The Presentation of the
“The Word Will Always Work”
Isaiah 55:6-11
6
Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. 7 Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil
man his thoughts. Let him turn to the
LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.
8
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the LORD. 9 “As
the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and
my thoughts than your thoughts.
10 As the rain and the snow come down from
heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud
and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower
and bread for the eater, 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will
not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the
purpose for which I sent it.”
There is one thing we all
have in common, at least those of us who have been in
Sometimes the rain was not a
welcome sight…
Sometimes the rain was not a
welcome sight. But for others, it was a
wonderful blessing…
The rain brings joy to some
and disappointment to others. But there
is one thing that the rain will always bring every time, without failure -
wetness. The rain will always get things
wet. Every time. Without fail. No exceptions. The rain will always get things wet. That’s a thought to remember. Why? Because in the
Scripture verses for today, the LORD compares the rain to the Word. Just as the rain always gets the grass wet,
God’s Word always does its work. Listen
to what the LORD tells us about His Word in Isaiah 55:6-11. (read v.6-11)
The rain always gets things
wet; the Word always does its work. The
rain brings life to the earth; the Word brings life to the soul. And what is that life-giving Word? It is the law and the gospel. The law is the part of the Bible that we
don’t like to hear, but we need to hear.
The law is personal. The law says,
“You are wicked, selfish, arrogant, greedy and conniving – you and not just
that other guy next to you. YOU. The law convicts
you of guilt and makes you squirm. It stirs
up terror inside, because a holy God is bringing the full force of his wrath
upon you for your sins. The rain always
makes the ground wet; the law always makes the sinner uncomfortable.
If all God had to tell us was
his law, we would be miserable people.
But there is more. Martin Luther
put it this way, “First God makes us sad so that he can make us happy. He first of all makes us poor so that he can
make us rich. He lets us die to give us
life.
The LORD follows the law with
the gospel. The gospel is the good news
of Jesus, that God has freely pardoned our sins. God has already punished our sins on someone
else, and that means he will not punish you.
The gospel is personal. The
gospel says, “The arrogance you’ve shown with your own words; the greed you had
filled in your own heart…it has all been forgiven by God – It’s not just the
other guy next to you who is forgiven; YOU are forgiven. The refreshing gospel sweeps away our doubts,
calms our fears and brings deep relief for our souls. The rain always gets the ground wet; the
gospel always brings the sinner deep, internal peace.
Why would God do this? The easy answer is, “Because he loves
us.” But there is more. Maybe a better answer is, “Because his love
is not like our love.” His thoughts are
not our thoughts. His ways are not our
ways. Humans struggle to forgive; God
forgives immediately. Humans like to sit
on an imaginary throne and make others grovel in the dust and say they are
sorry again and again before we forgive; but God sits on a real throne and forgives
quickly. How can God forgive so freely
and willingly and immediately? God’s
thoughts are not like our thoughts.
God’s ways are not like our ways.
God’s love is not like our love.
It is divine.
Telling about God’s divine
love is an awesome privilege. It’s even
more awesome as God shares with us what is accomplished when we tell about who he is and what he has done. (read v.10-11) Just
as the rain never leaves the earth dry, so also God’s Word never leaves the
soul dry. It always accomplishes God’s
specific directive. It always fulfills
God’s precise purpose.
That’s a great encouragement
for me as I stand here in the pulpit.
Humbly and carefully, my only desire needs to be this: to preach God’s
Word to myself and to you. Nothing more and nothing
less. God’s promise is that the
Word will always accomplish His directive in your lives. The rain will always get the grass wet. The Word will always go to work in the human
heart.
That’s a great encouragement
for you as you share the Word with others in your life. You might ask, “But Pastor, what if my
witness is met with cold rejection? What
if I share the Word and the response I get is a shrug of the shoulders and a
blank stare?” That’s when you need this
promise all the more. Maybe you
can’t see the Word at work. Maybe you
can’t tell if it is doing any good at all.
But since when has God promised you’ll be able to see into the
heart? Since when has God expected you
to control how the Word works and then report back to him?
God simply says the Word will
always accomplish his purpose and God doesn’t lie. The rain will always get the grass wet. The Word will always go to work in the human
heart. It’s a promise we can trust. When it appears to be rejected, when it seems
as though you’re getting nowhere, when all of your hunches tell you that you’re
wasting your time and breath, who knows?
Maybe that rain is getting the heart wet now so that faith can grow ten
years down the line? Remember - the rain
will always get the grass wet. The Word
will always go to work in the human heart.
So don’t give up!
That’s not just an
encouragement for you and me. That was a
great encouragement for the Lutheran laymen who stood before the mighty Emperor
Charles 477 years ago to present the Augsburg Confession. It seemed as though the Word had fallen upon
deaf ears. Luther had shared the Word
nine years earlier and was declared a pest of the empire. He was labeled an outlaw. If anyone murdered him in cold blood, the
state would say, “Thank you.”
What if the emperor decided
to do the same to these Lutheran princes?
What if they left the meeting labeled as a pest and outlaw as well? What if they were murdered on the way home
and never saw their families again?
There was a lot at stake
Next time you see it raining,
whether that rain brings relief or dampens your day, please notice how wet
everything is. Then remind yourself of
this Scripture verse - 10 As the
rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without
watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for
the sower and bread for the eater, 11 so is my word
that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will
accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”
The rain will always get the
grass wet. The Word will always work in
the human heart, exactly as God wants. Amen.