The Lord's judgments are just and righteous! (Jeremiah 17:5-8)

February 5, 2012

Dear friends in Christ.

If you were to find yourself on trial for one reason or another, I’m sure you would want to have the best legal defense team you could find.  You would want an attorney who would calmly, confidently, and persuasively argue your case before a jury of your peers.  You would want a jury that would carefully weigh all the testimony made in that courtroom and come to the verdict which the evidence clearly showed.  You would want a judge who would make just and right judgment based on the verdict rendered by the jury.  Well, as Christians, this is what we have.  For we have a just and righteous God in heaven who has never in his life made a snap judgment based on a whim or other emotional factor.  Rather, it is our God in heaven who has provided the world with the documentation of his law, and now judges the world on the basis of that law.  Because of this, we know that when the Lord makes his judgments they are both just and righteous.  This is something that we will see more clearly as we study the text before us today. For through this lesson recorded in Jeremiah 17 we will see that even though those who turn from the Lord are cursed, those who trust in him are blessed, because the Lord’s judgments are truly just and righteous!

Take a look at what Jeremiah has to tell us in the first two verse of our lesson today:  “This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD. 6 He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives." (Jeremiah 17:5–6, NIV84)

Now, when Jeremiah first spoke these words to the Israelites living in the Southern kingdom of Judah, he spoke them as the Lord’s judgment against all who had turned their backs on him.  For in the days of Jeremiah, the people of Israel had all but forgotten about the Lord their God.  They had turned to the worship of idols made of wood and stone.  They had forsaken the Lord’s temple, and they had killed many of the Lord’s prophets rather than listening to them.  Though they were still one of the most prosperous nations at the time, they were not living under the Lord’s blessing, but under his curse.  Though to an outside observer they looked like a strong and healthy nation, spiritually they were nothing more than a dead and dried up old bush in the middle of a burning desert wasteland.  And because of this, all those who had turned their backs on the Lord had nothing to look forward to but the curse of eternal death and damnation forever in the fires of hell.

The same thing is true today!  We are living in a land that is quickly turning its back on the Lord.  So many of our leaders in every level of government are turning their backs on our Nation’s God fearing roots, and encouraging us as a people to do whatever they want and believe whatever they want to believe.  Though as a nation, we may be the wealthiest, most prosperous people on the face of the earth, spiritually our nation is quickly becoming a scorched and burning desert wasteland.  Though our country may have been founded on Christian morals back in the 1700’s, those morals are constantly be challenged, cut down, and tossed aside.  For example: 30 years ago, when the Rowe v. Wade decision made abortion legal, murder was suddenly made convenient, abstinence was no longer an issue, sexual immorality was given an open door, and human life was no longer regarded as sacred.  Now today, our nation is quickly sliding down the path, which leads only to the Lord’s righteous judgment and destruction.

How long will it be until we are overrun like the Israelites, who were overrun by the Babylonians?  How long will it be until the Lord says, “Enough!” and simply allows our nation to collapse from within?  I do not know. But I do know that if our nation continues on the course it is following now, turning its back on the Lord and relying on its own ingenuity, all that will be left for it will be the Lord’s curse and his righteous judgment of destruction. Though this might be a disturbing picture for us as Americans, this is the warning that the Lord is directing not only toward our great nation, but it is also the warning which he is directing toward you and me as Christians.

Yes, this is the warning which the Lord is directing even toward us as Christians!  For with these words our Lord is telling us that if we turn our backs on him we will face his fierce and righteous judgment.  If we grow weary of drinking the water of life found in his word, we will be surprised at how parched we will quickly become and how none of the world’s beverages will be able to slake that thirst.  If we find ourselves wandering away from him, growing lazy in worship, or simply giving up to embrace our sins, we know that we could be facing the double barreled curse of eternal death and damnation forever in the fires of hell. This is why the Lord is so fervently warning us with the consequences of turning our backs on him.  For if we, who know the truth of God’s salvation, turn our backs on that salvation there will be nothing left for us except eternal suffering in the burning wasteland of eternal damnation; burning under the scorching heat of the Lord’s justice and punishment for all who turn their backs on him.  Which is the heart of God’s Righteous Judgments!

But this is not the end of the story, for if it were, we would have nothing to look forward to.  We would find no joy in the service of the Lord our God because we would see him as nothing more than an angry and vengeful God.  But this is not the way we see him, and this is not the way we know him.  For we know the Lord as the God who has told us: “all who trust in him will be blessed.”  This is the other side of our Lord’s just and righteous judgments!  For though he will truly curse all those who forsake him, we know that he will indeed bless all who trust in him.

This was the message, which Jeremiah also carried to the people of Israel.  For even though nearly the entire nation of Israel had turned their backs on the Lord there were still those who had remained faithful to him, and it was to those people that Jeremiah said: “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. 8 He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” (Jeremiah 17:7–8, NIV84)

With these words, not only was the Lord assuring his faithful people that they would be blessed if they trusted in him, he is also assuring us that by trusting in him, we will truly be blessed no matter what we might face in this life.  For when we trust in the Lord we are those who listen to the Lord’s Prophet.  We are like trees planted by streams of water.  When our trust is in the Lord we are able to sink our roots down deep into water of his word.  We are able to grow tall and strong because we are constantly receiving all the nutrition that we could possibly need.  We are able to spread our branches high and wide so that we might provide shade and comfort to those who need it most.  Even though we might face the severe heat of trials and hardships in this life, though we often face the blistering sun of temptation, when we are rooted in the word, trusting in the Lord our God, our leaves will not wither or fall.  For when we place our trust in the Lord, it is the Lord who sees us through every trouble.  When we place our trust in the Lord we have the ability to let go of our worries and simply follow where he leads.  When we trust in the Lord, we are able to accept whatever challenges or hardships he might place on us, and wear them with joy, knowing that if he asks us to bear them he will also give us more than enough strength to stand up under them.  We will be able to stand up as his children under his just and righteous judgments.

This was the very privilege that the Lord gave to a family in my neighborhood while I was still in grade school.  For when I was in seventh grade, the smith family down the street lost their 18-year-old son in a car accident.  The son, who had been out deer hunting, was returning home when a deer jumped out in front of his car, it crashed through the windshield, broke the son’s neck, and he died that night even before he reached the hospital.  On top of that, a few short months after his funeral, his mother was diagnosed with cancer, and even though the doctors did everything they could to fight it, she died less than four years later.  Though I don’t remember much from the son’s funeral, I remember clearly the events of the wife’s.  I remember standing in the receiving line at the funeral home.  I remember countless friends talking with the husband and crying with him.  I remember even more people hugging him and offering their words of sympathy.  I remember wondering how someone could ever endure the death of his son and wife within a few short years of each other.  But the most amazing thing I remember is the solid rock of faith that this man was when it was our turn to talk to him.  I remember his unwavering trust in the Lord his God.  I remember how he accepted this new tragedy, confidently assured that the Lord had not forsaken him, and knowing that he would see both his wife and his son again when the Lord called him from this life to eternal life in heaven.

This is the justice and the righteousness of the Lord’s judgments.  These are the kinds of blessings that we also receive here on this earth when we trust in the Lord.  Though we may not have a stress free life, though we may not have all the money or possessions we might want, though our eyesight may not be the best, or our hearing might be failing, though our heart might not work the way we want or we find ourselves living away from family and friends, when we trust in the Lord we can still find joy and fulfillment in all these situations through faith in Jesus Christ our Savior!  When we trust in the Lord our God, we find his blessings in every aspect of our day to day lives.  When we trust in the Lord our God, our greatest blessing is the forgiveness of sins that his Son won for us through his death and resurrection.  This is the just and righteous judgment that the Lord has for you and me as his children, and this is the judgment with which he longs to bless the world.

Though our world may have turned its back on the Lord, sliding ever closer to the curse of damnation there is still hope for each and every person who trusts in the Lord.  For just as those in Israel who trusted in the Lord were saved when the Babylonians came, those in our world today who trust in the Lord will be saved by their faith.  This is the message that we as Christians now bring to the world at large.  Though we may not be able to lead all the people of the world to turn their trust to the Lord, through the working of the Lord, and the power of his word, we will be able to lead some to place their trust in him as their God.  Those who do will no longer face the Lord’s curse, but will look forward to the Lord’s righteous judgment, which will shower his blessings upon them. These are the Lord’s just and righteous judgments!  Though they are different than the judgments handed down in a courtroom, they are based on the law of the Lord our God.  May we never be found among those who turn their backs on him and look forward to nothing but his curse, but rather let us always be found among those who trust in him and live in his blessings.

Amen.

Pastor David M. Shilling

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church--Le Sueur, MN

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

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