{"id":1574,"date":"2021-10-03T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-10-03T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/?p=1574"},"modified":"2021-10-17T18:41:45","modified_gmt":"2021-10-18T01:41:45","slug":"the-nineteenth-sunday-after-pentecost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/2021\/10\/03\/the-nineteenth-sunday-after-pentecost\/","title":{"rendered":"The Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Pentecost-19-10-03-21.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Mark 9:38-50<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Live Your Life\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Jesus\u2019 Name!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cTeacher,\u201d said John, \u201cwe saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.\u201d&nbsp; <em>\u201cDo not stop him,\u201d<\/em> Jesus said. &nbsp;<em>\u201cNo one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us.&nbsp; I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward.&nbsp; And if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck.&nbsp; If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.&nbsp; It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out.&nbsp; And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off.&nbsp; It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell.&nbsp; And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.&nbsp; It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where \u2018their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.\u2019&nbsp; Everyone will be salted with fire.&nbsp; Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again?&nbsp; Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other.\u201d<\/em>&nbsp; (NIV1984)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Names are something that we generally take for granted.&nbsp; And yet, people often take a long time to decide on just the right name for their newborn child.&nbsp; When you stop to think about it, picking a name for a new pet is comparatively easy.&nbsp; You can choose a pet\u2019s name based on things such as their personality or their markings. Picking a name for your child\u2014 now that\u2019s far more complicated, isn\u2019t it.&nbsp; Sometimes parents will pick their child\u2019s first name based on how it fits with their last name.&nbsp; Sometimes parents will pick their child\u2019s name simply because they like that name.&nbsp; Sometimes parents will pick their child\u2019s name in order to honor someone in the family.&nbsp; If a child\u2019s name is chosen to honor someone in else in the family, there can be a strong encouragement for the child to \u201clive up\u201d to that name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>No matter what name our parents gave to us and no matter why our parents gave us our name, the most important name that you and I have been given is the name our God gave to us when we were baptized into His Name!&nbsp; On the day of our Baptism we were given the name\u2014 Christian.&nbsp; Since we are Christians, since we are disciples, followers of Jesus Christ we need to ask ourselves, \u201cHow well am I living up to the Name my God has given to me?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our sermon text for today reminds us that since we <strong>are <\/strong>Christians, since we <strong>are <\/strong>His disciples (Pointing to the cross) our lives need to openly reflect that glorious truth.&nbsp; With that reality in mind let\u2019s study our text under the theme:&nbsp; <strong><em>Live Your Life\u2014 In Jesus\u2019 Name!<\/em><\/strong>&nbsp; Living our lives in Jesus\u2019 Name will lead us to do two things.&nbsp; First, living our life in Jesus\u2019 Name will lead us to replace criticism with commendation.&nbsp; Second, living our life in Jesus\u2019 Name will lead us to recognize and remove our own sinful tendencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our text for today picks up right where last week\u2019s text ended.&nbsp; Last week we saw that when Jesus\u2019 disciples argued with each other about <em>\u201cwho was the greatest\u201d<\/em> Jesus sat them down and taught them that instead of trying to figure out which of them was the <em>\u201cgreatest,\u201d<\/em> their goal in life needs to center on striving to have the simple, humble faith of a child.&nbsp; Were the disciples listening to Jesus?&nbsp; Did the disciples understand what Jesus was trying to teach them?&nbsp; I honestly don\u2019t know.&nbsp; Why?&nbsp; Look at the opening verse of our text for today. Mark writes, <em>\u201c\u2019Teacher,\u2019 said John, \u2018we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.\u2019\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Why was John upset?&nbsp; Was it because someone was helping people by <em>\u201cdriving demons\u201d<\/em> out of them?&nbsp; No, it was not.&nbsp; Was it because someone was <em>\u201cdriving demons\u201d<\/em> out of people by using the power of Jesus\u2019 Name?&nbsp; No, it was not.&nbsp; John was upset because the person who was <em>\u201cdriving demons out in <\/em>(Jesus\u2019) <em>name\u201d\u2014 \u201cwas not one of us.\u201d<\/em>&nbsp; You may recall that when Jesus sent out the Twelve in His Name, He specifically gave them the power and the authority to <em>\u201cdrive out\u201d<\/em> demons.&nbsp; (See Mark 3:13-18; 6:7-13).&nbsp; Since this person was not <em>\u201cone of us,\u201d<\/em> that is, since this person was not one of the Twelve, John and the other apostles told him to <strong>stop!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It seems as though John and the other apostles were being overzealous in protecting Jesus\u2019 <em>\u201cname\u201d<\/em>\u2014 and perhaps protecting the power and the authority that Jesus had graciously given to them.&nbsp; Did Jesus agree with His apostles?&nbsp; Not at all!&nbsp; Jesus not only sided with the person who was helping others by <em>\u201cdriving out demons in <\/em>(Jesus\u2019) <em>name,\u201d<\/em> but He said to His disciples, <em>\u201cDo not stop him.&nbsp; No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us.&nbsp; I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here is where we see that living our life in Jesus\u2019 Name leads us to replace criticism with commendation.&nbsp; Instead of condemning the man who was using the power of Jesus\u2019 Name to do something as glorious as <em>\u201cdriving demons\u201d<\/em> out of others, John and the rest of the Twelve could have and should have commended him!&nbsp; Why?&nbsp; Because as Jesus told them, <em>\u201cwhoever is not against us is for us.\u201d&nbsp; <\/em>Even if someone does not have an \u201cofficial\u201d title or an \u201cofficial\u201d position in the church, as long as they are not doing something <em>\u201cagainst\u201d<\/em> Jesus they are to be commended for whatever they do <em>\u201cin Jesus\u2019 name\u201d <\/em>\u2014 even if they do something as simple as give a cup of water to someone because that person <em>\u201cbelongs to Christ,\u201d<\/em> because that person is a fellow believer!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We would do well to take this truth to heart, my friends, as we strive to live our lives in Jesus\u2019 Name.&nbsp; When someone\u2019s faith in Jesus, when someone\u2019s love for Jesus motivates them to reach out and help someone with even the smallest act of kindness, instead of criticizing them because maybe they are not <em>\u201cone of us,\u201d<\/em> we need to commend that person.&nbsp; Commend them for living their life in Jesus\u2019 Name!&nbsp; Commend them for letting their faith shine brightly in their life. Commend them for setting a wonderful Christian example for others to follow\u2014 perhaps even for us to follow!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Living our life in Jesus\u2019 Name will not only lead us to replace criticism with commendation, but living our life in Jesus\u2019 Name will also lead us to closely examine our own heart and our own life to see where we need to recognize and remove our own sinful tendencies.&nbsp; Look at how that truth is brought out in verses 42-48 of our text.&nbsp; Jesus says to us, <em>\u201cAnd if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck.&nbsp; If your hand causes you to sin, cut if off.&nbsp; It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out.&nbsp; And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off.&nbsp; It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell.&nbsp; And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.&nbsp; It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where \u2018their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.\u2019\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wow!&nbsp; While the power of these words is undeniable and while the picture that Jesus paints here is unforgettable, how are we to apply these words to ourselves as we strive to live our life in Jesus\u2019 Name?&nbsp; I see two applications here.&nbsp; The first application centers on Jesus words to avoid, <em>\u201ccausing one of these little ones who believe in me to sin.\u201d<\/em>&nbsp; Who are these <em>\u201clittle ones\u201d<\/em>?&nbsp; Since Jesus had taken <em>\u201ca little child and had him stand\u201d<\/em> among His disciples, our Lord is most certainly warning us against harming a child\u2019s faith in Jesus.&nbsp; This would include making sure that we do not do anything or say anything that could cause a little child to stumble in their faith or to question their faith.&nbsp; This also includes doing everything we can to avoid the \u201cDo as I say\u2014 not as I do!\u201d trap that is so very easy to fall into.&nbsp; Jesus is so serious and so adamant that we do not <em>\u201ccause one of these little ones who believe in <\/em>(Jesus) <em>to sin,\u201d<\/em> that He warns us of the severe punishment that someone who does this deserves to receive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, the definition of the <em>\u201clittle ones who believe in <\/em>(Jesus)\u201d is not limited to just young children.&nbsp; It also includes those who are \u201cyoung\u201d in faith, those who are new to the Christian faith, those whose faith is immature.&nbsp; Instead of criticizing them, instead of belittling them, instead of dismissing them we are to help them <em>\u201cgrow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ\u201d<\/em> (2 Peter 3:18).&nbsp; If we haven\u2019t seen them in church for a while, we can remind them of how important it is for our soul to be strengthened by regular use of God\u2019s holy Word and Sacrament.&nbsp; If they are having difficulties with something that the Bible teaches, we can refresh our own understanding of that teaching and then help them to see and rejoice in what our God has revealed to us.&nbsp; If they are struggling to live their life <em>\u201cin Jesus\u2019 name\u201d<\/em> we can do everything we can to not only set a good example for them to follow, but we may also volunteer to mentor them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That brings us to the second application of the powerful picture that Jesus paints for us this morning.&nbsp; When Jesus talks about <em>\u201ccutting off\u201d <\/em>our hand or <em>\u201ccutting off\u201d<\/em> our foot or <em>\u201cplucking out\u201d<\/em> our eye if they <em>\u201ccause us to sin\u201d<\/em>\u2014 does He mean that literally?&nbsp; Does Jesus actually want us to <em>\u201ccut off\u201d<\/em> the parts of our body that <em>\u201ccause us to sin\u201d<\/em>?&nbsp; The answer is both \u201cYes!\u201d and \u201cNo!\u201d&nbsp; No, cutting off our hand or cutting off our foot or plucking out our eyes cannot guarantee that we will no longer sin. &nbsp;In fact, Jesus Himself tells us that sin <em>\u201ccomes out of men\u2019s hearts\u201d<\/em> (Matthew 7:20-23).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the same time, we can say \u201cYes\u2014 Jesus actually literally means what He says here in our text!\u201d&nbsp; Jesus wants us to understand that anything that leads us away from God, anything that takes our focus off of what He has done <strong>for <\/strong>us (Pointing to the cross), anything that endangers or damages or weakens our relationship with our Savior God needs to be dealt with and if necessary, it needs to be \u201cremoved\u201d from our life.&nbsp; This could mean turning off the television, filtering where we surf on the Internet and censoring the music that we listen to.&nbsp; This could mean \u201ccutting off\u201d friends who are having a negative influence on our faith and\/or our life.&nbsp; This means doing whatever is necessary so that we are not <em>\u201cthrown into hell, where \u2018their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.\u2019\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Living our life in Jesus\u2019 Name is not an easy thing to do, my friends.&nbsp; It means that we need to replace criticism with commendation.&nbsp; It means that we need to recognize and remove our own sinful tendencies.&nbsp; How can we possibly do this?&nbsp; On our own\u2014 we can\u2019t.&nbsp; If we try to do this on our own\u2014 we will fail.&nbsp; That\u2019s why Jesus says to us in the closing verses of our text, <em>\u201cEveryone will be salted with fire.&nbsp; Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again?&nbsp; Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At first glance these words might sound rather confusing.&nbsp; We know that salt was and still is used to season our food and\/or to preserve our food.&nbsp; What does Jesus mean then when He says that we will be <em>\u201csalted with fire\u201d<\/em>?&nbsp; These words of our Lord become clear when we understand that the <em>\u201csalt\u201d<\/em> Jesus is talking about here refers to the holy inspired Word of our God.&nbsp; God\u2019s Word contains <strong>both <\/strong>Law <strong>and <\/strong>Gospel.&nbsp; When God\u2019s holy Law \u201cexposes\u201d our sin, it \u201cburns\u201d like salt poured into an open wound.&nbsp; Once God\u2019s Law has \u201cexposed\u201d our sin, once God\u2019s Law has led us to repent of our sin, that is, to <em>\u201ccut\u201d<\/em> that sin <em>\u201cout\u201d<\/em> of our life\u2014 then God\u2019s Gospel \u201cheals\u201d us by assuring us that we <strong>are <\/strong>forgiven.&nbsp; This necessary combination of both Law and Gospel is not only what \u201cpreserves\u201d us in our faith, but it also \u201cpreserves\u201d us from being condemned to the eternal fires of hell.&nbsp; When we have this <em>\u201csalt in ourselves,\u201d<\/em> when both God\u2019s Law and God\u2019s Gospel are a part of us then we will be able to <em>\u201cbe at peace with each other.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When we were born our parents gave us our name.&nbsp; When we were <em>\u201cborn again\u201d<\/em> through the Sacrament of Holy Baptism the God of heaven gave us a new name.&nbsp; By the grace and power of God we <strong>are <\/strong>Christians, we <strong>are<\/strong> His disciples.&nbsp; (Pointing to the cross)&nbsp; May God grant that we will consciously strive to \u201clive up\u201d to our new name by consciously striving to live our life\u2014 in Jesus\u2019 Name!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To God be the glory!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Amen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mark 9:38-50 Live Your Life\u2014 In Jesus\u2019 Name! \u201cTeacher,\u201d said John, \u201cwe saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.\u201d&nbsp; \u201cDo not stop him,\u201d Jesus said. &nbsp;\u201cNo one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1574","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-worship-service-podcast"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1574","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1574"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1574\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1585,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1574\/revisions\/1585"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1574"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}