Twelfth Sunday after Trinity

The Twelfth Sunday after Trinity
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

Bethany Lutheran Worship, 8 AM Phoenix Time

The Hymn #370 – Magdalen
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual 2 Corinthians 3:4-11
The Gospel Mark 7:31-37
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn # 377:7-10 Speratus – Es ist das Heil
Able Ministers of the New Testament

The Hymn #413 Brorson – Der lieben Sonne Licht The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn # 503 by Pope – Old 124th

Twelfth Sunday After Trinity

Almighty and everlasting God, who hast created all things: We thank Thee that Thou hast given us sound bodies, and hast graciously preserved our tongues and other members from the power of the adversary: We beseech Thee, grant us Thy grace, that we may rightly use our ears and tongues; help us to hear Thy word diligently and devoutly, and with our tongues so to praise and magnify Thy grace, that no one shall be offended by our words, but that all may be edified thereby, through Thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

2 Corinthians 3:4 And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward: 5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; 6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. 7 But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: 8 How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? 9 For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. 10 For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth. 11 For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious.

Mark 7:31 And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis. 32 And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him. 33 And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue; 34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. 35 And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain. 36 And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it; 37 And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.


Able Ministers of the New Testament

This passage makes me think of the thousands of unknown ministers to teach the Word patiently and without any recognition. Often their only earthly reward is occasional buffeting, but Paul speaks about glorious effects of this service. In his best passages he is often so sublime that he is almost incomprehensible. And yet, phrase by phrase, what he says in a few words is worth a dozen books by another.

This passage is a comparison of the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai to the proclamation of the Gospel. That divine, miraculous event was so glorious that people could not look at the face of Moses. His face had to be veiled. And yet, the Law was a passing event, to be overshadowed by the Gospel.

So, if the giving of the Law was glorious when it was only a ministration of death, then how much more glorious is the giving of the Gospel? The Law cannot save, cannot perfect, cannot even rescue someone from sin. Because the Law demands perfection and always condemns, the Law by itself is a ministry of death.

The best picture of the Law is from Pilgrim’s Progress by Bunyan. One person sweeps the room. The more the room is swept, the dustier and more choking the air gets. The Law can only stir up and show sin. The Law cannot remove sin or give power over sin. And yet the Holy Spirit works through the Law.

The second picture from Pilgrim’s Progress is a woman spreading oil over the room. That settles down the dust and the air clears again. This may not be good housekeeping advice for today, but it illustrates the greater glory of the Gospel.

Can anything compare to the person who hears the pure Word of God, receives forgiveness, and finds strength for the daily battle against sin?

When a pastor baptizes a baby, that is pure Gospel and the greatest possible ministry, the greatest vocation of all. How many people in that baby’s life can say, “I had the honor of administering God’s sacrament, giving this infant faith, the indwelling Holy Spirit, and forgiveness of sin, a lifelong pledge by God”? No one else has that pivotal role in providing a lifetime of divine influence.

The parents could baptize. Any layman can baptize in an emergency, but normally an ordained minister baptizes the child. And this goes on as if it were a mundane occurrence. The granting of God’s grace, mercy, love, and forgiveness is not mundane.

This ministry goes on without much notice, unlike the glamour stars of today. Very few ministers will travel first class to Vail, Colorado for a ski vacation. When Joel Osteen’s wife was sued for her bad behavior on a plane, newspapers pointed out that Joel Osteen could not say on Larry King that Jesus is the only way of salvation. He had a chance to say to a Jew, a former prisoner (King stole $50K), and millions of people, “Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” He did not, but fumbled around and dodged the pointed question.

There is that eager to please everyone attitude that goes so well with the media. And there is the ministry of the Word, which displeases to the point of persecution. When my wife substitute taught in Midland, Michigan, she heard teachers openly mocking the students who came from Christian schools. That happened in the teachers’ lounge. One can only wonder how that attitude translated in the classroom.

I hear from those pastors who have spent their lives being faithful. The unbelieving world says, “You did nothing,” and the synods add to the pain. The worst false teachers in all groups have the biggest churches. That only proves that the Pastoral Epistles are correct.

1 Timothy 3:1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, 7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

We will never know how much of a positive impact these ministers have had upon people, hence thousands of people yet to come (if God puts up with us a few more generations). My wife said, when the family was together, “Just think. We met in college and now there are seven.” As the Bible says, “He puts the solitary in families.” The minister and the parents get to do the most guiding and see the results from patient application of the Word. Those are also the two roles least admired today.

The Word conveys Christ, so the person teaching Christ or administering the Sacraments is giving Christ to people. Too often we denigrate the ministry by trying to compare it to management, sales, or entertainment. Categories like popularity and good bottom line are meaningless in terms of faithfulness to God’s Word.

"He [Paul] thus extols co-laborers that they [the Corinthians] may not despise the external Word as if they were not in need of it or knew it well enough. For although God might accomplish all things inwardly by the Spirit, without the external Word, He has no intention of doing so. He wants to employ preachers as assistants and co-laborers and to accomplish His purposes through their word when and where it pleases Him. Since, then, preachers have the office, name, and honor of being God's assistants, no man is so learned or holy that he may neglect or despise the poorest preaching; for he does not know when the hour will come in which God will perform His work in him through the preachers."
What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed. Ewald M. Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House 1959 III, p. 1118.

Giving Christ to people means solving the greatest problem of mankind – redemption from sin. The ancient Greeks had a cycle of plays about the problem of one sin moving from one generation to another. When people finally face their destructiveness, they want to make up for what they have done. They want to redeem themselves. The good news of the Gospel teaches us that Christ has redeemed us, which has two meanings in the New Testament.

Redemption (one verb) means our sins have been paid for, redeemed. That is why there are so many references in Lutheran material to the purchase made by Christ. Purchase is the basic word used in Greek for purchase – from the noun for marketplace. Now the apostate Protestant offer marketing the Gospel instead of the purchase made by Christ. The greatest appeal for the masses is one where they need not change their beliefs, philosophies, and attitudes.

If the complete purchase has been made, the atonement of our sins, then no other payment can be made. The Gospel does not place demands on people but sets them free, the other meaning of redemption in the New Testament.

The second meaning applies to slaves being set free or released. We are in bondage to sin until Christ releases us from that slavery. That is, there is no answer to sin without Christ. Setting us free from bondage to sin is the reason why alteration of the Gospel is so horrible. The best news of all, the turning point of history, is set aside to please the masses.

The antinomians (anti-Law) are mixed up about this redemption. They believe the Creation and the Law have been made obsolete. In more than one case, these people have become shipwrecks. (They give up one aspect of the Faith, then another. Soon they are more befuddled than someone who has never been a believer.) The Law is a tutor leading us to Christ, as Paul wrote, but that does not invalidate what the tutor has taught and still teaches. The difference is that children obey under constraint and conditions. Maturity means gladly and willingly following Christ in a spirit of thankfulness, knowing the Law commands what is good (natural law).

I have college students in two basic categories. One group asks, “What do I have to do? What do you want?” The other group asks, “What is the best way to do this? How can I make this even better?” Flogging the first group is possible, but not effective. The second group does more than expected, even with the top grade secure.

There are people who read about Biblical doctrine all the time. They appreciate what the great theologians of the past have taught them about the treasures of the Gospel. They want to read more, to hear more.
Luther taught the Two Kingdoms (not to be confused with the Two Regiments, the civil realm and the church’s realm). As the Bible teaches throughout, people either belong to one kingdom (God’s) or another (Satan’s). There is no middle ground.

The gracious ministry of the Word moves people from Satan’s kingdom to God’s kingdom and preserves them in God’s kingdom. God has arranged His Kingdom to provide this ministry to all people. The Word is persecuted, but this persecution spreads the Gospel even more. Entire nations neglect and despise the Word, but the Gospel moves to new areas, just as the rain sweeps across the countryside.

Some hymn lyrics. Click to find the melody.

"My Hope is Built on Nothing Less"
by Edward Mote, 1797-1874
1. My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus' name.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
2. When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
3. His oath, His covenant, and blood
Support me in the whelming flood;
When every earthly prop gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
4. When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in Him be found,
Clothed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne!
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
Hymn #370
The Lutheran Hymnal
Text: 1 Timothy 1:1
Author: Edward Mote, c. 1834, cento
Composer: John Stainer, 1873, arr.
Tune: "Magdalen"


"I Walk in Danger All the Way" Click here to find the melody.
by Hans A. Brorson, 1694-1764
Translated by Ditlef G. Ristad, 1863-1938

1. I walk in danger all the way.
The thought shall never leave me
That Satan, who has marked his prey,
Is plotting to deceive me.
This foe with hidden snares
May seize me unawares
If e'er I fail to watch and pray.
I walk in danger all the way.
2. I pass through trials all the way,
With sin and ills contending;
In patience I must bear each day
The cross of God's own sending.
Oft in adversity
I know not where to flee;
When storms of woe my soul dismay,
I pass through trials all the way.
3. Death doth pursue me all the way,
Nowhere I rest securely;
He comes by night, he comes by day,
And takes his prey most surely.
A failing breath, and I
In death's strong grasp may lie
To face eternity for aye.
Death dost pursue me all the way.
4. I walk with angels all the way,
They shield me and befriend me;
All Satan's power is held at bay
When heavenly hosts attend me;
They are my sure defense,
All fear and sorrow, hence!
Unharmed by foes, do what they may,
I walk with angels all the way.
5. I walk with Jesus all the way,
His guidance never fails me;
Within His wounds I find a stay
When Satan's power assails me;
And by His footsteps led,
My path I safely tread.
In spite of ills that threaten may,
I walk with Jesus all the way.
6. My walk is heavenward all the way;
Await my soul, the morrow,
When thou shalt find release for aye
From all thy sin and sorrow.
All worldly pomp, begone!
To heaven I now press on.
For all the world I would not stay;
My walk is heavenward all the way.









J-1012
"But the Lord refutes this and says: Go ye there and preach what does it matter if it is against you? You will find there what I say. We should now do likewise. Although the masses storm against the Gospel and there is no hope that they will be better, yet we must preach, there will yet be found those who listen and become converted."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, I, p. 48.

The sermon is God’s chosen means to teach the Law and the Gospel to His flock. The congregation belongs to Christ, the Good Shepherd, not to the minister, members, or synod. Therefore, the sermon must be God’s Word and not the word of man.

KJV 1 Thessalonians 2:13 For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.

The listeners also need to realize that they must listen attentively and judge according to the work of the Holy Spirit. The congregation should not be ashamed of a sermon from someone who is less than an oratorical star. Many churches have pounded a minister because his voice was weak or his delivery was halting. Accustomed to the cocaine-fueled energy of TV, the congregations demand a star. Luther did not agree.



J-1013
"He who speaks poorly is speaking God's Word just as certainly as he who is able to speak well. A father speaks the Word just as certainly as God does, and your neighbor speaks God's Word just as certainly as the angel Gabriel. It is the same Word that the schoolboy and the angel Gabriel speak; one can merely express it better than another. Let the dishes be unequal. Some are of silver; others are of tin or of glazed clay, earthen vessels. But one and the same food is prepared in silver, tin, etc.; and venison, well seasoned and prepared, tastes as good from a wooden bowl as from one of silver. Think the same of Baptism and absolution. Let this be your comfort. But people do not recognize the person of God; they gape only at the person of the man as when one who is tired and hungry refuses to eat unless the food is set before him in a silver bowl. So people select many ministers nowadays."
What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed. Ewald M. Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House 1959 III, p. 1119. John 4:9-10.

Preaching belongs to God, so God’s work will be rejected, abused, and scorned by unbelievers.

J-1014
"Were I a preacher, what difference would it make to me if the world called me a devil, since I know that God calls me His angel? Let the world call me a deceiver as long as it pleases. God meanwhile calls me His faithful servant; the angels call me their companion; the saints call me their brother; the believers call me their father; distressed souls call me their savior; the ignorant call me their light. And God says: Yes, it is so. The angels and all creatures agree with Him."
What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, II, p. 925.

J-1015
"I certainly hope you will have enough Christian understanding to know that the ministry of the Gospel is neither our property nor the property of any human being, not even of an angel. It belongs to God, our Lord, who has purchased it with His blood, has given and instituted it for our salvation. Therefore He severely condemns those who despise it. He says, 'He that despiseth you despiseth Me' (Luke 10:16)...You are not lords over preachers and the ministry; you have not established the office. God's Son alone has done so. Nor have you contributed anything to it...You should not lord it over the ministry or give it directions. Nor should you keep it from rebuking. For its rebuke is not of men but of God, who does not want the rebuke hindered. He has commanded it.”
What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, II, p. 926.


J-1016
"He [Paul] thus extols co-laborers that they [the Corinthians] may not despise the external Word as if they were not in need of it or knew it well enough. For although God might accomplish all things inwardly by the Spirit, without the external Word, He has no intention of doing so. He wants to employ preachers as assistants and co-laborers and to accomplish His purposes through their word when and where it pleases Him. Since, then, preachers have the office, name, and honor of being God's assistants, no man is so learned or holy that he may neglect or despise the poorest preaching; for he does not know when the hour will come in which God will perform His work in him through the preachers."
What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed. Ewald M. Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House 1959 III, p. 1118.

The Lutheran Hymnal

I am not impressed by the recent Lutheran hymnals, which seem to multiply as they decline in quality. How many new hymnals omit Luther's very first hymn - Flung to the heedless winds? The MDiv editors include their buddies' tone-deaf, atrocious hymns, but they cannot print Luther's first, written in memory of the first Lutheran martyrs, burned at the stake.

Flung to the Heedless Winds

1. Flung to the heedless winds
Or on the waters cast,
The martyrs' ashes, watched,
Shall gathered be at last.
And from that scattered dust,
Around us and abroad,
Shall spring a plenteous seed
Of witnesses for God.

2. The Father hath received
Their latest living breath,
And vain is Satan's boast
Of victory in their death.
Still, still, though dead, they speak,
And, trumpet-tongued, proclaim
To many a wakening land
The one availing Name.


Crucial doctrinal war verses are also missing from the new hymnals. Where is "false sons within the pale" in The Church's One Foundation? Are those words too painfully frank a description of the editors? The same omissions can be found in classic Lutheran hymns, where false doctrine is denounced.

I understand The Lutheran Hymnal can still be bought at Bethany Lutheran College. Many hymnals are still circulating, since they were used and then suddenly orphaned by the watered down and feminist editions.

Below are some resources I found with Google:

A collection of links to TLH resources, from Concordia, Ft. Wayne.

Lutheran Hymnal.

Wikipedia has some details.

TLH hymn texts.

Paul Speratus: Salvation Unto Us Has Come

I was going to feature some remarks about Paul Speratus for the service today, but Norm Teigen stole a march on me and posted first.

Speratus wrote this hymn in prison during the Reformation. The tune and words are beloved classics of hymnody. I wonder how many Lutheran clergy today would risk prison and death for the Faith.

Salvation unto Us Has Come

Salvation unto us has come
By God’s free grace and favor;
Good works cannot avert our doom,
They help and save us never.
Faith looks to Jesus Christ alone,
Who did for all the world atone;
He is our one Redeemer.

What God did in His law demand
And none to Him could render
Caused wrath and woe on every hand
For man, the vile offender.
Our flesh has not those pure desires
The spirit of the Law requires,
And lost is our condition.

It was a false, misleading dream
That God His Law had given
So sinners could themselves redeem
And by their works gain Heaven.
The Law is but a mirror bright
To bring the inbred sin to light
That lurks within our nature.

From sin our flesh could not abstain
Sin held its sway unceasing;
The task was useless and in vain,
Our guilt was e’er increasing.
None can remove sin’s poisoned dart
Or purify our guileful heart—
So deep is our corruption.

Yet as the Law must be fulfilled
Or we must die despairing,
Christ came and hath God’s anger stilled,
Our human nature sharing.
He hath for us the Law obeyed
And thus the Father’s vengeance stayed
Which over us impended.

Since Christ hath full atonement made
And brought us to salvation,
Each Christian therefore may be glad
And build on this foundation.
Thy grace alone, dear Lord, I plead,
Thy death is now my life indeed,
For Thou hast paid my ransom.

Let me not doubt, but trust in Thee,
Thy Word cannot be broken;
Thy call rings out, “Come unto Me!”
No falsehood hast Thou spoken.
Baptized into Thy precious Name,
My faith cannot be put to shame,
And I shall never perish.

The Law reveals the guilt of sin
And makes men conscience-stricken;
The Gospel then doth enter in
The sinful soul to quicken.
Come to the cross, trust Christ, and live;
The Law no peace can ever give,
No comfort and no blessing.

Faith clings to Jesus’ cross alone
And rests in Him unceasing;
And by its fruits true faith is known,
With love and hope increasing.
Yet faith alone doth justify,
Works serve thy neighbor and supply
The proof that faith is living.

All blessing, honor, thanks, and praise
To Father, Son, and Spirit,
The God that saved us by His grace—
All glory to His merit!
O Triune God in Heav’n above,
Who hast revealed Thy saving love,
Thy blessèd Name be hallowed.

Justification by Faith - The Treasure Book of Concord

From Thy Strong Word:

J-520
"It is a faithful saying that Christ has accomplished everything, has removed sin and overcome every enemy, so that through Him we are lords over all things. But the treasure lies yet in one pile; it is not yet distributed nor invested. Consequently, if we are to possess it, the Holy Spirit must come and teach our hearts to believe and say: I, too, am one of those who are to have this treasure. When we feel that God has thus helped us and given the treasure to us, everything goes well, and it cannot be otherwise than that man's heart rejoices in God and lifts itself up, saying: Dear Father, if it is Thy will to show toward me such great love and faithfulness, which I cannot fully fathom, then will I also love Thee with all my heart and be joyful, and cheerfully do what pleases Thee. Thus, the heart does not now look at God with evil eyes, does not imagine He will cast us into hell, as it did before the Holy Spirit came...."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, III, p. 279. Pentecost Sunday. John 14:23-31.

J-528
"Faith is that my whole heart takes to itself this treasure. It is not my doing, not my presenting or giving, not my work or preparation, but that a heart comforts itself, and is perfectly confident with respect to this, namely, that God makes a present and gift to us, and not we to Him, that He sheds upon us every treasure of grace in Christ."
Apology of the Augsburg Confession, IV. #48. Of Justification. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 135. Heiser, p. 36.

J-545
"These treasures are offered us by the Holy Ghost in the promise of the holy Gospel; and faith alone is the only means by which we lay hold upon, accept, and apply, and appropriate them to ourselves. This faith is a gift of God, by which we truly learn to know Christ, our Redeemer, in the Word of the Gospel, and trust in Him, that for the sake of His obedience alone we have the forgiveness of sins by grace, are regarded as godly and righteous by God the Father, and are eternally saved."
Formula of Concord, Thorough Declaration, III. #10. Of the Righteousness of Faith before God. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 919. Tappert, p. 541. Heiser, p. 250.

J-590
"For neither you nor I could ever know anything of Christ, or believe on Him, and obtain Him for our Lord, unless it were offered to us and granted to our hearts by the Holy Ghost through the preaching of the Gospel. The work is done and accomplished; for Christ has acquired and gained the treasure for us by His suffering, death, resurrection, etc. But if the work remained concealed so that no one knew of it, then it would be in vain and lost. That this treasure, therefore, might not lie buried, but be appropriated and enjoyed, God has caused the Word to go forth and be proclaimed, in which He gives the Holy Ghost to bring this treasure home and appropriate it to us. Therefore sanctifying is nothing else than bringing us to Christ to receive this good, to which we could not attain ourselves."
The Large Catechism, The Creed, Article III, #38, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 689. Tappert, p. 415. Heiser, p. 194.

The Eleventh Sunday after Trinity

Hummingbird, by Norma Boeckler

The Eleventh Sunday after Trinity

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

Bethany Lutheran Worship, 8 AM Phoenix Time

The Hymn #16 – Liebster Jesus
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual 1 Corinthians 15:1-10
The Gospel Luke 18:9-14
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn # 377:1-6 Speratus – Es ist das Heil
Justification by Faith

The Hymn #313 by Luther – Gott sei gelobet
The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn # 316 by Rist - Nun lob, mein seel


1 Corinthians 15:1-10 (King James Version) King James Version

Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: 5And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: 6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. 7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. 8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

Luke 18:9-14 (King James Version)
9 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: 10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. 13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Lord God, heavenly Father, we beseech Thee so to guide and direct us by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may not forget our sins and be filled with pride, but continue in daily repentance and renewal, seeking our comfort only in the blessed knowledge that Thou wilt be merciful unto us, forgive us our sins, and grant us eternal life; through Thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

In six verses, Jesus teaches the difference between self-justification and justification, in a parable everyone seems to know and remember.

The two men represent polar opposites. A Pharisee was someone who was extremely rigorous in the observation of the Law. We quite a bit about the Pharisees from various sources, but also from Paul, who was one.

Acts 23:6, the Apostle Paul declares, "Brethren, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees..."

"Though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also... circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee..." (Phil. 3:4-6).

Paul’s observance included the active, violent persecution of the Christians. He truly believed he was doing God’s will. The Pharisee is someone who measures worth by his own efforts and good works. As Luther observed, the upright citizen is most in danger because he is conscious of his strict observance of all the rules. Luther knew the spirit of the early Paul, because the monks were also fastidious in their observance of all the rules. No one was more observant of the rules than Luther.

The modern equivalent of the Pharisee is the Pietist. There are many variations on the Pietistic themes. Among the tee-totalers, there is the claim, “I have never touched a drop of liquor my whole life.”

In various synods, the question is, “Do you know who father was?” Or, a minister will say, “I did this and that.” The spirit of Phariseeism--or Pietism--is ideal for the Church Growth Movement. “Do you know how big my congregation is?” I met one of the famous CG pastors by accident in St. Louis. We did not discuss the topic itself. The pastor obviously knew what I had written. He gloried in telling me how big his congregation was, how many seats he had in his auditorium.

However, we would miss the whole message of this parable if we thought this parable was about them rather than about us. We are all Pharisees by nature, unless converted by the Gospel and kept in the faith by the Means of Grace.

The interesting aspect of the Pharisee’s prayer in this lesson is how it relates to a common prayer of the time. Here is Jesus’ example, from the parable:

11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.

The rabbis had a prayer that included many different expressions of thankfulness, including “that I was not born a woman.” When Judaism hardened after the resurrection of Christ and the conversion of so many Jews to the faith, the Talmud helped Jews focus on salvation through the Law, through works.

Jewish conversion is perhaps too strong a word, because Old Testament Judaism is the foundation of the Christian faith. The Christian faith is simply the fulfillment of everything taught in the Old Testament. Jewish Christians appreciate this far more than non-Jewish Christians.

I used to be blind to Jewish Christians. Now I realize how many there are. Some are openly Christian. Others keep the fact from their families. At one point I said, “I don’t think many Jews convert to Christianity today.” A communing adult member said, “I’m Jewish.”

The other example is the publican. A publican was a tax-collector, but more than that. He collected taxes for the hated Roman occupation. In many cultures, taxes were farmed out, which caused enormous oppression and hatred. The tax farmer had to collect his quota. Whatever he extorted beyond this was his to keep.

The publican’s prayer did not list his virtues and works, did not denounce the sins of his neighbors:

13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.

His prayer, first of all, shows a humble and contrite heart. Genuine contrition is the effect of the Holy Spirit working through the Law. The simple prayer also shows faith, trust in God’s mercy.

Jesus clearly taught the difference between the two examples:

14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

I have known so many church leaders who were flying high and scornful of all other clergy. Then those high-flyers tumbled, thanks to their own arrogance and pride. The formula for success in this world rewards the worst attitudes, until one day, when everything falls apart. On the other hand, I have seen many clergy hounded out of the ministry, not by the wolves outside the flock, but by the wolves within the flock, their own fellow clergy. In the end, rich and poor, we end up in the same place. Titles, honors, and riches are meaningless.

My wife and I were talking about fame, since we were just in Branson, Missouri. The time before we saw the Roy Rogers museum. We both grew up on Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, and Trigger. Roy’s son sang and did a show in honor of his father. Very few were there. People have forgotten the star of TV and movies, the restaurant owner. I said, “No one remembers Tom Mix anymore either.” My wife said, “Who?” I said, “Tom Mix, the famous movie cowboy.” Then she laughed. She had me again.

Those who place their trust in earthly honors, prestige, power, and money will be more than disappointed. They will be crushed when they find it is all a deception.

The quotations I selected for this sermon all use the term treasure. It is no accident that the Book of Concord uses this term for the Gospel repeatedly. People use many different analogies for justification and salvation, but this comparison is the one used more than once by the Lutheran Symbols. (Symbol is another name for Confessions.)

The image is easy to remember. In New Testament times, a treasure was located in one place, and it consisted of precious metals and jewels. Sometimes certain art objects were extremely valuable as well. The Silk Route from China to the West was really a jade route, since so much was paid for so little (in weight and volume) for those carved objects.

The atonement of Christ is the treasure of the Gospel. That is the message of reconciliation. Jesus has paid for the sins of the world. The atonement is universal and objective. Jesus paid for the sins of the whole world (universal). This act of reconciliation is true whether anyone believes it or not (objective). We base our salvation on the truth of the Gospel message, not on our feelings or works or merits (objective).

A limited atonement is taught by the Calvinists, who hold that Christ died only for the elect. Someone who grew up Presbyterian said recently that Jesus holding the lamb is an example of the shepherd who broke the legs of lambs who ran away too much. The lambs had to be carried until their legs healed. Then they strayed no more. I thought, “What a way to scare kids to death and ruin the Gospel.” The Isaiah passage says, “He shall feed His flock like a shepherd. He shall carry the lambs in His arms, and gently lead those with young.” But, that is Calvinism for you – turning Gospel into Law, hellishly turning a portrait of comfort into an image of terror. So the Calvinists have determined in advance that the treasure is only for a few, the predestined elect. As Twain liked to joke (in Tom Sawyer), they whittle the number of the elect down so far that it hardly seems worth the trouble to try.

Luther’s use the same image, from Luke 15, is quite different. He said, “Christ is just as anxious for me as I am for Him.” What a touching description of the lost sheep parable.

A partial atonement is taught by Roman Catholics. They teach all the right things about Christ dying on the cross. But they say, “Your sins are forgiven, but not paid for. You must spend the rest of your life paying for your sins. And the afterlife in Purgatory paying even more for your sins.”

The atonement is objective and universal. Otherwise, something else would have to be added. That is where the UOJ fanatics fall off the cliff. In struggling to make their statement about Christ dying on the cross, they confuse the atonement with justification by faith.

The atonement is the treasure. But it lies in one pile and does no one any good until it is distributed by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit works exclusively through the Word, so we have no doubt that God is at work through the Means of Grace.

"For neither you nor I could ever know anything of Christ, or believe on Him, and obtain Him for our Lord, unless it were offered to us and granted to our hearts by the Holy Ghost through the preaching of the Gospel. The work is done and accomplished; for Christ has acquired and gained the treasure for us by His suffering, death, resurrection, etc. But if the work remained concealed so that no one knew of it, then it would be in vain and lost. That this treasure, therefore, might not lie buried, but be appropriated and enjoyed, God has caused the Word to go forth and be proclaimed, in which He gives the Holy Ghost to bring this treasure home and appropriate it to us. Therefore sanctifying is nothing else than bringing us to Christ to receive this good, to which we could not attain ourselves."
The Large Catechism, The Creed, Article III, #38, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 689. Tappert, p. 415. Heiser, p. 194.

Notice the key phrase – God has caused the Word to go forth. The Bible teaches monergism, a fancy word for everything being done by God. God has made sure that the Gospel will be preached to the ends of the earth. (“God has no arms but ours, no legs but ours, no money but ours” – that is a sick, manipulative statement designed to extort money by demeaning God’s power.” Ask Jonah how limited God’s reach is, when a mission is determined by Him.)

God moves people to faith through the Gospel, so He provides the main solution to our sinful condition—the atoning death of His Son—and the means to obtain this forgiveness.

No one is justified apart from faith. The Bible is utterly consistent in giving all honor to the Word, which conveys Christ to us. We could also say, as Luther wrote, that the Means of Grace bring us before Christ. Just as Christ comes to us in the invisible and visible Word, so we come before Him. He knows us individually and gives to us His righteousness, His forgiveness, His salvation.

I recall some Lutherans (under the influence of Baptists at that point) saying, “If that is true, then what role do we have?” Believers who understand this aspect of Biblical teaching realize that God has already provided for them. They need to do nothing. The Word of God does not teach that “we must witness or God won’t let us grow as Christians,” as one person tried to say. The Gospel creates countless opportunities to freely share the message. Cult members come to our doors. Friends and relatives discuss their doubts and questions. Fellow clergy begin to fall away from the faith. The best and greatest opportunity is in our own families. If we baptize our children, teach them the Word, and worship with them, the blessings of the Gospel will influence them their whole lives.

How many clergy have handed their children over to cynicism and hatred of the Gospel by spending all their time building up a career? Their influence would be far greater if they had trained and loved their own children. America has more Christian clergy than all the nations of the world combined. Children have only one earthly father. But that depends on the definition of treasure.

Matthew 6:19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Matthew 19:16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,
19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
20 The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?
21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.
24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
Mark 10:17 And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?
18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.
19 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.
20 And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth.
21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.
22 And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.
23 And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!
24 And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!
25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
Luke 6:20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.
Luke 6:24 But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation.
Luke 12:15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:
17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?
18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.
19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.
20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?
21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
22 And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on.
23 The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment.
24 Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?
25 And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit?
26 If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest?
27 Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
28 If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?
29 And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind.
30 For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.
31 But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.
32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
33 Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.
34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Luke 16:19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,
21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.
Luke 18:18 And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
19 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.
20 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.
21 And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.
22 Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.
23 And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.
24 And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!
25 For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
26 And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved?
27 And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.
28 Then Peter said, Lo, we have left all, and followed thee.
29 And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake,
30 Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting.
1 Timothy 6:17 Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;
18 That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;
19 Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.
James 5:1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.
4 Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.
5 Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.
Revelation 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.


Justification by Faith Quotations – The Treasure

J-520
"It is a faithful saying that Christ has accomplished everything, has removed sin and overcome every enemy, so that through Him we are lords over all things. But the treasure lies yet in one pile; it is not yet distributed nor invested. Consequently, if we are to possess it, the Holy Spirit must come and teach our hearts to believe and say: I, too, am one of those who are to have this treasure. When we feel that God has thus helped us and given the treasure to us, everything goes well, and it cannot be otherwise than that man's heart rejoices in God and lifts itself up, saying: Dear Father, if it is Thy will to show toward me such great love and faithfulness, which I cannot fully fathom, then will I also love Thee with all my heart and be joyful, and cheerfully do what pleases Thee. Thus, the heart does not now look at God with evil eyes, does not imagine He will cast us into hell, as it did before the Holy Spirit came...."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, III, p. 279. Pentecost Sunday. John 14:23-31.

J-528
"Faith is that my whole heart takes to itself this treasure. It is not my doing, not my presenting or giving, not my work or preparation, but that a heart comforts itself, and is perfectly confident with respect to this, namely, that God makes a present and gift to us, and not we to Him, that He sheds upon us every treasure of grace in Christ."
Apology of the Augsburg Confession, IV. #48. Of Justification. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 135. Heiser, p. 36.

J-545
"These treasures are offered us by the Holy Ghost in the promise of the holy Gospel; and faith alone is the only means by which we lay hold upon, accept, and apply, and appropriate them to ourselves. This faith is a gift of God, by which we truly learn to know Christ, our Redeemer, in the Word of the Gospel, and trust in Him, that for the sake of His obedience alone we have the forgiveness of sins by grace, are regarded as godly and righteous by God the Father, and are eternally saved."
Formula of Concord, Thorough Declaration, III. #10. Of the Righteousness of Faith before God. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 919. Tappert, p. 541. Heiser, p. 250.

J-590
"For neither you nor I could ever know anything of Christ, or believe on Him, and obtain Him for our Lord, unless it were offered to us and granted to our hearts by the Holy Ghost through the preaching of the Gospel. The work is done and accomplished; for Christ has acquired and gained the treasure for us by His suffering, death, resurrection, etc. But if the work remained concealed so that no one knew of it, then it would be in vain and lost. That this treasure, therefore, might not lie buried, but be appropriated and enjoyed, God has caused the Word to go forth and be proclaimed, in which He gives the Holy Ghost to bring this treasure home and appropriate it to us. Therefore sanctifying is nothing else than bringing us to Christ to receive this good, to which we could not attain ourselves."
The Large Catechism, The Creed, Article III, #38, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 689. Tappert, p. 415. Heiser, p. 194.

The Ninth Sunday after Trinity

The Crab Nebula.

THE spacious firmament on high,
With all the blue ethereal sky,
And spangled heavens, a shining frame,
Their great Original proclaim.
Th' unwearied Sun from day to day
Does his Creator's power display;
And publishes to every land
The work of an Almighty hand.

Soon as the evening shades prevail,
The Moon takes up the wondrous tale;
And nightly to the listening Earth
Repeats the story of her birth:
Whilst all the stars that round her burn,
And all the planets in their turn,
Confirm the tidings as they roll,
And spread the truth from pole to pole.

What though in solemn silence all
Move round the dark terrestrial ball;
What though nor real voice nor sound
Amidst their radiant orbs be found?
In Reason's ear they all rejoice,
And utter forth a glorious voice;
For ever singing as they shine,
'The Hand that made us is divine.'
(Joseph Addison)



The Ninth Sunday after Trinity

Click here for the 8 AM Sunday service, Phoenix time, and the recorded services and Book of Concord studies.


Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

The Hymn #13 Before Jehovah’s – Old Hundredth
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual 1 Corinthians 10:6-13
The Gospel Luke 16:1-9
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #479 Zion rise – Fahre fort
Escape from the Castle of Despair

The Hymn #387 by Luther vss. 1-5 – Nun freut euch
The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn # 387 vss. 6-10


1 Corinthians 10:6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. 7 Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. 8 Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. 9 Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. 10 Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. 11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. 12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. 13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

Luke 16:1 And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. 2 And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward. 3 Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. 4 I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. 5 So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? 6 And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. 7 Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore. 8 And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. 9 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.

Collect by Veit Dietrich
Lord God, heavenly Father, who hast bountifully given us Thy blessing and our daily bread: We beseech Thee, preserve us from covetousness, and so quicken our hearts that we willingly share Thy blessed gifts with our needy brethren; that we may be found faithful stewards of Thy gifts, and abide in Thy grace when we shall be removed from our stewardship, and shall come before Thy judgment, through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.


1 Corinthians 10:6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.

In this lesson we are warned to learn from the example of those who have been destroyed by their own folly. But we are also encouraged by the promises of God to help us with temptation.


We no longer have to look up historic references to Corinth to show people how sinful one city can become. We only need to look around, wherever we are, from the metropolitan areas to the rural counties. America has become Corinth and we are all paying a terrible price for it. Meth maggots or speed freak are common among the celebrities and among the poor, even though the drug is known for destroying people.

America is following the Roman Empire and many others in its decline. Juvenal, a Roman poet, wrote about women parading around in armor, pretending to be soldiers. We have a general social decline accompanied by vast wealth. Unfortunately, wealth allows vice to multiply rapidly.

Therefore, we have to be careful that we do not get drawn into the decline of society, in the name of freedom and forgiveness, and learn too late the penalties attached to that decline. In addition, we should not despair that so many seem to get away with everything. God’s Law is natural law. He commands what is good for us. Therefore, if we continue to violate His law, the consequences will follow.

Most police reports begin, “Outside a bar, downtown, at 2 AM…” or “Police are looking for the live-in boyfriend, who is suspected of…” If those two factors were eliminated, the crime stories would be much tamer. People cannot defy natural law and enjoy good consequences from their actions.

Luther explained the problem of temptation as follows, paraphrased. Satan deceives people to sin, as if there will never be bad consequences. They go along blindly and often enjoy a great measure of happiness, especially in scorning those who feel inhibited by such concepts as right and wrong. However, at the end Satan tears away the mask and shows people what they have become. Then they despair of all forgiveness and make themselves even more fodder for the devil.

Imagine how pitiful is the condition of the great apostates of today – those religious leaders who do not believe in salvation through Christ alone. Are they poor? Are they losing members? Are they scorned by the media? No, just the opposite is true. The worse they become, the more successful they are in every respect but one. Their hearts are hardened against God’s Word. One man wrote about going in to see a televangelist about the corruption of his ministries. The minister responded by ordering his financial secretary to write out a large check, a bribe to silence the man. How much money will God need to be silent on the Day of Judgment? “Lord, Lord, did we not perform great miracles in Your Name?”

Temptation comes in other forms for believers. Then Satan makes us think that others have much better conditions. He encourages us to doubt the goodness of God. Some believers question whether they can be forgiven and fall into despair when they realize how weak their flesh is. However, when we fall into temptation, we should be reminded of how we cannot rely on our own strength to save ourselves.

Since we live in an era with great wealth and peace, we do not despair about the age-old problems of hunger, security, and housing. Nevertheless, there are many ways to be tempted.

Those who suffer from long-term illness are tempted to despair. Many opportunities are closed off to them. I have known several people who are always treated as if they are retarded, just because they have limited physical abilities. The equation does not make sense, unless we believe a professional wrestler is a genius.

Long-term illnesses are almost always accompanied by great discomfort and pain, and many forms of humiliation. Greater expenses are matched by lower income. We worship the active, athletic life, and not one of thought, so it is easy for many people to feel useless because they are not athletes in residence.

But God’s purpose should not be questioned. We should not think He neglects us but rather see how He gives us blessings in the form of problems. Years ago, one mother was despairing because her son had special learning problems. Her husband made $400 an hour in sales, so they were not limited by financial concerns. I said, “That’s a minor problem. He just needs some special training and lots of love.” She said, with some disgust, “You make it sound so easy.” I thought to myself, “Compared to what I have seen in many hospitals and nursing homes, yes it is.”

When people have little, they often value the smallest things. One of our friends had severe lupus, retardation, physical problems, and a father who died fairly young. Her relatives did not treat her very well. On one icy Minnesota day, I stopped at Hardy’s and got her a bag of French fries, her favorite. The weather was too evil for her to walk there. She munched on those fries as if they were the best gourmet food in the world.

When someone has almost nothing, God’s Word is the only treasure. I think we could find more believers among the chronically ill than among the chronically rich. Knowing that their lives are shortened and many things beyond their reach or imagination, they take great comfort in the promises of God. A poor weak person is usually far more patient than a rich, strong person. It is well known that the Mafia don, John Gotti, beat the daylights out of a truck driver for talking back to him. Then, at the assault trial, he scared the trucker into denying the beating. What makes the chronically ill more patient is not their greater virtue, but the leaven of the Gospel working in them, making them more forgiving, more willing to endure.

Despair does not always come from great difficulties. It also comes from the normal challenges of daily life. For instance, as Luther wrote, it is easy to become despondent over the state of the church and the disappointing behavior of pastors. I counted up four pastors I have tried to help with publishing. All four have been especially spiteful and destructive. Those who want to be faithful Lutherans find themselves in one congregation after another, prompting their relatives to mock them for never being happy. I was told several times that WELS district presidents had gone through one doctrinal crisis with the break with the Missouri Synod. For that reason, they refused to engage in another doctrinal battle, as if God gives us a quota of one in our lifetimes. Even deer licenses are more lenient than that.

Despair can also come from fulfilling responsibility and never seeing any great results, often reverses. Mothers must do the same jobs every day and never feel rested or caught up. Gratitude is not a quality found in great abundance in children. Surrounded by love and concern, children take it for granted. Who can measure the great impact a loving mother has on her children, especially when the time spent (for an at-home mother) is so rarely in evidence today?

God’s blessings are being realized when we tempted to despair. At one time I thought my whole life consisted of walking through hospital halls, waiting for test results, listening to social workers insult my intelligence, watching helplessly as the weakness grew in our children. Every cure made things worse. Later, I realized those were times of the greatest possible happiness and fulfilling as well. It is a blessing to be able to care for someone and to receive so much love in response. Black Christians consider it a great honor to be able to care for someone. It is in giving without receiving back that we approach God’s love for us, but God gives us many rewards in the act of giving time and concern.

God promises us a way of escape, an answer for the problems of the moment. In that way, time after time, we see how God works to solve our greatest difficulties. When we see a teenager blow his stack over a minor frustration, we can say, “Oh yes, I often feel the same way.” When we think about how silly it is at the moment, we can think, “I have been as silly if not worse.”

Escaping the Castle of Despair
Every Lutheran should know the great work of Bunyan called Pilgrim’s Progress, because many Biblical lessons are taught in the allegory. I often recall the scene in which Christian is lying in a jail cell in the Castle of Despair. The giant who captured him is loudly discussing with his wife how he will kill Christian in the morning. Finally Christian realizes that he has had the keys to unlock the jail cell all along. They were in his pocket. They are: the Promises of God.

The Gospel defeats despair because it is nothing more than the promises of God. Do we have worries? God will provide. Are we afraid? God will take care of us. Does our suffering seem meaningless? God will show us the meaning in time.

When I think about difficult people I have known, and they come in a marvelous assortment, I believe they have one thing in common – no concept of forgiveness. It is not so much that they must be forgiving toward others. They seem never to have grasped forgiveness of their own sins, how they can receive it and rejoice in it. Forgiveness comes to us through that contrition which is worked in us by God’s Law. We see ourselves as we truly are when we look into the mirror of the Law. It is not that contrition makes us worthy to be forgiven.

Forgiveness of sin is not based upon how sorry we are or how sorry we say we are. Forgiveness comes from the Gospel alone, received in faith. But as long as our hearts are hardened in pride, as if we need no forgiveness, the Gospel does not mean anything to us.

But when we properly despair of ourselves and ask for mercy from God, we realize how great His love is toward us, how devoid of resting that love upon our worthiness.

Those who know how great this forgiveness is, through the blood of Christ on the cross, also find it easy to forgive others as well. They are also likely to assure others, “Just as God helped me out of my troubles, so He will help you in your crisis.” God is faithful. He will fulfill His promises. His Gospel promises defeat despair, fear, and anxiety.

Quotations

A Pastor Smites Wolves
"It is not enough that we preach correctly, which the hireling can also do; but we must watch over the sheep, that the wolves, false teachers, may not break in, and we must contend for the sheep against the wolves, with the Word of God, even to the sacrifice of our lives. Such are good shepherds, of whom few are found."
Martin Luther, Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, III, p. 34. Second Sunday after Easter. John 10:11-16.
Spineless Conservative Pastors Are Wolves
"For nothing can feed or give life to the soul, which is not the doctrine of Christ. Although the hireling does not himself slay and destroy, he does not restrain the wolf. Therefore, because you neither point out nor teach this shepherd, you shall not and ought not to be heard, but you shall be shunned as a wolf."
Martin Luther, Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, III, p. 58f. Second Sunday after Easter. John 10:11-16.
False Teachers and the Colored Filter
"They [the false teachers] fared like a man who looks through a colored glass. Put before such a man whatever color you please, he sees no other color than that of the glass. The fault is not that the right color is not put before him but that his glass is colored differently, as the word of Isaiah 6:9 puts it: You will see, he says, and yet you will not see it."
Martin Luther, What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols.,
ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, II, p. 644. Isaiah 6:9.
Adiaphora and Confessional Crisis
"We believe, teach, and confess that at a time of confession, as when enemies of the Word of God desire to suppress the pure doctrine of the holy Gospel, the entire community of God, yes, every individual Christian, and especially the ministers of the Word as the leaders of the community of God are obligated to confess openly, not only by words but also through their deeds and actions, the true doctrine and all that pertains to
it, according to the Word of God. In such a case we should not yield to adversaries even in matters of indifference, nor should we tolerate the imposition of such ceremonies on us by adversaries in order to undermine the genuine worship of God and to introduce and confirm their idolatry by force or chicanery. It is written, 'For freedom Christ has set us free; stand fast therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.' (Galatians 5:1)."
Formula of Concord, Solid Declaration, Article X, 10-11, The Book of Concord, ed. Theodore G. Tappert, Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1983, p. 612. Galatians 5:1.
Luther and Fellowship
"Dr. Luther, who understood the true intention of the Augsburg Confession better than any one else, remained by it steadfastly and defended it constantly until he died. Shortly before his death, in his last confession, he repeated his faith in this article with great fervor and wrote as follows: 'I reckon them all as belonging together (that is, as Sacramentarians and enthusiasts), for that is what they are who will not believe that the Lord's bread in the Supper is his true, natural body, which the godless or Judas receive orally as well as St Peter and all the saints. Whoever, I say, will not believe this, will please let me alone and expect no fellowship from me. This is final." [WA 54:155, 156]
Formula of Concord, Epitome, Article VII, Lord's Supper, 33, The Book of Concord, ed. Theodore G. Tappert, Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1959, p. 575.
Spoiling the Egyptian Garbage
"Is it possible that one who has such models as Luther, Walther, Stoeckhardt, Lochner, Sieck, C. C. Schmidt, and Wessel, etc., etc., should leave these rich pastures to feed upon such garbage heaps as those from whom I have quoted?"
Martin S. Sommer, Concordia Pulpit for 1932, St. Louis:
Concordia Publishing House, 1931, p. viii.
"It is the purpose of this volume to aid in displacing books of Reformed preachers. We would encourage the cultivation of distinctly Lutheran preaching. Therefore, we now appeal to our brethren always to consult Luther when preparing to preach. Quo propior Luthero, eo melior theologus! Let us who are called Lutheran preachers be sure that in every one of our sermons we preach God's Word and Luther's doctrine pure. It is that preaching which God demands of us, 1 Peter 4:11. It was that preaching which conquered the Roman Goliath, Revelation 12:11. By that preaching we shall truly build the walls of Zion, not with hay, straw, and stubble, but with such stones as all the powers of hell shall never overthrow, Luke 21:15."
Martin S. Sommer, Concordia Pulpit for 1932, St. Louis:
Concordia Publishing House, 1931, p. ix.
Proper Use of Love
"In like manner we will also do to our princes and priests;

when they attack our manner of life, we should suffer it and show love for hatred, good for evil; but when they attack our doctrine, God's honor is attacked, then love and patience should cease and we should not keep silent, but also say: I honor my Father, and you dishonor me; yet I do not inquire whether you dishonor me, for I do not seek my own honor."
Martin Luther, Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed.,
John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983,

II, p. 176. Fifth Sunday in Lent. John 8:46-59.

III. THE CONCLUSION OF THE BOOK OF CONCORD
"We have no intention of yielding aught of the eternal, immutable truth of God for the sake of temporal peace, tranquility, and unity (which, moreover, is not in our power to do). Nor would such peace and unity, since it is devised against the truth and for its suppression, have any permanency. Still less are we inclined to adorn and conceal a corruption of the pure doctrine and manifest, condemned errors. But we entertain heartfelt pleasure and love for, and are on our part sincerely inclined and anxious to advance, that unity according to our utmost power, by which His glory remains to God uninjured, nothing of the divine truth of the Holy Gospel is surrendered, no room is given to the least error, poor sinners are brought to true, genuine repentance, raised up by faith, confirmed in new obedience, and thus justified and eternally saved alone through the sole merit of Christ."
Of God's Eternal Election, Article XI, S.D., Formula of Concord, Concordia Triglotta,St. Louis: 1921, p. 1095. The Book of Concord, ed. Theodore Tappert, Philadelphia: Fortress Press, p. 632.

The Seventh Sunday after Trinity

The Seventh Sunday after Trinity

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

Bethany Lutheran Worship, 8 AM Phoenix Time

The Hymn #44 by Koren – Guds Menighed syng
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual Romans 6:19-23
The Gospel Mark 8:1-9
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn # 305 1,6-9 Frank Schmucke dich
God Will Provide

The Hymn #36 by Rinckart – Nun danket alle Gott
The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn # 316 by Rist - Nun lob, mein seel


Romans 6: 19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. 20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. 21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. 22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Mark 8 1 In those days the multitude being very great, and having nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples unto him, and saith unto them, 2 I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now been with me three days, and have nothing to eat: 3 And if I send them away fasting to their own houses, they will faint by the way: for divers of them came from far. 4 And his disciples answered him, From whence can a man satisfy these men with bread here in the wilderness? 5 And he asked them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven. 6 And he commanded the people to sit down on the ground: and he took the seven loaves, and gave thanks, and brake, and gave to his disciples to set before them; and they did set them before the people. 7 And they had a few small fishes: and he blessed, and commanded to set them also before them. 8 So they did eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets. 9 And they that had eaten were about four thousand: and he sent them away.

SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY
Lord God, heavenly Father, who in the wilderness didst by Thy Son abundantly feed four thousand men besides women and children with seven loaves and a few small fishes: We beseech Thee, graciously abide among us with Thy blessing, and keep us from covetousness and the cares of this life, that we may seek first Thy kingdom and Thy righteousness, and in all things needful for body and soul, experience Thine ever-present help; through Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

God Will Provide

This Gospel lesson reminds us that the Bible records two miracles of feeding the multitudes, not only the Feeding of the Five Thousand, but also the Feeding of the Four Thousand. In this miracle selected for this Sunday, the Gospel emphasizes how Jesus cares for our bodily needs. From this one brief story we can see how kind and loving our Savior is. We crave the assurance given by this miracle. It awakens faith in our hearts and satisfies our faith in Him.

The setting for this miracle is very simple. A vast multitude followed Jesus for three days, listening to Him teach. That alone gives us a glimpse of how compelling people found our Savior to be. Thousands of people hung on His words, knowing that He spoke with the authority of God. They had plenty of work to do, so giving up their daily tasks was a sacrifice they were willing to make. Perhaps they took along some food, as people often do when planning a big event. But no one took along enough food for three days. Most importantly, a multitude would never say, “Now we are hungry. Let’s ask God to feed all of us miraculously.”

Before anyone thought to ask for food, Jesus was already concerned about their needs. He brought up their inability to reach home. “They will faint along the way.” Those of us who live in the desert know how difficult it is to get work done in the burning heat. A Chicago native said, “The first thing I learned was not to mow the lawn at 2 in the afternoon.” Fainting in the heat is easy to imagine when someone daydreams about his next glass of ice water during a meeting. Or when a cup of 100-degree water left in the car is swallowed eagerly.

When people hike in the desert they often neglect to bring enough food. They don’t think of the calories they need to keep from weakness and fainting. This miracle is especially vivid for those who have lived in the desert.

Jesus brought up the problem, already knowing the solution He would provide. But His disciples said, “How can anyone feed all these people in the wilderness?” Thus we can see how different the Scriptures are from human records. An official church history would have the disciples say, “Yes, Lord, you can do anything. You are the Word of Creation. You are the true Son of God.” But the Bible records them as doubting whether the people could be fed at all. Therefore, the disciples serve men expressing our doubts in the same kinds of situation.

When I suggest that pastors do the right thing, the ministers reply, “Yes, but who will feed me?” Whenever I have seen a congregation attempt to carry out a minor project, the anxieties set in. How can we do this? People won’t support it. The bank won’t give us the money. Someone will be upset and quit. General George S. Patton called this taking counsel of your fears. If we listen to our fears, our fears will advise us not to trust in God.

This miracle comforts us by showing us how Jesus cared for the material needs of the people before they even thought of asking Him. In the same way He still cares for our material needs, before and even without us asking. Yes, He is generous and loving toward unbelievers as well. Unfortunately, they do not realize it.

KJV Matthew 5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

Fear is the opposite of faith, as Luther often observed. Being anxious about our daily needs is the same as not trusting in God to provide for us. Whenever we listen to stories about Jesus during His earthly ministry, we need to remember that His human nature gave Him a special compassion about our needs. He knew what it meant to be thirsty (John 4) and to be hungry (The Temptation of Jesus). He was mocked, scorned, and physically attacked. His human nature remains united with His divine nature, so He understands our needs completely.

As I mentioned before, Jesus knew the needs of this multitude and planned for their needs before they could ask, beyond His own disciples’ comprehension of His power. When you worry about your income, physical health, and other material needs, think about this miracle. Jesus has already seen your need and has planned an answer for your needs before you thought to ask.

Then why should we pray for our daily bread? The catechism reminds us that we pray for what God provides so that we will be thankful for these blessings and number them as coming from God rather than ourselves. Then, when we consider what matters most, we praise God for giving us what we need so generously and for denying us what we do not need in His wisdom.

Few parents with any wisdom will say that we should give children what they want, when they want it, all the time. Parents will even allow children to face certain hardships in order to prepare them for adult life and responsibility. If children learn to face frustration by having tantrums, they never progress beyond having fits to get their way as adults. When Bjorn Borg had a tantrum on the tennis court, his parents made him lock up his tennis racket for a year. He was famous for never shouting insults at refs during games, even when his trained eye saw a miss or a foul differently. He was so polite that the TV commentators were shocked that he looked a few seconds at a ref who made a bad call. That was in the days when some overgrown brats screamed at refs, hit tennis balls at them, and used obscenities.

So we should not look at God’s discipline as hatred but rather as love toward us. This miracle comforts us by showing us first that our material needs are provided by God before we even ask. Then we can understand more completely how God also takes care of our spiritual needs, which are not so obvious and can be easy to overlook. If someone does not eat for three days, he can only think of food. If he skips worship for months, he may say, “I am fine. In fact, I am doing better than ever. I still believe and I have saved time by not getting involved in all those little matters.”

We are poor judges of spiritual matters on our own. If we were so wise, we could worship once a year. But all of human history tells us that we quickly forget our Creator, that we take for granted what our Savior Jesus has done for us, that we receive spiritual wisdom from the Holy Spirit and then thank ourselves for being so intelligent. Here is one small example. The world observes a 7 day week. Why? Most people exposed to evolution no longer believe in the Six Day Creation. Why not have a 5 day week or a 10 day week? Why would the entire world follow this pattern set up by Genesis? Could it be that we have a world-wide acknowledgement of the Creation and yet a vast forgetting of that Creation?

Rip Rehwinkel has an interesting observation in his book “The Flood.” It relates to what I said above. He pointed out the existence of a death holiday across the world. Every culture has a holiday where people seem to remember and defy a time of universal death. These holidays feature skeletons and they all fall at the same time, the end of October. Rehwinkel wondered if this was a remembrance of The Flood. And yet today, we can celebrate Halloween, but we cannot talk about The Flood seriously, or people start discussing how hard it is to build an ark as large as a battleship and then fill it with animals. Difficult yes. Impossible? We have monumental construction from ancient times that we cannot reproduce today with our best and most powerful tools. The pyramids of Egypt are so mysterious that people still debate how they were made. If all of them were gone, no one would believe than ancient man built such enormous structures with such perfection. (Some fell down, but so did some of the cathedrals built in Europe many centuries later.)

So whenever we see God placing a cross upon us, we have to say, “My Old Adam does not like this one little bit, but I must need this experience in some way to serve God’s purpose.” God told Noah to build the ark in the midst of a jeering population. No one listened to his sermons about the impending disaster.

KJV Hebrews 11:7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

The entire building of the ark was grievous to Noah and his family, building a battleship sized ship on dry land. He was a failure in saving others, but Noah’s ark became an important lesson in teaching us about the effectiveness of baptism.

KJV 1 Peter 3:20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water 21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:

Noah built the ark in faith, not for a few months or years, but for 120 years.

KJV Matthew 24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. 37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, 39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

So we can see in the miracle of the Feeding and in Noah’s ark, God’s plan to take care of the material needs of people in advance. Then we know how completely God has planned for our spiritual needs as well. It is a good feeling when someone looks to our needs in advance. When someone has shown us dozens of examples of kindness, we are inclined to listen to that person when he offers us advice. We are inclined to trust a person who has anticipated our needs and provided for them. Children will often clamor for something, anxious that their demands will not be met, sounding like robins in the nest, all cheeping at once with their mouths wide open. Then they learn that mother and father have already provided for them and they settle down to enjoy what they longed for, whether it is food or a special event.

When I get food ready in the kitchen, Precious (the Sheltie) comes to the kitchen door and supervises, to make sure food comes her way as well. She stands there watching until I take it to my desk in the bedroom. As Luther observed, a dog always expects the best from its owner. It can here no a hundred times and look expectantly for that favor. Luther said we should always expect the best from God – in the same way. Chytraeus wrote that it was a sin to question God’s goodness.

Jesus is our answer for the most important aspect of our lives – the forgiveness of our sins. Just as He provided an abundance of food, and far more than enough (7 man-sized baskets of leftovers), so also He gives us a superabundance of forgiveness through His atoning death on the cross. He rose from the dead (Romans 4:25) to show us that He alone is the One who conquers sin, death, and the devil.

This is where many people become confused, so we cannot think about it too much. How does one become forgiven of his sins? Almost everyone agrees that Jesus died on the cross for the sins of the world. He redeemed the world, paying for all sins. Forgiveness was accomplished through His atoning death and resurrection. However, this forgiveness is distributed to every single person through the preaching of the Gospel and the sacraments of Holy Baptism and Holy Communion.

Once again, (just as we see with the Feeding of the Four Thousand) before we even knew we were sinners, God provided for the forgiveness of our sins, our salvation and eternal life. Whenever the Gospel is proclaimed and taught, people believe in Christ as their Savior and receive the forgiveness of their sins. Whenever and wherever the Gospel of Christ is believed, death is overcome by eternal life through our Savior.

Many things will happen in the next decades to tempt people away from the Word of God. Satan tempts believers and not unbelievers. The believers will be few at the end of time, as Jesus taught us. “When the Son of Man returns, will He find faith?” Because the time of Satan is short and the believers are few, the rage of the devil will be all the greater against God’s Kingdom. When things become more chaotic and tribulation increases, we must remember that our trust is not in men or institutions but in the Gospel of forgiveness. In the wilderness to come, we will be fed by the Word.

“So they did eat and they were filled.” They were filled to such an extent that the entire multitude, as many as 12,000 people (if we assume 4,000 men, their wives and children) ate as much as they could but were unable to consume another 7 baskets of fragments. They were famished and faint from hunger but God provided an avalanche of food, just as He freely offers us an avalanche of blessings with complete and total forgiveness of sin.
Quotations

"In reconciling the world unto Himself by Christ's substitutionary satisfaction, God asked no one's advice concerning His singular method of reconciliation. In like manner, without asking any man's advice, He ordained the means by which He gives men the infallible assurance of His gracious will toward them; in other words, He both confers on men the remission of sins merited by Christ and works faith in the proffered remission or, where faith already exists, strengthens it. The Church has appropriately called these divine ordinances the means of grace, media gratiae, instrumenta gratiae; Formula of Concord: 'Instrumenta sive media Spiritus Sancti' (Triglotta, p. 903, Solid Declaration, II, 58). They are the Word of the Gospel, Baptism, and the Lord's Supper, as will be shown more fully on the following pages."
Francis Pieper, Christian Dogmatics, 3 vols., St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1953, III, p. 103.

"As distinguished from the Gospel, Sacraments are acts, we apply water in Baptism, and we eat and drink in the Lord's Supper. They are sacred acts, and must, as such, be distinguished from ordinary washing, eating and drinking...A Sacrament which offers God's blessings cannot be instituted by man or the Church, but by God alone." Edward W. A. Koehler, A Short Explanation of Dr. Martin Luther's Small Catechism, Fort Wayne: Concordia Theological Seminary Press, 1946, p. 254.

"Since God has connected His most gracious promise of forgiveness with Baptism and the Lord's Supper, these also are true and efficacious means of grace, namely, by virtue of the divine promises that are attached to them."
John Theodore Mueller, Christian Dogmatics, A Handbook of Doctrinal Theology, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934, p. 444.

"Both Baptism and the Lord's Supper qualify as Means of Grace because of the simple fact that they are visible forms of the essential Gospel message announcing the forgiveness of sins."
Martin W. Lutz, "God the HS Acts Through the Lord's Supper," God The Holy Spirit Acts, ed., Eugene P. Kaulfield, Milwaukee: Northwestern Publishing House, 1972, p. 117.

"Today's Gospel paints to us the Lord in a way that we may fully know how we should esteem Him, namely, that He is merciful, meek and loving; that He gladly helps everybody and freely associates and deals with all people. And such a picture as this, faith really craves."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed. John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House 1983, IV, p. 203.

"Therefore the Scriptures present to us a double picture; one is that of fear or the overpowering picture of the severe wrath of God, before which no one can stand; but must despair unless he has faith. In contrast with this the picture of grace is presented to us in order that faith may behold it and obtain for itself an agreeable and comforting refuge in God with the hope that man cannot expect so much from God, that there is not still much more to be had from Him."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed. John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House 1983, IV, p. 203.

"Today's Gospel treats of the temporal and bodily blessings, teaches us the faith of the child, and it is a picture for the weak, in that they should look to God for everything good, and that they might thus later learn to trust God and depend on Him for spiritual blessings. For if we are instructed in the Gospel, how Christ feeds our stomachs, we can then conclude that He will also feed and clothe our souls. For if I cannot trust a person to sustain my body, much less can I trust him to sustain my soul forever."
Sermons of Martin Luther, , IV, p. 204.

"Therefore Christ asked His disciples that everyone might learn to know by experience what reason is, and acknowledge how reason and faith in no way agree. Here we learn to blindfold reason, when we begin to believe, and then give reason a permanent furlough."
Sermons of Martin Luther, IV, p. 205.

"O God, I am Thy creature and Thy handiwork and Thou hast from the beginning created me. I will depend entirely on You who cares more for me, how I shall be sustained, then I do myself; Thou wilt indeed nourish me, feed, clothe and help me, where and when You know best."
Sermons of Martin Luther, IV, p. 206.

"But when one inquires of reason for counsel it soon says: It is not possible. Yes, you must wait a long time until roasted ducks fly into your mouth, for reason sees nothing, grasps nothing, and nothing is present. Just so the apostles do also here who thought: Yes, who will provide food for so many, no one is able to do that; but had they seen a great pile of money and in addition tables laden with bread and meat, they would soon have discovered good counsel and been able to give good consolation; that would have gone to their thinking very reasonably."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed. John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House 1983, IV, p. 206.

"Therefore, beloved friends, let us once make a beginning to believe; for unbelief is the cause of all sin and vice, which now have taken the upper hand in all stations of life. How does it come to pass that everywhere there are so many foolish women and rogues, so many rank imposters, thieves, robbers, userers, murderers and sellers of indulgences? It all comes from unbelief."
Sermons of Martin Luther, IV, p. 208.

"Just so it is also at present: Where true pastors and preachers are so poorly supoorted that no one donates anything to them, and moreover what they have is snatched out of their mouths by a shameless and unthankful world, by princes, noblemen, townsmen and famers, so that they with their poor wives and children must suffer need, and when they die leave behind them pitiable, rejected widows and orphans. By this very many good-hearted and very clever people are more and more discouraged from becoming pastors and preachers."
Sermons of Martin Luther, IV, p. 214.

"How does it happen that although all of us are certainly Christians, or at least want to be such, we do not take this attitude of unconcern and neither comfort ourselves with abundance and surplus nor are frightened by want and by worrying about it? For if we faithfully and devotedly cling to God's Word, there shall be no want. Christ takes care of us, and from this it must follow that we shall have something to eat."
What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, I, p. 436. Mark 8:1-9