St. Luke Ev. Lutheran Church

Sermon by Pastor Anthony E. Schultz

Easter 6/Confirmation April 28 + May 1, 2005 Acts 17:22-31

Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you have worshiped as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.

From one man he made every nation of men--that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him, and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by man’s design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.

This is God’s Word!

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

Thursday, May 19^th—is the premier—the grand opening of the next Star Wars movie! Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith! That’s pretty big stuff if you are a science fiction person—if you have seen the first 5 Star Wars movies! Episode Three is kind of a flash part way back—in a series with sequels and prequels! Some people are so determined to be among the very first to see Episode III Revenge of the Sith—they are willing to stand in line—not just for hours—but for 46 days—46 days! That’s a month—two weeks—and more! People got in line April 6^th. The problem is—they are standing in line in the wrong place—in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theater—when Star Wars isn’t going to be shown there. They are standing in line at Grauman’s Chinese Theater while the premiere will be quite literally a mile away at the Arclight Theater! The first 11 people in line were told—“Hey! You are in line at the wrong place!” They said—“We are not moving. No cuts! We are going to wait right here!” It’s one thing to be in the wrong line at the movies—it’s a whole other thing to be in the wrong line for heaven! This Confirmation Sunday—this 6^th Sunday of Easter—God’s Word asks the exceedingly practical question:

Are We Very Religious?

1. Do we know who the true God is?
2. Are we ready for Judgment Day?

Today—we stand in spirit beside the Apostle Paul in the ancient city of Athens. Paul is talking to people who are incredibly educated! Think about it. These were the people who built the Parthenon—a temple so beautiful—that people will travel halfway around the world to see the falling down shell--minus many of the statues that adorned her. A building of such supreme architectural perfection—the pillars are actually set at precise angles—to give the optical illusion of being perfectly straight! The Parthenon is made of such massive stones—that people are barely able—with all the equipment we have today—to try to repair what was once built by people without any of the equipment we have today! The ancient Greeks understood so much about medicine that physicians today take the oath of Hypocrites! The first sentence in that oath, “Do no harm!” How can we take that oath—and in the next breath pull out a feeding tube and literally starve a human being to death? How can we take that oath—and in the next breath take a little baby apart still inside their mother’s tummy? Study mathematics and you will study what was discovered by Pythagoras. Study physics and you will study what Archimedes discovered. Study philosophy—logic and reason and right and wrong and good and evil and you will read Socrates and Plato. Watch TV. Watch Everybody Loves Raymond or Friends or Frazier—and you will see plots—comedies and tragedies that can be traced back to Shakespeare who got them from Euripides! Study the art of oratory—public speaking—and you will study Demosthenes! Study sculpture and you will study the Greek! These people—living 2,000 years ago—understood almost everything. And yet—the one thing needful—was still a mystery to them.

That’s why Paul said, “Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious!” There is religion going on—all over the place! There are people who stop five times every day—without fail—to fall literally on their knees—their foreheads pressed into the dust to pray most earnestly. There are people who have sold all their possessions and given the money to the poor. There are people who have starved themselves to death—beaten themselves bloody—done the most painful things possible to their flesh in the name of their religion. There are people who have sacrificed everything in the name of their religion. But if their religion puts its hope and trust in a false god—then they are trying to grow watermelon planting pumpkin seeds. It will not work. All the sincerity in the world—placed in a false god—is to take sugar pills instead of real medicine. It cannot save. If we really believe this—that there is no salvation apart from Jesus—then we will be concerned about these young people sitting in front of us. We will be concerned—that today is not the beginning of their gradual slipping away from Jesus. There will be forever consequences if we promise to be faithful to Jesus—even to the point of death—and yet next Sunday—our pillow and our blanket seem warmer and more precious than Lord’s Supper! People of Watertown—are we very religious? Do we show our love for Jesus by hearing his word faithfully?

The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth… There are parts of Scripture that ought to make us say, “Wow!” To know a simple powerful sense of awe and humble respect in the presence of the greatness of God! Did you know they are trying to take a census of the creatures that live in the ocean? There are 300 experts plus another 1,500 volunteers working for 10 years at a cost of around 10 billion dollars—to try and figure out all the different kinds of fish and creatures that live in the ocean. They know of almost 215,000 different sea animals and plants. They figure there will be more than 18,000 different species of fish—and at the rate they are finding other animals and sea plants—they could reach 2 million different species! We have trouble finding and naming all these living things that our Heavenly Father created—designed and engineered and maintains!

This is not to mention all the plants say in the Amazon Rainforest. They figure there are over 200,000 different species of wild plants in the Amazon—of which only 200 have been studied for their therapeutic value. There was a lady hacking her way through the rain forest with a machete—when she gashed her arm open. Her guide knew immediately exactly what to do. He got some dark red tree sap…and what? Smeared it on the wound? No! Had her drink it! Before you know it—the bleeding stopped and the wound healed—without a scar! Can you imagine that? I can! We can see the greatness of God in the world around us. But where we can see our Heavenly Father best is on the pages of Scripture. You will find Jesus on the pages of the self-study Bibles you receive for confirmation. Use them—read them and study them and put study notes in them—until you have worn the binding out—and have stained the pages with the oil of your fingers. All that you have learned about the Kingdom of God—from your parents—from Sunday School teachers—from your day school teachers—from your Pastors is only just the beginning!

The temptations of the devil have only just begun, too! Temptations to abuse drugs and alcohol and tobacco and sex! You must be aware that children—very little children—and young adults are being snatched! I watched the other day—where they took a bunch of children—6^th, 7^th and 8^th graders. They asked their parents—do you talk to your children about strangers—about being snatched—abducted? Oh, the parents said—we talk to them—we warn them—all the time! Then they showed an absolute stranger talking to their child—asking them—could you help me find my lost little puppy? Can you help me? Could you call my puppy’s name? Could you come over here—over here—over here in these woods to help me find my little puppy? Into the woods they went—with this absolute stranger! Oh, they had a detective—a big and I thought pretty scary looking guy. He said—working for the police department—just doing tests and studies—he could get all kinds of kids to climb into the back seat of his car—offering them nothing more than a couple of pieces of candy! It was so easy to tempt these little children it was just plain scary. You watch it on TV and you call out loud—little people stay away—run away—yell and kick and bite and scratch and run away—and they don’t. They go with the stranger—into what could be horrible danger and even death! That’s only physical danger! We need to watch out that the devil doesn’t seduce us into horrible spiritual danger! To be confirmed means we have only just begun to face temptations. And we have only just begun to learn and understand God’s Word. A lifetime will not be too long—to read and ponder and pray about God’s Word! A lifetime will not be long enough for us to learn all that the LORD has revealed to us about his kingdom. A lifetime will not be too long—to put on the full armor of God—to do battle with the evil that infects this world!

From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. From Adam—a real man—and Eve—a real woman—all people can trace their family tree. Adam and Eve are not make believe—not imaginary—not a metaphor for generic man and woman—to satisfy the curiosity of primitive and ignorant people. Adam and Eve were not hairy ape like Neanderthals who by trial and error learned to walk upright—to kindle fire—to make primitive shelter and to use primitive tools and primitive language! Adam and Eve were real flesh and blood people—made in the image of God—with the most precious knowledge of all—an understanding of the gracious will of their Heavenly Father! Our life is in God’s hands. He determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. I grew up in Central Illinois—in a little town called Roanoke! We lived at 508 North Main Street. That was the first address I memorized when I was in kindergarten. If I got completely lost—and somebody asked, “Where do you live?” I was supposed to say 508 North Main Street. 50 years later—I still remember that. It was so burned in my memory. I would like to go back to Roanoke—to eat at the restaurant we used to eat at—when I was little—and order an orange soda that came in a little bottle with a fairy like Tinkerbell painted on it. I would like to walk down the sidewalk from where I used to live—to the grade school I used to go to. I’d like to walk to the church where I first went to Sunday School! That was where I lived until half way through third grade. Then we moved! We moved—not because I wanted to or even because my parents wanted to move. We moved—because Jesus wanted us to move. Jesus does that. He moves his people from one home to another—until the exact time when Jesus says I have been a guest at your table long enough. Now you come and be a guest at my table in my home Heaven! At that exact time—we will go to that exact place—our forever home with Jesus!

He has set a day when he will judge the world! I was reminded again the other day—about what people on TV think it takes to be right with God. The very nice TV guy that says—I don’t go to church—because my mind wanders—I don’t pay attention. Besides I am a good person. I swerve around squirrels. I leave big tips when we eat out. I’m nice to people who are different. I don’t stare at them. I don’t tease them. I do nice things all the time! Why do I need to go to Church—to prove how good I am? I show how good I am all the time! Going to Heaven does not depend on how “nice” we are in this world! You can’t earn Heaven by being good to everyone around you. Nor can you deserve Heaven by being really hard on yourself! We will go home to Heaven because Jesus lived for us—died for us—and rose from the dead Easter morning. Jesus washed away all our guilty stains—every single one. We are children of God—by grace through faith for Jesus’ sake. We confirm that truth this Sunday and every Sunday! We are ready for Judgment Day because we know we are children of God by adoption for Jesus’ sake. Amen!

To God alone all glory!

Rev. Anthony E. Schultz