Sermon in Minneapolis 06.12.2014

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, let us begin our service this evening with opening prayer.

Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for this moment when we can again gather around your Holy Word. We ask for your presence through your Holy Spirit, bless our gathering according to your will. Comfort and console us with your Word, and feed us with your everlasting Gospel. All of this we ask in the name of your dear Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Today on the second Sunday in Advent, the Old Testament text for today is from the prophet Isaiah, chapter 44, verses 6 to 8. And we will hear these words as follows in Jesus' name.

Thus saith the Lord, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts. I am the first, and I am the last, and beside me there is no God. And who, as I shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people, and the things that are coming, and shall come, let them show unto them. Fear not, neither be afraid, have I not told thee from that time, and have declared it. You are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? Yea, there is no God. I know not any. Amen.

This is from the part of the book of Isaiah, known as Second Isaiah, or Deutero-Isaiah. It's the assumption that there were two, maybe three different authors of this book, all living in different periods of time. And the periods of time were so much separated from each other that it's impossible that one person could have written this entire book of Isaiah.

Well, this so-called second book of Isaiah, these middle chapters, are situated during a period of time when the people of Israel are in captivity. They're in Babylon, known as the Babylonian captivity. And we know when someone is a refugee, they have to leave their own land. The Cambodians or Somalis or whatever people have been forced to leave their land, often they go with nothing, no money, no possessions, and they're in a foreign land, striving and struggling to get their footing on the ground again.

Well, this was similar for the people of Israel who had been forced into exile during the time of King Nebuchadnezzar, brought into this faraway land where they lived for 70 years. But the situation was such that the people of Israel were able to live in their own community. All of the people of Israel together, like the Jews during World War II, were living in ghettos, congregated in their own areas.

So, the big problem wasn't this, that they didn't have any means or possessions. And they weren't lonesome in this sense, that they were scattered about in a foreign land. They were able to be with their fellow countrymen. But the largest struggle, the greatest struggle was this, that they would lose their identity or they would, above all, lose their faith.

Because there in Babylon, they were surrounded by a god known as the god of Marduk. And there were a myriad of other gods. In fact, it's sometimes spoken as the Babylonian pantheon. All of the multiple numbers of foreign gods that surrounded them in that foreign land.

So now this small section that we read that is assigned for this Sunday, it kind of sets up a challenge. And God, the universal God, is as if hauling all of these other gods to court, bringing them to trial and bringing them to justice for judgment. And God, the everlasting God, is saying that I am the first and I am the last. He is the supreme one in comparison to these other gods.

And then he settles his case, which we can read at the end of the previous chapter, where he says in this way, I, even I, am he that blotted out your transgressions for my own sake and will not remember your sins. Put me in remembrance. Let us plead together, declare that you may be justified. Your father has sinned and your teachers have transgressed against me. Therefore, I have profaned the princes of the sanctuary and have given Jacob the curse and Israel to reproach us.

So the problem was that because of disobedience and falling away in spite of the many warnings of the prophets there in the promised land, God said, if you do not heed the instruction of the prophets, your nation will fall. You will be brought into captivity and now this captivity was a reality.

But God had a merciful mind and heart toward his people and he said, I have blotted out your transgressions for my own sake and will not remember your sins. And so he vindicates his people as it says in the beginning of chapter 44. Yet now hear, O Jacob, my servant and Israel who I have chosen.

So God is saying that you are my promised nation. You are my chosen people. But then he is calling his people also into that court case and asking them to be witnesses during this trial. As he says in the last verse of our text, you are even my witnesses. He is calling them to be his witnesses in this court case.

So now if we begin to look at our text in more detail, that was the big picture, now let's try to break it apart and pick it apart and analyze it item by item, topic by topic.

We know that there are many titles for God in the Bible. For example, he is called the wonderful counselor, the mighty God, he is called Jehovah, he is called Lord, and so on and so forth. And I'm sure the number of titles can go on and on.

Well, also in this text of ours, this portion set aside for today, we can see several additional titles. And thus said the Lord, and he then uses some titles for himself, thus says the Lord, who is the king of Israel.

So, God is a king. In times past, it was very typical that countries were ruled by a king. The king was the autocratic ruler. He was the supreme one in the land. He had all power and authority. It's not like in our country where we have three different branches of government and they are tried to keep them in balance. Sometimes it seems that the balance goes out of whack, like perhaps during our era with all the executive orders being given by the executive branch. But that isn't how the constitution was originally designed.

But in times past, the king was the supreme ruler. He wasn't accountable to anyone. What he said was so and amen.

So God here in our text did a saying was the king of Israel. Not only the king of Israel but the king of the entire world and universe.

When we recite the Lord's prayer, the final phrase of the Lord's prayer is this, for thine, referring to God, thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen. That is, yea, yea, it shall be so.

So, thus saith the Lord was the king of Israel. But he is also a redeemer.

Well, what does this word redeemer mean? What does it mean to redeem? If someone is a captive or perhaps in prison, it is possible to redeem that person, to spring that person free, or to buy that person back with some sum of money, some amount of money, and a person who is in jail nowadays for some crime, can be free from jail, out of jail, until the court case by posting bail. He is being redeemed temporarily until the court case will decide his fate, whether he or she is guilty or innocent.

So this is the image, this is the picture that is behind this word, to redeem or to be a redeemer. And the thought here is, when the people of Israel are hearing this, and they hear that God is a redeemer, they recall that earlier in time, they were prisoners there in the land of Egypt. They were captives. And God was able to redeem them from this land of captivity. He led them out of Egypt through the wilderness journey, and eventually 40 years later brought them into the promised land.

But now when they are hearing these words from the prophet Isaiah, again they are in captivity. They are in Babylonian captivity. Many, many years later, hundreds of years later. And when they hear these words, they know that God once redeemed them, was their redeemer, delivering them from Egypt. Surely he could do that again, to be their redeemer, to deliver them from this land of captivity in this foreign land in Babylon.

Well, this is thinking of this word redeemer in the temporal sense. But, much more important is the word redeemer in the spiritual sense. As the apostle Paul writes to the Galatians, that the scriptures declare that the whole world is a prisoner of sin. As a result of Adam and Eve's fall to sin, they're in paradise. Entire mankind has fallen to be a prisoner of sin. And, if we didn't have a redeemer, all would be lost. We would remain in that captivity of sin. And, the final result would be eternal perdition in hell.

And, so, here, God is saying that he is the king of Israel, but he is also the redeemer of the people. God sent his son, Jesus Christ, for this purpose, one purpose only, that he could redeem us, in order that we would have this possibility to be liberated from being a prisoner of sin, from the shackles of hell.

And, as the Bible says, and as Peter writes in his epistle, and as Luther writes in his explanation to the second article of the creed, that Jesus has redeemed us, lost and condemned sinners, not with gold or silver, not by offering any amount of money, but with his holy, precious, and innocent blood. That was the price of redemption that was able to redeem us from sin.

And this we can own, this redemption as Paul writes to the Corinthians, that he is, Christ is our redemption. And we can own this and possess this by faith, and thus have Christ our Redeemer in our heart.

But then there goes on to be another title. He is the Lord of hosts. This was a military title, meaning that he was the general of the army, so to say. God is the general of all of the hosts, of all of the people. He is the general of all generals. He is the Lord of lords. He is the king of all kings. God has universal authority, and with him there is no equal at all.

So it's important now to recall the situation. The people of Israel are planted there in Babylon, surrounded by all of these other gods, Marduk being one, but that was only one. There was a myriad, or an abundance, a pantheon of Babylonian gods. And the danger was that people would begin to fall away from serving the everlasting God, and begin to worship, to follow, and to serve these other gods, which were nearby, surrounding them, and so close to them.

So this is the situation, and that's why God is hauling these other gods to court, and bringing them to judgment, and trying to show and to prove and to lay before them that I am supreme, I am the greatest, there is no one who comes to my level, not even close to it.

And so it begins or continues then in this first verse after this, I am the Lord of hosts, but he says that I am also the first, and I am the last. If we read the book of Revelations, Jesus, the resurrected Lord, spoke to John on the Isle of Patmos three times, using this exact same phrase. I am the Alpha, and I am the Omega. I am the first, I am the last, I am the beginning, and I am the end.

Well, what does this mean? If we look at the Greek alphabet, the Greek alphabet begins with the letter Alpha, and ends with the letter Omega, just like our alphabet begins with the letter A, and concludes with the letter Z. So we could say that in order to get to heaven, we need to know only two letters, Alpha and Omega, for in our language, all we need to know is the letter A, and the letter Z.

Well, some young children who are just learning to read may say, well, that's simple. I know what A is, I know what Z is, and I know all the letters in between, and I can read fluently. What's so difficult about that?

So, what does, what did Jesus mean when he said to John on Isle of Patmos, that I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, beginning, and the end? And what does God here mean by I am the first and I am the last?

First of all, it means that before the world began, God existed. And after the world comes to an end, God will exist. God has no beginning, God has no end. But, God is also the first, the beginner, through God, or God created everything. Before there was anything in existence, God said, let there be so. And, according to his command, it came into existence.

So, God created everything. He was the first. He was the beginner. And, God maintains this world. Not using hammers and saws and other tools and implements. He uses only one tool, and that is his word. And, his word is his son, Jesus Christ.

In the beginning was the word, the word was with God, and God was the word. And, this word became flesh on Christmas day and dwelled in our midst.

God is the beginner of everything. God also maintains the world. It exists because of God through his word. But, one day, the world will come to an end. And, it will be destroyed through the word at the command of God. So, he will also be the end, the concluder.

But, not only is this that God is the first in creation, but also he is the first in our faith. Through his son, Jesus Christ, he prepared salvation. And, this we can own as a gift of God, of grace. And, it began so far back, it began already when we were conceived in our mother's womb.

As it was told to the prophet Jeremiah, I knew you in your mother's womb already. And, I sanctified you. I called you to be my prophet, but, sanctify also means to give the Holy Spirit. I sanctified you, I gave you the Holy Spirit already, even before you were born.

So far back goes the beginning of our faith, before we saw the light of day in this world. So, each one of us, as every baby is born, as a child of God, a member of God's kingdom, and an heir of heaven, having their names written in the book of life, there in heaven.

But we need more than just alpha, or, in our language, the letter A. One letter isn't sufficient. It isn't sufficient to say that once a believer, always a believer. I was once baptized, as people in the world have said, then there's nothing that can happen, nothing that I can do or can occur in my life that would shake me from the foundation of my faith.

It is possible, and sadly so it has happened to many and many oodles of people that they have lost that faith. They have begun in the spirit, but they have ended in the flesh.

So we need not only the first letter, but we need the last letter as well. We need both letters. So he is the author and the finisher of our faith. He is not only the author, but he is the finisher. He who has begun the good work in us, that is Christ Jesus, will one day conclude it on the day of glory.

So he, through his word, by faith, in the power of the gospel, he will lift us, he will carry us, and he will bring us one day to our destination, to our home, there, in heaven.

So God is the first, and God is the last. There is no one who is above him, no one who is even equal or on par with him. He is the supreme one. We could say that God is the boss. God is the one who calls the shots. He doesn't seek permission from anyone, nor does he need to consult another person's opinion. He is the first. He is the last. He is the beginning, and he is the end.

So, this is what the prophet Isaiah is here saying, that I am the first and I am the last, and beside me there is no God. Again, recall the situation where they're in, in Babylonian captivity, surrounded by all these other gods with a small g, and all of these other idols that are in their vicinity.

So, and who as I shall call and shall declare it and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people, and the things that are coming, and shall come, let them show unto them.

But then, he goes on to speak to these people who are, I'm sure, many times experiencing trials and tribulations and having many doubts and even experiencing fears on the way, on the journey and during their travel.

So, through the prophet, God is wishing to console and uplift them and encourage them, just as we sang in that opening song before the service this evening, comfort, comfort, ye my people. These words come from the exact same prophet, during the same period of time, during the same era, when they're in Babylonian captivity.

It's only a few chapters earlier, coming from the opening words of chapter 40. Comfort, comfort, ye my people, says your God. Speak comfortably to Jerusalem and cry that her warfare is now concluded. Your time of captivity is now coming to an end, and your iniquity has been pardoned. You have suffered long enough there in captivity, 70 years there in Babylon, and you have now received from the Lord's hand double or twofold for all of your sins.

So here again the prophet is saying to the people of Israel, fear not, don't be afraid, have not I told you from that time and have declared it, that you are even my witnesses.

My wife was in contact with her parents today, as she often is, especially on the weekends and many times during the week by phone, and her parents had gone to church in the morning and were going to maybe go out to eat somewhere and then visiting, and then her mother told my wife good news.

She said there has been a recent repentance here in our area. There was a girl who is going to Northern Michigan University and her last name is Davitilla, so actually it's a relative to Kathleen Teplinger and a distant relative to my wife as well.

And so this person who recently had, or up to now, had been going to a church that went with the last heresy some 40 years ago. And now she was so overjoyed with her newfound faith, she's been declaring it to everyone.

And when my wife was talking to her mother on the phone, this girl was in the back seat and she said out loud when the phone was on speaker phone, she says, you don't know me, but I recently received the grace of repentance and I'm a believer.

And there with joy and happiness being a witness overjoyed him for this, that she had received the grace of repentance and was now a child of God.

So this is what the prophet here is saying as well, that you are even my witnesses.

And again, concluding what he has been saying all along in these few verses, that is there a God beside me? Yea, there is no God, not any.

So, I have been studying this portion, apparently, using another translation, and I'm not seeing one of the words that is central to this text. I can't seem to find it anywhere. It's supposed to be in verse 8, but I can't see it.

But it says, apparently, in other translations, that God is saying that I am your rock.

If we think, for example, in times past, long before the industrial revolution, if there was a huge rock or a boulder, for example, where someone wanted to make a road, they didn't have tractors, they didn't have backhoes, they didn't have any other big pieces of equipment, there's no way a human being could move that rock.

And if they wanted to make a road, they would have to make a road around that rock. Because when we think of a rock, it is something that is firm, something that is stable, and it's something that could be a sure foundation.

And this is what God is saying about himself, that I am a rock.

And there's even one insurance company who compares themselves or they use in their motto or their image or their logo, they speak of themselves as the rock of Gibraltar. That buy a piece of the rock. If you buy insurance from our company, you will have security. You will have no need to worry at all.

It's a good image. It's a good illustration. But even though we would have the best of all insurances in this world, it's not going to give us security in everything in our life, especially in our life of faith.

And we know that there were many gods, as I've stated already multiple times, surrounding them in that foreign land.

Well, some years ago we heard much spoken about something called the New Age Movement. It's not something that's heard as much anymore, but some 10, 15 years ago it was a very common topic or theme or phrase that was used. And people followed that movement.

Well, the so-called New Age Movement is something that comes from Hindu philosophy. And according to that movement, there is no distinction between God and the created world. And according to them, according to that belief, we as human beings are all God. And I would say God with a small G, not a capital G.

And therefore, there was no need to have God with a big G, our Heavenly Father. And according to them, there is no such thing as absolute truth. All beliefs are valid. What you consider truth is different than what I consider truth. And it's yet different than what the third person considers truth.

Well, I'm sure this is very similar to what they were experiencing there in that foreign land, in Babylon, there in captivity.

And so, God is saying to the prophet that I am your rock.

And we can see this use of the term or illustration of God being a rock used many, many times. From the book of Samuel, we see that he says in this way, the Lord lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be my God. He is the rock of my salvation.

And the psalmist says in this way, the Lord is my rock. He is my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield. He is the horn of my salvation. God is my stronghold.

And so, we recall when Jesus was visiting with his disciples, and there had been many opinions about who this man was, that calls himself Jesus, or the Messiah.

And Jesus asked those around him that, who do you think I am? Because there are many opinions of me floating around. Some say that I'm prophet Elijah. Others say perhaps I'm prophet Jeremiah. Or perhaps I'm John the Baptist. Or some other prophet. These are some of the responses and opinions I've heard about myself.

But now I'm asking you, who do you say that I am? Peter, we recall, was quick to respond. And correctly he answered. He said, you are Christ, the Son of the living God.

And Jesus said, you are correct. But Peter, remember this, that your own carnal reason and understanding your flesh and blood didn't give you this answer. But the Spirit of my God, who is in heaven, gave you this answer. Enlighten your mind to give this response.

But then he went on to say that you call me Christ, the Son of the living God. And in that confession, or upon this confession, he said, Peter, upon that rock, that you have just called me the Son of the living God, upon that rock, I will build my church.

Now, there's one religion who loves using this phrase, and they are saying that God is building his church upon Peter, and calling Peter the rock. And therefore, he is called the first pope.

The word Peter actually does mean rock. Petra in Greek does mean rock. But Jesus is saying, Peter, upon that rock, that confession that you just said, calling me Christ, the Son of the living God, upon that rock, I will build my church. God, and the gates of Hades, the gates of death, will not prevail against it.

Today's theme is Christ will one day come again in glory. During this Advent season, Advent means the time of waiting, waiting for the time of arrival.

The Old Testament believers were waiting and waiting for the fulfillment of the promise of the coming Messiah. The same prophet Isaiah once shouted that, oh, if the heavens would break open and the promised one, the Messiah, would already step down from heaven to earth.

That fulfillment, that promise was fulfilled when Christ was born on Christmas, the first Christmas there in Bethlehem.

We are Advent people today. We are literally waiting for Christmas, December 25th, when we remember and recall and celebrate the birth of Christ some 2,000 years ago in Bethlehem, there in the manger.

But we are Advent people, especially in this sense, that we are waiting when Christ will return the second time with all of his angels in all of his glory, no longer a humble, meek, often frowned upon, despised, and ridiculed. But he'll return as the King of kings and the Lord of lords in all of his glory with all of his angels to call his own from this earth, from the sea if they have been buried at sea, from the graves if they are lying in the graves, and call them up into the winds, into the clouds, to be with the Lord forever.

So we are Advent people waiting for that moment.

So Jesus said that Peter, upon that rock, he had called Christ Jesus, the Son of the Living God, and Christ was that rock. There is no other foundation which has been laid which is Christ Jesus.

In the gates of, James Version says hell, but that's the wrong translation for the word Hades, which is in the Greek, it's actually death. Every human being will once step through the gates of death. From dust thou art, unto dust thou shalt return.

Jesus Christ our Lord will raise you on the last day. So one day we will leave this life, be buried in the bosom of earth, and go through the gate of Hades, into the bosom, into the realm of death, waiting for that last moment when Christ returns a second time.

But when we own Christ Jesus in our hearts, we don't need to fear death. Christ has won the victory over death. He has sanctified death as a sweet resting place.

We will there be but for a short moment like a twinkling of an eye, like a blink of an eye. It's so short it's like the width of our hand, or just like nothing. Like going to sleep at night, and you sleep soundly, it seems like you just closed your eyes and the alarm is going off at 6 a.m. in the morning. Time to wake up again. Where did that 6 hours, 7 hours, 8 hours go? I just laid my head on the pillow and closed my eyes.

So it will be when we close our eyes to this world, we will open them again and be called from this land to that eternal home there in the glory of heaven.

This is the reason why we are believing. Keep what you may keep. Seem how it may seem, feel how it may feel. We want to cling to these grace promises of Christ Jesus. He will securely keep us in his bosom. He will lift us, he will carry us, and one day bring us to our eternal home.

So be of good cheer, believe even now, sins forgiven, in Jesus' name, and blood. In Jesus' name, amen.

The Lord bless us and keep us. The Lord make his face to shine upon us and be gracious unto us. The Lord lift up his countenance upon us and give us peace. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, amen.