Christ Lutheran Church: Welcome
You are here:

Where There is a Tree - January 16, 2005

Where There is a Tree

The 2nd Sunday after Epiphany

1 Corinthians 1:1-9 January 16, 2005

 Rev. Dave R. Garwick

“I don’t know if I can do this.”

Have you ever said that to yourself? You have been told by God in His Holy Word what HE wants you to do … in your marriage, at work, with a friend, in some personal choice that is set before you. He tells you that there is just one particular tree in life that He does NOT want you to mess with, and then He sets it right there, right in front of you, right within reach and allows you – no, REQUIRES you to choose between Him or yourself. And a snaky little voice says something like, ‘well, He did not say that you CAN’T … just that you shouldn’t.’ And you’ve got a choice.

Hmmmm…. then, because we’ve all been taught that God is nice, that snaky little voice says, ‘Well, we can’t really be too sure exactly what He meant .. and besides, He’ll forgive me anyway.” All of this falls under the question, “I don’t know if I even WANT to do what God commands.” I think that’s where most of the struggle goes on.

But there are hurtful marriages, for example, where a tired spouse just does not WANT to continue, but who struggles to stay with the program simply because God has said what He thinks of divorce. THAT person knows she does not WANT to continue, but who struggles with whether or not she CAN. “I don’t know if I can do this.” Or maybe it’s not a marriage – maybe it’s the alcoholic at the end of a long day who does not want to face himself in the long hours of the night ahead, who finds himself approaching the watering hole on the way home from work. Or maybe you just “cannot” bring yourself to forgive someone who has hurt you so badly. “I don’t know if I can do this.”

This sermon is for people who KNOW or suspect what God requires, who have gotten past whether or not they WANT to do that, who desire to do God’s will but who are not sure if they have what it takes to do it. For example, you KNOW that God hates divorce and that what He has bound together you are not to put asunder, and even though you want “out” of your unhappy marriage, you strive to sick with it, only doubting whether or not you can pull it off.

When God has called you to a sacred responsibility that you think is beyond your ability – as a parent, as a child, as a spouse, as a Christian in this culture – the apostle Paul assures us that, “… you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He WILL keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.”

Let me repeat that last promise: “God, who has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.” One more time: “God is faithful.” This is such a major theme throughout the Bible that this is what we’re going to study this afternoon in Encore Bible Study. So, when you say, “I’m not sure if I can do this,” you may very well be right: YOU yourself may NOT be able to pull this off … if the issue is you. But for the person who has been sent out by God to do something, the hope is not in your faithfulness but in HIS. The apostle Paul was not the first one to write down that promise, but considering how unlikely HE was to be an apostle at all, HE is the proof that this promise is true!

That is what John the Baptist confessed in the Gospel Lesson that you just read. John was brought into existence for the sole purpose of preparing the way for the promised Messiah. But John did not even know who that Messiah was!

 …. until the day, “… John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! THIS is the one I meant when I said, 'A man who comes after me has surpassed me because He was before me.'” Now pay attention here to the very next thing John admits: “I myself did not know Him ….. I would not have known Him, except that the One who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is He who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' I have seen and I testify that this IS the Son of God."

The point being this: JOHN was NOT up to the task himself: but the One who sent John WAS faithful. What responsible father would send his child out to shovel snow in this weather without the clothing and the equipment to do the job? YOUR Father is John’s father, Abraham and Sarah’s father, Jesus’ father. When He sends you out to do His will – especially when you don’t think you can do it, He WILL equip you with all you need for one reason: “God IS faithful; He will not let you be tested beyond what you can bear. But when you are tested, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it,” (1 Cor 10:13). God IS faithful.

All you need to do is trust Him. You can be faithful because GOD is faithful.

Amen. May it be so.