Introduction:

Did you watch any of the coverage of President Reagan's funeral? It was really a quite impressive event. Day after day and hour after hour they showed hundreds of thousands of people paying their respects to the former President. The military escorts and guards carried out their duties with extreme precision and reverence. But I think the one thing that caught my attention most often was the reaction of the Reagan children.

Particularly, I was moved by the words of Michael Reagan, the oldest son of the President. He put out a press release immediately after his father's death that said this; "I am secure in the knowledge that he is with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in heaven. The greatest gift my father ever gave me was the simple knowledge that I would see him in heaven one day." At the final ceremony in Simi Valley California, Michael Reagan said, "I know where he is. I know he's in heaven. Someday I want to be there with him, and I know I will be. My father and I . . . will be dancing before the great Father in heaven, Alzheimer's-free." Of all the things that Michael Reagan respected his father for, the faith of President was at the top of the list.

On Father's Day, many people will honor and remember their fathers. They will lift them up and praise them for all of the things that they have done. But as we are doing this, let's stop and put it all into perspective. What makes a father great? Is it putting food on the table, clothes on the backs of the children, buying toys, and playing games with children? Those are all good things, but not the greatest thing. The greatest things a father can do are be faithful to God and share his faith with his children. In the end, that is what will really matter.

I know that fathers sometimes carry around a lot of guilt for not being this or not being that for their children. Some of this guilt is deserved; some is not. Fathers, like mothers, and children are not perfect. In high contrast to this, our LORD is perfect. He is always there, always protecting, always giving, and always loving. He is the perfect Father. So this Father's Day let us honor our Heavenly Father by saying, "I Will Exalt You, O LORD!"

1. You change death to life

We exalt the Lord for many reasons but our Scripture lesson from the Psalms today gives us three specific reasons to exalt the Lord. He changes death to life. He changes sorrow to joy. He changes silence to praise.

King David began Psalm 30 with these words, "I will exalt you, O LORD, for you lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me. O LORD my God, I called to you for help and you healed me. O LORD, you brought me up from the grave; you spared me from going down into the pit." As we hear and read these words God moves our hearts to an understanding that he is the one who changes death to life. And we heard examples of that in all three Scripture lessons that I read from the lectern earlier. The Old Testament lesson told us about the Prophet Elijah raising the Widow of Zarepheth's son from the dead. The Gospel lesson told us that Jesus raised the widow of Nain's son to life. And in the Epistle lesson, we heard the Apostle Paul tell how God changed him from spiritual death to spiritual life.

That is what God does and we exalt the LORD for it because he changes death to life in us also. We were also destined to go to the depths of hell where Satan would gloat over us for eternity. That sounds so harsh but sometimes reality is very harsh. We sinners turned our back on God. Right? Look at our lives of sin. Do you consider God and church the number one priority in life? Have you let all the distractions of the world pull you away from focusing on your faith? Have you been guilty of constantly giving God your leftover time, your leftover money, your leftover talents? Have you been guilty of gossip and backstabbing? Have you been disrespectful your parents? Oh I could stand up here all day pound God's law. We know we are guilty and deserve eternal death.

But we are exalting the LORD today because he changes death to life. God saw the condition we were in, heard our cries for mercy, and brought us out of the grave. He turned our eternal death into eternal life by sending his Son, Jesus Christ, to live the perfect life in our place. Jesus, himself, gave into death on the cross so that, through his blood, our sins would be forgiven. He rose from death to life on Easter Sunday so that we too will live for all eternity. The LORD changed spiritual death to spiritual life for us. And he also will change our physical death to physical life when he comes on the Last Day to raise our bodies from the dead in order that we may be with him forever in heaven. I will exalt you, O LORD! You brought me out the grave and you spared me from the pit of hell. You change death to life.

2. You change sorrow to joy

Psalm 30 also tells us that God changes sorrow to joy. Listen to verses 4-7: "Sing to the LORD, you saints of his; praise his holy name. 5 For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. 6 When I felt secure, I said, "I will never be shaken." 7 O LORD, when you favored me, you made my mountain stand firm; but when you hid your face, I was dismayed."

As Christians, living in an imperfect world, we can surely expect there to be good times and bad times. Life is not always a cakewalk or easy as pie. However we have to make sure that we don't make it harder on ourselves by assuming that our bad times will last forever. They won't. In fact, these words from David's Psalm treat sorrow as if it were merely an overnight guest - here today, gone tomorrow. In fact 2 Corinthians 4:17 tells us, "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all." The tough times here on earth will be nothing compared to our glory in heaven.

Now that is not to underestimate the grief, sorrow and hardship of these days by any means. But we can rest assured that God is our ultimate confidence in distress and sadness. As God turns our sorrow into joy, we can say with King David, "I will never be shaken." Stay by God. Hear and read His Word daily. Pray continually. Whether it is in this life or the next the LORD will bring you joy. I will exalt you, O LORD! You change sorrow into joy.

3. You change silence to praise

And finally as God's Word makes us confident and secure in the joy of Christ Jesus, He will also turn our silence into praise. Hear verses 11 and 12 again. "You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever."

God wants to be praised. King David was bold enough to ask God in verse 9 how he could praise God if he was dead. David was bold in prayer. This was the case because David was keenly aware of the changes God made in him. He felt the gentle hand of a comforting God. He felt the weight of sin and guilt lifted from him when his sin was forgiven by the prophet Nathan. He repeatedly experienced sorrow and joy with his children. And God moved his heart to praise the LORD. This Psalm is proof of that.

Notice that David used the words, "You turned my wailing to dancing; you . . . clothed me with joy." My point is this. It is not wrong to show emotion in worship. It is not wrong to sing and clap and dance to God's glory as you praise the LORD. King David seems to have done it often. But remember that David didn't manufacture it; God produced the emotions within him.

Lutheran worship has been described by some as Old-fashioned, boring, dull, and so on. But who is the worship for? Is it for us? No. Is it for God? Yes! And so do you think that when we come before God with our heartfelt praises, that he cares how emotional we are? Remember that God produces those emotions within us. And so today when we sing the hymn, "How Great Thou Art," and we sing the words, "And when I think that God, his Son not sparing, Sent him to die, I scarce can take it in, That on the cross my burden gladly bearing, He bled and died to take away my sin," it is alright if tears come to your eyes. At the beginning of the service, when forgiveness of sins has been announced to you, it is all right to shout with thanksgiving for all of God's mercies shown to you.

Just remember, though, that it is God who turns our silence to praise and that praise can manifest itself in many different ways. But no matter what emotions accompany our praise, let us never stop giving the Lord our God thanks for all he has done. I will exalt you, O LORD! You change death to life. You change sorrow to joy. You change silence to praise. AMEN.