Church Sermon - January 15, 2006

SPEAK, LORD, FOR YOUR SERVANT IS LISTENING

Rev. Mark F. Bartels

Epistle Lesson; 1 Corinthians 6:12-20
Gospel Lesson; John 1:43-51
Sermon Text; 1 Samuel 3:1-10

In 1503, when Martin Luther was a twenty-year-old college student at the University of Erfurt, and he was studying to be a lawyer, he happened to go into the college library one day. In the college library he saw something that he had not seen ever before, in his twenty years of life.

(It was chained to the desk, because Bibles were very rare in that day, and the library did not want it to be stolen.) Martin Luther had never, ever before seen a complete Bible! He had heard parts of the Bible, and he knew what some of the books of the Bible were, and so he was intrigued. He sat down at that desk, opened that Bible, and discovered there were books in the Old Testament he had never heard of and there were books in the New Testament he had never heard of!

In his curiosity, he began to page through the Bible, and he stumbled across 1 Samuel, which is what he began to read. (That is what our text is taken from, for today.) He read about how Hannah was barren and prayed to the LORD for a son. Hannah promised the LORD that if He gave her a son, she would dedicate that son to the LORD, to the tabernacle of the LORD. He read how God blessed Hannah with a son, named Samuel, how Hannah had dedicated little Samuel to the tabernacle, and how he lived in the temple.

And then, Martin Luther got to our scripture reading for today. He read how the LORD spoke to Samuel. And Martin Luther thought to himself, "I wish the LORD would speak to me like that." And then, the bell rang, and it was time for him to leave and go to another class.

Martin Luther later discovered that the LORD does speak to us. Martin Luther discovered that the LORD speaks to us, through the Word. Martin Luther once said, "There is no other teaching, no other book, no other word which can give us comfort in the face of sorrows, in the face of sadness, in the face of trials, in the face of death, in the face of Hell, in the face of our sins. There is no other book that can give us comfort in the face of all those things, than the Bible. The Bible is the very voice of God speaking to us. And, in the Bible, God speaks to us, as a man speaks to his friend." Martin Luther came to understand that God does speak to us all, very clearly, through His Word.

However, I want you to notice that the very beginning of our scripture reading says,

"In those days

the Word of the LORD was rare."

You know, the greatest judgment that God could ever bring against a people is not that He takes away food or clothes, our health, or our friends. The greatest judgment that God could ever bring against a people is that He removes His voice, that He takes away His Word. And, that is what had happened in the days of Samuel. The people had rebelled against the Word of God. Even the priests had rebelled against the Word of God. And so, the Word of God sat in the tabernacle. The first five books of the Bible were the ones that had been written so far and were seldom used, seldom opened, and certainly not believed or followed, by most of the people. And so, "the Word of the LORD was rare." The LORD had removed His Word from the people. And, it was only by God’s grace that He finally spoke again, through Samuel.

The Word of the LORD was rare in the day of Martin Luther, also. The church, by in large, had fallen into all kinds of false teaching, and false doctrine. And the Word of the LORD was rare. There is no greater judgment that God could bring against a people than He remove His Word, His voice, from them, and not speak to them, anymore.

In the book of Amos, God says, "The days will come when I will send a famine in the land. It will not be a famine of bread or water but it will be a famine of the Word."

What a judgment can befall a people, when there is a famine of the Word of God, the voice of God is rare, and the voice of God is not heard. That is why King David, in Psalm 119:43 says, "Do not snatch your words from my mouth. Do not snatch your words from my mouth, for I put my hope in your laws."

We certainly pray that God would not withdraw His Word, or His voice, from our mouths and from our hearts. But, we all need to recognize that God could have every right to snatch His Word from amongst us.

And so, Brothers and Sisters, one thing we all need to recognize today, in humility on our knees, is that it is only by God’s grace, it is only by God’s grace alone that for the past eighty years the Word of the LORD has not been rare among this congregation and among this people. The Word of the LORD, the voice of the LORD, has sounded forth strong and clear. And, it is only by God’s grace, in His goodness and His mercy to us.

It is only by God’s grace that eighty years ago, when the forefathers, who founded this congregation, wrote the Constitution of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, they put in, as one of its unalterable articles, that we hold all the books of the Old Testament, and all the books of the New Testament as the true Word of God. They are the only source and the only rule for all doctrine, for living, and for our conduct. It is only by the grace of God that this congregation was founded on the principal that the Word of God is the voice of God, Himself. And, everything must submit to the voice of God.

Martin Luther once said, "What is primary, faith or the Word of God?" He answered that question this way. "The Word of God is primary, because after all, faith is founded on the Word of God. It is not the Word of God that is founded on faith."

The Word is primary, because faith fluctuates. Faith can waver. But the Word of God, the voice of God, stands firm, sure, and certain. The Word of God is what faith clings to and hangs on to. And so, it is by God’s grace that for the past eighty years this congregation, the Word of God, the voice of God has sounded forth loud and clear.

It is only by the grace of God that this congregation has recognized that it is God speaking in the books of the Bible. It is not Moses speaking. It is not Paul speaking. It is not Isaiah speaking. It is God speaking. It is the very voice of the Holy Spirit. As scripture says,

"All scripture is God-breathed."

Scripture says,

"Prophecy never had its origin in the will of men,

but men spoke from God,

as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."

When men speak, men can make incorrect statements.

It is by God’s grace, for eighty years, that this congregation has recognized it is the voice of God. It is by God’s grace, and by God’s grace alone, that we recognize every single word, every single sentence, every single sentence structure, every single verb, and every single noun in the Bible is the very voice and Word of God, Himself. It is by God’s grace that we understand we can stake everything on one word of scripture, because every word of scripture is the Word of God, Himself.

And so, if you are ever concerned, "Am I saved? How am I saved?" You can stake your faith on one word in scripture, where it says,

"How am I saved?" I can stake my faith on that one word, "by." It is by grace, through faith.

If you ever wonder, "Am I really saved by what I do, or do I have to earn my salvation?" You can stake your faith on one word - the word "grace."

You can stake your faith on that one word.

It is not what I have done, but it is what my Savior has done, trusting in Jesus, as my Savior.

For eighty years, by God’s grace, God’s Word has not been rare among us, although we have certainly deserved it. He has kept His Word firm, clear, and strong among us. By God’s grace, and God’s grace alone, we have recognized the voice of God in the sixty-six books of the Bible, in the Old Testament and the New Testament.

And by God’s grace, this congregation, these people have recognized that the Word of God is complete. It is complete and the Word of God is not to be added to. The book of Revelations says,

"Whoever adds to these words,

let him be eternally condemned."

There are no new revelations. God’s Word is complete and His voice is complete in the Bible.

It is by God’s grace that for the past eighty years we have recognized that there is only one authority, only one authority that stands above all others, when it comes to determining truth, and is the sole guide, and the sole rule for our beliefs, our doctrines, our living, and our conduct. And that is the revealed Word of God. Human reason does not serve as an authority. Human reason does not sit over judgment in God’s Word and say, "Well, that does not make sense to my human reason, so that must not be what scripture means."

No, God’s Word sits in judgment over human reason. And, if God says it, He means it. And, we believe it. It is by God’s grace that for the past eighty years we have recognized that tradition does not stand in judgment over the Word of God as an authority over the voice of God. We don’t say, "Because the church has done it this way, for the past eighty years, that must be God’s Word." No, God’s Word alone stands in judgment and is the only authority. And by God’s grace, His Word has not been rare. But His Word has gone out among us in clarity and truth.

It is by God’s grace that we recognize that His Word is clear. We understand that God says what He means and He means what He says. And so, we take scripture at it simplest, plainest, clearest meaning. And therefore, it is by God’s grace, as we view the Word, the scriptures, as the very voice of the Holy Spirit speaking to us, that the prime teaching in all of scripture has been kept pure among us and has sounded forth among us.

And, what is that primary teaching in all of scripture? It is the teaching of salvation. It is by God’s grace alone that for eighty years, sounding forth from these walls has gone the teaching that everything, everything has been accomplished for your salvation.

It is by God’s grace that the teaching has sounded forth, that we do not have to do anything for our own salvation.

King David said, "Do not snatch your words from my lips. Do not snatch your words from my lips for in your word I have put my hope."

Certainly, we do not ever want God to snatch His Word from our lips, from our hearts, and from this congregation. And so we say with Samuel,

"Speak,

Speak, LORD,

for your servant is listening."

And then, we humbly sit at the feet of our Savior and listen to His Word. It is of prime importance.

Martin Luther once said this about the Gospel, "The Gospel is like a passing shower. The Gospel showers down its blessings on a people, so long as there is a generation who clings to the teachings of the Gospel. But it has been very rare that the Gospel has lasted more than a generation among a people. Once the people who cling to it have died, that Gospel often is lost, and that shower passes away and it goes somewhere else. And the Word of the LORD becomes rare, where once it was rich."

It is of prime importance among us to see to it, to see to it that the Word of the LORD does not become rare among us, eighty years from now. And so, to the adults in this congregation, I cannot impress on us enough how critical it is, and how much of prime importance it must be that we lay this truth, we lay this unadulterated Word of God, in all of its truth, and in all its purity, before the young people of this congregation.

You know, if you had an egg, a raw egg, and you wanted to pass it down to a bunch of people, and you were careless in passing it down, that egg would get a crack in it. And when the next person would pass it down, that crack would get a little bigger, a little bigger, and a little bigger, until finally that egg would crack and someone would end up with egg yolk all over him or herself.

The same is true with the Word. With great care and with great diligence we must pass it down in all its truth to the next generation, without cracks, without false doctrine, or false teaching. Then, they can pick it up, make it their own by faith, cling to it, spread that Word and preach that Word so it does not become rare in their generation and they can pass it on to the next.

And to you children, who are sitting here today, I cannot tell you, I cannot in words tell you how important it is that you pick up that truth, the voice of God. And, by the power of the Holy Spirit, make it your own, by faith.

It is thrilling; it is thrilling (and it should be thrilling for every one of us), that our children, here at this church, are learning the catechism, the simple truths of the Word of God. Our children, here at this church, are learning scripture. They are able to speak the Word. They understand the truths of God’s Word. They believe in Jesus. And, as it were, this is a little paradise. It is a little paradise where the Word of God sounds forth, and the voice of God sounds forth.

Ultimately, we are to take that Word of God that is spoken to us and speak it to others. It is the job of the pastors to cast those nets out into the community. But, there are so many fish, out in the sea, that we cannot pull those nets in all by ourselves. And so, we call for your help in pulling in the nets. Take the Word, that pure voice of God, take it to your friends, and take it to your neighbors. Let us cast those nets out and let us pull them in.

It won’t be until the Last Day, it won’t be until the Last Day, when those nets are finally pulled up to the shore and the fish are counted, the catch is counted, until we know how many souls were saved, because we, as a people, went out with the pure, true Word of God.

We certainly do know that God has blessed us. There have been many who have come to this church, because the Word of the LORD has not been rare and it has gone out among us and from us. And so, we certainly have every reason to praise God, thank God, and to be a people who say,

Amen.

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