Matthew 16:13–20

¹³Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" ¹⁴And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." ¹⁵He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" ¹⁶Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." ¹⁷And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. ¹⁹I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." ²⁰Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

Today the World Science Fiction Convention is coming to a close after meeting this past week in Reno, Nevada. At that convention someone might have read a paper that goes something like this:

An evil empire, trying to take over the universe, has invaded planet earth. They have a powerful mind control weapon that takes people captive and brings them under the empire's total control, making people into mindless robots to serve the empire of darkness. Their plan is to destroy the planet and kill all the people under its power. Their weapon is stronger than anything the humans have and there is no defense against it. One-by-one the forces of the evil empire are taking humans captive and into their control.

However, the grand ruler of the universe is a kind and benevolent king and is working to eradicate the evil forces. He has sent his Son to planet earth to save humanity from the evil ones. His Son has fought and won the battle against the evil king and is now working to free all captive humans from the control of the evil empire. To do this, he is gathering a small group of faithful and brave humans to whom he has entrusted the antidote to the weapons of the evil one, and which is more powerful. It is the only thing that can save the human race. He is sending this small group of people to distribute the antidote to everyone in order to save them from total destruction.

However, many people who have already come under the mind control of the evil one refuse to receive the antidote. They fiercely resist it and attack those who are trying to save them with hatred and vengeance.

Moreover, the forces of evil are furious that the Son has won the battle and they are launching a full scale attack on the Son's people in order to stop them from distributing the antidote. They harass, make fun of, humiliate, even beat, imprison and murder those who are working for the Son of the Grand King.

But this small band of people remains strong even in persecution, because they are under the protection of the Grand King. They are determined to save as many people as possible.

But they themselves have to keep taking the antidote every day in order to remain strong against the evil forces. If they stop using it, they too will become weak and powerless against the evil empire and will fall back into its grasp...

Well, I don't think this paper was presented at the World Science Fiction Convention, because it is not fiction. It is entirely true. It is the reality we are living in today. Planet earth was indeed invaded by Satan, who has taken control of the minds and lives of all human beings. He makes them his servants and they are enslaved to his power, mindless robots who work evil and destruction. His goal is to destroy us all and bring us into eternal damnation. All of us are affected. All of us have come under his control and power. By birth we are his subjects. He daily tempts us to sin, to reject the Son of God and do evil. His power is great, and no human being alive has the power to resist him and do good. All humanity is his slave. All humanity is on the road to destruction and death. And that is the reality in which we live. Every day we see the marks of the evil empire in the world and in our lives. Suffering, violence, sin, and death are the marks of Satan's kingdom. Every day we feel the pains, the insecurities, the temptations, the sickness and the sins in our own thoughts and minds and bodies so we know, in part, the darkness and death of this evil kingdom. We have all felt it grasping our throats and pulling us into its web of sin and death and despair. The kingdom of darkness lives in our hearts and has us under its power.

But the King over all Kings, the Lord and ruler of the universe, the creator of the heavens and earth has sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to rescue mankind from the evil one. He came into this world and dwelt among us. But he was rejected and despised by those who are under the power of the evil empire. He came to his own, but his own did not receive him.

The Christ, the Son of God, fought the ultimate battle against the evil one on the cross. He sacrificed his life for all people. He won the war against the one who would kill us, but taking our place in death. He paid for our sins. He poured out his blood which is the antidote for the power of Satan and which forgives our sins. And by his resurrection on the third day he proclaimed victory to all the world. He is the ultimate conqueror. He is the victor.

On the cross, the Son poured out his own precious blood which forgives our sins and releases us from the power and control of the evil one. We are set free by drinking his blood, because He is the Christ, the Son of God.

So the victorious Son has gathered a small group of faithful people. This small group of people is the church, the people to whom he has given the keys of his kingdom. He calls them and gathers them into his church through baptism. He tells this small group of people, "Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." He gives his church the keys that release men from the power of sin and death. These keys remove the shackles of the evil empire. These keys are the antidote against the evil one, the very blood of the Son which he shed on the cross. With these keys you shall remove the handcuffs from the prisoners of Satan and open the doors of hell so that they may be released. With these keys you shall open the door to heaven to all who have faith. For these keys are the antidote to sin and death, they are the blood of the Son. All who drink the blood of the Son shall be released from the evil one.

He has entrusted you, his church, with the antidote, his blood, and he charges you to take this antidote to all people and release them from the power of the dark one, the evil empire.

You are on a noble mission. It is a mission of life. It is a mission of freedom. It is a mission of salvation. It is God's mission. The church is not just another social club. It is not just a place to gather one day a week for fellowship with each other. It is not just an organization to belong to. Or a place to go when the weather is not good enough to be on the golf course. Nor is it an organization that we try to keep open just because we want to have a club. The church does not exist for its own sake. It's goal is not its own self-preservation.

No! The church exists for the purpose of distributing the antidote to sin and death to all people; for the purpose of opening the gates of heaven to all who believe. "Go, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." That is our mission. To distribute the blood of the Son to all people because that blood is the key that releases them from the prison of sin and death and opens the doors of heaven to all who believe. We are on a mission here at Emmanuel to save the world, not just to save Emmanuel. There's not enough time left to just sit around and talk about it. Now is the time to act. It is a mission for God. We do not do it for ourselves or to satisfy our needs.

Do not allow the evil empire to affect you. Without a steady diet of the antidote, the blood of the Son, you too will become weak and fall back into the influence of the evil one. You will lose your protection if you don't continue to use every day the remedy which the Son of God has given you.

The evil one is enraged. He is roaming about like a roaring lion seeking whom he can devour. He doesn't want you to spread the forgiveness of sins and to release his captives. So he attacks the church of Christ. He fights against you every step of the way. He sows divisions that weaken you, conflicts that disable you, selfish motives, lack of love, and tries to dampen your enthusiasm for the mission to keep you from carrying it out. He tries to turn your attention on yourselves. To make you turn inward and become a members' only exclusive club, rather than a people on a mission to save the world.

Your only defense against these attacks is the Word of God and the blood of the Christ, the Son of God, who was slain for us. Those who do not stay in Word and Sacrament will not remain strong in faith, for the only antidote is the blood of the Son which we drink in Word and Sacrament. Therefore prepare your hearts to receive that blood this Lord's Day as you come to the altar to drink the very blood of Jesus that releases you from the power of sin and death.

Then, armed with the word and fed with the body and blood of the Son, we are under his protection and the gates of hell shall not prevail against us. There is no need to fear as we go forward with the grace and love of God. There is nothing but complete assurance as we reach out to touch others with the love of Christ. There can be no stopping us as we love one another, support each other in weakness, in sickness, in suffering. The church is called to help and support each other, to lift one another up if anyone one falls, to stand beside each other and support each other so that we, with one voice, one mission, one purpose might stand firm with the Gospel of Christ, proclaim it with a loud voice, and distribute the blood of Christ that pours forth from the cross to all people both inside and outside of the church; forgiving the sins of the penitent and releasing from the power of sin and death all who believe our message. Amen.