Dear friends in Christ.
What would you do if you only had 24 hours left to live? What would you do if you knew that in exactly 24 hours from this very moment, your life on earth would come to an end? How would you invest your time? Who would you want to see, one last time? What words of wisdom would you want to share? What places would you want to visit one last time? Though questions like these might seem a bit formulaic, we all recognize that they are simply designed to make us think about God’s gift of time and how we use it. For the truth is, time is truly a gift—a valuable, yet limited treasure that God places into our lives. Each morning we are credited with 1,440 minutes for us to use to spend with our God, with our family, with our friends, with our neighbors, even with the body of believers that make up the church of God. Yet, even though we are credited with 1,440 minutes each morning, our unused minutes of time to not roll over to the next day. We cannot borrow minutes from the future to add to this particular day. If we fail to use the time we’ve been given in any particular day, that time is gone and can never be retrieved. Not only that, but if you really think about it, when we go to sleep at the end of the day, we might be going to sleep for the last time in this world. We may be closing our eyes in sleep in this life only to open them by our Savior’s side in heaven, because our God has not told us how long we will live before he calls us home to heaven. Our God has not promised that we will a tomorrow. In essence, our God has orchestrated it that we live only 24 hours at a time!
Yet, how often don’t we spend our time in ways that suggest that we will live forever? How often don’t we find ourselves telling our children, tomorrow, tomorrow, and yet when tomorrow comes we still don’t have the time that we promised for them? How often don’t we find ourselves trapped in the cycle of the urgent, rushing from one thing to the next until we finally make it home, exhausted, with barely enough energy to heat something in microwave and collapse in front of the TV? How often don’t we find ourselves too busy reading the paper, listening to the radio, watching TV, or doing any number of other things, that we simply don’t take the time we need to grow and develop our relationships with our spouse, or our children, our friends, our relatives, our neighbors, our fellow members of the body of Christ, and especially with our God himself? How often don’t we find that we can make time for all the things that we really want to do, but we simply aren’t able to find time for the things that are most important for our lives?
Well, if you’ve ever felt that way, turn with me now to Joshua 24:1, and we’ll here Joshua himself calling on us to change. Now, as you are turning to Joshua 24:1 like always, here comes the context, the background. The 40 years of wandering in the wilderness had come to an end. The Israelites had finally taken possession of the land the Lord promised to Abraham 500 years earlier. Joshua gathered the people in the town of Shechem, which was the very place the Lord had given a 75 year-old Abraham the promise that Abraham’s descendants would be given this land. (Genesis 12:4-7). Shechem was also the place where Jacob and his family had buried all their household gods, after the Lord had appeared to him. (Genesis 35:1-5) Now, as Joshua stands before the community of Israel he is calling on them to renew their commitment to the Lord and in their commitment put the Lord first by making time for him. Take a look with me at Joshua 24:1-15
1 Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned the elders, leaders, judges and officials of Israel, and they presented themselves before God. 2 Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your forefathers, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the River and worshiped other gods. 3 But I took your father Abraham from the land beyond the River and led him throughout Canaan and gave him many descendants. I gave him Isaac, 4 and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I assigned the hill country of Seir to Esau, but Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt. 5 “ ‘Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I afflicted the Egyptians by what I did there, and I brought you out. 6 When I brought your fathers out of Egypt, you came to the sea, and the Egyptians pursued them with chariots and horsemen as far as the Red Sea. 7 But they cried to the LORD for help, and he put darkness between you and the Egyptians; he brought the sea over them and covered them. You saw with your own eyes what I did to the Egyptians. Then you lived in the desert for a long time. 8 “ ‘I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived east of the Jordan. They fought against you, but I gave them into your hands. I destroyed them from before you, and you took possession of their land. 9 When Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab, prepared to fight against Israel, he sent for Balaam son of Beor to put a curse on you. 10 But I would not listen to Balaam, so he blessed you again and again, and I delivered you out of his hand. 11 “ ‘Then you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The citizens of Jericho fought against you, as did also the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites, but I gave them into your hands. 12 I sent the hornet ahead of you, which drove them out before you—also the two Amorite kings. You did not do it with your own sword and bow. 13 So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.’ 14 “Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:1-15, NIV)
In these verses Joshua took time to remind the Israelites of all the things the Lord had done for them as they traveled from Egypt to Canaan, as they wanted in the wilderness for 40 years, and as they finally entered into the Land of Canaan and claimed it as their own, in fulfillment of the Lord’s promise. Though there were still nations and peoples to be driven out of their territory, the Lord had given them rest from their constant warring and now their lives were about to change, because Joshua’s time as leader was coming to an end. Soon Joshua himself would be gathered to his people and no longer be the strong ruler and example of faith for the Israelites. So Joshua called all the people to himself there at Shechem, reminded them of all the Lord had done for them and then called on them to use their time to dedicate themselves to the Lord.
Joshua is calling on you and me today to do the same thing. He may not be calling on us to throw away the gods our forefathers worshiped, but he is calling on us to remember what the Lord has done for us as he urges us to use our time to dedicate ourselves to the Lord. For the truth is, even we, as Christians, need to be reminded of what the Lord our God has done because even our memories can become fuzzy. Even we, who know just how important it is to gather regularly to feast on the Flesh and Blood of our Savior, can become complacent in our spiritual lives. Even we can become indifferent in our worship lives, simply going through the motions of the liturgy and not really paying attention to what is going on. Even we can begin to feel that we are better than others or simply deserve more from the Lord because we put our time in each week or we pay our money each month. Even we can begin to think that if we simply focus on accomplishing the bare minimum, we should be blessed with the biggest and the best reward. This is This is why Joshua is encouraging us to remember all that the Lord has done for us, so that we might once again dedicate ourselves to the Lord.
If you think about it, what better message could there be for us today! What better message could there be for us than to consider all the ways the Lord has blessed us as we study his Word today! For the truth is, he is the one who has given us this great land in which we are free to worship him in the way that we have chosen. He is the one who has blessed us with this wonderful church where we can gather each week to hear about Jesus our Savior and how he freed us from our sins. Though this congregation started as a basement church, we now use that basement as a place to teach our children the precious truths of God’s Word in Sunday school. Literally, on top of that, the Lord has blessed us with a wonderful fellowship hall where we are able to gather each week for Bible Study for the strengthening of our faith as adults, and where enjoy sumptuous meals, potlucks and fellowship with each other. In addition to that it is the Lord who has blessed us with our childcare center, through which many children have heard the word of God and come to faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior!
These are but a few of the reasons that Joshua is calling on us to dedicate ourselves to the Lord today! For it is the Lord who has not only provided for our spiritual needs, it is the Lord who has also provided for our physical needs! Just try to count the times that you went hungry or thirsty because you really had nothing to eat or drink in your house. He is the one who has blessed our town with a grocery store, convenience stores, a video store, a red box, a blue box, and if I counted correctly 10 different places in Le Sueur, a lone, where we can go out to eat if we don’t feel like eating at home. He is the one who has blessed us with the vehicles we have, regardless of the shape they are in, the places we live, and the friends we have. But the best of all the blessings the Lord our God has given us is by far the love he showered upon us by giving us his Son. For when we remember how the Lord showed his great love for us by sending his one and only Son to be our Savior; when we remember how Jesus willingly gave his life to forgive our sins and how he rose again to guarantee eternal life to us; when we remember all those things that the Lord our God has done for us, we cannot help but dedicate our lives to him. When we remember all that the Lord our God has done for us throughout all the days of our lives, we cannot help but choose to serve him with our lives.
It is so true, once we begin to think about and remember all that the Lord has done for us, we cannot help but be moved by his love to dedicate ourselves to him and choose to serve him with our lives. This, in fact, is what happened with the Israelites. For as soon as Joshua had finished reminding them of all that the Lord had done for them, he called on them and said: “Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD. (Joshua 24:14-15).
This is what Joshua is calling on us to do. He is calling on us to dedicate ourselves to the Lord. He is calling on us to make time for the Lord, and he is calling on us to throw away all the other gods that steal our time and keep us from dedicating ourselves to the Lord. Now, in your bulletins, is a half sheet of paper titled, “Now fear the Lord… (Josh 24:14).” Take that out and start writing on it all the different “gods” that have kept you from dedicating yourself to the Lord—gods of anger, greed, frustration, malice; gods of discontent, gossip, selfishness, pride; gods of pleasure, TV, Internet, PSP, Nintendo, x-box, youtube, facebook, twitter, sports, or whatever it might be. Write them all down as you think of them, no matter what they might be. Write them down as we conclude the sermon, even as they come to you during the rest of the service. Then, as we leave the church we will throw them all away in a garbage can in the narthex. As soon as the last person has thrown his or her gods, I will personally close the bag, tie it tight and discard it so that no one need to be afraid that someone will read what you wrote.
So then, as you continue dedicating yourself to the Lord, let me end by asking you a question: “What are you going to do with the rest of the time that the Lord has given you on this day, which could very well be the last day of your life on the earth?
Amen.
Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church--Le Sueur, MN
Showing posts with label Spiritual Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spiritual Life. Show all posts
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Let your love for God show in your life (1 John 4:1-3)
Dear friends in Christ.
“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1) Even though we were sinners who wanted nothing to do with God or his Son, it was God himself who showed his love for us by sending Jesus to be our Savior. It was Jesus himself who showed his love for us by laying down his life for us when he went to the cross, just as Jesus told his disciples when he said, “Greater love has no one than this that he lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13) For it was Jesus who willingly took our sins upon himself. He allowed himself to be whipped and beaten and mocked and scourged so that he might be our Savior. He painfully watched as the soldiers drove the nails through his hands and feet knowing the pain and suffering that was yet to come. On top of all of that, he endured the rejection of his Father and the pain and torment of damnation that we deserved for our sins! In doing so, Jesus taught us what true love truly is, just as the Scriptures tell us, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” (1 John 4:10) It is this very love, the love that moved the Lord our God to hand over his Son to death for the payment of our sins and the love that caused Jesus to rise from the dead in assurance that our sins have been completely washed away that moves our hearts today. For today, as we study the great love our Father has lavished upon us, we will be moved to let our love for the Lord and his Word be revealed in all that we do! This, in fact, is the very thing that the Apostle John is encouraging each and every one of us to do as he writes in our text, “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.” (1 John 4:1-3)
Though at first glance these words seem to say nothing about letting our love for God and his Word sine out in our lives, if you think about it, what better way is there for us to show this love than by following the Lord’s word and testing all the teachings of this world by the standard of his Word so that we will not be led astray. For the truth is, you and I are surrounded by false teachers on every side. We are living in a world where false prophets are leading countless Christians into the sprawling seas of unbelief by teaching them false truths wrapped up in Christian ideas. We are living in a world where opinions are more important than fact, where truth is seen from different points of view, and where countless false prophets are subtly but effectively twisting God’s Word into a license to do as we please rather than a message for our salvation. In short, we are living in a world where satan is doing everything he can to sweep us into the dustpan of half-truths so that he might drop us into the dustbin of Christian unbelief. This is why John is calling on us to reveal our love for our God and his Word by testing every teaching to make sure that it comes for God, just as cashiers are trained to test our money when we pay them with a $20.00 bill, a $50.00 bill or even a $100.00 bill. Though in some ways this may seem like a waste of time and a completely loveless act for a cashier to test our money and judge it according to the standards set by the banking industry, it is actually an act of love. For the truth is counterfeiters are just like false prophets, they are passing off worthless paper in the form of legal tender. So, if a cashier should simply take a counterfeit twenty, or a fifty or even a one-hundred dollar bill without testing it, that merchant would lose. However, by testing it, the cashier lovingly makes certain that the employer receives the money that he deserves and needs to continue growing and expanding his business.
This is the kind of love that the Lord wants us to show him and his word by testing the spirits. Rather than simply believing what you hear and figuring it must be right, he wants us to go back to his word to make sure that it is right! For the Bible is the manual the Lord has given us to determine if a teaching comes from him or not. Just as cashiers have special marking pens to make sure that a specific bill is legal tender, so also the Bible is our manual telling us exactly what God says. So, when you are in your home and you are watching one of those religious type shows on TV, don’t just assume they must be right because they are religious! Rather, check your Bible to make sure they are proclaiming the truth. If they aren’t either stop watching it, or constantly be prepared to correct it for yourselves. When you are listening to those religious broadcasts on Sunday mornings, be discerning listeners. In others words, listen carefully to anything that is proclaimed and if something doesn’t seem right pull out your Bible and check it out so that you can see if it is right or wrong. Even here in church, don’t just believe everything I tell you simply because I am your Pastor and I must be right! For the truth is, I am human just like you. I make mistakes just like you. Even though I spent eight years of my life training to be a Pastor, I am by no means perfect, and that is why you need to be checking up on me from time to time to make sure I am faithfully proclaiming God’s Word to you! You see, even though God has given me the responsibility of faithfully teaching you his word, he has given you the responsibility of remaining faithful to him.
So do just that, remain faithful to the Lord by studying his Word. Show your love for him and his word by reading through the Bible every year. Search in your closets and bookshelves until you find your old Catechisms. Then when you find them, study them from time to time to remind yourselves of the things you promised to die for rather than give up. Take time out of every day to read the one-page devotions in your meditation booklets and pray to God! Only make God’s Word a priority in your life and set aside time for it every day. For in doing this, you will not only be strengthening your faith in Jesus Christ your Savior; you will also be preparing yourself to recognize false teaching no matter how subtle it might be. When you do this you will find it easy to go back to the Bible to test whatever teaching you might come across to see whether it agrees with God’s Word or not. When you do this you will in effect be giving thanks to God for all the great things he has given you in his Word. When you do this you will be showing your great love for the Lord and for his Word which he has given you.
Only let your love for the Lord and his Word shine out in your lives as you reflect the love that the Lord your God has lavished upon you. For in the same way that the Lord showed his love to Saul by calling him to faith and sending him off to preach the Word to Jews and Gentiles alike, so also the Lord showed his love for you by calling you to faith. In the same way that the Lord showed his love for his disciples by appearing to them on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, so also the Lord Jesus has shown his love for us by appearing to us in the pages of Scripture for our learning. God’s love for us is boundless! Though we were once his enemies, he made us his children though Jesus Christ our Savior. Though there was a time when we hated him, though the work of his Son, we have come to love him. We have come to love him for what he has done for us and we have come to love him for all that he tells us in his Word! So then continue to make your love for him known to all the world by gladly hearing his word and always being ready to test whatever teaching might come your way to see whether or not it comes from him.
Amen.
Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church Le Sueur, MN
“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1) Even though we were sinners who wanted nothing to do with God or his Son, it was God himself who showed his love for us by sending Jesus to be our Savior. It was Jesus himself who showed his love for us by laying down his life for us when he went to the cross, just as Jesus told his disciples when he said, “Greater love has no one than this that he lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13) For it was Jesus who willingly took our sins upon himself. He allowed himself to be whipped and beaten and mocked and scourged so that he might be our Savior. He painfully watched as the soldiers drove the nails through his hands and feet knowing the pain and suffering that was yet to come. On top of all of that, he endured the rejection of his Father and the pain and torment of damnation that we deserved for our sins! In doing so, Jesus taught us what true love truly is, just as the Scriptures tell us, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” (1 John 4:10) It is this very love, the love that moved the Lord our God to hand over his Son to death for the payment of our sins and the love that caused Jesus to rise from the dead in assurance that our sins have been completely washed away that moves our hearts today. For today, as we study the great love our Father has lavished upon us, we will be moved to let our love for the Lord and his Word be revealed in all that we do! This, in fact, is the very thing that the Apostle John is encouraging each and every one of us to do as he writes in our text, “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.” (1 John 4:1-3)
Though at first glance these words seem to say nothing about letting our love for God and his Word sine out in our lives, if you think about it, what better way is there for us to show this love than by following the Lord’s word and testing all the teachings of this world by the standard of his Word so that we will not be led astray. For the truth is, you and I are surrounded by false teachers on every side. We are living in a world where false prophets are leading countless Christians into the sprawling seas of unbelief by teaching them false truths wrapped up in Christian ideas. We are living in a world where opinions are more important than fact, where truth is seen from different points of view, and where countless false prophets are subtly but effectively twisting God’s Word into a license to do as we please rather than a message for our salvation. In short, we are living in a world where satan is doing everything he can to sweep us into the dustpan of half-truths so that he might drop us into the dustbin of Christian unbelief. This is why John is calling on us to reveal our love for our God and his Word by testing every teaching to make sure that it comes for God, just as cashiers are trained to test our money when we pay them with a $20.00 bill, a $50.00 bill or even a $100.00 bill. Though in some ways this may seem like a waste of time and a completely loveless act for a cashier to test our money and judge it according to the standards set by the banking industry, it is actually an act of love. For the truth is counterfeiters are just like false prophets, they are passing off worthless paper in the form of legal tender. So, if a cashier should simply take a counterfeit twenty, or a fifty or even a one-hundred dollar bill without testing it, that merchant would lose. However, by testing it, the cashier lovingly makes certain that the employer receives the money that he deserves and needs to continue growing and expanding his business.
This is the kind of love that the Lord wants us to show him and his word by testing the spirits. Rather than simply believing what you hear and figuring it must be right, he wants us to go back to his word to make sure that it is right! For the Bible is the manual the Lord has given us to determine if a teaching comes from him or not. Just as cashiers have special marking pens to make sure that a specific bill is legal tender, so also the Bible is our manual telling us exactly what God says. So, when you are in your home and you are watching one of those religious type shows on TV, don’t just assume they must be right because they are religious! Rather, check your Bible to make sure they are proclaiming the truth. If they aren’t either stop watching it, or constantly be prepared to correct it for yourselves. When you are listening to those religious broadcasts on Sunday mornings, be discerning listeners. In others words, listen carefully to anything that is proclaimed and if something doesn’t seem right pull out your Bible and check it out so that you can see if it is right or wrong. Even here in church, don’t just believe everything I tell you simply because I am your Pastor and I must be right! For the truth is, I am human just like you. I make mistakes just like you. Even though I spent eight years of my life training to be a Pastor, I am by no means perfect, and that is why you need to be checking up on me from time to time to make sure I am faithfully proclaiming God’s Word to you! You see, even though God has given me the responsibility of faithfully teaching you his word, he has given you the responsibility of remaining faithful to him.
So do just that, remain faithful to the Lord by studying his Word. Show your love for him and his word by reading through the Bible every year. Search in your closets and bookshelves until you find your old Catechisms. Then when you find them, study them from time to time to remind yourselves of the things you promised to die for rather than give up. Take time out of every day to read the one-page devotions in your meditation booklets and pray to God! Only make God’s Word a priority in your life and set aside time for it every day. For in doing this, you will not only be strengthening your faith in Jesus Christ your Savior; you will also be preparing yourself to recognize false teaching no matter how subtle it might be. When you do this you will find it easy to go back to the Bible to test whatever teaching you might come across to see whether it agrees with God’s Word or not. When you do this you will in effect be giving thanks to God for all the great things he has given you in his Word. When you do this you will be showing your great love for the Lord and for his Word which he has given you.
Only let your love for the Lord and his Word shine out in your lives as you reflect the love that the Lord your God has lavished upon you. For in the same way that the Lord showed his love to Saul by calling him to faith and sending him off to preach the Word to Jews and Gentiles alike, so also the Lord showed his love for you by calling you to faith. In the same way that the Lord showed his love for his disciples by appearing to them on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, so also the Lord Jesus has shown his love for us by appearing to us in the pages of Scripture for our learning. God’s love for us is boundless! Though we were once his enemies, he made us his children though Jesus Christ our Savior. Though there was a time when we hated him, though the work of his Son, we have come to love him. We have come to love him for what he has done for us and we have come to love him for all that he tells us in his Word! So then continue to make your love for him known to all the world by gladly hearing his word and always being ready to test whatever teaching might come your way to see whether or not it comes from him.
Amen.
Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church Le Sueur, MN
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Learn from Israel's Example (1 Corinthians 10:1-13)
Dear friends in Christ.
The story has been told about a Sunday morning back in 1865, when a black man entered a fashionable church in Richmond Virginia. When Communion was served, he walked down the aisle and knelt at the altar, which sent a rustle of resentment through the congregation. “How dare he!” was the thought running through the congregation. After all, the believers used the common cup for communion! Suddenly a distinguished layman stood up, stepped forward to the altar, and knelt beside that man. With Robert E. Lee setting the example, the rest of the congregation soon followed his lead. Well in the same way that the members of that Virginia congregation followed and learned from the example of Robert E. Lee, so also the Lord is calling on us to learn from the example of the Israelites so that rather than setting our hearts on evil, we might set them on the faithfulness of the Lord our God.
Now, as our text opens this morning, we have the Apostle Paul reminding us of the Israelites example so that we might not set our hearts on evil as they did. In fact, as we heard this lesson read just a few moments ago, the Israelites were a very special people. They were the people whom the Lord had chosen to be his own. They were the people whom the Lord had led out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. They were the people who saw the plagues that the Lord God visited on the Egyptians. They were the people who saw the waters of the Red Sea draw back so that they could cross it on dry ground. They were the people who watched as Pharaoh’s army, which had pursued them into the midst of the sea, was drowned as the waters came crashing down upon them. But even though they were God’s chosen people, Paul tells us: “God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert.” (1 Corinthians 10:5)
Sadly, those few words are but a summary of the example of the Israelites from which the Lord would have us learn today. For as we look back into their history we see how they tested God’s patience on many different occasions. We hear how they grumbled and complained against the Lord because they simply weren’t satisfied with what he was giving them. We see how quickly they grew impatient with the Lord as their leader, erecting an idol of a golden calf as their god, and indulging in sexual immorality with the women of Moab. From their history, we see how so many of them set their hearts on evil, turned away from the Lord and by their example are teaching us the exact opposite of how the Lord would have us live. But now comes the question: Have we learned from their example not to set our hearts on evil? Or have we simply followed the example they set for us and not learned from it in any way?
If we’re honest with ourselves, we have to admit that too often we have simply followed their example and set our hearts on evil. For the truth is, we, too, are God’s chosen people, chosen to be his own through faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior. We are the people who have witnessed the Glory of his salvation in the death and resurrection of his Son. We are the people who, through faith, have been connected to the Israelites of old and now look forward to the Promised Land of heaven where we will live with the Lord forever. But sadly, all too often we have acted exactly like the Israelites did on the way to Canaan. Though we have never collected jewelry and other precious items with which to forge a golden calf idol so that we might sit down to eat and drink at a festival to this god and then get up to indulge in pagan revelry, we too are guilty of idolatry. For each and every time we allow anything to become more important to us than the Lord and his Word, that thing becomes an idol to us. Whenever we let work, school, vacation, leisure time, or anything else keep us from worshiping the Lord, we become guilty of idolatry. Whenever we allow worship, Bible study, or even home devotions to be an optional thing, we allow the Lord’s importance in our hearts to drop a peg or two, and when he is no longer number 1, we become idolaters who have replaced him with another god.
Though we may never have committed sexual immorality by going out and sleeping with another person before we were married or even while we were married, each and every one of us is just as guilty as the Israelites who went of to sleep with the Moabites. For we have all been tempted by the lust in our hearts. We have all lusted after another man or woman, if even for the briefest second. We have all sat and watched love scenes on television or in movies, we have been enraptured by the lives of soap opera stars and their multiple partners, we have all listened to the town gossip about who is shacking up with whom, and in doing so, we have been found guilty of sexual immorality.
Though we may have never tested the Lord, nor grumbled against him because all we had to eat was this lousy manna, we too have tested his patience with our grumbling and complaining. For how often haven’t we complained about the heat in the middle of summer, the cold in the middle of winter, the mud in the middle of spring, and the dry and dusty land in the middle of Fall. How often haven’t we complained that we don’t have all the things we want, or all the money we think we need. How often haven’t we complained about the government, the state, the city, the school, the church, our employers or employees, or anyone else that we could think of at that moment. How often haven’t we been angry with the Lord, because he hasn’t done what we wanted him to do, or because he has taken our loved one from this vale of sorrow to his or her heavenly joy.
Yes, there can be no doubt about it, we are guilty. We are guilty of every sin that the Israelites committed. Though the things they did were written down to keep us from setting our hearts on evil, it seems that we have rather followed their example and set our hearts on every evil the world has to offer. Because of this, we know that we deserve nothing but God’s wrath and eternal punishment. We deserve to be victims of one of the Lord’s plagues. We deserve to die from the bite of poisonous snakes. We deserve to be cut down by the destroying angel, and suffer eternal damnation for every sin we have ever committed against the Lord.
But even though this is what we deserve, this is the very thing that the Lord has not visited upon us; for the Lord our God is faithful! It was he who saw to it that the example of the Israelites would be written down so that we could learn from them and see how he reveals his great faithfulness. For even though we have constantly set our hearts on evil, it is the Lord who offers his forgiveness and now teaches us to set our hearts on his great faithfulness.
Now, when Paul wrote to the Corinthians, calling on them to learn from Israel’s example so that they would not set their hearts on evil, he also urged them to learn from the Israelites example so that they would set their hearts on the faithfulness of their God. This, in fact, is the very thing that Paul is conveying as he writes in the last two verses of our text: “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” (1 Corinthians 10:12,13)
With these words, Paul was warning the Corinthians to guard their lives, leaning solely on God’s faithfulness so that they would not fall into temptation. But he was also telling them that when they were tempted, their God would provide them with a way out so they could stand up under it. However, if they did fall into temptation and sin against their God, they could rely on the forgiveness of sins provided to them through their faithful God.
This was the very thing the Lord did for his people Israel. Though they were unfaithful to him on many occasions, and he regularly visited them with his wrath, he still remained faithful to them. For he was always there ready with his forgiveness whenever they sinned against him as they so often did. Though the Israelites were made to wander in the wilderness for forty years because they had turned against the Lord, he did still lead them into Canaan as he had promised. Though many were killed by the poisonous snakes in the desert, those who looked with faith on the bronze serpent that Moses lifted up were healed and lived. Though many died by the sword when Moses came down from the mountain and saw the people worshiping the golden calf, those who repented received the Lord’s forgiveness. Though many died in a plague when they grumbled against the Lord, those who looked to him in sorrow over their sins received the forgiveness that he offered them.
This is the second lesson that we want to learn from the Israelites example. For we too, like they want to learn to set our hearts on the faithfulness of the Lord our God. We want to rely on our God first of all for the strength to avoid temptations that come our way. We want to look to him and trust that he will provide a way out so that we can stand up under the temptations that are besieging us, but we also want to set our hearts on his faithfulness, turning to him in repentance whenever we sin against him. And this is what he has given us. For even though we have been unfaithful to him, he has remained faithful to us. Though we have been found guilty of idolatry, in his faithfulness, the Lord has removed the guilt of our sins. Though we have been found guilty of sexual immorality, our faithful God has washed us clean of every spot and stain of our sins. Though we have been found guilty of grumbling and complaining against the Lord our God, whenever we turn to him in repentance, he turns to us with his forgiveness.
What greater lesson could the Lord be teaching us to day than this! For through the Israelites example, we have learned of his faithfulness and the forgiveness he freely offers us when we turn to him in repentance. Let us always be students of God’s Word so that we might continue to learn from the example of the Israelites, continually placing our hearts on the faithfulness of the Lord our God. Let us learn from the example of the Israelites in the same way that the people learned from the example of Robert E Lee. Let us continually turn to the Lord in repentance, trust in his forgiveness, and learn from the Israel’s example so that we set our hearts on his faithfulness rather than on the evil of our sins.
Amen.
Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church Le Sueur, MN
The story has been told about a Sunday morning back in 1865, when a black man entered a fashionable church in Richmond Virginia. When Communion was served, he walked down the aisle and knelt at the altar, which sent a rustle of resentment through the congregation. “How dare he!” was the thought running through the congregation. After all, the believers used the common cup for communion! Suddenly a distinguished layman stood up, stepped forward to the altar, and knelt beside that man. With Robert E. Lee setting the example, the rest of the congregation soon followed his lead. Well in the same way that the members of that Virginia congregation followed and learned from the example of Robert E. Lee, so also the Lord is calling on us to learn from the example of the Israelites so that rather than setting our hearts on evil, we might set them on the faithfulness of the Lord our God.
Now, as our text opens this morning, we have the Apostle Paul reminding us of the Israelites example so that we might not set our hearts on evil as they did. In fact, as we heard this lesson read just a few moments ago, the Israelites were a very special people. They were the people whom the Lord had chosen to be his own. They were the people whom the Lord had led out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. They were the people who saw the plagues that the Lord God visited on the Egyptians. They were the people who saw the waters of the Red Sea draw back so that they could cross it on dry ground. They were the people who watched as Pharaoh’s army, which had pursued them into the midst of the sea, was drowned as the waters came crashing down upon them. But even though they were God’s chosen people, Paul tells us: “God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert.” (1 Corinthians 10:5)
Sadly, those few words are but a summary of the example of the Israelites from which the Lord would have us learn today. For as we look back into their history we see how they tested God’s patience on many different occasions. We hear how they grumbled and complained against the Lord because they simply weren’t satisfied with what he was giving them. We see how quickly they grew impatient with the Lord as their leader, erecting an idol of a golden calf as their god, and indulging in sexual immorality with the women of Moab. From their history, we see how so many of them set their hearts on evil, turned away from the Lord and by their example are teaching us the exact opposite of how the Lord would have us live. But now comes the question: Have we learned from their example not to set our hearts on evil? Or have we simply followed the example they set for us and not learned from it in any way?
If we’re honest with ourselves, we have to admit that too often we have simply followed their example and set our hearts on evil. For the truth is, we, too, are God’s chosen people, chosen to be his own through faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior. We are the people who have witnessed the Glory of his salvation in the death and resurrection of his Son. We are the people who, through faith, have been connected to the Israelites of old and now look forward to the Promised Land of heaven where we will live with the Lord forever. But sadly, all too often we have acted exactly like the Israelites did on the way to Canaan. Though we have never collected jewelry and other precious items with which to forge a golden calf idol so that we might sit down to eat and drink at a festival to this god and then get up to indulge in pagan revelry, we too are guilty of idolatry. For each and every time we allow anything to become more important to us than the Lord and his Word, that thing becomes an idol to us. Whenever we let work, school, vacation, leisure time, or anything else keep us from worshiping the Lord, we become guilty of idolatry. Whenever we allow worship, Bible study, or even home devotions to be an optional thing, we allow the Lord’s importance in our hearts to drop a peg or two, and when he is no longer number 1, we become idolaters who have replaced him with another god.
Though we may never have committed sexual immorality by going out and sleeping with another person before we were married or even while we were married, each and every one of us is just as guilty as the Israelites who went of to sleep with the Moabites. For we have all been tempted by the lust in our hearts. We have all lusted after another man or woman, if even for the briefest second. We have all sat and watched love scenes on television or in movies, we have been enraptured by the lives of soap opera stars and their multiple partners, we have all listened to the town gossip about who is shacking up with whom, and in doing so, we have been found guilty of sexual immorality.
Though we may have never tested the Lord, nor grumbled against him because all we had to eat was this lousy manna, we too have tested his patience with our grumbling and complaining. For how often haven’t we complained about the heat in the middle of summer, the cold in the middle of winter, the mud in the middle of spring, and the dry and dusty land in the middle of Fall. How often haven’t we complained that we don’t have all the things we want, or all the money we think we need. How often haven’t we complained about the government, the state, the city, the school, the church, our employers or employees, or anyone else that we could think of at that moment. How often haven’t we been angry with the Lord, because he hasn’t done what we wanted him to do, or because he has taken our loved one from this vale of sorrow to his or her heavenly joy.
Yes, there can be no doubt about it, we are guilty. We are guilty of every sin that the Israelites committed. Though the things they did were written down to keep us from setting our hearts on evil, it seems that we have rather followed their example and set our hearts on every evil the world has to offer. Because of this, we know that we deserve nothing but God’s wrath and eternal punishment. We deserve to be victims of one of the Lord’s plagues. We deserve to die from the bite of poisonous snakes. We deserve to be cut down by the destroying angel, and suffer eternal damnation for every sin we have ever committed against the Lord.
But even though this is what we deserve, this is the very thing that the Lord has not visited upon us; for the Lord our God is faithful! It was he who saw to it that the example of the Israelites would be written down so that we could learn from them and see how he reveals his great faithfulness. For even though we have constantly set our hearts on evil, it is the Lord who offers his forgiveness and now teaches us to set our hearts on his great faithfulness.
Now, when Paul wrote to the Corinthians, calling on them to learn from Israel’s example so that they would not set their hearts on evil, he also urged them to learn from the Israelites example so that they would set their hearts on the faithfulness of their God. This, in fact, is the very thing that Paul is conveying as he writes in the last two verses of our text: “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” (1 Corinthians 10:12,13)
With these words, Paul was warning the Corinthians to guard their lives, leaning solely on God’s faithfulness so that they would not fall into temptation. But he was also telling them that when they were tempted, their God would provide them with a way out so they could stand up under it. However, if they did fall into temptation and sin against their God, they could rely on the forgiveness of sins provided to them through their faithful God.
This was the very thing the Lord did for his people Israel. Though they were unfaithful to him on many occasions, and he regularly visited them with his wrath, he still remained faithful to them. For he was always there ready with his forgiveness whenever they sinned against him as they so often did. Though the Israelites were made to wander in the wilderness for forty years because they had turned against the Lord, he did still lead them into Canaan as he had promised. Though many were killed by the poisonous snakes in the desert, those who looked with faith on the bronze serpent that Moses lifted up were healed and lived. Though many died by the sword when Moses came down from the mountain and saw the people worshiping the golden calf, those who repented received the Lord’s forgiveness. Though many died in a plague when they grumbled against the Lord, those who looked to him in sorrow over their sins received the forgiveness that he offered them.
This is the second lesson that we want to learn from the Israelites example. For we too, like they want to learn to set our hearts on the faithfulness of the Lord our God. We want to rely on our God first of all for the strength to avoid temptations that come our way. We want to look to him and trust that he will provide a way out so that we can stand up under the temptations that are besieging us, but we also want to set our hearts on his faithfulness, turning to him in repentance whenever we sin against him. And this is what he has given us. For even though we have been unfaithful to him, he has remained faithful to us. Though we have been found guilty of idolatry, in his faithfulness, the Lord has removed the guilt of our sins. Though we have been found guilty of sexual immorality, our faithful God has washed us clean of every spot and stain of our sins. Though we have been found guilty of grumbling and complaining against the Lord our God, whenever we turn to him in repentance, he turns to us with his forgiveness.
What greater lesson could the Lord be teaching us to day than this! For through the Israelites example, we have learned of his faithfulness and the forgiveness he freely offers us when we turn to him in repentance. Let us always be students of God’s Word so that we might continue to learn from the example of the Israelites, continually placing our hearts on the faithfulness of the Lord our God. Let us learn from the example of the Israelites in the same way that the people learned from the example of Robert E Lee. Let us continually turn to the Lord in repentance, trust in his forgiveness, and learn from the Israel’s example so that we set our hearts on his faithfulness rather than on the evil of our sins.
Amen.
Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church Le Sueur, MN
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Surely the Day Is Coming (Malachi 4:1,2)
Dear friends in Christ.
I don’t know if you had a chance to read the bulletin yet, or maybe you just started reading it and haven’t gotten to the announcements yet, but when I was writing those announcements I was amazed by how many holiday announcements there are. I mean, did you see them? Not only are there two announcements talking about Thanksgiving related events, there are also four different announcements about Christmas events going on in December; five even if you count the poinsettia insert! Now, I don’t know about you, but I can hardly believe that Thanksgiving is right around the corner! Even though I heard my first Christmas Carol over the sound system at Target last Sunday afternoon, and I know that today is November 8, I am amazed to realize that there are only 17 more days until Thanksgiving Day and only 45 more days until Christmas Eve. Even though it is hard to fathom just how quickly these days are coming, we know that they are coming none-the-less. Even though it may be difficult to accept the fact that these two holidays are so rapidly approaching the thresholds of our lives, nevertheless these days are approaching just as quickly as the Lord’s Day of Judgment is approaching us today. It is that day about which the Prophet Malachi speaks in our text today when he writes, “‘Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire,’ says the LORD Almighty. ‘Not a root or a branch will be left to them.’ ‘But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.’” (Malachi 4:1,2)
Now, when Malachi carried those words to the People of Israel, the Israelite’s spiritual house was in great disarray. Though they had returned from their captivity in Babylon many years earlier and they had rebuilt their homes, the city wall, and even the Lord’s temple, all was not well in Israel. The priests who served as Israel’s spiritual leaders were openly showing contempt for the Lord and his worship as they allowed the people to bring sub-standard offerings to the Lord. The priests, who should have refused to offer such animals as sacrifices to the Holy One of Israel, simply closed their eyes as they accepted maimed, crippled, blind, and even diseased animals as sacrifices on the Lord’s holy altar. The priests, who should have been calling the people to account and judging them by the full measure of God’s Holy Law were the ones who were simply allowing the people to get by, and by doing so, they were allowing the people to grow arrogant in their feelings toward the Lord. They were allowing the people to grow selfish as they kept back the best for themselves and offered the leftovers to the Lord. They were allowing the people to continue on in their sins and by doing so, they were allowing the people to do evil in the eyes of the Lord their God. Add to that the fact that the people were intermarrying with the nations around them and involving themselves in worship of false gods that were not the Lord; Add to that the fact that evildoers were being trumpeted as people who were loved by God, and those who followed the Lord’s commands were thought of as weak, foolish, snobbish, and even intolerant bigots, then it becomes clear why the Lord sent Malachi to tell the people, “‘Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire,’ says the LORD Almighty. ‘Not a root or a branch will be left to them.’” (Malachi 4:1)
Yet, if we really get right down to it, is 2009 any different than 415 BC when Malachi was prophet? Is our Spiritual house any better off than the Israelite’s spiritual house? For years now the Leaders of our Nation have been working overtime to make sure that the First Amendment’s protection of our Freedom of Religion actually protects us and gives us the assurance that we can and will be forever free from religion. For years, the “Priests” of our nation—Pastor’s, Evangelists, Religious Leaders of every denomination—have shown contempt for the Lord as they have fallen into scandals of every kind. They have shown contempt for the Lord by preaching human thoughts and ideas rather than preaching the Truth of God Holy Word. Rather than standing on the front lines, calling people to account and judging them by the full measure of God’s Law, they have allowed people to simply get by. They have met people where they are, embraced sinners in love, which is exactly what we are to do, but then they proceeded to teach that sin wasn’t the problem, because there was nothing wrong with them; God loved them exactly the way they are. Thus, in their arrogance, they have removed the True God from the lives of millions and replaced him with the god of love, or rather Love as god. Thus, sin is now touted as god pleasing if it is done in love, and those who stand up for what the Lord says are called weak, foolish, and intolerant haters. Is there any wonder why the Lord sent Malachi to proclaim even to the American people, “‘Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire,’ says the LORD Almighty. ‘Not a root or a branch will be left to them.’” (Malachi 4:1)
Yet, before we become too arrogant in our Pharisaical WELS way, thinking that we are the only holy ones left in the world because we work so hard to preserve, protect, and proclaim the absolute truth of God’s Word, we must realize that these words are for us as well. These words, which the Lord delivered to his people through the lips of Malachi, are the very words he is delivering to us as a warning today! For with these words, the Lord is reminding us of the very thing our sins deserve. With these words, the Lord is telling us that we are no better than the arrogant evildoers who have lived throughout history. With these words, the Lord is telling us that when we hold back our offerings out of greed, selfishness, or just plain laziness, we are no better than the Israelites who did the same with their healthy animals, bringing instead their sub-standard offerings. With these words, the Lord is telling us that when we do not put him first in every aspect of our lives, we are no better than the Israelites who followed after foreign gods rather than the one true God. With these words the Lord is telling us that when we feel superior to others because of our fine faith, or keep the message of salvation because we have prejudged them as unworthy of salvation, then we too become the arrogant people whom Malachi spoke about when he said, “‘Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire,’ says the LORD Almighty. ‘Not a root or a branch will be left to them.’” (Malachi 4:1)
Yet, even as Malachi delivers his harsh message of God’s Holy Law as a warning for us to heed as we turn to the Lord in repentance, he does not leave us without the comfort of God’s love and forgiveness. As he says in verse 2 of our text, “‘But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.’” (Malachi 4:1,2)
When Malachi delivered this message to the Israelites, I can just imagine the collective sigh that ran through the nation. Though many of the Israelites had turned away from the Lord, these words were sweet comfort and grace to those who had remained faithful to him, as well as those who had returned to the Lord and repented of their sins because of Malachi’s message. Though Malachi was the last Prophet in Israel until the days of John the Baptist, he proclaimed the joy that would be theirs on that day when the Savior came. Though it was nearly 400 years until the Savior would be born in Bethlehem, they knew the day was coming when the sun of righteousness would rise with healing in its wings. They knew that through faith in that Savior, they would receive the forgiveness of sins, the assurance of life, and the blessing of salvation by their Savior’s side forever. They knew that through faith in their Savior, they did not need to fear the Lord’s Day of Judgment because they knew that on that day, through faith in their Savior, the sun of righteousness would rise on them. They knew that on that Day of Judgment, they would finally and forever be healed of their sins when the Lord moved them to the pasture land of heaven. They knew and believed as Malachi had said, “‘For you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.’” (Malachi 4:1,2)
Well we know and believe the same thing! We know and believe that they day is coming when the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. Though we are still living in the night of sin and unbelief, through faith in Jesus who has already freed us from our sins, we can see the warm glow of the dawn of that day on the horizon. Though we do not know exactly when that day will come, we know that it is coming just as certainly as Thanksgiving and Christmas swiftly approaching. Though we do not know exactly when that day will come, we are waiting for it as eagerly as school children wait for the final bell of the day. For on that day, when the sun of righteousness rises in the east, and the arrogant and evil are burned away, we will feel the warmth of our Savior’s righteousness permeate every join of our bodies. We will feel that warmth finally and completely melt away the ice of sin that had clung so tenaciously to our hearts, and we will go out and leap in joy as we are released from the stall of this world to the pasture of eternal life.
What a day that will be when our Savior returns in glory and judgment! Though we do not know exactly when it will be, we know that it is approaching as certainly as Thanksgiving and Christmas are growing ever nearer this year. Though that day may not come for another week, another year, or for many more years to come, we know that one day it will be here, just as Malachi prophesied, “‘Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire,’ says the LORD Almighty. ‘Not a root or a branch will be left to them.’ ‘But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.’” (Malachi 4:1,2)
Amen.
Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church -Le Sueur, MN
I don’t know if you had a chance to read the bulletin yet, or maybe you just started reading it and haven’t gotten to the announcements yet, but when I was writing those announcements I was amazed by how many holiday announcements there are. I mean, did you see them? Not only are there two announcements talking about Thanksgiving related events, there are also four different announcements about Christmas events going on in December; five even if you count the poinsettia insert! Now, I don’t know about you, but I can hardly believe that Thanksgiving is right around the corner! Even though I heard my first Christmas Carol over the sound system at Target last Sunday afternoon, and I know that today is November 8, I am amazed to realize that there are only 17 more days until Thanksgiving Day and only 45 more days until Christmas Eve. Even though it is hard to fathom just how quickly these days are coming, we know that they are coming none-the-less. Even though it may be difficult to accept the fact that these two holidays are so rapidly approaching the thresholds of our lives, nevertheless these days are approaching just as quickly as the Lord’s Day of Judgment is approaching us today. It is that day about which the Prophet Malachi speaks in our text today when he writes, “‘Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire,’ says the LORD Almighty. ‘Not a root or a branch will be left to them.’ ‘But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.’” (Malachi 4:1,2)
Now, when Malachi carried those words to the People of Israel, the Israelite’s spiritual house was in great disarray. Though they had returned from their captivity in Babylon many years earlier and they had rebuilt their homes, the city wall, and even the Lord’s temple, all was not well in Israel. The priests who served as Israel’s spiritual leaders were openly showing contempt for the Lord and his worship as they allowed the people to bring sub-standard offerings to the Lord. The priests, who should have refused to offer such animals as sacrifices to the Holy One of Israel, simply closed their eyes as they accepted maimed, crippled, blind, and even diseased animals as sacrifices on the Lord’s holy altar. The priests, who should have been calling the people to account and judging them by the full measure of God’s Holy Law were the ones who were simply allowing the people to get by, and by doing so, they were allowing the people to grow arrogant in their feelings toward the Lord. They were allowing the people to grow selfish as they kept back the best for themselves and offered the leftovers to the Lord. They were allowing the people to continue on in their sins and by doing so, they were allowing the people to do evil in the eyes of the Lord their God. Add to that the fact that the people were intermarrying with the nations around them and involving themselves in worship of false gods that were not the Lord; Add to that the fact that evildoers were being trumpeted as people who were loved by God, and those who followed the Lord’s commands were thought of as weak, foolish, snobbish, and even intolerant bigots, then it becomes clear why the Lord sent Malachi to tell the people, “‘Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire,’ says the LORD Almighty. ‘Not a root or a branch will be left to them.’” (Malachi 4:1)
Yet, if we really get right down to it, is 2009 any different than 415 BC when Malachi was prophet? Is our Spiritual house any better off than the Israelite’s spiritual house? For years now the Leaders of our Nation have been working overtime to make sure that the First Amendment’s protection of our Freedom of Religion actually protects us and gives us the assurance that we can and will be forever free from religion. For years, the “Priests” of our nation—Pastor’s, Evangelists, Religious Leaders of every denomination—have shown contempt for the Lord as they have fallen into scandals of every kind. They have shown contempt for the Lord by preaching human thoughts and ideas rather than preaching the Truth of God Holy Word. Rather than standing on the front lines, calling people to account and judging them by the full measure of God’s Law, they have allowed people to simply get by. They have met people where they are, embraced sinners in love, which is exactly what we are to do, but then they proceeded to teach that sin wasn’t the problem, because there was nothing wrong with them; God loved them exactly the way they are. Thus, in their arrogance, they have removed the True God from the lives of millions and replaced him with the god of love, or rather Love as god. Thus, sin is now touted as god pleasing if it is done in love, and those who stand up for what the Lord says are called weak, foolish, and intolerant haters. Is there any wonder why the Lord sent Malachi to proclaim even to the American people, “‘Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire,’ says the LORD Almighty. ‘Not a root or a branch will be left to them.’” (Malachi 4:1)
Yet, before we become too arrogant in our Pharisaical WELS way, thinking that we are the only holy ones left in the world because we work so hard to preserve, protect, and proclaim the absolute truth of God’s Word, we must realize that these words are for us as well. These words, which the Lord delivered to his people through the lips of Malachi, are the very words he is delivering to us as a warning today! For with these words, the Lord is reminding us of the very thing our sins deserve. With these words, the Lord is telling us that we are no better than the arrogant evildoers who have lived throughout history. With these words, the Lord is telling us that when we hold back our offerings out of greed, selfishness, or just plain laziness, we are no better than the Israelites who did the same with their healthy animals, bringing instead their sub-standard offerings. With these words, the Lord is telling us that when we do not put him first in every aspect of our lives, we are no better than the Israelites who followed after foreign gods rather than the one true God. With these words the Lord is telling us that when we feel superior to others because of our fine faith, or keep the message of salvation because we have prejudged them as unworthy of salvation, then we too become the arrogant people whom Malachi spoke about when he said, “‘Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire,’ says the LORD Almighty. ‘Not a root or a branch will be left to them.’” (Malachi 4:1)
Yet, even as Malachi delivers his harsh message of God’s Holy Law as a warning for us to heed as we turn to the Lord in repentance, he does not leave us without the comfort of God’s love and forgiveness. As he says in verse 2 of our text, “‘But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.’” (Malachi 4:1,2)
When Malachi delivered this message to the Israelites, I can just imagine the collective sigh that ran through the nation. Though many of the Israelites had turned away from the Lord, these words were sweet comfort and grace to those who had remained faithful to him, as well as those who had returned to the Lord and repented of their sins because of Malachi’s message. Though Malachi was the last Prophet in Israel until the days of John the Baptist, he proclaimed the joy that would be theirs on that day when the Savior came. Though it was nearly 400 years until the Savior would be born in Bethlehem, they knew the day was coming when the sun of righteousness would rise with healing in its wings. They knew that through faith in that Savior, they would receive the forgiveness of sins, the assurance of life, and the blessing of salvation by their Savior’s side forever. They knew that through faith in their Savior, they did not need to fear the Lord’s Day of Judgment because they knew that on that day, through faith in their Savior, the sun of righteousness would rise on them. They knew that on that Day of Judgment, they would finally and forever be healed of their sins when the Lord moved them to the pasture land of heaven. They knew and believed as Malachi had said, “‘For you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.’” (Malachi 4:1,2)
Well we know and believe the same thing! We know and believe that they day is coming when the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. Though we are still living in the night of sin and unbelief, through faith in Jesus who has already freed us from our sins, we can see the warm glow of the dawn of that day on the horizon. Though we do not know exactly when that day will come, we know that it is coming just as certainly as Thanksgiving and Christmas swiftly approaching. Though we do not know exactly when that day will come, we are waiting for it as eagerly as school children wait for the final bell of the day. For on that day, when the sun of righteousness rises in the east, and the arrogant and evil are burned away, we will feel the warmth of our Savior’s righteousness permeate every join of our bodies. We will feel that warmth finally and completely melt away the ice of sin that had clung so tenaciously to our hearts, and we will go out and leap in joy as we are released from the stall of this world to the pasture of eternal life.
What a day that will be when our Savior returns in glory and judgment! Though we do not know exactly when it will be, we know that it is approaching as certainly as Thanksgiving and Christmas are growing ever nearer this year. Though that day may not come for another week, another year, or for many more years to come, we know that one day it will be here, just as Malachi prophesied, “‘Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire,’ says the LORD Almighty. ‘Not a root or a branch will be left to them.’ ‘But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.’” (Malachi 4:1,2)
Amen.
Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church -Le Sueur, MN
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