Grace, Mercy and Peace be unto you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ... our text for meditation today is the Revelation reading, but especially these words: After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” “They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” One of the more interesting things that happens when you are off in a deep wilderness canyon, is that as dawn breaks, you can see it growing in the sky above the canyon rim, but you cannot see the sun and a cold darkness still fills the canyon. The sky seems bright in the distance high above, but you really cannot see the fullness of the light. Standing in that cold darkness, you look up waiting and watching as the light from the still yet unseen sun starts to creep across the tops of the canyon walls. Then suddenly, the sun tops the wall of the canyon, lighting up the rocks, the pine and aspen trees, color, light, and warmth burst into the canyon as the warm light of the sun drives out the cold darkness. In our lives, the cold darkness of sin, death and the temptations of the world keep us down in a canyon of fear, sadness and worry of what the next day may bring... but no matter how dark it may be, no matter how cold the stillness of the twilight may seem, the bright warmth of the light of Christ in the world comes, destroying that darkness, warming the spirit and bringing life and hope into each heart. A few moments ago we sang about the great host of all of the saints who have fallen asleep in Christ before us and who now stand in the great cloud of witnesses clothed in white - shining brighter than the whitest snow clad peak. They shine in glory because of Jesus Christ, as they have washed their robes in the blood of Christ... just as you have washed your robes in the blood of the lamb and you too will stand one day fully in their company. For you see, you do stand in their company every time you come to God’s House and celebrate the Lord’s Supper, they in glory and you gathered here. The saints who now rest from their labors have come through their tribulation - we gathered here still face our tribulations, but we face them not alone, but with Christ at our side. My dad used to say, never go looking for trouble, enough trouble will find you, and he was right. Troubles, or what the Scriptures call “tribulation,” are the troubles that always seems to have a way to find you... be it the pain that comes to you from those looks, words and actions of others... be it the sickness, illness, disease or other trouble of body that nags at you... be it the tugging doubt of care or love from another that does not fill our heart... but more than all of those tribulations or troubles there is a deeper one than those passing things, it is the tribulation or trouble of looking to ourselves, to anything or to anyone but Christ for salvation. Consider what Christ tells us today through the apostle Matthew... “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” For you see, in that statement Jesus gives a judgment on the whole world. Those who are haughty in their beliefs, are those who think salvation comes from within their own heart, mind or arm; and they have no place in the kingdom of heaven... but thanks be to God, you are the poor in spirit, you are the poor beggars in spirit who come to Christ Jesus not with your hands full of your own works and your own pride, but with your empty hands outstretched ready to receive all the great riches of forgiveness and life that Christ alone gives to you in living waters and living bread. How many people in the world today would be willing to proudly say, “yes I am but a poor beggar at the foot of the cross”? How many people would be willing to say, I have nothing to bring before my God and Savior except my own sins, doubts, troubles, struggles and weaknesses?... not very many to be sure. But whether or not each of you know it, you are just those people. When you come here and stand before this, your Christian family, and speak the words “I a poor, miserable sinner,” you are admitting before all gathered here exactly that you are that poor beggar and it reveals that you are a child of God. You can say that with pride as John tells us today “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.” In that, it does not matter if you come as the richest or the poorest man in the measure of the world, as in Christ, you are all poor in yourself, but rich beyond measure in the gifts of God for you in Christ Jesus. The world cannot measure or understand that richness, because it did not and still does not see Christ as the complete Savior of the world. If they see at all, many only see Christ as merely a door opener to a possible salvation, a partner in working out their own salvation, a role model - who could show you how to earn your salvation - but all of those do not see Christ Jesus for who He is - the complete and total Savior of the World. Christ came to bear our sins and be our Savior, period. He did not come for any half measure and because of that work for you and for me, we have salvation. Though we live in this world of troubles and tribulation, in baptism - we walk as children of God and because we are Gods children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as He is. Today, we heard the names of the saints who fell asleep in Christ just this past year, they, today... this day they stand before Christ in that joyous band, about which we just sang and one day we too shall stand with the “great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb’!” No matter what trouble or tribulation that comes at you, be it yesterday, today, this moment, tomorrow, or even twenty years from now you have already come through it as your robes have already been washed in the blood of Christ and are white as the whitest snow. So, when you come here every Sunday crushed by your sins, thinking that your robe of salvation is covered in muck and mud from living in the sinful world, it is. Sin, temptation and all the troubles you have faced in the week have splattered filth all over you, but those stains go away in the simple words of Christ, your sins are forgiven. You come here casting your sins to the foot of the cross, hating those sins, wanting, trying and desiring to turn from those sins - and as you confess them, God has forgiven them in Christ. Because you have forgiveness in Christ, everyone of those spots, stains and marks of sin are gone, allowing you to stand once again in the white clad robe of Christ’s righteousness. The world will hate you because you are a Christian... people will call you names, call you intolerant, “persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on [Christ’s] account.” We see this every day as we simply say sin is sin and will not agree to making sinful things normal and accepted for the sake of popular culture. God’s grace does not allow us to simply live in our sin and claim forgiveness. If a person claims to confess sin and then continues to sin as if it did not matter, they have confessed nothing and received no forgiveness from God. If a person denies God’s word so that their actions are no longer a sin to them, then they have no part in the salvation won for the world in Christ. You are different, when you sin, you confess it and turn from it, and try to stay turned from it. Though you may slip, though you may fall back into a sin, your heart desires to fight back and stay away from that sin. That is God pleasing, as in that you seek your strength to fight sin and temptation in the Word of God, in the Work of Christ and in the constant stream of gifts that he alone pours onto you. Because of those great gifts of God for you, you can “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.” My dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, you live in the now of this world where sin death and the power of Satan lurk around every corner seeking to devour you... that tribulation, that trouble is more than enough; and just like my Dad said, you do not have to find it, as it is hunting for you every second of every day. But that cannot cause you to fear, as Christ has already won the victory for you. Christ has defeated Satan, destroying the power of death by Christ’s very own death and resurrection. You are the ones coming out of the great tribulation your robes are white, whiter than the whitest snow, not from you, but from Christ Jesus. He gives you life... He gives you forgiveness... He gives you strength... He gives you peace and most of all He gives you the promise, the confidence and the sure treasure that one day you will stand with the glorious band before Him and no matter what, you “shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike [you], nor any scorching heat;” “For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be [your] shepherd, and He will guide [you] to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from [your] eyes.” Today, the world seems dark and cold, but the sun is at the rim of the canyon and the warmth of the light of the true Son, Jesus Christ our Lord is coming soon, and with Him all of the Saints... as in Him is life, light and salvation. In His Name + Amen Now the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting.
Posted on: Thu, 30 Oct 2014 19:34:55 +0000
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