“Yahweh’s Gracious Promises Are Truly Trustworthy”
In the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.
[Amen.]
Dear fellow believers of Yahweh’s truly trustworthy gracious
promises, grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our
Lord [Amen.]
“Wisdom’s highest, noblest treasure,
Jesus, is revealed in You.
Let me find in You my pleasure,
And my wayward will subdue.
Humility there and simplicity reigning,
In paths of true wisdom my steps ever training.
If I learn from Jesus this knowledge divine,
The blessing of heavenly wisdom is mine.”
(Lutheran Service Book, © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO.
536:3)
Old Testament
Reading..............................................................................
Genesis 18:10a
The Lord said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and
Sarah your wife shall have a son.”
Prologue: Divine promises abound in the Bible. Divine promises
are promises God made beginning already with Adam and Eve when, after they
fell victim to Satan’s cunning temptation to disobey God, He promised them
merciful and gracious forgiveness in the then-future Messiah. As God
demonstrated time and time again, whenever He makes a promise it is as good
as already fulfilled. That’s how sure and certain His promises were then …
and continue to be today. In fact, among the thirteen attributes of God
listed under The First Article of The Apostles’ Creed is: “faithful (keeping
His promises)” (Luther’s Small Catechism with Explanation. Copyright ©
1986, 1991 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO. Page 106.) Saint
Paul attested to that fact when he wrote to Pastor Timothy: “If we are
faithless, He remains faithful—for He cannot deny Himself.” (2 Tim 2:13 ESV)
The stark contrast between God’s promises and our promises is that God keeps
His promises flawlessly but we falter and fail in keeping our promises.
Now consider this, there are four items in the church where
promises are prominent. First is repentance, wherein after we have
confessed our sins and received God’s forgiveness, we promise to strive by
the power of the Holy Spirit to change from the evil of disobedience to
God-pleasing and God-praising obedience. Today’s Epistle Reading from Saint
Paul’s pen said this about that: “You, who once were alienated and hostile
in mind, doing evil deeds, [Christ] has now reconciled in his body of flesh
by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach
before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not
shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been
proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a
minister.” (Col 1:21-23 ESV)
Second is Holy Baptism, in which God promises to forgive our sins
and remain with us always … never leave us nor forsake us.
Third is Confirmation, in which we promise intent to “hear the
Word of God and receive the Lord’s Supper faithfully,” “live according to
the Word of God, and in faith, word, and deed to remain true to God, Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit, even to death,” and “continue steadfast in this
confession and Church and to suffer all, even death, rather than fall away
from it.” By the way, today’s Introit emphasized the importance of God’s
Word when the Psalm writer declared: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a
light to my path. The Lord is my portion; I promise to keep your words.”
(Ps 119:105, 57 ESV) And Jesus Himself testified to the importance of
hearing God’s Word when in today’s Gospel Reading He said to Martha: “… you
are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary.
Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
(St Luke 10:41b-42 ESV) That “good portion” was none other than listening
to God’s Word from the mouth of the God-man Himself.
And, fourth is Holy Matrimony, in which husband and wife promise
“to live together in the holy estate of matrimony as God ordained it,”
“love, honor and keep [each other] in sickness and in health and, forsaking
all others remain united to [each other] so long as you both shall live,”
and “to have and to hold [each other] from this day forward, for better, for
worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to
cherish, till death us do part, according to God’s holy will; and I pledge
you my faithfulness.” (Lutheran Service Book. Pages 273 & 276.)
You see, the Christian religion is a promise-based religion that’s
dependent on the trustworthiness of almighty God to keep the promises He
made. This is certainly true regarding absolution. After all, “The power
of absolution is not dependent on the faith of [the person] who is being
absolved but on the promise of God. If a king presents you with a castle,
but you refuse to accept it, the validity of the gift is thereby not
affected. The absolution of even a godless preacher is valid. A pearl
remains a pearl, even though it be in the hand of a thief.” (Encyclopedia of
Sermon Illustrations. Compiled by David F. Burgess. Copyright © 1988
Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO. Page 13.)
Well, today’s at least somewhat familiar Old Testament account
brings us face-to-face with the trustworthiness of divine promises. What
seemed virtually impossible to senior citizens Abraham and Sarah, namely the
ability to conceive and birth a child in their old age, is what God promised
them. In fact, it was so ridiculous to Sarah that she scornfully laughed
about it. And here’s where perhaps God’s grace is even more greatly
revealed. Despite their doubting of the fulfillment of His promise to them,
they would discover in due time that …
“Yahweh’s Gracious Promises Are Truly Trustworthy.”
One of the foremost ways of demonstrating trustworthiness is
personal presence. So it was that …
I. Yahweh Appeared to Abraham Then … and He Also Appears to Us Today.
(1-5)
1The Lord appeared to [Abraham] by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door
of his tent in the heat of the day. 2He lifted up his eyes and looked, and
behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran
from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth 3and said, “O
Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant.
4Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves
under the tree, 5while I bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh
yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your
servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.”
Abraham had a personal encounter with the promised Messiah in
human form even before He was born of the Virgin Mary. That in itself was
an absolutely astounding thing! The pre-incarnate Christ appeared to
Abraham and made other appearances as well in Old Testament times prior to
His virgin birth.
What’s perhaps even more astounding is that He continues to appear
to us today. He does so in four specific ways: first, the reading and
hearing of God’s Holy Word, which all about Jesus … from Genesis chapter 1
verse 1 (“In the beginning, God [Elohim, the triune God, of which Jesus is
the second person] created the heavens and the earth.” [Gen 1:1 ESV]) to
Revelation chapter 22 verses 20-21 (“He who testifies to these things says,
‘Surely I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! The grace of the Lord
Jesus be with you all. Amen.” [Rev 22:20-21 ESV]); second, in the
declaration of Holy Absolution, in which you heard me say at the beginning
of this Divine Service … “As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by
His authority, I therefore forgive you all your sins … .” (Lutheran Service
Book. Page 203.); third, in the Blessed Sacrament of Holy Baptism, in which
our Savior’s blood was miraculously mingled with the sacramental water that
was applied to us; and fourth, in the Blessed Sacrament of Holy Communion,
in which the true body and blood of Jesus are really present in, with, and
under the sacramental bread and wine.
What Jesus spoke to unbelieving-then-believing Thomas gives us
great comforting assurance: “Have you believed because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (St John 20:29
ESV) He who promised Joshua: “… I will be with you. I will not leave you
or forsake you.” (Josh 1:5 ESV) is the same who promised His disciples at
His ascension and through them us as well: “… I am with you always, to the
end of the age.” (St Matt 28:20 ESV) The apostle Peter further testified to
Christ’s presence with us when he wrote: “Though you have not seen him, you
love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice
with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome
of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (1 Peter 1:8-9 ESV) Pastor
Marks and I are unified in our commitment to continually proclaim that good
news to you because of which today’s Gradual applies to us as well: “Their
voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the
world.” (Is 52:7b alt. ESV)
The appearances of Jesus to us today in Word and Sacrament are
joyfully wonderful beyond human language. So, in addition to our feeble
words of gratitude and glory, like Abraham, …
II. We Offer Yahweh the Best of Our Possessions. (6-9)
6And Abraham went quickly into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quick! Three
seahs of fine flour! Knead it, and make cakes.” 7And Abraham ran to the
herd and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to a young man, who
prepared it quickly. 8Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had
prepared, and set it before them. And he stood by them under the tree while
they ate. 9They said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “She
is in the tent.”
Gift-giving is an important part of our relationships with beloved
family and friends. Gift-giving is a tangible way of saying: “I love you.
I care for you. I value our relationship.” Gift-giving is a meaningful way
of saying: “Thank you. I appreciate you.”
God’s Gift to us is none other than Jesus Christ, who gained for
us forgiveness of sins, salvation, and eternal life with His Holy life,
innocent suffering, crucifixion death, and glorious resurrection from the
dead. Our gift to God is ourselves: our time, our talents, and our
treasure. We’re invited to do so with the hymn: “Give thanks with a
grateful heart, Give thanks to the Holy One, Give thanks because He’s given
Jesus Christ His Son.” (Lutheran Service Book. #806.) We respond to that
invitation with the hymn: “We give Thee but Thine own, Whate’er the gift may
be; All that we have is Thine alone, A trust, O Lord, from Thee.” (Ibid.
#781.)
Even as Abraham offered his best to Yahweh and God offered His
best to us, so we now offer our best to God. We do so motivated by hearts
filled with thanks and praise for all His benevolent benefits to us. We do
so by giving freely and generously of our time and talents in service to Him
by serving each other, our neighbors, and even our enemies. And we do so by
offering to the Lord the best of our treasures (that means off the top—not
leftovers, percentage—not amount, and joyfully—not grudgingly) for the
support and extension of His work both locally and globally.
In his devotion for this past Thursday, July 14, the Lutheran Hour
Ministries speaker said: “The Lord always remembers His promises. Now that
does not mean He fulfills them according to our desire or our timetable. He
doesn’t. He who sees all and knows all awaits that time when everything is
prepared for the fulfillment of His pledge. That is what happened during
the years God’s people waited for release from Egyptian slavery.
“It is what happened when Jesus was born into this world to offer
Himself as the ransom price that would win our forgiveness and salvation.
It took thousands of years before God’s promise to send a Savior was
fulfilled when Jesus was born in Bethlehem.
“Over the centuries many watched and waited for the Messiah’s arrival,
but the Lord acted ‘when the fullness of time was come.’ It’s what He does
for nations, for people, and for us, as Jesus gives Himself so we might have
a perfect life in heaven.” (Lutheran Hour Ministries Daily Devotion, July
14, 2016, “In God’s Time.” All rights reserved by the International
Lutheran Laymen’s League [LHM], St. Louis, MO.) That’s the grandest and
most wonderful proof of all that …
“Yahweh’s Gracious Promises Are Truly Trustworthy.”
As we recall His truly trustworthy promises that are filled with
His mercy and grace, let’s always remember that …
I. Yahweh Appeared to Abraham Then … and He Also Appears to Us Today.
(1-5) In grateful response to His trustworthiness, let’s also remember
that …
II. We Offer Yahweh the Best of Our Possessions. (6-9) Let’s do so
always in the context of what we prayed in today’s Collect: “O Lord, grant
us the Spirit to hear Your Word and know the one thing needful that by Your
Word and Spirit we may live according to Your will.”
God grant it all for the sake of Jesus Christ, His humble Son, our
holy Savior. [Amen.]
In the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.
[Amen.]
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