St. Luke’s Evangelical Lutheran Church – Watertown, WI
Pastor Mark Gartner
Sermon for Pentecost – May 16^th and 19^th, 2002

Dear Spirit Filled children of God,

In a way we can say that today we are commemorating the birthday of the Christian Church, for this is Pentecost Sunday, the day on which Jesus Christ Himself founded His Church on earth two thousand years ago. The Church of Jesus Christ began its blessed work when the Holy Spirit descended upon the first disciples and when they, filled with the Spirit's power, preached the message of sin and grace into the hearts of three thousand converts. This was in direct fulfillment of the Savior's farewell promise to His disciples on the Mount of Olives: "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you;

For more than nineteen hundred years the Church has been directed to push through to the ends of the earth and carry its message to all people regardless of race, gender or class. For more than nineteen hundred years the Church has been challenged to proclaim the one message that can save the souls of men from eternal destruction in hell. The message, which is summed by so well through this ageless promise: "God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life."

Nineteen hundred years has been a long time to impress upon the Church that its only mission and purpose should be the saving of souls through the preaching of Christ and His saving blood. Yet, unfortunately, so many churches today which call themselves Christian are no longer true to Christ, but have introduced modern messages and twentieth-century methods, so that they are no longer walking along the road on which the saints of God in the past have walked on to eternal glory. To these people, the principles of Christ's Christianity are way out of date. They say that the Bible has outlived its usefulness, and its teachings have no place in our modem progressive world, or if they have any place at all, they are merely looked upon as good, moral principles and nothing more. Jesus Christ is looked upon not as the Savior of the world, but merely a good man, a wonderful teacher, a martyr who died for a principle; and the Bible is looked upon not as God's Book. It is not the inspired Word of God, but merely a book, which teaches morality. On this Pentecost Sunday let us think about

It is sad but true that many people today have forgotten the most fundamental facts regarding the Church and its work. They have forgotten that the very word church has the meaning of an assembly of people around God’s Word. Many of the thousands of church buildings in the United States are anything but houses of the Lord. They have degenerated into mere houses of men, where human theories rule out the Word of God as being too ancient for our intellectual generation. There are preachers in pulpits today who are not even sure who the true God is, but who claim they are sure that the Bible is not the inspired Word of God. There are teachers in divinity schools who ridicule the fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith. There are numerous so-called Christian churches, which have given up the old paths and have sought new ways, with the result that men's souls have been led into spiritual hopelessness.

There are so many materially minded churches today: congregations that spend most of their energy on externals -- suppers, dramas, and other activities, which have no connection with the Savior's kingdom. There are churches, which raise their funds contrary to God’s Word. Some churches selfishly crave power. They seek to control the politics of local and federal government. They want the Government to act as the arm of religion in enforcing their favorite teachings. When Abraham Lincoln came to Washington as President, he is said to have declared: "I wish to find a church whose clergyman does not preach politics." Millions of people today want pastors who will give them spiritual comfort and eternal truth rather than party programs and campaign promises.

What we need today is the old path that leads through all the tinsel and tarnish of our modern age back to the first Pentecost and to the Holy Spirit's power. As the Holy Spirit descended upon those first disciples, so we must realize today that the Church's power still comes from above -- a gift of the Holy Spirit that works through his Word and Sacraments. As Peter and the first preachers of the Church were filled with the Holy Spirit, so the ministers of today must be filled, not with sociology and psychology, but with the Holy Spirit and filled with His power found in his holy Word. As the message of that powerful Pentecost sermon was based on the full Word of God, so the Church of today must stop feeding its followers with the stones of sensationalism and give them the living Bread from heaven. As Peter denounced his hearers as the ones whose hands had nailed Jesus to the Cross, so today sin must be denounced by people who will cry out: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near!"

As that first Pentecost sermon also proclaimed the truth that Jesus died for the sins of the world, so today, we must tell men that they are saved for time and for eternity by Jesus’ blood. People are not saved by doing the best that they can do, but by trusting that Jesus who humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross is the only way to heaven. His blood alone can cleanse us from our sins. I want to emphasize the old truth for you once again: "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)

And if we follow this path, then we have the promise. You will find rest for your souls. The Holy Spirit, through His power in the Word, brings you the biggest and best blessing that can ever come into your life. He gives you rest, because He leads you to the rest-giving Savior, who calls out to all of you: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28). Oh, how we need this rest! We need rest from pain and sorrow, from weakness and disappointment, from bruises of body and bruises of soul -- for comfort in days of distress, for help in days of trouble, for strength in days of weakness, for rest in the days of weariness. The Holy Spirit brings this rest as he points us to the eternal Son of God, who shed His precious for us. In all the world there is no one who can help us, and save us but Christ! He is the only One!

And what a tremendous price He paid to give us that rest for our souls! Jesus died for all and poured out His lifeblood on the Cross for the sins of the world. Christ, the Son of God, by His own choice, out of love and mercy for us lost and condemned creatures, died on the Cross as our Substitute. He was punished for the wrongs that we have done, that we might be forgiven, that we might escape the tortures of hell which our sins had deserved, that we might have life instead of death. And when He broke the bonds of death by His own resurrection from the grave, this was God's own guarantee that Jesus had fulfilled for us everything that was needed for our complete redemption. Oh, what rest that should bring to our sin-sick souls! And the beauty of it all is this -- that this rest is supremely ours when we are led by the Holy Spirit to trust that Jesus is our only answer for our sins.

If you have found this rest in Christ, then you have not fulfilled God’s purpose for your lives until you have invited someone else to the Cross to find this rest. Pray that the Holy Spirit may lead you also along this path. So many people of the world today are sick -- sick with the lust for money, power, and pleasure, sick with sin. If the Holy Spirit has made us faithful followers of Christ, then we have the only remedy for this sickness. God has placed it into our hands. He has given us the Gospel of salvation through the blood, of Christ.

It is a Gospel, which tells us that "while we were still sinners, Christ died for us"; a Gospel, which assures us: "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow"; a Gospel that declares; "Surely He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows." "He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities"; a Gospel that promises: "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you"; a Gospel that emphasizes: "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved." With this Gospel. in your hand you must go -- go into all the world, go into the city of Watertown, go among your business acquaintances, your neighbors, your friends, and your relatives. You must bring this Gospel to them, you must invite them to come to the Cross of Christ. The Holy Spirit filled the disciples with power so that they could go to all people as our text tells us, "and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." He has done the same thing for us

Too often, far too many of us take an attitude of indifference toward the spiritual welfare of our fellow men. We know, or at least we profess to believe, that those who are without Christ are going to hell, and yet so often we remain carelessly indifferent, and perhaps to ourselves we even say: "All right, if you want to go to hell, you can go there; it is no concern of mine." But it is a concern of yours! It is a concern of mine! We all have been baptized with the fire of the Holy Spirit. At our Baptisms the Holy Spirit placed us on the path to heaven. With this power and love in our hearts, we can answer the Lord's question- "Whom shall I send?" with the answer: "Here am I, send me!" Let us all hold up the Cross of Christ for all the world to see, and through that Cross the Holy Spirit will bring salvation to the souls of many.

Millions are walking the streets of the world. Outwardly these men and women look much alike. And yet, if but for a brief moment God would give us eyes to see, we would find a vast difference among them. Some of them belong together in a fellowship that sets them apart from the rest. They are citizens of a better country. They are part of the Church of Jesus Christ through the faith, which the Holy Spirit has worked in them. In the gloom of this mortal life their eyes are fastened upon the Savior. They are clinging to the Rock of Ages, who will hold them fast forever. They are walking along the path that leads to eternal glory. May the Holy Spirit keep you in that glorious company, for Jesus' sake. May the Holy Spirit lead many to have this same assurance. Amen.