St. Luke's Evangelical Lutheran Church -- Watertown, WI
Pastor Mark Gartner Sermon for Special Stewardship Theme – September 4^th and 7^th, 2003

Dear Friends in Christ,

Not too long ago, a lady went rummage sale shopping. She liked to do that kind of thing. She looked for things that she could put around her house. On one particular day she was browsing through some paintings that were for sale. She picked out one that she thought would match the decorations in her house. She liked the style and she loved the colors and it was very inexpensive. That painting found a home on one of the walls in her home, but who would have ever known that this rummage sale painting was actually a priceless piece of art. It was an original painting from a famous artist. She never knew this, until one day a friend said that this looked liked the style and colors used by this particular artist. They took it to an art dealer and found that this rummage sale painting was worth millions of dollars. It was an original. What made this painting any different than the other paintings that this lady looked at during her rummage sale shopping? The difference wasn’t just in the beauty of this picture, but it was in who painted the picture.

As we sit here in God’s house, we can ask a very similar question. What makes this book so special? Why is it that we gather here week after week to hear selections from it? Why is it that the pastor delivers a message based on it each week as well as reads from it for our scripture readings? Why is it that we take time at home during the week to read from it? Why do we study it in our weekly Bible classes? Why do we have a Confirmation class that last two years for our 7^th and 8^th Grade students so that they can learn more about it? Why is it we expect our pastors to be thoroughly trained in it and acquainted with it? Even requiring eight years of schooling after high schoo1for them to learn from and about the Scriptures?

What makes this book so special? Is it the fact that it is old? The first book was written about 1500 BC? But we soon realize that there are other old writings that have come down to us but we don’t revere them as we do this book. Is it the fact that it contains religious thought? But once again we realize that there are many other religious writings. Each of the world’s major religions has its own. And they were all written by people who were hailed as prophets, men of God. Is it the fact that this book has changed your life and the lives of others? Now you are getting closer, but still there are other books, which have changed the lives of people.

What makes this book so special? Why should we want to study it? Why all this fuss, why the letters, posters, banners, special services to encourage us to continue in Jesus’ Word? That’s a basic question that we should know the answer to or all this talk about studying Scripture will make little sense. So we ask this morning: WHAT IS THE BIBLE? What makes the Scriptures so important in our life? Our Savior answers that question for us today as we hear Him pray for his first disciples just hours before He was captured and crucified. He shows us that

Who of us hasn’t heard about William Shakespeare? All we have to do is mention his name and people begin to think back to their literature days while in school. The name is synonymous with famous plays. His name says it all. He is a person who lived many years ago, but his writings are still remembered today. Maybe we didn’t always understand the plots and thoughts of his plays, but most of us can name off a few of them: Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Hamlet to name a few. I’m willing to bet that are even some of you who can rattle of famous lines from his plays. "Wherefore art thou Romeo...." His lines and plays are famous, but they are nothing compared to the words, which God wrote down for us.

John writes, "Your word is truth." These are God’s words and they are completely true. They are different than any words of literature or philosophy. What a wonderful time for us to review how we received God’s Word, "For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1:21

It is no accident when John uses the word "truth" two times in this very short verse. When we are talking about God’s word, we are talking about the only true truth in the whole world. The world we live in is full of lies and mistakes. It sometimes is almost impossible to decide what is true and what is false. Usually the truth falls somewhere in the middle. But that is not the case for God’s words. John tells us that, "The Scripture cannot be broken." (John 10:35) There is nothing broken with God’s Word, because it is pure, because it is God’s Word. God’s Word is not just truthful in every single point. It is "THE TRUTH" down to the smallest little detail or fact.

We consider ourselves Jesus’ disciples. A disciple sits at master’s feet and learns what he has to say. Since the Bible is an accurate record of our God’s Word, it’s no wonder that Jesus has told us that by continuing in His Word, then we are truly His disciples. And so our Savior also tells us today that God gave his Word for us to use.

God’s Word is a guide and norm for our lives. Since Scriptures are The truth we can and should be looking to them for advice in every area of our lives. Bible presents God’s unchanging will for us and the world. Above all else we go to the Scriptures to learn about our God and His plan of salvation for us. The Bible is so important to us, because it tells us how we as sinners can go to heaven.

"Sanctify them by the truth." Sanctify is a word that means to set apart for the Lord – to set us aside from anything that is less than perfect and to be joined to the perfect and loving Lord. God’s Word is able to accomplish great things in our hearts and in our lives. First we need to remember how the Lord made us holy when he brought us to faith. There is certainly a need forever one of us to be "made holy". God wasn’t kidding when he said, "The wages of sin is death." (Rom 3:23) By nature we are everything but holy – everything but acceptable to God. The Tool that God in his Word uses to make us realize our sinfulness is his Law. The harsh preaching that condemns all our wrongs and sentences us to eternal death that we all deserve. This awakens our heart to see a need for help

But we know that Jesus’ existence on this earth changed all this. God’s Gospel found in his Book of Truth tells us the fact that Jesus lived and died to forgive us. So it’s through hearing the Word of God that the "good news" of eternal life in Christ is brought to us.. And through that Word the Holy Spirit works faith in our hearts. What other book is able to accomplish something so great as to take our hearts dead in sin and turn them to hearts full of a desire to serve our Lord and Savior.

The words of our text are specifically spoken to disciples who are brought to faith. People like us. God continues to make us holy through his Word. But although we are forgiven by Jesus, we do not live perfect lives as God wishes of us all. Jesus’ prayer then is that God helps us to grow in faith and faithfulness. Christian living only happens through God’s Word. Our faith is much like a plant. Unless it is given proper water and light, it will die. Our faith requires the "living water" of Jesus’ Word and "light" of the Scriptures. God’s Word is the only thing in all the world that can lead our faith to grow stronger. It is not our personal zeal. It is not our faithfulness. It is not our hard work and strong desire to do good. It is only through the strength that God’s Word gives.

The opposite is also true. How can our faith grow without a regular diet of God’s living water and his eternal light? Our faith will most certainly weaken and may eventually die forever. That is why our congregation is using the theme: "Continue in his Word." Today in our Adult Bible Class held between the services we will see another wonderful example of what great things God’s Word can accomplish. We are bringing this before you as members of St. Luke’s for one purpose. It is to encourage us all to see the importance of what God gives us in his Word and to look for opportunities to taste and drink from God’s Words. This Book isn’t just another book; it is the Holy Word of God to us, His holy people. The truth given to bring us to faith and keep us there. Our Savior, who has won forgiveness for us, has asked us to "Continue in His Word." He has also given us the strength to follow his Word.

It is my prayer that we all may truly grasp what God has placed in our hands -- the opportunity to read and study God’s Truth. It is my prayer that we may never forget that there is so much that God can accomplish in our hearts and lives as we dig deeper and deeper into this wonderful book. I pray that we take a serious look at ways to improve our study of God’s Word and make use of whatever opportunities there are to see the shining jewels that lie beneath the cover of this simple looking book. Maybe we can start by working to improve our attendance in God’s house on Sunday morning. Maybe we can seek to get our children into Sunday School and ourselves into Bible Classes. Why not make use of the Bible classes that Church offers on Sunday Morning and during the week? Don’t worry if you don’t know all the answers – that is why we keep coming to study God’s Word. If you are getting up to drop off your Sunday School age children, why not set a great example and let them know that God’s Word is important to you as you go to Adult Bible Study and then as a family you go to Church. The list is endless of ways to get into God’s Word. May God lead you to find ways to grow in God’s truth.. Amen