40 Days Pre-Campaign Message

Sunday, September 19, 2004

PASTOR BURCHAM'S SERMON

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

I have a revelation for you today, but it really won't be much of a revelation. I'm worthless. Don't mind telling you that I'm worthless. I should qualify that a little bit. When it has to do with music or contributing musically, I'm worthless. I don't have to really convince some of you of that because you've sat next to me. I'm sorry about that. I don't have to convince Pastor Tim of that. He knows full well that I'm worthless when it comes to music. I don't have to convince my family of that. In fact, there's a whole list of acolytes that have had to sit next to me over the years and they can attest to the fact, when it comes to music, I'm pretty worthless. Sing? I can't do it. Couldn't hit a note to save my soul. Play an instrument? I don't think so. I have trouble just playing the radio.

I know absolutely nothing about music, which means not only can I not hit the right notes, I don't even know what the notes are that I'm supposed to hit to begin with. I don't mind saying to you that when it comes to music, I'm worthless. In fact, you could come up to me after the service and say, “You know, Ron, when it comes to music, you're kind of worthless.” I would not take offense to that. I would accept it. In fact, I think because I can accept the fact that musically I'm worthless, it has heightened my appreciation of those who do have musical gifts. It's heightened my attention and appreciation and amazement at how music can touch your soul the way words cannot. I love coming into the sanctuary and the organ is playing and I hear it just filling the air and encircling me. I was so excited this morning when I found out the choir had their piece ready and we could hear that this morning and, through that, we could praise God and we could be edified. I always wait in anticipation when a soloist picks up the microphone or an instrumentalist picks up their instrument and starts to play. Because I can't do it. Because I'm worthless when it comes to music. I think I have an incredible appreciation for what other people can do and how they can touch my soul through notes that words cannot.

I believe St. Paul is trying to make that same point when it comes to our salvation. What St. Paul tells to us in the very familiar passages of Ephesians 2, 8, and 9 is when it comes to our salvation, when it comes to contributing towards our eternal destiny, he literally says we're worthless. If we think we can contribute anything towards God's saving grace to us, if we think somehow anything we do could sway God's opinion or any effort we put into it could somehow play into the fact of whether we go to heaven or to hell, he says you're worthless. When it comes to our eternal destiny, when it comes to our salvation, we are worthless. In fact, it is one of the greatest teachings and most important teachings of scripture to realize and to know we are worthless. It's second only to this teaching. God considers you to be priceless.

We are worthless, but God considers you priceless. If we can get to the point of understanding God's grace on a deeper level, then we'll come to a point of really appreciating and understanding what that grace is all about.

Nobody really likes to be called worthless. In fact, some of you may have taken offense that I just called you worthless. I don't mean it personally. I guess I do. Some of you may be thinking, “Well, maybe that language is just a little bit too strong to call somebody worthless,” but the language is intentionally strong because I think we need to come to a real grip of our relationship with God. All of us know Ephesians 2, 8, and 10 I would guess. “For it is by grace that we've been saved through faith and this is not by works lest anyone can boast. It is a gift of God.” Now we can say that and we can know that and, as Lutherans, we have been taught that our entire life and rightly so, I might add, because it is the central truth of scripture to understand we're saved by grace through faith, that this is God's gift to us. And I believe all of us understand that intellectually, but does it go any deeper? Does it go any deeper than just the head knowledge of being able to say, “How is it that you're going to go to heaven?” And to stand up upright and say, “It is by grace through faith.” Because we know that, because the pastor made us memorize that in confirmation class, because that's what we've been told our whole life. And I'm not dismissing any of that as being unimportant. It is. But this morning, we need to go deeper, deeper than just the intellectual knowledge of we're saved by grace through faith. Because I don't believe a lot of us have made it from our head down to our heart. We haven't really taken in the true meaning of what that says to us and our eternal destiny. What I mean by that is I'm not sure all of us buy into it completely. If you listen to what people say, then we haven't gotten it quite yet.

When something's going wrong in somebody's life, things are kind of really messed up, what are some of the things they'll say? “I don't know what I did to deserve this.” Or, “Why can't I get any breaks? Why does it always have to happen to me?” The insinuation behind both of those comments are, “I've done so many good things in my life, why in the world is something bad happening to me? In fact, there are a lot of things I haven't done like those people over there have done and yet they get all the breaks and I don't get all the breaks. So, therefore, shouldn't it count for something? All those things I did, that I was nice to this person, that I didn't cheat that person, didn't that count for something? What did I do to deserve this?” On the other side of the coin, we do it too. When things are going well for us, things are really going great, what do we say? “Must have done something right.”

When we get down to it, all of us have trouble accepting the fact the things we do or the effort we put forth into something doesn't count for something. It's hard for us in our culture, our culture which is based on a reward system, a system that says, “If you work hard, you will succeed. You will get out of something what you put into it. If you put a little into it, you're going to get a little out. But if you put a lot into it, you're going to get a lot out of it.” And in our world and our culture, for the most part, that is true. But when it comes to our relationship with God, it is wrong and it is a false notion for us to make that transfer into our spiritual lives. And it's hard for us to give up on that. It's hard for us to release the fact that our doing something good, that our putting forth an effort of trying really hard to live the life we're supposed to live, somehow God doesn't give us credit for that and, frankly, we don't like it. I'm guessing if we were turned loose to really let our thoughts be known, they'd go something like this, “You mean in Second Grade when I was nice to that bully, that doesn't count for anything? You mean when I forgave my husband for what he did, that doesn't count for anything? You mean when I could have made double the profit on that last deal but I was honest on it, that doesn't count for anything? And all the things my friends did in high school but I didn't do, somehow God doesn't look a little bit more favorably on me?” It's ingrained in us. It's hard for us to really accept that when it comes to our eternal destiny and our salvation, it counts for nothing, nada, zippo, nothing.

We begin to come to grips with that, I think, on two occasions. There are two times when all of a sudden the realization comes to us that really, when it comes to our salvation, we're worthless. The first one is when we start bargaining with God. We've all bargained with God. Don't try to kid me that you haven't. Everyone bargains with God at one time or another. It's usually when something catastrophic has happened in your life. The bottom has fallen out. You're hanging by a thread. You don't know which way to turn, so you start bargaining with God. So you say to God, “God, if you will restore my marriage, if he or she will just forgive me, I promise, God, I'll be faithful from now on and I'm going to dedicate my life to you.” “God, I know if you could just give me a job, just let me find that job, God, if I could just put my life back in order.” We start bargaining with God; and, when we start bargaining with God, that's when it hits us because we come to the bargaining table and we're asking God to do something for us and then all of a sudden we think, “What chips to I have to lay on the table?” Nothing. Nothing. The most we can offer God is a promise for the future.

You think about all the times you bargained with God. The most you've been able to offer God is a promise for the future. “God if you give me this, I'm going to be faithful. I'm going to come to church every Sunday.” “God, if you do this, I promise I'm going to be nice to everyone at work.” It's always future oriented because, when we come to the table, we don't have any bargaining chips. That's when we start getting it.

The other time we start getting it is when we ask the inevitable question, “How much?” If we're going to say it's our efforts, that it's some of the things we do, that yeah we understand we're saved by grace but certainly God must look more favorably on me than somebody else, then the evitable question is, “How much?” At what point does God start looking better on me than He does somebody else? At what point are my efforts enough? Did I try hard enough? So to say, “Well, I've tried to live a good life.” Well, at what point have you tried hard enough and at what point do you need to put forth an extra effort? You start going down that road and it leads to only two things. It leads to a lot of doubt. A lot of doubt as far as your salvation is concerned. A lot of doubt as far as your relationship with God.

And then it leads to regret. Regret about past decisions. Regret about things you did in the past, wishing you could go back and you could repute a few things, undo a few things. But eventually when you ask how much and you look at scripture and Jesus Himself said, “Be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect.” That's a pretty tall order. It's at that point we realize we're worthless. When we can stand before God and realize there is absolutely nothing we can do, that we can't contribute one iota, that there is not one action, not one thought, not one piece of effort that would make God look more favorably on me than someone else, that's when God wants to tell you you're priceless. He wants you to know that you're worth more than anything in all of the universe for all time.

But I believe only when you get to the point of being able to stand before God worthless do you really understand and comprehend when God says you're priceless. You see, God proved that you're priceless in His eyes. God the Father said you're priceless because God the Father said He would give up His Son for you. We all know John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son. Whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” We say real easily. Have you thought about it lately? God gave up His one and only Son. What does it mean to give up a child? Those of us who are parents can't even imagine. We can't comprehend. What does it mean to give up a child? To give up His Son? To send Him into this world? You could counter with the argument to say, “Well, yeah, He knew His Son was going to die, but He was going to bring Him back to life again.” Except for the fact that His Son would be forever changed. God the Son would be forever changed after the incarnation. He was in heaven with the Holy Spirit and the Father, and He was God. He was one with the trinity. But when He came down in His incarnation, He took on humanity and He took on that humanity for an eternity. When He ascended back into heaven, he ascended as the God man Jesus Christ. When Jesus took on humanity, He took it on forever. God the Father knew His Son would be forever changed. God the Father would stand by as His Son cried out for Him on the cross asking, “Father, why have you turned your back on me.” And as a father, He doesn't lift a finger to help Him. How can you explain that?

That's grace. That's God saying you're priceless. I'm willing to give it all for you. That's God's love. It's God the Son willingly coming into this world, trading the throne in heaven for the womb of Mary. It's God the Son living among us, being completely innocent and yet His own creation nailing Him to a cross and laughing as He died. It's God the Son hanging upon the cross and all of the guilt and the shame and the punishment that should be assigned to us was assigned to Him. It's God the Son literally going through hell so you would not face the fires of hell. How can you explain something like that? How can you comprehend something like that? That's grace. That's what grace is all about. That's God's love for you.

God the Holy Spirit considers you priceless. God the Holy Spirit who created faith in your heart, whether it was through the power of baptism or through the power of His Word, but He came into your heart. And even if you resisted, He came into your heart and He was relentless as He pursued you and He came after you. And no matter how many times we might reject Him, no matter how many times we might want to push God to the side, the Holy Spirit continues to come after us to continue to convict us, to show us Jesus as our Savior. The Holy Spirit who dwells in our heart for an eternity, reminding us of God's grace, pulling us back to Jesus. How can you explain that? That's grace. That's God's love for you.

When we can come to the conclusion and the acceptance and not take offense of the fact that we are worthless in God's eyes, the prophet Isaiah said that all of our righteous acts are like filthy rags, I don't know what category that puts our sins, but all of our righteous acts are like filthy rags. In other words when it comes to trying to earn God's favor, there's nothing there. And when we come like that, then when God says you're priceless, the meaning is so much deeper than just knowing I'm saved by grace through faith. It comes down to our soul. It affects our very being, who we are. That's what Ephesians 2:8-9 is all about. “It's by grace through faith, not by works so no one can boast.” It is the gift of God. That's what God has done for us. A gift is given. A gift isn't earned. No matter what we do or what we do not do does not affect whether the gift is given, but when a gift is given, there is always a response. And that's what Verse 10 tells us, that we're God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works. We respond to God with things that are pleasing to Him, not because it affects the gift but because the gift was given.

You know this past week, I didn't watch it because I don't watch Oprah , but Oprah gave away 200 cars. GM gave away 200 cars, but Oprah gave away 200 cars. I don't know if you caught that in the paper. They only thought one car was going to be given away or something, I don't know. But anyway, she got to the end of the show and she said, “Everybody open up your envelopes.” And she starts dancing around. “Everybody wins. Everybody wins. Everyone gets a car.” There was a gal in West Des Moines who won. The Register interviewed her. She said when she opened up the envelope and she looked at the keys, she just began to shake. She couldn't believe it. And then she began to cry. And then she started hugging everybody around her. I'm guessing if you'd have pursued it further, she probably wanted to go up and hug Oprah or go and hug the GM official who approved the whole thing. But the gift was given. Now whether this lady would have cried or not did not affect whether she got the car. Whether she hugged the person next to her or not didn't affect whether she got the car. Now if she can get that excited about winning a car, what about us who've been given eternity. We've been snatched out of the fires of hell and put into a palace of gold in heaven itself for eternity. How do you react to that? How do you respond to that kind of a gift? When you fully understand we come with nothing and we leave with everything, there has to be a response that wells up within us that says now we want to live for God. We want to do the things that are pleasing to Him after all the things He's done for us. And my friends, that's what the next 40 days are going to be about in our congregation. We are going to discover how can we live for God? How can we respond to the grace that He's given to us? Now, how we live doesn't affect the gift. The gift is given. But once it's there, the response just flows from us. How is it that God wants us to live? What are the things He wants us to accomplish?

So for 40 days, we're going to dig into God's Word. We're going to find out what is the meaning for our life? What is the purpose for our life? The challenge I put before you this morning is will you take the journey with me? Will you spend the 40 days? Will you make the commitment and take the journey with me as we search out God's Word and we discover how can we respond to this unimaginable gift that He's given to us? How can we have meaning and purpose in our life? Will you make the commitment of being here every week and listening to the message that God wants you to hear? Will you make the commitment of reading the devotional every day and contemplating the question that God wants you to think about? Will you memorize just one piece of scripture each and every week so it's imbedded within you and you know it in your heart of hearts? Will you join a small group, get together with a group of 6-10 people so you can get into God's Word and really understand how it is He wants us to respond? Will you take the journey with me? In fact, I want to make the journey real. I believe the ushers have not handed out the yellow cards. There are supposed to be yellow cards in your worship folder. My mistake, I didn't tell them. They're going to hand out yellow cards like you had last week. If you didn't sign up for a small group last week, my challenge to you is you sign up today. You sign up today by saying God has given me this incredible gift and I want to explore His Word with fellow Christians. I want to explore and find meaning for my life and purpose for my life so I can live my life for Him in response of all He's done for me.

So my challenge for you is, before you leave today, you fill out that card. You join that small group. It's only a six-week commitment, but can you spend 40 days discovering at least a little bit how you can respond to all that God has given to you. It is by grace we have been saved through faith, not by works so we can't boast. It's a gift from God, but we are God's workmanship. We are created in Christ Jesus. We are created with a purpose. Let's discover that purpose. Amen.

Copyright 2004 Gloria Dei Lutheran Church