March 20, 2007 Deuteronomy 31:6

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Deuteronomy literally means “second law.” It was Moses’ farewell speech in which he reiterated God’s law for a second time to the Israelites – writing down exactly what the LORD expected of them. It was the Lord’s will to take Moses to the permanent Promised Land – while Joshua – one of the 12 spies – would lead the Israelites into the physical Promised Land. It was a period of tremendous change – a passing of the torch. All of those who were alive at the exodus from Egypt had died in the desert – and only their children were now alive – except Joshua and Caleb. These children of the Israelites who were standing on the threshold of the Promised Land had grown up under Moses tutelage; but now Moses was going to die; and he was leaving the leadership to Joshua. It was time for the next generation to step up to the plate.

Whenever we have a confirmation – we are passing on a torch to your generation. We are entrusting you with the precious jewel of the Gospel that we learned as children – and praying that you will step up to the plate. Psalm 78:5-6 says that God “commanded our forefathers to teach their children, so the next generation would know (His Word), even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children.” The command remains the same. Your parents were trying to be faithful in God’s calling to make sure you know God’s Word – to know it so well that you in fact would be able and willing to teach it to your future children. In helping them to achieve that goal – they have called me to teach you the truths of God’s Word as gathered together in a simple way in the catechism. You have a tremendous responsibility in your hearts, minds, mouths and hands. We are always only one generation away from losing the truth.

Are you up to the task? Can you carry the torch? If you are looking at this as a sort of graduation service where you are now done with learning the Bible – we are in trouble. When I think about the generation of children that you are growing up with – it makes me wonder. When I listen to the music your generation listens to – the way they treat their superiors – the way they walk around with their pants falling down – with tattoos and piercing on all of their body parts even in grade school and high school - it makes me wonder. Then again, if you look at our generations – our parents probably wondered the same thing. The question remains - can you carry the torch? It is a difficult and dangerous thing. Moses words to Joshua and the Israelites can be applied to you –

Be Strong and Courageous

I. In the face of danger

Moses said, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them.” The question begs itself, “who is the ‘them’?” What would be so terrifying about “them.” If you remember your Old Testament history – when the 12 spies originally went up to spy the Promised Land forty years prior to this instance – ten of them returned and said that the Israelites seemed to be like grasshoppers in their sight. If any of you have seen the movie – “The Lord of the Rings” – I think of the little hobbits in comparison with the humans. I don’t know how different they really were – yet nonetheless they were afraid of trying to enter the Promised Land – even though God had just given them a miraculous deliverance from the Egyptian army. On the eastern side of the Promised Land – God had already given them a victory over two kings by the name of Sihon and Og. Think about what God’s Word said about Og in Deuteronomy 3:11, “His bed was made of iron and was more than thirteen feet long and six feet wide.” Although Og was the last of a dying breed of Rephaites – it shows you some of what the Israelites had to face in conquering the Promised Land. You can also remember the well known story of Goliath of Gath in Philistia. These were well established people with violent armies and alliances which by all rights should have sent the tiny and wandering Israelites packing. When the Israelites entered the Promised Land He didn’t just send a hurricane into Israel to chase out the Canaanites. The pillar of fire would not go into Israel either. Instead, He worked through the swords and spears and voices of the Israelites. So this was a scary thing for the Israelites. In light of these terrifying people God said, “Do not be afraid or terrified because of them.”

God has not called you to fight against giants named Og or Goliath – nor has He called you to conquer any Promised Land – and I doubt that He will. Yet that does not mean that you will not be fighting in a war. Islamic jihadists are waging war on our country and our ideals as westerners – and I cannot see that ending ever. You may be called to war in Iraq or Iran to fight against these enemies. These enemies of America may very well come here and infiltrate our own schools and societies.

Yet there is a different kind of war going on in our country right now – in our very schools – which is tearing apart the fabric of our society. There is a war against our families – against marriage – against God. You are being told that you came from monkeys – that you are here simply to survive. You are being told that it is perfectly acceptable for men to have sexual relationships with men and women to have relations with women. Your classmates are talking about how they would like to have relationships with boys and girls that are not even close to being their husbands or wives. Anything is thought of as sexually permissible as long as you both agree – and God is left out of the picture. As I told you in class – the three main temptations that will assault you in high school and college are pre-marital sex, drugs, and greed. These things terrify me when I think about the pressure my children will go through. It terrifies me that many of our children don’t see these pressures as that dangerous – as just a part of life.

With these terrors there is of course also the terror within – the sinful nature – which will say to you, “you’ve got to live for the now! You don’t want to stand out! What’s wrong with satisfying your natural desires!” Like the Little Mermaid – you will be tempted to sell your soul for what you want and when you want it – no matter what your parents say. Life on the other side will look so alluring – so fun. Your sinful nature will say, “why fight what’s so natural!” It is going to be a war to keep from doing these things – you’re going to need to fight against this.

Then of course there will be the battle behind the battle – the chief architect of it all. 1 Peter 5:8 “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” It is he – the Tempter – and his demons – who have been examining you all these years and looking for your weak spots and your weak times. He knows what you have a weakness for – acceptance – lust – anger – pride. He does his best to expose those weaknesses. Ephesians 6:12 says, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. The devil’s chief weapon is terror. After getting us to sin – he then wants us to believe that God could never forgive us or love us.

God wants us to be aware of these wars that we are headed into. As a Christian you are called on to fight in a battle against the sinful nature within, the sinful world without, and the powerful demons that roam our world. Let’s not sugar coat it. Let’s not pretend that your life is not going to be a battle. If you thought catechism was tough or grade school has been tough – wait till you go to college, get married, get a job and have kids. Life isn’t going to get any easier. It’s going to be a tough battle – an impossible battle to win on your own. Many have fallen – many have not even fought for it. Many have gotten through catechism classes and went running to the sinful world like a dog returning to its vomit. They’ve lost their faith and ended up children of Satan once again. I can only imagine how many who have been confirmed have ended up burning in hell. They’ve been weak and cowardly in the middle of war.

II. In the presence of the LORD

Yet God also says to us in light of these terrifying wars, “be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or terrified because of them.” To be strong means to “grow stout, rigid, and hard. To hold strongly with.” To be courageous means to be “brave and alert.” But the main question is “how”? Some of us are naturally timid people. If you have a weak nature – it’s not as if telling you “be strong” will really do the trick. When we talk specifically to our confirmands – now that you’ve made it through the 8^th grade – we would hope that you’ve matured some. I would assume that when it storms out you don’t go running in to sleep with mom and dad – and that you no longer fear the boogie man in the closet. To be strong – as I mentioned – means to “grow stout, rigid and hard.” Yet this maturity – this strength that God calls on you for – has nothing to do with age either. It’s not something you can just grow into like a pair of shoes. Neither does it come from experience.

So where does strength and courage come from? Listen to Moses. “For the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Moses reminded the Israelites that the LORD was going with them. In the Hebrew it’s the name Yahweh. Yahweh revealed Himself to the Israelites as the compassionate and gracious God – the God of the covenant – who would keep His promises and stick with the Israelites – forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Do you remember the story of the Prodigal Son – where he goes off and squanders his inheritance on wild living? Throughout it all – the Father waited day by day for the Son to come home. Throughout all that time the Father stayed at the same plantation. He never moved. He never died. So when the son decided to return home – he knew right where the Father would be. The most precious teaching we receive from the Bible is that our LORD is so gracious and forgiving – because lived, died and rose from the dead for the sins of weak and cowardly Christians and unbelievers as well.

This is what Moses was reminding the Israelites of. The same LORD that delivered them from slavery in Egypt, protected them from starvation in the desert for 40 years, and gave them victory of Sihon and Og – that same LORD would be with them going into Canaan. Just prior to this text Moses promised the Israelites –

The LORD your God himself will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy these nations before you, and you will take possession of their land. Joshua also will cross over ahead of you, as the LORD said. And the LORD will do to them what he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, whom he destroyed along with their land.

With this promise the LORD was assuring the Israelites that He would do the work through them. It was a sure thing – because of the constant and loving LORD that would be them.

This is a matter of faith. The opposite of fear is a calm and relaxed trust – that the LORD is who He promises He is – even when we can’t see His pillar of fire overhead. Under the First Article you were taught the nature and characteristics of our holy God and loving LORD. You were taught that God is omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscience and eternal. Big words – meaning that God is everywhere, all powerful, all knowing and all seeing. Think about how important this is to know. No matter where you move to when you go to college – no matter how great the temptations – how bad the war becomes – the LORD will be there for you. If you get sent off to Iraq or Iran – the LORD will be there. If the war comes here – the LORD is here as well. If He could enable the Israelites to win their wars against giants, then He can grant us success as well. The LORD promised the Israelites – and He promises you – that HE will never leave you or forsake you. That doesn’t mean that you can’t leave him – just like the Prodigal Son did. What it does mean is that God’s doors are always open and God’s promises are always good.

Think again about the promises that you’ve been given in your catechism classes – the wonderful covenants that God has made with you. In your baptism, the LORD put His name on you when water was poured on you “in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” This was not a covenant that you made with God – but that God made with you. He promised you that your sins were washed away in your baptism and – according to Acts 2:38 that you were given the gift of the Holy Spirit and faith to believe in Jesus in that baptism. Do you remember what the verse says? “repent and be baptized – every one of you – in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” You were taught that since this is a baptism of grace and a promise from God – where God comes to you – that you do not to be baptized two or three times in a lifetime. Your one baptism will last you into eternity as long as you cling to these promises in faith and remember that God neither lies nor makes mistakes.

Think also about this wonderful promise that God gives you in the Lord's Supper. He says to you, “take and eat, this is my body, given for you for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the Lord's Supper that you will eat and drink here this morning – the same Lord Jesus that was crucified and raised from the dead will be coming to you through this bread and wine. As that body and blood comes to you – your mind will be taken back 2,000 years ago – you will be personally reminded that Jesus died for you – and you will know that your sins are personally forgiven – because Jesus paid for all of them on the cross. You will know that Jesus is not dead – but that the same living Jesus who rules in the heavens is alive and well in you and with you. You will personally eat with him in heaven. In the meantime, you are not alone – you never are.

Throughout catechism class we have continually read passage after passage from the Bible. We have had you memorize many verses. The purpose of this is clear. Romans 10:17 says, “faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the Word of Christ.” The basis of the Reformation stated that we are saved by Scripture alone. It was in the Word that Jesus promised that God so loved the WORLD that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. The heart and core of the Reformation rests on the basis that Jesus paid for the sins of the whole world at one time and at one cross. It is the Word that gave you tremendous promises from God – promises like, “it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this not from yourselves, it is a gift of God – so that no one can boast.” The Reformation was based on the fact that we are saved by faith alone. It was in the Word that Jesus promised before He left, “I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” It was the Word that promised you that the same Jesus who lived and breathed and talked among the inhabitants of this world – is now ruling in the heavens. It was the Word that promised us that Jesus is in the heavens – and He has prepared a place for us. It is in the Word that Jesus clearly says, “whoever believes and is baptized shall be saved.”

The reason we had you memorize these verses was so that they would become emblazoned on your brain – that you would be able to think of them and cling to them no matter where life takes you. This is where God has chosen to reveal Himself and His will for our lives. As the Holy Spirit works through the Word of God – it will strengthen you and enable you to live without fear in a world that continues to threaten you within and without – knowing that the mighty God is with you and will never forsake you. This catechism instruction has given you a unique and precious gift called the Gospel – and a unique and precious gem to cling to. It has helped your faith to grow – so that hopefully you will want to know more and more about this gracious LORD. In a world of all sorts of religions that love to talk about what man can do to reach his full potential and how he can earn all that he has – you have been taught who the LORD is and what He has done and will do for you. It is a unique gem. Catechism has taught you the importance of baptism and the Lord's Supper – the Means of Grace. This unique gem is that God became flesh – dwelt among us – died for us – and sent His Holy Spirit into our hearts through the Gospel in Word and sacraments. The Word has taught you who the LORD is – so that you can live without fear – so that you can be strong and courageous.

Just recently a young thug beat a 91 year old man in the face over 20 times just to steal his car. It was an awful scene – but what was worse – was that about five people just stood there and watched. They did nothing. Perhaps they reasoned, “I don’t want to get hurt.” Perhaps they said, “we didn’t know what to do.” In the end – they knew what they should have done – and they should have shown some courage. This is what our world has come to – where nobody either listens to their consciences or shows any courage – and the devil and his children run rampant.

In the face of this – God calls on you to be strong and courageous. Imagine it as if you are like Joshua – going into a war. Are you strong and courageous? Are you ready to pledge to be faithful to the point of death? Are you ready to fight against the devil, the world and your own sinful nature? Are you prepared to witness? It’s a scary task – a scary world out there. Our society and our world is falling apart at the seams. You are going to witness and experience temptations that will be very difficult to fight. You are going to see things happen that will want to scare the pants off of you. You are going to respond in ways that are less than courageous. Like Peter – it will make you want to cry and run away from the LORD. It’s at times like this that you need to remember – you are not in this alone. The merciful and forgiving and patient LORD is still with you. You know who the LORD is. You know where He is found. You know what He can do and what He has done in Christ. On top of this, the LORD has given you Christian brothers and sisters and a pastor to help you. So do not be afraid. Do not fear. Be what the LORD calls you to be – strong and courageous. Amen.