[Sermon Archive]

This Week's Sermon THE SECOND MIDWEEK IN LENT 11 March 2009 "Promises" Genesis 17:1-7,15-16; Romans 5:1-11; Mark 8:27-38 LSB Series B Pastor Philip G. Meyer Soli Deo Gloria!

People make promises they can't keep. Politicians probably make more than anyone alive. We would be amazed that any of them would be kept or could be kept. Come re-election time, politicians don't want to be reminded of all the promises they made but didn't keep. We know the game. But what about God's promises?

The Second Sunday in Lent used to be known as Reminiscere, taking its name from the first word of the Introit, "Remember."

"Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love for they have been from of old" [Ps. 25.6]

Look at the promises made to Abraham, the subject of our Old Testament reading. Throughout his lifetime God had repeatedly promised Abraham that he would be the father of many nations and that God would give him land and wealth. Specifically, Abraham would have a descendant who would be the Messiah, the Savior of the whole world. Listen to some of these promises God made to Abraham.

* Go out from here to a land I will show you and I will make you great. You shall have the favor of God. Your descendants shall be more than the stars you can count. [12.2-3]
* Your reward shall be great and you shall be the father of many nations. In spite of the fact that you have no children at this time, your own son shall be your heir [15.1-5].
* God will multiply you greatly. You shall be the father of a great multitude. Kings shall come from you. God shall establish an everlasting covenant with you through your descendant. You will have a son [17.1-24].

And then as this son of the promise, Isaac, grows, God told Abraham to sacrifice him on an altar on Mt. Moriah. God told Abraham to sacrifice his "all." Isaac represented everything near and dear to Abraham. All of God's promises were wrapped up in this one son. How would Abraham have the blessings God promised? How would there be the uncounted heirs? How would there come the Messiah from his line if he sacrificed this only son? God tested Abraham, tried his heart to see if he would cling to God above all or cling to the blessing God had given instead. In order to keep the promised blessings God asked Abraham to give it all up.

In the Holy Gospel for Sunday our Lord called upon us to "deny" ourselves, to take up our crosses and follow him. He speaks about not being able to "save" one's life and keep him, and "losing" everything in order to gain eternal life. A man cannot give anything in exchange for his soul, his life. Nothing can be swapped for it. One must give up earth for heaven.

What's a life worth? Last week [04 March 2009] the Associated Press told about a young man, John C. Odum, who was in minor league baseball. When his team traded him last May, the other team wouldn't make a cash payment for him, but gave the other team 10 maple bats as payment! While this young man, Odum, at first laughed it off, it bothered him that he was traded for 10 maple bats. In early November he committed suicide, so distraught was he over the deal. One asks what a life is worth. Money? Ten maple bats?

Do you see the parallel between Abraham and our Lord's call to deny yourself and take up your cross and follow him? In each case, one is called upon to give up one's "all" to gain something else. There's no question about our Lord's call. You must deny yourself, say "no" to your desires, and shoulder the burden of the cross. You can't have the world and heaven. One cannot have both God and mammon. Either he will hate the one and despise the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other [Matt. 6.24].

Life under the cross will yield blessing. That's what the Apostle Paul says in our Epistle. The Christian is to rejoice in his suffering for the sake of Christ because such suffering, such life under the cross, "produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us" [Rom. 5.3-5].

Life comes out of death is what the Holy Gospel proclaims, what our Lenten journey reminds us of yet again. Peter could not understand how the death of Jesus could be good. He strenuously objected, even to the point of reprimanding Jesus himself, earning an even sharper reprimand from Jesus that he was hindering the plans of God.

The plans of God. God never intended Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. It was a test of Abraham's faith. Yet, God did not shrink from offering up his dearest treasure to the shameful death of the cross. Through this death of Christ all of the promises of God find their fulfillment. In his death they all find their "yes." [2 Cor. 1.20].

What this means for your life is that loss of this world's goods and favor is gain for you. It means that suffering on behalf of Christ and his Gospel is good, a delight. It is not suffering for sin that Paul means, not the common suffering that comes as a result of our sinful condition, but that hardship that comes because one belongs to Christ and follows in his footsteps bearing whatever crosses God lays on us. It is gladly suffering for the name of Christ in the face of hatred and opposition, going as far as dying an humiliating death because of Christ.

Such suffering is God-pleasing. It sounds strange, does it not, that God takes pleasure in such suffering? Why should that be? Is God a sadist? No more than when he tested Abraham to see what was in his heart, to see if he loved God more than the precious things God had given him.

So too, for you. Can you deny yourself, give up the things God has given you so that you can keep Christ? I doubt that very many of us will ever be tested as was Abraham or many of the saints who lost their lives for the sake of Christ and the Gospel, but we are daily tested to see if we cling to the things God has given us as more important than clinging to Christ.

What is more precious than your life? Your eternal, blood-bought salvation, that's what. What is worth more than having Christ, the Son of God and Son of Man who poured out his life on the cross to save yours? Nothing that this world can offer. Ever. Christ has promised that as you lose your life for him and the Gospel's sake, you will gain it for all eternity.

"The Lord has remembered us; he will bless us, he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron; he will bless those who fear the Lord" [Introit, Second Sunday in Lent, Ps. 115.12-13].

Trust in the promises of Christ! Trust them above everything else! Then, when the Son of Man comes in his glory with all his holy angels, he will not be ashamed of you, but will take you to share his glory forever.