1 00:00:01,523 --> 00:00:03,723 Grace, mercy and peace 2 00:00:03,723 --> 00:00:05,623 be to you from God 3 00:00:05,623 --> 00:00:08,123 Our Father and our Lord, and Savior Jesus Christ. 4 00:00:08,123 --> 00:00:09,523 Amen. 5 00:00:12,923 --> 00:00:15,323 Our meditation for this morning 6 00:00:15,323 --> 00:00:18,723 comes from our Gospel reading from a John chapter 6. 7 00:00:20,323 --> 00:00:25,723 What I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe all 8 00:00:25,723 --> 00:00:25,923 that 9 00:00:25,923 --> 00:00:27,523 the ather gives me will come to me. 10 00:00:27,523 --> 00:00:32,723 And whoever comes to me, I will never cast out. For I have come down from 11 00:00:32,723 --> 00:00:37,923 heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. And 12 00:00:37,923 --> 00:00:40,923 this is the will of him who sent me that I should lose 13 00:00:40,923 --> 00:00:46,023 nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 14 00:00:46,023 --> 00:00:51,323 For this is the will of my Father that everyone who looks on the Son 15 00:00:51,323 --> 00:00:54,023 and believes in Him should have eternal life. 16 00:00:55,123 --> 00:00:58,423 And I'll raise him up on the last day. 17 00:01:00,423 --> 00:01:01,023 You see, 18 00:01:02,323 --> 00:01:04,623 yet, you do not believe. 19 00:01:06,023 --> 00:01:11,523 These are Jesus's words that he tells the crowd today and for us to 20 00:01:11,523 --> 00:01:11,823 ponder. 21 00:01:13,823 --> 00:01:14,923 Brothers and sisters. 22 00:01:16,423 --> 00:01:24,023 They'll be times in Ministry where Jesus's words are hard to believe. 23 00:01:25,823 --> 00:01:26,523 Hard to believe 24 00:01:28,423 --> 00:01:29,823 they will come true. 25 00:01:30,923 --> 00:01:33,423 The crowds couldn't fathom it. 26 00:01:35,323 --> 00:01:39,223 They had come because Jesus was their bread, King. 27 00:01:39,223 --> 00:01:43,823 They followed him because he filled their stomachs. 28 00:01:45,123 --> 00:01:51,123 And now Jesus tells to them something that goes beyond human 29 00:01:51,123 --> 00:01:51,223 understanding. 30 00:01:52,923 --> 00:02:00,723 And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh. 31 00:02:01,923 --> 00:02:08,823 These words go beyond any possible thinking of the crowds of what a Messiah 32 00:02:08,823 --> 00:02:15,723 is or who God is. The Messiah descending from Heaven, to be the bread 33 00:02:15,723 --> 00:02:17,023 of life for the world. 34 00:02:18,523 --> 00:02:24,523 Jesus says many hard things in the gospels hard things to understand. 35 00:02:26,023 --> 00:02:32,423 At some point, those who have been in Ministry, can the can agree with 36 00:02:32,423 --> 00:02:36,023 me on this, but for those who are studying to be pastors and 37 00:02:36,023 --> 00:02:36,523 deaconesses, 38 00:02:37,423 --> 00:02:41,023 some point in your ministry, there will be hard things, you have to say to 39 00:02:41,023 --> 00:02:41,623 your congregation. 40 00:02:42,823 --> 00:02:45,023 Too people, too friends. 41 00:02:45,923 --> 00:02:47,423 To family about God. 42 00:02:48,623 --> 00:02:50,723 He Reveals His love for us. 43 00:02:52,623 --> 00:02:56,023 That all may come to the knowledge of the truth and be saved from 44 00:02:56,023 --> 00:02:57,823 their sins and brought to everlasting life. 45 00:02:59,523 --> 00:03:04,023 And yet, you'll encounter situations where this will be very hard to say. 46 00:03:05,623 --> 00:03:07,123 To all who did receive him 47 00:03:07,123 --> 00:03:11,523 who believe in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. 48 00:03:11,523 --> 00:03:16,223 Who were not born not of blood or of the will of the flesh, nor of the will 49 00:03:16,223 --> 00:03:20,123 of man but God. The Christ saves 50 00:03:20,123 --> 00:03:24,423 even in the midst of the deepest darkest, tragedies in life. 51 00:03:25,623 --> 00:03:28,023 And I would like to share with you one such story. 52 00:03:29,823 --> 00:03:35,523 Few years ago, a man, young man tragically lost his life to a fentanyl 53 00:03:35,523 --> 00:03:36,223 overdose. 54 00:03:37,523 --> 00:03:42,723 The grandfather of this man, Jim completely distraught over the loss 55 00:03:42,723 --> 00:03:44,123 of his grandson. 56 00:03:44,923 --> 00:03:50,323 He practically raised this young man as his parents too were drug 57 00:03:50,323 --> 00:03:50,523 addicts. 58 00:03:52,223 --> 00:03:57,723 And even though this grandfather solid in faith, and knew right from 59 00:03:57,723 --> 00:04:02,323 wrong and knew the truth of the Gospel, did everything he could to 60 00:04:02,323 --> 00:04:03,123 bring up this boy. 61 00:04:04,223 --> 00:04:05,823 He fell in with the wrong crowd. 62 00:04:07,523 --> 00:04:10,623 This young man would take a few of his friends with him 63 00:04:11,723 --> 00:04:13,323 to the family lake house. 64 00:04:15,023 --> 00:04:16,423 Where he would overdose. 65 00:04:17,723 --> 00:04:24,523 And his friends didn't even attempt to revive him and instead left him 66 00:04:24,523 --> 00:04:25,723 for dead. 67 00:04:28,023 --> 00:04:30,923 Before this young man went Jim 68 00:04:30,923 --> 00:04:36,723 noticed the foot of the stairs that he had left his Bible and his 69 00:04:36,723 --> 00:04:40,523 Luther's small catechism there at the foot of the stairs. 70 00:04:42,423 --> 00:04:43,423 And he asked me 71 00:04:44,723 --> 00:04:45,723 if his son 72 00:04:46,623 --> 00:04:47,823 was indeed saved? 73 00:04:49,023 --> 00:04:52,623 How can he be saved if he died of a drug overdose? 74 00:04:52,623 --> 00:04:56,123 How could he be saved if he couldn't consciously 75 00:04:56,123 --> 00:05:00,223 make the decision to be saved for Jesus? 76 00:05:03,223 --> 00:05:04,123 Each time. 77 00:05:05,223 --> 00:05:10,323 I point to him to Jesus's words here in our Gospel reading. 78 00:05:11,623 --> 00:05:12,823 Whoever comes to me 79 00:05:14,023 --> 00:05:17,723 I will never cast out. 80 00:05:19,123 --> 00:05:22,523 Gently and continuing to encourage him. 81 00:05:24,623 --> 00:05:27,223 You'll never get over the death of his grandson 82 00:05:27,223 --> 00:05:29,323 not on this side of eternity. 83 00:05:31,323 --> 00:05:33,423 He will always experience pain 84 00:05:34,423 --> 00:05:39,523 and a bit of disbelief of how grand and great God's promises are. 85 00:05:40,823 --> 00:05:47,623 Can Jesus really do this, can he really turn Bread and Wine into his 86 00:05:47,623 --> 00:05:53,523 own body and blood? Can Jesus really forgive the sins of a kid 87 00:05:54,723 --> 00:05:57,323 who died of a fentanyl overdose. 88 00:05:59,723 --> 00:06:02,123 The crowds our people 89 00:06:02,123 --> 00:06:08,123 we ourselves will always attempt to put God into a box. 90 00:06:09,423 --> 00:06:11,023 The work of God in Christ 91 00:06:11,023 --> 00:06:15,123 Jesus goes beyond our comprehension and our understanding. 92 00:06:16,023 --> 00:06:20,523 Even against all the odds and demonic and forces of darkness in this 93 00:06:20,523 --> 00:06:22,823 world, Jesus saves. 94 00:06:23,823 --> 00:06:24,823 Even a kid 95 00:06:24,823 --> 00:06:26,823 who cannot consciously confess 96 00:06:26,823 --> 00:06:27,723 Jesus is Lord 97 00:06:29,123 --> 00:06:35,023 before he died. Jesus is true to his promises that he made and it is 98 00:06:35,023 --> 00:06:36,923 baptism to that child. 99 00:06:39,423 --> 00:06:41,523 Christ will never leave us nor forsake us. 100 00:06:43,123 --> 00:06:47,423 He will not cast us out for making stupid mistakes or horrible sin.s 101 00:06:47,423 --> 00:06:50,423 Nothing can separate us from the love of God 102 00:06:50,423 --> 00:06:53,323 that is in Christ 103 00:06:53,323 --> 00:06:53,423 Jesus. 104 00:06:55,823 --> 00:06:58,223 Blessed are those who do not see 105 00:06:59,323 --> 00:07:06,023 but believe. Blessed are those who trust in Christ and the power of His 106 00:07:06,023 --> 00:07:11,723 word alone for that is the greatest and most powerful miracle that we 107 00:07:11,723 --> 00:07:20,723 can ever experience and enjoy his word words of forgiveness hope, love 108 00:07:21,623 --> 00:07:24,123 Jesus says, many hard things. 109 00:07:25,223 --> 00:07:31,123 May we have the courage to say his truth, even when it is hard to 110 00:07:31,123 --> 00:07:31,223 believe. 111 00:07:32,523 --> 00:07:37,223 Amen. Now may the peace of God, which surpasses all human 112 00:07:37,223 --> 00:07:40,923 understanding, keep our hearts and minds of the one true Faith until 113 00:07:40,923 --> 00:07:41,323 life everlasting. Amen.