The Lutheran Hour
-
"Salvation is Near"
- Download MP3 Reflections
-
Text: Luke 10:8-11
-
Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! The world did not expect the wonderful news of Jesus’ resurrection. Still, God gives salvation in the Person and sacrifice of His Son. Today He entrusts His pastors and people with the sharing of His good news which grants eternal life to all who believe. Today salvation is near as we proclaim Christ crucified and risen. God grant faith and salvation to us all. Amen.
It was in the late 1800s that the grand Plymouth Church in Brooklyn called a distinguished English preacher, Charles Berry, to be the undershepherd of their flock. This they did, in no small part, because he was known as a great preacher, a solid minister, a powerful witness to the Lord. That describes the pastor they called… but that was not the pastor Charles Berry had always been. Few of the members of Plymouth Church were aware that when Pastor Berry had started in the ministry, he had preached a frail, a fragile Gospel. That’s because for Charles Berry, Jesus was a magnificent Man, a terrific Teacher, a fine Philosopher, but Jesus was not the heaven-sent Redeemer of the world.
Things might have remained as they were except for an event which happened while Berry was serving his first church. As he sat in his study, a knock was heard at the door. Looking out he saw a typical Lancashire girl. She wore no makeup and no jewelry. Instead she was dressed simply in rough clothes with heavy shoes upon her feet and a scarf tied about her head. Berry opened the door. “Yes, young lady, what can I do for you?” The girl shot back a question: “Are you a minister?” “I am” “If so”, she said, “you must come with me quickly. I want you to get my mother in.”
Knowing the poor quality of the neighborhood from which the girl had come Berry thought, more than likely, the girl’s mother was sleeping off her most recent drinking binge in some gutter. He advised her, “Young lady, I think it would be best if you got the police to assist you. They can give your mother a place off the street.” “No, no, no”, the frustrated girl snapped back, “Sir, my mother is dying and you must come and get her into heaven.” That, of course, was a different matter. Berry grabbed his coat and followed the girl through the dark streets for close to two miles. When they arrived, Berry went in and knelt at the side of the dying woman’s bed.
He told her how Jesus was kind and how Jesus had shown us how to live and how Jesus was an excellent example of the moral life. The lady may have been dying, but she was no fool and she interrupted. “Mister, that’s no use for the likes of me. I’m a sinner. I’ve lived my life. Can’t you tell me of Someone who can have mercy upon me and save my poor soul?”
Berry was with a dying woman and he realized he had nothing to say, nothing which would help. In the face of damning sin and eternal death he had no message which would touch, which would forgive, which would save this dying lady. Pastor Berry made a decision. He set aside the grand learning of his seminary which had emphasized Jesus’ humanity, but had denied and debased, degraded and demeaned the Savior’s Deity. Berry forgot that and remembered what he had heard at the feet of his greatest teacher, his mother. He remembered her Jesus, the Jesus Who had been born to lead a perfect life for us; the Jesus Whose great love carried the worst of our sins. He recalled her Savior Who gave His life so we might live; a Redeemer Who ransomed our souls from sin, death, and devil; a Savior Who allowed Himself to be crucified. Most of all he recollected the joyful account of Easter Sunday when Jesus rose from the dead and showed the world that death and grave no longer had the last word.
Pastor Berry spoke simply and clearly and gently of this Savior Who could comfort a little girl; he spoke of a Savior Who could give hope, no, more than hope, absolute faith, to a woman who was destined to soon leave the world. And as he talked, he watched the Holy Spirit work on that care-worn, tormented heart. Tears ran down the woman’s cheeks. Her voice, gravel-filled with emotion, croaked, “Now that’s the stuff I need to hear. Now you’re getting it; now you’re helping me; now you’re getting me in.” Truly, it was the Lord, from start to finish, Who was responsible for getting that woman into heaven… but Pastor Berry knew God had used him for His Divine purpose. Berry realized, with the request of a little girl, God had changed three lives forever.
God uses preachers. You do know that, don’t you? Well, maybe, you don’t know. You see, there once was a time when Christian countries held preachers in high esteem. In the 1800s, Matthew Simpson, the Pastor who preached at Abraham Lincoln’s funeral in Springfield, could say about the preacher, “His throne is the pulpit; he stands in Christ’s stead; his message is the word of God; around him are immortal souls; the Savior, unseen, is beside him; the Holy Spirit broods over the congregation; angels gaze upon the scene, and heaven and hell await the issue.”
God uses preachers to share salvation’s story. That was the way it was when Jesus sent out His disciples. The Gospel of Luke tells of the time Jesus commissioned 70 men to go out, two-by-two, and prepare the way for the Savior. The job of the 70 disciples was to share Jesus’ credentials; to make it so people knew Somebody wonderful, Somebody special was coming to town.
Jesus said they were to travel fast, travel light, travel with prayer in their hearts and God’s words on their tongues. If they were welcomed in a town, they were supposed to say, ‘we represent Jesus of Nazareth and He wants you to know the kingdom of God has come near to you.” There’s little doubt these disciples would have impressed the people with their miracles and Jesus’ words. These would have been moved to welcome the Savior when He came to their town.
That was the way it was supposed to work, and in some places it did. But there were other locations, other communities where the people didn’t want to have someone preach at them. When the disciples began their presentation, ‘We represent Jesus of Nazareth, the promised Messiah”, the crowd would have shouted back, “We know Nazareth and we’re not impressed.” No doubt those communities would have been ready to have somebody heal their sick. They would be glad to get that kind of gift, but they didn’t want any preaching, and they didn’t want any preachers.
Jesus anticipated that kind of reaction. He said, ‘Boys, if they don’t like you or the message you’re sharing, you go out into the street and you tell those folks, “You don’t want us, that’s fine. We’re going to wipe off our feet rather than taking any part of your community with us. We’re going to go to a place which wants to hear about Jesus and the message of salvation that the Messiah is bringing. But before we go, and we want to make this really very clear… no, the Lord wants to make this clear; He wants you to know today the kingdom of God came knocking at your door. It was near to you. It was here… and you didn’t want it. The Lord desires all men to be saved, but He doesn’t demand all men be saved. You folks who don’t want Jesus from Nazareth need to be aware, the Lord has given you the right to go to hell, if that’s what you want. But if you end up in that perpetual fire and if you remember this day, don’t you dare blame God, because He knocked at the door of your heart and you decided to keep that door shut tight.”
Well, the disciples went out and they preached. Some lives were changed; some lives were left the same. For close to 2,000 years that’s the way it’s been. For 2,000 years preachers have been going out to preach and for almost 2,000 years some lives have been changed and some lives have stayed as they were. I wonder, in which category are you. Changed or unchanged? I don’t have to tell you that you are a sinner. Everybody knows he or she is a sinner… and if you don’t, well, ask your closest friends. Ask them to be honest. Don’t interrupt. When they’re done, you’ll know you’re a sinner,
Now that that’s established, what can be done about it? After all there are a lot of
remedies out there, Most will tell you you need to do this, or improve that, or get to know yourself, or become connected with the force, or be part of the circle of life, or .. , I don’t
know all the stuff they’ll tell you, If you need, feel free, try one of these solutions, Give
them a shot. Only, don’t be too long at it. Your life is definitely limited and I don’t want you to still be experimenting when you die. I don’t want you to still be discovering the best these other philosophies and other religions can do is be uncertain, unsure, and doubtful. No, don’t take too long because you need Jesus as your Savior before you die.In fact, now would be as good a time as any to tell you about Him. When the Triune God, that’s Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, realized that the Devil had seduced us, He was pretty upset. He was upset we had disobeyed Him, the One Who had given us everything and Who had only asked for our love and respect. He was upset that we had brought sin and death into the world, along with sorrow and sadness, discouragement, disappointment, distress, and discontent. Now, God could have abandoned us, He could have vaporized us, but He chose instead to provide a way for us to be saved. That Way of salvation is Jesus. To save us, God sent His Son to fix what we had wrecked, to mend what we had ruined. Jesus’ job was to keep the laws of God we have broken. This He did for us. His job was to resist the temptations which we all find so inviting. This Jesus did for us. Jesus’ job was to carry our sins … all of our hateful acts and thoughts … to shoulder all of those and carry them to His cross. There, Jesus was to give up His life so our lives might be spared.
Now God did all of this not because we are so kind, so caring, so compassionate, so cute. He did it because He cared. He still cares. That’s why He still sends the Holy Spirit… the third Person of the Trinity, to try and call lost souls to salvation. In that work He enlists representatives, representatives to tell people the kingdom of God is here in Jesus. That’s what the 70 did when Jesus sent them out. It’s what The Lutheran Hour has been doing for almost 80 years; it’s what some pastors are doing right where you live. All of us try to tell people the kingdom of God is near. We tell how Jesus did all which was asked of Him. He lived, He suffered, and He died. That was what was asked. And then, three days after He had been killed, long enough so there could be no doubt about His demise, He rose and showed to the world that even death and grave had been conquered. That’s the Jesus story and all who believe it find the Kingdom of God is not just near … they find it is actually here.
My friend, you have had someone share salvation’s story with you, haven’t you? Maybe that person went to seminary and was schooled in theology… maybe that individual’s prime credentials were found in the fact they cared about you. You’ve had someone speak to you of the Savior, haven’t you? Was it a parent, a spouse, a family member who prays for you and tries to get you to go to church … who keeps talking about Jesus … who goes on and on and on about the Savior? They can drive you crazy, can’t they? I know. I drive tens of thousands of people crazy every week. What’s that? You don’t want anybody preaching at you. You don’t need anybody preaching to you. Yes, I know none of us likes somebody telling us we’re wrong … and telling us we need to change … and pointing out our sins. Of course you don’t need another sinner pointing out your shortcomings. Sure, I understand where you’re coming from. You think we’re boring; well, we can be. You think we do a bad job; sometimes we do. You think we believe we’ve got the answers; we don’t but Jesus does. You think we’re pompous and pushy and a real pain. I can’t argue with you. Sometimes we are. But there’s one other thing we are… one thing you forgot to mention. We are representatives of the Savior. Believe on Him and you will be saved. Believe on Him and you’ll get in.
Believe on Jesus … the kingdom of heaven is near. My friend, I know we who are part of Jesus’ kingdom have many faults. We do … but He doesn’t. I’ll apologize for our flaws, but we can’t repent of our telling lost souls about Jesus. Look, If I had a medicine which would heal every cancer, I would keep talking about it and telling people about it. I wouldn’t be able to help myself from telling them about this miracle cure. It would be a sin if I stopped telling people. That’s what’s happening here. The medicine of Jesus’ blood saves people from sin; it cleans up their souls. It moves them from hell to heaven. It gives them a peace of mind and heart and soul they can’t get anywhere else. Jesus is the medicine you need. We have to keep talking about Him.
Of course, you don’t have to listen. Nobody HAS to listen. There were people in Jesus’ day who didn’t listen. In every generation there are some who say: “1 don’t need nobody preaching at me.” Of course they’re wrong. Somebody preaching about Jesus is exactly what they need … but they don’t have to hear. God won’t ram salvation down their throat, cram salvation down their gullets. He loves us, has done everything to show that love to us, but you don’t have to want it, welcome it, or respond to it. But when you die and find yourself in hell, don’t get angry at the Lord, and don’t get all nasty with me. I tried to tell you. This day the kingdom of God has come near to you. Right now, right here, the Savior calls.
No, don’t get angry, because God’s people preach to you from a pulpit, from a pew, from a parish hall, or out in public. We have to preach. Just like the 70 had to preach, just like John Harper had to preach. Talk about a preacher. Harper was born in 1872, became a pastor, founded a church before the age of 25. He got married, had a daughter named Nana, and buried his wife shortly after Nana was born. Like the pastor in our first story, John also got a call from a church in America: Moody Church in Chicago, the historic home of many great preachers. John took the offer and set out for his new calion a new ship. You may have heard of that vessel … the Titanic.
I said John was a pushy preacher. He was. When it became apparent the ship was going down, John got his daughter into a lifeboat, but he didn’t get in with her. Instead, he roamed the deck talking to everybody about the need to have Jesus as Savior. He shouted out, “Women and children and unbelievers into the boats.” When he was in the water, he asked a man if he was saved. When the man said, “No”, John gave him his life vest saying, “Here, you need this more than I do.” The waves brought John near another fellow. John shouted, “Man, are you saved?’ The man said he wasn’t. John encouraged, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” The waves took them apart and brought them back together. Three times that happened. Each time John asked, “Are you saved?” Each time he encouraged, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.” Finally, John sank below the waves. And the man? Sometime later he said, “There, alone in the night, and with two miles of water under me, I believed.” My friends, today salvation is near. I echo the words of John Harper to you: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.” Amen.
LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers)
July 4,2010
Topic: Why Does God Care?Announcer: And now Pastor Ken Klaus answers questions from listeners. I’m Mark Eischer.
Klaus: Hello, Mark. And hello to you, the listener.
Announcer: A listener asks, “Why is God concerned about human beings at all? We are mere specks in a gigantic universe.” And our listener thinks God wouldn’t and couldn’t be concerned about us–which leads him to think that “maybe Christianity is just a religion that people invented in order to make themselves feel more important.”
Klaus: You’re right… a question and a comment. Let’s take care of the question first. “Why is God concerned about insignificant-and sinful–human beings?” Did I get that right?
Announcer: Well, with one important addition, you mentioned sinful.
Klaus: The answer to the question is many faceted. First, It would be presumptuous of me to say I could understand what is in the mind and heart of God. He’s far above me or what anyone else can comprehend. Having said that, I do know the Triune God is a God of love, because He has revealed that to us in the person of Jesus Christ.
Over the years, I have seen mothers love their children, even when those children are less than perfect. Now, if a mother has that kind of love, what kind of love can you expect from the Creator?
Announcer: That certainly makes sense … although God doesn’t make excuses for us the way some mothers might.
Klaus: Good point. Our perfect God cannot simply dismiss or ignore our sins and flaws. He expects us to be perfect as He is.
Announcer: But we can’t do that.
Klaus: No, we can’t. Which is precisely why He sent His Son into this world to take our place. Jesus perfectly fulfilled all the laws and requirements we had broken, and then took upon Himself the punishment we deserved.
Announcer: But, why would the Creator of the universe sacrifice His Divine Son for insignificant people like us?”
Klaus: Yeah, and that, my friend, is a question I simply can’t answer. Why God would do something like that, allow His Son to live, suffer, die for the sins of somebody else. It doesn’t make sense. I wouldn’t sacrifice my son or daughters for someone else … you wouldn’t either. Still, in His grace, His undeserved and certainly impossible-to-be-understood grace, God did that for us, in Christ.
Announcer: And that’s really what the definition of God’s grace is… His undeserved kindness toward us, in Christ.
Klaus: Right. God shows His undeserved kindness in allowing His Son to take our place. With Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, we are assured that the job of redeeming us has been completed-the payment has been accepted in full.
Mark, though, I’d like to go just back for a minute. You know, compared to the universe, we might seem to be unimportant. But God does say differently.Announcer: And where He say that?
Klaus: Take a look at Luke 12. Jesus is talking about fear and worry and during the course of the discussion He says, “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not;” Jesus says, “you are of more value than many sparrows.”
Announcer: So, He’s saying that if a small and seemingly insignificant sparrow doesn’t escape the eye of the all-knowing and all-caring God, human beings won’t escape God’s care either.
Klaus: Absolutely.
Announcer: But we still have to deal with that final comment our listener made. Is Christianity merely a human attempt to make ourselves feel more important?
Klaus: And that is where I disagree with our listener. I completely, 180 degrees disagree.
Announcer: Please, explain.
Klaus: I disagree because man doesn’t have the ability to invent something as wonderful as Christianity. You know, if you read Aristotle, you are going to find him to be a very smart guy. Aristotle was deeply interested in God. Used his brain to look at the universe. He concluded a lot of things about God. He said there had to be one. He figured this God had to be all-powerful, all-caring. He figured out God had to be just and a God of order. From his study of nature and the universe, Aristotle figured out a lot of things about God.
Announcer: However …
Klaus: However, Aristotle could never figure out that God was gracious. Grace, undeserved kindness, sending His Son to die for the sins of another doesn’t make sense. Which is why you don’t find that concept in any of the other religions of the world. They all, in one way or another, take the view that we must somehow earn God’s acceptance and favor. Only Christianity talks about God giving His Son to redeem sinful, undeserving, insignificant humanity. What Jesus did couldn’t be invented by humankind.
Announcer: And that’s our reply to the listener’s question. It’s by grace we’re saved … and grace is not a human religious concept.
Klaus: Agreed.
Announcer: Thank you, Pastor Klaus. This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.
Music Selections for this program:
“A Mighty Fortress” arranged by John Leavitt. Concordia Publishing House/SESAC
“To God the Holy Spirit, Let Us Pray” arr. Dave Horn. Used by permission.
“Postlude on Old Hundredth” arr. Fred Bock. From Hymns by Dan Miller (© 1991 DSDS
Enterprises) The Sacred Music Press“Praise the Lord, Rise Up Rejoicing!” arr. David Cherwien. From Hymn Interpretations by
David Cherwien (© 1992 Summa Productions)