Sermon August 23, 1998 Given a Kingdom based on Luke 12:32-40

Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Donald Trump is the businessman who has a net worth anywhere from 450 million to 2 billion dollars. Wouldn't it be nice to have him as a personal friend. There is a story about Trump's generosity with a stranger. It is said that Trump's limousine broke down on the Garden State Parkway on the way home from Atlantic City during a weekend excursion. An unemployed auto mechanic stopped to help, succeeded in getting the limo running and then refused to accept any payment for his services. Trump was so impressed that the next day he sent flowers to the mechanic's wife and a certified letter stating that the man's mortgage had been paid in full. Trump refuses to confirm or deny the story or say exactly what he did for the Good Samaritan. "I don't do those kinds of things for publicity," he says.

What a deal that would be, to have someone really rich taking care of you. If you knew that they had money they would gladly give to help you, you could be freed from many a worry. You would have financial security. That term, "financial security" is often mentioned by those selling investments, insurance, or get-rich-quick schemes. Financial security means freedom from worries about finances.

That kind of security is hard to come by. Even Trump had to face bankruptcy. If you don't have a pile of money around, can you ever be secure?

I just received some newspapers from my mother relating to the flood a couple of weeks ago in my hometown of Sheboygan, Wisconsin. This city experienced a freak flood, after getting a foot of rain in an hour. Rushing water collapsed and flooded many buildings. This was in a city which never really had experienced a flood before this. The residents imagined they were secure and probably didn't have flood insurance, and some have lost their homes entirely. Maybe they thought they had financial security before the flood, but they were wrong.

In the face of our desire for security, where might we turn for help? It would be nice to have a rich friend, and, in fact, you and I do have such a friend. We have a king who was pleased to give us the kingdom. He tells us, "Do not fear, O little flock, because your Father was pleased to give to you the kingdom." Our heavenly Father was pleased to give us the kingdom, so we do not need to fear. He was happy to do this for us. We need not feel any lack of security, because we have a friend in a high place.

This is what our faith is all about. We trust in our God to care for our every need. We put our hope in Him. We live our lives in this faith. Our text then gives us activities which are to follow upon our faith in God. Trusting and loving our God, we desire to be obedient to His commands. So let us take a look at what He commands.

First, we are commanded to "Sell your possessions and give money to the poor." Because we are not afraid, we will act exactly the opposite of those who do fear. Those feeling financially insecure will try to gain security by piling up wealth. They hoard their possessions. Those who are part of the Lord's flock will, on the other hand, sell their possessions and turn the proceeds over to poorer people. The sheep of the flock trust in God's kingdom, not their own kingdom of possessions. Therefore, they are willing to give up those possessions freely. Because of God's promise of the kingdom, we do not need to be afraid concerning the material needs of the body or worldly possessions.

Secondly, we are commanded to be faithfully ready for the return of the master. Our state of readiness is compared with two analogies. The first analogy is that we are to be ready, as one would be ready who remained dressed and kept a lamp lit. The person who gets undressed and turns out the lights is going to sleep. They are not ready for action. We are to, rather, be like the one who is always clothed and alert. This analogy is expanded so that we are to be like servants waiting for the return of their master. The master has gone to a wedding reception and will be returning. The servants certainly don't want the master to be kept waiting while they get up, get dressed, and light a lamp so they can open the door for him. It is far better for the servants to be able to immediately open the door for their master.

So, too, the servants and followers of Jesus Christ are to be prepared for the return of their master. The text describes that the return may be late at night. The second or third watch are possibilities, where these watches are the names for the time periods of 9 pm to 12 midnight and 12 midnight to 3 am.

The second analogy given in the text for the state of preparedness has to do with a house owner being prepared for the coming of a thief. How can you be ready for a thief who is coming to break into your house? It requires a constant state of alertness. If you let your guard down and fall asleep for any period, that may just be the time when the thief comes.

If you have a sophisticated burglar alarm on your house, then you may be protected around the clock. If you don't, then to keep a burglar from breaking in, you better stay home all the time and stay awake and alert all the time. This type of attitude is compared to how we as Christians ought to be prepared for the return of our master, Jesus Christ.

These commands of Jesus, to sell our possessions, and to remain alert are meant as instruction for how disciples of Jesus are to live in faithfulness. However, these commands may also leave you feeling like you have been less than perfect in your obedience. You may be feeling like you have perhaps failed to keep your Lord's commands. This is a natural result of hearing God's commands or Law. He tells us what we are to be doing and we see that we fall short of what He said. This is a natural consequence of the Law, which always accuses us of our failures. To know what God requires of us, and then to see how our sinful nature, the old Adam in us, was disobedient, we end up being accused of our sins.

Even our reaction to Jesus' commands can reveal our disobedience. The command to sell our possessions and give the money to the poor may seem like a foreign and unheard of activity. Who do you know who does this? The fact that this command sounds strange to us may be the result of our fear over the concerns of this life and our own possessions.

Being faithful in watching for Christ's return may also seem strange. In fact, we are often told things which make us forget that Christ is to return. The importance of His return, the resurrection of all the dead then, and the Judgment of all people then should never be reduced. This is the focus point to where the New Testament directs our attention. So we confess in the Apostle's Creed about Jesus Christ: "from thence He will come to judge the living and the dead." Or in the Nicene Creed we say, "And He will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead..." Even last week in our Epistle reading we heard, Colossians 3:4 "When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory." If you read the New Testament, over and over you will notice that our attention is directed to one point in the future, and that is the return of Christ. How easy we find to forget this. How easy we find it to be unprepared. Christ could return today. It is going to be a surprise, for no one knows the day or hour and anyone who thinks they know is plain wrong. Yet, we fail at remained prepared for His return. When we are unprepared, we should see the last verse of our text as a threat: "The Son of man will come at an hour when you do not expect him."

In light of these commands of Jesus, and our failure to keep these commands, we are directed back to the first coming of Christ. The eternal Son of God took on human form, was born as a child and lived the perfect life. Then He sacrificed Himself on the cross for our sins. His death paid the penalty for all our wrongs. His blood was shed to make up for our failure to keep God's commands. Christ then rose from the dead, to show how He was victorious and how we too will rise on that day when He returns.

The blessings of Christ's sacrifice on the cross come to us through faith. Through faith we believe that Christ did indeed make up for all our sins. Through faith, we understand that God sees us as freed from our sins and holy. Through faith, we know that this all comes to us as a free gift, not based on our works and not something which we have earned or deserved. Through faith, we know that Christ will return, resurrect us and take us to eternal life.

We come back to the opening verse of our text, "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom." God was pleased to give us the kingdom. He is happy to give us the free gift of salvation, given through faith.

In the Second Petition of the Lord's Prayer we pray, "Thy kingdom come." Martin Luther answered in the Small Catechism, How does this kingdom come? He wrote, "When our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy Word and lead a godly life, here in time and hereafter in eternity." The kingdom comes when the Holy Spirit brings us to faith. When we trust in what Christ has done for us, then the kingdom has come to us. And God is pleased to serve us in this way.

God is pleased to serve us in so many ways. He served us primarily with Jesus sacrificing His life for our sins. God serves us even now as He delivers His Gospel to His children who are part of His church. We are served in our Divine Services on Sunday mornings. This is why I prefer to call them Divine Services and not worship. The word "worship" implies that it is primarily something we do to God. Rather, in our Divine Services, we come to be served by God. As Christians we desire to receive all we can from our master.

There is no master quite like Jesus, who makes us kick-back and receive the service. So our text said: "It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them." Most masters would expect the servants to take care of them. Our Master takes care of us. We are served by the Lord always. Jesus gave the example of service when he washed the feet of the disciples. Primarily, however, we are served at the cross.

All this service is an invaluable treasure given to us. It is a treasure in heaven. We are told to provide a purse for ourselves which won't wear out. Why? Well purses are for holding treasures, and if our treasure will not wear out, then the purse better last that long. So, by providing a purse for an eternal treasure, our Lord says get ready for eternal life. Look to your heavenly treasure. This is a treasure which is inexhaustible. Our treasure won't be stolen by a thief or eaten by a moth. And this treasure is something our heavenly Father is pleased to provide to us. Never be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. We have it all because of our friend, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Now may the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.