june 25 2023
June 25th 2023
Old Testament: Jeremiah 20:7-13
Psalm: Psalm 91:1-10 (11-16)
Epistle: Romans 6:12-23
Gospel: Matthew 10:5a, (16-20) 21-33
Sermon Text: Matthew 10
Sermon Title: “Fear Not”
Grace to you and peace, from God the Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
“These twelve Jesus sent out instructing them … Do not be anxious how you are to speak … have no fear of them … do not fear … fear not”. (Matthew 10:5a, 19a, 26a, 28a, 31a) “Everyone who acknowledges Me before men, I will also acknowledge before My Father in heaven; but whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven”. (Matthew 10:32-33)
Today is a very important anniversary in the history of the church, the Presentation of the Augsburg Confession. The reformers were being threatened in various ways, being told to deny the Gospel truths of Scripture that had recently been rediscovered. But on this day, they were given the opportunity to read their confession of faith before the Catholic King Charles. Interestingly, it was not the theologians who wrote this confession that presented it; rather it was a few princes and other citizens who were willing to risk dying for the sake of God’s Word.
As you just heard, four times in our Gospel text this morning, Jesus tells us not to worry or be afraid. He tells us this in the midst of warning about severe trials and persecutions that will come our way. “They will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues and you will be dragged before governors for My name’s sake … brother will deliver brother over to death and the father his child and children will rise up against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for My name’s sake”. (Matthew 10:17b-18a, 21-22a) “I am sending you out as sheep among wolves”. (Matthew 10:16a)
Five times Jesus said these things “WILL” happen. This is what it means to be a disciple of Christ. In many cases, your own families will turn against you; throw you under the bus (So to speak) because you follow Christ. Remember the blind man that Jesus healed? He was immediately rejected by the Pharisees, who went to the man’s parents, who refused to defend their own son, “because they feared the Jews … (that they) would be put out of the synagogue”. (John 9:22) The devil often tempts us to deny Christ, through our relationships with friends and family. We will hear more on this subject next week; but the point is that those who follow Christ will be treated as He was treated.
In speaking of those days, Jesus says “Be wise as serpents and innocent as doves … what you say will be given to you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you … when they persecute you in one town, flee to the next”. (Matthew 10:16b, 19b-20, 23a) “What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops”. (Matthew 10:27)
In other words, we are to speak the whole counsel of God; both Law and Gospel; as we talked about last Sunday. In doing so, Jesus tells us, “do not fear those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul. Rather, fear Him who can destroy both body and soul in hell”. (Matthew 10:28) What the world may do to us, does not compare with what God can do. As the writer of Proverbs declared, “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”. (Proverbs 9:10)
Therefore, this is a 1st Commandment issue; Do you “fear, love, and trust in God above all things”? When told to bow down to the false gods of our age (rainbow pride, BLM, DEI, etc.) will we deny our faith or will we echo the words of the three Hebrew men threatened with the fiery furnace in the book of Daniel? They told the king, “our God, whom we serve is able to deliver us from this fiery furnace … but even if (He does) not; be it known O king, that we will not serve your gods”. (Daniel 3:17b-18a)
It is this very Word of God, proclaimed rightly, that is our weapon of defense in times of difficulty in this world. So, even though we will face rejection and persecution for Christ’s sake, we are not to fear suffering and death, because our Lord has promised to take care of us for “not one sparrow will fall to the ground apart from Your Father … and even the hairs of your head are numbered … you are of more value than many sparrows”. (Matthew 10:29b-31)
He has also promised, “The one who endures to the end will be saved”. (Matthew 10:22b) “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life”. (Revelation 2:10b) Therefore, the Psalmist declares, “we need not fear the terror in the night, nor the arrow that flies by day”. (Psalm 91:5) Christ Jesus has conquered death by His own death and bodily resurrection; therefore, death has no power over us. “He will raise us also on the Last Day”. (See John 6:40)
Therefore, we are to acknowledge our faith in Christ before the world; taking our stand on the Word, for He said, “everyone who acknowledges Me before men, I will also acknowledge before My Father who is in heaven; but whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven”. (Matthew 10:32-33) This is what all of us promised on the day of our confirmation; that we would be faithful to the Word and Doctrine of Christ; that we would die rather than deny and fall away from it. Do you still intend to keep that promise?
For to those who will deny Him, Christ will say to them, “I never knew you, depart from Me”. (Matthew 7:23b) These are scary words, are they not? Especially in an age where our fear of suffering (or safety) has in many ways become a form of idolatry. We are so afraid of offending the world, afraid of others (including our own families) not liking us, of losing our reputation, job, or livelihood; and so (often) we remain silent even against the obvious madness and evil of our world or (perhaps worse) we give up and join with them in promoting sin.
If we have fallen in this way (these ways), the Word is calling us to repentance. Paul wrote, “that is not how you learned Christ” (Ephesians 4:20) and warned that “the wages of sin is death”. (Romans 6:23a) “Let not sin reign in your mortal body … do not present your members to sin as instruments of unrighteousness … For sin shall have no dominion over you, since you are not under the law, but under grace”. (Romans 6:12-14)
So, where do we find our comfort, and peace, and strength and grace in fearful times such as these, when the hatred and persecution of the world against the church is increasing? The same place that we have always found it; whenever we gather around the Word and the Sacrament; confessing our sins and receiving forgiveness of sins and the strengthening of our faith; for this is where God has promised to be for us.
Despite God’s gracious promises to us, we often act as if the Word and Sacrament are unimportant or trivial things; as if we can take or leave what God says to us in His holy Word. How often do we despise preaching and His Word, rather than holding it sacred and gladly hearing and learning it, as we are taught in the Catechism? Luther warns us, Do you not know that if you refuse to hear the Word, the devil comes in and does damage to our souls before we realize it?
Do you not realize that God can (often does) take away the Word from an ungrateful people? For Jesus said, “wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town, shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against that town”. (Luke 9:5) “Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town”. (Matthew 10:15)
But some will say things like; I don’t need to come to church, I can worship God on my own time; in my house or some other such place; but that kind of thinking is wrong. It assumes that a worship service is primarily about what we do for or towards God rather than what He is doing/providing/giving to us. The reality is that it is God who is working in us through confession and absolution, preaching and the Lord’s Supper. God gives us His grace in these things, and we respond with praise and thanksgiving.
Therefore, the liturgy (the order of service) is important. So, even if the pastor has an “off day”; or if you were distracted (by noisy children or an argument you had on the way to church) and do not think you learned anything in the sermon; the rest of the liturgy; which is based entirely on God’s Holy Word; still gives God’s gifts to us; still strengthen our faith to live as Christians in this wicked world. God has promised to work in these means of grace; for you! He said through the prophet, “My Word … shall accomplish that which I purpose and succeed in the thing for which I sent it”. (Isaiah 55:11) Do you take Him at His Word or do you judge the service based on how you feel when it is over?
In light of all that is doing for us here, in light of what is going on in the world, the persecution and suffering inflicted on us; do you really think God is being too demanding of us in telling us to gather together to receive His gifts? Or to put it another way, is spending 1-2 hours a week hearing God’s Word too much to ask of someone that our gracious Lord has rescued from sin, death, and hell itself and keeps in the one true faith? I think not. Rather for all these things, “it is our duty to thank, praise, serve and obey Him”. (1st Article, explanation, Luther’s Small Catechism)
In light of this, I think it would be good to go through the liturgy; one of several orders of service provided for us in the hymnal. We follow this order, (these orders) not because it is absolutely required; that it is the only right way to do church; but rather because it closely follows the ancient patterns of worship in the church, which have stood the test of time; over 1500 years in some cases.
Consistently following such liturgies also aids both children and new Christians in learning the “faith once delivered for all the saints”. (Jude 3) This repetition pays dividends in the long run, for example when ministering to shut ins, it is amazing how many of them are able to follow along/speak most of the liturgy; even though they may not be able to remember the name of their spouse or child.
In our hymnal the five “Divine Services” are divided into three parts. The first section is the “Confession and Absolution”. (LSB, pages 184-185) A hymn may be sung to begin the service, but immediately following is the invocation in which we begin the service in the name of the triune God. This makes it clear that it is God’s service to us, not our service to Him. The invocation also reminds us of our baptism into the name of “the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”. (Matthew 28:19b)
In the “Confession” we are acknowledging God’s righteous judgment against our sin’ “for if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us”. (1st John 1:8) In the “Absolution”, the pastor, “by virtue of his ‘office’ as a ‘called and ordained’ servant of the Word; announces the grace of God to all of you”. (LSB, page 185) Here is the first place in the Divine Service, God speaks the Gospel, the Word of the forgiveness, to us. “For, if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”. (1st John 1:9)
The second part of the Divine Service, is the “Service of the Word”. (LSB, pages 186-193) This begins with either a hymn, a psalm, or the speaking or chanting of an “Introit”, which simply means to enter. The introit speaks a few verses of Scripture, usually from the Book of Psalms, which sets the tone/theme for the rest of the service. This is followed by the “Gloria Patri”; “Glory be to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit”.
Next, we sing the “Kyrie”; which is a threefold prayer/cry for mercy; that our gracious Lord would hear our prayers and help us in our time of need. This is followed by the “Gloria in Excelsis”; “Glory be to God on High”. This is a “Hymn of Praise” that recalls the Christmas account from Luke; “a multitude of the heavenly host was praising God and saying; Glory to God in the highest”. (Luke 2:13-14a) This particular part of the service I omitted during Lent and certain other times of year.
Then we have a brief “Salutation” between the pastor and the congregation; followed by the “Collect” for the day. The collect is a brief prayer, which emphasizes the theme for the day, usually taken from the Gospel reading. As I said earlier, some of these prayers are well over 1000 years old. We conclude with the “amen” which means roughly, “it shall be so”.
If you look closely at the fine print in the hymnal, you will see that virtually everything we speak in the service comes from God’s Word; but now we focus on reading longer texts of Scripture; usually from what is called the “Lectionary”. Some of these readings have changed through the centuries, but many of them are as ancient as the prayers we just mentioned. This is especially true of the so-called, one year lectionary. (Except for the Psalm of the day, these readings are listed in the front part of the hymnal.)
There are 3-4 readings, and we begin in the Old Testament, except for the season of Easter, where we begin in the Book of Acts. These readings teach us about God’s work of salvation in the Old Testament and how they point us to Christ Jesus as the world’s Savior from sin. Next, is the reading of the psalm for the day; which relates to the other readings and/or the theme for the day.
The third reading is called the “Epistle”; which means letter. These most often come from the letters of the Apostle Paul to the various churches, but also include the letters of Peter and John and the Book of Revelation. These “Epistles” are usually heavy on “doctrine”; right teaching regarding God’s Holy Law and Gospel and also “sanctification”; exhortation to holy living.
Before the final reading, the “Gospel”, there is usually a spoken or sung “Alleluia” or verse to prepare us to hear it. The Gospel comes from the first four books of the New Testament and so contains the very Words and deeds of our Lord Jesus Christ. Roughly half of the year these readings focus on the works of Christ (Advent to the Day of Pentecost) and the other half on His teachings. (The week after Pentecost to the end of the church year)
In the services we use, the next part of the service is confessing our faith in one of the ancient “Creeds”. The word “Creed” simply means, ‘I believe’. In some services this is confessed after the sermon. In these creeds, we are confessing our unity of faith in the one true God; which is the same faith confessed by the church throughout the world and across the ages; “for with the mouth one confesses and is saved”. (Romans 10:10)
Next is the “Hymn of the Day” which relates to the theme of the day, or at least one of the readings for the day. Even though there is a recommended hymn of the day, there is much freedom in these choices. In our hymnal we have a variety of ways to thank, praise, and proclaim what God has done for us in Christ Jesus.
Next is the sermon, which is most often based on the Gospel or one of the other readings for the day. There is some freedom for the pastor in this from week to week; but it is encouraged that they most often stick to the assigned texts. That way, within a year or three of sermons, the congregation will hear what some call “the whole counsel of God”.
As you heard last Sunday, in the sermon you will normally hear both God’s word of law and judgment against sin, lack of repentance, and unbelief and the Word of God’s grace and mercy in Christ Jesus our Lord for the contrite/sorrowful sinner. In the preaching of God’s “Law and Gospel” the church proclaims the “Apostolic Word” of God, even today.
In some places, the “Offertory” is sung in connection with the offering being collected or brought forward, or as in this place it is sung before the “Prayer of the Church”. In this prayer, we pray for the needs of all; the world, the church, the congregation, and for other matters as they come up. The congregation is invited to participate by adding their response, “Hear our prayer” or “Lord, have mercy”. When the Lord’s Supper is not being celebrated the Lord’s Prayer and “Benediction” and a final hymn, usually conclude the service. In the “Service of the Word”. In the sermon, God is once again giving His gifts to His people. “So, incline your ear and come … hear that your soul may live”. (Isaiah 55:3a)
The third main part of the Divine Service is the “Sacrament of the Altar”; “The Lord’s Supper”, or “Holy Communion”. Here again, Christ is giving gifts to His people; that they might find forgiveness, life, strengthening of faith, and salvation in the body and blood of our Lord. It begins with the “Preface”; a dialogue or conversation between pastor and congregation.
This stays the same from week to week, but the “Proper Preface” which follows changes depending on the season of the church year. This is where the pastor declares that what we are about to celebrate also includes “angels, archangels, and all the company of heaven; meaning all the saints of God who have gone before us and are now awaiting the resurrection of the body on the last day.
Next follows the “Sanctus”; which means holy. This comes from both Old and New Testaments, The first part is the angelic hymn which is recorded in Isaiah 6; “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory”. (Isaiah 6:3b) The second part contains the “hosannas” that the crowds shouted upon Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Here is where the Lord’s Prayer is spoken in the communion service; as we prepare to meet Jesus in His supper.
The “Words of Institution” are next, as we consecrate the elements; setting apart the bread and wine for holy use; for again, Jesus is present with us in the Sacrament. Right before the distribution, the “Pax Domini” (the peace of the Lord) and the “Agnus Dei” (the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world) are sung. We acknowledge that it is God alone who grants us peace and reconciliation through His gifts.
In the Supper itself, we receive what the words of Christ’s institution declare; “take eat; this IS the true body of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, given into death for your sins … take drink; this is the true blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, shed for the forgiveness of your sins”. Once again, God gives what He promises through Word and Sacrament.
The “Nunc Dimittis” are the words of aged Simeon, spoken when he encountered the infant Jesus in the temple. We too have encountered Christ and can truly “depart in peace, according to Your Word”. Following this are a brief thanksgiving to the Lord, a closing prayer/collect, and a brief salutation. After the “Benediction” there usually follows a closing hymn. The “Benediction”; which simply means, “The Lord bless you”; assures that we end the service in the same way as we began it; in the name of the triune God; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; through whom we have received these many and gracious gifts of God. As an aid in worship, the opening page of our LSB/hymnal also offers several prayers related to the various parts of the service.
Do you see now, how God serves you in the Divine Service? Here is where He promises to give you His gifts of forgiveness and everlasting life. Here is where He strengthens you to live as His child in a world that does not value these gifts and even seeks to destroy them in you. We pray that our Lord would grant us courage to confess His saving name in the face of any opposition from a world that is hostile to the Gospel. Amen.
The peace of God …