Let the Eternal Gospel Fly!

1st Sunday of End Time, Reformation Sunday, 11/4/18
Revelation 14:6-7


Let the Eternal Gospel Fly!
I. Into your saved-by-grace heart
II. Into our judged-by-God world


It seems we live in a world of two information extremes.

On the one hand, we wonder what really happened, what’s really going on, what are they not telling us? We’re certain that, in this particular situation, there’s a cover-up going on and we may never know the truth. People might even mysteriously lose their lives, all in an effort to keep the truth from seeing the light of day.

On the other extreme, people seem to be comfortable saying whatever they want. It doesn’t have to be the truth. It’s simply what a person wants other people to think is true. Statements are thrown out there simply to get a desired reaction. Powerful people have a goal in mind and they will say anything, even repeatedly, to attain that goal. They simply let words fly.

Those two extremes make you wish you always heard the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Those two extremes make you wish the verbal noise would cease, allowing us to listen to, take to heart, and enjoy some information that really matters. Wouldn’t that be something? In our age of instant worldwide communication, where anything and everything is thrown out there for people to listen to, wouldn’t it be a slice of heaven to hear only what is useful, only what is true, only what truly matters?

If that’s how you feel—even if only marginally—then you’ve come to the right place this morning. Today we’re celebrating Luther’s Reformation of the Church. Five hundred one years ago a Catholic monk named Martin Luther was convinced that the truth was being covered up and lies were being unleashed by the very institution that should have been proclaiming God’s truth—the Christian Church on earth. The only true God used Luther to unleash his gospel—the message of forgiveness and eternal life solely through faith in Jesus. That’s the eternal gospel—good news that will never change. And not even Satan himself will ever be able to silence the gospel.

As people who bear the name “Lutheran” today, we are the recipients of that eternal gospel. It’s ours to guard and keep, and it’s ours to share. So, in keeping with St. John’s vision here before us this morning in Revelation 14, let’s let the eternal gospel fly! Fellow heirs of the Reformation, let’s see what that’s all about.

Part I.

Unless you’ve had your head in the sand, you know that our country is in the grips of an epidemic. The one I’m referring to is the opioid epidemic. You’ve likely heard a lot about it with elections occurring this Tuesday. Law enforcement officers and politicians might disagree on how to battle this national problem, but everyone agrees how deadly it is. One source I checked states that more than 200,000 Americans have died in the

past 10 years due to opioid overdoses. And just because the addict has beaten addiction once, doesn’t mean the battle is over. The next addiction is just a pill away. And they’re everywhere, or so it seems.

But while opioid addiction affects 100s of thousands of people, there’s another addiction that affects billions of people. It’s a spiritual epidemic and it afflicts each and every human being by nature. It’s the spiritual opioid that thinks we can do what God demands in order to receive forgiveness and eternal life. Thank God that you and I know that isn’t true, that it’s Satan’s greatest lie. But 500 years ago that was the message being proclaimed in pulpit and classroom throughout the civilized world. The Church fed sinners the daily drivel, “Do this and you can be forgiven.” Fear, guilt and despair filled countless hearts.

And while modern people might not be filled with the same level of fear and guilt, they still hold on to the addictive vapor of doing what’s required to be accepted by God. The greatest lie of Satan still rules in the hearts of billions of people—just try to be a good person and that’s all God expects.

As Lutheran Christians, you and I know that to be the spiritually deadly lie that it is. I don’t think hell is filled with mafia crime bosses. But I know it’s filled with souls who were falsely believed that being a good person is all that God required and they died convinced that they had accomplished it. That spiritual epidemic still rages on!

But you and I know the truth. Nothing we can do makes us acceptable to God. We have nothing to give him. Meanwhile, our daily sins condemn us. “There is no one righteous; not even one” (Rom. 3:10). By God’s grace we know the sinful truths about ourselves. But by that same grace of God we know his saving good news. Just verses later in Romans 3 Paul wrote, “But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.” (Rom. 3:21-22). That’s the truth that Luther rediscovered and proclaimed in his Reformation of the Church and that’s the truth that you and I have received. John’s vision is being fulfilled before our very eyes, “Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth.” Angels are literally messengers of God. Consider how many messengers of the gospel God has placed in your life so that you know and believe the only truth that rescues you from hell and makes you heirs of eternal life. The gospel has flown to you!

So, what do you need now? Now that you know and believe the truth that rescues you from sin and hell, what do you need? The very same gospel that lives in your heart by faith in Jesus. We still need that gospel! Remember that the spiritual epidemic still surrounds you! The deadly lie that you don’t need a Savior named Jesus, that you’re spiritually fine just as you are, that surely God will accept your efforts to please him—those lies will attempt to suffocate any faith in Jesus you have. So don’t rest on your Lutheran gospel laurels! Instead, let the eternal gospel fly! Let it fly into your saved-by-grace heart!

We turned another page on the calendar this past week. It’s November, and, among other things, this month is known as a month of Thanksgiving. But that begs the question, “For what are you thankful?” And I would hope, that as we sit and praise God today for the blessings of the Reformation, that the truth of the gospel would not only make your “thankful” list, but that it would be at the top. Of all the things you know and believe to be true, there is only one truth that will matter at all once you draw your final breath—that you are forgiven solely by faith in Jesus as your Savior. God has caused his eternal gospel to fly into your heart! But what does that mean to you? Would you sacrifice everything rather than lose the gospel? Or is that truth simply something you take the time to enjoy now and then when you don’t have anything more important to do? Would you guard and defend that truth against all error? Or are you willing at times to make concessions, to allow sinful pride to chip away at the rock-solid confession that we are worthy of nothing but punishment from our God? This opportunity today—to celebrate the Reformation—gives us a blessed opportunity to ask ourselves what it means to us that Jesus sacrificed himself for our sins. What does it mean to you that of all the spiritual lies in our world, you, by God’s grace, believe God’s saving truth? Surely our gracious God is worthy of our praise, not just with our lips, but with our lives! And not just on this Reformation Sunday, but every day, every moment of our saved-by-grace lives! The eternal gospel has flown to you! Let it fly to you each day!

Part II.

Have you ever been late for something, so late that you completely missed out of whatever you had planned? We’ve all been there. And we regret it so much that we take great pains not to let it happen again.
For how many people living today will tomorrow be too late? What I mean is this: God has caused his eternal gospel to fly into your heart and mine, but what about the people who still don’t have it? What if tomorrow is too late for them? That’s painful for us to consider, isn’t it?

If the Reformation gospel is God’s only saving truth, and if God has caused that eternal gospel to fly into our hearts, then we have a mountain of work to do, don’t we? Listen to the angel’s words in John’s vision, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.” The angel’s words are filled with urgency. God’s will is for all to repent and believe in Jesus as their Savior from sin. And he uses us to let that eternal gospel fly. He uses us worldwide, as we support our synod’s mission work to the ends of the earth. But he also uses you and me personally to let that gospel fly. And I can think of no better time than now to join in that work. Our Sunday Bible class is searching the word of God to be equipped to bring the eternal gospel to the people we know—friends, relatives, acquaintances, and neighbors. Whom do you know who needs to hear about forgiveness and eternal life in Jesus? Christmas is coming up. Christmas Eve will make a perfect time to invite them to join you in hearing the eternal gospel. What an opportunity to let the eternal gospel fly!

Yes, the Reformation is a wonderful time to sit and feast on the grace of God, to fill our souls with the eternal gospel. But it’s also time to get busy, to get busy sharing the gospel. Let the eternal gospel fly! And may God richly bless our gospel flight efforts! Amen.