October 18, 2015 Text: Mark 10:23-31

Dear Friends in Christ,

Most of you will remember the TV program Mission: Impossible, and you young bucks in the congregation have become acquainted with it through the recent Tom Cruise movies. The TV program revolved around an agent originally named Dan Briggs and later replaced by Jim Phelps, receiving dangerous government assignments. The tagline you may remember at the beginning of each show was, “Your mission, Mr. Phelps, should you decide to accept it, is…” After listening to the rest of the message, the end of the tape would say, “This tape will self-destruct in five seconds.” The assignments, I suppose, seemed impossible. They were certainly difficult. By the end of the show the team of agents solved the cases and had done the “impossible.” Mission: Very Difficult just doesn’t have the same zing.
In our Gospel lesson Jesus talks about how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God. It is like a Mission: Impossible assignment. Not really impossible, but extremely difficult. In another scenario he uses the word impossible. So which one is it?
“IS THE MISSION DIFFICULT OR IMPOSSIBLE?”
The Holy Spirit begins our text, “Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, ‘How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!’ (v. 23) This amazes the disciples. They are assuming that wealth is a sign of God’s blessing and therefore man’s relationship with God. But riches can get in the way of our devotion to God. Riches can hinder our trust in God’s provision. Many of the rich and famous in our world live apart from God.
But then it appears to get worse as Jesus continues his teaching. “Jesus said to them again, ‘Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.’ And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, ‘Then who can be saved?’ Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man it is impossible.’” (vs. 24b-27a) A man cannot put a camel through the eye of a needle. It’s hard enough to get a little piece of thread in there! Riches are a hindrance to the kingdom of God. It is impossible for a rich man to enter the kingdom. But not just the rich. It is impossible for anyone to enter the kingdom of heaven on their own.
It is not just riches that get in the way of heaven. Many of God’s greatest gifts can become idols – parents, children, and spouses. How many people forego church because of their family members? How many leave a church where God’s Word is properly taught to join a church that errs in some doctrine because they want their kids to have a “better” youth group?
The truth is that no one can save himself. It is impossible. There are no exceptions. No matter what race, no matter how smart, no matter how rich, no matter how poor, no matter what age, no matter what gender. Man cannot do it even with a little help from God. It isn’t that man does his part and God does His. What mans brings to the table is the impossible. Man merely brings sin.
Man needs the God of the possible to do the impossible. “’Then who can be saved?’ Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.’” (vs. 26b-27)
Do you believe this? Can you fathom the impossible? Jesus took an impossible assignment and paid the price that was impossible for you to pay. He went to Calvary’s cross for my sin, your sin, and the sin of the whole world. In Jesus, God died for you. God can turn stony hearts of unbelief into faithful Christians. He can make a camel go through the eye of a needle. Your salvation and your conversion is all God’s doing. God doing the impossible.
Even though He has redeemed us and turned our hearts of stone into believing hearts, until we enter fully into the kingdom of God, the journey will be rough. Jesus calls us to our own Mission: Difficult as He calls us to pick up our cross and daily follow Him.
Contrary to modern day health, wealth, and prosperity preachers, your best life now might entail the cross. It might involve persecution for your faith. Our text says in the age to come we will have eternal life. In the meantime, we might lose family members over our faith. We are going to deal with temptations of wealth and security. We may be called to the public square to declare Jesus as Lord.
But hang on to this in the innermost parts of your being, no matter how difficult it might get the Mission: Impossible is Mission: Accomplished because Jesus has completed His mission for us. We are assured the victory in Christ because He did the Mission: Impossible.
Oh, by the way, this promise of God will not self-destruct in five seconds.
Amen

Oct. 4, 2015 Text: Hebrews 2:1-13

Dear Friends in Christ,

After the tragedy of September 11th, there was a camera crew that walked the streets in New York City and asked people spiritual questions at random. One man said when asked where God was when those horrible attacks took place: “I used to believe in God, but not anymore. Not now. Because if there was a God, how could something like this take place?”
On the Thursday morning after the terrorist attack, on CBS’s “The Early Show,” Jane Clayson interviewed Anne Graham Lotz, the daughter of Billy Graham. According to the transcript of the broadcast, Clayson asked, “I’ve heard people say, those who are religious, those who are not, if God is good, how could God let this happen? To that, you say?”
Lotz replied, “I say God is also angry when he sees something like this, I would say also for several years now Americans in a sense have shaken their fist at God and said, God, we want you out of our schools, our government, our business, we want you out of our marketplace. And God, who is a gentleman, has just quietly backed out of our national and political life, our public life. Removing his hand of blessing and protection. We need to turn to God first of all and say, God, we’re sorry we have treated you this way and we invite you now to come into our national life. We put our trust in you. We have our trust in God on our coins, we need to practice it.”
How do you see it? When you look at the headlines of the newspaper, read the Internet or watch things on the television, it makes you want to ask, “Who’s really in control?” When chaos abounds in the streets, in government, in families, we look around and go, “Who’s really in control?” The Book of Hebrews helps us to sort some things out this morning even as we ask . . .
“IS GOD REALLY IN CONTROL?”
As we see Planned Parenthood try to sell body parts of babies for a profit we have to say, “Is God Really In Control?” As our government runs roughshod over those trying to protect their religious freedom surrounding the issue of marriage, we depressingly think, “Is God Really In Control?” As ISIS and other groups take knives and behead Christians for their beliefs, we weep for them as we mutter, “Is God Really In Control?”
God’s inspired Word says in our text, “Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him.” (Heb. 2:8b)
We are living in a time when the forces of evil seem to be marching to victory. The children of disobedience are trying to silence God’s Word and churches that desire to remain faithful come under siege. Christians appear to be dropping like flies to the temptations offered by Satan and the world. The mighty wolves of Satan seem to be surrounding the Lord’s flock. “Is God Really In Control?”
Yes, He is. “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.” (Rom. 8:28) Though we may not be able to know all of the specifics details of this truth, because God’s ways are impossible for us to understand, we have God’s wonderful reassurance of His gracious and watchful care that is expressed and proved in the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Our text says “by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.” (v. 9b)
Just as nothing was allowed to prevent our Savior from reaching his goal, so nothing will be able to prevent us from reaching our goal of salvation. The Holy Spirit is there to keep us in the faith. He uses the Word to keep us anchored in what we believe. There is this warning from our text, “Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.” People who start to believe the lies of our day and that God may not be in control do not just jump in the boat and take off. They drift slowly from the shores of their faith. They believe this lie of Satan, then they take hold of a wrong interpretation of Scripture, then they start to think “who am I hurting if I believe this way?” Before they even realize it they are in the middle of the water with no lifeboat in sight. Satan and his angels rejoice.
We need to understand that the Word of God is powerful to save and to encourage bold faith even in the face of troubles. It is a comfort for those of us who believe in Jesus Christ. We have the final victory. We cannot be defeated. Despite our weaknesses and those moments we have stumbled, God in His mercy has brought us to this very day where we are still in Him. In these days of increasing trials and tribulations, let us be encouraged by these words of Psalm 46:
“God is our refuge and strength, and ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging…Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.”
Many years ago a little boy was riding on a train that was traveling over steep cliffs and sharp curves. He was sitting by a window, enjoying the scenery and showing no sign of fear. A woman across the aisle had been observing him. Finally, she turned to him and said: “Aren’t you afraid? What if the train should run off the tracks?” The boy replied: “I’m not afraid. My father is the engineer of this train.”
Is God Really In Control? Yes! He’s driving the train. Regardless of the steep cliffs and sharp curves, we are going to reach our destination!
Amen.