It Doesn’t Take Much
Pastor Mathew Magera – 5/22/16 – Sermon 167
St. Thomas Lutheran Church, Trufant, MI
To God be the Glory!
Grace
and peace to you from God our Father, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the
Holy Spirit. Amen.
On
November 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln delivered a sermon that would
change the world. The famous Gettysburg Address was delivered as a result of
the Battle of Gettysburg which took place in July of that same year. The bodies
of Union soldiers were reburied beginning in October and President Lincoln was
invited to share a few words at the consecration of the cemetery. This speech,
though only a few minutes long, would forever change our nation. In fact, it is
reported that many of the people in attendance on that day were thinking to
themselves, "is that IT?" Indeed, that was it, but it was enough. It's
fascinating how something so small could make so big of a difference. Not many
people know about the two hour speech given prior to Lincoln and Lincoln,
himself, even noted that his words would never amount to anything worth
remembering. What an ironic twist of events, right? Not only that but President
Lincoln changed the mood of the day he spoke in Gettysburg not because of the
length of his message but because of how he turned his message around from the
dedication of a cemetery to the dedication of those who were there living. He
wanted the American people to dedicate themselves to a new birth of freedom.
That message took off and it didn't take much.
The
events in our reading from Acts today occur on the day of Pentecost, which we
celebrated last Sunday. This is the continuation of Peter's big sermon to the
people. You might remember the apostles were now speaking in other languages
and the people were amazed that they could hear the words in their own
languages. Peter was giving one of the biggest sermons of the New Testament and
it only lasted a few minutes. This was the first time that Jesus had been
publicly proclaimed to have been more than just a man but the Son of God, whose
death had changed the entire world from darkness into light. It's as if
suddenly within people and the apostles that everything just clicked. Almost
like they had just put the final piece into a jigsaw puzzle and were able to
see the big picture. Peter knew. The apostles knew. The content of the message
had changed. Because Jesus was no longer just a guy I knew, but was God
incarnate, the world change. Instead of Peter just simply talking about the guy
named Jesus that died and rose from the dead, Peter turned it around and
proclaimed to the people that just as Jesus was given life, we would likewise
be given life. What an ironic twist of events, right? And it didn’t take much
to do it either.
It
was from this point that the Christian church just took off. Jesus promised
that the Holy Spirit would come and that his disciples would be his witnesses.
Well, now the Spirit had most definitely come and they were being his
witnesses. You don't need to say much to be a witness of Christ. You don't. You
don't have to give lengthy sermons. You don't have to lead Bible studies. It
doesn’t take much. You can be and are his witness.
But
just imagine what we are capable of with the Holy Spirit within us. It doesn’t
take much to be a witness but with the Spirit, you might imagine we might be on
fire! If you are encouraged, talk about it. If you are given hope, spread that
hope. If you are left with a question or two, ask those questions. Even though
Peter spoke for what seemed like only a few minutes, his message inspired the
people to inspire others. All it takes is a spark to start a fire. Speaking of
that, just this week, I saw a video on YouTube of what happens when you have
6,000 matches standing up in a bunch together and you light just one of them.
When the first match was lit, it lit the next, which lit the next. 6,000 in
all. Just one match can feed 5,999 others. Peter's sermon can feed more than
just that who were there. A ten minute sermon in this room can feed more than
just those of you are here right now.
But,
it's just a short message, what can it do? It can do as much as you allow it
to, to be honest. Though we only use just a little bit of water in Baptism,
just that little bit can do miracles. When we come forward for Communion and
have just a small wafer and a tiny cup of wine or grape juice, that certainly
doesn't seem like much. Here. Here is the body of Christ broken for you.
Really? This small thing is the body of Christ? Are you kidding me? While just
a little piece, there comes a promise that is exponentially bigger. Jesus died
for you. That's what the church started out with in the beginning. Just a
little word, a little bit of water, a little bit of bread and a little bit of
wine and boom, look where it ended up. It doesn't look like much on the face of
it but just like the Gettysburg Address, just a little bit goes a long way. It
doesn’t take much.
So,
here today, the Holy Spirit is lighting matches. The Spirit has lit me and I
pray that as you hear, that as you taste and that as you see that the Spirit
would light you on fire as well as a witness. Christ has died for you and he
has sent the Holy Spirit to you to give you that power to proclaim the good
news of Jesus. Who are the other matches around you that will be lit because of
the spark that you give? Who in your life is just waiting to be lit up for
Jesus? It doesn't take much. Nearly not as much as we think it does and we do
tend to overthink it and it makes us afraid. Peter didn't say much but his
message got the job done. My short sermons don't say very much but I pray that
like Peter they would encourage and inspire. So I encourage you today to be
that little bit that goes a long way. Don’t be afraid that it doesn’t seem like
enough, because God can burn a lot of matches with just one spark. So, please
take heart and be of good courage. If anything, the following four words may be
the best words you can ever say to someone: Jesus died for you. That’s it.
There’s power right there in those words and it’s all you need. It doesn’t take
much. So, hear me now when I say these words to you: Jesus died for you. To God
be the glory now and always. Amen.