Sermon March 30-31, 2019 – Fourth Sunday in Lent

Title: In Christ the joyful water of salvation is given to you!
Text: Isaiah 12:1-6 

12 And in that day you will say:
“O LORD, I will praise You;
Though You were angry with me,
Your anger is turned away, and You comfort me.
2 Behold, God is my salvation,
I will trust and not be afraid;
‘For YAH, the LORD, is my strength and song;
He also has become my salvation.’”
3 Therefore with joy you will draw water
From the wells of salvation.
4 And in that day you will say:
“Praise the LORD, call upon His name;
Declare His deeds among the peoples,
Make mention that His name is exalted.
5 Sing to the LORD,
For He has done excellent things;
This is known in all the earth.
6 Cry out and shout, O inhabitant of Zion,
For great is the Holy One of Israel in your midst!”

One day, when Vice President Calvin Coolidge was presiding over the Senate, one Senator angrily told another to go "straight to hell". The offended Senator complained to Coolidge as presiding officer, and President Coolidge looked up from the book he had been leafing through while listening to the debate. "I've been looking through the rule book," he said. "you don't have to go."

Crossroads, Issue No. 7, p. 16.
12 And in that day you will say,

“O LORD, I will praise You;
Though You were angry with me,
Your anger is turned away, and You comfort me.

In the day of salvation, praise will be heaped upon the Lord who has the keys of Heaven and Hell. You who have been given faith in Christ will sing praises to the Lord. Though your sin had separated you from the father your tears will be washed away and in Christ, the Father’s anger will be appeased and turned away and you will be comforted.

2 Behold, God is my salvation,
I will trust and not be afraid;
‘For YAH, the LORD, is my strength and song;
He also has become my salvation.’”

God in Christ is your savior. Though you deserve death He has redeemed you. By faith you hold and trust in His finished work. Fear is swallowed up in the victory of God’s Son for you. He – Jesus Christ the righteous one – is the strength that you walk in and the song that you sing is of His redemption.

9 And they sang a new song, saying,
“Worthy are you to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth.” (Rev. 5:9-10)

The eternal Son, who was and is and is to come is the King of Glory and the song that is sung, is the song of we who have been freed from sin sing unto the Lamb who was slain.

“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be praise and honor and glory and power, forever and ever!”
(Rev 4:13b NIV)

3 Therefore with joy you will draw water
From the wells of salvation.
4 And in that day you will say:
“Praise the LORD, call upon His name;
Declare His deeds among the peoples,
Make mention that His name is exalted.
The desert of sin and has been flooded for you by the waters of Baptism.

God brings you into His family and into relationship with Him through the redemptive and saving work on the son. Our Lord Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit, causes you to in that day, sing praise unto Him.

The Apostle Paul in his letter to the Philippians says:

9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

[Prayer at Pennsylvania State house proclaiming Jesus and its outrage]

The joyful waters of salvation have been given to you. As you live out your Christian lives the joy of Christ should be reflected in you but so often you fall short and miss the mark. Sin continues to corrupt everything.

But, in spite of your failings God has called you to be His own. He has made you His child and continues to shape you into His image. By the Holy Spirit you are pointed to and receive the blessed Good News that you are free of the sin and no longer have to live with the guilt of sin in your life. As a result of this gift you are able to sing.

5 Sing to the LORD,
For He has done excellent things;
This is known in all the earth.

Jesus Christ has lived suffered, died and rose again just for you. He has made you a home for you in Heaven with him. This joy is the song we sing and it is the praise we can all know and be joyful in Him.

6 Cry out and shout, O inhabitant of Zion,
For great is the Holy One of Israel in your midst!”

We who are” Spiritual Israel” ( the church of God in Christ) sing and shout for the joy we know, and we live out this joy that God has given us bringing Christ to those who need to hear the same saving Gospel message that we’ve heard and now proclaim.

In this life we at times will receive the blessings that life affords and at other times we feel consumed by the cares of life. God though has made a way to Heaven for each one of us in Christ. By Christ’s death on the cross for you, though we suffer through trials in this life we are free to joy in the salvation He has won for us at the cross.

May the Love of God the blessings of Christ and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be and abide with you now and forever.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen