Sept. 9, 2018 – Christian Education Sunday                                   Text 1 Kings 21:3

Dear Friends in Christ,

“The Lord Forbid That I Should Give You The Inheritance Of My Fathers.”  There are plenty of people who would like us to eliminate from our possession the inheritance of our fathers.  If we would just loosen our grip on the conviction taught by our fathers to “thank and praise, serve and obey” our God.  Their sales talk is so attractive that we are inclined to think the price is right.  Will we be a Naboth or turn our back?

“PRESERVING THE INHERITANCE”

This is a day and age when “under God” is a passing remark about the goodness of “Someone Up There” that qualifies you for a tax exemption.  A deity who sits on the balcony of heaven making the sign of the cross over whatever self-centered activities we should like to carry on in the name of the Church.  The idea behind it all is that God should approve of the things we do in his name instead of our doing, in his name, the things of which God approves.

Give up this God who demands you bow to His will, or we will brand you as bigoted and narrow and call you “peculiar people.”  “Give up the inheritance of your fathers.”

I love the inspired Word of God for stories like Naboth.  Here was a man who refused to give up the inheritance of his fathers for no other reason than this; he wanted to do what was right.  He had a vineyard that King Ahab wanted.  The deal was fair, a dream offer.  But it wasn’t right to Naboth.  He remembered the Lord’s directive in Numbers 36:7:  “Every one of the people of Israel shall hold on to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers.”  Naboth was answering the king in this way, “No, because the Lord forbids it.”

We could use a little spirit of the old Naboth.  A spirit that is willing to turn down the attractive offer of modern, popular, politically correct religiousness by which they hope we will sell out the strong Christian conviction we have inherited from our fathers, a spirit willing to say no because it is the will of God.

Care to sell? The offer comes.  Just once admit that as “long as its religion, it is good for you.”  Let children wait until the age of discretion, whenever in life that might be, to choose their own faith; broaden your mind at least this far, we are all religious folks heading for the same place.  That’s all.  What about it?  Are you ready to say no like Naboth?  Is it, “The Lord forbid”?  Will you tell a man, “There is no God but one.” (1 Cor. 8:4)  “No one comes to the Father except through me.” (Jn. 14:6)  “The Lord forbid that I should give up the inheritance of my fathers.”

You don’t have to give up your conviction, says the old evil vineyard buyer.  Just tone it down.  Don’t get rid of Jesus.  Just leave him at home when you go to college or the office party or the polls.  Pray to him at church and home but omit him at political rallies and commencement exercises.  What do you say?  No.  “The Lord forbid,” says Naboth.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works,” says one of our fathers, the Apostle Paul.  (Eph. 2:8-9)  You have no vineyard that Satan would rather get his hands on than this, your trust “that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.” (Rom. 3:28)  This conviction, so much a part of the inheritance from our fathers, has been deeded away by large portions of the Christian Church, until the Naboths, who boldly say no, are a distinct minority today.

I get concerned about the cracks in the dike.  The Great Wall of China was a gigantic, expensive means of security.  Within its first few years after completion it was breached three times by the enemy, not by breaking down the wall, but by bribing the gatekeepers.  The convictions we have inherited from our fathers, the worship of the one true God, the life that lives and moves and has its being 24-hours-a-day in Jesus, the faith that centers in what Christ has done for us and not what we have done for Him or men, these are to be tomorrow’s inheritance from us.  We are the keepers of those gates through which these prized convictions pass from yesterday into tomorrow.  What if the gatekeepers sell?  What happens if you give up the inheritance?  Never you say.  The Lord forbids.  I know he does.  But are you certain you are a Naboth?  Doing the will of the Father and preserving the inheritance for your family.

Today is Christian Education Sunday.  On the basis of this sermon, I lay it on your heart.  Will you keep the inheritance and pass it on to the next generation?  Only by diligent study and Christian conviction are you prepared to stand with Naboth.  Through the Holy Spirit the study of the Word of God helps you to preserve the inheritance.  I should point out that this Good Shepherd Lutheran congregation will remain strong and not sell out to the prince of this world as we train ourselves and our young in the faith.

How many Naboths are among us to say, “The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.”      Amen.

September 2, 2018                                                                Text:  Ephesians 6:10-20

Dear Friends in Christ,

One of my favorite commentators of all-time was Paul Harvey who died in 2009.  Back in 1964 he gave a radio commentary entitled, “If I Were The Devil.”  Here is just a portion of that.  “I would evict God from the courthouse, then from the schoolhouse, then from the Houses of Congress.  Then in his own churches I’d substitute psychology for religion and deify science.  If I were Satan I’d make the symbol of Easter an egg and the symbol of Christmas a bottle.  If I were Satan I’d just keep doing what I’m doing.”

We face many struggles in our life from “Is my paycheck big enough for these expenses?”  “Do we have enough health insurance?”  “Can the family get along?”  Add to that cancer that invades your life, depression that you keep hidden and guilt that you just can’t seem to shake.  Life is a struggle in this fallen world.

Those struggles are hard but we face an even greater struggle when we see evil on the loose in our world.  Is the devil having his way?  At times we think he is.  Paul describes this tug-o-war as a wrestling match.  Satan and the Lord going at it for your soul.  Place your bets…you know who wins.

“THE STRENGTH OF THE LORD PREVAILS”

We know the outcome so should we just end the sermon there?  It is not quite that simple and we need some guidance while living the struggle.

Satan is wily and crafty.  He is so proficient in his attacks on us that we hardly notice when we are led astray.  Peter calls him a “roaring lion.”  Jesus describes him as “the father of lies.”  What is Satan telling you?  What path of destruction would he like you to walk down?  How can we battle back?

We first admit that we don’t have the strength or the moves to get out of Satan’s headlock.  We are easy prey as we stumble into his trap of selfishness and greed.  We are not equipped for such brutality as he flings us off the ropes.  We need to be strengthened in the Lord in order to face the devil’s wiles day by day.

While Jesus came in humility and weakness, he alone is our refuge and strength.  He conquered sin by keeping the law perfectly.  He buried death by his death and resurrection.  God’s Son came to crush the head of Satan.

Even in a world of coexist bumper stickers and intolerant demands for tolerance, we can stand for and by the truth of God’s Word.  We put on Jesus Christ in our baptism.  The full armor of God was given in the one garment through the water and the Word.  We are clothed in Christ and He wrestles for us so that we might be saved.

August 14, 1945 marked the end of World War II as Japan surrendered to the United States.  There was one problem.  No one told Hiroo Onada.  When they did tell him, he didn’t believe them.  Hiroo Onada was a 2^nd Lieutenant in the Japanese Army.  He was stationed in the Philippines and his orders were to fight until the end.  When Japan surrendered there were only four survivors in his unit.  They kept fighting because they thought it was American propaganda.  One soldier was killed, two surrendered but Onada kept up the battle.  It wasn’t until his brother and commanding officer went to the Philippines and they convinced him the war was over.  That was in 1974 – 29 years after the Japanese had lost the war!

Satan continues the fight.  He will not be convinced otherwise, like Hiroo Onada eventually was.  His attacks will become more and more desperate as we get closer to the Lord’s return.  He is seeking to destroy as many of God’s saints as he can.  Satan will continue to work in our courthouses and schoolhouses and state houses and our houses.

The wonderful Gospel I share with you today is that when Christ Jesus emerged from the tomb on that first Easter morn, He had triumphed over sin, and death, and the devil.  The Valiant one has won the war.  Be strengthened by Word and Sacrament.  Be strengthened through the power of the Holy Spirit.  Be strengthened through prayer.  We are strengthened to stand firm to the end.  All because our strength is not found in our knowledge, our effort, or even our faith, but in Christ alone.

Amen.