Sermon for the Fourth Sunday of Easter-05/08/2022
Rev. Enzo Pellini
John 10:22-30
Then came the Feast of Hanukkah at Jerusalem. It was winter. 23 Jesus was in the temple courtyard walking in Solomon’s Porch. 24 The Jews who were gathered there around Jesus spoke to him. They said, “How long will you keep us waiting? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”

25 Jesus answered, “I did tell you. But you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name are a witness for me. 26 But you do not believe, because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice. I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never die. No one will steal them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than anyone. No one can steal them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.” (NIrV)

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One of the most important questions that I’d like to have clearly answered for every one of us is: why do we need a church? If we can leave the service today with this question clearly answered, then we can say that we are able to understand what does it mean to be Jesus’ flock.

Jesus says: “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me…” God will never allow a church to be founded in His name nor will he ever allow a church to continue to grow if it is not founded by His sheep and still being filled by His sheep.
Being a sheep means, among other things, that we are owned by Christ. We hear his voice; this means we recognize; we accept, we believe and we try to obey that voice. And there is something very important about following: that is to keep near to the master, in this case, Jesus. If we use Jesus’ comparison of the sheep, we can we see that the church is a flock of sheep and that Jesus is the shepherd.
If each one of us that comes to church considers oneself to be part of the church of Jesus, then each of us will recognize Jesus as God, Lord, Savior, Messiah, Son of God and Creator of heaven and earth. If this is so, then we are following Jesus and we hear his voice.

If every one of us that comes to church accepts Jesus, that he is our savior and Redeemer and that what he tells us through His word is the highest authority that rules my life, then we are following Jesus.
If every one of us that comes to church truly believes that the Bible is the word of God, and that Jesus is talking daily through our reading of it, then we are following Jesus.

If every one of us makes a daily, at least humbly effort to want to please Jesus, then we are following Jesus.

The church is the body of those people who recognize, accept and believe in the voice of Jesus and follow him. If you belong to those sheep and consider yourself within that flock, then of course you’re one of Jesus’ sheep. Even though you may sometimes make mistakes, be wrong, sin, or have moments of weakness and sadness and lack of faith or distress. But in short, when it counts, you act like God would like. Do not worry; we all go through the same problems and tests. It is most important that you clearly love Jesus though.
If you love Jesus, then I have to declare that you belong to his flock; you are one of those sheep. Then feel good and say out loud, I follow Jesus and belong to his flock! despite my flaws. That’s the most important thing that you are able to declare this and believe in this.

The second most important of being part of the flock is when Jesus says: “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.” (NIV) That is something that many who are considered part of Jesus’ flock are slow to acknowledge, or are still in doubt as to whether this can be true. And that happens because of our lack of trust in God.

Our life on earth is temporary; that is not a mystery. Yet God can grant us a happy and blessed life if we confess aloud the blessings from God that we do have and thank God every day for what he gives us. Our life on earth can be sad and unhappy or happy and cheerful; it mainly depends on us, our thoughts, our way of talking or feel and, of course, our confidence in God. God promises to give us a life on earth and have it in the fullest possible way. But for this we also have to do our part – be accountable of our thoughts, words and actions.
Still, despite having been able to live an abundantly life in this life, death still awaits everyone, Christians and non-Christians alike, and there Jesus promises eternal life to his sheep, the Christians. He will give us paradise and I won’t need to explain how great it will be because you know it. But one of the most beautiful declarations today is that he tells us: “No one will snatch them out of my hand.” And that’s a message for us today.
Everyone one of us who belongs to this Redeemer congregation and each one of those who belongs to every church in the world that confesses Jesus Christ is protected, is anointed, is favoured, is blessed and is cared for by God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Every one of those is considered part of Jesus’ flock of sheep. We are accompanied by God on this earth and in the life beyond.

And this is something, dear sisters and brothers, that we should not lose sight of. The Redeemer Lutheran Church is not a building. Buildings can exist today and be gone tomorrow. But if people who congregate in a certain building are part of Jesus’ flock, nothing and nobody will harm them. Nothing and nobody can defeat them. No demon, nor foe, nor any vicious or poisonous or negative tongue or gossip may destroy them. This is so because the church is anointed by the power of Jesus Christ, the anointed one. And that’s the most important thing that we have to recognize now: our church is armoured by the power of God’s Holy Spirit. And if each one of us helps so that the word of God is proclaimed in this church for all who are hungry and thirsty for the message of hope and truth of Christ, then the church will remain, grow and strengthen and that is a truth that is supported by the holy word of God. And those who do not think this way won’t be able to belong to his flock. They won’t be worthy of belonging to his flock because they do not believe in his word. If you really are a sheep of God, then you must believe in His word and His word tells us today that there is a shepherd who is Jesus Christ. He wants to take care, He wants stay, He wants to bless us, He wants to multiply us and He wants to see us grow only for His glory.

In the Bible, there is a very important verse with which I made a great discovery in my spiritual life: “Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” (Heb 11:6) And there I felt in a subtle but powerful way that we must show faith. Faith is not an option; faith is not some kind of illumination that we will receive in a special way, like a manifestation some day, as in Pinocchio’s fairy tale. No fairy will wave her wand and fill us with faith. If we wait for this, we can live a lifetime and never become faithful. Faith begins as an act of will. We decide to have faith.
When we decide to have faith in this way it is because we want to please God and we want to follow God. In return, God will begin to bless us in a supernatural way, and this is His way. We already have the natural way but He gives us the supernatural. If we want to please God, then we have to believe in Him. He tells us today: “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.” So, if you love God today, you have to believe. And it is not a question of can, but of want. If you believe you are not only loving Him but also obeying him.

Jesus is promising us today, even though these words are universal for all churches and times, that we members of the Redeemer Lutheran Church: “He gives us eternal life, and no one will snatch us out of His hand,” That’s God’s promise for us today. I invite you today to start to believe, to take that ‘leap of will’, to not follow feelings or wait for magical things. Take that step of will and God will add the lacking faith. He is not only going to bless this church, but He is going to bless you and your family as well from now on.

And now I’d like to come back to the original question: why do we need a church? The church is God’s way of communicating and blessing. The church is the place where we pick up strength for the week. The church is the place where we come to worship God on the day of rest. Sometimes God only wants our presence, nothing else and nothing special. That is obedience. God cannot bless if, even if He would love to, if we are not following Him. God wants us to follow Him; he wants our commitment, even with our faults, doubts and weaknesses. If you’re wondering why God does not bless you as you wanted, I wouldn’t say that we have to blame him. The church is the only way that God has to speak to us through His word and sacrament and show His love as when he tells us: “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” (Mt 18:20) Do not lose sight of this because here there can be the answer to your questions and the beginning of a new life for you.
Amen.