December 2nd, 2012

Dec 2, 2012 from Richard Waldschmidt on Vimeo.

December 1/2/3, 2012 Pastor Richard Waldschmidt Jeremiah 33:14-16 "JESUS IS THE RIGHTEOUS BRANCH" I. Who Came From A Gracious God. II. Bringing Righteousness. There have been times when I have been out in the yard raking lives and picking up sticks in the dark. Maybe you have too. I’ve done that when I’ve found out that the last leaf collection or the last yard waste collection is the next day and then I have to sort of scramble to get rid of the leaves and sticks. Today in God’s Word we hear about a stick that is important to hang on to. In His grace, God through the prophet Jeremiah tells of how he would forth Jesus, the Righteous Branch. Today as we think about this word picture of Jesus the Righteous Branch, we’ll see that Jesus is the righteous branch, I. who came from a gracious God and Jesus is the righteous branch II. who brings righteousness. If someone came over to your house you probably would not take them out into your yard on a nice summer day to look at a tree stump in your backyard. That’s what God does in His word today. The Lord takes us to a stump of a huge impressive tree that was cut down. It was a family tree- the family tree of King David. King David and his family provided kings for God’s Old Testament people for 350 years. At David’s time, the royal house of Israel was a tall strong tree rooted in what the Lord said. After David’s death, about there were about 20 rings on the family tree as David’s descendants served as kings in Jerusalem. Unfortunately, many of those rings were be narrow skinny rings because those kings were spiritual knot heads. Instead of worshiping the true God they turned away from Him and worshipped and served false gods. Many ruled selfishly instead of in the interests of God’s people. One of those wicked kings was King Zedekiah who was king during the time when Jeremiah was God’s prophet. The Bible says of Zedekiah, "He did evil in the eyes of the Lord his God and did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke the word of the Lord....He became stiff-necked and hardened his heart and would not turn to the Lord, the God of Israel. Furthermore, all the leaders of the priests and the people became more and more unfaithful, following all the detestable practices of the nations and defiling the temple of the Lord." Because of kings like Zedikiah and many others like him, the ax of the Lord’s judgment came upon the great family tree of the house of David. The once powerful nation was torn apart by civil war. God allowed her to be invaded by her enemies. The Babylonians burned the capitol city of Jerusalem. They carried off the brightest and best of her people into captivity a thousand miles from home. Only a handful returned 70 years later. All that was left of the proud family tree was the stump. At the time of Jesus, there were foreign rulers controlling the people of Israel instead of a descendant of David upon the throne in Jerusalem. In spite of the fact that His people broke their promises and turned away from Him, God did not forget his promise. God’s people can be sure that God keeps His promises. So sure in fact that even 600 years before Jesus was born God calls His people through the prophet Jeremiah to come and look at the branch that would grow from David’s family tree. "The days are coming," declares the Lord, "when I will fulfill the gracious promise I made to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah." Though His people forgot Him, God did not forget His people and His promises. Our Gracious God sent the righteous branch. Jeremiah makes clear that the promised righteous branch is a person. "In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and the land." That’s Jesus! The righteous branch is the Lord Jesus just as God had promised. In contrast to the terrible kings of Israel, whose family tree the Lord had cut down in Judgment, a new king would sprout up. This king would not be born in a beautiful palace with doctors standing by. This king would be born in a stable with humble donkeys and cattle looking on as he was born. This king did not strut on a grand political stage. He wasn’t born to a queen but rather to a young virgin from the line of David who was engaged to a carpenter from David’s family. Yet this lowly branch on the family tree of the house of David would still be a king- a King who would do what was just and right in the land, just as God had promised. I think some of my children’s teachers through the years have had them dig into their family trees. There is an old joke about how you had to be careful because you might find out that one of your relatives was a horse thief. Who of us does not have any knots on our family tree? When the chainsaw of God’s law cuts through us who of us would not have the rot of sin through and through? “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” We all need a Savior. No one is righteous. But Jesus is different. Jesus is the kind of a king who always does what is right and just. In this world where it is not unusual to see leaders of nations who are only looking out for themselves, how wonderful it is that Jesus is always looking out for the welfare of his people. He always does what is right as the king of our lives too! When we walk down the paths of sorrow, Jesus our King promises us, "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. for I am the Lord your God, the Holy one of Israel, your Savior." Maybe some here today are feeling old and not really too sure why their King lives them here on this side of heaven. Maybe you’ve really been through the mill lately and are feeling like you really can’t go on too much longer. You king says to you, "Even to your old age and gray hairs, I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you." Jesus is our righteous King and through all of our lives we can say with the Hymnist, "The King of Love my Shepherd is, whose goodness faileth never. I nothing lack if I am his and he is mine forever." Jesus is the Righteous Branch which God promised to send. How is it that we can have that kind of a relationship with the King of the universe. After all, our God says that we should be holy, but no one is righteous. We all know the terrible thoughts that run through our minds. God wants us to be loving and kind, but how often aren’t we unloving and unkind even to the members of our own families. God demands perfection from us in our lives- no sins ever, but every single day we come up far short of the perfection God demands. We don’t deserve anything from God. But God is faithful to his promises and sent Jesus the Righteous branch. God supplied the righteousness we are lacking. Jesus is the righteous branch who brings righteousness to all. "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." On our own we are not righteous before God, but Jesus is! Out of the dead stump of David’s line, God brought Jesus, the righteous branch. He kept God’s law perfectly for us in our place. He traded places with us on the cross and took upon himself our sins, along with the sins of the whole world. Because of Jesus, you and I stand before God with all of our sins washed away. The filth that lurked around in the back of our minds yesterday and the day before has all been washed away. The hateful words that have rushed out of our mouths so many times have been paid for. The sins we committed when we were young and foolish and middle age and foolish and old and foolish have all been atoned for. Jesus the righteous branch brings righteousness to us all. Jesus’ gift of righteousness changes how we view the last day of life here on earth. We don’t have to worry about what is going to happen on the day Jesus comes again- the event we heard about in our Gospel lesson. That will be the day when we will go to be with Jesus. Until that day when Jesus calls us home to heaven or comes again in glory, let’s go and show that righteousness Jesus has given us in your lives. The Bible tells us, "You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness." As we wait for Jesus let’s not go back to sin but rather let’s keep busy living our lives for Him. Today at the beginning of winter, God reminds us of springtime. He reminds of us Jesus, the righteous branch. Who came just as God had promised and brought righteousness to us all. Amen.