[Sermon Archive] - [Weekly Devotional Guide]

This Week's Sermon THE FIFTH SUNDAY after EPIPHANY 08 February 2009 "Take a break and Renew Yourself in Prayer" Mark 1:29-39 LSB Series B Vicar Gerald D. Heinecke Soli Deo Gloria!

You may be familiar with the idea of the Protestant work ethic. It was developed from Calvin's theology of election. The ethic is that we fulfill our duty to God by diligence, hard work, and restrained expenditure with the resulting accumulation of goods acting as a reassuring sign of eventual salvation. People who worked nonstop at their jobs were expected to feel good from their hard work. They were suppose to believe that if they were successful they would most likely be saved.

If this were the case, it would seem that God must hate the US. A year ago the Dow was over 13,000. Today it isn't even hitting 9,000. We've had one stimulus plan given to us and now a second one is "in the works" to help "jump-start" the economy. The percentage of unemployed continues to edge a little higher as more and more employees are laid off. GM, Chrysler and many banks have received billions of dollars from the government to just stay afloat and companies throughout the U.S. such as Microsoft and Caterpillar, continue to fire thousands of employees.

Yes, we all must be destined for hell with the way our economy is heading. No, rather all of this is a result of living in a world of greed and the desire for profitability and ultimately sin. We live in a world where we work ourselves to death to better our lives. Even if we aren't working ourselves to death, we keep our lives busy with other ultimately meaningless activity: shopping, sports, and being in various clubs or fraternities. None of these are bad in and of themselves, but it has become the drive of these things that is the problem. All this turmoil and activity in our society reminds me of our gospel lesson. Christ is busy working, not just doing busy work. He is working for the good of the church, His church, His bride. But he takes a break from his work. What does Christ show us?

Why does Jesus work so hard? He does it because there is work to be done. Last week we heard about Jesus preaching in the synagogue. Our lesson this week is a continuation of that day. Having now finished preaching he continues his work through miracles. He heals Peter's mother-in-law. After the Sabbath day was over he continues healing people. Well into the night he was most likely healing various diseases as well as casting out many demons.

Why did he do it? He did it because the people needed it. They were a nation oppressed by sin. He did it to show that he had the authority to preach as he did. In Bible study a couple of weeks ago we looked at Luke 5, the healing of the paralytic. Jesus' teaching was a teaching of forgiveness and the Pharisees could not stand this message! They were all about the Law and how perfect they could be. They wanted their salvation to depend on themselves. They wanted to earn their salvation. Instead Jesus tells the pharisees and scribes, "That you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home." Sure enough, that is what the paralytic did.

Jesus does all these miracles because they need to be done to show he has the power and right to forgive sins. Note how Jesus has complete control over his miracles. Mark tells us about those demons Jesus cast out, "he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him." I first thought that it seemed silly that Jesus wouldn't want someone to know that he is the Messiah. The problem is that we must look at who is proclaiming that Jesus is the Messiah. It is not someone who believes in him but rather it is someone who recognizes him. The demons do not proclaim his messianic work because of faith and their desire for others to come to faith but rather it is a desire to lead people astray and not believe in Jesus as the Savior.

How would the demons lead people astray with this knowledge? Look at one of Jesus' most famous miracles, the feeding of the 5000. In John 6, Jesus spends the whole day teaching the people. He then has compassion on them and feeds them from just five small loaves of bread and two fish. Do the people react in faith? No, rather, unbelief. They say after the miracle, "This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!" and then John concludes, Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself. So likewise that is what the demons seek to do. They are not trying to help Jesus. They seek to disrupt his earthly work and lead the people astray to think of Christ as an earthly messiah rather than a heavenly one.

The purpose of Jesus miracles isn't to bring people to faith, but rather to confirm his teachings and his person. So, having confirmed his preaching, Jesus takes a break. How does Jesus take a break? Mark tell us, "rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed." Jesus takes a brief break from his work and instead of taking time to do whatever he wants to do, he does as God would have us do.

Jesus finds rest in his Father. Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He doe not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. (Is. 40:28-29) This is what our Old Testament text says. Our Savior goes to the source of all our strength. He goes to the Father in heaven and prays for continual strength to do the work prepared for him.

Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. (Is. 40:30-1) Jesus is in the prime of his life, not even 40, but he recognizes what Isaiah says. Jesus goes to his Father in order to renew his spiritual strength through prayer, by being in the Word. In God is our true rest. During Jesus earthly life even though he is true God he does rest, he finds rest in prayer where he talks to his Father thus fulfilling the law on our behalf through resting. What a comfort that is to know that we can find rest in God just as our Savior does.

I imagine you have heard the acronym, WWJD, What Would Jesus Do. I find this to be a very frustrating acronym; actually I find it to be a false one. These words give people the idea that they can somehow be like Jesus. He turns into self-help Jesus. How would Jesus handle this situation if he were here. You go into any self-help area in a book store, even a Christian book store, and you will find something along the lines of 10 ways to be more like Jesus. One website even has it's title for Discipleship 101, The Goal of the Christian Life: become like Jesus. Are you kidding me? Become like Jesus? I have a better chance of making a snowball in hell than becoming like Jesus, of doing what Jesus did.

Jesus is not a person we were made to emulate, to become like. While it is true that we are to turn from our sin and promise to lead more a godly life, ultimately we will constantly fail in our attempts to become like Jesus because of sin. Why was Jesus born into this world? To redeem us, that is, to buy us back. What does Jesus do throughout the gospels? He is teaching and healing. Why? Sin has made us dumb and broken. We can't become like Jesus. We need him to become like us, to be in us.

We need him to be sin for us. That is how Jesus started out his redeeming work as we saw a month ago when he was baptized. Why was he baptized? He didn't need it as John duly noted. Rather in his baptism he began to take all our sins upon himself, to carry each of our heavy, damning loads to the cross. Can you emulate that! NO! You can't even carry your own load of sin. Try as you may you will fail miserably with the temptations that fall around you. Oh you had a good day of resisting temptation yesterday? Good for you. What about last week, what about tomorrow! You can't decide to follow Jesus, You can't love him, You can't tell others about what Christ has done. You can't. You can't. You can't. You are a sinner, a horrible wretched sinner.

That sounds pretty hopeless, doesn't it? But guess what! There is hope. All those "cants" are now "cans." But why? We didn't do anything. Exactly! I have a new acronym for you, WHJD, What has Jesus done? We have the comfort of what Jesus has already done for us. We have the comfort of Jesus having won the victory. We have the joy of knowing that Jesus has had the final word against death and that he has won salvation for us through his death on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. Last week Pastor stressed the fact that the Word has had the final say. Jesus continues to demonstrate this in our text this week. He has the power to heal diseases, cast out demons and most importantly he prays to God.

At first glance Jesus praying doesn't seem like such a big deal, but the Gospels teach us that he prays for a number of different things. Most importantly in John 17 we learn that Jesus intercedes for us. Why would he intercede for us? Becaue Christ is in us. Dr. Harold Senkbeil brings this point alive in his book Dying to Live, The Power of Forgiveness. How are we made to be in Christ?

It is through our Baptism. Senkbeil says, "We were given over by our Baptism into the death of Jesus and the resurrection of Jesus. And if we have been given over into the death and resurrection of Jesus we are given over into Jesus Himself. Hence every baptized believer now lives 'in Christ.'" (pg. 60-61) What a comfort it is to know that we are saved because of Christ being in us, and working through us! Dr. Senkbeil also points out, "Human willpower is notoriously anemic and fickle. Jesus Christ on the other hand, is firm, steady, and sure."

Take a break from the rush of life. Be in the Word, not just on Sundays, but every day. Take time to talk with God in prayer. Lay your thanksgivings, your heartaches, your troubles at his feet. Take time to be in the Word of God. A number of tools are at your feet ready to use. One great tool is the Treasury of Daily Prayer that Pastor has been recommending. Within this marvelous book are daily Bible readings, devotional writing, psalms, prayers, and the catechism. It is a wealth of knowledge at your finger tips. Another tool is printed each week just for your use, and it is free! The long insert that is found in your bulletin. Unfortunately, You and I will fail in this task to be in daily prayer.

Remember our Gospel text though, Rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place and there he prayed. There Jesus prays for you. There he takes time the time to fulfill what you do not. What a sweet gospel message, what sweet comfort to know that He prays for your life as he does in the high priestly prayer of John 17, I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours...I have given them your word...sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. (John 17:9, 14, 17)

What we do learn from Christ in our Gospel lesson is not to try and be a Christian on our own. Jesus himself did not even try to do his work alone. He was in constant prayer. As Dr. Senkbeil says, "We simply cannot live apart from the life we have in Him by our Baptism into Him." Take a break, renew yourself in prayer. Don't get yourself bogged down with the worries of this world. Don't try to take on the world yourself, trust in God. We have the comfort of knowing that God will listen to our prayers because Christ is in us! What has Jesus done? Through his prayer and salvation work He has interceded for us and has won the victory through his death on the cross. Through this victory he gives us the right and privilege to call on the Father, because we are in Christ. To him be all the glory.