
_attribution_ unless otherwise specified by the author, as well as
for quoting or use in a congregational setting
_with_or_without_attribution_.
Note: This list's default reply is to the *poster*, NOT the list.
Do *not* reply to the list with your comments, but to the poster.
Subscribe? Send ANY note to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Unsubscribe? Send ANY note to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Archive? <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/>
For more information on this or other lists offered by Confess And Teach
For Unity, you can contact the CAT 41 list administrator at:
Rev. Fr. Eric J. Stefanski <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
