Church Sermon - January 26, 2003

GOD’S WORD CHANGES LIVES!

Rev. Bernt P. Tweit

Epistle Lesson; 1 Corinthians 7:29-31
Gospel Lesson; Mark 1:14-20
Sermon Text; John 3:1-5, 10

We all know the story of Jonah well. He is the prophet whom God called to go to the great and important city of Nineveh, and proclaim a message to them, because they were very wicked. The direction that God wanted Jonah to go in was an easterly direction, to the city of Nineveh. But we know that Jonah headed west instead. He went in the opposite direction of the city of Nineveh (which was east), and headed west to the Mediterranean seaport of Joppa to catch a boat to sail to Tar shish, Spain. Tar shish was considered to be the end of the world, and thought to be as far away from Nineveh as possible. Jonah tried to run away from God.

It was while Jonah was on the ship, that God caused a violent storm to come that threatened to break up the ship. The sailors began to throw cargo into the sea, to lighten the load, but the seas got rougher and rougher. Jonah finally came to those sailors with a stern message and said, "It is because of me that God has brought this storm upon us. Pick me up and throw me into the sea, because I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you."

Those sailors did throw Jonah over board. The Bible tells us that as soon as Jonah was thrown into the sea, it grew calm.

God then provided a great fish to swallow Jonah. Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights. While Jonah was in the belly of the fish, he prayed to God. He acknowledged,

God heard Jonah’s confession and then commanded the fish to spit Jonah on dry ground (perhaps even at the sea port from which he had come)!

This now leads directly into our text for this morning, when God called Jonah, a second time, to go and do what He had told him to do the first time! He was to be a spokesman for God and change people’s lives. So, God asked Jonah, again, to take His Word to the people, so that it could change their lives. Today we see from our text, "God’s Word changes lives!"

Do you know someone who has been changed by God’s Word? A Centurion, in Jesus’ day, comes to my mind. He had a servant who was very ill. Since this centurion didn’t consider himself worthy enough to have Jesus come under his roof, he sent some messengers to Jesus, asking Jesus to heal his servant. That centurion knew Jesus could just speak the word and his servant would be healed. He had said, "I am a commander over a hundred soldiers. I tell this soldier to do this and he does it. I tell that soldier to do that and he does that. Simply speak the word and I know that my servant will be healed."

Jesus commended him for his faith, and his servant was healed.

The thief on the cross was changed through God’s Word. That thief, when speaking to the other criminal on the cross, said, "We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man (talking about Jesus) has done nothing wrong." Then he said to Jesus, "Remember me when you come into your kingdom. And Jesus said, "Today you will be with me in paradise." God’s Word had caused a change.

Another example is the blind beggar who received his sight because God’s Word caused a change. He followed Jesus and praised God.

Think about the little, short, cheating tax collector, named Zacchaeus. He had a change that was caused by God’s Word. Afterwards, he gave half of his possessions to the poor and repaid four times the amount those he cheated.

After hearing those examples today, we may be sitting here, thinking, "That is all well and good. But those are all examples of people from Jesus’ time who were changed by God’s Word. But are there people from today’s world, who have been changed by God’s Word?"

Let’s take, for example, one of the pastors in our synod, who was changed through God’s Word. He was a great soccer player in high school, and was recruited to go to our synod’s college, Bethany Lutheran College on a soccer scholarship. When he stepped on to campus that fall, he was a proclaimed atheist. He would often get into trouble for his poor behavior. It was during the course of his stay on Bethany’s college campus that one of his professors took time to talk to him. He asked him to change his bad behavior. The professor shared God’s Word with this soccer player. Through the actions of this professor and the presentation of the gospel, that soccer player is now a pastor in our synod! God’s Word changed that soccer player’s life!

Certainly God’s Word has changed all of our lives, or we wouldn’t be here, today.

The message Jonah was to proclaim also produced a change, "Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned." This was an announcement of judgment and divine wrath. (The number 40 had religious significance. It was a time of waiting for divine activity. For example, Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. Another example is the 40 days God sent the flood rains.)

Nineveh was a huge city. The greater Nineveh area was probably 60 miles in circumference. So, for three days, Jonah walks across that huge city, proclaiming the message of God. He doesn’t worry about the result, whether it is good or bad, he simply proclaims The Word. And, God’s Word did cause a change!

God’s will to save sinners is accomplished and caused a change, through the preaching of His Word. God doesn’t want anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. His Word shows the necessity of preaching the two parts of His Word, both the law and the gospel. Without both the law and gospel, sorrow over sin and faith in our Savior, Jesus, change cannot be achieved. Let me explain with an example. A letter was once sent to the editor of a newspaper.

It seems to me that pastors feel their sermons are very important and they spend a lot of time preparing them. I have been attending church for 30 years and have heard 3,000 of them. To my dismay I cannot remember a single sermon. I wonder if a pastor could spend his time more fruitfully on something else?

For a few weeks the newspaper was flooded with editorial responses, until this letter was printed.

Let’s say it is true that we can’t remember a single sermon that was preached this past year. Then, it is of all the more importance for us, weekly, to hear God’s Word. We need to be reminded of our sin, and its consequences. "Repent or you will be overturned," as Jonah would say. But we also need to see the compassion God has on us, through the merits of Christ.

Who knows how many times the Ninevites had heard the message Jonah proclaimed. But one thing is for sure…God’s Word made a profound change in them.

The change could be seen by their actions. They declared a fast. They put on sackcloth. Everyone in the whole city, from the least to the greatest, followed. The news even reached the king! And he, too, left the throne and sat in ashes.

"By the decree of the king and his nobles:

Do not let any man or beast, herd or flock, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from His fierce anger so that we will not perish."

Jonah 3:7-9

The law had done its job. It was a mirror. It showed the people their wickedness and sin. God’s Word says,

"Through the Law

we become conscious of sin."

Romans 3:20

Once the law has done its job, then the gospel is allowed to do its work, to tell the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ. For the gospel is,

"The power of God for the salvation of

who believes."

Romans 1:16

The same is true with us. God’s Word has caused a change in us. And that change should be demonstrated in our outward actions. Think of a husband and wife in a car, the wife tells her husband to turn right at the next intersection and by mistake he turns left. When he realizes what he has done, he says to his wife, "I’m sorry, I went the wrong way." But if that is all he does, it isn’t enough. His saying sorry isn’t getting them any closer to where they need to be. It isn’t even stopping them from getting further away. To get where they want to be, he needs to stop the car, turn it around and go back in the other direction. That is the change God is looking for in us.

After the Ninevites repented and turned from their evil ways, God was pleased. He had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction He had threatened. The outward signs of repentance in the lives of the Ninevites are a testimony to what had happened in their hearts. The same is true today. A repentant sinner brings forth fruits of repentance, just as a good tree brings forth its good fruit.

When God sees faith in our hearts, He does not bring upon us the destruction He had threatened. Instead He comes to us with the message of repentance and He extends a time of grace, for us to hear and heed that message. The seriousness of His love for us is seen not only in the full and free salvation He has given to us through the merit of His Son, Jesus, but also in the fact that He patiently brings that message to us, calling us again and again, to turn to Him in faith.

Amen.

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