The Lord Our Righteousness (Jeremiah 23:1-6)

Series: What I'd Like to Know Is… (1/6)

July 29, 2012

This series was created by requests from our congregation.  The six most requested topics were chosen and made into a six week sermon series.

Dear friends in Christ.

“Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!” declares the LORD. 2 Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: “Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done,” declares the LORD." (Jeremiah 23:1–2, NIV84)

We don’t know exactly when the Prophet Jeremiah spoke the words of our lesson today, because the book of Jeremiah was not written in a chronological order so much as it was laid down topically.  It was laid down topically according to the prophecies that the Lord gave to Jeremiah throughout the many years that he served as prophet proclaiming the truth of God’s Word to all those living in Jerusalem and the Southern Kingdom of Judah.  But even though we don’t know exactly when Jeremiah spoke these words, our best guess is that this all took place about 2,600 years ago, somewhere around 597 BC. 

This would mean that when Jeremiah spoke the words of our lesson today, roughly 125 years had passed since the Assyrian Empire had conquered the Northern Kingdom of Israel and taken them off into captivity—a captivity from which the nation never returned.  Roughly 80 years had passed since the Prophet Isaiah had been martyred, as tradition suggests, at the hand of evil King Manasseh.  Less than 25 years had passed since King Josiah, the grandson of evil king Manasseh found the book of God’s Law and begun a religious renewal in the Kingdom of Judah.  A renewal unlike any that had ever been seen before!  However, when Josiah died fighting against Pharaoh Neco at the battle of Megiddo, about 15 years before our lesson takes place, things began to go downhill quickly.  Things began to go downhill quickly because the next two kings that followed faithful Josiah did evil in the eyes of the Lord just as their predecessors had done.  Though Josiah turned to the Lord unlike any other king in the history of Judah, and though he worked very hard to bring about religious renewal and lead the people back to the Lord their God, the kings that served after him did the very opposite.  They did evil in the eyes of the Lord.  They worshiped false gods.  They bowed down to idols and by their example they led the people of Judah away from the worship of the true God.  Thus they were destroying and scattering the sheep of the Lord’s pasture.

So, by the time that Jeremiah spoke the words of our lesson today, it was the 11th hour.  King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had either sent, or would very soon be sending Babyloniah, Aramean, Moabite, and Ammonite raiders against the land of Judah to devastate the land and punish the nation because their king had tried to rebel against Nebuchadnezzar.  Then, as history shows us, not long after those raiders were sent, Nebuchadnezzar himself would advance on Jerusalem, lay siege to it, and carry its people off into 70 years captivity in Babylon.  So this was the political situation in Judah.  There were maybe 11 years left until King Nebuchadnezzar would march in and completely destroy Jerusalem and its temple before the captivity would begin. There was not much time left until the Righteous Lord would fulfill the words he had proclaimed to the people for centuries, the words that Jeremiah so recently spoke to them, saying: “Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!” declares the LORD. 2 Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: “Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done,” declares the LORD." (Jeremiah 23:1–2, NIV84)

This was the political situation in Judah during the days of Jeremiah!  But is the political situation in America all that different today?  Are our leaders leading us by example, and encouraging us as a nation to live in our faith?  If you look back in history it seems that some did and some did not.  Take a look at Mr. Jimmy Carter.  He is a man known for his faith and his trust in God.  No matter how you felt about him as president or what kind of job you believe that he did, it seems that he sought to lead this nation based on his faith in God.  The same thing seems true about the years that Mr. Ronald Reagan was president.  His words in speeches seem to convey a personal faith in God his creator, and it seems that he sought to rule our Nation from that perspective.  Again I’m merely bringing these men up as examples.  You may or may not have liked them as leaders or how they led, but their words and actions often show them as leaders who either sought to lead based on a faith in God or without a faith in God.  The same thing can be said about Mr. George Bush Sr. and Jr.  By their words and their actions they seemed to seek to lead the nation based on their faith.  However it seems that the exact opposite can be said about Mr. Bill Clinton and Mr. Barack Obama.  With their words and actions they demonstrated themselves to be men who do not hold to the same faith to which we hold.  They have demonstrated themselves to be men who have more of a secular attitude to the leadership of this country and by their examples, Americans have felt justified to emulate the actions and the beliefs of these presidents and turn away from the truth of God’s Word. 

Please understand what I am saying here.  Under every president countless people have come to trust in the Lord and countless others have fallen away from the Lord.  However, in the same way that the leaders of God’s people greatly influenced the faith of God’s people in Jeremiah’s, so also the leaders of America greatly influence the spirituality and the faith of Americans.  For example, in the last 20 years or so, Christians have grown more and more silent.  Christians are finding that they are facing much more mocking and ridicule than they once did.  Christian children are growing tired of following the faith of their parents because more and more of their friends do not see the need for worship or God’s word.  On top of this, the President of our nation stated in a number of different speeches, “Whatever we once were, we’re no longer a Christian nation. At least not just. We are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, and a Buddhist nation, a Hindu nation and a nation of nonbelievers”[1]   Add to that the surge in faith that took place after September 11, 2001, which has since dissipated, and even though we have been struggling through an economic down turn for the past six or seven years, how many people in our world and in our Nation have stopped putting their faith in the Lord for help, but have turned their faith toward themselves, or the banks, or even the government to provide for them.  This is the political situation in which we find ourselves today!  This is the reason why Jeremiah’s words are so relevant for us today: “Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!” declares the LORD. 2 Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: “Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done,” declares the LORD." (Jeremiah 23:1–2, NIV84)

Perhaps the economic situation in our country is the beginning of God’s punishment against our Nation for turning away from him.  Perhaps the financial ruin, which is predicted to be worse than the Great Depression, is this generation’s Babylonian Captivity designed to destroy the power of the false gods of our society and world and lead people back to the Lord.  Perhaps just the idea of what is coming our way, according to many economists, will be just enough to turn many back to the Lord to trust in him as it was with the Israelites!  Though it is true that Jeremiah’s message to the people of Judah was indeed a message of harsh judgment, because there were still many who were faithful to the Lord, the Lord filled their hearts with comfort even as Jeremiah spoke.  In the midst of harsh judgment and woe, the Lord also gave great comfort, saying: “I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number. 4 I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing,” declares the LORD. 5 “The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. 6 In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness." (Jeremiah 23:3–6, NIV84)

Even in the midst of looming destruction and captivity, the Lord still comforted his faithful people with the promise of the Messiah.  Though the tree of Jesse would be cut down and left as a dead stump through the coming captivity, the Lord would cause a new branch to sprout when he sent Jesus as the Messiah.  He would be the king who preached the message of salvation to all his people.  He would be the king who would lead his people to the green pastures and quiet waters of his word.  He would be the king who would fight head to head with satan and his evil angels.  He would be the king who granted victory to his people through his death and resurrection.  He would be the king who led his people to the complete safety of his heavenly kingdom when their time on earth was done.  Though it was clear that all of Judah and Jerusalem would face some terrible times at the hands of the Babylonians, those who trusted in the Lord had his comfort and assurance.  They knew that the Lord was their Righteousness.  They knew that the Lord was their Savior.  They knew that no matter what evil they faced by trusting in the Lord they would be delivered to their kings side where they would live with their Righteous Savior.

The same thing is true for you and me today.  Even though we are living in a world that daily grows darker and more evil, we are looking forward to the day when we will be gathered with the remnant of the Lord’s believers.  Even though we are facing ridicule and persecution we know that through faith in the Lord our Righteousness, we will never be missing from his side.  We know that even though we may be facing some financial dark days in the next years, by trusting in the Lord he will provide for us all that we need.  We are looking forward to the day when we will see the Righteous Branch of Jesse, our King, the Lord our Righteousness, gathering us before his throne where we will live with him forever in safety and security.  No matter what we face in this life, we know that heaven is our home.  No matter what temptations come our way, we know that the Lord Jesus has forgiven us.  No matter hardships we face, we know that the Lord is with us, just as he was with his people even when Babylon destroyed Jerusalem. 

So now, as God’s children, continue to grow in your faith by reading and studying his Word.  Teach your children and your grandchildren the precious truths of salvation.  Bring them with you as you worship the Lord so that they learn the habit of taking time out for God.  Schedule extra time each Sunday for Sunday School and Bible study so that you and your family may grow in your faith and your love of the Lord.  Though the days are growing darker, the days are coming when the Lord our Righteousness will raise up the righteous Branch of Jesse.  This will be the day when our Savior returns in glory and judgment. This will be the day when we see the Lord our Righteousness face to face and he welcomes us into his heavenly kingdom forever.  Until that day, grow in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Encourage each other in the faith, and know that no matter what you might face in this life, we have the Lord’s promise:  “I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number. 4 I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing,” declares the LORD. 5 “The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. 6 In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness." (Jeremiah 23:3–6, NIV84)

Amen.

Pastor David M. Shilling

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church--Le Sueur, MN

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[1] From a speech on June 7, 2007 referenced at: http://www.christianwebsite.com/obama-america-no-longer-a-christian-nation/  also from a speech on March 9, 2008 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmC3IevZiik  also a speech on April 9, 2009 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIVd7YT0oWA  All sites accessed July 28, 2012.

Jesus is our Savior! (Psalm 22:1-2)

Good Friday 

April 6, 2012

Dear friends in Christ.

A few years ago, there was an article which appeared in the religious section of the Dallas Morning News, with the title:  “Savior or Martyr?”  This article explored news and information about Jesus as it tried to explain just what Jesus’ death meant.  However, rather than stating the biblical facts of Jesus death on the cross, it presented new and fresh ideas which challenged the Scriptural teaching that Jesus died on the cross to save the word from sin, by painting a picture of Jesus as a man who was so committed to his teachings that he was willing to die for them as a martyr.  Though this may be the world’s conviction about Jesus, you and I know that he was not just a martyr!  In fact, you and I know that he wasn’t a martyr at all, rather, we know that Jesus is our Savior from sin and death. He is the one who suffered to save us.  He is the one who died in our place.  He is Jesus, the Son of God, our Savior!

Now, among those who believe that Jesus was a real human being who lived in Jerusalem about 2000 years ago, there is little debate that he endured great suffering when he died.  However, in some circles there is an even greater debate as to exactly what and exactly how Jesus suffered.  Those who see Jesus as a great teacher who was willing to die for what he taught, believe Jesus was nothing more than a martyr who suffered death because his teachings went against the wealthy and influential people of the time.  But for us who believe in Jesus Christ as the sinless Son of God who came to the earth as our Savior, we know he endured much more than that.  For we have Jesus’ own words recorded for us in Psalm 22, which reveal the extreme anguish that Jesus suffered to save us.  David writes, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, and am not silent.” (Psalm 22:1-2).

Just by looking at Jesus on the cross, we never would have known the intensity of Jesus’ sufferings, but when we hear his own words, recorded by the Psalmist, David, we see the gruesome picture of what Jesus truly endured to save us.  For on that cross, Jesus not only endured the pain of the nails which were driven through his hands and his feet.  He not only endured the anguish of his whip-torn flesh scraping against the wood as he struggled for breath.  But on top of all that, he felt the weight of our sins pressing down upon him, and he knew the horror of his Father willfully turning his back on his Son.  In spite of his repeated efforts to get his Father’s attention, his Father did not respond.  Though Jesus pleaded for help time and time again, it did not come.  It wasn’t that Jesus only felt forsaken; it was that Jesus had been forsaken by his Father. Why?  Because at that moment, the Father was directing all of his wrath against our sins at his Son.  It was because at that moment, Jesus was suffering the torments of hell which we deserved because of our transgressions.  It was because at that moment, Jesus who was the bearer of our sin, was sin and had to be destroyed, so that we might be saved.

This is how seriously God takes our sins, and this is how severely he punishes them.  Call them what we will, errors in judgment, mistakes, little white lies, or even, if you will, an alternative lifestyle, God calls them sins and every single sin is a paycheck that can only be chased in for God’s everlasting justice and punishment in the never ending torments of hell.  This is what Jesus endured for us so that he might save us, and this is why Jesus is our Savior!  For when Jesus suffered, he didn’t just suffer at the hands of the religious majority because he had crossed them.  He suffered the full fury of God’s wrath against sin so that he might save us.  This is the reason Jesus cried out in such agony, “My God, my God why have you forsaken me?  Why are you so far from saving me?”  Because when he suffered, he truly suffered to save us, and when he suffered, he innocently suffered to save us.

Though Jesus went to the cross as an innocent man; he suffered as the Son of God hanging on the cross, not for his own sins, but for the sins of the world.  He suffered in our place; the Holy Son of God who had never committed a single infraction against God’s perfect law.  He suffered, because it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer so that he might make Jesus’ life a guilt offering for our sins.  You see, in the same way that the Israelites had continually sacrificed innocent lambs to cover over the guilt of their sins, the Lord God now sacrificed his sinless guilt offering to cover our sins once and for all.  Just as the Israelites were required to chose a one year old lamb from the flock and take special care of it during the fourteen days prior to the Passover and then, at twilight, slaughter that lamb and cover the door posts of their hoses with its blood; the Lord sacrificed his Passover Lamb, on the cross for our sins. 

Though Jesus was truly innocent of all sins, his Father saw fit to slaughter him to pay for our sins, rather than condemn us to eternal death forever in hell; for as we know, we are far from innocent.  Though we might try to fool ourselves into believing that we are pretty good, all we have to do is take a look at our track record.  Each and every one of us has at one time in our lives despised God’s Word by our refusal to come and worship him.  Each and every one of us has taken his name in vain by shouting it out when we were surprised.  Each and every one of us has failed to love the Lord our God with our whole heart, soul, and mind.  (And those are just the first three commandments we have broken.)  But Jesus is the one who kept them all perfectly, and he is the one who willingly went to the cross to save us.  For there on the cross, Jesus, the innocent Son of God, was forsaken by his Father, to pay for our sins.  Jesus the innocent Son of God, endured the punishment our sins deserved so that he might free us from them forever.  This is how Jesus is our Savior!  Through his innocent sufferings and death, he freed us from our sins, and has guaranteed eternal life with him forever.

When someone dies as a martyr, that is the end.  Though their memory may live on in people’s minds, there is nothing more that person can do for the living.  When Jesus went to the cross, he went so that he might save us through his innocent sufferings and death.  When Jesus died on the cross, he died to pay the price that our sins deserved.  But when Jesus rose again from the dead on Easter morning, he showed himself to be the Lord God our Savior.  For in rising from the dead Jesus assured us that our sins have indeed been forgiven.  This is the comfort we have in knowing that Jesus is our Savior.  He is the one who freed us from sin and death.  He is the one who suffered to save us.  he is the one who died in our place.  He is Jesus, the Son of God, our Savior!

Amen.

Pastor David M. Shilling

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church--Le Sueur, MN

We Are Saved by God's Grace! (Ephesians 2:4-10)

March 20, 2011

Dear friends in Christ.

If I were to ask you the question, “What is the most beautiful portion of the Scriptures?” What would your answer be? Would your answer be a simple, “Job 19:23-27” where Job confesses his knowledge that his redeemer is living and that one day Job himself will see him standing upon the earth. Would your answer be, “Psalm 23” or, “Psalm 46” where the Psalmists speak of the Lord as our Shepherd and the Lord as our Fortress? Would your answer be, “Isaiah 53” Where Isaiah prophecies about the coming Christ? Would your answer be, “Luke 2” where Luke speaks about all the events surrounding Jesus birth? Or would your answer be, “Ephesians 2:8-9” because there is such great comfort in knowing that our salvation comes by God’s grace and it is not based on anything that we have done! Well, if you’re like most people, these words from Ephesians 2:8-9 are very familiar to you. Even if they are not your favorite section of Scripture, they are words that we have learned since we were little children. They are words that we learned over and over in Sunday school, Confirmation class, and they are words that regularly come up in Bible Study. In fact, these very words that Paul includes in our text, are words that assure us beyond that shadow of a doubt that we have been saved, not by anything we have done! Rather, we have been saved by God’s great love for us. We have been saved by God’s grace!

We have been saved by God’s grace! Now if you really sit down to think about it, that is a very powerful statement! That is a very powerful statement, because by telling us that we have been saved by God’s Grace, the Apostle Paul is assuring us that our salvation did not come by anything we had done! Rather, it was motivated out of God’s great love for us, as he tells us in verses 4 and 5 of our text. Paul writes, “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.” (Ephesians 2:4-5)

Even though we didn’t deserve it, our God saved us by his grace. Even though we were at one time dead in our transgressions and sins, our God made us alive in Jesus Christ, our Savior. Even though we were nothing but his enemies who wanted nothing to do with him, our God loved us so much that he willingly sent his son to be our Savior. Even though we were once nothing more than a lifeless corpse lying on a mortician’s table, unable to do anything for us because we were thoroughly and completely dead, the Lord God loved us and cared for us. The Lord God in his mercy treated us in a way that we did not deserve. The Lord our God looked upon us poor, reached, dead, damned and detestable sinners, and he showered us with his grace when he sent his Son to make us alive. Though we were dead in our trespasses and sins and couldn’t reach out to our God, couldn’t turn to him, cry out to him for help, or even turn our eyes toward him because we were powerless, in his great grace, the Lord Jesus came to us and made us alive in him by creating faith in our hearts. Through his great grace, the Lord Jesus, our Savior, breathed into our nostrils the breath of life, and through faith in him we became his living children!

But that isn’t the end of the story! For Jesus didn’t simply make us alive in himself and then leave us trapped in the tomb of our own sinfulness! Rather, in his great grace, the Lord our God raised us up with Christ, as Paul tells us, “God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:6-7)

What an incredible picture Paul is painting for us! For here, with these very words, Paul is assuring us that in the very same way that Jesus was raised from the dead through the glory of God the Father, we too have been raised from the death of our sins to life in Christ Jesus our Savior. In the same way that Jesus escaped the prison of the tomb that sought to keep him in, so also Jesus released us from the tomb of our sins when he raised us up with him through his grace. In the same way that the angel rolled the stone away so that all the world would see that Jesus was no longer dead, but risen, so also the Lord has rolled the stone of our transgressions away from the tomb of our iniquities so that all the world might see that by his grace, we have been raised from the death of our sins to life with Christ!

Now, just as Jesus has been seated at the right hand of God in the heavenly realms, our God has seated us there with him! Not that we are actually and physically sitting with our God in heaven or that our faith has projected us to that place as if we were holograms, rather this is simply another assurance for us as forgiven children of God’s grace, that because we have been raised with Christ, heaven is our home. Because we have been raised with Christ, heaven is the place where we will spend eternity. In fact, we can go so far as to say that we have crossed over from death to life because of God’s grace! Though here on earth we will always be plagued with sin and tempted to do evil, because we have been saved by God’s grace, we have already been declared not guilty. We have already been declared citizens of heaven, and we are simply waiting until the day when the Lord Jesus himself will open the door of death so that at his invitation, we can step from this life into our eternal life with him!

What a comfort! What a great comfort it is to know that we have been saved by his grace! What a great comfort it is to know that Christ Jesus, our Savior, has raised us from the death of sin to life by his side, here on earth and forever in heaven! What a comfort it is to know that our salvation has absolutely nothing to do with us, but everything to do with God and his grace! Just as Paul tells us in the last few verses of our text: “it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Now, let me illustrate that point with a brief video.

Just like this simple little video showed, we are saved by grace through faith. We are not saved by anything we have done. Rather, we are saved only by the works and the merits of Jesus Christ our Savior. Now that we know that we have been saved by Grace through faith, it is our faith that moves us to go out and show our faith in everything we say and do. Just as Paul tells us, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:8-10)

What better way could there be for us to show our love for God than the way that Paul just suggested! What greater honor could our God have given us than the honor he gave us in creating us to do the very good works which he himself prepared in advance! What greater thanksgiving could we show the Lord our God who saved us by his grace than the thanks we show in serving the Lord with our lives! For it is true! The Lord our God created us to do good works! Not good works designed to earn us eternal life, as some people believe and teach! But good works that flow out of hearts that are thankful to their God for saving them by his grace.

These are the works that you and I do so naturally as an expression of our faith and our thankfulness to the Lord our God who saved us. These are works that you and I do so naturally that more often than not we don’t even realize we are doing them. These are the works that spring out of our eagerness to serve the Lord with our lives, our willingness to support his work with our gifts, offerings, and our prayers. These are works that spring out of our excitement to tell others about the Lord who has saved us! For now that we have been saved by God’s grace, our love for our God moves us to serve him as we serve each other. In fact, these are the very things that I see in our congregation on a regular basis. I see it in the way we give our gifts and offerings to the Lord. I see it in the way that so many of you give gifts to each other, spend time with each other, volunteer and help in the church, and simply pray for each other. These are but a few of the ways that we accomplish those good works which God prepared for to do to show our great love to him, and there are many, many more.

So then, let us live our lives out of love for our God. Let us be moved by the Lord God who so graciously saved us, and show our love for him in all that we do. Let us go out those doors today and take every opportunity we have to show our love for the Lord by the things we do for him. Not motivated by a need to procure our salvation! Rather moved by our God’s love for us that in his great grace he made us alive in Christ, raised us up, with him, and created us in Christ Jesus to do good works out of love for him.

Though this may not have been one of your favorite sections of Scripture when we began our sermon, has its status changed? I wouldn’t be surprised if it had! After all, what greater news could there be than the news that we have been saved by the Grace of the Lord our God!

Amen.

Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church --Le Sueur, MN

Jesus Reveals Himself as our Savior (Mark 1:40-45)

February 20, 2011

Dear friends in Christ.

For centuries magicians have been entertaining people with their tricks, illusions, misdirection and sleight of hand, and for centuries audiences have been clamoring to find out exactly how magicians did what they did. Though most have strictly followed the code that a magician never reveals his secrets, recently there have been some magicians who have come forward and publicly revealed at least some of their secrets. You may have seen some of the TV specials that have aired in the last few years, specials where a magician will perform a certain trick to amaze the audience and then repeat the same trick, revealing to them exactly how it was done. In some ways Jesus was doing a similar thing in our lesson today. It wasn’t that he was doing miracles to entertain the crowds who had gathered to see him and then revealing to them exactly how he had done it. Instead, Jesus was using his miraculous power to reveal himself as the Son of God; the Savior of the world. This, in fact, is the very thing that Mark is revealing to us in our Gospel lesson today!

Now, if you haven’t done so already, I invite you to open your Bibles with me to Mark 1:40-45. There, in Mark chapter 1, Jesus is traveling from village to village, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons. As he was traveling, Mark tells us, “A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” 41 Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” 42 Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured. 43 Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: 44 “See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” 45 Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere. (Mark 1:40–45, NIV84)

Now, when this man came to Jesus, he was not just someone who had leprosy. Rather, this was a man who was in the last stages of a terrible, flesh eating disease. We know this because as Luke reports this same account he tells us that the man who met Jesus was a man who was “covered with leprosy” (Luke 5:12-14). He came to Jesus hoping with all his heart that Jesus would heal him. He came believing and trusting that if Jesus was willing to make him clean, he would be made clean by the divine power of his Savior, and when Jesus saw him, Mark tells us (Mark 1:41) that Jesus was filled with compassion when he saw the man. Now, we need to pause right there for a second because even though it is absolutely true that Jesus was filled with compassion, this translation pales in comparison to everything that is conveyed by the Greek word. For what the Greek word conveys here is that Jesus was moved in his inner being, his heart ached at the sight of this man suffering from an incurable disease. We could even go so far as to say that Jesus’ stomach was in knots at the sight of the man; even that his bowels, his intestines were in turmoil at the state of this man and his condition. For this state in which Jesus found himself was born, not merely out of sympathy for this man’s pain, but Jesus, our Savior felt this man’s pain, he carried this man’s infirmities, and he wanted to do something for him, which is exactly what Jesus did.

In such a simple and beautiful way, Jesus revealed himself as the Savior by revealing his compassion for this child of Israel, by reaching out and touching this man. Just think about what that must have meant to him! Here was a man who had lived apart from humans for a long time. Here was a man who had been shunned by his fellow Israelites as one who was unclean. Here was a man who had not felt the touch of any one, other than other lepers, in many, many years, and Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man! Can’t you just see Jesus, standing before this man who was kneeling in the dust before Jesus? Can’t you see Jesus’ face, pained at the suffering this man was enduring, as he reached out his hand touching the man and speaking those beautiful words, “I am willing, be clean”? In his compassion, Jesus revealed his almighty power as he healed this man of his leprosy, and through that miraculous display of power, Jesus revealed himself as our Savior!

Well, in the same way that Jesus revealed himself as Savior through the compassion he displayed in the life of this leprous man, so also he reveals himself as our Savior through the compassion he continually shows in our lives. Tough our Savior is now living with his Father in heaven, he is still moved by the troubles and the hardships that we face. Though this world might think that Jesus has turned a blind eye to the things that are going on today, we know that he is with us. Even now as so many of us are struggling through economic hardships, our Savior is with us. Even now was we are still reeling with sorrow from the loss two sons of this congregation, Jesus our Savior is compassionately dispensing his love for us and his comfort to us through the gospel message of salvation that we are hearing today. No matter what situation we might face in our lives, our Savior continually reveals his compassion in our lives. When we face troubles and hardships because of rising prices and falling income, our Savior is there, touching our lives with his love. When we are beaten down by the evil around us and all the troubles that our sins cause us, Jesus wipes our tears with the hand of his grace. When we feel as if the world has turned against us and there is nothing we can do to change it or there is no one we can turn to for help that is when Jesus wraps us up in the blanket of his word. When we feel that all hope is lost, our Savior holds us tight in the arms of his love and assures us that we belong to him; that he is our Savior. Though we may still face troubles, hardships and adversities in our lives, our Savior continually reveals himself in our lives through the great compassion that he continually pours out upon us through the love that he displays in calling us his own.

When that leprous man came to Jesus, trusting that Jesus would heal him, Jesus not only revealed himself as Savior through the compassion he displayed in that man’s life. He also revealed himself as Savior through the love Jesus displayed in warning him not to tell anyone what had happened. Take a look with me at verses 43-45: “43 Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: 44 “See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” 45 Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere. (Mark 1:43–45, NIV84)

Now, I don’t know about you, but if I had been that leprous man, I would have been just a little surprised and maybe a little bit scared by what Jesus had just said. After all, here he was, kneeling in the dust, with Jesus’ hand on him, he had just head the tender words, “I am willing, be clean” spoken to him, the leprosy had left him and now Jesus was warning him not to tell anyone what had happened. If it had been me, I wouldn’t have understood why Jesus had warned me with such a stern voice not to tell anyone. I wouldn’t have understood why Jesus was immediately sending me away from him to go and show myself to the priests. After all, it wasn’t that Jesus didn’t want the publicity. For the truth is, we find in the other gospels that large crowds were following after him. Rather, by telling this man not to tell anyone, Jesus was revealing his love for his people; in part, his love for the people who were with him, but more specifically, for the people in Jerusalem. You see it was Jesus’ intention to send this man to the Priests in Jerusalem, who would examine him from head to toe, looking for anything that resembled leprosy. After this, the man would offer two birds as a sacrifice for purification. Then, on the eighth day, he was to bring two lambs as a guilt offering and as a sin offering. IN doing this, the man would be a testimony to the priest not only that Jesus had come to fulfill the law, but also that Jesus was the Messiah; the Savior who had been promised. He was here, and he was revealing himself as the Savior through his acts of loving kindness—a truth that he would ultimately reveal when he went to the cross as Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

When Jesus went to the cross, he revealed himself as our Savior through his willing sacrifice! For in the same way that husbands will give up their lives to save their wives, and parents will do anything to protect their children, Jesus willingly, lovingly gave up his life to free us from our sins. For when Jesus went to that cross, our Savior stretched out his hand and cleansed us from the leprosy of sin. Though our sins had bound us to the railroad track of death, and satan was steaming ever closer with the locomotive of damnation, Jesus swept in at the last minute, freed us from the chains that held us there, helped us off the track, and then allowed satan to run him over, completely destroying satan’s power over us. In such an amazing way, our Lord Jesus revealed himself as our Savior through his love for us; his love that led him to the cross where he freed us from our sins.

How amazing it is to know about our Savior and how he revealed himself to be our Savior through his loving and compassionate actions. How amazing it is to know that Jesus is our Savior who went to the cross in our place so that we could be his own and live under him in his kingdom. Though he may never have taken the time to perform a miracle and then reveal to the people exactly how he did it, through his words and actions he has revealed himself as the Son of God our Savior. He is the one who has freed us from our sins. He is the one who is always with us. He is the one who loves us and cares for us through any and every situation in life.

Amen.

Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church -Le Sueur, MN

Let Your Boast be in the Lord (1 Corinthians 1:26-31)

February 6, 2011


Dear friends in Christ.

According to a story in the Grand Rapids Press, the owner of a small foreign car had begun to irritate his friends by bragging incessantly about his gas mileage. So they decided on a way to get some humor out of his tireless boasting, as well as bring it to an end. Every day one of them would sneak into the parking lot where the man kept his car and pour a few gallons of gas into the tank. Soon the braggart was recording absolutely phenomenal mileage. He was boasting of getting as much as 90 miles per gallon, and the pranksters took secret delight in his exasperation as he tried to convince people of the truthfulness of his claims. It was even more fun to watch his reaction when they stopped refilling the tank. The poor fellow couldn't figure out what had happened to his car.

Well, in some ways, this was what was starting to happen to the Corinthians in our lesson for today. In fact, I invite you to open your Bibles and take a look at what the Apostle Paul has to say to the Corinthians in 1:26 and following. Now, as you turn to 1 Corinthians 1:26-31, you will find that the Corinthians weren’t boasting and bragging about the incredible mileage their chariots got. Instead, they were beginning talk pretty loudly about which preacher they liked the best because they had started to misunderstand the message of the Gospel. They had begun to focus their attention on the preacher rather than the message. They had started focusing on the Spiritual gifts rather than on the giver of the Spiritual gifts. They had begun focusing on things that made them look wise rather than on the wisdom of salvation that came through faith in Jesus Christ, and through all of this they were boasting and bragging about how wise they were, what gifts they had, and who they followed. So when Paul wrote these words he called on them to let their boast be in the Lord. Take a look at what Paul writes: “Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him. 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”(1 Corinthians 1:26–31, NIV84)

In such a simple and loving way, Paul reminds them that when they were called to faith, there were not too many in that congregation who could claim great wisdom according to human standards. There were very few of them were influential or of noble birth. Yet, it was the Lord who chose them to be his own and through the teachings of the gospel, he had made them wise for salvation. He had chosen them to be his own. He had called them to faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior. He had given them every reason to boast in the Lord because it had not been by their power or by their might that they had come to faith, instead they had been called to faith by the working of the Holy Spirit through the Word of God.

The same thing is true for you and me. For if we honestly look at our lives, we must realize that there is no reason why the Lord should have chosen us. Yet, because the Lord did choose us to be his own, how often haven’t we secretly thought to ourselves that the Lord chose us because we were so special? How often haven’t we considered how smart we were that as soon as we heard the Lord’s Word we came to faith. How often haven’t we thought to ourselves that we did the Lord a favor in letting him chose us? Maybe you’ve never had thoughts like this, but I can guarantee that we have all been pretty confident in our own accomplishments at one time or another. I can guarantee this because we have all been confident in our own accomplishments as Christians. Just for example: if I asked you the question, “why are you so confident that you will be in heaven when you die?”, what pops into your head first? Is it the answer, “Because Jesus died for me.”? Or is it the answer, “Because I’ve been a good person.”? Too often, when we try to answer this question, our sinful nature plants that thought in our brains and tries to lead us down the path of trusting in our own accomplishments. But this is not just a onetime battle, this is a battle that rages constantly within us.

For our sinful nature seeks every opportunity to lead us away from the idea that God chose us and tries to make us think that we chose God. It tries to make us think that we are pretty good people on our own who don’t necessarily need God’s salvation. It tries to make us think of our sins as only minor infractions of God’s law and not the soul destroying projectiles that they are. It tries to make us think that God owes us something because we have struggled so hard to keep his law even though it is nearly impossible for us to do. This is when we begin to rely on our own wisdom rather than on God’s wisdom. This is when we begin to rely on our own accomplishments for salvation rather than on what our Savior has done for us. This is when we need to hear those very same words that Paul wrote to the Corinthians nearly 20 centuries ago, “Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him. 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”(1 Corinthians 1:26–31, NIV84)

In such a simple way the Lord assures us that it was not we who chose him, but he chose us. He did not choose us because we were the strongest or the wisest. He didn’t choose us because we were the most influential or the noblest. Instead, he chose us because he loved us, and so that he might display his almighty power through us. He chose us so that he might make us wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ our Savior. Thus our boasting is no longer in ourselves, but our boasting becomes our proclamation of what Jesus did for us and how he saved us by his death and resurrection!
This is where the sinful world has problems. For, in the eyes of the world, any teaching about Jesus Christ is simply foolishness, because the world cannot figure out how Jesus death could possibly have forgiven sins. The world cannot figure out how Jesus Christ, a rather unremarkable character of the Bible could possibly have been the Son of God. The world cannot figure out how Jesus, a lowly child, and a weak human being, could have accomplished all that the Bible says he did. To the world, Jesus is nothing more than an annoying friend with a small foreign car bragging about his incredible gas mileage.

But to us, Jesus is the Son of God, our Savior. Jesus is the one whom Jacob prophesied in Genesis 49. In fact, if you still have your Bibles open, turn with me to Genesis 49:8-12. Now, Genesis 49:8-12 happens to be part of the Bible Reading that is scheduled for today if you are following the Chronological schedule. Not only is Genesis 49 part of that schedule, but it is also where Jacob is blessing his 12 sons shortly before his time on earth comes to an end, and in these particular verse he is passing the promise of the Savior on to his Son, Judah as he says, “Judah, your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons will bow down to you. 9 You are a lion’s cub, O Judah; you return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness—who dares to rouse him? 10 The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his. 11 He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch; he will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes. 12 His eyes will be darker than wine, his teeth whiter than milk.(Genesis 49:8–12, NIV84)

Though this prophecy would not come true for many, many years, Jacob placed his faith in the promise of the coming Savior. His boast was not in the things he had done, but his boast was in the Lord who had provided for him, cared for him and called him to faith in the coming Savior. This is the boast that you and I carry with us today. It is the boast of all that our Lord has done for us! Though there is nothing special about us, it was the Lord who loved us and called us to be his own. Though we had done nothing to deserve it, it was the Lord who called us to faith by the working of the Holy Spirit in baptism. Though we may not be the wisest, the noblest, or even the most influential, the Lord has called us to be his own, he has given us the gift of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ our Savior, and his has called us to make that message known throughout the world. Amen.

Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church -Le Sueur, MN

Praise Your Savior for His Appearing (Job 19:23-27; Isaiah 42:1-7; Matthew 3:13-17)

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

Come, Worship the God of our Salvation (Genesis 1 - 3; Matthew 2:1-12)

Sunday January 9, 2011

Dear friends in Christ.

Here we are! We’ve finally arrived! We’ve come to the day that I’ve been talking about for the past few months! Today, we are beginning our Exploration of God’s Islands of Adventure! Now you all should have received a letter from me this past week detailing exactly how things are going to be working. If you didn’t receive a letter, then it is most likely that I have the wrong address for you and you will need to double check the address info that I placed in your boxes this morning. Also, please be sure to put the corrected sheets in my box before you leave today. Now, back to the letter; as I wrote it I knew it was too long and most of you would not read much more than the first paragraph. Thus, I planned to explain our challenge more clearly today.

During the next year, we will be reading or listening through the Bible so that we might grow together in our faith and knowledge of God’s Word. I have prepared a schedule that will take you through the entire Bible between today and December 31. I have placed these on the back table for you to pick up and take home. The cool thing about this schedule is that we are reading the Bible Chronologically. This means that we will read sections from 1 & 2 Samuel together with Sections from 1 & 2 Chronicles and avoid being bogged down in those books. We will also read psalms in connection with the events during which they were written. This is the schedule that I will follow for preaching and Bible Study, however, if you prefer a more relaxed schedule, such as a schedule that you have followed in the past, or the listing of readings that are printed in the bulletin each week, feel free to use whatever works for you. As I said in the letter, I want each and every one of our members to be in the Word on a regular basis during this next year. Now, that does not mean that I want you to become a slave to a schedule or feel guilty if you fall behind. No! What I want you to be doing is reading or listening to the Word of God on a regular basis as it fits in your life. For me, that means I take time in the mornings Monday – Friday to read or listen to God’s Word. I don’t read on Saturday or Sunday because my schedule on those days is too unpredictable.

Now, as you are reading I have set aside different ways to record your progress. When you find something that strikes you, you, a Navigation Notes sheet, write it down, and we will post it on the Navigation Notes bulletin board so that we can learn from each other. As you complete each book you will take a ship, add your name and the book and it will be anchored at the Island of God’s Word. Finally, as you complete certain books, you will also discover that treasure chests will be posted next to your name on our treasure wall. So, as I said before, this is something that I want each and every one of you to participate in during the next year. It doesn’t matter to me if you read or listen to the entire Bible in the next year or just part of it. I simply want you to be in the Word of God on a regular basis so that we can grow together in our faith as we worship the God of our Salvation.

So, with that explanation, let’s jump right into it. Open you Bibles to Genesis 1:1 and well take a closer look at why we have come together to worship the God of our salvation. As you’re opening to Genesis 1:1, let me give you some interesting statistics. When it comes to learning, we retain only about 5 % of what we hear, 10% of what we read, 20% of Audiovisual, 30% of Demonstrations, 50% of discussions, 75% of things we practice doing and 90% of what we teach others. So, if you think about it, being taught to sit still and listen to the Pastor during the sermon has really set us up for failure because we will only retain about 5% of what we hear. But, if we open our Bibles, read along, answer the personal study questions, even take notes, we will retain quite a bit more!

Genesis as you know is the first book of the Bible. The Word Genesis comes to us from the Latin language and simply means beginning, or origin. Interestingly the very first word of Genesis in the Hebrew is Biresheet, which also means, beginning. Take a look at verses 1-5: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.” (Genesis 1:1–5, NIV)

Here are some things to take note of; on day 1 our Triune God was busy. He called the heavens and the earth into existence out of nothing, and when he created them they were formless, empty, and dark. The Holy Spirit was hovering over the waters and the Son was present in the Words that God the Father spoke. The only reason we know this is because John tells us in the first 3 verses of chapter 1: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. (John 1:1–3, NIV) But not only did the Lord create the heavens and the earth on that day, he also created light. This is my favorite part of the whole creation account, on day 1 before he even created the source of light, God created light. This is why scientists believe that the earth is billions of years old. Light takes a certain amount of time to travel through space, so they calculate the time it takes light to travel from the farthest stars to the earth and that is one of the ways they figure out how old the earth is. However, God takes care of that problem by creating light before he creates the source of light. Thus, by the time he is finished creating, everything is working the way it should, the brand new earth is created with age, and Adam and Eve are ready to go about with the jobs assigned to them by the Lord. Thus on day 1 God created 4 things: the heavens, the earth, light, and time. As he says in Genesis 5: “And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.”

From there Moses goes on to tell us how the Lord built on the foundation of the formless, empty world that he had created on day one. On Day 2 (Genesis 1:6-8) he created the expanse of the sky separating waters from water. On day 3 (Genesis 1:9-13) He gathered the water to one place so that dry ground appeared and he caused all sorts of plants and vegetation to grow. On day 4 (Genesis 1:14-19) God created the lights in the sky: the sun, moon, and stars. Three days after light was created God created the source of light. That just blows my mind! I love it! On day 5 (Genesis 1:20-23) God created the fish and the fowl—all the creatures of the waters—the birds to rule the waters of the sky and the fish to rule the waters of the sea. On day 6 (Genesis 1:24-2:1, Genesis 2:4-25) God created all the living creatures of the land, he formed Adam out of the dust of the ground, he had Adam name all the animals so that he might discover that he, Adam, did not have the same companionship that the animals had, God said that it was not good for Adam to be alone, he put Adam into a deep sleep, took a rib from his body, formed a woman from that rib, brought Eve to Adam and the two of them were married by God at the beginning of time establishing God’s blessing of marriage for his people.

Not only did God establish Adam and Eve as husband and wife, he also blessed them, telling them to be fruitful and increase on the earth. He made them rulers over the earth and caretakers of his world. He blessed them by giving them every seed-bearing plant for food and every tree that bears fruit with seed for food. The only two trees that they could not eat from were the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, which were in the center of the garden. Then, at the end of day 6 (Genesis 1:31-2:2) God declared that everything he had made was very good and then he rested or ceased his creating work.

Now, one of the questions that naturally follow is: “When were the angels created?” To which I can only say that they must have been created at some point during the first six days of creation. Other than that we simply cannot say because the Bible does not tell us. The other question that follows is when did satan rebel against God and lose his position in heaven? Again the only answer I can give is that it must have been at some point after day 6 when God declared that everything was very good and sometime before satan tempted Adam and Eve to sin, which is what happened in chapter 3. Take a look at Chapter 3:1, “Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1, NIV)

If you think about it, the fact that the serpent spoke to Eve should have been Adam’s first clue that this was no ordinary snake. It should have been his cue to grab Eve and walk away rather than stand there and listen. But rather than fight for his wife and fight for the truth, Adam stood there and caved, and we know that Adam was standing right there because the last part of verse 6 tells us, “She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. (Genesis 3:6, NIV) We know how it happened, they stood there and listened to satan and they gave into temptation. They booth ate the fruit and instantly realized what they had lost by sinning. We know how the Lord came to them and spoke the consequences of their actions. The serpent was cursed to crawl on its belly (Genesis 3:14) Eve’s pain in childbearing was greatly increased (Genesis 3:16), and Adam, because he had not stood up for what was right, because he had listened to his wife, creation itself was cursed. (Genesis 3:17-19 and Romans 8:20-22). The ground would now produce thorns and thistles making plowing, reaping and every other aspect of life difficult. Yet, in the mists of all this bad news, the Lord gave an incredible promise of his grace. Take a look at Genesis 3:15: As the Lord concludes his judgment upon the snake he turns to satan who had undoubtedly, recently tried to take over heaven and tells him, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” (Genesis 3:15, NIV)

With such beautiful words, the Lord God revealed himself as the God of our Salvation by promising to send a Savior who would free his people from their sins. With such beautiful words the Lord put into motion the events that led to Jesus’ birth, which we celebrated only a couple of weeks ago. With such beautiful words, the Lord set the stage for the events of Matthew 2. Turn with me, if you would to Matthew 2:1 and we’ll take a look at how the appearing of the Wise Men also assures us of God’s salvation for us. Now, as you are turning to Matthew, let me just remind you that today we are celebrating the Epiphany, which has also been called Christmas of the Gentiles. It has been called this because with the arrival of and the worship by the Gentile Magi from the east, we are certain that the Savior promised by the God of our salvation is the Savior of all people; Jew and Gentile alike. Take a look at Matthew 2:1, “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” 3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: 6 “ ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.’” 7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.” 9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. (Matthew 2:1–12, NIV)

Though the prophecy within this reading from Matthew tells of how the Savior would be the shepherd of Israel, as Simeon said at the temple, Jesus would be the light to enlighten the gentiles. Today, as we hear about the gentile kings who came from such a distance to worship the God of their Salvation, we are assured that this Jesus, who was born in fulfillment of God’s promise to Adam and Eve, is our Savior as well. He is our Savior who came to free us from our sins by his death and resurrection from the dead. So, with all this in mind, let us worship the God of our Salvation who has called us to faith in him and freed us from our sins. Let us begin, together, our Exploration of God’s Islands of Adventure so that through this coming year we might grow together in our faith and as brothers and sisters in the Lord God who saved us.


Amen.

Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church --Le Sueur, MN