Eternal Life Archives - Faith Lutheran Church, Wesley Chapel

Kurt Steinbrueck December 17, 2020

0

Full Rights of Sons

Full Rights Of Sons

“When the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.“

Do you know your rights? How important are they to you?

In America, we consider our rights to be very important. These are rights like freedom of speech, freedom of worship, and freedom to defend oneself. We will claim our rights and fight for our rights.

New Rights
In our passage, today, we are told that because of Jesus, we can receive the full rights of sons. This is adoption language. All those who receive faith in Jesus Christ are adopted by the Father and given the full rights as sons.

These are not our natural rights. These are rights of grace. Without Christ and His saving work, we would have no such rights. These are new rights, undeserved and amazing.

What are the rights of sons?

You are a child of God.
You have access to the Father and can come boldly before His throne.
You have received the Spirit of the Son who lives in You.
You will, with Christ, receive the inheritance of Christ, eternal life with God in the new heaven and earth.

Jesus Set Aside His Rights So You Could Have His Rights

These new rights we receive as adopted sons and daughters of God did not come without a cost. Jesus set aside heaven and became man. He didn’t become an earthly king, mighty warrior, or CEO. He was poor and afflicted and He was born under the Law.

He suffered harassment and ridicule. He perfectly fulfilled the Law, yet He was falsely accused and arrested. He was not afforded a fair trial. He set aside His right to defend Himself. Ultimately, He laid down His life, suffering the punishment we, as law-breakers, deserve.

Having taken our punishment, He then gave us His righteousness as though we had perfectly fulfilled the Law.

Jesus did all this so that you could be adopted as a son or daughter of God and receive the rights of sons.

So, now, you can enjoy the rights of sonship along with Christ for all eternity.

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for adopting me as Your child, for giving me Your Spirit, for allowing me to boldly come into Your presence in prayer, and for the inheritance I look forward to.

Amen.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Kurt

Kurt Steinbrueck December 8, 2020

Blog death, Eternal Life, jesus

0

Life and Death

“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?’” – John 11:25-26

How far would you go to avoid death?

Death can be a very scary thing. Though, if a 1973 survey is to be believed, people are more scared of public speaking than death. Or, as Jerry Seinfeld put it,

“According to most studies, people’s number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right? This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you’re better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.”

But seriously, death scares a lot of people. In fact, some have allowed the fear of death to prevent them from truly living and living boldly. What Jesus says in John 11:25-26 should affect our perception of death and our fear of death.

Two Kinds of Deaths
If death wasn’t scary enough, the Bible actually talks about two deaths.

Physical Death – This is when our body dies.
Spiritual Death – This is what will happen after judgment day for those who do not believe in Jesus. They suffer eternal death (as opposed to eternal life). This is not eradication. It’s suffering condemnation for all of eternity.

Both of these types of death are referenced in John 11:25-26.

Three Kinds of Life
In Greek, there are three words for life, one for physical life (body), one for mental emotional life, and one for spiritual life. The word Jesus uses in John 11:25-26 is spiritual life.

With these understandings of life and death in mind, we could translate John 11:25-26 this way,

I am the resurrection and the spiritual life. He who believes in me will live spiritually, even though he dies physically; and whoever lives spiritually and believes in me will never die spiritually.

Life Beyond Life and Death
Through faith in Jesus, we receive a spiritual life that is greater than our physical life and which physical death cannot overcome.

So, why do we still die physically?

The simple answer is sin. Death is the result of sin. Since our bodies are corrupted by sin, they are mortal. They will die. However, while we still die physically, when we have spiritual life from Jesus, we will never suffer spiritual death. In fact, the spiritual life we have in Christ will overcome physical death and we will be raised again and given new, immortal, physical bodies, uncorrupted by sin. It’s like a seed dying and springing forth a new living plant.

No Fear of Death
Because we know that through faith we have spiritual life in Christ, we do not need to fear death anymore. Jesus very clearly demonstrated how little power death had compared to Him at the time he spoke what we read in John 11:25-26. Shortly after saying this, he raised Lazarus from the dead. Death has no power over Jesus.

So, we do not need to fear physical death. I’m not saying to live recklessly, but rather not to live in fear. There are things more important than not physically dying. When we realize that Christ delivers us through death into eternal life, we can boldly live for those more important things

Dear Jesus,

Thank You for my life, both my physical life and my spiritual life. Thank You for overcoming death and give me eternal life. Help me to always remember that You are greater than death. Remove my fear of death that I may live boldly in faith towards You and love towards others.

Amen.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Kurt

Kurt Steinbrueck August 20, 2020

Blog Eternal Life, Judgment Day

0

A Promise and a Warning

“Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” – 1 John 5:12

What do you hear in the statement above?

Some may hear a promise. Others may hear a threat.

In one sense, it’s really just a simple statement. It’s not unlike,

“Whoever who is breathing is alive; whoever is not breathing is not alive.”

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. He is life. Without Jesus, there is no life.

The Greek word for life, here, is zōē. There are other words for life in Greek which refer to physical life (bios) or emotional/psychological life (psuche), but zōē refers to spiritual life which only comes from God. So, yes, everyone living has life in the physical or mental sense, but only those who have Jesus have the God-given spiritual life.

The Promise:
In that simple statement is a promise. After all, everyone, whether they have faith or not, seems to be alive. So, it’s not obvious who has spiritual life and who doesn’t. The promise is that with Jesus you have the God-given spiritual life. That life is eternal. Even though the physical and mental life may end, the spiritual life will not. (God will also raise us again physically on the last day.)

The Warning:
That simple statement also has a warning. Without Jesus you do not have the God-given spiritual life. Notice, it doesn’t matter if you’re a nice person or if you believe in just any kind of god. Zōē life only comes from Jesus. Physical death for the person without Jesus leads to eternal condemnation.

If that’s you, the good news is that the promise is for you, too. The warning isn’t to shun you, but to bring you to the promise. If you believe in Jesus you will receive zōē life, life eternal.

Dear Jesus,

Thank You for giving us life, the true life from God. Give me faith to believe. Be with those who do not know You. Send others to share Your Good News with them. Where I can do that, give me the strength and boldness to tell others about You.

Amen.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Kurt

Kurt Steinbrueck August 19, 2020

Blog death, Eternal Life, Fear, Fear Not, Life

0

Fear and Death

“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” – Philippians 1:21

How fearful are you of death?

We are living in the midst of a pandemic. It’s can be a scary time, but the truth is that illness, injury, and death are all around us all the time. This isn’t new. It’s been like this since man’s fall into sin in the Garden of Eden.

There is a level of awareness of danger that can lead to reasonable caution. We look before we cross the street. We go to the doctor when we feel sick and so on. However, if we aren’t careful, that awareness of danger can take us past caution into fear.

Facing Death
In our passage for today, Paul writes an astounding statement.

“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.“

Paul was in prison because of the Gospel and he was awaiting sentencing. That sentencing could very well have been death and there were no more appeals. Instead of descending into fear, he found joy and hope. Why?

It’s All About Jesus
For Paul, it was all about Jesus and the Gospel. If he died, he knew Jesus had overcome death and he (Paul) would be with Christ in Heaven. That’s why Paul describes it as “gain.” If he lived, then he was going to live for Jesus, his Lord and Savior because of what Jesus had done for Him.

This is just as true for us today as it was for Paul 2000 years ago because the Gospel is just as true today as it was 2000 years ago. We can live in the midst of danger, even in the middle of a pandemic, and not fear illness. injury, or death. Jesus is greater. As the Psalmist puts it…

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” – Psalm 23:4

It’s Not About Death
Fear starts to invade our minds when we focus on death, on the danger, rather than on Jesus. So, without Jesus, we only have danger to focus on rather than the answer to the danger, Jesus.

When we focus on Jesus, the one who overcame death, who protected Daniel in lions’ den and Shadrack in the fiery furnace, and who healed the paralytic, we know that whatever we face, Jesus is greater.

Until Jesus returns, we will all face death. It may be today. It may be in 100 years. Whenever it is, it will be a great day of gain for us. Death has no sting. It has no power. So, we need not fear. If you start to feel that fear, rebuke it. Cast it away. Remind yourself that Jesus is greater and He will never leave you nor forsake you, even in the valley of the shadow of death.

How have you been dealing with a lot of fear lately?

How does knowing Jesus is greater than COVID-19, death, and any other danger change how you look at your situation?

Heavenly Father,

You are greater than any danger I may face. Whether you remove me from the danger or walk me through it, remind that You are with me, You are greater, and I have nothing to fear.

Amen.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Kurt

Kurt Steinbrueck August 18, 2020

Blog Eternal Life, Judgment

0

Hey Everyone, Look At Me!!

“‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.’ For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.” – 2 Corinthians 10:17-18

Have you ever known someone who constantly told everyone about how great they were and what great things they had done?

What did you think of them?

We all face the temptation of making ourselves out to be great in other people’s eyes. We like to be liked. We like to be admired.

When it comes to our life of faith, however, we need to take a step back and look at ourselves through God’s eyes. We aren’t that great in terms of our own accomplishments and righteousness.

In fact, we are pretty horrible.

Every one of us is a sinner, rebellious to God, and frequently uncaring to our neighbor.

We are, however, loved.

We are righteous, too, but not because of our own works. As mentioned before, they aren’t anything to write home about. We are righteous because Jesus’ righteousness has been imputed, or put upon, us. In other words, we are righteous because Jesus is righteous.

Jesus took our sins and gave us His righteousness.

So, we can’t boast about ourselves. There’s nothing to honestly boast about. We can boast about Jesus, what He has done, and what He continues to do.

This really matters in the church.

There’s a lot of fakeness in church. For some reason, we have allowed the idea that we have to look like really good Christians all the time and that means we have to look like we don’t sin. It isn’t true and that’s not really a good definition of a really good Christian.

What if we started defining a really good Christian as someone who doesn’t have to pretend they don’t sin, but rather they are someone who humbly admits their sin and admits their complete reliance on Jesus’.

That points people to Jesus, not ourselves.

Maybe people in the church who are struggling with sin or struggling in the marriage or just plain struggling would feel like they could be open about it and receive the help and support they need. I say this as though it is just SOME people who struggle like that when the truth is, that is ALL of us.

You are a sinner and your life is a mess. So, am I. But Jesus died for sinners. He died for you and me and our broken lives to forgive our sins and make us whole. We don’t need to commend ourselves. We stand commended by God because of Jesus.

Heavenly Father,

I am a sinner and I struggle with sin every day of my life. Please forgive me. Help me to be able to humbly admit my sin, but stand confidently in Your grace. May my life and my humility help to make Your church a place where people who struggle with sin and confess, hear of Your forgiveness and receive the love and support they need.

Amen.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Kurt

Kurt Steinbrueck June 26, 2020

Blog Eternal Life, Priorities

0

Missing the Point

“For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” – Matthew 16:25

What is the focus of your life?

I sometimes watch the show, “Beastmaster” on Netflix. My daughter got me watching it. It’s an obstacle course show where men and women score points by completing parts of the course. It takes a lot of skill and strength.

Along the course, there are point boosters. These are buttons the contestants can push to get an extra few points. Some point boosters are no-brainers. They are easy to hit and get you more points. Others, however, can be very difficult to get to.

We’ve watched as some contestants spend a lot of time and strength trying to get to a point booster only to wear themselves out and fall, ending their run. They got so focused on getting the extra 5 or 10 points, that they missed out on getting a lot more points by completing the course. They missed the point.

This Life or That?
Sometimes we get so focused on getting the point boosters of life, that we miss the real point. We pursue all kinds of things that won’t truly last and can forget the eternal blessings of God.

It’s not that these earthly things are necessarily bad. After all, in our passage today, Jesus is talking about trying to save our earthly lives. Generally, we would say saving our earthly life is good. However, if it comes at the cost of denying Christ and losing our eternal life, it’s a bad deal. We’re missing the point.

We don’t typically face the decision between our earthly life and our eternal life, but we face the decision between pursuing things of God or things of man. The things of man aren’t inherently bad (money, power, fame, etc.), many godly people have had them. However, if we pursue them at the cost of eternal things, its’ a bad deal. We’re missing the point.

Let’s pursue the things of God.

Heavenly Father,

Give us the eyes to see what is truly important and the discipline to pursue it.

Amen.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Kurt

Kurt Steinbrueck April 30, 2020

Blog Eternal Life, hope, Judgement Day, salvation

0

Nothing New

“For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth.” – Job 19:25

Where do you turn when things get bad and seem hopeless?

The passage above was written by Job. When we consider the present suffering we are enduring, Job could relate, probably to a much greater degrees of suffering. He lost his kids, his wealth, and his health.

“Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house; and a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, when the Sabeans raided them and took them away—indeed they have killed the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them; and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three bands, raided the camels and took them away, yes, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, and suddenly a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they are dead; and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped. And he said:

‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
And naked shall I return there.
The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away;
Blessed be the name of the Lord.‘” – Job 1:13-21

That may be the worst day anyone has ever had. That wasn’t the end, though, shortly after, he is covered in painful soars (boils) all over his body.

Over the next several chapters of Job, he laments the situation and his friends and wife come and give advice and “comfort.” One of his friends basically tells him all this is his fault because he had done some great sin (which was not true). It is after this, that Job’s response is our passage for today.

“For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth.” – Job 19:25

Suffering is nothing new. I pray our response to our suffering is like that of Job. Whatever happens, no matter how bad it gets, we know that our Redeemer Lives and He is coming again. This suffering will end and we will be with Him.

Heavenly Father,

I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will stand upon the earth. In this alone do I put my trust and find my hope.

Amen.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Kurt

Kurt Steinbrueck April 22, 2020

Blog Eternal Life, Mighty God

0

There Is No Greater Power

No Greater Power

“I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” – John 10:28-30

Do you feel secure in your salvation?

Security is something we all want. We like to know that we are safe from danger and this is true in terms of our salvation as well. We want to feel secure.

This passage from John is a great reassurance from Jesus. No one can pull us away from the God. He is almighty! There is no greater power!

Who or what can pull us away from the hand of God? Who can overpower God?

No one!

We don’t find our security in whether we feel like we are saved. We don’t find our security in whether our life is going the way we want. We don’t find our security in whether we are doing more good works or less sins.

Our security is found solely in Jesus Christ, His promise of salvation, and His unequaled might which makes it so He can always keep His promises.

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:37-39

Almighty God,

There is none above You. There are none beside You. You are King of kings and Lord of Lords. You have all authority and all power. You hold me in Your hand and no one can take me from it.

Amen.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Kurt

Kurt Steinbrueck March 26, 2020

Blog death, Eternal Life, gift, salvation, sin, Wage

0

The Wage vs The Gift

the wage vs the gift

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Romans 6:23

What sin(s) tempt you the most?

Maybe it’s gossip.
Maybe it’s covetousness.
Maybe it’s disobeying your parents.
Maybe it’s…

A few weeks ago in my sermon, we looked at the lies of temptation. Satan loves to make sin look great. He tries to make sin look like a blessing, but the truth is it’s a curse.

The result of sin, ultimately, is death.

It’s what we earn by our sinful actions. In terms of our actions in life, when we went to cash the paycheck for those actions, we wouldn’t like what we received.

It’s not always easy to recognize it, though, because it doesn’t happen right away. It’s kind of like drinking ocean water when your stranded and really thirsty. When you drink, it may feel good and you continue to live. However, you are really dehydrating yourself and will die, eventually.

However, the gift of God is eternal life.

Notice, eternal life isn’t a wage. We don’t earn it like we do death. It’s a gift. It comes from God at no cost to us. Jesus paid the cost. This is great since we couldn’t earn eternal life no matter how hard we tried.

Next time satan tempts you with a sin, try to look past the slick veneer to the death that lies underneath.

Heavenly Father,

Open my eyes to nature and consequences of sin that I might avoid it. Open my eyes to the truth that my sin condemns me that I might repent. Open my eyes to Your gift of eternal life through Jesus’ death and resurrection that I might believe, be forgiven, and live.

Amen.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Kurt

Eternal Life

Full Rights Of Sons

Life and Death

A Promise and a Warning

Fear and Death

Hey Everyone, Look At Me!!

Missing the Point

Nothing New

No Greater Power

the wage vs the gift

Faith Lutheran Church in Wesley Chapel, FL serving Lutz, Zephyrhills, Land O’ Lakes, and New Tampa, FL