St. Luke Ev. Lutheran Church of Watertown

Sermon delivered by Pastor Anthony E. Schultz

Transfiguration February 19 + 22, 2004

2 Corinthians 4:3-6

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

People of God—rescued from the flaming lake of fire in hell by the innocent blood of the very Lamb of God:

I was driving home from Milwaukee the other day—listening to public radio when they were talking about good and evil. They had this riddle. What is more powerful than God? More evil than the devil? Poor people have it—rich people don’t. And if you eat it—you will die! What is it? What is more powerful than God—more evil than the devil—poor people have it—rich people don’t—and if you eat it you will die? Do you know? The really scary thing is—they said—little kindergartners almost all get it—and college students almost all don’t get it! The answer of course is—nothing! My earthly father got it right away and didn’t even realize it. What is more powerful than God? He blurted out—nothing! I told him—that’s it! Nothing is more powerful than God. Nothing is more evil than the devil. Poor people have nothing. Rich people don’t have nothing—they have lots of stuff. And if you eat nothing you will die! Little people get it. Supposedly educated big people don’t. Why is that? What happens along the way that we lose our simple, innocent, child-like understanding of good and evil? You would think that with learning and painful experience we would grow in understanding and deeper faith. But often times it seems just the opposite! Today God’s Word—law and gospel—encourages us:

Jesus Is Lord—We Are Servants

1. The god of this world blinds minds

2. The light of the Gospel shines in our hearts

This is the 6^th week in a row—that we have read from Paul’s letters to the believers in the Greek city of Corinth! Readings that talked about different spiritual gifts in different amounts—in different combinations at different times—all from the same Holy Spirit—all giving glory to the same Savior. Remember how we are all part of the body of Christ. Again—different parts—different kinds of service—preaching, teaching, sharing Jesus’ forgiving love. Remember love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs…It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails! Today God’s Word talks about the essential difference between believers and unbelievers. Unbelievers are blinded by the devil. The don’t see—they don’t understand—they don’t believe in God’s amazing grace. Believers—by grace along—have the light of Jesus’ forgiving love shining in their hearts and in their daily lives.

The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers… On Public Radio the other day—they played CD’s called Amazing Grace—Thirteen Discussions. They interviewed a couple of people who were quick to say, “I’m an atheist! Not an agnostic—a person who doesn’t know—but is looking for God. I’m an atheist! I don’t believe in any God. I am convinced and am completely content with the understanding there is no God!” The atheist went on to say—I can do anything a believer can do. I can look at the wonders of this world. I can look at delicate flowers—with petals and perfume—with colors and delicate parts—blooming and thriving with no one being the gardener. I can look at fish that swim in the depths of the ocean that look like Dr. Seuss created them. I can look at the parts of the human body--the human eye that can focus at the same time at things near and far and be in awe at the miracle of how it works. I can do all that without needing any God at all. But then I bump into death. I come to the cemetery—to the grave stone—the hole in the brown soil—the plastic vault—the casket—the soil covered with plastic carpet—artificial grass—and I am stuck! Now what? The atheist doesn’t know! What happens the moment after you die? They don’t know!

The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers… How blind is the unbeliever? Horribly blind. They say the other day—they aimed the Hubble Telescope—aimed it at what appeared to be a dark and empty corner of space. Intentionally they aimed it at what seemed to be blank and empty space. And what did they find—in this quiet little corner of space? They found over 400 different galaxies—400 different systems of planets—each a world of its own—some a billion light years away from you and me! How can you contemplate space and planets that wondrous—and chalk it all up to chance and coincidence? How can you contemplate the surface of the planet Mars—and say it is all without purpose or point or end? The devil has succeeded in so blinding the minds of unbelievers that they don’t see or understand because they do not believe. They do not believe that Jesus is the Creator—who came to rescue his creatures from all their guilt and sin!

The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. If you can’t see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ—then you are in the darkness of sin. And how deep is that darkness! Spouses—beaten, battered and abused—cursed and sworn at and struck. Small children neglected and abandoned in the cold. Their tiny broken bodies abandoned in dumpsters full of trash. God’s precious gift of hugs and kisses perverted—the smallest children molested in unspeakable ways. The love of things and stuff moving people to lie, to cheat, to embezzle, to steal with murderous force. Painful self-destructive choices made again and again. The hurtful ripples of those choices spreading wider and wider. And finally—ultimately—despair and self-destruction. There is light—hope and forgiveness only in the Gospel of Christ Jesus. Here is forgiveness, life and forever salvation!

For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. In the verses right after the ones we are concentrating on—Paul says—But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed… We have the power of the Gospel in the breakable Tupperware of people! We have the power of the Gospel in containers that are made from dust and ashes. Containers that one day will literally decay—earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust. At the same time we remember what humble containers we are—don’t forget the power that is in our message! The power of God is so great—we are hard pressed on every side—under siege—surrounded by the devil—but we are not crushed. We are perplexed—wondering again and again why? But we do not despair. We are persecuted—people out to get us. But we are not abandoned. We may be knocked down—again and again. But again and again—Jesus picks us up. We will not give up. We will not quit. We will not be destroyed!

For God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts… Let light shine out of darkness! Let there be light! If you’ve heard that once you’ve heard it a thousand times—let there be light. After a while it doesn’t mean much—does it? But stop and think. Last night it was announced an observatory had caught sight of a black hole ripping apart a star—some 700 million—maybe a billion light years away. They say nobody ever actually watched that before. Nobody even saw that before—and our God—our Heavenly Father made the star and made the black hole—and put them in the same place at the same time. Whenever that time was—what with light traveling 700 million light years to get here. I don’t even know—did it happen years ago—and we are now just seeing it or what? Do you know? If my Heavenly Father can make black holes eat stars—then he can certainly put supper on my table—and microwave popcorn in my bowl! God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts… More remarkable than making light shine through the darkness of the universe—is Jesus’ making the light of his love to shine in my heart!

Jesus made the light of his forgiving love to shine in our hearts. That light shines in how we treat one another. Again—it’s all about attitude! It’s about parenting! In Bible Class at Heritage Homes the other day—we were reading through the Gospel of Luke—about the coming of John the Baptist. And we read the words of the angel Gabriel to Zechariah. John the Baptist “will go before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” Luke 1:17 The spirit—the attitude of Elijah! That’s a passion and a focus! What’s important? What counts? What really matters? Do you know? Do we get up in the morning determined to serve Jesus? Elijah was God’s faithful servant—preaching and teaching the Gospel. By the power of his Heavenly Father—Elijah raised the dead! When was the last time we read 1^st Kings? 1^st Kings chapter 17—where Elijah was staying by the widow at Zarephath. The widow of Zarephath had one little boy who got sick—worse and worse and worse—until he stopped breathing! Elijah carried his body upstairs—stretched out on him 3 times—and cried out to the LORD—and the LORD made him alive! We can pray that the LORD would give us the spirit—the attitude—the faith of Elijah! Like people in the days of John the Baptist—we need to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children! Fathers need to be concerned for their children. Not that they have the most expensive Nike sneakers. Not that they own the most expensive video game equipment. Not that they have a flat screen or a plasma TV and DVD player in their own bedroom. Not that they have a laptop computer and high speed Internet connection. They need their father’s time and attention. They need their father to ask—how was your day? To talk to your children about Jesus’ forgiving love. To see in their father’s eyes unconditional love for their mother and unconditional love for them. They need their father to know who their teachers are—and to always speak well of their teachers. They need their father and their mother—to show Jesus’ love in all they say and do. I was at the Publishing House the other day. They have cards that pay the highest compliment possible. Cards that say—I see Jesus in you! Children need fathers and mothers that by grace alone can receive those cards. I see Jesus in you!

Jesus made the light of his forgiving love to shine in our hearts. I got a parking ticket the other day. I have never ever gotten a ticket of any kind in my life. But I parked where I wasn’t supposed to. I didn’t understand the sign—so I thought I was ok—but I wasn’t. I took my ticket—the long tan envelope—down to the police station the other day—to pay. The very nice lady there said she had never seen a ticket exactly like mine—that my violation was truly unique! I told her about my mistake—and how sorry I was. She said—don’t worry. No one would ever find out! Then she opened the envelope to take out the money inside. She counted it three times—and then told me—there’s too much! I couldn’t believe it! You see—my friends saw the police car with the flashing lights. They saw I was getting a ticket. And because they have Jesus’ love in their hearts—my friends put their money in the envelope. Not only did they pay what I owed. They paid more than I owed! Not a bad picture of Jesus’ forgiving love—that there is more grace—more patience—more forgiveness—more love than we could ever need! That’s how much Jesus loves us. He makes us strong to share the light of that love Amen!

To God alone all glory!