The Lutheran Hour
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"If, If, If"
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Text: Matthew 4:1-3a
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Christ is risen! To all who hear, and by the Holy Spirit’s power believe the words of the resurrection angel, there is God’s guarantee, His heavenly assurance that they will experience life eternal with the Savior in paradise. There are no ifs, ands, or buts. Christ is risen, indeed!
“If.” That’s a simple little word, isn’t it? If–a little word whose control of our thoughts, our dreams, our hearts and minds, far outweighs its miniscule size. Consider the power of if. There is a most successful man who told how, when he and his wife were driving along the interstate, he had to pull off to get some gas. He managed to find a small, one-pump station. While he took a walk to stretch his legs, he asked the attendant to “fill ‘er up and check the oil.” Upon his return, he noticed his wife and the attendant were carrying on an animated conversation. He thought little about it until, as he got in and started the car, he heard the attendant say, “Hey, it was great seeing you again.” As they drove away, the attendant stood on the asphalt waving. Curious. The exec asked his wife, “What was all that about?” She shared that she had gone to school with the service station attendant; indeed, they had dated each other for over a year. With a semi-smile, the exec mused, “Boy, lucky for you that I came along. If you had married him, you’d be the wife of a gas station attendant rather than the wife of a chief executive officer.” In less time than it takes to tell, the wife replied, “Dear, if I had married him, he’d be the chief executive officer and you’d be the gas station attendant.” That’s the power of “if.”
Today’s message revolves around the word if. Now, I’m used to hearing historians play the game of if. For example, they argue about how history would have been changed if the invading Spanish Armada had not been destroyed as it approached England; or how would our country be changed if Abraham Lincoln had escaped the bullet of the assassin on that Good Friday night he went to Ford’s theater? They wonder about how our world would have been reshaped if Hitler had developed the atom bomb first; or an alarm had been sounded an hour before the Japanese planes reached Pearl Harbor. Of course, the answer to all those iffy questions is, “We will never know.”
The power of if: I have seen communities and countries become lost in the asking of the word if. Many folks in America have spent more than four years wondering how their lives might have been different if a few votes in Florida had gone the other way. We watch the evening news and hear the story of a child molester who, having been given an early parole from prison, kidnaps, rapes, tortures, and murders someone’s daughter. Then we wonder what would have happened if the man had been kept locked away.
If. Let me ask you, as you look back on your life, what would you change? What would you do differently if you were given another chance? Would you change an attitude? One person, when asked that question, said, “I regret having lived the first part of my life as a follower. I’ve done much of what I’ve done just because somebody told me to. If I could start over again tomorrow, I would ask more questions and seek more answers. Another individual said, “If I could do things over, I would tell my mom and dad that I loved them more than I did while I had them on earth. I would have not worried about things that really do not matter that much.” Then they added, “Maybe you have to get older to know these things.”
Another person said, “If I could live my life over again, I would have pursued my love for acting and not been afraid to sing Adelaide’s part in Guys and Dolls. I would have told more people that I loved them and treated my friends better when they needed me instead of whenever I needed them.” But there are other changes, darker changes, that some of us might make if we could do things over. One man said, “If I could go back in time to two years ago, I would have never cheated on my girlfriend, would have made her happy and tried to be with her every day. If I could go back to one year ago, I would have never said all the awful things I did and never let her leave me. If only I could do it all again.”
Might you say like one individual did, “If I could turn time back to when I was in school, I would cherish my friends even more. I would have trusted in our friendship. I would not have doubted their actions and speech. I want to say, ‘I’m sorry for not believing in you.'” I pray that there are not many who would conclude, as one lady did, “If I had my life to live over, I would ignore the many times that my mom told me in front of others, things that I would ‘never do’ in life. Because of this, I am not much of anything today; that is, I didn’t have the kind of self-esteem nor encouragement that it takes to move forward.”
If. I can’t think of anyone I know, who has had a life which they would leave unchanged if they were given a chance to do so. I imagine every human who has ever lived, would rewrite the script of his life, if he could. Knowing that, the devil found the basis for his temptation of Jesus, the sinless Son of God. Jesus, according to God’s promise, had come down from heaven and been born one of us, in the town of Bethlehem. Now, three decades later, He was ready to begin His active ministry of being our God-given Substitute of Grace. Being the omniscient, all-knowing Son of God, He knew the way before Him was not going to be an easy one. In the next months, He would be rejected and attacked by His boyhood friends in Nazareth, the town where He grew up. The crowds that occasionally followed Him, would desert Him when He refused to be the earthly king they wanted.
His disciples would regularly, almost invariably, misunderstand Him and the Divine teachings He was trying to convey. The Pharisees, the men who were the pillars of the Jewish synagogue and community, would call Him a liar, a party-er, a devil. The leaders of His own church would plot against His life because He raised a friend from the dead. The Roman government, the symbol of impartial justice in the ancient world, would wash its hands of His blood, and allow Jesus, the Innocent Lord of Life, to die. In the last 24 hours of His life, He would be betrayed by a friend, denied by another, and deserted by the rest. He would be arrested, beaten, spit upon, crowned with thorns, whipped, unjustly accused, condemned and crucified. All of His future Jesus faced as He prepared Himself with a 40-day fast in the wilderness.
Then, after Jesus had become hungry, as He was thinking about the price that He must pay for the redemption of sinful humanity, the cup of pain that He would drink for the sinners’ salvation, the devil came to Him. Three times the devil came. Three times the devil spoke. This is what Satan said, “Jesus, if You are the Son of God, command these stones become bread.” Then the devil took Jesus into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple. A second time the devil spoke. Satan said, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command His angels concerning You”’ A third time Satan spoke. This time he took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world with all their glory. Satan said, “All these things I will give You, if You will fall down and worship me.”
Did you hear what Satan kept saying? He kept asking, “If, if You are the Son of God, make these stones become bread.” Satan was suggesting that Jesus could satiate His stomach; Jesus could change things. He could begin right now. All Jesus had to do was follow Satan’s suggestion to make Himself a convenient meal. Did you hear what Satan said? “Jesus, if You are the Son of God, throw yourself down from the temple. Jesus, You can avoid all the walks along those dusty, stony roads; all of the misunderstandings and misconceptions of the people. If You do one really big miracle, right here on the temple grounds. People will be impressed. They will believe in You.” Did you hear what Satan said? “Jesus, if You fall down and worship me, I will give you all the kingdoms of the world.” Satan’s suggestion was a simple one. Jesus could avoid the agony, the misery, the torture, the cross, if He would only make a simple, very private gesture. Jesus was given an opportunity to change His life, if….
If. What would you have done? I mean, if you were given the choice and the chance? What would you have done? I am forced to confess that I, who have fallen victim to far smaller temptations, would probably have failed in this one as well. I know me. When I’m given a chance, I go a little faster than the speed limit allows. I’ve taken the bigger pork chop off the serving plate. I haven’t always spoken well of those around me. I’m a sucker for Satan’s suggestions, and you probably are, too. Oh, the temptations that bring me down may leave you unmoved. Your temptations might not touch me. But Satan knows us. He knows our weaknesses. He knows that there is not a person who has ever lived, who has managed to always do good and never sin. All of us have, at one time or another, listened to Satan’s whisperings and jumped at the opportunity to fail and fall.
I imagine, having had thousands of years of unbroken successes, Satan didn’t think things would be different with Jesus. Jesus, true God, but also true Man, would succumb. Maybe Jesus’ hunger would bring Him down; maybe it would be His desire to simplify His work and take a shortcut that would accomplish the job. And if these failed, most certainly Jesus would enthusiastically embrace the idea of winning everything He was working for, but without the shadow of the cross darkening His future. As far as Satan was concerned, it was a done deal. Who wouldn’t change the dark moments of their lives, if they were given the chance?
My friends, I know of only One: Jesus Christ of Nazareth. The Savior saw through Satan’s subtle suggestions to sin. The Savior knew that every package which is postmarked in hell will always come wrapped in a pretty bow. Jesus knew. That’s why that day in the wilderness, He did something most remarkable: He refused to rewrite His life; He declined to walk the easy path; He turned away from temptation and toward the cross which would end His earthly journey of humiliation and suffering. That day in the wilderness, Jesus said, “If the cost of making My life easier means millions will suffer the horrible horrors and fierce fires of hell, I will suffer, and I will die. And He did. He suffered and died for you and for me. He suffered and He died so that we might be saved. If He hadn’t, our futures would have been most different. But that if is a foolish one. Jesus has borne our grief and carried our sorrow. Jesus was pierced for our sins; He was crushed for our iniquities. And now, by His scourging, we are healed and saved.
Of course, there is the possibility that you who are listening to this brief Lord’s Day message, may be among those who have doubts. You see life as a survival of the fittest, and you see the weak being torn apart by the lions of hatred and prejudice. You see those who are evil seeming to succeed, and those who are good, worsening and weakening. You see governments that are locked in one continuous struggle for power and prestige, while the rank and file citizenry pays the price. You see the rich getting richer and the poor having nothing at all. You see the faces of millions who could disappear, evaporate, and no one would ever notice their leaving.
Having seen these things, you question: “If God is good, why do bad things happen?” You want to know, “If God wants people to be saved, why doesn’t He make them believe?” or “If God is making up the rules, why doesn’t He bring an end to wars and worries, arguments and anger, hatred and the horror of humanity’s inhumanity. Why doesn’t He make everybody be good?” You want to know: “If the Bible is God’s Word, how come there are so many opinions and so many churches?” You demand to know: “If God is really a loving God, how could He ever think of sending someone to hell?” If, if, if. If is a powerful little word, isn’t it? Powerful enough even to drive a wedge between you and God’s love.
Answering each of these challenges, and make no mistake about it, there are answers to them, would take more time than I have in this brief broadcast. Instead of replying to your ifs, I have one if of my own.
If the Bible is right when it says, “There is salvation in no one else other than Jesus; for there is no other name under heaven … by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12), where will you spend eternity? Now I could repeat that question. It would be rhetorically sound to do so. Instead, let me ask the same question a number of ways. If Jesus, according to prophecy, was truly born into this world to live for you, fulfill the law for you, suffer for you, die for you, and rise from the dead to show that His sacrifice was sufficient, will you be going to heaven? If there is one narrow path to paradise, are you on it? If there is going to be a judgment and some are going up and some are going down, which way will you be headed? If–a powerful little word, isn’t it?
Do you remember at the beginning of this message, when we were talking about how people would, if they could, change their lives? If you recall, we said there is not a one of us that, if we were given a chance, wouldn’t go back and redo certain events, decisions, choices. That’s because all of us know that we have done some very foolish, very silly, very sad, very sinful things. May I suggest to you the following: if Scripture is right, and it is, those who keep their backs turned to the Lord in disbelief are making the biggest mistake they will ever make. Don’t let their mistake be yours. Your heavenly Father wants you in heaven; wants to receive you into His kingdom. Jesus, your dear Brother, substituted Himself so that you might be washed from your sins and saved. The Holy Spirit, this day, wishes to turn you from damnation to salvation. This He will do if you stop refusing; if you stop saying no. I–it’s a powerful little word, isn’t it?
It was a good many years ago when a province of India revolted against England and war began between the two. After one skirmish, several English officers were taken prisoners. Among them was one wounded, weak man by the name of Baird. One of the Indian officers brought shackles to put on all the captives. When he came to put the fetters on Baird, a gray-haired English officer said, “You will surely not put chains on that man?” He was told, “I have just as many chains as I do prisoners. My orders are that all of the chains must all be worn.” “Put two sets of chains on me,” the veteran replied. Baird lived, the other died, still doubly chained. Now, if that man had worn the chains of every prisoner, and if he had willingly passed up his own freedom to suffer in prison, and if he had refused to escape so that he might die for his friends, and if he had risen on the third day, you might have a poor example of what Christ has done for each of us. But nobody could do that, could they? Only One: Jesus, who is the Son of God, the Savior of the world. If you would like to meet the Savior who takes the question mark, the ifs, out of eternity, call us. Amen.
LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers) for February 13, 2005
Topic: Bored in ChurchANNOUNCER: And now, Pastor Ken Klaus answers questions from listeners. I’m Mark Eischer. A listener writes: “I go to church, but, frankly, I’m bored. My mind wanders and I daydream.”
KLAUS: I don’t think I heard a question there, Mark.
ANNOUNCER: You know, I don’t think so, either, but there’s one implied. The listener wants to know if it’s his fault or the church’s fault that he finds worship so boring. At least, I think that’s what he wants to know.
KLAUS: Maybe what he wants to know may not be what I’m going to answer.
ANNOUNCER: Now I’m worried.
KLAUS: No need to be worried. I just think before we can answer the person’s question, we need first to answer another question.
ANNOUNCER: And that question would be?
KLAUS: What’s the purpose of worship? For many people, the purpose of worship is to be entertained for an hour or so. When I say that, I can imagine this universal groan from church people who say, “Oh, if only our worship services lasted just an hour.” And I can understand their feelings. Sometimes a worship service seems to take on a life of its own, and things can run a little bit long. But worship is not entertainment; the sermon is not a talk radio show, and the choir is not auditioning for a gig in Vegas.
ANNOUNCER: Well, if worship isn’t about any of those things, what is it, then?
KLAUS: Worship is a lot of things. It’s an opportunity to receive from the Lord His gifts of grace, to hear the Good News of Jesus, to receive His Sacraments for the forgiveness of our sins. It’s a chance for the Lord to speak to you through His Word. That’s reason enough right there. But it’s also a chance to praise God, a chance for God’s forgiven people to give thanks to the Savior; an opportunity to bring our concerns to the Lord; to thank Him for His ongoing protection. It’s a chance for people who share a common faith together, to support and strengthen each other in that faith. It’s an opportunity for people to unite together in helping each other, and get charged up to share the Good News of Jesus with the world.
ANNOUNCER: But isn’t it possible for worship to be all of those things and still come off as kind of boring?
KLAUS: Mark, I know the logical answer ought to be “yes.” I’ve been at worship services where there were plenty of restless children and yawning parents. It’s possible for church to be boring according to human standards, if you feel you’re there as a spectator, expecting to be entertained, with an attitude of, “Well, Lord, here I am. I have graciously given You an hour of my precious time and I expect You to impress me with something that is new, unique, and guaranteed to keep me awake.” Back in the days when I was a parish pastor and helped with the Sunday school Christmas service, the children were supposed to be singing “Joy to the World”; but it came out more like, “joytotheworld.” At least in the eighth grade class, eighth graders you see, are cool. That meant they didn’t sing with gusto. Now the seventh graders who had been singing “Joy to the World ” looked at the others and realized they weren’t being cool. And soon the seventh grade was singing “joytotheworld.” And it worked its way on down from grade to grade. Soon everybody was singing “joytotheworld.”
ANNOUNCER: And what’s the connection here?
KLAUS: It’s this – Jesus is God’s Word in human form. He lived for us, died for us, rose for us. He comes to us now in Word and Sacrament. That is Good News of great joy, and it’s what Christian worship is all about–God serving us with His gifts of forgiveness and life. But you have to spend some time thinking about it. Mark, I remember when penicillin first hit the market. It was a wonder drug; so was polio vaccine. Those things changed the world. They saved children’s lives. Parents were grateful. But now, although those drugs still work wonders, we don’t think of them in the same way. We take them for granted. The drugs haven’t changed; we have. In a similar way, God’s Good News hasn’t become less good; the joy hasn’t become less. Our appreciation is somewhat diminished.
ANNOUNCER: I suppose that’s your answer to this question about boredom?
KLAUS: It is. If a worship service seems to be boring, your mind wanders, let it wander to how your life would be totally changed; how this world, and the next, would be far less certain were it not for what Jesus has done for you. Give hell a moment’s thought, and you may find your appreciation of the Savior restored.
ANNOUNCER: I certainly understand that. Anything else you want to say?
KLAUS: One thing. I can only think, Mark, of one person who really benefits when Christians get bored with worship and tune out. It’s not the pastor, not the choir, not the parish. It certainly isn’t God. The only person who benefits is the devil. If boredom is hitting, then ask God to open your ears, your heart, your mind to the gifts He’s giving you at that moment.
ANNOUNCER: Thank you, Pastor Klaus. This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.