Merry Christmas!
It has been nice having Missy home for Christmas. She is leaving next week to take the bus down to Orlando with the marching band for the Orange Bowl game. I’ve eaten too much turkey and stuffing. I preached a funeral for a woman who got her Christmas wish to go to heaven for Christmas. She was 96 years old! Her name was Ernestine Davis.
I’m touched by the story of the three wise men or magi who saw the Christmas Star and traveled to see the Christ child. The Bible mentions them briefly. Matthew 2:1-12 tells the story of the Visit of the Magi.
“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him."
These few scriptures tell us a lot. The magi studied the scriptures like Isaiah 61 which we will read later. They learned that a messiah would be born who would be the King of the Jews. They did more than just study. They took action. They learned what to expect when Jesus was born. They prepared themselves so that they would be ready to make the journey to see the Christ child. We don’t know who they were, where they came from, and even their religious background.
We don’t have their names. The Bible doesn’t really tell us that there were even three wise men. Tradition places the number at three wise men because three gifts were given to the baby Jesus. They were not Jewish priests and they came from afar. Historians believe that they were from Persia or modern day Iran. Israelites were exiled to Persia as documented in Daniel’s exile story. Scholars were also exiled who would have brought the Hebrew Scriptures with them. We also know that they were men, because women would’ve found the Christ child without having to stop to ask directions from so many people. They probably stopped at every street corner to ask directions which got the attention of the first King Herod.
3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. "In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written: 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.'
King Herod was afraid that his reign as ruler was threatened. He was king because of the Roman authority. Jesus was just an infant, but he had God’s authority. Jesus was foretold to be the shepherd of the people of Israel. The quote here is from Micah 5:2. The word ruler indicates someone who will be harsh king, but the term shepherd clarifies that Jesus will be a king of peace and love who looks after his flock.
"Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him."
King Herod wanted to learn about the Christ child, but it was for a selfish reason. He wanted to preserve his kingdom. King Herod rebuilt the temple built by Solomon. King Herod spent his time building a big, beautiful temple. He hired a lot of priests and lawyers to make sure that people obeyed the Jewish law. King Herod looked good, he smelled good, but his heart was not into worshipping God. King Herod was focused on the things of this world – wealth, power, prestige, big monuments to himself, and a future for his sons to become king after him.
After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of frankincense and of myrrh.
The wise men were overjoyed to see the signs of baby Jesus. The wise men actually bowed down and worshipped Jesus. Here’s a key phrase. They opened their treasures and presented Jesus with gifts. We need to open up our treasures and present Jesus with gifts. Are we willing to open up our earthly treasures? Are we willing to worship Jesus instead of following the example of King Herod? King Herod was threatened by a messiah given to us by God. The Christ child is born in Bethlehem. We can choose to look for the signs that show us the way to Jesus Christ or we can put our eyes onto early treasures.
And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.”
The final verse is a warning to the wise men to avoid the ways of King Herod. Not only did the wise men listen, but they acted on that warning. Are we going to go back to our old way or are we going to return to God using a new way?
We have to be careful that we worship God in church instead of worshiping the church as a God. King Herod was building physical monuments to God, but he forgot that he was a servant of God first. King Herod did not have a place in his heart for the Christ Child. In fact, he killed an entire generation of baby boys so that he could be assured that the Christ Child was dead.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Who is Jesus?
Our first scripture is from Isaiah 35:1-10. It describes the change that takes place when Jesus Christ blesses a place and what the place is like without God’s presence in a place.
“The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, 2 it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the LORD, the splendor of our God. Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, "Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you." Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow. And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not journey on it; it will be for those who walk in that Way; wicked fools will not go about on it. No lion will be there, nor will any ferocious beast get up on it; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there, and the ransomed of the LORD will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.”
Who is Jesus? That was the question that John the Baptist wanted to know when he was in prison. Jesus also asked his disciples “Who do you say that I am?” The Bible takes a lot of time to explain, describe, and show who Jesus Christ was, is, and will be.
I think it is useful to start at the beginning with John 1:1-5 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.”
There’s a lot of detail in those few words. First, it tells us that Jesus is the Word. The Word is scripture, our Bible. It also says that Jesus was with God in the beginning. Through Jesus all things were made. It says that without Jesus nothing would be made. Jesus is life. It is so simple. Jesus is life. It also says that Jesus shines in the darkness. There’s two ways to think about darkness. The first, is the darkness that covered the earth because of an absence of the sun, moon, and the stars. The other, is the spiritual darkness that exists because of an absence of the Son of God.
I’ve preached in places that were in spiritual darkness. I’ve preached that Jesus Christ is the light of this world. That his light will shine in the darkness. In fact, I preached under a big tree at night with just a kerosene lantern in a place that was totally dark both physically and spiritually. [Tell the story of preaching in Diani in 2006] Africa is the dark continent because there’s very few lights on after dark.
The light of Jesus Christ is the light of faith, hope, and love. The darkness will never understand faith, hope, love, and peace. The darkness only knows fear, evil, lies, death, and sin. It is important for us this Christmas season to understand who Jesus Christ is to us personally and as a people.
In Matthew 16:15-20 Jesus asked “But what about you? Who do you say I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." In Mark 8:27-29 , the disciples replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets." "But what about you?" Jesus asked. "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "You are the Christ."
Jesus wanted his disciples to understand who he was. Peter says that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Jesus also explains that Peter’s knowledge requires Peter to know about the Father to understand the Son. Jesus is also explaining that Jesus is the church. Jesus is the body of Christian believers. Later, Jesus also states that you need to know the Son in order to know God the Father.
Ok. So, let’s talk about what we know about Jesus so far:
- Jesus is the Son of God
- Jesus is the Word
- Jesus is the Church
- Jesus is the light of this World.
- Jesus can shine in the darkness
- Jesus is the Creator. He was with God in the beginning
- Jesus is love.
- Jesus is the Son of the Virgin Mary.
- Jesus was a Jewish Rabbi – a pastor
- Jesus was a Teacher
- Jesus was a Preacher
We also know that Jesus brought the love of God to us so that we might be able to grasp the love of God in a personal way. Romans 8:39 says “Neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” That is just another way to say that Jesus Christ Loves this world. Shouldn’t we be looking for Christ’s love at Christmas time?
The next fact is that Jesus is our salvation. We know that from Romans 10:9 “That if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” We just need to believe and confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord in our lives. We need to ask in prayer for God to reveal Jesus to us.
First Corinthians 8:6 talks about the relationship between God the father and God the Son: “Yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.” The baptism of Jesus by John Baptist also sheds some light on the Holy Trinity. In Matthew 3:16-17, it says “As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
We talk about believing in the Father, and in the Son, and in the Holy Spirit. It is hard to understand that God is the trinity and yet we worship just one God. I think of God the Father as God in Heaven who is all powerful and all knowing. I think of Jesus Christ as my best friend who can pick me up when I’m weak. I think of the Holy Spirit as God’s helper who is within me and making me a better man. God is all powerful and all knowing. God can take whatever form he needs to enable us to know Him better. God uses the trinity to show his love. In fact, the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
Christ Jesus himself is the chief cornerstone of our church and our lives. The cornerstone is the one stone that is essential to have a strong building. Jesus is our cornerstone. The Apostle Paul spent a lot of time talking about Jesus Christ, In Ephesians 3:4-13, Paul writes In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God's holy apostles and prophets. This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace given me through the working of his power. Although I am less than the least of all God's people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.
Ok, what is Paul talking about in Ephesians? Paul tells us that Jesus helps us to approach God with freedom and confidence. We are better able to understand God because Jesus was flesh and blood like us. Jesus lived like us. Jesus was tempted like us. Jesus was someone that we could understand because God sent Jesus to us to explain the mysteries of God.
Matthew 11: says: After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee. When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples to ask him, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?" Jesus replied, "Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me." As John's disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: "What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind? If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings' palaces. Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written: " 'I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.' I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
Matthew 16:21-23 says: From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!" Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."
Philippians 2:1-11 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Gift of Christmas
Isaiah talks about the hope, the dream, and the promise of Jesus. He talks about a root that will bear fruit. It doesn’t make sense at this time of year when most of the growth is happening underground where we can’t see it. There’s so much that God gives us that we can’t see like the roots of a tree. If the tree did not have roots it would not have a foundation and it could stand tall and strong. There’s a lot of talk about knowing a good tree by the good fruit that it bears.
During the Jewish exile, it was the hope of the Messiah that kept people going. We have the promise of Jesus Christ in our lives. We don’t have to wait to see Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. We just have to make a choice to invite Jesus Christ into our lives and into our hearts.
Isaiah 11:1-3: 1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD - and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.
The faithful people of Israel felt more like a beautiful tree that had been cut down and that all that was left was a rotting stump. It was hard to imagine that a tree stump would grow --- much less bear good fruit again, but that was the promise of Jesus Christ. There are so many nuggets in these words. I love the word “rest.” The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him. The Spirit of the Lord is like a warm down quilt on a cold winter’s night. It covers us up with God’s grace.
There are times that we also feel like tree stumps. If Jesus was able to redeem the Jewish people who were in exile in a foreign land, then he can redeem us, too. The stump also alludes to Christ on the cross and his resurrection. Isaiah describes a lot of characteristics of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Isaiah also talks about the example Jesus makes for us to follow. The prophet continues:
Isaiah 11:1-10 The Branch From Jesse
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; 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. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.
This scripture is describing a new way of seeing and hearing the world. We will no longer see with our eyes, but we will see with the eyes of God. We will no longer hear with our ears, but we will hear with the faith of God. We will have the gifts of discernment and understanding. We will have compassion for our fellow man and we will share the love of Jesus Christ. We are going to be a faithful people.
All of that is wonderful, and Isaiah continues with a promise:
The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling [a] together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest.
This scripture has so many meanings. It talks about peace without war. It talks about the time when we no longer hate and our enemy is our friend. This scripture describes Jesus as the Prince of Peace who will cause the wolf to live with the lamb. It also describes Jesus as the good shepherd who protects and cares for his people.
9 They will neither harm nor destroy on my entire holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious.
It talks about a time when all of the nations of the world know about God. The earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. In Ghana, on this trip they told me that Walter stands for water. They said that I am everywhere because water flows everywhere. If you are sailing in the ocean, it looks like water covers the earth. If you look in every direction, the only thing that you see is water. Just imagine a time when everyone knows and loves God. That is the promise of Isaiah 11.
Today, we love to read the gospels. In fact, the gospels are almost a must at Christmas time, but I love looking at the Old Testament scriptures that describe Jesus as the Messiah. Have you ever gone to Dairy Queen and seen all of the ice cream. It looks sooooo good! As a child, I daydreamed about a banana split, a hot fudge sundae, or a strawberry shake. I also had a hard time waiting for the hand cranked homemade ice cream to harden. I can almost taste that first bite of ice cream. That is what Isaiah was trying to do. He was trying to get you to take that first bite of Jesus Christ as our Messiah. He was trying to get you to want to taste the future messiah who was coming to change the world.
The message that the Prophet Isaiah gives is still a great message today. He is telling us that Jesus is still our future. Jesus Christ is better than a banana split or hot fudge sundae. Jesus Christ can change our lives instead of just our waist. We have a month to anticipate Jesus Christ’s birth in our lives again this year.
Let’s stop running around long enough trying to find Christmas presents to find the true gift of Christmas. The gift of Christmas is Jesus Christ. The gift of Jesus Christ is to realize the promise that the Prophet Isaiah was describing for us. Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life.
I admit that I’ve been running around this week. I’m working on a new Rotary grant to give more people clean water in Africa. It is never easy. There’s always a huge challenge trying to figure out what to do and how to do it. We thought about buying a drill rig so that we could drill more wells at a cheaper price. We thought about using solar power to pump water into cities. We’ve thought about fixing pumps that have died and digging more wells. It takes a lot of time to figure out what to do, where to do it, and how much it will cost next year to do it. We finally decided not buy a drill rig. We decided to avoid solar energy in the African bush for now. We finally decided to dig hand dug wells, fix broken wells, and drill deep wells.
God has given me the gift to tell the story of people in pain, people who are hungry, and people who are thirsty. God uses me to share the message to share the gospel of peace and to share the message that we should love our neighbor as our self regardless of where in the world our neighbor may live.
I love being your pastor. I’ve got so much to learn. The gift of being your Pastor is that it makes me stop doing the “busyness of life” so that I can be in the presence of God to study the scriptures and to write your sermon.
Our next scripture is talking about the man who came to prepare the way for Jesus Christ and his ministry here on earth. Last week, we learned how Zechariah and Elizabeth learned that they would be parents of John the Baptist. In the Gospel of Matthew, we start to learn about
Matthew 3:1-12 says: In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea 2and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." 3This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: "A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.' John's clothes were made of camel's hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 5People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. John the Baptist followed the path that the Angel Gabriel had prophesied in our scripture reading last week. He definitely would be someone unusual in most churches today. His heart was baptizing as many people as possible and telling them about God. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
The gift this Christmas is the gift of baptism with the Holy Spirit. Baptism with the Holy Spirit is salvation that begins at that moment when we accept Jesus Christ into our lives as our Lord and Savior. Eternity doesn’t start when we die. Eternity starts when God rests on our heart and fills us with his knowledge, wisdom, and love.
John the Baptist was one of those preachers who loved to tell the wonders of God. I imagine he was a guy that on a good day he preached and baptized until he couldn’t baptize people anymore. I’ve only experienced that once in my life. It was on my first trip to Ghana in 2003. I didn’t know about God’s power and the power of the Holy Spirit until that trip.
Talk about Gbani, praying, witch doctor, taking 150 people to the riverside and baptizing 81 people from Gbani and Sagadugu. That was the first time I saw a glimpse into why John the Baptist was driven to baptize as many people as possible and bring them to the full knowledge of God. The full power of the Holy Spirit rested on John the Baptist and Jesus Christ.
John the Baptist wasn’t the message. He just wanted to tell as many people as possible about God and that Jesus would come and baptize with the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist is an inspiration to us that we should share the gift of Christmas to as many people as possible. To be able to share the gift of Christmas we need to love God with all of our heart, our soul, our mind, and our strength and love our neighbor as our self.
The gift of Jesus Christ is free. He paid our price in full on the cross. If we spend our time trying to buy our happiness at Christmas, we are looking in the wrong place. We need to turn our eyes, our ears, and heart so that we can see with the eyes of God.
During the Jewish exile, it was the hope of the Messiah that kept people going. We have the promise of Jesus Christ in our lives. We don’t have to wait to see Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. We just have to make a choice to invite Jesus Christ into our lives and into our hearts.
Isaiah 11:1-3: 1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD - and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.
The faithful people of Israel felt more like a beautiful tree that had been cut down and that all that was left was a rotting stump. It was hard to imagine that a tree stump would grow --- much less bear good fruit again, but that was the promise of Jesus Christ. There are so many nuggets in these words. I love the word “rest.” The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him. The Spirit of the Lord is like a warm down quilt on a cold winter’s night. It covers us up with God’s grace.
There are times that we also feel like tree stumps. If Jesus was able to redeem the Jewish people who were in exile in a foreign land, then he can redeem us, too. The stump also alludes to Christ on the cross and his resurrection. Isaiah describes a lot of characteristics of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Isaiah also talks about the example Jesus makes for us to follow. The prophet continues:
Isaiah 11:1-10 The Branch From Jesse
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; 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. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.
This scripture is describing a new way of seeing and hearing the world. We will no longer see with our eyes, but we will see with the eyes of God. We will no longer hear with our ears, but we will hear with the faith of God. We will have the gifts of discernment and understanding. We will have compassion for our fellow man and we will share the love of Jesus Christ. We are going to be a faithful people.
All of that is wonderful, and Isaiah continues with a promise:
The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling [a] together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest.
This scripture has so many meanings. It talks about peace without war. It talks about the time when we no longer hate and our enemy is our friend. This scripture describes Jesus as the Prince of Peace who will cause the wolf to live with the lamb. It also describes Jesus as the good shepherd who protects and cares for his people.
9 They will neither harm nor destroy on my entire holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious.
It talks about a time when all of the nations of the world know about God. The earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. In Ghana, on this trip they told me that Walter stands for water. They said that I am everywhere because water flows everywhere. If you are sailing in the ocean, it looks like water covers the earth. If you look in every direction, the only thing that you see is water. Just imagine a time when everyone knows and loves God. That is the promise of Isaiah 11.
Today, we love to read the gospels. In fact, the gospels are almost a must at Christmas time, but I love looking at the Old Testament scriptures that describe Jesus as the Messiah. Have you ever gone to Dairy Queen and seen all of the ice cream. It looks sooooo good! As a child, I daydreamed about a banana split, a hot fudge sundae, or a strawberry shake. I also had a hard time waiting for the hand cranked homemade ice cream to harden. I can almost taste that first bite of ice cream. That is what Isaiah was trying to do. He was trying to get you to take that first bite of Jesus Christ as our Messiah. He was trying to get you to want to taste the future messiah who was coming to change the world.
The message that the Prophet Isaiah gives is still a great message today. He is telling us that Jesus is still our future. Jesus Christ is better than a banana split or hot fudge sundae. Jesus Christ can change our lives instead of just our waist. We have a month to anticipate Jesus Christ’s birth in our lives again this year.
Let’s stop running around long enough trying to find Christmas presents to find the true gift of Christmas. The gift of Christmas is Jesus Christ. The gift of Jesus Christ is to realize the promise that the Prophet Isaiah was describing for us. Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life.
I admit that I’ve been running around this week. I’m working on a new Rotary grant to give more people clean water in Africa. It is never easy. There’s always a huge challenge trying to figure out what to do and how to do it. We thought about buying a drill rig so that we could drill more wells at a cheaper price. We thought about using solar power to pump water into cities. We’ve thought about fixing pumps that have died and digging more wells. It takes a lot of time to figure out what to do, where to do it, and how much it will cost next year to do it. We finally decided not buy a drill rig. We decided to avoid solar energy in the African bush for now. We finally decided to dig hand dug wells, fix broken wells, and drill deep wells.
God has given me the gift to tell the story of people in pain, people who are hungry, and people who are thirsty. God uses me to share the message to share the gospel of peace and to share the message that we should love our neighbor as our self regardless of where in the world our neighbor may live.
I love being your pastor. I’ve got so much to learn. The gift of being your Pastor is that it makes me stop doing the “busyness of life” so that I can be in the presence of God to study the scriptures and to write your sermon.
Our next scripture is talking about the man who came to prepare the way for Jesus Christ and his ministry here on earth. Last week, we learned how Zechariah and Elizabeth learned that they would be parents of John the Baptist. In the Gospel of Matthew, we start to learn about
Matthew 3:1-12 says: In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea 2and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." 3This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: "A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.' John's clothes were made of camel's hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 5People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. John the Baptist followed the path that the Angel Gabriel had prophesied in our scripture reading last week. He definitely would be someone unusual in most churches today. His heart was baptizing as many people as possible and telling them about God. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
The gift this Christmas is the gift of baptism with the Holy Spirit. Baptism with the Holy Spirit is salvation that begins at that moment when we accept Jesus Christ into our lives as our Lord and Savior. Eternity doesn’t start when we die. Eternity starts when God rests on our heart and fills us with his knowledge, wisdom, and love.
John the Baptist was one of those preachers who loved to tell the wonders of God. I imagine he was a guy that on a good day he preached and baptized until he couldn’t baptize people anymore. I’ve only experienced that once in my life. It was on my first trip to Ghana in 2003. I didn’t know about God’s power and the power of the Holy Spirit until that trip.
Talk about Gbani, praying, witch doctor, taking 150 people to the riverside and baptizing 81 people from Gbani and Sagadugu. That was the first time I saw a glimpse into why John the Baptist was driven to baptize as many people as possible and bring them to the full knowledge of God. The full power of the Holy Spirit rested on John the Baptist and Jesus Christ.
John the Baptist wasn’t the message. He just wanted to tell as many people as possible about God and that Jesus would come and baptize with the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist is an inspiration to us that we should share the gift of Christmas to as many people as possible. To be able to share the gift of Christmas we need to love God with all of our heart, our soul, our mind, and our strength and love our neighbor as our self.
The gift of Jesus Christ is free. He paid our price in full on the cross. If we spend our time trying to buy our happiness at Christmas, we are looking in the wrong place. We need to turn our eyes, our ears, and heart so that we can see with the eyes of God.
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