The sermon for February 19 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.

How much do you value the Word of God that rescues you from sin, death and the devil, and delivers salvation to you? How easily do you ignore it, misplace it, think little of it, refuse to learn it, or stop studying it? When your Bible and Catechism collect dust on your shelf and you don't have God's Word in your heart and mind, it's no wonder the devil can so easily swoop down and snatch the Word from you; or that the burning rays of temptation can wither you; or that the thorns and thistles of the cares of this life choke off your faith and trust in Christ. Have ears to hear today! Have ears and hear what your Lord is telling you about His Word for your eternal salvation. Hear what the Lord would tell you to save you.

To those who shut their ears, the Word of God is just words. The Bible is just names and facts and stories they don't understand. Jesus tells His disciples that He speaks in parables not to make things more understandable, but to make them less understandable for people. But to them, to the disciples, is given understanding. This parable shows that there will always be people who hear His Word but don't believe it or believe it for a while and then find something better to do. Sometimes the devil will come and take it. Sometimes temptations will cause people to fall away. Other times the cares and wants of this life win out over His Word. The world is full of people who hear the Bible and read it and even study it, and yet know nothing of God's love and mercy in Christ Jesus.

Everyone wants to quote the Holy Scriptures and say the Bible is important, but no one wants to actually learn and study God's Word. People want to be Christians but they don't want to listen to Christ. They don't want to learn more than the stories they had in Sunday School. They have no desire to commit their Catechism to memory and recite and pray it daily. So many want to call themselves Christians and say they "believe in Jesus" but won't let their Pastor teach them God's Word and also read and hear and study it for themselves. On account of such people the Lord speaks in parables so that their hard hearts will be further hardened and their blind eyes will be made even more blind. This is God's judgment upon those who will not repent and hear and keep His Word!

But hear what Jesus says to His disciples: "To you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God." Notice that language again. "It is given." It is a gift from Christ to hear and believe His Word. Now understand me very carefully when I say this: It's not that some people are doomed because they don't go to Bible study and some people are saved because they do. Jesus is saying that those who have no use for a Savior and the forgiveness of sins also have no use for His Word. On the other hand, those who are brought into His kingdom are given this gift by Christ Himself. Their desire for the Word and their learning and hearing confessing it is a gift from the Lord Himself. There is nothing to brag about in you, nothing to boast of in your reading or hearing, but in Christ's giving and teaching! The Word is a gift. The ground doesn't put seeds on itself. A sower comes and sows. So Christ preaches and He sends preachers to preach His Word.

And what does that Word do? It brings faith and new life. God's Word never comes back to Him empty handed. It always does what it says it's going to do. If the Lord speaks judgment, then there is judgment. If the Lord speaks salvation and forgiveness, salvation and forgiveness of sins are bestowed. If the Lord declares He will harden hearts, then hearts will be hardened; and if the Lord speaks faith into you then you shall believe. God's Word has the power to do what it says.

The Holy Scriptures are all about this one thing: God's promise to rescue you from sin, death, the devil and hell through His Son coming into the flesh to live your life and die your death. And that very same Bible which delivers Jesus also teaches you where Christ has promised His Word and Spirit to be: in the holy Christian church where that very Word is preached and taught and His Holy Sacraments are administered. Where sinners are washed, absolved and fed, and preached to and taught, there is Christ and there His Word saves sinners, even you. Here His Word bestows what it says: forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. Here water and Word really do give you new birth from above. Here His Word delivers His Body and Blood. In short: Christ's Word, the seed, is all gift, given to you, planted in you, which grows up in you and saves you. That is the fruit of which Christ speaks: to receive His gifts more and more and to live as a blessing to your neighbors.

The devil knows that you will be saved by Christ's Word. That is why he tries every trick he knows to steal it from you and to overwhelm you with things that will burn it up or choke it off. The devil tries to steal God's Word from you, to simply snatch it away like he did to Eve when he lied to her and Adam didn't speak up to remind her of God's Word! Your own sinful flesh is ready to throw in the towel as soon as temptations come. You'd rather give in to your flesh and its desires than have the Word of God as your true treasure and protection. And the world overwhelms you with trouble and misery such that you seem to have no time left for hearing God's Word. Or the world overwhelms you with desires for other things that are more exciting and attractive than God's Word. But these things are not stronger than the Lord!

Look at St. Paul. In the Epistle today he gives his resume of the devil's attacks, the temptations of his flesh and the assaults of the world. How does St. Paul survive? "Easy," you might say, "he's St. Paul after all. I'm just a lowly Christian compared to him. I don't have his faith and determination." Nonsense! It's not in St. Paul to be kept in the faith! St. Paul is kept in the faith, despite the devil, world and his flesh, because it is given to him by Christ to have His Word and believe it. In other words, it's all gift! It's the Spirit at work in St. Paul as in every Christian, for no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. It's all gift!

Some of the seed falls on good soil. What is such good soil? It is the noble and good hearts of those who hear the Word. But how do they have such noble and good hearts? No other way than by the Lord's grace and mercy in Christ. Your good and noble heart is put into you by God Himself when you are baptized, and from that moment, your life is to be filled with His Word. Jesus says the fruit is produced by those who "keep" his word. Literally, that word "keep" is the same word from which we get "catechism" and "catechumen." A catechumen is a "keeper of the Word." Not just someone who has the Word of God but doesn't understand it, but one who hears it and believes it and lives in that Word because it is Christ's and delivers salvation to you. Are you a catechumen? Is God's Word, the Holy Scriptures, your Catechism, Christ's doctrine—are these things your highest joy and treasure? Would you give everything else up to have them? Would you fight the devil in order to keep them? Would you put away your own desires to retain them?

Here is where Pastor Varogea and I can help you. It is our job to remind you of God's Word and the power of that Word. It is our calling to preach this Word and teach this Word and to call you to learn it and hear it and believe it. Let your Pastors teach you. Search the Scriptures to see whether what we preach is true. Read your Catechism and the Lutheran Confessions. Study the Scriptures every day. Not because by doing that you will earn points with God, but because it is that Word that will be your only, certain comfort against the devil, world and flesh which try to drive you into despair and unbelief.

If God's word is nothing more to you than just words and stories you don't really know about or care about, then repent! And if you study God's word regularly and go to Bible class, then learn more! The Lord always has more to give. That's how He sows seed. He just throws it everywhere and promises His Word will do what it says. To those who don't care, it's just a bunch of words. But to those who are being saved, the Holy Gospel is the power of God unto salvation. To you it has been given to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of God. These words will either be nothing to you or everything to you! It is all gift from Jesus Christ. Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear! Amen.

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

Last Updated: 7/15/2008