Saturday, January 8, 2011

January 2nd 2011

Jan 2, 2011 from Richard Waldschmidt on Vimeo.



Isaiah 61:10-62:3 I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations. For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, till her righteousness shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch. The nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory; you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will bestow. You will be a crown of splendor in the LORD’s hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
In the name of Jesus, the newborn King and Savior,
Snooping around at gifts can really get a kid or a husband or wife in hot water even on Christmas or your birthday. You see, moms can tell if the wrapping paper has been lifted up even just a little bit on the corner. It seems moms have an internal GPS for packages not being in the exact positions they left them in before Christmas. Today in God’s Word, the Lord gives you a look at the gift he gave you at Christmas. He gave this look to his people and to us over 700 years before that first Christmas took place. But no one has to be afraid of getting in trouble because God invites you to look. Look what you got for Christmas! There is quite a list. I. A robe II. A plant. III. A light and IV. A new name.
It is a “gift opening” atmosphere as Isaiah looked forward to the gift God would give. Isaiah beams, “I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. “ Isaiah took delight in the Lord because of something the Lord would send that would be in all of his gift packages- righteousness. In a conversation the other day I wondered out loud if all of the corruption in government and the embezzlement in business is happening more and more or if we are just getting better at catching it. Once it is caught the media trumpets it for all to hear. Now we watch the news and it is so easy to think to ourselves that only other people sin. But the Scriptures say that righteousness is needed by everyone. “There is no one who is righteous, no one who pleases God. there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” I know that the reason Christmas presents are given is not to get a present in return. But we do go to great pains to be sure that we would have a present to give to someone who gives us a present. Sometimes we even call it a Christmas gift exchange. But we have nothing to give to God. We have not kept the commands he demands that we keep.
Parts of Isaiah read like the script of a play. One actor speaks then another. At times we hear the coming Messiah speaking by a miracle in that the coming of the Messiah on earth was still years in the future. At times we hear God talking and then other times we hear his prophet talk. Chapter 61 starts off with the Savior saying, “The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn.” We know that’s the Messiah talking because Jesus reads these words at the synagogue at Nazareth and says plainly that they are talking about him. Then the Lord goes on to talk about what the gifts he has in mind for His people. “Everlasting joy will be theirs,“ God says.
Like a child opening a gift the prophet then responds with some “look what I got for Christmas” kind of words. “For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.” When Isaiah was commissioned and stood in God’s holy presence he was struck with terror wit the fact that he was “a man of unclean lips and he lived among a people of unclean lips.” The prophet rejoices because he doesn’t have to worry about standing before God in the filthy rags of his own righteousness. In a way the Lord’s gift is righteousness that is packaged in four different ways. The first way the gift of righteousness is pictured is a robe. The Lord gave us a robe of righteousness. One of the gifts my sister received years ago was a potholder making kit. The package came with a square loom and many stretchy pieces of fabric that would be stretched on the loom and then a child could weave them together to make a potholder. My mom still might have some of those potholders in the drawer. A pastor wrote in the People’s Bible Commentary on Isaiah that God wove your robe of righteousness on a loom shaped as a cross. Jesus was stretched out on the cross. The sins we pile up were placed on Him. God doesn’t see the things that you have done wrong- Jesus robe of righteousness covers you.
Poinsettias grow outdoors in Mexico as much as 10 feet in height. Most of us, however, are lucky to make it to the New Year with most of the flowers intact. There’s a great deal of care involved to get them to bloom at just the right time. God took a great deal of care in the gift he gave for you. Even if you didn’t get a Poinsettia for Christmas you still received a plant. “For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.” Just like God makes seeds grow into hearty plants in the ordinary soil of the garden, so the Lord would bring from this ordinary nation of Israel the Savior of the whole world. God would also work another miracle. He would plant faith in that Savior in your hearts through God’s Word. In the Scripture lesson today, Paul prays that that would continue even more. “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.” Paul’s prayer is also your pastors’ prayer for you- that he would make the plant of your faith grow more and more. We give thanks for the wonderful ways the Holy Spirit has made your faith grow in 2010 We also ask that the Holy Spirit would continue to work in your hearts in 2011 and beyond--that the great love of Jesus would spur all of us on to let the Word of Christ dwell in us richly.
If you were here the children’s Christmas programs, you know the joy on the children’s faces as they told of the gift gave at Christmas. The joy just seems to bubble over for the little ones. We hear that bubbly joy in Isaiah’s voice as he unwrapped the light God would give. “For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, till her righteousness shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch.” Have you ever been in a totally dark room and tried to feel your way to the door. You know it’s pretty easy to stumble and fall. What you need is a light. The Savior would be a warm camp fire beckoning people to come near and bask in the warmth of forgiveness and peace. Through the miracle of faith God has brought you out of darkness to see things clearly in the light of his word. By faith you know that this world is not all there is. Our real home is home in heaven. By faith you know that we get to heaven not by the good things we do but through the merits of what Jesus did for us. God’s Word lights up your path with the good news that Jesus is always with you. Maybe this year you might think about someone you would like to share that light with.
Have there ever been times when you have heard your mom or dad call you in that tone of voice that you just knew that you were in trouble? Maybe you wished for a new name. That’s what God gives you in Jesus- a new name. “The nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory; you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will bestow. You will be a crown of splendor in the LORD’s hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God.”
Maybe you’ve received a gift you treasure. God’s gift is something to be treasured too but it is also something to be shared. Look what you got for Christmas. Let treasure it and share it. Amen.

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