Series B – Fifth Sunday of Easter – Sunday, May 2, 2021 | Pr. Chris Rosebrough
| Welcome to the Teaching Ministry of Kongsvinger Lutheran Church. Kongsvinger is a beacon for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and is located on the plains of Northwestern Minnesota. We proclaim Christ and Him crucified for our sins and salvation by grace through faith alone, and now, here’s a message from Pastor Chris Rosebrough: |
| Time Stamp | Transcript |
| 0:28 | the holy gospel according to saint john |
| 0:31 | the 15th chapter |
| 0:35 | glory to you |
| 0:40 | Jesus said i am the true vine |
| 0:44 | my father is the vine dresser every |
| 0:46 | branch of mine that does not bear fruit |
| 0:49 | he takes away and every branch that does |
| 0:51 | bear fruit he prunes |
| 0:53 | that it may bear more fruit already you |
| 0:55 | are clean because of the word that i |
| 0:56 | have spoken to you |
| 0:58 | abide in me and i in you as the branch |
| 1:00 | cannot bear fruit by itself unless it |
| 1:02 | abides in the vine neither can you |
| 1:04 | unless you abide in me i am the vine |
| 1:07 | you are the branches whoever abides in |
| 1:10 | me and i in him he it is that bears much |
| 1:12 | fruit |
| 1:13 | for apart from me you can do nothing if |
| 1:15 | anyone does not abide in me he’s thrown |
| 1:17 | away like a branch and withers and the |
| 1:19 | branches that are gathered and thrown |
| 1:20 | into the fire and burned |
| 1:22 | if you abide in me and my word abides in |
| 1:24 | you ask whatever you wish and it will be |
| 1:26 | done for you |
| 1:26 | by this my father is glorified that you |
| 1:28 | bear much fruit and so prove to be my |
| 1:30 | disciples |
| 1:32 | this is the gospel of the lord grace |
| 1:34 | mercy and peace you from god the father |
| 1:35 | the son and the holy spirit you may be |
| 1:38 | seated |
| 1:40 | so let me ask you a question when you |
| 1:42 | think of the antiChrist |
| 1:44 | kind of an ominous phrase isn’t it the |
| 1:46 | antiChrist the one who was opposed |
| 1:48 | to Christ what do you think about do you |
| 1:50 | think about that movie the omen and |
| 1:52 | damian and |
| 1:53 | and you think about the hollywood |
| 1:54 | versions do you think that the |
| 1:55 | antiChrist is something that we need to |
| 1:57 | worry about |
| 1:58 | you know in the future maybe in the |
| 2:00 | distant future maybe in the |
| 2:02 | well not so distant future but the |
| 2:04 | antiChrist is nothing that we need to |
| 2:05 | trouble ourselves with |
| 2:07 | today if that is what you think |
| 2:11 | your thinking is in grave error |
| 2:15 | the antiChrist the spirit of antiChrist |
| 2:18 | which is preparing the way for the man |
| 2:19 | of lawlessness |
| 2:20 | has been present working in the church |
| 2:23 | for two |
| 2:24 | millennia and god the holy spirit has |
| 2:28 | actually commanded |
| 2:29 | every Christian to not be |
| 2:32 | naive to not believe anybody who just |
| 2:35 | comes along |
| 2:36 | claiming all kinds of stuff and you’re |
| 2:38 | going to note that much of the Christian |
| 2:40 | church today |
| 2:41 | is marked by a bunch of people who do |
| 2:43 | not do what Christ commands or what the |
| 2:45 | holy spirit commands in our epistle text |
| 2:47 | listen to these words beloved |
| 2:50 | do not believe every spirit but test the |
| 2:52 | spirits to see whether they are from god |
| 2:55 | the do not believe portion there in that |
| 2:57 | epistle text |
| 2:58 | is an imperative in the greek which |
| 3:01 | means it’s a direct command |
| 3:03 | orders from god himself so if somebody |
| 3:05 | comes along |
| 3:06 | and they tell you a tall tale about |
| 3:08 | their exploits |
| 3:09 | and all the things that they’re doing of |
| 3:11 | the demons that they’re slaying of the |
| 3:13 | dead that they are raising and they are |
| 3:15 | not sound in how they handle the |
| 3:17 | biblical texts |
| 3:18 | then you need to know you are commanded |
| 3:20 | by god to not be a dupe |
| 3:23 | you are commanded by god to search the |
| 3:25 | scriptures and to test |
| 3:27 | everybody and oh by the way that applies |
| 3:29 | to me |
| 3:31 | nobody gets to say well rosebro said it |
| 3:34 | therefore it’s got to be true |
| 3:35 | roseboro’s a sinner and roseboro’s |
| 3:37 | capable of messing up all kinds of stuff |
| 3:39 | and i do it with regularity |
| 3:41 | therefore everything i say gets to be |
| 3:44 | tested even the apostle paul |
| 3:46 | his message was tested by the church in |
| 3:48 | berea |
| 3:49 | when he brought the good news of Christ |
| 3:51 | being the messiah |
| 3:53 | and also that he was an eyewitness to |
| 3:54 | the resurrection they said to the |
| 3:56 | apostle paul |
| 3:57 | hey slow down their texts we’re going to |
| 3:59 | need to check to see if what you’re |
| 4:01 | saying is true |
| 4:02 | and what did they do they examined the |
| 4:04 | scriptures and found that the message |
| 4:06 | that paul was bringing |
| 4:08 | was in accord with and a fulfillment of |
| 4:10 | the very scriptures that they had in |
| 4:12 | their possession at the time which was |
| 4:14 | only |
| 4:15 | the old testament so that being the case |
| 4:19 | we are commanded by god to |
| 4:22 | test so listen to what it says and the |
| 4:24 | reason is given |
| 4:25 | so beloved do not believe every spirit |
| 4:27 | test the spirits to see whether they are |
| 4:28 | from god for many false prophets |
| 4:30 | have gone out into the world |
| 4:34 | false prophets present two thousand |
| 4:37 | years ago |
| 4:38 | i would argue here that false prophets |
| 4:40 | have been present for 2000 years |
| 4:42 | the spirit of antiChrist has always been |
| 4:44 | present in the church |
| 4:45 | and if you know your book of revelation |
| 4:47 | then you know full well |
| 4:49 | that the dragon is quite upset and is |
| 4:51 | very annoyed |
| 4:52 | and very agitated because he knows his |
| 4:55 | time is short |
| 4:56 | and so what is he going to spend his |
| 4:58 | last days on planet earth doing |
| 5:00 | waging warfare against the saints |
| 5:03 | congratulations you’re now in a war |
| 5:05 | you’ve been in a war the whole time |
| 5:06 | i’ve pointed it out before the great |
| 5:08 | walter martin used to point out that |
| 5:10 | on the battlefield anybody who does not |
| 5:12 | come to grips with the fact that they’re |
| 5:14 | in the |
| 5:14 | middle of a battle they become |
| 5:16 | casualties |
| 5:18 | he used to describe people who would |
| 5:20 | stick their head in the sand |
| 5:22 | as you know and not listen to anything |
| 5:25 | the bible had to say as far as testing |
| 5:27 | the false teachers |
| 5:28 | he said that they had the flaming darts |
| 5:30 | of the evil one sticking out of their |
| 5:31 | posterior |
| 5:35 | it’s quite a graphic thing but it’s true |
| 5:39 | so do not believe every spirit many |
| 5:41 | false prophets have gone |
| 5:43 | into the world and i would note this |
| 5:45 | past week |
| 5:46 | i don’t normally talk about stuff like |
| 5:48 | this from the pulpit but it’s too |
| 5:50 | important not to mention |
| 5:52 | this past week major leaders of the new |
| 5:54 | apostolic reformation and the |
| 5:56 | charismatic movement |
| 5:57 | put out a document called prophetic |
| 5:59 | standards you can find it at prophetic |
| 6:01 | standards dot com |
| 6:02 | and i would note that the standards that |
| 6:05 | they are claiming for prophets is not |
| 6:07 | the biblical standard at all |
| 6:08 | and what they have said is alarming to |
| 6:11 | say the least |
| 6:12 | these are people who claim that normal |
| 6:14 | Christianity involves you and i |
| 6:16 | performing signs and wonders of us |
| 6:18 | acting in the miraculous |
| 6:20 | of us having well encounters with the |
| 6:22 | holy spirit and blissing out |
| 6:24 | supposedly on the glory of god you can |
| 6:27 | already tell that this theology is |
| 6:29 | whack it’s not from god no scripture |
| 6:31 | talks this way |
| 6:33 | but these people in their prophetic |
| 6:34 | standards here’s one of the statements |
| 6:36 | that they made |
| 6:38 | that something that they reject listen |
| 6:40 | carefully |
| 6:41 | we reject the notion that a contemporary |
| 6:45 | prophetic word is on the same level of |
| 6:47 | inspiration or authority as scripture |
| 6:50 | or that god always speaks inherently |
| 6:53 | through |
| 6:54 | prophets today they reject the idea that |
| 6:58 | god speaks inerrantly through prophets |
| 7:01 | today |
| 7:02 | and the reason why they’re saying this |
| 7:03 | is because i don’t know if you’ve |
| 7:04 | noticed but the charismatic movement has |
| 7:06 | taken it on the chin |
| 7:07 | and rightly so because every one of |
| 7:09 | their profits said that trump was going |
| 7:11 | to win the election in november |
| 7:12 | and when that didn’t happen they went |
| 7:15 | all q anon |
| 7:16 | on us and claimed that he’s going to be |
| 7:18 | inaugurated not biden in january well |
| 7:20 | when biden was inaugurated |
| 7:22 | they then turned around and say he’s |
| 7:24 | waiting in the wings he’s actually still |
| 7:26 | the president he’s flying around on air |
| 7:28 | force one he’s pulling all the levers |
| 7:29 | he’s really the one in charge |
| 7:31 | and he will visibly make manifest his |
| 7:33 | presidency in march march came and went |
| 7:35 | they moved it back to april april came |
| 7:37 | and went |
| 7:38 | now they’ve moved it back to august this |
| 7:40 | is called |
| 7:41 | moving the goal post right and since all |
| 7:43 | of these people |
| 7:44 | said thus saith the lord trump is going |
| 7:47 | to be reelected |
| 7:48 | well according to the biblical standard |
| 7:50 | laid out in deuteronomy 18 |
| 7:52 | they are shown to be false prophets |
| 7:56 | anyone who speaks in the name of god and |
| 7:58 | says thus saith the lord |
| 8:00 | and then predicts the future and the |
| 8:02 | future doesn’t take place |
| 8:04 | deuteronomy 18 says they’re a false |
| 8:06 | prophet and the penalty |
| 8:08 | laid out for these false prophets in |
| 8:10 | deuteronomy 18 is death |
| 8:12 | by stoning in the ancient theocracy of |
| 8:15 | israel |
| 8:16 | in the Christian church it should be |
| 8:17 | excommunication |
| 8:19 | we don’t stone them we’ll leave that up |
| 8:20 | to god but the point is |
| 8:22 | is that these people are rejecting now |
| 8:25 | not only the biblical |
| 8:26 | standard for prophecy but now |
| 8:28 | deuteronomy 13 is in play |
| 8:30 | deuteronomy 13 says that if somebody |
| 8:32 | prophesies something and it comes to |
| 8:34 | pass |
| 8:36 | and you and then they say let us go |
| 8:39 | after other gods that you do not know |
| 8:41 | don’t listen to them so deuteronomy 13 |
| 8:44 | is in play because these people now are |
| 8:46 | claiming |
| 8:47 | that god speaks errantly |
| 8:52 | if god speaks errantly we are in big |
| 8:54 | trouble |
| 8:56 | because scripture says god does not lie |
| 8:59 | if god speaks errantly and god’s an |
| 9:01 | error we should be |
| 9:03 | really worried because maybe god is |
| 9:06 | suffering from dementia |
| 9:08 | maybe he has the early onset of losing |
| 9:11 | his mind |
| 9:12 | if god speaks errantly oh man you have |
| 9:16 | no assurance of your salvation |
| 9:17 | at all the world has slipped into |
| 9:20 | complete chaos because the king of the |
| 9:22 | universe |
| 9:23 | doesn’t have a sound mind anymore he |
| 9:26 | engages in deception |
| 9:28 | and so you’ll note then that in the |
| 9:30 | statement of theirs there’s one |
| 9:32 | statement that they make that i actually |
| 9:33 | agree with |
| 9:34 | they claim that a false prophet is |
| 9:36 | somebody who operates under a false |
| 9:37 | spirit |
| 9:38 | masquerading as the holy spirit that is |
| 9:40 | TRUE |
| 9:42 | but what they fail to recognize that |
| 9:44 | everybody who claims to be speaking |
| 9:45 | prophetically today |
| 9:47 | they are also well masquerading |
| 9:51 | as true prophets of god and the holy |
| 9:53 | spirit that they are preaching and |
| 9:54 | teaching |
| 9:55 | is not the biblical holy spirit because |
| 9:56 | the biblical holy spirit never |
| 9:58 | lies cannot speak errantly we are |
| 10:02 | in a lot of trouble and you’ll note many |
| 10:04 | good churches |
| 10:05 | are harassed and cajoled and are |
| 10:09 | caused to dwindle down to nothing |
| 10:11 | because the big distinction that these |
| 10:12 | folks say is do you attend one of those |
| 10:15 | dead churches |
| 10:17 | you know the kind where they do that |
| 10:19 | liturgy thing |
| 10:20 | you know and the pastor what does he do |
| 10:23 | he preaches the word |
| 10:25 | and tells sinners that they’re they need |
| 10:27 | to repent and be forgiven |
| 10:29 | we need to just come alive and be |
| 10:31 | awakened by the new thing that god is |
| 10:33 | doing |
| 10:35 | that’s how they talk but here |
| 10:38 | the holy spirit has warned us two |
| 10:40 | thousand years ago |
| 10:42 | that many false prophets have gone out |
| 10:44 | into the world and of course that |
| 10:46 | document that was just put out |
| 10:47 | somebody can actually according to them |
| 10:49 | prophesy falsely and still be a true |
| 10:51 | Christian |
| 10:52 | and actually still be a true prophet |
| 10:54 | they just can make a few |
| 10:55 | oopsy-doopsies and slipsies and stuff |
| 10:57 | like that it’s unbelievable when you |
| 10:59 | think about |
| 11:00 | it different god all together |
| 11:04 | so note then john the same john who |
| 11:07 | wrote our epistle text |
| 11:08 | he explains to us what it means in part |
| 11:12 | not in totality to abide in Christ |
| 11:15 | in second john verse nine there’s only |
| 11:18 | one chapter and second |
| 11:19 | john it says this everyone who goes on |
| 11:22 | ahead |
| 11:23 | and does not abide in the teaching of |
| 11:26 | Christ |
| 11:27 | does not have god whoever abides in the |
| 11:30 | teaching has both the father |
| 11:32 | and the son so let me ask you a question |
| 11:35 | abide in the teaching of Christ to go on |
| 11:38 | ahead and |
| 11:38 | abide in the teaching of Christ where is |
| 11:41 | the only place |
| 11:42 | i can go today to find the teachings of |
| 11:44 | Christ |
| 11:46 | the bible period full stop |
| 11:51 | what are we to be about the business of |
| 11:52 | doing well |
| 11:54 | part of the way in which we abide in |
| 11:56 | Christ is by abiding in his word |
| 11:58 | abiding in his teaching and that |
| 12:01 | requires us to recognize that the |
| 12:03 | fulfillment of the great commission |
| 12:04 | Christ says |
| 12:05 | all authority has been heaven and earth |
| 12:07 | has been given to me and he gives the |
| 12:09 | church a task go and make disciples of |
| 12:11 | all nations |
| 12:12 | baptizing them in the name of the father |
| 12:14 | the son and the holy spirit |
| 12:15 | teaching all that i have commanded |
| 12:18 | and lo i am with you always to the end |
| 12:20 | of the age |
| 12:23 | have the marching orders changed no the |
| 12:25 | marching orders are the same |
| 12:27 | until Christ shows up and i am not |
| 12:29 | authorized to teach anything in Christ |
| 12:31 | church because believe me |
| 12:33 | this church belongs to Christ and i’m a |
| 12:35 | part of it |
| 12:36 | but it don’t belong to me i am only |
| 12:39 | authorized by Jesus to teach what he has |
| 12:41 | commanded and i can only think of one |
| 12:43 | place to find that |
| 12:44 | the scriptures and anybody |
| 12:48 | who teaches contrary to it i am under |
| 12:51 | biblical |
| 12:52 | command to rebuke and to silence |
| 12:55 | and to call them to repentance and so |
| 12:57 | are you |
| 12:58 | so that being the case then again |
| 13:00 | consider our |
| 13:01 | text from first john he says this by you |
| 13:04 | know |
| 13:05 | by this you know the spirit of god and |
| 13:07 | here he gives a theological test |
| 13:10 | john wrote first john against the |
| 13:12 | gnostics if you’re not familiar with |
| 13:14 | this |
| 13:14 | heresy and it is a heresy the gnostics |
| 13:17 | taught |
| 13:18 | that the world as we know it everything |
| 13:20 | that you can |
| 13:21 | see smell taste and touch is an accident |
| 13:24 | created by a demi urge and that it’s all |
| 13:27 | evil every bit of it every bit that you |
| 13:30 | can smell |
| 13:31 | see taste or touch and that the whole |
| 13:33 | goal of life |
| 13:35 | is to be disconnected from matter |
| 13:38 | and live in pure spiritual form and it’s |
| 13:41 | only the spiritual that is good |
| 13:44 | evil is matter matter is evil and so |
| 13:47 | they denied |
| 13:48 | that Jesus Christ is god in human flesh |
| 13:50 | because |
| 13:51 | in their way of thinking it would be |
| 13:53 | unseemly it would be unthinkable |
| 13:55 | that god who is spirit would take on |
| 13:58 | human flesh |
| 14:00 | so the gnostics taught that Jesus only |
| 14:02 | appeared to be human |
| 14:04 | he only looked like he was human but if |
| 14:06 | you had paid close attention you would |
| 14:07 | note that wherever Jesus walked he never |
| 14:09 | left any footprints this is how they |
| 14:11 | talked |
| 14:12 | right well the apostle john who traipsed |
| 14:15 | about the galilean |
| 14:16 | wilderness for three years with Jesus |
| 14:18 | going from town to town |
| 14:20 | baptizing teaching casting out demons |
| 14:22 | all this kind of stuff |
| 14:24 | he was there with Jesus he touched |
| 14:27 | Jesus he ate with Jesus he saw that |
| 14:30 | Jesus had to take care of his bodily |
| 14:32 | needs like the rest of us |
| 14:34 | and he knew full well that Jesus had |
| 14:36 | come in the flesh |
| 14:38 | and he then basically says that one of |
| 14:41 | the ways in which you can tell that the |
| 14:42 | spirit of error versus the spirit of |
| 14:44 | truth |
| 14:45 | is that every spirit that does not |
| 14:46 | confess Jesus is not from god and by |
| 14:49 | that he means the real one |
| 14:51 | the one that he says every spirit that |
| 14:53 | confesses that Jesus Christ has come in |
| 14:55 | the flesh is from god |
| 14:56 | every spirit that does not confess this |
| 14:58 | is not from god this is the spirit of |
| 15:00 | the antiChrist |
| 15:02 | which you have heard was coming and is |
| 15:04 | now present |
| 15:05 | in the world already |
| 15:08 | the nightmare isn’t then the nightmare |
| 15:11 | is now |
| 15:11 | [Music] |
| 15:13 | it’s not coming it’s presently here and |
| 15:16 | has been |
| 15:17 | so little children he assures us you are |
| 15:19 | from god |
| 15:21 | and you have overcome them for he who is |
| 15:23 | in you is greater than he who is in the |
| 15:25 | world |
| 15:26 | who’s the they there the false prophets |
| 15:30 | the false teachers they are from the |
| 15:32 | world |
| 15:33 | therefore they speak from the world and |
| 15:34 | the world listens to them we are from |
| 15:36 | god |
| 15:37 | whoever knows god listens to us and by |
| 15:39 | that he means |
| 15:40 | listens to the words of the apostles |
| 15:43 | whoever is from god |
| 15:44 | listens to the ones god has sent his |
| 15:47 | prophets from the old testament |
| 15:48 | his apostles in the new they listen to |
| 15:51 | them if they don’t listen to them |
| 15:53 | they’re not from god whoever is not from |
| 15:55 | god does not listen to us by this then |
| 15:57 | we know the spirit of truth in the |
| 15:58 | spirit of error |
| 16:00 | and from here i’d like to take a quick |
| 16:01 | look at our gospel text |
| 16:04 | and note what Christ says Jesus says i |
| 16:07 | am the |
| 16:07 | true vine my father is the vine dresser |
| 16:11 | and here’s where we’re going to need to |
| 16:12 | make an important distinction |
| 16:14 | what is the fruit of the holy spirit |
| 16:19 | well galatians 5 lays us out for this |
| 16:22 | love joy peace |
| 16:25 | patience kindness goodness |
| 16:30 | gentleness self-control |
| 16:36 | it sounds like ordinary stuff right and |
| 16:38 | yet it is absolutely extraordinary |
| 16:41 | is our world filled with that no just |
| 16:44 | see twitter if you’re not sure |
| 16:46 | okay this is why tick-tock is so much |
| 16:50 | fun that’s a |
| 16:51 | whole other conversation but you get the |
| 16:53 | idea right |
| 16:54 | you’re going to note then we as |
| 16:57 | Christians are |
| 16:58 | called to what bear fruit |
| 17:01 | we are not called to roll on the ground |
| 17:03 | and bark like a dog |
| 17:05 | cluck like a chicken or speak gibberish |
| 17:08 | we are called by the work of the holy |
| 17:09 | spirit to bear the fruit of the spirit |
| 17:12 | which is shown in sobriety |
| 17:15 | shown in love for each other and you’re |
| 17:18 | going to see the consistency here |
| 17:20 | between what Christ says |
| 17:21 | and what the apostle john writes for us |
| 17:23 | in 1st john |
| 17:24 | so Jesus says every branch that does not |
| 17:29 | bear fruit |
| 17:30 | that does sorry every branch that does |
| 17:32 | bear fruit he |
| 17:33 | prunes so that it may bear more fruit |
| 17:37 | have you ever noticed that Christian |
| 17:38 | life is a little difficult |
| 17:41 | you ever notice that just living is |
| 17:43 | difficult breathing at times seems to be |
| 17:45 | annoying |
| 17:46 | the whole point is this is that god the |
| 17:49 | holy spirit producing the fruit of |
| 17:50 | repentance in us |
| 17:52 | of love joy peace patience you got the |
| 17:54 | idea that when we begin to bear fruit |
| 17:57 | out come the pruning shears to cut off |
| 18:00 | dead works to cut off selfishness |
| 18:03 | to cut off all the things that are |
| 18:05 | inhibiting the fruit from being born |
| 18:07 | and those things are taken off by god |
| 18:10 | the father |
| 18:10 | and the pruning process is anything but |
| 18:13 | fun |
| 18:15 | it is absolutely necessary |
| 18:20 | and then you’ll note these kind words |
| 18:21 | from Christ but already you are clean |
| 18:23 | because of the word that i have spoken |
| 18:25 | to you it is Jesus who has made us clean |
| 18:27 | so what does he say abide in me |
| 18:31 | and you’re going to note that Christ |
| 18:32 | makes it clear just a little bit later |
| 18:34 | in our gospel text what he means to |
| 18:36 | abide |
| 18:37 | if you abide in me and my words abide in |
| 18:40 | you |
| 18:40 | ask whatever you wish and it will be |
| 18:42 | done for you even Christ makes it clear |
| 18:45 | that in part the way in which we abide |
| 18:47 | in Christ |
| 18:48 | is by abiding in his word |
| 18:52 | are you tired of hearing the bible are |
| 18:54 | you sick and tired of coming to church |
| 18:56 | and noticing |
| 18:57 | every three years we hate hear the same |
| 18:59 | biblical text i already heard that text |
| 19:01 | i |
| 19:01 | already know it you know nothing |
| 19:04 | you know nothing |
| 19:08 | you need these words like i need these |
| 19:09 | words these words |
| 19:11 | are the very sap that keep us alive and |
| 19:14 | keep us connected to Christ |
| 19:17 | so abide in me and i in you is the |
| 19:20 | branch that cannot bear fruit by itself |
| 19:22 | unless it abides in the vine neither can |
| 19:24 | you unless you abide |
| 19:26 | in me and those who depart from the word |
| 19:29 | run beyond the biblical text off into |
| 19:32 | air |
| 19:33 | Christ describes them as those who’ve |
| 19:34 | been cut off from him |
| 19:37 | dead branches you know i always like it |
| 19:39 | when we have |
| 19:40 | live plants on the altar because they |
| 19:42 | last a little bit longer have you ever |
| 19:43 | noticed that |
| 19:44 | but when we get flowers that are fresh |
| 19:46 | from the florist what are they |
| 19:47 | they’re cut how long do they last |
| 19:52 | week two if they’re in water and |
| 19:55 | not that long right |
| 19:59 | i’m the vine Jesus says you are the |
| 20:01 | branches whoever abides in me and i in |
| 20:03 | him he it is that bears |
| 20:05 | much fruit |
| 20:08 | love for others is done in the ordinary |
| 20:11 | it is done in the changing of diapers |
| 20:14 | it is done in the preparation of meals |
| 20:16 | it is done in the hard labor of |
| 20:18 | day-to-day work of creating |
| 20:20 | excel spreadsheets running payroll |
| 20:23 | caring for your parents who are getting |
| 20:25 | sick |
| 20:27 | and dying it is done in the ordinary it |
| 20:30 | is done in the hugging of your children |
| 20:33 | of dressing them and kissing them on the |
| 20:34 | forehead and patting them on the back |
| 20:36 | and sending them off to school |
| 20:38 | love is done in the ordinary of a wife |
| 20:41 | loving and caring for her husband who’s |
| 20:43 | had a hard day at work |
| 20:45 | or a husband who comes home and says |
| 20:47 | honey i can see that you’re stressed out |
| 20:49 | i’ll take the kids let me take care of |
| 20:50 | dinner for you tonight |
| 20:52 | it is done in how we treat each other |
| 20:54 | here in church |
| 20:56 | recognizing that we’re all sinners and |
| 20:58 | that we |
| 20:59 | inevitably are going to step on each |
| 21:00 | other’s toes but when our toes are |
| 21:02 | stepped on we say |
| 21:03 | i forgive you is recognizing that there |
| 21:07 | are some |
| 21:07 | among us that come on hard times and |
| 21:10 | those |
| 21:11 | of us who the hard times have not come |
| 21:13 | on we pitch |
| 21:14 | in our resources to make sure that our |
| 21:17 | brothers and sisters are cared for and |
| 21:18 | they don’t go without |
| 21:22 | this is love this is the fruit of the |
| 21:25 | spirit |
| 21:26 | this is what we are called to it’s |
| 21:28 | ordinary |
| 21:30 | it’s mundane there’s nothing glorious |
| 21:32 | about it and yet this is exactly what it |
| 21:34 | means to bear the fruit |
| 21:36 | of the spirit whoever abides in me and i |
| 21:39 | in him he it is who bears much fruit |
| 21:41 | apart from me you can do nothing if |
| 21:44 | anyone does not abide in me he’s thrown |
| 21:46 | away like a branch and withers |
| 21:48 | and the branches are gathered and |
| 21:50 | they’re thrown into the fire and burned |
| 21:52 | this should warn us if you abide in me |
| 21:54 | and my words abide in you ask whatever |
| 21:56 | you wish and will be given to you by |
| 21:57 | this my father then is glorified |
| 22:00 | how is god glorified not in us |
| 22:02 | performing signs and wonders but by us |
| 22:04 | bearing the fruit of the spirit |
| 22:05 | that’s how god is glorified and so we |
| 22:08 | then prove to be Jesus’s disciples |
| 22:10 | and you’ll note that john’s message is |
| 22:12 | in complete accord here because there’s |
| 22:14 | a second part to our epistle text |
| 22:16 | give me one second here |
| 22:19 | have the joy of allergies this season |
| 22:21 | lovely |
| 22:24 | green has come back and so has green |
| 22:26 | from my nose all right |
| 22:29 | don’t worry i’ll i’ll sanitize my hands |
| 22:31 | before communion give me a break |
| 22:36 | slipsy doopsies okay all right |
| 22:40 | all right so note here the apostle john |
| 22:44 | then after warning us about the spirit |
| 22:46 | of antiChrist |
| 22:47 | his next point is this beloved |
| 22:50 | let us love one another let us love one |
| 22:54 | another |
| 22:56 | love is from god whoever loves has been |
| 22:59 | born of god and knows god |
| 23:01 | anyone who does not love does not know |
| 23:04 | god because god is love |
| 23:07 | don’t sit here and tell me that you’ve |
| 23:09 | had an encounter with Jesus that you’ve |
| 23:11 | been soaking in the spirit that you can |
| 23:13 | speak in tongues and all that other kind |
| 23:15 | of nonsense |
| 23:16 | let me talk about your life of holiness |
| 23:19 | and how you are sacrificially loving |
| 23:21 | others around you |
| 23:22 | that’s the fruit of the spirit not this |
| 23:24 | other stuff |
| 23:26 | anyone who does not love does not know |
| 23:28 | god because god |
| 23:29 | is love so in this the love of god |
| 23:32 | has been manifest among us that god sent |
| 23:36 | his only son into the world so that we |
| 23:37 | might live through him |
| 23:39 | and this is love not that we’ve loved |
| 23:42 | god |
| 23:43 | but that god has loved us and he sent |
| 23:45 | his son to be the propitiation for our |
| 23:47 | sins |
| 23:48 | so brothers and sisters the holy spirit |
| 23:50 | knows full well god knows full well |
| 23:52 | that each and every one of us is guilty |
| 23:54 | of being naive |
| 23:56 | guilty of listening to voices that if we |
| 23:58 | would just open our bibles we would |
| 23:59 | recognize are not the voice of god and |
| 24:01 | they’re speaking by a different spirit |
| 24:02 | each and every one of us is guilty of |
| 24:05 | decep being deceived and your note we’re |
| 24:07 | complicit in our own deceptions |
| 24:10 | and so note this that even when we have |
| 24:12 | done this |
| 24:13 | and broken the first commandment by |
| 24:14 | doing so that |
| 24:16 | we have a savior who has taken all of |
| 24:19 | this |
| 24:20 | sin and the consequences of it upon |
| 24:22 | himself |
| 24:23 | and he has propitiated the wrath of god |
| 24:25 | he has suffered it in your place so that |
| 24:27 | you and i can be forgiven and this |
| 24:29 | is love love is not some weird |
| 24:33 | concept that’s divine this decided and |
| 24:36 | defined by the greeting cards |
| 24:38 | i always like to yeah remember those |
| 24:39 | precious moments things |
| 24:41 | oh they’re so cute but every time i see |
| 24:43 | them i just |
| 24:44 | uh right you know precious moments Jesus |
| 24:48 | he wouldn’t harm a butterfly |
| 24:50 | right yet alone send somebody to hell |
| 24:52 | that’s not Jesus |
| 24:53 | Jesus is something different and he |
| 24:56 | demonstrates his great love for us |
| 24:58 | by laying down his life taking our sin |
| 25:01 | upon ourselves |
| 25:02 | and dying so that you and i can live |
| 25:05 | eternally rather than suffer the wrath |
| 25:07 | of god |
| 25:08 | and so note then because of the great |
| 25:10 | mercy and forgiveness that we have from |
| 25:12 | god |
| 25:12 | because of Christ that this then |
| 25:16 | defines our love for each other beloved |
| 25:20 | if god so loved us we also ought to love |
| 25:24 | one another |
| 25:25 | no one has ever seen god if we love one |
| 25:28 | another god abides in us and his love is |
| 25:30 | perfected in us |
| 25:32 | so let us repent brothers and sisters |
| 25:34 | yet again |
| 25:36 | there you see all you ever preach about |
| 25:38 | is repentance yeah i know |
| 25:40 | because i have to repent every day every |
| 25:42 | week |
| 25:43 | let us repent of all the ways in which |
| 25:45 | we’ve been naive and let us take |
| 25:46 | confidence it is forgiven in Christ |
| 25:48 | assure be assured today that when you |
| 25:51 | hear these words |
| 25:52 | from me take heed this is the body of |
| 25:54 | Christ given into death for the |
| 25:55 | forgiveness of your sins |
| 25:57 | take drink this is the true blood of |
| 25:58 | Christ shed for you for the forgiveness |
| 26:00 | of your sins |
| 26:01 | take note of those words for the |
| 26:04 | forgiveness of your sins |
| 26:05 | and hang on to them tight because with |
| 26:08 | the lord’s supper today it is another |
| 26:10 | way in which god is saying to you i love |
| 26:12 | you |
| 26:14 | and because i have loved you love each |
| 26:16 | other |
| 26:17 | this is how God is glorified in the |
| 26:20 | bearing of fruit |
| 26:21 | of repentance which is love and joy |
| 26:25 | and peace and patience and kindness |
| 26:28 | gentleness goodness and self-control |
| 26:33 | lord Jesus please grant through your |
| 26:35 | spirit that we bear |
| 26:36 | much fruit and that you are glorified in |
| 26:39 | it |
| 26:40 | in the name of Jesus amen |
| If you would like to support the teaching ministry of Kongsvinger Lutheran Church, you can do so by sending a tax-free donation to: Kongsvinger Lutheran Church 15950 470th Ave NW, Oslo, MN 56744 We thank you for your support. All of our teaching messages may be freely distributed as long as you do not edit or change the content of the message, and, again, thank you for listening. |
LutheranLectionary.org 