The Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany, 2019
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
The Hymn #24 Lord of My Life
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual Romans 13:8-10
The Gospel Matthew 8:23-27
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #657 Beautiful Savior
Sleep as Persecution - Faith and Unbelief
The Hymn #307 Draw Nigh
The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #649 Jesus Savior Pilot Me
KJV Romans 13:8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. 9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
KJV Matthew 8:23 And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him. 24 And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep. 25 And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. 26 And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. 27 But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!
Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany
Lord God, heavenly Father, who in Thy divine wisdom and fatherly goodness makest Thy children to bear the cross, and sendest divers afflictions upon us to subdue the flesh, and quicken our hearts unto faith, hope and unceasing prayer: We beseech Thee to have mercy upon us, and graciously deliver us out of our trials and afflictions, so that we may perceive Thy grace and fatherly help, and with all saints forever praise and worship Thee; through Thy dear Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.
Introductory Material
I am discussing Calvinism in my upcoming booklet: Calvin Ruined the Protestant Faith. One of the biggest problems unleashed by Zwingli and Calvin is rationalism. Sig Becker described it as the difference between magisterial and ministerial reasoning in The Foolishness of God. Magisterial reasoning judges the Word of God, but ministerial reasoning uses one's intellectual powers and research to find and teach the clear, plain meaning of the Scriptures.
Magisterial reasoning has trouble with the miraculous, with the mysteries revealed by the Spirit in the Word. There are dozens of Creation stories but only one Creation by the Word - through the Logos, John 1:3 - which is beyond our comprehension. If we can only grasp a Creation that suits our mind, then some have devised a scheme where that works randomly over billions of years. I am not kidding - a Calvinist wrote that he could prove the Trinity with math. Thus the doctrines (mysteries) revealed by the Word are subject to man's proof and man's skepticism. For Creation, the Protestant world began retreating in the 19th century when certain well known Evangelicals decided God created over billions of years, merging evolution with Creation. That means the Word was not powerful enough to do the work in six 24-hour days.
Ministerial reasoning comes from the meaning of minister as servant. What God gives us can be used to judge Him (magisterial) or to serve in interpreting His Word. That happens over time as the Word challenges and corrects the errors of the day, the influence of false teachers, and our own inclinations.
The horrible aspect of Calvinism comes from the corrosive effect of rationalism as they begin by proving everything through human reason, then slowly depart from the Word as the absolute standard. This is how two miracles are "explained." Jesus walking on the water - He knew where the sand bars were. The Feeding of the 5,000 - Everyone felt guilty about not sharing their lunch, when the boy offered his. So everyone pulled out their hidden food - and voila - it was a "miracle of sharing."
New England was Calvinistic and in its rationalism became Unitarian. Whether Unitarian, United Church of Christ, or ELCA, they will treat the Feeding of the 5,000 as a miracle of sharing and glide into a world hunger appeal of some sort. If one is trained in the double-talk, side-stepping the issue is obvious. Fortunately, if the Scriptures are read and some good hymns are sung, people hear the words of faith from unbelievers and remain believers themselves. However, the rationalistic parishes do not last. They turn into forts with a few social justice warriors manning or womaning the bulwarks, assaulting the latest sin, like plastic soda straws.
Rationalism means taking the miraculous, the divine, and making it fit our standards of normal. Dr. Christian Bruce Wenger, the head of his class at Yale Medical School and a PhD in physiology said this, "They cannot reproduce a miracle in the lab, so they do not believe? That is the very definition of a miracle - it cannot be reproduced in a lab." Rationalism shrinks faith until it hates and persecutes those who believe.
Fuller Seminary began by distrusting inerrancy and rejected it completely in time for Church Growth to take off. Donald McGavran was a member of a rationalistic, left-wing denomination called the Disciples of Christ (big in a geographical swath from the People's Republic of Illinois to the State of Texas). The other part of Church Growth is Dutch Calvinist - Robert Schuller and Bill Hybels. McGavran introduced his concept with statistics, because he was a sociologist. A brief look at the Church Growth cult shows that everything they claim is based on rationalism. And yet their systematic failures do not prove to them that they are wrong. They have a continuing industry in fooling and swindling church leaders, so there is no reason to stop.
Creation destruction means that when this hideous disorder is done, and their schools and parishes have closed, new opportunities will arise if God gives the time.
The only way to read the miracles is to see each one as it is and derive lessons from it that are consistent with the entire Bible. Someone who wants to use a miracle to deny it is simply trying to make a living from mission of Christ.
Notice too that one denial leads to another, which people do not consider if they share the initial rationalism. Many cannot accept the Real Presence of Christ in the Lord's Supper. They have many excuses for making it "only a memorial meal," such as wondering how that could be, to have this done all over the world for centuries. If that cannot be, then so must the miraculous feedings be set aside as something else.
Jesus' Sleep as Persecution - Faith and Unbelief
KJV Matthew 8:23 And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him. 24 And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep.
This was a group of ships, made for stability in storms. I once had to read a doctoral dissertation and report on it in the seminar at Yale. Nils Dahl chuckled at what he asked me to do. Needless to say, these were not tourists, but people familiar with the inland sea and the weather. The ship was being swamped and yet Jesus was asleep.
This is a miracle about human reason, emotions, and faith. Our emotions are quite volatile. Coffee drinkers wake up very pessimistic and then feel great after breakfast. Their emotions are tied to blood sugar and caffeine. The legend is that a goat-herder saw his goats into some beans from a tree - they jumped and skipped around, so he tried them. Thus arabica beans.
Emotions are also deceiving, even when based upon our experience and what we see as the facts. So panic is named after the Greek god Pan, whose job it was to instill panic in the enemy troops so they would run away in fear. The concept still works today. I had to talk my friends off the ledge on election night because they were sure Hillary! was being elected.
Anyone on a boat or ship being swamped by a storm will be terrified. This is a real miracle but it is also symbolic of life. There are plenty of reasons to be afraid in this era, and we should be glad we do not know the whole truth all at once. Unbelief looks at the facts of the moment, draws on experience, and finds reason to rear.
Luther:
2. But what is this unbelief able to do? It sees nothing but what it experiences. It does not experience life, salvation and safety; but instead the waves coming into the boat and the sea threatening them with death and every danger. And because they experience these things and give heed to them and turn not their fear from them, trembling and despair can not be suppressed. Yea, the more they see and experience it the harder death and despair torment them and every moment threatens to devour them. But unbelief cannot avoid such experiences and cannot think otherwise even for a second. For it has nothing besides to which it can hold and comfort itself, and therefore it has no peace or rest for a single minute. And thus will it also be in perdition, where there will be nothing but despair, trembling and fear, and that without end.
Faith in Christ is quite different. Strangely, self-appointed teachers of Christianity (nominal Lutherans) get allergic to that word faith. They imagine that is a decision or the result of our thinking. How strange that these masters of the Word do not know the Word at all. Faith is a gift of God, created in us by the Spirit at work in the Gospel. That is why believers are called "new creations" (creatures) and not "new evolutes."
Faith relies on nothing but God and waits for God's will to be done. Needless to say, denominations trust people to trust in the denomination. Where will your next pastor come from? The denomination, but their seminaries are almost empty, closing up, or merging with schools to become minor departments to save face. They like to pummel their critics with abuse so that departing pastors never want to deal with congregations again.
Some people trivialize faith and prayer, saying such things as, "I prayed for a parking space and one opened up." In the South, "I'm praying for you" really means "You are going to Hell," but it can have a lighter touch. Still it is superficial and silly to say such things. There is nothing wrong with thanking God and asking for help in the practical difficulties of life. Those who pray consistently are shown that God answers those prayers in His time, in His way.
One woman was angry that God did not prevent her son from marrying "that woman," reminding me of the mother who literally shoved me toward her daughter, saying, "Make her go to church." Both reminded me of the wealthy patron ringing the bell for Jeeves to answer the call and follow orders. That is not faith and God does not reward such attitudes.
Luther:
4. Therefore God bestows faith to the end that it should deal not with ordinary things, but with things no human being can master as death, sin, the world and Satan. For the whole world united is unable to stand before death, but flees from and is terrified by it, and is also conquered by it; but faith stands firm, opposes death that devours everything, and triumphs over it and even swallows the insatiable devourer of life. In like manner no one can control or subdue the flesh, but it reigns everywhere in the world, and what it wills must be done, so that the whole world thereby is carnal; but faith lays hold of the flesh and subdues and bridles it, so that it must become a servant. And in like manner no one can endure the rage, persecution, and blasphemy, infamy, hatred and envy of the world; every one retreats and falls back exhausted before it, it gets the upper hand over all and triumphs; and if they are without faith it mocks them besides and treads all under its feet, and takes pleasure and delight in doing so.
Faith in our merciful God must be something good and blessed, because the entire Bible teaches faith. The Apostle John is especially eloquent about faith and says -
1 John 5:4: “This is the victory that hath overcome the world, even our faith."
When people get upset about faith, as if that is some dangerous ingredient in life (Objective Justification nonsense), I mention the disciples asking what work they should do to please God.
John 6:26 Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. 27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed. 28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? 29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom he hath sent.Faith in Christ is the foundation of all that we do in life, and unbelief is the opposite. Unbelief is the foundation of sin. So for various reasons people find it convenient to stick with the carnal and avoid the message of the Gospel. It is ironic that the universal grace salesmen bask in their ministry of condemnation - they are always condemning those who do not agree with their false doctrine, when their false doctrine claims everyone is born forgiven. Thus the blind lead the bland and fall into a pit together.
Not a typo. We are the salt of the world. If we do not have the Gospel, we have lost the savor.
Matthew 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
25 And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish.
So the disciples had enough faith to awake the sleeping Jesus, but not enough to realize it was all in His hands in the first place. The opposite of fear is not courage but faith. When people are afraid, faith flies out the window and emotions take over. Repeatedly Jesus showed the disciples and many others that He had command over all the elements and over life itself. Jesus devoted three years of training so that it all worked together to unite the disciples during His arrest, torture, and death. They were afraid, locked in a room, but together.
God puts together a mature faith from the materials of life. I have read stories of missionaries where this happened, and that happened, and it was quite miraculous in retrospect. Now I can say the same things. What I wanted at the time was not to be, and the ultimate reward was being able to do in writing and teaching the Gospel when no one would allow it in a denomination. And now it is welcome and passing into a new generation.
If the denomination sells and promotes books, it is tough to give up that income. If they refuse, it is easy to become independent in the same area. If the sale of books is thwarted in various ways, it is easy to give it all away. Giving it away all over the world is the most fun of all. That happens because of people with faith, who demonstrate that God can do anything He pleases in an instant or in decades and centuries if that is His will.
26 And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. 27 But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!
This is a favorite phrase, used in joking with people, but it makes a very good point in the miracle. These people have faith in Jesus, because they want help. But their fear betrays their small measure of faith at that moment. They were looking at the storm and waves, which is so easy to do, instead of their Master, who as an example, was asleep. One more step in their education came when He rebuked the wind and the sea, imposing a great calm.
Luther's interpretation, which was current in his time and still is relevant today - Jesus being asleep is symbolic of a time of persecution. The Gospel is attacked on every side. The opponents gloat over their victories and mock their victims.
Luther:
7. As it went here, so it goes and must go in all other temptations of sin, Satan, etc. We must experience how sin has taken captive the conscience and nothing but wrath and perdition wish to reign, and how we must be eternally lost. Satan must start so many things by his error and false teaching that it appears God’s Word must fall to the ground and the world must glory in falsehood. Likewise the world must rage and persecute to such an extent that it appears no one can stand or be saved, or even confess his faith; but Cain will rule alone and will not rest until his brother is dead, so that he may never be in his way. But we must not judge and act according to appearance and our experience, but according to our faith.
8. Therefore this Gospel is a comforting example and doctrine, how we should conduct ourselves, so that we may not despair in the agony of sin, in the peril of death, and in the tumult of the world; but be assured that we are not lost, although the waves at once overwhelm our little boat; that we will not perish, although we experience in our evil conscience sin, wrath, and the lack of grace; that we will not die, although the whole world hates and persecutes us, although it opens its jaws as wide as the rosy dawn of the morning. These are all waves that fall over your little bark, cause to despair, and force you to cry out: “Save, Lord; we perish”. Thus you have here the first part of this Gospel, faith, how it should thrive and succeed, and besides, how incapable and fainthearted unbelief is.
In love, Jesus rescues us from the storm. The wonder following the stilling of the storm is worth remembering, "Even the wind and waves obey Him!" There are magicians and fake wonder-workers who try to do something this level. Many times even the illusion falls apart.
But Jesus can and does intervene, changing matters in an instant. He has power over all of Creation because He is the King of Creation, the Creating Word - the Logos.
The Word is the power of Christ, to be forgiven and to forgive, to block the evil attempted and to turn it into something good. The Word conveys Christ to us and to others.
Luther:
17. That the people marveled and praised the Lord that the wind and sea were subject to him, signifies that the Gospel, God’s Word, spreads farther through persecution, it thus becomes stronger and faith increases; and this is also a paradoxical characteristic of the Gospel compared with all worldly things which decrease through every misfortune and opposition, and increase through prosperity and peace. Christ’s kingdom grows through tribulations and declines in times of peace, ease and luxury, as St. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 12:9: “My power is made perfect in weakness, etc.” To this end help us God! Amen.
