January 16, 2011
Dear friends in Christ.
So how have you enjoyed this first week of Exploring God’s Islands of Adventure? Have you jumped right in and read or listened to the Word of God as you planned? Did you face any time thieves this week and find that you hadn’t accomplished all the reading you planned on? Or are you still undecided as to which plan you are going to follow? Well, if you are still undecided as to which plan to follow, I hope I’ve made it easier by including in the bulletin the chronological schedule that I’m using for our weekly Bible Study and worship. If you’ve faced time thieves this week, you’re not alone, the same thing happened to me on Tuesday! Suddenly it was Wednesday and I realized I had not read my Bible the day before. If you’ve accomplished your reading exactly as you planed this week, then good for you! In fact, my congratulations to all of you who read or listened to even the slightest little bit this week, and my encouragement to those of you who haven’t yet begun! I say this because the truth is whenever you make a decision to change and grow in any way; you suddenly have a struggle on your hands—especially when you make the decision to read the word and grow in your faith.
Yet, as I said last week, I so badly want each and every one of you to be reading or listening to the Bible this year, because when you do, you will grow in your faith and your knowledge of Jesus Christ as your Savior. As you grow in your faith and your knowledge we will grow together as an even more closely knit family of believers. In fact, just think about how your faith would grow if you were in the word for an entire week. Just think about how your life would change for the better, how your faith would grow, and how you would walk with confidence in your salvation if you were in the word of God for an entire month. Just think about how your live would change for the better, how your faith would grow and be as strong as steel, how you would walk with absolute confidence in the knowledge of your salvation through faith in Jesus, and how you would be constantly, passionately ready to share the comfort of God’s Word with those who were hurting, and share your faith with those who do not yet know the Lord Jesus as their Savior if you just spent the next year reading or listening to God’s Word for yourselves.
This is the growth that I long for, for you. As I said last week, I’ve spent the last six months reading this schedule so that I could stay ahead of you and share with you the beautiful truths I’ve found. Yet, while I keep reading to stay ahead of you, I’m also starting over at the beginning so that I can read with you and share with you the beautiful truths and amazing connections that I’ve discovered, while at the same time learning from you through the insights you will be placing on the navigation board in this next year. In fact, today, I want to share with you an amazing connection that I discovered. It is a connection between some of the words that Job speaks in chapter 19, which is part of the scheduled reading for today, and two of the lessons that I’ve already read as part of our worship today. It is a connection that will lead us to Praise the Lord our Savior as we celebrate his appearing at his baptism today.
I invite you to open your Bibles to Job 19:23-27. As you are turning to Job 19, let me give you a little background. Though we’re not exactly certain when Job lived, our best guess is that he lived around the time of the Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob). This is why we read only the first 11 chapters of Genesis and then jumped right into Job. Now, the book of Job is an interesting book. In fact, it has been said that without the first two chapters none of the book would make sense, and yet, as we read through it, we see a believer dealing with some of the most horrendous hardships, frustration, sickness, and accusations that friends could bring against him. As we read through the book of Job, we see Job proclaiming the same frustration and anger that we all have directed at God or others when we’ve faced difficulties, hospital stays, life threatening illnesses, financial ruin or any other hardship. Though there are times that Job blames God for all his troubles and God confronts him at the end of the book, Job never lost his faith and the Lord always counted Job as his child. Even in the midst of his pain and anguish the Lord allowed Job to praise the Lord his Savior because Job knew that one day his Savior would appear. Take a look at Job 19:23: “Oh, that my words were recorded, that they were written on a scroll, 24 that they were inscribed with an iron tool on lead, or engraved in rock forever! 25 I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. 26 And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; 27 I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! (Job 19:23–27, NIV84)
In the midst of struggle and hardship, pain and anguish, Job utters such beautiful words of praise for the Lord his Savior whom he knows will one day appear. He utters words of praise that Christians have sung since they were written in hymn form by Samuel Medley in 1775. He utters words of praise that I have used as the closing of my grave side service since the day I heard the pastor under whom I served as a bishop speak them as the close of his grave side service. Thus, we these words, Job reminds us and assures us that no matter what we face in this life, no matter what struggles or hardships we might have, even if we should lose our health or our ability to work, even if gas should make it to $4.00 a gallon as is being predicted; no matter what might come our way, we can still give praise and thanks to the Lord Jesus, our Savior, as we celebrate his appearing today. We can praise our Lord and Savior because we know that when he appeared here on earth, he came as the Lord’s servant, just as Isaiah told us in our first lesson today.
Turn with me now, if you would, to Isaiah 42 and we’ll see how verses 1-7 connect with what we just heard from Job. Now, as you are turning to Isaiah 42, let me give you the setting. At least 2000 years have passed since the days of Job. Israel has been living in the Promised Land for roughly 700 years and there were roughly 700 years remaining before the Savior would be born. Now, as Isaiah speaks the words in chapter 42, the complete destruction of the Northern Kingdom of Israel is close at hand. Yet, even in the midst of pending destruction on the Northern Kingdom and rampant unbelief that Isaiah faced in the Southern Kingdom, the Lord gave Isaiah a beautiful message for those who still believed. The Lord gave Isaiah a message that would lead believers to praise the Lord their Savior for the promise of his appearing. Take a look at what Isaiah writes in chapter 42 beginning with verse 1: “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations. 2 He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. 3 A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; 4 he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his law the islands will put their hope.” 5 This is what God the LORD says— he who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and all that comes out of it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it: 6 “I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, 7 to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness. (Isaiah 42:1–7, NIV84)
As Isaiah speaks these words, he gives us, and the faithful Israelites of his day every reason to praise the Lord Jesus at his appearing, because from these words we learn exactly what our Savior will do and has done for us. As Isaiah said in verse 3-4: “A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; 4 he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his law the islands will put their hope.” (Isaiah 42:3-4, NIV84) In other words, when the Savior appears, if someone is dealing with the bruises of doubt in their faith, or if someone is so weak that the flame of their faith is but a smoldering wick, Jesus will build them up and strengthen that faith through his comforting word. As he preaches he will proclaim the truth of salvation to his people and through that message he will establish his justice and his forgiveness. In fact, it will be in that message of salvation that the Islands—the gentiles like you and me—will put our hope.
Well, just as Isaiah prophesied, Jesus appeared and did all these things and even more. Jesus appeared to proclaim the message of salvation to us. Jesus appeared to be our Savior and free us from the curse of our sins. Jesus appeared to give his life in our place so that we might live eternally with him in his heavenly kingdom. Jesus appeared just as was promised throughout the ages and that is why we have gathered to give praise to the Lord our Savior as we celebrate his appearing today. We have gathered to give praise to our Savior because he appeared just as Job hoped and just as Isaiah prophesied. He appeared as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, just as Matthew records for us in our gospel lesson for today.
Turn with me, if you would, to our final lesson for today. Turn to Matthew 3:13-17, and we’ll take a look at how our lesson from Job and Isaiah connect to our Savior’s appearing at his baptism today. Now, as you are turning to Matthew 3 the stage has already been set for Jesus appearing at the beginning of his earthly ministry. In fact, if you take a look at the first three chapters of Matthew you can see just how he set the stage for us. He told us about the genealogy of Christ, showing that he was a descendant of David as the Lord promised. He told us about Jesus birth in Bethlehem and the visit of the Magi. He told us how Jesus escaped to Egypt and then returned to Nazareth in fulfillment of the Lord’s promise that he would call his Son out of Egypt, and now at the beginning of Chapter 3, Matthew tells us about John and how John was preparing the way for the Savior, proclaiming the Word of God and baptizing people in the Jordan River. Now, on one day while John was baptizing, Jesus appeared there at the river, coming to be baptized. Take a look at Matthew 3:13: 13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. 16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:13–17, NIV84)
As hoped for by Job, as prophesied by Isaiah, Jesus appeared to his people Israel when the time was right. He appeared at the Jordan river and was baptized by John to mark him, anoint him, if you will, as one of us. Thus, his baptism was the beginning of his earthly ministry and the time when Jesus actively began his work of living a perfect life in our place even as he preached God’s Word. It was on that day that the Father gave approval to his Son so that all present would know that this Jesus who had suddenly appeared among them was the Lord and Savior for whom they had waited. He was the one whom John had spoken about, whom Isaiah prophesied, and for whom Job had hoped.
This is our Lord and Savior whom we praise today! We praise him that he appeared for us just as he promised. We praise him because he freed us from our sins by his death and resurrection. We praise him because we know that through faith in him eternal life is ours. We praise him because we know that one day he will return again. Just as Job said, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. 26 And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; 27 I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! (Job 19:25–27, NIV84)
What an amazing reason for us to praise the Lord our Savior as we celebrate his appearing today! What an amazing connection between the words of Job, Isaiah, and Matthew! What an amazing thing that we have discovered them simply because we are exploring God’s Islands of Adventure together! May the Lord bless you in the coming week as you continue your reading of his Word for the strengthening of your faith and our growth together as a family of believers.
Amen.
Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church --Le Sueur, MN
Showing posts with label Last Day. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Last Day. Show all posts
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Prepare for the Coming Savior (Matthew 24:37-44)
November 28, 2010
Dear friends in Christ.
How are your Christmas Preparations going? Have you completely finished them? Or are you just getting started? Personally, today is the day we are planning to get all our Christmas decorating done, not merely here at church, but also at home. In fact, I would be willing to bet that most people make the most of Thanksgiving break in order to get started on their Christmas decorations. That’s what our family used to do in those years when we stayed home for Thanksgiving. We never really participated in after Thanksgiving shopping. Instead, we would stay home and my sister and I would do our best to stay out of Dad’s way as he brought all the Christmas items down from the attic. We would watch as he unpacked everything, set up the Christmas tree, screwed in all the light bulbs, went outside to replace Christmas bulbs that had burned out the previous year, and then, follow him from room to room as he placed candles in all the windows. In short, when we stayed home over the Thanksgiving Holidays, Saturday afternoon was a flurry of Christmas preparation, preparing everything for the coming Savior. Though yesterday may not have been the flurry of Christmas preparation as it was in my house when I was growing up, I’m sure that each and every one of us will be making the most of our time in the next few weeks to prepare our homes, our families, even ourselves for the Coming of our Savior at Christmas time.
Yet, even as we prepare ourselves for the coming of our Savior at Christmas time, today, as we have gathered for worship, our Savior is calling on us to prepare ourselves not only for his coming at Christmas time, but to prepare ourselves for his return on the last day, as well. In fact, this is the very thing that Jesus is speaking about in our lesson today, in Matthew 24:37-44. I invite you to open your Bibles and turn with me to Matthew 24:37-44 and we’ll take a look together at what Jesus is telling us.
Now, when Jesus spoke these words, it was Tuesday of Holy Week. Jesus had spent the day in the Temple, teaching the people and answering all the challenges brought to him by the Pharisees, Sadducees and Teachers of the Law. Then, once the challenges came to a conclusion and no one dared to ask Jesus anymore questions, (Matthew 22:46) Jesus began speaking his condemnations of woe upon the Pharisees, Sadducees, and the Teachers of the Law (Matthew 23) because they simply refused to believe that Jesus was the Savior whom the Lord had promised to his people. After Jesus had completed speaking, he got up and left the temple for the last time (Matthew 23:37-24:3) and he and his disciples headed out from Jerusalem, to the Mount of Olives. It was there that the disciples spoke to Jesus privately, asking him about the signs of the end of the age and the time of his coming. Jesus spent the next couple of chapters answering their question (Matthew 24:4-25:45), but the section we want to focus on is found in Matthew 24:37, where Jesus says, “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. 42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” (Matthew 24:37–44, NIV)
In such a simple way Jesus tells us to keep watch and prepare ourselves for the coming of our Savior. As he says in vs. 42: “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.” (Matthew 24:42, NIV) And again in verse 44: “So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” (Matthew 24:44, NIV)
But how is it that we are supposed to prepare? What do we need to do to be certain that we are prepared for the coming of our Savior? The answer to that question is simple. “Continue,” as Paul said, “to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,” (Philippians 2:12, NIV) In other words, dive into the Word of God and make a habit of swimming in it daily. Plumb its depths for treasure on a daily basis, and make certain that it is part of your faith exercise habit every day. Not only that, but make the most of every opportunity to gather to worship the Lord our God so that you might hear his Word yet again, be built up in faith, and strengthened in your preparation for our Savior’s reappearing. Take time to spend a few extra moments with the Lord in worship on those days when the feast of his flesh and blood is offered, for it is there, in that miraculous meal that we receive such tangible assurance that our sins have been forgiven. Pray to the Lord at all times and in every situation. Pray to the Lord for his blessings to be showered upon the family of believers wherever they may be, and pray to the Lord for his forgiveness, that through faith in him you may live your life according to his will.
In doing these things you will continue in your preparation, continuously prepared for the coming of your Savior. For in the same way that the angels suddenly appeared to the shepherds in the fields and announced the birth of the Savior; suddenly, when we least expect it we will hear the trumpet call of our God. In the same way that the people of Noah’s day were shocked by the rain, we too will be surprised by the sight of our Savior returning on the clouds of heaven. But unlike those who were unprepared because they ignored 120 years of Noah’s warnings about the coming flood and were swept away when the flood came upon them, we, who, through faith, are prepared for our Savior’s coming, will be taken to be with the Lord. This is the difference that Jesus describes in verse 37-41, where he says, “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.” (Matthew 24:37–41, NIV) Just as the only difference between Noah’s family in the ark and the millions of people outside the ark was the difference of faith, so also the difference between the two men and the two women who are taken is faith. Faith is the difference between the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25:31-46, and faith is the only difference between those who are prepared for our Savior’s coming and those who are not.
So with that in mind, you and I have an important task ahead of us. We have the task of proclaiming the message of salvation to those who do not yet know it! And what better time of year to take up that task! What better time to take up the task of telling people about their Savior so that they can be prepared for his coming, even as they prepare themselves for the Christmas Season! So as you go into the world, let us do just that! Let us share our faith through our words and actions—a smile to grumpy cashiers, a word of encouragement to tired shoppers, a message of Merry Christmas to whomever we meet, and a wary eye always looking for an opportunity to tell another about Jesus who came as the baby in Bethlehem and who will soon return as the King of Kings.
This is the very thing that you and I are prepared for through faith, though our homes may not be exactly prepared for the coming Christmas season, through faith we are prepared for the coming of our Savior. We are prepared for his birth in Bethlehem, and we are prepared for his coming on the Last Day.
Amen.
Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church -Le Sueur, MN
Dear friends in Christ.
How are your Christmas Preparations going? Have you completely finished them? Or are you just getting started? Personally, today is the day we are planning to get all our Christmas decorating done, not merely here at church, but also at home. In fact, I would be willing to bet that most people make the most of Thanksgiving break in order to get started on their Christmas decorations. That’s what our family used to do in those years when we stayed home for Thanksgiving. We never really participated in after Thanksgiving shopping. Instead, we would stay home and my sister and I would do our best to stay out of Dad’s way as he brought all the Christmas items down from the attic. We would watch as he unpacked everything, set up the Christmas tree, screwed in all the light bulbs, went outside to replace Christmas bulbs that had burned out the previous year, and then, follow him from room to room as he placed candles in all the windows. In short, when we stayed home over the Thanksgiving Holidays, Saturday afternoon was a flurry of Christmas preparation, preparing everything for the coming Savior. Though yesterday may not have been the flurry of Christmas preparation as it was in my house when I was growing up, I’m sure that each and every one of us will be making the most of our time in the next few weeks to prepare our homes, our families, even ourselves for the Coming of our Savior at Christmas time.
Yet, even as we prepare ourselves for the coming of our Savior at Christmas time, today, as we have gathered for worship, our Savior is calling on us to prepare ourselves not only for his coming at Christmas time, but to prepare ourselves for his return on the last day, as well. In fact, this is the very thing that Jesus is speaking about in our lesson today, in Matthew 24:37-44. I invite you to open your Bibles and turn with me to Matthew 24:37-44 and we’ll take a look together at what Jesus is telling us.
Now, when Jesus spoke these words, it was Tuesday of Holy Week. Jesus had spent the day in the Temple, teaching the people and answering all the challenges brought to him by the Pharisees, Sadducees and Teachers of the Law. Then, once the challenges came to a conclusion and no one dared to ask Jesus anymore questions, (Matthew 22:46) Jesus began speaking his condemnations of woe upon the Pharisees, Sadducees, and the Teachers of the Law (Matthew 23) because they simply refused to believe that Jesus was the Savior whom the Lord had promised to his people. After Jesus had completed speaking, he got up and left the temple for the last time (Matthew 23:37-24:3) and he and his disciples headed out from Jerusalem, to the Mount of Olives. It was there that the disciples spoke to Jesus privately, asking him about the signs of the end of the age and the time of his coming. Jesus spent the next couple of chapters answering their question (Matthew 24:4-25:45), but the section we want to focus on is found in Matthew 24:37, where Jesus says, “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. 42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” (Matthew 24:37–44, NIV)
In such a simple way Jesus tells us to keep watch and prepare ourselves for the coming of our Savior. As he says in vs. 42: “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.” (Matthew 24:42, NIV) And again in verse 44: “So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” (Matthew 24:44, NIV)
But how is it that we are supposed to prepare? What do we need to do to be certain that we are prepared for the coming of our Savior? The answer to that question is simple. “Continue,” as Paul said, “to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,” (Philippians 2:12, NIV) In other words, dive into the Word of God and make a habit of swimming in it daily. Plumb its depths for treasure on a daily basis, and make certain that it is part of your faith exercise habit every day. Not only that, but make the most of every opportunity to gather to worship the Lord our God so that you might hear his Word yet again, be built up in faith, and strengthened in your preparation for our Savior’s reappearing. Take time to spend a few extra moments with the Lord in worship on those days when the feast of his flesh and blood is offered, for it is there, in that miraculous meal that we receive such tangible assurance that our sins have been forgiven. Pray to the Lord at all times and in every situation. Pray to the Lord for his blessings to be showered upon the family of believers wherever they may be, and pray to the Lord for his forgiveness, that through faith in him you may live your life according to his will.
In doing these things you will continue in your preparation, continuously prepared for the coming of your Savior. For in the same way that the angels suddenly appeared to the shepherds in the fields and announced the birth of the Savior; suddenly, when we least expect it we will hear the trumpet call of our God. In the same way that the people of Noah’s day were shocked by the rain, we too will be surprised by the sight of our Savior returning on the clouds of heaven. But unlike those who were unprepared because they ignored 120 years of Noah’s warnings about the coming flood and were swept away when the flood came upon them, we, who, through faith, are prepared for our Savior’s coming, will be taken to be with the Lord. This is the difference that Jesus describes in verse 37-41, where he says, “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.” (Matthew 24:37–41, NIV) Just as the only difference between Noah’s family in the ark and the millions of people outside the ark was the difference of faith, so also the difference between the two men and the two women who are taken is faith. Faith is the difference between the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25:31-46, and faith is the only difference between those who are prepared for our Savior’s coming and those who are not.
So with that in mind, you and I have an important task ahead of us. We have the task of proclaiming the message of salvation to those who do not yet know it! And what better time of year to take up that task! What better time to take up the task of telling people about their Savior so that they can be prepared for his coming, even as they prepare themselves for the Christmas Season! So as you go into the world, let us do just that! Let us share our faith through our words and actions—a smile to grumpy cashiers, a word of encouragement to tired shoppers, a message of Merry Christmas to whomever we meet, and a wary eye always looking for an opportunity to tell another about Jesus who came as the baby in Bethlehem and who will soon return as the King of Kings.
This is the very thing that you and I are prepared for through faith, though our homes may not be exactly prepared for the coming Christmas season, through faith we are prepared for the coming of our Savior. We are prepared for his birth in Bethlehem, and we are prepared for his coming on the Last Day.
Amen.
Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church -Le Sueur, MN
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Rejoice! Your Father has Given You His Kingdom (Luke 12:32-40)
Dear friends in Christ.
Throughout the centuries, people have pursued joy in every avenue imaginable. Some have successfully found it while others have not. But to fully understand where joy can be found, perhaps it would be easier to describe where joy cannot be found: It isn’t found in unbelief— Voltaire was an infidel, an unbeliever, of the most pronounced type, and he wrote: "I wish I had never been born." It isn’t found in Pleasure -- Lord Byron lived a life of pleasure if anyone did. He wrote: "The worm, the canker, and grief are mine alone." It isn’t found in Money -- Jay Gould, the American millionaire, had plenty of that. When dying, he said: "I suppose I am the most miserable man on earth." It isn’t found in Position and Fame -- Lord Beaconsfield enjoyed more than his share of both. He wrote: "Youth is a mistake; manhood a struggle; old age a regret." It isn’t found in Military Glory -- Alexander the Great conquered the known world in his day. Having done so, he wept in his tent, before he said, "There are no more worlds to conquer." So where then is real joy found? Well, you already know the answer to that question, because real joy is found in Christ alone! (Adapted from SermonIllustrations.com ) This is exactly what our Savior is teaching us in our lesson this morning! He is teaching to find our joy in the Lord our God. In fact, he is teaching us to rejoice because God our Father has already given us his heavenly kingdom!
Now, if you haven’t already done so, I invite you to open your Bibles to our gospel lesson; to Luke 12:32, which is found on page 1031. There, in Luke 12:32, some of the first words out of Jesus’ mouth are words calling on us to rejoice because our heavenly Father has given us his heavenly kingdom. Luke 12:32 tells us: “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. (Luke 12:32, NIV)
Such beautiful words! Such comforting words! Though they could easily stand all by themselves as words of comfort and joy, in order to fully understand what Jesus is telling us here, we have to take a look back to Luke 12:13, where we find our text from last week; the Rich Fool. Though it was last week we heard Jesus teaching us to find our true wealth in the Lord our God and warning us against all kinds of greed and building our lives on the abundance of our possessions, what Jesus is telling us today is part of his discourse that began back in Luke 12:1. As we heard last week, as Jesus was speaking to his disciples a crowd of thousands had gathered to hear him, and there, already in verse 6, Jesus began teaching them the very reason why we can rejoice in the Lord our God and his gift of the kingdom. Take a look at Luke 12:6-7 with me: Jesus says, 6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. 7 Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. (Luke 12:6–7, NIV)
Skip over the parable of the Rich Fool that we studied last week and take a look at Luke 12:22-24, 27-28: “Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23 Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!” Jump to verse 27: “Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! (Luke 12:22-24, 27–28, NIV)
Starting from the very beginning of this chapter, through the parable of the Rich Fool, all the way to our lesson today, Jesus is telling us that we don’t need to worry about food and drink. We don’t need to worry about our house or our home. We don’t need to be concerned about our property, our wealth, our life or even our clothes, because we know that the Lord our God will provide all that we need and even more than that. Because we know that God will provide all that we need for our lives and even more than that, we don’t need to worry, as Jesus tells us in verse 32! Instead, we can rejoice! We can rejoice because we know that the Lord our God has given us the kingdom. We can rejoice because in giving us his kingdom, God our heavenly Father is assuring us that he has called us to faith in him through the working of the Holy Spirit. He is assuring us that because we have been called to faith by the working of the Holy Spirit, we have received the forgiveness of sins that Jesus won for us on the cross. Because we have received the forgiveness of sins that Jesus won or us on the cross, we know that our Savior has prepared a place for us in his heavenly kingdom. We know that one day, when Jesus calls us out of this life, he will take us to live by his side forever in those mansions in heaven, the very mansions whose keys God the Father has already turned over to us by calling us to faith in Jesus Christ our Savior through the work of the Holy Spirit through God’s powerful Word.
This is why even now in some of the most frustrating economic times our country has seen for many years, each and every one of us can rejoice! Each and every one of us can rejoice because we know that our God has already given us the gift of his heavenly kingdom. We can rejoice, because if God has given us his heavenly kingdom we know that he will provide for all our needs here on earth. No longer do we need to be obsessed with storing up four ourselves. Instead, knowing that we are members of God’s kingdom through faith in Jesus, our thoughts begin to turn to storing up treasures for ourselves in our heavenly kingdom. Jump back with me to Luke 12:32-34: Jesus tells us: “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Luke 12:32–34, NIV)
Did you notice what Jesus did? In such a simple way he referred back to the Parable of the Rich Fool that we studied just last week. For as Jesus spoke in verse 33 and 34, he is calling on us not to be like the fool who only thought of storing up treasures for himself in this world, but to live in the joyful knowledge that the Kingdom of heaven already belongs to us. He is calling on us to recognize that everything we have is a gift of God, given to us for us to manage. He is calling on us to hang on to the possessions we have with open hands. Rather than clutching our fingers and our hands and our arms and our whole bodies around our possessions and holding on to them as tightly as we can, Jesus is calling on us to hold on to them with open hands, so that when he comes to us and asks for us to return one or more of our blessings, those blessings easily slide right out of our hands. In other words, as we rejoice in the fact that the Kingdom of heaven already belongs to us, we learn to recognize our possessions and wealth for what they truly are! Though we used to see them as something that we sought to possess and hold onto for as long as possible, Jesus is teaching us to see them as blessings from him that he gives us to manage for a time. He is teaching to understand that God is the owner of everything and we are but his servants who use those gifts, blessings, possessions, and wealth as our servants in service to the Lord. When we begin to understand that our greatest possession is not something that we have on this earth, but the keys to the kingdom of heaven that our God has given through his Son, we begin to live our lives in thanks and praise of the Lord our God. When we daily rejoice over the fact that our Savior will one day take us from this life to our home in heaven, we begin to understand that our true treasure lies in heaven, and the only thing we can take to heaven with us is other people.
When we begin to understand that, it becomes all the easier for us to set aside a portion of our income for the Lord before we do anything else with it. It becomes all the easier for us to part with money and possessions to help others who are in need. It becomes that much easier for us to make use of our money in the Lord’s service through extra gifts for our congregation, our synod, missionaries, and even other programs that we are able to support from time to time like Faith Comes by Hearing. When we find ourselves rejoicing in the fact that our God has already blessed us with the kingdom of heaven, then it becomes all the easier for us to live for the Lord, to follow his Words, and to prepare ourselves for our Savior’s return, which is what Jesus talks about in Luke 12:35-40 of our lesson today: 35 “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, 36 like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. 37 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. 38 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night. 39 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” (Luke 12:35–40, NIV)
Talking about our Savior’s return, a wise man once said, “When you expect him least, that is when you need to expect him most.” This is the picture that Jesus paints in the last verses of our lesson today. Like the servants needed to be prepared for their master to return at any moment, so also we must be ready for our Savior’s return at any time. And we are ready! For through faith in Jesus, we are looking forward to the day when he will return to take us home. Through faith in Jesus our hearts have been washed clean and we have been given the wedding garments of his righteousness which we wear even now as we wait the day when he will bring us to his heavenly kingdom. Through faith in Jesus, we seek to live our lives according to his will, serving him with all that we are and all that we have, because we know that heaven is our home. We know that no matter when our Savior returns, we are ready. We are ready because we are God’s children through faith in Jesus, and we are eagerly awaiting the kingdom to which we already hold the key.
Though there are many people who are seeking joy through many and varied means, as Christians we have found the source of true joy! Our joy is found in Jesus Christ our Savior who called us to faith and bestowed upon us the kingdom of our God.
Amen.
Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church -Le Sueur, MN
Throughout the centuries, people have pursued joy in every avenue imaginable. Some have successfully found it while others have not. But to fully understand where joy can be found, perhaps it would be easier to describe where joy cannot be found: It isn’t found in unbelief— Voltaire was an infidel, an unbeliever, of the most pronounced type, and he wrote: "I wish I had never been born." It isn’t found in Pleasure -- Lord Byron lived a life of pleasure if anyone did. He wrote: "The worm, the canker, and grief are mine alone." It isn’t found in Money -- Jay Gould, the American millionaire, had plenty of that. When dying, he said: "I suppose I am the most miserable man on earth." It isn’t found in Position and Fame -- Lord Beaconsfield enjoyed more than his share of both. He wrote: "Youth is a mistake; manhood a struggle; old age a regret." It isn’t found in Military Glory -- Alexander the Great conquered the known world in his day. Having done so, he wept in his tent, before he said, "There are no more worlds to conquer." So where then is real joy found? Well, you already know the answer to that question, because real joy is found in Christ alone! (Adapted from SermonIllustrations.com ) This is exactly what our Savior is teaching us in our lesson this morning! He is teaching to find our joy in the Lord our God. In fact, he is teaching us to rejoice because God our Father has already given us his heavenly kingdom!
Now, if you haven’t already done so, I invite you to open your Bibles to our gospel lesson; to Luke 12:32, which is found on page 1031. There, in Luke 12:32, some of the first words out of Jesus’ mouth are words calling on us to rejoice because our heavenly Father has given us his heavenly kingdom. Luke 12:32 tells us: “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. (Luke 12:32, NIV)
Such beautiful words! Such comforting words! Though they could easily stand all by themselves as words of comfort and joy, in order to fully understand what Jesus is telling us here, we have to take a look back to Luke 12:13, where we find our text from last week; the Rich Fool. Though it was last week we heard Jesus teaching us to find our true wealth in the Lord our God and warning us against all kinds of greed and building our lives on the abundance of our possessions, what Jesus is telling us today is part of his discourse that began back in Luke 12:1. As we heard last week, as Jesus was speaking to his disciples a crowd of thousands had gathered to hear him, and there, already in verse 6, Jesus began teaching them the very reason why we can rejoice in the Lord our God and his gift of the kingdom. Take a look at Luke 12:6-7 with me: Jesus says, 6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. 7 Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. (Luke 12:6–7, NIV)
Skip over the parable of the Rich Fool that we studied last week and take a look at Luke 12:22-24, 27-28: “Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23 Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!” Jump to verse 27: “Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! (Luke 12:22-24, 27–28, NIV)
Starting from the very beginning of this chapter, through the parable of the Rich Fool, all the way to our lesson today, Jesus is telling us that we don’t need to worry about food and drink. We don’t need to worry about our house or our home. We don’t need to be concerned about our property, our wealth, our life or even our clothes, because we know that the Lord our God will provide all that we need and even more than that. Because we know that God will provide all that we need for our lives and even more than that, we don’t need to worry, as Jesus tells us in verse 32! Instead, we can rejoice! We can rejoice because we know that the Lord our God has given us the kingdom. We can rejoice because in giving us his kingdom, God our heavenly Father is assuring us that he has called us to faith in him through the working of the Holy Spirit. He is assuring us that because we have been called to faith by the working of the Holy Spirit, we have received the forgiveness of sins that Jesus won for us on the cross. Because we have received the forgiveness of sins that Jesus won or us on the cross, we know that our Savior has prepared a place for us in his heavenly kingdom. We know that one day, when Jesus calls us out of this life, he will take us to live by his side forever in those mansions in heaven, the very mansions whose keys God the Father has already turned over to us by calling us to faith in Jesus Christ our Savior through the work of the Holy Spirit through God’s powerful Word.
This is why even now in some of the most frustrating economic times our country has seen for many years, each and every one of us can rejoice! Each and every one of us can rejoice because we know that our God has already given us the gift of his heavenly kingdom. We can rejoice, because if God has given us his heavenly kingdom we know that he will provide for all our needs here on earth. No longer do we need to be obsessed with storing up four ourselves. Instead, knowing that we are members of God’s kingdom through faith in Jesus, our thoughts begin to turn to storing up treasures for ourselves in our heavenly kingdom. Jump back with me to Luke 12:32-34: Jesus tells us: “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Luke 12:32–34, NIV)
Did you notice what Jesus did? In such a simple way he referred back to the Parable of the Rich Fool that we studied just last week. For as Jesus spoke in verse 33 and 34, he is calling on us not to be like the fool who only thought of storing up treasures for himself in this world, but to live in the joyful knowledge that the Kingdom of heaven already belongs to us. He is calling on us to recognize that everything we have is a gift of God, given to us for us to manage. He is calling on us to hang on to the possessions we have with open hands. Rather than clutching our fingers and our hands and our arms and our whole bodies around our possessions and holding on to them as tightly as we can, Jesus is calling on us to hold on to them with open hands, so that when he comes to us and asks for us to return one or more of our blessings, those blessings easily slide right out of our hands. In other words, as we rejoice in the fact that the Kingdom of heaven already belongs to us, we learn to recognize our possessions and wealth for what they truly are! Though we used to see them as something that we sought to possess and hold onto for as long as possible, Jesus is teaching us to see them as blessings from him that he gives us to manage for a time. He is teaching to understand that God is the owner of everything and we are but his servants who use those gifts, blessings, possessions, and wealth as our servants in service to the Lord. When we begin to understand that our greatest possession is not something that we have on this earth, but the keys to the kingdom of heaven that our God has given through his Son, we begin to live our lives in thanks and praise of the Lord our God. When we daily rejoice over the fact that our Savior will one day take us from this life to our home in heaven, we begin to understand that our true treasure lies in heaven, and the only thing we can take to heaven with us is other people.
When we begin to understand that, it becomes all the easier for us to set aside a portion of our income for the Lord before we do anything else with it. It becomes all the easier for us to part with money and possessions to help others who are in need. It becomes that much easier for us to make use of our money in the Lord’s service through extra gifts for our congregation, our synod, missionaries, and even other programs that we are able to support from time to time like Faith Comes by Hearing. When we find ourselves rejoicing in the fact that our God has already blessed us with the kingdom of heaven, then it becomes all the easier for us to live for the Lord, to follow his Words, and to prepare ourselves for our Savior’s return, which is what Jesus talks about in Luke 12:35-40 of our lesson today: 35 “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, 36 like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. 37 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. 38 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night. 39 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” (Luke 12:35–40, NIV)
Talking about our Savior’s return, a wise man once said, “When you expect him least, that is when you need to expect him most.” This is the picture that Jesus paints in the last verses of our lesson today. Like the servants needed to be prepared for their master to return at any moment, so also we must be ready for our Savior’s return at any time. And we are ready! For through faith in Jesus, we are looking forward to the day when he will return to take us home. Through faith in Jesus our hearts have been washed clean and we have been given the wedding garments of his righteousness which we wear even now as we wait the day when he will bring us to his heavenly kingdom. Through faith in Jesus, we seek to live our lives according to his will, serving him with all that we are and all that we have, because we know that heaven is our home. We know that no matter when our Savior returns, we are ready. We are ready because we are God’s children through faith in Jesus, and we are eagerly awaiting the kingdom to which we already hold the key.
Though there are many people who are seeking joy through many and varied means, as Christians we have found the source of true joy! Our joy is found in Jesus Christ our Savior who called us to faith and bestowed upon us the kingdom of our God.
Amen.
Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church -Le Sueur, MN
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Surely the Day Is Coming (Malachi 4:1,2)
Dear friends in Christ.
I don’t know if you had a chance to read the bulletin yet, or maybe you just started reading it and haven’t gotten to the announcements yet, but when I was writing those announcements I was amazed by how many holiday announcements there are. I mean, did you see them? Not only are there two announcements talking about Thanksgiving related events, there are also four different announcements about Christmas events going on in December; five even if you count the poinsettia insert! Now, I don’t know about you, but I can hardly believe that Thanksgiving is right around the corner! Even though I heard my first Christmas Carol over the sound system at Target last Sunday afternoon, and I know that today is November 8, I am amazed to realize that there are only 17 more days until Thanksgiving Day and only 45 more days until Christmas Eve. Even though it is hard to fathom just how quickly these days are coming, we know that they are coming none-the-less. Even though it may be difficult to accept the fact that these two holidays are so rapidly approaching the thresholds of our lives, nevertheless these days are approaching just as quickly as the Lord’s Day of Judgment is approaching us today. It is that day about which the Prophet Malachi speaks in our text today when he writes, “‘Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire,’ says the LORD Almighty. ‘Not a root or a branch will be left to them.’ ‘But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.’” (Malachi 4:1,2)
Now, when Malachi carried those words to the People of Israel, the Israelite’s spiritual house was in great disarray. Though they had returned from their captivity in Babylon many years earlier and they had rebuilt their homes, the city wall, and even the Lord’s temple, all was not well in Israel. The priests who served as Israel’s spiritual leaders were openly showing contempt for the Lord and his worship as they allowed the people to bring sub-standard offerings to the Lord. The priests, who should have refused to offer such animals as sacrifices to the Holy One of Israel, simply closed their eyes as they accepted maimed, crippled, blind, and even diseased animals as sacrifices on the Lord’s holy altar. The priests, who should have been calling the people to account and judging them by the full measure of God’s Holy Law were the ones who were simply allowing the people to get by, and by doing so, they were allowing the people to grow arrogant in their feelings toward the Lord. They were allowing the people to grow selfish as they kept back the best for themselves and offered the leftovers to the Lord. They were allowing the people to continue on in their sins and by doing so, they were allowing the people to do evil in the eyes of the Lord their God. Add to that the fact that the people were intermarrying with the nations around them and involving themselves in worship of false gods that were not the Lord; Add to that the fact that evildoers were being trumpeted as people who were loved by God, and those who followed the Lord’s commands were thought of as weak, foolish, snobbish, and even intolerant bigots, then it becomes clear why the Lord sent Malachi to tell the people, “‘Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire,’ says the LORD Almighty. ‘Not a root or a branch will be left to them.’” (Malachi 4:1)
Yet, if we really get right down to it, is 2009 any different than 415 BC when Malachi was prophet? Is our Spiritual house any better off than the Israelite’s spiritual house? For years now the Leaders of our Nation have been working overtime to make sure that the First Amendment’s protection of our Freedom of Religion actually protects us and gives us the assurance that we can and will be forever free from religion. For years, the “Priests” of our nation—Pastor’s, Evangelists, Religious Leaders of every denomination—have shown contempt for the Lord as they have fallen into scandals of every kind. They have shown contempt for the Lord by preaching human thoughts and ideas rather than preaching the Truth of God Holy Word. Rather than standing on the front lines, calling people to account and judging them by the full measure of God’s Law, they have allowed people to simply get by. They have met people where they are, embraced sinners in love, which is exactly what we are to do, but then they proceeded to teach that sin wasn’t the problem, because there was nothing wrong with them; God loved them exactly the way they are. Thus, in their arrogance, they have removed the True God from the lives of millions and replaced him with the god of love, or rather Love as god. Thus, sin is now touted as god pleasing if it is done in love, and those who stand up for what the Lord says are called weak, foolish, and intolerant haters. Is there any wonder why the Lord sent Malachi to proclaim even to the American people, “‘Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire,’ says the LORD Almighty. ‘Not a root or a branch will be left to them.’” (Malachi 4:1)
Yet, before we become too arrogant in our Pharisaical WELS way, thinking that we are the only holy ones left in the world because we work so hard to preserve, protect, and proclaim the absolute truth of God’s Word, we must realize that these words are for us as well. These words, which the Lord delivered to his people through the lips of Malachi, are the very words he is delivering to us as a warning today! For with these words, the Lord is reminding us of the very thing our sins deserve. With these words, the Lord is telling us that we are no better than the arrogant evildoers who have lived throughout history. With these words, the Lord is telling us that when we hold back our offerings out of greed, selfishness, or just plain laziness, we are no better than the Israelites who did the same with their healthy animals, bringing instead their sub-standard offerings. With these words, the Lord is telling us that when we do not put him first in every aspect of our lives, we are no better than the Israelites who followed after foreign gods rather than the one true God. With these words the Lord is telling us that when we feel superior to others because of our fine faith, or keep the message of salvation because we have prejudged them as unworthy of salvation, then we too become the arrogant people whom Malachi spoke about when he said, “‘Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire,’ says the LORD Almighty. ‘Not a root or a branch will be left to them.’” (Malachi 4:1)
Yet, even as Malachi delivers his harsh message of God’s Holy Law as a warning for us to heed as we turn to the Lord in repentance, he does not leave us without the comfort of God’s love and forgiveness. As he says in verse 2 of our text, “‘But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.’” (Malachi 4:1,2)
When Malachi delivered this message to the Israelites, I can just imagine the collective sigh that ran through the nation. Though many of the Israelites had turned away from the Lord, these words were sweet comfort and grace to those who had remained faithful to him, as well as those who had returned to the Lord and repented of their sins because of Malachi’s message. Though Malachi was the last Prophet in Israel until the days of John the Baptist, he proclaimed the joy that would be theirs on that day when the Savior came. Though it was nearly 400 years until the Savior would be born in Bethlehem, they knew the day was coming when the sun of righteousness would rise with healing in its wings. They knew that through faith in that Savior, they would receive the forgiveness of sins, the assurance of life, and the blessing of salvation by their Savior’s side forever. They knew that through faith in their Savior, they did not need to fear the Lord’s Day of Judgment because they knew that on that day, through faith in their Savior, the sun of righteousness would rise on them. They knew that on that Day of Judgment, they would finally and forever be healed of their sins when the Lord moved them to the pasture land of heaven. They knew and believed as Malachi had said, “‘For you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.’” (Malachi 4:1,2)
Well we know and believe the same thing! We know and believe that they day is coming when the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. Though we are still living in the night of sin and unbelief, through faith in Jesus who has already freed us from our sins, we can see the warm glow of the dawn of that day on the horizon. Though we do not know exactly when that day will come, we know that it is coming just as certainly as Thanksgiving and Christmas swiftly approaching. Though we do not know exactly when that day will come, we are waiting for it as eagerly as school children wait for the final bell of the day. For on that day, when the sun of righteousness rises in the east, and the arrogant and evil are burned away, we will feel the warmth of our Savior’s righteousness permeate every join of our bodies. We will feel that warmth finally and completely melt away the ice of sin that had clung so tenaciously to our hearts, and we will go out and leap in joy as we are released from the stall of this world to the pasture of eternal life.
What a day that will be when our Savior returns in glory and judgment! Though we do not know exactly when it will be, we know that it is approaching as certainly as Thanksgiving and Christmas are growing ever nearer this year. Though that day may not come for another week, another year, or for many more years to come, we know that one day it will be here, just as Malachi prophesied, “‘Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire,’ says the LORD Almighty. ‘Not a root or a branch will be left to them.’ ‘But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.’” (Malachi 4:1,2)
Amen.
Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church -Le Sueur, MN
I don’t know if you had a chance to read the bulletin yet, or maybe you just started reading it and haven’t gotten to the announcements yet, but when I was writing those announcements I was amazed by how many holiday announcements there are. I mean, did you see them? Not only are there two announcements talking about Thanksgiving related events, there are also four different announcements about Christmas events going on in December; five even if you count the poinsettia insert! Now, I don’t know about you, but I can hardly believe that Thanksgiving is right around the corner! Even though I heard my first Christmas Carol over the sound system at Target last Sunday afternoon, and I know that today is November 8, I am amazed to realize that there are only 17 more days until Thanksgiving Day and only 45 more days until Christmas Eve. Even though it is hard to fathom just how quickly these days are coming, we know that they are coming none-the-less. Even though it may be difficult to accept the fact that these two holidays are so rapidly approaching the thresholds of our lives, nevertheless these days are approaching just as quickly as the Lord’s Day of Judgment is approaching us today. It is that day about which the Prophet Malachi speaks in our text today when he writes, “‘Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire,’ says the LORD Almighty. ‘Not a root or a branch will be left to them.’ ‘But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.’” (Malachi 4:1,2)
Now, when Malachi carried those words to the People of Israel, the Israelite’s spiritual house was in great disarray. Though they had returned from their captivity in Babylon many years earlier and they had rebuilt their homes, the city wall, and even the Lord’s temple, all was not well in Israel. The priests who served as Israel’s spiritual leaders were openly showing contempt for the Lord and his worship as they allowed the people to bring sub-standard offerings to the Lord. The priests, who should have refused to offer such animals as sacrifices to the Holy One of Israel, simply closed their eyes as they accepted maimed, crippled, blind, and even diseased animals as sacrifices on the Lord’s holy altar. The priests, who should have been calling the people to account and judging them by the full measure of God’s Holy Law were the ones who were simply allowing the people to get by, and by doing so, they were allowing the people to grow arrogant in their feelings toward the Lord. They were allowing the people to grow selfish as they kept back the best for themselves and offered the leftovers to the Lord. They were allowing the people to continue on in their sins and by doing so, they were allowing the people to do evil in the eyes of the Lord their God. Add to that the fact that the people were intermarrying with the nations around them and involving themselves in worship of false gods that were not the Lord; Add to that the fact that evildoers were being trumpeted as people who were loved by God, and those who followed the Lord’s commands were thought of as weak, foolish, snobbish, and even intolerant bigots, then it becomes clear why the Lord sent Malachi to tell the people, “‘Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire,’ says the LORD Almighty. ‘Not a root or a branch will be left to them.’” (Malachi 4:1)
Yet, if we really get right down to it, is 2009 any different than 415 BC when Malachi was prophet? Is our Spiritual house any better off than the Israelite’s spiritual house? For years now the Leaders of our Nation have been working overtime to make sure that the First Amendment’s protection of our Freedom of Religion actually protects us and gives us the assurance that we can and will be forever free from religion. For years, the “Priests” of our nation—Pastor’s, Evangelists, Religious Leaders of every denomination—have shown contempt for the Lord as they have fallen into scandals of every kind. They have shown contempt for the Lord by preaching human thoughts and ideas rather than preaching the Truth of God Holy Word. Rather than standing on the front lines, calling people to account and judging them by the full measure of God’s Law, they have allowed people to simply get by. They have met people where they are, embraced sinners in love, which is exactly what we are to do, but then they proceeded to teach that sin wasn’t the problem, because there was nothing wrong with them; God loved them exactly the way they are. Thus, in their arrogance, they have removed the True God from the lives of millions and replaced him with the god of love, or rather Love as god. Thus, sin is now touted as god pleasing if it is done in love, and those who stand up for what the Lord says are called weak, foolish, and intolerant haters. Is there any wonder why the Lord sent Malachi to proclaim even to the American people, “‘Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire,’ says the LORD Almighty. ‘Not a root or a branch will be left to them.’” (Malachi 4:1)
Yet, before we become too arrogant in our Pharisaical WELS way, thinking that we are the only holy ones left in the world because we work so hard to preserve, protect, and proclaim the absolute truth of God’s Word, we must realize that these words are for us as well. These words, which the Lord delivered to his people through the lips of Malachi, are the very words he is delivering to us as a warning today! For with these words, the Lord is reminding us of the very thing our sins deserve. With these words, the Lord is telling us that we are no better than the arrogant evildoers who have lived throughout history. With these words, the Lord is telling us that when we hold back our offerings out of greed, selfishness, or just plain laziness, we are no better than the Israelites who did the same with their healthy animals, bringing instead their sub-standard offerings. With these words, the Lord is telling us that when we do not put him first in every aspect of our lives, we are no better than the Israelites who followed after foreign gods rather than the one true God. With these words the Lord is telling us that when we feel superior to others because of our fine faith, or keep the message of salvation because we have prejudged them as unworthy of salvation, then we too become the arrogant people whom Malachi spoke about when he said, “‘Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire,’ says the LORD Almighty. ‘Not a root or a branch will be left to them.’” (Malachi 4:1)
Yet, even as Malachi delivers his harsh message of God’s Holy Law as a warning for us to heed as we turn to the Lord in repentance, he does not leave us without the comfort of God’s love and forgiveness. As he says in verse 2 of our text, “‘But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.’” (Malachi 4:1,2)
When Malachi delivered this message to the Israelites, I can just imagine the collective sigh that ran through the nation. Though many of the Israelites had turned away from the Lord, these words were sweet comfort and grace to those who had remained faithful to him, as well as those who had returned to the Lord and repented of their sins because of Malachi’s message. Though Malachi was the last Prophet in Israel until the days of John the Baptist, he proclaimed the joy that would be theirs on that day when the Savior came. Though it was nearly 400 years until the Savior would be born in Bethlehem, they knew the day was coming when the sun of righteousness would rise with healing in its wings. They knew that through faith in that Savior, they would receive the forgiveness of sins, the assurance of life, and the blessing of salvation by their Savior’s side forever. They knew that through faith in their Savior, they did not need to fear the Lord’s Day of Judgment because they knew that on that day, through faith in their Savior, the sun of righteousness would rise on them. They knew that on that Day of Judgment, they would finally and forever be healed of their sins when the Lord moved them to the pasture land of heaven. They knew and believed as Malachi had said, “‘For you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.’” (Malachi 4:1,2)
Well we know and believe the same thing! We know and believe that they day is coming when the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. Though we are still living in the night of sin and unbelief, through faith in Jesus who has already freed us from our sins, we can see the warm glow of the dawn of that day on the horizon. Though we do not know exactly when that day will come, we know that it is coming just as certainly as Thanksgiving and Christmas swiftly approaching. Though we do not know exactly when that day will come, we are waiting for it as eagerly as school children wait for the final bell of the day. For on that day, when the sun of righteousness rises in the east, and the arrogant and evil are burned away, we will feel the warmth of our Savior’s righteousness permeate every join of our bodies. We will feel that warmth finally and completely melt away the ice of sin that had clung so tenaciously to our hearts, and we will go out and leap in joy as we are released from the stall of this world to the pasture of eternal life.
What a day that will be when our Savior returns in glory and judgment! Though we do not know exactly when it will be, we know that it is approaching as certainly as Thanksgiving and Christmas are growing ever nearer this year. Though that day may not come for another week, another year, or for many more years to come, we know that one day it will be here, just as Malachi prophesied, “‘Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire,’ says the LORD Almighty. ‘Not a root or a branch will be left to them.’ ‘But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.’” (Malachi 4:1,2)
Amen.
Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church -Le Sueur, MN
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