Sermon - Eric Platter Memorial - John 10:27-30

Dear Jeff and Kristin, family, relatives, and friends of Eric, may the grace of God, the peace of Jesus Christ, and the certainty of the Holy Spirit richly dwell in your hearts at all times.

In the words of Job, who had just lost all of his earthly possessions, including his children, he said: The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord who redeems His people from their sins. Even though the past weeks have been filled with immense sorrow and deeply troubled hearts, even though this veil of tears has been even more clouded of late, the Lord’s name is blessed because He alone is our hope and joy even while we struggle to make it from day to day. Blessed are you, for our precious Lord Jesus promises you, saying “Blessed are they that mourn, for they will be comforted.”

Jesus tells us that the Devil is a liar, a thief, and a murderer. Jesus is our Good Shepherd who guards us against the devil’s lies, thefts, and murders. Lately the threats of the devil seem to be even more real and close to home since the death of Eric. Whenever a child in their youth dies it tends to rock our world, even more so when that child was murdered, and indeed Eric was murdered. No his killer wasn’t one of flesh and blood, but then again “we don’t wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Eric was murdered by Satan. 

The devil is real. The devil’s attacks in our lives are real. From the devil’s mouth pour real lies. The devil’s hands snatch away real things and real people. The devil really kills people in a real way. His power over this world is real and it’s scary and it’s frightening. 

The devil opens his mouth and deceives us into false belief against the Word of God. He deceives and tricks us that God’s love isn’t real or enough for us. He brings our sins to light and holds them before our eyes, accusing us, damning us, bringing us to the point of despair. So the devil lies in order to lead us to despair that God doesn’t actually love us. 

The devil snatches us away! He reaches out his hands and craftily tries to pull us away from our God. He steals our hope, our joy, and our contentment. He steals all of these treasures of the Holy Spirit so that he might steal our souls as well.

The devil murders. Once he’s lied to us and brought us to despair of God’s mercy, once he’s stolen away our hope, he then finally murders us as well. He pulls our hands this way and that, such that it’s not our hands but his hands which finally put us to death. Such it was with Eric.

Though Satan lies, steals, and murders, there is yet some truth in his words. We are sinners and we do deserve punishment for our sins. We ought not be hopeful because of ourselves. We do deserve death.

Christ doesn’t deny our grim plight in this life. So because of our rather tragic lives, faced with our sin, with death, and even the devil, Jesus comes as our Good Shepherd. Against the lies of Satan, Jesus fills our ears with His comforting word of truth. “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” Jesus drowns out the droning voice of the devil with the sweet melodious voice of the Gospel.

Yes we have sinned and yes we deserve death, therefore Christ our Good Shepherd laid down His life for the sheep, He laid down His life for Eric and He laid down His life for you. Christ Jesus offered up His life for yours on the cross of Calvary. From His wounds dripped blood which wash away our sins and our guilt. Our Good Shepherd Jesus was bit by that disgusting wolf the devil and died so that we might be spared from what we deserve. The truth is that you’re forgiven because of Jesus and that you don’t get what you deserve, but you receive what Christ earned for you. That’s the truth which Jesus speaks against the lies of the devil.

Because of this truth of the Gospel, your hope, joy, and certainty cannot be taken away from you. And if Satan can’t steal your hope in the Gospel, neither is he powerful enough to steal you. “My Father… is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch the sheep out of the Father’s hands.” You cannot be stolen by the devil because the Father has marked you with the cross, washed you in the blood of the Lamb, drowned you in the waters of baptism, clothed you in the wedding garment of salvation, and adopted you into His family and now calls you His beloved Child. Satan may tug and pull at you, and really make you think he’s gotten you in his grasp, but it’s all a deception, because you dear Christian belong to Jesus and none of Satan’s tricks can snatch you out of the Father’s hand.

Therefore, Jesus promises His precious sheep which have been bought with His blood, saying: “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish.” Though Satan murders and kills in this world, Jesus gives eternal life from which we shall never perish. Yeah, we deserve death, but Christ instead gives us eternal life. So the end of this life is not the end, for in Christ we shall live and reign with Him for all eternity. 

Therefore, my friends in Christ, do not fear the devil nor his lies, nor his evil schemes, nor his death threats! “If God is for us, who can be against us?” Certainly no one in this life and most definitely not the devil will ever prevail against God who is our mighty fortress. “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.”

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” The Word of God is your hope and your sword, He alone will sustain you with His Word in the evil day. In these evil days, God knows you are His sheep and He lays down His life to protect you from the evil one. So in the days to come lift up the sword of God’s mighty word before you in home and in church. Then pray, pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. The Word and prayer; these are your great weapons dear Christian, with which you shall together with Christ conquer the lying, thieving, murderous devil by the power of your Good Shepherd.

Let us pray: 

O Lord, our Lord, whose name is majestic in all the earth, our saving light and our shelter in the day of trouble, turn us not away in anger because of our sins. Remember us in Your mercy, calm our anxious and troubled hearts, strengthen our faith, and lead us in Your straight paths until we see Your surpassing goodness, with all those who love You and believe in Your Son, even Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.