Church Sermon - September 22, 2002

SEEK THE LORD WHILE HE MAY BE FOUND!

Rev. Mark F. Bartels

Epistle Lesson; Philippians 1:1-11, 19-27
Gospel Lesson; Matthew 20:1-16
Sermon Text; Isaiah 55:6-9

I wonder how many of you have one of these? This book in my hand is a Bucky Book. It is a book that is literally filled with hundreds and hundreds of coupons! There are coupons in here for all kinds of free things. There is a coupon in here for 9 free holes of golf at a local golf course. There is a coupon in here for a free day at Water World! There is a coupon in here for all kinds of free food! This book has all kinds of offers, which are free for us to take!

But, at the bottom of every single one of these coupons, every single coupon, there is a tiny little phrase. It says,

That means for eight more days I can go golfing, free. For eight more days I can go to Water World, free. For eight more days I can get a lot of food, free. But it also means that nine days from now, everything that was offered to me in this book, all of those offers will be withdrawn. They will all expire, be taken away, and I won’t be able to benefit from a single one of them, anymore. The offer stands today, but nine days from now it will be withdrawn.

Does God’s offer, found in His Word, come to an end like that? We live right now in what we call The Time of Grace. We live in what we call the year of the Lord’s Favor. We live in a time of God’s mercy.

In mercy, in this book called The Bible, God offers us more than you could ever find in any coupon book.

Here in this book, The Bible,

God offers everyone,

today,

free of charge,

at no cost to you whatsoever,

the complete,

the full,

the absolute forgiveness

for all of your sins!

Scripture tells us that because Jesus lived the perfect life for you and then died on the cross for you, He paid for all of your sins! This book, The Bible, tells us that God offers you His mercy and grace. He will not look at your sins any more! He will not count your sins against you, ever! You are free and fully forgiven! In this book, the Bible, He offers to you Heaven’s door, which stands wide open for you!

Is there a day when God will withdraw all the promises that are made in this book, The Bible? Is there somewhere in this book where it says, "Offer expires October 1^st, 2002"?

The answer to that question is, yes. If, in this life, we do not take up what scripture offers us; if, in this life, we do not grab hold of the free benefits that God offers us through Jesus Christ, we need to know that the expiration day is coming, and for some it may be October 1^st, 2002. It may be only eight days away. When we close our eyes for the last time, and we stand before the Judgment Seat of God and have not taken up the offers from God, those freely offered in this book The Bible, then it will be true,

And, then as much as we would want to benefit from what Christ had offered us during that time of grace and that time of mercy in our life, it will be too late. Then the forgiveness of sins will be withdrawn. Then the offer won’t stand any more. Then the Gates of Heaven will be shut and it will be too late.

That is why our scripture says, in great urgency to every single one of us,

While there is still time, while those offers in scripture still stand and still apply to you, seek the Lord. Call upon Him, while He is near, scripture says. That is why St. Paul said in II Corinthians, "We urge you, do not receive the Word of God in vain, for God says, ‘In the time of my favor I heard you, in the day of salvation I helped you.’ I tell you, now, is the time of God’s favor and now today is the day of salvation."

Today is the day that God holds out His personal offers to you. Today is the day that He holds open the doors of Heaven to you, because of what Christ has done. And, scripture urgently calls us, today, and invites us today, before the day comes when those offers are withdrawn for all eternity.

That is why Jesus told the parable of the Ten Wise Virgins and the Ten Foolish Virgins. All twenty went with their lamps, to wait for the Bride Groom to let them into the wedding party. Ten of them though, were foolish and didn’t bring enough oil. Before the Bride Groom came, they had to leave. They weren’t ready. They had to go and find some more oil.

And, while they were gone, the Bride Groom came. There he found the 10 wise virgins, who had their lamps burning, so he let them in to the wedding party. And, then the doors were shut, barred and locked.

When the foolish virgins came back, they beat on the doors. They wanted to get in, but it was too late. It was too late and the invitation didn’t stand anymore.

Our scripture reading today is that urgent, URGENT call. Everyone must seek the Lord, while He may be found, while it is still that time of God’s Grace, that time of God’s Favor. Call upon Him, while He is near.

And, so how do we seek the Lord? Where is He found? How do we find Him and where does He come near to us? The Bible is so very clear about that. It tells us, "Search the scriptures, because in them ye have eternal life." God is found in the scriptures. That is where God calls to us, invites us and gives us everything that He offers to us. Scripture says, "From infancy you have know the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise unto salvation through faith in Christ Jesus."

It is in the scriptures that God is found. It is in the scriptures that God distributes to you everything that He wants you to have. The offer is there as a free gift for you.

Some of us, here today, have heard those scriptures since we were young, little children. Some of us here today picked up those promises of the free forgiveness of all of our sins, the payment for those sins that Jesus won for us, and a clean conscious before God, which are found in God’s Word. Those are His promises in this book, The Bible. The doors of Heaven are open to us, when we pick that up, cling to it, by faith, and believe it.

Maybe you have hung onto those promises for 80 years. And, on the day when it is "October 1^st, 2002" in your life and your life expires, you will stand before The Judge, who will judge you on the basis of what happened in this life. He will know if you trusted in your savior and clung to His promises and then Heaven will be wide open to you!

There may be others here today, who still have not picked up what God offers in scripture. There is still time for God’s Grace. We know that it is still a time of God’s Grace, because even right now, right now as we speak, God through His Word holds out His hands to you!

God holds out His hands to

and He invites

to come to Him!

God holds out His hands to you. In scripture today, He tells you that because of what Jesus did, the forgiveness of sins is offered to you, as a free gift, still today! He tells you that because Jesus died on the cross for your sins, you never have to suffer for your sins. They have been satisfied. God still tells you this today. As I speak the Word of God today, He is still calling you. He is still inviting you. He is still telling you that Heaven’s doors are wide open, because my Son opened them for you. He lived for you, and He died for you. Today is still the day of God’s Mercy. It is a time of grace.

By the power of the Holy Spirit, there may be someone today, who comes to repent of his or her sins! As the Holy Spirit works through The Word, this person, for the first time, may in faith pick up Jesus as his or her savior! And, it may happen that eight days from now, on October 1^st, 2002 the offer expires for that person. And at that time, that person will stand before God, believing in Jesus for only eight days - only eight days!

And, then what would happen? Will God look at that person and say, "I had faithful believers who believed in me for eighty years. They clung to those promises I offered to them for eighty years. I offered the same promises to you, day after day, year after year and you didn’t take them up, and you didn’t take them up, until eight days ago. And, now you stand before me as a believer, for only eight days. And, now you think that I will take you into my heaven?"

Is that how God talks to us?

In the wonderful, gracious promise of scripture, scripture never says, "Believe in the Lord Jesus for eighty years and you will be saved." Scripture never says, "Believe in the Lord Jesus for eighteen years and you will be saved." Scripture never says, "Believe in the Lord Jesus for eighteen months and you will be saved."

Scripture simply says,

In the gospel lesson from the back of today’s bulletin, we heard the parable of the workers in the vineyard. Jesus told that parable to comfort us. If you have not turned to Christ until today, Jesus told about the workers in the vineyard to comfort you! Some of the workers had worked all day long, some had worked six hours, some worked four hours, some worked for two hours, and some for only one hour. But in the end, the master of the vineyard paid every single one of them a full day’s wages. They all received the exact same thing!

And, the same is true for everyone who turns to Christ. It doesn’t matter when you become a believer in Jesus as your savior, whether it was eighty years ago, or eight days before the offer expires. The full and free salvation that is offered in scripture is yours, completely and fully!

Think about what happened to the Thief on the Cross. He was a man who probably had been brought up in the Jewish religion. Day after day, year after year it was a time of grace, and a time of God’s favor, while God held out to him the free and full forgiveness of his sins, because of what the savior was going to do on the cross. But day after day, and year after year that man rejected the offer that God gave to him. And then the day came when he hung on the cross. It was a few moments, literally a few moments away, when the offer would expire, and to be withdrawn for all eternity, never to be opened again to him. And in that last moment, before that offer was withdrawn, before his life ended, the Holy Spirit worked in his heart to help him see that he was a sinner, who was about to stand before a righteous God. He would be condemned forever, unless he had a savior. And, at that last moment, the Holy Spirit brought him to turn to Jesus and see all that Jesus offered him. All the forgiveness of his sins and Heaven’s door was wide open to him. And so, he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."

And, what did Jesus say to that man? Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in Paradise." Luke 23:42-43

With only moments left, literally moments before the offer was withdrawn, that man came to faith. And, today he benefits just as much as someone who believed for eighty years.

That is the absolute mercy and grace of God, which God offers to you, today.

We don’t know when that offer will expire in our life. It may be that the offer expires on October 1^st, 2002. And, so today’s scripture is an urgent call, an URGENT CALL, while there is still time in God’s grace, to seek the Lord, while He may be found. And, it is a beautiful invitation, a BEAUTIFUL INVITATION, for all of us to seek the Lord, call upon Him, find Him in His Word, find Him in scripture! This book, The Bible stands open to you, with all of His promises, which He has given to you!

Amen.

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