The sermon for February 15 was based on Luke 8:4-15.

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

There is a lot of talk these days about what makes for a successful church. Much of this talk focuses on preaching, for if you find a successful preacher, then you'll find a successful church. Pastor Varsogea and I spend a little time nearly every day we're together considering questions such as these. "What makes for successful preaching?" is an important question. For among the highest tasks of a Pastor is to preach the Word of God with the desired effect of that Word bearing fruit.

Was Jesus a successful preacher? Many of today's so-called experts might say, "No." Consider this sermon of His recorded in today's Gospel. Crowds had gathered from every city in the land. Some had traveled on foot for several days to hear this famous preacher. When the great multitude had gathered, Jesus preached. His sermon lasted about 30 seconds. He told a short parable that deliberately confused almost all His listeners. In most of the crowd, the Word of Christ had no lasting effect. Even His devoted disciples had to approach Him later to ask Him what He was talking about. Few would consider this sermon of Jesus dynamic and effective.

Before you judge Christ's skills as a preacher, consider this fact: God's Word is powerful and effective. He has promised that His Word never fails to achieve His purpose for it. This is not to excuse poor preaching. Expressly because God's Word is so powerful, the man who preaches should take great care to preach well. However, the results of preaching do not depend on the excellence of the preacher or on his highly refined style in the pulpit. God Himself could preach a sermon to a huge crowd and reach practically no one. That is what happened in this Gospel lesson.

How could the perfect Preacher, the Word of God incarnate, preach to so little effect? And is it any wonder if we preachers, who are not the incarnate Word, but only His chosen sowers, preach the Word and so few listen? Consider the enemies lined up against God's Word. The Seed is sown, and the devil comes and carries it away. The Seed is sown, and temptation and persecution uproot it. The Seed is sown, and the worldly cares of the flesh choke it out. Here are the three well-known enemies of God's Word: the devil, the world, and your own, sinful flesh.

There is a fierce, spiritual battle occurring right now in this room. I am preaching God's powerful Word, wielding that sharp, two-edged sword. But the devil and his minions are, even now, fighting to carry God's Word away from you. That evil worm does everything in his power to keep you from hearing God's Word and taking it to heart. The last thing the devil wants is for you to believe God's Word and be saved. So many people hear God's Word, but fail to believe it. You should not be surprised when those you love do not believe God's Word. The devil himself is fighting to keep God's Word from their hearts.

But the devil is deceived. He has no power to prevent what God has decided. God has promised that His Word accomplishes His purposes. The Gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation to all who believe. And those who believe are those whom God has chosen to give faith. God gives this faith in holy Baptism. Baptism is God's Word connected to the water of Life by His promise. Like water to a plant, holy Baptism is God's means of causing the root of faith to grow deep into your heart and soul. Against those whom God keeps in this faith, the devil has no real power.

Nevertheless, the devil keeps fighting. He marshals the forces of the world against God Word. He brings empires and collective society to bear on those who receive God's Word with initial joy. Nearly everything you see on television, nearly everything you hear around you, nearly everything you experience in your day-to-day life pulls you away from God's Word. If that were not enough, when you cling to God's Word in faith, the world attacks you, either openly (as St. Paul suffered in today's Epistle) or behind your back. You may be teased at school or ridiculed at work or treated coldly by your own family because you believe what God says. Constant temptations and persecutions can tear a person away from God's Word by the roots. Those who once believed with joy fall away and die.

Has such temptation gotten the best of you? Do you feel pulled up by the roots, torn away from the Word of God? Has fear of bearing offence from those around you caused you to whither in your confession of the faith in word and deed? God has given you His means of turning temptation to no effect. He has given you His Word of Absolution. When you stumble in sin, tempted by the world, holy Absolution wipes that sin away. Here God quenches all the fires poured upon you by the world. Here God undoes the effects of the attacks against you, healing you where you have fallen and strengthening you for battles yet to come. The forgiveness of sins, richly and daily provided by God in His Church, raises up the fallen to fight against temptation and stand firm against the persecution from the world.

Satan has still another ally in his war against God's Word. Your own sinful flesh will try to choke off the Word of God in you. The cares of this life are the desires of your flesh. You need clothes. You need food. You need a place to live. You want a comfortable life. You wouldn't mind having more than you need. Your flesh craves riches, fancy clothes, tasty food, a really nice house. Your flesh desires pleasure and seeks to be satisfied. All these cravings of the flesh fight against God's Word in you. They squeeze their way into your life and then slowly choke off your faith in God's promises.

God is more powerful than your flesh. He gives you a food more satisfying than any bread. He gives you to drink wine more joy-inducing than the rarest vintage. The sins of your flesh are cancelled when God gives you His Flesh to eat and His Blood to drink. By this sacred meal, God turns your desires to Himself. In Holy Communion, God strengthens the faith He planted in you. He shores up your faith to withstand the assaults of sin. Your flesh is soft and pliable, apt to being choked by the cares of this life. God's Flesh is strong and immovable, able to break anything that tries to squeeze your life away. As your body is filled with God's Body and Blood, He strengthens you against every care of this life and counters with forgiveness every one of your sins.

Those to whom God has not given faith are overcome by the devil, the world, and their flesh. God's Word is received only by those to whom God has given faith. God alone gives you ear to hear. God alone causes you to see and understand God's Word. God alone creates a noble and good heart in you. God's Word is preached. Yes, the devil swoops in to attack. But Holy Baptism grafts you into Christ. Sure, the world beats down upon you. But Holy Absolution raises you up. Indeed, your own flesh tries to choke off your life. But Holy Communion fills you with God's own Flesh, forgiving every sin and shoring you up in the one, true faith. For every weapon of the devil, God has a counter-attack and more. The old, evil foe is defeated. The world is overcome. Your flesh is transformed by God. The Lord Himself lives in you. He will bear fruit in you a hundredfold by His almighty Word. Amen.

The Peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Last Updated: 7/15/2008