"A Pastor Prays For His Congregation!" Ephesians 3:14-21

The Sixteenth Sunday After Trinity 15-September-2024

Sermon Text: Ephesians 3:13-21

Sermon Theme: “A Pastor Prays For His Congregation!” I. Always Be Strengthened By The Triune God!(vs.13-17a) II. Know The Love of Christ! (Vs.17b-19) III. Give All Glory To God! (Vs.20-21) by Rev. Nathan J. Rusert

I.N.R.I. Alleluia! Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia! Easter breaks in upon us again today! Every Sunday is an Easter. We gather to rejoicing the Crucified is Risen! Because He lives we live also! After a week walking through our dark despairing death filled world our hearts fill with sorrow. Like the two disciples are hearts despair, it looks like evil has triumphed and our Jesus is dead. Suddenly as we walk into our congregation a Stranger walks by our side, sits with us in the pew.

    He asks, “Psa 42:5 Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me?” The speaking the life giving Words that filled our baptismal water He assures us, “Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him For the help of His countenance.” Drawing closer He comforts us by the Holy Spirit. Listen! Joh 20:21-23 So Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." (22) And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. (23) If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." He speaks His forgiveness into our ears here! Psa 103:11-12 For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; (12) As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.

    The voice of our Crucified, Risen, Ascended King Jesus echos off the walls of our sanctuary. Luk 24:27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.” In Scriptures read, confessed, preached Jesus is present filling us with hope in this present evil age. We may not see Him clearly, until He invites us to His table and breaks and blesses the Bread - His true Body placing it upon our tongue to receive. In Bread and Wine He is present! Death meets its defeat! Life is placed and poured upon our lips! His Life eternal is in His blood! Now we can depart in peace! We can die in peace! Easter has come into your flesh! Salvation has come to us! Hope restored! Death’s sting and strength is broken! Jesus is really present with us! We burst with song: “Break forth, my soul, for joy and say: What wealth is come to me this day! My Savior dwells within my heart:How blest am I! How good art Thou!” Live in Easter! “Alleluia! Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia! “

     Learn this by the Holy Spirit as a pastor named Paul prays for his congregation! “A Pastor Prays For His Congregation!” I. Always Be Strengthened By The Triune God!(vs.13-17a) II. Know The Love of Christ! (Vs.17b-19) III. Give All Glory To God! (Vs.20-21)

I.  For three years pastor Paul remained in Ephesus baptizing, teaching, preaching, praying, and administering the Lord’s Supper. It is the longest time the Apostle Paul stayed in any of his mission congregations. Paul was a prisoner of the Roman empire awaiting his trial before Caesar charged with inciting a riot in Jerusalem’s Temple. Study the historical record of Acts 21-28.  Paul returned to Jerusalem and worshiped in the Temple to show the Jewish Christians that he was faithful. Dr. Luke, Paul’s physician and a historian, reports: Act 21:27-29 Now when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him, (28) crying out, "Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against the people, the law, and this place; and furthermore he also brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place." (29) (For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.) The congregation at Ephesus felt responsible for Paul’s arrest, trial, and imprisonment.

   Pastor Paul prays that his congregation doesn’t lose heart.(vs.13) When pastors are arrested in our nation and imprisoned for preaching the truth, as they were in communist Russia and still are in China. Don’t lose heart. Christ calls us to speak the Truth even if it brings the cross! Mar 8:34-38 When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. (35) For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it. (36) For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? (37) Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? (38) For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels." Dear congregation, never be ashamed to speak the Truth of the Holy Bible! Jesus lives! The victory’s won! Let the Light of the Truth shine in the darkness of sin, despair, death. Expose the devil anti-Christian propaganda and anti-Christian power with which he seeks to silence the Gospel.

      The strength to boldly confess the truth isn’t your own. It is the Triune God who opens your lips to confess Jesus as the only Savior of sinful mankind. All religions outside of Christianity lead only to hell. Hear Jesus! Joh 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Anyone who teaches that there are many paths to God is a false teacher, an anti-Christ! Hear the Holy Spirit! (Vs.14-17a) There is only one True God! The Father, The Son, The Holy Spirit! - The Triune God!

      A pastor prays that his congregation remains in the strength of the Holy Trinity. Praying to God the Father through our Lord Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit. The one holy Christian and Apostolic Church is strengthened through the cross of Jesus by the Triune God. The riches of Jesus’ glory is His crucifixion for all sinners to reconcile us to our heavenly Father. The might of Jesus is shown in our weakness, as God the Holy Spirit daily calls, gathers, enlightens, and keeps us in the One True Faith in Christ Jesus with in His Church.

      Jesus promises, Joh 14:23 ..., "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.” Through Holy Spirit given and sustained faith - Jesus dwells within your hearts knitting us together as one family! Your pastor prays that his congregation is always strengthened by the Triune God!

II. Satan deceived our first parents with the lie that God’s Word doesn’t matter and that He doesn’t love His creation. Beware that old evil foe still wields great guile - he lies - always!

     A pastor prays that you might know the love of Christ - to stand against the lies of Satan, the world, and even your own fallen sin corrupted flesh and thinking. Listen! (Vs.17-19) Paul counted all his good deeds as only manure. He writes to his congregation at Philippi, Php 3:7-11 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. (8) Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ (9) and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; (10) that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, (11) if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”

     Know Christ’s love through baptism faith. You are rooted and grounded in Jesus’ love. His love for you is beyond all dimensions. The eternally only begotten Son of God, humbles Himself to rescue you from all sins, from death, from the power of the devil. He makes Himself weak, becomes your Brother in the Virgin’s womb by the power of the Holy Spirit. The God of Creation becomes an embryo FOR YOU! He is a fetus FOR YOU! He is a newborn baby FOR YOU! He is a toddler FOR YOU! He is a child FOR YOU! He is a teenager FOR YOU! He is an adult FOR YOU! In love FOR YOU! He perfectly keeps God’s Holy Law from the moment human life begins - conception to death - FOR YOU!

    Christ Jesus’ love FOR YOU is above human knowledge. To love and die for those who hate you - this only can be divine love which seeks to reconcile sinners by taking their sin, suffering, death, and hell into His own body.

     When Satan accuses, the world mocks, your conscience oppresses - look to the cross and fix your eyes on the Crucified - know the love of Christ for you! Let the fullness of God fill you by His Holy Spirit - trust in Him! He lives! Death, sin, and Satan stand forever defeated!

III.  Today Jesus, the Lord of Life, stops the march to the grave. A young man is dead. His widowed mother has no hope. Jesus comes to those without hope. He preaches comfort. He speaks His life giving Word. The funeral only becomes a celebration of life in Jesus’ real presence!

      The widow’s son dies. She accuses the prophet Elijah of bringing her sin to remembrance. Elijah prays to Jesus three times - life is restored by Jesus. He would be laid into our death for three days in the tomb - then Easter would forever break upon our world! Alleluia Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!

       A pastor prays that his congregations give all glory to God alone! Listen! (Vs.20-21) Soli Deo Gloria is how the Lutheran musical master Johann Sebastian Bach signed all his compositions. To God alone be all glory.

      Dear congregation never lose heart! The life of our congregation is Jesus! His Word sustains and strengthens us by His Holy Spirit. The Father’s good and gracious will keeps us in His Word and Faith until death - then will come the day of resurrection - in this flesh redeemed by the blood and love of Jesus by His Holy Spirit raised incorruptible, immortal, glorious, and powerful - we shall behold Him face to face!

     Even now His power is at work in us. We are weak He is strong. His grace never fails! Today rejoice! Today Easter broke on us again! Alleluia! Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!  Amen.