Isaiah 64:1-9. God, come!! 30/11/08

{1) Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before you! {2} As when fire sets twigs ablaze and causes water to boil, come down to make your name known to your enemies and cause the nations to quake before you! {3} For when you did awesome things that we did not expect, you came down, and the mountains trembled before you. {4} Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him. {5} You come to the help of those who gladly do right, who remember your ways. But when we continued to sin against them, you were angry. How then can we be saved? {6} All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. {7} No one calls on your name or strives to lay hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us and made us waste away because of our sins. {8} Yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand. {9} Do not be angry beyond measure, O LORD; do not remember our sins forever. Oh, look upon us, we pray, for we are all your people.

As we begin another Advent season the realities of life hover so near: life is not what it should be; sickness, troubles, recessions, pastor leaving and so much more. We try and gee ourselves up; we try and be positive; we get on with life in order to ensure that everything is right; but all the time we fall short; it just doesn’t work out! Life doesn’t work out the way that we think it should.

So again we join the people of Israel and God’s people throughout history. ‘Come on, God; how about coming down and giving us a hand.’ We long for everything to work out for us; we try so hard to see that it happens; and then we are left with no choice but to finally accept that God needs to come to us and make things right.

Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before you! As when fire sets twigs ablaze and causes water to boil, come down to make your name known to your enemies and cause the nations to quake before you! For when you did awesome things that we did not expect, you came down, and the mountains trembled before you.

Then we would know that everything will be OK. Then we could come here week after week and struggle to find a seat in this place as people flock to hear God’s Word. Then we would have less stress and hassles; life would surely flow more easily and everyone would be more inclined to do what is good and right. Then we would be proved right and we would be able to hold our heads high.

So, ‘Come on, God; how about coming down and giving us a hand.’ ‘How about showing your great power and zapping all the evil that hangs around us.’ ‘Come and prove to us that you are in control by doing mighty things that destroys sickness, pain and evil.’ ‘Prove to the world it you have overcome evil, so that all that is good might be preserved.’ ‘You have told us that you are a great and awesome God, and you have given us your Word, so let us see that you are true to your word..

But what do we see when God has entered our world in the past in this way. He rescues Israel from the Egyptians with an immense array of powerful and wondrous deeds, but that same power also meant that all along the way, when they sinned, that God also brought disaster on them. God’s holy presence means that all that is sinful is destroyed. That means a terrible dilemma for us: For we are sinful and unclean.

All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. No one calls on your name or strives to lay hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us and made us waste away because of our sins.

All of us have chosen to be selfish, self-centred and rebellious: All of us!
All our goodness is like a filthy, stained pair of old underpants. So how can we expect that God should give us all that we want: we don’t listen to him very well, nor do we so often even try to do the right thing. Greed and selfishness has raped our environment as well as our economic system; not to mention our families and support of one another in our society. We deserve everything that comes our way; even as Christians.

So God hides his face from us, so that we will not be destroyed. Yes even us today. Surely none of us are so self-righteous that we are able to stand in God’s presence, with all it glory. Surely none of us deserve to have everything go well for us. So we need to recognise and remember that we cannot expect God to ensure that we have it comfortable all the time.

So, how then can we be saved? How then can we live in peace and happiness? How can we go on, if all we can expect is more of the same? It would seem that it is all so pointless and negative and miserable. Yet we must acknowledge that sin and its consequences will always be ever present in life throughout our days. And just because we are Christians does not mean that this should not be the case for us.

But we must remember that this is not the end of the story. Yes, we need to remember the difficulties and tragedies of life are all the fruits of and reminders of the fact that we are sinful; and that we need to look to and trust that God is the only true answer that we have. We need to turn to, look to and trust that he alone can bring the comfort and strength that we need; and that he is the only real hope of peace and life for the future.

We need to be like Isaiah: Yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand. Do not be angry beyond measure, O LORD; do not remember our sins forever. Oh, look upon us, we pray, for we are all your people.

This Advent season, as we prepare for Christmas, we are called on to prepare ourselves, turn to and look to God and his answer to the dilemma that we find ourselves in. As we look to God’s answer we need to recall that time and time again throughout the Old Testament period, God told his people that he would send a saviour who would defeat sin, death and the devil. They were called to look forward in faith, trusting that God was true to his word.

That we find to be the case in the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. There we have “God with us.” There we have his full answer to our need. There in God; coming as a frail little baby; living as a human being; and then suffering and dying on the cross, we have God doing what was necessary for our salvation. There we have the help that we so desperately need.

Here we need to remember again that God’s demonstration of power and his answer to evil is quite different from the way we think it should happen. He comes in weakness and frailty: he lived in the midst of all the same troubles and difficulties that we face; he defeats the devil by dying himself; he overcomes death for us by rising from the dead himself. As a result we are assured that forgiveness of sins, life and salvation has been extended to us.

Now he calls us to daily live, suffer and die in the midst of a world that is and always will be troubled by the consequences of sin. However, not to live in and with our strength, but to always look to the Lord Jesus, and rely on him and live in him. As we do we are assured that he will uphold and sustain us in the midst of all that is happening: All the while having the full assurance that we are forgiven and are guaranteed salvation and eternal life with God in heaven.

So this Advent season we are reminded again to look forward to; and prepare ourselves for the full assurance that God has come to be with us and to help us in our need. He comes to help us to always look to him and trust that after our short time of suffering here on this earth he has made it possible for us to live with him in eternity, completely free from all that is bad and evil. So look again to him and trust him, to whom all glory and honour will go, now and forever; our great God Father, Son and Holy Spirit. AMEN.

Pastor Roger Atze
Redeemer Lutheran Church
Toowoomba

Matthew 25:31-46. Jesus has the last word 23/11/08

(31) "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. {32} All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. {33} He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. {34} "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. {35} For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, {36} I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' {37} "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? {38} When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? {39} When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' {40} "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' {41} "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. {42} For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, {43} I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' {44} "They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' {45} "He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' {46} "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

Alana, Madeleine, Mikaela, it is a bit scary being here today and standing up in front of all these people and in the presence of God and telling them that you believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour; and that you intend to live as one of his people. These readings this morning also makes this even scarier: well not scary, but very sobering and important.

You see: our reading here this morning has a very strong and important message for us today. One day you and I will be called to account: we will face judgement for how we have lived our lives here on earth. What we believe and say here and how we live from here on will determine whether we go to the right or the left: to heaven or to hell. That should surely make us stop and evaluate what we are on about. Surely we will want to listen to and heed what our Lord has to say on this matter. We will want to take care about what we are doing each day of our lives.

Yet at the end of the day, will what you say and think make any difference? Will our good deeds earn us the right to heaven, or will God simply accept everyone because he is a loving God? Well, we are reminded here that in the final analysis Jesus will have last word - not you or I. Jesus will determine who and what the criteria is for acceptance on that great day. He, and not us and what we think, will have the final word on what is important.

Now think about that! There are heaps of people out there who don't really care too much about this Jesus stuff. They don't think too much about how God wants them to live, and yet they think it is all going to work out all right in the end. They think they will be able to stand up there on that final day and say, ‘hey, I was a pretty good guy – I didn't do anything too bad - God let me in.’ They think that they will get be in heaven, if there is one. The assumption is that all who have not done anything too bad in life will be alright.

At the same time we have many saying God is an all-loving and gracious God who ultimately accept us, because we are making a reasonable effort to be a Christian and live a good, moral life. ‘I know a certain amount about Jesus, and I speak in tongues or do whatever, therefore I will be acceptable. So again we are setting the criteria by which God will accept us.

But we are reminded here that Jesus will have the last word. Jesus will make the decision who gets to share heaven with him; and yes it will be determined by our attitudes, beliefs, and how we live here and now. It will be determined by how seriously we take Jesus Christ and what he has to say. Sadly, to many he will say, 'depart from me to the eternal fire.'

But if you think that is scary, think about the alternative. What if there were no criteria for judgement, and right and wrong had nothing to be gauged against; except what we think at a particular point in time? What if there was no final evaluation as to what is important, and worst of all, what if there was no heavenly king to have the last word, but instead we are left to our own devises and to pass our own judgements on ourselves and others: Which of course is fallible because we cannot see the whole picture? That is scary! If that is all that life ends up being, it is frightening: That would mean a real dog eat dog world, with nobody at all winning.

But Jesus will have last word, and what we say and think on that last day will in one sense be unimportant. Notice the only thing the people say as they are sent either to the right or left is, ‘when did we see you?’ No excuses - no pleading 'I tried' or 'I was a pretty good fella'. No bargaining. Even the judge, Jesus, does not question the people, because he already knows the facts. He knows our heart - he knows what is important to us – he knows what we have done and why we have done it. All he says is, 'come you blessed;' ‘Go you cursed'.

The test has already taken place. “You looked after the hungry, thirsty, lonely, sick, and so on.” “Or you did nothing.” And even this is much more than merely scoring a few brownie points, or doing a few good deeds so as to enable us to get to heaven. It is not about simply being good enough to be acceptable. They are merely a selection of actions which indicate a person is living in harmony with the will of God. And it can be summed up simply as loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and our neighbour as ourselves. We need to remember that God alone can see into our hearts and minds, and knows if we are doing that. He knows who we are serving – whether we are loving and serving the Lord Jesus or not.

Jesus makes it quite clear from his perspective that it all depends on the reason why we are doing what we are doing in every single aspect of our lives. He says, ‘as much as you did it for others you did it for me.’ Everything we do in life as Christians is done for Christ: done because of what he has done for us. Not to gain points. Not so that he will accept us and let us into heaven; but because he has done everything necessary for our salvation. He "died on the cross so we might have salvation and eternal life. He gave his life so that we can have life, and can face judgement day with confidence. He has done what is needed so that we can have what is important. As a result, now our grateful response is to love God and our neighbour: to give the hungry, food – the thirsty, a drink - to look after the sick – and so on. Even our work, sport, and recreation is all done in gratitude for what God has done for us in and through our Lord Jesus Christ. Now we live in loving obedience: trusting that God knows better than what we do: trusting that he knows what is best.

Now because we believe in what Jesus has done for us and that he has the last word, and are now seeking to live as God wants because he is our Lord [our Master] and our Saviour, then we have nothing to fear when the time comes for us to face God on the last day. On that day what we are doing and saying here will be proved right. And all those who give us a hard time because we are Christians will be put to shame; and those who think that they can live without taking God and what he has to say seriously will realize their foolishness.

But there are better reasons for looking forward to that day. God promises us so much more. Yes from that point on we will no longer have to question our motives or struggle to live the way God wants us to. That day of separation will be a day when our Lord removes us from all that would hurt or harm us: he will separate us from all suffering and pain. Instead we will have peace and happiness as we share in the very best of everything with our God, all of which will go on and on forever: eternal joy as we share fully with our Lord and saviour. All because Jesus has the last word and not us.

So with all of this in mind Alana, Madeliene,Mikaela and all the rest of us here, let us never loose sight of the Lord Jesus Christ and what he has done for, and will do for us. Let us not take him for granted, ignoring him and what he has to say; which is all good for us. Out of gratitude for what he has done, let us serve him in everything we do, trusting him as our Lord and Saviour, and trusting his last word. Looking forward to that moment when he says, 'come you who are blessed by my Father, take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.' Yes, Jesus and his last word is what is important, so let us look to him and trust him now and always. AMEN.

Pastor Roger Atze
Redeemer Lutheran Church
Toowoomba

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 Living together with Christ 15/11/08

(1) Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, {2} for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. {3} While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labour pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. {4} But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. {5} You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. {6} So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. {7} For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. {8} But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. {9} For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. {10} He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. {11} Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

You and I have been appointed to live together with Christ, now and for all eternity. Christ himself died in our place on the cross so that this might be so. Then at our baptism he inexplicably joined himself to us so that we can be absolutely sure that this is so for each of us personally. Thereby we have been appointed to live together with Christ for time and eternity. This is a wonderful message for us as we go about our daily lives.

However here at this time of the year we are reminded that we need to be careful that we do not take these things for granted: That there will come a time when we will be called to give account of our faith and life. Also the message here is that we do not know how soon that might be for us. It will come suddenly; as a thief in the night.

The danger for us is that we will fall into the pattern of this world: that we will be caught napping. Paul likens this danger to living in the night: and what do we do at night? We sleep or we get drunk. Now is that not life for most people today? And is there not that danger for each of us as well?

When it comes to our spiritual lives there is that danger that we fall asleep on the job. ‘She’ll be right. I’m OK. It is all under control. So what if I don’t go to church much at all. I’ve got my faith.’ So we nod off to sleep. But even if we are regular and active we can so easily fall into the trap of thinking that we are living in peace and safety and so there is not too much to worry about; so we relax in our thinking and attitudes with regard to the faith. The truth can be bent a little here and there; we can give way in many different ways. We can get drowsy and nod off so easily.

At the same time there is that temptation to drink on the job. In fact we are in serious danger of becoming drunk. We have so much sought pleasure and enjoyment from life that we have lost touch with reality. Our thinking becomes so easily, ‘what is good for me from my perspective,’ is what is important: even when it comes to the faith and our worship. In fact, seeking our own pleasure and gratification so easily becomes paramount in our lives, and we more and more lose perspective of that which is truly good and right.

Now in the face of this we need to remember, that it is at those times that we can so easily be caught out by the thief. The thief in fact chooses those times to get to us, when we are not vigilant. We are easy prey at these times. We only need to look around us to see all those that have been caught out and who have not just drifted but have even become anti-christian. Sadly there are so many of our friends and neighbours who will lose out all together.

But hey, that is not what God wants, or what we want either, surely. God did not die for us, and come to us in baptism, to then go and appoint us to suffer wrath. He has saved us; he has appointed us instead to be together with him, whether we are awake or asleep: whether we are here or in eternity. He wants to be a part of our lives always. He wants us to have peace, hope and confidence as we go through life, and enjoy eternal rest with him in heaven.

That is why Paul goes on to encourage us to be alert and self-controlled. We are children of the light; so we are called to live as though we are in the day. We get on with the business of life that we are called to do as God’s people. Now that of course is far from easy, for society operates with different values and a different focus. It is so easy to get caught up in the thinking around us that has little time for Christianity and which promotes ethics and morals that are not good and compatible with how God would have us live, so that we can be at peace with God and one another.

So we are called to be alert. Just as if we are at work, operating machinery, where our mind needs to be on the job; so also we need that same kind of thinking when it comes to living our lives as Christians. We need to be aware of the dangers, as well focussing on what has to be done and the opportunities that are before us.

At the same time he tells us to be self-controlled. In an age when the attitude is that we are to give free rein to self and what we want, God calls us to keep a good check on our desires. Our thoughts need to be again on loving God and our neighbour: that is giving thought to them and what they want, rather than on what we selfishly want for ourselves.

That is where Paul’s next thoughts turn. To be self-controlled for him means, putting on faith and love as a breastplate. The breastplate covers the vital organs and so spares our life. So in order to be protected from coming to spiritual harm, we are to cover our lives with faith and love. That is, to place our complete trust in Jesus Christ and what he has done for us through his death on the cross, and to look to him first and foremost in all that we do. Then he is suggesting that we will be significantly protected from having our life be stolen from us.

To add to that he says that we need to have the hope of salvation as a helmet. To protect our head; that is our thinking, reasoning capacity, we are to hold in the forefront of our thinking the sure and certain hope of eternal life that we have as a result of Christ living in us. Because of him we have salvation, guaranteed; and no one and nothing can take that away from us. Because that is certainly the greatest trick in Satan’s armoury: He constantly seeks to get us to doubt whether we really are saved; and that we need to try harder and do more, and to despair.

However as we remain alert and self-controlled in this way, we can continue to have that sure and certain hope that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Christ. He does now live in us, and as we continue to remain in him, nothing in all of creation can separate us from this love.

Paul then concludes, therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. I believe that that is also God’s message to us here today. He would have us encourage and build each other up in this way by continuing to work together and support each other more and more in this way; but particularly as we focus on Christ and his death on the cross for us: and doing this by regularly gathering together as his people in his house where he can first and foremost strengthen and encourage us through Word and Sacrament. For it is here that God continually reminds us through the hearing of his Word, the things that he knows are important for us to know, think about and live by. It here that he reminds us again and again that we, in our baptism, are joined to him; and that at the Lord’s Table we again receive his real presence in our live along with the assurance that our sins are forgiven; and so are strengthened in our knowledge that nothing in all creation can separate us from his love.

Then with that knowledge we can go forward with hope and confidence, giving all glory to him who is our Lord and Saviour. To him be glory and honour, now and always. AMEN.

Pastor Roger Atze
Redeemer Lutheran Church
Toowoomba

Matthew 25:1-13. Plenty of ‘good oil’!! 9/11/08

{1) "At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. {2} Five of them were foolish and five were wise. {3} The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. {4} The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. {5} The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. {6} "At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!' {7} "Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. {8} The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.' {9} "'No,' they replied, 'there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.' {10} "But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. {11} "Later the others also came. 'Sir! Sir!' they said. 'Open the door for us!' {12} "But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.' {13} "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

Are you ready and prepared for the Lord’s coming? That is the message of our reading here this morning. Are you ready and prepared to meet your maker; the heavenly bridegroom; whether that be today or whenever? Have you got enough of the ‘good oil’ to get you through this life and into the next? Here the point is clearly made that there will be many who want to be in heaven, but they will miss out, because they haven’t got what it takes.

Now I use the term ‘good oil’ here, because it fits the parable and it is a term that many of us older ones know. But for those who haven’t heard the term; ‘good oil’ has the thought of having the right information and connections with regard to a particular issue. To have the ‘good oil’ is to have that which is good and necessary to deal with a situation that you have to deal with; and to enable one to in a sense, come out a winner. In regard to Jesus’ point here, it is to have enough of the ‘good oil, to get through to the end of this life, whenever that might be, and still be ready to enter the wedding feast that God has prepared in eternity.
Now when it comes to the rest of life we know very well the importance of being prepared and having enough supplies to get us through. Although I suspect that even there we are not so concerned any more; we can just go to the shops and buy some more when we run out; or we can just ‘jack up’ the credit card a bit more; she’ll be right mate. But ‘by and large’ we know that we know that if we are looking forward to something important, we need to be prepared. By way of example, there is no way we would prepare for an overseas holiday and leave getting a passport to the last couple of days; and packing our gear in the last hour before we need to board the plane. Because of the importance of the situation we will make sure that we are ready and prepared well in advance. We know that and we do it.

But what about with regard to our spiritual lives? What about that area of our life which is far more important and has far greater consequences for our eternal destiny? Do we even want to hear the ‘good oil,’ or are we like five of those girls in this parable? They wanted to be there, but they didn’t stop to think that they had better take plenty of oil for their lamps. We need to remember that they were guilty not merely of a lack of foresight; but of inexcusable, frivolous action on a very important occasion. The whole action must be interpreted in terms of a lack of faith; of non-interest in the promises of God’s Word; of life without the inner conviction and understanding that here we are talking about Christ and eternal life: Too busy living for themselves and life and not the importance of Jesus Christ as Lord of life and eternity.

Today we also far too often see the same attitude. In fact too often it is there in our own lives; ‘She’ll be right mate’ we’ll be OK. As long as we lead some semblance of a good life it will all work out.’ Too often our daily life; work, rest and play, is more important than the Lord of life himself.

The danger then is the same one the girls faced in this parable; 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.' As we are going along it may seem fine, but when the unexpected hour comes, will we be ready. The Old Testament reading makes it quite clear that church attendance, offerings and an outward show of ‘christianity’ will not be enough.
Now surely that must make us all stop and think. In fact it is almost a worrying thought.

But no; let us remember there are five other girls in the parable as well. These were also out there ready for the wedding feast. When things took longer than expected they too nodded off; so outwardly things do not look all that different; excepting that they were prepared. Even when things did not work out as they thought it should, they were prepared for it: They had plenty of the ‘good oil’. So they had nothing to fear. The ‘good oil’ carried the day for them.

So what is this ‘good oil’ that we need? What are the preparations that we need to keep in mind? Now the first thing we need to understand is the importance of the situation. Here we are not talking about some ‘two bit’ show: something that is not all that important. This is about eternal life in heaven or hell: this is the heavenly banquet that will go on forever; or missing out all-together. This is about being with our Lord and our Saviour forever or not at all.

So as good as it might be to focus on this life and what it has to offer for a few short years; surely our primary focus will be on God’s kingdom, which has to do with this world and the next. We will take seriously what he has to say about our living and thinking now, so that we do not miss out on the next. Here in the Old Testament lesson God says, Let justice flow on like a river and righteousness like a never-failing stream. In other words, instead of merely looking good in the eyes of people around about us, to actual live out the life that God calls us to live, with genuine love for the fellow-human being. Instead of following the way of the world, to actually follow Christ and what he has to say to us.

This then, of course, means holding to the promises that he gives to us. It means trusting him when he tells us that his death on the cross for the forgiveness of sins is important: It means trusting that he has saved us from eternal damnation and therefore seek to be always at one with him. It means looking to him and seeking to be with him above and beyond anything else: it means wanting to do what he would want us to be doing.
So this then also means that we will want to come together week after to be strengthened and encouraged by him through Word and Sacrament. It means that we will read and study his Word. It means that we will seek to do the best we can for the people around about us. It means we will Jesus Christ and his death on the cross for us, as the most important thing that we can know and be a part of.

This all is the ‘good oil’ that we need to focus on.

So as we go from here today let us give more thought to the dire warning that God gives to us through this text. Ponder over the fact that many will miss out on the wedding banquet that Jesus is talking about, because they are too attached to this world. Their security is in what they see around them, and as a result fail to consider the need to be prepared for what God has in mind. Let us be mindful of their welfare and try to help them see the folly of their ways. But above all to make sure that we ourselves are prepared: making sure that we have plenty of the ‘good oil’: Living under the Lordship of Jesus Christ; trusting in him and his saving work on the cross; as well as ensuring that justice and righteousness abound in our own lives as we live them out every day.

Yes, let us watch out ourselves, for we do not know the day or the hour when our Lord will come. And all along let us ensure that all glory and honour goes to him whom it belongs, our great God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. AMEN

Pastor Roger Atze
Redeemer Lutheran Church
Toowoomba