LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1995, Page 84

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84 CONVENTION ESSAYS

“Think for example of Abraham. He is presented in the -

Bible as the father and type of all the faithful who must
journey many many days trusting solely inthe promises of
God that are not yet seen as fulfilled (cf. Heb. 11): I think
we can relate to that.

~*When I read the Genesis 25. story of Baan, I recognize s0

much of modern man there. :Esau is. described:as a: man
who has to have everything now. Fora fleeting satisfaction
on demand, he sold away his birthright, to Jacob: Why Esau
could: appear on a modern. TV beer. commercial. saying:
“Grab all the gusto you can, right now.” _....

And when I read such biblical prophets.as. Ezekiel. and
Jeremiah, I note how often they dipped their. pens in the
inkwell of human anguish.

So-the.20th-century person who steps out, of a Boeing
777 with his laptop computer and cellular phone is really
no different spiritually in his rebelliousness, self-centered-
ness, but also spiritual hunger and need of divine redemp-
tion, than the Adam and Eve who were cast out of Eden.

I can be confident that the stories in the Bible are rele-
vant because they describe the continuing human condition
in which the only hope is divine rescue. What is described
in the Bible is still also my condition, my need, and that of
all around me. Because the Bible is God’s Word, it is eter-
nal. And what is eternal is also always contemporary.

- (C) I want to grow in the Word because I want courage. I
need the theological backbone of the biblical prophets. Only
God’s Word can prevent a curvature of my theological
spine. Without the power of the Word, I can’t challenge the
many idols in my culture.

The Scriptures remind me that as a Christian I am a
stranger, an alien as far as the world’s value systems are
concerned.

Hebrews describes spiritually mature believers as those
who “have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil”
(5:14). I, therefore, need to learn to see what the correla-
tion is between what I read in the Bible, what I read in
today’s newspaper, and what I see on my daily calendar of
events, including my planned leisure-time activities.

Tom Landry, former head coach of the Dallas Cowboys,

said, “If you’re not one step ahead of the crowd, you'll soon -

be a step behind everyone else” (quoted in John Maxwell,
Developing the Leader’s Around You, p. 60).

Long before Tom Landry, God’s spokesman the apostle
Paul said, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this
world” (Rom. 12:12).

Do you know that the fastest growing city in the United
, States and the one that competes with Orlando, Florida, for
tourist dollars is Las Vegas? If you have visited that city
recently you've noticed how it has geared up to entertain
‘families. Now it prefers to speak of gambling as simply
“gaming.”

Gambling, pun fully intended, is on a roll. How are we to
evaluate the growing acceptance, even among many Chris-
tians, of this age-old way of spending, excuse me, giving
away one’s money?

Lutherans have always spoken of the Bible as the sole
source and norm for how we evaluate life and what we do in
the church. The English word norm originated from a Latin
word that referred to a carpenter’s square. This was his

major tool for objectively determining if something was
properly aligned.

The Bible, God’s Word, is our only square, our funda-
mental reference for separating divine truth from the many
errors that pervade our culture: Because our society has
been characterized as one of “hard pornography and soft
morals,” we have a valid reason to ask’ if the growing ac-
ceptance of this so-called “gaming industry” is simply an-'
other sign of a spiritually sick society? ~ :

The issue you and I face is, when does our “having a lit
tle fun” become simply another way of bowing down to a
golden calf. Genesis records that such bowing brought
God’s judgment of death upon a whole generation, and they
never reached the Promised Land.

To grow in the Word is to grow in an understanding not
only of the way to eternal life, but also how we are to live
while on that way.

Throughout the Bible, work and diligence are empha- .
sized as keys to financial success and stability. Proverbs
says that “he who gathers by labor will increase.” On the
other hand, Proverbs says, “he who hastens to be rich will
not go unpunished” (13:11; 28:20).

Those who become infected with the gambling fever soon
find that they are irrationally trusting in chance and luck,
which, however, can never be a replacement for hard work.
The more people get into “gaming” so-called, the more they
feel the spiritually deadly virus of covetousness, a sin
clearly condemned by God in His Word (Luke 12:15; 1 Tim.
6:10).

But we're here not to talk about “other people.” Only by
our own “growth in the Word” will we have firmly in our
hands the “sword of the Spirit,” that can slay these sins as
they attempt to take up residence in our hearts.

(D) For a moment now I want to speak with just you
pastors. You know why I want to grow in the Word? I want
a truly authoritative ministry, and to be an effective
preacher too!

People respond to all kinds of authority: a person’s posi-
tion on an organizational chart, professional competence, a
charismatic personality.

Now let me clue you in on a secret. These three types of
authority are not the type of authority that the laity, who
themselves are growing in the Word, are looking for in you.
They have correctly uncovered that there is a higher kind of
authority than the three I have just mentioned.

It is not accidental in the Book of Concord, the office of
the public ministry is considered in connection to its ser-
vice to the church in the administration of the Gospel and
the Sacraments. What the Lutheran confessors acknowl-
edged is that the highest authority is that recognized as
coming from God Himself. It is exercised publicly by the
one who has himself stood in the presence of God and is rec-
ognized by His people as a person who now reflects both the
thoughts of God’s mind and the attitude of His heart.

That’s the type of authority I want. And it comes only -
from personally, continually standing in the presence of
God and under the power of His Word. This type of author-
ity is most often reflected in the action of preaching.

(E) Preaching is the interfacing of God’s Word with the
preacher and his parishioners. When I preach, I want my