The True Marks of the Invisible Church

Kongsvinger Lutheran Church

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Welcome to the teaching ministry of Kungsvinger Lutheran Church. Kungsvinger is a beacon for the gospel of Jesus Christ and is located on the plains of northwestern

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Minnesota. We proclaim Christ and him crucified for our sins and salvation by grace through faith alone.

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And now here's a message from Pastor Chris Roseberg. The gospel text for our meditation this evening is taken from the

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Gospel of Mark chapter 4 verses 1 through 20. Again Jesus began to teach beside the sea and a very large crowd gathered about him so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea and while the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land he was teaching them many things and parables and in his teaching he said to them listen behold a sower went out to sow and as he sowed some seed fell along the path the birds came and devoured it others seed fell on rocky ground where it did not have much soil and immediately it sprang up since it had no depth of soil and when the

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Sun rose it was scorched and since it had no root it withered away other seed fell among thorns and the thorns grew up and choked it and yielded no grain and other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain growing up and increasing and yielding thirty fold and sixty fold and a hundred fold and he said he who has ears let him hear and when he was alone those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables and he said to them to you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God but for those outside everything is in parables so that they may indeed see but not perceive may indeed hear but not understand lest they should turn and be forgiven and he said to them do you not understand this parable how then will you understand all the parables the sower sowed the word and these are the ones along the path where the word is sown when they hear

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Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them and these are the ones sown on the rocky ground the ones who when they hear the word immediately receive it with joy and they have no root in themselves but endure for a while then when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word immediately they fall away others the others are the ones sown among the thorns they are those who hear the word but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word and it proves unfruitful but those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit thirtyfold sixtyfold and a hundredfold this is the gospel of the

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Lord in the name of Jesus so when

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I was a kid I remember asking my parents that all -important question that every parent dreads to hear from their children where do babies come from it's always an awkward moment had to go through that awkward moment three times and I was would say the same thing go ask your mother but the question that is before us as we study the church tonight is where do

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Christians come from what are the marks of a true church in the sense last week we talked about what the church is and what the church is not the church is us the church is not the building the building is named a church by virtue of the fact that a church meets here but the church is us the church are those who've been united with Christ and so I think it's important that we recognize that there are true signs true marks that a true church is present because always and again we must remember when we confess that we believe in the communion of the

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Saints believing in the communion of the Saints and believing that the church exists is a doctrine that we believe by faith you sit there and go well

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I see people here yeah I know I know that's kind of the tricky part because in other parables that Jesus gave we know that weeds and weed are kind of sewn together things are a little more that well let's just put it this way not everything is as they seem or as they meet the eye you know the weeds look a lot like wheat until they finally mature that's kind of the issue so believing in the communion of the

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Saints is a doctrine of faith Augsburg seven by the way says this it's taught among us that one holy

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Christian church will be and will remain forever that's right

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Jesus said the gates of hell will not prevail against the church and it hasn't the church is still present now this is the assembly of all the believers among whom the gospel is preached in its purity interesting got where the gospel is preached in its purity and the holy sacraments are administered according to the gospel in other words the marks of a true church are actually kind of humble you're gonna hear the gospel preached in purity not mixed with a whole bunch of other nonsense

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God's Word is going to reign supreme and as we learn from Christ in our parable today that we just listened to well it's the

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Word of God that is sewn I was like to note that whenever I preach on the parable of the sower and the soils that this this farmer is like the worst farmer ever

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I'm pretty sure in talking with the farmers that attend Kongsvinger and haven't discussed this with those who are at Emmanuel that seed comes at a high price nowadays you know that there are whole seed companies and and they're guys who when they plant their crops the logo of the seed company goes up in one manner or another it's a big business this seed stuff when it comes to planting and this fellow in this parable is like the worst farmer ever he has no care whatsoever where that seed goes in among the weeds among the rocks and the good soil oh and some on a path who's expecting a crop on a path

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I mean really I mean who is this guy it makes me wonder if it's

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Jesus the reason I say that is because he just wantonly takes his seed and throws it everywhere and we learn then from Jesus's explanation his explanation of this parable that the seed is the

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Word it's the Word it's the Word always and again

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I am dumbfounded dumbstruck well oftentimes shocked surprised and I shouldn't be that God's Word does stuff it really does you know from time to time after a sermon

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I have no idea what God's Word is gonna do my job is to get up here preach the Word rightly divide law and gospel and just let it hang out there and the thing is is that I'm not really doing any of the heavy lifting as Paul says in in his epistles one plants another waters it's

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God who gives the increase one plants another waters and they're nothing but the person who's everything is the one who gives the increase and so there

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I am at the end of a service and people are coming through and shaking hands and giving hugs to Barb and chatting and socializing and from time to time somebody will say oh pastor oh pastor it's like you've been reading my mail

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I heard a new one recently somebody said to me oh pastor do you own a drone no

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I do not own a drone and he said well I feel like you've been following me around all week after that sermon okay but I'm pretty sure it's not me it's

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God the Holy Spirit and so the idea then is is that the Word is the thing that we got to focus on and you'll note then the purity of the

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Word and the sacraments administered according to the what the gospel you know there are churches and this is really sad whole denominations where the sacraments are administered according to the law oh not a very fun place so you learn that the sacraments

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God's God's Eucharist the the Lord's body and blood it's not that at all it's a symbol and it's an ordinance it's a thing you've got to do rather than a gift received from the hands of Christ and then baptism is something that you've got to do it's a work that you are to engage in rather than the gift that it is the uniting of a dead sinner in the death and resurrection of Christ somebody having their sins washed away their heart circumcised by the very hand of Christ himself having been set free from slavery to sin death and the devil and dominion of darkness and so you'll note then when it comes to the marks the true church they're quite simple word rightly divided in its purity sacraments administered according to the gospel and it's through this word then that God makes

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Christians God makes the church and this is what distinguishes us in many ways from other bodies that call themselves churches but consider what the word says in this matter and second

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Thessalonians Paul writes to the church in Thessalonica chapter 2 verses 13 through 15 now he says we ought to always give thanks to God for you you know brothers beloved by the

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Lord because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through sanctification by the

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Spirit and belief in the truth to this he called you listen through our gospel so that you may obtain the glory of our

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Lord Jesus Christ so then brothers stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us either by our spoken word or by our letter and so here we see

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Paul himself recognizes what Jesus taught us in this parable of the sowers in the soils the sower in the soils and that is is that it's the gospel that calls us it's through the word that we are made

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Christians Paul says as much also in Romans 1 15 and 17 where he says I'm so eager to preach the gospel to you in Rome who and he says and the reason is because I'm not ashamed of the gospel and listen to the words for it the gospel it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes the

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Jew first and also to the Greek for in it in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith as it is written the righteous shall live by faith and last week we talked about how

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God wills to save all of us but he chooses to save us by willing for us to hear this gospel and this is why the communion of the

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Saints is so vital because the where the gospel is preached is here where the church is and so God wills for the community around us to come and hear the good news of Christ in fact

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Paul kind of talking in this way explains to us even our theology in relation to the word and evangelism and mission work in Romans 10 14

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Paul asked the question how then will they call on him in whom they have not believed you'll know that people are not

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Christians by walking down the street on a commute to work with their headphones in their ears listening to their iPods or their smartphones or whatever they're listening to and all of a sudden lightning strikes them and they go

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I'm a Christian I was an atheist one minute and then I now

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I'm a Christian it doesn't work that way in fact it didn't even work that way with the Apostle Paul consider

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Paul on the road to Damascus to round up the Christians to have them arrested and drug back to Jerusalem in chains you can only imagine what their plight would have been and Jesus himself appears to him on the road to Damascus knocks him down blinds him it's a harrowing story and you'll note that after his appearance after his encounter with Jesus Saul of Tarsus is still not a

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Christian he has to hear Christ wills that Christians be made through water and the word and so Jesus gets on the phone and he calls up Ananias and says

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Ananias and he immediately knows who it is and Ananias says yes Lord he says as a fellow I want you to go visit on Straight Street his name is

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Saul he's blind he's been praying he's heard that he saw a vision that Ananias is going to come visit him and Ananias is all yeah

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I know about that guy Lord he's killing everybody that proclaims you you sure you want me to go talk to him right

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Roseboros paraphrase by the way Roseboros paraphrase I'm taking some liberty here but what happens is that God Christ says

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I've chosen him so what does he do he goes and he meets with Saul of Tarsus blind at the moment preaches the gospel to him and he says well what are we waiting for rise

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Saul washing away your sins and he baptizes him and after hearing the gospel and being washed in water in the word

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Saul of Tarsus Christ through his word makes him the

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Apostle Paul and what a dramatic change that was so how will they call on him in whom they have not believed and how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard this same

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Paul writes and how are they to hear without someone preaching answer they can't and so how are they to preach unless they are sent huh now we begin to see even hints of what we'll talk about a little bit next week the office of the ministry the pastoral office you see

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Christ sends pastors here I'm just the current one and should

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Christ continue to Terry Christ will send other guys in the future to preach the word and so that you can hear what

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God has willed for you to hear the good news that Jesus Christ is bled and died even for you the good news that he's risen again on the third day after suffering under Pontius Pilate and now he's ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the

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Father Almighty see this is the good news he wills for you to hear this over and over and over again so how are they to hear without someone being sent as it is written how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news always an interesting and awkward compliment that I get from time to time oh pastor your feet were beautiful today

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I'm telling on too many people right but they have not all obeyed the gospel

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Isaiah says Lord who has believed what he has heard from us so faith listen to the words faith comes from hearing hearing through the word of Christ faith comes from hearing hearing through the word of Christ this is what

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Christ wills to have happen this is how Christians are made through the word in fact

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Jerome the church father writes this the church does not consist of walls but is the truth but it in the truth of its teachings the church does not consist in its walls but in the truth of its teaching the church is there where there is the true faith being preached

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I think Jerome knew who was talking about the famous preacher

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John Christopherson whom I love to quote from time to time says when you perceive an impious heresy which is an army of Antichrist standing in the holy place of the church he says then let him who is in Judea flee into the mountains that is to say let him who is in Christendom turn to the holy scriptures for the true

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Judea is Christendom but the mountains are the scriptures of the prophets and the Apostles but why does the

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Lord mandate that these time at these times all Christians should turn to scripture knowing full well that in the last days there will be great confusion the

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Lord mandates then that Christians who are true Christians and who desire to obtain the firmness of the true faith to seek refuge nowhere else than in scripture otherwise if they look to something else they will be offended and be lost for they will not recognize which is the church and so they will succumb to the abomination of desolation that stands in the holy place

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Wow what a quote so brothers and sisters it's

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Christ that terrible farmer maybe smarter than we think is sowing the seed of his word recognize then that we are to be where Christ wills for us to be where his word is taught in its purity the gospel proclaimed the sacraments administered according to the gospel and when you see those things present even when the pastor is well a weak sinner himself you see a strong pastor with charisma or speaking ability is not the sign of a true church sign of the true church is whether or not he preaches the word rightly ministers the sacraments when these things are occurring you know that the church is present and you know that you are in a safe place so keep that in mind what is the church is the place where we hear the

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Word of God where we receive the body of blood of Christ given and shed for us for the forgiveness of sins the church is the place where Jesus is making

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Christians by mixing them with water and the word the baptismal font they're the true churches those are the signs look for other things and you'll miss it you'll miss it all together so let's again consider the simplicity the wisdom and even the humility with which

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Christ has called us to embrace these truths and believe what is true about what his church is and how he makes

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Christians and how he sustains them and let us not wander off into novelties into strange and exotic attractions and things that entertain let us again continue to focus where Christ has told us to focus word and sacrament in the name of Jesus amen if you would like to support the teaching ministry of Kungsvinger Lutheran Church you can do so by sending a tax -free donation to Kungsvinger Lutheran Church 15950 470th

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Avenue Northwest Oslo Minnesota 56744 and again that address is

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Kungsvinger Lutheran Church 15950 470th