Sunday, October 02, 2022

GUEST POST: Sermon for 10/2/22--Sixteenth Sunday After Trinity


Our guest preacher at St. Peter and Bethel this morning was the Reverend Raymond Holman. He brought the Word, including a great deal of comfort to me and the congregations who mourn with me and my family. Thank you, Pastor Holman!


CLICK HERE for the sermon audio.

CLICK HERE for the sermon video.


God Hears

In the midst of a sin-stricken world, God listens to the painful cries. / God hears weeping words. / And God speaks the promises in His Word of Truth. / This is God’s pattern: He listens. He hears. He speaks. He promises. //
The prophet Elijah had just begun his ministry. Called by God, Elijah preached in an evil and faithless generation. God’s anger for such sinfulness caused a drought. / No water. / No food. / Sinners helplessly crying out. “Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me! O Lord, be my helper” (Psalm 30:10)!
Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah. “Go to Zarephath, a region of heathens and idol worshipers. Speak to a widow. A helpless woman. A hopeless woman. A woman questioning the point of life. In her distress, bring her good news.” 
And Elijah did. Right before our Old Testament Lesson, Elijah promised that a small jar of flour and little jug of oil would never be empty for the length of the drought. And it was so. That’s God’s goodness. That’s his loving nature. Hopelessness turned to faith for that widow.
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But then disaster struck. / The widow’s hope quickly shattered. The consequences of sin were no longer just an “out there” issue. It was no longer just a drought. The consequences of sin now struck her own life. Now her son is dead. 
You can imagine what that widow felt:
“What am I living for,” would become, “Why am I even alive? / 
“Why did I even have hope in the first place?” / 
“Why do I have to face calamity after calamity?” /
“What good is this so-called all-loving God??” //
But we don’t have to put words into her mouth. We heard it firsthand. She blamed the prophet Elijah for all her problems. Lashing out, the widow cried, “What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death of my son” (1 Kings 17:18).
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Personally, I can imagine the hurt that Elijah must have felt. That great and faithful prophet didn’t just have a simple knowledge that God existed. He trusted in God. He believed in God’s promises. The words, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love to the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin” (Exodus 34:6-7a), were a reality to Him.
In that moment Elijah was confronted with a harsh reality. The consequences of sin weren’t  just “out there.” Now sin’s effects were hitting close to home for him specifically. They literally attacked the person closest to him at that moment. Now Elijah had to face a woman’s questions about the validity of Elijah’s words, about the efficacy of Elijah’s ministry, about the reality of God’s existence.
In the midst of his hurt, didn’t try to explain away God. He didn’t try to put the best construction on a bad situation. Instead Elijah cried out to the Lord, “O LORD my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son? …O Lord my God, let this child’s life come into him again” (1 Kings 17:20, 21b).
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In the midst of such a sin-stricken world, God listened. God heard. God spoke. God promised. //
God listened to the painful cries of the widow and Elijah. He heard their weeping words. And at that moment, when all hope seemed to be lost, God spoke the word of Truth. God promised new life in the midst of death. //
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This pattern we saw in our Old Testament Lesson is still a reality today. This is just what God does. / We too live in a sin-stricken world. Yes, sin is an “out there” problem. There are hurricanes and heatwaves. There are droughts and wildfires. There are wars and the threats of war. There is poverty and extortion. And God calls the church to go forth like Elijah into the midst of a sinful world proclaiming the good news (just like Jesus said in Luke 4:43, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose”).
And that’s what the church does. We are like Elijah to the widow in Zarephath. The church bring the Good News of God to those around us. The church shares God’s love to those who feel unloveable. The church proclaim forgiveness to those who believe they are unforgivable. The church helps other’s know of God’s sanctifying works. Simply put, the church’s mission is to bring hope to the hopeless and and help to the hurting. //
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But then, sometimes sin’s effects hit closer to home. Just when things start to look up, that’s when everything crashes in around us. The person you shared the Gospel with loses their job. The family you shared immeasurable forgiveness with experiences failed crop. That family member who has just learned of the joy of eternity finds out that their spouse has cheated on them. Or even the sudden and unexpected death of a loved one. // That’s a moment of disaster. You’re confronted with the reality of sins effects. It’s not just “out there.” It’s right in front of you.
Like the widow at Zarephath, we can lash out at the church who preaches the Gospel. But Elijah points to a better way. Remember what Elijah did when the widow cried out at the death of her son? Elijah didn’t explain it away. Elijah didn’t try and put the best construction on a bad situation. He went to the one who listens. To the one who hears. To the one who speaks. To the one who promises. He went to God.
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And this is what our call is as well. When faced with inexplicable situations and circumstances we go to the one who listens, who hears, who speaks, and who promises. We go to Jesus. 
Why do we go to Jesus? Because Jesus is the greater Elijah. We can be confident that when he speaks to God on our behalf that God will listen to him him. God will hear him. God will speak through Him. And God will provide us promises through Him. In fact, that’s exactly what Hebrews 5:7 states, “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.” 
Jesus comes to this sin-stricken world, bringing hope to hopeless sinners like you and me.
On the cross He takes our sorrows and in its place speaks us His salvation. 
On the cross He takes our hurts and in its place promises us healing in His body and blood.

This is why the record of Scripture is so clear: 
I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live” (John 11:25). 
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down my life for the sheep…. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:14, 28). 
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:31-32).
For I am sure that [even] death…will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38a, 39b).
In Jesus God listens. God hears. God speaks. God promises.
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Look, I am not going to beat around the bush here. In this church you have experienced the inexplicable. Unexpected loss. Death without warning. This is a hard day for me to preach. And this has to be a hard day to come here and actually listen to me. But here I want to leave you with one single exhortation, along with its corresponding promise:
Cry out to God.
Plead to God. 
Entreat God’s mercy.

But more than simply doing that, remember this even more. When we cry out, God continues listen today. God continues to hear. God continues to speak. And God continues to promise salvation in Jesus Christ.

In the name of the father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

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