Sermon Tone Analysis

A tourist in Syria observed with interest how a shepherd drove all his sheep into a sheepfold one evening.

The fold was an enclosing wall with only one opening.

On that opening he noticed that there was neither door nor gate.

He remarked to the shepherd: “Can’t wild beasts get in there?” “No,” answered the shepherd, “because I am the door.

When the sheep are in for the night, I lie down across that doorway.

No sheep can get out except over my body, and no wolf or thief can get in except over me.”

The shepherd has a painful job.

The ground is not soft, the wolves are not friendly, and the sheep are not always submissive.

His plan to protect and preserve them is perfect, for it takes all these things into account, and the shepherd accomplishes his purpose.

Blessed Lord, You have caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning.

Grant that we may so hear them, read, mark, learn, and take them to heart that, by the patience and comfort of Your holy Word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life.

… through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Jesus is going to fulfill this portion of His mission, His vocation, of redeeming us through His own blood.

He makes use of the time by teaching the disciples about the salvation that He is about to accomplish.

Based on that teaching, someone asks a question:

Two things are clear , at least to me, at this point.

First, it is understood that salvation is a good thing.

People will seek it.

That is not the problem; rather, it is the ways they will seek it do not involve them being connected to Christ.

They may involve good works, they may involve social engagement, but they do not involve going through the gate.

There is only one source of righteousness that the Master recognizes.

Being around Jesus is not equivalent to being in Christ.

Showing up at church events, being a part of church activities, even being socially active and acknowledging the goodness of Jesus’ teachings is not enough.

As the old Gospel song says, “You must come in at the Door!”

God’s sending of His unique Son, the missio Dei, is the divine decision that makes everything else make sense.

It is the reason why God chose Abraham, why He promised to give to him a son, why He chose Israel to be His Witness to the nations.

Israel did not understand; as a nation, particularly among the religious leadership, they thought that God had chosen Israel because of it’s comparative goodness, or that God’s choosing was for Israel’s benefit because God liked Israel better than His did the Gentiles.

God’s actions are not about our satisfaction: they are about His glory.

True worship is the response we give to God for His blessings.

He initiates - we respond.

God has preserved His Word in this city - His pure Gospel - and we receive His gifts with thanksgiving.

If the Holy Spirit is working in us “both to will and to do for His good pleasure,” we will embrace what He wills.

Part of that process feels painful.

Hebrews 12 addresses the notion that being conformed to the image of Christ is a picnic.

We are told in Hebrews 12:3

Jesus said

and

The notion that the world can be tweaked into being an ally is just as foolish as is the notion that the world hates the church because it is jealous of the Church’s health, wealth, and prosperity.

Both are rooted in the notion that the world isn’t all that bad, it just needs a little tweaking.

The world is fallen.

It is at enmity against God, not allied with Him.

Those who are of the world know the truth that God is Good, and they hate that, therefore, they must either redefine “good” or redefine “God.”

In order to deliver you from that false teaching, God disciplines you, purges you of those things that would blind you to God’s will, and make you deaf to His Word.

It hurts the Old Adam, but it is good for you.

God disciplines us, not out of irritation or a thirst for vengeance, but in love and in the passion of His holiness:

God sent Jesus into the world to save us, and that involved suffering.

Jesus sends us into the world to share that Good News with the world, and that involves suffering too.

In the end, the purpose outweighs the pain as we are made partakers of His holiness, as we see the Kingdom established on earth as it is in heaven, now in part, but when our Lord Jesus returns, in the fullness of His glory:

So we welcome the discipline of the Lord, we welcome the presence of the Lord, we welcome the goodness and loving-kindness of the Lord, because “we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Rom 8:28).

His Church knows that, the rest don’t know what they don’t know.

God wants you to know His will, now in part, but soon, even as you are now known.

So trust Him to continue to do good, to continue to be faithful, and to continue to keep you until that day.

And the peace of God, that passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.