What Do You Do With Overflowing Love?

What Do You Do With Overflowing Love?

I Timothy 1:12-17

     We are getting to that point in the growing season when gardeners are often experiencing a surplus in their harvest.  If things have gone well and you got the right amount of rain and the temperatures were just right, you have more of some vegetables than you know what to do with.  Your baskets are overflowing and you are faced with the dilemma of what to do with all of the tomatoes or squash or whatever it is you planted in the spring.  At one congregation that I served, members were urged to bring the overflow to the church to share with those who did not have a garden.  It was called the “Garden of Eatin’”. 

     There are times in our lives when God blesses us and we have to come up with some way of handling the overflow of blessings that God has given.  A few weeks ago in the Gospel lesson, we heard about a man who had an abundant harvest and asked himself what he should do.  His solution was to build bigger barns so that he could store his abundance and then enjoy life.  Eat, drink and be merry was his plan.  That did not please God and the man was called a fool and the Lord took His life.  That was a parable about how we should share what we have with those who are less fortunate.  Our Epistle lesson for today takes that a little deeper as St. Paul writes to Timothy and describes his own situation. 

     Paul knew what kind of life he lived prior to his conversion.  It was no secret that he was active in persecuting the church.  He acknowledged that he was a blasphemer, persecutor and an insolent opponent.  He was a blasphemer because he rejected Jesus as the Christ.  He, like the leaders of the people, did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah because He didn’t fit their human idea of what the Messiah would be.  Because Jesus criticized many of their customs and traditions, they wanted to eliminate Him and His followers.  That is when Paul became a persecutor.  He had followers of Jesus put in jail and even had letters from the chief priest, authorizing him to travel outside of Israel to round up believers who had fled from the persecutions.  He called himself an insolent opponent of God’s plan of salvation for the world through Jesus Christ.  He was determined to put an end to the Jesus faction once and for all. 

     It was in the midst of that kind of life that Jesus appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus and changed his life.  After a time of reflection and prayer and study, Paul came to see how wrong he had been about Jesus and came to understand the mercy of God.  He came to see the truth in the statement that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners and he considered himself the foremost sinner of all.  He put himself on the most wanted list of sinners because not only had he sinned by rejecting Jesus as the Messiah but he actually worked against God’s purposes by speaking against God’s plan of salvation through Jesus, he persecuted those who believed in Jesus and fought against the spread of the Gospel.  You can’t get much worse than that and he knew it. 

     That’s why the mercy and grace of God meant so much to him.  He knew how bad he had been and therefore he appreciated the love of God that much more.  In verse 14, you can see how much he thought of the mercy of God on his miserable life.  He says, “The grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” 

     Remember what I said about the overflowing harvest of garden vegetables.  Sometimes you don’t know what to do with them all.  Paul recognized that the grace of the Lord was overflowing for him.  When you have an overflow, you have to find something to do with all that you have been given.  Paul knew what God’s plan was for his overflow of blessings.  In verse 16, he tells Timothy and us, “I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in Him for eternal life.”  In other words, Paul was saying that if God can love someone like me who really messed up, His love is there for you as well.

     He also then added a statement of praise to God for His great love.  “To the king of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen”  As a result of God’s great love shown to Paul, he wanted to express His honor and glory to God not only with words but also with the way in which he lived his life for the Lord.

     When you think about the life of Paul and all the good that he did in spreading the Gospel of Jesus around that part of the world, you might find it hard to imagine that he would call himself the foremost or chief of sinners.  Would you ever consider yourself to be the chief of  sinners?   When you hear this passage read, it certainly is something to think about.  Would I ever call myself the worst sinner in town, the worst sinner in the church, the worst sinner in my family?  Probably not.  After all I’ve been a member of the church all my life.  I have been a faithful church-goer.  I’ve tried to keep the Ten Commandments and I try to remain faithful to my Confirmation vows.  Paul could have said the same things and yet he considered himself the chief of sinners.  Another time he also considered himself to be a Pharisee of Pharisees.  He was educated in the laws and traditions of the church and as far as he knew, he had kept those laws better than anyone he knew, yet later on he considered it all rubbish.  What changed everything for him? 

      For one thing, Paul met Jesus on the road to Damascus.  He was struck blind until he was baptized and his sight was restored.  During that time he was shown the truth about his sin and God’s love for him, a love so great that God sent His only Son into the world to do for us what we could never do for ourselves, no matter how hard we tried.  Paul recognized his sin and his need for the forgiveness that was won for him by Jesus on the cross.  He came to know the overflowing love that was given to him by faith in Christ.  He understood God’s plan for his life, namely that he was to be an example of God’s overflowing love to those who would also be shaken out of their denial of their sin and shown the love of God in Christ Jesus.  That change in attitude  comes through the power of the Holy Spirit working through the Good News of the Gospel.  When he was baptized, the Spirit worked through the words and promises of God connected with the water. 

     You have had those same blessings given to you as you have had the opportunity to hear the Word and you have received the Sacraments in your life.  You have had the overflowing love of God given to you in Christ Jesus through faith and the grace of God.  In Paul’s case, he was aware of that overflowing love because he recognized what a terrible sinner he was.  He was brought from the depths of sin to the highest heights of God’s love.  When you think about your life and your sin, probably sins that no one else knows about, if you are honest, you know that you could very well have been called the foremost of sinners.  Only if you acknowledge your sin will you be able to rejoice in the overflowing love of God that has become yours through faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.  Without a knowledge of your sin, you see no need for a Savior.  But to know your sin, you also know the greatness of God’s love for you. 

     Now you have to consider what you will do with the overflowing love that God has given to you.  It’s more than you need.  It is overflowing.  For one thing, you can think of what Paul said. You can be an example to others of the great love of God and in that way bring them into a fellowship with their Lord and Savior.  Who better can relate to a sinner than a fellow sinner.  Who better to lead someone to Christ than one who has experienced the overflowing love of God.

     Another way to share the overflowing grace of God is by helping those who need to be aware of a bit of God’s love in their life.  His love is always there.  Some folks just need to see how it all works and that’s where you come in.  You have plenty to share because His love is overflowing in your life. 

     When you think of how your gracious God works in you and through you, you can also say with Paul, “To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever.  Amen.”

Rev. Gerald Matzke

Zion Lutheran Church

Painesville, Ohio

September 15, 2013   

Jesus Christ, the Same Yesterday, Today and Forever

Jesus Christ, the Same Yesterday, Today and Forever

Hebrews 14:8

     One of the things that I really do not like to hear is that you have to keep up with the times.  Maybe it’s a factor of my age.  That may be true because I think that in some ways I have given up trying to keep up with the times because some of the things that I see are often so disgusting.  There are some things that are certainly good about the times that we live in.  Technology has come so far.  I can remember typing out my first sermons over thirty years ago on a typewriter.  Some of you probably don’t even know what that it.  I like being able to use a computer so that I can fix my mistakes easily as I go along.  I also like having a smart phone that puts the world of information right in my hands.  A question comes up and I can look up the answer in seconds.  I have the Bible, the Lutheran Confessions and the latest sports scores on my phone.  Those are some of the good things that come from keeping up with the times.

     On the other hand there are a lot of other things that have changed over the years that are not so good.  Most of those things have to do with people’s ideas of what is right and what is wrong, what is acceptable and what is not acceptable behavior.  Morality has become a matter of personal choice.  There is a lot of discussion and debate about how things got this way, but it finally comes down ignoring the First Commandment, “You shall have no other gods.”  When you think that your own ideas carry more weight that God’s commands, you have made yourself your own god.  That would explain of lot of the modern thinking that comes to the conclusion that there are no absolute rules and that everything has to make sense to me, or at least has to have my own approval. 

     Apparently that kind of thinking is not that modern after all.  When you look at the Epistle lesson for today you will find a number of areas of life that the writer discusses.  They are just as relevant today as they were back then because they are dealing with human nature.  Each of the admonitions in this reading speak to an area of the Christian life that shows evidence of our faith and the response that believers can make that demonstrates the love of Jesus in their lives.  At the same time, you can see the importance of making each statement because the temptation is always there to follow your sinful, selfish nature and do what ever seems right at the moment.  Look down the list again.  “Let brotherly love continue.” If you don’t let brotherly love continue you will be living only for yourself. 

     “Show hospitality.”  The opposite again is just taking care of yourself.  “Remember those in prison.”  The easy thing to do is forget those in prison because after, they are just getting what they deserve.  How does that show Christ-like love?  “Let marriage be held in honor and marriage bed be undefiled.”  Is that what the world encourages you to do?  Hardly!  Godly attitudes toward marriage have been thrown out the window by many people because it can be complicated or too much work or whatever rationalizations the human mind can come up with.  “Keep you mind free from the love of money.  Be content with what you have.”  Once again the First Commandment is broken when your love and trust is in money and not God and His promises to provide all that you need.  “I will never leave you nor forsake you,” says the Lord.  “Do not be led away by strange and diverse teachings.”  Why would the writer say that if it weren’t for the fact that there were diverse and strange teachings attacking the faith of God’s people all the time?  In the midst of all of these admonitions, the writer reminds you that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.”

     The important point here is that sin is still sin.  It was sin when God gave Moses the Ten Commandments at Mt. Sinai.  It was sin when Jesus reviewed the Commandments in the Sermon on the Mount.  It is still sin today and sin is still sin forever.  Jesus Christ and His teaching, which are the same as the teachings that God made clear through the prophets of old, do not change.  It is still sin as much as you try to deny it or give it new names, like weaknesses or bad habits.  It is still sin when it is contrary to God’s will as He has made it known to us in His Word. 

     If it is still sin, then you are still guilty even as you try and suppress your guilt.  Your human nature is skilled in trying to talk your way out of any kind of guilt.  Blaming others is one of the top strategies for suppressing guilt.  Claiming that you have to keep up with the times is another one of the guilt suppressors.  Everybody else is doing it is one of the first tricks that you try to use to lessen the guilt that you feel because of your sin.  

     With sin and guilt then also comes the need for forgiveness.  Because of your sin, you have fallen farther and farther away from God.  Left to your own wisdom and skill, you will do all you can to justify yourself before your peers, in your own mind and you will even have the mistaken idea that you can justify your actions and attitudes before God.  How foolish you become when you are trying to avoid the guilt of your sin!  Yet the reality is that the only way that you can hope to stand before God is by having your sins taken away. 

     That brings us back to the statement that was made before.  Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.  Not only does that remind you of the unchanging message of God’s Law, but it also reminds you the unchanging nature of God’s love.  The writer takes you to the foot of the cross, outside the city where Jesus suffered in order to sanctify the people through His own blood.  Do you realize the power in that statement?  Jesus suffered.  It was not an unfortunate accident that happened to a popular, yet radical teacher, as some have tried to say.  It was all part of God’s plan for your eternal salvation.  By God’s great love that was evident yesterday, today and forever, Jesus was sent down from heaven to become one of us.  He lived the perfect life that you could not live and then shed His blood as the sacrifice for your sins.  He called people to repentance so that they could see how they had offended God with their sin.  They could see the seriousness of their sin and look to God alone for the forgiveness that only He could give.

     The result is that you are sanctified by His blood.  You are made holy.  That’s what sanctified means.  You can’t make yourself holy.  God has done it for you by His decree.  He declares you not guilty because the blood of Jesus paid the price to set you free.  That was God’s plan from the beginning with Adam and Eve after they sinned.  It was His plan when He spoke through the prophets who warned the people about their sin and foretold the coming of the Messiah.  It was His plan when Jesus came into the world.  It is still His plan today that the Good News of salvation through Jesus Christ be shared with all nations so that they too can receive the blessings of forgiveness, life and salvation.  That’s what it means to make disciples. 

     Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.  He has to be because the devil, the world and our sinful nature are the same yesterday, today and until the final victory has been won when Jesus comes again.  Then their influence over you will end.  Until that time, you will have to be alert to the temptations that will come your way.  You will need to be vigilant in your fight against the powers that try to tell you that you have to keep up with the times.  The fight will be difficult but you know that you do not struggle against the evil influence of this world alone.  Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.  Here we have a third level of understanding of this passage.  He will be there to send you the power of the Holy Spirit to help you be strong in your faith and unyielding in your fight against the spiritual darkness that surrounds you in this world.  Just as the prophets of old were strengthened for their struggles against evil in the world in ancient times, and just as the Apostles were strengthened by the gift of the Spirit on Pentecost, so also the Spirit strengthens you for your spiritual warfare through the Means of Grace, the Word and the Sacraments.  The blessings that Jesus Christ has given to you and to all believers are the same yesterday, today and forever.  May we never forget that until the time when we are called to stand in the presence of God and come to know the blessed reality of the “forever” part of God’s promises.    Amen.

Rev. Gerald Matzke

Zion Lutheran Church

Painesville, Ohio

September 1, 2013