"Is the Lord Still Speaking?"
Text: Jeremiah 28:5-9
In the Name of Jesus Christ,
our Gate to Life Eternal and our Friend as we journey along the path.
Dear Fellow Christians:
A young boy awakens in the
night and listens to a clear and direct voice revealing what will soon happen
to his master. The message is from God himself, delivered in so normal a voice
that the boy three times thought it the voice of his master, Eli. So God spoke
to Samuel.
An old man, who at 75 was
just beginning the greatest part of his life, hears the voice of his God and
leaves his extended family and the land of his ancestors and settles in Canaan.
So also he heard the voice of this same God throughout his later life now
promising to give him descendants as numerous as the stars, now warning him of
the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and again announcing that the Savior of
the world would come from his line, as one of his own descendants. So the Lord
spoke to Abraham.
Another old man hears the
voice of the Lord from a burning bush. Much later the Lord speaks to a young
Hebrew warrior, telling him to lead his people against the Midianites. And much
later still to a prince of Israel as he ascends to the throne of his father,
David. So the Lord spoke to Moses, Gideon, and Solomon.
Back then, clearly, God
spoke. But what of today? Does the Lord speak to us
today? How can we hear him? How can we know his voice? What will he sound like
and how will he communicate with us? It is to such questions that we turn our
attention this morning timely questions for folks like us who sometimes feel
forsaken or detached from the God who nonetheless is always with us. The text
that will form the basis of our study is found in the Book of the Prophet
Jeremiah, the 28th Chapter:
Jeremiah 28:5-9 NKJ Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke
to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and in the presence of
all the people who stood in the house of the LORD, 6 and the prophet
Jeremiah said, "Amen! The LORD do so; the LORD perform your words which
you have prophesied, to bring back the vessels of the LORD's
house and all who were carried away captive, from Babylon to this place. 7
Nevertheless hear now this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing
of all the people: 8 The prophets who have been before me and before
you of old prophesied against many countries and great kingdoms -- of war and
disaster and pestilence. 9 As for the
prophet who prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet comes to pass,
the prophet will be known as one whom the LORD has truly sent."
These are the words of our
God. In humble acceptance of the fact that these words are altogether true and
right in all ways, so we pray, Sanctify us through your truth, O Lord.
Your word is truth. Amen.
Admit it. When you read the
title of this sermon, can't you can already in your mind trace the path that the
sermon will take even before the pastor leads you down it.
"Is the Lord still speaking to his
people?" The pastor will undoubtedly tell us, "Yes, God speaks to us even today from the pages of the Holy
Bible." Hopefully your thought process from that point wouldn't be: "I already know and believe that the
Bible is God's Word. Everyone here knows that. So, I guess that having been
reminded of that fact (which of course is a good thing) I will now try to
occupy my mind while the pastor talks about what I already know." The
challenge here is not to tell you what you know, but to apply what you know in
such a way that you come away both enlightened and strengthened. Our goal is
not just to state the obvious, but to use God's Word as God himself intended: "for
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in
righteousness."
So, is the Lord still speaking to his people today? Let me ask in a
little different way: Who here, as a
follower of Jesus Christ, has not wished that God would give you some kind of a
sign or special guidance, especially when faced with an important decision in
your life? This is obviously not a rare desire, since I've heard from
others and I've thought myself that "it
sure would be nice if God would just tell us what he wants us to do."
It is readily apparent that
the sentiment in every such spoken desire is not necessarily wrong. It might
even be noble, at least on the surface. The general indication is that the
speaker wants to be led by God in all of his actions, but he is having a hard
time figuring out just what his God wants him to do. Christians, however, seem
to know almost instinctively the "right-sounding answer" to most
questions, but at times that stock answer lacks the conviction of the heart. In
this case, most Christians know instinctively that God has given us answers and
guidance in his Word, the Bible, but they often lack the conviction that their
specific question or problem could actually have been answered several thousand
years ago. The reasoning goes something like: "I know that Baal is an idol and that murder is a sin, but what I
want to know is whether or not I should marry this guy or look for
another." God's people tend to trust the Bible for doctrinal truth and
for general guidance, but many wonder if the Bible can really be trusted to
answer today's specific questions. Can the Bible, in other words, really be God
speaking to us today?
Turn your thoughts back now to
our text. The setting here is important if we are going to understand the true
message of these words, and thereby gain insight for the present. Our text
takes place after Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon, had captured Jerusalem. You
may recall that the 18-year-old King Jehoiachin wisely surrendered the city of
Jerusalem to Nebuchadnezzar's army to save it from destruction. At that time
Babylon robbed Solomon's temple of its wealth and carried off the best and the
brightest of the land Ezekiel and Daniel may well have been among them. The
city, however, was largely intact, and would have remained so had the new King
of Israel, Zedekiah, not rebelled against Babylon.
The words of our text then
were spoken at a time when Judah had been robbed of its greatest wealth (human
and material) but the capital, the temple, and the basic infrastructure of the
nation remained. To bring these facts more to life, imagine that God has raised up an enemy that has just conquered the United
States, but they left our infrastructure intact after carrying off the best and
the brightest to work in their own country. This is the situation in Judah. In
other words, at this point the people of Judah should be counting their
blessings that they hadn't suffered the annihilation that the Assyrians had visited
upon the northern Tribes of Israel.
It is at this point in Jewish
history that Hananiah speaks, and in our text we note that Jeremiah gives his
amen to the prophecy of Hananiah. What was that prophecy? Hananiah had
prophesied that everything carried off by the Babylonians both people and
treasure would be returned to Judah within two years. This was great news to
the citizens of Jerusalem. How they must have rejoiced to hear that this
setback was only temporary, and that their nation would be restored in two
year's time.
One small
problem. Hananiah was a false
prophet; his words were not true. If that weren't bad enough, there was another
even bigger problem: the people didn't
seem to care. They liked the
prophecy of Hananiah, so they were more than happy to accept it as true.
Although Jeremiah gave his "Amen,"
he was obviously skeptical. Why? As he said, the prophets that spoke the true
word of God before him had prophesied "of war and disaster and pestilence." Those prophecies, because
they had come from God, always came true. Now Hananiah came
prophesying peace and prosperity, and Jeremiah (though he wished it were true)
was skeptical. Again, why? The problem was that nothing had changed in Judah.
They were again being ruled by an evil king, and the people still worshipped
the false gods of the peoples that were supposed to have been driven from the
land. None of this had changed; therefore, despite the fact that Jeremiah loved
his people and in no way wanted to see them destroyed, he was skeptical of this
prophecy of change from Hananiah. He therefore spoke these words of warning to
Hananiah and the people that remained in Judah: "As for the prophet who
prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet comes to pass, the prophet
will be known as one whom the LORD has truly sent."
Do
you recognize this as a word of warning? There is little doubt that Hananiah
did. Hananiah undoubtedly knew that God had given him no such word of peace to speak
to the people. Hananiah made it all up, and Jeremiah had publicly established a
test by which the people could evaluate his words. In more modern terms,
Jeremiah had said to him, "That's
terrific! I just hope it's true, since that is very different from what the
Lord has been telling his prophets lately. I guess time will tell."
You
pretty much can guess what happened. There was no quick return of the exiles.
In fact they were to remain in exiled slavery in Babylon for 70 years. Hananiah, the false prophet, died by the Lord's decree within two
months. Judah, which had in no way reformed, rebelled against Babylon
yet again, and this time Nebuchadnezzar did not spare anyone or anything.
Jerusalem in particular suffered terribly. After a horrible, extended siege, the
walls were torn down, the temple was utterly destroyed, the leading citizens
were slaughtered, every one of the prominent houses was burned to the ground,
and the rest of the people were carried to Babylon as slaves. A few peasants
and some soldiers who had fled the siege of Jerusalem escaped, only to flee to
Egypt as exiles there. With that, the Exodus was reversed and the Promised Land
was snatched, for a time, from God's stubborn and rebellious people. Hardly the
peace and prosperity prophesied by Hananiah.
Again,
all of this is rather interesting, but what of today? What meaning, strength,
guidance is here offered, and how does it answer the question of our theme: Does the Lord still speak to his people?
It
is striking how so little has changed in the thousands of years since the
events of our text. As then, so also today, we live in a world where God made
himself known, only to be abandoned. As then, so also now, the one true God has
been replaced by countless idols of every sort. As then, so also now there are
prophets who prophesy in God's name of a coming peace and prosperity. The
coming peace they foretell is a mythical 1000 year reign of Christ on earth,
and the material prosperity they promise is what they tell Christians to expect
even demand whenever they obey the commandments.
To
all of this Jeremiah's words still apply: "Amen,
wouldn't that be great especially since all this time God has been operating
under a different message." Think about it. Though Jesus said, "My
kingdom is not of this world", the preachers today are saying that
it is of this world. Though Jesus
warned that Christians would always be the poor, persecuted nothings of the
world, preachers today are telling us that Christians can and should be rich
and powerful. Though Jesus warned of ongoing hardship, we are told today of a
coming life of spiritual ease. Jeremiah's words still hold true: "As
for the prophet who prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet comes to
pass, the prophet will be known as one whom the LORD has truly sent."
What
then of our question? Is or is not the Lord speaking to his people today? Of
course he is, and in much the same way as he did in former times. This does not
mean that he speaks audibly in the ears of a select few, or that he continues
to reveal new facts or prophecies. But it does mean that he still actively and
specifically addresses our concerns when we turn to the pages of Holy
Scripture. Understand this well. The Bible does not just give us vague
parallels to today's problems and a "best of luck" when we try to
find our way. Both the Holy Spirit and the Word itself are "living and active."
That means that they work in us and for us whenever we are exposed to Holy
Scripture. Note that while Scripture rules out new and continuing revelation
(which is, in fact, a great comfort to us) it does in no way indicate that His
Spirit would stop working, or that His Word would no longer be effective,
powerful, applicable, and decisive in our lives. Far from it.
The
greatest tragedy of all today is that the one "peace on earth"
that God did foretell is the one that
is sorely neglected and abused to this day the peace that resides in the
heart of those who know Jesus as Lord and Savior. Though this is the heart of
all of Holy Scripture, it is being forced from the forefront of Christianity
and replaced with what human beings deem to be "more relevant." I'm
quite certain that God would want to know what could possibly be more relevant
than learning how one can avoid an eternity in hell, and enjoy instead a
never-ending existence in Paradise. God's Word clearly teaches that the
difference between heaven and hell is Jesus Christ. Those who trust that Jesus
paid the penalty for their sins when he died on the cross of Calvary will spend
eternity in heaven. Those who deny this fact rejecting Jesus as their one and
only Savior will be eternally damned. The angels themselves prophesied of
this peace when they announced the Savior's birth. Using the test of Jeremiah
in our text, they were clearly sent by God, for their prophecy has certainly
come true as we know and experience this peace in our own hearts on a daily
basis.
But
will the Lord speak to you concerning other questions or problems in your life?
Again, of course he will. He has promised to be with you always, and to give
you all things, but you must go to the place where he promised to speak to you:
His Holy Scriptures. There he will not simply give you vague and often
conflicting notions about what you ought to do or what course of action you ought
to take. There, when you are exposed to the power of his Word, he will visit
you, guide you, convict and convince you. But, again, you must visit with him
there, and then you must be prepared to listen
to him and submit to his guiding hand.
How foolish to blame God for any failure to guide and direct us when it is we
who seldom visit the place where he promised to speak to us.
On
a most practical level then, what exactly can we expect from our God? If I
visit with him in prayer and ransack my Bible, will he really tell me if I
ought to accept that new job offer? Of course he will, but don't
wait for the audible voice in the night. Listen really listen when he tells you to "seek first the kingdom of
God and his righteousness." Will that new job land you far from a church
home? Will it prevent you from fulfilling your other obligations as husband,
father, church leader? The answer to any or all of
these might be yes or no, but your God will certainly
speak to you. Will God really address such modern-day issues as spouse
selection, career and school choice, wardrobe, and life-style? Of course he
will. From the pages of his Word he will speak to you of the critical
importance of sharing a faith with your spouse, of care for your soul, of
modesty, piety, and honor. He will paint of clear and precise picture of his
image of the perfect father and mother, man and woman, child, employee and
employer. He will instruct you on how to focus your energies and where to
direct your desires.
The
question is not "Will God speak?" The question is "Will his children really listen?
and
follow?"
This
morning then and each morning we pray that the Lord would preserve us from
all false prophets and false notions, and remind us of the true power and
divine access that he has promised to bring into our lives through his Holy
Word. There God still today speaks directly and clearly to
each one of us. The God who sent his own Son to pay for our sins will certainly
not now allow us to wander aimlessly. He has promised us more than that, and he
gives us more than that. In this let us have confidence. Amen.
Scripture Readings and
Sunday Bulletin for June 29, 2008
NKJ Romans 7:4-13 Therefore, my brethren, you also have become
dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another
-- to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God. 5 For when we were in the flesh,
the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members
to bear fruit to death. 6 But
now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by,
so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the
oldness of the letter. 7 Ά
What shall we say then? Is the law sin?
Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the
law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, "You
shall not covet." 8 But
sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of
evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead. 9 I was alive once without the
law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. 10 And the commandment, which was
to bring life, I found to bring death. 11 For sin, taking occasion by the
commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me. 12 Therefore the law is holy,
and the commandment holy and just and good.
13 Ά Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly
not! But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what
is good, so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful.
NKJ Matthew 10:34-42 "Do not
think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a
sword. 35 "For I have
come to 'set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a
daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law'; 36 "and 'a man's
enemies will be those of his own household.' 37 "He who loves father or
mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who
loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of
Me. 38 "And he who does
not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy
of Me. 39 "He who finds
his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My
sake will find it. 40 Ά " He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives
Me receives Him who sent Me. 41 "He who receives a prophet in the name of a
prophet shall receive a prophet's reward. And he who receives a
righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's
reward. 42 "And whoever
gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a
disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward."
NKJ Jeremiah 28:5-9 Then the
prophet Jeremiah spoke to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests
and in the presence of all the people who stood in the house of the LORD, 6 and the prophet Jeremiah said,
"Amen! The LORD do so; the LORD perform your words which you have
prophesied, to bring back the vessels of the LORD's
house and all who were carried away captive, from Babylon to this place. 7 "Nevertheless hear now this
word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people: 8 "The prophets who have been
before me and before you of old prophesied against many countries and great
kingdoms -- of war and disaster and pestilence.
9 "As for the prophet who prophesies of peace, when the
word of the prophet comes to pass, the prophet will be known as one whom
the LORD has truly sent."
ST. PAUL
Bismarck, ND
58501 (701) 223-4885 Cell: (701) 425-5483
Mr. Mark
Johnson, President (222-1855)
Mrs. Eileen McEnroe, Organist
Michael
Roehl, Pastor mjroehl@bis.midco.net
The Seventh Sunday after Pentecost June 29, 2008
|
The
Opening Prayer by the Pastor
The
Opening Hymn ‑#13- (Red Hymnal)
"Before Jehovah's
Awe-full Throne"
The Order of Morning Service Brown Hymnal page 12.
The Scripture Lessons: (Printed on the back page of
this bulletin)
The Epistle Lesson: (Romans
7:4-13) In this reading we find one of the greatest
expositions concerning the Law what it does and does not do. We recognize the
Law as a summary of God's will. As such there is clearly nothing wrong with the
Law itself. It is the law breaker who
has the problem. The Law also serves mankind in that it makes known to us
problems that might otherwise have remained hidden. As the irritant from a
mosquito bite warns you of that which you might not have noticed, so also the
Law reveals sin.
Psalm
100 (Supplement page 35) (Brown
Hymnal)
The Gospel Lesson:
(Matthew 10:34-42) We are here reminded, first of all, that even when the
citizens of our country are enjoying peace and prosperity, Christ Jesus came to
bring spiritual warfare. We are thus here reminded that our Lord Jesus does not
want our neighbor to remain comfortable in his sin and unbelief. Faith in Jesus
is the great dividing point that separates those who are going to heaven and
those who are going to hell.
The
Confession of Faith Apostles'
Creed (Supplement page 15)
The
Pre‑Sermon Hymn ‑#296- (Red Hymnal)
"Speak,
O Lord, Thy Servant Heareth"
The
Sermon Text: Jeremiah 28:5-9 (Printed on the back of this bulletin)
"Is
the Lord Still Speaking?"
"Create
In Me" (The Offertory)
Brown Hymnal page 16 insert
The Offering, followed by the Prayers
Pre-Communion
Hymn -310- (Verses 1-3)
"Thy Table I Approach"
The
Preparation for Holy Communion (Brown Hymnal page 17)
The
Distribution -Hymn #305- (Red Hymnal)
The
Nunc Dimittis and Thanksgiving (Brown Hymnal page 20)
The Benediction
The
Closing Hymn ‑#783- (Brown Hymnal)
"Jesus,
Shepherd of the Sheep"
Silent
Prayer
Attendance ‑
Last Sunday (38) 2008 Average (52)
This
Week at
Today -10:00 a.m. Worship Service w/
Holy Communion
-11:15 a.m. Fellowship Hour
Next Sunday -10:00 a.m. Sunday Worship Service
-11:00
a.m. Fellowship
Hour
CLC News Pastor Roehl is considering the call to Faith Lutheran of Markesan, WI.
The prayers of the congregation are requested that God's will might be done.
CLC
Convention Summary A
one-page summary of the recent CLC Convention is available as a bulletin insert this morning. Please take some time to
read it over and thus to familiarize yourself with the current CLC news. Please
also address any questions to the Pastor.
New ILC Academic and Administration Building One of the more notable
decisions made at this year's convention was the resolution to begin building
the new Academic Center on the campus of Immanuel College immediately. Demolition of
the Cottage
classroom is scheduled to take place in early August and construction of the
first wing of the new building to follow immediately after. While this is very
exciting news, it will certainly require a prolonged commitment on the part of
the CLC membership to pay for this project.
CEF Loans Two things are needed to finance the
new Academic Center cash contributions and loans. The CEF is currently
offering up to 4½ % interest on notes payable on demand (90 days).