Stirred Hearts, Lifted Heads
Grace to you and peace from God our
Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, take heed! The fig
tree is thick with buds. The nations are perplexed. Men’s hearts are failing. False
preachers scratch the itchy ears of men: those vain liars who hide behind their
wicked vocabulary, calling debauchery and vice “victimless,” naming babies
“fetuses” and the slaughter houses “clinics;” who pretend as though sodomy is
wholesome, who attempt to use the Church for their own gain. They will be
exposed. All will be exposed. Repent. The Kingdom draws near. Your salvation is coming. Beware. And
rejoice.
Last week we
begged our Lord Jesus Christ to stir up His power and come. We asked this
because of His enduring promise; because He has said that He will be Our God.
He will save us. We want Him to fulfill His Word. We do not merely ask for a
little something to get us by until we are on our feet again. We are asking for
rescue. We are in mortal danger because of our sins. We are surrounded by
demonic forces. We are cold, tired, and afraid. Left on our own, we’d have no
hope. Stir up Your power, O Lord, and
come. Do not leave us alone, for you are our Hope and your Word is true.
Stir up our hearts, O Lord. That is our
prayer this week. We pray that the Power of God in the Flesh, the Spirit who
proceeds from the Father and the Son, would stir us up. Stir up our hearts, O Lord…for we are in danger of growing bored
and cold. Our flesh is weak. We are tempted to neglect the watch, to indulge
our baser desires, to forget who we are and what we are waiting for. We need
the Lord to stir up our hearts, to rouse us from selfish slumber, to prepare
and make us ready for His coming: now in Word and in Sacrament and soon in
glory.
The Spirit stirs
us to repentance. It is like being awakened too early on a dreary December day.
We’d rather roll over and bury ourselves in the covers than repent. When they
were frozen, our hearts were numb. But as they thaw at the Spirit’s stirring,
they shoots needles of pain into our souls. Turning from our sin and towards
God is difficult, painful. Nonetheless we pray that He would stir us up, for if
He doesn’t, we die an eternal death. The Word of God is a sword. It is meant
for killing. It cuts us off from our old life. It exposes our shameful
weaknesses. We may have fooled men, but we never fooled God. He saw the things
we did in secret. He heard the black thoughts and depraved fantasies that
played out in the backs of our minds. Repent. God knows what you’ve done, what
you’ve dreamed, what you’ve thought. And yet, despite that, He loves you.
He became a
servant. He suffered under the Law you failed to keep. He did all that it demands.
He abstained from all that it forbids. He then allowed the Law to do to Him all
it should have done to you. He has fulfilled the Law; it can ask no more. There
is no one to accuse you. He has gone to the sacrifice willingly, as the Lamb to
the slaughter. He has counted you worthy of that price. He gladly paid for you.
He does not regret it. He loves you. The promise made to the fathers is that
this mercy endures forever. He is your hope and your salvation.
Look up. Lift up
your heads. Your redemption draws near! His Word will not pass away. It is
true. It is valid. It is certain. All will happen just as He said it would. This
enduring and gracious Word made flesh was placed into you in the waters of Holy
Baptism. He made you His. He cannot forget you. You are His Bride. God has
joined you together. No man can put you asunder. You have left your father the
devil and become one flesh with the crucified and risen God of Abraham. Heaven
and earth will fail, but His Word will not pass away…and because of that, you
will not pass away. You will live forever. In the name of the Father and of the
Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The peace of God which passes all
understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.
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