Tomorrow June 9th, 2013 at Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church of Irvine: “Separated” (Galatians 1:15-16)
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Tomorrow is the Lord's Day and we are given His total assurance that He will meet us in Church to feed our souls with the powerful Word and Sacrament of the Lord Jesus Christ. Also, we are continuing in our sermon series on Galatians. This is a powerful letter that is always applicable to our lives today. Tomorrow, we are going to focus on Galatians 1:15-16: "But when he who had [separated me] before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles..." From this Scripture we will focus on this concept of being separated by the grace of God. That might sound a little strange, but I'm going to demonstrate that the principle of separation is a universal one which permeates life. In Scripture, it is used to describe both blessing and judgment. Our emphasis, however, will be to show how it is a word about your salvation, hope, and your new identity in Christ. Come and be blessed. Come and let God keep you separated from sin and death. Come and be separated as a member of the Body of Christ separated to be blessed in Jesus! Invite a friend for our 9:30 am service. There will be Sunday School and Bible Study as well!
Here is an excerpt from the sermon:
“Separated” (Galatians 1:15-16)
Rev. Dr. Alfonso O. Espinosa
The Text: “15But when he who had [separated me] before I was born, and who called me by his grace, 16was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles…”
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen. We began our series on the book of Galatians last Sunday with the very practical mission of our Lord Jesus Christ: He came to rescue you dear Christian from the present evil age (Galatians 1:3). This is the perfect segue for today’s continuation of the Galatians’ series: the Holy Spirit through Paul in Galatians teaches us about one of the most predominant principles of life in the universe: separation. In saving you, God separates you from evil, but there is much more to be said about separation.
To live is to experience separation. It is an axiomatic principle of existence. “Cell division [or separation] is necessary for the growth and repair of multicellular organisms and for the reproduction of all organisms (Mader, Inquiry Into Life, third edition, 76).” And what is true at the cellular level is true of the cosmos: “The discovery of the expansion of the universe was one of the great intellectual revolutions of the twentieth century. It came as a total surprise, and it completely changed the discussion of the origin of the universe. If the galaxies are moving apart, they must have been closer together in the past (Hawking, The Ilustrated A Brief History of Time [and] The Universe In A Nutshell, 76).” That is through the constant expansion of the universe separation between the stars and between the galaxies is the natural contour of the physical cosmos. Separation is normal and it is necessary.
Between our chemistry and the cosmos, however, are our daily lives and the separation we experience represents both order for our lives and hardship (depending on the particular type of separation we experience). We desire separation when it comes to our capitalistic system which rewards hard work, education, and ingenuity. All men are created equal (this is true), but God rewards those who work. The Bible says simply in 2nd Thessalonians 3:10: “If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.”
At the same time, we bemoan the separation that springs from materialism, greed, and hedonism which can blind people -- who have much -- to ignore those who are poor and who are suffering. Our country specializes in separation: it is both the key to our success and at the same time the revelation of our shame.
But we also deal with separation in our immediate lives. Disease is the experience of the disorder that has entered our lives. When our bodies are impacted by any kind of malady (be it a virus, an injury, or an addiction) we experience separation from a fuller state of health. This is a distraction to say the least and in some cases the cause for a total shift in the way we live. It is normal in these circumstances to experience bereavement, sorrow, and/or confusion when we are separated from the health and vitality we once knew.
But life is also full of exciting forms of separation. Separation from middle school onto high school is exciting; separation from high school to college is even more exciting. This is a time of many celebrations as we have so many graduates who are separating from one stage of life to another: Hope Taylor is separating from Lutheran High Orange and going to college in Nebraska; Daniel Kuntz is separating from Crean Lutheran High School and going to college in Washington state; and Jacob Mueller is separating from El Toro High School and will be attending college here in Irvine. My daughter Danielle separates from the University of Chicago on August 30th and will then separate from her status of “being single” to the status of being married on September 14th. She will then also separate from the United States in order to live in Germany…a separation that is for me both exciting and bittersweet. Nikki Atanasova who just separated from her under graduate studies at CUI will start in the nursing program at CUI. Stacy Fischer is now separated from her program at USC and will become a Lutheran teacher in San Diego. Nickolas Lewis has achieved his law degree from Chapman University and now separates from law school in order to pass the bar and start an exciting career as juris doctor (joining the other JD’s in our congregation). Indeed, separation is often also the cause for celebration! For myself, 22 years ago today, I was separated for service in the holy ministry through holy ordination. And 14 years ago, my daughter Esbeydi was separated from life in the womb, to life in the world. Happy birthday Esbeydi!
This diversity on separation is also powerfully represented in Holy Scripture. Saint Paul writes at Galatians 1:15-16: “15But when he who had [SEPARATED/[original form: aphorizo] me before I was born, and who called me by his grace, 16was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles…”
This word is important. Aphorizo in the Greek is a compound word from apo = away from, separate, at the farthest point + horos = boundary. It means “to mark off from a boundary or line (Robinson, Word Pictures In The New Testament, 279).” Kittel says simply that we can think of the concept as “to sever (Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Abridged in One Volume, 728).” God separates and for very important reasons, sometimes for blessing and other times for judgment. On the last day when Jesus comes in glory, He will separate all people one from another “as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats (Matthew 25:32).” The angels themselves will conduct this separation -- at the Lord’s bidding -- of the evil from the righteous (Matthew 13:49).
In Your Service and To Christ's Glory,
Pastor Espinosa
Tomorrow June 2nd 2013 at Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church of Irvine: “To Deliver Us From The Present Evil Age” (Galatians 1:1-12)
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
People loved by God, [joy can still fill our hearts] even as tears fill your eyes and you work diligently to ease the suffering, to console the bereaved, to bury the dead. You do all this not as a people who are surprised that such suffering exists and comes to human beings. You have been forewarned in Scripture to expect such and more. But you face it knowing that death, destruction, tears and heartache will not be the end of this world. They simply will not. They are indeed “the present form” of this world. But that form passes away.
And what will be, what the Spirit guarantees will be, is the glorious hope we hear of in Revelation: the nail-scarred hand reaching out to touch each weeping face, to wipe away the tears and to do away forever with the sin and the suffering and the death that plague us here and now, striking without warning and tearing apart those whom God created to live together.
The Spirit moves us to tend the suffering as best we may, weeping with them, and praying constantly: “Come, Lord Jesus! Come!”
Part IV:
Vacation Bible School 2013 is this month from Monday, June 24th through Friday, June 28th. Please sign up at church. It is for children pre-school through 6th grade. AND junior high schoolers, high schoolers, and college youth are encouraged to be helpers and have fun with pastor and the kids! Also, we need lots of volunteers as once again we are having VBS on the beach! VBS is 9 am to 12 pm. We will provide snacks and lunch. Registration is FREE! Please speak to Dr. Mary Hobus or Pastor if you are registering or would like to help.
Part V:
Thus far in 2013, we have been blessed with eight (8) confirmations: 4 adults and 4 7th and 8th graders!
I am now forming the next class of youth which will consist of 5th and 6th graders (as we are giving our children the opportunity to be confirmed earlier and at a younger age; there is no need to wait until they finish 8th grade as this is only a more recent tradition in the Lutheran Church). The individual visitations pastor has been conducting to younger confirmands will transfer to a group class this Fall. Thus far, we have the following confirmands enrolled:
1. Faith Ackley
2. Luke Binoya
3. Joshua Bradford
4. Doug Cavanaugh Jr.
5. Bethany Dawn
6. Bryan Espinosa
7. Katherine Espinosa
8. Alyssa Junge
9. Shane Perry
Part VI:
Exciting News!
Former Saint Paul's members (when we were in Laguna Beach), Rev. Steve and Robin Parks have officially requested membership to the congregation. Steve has been conducing doctoral studies in theology overseas and will continue the completion of his writing stage as he joins the full-time theological faculty at Concordia University Irvine beginning on July 1st. Robin has just been hired to work as the case manager at Orange County Rescue Mission Village of Hope in Tustin. I had the great privilege of confirming the Parks into the LC-MS and later marrying them 14 years ago. Steve is an exemplary theologian of the highest caliber (this is no exaggeration; he is a superior theologian). Robin with her musical talents, leadership skills, and compassionate spirit is also a powerful servant of God. We are extremely blessed to be conducting their transfer back to Saint Paul's. We will be seeing more of the Parks this fall.
Part VII:
My health update: As many of you may know by now, on Thursday, May 23rd I was showing the symptoms of Bell's Palsy and on Friday, May 24th I received an official diagnosis of the same. Yesterday, a neurologist confirmed the diagnosis of my internal medicine physician. It appears that I am showing some slight improvement and I believe I'm able to perceive it beyond my imagination. Evidently, the right side of my face is less tight and the left side of my face (which is the paralyzed side) is starting to return to some more normal shape. This is extremely encouraging as the range for healing for Bell's Palsy is very broad. This is known to last for as long as several months. However, it is also possible to heal in a matter of a few weeks. I've been very proactive in rest, taking B-12 vitamins, receiving acupuncture, muscular therapy, taking the prescribed prednisone, using eye drops, and most importantly remaining in prayer.
The neurologist has asked me to rest during this time.
I have made a focused effort for recovery, esp. as this effects my proclamation of the Word of God and my ability to clearly communicate (which from my stand-point is rather important for a pastor-teacher).
At the same time -- and I speak from the heart -- I am also preparing myself for whatever the Lord wills. Sometimes He permits a thorn in the flesh for our good. I have already, in fact, received blessings from this predicament. One of those blessings has been receiving so many well-wishes from so many people. This has warmed my heart and filled it with joy.
I am making one important exception to the resting project prescribed to me: that is conducting tomorrow's divine service. I will not be doing so to be a macho man, to infer that I think I'm indispensable to the Church, etc., but I do it as a source of great comfort and joy to lead my people. I assure you that I will not push myself. I will conduct tomorrow's service with faith, hope, and love. It will be a tremendous blessing and source of strength for me to see you tomorrow and shake your hand. In all honesty, I consider this a vital part of my healing process.
Well, this has turned out to be a long-email. Sorry 'bout that, but I hope to see you God's house tomorrow. Come! Let us worship the Lord!
Here is an excerpt from tomorrow's proclamation:
“To Deliver Us From The Present Evil Age”
(Galatians 1:1-12)
Rev. Dr. Alfonso O. Espinosa
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. I am excited that I get to delve into a series on the letter to the Galatians with you, my dear congregation in the Lord, and for many reasons.
One reason is because more important than the fact that this letter is one of my favorite letters in Scripture, it was Luther’s favorite period. Luther actually called the letter to the Galatians after his beloved wife! He called Paul’s letter “my Katie von Bora” (Kittelson 249) and he said this about the letter overall:
“But in this epistle Paul is dealing with the most important and sublime subject matter: the Gospel, faith, Christian righteousness, the definition of the Person of Christ, the meaning of His work, what He undertook and accomplished on our behalf, and what blessings He brought to us miserable sinners (AE 26:367).”
But another reason that I’m excited to get into this letter is because it came through the revelation given to Saint Paul, the apostle we identify with in the name of our congregation. Over the years I’ve heard people talk about the significance of how congregations are named. For example, if a congregation names itself in connection to an apostle, say Paul, then should that congregation’s name be “Saint Paul’s” (with an apostrophe-“s”) or simply “Saint Paul” (with no “s” at all)? It has been said that to name a congregation as we have gives the impression that the congregation is identified as being in a state of the possessive sense in connection to Saint Paul. That is, we are a congregation that belongs to Saint Paul. This is silly and all of this provides for me the launching pad for expounding on why I’m excited about our name and about the letter to the Galatians.
We are “Saint Paul’s” in the sense that we hold to the powerful and overwhelmingly comforting revelation and exposition of the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ that God provided through the apostle Saint Paul. We are Saint Paul’s in the sense that Saint Paul’s proclamation of the Gospel is what we identify with! That revelation of Jesus that was Paul’s is ours and we are named Saint Paul’s in order to perpetuate this life-saving revelation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
And if there is any letter of the 13 Pauline epistles which communicates this wonderful saving Gospel, then the letter to the Galatians is it! I look forward to this series and I hope you will as well.
One of the other reasons that I’m excited about preaching on this letter is because it was written in such a bold, direct, and no non-sense manner. It is the kind of message that we need today in the 21st century!
Writing this letter was in a sense for Saint Paul a very difficult task. He was indignant and even angry while full of the Holy Spirit and led by God. The congregations in the region of Galatia which he had worked so hard by God’s grace to establish had been compromised by false teachers and by a false, so-called “gospel.”
This letter demonstrates therefore what some might call “tough love,” and what a holy jealousy that strives to protect the beloved sounds like and feels like. Paul writes so as to defend his God-given call and apostolic ministry to refute those who attack him and the work he laid down in Galatia. As a result of the fact that Saint Paul was attacked, the Gospel of Jesus which Paul taught and proclaimed was also being attacked, and therefore the saving Gospel itself in the midst of the people of Galatia was being compromised. The very eternal-life source for the churches in Galatia was being undermined and Saint Paul therefore was red-hot. Yes, we should be a congregation that will proclaim the Gospel with such boldness, because we live in a world today that will otherwise dismiss the true Gospel as irrelevant and in turn dismiss the single most important message in the world and the only source of lasting life. May we never be silent and may we always be bold just like the apostle Saint Paul was when it came to the Gospel proclaimed through him!
In Jesus' Love,
Pastor
Tomorrow May 26th, 2013 Holy Trinity Sunday at Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church of Irvine
Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ,
“Our Baptized Lives To The Father, In The Son, and By The Holy Spirit”
Rev. Dr. Alfonso O. Espinosa
- Live TO the Father (think Lord’s Prayer).
- Live IN the Son (think “I’m Forgiven!”).
- Live BY the Holy Spirit (think Word and Sacrament).
This Sunday May 19th, 2013 at Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church of Irvine: Pentecost Sunday!
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
Secondly, the actual explanation. Notice the powerful teaching on the Holy Spirit:
What does this mean? I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith. In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers. On the Last Day He will raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ. This is most certainly true.
Sunday May 12th, 2013 at Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church of Irvine: “The Right To The Tree Of Life (Revelation 22:2 & 14).”
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
We must face and confess our sin: we treat the Word of Christ as less than vital. We pay more attention to the evening news than we do to the 66 books of the sacred canon. We thirst and yearn for so many other things. We prefer things that bring worry and even worse, death, instead of seeking and longing for the Word and the Sacrament. We embrace the world’s priorities, loves, fears, and worries and when we do we begin to emulate the world…we start to become like the world…like wandering and thirsty dogs that are running around lost from their masters who can only devour the trash in the world…we become desperate and before we know it, we can begin to participate in the rebellion and immorality that is all around us. Such a soul forsakes faith and forsakes God. This should make us very concerned, because our sin proves that we practice idolatry -- loving other things more than God -- and that we do not belong to this picture of the heavenly paradise.
What is there to do? By the grace of God through His Word alone, we must change our thinking or better said pray that The Lord changes our thinking through the Word and Sacrament which give us Jesus. Our way of approaching everything must be changed. We must repent. The great Lutheran systematician Francis Pieper wrote in his essay “What is Christianity?”
“[The devil] endeavors to mislead man either utterly to despise the atonement of Christ or to attempt to establish his own righteousness, as a result of which Christ’s reconciliation is forfeited. The consequence is that God must punish the world with dreadful plagues, wars, floods, earthquakes, and other frightful calamities to remind man for what purpose the earth still stands, namely, that he might repent and by faith accept the reconciliation of God which Christ has effected.” (What Is Christianity? And Other Essays, CPH 1997 Reprint, 49)
The great irony which occurs when someone complains about the tumult while insinuating that God is not in control is that they are complaining about the very sign that proves that God is in control (as we witness the fulfillment of His prophetic prediction, Jn 16:33, 2nd Tim 3:1ff, et. al.).
Tomorrow Sunday May 5th, 2013 at Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church of Irvine: “Its Lamp Is The Lamb” (Revelation 21:22-27)
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
2. Bruce & Debbie Dannemeyer transferring from Abiding Savior Lutheran Church, Lake Forest, CA (LCMS).
3. Loren Kellogg being confirmed and also becoming a new member of The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.
And on May 12th:
4. Nikki Atanasova being confirmed and also becoming a new member of The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.
5. Melanie Junge being confirmed and also becoming a new member of The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. Melanie is joining with her two baptized children, Alyssa (finishing 5th grade) and Darren (finishing 2ndgrade).
6. Dr. Shannon Gallina being confirmed and also becoming a new member of The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. Shannon’s family members are friends of the congregation including her husband Todd and their children Logan and Leah.
7. Steve Fischer transferring from Abiding Savior Lutheran Church, Lake Forest, CA (LCMS).
Here is an excerpt from tomorrow's sermon:
“Its Lamp Is The Lamb” (Revelation 21:22-27)
Rev. Dr. Alfonso O. Espinosa
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. Let us not forget that we are still in the holy season of Easter, today being the Sixth Sunday of Easter!
Pastor: Alleluia! Christ is risen!
People: He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, John the holy apostle in the Gospel of John, in his epistles like 1st John, and here again in the book of Revelation -- all written by the Apostle John -- is always talking about light and darkness. Light and darkness for him and for us might be the most important metaphors in the Bible that teach us about the way of life that knows God and walks with God as distinct from and contrasted against the way of death that rejects and rebels against God.
And if there was ever a time that we need these rich metaphors to help us live, it is now. We seem inundated with our own sin, the evil in the world, and from the devil and his demonic forces to do one of two things:
EITHER
(1) Reject God’s light altogether.
OR
(2) Try to change God’s light to allow darkness into it. It doesn’t work. This “second option” is really nothing but getting back to the first option; it is just another way of rejecting God’s light.
I mention it, however, because experientially this is what the devil tries to make us do:
EITHER
(1) Reject the faith clearly and in an outright fashion (often expressed in forms of atheism, or even through agnosticism or “none-ism” (being a “none,” as opposed to a Roman Catholic “nun,” means that one has no religion, belongs to none, including the Christian faith of course).
OR
(2) Continuing to claim to be a Christian, while trying to make a so-called “faith” accommodate the things of darkness. This is when a so-called “Christian” wants to have their cake and to eat it too.
If we do either, then Satan becomes our master. Never forget this Christian: everyone is religious or to put it simply, everyone has an ultimate allegiance and serves a higher power, everyone has a faith, and everyone has a master or a god. There is no such thing as ultimate fence-straddling. If a person says they don’t believe in God, then that is their faith: they have faith that God does not exist and when one considers the evidence for God, then indeed to not believe requires faith. If a person rejects Jesus Christ, they are still very religious and they very much follow a god who is not the True God.
I don’t think we consider these matters often enough. Our sinful flesh doesn’t want us to. But if we are not aware of the threat, how can we possibly defend against the darkness which is constantly and daily trying to pervade our souls?
Now we have to be careful here. Precisely because the metaphors are so powerful, we need to be as precise as possible in trying to understand them. For example, light is not always necessarily a good thing and darkness is not always necessarily a bad thing. Too much light directly above you at mid-day in the desert can represent that which saps your life and kills you by dehydration or heat stroke. There are times when married couples welcome the darkness to hold each other, to get away from the rest of the world and in darkness, their love is celebrated and cemented again. Some forms of light are bad and some forms of darkness are good.
I know for example one of the forms of darkness that is bad is when I have to get up in the middle of the night and I stub my toe into a piece of furniture that I could not see. Darkness is definitely bad in these instances! On the other hand, when I want to scare my kids, darkness is fun! You get the picture.
But in God’s Word, this is what we need to know about the categories of light and darkness:
Light Darkness
1. Shows the power 1. Represents the powers
and presence of God. that oppose God.
2. Light shows or reveals 2. Darkness = Physical &
Life, esp. Eternal Life. Spiritual Death.
3.
- Light means knowing 3. Darkness = ignorance
God through faith in & unbelief.
Christ.
(Koester, Symbolism in the Fourth Gospel, 143-144)
With this basic introduction to light and darkness, we are in a better position to approach Revelation chapter 21.
May the Lord continue to bless you and keep you in His saving light!
Pastor Espinosa
Tomorrow Sunday April 28th, 2013 at Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church of Irvine: “All Things New” (Revelation 21:1-8)
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
We have to check the sinful idea that God treats that which is used in the way we often do: He doesn’t throw His creation away as if it were trash. Revelation 21:1-2 says, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away… 2And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” And then the Lord says as recorded at verse 5: “Behold, I am making all things new.”
One commentator brings out the overall theme of Revelation’s “new”: “The saints of God will bear their new name, Christ’s own name (2:17; 3:12), and sing unendingly their new song (14:3) in a world where God makes all things new (21:5), on a new earth and under a new heaven, in a new holy city, a new Jerusalem. All things are “new,” not merely as more recent in date but as created and designed to supersede and replace the old…new with an astonishing end-of-time newness, unheard-of and wondrous…(Franzmann, The Revelation to John, 137).”
But by definition, this is a newness that does not annihilate the old or first creation. Andrew of Caesarea: “This passage does not speak of the obliteration of creation but of its renewal into something better. For as the apostle says, ‘this creation will be freed from the bondage of corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God [Romans 8:21].’…The renewal of that which has grown old does not involve the annihilation of its substance but rather indicates the smoothing out of its agedness and its wrinkles (Weinrich, ed., Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, New Testament XII Revelation, 354).”
In other words when Revelation 21:1 says that the first heaven and earth “pass away” or when 2nd Peter 3:10-13 uses the extreme descriptor of what happens to the old as in being dissolved, these are not about elimination, but transformation. Again, God doesn’t throw away His creation and the proof is in the resurrection of our Lord. His body that was buried, that was used to bear the sins of the world, was resurrected. In other words, the heavenly version of “new” amounts to that which is perfectly restored, where life triumphs over death, and where time will no longer have its aging effect on those who were formerly under the curse of sin (Lutheran Study Bible, 2233 and 1197).
So we are in a good position to begin to answer the question, “What will heaven be like?” The Scriptures give the answer of perfect restoration: the creation without sin; a restored creation that never gets marred by the effects of being used, while at the same time fully enjoyed and fully employed (it won’t be static or stuck in a box). You will get to “use it,” but the new creation will never suffer the effects of sin and will never get old. You will use a new creation that will never show signs of having been used.
Again, our Lord Jesus Christ gives us the best view. He was renewed in glory when He rose. The new heaven and new earth will be filled with God’s people with their new bodies, which will be their old used bodies raised, transformed and glorified…real bodies in a real city in a real heaven and earth in the presence of the real Lord.
Tomorrow Sunday April 21 2013 at Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church of Irvine: “Our Shepherd Through Tribulation” (Revelation 7:9-17) and Announcing Next New Member Sunday, May 12th, 2013
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Many things seem to be better, not worse, but there are other things which should catch your attention:
- In our world today, would you say that it is easier or more difficult to protect marriage in the sense of staying together?
- In our world today, would you say that it is easier or more difficult to protect the unborn?
- In our world today, would you say that it is easier or more difficult to defend biblical and traditional marriage in the sense of maintaining biblical sexuality?
- In our world today, would you say that it is easier or more difficult to hear the true saving Gospel proclaimed?
There are many things in our world today that are not better and while it is true that the Church since the first century has considered herself to be living in the end times, I would not be surprised if we aren’t already living in Satan’s little season...maybe we are, maybe we aren’t, but there is one thing we do know:
The tribulation that you go through as a child of God is important to you – and oftentimes very much perceived as “great” to you – and if it is important to you, it is important God.
We also know this, Acts 14:22:
“…through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.”
This word is not the word for persecution in the more direct sense: dioko, but is the particular and unique word: Thlipsis = also translated as “trial,” “affliction,” and “distress.” All of these other words help us to understand what is encompassed in the word “tribulation.” A trial is a hardship which causes you strain, an affliction is something upon you which causes you to suffer, and distress represents the emotional turmoil within you as you go through these things. On account of sin coming into the world and our own sinful rebellion against our Heavenly Father, we go through tribulation. As you can see, I’m presenting tribulation both in the sense of external causes upon us and internal causes within us (this is the biblical gamut).
Tomorrow April 14th at Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church of Irvine: “Worthy Is The Lamb” (Revelation 5:12)
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
“Worthy is the Lamb” (Revelation 5:8-14)
Rev. Dr. Espinosa
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! As I warned you last Sunday: don’t let anyone try to convince you that the book of Revelation should be treated as a scary book. This book is about the victory of our Risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ over everything that stands against His Kingdom and His Kingdom people, all of you! This book is about the victory of our Savior Jesus over sin, death, and the power of the devil. This is why Revelation -- when properly interpreted -- is extraordinarily comforting!
What lends to the mishandling of this unique literature (genre) called “apocalyptic” is that too many popular teachers assume that the book is primarily about future events. And while there are indeed some future events, the emphasis is not future, but what has already been accomplished by our Savior Jesus!
Revelation repeats in celebratory fashion – in a circular; over-and-over again approach – the great victory that Jesus has already accomplished! The Bible is written this way and reflects more of an eastern way of thinking over and above a western way of thinking. The 7 seals (Revelation 6f.) and 7 trumpets (Revelation 8f.) and 7 bowls (Revelation 15f.) are cyclical presentations of sin and death which have been overcome by the triumph of Jesus Christ (even while the great last Day is included in these cycles).
Last Sunday April 7th 2013 at Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church of Irvine: “Seven” (Revelation 1:4-18)
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
“Seven” (Revelation 1:4-18)
Rev. Dr. Alfonso O. Espinosa
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen. Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! And it might surprise you dear Christians that the risen Christ, our Savior Jesus, is described magnificently in a book that is so controversial in Scripture: the book of Revelation. In spite of its challenges, do not let anyone use Revelation to scare you because even the seemingly scary stuff (that represents evil) is described as conquered by Jesus for you! If certain authors and teachers treat it as a book of doom and gloom; as a book of terror and threats, then see through these false teachers because this great book is about the victory of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ over sin, death, and the power of the devil. Furthermore, Christ’s victory in Revelation is not – contrary to popular presentations of Revelation – primarily about something in the future that is yet to come, but rather it is a victory that has already been accomplished! From our epistle today based on Revelation 1, Jesus who conquered death for you said in this vision given to St. John the apostle at verses 17-18: “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.”
But Revelation does more than demonstrate the power and victory of our Resurrected Savior. It also teaches about your new life in Him; about living as His people filled with His life! And part and parcel of what teaches about your new life in Revelation is God’s use of the number seven.
In Revelation, the number seven is all over the place! “The number seven occurs fifty-four times. The book is addressed to seven churches, represented by seven lampstands. There are seven stars symbolizing seven angels of the churches. There are seven spirits of God represented by seven lamps. Further, there are seven seals and a Lamb with seven eyes and seven horns. Seven angels blow seven trumpet-blasts. Seven other angels pour out the contents of seven bowls full of the final seven plagues. Seven thunders utter voices. The beast out of the sea has seven heads. There are seven mountains, seven kings, and so on. This number seven indicates completeness.” (William Hendriksen, More than Conquerors, Grand Rapids: Baker, 1991. 42)
The note that the number seven indicates completeness is a good way of looking at the use of seven as a symbol in the special kind of literature that Revelation is (namely apocalyptic which is characterized by a lot of figurative language and a lot of symbols; Revelation is – after all – a vision). But again seven as completeness is cool. Think of the creation: God created the heavens and the earth in six days and he rested on the seventh day. The seventh day reflects upon the completion of creation. Furthermore, when Exodus 20 compares the regular week to the creation week, we relate to what Moses is saying: all of this is about a complete week. We can say this morning, “Congratulations that by the grace of God, you completed another week this past week!” Last week is now complete. Seven is about completeness!
But before I get into the text, why does the Bible even contain this kind of code-language? What’s the point in doing that to begin with? These are important questions and please be encouraged to know that there are important answers to these questions. John the apostle was writing Revelation from an island – a very small island in fact called Patmos – where he was exiled for preaching the Gospel.
The other apostles were martyred for the faith. John was also persecuted, but he was exiled. The point, however, is that the early church -- even at the point in which John was writing Revelation -- was already being persecuted. So in order to spread the Word of God and to network the people of God in the Church, John wrote in code language that has peculiar characteristics that amount to a special literary genre called “apocalyptic.”
But the really awesome thing is that sometimes symbolism helps us to understand things better anyway! And the number seven which was code for God’s completed work is also a number for you. You are complete dear Christian.