In the name of Jesus who suffered that we might not, that we might serve Him:  Dear Fellow Redeemed:

And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country.  Jan. 1961

We have come a long way from the days of President Kennedy’s inaugural address.  Not many Politicians of our day would dare run using such a platform.

It has been a very busy week here at Resurrection Lutheran.  Many people, particularly our Ladies have put in hours planning, organizing, cooking and working.  We are printing a pictorial directory.  The pictures are taken.  Now we have to put together the directory.  We invited the community to join us for supper.  It was a smashing success.  Thanks to a generous donation of tickets, at least 10 families visited our church.  It doesn’t end here.  This Sunday is the last day we gather supplies for homeless students in Polk County.  On Monday, the Ladies put cookie pack to cheer our shut-ins on Valentine’s Day.  Next month, we hope to sponsor a rummage sale if we can find enough volunteers.

So, let’s suppose, this week, a door opened for one or more of us to

try to encourage someone new to become a Christian, to join us in our

walk to heaven.  What would we say?

“Yea, join us.  I just put in three days of hard labor for that church.  If you join us, watch out!  They may get you too.” 

Would we dare promote our congregation to others with a paraphrase?

Ask not what God’s church can do for you.  Ask what you can to for God’s church.

Today’s Gospel is the parable of the Sower and the seed.  Jesus teaches us how folks respond when the Holy Ghost calls us to faith.  He teaches that when His Word truly takes root in our hearts, when we truly believe in Him as our Lord and Savior, our God, our faith is active.  It will be

busy serving the Kingdom.  This is our theme of the sermon today:

Believers serve!

Christians are ministers of God.  We are servers.  We are prayers.

        A young mother of two was very faithful to her church.  She played the organ, directed both adult and children’s choir.  She helped with the Sunday School.  She was trying to get more volunteers to help direct a certain activity in the church.   She explained that she was too busy to take on more.  Her anger ignited when a non-active member smiled and said condescendingly, “We are all busy dear”.  We too are busy.

        Some retired Christians also retire from an active Christian life. 

They have already done their share.  Younger Christians are busy with their lives, with jobs, with children.  We all have good excuses.

        And we are busy.  We have our own problems.  We have good reasons for what we do or what we do not do in service to the Kingdom of God.  Life is hard on all of us.  Most of us are too busy.

        Most of us, myself included, believe we do enough.  So, let us take a

few moments and compare what we do with what St. Paul did.  He wrote:

Are they ministers of Christ?--I speak as a fool--I am more: in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often.  From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one.  Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep;  in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;  in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness--  besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches.  Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn with indignation?  If I must boast, I will boast in the things which concern my infirmity.  The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying.  In Damascus the governor, under Aretas the king, was guarding the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desiring to arrest me;  but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall, and escaped from his hands.

        Paul gave his life to serve Jesus because Jesus gave His life for Paul.  That is what we gather to hear.  Jesus gave His life for you and for me.  Our desire to serve Jesus does not begin with us and who we are or what fine volunteers we become.  Service begins Jesus and what He did for us.

        To many what Jesus did is not so very important.  Other matters are more pressing.  Until our sin truly crushes us with guilt, most everything will be more important than what Jesus did for us.

        He suffered.  He endured scorn and abuse from His own country-men.  He was falsely accused of crimes - political and religious.  His church demanded His execution.  A foreigner stood in judgment of Him.  This noble Roman, Pontius Pilate, pronounced Jesus, “Not guilty” and sentenced Him to execution by the most cruel of deaths - crucifixion.

        This is Jesus, our God, innocent and pure.  St. Paul proclaimed:

For God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 

We need to listen.  Innocent Jesus, God’s Son, suffered hell for us.  The pain, the punishment we owe God because of our sin, fell upon Him instead.  It was so hard on Him, He prayed:

        "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful even unto death.”

The punishment we deserved was so terrible, He cried out:

My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?

        The Father in heaven answered Jesus by saying to you and to me.

        "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."

Jesus felt forsaken by God.  Thereby God brought us back from death and punishment.  The Triune God pronounces us forgiven all our sins.  He proclaims us to be pure and holy because of Jesus’ sacrifice for us. 

Jesus is the One, the only One who could suffer for us.

Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted.  But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.  All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

        Those who believe this, who believe in the Lord Jesus and what He did, they have eternal life.  It is the gift of God.  It is received by faith in Jesus and by faith alone.  This is how He served us.  He earned for all sinners, forgiveness and life eternal.

        God makes us eternal because of Jesus.  We who deserve God’s anger and punishment are fit for heaven because of Jesus.  It is not because we serve or even try to serve.  It is because Jesus served in our

place.  He served us to death so that we may live.  We serve Him.

        This truth grasped by faith changed the way Paul prayed.  Yes, the way we pray needs examination.  One wag caricatured the prayer of

Christians by referring to the prayer of Farmer Brown.  He prayed:

God bless me, my wife, my son, John, his wife, us four, no more.

It is probably true that the majority of those who pray make themselves and their own concerns the subject of most of their prayers.

        Paul prayed for himself.  He also prayed God would give him the strength to serve others.  When he prayed for healing, he prayed that God would make it possible for Paul to be able to do greater things, bear greater sufferings to serve Jesus and others.

His prayer was connected to his service for the kingdom.  God’s suffering and dying for us all meant so much to Paul he only wanted to be able to serve God more.

        Again I feel the sting of shame.  Maybe you do too.  Our service to Jesus is not so complete that we even think in the same way as St. Paul prayed.  But our commitment to serving Jesus grows as we grow in faith.  Jesus did not die for us because we are so good at serving Him.  He died for us because He loves sinners.  By faith, we grow to love Him because of His great love for us.  By faith, we grow in service to this good and gracious Savior and His people.

        And so our prayers change.  Not only do they become requests for God’s help, prayer becomes an aid to our service.  When we pray for those who sick, we pray not only that Jesus would heal them but that Jesus would make it possible for us to be of some help to them.  When we pray for those who do not believe, we ask not only that God would convert them, but that He would empower us to something for them too.  When we pray for our church, we do not leave it all in God’s hands.  We think of ways we can serve.

        Throughout the centuries, when asked to serve, Christians have consistently made excuses.  In the earliest days of the Bible, Sarah, Abraham’s wife, laughed when she heard what God would have her do.  Moses claimed he didn’t have the ability to do what God would have him do.  Moses was an old guy.  He was past retirement age.  Jonah ran the other when God enlisted his service.  And we are too busy.  We don’t

have the ability.  We are afraid.  Somebody else could do the job better. 

We all have our excuses.  St. Paul reports:

And God said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness”. Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake.  For when I am weak, then I am strong.

        God doesn’t need good and strong and talented people to accomp-lish His work.  His grace does all the work.  God allows us the privilege of serving.  We do not need talent, health, youth, strength, courage or anything.  In spite of all we lack, we are God’s forgiven children.  Of course we are weak.  We are reluctant but God is God.  God gives us the privilege of serving.  All He wants from us is willingness.  He supplies the rest.  And if we don’t have time, hey, time is in God’s hands.

        Service to God is satisfying.  It is the most satisfying thing we can do.  When we promote our Savior, and all He has done for all people, we are also promoting this concept.  Those who believe in Jesus, those who are members of His church, serve.

Amen.  Soli Deo Gloria!