In These Changing Times

My Favorite Illustrations Love’s Quiet Confidence

Love’s Quiet Confidence

Though waves and storms go o’er my head,

Though strength and health and friends are gone,

Though joys be withered all and dead,

Though every comfort be withdrawn,

On this my steadfast soul relies—

Father, Thy mercy never dies!

Fixed on this ground will I remain,

Though my heart fail and flesh decay:

This anchor shall my soul sustain,

When earth’s foundations melt away:

Mercy’s full power I then shall prove,

Loved with an everlasting love.

—John Wesley

The World seeks to find comfort in security, and to that end, tries to take control over every aspect of life. The Church of Jesus Christ, by contrast, finds security in Christ’s Word of comfort, because of which we trust that His control is sufficient.

Blessed Lord, You have caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning. Grant that we may so hear them, read, mark, learn, and take them to heart that, by the patience and comfort of Your holy Word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life. … through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Mark 13:18–23 ESV

18 Pray that it may not happen in winter. 19 For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, and never will be. 20 And if the Lord had not cut short the days, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, whom he chose, he shortened the days. 21 And then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. 22 For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect. 23 But be on guard; I have told you all things beforehand.

Mark 13:19–23 ESV

19 For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, and never will be. 20 And if the Lord had not cut short the days, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, whom he chose, he shortened the days. 21 And then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. 22 For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect. 23 But be on guard; I have told you all things beforehand.

Mark 13:19–24 ESV

19 For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, and never will be. 20 And if the Lord had not cut short the days, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, whom he chose, he shortened the days. 21 And then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. 22 For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect. 23 But be on guard; I have told you all things beforehand. 24 “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light,

The world that Jesus describes in is a world that has sparked a great anxiousness in many, and that anxiousness spawned a monetization of eschatology . The “Left Behind” books and movies introduced many to a world where all the normal comforts that people have come to rely are snatched away as their believing family and friends are “raptured.” In response, the world slowly turns to a man who promises to make everything make sense, only to hurl humanity into chaos.

In , Jesus positions us in the midst of a tribulation such as a mankind has never experienced, and yet He speaks to His disciples not to bring them to despair, but to encourage them to trust in His exceeding great and precious promise to return for us.

It is His promise that leads me to hear God’s Word and take it to heart. Those who do not take the time to “hear, read, mark, learn and take it to heart” are easy prey for an enemy who takes advantage of our ignorance to lead us astray.

There are so many ways that we can be sidetracked into focusing on things that won’t matter in eternity, although they are useful today. Social justice is good, but it pales in the face of eternal righteousness. influence and affluence are enjoyable, but if the rich man could, he would tell you that they won’t cool the fires of hell. Knowledge is power, but the wisdom of this world is fleeting, and won’t prepare you for the Lord’s return.

Someone might want to ask me, “Why are you talking like this today, Pastor? This is Sunday, not a funeral. It’s Christmas season, a time of anticipation and celebration! Didn’t we, or more accurately, didn’t Amazon and the Southlake Mall just celebrate Black Friday?

You’re right - Thanksgiving is done, Christmas lies ahead, and no one is being buried today at St. John’s. Yet I choose, by the leading of the Lord, to warn you that trouble is coming, not to frighten you, but to prepare you.

Mark 13:24–27 ESV

24 “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 25 and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

Mark 13:28–31 ESV

28 “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. 30 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

The mercies of God are found in these words, not that He removes you from this period, but that He prepares you for it. God faithfully and lovingly watches over us for good.

Luther’s Small Catechism with Explanation, 2017 Edition Morning Prayer

I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.

The God who created the universe watches over us as we sleep from the day’s toils and trials, and we ask Him to watch over us as we face the day’s events. We pray with the conviction that God faithfully and lovingly watches over us for good, and by necessity.

Luther, Luther’s Small Catechism with Explanation (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2017), 30.

Luther’s Small Catechism with Explanation, 2017 Edition The First Article

What does this mean? I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them.

He also gives me clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children, land, animals, and all I have. He richly and daily provides me with all that I need to support this body and life.

He defends me against all danger and guards and protects me from all evil.

All this He does only out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me. For all this it is my duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him.

This is most certainly true.

The central incontrovertible element of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that the Son of God endured the holy, innocent, bitter sufferings and death for you, a poor, miserable sinner. In Holy Baptism, He unites poor miserable sinners with His holy, sinless Body so that we can be accounted at righteous. Through the Church, we who were divided by our selfish passions have been united by His holy Passion.

Who in Heaven, on earth, or even under the earth, has declared an absolute, unchanging, immeasurable love for us? Who has given evidence of that love by paying what has always and can only be described as the ultimate price? Who entreats us to enter into a relationship that is based, not upon what we bring to the table, but upon what He has brought to the “tree?” Who then equips us to live as beloved children, empowered by the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead to resist the same satanic forces that He defeated at the cross?

The central incontrovertible element of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that Jesus endured the holy, innocent, bitter sufferings and death for you, a poor, miserable sinner. In Holy Baptism, He unites poor miserable sinners with His holy, sinless Body so that we can be accounted at righteous. Through the Church, we who were divided by our selfish passions have been united by His holy Passion.

Luther’s Small Catechism with Explanation, 2017 Edition The Second Article

What does this mean? I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord,

who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death,

that I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness,

just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity.

This is most certainly true.

In the face of such great love, we look for alternatives that don’t remind us of how ruined we are by sin. We insist that we can do better than the Gospel, we can do better than the church of Jesus Christ.

In the face of such great love, we should bow in awe and trembling, but we don’t. Instead, we push it away. We look for alternatives that don’t remind us of how poisoned we are, how corrupted we are, how ruined we are by sin. We insist that we can do better than the Gospel, we can do better than the church of Jesus Christ, we can do better than God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

So God waits, patiently, while we run to and fro, from alternative to alternative, from lie to lie, trying to fix by our ingenuity what we ruined by our iniquity. He withholds the full execution of His righteous judgment. Instead, in His mercy God sends shepherds to warn us:

2 Peter 3:2–4 ESV

2 that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, 3 knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. 4 They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.”

People fear climate change, social injustice, or pandemics, but do not fear God’s Strong Word. How long can we mistreat one another, mistreat our world, and ignore the Creator and Sustainer of everything that is seen and unseen, before He, in His mercy and justice, would bring our foolishness to an end?

Mark 13:32–37 ESV

32 “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. 34 It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. 35 Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning— 36 lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. 37 And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.”

Your adversary, the devil, the predator that he is, seeks to lull you to sleep with the cares of this life, and far too often for far too many, he succeeds. You don’t have to look hard to find them; they are in our midst daily.

Ezekiel 33:7–11 ESV

7 “So you, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. 8 If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. 9 But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, that person shall die in his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul. 10 “And you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, Thus have you said: ‘Surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we rot away because of them. How then can we live?’ 11 Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?

Instead of a crutch to carry us, God gave us the solution to save us.

The Book of Concord The First Article:

Here is the first and chief article:

[1] That Jesus Christ, our God and Lord, “was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification” (Rom. 4[:25*]); [2] and he alone is “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1[:29*]); and “the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isa. 53[:6*]); [3] furthermore, “All have sinned,” and “they are now justified without merit by his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus … by his blood” (Rom. 3[:23–25*]).

[4] Now because this must be believed and may not be obtained or grasped otherwise with any work, law, or merit, it is clear and certain that this faith alone justifies us, as St. Paul says in Romans 3[:28*, 26*]: “For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law”; and also, “that God alone24 is righteous and justifies the one who has faith in Jesus.”

[5] Nothing in this article can be conceded or given up, even if heaven and earth or whatever is transitory passed away. As St. Peter says in Acts 4[:12*]: “There is no other name … given among mortals by which we must be saved.” “And by his bruises we are healed” (Isa. 53[:5*]).

On this article stands all that we teach and practice against the pope, the devil, and the world. Therefore we must be quite certain and have no doubt about it. Otherwise everything is lost, and the pope and the devil and whatever opposes us will gain victory and be proved right.

The Book of Concord The First Article:

Here is the first and chief article:

[1] That Jesus Christ, our God and Lord, “was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification” (Rom. 4[:25*]); [2] and he alone is “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1[:29*]); and “the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isa. 53[:6*]); [3] furthermore, “All have sinned,” and “they are now justified without merit by his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus … by his blood” (Rom. 3[:23–25*]).

[4] Now because this must be believed and may not be obtained or grasped otherwise with any work, law, or merit, it is clear and certain that this faith alone justifies us, as St. Paul says in Romans 3[:28*, 26*]: “For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law”; and also, “that God alone24 is righteous and justifies the one who has faith in Jesus.”

[5] Nothing in this article can be conceded or given up, even if heaven and earth or whatever is transitory passed away. As St. Peter says in Acts 4[:12*]: “There is no other name … given among mortals by which we must be saved.” “And by his bruises we are healed” (Isa. 53[:5*]).

On this article stands all that we teach and practice against the pope, the devil, and the world. Therefore we must be quite certain and have no doubt about it. Otherwise everything is lost, and the pope and the devil and whatever opposes us will gain victory and be proved right.

It isn’t about being popular, or even about being right. It’s about being made ready - Ready to worship the Father as the source of every good and perfect gift. Ready to serve as Christ’s ambassador in a world that is so in the dark about Him. Ready to walk in the Spirit rather than fulfill the lusts of the flesh. Ready to recognize that I can do none of that in my own strength.

Luther’s Small Catechism with Explanation, 2017 Edition The Third Article

What does this mean? I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.

In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith.

In this Christian church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers.

On the Last Day He will raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ.

This is most certainly true

Luther’s Small Catechism with Explanation, 2017 Edition The Third Article

What does this mean? I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.

In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith.

In this Christian church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers.

On the Last Day He will raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ.

This is most certainly true.

THE LO

I believe in God the Father, who sent God the Son, who poured out God the Holy Spirit in our hearts through His Holy Baptism so that we could have fellowship with the One who upholds all things by the Word of His power, who knows how much we can bear, who knows what we stand in the need of, even before we ask, and is able to do exceedingly above all that we could ask or think. He came to save us, and He promises to return to restore His creation to the glory in which it was created, a glory that is unmarred by sin. Even so, come Lord Jesus.

So let the peace of God that passes all understanding, guard your heart and mind through Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen