Dec 24. 2006: Isaiah 11:1-10

MESSAGE SUMMARY FROM ISAIAH 11:1-10 Dec. 24, 2006


Stuart Briscoe is a pastor originally from England.
He recounts a story told to him by an elderly German man, who fought with the German army in World War One. In those days warfare, of course, was not high tech but hand-to-hand trench warfare.
Soldiers lived, fought, and died in trenches full of mud and blood. In those trenches, dug in the fields of France, enemies could actually hear each other talking. They didn't need satellites to locate the enemy. The enemy was just over there.
This elderly German man described how on one cold, moonlit Christmas Eve, he huddled in the bottom of the trench. Because of the annual Christmas truce, the fighting had stopped. Suddenly, from the British trenches a loud, sweet tenor voice began to sing "The Lord Is My Shepherd," and the sound floated up into the clear, moonlit air.
Then from the German trenches, a rich baritone voice tuned in, singing "Der Herr Ist Mein Heiter" For a few moments, everybody in both trenches concentrated on the sound of these two invisible singers and the beautiful music and the harmony. The British soldier and the German soldier sang praise to the Lord who was their shepherd. The singing stopped, and the sound slowly died away.
"We huddled in the bottom of our trenches and tried to keep warm until Christmas Day dawned," he said. "Early on Christmas morning, some of the British soldiers climbed out of their trenches into the “no man's land” carrying a soccer ball."
One soldier carried a round soccer ball. These English soldiers started kicking around a football, in a pickup game in no man's land, between the trenches.
Then the old man said, "Some of the German soldiers climbed out, and England played Germany at football in no man's land on Christmas Day in the middle of the battlefield in France in the first World War."
Then he said, "The next morning, the carnage began again, with machine guns and bayonet fighting. Everything was back to normal."
The Christmas spirit (small “s” as in sentiment) doesn’t always, but the Christmas Spirit (large “S”) can…

If you have your Bibles, please turn to Isaiah 11 vs. 1.

At a time when Isaiah and his people are discouraged with the state of the Kings of Israel and Judah in the 8th century B.C. and yearning for a great King messianic like David…

Isaiah prophecies the coming of a new King….
The Branch From Jesse
1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of might,
the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the LORD—
3 and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
or decide by what he hears with his ears;
4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
5 Righteousness will be his belt
and faithfulness the sash around his waist.
6 The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
and a little child will lead them.
7 The cow will feed with the bear,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
8 Infants will play near the hole of the cobra;
young children will put their hands into the viper's nest.
9 They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the LORD
as the waters cover the sea.
With few exceptions, the Kings of Israel and Judah had not trusted God. These leaders had followed their dark side, and God had allowed the Assyrians to invade their land…

Their “forest” (so to speak) had been burned to the ground.

At time when the Israelites felt no hope…

When people thought the line of David was dead in so far as being able to produce good leaders were concerned, Isaiah brings words of hope.

He says in vs. 1.
1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
Jesse was the father of King David… who’s was arguably the greatest King Israel had ever had, at least in the category that mattered most—devotion to God…
People thought that Jesse’s line had been cut down… that Jesse was just a dead old stump…

But Isaiah says in vs. 1 a shoot will come from the stump of Jesse…

From his roots a Branch will bear fruit…

At a time of great darkness, Isaiah prophecies the coming a new King from Jesse…. a David-like King…

Scholars of the Hebrew Scriptures, point out that this prophecy has a kind partial fulfillment in the work the reigns of King Hezekiah who was a reasonably good king and Josiah who was a great King (whose devotion to God was comparable to David’s), but the prophecy has complete fulfillment in Jesus Christ…

The text tells us that the Spirit would be upon this leader…

In the Hebrew Scriptures, we read of how the Spirit would come upon people for special purposes: sometimes the Spirit would bring wisdom and insight, at others times the Spirit would bring creativity and artistry, and at other times Spirit would bring physical health and strength.

We read in Gospels of how Spirit of God came to rest powerfully upon Jesus…

In John 1:32-33 we read John the Baptist testify:

"I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. 33I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit

What kind of Spirit would be rest upon this King? What kind of Spirit would rest upon Jesus?

Listen to Isaiah:
2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of might,
the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the LORD—
A spirit of wisdom was upon Jesus: he wasn’t trained in the elite, prestigious “schools” of his day. He was a carpenter’s son, yet people marveled at his wisdom…
As the Spirit of God came upon Jesus, if the Spirit falls on us… we will also be people of wisdom…
We need wisdom of God…
The wisdom of God seems so upside down in our culture…
On a CBC radio show that featured the challenges of talking about your faith at work, one person who was a mainline liberal Christian was asked by someone, why are you spending time with that conservative, Evangelical Christian? The person said, “oh actually we have something in common. We both want to live a life centered on God. The guy said, he looked at me as if I had just said, “I had a habit of snacking on infants.”
Biblically speaking wisdom doesn’t begin a Harvard Ph.D (as significant of an achievement as that is), true wisdom comes from fearing God. The Proverbs tells that fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Our passage says that the Spirit of God is a spirit of wisdom, knowledge and fear of God… they are linked. When we reverence God enough to submit to his word, we live in a way consistent with the way God designed us and we flourish… When we live a life centered on God, we fulfill the purpose for our being born…
The wisdom of God will seem so upside down compared to values of this world.
Do you what the number most Googled subject 2006 was?
Paris Hilton…
More people googled (show the paper) Paris Hitlon than people did a search on cancer or Hurricane Katrina or the war between Lebanon and Israel.
I don’t understand the fascination in our culture with Paris Hilton.
Is the ideal life, one where you get to spend some else’s fortune?
Is the ideal life, one where you can command $100,000 to show up at party or a club?
If Google searches are a cultural indicator (and they are), more people than are interested in what Paris Hilton is wearing these days or who she’s partying with now (is still hanging out Brittney?) who she’s dating than whether people are dying in Bagdad.
In stark contrast to the values of our world, the wisdom that comes when the Spirit of God comes upon a person is manifest through generosity, compassion, and self-giving service…
The wisdom of God seems so upside down compared to the value of this world.
It’s not because God’s wisdom is upside down, it just seems upside down in contrast to the world’s value system that is upside down.
We need wisdom and if the Spirit that came upon Jesus comes upon us we’ll have a spirit of wisdom.
If the Spirit that came upon Jesus, comes us what else will be true of us?
According to the text, we will become people of justice.
3 and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
or decide by what he hears with his ears;

(meaning superficial appearances, meaning Jesus’ judging will be impartial and completely just.)
4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
5 Righteousness will be his belt
and faithfulness the sash around his waist.
We will become people of justice.
When the Spirit came and anointed him to serve the poor… In his famous manifesto,
Luke 4:18-19, citing Isaiah 61:1-2
18 "The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
One of the clearest evidences that there is a God at work in the world… is that human beings can have this sense of justice, which is much more difficult to explain if you believe we are simply the result of time of a chance and that we are motivated by a Darwinian survival of the fittest instinct.

I don’t know if you’ve saw the Nov. 13 issue of TIME with the story God vs. Science.

In that issue of TIME there is a debate featured between scientist Dr. Richard Dawkins, author of the God Delusion and Dr. Francis Collins, who led the successful effort to complete Human Genome Project which mapped all of the human DNA.

Richard Dawkins in his book the God Delusion has argued that altruism is part of survival of the fittest, if you help someone else, it might help in you survive in the long run. At the McKinsey consulting firm, they encourage you to be nice to someone you fire because they might be your boss one day.

But Francis Collins argues that there many acts of altruism that are not based on the fact that the other person we are being kind to is part of your family or people who can pay you back. He cites Oskar Schindler risking his life to save more than a thousand Jews from the gas chamber would be the opposite of this. He’s risking his own life to help others who don’t belong to his clan.
Canadian journalist Bronwyn Drainie describes the surprising behavior of a haredi woman i.e.—an ultra-orthodox Jew—at a Jerusalem street market. Drainie says:
The most heroic single act I heard of during my two years in Jerusalem involved a haredi woman. One day, the Jewish street market just around the corner from my boys' school, an Arab terrorist drew a knife among the throng of shoppers and managed to stab two young men before fleeing for his life. The crowd of Israelis, incensed, began running after him, a number of them drawing pistols as they ran. The Arab darted across the street, running straight towards a haredi woman of 40 who was standing at a bus-stop. Her name was Bella Freund.

She sized up what was happening. She stepped directly into the Arab's path and tripped him so that he fell to the ground, and she threw herself on top of him to protect him. The crowd kicked her, spat on her, threatened her with their guns, but they could not loosen her hold on the Arab, and she lay there until the police arrived to take him into custody.

“Her hatred of Arabs, her lifelong conditioning never to touch a man who wasn't her husband, all of it was set aside in a split-second of truth. "I could not see a helpless man killed by a mob, whatever he had done."

Where does that instinct from? The Darwinian instinct to out survive everyone else? Or is a better explanation, that there is a God at work in human beings?

When the Spirit of God comes upon us we become people justice and compassion loving those who do not advantage us…

What else will happen when the Spirit of God comes upon us?

What happen to our relationships?

Then the text goes on to say…
6 The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
and a little child will lead them.
7 The cow will feed with the bear,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
It would be interesting to mark out how different commentators explain this text and when and where and how this is fulfilled in the Kingdom, but that’s different sermon…
But commentators agree on one thing that was Spirit falls upon people and as God’s Kingdom is established… those who were naturally enemies will live in harmony…
We see this quality powerfully in Jesus, we see him loving people were his “enemies.”
Jesus speaks to a Samaritan woman at the well, the kind of person no respectable Jewish man would engage in conversation with because she was a woman and because she was from a race despised by the Jewish people.… Jesus broke the rules and loved people who were despised, cultural outsiders.
Jesus loved his enemies. As was so moving portrayed in the movie the Passion of the Christ… He asked God to forgive those who were nailing his wrists and feet to the cross…
A South African woman stood in an emotionally charged courtroom, listening to white police officers acknowledge the atrocities they had perpetrated in the name of apartheid.
Officer van de Broek acknowledged his responsibility in the death of her son. Along with others, he had shot her 18-year-old son at point-blank range. He and the others partied while they burned his body, turning it over and over on the fire until it was reduced to ashes.
Eight years later, van de Broek and others arrived to seize her husband. A few [hours] later, shortly after midnight, van de Broek came to fetch the woman. He took her to a woodpile where her husband lay bound. She was forced to watch as they poured gasoline over his body and ignited the flames that consumed his body. The last words she heard her husband say were "Forgive them."
Now, van de Broek stood before her awaiting judgment. South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission asked her what she wanted.
"I want three things," she said calmly. "I want Mr. van de Broek to take me to the place where they burned my husband's body. I would like to gather up the dust and give him a decent burial.
"Second, Mr. van de Broek took all my family away from me, and I still have a lot of love to give. Twice a month, I would like for him to come to the ghetto and spend a day with me so I can be a mother to him.
"Third, I would like Mr. van de Broek to know that he is forgiven by God, and that I forgive him, too. I would like someone to lead me to where he is seated, so I can embrace him and he can know my forgiveness is real."
As the elderly woman was led across the courtroom, van de Broek fainted, overwhelmed. Someone began singing "Amazing Grace." Gradually everyone joined in.
This woman understood that to be reconciled with God and was also to be called to reconcile with our neighbors.
The Spirit of God gave her the capacity to do this.
Galatians 5:22-23 tells us that fruit of the Spirit is love.

The Spirit of Christmas (not Christmas sentiment) but the Spirit of Christmas, makes us wise, just, and loving.

My wife and I recently had dinner with a doctor and his wife. This doctor is on faculty of UBC medical school/BC Leadership Chair in Child Development is doing some very important research on infant development…

He was telling us that research with rats has been shown that early life experiences set the gene patterns in their brain.

As he and his team do research on infants they are discovering early experience of stress in a child can set the gene patterns in their brains at in the early years of their lives, calibrating their vulnerability to stressors and perhaps creating pathways for the rest of their lives.

For example, exposure to many stressful events early in life, in a child who has a genetic based vulnerability to depression, can lead to greater vulnerability to depression in adult life.

(BTW, if this research is validated it really makes one question the wisdom of fathers who say, “I’ll work like a dog when my kids are really young, because they won’t remember if I was around or gone, and once I’m a little older, like adolescents, I’ll spend time with them, then I’ll really influence them then…”).

How does connect to the sermon?

If our brain pathways are set early in life, we may wonder whether we can really change or not…

If the Spirit of God comes upon you can be made new… you can become a person of wisdom, justice, love….

If the Spirit comes upon us, we can become people who bear the fruit of the Spirit…

If you think this can’t happen for you remember… Isaiah prophecies that from an old stump… a shoot will grow… from a dry root, comes a branch will bring forth fruit…

And remember this shoot… was born into the most humble of circumstances…

The Spirit of God came upon Mary who was perceived as a scandalous woman: people thought she had been impregnated through some kind of adulterous liaison… and as Bible scholar Doug Greenwald convincingly argues it because of this perception of scandal, not because they was no vacancy sign at the local Ramada Inn, they weren’t welcomed into any guest rooms among their relatives in Bethlehem… and that she was relegated to a cellar cave…

The “Good News” of the birth of Jesus being first announced to shepherds “out in the fields keeping watch over their flocks by night.” Though a shepherd was portrayed with honor in Psalm 23 by the time Jesus’ day rolled around shepherding was viewed as a despised profession – one scorned by observant Jews as unclean.

There were also rabbis during this time who held that shepherds, because of the wandering trespass nature of their profession, could never be forgiven because they could never make retribution for the grasses their flocks ate (stole) from someone else’s land. In this religious system, that means shepherds were technically known as “sinners” – people who could never get right with God – which means they also have no hope.

The angel’s announcement concerning the birth of the hope of the world comes to them… first…

The invitations comes to Magi, aka “wise men” who though successful and wealthy, from the perspective of the Hebrews would a have been seen as spiritual, ethnically, and culturally outsiders.

The Spirit comes to Elizabeth and later Simeon, who are both older people… in our culture that glamorizes youth, older people often feel invisible…

The Spirit can come to the elderly.

Jesus according to John the baptizer is not only the one on whom the Spirit descends, but who baptizes with fire.

So, this Christmas invite the Christ to become to you and baptize you with fire…. Become new not just a for a season, but for a lifetime and beyond.

Pray…

Benediction:

This Christmas and beyond through the Spirit of Christ become a person of wisdom, justice of love… Through the power of the Spirit become the change you long to see in the world…

(The sermon can be heard on line at: www.tenth.ca/audio.htm)

Big Idea: Isaiah 9:1-7 Dec 17, 2006

December 17, 2006 Isaiah 9:1-7

Big Idea: If we invite King Jesus into our lives, we can experience a new story.

Props: light, matches, slides Christmas card box, mask, painting…
The little village of Rattenberg is the one of smallest towns in Austria, and has been getting smaller each year.
The town has lost 20 percent of its population in the past two decades, and as of last year had only 440 residents.
The reason? Darkness.
Rattenberg is nestled behind Rat Mountain—a 3,000--foot obstruction that blocks out the sun from November to February. But thanks to some clever new technology, the town has hopes of getting a little brighter.
An Austrian company called Lichtlabor has come up with a plan to bring sunshine into the darkness by installing 30 heliostat mirrors onto the mountainside. The mirrors will grab light from reflectors on the sunny-side of the mountain and shine it back into the town.
The project was slated to cost about the 3.0 million (US dollars) bill…
It’s hard to live in darkness…
The people of Israel in the late 8 century B.C. were living in darkness, a different kind of darkness:
They were living in a land darkened by a great social and spiritual shadow…
They had been defeated in war by the superpower Assyria and they were living in ruins…
The words of Isaiah the prophet offered them hope in their day and his words have the power to bring us hope too…
If you have your Bibles please turn with me to Isaiah 9:
1 [a]Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan—
[b] 2 The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
a light has dawned.
3 You have enlarged the nation
and increased their joy;
they rejoice before you
as people rejoice at the harvest,
as soldiers rejoice
when dividing the plunder.
4 For as in the day of Midian's defeat,
you have shattered
the yoke that burdens them,
the bar across their shoulders,
the rod of their oppressor.
5 Every warrior's boot used in battle
and every garment rolled in blood
will be destined for burning,
will be fuel for the fire.
6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David's throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the LORD Almighty
will accomplish this.
In Isaiah 9 vs. 1 we read,
1 [a]Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali…
The Northern tribes of Israel, Zebulun and Naphtali (show map) greatly suffered when the King of Assyria attacked in 734 and 732 B.C…
Their land was horribly ravaged…
And Isaiah prophecies:
Vs. 1 In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan—
2 The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
a light has dawned.
The land of Zebulun and Naphtali were part of Northern Galilee (as you can see from the map)….and their land had been devastated when the armies of Assyria ran over them…
Isaiah prophecies that though they are in darkness now, they will be honored… a light will shine upon them…
And this prophecy is fulfilled as Zebulun and Naphatali are the first part of Palestine to be released from military occupation in about 538 B.C….
But, according to the Gospel of Matthew chapter 4 this prophecy has a “later greater” fulfillment in Jesus Christ…
Mardi pointed out last week the prophecies of the Hebrew Scriptures will often have a relatively immediate fulfillment, and sometimes they have a “later, great fulfillment” in Christ….
Matthew, the Gospel writer, shows how this prophecy of a new light, new a leader is fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
Isaiah had prophesied that the people of Galilee would experience a new light has a “sooner fulfillment” as the Galilean provinces of Zebulun and Naphtali are the first part of Palestine released from military occupation, but this prophecy as Matthew points out has a “later great fulfillment” in Jesus Christ.
Turn if you will to Matthew 4:12
12 When Jesus heard that John (the Baptist) had been put in prison, he withdrew to Galilee. 13 Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali— 14 to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah:
15 "Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles—
16 the people living in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
a light has dawned." [f]
17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."
Galilee was a kind of marginal frontier place, far removed from the Jewish center of power.
It was nick-named Galilee of the nations, because it was a place where the of nation of Israel intersected with the nations, where Judaism intersected with paganism…and it here that light of the world Jesus Christ dawns and carries out his ministry…
Vancouver (while now of course more populated than ancient Galilee) historically been considered a frontier place, it is place where the nations meet where faith intersects with secularism…. and the light of the world, Jesus Christ, dawns in a place like this…
The light of the world dawns in the most unlikely places and on the most unlikely people…
As I wrote on the back of our Christmas card this year (hold up card), I recently saw the academy award-winning film Tsotsi set in South Africa.
Tsotsi (Soweto slang for “thug”) is a young gangster who lives in one of Johannesburg, South Africa’s poorest ghettos (slide 1).

Tsotsi has no clear path out of the slum, so he bands together with some other thugs and they pursue life with of life crime…(slide 2).

At gun point mugs a wealthy woman, leaving her screaming in her driveway (slide 3)..

He speeds away in her Mercedes—and later discovers her baby son who has been left in the back seat of her car.

Tsotsi takes the baby back to his shack and tries to look after him… (slide 4, slide 5).

He creates diapers from newspapers (slide 6)., scraps u what little food he can, and totes the baby around in a paper shopping bag (slide 7)..

The innocence and vulnerability of this baby turns this brash, young thug into a self-giving, caregiver…

Because of this baby, he also meets a lovely young woman, a new mom--whom he forces at guns to breast-feed the baby he’s caring for… (slide 8)

She brings out his heart…

The baby draws out Tsotsi’s nobility, beauty, and strength…

Out of Tsotsi’s old story, comes a new story because of this new life (slide 9)…

In Totsi’s darkness a light emerges because of this baby.

And so it is with the Christmas story.

The beauty and purity of the child born in Bethlehem, Jesus Christ, have the power to create a new story out of our old story.

Isaiah 9:2 says
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
a light has dawned." [f]
As the light of the world enters our life a new story emerges out of an old story.

Everyone of here, if we’re honest, has darkness inside us… I know I do…

And the light of the world, can dispel the darkness creating a new story from a old one…

You can go from being fearful, to peace-filled…

from angry to forgiving…

from resentful to grateful…

from restless to content

from being split to integrated

from self-absorbed to self-giving…

from self-centered to God-centered…

Perhaps in this season and in the new year the light of the world will shine upon you and a new story line will emerge for you…

You’ll go from being __________ to ________________.

How does this new dawn come into our lives?

Isaiah prophecies to people whose kings have not been faithful to God and as result they have suffered, but Isaiah
prophesies the coming of new, faithful king and says…

6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
A new dawn can rise in our life, if we invite the light of the world, Jesus Christ, to come and reign in us…
How do we do that?
By inviting the government of our world to rest on his shoulders.
Notice vs. and the government will be on his shoulders.

A new dawn can emerge for us because the government of the world is upon his shoulders…

Jesus in Matthew 11:28 says,

28"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

If the government of our lives is upon Christ shoulders, if the burden of running our life is borne by him, we will find rest for our souls…
Tom Tewell, a gifted and respected Presbyterian Pastor from New York City tells the story of a man name George McCauslin who was bearing the weight of the world on his shoulders. I story I’ve shared before, it’s story a repeat to myself regularly so it I think worth repeating here.
Tom Tewell says that George McCauslin was one of the greatest YMCA directors ever. Some years ago George was serving a YMCA near Pittsburgh. In that area the YMCA was losing membership, had financial difficulties and terrible staff problems, George found himself working 85 hours a week. He found himself getting little sleep at night. He took little time off. And when he was off, he was worrying and fretting about the problems of this YMCA. …
He went to a therapist who told him he was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. He had to learn somehow to let go and somehow to let God into his problems. He didn't know quite how to do that.
So George McCauslin took an afternoon off, took a pad and paper, and took a walk in the western Pennsylvania woods. As he walked through the cool woods, he could just feel his tight body and his tight neck start to relax. He sat down under a tree and sighed. For the first time in months he relaxed.
He got out his pad and paper, and he decided that he would let them go, the burdens of his life. He wrote God a letter. He said, "Dear God, today I hereby resign as general manager of the universe. Love, George."
Then with a twinkle in his eye George McCauslin said, "And wonder of wonders, God accepted my resignation."
Do some of us need to resign general manager or CEO of the universe?

By shifting the government of our world upon Christ’s shoulders, a new light can in our world.

Vs. tells us that government shall be upon his shoulders and his shall be called wonderful counselor:

We need wisdom, someone who can give us good counsel… because sometimes our perspective misleads us…

A week ago, my wife and a friend were at Science World…

We saw a cut open, wooden rectangular box… (use prop) as we looked at it, we were seeing the inside of the box with the corner pointing away from us… if we cover one eye and walk backwards, the corner looked like it was jutting toward and it looked like we were seeing the outside of the box with the corner toward us …

We saw some masks where face was concave, where the face was curved in (concave) as in the inner surface of a sphere, but when we covered on eye it looked normal, convex as in the outer surface of a sphere (use prop).

Sometimes what we see is not what is…

When are flying a looking out their window at the clouds they think they growing straight, when in fact they are turning or they think they are turning when in fact they are going straight.

When pilots experience vertigo, a confused, disoriented state of mind, up can seem down, down can seem up… so they flying toward a mountain and think they need to flying over, if their upside down, but they think right side they will crash right into the mountain.

So they need the to rely on something outside themselves to guide them.

So it with us… sometimes our perspective is off so we need something outside ourselves to guide us.

We need the instrument of his word, we need the counsel of the Holy Spirit… often mediated through people…

We never to face life’s decision alone, we have a wonderful counselor in Jesus Christ…

I know a corporate executive who was facing a very difficult decision.

The company he was working for was being bought out by another company and the chairperson of the company wanted him to engage in some “creative accounting” that would project a level of a level of future profits that didn’t correspond to reality, so they could inflate the stock price before they sold off the company…

This executive was a new Christian… He flew to New York City to make a presentation before representatives of some major investment companies… He said I couldn’t sleep the night before my presentation… so I just lay in my bed and he began to pray earnestly for guidance to my new friend Jesus.

He had a wife and children who were dependent his income… he wanted to be a “team player…”, but he was troubled by what his boss was asking me to do so he prayed through the night, Jesus show me what to do.

The next morning he was in the building standing in the hallway just outside the room where he was supposed to make his presentation and his chairman arrived and Charlie said, I can do a lot for our company, I can tell our story with great enthusiasm but I can’t lie… I can’t present projected profits you’re asking me to present because they don’t reflect reality… The chairman said, get in that room and present the numbers or get off the team… so Charlie walked down the hall and called his wife Suzzane and said, honey, I’ve just been fired… she’d said, Great come on home.”

That decision cost him 20 years of climbing a corporate ladder, it cost him 7 figures of income, but over dinner at his home… Charlie told me that’s the best business I decision I ever made… He looked at his dinner and said God has always provided what we need.

Charlie was able to make the right decision through the help of the wonderful counselor…

We never need to make a major decision alone… we have a wonderful counsel… he may not speak to us audibly, but through the word, Holy Spirit working in our heart and consience…. Through the counsel of a trusted friend…
If we invite the King to shoulder the government of our world upon his shoulders and be our counselor, a new light, a new story can emerge in our lives.
Vs. 6 The government shall be upon his shoulders and he will be called wonderful counselor, mighty God…
“Mighty God” literally, a God with heroic power, God can do all things…. God not only counsels us, but has the power to achieve his purposes in us…
Vs. 6 The government shall be upon his shoulders and he will be called wonderful counselor, mighty God…
“Everlasting Father” we suggests that his kingdom will be eternal and that he will rule as a compassionate provider and protector.

There’s a Christmas song I heard playing Friday, “Christmas it’s is most wonderful time of the year… but for many people it’s a very painful time of the year…

As a kid I loved seeing the show Happy Days. The character Fonz, was the really “cool” guy with white T-shirt, brown leather jacket, hair slicked back (the show was set in the 50s). The Fonz rode a motorcycle with a silver tank. He’s was my hero (the actor Henry Winkler could never get any really good roles after Happy Days, because everyone would think what are you doing in this show, we all know you’re the Fonz). During one episode of Happy Days, it was Christmas and the Fonz was in his garage alone (he was a mechanic)… and he was getting set to open a can of ravioli and eat it cold for his Christmas dinner… it was poignant and sad to see that the Fonz had no one to celebrate Christmas with… I remember that scene to this day!

For people who have no one to celebrate Christmas with, or if they’ve lost a parent, spouse, a child, a friend… a loved one, Christmas can be painful.

Christmas for others can be a time of conflict… people ask me to pray there would harmony for their family as they gather for Christmas… for Christmnas other can be complex… which part of the family will we spend Christmas Eve with this year? Which part of the family will spend Christmas day with this year?

If we invite God to be our everlasting father, he can bring us comfort in pain and new dawn can emerge, a new story…

The government of our world is upon his shoulders, he shall be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, prince of peace…

“Prince of Peace” suggests not just a cessation of conflict, but that his rule will bring wholeness and well-being to both individuals and to communities….

My painting…

This past year on my 10th anniversary here at this church to my great surprise this community, you all, gave me a very generous and meaningful gift… a painting by one of favorite local artists Michael Den Hertog…

It scene of a lake overcast with clouds, but if you look at top of the painting you can see some sunlight breaking through… the rays of light illuminate some of the trees and part of the water below…

Sometimes people will walk in our house and pause and stare at this painting… some will say it’s very inviting…

The little of bit of sun light that breaks through the clouds transforms an otherwise rather stark painting into an inviting one…

Some of us here may feel like we’re in a cloud.

Perhaps we’re in a time of stress.

Perhaps we’re experiencing pain.

Perhaps we’re experiencing some kind of loss.

Or perhaps because of our sins or the sins of others we may feel like we are beyond the reach of God’s favor…

Isaiah 9:2 says to people who are walking in darkness. largely because of their stupidity and sins… a new light has dawned…
Jesus years later, in fulfillment of this prophecy would say in, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life (John 8:12)"
If you follow Jesus, you need not walk in darkness, but can walk with light of life…

If you invite the government of the your world to be upon his shoulders, if you invite him to be your wonderful counselor, mighty God everlasting Father, prince of peace, a new dawn, a new story will emerge for you.
Let’s pray:
Pray for his light shine into your life……
Invite him to be your King…
6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
The King is a gift….

and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called

Wonderful Counselor…
Mighty God,

Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace.

(next week, Christmas Eve, carols by candlelight, invite)

(The seron can be heard on line at: www.tenth.ca/audio.htm)

Shaped to Serve: Pov 14:20-21, (Dec 3. 2006)

Shaped to Serve Proverb 14:20-21 December 3, 2006

When I was living in Orange County California, I’d often read one of the local papers in the morning—typically the Los Angeles Times (Orange County edition) or the Orange County Register, and I remember being struck by that every other page seemed to have some kind of advertisement on how you could improve your appearance through plastic surgery.

In our papers here in Vancouver, there are often ads on how to lose weight, how to make a bunch of money through 5 or 7 principles, etc., how you can win a beautiful home or condo through the lottery.

Newspapers carry all kind of ads and articles on how to get more out of life.

Book stores are filled with books on how to get more for your self in life.

Banks have posters describing how you can get more bang from your investment buck.

When was the last time you saw an ad for a financial services company that offered to show you who could plan a wise strategy to give more of your money away?

Even in Christian publishing circles, it seems like there a quite a lot of emphasis on how to get more out of life.

Some years ago, book The Prayer of Jabez was a runaway bestseller.

In all fairness to the author, he did not intend for the book to be read this way, but many “read” the book as means to enlarge their personal territory and become prosperous.

I heard of someone who was walking across a university campus with a T shirt that read, “I prayed the prayer of Jabez, and all I got was this lousy T-shirt.”

I wonder how a book on Paul’s prayer to know the fellowship of Christ’s suffering would have fared…

Yet, the Christian life is a call to find discover true life, not through trying to get as much as we can, but through giving, through self-giving service to God and people.2x

We’ve been going through a series in the book of Proverbs, a book that deals with wisdom and life competence and one the themes that streams through the books Proverbs is that the wise, upright person serves God and others.

The writers of the book of Proverbs state that the wise person, the person integrity is willing to sacrifice their personal self-interest for the good of the larger community, whereas the wicked person is willing to sacrifice the good of the community for their personal self interest…

If you have your Bibles please turn to Proverbs 14:20-21…
20 The poor are shunned even by their neighbors,
but the rich have many friends.
21 It is a sin to despise one's neighbor,
but blessed are those who are kind to the needy.
Bruce Waltke comments, “The poor are shunned by their neighbors even if they are people of good character because people don’t want to associate with the poor because they fear that that the poor might demand something of them.” Whereas the rich may have many “friends” even if they have bad character, because the others feel like they might be an asset to them.
But the blessed person is the one who resists “calculating” and who freely shows kindness to the poor…
Proverbs 29:7… The righteous (i.e. the morally upstanding person) cares about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern.

The morally upright person cares for others, whether that person can benefit them personally or not, they care about justice for the poor.

Proverbs 12:10… The righteous care for the needs of their animals, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel…

Animals we not nearly as doted upon then as they are here as the in Vancouver (My wife and I were with a couple this past week from another country and they surprised when they were allowed to bring their dog into the bank and stunned when bank teller asked if she could give their dog a dog biscuit.)

The wise person, the person, of integrity cares about the welfare of others, particularly the poor and even animals.

The righteous are willing to sacrifice their self-interest for interests of the wider community--whereas the wicked are willing to sacrifice the interests of the community for their self-interest.

Charles Stuart would be an extreme example of the later. He apparently murdered his pregnant wife and their unborn child and tried to deflect suspicion by claiming that a black man had killed her. Stuart had grand plans to open a restaurant which would make him rich and respected, and apparently felt that having a wife and child would distract him from reaching this goal. When Stuart became a prime suspect and subject of investigation, he jumped off a bridge in Boston.

This is an extreme example or narcissism. Scott Pederson’s murder of his wife Laci would be another extreme example…

In comparison to these people, we may think we’re not self-centered and narcissistic at all, but as writers Christopher Lasch the author ofThe Culture of Narcissism and Robert Bellah co-author of the book Habits of the Heart have pointed out, self-absorption and narcissism is rampant throughout society.

Dr. Robert Bellah discovered through the vast research he and his colleagues at the University of California at Berkeley and Stanford did on the middle class, that the overriding riding goals of the middle class were personal success and vivid personal feelings. They found from the institution of business people want personal success, out of the institution of marriage people want personal fulfillment, and out of the institution of religion people want personal development… the personal, the self has become the overriding focus for people.

The writers of the spiritual life point out, self-absorption kills the spiritual life.2x

Serving others can help get us out of ourselves in the best sense of that word…

As we come to the final message in this series on the book of Proverbs…. I want to us to consider the service… The book of Proverbs tells us the wise, integrated person lives a life of self-giving service to God and others…

So what does this path look like?

Serving others can help us get out of ourselves, but it also involves pain and sacrifice… it involves the way of the cross…

In Luke 9 Jesus said, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.

Taking up our cross means that we choose to lay down our interest and die to a part of ourselves to serve God and others.”

Sometimes people will say I have cross to bear and then they go on to talk about a terrible boss or a rebellious child… or some sickness… and they tend describe some kind of involuntary suffering, i.e. suffering they didn’t choose.

When Jesus calls us to take up our cross, he talking about voluntary suffering.

Jesus engaged in voluntary suffering when he died on the cross for our sins.

Jesus said in John 10 18 No one takes my life from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.

Paul engages in voluntary suffering when he proclaims in the Rome that Jesus, i.e. is Caesar, is Lord, Kurios… knowing that he would be imprisoned for that proclamation…

Most of us are not going to go to the cross literally…

Most of us like the apostle Paul will not imprisoned for proclaiming the Gospel.

But when we voluntarily choose to forgo our self interest for the sake of God and others in self-giving service we can participate in the way of the cross…
Shane Claiborne, who spent a summer in the slums of Calcutta with Mother Teresa, in his book the Irresistible Revolution he says: people often ask me what Mother Teresa was like. Sometimes it's like they wonder if she glowed in the dark or had a halo. She was short, wrinkled, and precious, maybe even a little ornery—like a beautiful, wise old granny. But there is one thing I will never forget—her feet. Her feet were deformed. Each morning in Mass, I would stare at them. I wondered if she had contracted leprosy. But I wasn't going to ask, of course. "Hey Mother, what's wrong with your feet?"
One day a sister said to us, "Have you noticed her feet?" We nodded, curious. She said: "Her feet are deformed because we get just enough donated shoes for everyone, and Mother does not want anyone to get stuck with the worst pair, so she digs through and finds them. And years of doing that have deformed her feet." Years of loving her neighbor as herself deformed her feet.

That’s dying to our self and taking up the cross,

A little closer to home… when my wife Sakiko and her sister, were young children, and their mother their presented them with two toys or two pieces of pastry… Sakiko let her always pick first… (Very unlike our family growing up, where one person cut the other picked or we’d had to draw straws to decided the picking order… it was survival of the fittest among the kids in our home!) When we honor others above ourselves in homes and communities…

That’s dying to self, that’s taking up the cross…

I have a friend who is Christian business leader… I noticed he was spending time each year going to the developing world to help with some well project… I asked him about it and he said I tithe my money, the first 10% goes to God, I also tithe my time… I know we are to tithe our income, but what about our time? I said the Bible is clear that the first tenth of income is to be offered to God, but it doesn’t specifically say anything about 10% of our time going to service… in one sense all of our is to be devoted in service to God, but if you can give 10% of your time to “overt Christian service” but I think it’s a great idea…

He was giving up vacation time to serve others…

That’s a kind of death to self, taking up the cross.

This past week people who volunteered for our ministry for the homeless, Out of the Cold, because of the extreme weather alert… Volunteers came and served here, some stayed over night, giving the warmth up the warmth of their homes for a night (our power was out this past week because of the weather) and gave up their sleep…

Dorothy Sayers says, Live a life so mysterious that the only explanation is the presence of a living, loving God.”

We are called to life a life of service, we are called to the way of the cross…

I don’t embody this perfect by a long shot, but I want to live with this way…

Some times people who care about me, who are not Christians will say with a really caring motive, I know of a career move you could make that would both reduce your stress level and increase your income. I try to explain that I can my life goal isn’t to increase my comfort level or my income, it is service… If you are follower of Christ that’s your call too. Your particular way you express may different from me, but you are called to life of service…

Dorothy Sayers says, “Live a life so mysterious that the only explanation is the presence of a living, loving God.”
Roy Hattersley an outspoken atheist who works as a columnist for the U.K. Guardian, laments "It ought to be possible to live a Christian life without being a Christian."
Hattersley came to this conclusion after watching the Salvation Army lead several other faith-based organizations in the relief effort after Hurricane Katrina.
Notable by their absence," he says, were atheists' associations and free thinking clubs—the sort of people who scoff at religious people.
According to Hattersley, it is an unavoidable conclusion that Christians "are the people most likely to take the risks and make the sacrifices involved in helping others."
Hattersley says secular people do not believe that drug addiction and prostitution offend God. But Christian people who do not agree with those risk-life lifestyles are the most willing to change dirty bandages, offer medical care, and give dry sleeping bag without a trace of impatience…

“Live a life so mysterious that the only explanation is the presence of a living, loving God.”

The wise righteous person serves God and it involves the way of the cross.

When we choose to serve God and others, there will be pain and sacrifice--the cross, but there will also be resurrection… a meeting of God.

Paul says: Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4, we carry around in our bodies the death of Jesus, that is a willingness to suffer and to even literally die in serving God, and so that God’s life may be revealed in our mortal bodies….

I’m now going tinvite people in our community through to now share some of their own experiences serving:

Deanna:
two summers ago - I accepted to go to camp w/ my family & work for a week as a cook in the kitchen. I was asked to work in the kitchen – after I agreed, I naturally began to focus on the “hard” part ahead of me. The intense cooking for 7 days straight, I am no “Martha Stewart”. Then along w/ the 5:30 am early mornings & the late night prep-work until 11 or 11:30 – wow, those who know me, understand I have a few sleep issues! Even to the point of having co-workers Personally, I knew this was going toJknock on my door to wake me one morning be a stretch – something unnatural!
So, as I have learned to do in many other situations, I gave my self over to God, believing I’m a part of something greater, something bigger then myself. I wanted God to use me & the gifts He had given me to work for His glory & purpose. I consciously, and repeatedly, prayed leading up to & during that week; sharing w/ my family & friends my desire to believe in the words, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” In return, God used me that week - @ times, He pushed me harder – to sacrifice, to work, to serve, to be challenged & to give truly of my self. God filled me w/ a joyful Spirit & a willing attitude, something I had prayed for - and not once did I feel over worked or tired to the point I was wanting someone to look after me.
I left that week in awe of my God! B/c it was in those times, in the “tired times, “hard times”, when I had been brought closer to my Creator, having my faith grow stronger. And through Him, I also experienced times of tremendous excitement, satisfaction, joyfulness - which flourished my soul down to its core.
Steve:

Four years ago, I moved to this neighbourhood and, ever since, I have been profoundly disturbed at the growing number of homeless people that I see on my evening walks. When Tenth launched its Out of the Cold program, I volunteered to stay overnight to look over the homeless men and women who call the gym floor their home for one night of the week.

On a bitterly cold winter night, one of the guests asked for a wake up call at 5:30am. This is not uncommon, as some of our guests work for day labour agencies. In exchange, they receive minimum wage, no benefits and no job security. When I first learned of this, it shattered my stereotype of the homeless.

After waking the guest, I went back downstairs. When he came down, I invited him to sit on a couch and placed a space heater in front of him to keep him warm. I brought him some fruit for breakfast and a small bag lunch.

As I let him out the door, he turned around, shook my hand, looked me in the eye, and said with utmost sincerity and gratitude three words that caught me off guard and moved me to tears. He said, "God bless you."

I later found out that he had had a bad church experience and thought all churches were the same. He had stopped going to church until he was touched by the heart of all the volunteers at Out of the Cold. He now attends Mosaic, a Tenth Avenue Church plant. He remains homeless, yet still praises and worships God. He has helped me draw closer to God, especially in the face of adversity.

I chose to serve our Lord, hoping to bless others. Instead, it is I who has been blessed.


Kirsten:
Since I was a child, I have always drawn happy faces by my name. Constantly nagging people to be joyful, to smile, to 'turn their frown upside down'. I have always known the presence of God.
Upon arriving to a crowded 'hospital' in Indonesia for the tsunami, I found myself surrounded by death. Our team created an intensive care unit for our sickest patients at our hospital, where I nursed them all day and all night, only to have them die in my arms. The ground was filled with corpses, the smell of death lingered. I needed to escape for a few moments, and I took a walk down what was left of the streets, coming across a bridge. I stopped to rest, only to find myself watching workers discover more dead bodies. I found myself overcome with the suffering, with exhaustion, with so little hope. I felt alone, consumed and overwhelmed with grief, I felt like God was absent, a feeling I had never truly experienced.
I turned and began to walk back to the hospital, exhausted and defeated, wondering how I would get through the next few weeks with such little hope. I looked up and found a little girl shyly pointing and smiling at me, her little brothers and sisters following. Timid and scared at first noticing my height and seeing my blond curly hair. They started laughing and I started crying, overwhelmed at their smiles. I bent over and a balloon fell out of my pocket. I blew it up for them, bright and yello with a cheesy smiley face on it. They smiled with joy, and I looked into their eyes and saw them as children of God. It was this simple moment that pushed me to go on, knowing that we are all children of God.
This is what compels me to be a servant. Seeing God in the eyes of humans, knowing He is there.
The paradox of the Christian life is that is that as we are willing “to die” in service that we experience the life of God.

The path of service involves the cross, but resurrection and new life, and enables us to bless the world

At the City Hall, hearings for our Out of the Cold ministry, our ministry for the homeless here, a number of people spoke who were in favor of the program and a number of people spoke who were in opposition to the program. People opposed to the program said things like the problem the homeless ministry at the church is that it is run mostly by volunteers, they’re not professionals, we need more than a band aid, what is needed more professionally trained, government workers…

As I sat there, I thought wait a minute… as far I know I faith-based volunteer program have higher have a significantly higher rate of success than secular government programs…

I didn’t have the figures at my finger tips, but I thought I need to talk to Chuck Colson about this when I see him next week…

Chuck Colson as some of you would know, was an aide to President Nixon and went to prison for his role in Watergate… Colson became a Christian and started a ministry for prisoners and their families called Prison Fellowship.

The following week I was in Boston with Chuck Colson to attend a board meeting.

It turned out that Chuck and I rode in the same car to one of our meetings.

I asked Chuck…”When it comes to prison recidivism rates (rate of prisoners being rearrested and/or imprisoned after release how do faith-based programmed compare to secular, government programs?)

He said the faith-based programs are dramatically more successful. The general recidivism rate in the United is about 67% person (within 5 years of a person’s release from prison). People who go through the prison fellowship program and graduate have 8% rate of recidivism.

Why are is Christian based volunteer program more effective than secular, government programs? Colson said the secular programs emphasize therapy… which means they identity a person’s problem, whereas a Christian program emphasizes transformation of the whole person.

This week I was reading a done by the University of Pennsylvania on prisoner reform program. The report pointed out that secular programs tend to not work in helping keep people out of prison, but to surprise of the researchers, the faith-based ones do. The reasons they work is that faith-based programs foster inner change people and emphasize the message “You must give something to society.” People come out of the Prison Fellowship program says, “I wasn’t following when I came God into the program, I have now received Jesus, I am not the person I used to be, I now realized I need to give back to society.”

I remember Chuck Colson (in another context) talking about a retired couple volunteering with Prison Fellowship in the Midwest. They had been corresponding with and visiting a prisoner for about 20 years. The prisoner was about to be released… and this retired couple told this prisoner, “When you get out, you come and live with us until you get a job and until you can afford a place of your own, we’re you’re family…”

I remember Chuck said, “I think that prisoner is going to make it”.

Government plays a very important role in people’s live, but it’s hard to imagine a government paid worker having a greater in the life on inmate that retired volunteer couple.

Never underestimate the power that servicing and loving other can have in a life.…

When we serve, we experience death, we experience the way of the cross, the power of the resurrection, and bring blessing the world.

Does this those patterns sound familiar?

It’s the way of Jesus. Jesus died on a cross, he rose again, he resurrected, and through that brought us the world’s greatest gift—forgiveness of sins and reconciliation to God.

The atheist columnist Hattersly asked, “Can’t the Christian be lived without being a Christian?”

IF the Christian life were primarily an idea, a set of propositions, the answer would be yes. The Christian Gospel is not primarily an idea or proposition, but it’s a person, it is Jesus Christ.

The way to live a life of true Christian service is invite Jesus Christ, the one who died cross, resurrected and blessed the world like none other to come and live his life through you…

Go into the Lord’s Supper.

Benediction:

“Live a life so mysterious that the only explanation is the presence of a living, loving God.”


(The sermon can be heard on line at: www.tenth.ca/audio htm)