Who Are You Living For?

Why would you fight for your enemy? Years ago there was a woman who was being beaten up and abused by her husband. So she called the cops. The cops showed up. They heard him beating her up so they burst through the door and both of them subdued the husband. Then something happened that you would not expect. The woman took a frying pan and hit one of the police men over the back of the head. The police officers and everyone who has a brain would say and shout one clear question: why? Why would you fight for your enemy? Even worse, why would you live for him? In the words we look at this morning from Romans 6, that is the point that Paul is making. We read: “1 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” (Romans 6:1–2 NIV11-GKE)

The husband was the woman’s enemy. Why would she fight—why would she live for him? Who is the enemy in the words that Paul says here? Sin is our enemy. And sin showed that it is our enemy by putting us to death. It put us to death spiritually when we were conceived and born with hatred toward God in our hearts. And it proves it is our enemy when we face physical death at the end of our lives. Sin is your enemy. Why would you live for it? These words are a great reminder to us that we hate the sins we commit. We hate the lies we willingly believe about ourselves and others. We hate our laziness. We hate how easily we live for ourselves and ourselves alone. We know that this is how we act and we hate it. And that then drives us as Christians to ask the next question: how. How then will we be able to live for God instead of living for sin? Paul answers that question in these words which follow: “3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.” (Romans 6:3–5 NIV11-GKE)

If we ask the question, ‘how do we live for God,’ look what answer God’s word gives us. The answer is our baptisms. There are many Christians who, sadly, conclude that baptism is a good work that we provide for God to prove that we are his. Bur notice here how Paul says just the opposite. Baptism is a great and wonderful gift that God gives to us. For if we want to live for God and not for our sin, baptism is the answer. Baptism is what gives us the power to ‘carry out a new life.’1 There is a progression in these words. What happened to Jesus? He died, was buried, but then what happened? He lived. And God’s word so clearly tells us that the same progression happens to us when we are baptized. In our baptisms we died, we were buried and now we live a new life.

So there is a progression<

We See Him Clearly

It’s all about me. Have you ever met anyone who, from everything you could see on the outside, that was the theme of their life? Years ago I met an elderly woman who had serious health problems. She was in pain, real, chronic pain every day of her life. And when I would go over to visit her, I usually just spent time letting her speak about her pain because that’s what she needed. But one day her daughter came over. And her daughter only talked about herself—how hard her job was, how difficult her life was. And the only conclusion I could reach was that in this woman’s life it was all about her. But, I have to admit, at least she showed up. There are many people out there who show that it’s all about them by not even caring enough to show up. This evening we hear the words of a man who had that as the theme of his life. This man is named Balaam. Balaam was a godless, wicked man whom the Lord used to share his truth to people of his time and to us today. The theme of Balaam’s life was, “it’s all about me.” And we keep that in mind as we read these opening words in Numbers 24: “15 Then he proclaimed his poem: The oracle of Balaam son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eyes are opened; 16 the oracle of one who hears the sayings of God and has knowledge from the Most High, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who falls into a trance with his eyes uncovered:” (Numbers 24:15–16 HCSB)

Notice how Balaam speaks about himself. He says, ‘Look at me, I’m the one who sees.1 I’m the one who hears the word of God.2 I’m the one who understands God’s knowledge.’3 And as if we didn’t hear him the first time, he finishes by reminding us that he is the one with open eyes.4 And what is it that he sees, hears, knows and sees? In verse 17 we read: “I see him, but not now; I perceive him, but not near. A star will come from Jacob,” (Numbers 24:17 HCSB)

Balaam tells us that he sees a “him” in the future and far away. And what is this he? He is a star that rises and shines. What Balaam saw dimly and darkly the Magi saw clearly. From God’s word they saw the truth so clearly that they traveled for months to see this shining star. And if that wasn’t amazing enough we see him even more clearly than the Magi do. They saw Jesus at about two years old. But we, as we look at the pages of scripture, see him at every age. We see him fulfill thousands of prophecies. We see him shine out for Jews. And even more amazing, we see him shine out to us Gentiles.

And yet there is this powerful irony in these words. For the Magi traveled hundreds of miles over many months to see this light shining out of Jacob. And all we have to do is travel to our desk, our bed, our couch and see him even more clearly. And very often we don’t. We know it would be easy to read our bibles. But there are times that we don’t. Work, hobbies and habits get in the way. Or just plain laziness gets in the way. How horribly sinful it is to not have to travel at all to see this light shining in God’s word and yet we don’t. We like to think that we act like godly wisemen. But so very often we act like godless Balaam.

Lord Bless Us With Your Name

W e all make assumptions. Years ago I watched a movie. And in that move one of the characters said to the other, “Do you remember that one time we went to that one place and did that thing.” And the joke, of course, was that they knew each other so well that they didn’t even have to give details. They could make assumptions. But very often we make assumptions and we realize later that maybe we should not have. Days ago in bible study we talked about the heavenly host that surrounded the shepherds, announcing that Jesus was about to be born. And I asked the question, “what is a host?” And nobody knew. A host is an army. You see, one of the areas we make assumptions is biblical language. So, if I asked two questions, what answer would you give? First, what is a blessing? Second, what is a name? Both of these words we hear and read in a church setting all the time. But what do they mean? Some might say that a blessing is to think kind thoughts toward someone. Others might say that to have a name is to have an identity. But there’s more, so much more to those words than that. In these words that we hear at the end of most of our worship times, the Lord blesses us with his name. And we have the privilige of looking at that in detail. And so, in Numbers 6, we read: “22 The Lord said to Moses, 23 “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: 24 “ ‘ “The Lord bless you and keep you;” (Numbers 6:22–24 NIV11-GKE)

In these words the Lord commands the priests to bless the Israelites. To bless is more than to think good thoughts toward someone. In ancient societies they wouldn’t do much of anything without seeking and securing the blessing of their pagan god. So, for every agreement, whether big or small, animals had to die to get on their god’s good side. They really, sincerely thought that unless Molech or Baal blessed them and was on their side, then everything would fail. The irony is that we fail in the completely opposite way. They prayed to pagan non-existent gods for blessing that would never come. We forget that blessing only comes from our Lord, The Triune God. And that’s exactly the point that the Lord is making in these words. In these words three times the Lord blesses his people. The first is the blessing from God the Father for protection. Notice here how blessing isn’t some vague, worthless emotion. Instead, it’s a concrete reality. If God the Father blesses us, then we have his protection. And and this is so vitally important for us to understand when we realize that there are so many dangers out there. When you drive out there on the snowy, icy road what is it that keeps you on the road and not in the ditch? Our knee-jerk answer might be to say, “good tires.” But really, truly, the first and biggest answer to that question is God our Father. He blesses us and gives us good things by protecting us.

And how he does

Christmas

Jesus Is The Light For People

Christmas is a time of poetry. In the hymn we just finished we sang these words:

You came to us in darkest night

To make us children of the light;

Like angels in the realms divine

Around your throne we, too will shine.1

Look at the imagery and poetry there in those words. It’s beautiful and captivating. But there is a danger in poetry. The danger in poetry is that we get swept away in its beauty and miss the point of the poetry. That is the danger we face as we, on this holy day, walk through the opening words of John’s gospel. In his opening words we read: “1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men.” (John 1:1–4 NIV)

Notice what John says: Jesus is the light. But what does that mean? These words remind me of greek class so many years ago at MLC. We went from translating Xenophon—pretty tough greek to John’s gospel. In one day we translated the first two chapters as homework. We thought we were greek language giants. But then what happened? The professor asked us, “So, what does John mean?” And then we realized that there’s more to translation than bringing the words over into english.

Boldly and clearly John here says that Jesus is the light. And from the opening words we see that here he is not speaking about literal light. For he mentions that there is this word that is God and is also face to face with God. This word created all things. And this word is also the light. In other words, this light is God himself.

And what is it that this light does? This light is the light for people. Jesus is the one who brings hope, meaning, courage and hope to your life. As you look at your life, there are so many questions that are answered in the fact that so long ago this light was born. If you ask ‘where is my place in this world,’ the answer is found there in that manger. If we feel lost, in that manger, we are found. If we ask that ancient question, ‘why did God allow sin to come into the world at all,’ there in that manger we find the answer. Instead of answering our question directly, he gives us the solution to sin: a light for people, to take away their sins. We ask, ‘why do I face pain, death and then after that judgment,’ and the answer is there in that manger. Jesus is light for people. As we face all these hardships and tragedies we know that the Light of the world is for us and with us. It is only when we begin to understand who it is that is there in that manger that this world begins to make sense. For Jesus is the light for people.

So Jesus is the light for people. But what follows is a massive irony. We read: “The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” (John 1:5 NIV) Here again John draws us into his beautiful poetry. The light shines out into the darkne

God Is Able To Establish You

Look at the churches. If you haven’t realized it, you are living in an immensely beautiful part of the nation. Now, when I say this I’m not speaking about the land—though that’s pretty too. What I am speaking about is the churches. Whenever I have to drive around what impresses me is the churches. For, in so many towns, there are these churches built on the sides of hills. And some of them seem to be built on the sides of cliffs. And what is amazing and impressive is not just that they are built there, but that they last. Year after year of frost and humidity wage war on those buildings. But yet they remain. When you drive around, look at those churches. Look at them because they are like you. Paul makes that point in these closing words in the book of Romans: “Now to him who is able to establish you” (Romans 16:25 NIV11-GKE)

If you think it’s impressive to look at those churches that weather the elements generation after generation, just look at yourself. For God is able to establish you. Day after day, decade after decade, Satan and your own sinful self try to wear you down and break you down. The pain of what you did in the past; the worries about the future; the stresses of the present—all of them weather your outside and threaten to erode your foundation of faith. And, as Paul closes off his letter to the Romans, notice what he says. He tells them that God is able to establish them. And as these words continue he reveals more details about just exactly how our God does this: “25 in accordance with my gospel, the message I proclaim about Jesus Christ, in keeping with the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, 26 but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all the Gentiles might come to the obedience that comes from faith” (Romans 16:25–26 NIV11-GKE)

God establishes you with the gospel. God does not use brick or stone to establish you. He uses his word. He uses the good news about Jesus. And for us, as Gentiles, this is really good news. It is really good news because for many, many generations Jesus was hidden. For generations upon generations all the believers knew was that there would be a “he” who would crush Satan. Later on they learned that this “he” would be a prophet, a priest, and a king. And they learned hints of how this messiah would save the world from its sin. But what was hidden to many generations of people is revealed to you. In those generations they knew that God would send a savior. You know that this savior is God’s son. You know that his name is Jesus. And you can read his word to know everything you ever wanted to know about him.

And that, my dear friends is what gets you through. When you look at the past and there all you see is pain—the pain of stupid sins you should have never done, you can look to Jesus. When you endure one temptation and trial after another in the present, what will get you through? Look to Jesus. When you confront the future and all the unstable uncertainties that lie ahead, what will make you firm, established and solid in your faith? Look to Jesus. For through him God forgives your sins in the past and establish your faith in the future.

God is able to

Why Was Jesus Born?

We deliberately make mistakes. In our catechism class we are walking through the gospel of Matthew. And there’s this part when Jesus is speaking to the crowds where he asks them about John the baptizer. What did you go out to see? And sometimes teachers face that. They ask a simple, direct question and what is the answer they receive? Silence—pure and absolute silence. So he helps them along. He says, “did you find a guy in fine linen?” That would have made them laugh. For they all knew that John wore a robe made of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist. Jesus makes a ‘mistake’ to teach them. Tonight I’m doing the same. Tonight we are reading the wrong words at the wrong time. We are supposed to be preparing for Jesus’ birth. But here in these words in John 18, we see Jesus on trial before Pontus Pilate. And you might be asking yourself, ‘Why is Pastor Bauer making this mistake?’ We find the answer to that question in these words: “33 Then Pilate went back into the headquarters, summoned Jesus, and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” 34 Jesus answered, “Are you asking this on your own, or have others told you about Me?” 35 “I’m not a Jew, am I?” Pilate replied. “Your own nation and the chief priests handed You over to me. What have You done?” 36 “My kingdom is not of this world,” said Jesus. “If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I wouldn’t be handed over to the Jews. As it is, My kingdom does not have its origin here.”” (John 18:33–36 HCSB)

Notice what the context is in these words. Jesus is on trial. And the question that Pilate is asking himself and Jesus is: who are you? But notice that Jesus doesn’t really answer that question. Instead he makes Pilate deal with a different question: why am i here? In verse 37, we read: ““You are a king then?” Pilate asked. “You say that I’m a king,” Jesus replied. “I was born for this, and I have come into the world for this: to testify to the truth. ”” (John 18:37 HCSB)

The question is not, “who are you?” No, instead, the real question is “why am I here?” And what is the answer Jesus gives? He tells Pilate that he was born for this reason: to testify to the truth. Notice how in a very beautiful and amazing way, Jesus takes Pilate back to Christmas. People might ask themselves the question, “why was I born.” And they might never be able to answer that question in a way that satisfies their curiosity. But Jesus knew. He was born to testify to the truth. Jesus came to testify to the truth that we are all liars. You see, during this time of the year we think warm and happy thoughts because God comes to earth. But before we go there we should stand in the sandals of the shepherds. When the angels appeared and the Glory of God filled the sky, did they sing and dance in joy? No. They fell down in fear. You see, they recognized that they were sinners. They mourned over the fact that they were liars. Liars don’t get to be in the presence of holy angels. And even more so, liars don’t get to be in the presence of God.

But it’s not just the shepherds who need to recognize that they are sinners. We too need to do the same.