All Saints 2009: Revelation 7:9-17, Matthew 5:1-12; 1 John 3:1-3. "For all
the Saints" and "We Sing for all the Unsung Saints" (sermon) and "Glorious
Things of You are Spoken." Most of the normal Scripture and Confessions
references were removed due to space problems when it was printed. Sorry
'bout that, to those who ask me to do that each time...
First John Three records that the world did not know the Son of God; so
since we are children of God the world does not know us either. And what an
amazing thing it is that God our Father gives us the title: children of
God!!
Now it follows since they don't truly know the Father, the fallen world
does not really know any of God's children. Now, this is not 'children of
God' in the sense of creation & His first Kingdom - of Power. It is in that
second one, the Kingdom of Grace, that is what John is writing about.
You may be unknown to all the world; but God knows your name. He
created you (Psalm 139:10), then He redeemed you (Isaiah 43), then He called
you His child in Holy Baptism. He sends His angels to guard us (Matthew
18:10).
What is child of God? A soul loved by God, called by grace, no matter
who others say, a child with life now and forever, what we will be is beyond
us (illustrated), we are deathless, and we commune with saints.
When God works faith in us thru the means of grace, Holy Baptism or His
Word, He declares us to be His children. It happens right then, not at some
future time. Thru faith, we are God's children NOW.
2. "Beloved, we are God's children NOW." We are not LIKE a family. We ARE
a family. You are not asked to get along or like your fellow church
members. As 1st John records, God commands you to love them as much as God
loves you: 100%, 24-7, and without conditions.
God's word goes so far as to say "if anyone says he loves God yet hates
his brother (fellow child of God), then he is a liar & does not love God" (1
John 4). How can a believer pray in the Our Father, "Forgive us as we
forgive others" and then not forgive? For our Father Himself 'tenderly
invites us to believe that He is our true Father, and that we are His dear
children." (Luther) We are His now!
This "now" is despite all outside appearances of today. We are God's
children by HIS work: black, brown, white, or yellow, red; male or female;
infant or elderly; intelligent or simple; rich or poor; and all other
external things don't matter. Man looks at the outside, God looks at the
heart (1 Samuel 16:7).
We are children of God thru faith. It is not membership in a
particular church body or assembly that saves us. Faith alone saves, in
Christ alone. God's Word tells us we are part of an invisible church: "the
holy Christian Church, the communion of saints". Those who are children of
God in the INvisible church gather with like-minded believer in the visible
churches for worship.
But, for an example, because there are some who hold the Bible not as God's
Word but man's, there are differences that divide us in denominations and
church bodies. But it is not "church bodies" that go to heaven, but
individual souls. Those who believe the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us
from ALL sins go to heaven: no matter which earthly group they gather in,
and in spite of wrong teachings in some matters. Grace alone saves.
There is NEVER a good reason to believe/ teach/ allow false doctrine in
any amount so we purify ourselves. But it is faith in the work of Jesus
that is the key to eternal life. That life is yours NOW. You are a child
of God NOW. But there is much more to come for Christians.
(An imperfect illustration, the core of which is not original with me).
Picture a baby inside of a mother, perhaps a month before birth. Let's
dream the baby has already developed language skills, logic, and all the
tools needed to be a functioning adult here in our society. But he or she
has not been born yet.
Somehow, again let your imagination fill-in-the-blanks. You are able
to speak for one hour with this baby.
You tell a child who has never taken a breath about the sweet smell of
apple cider. You tell of stars in a night sky, cornfields at harvest,
wildlife (deer, ants, pheasants, lady-bugs, etc.), cell phones, the smile on
your friend's face, & other sights, sounds, tastes, smells, and feelings.
All these & more are waiting for this baby. Thru the process called "birth",
with all the pain and risk and change, the baby will continue life a place
that is very different than where the baby is now.
John happily reminds us "what we WILL be (in heaven) has not yet
appeared; but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, because we
shall see Him as He is." Because of God's grace in the cross of Christ, we
can say with the Psalmist (118) "I shall not die, but live, and declare the
works of the Lord." Christians pass thru the valley of the shadow of death
to enter God's final home of heaven.
This is why authentic Christian worship is not about entertainment,
emotions, logic, or anything about us at all! It is always centered, first
and foremost, on what God has given and continues to give His children in
and thru Christ: forgiveness, life, and salvation.
We are worshipping "with angels, archangels, and all the company of
heaven" as our liturgy recalls. It means you are worshipping now alongside
Gladys Bettin, Lawrence Schmidt, Joanne Huseman, Alvin Peterson, Ernie
Porath, Jim Welander, Everett VonEweghen, Percy Hout, (those who recently
died and are now with the Lord from the 3 parishes I serve) and every
Christian of all times and places who: 'no longer sees thru a glass darkly,
but now sees face to face.' You worship with the men who composed our
Collect in 1549, an infant who died from cholera from the AD800's, all sorts
of unknown saints you have never met, and anyone you know and love who has
gone on before you into heaven because of the gift of faith in the only True
God ignited on earth and still burning in eternity.
Our God, Who is the God of the Living, calls us this day to His Table.
One pastor aptly wrote this. (Lindemann) If you want to feel close to your
loved ones who died in the Lord, the best place is not the cemetery - only
their physical covering is there in a temporary sleeping place, waiting for
the day of resurrection. The place to have communion with them, to be close
to their real selves, is at the Lord's Table, where we worship with all the
white robed company of heaven. We say "salvation belongs to our God
(alone) Who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!"
The fallen world around us knows none of this. They do not really know
us either as children of God, because they do not really know God the
Father, or His only Son Jesus, nor the Holy Spirit which proceeds from them.
But we DO know. We DO believe. We DO confess. We DO rejoice: along with
the saints of all ages.
Behold what love the Father has freely given to us, that we should be
declared to be children of God. And so we are, right now! We await His
Return, "when He shall come in glory to judge both the living & the dead",
or we wait for that day when He calls us home by His command to continue
life with Him forever.
May our Father grant that ALL the children of God, knit together in the
mystical body of Christ, continue in virtuous and godly living as we journey
thru this life to all of the unspeakable joys our Lord has prepared for all
who love Him: thru Jesus Christ. Amen.
Pastor Michael Harman,
St. Peter LCMS - Newell, IA
vacancies at ...
Immanuel, Pomeroy
First Evangelical, Fonda
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