1/21/07 - Epiphany 3 - Isaiah 61:1-6

YOU ARE AN OAK OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
- Planted by the Lord
- To display his splendor

Everyone loves a success story. A story about a person who went from rags to riches. Who at one time was down and out, who had been beaten down by life, but a person who didn’t give up. A person who fought back, who overcame the odds, and now is a success, is on top of the world, and is a better person for it. We love those kinds of stories, don’t we? Abraham Lincoln. Lance Armstrong. And any number of different people. They inspire us. They motivate us to keep on going when our lives take a turn for the worse.
Have you ever considered that you are a success story? I don’t normally think of myself as a success story. And I wouldn’t think many of you would consider your life in that way either. But it’s true. You are a success story. Because as I look at you today, I see oaks of righteousness. You are an oak of righteousness! I bet you never thought that about yourself either, have you? But that’s exactly what the Lord calls you in Isaiah 61: “They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.” That’s you. That’s you! Right now I’m looking at a forest full of oak trees! And the fact that you and I are oak trees amongst a world of thorns and thistles - that’s a success story if there ever was one.
Because consider where we once were at. We even started off on the wrong foot! At the moment each of our mothers conceived us, we were filled with sin. “I was sinful from birth,” the Psalmist says, “sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” We were saturated, we were permeated, we were completed infected with sin at the moment of conception. And so that means anything we do, even any good thing that we try to do, is filled with sin. It cannot be filtered out.
Let me ask you a question: How is it possible that a baby can be born with the AIDS virus? Because its mother had it. It was passed down from the parent to the child. That is what has happened to us. Our parents and their parents and their parents before them passed down the disease of sin from generation to generation. There is no escaping it. There is no other option.
But we can’t just lay all the blame on our parents. We are just as responsible for the sin in our lives. Because we know what is right and wrong! We know what we should and shouldn’t do, and we sin anyway! Even a young child knows better! Even a two year old knows not to touch certain things, but he does anyway. Hoping that no one is watching. Hoping he can get away with it. One of the parenting magazines my wife has explains what you can expect your child to be like at certain stages of his or her life. One statement in that article says, “At 15 months your child will be completely self-centered.” Even from a non-religious point of view! Even from a non-spiritual standpoint, a person who observes human behavior can tell that even a child as young as 15 months is completely selfish! Not caring about anything else or anyone else but me, me, me. And selfishness is sinfulness to the core.
We were all like that, weren’t we? And it didn’t get any better from there. Throughout our lives we have done some horrible things. We have said some nasty words. We have thought some unmentionable thoughts. Our lives have dripped with sin. Something that God does not tolerate. And so by the way we started out life and by the way we have lived it, there is no logical reason whatsoever why we should now be called oaks of righteousness. But that’s what we are. We are oaks of righteousness because we have been planted by the Lord.
The Lord surely saw our sinfulness. He knew how deep we were in it from the start. In fact, he was aware of every sin that we would commit before it ever happened. But that did not change his love for us. That did not affect the way he felt about us one bit. Because Paul says, “God demonstrated his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Christ died for us. Not because we had earned it. Not because we were such good people. Christ died for us because we were sinners. Because we needed him to. That was the only way we were going to be lifted out of the hole we had dug for ourselves. And so that’s what God did. Though Christ’s death and resurrection God lifted us out of that hole and planted us in Christ. Christ is our foundation. He is our stability because he is our Savior. And from that point on, after we were planted in Christ through baptism, we started to grow.
How does a normal tree grow? Sunlight. Water. Is it a wonder, then, that we grow in Christ, the “Light of Life,” and in the Word, the “water of life?” The Lord has caused us to grow throughout the years in his Word. The more we read it, the more we hear it, the more we study it, the more we grow. And that is why right now we are oaks of righteousness. We aren’t seedlings anymore. We aren’t tiny shoots easily crushed and blown by the wind. We are oaks. We are sturdy. We are strong. Why? Because we are planted in Christ. We have been given and are sustained by his righteousness. And we are continually growing in his Word. We are full grown oaks of righteousness. Not because our faith is strong. But because of the strength of him in whom we are planted.
That’s a success story. Going from decaying in sin to a strong and sturdy oak of righteousness. But oak trees are not just strong and sturdy, they are also tall and majestic. They are large trees, they are visible trees for everyone to see. And that’s the result of the Lord planting you in Christ. Isaiah again says, “They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.” You are to display his splendor. To everyone. All the time. And how do you go about displaying the Lord’s splendor? By the things you do - yes, but there’s more to it than that. By the way you treat others - yes, but there’s more to it than that. The best way you can display the Lord’s splendor is by telling others what he has done. Just look at the Psalms. When a psalmist wants to display the Lord’s splendor he simply recounts everything that the Lord has done for him, everything that the Lord has done for the congregation, everything that the Lord has done for all believers everywhere. And so I beg you, my fellow oaks of righteousness, display the Lord’s splendor. Tell everyone what he has done.
Did that just roll off your shoulders? I just encouraged you to tell people about the Lord, but I’m not sure if you even noticed. I don’t think I would have. Because we here it so often. We’re encouraged to do that all the time! So I’ll be a little more specific… I’ve known you for a little over 6 months now. Not a terribly long time, but long enough to know some of your friends, and some of your co-workers, and some of your relatives, and even some of your own family members. I know those people who need to know Christ. Display the Lord’s splendor to these people. Invite them to church. Invite them to Bible class. Tell them what the Lord has done. Because I can’t do it for you! If I walked up to those people you are thinking about, I wouldn’t have much of a chance, would I? Because even if they’ve met me before, they don’t know me. Once they find out I’m a pastor they’ll just assume it’s my job to talk to them. And they aren’t going to want to talk to a stranger about something so personal as their spiritual life anyway. But they know you. They care about you. And whether you think they’ll listen or not, they still respect what you have to say. So please, I’m begging you, display the Lord’s splendor. Don’t wait. Don’t put it off. Don’t tuck in your branches and hide. It is a matter of eternal life or eternal death. If you want to see them in heaven then, help them to see the Lord now.
Next month will mark the 67th year this congregation has been in existence. Does that surprise you? The first service for this WELS congregation was in February of 1940. On one hand, we must thank the Lord for sustaining such a small group of believers for so long. On the other hand, it is a wake up call to us. In 67 years we have 51 members. And with Montrose growing like it is, with all these lost souls dying around us, it is time to fill these walls. It is time to occupy these seats. It is time to display his splendor. I cannot wait to see people here being planted in Christ. I cannot wait to see more and more souls growing in the Word just like we are now. That is my goal. To spread this precious gospel to as many people as Lord allows. I hope that is your goal too. I hope you are here not only to hear the Word, but to help spread it. And so when I do ask, when I do come to you for help, I hope you take advantage of that opportunity - to stuff door hangers, or to hang them on door knobs, or to post flyers, or to do anything you can to save lost souls.
And there will be a time soon when I will ask for your help. But for right now, could you just please work on those you know. Bring them here, drag them here. Be so persistent that they come just so that you’ll stop bugging them! In some way, shape, or form display the Lord’s glory to those you know so well. Do it for the Lord’s sake and do it for their’s. And don’t worry. Don’t worry about exactly how to do it. Don’t worry how you’ll approach the subject or what you are going to say. Because the Lord is backing you up. He wants those people to hear his Word just as badly as you do! And he has given you all the confidence that you need to tell them, because your confidence is this: He’s planted you in Christ. He has helped you grow through the Word. He has established you as an oak of righteousness. Praise the Lord that he has done so. And pray that he will make oaks of righteousness out of the ones you love and many more. Here and around the world.
Amen.

“May the name of our Lord Jesus Christi be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Thess. 1:12