Welcome to worship today at Morrison Zion Lutheran Church. We exist to glorify God. We have set out to do this by gathering around the Gospel so that we may grow in the Gospel and go to others with this Gospel.
So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from Jesus Christ, our Lord:
If you were to ask the 7th and 8th graders what one of the things that they were most excited for this last week, there are probably a few different things that they would say. Today, though, maybe is one of the things they are most excited for. In our confirmation curriculum, there are a lot of videos that go with the lessons. The video that we had today wasn’t with today’s lesson. We’ve been talking about some different things to kind of end up the year, but several students missed this one video they called It’s the Night and the theme of the video was almost a setup to kind of a scary movie. It’s about a thief that comes at night. Many of the students saw it, but a couple of students didn’t get to see it because they were gone, so throughout the whole year those students were saying “Can we watch this video?” Then they finally got to see it. The context of it is there is a thief in the night. The message is to be prepared—to be prepared when Jesus comes because Jesus tells us that He will come like a thief in the night. The first time they saw it, several kids jumped a little bit because at the end of the video, someone is walking and this woman sees a thief in the night. What was interesting is this morning, many of the kids said it wasn’t as surprising this time. They knew it was coming so they didn’t have to be afraid. The whole theme of it is when you don’t know Jesus, that’s what it is going to be like, a thief in the night. But for those who know Christ, those who know Jesus, we don’t have to be afraid.
That’s really what this whole text is about in Isaiah 41:10. You might say that it’s comfort upon comfort. Do not be afraid. Do not be afraid. Do not be afraid. It’s really the whole point—that in all that you are going to do in life, God’s telling us, God was telling the Israelites, to not be afraid.
Look at the words and see how many things God is saying to us to not be afraid of.
So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Almost every word in this passage is a word of comfort, is a word to say “Do not be afraid. Do not fear.” Why does God have to do this? What we have been taught already at the end of life, we know that there are some things to be fearful of and people are afraid of death and what is ahead. But here, the prophet is writing to the Israelites who had gone through a lot of difficulties.
For you 8th graders, have you gone through a lot of difficulties? “This year we’re all in the top grade.” As you look at the rest of the people in the back, there is a lot of life yet to live. As you get into high school and harder exams, for some of those I know it’s like “Awe, school is not hard,” but you to have all the different parts of life where you are going to have different challenges. The important thing that God is telling you today is to not be afraid. He is going to be with you. But that doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy. The whole point is that when things are hard, when you are struggling, He wants you to know that God is with you. Know that He is there.
Notice then, also, the promise that He gives, the old saying that many people misunderstand is will God give you more than you can handle? I think the truth is God is going to give you more than you can handle ON YOUR OWN. You need some people in your life. You need your parents. You need your Christian friends. Most of all, you need God. Notice He says, “I will strengthen you and help you…” If God was going to give you only what you can handle, would you need God’s help? Would you need His strength? Not really. So there are going to be times when you need His help. You are going to need His strength. He says, “I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” I always picture it as when someone is falling over, when someone is in pain, when someone can’t stand up maybe after a long walk and they need someone because they’ve injured their leg and you need someone to pick you up and help you finish that race.
That’s a lot of the words that Paul speaks of in Philippians as well. He’s talking about finishing that race and taking hold of the prize, knowing that God has taken hold of us, but we don’t want to lose sight of that. Notice what he said in Philippians. We consider all of the things, other than Christ, to be garbage! It’s not that your education, your friends, your family, all these things are not worth it and are not important and are not great. They are all blessings from God. But my prayer is that the thing you cherish the most about your education here is that you got to study God’s Word every day. In the rest of the world, it’s law and do it all yourself and it’s all about you. Here you got to hear the Gospel. Here you got to be filled with Christ and His love for you all the time.
My prayer is that as you grow, you continue to see that what you are trying to find yourself in is Christ. Remember your identity, that you are redeemed and forgiven. And the words of Philippians are so awesome. It says …that I may gain Christ and be found in him… That’s exactly what we’ve talked about—having your identity in Christ, to be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. This is the joy of it all.
You’ve been equipped, you’re going to go out and you’re going to work hard in high school. You’re going to go on to do all sorts of different things. God has gifted you with many things and to be faithful. It’s so important to use those gifts to the glory of God, to the glory of this congregation and the school as you go out and represent your Savior. But you know you’re going to fall short. You know you’re going to make mistakes. It’s not all about you. It’s finding the righteousness that comes from God. That’s yours. So remain in that. Hold onto that. Be strengthened in the Lord. Do not fear, for He is with you. He is going to uphold you in His mighty right hand.
It’s going to be easy to go into things and get distracted as life gets busier. Different sports, different music, different plays, all sorts of different things to go on, but if there are two things to hold onto, hold onto God’s Word and what you’ve learned, the truth of the Lutheran faith, and go back to this. There are so many truths that are found in that. If you have questions in the future, there are so many things that can be answered in them. But be in God’s Word daily, be in church, be in worship, be strengthened because there are going to be hard times. But don’t be afraid. He is with you. He will uphold you with his right hand. This is God’s encouragement for you today. Do not be dismayed. He is your God and He will strengthen you and uphold you.
While this is a graduation, you know that this isn’t the end. You are going to continue in the faith, continue growing in your knowledge and continue in this congregation or your own congregation, and be strengthened in the Lord, going with His mercy and peace. What a blessing it is to know of our Lord, to know He will always be with you, and that there is nothing to fear. Amen.
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:7) Amen.
