That Which Does Give Life

Who would ever think it would be a great idea to live in the desert? I understand this is rather a funny question because we all find ourselves living here in the great Mojave Desert. It stretches on for 25,000 square miles. But what beauty can be seen here.

We can find it a bit odd to live in the desert because there really is no running water out here. The Mojave River runs mostly underground and is probably not all that good for human consumption at this point as more than one factory sits directly on its shores.

But water is something that is so very necessary here. Without it nothing would grow at all. I used to think that the Mojave Desert was desolate. It is brown most the year, but there is still green, different shades, and it is beautiful. However, in the Holy Land, there are places there where nothing grows, it is just vast open expanses of rock and stone, no green, all light brown. Especially around the Dead Sea area.

And so, our text this morning from Isaiah, God is showing us a beautiful comparison. “For as the rain and snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making is spring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater.” Without water from rain and snow, our world would be dead. Water is a necessity of life. Human beings cannot survive long without it, and neither can any other living thing on the face of this planet. Everything needs water to survive from one day to the next. This is the great thing about God’s creation. In the six days, water was the first thing on the scene. Every other day of creation is built upon the day before. So, water and light were the first things necessary for our planet to be habitable. God provides the rain and the snow for the earth to come alive. Birds, insects, fish, lizards, land animals etc…all need vegetation to eat, to live and to flourish, and vegetation needs water. So our Lord provides everything for sustaining life on earth for all His creation.

However, all this about rain and snow is just being used as an illustration regarding God’s Word. As Isaiah, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, continues on, “…so shall My Word be that goes out from my mouth; It shall not return to Me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” Rain can produce anything for the earth. Therefore, our Lord is saying that just as it is the rain that produces the fruits of the earth, God’s Word produces life as well, life that does not end.

It is the Word of the Lord that caused creation to come into existence. It was the Word of the Lord that created our first parents, Adam and Eve. It was the Word of the Lord that they disobeyed and brought sin and death into the world and has screwed up everything for us since. Because of them, we all have this horrific Original Sin passed on to us from our parents, and we pass it along to our children, just as It has been from the birth of Cain.

And so, natural man, that is you and I without God, the Holy Spirit, Jesus, baptism, Holy Communion, we are rebels. We were, as Steppenwolf so eloquently penned the words to their song, “Born to be Wild”. That song illustrates that as a true nature’s child, we were born to be wild. Wild things are not tamed. They have no structure; no guide and it is all about the adventure and the self.

We are born with this rebellious attitude. Ask any new parent, even new-born babies rebel when we want them to sleep they want to stay up and play, or they want to be fed, or they want to be cuddled or changed or whatever. What is the first word that most every child masters before any other word? “NO”. Being a rebel is not something that we need to be taught. It is well ingrained in every one of us.

It is no wonder Paul writes about the Law so much in Romans, especially chapter 7. Because the Law that was presented by God to Moses for God’s children, could not save us, even if we were to try to keep the law perfectly. Paul states that he didn’t even know what it meant to covet until the Law said “Thou shall not covet” and the Law that was meant to save me actually killed me because instead of producing in me the desire not to covet it did just the opposite, it produced in myself all sorts of coveting.

The same applies to us today. Guys, how many times have you heard it said, “Thou shall not commit adultery” and that’s all that it seems we can think about, women other than our spouse. Or, “thou shall not steal” and we can think of thousands of things we would rather do than work, so we get lazy on the job, and are dumbfounded when disciplined by the boss. You name the Commandment, we’ve broken it in thought, word or deed.

But then, God says through Isaiah, “…so shall My Word be that goes out from My mouth; it shall not return to Me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” The Word of the Lord goes out like rain and snow that fall upon the earth.

God’s Word must be preached! The full council of God’s Word must be preached, both Law and Gospel. The Law goes forth to condemn the heart of those who are comfortable in their sins, the ones who have yet to repent. This part of God’s Word must be proclaimed to both, non-believers and believers. It is the Law of God that crushes all our motivations, all our idealization, all of our excuses and demands. The Law of God must kill the sinner so that the Gospel of Jesus can bring you back to life. For without the Law, the Gospel is empty. Why would Jesus need to give His life on the cross if there is no transgression from an order? What good is a bloody dead savior if one does not need saving? And the Law, without the Gospel, brings nothing but despair because it does not have the power to change anyone’s life for the better. Instead, as Paul says, “The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me.” (Rom. 7.10).

As God’s Law convicts us all of sin, and falling away from the Lord, the Gospel of Christ brings us back to life. In the fullness of time, God sent His Son, Jesus. God Himself assumed human flesh and lived as a human being, yet still fully God. Only Jesus has been capable of fulfilling all of God’s Law perfectly, in thought, word and deed. Then suffered at the hands of His own people who demanded Pontius Pilate, who found no guilt in Jesus at all, to crucify Him and release the notorious murder Barabbas, (which is translated into English as “son of the father”).

Jesus could have avoided the cross; He could have called down legions of angels to put an end to His enemies. But that was not the will of the Father, that was not the purpose for which God had sent His Word. That would not have accomplished the love that God has for His creation. He tried that before, with the flood, and that ended with God being grieved and the promise of not ever destroying His creation with water. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” (Jn. 3.16). That is the purpose for which God sent forth His Word in the flesh.

And so, Jesus picked up His cross and began the journey to the Place of the skull, and there He willingly laid down His innocent life. the Roman soldiers stripped Him of all His clothes, drove nails through hands and feet, and lifted Him up for the most horrific death anyone could ever die. It took six days for the Word to create the universe and the world. It took His enemies six hours to kill the Word that God had sent. They didn’t want that Word to be successful, they tried to stop it. But Satan and his followers would push and push until they thought they had put an end to this meddler.

However, as Jesus hung there on that cross for those six hours, He prayed for those who crucified Him, that His Father would forgive them for they had no idea what they were doing. He had provided for His mother in giving her to John, the disciple that Jesus loved. He offered forgiveness and eternal life to the one crucified with Him who repented and simply asked Jesus to remember him when He came into His kingdom. But the greatest thing that Jesus did was to breathe His last as He cried out those final words, “It is finished.” God’s Word went out, and it did not return to Him empty.

Three days later, Jesus rose from the dead, conquering our final enemy, death itself. Forty days later, Jesus ascended into heaven. The Word of God returned to our Father successful in the purpose for which He was sent. The Word of God has gone out and returned and you are the success story.

“For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.” (v. 12). This is Exodus language. David wrote using this figurative language in Ps. 114:4, celebrating the Exodus from Egypt, “the mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs”. Can you just imagine the excitement all creation was feeling the day that God’s chosen people walked through the Red Sea on dry ground putting final separation between them and Pharaoh and his armies that were drown in that same Red Sea in pursuit. God had given new life to His people Israel, and all rejoiced.

It is the same with us today. Jesus tells us, “Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” Joy…the sinner feels the joy of being accepted by a holy and just God, to not just feel the acceptance but also the love of our Father in heaven.

Rain and Word, both these things give life to God’s creation. We could not live without rain. God’s Word though, this mystery, gives life in Words spoken and heard, Word received through the Holy Spirit and Faith, kills and makes alive. The Word of God gives to us His living Word, the Christ who died and rose again, so that we can be forgiven, all our debt paid, and we can be with our Lord for all eternity.