Vicar Luke Otten – Redeemer Lutheran Church: St. Cloud, MN
All Saints Day: Revelation 7:2-17
From Tribulation to Joy
In the name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. The text for our sermon today comes from the first lesson today, Revelation, chapter 7.
Auf, auf zum Kampf, zum Kampf! Zum Kampf sind wir geboren!
Up, up to the flight, to the conflict, to the struggle, to the combat. Up, up to that fight we were born. These are the beginning lyrics of a World War I song sung by German soldiers. Auf auf, up up, zum Kampf, zum Kampf, to the fight, the fight, zum Kampf sind wir geboren, to the fight we were born. And to the fight you were born too. But don’t only think about your physical birth, think about your heavenly one. “Unless one is born again… unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:3-5), that’s what Jesus tells Nicodemus. He’s speaking of your baptism, where you are born again, born from above, born as a son of God. It’s “the washing of rebirth” and that rebirth is the “renewal by the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5). Your baptism is your birth into the church, your birth as a Christian.
Christ, too, he was baptized. Baptized to fulfill all righteousness. But notice what happens following his baptism. Mark tells us that “The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan” (Mark 1:12-13). He was immediately cast out into the desert, into the wilderness. He went 40 days without food or water. He was tempted by Satan. He battled and fought temptation and the wilderness immediately after being baptized, and notice that’s the same for you.
For after you were baptized, after you became a son of God, Satan and his demons have you as their target. You were baptized and you were thrown into a world of turmoil and tribulation. Auf auf zum Kampf, zum Kampf! Up up you come from the baptismal font, up, up you then come to the fight, the fight against sin, death, and the power of the devil. It’s not an easy fight, it’s a struggle. You wrestle against sinful temptations. You wrestle against your sinful flesh. Your flesh yearns for the carnal cravings of world. Lust, gluttony, sensuality, drunkenness, I trust you could list many more of your own vices too. St. Peter warns us against these, as he says, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). The temptation to such vices is the devil’s way lure you into sin. He throws a tempting piece of bait in front of you, a lie about your neighbor, some dirt on a politician. You bite because it looks so juicy, but you don’t see the trap and then Devil has you on the line of sin, pulling you away from Christ and the Christian life. You are lured and pulled into a life apart from God. He does this to devour your soul.
But temptations of the flesh aren’t the only way the devil attacks you. Look how the world hates you. You say that marriage is only between one man and one woman and “Extremist!” they yell. You say only men can be pastors and “Sexist!” they yell. You say homosexuality, transgenderism, bisexuality are all sins, and “Bigot!” they yell. You say that Jesus is the only way to heaven, and that all other religions are false, and they will tell you have exclusive you are. Look to some of the very secular countries of the western world. Christians are being arrested and persecuted for preaching and living out basic Christian truths. You can even see that here in America, and it’s only getting worse. They hate you because you are a baptized Christian. Your baptismal life leads to a life of persecution. Jesus knew this would be the case, it happened to him after his baptism and through his life, and he knew it would happen to you. “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you” (John 15:18). “You will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake” (Matt 24:9). Despised and scorned you are for believing in Jesus. A belief that leads to a life of tribulation. A life of tribulation in your struggles against the flesh, against the world and Satan.
But we aren’t the only ones who have had this struggle. Look to the saints of old look at their tribulations. From imprisonment to shipwreck, St. Paul certainly went through a lot. Once he was stoned by a group of Jews in Lystra. They dragged his seemingly dead body out of the city. But when he later rose up, he went back into the city and many more after to “strengthen the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). Tribulations are part of the Christians life. They will always afflict us while we are still on this world. “In the world you will have tribulation,” (John 16:33) Christ says in the Gospel of John. But he doesn’t leave it at such a sorrowful statement. For he continues with this, “But take heart for I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). For Christ came to take away the sin of the world by being sacrificed on the cross as the Lamb of God. He hung from that lifted up tree. He hung there exalted over the world. For in his death, Christ was conquering sin, death, and Satan. He was overcoming all the wickedness that the world and the devil could throw at him. The blood and water that flowed from his pierced side, cleanses sin and drowns Satan. Christ’s death and subsequent resurrection provides all that we and all other Christians need to overcome the world’s tribulations.
St. John saw this host of Christians who have already overcome the world in his heavenly vision. As our text from Revelation reads, “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hand” And then after commenting about their continual songs and praises they sing, the account continues, “and [the elder] said to me ‘These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.’” (Rev 14:9-14). The heavenly host of saints, the host that no one can number, are those who have sojourned through the afflictions of the world. The robes of man, dirtied by sin, torn, and ripped by tribulations are washed and restored by the blood of the Lamb. They made whiter and purer than any snow, even as white and pure as snow atop unclimbable snowcapped mountains. The peace, joy, and full restoration from sin and the turmoils of the world await us for when we join with all the saints in glory.
But now is not yet that time. We are still in the midst of the world’s tribulation. We are still afflicted by Satan and the world. False teachers try to lead you astray from Christ’s church by preaching an easy and pleasurable faith. The world tempts you to live in carnal sins, to follow your flesh and its desires, instead of Christ and His Spirit. They use tribulations to pry you from Christ and His Word. Consider the parable of the sower. Some of the seed falls on rocky ground and that seed springs up in joy and endures for a while but when tribulation and persecution come, it immediately falls away. Some other seed falls among thorns and springs up, only to be chocked by the cares and concerns of world. Dear Christians, notice how easy it is to fall away especially when things are difficult. But it is when things are most difficult that you need God and his word the most.
Now, Jesus says, “But the one who endures to the end will be saved” (Matt 24:13). So while you endure the tribulations of the world, remember chiefly that The Word of the Lord Endures forever that you may too, secondly that joy come will after sorrow, and lastly, since the organ is fixed this is fitting, that we are strengthened by good hymnody.
You chiefly endure by continually hearing and abiding in God’s word. Just last Sunday, we celebrated Reformation. The letters VDMA (Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum) are the letters of the Reformation. The Lutheran soldiers of the 30 Years War put VDMA on the swords to remind them for what they were fighting for. It means, the word of the Lord endures forever, and it’s from the forever enduring word of the Lord that you too may endure forever. For not only does the word of the Lord bespeak you righteous, but “word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword” (Hebrews 4:12). VDMA isperfect for putting on swords. For God’s word is his weapon glorious; it protects and defends you. Wield this weapon, employ this sword. Auf auf zum Kampf, zum Kampf, Up, up to the fight! God’s word is what strengthens you in the tribulations of this world. Let that word of God dwell in you richly. Pray from the richness of scriptures. Hear it, abide in it, for when you are apart from God and his word, when your sword is in your sheath, your defenses are down, and the foe will strike and attack.
Even with God’s word, it’s not easy an easy fight. It’s full of difficulties. It’s full of frustration. It’s full of sorrow. Christ knew it would be, “You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy” (John 16:20) Joy will come. Take note of the illustration that follows. “When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world” (John 16:21). She no longer remembers the anguish or, as it is more literally translated, she no longer remembers the tribulation. For it’s the same word here in John as it is in our Revelation text. The church and her members are always in tribulation here on earth, but that tribulation that anguish will come to an end. The completion of your baptism, the completion of heavenly birth, finds its culmination in heaven and there you will be full of joy and remember your sorrowful tribulations no more. For as Christ has said, “So also you have sorrow now… [but] your hearts will rejoice” (John 16:22). The complete joy and peace of heaven will be yours. You heart longs for it and it is coming.
But until that day, the day when our tribulations end and our baptisms are completed, let us take heart. Let us strengthen each other with the word of God. Let us strengthen each other with prayer. Let us strengthen each other with “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” (Eph 5:19). Military songs, like auf auf zum kampf, strengthen and encourage soldiers as they sing together words that speak to their conflict, to their heart, for the words of these songs unite the soldiers in their common tribulation. They know they are having to fight such fights as others have and are.
Hymns are like that too. Paul Gerhardt, who lived from 1607 to 1676, is one of the best Lutheran hymnists. He lived through many tribulations. He lived through the 30 Years War. He was kicked out of his parish in Berlin by the elector of Brandenburg for being Lutheran. He buried his wife shortly after that along with having to bury four out of his five children. And yet, amid these afflictions, he wrote so many hymns that teach, admonish, and strengthen fellow Christians. We sang a lot of Luther hymns last week for Reformation, who wrote about 40 hymns, but Gerhardt wrote just shy of 140 hymns. I always find it sad that we only have 17 of his hymns in our current hymnal. TLH, you know, THE LUTHERAN HYMNAL, has quite a few more, (it’s such a good hymnal,) but still no where near a complete collection. However, both hymnals have his Easter classic, Awake, my heart with Gladness, or as it is in the original German, “Auf, auf, mein Herz, mit Freuden” Up, up my heart with joy.Up up my heart with joy, for Christ the crucified has risen. He has overcome the world. He has overcome death, sin, and Satan. There was sorrow for a time, but now there is joy in every heart. Auf auf mein Herz, up up my heart, up up in joy amid the tribulations of the world. So let us sing such strengthening songs, that have been written and sung by Christians who have also endured the great tribulation. Auf auf zum Kampf! Up, up to the fight, up, up to the fight with a heart of joy. Be strengthened for the fight, take heart for the fight with joy. For you will overcome the world because of the work of Lord and his word. Auf auf zum Kampf, zum Kampf. Auf auf, mein herz, mit Freuden. (In Jesus Namen. Amen). In Jesus’ precious and holy name. Amen.