SPEAKER_01 0:00

Well, I'll join with the army and say, Merry Christmas, church. Isn't that exciting? The journey that we've been on. We're almost there. It's this week. Anybody excited that Christmas is almost here? Woo! Finally. I told my wife Jill this morning, I wish it were tomorrow. I just, I'm ready. I'm ready. But you know, this journey that we've all been on as we're getting so close now. Um obviously there's some other journeys we've been on as well, isn't it? Uh just the reality that a lot of things are happening at once. It is a journey for many of total exhaustion. Anyone almost there? Yeah, yeah, okay, admin it. Uh sometimes it's it's a journey of just trying to make it and get there and not get distracted. You know what I mean? And and for some, it's it's really a journey in an area that we wouldn't want to be in. Uh, you know, like pilgrim in pilgrim's progress, that that business of going through places you don't want to go. And specifically, I'm talking about the many of us that are going through Christmas without a loved one. Um, many here for the first time. Uh, some of us uh with anniversaries. Uh I lost my dad uh just well, it was nine years ago, but it was this week. Uh and he was the patriarch of our family, and every member of my family is mourning that. Uh and well, sidebar a little bit. Let me just give a sidebar. Um, and that's why we started here a men's group helping other guys to work through loss, specifically death of loved ones. Uh, we meet here Tuesday evenings. You're welcome to join us. I just facilitate it, I'm just part of that group. Uh but it's it's serious business. And and yeah, that's that's a journey that many, anybody want to admit they're on their journey now trying to get through Christmas with that. And and that's that's real, and I don't want to suggest in any way that that's be put aside. That's part of the journey as well. But what I feel led to to share with us today is that we are also on a very holy journey. It is a journey of awe and wonder. A holy journey of awe and wonder. And it can happen at any time when we kind of wake up and realize wait a minute, why am I so distracted? This is about Christ and his love for us. You know, it can happen when you take your kids or your grandkids to some Christmas show or the Christmas lights, and you're struck by the beauty of all of it. Or you hear this great Christmas uh music that you love and you've fallen in love with over the years, and it comes out of nowhere, and you just, oh yes. And you're reminded. Do you know what I mean? It actually happened for me in a very unexpected way. This this Tuesday night group that I just mentioned. I get here about 6:30 to come in and get the lights on. And as I came in a couple weeks ago, I was startled to see, well, first, it was the first time I'd ever been in this building by myself in the dark. Uh, I want to tell you something. It's almost scary. Because I'm used to coming in like all the rest of us. We come in and there's greeters out there at the door, and everybody's saying hi, and there's coffee available, and wow, it's it's a big dark place. And yet, as I came in that that back office door, I I saw there was a light on, and I wondered, well, I wonder where the light is. And and I walked towards the lobby, and then it hit me. It was the lights on the nativity and all those trees. And I just saw it from the back, and I I didn't turn on any more lights. I didn't know where they were, to be honest. I and I walked around to the front, and here's this beautiful manger, all in lights, surrounded by darkness, but it was dispelling the darkness. And Megan, if you're if you're listening, thank you for that. And the team that put that together. And I you know what I did? I dropped to my knees. I didn't know what else to do. It hit me. It may be a journey of us to come to get prepared for Christmas, but ultimately it's uh his journey coming for us, coming for me, and coming for you. He left heaven for us? What was he thinking? He must really love us big time. A couple hundred years ago, there was a classic book book uh referring to Jesus as the hound of heaven. He leaves heaven to come for us. And it hit me at that moment. In fact, I stayed on my knees long enough to then I heard knocking on the door and realized it I didn't know how to unlock it. It doesn't unlock, and I had to get there to let other guys come in. But but even bigger awe and wonder, the next week I come in and lights are on and music is playing, and I'm going, what is going on? I was ready to, you know, kind of recreate the scene. You know how it is? You you experience Christ at one moment and you want to go back to that same moment. I was ready to come into a dark church with a little light for an activity. And instead, all the lights are on and music is playing. I'm going, what is going on? So I walk in to the lobby again, and I was overwhelmed. It was all those boxes that you just saw. It was blankets and pillows and sleeping bags and and all. It was I was blown away. I I was speechless. Something that Jill will say is very rare in my life. I just overwhelmed. And I had the thought, God, who would do this? Who could be so generous? And he said to me, My people. His hands are my people. And I came to realize that only people who have been touched by Christ are that generous. And in fact, a community that is that generous. I had never, I've been in a lot of disaster places. I'd never seen that. I was not prepared for that. That's what this awe and wonder is about that I'm encouraging you to. Because when we commit ourselves over and over, as hard as it is to say, Lord, I want to be on this holy journey. I want to be on this journey of awe and wonder with you. There is unspeakable joy. I'm not talking about happiness. I'm talking about, you know, there's a whole lot of difference between being happy in a moment and having that joy of Jesus. Um, I'm talking about the joy of Jesus that just knocks you off your feet. And you go, can I say holy cow? Holy cow! Look at all this stuff. Holy cow, you love us this much. Holy cow, we care that much about people 300 miles away? Yeah, apparently we do. And here's Leah sorting. It's quarter seven at night. People should, it's dark. People should be going home. No, she's still sorting. Keith's common, somebody else to help security. Going, holy cow. What a marvel to be part of a place of Jesus followers, isn't it? Because there's every moment, whether we're here or at home or just by ourselves, there's that moment of awe and wonder that places us into the joy of Jesus. Think about the original Christmas. I mean, Mary is visited by an angel, and she says, Yes. I mentioned that in another setting this week. One of the guys said, I've never heard that mentioned before at Christmas. I guess it must be your Catholic or Episcopal background. And I said, Guilty? I really appreciate Mary. God wanted to do a great work, and it's God's work, but Mary said yes. And we have to as well, right? We have to keep saying yes because we get otherwise distracted. Mary said yes, and so in the midst of her pregnancy, she goes to care for her cousin. Her old cousin, Elizabeth, who is with child, and that child just happens to be the guy we call John the Baptist. And something amazing we're told out of the Gospel of Luke, chapter 1, verse 44. The story's just being told. And yet Matthew believes it's important enough to tell us about. Elizabeth, when Mary walked in, said, When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Now, let's take a moment for awe and wonder here. Mary is pregnant, probably first trimester, maybe start a second, with our Savior. Elizabeth is pregnant, probably last trimester, needs help from Mary, and she's carrying John the Baptist, and John leaps in the womb in the presence of Jesus who's in the womb. Yeah, okay, sure. Of course. Happens every day, right? I mean, just whoa! Are you serious? And then if, and and what is what does Elizabeth recognize is going on?

SPEAKER_00 9:47

It's Jesus' joy. Presence of Jesus, joy. Holy cow.

SPEAKER_01 9:55

Or as the police chief said, holy crap. What have I been so distracted by? Jesus. Joy. But then, of course, you know, we're still in the story, just starting to unfold. And what will we celebrate here in another few days? Angels appear in the sky at these shepherds who were, let's admit, they're in the dark. They may not have been in the dark spiritually, they could have been. But they're in the dark. It's night. And they probably had a little fire. Maybe it's starting to go down as they've maybe cooked up a little bit of bread or something. And the sky becomes blazing light, and angels are singing. And what do they say? They're told, don't be afraid. I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. Good news of great joy. That's what they want to talk about. The Savior's come, the Messiah's here. Run up that hill. And you're going to see him. What? Angels singing? And what do they sing about? Great joy. My brothers and sisters, that's the journey we need to keep committing ourselves to being on. This journey of awe and wonder. Because God has something for us. He's going to surprise us. He's always going to surprise us because he loves us so much. And one of those things that we experience is great joy. And what I've had to find myself reminding myself and others through these years is if you haven't experienced that joy, let me risk saying you're out of touch with Jesus. It's not your kids' fault. It's not you don't have enough time in the day. It's not your spouse's fault. It's about your walk with Jesus. Because he has a joy this world has no clue about. So I want to take you on this awe and wonder journey. Just remind you of this holy journey that we're on. And I want us to go to the place that often churches go to at this time of year. And I want us to go to the prophet Isaiah chapter 9. So if you have the Bible with you, many of you will recognize what that is all about. But turn with me and I'll have Alex has it up on the screen, and I want to read to you, and we're going to we're going to spend our time today in Isaiah chapter 9, verses 2 through 7. And we're looking at this amazing prophecy. Let me just mention in Isaiah chapter 9, as Isaiah in the big picture at least, he's a prophet. That is, he gets words from God and then is told to speak to us. Now, the Bible is very clear, it mentions it numerous times that we're to test the prophets. You don't just because someone says they're a prophet doesn't mean it's true. We have to put them to the test. But Isaiah is one of the big ones. He preached six, seven hundred years before Christ. He's called one of the pre-exilic prophets. It was before the destruction of Jerusalem, and then some of it seems to be after. But he's one of the, what's called the major prophets, because we have so many writings from him. And he's one of the ones that's quoted a whole lot. He was really connected to God. And God spoke through him a lot. And in chapter 9, again, six, seven hundred years before Christ, he says this the people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine. You will enlarge the nation of Israel, and its people will rejoice. They will rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, like warriors dividing the plunder. For you will break the yoke of their slavery and lift the heavy burden from their shoulders. You will break the oppressor's rod, just as you did when you destroyed the army of Midian. The boots of the warrior and the uniforms bloodstained by war will all be burned. They will all be fuel for fire. We'll get to that in a minute. And then the all-famous verses. The government will rest on his shoulders, and he will be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end. Now, one of the first times I preached on that many years ago, I had an older gentleman come up to me at the end of the service. He says, Oh, I love it when you read those words. I said, Really? Why? And he said, Well, Fred, Handel's Messiah. And I went, Oh yeah, wonderful counselor. And I I could sing it for you, but I won't save you that agony. And I said, Oh yeah. I said, Yeah, Handel's Messiah, of course. And I said, Is that an important Christmas song for you? And he said, Well yeah, because I was, I used to be in the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus. I said, Oh? And he said, Yeah, there was years where we sang Handel's Messiah throughout the capitals of Europe. I went, oh, you really appreciate these verses. Oh, you get it. You see, I was still trying to figure out how important this was. Look with me at these verses of what Isaiah is given by God to speak to the world about. That there will be a time when people who walk in darkness will see a great light. And isn't that probably at some level why we so love Christmas lights? Why some of us apparently put zillions of lights out. Because we love how it dispels the darkness. But we're told that in these few verses, we're told that one who is gonna come to us is the light. He is light. And think about all the ways we use the images of light, of the light of understanding, the light of knowledge, you know, now I see. That business of light giving us clarity, of light helping us to well, to know the way. I find it significant that in Matthew chapter 4 he's telling us about who this Jesus is. Matthew chapter 4, verse 13. Sorry, I did the thing that we always do. I went to Mark. Let me get back to Matthew chapter 4. It's on the screen. And Matthew is telling us who Jesus is. He says, this was fulfilled what God said through the prophet Isaiah. In the land of Zebulin and Naphtali, beside the sea, beyond the Jordan River, in Galilee, where so many Gentiles live, the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light. For those who lived in the land where death casts its shadow, a light has shined. Whoa! So that Matthew, the famous apostle who wrote the gospel, who followed and walked with Jesus, said, This I want you to know right from the start in my gospel. We're talking about who Isaiah talked about. We're talking about the one who is light, who is our light. If you are in any sense in darkness or depressed or overwhelmed or confused or can't see the way forward, Jesus. And we have to keep reminding ourselves of that, and we have to remind our family and friends of that, don't we? Jesus. He is the light. Now, what I find fascinating is the gospel writer John, after the other three Gospels are written, he could have other things to say about Jesus, and he does amazing and wonderful things, but he opens his gospel, chapter one, with the words, God sent a man, John the Baptist, to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. John himself was not the light. He was simply a witness to tell about the light. The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. It'sn't interesting that the gospel writer, John, after the other gospels have already been written, says, This is what I want you to understand. We're not talking about John the Baptist. We're not talking about any of the prophets. We're not talking about someone who's living a good life. We're not talking about his hands, ultimately. We're not talking about who the pastor is. We're not talking about who the leaders are. We're talking about the one who is the light. And then, as we jump ahead to John chapter 8, Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won't have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life. Wow. Wow. The light of the world. So that even as we are on this journey of awe and wonder, we're journeying on the way to the one who God Himself, 600 years before He was born, said, He's the light. Why? Because we walk in darkness without Him. And we get preoccupied with so many things that are not as helpful as if we would just commit ourselves to this journey with Jesus. And the wonderful thing is, it doesn't matter whether we're just starting the journey or whether we've been on the journey for many, many years. It's always about paying attention to the journey, this holy journey. Jesus. But let's get back to Isaiah. He has so much to teach us. And I want us to actually look at the second portion of this prophecy in chapter 9. And it's the one about battle and war and the days of Midian. And I have to admit to you, in most biblical lectionaries, that is, cycles of prayers that people use in churches or liturgical churches use around the world, this section about battle and Midian, days of Midian is just removed. Because we don't like to talk about war, do we? And it's so sad that many Christians have decided they don't like to read the Old Testament because it gets them uncomfortable. So we'll just read the new because it feels good because it's all about the God of love. And what we don't understand is that all the Old Testament battles teach us in the natural how the spirit world works in the spiritual. So God reveals and shows to us in very practical language on earth how He wants and does work in the Spirit. And this is one of those many cases. God tells Isaiah to say that it's just going to be like well, when the Israelites defeated the Midianites. That. Well, I have to admit, as I was preparing, I thought, well, I'll I'll look that up because I forget what that one is. And you can find it in Numbers chapter 31. Anybody ever read Numbers? No, I don't, it's just once a year, that's it for me. But um it talks about the Battle of Midian. It was the last battle that Moses had to lead before they came into the Promised Land, following their the desert experience. Okay? Now, for the battle, one thousand men were chosen from every single tribe. So it involved all of God's people were involved in this huge battle against the Midianites. When the whole battle was over, the generals and the commanders came to Moses and Aaron and presented them the gold in gratitude to God. The amount of gold they presented is equivalent in the value today, twelve million dollars of gold. Presented in gratitude to God because the generals and commanders had come to realize the battle wasn't theirs. It was won by God. How did they know that? Not a single man was lost. A battle of twelve thousand men against an entire air army. No one was lost. And the generals and commanders said, We didn't do this. This is God's victory. So they turned over 12 million of gold and said to God, Thank you for your great victory. That's what God tells Isaiah to tell us. That this one who comes is going to win an amazing victory, and it will not cost us our blood. It will cost us his. Yeah, he does. He wants that much joy in our lives, yeah. He really wants to live in the light of understanding by walking with Jesus? Yeah. He sure does. He doesn't want us confused about what Christmas is about. He doesn't want us confused about finances. He doesn't want us confused about anything. Because he's going to win the victory for our lives. If we're just willing to say yes. But it goes on. God tells Isaiah some of the names that this child who comes, who is born, this son who he gives, will have. Of many, many, many titles. If you count up the titles of God in the Bible, there's somewhere around 170. But in this portion, besides him being light, and besides him being the one who brings God's victory, we're told he's a wonderful counselor. Actually, the wonderful counselor. Now, when I when I read that on Isaiah, I go, well, that's interesting. And it's especially interesting because that's the word that Jesus used to describe the Holy Spirit. You see, when Jesus was about to finish his earthly life and go to the cross, he gathered with his disciples that last night in the upper room. And the details of that conversation, including him giving us the Lord's Supper and washing the disciples' feet, he had some amazing teachings about the Holy Spirit. In John chapter 14, Jesus says this. And I'm just going to quote just one verse here. Jesus says, I will ask the Father, and he will give you another counselor who will never leave you. Sometimes it's translated advocate, sometimes it's translated counselor. The Greek word is paraclete. We don't have a word to describe that, so we use all these other English words. He's the counselor, the wonderful counselor. So the Father tells Isaiah to tell us that the one who comes to us is going to be a wonderful counselor, the wonderful counselor. And Jesus, as he is getting ready to leave this earth, says, And I'm going to give you the wonderful counselor. How does that work? Well, John chapter 16, Jesus says this to the disciples. That's an amazing section right in there, because again, we don't have English words to translate the Greek very well. And I understand that what Jesus is saying is, y'all don't have enough experience to understand what I want to tell you. But as you live, you're going to gain more experience, and I'll keep teaching you. And this is what he goes on and says When the Spirit of truth, the counselor, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own, but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me.

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Whoa.

SPEAKER_01 27:53

All that belongs to the Father is mine. That's why I said the Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me. Jesus repeats it a second time. Do you think that's important? Don't you think that's important? Anyone think that's important? Okay. Listen to what Jesus says a second time in the upper room to the disciples before the next morning he goes to the cross. He says, It's to your advantage I go away. There's a lot of life you haven't yet experienced and you don't yet understand, but I know what's ahead for you. And I'm your wonderful counselor. So I'm going to give you the Holy Spirit so that you have that presence inside of you, coaching and guiding you. Wow. Now, and do you remember what Jesus did the first time he met with them after he rose from the dead? And he went up to the other upper room where they were afraid? And he said, Receive the Holy Spirit. This isn't just theology, this is reality. So that the very presence and identity of Jesus can have that transformation work in us. Let me give you an example. We've already had some pictures on it and some mention of it. How about the Sirens Project? Who goes off 300 miles just because there's a disaster down there? It doesn't affect us. Oh, yes, it does. So Warren and Daniel and the team head off this time to Kentucky. To be light in the darkness. How do we participate? We come in and volunteer. We bring things. And others are our light, and they help to deliver it because we're all in this together. We don't have to figure it out. We don't have to make it work. We don't have to be anxious and concerned. We have to say yes and be part of the team and say, Lord, guide me in your spirit. And that's the journey, Lord, I want to be on. This journey of awe and wonder. Lord, I want to see what you do. And so use me, Lord. I went on one of their trips, I'll never forget it. Went down to Louisiana a year or two ago, whenever it was, and put on those those chaps and put on the helmet and put on the gloves and got those chainsaws going with everybody else. And went, oh God, forgive me from forever feeling a pity party about myself. When I see what brothers and sisters are experiencing around the world. That's this journey we're on. How do we become more powerful? It's not by doing more, it's by drawing closer. This holy journey, this awe and wonder that God even wants to use me. Is he serious? He wants to use you? Yes, he does. Because he loves us that much. And we're only a few days from celebrating. We're on this great journey. But he's left heaven to come for us. And we're celebrating that on Friday. But but Isaiah goes on. He just so much that God spoke to him about. The one who comes isn't only wonderful counselor who's going to grant us the spirit to walk with him. And I have to admit, when I read that, I go, wait, I'm a little confused. The Father sends the Son. How can the Son be the Father? God, Jesus, how's that a work? And again, John chapter 10, John tells us that Jesus said, I and the Father are one. I and the Father are one. Now, I I think we probably get so overwhelmed trying to figure out who God is and what God's up to that we it's easier for us to divide God into three parts. So we have the Father, he's in heaven, we have Jesus, the Son, who came to earth, and and we have the Holy Spirit who's with us now. Okay, get we can okay. Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Yeah, that works. But God tells Isaiah to tell us that it's a bit more complicated than that, or it's a bit more simple than that. The Father and Jesus are one. He is God. He is our Father. I think we probably feel more comfortable calling Jesus our shepherd, which is about the same kind of language. He's the one who looks after us and guides us. Jesus earlier had mentioned to you that he refers to the Spirit as the counselor, but Father calls him the counselor. And well, who is it? Is it the Spirit or is it Jesus? Is it Jesus or the Father? Is it the Father? And God says, Yes. That's how important you are to me, says God. I'm coming for you. And I don't want to ever let you go. And I don't want you to live in darkness again. I want you to be my light, and you are. I want you to be filled with a wonderful counselor, and you can be, and you are. Of course, our problem is we leak a lot. We know that. But but then there's a reality here. This this journey allows us to remember, to come to him, to worship him, to delight in the one that also God told Isaiah to say, oh yes, he's something else for you. He has another title. He is the Prince of Peace. The Prince of Peace. Shalom. It's more than just an absence of fighting. It's a contentment in our souls that says, it is well. It doesn't mean you're not in suffering. It doesn't mean you're in agony because of the loss of a loved one. It doesn't mean on occasion you feel overwhelmed. It means deeper than that, it is well. Your soul has peace because you're journeying to Jesus. And you're journeying with Jesus. Back one last time to John chapter 14, this time. And in John chapter 14, Jesus again in the upper room. He says this I am leaving you a gift, a peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. Don't be troubled or afraid. Don't be troubled. Don't be afraid. Because the Prince of Peace is with us. That's Jesus' words. They were God's words to Isaiah so we could hope. And after Jesus came, they're Jesus' words to us. It's exactly what Paul writes to the Philippians. He says, have no anxiety about anything. I'll repeat it for emphasis. Have no anxiety about anything. But in prayer and uh and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your heart and your mind. Now, what that what that tells me is that I can either be choose to be anxious and give in to all the craziness of this world that we could name for the next hour, but we all know it. Or I can give that to the Lord and say, thank you, Lord, you take this. And what's the promise? That the peace of God from the Prince of Peace will guard our minds and guard our hearts. I like Him to be my guard. Don't you? That's part of this journey that we're on. This journey of awe and wonder. And Friday's coming close. Don't be so preoccupied with all the other journeys that you miss this one. And please remind me, Fred, don't get preoccupied with all those other journeys. Don't miss this one. My brothers and sisters. Some of you here I've known for over 40 years. Jill, I've known even longer than that. Some of you I've just met today. We're all in this together. It's a holy journey. Our responsibility, like Mary, say yes. Because there's something in that manger. He may even delight us before we get there on Friday at two or four or at six. He's got joy for us. He's got light for us because the one there is light. He's going to win a great victory in our lives because he does it, and it's not going to cost us our blood, it's his blood. And oh yes. He's going to counsel us as we journey.

SPEAKER_00 37:58

Because he is God, our Father. He is our Prince of Peace.

SPEAKER_01 38:06

Yes, it's about getting ready and give our hearts and minds for worship on Friday. Yes, it is. Yes, it's coming to his hands. Yes, it is. But it's much deeper than that, isn't it? It's not just the journey in our car. When we finally get all the other stuff done. It's a journey of our soul to come to the manger.

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To come to our Savior. Jesus.

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Let's leave Christ in Christmas, don't you think? Amen. Let's pray.

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Father, Jesus, Spirit, whatever.

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God, we we so need you. There's so much we do not understand. But we say yes again to you, to your extraordinary love. Lord, we pray that you would help us to not be anxious about these next few days, not to be troubled, not to be discouraged, and not even to be overwhelmed with the sorrow of what we deal with. But Lord, to recommit ourselves again to this mystery of the awe and wonder that even as we come to you, you come to us. Jesus, in whose name we pray. Amen.