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Series B – Second Wednesday Advent Service – Wednesday, December 13, 2017 | 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	a reading from psalm 102. hear my prayer O Lord and let my cry come to you
0:37	do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress incline your
0:42	ear to me answer me speedily in the day when I call for my days pass away like smoke my
0:49	bones burn like a furnace my heart is struck down like grass and has withered
0:55	I forgot to eat my bread because of my loud groaning my bones
1:01	cling to my flesh I’m like a desert owl of the Wilderness like an owl of the
1:06	waste places I lie awake I am like a lonely Sparrow on the housetop all the
1:13	day my enemies taunt me those who deride me use my name for a curse for I eat ashes like bread and mingle
1:21	tears with my drink because of your indignation and anger for you have taken
1:26	me up and thrown me down my days are like an evening Shadow I
1:33	wither away like grass But You O Lord are enthroned forever you are remembered
1:39	throughout throughout all generations you will arise and have pity on Zion it
1:45	is time to favor her the appointed time has come for your servants hold her Stones dear
1:51	and have pity on her dust Nations will fear the name of the Lord and all the
1:57	kings of the earth will fear Your Glory for the Lord builds up Zion he appears
2:02	in his glory he regards the prayer of the destitute and does not despise their
2:08	prayer let this be recorded for a generation to come so that a people yet to be created
2:15	May praise the Lord that he looked down from his holy height from Heaven the
2:20	Lord looked at the Earth to hear the groans of the prisoners to set those who
2:25	were doomed to Die free that they may declare in Zion the name of the Lord and
2:31	in Jerusalem his praise when peoples gather together and kingdoms to Worship
2:36	the Lord he has broken my strength in mid-course he has shortened my days
2:43	oh my God I say take not take me not away in the midst of my days you whose
2:50	years endure throughout all generations of old you laid the foundation of the earth and the heavens are the work of
2:56	your hands they will perish but you will remain they will all wear out like a
3:03	garment and you will change them like a robe and they will pass away but you are the same and your years have
3:10	no end the children of your servants shall dwell secure their offspring shall
3:16	be established before you in the name of Jesus
3:25	it’s not like a gasp a sigh I’m in
3:31	so in Scripture we have learned that there are major motifs in scripture during the summer we
3:38	worked our way through a large portion of first and second Samuel and we looked at what God’s word reveals regarding the
3:45	kingdom of God we were working our way through and are continuing to work our
3:51	way through the story of The Exodus which is the story of God’s people being
3:56	born in slavery and literally being beaten and tortured under the load of
4:04	slavery and God through a mighty hand setting them free from captivity to a
4:10	false god king and then baptizing them in the Red Sea and thus them beginning
4:17	their Wilderness wanderings as they head towards the promised land you can kind
4:22	of think of Exodus and Kingdom theology as Big Blocks in scripture but there is
4:28	another Block in scripture and one that is very important for us as Christians today and that is the motif of Exile
4:38	you think of Daniel Shadrach Meshach and Abednego they were Exiles you think of Queen Esther she
4:46	also was in Exile and the Apostle Peter here in our text tonight starting in sec
4:54	in First Peter chapter 2 verse 11 is picking up on this great theme of the
5:00	Old Testament where we have to consider ourselves as just passing
5:08	through we are right now in our Babylonian captivity waiting for the
5:15	decree of the Lord for us to be able to return to the promised land that’s the idea of Exile and as a result of it
5:23	where we find ourselves tonight Oslo Minnesota
5:29	somewhere in the United States of America we must not consider where we are right
5:36	now to be our home we must consider ourselves to be sojourners here people who are just
5:44	passing through now we as Americans love to talk about
5:50	home home sweet home and you think of like The Wizard of Oz and Dorothy’s
5:57	saying there’s no place like home there’s no place like home there’s no place like home and of course after a
6:04	Long Day’s Work coming home taking off your shoes putting on your favorite
6:10	comfortable moccasins or house slippers turning on the fireplace and relaxing in
6:18	your home is just so cozy there’s nothing wrong with that as
6:25	long as you understand that even these wonderful Creature Comforts of home are to be considered to be temporary
6:32	don’t get used to them you won’t be here for much longer that’s the idea and so
6:39	tonight I don’t normally say what the the name of the message is but I think the name of the message is quite helpful
6:45	this is an exile’s guide to good works and you’ll note last week we unpacked
6:51	the Christmas present we kind of took a peek at it regarding Christ’s death and resurrection and yet Peter is not done
6:59	proclaiming to us the excellencies of Christ’s death on the cross and how they
7:04	inform how we are to live our lives now as sojourners and Exiles so with that
7:10	let’s take a look at our text tonight from First Peter chapter 2 starting at verse 11 beloved Peter writes I urge you
7:19	as sojourners and exiles because that’s what you are that’s what
7:25	I am to abstain from the passions of the flesh
7:30	which wage war against your soul something to consider there and we we
7:37	all know about this I don’t think there’s a single one of us here in fact there’s nobody on the planet that has no
7:43	experience when it comes to the passions of our flesh our flesh has desires for
7:50	all types of sin debauchery wickedness and evil it’s quite disgusting and yet
7:58	here as Exiles we recognize that it is not appropriate for us to indulge the
8:06	passions of our flesh and instead Embrace what this text says that these
8:12	very passions wage war against our very Souls the new man that Christ has
8:18	created us in the one that was brought forth in the waters of baptism your
8:25	flesh and his passions war against that very thing and so the idea is this we want to wake
8:32	up on that great last day from the sleep of death into the resurrection having
8:38	not forsaken the faith that was given to us and so we must see sin for what it is
8:43	a morsel enemy sin does not desire to peacefully
8:49	coexist with you or me sin wages war against our souls
8:56	with the desire to destroy what Christ has created in us so keep your conduct
9:04	then among the Gentiles and for us we’re all Gentiles so think of it this way keep
9:10	your conduct then among those who are unbelievers keep it honorable so that when they speak against you as
9:16	evildoers and they will if they haven’t done so already especially with the
9:23	world becoming darker and darker by the day if they speak against you as evildoers
9:28	they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation
9:35	yeah that’s right our good works our Good Deeds are a light to the Gentiles a
9:41	light to the pagans that God has done a work in us we do our good works because we are saved
9:48	and so what does it look like to bear fruit in keeping with repentance and to
9:53	do good works as Exiles who are just passing through first and foremost be
9:58	subject for the Lord’s sake to every Human Institution whether it be to the
10:04	Emperor as supreme or to Governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil
10:11	and to praise those who do good you think
10:16	politics in the United States is bad I would argue that Imperial Rome was not
10:24	known for its moral and just Emperors and so here the Apostle Paul not Paul
10:31	Silence the Ignorance
10:37	to even somebody is wicked as an emperor of Rome unless of course he tells us to
10:43	disobey God for this is the will of God that by doing good you should put to
10:50	silence the ignorance of foolish people we like to think that the way we silence
10:57	the ignorant is by using our words to shut them down but here Peter says that
11:05	we are to use our good works to silence the ignorance of foolish people so
11:10	therefore live as people who are free free from sin free from the devil free
11:16	from the world free from the passions of our flesh which is all slavery and death so live as people who are free not using
11:23	your freedom as a cover-up for evil but living as Servants of God because you
11:30	are that’s the idea so honor everyone love the Brotherhood fear God honor the
11:37	emperor servants be subject to your masters with all respect we might as well translate
11:43	that a little stronger slaves slaves be subject to your matter masters with all
11:49	respect not only to the good and the gentle but also to the unjust you see
11:56	even slaves do good works and they do good works in their vocation as slave
12:03	and here Peter is telling us that when you have an ornery boss you have that
12:11	fellow you are working for who is just terrible he’s the one that when people
12:16	say what do you do for a living you say I work at such and such a place and they go oh you work there do you know so and
12:24	so yeah he’s my boss and they go oh I’ll pray for you what do you do in that
12:30	situation well listen you suck you are subject to your boss
12:37	treat him with all respect not only to the good and the gentle but also to the unjust the mean the
12:43	vindictive the wrong the abusive for this is a gracious thing when mindful of God one
12:50	endures Sorrows while suffering unjustly yes that’s right
12:55	we as Exiles are called if necessary
13:01	to be willing to suffer unjustly hmm
13:07	and there’s a reason for that you’ll notice how the cross plays into this what credit is it if when you sin you
13:14	are beaten for it and you endure but if when you do good and you suffer for it
13:21	and you endure this is a gracious thing in the sight of God
13:26	have you ever thought of it that way that boss that’s so difficult to work for God tells us to continue to do good
13:34	even to that unjust boss and to serve him and to respect him and if no good
13:41	deed goes unpunished you continue to be punished for doing good deeds then this
13:46	text says that what you are suffering is a gracious thing in the sight of God
13:52	for to this you have been called what you’re
13:58	thinking well no I’ve been called to change the world no you’ve been called to suffer this is what Exiles do
14:06	because Christ also suffered for you he has left you an example so that you
14:12	might follow in his steps so when you are suffering unjustly for doing good you are following the very
14:19	steps of Christ was he not one who suffered unjustly was he not one who did
14:25	nothing but good and who was rewarded for his good by being nailed to a cross indeed he was
14:31	so he has left us an example that we might follow in his steps he committed no sin neither was any deceit found in
14:39	his mouth when his he was reviled he did not revile in return when he suffered he
14:45	did not threaten but he continued entrusting himself to him who judges
14:50	justly he himself bore our sins in his body on the tree
14:56	so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness let me read that again he
15:02	bore our sins in his body on the tree so that we might die to sin
15:07	and live to righteousness by his wounds you have been healed you
15:14	have been healed from the sickness of sin for you were straying like sheep
15:20	but now you have returned to the shepherd and the overseer of your souls
15:26	so likewise wives be subject to your own husbands so that even if some do not
15:33	obey the word that they may be one without a word by the conduct of their
15:39	wives when they see you’re respectful and pure conduct
15:44	do not let your adorning be external the braiding of hair the putting on of gold
15:51	jewelry or the clothing you wear in other words don’t take your cues from
15:57	the fashion magazines or the commercials on television instead a Christian woman
16:04	who is in Exile here on Earth waiting to enter the true promised land is to Adorn
16:10	herself with the hidden person of the heart with imperishable beauty of a
16:15	gentle and quiet spirit which is in God’s sight is very precious
16:21	for this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to Adorn themselves by submitting
16:28	to their own husbands as Sarah obeyed Abraham calling him Lord
16:33	and you are her children if you do good and do not fear anything that is
16:40	frightening and that last phrase is kind of the important part this calls for faith
16:46	fear and anxiety and worry oftentimes are the launching points from which
16:53	women disrespect their husbands and refused to submit to them in a Godly
16:59	way I’m not talking about an oppressive husband I’m talking about a Godly husband and fear and anxiety becomes the
17:06	impetus by which they demand things that they are not to be demanding
17:12	because ultimately that type of fear is a lack of faith but as Exiles we recognize that only
17:20	half the equation is covered when we talk about wives what about husbands likewise husbands live with your wives
17:29	in an understanding way showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel think of
17:36	her as a China Vaz not that she’s weaker she’s she’s very beautiful delicate if
17:41	you would since they are heirs with you of the grace of life so that your prayers may not be hindered yeah so note
17:49	since women and men are all Heirs of the grace of life that makes us equal but we’re different
17:57	and so even though we men are strong even though we men are the leaders we
18:04	lead from the bottom not the top we do not domineer over our over our wives
18:10	instead we are understanding showing them honor
18:16	loving them sacrificially as Christ is love the church protecting them
18:21	recognizing that God has made them different than us and at the same time they are equal to
18:28	us in the grace of life and men who do not heed this instruction for us Exiles
18:36	here on Earth their prayers end up becoming hindered God doesn’t like to listen to Men Who
18:45	domineer and abuse and treat their women harshly and you’ll note tonight we’re
18:50	hearing a lot of law a ton of law already each and every one
18:57	of us has recognized that we have fallen short of what this book is telling us to do as
19:05	far as living in Exile and so when the law Pricks our consciences and
19:12	the Holy Spirit says to us we’re not doing that we must always again turn back to the
19:18	cross and hear the words that Jesus has bled and died even for these sins
19:24	so we continue finally all of you have Unity of mind
19:31	sympathy brotherly love a tender heart and a humble mind
19:38	man this sounds nothing like what the world wants from people
19:43	the world says go and Seize the Day take your moment you’ve got to step up to the
19:49	plate you’ve got to rise to the occasion you’ve got to you’ve got to you’ve got
19:55	to and as Exiles here forgiven of our
20:00	sins we have the mind of Christ and we bear the Fruit of the Spirit and the fruit of
20:07	the spirit is love joy peace patience kindness gentleness self-control
20:14	and so we see that in League with that then is this idea that we are to be
20:20	United United of Mind sympathetic towards others expressing love towards
20:25	each other in a brotherly way tenderhearted and humble towards others we should not repay evil for evil or
20:33	reviling for reviling on the contrary we are to bless
20:39	for this is to what we have been called so that we also May obtain a blessing for whoever desires to love life and to
20:47	see good days let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking
20:53	deceit let him turn away from Evil and do good let him seek peace and pursue it for the
21:01	eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are open to their prayer but the face of the Lord is against
21:08	those who continually do evil now who is there to harm you if you are
21:15	zealous for what is good it’s kind of a interesting question because we all know
21:20	that Christ has called us to suffer and the text just earlier told us that we might actually suffer for doing good but
21:28	this is taking us into a broader perspective but even if you should suffer for righteousness sake
21:35	you will be blessed don’t consider just
21:40	what you’re going through in the here and now as if that has the final say God
21:46	has the final say and God himself sees that if you do suffer for the sake of
21:52	righteousness he sees it he will bless it so have no
21:59	fear of them nor be troubled in your hearts honor Christ the Lord Is
22:06	Holy always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks for the
22:11	reason and for the hope that is in you yet do this with gentleness and respect
22:17	having a good conscience so that when you are slandered and notice it doesn’t say if it says when when you are
22:26	slandered those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame
22:33	for it is better to suffer for doing good if that should be God’s will than for doing evil for Christ also suffered
22:42	once for sins the righteous for the unrighteous so
22:47	that he might bring us to God have you noticed as we’ve been working our way through first Peter Peter can’t go more
22:55	than a half a chapter before he has to tell us about the cross again over and over and over again he focuses our faith
23:03	on Christ and assures us that Christ has once and for all bled and died for the
23:10	sins of the whole world he the righteous one for us the unrighteous so that he
23:15	might bring us the ungodly to God and make us holy he did this by being put to
23:22	death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit in which he went and proclaimed
23:27	to the spirits in prison because they formally did not obey when God’s
23:33	patience waited in the days of Noah now there’s a comma right there and thinking what is he talking about there what’s
23:41	this going and proclaiming and preaching to the spirits in prison remember in the
23:47	Creed when we say that he died and he descended into hell and on the third day
23:54	he rose again from the grave this is a text that is dealing with Christ’s descent into hell
24:02	so Jesus when he says it is finished and he’s done bleeding and dying on the
24:07	cross and he cries out into your hands I commit my spirit and
24:13	then he breathes his last where does Jesus go
24:19	answer our confessions say he descended into hell a better translation may be
24:24	shayol of the Old Testament and he didn’t go there to continue his
24:29	suffering he had done his suffering already instead Peter tells us that after Christ’s suffering on the cross he
24:37	went down to sheol to the place where the spirits were and
24:43	he proclaimed to them his victory announced to those people who refused to
24:50	repent in the days of Noah that he had been Vindicated
24:55	it was a preaching and proclamation of victory for their judgment
25:00	because they back in the days of Noah did not obey when God’s patience waited in the days
25:08	of Noah while the ark was being prepared in which a few that is eight persons
25:15	were brought safely through water and that is a good text for us
25:21	to consider in Advent Noah we learned was a preacher of
25:26	righteousness and according to scripture he preached repentance
25:32	for a hundred years while he built the ark
25:37	and his preaching produced zero converts the only people who were with him on the
25:44	ark were his family and if a preacher can’t even get his family on board with him
25:50	then he may not be worth his salt but you kind of get the idea here it was only Noah and his family preached for a
25:57	hundred years hundred that got absolutely nowhere
26:04	but those who trusted those who believed those who got on board that crazy boat
26:12	they were brought safely through water and that the flood and the Ark is all a
26:20	picture of our very salvation baptism which is an anti-tupas an anti-type to
26:27	this the flood now saves you you also have been brought safely
26:34	through water baptism now saves you it’s not a removal of dirt from the body
26:39	that’s called a bath and you need to take one of those at least once a year whether you think you need it or not but
26:45	a bath only removes dirt from the body baptism does far more than that it is an
26:51	appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the reason for this is that cross
26:57	references regarding what God does in baptism teaches us that in our baptisms our sins are washed away they are
27:04	forgiven we are united with Christ in his death and his resurrection and our hearts are circumcised by none other
27:11	than Christ himself so truly our baptism is an appeal to God for a good conscience a good conscience through the
27:18	resurrection of Christ because we have been United with him in his resurrection in the waters of baptism and he Christ
27:24	has gone into heaven and he is currently at the right hand of God with angels and
27:30	authorities and Powers having been subjected to him
27:36	that’s the major theme if you would of our Ascension Day message from earlier
27:42	this year that Christ is currently ruling and reigning and that all of this
27:47	that you now see will at some point cease to be
27:52	because Christ says behold I am making all things new
27:57	and so this second Wednesday of Advent
28:03	as we considered an Exiles guide to Good Works note over and again how Peter
28:11	anchors all of our good works as Christians even the suffering that we are called to do and to participate with
28:17	Christ in everything is anchored in the cross it is through Christ’s bleeding and
28:24	dying that our sins are forgiven and it is because of his bleeding and dying that he has left us an example that we
28:31	are to follow when it comes to suffering unjustly and rather than reviling and
28:38	returning evil with evil we are then shown through the cross that we are to
28:43	return evil with good hatred with love
28:49	anger with patience reviling with kindness
28:55	and all of this is because that is exactly what Christ did for us revealing
29:02	his true nature and through his word and sacraments and through the continual
29:07	practice of daily repentance and the Forgiveness of sins and trusting in
29:12	Jesus and mortifying our sinful flesh we through the spirit and the word are
29:19	being made to be more and more like Christ every day
29:25	and when he finally appears in glory to judge the living and the dead the
29:31	scripture says that in the twinkling of an eye we will be transformed
29:37	we will be transformed in such a way that we will never again have sinful
29:42	passions or desires or be tempted by the devil or the world or our own ambitions
29:49	instead we will be with our savior our
29:55	King in a true Homeland with the Heavenly Jerusalem come down to earth in
30:00	a World Without End it is coming it is practically here to say that it is
30:07	advent is and this is a time for repentance it’s not repentance for the birth of Christ
30:13	its repentance in anticipation of Christ’s second Advent which we remember
30:19	so poignantly regarding because of his first in the name of Jesus
30:26	amen

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