Immanuel Lutheran Church, Springfield, IL February 10, 2013

Transcription

1 Transfiguration Rev. Darrell Debowey Immanuel Lutheran Church, Springfield, IL February 10, 2013 Hebrews 3:1-6: 1 Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, 2 who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God s house. 3 For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. 4 (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.) 5 Now Moses was faithful in all God s house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, 6 but Christ is faithful over God s house as a son. And we are his house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope. Why Jesus TEXT Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. The text for today s message is the Epistle reading from Hebrews the 3rd chapter, and from St. Luke the 9th chapter. INTRODUCTION Here are Amazon s top ten self-help/self-empowerment titles for Christians: 1. Become a Better You 2. Halftime: Changing Your Game Plan from Success to Significance 3. Developing the Leader Within You 4. Visioneering: God s Blueprint for Developing and Maintaining Personal Vision 5. Live Your Dreams... Let Reality Catch Up: NLP and Common Sense for Coaches, Managers and You (NLP is Neuro-Linguistic Programming If you can imagine it, you can achieve it. If you can dream it, you can become it. It s another form of the name it, claim it Page 1

2 style of self-empowerment, the Christian version of The Secret, the Law of Attraction thinking about something makes it more likely to happen to you). 6. Turn My Mourning Into Dancing 7. The Overload Syndrome: Learning to Live Within Your Limits 8. In His Footsteps: Be Happy In Every Situation, Find Your Purpose 9. Spiritual Mothering: The Titus 2 Model for Women Mentoring Women 10. Living Successfully with Screwed-Up People Here s what an article in London s Daily Mail from 2011 said about self-help books in general Self-help books are amazingly popular. And preachers that preach self-help sermons are some of the most successful pastors in Christianity if you count the size of their churches. But after listening to this article from the Daily Mail, it makes you wonder about all those self-help sermons and self-help books for Christians are they really helping. I could focus on self-help stuff. I could focus on health and prosperity your best life now being a better you overcoming the obstacles in your life stuff like that. It would be a lot easier for me because I wouldn t have to be concerned so much about doctrinal purity or Scriptural accuracy. And because this stuff is so popular, who knows, maybe this congregation would grow. But you know what? The queen of all heresies is the focus of self that s it s all about me, including the Christian faith. And if you look at that list of top ten Christian self-help titles, you d see that the thing missing in all of them is Jesus. 1. Moses and the Law. Page 2

3 Any time a self-help book or a preacher or teacher tell you what you have to do they re preaching the Law they re preaching Moses, because the Law came through Moses. John 1:17, For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. If a self-help book tells you how best to invest your money, or if in one of my sermons I tell you what you need to do to get along with your spouse and kids because it s what you must do it s the Law. There are two problems with focusing on Moses and the Law they causes us to boast in ourselves: I m a pretty good person I did this and I did that I eat right, I exercise, I ve invested my money well not like that fellow over there! Or, if you don t to do what the self-help book or preacher advises you to do, you despair because you re a failure. But either way, the reason self-help books and self-empowerment preachers are so popular is because they feed your ego either your self-righteousness ego or your self-despairing ego which means you have to keep coming back for more. They build you up with good feelings, but when you don t do what they tell you, they tear you down either way you keep coming back for more. That s because Moses and the Law, and self-help books and self-help sermons can tell you what to do, but they don t have the power to give you what they demand. That s why Moses and the Law are inferior to Christ and the Gospel. While Moses and the Law make all kinds of demands, they cannot give what they demand. Christ and the Gospel make no demands, yet they give you the power to fulfill what the Law demands. 2. Preaching Christ. That s why Christian sermons don t focus on you and what you must do to be a better you, they focus on Christ and the Gospel, and what God has done for you through Jesus. Page 3

4 Instead of focusing on Moses and the Law, and what you must do, the writer to the Hebrews asks you to consider Jesus because He is greater than Moses. 1 Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, 2 who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God s house. 3 For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. 4 (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.) 5 Now Moses was faithful in all God s house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, 6 but Christ is faithful over God s house as a son. And we are his house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope. Moses was Israel s Law-giver their greatest prophet. But who is greater than Moses? Jesus. Moses was God s servant, a part of God s House. But Jesus if God s Son, the builder of God s House. On the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus transfigured body shined with radiance like the sun. Moses and Elijah shined only because they reflected the radiance of Christ. Jesus is clearly superior because He is God s beloved Son. As Moses serves Christ, so the Law serves the Gospel. The Law shows us our sin and our utter failure to be what God demands. Moses and the Law show us we need a Savior. The Gospel; however, shows us Christ, our Savior. Jesus was faithful not just to His heavenly Father, but to He was faithful to us His obedience went all the way to the cross to save us from our sins. That s why we preach Jesus. St. Paul said, For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified (1 Corinthians 2:2) and, For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord (2 Corinthians 4:5). Page 4

5 Why Jesus? Because people don t need more morality. People need more Jesus. 1. For the other, not for self. Now, if the Christian faith is all about self-empowerment and self-improvement, then why did Jesus come down from the Mount of Transfiguration? There He was in all His glory on the Mountain. If the Christian faith is all about self-improvement, Jesus should have let Peter, James and John built those tents so He could have remained there in all His self-empowered glory. Jesus could have stayed on the Mountain for His own good, but He didn t. He came down the mountain for our good! He came down the mountain and set His course for Jerusalem. That s because Jesus didn t come to glorify Himself, to seek His best life now. He came to suffer the gory of the cross save sinners. He gave up His best life now, that you may have life to the fullest. And what that means is that the essence of Christianity isn t self-improvement it s other improvement. The Law and Moses aren t about making a better you they re about how you can better Love God and your neighbor. Following in the footsteps of Jesus isn t about feeling better about yourself it s about helping others the way Jesus served you by sacrificing His own personal glory to enter this world of sin and save us from our poor, miserable condition. One day, all of our self-help and self-empowerment strategies will fail our financial planning, our nutrition, our health and prosperity they will all eventually fail us as we lay there at death s door. But not Jesus He is our everlasting hope And we are his house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope. All that we will accomplish will come to an end, but what Jesus has done for us will never end, so we boast in Jesus. So, here in the Divine Service, instead of focusing on self-improvement and bettering ourselves, we focus on Jesus. All the self-help books and self-empowerment sermons can t save Page 5

6 you from sin only Jesus, who through His Holy Spirit and His Word and Sacraments, not only saves you, He also empowers you to keep the Law of Moses as God wants it kept for His glory and for the improvement of your neighbor. CONCLUSION I could preach a sermon you about self-improvement and self-empowerment, but that wouldn t actually be a Christian sermon. You see, Christianity isn t about self-improvement and self-glory; it s about love and sacrifice. Just as Jesus left the glory of the Mt. of Transfiguration to bear the cross for all sinners, so Christianity is about denying self, and picking up your cross to follow Jesus. Christianity isn t about self-glorification it s about Christ and what He s done for you. People don t need more self-help books and self-empowerment sermons, they need more Jesus. In Jesus Name. Amen. Page 6