LET ME BE FAITHFUL!
Rev. Mark F. Bartels
Epistle Lesson;
2 Timothy 2:8-13
Gospel Lesson;
Luke 17:11-19
Sermon Text;
Ruth 1:1-19
When I was a freshman in high school, my grandpa Kollmorgen, on my mom’s side, retired. He then decided that he was going to write a family history book. So, he gave all of us grandchildren, and his children an assignment.
It was such a big deal for us!
He made it a big deal, saying, "I want you to get a black and white picture of yourself. It has to be a certain size. And, you have to send it to me, by a certain date."
He told all of his children "I want you to write a little bit about your family history, and what is important to your family."
This was a big deal for all of us!
He then gathered all this information. And that summer, we had our family reunion. And, there at that family reunion, my grandpa had a big stack of black books. It was the family history!
He made quite a production of giving one to each of his children and each of his grandchildren. Of course, I got one. I noticed that there were a lot of words in it. Being a typical freshman in high school, who didn’t care much for history and reading, I never read the history that was in there. I just looked at the pictures. It was fun to see pictures of people from ‘way back when’ and what they looked like.
I looked at those pictures a number of times, but never did read this history, until I became an adult. One day, as an adult, I opened up the book, thinking, "I should read a little bit about my family history." I then discovered that actually it was my great, great grandfather who had started the family history. I was startled by something that he wrote. On the first page of the family history (that he had started), he explained why he wrote it. He said,
"I want you to know, my flesh and blood, I want you to know my sincere wish. May the Lord preserve all of you, my descendents, in true faith in our only Mediator and Savior, until your blessed end, that we may all meet each other above in everlasting light, where we shall live in eternal glory and happiness, where we with all the elect, the angels, and the archangels will praise the Triune God in all eternity. May all of you who read or hear these words hold onto your precious Christian faith. For what profit a man if he gain the whole world, but lose his own soul? To this end may this short history serve you all."
And then, in the front I noticed a message that my grandpa, had written in his own hand. My grandpa has been long dead, now, but he still speaks to me, here through these words. He says,
"Dear Mark,
This book reveals some glimpses of family information. The future offers salvation to all who accept Him who said, ‘I am the way, the truth and the life.’ May you follow Him.
In sincere love,
Your Grandpa and Grandma."
That is a wonderful testimony of the ultimate purpose of family. The ultimate purpose of family is for mom and dad, grandpa and grandma, husband and wife to take their loved ones by the hand, and walk closer, and closer to the cross of Jesus, all of their lives. And, stay in the Word of Jesus, all of their lives, so that one day, when this life ends, they will be together with Jesus, forever, in Heaven. There in Heaven we will meet faithful family members from years back, who we never met before! That is ultimately the goal of the Christian family.
Mom, dad, grandparents, husbands, and wives, who are sitting out there today, you know how precious your children, your husband, or your wife is to you. You know that you would sacrifice anything for your children, your husband, or your wife. You would even sacrifice your own life for them, if you had to, because they are so precious to you. They are so precious. Not all of the money in the world could ever begin to prove how precious your loved ones are to you. You multiply that infinitely. That is how much more Jesus, our Savior, loves your children, your husband, and your wife. Our Savior, Jesus, loves your children, your husband, your wife, your grandchildren, so deeply that at a price, a huge price, the price of His own death on the cross, with His precious blood, He purchased them to be His own. He purchased them as His lambs. He purchased them and forgave all their sins. He has a home waiting for them in Heaven. They are so dear to Him. Your children, your grandchildren, your husband, your wife, are so dear to our Savior, Jesus, and He has given them to you for the time being. Our Savior, Jesus, looks at you and says, "Your children, your husband, your wife, they are my precious little lambs. I give them to you and your family. Take good care of my precious little lambs. I want them to know who I am. I want them to know what I did for them. I want them to know that their sins are forgiven. I want them to know that I love them. I want them to know they have a home in Heaven. I give them to you. Please tell them this, and take good care of my lambs."
That is the ultimate purpose of the family.
So, how important it is for Mom and Dad, when God blesses them with a child, to bring that child, as soon as possible to the waters of Holy Baptism, where the Holy Spirit works faith in their hearts. They come to believe, by a miracle, that Jesus is their Savior from sin.
How important it is for Mom and Dad, as soon as that little one comes into this world, not to wait until they are school age, but as soon as possible, when they are most impressionable, to teach them about Jesus and His Word. Lead them and guide them in the Holy Scriptures, so that impression stays on their hearts all of their lives.
How important it is for us to train up our children in the way of the Lord.
How important it is for us to expect, expect out of love, that our children be faithful in God’s house, and hear His Word, where the Holy Spirit builds them up in their most holy faith in Jesus.
How important it is for you young people. Someday, you young people are going to choose a spouse - a husband or a wife. How important it is for you to understand that your spouse, your husband or your wife, is going to be the person who probably has the biggest impact on your life. They are either going to take you by the hand and lead you closer and closer to the cross of Jesus and to eternal salvation, or they are going to take you by the hand and lead you further and further away from the cross, and maybe further and further away from your salvation. How important it is to choose a spouse who understands the role of family.
A number of years ago, I went to the hospital to visit a woman who had fallen away from her faith. She was on her deathbed. I walked into the hospital room and said to her, "You are about to meet your Maker and that is a moment that you want to be ready for."
She looked at me with pleading eyes. So, I talked to her about sin. And, I talked to her about Jesus and His forgiveness. And there on her deathbed, with a sincere heart, she repented of her sins. She clung to Jesus, her Savior. She was so happy to know that her sins were forgiven.
The next day, I went back to see her again, because she was still alive. When I got there, her husband was standing out in the hallway, in front of her closed hospital door. I explained that I was the pastor, who had come to talk to his wife about her eternity and comfort her in Jesus.
He looked at me and said, "Pastor, I don’t want you to go in there. I think that you will just get my wife all stirred up, if you start to talk about religious things."
And, he refused, he refused, to let me go in to see his wife.
That was chilling, to me. To think that here was a husband, who really wanted to take his wife by the hand, lead her away from the cross, away from the comfort that Jesus gives to us, and the eternal life that Jesus gives us.
You young people, I cannot tell you how critical it is that you find someone in your life, a spouse that is going to lead you closer and closer to the cross of Jesus. That is, ultimately again, the goal of the Christian family.
It will happen one day, that those who led us to Jesus, those in our family, (mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, husband and wife), it will happen one day that they will be gone. They will be gone and then what will happen to you, and to your faith, to what they handed down to you?
That question takes us to our scripture reading for today. The two young women, Orpah and Ruth, who were Moabites, were unbelievers. They were unbelievers. They believed in a false god. They met two young men who were believers in Jesus, believers in the coming Jesus. They married those two young men. And, the Christian family that those women were married in to, that Christian family witnessed about the coming Savior, to those two Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth. They did what a Christian family should do. They witnessed the Word of God to their loved ones.
Our text tells us Orpah and Ruth’s husbands died. They were still living with their mother-in-law, Naomi, when she heard that things were better back in the Land of Israel. So, Naomi decided that she was going to go back to the Land of Israel. Her two daughters-in-law, at that point, had to make a choice. What would they do, now?
You know, from today’s scripture reading, what one of them did. It says, "Your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods." Orpah went back to her people, who were unbelievers. She went back to their gods, which were not the true God, but were false gods. And, she turned away from the precious Jesus, who had been laid in her lap. She turned away from Him, walked away from Him, and walked away from what that family had laid in her lap.
That really represents anybody, any family member,
who has been brought up with Jesus as their Savior, knowing the Word of God, and maybe goes to church because Mom or Dad goes to church, or
someone who is married to a Christian spouse that has introduced them to Jesus, and maybe they have even become church members, because their husband or the wife goes to church,
but then, when their loved one is gone, they have to make the spiritual decisions. They begin to fade away from church. They begin to fade away from the Word of God. They go back to their people, to unbelievers, and they go back to their gods, other things that are more important to them than Jesus. And, that precious gift that had been laid in their lap, the precious gift of Jesus and eternal life is gone.
May that never happen to any of us, here.
On the other hand, there is Ruth. Ruth had also heard about the coming Jesus. She had heard the Word of God. Ruth was a believer. She had picked that up and made it her own, by faith, through the Holy Spirit’s power. And when Naomi said that she was going back to her people, Ruth said to her these famous words in scripture, "Where you go I will go. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die, I will die."
Those are awesome words. What a joy it is to Christian grandma and grandpa, to Christian mother and father, to Christian husband and wife, when their loved ones say, "Where you go, I will go. Your people will be my people. Your God will be my God. Where you die, I will die."
Where you go, I will go. Where does the Christian go? When the Christian is in trouble, they go to the Word of God. That is where they go, to find their comfort, in times of distress. The Christian goes to the Word of God in times of sadness, to hear the Word of God, which lifts them up. The Christian goes to the Word of God in times of guilt, to hear that our sins are freely and fully forgiven, for Jesus’ sake. The Christian wants to go to the House of God and hear that Word, through which the Holy Spirit works. The Christian wants to partake in the Sacrament, through which the Holy Spirit works, to build us up in our holy, Christian faith.
What a joy it is for Christian family members, when the other family members say, "Where you go, I will go. I will go to the Word of God. I will go there to find my strength. I will go there to find my comfort. I will go there to find the forgiveness of sins. I will go there to be built up in my holy Christian faith."
Your people will be my people. Who really are the people of Christians? Our people are our fellow believers in Jesus. They are our brothers and sisters in Christ. They are our people. They are the ones who pray for us. They are the ones who call us back, when we are straying. They are the ones who throw their arms around us in Jesus, when we need to be comforted. They are the ones who help bear our burdens, through Christ. They are the ones who build us up in the Word of God.
What a joy it is for Christian family members, when other family members say, "Your people will be my people. The people of God, they are my people."
Your God will be my God. Who is the Christian’s God? A Christian’s God is God the Father. A Christian knows, "He made me. He preserves me. He protects me. He guards and keeps me. I owe Him nothing but thanks and praise for all He has done for me."
A Christian’s God is Jesus Christ. A Christian knows, "I am a sinner. I have been saved by the holy life, by the blood of Jesus Christ on the cross. He freely and fully forgives me. He has totally earned my salvation. There is nothing left for me to do. He has completely earned Heaven for me. He gives it to me by grace. I cling to Jesus as my personal Savior from sin."
A Christian’s God is the Holy Ghost. The Christian understands, "I can’t bring myself to faith. I can’t keep myself in faith. Only the Holy Ghost can do that. He does that through Word and Sacrament. I go to Word and sacrament, where the Holy Spirit will build me up and give me that forgiveness that Jesus won for me, give me faith to believe in that, and keep me in my faith until the day that I get to Heaven."
What a joy it is to family members, when another family member says, "Your God will be my God. Your God will be my God." What a joy it is when a family member says, "That’s my God too."
What a joy it is when a Christian family member says, "Where you die, I will die." Where does a Christian die? A Christian dies wrapped in the arms of their Savior. A Christian dies close to the heart of Jesus. A Christian dies clinging to Jesus, knowing, "When I die, my Savior takes me safely to Heaven." What a joy it is when family members say, "Where you die, in the arms of Jesus, that is where I will die."
Thank God for Christian family! May we always understand that our ultimate responsibility, as family members, is to love the little lambs in our families that Jesus purchased at a great price, and to take good care of them, by telling them about Jesus, and showing them how important Jesus’ Word is.
May we be faithful, faithful to Jesus our Savior, and faithful to Christian families, so that one day, one day, we can all be together in Heaven for Jesus’ sake!
Amen.
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