THE LORD IS FAITHFUL
Pastor B. Tweit
Old Testament Lesson, Exodus 32:15-20
Gospel Lesson, Luke 17:20-30
Sermon Text, 2 Thessalonians 3:1-5
In Yellowstone National Park there is something that is faithful. It is a geyser. It is a geyser that has been given the name "Old Faithful". Now, it varies from eruption to eruption. It depends upon a number of factors, including the duration of the previous eruptions. But you can be assured that Old Faithful will erupt sometime between 39 minutes and 90 minutes, following the last eruption. That geyser is faithful.
But, we have something that is even more faithful than that geyser! The Lord is even more faithful than that. He never ceases to shower us with the forgiveness of our sins, with his grace. And that never depends upon how much He gave us, the last time he forgave us our sins. The Lord is faithful. He keeps His promises and asks us to believe in Him.
Knowing that the Lord is faithful, what should be our response? I believe our response should be threefold:
Rejoice,
Be Steadfast,
and
Pray.
I. Knowing that the Lord is faithful, our first response should be: rejoice.
In the book of Acts, Paul and Silas were thrown in to prison. They were told to be guarded, very closely. They were put into an inner cell, where their feet were fastened into stocks. And, they were guarded. During the night, about midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly, there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once, all the prison doors flew open, and everybody's chains came loose.
The jailer woke up. That guard, that jailer was terrified. When he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped.
But Paul shouted, "Don't harm yourself! We are all here!" The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
Paul said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved."
Do you know what the jailer's first response was? He was filled with joy. He was filled with joy and rejoiced because he had come to believe in God - he and his whole household.
What is your response to the faithfulness of the Lord? Are you filled with joy and do you rejoice that you have come to faith? Or do you sit on your hands and zip your mouth shut, not willing to rejoice at the faithfulness of the Lord? The songs we sing, the words that come out of our mouth, should be so filled with joy, rejoicing at God's wonderful promise!
That promise:
"Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved."
May the God of hope fill you with joy and peace, as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
II. A second response to the Lord's faithfulness is to be steadfast. That is for us to be constantly occupied with the Word of God. In other words, stand firm.
When the children of Israel left Egypt, they camped next to the Red Sea. When they saw the Egyptians advancing, they were terrified and ready to give up hope.
But Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance, the Lord will give you today. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still." That's when God divided the Red Sea.
Often times I think this response is overlooked. We come to faith, we see the faithfulness of the Lord, and we think "big wup". We carve out one hour, during a 168-hour week, for God in order to "get it out of the way". We send our kids to a Lutheran grade school, to hear God's Word, and don't back it up with devotions at home. We send our children to Lutheran high schools and don't back it up by coming to God's House in our own congregations. No wonder our lives fall apart, when we aren't steadfast and we let our sin get the best of us. No wonder the Devil is thriving, when he is able to get us to look for help anywhere, other than God's Word. When we go on vacations, do we also go on vacation from God? The Devil even tempts me into leaving God's Word here at church, and not bringing it home to my family.
That makes our theme for this year all the more meaningful. Stand firm in the faith. Be on your guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be men of courage. Be strong.
Martin Luther regarded remaining steadfast, like guarding a castle or fortress. To this end it is necessary for us constantly to be occupied with the Word of God,
earnestly reaching out for it,
gladly hearing it,
singing, telling, and reading it,
in order to guard against shameful sluggishness,
in order to keep our castle and fortress well secured
and all the holes boarded up against the Devil.
But if I, and others do not steadfastly preach and you do not hear or practice your faith, then we are
not alert but slumbering and dozing.
Yes!
Snoring amidst the devil's firearms and spears.
Under such conditions he can easily and
safely break in and scale the castle.
Therefore, let us be steadfast. Let us stand firm in the faith, because the Lord is faithful.
III. And finally, knowing that the Lord is faithful, pray. Pray that God would strengthen you in your faith.
When Jesus knew that he would be crucified for our sins, on Good Friday, what did he do? He prayed. He prayed for himself. He prayed for his disciples. And, he prayed for all believers.
Is any one of you in trouble? You should pray. Is anyone happy? You should sing songs of praise. If one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring you back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from error of your way will save you from death and cover over your sins.
It was Luther who also believed in praying because of the Lord's faithfulness. If I were to live a hundred years longer and by God's grace could quiet all the future cults and windstorms, nevertheless our descendants would have no rest; for the devil lives and rules. Therefore I am praying for a blessed end. You who come after us should also earnestly pray and diligently use God's Word.
Be forewarned and prepared. Every hour you must expect the Devil to break in the pane of a window, or burst through the door or the roof, in an effort to put out The Light. Therefore be sober and watch! The Devil neither sleeps, nor takes a holiday, nor does he die before the Last Day. You and I must die, and when we are dead, he remains what he has always been. He cannot stop his storming.
May Christ, our dear Lord, who has crushed his head, come finally to redeem us from his fury.
God sent His Son to live a perfect life, because we could not. God sent His Son Jesus to go to the cross to die the death, so that we wouldn’t. Jesus, our precious savior has been the fulfillment of the prophesies of the Old Testament. God has kept his promises. Therefore the sins of the whole world have been forgiven. That means that all of your sins have been forgiven. The sins that we don’t rejoice, have been forgiven. The sins that we have because we don’t remain grounded and occupied with God’s word, have been forgiven. And, when we neglect to come to the Lord with our concerns and thanksgiving, all of those sins have also been forgiven. The Lord is faithful.
May we go forth as people of thanks, rejoicing because He has brought us to faith. Be occupied so that we can stand firm in the faith and claim that God will give us a strong faith until life’s past.
Amen.
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