Sermon in Rockford 27.01.2013

The Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, amen. Let us thank and pray. Righteous God, our dear Heavenly Father, we have come before Your holy face, Your bright all-seeing eyes, to thank and praise You for Your goodness, faithfulness, grace, blessings, and help in our lives.

Dear God, we bring before You all our needs. You know and see each and every one of us. You know how much we have left, how we suffer. You also know and see our joys. Dear God, we humbly pray that You will bless our gathering with the presence of Your Holy Spirit. Please, dear God, open Your Word unto us so that we could understand it, receive nourishment, strength, and encouragement in our faith to be able to continue on this narrow way of life.

Dear God, remember all those who have not been able to make it to the service for one reason or another. Help them to believe, keep them in Your loving connection of the Spirit.

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Texts for today speak of unmerited grace, and I thought that I would read a portion from Romans of the purpose of God, from verse 11 to 23, for our study:

"For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of Him that calleth; it was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For He says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might show my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore have I mercy on whom I will have mercy, and whom I will I harden. Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth He yet find fault? For who hath resisted His will? Nay, but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor? What if God, willing to show His wrath, and to make His power known, endured with much long-suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction, and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had afore prepared unto glory?" Amen.

With timidness I read this text. It speaks of a subject which is way too big for us humans to master. It speaks of the unmerited grace. We struggle with this question: Why does someone believe and someone else doesn't? Why does the child of a believing whole, who was born to believing loving families, lived in the midst of the believing family, went to Sunday school, went to services all their lifetime, was raised up like the others, was read the evening prayer, was forgiven like the others, why does one in the family give up their faith and the others cry and wonder why? What happened? I don't know. I don't have an answer.

If you have money in your pockets and I or someone else would start dictating to you what you should do with it, what is your reaction? What's your immediate feeling? You feel like, who are you to say how I should use my money? And I think that's natural. If you have the money, you can use it. You went to work, you worked, and you earned the money. It's your money and you can use it as you wish.

Now let me ask you, who has prepared the salvation and how do we agree that God prepared the salvation by allowing His Son to die for the sins of mankind? So whose is the salvation? It's God's. Do we agree God, kind of in human terms, owns it? It's God's salvation. He prepared it.

You remember how, when Jesus, in human terms again, would have needed the support most, the disciples first they fell asleep when He was praying in the garden of Gethsemane. They slept. They were so tired that they just could not stay awake. I think that they felt shame. They felt ashamed. They knew that yes, we should, but they couldn't. Jesus woke them up many times; they always fell back into sleep.

Then, when those who came to capture Jesus came, disciples fled. They ran away. And Peter, who had kind of given an oath that I will not leave You, I will follow You all the way to death, and he kind of tried to do that. He tried to live up to his words. He went, he followed Jesus, and in front of the gate to the high priest's court there was a door opener. There was a young lady, young woman, or I would say young girl, lowly simple rural girl, I would say, keeping the door in the middle of the night. So it was not a coveted position; that was one of the lowest jobs in the household. There Peter gave up his faith. He denied his faith. So he fell lowest. The others fled, ran away, and of course they felt bad that they couldn't follow Him, but Peter went further. He gave up his faith.

So when God prepared the salvation, He did it in Himself. Jesus is one substance, one entity with God; they are one. So when Jesus suffered, God suffered in Himself. So the salvation is God's.

So now, when you think of yourself, what have you done for your salvation? Some of us were born to believing families. I never knew anything else. My mother was a believer; my father was not. My mother took me to services. That was natural; it felt that that's how it is.

When I grew up, I struggled. I struggled in many ways. I struggled with sin, youthful lust, all kinds of worldly matters were very close to my heart, and I struggled and I battled. And I remember that I had to pray to God that protect me. I felt that I'm losing my faith and God helped me. I have not been able to keep myself in faith. It's not in my doing. I have been weak.

I have to, if I'm honest, I have to say that I have not been a good student for God. I have not been an easy lamb for God. I have caused many sorrows to God. He has done what He has done.

When I have fallen into sin, oftentimes in my life I have tried to cover it. I have tried to hide it. I remember as a young husband when my wife had a gift, I say now, but then I felt a strange, what would it be, a way of seeing through me. She knew when I struggled and she asked, "What's wrong?" And I thought seriously, I thought many times, how come I can't keep it in myself? Because I didn't want to confess the sin, but I had to. She approached me and she asked, "Something is bothering you. What's wrong with you?" And now I understand it was God's love, and I thank God for that. That was the way God has protected me in faith.

So to stay in faith is not in our doing. Do you feel that you have kept yourself in faith or do you feel that you have been like Adam and Eve that when God called, "Where are you?" they ran away, they tried to hide themselves, God had to find them?

God forbid, no way. I don't want to encourage you to start accusing God for that. Especially in mission trips, in the discussions with unbelieving people, I have heard many kinds of excuses why I don't want to believe. Someone has said that I don't want to condemn my parents to condemnation by starting to believe as you preach because it would mean that I would think that my parents were not believers. Well, does it make any difference before God to the case of the parents? No. But that's the way how the enemy of the souls wants to keep a person from believing.

There are many other excuses. One is, "How about those people who have never heard about God who live in a small village somewhere in a foreign country?" Sure, that's the question. But if we start going that direction, where is the end? There is another little village and third, and there are countries here and there and everywhere in the world who have never heard about this Christian God which we preach. They don't know about that. So does that mean that the person cannot or should not believe themselves?

Who do you believe for? Do you believe because your parents want you to believe? Are you being forced to come here? Did you come here to show your faith, your presence to the other believers so that nobody would pay any attention to you and then you happily continue your ungodly lifestyle? I hope not. I hope there are none here who have to confess before the bright all-seeing eyes of God that I'm not a believer but I pretend that I am.

We believe for ourselves. We cannot hide behind anyone's back. A child cannot hide themselves behind their parents. A child cannot believe on behalf of their parents, nor can their parents believe on behalf of their children, nor the grandparents believe on behalf of their children or grandchildren or great-grandchildren. Nobody else. A spouse cannot believe for their spouse.

God in them, and Bible describes this as a holy fire. Bible uses a picture of a lamp which the lamp of the time of the Bible was very simple. It was a little vessel of oil that contained the wick. And oil was burning in the wick and it sucked the oil from that container. It was very simple. And that's a picture of living faith.

And in our text, we heard about the potter. Potter is a person whose job is to make all kinds of vessels or things of clay. And Paul, in this explanation of a difficult subject, uses this kind of analogy that there is a potter working in his shop. And the potter takes a piece of clay into his hands. Who decides what he's going to do with it? The potter. Clay doesn't have its own will. Clay doesn't have its own mouth. It would be kind of funny to think that a potter has a piece of clay and the clay starts speaking, "Hey, I want to become a beautiful vessel." Clay doesn't speak. Clay does not have its own will. It's the potter who decides what he wants to do with that. And if in temporal life, if the potter doesn't like the vessel, he may reuse the clay and make a new one of that. So, it is in the will of the potter.

Now, what makes this topic so difficult for me is that there is the enemy of the souls. There's another creature all the time attacking and trying to destroy God's work. God has created you as you are. With all of your gifts, talents, weaknesses, your nature, your looks, He has created all the way from your nose. I have not met very many people who like their nose. God has created your nose exactly as it is. God has created you as you are. He did not ask what kind of a nature, what kind of skills, or anything you want to have. He didn't ask of us. So, we are like clay in the potter's hands, our life is in God's hands. And He uses us as He wishes.

And I know from my own personal experience how much sometimes we would like to be different than what we are. But there is only one matter that counts. When we go to the roots, let's do it this way. You go to your deathbed in your thoughts. You go to your final moment. No matter how long or short your life has been, one day you are in your deathbed. What is then important? You realize that there is one thing which is important then. That's faith.

If you lived your life being beautiful, talented, rich, famous, whatever, what does it matter? Nothing. If you lived in a beautiful mansion or a small home, nothing matters. At that day, at that moment, when you know that you have to die, it's time to live, you don't worry about your mortgage. You don't worry about the next payment. You don't worry about anything that was and is important now.

I'm not saying that these are not important things. They are, of course. They belong to our lives. And we should, I would say, we should realize that they are God's gifts. And we should be thankful for them. Whatever talents you have, be thankful for them. You don't need to downplay it. You don't need to try to forget them. Use them. Educate yourself. Train yourself. Sharpen those tools that God has given to you for this life. Enjoy it. But don't attach your heart into those things.

Because when you are in your deathbed, then they come to the right perspective. Oh, how small they were. They were important, but they are not that important. Now, when I have to leave this life, I worry if my soul pleases God.

So now, let us try to forget others. Let us try to forget those questions. How about that village in a foreign country who have not heard about God? It should not be a hindrance, a reason why you could not believe.

I would say, like I felt one day, I was in a mission trip in London, and we walked through Trafalgar Square, something, tons of people there. We were coming from service, going to our lodging, and we saw people, and people, and people. And we talked with another speaker how faith and our human understanding are like two men with their backs against one another. They look to the opposite directions.

Our human understanding looks at that scenery and sees that thousands of people, that how can it be possible, that these people are not going to make it to heaven, in this setting as they are right now. That's our human thought. But faith looks totally opposite direction, and by faith, when we look at the same amount of people, we ask, "What is Your grace, O God, that You have caught me? You have picked me from this sea of people to be Your own."

Which one do you think supports and encourages you to believe? Do you see how the enemy of the souls attacks us like from behind? It comes towards us and makes difficult and kind of valid, kind of valid questions, kind of meaningful questions. But its only plan, only wish, is to make you doubt, is to make you, at the end, give up your faith.

What does it help those other people if you give up your faith? Does it save them? No. You lose your own salvation. So, let us not get so attached into these big questions of this life that we don't have strength to believe ourselves.

You and I have to believe for ourselves, not for anybody else. You cannot believe for anybody else. If you wish, you could not. We believe for ourselves. And I think that is what this text wants us to believe, to admit, and to look for. That we, I want to believe for myself. There are questions which I cannot answer. They're bigger than my head. If there's a question which is bigger than your understanding, don't give up your faith because of that. But forget the question. Put it aside. Make an effort to put it aside. Don't get stuck with that. Don't get stuck into mud. If you are on your way, if you have to make it to the destination, if you get stuck to the mud, you won't make it there. Don't go to the mud.

There are teachers who distort the simple truth of God, who make questions and don't give answers. They don't have answers. Don't ask questions where there are no answers for us. Admit it, that I don't know. But don't make that to be an obstacle for your believing because you cannot save yourself. It's God's doing.

And if, and when God prepared the salvation, He uses His salvation as He wants to. Like you use your money as you want to. You have plans for this afternoon. Some of you are going to eat with company. Some are going to do something else. And if it's not sin, that's okay. Enjoy life. Do with your money what you want.

My parents, when they gave me money, they said, "Use it wisely." But you can use your money as you wish. And let God do with salvation what He wants to. Don't dictate God what He should do with that. If you have money, be happy. And when God has given you the gift of faith, be happy.

And remember that one day we will lie on our deathbed. And then only one thing is important and that's faith. May God encourage us to believe simply in the midst of all these big questions.

As here we heard about Esau and Jacob. We talked about that yesterday in our Bible study day. We had yesterday Bible study day and God blessed it abundantly. We rejoiced over that. Next year, God willing, the same weekend, we will have Bible study day. And now on February 9th, we will have couples day. And we have planned that we ask youth to babysit for those families who otherwise couldn't make it. So young families, be it known unto you that you will have babysitter for the day. So start preparing to come.

So, here, God or Apostle Paul uses this Esau and Jacob. When the mother, Rebecca, was pregnant, she didn't know that she had twins in her womb. And the boys, those fetuses battled in the womb so bad that the mother thought that the child, she thought there was one child and she thought the child died. And she went to ask from the Lord. God answered unto her that there are two people, two nations in your womb. And the younger or the older shall serve the younger. She knew already before the boys were born what will happen. As Paul said, they had not done any good or evil. And God knew it already.

So, one more thought. Don't allow the enemy of the souls to say unto you that you can live whatever way you wish. God will kind of forcefully save you if you are His chosen. It's distorting the truth. We are not allowed to sin willingly. You don't know that God has decided to save you.

Or, how should I say it? I understand so little and I know that I am in deep waters with this. But, we cannot justify sin with this grace of God. It's sin in itself to think that you can sin and have it forgiven. It's sin in itself. And it's God's grace that He gives us wounded conscience. That our conscience bothers us when we fall into sin. It's God's grace. Be diligent and take care of the matters. If your conscience troubles you, thank God. Don't be mad, but thank God, because it's His grace. He is calling you. He is asking you to take care of the matter.

And I know that we cannot save ourselves. I think that I want to use the way my son once said of his own life's experience. He said that I was able to make bad decisions and to change my life to worse. But I was not able to turn it back to better. It was God's doing. And he thanked God for that.

So you have your free will. If you want to go to movies after this service, or do something else, which your conscience says is sin, you can do that. You have power to do it. But you cannot forgive yourself.

If God takes His grace away from you, in other words, if He hardens your heart, what can you do? As it says here from Pharaoh that God hardens his heart. So, fear God and fear sin. Don't harden your heart. Don't allow the enemy to say that, "Yes, I can sin because God forcefully saves me anyway, at the end." No, that's distorting the truth. Don't harden your heart with sin. But be timid. If you fall into sin, and when you fall into sin, don't be bold. But pray to God, "Please help me. Please, please give me strength to have my sins forgiven."

It is God's will that you will be saved. God wants to see you in heaven. You are His praise. You are His reward. He loves you. God wants to forgive you. God wants you right now to believe. Your sins forgiven. God wants you to believe.

Dear brother and sister, believer, sins forgiven. In Jesus' name and precious blood, be of good cheer. God wants you to believe. God wants you to fight against sin. God wants you to put sin away. And don't we want that too? Doesn't our spirit in our heart say Amen? Yes, I also want to. I want to make it to heaven.

And that's why, dear brothers and sisters, can I believe my sins forgiven? In Jesus' name and blood, dear brothers, sins are forgiven. In Jesus' name and blood, sins are forgiven. Believe unto freedom, unto peace, and unto joy. It's God's will that you believe. It is the power of God. It makes you stronger. It gives you strength to fight against the temptations that the enemy is going to put before you.

Isn't it beautiful that we sinners can believe? Just sit and believe. He has done everything. And He has used His gift for you and me. He has given this gift. So, let us continue believing. May God keep and protect and bless you. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Marion, I will hang around and engineering shepherd, too.