First Lutheran Church of Little Rock

*In the Name of the Father…Amen.*

*The Old Testament lesson serves as our sermon text for this morning.*

*Grace, mercy, and peace be yours from God the Father through our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.*

*Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us pray: *

*If thou but trust in God to guide thee *

*And hope in Him through all thy ways,*

*He’ll give thee strength, whate’er betide thee, *

*And bear thee through the evil days.*

*Who trusts in God’s unchanging love*

*Builds on the rock that naught can move. Amen.*

*Text: LSB 750:1 Public domain*

*Introduction*

*Think back to the time when you were confirmed into the faith. *

*Amidst all the excitement of this wonderful day in your life and all the
attention was going to be focused on you and your classmates, there is one
little detail that is just as important as anything else: the confirmation
verse from the Bible you chose for yourself.*

*Regardless as to whether you chose an Old Testament passage or one from
the New Testament, this Word of God is very near and dear to your heart. *

*The everse you chose was meant to be a reflection, in a way, of the
attitude, the mindset, you had at the time of your confirmation and that is
still the same today.*

*Imagine if you had chosen Genesis 45:4 as your confirmation verse:*

*So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” And they came
near. And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. *

*There Joseph stands, in front of his brothers who’ve fled starvation back
home to journey to Egypt, where they’ve heard there was bread to be had, .
. . only to find the man holding the loaf to be the brother they had hated
and tossed aside like yesterday’s trash.*

*There they were standing, powerless; he, strong and dangerous as a storm.*

*Would he enact revenge, or would he be generous? *

*No one would question either decision—his word would be obeyed no matter
what he said—and his brothers, for a moment that felt like a lifetime,
thought their fate was hanging in the balance so delicately that maybe a
grain of flour could shift it.*

*They’d come in desperation to Egypt. *

*They’d hoped to find bread.*

*But what they found instead was guilt and the end of a story they didn’t
realize was still being written. *

*What would Joseph choose to dispense? *

*Life or death? Bread . . . or revenge?*

*3. Wouldn**’**t you want to stand where Joseph stands right
now**—**knowing
God**’**s plan for you?*

*Dear people of God, if only you could stand in the shoes of these biblical
figures. *

*That I could too. *

*That you could:*

*hear the sound of the silence that follows a stilled storm, *

*that you could see the joy on the face of a healed leper from up so close
that it would feel dangerous to be there, *

*that you could stand where the disciples stood that near to Jesus, *

*To place your feet in their shoes, and watch God work. *

*But here’s the thing:*

*You aren’t ready this day to stand in Joseph’s shoes. *

*Not yet anyway. *

*And if you try too soon—but standing in Joseph’s shoes if you aren’t ready
could lead you astray. *

*And all this might sound silly to you, but whether you know it or not,
you’ve longed to be in his place. This place.*

*And his place is this:*

*Joseph, the second in command ruler of Egypt to that of Pharaoh himself.*

*This Joseph, one of the most powerful men in the world, stands before his
brothers, holding their well-being in his hands, the power to give life or
the power to take it away. *

*Clothed in the finest that the world had to offer. *

*His hands are heavy, but not with work or tiredness. *

*Heavy with jewelry. *

*A gold signet ring wraps around a finger on his tanned hand, a signet
which means he can make decisions in Pharaoh’s name.*

*He could command his army, sign a treaty, give life and give death with
just a word. *

*That ring gives power.*

* And maybe you don’t covet Joseph’s power but those who would have nothing
to do with that might still be inclined to wish for his comfortable
circumstances. *

*Other rings on Joseph’s fingers say: *

*“I’m rich enough for this”; *

*my life is lavish enough for that.” *

* Joseph, he wants for nothing, and those shoes I mentioned earlier—that
you aren’t ready to stand in—they’re the best that money could buy.*

*And maybe none of this means anything to you.*

*You’re preferring just power enough over your own life and concerned with
only living simply and humbly. *

*But even if you covet none of those things, here’s something I think
you’ve wished before: *

Joseph sees clearly the plan of God for his life.

* While his brothers watch his face begging him for an answer, Joseph
thinks back over a life and sees God’s hand in every place, each crevice he
tripped on, each darkness he hid in. *

*In each and every place, he sees the hand and the guiding of God.*

*God has a plan for Joseph, and though we all know that’s true for him and
for us, Joseph sees it, the plan of God. *

*And wouldn’t you like to know what it is for you?*

*Do you covet that about him?*

*Wouldn’t you like to replace all that angst and all that stress and all
that wondering of “what if” and “maybe I coulda”? *

*Wouldn’t you rather sleep soundly, knowing that you stand today exactly
where God wanted you to be? *

*Wouldn’t you wish that you could look back on your life this moment and
see God’s hand, how he guided you to be the man or woman that you are and
how he brought you to this moment for a reason?*

*Maybe you think you do know, but if you’re being honest with yourself,
you’d have to admit that when you’re caught saying that something you’re
involved in is God’s plan, you really mean it’s your plan and you’re
praying it’s his too, because God’s plan can seem complicated and
maddeningly unclear at times—for you, for me, but not for Joseph. *

*For Joseph, it’s now clear.*

*2. But Joseph knew God**’**s plan for him now only after years of
slavery and prison.*

*The reason, of course, that Joseph’s brothers wondered about their fate,
standing there when Joseph reveals himself:*

*guilty and desperate as they were*

*is because many years ago they were so mad at Joseph, *

*and so frustrated that he was their father’s favorite, *

*that they decided to kill him. *

*They tossed him into an empty pit, *

* While they plotted how to murder him, they found what struck them as a
better option. *

*They sold him into slavery:*

*dragged behind a cart off to Egypt, *

*hands likely bound, *

*sand burning his feet.*

*Joseph then worked in the home of a rich Egyptian, as a servant.*

*Potiphar was his name. *

*Soon enough, Joseph caught the attention of Potiphar’s wife, but he didn’t
return her attention, choosing character and honor over comfort or desire. *

*She wasn’t fond of being turned down, of being told no. *

*In turn she lied and destroyed his name and any shred of reputation he
might have had left. *

*He who was once the favorite of the father had lost everything. *

*His family, his freedom, his reputation: all gone!*

*There he was, sitting in prison.*

*Maybe etching the days in the wall, who knows? *

*But he makes friends of any he can around him, and he guides them by means
of a God-given wisdom and ability to interpret their dreams and see the
future. *

*When, as he advised them, they move up and out of that dank dark place,
sadly the one who returns to Pharaoh’s service neglects any memory of him. *

*All it would’ve taken was a mention to the boss, and he might be free. *

*But he forgot him there:*

*Abandoned, *

*despised, *

*his character crucified, *

*forgotten in a prison that might as well have been a tomb. *

*But for some odd reason, even in the dark, Joseph always seemed to sense
the flicker of light and hope, so he didn’t give up the faith.*

*And one day he finds himself standing in front of Pharaoh himself, the
most powerful man in the world, and Joseph’s gift makes him indispensable.*

*He sees these times of goodness as moments when laurels shouldn’t be
rested upon but rather stored away because a downturn was coming. *

*He led an amazing food program in Egypt where the plenty of today was
stored for the coming days of none.*

*And soon enough, who should come a-knockin’ to Egypt?*

*With longing in their mouths and hunger in their stomachs?*

*None other than those brothers who began this whole course of pits and
prisons and false allegations of bad behavior.*

* “Joseph, remember us when you come into your kingdom! For the sake of our
father, pity us and help us!”*

*And Joseph, what will he do?*

*Well, he gives them life:*

*and the scales didn’t tip that way by just a grain or two; *

*they were fully tipped, by mercy. *

*And more than mercy.*

*It was the result of Joseph looking back on all the places he’d been and
realizing that all of it led to now. *

*“You needn’t fear me,” Joseph says. “I’ll take care of you. What you did,
you meant for evil, but God, he meant it for good. God sent me here to
preserve life,” Joseph says, “not to take life away.”*

*1. Only after such struggles by Christ will you be able to know
and live God**’**s plan for you.*

*And the reason why it’s important to remember all this, as Joseph
remembered all this, is because if you were to desire to stand in his shoes
too soon, you might not recall that hardship has first calloused his feet. *

*Beatings and imprisonments:*

*imagine that they’ve caused him to limp around. *

*Likely under those robes are the scars of slavery. *

*And that isn’t just the cost of knowing God’s plan; *

*it’s the steps taken to live God’s plan.*

*And the necessary hurts to take him from a bratty child who thought he
held the world in his hands to an instrument of life in God’s hands. *

*All of which is to say that if you wish to know as Joseph knows, to know
God’s plan for you, to stand with him in this moment:*

*when all things make sense, *

*you see God’s weird and complicated way of working on you to bring good, *

*you need to know that only years of struggle gave him the eyes to see, in
faith and with character, what God was doing.*

*Conclusion*

*In our eyes, so many times Joseph could have claimed victimhood. *

*Life and those who were supposed to care for him had beaten him down. *

*But instead, Joseph chose to wait patiently for the day when God’s victory
would be revealed to him. *

*That’s faith and character at work there.*

*And if you squint when you watch Joseph limp victoriously through life,
you might be reminded of another who was despised by his brothers, the
favorite of the Father. *

*He who entered the pit willingly and proclaimed in prison:*

*who had his righteous character publicly crucified along with the rest of
him, *

*who chose to give life instead of death, *

*who chose to give his bread for your hunger, *

*who offers mercy rather than revenge, *

*and who tips the scales in your favor by his favor. *

*And, of course, he asks nothing of you who’ve been the recipients of that
grace other than the impossible, which is to forgive others as he forgives
you. (No one forgives as perfectly as he does!) *

*And as wounded as you’ll be from forgiving, from laying yourself and how
you feel down for another, in the end you’ll be able to hold your head up
high, because*

*Through the Agony of It All, like Joseph, in Christ, You’ll Be Living
God’s Real Plan for You.*

*Not one of climbing ladders toward the top:*

*but one of lying at the bottom of the pit, *

*with trust in your heart *

*and a patience born of faith, that God can work through whatever mess
today brings to you. Amen.*

*Let us pray:*

*Sing, pray, and keep His ways unswerving, *

*Perform thy duties faithfully,*

*And trust His Word; though undeserving, *

*Thou yet shalt find it true for thee.*

*God never yet forsook in need*

*The soul that trusted Him indeed. Amen.*

*Text: LSB 750:7 Public domain*

*The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and
minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.*

*In the Name of the Father…Amen.*

*In the Name of the Father…Amen.*

*The Old Testament lesson serves as our sermon text for this morning.*

*Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
*

*Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us pray:*

*Blessèd Jesus, at Your Word*

*We are gathered all to hear You.*

*Let our hearts and souls be stirred *

*Now to seek and love and fear You,*

*By Your teachings, sweet and holy,*

*Drawn from earth to love You solely. *

*All our knowledge, sense, and sight *

*Lie in deepest darkness shrouded*

*Till Your Spirit breaks our night *

*With the beams of truth unclouded.*

*You alone to God can win us;*

*You must work all good within us. Amen.*

*Introduction*

*Ancient Greek historian Herodotus once said of Egypt that it was the gift
of the Nile.*

*Without the Nile, there would be no pyramids, no tombs, no treasures, no
temples, no pharaohs like Ramses or Tutankhamen. *

*Egypt would be like any other place in the Sahara Desert of northern
Africa. *

*But since the Nile flows year round, and since Egypt was not dependent on
rain, droughts were not an issue in Egypt. *

*The Nile flooded every year from the snowmelts thousands of miles upstream
in the highlands of Ethiopia and Uganda, and those floods deposited silt to
enrich the soil of Egypt. *

*But go just a mile away from the Nile, beyond the reach of the floods or
irrigation, and the desert and brown sand are immediate. *

*Now where would you want to plant your crop? *

*In the desert or by the Nile? *

*The answer is apparent.*

*The spiritual parallel is obvious: should we trust in the desert of our
own strength or trust in the Lord, who waters us that we may prosper and
grow in his green pastures? (Jeremiah17:8)*

*These are difficult times we’re living in. *

Economic uncertainty,

political unrest,

financial hardships,

anxiety about health and safety can all magnify any personal turmoil we
might be facing.

When faced with these challenges, where do you go or what do you do to get
through them?

Whom can you trust to help you get through these difficult times in which
we’re living?

Yourself?

Others?

Or is it to the Lord you go for help in times of trouble?

*There really are only two ways: either trusting human abilities or
trusting the Lord. *

*And To Trust in the Lord Is Better Than to Trust in Human Strength.*

*The difference is either blessing or curse.*

*1. There really are only two ways: trusting in man or trusting in the
Lord.*

*There really are only those two ways: trusting in man or trusting in the
Lord. *

*The Lord said to his people, through the prophet Jeremiah:*

“You are cursed if you do not trust in the Lord, if you only trust in
humanity and in human strength and wisdom, and if you turn away from the
Lord. Rather, blessed are you when you trust in the Lord and commit your
life to him.”

*The one who trusts in himself is like a stubby shrub in a desert with no
water about, only salt flats as far as you can see.*

Nothing good is going to come from that.

Certainly no prospering nor full luxuriant growth.

That shrub will eventually wither and die.

*In contrast, one who trusts in the Lord, and commits his life to the Lord,
is like a strong, green tree that grows and prospers and bears fruit
because it has its deep roots in the life-giving waters.*

It doesn’t worry nor is it afraid if there’s a drought;

it can weather anything because it has a never-failing, ever-flowing stream
of life to support it and to see it through.

*2. Do you trust in the Lord (“Blessed!”) or in yourself (“Cursed!”)?*

In whom do you trust?

Is it yourself?

You wouldn’t be alone if you say you trusted in yourself first and foremost
to get yourself through difficult times, or any times in this day and age.

*People will say:*

“I’m smart enough;

I’m good enough.

People like me.

I’ve got enough money.

I’ve got friends;

I’ve got my networks.

I can do just fine.”

*You might say the same things and be proud of it.*

But what have you forgotten?

What’s left out of the equation?

If these are the things you trust in, God says,

“Cursed are you!”

For one thing, they will all fail you.

They won’t last forever; they’ll die with you, and then what?

Will they help you in the life of the world to come?

No!

Jesus said,

“Seek first the kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33).

*Not as a last resort, but first! *

Cursed are you!

Not only will they fail you, but you also have not turned to the Lord, who
made heaven and earth.

Turning from the Lord means we have despised and neglected the Lord.

We have sought help only in ourselves.

Will that be enough on the Last Day?

When we stand before the Lord, who will our help be?

Ourselves?

“Cursed is the man who trusts in man” (verse 5).

*In contrast, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord” (v 7), for the
Lord only is able to prosper and protect you.*

He is the one who will give you full life now and eternally.

Not only will all others disappoint and fail you, but your turning to
others is really a turning from the Lord.

Trusting in the Lord is like being planted by an ever-flowing river of
water, like a palm tree next to the Nile River in Egypt.

It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t rain; there’s always water.

But go just a mile from the Nile and there’s no vegetation at all because
there is no water.

So where would you want to be planted?

Or where would you plant your crop?

By the Nile or inland, in the desert?

So it is with trust in the Lord.

*Where would you rather be planted? *

That is, in whom do you trust?

You say, “the Lord,” but do you?

You might say, “Well, not at first, but if all else fails, I’ve got the
Lord to fall back on.”

You wouldn’t like to be anyone’s second or third or last choice, would you?

How do you think that attitude reflects on your trust in the Lord?

God rightly judges those who trust in themselves and is right to condemn
them.

*We deserve what we would get.*

We deserve to be parched,

to wither and to die,

because we have not trusted in God, who says,

“Come unto me, and I will give rest (cf Matthew 11:28);

I will give you life” (cf John 10:10).

*3. Jesus trusted in his Heavenly Father and suffered your curses so that
your trusting in yourself is forgiven and you are blessed.*

We have failed to trust in the Lord; we have failed to seek him first.

But there is one who did all things well (Mark 7:37), who trusted in the
Lord with all his heart, soul, and mind.

That is our Lord Jesus.

He trusted his heavenly Father with all his life.

In the temptation in the wilderness, Jesus trusted the Word of the Lord to
take care of him and his life.

And when he died on the cross, parched and thirsty, not because of any sin
in him but rather for us and for our salvation, Jesus still said even then,

“Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Lk 23:46).

*Jesus suffered on the cross all the curses we deserve and in their place
gives us all the blessings we have not earned.*

He poured out his life that we may have life from him, from his body and
from his blood.

When Jesus rose from the dead, he breathed the Holy Spirit on his
disciples, empowering them to preach the good news of forgiveness of sins
(John 20:19–23).

*Conclusion*

So repent of your sin of not trusting in the Lord and trusting in yourself.

Believe the incredibly wonderful good news that your sin of mistrust and
lack of trust, and trust in yourself, is forgiven and paid for on the cross
by Jesus.

Know that life, true life, life never failing, comes from God.

Stay connected to him, for he is your life and salvation (Psalm 27:1) and
will prosper your life and growth for his purposes.

He will lead you to streams of living water and green pastures in the house
of the Lord forever.

Blessed is the man, Jesus, who trusted in the Lord.

Blessed are you who trust in the Lord Jesus both now and forevermore. Amen.

*Gracious Savior, good and kind, *

*Light of Light, from God proceeding,*

*Open now our heart and mind; *

*Help us by Your Spirit’s pleading.*

*Hear the cry Your Church now raises;*

*Hear and bless our prayers and praises. *

*Father, Son, and Spirit, Lord, *

*Praise to You and adoration!*

*Grant that we may trust Your Word, *

*Confident of our salvation,*

*While we here below must wander,*

*Till we sing Your praises yonder. Amen. *

*Text: LSB 904 Public domain*

*The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and
minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.*

*In the Name of the Father…Amen.*

• *In the Name of the Father…Amen.*

• *The Old Testament lesson serves as our sermon text for this morning.
We focus especially on verse 3 which reads: And one called to another and
said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of
his glory!” Thus far the text.*

• *Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ. *

• *Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us pray:*

• *Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty! *

• *Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee;*

• *Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty! *

• *God in three persons, blessèd Trinity!*

• *Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore Thee, *

• *Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;*

• *Cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee, *

• *Which wert and art and evermore shalt be. Amen. *

• *Text: LSB 507 Public domain*

• *3. Isaiah confesses his sin before the Thrice Holy God.*

• Imagine the surprise of Prophet Isaiah when, entering the Jerusalem
temple to offer the daily sacrifice, he sees the Lord of heaven and earth,
highly exalted, with angels flying around and praising the Lord saying,
“Holy, Holy, Holy!”

• Surprise, yes, but much more than that, terror!

• Isaiah knew God’s promises that he would meet his people at the temple
and would dwell there.

• But this was always thought to be in terms of his invisible presence,
and, besides, the Holy Place was shrouded in darkness.

• *Nevertheless, God allowed Isaiah to see his glory, and the result of
this vision for Isaiah is terror.*

• Why?

• Isaiah knows himself to be a sinner, and he knows God is holy, holier
than anything on earth—in fact, the Holiest One.

• There is nothing Isaiah can do to change this relationship of sinner
before the Holy God.

• Something has to give, and God is not going to change.

• Isaiah knows he, a sinner, cannot stand in the presence of the Holy
God.

• Thus he says, “I am lost,” or “I am undone”—in effect, “I am a dead
man.”

• *Isaiah confesses his complete sin.*

• “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell
in the midst of a people of unclean lips” (verse 5).

• Isaiah is saying:

o “I am lost;

o I am a sinner;

o I have unclean lips;

o I sinned against the Lord in thought, word, and deed.

o I also live among a people who are sinners, and you, O Lord, would be
right in consigning me and all of us to temporal and eternal punishment,
for that is what we deserve.”

• *Isaiah has confessed his condition, and that it is like the condition
of all people. *

• *Sins of thought:*

o Lust

o Hatred

o Indifference/apathy

• *Sins of word:*

o Gossip

o Backbiting

o Meddling

• *Sins of deed:*

o Not willing to help others in need

o Bearing false witness

o Playing the blame game

• *We are not exceptionally holy people, but we, like all humanity, have
sinned, and the wages of sin is death.*

• *Illustration #1**: The One and Only and All Holy God: Superlative*

• *An adjective—like tall, short, big, little, high, low—can be used in
three ways:*

o positive (that is, you are “posit”-ing something),

o comparative (comparing it to other things),

o or superlative (it is above, “super” to, anything else).

• *For instance, we have tall, taller, and tallest, but there can also
be good, better, and best or bad, worse, worst. *

• *In Isaiah 6, you have God described as “holy, holy, holy” (6:3),
which is not just to say*

o that God is one holy among other gods (the positive),

o or that he is holier than any other god (comparative).

o Scripture is saying that God is the holiest (superlative) to the point of
saying he is all holy, and is only holy.

• *2. Isaiah’s sin is taken away so that he is declared holy.*

• *The Lord has appeared to Isaiah for a reason, however. *

• *Isaiah, though a sinner, is going to be sent by the Lord; he’s going
to be the Lord’s apostle. *

• *And he will be a prophet of Yahweh. *

• *He will speak God’s Word to his people. *

• *In order to change Isaiah from sinner to holy, from unworthy to
worthy, God must act. *

• *God loved the world from the foundation of the world. *

• *In his infinite foreknowledge, he planned for the salvation of the
whole world (John 3:16; Ephesians 1:4–6) through the Messiah, whom the Lord
promised to Israel and, in the fullness of time (Galatians 4:4), sent to
save the world from the curses the Law of God pronounce on us. *

• *Therefore, the Lord sent one of the seraphim, a fiery angel from
heaven, to purge Isaiah’s sinful lips. *

• *With a coal from the heavenly altar of incense, the angel touches
Isaiah’s lips, and rather than being burned up, Isaiah’s unclean lips are
cleansed. *

• *The angelic messenger announces to Isaiah,*

o * “Your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for” (verse 7).*

• *By whom has all this been done?*

• *Who has taken away Isaiah’s sin? *

• *Who has atoned for Isaiah’s sin? *

• *In verse 13, the Lord speaks of his “holy seed.” *

• *Not Isaiah, but the Lord himself, for the sake of that “holy seed,”
his anointed Messiah, has taken away, atoned for, the sin and guilt of the
world (John 1:29). *

• *Isaiah is declared righteous by God because of Jesus’ death on the
cross, and he is now fit for the Lord’s service.*

• *Illustration #2**: The One and Only and All Holy God: Perfectly Holy*

• *The Scriptures often use numbers in a symbolic way: ten is a complete
number, as it derives from ten fingers on our hands. *

• *When you multiply ten times ten, you have a perfect square, and when
you multiply ten times ten times ten, you have a perfect cube. *

oThat is the complete, full totality of a shape.

oIt encompasses everything.

o *So in the Book of Revelation, one thousand is the number of total
completeness (see Revelation 7:5–8 of the sum of God’s Old Testament
people). *

o *Or if God describes the holy city of the heavenly Jerusalem as having
the same height and length and width, he’s saying it’s perfectly complete. *

o *So also, to describe God as “holy, holy, holy” (Isaiah 6:3) is to say
God is perfectly complete and holy and there is no holiness for any other
of the so-called gods. *

o *Thus you shall have no other gods, because only the holy, holy, holy
triune God is holy and worthy to be worshiped.*

• *1. Isaiah is called and sent to preach . . . so that we, too, are
made holy and called to God’s holy service.*

• *The Lord then formally calls Isaiah to his new ministry. *

• *Previously, Isaiah was a priest, interceding on behalf of the people
to God.*

• *Now Isaiah will work in the other direction, speaking from God to the
people, for that is the ministry of a prophet. *

• *The Lord asks a question to which he already knows the answer: *

• *“Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” (verse 8a). *

• *The Lord, the triune God who is both one (“I”) and three (“us”), is
really putting the question to Isaiah, who is now equipped to answer, not
in terror, but in a free and willing and joyful Spirit: “Here I am! Send
me” (verse 8b).*

• *Isaiah’s prophetic ministry would not be easy, preaching condemnation
to a people unwilling to hear the word of the Lord, as is shown in the
following verses (verses 9–13).*

• Yet the Lord, for the sake of the Holy Seed promised to Adam and
Abraham and David, will forgive his people who by the preaching of judgment
turn from their sin and by the preaching of faith in the Holy Seed will
return to the Lord their God (Joel 2:13).

• *The Lord continues to have mercy on his people.*

• *He has sent to us ministers who speak the Word of the Lord, calling
us to repentance for our sin and announcing the forgiveness of sin for the
sake of the Holy Seed, the Nazarene, Christ Jesus. *

• *For Jesus’ sake, the Lord has atoned for our sin and has sent his
ministers, pastors, to speak God’s Word of absolution. *

• *Those sins I mentioned earlier and every sin not spoken of:
forgiven!!*

• *Just as for Isaiah, so Our Holiness Comes not from our work, but from
the Work of the Most Holy One.*

• *Through the forgiveness of sin, we, like Isaiah, are cleansed and
prepared for the Lord’s service in the world.*

• *Through our vocation as baptized children of God:*

o purged of our sin,

o we are made to be that light in our dark world,

o and the salt on this decaying earth.

• *Illustration #3*: The One and Only and All Holy God: Thrice Holy

• *Say it once and you might mean it. *

• *Say it twice and you add weight to what you say. *

• *Say it three times, and you must really mean it. *

• *In the movie A Christmas Story, a boy named Schwartz first dares
another boy, Flick, to touch his tongue to the frozen iron flagpole on the
school playground.*

• *Unimpressed, Flick declines. *

• *Then Schwartz ups the ante by double-dog daring Flick to stick his
tongue to the frozen flagpole. *

• *Flick laughs off the challenge. *

• *Finally, Schwartz applies the “death blow” by triple-dog daring
Flick. *

• *Now Flick couldn’t laugh off the challenge without losing all
credibility.*

• *Nothing could be more serious than a triple dog dare! *

• *So what happens? *

• *I’m not telling!*

• *Watch the movie for yourself. I mean it! Watch the movie! No, really,
watch the movie! You’ll love it!*

• *“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts” (Isaiah 6:3).*

• *Amen!*

• Let us pray:

• Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide Thee,

• Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see,

• Only Thou art holy; there is none beside Thee,

• Perfect in pow’r, in love, and purity.

• Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!

• All Thy works shall praise Thy name in earth and sky and sea.

• Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty!

• God in three persons, blessèd Trinity! Amen.

• Text: LSB 507 Public domain

• *The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts
and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.*

• *In the Name of the Father…Amen.*

*In the Name of the Father…Amen. *

*Grace, mercy, and peace be yours from God the Father through our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.*

*Isaiah 62:1-5 serves as our sermon text for this morning, which reads as
follows:*

*For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will
not be quiet, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her
salvation as a burning torch.*

*The nations shall see your righteousness, and all the kings your glory,
and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will give.*

*You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem
in the hand of your God.*

*You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be
termed Desolate, but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your
land Married; for the LORD delights in you, and your land shall be married.*

*For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your sons marry you,
and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice
over you.*

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us pray:

*Lord Jesus Christ, heavenly Bridegroom,*

*You came and sought us to be Your holy Bride;*

*With Your own blood You bought us,*

*And for our life You died. Amen.*

*Introduction*

*“One, two princes kneel before you.” *

*So began a pop tune from 1993. *

*Irresistible little toe-tapper—annoyingly catchy. *

*Went number one in Iceland and got nominated for a Grammy. *

*Sounds like a fairy tale, doesn’t it? *

Kind of timeless,

remarkably relatable,

and even rather flattering.

*Martin Luther once labeled man a beast between two riders. *

*Why not envision ourselves instead as being pursued by two princes?*

*The Scriptures speak frequently of marriage.*

*The Bible likes weddings. *

*The Scriptures speak frequently of marriage. *

*Genesis gets going with: *

“It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit
for him” (Genesis 2:18)

and “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to
his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24).

*Israel’s history progresses with more unions, from patriarch Jacob and
matriarch Rachel to grandma Ruth and grandpa Boaz to King David and “the
other woman” to their son, the sage Solomon, and so, so many mates. *

*And let us not forget the Song of Solomon!*

*Then there is Hosea the prophet who is commanded by the Lord to marry
Gomer the harlot.*

*We hear about Queen Esther and King Ahasuerus in the book of Esther.*

*The Virgin Mary betrothed to noble Joseph is mentioned in the first
chapter of Matthew. *

*We hear about the first of the many signs of Jesus was done at a wedding
at Cana in Galilee “and manifested his glory” (John 2:11). *

*“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast
for his son” (Matthew 22:2) and likened to ten maidens who took their lamps
and went to meet the bridegroom (Matthew 25:1). *

*“This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and
the church” (Ephesians 5:32). *

*And “blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb”
(Revelation 19:9). *

*“And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from
God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (Revelation 21:2). *

*This morning, “You shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land
Married; for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married. . .
. As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over
you” (Isaiah 62:4–5). The reception hasn’t ended yet and will endure unto
eternity.*

*The Gospel of Jesus Christ tells a love story. Indeed, it tells the love
story.*

*2. One prince—sins like abortion—sweeps you off your feet like a smooth
suitor but doesn’t lead to marriage.*

*And one, two princes kneel before you. *

One has eyes for you.

He doesn’t so much kneel as he leans.

He struts by, he saunters up, and he leans in.

This one has charisma and chemistry.

This one has confidence.

This one makes your knees weak enough to sweep you right off your feet.

This one brings the smooth moves and the slick lines.

This one has put in the practice and put on the polish.

He sports stylish shades and the tailored suit, with his tie pulled down
and his sleeves rolled up.

He wears sparkling jewelry on his fingers and carries riches in his pockets.

*He’s gonna buy you that top-shelf drink. *

*Maybe two or three.*

*Better yet, he’ll mix you up one himself, slip in his special ingredient,
and add a little something extra. *

*And he drives you in that late-model car, making sharp turns and squealing
tires, swerving across lanes and sprinting through lights. *

*He turns heads, recognized in every city and every club. *

*All the women wink at him, and all the ladies wave at this tall, toned,
and tan one. *

*They have a history but no interest in a future.*

*This one gets around. *

*This one gets you alone, off in a corner, over at a private table, out in
some hallway, all to himself. *

*How about his place or a hotel, even the passenger seat or just a back
alley?*

*This one, he specializes in no-strings-attached, all casual, with no
commitments. *

*This one, he excels in one-night stands. *

*He loves the darkness. *

*He delivers the danger. *

*You feel his heat, see his sweat, smell his scent, hear heavy breaths,
inhaling exhilaration. *

*He can’t even speak your name, doesn’t need to, doesn’t know it, doesn’t
care. *

*It’s nothing like love, just lust enough to get lost in. *

*Who needs delight when you can indulge? *

*Who needs rejoicing when you’ve got gratification?*

And when he’s had his fill of fooling around, he’ll fire up a cigarette.

He flings a couple of crumpled bills to cover your trouble and catch you a
cab.

He reaches for his shirt, not bothering to button it, chuckles and shuffles
off into the evening.

He didn’t come to take care of you, only to take advantage.

And you can’t decide whether he defiled you or you failed yourself.

You thought for a minute this might be what you wanted, but it was him who
had his way with you.

When you’ve surrendered ever being viewed as a treasure, you’ll settle for
being used as a toy.

When you lack somebody to see you as precious, you’ll let anybody treat you
as property.

*Ask around. *

Many remember his name, though few speak it for the shame that it brings.

Call him Abortion: violator of the vulnerable, liar, and life-ender.

Abortion’s a cruel suitor, an abusive on-again, off-again boyfriend.

Prince? Yes, prince of demons, prince of darkness.

Sometimes he moonlights as Physician-Assisted Suicide.

Sometimes he masquerades as Embryo Engineering, costuming himself
underneath certain vaccines or in vitro fertilization.

*But he has a hundred other aliases: *

Greed

Gluttony

Gossip,

Envy

Anger

Adultery

Idolatry

Apathy

Pride

Jealousy

None worse than another but none any better either.

*His given name is Sin. *

But he goes by different names:

Self-Expression

Personal Choice

Rights

Equality

*Hell himself disguises as Death dressed up in freedom and promising heaven
to have you in bed. *

*Sinfulness doesn’t love you. *

*Abortion doesn’t love you. *

*Assisted suicide doesn’t love you. *

*Embryo experimentation doesn’t love you. *

*Look at how he leaves you, but you just can’t get yourself to quit him and
this addiction.*

*Sin—ever so pretty and popular, it doesn’t rescue humankind. *

It ruins us.

*Selfishness doesn’t create. *

It consumes.

*Death doesn’t redeem. *

It discards.

It doesn’t choose you; it uses you and then accuses you.

It doesn’t delight or rejoice in anyone; it despises and ridicules and at
last abandons all.

*3. The other prince—the Lord Jesus—delights to court you and give you his
name.*

*But one, two princes kneel before you. *

*The other has a heart for you still. *

*The other has a heart for you anyway. *

*This one doesn’t need you, yet he wants you. *

*This one has character, and this one has compassion. *

*This one has a courtship. *

*He genuinely kneels, humbles himself in servanthood, gentle but
relentless.*

*He bends low, not so much to sweep you off of your feet as to sit beside
you on the curb, in the gutter. *

*He comes near to take you in his arms, strengthen you to stand, and walk
with you, not to have his way with you but to walk the way alongside you. *

*He escorts you from the cheap roadhouses, any of them and all of them,
right down the middle of the city streets in full sight of the gawking
onlookers. *

*He next to you takes the blame for your indiscretions and transgressions,
the adulteries, idolatries, thieveries, and gluttonies. *

*He next to you pays the price of your jealousies, hostilities, apathies,
and blasphemies. *

*He leads you on to a castle, lifts you up to a kingdom and a mansion, yes,
a palace and a paradise, making his your own.*

*His scarred hands protect. *

*His scored shoulders provide. *

*His stricken side and stinging scalp preserve. *

*No pretty pick-up lines, but presence and promises. *

*No fancy booze, but daily bread, everything we need to support this body
and life. *

*This one doesn’t entice or seduce but embraces, absolves, accepts. *

*This one doesn’t turn away from blemishes, bruises, and broken-hearted
wounds but tends to them. *

*This one won’t leave you naked. *

*He will robe you in his majesty and cloak you beneath his favoring. *

*This one won’t flaunt his expensive apparel. *

*He’ll outfit you in attire of dignity and sanctity. *

*He pours his sweat not over you but for you, yes, sheds his blood and
spends his last breath to defend and to cleanse you from guilt. *

*He advocates for you and sacrifices for your life. *

*He has broken the bank and emptied the treasury in buying your release and
freedom from whatever lays claim to shame you.*

*This one gives you a new name. *

*He calls you by his name. *

*This one doesn’t ravage your body. *

*He asks for your hand.*

*Our Lord Delights in Humankind like a Husband Delights in His Wife.*

*This one delights in you. *

*He rejoices over you. *

*This one creates you special. *

*He redeems you precious. *

*He calls you priceless, for better and for worse, for richer and for
poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, to have and to
hold until death and beyond, tonight’s darkness and tomorrow’s daylight. *

*Yes, from this day forward and even forevermore. *

*This one doesn’t leave you in regret. *

*He leads you through his resurrection to royalty. *

*Welcome, bride of the Heir, son and daughter of the King himself! *

*Welcome to dancing and laughter, to celebrating and song, to community and
family and security and home! *

*Welcome, not returning to work but with a purpose. *

*Welcome, not back to labor but in a vocation. *

*Welcome, to maybe not always what you immediately want but ultimately to
what you need all along!*

*4. We delight in every human life the same gracious way he has embraced
you.*

*Know him as grace. *

*Call him Savior. *

*Know him as forgiveness, and call him Father. *

*Meet faithfulness and patience, and greet him as Jesus, Son of God and
Lord of all. *

*You chose sin, but God chose you. *

*Life chose you. *

*Baptism chose you. *

*Communion chose you. *

*Heaven chose you. *

*Hold him as hope and healing. *

*Kneel before him; kneel with your mind and your life, your days and your
deeds, before him. *

*Kneel beside him as prince and princess now yourself. Kneel as he does in
front of every human being, that you may receive them the way he has
embraced you, that we may receive them the way he has selected us. *

*Conclusion*

*Each one, a privilege from fertilization to forever. *

*Each one, a gift whatever age, appearance, and abilities. *

*Each one, a neighbor even in difficulties and sufferings. *

*Each one, a sister even in surprise pregnancy and a brother even in
terminal diagnosis. *

*Delight in them, no matter how many other so-called princes may pass them
by. *

*Rejoice in them, no matter how many other would-be princes push them away.*

*For you were created for this. *

*We were created for this, and in this we shall be crowned, world without
end. Amen.*

*Let us pray:*

*Jesus, You are the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.*

*Accept the joyful shouts of praise for Your saving work that we proclaim.*

*Rule in our lives, now and always. Amen.*

*The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and
minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.*

*In the Name of the Father…Amen.*