1 Corinthians 1:10-25



And then He told them to go out and do it in the presence of others.So, when you tell someone that his sins are forgiven, you are telling him what God told you to tell people. God, who has forgiven the sins of the whole world in Christ, does not come to men Himself to tell them. He sends Christians on earth to do it for Him. He gave them a word of power and His Holy Spirit to enable them.So, when you tell someone that he is a sinner and deserves to go to hell for his sins, you are telling him the truth, for this is what God tells us in His Word. When you tell people this, they ought to believe it because, if they don’t, they are really calling God a liar.On the other hand, when people learn of their need for the Savior and then believe what the Savior has done in taking away their sins, they ought to believe that too, because Christ Himself breathed the Holy Spirit on His disciples here and said, “Whenever you forgive people’s sins, they are forgiven.”That is a great thing that we get to hear every Sunday when we are here. Don’t you miss that at this time because you can’t be here? But, in another way, that promise is always yours in the Word of God and in your fellow Christians who support you. So, when the pastor or any Christian stands before you in Jesus’ name and tells you, “I forgive you all your sins for Jesus’ sake,” believe it, for it is certain. Remember, the Lord Jesus Himself stands behind that statement here. He does what He says, and He says what He does. And all who believe it, have it. You may miss out on church right now, but in faith you do not miss out on God’s Word that promises this. Oh, what people miss when they miss the Lord. But you who believe in a risen Savior have it. For Jesus does what He says, and He says what He does. For His sake you have forgiveness. And what joy and peace that brings youGod grant us all such an Easter faith. Even though we miss certain things that are so important to us at this time, this you always have for your risen Savior promised it. God grant it to us in faith for Jesus’ sake. AmenThe 2nd Sunday of Easter – Quasi Modo Genitii April 19, 2020Text: John 20:19-31 3 Year Series A 20:2191Theme: Oh, What We Miss When We Miss the Lord!I don’t know how to describe it. How do you describe the way people are feeling these days with the restrictions placed on us. It’s been over a month now – social distancing, avoiding groups, stores closed, restaurants, parks, gyms, even going to church held from us. At first crowds were limited to 50, then 10, then in Greene County none. We’ve been forced to eliminate things common to us, some which we consider important to life. How are you feeling about it?I like to cook at home. But Friday night we decided to do something else. There’s a new, small Japanese restaurant in town. People seem to like it. Let’s try that. Let’s try something different. Of course it is take-out orders, right? So Eryn called to order. The wait was over 1 ? hour. Too long! She called old Mr. Lee’s Chinese place. Closed. She went by KFC, McDonalds and reported long lines for take-out everywhere. Doesn’t that indicate people are missing things we once considered normal? Probably frustrated too!Some are missing a lot more than that. Some are missing family members whom they cannot see.So, how are you feeling – frustrated, cheated, sad, discouraged, missing out. And if that’s the way many are feeling with our temporary situation, I wonder how the disciples were feeling with what they thought was permanent – life without Jesus. And Thomas, what about Thomas? What was going through his head and heart when he was missing the Lord?I. We miss the peace and joy that only God can give.Go back to that weekend. Those were horrible days for the disciples. They had betrayed Jesus, denied Him, and deserted Him. They watched Him condemned, crucified, and His body rushed into a tomb. With it they buried all hope and happiness of His being the Promised One. Earlier Sunday evening two of them lamented, “We were hoping that He was going to redeem Israel” (Lk.24:21). Sad, afraid, hopeless, feeling cheated - I think that their situation was far more traumatic than what we are missing at this point.That morning the women came back with news of a resurrection. They babbled about seeing angels; a few claimed to see Jesus alive. But we are told that the disciples “did not believe them because the women’s words seemed like nonsense” (24:11).“Nonsense! You’re crazy! You’re dreaming!” And there are much courser ways some people say that. Has anyone ever said things like that to you? That hurts, especially if you know that what you told them is true, absolutely true. So, think of the great range of emotions churning in that room that night. There was sadness, disappointment, and despair. There was fear, frustration, and devastation. There was ridicule, scorn, and hurt feelings. The air was thick with dark emotions.Then, suddenly the risen Lord Jesus stood in the middle of them, even though the doors were locked. “Peace be with you,” He cried as He showed them His hands and feet with the nail marks in them. Stunned in wide-eyed disbelief, yet as delight overwhelmed their faces, He breathed on them and said: “Peace be with you.” It’s exactly what they needed and were missing: peace! This was more than a wishing of peace; it was an imparting of peace. When the Bible says “the Lord breathed on them,” it indicates something special. When God created Adam, what does it say? “He breathed into him the breath of life and Adam became a living soul.” New life flows with divine breath as the Lord imparts His gifts. Here, it was peace and joy in the midst of turmoil.A similar thing happens every Sunday at the end of the service when the minister proclaims, “The Lord bless you…the Lord make His face…the Lord lift up His countenance…and give you peace.” It’s not may you have peace, nor I hope you have peace; but the Lord gives you peace. What He says He gives at the same time because that’s what the Savior can do. We miss that when we miss the Lord; we miss the peace that only God can give us. One of our past members, Herb Dannenfeldt, used to tell me a story that went back many years ago to the time that his father was a Lutheran minister in Cleveland, Ohio. At the time a member of the congregation was a bus driver who worked many Sunday mornings. But his bus route went by church. Herb said the member timed his route in such a way that he would drive by church at the time the benediction was given, stop his bus, run up the stairs, and stand in the doorway to hear the Benediction. If that was the only thing he was able to get that Sunday because he had to miss an appointment with the Lord, the man was not going to miss that imparting of the Savior’s gift of peace. It’s not just a word to closethe service. It’s what the Savior gives to all who believe in Him. Do you need proof? Look at the disciples. They reacted in joy even though seconds before this their emotions had been so dark. Like the Bible says, “Since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him we also have obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand. And we rejoice confidently in hope for the glory of God” (Ro,5:1f).Can any of us fully appreciate the indescribable peace and joy that only God could give these disciples that night? Maybe we can understand their joy a bit better now after experiencing the restrictions that have been placed on us. Imagine how happy we’ll be when everything is lifted again. But that can’t come close to the peace and joy they felt that Easter evening. All of those present felt it, except the one who wasn’t there – Thomas. He missed it because he missed the Lord that night. He missed the peace and joy that only God can give in a risen Savior because he was not in the assembly of believers when the Lord Jesus called on them.II. We miss His word of power given through the Holy Ghost.Our text says, “Jesus breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whenever you forgive people’s sins, they are forgiven. Whenever you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”With such words Jesus gave those present more than a promise; He gave them the Holy Ghost and a word of power that gives the forgiveness of sins. In the Church we call this power the Ministry of the Keys. It is a “unique right that Christ gave to His church on earth to forgive the sins of penitent sinners but to refuse forgiveness to the impenitent as long as they do not repent.” Sometimes, people attack this teaching because it says that the pastor, yes, the whole church has a right to tell everyone in this way that sins are forgiven. Those who oppose this say that only God can forgive sins and, therefore, no man has a right to forgive the sins of other men. We agree with that. Only God can forgive sins because only God gave the solution for sin – His Son. Because He did the work, only God can forgive sins. But it does not follow that no man has a right to tell others that their sins are forgiven for God may certainly use people as His instruments to send all sin away and to carry this message of forgiveness to others.Here Jesus made it clear that He gave the Church the word of power to do that by giving them the Holy Spirit at the same time. ................
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