"What
Do You Think?"
Text: Isaiah 55:1-9
"May the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by
Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen,
and settle you. 11 To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen." 1 Peter 5:10-11
Dear Fellow Christians:
The French
mathematician/philosopher/scientist Rene Descartes once said: "If you would
be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life
you doubt, as far as possible, all things." That probably does not
strike you, at first blush, as a particularly Christian thought. Maybe it ought
to. Christians ought not fear human thought or reason.
It is a gift from our God. Yet like all such gifts, man will find both good and
bad uses for what God intended to be only good. Descartes, for example,
struggled (apparently for some time) trying to rationally explain his own
existence. He apparently struggled with the notion that life might just be
something of a very realistic dream, and therefore not real at all. Dreams, after
all, represent a fictitious albeit at times very real "non-existence."
I didn't really saddle a beaver and ride him to the moon, but it certainly
seemed so in my dream.
The
problem then for Descartes was to come up with some logical evidence or proof
that life itself is more than just a dream. What settled the question as far as
he was concerned was the famous statement for which he is remembered: "I doubt, therefore I think; I think,
therefore I am."
To
all of this, you and I respond: "Whatever."
The
point here is not that such thoughts or doubts are always wrong or always right;
the point is that we need to acknowledge the incredible dangers that lurk in
the shadows of our own minds. Deep thoughts, in and of themselves, are not the
problem. The problem comes when we try to take such journeys without a proper
guide. That's when we wonder into places we shouldn't go and arrive at
conclusions or beliefs that are every bit as "real" as beaver rides
to the moon.
For
the help and direction that is so critical for each of us, we turn again to
that only sure and certain guide God's Word. That portion of Holy Scripture
that will instruct us this morning is found in the Book of Isaiah the Prophet,
the 55th Chapter:
NKJ Isaiah
55:1-9
"Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no
money, come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine
and milk without money and without price.
2 Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me,
and eat what is good, and let
your soul delight itself in abundance. 3
Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; and I will
make an everlasting covenant with you -- the sure mercies of David. 4 Indeed I have given him as a witness to the people, a leader
and commander for the people. 5
Surely you shall call a nation you do not know, and nations who do not know you shall run to you,
because of the LORD your God, and the Holy One of Israel; for He has glorified
you." 6 Seek the LORD
while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. 7 Let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, and He will
have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. 8 "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My
ways," says the LORD. 9
"For as the heavens are
higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your
ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts."
These are the wise and holy
words of our God. As evidence that we trust these words implicitly with our
very souls and desiring that our God would use these words to teach and
strengthen us, so we pray: Sanctify us through your truth, O Lord.
Your word is truth. Amen.
One sometimes wonders if
thought or, more specifically, deep
thought is something of a vanishing commodity in our society. If so, it makes
sense in a way. The busier we become, the less time we have for any sort of
time consuming contemplation. We are also being trained, from little on, to
operate at sound bite speed. Who wants to take the time to actually think
something through when a persuasive orator can save us all the work of having
to think something through by summing it all up for us in just a few sentences
or better yet, a few catchy slogans? "I
believe in a woman's right to choose" is much easier than actually
thinking through the God given rights of the unborn and the horrors of
destroying a helpless human life. "We've
got to get guns out of the hands of criminals" is much easier than
figuring out how such things can be
accomplished among those who, by definition, do not obey the laws of the
society in which they live.
Now here is where things get
a little weird, because while actually thinking a problem through seems to be a
diminishing art among us, we nonetheless seem preoccupied with what other people think. I can understand
that politicians treasure opinion polls because such polls teach them how to
tell more appealing lies, but what about the rest of our society? Have we
really become so lazy that we now rely on others to do our thinking for us? In
the end, who really cares what a starlet thinks about US foreign policy in the
Middle East? Why is the country eager to hear what a professional singer thinks
about so-called global warming?
The answer goes to the heart
of one of our greatest weaknesses a weakness that the devil understands full
well and will certainly use against us: the desire to be mainstream.
There is tremendous pressure
on every single one of us to conform. It is the path of least resistance that we
will all naturally follow unless some other force of greater power directs us
onto a different path.
What this means to you young
people is that you will always be tempted to think exactly what your friends
think. That's just how we are wired as human beings. And the pressure to
conform never really goes away as you grow older, although the fact that old
men wear black socks and shorts together is an indication that the temptation
to conform does seem to diminish over time
So the bottom line for you
and me, as far as our thoughts and opinions are concerned, is that they
represent extremely powerful tools or influences in our lives, and the use of
those tools can result in good or evil. This fact ought to be very sobering for
every single one of us. That it represents the way things really are ought to
be beyond dispute. There is a good reason why our young people very often find
themselves in spiritual crisis when they attend public colleges and
universities. There they are taught to follow the lead of Descartes. You
remember his statement: "If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least
once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things." So college-age men and
women are taught to erase what they have been taught by parents, pastors,
Sunday School teachers and the like, and are
encouraged to test drive and then buy into their own personal
"truth." Unfortunately, conformity will more often than not lead them
to adopt the prevailing ideas of their peers and professors and when you are
attending a public university, that is almost always a recipe for spiritual
disaster.
Yet
most of us here today are not in college. The danger still remains that we
might be lead astray by our personal thoughts and opinions. What then are you
and I going to do about it? Certainly refusing to doubt or question anything is
not the answer. God himself told us to practice a certain amount of skepticism
and doubt when he told us through the Apostle John: "Beloved,
do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God;
because many false prophets have gone out into the world."
For our answers we turn to our text for this morning, because
while it is all well and good to ask questions and to reevaluate our own
personal thoughts and positions, it is only God pleasing and safe to do so when
armed with the sure and certain Word of God. We need our God to guide us
through the process. Why is this so critical? Because when it comes to the
truth, you and I are in over our heads. There are so many different and
seductive points of view out there that you and I cannot possibly stumble onto
the truth on our own. Nor can we remain
in that truth on our own. For that we need that rare and unique wisdom of God.
Our text makes this clear to even those of us that can
tend to be rather dim-witted and stubborn from time to time. You heard those
key words in our text you probably know them by heart: "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My
ways," says the LORD. 9
"For as the heavens are
higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your
ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts."
What these words teach us is that we will not can not
arrive at the truth on our own. The key is to allow God's Word to actually form
our opinions and to guide and direct our thoughts.
The alternative is dire indeed. Our text therefore poses
a question that we are supposed to ask of, and apply to, ourselves: "Ho!
Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no
money, come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine
and milk without money and without price.
Why do you spend money for what
is not bread, and your wages for what
does not satisfy?" Apply these inspired words to manmade
opinions. Those ideas regarding salvation and truth that have no divine origin are
of no real value or benefit to anyone. Here we are taught that there are those things in life that are
worthless despite their appearance of quality or significance. Our text
continues: "Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul
delight itself in abundance. 3
Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; and I will
make an everlasting covenant with you -- the sure mercies of David."
At this point you and I had better be interested.
Whenever God's inspired writers talk about the life of the human soul, you and
I surely ought to sit up and take notice. And just what is it that you and I
are supposed to learn as truth concerning the human soul and whether it lives
or dies? Our text answers for us: "Seek the LORD while He may be found, call
upon Him while He is near. 7
Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him
return to the LORD, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will
abundantly pardon." Mankind has always and will always seek after
some higher truth as to how sinners can make up for their many sins and thus "get right with the man upstairs."
Every single search will fail unless
God the Holy Spirit leads us to Jesus Christ. Jesus is that higher truth that
surpasses human understanding. Trusting in the goodness of another as the
payment for your personal sins is the heart of divine truth; it is the gateway
to everlasting life. While man naturally struggles to earn his own way, the
higher thoughts of God himself teach us that trying to earn forgiveness with
our works is futile, but that Jesus Christ has won God's pardon and forgiveness
for every single sinner.
When the Apostle Paul was taught this truth (when he was
brought to faith in Jesus as his Savior) Paul's good and natural reaction was
to "count
as rubbish" all of the worldly wisdom that he had accumulated for
a lifetime, and to resolve to know "nothing but Jesus Christ and him
crucified." Surely there are others out there who think deeper and
investigate more fully. What a tremendous comfort to know that there are no
other "doors of truth," no other "paths to a higher
consciousness" or any such things. That "higher way" of
God himself has been revealed to us in the person and work of Jesus Christ. You
have Christ; you lack nothing.
What do you think? In the end, it doesn't really matter
what you think not when what you know
and believe is that God the Father has forgiven your sins for the sake of
Jesus Christ our Lord. You and I need nothing else. Amen.
Scripture
Readings and Sunday Bulletin for December 16, 2007
NKJ Isaiah
35:3-8. 10 Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the
feeble knees. 4 Say to those who
are fearful-hearted, "Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will
come with vengeance, with the recompense of God; He will come and
save you." 5 Then the
eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be
unstopped. 6 Then the lame
shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst
forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert. 7 The parched ground shall become
a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water; in the habitation of jackals,
where each lay, there shall be grass with reeds and rushes. 8 A highway shall be there, and a road, and it shall be called the Highway of Holiness. The
unclean shall not pass over it, but it shall be for others. Whoever
walks the road, although a fool, shall not go astray. 10
And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with singing, with
everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow
and sighing shall flee away.
NKJ Matthew
11:2-11 And when John had heard in prison about the
works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples
3 and said to Him, "Are You the Coming One, or do we
look for another?" 4
Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and tell John the things which you hear
and see: 5 "The blind
see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf
hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel
preached to them. 6 "And
blessed is he who is not offended because of Me." 7 Ά As
they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John: "What
did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by
the wind? 8 "But
what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who
wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.
9 "But what did you go out to see? A
prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet. 10 "For this is he of
whom it is written: 'Behold, I send My messenger
before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.' 11 "Assuredly, I say to you,
among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the
Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
NKJ Isaiah
55:1-9
"Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; and you who have no
money, come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine
and milk without money and without price.
2 Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and
your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight
itself in abundance. 3
Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; and I will
make an everlasting covenant with you -- The sure mercies of David. 4 Indeed I have given him as a
witness to the people, a leader and commander for the people. 5 Surely you shall call a nation
you do not know, and nations who do not know you shall run to you, because
of the LORD your God, and the Holy One of Israel; for He has glorified
you." 6 Seek the LORD
while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. 7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and
the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, and He will have
mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. 8 " For My thoughts are
not your thoughts, nor are your ways My
ways," says the LORD. 9
"For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your
thoughts."
ST. PAUL EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH
2510 E. Divide Ave.
Bismarck, ND 58501 (701) 223-4885
Cell: (701) 226-8510
Website www.bismarcklutheran.org
Mr. Mark Johnson, President (222-1855) Mrs. Eileen McEnroe, Organist
Michael Roehl, Pastor
Third Sunday in Advent December 16, 2007
|
The Opening Prayer by the Pastor
The
Opening Hymn ‑#68- (Red Hymnal)
"The
Advent of Our King"
The
Order of Service
Supplement page 12ff. (Brown Hymnal)
The
Scripture Lessons: (Printed on the back page of this bulletin)
The
Old Testament Lesson:
(Isaiah 35:3-8, 10) Our first lesson today can
be read with the eyes of reason, or with the eyes of faith. The Jews read them
with eyes of reason and still today miss their true fulfillment. Let us read
these promises with the eyes of faith, and know that they stand fulfilled in
Jesus Christ and in His New Covenant Church
Psalm of the Day Psalm 8 (Supplement
page 27) (Brown Hymnal)
The
New Testament Lesson: (Matthew 11:2-11) Our New Testament Lesson
teaches us why we are to read the Old Testament Scriptures with the eyes of
faith. We do so because Jesus himself did so, and thereby taught us to do the
same. So also in this lesson Jesus taught us that the words of Isaiah 35 were
fulfilled in Himself in the person of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
The
Confession of Faith ‑
The
Apostolic Creed page 15. (Brown Hymnal)
The Pre-Sermon Hymn ‑#73- (Verses 1-4) (Red Hymnal)
"Lift
Up Your Heads Ye Mighty Gates"
The
Sermon Text: Isaiah 55:1-9 (Printed on the back page)
"What
Do You Think?"
The
Offertory (Supplement page 16 insert)
The Post-Sermon Hymn -#76-
(Red Hymnal)
"A
Great and Mighty Wonder"
The
Offering Hymn
The
Prayers of the Day followed by the Lord's Prayer
The Benediction
The
Closing Hymn ‑#73- (Verse
5) (Red Hymnal)
"Lift
Up Your Heads Ye Mighty Gates"
Silent Prayer
Attendance ‑
Last Sunday (56)
2007 Average (55)
This
Week at St. Paul:
Today -10:00 a.m. Worship Service
-11:15
a.m. Fellowship
Meal
-12:00 p.m. Annual Voters' Meeting
Wednesday -5:45
p.m. Confirmation & Bible History
-7:00 p.m.
Final Midweek Advent Service
Next Sunday -8:45 a.m. Sunday School and Bible Class
-10:00
a.m. Worship
Service w/ Holy Communion
-11:15 a.m. Fellowship Hour
Annual Voters' Meeting The Annual Voters' Meeting
is scheduled for this morning, following a fellowship meal.
Visitors and members alike are invited and encouraged to join us for the meal.
Final Midweek Advent
Services
The last of our three midweek Advent services is scheduled for this Wednesday
at 7:00 p.m.
Church Council Notes Four
members of the Council, plus the Pastor, were present. Treasurer Weiss reported
a check book balance of $1,423 at the end of November. Although savings in a
number of areas have resulted in under-spending the budget by $3,690, Mr. Weiss
estimates that unless offerings for December exceed monthly expenses by $2000,
it may be necessary to cash in one of our savings notes in the Church Extension
Fund. Mark Johnson is looking into labels for the new mailboxes; the snow
blower is undergoing some repairs; and Council will recommend to the Voters
that we renew our OSI contract for lawn care. The Memorial Book has been
received and data on past memorials is currently being sought. (Please contact
Mark Johnson if you know of a past memorial so that it can be included in this
memorial record.) The Council reviewed and adjusted both the Usher/Cleaning Schedule
and the 2008 Budget for the third time. The Usher/Cleaning Schedule will be
distributed on Sunday, and the Budget will be presented to the Voters for
approval.
Outreach The Outreach Committee would
like to remind all members of St. Paul to look over the outreach
"menu" to determine what project you might be interested in adopting.
For more information please see either Mike McEnroe (the Chairman of the Outreach
Committee) or the Pastor.