You Boast in What You Love the Most

1 John 2:15-17

Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost  -  23 October 2016

Pastor Steven Hillmer

The prize pumpkin weighed in at just over 2100 pounds! The two storied college football teams battled for – the Freemont Canon. After 9 days of hiking, climbing, spotting and stalking the trophy elk met his match. The classic car took 15 years to restore, but look at that shine and hear that engine purr…

You know these situations… lots of hard work, time, effort, money, blood, sweat and tears… at the end of the day, and for years to come – the stories are told over and over, shared with joy, shared with a satisfaction and pride, perhaps even boasting in the accomplishment. Certainly there is nothing wrong with a pumpkin, or a trophy, or an elk or a beautifully restored car… but when it comes to boasting, boasting has a way of revealing to others what you love the most, what you’re most proud of, what gives you the most joy and satisfaction. The question is: “of what do you boast?”

In the Gospel lesson today, (Luke 18:18ff) we met a rich young ruler who boasted, shall we say, in “his religion.” Even though he boasted about how he has kept all the commandments – his boasting was misplaced. It was in his accomplishments… “I’ve kept all the commandments since I was a little boy…” And, what is more, another false god was the lord of his life: money. Jesus easily revealed to this man is idolatry when he told him to sell everything, give to the poor and follow Jesus. He couldn’t, going away sad. What he boasted of the most – himself and the things of this world – would never get him to heaven, yet he couldn’t bring himself to let go.

Of what do we boast? What do we love the most? Similarly, what things are we not willing to let go of – to follow Jesus? Those are very “button-pushing” questions, which often leave people asking, as the disciples did, “Who then can be saved?”

Who can be saved? Can I be saved? Will I be saved? How can I know for sure? Today the Holy Spirit answers these questions as he refocuses our boasting. Boasting – yes, can be a very good thing – depending on what you boast, or better yet, of whom you boast. Listen to the second lesson once more: 15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

I. When you love the world…

Did you notice that in the list… the pumpkin, the trophy, the car and elk – and you can add many other examples: a career that takes off, a dream house with all the modern amenities, even children or grandchildren make their way onto this list – the things that people boast of the most are things “of and in the world.” These are things we crave for, things our eyes lust after and long for; we boast of what we have and do… Jesus says that these things of “The world and its desires pass away.” On the last day, they won’t be there to boast about.

And when your hope, your identity and your confidence are all resting upon the things of this earth – you’re building your faith on sinking sand. How will your identity as “the pumpkin master” help you the Lord returns? Will your confidence in trophies: for soccer, for hunting, for 35 years of service to the company, for raising the perfect family… avail you any differently than the rich young ruler boasting about his keeping of the commandments?

When our boasting is in the things of this world – we will, just like the rich young ruler, go away very, very sad. To a degree we know this already. We know how the things of this world leave us empty, how they never completely fill the void or quite the conscience – and that’s because they are powerless to save us from our sin.

When you love things of this world, Jesus says, the love of the Father is not in him. That applies both ways. On the one hand, the individual is not loving the Lord #1 above all else. And on the other hand, they are running the risk of forfeiting the eternal benefit of God’s perfect love for them – demonstrated so clearly by Jesus upon the cross! If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. This passage really challenges us, doesn’t it?

I have no doubt each of us would say, “I love the Lord! I love Jesus. He is my Savior.” And yet, isn’t also true that each of us is guilty of boasting in the things of this world, and really loving them, and getting upset when they let us down? Each of us know deep down inside how much we love the things of things world.

With these scripture lessons this week, as they did last week and in the prior weeks, the Holy Spirit continues to cut us to the heart so that we realize just how critical it is that we only have one master. Jesus meant it when he said, “You cannot serve two masters.” We hear these words each week and we repent and we ask God to help us… and we find ourselves serving the old master and coveting the things of this world… and then boasting about them. With the disciples once again wonder, “Who then can be saved?” It seems impossible, doesn’t it, for us to completely turn from loving the things of this world?

II. When you Love the Lord…

John knew that this intense struggle in his own heart too. He knew the tension… love God vs. love this world. But he also knew this about God. In 1 John 1 he wrote, “8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

John knew there was nothing in himself to boast of; he could only confess, “I have sinned.” Yet he does boast – he boasts in the faithfulness of God who graciously and mercifully forgives sins and purifies the sinner from all unrighteousness. There’s something to boast of… and it’s something we do in a very formal and serious way each week – as we begin worship.

We come into God’s house and we confess our sins. In the sermon each week, we don’t just talk “about sin” in a generic way – as if it only exists “out there;” we get the heart of sin. We get into the sin that festers in our own hearts, where selfishness simmers, where lusts linger, where worldly cravings crowd out love for God… and we plainly, openly confess our sins. Holy and merciful Father, I confess that I am by nature sinful and that I have disobeyed you in my thoughts, words, and actions. I have done what is evil and failed to do what is good. For this I deserve your punishment both now and in eternity. But I am truly sorry for my sins, and trusting in my Savior Jesus Christ, I pray: Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.

When we speak those words – we speak them out of holy fear and reverence for God – and out of love for God who is ever faithful – forgives us our sins and purifies yet again from wrongful worldly boasting. He does this because of what Jesus, his only Son, did for us. He does this because he loves us, perfectly. He does this because he desires our salvation – and because he knows our weekly, our daily, our hourly struggle of boasting in the wrong things – he continues to call us to repent and turn to him. If the sermons are hitting the same themes week after week like a broken record – well, it’s not me your pastor – it’s your Savior God who knows our struggles and knows how to rescue us – so that we can boast of his incredible love and patience and kindness in Jesus our Savior. This is exactly why we boast in the Lord! Because he alone has saved us and he alone deserves our highest praise, singing with all our heart, “Lord, YOU, I love with all my heart.”

That hymn which we just sang before the sermon, 434, was composed by a Lutheran Pastor, Martin Schalling. He was born in 1532 and entered Wittenberg seminary just after Luther’s death. Those days, until the 1580’s, were full of struggles for the truth, not just against Catholic edicts, but from within, from some of the other reformers who went too far.

This hymn, the only one he is known to have written, was composed first as a closing prayer for one of his sermons. Later he subtitled it, “for the dying.” Whether closing a sermon, or a life or even a day… consider how these words faith, how we as children of God by the power of the Holy Spirit boastfully, confidently sing … “LORD – YOU – I love with all my heart… Earth has no pleasures I would share… You are the treasure I have sought: [the treasure is this…] your precious blood my soul has bought.” (434:1). And even if the day did go so well, and we fell into sin, our faith still clings to the Lord and boasts in his faithfulness to preserve us in faith. Notice how in verse two, Schalling pleaded, “let no false doctrine me beguile, let Satan no my soul defile” two enemies which still lurk today… which leads to the concluding plea, “Lord, let at last your angels come, and to Abram’s bosom bear me home that I may die unfearing…”

This is boasting, not in pumpkins or cars, but the best kind of boasting there is… boasting in the faithful Lord God, boasting in what He has done, still does, and will do on the day he returns – graciously taking us to his side in heaven. May our praise, our worship, yes, even our boasting always be – in the Lord. Amen.