Introduction: Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our text is the Gospel Lesson just read, from Matt. 28. We begin with prayer.
Dear fellow disciples of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ:
- Our three Scripture readings for today seem only distantly related – the account of creation, the sermon of Peter on Pentecost centering on the work of Jesus for our redemption, and our text, the Gospel Lesson, where Jesus gives His disciples their instructions for building the church. Of course, all three do reference the three Persons of the Holy Trinity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
- And in these three portions of Scripture there is another common theme: God’s great love and care for humanity in creating us and our hospitable earthly home; God’s great love in sending His Son to save humanity after the fall into sin; and God’s great love for mankind in establishing the church to call people back into fellowship with Himself. So our theme for today is “THE BLESSED PLAN OF GOD,” and we are afforded a broad view of God’s will and intent for us, what His purpose and plan is for us.
- It is important for us to know these things, to make the connections between the things that we experience in this earthly life to our Heavenly Father’s will for us. And His will for us is certainly a reflection of His great love for us. First we consider that:
I. God Created Us And All Things Out Of Great Love For Us
A. The Things of The Cosmos To Serve Us
1. The light so that we can see
2. The air for us to breath
3. Water to hydrate us and irrigate our food sources
4. The vegetation, reproducing with seed, for perpetual food
5. The sun, moon, and stars – all to serve the purpose of
human life on earth, and for times and seasons
6. The sea creatures and birds and the livestock, all for the
purpose of human life and happiness
B. And Then Our Special Loving Creation In His Own Image, With Authority Over All Earthly Things – And Also A Day Of Rest And Holiness
Statement: Although it is impossible for any mere human being to fully fathom every aspect of God’s great love for us in creation, we can certainly see and recognize His careful planning and His good and gracious will to love and bless us. And of course creation involved the Father, the Spirit of God, and the Word of God, all three Persons of the Trinity. All were involved in this great act of creative love – and we are the objects, the recipients of that love. All things were made for us, and we were made simply for God’s pleasure and delight, noble objects of His love.
Application: And even though the fall of mankind into great sin, wickedness, and violence brought consequences – weeds, thorns and thistles, hard work to earn our bread, nonetheless all the physical things that make life possible and enjoyable still come from the hand of God’s creation – and how despicable it is when people do not recognize this or even deny it! To this very day God’s provisions for life, set in place at creation, continue to sustain and bless the lives of billions of human beings every single day! And this in spite of much foolishness and selfishness on the part of sinful human beings in mismanaging natural resources. It is truly remarkable and miraculous – but all part of “THE BLESSED PLAN OF GOD.”
Transition: But there is much more to God’s plan for numerous relationships of love with human beings, for in spite of our fall into sin and the dark consequences of this fall in human hearts and minds,
II. When Humanity Fell God Determined To Redeem Us In Love
A. Through Christ’s Suffering And Death For Our Sin
Second Reading: “This Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.”
John 1:29 “Behold, the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world.”
1 John 2:2 “He is the blood atonement for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.”
B. And He Was Raised Again From Death For Our Justification And Vindication
Second Reading: “God raised Him up, loosing the pangs of death . . . This Jesus God raised up.”
Rom. 4:25 “He was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification.”
C. And Now Jesus Reigns Forever, With All Authority, For Our Blessedness
Second Reading: “Being exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus Whom you crucified.”
Statement: God allowed nothing to stand in the way of His love for us, even though it meant great suffering for Himself – suffering the punishment for all human sin. We can scarcely begin to fathom what this must have meant – the totality of just punishment for human sin and wickedness, but this is what Jesus has lovingly done for us, to bring us back into fellowship and peace with God. This is “THE BLESSED PLAN OF GOD,” and how blessed we are to know and believe His great love for us.
Application: And every day we recognize how great this gift is, for we sin much every day in thought, word, and deed. It is sin which is natural for us, and our status quo, our auto-pilot. We realize our guilt, although we try to ignore it, and others certainly see our faults and wrongs, especially when they suffer from them. So “THE BLESSED PLAN OF GOD” is of immeasurable comfort each day, and the only legitimate basis of hope and courage for human life.
Transition: And that human beings might know these things, and be reconciled to God:
III. God In Love Has Commissioned Us, His Church, His Reconciled Believers, To Serve His Blessed Plan And Purpose – To Make Disciples Of Others
A. By Baptizing And Teaching
Text: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”
B. And We Do So With His Presence And His Authority
Text: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. . . . Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Statement: This is our place, the place of our congregation, in “THE BLESSED PLAN OF GOD.” It is a marvelous act of love and faith that God would include the very people who have sinned and fallen short of His glory to participate in His great plan of love and redemption and salvation of the world! We are partners in this work – partners with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Who love us and bless us in this noble plan and purpose!
Application: All too often we put the importance and status of the church below our personal concerns and interests. This is a grave miscalculation. All of our personal concerns and interests are gifts of God’s love, and are guaranteed to us. Likewise, our salvation and redemption and eternal life are gifts of God. These are givens – but the work of making disciples, this is our principle purpose and task in life, and how glorious it is to be part of “THE BLESSED PLAN OF GOD.”
Conclusion: So let us rejoice in God’s love, rejoice in our status as His cherished and beloved creatures, and join Him in making disciples of others! Amen.
Votum: And the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in the true faith, which is in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting, Amen.