1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,833 Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior 2 00:00:03,833 --> 00:00:10,800 Jesus Christ. Amen. Well you made it. Well you made it to the second day of the 3 00:00:10,800 --> 00:00:17,000 fall semester at least, right? But that's a pretty significant accomplishment. For 4 00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:20,233 some of you that meant moving here in June and spending the whole summer 5 00:00:20,233 --> 00:00:26,500 trying to pack Greek into your brains. For others of you it meant staying here 6 00:00:26,500 --> 00:00:31,366 and spending that whole same summer trying to learn Hebrew. Others of you 7 00:00:31,366 --> 00:00:38,166 packed up from Vicarage and moved back after experiencing some of the joys and 8 00:00:38,166 --> 00:00:43,433 the challenges of ministry. And still some others of you maybe tried to 9 00:00:43,433 --> 00:00:48,100 stretch that summer out as long as it could go before you actually had to move 10 00:00:48,100 --> 00:00:54,666 back here to campus. Then we have new faculty and staff who have come some a 11 00:00:54,666 --> 00:01:00,466 great distance to be here to join our community as well. Each one of us here 12 00:01:00,466 --> 00:01:05,433 has made a significant sacrifice and taken a significant journey to be here 13 00:01:05,433 --> 00:01:12,266 on this second day of the fall semester. Now I feel like I've told many of you 14 00:01:12,266 --> 00:01:16,633 this over the last couple of weeks but at least as an admissions officer this 15 00:01:16,633 --> 00:01:22,133 is one of my favorite times of the year. And if I didn't tell you why it's 16 00:01:22,133 --> 00:01:27,100 because this is the time where you all come back to campus and it's exciting to 17 00:01:27,100 --> 00:01:32,533 see you after spending with some of you a year or more trying to work through 18 00:01:32,533 --> 00:01:38,000 the process of coming here. We've had conversations about the doubts and the 19 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:42,366 uncertainties of moving to St. Louis. We worked together through all the 20 00:01:42,366 --> 00:01:45,700 questions filling out all the paperwork and maybe getting connected with 21 00:01:45,700 --> 00:01:53,633 potential landlords or employers. After all of that you're finally here. It's 22 00:01:53,633 --> 00:01:58,366 kind of cool to think about the small part that we have to play in God's work 23 00:01:58,366 --> 00:02:02,133 of raising up new pastors and deaconesses to spread his gospel 24 00:02:02,133 --> 00:02:08,900 message all around the world. But at some point in this semester if you haven't 25 00:02:08,900 --> 00:02:13,366 already asked yourself this question you might find yourself asking the question 26 00:02:13,366 --> 00:02:20,533 is it worth it? Were the significant sacrifices that you and your family made 27 00:02:20,533 --> 00:02:26,100 to come here worth it? Was it worth it to make that long journey from everything 28 00:02:26,100 --> 00:02:31,966 that was familiar, everything that was comfortable, everything that actually 29 00:02:31,966 --> 00:02:37,166 made money so there was a positive cash flow at the end of the month? Is it worth 30 00:02:37,166 --> 00:02:44,200 it? The answer to that question is absolutely. It's absolutely worth it 31 00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:48,633 because you get to devote a few years to the intense study of God's Word to 32 00:02:48,633 --> 00:02:54,266 understand it more deeply. And it's not just some fun academic exercise just 33 00:02:54,266 --> 00:02:59,033 because you like going to school. And I know some of you don't like going to 34 00:02:59,033 --> 00:03:05,466 school but you're here anyway. God's Word and the theology that we derive from it 35 00:03:05,466 --> 00:03:13,133 is inherently practical. It's for God's people and for His creation and so it 36 00:03:13,133 --> 00:03:18,133 is worth it. See God has been in the midst of His people all the way back to 37 00:03:18,133 --> 00:03:23,900 the beginning in the Garden of Eden when He walked with Adam and Eve. Now that way 38 00:03:23,900 --> 00:03:28,366 of dwelling and being in the midst of people has changed in response to Adam 39 00:03:28,366 --> 00:03:33,166 and Eve's sin. Sinners can't stand in the presence of a holy God and so this is 40 00:03:33,166 --> 00:03:37,866 why God shows up in a burning bush or allows Moses to see his back as he 41 00:03:37,866 --> 00:03:43,666 passes along the way. That's why God comes down in the person of Jesus Christ 42 00:03:43,666 --> 00:03:49,833 to dwell among his people. There is no more intimate way to dwell with people 43 00:03:49,833 --> 00:03:57,433 than to actually be a person living with them day in and day out. God continues to 44 00:03:57,433 --> 00:04:01,900 come to His people and you and I get to be a part of that. Whether that's 45 00:04:01,900 --> 00:04:05,966 Christian care and compassion at the bedside of someone who is sick or dying, 46 00:04:07,033 --> 00:04:12,066 teaching a Bible or catechism class, the public proclamation of the word and the 47 00:04:12,066 --> 00:04:20,066 delivery of the sacraments, God continues to physically come into the world. Coming 48 00:04:20,066 --> 00:04:27,633 here is worth it because we are sinners so desperately in need of a Savior. Now I 49 00:04:27,633 --> 00:04:30,833 don't know about you but I find myself to be pretty good at picking out other 50 00:04:30,833 --> 00:04:37,166 people's sins. Whether that's family or friends or strangers on TV, it's easy to 51 00:04:37,166 --> 00:04:43,333 look at others and say, wow, they're doing some terrible things. But you probably 52 00:04:43,333 --> 00:04:48,900 know this, that at least for me, the sinner that I'm most intimately familiar 53 00:04:48,900 --> 00:04:55,833 with is myself. And I would venture to guess it's yourself too. When we stack up 54 00:04:55,833 --> 00:04:59,566 the things that we do, we can easily join with Paul in bemoaning the fact that the 55 00:04:59,566 --> 00:05:02,866 good that I want to do I don't do and the evil that I don't want to do I keep 56 00:05:02,866 --> 00:05:10,633 on doing. Wretched man that I am. So it's good news that God came to dwell in the 57 00:05:10,633 --> 00:05:14,366 midst of His creation. It's good news for you and for me that He came to fulfill 58 00:05:14,366 --> 00:05:20,466 all righteousness. It's good that He came to trade His perfect, holy, sinless, 59 00:05:21,500 --> 00:05:28,000 perfectly following of the Father's will life for your sinful, stained life that's 60 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:35,133 full of failures. Because of that trade, you are forgiven. You have the assurance 61 00:05:35,133 --> 00:05:39,500 of life that never ends. It was given to you in your baptism and you're living it 62 00:05:39,500 --> 00:05:46,433 out right now as you wait to fully experience it when Jesus returns or 63 00:05:46,433 --> 00:05:52,366 calls you to be with Him. But being here is also worth it because as familiar as 64 00:05:52,366 --> 00:05:56,400 we are with ourselves and our own sinful condition, we're also intimately familiar 65 00:05:56,400 --> 00:06:02,133 with the sin and the brokenness the world around us. We don't need to look 66 00:06:02,133 --> 00:06:07,533 far to see it. We see it in our families, we see it in our friend circles, we see 67 00:06:07,533 --> 00:06:11,366 it in our churches, we see it in our neighborhoods, our broader communities 68 00:06:11,366 --> 00:06:16,466 and in the world around us. That Old Testament phrase and everyone did what 69 00:06:16,466 --> 00:06:19,966 was right in his own eyes could have easily have been written about today as 70 00:06:19,966 --> 00:06:25,933 it was about any other point in history. We're surrounded by selfishness and 71 00:06:25,933 --> 00:06:33,533 self-centeredness, anger, bitterness, hatred, jealousy, superiority complexes, a 72 00:06:33,533 --> 00:06:38,666 whole host of other violations of the commandments. And yet even in the midst 73 00:06:38,666 --> 00:06:41,900 of all of that, these people in our families and our friend groups and our 74 00:06:41,900 --> 00:06:47,733 churches and our communities are those for whom Christ died, those whom He loves 75 00:06:48,633 --> 00:06:55,366 and those whom He desires to be saved. They're all part of this great creation 76 00:06:55,366 --> 00:06:59,533 and all people that you and I get the privilege of telling about forgiveness 77 00:06:59,533 --> 00:07:10,933 and life and salvation found only in Jesus Christ. It is worth it and it's 78 00:07:10,933 --> 00:07:17,733 great that you're here. But even though it may be worth it, it's not always easy 79 00:07:18,333 --> 00:07:22,966 it isn't easy to experience so many changes and disruptions in your life in 80 00:07:22,966 --> 00:07:27,266 such a short period of time. It isn't easy to always be successful in all of 81 00:07:27,266 --> 00:07:32,633 the classes that you attend. It isn't easy to balance classwork and work work 82 00:07:32,633 --> 00:07:39,566 and care for your family and self-care all the time. Faculty, it may not be easy 83 00:07:39,566 --> 00:07:44,400 to balance all of the responsibilities for teaching and administration and all 84 00:07:44,400 --> 00:07:49,933 of the extra duties that come along with that. And then you leave here for 85 00:07:49,933 --> 00:07:53,233 vicarage or internship or for a first call and you find out that it's not 86 00:07:53,233 --> 00:07:59,233 always easy there either. Despite your best efforts, people don't come to church, 87 00:07:59,966 --> 00:08:05,466 they stop coming to church, families are distracted with a myriad of other things 88 00:08:05,466 --> 00:08:11,266 to do, friends and allies in the church abandon you when a decision is made that 89 00:08:11,266 --> 00:08:17,366 is not in line with what they would like to do. That's not even to mention all of 90 00:08:17,366 --> 00:08:21,533 the external challenges that we might face from people who aren't all that 91 00:08:21,533 --> 00:08:31,966 thrilled with the church and her work. Is it still worth it? Absolutely. Do we need 92 00:08:31,966 --> 00:08:39,299 a way to handle those challenges? Absolutely. And that's what leads us to 93 00:08:39,299 --> 00:08:43,433 our text this morning. And I know it took me a little while to get here but we're 94 00:08:43,433 --> 00:08:48,433 here now. Our text this morning is from Luke chapter 18 and unlike most of 95 00:08:48,433 --> 00:08:53,333 Jesus's other parables, it actually starts with the reason that He 96 00:08:53,333 --> 00:08:57,633 tells it. Luke begins and says, and he told them a parable to the effect that 97 00:08:57,633 --> 00:09:07,333 they ought always to pray and not lose hearts. Don't lose hearts. This comes 98 00:09:07,333 --> 00:09:13,400 after a pretty heavy chapter 17 about people who cause others to sin or aren't 99 00:09:13,400 --> 00:09:18,733 repentant, who worry about having enough faith, doing what is commanded. We hear 100 00:09:18,733 --> 00:09:23,100 about Jesus healing the ten lepers and then Jesus talks about the coming of the 101 00:09:23,100 --> 00:09:27,533 kingdom of God. And after all of this, Jesus doesn't want His disciples to lose 102 00:09:27,533 --> 00:09:36,633 heart. So what does he give them to do? Pray. Meet the challenges of the world 103 00:09:36,633 --> 00:09:42,666 in prayer. Meet the uncertainties of life in prayer. Meet the feelings of 104 00:09:42,666 --> 00:09:48,433 inadequacy in prayer. Lift up your broken relationships in prayer. Bring the 105 00:09:48,433 --> 00:09:57,933 unbelievers around you to the Lord in prayer. Pray without ceasing. Why? Well 106 00:09:57,933 --> 00:10:03,466 here Jesus tells the story of this widow who needs justice and she knows that the 107 00:10:03,733 --> 00:10:07,000 judge in her city is the only one that can give her what she needs and so she 108 00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:13,933 goes to him over and over and over again seeking justice. We hear that this judge 109 00:10:13,933 --> 00:10:19,000 doesn't care about people, he doesn't care about God and so at the beginning 110 00:10:19,000 --> 00:10:25,533 he ignores her. He doesn't give her what she needs and yet because of her 111 00:10:25,533 --> 00:10:31,833 persistence he finally gives in and he gives her the justice that she's looking 112 00:10:31,833 --> 00:10:40,233 for. But it's only so that she'll quit bothering him. Will not God give justice 113 00:10:40,233 --> 00:10:45,800 to his elect who cry to Him day and night? Will He delay long over them? I 114 00:10:45,800 --> 00:10:51,500 tell you he will give justice to them speedily. God isn't indifferent toward 115 00:10:51,500 --> 00:10:59,966 you. He's not antagonistic toward you. God loves you dearly. He's demonstrated this 116 00:10:59,966 --> 00:11:04,166 over and over and over again by supplying everything that you need to 117 00:11:04,166 --> 00:11:08,633 support your body and your life. By faithfully keeping His promises, 118 00:11:09,466 --> 00:11:14,966 especially the one to send His son Jesus Christ into the world. By calling you to 119 00:11:14,966 --> 00:11:20,633 faith in your baptism and by sustaining you each and every day until the day 120 00:11:20,633 --> 00:11:28,066 that He returns. Among the many wonderful gifts that He gives to us for our body 121 00:11:28,066 --> 00:11:34,566 and for our life is the gift of prayer. The opportunity to speak with Him 24-7 122 00:11:34,566 --> 00:11:43,066 365. God never slumbers or sleeps. He never goes on vacation. You never get His 123 00:11:43,066 --> 00:11:47,600 voicemail and have to leave a message and wait for Him to get back to you. 124 00:11:49,433 --> 00:11:55,500 Rather you get someone who loves you and has promised to provide for you. So when 125 00:11:55,500 --> 00:12:00,000 you have doubts about whether or not being here is worth it, pray for God's 126 00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:03,900 direction and assurance. When you're overwhelmed by all of the 127 00:12:03,900 --> 00:12:08,366 responsibilities that you have and the seemingly not enough hours in the day to 128 00:12:08,366 --> 00:12:13,800 get those things accomplished, pray for strength and patience to make it through 129 00:12:13,800 --> 00:12:19,566 each day. You struggle with the impact of your own sin and the sin of those around 130 00:12:19,566 --> 00:12:24,800 you. Pray. Pray for your own repentance. Pray for the repentance of others and 131 00:12:24,800 --> 00:12:32,233 for the forgiveness of your sins. When you're betrayed, mocked, insulted, challenged, and 132 00:12:32,233 --> 00:12:37,266 mistreated for proclaiming the good news about Jesus and his love for the world, 133 00:12:38,200 --> 00:12:45,666 pray. Pray for the strength and endurance to stay faithful until death. We pray 134 00:12:45,666 --> 00:12:51,200 because we have a loving Father. He's mighty and has power over all things. We 135 00:12:51,200 --> 00:12:56,933 pray because he has invited us to and he's promised to hear those prayers. And 136 00:12:56,933 --> 00:13:02,766 will not God give justice to His elect who cry to Him day and night? Will He 137 00:13:02,766 --> 00:13:10,266 delay long over them? I tell you, He will give justice to them speedily. Keep 138 00:13:10,266 --> 00:13:17,266 praying. The Father is with you through all of life's joys and challenges. Keep 139 00:13:17,266 --> 00:13:22,733 your eyes fixed on Jesus. He's coming back soon and when He does, there'll be 140 00:13:22,733 --> 00:13:29,133 no more pain, no more suffering, no more conflict. He will wipe away every tear 141 00:13:29,133 --> 00:13:31,566 from your eye. Amen.