[Sermon Archive] - [Weekly Devotional Guide]

This Week's Sermon The Sixth Sunday after Pentecost 22 June 2008 "Dare to Speak Up!" Matthew 10:5a,21-33 LSB Series A - The Rite of Confirmation Pastor Philip G. Meyer Soli Deo Gloria!

Today is a very special day in our congregation. It marks the first Divine Service in our renovated sanctuary and the Rite of Confirmation for these six young people of Immanuel. They've been waiting a long time since having the Rite of Confirmation in the Parish Center was not an option taken. They and their families wanted to do it in here, and I think we will say that it has been well worth the wait. How beautiful is this sanctuary and how much that means to us today.

The Rite of Confirmation is an important day in the life of a congregation as well as your own lives. After a two or, in the case of a couple of you, three year instruction period, you are admitted to the Sacrament of the Altar for the first time. It is a very important milestone in your lives because you now have demonstrated that you know what this Sacrament is and why our Lord Jesus instituted it. It centers in forgiveness of sins. At this rail you receive forgiveness of sins every time you receive Christ's body and blood in repentance and faith. Second, you identify more closely with the mission of Christ's Church. You are no longer children, so to speak. You have all the privileges of any other communicant member of the congregation. You can come to the Congregational Assembly and speak. The only restrictions are those placed on you by the State of Indiana, which means you cannot have a say in adopting a budget or in any business dealing of the congregation, but those are minor things.

Today you confess Christ Jesus publicly before the congregation. Our Holy Gospel has that focus today and makes a very good text for the Rite of Confirmation. We spoke about similar things in last week's sermon from this same chapter. Jesus had sent out the Twelve on their first preaching mission, giving them instructions on how to conduct themselves and what to expect. It is good for you to hear what Jesus himself says about your life as a Christian.

I went to the end of the reading to pick up our theme, "Dare to Speak Up" because that was the very reason Jesus sent the Twelve out. The disciples were going to be Jesus' witnesses to all the world. You won't be witnesses because the definition of a witness is one who has first hand knowledge of events. You and I can only confess the faith once delivered to the saints through these faithful witnesses.

Confessing the faith. To confess means "to say the same thing." You are to say what God has said in his Word. As you answer the questions I shall ask you in the Rite of Confirmation you will hear this:

Do you confess the doctrine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, drawn from the Scriptures, as you have learned to know it from the Small Catechism, to be faithful and true?

Often during our class sessions I told you to "speak up" because you were speaking too softly for others to hear, and I told you to speak up yesterday when you answer the questions during the Rite! There's a reason for that, and it isn't because you can't speak loudly enough; it's because you weren't really sure you were right. You were afraid that you might be wrong so you mumbled. Christians sometimes don't "Dare to Speak Up" because they are afraid they might be wrong or of what other people might think of them or do to them.

Let's say that you are out with your friends and one of them says, "It doesn't really matter what you believe as long as you are sincere." What will you say? Or let's say that you are a parent and you are getting acquainted with a new person in your circle of friends. In the course of the conversation this other person says to you, "We don't send our children to Sunday School or church because we don't want to force religion on them. They can choose any religion they like when they're old enough." What will you say? Let's take one more situation. Someone says that Christianity is too exclusive, too narrow, and that all religions basically lead to the same place. They contend that it doesn't matter what you believe because all religions have the same goal. What will you say?

In any and all of these situations will you "Dare to Speak Up" for the truth of God's Word? You might not because you are afraid of what these people will think of you. They might not like you if you speak the truth. They might even reject you. In some places in this world, speaking up for Christ can get you killed. Jesus himself says that this might happen, but he also encourages you when he says:

"So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matthew 10:26-28, ESV)

I am going to be so bold as to say that life will get worse for Christians in this nation and world as Satan does his best to pry you away from Christ. He doesn't care if you follow another religion because all other religions make you his. Our nation seems to have great fear of Islam, perhaps because it expands by violent means. Very few are bold enough to condemn it, however, to expose it as a false religion which destroys lives and nations. Christians who speak up and condemn it as a hateful, soul-destroying religion are sure to be on the receiving end of condemnation, not only from those who follow it, but also by those whose biggest fear is being labeled "intolerant." And Jesus says, "So have no fear of them." The darkness of it will one day be revealed. God will not let his truth in Christ suffer always.

Christians will be labeled as bigots for confessing Christ. That's as Satan wants it. He wants to make you fear him and his legions more than you fear God. But consider that our Lord Jesus Christ is the only way to the Father and that he has called you in Holy Baptism and given you the life that never ends. Perhaps you don't know what Jesus means when he says that a disciple will be like his master, when he says that he himself has been called Beelzebul. Who is Beelzebul? He is the prince of demons, or Satan himself. Jesus was accused of being the devil himself. If this is so, he says, how much more will the world say this of those who belong to Jesus? The evil world assaults Christians with such false accusations. We are to expect it.

But you are to "Dare to Speak Up" because Jesus tells you to do so. It will not be easy but there is something that you need to remember: Jesus has already spoken up for you before the Father in heaven, and he is the only One who really counts. You have been baptized. You have had the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit put on you. You are his. You belong to him.

He will not let you be destroyed as long as you remain in Christ. Look at the bulletin graphic. Who is that safely held in the Father's hand? That's you and every Christian who remains in Christ! You are more precious than many sparrows, Jesus says. God takes care of them and they haven't been redeemed by Christ! So, he will take care of you.

He does this by feeding and sustaining your faith with Word and Sacrament. These you know to be the heart of the Christian faith because there is forgiveness in them. In Holy Absolution you receive Christ's own word of forgiveness spoken through the mouth of the pastor. In Holy Communion you receive Christ's true body and blood as the proof that he has forgiven you and that he will keep you "body and soul" for everlasting life. These are powerful defenses against the assaults of the evil one! You will need to use them regularly and often. You do not want to be defenseless against "the old evil foe" nor against your own sinful nature.

"So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven. . ." (Matthew 10:32, ESV) Jesus knows you by name. He names you before his Father in heaven. He guards and protects you. Because you have that confidence, you can and should "Dare to Speak Up" for Christ! God the Holy Spirit help you make that good confession all the days of your life so that you will be among those that Jesus will present to his Father in heaven on the last day!