Get Ready for Mighty Deeds Psalm 71:16; Isaiah 35:1-10; James 5:7-11; Matthew 11:2-15

 

Grace, mercy and peace to you, from God our Almighty Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, who comes among us with mighty deeds.

 

We’re going to talk about Getting Ready for Mighty Deeds, based on today’s Introit, especially Psalm 71:16, With the mighty deeds of the Lord God, I will come.

 

This psalm is Messianic, prophesying that Jesus would come with mighty deeds. He came to us, doing great miracles. 

 

In fact, His coming to earth began with a great miracle, when the angel told Mary that she was miraculously with child, a child conceived by the Holy Spirit. 

 

We celebrate Christmas as the day Jesus came to earth, but as we know, it began nine months before, when He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

We celebrate this great miracle in this pre-Christmas season we call Advent.

 

In Advent, we get ready for the mighty deeds of the Messiah, beginning with the signs and miracles surrounding His birth, like the angels and the magi.

 

And we get ready for His return, with all His angels and the saints from Heaven; and then, His mightiest of deeds, to raise the dead, and glorify the faithful, and judge all, and bring His people home with Him, into that miraculous and glorious life that never ends. 

 

There in Heaven, we’ll see the mighty deeds of God at work every day. 

 

But we see them today, as well. 

 

It’s not a matter of the mighty deeds of God being absent in our world, it’s a matter of us recognizing them, and living accordingly.

 

In today’s Old Testament, we heard about mighty deeds in the wilderness: The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus; it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing.

 

This is symbolic of the spiritual wilderness of a fallen world. The Messiah would come to a world of sin and pain and death, and bring life and forgiveness and healing.

 

To a world make weak by sin, Christ brings the strength of His Word, the power His love, and the miracle of His Spirit within us. 

 

Strengthen the weak hands, Isaiah says, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not!

 

Be strong, have no fear; the mighty deeds of the Messiah have come into His Church, and into the world.

 

It might seem that our world is falling apart; and in some ways it is, and always has been.

 

It’s working its way to its end, a sort of slow implosion.

 

Have no fear of this fallen world, nor its’ end; Jesus has it all taken care of for you. In your Baptism, He has you covered in all things.

 

As you abide in your Baptismal faith, His mighty deeds, especially His mighty reign and resurrection, will guard and keep you. 

 

We grieve and lament the sin and evil in this fallen world, and in ourselves, and rightly so. 

But we don’t despair, not with the mighty deeds of our Savior to bless and keep us.

 

With His help we stand steadfast in the Faith, and we wait for the final revelation of our God, when He will show Himself at last. 

 

What a sight for sore eyes, as they say. What an amazing sight He will be. 

 

All the sin and tragedy these eyes of ours have seen and witnessed in this world, from that day on, our eyes will see only goodness and glory. 

 

Believing in and hoping for this glorious day and life to come, we wait patiently, not giving up, nor falling away, as the farmer waits for the fruit of the earth, our Epistle says.

 

Every year, we can only wait as the crop matures; the rain and the growth are in the hands of God; and in the fall, we see what the yield is.

 

James tells us in verse 8, You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

 

And in verse 11: Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how He is compassionate and merciful.

 

We remain steadfast by the Holy Spirit’s power and our Lord’s mercy. He did a mighty thing in us when we were baptized; giving us this faith that saves  and overcomes. 

 

How foolish to throw that mighty deed away, simply because we’re too worldly to wait. 

 

With a sure and certain hope, let us wait for the final promise to come true, our Lord’s promise of that eternally lasting life of love and joy, and of every blessing God has to give in eternity, and He has a lot. 

Jesus gave us a foretaste of the heavenly blessings and miracles to come in the mighty deeds of His ministry while He walked on earth. 

 

When John the Baptist sent his disciples to Jesus, to make sure that He was indeed, the promised Messiah, Jesus told them: “Go back to John and tell him what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. 

 

These are the things that Isaiah promised the Messiah would do, and Jesus did them all in abundance. And He’ll do His mighty deeds in even greater abundance in eternity.

 

In Heaven’s glory, we’ll be perfected in every way; we’ll fully display God’s mighty power in redeeming and glorifying us. 

 

Isaiah says, And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

 

This was a prophecy about the exiles returning to their homeland with rejoicing.

 

Its’ also a picture of us as we live in our homeland on earth called the Church, the family and fellowship of Christ.

 

And its’ a picture of our joy as we enter our eternal homeland in Heaven, and there we will fully display the handiwork of God, the perfect love and holy joy that He’ll raise us in and bless us with forever. 

 

We will be His mighty deeds in the flesh. 

 

On earth, our sin and weakness sometimes get in the way of the mighty deeds that God would show the world through the faith and love He’s given us.

In response, we hear the message of John, calling us to daily repentance, daily forgiveness, and daily renewal.

 

And our daily prayer is: Lord God, how would You have me to show your mighty love and deeds to the world today?

 

How would You have me be a champion of Your true and mighty Word in the context of my life, where I am, and how I live, what I think, and what I say?

 

You have worked the mighty deeds of faith, and love, and hope, and joy, and peace in me. Help me to show and share these with the world that so needs these good gifts of Your Spirit.

 

As we live in faith, by the power of the Holy Spirit, and the truth of God’s Word, and the grace of His Sacraments, and the love and unity of His fellowship, with these gifts, we’re surrounded by the mighty deeds of our God.

 

So, as the Lord told Joshua as he was about to enter the Promised Land, let us be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” 

 

Hold on to His mighty deeds, and share His mighty deeds, and His peace, which passes understanding, will guard your heart and mind, in Christ Jesus, our mighty, resurrected Lord, who is coming soon. Come quickly, Lord Jesus. Amen.