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Grace to you and peace from God,
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our Father and the Lord and
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Savior Jesus Christ.
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Let us pray.
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Heavenly Father,
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as we hear your word,
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send us your holy spirit so that
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by your grace we believe your
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holy word and lead Godly lives
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here in time and there
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in eternity.
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Amen.
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Dear brothers and sisters
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in Christ,
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Jesus said to the apostles,
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whoever receives you,
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receives me,
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and whoever receives me receives
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Him who sent me.
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That word receive is a pretty
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important one in the Christian
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vocabulary, isn't it?
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Consider the many things that we
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receive from God by faith,
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righteousness, holiness, life,
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the forgiveness of sins.
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These can only be received by
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faith. They do not come from us.
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We cannot produce them.
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We cannot acquire them by our
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own devices. And when we try,
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things go horribly wrong.
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God must give.
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God must forgive, vivify,
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redeem, make holy.
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And we
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hear
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believe his promises and
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trusting them receive
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what he promises.
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So these gifts that we could
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list and we could go
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on listing more,
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they're not commodities that we
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get independently of God,
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but with and from our God and
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King who comes to us personally
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among his people to
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reign over us.
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Our King who gives first
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of all himself,
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his own gracious presence among
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us, to be received by us.
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So in our text today,
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Jesus doesn't in the first
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instance speak of receiving
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spiritual things or
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stuff from God,
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though he soon speaks
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of getting rewards,
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and we'll return to that later,
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but of rather receiving himself
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and ultimately, mysteriously,
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receiving the Father
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who sent Him.
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He speaks of receiving
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the apostles,
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his authorized representatives,
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whom He has sent. His
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mouthpieces,
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His ambassadors sent to speak
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the word of the true
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shepherd king.
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They don't represent themselves,
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but Him,
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and He doesn't represent only
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himself, but the Father. Father,
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he who receives you receives me,
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and whoever receives
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me receives Him who sent me.
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So as those apostles went to the
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lost sheep of the
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house of Israel,
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as we heard earlier
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in the chapter,
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those who would receive and
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welcome them would receive and
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welcome Jesus Himself.
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And through Jesus,
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the Father himself mysteriously
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graciously
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For Jesus sent these apostles
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out with the same word,
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the same sermon that He began
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to preach and to say at the
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beginning of his ministry.
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The same word,
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the same sermon that John the
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Baptist declared as he prepared
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the way of the Lord.
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Repent for the reign of
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heaven is drawn near.
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The kingdom,
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the reign of heaven was breaking
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in because the King,
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the true King,
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the Messiah and incarnate
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Son of God,
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had come to reclaim his own,
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beginning with the lost
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sheep of Israel.
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So when John announced that the
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kingdom, the reign of heaven,
00:04:11.838 --> 00:04:13.058
is drawn near,
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he pointed to Jesus.
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And when Jesus announced
00:04:18.162 --> 00:04:19.125
this same message,
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proclaiming it in word and deed
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throughout his earthly ministry,
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that message was bringing
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what it announced,
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not just talking about it.
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And as he sends out
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the twelve Jesus,
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Jesus Himself would continue to
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speak this message that brings
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the very reign of God
00:04:40.032 --> 00:04:41.390
that it announces,
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because as he says
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to the apostles,
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whoever receives you
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receives Me,
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the Christ, the true King.
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And whoever receives Me receives
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Him who sent Me.
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Or as Luke puts it,
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he who hears you,
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hears Me.
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And the apostolic age was just
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the beginning. Jesus,
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the sent one of the Father
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who sent Him,
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remains personally present
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in the Church.
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He comes among us to speak,
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to teach, to absolve,
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to preside at the holy meal that
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He hosts among us. Liturgically
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He is present through the
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ministry of his servants,
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of the Word.
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The Holy Spirit,
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proceeding from the Father and
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the Son in and through
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these means of grace,
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these means of the Spirit,
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as He calls, gathers,
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enlightens and sanctifies,
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draws us into the very life and
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communion of the Holy Trinity.
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Think on that.
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What a wondrous thing that our
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God and King should come
00:05:54.596 --> 00:05:56.680
to us in this way.
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That God Himself should
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allow Himself
00:06:00.090 --> 00:06:04.026
will himself to be received
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by lowly creatures like you and
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me as our gracious Lord and
00:06:08.548 --> 00:06:11.070
King. That along with Him,
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we should receive all the good
00:06:12.948 --> 00:06:14.446
gifts that the Father longs to
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lavish upon His children.
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On you and me,
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whom He has received as His
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own royal household.
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His royal family through our
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baptismal union with Christ.
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And what a wondrous thing that
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restored and refreshed
00:06:31.266 --> 00:06:32.306
and renewed.
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He should then send us
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out in His name too.
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To love and serve our neighbors
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in our vocations,
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to give as we have received,
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to be salt and light
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in this world,
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as we bear the name
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of the true King.
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That others may know Christ come
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to reclaim them and so receive
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Him as their King too.
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But we also know that Jesus
00:07:01.296 --> 00:07:02.788
instruction and commissioning of
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the Apostles also comes with a
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reality check not all receive
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the reign of the true King
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well.
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Not all receive this Gospel as
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the Good News that it is.
00:07:17.520 --> 00:07:19.916
Not all heed that first word out
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of John's and Jesus
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mouths repent.
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Or as Mark reports it,
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repent and believe the Gospel,
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this Good News.
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As Jesus has said in various
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ways throughout this 10th
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chapter of Matthew,
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many would reject the Apostles
00:07:38.732 --> 00:07:40.210
and not welcome them,
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rejecting them and their
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proclamation of Christ.
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They were rejecting Jesus,
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and rejecting Jesus meant
00:07:48.032 --> 00:07:49.024
rejecting the Father
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who sent Him.
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As God once said to Samuel,
00:07:53.712 --> 00:07:55.364
when the people asked for a King
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so they could be like
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the other nations,
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it's not you they are rejecting,
00:08:00.212 --> 00:08:01.236
Samuel,
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but me they are rejecting
00:08:03.412 --> 00:08:04.840
as their true King.
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So Jesus words whoever receives
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you, receives me,
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and whoever receives me,
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receives Him who sent me,
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has another edge to it, a sharp,
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sword like edge to it.
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Do not think that I have come
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to bring peace to the earth,
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says Jesus.
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I have not come to bring peace,
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but a sword.
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And don't we know it?
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Many of us know personally the
00:08:33.402 --> 00:08:34.751
division of which Jesus
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speaks here.
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Perhaps, as we heard last week,
00:08:38.122 --> 00:08:40.063
it manifests in an awkwardness
00:08:40.111 --> 00:08:41.424
at the dinner table among
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family and friends,
00:08:43.240 --> 00:08:45.972
even hostility or argument when
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conversation turns to your faith
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or your convictions,
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or your vocational choices.
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Perhaps you or people you know
00:08:55.626 --> 00:08:57.036
have received the sacrament of
00:08:57.058 --> 00:08:58.764
baptism at the cost of being
00:08:58.802 --> 00:09:00.640
cut off from family.
00:09:01.650 --> 00:09:03.146
Or perhaps you've witnessed
00:09:03.178 --> 00:09:05.486
division when the scourge of
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false teaching lures people away
00:09:07.476 --> 00:09:09.150
from the truth of God's word,
00:09:09.300 --> 00:09:11.326
as people prefer teachers and
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teachings to suit their
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itching ears.
00:09:14.930 --> 00:09:16.960
This stuff happens in our world.
00:09:17.410 --> 00:09:18.842
We should not be surprised
00:09:18.906 --> 00:09:19.422
by it
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Jesus is telling us.
00:09:23.090 --> 00:09:25.302
So it's also no surprise, then,
00:09:25.356 --> 00:09:27.846
that right after Jesus says that
00:09:27.868 --> 00:09:29.714
his coming is as a sword
00:09:29.762 --> 00:09:30.946
that divides,
00:09:31.138 --> 00:09:32.882
that he takes up the prophet
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Micah's lament.
00:09:35.210 --> 00:09:37.302
The prophet Micah's lament when
00:09:37.356 --> 00:09:40.134
the people in his day rejected
00:09:40.182 --> 00:09:42.134
the prophetic call to repentance
00:09:42.182 --> 00:09:45.094
and faith and with tragic
00:09:45.142 --> 00:09:45.830
consequences.
00:09:45.910 --> 00:09:47.114
There really is nothing new
00:09:47.152 --> 00:09:48.620
under the sun, is there?
00:09:49.150 --> 00:09:50.942
Micah speaks of son
00:09:50.996 --> 00:09:52.250
mocking father,
00:09:52.410 --> 00:09:53.710
daughter rising up
00:09:53.780 --> 00:09:54.746
against mother,
00:09:54.858 --> 00:09:56.622
mother in law against sorry,
00:09:56.676 --> 00:09:57.578
mother against daughter
00:09:57.594 --> 00:09:58.510
against mother in law,
00:09:58.580 --> 00:10:00.474
and entity within one's
00:10:00.522 --> 00:10:01.360
own family.
00:10:03.350 --> 00:10:05.022
By taking Micah's lament
00:10:05.086 --> 00:10:06.126
on his lips,
00:10:06.238 --> 00:10:08.098
our Lord reveals the cost
00:10:08.184 --> 00:10:09.806
of discipleship,
00:10:09.998 --> 00:10:11.746
whether in these ways or in
00:10:11.768 --> 00:10:13.378
any other number of ways,
00:10:13.544 --> 00:10:15.086
the cost that comes with the
00:10:15.128 --> 00:10:16.486
apostolic ministry as
00:10:16.508 --> 00:10:17.960
he sends them out.
00:10:19.050 --> 00:10:21.142
Costs and realities that we
00:10:21.196 --> 00:10:22.422
Christians are often
00:10:22.476 --> 00:10:23.718
no strangers to,
00:10:23.804 --> 00:10:25.894
or even suffer ourselves or
00:10:25.932 --> 00:10:28.186
witness them as we strive to
00:10:28.208 --> 00:10:29.014
live out our faith
00:10:29.062 --> 00:10:29.980
in this world.
00:10:31.790 --> 00:10:33.882
But even as we lament those
00:10:33.936 --> 00:10:37.130
costs and realities like Micah,
00:10:37.790 --> 00:10:39.402
we ought to remember what comes
00:10:39.456 --> 00:10:42.014
next in Micah chapter seven too.
00:10:42.212 --> 00:10:43.294
Right after the bit
00:10:43.332 --> 00:10:44.830
that Jesus cites.
00:10:45.490 --> 00:10:47.834
Micah responds to this mixed,
00:10:47.962 --> 00:10:50.400
divided response to God's word
00:10:50.850 --> 00:10:54.020
with his own but as for me
00:10:55.110 --> 00:10:57.454
but as for me, says Micah,
00:10:57.582 --> 00:10:59.794
in the Lord will I hope.
00:10:59.912 --> 00:11:01.714
I will wait for the God of my
00:11:01.752 --> 00:11:05.117
salvation. My God will hear me.
00:11:05.304 --> 00:11:07.622
Do not rejoice my enemy over me.
00:11:07.676 --> 00:11:09.634
When I fall, I shall rise.
00:11:09.762 --> 00:11:11.602
When I sit in the darkness,
00:11:11.746 --> 00:11:13.880
the Lord is my light.
00:11:17.050 --> 00:11:18.569
For what Jesus says
00:11:18.640 --> 00:11:20.714
next in Matthew, chapter ten,
00:11:20.832 --> 00:11:22.726
just after echoing Micah's
00:11:22.758 --> 00:11:25.174
lament drives the apostles,
00:11:25.302 --> 00:11:27.514
you and me also to that same
00:11:27.632 --> 00:11:30.866
but as for me response. Amid
00:11:30.918 --> 00:11:33.146
our fears, our worries,
00:11:33.338 --> 00:11:35.918
our sorrow and our pain at the
00:11:35.924 --> 00:11:37.386
mixed reception that our Lord
00:11:37.418 --> 00:11:38.638
gets in this world,
00:11:38.804 --> 00:11:40.640
and what that can mean for us.
00:11:41.810 --> 00:11:43.242
For our Lord knows
00:11:43.306 --> 00:11:44.720
our hearts too.
00:11:45.410 --> 00:11:47.002
He knows the divisions
00:11:47.066 --> 00:11:48.190
that are often there.
00:11:48.260 --> 00:11:49.982
As we struggle with the same
00:11:50.036 --> 00:11:51.630
fears and anxieties.
00:11:53.090 --> 00:11:54.910
Jesus continues,
00:11:55.450 --> 00:11:57.682
whoever loves father or mother,
00:11:57.746 --> 00:11:59.780
son or daughter more than
00:12:00.170 --> 00:12:01.950
Me is not worthy of Me.
00:12:02.100 --> 00:12:03.854
And whoever does not take up his
00:12:03.892 --> 00:12:05.854
cross and follow Me is
00:12:05.892 --> 00:12:07.360
not worthy of Me.
00:12:08.610 --> 00:12:11.594
Jesus reminds us that receiving
00:12:11.642 --> 00:12:14.240
Him means getting a cross too,
00:12:14.850 --> 00:12:17.834
taking up our crosses regarding
00:12:17.882 --> 00:12:20.666
our life as lost for his sake,
00:12:20.858 --> 00:12:23.150
saying also promising,
00:12:23.490 --> 00:12:26.200
you'll find it your life in Me,
00:12:26.650 --> 00:12:28.760
and you will really find it.
00:12:30.170 --> 00:12:31.206
With these words,
00:12:31.308 --> 00:12:33.302
Jesus pursues you and me
00:12:33.356 --> 00:12:34.822
relentlessly with the great
00:12:34.876 --> 00:12:36.054
either or of the First
00:12:36.092 --> 00:12:37.010
Commandment,
00:12:37.170 --> 00:12:38.794
reminding us that there can be
00:12:38.832 --> 00:12:40.346
only one God in our life,
00:12:40.448 --> 00:12:41.946
only one whom we fear, love,
00:12:41.968 --> 00:12:42.906
and trust above all
00:12:42.928 --> 00:12:43.820
other things.
00:12:44.910 --> 00:12:47.340
And he will be that God.
00:12:48.030 --> 00:12:50.060
He will be your God,
00:12:50.850 --> 00:12:52.814
and he is more than enough,
00:12:53.012 --> 00:12:53.950
more than anything,
00:12:54.020 --> 00:12:55.310
you fear losing.
00:12:56.210 --> 00:12:57.742
And thanks be to God that
00:12:57.796 --> 00:12:59.706
by his redemptive mercy,
00:12:59.898 --> 00:13:02.160
He has reclaimed you.
00:13:03.270 --> 00:13:06.242
He has become your God and made
00:13:06.296 --> 00:13:08.610
you His royal son and daughter.
00:13:11.590 --> 00:13:13.826
This despite yourself
00:13:13.928 --> 00:13:14.798
and myself,
00:13:14.984 --> 00:13:16.962
who so often put our fear,
00:13:17.026 --> 00:13:18.790
love and trust elsewhere.
00:13:20.410 --> 00:13:23.186
Jesus says to us to turn Micah's
00:13:23.218 --> 00:13:26.246
words around. But as for you,
00:13:26.428 --> 00:13:27.750
my disciples,
00:13:28.270 --> 00:13:29.900
put your hope in Me.
00:13:30.590 --> 00:13:32.282
Wait on Me
00:13:32.415 --> 00:13:34.170
the God of your salvation.
00:13:35.069 --> 00:13:37.100
I hear you
00:13:38.270 --> 00:13:39.430
every lament.
00:13:39.590 --> 00:13:42.670
I hear you every prayer.
00:13:43.170 --> 00:13:45.114
In Me you will rise,
00:13:45.162 --> 00:13:46.480
even if you fall.
00:13:47.330 --> 00:13:48.670
When all else about
00:13:48.740 --> 00:13:50.510
you is darkness
00:13:51.090 --> 00:13:52.640
I am your light.
00:13:53.350 --> 00:13:55.086
In vain does your enemy,
00:13:55.117 --> 00:13:55.758
the Devil,
00:13:55.854 --> 00:13:58.050
rejoice over your suffering.
00:13:59.110 --> 00:14:00.030
In Jesus
00:14:00.110 --> 00:14:01.602
victory and life are
00:14:01.656 --> 00:14:02.862
already assured,
00:14:03.006 --> 00:14:05.117
for Jesus himself took up the
00:14:05.144 --> 00:14:07.346
cross. He took up His cross,
00:14:07.378 --> 00:14:08.738
and on it he died,
00:14:08.834 --> 00:14:10.326
taking all your sins and
00:14:10.348 --> 00:14:13.686
uncleanness with Him to the
00:14:13.708 --> 00:14:15.622
short lived rejoicing of His
00:14:15.675 --> 00:14:18.134
many enemies of the enemy,
00:14:18.262 --> 00:14:20.794
as they witnessed him fall
00:14:20.992 --> 00:14:22.630
and sit in the darkness,
00:14:22.710 --> 00:14:23.866
or being laid in the
00:14:23.888 --> 00:14:25.450
darkness of a tomb.
00:14:26.750 --> 00:14:30.206
For God his Father heard Him and
00:14:30.228 --> 00:14:31.866
vindicated Him by raising
00:14:31.898 --> 00:14:33.150
Him from the dead.
00:14:33.490 --> 00:14:35.710
He who is the light of the world
00:14:35.860 --> 00:14:38.910
now shining in resurrected glory
00:14:39.970 --> 00:14:41.758
and united with Christ
00:14:41.844 --> 00:14:43.069
by baptism.
00:14:43.490 --> 00:14:45.230
His victory has become
00:14:45.300 --> 00:14:46.350
your victory.
00:14:47.010 --> 00:14:49.200
His life, your life.
00:14:50.290 --> 00:14:52.640
He your God
00:14:54.450 --> 00:14:54.962
for Jesus.
00:14:54.986 --> 00:14:57.282
still has more to promise
00:14:57.425 --> 00:14:58.646
in our text when it
00:14:58.668 --> 00:14:59.810
comes to receiving.
00:15:01.130 --> 00:15:03.294
He says the one who receives a
00:15:03.332 --> 00:15:05.466
prophet because he's a prophet
00:15:05.578 --> 00:15:07.550
will get a prophet's reward.
00:15:08.370 --> 00:15:09.758
And the one who receives a
00:15:09.764 --> 00:15:11.146
righteous man because he's
00:15:11.178 --> 00:15:12.286
a righteous man,
00:15:12.468 --> 00:15:13.754
will get a righteous
00:15:13.802 --> 00:15:14.990
man's reward.
00:15:15.890 --> 00:15:17.742
You see what's going on here?
00:15:17.876 --> 00:15:19.514
They receive what's owing
00:15:19.562 --> 00:15:20.720
to someone else.
00:15:21.250 --> 00:15:23.230
The one that they're receiving.
00:15:23.970 --> 00:15:25.682
Could it be that as we receive
00:15:25.746 --> 00:15:27.750
Jesus because he is the
00:15:27.820 --> 00:15:29.458
true King and Lord,
00:15:29.554 --> 00:15:31.286
the righteous one,
00:15:31.468 --> 00:15:33.874
that we receive the rewards owed
00:15:33.922 --> 00:15:36.610
to the true King and Lord,
00:15:36.690 --> 00:15:38.220
the righteous one.
00:15:38.830 --> 00:15:40.806
To be members of God's
00:15:40.838 --> 00:15:41.900
royal family,
00:15:42.590 --> 00:15:43.990
to have the status
00:15:44.070 --> 00:15:45.500
of sons of God,
00:15:46.270 --> 00:15:48.294
having the same resurrected
00:15:48.342 --> 00:15:48.940
life,
00:15:50.050 --> 00:15:51.306
his innocence,
00:15:51.418 --> 00:15:53.098
righteousness and purity,
00:15:53.194 --> 00:15:55.360
all imputed to you and to me.
00:15:56.130 --> 00:15:56.880
Yes.
00:15:57.410 --> 00:15:58.906
All is yours and mine.
00:15:58.938 --> 00:16:01.440
On account of Christ in Christ,
00:16:02.470 --> 00:16:04.594
who comes so that we may
00:16:04.632 --> 00:16:06.690
receive Him personally.
00:16:08.470 --> 00:16:10.510
You have already heard Jesus
00:16:10.590 --> 00:16:12.914
voice absolving you again this
00:16:12.952 --> 00:16:14.594
morning. Through those,
00:16:14.632 --> 00:16:16.518
He is authorized to declare it
00:16:16.604 --> 00:16:18.370
in His stead and by His command
00:16:18.450 --> 00:16:20.086
to declare His own,
00:16:20.188 --> 00:16:23.400
the Father's own. I forgive you.
00:16:24.810 --> 00:16:26.818
And here at this altar,
00:16:26.994 --> 00:16:28.854
we receive our true King,
00:16:28.902 --> 00:16:31.222
who comes among us personally,
00:16:31.366 --> 00:16:33.850
giving us His own life giving
00:16:33.920 --> 00:16:35.290
body and blood.
00:16:36.110 --> 00:16:37.946
As we receive Him,
00:16:38.128 --> 00:16:40.362
we receive all that the Father
00:16:40.426 --> 00:16:42.240
desires to give to us
00:16:42.610 --> 00:16:44.750
Christ's own purity,
00:16:45.170 --> 00:16:47.760
holiness and divine life,
00:16:50.450 --> 00:16:52.270
the forgiveness of sins.
00:16:53.910 --> 00:16:55.854
So, dear brothers and sisters,
00:16:55.982 --> 00:16:58.434
rejoice to receive your Lord and
00:16:58.472 --> 00:17:00.530
King again this morning as He
00:17:00.600 --> 00:17:03.122
comes to you. He who has
00:17:03.176 --> 00:17:05.358
already received you,
00:17:05.544 --> 00:17:08.310
acquired you redeemed you,
00:17:08.460 --> 00:17:11.094
adopted you to be His own,
00:17:11.212 --> 00:17:12.214
to live under Him
00:17:12.252 --> 00:17:14.262
and His kingdom and to serve Him
00:17:14.316 --> 00:17:16.177
in everlasting righteousness
00:17:16.273 --> 00:17:18.614
innocence and blessedness just
00:17:18.652 --> 00:17:20.306
as he has risen from the dead
00:17:20.418 --> 00:17:21.538
and lives and reigns
00:17:21.554 --> 00:17:22.790
to all eternity.
00:17:23.849 --> 00:17:24.790
Amen.
00:17:25.690 --> 00:17:27.014
And the peace of God which
00:17:27.051 --> 00:17:28.514
passes all human understanding.
00:17:28.561 --> 00:17:29.918
Keep your hearts and minds in
00:17:29.964 --> 00:17:32.110
Christ Jesus, now and forever.
00:17:32.930 --> 00:17:33.946
Amen.