Fifth Wednesday of Lent 3/28/12

Lent midweek Date: 3/28/12 Text: Psalm 143 Title: Teach Me to Do Your Will, For You Are My God The sermon text for today, is the Penitential Psalm; Psalm 143, which we prayed earlier in the service. We will also be continuing, as we have each Wednesday to examine the explanation of the Office of the Keys as we read it earlier. We prayed in the third verse of Psalm 143, “The enemy has pursued my soul; he has crushed my life to the ground”. That is how Satan works, my friends. Satan follows after the Christian and hounds him until the day he dies. Satan’s one and only goal is to get you to deny Christ and his Word of forgiveness. In hounding us Satan will very rarely do a direct attack, for he know that he will more than likely fail. No Satan is sneaky and will do little things to try and draw us away from our Savior. C. S. Lewis wrote a Christian classic titled, The Screwtape Letters. In this book he follows the writings of Satan to an underling, a beginner devil. Satan offers the underling helpful advice, as to how to win over a Christian to their side, all without the Christian knowing what is happening. It is a great book that all Christians should read, for it clearly points out the sneakiness of Satan and his cohorts. Satan will use whatever it takes to win over a soul even if it means using God’s Word for his purpose which he will always misapply. We saw him do that in the Garden of Eden and again at Jesus’ temptation just to name two instances. He is the father of lies, as God’s Word tells us. Satan lies and deceives the Christian into believing that the sin you are doing is not sin. Or, he deceives you into believing that your sin isn’t so very bad, that you don’t really need Christ and his Word of forgiveness. Or the biggest lie of all, God accepts you, as you are, because he knows your nature and that you are trying to do better. This is why we as Christians must pray the penitential psalms, including Psalm 143. While we might not have done what the psalmist is confessing we are sinners who need to always be reminded that we are sinners not worthy of God’s favor who must cling to Christ alone and his Word of Absolution. The psalms teach us that the Christian life is all about confession and forgiveness. In other words, we could say with Martin Luther that the psalms are a little Bible that teach us everything we need to know to believe in Jesus and go to heaven. But notice how very common the sins are that are before us. Let’s look at the catechism again. Which sins are these? Consider your place in life according to the Ten Commandments: Are you a father, mother, son, daughter, husband, wife, or worker? Have you been disobedient, unfaithful, or lazy? Have you been hot-tempered, rude, or quarrelsome? Have you hurt someone by your words or deeds? Have you stolen, been negligent, wasted anything, or done any harm? Notice there is no murder listed there. No grand theft auto or adultery or rebellion. The sins listed are a part of your daily life. And notice where they start. Who are you; father, mother, son, daughter, husband, wife, or worker? Each of us has a calling, a vocation where God has placed us. This is where God has given you to live and to work. And it is in that calling, in that vocation, that we need Law to condemn and the Gospel to receive absolution. Who among us has not been unfaithful or lazy, hot-tempered or rude or quarrelsome? Have you picked a verbal fight with a co-worker or friend, or a spouse, because you didn’t get your way? Have you hurt others by your words or deeds? Have you stolen from your employer by not working as you should? Have you wasted the gifts God has given you? These are real sins. To the eyes of the world, these aren’t big sins. They are trifles, nothing to be so concerned about. Yet it is these very trifles that God died on the cross to forgive. If God takes them so seriously, perhaps we should as well. So that is why we have Confession and Absolution, public and private. God wants these sins gone from your life forever. He wants them cast into the depth of the sea, so that you may arise again as a new son or daughter in Jesus’ name. This Lenten season we have taken a journey, as we have looked closely into God’s gift of Confession and Absolution. It is easy to focus on the sins, on the act of confession. Some of you might have partaken of God’s gift of Individual Confession and Absolution. For those who have done this, you know that it is hard to confess. The words don’t come out right. It’s embarrassing. Or, it almost seems like much ado about nothing. I mean, who cares about how I treat my family or what I did at work or whatever my sin might be? That is the whole point. God cares. He cares so much He sent His Son over to death so that you might live. When Jesus said “It is finished” from the cross, He is talking about your sin. Yes, He is talking about the time you were angry with your wife. He’s talking about the time you nagged your husband and wouldn’t give him any rest. He’s talking about the time you gave your parents the silent treatment and rebelled against their wishes. He’s talking about the time you refused to do what your boss asked of you at work. All of these and more he wants to absolve, for he died to do so. We’ve learned a lot about God’s gift of Confession and Absolution, both public and private this Lent. I know this has been a new journey for many, and perhaps at times a bit strange. It can be a hard journey, but a wonderful journey. God has so many things to teach you and give you that He can hardly wait for you to hear His Word and be reconciled by His love. He longs to hear you say with David in verse 10 of our Psalm for today, “Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God! Let Your good Spirit lead me” So flee to God’s Word of Absolution! Our psalmist cries out in verse 6, “My soul thirsts for You like a parched land.” In a land and a time when sin is ignored or held up as good, flee to God’s Word! He will forgive you for the sake of Jesus Christ, His Son. That is your hope. That is your trust. That is your life as a child of God. All praise to God, for his wonderful gift of forgiveness in the name of Jesus. Amen.