THE LORD HAS DONE GLORIOUS THINGS
April 16, 2006 - Easter Sunday - Isaiah 12
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In the name of our risen Lord, grace, mercy and peace on this Festival Sunday:
Today, we are going to be reminded that we cannot and we dare not ever underestimate the power of Jesus’ resurrection. No matter how often we celebrate Easter, no matter how often we hear that death has been swallowed up in victory, it ought never be enough. We need to hear that message over and over again to remind us as Isaiah says that there is reason to rejoice. There is reason to celebrate, not just this Sunday but also every Sunday, not just every Sunday, but every day of our lives. This reason to celebrate and rejoice is especially important in our day and age because of the doom and gloom that is around us. Every day we hear that we are on the edge of disaster, economic ruin, wars and terrors. People sometimes grow glum and are filled with despair. They just don’t know what the future holds.
Today, we celebrate the fact that the future is certain, that indeed Christ is risen. Christ has come back to life so that we, no matter what happens between now and eternity, have eternity as our home. Heaven is the place where Jesus has gone ahead to prepare a place for each and every one of his believers. No wonder Isaiah is so filled with joy in chapter 12. No wonder a joyous verse in our Verse of the Day from the Psalms (118:24). Psalm 98 begins the same way, "Sing to the LORD a new song for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. The LORD has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations" (Psalm 98:1,2). This sums up our text today. In the verses of our text we heard these words: "The Lord has done glorious things." We are going to consider that as our theme this morning, THE LORD HAS DONE GLORIOUS THINGS! This means
I. The Lord has become my salvation (as our personal Savior). Therefore with joy and rejoicing we II. Let this be known to all the world (this salvation has come).
I. THE LORD HAS BECOME MY SALVATION
Why the reason to rejoice in chapter 12 of Isaiah? If you read Isaiah, you realize that sometimes he was a prophet had to come and proclaim God’s judgment against God’s rebellious people. Isaiah didn’t always have such a joyous message. When you turn back and look at chapter 11, you find that Isaiah tells the people that from the tribe, the family of Jesse, and a branch will spring up from that root. There will come one who will destroy all the enemies of Israel. Now, of course, from Jesse’s line comes David and from David’s line comes the Savior. That is the joy that he expresses in chapter 11, describing all of this how the children of Israel are going to be delivered and how the world is going to be delivered from enemies. Then he says as chapter 12 begins: "In that day you will say: ’I will praise you, O LORD.’" The children of Israel would find reason to praise the Lord. Isaiah states that reason for rejoicing: "Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me." We remember that Isaiah lived only a few generations after the children of Israel came out of Egypt.
They had wandered for forty years in the wilderness. We know that as we study the history of the children of Israel we see how the Lord delivered them. In the forty years the Lord never left them or forsook them. But we also remember as we study their wandering, the fact is that we probably remember that the children of Israel liked to grumble and complain. They rebelled against God. When they got to the Promised Land, they worshipped false gods. Here Isaiah reminds them that when they rebelled from time to time the Israelites had to endure God’s wrath and punishment because of their rebellious, wicked and sinful nature. But what else does God say? "He forgave their sins." God wasn’t angry with them forever. They would have reason to rejoice because the Lord has done glorious things.
Verse 2 continues: "Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation." Time and again, when the children of Israel grumbled and complained, they endured God’s punishment. Time and again the Lord God forgave them and delivered them. When they came to the Promised Land, after God had protected them for forty years, God now drove out their enemies. The Lord God almighty defeated the greatest armies in the world. Lately on TV in the Ten Commandments, what happens to Pharaoh’s army? That great Egyptian army is destroyed. This greatest army in the world was easily defeated by the power of God and not by the small tribe of the children of Israel. God has done glorious things. As Isaiah says: "He has become my strength, my son, my salvation." The Lord had delivered them. We are also reminded today that he delivers us.
If they didn’t appreciate the deliverance of the Lord then, in verse 3 Isaiah says: "With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation." Again, sometimes those illustrations are lost on us. We live in a very blessed time and country. When we want water, we turn on the tap and we turn off the tap. Here in the time of Isaiah, water was very precious. Water took up part of their day of labors and tasks to be done. The women had to go outside the city very often to the well and draw water and bring it back every day. Isaiah now describes that instead of it being a task of drudgery, a daily routine that some didn’t like to do at all, he says: "With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation". This was referring to Jesus as the very Water of Life. Certainly, when Isaiah wrote these words and the people heard them, they thought immediately of that well and their physical needs and how they needed water to sustain life, how important it was for them. But as they thought on these words, they probably also thought of their spiritual needs.
We draw a similar parallel--when Jesus comes and calls himself the Water of Life. Who can forget the time when Jesus visits with the woman of Samaria at the well? The disciples go ahead and leave Jesus behind. Jesus stays at the well to rest. Jesus runs into a woman and strikes up a conversation. It is a Samaritan whom the Jews had very little to do with, actually they wanted to do nothing at all with a Samaritan. Yet, Jesus visits with her and explains to her that in him is the Water of Life.
Our Lord has done glorious things by his resurrection from the dead. Today, he reminds us that he, too, is still the Water of Life. From Revelation we read these words as John is given the vision of what is in heaven: "For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes" (Revelation 7:17). We heard that today already, didn’t we? In today’s First Lesson, Isaiah, a prophet that lived hundreds of years before Christ, wrote about this fact. Now John in Revelation writes the very same words. We have different authors in different generations, and centuries that divided them, but the message is the same. God says to us today as Isaiah says, "The Lord has done glorious things. He has become my salvation."
We cannot save ourselves. The fact is we don’t deserve to be saved; but God in his goodness, grace, love and mercy, sent his Son to take our place. Christ was crucified, laid in the tomb that he might taste death for us, and rose again; so that you and I will rise again. Our Lord has done glorious things. Listen from Romans: "The Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you" (Romans 8:11). We have a mortal body that someday will put on immortality. When this mortal perishes, then we put on the imperishable as God’s gift to us.
Our Lord has done glorious things. He has become my salvation. The Lord knows each one of our needs as individuals, and he provides for them. He becomes as Isaiah says our strength, our song, our joy, and our reason, actually our only real reason for living. In chapter 10 of John Jesus speaks about himself as the Good Shepherd and he makes this point when he says, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full" (John 10:10). The Lord has done glorious things. He gives us life to the full. Granted, we probably have a full life here on earth when we stop to think about it. But he says, "I give you a full life in heaven, yet to be revealed."
Our Lord has done glorious things. He has become my salvation. Then, as Isaiah says, let this be known to all the world.
II. LET THIS BE KNOWN TO ALL THE WORLD
God’s words through the prophet Isaiah first reminded the children of Israel that God loved them, cared for them, and protected them. He had to remind them of that even though they saw God’s glory every day for forty years in the wilderness, even though they saw God’s promises fulfilled when they came to the Promised Land. Yet, Isaiah says, "Don’t forget the Lord has become your salvation, and that he is with you day after day." At the end of our text he says: "Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you." Isaiah says to them, "Be happy you people of Zion (the church)." He tells them why, "Because God is among you, as the Holy One of Israel." God lived with them, and he dwelt within them as he does his church today. But still they had to be reminded to be joyful. Part of being joyful, they are to be thankful. He says in the verses before this: "Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name." Remember what the Lord has given you.
When Moses was about ready to die, he was concerned for the children of Israel as they were ready to go into the Promised Land. Moses didn’t go in because of God’s will for him not to enter. This was his concern for them, "As you go into the Promise Land, you may forget the Lord; because you are going to have everything you need. You may forget that he provides for you day after day." Isaiah re-emphasizes that and says, "Don’t forget the Lord is among you. Be joyful, give thanks." As they would do that, it would make a difference, not just among them as God’s people, not just in their nation, but also to those around them. Isaiah writes, "Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted."
As you look in the Old Testament and as you study how the children of Israel came into the Promised Land, they were told to drive out all their enemies. You may remember that some of the kings came to Israel before they got there and said, "We want to make a treaty with you or an agreement with you, because God is with you." They realized God was with the children of Israel. When Daniel was in the lions’ den, as a prophet in a foreign land, he never gave up worshipping God. Finally, the king had to say, "The God of Daniel is the Lord God Almighty." By their actions these people proclaimed God’s name to all the world. In verse 5: "Sing to the LORD, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world."
The simple, true story of Christ’s resurrection needs to be made known to all the world. One way of doing that is to follow what Isaiah says: "With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation." Isaiah reminds us that the Lord has become your strength, your song and salvation. Now that is a real reason for living. Yet, we are not exempt from the trials and tribulations of this life. We aren’t separated and kept away from the fears that face everyone else. We, too, wonder how much we will eventually pay for gas, or when the wind will stop and the rain will start. These fears and concerns can consume us and tear at our inmost being. But the Lord says, "But I have done glorious things. I have done glorious things in the past, and I plan to do glorious things now." Our Scripture says, "Be joyful." Paul writes: "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near" (Philippians 4:4,5). Let your joy and gentleness be shown, so that others may see it. Note that Paul writes rejoice and even says again: Rejoice! Our natural, sinful man does not want to rejoice.
We may think it strange to emphasize that Christ came back from the dead. A most recent poll done at the end of February asked people if they believed in a physical resurrection. Sadly, among all of the 1,007 people that they asked, 36% said, "Yes." So about a third of the people believed that there is life after death. Even more sadly, as that list goes on, it tells us that only a little over 50% of Christians believe there is a physical resurrection. This poll is very, very, eye opening. Christ’s resurrection and our own physical resurrection is something that we have grown up with, something that is just a basic foundation of our Christian church. All around this truth is basically tossed aside. People are not sure on this Easter Sunday that Christ came back to life or if they are going to be in heaven.
We see in Isaiah when the Lord has done glorious things; and when Paul says in Philippians, "Let your joy be seen," how important it is. Today believers who believe in the resurrection are almost in the minority. That is in our nation, not in the world, in our nation that some would still call a Christian nation. It would be good for everyone to review the resurrection chapter of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, chapter 15, when you go home today. In 2 Corinthians God says almost the same thing: "We know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence" (2 Corinthians 4:13b, 14). Paul says we know that fact. Today we still do know it and confess such as in the Apostles’ Creed when we confess our Christian faith. We know that Christ lived and died and rose again; and someday he will return again so that we might rise and live with him forever. It is not an empty promise. It is not something we have to worry or be concerned about. This resurrection fact is guaranteed by God in his word and by the glorious things he has done. Let us not forget how glorious is the resurrection of Jesus from the dead that he came back to life.
Another one of the glorious things God has done for each one of us is to work faith in our hearts. The Holy Spirit has changed our hearts of stone and made them into hearts of flesh -- by his grace. We are saved for God’s purpose that we are to be so joyful in this life that in us people would see the resurrection joy of Easter Sunday, not just today, but for our entire life. Jesus taught his disciples about the city on a hill could not be hidden and that a light is not to be hidden under a bushel. Jesus sums up these two truths by saying: "In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:16). If we wanted to, we could update that, "so they will see your good deeds, or your joy, or your confidence that the Lord is your strength and your salvation, and not praise you but praise your Father in heaven."
The Lord has done glorious things for each and everyone of us. First and foremost, he has reached down and taken us out of the depth of darkness and brought us into his marvelous light. He has become our salvation. Christ is our own personal Savior and Savior of all mankind. Sadly, there are still people who sit in darkness. As believers in Christ and his resurrection e are to make it known to all the world that the Lord has done glorious things. How do we do that? One simple way is by joyful and confident living in a world that is not so joyful and not so confident. Peter describes it very beautifully in the letter of 1 Peter written by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Peter writes about the spiritual things that the believers had. This was during this time of the history of the church when the church was persecuted more than ever. The people lost everything and the government stood against Christianity. Yet, Peter doesn’t say, "You lost your house and everything." Instead, he talks about what they still truly had; which was eternal salvation. Thus Peter encourages us this morning: "Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls" (1 Peter 1:8,9). We have salvation and God’s great joy. The Lord has done glorious things. The Lord has given us the gift of eternal life. The Lord has become our salvation; so that with joy and thanksgiving and a song of praise, we can let this resurrection truth be known to all the world. Amen. Pastor Timm O. Meyer
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Easter Sunday readings: ISAIAH 25:6-9; 1 CORINTHIANS 15:19-26; MARK 16:1-8
