6th Sunday of the resurrection: John 16:23-33

May 5, 2013; 6^th S. of the Resurrection; Texts: Psalm 107:1-9; Num 21:4-9; I Tim 2:1-6; John 16:23-33; Title: Peace the World Cannot Give; Rev. Tim Beck   

Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ

Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”(ESV)

          What does the word polarity suggest? There’s the North Pole and South Pole, which are very much alike in cold. There are opposites like the cold and hot, expensive and free, young and old, true           and false, failure and success. Our text has polarities too, like law and gospel, the kingdom of the world and of God, our fallen-ness and Christ’s sufficiency. Is this a polarity: the disciples earlier confidently proclaim faith in Jesus and He says no, “You will all fall away?”  They’re like a little boy watching his dad groan with severe pain from a disease. The boy says to himself, if that was me I’d bear it like a man! But the next moment he stubbed his toe and the world fell apart. We see in the disciples a polarity like that boy, of a false confidence that so easily forgets what the love and peace of God do for us.  We see that pole in the false confidence of George Lucas’ myth that a tremor of navel-gazing good saved the soul of Darth Vader, we see it in Pinocchio’s wistful wish that turned him into a real boy, and in all the myths that lead us to say “God, I believe, aren’t you proud of me?”  The disciples felt confident. They would never fall away.  Their Lord, our Lord, pointed out they didn’t even ask what they needed from Him.

          That keen observer of men and Scripture, Martin Luther observed:  But ignorance of sin necessarily brings with it ignorance of God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit and all things…Indeed no man can comprehend its power. For we should not regard it as a trivial matter when it was the reason for which God sent His Son to become a Sacrifice for our redemption… (Original sin) is a deep seated poison in the soul and body, in such a way that it even wants to be regarded as righteousness… (AE 7:279) When self-confidence is put to the test will we say to God, “Are you proud of me?”  Or, do we typically act as if the world fell apart? What do you do with little things, like a jammed freeway, unexpected bills, tea with the IRS, or the doctor who says “have you thought about hospice?” There’s a reason Jesus tells His disciples they will fail him. Pay attention to why he reveals the actual extent of the disciples’ spiritual powers, their abilities apart from Him. Jesus tells them what failures they are so that they may have abiding peace.

          I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace.  This seems very odd to us, as it is completely contradictory to the world’s way of doing things. Where’s self-esteem, the boot-straps to pull, the upper lip to stiffen, the resolve to harden, the inner resources to draw upon, the divinity within? Where’s the politically correct language that squirrels with words so that a physical fault becomes an enhanced ability?  Jesus tells the disciples their self-faith will crumble for this reason: so that they may have peace. That’s the same reason you and I have peace, one that endures.  Do you understand, do you understand the reason?  Jesus tells us peace doesn’t come from within.

          Rather, he points out our spiritual deficiency so that we will ask Jesus to do what we cannot do. Jesus says peace comes from outside us, from Him. In him we have peace.  He gives peace.  He gives His peace, an abiding and enduring peace. That’s good news when bills threaten daily bread. He gives peace when you are powerless to keep what is yours. He gives peace even when facing death.  What is this “peace?”  It’s not the Hippie protest signs of the 60’s bobbing up and down, “make peace not war.”  It is not a Buddhist’s sense of detachment, of not feeling, a practiced apathy. Properly speaking, it is not something internal to us, like a feeling of contentment, calm and confidence; although Christ’s peace often results in that very thing. You can have his peace while you are in turmoil, and even terror. His peace does not depend on you. It depends on Him.

          His peace depends on His cross and resurrection where He forgave your sins to give you life. Peace with God transforms your failure, poverty, and meaninglessness into victory, inheritance and purpose. And it all comes from outside you, from Christ.          Listen to the promise: In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. Jesus overcame the world to give you the kingdom of God, despite what tribulations assault you. He even uses those tribulations for your good. For one good, tribulations reveal our weakness and pride, our false self-confidence, so that we pray “lead us not into temptation.”  God will never seek our downfall, but will sustain us in testing to strengthen faith, because faith turns toward him. Faith asks for what we need.  Our Redeemer will provide a way of escape and not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear. Therefore, we boldly pray, deliver us from evil.  Although we will experience evil, we are assured of our Saviour’s deliverance.

          So the saints of old received peace through the promise first given Eve that the deliverer would crush the head of the serpent. We receive peace as did Abraham, who was given a lamb for sacrifice in place of Isaac. We receive peace as did Joseph, released from prison to preserve the seed of the Promised One. We receive peace as did Moses, called to free God’s people and take them to the Promised Land. Take heart in your tribulations, as did these trembling saints, because Jesus overcame the world.  He commands, “take heart” because He overcame and continues to overcome unto the very present in your life.

          Unlike the child who stubbed his toe, Jesus bore infinite pain when upon that dreadful cross. He suffered in body, but far greater the pangs of hell.  His cry, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me!” was no theatrical act. He didn’t say, “I must say this to fulfill the Scriptures or it won’t look good;” rather Jesus fulfilled that prophesy to overcome the world.  He overcame the world, being born in the likeness of sinful flesh yet living without sin, living in faithful trust of the Father. He overcame the world’s deep seated poison in soul and body by dying to sin, by dying for sin, and by dying as a substitute for sinners. He overcame all that opposes God.  And He overcame all for you. This is our peace! You don’t have to do what you cannot do. He made peace for you. He overcame all that deceives the world.  He overcame the devil’s machinations.  He overcame the perversions of our flesh. He overcame the twisted values of the world. He overcame the Father’s wrath against sin and sinner.  So where are your enemies now?  Oh you see them often enough, more often than the price of gas goes up and more often than you see the doctor. Life is filled with tribulations until our Lord returns. But Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, the crucified and risen Lord, overcame all these.  He overcame the reason you are terrified of them as well. He overcame the unbelief of sin so that you might have confidence in His victory. 

          Because of His victory, listen to what he invites you to do over and over again:  Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.  Ask - you are not orphans but sons of God. You inherit the kingdom because the eldest brother Jesus received the inheritance.   Jesus received the inheritance of eternal life to share it with you.  Ask - you who need faith, strength for daily life, who need holiness and ability, who need tribulations to bring you to your knees causing you to look up. Ask - you, the Bride of Christ, whom He fiercely loves. Ask in the name of Jesus Christ, the LORD. Ask all that the Lord’s Prayer promises to give; for He is LORD of heaven and earth, to him all knees shall bow.  He is the Lamb slain who yet lives, your righteousness and peace. He gives what we do not have. He declares you holy and righteous in His sight; for in Baptism He made you flesh of his flesh and bone of His bone, His bride the church.

          So He works in our lives that we boldly ask in His name. And that asking, asking according to his will, speaks volumes about peace. We have peace with God, God as our Father through the Son made man. Jesus’ overcame the world to work faith in our hearts, so we believe when our LORD bids us to call His Father as our Father; it is true. What joy to ask for His kingdom come, His will be done, daily bread, forgiveness of sins, protection from temptation, deliverance from evil. What joy asking, knowing he taught us to pray because he promises to answer. Take heart, you do not have to rely on your goodness or power or fortitude for any good thing. Jesus Christ overcame the world. Our confidence is Christ. He is our peace. All our prayers have been answered.

The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Amen)

5th Sunday of the Resurrection: John 16:5-15

April 28, 2013; 5^th S. of the Resurrection (Cantate); Texts: Ps 66:1-8; Is 12:1-6; James 1:16-21; John 16:5-15; Title: Why Be Glad, Not Sad; Rev. Tim Beck

Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ

This fifth Sunday of the Resurrection is traditionally named cantate, oh sing! “Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel” (Isa 12:6). In today’s gospel text there is much to sing about, so why are the disciples filled with sorrow? Our Lord declares marvels – the Trinity, His crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension, Pentecost and His return. He speaks about justification and sanctification and how these doctrines are wrapped up in, into, and out from Himself. He tells His disciples, and you, of life with a quality we cannot imagine. Yet the disciples sorrow, oozing fallen-ness, overcome by what should overwhelm them with joy. Jesus is going to die.

          How often does our sadness mirror theirs? For example, we don’t recognize what looks like a curse is so often a blessing. So Jesus didn’t tell his followers what they could not yet bear, such as how they would suffer for His name.  They wouldn’t think that’s something to sing about! Yet the church sings: “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.” There are reasons for this song. What are some of the reasons?  We will limit ourselves to only three points from our text, and even that is a bit much. First, about truth; second, about sin, righteousness and judgment; third, about fellowship with God:

          First, our Lord said the truth, all truth, is given the church. How important is that? In an age that says nothing is true, nothing remains, nothing can be counted on in the storms of life. But the church is given the truth, the reliable, the sure, the enduring, the ever-present, the living, the eternal. How is it given? James tells us: Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creation. Also note the word is implanted (Jas 1:21). Note that the new creation occurs through the word of truth. This word is performative. It does what it says. God speaks and it is so. For this reason Isaiah says: …call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted. The church repeats what the Lord says and does, so receiving and proclaiming “His Name.”  That’s how truth is given and works in you. And remember truth is not a mere abstract concept any more than the 10 commandments are mere opinions. Jesus said He is the truth, and the Word.

          When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you (Jn 16: 13) The Spirit of truth does what? He guides, leads, and brings believers into the truth.  Specifically, He glorifies, that is amplifies and reveals Jesus Christ. Again, how does the Spirit guide the church into all the truth? Literally, “he will not speak of himself, but as he hears he will speak, and of the things to come, he will announce to you.”  The Holy Spirit speaks the word as he hears… He hears what the Father and Son declare and that is what He declares, revealing the Son. That’s why the church is bound to the word in all things… because by the word she receives the Holy Spirit, and Christ, and the Father. Only God’s word has that promise, not personal experience or our reasoning.

          Again, what does the Holy Spirit reveal to the church? He will glorify me, for he will take what is (ek) mine and declare it to you. Literally, “for he will take out of me” and declare it to you. Remember, the word is performative, and remember who is the Word. This is about more than knowledge, but fellowship with God. This word is no abstract thing, but the very life of God given to you. You received His life when you heard and believed the gospel. The Holy Spirit announced the gospel in Holy Baptism, for example, convicting of sin, righteousness and judgment, our second point.

          And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment… This is the bull’s eye of the Spirit’s ministry, of Jesus’ too and the heart of God’s activity toward us. I’ve heard folks say all sorts of things about “the heart of God,” often leading us away from what the Word declares is the real heart of the matter. What does the heart-message mean that the Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgment? And when (the Holy Spirit) comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

          This word includes the law calling sinners to repentance and the declaration of Christ’s forgiveness, giving eternal life. As for the law, the Holy Spirit, sent by the Son, convicts the world concerning sin, in relation to sin, of evidence of sin, cutting our hearts because of sin in our hearts. The Holy Spirit convicts, reveals, convinces, and creates sorrow over sin. Then the heart of the matter is not external reform, but repentance, the heart-felt confession that God exists and we’re in a heap of trouble. The tragedy is many refuse the Holy Spirit, denying we are sinners by either rejecting the law or by claiming to keep the law sufficiently. But those who receive this word confess our actual state before God. And that’s the Spirit’s preparation to receive good news.

          As for the gospel, or as Jesus puts it, concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you will see me no longer; this is not about our righteousness through obedience. This conviction from the Holy Spirit has to do with Jesus going to the Father. This righteousness is of the cross, of Christ’s atonement, of His finished work, of his resurrection and ascension, the gift that justifies sinners. “Righteousness” is a forensic word, a court-room word, a legal term. It is not about the criminal’s good qualities, promises to reform or time spent in prison. The judge says to the law-breaker, “another took your punishment; another paid the cost of your deeds, gave his freedom for your captivity and traded his good reputation for you bad, so I say to you, ‘pardoned!’”  In this way Jesus’ righteousness is given you. The Holy Spirit advocates to you that Jesus righteousness is imputed to you, sinner, counted as yours.

          By the way, “Advocate” is the name Jesus gives the Holy Spirit, “the Paraclete.” The KJV and some Bibles translate this as “Comforter,” some as “Helper” and that is a beautiful picture, although not the heart of the word’s meaning. For example, in 1^st century secular Greek, in the Greek translation of the Hebrew scripture, in the Greek New Testament and in the early church fathers, the word has this in common: Paraclete uniformly means “advocate;” and a particular kind of an advocate… a court advocate, the counsel for the defense, or so says one of my fat reference books. The advocate goes to the accused’ side and intercedes before the judge on his behalf.  And hearing the verdict, the Holy Spirit says to the convicted sinner, you are pardoned. You are covered with the righteousness of Christ. You are forgiven and regarded as holy and undefiled. This is not about a person’s actual righteousness, about the Holy Spirit indwelling so that the believer desires the things of God, loving God and neighbor. That follows justification. Pardon is what is applied to the unworthy; and by Christ’s imputed righteousness God the Father regards us as sons, heirs to eternal life (Glory, alleluia!).

          And concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged (vs 13)… those who refuse Christ’s righteousness will be judged in the same manner as the ruler of this world, the devil. By the way, the judgment of Satan has occurred, simultaneous with his rebellion. He remains under judgment and is bound for hell. However, all who believe in Christ’s justification have passed out of judgment. Therefore, since the ruler of this world is judged, he is no longer your master, your enslaver, your devourer. You belong to Christ.     And you are already receiving an inheritance of eternal life, to be received in full when our Lord returns, now and yet coming.

          Meanwhile, we begin to experience the life of God in Christ Jesus. Again, that’s called sanctification. It includes the desire to please God and serve one’s neighbor; it is faith’s fruit of love. This is what the Holy Spirit grows in us through the word as we gather to hear and receive the Word. Rather than Satan’s darts, the Word penetrates you so that, our third point, you have fellowship with the Triune God.

          All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you (v 15). This fellowship comes out from Jesus Christ, out of our sin-bearer, our redeemer. It comes out of Him, the Holy Spirit taking it and declaring it to you. His declaration does what it says. You are pardoned with the righteousness of Christ; the Father regards you as righteousness, and as sons, heirs, dear children. In Holy Baptism you died in Christ and rose to new life. You belong to God as children, and as children have fellowship with the Father. This means much more than nodding your head and thinking, “Oh, that’s a very nice thought.” These things are announced so that you who inherit them live in what Christ has and is, given to you.

          For this reason God the Son became man, suffered, died, rose and ascended so that the disciples no longer just gazed upon Him with sad eyes. By Christ’s death they are promised restoration to God’s image, to actual righteousness, to fellowship with One God who perfectly communes in His three persons. So why were they and we also, afflicted with sadness and so many other spiritual maladies? If we were no longer were sinners, we would be bouncing balls of happiness… because of whose we are. Yet in this life, we are simultaneously saint and sinner. We who are justified and have the Spirit still struggle, for the sake of faith. We are saved by grace through faith. Yet what we are becoming and shall be is certain, and there is joy in that. Our Lord will complete His work in us no matter our moments of gloom.

          For a good reason He went away, so that our fellowship in Him will be and is complete. We have an inheritance, fellowship with God in Christ Jesus, the Holy Spirit leading us to all truth through the word. And that truth, Christ for us and in us, gives us joy even if, since we live in the world, we will suffer for the name of Jesus.  So we return to Christ’s death in Holy Communion, because from it comes our life. Here is another font by which we receive Christ’s word, given with His living body and blood. We who receive forgiveness of sin have life and salvation. That’s why this fifth Sunday of the Resurrection is named cantate, oh sing! “Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel” (Isa 12:6).

The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord (Amen)

4th Sunday of the Resurrection: Isaiah 40:21-31

April 21, 2013; 4th Sunday of the Resurrection (Jubilate); Texts: Psalm 147:1-11; Isaiah 40:21-31; I John 3:1-3; John 16:16-22; Title: The God Who Knows; Rev.Tim Beck

Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ; grace, mercy and peace is God’s gift for you, from our crucified and risen Lord.        So why are many folk like the tribe of Judah? That’s to whom our Old Testament text was first addressed. For 200 hundreds years they were warned to turn back to the Lord. They watched the prophesied destruction of unrepentant Northern Israel by the Assyrians, and still they didn’t return. When their turn came, dragged off to exile, chained together like a string of fish, Judah asks, why is my way hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God?(Oh their blindness!) Might you at times feel that way even without an exile? Might you cry out, “Does God know or care? Why is He silent, why doesn’t he speedily answer my plea?” (Oh our blindness!)

          To Judah God replies do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?  Judah thought it was God’s problem, not hers. But didn’t you hear? We’ve just been told our way is not hidden from God.  So what’s Judah’s problem? Is it like a Richmond boy who said he couldn’t believe in God anymore, asking “How could he let me pull the trigger?” Is it like an elderly church member dying in the hospital asking “why didn’t God answer my prayers for healing?” And God replies, “Do you not know? Or in the King’s English: why are you so blind, so stupid?”  We sinners are stupid, dear friends, because God is not silent at all.  Since Adam’s fall, He has been very busy speaking. He spoke the law to Adam and Eve, asking why they were hiding. Then He spoke a promise about the Saviour who would crush the serpent’s head. He kept speaking, through law and gospel, through the prophets and apostles and chiefly through His own Son. And in today’s word the Living God reveals so much in this question, “Do you not know?” He asks, “Answer my question?”

          We don’t have to in that test without help. We have the answer key. The answer is revealed partly in the creation and explicitly in Holy Scripture. It is the revelation is that God is God, and that God is good.  That revelation answers all our questions, if we will receive it. If there is any counter-cultural message for the church to proclaim in this post-modern age, it is that God is God and that God is good. We live in a society that denies there is a God, except of human making. And we live in a society whose gods cannot deliver what is good, eternal life.  But there is an answer, revealed in part in the creation and explicitly announced in Holy Scripture.

          The first part of the answer is that God is God. This is largely a message of law. It is the message of our being creatures, not gods. It is the message of who is in charge, whether we like it or not. It is the message of human accountability to divine decrees. And this message is known. God revealed it in the created order, in our consciences and unmistakably in the 10 commandments.  Do you not know, says the Living God? Will a little child really excuse himself from stealing cookies from mom’s cookie jar? And now that you’re grown up, will you in big and little ways justify what offends God? For example, will we really escape God’s judgment for the thousands of ways           lying, cheating, lusting, and hurting others is institutionalized in society? The politicians are presently saying “ban guns,” but what about banning evil in the human heart? What about turning away from values that glorify violence, turning away from violence in the movies, in music, and in the ideologies that deny absolute values? Did Mario’s shooters believe the Richmond bill board advertising a rap band with a picture of a drive by shooting and the caption, “The Ultimate Urban Sport?” Will the Lord disregard our contempt for His created order, also written on tablets of stone that we tear off the walls of our court rooms? Do you not know? Or shall we admit our eyes are closed, our minds closed, our hearts closed to the one who made us, who bids us to fellowship? Luther commented: This is original sin, that we have neither the knowledge nor the capability to use God’s great and excellent gifts properly (AE 2.4)… our race has entered the utmost stupidity (AE 1.172).  

          Yet thank God, He remains God.  He …sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; (it is He) who brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness. The LORD by His silence, by hardships and troubles, even by allowing injustice, reveals our alienation from truth, life, and light. His law reveals God is God. For another example, in a small close-knit town, a pastor friend of mine approached his head elder about his fifth marriage and ongoing sexual immorality. The elder replied where did you get this 10 commandment stuff?   It wasn’t long and you can guess who was exiled from the congregation.  It wasn’t only the pastor who suffered. The congregation did too. They suffered from being led by a man living in open rebellion against God. How many of that congregation’s children followed the man’s example? How many then cried “Lord, do you not know?” He feeds us a bitter diet, calling us to eat the meal of repentance. The Lord holds all accountable to His word, both the word of law written on our hearts and the word of Moses written on stone. So are we hidden from the Lord? Or when such things happen, should we know this: He brings princes to nothing. He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision (Ps 2:4) So Lamentations 3:29 says let him put his mouth in the dust, there may yet be hope.  Because God is God, there is hope. Since God is God, there is hope. First, He is able to do all things.

          And second the God who is God has revealed Himself as good. Therefore the church takes comfort in repentance, confessing our sins and calling upon Him who hears. (Is not the Lutheran church the church of courage because she is the church of repentance?) For the Son of God bore the iniquity of our sins, He suffered them all, the one righteous man, bearing in his body the stripes due all. He cried out to a God that was truly silent, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  And He was heard. After three days He rose from the dead. He overcame… therefore so shall we. That resurrection victory is God shouting “I see, I know, I hear!” Thank God, He feeds us His sweet banquet of Holy Communion in Resurrection hope, declaring His infinite goodness.  That message teaches us to trust in God as God because we know He is good. He shouts out His goodness by the revelation of the cross, for our joy. That message transforms our hearts and minds, even if it causes us trouble in this world. Yet it remains our joy and future. To put it in Jesus’ words: When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.

          Or as the prophet Isaiah said: why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God”? The Lord builds up Jerusalem, he gathers the outcasts of Israel, He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds …  This truth is not revealed in nature or in our conscience; it is only know from the revelation of the Word, and believed because the Holy Spirit works faith. And you believe. So you have the answer to the question, why is my way hidden from the Lord and my right disregarded? You have the answer in the cross and resurrection and in the Holy Spirit’s work through water and word, bread and wine with the word, and forgiveness declared. You hear, and hearing you believe what can only be received by faith: God is good, and He is good for you and to you unto eternity.

          Behold the glory of the cross. Behold the glory of imputed righteousness. Behold not what you have done or claim for yourself. Behold what the Living God has done and gives to you. He gloriously washes our ignorance away, and we see He is good.  He washes away sin, creating and sustaining new life. Behold Baptism’s comfort, the peace, the absolution, the wisdom of God. The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. God spoke and all was created. God spoke and a virgin conceived and the Christ was born to recreate all flesh. The Christ did not stop short of the atonement, He conquered all our foes.  Therefore, when He rose He sent the church into the world as His own body. The Lord shall not cease to proclaim the law and incarnate grace any more than cease to bless the church in sharing the sufferings of Christ.

          The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we will be like him, because we shall see him as he is (I Jn 3). This promise answers the question if God knows by the promise of eternal life.  This promise sustains the church, we who believe the resurrection and know what awaits us. Although we will be wearied as Christians living in the world, how glad the promise: He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

          He knows, He knows our weakness, He knows our sins, He knows our need, He knows our faith, He knows and loves us and gives to us what we need. So the church goes into all the world because she knows God is God, and God is        good. The church goes, sustained by His mighty Word and means of grace. Through the church, the world hears of Jesus the sin-bearer, the reconciler, the deliverer, the redeemer, the Saviour who knows and answers. Our way is not hidden from the Lord, our right is not disregarded. He has forgiven our sins and given us the righteousness of Christ. We have hope because God is the God who revealed Himself as good in Christ Jesus.  We are sustained because He drank the stupidity of our sins and feeds us His body, renewing us with His blood. We mount up on eagles’ wings; we shall run and not be weary. Therefore, call upon Him in your every need.  Jesus promised, I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. This promise of joy is not only for all He has done; it is also for what He is doing, and shall do. We shall see Him as He is, and we shall be like Him. What a revelation that shall be! We shall sing out, “O Lord, you do know!” 

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Amen)