Sermon Sunday Aug 25, 2013

Brothers and sisters,

Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and our risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Once again we find ourselves gathered together in this space for the purpose of worship. It seems such a simple thing when we gather for worship. You show up. You find your pew. You greet friends and fellow believers. Maybe you go to Bible-study when that starts up. Maybe you help out with Sunday school. Or maybe, since we are still two weeks away from Sunday school actually starting, maybe you take your turn providing and serving food for food and fellowship. It all seems so simple and quaint. Right?? At least that is how we tend to think of it.

     But the truth is, there is much more than meets the eye going on every time we gather together for worship. What we experience here is an extension of what happens not just locally, not just nationally, but all across the globe. And it is not because of me or you any particular denomination. What we experience when we gather together around God’s Word is a fulfillment of the words of Isaiah; ““For I know their works and their thoughts, and the time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and shall see my glory,…”   

    Think about where you came from to get here. Some of you maybe came from right here in Bode. Maybe some of you came here from out in the country. Maybe some of you came from Ottosen. Maybe some of you came from Livermore. Maybe some of you even came from Humboldt. Even in a small, rural church in Iowa we can see a reflection of God’s people being gathered from all different directions all over the planet.

    But make no mistake about it; you are here this morning because you have been gathered. You are here because God has called you here. And as God gathers His people, He transforms them into an instrument capable of declaring the glory of God to all nations. And the same thing that He gathers us to is what He gathers us with; His Word. Take a moment to imagine all the places around the world from which God gathers people unto Himself. Imagine revival tents in Africa with people walking miles to attend. Imagine inner-city churches. Imagine believers gathering in hiding in countries where Christianity is actually banned. The Word of Christ unites all of us.

   God does not just gather us from different locations but He gathers different types of people. He gathers the old and the young. He gathers the wealthy and poor. He gathers people from different occupations. Some of you are Iowa natives. Some, like me, are transplants. And God gathers us from different family situations and from different life-experiences.

     But what is even more remarkable than the fact that God gathers together those who are different is that He gathers us together, in spite of what we all have in common: sin. As the psalmist declares Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.  Or as Paul writes in Romans 5 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—. We are all born having inherited the disease of sin from Adam. But God-being a gracious Father of infinite love and mercy sends us the only possible cure and salvation from the plague of this condition that we inherit-death. God takes on human flesh and bears this disease upon Himself and He endures the punishment and wrath that we deserve for the rebellion that this disease brings out in us, though He Himself is innocent.

   And when He calls and gathers us with His Word, what He is doing is calling us to this cure, Christ Jesus, the only cure, the only salvation from death, the only redemption from the wrath and punishment that we deserve because of our rebellion. When we are called and gathered by the Word of God we are called and gathered to the narrow-door that our Lord Jesus speaks of in the Gospel lesson.

    Jesus tells us to strive to enter through the narrow-door. Now don’t mistake the use of the word “strive” here as an indicator that Jesus is exhorting us to works-righteousness. The striving that Jesus refers to is the persistent struggle against our own sinful nature, or the disease of sin; and also against the devil and all his lies. This passage from Luke says that Jesus is journeying toward Jerusalem. Any time that it is mentioned that Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem, that is a reminder that Jesus was on His way to the cross. Jesus was always on His way to the cross. And just as Jesus is in constant motion toward His goal of the cross, we are likewise to be constantly in motion toward the goal of our salvation.

     And by continually calling us and gathering us in His Word, Christ Jesus calls and gathers us in that direction toward our salvation. He calls and gathers us every day toward Jesus, Who is the narrow door that He Himself speaks of.

     You see, we are all on a pilgrimage or a journey through this life. But one day this life is going to end for all of us. And one day we will all enter some kind of eternity. We will enter God’s eternal and glorious Kingdom in which a place has been prepared for us, where Jesus will wipe all the tears away, or we will enter the place of eternal punishment where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, where there will be darkness and despair and pain and anguish. And through the Words of our Lord Jesus we can see that eternity in God’s Kingdom is through the narrow-door.

   You see, as we go though this life, some look inward for guidance. Some will dig deep into their inner-most being to discover the answer to all of this life’s questions. Some conclude that there is no destination and that the only thing that matters is the journey. Others believe that we are all-regardless of what we believe-being shaped by the “divine”-whatever they might mean by that-and that ultimately we will all be taken to heaven. And while this last one might sound nice and comforting to our human, sinful, itching ears, Jesus confirms for us in this morning’s Gospel lesson that it is not true.

    You see ultimately there are only two paths: the wide way to hell or the narrow door to heaven. To believe that there is no destination and that what matters is the journey is a part of the wide-way to hell. An expression of this ideology has become popular lately in the expression You Only Live Once which has recently been shortened and popularized to the acronym YOLO.  To believe that we are collectively shaped by the divine and that we will all go to heaven, regardless of what we believe is also part of the wide way to hell. There are countless other false-beliefs on the wide-way to hell, but it basically comes down to what you believe about Jesus. So what should you believe??

    Jesus is the narrow-door to salvation. And right now the narrow-door not only stands open but the Holy Spirit calls and gathers you to the narrow-door through the Word of Christ. But many, rather than heeding the Holy Spirit’s call to repent and trust in Christ Jesus, will try to enter on their own terms, but they will be unable to do so. They will think that they lived a good enough life; that they have given enough to others; that they have believed enough. But your life is never good enough for God. You can never do enough to please God. And your belief-when it is not in Jesus-can never be enough.

   And the time is coming when the narrow door will not be open. Jesus uses the image of the master of the house shutting the door and some standing outside and knocking at the door pleading for the master to let them into the house. This is a clear indicator that there will come a point when non-believers; those who opted for the wide way, will be shut out from God’s eternal and glorious kingdom. When Jesus returns, descending on the clouds and ushering in the Last Day, the door will be closed.  And some will stand there shocked and desperate and anguished. They will perhaps do self-assessments of their life, thinking that they surely did enough, that they were surely nice enough, that they went to church enough.

      But again, it comes down to Jesus. Yes, Jesus has taught in your streets, or your church, but have you heard Him? See there are all kinds of people who hear Jesus but do not believe Him. They take what they like of Him and cast aside what they don’t. Do not be one who hears Jesus but does not believe. Strive to enter through the narrow door. Jesus does not wish to cast anyone away but rather He wants everyone to enter into the feast He has prepared.

   Jesus, the narrow-door is now standing there with the door wide-open. And He draws people of all nations and tongues to Himself. While you may not always know where you are going, Jesus knew where He was going. He knew His destination. He set His face toward Jerusalem, the cross of Calvary. And as Jesus spread His arms wide open on that cross, the narrow-door to heaven was thrown open. You need not look inward to see where you are going. You need not be deceived by your own flesh, the world or the devil. Look where Jesus looked. Your destination is the same as His; it is the cross where Christ Jesus takes your sin and gives you His righteousness.  He calls out to you that you would receive what He gives. Enter the narrow-door, cast your cares upon Christ, recline at His table, enter into His rest, your pilgrimage is over.

Amen