Saint Luke Evangelical Lutheran Church of Watertown

Sermon delivered by Pastor Anthony E. Schultz

Easter 7 May 12, 2002 Mother’s Day 1 Peter 4:12f

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s might hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

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

“Maybe this criminal has already suffered enough for his crime!” That’s how the news report began. Maybe he’s already suffered enough! It seems this guy was involved in a fender bender in his SUV. Maybe he was to blame. Maybe he was talking on his cell pone and not paying attention. Maybe he ran a stop sign. Maybe he had something to hide. The crash must have been a pretty bad one because it started a fire! This guy’s SUV caught fire—there were flames by the back bumper. But he fled the scene—drove home and into his garage and quickly shut the garage door. The garage caught fire. His whole house burned down! Maybe this criminal has already suffered enough? The fact is—my sins—my crimes—my mistakes deserve the unquenchable forever fires of hell! We grossly underestimate the seriousness of our sins when we think the price of a home plus an attached garage pays for any sin. This Mother’s Day—this Easter 7—this Sunday after Ascension God’s Word encourages us—

Don’t Worry!

1. Jesus takes care of you.

2. Jesus keeps you safe from the devil.

The apostle Peter wrote words breathed by the Holy Spirit—words of encouragement and instruction to believers suffering on account of their faith. Peter wrote, “Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the painful trials you are suffering as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.” There is a missionary in the Philippines who along with his wife was taken hostage by terrorists. They showed pictures of him and his wife before the kidnapping—smiling—all suntanned—their cheeks nice and round. They showed the latest pictures—proof of life—proof they are still alive—their eyes sunken—their cheeks sunken. And yet when the Son of God makes you strong—there is a joy—a peace—a confident hope that no scrawny terrorists with all their guns and bombs can ever destroy! They say the terrorists have demanded $300,000! They say that sometimes—most times—when the ransom is paid—within a month the hostages are released. But if the ransom is not paid—the hostages are always murdered! Friends of the missionaries raised the money—and the government was going to pay—and then again they weren’t. The fact is—Jesus already paid his heavenly Father the ransom needed—to buy back their immortal souls. And Jesus also has the power to send his angels to set them free physically. Those missionaries and every one of us are safe—so safe that human hands no matter how evil—cannot do us forever harm!

“If you are insulted for the name of Christ you are blessed for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.” If you are very quiet about your faith—hold it very personal and private—never say a word out loud about it—chances are pretty good you won’t be insulted by anyone for Jesus’ sake. It is when you speak up for your Savior—when you admonish someone in the middle of a gross and hurtful sin that it could happen. Tell someone—because you love them—that you are concerned about their addiction to drugs or alcohol or tobacco and they might very well insult you. Talk to your teenage child about the friends they keep or the hours they keep or the music they like and they might show you sinful disrespect. Tell your boss that you cannot and will not lie or cheat or cover up or falsify and you may be blamed for what you didn’t do. You might not get promotions—in fact you might even lose your job in this tight job market—if you stand up for what Jesus says is right and good! Tell someone that putting to death by abortion a little baby still inside their mother’s tummy is a sin and they may insult you. Tell someone that living together—enjoying the kind of hugs and kisses that Jesus said belong only in marriage and people will laugh at you. Tell people that Jesus wants husbands to be the spiritual head of his household—that married hugs and kisses—men with men or women with women is a sin and you are likely to be told you are intolerant—unloving—unkind or perhaps much worse. Tell people humbly, gently, faithfully, simply what the Bible says—and you are likely to be insulted for the name of Jesus. Don’t be scared and don’t be afraid! You are blessed for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. That’s what God’s Word says!

“If you suffer it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler.” Someone gave me a newspaper clipping the other day about a criminal—a robber and thief—a bank robber named “Fast Eddie”. Fast Eddie robbed over 50 banks and spent over 50 years of his life in prison. They say Fast Eddie was such a likeable guy that one time he was having a heart attack from all the stress—right in the middle of a bank robbery—and the judge—the earthly judge who had sentenced Fast Eddie to prison before—brought Eddie his heart medicine. That’s pretty wonderful! But it’s nothing—absolutely nothing in comparison to what the eternal judge did. You know—the eternal judge died on the cross—for a bank robber like Fast Eddie—a bank robber who once when surrounded by the police threatened to take his own life—in effect took himself hostage. Jesus died on the cross for a bank robber like Fast Eddie—who held off the police—while throwing thousands and thousands of dollars out the window of his car—watching the news helicopter blade breeze scatter the money everywhere. Fast Eddie died the other day. Did Fast Eddie know that Jesus died for the robbers—the thieves who died on crosses beside him? Did Fast Eddie know that Jesus died for him, too? Only Jesus knows! Only Jesus knows! It’s kind of sad—though—that Fast Eddie is quoted as saying—he didn’t understand why—if people believed in God—why did they fight tooth and nail to stay alive in this world—instead of wanting to go home to Heaven? Maybe the problem was—Fast Eddie never met many of the people I know. Because by God’s grace I know lots of people who know the day is coming when we will be called home to heaven and we not only look forward to that day—we long for that day—when we will be at last at our forever home!

“If you suffer it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler.” There is a man who used to play a scrappy little police detective on TV who is on trial for taking the life of his wife. It was painfully sad the other day to hear him say—he didn’t really care if they threw him into prison or not. He didn’t really care—he said—because he’s already 70 years old—and he said—he had already lived 140 years! He didn’t mean that he had packed so much joy into his life—that he had packed twice as much living into each day. No—he said his life had been so painful—so full of grief and hurt—pain and sadness—he was tired—worn out—used up. It didn’t really matter to him what anyone did to him now. It was already too late! How sad! How sad to think that someone who had what so many people want so desperately—the fame and fortune—the riches that come from being a TV star—didn’t begin to make him happy. We need to use all the strength and ability that only Jesus can supply—to serve God faithfully—not breaking the law—and not falling into painful hurtful sin.

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” Jesus cares for you. He cares about you and he cares for you. He takes care of you. They say that people who are physically blind—don’t see pitch darkness—pitch blackness—as much as they see a sort of thick pea soup gray fog. On the cutting edge of medicine they have this little shiny little chip—not a whole lot bigger than the head of a pin. They can implant in the back of the eye of a person who is physically blind to try to help them see. I saw this little grandpa who had gone progressively more blind these past 14 years. Just before the operation he tried to say it wasn’t that big a deal . But then his voice started to crack—and he said he just wanted to be able to see his children—to see his children’s faces. Well they did the operation on his right eye. They did the operation on about 6 different people. And although they can’t see like I can see—they are seeing more than they could before. They can see light—the lights that twinkle on a Christmas tree—the glow of lights on a porch. And one man said—he could see the smile on the face of his grandson. Can you imagine how wonderful that must be? Far far more important than seeing any person’s face—is seeing Jesus’ face—Jesus’ face that is drawn in the Scriptures. To see Jesus’ nail marked hands and feet—his spear wounded side. To see Jesus’ tender forgiving eyes—his kind and gentle and strong arms that pick up lost sheep and carry them safely back to the fold. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith…” Jesus did battle with the devil. Jesus crushed the devil. What wondrous love the God the Father has lavished on us—that we should be called the children of God. And that is what we are! There was a high-speed police chase in Los Angeles this week. A robber and thief tried to get away in this little beater car that didn’t even have a hood. The news helicopters chased this bad guy, too. And the TV channels cut into regular programming—to broadcast live—this high-speed chase. They say the ratings were terrific! They say people love to watch the good guys chase the bad guys. They especially like the last part—where the police have the bad guy surrounded—their squad car doors open—their guns pointed through their rolled down windows. Then the very last part—they let the police dog go—and he jumps through the window of the crook’s car and literally puts the clamps on the bad guy—literally takes a bite out of crime! They say we really like that—hammer that bad guy! It’s easy to get all caught up in that—until you stop and realize—it’s not just that we are bad guys, too. I’m a bad guy! I am—me myself! I am not even a little bit better than the car thief—the hit and run driver. I am not even a little bit better than the people who have the most horrible thoughts—and then lacking any conscience act on them. My sins deserve God’s eternal punishment. It is by grace alone that we don’t have to worry. We don’t need to worry about anything. Jesus takes care of us in every way. He washed away all our sins. He keeps us safe from the devil’s most hurtful attacks—so we will be safe forever. Amen!

To God alone all glory!