The Second Sunday after Easter - Misericordias Domini. The Good ShepherdJohn 10:11-16

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Misericordias Domini – The Second Sunday after Easter, 2014

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10AM Central Time

The Hymn #195      Christ Jesus Lay in Death's Strong Bonds             

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
The Sermon Hymn # 426         The Lord My Shepherd Is             

The Good Shepherd - Guiding and Guarding Us

The Communion 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 #50                 Lord Dismiss Us                

Second Sunday After Easter

Lord God, heavenly Father, who of Thy fatherly goodness hast been mindful of us poor, miserable sinners, and hast given Thy beloved Son to be our shepherd, not only to nourish us by His word, but also to defend us from sin, death, and the devil: We beseech Thee, grant us Thy Holy Spirit, that, even as this Shepherd doth know us and succor us in every affliction, we also may know Him, and, trusting in Him, seek help and comfort in Him, from our hearts obey His voice, and obtain eternal salvation, through the same, Thy Son Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

KJV 1 Peter 2:21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: 22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: 23 Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himselfto him that judgeth righteously: 24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. 25 For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

KJV John 10:11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. 12 But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. 13 The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. 15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

Three of Luther’s sermons on this text:

Misericordias Domini. Second Sunday After Easter. John 10:11-16. Christ’s Office and Kingdom; or How Christ is the True Shepherd
Second Sermon: Preachers, Civil Authorities, and the Knowledge of Christ
Third Sermon: The Good Shepherd and his Sheep; or Christ’s Person, Office and Rulership

The Good Shepherd - Guiding and Guarding Us

KJV John 10:11 I AM the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. 

There are seven (traditionally) but really eight I AM lessons in John -

1. And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst” (John 6:35).
2. Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life” (John 8:12).
3. “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture” (John 10:9).
4. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep” (John 10:11).
5. Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live” (John 11:25).
6. Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).
7. “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser” (John 15:1).

Some overlook the theme statement in John 8, which identifies the Angel of the Lord in the Burning Bush with Jesus - "Before Abraham was, I AM." See Exodus 3 - the Angel of the Lord is God. His name is I AM.

See also Matthew 14:28 - literally "Do not be afraid, I AM."

So these are sermons about the nature of God, since Jesus is God and as God Incarnate shows us the true nature of God.

Doctrinal Gospel

One person regularly communicates with m about various topics. When I pointed out how many doctrinal issues are resolved by the Fourth Gospel, he called it The Doctrinal Gospel.

Given our knowledge about the public ministry of Jesus from the other Gospels. the Gospel of John gives us far more of Jesus' teaching about Himself.

Gigantic volumes of made-up stuff can be found in world religion, men searching for the true nature of God and yet teaching from their own imaginations. Would that be ironic for God to say, "I will reveal the most about Myself in the simplest book of the New Testament, so simple it can be used to learn a new language. Simple words. Simple grammar. Short sentences. Repetition. And yet, to get some of the meaning from this work, you will need to write very large commentaries about it."

This opening statement says so much, literally I AM the Shepherd, the Noble. The grammar emphasizes the unique nature of Jesus as the Shepherd. We have downgraded so many words and discard other good ones that we are stuck with I am the Good Shepherd.

But this means - I AM the Template for all shepherds (pastors).

I AM the ultimate Shepherd.

I AM the Shepherd who embodies Psalm 22 and Psalm 23 and Isaiah 53.

That is because Jesus defines His shepherd's role as "laying down His life for the sheep."

In saying this, Jesus places Himself above anyone who might call himself a shepherd, although there are many who give up their lives, following His example. But they cannot atone for the sins of the world.

Jesus definition identifies Him with Psalm 22, the description of the Passion, Psalm 23, the result of His death and resurrection, and with Isaiah 53 - the meaning of His suffering and death. "By His stripes we are healed."

I find it strange and ironic that the divine solution for our anxieties and guilt is treated with contempt by the modern theologians. They snort that they cannot believe in the Son of God dying for their sins. Very well. They have nothing to say to anyone, because they cannot even represent the historic Christian faith. But they cannot stop yakking, writing, braying about their opinions. They say the Word does not accomplish anything, but their words are so precious they fill the world with them.

12 But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. 

All true confessions of faith include the positive and the negative. In fact, that is part of normal argumentation. If something is true, then it necessarily excludes what is false. "A square is always a rectangle, but a rectangle is not always a square." That is the basis for logic and learning in the West, at least 2400 years old.

Although we take that for granted, in secular knowledge, this same thought drives people crazy in discussion Christian doctrine. They want positive affirmations without any negations. That is the best approach to establish false doctrine, to have this attitude, because "Error loves ambiguities."

As long as people can think abut a matter in two ways, then error can slowly establish the wrong way.

Jesus commanded the Sacraments, so let's call them ordinances. In a sense they are ordinances. But that term is designed to deny the efficacy of the Word in Holy Baptism and Holy Communion (two combinations they do not like, for some reason). The real meaning of the word ordinance is " Jesus commanded it, so we have to do it, but neither one conveys forgiveness of sin."

The hired hands are the dangerous ones - and they are not shepherds. The difference is clear. Those who seek to be pastors for the sake of money and security are nothing more than hired hands who have no love for the sheep at all. The Fuller trained Lutheran pastor who advocated entertainment, not worship, has given his entire congregation over to the Pentecostals (Community of Joy, Glendale, is now Dream City Assemblies of God, Pentecostal). Thousands of nominal Lutherans are being led away from whatever Gospel they might know into denial of the Sacraments and rejection of infant faith.

Hired hands do well within the structure. If anyone challenges them, they raise the alarm, against the truth. That makes the sheep agitated, so it must be bad to challenge the hired hands. The one thing the belly servers agree on -  is keeping their jobs safe. They have the tightest union of all.

13 The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.

The hired hands run away from any kind of danger, even before there is danger, because they are motivated by fear, lacking faith. Those laity who see things the same way view material gain as the proof of God's blessings. That is an easy cycle to get into. The minister says, "I drive a new Caddy because I am so good at what I do. You have to pay tribute to me, literally, so you can have the same." So he charges people to gain the way he has, and if they do not, it is their fault.

But when trouble comes, he is this or that, and soon he is gone. 

Luther:
28. Because this is so, the good shepherds are thus distinguished from the hirelings. Whoever is a hireling will preach the Gospel only so long as they say of him that he is a learned, pious and good man; but when he is attacked, and men begin to denounce him as a heretic and a knave, and challenge him to a dispute, he recants or runs away, and abandons the poor sheep in their distress, and things are in a worse state than they were before. For what advantage has it been to the poor sheep that they had once been well kept? Had the shepherds been faithful, they would have sacrificed their bodies and lives for the sake of the sheep, and would have given their necks to the executioner for the Gospel’s sake. Accordingly, they are never true shepherds who, in preaching, have their own popularity, profit and advantage in view. They are surely hirelings; for they seek their own advantage, even when they dispense the true doctrine and Word of God. Therefore they continue only as long as they are honored and praised.

Hence they retract, and deny the Word, when the wolf comes, or flee and leave the sheep in the lurch. The sheep bleat for pasture and for the shepherd to protect them from the wolves, but there is no one to succor them; thus they are deserted when they most need some one to help them.

14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. 

This is a great verse to remember. Jesus knows every single one of his sheep by name. That is why we call our first names our Christian name. Every soul has a name.

This sermon is also good because it touches upon the knowledge and experience of his listeners. When shepherds put their sheep in a group pen, there was no problem leading them out, because the sheep listened to the voice of their own shepherd. They knew him by his voice, and the shepherd called them by their individual names. 

That is true of our dog Sassy. People try calling her over. I say, "Use her name, and she will listen." They call her by name and she comes over if she has already met the person.

I have seen this happen when preaching about
the inerrancy of the Word.

Those who believe in Christ enjoy His voice and love to hear about Him. If I happen to speak to a large group of people, the believers become alert to words about faith in Christ. Unbelievers get angry and cross their arms.

That is also revealed when sound doctrine is contrasted with false doctrine. A big firestorm erupts because their Father Below does not like to hear the genuine Gospel, and he certainly cannot abide hearing a muted and compromised Gospel compared to the plain Word of God.

The servants of their Father Below conclude that someone must really be a bad person to be kicked around so much for speaking the truth. After all, their pastors have the biggest houses, the slickest cars, and the greatest honors in the visible church.

The comfort of hearing the voice of the Shepherd should never be overlooked. Whenever we are troubled, we should turn to the Word of God and listen to that one, clear, true Voice, especially in the Gospel of John.

15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.

Some verses are so well known to us that we can pass by them easily, but we should not. This Father-Son relationship is taught throughout the Gospel of John. It teaches us that when we see the Son, we also see the Father. When we hear the Son, we also hear the Father. The Holy Spirit witnesses this to us through the Word.

Too many pretend to love the Son but hate the Father. They try to separate the two and tell everyone how pious they are for loving the Son (in their own way) but ignoring and teaching against what the Son tells us in the clearest possible language.

If the laity and pastors get one passage in their minds and fully appreciate its meaning, they can defeat all the false teachers with it. 

What is sin?

That is answered by Jesus.

The Holy Spirit will convict the world of sin.

Sin is - He will convict them because they do not believe on Me.

Therefore, unbelief is the ultimate sin and not to be equated with justification.

16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

I went to a conference that thought this verse was about the National Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches. Jesus wanted all denominations to be united in unfaith.

It is good to remember this - the liberals and Fuddlementalists use the Scriptures the same way. They quote a passage and give it their own explanation, which has nothing to do with the Word's meaning.

There is One Church, which is invisible. This true Church is made up of all those who sincerely believe in Christ as their Savior and trust only in Him, not in their merits or works. For that reason, members of this true Church belong to many different denominations and may not have a specific affiliation. God knows who these souls are. They are one fold and they have One Savior.

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Ezekiel 34 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?

3 Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.

4 The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.

5 And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered.

6 My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.

7 Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord;

8 As I live, saith the Lord God, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock;

9 Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord;

10 Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.

11 For thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.

12 As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.

13 And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country.

14 I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel.

15 I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the LordGod.

16 I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.

17 And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats.

18 Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet?

19 And as for my flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet; and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet.

20 Therefore thus saith the Lord God unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle.

21 Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad;

22 Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle.

23 And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.

24 And I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the Lord have spoken it.

25 And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods.

26 And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing.

27 And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the Lord, when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them.

28 And they shall no more be a prey to the heathen, neither shall the beast of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and none shall make them afraid.

29 And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more.

30 Thus shall they know that I the Lord their God am with them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord God.

31 And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord God.

Jesus Cleansing the Temple,by Norma Boeckler

The Eighth Sunday after Trinity, 2015. Matthew 7:15-23. The Tree of Faith Necessarily Bears Good Fruit

The Eighth Sunday after Trinity  2014

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Time

The melodies are linked in the hymn title. 

The lyrics are linked in the hymn number.

• The melody site is linked here.
• TLH Lyrics site is linked here.

The Hymn #260                       O Lord Look Down                                 

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

The Sermon Hymn #495              From Greenland's Icy Mountains  

The Tree of Faith Necessarily Bears Good Fruit

The Communion Hymn # 311        Jesus Christ Our Blessed Savior           

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 # 309                          O Jesus Blessed Lord                

KJV Romans 8:12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. 13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

KJV Matthew 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. 21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Eighth Sunday After Trinity

Lord God, heavenly Father, we most heartily thank Thee that Thou hast caused us to come to the knowledge of Thy word. We pray Thee: graciously keep us steadfast in this knowledge unto death, that we may obtain eternal life; send us now and ever pious pastors, who faithfully preach Thy word, without offense or false doctrine, and grant them long life. Defend us from all false teachings, and frustrate Thou the counsels of all such as pervert Thy word, who come to us in sheep's clothing, but are inwardly ravening wolves, that Thy true Church may evermore be established among us, and be defended and preserved from such false teachers, through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

The Tree of Faith Necessarily Bears Good Fruit

KJV Matthew 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

There are many reasons to pay close attention to the details in the sermons of Jesus. One is that He is the Word, the Savior, the Son of God. Another is the precise way in which He describes the actions and motivations of others. When Jesus speaks of salvation, the sending of the Spirit, or false teachers, He is not mostly true but completely true in every aspect of His wisdom. If we track where problems and errors come from, they are clearly from ignoring what He has taught or not trusting in what He has taught.

This first verse is a clear example. When someone is a false teacher, the defense is always, "But he is a nice guy, a friend of mine. We went to school together." And I have heard this from a warrior who surrendered without much of a fight - "He is harmless. Everyone knows he is a heretic."

The damage comes from pretending that the sheep - or shepherds - are harmless because of appearances. That is exactly what Jesus warns against, judging from appearances. False prophets are not harmless heretics but ravening wolves. Like any con artist, they put on a good show and watch the reaction of their intended victims, to keep them off-guard.

One gas station fraud artist told me what I was thinking before I said it. I already checked out his facts, and every single thing was totally wrong. But anticipating my thoughts showed he was an adept thief and liar, which was disarming - not enough to trust him, only enough to admire his guile.

False teachers are ravening wolves because they scatter and kill when they undermine God's Word and replace it with theirs. I am sure most people can see this by now. Here are some historic stages:

• The New Testament text was attacked as unreliable and made to fit with two manuscripts Tischendorf discovered on his own. Wescott and Hort followed up by making their New Testament obey Tischendorf while inventing new rules of their own.
• The canon of the Bible was also undermined so that liberal ministers would call it a book about God, not God's Word. Or it "contained God's Word" which was entirely subjective. Or it had to conform to current science, which is pretty funny on the face of it. Science was ignorant of fungal benefits in soil until a few decades ago.
• Conforming the Bible to the culture allowed the false teachers to make society the judge of God's Word, not vice verse. That proved useful with all kinds of movements and fads.
• Making church a business was a clever move because it appealed to many of the laity, especially prosperous businessmen. Once the Lutherans agreed to measure material gains instead of faithfulness to the Word, the decline accelerated. 
• The clergy accept silence being rewarded with promotions, and dissent being met with expulsion, slander, and shunning.

16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

The Lord of Creation is best when making comparisons that anyone close to nature can grasp. Therefore, our urban culture tends to overlook how pointed the comparisons are.

As a gardener I grow many plants I do not understand at first. When the soil is fertile, the rain falls, and the sun germinates new life, the outcome is often mixed.

I had an entire corn patch that germinated two weeks late, and some new and exotic weeds.

Many plants look alike because one variety is the weed version of its cousin. The leaves and flowers are very much alike, but the fruit is not. Tomato relatives are a good example of this, with woody nightshade looking like a delicate version of the tomato vine, and deadly nightshade yields atropine and belladonna, but is used as a poison.

When I see something odd growing, I wait for it to flower and fruit. Nothing is quite as definitive as the fruit. "You shall know them by their fruits." They are similar but not identical to useful plants.

Missouri, WELS, and the ELS have followed a rule - judge them by their relatives. If someone was influential, the child or nephew is considered automatically good. That would be like allowing deadline nightshade in the garden because tomatoes are so appealing and popular. 

 Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

This is very clear in gardening, not so clear in the visible church. The warning is all the more precise in its wording. Someone who is a thorn or thistle will not produce good fruit. To claim otherwise is laughable. No one would argue that in the garden or on the farm, but it is promoted in the visible church, especially since apostates are in control. 

This is an action of labor. Why would we work at picking the fruit of thorns and thistles? And yet the world runs to false teachers today to hear what their itching ears want to hear.

17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

These two verses are central to this Gospel lesson. If the visible church could grasp these two verses and apply them, all troubles would be vanquished and easily met when they rose up again.

What does man do? He judges by appearances instead. The good tree is the believer, the one whose trust rests in Christ alone. And Jesus is brought to us by the Word. A believer can only produce good fruit, but an unbeliever produces only evil fruit.

Many trees are like weeds. They grow and spread easily but they produce nothing worthwhile. In fact, their fruit is an obnoxious seed pod that is ugly or spiked or messy - and always productive - but producing only more bad fruit.

A good tree is valuable, so it is nurtured to make it more fruitful. 

An unbeliever cannot produce fruit because he is not "in Christ" and Christ is not in him. He lacks the Spirit because of this unbelief, so he is in a constant rebellion against the Word of God. The Scriptures and believers make him upset, all the more when this unbeliever is a ruler and a teacher in the visible church. When an unbeliever has power and authority in the visible church, he is an opponent of the Gospel, as we have seen for decades, always supporting error and vice, always attacking sound doctrine and any effort to address the situation.

How strange that congregations trust a Circuit Pastor or District President who does not commune them, does not baptize their babies, does not bury their dead, does not visit the sick and shut-in, does not preach or teach, does not teach confirmation classes. 

And we have so many "pastors" without a parish who are experts in preaching, blogging, evangelism, and everything else.

What do these weasels say? They condemn congregations for being small instead of commending the faithful for being faithful - as Luther does. Orthodox Lutheran teaching will always produce fruit, as Luther wrote and was quoted in the final pages of Walther's Law and Gospel.

These weasels pimp for their friends who slither in and tell a congregation it has to spend a zillion dollars to grow, and they collect very fat fees for this divine service of being a consultant. And their leech associates arrive next to extort the congregation and leave it debt-ridden in the name of evangelism. And lo, how much they collect for impoverishing the parish. Hearts in focus indeed.

But this is all a ministry of coveting. If only we had a big church with big screens and big parking lots. Look around. The landscape is littered with former glory congregations that peaked 20 years ago, as if it would always be on a gravy train. The famous ones of the 1980s are going or already gone.

Bricks do not produce fruit. Neither do parking lots. Big money may indeed leverage results. A false teacher on many campuses at once is like a bunch of thistle seeds in the wind. 

 18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

These two cannots would create a revolution if allowed to be taught. False teachers cannot bear any good fruit at all. They are only reproducing their own errors, as junk trees and junk bushes always do - without being cultivated.

But the tree of faith cannot grow evil fruit. Faith produces spiritual fruit alone, just as an apple tree grows apples and not apples and thorns.

But we must listen to Luther and say, Yes we are weak and sinful, but God creates this fruit from the Gospel of forgiveness and the glory belongs to Him alone.

We do not have to worry about how important or significant we are, only patiently go about our appointed tasks in faith - and that glorifies God. The ordinary parish pastor does more of this than all the seminary professors put together. 

Those divine blessings just sprout from the Spirit energized work of the Word among the faithful. It make take decades or months or days. No one can judge that, but in time those spiritual results are clear.

I see that through my daily walks in our neighborhood. I know many families, and we are all closer, thanks to everyone loving Sassy so much. Various matters come up and I distribute Bibles and children's books that people appreciate. And we talk about God and various daily issues or past problems.

Of course, some are scornful. It is so much better for them to spend $1 million on a mission, loan the money at interest, and keep all the equity when it closes. Such wisdom has bankrupted the Lutheran denominations, even with all the looting. Once the sheep have been shorn, scattered, and slaughtered, the in-gathering is far smaller.

20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. 21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Clearly, posturing is not going gain entrance into the Kingdom of God. So many want to protect the image of the visible church by covering up for known felons. They excuse this as good, pious work. One LCMS leader said, "If this goes to trial, it will cost us $10 million. And there goes the mission to Russia." So - toss the victim under the bus to have another fancy mission, as if Russia did not already have the Gospel. After all, the LCMS seminaries promote Eastern Orthodoxy and scorn Lutheran doctrine. What an odd excuse to go against God's Word.

These are the scary words from Jesus that CS Lewis mentioned, and there are many more. They center around this warning - faith in Christ brings forgiveness and blessings. Unfaith continues the state of condemnation and brings eternal damnation. Apostasy is the worst form of unfaith, and it marks the end.

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