I Have the Secret Formula the Synods Are Seeking. I Will Give It Away Instead of Selling a False Version

 "You know what's wrong with us? We are colder than Eskimeaux delivering a Schwan order in a North Dakota blizzard. You gotta be friendly! Show some love!"

They have done many surveys. One big, expensive study showed that "nurturing" congregations grew, and that was in the Lutheran Church in America, about 30 years ago. No one quite knew how to develop a nurturing congregation, but they had an attractive booklet to study.

Fool Her Seminary jumped on the opportunity to provide sell a solution to the gullible, poorly trained, ambitious, and greedy. But alas, the more they poured the ice-water of the Law on their lupine customers, the worse things got.

Everyone talks about love, even about grace. I just saw another church anniversary - Fifty Years of Grace - the least original title since Watch Us Grow! Alas, "they know not that they know not."

Gospel is often in their speech but not anywhere else. Ask the millions who have left the shunning, abuse, and hatred. The numbers are so great the synods are adopting another program (!) suggesting those thousands who walked away for a reason - or received the Left Foot of Fellowship - could be coaxed back. The math is compelling: if the 50% who quit would come back in numbers, the bosses could measure growth from the low point to present. Stroh, a right strawy apostle, promised those results in one of his packaged programs with invented figures.

Here is the secret formula - not a secret at all. But it has been buried under so many layers of false doctrine that relatively few know it. Calvinism is growing fast among the Babtists, just as it has among the Lutherans of all stripes.

I learned this from a relatively obscure teaching of Jesus. I admit - I puzzled over it, and that blockage made it so much more intriguing to know.

John 16: 7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you.

8 And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

9 Of sin, because they believe not on Me;

10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;

11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.

The Holy Spirit means the preaching of the Word, because the Spirit never works without the Word and the Word never lacks the divine and effective energy of the Spirit.

Here Jesus teaches in the plainest possible way that the foundational work of the Church's ministry is to teach faith in Him.
The tired, old, decaying mainline denominations - including all the Lutheran synods - teach the opposite.

Every time Schroeder and Harrison address their fading synods, they repeat the Objective Justification dogma they love so much. The WELS and LCMS originally taught Justification by Faith, but the Calvinists took over with unionism and Fullerism. Now they agree against the Gospel in the name of the Gospel.

Luther is also plain about this topic. Love does not convert - the Word does. He teaches faith in the Savior throughout his work, pointing out that love is necessarily the fruit of Justification by Faith, the first fruit named in Galatians 5 as a product of the Spirit teaching faith.

One must be a believer to teach this truth, and I am afraid the numbers are small, thanks to the seminary motto of "obfuscate to graduate." They might enter seminary with faith, but the political and elitist attitudes will drive that out of most.

If someone graduates with faith and starts a ministry, with or without a synod, the natural impulse will be to teach faith in Christ and face the consequences. For those too busy to read The Pilgrim's Progress, the section on Vanity Fair is enough.

Those who love the Word will love the one who brings it (Luther) and those who despise the Word will do whatever possible to eradicate it.

A faithful congregation will concentrate on teaching faith in the Gospel. They will reap the rewards promised in the Scriptures. Teaching faith will involve:

1. Emphasizing the efficacy of the Word
2. Means of Grace services with the traditional, Biblical liturgy, the Creeds, a carefully prepared Biblical sermon, the Sacraments, and hymns whose lyrics we can recite without blushing.
3. Taking the Word to the members and prospects by visiting.
4. Extending the Gospel with world missions when possible.

 The jury at Vanity Fair is the result of apostasy. The effective Word of the Gospel stirs up hatred.

Washington Crossed the Delaware, On Durham Boats, Surprising the Hessians,

One of my favorite teachers - among many at Garfield - was Mrs. McMillan. She posted this famous painting of Washington Crossing the Delaware on her wall, and I often looked at it. My 2012 blog post about the Washington painting, in Moline Memories, is one of the most popular.

Mrs. McMillan served in the Philippines, but that is another story.

I often thought about that pivotal surprise attack. Successful generals are known for taking advantage of the situation. But one must also give credit to Washington for leadership, his wife helping the troops too, and letting the enemy use their imaginations. Before another battle, Washington posed canons without ammunition above and against the enemy position. The English withdrew. The best victory is when no shots are fired, though some would question Washington for his use of deception.

Germans like to celebrate. Why would the starving and freezing Yankees bother the Hessians on the day after Christmas, which is also an English holiday - Boxing Day? They attacked the Hessians (another good story, about money and world banking) - one party ferocious, the other hungover, half-awake, and suddenly terrified.

The location of the Trump rally is reasonably close to that victory in Trenton, New Jersey. The appointment of the prosecutor Durham was also the beginning of Q, the beginning of the end for the Deep State. We are in the last stage of that battle, and prosecutions will flourish.

 Trump at Rally:
"New Jersey is the state where George Washington led a die-hard band of American patriots to victory at Trenton and Princeton and Monmouth in our glorious battle to win American independence." George Washington.

LQ's Rolf Preus Defends the DeadLast Lutherans Faux-Discussions

 The guile award goes to...scholars are divided.

Rolf Preus, LCMS, ELS, Rolf Synod in Fellowship with ELDONA, Synod Orphan, LCMS.

Pastor Rolf David Preus (Rolf) Senior Member Username: Rolf Post Number: 10521 Registered: 5-2001

Posted on Tuesday, January 28, 2020 - 1:27 pm:       As a contributor to BJS, I take issue with the criticism of BJS posted above. Rev. Joshua Sheer is an Israelite in whom there is no guile. His primary concern is always theological. That doesn't translate into a specific political agenda. If you all have an agenda that differs from his and from those who contribute to BJS I encourage you to interpret what is happening on BJS in the kindest way. Any suggestion that Rev. Sheer and other participants on BJS tailor what they say to meet with the approval of LCMS officials is both unkind and unbrotherly. Much sound theology is promoted on BJS. Judge them by what they do, not by what you think they ought to be doing. You who want a conservative Lutheran website with a church political agenda are welcome to start your own. Pastor Rolf David Preus

GJ - There is so much blarney in one paragraph that I suspect Irish DNA.

Matt the Fatt Harrison ordered Joshua Sheer to erase their material on the LCMS allowing a known sexual predator to serve as a lay pastor, after serving in the hoosegow for his previous crime. He was encouraged into that program by a DP, if I recall.

The second victim came from Scheer's home congregation. I was in touch with him and he admitted the Matt ordered the deletions and he obeyed.

 Darwin Schauer has 30 posts linked on Ichabod.

As readers might have guessed, keeping the information on the Net, especially a well known LCMS blog, would make a multi-million dollar lawsuit a slam-dunk for any lawyer. Previous knowlege? Check. Encouraged to return to the same scenario? Check. District and synod involved? Check and check.

Deadlast Lutherans is a 100% Objective Justification cesspool. I have witnessed Pope Paul the Plagiarist ordering people not to link this blog on Steadfast. What a compliment! They have also erased comments that make their puppet-masters look like guilty idiots.

After erasing the evidence, Scheer became senior editor of the blog and senior pastor. Judas Iscariot must look up in envy, because he only earned a few coins for his perfidy.

Scheer - 40 pounds ago.

Video from the Philippines

Goodbye English Language. Read the Alert on Twitter

"Large boulder the size of a small boulder is completely blocking east-bound lane Highway 145 mm78 at Silverpick Rd."

Dog Food for the Birds - Memories

Lynda, an avid bird-watcher, once told me that dog food is perfect for birds, often used as food in rescue attempts.

We had a bag of old dog food, unloved by the finicky and spoiled Sassy. The grand-niece of a friend was visiting and wanted to feed the birds, so she asked for food for them. "You had peanuts last time. What happened to them?"

I said, "They were eaten by birds, squirrels, and humans." Let's use Sass's old dog food. The girl dumped the food tentatively on the upside-down kiddy pool, which gave it elevation above the snow and damp soil. In no time the Starlings cleaned up all the food.

Yesterday I had some old food left in the dog dish. Ranger Bob is always spoiling Sassy's appetite with milk-bones, treats, and crackers. She eats food from him that she rejects from us. He never tires of reminding us.

I put the cup of dog food (neither Moist nor Meaty anymore) on the garbage bin outdoors. Soon the watchful Starlings pounced on it.

Little episodes call up memories. Lynda was impressed that we had four kinds of doves in our yard in Phoenix - Inca Doves, White-Winged Doves, Mourning Doves, and Rock Pigeons. We were a dove destination. My mother scattered sunflower seeds around the yard, and we bought dove blocks. With such royal treatment, a group of doves never really left the yard. They burst into flight when a workman stepped outside, leading one to admonish me, "You should have warned me. They scared me half to death."

One cold night the Inca Doves stacked themselves against the warmer kitchen windows, about four deep. It looked like a candy display at an old-fashioned  drugstore. I wondered how He wrote the software in their flighty brains to assemble so carefully and save calories of heat with the vertical snuggle.

For Lynda, description of our Phoenix birds was a thrill. I see the chalice and paten from them and think, "They brought them from the East for our Holy Communion services."

 I am looking for this on Alibris. The price has to be very high.

Fourth Class - Wednesday 7 PM Central - Understanding Pilgrim's Progress - Vanity Fair

Ahead Lay the Valley of the Shadow of Death

Christian found two men refusing to go through the Valley of the Shadow of Death.

CHRISTIAN. But what have you met with? said Christian.

MEN. Why, we were almost in the Valley of the Shadow of Death; but that, by good hap, we looked before us, and saw the danger before we came to it. [Ps. 44:19; 107:10]

CHRISTIAN. But what have you seen? said Christian.

MEN. Seen! Why, the Valley itself, which is as dark as pitch; we also saw there the hobgoblins, satyrs, and dragons of the pit; we heard also in that Valley a continual howling and yelling, as of a people under unutterable misery, who there sat bound in affliction and irons; and over that Valley hangs the discouraging clouds of confusion. Death also doth always spread his wings over it. In a word, it is every whit dreadful, being utterly without order. [Job 3:5; 10:22]

CHRISTIAN. Then, said Christian, I perceive not yet, by what you have said, but that this is my way to the desired haven. [Jer. 2:6]

MEN. Be it thy way; we will not choose it for ours. So, they parted, and Christian went on his way, but still with his sword drawn in his hand, for fear lest he should be assaulted. P.

Christian found himself assaulted by many blasphemies whispered in his ears, coming from demons from the pit. This is a good picture of our entertainment industry and academic theologians, who glory in their blasphemies, like the late ELCA bishop who denied the articles of the Christian Faith and led his denomination away from traditional marriage.

The Valley of the Shadow of Death was overwhelming for Christian until he called upon the Lord for help. When he discussed this experience with Faithful, his friend said his journey through the Valley was peaceful and full of sunshine. They meet with Talkative, who impresses Faithful with his recitation of doctrine, but Christian warns him that Talkative is well known at home, living on Prating Lane –

I have been in his family, and have observed him both at home and abroad; and I know what I say of him is the truth. His house is as empty of religion as the white of an egg is of savor. There is there neither prayer nor sign of repentance for sin; yea, the brute in his kind serves God far better than he. He is the very stain, reproach, and shame of religion, to all that know him; it can hardly have a good word in all that end of the town where he dwells, through him. [Rom. 2:24,25] Thus say the common people that know him, A saint abroad, and a devil at home. His poor family finds it so; he is such a churl, such a railer at and so unreasonable with his servants, that they neither know how to do for or speak to him. Men that have any dealings with him say it is better to deal with a Turk than with him; for fairer dealing they shall have at their hands. P. 88

Along the way, Faithful and Christian met Evangelist, who rejoiced not in their difficulties but in their victories. He warned them of Vanity Fair ahead.

EVANGELIST. My sons, you have heard, in the words of the truth of the gospel, that you must, through many tribulations, enter into the kingdom of heaven. And, again, that in every city bonds and afflictions abide in you; and therefore you cannot expect that you should go long on your pilgrimage without them, in some sort or other. You have found something of the truth of these testimonies upon you already, and more will immediately follow; for now, as you see, you are almost out of this wilderness, and therefore you will soon come into a town that you will by and by see before you; and in that town you will be hardly beset with enemies, who will strain hard but they will kill you; and be you sure that one or both of you must seal the testimony which you hold, with blood; but be you faithful unto death, and the King will give you a crown of life. P. 96.

Vanity Fair – Founded by Beelzebub, Apollyon, Legion, et al.

Almost five thousand years agone, there were pilgrims walking to the Celestial City, as these two honest persons are: and Beelzebub, Apollyon, and Legion, with their companions, perceiving by the path that the pilgrims made, that their way to the city lay through this town of Vanity, they contrived here to set up a fair; a fair wherein, should be sold all sorts of vanity, and that it  should last all the year long: therefore at this fair are all such merchandise sold, as houses, lands, trades, places, honors, preferments, titles, countries, kingdoms, lusts, pleasures, and delights of all sorts, as whores, bawds, wives, husbands, children, masters, servants, lives, blood, bodies, souls, silver, gold, pearls, precious stones, and what not.

And, moreover, at this fair there is at all times to be seen juggling cheats, games, plays, fools, apes, knaves, and rogues, and that of every kind.

Here are to be seen, too, and that for nothing, thefts, murders, adulteries, false swearers, and that of a blood-red color. P. 98

The Prince of Princes also traveled through this city and was shown all its allures.

The townsmen were suspicious of Christian and Faithful, and examined them.

So they beat them pitifully, and hanged irons upon them, and led them in chains up and down the fair, for an example and a terror to others, lest any should speak in their behalf, or join themselves unto them. But Christian and Faithful behaved themselves yet more wisely, and received the ignominy and shame that was cast upon them, with so much meekness and patience, that it won to their side, though but few in comparison of the rest, several of the men in the fair. This put the other party yet into greater rage, insomuch that they concluded the death of these two men. Wherefore they threatened, that the cage nor irons should serve their turn, but that they should die, for the abuse they had done, and for deluding the men of the fair…

The judge’s name was Lord Hate-good. Their indictment was one and the same in substance, though somewhat varying in form, the contents whereof were this:— “That they were enemies to and disturbers of their trade; that they had made commotions and divisions in the town, and had won a party to their own most dangerous opinions, in contempt of the law of their prince.” P. 99

The Three Witnesses, Envy, Superstition, and Pickthank

PICKTHANK. My Lord, and you gentlemen all, This fellow I have known of a long time, and have heard him speak things that ought not to be spoke; for he hath railed on our noble prince Beelzebub, and hath spoken contemptibly of his honorable friends, whose names are the Lord Old Man, the Lord Carnal Delight, the Lord Luxurious, the Lord Desire of Vain Glory, my old Lord Lechery, Sir Having Greedy, with all the rest of our nobility; and he hath said, moreover, That if all men were of his mind, if possible, there is not one of these noblemen should have any longer a being in this town. Besides, he hath not been afraid to rail on you, my Lord, who are now appointed to be his judge, calling you an ungodly villain, with many other such like vilifying terms, with which he hath bespattered most of the gentry of our town. When this Pickthank had told his tale, the Judge directed his speech to the prisoner at the bar, saying, Thou runagate, heretic, and traitor, hast thou heard what these honest gentlemen have witnessed against thee?

Faithful was tortured and burned at the stake. God allowed Christian to escape the prison.

Hopeful came out of Vanity Fair, impressed by the speech and conduct of Christian and Faithful. He said others would be coming along for the same reason.

By-ends came along.

CHRISTIAN. This town of Fair-speech, said Christian, I have heard of; and, as I remember, they say it is a wealthy place.

BY-ENDS. Yes, I will assure you that it is; and I have very many rich kindred there. CHRISTIAN. Pray, who are your kindred there? if a man may be so bold.

BY-ENDS. Almost the whole town; and in particular, my Lord Turn-about, my Lord Time-server, my Lord Fair-speech, (from whose ancestors that town first took its name), also Mr. Smoothman, Mr. Facing-both-ways, Mr. Any-thing; and the parson of our parish, Mr. Two-tongues, was my mother’s own brother by father’s side; and to tell you the truth, I am become a gentleman of good quality, yet my great-grandfather was but a waterman, looking one way and rowing another, and I got most of my estate by the same occupation.

Demas tried to attract Christian and Faithful to his silver mine at Hill Lucre, but they refused. Soon they saw Lott’s wife, turned to salt.

Doubtful Castle and the Giant Despair

The Pilgrim’s Progress Map

Pages from the Lutheran Library Print Edition

City of Destruction – Christian leaves;  Christiana and their children follow in Part 2

Slough of Despond - Pliable, Obstinate, Worldly Wiseman, Evangelist

Village of Morality -

Wicket Gate – Good Will

Interpreter’s House - Interpreter (Holy Spirit)

The Cross – Three Shining Ones

Difficulty Hill – Formalist, Hypocrisy

Palace Beautiful - Discretion, Prudence, Piety, and Charity

Valley of Humiliation - Apollyon

Valley of the Shadow of Death – Two Men, Demons, Pope and Pagan, Faithful met again

Vanity Fair – Talkative, Lord Hate-Good, Hopeful, By-Ends, Witnesses: Envy, Superstition, and Pickthank; Demas, Lot’s Wife

Doubting Castle - Giant Despair

Delectable Mountains

Beulah

Dark River

Celestial City

Not Alone - Happy Anniversary Alicia and Gary Meyer

 Happy Anniversary, Gary and Alicia.

One member wrote something like this, "We journey through life alone."

I agreed - in the sense of faith being individual. No one can make another one believe.

But I soon thought about the second greatest invention after the printing press - the Internet. Clayton M. Christensen became the advocate of disruptive economics, where a new player comes in and changes all the rules. That is why heritage industries often fail when facing a start-up with new rules.

As Ben Stein wrote long ago in the American Spectator, the Internet unites people with common interests. His father Herb Stein, famous economist under Nixon, enjoyed discussing his favorite books over the Net, with special interest groups.

Therefore, traditional Lutherans are not alone, thanks to the Internet. In fact, how else would I communicate with one person from Indiana, others in Iowa, a group of relatives in Washington, our Philippine missionary pastor, the East Coast, Michiganders, and many more?

Relatively few clergy respond individually, but quite a few read the blog. One person wrote me, laughing, that all the screens were on Ichabod during the WELS convention.

The daily connections really matter, and one person can make a crucial difference. One person suggested the House Postils and another person got them into print, with only a little help from me. the House Postils advocate kept suggesting the Election issue, which was Walther's attempt to back up CFW's Calvinistic Objective Justification. That will be a book this year, d.v.

Once we started on the printing of Pilgrim's Progress, another person said, "Why not have a class on it?" That is leading to another book.

 HAL is colder than a Friendship Sunday in WELS.

Conversations (often - but not always - by email) accomplish a lot in dealing with doctrinal questions and addressing frustrations with the Age of HAL - the publisher's robot.

Thanks to streaming video, we can provide the Means of Grace for anyone with broadband and a computer. All we have is "spare room in a rented house," but our Founder started with far less.

Bethany Lutheran Worship

25,586 TOTAL VIEWS

Video from Our Philippine Mission

They have bought the basic materials for the roof at Bethany Lutheran Mission in the Philippines.

An Independent (Formerly LCMS) Pastor Visited Two WELS Congregations

This is apparently a review of Ski's WELS congregation in Round Rock above.

                                                     ---

The same LCMS pastor visited and reviewed DP Kudu Don Patterson's congregation.

---

I had a hunch that Pastor Paul Harris (former LCMS) had more in common with Ski and Patterson than he implied with his reviews.

All I had to do was google his name and Objective Justification, to find Harris endorsing Scaer's bizarre, confused, and erroneous take on Justification by Faith (a term they cannot use - though St. Paul often used it - unless they grasp a sprig of garlic and make the sign of Walther - a W).

OJ always leads to clowning, entertainment evangelism, petting bunnies on Easter, social justice warrior activism, unionism, and reliance on Thrivent - when robbing widows and orphans is not enough.

 Pastor Paul Harris, Trinity, Austin, Texas, not far from OJists Ski and Patterson.

http://blog.trinityaustin.com/2017/12/26/what-do-seminex-kloha-and-eldona-have-in-common/

Bethany Lutheran Mission in the Philippines - Raising the Roof

Pastor Jordan and helpers waited six hours to get their order filled for the roof materials.
Read about the progress of Bethany Lutheran Mission here.

 The building materials are in the background of the open air chapel.

 Getting the construction materials and delivering them was a big chore.

 Work starts soon on the permanent roof.

 Many children come to worship and learn about Jesus.

 Pastor and Mrs. Palangyos chose to teach Justification by Faith and be a witness to the truth of the Reformation. They are thankful to God for the support they receive from faithful Lutherans everywhere.
Read about their labor of love at Bethany Lutheran Mission here.

Third Sunday after Epiphany, 2020. Matthew 8:1-11. Centurion's Servant.To Increase Our Faith in the Word

Bethany Lutheran Worship

25,567 TOTAL VIEWS

The Third Sunday after the Epiphany, 2020

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

https://video.ibm.com/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship*

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Time

The Hymn #44     Ye Lands  - Koren (ELS)

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       

The Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
Hymn #409     Let Us Ever Walk with Jesus    

To Increase Faith in God's Word
Hymn # 264          Preserve Thy Word - Gryphius           

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
Hymn # 249    Isaiah Mighty Seer - Luther 

           

 Roof materials picked up and delivered - Philippine mission.

Announcements and Prayers

1. *When IBM bought Ustream, the URL changed. If IBM is not in the link, it will not work.
2. Pilgrim's Progress is on Wednesday at 7 PM. Blame Mrs. James Shrader. Booklet to follow - about the book's Gospel lessons.
3. Bethany Lutheran Mission has purchased and delivered the materials for their roof. Additional gifts help with the seating, doors, windows, labor, and food.
4. Pray for Ivy Anderson's mother, and Kermit Way, the husband of Christina Jackson's sister.
5. Gary and Alicia's wedding anniversary is tomorrow.

  Graphic by Norma A. Boeckler

            

KJV Romans 12:16 Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. 17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. 18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. 20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. 21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

KJV Matthew 8:1 When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. 2 And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. 3 And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. 5 And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, 6 And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. 7 And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. 8 The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. 9 For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.  10 When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.11 And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 13 And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.

Third Sunday After Epiphany

O almighty and everlasting God, mercifully look upon our infirmities, and in all dangers and necessities stretch forth Thy mighty hand, to defend us against our enemies; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

Gryphius (1616-1654), Silesia, ranks as one of the principal poets of Silesia. The troublous events of his life, however, cast a gloom over most that he wrote, and his hymns especially are sombre in character. He wrote "Preserve Thy Word,"

Background for the Sermon, Matthew 8:1-11

First of all, we have to consider the consistent testimony of the Scriptures and the Lutheran Reformation. This is where I say "Lutherans are more Pentecostal than the Pentecostals." The simple reason is that we follow what the Bible says - everywhere - that the Spirit always works through the Word, and the Word is never lacking in the divine energy of the Holy Spirit. This Biblical teaching must be maintained at all times to keep from distorting and destroying God's message in the Scriptures.

Isaiah 55:10-11 put it this way - Just like the snow and rain, God's Word always has an effect. This is revealed to allow no exceptions - never returning void, always accomplishing His purpose, always prospering His will. 

Anyone who imagines he is doing God's will without the Word is delusional. He is dreaming, and those dreams can inflate and pop like an over-extended balloon. I visited a church - like many in America - that attracted everyone with entertainment and joking around, professional acts, fun. It no longer exists, because it folded when the pastor grew up and closed down the entertainment.

In contrast, by trusting that the  Word is always effective and powerful, we trust the work of God to that Word. Many congregations are organized around the pastor being the superintendent who makes sure everything runs smoothly. The least amount of time is devoted to studying the Word, preparing to teach and preach, visiting with the Word of God. 

The foundational sin is not believing in Christ, John 16:8ff. That breaks down in many ways in America, even though we have so many church buildings.

• Questioning the value of prayer is doubt in God's Word.
• Denying the truth of the Scriptures and the authenticity of the text is the path to ruin, as the NIV and ESV show so clearly in their lies and distortions. Doctors know they can remove anything if enough anesthesia is used. The same is true with the Bible.
• Pointing to so-called errors and contradictions in the Bible (often refuted centuries ago) is the same as making the Scriptures just another religious work.
• The theology professors love to deny Creation and the divinity, miracles, atonement, and resurrection of Christ. The Ascension? - when was that service dropped in local churches?
• The result of no faith in the Word is trusting in clown "worship" services, popcorn and soda to keep everyone burpably happy, using coaching messages to replace the Gospel with the Law.

 Paolo Caliari (Il Veronese) (1528-1588) - 
The Centurion Before Christ

To Increase Faith in God's Word

KJV Matthew 8:1 When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. 2 And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

The context of these two healing miracles is important. The Sermon on the Mount was completed with the warning against false teachers - and the two trees comparison, one bearing good fruit only (faith in Jesus) and other only corrupt fruit (unbelief). Conclusion - A house is built on solid rock or on shifting sand. End of Chapter 7.

Beginning of Chapter 8. What moved these two men to seek healing from Jesus? He taught as one with divine authority, not like the niggling Pharisees, who only offered the Law as righteousness. Faith comes from hearing the report (as Luther says in his sermon on this passage). When Jesus preached to the crowd, they experienced His divine knowledge, power, and authority.

The man (full of leprosy, Luke) approached Jesus and worshiped Him as the Savior. As a leper, he was unclean and should not have even been near Jesus. He was also horrible to see and felt that disease, not only in his body's decay but also in the disgust and horror of the crowds. (If  you want to pass through a crowd, simply have your child  cover his own mouth and say, "He's sick!" The crowds will part, no matter how packed they appear to be.) How could the leper approach Jesus in the crowd? No one wanted to be near him, lest they catch his disease or become ritually unclean. Our daughter Erin Joy loved a woman with that condition. Adults saw disfiguration; Erin saw a woman who loved her. They beamed smiles at each other.

It took profound faith in Jesus to approach Him and ask for help. Why do people not do the same as the leper? The leper did not look at his own worthlessness in the eyes of everyone - or his helplessness. He only saw the divine power and mercy of Jesus and knew from the Sermon on the Mount that God was speaking to him.

Rationalists with no faith see the Sermon on the Mount as a collection of sayings, not a sermon so they miss the connection with the miracles following. Jesus also performed miracles and taught afterwards, to show the connection between His supernatural powers and His supernatural Word. However, that also exposed unbelief and anger toward Him. John 6 - That is a hard saying...many disciples departed and no longer walked with Him. (Disciple-makers should observe - the solution is not "making disciples" the way Ford makes trucks, but instructing with the Word of God.)

Luther:
7. This is what I have often said, that faith makes of us lords, and love makes of us servants,. Indeed, by faith we become gods and partakers of the divine nature and name, as is said in Psalm 82:6: “I said, Ye are gods, and all of you sons of the Most High.” But through love we become equal to the poorest. According to faith we are in need of nothing, and have an abundance; according to love we are servants of all. By faith we receive blessings from above, from God; through love we give them out below, to our neighbor. Even as Christ in his divinity stood in need of nothing, but in his humanity served everybody who had need of him. Of this we have spoken often enough, namely, that we also must by faith be born God’s sons and gods, lords and kings, even as Christ is born true God of the Father in eternity; and again, come out of ourselves by love and help our neighbors with kind deeds, even as Christ became man to help us all.

3 And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

Matthew 82 και ιδου λεπρος ελθων προσεκυνει αυτω λεγων κυριε εαν θελης δυνασαι με καθαρισαι

3 και εκτεινας την χειρα ηψατο αυτου ο ιησους λεγων θελω καθαρισθητι και ευθεως εκαθαρισθη αυτου η λεπρα

John 15 2 παν κλημα εν εμοι μη φερον καρπον αιρει αυτο, και παν το καρπον φερον καθαιρει αυτο ινα πλειονα καρπον φερη 3 ηδη υμεις καθαροι εστε δια τον λογον ον λελαληκα υμιν (we use the verb in the name Catharine, pure)

This is the power of God's Word. Jesus is the Logos, the Creating Word, so He has power over the entire universe. The believing leper said, "If it is Your will," and Jesus said, "It is My will. Be cleansed."

As we can see from John 15, the verb for cleansing is also used for absolution. Just as the leper was healed and purified by the Word of Jesus, so we are absolved from sin by the efficacious Word of the Savior. Just as the cleansed, fruitful branch of the grape vine or rose becomes even more fruitful, so our absolution from sin makes us even more fruitful in Christ.

The reason for the lovelessness in this world is the lack of faith in Christ. Church bodies can become riddled with legalism and rationalism so there is little or no faith in the Savior, little or no love.

4 And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.

The instructions seem odd at first, but Jesus is telling the healed man to go directly to the Temple and perform the ceremony which follows healing from leprosy. "Tell no man" means - do not stop along the way to tell everyone, but carry out this task first of all.


Lenski, Matthew, p. 322.
Jesus thus orders this man in all due form to carry out the ceremonial requirements "which Moses ordered" and thus to have himself officially reinstated as being clean of leprosy. Jesus has not come to destroy but to fulfill the Law and the Prophets (5:17), and by his order to the leper he had healed fulfills what the Law of Moses required in the present case. This helps to explain that final phrase, "for a testimony unto them." 

This is another example of taking the Gospel to the Jewish leaders, giving them a chance to repent and believe in Jesus. The leper himself was sowing the living Seed of the Word, telling them about the sermon he heard and his transformation from leper to healed. Another example is found in John 9.

5 And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, 6 And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. 7 And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. 

Jesus did not wait around for praise from the crowd, but kept moving. The next request came from an officer in the Roman army, the occupation troops there to keep everyone peaceful. 

The centurion was a patron of the synagogue there, and he probably knew of the prophecies about the Messiah. The Roman Empire was on its last legs as a pagan force, and people had their doubts the ridiculous and fanciful tales of the Roman deities, borrowed from the Greeks. We still have those names in our vocabulary - Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter... 

In response, Jesus said He would come and heal the servant (no doubts expressed on either side).

8 The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. 9 For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. 

The officer spoke just like a military office, and he had the power of life and death over his soldiers. If they were undisciplined, he could give the order to "decimate," which meant that 10% of the men could be beaten to death by his fellow soldiers. That still inspires certain synods - Beatings will continue until morale improves.

The officer knows the power of the word when it comes from authority, and "authority" is that mysterious word that we find hard to translate. Jesus taught with "authority," not like the scribes and Pharisees. I think it needs to be "divine authority" to convey the true meaning. Jesus spoke as God, because He was and is God. He did not say, "It's me," but "I AM" - the Name of God from the Burning Bush.

Therefore the officer is responded to the divine authority He experienced and heard about from others (the Report). Faith comes from hearing (the Report).

10 When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.11 And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

We can see from the response that the centurion considered Jesus' Promise as coming from God, because its effect had no boundaries or limitations. Jesus answered by marvelling about the officer's faith, greater than anything found in Israel. And that is often the truth. Those raised in the faith find such matters to be familiar and not that dramatic.

Those of us raised in the mainline denominations know how laborious it is to remove all the layers of rationalism from the Scripture narratives. So many books and sermons out there simply touch upon the Word to use as a springboard for alien thoughts and human ideas. I recall a book where the author judged how good the Old Testament poetry was (not so great), as if our standards judge the Word. And I recall the seminary professor who made fun of a book's German title because it clearly stated in the original that Bible is historically accurate.

Therefore, they do not teach faith but something far more toxic than unbelief. They teach anti-belief, which installs a layer of filtering over every Word of the Bible. "You don't mean that is literally true, do you?" they ask with sarcasm. Everything becomes a symbol (and merely a symbol) and an important lesson, but only as they see it. 

Jesus warned here too, like the two trees and the houses built on rock or sand - false teaching has consequences. Some who openly despise the Word but still pretend to teach it pay a horrible price in this life and the life to come. Live a few decades and those people will stand out.

13 And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.

In both examples, the individual, with faith in Christ, asked for a miracle. We can see in the various examples of miracles a lesson about how God works. The second miracle proved that it did not take Jesus' presence with the sick man to heal him, nor did He touch the man. The first miracle showed what a complete and instant transformation could be made, far beyond anyone's imagination or hopes.

These examples of faith are written to create and nurture our faith, because we have so many questions, not at the same time, but over time.

• How does one pray? The leper showed us an example - if it is Your will... We do not demand from God or command Him to do what we want. If we think we can control the outcome, He will surprise us.
• How much can God do in a miracle? A baby fell from a tall building and landed unharmed. Some claim the exploded diaper absorbed the energy. They failed physics and the Bible. God did that through His angels.
• How can Jesus be physically present in Holy Communion? That is answered in His two escapes from crowds who surrounded Him and His presence in the locked room after His resurrection. His human nature does not hinder His divine nature.
• How can God answer silent prayers? Just as easily as He answers spoken prayers. Jesus knew what was in the minds of His audience. To encourage our prayers God offers hundreds of examples in the Bible to quell our doubts and increase our faith.
• God seems to be silent. In fact, He seems to let more sorrows pile on my head. The Canaanite woman is an example example and there for a reason. That is why Jesus kept the appearance of silence and even contempt - to draw out her humility and her faith -"Even the little dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the Master's table."
• We also have the example of the Virgin Mary, who suffered because of her unique role, the Apostles, and of course Jesus Himself. Now we see that they glorified God in their suffering, so we can see the wisdom behind His will.